Joseph Thiebes

Walt Whitman on the Law of Liberty

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 21:52:12 GMT

Happy Independence Day!

"IT is not only true that most people entirely misunderstand Freedom, but I sometimes think I have not yet met one person who rightly understands it. The whole Universe is absolute Law. Freedom only opens entire activity and license under the law. To the degraded or undevelopt—and even to too many others—the thought of freedom is a thought of escaping from law—which, of course, is impossible. More precious than all worldly riches is Freedom—freedom from the painful constipation and poor narrowness of ecclesiasticism—freedom in manners, habiliments, furniture, from the silliness and tyranny of local fashions—entire freedom from party rings and mere conventions in Politics—and better than all, a general freedom of One’s-Self from the tyrannic domination of vices, habits, appetites, under which nearly every man of us, (often the greatest brawler for freedom,) is enslaved. Can we attain such enfranchisement—the true Democracy, and the height of it? While we are from birth to death the subjects of irresistible law, enclosing every movement and minute, we yet escape, by a paradox, into true free will. Strange as it may seem, we only attain to freedom by a knowledge of, and implicit obedience to, Law. Great—unspeakably great—is the Will! the free Soul of man! At its greatest, understanding and obeying the laws, it can then, and then only, maintain true liberty. For there is to the highest, that law as absolute as any—more absolute than any—the Law of Liberty. The shallow, as intimated, consider liberty a release from all law, from every constraint. The wise see in it, on the contrary, the potent Law of Laws, namely, the fusion and combination of the conscious will, or partial individual law, with those universal, eternal, unconscious ones, which run through all Time, pervade history, prove immortality, give moral purpose to the entire objective world, and the last dignity to human life."

See also Liber OZ: http://sekhetmaat.com/wiki/Liber_77

Thanks for the pointer, rikb!

Primal Chaos

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:52:44 GMT

The ruler of the South Sea was called Light; the ruler of the North Sea, Darkness; and the ruler of the Middle Kingdom, Primal Chaos. From time to time, Light and Darkness met one another in the kingdom of Primal Chaos, who made them welcome. Light and Darkness wanted to repay his kindness and said, "All men have seven openings with which they see, hear, eat, and breathe, but Primal Chaos has none. Let us try to give him some." So every day they bored one hole, and on the seventh day, Primal Chaos died.

-Chuang Tsu, The Inner Chapters
Translation by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English, Vintage Books 1974

Buckminster Fuller, prophet of Thelema?

Tue, 19 May 2009 02:22:08 GMT

"[The Nature and Powers of your own Being] includes everything which is, or can be, for you: and you must accept everything exactly as it is in itself, as one of the factors which go to make up your True Self. This True Self thus ultimately includes all things soever; its discovery is Initiation (the travelling inwards) and as its Nature is to move continually, it must be understood not as static, but as dynamic, not as a Noun but as a Verb." -- Aleister Crowley

"I live on Earth at present, and I don't know what I am. I know that I am not a category. I am not a thing—a noun. I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process—an integral function of the universe." -- Buckminster Fuller

Today's Tweets

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:30:20 GMT

Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee? #

from twitter.com/thiebes

Today's Tweets

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:30:16 GMT

Latin American exhibition opens Jun 7 @ Mus. Fine Arts Houston; features Xul Solar, Frida Kahlo &c. bit.ly/puWOT #

from twitter.com/thiebes

Today's Tweets

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:30:22 GMT

"The higher the ISO sensitivity, the more outstanding the noise." Enlightened proverbs from a camera manual. #

Does anyone still use the word "swellegant"? Because they should. #

from twitter.com/thiebes

Xul Solar

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:08:41 GMT

"Although this is a time when art is more individual and arbitrary than ever, it would be a mistake to call it anarchic. In spite of so much confusion, there exists a well-defined tendency toward simplicity of means, toward clear and solid architecture, toward the pure plastic sense that protects and accents abstract meanings of line, mass, and color, all within a complete liberty of subject and composition… Let us admit, in any case, that among us now – if mostly still hidden – are many or all of the seeds of our future art, and not in museums overseas, and not in the homes of famous foreign dealers. Let us honor the rare ones, our rebellious spirits who, like this artist, before denying others, find affirmation in themselves; that instead of destroying, seek to build. Let us honor those who struggle so that the soul of our country can be more beautiful. Because the wars of independence for our America are not yet over…"

