Alternative Spirituality in Brisbane

If you’re bored with the big three religions (Buddhism, Christianity & Islam) and fancy dipping your toe into the waters of alternative spirituality, there are plenty of options available to you. A quick search of the internet will reveal the usual suspects in Brisbane; Anglicanism, Catholicism, even Russian Orthodox and Hinduism, but a deeper search reveals some of the more ‘unorthodox’ spiritual paths including the Rosicrucians, the Kabbalists, and Thelemites, as well as many others. This article will focus on the Law of Thelema but you can easily find (and contact) many other different religious organisations through the wonders of the internet and email.
Brisbane residents want more options when it comes to their choice of deity ; census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics website reveals that in 2001 there were 9669 Brisbane residents who claimed to be members of ‘Other Religious Groups’ or with ‘Other Religious Affiliations’; in 2006 this had rocketed to 21,155. You can be sure that when the 2011 census data is released, these figures will have again increased significantly.
Thelemic spirituality has been around in one form or another for several hundred years but it was the Englishman Aleister Crowley (writer, poet and mountaineer were just a few of his titles) who organised the disjointed rabble into the spiritual army now known as Thelema. He organised the Thelemite’s spiritual path into a progressive series of grades and rewrote many of the rituals for the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), which roughly translates as the Order of the Temple of the East or Order of Oriental Templars. Crowley was described by the press of his day as ‘the wickedest man in the world’ but this shouldn’t put you off exploring the fascinating world of Thelema.
I would not claim to grasp all the complexities of Thelema but the essential tenet is “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law”. This does not condone random selfish behaviour to satisfy the ego, but instead urges the disciple to discover their true will and correct place within the universe through the use of ceremony and ritual.
Thelemites are often affiliated to lodges, not dissimilar to the Freemasons, and according to the OTO International Headquarters website there are lodges in over 17 countries worldwide including Australia, Japan, England and the United States.
Glenn Miller, 40, has been a member of the OTO since 2001. Previously a mason, he was “...doing some research on masonry and stumbled across it [the OTO’s website] and realised that the OTO was active in Australia.”
His attitude to Thelema? “It’s the only way to go.”
Glenn explained that the OTO has branches in all states excluding the Northern Territory and Tasmania, and that the Brisbane camp has just become a Grand Lodge in its own right which means that they are no longer reliant on the American head office in to hold records and carry out administration.
The Brisbane camp has 20 fee-paying members (Yes, there are fees to be paid but Glenn assured me that the benefits of being a full member far outweigh the monetary outlay) and they meet once or twice a month - sometimes more when they are ‘working a rite (ritual)’.
Unlike many other religious followers, Glenn is only too aware of Crowley’s shortcomings. “He was a product of his times, for all the talk of him being somewhat enlightened...he was a bit of everything and he also had a very strong trickster element as well...which is good; you don’t want it too dry.” he said.
Finding a balance between the monotonous grind of earning one’s daily bread and contemplation of one’s eternal godhead and inherent divinity is difficult at the best of times but Glenn stressed the importance of making a distinction and taking the time to create a space (either mentally or physically) for pursuits such as meditation and yoga. Another Brisbane OTO member spoke of the life/work balance “...as working in harmony. You can’t really have one without the other. You use your spiritual life to make your normal life work really well, and if your normal life is working well then usually your spiritual life works well too.” Speaking of his membership, he said “It was nothing like I expected but everything that I wanted.”
Unlike some of the fundamentalist branches of christianity, the Brisbane OTO camp do not openly preach on the streets or doorknock in an attempt to convert the wretched sinners. As Glenn put it : “like any other organisation, it needs a membership but we don’t go to the street corner and do the Hari Krishna drums or anything.”.
Another member described it as being “...a personal discovery but you come together as a group to discuss and learn and form opinions.”
Regarding membership and initiation, Glenn had these words; “A lot of people who join the OTO aren’t ready for it but the whole reason for joining the OTO is, theoretically, because you’re not ready...it’s to make yourself ready but again; if you’re not ready for it, it’s kind of nonsensical because it’s a big world that you’re opening up and it can overcomplicate your own situation [however]...it’s just an experience you’ll never have if you don’t do it.”
Bernie Ripoll, MP and Federal Member for Oxley expressed his pride in the religious diversity of Brisbane. He said “I like it, I actually think there’s a real place for diversity, and Australia is the perfect place for multiculturalism; it works; for multi-faith & multi-religious freedom of beliefs, and freedom of expression. It works; and here [Brisbane] it works better than anywhere else. Here people don’t just tolerate, they get on.”
So if your deity of choice is not delivering the goods, there are plenty of alternative options out there; and the OTO and the Thelemic way of life is just one spiritual path that you can opt to wander down.



http://www.southbank.edu.au/site/international/english/living/religion.asp

http://www.rosicrucian.org/

http://kabbalahaustralia.com/studygroups.html

http://www.thelema101.com/intro

http://altreligion.about.com/od/importanthistoricalpeople/p/crowley.htm

http://www.oto.org/

http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?method=Location on Census Night&subaction=-1&producttype=QuickStats&areacode=305&action=401&collection=Census&textversion=false&breadcrumb=PL&period=2001&javascript=true&navmapdisplayed=true&

http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ProductSelect?newproducttype=QuickStats&btnSelectProduct=View+QuickStats+%3E&collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=305&geography=&method=&productlabel=&producttype=&topic=&navmapdisplayed=true&javascript=true&breadcrumb=LP&topholder=0&leftholder=0¤taction=201&action=401&textversion=false
http://www.bernieripoll.com.au/

http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/home

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/bb8db737e2af84b8ca2571780015701e/bfdda1ca506d6cfaca2570de0014496e!OpenDocument

http://www.otoaustralia.org.au/

http://oto-usa.org/