Theos-Talk Archives (July 1996 Message tt00040)

Bee:

The success of your group depends upon group dynamics, including
the input from the active members (including yourself), and their
interaction with new people that join.

If the group is inflexible, it will stick to the status quo and
not change over long periods of time. Being inflexible means
that when it comes under pressure to change, there will be
tension, followed by a shattering of the old order, or there will
be tension followed by *nothing at all*.

If the group can gradually become flexible, over time, by doing
"stretching", it will become more open to change.

When you say that you have a catch-22 situation with your lodge,
where new people are needed to introduce change, but the absence
of change drives away those new people -- that's a description of
a stable, dynamic system. The system is closed, and maintains
itself, *until a major perturbation happens*, unsettling the old
order of things.

Regardless of the type of change, though, we're faced with a
basic question: what change and for whom? We can use various
analogies to illustrate a point, but have to be careful that they
don't get in the way of our seeing what is right to do. The
"don't rock the boat" analog implies a situation with a small,
unstable environment, easily disturbed and at risk of collapse.
(You rock the boat too much and it tips over.)

How about another analogy, one more helpful to picturing how
things could be, and promising greater rewards for our action?
Picture the warmups that an actor (or even football player) might
go through before going on stage (going on the field) to face the
competition. Consider the lodges as a place where students are
in the same situation. "Don't rock the boat" implies the best
outcome comes from doing nothing. "Warmups" implies the best
outcome comes from an effort to become more excited, more
enthusiastic, more *wanting* of successful action in the world.

Another important consideration is with regard to "new blood" and
experimenting with new things. If we actually have something to
offer, it has to be *us* as the first to experiment. We need to
try out the new ways of exploring and sharing the Wisdom
Tradition.

When someone new comes to us, someone new to the Philosophy in
this lifetime, they are seeking some substance, some living
connection to the Mahatma-dharma, to the lineage of Teachings
that is carried by the elect of humanity. They are seeking a
connection with the Hierarchy of Compassion and the Tree of Life.

Some new person may very well be an old soul, someone far wiser
and more advanced that we are on the Path. But in this lifetime,
they are starting off as newcomers, as seekers, and in a way we
can play the role of foster parents, until they find their true
"parents", their Gurus or spritual teachers.

Until they have established themselves firmly on the Path again
in this lifetime, we can play the role of an agent of karma, of
their good karma, and share or pass on something of what we've
been blessed to have learned and experienced of the spiritual in
this lifetime.

You'll have to decide, Bee, if your lodge is your sole
theosophical activity, or your primary activity, or if there are
other opportunities waiting for you to recognize them. If the
lodge is too inflexible, you can also (in addition to it, not in
replacement of it) start a private or semi-public study class on
theosophical matters, giving it the direction that you'd like.
It can be sponsored by your lodge, or simply done by youself.

What could you do in such a group? Study the literature. Be a
spiritual self-help group. Keep a strong theosophical slant, to
the best of your ability to moderate things. Experiment with new
ways of interacting with people. (e.g. invite members to join
it via the internet, with printouts studied at meetings and
succinct comments typed up by you to post to the members)

Think of it. It doesn't have to be a big thing, nor dramatic in
nature. It can start small, grow over time, and grow in its own
direction, under your nurturing and guidance.

----

Your comments regarding "talking less" are important, but it's
not an either/or situation. You can talk more, and not talk
more. It's just that in different situations you play different
roles. When you talk more, you learn more individually, become
more skilled in your knowledge of the philosophy and skilled in
communication. When you listen more, you help evoke the learning
in others, and become more skilled in aiding others to learn.
Both are ways of teaching.

We have something new with the Internet, something that lets us
do both at the same time. We can write as much as we want, and
not monopolize the time alloted to a meeting. And we can listen
as much as we want, by carefully reading the postings of others,
and responding directly to them with a few, carefully choosen
words. Then in "real life", apart from the computer and written
word, we can participate in either approach, without being
concerned that we're neglecting either area of our lives.