Theos-Talk Archives (December 1993 Message tl00077)

The study of the Esoteric Philosophy is one where the only roadblock
to further progress is ourselves, is our unwillingness to move on, to
progress beyond the limits that we set for ourselves.

Until and unless we admit that there are deeper levels to an
understanding of the theosophical doctrines, including the very core
concepts themselves, we create a barrier that will eventually lead us
to crystalize in our thinking and lead to the loss of the inspiriation
of the spiritual intuition and inner teacher.

We have to loosen our grip on the ideas that we have been taught, to
hold our ideas lightly and respectfully, rather than tightly grasp
them, and hold onto them in a deadly embrace.

As soon as an idea becomes too nicely established, too easy to repeat
to others and verbalize, too quickly clothed in the same words every
time that we approach it, it is dead, if not dying. There needs to be
a sense of mystery behind the ideas, a sense of wonder and exploration,
a sense that there are countless vistas to behold. A great, living
truth, will tell us something new everytime that we visit it. It will
be a constant source of inspiration and a friend to us in its own right.

Our study of the theosophical books, or any that we find that are
helpful to our personal cultivation of the spiritual life, can only
take us so far. There is only so far that we can go in our thinking
about what we are told, about trying to absorb the ideas we find
directly stated in the words that we read.

The reading and intellectual study is important, and without it we can
not make any progress at all. But it is only the first step, and we
need to invoke wisdom from within. And this wisdom does not contradict
what we've read, but if it is true wisdom, it springs from the same
source as the theosophical writings themselves, and it both further
explains what we try to read and it tells us more as well.

Don't put down the books. They will also play an important role in
our spiritual lives. Until and unless we have personal Teachers, we
need the books as another avenue of approach to them.

But the books are only the beginning. We need to *believe* then to
live the Teachings. And living them is based upon making the spiritual
a living part of our lives, and not the chasing after phenomena nor
powers.

We have been given keys to unlocking some of the mysteries of the
holy life, not of the lower, of the occult arts, but rather the
spiritual path, and we need to take those keys and open the doors
before us and transform both ourselves and the world about us!

There are incredible beauties and wonders that await us. These are not
beauties of the eye, beauties of the senses, but rather come out of the
heart, of the inner nature of life itself, in its inner most chambers.
There are wonders that cannot be put into words that await us, if only
we'd seize them, and make them transformative powers in the world.

                          Eldon Tucker (eldon@netcom.com)