Theos-Talk Archives (February 2003 Message tt00170)

Hi. This is a good message and it is good to be serene and calm in a time of
crisis, but my message was about something else. I do not think you
personally are interested in what I was saying or you would not have
responded as you did, not to say your response was not of some value to
myself or anyone else.

My message was not about being afraid or not being afraid in a time of war.
It was about stopping war, and, in order to convey certain material that was
intended to be conveyed in this message, it needed to be set up so that
there was a certain kind of contrast. You can say that a nucleus of serene
people will lead to the stopping of war, but I do not believe this is
possible, as serenity has too much slip and is lacking a certain kind of
grip, without which, the winds can be not generated in such a way that they
may finally come to rest within the heart. It would be better to think of
physical movement and a certain kind of conscious deliberation that is
connected to the hand--what do you think?--as the conscious and deliberate
use of material is the beginning of a true craft, and when I make a pair of
shoes really well, I will know something about the sole of a shoe that I
could not find out by buying one or reading a book.

Without my message, you could not make your message to me, and without your
message I could not make this one, and indeed, the greater the war, the
deeper the potential for serenity. If I can take the war that is inside of
me and be outside of myself AS I am, in a way that is impartial, maybe
something that records without interpretation can be an active force
contrasted against the passive force of my little everyday self that is
participating regularly in some kind of war. Thus a third force can be
generated that has a certain vibrational quality which can connect me to
CONSCIENCE in such a way that my next activity will be one of a certain
quality that links to the material of others with GRIP. Then the conscience
that has been activated within myself can connect to another with the effect
that HIS CONSCIENCE will be activated within him, and this will lead to the
doing of specific activities, with a certain quality of attention, which may
eventually have a specific end result of stopping war.

But talking about serenity will not bring me to this. I go to Buddhist
teachings, and actually we did receive a message after September 11th that
talked about being serene, or something to that effect, but was primarily
to calm people down, as the teaching of Mahayana Buddhism does not,
generally speaking, emphasize serenity as serenity is considered to be too
bland. I am not just manufacturing this, but my teacher has actually said
it. This is not to say that it is not valuable to leave a message about
serenity at a time like this, and I personally believe it is valuable and I
have gotten something out of it.

At times of war, spiritual work, whatever we conceive of that to be, must
continue on a regular schedule, and, in my opinion, there should always be a
sense of urgency, which is connected to true inspiration, and one good way
to create this kind of atmosphere is by the scary pep talk on a regular
basis. If it is not for you, maybe it is for a few others and myself. It
would be great if this could be a place that is a little different from
regular life, and that the conversations we have here are of a different
quality than the conversations we hear people having at a bus stop, however
congenial these people may be and however pleasant it may be to participate
in this kind of mechanical conversation. Sincerely, Wry

p.s. You have made an allusion in a recent email to "raging souls" and I
believe you were referring to me as being one of these. Do you think I was
angry with Dallas and feeling rage? Do you think I am raging at you now?
Maybe it is so, but what if it is not?. What if I was cleaning something up
and just pouring soapy water on a dirty floor? When the dirt on the floor
became mixed with the water, it was maybe hard to tell which was which. Is
it possible that you need me to be angry in order to generate your own
serenity? I hope not, as this would be objectively immoral. Sincerely, Wry





----- Original Message -----
From: "Etzion Becker" <etvionbb@netvision.net.il>
To: <theos-talk@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2003 1:47 PM
Subject: Re: Theos-World hybrid offshoot/a direct consequence of the bloody
riots


> To my understanding, the greatest spiritual work we can offer to the world
> in a time of crisis, and actually at any time, is to keep our heart realm
> serene and composed no matter what. If our heart realm is disturbed by
fear,
> or any other emotion enters in and changes our mood, our contribution to
the
> spiritual upliftment of humanity is very limited, if at all. I am crossing
> my fingers to all spiritual people in the world to stay calm and thus
> provide a nucleus of sanity amidst this world turmoil. Best wishes, Etzion
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "wry" <wry1111@earthlink.net>
> To: <theos-talk@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2003 10:58 PM
> Subject: Re: Theos-World hybrid offshoot/a direct consequence of the
bloody
> riots
>
>
> > Hi. This is not just for you, but for all of the people who are leaving
> > these kind of messages and have done so in the past, whether about this
> > subject or nitpicking about little details of theosophy or whatever. WE
> ARE
> > PREPARING FOR A WAR IN OUR HOUSE. IT IS WEIRD AND SCAREY.
> >
> > Do you people want to stop war or what? Do you believe there is a
nucleus
> > of people on earth who are of a higher level of awareness than you and
I?
> If
> > so, what do you think they are doing right now? How would a person like
> this
> > spend his time? Would the way he spends his time and the activities he
> > chooses somehow interact with and affect his level of awareness and his
> > emmisions or emanations as a physicality in such a way that other human
> > beings would also somehow be affected? Would his emanation be different
> when
> > he was in a state of wordless prayer or gratitude or deep enquiry or
> > meditation or sharing with others his effort to be conscious than when
he
> > was reading a magazine or picking his toes? What do you think?
> >
> > I do irrelevant activities, too, and sometimes I have to stop and ask
> myself
> > this question. What am I going to do after I make this message, and will
> the
> > quality of attention be different? I am trying to set up this message
so
>
> > that not only I will get something out of it, but others will, too. In
> this
> > way, I am attempting to participate. Sincerely, Wry
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>