Official Social Network of The Theosophical Society in America
Theosophical Practice - Betty Bland
Theosophical Practice - Betty Bland
Download handouts
Handout - Theosophy for Daily Living – Quotes and Exercises
Handout - Change Grid
The class began with a guided meditation using imagery to extend our individual auras first to the whole group, then further out, eventually encompassing all life, a nice visceral reminder of our unity and connectedness with the whole.
Theosophical concepts that have helped many in everyday life
At the level of the Divine Wisdom which informs all spiritual belief systems, all religions are one—
Group support is important to spiritual growth—when you are around others who are also working diligently on their spiritual growth and practice it affects your own journey positively on many levels:
1. Intellectually—you will bounce off different understandings of spiritual concepts with each other
2. We pick up on each other’s vibrations: in a general sense, the vibrations of a group of sincere spiritual seekers is likely to be more beneficial than vibrations from other groups
3. There is an unconscious support system happening (even participants in silent meditation groups have talked about the boost in their meditative practices received when meditating in the presence of other meditators)
4. In a society where so many forces encourage us to live in ways that are not focused on unity and that are not spiritually focused, to have a group of people on the same journey together is very encouraging and a reminder of our potential and purpose.
Ahimsa (non-harming) –As much as possible we try to do no harm to other life.
Humanity is apex: On the manifested life on earth, human is on top of the spiritual hierarchy (which also brings great responsibility). We know from experience, from the devastation meted out by humanity upon each other and other life that the degree to which we feel superior to another is also the degree to which we may potentially feel justified in harming another)
Mind can be reflective of Spirit, or, less spiritual phenomenon such as emotions.
Reincarnation
We are all working to live our Theosophical Ideals more frequently and consistently.
None of us live Theosophy perfectly—
It does seem that the deeper one can take the ego, through spiritual study, meditation, prayer, the less likely the Ego is to get significantly off the spiritual path by superficial distractions
Practice for moving away from the ego (or: practices to align the ego with spirit):
Being kind (Golden Rule)
Remembering unity
Remembering reincarnation (we have a deeper purpose than mere worldly accomplishments)
Paradoxically, before we can attempt to go to deeper spiritual levels, we have to heal parts of the ego before we can attempt to go beyond it: Compassion for oneself is also an important part of overall compassion practice. More practically, the ego will not let us transcend it, to go past it, until it is ready; this will manifest by parts of ourselves calling for healing first, or simultaneous to, attaining “deeper” more abstract spiritual goals.
A great spiritual helper is the ethical masterpiece At the Feet of the Master by Alcyone (J. Krishnamurti). The beautiful, selfless ideas in this short work truly bring the poetic dimension of altruism to life.
Each of us has our individual (karmic) blocks that keep us from connecting with the Divine—forgiveness can dissolve those blocks. The biggest block to forgiveness is usually attachment: “It has to be my way.”
Dora Kunz created an excellent visualization exercise for getting rid of resentment
A) Visualize a specific resentment as a dark mass a couple feet from your heart
B) Visualize your Divine Essence as a golden glow
C) Send out your Divine Essence to meet this dark mass of resentment a couple feet from your heart, meet it with kindness, merge with it, and at its own pace, dissolve that resentment
As you bring this block inside you for deep examination and healing, you will beat all sorts of resistances, manifested physically, emotionally, psychologically. The more you sit in the presence of the block, and make awareness of it conscious, the more you will be exploring it and healing it with the deepest parts of your divine essence.
Eventually you are able to bring the healed part of you out for external application and practice: this can also be articulated as having committed now to manifesting the inner change to an outer effect, and so the process has gone full circle from an external block, brought to the internal, and finally, after healing awareness, brought back to the external world but with a new energy. This positive cycle will likely repeat and repeat, each time bringing a little deeper acceptance and healing.See Change Grid
In this context, “change” does not necessarily imply change on the external side of things, on the visual, physical side. Rather “change” here is meant as a psychological change, a growth in perspective.
The essence is that change and healing are synonymous—one may also say that acceptance and healing are synonymous, or that growing in perception and healing are synonymous. As soon as one opens to going beyond denial, i.e., feeling whatever particular block one has, than one can start the process of truly internalizing that block, and letting it incubate closer to the heart where the hat of transformation can begin. These are poetic images, metaphor, but in essence, this process of bringing a block to awareness during meditation is much like the Dora Kunz exercise where one imagines it touches the heart. After all, that too is an inner exercise.
