Theos-Talk Archives (July 1996 Message tl00309)

On Fri, 12 Jul 1996, K. Paul Johnson wrote:

> 
> To continue where I left off:
> 
> If discourse is to be theosophical, that is to be informed by
> the spirit of divine wisdom, it must be distinguished by a
> bedrock mutual respect for one another as spiritual pilgrims.
> That requires a recognition of the fragility of what any of us
> calls "my knowledge" and an appreciation for the many levels of
> meaning at which any proposition may be either true or false.
> Communicating with subtlety and depth requires a willingness to
> go beyond a win/lose paradigm to a win/win model which allows
> us to learn even from those with whom we disagree.  
> 
> It seems that the win/lose approach leads to denigrating Theosophists with
> whom we have disagreements.  The result is ultimately a
> lose/lose situation in which the entire movement is unable to
> conduct discourse a way that reflects our stated values and
> objectives.


Very good. Completely agree. I'll try to do my best to follow your 
suggestion.

I would even reinforce what you had to say and replace 'mutual respect" 
(which suggests too passive an attitude fraught with a potential for 
mutual indifference) with 'encouragement of mutual growth"  
(more active attitude implying certain responsibilities). 
 
Max