Theos-Talk Archives (December 2002 Message tt00341)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: wry [mailto:wry1111@earthlink.net]
> Sent: Sunday, December 08, 2002 1:38 AM
> To: theos-talk@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Theos-World Bad Karma plus immoral plus ignorant
> 
> To whom this may concern: Is it or is it not bad karma, immoral and
> ignorant to tell a young child there is no Santa Claus? Is it valuable
and
> important and natural for this child to believe in the existence of
Santa
> Claus? Moreover, IS there a Santa Claus, and are there really elves
and
> fairies? Everyone who is really anyone knows the answer to this one.

>From a child's point of view, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth
Fairy, the Stork that Brings the Babies, and many other things populate
the child's view of the world. He or she sees a world full of magic,
wonder, and mystery. Lacking detailed technical knowledge of the outer
world, the child believes anything is possible, but is unable to do much
on its own. The transition from a storybook view of the world to
becoming a functional adult happens as the child learns about the world,
gains experience, and starts exploring and expressing itself.

> Moreover, are there actually masters, both living and "dead" (who are
> still alive)? I, personally, who have done much experimentation with
the
> occult, am here to suggest that It is perhaps both bad karma and even
> dangerous to pursue this line of questioning of Madame Blavatsky and
the
> so-called derivation of the masters any further, as, in respect to
this,
> the die is already cast. Perhaps the physical universe is constructed
in
> such a way as to offer an explanation for the "masters" that is both
> miraculous and also mundane

>From a seeker's point of view, the Biblical God, the historical Jesus,
the Superhuman Mahatmas as depicted in occult fiction, the Guardian
Angles, and the invisible helpers are all populate the seeker's view of
the world. He or she also sees a world full of magic, wonder, and
mystery. Lacking detailed technical knowledge of the inner world, the
seeker believes anything is possible, but is unable to do much on his
own. The transition from a storybook view of the Path to becoming a
functional Adept happens as the seeker learns about the inner life,
gains experience, and starts exploring and expressing himself or
herself.

> If you sense or feel a master by your side as you are going about your
day
> and attempting to make a certain bread, keep your mind on your hands
> kneading the dough and do not worry about the masters or not-masters.
In
> this way, simple daily activities will take on a greater significance
and
> everything will assume a shape that is already its own star, Home.
Wry

It is a meditative technique to maintain other levels of awareness that
we do outer physical things. We might personify the presence and picture
a Master, our Higher Self, an external Teacher, Jesus, an Angel, or God
as looking over our shoulder. Regardless of what real being may be
there, if any, in a subjective state, starting alongside us, we have an
experience. How we think of it says more about our ideas about the world
than about what is literally happening.

If there is a real, living person, and we maintain a certain level of
awareness of him or her, we establish a bond. There is a connection that
is independent of the other person's physical presence. Identical twins
may have such a bond, sensing each other over thousands of miles. Mother
and child may have another bond. Guru and Chela would have another.
There may ever be one-way bonds, like between a star and a fan, a
spiritual teacher and some unidentified follower, or in the case of
someone falling in love with someone that doesn't know that he or she
exists.

With a connection, there is a mutual (or one-way) exchange of energy,
and the individuals may be drawn into circumstances in life where they
meet and interact at some point. What we know of the other person is
based upon a mental image we've made of them, and is likely inaccurate,
incomplete, and not up-to-date. Truly knowing someone requires us to
look at them as they are at this moment, allowing our impressions of
them to arrive without being discolored and altered by the mental image
of them that we've constructed.

The ideas of higher things as well as the feeling of higher presences
working alongside us contribute to a background quality to life. It's
like the soundtrack to a movie. It's something present in the situation
that does not have definite form, shape, or definition, yet it is there.
That is, it consists of formless things interacting with our situation
in the world of forms. It might be considered different "flavors" of
emptiness that fill in the spaces between the solid, concrete beings and
events of our outer lives.

Regarding the idea of the Masters, someone may have a working
relationship with an image of a Master that one has build up over years.
It may seem to represent a literal person. Is it a connection to a
literal person, someone actually a Master? Maybe. Maybe not. It depends
upon the person and what we want to define that Master as being. We
cannot really speak for someone else's inner work, which led to building
up and working with such an image. We can argue preferences regarding
what approaches to inner work we find best and what we find useless. But
for the other person, they're the best judge of an approach effective in
their lives.

The image of a literal, living Master may be an effective addition to a
toolset we may build for working with the inner life. Some may want to
consider building one, if it seems promising. Another may prefer an
image of Deity, an abstract principle of justice, a humanist love of
life, or an image of one's spouse, child, or parent, honoring them
perhaps after they have passed on. 

The images chosen are a matter of personal preference. The value of the
approach lies in the effectiveness in uplifting someone, in drawing out
their inner, spiritual, creative nature, and in opening up their minds
and hearts to the world.

Regarding the Masters, I'd find them an a certain place on the ladder of
self-unfoldment, at a step beyond the more spiritual people we know of
in modern days and below the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas. They represent an
intermediate stage of development. To understand them, we need to
understand exceptionally spiritual people about us, understand the true
nature of Buddhahood, and understand the various stages of unfoldment in
between the two.

Understanding these stages or not, we can build and effectively use
mental images of greatness, of spiritual heroes, leaders, and sages, and
draw upon these inner friends for encouragement.