Några tankar kring ett möte i Cambria
En konferens i Cambria,
Californien den 11 & 12 augusti 2001 arrangerad av ULT.
Sammanställd rapport på svenska av Eva Moberg och på engelska av
Wes Amerman
© 2001 Online Teosofiska Kompaniet Malmö
En öppen inbjudan hade gått ut till konferensen anordnad av U.L.T. Själva konferensdagarna inföll den 11 och 12 augusti, men redan från denna veckans början fanns representanter på plats för att välkomna besökare och nyfikna. Förutom en öppen inbjudan hade man också annonserat det öppna föredraget i lokala tidningar.
På lördagseftermiddagen den 11 augusti var det samling i en lokal centralt beläget i Cambria. Cirka 70-talet deltagare var närvarande. Konferensen bestod av en panel av 6 personer. Gail Stevenson från Seattle, Washington inledde med att hälsa alla välkomna till den 7nde konferensen i ordningen av detta slag. Ett tack och riktad hälsning hölls också till Willie Dades ära som var den teosofiska pionjären som initierade iden till dessa sammankomster och som själv hade öppet hus i Smith River, Brookings för att möjliggöra de föregående 6 sammankomsterna. Willie Dades bortgång veckan efter förra årets konferens var något som berörde de flesta djupt. Speciellt inbjudna till årets konferens var Bill Dade make till Willie och Diane, deras dotter.Nästa talare var Myrra Lee, San Diego, Californien. som talade om "Det historiska perspektivet från 1375 till vår tid". Det teosofiska inflytandet genom århundradena pekades ut och tydliggjordes. Vidare talade Alan. E. Donant, Altadena, Calif. om "En Teosofisk Världsbild". Tankar som hur påverkar den Teosofiska rörelsen världen av idag och hur går vi tillväga för att nå ut med den teosofiska filosofin, berördes och engagerade många av åhörarna. Därefter talade Wes Amerman, Los Angeles, Californien "Om Medvetandets Metafysik", där han berörde morfogenetiska fält och hur vi alla medvetet eller omedvetet påverkas av och påverkar alla och allt i vår omgivning. Efter en kort paus där det bjöds på förfriskningar fortsatte Odin Townley, New York, att tala om "En Mystikers perspektiv" och vad som kan inspirera den enskilde individen. Lotusblommans symbol användes som utgångspunkt och dialogen med åhörarna gjorde anförandet levande och berikande. Till sist talade Garret Riegg, Oakland, Californien. om "Den Kosmiska Lagen och Mänskligt interagerande". Föredraget var baserat på en suverän uppdatering av den nuvarande astronomins och astrofysikens upptäckter och hur dessa bekräftade den filosofi som förmedlas framför allt i Den Hemliga Läran av H.P.B.
Efter konferensens slut bjöds alla närvarande att besöka det hus som Theosophy Company hyrt under veckan för fortsatta diskussioner. Dessa var av mer informell karaktär med samtalsämnen som framför allt berörde de olika organisationernas sätt att framföra Teosofi. Hur man kan gå vidare framöver. Vilka metoder som behöver uppdateras utan att ge avkall på principer. Samtliga inbjöds också till söndagens brunch då diskussionerna på samma tema fortsatte. Samtliga var överens om att konferensen skulle behöva göras lite mer omfattande inför nästa år. Planerna är att behålla Cambria som ort och att förlänga de öppna föredragen till en hel dag samt inbjuda till uppföljande diskussioner dagen efter.
Alla hälsades varmt välkomna nästa år och det är vår förhoppning här på ULT Sverige att så många som möjligt kan deltaga. Inspireranade och lärorikt!
Vid datorn den 31 augusti 2001,
Eva Moberg, Lund
CAMBRIA 2001: SOME THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS ON A THEOSOPHICAL GATHERING
By Wes Amerman
Cambria was a continuation of events held in and around
Brookings, Oregon, where a handful of theosophists hosted a
delightful series of annual meetings that we came to call
"gatherings." Wylda and Bill Dade, long associated with the
United Lodge of Theosophists, had started inviting their friends
to their home for a little more socializing than the modest
weekly study group they held there. Before they knew it, people
were arriving from literally all over the world, coming from as
far away as England, Belgium, and Sweden, and they had to rent
space in hotel conference rooms to handle the crowds that showed
up for the public meetings. Then, after six years of opening
their home to all who came, "Willie" became ill and died less
than two weeks after last year's event.
