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This principle, called the
Law of Thelema ,
will provide the basis for the ethical and moral teachings of our new Church.
Please understand, lest you be led astray, that this means:
find out what your true will is, and then do that, and nothing else.
This maxim is based on a
theology for the New Aeon, the next phase of human evolution. It views
Samadhi or Illumination as a prerequisite, a basic starting point, rather
than the final goal, as it was viewed by Old Aeon systems.
Once one’s mind has been
“turned on” to the light of the macrocosmic perspective, the true will, or the
optimum choice that an individual can make in every situation, can be clearly
distinguished from the “false will,” the idle whims and desires of the finite
ego.
Ultimately, the true will of
every woman and every man is identical with the “divine will” as it applies to
them. The Christian prayer, “Thy will be done,” and the Thelemic commandment,
“Do what thou wilt,” are identical from a Luminist perspective, as the hidden
identity between one’s real Self and the Deity has been revealed and recognized.
Thus, the new spiritual orientation proposed here is a fulfillment of, rather
than a contradiction of, the old religions of Earth. (As it was written in the
Testament of Christ: I am come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it.)
Karmic Patterns
From the universal or
macrocosmic perspective, it can be seen that the choices we make every moment of
our lives — our every action, every spoken word, and even every thought — cause
waves of vibration to radiate out through the universe, forming intricate
patterns and designs as they resonate and interact. These patterns, which can be
“read” clairvoyantly by Initiates, give color and shape to the experienced
reality of incarnate beings in the material worlds. (The subtle impressions made
in the trans-spatiotemporal “æther” or psychoplasm by these patterns are
traditionally called “the
akashic records”.)
The Divine Will (the collective
consciousness of all that is in its active mode), motivated by an aesthetic
sense of beauty and harmony, reaches out into time and space and shapes these
karmic patterns into artistically pleasing designs. From the incarnate or
particular perspective, this shaping action manifests as our own deepest or most
intrinsic volition (true will), if we attend to and attune ourselves to it. By
aligning our conscious will with our true will (or, in mystical terms,
surrendering the ego to the divine), we allow our lives to be harmonized with
the Cosmic Purpose.
The Fates
An image of this process is
given in the inspired paganism of ancient Greece: The experiences we have in
life are symbolized as threads of destiny that are interwoven on the cosmic loom
with the strands of possibility, into a tapestry of intricate design. The
weaving is done by the Goddesses of Fate (Clotho,
Lachesis, and Atropos).
Devout prayers and invocations directed to these Goddesses have been known to
produce truly miraculous effects.
The individual is the final
authority for all practical applications of the Law of Thelema, “Do what thou
wilt.” Nevertheless, though every individual is unique, certain ethical
teachings will be found to be universally applicable. Among them, the Church of
Gnostic Luminism will recognize these:
Personal Responsibility:
Participants in the experience of gnostic revelation will find that they are
ethically bound to live in such a way that their every action, word, and
thought aids the spiritual evolution of all sentient beings, rather than
hindering or distracting others from it. (No actions are neutral; each
either weighs or lifts).
Harmlessness:
All life is sacred; every living being is a manifestation in material
form of the Divine One. We must each live in such a way as to cause the
least possible harm to the other beings that share our reality. This is the
ideal referred to in Christianity as “the golden rule” — and the same idea
appears in almost all traditional religions of the world. Obviously this
implies an attitude of forbearance and compassion for other beings we
encounter in life. Other implications include the following:
Vegetarianism: Refraining from the eating of animal flesh and the use
of products resulting from the slaughter of animals (fur, leather,
animal-fat soaps, etc.), and preferably avoiding as well commercially
produced chicken eggs (which support the lifelong torture of literally
billions of animals) and bovine mammary secretions (milk) (an industry
interlocked with the “veal” market which slaughters baby cows that are
cruelly tortured for the duration of their short lives).
Pacifism: Refusing to participate in the deliberate infliction of
physical harm to other beings, except for acts of self-defense or defense of
loved ones; boycotting militarism and other forms of organized violence,
including the payment of taxes used for such purposes; and in our private
lives, avoiding the projection of anger and destructive thoughts at others,
which constitute violence on a telepathic level.
Anarchism:
Refusing to participate in or condone social institutions that allow
coercion of, or the deprivation of essential life support to any person;
working for the elimination of all such institutions; and in our private
lives, seeking solutions within family and community that do not involve
coercion or deprivation.
