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To: alt.magick.tyagi,talk.religion.newage,alt.satanism,talk.religion.misc,alt.pagan,alt.individualism From: satanservice.org@boboroshi (SOD of the CoE) Subject: Dark New Ageism and the LHP Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 08:09:02 GMT RE the difference between RHP/LHP as collective/individual: this does indeed serve to emphasize the RHP-orientation of most New Agers. exceptions I can think of relegated the entirety of the individual path to some mystical dimension such that one realistically might compare it with a type of Solipsism ('You are God. Your experience is the manifestation of the cosmos. You can only have knowledge or authority about your own Path' and the like), which makes collective approaches more potentially practical and strategic than any kind of absolute necessity. RE: "Create Your Own Reality (CYOR)" cosmology there are really 2 versions of this I've encountered, speaking strictly from a cosmological perspective: 1a -- 'Weak' CYOR: 'reality' herein described constitues *only* one's own, and in this sense is a buffer of *experience* which one conditions through mysticism or has conditioned *for* one (often by society, or by one's upbringing), 'colouring' it or 'prejudicing' one's perspective and, by extension, the quality of one's experience of the universe; this 'reality' is acknowledged as relative to each individual and constitutes a rough equivalent of reifying the term 'experience', it having been unfairly dismissed by hard-core materialists as composed of 'nothing real or meaningful'. 1b -- 'Strong' CYOR: 'reality' herein described constitutes *everything* that surrounds one, including events, interactions with all others, and the varying levels of challenge and error which on encounters during life; no real attempt is usually made to explain how these various creative processes are meshed if we're all creating our surrounding reality simultaneously: often this is overlooked or ascribed to the power of some morally-discerning or all powerful divinity which is, at times, related to our composite 'spirit' or 'consciousness'. RE K&C/HGA usually I've heard the K&C/HGA referred to as an *experience* or even an "Adventure" which is classed with things Rosicrucian and quasi- Kabbalistic (usually Christian/Hermetic variants on some of the same) 'Crossing (of) the Abyss' or 'Ascertainment of (one's/the) Logos' (or 'Word' in a Rosicrucian ascension): in general psychospiritual developments. the Adventure is amusingly varied in an approach to its 'accomplishment', the occultist even concealing to some degree, or merging, the technology from one tradition with that of another for the purposes of proclamation of hir grand escalation of power and spiritual maturation. e.g. Crowley's usage of "The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage" and Enochian Magic for his particular trascendental, supposedly maturing, experiences. the LHP people I've known occasionally looked *down* on the whole mystical process and its various metaphors, correctly (by my measure) understanding the degrees of likelihood that these things are going to be misused and subject to the machinations of those struggling for better Herd positions. RE the problem of practical techniques to attain: this isn't just a Satanist problem. there are very many accounts of the endpoint Carrot upon which the Herd is invited to focus its attentions (at times while the edifice promoting it bilks them). it is in some measure a testimony to conservatism (how can I tell if what is working for me will be of value to others?) and practicality (if I have something unique, I may get tricked into spending my time teaching, and I may not want to do that :>) that the diversity of possible paths is unseen. it also seems that those promoted tend to favour the interests of collectives, hierarchies, and social orders investing in the propaganda. for this reason I have favoured studies with what are termed 'unseen intelligences' initially over that of human schools and masters. there is some good support of this in both RHP New Age and LHP currents such as those clinging to Rosicrucian edifices (von Eckhartshausen and his "Cloud Upon the Sanctuary", Bulwer Lytton's "Zanoni" and a number of others foment investigation into such peculiar 'colleges'). presumed the Central Intelligence Agency for the transphysical, it is interesting to note the diversity of their instruction and the types of individuals who wish to promote their material to other humans. RE the 'Make Up Your Own Path' Critics I've heard my share of haughty criticisms of "Have It The Way You Want It Spirituality", but never anything that gave me a rational leg up on opposing it where it remains humble and conservative. in fact, my first experiences with rite and advice from such intelligences (part of a course