Giving The Devil His Due

[Mindmaster]

As of late people have gotten into these highly intellectual discussions on this board and while that is all good and great it really is just talk. Talking and reading aren't doing! As an alternative I shall present an open challenge: For one week MAYBE this week do one of the following:

1) Engage in a taboo activity. I don't need to know what -- I don't even care what, but it can't be something you can tell your closest friend or it doesn't count. It has to be socially unacceptable or potentially damaging to your reputation if found out. The purpose of this is to expand your perception of the human state in a very real way and violate your own preconceived notions. For best effect it should be something you fear yourself -- anyone whom says they don't fear anything at all merely lies about it.

2) Offer to do a ritual for someone in need. Why is this here? Most so-called Satanists are pretty damn selfish and cowardly. This combats both ideas and teaches about selflessness and empathy. You will be aiding a friend and likewise demonstrate what is enjoyable about your path directly to them. This CANNOT be someone that accepts your path at all -- close friends, wives, girlfriends, and boyfriends are out. True Satanism is about being a value-added religion not about preaching. Show, do, and demonstrate your worth. If you cannot reward the worthy with your power you have nothing at all. One cannot lead from the back of the line -- if you truly are powerful you can understand my point completely. If not then consider this lesson your most important.

3) Revisit something you enjoyed in the past that you no longer do for some 'reason'. Ignore the reason and for the next week act like you never left it. Fully engage it and be consumed by it. Regardless of what you choose the results should be pretty cathartic. The purpose of this is to sort of re-live that period in your life for the purpose of determining your path now. Sometimes due to the nature of life we get distracted from our core -- consider it a self-bonding moment designed to purge the worthless traits of your being.

4) Embrace chaos --- do exactly the opposite of that which you would normally do for a week. This one can be really fun sometimes, but also fear and thought provoking. If you are a Satanist you have no limits... set yourself free... experience your humanity to the extreme... If you drink, smoke, or do drugs stop completely for this period. Destroy your coping mechanisms so that you can truly savor the spoils of this act. If you are highly logical and calculated do everything with impulse. See where it takes you and ride the wave...

The true nature of the left hand path is in these experiences -- in the joy of chaos, destruction, and rejection of the mainstream influences in your life. The real silent goal of Satanism is to reject your humanity and personality -- trivialize it basically... and thus become as a god, but by polarizing your experiences you truly can understand the hidden meaning of every action. By removing yourself from your own natural order you exalt yourself toward the daemonic and strengthen your core since you are not merely clinging to illusions. I think I gave you enough to chew on... As far as comments on this post please keep them just to reports or questions -- there is no need to debate the nature of these experiments just do them or not at your whim. Most of these are things I've done myself or I am working on so I am merely sharing a bit of my own process.

In nomine domini dei nostri Satanas Luciferi excelsi. Amen.

 

[Orias]

These are things...I do on a daily basis.

 

[Mindmaster]

These are things...I do on a daily basis.

It's nearly impossible to do all over these at once -- in fact many of them are quite contradictory. Really, these are all sort of roundabout ways to break past your personal limitations. We all have some limitations as perfect freedom really is impossible in the context of society. It is easier to 'micro-explore' these themes rather than tip the whole boat, and that is sort of what I was attempting to present. I make no assumption that the person reading my type is completely familiar with LHP methodology.

 

[Orias]

They are not, for my daily life involves new suns and names.

 

[Jesus Pipes]

I love the left hand path. Some people call that the stranger.

 

[Orias]

Let me rephrase, nearly impossible is a limited phrase. Considering how opaque the list you set forth is I would say that it is fairly easy to attain especially because it may fit someone's personality type and way in which they go about life in general.

 

[jasonwill2]

The only things taboo that I can think of that I fear... are all highly illegal. I already broke many taboos, at least in my head. I guess I could explore more taboo things but at this point the only thing left is incest fantasies, killing my loved ones, and killing/molesting children, both that I will not fantasize about for obvious reasons. There are very few taboos I can explore, though I guess I could explore vandalism fantasies some more.

