Magick Without Tears

142 MAGICK WITHOUT TEARS What you say about tension and eagerness and haste is very true. See The Book of the Law , Chapter 1:44. For pure will, unassuaged of purpose , delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect . This, from a practical point of view, is one of the most important verses in the book . The unusual word unassuaged is very interesting. People generally suppose that 'will' is the slave of purpose, that you cannot will a thing properly unless you are aiming at a definite goal. But this is not the case. Thinking of the goal actually serves to distract the mind. In these few words is included the whole method without all the bombastic piety of the servile doctrine of mysticism about the surrender of the Will. Nor is this idea of surrender actually correct ; the will must be identified with the Divine Will, so-called. One wants to become like a mighty flowing river, which is not consciously aiming at the sea, and is certainly not yielding to any external influence. It is acting in conformity with the law of its own nature, with the Tao. One can describe it, if necessary, as "passive love"; but it is love (in effect) raised to its highest potential. We come back to the same thing: when passion is purged of any "lust of result" it is irresistible; it has become "Law ." I can never understand why it is that mystics fail to see that their smarmy doctrine of surrender actually insists upon the duality which they have set out to abolish! Please observe that the further you get on, the higher your potential, the greater is the tendency to leak, or even to break the containing vessel. I can help you by warning you against setting up obstacles , real or imaginary, in your own path; which is what most people do. It is almost laughable to think that the Great Work consists merely in "letting her rip"; but Karma bumps you from one side of the toboggan slide to the other, until you "come into the straight." (There's a chapter or two in The Book of Lies about this, but