Ever man is eternally alone. But when you get mixed up with a fairly decent crowd, you forget that appalling fact for long enough to give your brain time to recover from the acute symptoms of its disease - that of thinking.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the inherent isolation of humanity and the temporary relief found in social interactions.
Aleister Crowley suggests that while everyone ultimately experiences a profound solitude, engaging with a good group of people can provide a necessary respite from this loneliness. The act of socializing allows individuals to momentarily escape the burden of deep thoughts that often lead to introspection and existential despair.
In practice
During a speech about mental health, one might use this quote to illustrate the importance of community.
People think that talking is a sign of thinking. It isn't, for the most part' on the contrary, it's a mechanical dodge of the body to relieve oneself of the strain of thinking, just as exercising the muscles helps the body to become temporarily unconscious of its weight, its pain, its weariness, and the foreknowledge of its doom.
There is a single main definition of the object of all magical Ritual. It is the uniting of the Microcosm with the Macrocosm. The Supreme and Complete Ritual is therefore the Invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel; or, in the language of Mysticism, Union with God.
I was not content to believe in a personal devil and serve him, in the ordinary sense of the word. I wanted to get hold of him personally and become his chief of staff.
Magick is the Science of understanding oneself and one's conditions. It is the Art of applying that understanding in action.
I do not want to father a flock, to be the fetish of fools and fanatics or the founder of a faith whose followers are content to echo my opinions. I want each man to cut his own way through the jungle.
It will be seen that the formula - 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law' has nothing to do with 'Do as you please.' It is much more difficult to comply with the Law of Thelema than to follow out slavishly a set of dead regulations.
Commit the oldest sins the newest kind of ways.
If it is not totalitarian to arrest a man and detain him, when you cannot charge him with any offence against any written law β if that is not what we have always cried out against in Fascist states β then what is it?β¦ If we are to survive as a free democracy, then we must be prepared, in principle, to concede to our enemies β even those who do not subscribe to our views β as much constitutional rights as you concede yourself.
When you cut into the present the future leaks out.
I propose to raise a revolution against the lie that the majority has the monopoly of the truth.
For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories.
Everything's much too big here,' thought Moominmamma. 'Or perhaps I'm too small.
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