Linguistic question

[MichaelStaley]

What you say, Los, is all very well from your humanist standpoint. Some of us, however, don't share this standpoint; we think that there are Intelligences higher than the human, which communicate via revelation.

It may not always be a matter of simply pursuing practices. For instance, the transmission of The Book of the Law was, by Crowley's account, a revelation, an intrusion into "his" consciousness. The same may be said of the other major Workings in Crowley's life, such as the Abuldiz Working and the Amalantrah Working. A higher Intelligence was communicating - in the case of The Book of the Law it was via Crowley; in the case of the other two Workings mentioned, it was via his Scarlet Woman of the time.

It's clear from your posts on this website over the years (and some of us can remember when you were a new kid on the block) that such thinking is anathema to you, and doubtless to some others on this website. However, I suspect that what Chris is doing is to see what comes of this material, and take it from there.


Best wishes,

Michael.

[Los]

If we all agree to talk about the concepts without using christibranny as a guinea pig, then we might get further along in conversation.

It was never my intention to “use christibranny as a guinea pig,” and I’m sorry if anyone (especially Chris) sees it that way. I thought I had gone out of my way to say that there was no requirement for Chris to respond to me and that the ultimate point I was making was a much larger, general one about the importance of each individual interrogating his or her own methods in the Work.

I’m perfectly happy to discuss these ideas in the abstract, though I’ll gladly use personal examples where appropriate, if participants willingly offer them up.

And even then, who are we to say anything for certain about him over the internet? Further, who/what qualifies anyone to say anything about someone else, especially in regards as to what may or may not be a communication from one's Angel?

Just so that we’re extra clear, I was never attempting to “say anything for certain” about Chris. I was asking him questions that I think are pretty basic to any kind of Work whatsoever, questions that he should be asking himself and that he should have solid answers to before doing the Work.

I mean, if someone was going to build a desk for me, I might ask him – before hiring him – “what methods are you going to use to build this desk? What will each step of that method accomplish? How do you judge (that is, by what specific criteria do you judge) that you have indeed attained each goal?”

Certainly, I would expect any carpenter to be able to give very specific and relatively simple answers to these questions. And it’s not that the carpenter has to “prove it to someone else cause I’m a big meanie skeptic!!!!!” but rather it’s the simple fact that a good carpenter has to answer these questions to himself, and if he can answer these questions to himself, then it would be child’s play to explain his answers to any objective inquirer. And if he finds himself incapable of explaining his answers to any objective inquirer, then it’s very likely that the answers he’s generated for himself are lacking in substance.

There’s no reason, a priori, to assume that a task like discovering the will shouldn’t require the same crystal clear understanding of the subject that any other task would require. In fact, there’s every reason that conclude that it should require just that: pretty much any process that any person does – from building a desk, to learning how to play an instrument, to learning how to discover and carry out the True Will – implicitly requires the person doing the task to have some theory – some mental map or model – about how the process works and how he or she judges that the process has worked, even if that person doesn’t consciously articulate the theory to himself or herself. The better and the clearer the understanding, the better the chances for success. And the more muddled the understanding, the worse the chances for success.

Here’s the thing, though; discovering the will differs from building a desk in a key way: in the latter activity, failure (when it occurs) is obvious because the criteria for success can be observed by anyone. However, in the former activity, failure (when it occurs) isn’t obvious at all because the criteria can only be observed by one person, necessarily. Hence, it is possible for an individual to delude himself or herself almost indefinitely.

As a result, for a task like discovering the will, it becomes *even more important* for the individual to have a crystal clear understanding of :

-Exactly what he or she is trying to accomplish
-How the chosen practices will enable him or her to accomplish those ends
-How he or she can specifically tell that the practices have worked to accomplish those ends

These points remain true for virtually any endeavor at all, and they remain true whether or not one’s outlook on the world is “humanist” or…whatever label we want to put on the position Michael contrasts with “humanist” above. Whether or not one believes there are “preterhuman intelligences” has no bearing on the fact that the questions I’m discussing are vitally necessary if one is serious about success in virtually any endeavor, whether one thinks that those endeavors involve preterhuman intelligences” or no.

