When I first started looking for a venue for NOTOCON, I thought big.   I wanted a slice of the pacific northwest with panoramic views of mountains, water, and city skyline.  As it turns out, there are very few venues in Seattle proper that offer all of that and are even remotely big enough for NOTOCON, and the one or two that I did find?  We were too small for *them*.

A voice kept calling to me…”all we need is wine and a place to drink it!”  (it sounded an awful lot like Sr. Kim), and of course the voice was simplifying a little bit.  But the essence of the statement is true. 

Thelemites are resourceful.  Whether it be by gathering for an intense discussion about some obsure magickal practice or catching up with brothers and sisters from accross the country, not to mention attending intellegent workshops and inspiring rituals,  Thelemites make their own fun, just add…wine?

Enter the Doubletree.  It’s an unassuming place, near the airport and a mall.   And inside it are contained the perfect features for an excellent NOTOCON. 

Space!  There is room more than double the attendees of previous O.T.O. conferences.  We could, potentially, fill the entire hotel. 

Space!  There is a wonderful common are/bar, in the central atrium, that will be open quite late for our socializing.

Space!  Vending, classes, rituals, socializing…it will all be in the same building, one happening just steps away from another.  

Space!  All of the rooms are suites, and the hallways circle the atrium, look down upon your bretheren

Having tried one of the beds, I can also say that the linen is lovely and the beds are super comfortable.

Reserve your room today!  vii.notocon.org/lodging

Oh, and while you’re out here, there is still opporutunity to take some extra time and see our beautiful state.  But do it before or after the con, because it will be too good to miss!

Sr. Melissa Holm, Onsite Chair

Coming soon:  I’m investigating a nearby KOA campground for those who might be interested.

An excerpt from “TMI or Karma Yoga: A Fool’s Journey”

By Soror Beth Shemesh

( Published in The Lifted Lance, Vol.VI, Issue II)

Since I found out it existed, I have always wanted to bring NOTOCON to Salem (even before the temple moved to our fair city). Four years later, I wrote my proposal after the Kaaba Officers suggested we might not need to wait until 2009 e.v., as I had envisioned.

I have experienced so much love and hospitality at home and by traveling to various local bodies for initiations, small events, and, of course, NOTOCONs. I wanted to give it back on a LARGE scale with a vision to reflect and transmit the delight from my experiences. It seemed the logical choice for me, as I wrote in my letter to the Conference Committee:

Carae Sorores et Fratres of the NOTOCON Committee,

Please accept this proposal as an offer and oath to coordinate and host the 2007 National OTO Conference. You will find attached a basic proposal outlining where I am presently in its development.

I have had the honor of attending two consecutive conferences and hope that I have learned from the examples set by my brave Sistren who guided these events into beautiful fruition. We each have our own backgrounds and skill sets, but we all began our careers in the OTO learning the same fundamentals of Fraternity and Hospitality.

When one attends NOTOCON it is for the express purpose of gathering within the bonds of our Fraternity; to bask in the company of our brethren. Without the hospitality of our hosts, however, it would be a pale shadow of that which each of us finds in our own Thelemic communities.

I have built much of my work within the Order around these two concepts, learning to walk the path of Karma Yoga; to do the work without thought to the reward or recognition that may result.

I see hosting NOTOCON as the obvious next step on my Fool’s Journey… the ultimate opportunity to receive and entertain my Brethren ‘with kindness and without reward’; in short to emulate the highest standards of hospitality which I first experienced on my journey to the City of the Sun.

Now I could really take my new philosophy for a walk; it has been grand and I hope it goes well and everyone has a wonderful time. A lot of wonderful persons have poured their essence into this Love In, pursuing alternately the path of knowledge or of action.

“The world is imprisoned in its own activity, except when actions are performed as worship of God. Therefore you must perform every action sacramentally, and be free from all attachments to results” (Prabhavananda and Isherwood, 1995: p18).

A few years ago I would have been freaking out right now from the stress and work, but I am calm, ten days prior to the event. It must be the benefit of this non-attachment suit I have been trying to wear. I have had moments of weakness, but tried to keep it close and personal. I have even been sick less, which was often proportional to my stress levels. I have noticed personal improvements as a side effect of my work, not an objective.

