It was suggested to me recently that I ought to work on developing my discernment. Having been raised by a roving pack of wild Jesuits, whenever I think of the word "discernment", I think of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

However, not being a Christian (let alone a Catholic -- not that that stopped the two Hindus who have become Jesuits!), I have begun adapting the Spiritual Exercises to my own ends. Very roughly, two of the most important of these ends are (1) to move away from a sin-based understanding and towards a Will-based understanding, (2) to place the Roman god Antinous at the center of the work, and (3) to adapt the work from one based in the Æon of Asar to one based in the Æon of Heru.

Why Antinous? For one, he's awesome. For two, he's really hot. And, for three, there is at least one depiction from the ancient world that might syncretize him with both Dionusos and Yeshua bar-Yosef ho Christos ha Mashiach, all of whom shared similar Dying-and-Reborn stories.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Queering the Self: True Will and the Proprium

OK, I'm giving this the first pass label, because I remember being able to describe this model much more clearly and intelligibly.  Please and especially, I invite comments on this post and questions on this model, so I can post something that's much clearer and more accessible!
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What follows is my model and understanding of both identity/Self and True Will.  It also functions as a bit of a project outline concerning the general thrust of mup magick, as a way of understanding what the holy hell I'm trying to achieve here.

There is a spectrum of identity and divinity.  Well, actually, when I say "spectrum", I believe many people instinctively envision something very like a line, with two poles on either end and only a single dimension.  In fact, it's more like the 10, 11, or 26 dimensions of superstring theory or brane theory (tee-hee!).  For ease of conceptualization, however, let's discuss it for the moment as if it were a Cartesian plane:

This spectrum of identity and divinity is, as was tee-heely referenced earlier, a space (this is not the extent of the purpose of that tee-hee, either).  Within that space are stuff (which lack individuation) and possibly also things (which possess individuation).  We can call this collection of stuff and possibly also things the brahman.  When the brahman enters a particular region, it almost certainly gains individuation, becoming things.  This region, which is itself called the Self, is defined by something called the proprium.  To discuss all this abstraction as the slightly more concrete Cartesian plane, the proprium is something along the lines of the statement, "Everything within 3 units of point (2, 4) is within the Self."  Note well that in this model, the Self is simply a region; it is not inherently possessed of any qualities.

Once the brahman enters this region, it changes into what might be called the atman.  This atman, dancing, clashing, or otherwise interacting with itself, creates an emergent behavior which is the True Will.  Yes, this means that you are always and by definition doing your True Will and that said True Will is modifiable.  The True Will is what, in turn, defines the proprium (think of a function which modifies itself).

This, then, is the point of much mup magick and spiritual practice, reworded several ways:

  1. to become involved with the True Will's delineation of the proprium;
  2. to foster an active, mindful, and intentful presence and participation in the experiencing of things;
  3. to become what you already are: the Beast with Flowered Horns.

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