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Re: Theos-World Recruitment and education...

Jun 25, 2003 12:14 PM
by Bart Lidofsky


Morten Nymann Olesen wrote:
1.
> Bart wrote:
> "The following will almost only interest the more earnest students of
>Theosophy."
> > That doesn't sound the least bit haughty or pretentious to you?

My Sufilight answer and views:
No ! You can ASSUME that I have some haughty or pretentious motives. But is
this
a theosophical behavior to CLAIM, that I have such motives?
Is it Bart ? (Please answer.)
I never claimed you had such motives. I said that your messages give the APPEARANCE that you have such motives, and, as such, overpower whatever else you're saying.

A prominent Theosophical speaker once pointed out to me that there are terms which he calls "red flags", because using those terms is like the proverbial waving a red flag in front of a bull; once those terms are used, they create such a strong negative emotional reaction that anything else in the message is lost.

For example, I once reported at a TS meeting that, in scientific experiments, those who claimed to be able to travel astrally were not able to accurately describe the places where they visited, at least when the descriptions could be confirmed. Now, I pointed out, this either means that astral travel does not exist, or that the sense being interpreted as sight is an entirely difference sense being interpreted as sight, and therefore much gets misinterpreted. Therefore, clairvoyant visions may be real and highly inaccurate at the same time, due to the level of interpretation the viewer puts into it.

What happened was that several members didn't listen to a word I said past "does not exist", and started yelling at me as if I had said that it doesn't exist, talking about all their favorite holy people who claimed to travel astrally. The phrase "astral travel does not exist" was a red flag to them; after they heard that, the rest was ignored, even though the rest was an attempt to reconcile their points of view with the results of experiments.

In your case, the terminology you are using, regardless of your real opinions, makes you appear haughty and egotistical. Yes, H. P. Blavatsky used similar language sometimes, but the occasions were few and far between, and, to a certain extent, she had the right to say them, because she was starting the movement. And, to a certain extent, she turned off a lot of potential students by using them, as well.

Bart




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