Theos-Talk Archives (November 2002 Message tt00642)

Hi Paul,

Has it really been a year? Time is flying faster and faster these 
days. 

> Which brings to mind, in closing, a recent post by Adelasie about
> Brigitte, saying in essence that she can only understand her as The
> Enemy of Truth, the Opposing Force-- not a specific individual with
> specific motives for specific behavior, but rather an agent of an
> impersonal force of opposition to eternal truth. 

Did I really say all that? I don't know Brigitte at all and probably 
never will and I would be way off base trying to evaluate her as a 
person. But I have entertained the disintegrator enough in my own 
life to be able to recognize the force of divisiveness and 
destruction when I see it. If Brigitte or anyone else chooses to use 
such force in their approach to any subject, it is worth noting, if 
for no other reason than to enlarge our own understanding. After all, 
if we agree that our work in incarnation is to gain control of 
ourselves, to make of ourselves more perfect beings (this may not be 
your goal, and that's fiine, but Theosophists will recognize it as a 
part of the teachings that they value) then learning to recognize the 
negative forces is useful. We cannot gain control or something unless 
we understand what it is. 

This of course
> places Adelasie's version of truth at the center of the universe, and
> Brigitte's attacks on it as direct attempts to undermine central,
> universal truths. 

I don't see Truth as something that can be undermined. It simply is. 
But I also don't see my truth as any more valuble, or "true," than 
yours, or anyone else's. It works for me, and that's enough. I do, 
however, think that when we choose to attack what each other holds 
dear and even sacred, we are playing the old disintegrator game 
again, and the result is never constructive of anything worthwhile. 
This force only seeks to destroy. One wonders, what is the motive for 
this behavior? Of course, only the individual himself can answer that 
question. 

But I would propose a relative, rather than
> absolute, approach to such questions. The Fourth Way teachings talk
> about a Law of Three. Affirming, Denying and Reconciling, they're
> called. Any time you strongly affirm something, you evoke a force
> that will deny it-- and vice versa. Any objective you pursue calls
> into play obstacles to overcome. This is called Second Force. The
> only way to go beyond this opposition is by calling into play a third,
> reconciling force by which we can rise above the seeming opposition. 

This seems like a very reasonable analysis of this situation to me. 

> Therefore, Theosophists should see Brigitte's attacks as a
> manifestation of second force, and understand that their attacks on
> her look like exactly the same thing from the opposite POV. 
> Theosophists try to affirm things about HPB and her teachings that she
> denies. She tries to affirm things about her that they deny. No one
> is at the center of *the* universe; everyone is the center of *an*
> individual universe.

Yes, Paul, I agree with you. Hard as it is to remain neutral when 
someone you love and revere is being attacked, it is probably not 
useful or helpful in the larger picture to enter the fray. On the 
other hand, we tend to admire those who do wade in and try to defend 
the victim. There are loyalty to consider, and personal honor, and 
other fine human qualities. 
> 
> Where does Third Force come into this picture? Damdifino exactly, but
> a part of it is the "yes, and..." approach. Rather than see
> opposition to one's ideas as absolute, see it as relative. As
> something that can refine one's understanding, and redefine it, rather
> than as something that will destroy it and must therefore be opposed
> with all one's might.

Yes, it is helpful to regard others as our teachers, especially those 
who irritate us the most. After all, we would not be irritated if we 
did not have some sensitivity at exactly the point of attack. It all 
comes down to self-responsibility. Do I get irate because someone 
else did or did not do something? Or do I react in a negative way 
(and get out of control) because I have been hit in a weak point in 
my own nature, and, realizing this, do I have the grace to accept the 
lesson life has offered me and profit from it? 

Best regards,
Adelasie