Independent Thinking
in Western Nations
Carlos Cardoso
Aveline
Peace results from
tuning in to the essence of life
* Books, trees and dogs are among the best friends of human beings. But one must not forget the cats, who have the relative advantage of loving silence.
* There is a profound source of blessings in having the company of good books on universal wisdom, and being able to study sacred scriptures from different cultural traditions. We redeem our spiritual freedom each time we move away from organized systems of hatred, in order to experience the feeling of communion with all beings.
* The commercial mechanisms which promote selfishness, gluttony and lust - among other forms of unhappiness - are part of the same cultural context which directly or indirectly encourages verbal and emotional violence - from which physical violence arises.
* Peace results from tuning in to the essence of life.
* Just as Nature, the Wise Ones prefer to live mostly in silence.
* Is there a crisis? A theosophist does not need to personally correct the entire world. He knows the world does not create problems it cannot solve.
* He who performs his duty has reasons to be happy.
* Cherishing life as it is and calmly improving it, the student of philosophy transcends the short-term view of things while experiencing his inner unity with all.
Observing One’s Connection to the Soul and to Reality
* Protecting a reasonable integration between intention and speech, between words and actions, or emotion and thought. This is a meritorious task to theosophists and people of good will living everywhere and in different centuries.
* A certain degree of contrast is inevitable and even positive among the various levels of consciousness. One’s horizon must be wider than the immediate reality upon which we act. On the other hand, there must be an inner line integrating everything we think, or imagine, or seek, say and defend. This invisible thread of unity is given by the presence of one’s soul in the different aspects of reality. Such an inner Witness gives meaning to each and every event or thought in our lives.
* The feelings of self-esteem and self-respect result from acting and thinking along lines that we respect and admire. A stable individual determination is necessary for that. Self-training is unavoidable if one wants to have a spiritual will, and the discernment necessary to establish correct priorities.
* Thinking with independence is especially important in Western nations, now that various chains of collective hypnosis tend to disconnect people from their own feelings, making them obey like puppets to artificial patterns of consumerism. Such mechanisms of mind-control submit citizens to unfortunate rhythms of life. Organized ignorance blindly induces people to adopt prefabricated political opinions, often based on ill-will against this or that scapegoat enemy.
* Mental laziness is not a wise counsellor. In order to have a positive view of the world, the pilgrim must choose the path to the highest, which is not the easiest.
Inner Strength and the Decision to Be Loyal
* Along the path to wisdom, one has to walk on his own feet.
* The sensible pilgrim uses his authority over the thoughts and feelings that surround him, or come to him.
* Mistakes are often contagious. It is up to each student, therefore, to avoid any thoughtless adherence to blind feelings and thoughts; especially when they appear before him with that appearance of legitimacy which the naive and the misinformed produce in such a spontaneous way.
* The process of self-deception is also not easy to overcome.
* Patanjali teaches us to replace wrong ideas with ideas opposite to the error. In order to do this, correct thoughts must be generated and contemplated for a reasonable time, so as to establish them firmly in our subconscious, thus freeing the individual aura from the garbage generated in the lower levels of consciousness.
* Elevating oneself requires the use of individual will.
* Long before the harvest, one must sow. If we can see that we are working in the right direction, we must know that the fruits will come in due time.
* Spiritual learning needs inner strength and a decision to be loyal to that which is highest in one’s soul. No effort is useless as long as the goal is noble: the most valuable progress is often that which seems imperceptible to the pilgrim who makes it.
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The article “Thoughts Along the Road - 89” was published on the websites of the Independent Lodge of Theosophists on 12 October 2025. An initial version of it is part of the December 2022 edition of “The Aquarian Theosophist”, pp. 8-10.
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Print the texts you study from the websites of the Independent Lodge. Reading on paper helps us attain a deeper view of philosophical texts. When studying a printed text, the reader can underline sentences and make handwritten comments in the margins that link the ideas to his personal reality.
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Helena Blavatsky (photo) wrote these words: “Deserve, then desire”.
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