ZMA Lectures

Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 16:08:55 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Martin Knutsen (martinkn@stud.ntnu.no)
To: chaos-l@hollyfeld.org
Subject: Excerpts from the ZMA-lectures. (fwd)


The following excerpts were taken from lectures held by that now dissolved entity known as the ZMA during its stay in Redknap, Ohio in 1962. The lectures were given in 3 hour sessions, followed by questions from and answers to the audience. The texts below were recorded by that famous student of the occult, Lasse Marhaug, who later went on to become the supreme leader of the extreme and fanatic Icecream-cult, popularly called the Scandinavian Ismai'ils. Later exerpts may or may not be released according to the whims of the invisible masters.


ZMA-LECTURES, #1

<beginning of tape, static crackle, swearing by recorder>

Whoopee, dear students of the universe, and well met here at the College Invisible. Due to your scheduled professors unlucky and tragic demise in a horrible polarbear-accident, it is my sad and happy duty to replace his subject issue "Practical use of Majikal Buerocracy to ensure a Qlipothik Unity of no-thing" with my own somewhat less serious issue "Songs the Lord taught me, or: Tricks of wearing the pointy hat".In other words, I'll talk about whatever pleases me, and youll be gracefully allowed to ask questions afterwards. First, let me say a few things about presentational and argumentational techniques. Many inside these fields seem to lay great weight in dressing their musings into the fields of strangeness either in a a pseudo scientific-rational way of speaking, with a building of a hypothesis, a presentation of "evidence", a judgement of the results gleaned from such and then a conclusion, in the ravings of sheer old fashioned religious ecstatic symbolism or in the usage of a complicated technical language derived from the kabbalah and its myriads of possibilities. To this I say, PooEee with a bell on. My way of presenting things, wich is of course the only and supreme way of presenting things, is through what I have coined and trademarked "ZMAs technique of structural resonant memetic associative constructivism", in other and more serious words, I prefer to use the communicative model used in Tolkiens mythic works, the model of Keyphrases and points, of repetitious symbolism in different guise and presented in different styles, to different audiences, as a sort of personal symbolistic montage aimed at being a construct in itself, much as each fold of the paper makes up the Origami crane. Nothing is Truth, All is Permitted, Consequence Judgement, Competence Satisfaction.

Yeah, rightyho. First, about Majik: It works. Booo. How it works, is a rather different question. Heres a few theories: One is that all exists within a condition of different harmonies, and that man through harmonic alignement of Self with harmonic alignement of Other can affect this Other in a strutural way, causing change to be manifested in said Other. Its the old mystical Aristotelean example, a stick is a stick until it touches fire, then it aint no stick no more but a burning stick and as such to be classified as having changed, of being subject to another formulational truth if you want. Here we enter into the old hermetic game of dominant and resistant forces, application of force and so on. The endpoint of this line of argument seems to be the acceptance of some mystical schtuff called variously NRG, phlogiston, Maya or pure and simple...eh...stuff wich changes other stuff, a sort of master elixir that exists within and without and wich is as it is. Another is that mans perception is subjective, and so a mans creation of perspective and subsequent etrance into gnosis, a state of being sure of what they are doing while they are doing it, may cause reality to change in some fundamental way, its the popular "Breaking the walls of the space-time-continuum" theory, reality as a consensual hallusination based on the continual input and acceptance of said input, the universe being in a continual state of talking to itself. the faultline here is, of course, that this implies that if noone is around to see the tree fall, not only does it not make a sound but it actually does not fall, and if the squirrel nearby is not able to formulate the experience of loosing a shitload of nuts, those nuts quite simply aint lost. A variant, and even more mystical one, is good ole Eckhardts theory of the Word, wich I cant say to have understood properly but wich seems to imply that the Word of th beholder is a reflection gained from beholding a subjective interpretation of the Word of the reciever, wich leads very easily into the pitfall of absolute subjectivism and its subsequent centrance around Ego as the only known fact, a position wich the experience of Other seems to me to deny the comfortable plausibility of. Then theres the practicalist variant, to wich Im a subscriber, that majik is the Artof talking to the universe in words that she cannot ignore, that man is through hirs posessionon of the cognitive ability in a state of communication with the Other wich can be termed Life. This does imply a weird sense of animistic/pantheistic practical approach to mysticisms one point of Recognition, in that it states that the Act of Formulation causes the Formulation to become a possibility, and in some cases such a possibility will become the Fact.

This, to me, leads to my personal paradigmal theory, wich at the moment is divided into the thoughts concerning Ka and Ki, and wich runs as follows: The natural flow of things can be called the great river of Ka, much in the way of the Tao, and in the perfect state of Ka there exists a balance. There also exists a possibility for action, and this possibility can be called the Ki. Within a perfect state of Ka Ki would be a part of the natural flow, the leap of the cat towards the mouse, the picking of a lifemate, the sharing of bananas among the tribe. Somewhere along the line, however, man gained the ability to cause Change, a ability wich can be called Choice, and through this ability he gained also the ability to change the patterns of Ka through the consequences of his actions. Man, in other words, got inflicted with the possibility of inflicting structural Change, as opposed to superficial or temporary Change. Magi, or the Art, can be said to use the Free Choice of applied Ki to make a formulation of reality in accordance with the dreams and longings of the formulator.