Museo Xul Solar
Xul Solar on Wikipedia
Xul Solar on FB
XulSolar on Amazon.com

Crowley on Sexual Freedom

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 07:38:04 GMT

The Beast 666 ordains by His authority that every man, and every woman, and every intermediately-sexed individual, shall be absolutely free to interpret and communicate Self by means of any sexual practices soever, whether direct or indirect, rational or symbolic, physiologically, legally, ethically, or religiously approved or no, provided only that all parties to any act are fully aware of all implications and responsibilities thereof, and heartily agree thereto. —New Comment, I:51

Somehow I overlooked this gem of a sound bite. While I knew this was Crowley's attitude, I have not noticed what a succinct and thorough statement this was until thykaabba quoted it elsewhere.

People who are just beginning their curiosity about Crowley often wonder about what "Do what thou wilt" really means with respect to crimes such as rape or child abuse. This is addressed above, where it reads, "provided only that all parties to any act are fully aware of all implications and responsibilities thereof, and heartily agree thereto." For otherwise it would be interfering with the will of the other person.

Since rape would mean a lack of hearty agreement, and since children cannot understand the implications and responsibilities of sex even if they were to agree, these two example behaviors are clearly not Thelemic.

As we all know in our hearts, however, there is simply nothing wrong with multiplicity in partnerships, consensual incest between adults, homosexual pairings, pairing outside the sanction of any church or civil authority, any fantasy, or any other sexual practice engaged in by informed and heartily consenting adults.

Upon all that this day unite with love under will let fall success; may strength and skill unite to bring forth ecstasy, and beauty answer beauty. —Marriage Prayer in the Collects of the Gnostic Mass

Happy New Year

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:09:00 GMT

Early this morning, at 4:44am Pacific, the Thelemic year of The Tower in the 4th docosade (IV:xvi) ended, and the year of The Star began. Happy New Year!

My celebration of the day started at 4:30 this morning. Now it is time to take a nap break before things get started again at 7:30 tonight. More on these at a later time.

I accomplished both of my resolutions from last year: to reduce my waistline by 2 inches (well, I did that, and then it came back, but I'm also a lot more muscular now, so I'm claiming success) and to set down a number of projects which I had come to understand were not conducive to my Will.

Today also marks the third anniversary of my quitting smoking.

A lot of other things happened in the last year too. Examples in no particular order: I traveled to Europe, New York City, Salem, Fayetteville AR, Seattle, and Sacramento. I lost most of my possessions, and 6% of my surface area, in a fire. (This consequently stalled a number of projects.) I stopped driving and started cycling. I fell deeply in love. I was laid off of two jobs. I built a website and acted in a Twin Peaks fan film (still in production). Not to mention the dozens of dramatic rituals I've worked on this year.

So, I'm a little unsure about what direction this new year will take me, or what resolutions to make. Right now I just want a job. Everything else is going peachy. Once I have some steady income and my life is back in order, other projects currently on the back burner can come forward again. So, we'll see what happens. For now, I'm simply happy to exult in the joyous outburst of color that Portland is now and will continue to be in the coming weeks. This week, it's daffodils. Tulips are not far behind.

Below is a beautiful poem by one of my favorite poets, to commemorate the new year.

I want a lot -- Rainer Maria Rilke

You see, I want a lot.
Perhaps I want everything:
the darkness that comes with every infinite fall
and the shivering blaze of every step up.

So many live on and want nothing
and are raised to the rank of prince
by the slippery ease of their light judgments.

But what you love to see are faces
that so work and feel thirst....

You have not grown old, and it is not too late
to dive into your increasing depths
where life calmly gives out its own secret.

Twin Twin Peaks

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:34:13 GMT

I've made the website for Twin Twin Peaks, a fan film being made by a local film grad student. Now that it has content, have a look.

Also see the Twitter and Facebook pages for the film.

I took some more pictures at the last shoot, and they are in the same gallery as my previous post on the subject. Take a peek!

Easter in the Philippenes

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 06:17:54 GMT

I don't agree with the beliefs that lead to this specific practice, but I find the practice as such to be quite admirable. It makes Liber XLIV and even Liber III seem easy.

Link for the embed-impaired: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGe-DkDPHR4

h/t goatlove

TM / 50'~ Cambridge, MA

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 05:30:04 GMT

Throwing Muses / 50FootWave
Cambridge, MA - Mar 14, 2009 - 8:00pm

As it happens, I am going to be 20 minutes away from Cambridge that day. As I'm sure many of you could predict, there is no way that I am missing this concert.