Truthfulness: We must each strive always to refrain from deliberately
misinforming, misleading, or deceiving others, either by commission (lying,
bearing false witness) or omission (failing to fully and accurately embody
and represent the truth). Lack of truthfulness creates static and dissonance
in the collective psyche, prevents conscious telepathic communion, isolates
us from other beings and from higher consciousness, and inhibits the
development of Gnostic Illumination. (Of course, tactical compromises may be
necessary in these Last Days of pre-revolutionary society, and during the
revolutionary period itself; but we must not lose sight of the ideal, nor
forget to adhere to it in our homes, liberated areas, and guerilla camps;
for it will form the cornerstone of post-revolutionary society.)
Purity:
We must strive to constantly maintain an awareness of the sacredness of
Life in all of Its manifestations, eliminating from our lives anything that
dulls or distracts from the vision. Such areas as diet, hygiene, home
economics, family relations, and sexuality are directly related to this
concern, which is reflected in the first two of the Eight Limbs of Yoga,
yama and niyama.
Social responsibility: Our individual lives comprise essential
elements of the social groups and communities that we move through and
partake of. As we move among them, we must strive to be aware of the effects
we are having on each. Our external responsibilities are as important as our
“internal” responsibilities to ourselves; the difference is just a question
of which part of the phenomenon you choose to focus your attention on. The
following are among the essential guidelines for conscious,
Illumination-friendly interpersonal and community relations:
Custodianship of personal resources: The “property” that life has
placed under our control comprises a trust that we are caring for on behalf
of the community that we are a part of. It is our responsibility to care for
such property, and to make it available to those who, in our judgment, most
need it, or could most benefit from it: it is for such ones that it has been
placed temporarily in our hands. This particularly applies to:
Land and natural resources.
The necessities of life, such as food, shelter, and medicine, and the
facilities for their production and distribution.
Books, works of art, musical recordings and instruments, and other cultural
and educational resources.
Care of the less fortunate: It is everyone’s responsibility to share in
the care of those among us who are temporarily or permanently unable to
provide for themselves. Rather than exteriorizing this responsibility and
placing it in the hands of “government” or other forces outside of
ourselves, we must each recognize our own responsibility and make it a
priority to ensure that those close to us are properly cared for.
Participation in collective decision-making: Freedom implies
responsibility. To maintain a free society, we must each take an active part
in shaping the collective decisions that affect our lives. We must learn to
cooperate on areas where agreement is possible, while agreeing to disagree
about other matters; and we must learn to reach agreements in a
non-threatening, non-authoritarian, non-hierarchical manner.
Ecological responsibility: A major area of
ethical concern is our responsibility to the planet of which we are a part.
Custodianship of planetary resources: We must strive to be aware of the
effects our actions will have on future generations, and of our
responsibility to maintain the balance of the living systems that make up
our environment. Through involvement in collective decision-making at all
levels of society, we must constantly remind others of this vital
responsibility.
Preservation of biodiversity: We must act to ensure the safety of the
myriads of species of life that share our world, and protect their habitats
from disturbance or destruction. Technologies and industries that are
harmful to Earth and / or Her inhabitants must be either abolished, or moved
to a safe distance from the planet’s fragile biosphere.
The infinite expanse of space awaits us with unlimited opportunity for
alternative locations to which industries harmful to the planet’s bioplasm
can be safely moved. The development of extraterrestrial space for
human industrial use must be made a top priority. In space, unlimited
free solar energy can be tapped, and harmful wastes can be disposed of by
placing them on barges and pushing them into the Sun. Raw materials on Luna
and in the Asteroid Belt can be used to build and fuel a fleet of self-replicating industrial/agricultural habitats.
Alternatives to the primitive and dirty rocket propulsion system must be
developed to make our access to extraterrestrial space safe and affordable.
Construction of a permanent “elevator
cable”
anchored on Earth and tethered in zero-G space, as portrayed in Arthur C.
Clarke’s novel The Fountains of Paradise, could make space travel
as routine as a railway line. The industries that remain inside the
biosphere must be certified harmless to organic life. We must accept no less
than the declaration of a protected wildlife habitat zone covering the
entire planet.
Our motto will be:
“Heal the Earth that gave us
birth;
seize the stars whose wealth is ours!”
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