Theos-Talk Archives (February 2002 Message tt00399)

Dear Jerry,
Thank you answering my question so succinctly. I am not very
knowledgeable in the Secret Doctrine but do enjoy reading the detailed
information that is posted by those expert in the field of Theosophy ( at
least, more expert than I ). You mentioned that having access to "core
teachings" ( Guru) can aid us on the path to enlightenment. That being true,
I think that the core teachings can be read in books, even in email posts ;
and, if we have an open mind perhaps, using our intuition, there might even
be hidden there -in a barometer of how we are moving along the path. Where
does active imagination end and intuition begin?
In God's Love,
Andra

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Meredith <bilmer@surfsouth.com>
To: theos-talk@yahoogroups.com <theos-talk@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Monday, February 11, 2002 9:15 AM
Subject: Re: Theos-World Re to Andra - Laziness


>Dear Jerry,
>I'm glad to see you respond as you have below. I have been thinking about
>the positions of Bruce and Brigitte and Dallas and Paul amongst the many
>others here. It seems that we all have one thing in common. We all claim
>that an open mind is important when receiving someone elses viewpoint. I
am
>trying to ascertain whether I do in fact have an open mind to new ideas and
>concepts. How shall I know? It seems that we are often inclined to hear
>only that which supports our position and to dismiss the rest. Is this an
>open mind? I have been wondering lately who on these lists has changed
>their mind recently or modified their position somewhat based on what they
>have read here? Would changing one's mind or position indicate the
presence
>of an open mind?
>
>
>Finally, with respect to a published book written several years earlier,
>would it be fair to the author to quote from the book and assume that that
>which one quotes accurately reflects the current thinking of the author
>(assuming the author has an open mind)? I ask because there has been some
>speculation that HPB might have re-written some of her works had she more
>time. Also because Paul Johnson might today even make some changes to what
>he wrote giving his open mind. Perhaps if we truly wanted to be impersonal
>in our judgements, rather than say "HPB says in the SD" or "Paul Johnson
>says in ....." we would simply say that the 'SD' or 'The Masters Revealed'
>say such and such. After all those books do not have an open mind.
>
>regards,
>Bill
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Gerald Schueler" <gschueler@earthlink.net>
>To: <theos-talk@yahoogroups.com>
>Cc: <theos-l@list.vnet.net>
>Sent: Monday, February 11, 2002 9:41 AM
>Subject: Theos-World Re to Andra - Laziness
>
>
>> <<<Dear Jerry,
>> What kind of laziness are you speaking about that holds us back from
>enlightenment?
>> In God's Love,
>> Andra>>>
>>
>> Andra, we are all a bit lazy. The Path to enlightenment is difficult, and
>requires a great deal of effort to be expended. We must sit and meditate,
we
>must watch/guard our every thought and word, we must develop compassion, we
>must downplay our own ego while emphasizing the egos of others. In short,
we
>have to change our lifestyle and we have to change our worldview, and even
>our personality. All of this takes countless lifetimes. But, and here is
the
>thing, there is no way to know if we have already done most of this work in
>past lives or not, until we start here and now in this life. Probably the
>best example of what I am saying is the Tibetan yogic saint and poet,
>Milarepa. Milarepa was a black magician who used magic to kill a person in
>revenge. He then went on a spiritual quest, encountered a guru, and
expended
>a huge amount of effort in purification and in changing his entire
>personality (developing humility was especially hard for him), etc, until
he
>reached full enlightenment in a single lifetime (reaching enlightenment in
>a single lifetime simply means that most of the work was done in past
>lives). Tibetans use him and his life as a good example of what can be done
>if one works hard enough and is willing to change. They teach that anyone
>who has access to a guru (ie the core teachings) can reach enlightenment is
>they are willing to expend the required amount of effort. Any psychologist
>or therapist will tell you that changing one's personality or even one's
>mental outlook is extremely difficult, but possible.
>>
>> Jerry S.
>> --
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>>
>>
>>
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>
>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
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