WHAT DO I WANT FROM GOR?

by _Marcus_

As I have often expressed in the past, "enlightenment is the ultimate goal of the exercise."

Were Norman's theories simply untrue, or had they little or no consequence in the everyday living of my life, then I would have long ago tossed the Gor books aside as a momentary distraction. However...

I believe the man is onto something. I have a lot of admiration for his willingness to come right out and say (even if cloaked in the guise of fiction) what so many of the supposed best and brightest of our modern generation are simply afraid to say: that perhaps our social experiments have drifted down an unnecessary (and perhaps harmful) path.

I have no problem digesting that concept. I was exposed to Norman's theories during adolescence, and have applied them in practice in my daily life since the late 1970's. For many years I simply didn't bother to inform anyone of where or how I came to my personal belief system-- I just put "Gorean" principles into action, in my choice of career, my choice of friends, my value system, and my personal relationships. And I came out a winner.

When I encountered IRC (and the channel #silk&steel) both on the same night back in 1996, I felt as if I had come home. I started to discuss what I felt was the governing philosophy behind Norman's work, and why. It all seems quite plain and clear now, but back then, people were amazed that the books contained anything beyond tarns and a bit of mild bondage.

I was completely amazed at the vehemence which my support of Norman inspired in the weak and small-minded. But after my initial shock wore off, I came to understand that yes: obviously, since so many selfish and blinkered people exhibited such a visceral fear reaction at Norman's ideas and concepts, that I was getting somewhere. Such resistence only reinforced my belief that his theories were hitting extremely close to home.

Through the years, the whole concept of "cyber-Gor" turned out to be quite a disappointment, as the endless grind of ambivalent role players eclipsed most serious study of the validity in Norman's work. But I feel we reached a few.

In the meantime, in my daily life (offline) I have shared my life with a corps of rock-solid Gorean men; I have enjoyed the beauty and grace of devoted kajirae in service; and I have gone right ahead living my life as I always did.

I think THAT is the point that most people are missing about Gor and Gorean interaction. That it isn't an escape from the circumstances of one's life-- rather, it's simply an explanation for what works best and why. And a challenge to apply the truth to one's life. To find truth in beauty, and beauty in truth.

Over the years I've been forced to conclude, more and more, how right Professor Lange was. Even the concepts which I found difficult to digest upon first discovering them eventually became truisms in my life.

If one applies the dictims of Gorean philosophy to one's life, one succeeds. Men who do so become more powerful, more self-assured, and more fulfilled. They succeed with women. They simply do.

If a woman successfully explores her femininity via a study of Norman's writings, she can un-do a lifetime of religious-based morality training, unleash her sexuality in service to her partner (and hence, to herself), and REALLY understand the underlying forces which drive the human condition. She can become the woman that every man wants; she can then encounter her own unique form of female empowerment and be the woman every woman wants to be, whether they choose to admit it or not.

There's no prize for accepting a Gorean ideology as your own, other than a new depth of self-discovery and a better understanding of how and why the world works the way it does.

Or possibly some modicum of artificial stature in some virtual cyber environment, or whatever.

Some might question how such an important process could be so simple... but it IS extremely simple. Not that it's always easy. Whether or not it proves difficult depends entirely upon the ability (or actual willingness) of the individual to accept the core philosophical precepts at hand.

But then, this isn't a foot race. There is no "finish line." Nor is there a step-by-step universally approved method to fully contact and assimilate these truths. Furthermore, it isn't even necessary for one to understand and fully accept the precepts of the philosophy in order for one to be happy and relatively fulfilled in one's life. One can cloak the natural mechanisms involved in any number of ideological guises which might work just as well. The particulars usually don't matter that much.

There is a biological mechanism at work, which engenders certain sociological and socio-sexual responses. They take many forms, and throughout history there have been many social paradigms designed to explain the process. The Gorean theory, with its inherent philosophy, is simply one of them-- one way whereby human beings can better understand why their biology has best adapted them to certain modes of interaction with one another.

It doesn't matter what you know, or what you think you know. The mechanism is still there, still working in the background. Whether one understands it, or even if one doesn't give a fig about understanding it.

I've recently been asked about certain past mistakes which may have been made during my various Gorean interactions over the years. As far as that goes-- well, the worst mistakes I have made involved my accepting the statements of other people at face value, and assuming their motives for taking part in Gorean interaction were similar to my own. I eventually discovered, much to my chagrin, that there are a lot of sad and very strange people out there in contact with the internet, who see Gor and Gorean interaction simply as a means whereby they can usurp some lame form of power, undeservedly, over the ignorant and trusting.

