Theos-Talk Archives (December 2001 Message tt00536)

Hey folks,

This month has brought a striking juxtaposition of very good and very 
bad karma, which has some parallels with matters discussed recently 
here. Adelasie, meaning well, has several times suggested strongly 
that the hostile Theosophical reactions to my books be interpreted 
*only* as a cosmic judgment on me and my motives, etc., and not at 
all as a reflection of the current situation of the Theosophical 
movement vis-a-vis its history. (Or the level of fanaticism of 
specific individuals.) One can interpret things at many different 
levels; it's ideologically convenient for a friend of Dallas to 
say "This unpleasantness has nothing to do with my friend, and 
everything to do with the disrespect Paul has shown HPB and the 
inevitable karmic consequences." Well, one can't argue with this 
kind of non-falsifiable perspective, but one can show alternatives.

Early this month I closed on the purchase of a second home, a 
modified A-frame in the woods overlooking Lake Gaston. For a 
fanatical kayaker and canoeist, a lover of hiking and bicycling, this 
new place is heaven on earth-- beautiful, close to many appealing 
spots, just what I would have imagined as a second home, and a great 
bargain. Best of all, it came completely furnished, not just with 
nicer furniture than any I had at my main house, but better dishes, 
better cookware, etc. etc. And the neighbors are very friendly; both 
have brought me pies to welcome me to the area. So it's been a 
delightful month getting situated in this new place that so perfectly 
corresponds to my desires. BUT...

After I started spending occasional nights at the lake house, my 
other house was burglarized twice. The second burglary was very 
extensive; I lost a TV, VCR, stereo, computer, clock-radio, a 
lifetime's accumulation of tools, and perhaps other things not even 
noticed yet. Losing a computer with a lot of material on it was 
especially galling. And in the wake of the burglaries I learned from 
my neighbor, and the two deputies who investigated, that there is a 
crack dealer just across the road, leader of some sort of gang, and 
these people regard the whole area as theirs for the taking and have 
been constantly breaking into nearby houses and stealing stuff. So 
now I feel that I can't own a damn thing electronic, not even a $15 
clock-radio, or these rednecks will come and take it. Thus-- ecstasy 
of a perfect new second home comes right along with agony at what has 
happened and is happening around the first one-- where it's very hard 
to feel comfortable until the local crime wave subsides.

Now, a fundie Theosophist would perhaps say that getting all my stuff 
stolen from that house was karma for disrespecting HPB, and more of 
the same will keep occurring until I admit that their dogmas are 
unchallengeably and completely correct. (Which hardly accounts for 
all the good karma associated with the lake house.) 

The parallel I see with the two houses and the bad 
Dallas/Pratt/Caldwell/Algeo etc. reaction to my books is this: 
nothing awful happened in the context I was leaving behind until 
something wonderful happened in the new context into which I was 
moving. That is, my hypotheses about HPB and the Masters had been in 
print for a full *five years* before any ugly public reaction 
happened with Theosophists. My self-published book had been widely 
publicized and no significant abuse, insults, etc. had resulted *in 
years*. But almost *the moment* that I got published by a university 
press, and more specifically *got a rave in the New York Times Book 
Review*-- the Theosophical shit started to hit the fan. And it 
didn't subside during the whole period that the books were topping 
Amazon.com's sales for Blavatsky-related titles.

This looks very much like a cause/effect relationship to me. The 
phrase "don't let the screen door hit your butt on the way out" comes 
to mind. Perhaps the *moment* I started to get recognition from the 
scholarly and literary worlds, I should have washed my hands of 
Theosophical associations which so immediately became painful. 
Perhaps the universe was saying "Here's the reward for all your years 
of hard work and devotion to study of HPB-- respect and recognition 
of a sort you never dreamed of." Perhaps the nasty Theosophical 
reactions weren't *punishments* for anything I had done but rather 
promptings to move forward into something new. Surely a fair amount 
of the energy that went into the Cayce book came from the abrupt way 
I became a nonperson Theosophically speaking, and the much more 
welcoming attitude of the ARE. 

So the bottom line for me is that you can't have everything. I can't 
have a new house with piles of new stuff without some of my old stuff 
being taken away. I couldn't have appreciation and recognition as an 
academic writer on HPB without losing all the respect I'd gained as a 
Theosophical writer/speaker. The universe has a way of opening one 
door, and then slamming another to show you very clearly the 
direction you are destined/intended to go.

My $.02 worth,

PJ