Discussion questions
This class may feel more like a group meditation and/or a group celebration of sharing than a traditional intellectual exploration.
1- The unity of all things is, to say the least, an immensely important image/idea/reality. Share a little about the impact of this concept, what it means and/or has meant.
2- Much of the heavy-lifting of our spiritual growth has to be attained through meditation/prayer, in solitude. Yet community is also a key aspect of spiritual practice, and it works a little differently for everyone. How do you negotiate the line between community and solitude especially as it relates to spiritual practice?
3- Ahimsa (non-harming) is also a powerful spiritual practice that can bring peace in many ways. What does Ahimsa mean or how has it been implemented in your life?
4- The unique spiritual role of humanity is a topic which can be discussed and meditated upon without limit. Two key aspects to our unique role as humans are:
A) Our potential for significant spiritual growth within this one lifetime, and
B) The fact that the rest of life on this planet is largely at the mercy of our actions.
4a- As far as we know, man is uniquely capable of making significant spiritual progress in one lifetime. What does this challenge/opportunity mean to you personally?
4b- Man is at a unique place in the spiritual and worldly hierarchy. What responsibilities does this bring?
5- There are countless explanations for how reincarnation might work. We will not attempt to discuss the specifics here. Rather, briefly, have anyone in the group who subscribes deeply to this belief share a little about how this affects his/her spiritual practice and attitudes. (Do not get side-tracked into trying to explain precisely how the process might work.)
6- What role does kindness play in your spiritual practice?
7- Forgiveness is one of the most important challenges and opportunities in our spiritual practice. Share your experiences regarding difficulties or joys with forgiveness.
Proposed activities
1- Read “Theosophy for Daily Living” from handout out loud as a group.
2- Read “Quotes to Consider” from handout out loud as a group.
Assign each person in the group one or two of the 10 quotes.
2a- Each person may free-write for 10 minutes on their assigned quote. (The group facilitator can time this.) Free-write means one begins writing and never stops writing, never stopping the pen literally even if it means “I do not know what to write now” etc. The idea is an unconditional invitation to expression that will free up the unconscious.
2b- After free-writing on the quote, ask the group to sit in silent meditation for 5 minutes. (The group facilitator may want to consult the following links for ideas about how to ease people into this silence.)
How to Meditate
Silent Meditation
2c- After 5 minutes of silence have each person use his free-writing notes and this slightly deeper space within himself to organize a paragraph of thoughts which will serve as thoughtful commentary on the assigned quote.
3- Share paragraphs of commentary on assigned quotes.
4- The Litany of Love (see handout)
Have the group facilitator read the “P” part of the Litany and have the group answer back in chorus, “May love go forth.”
Related Resources
The Theosophical Path
Books
Burnier, Radha, Truth, Beauty and Goodness, T B935 TBG
Gullo, Jean, Living the Wisdom: A Guide to Social Transformation, T G945 LW
Hanson, Virginia, H. P. Blavatsky and The Secret Doctrine: Commentaries on Her Contributions to World Thought, T B614 SDZ HAN
Hodson, Geoffrey, Basic Theosophy, T H669 BT
Kunz, Dora, A Conversation with Dora Kunz, CDA 0285
Mills, Joy, Living in Wisdom: Lectures on The Secret Doctrine, T B614 SDZ MIL LW
Pavri, Pestanji Temulji, The Living Wisdom: An Introduction to Theosophy (in Questions and Answers), T P289 LW
Wadia, B. P., Living the Life, T W119 LTL
Sound recordings
(AR: audiocassette; CDA: Compact Disc)
Abdill, Ed, Guideposts for Living: The Voice of the Silence, CDA 0011
Algeo, John, The Essence of Theosophical Ethics, CDA 0247
Bland, Betty, The Seven Keys in One: The Paramitas, CDA 0421
Mills, Joy, Seek Out the Way, AR 5038
Mills, Joy, The Vitality of Living Truth, CDA 0148
Parisen, Maria, Embracing the Ways of Love, CDA 0265
Purucker, G. de, Golden Precepts: A Guide to Enlightened Living, T P977 GP
Ravindra, Ravi, Living a Sacred Life, AR 5172
Redlich, Anne, The Winding Path to the Secret Doctrine, AR 5008
Videorecordings
(VR: videocassette, DVD: Digital Video Disc)
Abdill, Edward , Guideposts for Living: The Voice of the Silence , DVD 0226
Algeo, John, Guideposts for Living: At the Feet of the Master, VR 1222
Ellwood, Robert S., Guideposts for Living: Light on the Path, VR 1221
Download handouts
Handout - Theosophy for Daily Living – Quotes and Exercises
Handout - Change Grid
The class began with a guided meditation using imagery to extend our individual auras first to the whole group, then further out, eventually encompassing all life, a nice visceral reminder of our unity and connectedness with the whole.
