Headquarters Letter
Issued by the National President
January 2008
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The Indo-Pacific Conference: What a Memorable Experience!
Even the organizing committee did not expect the way that the conference turned out. And if we listen to the very kind feedback that the foreign and local delegates have given, then indeed we must give a standing ovation to the Organizing Committee. You have done a truly excellent job!
But somehow it was not only the preparation and organization. The warmth and friendship was something that was also palpable. Terezinha Kind, the President of the Inter-American Theosophical Federation and who comes from Brazil, sent us an email after the conference where she wrote:
You are wonderful people, indeed. From now on, wherever I go and someone asks me about brotherhood I will tell them: “go to the Philippines and you will find out what real Brotherhood is”.
Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno, our guest speaker, exhorted the delegates that there should be more of these kinds of conference that bring about understanding and peace among people.
The conference concluded with a visit to Golden Link School on Nov. 5, where many foreign delegates volunteered to assist in supplying the needs of the school. Three groups for example have started gathering books for the library. Singapore Lodge has launched a fund-raising program that totaled S$11,500 (or about P327,000) which will become part of the building fund for the new building extension. The classroom that the fund will build will be named after the Singapore Lodge.
To see photos of the Indo-Pacific Conference, click here.
Vic Conducts School of Theosophy in Australia
Vic conducted the School of Theosophy at Mt. Helena, Perth, Australia, from Dec. 1-8, 2007. The theme of the School this year was "Self-Transformation: A Portal to the Theosophic Life." Using the Self-Transformation, the session probed into the guidelines in living the theosophic life. He linked the self-transformation approach to the tenets of the classic Light on the Path as well as the Diagram of Meditation by H. P. Blavatsky. Vic also delivered a public lecture at the Perth Lodge on the title: "On Root Causes and Symptoms."
On the way back to the Philippines, Vic was also asked to deliver a talk at the Singapore Lodge about the Theosophical Order of Service. It was during this talk that the Lodge presented to him a check amounting to S$11,500 (or about Peso 327,000) which was raised by the members for the Golden Link School after they visited the school during the Indo-Pacific Conference.
New Hodson Book to be Published
The Philippine Theosophical Publishing House will soon be publishing the complete collection of articles of Geoffrey Hodson. Entitled Sharing the Light, the work will come in two volumes, with more than 400 articles and exceeds 1,400 pages. The book is compiled by John and Elizabeth Sell of New Zealand, while the editing was done by John and Elizabeth Sell and Rosel Doval-Santos.
Golden Link to Open College Department
The Golden Link School has decided to open a college department by June 2009. The initial courses it will offer will be Bachelor of Secondary Education, Bachelor of Elementary Education, and Bachelor of Arts major in English. The need for a college was felt in view of the importance of training teachers for the theosophical schools being put up in the Philippines. It had been noted that it takes years for teachers to become well-oriented in the theosophical approach to education, such as a non-competitive atmosphere, non-coercive approaches to motivation, a caring relationship between faculty and students. When new teachers are hired, they needed to unlearn many of the methods that they had been used to, and this sometimes becomes more difficult.
At present, the TS has five schools, two in Caloocan, one in Quezon City, one in Bacolod and another in Bago City (Negros Occidental). A new school will open in Iligan City by June 2008. Another school is slated to open in Bacolod within the next few years.
HQ Releases DVD Videos
With the help of Zeus Bag-ao, the Headquarters has now finished two DVDs based on lectures given in the last two months. The first one is the speech of Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno during the Indo-Pacific Conference. The second one is "On Root Causes and Symptoms," is a lecture given by Vic in Perth, Australia. The other lectures during the Indo-Pacific Conference are in the process of being prepared.
For information on the DVDs, please call the headquarters and look for Monalisa Brocoy, 7415740 or email at theophil@info.com.ph.
New Staff at Headquarters
Welcome to Danny Ignacio, our balikbayan librarian. Danny used to be the HQ librarian before he went abroad to the Middle East to work. He has just retired from work and now stays at the headquarters as one of the caretakers of the building. At present the other staff members are Evangeline Tolentino and Mona-lisa Brocoy. |
