Theos-Talk Archives (September 1995 Message tl00084)

Rich:
>It's not just your particular tradition, in U.L.T. also we read HPB's and
>William Q. Judge's warnings that while psychic powers may or may not come to
>individuals who are studying Theosophy, they must not be confused with
>spiritual development, they arise from an entirely different part of our
>nature. Without getting hysterical, these two authors deliver serious
>warnings that we are to cultivate gentleness, compassion, altruism, and
>insight, and to largely leave psychic things alone, they will come in their
>own good time, perfectly naturally, all by themselves.

The process of spiritual development is something useful to discuss. How
do we become selfless, how do we forget ourselves and rise about the pettiness
of the personality? Fundamentally, we put ourselves in the mode of *sharing*,
we fill the contents of our minds and hearts with creativity. We occupy
ourselves with grand things that we are working to give tangible expression
to in the world, in our own, unique, personal way. The higher qualities will
express themselves through us in this endeavor. We don't need to mediate on
love, for instance, we just need to act in the world where we can *be
lovingness.*
The abstract qualities of the Virtues are unrealted to outer life and are not
part of ourselves, except when we are engaged in activites in which they find
themselves expression. The key, then, is to do loving things, and thereby
realize the quality of love. (And to do wise things to realize wisdom, etc.)
We then have no room in our minds for the petty, the personal, the selfish;
we are instead filled with the excitement of creativity and sharing more and
more of the unseen beauties behind outer things, beauties awaiting someone like
us to act to give them expression.

-- Eldon