Theosophical concepts that have helped many in everyday life
At the level of the Divine Wisdom which informs all spiritual belief systems, all religions are one—
Group support is important to spiritual growth—when you are around others who are also working diligently on their spiritual growth and practice it affects your own journey positively on many levels:
1. Intellectually—you will bounce off different understandings of spiritual concepts with each other
2. We pick up on each other’s vibrations: in a general sense, the vibrations of a group of sincere spiritual seekers is likely to be more beneficial than vibrations from other groups
3. There is an unconscious support system happening (even participants in silent meditation groups have talked about the boost in their meditative practices received when meditating in the presence of other meditators)
4. In a society where so many forces encourage us to live in ways that are not focused on unity and that are not spiritually focused, to have a group of people on the same journey together is very encouraging and a reminder of our potential and purpose.
Ahimsa (non-harming) –As much as possible we try to do no harm to other life.
Humanity is apex: On the manifested life on earth, human is on top of the spiritual hierarchy (which also brings great responsibility). We know from experience, from the devastation meted out by humanity upon each other and other life that the degree to which we feel superior to another is also the degree to which we may potentially feel justified in harming another)
Mind can be reflective of Spirit, or, less spiritual phenomenon such as emotions.
Reincarnation
We are all working to live our Theosophical Ideals more frequently and consistently.
None of us live Theosophy perfectly—
It does seem that the deeper one can take the ego, through spiritual study, meditation, prayer, the less likely the Ego is to get significantly off the spiritual path by superficial distractions
Practice for moving away from the ego (or: practices to align the ego with spirit):
Being kind (Golden Rule)
Remembering unity
Remembering reincarnation (we have a deeper purpose than mere worldly accomplishments)
Paradoxically, before we can attempt to go to deeper spiritual levels, we have to heal parts of the ego before we can attempt to go beyond it: Compassion for oneself is also an important part of overall compassion practice. More practically, the ego will not let us transcend it, to go past it, until it is ready; this will manifest by parts of ourselves calling for healing first, or simultaneous to, attaining “deeper” more abstract spiritual goals.
A great spiritual helper is the ethical masterpiece At the Feet of the Master by Alcyone (J. Krishnamurti). The beautiful, selfless ideas in this short work truly bring the poetic dimension of altruism to life.
Each of us has our individual (karmic) blocks that keep us from connecting with the Divine—forgiveness can dissolve those blocks. The biggest block to forgiveness is usually attachment: “It has to be my way.”
Dora Kunz created an excellent visualization exercise for getting rid of resentment
A) Visualize a specific resentment as a dark mass a couple feet from your heart
B) Visualize your Divine Essence as a golden glow
C) Send out your Divine Essence to meet this dark mass of resentment a couple feet from your heart, meet it with kindness, merge with it, and at its own pace, dissolve that resentment
As you bring this block inside you for deep examination and healing, you will beat all sorts of resistances, manifested physically, emotionally, psychologically. The more you sit in the presence of the block, and make awareness of it conscious, the more you will be exploring it and healing it with the deepest parts of your divine essence.
Eventually you are able to bring the healed part of you out for external application and practice: this can also be articulated as having committed now to manifesting the inner change to an outer effect, and so the process has gone full circle from an external block, brought to the internal, and finally, after healing awareness, brought back to the external world but with a new energy. This positive cycle will likely repeat and repeat, each time bringing a little deeper acceptance and healing.See Change Grid
In this context, “change” does not necessarily imply change on the external side of things, on the visual, physical side. Rather “change” here is meant as a psychological change, a growth in perspective.
The essence is that change and healing are synonymous—one may also say that acceptance and healing are synonymous, or that growing in perception and healing are synonymous. As soon as one opens to going beyond denial, i.e., feeling whatever particular block one has, than one can start the process of truly internalizing that block, and letting it incubate closer to the heart where the hat of transformation can begin. These are poetic images, metaphor, but in essence, this process of bringing a block to awareness during meditation is much like the Dora Kunz exercise where one imagines it touches the heart. After all, that too is an inner exercise.
Discussion questions
This class may feel more like a group meditation and/or a group celebration of sharing than a traditional intellectual exploration.
