Theos-Talk Archives (June 1998 Message tt00479)

W. Dallas TenBroeck wrote:
>
> Annette -- you are quite right.  But for those who have very
> "organized" minds and who desire to be able to investigate into
> that which we know, they need those preliminary stepping stones.
> How do we help them ?  That is what I had in mind.        Dal.
Hi Dallas:
This is something I have not spent time thinking on.  Presumably because
my experience has been that my life has been full of experiences and
learning opportunities that presented themselves sooner or later in
response to my requests.  It was not until the last decade of my life
though, that I looked back on it from the point of view of an observer
and analyst and could see the threads from "wish" to "receipt" sometimes
over decades.  It became very obvious to me that humans get to "know" in
response to a genuine desire "to know".  All humans have "organized
minds", so the process tends to be more or less standard across the
race.  One "asks" or "wishes" for understanding and all kinds of people,
events, resources, books, movies, dreams, ideas, appear to one, like a
gift.  If one chooses to go with it, one receives what one desired,
including the responsibility of becoming a fuller person.

It definitely "helps" in the early stages to hear others say things like
"do not fear, this may be strange, but is natural".  It also "helps"
when one gets stuck at one point in the process if another gives an idea
that worked for them.  All these resources and methods "help", however,
the crux of this thing called life seems to be to do it alone.  To come
to it alone and to transform alone in the time one takes.

So, the action "help" can take many forms, all of which are sucessful
when the seeker is seeking.  I believe the concept you are probing is
that of encouragement for all human-kind to start the seeking process,
because a closed mind tends to result in life in a void.  One could
postulate that it is not possible to help someone who is not seeking.
In the dark times it is easy to believe that.  Until one is reminded of
karma and the natural law and then one remembers that everything done,
said, and thought impacts everything else in the universe so that "help"
is best given by "being" a fully living person.  It would be nice and
easy if humans could state the understandings of life in a
"do-it-yourself" step by step program and then distribute it by whatever
means were the currently accepted ones.  In fact we have been trying to
do that for some time now and have failed.  I now believe that this
failure occurs because the race has separated itself from the natural.
Here I don't just mean a diconnection from the planet and spiritual
things, but the whole natural way of life for our species....an
imbalance in family, work, time, self, education, worship.

To take one part of the problem and think one has solved it, let's say
by writing down ideas and speaking them to audiences with demonstrations
included for special effects for instance, appears to be working until
one gathers the results for analysis.  The results show that those most
"helped" by this method are the ones doing the writing and speaking.
Also that the "hit rate" for permanent transformation of those listening
is very small.  Also that this process takes years and often bumps back
to square one when the speaker passes on or the book becomes "dated".
Contrast this method with the natural process of living with a
grandparent, loving the grandparent, watching them do as they say,
seeing it bring them peace and prosperity, and remembering all of them -
words, sights, smells, feelings - always, within.  Extrapolate that 50
year time span to thousands of years!

Look at all the good ideas that have fallen by the wayside.  Take for
instance Maslow's theory of the Hierarchy of Needs.  Satisfy the lower
level needs of the physical and the higher level self-actualization is
facilitated.  Sounds logical.  The approaches of our welfare systems and
our charitable organizations are based on this concept.  It fails.

I cannot answer your question properly as yet.  I need more time.  I am
thinking on these ideas:
perhaps we have strayed too far from the original plan and can only be
brought back by an armageddon
perhaps this state of affairs shows that the plan is very successful
because the plan was to give us freedom of choice in which we would lose
our way and in so doing would struggle to find it again
perhaps "help" for others is entirely superfluous and ego driven and all
that is necessary is to be "self"

I have read recently of a theory that the reason we do not use the other
70% odd of our brain is because we shut it down when we, as a race,
experienced traumatic cosmic events.  That the memories are still there
for all of us and that we can transcend the fear and unlock the
knowledge.
I would like to pursue that idea and then get back to you.

In the meantime, on a daily basis, if the people have the courage to
tell the stories, to communicate their experiences, to walk the talk...
at least the knowledge of the existance of the knowledge can live and it
seems can be spread, like a certain Bank once advertized - one customer
at a time.

So, dear Dallas, if in this lifetime you have chosen to go with the
state of being of a "talking books", we need that help, it is not in
vain, it's a valuable part of the whole process.  PART OF.  Hey, I'm
writing to you about theosophy when I never expected to do so.  Can't be
bad?
Blessed Be
Annette