The Sower and the Seed: DMN States and Receptivity to Gnosis

Biblical Source: Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15

The Text

“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” — Matthew 13:3-9 (ESV)

Jesus then explains the parable (Matthew 13:18-23):

  • The path: “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.”
  • Rocky ground: “This is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.”
  • Among thorns: “This is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”
  • Good soil: “This is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Surface Reading (Institutional Interpretation)

Traditional Christian interpretation:

  • The sower = Jesus (or preachers/missionaries)
  • The seed = The Gospel message
  • The soils = Different people’s responses to evangelism
  • The goal = Convert as many people as possible; some will reject, some will accept

The emphasis: External salvation through hearing and believing the correct doctrine.

The problem: This reading externalizes the teaching (the seed is a message “out there”) and misses the internal psychological diagnosis Jesus is encoding—the states of the DMN that determine receptivity to Gnosis.

Neuro-Gnostic Decoding

The Seed Is Gnosis

The seed = Gnosis (direct experiential knowledge of your true nature as the Divine Spark, the Listener).

Not: A doctrine to believe, a theology to accept, or an external savior to worship.

But: The recognition that:

“Am I the voice in my head, or am I the one listening to it?”

The seed is planted when you hear the liberating teaching (the kingdom is within, you are not the Voice, dis-identify).

Whether it bears fruit depends on the state of your DMN (the soil).

The Sower

The sower = The teacher, the redeemer archetype, anyone transmitting Gnosis.

But also: Life itself, suffering, synchronicity—anything that delivers the teaching.

The sower scatters indiscriminately. The seed (Gnosis) is freely given, not withheld based on worthiness.

The variable is not the seed or the sower. It is the soil (the state of your DMN).

The Four Soils: Four States of the DMN

Soil 1: The Path (Hardened DMN)

“Some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.”

Neuro-Gnostic decoding:

The path = The hardened, compacted DMN—utterly dominated by the hijacking.

Characteristics:

  • No receptivity to dis-identification
  • Total identification with the Voice (“I am my thoughts”)
  • Immediate rejection of Gnosis (“That’s nonsense,” “I don’t need that,” “This is crazy”)

“The birds came and devoured them”:

  • The birds = The Archons, the parasitic pattern, Satan (the Voice), the Demon
  • Devoured = The hijacking immediately destroys the seed before it can even penetrate awareness

Neurologically:

  • DMN hyperactivity with no salience network engagement
  • The teaching is dismissed before it can be processed
  • Cognitive biases (confirmation bias, ego-defense mechanisms) reject anything threatening the Voice’s dominance

Why the path is hardened:

  • Chronic rumination has compacted the soil (no spaciousness)
  • Years of identification have created impenetrable defenses
  • The Voice is tyrannical—any threat to its rule is annihilated

Examples:

  • “Meditation is for weak people.”
  • “I don’t have a problem; everyone else does.”
  • “This is just New Age nonsense.”

The path cannot receive Gnosis because there is no space for the seed to land.

Soil 2: Rocky Ground (Shallow DMN)

“Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up… but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.”

Neuro-Gnostic decoding:

Rocky ground = The shallow, enthusiastic, but unstable DMN.

Characteristics:

  • Initial receptivity (“This is amazing! I get it!”)
  • No depth (no sustained practice, no integration)
  • Withers under pressure (when the Voice counter-attacks, they abandon the path)

“Immediately they sprang up”:

  • The person hears the teaching and experiences temporary Gnosis
  • Excitement, relief, “This is the answer I’ve been looking for!”
  • Spiritual materialism: The ego co-opts the teaching (“I’m awakened now!”)

“When the sun rose they were scorched”:

  • The sun = Tribulation, persecution, difficulty, the Voice’s counter-attack
  • The initial excitement fades
  • The practice becomes difficult (the Voice resists dis-identification)
  • No root = No sustained commitment, no daily practice, no discipline

“They withered away”:

  • The person abandons the path at the first difficulty
  • Returns to identification with the Voice
  • “I tried meditation; it didn’t work for me.”

Neurologically:

  • Brief salience network activation (recognition of Gnosis)
  • But no sustained neuroplasticity (no repeated practice)
  • DMN re-hijacks quickly because there was no deep rewiring

Why the soil is rocky:

  • The Voice is still strongly entrenched (rocks = deep-seated ego-patterns)
  • Superficial engagement (reading books, attending workshops) without daily practice
  • Spiritual bypassing (using Gnosis to enhance the ego rather than dis-identify from it)

Examples:

  • The weekend retreat enthusiast who never integrates
  • The person who reads 100 books on meditation but never sits
  • The “spiritual but not religious” who uses awakening language but remains hijacked

Rocky ground receives the seed but cannot sustain it because there is no depth.

