Theos-Talk Archives (December 1994 Message tl00087)

Hi, Paul,

I sat down to write you a long response this AM.  But AOL is kind
of slow & still mysterious, & somehow, just as I rushed to go
online & send you the whole post I'd written, rushing so I could
get downstairs to meet my friend Lorna on time, I pushed a wrong
button, & the whole thing self-destructed, pow, righ out of the
system.  Besides that, this evening, Chouchou the cat is sleeping
peacefully on what _she_ believes is _our_ bed, on one of my
nightshirts, whereas this AM she was visiting me on my computer
desk, & her tail was gracefully wagging over my keyboard, which
made typing & thinking a little difficult.  She was beeing
cheated out of her usual morning walk cum attention, so I humored
her.  Meantime, my friend, Lorna took me along to a nice Xmas
dinner at our Senior Center, where we also listened to Xmas
carols & Greensleeves & etc.  on a dulcimer.  Enchanting music.
In 1 word I feel lots more like Christmas this PM.

OK let's see, if we can come to an agreement.  One of the reasons
why I wanted to join the theos network, was to help come to
agreements between theosophical factions.  In January, I hope to
host a new friend, a ULT member, who's coming to look in on our
incipient study center, if that's what it'll turn out to be.
Brotherhood, it's wonderful, (if we can make it work)! I think
we've already agreed as far as Kirhsnamurti is concerned, so
let's get down to CWL.  I reread the passage in your post which
made me see red, and to tell the truth, it's very mild in
comparison to others.  But it does contain a slur.  You happen to
have been in the right place at the right moment, and you did
manage to open a real can of worms.

My most potent argument for CWL comes from your post of 12-20 in
which you reported on the seminar on Theosophy & Thesophical
Thought, which you attended in Chicago.  I'm going to quote your
last paragraph: "In closing, I'd like to deny for the record a
weird rumor about me that I was told was circulating in the TS.
This is that I had at one time had visions of the Masters, but
later concluded that these were illusory, and out of
frustration/disappointment I wrote my book to destroy the
concept.  Anyone who has known me for the last several years
knows that this is a fabrication from start to finish.  No
visions, no disappointments, no destructive motive."

Someone, in good or in bad faith, told a story about you.  You
disclaim.  Maybe the people who know you well will believe you
when you say that the story is not true.  But those many who
don't know you will believe whatever they want to believe, & you
can stand there until you're blue in the face & say "this is a
fabrication", some of them are going to insist on that it isn't.
And you have absolutely no defense against this.  Saying it's a
lie isn't going to convince anyone who thinks that the statement
is a true reflection of what happened.  As time passes, some of
them are going to write about it, saying that the story is false,
& some of them are going to write that the story is true.  Later
generations will read it, & accept one of the versions as the
gospel truth.  Nothing you, or your grandchildren will say is
going to convince anyone either way....  Well, that's exactly
what's been happening with CWL.  We who love & revere him, those
of us who had personal contact with him, and those of us who
respect his writings think what is being said about him is a pack
of vicious lies.  CWL couldn't defend himself anymore than you
can, & chose instead to ignore what was being said, & just go
about his work, & his daily life.  We who believe in him can't
defend him any better than he himself could, for the same reason.
All you can do is have a shouting match, the way I described it
yesterday.  "I'm right" ,"No I'm right".  Can you understand now
where we're coming from? Does it now make sense to you why you
don't get many answers from us? Answers are futile, because those
who love CWL already know the answers, & those who think he was
gawdawful won't be convinced by any answers, which they won't
accept as proofs, because they know they're lies.  Who really
knows very exactly what happened over 60 years ago? Why can't we
just let all this garbage lie? I sure hope that when I die people
will remember at least some of the positive things I did, and not
just talk very unforgivingly about the mistakes they think I
made.  I believe with CWL, and with Serge King, that it's more
salubrious to think & say good things about people.  Serge showed
us during a demonstration with people from our workshop group
that positive thoughts & words, "blessings" he called them,
strengthen you, & those to whom they're addressed, whereas
negative words, criticisms, make you & those who hear them
weaker.  We really watched it work.  From this, I realized how
critical I'd been, & I've tried to change myself around.  You'd
be surprised what a difference it makes in the way people react
to you.  Now I'm running my mouth, but this is what CWL taught, &
it would be nice, if it were now also applied to his memory.

2 more items to touch on, before I wind up.  I'm puzzled by that
you tell me that you think our movement opened up a Pandora's
box.  What box are you thinking of?

I don't agree with the way you picture history.  To me, history &
historians aren't infallible, no matter how thorough their
research.  The best example of that is a book on Black History,
vs.  a book usually considered to be American History.  Both
cover the same eras & events in America, & each tells the story
from quite a different angle.  Another example I've just recently
come across: "American Heritage" magazine, gave a 16 page
synopsis of the history of American immigration.  The writer's
point of view is quite different from that in a book, on the same
subject, which I lent to my son & can't quote verbatim, but I
think it's called "A different Mirror" & the author is a Ronald T
-- something (he's a Japanese American, college professor -
historian).  Seems to me that everyone, including historians &
scientists, view whatever their attention is on through their own
personal lens.

I'm looking forward to getting some feedback from you on this.

Shanti & Aloha

Liesel & Chouchou Makia