The Book of The Law Study Group 3.62

Always Wondering

There is joy in the setting-out; there is joy in the journey; there is joy in the goal.

Yah, but how do you get there?

Only if ye are sorrowful, or weary, or angry, or discomforted; then ye may know that ye have lost the golden thread, the thread wherewith I guide you to the heart of the groves of Eleusis.

I've found myself feeling guilty for not being able to find joy in it all. Perhaps I misunderstand this verse. I think I need to feel what I need to feel and understand there is still joy in existance, but then there is this whole golden thread thing that makes me feel lost.

AW

Zephyros

Always Wondering said:
I've found myself feeling guilty for not being able to find joy in it all. Perhaps I misunderstand this verse. I think I need to feel what I need to feel and understand there is still joy in existance, but then there is this whole golden thread thing that makes me feel lost.

Far be it for me to give actual spiritual advice, other than my intellectually masturbatory ramblings, but I think your question is connected to the lust of result, and this is how I see it.

I have found that the binding tie that unifies all faiths is learning to transform every act into a meditative one. Orthodox Jews say a blessing before practically everything they do, from washing hands to eating to having sex. While the official reason for this is to give thanks to the Creator, the underlying justification is that it separates every deed from every other and causes you to concentrate on it alone. A blessing before a meal transforms every bite into a spiritual act of meditation. You savor each flavor because of your concentration on it.

Not always successfully, but this what I try to do in day to day life (although I obviously say no blessings). Finding joy and bliss in everything isn't walking around with a constant smile on your face, but finding interest in everything, even the dullest of menial tasks. Spirituality needn't be only big words and sitting cross-legged; it can be found in washing dishes, hurrying to work or looking out a window. Whatever you do, do it with the single-mindedness of Sisyphus, as though you've always done it and always will. Late for work? Walk as fast as you can, hurry, run, but concentrate on the running, since the lateness will take care of itself.

Whoever coined the phrase "home is where I lay my hat" might as well have been talking about True Will freed from the lust of result, and the bliss that comes from the freedom from the pit of Because.

ravenest

Aeon418 said:
Why all this focus on the payoff at the end? Very Osirian.

It's like having kids in the back of a car going: "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" The Ruach-mind is exactly the same. And that's what the IAO-dying(Ruach)god formula maps. But is the Ruach's perception an accurate one? Nope!

R.H.K.'s commentary of IAO might be this line from Liber Tzaddi.

Let the Ruach chew on that one!

In fact Liber Tzaddi itself makes a good commentary on this verse. It's always been one of my fave libers.

http://hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib90.html

Ummmm ... yeah. That's the point I was trying to make in post# 26; The Bliss (and add appreciation) of Existance regardless of setting out, journey and goal.

How fortunate we are to even be able to exist and experience ALL of this?
Mind you I may be INCREDIBLY biased, after all, I am not rotting in a gutter in Calcutta

ravenest

Always Wondering said:
Yah, but how do you get there?

I've found myself feeling guilty for not being able to find joy in it all. Perhaps I misunderstand this verse. I think I need to feel what I need to feel and understand there is still joy in existance, but then there is this whole golden thread thing that makes me feel lost.

AW

There is that G word again! Get rid of it. Well .... feel it if you 'need to feel' but dont get stuck on it, dont get fascinated by the 'bad' sights in the 'exposition' (or 'Grove') nor the 'good' just keep moving along when you need and observe as you go. If you get too fascinated you might end up a 'character' in the scenes of the exposition; stuck in that exhibit.

Then the golden (or whatever color) thread is lost and you are not 'moving along'.

ravenest

closrapexa said:
Far be it for me to give actual spiritual advice, other than my intellectually masturbatory ramblings, but I think your question is connected to the lust of result, and this is how I see it.

I have found that the binding tie that unifies all faiths is learning to transform every act into a meditative one. Orthodox Jews say a blessing before practically everything they do, from washing hands to eating to having sex. While the official reason for this is to give thanks to the Creator, the underlying justification is that it separates every deed from every other and causes you to concentrate on it alone. A blessing before a meal transforms every bite into a spiritual act of meditation. You savor each flavor because of your concentration on it.

Not always successfully, but this what I try to do in day to day life (although I obviously say no blessings). Finding joy and bliss in everything isn't walking around with a constant smile on your face, but finding interest in everything, even the dullest of menial tasks. Spirituality needn't be only big words and sitting cross-legged; it can be found in washing dishes, hurrying to work or looking out a window. Whatever you do, do it with the single-mindedness of Sisyphus, as though you've always done it and always will. Late for work? Walk as fast as you can, hurry, run, but concentrate on the running, since the lateness will take care of itself.

Whoever coined the phrase "home is where I lay my hat" might as well have been talking about True Will freed from the lust of result, and the bliss that comes from the freedom from the pit of Because.

Well said! Onan would be proud of your ramblings

Kids do it ... they watch an ant and their whole universe is focused on what that ant does. I will admit when we do that all at once with all perceptions arriving it can be a bit overwhelming (thats why we filter).

... are we there yet?

Milfoil

closrapexa said:
Far be it for me to give actual spiritual advice, other than my intellectually masturbatory ramblings, but I think your question is connected to the lust of result, and this is how I see it.

I have found that the binding tie that unifies all faiths is learning to transform every act into a meditative one. Orthodox Jews say a blessing before practically everything they do, from washing hands to eating to having sex. While the official reason for this is to give thanks to the Creator, the underlying justification is that it separates every deed from every other and causes you to concentrate on it alone. A blessing before a meal transforms every bite into a spiritual act of meditation. You savor each flavor because of your concentration on it.