I was also recently asked whether or not it is the right of all truthseekers to seek their own "personal truths" about Gorean matters.

But that would really depend upon the nature of that particular "truth," now, wouldn't it?

If it is raining, then, would it be a "truth" for me to say it is raining?

If I were outdoors getting soaked, and you were inside under cover in a dry room with no windows, then, is it still "true" that it is raining?

If it's raining on me at my home on the East Coast of the United States, but not in North London, and I tell you it is raining-- well, is it?

Some would argue that we all exist in our own private reality. I don't subscribe to that belief. Because I know we all exist, more or less, in a SHARED reality, and that some truths are universal... or almost so.

If it's raining on me, then it simply IS. Water is falling from the sky, though perhaps not on you. You might tell me that you don't see it, or feel it, or you might not even KNOW it... but that doesn't change the ultimate truth of it.

Many of the questions I receive depend greatly upon words which are rooted in a highly subjective viewpoint.

"Normal," for instance. That one is so subjective as to be almost entirely worthless. The same goes for "healthy" and "natural." But at least we can apply evidence to the latter two, against which we might test a certain mode of behavior. The first, however, is purely a matter of social convention.

What is "healthy" to the individual will vary according to that individual. Sugar isn't really too healthy to anyone, though it's extremely unhealthy to someone with diabetes. To a person with normal glycemic blood levels, high-fructose corn syrup is far less "healthy" than natural cane sugar. And so on. So it's all a matter of degrees.

Now, if you define "healthy" as "being beneficial to one's health," then again the sphere of possible variables widens. Their physical health? Or their mental health? Their emotional health? Which? Or all?

As far as "natural" goes, that seems to suggest "according to and working according to the system of physical nature." In which case, again, we can oftimes render an informed judgement.

I would agree that the attempt of someone to force other people to "accept their truths" is a silly and usually profitless endeavor. No one can really force anyone to accept anything they refuse to accept. Mentally, anyway.

If there is a red ball sitting on a tabletop in front of you, and I say "there is a red ball on that table," and if you then say "no, there isn't," I can debate the matter with you until I'm blue in the face. You won't accept that statement as fact unless you decide to do so.

Then again, it doesn't matter if you accept it mentally or not. If the ball is there in reality, it simply is. Nor is it really my assigned task to convince you. Believe what you will.

But... the ball is still there.

If it rolls off the table, it may still strike you. You may not see it (the human mind is a powerful thing) but it will still affect you.

Still, as stated above, one cannot EVER force others to accept ones viewpoint against their will. Not without subjecting them to degrees of coercion which render the entire process essentially meaningless.

Too, it is also part of the Gorean Philosophy that those too weak or foolish to embrace what truths to which they are exposed DESERVE to languish in ignorance. Which is why, I suspect, so many so-called online Gorean "teaching initiatives" over the past decade have actually amounted to little more than silly little personal power plays.

The Gorean philosophy accepts the existence of certain natural forces as a part of reality. Like gravity, these forces, through cause and effect, affect all of us. And the Gorean viewpoint compels us to acknowledge and understand them. Because it makes our lives simpler, and personal success easier for us to achieve. Too, the challenge of curiosity and the clarion-call of natural self-empowerment is part of the Gorean philosophy as well.

Norman's books are a primer to the existence of certain social and sexual forces in existence, and his theory as to how and why they came into existence. And how certain failed societal experiments might be set aside for the benefit of all concerned, were circumstances different.

The fact that some attempt to use those books as an excuse to boss weak-willed females about online (or offline) strikes me as extremely immature and silly. And, as I've said in the past, masturbatory.

If you would find what is Gorean within yourself, you must look in the mirror.

However-- I would advise you to gain some understanding of Gorean Philosophy and condition your mental faculties beforehand, in order that you possess the knowledge and perception to understand precisely WHAT it is you are looking at, and why.

Alternately, those who approach Gor can imagine themselves in a magical world of swirling silks and flashing siriks, a world where whippings are enjoyable and titillating and where mutual masturbatory delusions are the sole purpose for one's existence.

I don't live in that world. And trust me: it's not Gor, either. Norman was quite specific about that.

So... what is it that I am striving to attain, through my lifelong personal involvement with Gorean matters?

Self-betterment.

Isn't everybody?

I wish you well,

_Marcus_