"Do Your Will" -- What this means

treedog

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law"

What does this mean to you; how does it play out on a rainy/sunny Wednesday afternoon?
 

Zephyros

The comment in the Book of Law forbids me to answer that })
 

Richard

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law"

What does this mean to you; how does it play out on a rainy/sunny Wednesday afternoon?
Maybe this will help, a little anyhow. ETA. Please note that I am not personally answering your question. :joke:
 

Zephyros

LOL! That obviously didn't deter Crowley from violating that comment. :D

He didn't, actually. Read the Message carefully. He speaks of the single-mindedness of pursuing the Will, of finding out what it is, how you must carry It out and nothing but, and that if everyone carried out their Wills, there would be no clashes. However, nowhere does he implicitly say what a Will is, how it is carried out, how to look for it or what to do when you find it. Even the Old and New Commentaries, dealing extensively with the Will, mainly deal in what it isn't (spiritual slavery, guilt, etc.). They speak of the freedom of Thelema and its implications, and how, like a god, you are free to carry out your will, but not what it is you should carry out.
 

Richard

He didn't, actually. Read the Message carefully. He speaks of the single-mindedness of pursuing the Will, of finding out what it is, how you must carry It out and nothing but, and that if everyone carried out their Wills, there would be no clashes. However, nowhere does he implicitly say what a Will is, how it is carried out, how to look for it or what to do when you find it. Even the Old and New Commentaries, dealing extensively with the Will, mainly deal in what it isn't (spiritual slavery, guilt, etc.). They speak of the freedom of Thelema and its implications, and how, like a god, you are free to carry out your will, but not what it is you should carry out.
Your comments obviously reek of sophistry, but if you insist..... :)
 

Zephyros

Your comments obviously reek of sophistry, but if you insist..... :)

They usually do. :)

But I do have a point! Hopefully... Most of the texts extant do exactly what I did, skirt around the issue without actually saying anything concrete. In Duty Crowley writes that True Will is the "inherent Nature" of the individual, which is also rather vague, simply replacing one inexplicable term for another.

Thelemapedia said:
In "De Lege Libellum" (Liber CL), Crowley defines True Will as the will which does not "rest content with things partial and transitory, but ... proceed firmly to the End," and in the same passage he identifies that "End" as the destruction of oneself in Love, the uniting of the self with the not-self resulting in the loss of the sense of individuality, as if the ego is a drop of water that is united with the ocean. In one sense, the drop is lost forever. In an other sense, the drop becomes none other than the ocean itself.


Add to the above that

Aiwass said:
For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is in every way Perfect

by which you must carry out your Will because it is your will and for no other purpose, and you have a term so abstract that by the nature of its definition, part of carrying out your Will is defining the bloody word in the first place!

However,

"In our Holy Books are given sundry means of making this discovery, and each must make it for himself, attaining absolute conviction by direct experience, not merely reasoning and calculating what is probable. And to each will come the knowledge of his finite will, whereby one is a poet, one prophet, one worker in steel, another in jade. But also to each be the knowledge of his infinite Will, his destiny to perform the Great Work, the realization of his True Self. Of this Will let me therefore speak clearly unto all, since it pertaineth unto all."

De Lege Libellum
 

treedog

The comment in the Book of Law forbids me to answer that })

I certainly had no intention of encouraging someone to go outside any commitments or vows or personal proprieties. I don't yet know what appropriate means in this circle. But I can see there was no real harm done in asking, and the comments have been grand.

At the beginning of the year I just showed up for a little Tarot. Ha, ha, ha. But everytime I get close to this Thelema stuff it vibrates. It just feels right. The little bit that has been shared so far in this topic really resonates with my personal understanding (evolving as it is). So, once again, thanks.
 

Zephyros

I certainly had no intention of encouraging someone to go outside any commitments or vows or personal proprieties. I don't yet know what appropriate means in this circle. But I can see there was no real harm done in asking, and the comments have been grand.

Oh, don't take me seriously, I'm pulling your leg (kind of). The Book of Law does have a comment that reads

The study of this Book is forbidden. It is wise to destroy this copy after the first reading.

Whosoever disregards this does so at his own risk and peril. These are most dire.

Those who discuss the contents of this Book are to be shunned by all, as centres of pestilence.

All questions of the Law are to be decided only by appeal to my writings, each for himself.

There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.

My guess is that it was put there do admonish dogmatism, to forbid a caste of priests holding sole authority to interpret the law, as is the case in so many faiths. Certainly this entire forum goes against that disclaimer. Everyone certainly talks about the BoL, and I doubt any forum members have the charred remains of what used to be copies of it. I've been accused of worse things than being "a center of pestilence." })

Having said that, I do support the spirit of the comment. Liberty is what you make of it. Having been accused of sophistry, I can only plead guilty. :D
 

FireHermit

Crowleys 'book of lies' has some interesting passages in regards to 'will'.

Its been a long time since I looked at it but if memory serves it had a tendency to ramble in places (shock horror lol) but thought provoking 'read between the lines' content... maybe worth a skim for you if you have further interest in the subject :)