Future Theosophies

[Joe Fulton]

I was writing a comment to Capt. Kumar's piece on 2012 and a number of thoughts collided (a 20 idea pile up). 

Having delved into various theosophies throughout history over the last several days and starting a speculation on those it occurred to me that an even more neglected point of view is that of theosophies of the future.

For those of you not familiar with the larger context of theosophies, they are a class of inquiry spanning the entire range of personal, subjective relations between ourselves and divinities.  Traditionally (in the West) they have been based on some form of Hermeticism and in a Christian, Judaic or Islamic context.  This changed in the late 19th Century when Eastern thought was introduced into the Theosophic stream.  The process continues to this day.  Most of our theosophic consciousness, at a mass level is concentrated on this hybrid East/West synthesis.

But the question that sits in my mind constantly is always "what about tomorrow?"  What streams do we have coming on board today that will influence how we relate to our inner transformations?  What will be our equivalent of the Philosopher's Stone? 

At the individual level, the most fundamental principle is what we call mind.  The relationship between the mind and body is a subject of an increasing amount of debate as neurosicentists push back the boundaries of how the body affects the mind.  In many cases it appears that mind is not very much separated from body.  Every sacred cow seems to be increasingly described in terms of brain function, neurochemistry and genetics.  We are to the point where we have to ask ourselves "where is the line?" 

In traditional theosophies these questions would be answered by pointing at heavenly influences detailed in spheres and planes.  They would be subject to correspondences with chemicals, the stars and the planets to come up with a picture of their operation on our level.

To that end I would suggest that we explore modern day alchemies that take into account information theory, neurology and quantum physics to come up with a new Philosopher's Stone.  Only this one is more like a Philosopher's Cloud.  It is all about the information.  These do not necessarily negate the older ideas.  However, the same methods of thought, namely correspondence and analogy are applied to draw the inner connections.  The goal is always the same as that expressed by the Delphic Oracle.  Man, know thyself.

[Michael A. Williams]

Joe, I was using the editiorial "us" in my opening comment and meant it as a little hyperbole "figure of speech." Nothing personal towards you at all. And we're on the same page, intuition of imagination are of the utmost importance.

Ferran, I also agree with you, that the "ancient" metaphors and systems, West and East, are still of value. For some people these will be their main path, but not for most.

I think there are still some real gems and Gold nuggets of wisdom and practical insights hidden in the writings of a few of the medieval Hermetic Masters. The symbols, metaphors and codes they used just have to be cracked and interpreted right. Not an easy task, as much remains to be unveiled.

But, I feel in the future, and in the main, the modern metaphors and "games" will carry the metaphysical/spiritual tradition forward.

[Joe Fulton]

I don't see any contradiction, since the goal of all of these endeavors is to help us understand ourselves and our place in the cosmos.  To cut the investigation off at a certain time and declare subsequent discoveries invalid is not only narrow minded but it is also unrealistic.  If anything a study of esotericism reveals a constant adaptation to the culture which can be seen progressing from the writings of the Neo-Platonists up through the Copernican Revolution and to the present day.  The dynamic between theosophic study and the current state of science has always been there and there is no reason to believe that it should change.  If anything the speculation engaged in here is totally in keeping with the broader theosophical traditions.

Regarding HPB, Bailey, Roerich, Creme, etc. I would challenge you to put them into the context of a much larger tradition spanning many centuries.  Viewed within the narrow confines of the Blavatsky tradition there are variances.  Are those a problem?  That depends on who you are.  In a larger sense, due to the vast number of approaches used, spanning from the inspirations of Hildegaard of Bingen to alchemy of Paracelsus to the occultism of Eliphas Levi those differences become much less important.

[Ferran Sanz Orriols]

 Hi friends!!!

... mmmm a big number of thoughts collide, yes...  the first one is that I see HPB, Helena Roerich, Alice A Bailey and Ben Creme, as students from the same school. I just don't understand why people separates them. If some wise fellows who belong to a school that is exactly as old as humanity start publishing their teaching, it is natural that they continue doing so. With more reason when we see what happened to the TS.