Sorry guys, I'll be in the last wave of the party that night, but I'll spend the rest of the weekend with you.

Anyone else in the area care to go?

phallae

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:43:12 GMT

the gayatri mantra
an adoration of the moon

the moon reflects
the light of the sun

each of us is
sun and moon

the gnostic mass
a priest and a priestess

the priestess becomes one:
father, son, holy spirit
upon the throne of the sun

the priest becomes none:
when all but thou are gone

each of us is
priestess and priest

Cycling question for the lazyweb

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:15:11 GMT

I need better tires on my bike. I'm a little confused about the measurements on the existing tires, which reads:

28-622 (700 x 28c - 28 x 1⁵/₈ x 1¹/₈)

I get the ISO and metric numbers, but the English seems to have too many measurements, and I'm not sure which of these three measurement systems I should use, or if I need more information than this.

Also, any specific recommendations for commuter tires? I'm noticing that heavy tires are often tolerant of higher pressure (aka lower drag), which may mitigate the high momentum of the weight? I'm currently considering the Vittoria Zafirro and the Continental Ultra Gatorskin.

Slightly related: I put my back tire on backwards last time I changed the tube. Think it matters much?

Criteria of Truth

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:05:07 GMT

Here is some amateur philosophizing in case you haven't had enough of that on LJ.

gallows_brother made a good point in this thread (where you can read the whole comment rather than just the main point I'm responding to here) and I thought I'd share my response as a post because it brings up another topic of potential discussion that I find interesting.

Academia (e.g. people at Sorbonne, U of Amsterdam, and Exeter) seems to be moving strongly toward identifying western esoteric philosophy as a third stream of western thought which sits between religious and scientific thought. It's an interesting and compelling way to look at it. I'm only modestly familiar with the ideas, so hopefully I haven't gotten things wrong in what follows. If I did get it wrong, I trust you all will let me know :)

gallows_brother wrote: "It's way too easy to experience a phenomenon and say 'Aha! I know what that means.'" To this I responded:

That is very true and I don't disagree at all.

The kind of seeking and finding that I'm talking about is different from examining phenomena and coming to conclusions about them. Certainty doesn't need phenomenal evidence per se because it is self evident in all phenomena.

When one seeks evidence to validate it, that is the process of doubt rather than certainty, an equally valid operation in the epistemology of the scientific paradigm, which I agree must be subjected to the rigors of the scientific method to guard against the delusion you are very right to warn about.

I am suggesting here though that certainty partakes of the esoteric, revelatory paradigm and is a wholly different kind of knowledge than what science affords, with different criteria for truth, though it is simultaneously informed by, and informs, both religious and scientific thinking.

On Atheists

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 09:58:13 GMT

A fragment of the good stuff that can be found in Crowley's "An Essay Upon Number" --

Atheists are of three kinds.

1. The mere stupid man. (Often he is very clever, as Bolingbroke, Bradlaugh and Foote were clever.) He has found out one of the minor arcana, and hugs it and despises those who see more than himself, or who regard things from a different standpoint. Hence he is usually a bigot, intolerant even of tolerance.

2. The despairing wretch, who, having sought God everywhere, and failed to find Him, thinks everyone else is as blind as he is, and that if he has failed—he, the seeker after truth!—it is because there is no goal. In his cry there is pain, as with the stupid kind of atheist there is smugness and self-satisfaction. Both are diseased Egos.

3. The philosophical adept, who, knowing God, says "There is No God," meaning "God is Zero," as qabalistically He is. He holds atheism as a philosophical speculation as good as any other, and perhaps less likely to mislead mankind and do other practical damage than any other.

Midwinter Bike Ride

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:35:18 GMT

We have been having a spectacular week with bright sunny days in the mid 50s. This morning after riding downtown for a Twin Twin Peaks meeting (I'm doing their website now too), I rode up to the top of Mt. Tabor and took a few pics, below:

Click here for pictures

Throwing Muses live in Sydney 2009

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 01:29:27 GMT

Amazing! This makes my month. The entire concert: http://bit.ly/Ese6

Update: embed was only one track. This link gos to the whole concert.

