Nonconformity

This episode I want to talk about nonconformity as it relates to Satanism. As written by Dr. LaVey in The Devil’s Notebook, nonconformity is a Satanist’s greatest weapon – but with all weapons, there are a few catches. Nonconformity is a frame of mind, and a means to an end in some cases. I have tried to be a non-conformist most of my life after studying American literature in the eleventh grade in High School, the year after my introduction to Satanism. It was a pivotal moment when the works of Thoreau, Emerson, Whitman, and Dickerson opened my eyes to a new view of the world. I will discuss more on them later in this episode.

Let’s see what Dr. LaVey says about a true nonconformist. “An individualist must always live in his own world, not one created by others’ standards.” So we must create our world as we see fit, and be the “Other”. Conformity can be very enjoyable and comforting, but it is a trap. If you are comfortable with your world, you can be somewhat programmed by society. A true Satanist is not bound by being comfortable in the world, wither or not they appear to be. Being an “Other” means seeing things from a “third side” point of view. Yes you can be somewhat of a Left or Right leaning person, but still take a view from outside of the programming by either side. We see the strings of society and who truly pulls them. If you allow others to control you and your actions, you are not a good magician by imposing your will to get YOUR desired effects. When someone asks you to do something against your self interests, a sharp “No” is a powerful word. A lot of people are starved of attention, so they conform to what society, also known as “the herd”, as to how to get that attention. We as animals must be social, but why should it be what society dictates? It should be on OUR grounds, not the grounds which go against our carnal nature.

Now some important issues must be mention about being a non-conformist. Usually you will become a loner in some aspects of life. Personally, I try to live outside of the world view of what a bisexual male and a left-leaning libertarian is supposed to be. That generally means I am content with being alone most of my life. I do not deal with other people too much due to the requirement of their own social programming. It is one way to fight against becoming programmed myself. Another thing about being a non-conformist, turning off the damn TV and its programming of what is and what is not considered trendy or acceptable. So many people are influenced by the TV and making people programmed by who is actually running the station. We all know that the TV has become a new “God” in the modern world. From the news your watch to the advertisers on the brain dead shows those networks put on.

Now, there is a group out there that claim to be Satanists, but are not due to “following the herd” on what is the hierarchy’s goals are. These Social Justice Warriors are being bent to believe they are doing things in the best interest of the society which they live. They are just sheep conforming to a belief system that has nothing BUT conformity within it. Not very Satanic at all. Kevin Soulings group, march around thinking they are making a difference with “planned” protests and other actives. They feel like they are outsiders, but what they really are is just sheep being lead like those who they protest. The actual stance of a Satanist is do what is best for themselves, not for a collective. But more on that group in another episode to be decided. These wanna-be satanists, allowing themselves to be used by the white-light religions as a focus point to get more people into their programming. This does not allow for a Satanic will to be done.

True non-conformists who feel strong with something would NOT use a religion as a means to an end. We as Satanists, use our wit and charms to cause a change. One story I can think of when it comes to that is when I was in the eleventh grade, I was active as an outside poll influence group. The candidate I was supporting showed up and talked to US. Government class about his vision if elected. The other candidate stated he had a political fundraiser and refused to talk to the class. Being someone who sees the youth as our future, I tended to stand outside the polling place to show my support. An adult for the other politician was there and we started up a conversation while standing there. In the end, she stopped supporting the other candidate and supported who I was representing, after telling her about how it was I ended up supporting my candidate. Little lesser magic goes a long way at times. I knew how much to conform without being one hundred percent a sheep.

There are movement leaders who have thought outside the box as a non-conformist would, some of them used non-conformity to better their world. Two names stand out: Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. We know they lead protests against oppressive governments at the time. Gandhi lead the revolt of the United Kingdom and King lead the Civil Right Movement here is the United States. Why would I mention these two historical people, cause they used non-conformity to make their statement. They did not use a religion as a means to an end, but plain non-conformity. If you studied where they found this courage and discipline, one of the authors I mentioned before had a major influence on them.

Henry David Thoreau is how. There is a movement that he followed that lead to him writing an essay about it. This essay is what I deeply studied while in the eleventh grade. The title of this essay? “The Essay Of Civil Disobedience” written in 1849. (originally published as “Resistance to Civil Government”) It was written around the time of the Mexican-American War. If you have not read this literary work, I highly suggest you do. Gandhi and King both studied it and made a profound influence in their actions.

One of the non-conformist statements is “I am too high-born to be propertied, To be a secondary at control, Or useful serving-man and instrument, To any sovereign state throughout the world.” Thoreau was jailed several times for not conforming to the standards/rules of the day. In fact, he was a loner for the most part of his life. What lead to his writings? Which brings me to Transcendentalism as a philosophy. Most of what Thoreau did was non-spiritual Transcendentalism. It was closely related to Unitarianism, but without the spirituality.

It developed in the late 1820 and 1830 in the New England region of the United States. The core belief is society and its institutions have corrupted the individual and people are best when truly “self-reliant” and independent. Transcendentalists saw physical and spiritual phenomena as part of dynamic processes rather than discrete entities. Transcendentalists have a deep gratitude and appreciation for nature, not only for aesthetic purposes, but also as a tool to observe and understand the structured inner workings of the natural world. Emerson alludes to this concept in the introduction of the American Scholar address, “that there is One Man, – present to all particular men only partially, or through one faculty; and that you must take the whole society to find the whole man”

There has been a distinction made between individuality and individualism. Both advocate the unique capacity of the individual. Yet individualism is decidedly anti-government, whereas individuality sees all facets of society necessary, or at least acceptable for the development of the true individualistic person. Whether the Transcendentalists believed in individualism or individuality remains to be determined.

In closing, it did do a lot to effect a blooming mind to being a non-conformist and embracing my carnal self.