Q2. Why do you think the author links rhythm to eternity? (see page 10). How can rhythm
help us to access eternity? How can rhythm be a clue to the dynamics of the spiritual
life?

The connection to the rhythms of life in monastic communities is the first thing that comes to mind. My brain takes this to the importance of ritual to keep us oriented toward the Divine. This author takes that concept so much deeper than I’ve ever understood it, though, and makes the connection of the rhythms of life to the circulatory and respiratory systems in our actual bodies. So when the author says, “Hermeticists listen to – and now and then hear – the beating of the heart of the spiritual life of humanity”, I infer that the spiritual practices that align us with our own internal systems (heartbeat, breath, etc.) help us “hear” that rhythm in others, individually and collectively. Turning inward and connecting with our own bodies through meditation, breathwork, yoga, prayer therefore helps us *drop into* the flow of eternity and humanity) rather than *transcending outside* of something. Is this what the author means with the distinctions between esoteric and exoteric?