We are, supposedly, interested in “the method of science,” are we not? If we are, then it is of vital importance that we develop very clear criteria for success, all the more important for the fact that our chosen subject of study (each individual’s own self) is very prone to misperceptions.

In the interest of advancing a serious technical discussion of the heart of Thelema (here on a website dedicated to the legacy of its creator, Aleister Crowley), I reiterate that I think analyzing “communications” – from whatever source – cannot be said to reveal information about an individual’s True Will. At the very best, such analysis would reveal something about how the individual’s mind connects certain concepts…which might be interesting to know, but would be close to useless in enabling the individual to perceive his will in real life situations and adjust his or her behavior accordingly.

I welcome cogent arguments against what I’ve just said, in favor of such practices.

I was, earlier in this thread, using Chris’ examples – which he freely volunteered – to illustrate this point, as he seems unable to articulate how linking concepts like “bending light, crooked, and magic” specifically helps him to discover his True Will. I know he says that he believes “eventually I can reach my True Will through the dissecting of these processes and thoughts,” but he doesn’t say why he thinks this or by what criteria he would determine that he has succeeded, and that was largely my point.

Now, I would be happy to steer the conversation away from the specific example of Chris, and I would be very interested if anyone at all – using any examples, from their own life or even hypothetical examples – could explain how such practices are supposed to work in the context of Thelema and (most importantly) how one can tell that they have indeed worked.

[Los]

Some of us, however, don't share [Los’] standpoint; we think that there are Intelligences higher than the human, which communicate via revelation.

Even if one thinks this, the question still remains how one determines that such “communications” indeed reveal information about the individual’s True Self.

After all, it could be that the “beings” being “contacted” are malevolent or mischievous and purposely misleading the people who "contact" them. Perhaps these beings themselves are deluded. Perhaps the practitioner is actually “contacting” some part of himself (as Chris seems to think he’s doing), a part that is comprised of neuroses and fears, not the True Self at all.

In other words, even if there *are* such Intelligences and even if one *is* contacting them through such practices (two enormous “ifs”), one still needs criteria by which to judge that the communications indeed reveal information about the True Will.

As I indicated above, having a crystal clear understanding of what that criteria is (crystal clear to the point of being able to explain it) is vitally necessary to success, all the more because of the potential for self delusion.

[amadan-De]

As I feared, we are not worthy to be given a clear and detailed explanation of theory and practice using Los' own personal experience but rather must once more submit our own to his gimlet gaze.  What is at stake is so much more than the mere fabrication of a desk and yet he will not demonstrate the intimate details of his knowledge and skill to allow us to judge his capacity to instruct as he so wisely advises us to do.
Light, bushel?

[MichaelStaley]

As I indicated above, having a crystal clear understanding of what that criteria is (crystal clear to the point of being able to explain it) is vitally necessary to success, all the more because of the potential for self delusion.

Again, Los, you think that we should all work by your criteria; this is a matter of choice. I'm delighted to hear that you have crystal clear understanding of what it is that you are doing, matched by articularcy in expressing it; that doesn't mean, though, that views expressed with less articularcy on the part of their advocate are thereby of lesser merit. Indeed, some people earn a great deal of money by virtue of being to take any case and advocate it successfully in a competitive environment.

In the case of Chris Stibrany, he has his own methods of working and his own goals, irrespective of whether or not he can articulate them to your satisfaction.

[Los]

Again, Los, you think that we should all work by your criteria

No, not necessarily my criteria -- I would be delighted to have someone give a cogent explanation of how these practices are supposed to work and how the practitioner knows that such practices indeed reveal the True Will.

If a person cannot give such an explanation -- not according to my criteria specifically but according to some criteria by which that individual can judge -- then that person has no basis for thinking that his practices work (not even "to him").

[MichaelStaley]

No, not necessarily my criteria -- I would be delighted to have someone give a cogent explanation of how these practices are supposed to work and how the practitioner knows that such practices indeed reveal the True Will.

I daresay you would, but there's no obligation for Chris or anyone else to delight you.

If a person cannot give such an explanation -- not according to my criteria specifically but according to some criteria by which that individual can judge -- then that person has no basis for thinking that his practices work (not even "to him").

Your opinion on this matter is noted.

[Los]

It occurs to me that in order to begin a discussion on an evaluation of Thelemic practices, I ought to offer my own answers to these questions.

