Theos-Talk Archives (August 2004 Message tt00509)

Hi Eldon,

I guess I agree to some extent. Still, there is work to be done in the
world, and working one's garden may be useful as an exercise of
concentration and perhaps contemplation, but I'm not sure it will help
a neighbour one bit. (I do love gardening, and have nothing against
it, one could do far worse, that isn't the issue) Neither Olcott nor
Blavatsky had time to work their gardens - they had to much work to
do. The three objects are a good starter for what I consider
theosophical work. Obviously each person has to decide for themselves
what they want to contribute and how to contribute and what they have
to contribute. Still, let's not make the mistake of valuing everything
as though it were equal. 

Katinka
--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, Eldon B Tucker <eldon@t...> wrote:
> Katinka:
> 
> What constitutes practicing Theosophy? This is a whole area of
discussion 
> in itself. I would say that it is two things. (1) Something that
results in 
> a genuine change in oneself, making one a different, better person,
more 
> expressive of one's inner light. (2) Something that also leads one
to more 
> fully express that inner light in the world in both acts of
sacrifice and 
> compassion and acts of creativity -- both means of making the world a 
> better place.
> 
> Mere discussion is useless *if* it is idle speculation, if one's
heart and 
> inner nature are not engaged, and one is merely playing word games.
But a 
> class, book, or conversation with a friend can go way deeper than
that and 
> be a high form of discovering great truths about life.
> 
> Likewise, extroverted action, involving external people and things,
can be 
> useless *if* it is mindless, rote, unmindful activity, if one's
heart and 
> inner nature are not engaged, and one is merely acting habitually.
But a 
> simple act of sharing something with a stranger can go way deeper
than that 
> and also be a high form of discovering great truths about life.
> 
> It really doesn't matter which direction we go -- inward or outward
-- as 
> long as we are finding our magic in life and bringing it out to the
benefit 
> of ourselves and others. (Note that beneficial actions are not, I
think, 
> measured in terms of how totally we sacrifice and do something to
our own 
> detriment, but rather in terms of the greatest good to everyone,
ourselves 
> included, without showing favoritism to us or others.)
> 
> For certain people at a particular phase of their lives, their greatest 
> voyage of discovery may be in the world of ideas, and having books, 
> magazines, study classes, and like-minded people to talk to is the
greatest 
> blessing. For others, it may be the worst possible waste of time,
and they 
> need to put thinking aside, garden, and simply hike and enjoy
nature. Each 
> of us has a particular need at the moment, and our needs are not
always the 
> same. What seems lifeless and a total waste of time to you or I may
seem 
> the greatest treasure to someone else with different growth needs.
> 
> Coming back to the idea of practicing Theosophy, I'd say that some
people 
> would consider the discussions that we are having as useless
dialogue, but 
> others would consider it the entryway into an important area of life
that 
> they greatly need. I consider it important to keep that door open
for those 
> whose inner drive takes them in that direction.
> 
> -- Eldon
> 
> At 12:59 AM 8/24/2004, you wrote:
> >hi perry,
> >
> >i believe they want to focuss on what they consider to be important:
> >practicing theosophy. I think they would consider the present
> >discussion useless dialogue, for instance. Protecting the members
> >might also be one of the motives, I agree.
> >
> >Katinka