O.T.O. On Purpose: Promulgate Thelema and Great Principles of the Order

In today’s exploration of the Strategic Plan of the U.S Grand Lodge, we get to brag a bit about what we’ve done, as well as focus on what’s left to do.

We’re going to take a look at the first item on the list, the thing that is the number one priority of the O.T.O., and Sisters and Brothers, the Order’s done a lot around this item:

Promulgate Thelema and Great Principles of the Order

“Promulgate” means to Promote or make an idea more widely known, or to put a law or edict into effect by decree or proclamation. Promulgation of Thelema is something we all do, consciously or not, by exemplifying our understanding and application of the Law in our own lives. Every time we choose to do a thing in accordance with our Will, we can be said to promulgate the Law in the world, at least a little bit.

But this item on the Strategic Plan is a lot more focused than that. When the plan was written, four main items have been chosen to focus on. In the following sections, we’ll take a look at what those items are, where we’re at with them, and what else needs to be done.

Fully implement Liber 194 to the extent possible and practicable

Liber 194 is an adaptation of the Constitution of the Order, which is included in full in one of the degree initiations. In this document, the basic governmental structure of the Order is laid out, and the responsibilities of the various bodies, members, and initaiatory degrees is laid out in broad terms. The implementation of this structure has been the goal of the Order since Crowley conceived of the Order.

Towards that end, the Order has accomplished the following:

• Fill both IX* Revolutionary Positions – The members of the body filling these positions are not published, but we can assume that it has been accomplished. It seems like they could be identified by having been in the Order long enough to be IX*, and also anyone who’s always criticizing everything the King does, says, wears, thinks, or considers posting on Facebook.*
• Retain Four Members of the MOE Triad to represent the body of the Order – This was accomplished, and is to be found in the Man of Earth Delegates. For more information on what they do, who they are, and how to participate if you’re interested, check out this link.
• Implement Meditative Retreats for Electoral College Members – This was also implemented, and EC members are now mandated to take a break from “all but absolutely necessary O.T.O. participation” for three months, every two years. I think it’s so they can retain some public semblence of sanity.
• Something something poverty something – In addition, they seem to have fulfilled something about the Vow of Poverty, but that’s not a thing I understand well enough to talk about, honestly. I confess an aversion to poverty that I haven’t shaken. I still want to be super rich and live like a King. So I’m just going to skip that bit.

The one thing under the first point that they still need help with is the establishment of a Profess House. The details involved in setting up a Profess House to spec are a lot more complicated than simply buying a house in the name of the Order, it turns out.

Have you read about them? I mean, seriously, they’re like a combination bed and breakfast, orphanage, single parents’ shelter, nursing home, and spiritual retreat center that has rotating availability for members based on their needs, rank, and service levels. I personally think we need a hotel/conference center, like in the Shining, but with fewer ghosts. But I’m not in charge of that, thank Ra Hoor Khuit.

For more information about ways you can help make this happen, please feel free to email the Grand Secretary General.

Implement Liber 101 to the extent possible and practicable

Liber 101 is the document describing the regulations that Crowley envisioned coming into play as soon as a Kingdom reached 1,000 souls. Many of these regulations, as with those in Liber 194, require a strong and vibrant body of members.  It assumes that all 1,000+ of these members are active in their local bodies, maintain their dues currency nationally, and continue the promulgation that increases the membership base, and resources available to the Order.

As our Kingdom has expanded, we’ve begun to implement many of the Duties on this list, but these things take a lot of work. This is an area where there are many opportunities available to help out. There’s literally nothing on the following list that doesn’t need support from you:

• Provide Funding Channels for the Order – From used vehicle donations, to bequests, to the establishment of endowments, volunteer non-profit organizations have a wide range of ways to get money and resources. Setting up these channels takes time, understanding, and skill. If you’re familiar with the kinds of fund-raising systems used by instittions like NPR and Public Television, and can help us set this stuff up, please contact the Grand Treasurer General.
• Publishing – Wouldn’t it be great if there were a digital library of materials that local bodies could download and publish locally? Wouldn’t it also be great if there were a fund that provided local bodies with help ensuring these publications were of the highest quality? These are two areas that are currently being targetted. If you’re interested in helping with the creation of a digital library of materials, contact the Public Information Officer. If you’re interested in helping with the establishment and solicitation of contributions to the printing fund, contact the Treasurer General.
• Family-focused Thelemic Resources – A lot of us in the Order have children and families, but many of the local bodies are still working on finding ways to integrate families and children into our communities. The Executive Council has established the Committee for the Advancement of Thelemic Families, and they are working on getting more information availabble to the community as we speak. Check out their web site at families.oto-usa.org for more information about their services and for contacts, and they also have a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/OTO.Families/.
• Increase exposure of OTO and Thelema in alternative and mainstream press

This objective has three points that you can review by clicking the header up there for more information, but the first two are about printing NOTOCON proceeds (they’re printing them) and a “best of” anthology (they’re printing that too I think).

I’d like to focus mostly on the third one though, the encouragement and publication of articles, interviews, reviews, etc.

Guess what I’m doing, guys?

That’s right, I’m doing that one. Because I’m a Language Arts nerd from way back, I loved AP English, and I really have only ever been good at writing persuasive essays and yellow journalism. I am an opinionated guy with a decent vocabulary and a deep-seated conviction that the rest of the world needs to hear what I think.

If you’re the same, and interested in promulgatin’, contact the Public Information Officer. We’ve got this blog that needs articles, Thelema Now! that needs topics and materials, and a host of other venues that need your help.

And locally, your lodge has a newsletter that needs articles, or if it doesn’t have a newsletter yet, it needs a newsletter. Get on it!

Support Thelemic speakers, authors, artists, musicians, filmmakers, etc.

So this objective has only one Goal:

• Enlist talent within the Order to help promote O.T.O. and Thelemic culture

Right now they are focusing on working with the Education Committee to recruit presenters for public venues, but this seems like something that could be expanded pretty wide. I have yet to visit a local body in our Kingdom that isn’t replete with authors, artists, and musicians. Our community excels at all of these areas.

If you’ve got ideas and innovations, start with the Education Committee, currently headed by Frater IAO131 who was kind enough to be interviewed in the last post on this subject. But also take your ideas to your local Body Masters, put on concerts, throw together art shows, have your local authors in to speak on a Saturday afternoon. This is the stuff we’re best at, in my opinion.

* It’s really hard not to make an editorial comment about all the non-IX* people who seem to think they are the Revolutionaries, but I am a paragon of restraint and self-control.