Thelema Revisited: A Critique

[ashkosis]

I am posting this for two reasons: lots of people seem to think I'm still a Thelemite and I wanted to explain why I no longer am. I have no interest in insulting anyone and I am happy for all those who find Thelema to be rewarding. At the moment, I don't have much time for drama, so I'm only willing to reply to thoughtful, even-handed comments.

Comments

[jodipaul]

Religion is a very personal, very private thing and it continues to amaze me that any two people can even have exactly the same religion...much less one close enough to form some type of congregation around it

[ashkosis]

Hiya darlin'...nice to hear your take on this. A spiritual journey certainly does not require a congregation, while for many, the act of communion is a key component. I do think there is profound benefit in celebrating with others, whether in terms of worship or shared contemplation. I don't think that communion requires an exact alignment of religious beliefs, only enough overlap to provide a sense of belonging. But your beliefs might be such that such an overlap isn't easily found, or you might simply have no drive to commune with others...nothing wrong with that.

I am not neutral when it comes to the value of religious beliefs because many of them (not all, of course), in my view, impede the critical thinking, curiosity, and open-mindedness needed for human progress. But that isn't the same as judging people for their beliefs or creating arbitrary out groups. Like Dawkins said, treat people with respect but question everything!

Barnacle Thelema?

[r0bin]

For me Thelemic thought as written by Crowley is a kind of poetic invocation pointing toward certain truths, and goading us along to tackle the Great Work for ourselves so we can figure out WTF it's all about. The tension and conflicting ideas and notions form part of the motivation to essentially work on it until one might find spiritual confidence. Pure spiritual confidence is what is sometimes referred to as "faith" and it is in a sense very very dangerous, especially to "Religions." Absolute truth has nothing much to do with the relative truths of morals, ethics, ritual and culture - even "Thelemic culture." You have to stop taking it at face value and get with God until you can make up your own mind. I think in some sense you're doing this, but it all seems stuck in the intellect. If I thought Thelema meant having to swallow whole and believe like a dog all the various tenents doctrines and ideas you've documented - I would think myself nothing more than a painful spiritual joke in so far as there would be no hope for me to

Re: Barnacle Thelema?

[ashkosis]

Thanks for chiming in. Please accept my replies as coming from a place of regard.

For me Thelemic thought as written by Crowley is a kind of poetic invocation pointing toward certain truths, and goading us along to tackle the Great Work for ourselves so we can figure out WTF it's all about.

Trying to find meaning is certainly a key area in spiritual life, and if Thelema helps someone do that, then great. Of course, I don't think AC had any special insight into the nature of reality or that his system leads to any profound truths (if anything, he was factually wrong about a lot of things). I've no doubt that many adherents experience a sense of profound truth, as do many dedicated Baptists and Scientologists, but science has never been able to show that such experiences have any referents in the real world. This doesn't mean that they can't have an impact on well-being, which can be a good thing, but it is also something of a trap within Thelema, since AC (along with many modern Thelemites) claimed that the system is in alignment

Re: Barnacle Thelema?

[r0bin]

>Thanks for chiming in. Please accept my replies as coming from a place of regard.

Likewise.

I don't know if I can explain briefly what I mean by Absolute Truth or God, except I can say that I don't mean something like you mentioned. The main point I wanted to make was that while I'm a Thelemite for certain very specific reasons, I also unapologeticly make major changes in my beliefs and practices not because AC was "incoherent" or "inhumane", he was certainly at times, that's actually not very important at all, I make changes to it because I have my own spiritual reality based on my own experiences and work. For me, these aren't actually conflicts with Thelema so much as the terms whereby any spiritual path becomes genuine.

Re: Barnacle Thelema?

[ashkosis]

The issue of authenticity is a big one for me, and is one of the things that initially drew me to Thelema. While I've largely abandoned the worldview and methods of Thelema, I still retain the aspiration to self discovery and establishing a spiritual system that is true to my own being. I find it a little ironic that Thelema's insistence on personal genuineness led me away from Thelema itself

Smashing the idols

[anonymous]

Excellent post

The mote

[somebody68234]

I'll cut to the chase and keep it short

Re: The mote

[ashkosis]

Hello! It's been a very long time since coming to LiveJournal