posted October 08, 2006 02:31 PM
There was a rockin' documentary on the Biography Channel about reincarnation. It was part of the "Ancient Mysteries: Reincarnation" (with Leonard Nimoy).They were bringing up all kinds of stuff, I didn't catch the very beginning, but they were talking about a butterfly having been connected to Psyche, and that Psyche became known as the Soul itself, continually renewing itself. I'm assuming it was the same mythical Psyche we use here, but I'm not sure.
One of the interviewee's quoted one of my favorite quotes of all time, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience."
(Whenever issues of "to be or not to be" arise, I remind myself of that quote).
Someone also said that an integral part of being human is realizing how there is continuity in life, such as the Laws of Nature, how the Elements work, etc. Then he asks, so why should the Soul be the ONLY thing with no continuity. (great argument)
And they brought up Madame Blavatsky, which is a name I've heard but never connected historically. They portrayed her contribution as having attempted to help other's "see" - but you can just imagine what happens to a dame back in the 1800's trying to tell people that part of the life of religion was amputated, that it lived on like a phantom, and that SHE'S in touch with it - she felt her vision was that of the ONE TRUE religion. Like string theory, or a theory of everything, but on a spiritual (and yes real) plane ...
I found this excerpt about her which parallels what she was saying, according to that TV program :::
"Theosophy is a fragment of the ancient, once universal, wisdom teaching.
The masters of Theosophy, located in Tibet and around the world, preserve and extend this ancient wisdom. Periodically they send forth one of their own - or a messenger - to help spread this teaching to all of humanity.
In the 1800's they had been searching for a century for the next messenger and finally settled upon Helena Blavatsky, born to a noble Russian family. She saw the master who would be her teacher in her dreams as a child. She met him in Hyde Park in London when she was 20. She managed to enter Tibet and was trained by those masters in Tibet from 1868 to 1870. From 1875 through her death in 1891 she spread that message around the world.
Theosophy is the name Blavatsky gave to that portion of knowledge that she brought from the masters to the world. It comes from the term "Theosophia" used by the Neoplatonists to mean literally "knowledge of the divine".
Perhaps all of her work can be summed up in one of her maxims: Compassion is the law of laws. She explained that brotherhood is not a mere ideal - it is a fact in nature on the spiritual plane. From that we derive a logical basis and a binding source for morality that can guide and inspire us, even while more traditional religious sources are losing their compelling force. She gives us the metaphysics from which we can deduce the most important priciples of how to live."
>> so >>
For someone who has always tried to find the common thread in everything, this is a great discovery! Intuitively, I know the classical contemporary Bible has an amputated phantom arm which still lives in Spirit. So I'm really interested in learning more about her, and to see what she was on to!
(Source: www.blavatsky.net
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... it's better to light a candle than curse the darkness
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posted October 08, 2006 02:31 PM
posted October 08, 2006 02:39 PM
posted October 08, 2006 05:25 PM
I'll get it out again though. The theosophical library in my town has many VERY interesting books, so I plan on using it when I'm home (currently out of town).