Once more, the questions are:

1) What is the practitioner trying to accomplish?
2) How do the practices work to achieve this goal?
3) How does the practitioner *know* that the practices *do* achieve this goal, and by what *specific criteria* does the practitioner determine that the goal has been reached?

Below are my answers to these questions, illustrating only a handful of practices I employ: 

What is the practitioner trying to accomplish?: The discovery of the True Will, defined as the individual’s nature (authentic inclinations and preferences) in contrast to the false ideas the individual has about his nature (such false ideas frequently involve the distorting tendencies of the mind, including “self image,” morality, ideals, “should” statements [supported by “because” statements…see AL II:27, and this post: http://thelema-and-skepticism.blogspot.com/2011/09/profiles-in-ignorance-2-misinterpreting_10.html], duty, and the expectations of others).

In short, Thelema defines the True Self (“Khabs”) as distinct from the mind/body complex (henceforth referred to as the “Khu”). This distinction is merely a model for labeling aspects of self that one can observe: the distinction is not an assertion of the existence of metaphysical realities. According to Thelema, the Khabs can possess inclinations that can be thwarted by the Khu, which has been produced by evolution to ensure survival, not necessarily happiness or “satisfaction” (the fulfillment of the individual’s true nature). Thus, the Khu tends to misperceive the universe (and the Khabs): these misperceptions are “distorting tendencies.” By distorting perceptions and thwarting the True Will, the Khu produces discomfort and suffering.

The goal of Thelema is to transfer the individual’s attention *away* from the Khu (and its thoughts of how the individual “should” act) and onto the Khabs (and the authentic inclinations of the individual).

How do the practices work to achieve this goal? The only way to accomplish this goal – by the definitions advanced above – is to train the mind to become aware of the ways that the Khu distorts impressions, particularly its impressions of the Khabs. After doing so, the individual can gradually become better at perceiving the Khabs/True Will in real time – free from the distorting tendencies of the mind – and adjust his or her behavior in real time.

“In real time” is an important phrase because, by definition, imagining one’s reactions to situations are part and parcel of the Khu, and the goal is to shift attention *away* from the Khu. One cannot, by definition, discover the True Will by thinking about it because the True Will comprises the natural inclinations of an individual in a given situation. An individual must, therefore, pay attention to his or her natural inclinations while in that given situation.

How one can tell that it works: The primary criteria for determining that one has discovered the True Will is that, over time, one’s sense of internal resistance and discomfort diminishes. This will necessarily be a subjective judgment, but one that most individuals are more than capable of making, particularly over long periods of time. People generally know when they are happy with their lives or not, and though they might make some mistake in the short term, an individual usually has a very good sense of whether he's overall satisfied on a day-to-day basis. It is often – though far from always – an unhappiness with their lives that prompts individuals to seek out “spiritual attainment” and such (though ironically, their unhappiness and their seeking for something outside of themselves is part and parcel of the Khu-illusion: as ever, the proper study of magick will teach them that their mind is playing them traitor).

To the end of discovering the True Will, a variety of practices are useful:

Meditation: The individual stills his or her mind and grows accustomed to perceiving reality without the influences of the conscious-mind overlay of the Khu.

How it works: This practice shows the individual “what it feels like” to perceive without the conscious-mind overlay of the Khu, which is useful to recall when attempting to pay attention to the will in real time. Persistence in the practice aids the individual in realizing, in daily life, the unreality of thoughts and assists him or her to better see through the thoughts (and their distorting influences) in real time.

How one can tell that it works: Success in meditation is judged by perceiving without thoughts, and – when recording the number of “breaks” (the return of thought) – discovering that the number increases in the short term but gradually decreases over time (even though it probably will never vanish entirely). Many practitioners report trance states achieved by this practice, but such trances are side effects, not goals or indications of success.

*
Divination: The individual uses a completely random set of symbols – such as a tarot spread – to “read” events of his or her life.

How it works: By applying a randomly-generated set of symbols (with more or less objective meanings) to one’s life-situations, one can realize other ways of looking at one’s situation. Frequently, one tends to view situations in set ways, dictated by the mind’s thought patterns (overlays of the Khu). By exposing oneself to different ways of interpreting the situation – inspired by a random symbol-set – one can learn the limitations of one’s mind and begin to cultivate broader ways of thinking about situations.

