Theos-Talk Archives (December 2002 Message tt00517)

Hi Terrie and Everyone: Below is an exact replica of a message that was sent to and posted on theosophy study list on September 14, 2002. This message caused quite a flap over there and I am not sure I would write a message with exactly this affect these days, as everything has changed since September 14 including my relationship with Jerry, since we have had some generfative conversations since then, but I am forwarding it here, as it clearly states my opinion of Crowley and Magic. You can find this message on the Theos-l archives, and many people on here have already read it. I am glad my ass is already covered in regard to my opinion of the teachings of this person, as to me it was worse than garbage.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hi. Gerald. You have said, in response to my message, <But studies have demonstrated that a conscience has to be learned and is not automatically given to us at birth.> Sounds like you're saying I said or implied in my message that a conscience is automatically given to us at birth. Nothing of the kind, and this kind of "communication" limits the chance for genuine enquiry to occur.. Please read my messages more carefully if you are going to reply to them in the future. What I said was, "To the degree a person has received kindness, he will develop empathy, so in this sense it is learned, but the ability to develop empathy is INHERENT and it CAN BE DEVELOPED FURTHER (with much difficulty, after a person becomes an adult.)" Also, you talk about guilt. Guilt is not the same as conscience, as I understand it. When you speak about guilt you are talking about something else. You go on to say, <<<<Without a proper care giver during the first years, a person will become antisocial. Antisocial behavior is almost impossible to cure or help in a meaningful way.> I agree, but I am not talking about "antisocial" when I talk about developing conscience further, and that is obvious. I am talking about people like you and me. It would be most difficult and most extraordinary for even a very social adult with some conscience to develop his conscience further, but, with the proper motivation and the proper conditions, this can be accomplished by INTENTIONAL SUFFERING of a certain kind. I heard an interesting saying somewhere, "Only the impossible is worth doing." I believe you focus too much on so called "magic" and the likes of people like Aleister Crowley. In this way you may lose the possibility to have something impartial verify your "self" AS YOU ARE and not as you dream or pretend to be. The "Great Work" you speak about has nothing whatsoever (ZERO) to do with such magic, but maybe we are speaking of two different things when we speak of Work. This message is not meant to harm you. If you take it in the right spirit, you can help not only yourself but many others, but, again, I am no authority on what will help you. If I have not developed discrimination, my talk may be associative and a mechanical reaction, and if you have not developed discrimination, you will not be able to tell whether it is or not. It is a matter of either pouring from the empty into the void and dreaming one is not or setting up conditions in such a way that many people can come together and help each other grow-up. To dissipate the potential for oneself and others to do this is bad, and to create the proper field and force where this can occur is good, but who is to decide what is happening and in which direction to turn? It is all a matter of conscious alignment, but to align in a certain direction, one may have to suffer. There is no magic about it. No one wants to Work. The child always wants magic. There is "magic" for adults, but it is really science. To be able to WISH CONSCIOUSLY, one needs discrimination, but in order to be able to harness the necessary force to do this, we first need to further develop conscience. Sincerely, Wry


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