- Attitude of non-attachment to results/fruits of labor (Liber AL I:44)
- Attitude of affirmation, strength, beauty, force, etc. (Liber AL II)
- Attitude of no guilt from lust, "sinful" things, materiality, etc.
But all these things are subtle, somewhat passive in that they are 'attitudes' and not pragmatic tools like mindfulness.
Is Thelema merely a paradigm which does not necessarily come with any specific tools?
The traditional response is (a) Yoga and (b) Magick, but are these founded in Thelemic literature or Crowley's literature on... yoga & magick?
* * * * *
- The use of 'strange drugs' (entheogens) is explicitly endorsed by Hadit:
- "I am the Snake that giveth Knowledge & Delight and bright glory, and stir the hearts of men with drunkenness. To worship me take wine and strange drugs whereof I will tell my prophet, & be drunk thereof! They shall not harm ye at all. It is a lie, this folly against self. The exposure of innocence is a lie. Be strong, o man! lust, enjoy all things of sense and rapture: fear not that any God shall deny thee for this." (Liber AL II:22)
- The use of wines and alcohol is explicitly endorsed by Nuit:
- "Be goodly therefore: dress ye all in fine apparel; eat rich foods and drink sweet wines and wines that foam! Also, take your fill and will of love as ye will, when, where and with whom ye will! But always unto me." (Liber AL I:51)
- ...by Hadit: "I am the Snake that giveth Knowledge & Delight and bright glory, and stir the hearts of men with drunkenness. To worship me take wine and strange drugs whereof I will tell my prophet, & be drunk thereof!" (Liber AL II:22)
- ...by Ra-Hoor-Khuit: "For perfume mix meal & honey & thick leavings of red wine: then oil of Abramelin and olive oil, and afterward soften & smooth down with rich fresh blood." (Liber AL III:23)
Perhaps that to which is alluded to often.... "the first task of the Aspirant is to disarm all his thoughts, to make himself impregnably above the influence of any one of them; this he may accomplish by the methods given in Liber Aleph, Liber Jugorum, Thien Tao, and elsewhere." (AL II:25 comment)...
1 comment:
A great little essay with intelligence and food for thought. Thank you.
In answer to "What pragmatic tools does Thelema offer?" I offer the following answer;
Thelema is all about first finding and then living one's "True Will" which can be compared to the goal of Taoism, Buddhism, Yoga, etc,; to unite the individual self with the ultimate (the divine, the universe, etc.)
This process of discovering and living one's "True Will" is called "the Great Work". Thelemic literature not only stresses the importance of doing the Great Work (any mystic or occult practices that are not used directly towards the Great Work is considered "black magick" and is to be shunned) but also thelemic literature is full of techniques with which to accomplish the Great Work.
This is very much like how Buddhist literature offers many techniques and advice for accomplishing enlightenment.
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