Theos-Talk Archives (May 2005 Message tt00296)

Dear Perry,

> It's a tangled web isn't it, maybe all we can do is discuss and 
> explore these issues in whatever limited way we can and theos talk 
> may be that vehicle for this point in time.
Yes. Some good seems to come out of theos-talk. Occasionally someone 
will comment upon how much they have learned from these discussions. I 
always feel encouraged when I read them. The August network 
get-togethers in California are also doing a lot to bring Theosophists 
from the different organizations together. I would like to see more 
such gatherings in other parts of the country and other parts of the 
world. Maybe we might be ready for some networking between the various 
idealogical factions within TSA. Not to argue about doctrinal 
differences, but to discover what the have in common and what we can do 
together for the Theosophical Movement. Also, we might, over time, 
evolve a common rhetoric which we can share. 
> Maybe the best way you can work within the society is to stay out of 
> the politics as best you can and simply present the theosophical 
> teachings in courses or reading groups...
Yes. We had weekly study groups, meetings and public lectures when I was 
President of Los Angeles Lodge. But, Krotona was 90 minutes up the 
highway and they watched us very closely. They also kept the Olcott 
management informed of our activities. It was rare that what was said 
of us through the "Theosophical grapevine" ever got back to me. But, 
strangely, they assumed that I already knew all about what was being 
said about us. Every now and then, I would run into some Theosophical 
official who would suddenly begin lecturing me on one thing or another 
in order to "set me straight." I course I rarely had any idea what they 
were talking about, and it took me a long time to figure out that they 
were telling me off for some terrible thing they heard through the 
"Theosophical grapevine" that I did or said. There were a couple of 
exceptions though. One piece of gossip that got back to me was that the 
Krotona Board had decided that Los Angeles Lodge was "too narrow" in 
what we presented as Theosophy. But, I don't know what they meant by 
that, since Krotona and Los Angeles Lodge shared the same pool of 
speakers who spoke on the same subjects at both places. Rather, I later 
recognized it as a preliminary rhetoric to establish a basis for more 
direct threats. From these experiences, I learned that one can stay out 
of politics and still be dogged by them at every step. 
Before the above preliminary rhetoric progressed very far, we moved to 
Central California. Since there were no Theosophical groups in the 
area, we started our own. However, we were still exhausted from 
constantly being harassed by Olcott and Krotona, so we decided not to 
charter a study group. Instead, we would just independently organize 
meetings and study Theosophy with whoever was interested. We also held 
our own weekend long Theosophical conferences. Theosophists from all 
organizations and other interested people from Los Angeles, Oakland and 
San Francisco would attend. Without having Lodge or study group status, 
no one could bother us. It was such a simple solution and gave us 
incredible freedom. We could work with or not work with any 
Theosophical Organization as we chose. No one to argue with, no annual 
reports to write and submit. 
Eventually, we founded our own organization, which we call "Alexandria 
West." The name is an allusion to the great city of learning in 
Ptolemaic Egypt. 
Jerry




Perry Coles wrote:

> Hi Jerry,
> It's a tangled web isn't it, maybe all we can do is discuss and 
> explore these issues in whatever limited way we can and theos talk 
> may be that vehicle for this point in time.
>
> We can only do what we can as an individual I suppose and that may be 
> precious little but at least the issues are discussed openly 
> somewhere.
>
> Maybe the best way you can work within the society is to stay out of 
> the politics as best you can and simply present the theosophical 
> teachings in courses or reading groups...
>
> You wrote:
>
> "I don't follow. Do you mean opinion pages, like those found in
> newspapers or news magazine? Editorials are normally the views of the
> Editor or the President."
>
> Yes sorry I meant letters to the editor or opinion pages.
>
>
> Regards
>
> Perry