<muttering of recorder:mumble mumble intellectualist asshole mumble mumble what about action mumble mumble This again has lead me to the following distinctions, wich are of strictly personal nature and not in any way universalist dogma: Theres three basic ways of talking to She who enfolds us, two of wich seek to cause change and one wich seeks to uphold that wich is. Using the Harmonic image we can call these patterns Harmonic increase/decrease, Disharmonic increase/decrease and Harmonic/Disharmonic continuation. Earlier in my glorious and amazingly fabolous career, I labeled these Majik, MagicK and Magi. Using the communicational model, one may say that the first is the Art of poetic seduction, the second the Art of command and the third the Art of Mantric Repetition. A "magical spell" is , basically, a formulation wich is aimed at some other,a nd to me these seem to be usable categories within wich to put such communications. Im willingly here trying to avoid all use of judgemental language. It is my personal and subjective view, however,t hat the usage of force as is traditional in the Lux-based workings of modern ceremonial magiCK, are based on a combination of Disharmonic continuation and Disharmonic increase, in other words that most ritual spells of the classical type seems to bestructured around a foundation of mantric repetition mounting in a culminative display of the Art of Command, and it is in my belief that most of these acts are if not just rude then dangerous to the very essence that it employs, insofar as there seems to exist a deep connection between the formulator and that wich is formulated, so that just as the magician is shaped by the ritual in more ways than he/she knows, so the very essence of the magic itself that he/she performs <at the very least, egregoric in its extreme> gets changed in return in some sort of mutual reaction.

<Shouts from audience: Get on with, ya European cocksucker!>
<laughter>

**break in tape**

...When discussing moral issues and the question of the Law, I kinda think its important to remember that these are subject to the dictates of power, tho. As an example: A anarchist contact of mine, Luigi, is a righteous man, a vegetarian, a stout friend, works for free among the poor, etc. Yet, he particpates in mass-shoplifting actions, where hundreds of people storm into a chainrun-shopping mall and takes all they can carry with them away. This he does from a considered strategical position, and from his consideration of the world. Three times he has gone to jail, once for this, once for refusing to serve in the army and refusing to say that he is a pacifist in order to get away with it, and once for being in a occupied house. All three times the Law has been against him. Lets examine these crimes: One is theft, and a clear case of a breaking of the social contract. One is pride, and a refusal to bow the head to those in a position of superior power. One is for comradeship and a reaction to the injustice of the political and economical structures, who let houses stand empty yet keep people homeless. When my friend states that the same forces, the structural powerpeople are both responsible for the largescale shopping malls, the military armsindustial complex and the homelessness, it can be argued that all these three actions are a consequence of a refusal to be a part of this structure. Is this then, the refusal through pride to accept the common demnominator enforced by the Powers a crime? Are all of these excusable? None? These are interesting questions to me, morally. The "common" drugaddict white middleclass suburban punk doesnt give shit, isnt worth shit and would never stand tall against anything except in a mob, this is a fact of life. But its interesting to note that the Law is posed as a cornerstone of the state, yet it functions in different ways for different people, and is most severe aginst those who try to oppose the majority by creation of alternatives while it is most sympathic to those who work within the structures of Power. <Remember Irangate?>

<Shout from the audience: Sophist Buuuuullshit!>

Hmm , I seem to be wandering aimlessly. I guess my personal conclusion is rather a dangerous one, and one wich I have tried to escape, actually. You very easily get to the conclusion that "Man is responsible for his own sad to see that very many conclude this sentence with "Love is the Law, <but> Love Under Will", seeming to imply that ruling principle must be that of reason and calculated correctness and not one of personal rigidity. If Will, in its "Hegelian" sense, in other words Will as a entity <egregore?> composed of lesser Wills acting in unison, is to be put before the Individuals personal Love, i.e. personal "Knowledge of Rightness of the Universe" then such a Will is , to me, tyrannical and not in accordance with my personal view. I do not know wether you are familiar with diverse occult and "secret" societies, I am not personally a memeber of any organized hierarchical structire like this. I do know, however, that it is usual to pledge allegiance to an authority within such a order. I prefer the Assasin oath of allegiance myself, wich is rather one of negative assertance, that one promises not to lie, not to attack and not to betray the trust of ones brothers, leaving Self free to choose to participate in actions or not. It seems, to me, that one of the main ideas of such organizations, and of mainstream religions, and individuals trying to "make" it in the world,w ether through "alternative" or through "mainstream" channels, is that they seem to accept the premises and the Word as it is presented to them so that they become servants before the Power instead of Actors within the world. Now, in my travel I have met men who stood against, and in some places they were still standing, but in mnost places they were falling minto despair and misery and drunkenness and woe, qlipothik sadness and decay of hollowness, and it is this wich is sad to behold and it is this that I can not make myself condemn. Yes, people should be standing, and Ive been howling for four years now for one true man among the already competents to step forward and do something brave, but Ive yet to see one practical tactical move inside the socalled "occult" world using the knowledge gained these last thirty years concerning the usage of television, sound and symbols for a positive aim. Thats why I personally steal chocolates now and then, not because of need but out of anger that you need to kiss someones feet in order to get them for free, and it seems to me that the keepers of this chocolate are Evil, either mindlessly or directed.

