Theos-Talk Archives (August 2006 Message tt00624)

BlankI have been wondering what people think about when they come across the word/s "t/Theosophy," and why they might think there should be, or is, such a thing, concept, theory, model, etc.  Theosophy, for me, brings to mind "a particular way of looking at things," but for me tends to kind of fall flat after that in terms of interpretations/exoterics, unless I (as opposed to any literal read/version of the Esoteric/Wisdom Tradition, Blavatsky, Masters, Gods, Paths, etc) choose to interpret/name something as being "t/Theosophical" and as making some kind of "significant enough difference, for me, for the better, in some transcendental sense"---while realizing that my notions about such things might not fit in with what others think.  I have a hard enough time speculating what might "more specifically" make such a difference in my life, so what other people, Theosophists, etc,  think about or might think about esoteric/transcendental topics specifically or "more specifically" generally tends to be beyond me, except maybe in some sketchy, general, rather foggy, mainstreamy sense.  In other words, I don't see much point in the kind of "study of t/Theosophy" where a follow-the-leader or literal interpretative approach is used (the kind where following instructions is key, as when building a toy airplane, eg, as opposed to proceeding by way of individual initiatives, interpetations, speculations, intuitions), but I suppose people, or some people (and I think I'm one of those), who study Theosophy might generally (or occasionally?) think that their intuitions, or what they might regard as their intuitions (of the kind that might be seen to lead to their interpretations or exoterics) are never so literal that their studies re "u/Understandings" (re the Esoteric/Wisdom Tradition, in general) might not at times amount some kind of means that might go towards a transcending of the kind of karma-after-karma tail chasing that they might want to see about overcoming, to some extent, maybe, in some sense, maybe (or maybe "really enough," in some cases ...?): that one's "outward interpretations" are not or might not always be ("in reality"?) as they might seem, that occasionally one might have a feeling that there's "more to the story" in some sense that one isn't able to pin down in so many words/thoughts (even if one might acknowledge that karma/maya has a hand in everything this side of Beness?).  So if Theosophy is seen as an "outward interpretation" (or "helpful exoteric version," say?), and if nobody can tell what other's "inward interpretations" are like, really, specifically, wouldn't that kind of scenario, if subscribed to, leave a few t/Thesosophical stones unturned, among other things?  In short, I don't think anybody can "teach" anybody about esoteric/occult/mystical topics (like t/Theosophy, as I tend to see it) if the students don't already have some basics worked out in some sense.  I had these thoughts because I have been reading Israel Regardie's THE TREE OF LIFE, A STUDY IN MAGIC, and page after page I was thinking that people can interpret and/or intuit re such topics very differently.  Eg, isn't there a big difference, in exoteric terms, between Zen and the modeling that's referred to in Theosophy (though I see both Zen and Theosophy as being primarily about transcending karma/maya)?   So wouldn't some students of Theosophy wonder about all the modeling in Theosophy, and whether or not that modeling would/could/might make "enough sense" (in some rather transcendendal sense?) in their lives (seeing as students of Zen might think that such modeling might be or would be kind of misleading or extraneous, or both, for them?)?  So, in other words, seems to me that some students of Theosophy might want to do some soul searching re their motives for having an interest in Theosophy, among other things.  Not that some students of Theosophy (all students of Theosophy?) haven't been doing soul searching, already, among other things, but ... ^:-/ ...  (that's my symbol for a guy who thought he might've had something important enough to say, maybe, but wound up scratching his head, as usual).

Speculatively,
Mauri




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]