on Wizardry) was as regards the unimportance of form. "If one's will is strong enough," it was explained, "then whatever course is taken will get one to the Summum Bonum, True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness." I'm not sure I believe this, but it is consoling in association with Dark New Age attitudes toward smorgasbord path-construction. a good deal of the motivation for reproduceable or reliable testimonies on the spiritual path is selfish on *someone*'s part. we naturally want to gravitate toward that which is liable to lead us to a better experience (qualitatively or sensorily), and denigrating those which are not universal (or at least marketable as such :>) seems, to a good many RHP collectivists, a social service. in fact, it may not be more than a distraction away from hedonistic, antisocial, unique, and/or self-aggrandizing (originally LHP) trajectories. also, these may survive if somehow transformed into a usable and socially-stable institution (e.g. Mormonism), in contrast to those which appear to be founded entirely on mythos (Christianity, the Cult of Lao, Xiwangmu, Neopagan recreationism, etc.). it was in part the New Age antagonism to the sanctity and sovereignty of individual magic and ritual that had me evaluating it as 'not dark enough', so I think I'm right with you on this point. at some point there simply is no room made for critical analysis and the novel, unique pathway. either it is universalizable, or it is suspect and subjected to conservative tests. RE the inherent unusualness of LHP optimism thus my abject lack of qualification for any real and lasting goth-connections: I'm an optimist. :> RE the macabre/negative as a useful technique/platform this is a wonderful testimony to the power of moving beyond 'dark/light' into a more pragmatic and, by my limited understanding, healthy relationship to the cosmos at large. it is one of the reasons that I've tried to tie together fluffy-bunnyism with Satanism, walk the Satanist path as part of a Christian Formula derived from the New Testament and its Elemental Initiation, and consider the spectrum to be something from which I'd like to sample in a collage, making my way, rather than sticking with some age-old program I hope will serve those following it in the way that they desire. RE positive expectations generating desired results I'm not sure this is true, but I have found it to be a generally more enjoyable ride when laying a foundation of supportive, confident willfulness. at times this has yielded failure, but on the whole, as they say, it seems better to have ventured. :> RE LHP rejection of 'surrendering to a higher power': it is difficult for me to know where to draw the line with such surrender. I've known distantly of demonolaters, for example, and could consider myself to be amongst their number, throwing myself before the Queen of Demons as much out of love as out of some sincere means of reigning in the problems of egotism and debauch that tend to ravage my compatriots in the occult world. RE LHP rejection of 'subordinating oneself to a larger whole' and the like this is where it begins to touch on the collective and therefore becomes completely engulfed in the RHP. there are 'cross-over hits' for the 'LHP community' which approximate to this kind of self-negation or self-betrayal. some ceremonial magicians promote 'the death of the ego', for example, and even quasi-bhakti notions like 'the blood of the saints of Babalon' at which we may verily wonder whether said Lady is vampiric. RE CYOR practical issues ...that experience is malleable, programmable by the clever religio- magician (cf. sources like 'Undoing Yourself' by Anterro Alli and other self-manipulation/masturbation manuals) does not explain what our best aim might be given the limitations with which we are really faced. if the Weak CYOR orients in the face of a largely materialistic truth underlying engineering and the growth and development of consciousness, then this may be sufficient for any purposes one acquires. *Strong* CYOR can be somewhat daunting to those who have strong guilt-ridden complexes as a result of abusive influences in childhood or other intimacy. it may be seen as incredibly arrogant to effectively take on a Solipsistic subjective set. occultists are sometimes keen to adopt a more dualistic and less aggrandized version of this in polarity-devotion ('regarding all eventualities as dealings with the Great Divinity as part of an interaction between that Divinity and oneself'; aka 'Oath of the Abyss'). thanks again blessed beast! boboroshi at-sign satanservice.org: Satanic Outreach Director Church of Euthanasia: http://www.churchofeuthanasia.org/ TOKUS WEBLINKS: http://dmoz.org/Bookmarks/B/boboroshi/ Ninth Scholar's Library (Satanism Archive): http://www.satanservice.org/
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