NATIONAL CAPITAL LODGE 2020 PROGRAM
Members’ Meeting: 11 PM
Public Meeting: 12 PM
MEETING PLACE:
D.C. – Georgetown Neighborhood Library
LOWER LEVEL MEETING ROOM
January 2020
January 4th
Theosophical Death Café: As we begin a new year, the most spiritual thing we can do for ourselves is to face our own mortality. Join us for a Theosophical Death Café in which we will learn why making peace with death is so important for a good life and to “practice dying” in a safe and honest setting.
January 11th
Alchemy from the Theosophical perspective: Alchemy is a science which seeks to convert base metals into noble metals, especially gold. But the transmutation of metals is only the material aspect of alchemy. Along with it there is Spiritual Alchemy, the Alchemy of the Soul in Man, meaning the transmutation of the animal nature into the Higher Self, man’s inner Ego, and its reabsorption into the Universal or World-Soul. The presentation will also cover the three heavenly principles or substances of Sulfur, Mercury, and Salt.
January 18th – cancelled du to snow/moved to February 8th
Devachan – the “Life Between Lives: Desiree Scherini will explore the similarities and differences of what we know as Devachan through the writings of Theosophy and the Life Between Lives, as described by Dr Michael Newton, who pioneered a hypnotic Regression to the “pre-birth” time. Desiree is a certified Hypnotherapist with a certification in Dr. Newton’s process of Spiritual Regression.
January 25th: Starting Time is 11:00 a.m.
Video-Presentation: “Exploring Ideas of Evolution and Race in The Secret Doctrine”: Join us to watch this presentation by the international speaker Pablo Sender from the 133rd National Summer Convention. He looks at a fundamental teaching in The Secret Doctrine, which states that, essentially, we are all one. This boundless unity, when manifesting on the planes of limitation, appears as an infinite diversity of forms. The theory of evolution of humanity through “Root-Races” offered in the Secret Doctrine has often been misinterpreted outside Theosophical circles. This talk will explore this theory, and how, when properly understood, it becomes the foundation for a sense of universal brotherhood without distinctions.
February 2020
February 1st: Starting Time is 11:00 a.m.
Video-Presentation: INVICTUS: A story of forgiveness and reconciliation led by Nelson Mandela in post-apartheid South Africa. Starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.”
February 8th:
Devachan – the “Life Between Lives: Desiree Scherini will explore the similarities and differences of what we know as Devachan through the writings of Theosophy and the Life Between Lives, as described by Dr Michael Newton, who pioneered a hypnotic Regression to the “pre-birth” time. Desiree is a certified Hypnotherapist with a certification in Dr. Newton’s process of Spiritual Regression.
February 15th:
The Seven Kingdoms: Currently on earth, seven life-waves are living with and learning from each other. These are: our own human kingdom; the familiar animals, plants, and minerals; and the little-known three elemental kingdoms. Julia Rogers will sketch the myriad inter-relationships—some obvious, some not so very.
February 22nd:
Paracelsus: Join us to hear about Paracelsus, born Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, a Swiss German Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and occultist. According to Madam Blavatsky he was an “Adept-Initiate”. She called him the great and unfortunate Physician-Occultist as well as the greatest alchemist of the age.
February 29th:
Reiki and Native American Shamanism: Reiki Master Francisco Salazar will introduce us to the USUI/Tibetan system of Reiki which William Rand developed in 1989. In 1995, with the help of some of his students, he developed the Karuna Reiki® system of healing. And in January 2014, he introduced the Holy Fire system of Reiki.
March 2020
March 7th
Henry Laurency: Theosophical Visionary, Man of Mystery: Please join us to find out more about Henry Laurency (1882-1971), an obscure yet prolific Swedish esoteric philosopher and scholar. He reviewed and expanded upon the works of H.P. Blavatsky and other early Theosophists, taking many of the teachings to new or previously unexplored realms, and attempted to relate Theosophical concepts to the contemporary human arena. Nevertheless, little is known about Laurency the person.
March 14th
Roundtable Discussion: Mabel Collin’s “Light on the Path” is a pinnacle of practical spirituality. Please join us as we read and discuss some of the quotes for the pursuit of meaning and purpose including these important aphorisms:
“Before the eyes can see they must be incapable of tears. Before the ear can hear it must have lost its sensitiveness. Before the voice can speak it must have lost the ability to wound. Before the soul can stand its feet must be washed in the blood of the heart.”
March 21th – CANCELLED – LIBRARY CLOSED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS
(moved to 5/9/2020)
Viveka– The Power to Grasp Truth in this Age of Mass Deception: ”During times of universal deceit, telling the Truth becomes a revolutionary act.”
