Practice, Practice, Practice...What Do You Do?

A member sent me an e-mail the other day with some interesting and valid criticisms. When someone has something really insightful to say you should listen. This has lead to some pondering and (you guessed it) some questions.

The criticism lay around us acting as a site geared more towards philosophy rather than the practice of traditional theosophy. To that I say touche'. As a member with an opinion speaking to another member I have to say that the thought hit the spot.

All of us here engage in some practice or other, even if we don't call it by that name. Some of us meditate, some use astrology, cards, numbers or and many other means to tap into higher knowledge. In traditional theosophy these are among the means used to communicate with nature and the divine.

So, with that, what works for you, and how do you do it?

I look forward to your thoughts.

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Leslie Royce Pochos on November 27, 2012 at 10:16am

practice.... like ballet, even the prima ballerina practices every day, because control of the instrument is critical and never accomplished by accident.

I had the benefit of a wise student from the start of my studies; he taught me that until you open the eye of the scientist in you, that is learn to watch yourself as tho’ you were the subject of a scientific experiment, which he assured me each is, you would only have information. For it to become knowledge, you had to see yourself in action. Then, if you were dissatisfied with what you saw, you could turn it into wisdom, shape it and remake it into what you saw as fit and proper, not the full answer yet but its germ.

This process provides some of the most embarrassing moments in one’s life - how could I/doesn’t anyone else see how pathetic I am/what kind of motive is that??? But when the weeds are pulled and the ground is bare, one feels free to plant something new. And then watch the result of that... the practice never ends because until you turn it into a living thing here, it is just a wish, a dream, a hope of the soul. And tho’ I may be a million miles from success, I am building muscles and sometimes a stunning awareness of having conquered petty faults others may not have or may not see yet. It is a freedom and an encouragement. Meditation allows one to re-charge the batteries so that one is able to put it into practice here ... and until you do it here, it is just theory. No answer coming from any divination practice can equal what I can see and know of myself, through myself, in action; even if such a method can offer a clue of the direction to take, I still have to take the direction and put it into practice.

I hope this does not sound pompous; in truth, it is humbling and yet exciting.