In thinking about Thelema, it recently struck me how similar it is in certain ways to psychotherapy. One of those ways is structural—both have a general definition that most affiliates agree upon but contain within them orientations or schools that have more well-defined boundaries. Of course, there will always be those who think their orientation is the purest form of the category or even the whole of it, with all others being false or apocryphal. Nevertheless, let’s explore this analogy and see where it takes us.

It has been quite a while since I updated this journal. In part, this is because I’ve been dealing with some health issues which took a lot of my attention. Perhaps a larger reason is that I’ve stepped back from thinking about Thelema so that I might eventually come back at it with a fresh perspective. I am not ready to do that with the vigor I want to do it with, so I’ll simply jot down a few notes on where I stand now.

When I wrote my essay on Aleisterianism, I was motivated by the understanding that all spiritual systems are artificial (although they are meant to reflect the natural). They are constructed to help mediate the relationship between humans and reality, specifically in terms of meaning. There are of course many components to spiritual systems, including a desire for control, safety, love, power, and joy. But at the root, I believe, is the fundamental human need to be connected with something larger than or beyond the self, along with a sense of what such a connection means.

Psychography is the term applied to texts that have been written by disembodied spirits or beings. There are several forms of this, ranging from the spirit taking full motor control of the scribe to simply working from an intuitive influence. It is considered a form of automatic writing, but unique in that the scribe is generally aware of what is being written (as opposed to going into a trance state).

The values and principles by which we live emerge from one’s deepest, most genuine self—and the genuine self emerges dynamically out of our lived values and principles.

It is certainly true that the universe opens continually, an ever-blooming flower, an eternally-flowing sacred river of becoming. It is certainly true that the human mind can be trained to see this emergent reality, to swim in the current of Now. But we are more than observers; yea, we are dancing particles in this sea of being. And make no mistake, we can affect the course of our path. It is not enough to be aware—we must use the gift of agency to guide our ships with all the love, strength, knowledge, and wisdom we can muster. Take comfort, take comfort, yes, take comfort, for you exist, and in your existence you are connected to all things and all things are connected to you. Yes, take comfort in the cradle of the fellowship of being and realize that your every thought, your every movement through time and space is a vital note in the symphony of the All. Let your connection flow through you, that True Will of glorious ancestry unbroken from the first moment of time, that Will which is incredibly and perfectly You.