There are people, current and long since passed, who have influenced my life and understanding. Meister Eckhart and Ralph Waldo Emerson are two examples of those who have influenced me. Recently, I discovered that they both, plus others I regard highly, were influenced by Hermes. So, you guessed it, I began reading Hermes.
Right now I am reading his Asclepius, and I am finding it fascinating. I can see threads of it in many places in metaphysics, mysticism and various current teachings.
Some examples to consider:
There are not many, indeed so few religious men or women in the world that they can be counted. Thus it is that evil remains among the people through the lack of wisdom and knowledge of what really exists...
So God made man both good, and capable of immortality, because of his two natures: the divine and the mortal...
Man not only receives light, but he gives it. Not only does he progress toward God, but he forms gods.... So just as the Father and Lord has made the eternal gods to be similar to Himself, so humanity has made his gods in the likeness of its own features.
His words, at least many of them, strike a cord of recognition in me. I think about Jesus saying his teachings fall on various grounds, few are fertile and produce fruit. I look at the many, many religions and sects and see how gods are created in the image of some manmade dogma. I see little emphasis on a personal relationship with God that is authentic and produces transformation. Most are in ruts, busy protecting their ruts and not seeking awakening/enlightenment. The view from the rut is not of what really exists and what really matters.
In all of this I can sadly see the why of the mess our world is experiencing. My continual question in my heart is about how to help us all/most/some shift to what really matters. Consider these things with me. God bless you.