T.O.P.Y I S...
Page Ten
In answer to a cynical journalist:
Most people can't stomach the "missionary zeal", so to speak, so any mention
of a "Great Crusade to save The World" is right out of the window. The
Temple is there for those who want it - it isn't another banal ideology, but a
network of Individual interests where information is relayed to one another
on the basis of practical experience. You've heard of synergy: the working
together of two or more elements to create an effect greater that the sum of
the individual elements' output. Well that's us! We support one another by
our own efforts - like a latter-day tribe.
What impels a person to work within the Temple? A dissatisfaction with
current societal values, perhaps. An awareness of possibilities within
ourselves that most recognised institutions of society, religious or otherwise,
either flatly deny or appear reluctant to expand upon. (As social beings we
have an inner need to express ourselves amongst friends - interpreting
"friends" as those people who can relate to you!) All such answers seem a bit
"rhetorical" to me, so we might gain a better understanding of the
"attraction" of T.O.P.Y. by taking a brief look at the ideas and methods it
collectively presents.
We take a very broad view - limitlessly so - of the means at our disposal
towards self-development. Jung called it individuation. Aleister Crowley
called it the realisation of the True Will. You may call it simply "Maturity".
From the lore of Magic (a much scoffed at notion, superficially, in our high-
tech rationalistic era; but isn't our science the highest magic to a so-called
primitive? And what arrogance you have to deny the function of something
you know nothing about, despite its overwhelming history of practice?!), to
music, to martial art; if the perceptive individual thinks there is something
worth picking up on, we will attempt to pluck it out of the mire and use it!
That is why T.O.P.Y. is often seen in the "public eye" to "wallow morbidly" in
social taboos; or however else they choose to put it. Life's too short and
wonderful to run away from and/or wrap up in unnecessary
prohibitions/superstitions. So, cut out the crap! The Temple brings together
people who aren't afraid to try a little. The luxuries of Western
"civilisation" (loud laughter) also bring greater excuses for us to get very
lazy.
(The notion of forced commitment, street-corner proselytizing, I find
repulsive. We emphasise, more than anything else, the power and
cretiveness of the individual will; how that feeling can be shared through
communication and care. To force others to "join in" would defeat the
purpose of the network. How can I force you to be yourself? [eg. forcing
another to emulate my thoughts & feelings is no freedom for the other
person.] What the fucks the point? We can only provide inspiration - no
greedy Gurus infest this House.)
Why do I think T.O.P.Y. is important? Could answer that in several ways I
suppose. The workings of the Temple are not always to my liking, but then,
as a network with some degree of structuring/organization, what else do you
expect? Humanity has yet to invent a machine that is 100% efficient. And
involvement with T.O.P.Y. does NOT mean you go along with every suggestion
that's put forward. In terms of energy, feedback and so on, you reap what
you sow; just as with any human relationship (I use that analogy quite
intentionally). Anyway, I feel it is important because - in an age of much
insincerity - T.O.P.Y. is rooted in what I ultimately recognise as COMMON
SENSE. We seek to embrace the earthly human condition, warts and all. We
look at ourselves and recognise the need to strive for personal goals; expand
our often blinkered definition of "self" by trying to utilise the new and the
strange; experiment, instead of wallowing in the "fear of the unknown";
reject dogma, reject guilt, reject anything that leads to unnecessary anxiety -
not by pushing things to the side, but by confrontation. (The quickest route
between two points is a straight line.) Such ideas, although expressed a little
dogmatically here for the sake of brevity, outline a healthy, strong approach
to living. And it feels very refreshing to be amongst friends who won't try to
fob you off with more alienating politics or mystical pap.
No, my involvement with T.O.P.Y. has not equipped me with easy panaceas
for the problem of Government, etc. We live in a complex environment - I
am the first to admit it. T.O.P.Y. has no manifesto up its collective sleeve.
Rather, we consider the situation from the perspective of "To change the
World you must first change yourself." It is no use disbanding the police-
force tomorrow if they are all going to continue acting in the same way to
the people they picked on before!
(To amuse myself, I might describe involvement in the Temple as a course in
psychic self-defense for the outsider! But then you'd probably take that the
wrong way. The Temple is NOT a cheap sort of psychotherapy; no psychic
prescriptions from Doc P-Orridge, or anybody ridiculous like that. Nobody
involved in the network wishes to suffer fools gladly, and the only people
"assessed" are ourselves - BY OURSELVES. A little eccentricity leads to a
progression of ideas - stupidity does not! And you must ultimately deal with
your own problems, if you wish to reclaim personal responsibility at all - a
belief that is central to T.O.P.Y. philosophy.)
Why the big profile on Sex in T.O.P.Y.? The fact that you feel our "high
profile" needs to be mentioned may provide part of the answer! As I have
already tried to indicate, the Temple strives to eliminate our (often
culturally inherited) feelings of guilt. We consider sexual energy to be of
great importance - its free expression is our very birthright, in whatever
way our nature inclines. The neuroses and psychosomatic ailments resulting
from high levels of sexual repression have been catalogued well enough by
now, without me having to re-iterate the point. And guilt about one's
personal sexual activities can be used as a potent weapon in the hands of
your adversaries - just look at the gutter press. Sexuality is just that -
whether it be expressed in "fetishism", "homosexual" activity (a horrible,
clinical expression if ever I heard one), and so on. It's nobody's business but
your own.
Having said that, it is obvious that many people - particularly the younger -
pursue an active sex life without recourse to massive guilt! So why all the
hypocrisy about its public expression? Why the hassle? Evidently, the mass
media does not reflect an accurate - honest - picture of our feelings. The
Sunday Sport continues to make sex and sexuality an absurdity - something
to sneer at. We wonder why.
T.O.P.Y. wishes to take sexuality a step further by investigating the powers
we consider to be generated by sexual activity, so that they can be used for
the benifit of the individual. Every Individual. Orgasm has a powerful effect
on one's perception, body chemistry, bio-electric field, etc., if only for a
few moments. And we feel that the state of being created can be put to use, in
combination with intense desire. Again, we are entering the arena of
"magick" and ritual (all sex is ritual); we are considering the so-called dark
side of nature, and to a TV generation brought up on Dennis Wheatley films,
such ideas seem very taboo. We wish to break down those superstitions - we
have little room for fear in such speculative areas - but we have no vested
interest in people agreeing with our aims and methods. (We are not out to
harm anybody, so please remain sensible and leave us be if you are
sceptical/unimpressed.)
Of course you can't discuss sex without mentioning AIDS nowadays. To
counter popular misconceptions let it be stressed that the Temple does NOT
encourage orgiastic or promiscuous behaviour - forced promiscuity to prove
one's "liberation" is just a stupid and damaging as exaggerated pruder; if it
goes against your natural inclinations. I suggest you use your common-sense
and exercise responsibility. But, to give an example: should someone
attracted to their own sex no longer feel attracted because circumstances
dictate a certain degree of caution with the choice of partners? We think not.
Circumstances and the means of your natural indulgence may vary quite a
bit, but the right to "be and feel" whatever you are does not. This must be
kept in mind, as the puritans cry out for "conformity" yet again. . .
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