After having evolved from the Industrial Age to the Information Age, humanity finds itself in the paradoxical position of having unprecedented access to too much information but still lacking the ability to be able to know what is real and true from that which is not real and false. As such, humanity still finds itself as confused and ignorant as ever. How can we know the truth for certain amongst all the information that is out there and all the different ideologies that compete for our minds? Are we truly ”equipped” to be able to distinguish and discern between the real and the false? A talk for those Beings who truly seek to ”wake up” and not be manipulated by those forces who seek to keep us ignorant and mentally enslaved.
March 28th – CANCELLED – LIBRARY CLOSED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS
Upanishads: Join us for an overview of the content and meaning of five Upanishads, the Vedic scriptures closely related to the main teachings of Theosophy, particularly as described in The Secret Doctrine. There will be a short description of each Upanishad, followed by readings from the text, and comments. Please be ready to participate in the readings.
The text used is: The Upanishads, translated for the Modern Reader by Eknath Easwaran, Nilgiri Press, CA, 1987.
April 2020
All programs are offered via Zoom as long as the Georgetown Library is closed. If you want to be added to the invitation list, please send an email to dclodgets@gmail.com.
April 4th
The Christ Principle in the Universe and in Each of Us: In one aspect the Christ is pure Divinity, encasing itself in the material world; in another, it is the same Divine wisdom, speaking through an enlightened teacher. In its most mystic aspect, it is “the Christ in you,” the same Divine potential in the human heart, waiting within each of us “to be born.”
April 11th: Closed for Easter
April 18th:
The Seven Rays:The Seven Rays is one of the Theosophical schemas for understanding the qualities or “notes” of reality, how they express themselves in the world and how they express themselves in individuals. This talk will discuss this theory and place it in the larger context of Theosophical thought.
April 25th
Who Wrote the Secret Doctrine? The Secret Doctrine is widely acknowledged to be the magnum opus of H. P. Blavatsky. But her Preface begins with this enigmatic statement: “The Author—the writer, rather—feels it necessary to apologize . . .” Why did she capitalize Author? And why the abrupt segue from Author to writer? If it was merely a case of one word being preferable to another, why didn’t Blavatsky just delete the wordauthor and say instead, “The writer feels it necessary to apologize. . .” Could it be that the writer of this monumental work was not the true author? Join us for a presentation by David Bruce, the National Secretary of the Theosophical Society in America.
May 2nd
The Secret Doctrine, Krishnamurti & Transformation: We will read the attached article by Aryel Sanat and discuss it as a group.
The Secret Doctrine, Krishnamurti & Transformation
May 9th
How the Psychology of Astrology is Used in Theosophy: Spiritual emergencies occur when the personality cannot get out of the way of the soul. We use our intuitive understanding of astrology and tarot to discuss the work of the personality and the role it must play in order to satisfy the soul’s work. Gwynne Mayer (https://gwynnemayer.com), astrologer, counselor, educator, and theosophist, sees our personal natal chart as a map to find out the soul’s intent, through developing both an understanding of astrology and utilizing ones intuition.
May 16th – Please watch the video beforehand to be prepared for the discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSqk6HkdIAA
Roundtable-discussion about the video-presentation: Catching the Fire from the Flame of Truth: Elena Dovalsantos explores how The Secret Doctrine brought to humanity the knowledge that has been in the possession of seers throughout the ages. Among its most important teachings are the principles of the oneness of all life and the full realization of that oneness which is the purpose of the human journey.
May 23rd: Closed for Memorial Day
May 30th
Viveka– The Power to Grasp Truth in this Age of Mass Deception: ”During times of universal deceit, telling the Truth becomes a revolutionary act.”
After having evolved from the Industrial Age to the Information Age, humanity finds itself in the paradoxical position of having unprecedented access to too much information but still lacking the ability to be able to know what is real and true from that which is not real and false. As such, humanity still finds itself as confused and ignorant as ever. How can we know the truth for certain amongst all the information that is out there and all the different ideologies that compete for our minds? Are we truly ”equipped” to be able to distinguish and discern between the real and the false? A talk for those Beings who truly seek to ”wake up” and not be manipulated by those forces who seek to keep us ignorant and mentally enslaved.
Summer Study
The Key to Theosophy by H.P. Blavatksy
We are studying Madame Blavatsky’s book The Key to Theosophy over the summer. The book can be purchased at the Quest Bookstore https://questbooks.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=709&search=Key+to+Theosophy&description=true&category_id=59&sub_category=true.
