Theos-Talk Archives (August 1995 Message tl00275)

 Well, since we're on this most interesting topic -- I wrote this for my
brothers and sisters in various religions so that I could use words like
"occult" and "magic" without them trying to burn me at the stake. I know
some of the terms are flexibly used but it seemed right to me to do so in
helping for common understanding.

Words & Concepts

 Human languages shift and change with each generation. Words come and go
and their accepted meaning and connotations change for a variety of reasons.
 This last century has seen significant changes in the connotations and
actual definitions of some significant words. Many words which originally
had good and civil connotations and meanings have come, through distortion
and inadequate public presentation since the 1950's, to have negative and
evil connotations -- making many esoteric writings (i.e., those by H.P.B.,
A.A.B., etc.) to become the target for much misinterpretation. Some of the
words used in these writings which are today often misinterpreted include:
 esoteric, occult, cult, master, Aryan, the cross called the swastika,
initiate, astral, hierarchy, channeling, magic, disciple and new age.

 The word occult has been the most distorted. This word comes from the root
word ocular which has to do with seeing. Occult philosophy relates to the
process of striving to see truth as it is without any of the psychological
clouds which often obscure one's vision. The right path of occultism is one
of symbolically clearing away the fog so that one may see clearly in order to
serve God (the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit) as best as one is
able. The word cult is actually related to the word culture (the crown of
civilization) and is used correctly in such phrases as the cult of truth, the
cult of goodness, the cult of service and the cult of freedom. The word
Aryan can be used to refer to either the western races in general and or to
all of humanity for this current cycle of evolution. The swastika is used
throughout India and many parts of Asia and stands for human evolution
through experience in the material world. The use of this cross is quite
ancient and was greatly distorted, along with the word Aryan, by the nazis.
 The word astral refers to the emotional world and the astral plane is the
realm of emotional experience. The word esoteric relates to those processes
which are more spiritual or more abstract than is regularly seen in the
world. A master is one who has mastered himself in the Love of God or Christ
and when a student speaks of his master he is referring to a person who's
example he seeks to follow and to whom he is related by shared spiritual
interests and devotion to service -- not to one who has any authoritative
control over his life. In this spirit of freedom The Son of God known as
Christ is the master of the masters. A disciple is one who seeks to be
disciplined (non-fanatically it should be noted) so as to follow the
spiritual path that all who have mastered themselves in God's Love have also
followed. The hierarchy is the realm of relationships between disciples,
masters and God and could be referred to as the kingdom of heaven. One's
place in the hierarchy is determined by one's love, humility, compassion and
interests as to service in God's Plan. The hierarchy could also be thought
of as the next kingdom in nature toward which we all are evolving.

 The word channeling has been greatly distorted today. Channeling in
relation to true spiritual work simply means being a conduit through which
the Love of God can flow. True channeling is completely different from the
lower mediumship which is unfortunately all too common today. No real
disciple or master ever channels via mediumship or unconscious body
possession nor do they make any claims as to self-importance and
exclusiveness nor charge any money to see channeling. There can be cases of
overshadowing and conscious cooperation through telepathy with members of the
kingdom of heaven but never are any self-promoting claims put forth as to
this and all that would be noticed by those watching would be that the writer
or speaker seems to be radiating greater love and wisdom. An initiate is a
disciple who has accepted the Love of God and who has freed his motivation
from materialistic interests. Magic is the means of attaining such freedom
and the three greatest formulas of white magic which have been given to
humanity are as follows: 1 - Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
mind and soul; 2 - Love your neighbor as you love yourself; and 3 - Do unto
others as you would have them do unto you. It is the general practice of
this white magic which will make the dawning of the new age a great and good
opportunity for humanity -- and this is the emphasis of the true theosophical
writings and other valid writings on these matters.

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