Of objectives, there can be only one: Thou hast no right but to do thy will (CCXX, I:42). The Love must be for the Divine. I pray to my daemon, I offer up energies, emotions, and ecstasies, all upon the altar of my Beloved. My Work is in Their Honor. I tip my hat to the Secret Lover who inspires me, even when I know Them not. I see the ideal me in Them. I see Them in all of you. We are One. We are None.

“In the calm of self-surrender you can free yourself from the bondage of virtue and vice during this very life. Devote yourself therefore to reaching union with Brahman. To unite the heart with Brahman and then to act: that is the secret of non-attached work. In the calm of self-surrender, the seers renounce the fruits of their actions, and so reach enlightenment “(P&I, p13).

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.

The following is a message from our Speaker Liaison, Sr. Cordis Serpente.

****

Speaker proposals are invited at this time. Both NOTOCON veterans,
and relative newcomers, are welcome to apply. Interested parties
should visit the Speaker Liaison page at the NOTOCON VII website:
http://vii.notocon.org/speakers/, where they will find details and a downloadable form for
submission. Proposals will preferably, though not necessarily, relate
in some way to this year’s NOTOCON theme (see below). The deadline
for submissions is October 15, 2008.

NOTOCON VII: Unity Uttermost Showed.

“It takes strength to stand in defense of Beauty, Truth, and Freedom,
and strength requires unity,”
-Grand Master Sabazius’ address, NOTOCON VI, Salem, MA, 2007.
http://www.hermetic.com/sabazius/SbSpeech6.htm

What does unity mean in a group of individuals who aspire to do their
Will? As Thelemites, we commit ourselves to supporting the liberty of
the individual, the cultivation of self-respect, self-knowledge, self-
discipline, and self-responsibility, a path that often takes us far
afield from our fellow men, and at times can seem to put us at odds
with each other.
Unity, standing together in support of the values we share, not only
makes us a more cohesive community, but also makes us more effective
in our way toward fostering an environment in which the Law of Thelema
can thrive.
The focus of next year’s NOTOCON is to expand on the topics that unify
us, and to examine the ways that we differ in order to continue to
foster an environment of Strength and Beauty, as promoted by our
previous conference.
As is stated in the O.T.O. Program Statement, we are a structured
society, “who are united by their acceptance of the Law of Thelema, by
a common interest in Magick, Yoga, and Hermetic Science, by the common
experience of ceremonial initiation and sacramental ritual, by common
pledges of fidelity, cooperation, and mutual aid, and by certain
common ideals, namely: individual liberty”

We look forward to receiving your proposals! Please email speakers@notocon.org
if you have any questions.

Love is the law, love under will.

Sr. Cordis Serpente
Speaker Liaison, NOTOCON VII

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.

Believe it or not, there is less than a year to prepare for NOTOCON. It seems only a dream ago that I was reading the National Conference Committee packet on my flight home from Salem in 2007, and asking myself the question, “Can I do this?”

Everyone around me gave a resounding “YES!” to that question, and so a proposal was born.

Why NOTOCON? And Why a Blog?

Salem was my first NOTOCON. I went not knowing what to expect, and leaving with an amazing sense of family with my brothers and sisters, as well as a grand sense of the possibilities for the con. I wanted to bottle that and bring it home with me to Seattle, to share it with those who hadn’t gone and those who had never yet attended our national conference.

Next year’s conference venue has the capacity to share this elixir with more members than ever, practically double the number that we have maxed out at for previous cons. It struck me that it was more important than ever to make sure the word got out about NOTOCON!

It’s my wish for this blog to become a resource not only for the most timely updates about the conference, but also for insight into what it takes to put the conference together, memories of cons gone by, and tips for how to get the most out of your NOTOCON experience.

To that end, I invite our members who have attended previous NOTOCONs to write me and share their fondest memories of the conference. They can be funny, poignant, educational…whatever you think the rest of us would like to know. Who knows? Your story could end up here!

And if you’ve never attended a NOTOCON, and have questions about it, I invite you to write as well.

The blog will not have a commenting function, so if there is anything posted that you would like to comment or give feedback regarding, please contact me directly.  Thanks!

onsite@notocon.org

Love is the law, love under will.

Melissa Holm, Onsite Chair