  Joe, I don't know how to say it, there's a strange feeling when I see you jump from traditional theosophies to neuroscience... and then to calling info theory, neurology and quantum physics "alchemy". I think that they are different games with different rules. I prefer the ancient rules to the modern ones because they make a better game. Modern ones are too narrow.

 I know that all kinds of psychic stuff are muddy terrain or worse, but I don't think theosophy (understood as divine wisdom, in a general sense) needs to keep the pace of contemporary investigation in physics (I am not saying that this is is not interesting), but to go deeper to itself and search for the sources of what we call inspiration, and this is not an objective investigation at all.

 My opinion is that psychology is not an objective science. Sciences of behaviour are objective, so why do they take a word that means "soul" to label them? I see future theosophy as a true psychology. Soul is the messenger of divine wisdom, of course (Well, anyone can bring in more complicated words, make a mess, and then say "all this is nonsense", of course, this is free will) . No machines are needed in this investigation, just discipline. It's cheaper. ;-)    

[Joe Fulton]

Sometimes I wonder why people think I come across as despairing.  Generally I'm very bullish on the future. 

It's a matter of staying open to the limitless possibilities.  Unfortunately it seems that metaphysics/theosophies do an excellent job of limiting the possible into neat little medieval contortions.  There are different realities and different ways of perception starting to manifest.  Christian, I would say that a lot of research into game theory is leading straight there.  It's funny watching computers participating in simple exercises like the Prisoners Dilemma.  They tend to behave in a much more moral manner than most people.

The biggest thing is that there is so much that we don't know and the vast majority of what we don't know we're not even aware that we don't know.  In many ways we're just barely climbing out of the dark ages that we're so proud of having left behind.

The "where" is an interesting thought.  I am reminded of Bing Escudero and a meditation that he did involving placing your perception of consciousness around different parts of the body.  Distributed computing, along with a generation of sensors that are just starting to come online will allow the projection of consciousness to any place and into just about any form.  I imagine an amusement park of the 2030's where one can go and put themselves inside the body of just about any animal they desire.  PETA will be discussing the immorality of the practice, declaring it a form of bestiality.  Of course we'll be doing the same with each other's bodies routinely.  Think about gender confusion issues now!  On the other hand it may breed a more proper respect for women among men.  One can hope, especially in countries where wife-beating is considered acceptable practice.

The best guide is a keen intuition and a great imagination...with those you can create futures.

[Christian von Lahr]

I believe what science is finding is that the mind has a special connection with the heart, more so than just the body.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the nefarious nanotechnology will actually find a legitimate calling and start telling US how the body works. And then the mind.  I'm keeping an eye on those developments.

 

I'm hoping we eventually go beyond how we think, to WHERE we think.  That should open some eyes, and a whole new world of thought.

 

[Michael A. Williams]

Very good subject and question, Joe, but let us not despair that materialism will completely eliminate the metaphysical/spiritual realms. Just the opposite seems to be occuring at the edges in the background.

As it so happens, I ran across this article today that speaks to this very subject. It's by Dr. Deepak Chopra, and he adroitly illustrates that materialism, though now still in control of mainstream science, will have to expand to include consciousness. I may point out that Dr. Chopra is in a position to know the latest research and problems with thereof, as he is friends with many researchers and scientists, both materialist and non-materialist, and keeps up with the latest publications in various fields.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/consciousness_b_1179494...

[Capt. Anand Kumar]

The new theosophies are just round the corner waiting to emerge. During this year the speed of neutrino being faster than light is expected to be settled. Before the year is out even the question about the existence of the God Particle (Higgs Boson) will be answered one way or the other. The James Webb  space telescope to be launched in 2014 will give us pictures of the Big Bang and that will be a game changer as we would begin to learn about the origin of our universe. Several exciting findings on the genetic research is also due. One hopes that by 2020 we should be able to see the contours of the new theosophies firmly in place.