Actually, doing any of these things will destroy me at my current state. I'll stick with the Satan the tests me and makes me better through the burning fires of trials. I'm insane enough, I'll give Satan his due by becoming a better and more stable person, not by doing the thing that will make me more insane and make him look bad. Thinking about and participating in taboos is not the only way to free yourself and break limits, sometimes challenging yourself to become a better/stronger person to yourself can be just as liberating, if not more so. Anyone can break a taboo, as the fruit that is forbidden tastes the sweetest. However personal growth typically tastes very sour, and not in the good way, which actually makes it harder to do, hence personal growth without breaking a taboo is much harder than personal growth with breaking a taboo. And at that the growth from breaking a taboo is limited in the direction of the rejection and moving on of other things, making it a purely an experience of what you are not where as personal growth without breaking taboos is more of an experience of what you are. One is positive in the sense that it is what "is [becoming]" and one is negative in that it is "what isn't [anymore].

 

[Orias]

Well yea, besides killing another person or doing something very extreme I'd say these taboos are something a fair share of Satanists expose themselves too.

 

[Adramelek]

As of late people have gotten into these highly intellectual discussions on this board and while that is all good and great it really is just talk. Talking and reading aren't doing! As an alternative I shall present an open challenge: For one week MAYBE this week do one of the following:

3) Revisit something you enjoyed in the past that you no longer do for some 'reason'. Ignore the reason and for the next week act like you never left it. Fully engage it and be consumed by it. Regardless of what you choose the results should be pretty cathartic. The purpose of this is to sort of re-live that period in your life for the purpose of determining your path now. Sometimes due to the nature of life we get distracted from our core -- consider it a self-bonding moment designed to purge the worthless traits of your being.

In nomine domini dei nostri Satanas Luciferi excelsi. Amen.

I've been doing working 3 as of late. Practicing my music and composing, for the past couple of months I've been so involved at work and in other things in my life I had to put my music on the backburner for a while. But now I'm working back into it. It feels great, Magic does a soul good.

Xeper em Ma'at.
/Adramelek\

 

[1137]

With number four, if you have stopped doing drugs should you relapse for a week?

 

[Mindmaster]

With number four, if you have stopped doing drugs should you relapse for a week?

Generally, the more people talk about doing drugs the less I care what they say. Drugs include caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol as far as I am concerned. Probably a poor example of chaos, but any act can be enlightening in small amounts.

 

[Me Myself]

Hello, I am not a left hand pather, but I wish to ask something:

If your friends know you so much and accept you so much that yoou could tell them anything you do unless this something was incredibly immoral (let's say killing someone), would you still be okay with that 1st rule?

Sorry, it's just that I generaly like spiritual exercises and was curious about this one, and that kinda throw me off... So, that.

 

[Mindmaster]

Hello, I am not a left hand pather, but I wish to ask something:

If your friends know you so much and accept you so much that yoou could tell them anything you do unless this something was incredibly immoral (let's say killing someone), would you still be okay with that 1st rule?

Sorry, it's just that I generaly like spiritual exercises and was curious about this one, and that kinda throw me off... So, that.

Taboo in this instance doesn't imply illegal, but merely that you are doing something that is socially unacceptable to your peers or relations and in a way that is much more powerful than say... "They just don't like it." If they are intolerant of it that is enough. Some of the things that people view as taboo are illegal in certain countries (homosexual practices in Arab countries for example) and carry penalties not worth the trouble. Remember, this is an experiment not something one should do jail time over.

 

[Me Myself]

Taboo in this instance doesn't imply illegal, but merely that you are doing something that is socially unacceptable to your peers or relations and in a way that is much more powerful than say... "They just don't like it." If they are intolerant of it that is enough. Some of the things that people view as taboo are illegal in certain countries (homosexual practices in Arab countries for example) and carry penalties not worth the trouble. Remember, this is an experiment not something one should do jail time over.

Well, I was just asking

I mean, I don't think my friends would see anything as taboo unless it was immoral or ilegal here. I don't think I'll do the ritual, I mostly asked for curiosity sake xD . But I think there are people who are so open minded that expecting to do something that would be so off that you CANNOT tell them is... well makes one wonder what could it be if not immoral or ilegal?

 

[Mindmaster]

Well, I was just asking

I mean, I don't think my friends would see anything as taboo unless it was immoral or ilegal here. I don't think I'll do the ritual, I mostly asked for curiosity sake xD . But I think there are people who are so open minded that expecting to do something that would be so off that you CANNOT tell them is... well makes one wonder what could it be if not immoral or ilegal?