How one can tell that it works: Success in divination yields, over time, a recognition of the mind’s limitations. One will find oneself saying, “Oh, there’s my mind thinking there’s a need to confront this person. My mind always thinks that’s the primary option. But like I learned in those four divinations I did last month, there are many other valid methods of response…this might be one of those times.”

*
Resh: The individual acknowledges the sun’s cycles at various points in the day.

How it works: Resh forces the individual to become more aware of the real world that exists outside of his or her thoughts. By focusing on real things that move in regular cycles, the individual gradually impresses upon his or her mind the reality of the physical world and the relative unreality of the world of thoughts. Thus, the individual can become more adept at seeing through those thoughts. Further, the ritual impresses upon the individual the permanence of the sun beneath the illusions of the earth’s cycle (and thus impresses upon his mind the analogy of the permanence of the Self beneath the illusions of the mind’s cycles).

How one can tell that it works: One finds the thoughts turning with greater frequency toward the Sun – aware of where it is in the sky, how long until the next performance of Resh, of the permanence of this heavenly body. One should also find one’s thoughts getting broader, perceiving so-called “problems” from “The Point of View of the Sun” (i.e. recognizing that the mind has problems but that from the perspective of the Sun and the Universe – not to mention the True Self – these “problems” are really just instances of the mind labeling aspects of reality and getting fooled by attributing “reality” to its labels).

*
The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram: The individual performs a ritual that involves imagining expansion into the universe and balancing the “elements.”

How it works: The LBRP impresses upon the individual’s mind the goal of the Great Work – expansion past the limiting sphere of the mind and the cleansing and equilibration of the “elements” of one’s Self – and generates a mindset conducive to achieving this goal. By expanding outward into the Body of Nuit, the individual identifies with Her Cosmic Indifference to his or her relatively insignificant life on earth. By “banishing” the elements, the individual impresses upon the mind the necessity of removing the obstacles that prevent the perception of the True Will, and by “invoking” the archangels, the individual builds those elements back upon stronger: Air (the ability to perceive), Fire (the True Will), Water (the direction of that Will toward its proper objects), and Earth (the combination of all of the above, producing a trajectory through the world). The ritual acknowledges that these elements spring from a common source (The True Self, spirit, quintessence, the center of the circle) and that even this common source emerges from the forces of the universe (represented by the hexagram). Thus, 5 (the individual) equals 6 (the macrocosm).

How one can tell that it works: Successful performances of the LBRP are typically marked by a feeling of “cleanliness,” both in the area in which the ritual is performed and (more important) in the “aura” of the magician (i.e. one’s sense of self in daily life). This feeling is almost always relaxing and refreshing, and the ritual can be done simply for its own sake, to enjoy these feelings. One should find that routine performance causes the thoughts to drift back to the process of discovering and carrying out the True Will represented by the elements in the ritual. Keeping in mind the Great Work constantly reminds the individual of the task and can help “lift” the individual out of the prison of his or her mind during daily life.
 __________

Anyway, I can go on and on and on and on about various practices and specifically indicate how they work and how one can tell that they work.
The point of all of the above is, by the way, not that I think “everyone should use my criteria! Because I’m a big ol’ meanie non-believer, and I think there’s only one way to do things, and I want to impose “my reality” on everyone!”

Not at all.

The point is one that we all know from our daily lives: *anyone* who wants to achieve a goal of any sort has to have – at the minimum – an understanding of what his goal is, how his chosen practices are supposed to help him reach that goal, how he knows that his practices actually do what he believes that they do, and by what criteria he can tell that the practices have worked. This is true from the simplest tasks (exercising and losing weight, for example), to the most complicated tasks (obtaining a PhD in a chosen subject).

Now obviously, no one is under any kind of obligation to respond to me, but this is a discussion board, you know, and I think it would be a fruitful discussion to hear from other practitioners and to hear their answers to these same questions I’ve just spent this post answering.

As I've said, I don't think "communications" -- of the kind that began this thread -- are capable of revealing information about the True Self or True Will, and I'd be interested is someone could explain how such practice is supposed to work and how one can tell that it actually does, in fact, work.

