Spirit

of

Service

In his book, "Holidays and Holy Nights," Christopher Hill writes of Christmas in an unusual way that appeals to me on a deep level.  I think it also provides a wonderful seasonal TOS intention, so I'm sharing an excerpt below.  Please join me in the suggested meditation below as an act of service.

"To honor and observe the event of Christmas is to build a ring of quiet around it, treading softly and slowly.  As Christmas Eve grows dark, give Christmas midnight its due.  Give it space.  It is the zero point of the spiritual year, the place where the great spiral that the sun traces in the sky winds down until it comes to the point where there is no time, where the day and the year end and begin, the place where we end and begin."

Meditation:  "Within the pure clarity of darkest midnight, consider Christmas as a time of crisis, with humanity's welfare hanging in the balance.  Then, in the darkest hour of the darkest night, the tide begins to turn, and your heart knows that light will overthrow the darkness, like an impossible last-minute rescue.  Feel the profound peace of this sweet starlit moment."

Please do let me know if your group has undertaken any service projects lately.  Meanwhile, I'm wishing you and your family the happiest of holidays!

In service,

Salt Lake City TS/TOS increases awareness, offers solutions to plastic pollution in our oceans

On September 29th, 2016, members of the Salt Lake City Theosophical Society returned to the University of Utah to educate community members about the devastating effects of plastic pollution on the oceans, animal life and humanity.   Danielle, Catherine, and Claradene set up a massive visual display and spent hours talking to community members of all ages.  Claradene reported that the day went very well.

A young man who viewed the display said it increased his awareness and gave him "a profound, realistic picture that forces us to look at our choices, and the consequences of that choice." 

Increasing awareness of the problem while visually showing easy solutions . . . this is how wise workers bring about lasting change.

Two simple things you can do to help:

1) Carry reusable grocery bags in your car so they'll be handy when you shop.

2) Instead of bottled water, which requires tremendous resources to extract, bottle, and ship, opt for a reusable stainless steel water bottle or travel mug.  Avoid reusable plastic water bottles which may leach chemicals into the water.  Also steer clear of aluminum bottles--they're lined with an epoxy resin that can leach into water.

Being of help in turbulent times . . . how do YOU do it?

1.  Meditate -- send thoughts and feelings of peace and goodwill to a world in distress.  In this way, you strengthen and add to all similar thought energy.   Far from being insignificant, one person's thoughts are immensely powerful.

2.  Listen -- to those who agree with you and to those who don't.  Try not to form judgements, but just truly listen in an effort to understand their viewpoint, even if you don't agree with it.  People whose viewpoints differ from yours want the same thing everyone wants . . . to be heard, and to be understood.

3.  Speak -- in confident, positive tones.  Speak as if you're quietly confident that everything is happening for the highest good of everyone concerned, and that everything will ultimately be all right.  We need not be Pollyanna's, and we musn't be false, but it's a fact that people respond to your tone, your mood, your energy.  Be a center of calming energy, and it will comfort those around you who may be feeling upset, fearful, or frustrated.

4.  Appreciate -- anyone and anything that is good, comforting, strengthening, beautiful . . . it's all around you right now--you only need to look for it and focus on it for a moment.  Appreciate the beauty, the groundedness, the magnificence of nature, and not only will the natural element respond, but you'll feel more calm, grounded and joyful as well.  Notice and appreciate the kindness and helpfulness of those around you, and you can't help feeling happier and positively affecting those around you.

What are your favorite ways to help during stressful, turbulent times?  Please write to me at info@DenverTS.org so we can share our ideas--methods that work for you may well work for others too.

Sunburst photo cropped from a photo courtesy of naturespicsonline.com

Calling all you angels: Denver TS gathers donations for cat shelter

Members also remembered their angelic feline friends across town and provided donations of cat food to the Cat Care Society, a shelter in Lakewood, Colorado, that provides a safe haven for homeless, injured and abused cats in the Metro Denver area. 

Meowy Christmas!!

 "A union of those who love in the service of all that suffers."

www.TheoService.org