<Loud booing from the audience, sound of massive contigent getting up and leaving>

**break in tape**

\\Transcribers note\\: According to eye-witnesses,at this point 92,5 % of the originally massive and diverse audience had got up and left under loud shouts of sarcastic threats. \\Transcribers note ended\\

<cough> Hehehe, and now that our impatient brethern have departed, let us get serious. There is but one god, and her name is Allah. I make no claim to be a secret imam, nor do I make a claim to be a da'i, but I do consider myself at least partly initiated by now and as such may divulge those practical secrets wich I see fit in order to achieve my aims. Therefore, I would direct your attention to Hassan-I-Sabbahs original plan for the development of a effective structural organisation, and point out that to him, philosophy was the end point of the initiationprocess and something to be performed as a leisurely pursuit, inbetween the actions performed by the brethern of the Ismai'il.

<raises voice> Our aim has always been sevenfold, for seven is the sacred number, and four is at its base and three at its top and in the middle is the one wich is nill and all, yet both and because, and the way to the three goes by the four through the one. The four can be said to represent the elements, and its political aspects are as follows: Earth is the building of strongholds and the keeping of safety of the hold that is the Tribe, Air is the understanding and application of the three sisters Word, Image and Sound, Fire is the understanding of the Matter in wich one burns and application of such an action and Water is the understanding of the understanding of the movements of Life in all its aspects and the bringing forth of such Life. Having succesfully gained this base, the candidate may approach the One wich is naugh yet all and wrestle it to the ground, filling it with that wich is True, causing the alchemic reaction of turning neither/nor into Both/And, wich is the formulae wich allows safe entry into the realms of Three.. All is True, Nothing is Permitted, Consequence Measurement, Competence Satisfaction. There is but one God, and his name is Allah.

<The voice of lecturer has through this sermonlike monologue gone lower and lower, ending almost in a whisper. There follows one minute of Silence, broken by laughter from lecturer>.

O.K., hands up who thinks Im initiated into something. Hehe, thought so. See how easy it is to conceal truths in gibberish, and gibberish in truths? Lemme tell you the real secret of secrets, people. There aint no secret brotherhood, or if there ever was theyve all been fried on the astral by the detonation of the nuclear charges these last years. The responsibility is ours, and its open. You, there, whats your name, you look like youve had an idea for some time, lemme use my clairvoyant powers and discern them in good olefashioned quakerstyle, lemme guess, youre planning to go hitchhiking to New York, become a folksinger, turn into the main hero of the beatgeneration and spread the meme of poetic consciousness into the generation of the postwar stress, reflecting your astral dreams as best you can? Good on ya, mate, go for it, though I think it will end in despair for you. You see, everybody, there seems to be this condition that follows with the opening of the first gate that communication of ideas is virtually impossible, that a secret doctrine is protected by the very idea of the secret doctrine itself, a guardian wichfor me always turns out as a bull whenever I wrestle him in my dreams, and wich seems to twist the words of the communicator into patterns that s-he did not see. This is the trap were facing, along with those of being swallowed by the Selfs Word and the difficulty of finding two men who are willing to work together for anything but money. Well, Ive found the solution to this, and here it

**End of tape**

//Transcribers note//Here, unfortunately, the tape was switched off and onemay only guess what wonders were transmitted for the next half hour. Sufficient it is to say that Lasse Marhaug went on to establish Norways perhaps most powerful lodge during the seventies, the dreaded AKP-ML who through their ritualistic political strength shook the very bones of Norwegian society to their core.//Transcribers Note ended///

P.S. Lasse MArhaug and other members of the Agarthean Kommunist Party can be seen at the following venues right NOW.

Fri 1:  1000Fryd          Aalborg             Denmark
Sun 3:  M/S Stubnitz      Rostock             Germany
Mon 4:  Robert Bloom Str. Neu Brandenburg     Germany
Wed 6:  Galerie H         Dusseldorf          Germany
Thu 7:  Lichtwirtschaft   Leipzig             Germany
Fri 8:  Az Conni          Dresden             Germany
Sat 9:  Bauwagen-Siedlung Rodenbach/Frankfurt Germany
Wed 13: Slovak State Gallery  Bánska Bystrica Slovakia
Fri 15: KD                Lucenec             Slovakia
Sat 16: (WUK?)            Wien                Austria
Mon 18: Kasernenstr.      Zurich              Switzerland
Tue 19: rgh7              Luzern              Switzerland
Thu 21: Clan Destino      Faenza              Italy
Fri 22: El Paso           Torino              Italy -tbc
Sat 23: (tbc)             Parma               Italy -tbc
Mon 25: Golden Poodle Club  Hamburg           Germany
Tue 26: Ungdomshuset      København           Denmark