Those of you playing at home, by the way, might just want to take a stab at answering the above questions for yourself, about your own practices. You [note: "you" is being used in a general sense here, meaning "those people who want to do this for themselves"] should, of course, get in the habit of training yourself to ruthlessly attack your own answers. If you are unable to come up with solid answers – answers that could stand up to rigorous scrutiny by any fair-minded observer – if you are unable to explain exactly what you are trying to do (and how you know you're successful) to any fair-minded person, then that is an indication that, in all likelihood, you don’t have a good grasp on what you are trying to do. As a result, your chances of success are somewhere approaching zero.

[MoogPlayer]

That was posted back in July. It's a shame you didn't have a single person take you up on this. The thread just kind of died.

The lack of response was surely indicative of a lack of interest in the post.

Rather than bemoan the lack of response, why don't you respond now? Just a thought.

I originally wrote this in Herupakraat's thread, but it wasn't really on topic. I'm reposting it here in case Paul wants to close the other thread or delete my post.

My current daily practices consist of Liber Resh, Lesser Banishing/invoking ritual of the pentagram, meditation, and study. I also occasionally do divinations, invocations and other "operations" along those lines, when I feel the need to.

Do these practices work for me? Well, as far as I can tell yes.

Reciting Liber Resh at designated times keeps me on a particular schedule, and helps me to connect with the world outside of my own perception. I work for myself, and am naturally very introverted. This practice helps me break out of that state of mind, and stay focussed when interacting with the rest of the world. Theoretically I could do this many ways. I don't attribute the effectiveness of the ritual to some magical property of the words or actions. It simply works for me. I perform it because Crowley suggested it in his writings, and I write down how I think it's performance effects me in a journal. Reviewing the journal over long periods of time has shown me that it does indeed have this effect on my life.

I also perform the ritual of the pentagram often. It's useful to me when I feel my emotions are overwhelming my ability to think clearly and make decisions... or when I'm about to do something in which I need to significantly change my state of mind. Specific examples would be like when I'm about to play music, or be creative, or engage in some activity where I might "get in my own way". Does that makes sense?

I might use it when I am upset, or aggravated by something (or conversely, when I'm over joyed or over stimulated). It helps me to change the "vibe" of my surroundings.

I record these results in a journal. Repeated performances of this ritual have helped me to keep the feeling it produces at the forefront of my mind. This in turn has made it less necessary to repeat the ritual over time, as well as making it easier for me to achieve the result without having to perform all the actions (i.e. performing it "astrally".)

As for divination, I might as well quote Los because he said almost exactly what I would have said:

By applying a randomly-generated set of symbols (with more or less objective meanings) to one’s life-situations, one can realize other ways of looking at one’s situation. Frequently, one tends to view situations in set ways, dictated by the mind’s thought patterns (overlays of the Khu). By exposing oneself to different ways of interpreting the situation – inspired by a random symbol-set – one can learn the limitations of one’s mind and begin to cultivate broader ways of thinking about situations.

When I feel stumped or I need a fresh perspective on something I use the tarot, or I ching. It usually inspires a whole new rush of thoughts and possibilities that I may have not have been consciously paying attention to before the divination... I also ask friends for advice, but some matters are more private than others and I'd rather consult with "myself".

Meditation for me could mean anything from doing breathing exercises, along with reciting mantras (while sitting in "asana"), to performing specific visualizations and reflecting upon certain tarot cards, or other esoteric principles. I try to make time for this every day. half hour or more.

How do I know if it works? It provides a constant source of inspiration for my art and writing. Meditation actively helps me become better at maintaining the state of mind I would like to be living in. It provides a wealth of insight and drives me to ask questions about things that I would normally remain ignorant of.

Occasionally I perform invocations or other "magical" ceremonies like the construction of talismans and etc. These are usually created based off the principles given by Crowley, and adhere to hermetic and cabalistic symbolism.

Knowing when to do this or not can sometimes be tricky, and is a matter for meditation.

I perform this kind of "magic" because I understand the cabalistic principles to represent certain aspects of my psyche. When I need access to, or balancing in one principle or another, these practices help my mind to change gears. To move more in the directions I would like it to.

