When considering SOTOS, one must first understand how the Left Hand Path is defined and how it differs from the Right Hand Path (RHP). As a side note, almost every person you ask is going to give you a different perspective on both of these concepts. SOTOS is merely offering generalized definitions; it is the duty of each individual to come to terms with each Path and define each one in their own terms.
The main concept in defining the RHP and LHP is the placement of the Will in its relationship to the Universe around the individual.
The Will, like LHP and RHP, is a concept that everyone has a definition for that is relative to their perspective. The Will can be defined as a conscious and intentional use of personal energy. Therefore, a willed act could be exemplified by brushing one's teeth, driving to work, cleaning your house and going to the store to buy a newspaper.
In The Magick of Thelema by Lon Milo Duquette, he offers an insightful definition of an un-willed act. He describes such an act as "any habitual or reactive behavior that overrides the momentum of one's life focus". Smoking a cigarette and drinking that morning cup of coffee can be examples of this.
The RHP is the path of the majority of religions and philosophies in the world today. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism would be some examples of RHP organizations. The individual is told to forsake their Will and become one with the "Will of God" and by doing so they will harmonize their life with that of their Gods and live in perfect happiness. The "Will of God" is revealed to them through such means as holy books, sets of commandments, or infallible doctrines lay down by their Supreme Beings.
There is created a "priesthood" that must intervene and interpret the message between follower and deity.
The LHP then, is the path of the individual who realizes that the "Will of God" is his Will. He cares not for holy books or lengthy dogmatic doctrines to guide his life; rather he creates his own road based on conscious and intentional acts. He needs no priests to interpret or reveal the plan of some deity's design, for he creates his own plan in accordance with his own Will and perspective.
Before we can fully offer a starting definition of the LHP for your consideration, there is one more concept we must briefly touch upon.
This is the concept of Self.
Sense of the Self is that quality in the individual that has many different terms associated with it. Among them are soul, spirit, essence, awareness, consciousness, and being. What we are talking about here is that the Self is the totality of the essence of one's consciousness. It is your whole being; it is who and what you are.
To the RHP person, the idea of the Self is defused and absorbed into the "Children of God" mentality. Without their deity's aid, the person is wholeheartedly nothing. They live a life that only has meaning in as much as they can serve and cater to the perceived whims of their deity.
In the end, the reward for this life of servitude and Selflessness comes in the form of a dogma ridden, pre-packaged, pre-promised concept of a joyfully painless existence after death.
The person who walks the Left Hand Path understands that change and growth of the Self cannot and will not happen while sitting and patiently waiting for some eternal reward. They understand that the Self must be nurtured and cultivated into a single and unique essence. The Self is actualized at first as a fragmented and splintered concept, drawing all of its influences from what it has perceived around it. From day one, the actualization and formation of the Self is taken from bits and pieces of one's perception. A baby's personality is influenced from the start by the examples, patterns, and behaviors its family sets before it. The loving mother, the alcoholic father, the controlling sister, and the generous brother are all influences, positive and negative, that affect the way our Selves develop. Later on in life, we add other influences from our friends and peers, our community, religions, governments and their laws, jobs, schools, and just about anything else that comes in contact with us. These experiences are subsequently added together, along with our own interpretation of such experiences to create our psychological profile. With the younger stages of life being the most impressionable, it's not surprising to see children who were read imaginative and fantastical stories becoming the most insightful members of the LHP.
It is once all of the fragments of the Self amalgamate that the LHP person will begin to contemplate and evaluate his or her own existence. They begin to question themselves and their place in the universe, along with their perspective of it. Slowly, as they journey down the path, they make discoveries of what they like and dislike about them Selves. What they like, they leave alone; what they don't like, they change to fit with their new idealized concepts. They then create change in their Selves in accordance with their Wills.
Here then is the definition of the LHP that SOTOS has found to be accurate in accordance with its own perspective. The Left Hand Path is both a process and a perspective. As a process, the LHP is the intentionally repeated act of utilizing one's Will towards the unification and isolation of the Self. As a perspective, the LHP is the way in which we perceive and understand the tools that actively manifest our Wills towards the unification and isolation of the Self. We offer this for your consideration, yet at the same time we challenge you to seek out and discover the LHP for yourself. Once you step upon the Path of the Left, you will find that you are walking amongst a new and exciting world--a world where your thirst for knowledge will be quenched; a world where everyday there will be new concepts and challenges to discover and face; a world where an infinite amount of doors will open before you. Yet, one door will close. This is the door back into the deadly light of ignorance and self-deception that once housed your unconscious Self.
Copyright � 2004 CE, Society of the Onyx Star. Verbatim copying and distribution of articles is permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved. Structure of the Path of the Philosopher written by Cranmer C.,2003
