Stage Five of the Spiritual Transformation in the Acts of Paul & Thecla

Stage Five is a release.

And if we can survive the tests of the fourth stage, which tend to be both mental and physical, and which tend to bring us to a point of choosing – of counting our losses and returning to what we had, to who we used to be, to how we used to live, even if we know how limited it is now, how small, even if we’ve tasted something more infinite. We’re often given a chance to go back to what we know. To play it safe. To return to the traps and cages we once called home. 

So, we’re often asked at some point to die. To go through a death that will mean a return is no longer possible; or at least we can never return to what used to be, to who we used to be. We become someone new. Which is terrifying. And if we can survive the death, if we can survive the terror of becoming someone unalterably new; we inherit, or accrue power. Deep, true power. Power that only comes from within. This is the fifth stage. It’s when all the perceived losses, and all the suffering begins to transform into what the alchemists toiled away toward; gold.