A reader asks: Can a person really live on only a vegan diet? Are there Theosophists who are true vegans? If so, what supplements, if any, do they take? Are eggs acceptable from a Theosophic standpoint if they are unfertilized and not from chickens... Read More...
My spiritual path: pondering (or jnana yoga)
I’m a spiritual person, but that spirituality gets expressed in ways that aren’t that common. I don’t do meditation. I don’t actively seek out clairvoyance. I’ve stopped using tarot cards and the I-ching. This post is... Read More...
Dreaming your life – or living it?
In college I was told that to have a magical world view was childish. What they mean by that is that people who believe in magic take too much personal responsibility: I thought about her dying, so I must have caused it somehow. Belief in magic does... Read More...
Concerning 'loving your neighbours'
A reader asks: Concerning cultivation of love…when a person senses they have very little love for themselves and others, are there ways to cultivate genuine love? (I sense that my efforts to be loving are futile because the motivation is really... Read More...
Transcending the self… serving humanity
Never content to not understand anything related to theosophy – I looked up this phenomonoly (hope I spelled that correctly) Govert and Chris talk so much about, without ever explaining it. Anyhow – I still don’t really understand Govert’s... Read More...
The friends of Mary – about speaking the truth
There is something magical about truth. I lied to my grandmother the other day. She had noted that her son’s girlfriend (let’s call her Mary) knew a lot of people where she was staying. My grandmother thought that was a bit odd. I told her we had... Read More...
Real life and the search for happiness
I’m wondering whether the search for happiness is at all a reasonable search. Don’t get me wrong, I want happiness as much as anyone. But sorrow is part of life, and facing sorrow and working through it (having a healthy cry for instance) works... Read More...
Practical versus Theoretical spirituality
I’m reading one of the classics in theosophical literature, from the former leader of the Pasadena TS (which is what I’ll call it for convenience, it’s headquarters have moved about a lot in the past century): ‘Messages to Conventions: and... Read More...
Religion versus Spirituality part 2: How to reconcile commitment and scepticism…
I’m getting into the sociology of modernity, for my bachelors paper. Anthony Giddens is one of the primary sociologists in that field. He wrote: The problem for us – those who wish to see a cosmopolitan world prosper – is to reconcile... Read More...
Youth and wisdom
Chogyam Trungpa wrote: We have the idea that an enlightened person is supposed to be more or less an old-wise-man type: not quite like an old professor, but perhaps an old father who can supply sound advice on how to handle all of life’s problems... Read More...