Divine Order of the Loving Serpent

On the Pursuit of Love and Pleasure

  • First, we believe that the purpose of life and existence is to experience and share love and pleasure. This contradicts both of the common beliefs, that (1)we are meant to suffer through life and (2)that we should feel guilty about existing in the first place. While we are aware that suffering exists and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, it is our goal to actively minimize that suffering, and replace it with love, joy, pleasure, and celebration of existence and life itself.
  • Second, and relatedly, we believe that schadenfreude (and humour based thereon), while apparently a hard-coded part of human nature, is highly detrimental to the goal of reducing suffering and elevating pleasure. Even if one gains pleasure from such humour, it exacerbates the suffering of the target thereof, thus negating any benefit that may come of it. This leads me to the next point:
  • Additionally, while we don't feel that self-sacrifice or martyrdom is generally beneficial, neither do we believe that bringing harm to others for one's own benefit is desirable.
  • Finally, as with most principles, while there are exceptional cases where there is a good reason to contravene them, one should always give such cases intense scrutiny, exploring for potential alternatives, and only violating these principles as a last resort, only when necessary, and using the experience to grow - examining the question of whether there was anything that could have been done to avoid landing in such a situation in the first place.

    • The Second Pillar: Knowledge and Wisdom (Coming Soon)

    Back to Introduction to the DOLS

    Back to Home Page