Saddened but inspired and undaunted, her friends pitched in and
sought to try to continue to meet. Carin Elin collected email
addresses. Phyllis Ryan and LaVera Samuels found and rented a
house and a meeting room ten months in advance in Cambria,
California, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. This
served as a crucial gathering point, allowing people to come and
go when they liked. Diane Kaylor built a web page for the event,
and Linda Smith mailed paper flyers and arranged a notice in the
local newspaper. A theme, "Theosophy -- Ancient Wisdom for
Modern Times" was chosen. The panelists corresponded by email
with Gail Stevenson from Seattle who introduced the speakers and
acted as the Moderator at the public meeting scheduled for
Saturday. With limited time available at the meeting room in the
Community Center, they chose to limit presentations to ten
minutes each, allowing more opportunity for discussion and
interaction.
The meeting on Saturday went off pretty much as planned. Myrra
Lee from San Diego gave a brief historical overview of the
Theosophical Movement, and took notes on a flipchart of some of
the possible current fields for application of theosophical
principles. Alan Donant of the Theosophical Society, Pasadena,
discussed brotherhood, human solidarity, the unity of life,
karma, and reincarnation as essential parts of the theosophical
world-view. Wes Amerman from Los Angeles compared what H.P.
Blavatsky termed the "astral" or "akasha" with what some
biologists now call "morphic fields." He described the latest
research into the effects of meditation on the chemistry and
structure of the human brain. After a brief intermission, things
got going again with a "mystics viewpoint" provided by Odin
Townley of New York, who talked about why the study of nature is
essential to both theosophists and everyone else, as it helps us
to connect ourselves with the greater web of life. Garrett
Riegg, of San Francisco, provided a fascinating account of
"super-string theory," by which modern science seeks to explain
the incredibly tiny universe of subatomic particles, and gave
some hints as to how Theosophy provides much-needed clues into
the paradoxes of matter and consciousness.
Everyone I talked with greatly enjoyed the presentations and
discussions. The best thing about the weekend may have been the
opportunity people had to interact in unplanned and unscheduled
ways. As at the Brookings gatherings, this weekend focused
around meeting old friends and finding new ones. At least a few
attended from every theosophical organization, not just from ULT,
as well as from all over the country (with a couple from Europe
as well). This provided a rich diversity of thought and
approach.
Some events plan this sort of exchange into a workshop format,
but in Cambria, spontaneity was the order of the day. Unplanned
discussions on Friday and Saturday evenings and midday Sunday
focused on philosophical and practical aspects of theosophical
work. For example, people occupied a good part of an evening
discussing how to use mythology to interest young people and
newcomers and how to distinguish between the content of a meeting
and the learning processes involved. Theosophists tend to
emphasize the content of their meetings and forget how to include
everyone and to find out exactly which message is getting across.
One example of the value and strength of group efforts was the
almost magical way in which the program for the Saturday meeting
came together. The panelists had arranged to meet Friday
afternoon, to compare notes and coordinate the details for the
next day. After some delays and a visit to the Recreation
Center, they managed to get things organized, and someone
remarked that it would be nice to have a program to hand out.
One thing led to another and in half an hour, they had a rough
outline that they turned over to Diane Kaylor. Diane formatted
the layout on a laptop computer, found some appropriate "clip
art" and presented it to the group. A quick trip to the local
print shop, barely ahead of closing time, and they had done the
job! It came out amazingly well, considering the short time and
limited resources available to us. The word "synergy," sometimes
abused and misused, is the best term I can think of to describe
how a well-focused collective effort can produce so much of
value. To many of us, this little story symbolized both the
charm and the power of the Gathering at Cambria.
Copyright © 1998-2014 Stiftelsen Teosofiska Kompaniet Malmö
Uppdaterad 2014-03-23