1- The unity of all things is, to say the least, an immensely important image/idea/reality. Share a little about the impact of this concept, what it means and/or has meant.
2- Much of the heavy-lifting of our spiritual growth has to be attained through meditation/prayer, in solitude. Yet community is also a key aspect of spiritual practice, and it works a little differently for everyone. How do you negotiate the line between community and solitude especially as it relates to spiritual practice?
3- Ahimsa (non-harming) is also a powerful spiritual practice that can bring peace in many ways. What does Ahimsa mean or how has it been implemented in your life?
4- The unique spiritual role of humanity is a topic which can be discussed and meditated upon without limit. Two key aspects to our unique role as humans are:
A) Our potential for significant spiritual growth within this one lifetime, and
B) The fact that the rest of life on this planet is largely at the mercy of our actions.
4a- As far as we know, man is uniquely capable of making significant spiritual progress in one lifetime. What does this challenge/opportunity mean to you personally?
4b- Man is at a unique place in the spiritual and worldly hierarchy. What responsibilities does this bring?
5- There are countless explanations for how reincarnation might work. We will not attempt to discuss the specifics here. Rather, briefly, have anyone in the group who subscribes deeply to this belief share a little about how this affects his/her spiritual practice and attitudes. (Do not get side-tracked into trying to explain precisely how the process might work.)
6- What role does kindness play in your spiritual practice?
7- Forgiveness is one of the most important challenges and opportunities in our spiritual practice. Share your experiences regarding difficulties or joys with forgiveness.
Proposed activities
1- Read “Theosophy for Daily Living” from handout out loud as a group.
2- Read “Quotes to Consider” from handout out loud as a group.
Assign each person in the group one or two of the 10 quotes.
2a- Each person may free-write for 10 minutes on their assigned quote. (The group facilitator can time this.) Free-write means one begins writing and never stops writing, never stopping the pen literally even if it means “I do not know what to write now” etc. The idea is an unconditional invitation to expression that will free up the unconscious.
2b- After free-writing on the quote, ask the group to sit in silent meditation for 5 minutes. (The group facilitator may want to consult the following links for ideas about how to ease people into this silence.)
How to Meditate
Silent Meditation
2c- After 5 minutes of silence have each person use his free-writing notes and this slightly deeper space within himself to organize a paragraph of thoughts which will serve as thoughtful commentary on the assigned quote.
3- Share paragraphs of commentary on assigned quotes.
4- The Litany of Love (see handout)
Have the group facilitator read the “P” part of the Litany and have the group answer back in chorus, “May love go forth.”
Related Resources
The Theosophical Path
Books
Burnier, Radha, Truth, Beauty and Goodness, T B935 TBG
Gullo, Jean, Living the Wisdom: A Guide to Social Transformation, T G945 LW
Hanson, Virginia, H. P. Blavatsky and The Secret Doctrine: Commentaries on Her Contributions to World Thought, T B614 SDZ HAN
Hodson, Geoffrey, Basic Theosophy, T H669 BT
Kunz, Dora, A Conversation with Dora Kunz, CDA 0285
Mills, Joy, Living in Wisdom: Lectures on The Secret Doctrine, T B614 SDZ MIL LW
Pavri, Pestanji Temulji, The Living Wisdom: An Introduction to Theosophy (in Questions and Answers), T P289 LW
Wadia, B. P., Living the Life, T W119 LTL
Sound recordings
(AR: audiocassette; CDA: Compact Disc)
Abdill, Ed, Guideposts for Living: The Voice of the Silence, CDA 0011
Algeo, John, The Essence of Theosophical Ethics, CDA 0247
Bland, Betty, The Seven Keys in One: The Paramitas, CDA 0421
Mills, Joy, Seek Out the Way, AR 5038
Mills, Joy, The Vitality of Living Truth, CDA 0148
Parisen, Maria, Embracing the Ways of Love, CDA 0265
Purucker, G. de, Golden Precepts: A Guide to Enlightened Living, T P977 GP
Ravindra, Ravi, Living a Sacred Life, AR 5172
Redlich, Anne, The Winding Path to the Secret Doctrine, AR 5008
Videorecordings
(VR: videocassette, DVD: Digital Video Disc)
Abdill, Edward , Guideposts for Living: The Voice of the Silence , DVD 0226
Algeo, John, Guideposts for Living: At the Feet of the Master, VR 1222
Ellwood, Robert S., Guideposts for Living: Light on the Path, VR 1221
Tags: bland, daily living, practice
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