We are sitting on a spaceship called planet earth that is hurtling through space at 63,000 m.p.h. If that is not exciting, then I don't know what is! We will never go through the same space again, well not in this lifetime anyway. The Earth is going round the sun at that rate and the Sun is hurtling through space with all its planets and moons around the galaxy at an even faster rate. The Earth is spinning on its axis at approximately 1000 m.p.h. at the equator.

When we look at ourselves in terms of being part of the vast universe, we are a speck on the earth, the earth a speck in the galaxy and the galaxy a speck in the midst of thousands of galaxies. This helps us to realise how important we are!!

There is no need to worry about the harm we are doing to the universe, because the universe will eventually swallow us up. The Sun will eventually become a red giant and consume the earth as it expands. The sun and all its remaining debris may eventually be drawn into a black hole or central galactic sun of infinite mass and dynamic gravity, which in turn may ultimately explode and create another galaxy or local universe in a breathing in and breathing out motion lasting billions of years.

If mankind wishes to continue inhabiting this planet for a few more million years though, it must look after itself by caring for its natural environment. When we look at the devastating effects of our current way of life and expansion on this planet, we see humankind as a cancer on the earth. If we wish to be less of a cancer on the earth, there are certain conditions, which have to be met. Those conditions are, that the caring people of this earth, namely theosophists, have an important ob to do. Our important job is to set an example in our own lives and go out into the world and spread the message of Theosophy, which brings us into an awareness of the oneness of all life and our true relationship with all that this planet represents in our solar system, galaxy and greater universe.

To become a true Theosophist we have to first to be in tune with ourselves and then with others around us. If we see ourselves as individuals and separate from one anther, then we cannot be in tune with one another. If we are not in tune, with one another, how can we be in tune with the universe? The Universe is a huge place and very complex. We are also very complex and becoming more so. What we have to do though, is to become less complex and simpler in our way of life, if we wish to comprehend the complexity of the universe.

What has happened in the western world is that religious development over the past 2000 years has led us to believe that God is somewhere else, somewhere out there, beyond and being separate from us, that we are terrible sinners in the sight of God and will be punished by this wrathful God. But God and us are the same being. The erroneous concept of a remote God has led us away from contacting our true selves and becoming as one; as a whole. The ego and reasoning mind also gets in the way of seeing clearly and experiencing the primordial reality of universal oneness. We do not realise that the sacred part of us all, the Atman, is already in tune with the universe. It is the idea of being separate from one another and our own mental chatter that also leads us away from the possibility of experiencing universal mind.

Many of us are submerged in the material life like the roots of a tree below the ground, bound by past conditioning and living in the lower three chakras or energy centres of our being. To rise above ground level into the light and to see clearly, we must realise that our protective barriers and emotional problems also create blockages. These must be dissolved by resolving past traumas. A process Buddhists refer to as taming the tiger or riding the ox, can achieve this by ‘making friends with our monsters’; our animal nature. The Vippasana or insight method of meditation can also be of great help because it heightens the inner and outer senses. Moving our consciousness to the heart centre enables us to have compassion for all life forms and to let them be what they are. The movement of consciousness thence to the four remaining energy centres enables us to heal ourselves and others, to be in tune with our higher self and attain universal consciousness or God wisdom (Theo Sophia).

Some time ago I read a book called Hidden Teachings of Tibet by Tulku Thondop Rinpoche. I read this book from cover to cover looking for the hidden teachings, only to find that the book said that the secrets are hidden in the sky, mountains, hills, rivers lakes and trees and their hiding places were only known to the enlightened ones. At that time I thought that the book was not written well, because I couldn’t see the great truth in it. Ultimately through attending long meditation retreats, I came to experience some of the teachings hidden in these sacred places. I began to understand that the secrets are locked in the hills, trees, rivers and in each one of us.

In the old testament of the Bible, Isaiah chapter 55 verse 12, the prophet indicates what happens when we are in tune with nature: The mountains and hills shall break forth before you in singing and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Through deep meditation we attain joy or bliss and are naturally led in peace into the countryside, where we are able to experience being at one with nature. Then the Mountains, hills, rivers, lakes, trees, plants and flowers will all come alive and their wonderful message perceived.

A tree will not deny its fruit, oxygen or cooling shade to anyone and only give to a chosen few. Trees can be warm loving entities if we are the same to them. We can also learn a great deal from our cats and dogs or pets about how to live. If you speak to a bird, cat or dog about time it will look at you as though you are a fool and of course you will be, because these creatures have no use for complex language or our concepts of time.

Domestic animals can recognise certain words and phrases, but rely mainly on subtle changes in scent, mood, intonation of language and body movements and where one s consciousness is. Our dog at home understands us very well; he will know when it is mealtime or walk time, which varies from day to day. He will know when to come for attention because he is aware when I am busy and preoccupied and when I am not. The dog and cats can be observed waiting at the front gate shortly before I arrive, awaiting my return, even though I come home at all hours of the day. Dogs have keener senses of smell and hearing than humans and have a well developed sixth sense.

Rupert Sheldrake the well-known researcher into animal behaviour proposes that a morphogenic field or a morphogenic resonance exists between animals and can also exist between humans and animals. There are cases where owners have left their dogs with friends and flown great distances to settle elsewhere. The dogs have travelled these great distances without even a scent to guide them and found their owner even across the breadth of the USA. This occurs only when the owner and dog have had a very close rapport. The dog then becomes part of the family pack and the owner the leader of the pack. Packs of wolves are known to split up and travel great distances out of howling range to hunt and then re-assemble at an entirely different location where the leader decides, because they know instinctively where each other are. The nomadic bushman of the Kalahari, have a similar ability.

We can have a similar amorphic resonance if we harmonise with one another and can be both a transmitter and receiver and feel ourselves part of one another. We are part of a family of Theosophists. The more we feel as a family and the more we exhibit ourselves as being in tune with one another and being in tune with our universe, the more we will become living examples of a way of life -The Theosophical Way. I think it is very important for us to go out in the world and stress this actively. That is, if we wish humanity and other life forms on this planet to exist for a few more million years.

The Theosophical Society 2006
reproduced from 'Insight' Summer 2006, The Journal of The Theosophical Society in England