Philosophy Instead Of Faith

In my last post, I ranted about nihilism. I'm still attached to certain ideas in nihilism, so what I'm going to write here is not a rejection utterly of that. But it is a different perspective. Not a completely new perspective for me. I've spent a lifetime dangling over this chasm between nihilism and faith. Sometimes I swing over to one and then back to the other after some time. I don't really know what is happening to me currently. It's hard to explain but I will try in the following paragraphs.

I have started to feel the need to pull my conflicting thoughts together and see what I can make of the whole, godawful mess. And I have been studying various religious and philosophical texts during this process. For years now, I have been aware of the Temple of Set. I won't go into their history or all their beliefs here but I own a Set statue and have spent many hours meditating on the mysteries of this Egyptian deity. I didn't know much about the Temple of Set except that they were a very exclusive organization and didn't accept just anyone who applied. So, in a very self-limiting fashion, I kind of ignored them and what they had to say because I felt they'd never accept me and therefore I didn't need to worry about what they had to say about things. This was a bad move and kind of a cop-out on my part. I should know by now that anything can be learned from.

However, in one of my swings between nihilism and faith, I got to thinking about Set quite a lot and just jumped from there to thinking of the Temple of Set. I decided to refresh my memory about what I'd read about them. And what I found seemed like the answer to my... I don't pray... so maybe my hopes. I found a school of thought that seems to make the act of thinking intelligently, long and hard on important matters, holy. Philosophy as a sacred rite. Art as a sacred rite. All the things I love are being called sacred in the writings of various folks associated with the Temple of Set. I don't know how I overlooked that before.

Before I go any further, I should say that I do not know if I will even attempt to join the Temple of Set. They are reluctant to accept people with mental illnesses, as some of what the Temple teaches can bring people face to face with inner "demons" that an unstable person may not be able to cope with. If I study more and really like what I find, I may request to be put in contact with a Priest or Priestess and discuss with them whether I'd really like to join the Temple and if I'd even be accepted if I tried. But, in one of the Temple's podcasts, the founder specifically says that many of their core beliefs are open to all of humanity just by virtue of being conscious beings. This struck a chord with me because even though I might never be a "Setian" in the sense of belonging to the Temple of Set, I could potentially be living a Setian life and, the more I read, the better that was starting to sound.

Philosophy and art and magick and not blind faith and countless rules about your behavior. Couldn't be more perfect. Morality as something you determine rationally. As one of the members said in a podcast, "The good is very often synonymous with the intelligent." Or something to that effect. Brilliant! So, I'm reading up on philosophy, both explicitly Setian and other things as well, reading as much as I can, meditating as much as I can, contemplating. This isn't a long, endless rant and rave blog. Much more concise than I am accustomed to writing. However, I wanted to get some feelings down about yet another journey I am embarking on. Don't know where it will lead, but I will profit from it. I know that.