Theos-Talk Archives (September 2004 Message tt00234)

Eldon B Tucker wrote:
> 1. Decentralization. Sell most of the Wheaton estate and buy regional 
> centers. Insure that more people rotate through elected offices. Take away 
> most restrictions against running for various offices. Divest most elected 
> positions of most of their power, changing their function to facilitator 
> and coordinator rather that manager and supervisor.
You are actually talking about more centralization; having Lodges owned 
by National, rather than independent. Better: Provide low-interest loans 
to Lodges who wish to build a permanent center. As far as changing the 
powers, I would like to know how you would change them, and what 
problems that would solve, before I could venture an opinion.

> 2. More socialization. Have some meetings and gatherings for people to get 
> together on both regional and national scales. Involve children and 
> families and the general public. Tie in with holidays. Make our own 
> holiday, "Theosophy Day," and invent some holiday celebration to go with 
> it. See how other theosophical groups have tried these things and learn 
> from their experience.
That's the sort of thing the Federations are supposed to be doing. I'm 
sure that, if you wanted to do it within your own Federation, National 
would support the idea.

> 3. More openness. Encourage joint meetings and cooperation between local 
> branches of all the theosophical groups including the Pasadena T.S. and 
> ULT. Publish a lodge directory showing all branches and contact people in 
> the United States including those of the other societies.
I think you have it backwards. I think that the impetus needs to come 
from individuals, and then National should lend support.

> 4. Have a clearing house of "interesting ideas." References, quotes, 
> reprints, and information on advances in science, religion, and philosophy 
> would be collected and put online. A digest would be mailed to members or 
> lodges. (These are the materials we all come across that spark our interest 
> and we sometimes feel inclined to share on our mailing lists.)
I've tried this. I created a Yahoo group called "Theosophical Society 
Lodge Talk" ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theoslodges ) for that kind 
of thing (as well as practical communication between lodges), and only 
about a dozen people joined. I guess I could write to Betty Bland again 
and see if she can give it some publicity.

> 5. Protect Freedom of Thought. Insure no one gets expelled for having 
> contrary ideas about the philosophy, the history of our organization and 
> its founders, or life in general. 
And when did that happen last?

> 6. Comedy. Not everything in life is serious and if we cannot laugh at 
> ourselves and the world, we've become way too pious and lost the 
> theosophical spirit. This should be a regular feature in publications and 
> meetings.
I actually just proposed to Betty Bland the possibility of my writing 
on-topic humor pieces for the Quest Magazine. They are not currently 
interested (and it wasn't my writing; I was told that serious articles 
WOULD be considered for submission).

Bart