Theos-Talk Archives (September 1999 Message tt00173)

Sept 20th 1999

Dear Nicholas  Street:

Thanks for those excellent quotes -- seems like all the truly
thoughtful men and women have the same idea.

We have to make ideas "our own" by thinking about them and finding if
they are true and then working them into our base for decision making.

As a curious matter of fact, HPB also said the same thing in one of
her letters

It is evident from the very beginning that she did not want any
"followers."  She wanted people to study what Theosophy had to offer
and if useful adopt and adapt it to their own sphere of living.

This is what I found her to say:

"HPB is not infallible.  HPB is an old, rotten, sick, worn-out body,
but it is the best I can have in this cycle.  "Hence follow the path I
show, the Masters who are behind--and do not follow me or my Path."

[from SHE BEING DEAD YET SPEAKETH -- PATH Magazine, issue for  August
1892 -- this being a selection of passages culled from her letters to
various friends.]  HPB Articles Vol. I, p. 123

Best wishes,

Dallas

Dallas
dalval@nwc.net 


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-theos-talk@theosophy.com
[mailto:owner-theos-talk@theosophy.com]On Behalf Of Street, Nicholas
{QA~Welwyn}
Sent: Monday, September 20, 1999 7:39 AM
To: 'theos-talk-digest@pippin.imagiware.com'
Subject: Theos-World Practical Theosophy


Dear JRC,

You wrote:

> >Hey y'all!
> >
> >Just wondering if anyone's in the mood for a discussion of
practical
> >Theosophy ...
> >
> >Anyone the feels like it ...
> >
> >1. What's the most interesting spiritual topic you've studied in
the
> last year? Most interesting book you've read?
> >
> >2. What was the most interesting service you rendered? The most
> successful?
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
------
------------------------------------------------------------

Regarding (1), I've come across some isolated quotes (a few attached)
that
have really opened my eyes with regard to "being your own teacher". It
has
really made me realise how much I was taking on "blind faith" and not
really
trusting my own intuition & direction. I found myself having all the
right
answers but not really "feeling" the truth within. From a "Practical
Theosophy" perspective, I have also realised how much I like to
"teach" and
advise others, which doesn't help either me or the person I'm
lecturing to!!
I also feel that there is a strong element in my "advising" where I am
trying to change the other person rather than working on myself! So,
maybe
this answers your second question as well. The service I am learning
to
render is to listen more and ask questions rather than try to advise.
(not
easy - for me anyway!!!!)

I too would like to hear more about the practical experience of
others. This
would be a useful forum to discuss such things.

Kind Regards,

Nicholas John Street

----------------------------------------------------------------------
------
---------------------------------
Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise.
Seek what they sought.
- Basho

The teacher, however great, can never give his or her knowledge to the
pupil;
the pupil must create his or her own knowledge.
-Hazrat Inayat Khan

I have made this fairly clear, haven't I?
Don't follow anybody and don't
accept anybody as a teacher, except
when you yourself become your
own teacher and disciple.
-Krishnamurti

I have known it for a long time but I have only just experienced it.
Now I know it not only with my intellect, but with my eyes, with
my heart, with my stomach.
-Hermann Hesse

-- THEOSOPHY WORLD -- Theosophical Talk -- theos-talk@theosophy.com

Letters to the Editor, and discussion of theosophical ideas and
teachings. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message consisting of
"subscribe" or "unsubscribe" to theos-talk-request@theosophy.com.


-- THEOSOPHY WORLD -- Theosophical Talk -- theos-talk@theosophy.com

Letters to the Editor, and discussion of theosophical ideas and
teachings. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message consisting of
"subscribe" or "unsubscribe" to theos-talk-request@theosophy.com.