It can also be found online for free: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55618 or http://blavatskyarchives.com/theosophypdfs/blavatsky_the_key_to_theosophy_1889.pdf
Please be sure to read the assigned chapters prior to the meetings and attend prepared to discuss.
June 20 Sections I and II
June 27 Sections III and IV
July 11 Sections V and VI
July 25 Section VII
Aug 8 Section VIII
Aug 22 Sections IX
Sept 12 Sections X and XI
Sept 19 Section XII
Sept 26 Sections XIII, XIV and Conclusion
FALL 2020
October 3
Welcoming Adversity: “The Disease is the Cure”: This talk by Veronica Boutte is an exploration into the meaning of adversity and the latent opportunities embedded in our responses to it. Focusing on science and spirituality as well as contemporary socio-cultural events, we will explore new ways to delve into the global mission that is urgently facing us.
October 10
Miasma – A Reframing of the Idea of “Spiritual Pollution”: Miasma is an ancient Greek word of “spiritual pollution.” Inspired by these ancient Pagan understanding, Gwendolyn Reece, a contemporary Pagan priestess and long-term Theosophist, offers a re-framing of miasma and the ideas of purification with reflections on our contemporary context.
October 17
The Art of Simply Being: Spiritual teachers emphasize that happiness doesn’t come from satisfying your wants and needs or from being in a particular place. It comes from a source deep inside you—your spiritual Self. How do we access it? Sue Prescott from the Seattle Lodge will explore the cultural and spiritual teachings from around the world that describe how the peace and tranquility of your inner Self can be available anytime you wish by falling into the bliss of simply Being.
October 24
Jacob Boehme (1575 – 1624): Please join us to find out more about Jacob Boehme, whom H.P. Blavatsky called a great mystic philosopher and one of the most prominent Theosophists of the mediaeval ages.
October 31
Halloween—a Festival of Lost Meanings: The autumn festival was once for adults, along with the winter and spring festivals. They were parts of a symbolic drama pictured in the cycle of the year. That drama was (and is) the origin, growth, and gradual divination of the human being—the Prodigal Son. The speaker is our lodge’s senior citizen, Julia Rogers.
November 7: 2 hours – starting at 11:00 a.m.
Intriguing Accounts about Our Origins in The Stanzas of Dzyan—Are Religions and Myths Offering Clues? One might say that the story of human evolution as described in the ancient Stanzas of Dzyan is akin to the stuff of legends. Fascinating and intriguing, the Stanzas challenge the concept of random evolution offered by Science while demonstrating a logical, purposeful pattern of human development. In this illustrated PowerPoint presentation by the national speaker Elena Dovalsantos we will explore how some world teachings and myths may be hiding clues that support the Stanzas’ curious claims about the origins of humanity.
November 14
Secrets of our Solar System: There are many scientific discoveries made during this last century and a half. Earlier, no one knew about Big Bang theory, the Black Holes, or divisibility of atoms, or space plasma. However, there are some interesting hints about these discoveries in the “Mahatma Letters” and some Blavatsky letters. For example, there was some discussion about undiscovered planets in our Solar System. How could it be? We have new satellites that already have reached the end of the Solar System and they didn’t find anything new. And yet, it is still possible. This lecture by the physicist Sonya Lyatsky is about modern discoveries and hypotheses in their connection with “Mahatma Letters”.
November 21
An Esoteric Understanding of Gender: Please join us for a presentation about what some academics, theosophists, and others think about the history of gender — more specifically the relationship between gender and the various esoteric organizations around the world. Just as theosophists view many things, gender as a whole appears to be on its own wave cycle.
November 28: Closed for Thanksgiving!
December 5th:
Fohat: According to Mdm. Blavatsky Fohat is “one of the most, if not the most important character in esoteric Cosmogony”. It is “the animating principle electrifying every atom into life”. Where does Fohat fall in the creative chain of events that brings forth worlds? What might this principle be called in modern science? This talk by Desiree Holmes Scherini will focus on references to Fohat in the writings of HPB and explore its relationship to current scientific terms.
December 12
Justice, Brotherhood and the Death Penalty: The human desire for fairness and justice, for which many are impatient, together with the karmic pull of reaction, can conflict with the adage to do no harm, and ultimately test the concept of unconditional love. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the dilemma of capital punishment. Cogent questions arise: should our right to life be contingent on our respecting that right of others? Is taking the life of a murderer, as punishment, ethically different from taking an innocent life? While the Theosophical Society in America has no formal position on the death penalty, Theosophical teachers have long been opposed to it. The speaker believes that cogent arguments, both pro and con, can be made about capital punishment from both the Theosophical as well as secular perspectives, which will be raised for discussion.
December 19 and 26: Closed for the Holiday Season