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I’ve been musing over this review of the recent Thelema Beyond Crowley tribute mega gig at Conway Hall – the review seems to be bemoaning the fact that there wasn’t enough focus on the “beyond Crowley” aspect. Well, it’s actually my thesis that the “Beyond Crowley” Thelemic revolution is already happening, and has been for some time – I feel some Thelemic ideals have already spread into more mainstream society, though it might not be recognised as such by card carrying Thelemites because it isn’t tied to the specifics and trappings of Crowley’s cultus – The Book of the Law, The Stele of Revealing, The Holy Books etc. Fascinating and inspiring as I find these elements, I feel they will never gain a huge amount of popular recognition and reverence as they are too tied to the specifics of time and place and an individuals life - and also, (controversially) they aren’t the important things, IMO – they’re not the central message of Thelema as I understand it. The central message is that of the True Will. I’m not going to try and define this, I’m not sure if I know what mine is, or if I’m doing it. However, let me draw a link to something I read recently – I this article
on positive psychology.
From the article:
Seligman, who is the figurehead of the positive psychology movement, goes further than suggesting people learn to think positively. He has worked out what he sees as a blueprint for happiness that people can use to set them on the path to a fulfilling and satisfying life. He believes there are three routes to happiness, which he calls the "pleasant life", the "good life" and the "meaningful life". Some are better than others, although a mix of all three is ideal. The pleasant life sees superficial pleasures as the key to happiness, and it is this that many people mistakenly pursue, he says. "The biggest mistake that people in the rich west make is to be enchanted with the Hollywood idea of happiness, which is really just giggling and smiling a lot," he says. While a life bent on instant pleasure and gratification offers some degree of happiness, it is ultimately unsatisfying on its own, he says.
Money, it turns out, isn't the answer either. Seligman believes that once we have enough to pay for life's basics such as food and a roof over our heads, more money adds little to our happiness.
To be seriously happy, Seligman says, we have to set our sights on a good life and a meaningful life. To do this we need to identify what he calls our signature strengths, which could be anything from perseverance and leadership to a love of learning. (Seligman has set up a website, www.authentichappiness.org which allows people to take a test to find out their top five signature strengths.)
Seligman says that once we know our signature strengths, using them more and more in our daily lives will make us feel happier and more fulfilled. By exploiting our strengths, he says, we will find life more gratifying and become completely immersed in what we are doing, whether working, making music or playing sport - a state positive psychologists call "flow".
Could identifying and working with our signature strengths be equated to the Thelemic True Will – I think so. Might not be esoteric enough for some people, but I think the kernel is the same in both sets of ideas. What I particularly like about this idea is it provides a challenge to the relentless consumerism which is the socio-economic motor of the Western world, and is threatening to destroy the planet – here, internal aims and goals take precedence over never ending acquisition. This is certainly a trend I hope to see spreading.
Thoughts? |
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