True Will
Every individual has their own unique character and motion by design of the universe. In Thelema, True Will refers to this unique purpose and character, or as a moment-to-moment path of action that operates in perfect harmony with the Universe. Those who are not following their own unique course experience friction from being in conflict with the order of the Universe.
True Will does not spring from conscious intent, but from the interplay between the inner most self and the entire universe. Our True Will is what we truly desire deep down and is to be distinguished from social pressures. Those in touch with their True Will have eliminated or bypassed such false desires, conflicts, and habits, and accessed their connection with the divine. At this point, they act by non-forcing and in alignment with nature, just as a stream flows downhill, with neither resistance nor “lust of result.” When we are aligned with our True Will, we enter a state of flow.
The True Will is not the simple will of the ego or the whim of the personality. This is not merely “wanting something.” It is a deeper level of life purpose. The True Will is the will of the deepest inmost Self—the core of who you really are as a person. “Do what thou wilt” refers not to hedonism, or to fulfilling carnal desires, but to acting in accordance to our calling.
When a person follows their True Will, it is like an orbit, their niche in the universal order, and the universe assists them. Also, and importantly, it is an expression of the Universal Will, as particularized and expressed in your individual life. This is why, when we are living in accordance with our True Will, we find that much of the time the universe seems to open up a path right in front of us, as if in sympathy with our aims. Those following their True Will have the inertia of the Universe to assist them.
Likewise, when we feel as though we are swimming upstream against life it is very often the case that we have veered a bit from the path of our True Will; or perhaps we’re receiving a lesson from the Holy Gaurdian Angel and/or the universe itself that is helping to nudge us back onto the path. In order for the individual to be able to follow their True Will, the everyday self’s socially-instilled inhibitions may have to be overcome via deconditioning.
References
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Shoemaker, David. (2013). Living Thelema Chapter 3. The True Will (p. 41). Newburyport, MA: Weiser Books.
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Crowley, Aleister. (1954). Magick Without Tears Chapter 1 What is Magick (p. 30). St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications.
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Type:🔴 Tags: Philosophy / Psychology Status:☀️