Theos-Talk Archives (December 1995 Message tl00536)

Greetings ...
Mucho thanks to all those who responded to the idea of
introductory literature in general and my own little project in
particular ... I've had little time on-line this week but I'm
digesting all the ideas you've sent. Since no one seemed to have
strong objections to talking about this on the list I'll
continue to do the project publically ... but make sure to keep
the subject header "Project 1" so as to make deletion easy for
those who aren't interested. Liesel I thought about the idea of
a seperate "beginners" list but I'm not sure that's a workable
thing. John has created four or five seperate lists but all but
one are virtually silent for long stretches of time and the
overwhelming predilection of most seems to be to stay on theos-l.
I'm not sure about creating yet another list when the ones we
have are barely used - plus the "beginners" if there are more
than just a few on the list don't seem to talk much; perhaps a
few would but I wonder whether a "beginners" list would soon
turn into little more than the same people as are on theos-l
talking to one another about basic concepts ... discussions that
might soon become as esoteric as any on theos-l -:.
Still there is the thought that some beginners might be
silent perhaps because slightly intimidated listeners on theos-
l and I wonder whether some of the longer-term Theosophists on
the list might want to set up an informal "Mentorship" program
here in cyberspace as a means of being more open and inviting to
newcomers by allowing them private conversations with members
i.e. by not requiring them to post to the whole list questions
that they may feel they would seem simplistic to ask... Perhaps
something like the following could be posted on theos-l once a
month:
GREETINGS TO NEW MEMBERS!
We are pleased you've chosen to join the discussions
debates and ruminations of the on-line Theosophical community.
We invite your voice and cyberpersonality into our forum and
hope you feel free to begin or join any thread that draws your
interest.
_____________________________________________________
For those new to the list but not to Theosophy we think
you'll find this a challenging and stimulating place; there are
members here from almost every prominant Theosophical
perspective and from a number of different nations. You may find
as many of us have that ideas and assumptions you've had about
Theosophy and Theosophical concepts will be questioned sometimes
vigorously -: but believe that as many of us have also found
your knowledge and appreciation of Theosophy will be deepened
precisely because of the wide diversity of perspectives here.
[NOTE: If this is the first time you've used Listserver software
and run into technical problems no one minds questions posted to
the list ...]
______________________________________________________
For those new to Theosophy as well as to the list we'd like
to welcome you into the Theosophical current! You may have
recently joined a formal Lodge or Study Center may be reading
some Theosophical books or may have come to the list through a
cyberspace trail and be just getting your first taste of
Theosophy through the agency of this list. It has been pointed
out to the community here by several different people that the
list sometimes seems highly intellectualized and too esoteric
for some newcomers to feel comfortable speaking. While no one on
the list would believe any question or comment you have was not
worth posting and often the simplest questions have lead to some
of the most interesting discussions we understand you may wish
to ask questions and become a bit more comfortable with the
basics before you post to the whole list.
To this end a number of list members who have studied
various different aspects of Theosophy in some depth have
volunteered to engage in private discussions with newcomers: To
recommend books to read on specific Theosophical topics that
interest you to answer basic questions about the different
Theosophical organizations or even to simply define an unknown
term you may have seen in a discussion. While there are great
differences of opinion among Theosophists about many aspects of
Theosophy and those on the Mentoring list will naturally have
strong personal beliefs about many topics in putting their name
on the list see below they have agreed to attempt to present
not simply their own view about a topic you may ask about but to
present the several main perspectives if there is dispute about
the topic.
Below is the list of volunteers with their private email
addresses and their particular areas of study or interest. They
invite you to write. The *only* stupid question is the one that
remains unasked - and the complete confidentiality of any private
conversation you have is assured. Again welcome to Theosophy!
___________________________________________________
MENTORS
1 NAME:
EMAIL ADDRESS:
INTERESTS:

2 NAME:
EMAIL ADDRESS:
INTERESTS:

etc. etc.
***************************************************************

What do you think? Liesel? Anyone? By the way the text of
the message was just to sketch the idea ... if a few people
actually wanted to do this the message should be re-written
until it was agreeable to all participants.
In practical terms a person would have to volunteer to
become the "Keeper of the Message" - who would take
responsibility for updating the list and making sure to post it
once a month. Monthly updates would mean that those volunteers
who might want to join could have their name on the list when
they have time and could remove it during times when they were
too busy. Additionally it could always be posted with the
identical subject header MESSAGE TO NEWCOMERS or something like
that for instant deletion by regular members.

Anyway ... this is just a thought. Any suggestions? Anyone
out there who would volunteer for such a thing?
Theosophically -JRC