Theos-Talk Archives (May 1998 Message tt00006)

Dear Mark,

I find your discussion with Dallas fascinating because it seems
that you are signposts at a crossroads, pointing in opposite
directions.  How old are you, if I may ask?  When I was in my
mid-20s I embraced the cautious, book-learning approach presented
by ULT and Pasadena and now increasingly by the Adyar TS.  (Which
was a continuation of the rather ascetic lifestyle of a teenage
Baha'i, which I had previously been.)  Now, in my mid-40s, I'm like
those people you mentioned who regret not having taken more
risks.  The riskiest thing I ever did was probably to wander all
over India alone for five/six weeks in 1990 following the traces
of HPB and Olcott, in search of clues about the Masters.  I quit
a well-paying job to do that, and risked finding out things that
could (and did) cost me the goodwill of a great many theosophists.

Of course there's a need for discrimination, and potential
downfalls to experimenting with altered states via drugs, or
spiritualistic practices, or ceremonial magic, etc.  But I find
the balance of warnings vs. encouragement to explore a lot
healthier in the ARE literature than in Theosophical books.
There's a good reason for that, too, IMO.

Theosophy views spiritual guidance as a rare and precious
commodity and sees "successes" as being hugely outnumbered by
"failures."  After all, it takes a genuine Master to really guide
one, and those are so hard to find and so rare that only the
super- deserving have the least chance of finding one.  So all we
can do is study the books, try to be good little Theosophists,
and wait for the Masters to decide it's time to help us evolve
spiritually.  Of course, following all the ES rules and accepting
Radha as your spiritual teacher puts you way ahead of the rest of
humanity, but such attainments are only for "the few."

Whereas Cayce portrays spiritual guidance as a universal gift,
God's grace to all of us through the Christ Consciousness which
can lead you every minute of every day if you open yourself to
it.  There's more than enough for everybody.  That one
superabundant Master is all you need to protect yourself.  Which
means that it's encouraged to explore various meditation
techniques, approaches to healing, regression, etc. etc.  The
chances of success are far greater than the chances of failure,
as long as you are guided by love of God and humanity.  And if
you do fail as a result of one risky venture, Cayce assures you
that it's better to act and make a mistake than to hold back for
fear of failure.

Cheers,
Paul