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Do what thou
wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
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.
The Divine Will
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”.)
Divine Esthetics
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.
Universally
Applicable Ethical Principles
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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