These practices help inspire and affect my art/music, as well as my state of mind, and possibly have effects on other areas of my life. I write any results in my journal, and typically fall back on 777 and other available resources to analyze the experiences.

My studies include any kind of reading or research I am doing... this could be magic, music, art, philosophy, science, politics, etc.

Throughout all of this I keep a magical journal, as suggested by Crowley. This helps me look back over long periods of time and see whether or not I am actually making progress. Sometimes it takes months to look back and evaluate things that I was too personally close to at the time it. Keeping up the practices even when I feel discouraged, and then checking the journal after the fact, often reveals a lot about whats been beneficial and what hasn't.

I'm also a member of a magical order which I will not name. Thats where I learned to perform Resh, and the other things I do (some of which are secret, obviously). Many of my peers and teachers do believe in reincarnation and spirits, etc. but we are not expected or required to. I joined because I wanted to be part of a community of people who shared an interest in these topics.

A big reason I do any of this is because it makes me happy. It is what I like to spend my time doing. Also because I am trying to gain a better idea about what True will is, and how it manifests. This is how Crowley has suggested to seek it out.

I don't maintain that these practices give me special powers, or special knowledge about life after death, or the nature of the soul, etc.

Now that I have answered, I hope others will continue do the same...

[Los]

I also perform the ritual of the pentagram often.

"Neglect not the Performance of the Ritual of the Pentagram" -- Liber Aleph

It's useful to me when I feel my emotions are overwhelming my ability to think clearly and make decisions... or when I'm about to do something in which I need to significantly change my state of mind. Specific examples would be like when I'm about to play music, or be creative, or engage in some activity where I might "get in my own way". Does that makes sense?

I might use it when I am upset, or aggravated by something (or conversely, when I'm over joyed or over stimulated). It helps me to change the "vibe" of my surroundings.

I'll second this. The effects of the pentagram ritual are profoundly "centering" and calming, and they give a feeling of having "chased away" anything potentially obstructive to an exercise of the Will, in any form. (Of course, just because it feels this way doesn't mean that one actually has chased away anything potentially obstructive, which is why continued application in paying attention and course-correcting is necessary: but the "cleanliness" feeling of the pentagram ritual can give one a clearer starting point from which to perform this observation/corection).

Some practitioners report that the pentagram rituals intensify emotions, rather than calm them. For example, some claim that performing the ritual while angry will intensify the anger, etc. I'm sure the ritual affects different people in different ways, but I've never personally experienced that. The feeling for me is always a "chasing away" of these feelings, especially in the Star Ruby ("Apo Pantos Kakodaimonos!"). The best course of action is experimentation, which can be aided by the use of a journal, as you say.

Occasionally I perform invocations or other "magical" ceremonies [...] I perform this kind of "magic" because I understand the cabalistic principles to represent certain aspects of my psyche. When I need access to, or balancing in one principle or another, these practices help my mind to change gears. To move more in the directions I would like it to.

I overlooked mentioning Invocation in my post above (probably because I rarely use these kinds of ceremonies any more), but I'll agree with MoogPlayer that the basic purpose of them is to put the practitioner in touch with parts of the Self represented by the forces invoked. The purpose could be anything from generating inspiration for art, to building up one's confidence before a big speech, to helping to consecrate a space to a specific purpose (for example, invoking the energies of Jupiter into a room that one intends to be a professional office at home, etc.).

These "invocations" are purely psychological. There are no oogity-boogity forces leaping out the cosmos to your call because you decided to concentrate real hard: but instead, you're reinforcing in your own mind the purpose of these things. Just as saying "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" as a greeting -- or saying Will or performing Resh -- can function as a reminder of the Great Work, to keep the individual focused on the goal and continually "lift" the individual out of normal thought-patterns, so too can looking at that Mercury talisman in your pocket before the big speech or looking at the objects sacred to Jupiter in the office consistently lift the mind out of its normal patterns and remind it of the focus and goals you have.

There's a deeper purpose to this invocation stuff, too. Recall that Crowley starts Magick in Theory and Practice by affirming:

The sincere student will discover, behind the symbolic technicalities of this book, a practical method of making himself a Magician. The processes described will enable him to discriminate between what he actually is, and what he has fondly imagined himself to be.

