If you seek direct realization of the Absolute without institutional control—if you’re ready to walk a solitary path of inner transformation leading to mystical union with the One—Ascendium offers a hermit’s path tested by sustained practice and direct insight.
What Is Ascendium?
Ascendium (ə-ˈsen-dē-əm) is Dr. Jay Forrest’s hermit’s path of ascending to the One—a contemplative journey toward mystical union with the Unconditioned Absolute, discovered through sustained practice and direct insight.
The word comes from Latin ascendere (“to climb”) + -ium (state, process, or condition). It means the Hermit’s Ascent to the One.
Ascendium is inspired by many sources—Neoplatonism, early Buddhism, Daoism, Stoicism, Advaita Vedanta, process philosophy, modern science, and psychology—without being bound to any. It teaches that:
– The One (Being Itself/Brahman/Dao) is the ineffable Unconditioned, eternal Absolute
– Logos (Nous/Divine Mind) is the ordering principle of the cosmos.
– The Matrix of Becoming is the womb of the universe—the place where consciousness is grown. Based on process philosophy, the universe is not a substance but an event.
Consciousness descends into the Matrix as a seed, then awakens and evolves through five stages until it resembles the Absolute and is reabsorbed into the One—in a state of Henōsis (mystical union).
The Five Stages of Ascendium
Ascendium follows a structured path of transformation:
1. Awakening — Consciousness recognizes its exile in Becoming and turns inward toward its true origin
2. Purification — Disciplined clearing of ignorance, craving, aversion, and distortion that obscure the soul’s ascent
3. Illumination — The mind perceives the radiance of the One and begins to live from its light
4. Ego‑Death — The dark night of the soul: dissolution of the false self that allows consciousness to transcend individuality
5. Union (Henosis) — Final convergence of the purified consciousness with the One, where all separation dissolves into absolute simplicity
Begin the Path
Ascendium is for the hermit—the solitary seeker oriented toward inner transformation and return to the One.
This path is for those seeking direct realization through personal effort. It is:
- Solitary, not communal
- Contemplative, not dogmatic
- Direct, not mediated by authority
- Tested by practice, not just theory
You enter through:
– Taking Refuge
– The Ascendium Way