77

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:16:38 GMT

77 = Γ Ο Δ

The square, the circle, the triangle
G∴O∴D∴

= עז : goat, strength, violence, glory
= גיחון : "bursting forth" 1) one of the four rivers of the Garden of Eden 2) a spring near Jerusalem where the anointing and proclaiming of Solomon as king took place
Liber LXXVII

High Times photo

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 02:46:39 GMT

I'm pictured in a High Times spread about EsoZone. I'm standing in my white robe, behind the guy with the skull mask.

The photos are swell. It's too bad about the article and quotations. At least the article didn't mention that the ritual started 2 hours late. I suppose in some circles, starting on "high time" is still de rigeur, and therefore not worth mentioning.

Antero Alli: "Let the energy be your boss." How the mighty have fallen.

The organizers worked very hard and earnestly on this event, and I applaud their efforts.

The stated purpose of the ritual (and the overall purpose of the event, it seemed) was to create an experience of communion among all those within the "big tent" of so-called "occulture." This purpose was partially filled, but there was an obvious polarization around the person of Aleister Crowley, whose visage was literally booed as it was projected on the wall in a series of esoteric luminaries.

I think next year I will be the boss of my energy and apply "the proper kind and degree of Force in the proper manner, through the proper medium to the proper object." I can't imagine that will include attending or participating in EsoZone. Nothing personal.

Social Networking in Brief

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:59:59 GMT

FaceBook is far superior to MySpace in every way that I can imagine, except two: 1) some few people on MySpace are not on FaceBook and 2) I understand that a big Chinese company owns a controlling share of FB, which makes me uncomfortable but I think we're far beyond the point of being able to defend our privacy.

Photos are particularly easy to manage in FaceBook.

LiveJournal is much better than both of the above for blogging purposes. It is also far easier to compartmentalize your audience with filters. Far fewer people are on LJ than the two above as well, so anything that is "friends only" cuts out the vast majority of people in the online world, which could be a good or bad thing depending. It's owned by a big Russian company that IME probably [redacted due to paranoia]. See what I mean about this whole privacy thing?

Twitter is the one ring to rule them all.

My public LJ posts show up on my website, Twitter and as notes to FaceBook. My FaceBook status updates and posted items also show up as tweets.

I've pretty much abandoned my personal MySpace profile, but once in a while I use it to communicate with specific individuals.

Twin Peaks shoot

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:19:10 GMT

Today I spent about 14 hours (including the bus ride) working on a shoot for a Twin Peaks fan film. We went up to Paulsbo to do a couple interior scenes in the Great Northern. I'm playing Doc Hayward.

I took some photos throughout the day:

Click here for pictures

PCS Apollo

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 11:15:41 GMT

I went to Portland Center Stage's production of Apollo the other night with my mom, who was in town for a few days at last, after not being able to get here during snowpocalypse. The play was a work of genius and we had a great time.

For the Friday performance, PCS had given cheap tickets and exclusive seating to some number of people who volunteered to twitter during the play. Twitter is a microblogging system -- only short messages of 140 characters or fewer are allowed.

The result turned out to be pretty amazing in its own way. One of my favorites: "welcome to america nazis now you have to go to texas"

The posts are in reverse order, so to read the tweets from start to finish, you have to click back through pages to Jan 17 just before 7:30pm. Right now the beginning is 7 pages back. PCS Twitter

There is an odd irony about having such brevity juxtaposed with such a lengthy production. The result is fascinating.

PGP is killing me

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 23:14:13 GMT

So after installing, again, and running PGP for a few days with no problems, suddenly, again, it is asking me to locate the installation package which is no longer available because I, you know, cleared my temp folder. Why it needs the install package to run the program is beyond me.

So I installed GPG (the open source version of the same tech). I think. It seemed to do something anyway. Now it appears I need to spend a few hours memorizing commands that have to be typed in. Also, having read the manual, I'm still not sure how to import my own private keys or the public keys of others that I had set up in PGP.

Age, they say, brings wisdom, but I find it also brings lower tolerance for cold and less patience for having to learn basic tasks like sending secret messages. Can't it just work?

PGP III: Bride of PGP

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:37:14 GMT

What on my green earth is the problem with PGP? The last installation, when I posted here announcing a new PGP key, suddenly stopped working. It says that a network resource is missing. I don't have any network resources to have gone missing in the first place. Bah! Now I have reinstalled the software but my private keys are gone and I can't decrypt anything. So I have to update you all again with a new key. So here it is. Thanks and sorry for the inconvenience. If it happens again I am going to switch to GPG.