So once again, the "symbolic technicalities" of magick enable a student to practice Thelema. And remember, the heart of Thelema is distinguishing between "what he actually is, and what he has fondly imagined himself to be."

All this "ritual magick" stuff is merely symbolic of the process by which a person accomplishes this heart of Thelema.

With that in mind, let's turn to what Crowley says about invocation:

the whole being of the Magician, no minutest atom saying nay, is irresistibly flung forth. In blinding light, amid the roar of ten thousand thunders, the Union of God and man is consummated.

 If the Magician is still seen standing in the Circle, quietly pursuing his invocations, it is that all the conscious part of him has become detached from the true ego which lies behind that normal consciousness. But the circle is wholly filled with that divine essence; all else is but an accident and an illusion.

The subsequent invocations, the gradual development and materialization of the force, require no effort. It is one great mistake of the beginner to concentrate his force upon the actual stated purpose of the ceremony. This mistake is the most frequent cause of failures in invocation.

 A corollary of this Theorem is that the Magician soon discards evocation almost altogether — only rare circumstances demand any action what ever on the material plane. The Magician devotes himself entirely to the invocation of a god; and as soon as his balance approaches perfection he ceases to invoke any partial god; only that god vertically above him is in his path. And so a man who perhaps took up Magick merely with the idea of acquiring knowledge, love, or wealth, finds himself irrevocably committed to the performance of The Great Work.

It will now be apparent that there is no distinction between magick and meditation except of the most arbitrary and accidental kind.

This is some brilliant stuff. And just as Crowley says of the LBRP, "Those who regard this ritual as a mere device to invoke or banish spirits, are unworthy to possess it. Properly understood, it is the Medicine of Metals and the Stone of the Wise," we can also say that anyone who sees the above as mere instructions for performing ceremonies is unworthy of possessing this invaluable instruction.

I've bolded some of the significant parts, but let me go through and put a finer point on them. In the first place, what Crowley is talking about here, essentially, is how the process of creating change in the world (i.e. "magick," that is to say, regular ol' mundane activites) is itself a version of meditation.

How so? The clue is in the fact that the magician -- in order to be successful -- must become completely identified with the invoked force. From there, the result will flow freely, not from any conscious "effort" on the magician's part. Look at these golden words: "It is one great mistake of the beginner to concentrate his force upon the actual stated purpose of the ceremony."

Compare with Liber AL I, 44: "For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect."

"lust of result" can be glossed as "the foolish belief that any particular result will make all of one's problems go away." We might also call it an "if only." "Oh, "if only" I had that job (car, relationship, understanding), my life would be great!" One becomes obsessed with a particular goal, rather than understanding that goals only have meaning in relation to the Will, which is dynamic.

Desiring to "invoke" a force for a "goal" -- which, let's remember is just an analogy for setting oneself a goal in everyday life -- often starts from one of these "if onlies." Crowley is saying that a properly performed invocation can erode one's attachment to the "if only" by completely identifying the magician with the force.

So, for example, say a guy wants to obtain a meaningful relationship, so he decides to "invoke Venus" (go out to places to meet people, turn on the ol' charm, etc.). In order to truly succeed -- says Crowley -- he's going to have to identify himself completely with Venus (the Love aspect of his True Self), and then the result will flow from there. That is to say, before he can truly succeed, he needs to understand that his goal isn't really the main focus of the operation -- it isn't something that's going to make his life instantly better. Just different. Just like every breath makes his life different.

Success in this matter may have surprising results: he may come to realize that he has (within him already) everything that he needs and that he doesn't need to look outside of himself for any particular kind of fulfillment. Or her may realize that his Will impels him to search for a partner, but to do so playfully, in the spirit of the joy of exploring the diversity of existence.

Now we can see why the "pure will" is "every way perfect": it's not only perfect in itself, it is perfect in "every way" it gets expressed, not just the narrow "if only" way that the mind tries to cram it into.

Continued application may lead the magician to realize, too, that his Self is more than just Love or Communication or Business-sense or whatnot. His Self is something greater than these things put together: that ultimately, each of these "aspects" of Self -- or, rather, his understanding of them -- is a falsified mental construct and not the Real Thing underneath.

