Problems
Dear Friend,
Si Vales, Valeo
Thank you for the profound question:
“I've heard you often say that Thelema contains the solution to all the world's problems. I would like to ask you how you feel Thelema could help us avoid the damage we have done about global warming, poverty, the rise of fascism and other man-made disasters.”
I wished more Thelemites would think about these things. We are, after all, the only ones that can address these issues. The easiest thing to do, of course is to look at the root of all the world’s problems and then the solution becomes clear.
Our heads have been crammed for two thousand years of superstition and indoctrinated with the idea that we're different and separate from nature; that “God” has given us dominion over it, and that it is our birthright handed down to us from Adam. We have been led to believe that this beautiful Garden is the devil's playground and there's a better place somewhere else. In other words, social conditioning. It wasn't always nefarious. It worked great for a very long time, until people began to confuse the message with the messenger. So, a religion that practiced compassion, anarchism, revolution, and liberation turned into a personality cult: instead of doing what Jesus did, humans were told they just needed to believe in Jesus. This was done for political reason, I mean, the Church couldn’t have rebellion when they were collecting so much money from the poor and had so much influence over government, but this is the topic for another time. I recommend getting a copy of Genesis Libri AL and reading Chapter VII very carefully. (Equinox of The Gods, 1991, 93 Publishing)
So you might wonder how, after 2000 years, people still believe in that stuff. It may surprise you that most people don’t really. They say they do, but they don’t. If it were only as easy as educating people! It is buried deep in our racial memory. In what Jung calls the Universal Unconscious, and it now runs like a badly designed piece of software in the background… without our awareness. We cannot apply patches to it like you would a computer program, because most people don’t even know it is modifying their behavior. I guess you just get used to the cognitive dissonance. Trust me, Christian apologists that realize the issue to some degree have tried applying patches since time immemorial to no avail. If the fruit is rotten, you cut the tree.
In other words, the sense of adventure, power through shaping the world and taking charge over events was taken out of the human experience and replaced with the idea that everything has already been planned out, so we may as well do nothing. Thelema also states, in so many words, that each of us has a purpose and that we must find it at all costs. So, what does this mean?
Imagine the universe being a puzzle with uncountable pieces. Say, for the sake of argument, that you are a puzzle piece. That puzzle is in a constant state of re-creation, and if the piece doesn't fit, the puzzle is forced to adapt to accommodate that ill-fitting piece and become less and less like the universe is trying to become. That messes up the very few pieces of the puzzle which fit perfectly and must now flex and shift to accommodate the people in love with their apathy.
Now imagine a universe where all the pieces fit as designed. Who knows what might happen. No war? And end to poverty? The recognition of the Divine Source, and our place within it?
So how does Thelema address our present problems? By teaching us (among other things) that “there is no good but man.” Man is responsible for these problems, and man has created them. And here is the good news: Man can fix it.
All of this said, I addressed the issue back in 2003 with a piece I wrote which follows below in its entirety for your convenience.
“If we accept that there is neither a heaven or a hell, we renounce the idea of any power beyond the perception of science we then must accept responsibility for all we do in this life for there will be no form of atonement afterwards.” - Dominic Webb
Whether one believes in god or not, I think the quote above explains the challenges that humans face in the New Aeon. In other words: we are responsible. We are responsible for world hunger; we are responsible for what is being done to the planet in the name of capitalism and economic growth; we are responsible for health care becoming a commodity for those that can afford it, and we are responsible for imperialism. We will be held accountable.
Yes, we are responsible. But do we act like it? That is the horrible truth all humans of our time must face. The atheist and the deist don’t have “God” to kick around anymore: surely by now the deist has learned that God helps those that help themselves and has discovered that help usually comes by way of humans. The lights are on, and it is the humans who are caught with their pants down. Everybody knows, as the song goes.
One cannot simultaneously hold the belief that there is no other god than man (whatever that may mean to you) and close our eyes to the problems that plague today's world. Of course, one can simply choose to ignore the entire issue… at least until it begins to affect them personally, and then the complaining, weeping and gnashing of teeth begins, which is what I have observed usually occurs in human nature. But it is said that “by their fruit we shall know them,” and so it becomes very simple to tell the posers from the real thing. Find and work with the real thing.
How concerned are they with current events? Do they get involved? Try to be a part of the solution, of simply ignoring the problem? How do they view human suffering? Do they instinctively invoke OZ, or “the slaves shall serve” when asked what they are doing about the problem? Do they appear to labor under the false assumption that to oppose religion they must also oppose responsibility and charity? Do they tell you it is “dumb” or “Old Aeon”? There are some self-proclaimed uber-Thelemites (You know… the real loud ones who are always shouting from their couches or computer desk but can’t seem to put any idea into action) who will tell you that religion is inseparable from charity and responsibility, and these concepts are therefore alien to Thelema. Doesn't that sound a little “old aeon” too? What do they suppose Crowley meant by “Agape?” Here is my wish for the New Year. It isn't for world peace… as a species we have not yet evolved enough to value human life over the dollar yet and we seem to still believe that capitalism is the solution to all our problems. Capitalism is the new religion, and the dollar is the sacrament. It isn't an end to hunger, or medical care for all because food and medical appear to be commodities for those that can afford them. Instead, I will shoot for something more easily attainable: My wish is for an end to the hypocrisy that exists in our own philosophical paradigm. I hope for Thelemites to wake up from their comfortable, smug existence of casting judgment from the ivory towers of their computers and lazyboy couches to the fact that they have defiled and desecrated the spirit of Thelema long enough, and that Thelema is about doing ones True Will, not trying to figure out creative ways of getting out of it.
Or you can just blow this off and write me off as delusional… but that still won’t make you any less accountable. Only action and responsibility will make you that.
Thank you for indulging me.
Pax Profunda