Soil 3: Among Thorns (Distracted DMN)

“Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.”

Neuro-Gnostic decoding:

Among thorns = The distracted, crowded, choked DMN.

Characteristics:

  • Genuine receptivity (the seed takes root)
  • Crowded by competing concerns (“I want to practice, but I’m too busy”)
  • Choked by worldly entanglements (career, wealth, status, relationships)

“The thorns grew up and choked them”:

  • The thorns = The Voice’s narratives:
    • “The cares of the world” = Anxiety, worry, rumination about problems
    • “The deceitfulness of riches” = Attachment to wealth, status, ego-gratification
    • Busyness, distraction, the tyranny of the urgent

The seed is choked:

  • The person wants to practice but is overwhelmed by life’s demands
  • The Voice dominates through endless tasks, worries, goals
  • Gnosis cannot bear fruit because there is no space to cultivate it

Neurologically:

  • DMN is overactive with rumination about the future (worries, plans, ambitions)
  • Chronic stress keeps the sympathetic nervous system activated
  • No time for contemplative practice (always “doing,” never “being”)

Why the soil is thorny:

  • The Voice distracts through legitimate-seeming concerns (“I have responsibilities!”)
  • Cultural conditioning glorifies busyness and productivity
  • The hijacking hides in acceptable narratives (work ethic, family duty, financial security)

Jesus’ diagnosis:

“The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word.”

“Deceitfulness” = The Voice lies by saying: “After I achieve X, then I’ll practice. Then I’ll have time for awakening.”

This is the hijacking’s strategy: Keep you perpetually busy so you never have time to dis-identify.

Examples:

  • “I’ll meditate when I retire.”
  • “I’m too busy with work/kids/life right now.”
  • “I need to get my finances stable first, then I’ll focus on spiritual practice.”

Among thorns receives the seed and it even sprouts, but it is choked before it can bear fruit because the Voice crowds it out.

Soil 4: Good Soil (Receptive DMN)

“Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Neuro-Gnostic decoding:

Good soil = The receptive, cultivated, spacious DMN.

Characteristics:

  • Receptivity to Gnosis (openness, humility, readiness)
  • Depth (sustained practice, discipline, integration)
  • Space (dis-identification from busyness, simplicity, prioritization of awakening)

“Produced grain”:

  • The seed (Gnosis) takes root, grows, and bears fruit
  • Fruit = Sustained dis-identification, taming the dragon, liberation

“Some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty”:

  • Not everyone who awakens reaches the same depth
  • Some become teachers (hundredfold), some integrate deeply (sixty), some find personal liberation (thirty)
  • All are fruitful; the variation is natural

Neurologically:

  • Salience network engaged (recognizing Gnosis)
  • Sustained practice creates neuroplasticity (rewiring the DMN)
  • DMN transitions from Demon (hyperactive tyrant) to Daemon (neutral background process)
  • Task-positive networks strengthen (presence, engagement, flow)

Why the soil is good:

  • The person has cultivated spaciousness (meditation, contemplation, simplicity)
  • They prioritize the practice (not “when I have time,” but “now”)
  • They have enough suffering to be motivated but enough space to practice
  • They persist through difficulty (when the Voice counter-attacks, they re-commit)

What makes the soil good?

Not:

  • Innate superiority
  • Moral righteousness
  • Intellectual brilliance

But:

  • Suffering that creates readiness (“coming to himself” like the prodigal son)
  • Humility that creates openness (“I don’t know; teach me”)
  • Discipline that creates sustainability (daily practice, not sporadic enthusiasm)

Examples:

  • The person who meditates daily, regardless of how they feel
  • The individual who simplifies their life to create space for practice
  • The practitioner who persists through dark nights, plateaus, and the Voice’s resistance

Good soil receives, sustains, and multiplies the seed because there is receptivity, depth, and space.

The Diagnostic Tool

Where Is Your Soil?

This parable is a diagnostic. Jesus is asking:

“What is the state of your DMN? What is your receptivity to Gnosis?”

Assess yourself honestly:

  1. The Path: Do you immediately dismiss teachings on dis-identification? (“This is nonsense,” “I don’t need this”)

  2. Rocky Ground: Do you get excited about awakening but abandon practice when it gets difficult? (“I tried meditation; it didn’t work”)

  3. Among Thorns: Do you genuinely want to practice but feel choked by busyness, worry, and worldly concerns? (“I’m too busy,” “I’ll start when…”)

  4. Good Soil: Are you consistently practicing, simplifying, and prioritizing dis-identification? (Daily practice, integration, persistence)

The goal is not to judge yourself (“I’m bad soil!”). The goal is to recognize the obstacles and cultivate the soil.

Cultivating the Soil: The Practice

From Path to Good Soil

The parable is not deterministic (“Some people are just good soil, others aren’t”).