He comes to desire more and more to identify with his True Self at all times. And thus he begins the process of the Greatest Invocation of All: The Invocation of the HGA. This operation -- even more than other invocations -- necessitates a passive offering of the magician's Self to the beloved. Preparing the temple (i.e. "banishing" the thoughts and emotions that cover the True Self) and awaiting the indwelling of Spirit.

Invoke often.

[MichaelStaley]

And remember, the heart of Thelema is distinguishing between "what he actually is, and what he has fondly imagined himself to be."

No, it's not. The heart of Thelema is the realisation and fulfillment of the True Will. Self observation is one of a variety of methods.

It's like saying that pratyahara is the heart of yoga. It's not. The heart of yoga is Union, and pratyahara is one of several techniques in pursuit of that.

[Los]

And remember, the heart of Thelema is distinguishing between "what he actually is, and what he has fondly imagined himself to be."

No, it's not. The heart of Thelema is the realisation and fulfillment of the True Will.

"Realizing the True Will" is just another way of saying "distinguishing between 'what [the student] actually is, and what he has fondly imagined himself to be.'" Crowley -- you know, the guy who invented the term "True Will" -- says as much, dozens of times over many decades.

Self observation is one of a variety of methods.

Just to be extra clear, the method I explicate isn't merely "self-observation," but "self-observation plus course-correction." The student must learn the specific ways that his or her particular mind deceives him or her and then must catch the mind in the act, and adjust behavior accordingly. Without adjusting behavior, one is not "attaining" to anything at all, since the whole point of discovering the True Will in the first place is to produce real changes in one's life.

Now you continuously assert that I'm wrong: that True Will means something else, that there are other methods by which to discover it. But you've never -- not once, to my knowledge -- justified what you say with anything more than assertion. You've never, for example, offered to explain what you think True Will is or why you think your definition of True Will is a good one (especially since the few minor indications you've given of what your definition might be [i.e. "cosmic and not personal"] contradict the definition used in Thelema). You've never explained what practices you think could discover the True Will, or why one would think that these practices would enable someone to discover the True Will, or the criteria by which one can judge these practices effective.

If you'd like to support your assertions with cogent explanation, then the floor is yours. If you'd like to have a critical discussion about things written in this thread by me (or by MoogPlayer, who also gave an intelligent and critical estimation of his practices), then the floor is yours.

But if all you want to do is jump up and down crying, "No! No! You're wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, so there!" then people are going to rightly start wondering if you even have anything of substance to offer.

[Los]

Since I'm glancing over one of the posts I wrote, I might as well make this point:

the basic purpose of [invocations] is to put the practitioner in touch with parts of the Self represented by the forces invoked. The purpose could be anything from generating inspiration for art, to building up one's confidence before a big speech, to helping to consecrate a space to a specific purpose (for example, invoking the energies of Jupiter into a room that one intends to be a professional office at home, etc.).

Yes, the "basic purpose" of these operations is to do so. But one would be foolish to think that these operations actually do this without bothering to investigate.

I can't remember where I read it right now, but there was some study that suggested that things like "affirmations" (you know, of the Stuart Smalley variety: looking in the mirror and telling yourself, "I'm good enough, smart enough, and gosh darnit, people like me!") can actually harm people's self-esteem more than they help, simply by reinforcing an ideal and making the person feel bad when they can't live up to that ideal.

It may be that one is going to "perform an operation to invoke Mercury to secure a success at public speaking," as a sort of over-elaborate affirmation in the mirror, but one might be mistaken to assume that it actually is doing very much in the way of giving one confidence or helping one out at all.

Now, of course, it might just be that one *enjoys* performing these rituals for their own sake or *enjoys*, say, decorating a room in line with objects "sacred" to a particular god, etc. And that's totally fine. But it's a huge, glaring mistake to think "Well, this ritual puts me in touch with a part of myself and will therefore make me better at activity X." It very well might not.

It just goes to show the importance of subjecting all of this stuff to very careful and critical tests and to be skeptical about the "results" of this stuff, even when it's interpreted in the most mundane ways possible.

I think if there is any benefit to "invocations" and "talismans," it's precisely in serving as reminders to the Self of what it's trying to accomplish, as triggers that can serve to pull the mind out of its usual routines and impress upon it the goals that it is in danger of forgetting when the fog of the mind grows thick.