Depends on where you are from mostly that is why I find it hard to easily define it. What is taboo where I am from means nothing where you live. This is probably harder in tolerant places like USA west coast, or mid-west and probably easy to do in the south or east coast areas. I wouldn't focus on it too much --- if nothing comes to mind work on something else. Achieving immorality is very EASY mostly because most of societies views are shaped by mainstream religions.

 

[Adramelek]

There are times Me Myself, when a certain magickal working you've done should be kept secret, to only yourself and perhaps, your decision, to those few special magicians in your life. The secret in itself can and does make the Working so much more powerful.

Xeper.
/Adramelek\

 

[1137]

Alright I'm sold. I'll engage in all four. I've been needing some self liberation, already doing number 3, and I stumbled upon this thread in a sub-DIR I never visit.

 

[jasonwill2]

It seems to me that one could just as easily give the devil his due by simply improving on themselves.

most of these things listed are negative ways of liberation. Negative as in subtraction, not "bad", but you can only subtract so much before you run out of undesirable traits to get rid of. At a certain point one needs to do positive acts of liberation and self-sufficency by adding to their strengths.

alot of the listed things in the first post is supposed to, from what I can tell, eliminate weaknesses, but doing that is hopeless without reinforcing your strenghts and skills as well.

 

[Mindmaster]

It seems to me that one could just as easily give the devil his due by simply improving on themselves.

most of these things listed are negative ways of liberation. Negative as in subtraction, not "bad", but you can only subtract so much before you run out of undesirable traits to get rid of. At a certain point one needs to do positive acts of liberation and self-sufficency by adding to their strengths.

alot of the listed things in the first post is supposed to, from what I can tell, eliminate weaknesses, but doing that is hopeless without reinforcing your strenghts and skills as well.

That could be true, but honestly... You want my choice of the hardest one to out of the list... I would say that it is #2! Most Satanists are either natural misanthropes, or simply completely selfish. I don't exclude myself from that analysis as I have a natural hatred of humanity and its triviality. When LaVey spoke of these selfish notions he was merely ripping off Rand, Nietzsche, and Redbeard. It sounded good to him and made good book copy but it was completely plagiarized without credit to where it came from. The only part NOT ripped off in TSB is the Satanic Statements the rest of it is from other books -- cobbled together. The exercise of #2 is the hardest one -- the one where you stop becoming a spiritual douche bag (as instructed to be in TSB) and come out of the shadows and expose the merits of your beliefs with someone else. I was clear to say that this shouldn't be done in a preachy or offensive way -- if your path is so great why not let others have the choice to see if they like it? The best way is to demonstrate it... This is why churches have little trouble recruiting -- no one has a problem if someone brings their Jewish friend to the church. We need to stop thinking in a small-minded snobby fashion.

This #2 is a hidden bombshell... It exposes to society that you aren't a baby murdering psychopath, and that your spirituality and life philosophy are healthy and helpful to others. It is OK to be alpha mentality, but bad to be a lone wolf. Even the wolf is happy to rear a pup the correct way -- don't forget where you are and how you got here; realize that if others had the information you had they may have arrived at the same point as yourself. Refusing to share some of that with others is basically robbing them of the chance to evaluate the information. Stupidity is really our greatest enemy -- so let's stop helping it eh?

 

[Mindmaster]

There are times Me Myself, when a certain magickal working you've done should be kept secret, to only yourself and perhaps, your decision, to those few special magicians in your life. The secret in itself can and does make the Working so much more powerful.

Xeper.
/Adramelek\

Been thinking about this a bit and I realized something -- if your magic works it doesn't matter if anyone knows. What exactly will they be able to do to stop it? I mean common sense here with the fact that if you are trying to magic yourself a raise at work it isn't advisable to clue the boss or coworkers in on that, but even if you did they probably wouldn't believe it and laugh it off. When you are cursing people it helps if they know they are cursed -- it magnifies it at least a hundred times over, and with healing type magic the person being aware of it makes them receptive and it works even better in my experience. Whether or not they believe in your magic or not changes nothing -- it'll work if it is done properly. The only time I keep it to myself it when I know one person could twist the situation against me directly or something. But, in most cases they can't -- it is probably a poignant reminder that they typically don't believe it has been worked on them until it is too late. Next time they just decide not to be a jerk to you and you won't have any reason.