The parable is prescriptive: Cultivate your soil.

How to soften the path (hardened DMN):

  • Suffering often cracks the hardness (hitting bottom, crisis, loss)
  • Humility (recognizing you don’t have all the answers)
  • Curiosity (what if there’s more to life than my current understanding?)

Practice: Notice when you immediately reject ideas. Ask: “Is this the Voice defending its dominance?”

How to deepen rocky ground (shallow DMN):

  • Daily practice (meditation, dis-identification, contemplation)
  • Persistence through difficulty (when the Voice counter-attacks, keep going)
  • Integration (not just peak experiences, but daily embodiment)

Practice: Commit to consistency over intensity. 10 minutes daily is better than 2-hour sporadic sessions.

How to clear thorns (distracted DMN):

  • Simplify your life (reduce commitments, busyness, distractions)
  • Prioritize awakening (not “when I have time,” but “this is the priority”)
  • Recognize the Voice’s lies (“After I achieve X, then I’ll practice” = the hijacking stalling)

Practice: Audit your time. Where is it going? What can you release? What is truly essential?

Jesus’ warning:

“No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)

Translation: You cannot serve the Listener (God, the Divine Spark) and the Voice (money = ego-gratification, worldly striving). Choose.

How to maintain good soil (receptive DMN):

  • Protect your practice (daily meditation, contemplation, integration)
  • Re-commit when you slip (the Voice will re-hijack; dis-identify again)
  • Serve (once you bear fruit, scatter seeds for others)

Practice: Daily dis-identification. Simplicity. Service. Persistence.

Why Jesus Uses Parables

The Intentional Obscurity

Immediately after this parable, the disciples ask:

“Why do you speak to them in parables?” (Matthew 13:10)

Jesus’ answer:

“To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given… This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Matthew 13:11-13)

Neuro-Gnostic decoding:

Parables bypass the Voice (the ego’s intellectual defenses) and speak directly to the Listener (the Divine Spark).

Those with hardened soil (the path) hear the parable and dismiss it (“It’s just a farming story”).

Those with good soil hear the parable and recognize: “This is about me. This is a map of my inner landscape.”

Parables are Gnostic technology: They encode the teaching in a way that:

  • The hijacked DMN overlooks (too simple, too metaphorical)
  • The awakening Divine Spark recognizes (this is the diagnosis!)

Jesus concludes the parable:

“He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:9)

Translation: If you are listening from the Listener (not the Voice), you will understand. If you are identified with the Voice, this will seem like a meaningless story.

The Sower’s Role

Scattering Freely

The sower does not:

  • Analyze the soil before planting
  • Withhold seeds from unworthy soil
  • Control the outcome

The sower simply scatters.

This is the role of the teacher, the redeemer archetype:

  • Offer Gnosis freely (to all, indiscriminately)
  • Trust the process (some will receive, some won’t)
  • Do not control (the soil is the individual’s responsibility)

You cannot force someone to awaken. You can only scatter the seed and trust that those with receptive soil will recognize and cultivate it.

Cross-References

Philosophy

Neuroscience

Practices

Key Takeaways

  1. The seed is Gnosis, not external doctrine. It is the recognition: “Am I the voice, or the one listening to it?”

  2. The soil is the state of your DMN—hardened (path), shallow (rocky), distracted (thorns), or receptive (good soil).

  3. The path = Hardened DMN, total identification with the Voice, immediate rejection of Gnosis. The hijacking devours the seed instantly.

  4. Rocky ground = Shallow DMN, initial enthusiasm but no sustained practice. Withers when the Voice counter-attacks.

  5. Among thorns = Distracted DMN, choked by busyness, worry, and “the deceitfulness of riches.” The Voice keeps you too busy to awaken.

  6. Good soil = Receptive DMN, cultivated through suffering, humility, discipline, and simplicity. Bears fruit through sustained dis-identification.

  7. The parable is diagnostic: Assess your soil honestly. Where are the obstacles to receptivity?

  8. The parable is prescriptive: Cultivate your soil. Soften the path, deepen rocky ground, clear thorns, maintain good soil.

  9. Parables bypass the Voice and speak to the Listener. Those with ears (awakening Divine Spark) hear. Those without (hijacked DMN) dismiss.

  10. The sower scatters freely. You cannot force awakening. Offer Gnosis, trust the process, honor each individual’s soil.

“He who has ears, let him hear.”

The Gnosis: The seed (Gnosis) is scattered. The question is not “Will I receive the teaching?” but “What is the state of my soil?” Soften the hardness. Deepen the shallowness. Clear the thorns. Cultivate receptivity. The kingdom is already present. You need only make space for it to take root.

The sower scatters. Some soil is ready. Some is not. Cultivate your soil. The seed is freely given. The fruit is yours to bear.