Theos-Talk Archives (February 1997 Message tl00054)

Einar: thanks for the overview of your courses.
	I will focus on some points for the sake of discussion
	and further clarification.
>
> Firstly these courses are about what would translate strictly as "Mind
> Culture", but could go as Self-culture. To start wit I emphasize the
wisdom of the ancient
> yoga, taking base in the definition by Patanjali, i.e. that real yoga
consists in
> controlling or suppressing the thought-processes, thus learning to know
the inner
> programming structure of ourselves and by that gaining control of every
situation
> in our life.

	Wow. That alone can take more than one life time to master.


 I introduce a few important technical terms, like the principle of
> oneness, the mystical experience, the pure awareness, and few terms we
use
> when probing the working of the psyche. I use the division of Instincts,
> Emotions, Feelings or Sensitivity, Thought-processes, Insight, etc.

	This division is also used by the group I'm a member of in my country.
It ties in with the approach of getting to know oneself better.


<cut>.
>
> I ascertain the "universal awareness model", which states that in our
innermost
> being we are Pure Awareness, witnesses, rather than thinkers or doers,
and
> certainly not our body, - that the "I" is unreal, a thought, a collection
of memories
> over a long period of time, that we are really processes rather than
things.

	Maybe we are all of these aspects at the same time, but I get the idea.

>
> This is all followed up by relating it to daily living examples.

	This seems one of the most important aspects of teaching: relating
ideas/concepts/technical terms to real life examples. That's the part I
would like you to elaborate a upon  especially.


>
> One important thing is to understand the difference between words, Ideas,

> hypothesis, opinions and believes, on the one hand and reality and "what
Is" on
> the other hand.

	Indeed. A vital thing to understand. "The map is not the territory"
as Korzybski, the developer of the science of general semantics (gs) said.
Vitvan has constructed his rephrasal of the perennial wisdom to a large
degree on principles from gs (eg., the process of perception, abstraction
of info
that passes from the senses into one's mind).


>
> Another basic lecture is about learning to "un-believe", i.e. to use
"positive doubt"
> on every single idea and believe that comes our way. A certain mind is a
closed
> mind, whereas a mind that denies itself of being certain of anything, but
at the
> same time gives every theory a chance, one that never believes fully, but
at the
> same time never condemns, is a truly open mind, and only an open mind can

> learn something new.

	Yes, theosophy is not about belief, but rather provides a starting point
for the exploration of the Self, self and multiple levels of awareness.

>
> One important thing I explore before going into the Meditation, which is
an
> important part of the program: There are different "laws" governing the
"Inner
> Reality" of ourselves than the outer space and time world. The most
important
> factor is the UNITY OF INNER SPACE. There are no "others" inside me, so I
can't
> use will or force to change anything there! - Yes this needs some
explaining, but
> it's a FACT, if you look at it.

	What are you trying to say here? You mean you don't acknowledge
the existence of a vital-astral part, a thinking part, a spiritual part,
etc. as relatively autonomous parts? Or what is your angle on that?

>
> If I want to change something in my psyche by willing or using force,
there have
> to be two entities, the one that wants to change, and someone or
something that
> resists the change. This breeds inner conflict, a "psychological
personality split"
> that perpetuates our phobias and manias, and with it all the conflicts in
the outer
> world. The only really successful process to relieve the inner conflict
is to
> "know thyself", a rally profound understanding or insight into what we
really
> are. Then all inner conflicts and psychological problems will simply
automatically
> evaporate from the Psyche. This is where meditation comes in, an
introspection
> free of both craving and self-condemnation, and at best, free of any
movement
> of thought altogether.

	'Know thyself' is a profound exhortation from the Delphic oracle.
I'm not so sure, however, whether inner conflicts, etc. will simply
evaporate.Eventually, yes. But the getting to understand oneself can
be a very painful process where one learns to let go of old patterns
which may be very deep-rooted indeed. There is one point I agree with here
and that is the point that use of personal will to cause changes may cause
a personality split. The reason for that is that one may not be ready to
transcend
a certain phase of development and that one will be thrown back into the
old phase
in order to experience it further (just my point of view). I also think
that one must
 consider the fact that one is integrated in the 'race-psyche' and
emancipation from
 this 'field' of emotions/thoughts/energies marks a very important step on
the path
of development of consciousness.



> This of course needs an extensive probing with a lot of reference to our
> common experience, and also a lot of discussion. One thing here - there
are two
> "types" of will, a personal will, that is "egoistic" and really only an
expression of
> our desires, and there is an "Inner Will" that is of a totally different
nature, and
> which will emerge naturally with the inner insight of meditation and
spiritual
> work. This inner will is what slowly takes over all our inner processes
and
> eventually brings total harmony in our lives.

	Agreed.


>
> This is only a very short and incomplete description of the first part of
our Self-
> culture session.
>
> In the second session I go further into the "Oneness-Principle" relating
to both
> outer and inner processes. In third and  fourth session I take them
through the
> "inner cleaning process, dealing with emotions, attitudes, believes and
opinions,
> criticism, envy and jealousy, egoism and the tyranny of ownership, the
> problems of codependency and incorrect relationships, on to the positive
thinking,
> forgiving and loving, the art of giving and sharing, etc.


	This part has made it to the Celestine Prophecy :) and is about
practical psychology. I like that.


 Here I introduce the law
> of karma and relate it to the daily life.

	In psychological terms, I gather?

I
> Session five is dedicated to health and the healing from every thinkable
aspects,
> emphasizing that health stems from within,

	Yes! Mens sana in corpore sano. A healthy spirit in a healthy body
as the Roman proverb has it. But it has its basis in a healthy spirit
rather than in the body.

and the sixth session is dedicated to
> the introduction of traditional Yoga and spiritual practices.

	Which meditation practices do you encourage?

>
> Hope this isn't too longish.

	Not at all. Also a good starting point for some discussion :)

	Martin


> Love and light,
>
> Einar.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------


http://www.spiritweb.org/Spirit/Theosophy/Overview.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------




------------------------------