From: Mark O. Garrison Area: Thelema To: Christeos Pir 2 Aug 93 10:01:54 Subject: Re: THE BRIDGE UpdReq DO WHAT THOU WILT SHALL BE THE WHOLE OF THE LAW In a message dated 01 Aug 93 18:36:47, Christeos Pir wrote: MOG> Oh, by the way, we are always looking for well-written articles to MOG> publish...hint, hint! CP> Great, just what I need... another project! ;-) Well, don't feel pressured or anything...it was just a hint. :) :) But if you did have something sitting around...well, I'm sure you get the point. :) :) Unfortunately, because we are a free newsletter, we have no way of generating funds, so thusly, we are unable to pay our authours for publication of their articles. However, they do, of course, get the fame and satisfaction that comes along with getting published! ;) ;) Well, see what you think after reading the first two issues. Like I said earlier, we do need more of a ceremonial perspective...or pretty much any perspective besides a wiccan/pagan view, which we are currently overflowing with! :) :) By the way, it is not an O.T.O. body newsletter, just in case if their was any confusion...it is an occult/pagan community newsletter. Though, it would indeed be nice to see some Thelemic articles find their way into some future issues...As it is now, some of the articles only hint/or briefly mention Thelema. However, as I stated earlier, I hoping to change that, especially now that I have more editorial control than I had the last two issues! Well, I'll send those out to you tomarrow morning. Tell me what you think of them... Take Care, and keep in touch. Love is the law, love under will, Mark O. Garrison 718499927771849992777184999277718499927771849992777184999277718 From: Christeos Pir Area: Thelema To: Walter Five 2 Aug 93 09:38:20 Subject: Re: HYPNOSIS UpdReq -=> Walter Five sent a message to Frater Almost on 01 Aug 93 06:20:06 <=- -=> Re: Re: HYPNOSIS <=- Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. WF> Yeah, you're right, most of the cretins & geeks DO seem to . . . WF> Those who wish to make the attempt, and Celebrate WF> their Greater Feast as Warriors for the cause of Thelema are our True WF> Brothers and Sisters, whether they've taken a single degree or not. WF> Those worms within who piss and moan and raise strife and discord are WF> but passing ills, "there is Death for the Dogs." Right on. Love is the law, love under will. - Christeos Pir ... But not Thou, who art absolved from the Division of the Shadows. 718499927771849992777184999277718499927771849992777184999277718 From: Paul Hume Area: Thelema To: Todd Sahba 3 Aug 93 08:36:38 Subject: ADA and the OTO UpdReq Todd - 93, you pestilential person, you. Well, one could raise an rgument that Congress has gone and made a law respecting the establishment of religion, if the ADA in fact dictates how religious organizations may and may not define their membership requirements. A case would therefore invoke constitutionality issues, and once into THAT labyrinth, Gods know where it would end up. Just as I have (more than once) suggested that the Motta v. mcMurtry et al case has nothing to do with spiritual validity, so I would equally be horrified at the notion of judicial review for rejected applications for initiation, in the OTO, or anything else. If it came down to submitting to controls such as these (however praiseworthy the motives, and I support the ADA, as it happens) the Order would be well advised to renounce the tax exempt status, etc. that makes it subject to government control, rather than cave in. However, that is all legalism. I know at least two members who have significant physical handicaps (one of my closest friends in the Order is blind from birth, the other I knew only from these nets, but she was paraplegic). Patently, then, physical handicaps are no barrier. But in the arena of mental competence, a host of concerns fly up. Simple competence comes to mind first: is the individual capable of understanding the oath? The social interaction of "good report" comes to mind next: is someone with behaviours they cannot control (fits of rage, OCD, real schizophrenia - not the namby-pamby divine madness fantasy I have seen extolled in other similar arguments, but the condition that leaves the poor schmuck afflicted with it at the mercy of inner phenomena without any control of his life or actions, etc.) going to work in a community setting with others, or is he or she, through no "fault" of their own, going to disrupt the fairly intense concentration required for magical work? And are the rule-of-thumb psychologists of the OTO, which already has a high percentage of members working out psychological problems of our own, going to help a profoundly disturbed member, or simply screw him up in a manner akin to feeding a diabetic Hershey bars? The issue is not a bar or ban on someone because of a disability, but flatly a question of "can this person work with the community in question on the goals shared by that community?" If the disability can be compensated for, sure, no problem, etc. But Beethoven aside, there aren';t a lot of profoundly deaf musicians out there, or quadraplegic marathon runners, etc. Yes, there are individuals who are tough enough, brave enough, bloody minded enough, to overcome handicaps, andI would hope to see anyone in that category attracted to, and welcomed in, Thelema and the OTO. But I would propose that simply decreeing that anyone with a disability gets a free ticket is an overreaction - I don't give that much license to able-bodied (or able-minded) individuals. Paul 718499927771849992777184999277718499927771849992777184999277718 From: Paul Hume Area: Thelema To: Todd Sahba 3 Aug 93 08:56:00 Subject: Camp Master Duties UpdReq Todd - I am one of the lazier Camp Masters I know, and doing the job fairly still takes a large amount of work, so yeah, your marriage model fits. Especially in the early stages, where new folks are still figuring out their own depth of commitment, relationship to the OTO, etc. and thus there is only so much you can delegate (squared and cubed if you are the only one in a position to initiate, since there is stuff you CAN'T delegate until someone else gets up to the grade where they can help). Lotta fun though (g). Paul 718499927771849992777184999277718499927771849992777184999277718