Not always successfully, but this what I try to do in day to day life (although I obviously say no blessings). Finding joy and bliss in everything isn't walking around with a constant smile on your face, but finding interest in everything, even the dullest of menial tasks. Spirituality needn't be only big words and sitting cross-legged; it can be found in washing dishes, hurrying to work or looking out a window. Whatever you do, do it with the single-mindedness of Sisyphus, as though you've always done it and always will. Late for work? Walk as fast as you can, hurry, run, but concentrate on the running, since the lateness will take care of itself.

Whoever coined the phrase "home is where I lay my hat" might as well have been talking about True Will freed from the lust of result, and the bliss that comes from the freedom from the pit of Because.

Beautifully put (as usual). The point about finding joy in everything isn't walking around with a constant smile etc. YES. Bliss and joy can be defined not merely as happiness in the basic, conventional sense but even in sorrow, the knowing that even this is part of the process (golden thread) which connects us to all. The most menial task can be a joy of meditation.

ravenest said:
Kids do it ... they watch an ant and their whole universe is focused on what that ant does. I will admit when we do that all at once with all perceptions arriving it can be a bit overwhelming (thats why we filter).

Yes and the consideration that the responsibilities we have as adults are a blessing to others (cleaning, cooking, digging, planting) and an exercise in meditation if we choose to consider them that way, rather than a chore for us, is also true.

ravenest

Milfoil said:
Yes and the consideration that the responsibilities we have as adults are a blessing to others (cleaning, cooking, digging, planting) and an exercise in meditation if we choose to consider them that way, rather than a chore for us, is also true.

Certainly! Cooking, digging, planting!

Cleaning ... ?

[ For Aeon; :joke:

]

Aeon418

Always Wondering said:
I've found myself feeling guilty for not being able to find joy in it all.

There's nothing to feel guilty about. As Ravenest has already said, drop the guilt. It's totally counter productive.

Always Wondering said:
Perhaps I misunderstand this verse. I think I need to feel what I need to feel and understand there is still joy in existance, but then there is this whole golden thread thing that makes me feel lost.

Verse 23 of Liber Tzaddi isn't intended to be an excuse for a guilt trip or an exercise in self pity. In fact Horus is trying to be helpful here by 'red flagging' and drawing our attention to a set of emotional and psychological states that have the capacity to cut us off from ourselves. The reason why they are singled out is that these states are often symptoms of habitual or reactive defence machanisms that we are not always aware off. We can slip into them like an old pair of shoes and not even notice.

Earlier in the Book of the Law Nuit tells us to dedicate our experiences to her. Through a process of mindful awareness Nuit(the Universe) is able to co-experience her infinite possiblities with us. This act of conscious sharing and openess to experience is relatively easy provided that the experiences are those that the ego considers pleasurable. But what happens if Nuit(the Universe) presents us with a negative situation or a painful experience? All of a sudden that openess to experience that we have been cultivating switches off. We instinctively retreat from the painful situation and habitual ego defence walls go up. But there is no reason why our experience of pain cannot be dedicated to, and shared with, Nuit. If practiced with an open heart and without resistance it can be transformative and psychologically healing.

The bit about the "Golden Thread" is connected to how the practices of the Great Work open one up and soften the rigid walls of the ego. That subtle sense of guidance is felt when you're open to it. As I've said above, certain reactive behaviours and defence machanisms produce the opposite effect. Liber Tzaddi v.23 is just trying to point out something that might go unnoticed. As the saying goes, forewarned is forearmed.

Aeon418

closrapexa said:
(although I obviously say no blessings).

Crowley encouraged Thelemites to say 'Will' before a meal.

Aleister Crowley' said:
Now there is one really important matter. The only thing besides The Book of the Law which is in the forefront of the battle. As I told you yesterday, the first essential is the dedication of all that one is and all that one has to the Great Work, without reservation of any sort. This must be kept constantly in mind; the way to do this is to practice Liber Resh vel Helios, sub figura CC, pp. 425-426 - Magick. There is another version of these Adorations, slightly fuller; but those in the text are quite alright. The important thing is not to forget. I shall have to teach you the signs and gestures which go with the words.

It is also desirable before beginning a formal meal to go through the following dialogue: Knock 3-5-3: say, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." The person at the other end of the table replies: "What is thy Will?" You: "It is my Will to eat and drink." He: "To what end?" You: "That my body may be fortified thereby." He: "To what end?" You: "That I may accomplish the Great Work." He: "Love is the law, love under will." You, with a single knock: "Fall to." When alone make a monologue of it: thus, Knock 3-5-3. Do what, etc. It is my Will to, etc., that my body, etc., that I may, etc., Love is, etc. Knock: and begin to eat.

It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of performing these small ceremonies regularly, and being as nearly accurate as possible with regard to the times. You must not mind stopping in the middle of a crowded thoroughfare—lorries or no lorries—and saying the Adorations; and you must not mind snubbing your guest—or your host—if he or she should prove ignorant of his or her share of the dialogue. It is perhaps because these matters are so petty and trivial in appearance that they afford so excellent a training. They teach you concentration, mindfulness, moral and social courage, and a host of other virtues.

Monologue Will for solo performance.

Knock 3-5-3 (11 knocks in all. 3 followed by 5 followed by 3. Five within 6.)

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
It is my Will to eat and drink.
That my body may be fortified thereby.
That I may accomplish the Great Work.
Love is the law, love under will.

Single knock. Eat.

Aeon418

ravenest said:
Cleaning ... ?

[ For Aeon; ]

Cleanliness is next to Godliness, and had better come first.

The Book of The Law Study Group 3.62

Always Wondering

Zephyros

ravenest

ravenest

ravenest

Milfoil

ravenest

Aeon418

Aeon418

Aeon418