Marie Harkness – Northern Ireland

Marie is the Secretary of the Belfast Lodge in Northern Ireland, the Organising Secretary of the Theosophical Society in Ireland, she is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the EFTS, i.e. the European Federation of the Theosophical Society. She has been a member of the TS since 1983 and lives in Coleraine, at the Northmost tip of Northern Ireland.

Theosophy Forward implies movement. All life is movement, the elements, the earth, the planets, the seas. For growth there has to be forward movement, otherwise there is stagnation.

Ed Abdill—USA

Ed is a well known  international speaker for the Theosophical Society, and has been a member of the Society since 1959.  He lives with his wife Mary in New York City.

The noble dream referred to by one of the adepts is universal brotherhood. Yet Theosophical philosophy suggests that we are already rooted in the ONE. If that theory is correct, then in one sense universal brotherhood is a fact rather than a dream. Why then did the adept call it a dream? It would seem that the apparent contradiction lies in the conscious realization of our ultimate unity with one another.

The adepts and the co-founders of the Theosophical Society have made it clear that the central purpose of the Society is to establish a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity. Yet our Society has been embroiled in a great deal of divisive behavior since it was founded in 1875. Those involved in the various disputes say they believe in universal brotherhood, but their actions speak otherwise. Clearly, an intellectual acceptance of universal brotherhood is not sufficient to bring it about. Is there something that members of the Society might do to realize brotherhood themselves and to lead others to that realization?

Clarisa Elósegui – Spain

Clarisa  is the General Secretary of the Spanish Section, and has been a member of the Theosophical Society since 1997. She lives in Terrassa (Barcelona)

The question we ask ourselves is “How could we or how should we, as members, work in a way to help the T.S. move forward?”

When we look at the present condition of the world, we see a challenge which is as big as or even bigger than the one HPB and the first Theosophists encountered, and maybe this is so because we do not have the strength and the training that they had. We must, first of all, be sincere to ourselves if we want to be sincere to everybody. I think we should ask ouselves: “What does the world need?” And, from that question, we should find out whether we are capable to give that to the world, because nobody can give what they do not have.

Susan Kaschula— South Africa

Susan is the General Secretary of the Theosophical Society in Southern Africa.  Joined the TS in 1993,  and lives in Johannesburg.
The Secret Doctrine states that “stagnation and death is the future of all that vegetates without change.” Standing still instead of moving forward is contrary to the inner evolutionary urge.
The nineteenth-century Catholic philosopher Cardinal Newman commented, “In higher worlds it may be otherwise, but here below, to live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed often.”

On the political stage, President Barrack Obama sensed the collective desire of his audiences by using “Change we need” as his campaign slogan. Change resonated with the deep-seated concerns of thousands regarding the challenges facing the planet and the need to explore new ways forward for their individual and collective future. These solutions will be dependent upon group effort and universal co operation. Albert Einstein noted: “We cannot solve a problem with the same kind of thinking that gave rise to it.” “Change we need” challenges us globally, in communities and organisations, and on a personal level.