Theos-Talk Archives (October 1994 Message tl00008)

Hi, Jerry,

You don't know how nice it is to be able to talk theosophese once
more.  It's been a good 5 years since I moved away from NJ, &
longer since I was part of a study center there.  There are no
Theosophists in Syracuse that I know of.  Plenty of interest in
New Age matters, because of Syracuse U.  We have a well stocked
esoteric book store, & several health food stores.  I wish we had
a "Fresh Fields" supermarket as well.  There's 1 near my son,
Bob, in Va., & it's a joy.  I don't care much for the Syracuse
snow either, but I have family here, & had none anymore in NJ.,
so I decided to move up here.  I love living at Summerfield.  I
feel very sheltered & very safe here ..  so as long as the
management doesn't change, I'm sticking to Syracuse.  I've been
to Aberdeen, but it was a very long time ago.  I visited for a
day or so in connection with working for Army Chemical Warfare in
New York City.

I wanted to comment on several things you brought up, & also ask
you 2 questions.  The comment concerns this business of
"deliberately being ethical in order to accumulate better Karma,
to have a better time in the next life." Further on you say
"Theosophists are taught not to expect rewards for their
actions." I agree with both, of course.  My way of dealing with
the latter is to do something, & then just go on to the next
thing.  But sometimes I wonder whether what I did was right, &
sometimes I back track to find out what happened (& it's not
always just to learn whether I did the right thing so I can do
better next time.) I don't claim to be perfect.

Being ethical, I think must come from within to be genuine.  I
think most of the motivation is connected with our ideal of
Universal Bortherhood.  You wouldn't deliberately hurt or pull
one over on a respected & beloved fellow human being...  also you
just are ethical because it feels right.  But I'm just now
wondering whether as a way of becoming ethical from within,
whether as a teaching method you couldn't start consciously
imposing ethics on your thoughts & actions, with the motive of
learning it, if it's something you felt you needed to improve on.
I wonder whether after a while this would work out to your being
ethical from within.  But this method, if it works, would be for
adult self-training.  I'm not sure how I would teach a kid.  By
example, & by saying "listen I want you to do it this way...
because".  Do you think that's better than carrot & stick? How
would you teac.....  ?

It's funny, your idea-picture of the beautiful lotus with its
roots in the mud is different from mine.  Each is valid.  You
think of the beautiful lotus as coming out of "the dirty mud".
Never occurred to me that mud is dirty - which it is - I pictured
it as messy but creative.  Which brings me to a question.  I
think someone on the List wrote that Christian Scientists believe
in always looking at the bright side.  Theosophists do that too.
Whenever someone is ill, people send healing,...  you hear very
little talk about their illness.  CWL says it reinforces negative
thought forms Serge King believes in blessing as much as possible
ie saying & thinking nice things about others...  like stroking.
He gave 2 examples of when he couldn't think of anything nice to
say.  He said he blessed his lawyer's ability for getting his
goat, & a desperation blessing was "when he exhales he nourishes
Nature." I don't know.  Sometimes you have to say & think
untoward things.  But it doesn't make anybody feel good.  How do
you feel about this? I'd really like to know because I'm very
undecided.

The other question I'd love to discuss is alternate health ways
as against allopathic.  What kinds of health care solutions have
you found for yourself, & your family? I've been going to a
homeopath & a chiropractor for a number of years now, even though
my insurance pays for prescription drugs but not for homeopathic
remedies.  They'll pay for a chiropractor till September of each
year, & not at all for the homeopath because he doesn't have the
right credentials.  I have a chronic conditions, which I thought
was getting out of hand lately, so for the past week I've been
trying something allopathic my regular MD prescribed.  It is said
to have very little side effects.  So far, it hasn't been very
helpful either.  I'm really undecided about continuing it.  I
still believe the mystique about the powerful MD, because that's
what I grew up with, even though several times now, I've found
out that what the homeopath & the chiropractor do works just as
well, sometimes better.

To end with a quote from a cute cartoon I recently saw in a flyer
from "Lotus" magazine.  Him & her are sitting on the couch,
watching TV., & the captions is:"It's 10 o'clock.  Do you know
where your mind is?"

Best              Liesel