Wayne Gatfield – Theosophical Society in England and Wales

Doctrine of the Heart
In the Voice of the Silence, translated by HP Blavatsky it is said: “Shalt not thou, Master of thine own Mercy, reveal the Doctrine of the Heart? Shalt thou refuse to lead thy Servants unto the Path of Liberation? ... Learn above all to separate Head-learning from Soul-Wisdom, the "Eye" from the "Heart" doctrine. But even ignorance is better than Head-learning with no Soul-wisdom to illuminate and guide it.”
In this talk we will look how the Path of compassion reveals itself in Buddhism and many other traditions.

The Inmost Sanctuary
There is a place within where we can retire at any time and drink deep at the wellspring of Spiritual Wisdom. No matter what the external circumstances of our life- this inmost sanctuary remains untouched. This talk explores this sacred place that is the same in every one of us despite apparent outer differences.

The Beacon Light of Truth
HPB writes”:The Beacon-light of Truth is Nature without the veil of the senses. It can be reached only when the adept has become absolute master of his personal self, able to control all his physical and psychic senses by the aid of his "seventh sense," through which he is gifted also with the true wisdom of the gods--Theosophia. This realisation is the Holy Grail of the true aspirant to Divine Wisdom.

Ten Stages of Awakening (Zen Oxherding Pictures)
The ten pictures known as the oxherding pictures or the ten bulls are said to have originated in China in the 12th century ad. They describe the stages of awakening followed by the aspirant on the way to awakening in symbolic form. This is an illustrated talk using slides and commentaries from Buddhist teachers but can be done without -using handouts.

Monkey-Journey to the West (with slides)
“Journey to the west” is a novel written in the 16th century by the Chinese writer Wu Cheng’en. (Slide 2) It is popularly known as “Monkey”due to Arthur Waley using that title in his abridged English language version. It is based on a true story about Wu Cheng’en. To these events Wu Cheng’en added symbolism and fantastical adventure. The story is in fact an account of the trials of the aspirant on the path to enlightenment. Powerpoint.

A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life
The Paramita’s are generally accepted in Mahayana Buddhism as the rules to be followed if one wants to follow the Bodhisattva Path. They form the basis of the “Voice of the Silence” by HP Blavatsky. This talk looks at these Paramita’s in detail and their practical use in our daily lives.

Awakening to the Tao
The Tao is the intuitive knowing of "life" that cannot be grasped full-heartedly as just a concept but is known through actual living experience of one's everyday being. “ The Tao Te Ching says “TAO can be talked about, but not the Eternal Tao. ... And yet when you draw upon it, it is inexhaustible.” These ideas form the basis of this talk.

The Hero in Us All (with or without slides)
The hero in us all is our Higher Self, our Spiritual nature, which over many lives undergoes trials and temptations as reflected in stories and legends throughout time. In this talk we explore the hero in us and how we can come to realise its presence in our lives today.

The Way of the Mystic – Ascent Through Love and Beauty
The mystics of many traditions have transcended the parameters of their religion to have a direct experience of the Divine, especially through love and devotion and an appreciation of beauty as in the philosophy of the neo -platonists. This talk will use Plotinus's treatise on Beauty as the basis of the talk.

Living in the Presence of the Soul (New Version 2017)
HP Blavatsky wrote in 1889 that in this pessimistic society “man dies, without having lived for one moment in the presence of his soul-swept away as he is by the whirlwind of egotistic and mundane affairs”. Seemingly much has changed since those days, but is mankind any different now and are we able to live under the guidance of our Higher Self in modern society? This talk explores that possibility.

Alchemy of the Heart: Sufi Path to Enlightenment
The Sufi Path consists of devotion to 'God' or the Divine often expressed beautifully in the poetry of Rumi, Hafiz and others and in poetic works such as “The Secret Rose Garden” and “Conference of the Birds” . This talk explores the beauty of this Path and the 'mystery' that lies at its 'end'.

Theosophical Masters: Buddha and Buddhism
The Theosophical Masters declared themselves to be followers of Gautama Buddha and the Maha Chohan stated that even exoteric Buddhism was the surest path to lead us to the one esoteric truth. HP Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott took Pansil in Sri Lanka in 1880 and so become Buddhists. This talk explores the relationship between the Buddha, Buddhism and Theosophy.

Love Your Enemies - The Message of the Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount gives us guidelines for living a peaceful and compassionate life, yet Western society in general prefers the old mosaic “eye for an eye” philosophy that Jesus rejected and attempted to reform. In this talk we will be looking into the Sermon and its implications for life in the 21st Century.

Spiritual Regeneration - The Way of Light
“Will creates intelligently - desire blindly and unconsciously. The man, therefore, makes himself in the image of his desires, unless he creates himself in the likeness of the Divine, through his will, the child of the light. “ In this talk we will explore how we can “like a phoenix rising from the flames” restore our True Nature and grow into the Light by exercising our Spiritual Will.

There is No Religion Higher than Truth
“Men and parties, sects and schools are but the mere ephemera of the world's day. TRUTH, high-seated upon its rock of adamant, is alone eternal and supreme.” HP Blavatsky made this statement in “Isis Unveiled”. True Religion is a bond uniting all living things. If this is so why is there so much strife between the worlds great Religions and even within the various Religions themselves? This talk will attempt to discover what true Religion consists of and what is needed to live a truly Religious or Spiritual life.

The Art of Peace and the Science of Living
Sadly the word ‘peace’ is bandied about rather too much nowadays- TV advertisements for life insurance promise us ‘peace of mind’ if we sign on the dotted line and politicians talk about bringing peace to troubled places in a rather dry manner. Some even say that wars are essential to keep down the surplus population. Not many have an even approximate idea of what the word peace really conveys in a Spiritual sense-this is because the majority of people do not comprehend what Spirituality really is. In this talk we are going deep into the world of peace and silence to discover the real meaning.

The Essence of Spiritual Meditation
Theosophy teaches that meditation is the 'inexpressible yearning of the inner man to go out towards the infinite'. There are countless methods of meditation with varying motives and aspirations. In this talk we will look into the highest essence of meditation as expressed in writings such as the “Bhagavad Gita” and the “Tao Te Ching”.

Poetry of the Spirit
Poetry is one of the most effective ways to communicate spiritual ideas: the Bhagavad Gita, Voice of the Silence, Buddhist Sutras and Hindu scriptures are all written in poetic form. As well as these there are countless poets in all traditions who touch the heart with the beauty of their words.

The Mystery of Shambala (powerpoint)
A look at what Theosophy has to say about this mysterious location, said to be the home of highly advanced beings and an oasis of great beauty. Is it an actual place, a state of consciousness or both? In this talk we will also touch on the various teachings concerning Shambhala in the Secret Doctrine and other places and in popular culture.

The Secret Rose Garden
Based on sufi poems by Mahmoud Shabestri from the 14th century- this work beautifully and poetically expresses the Sufi path - and is identical with the path of many other traditions and Theosophy.

A Philosophy of Kindness
In these difficult times the injection of a little kindness will work wonders. This talk looks at what Theosophy and other sources say about the subject.

Grow as the Flower Grows
“Light on the Path” tells us to “Grow as the flower grows, unconsciously, but eagerly anxious to open its soul to the air.” The Secret Doctrine reveals to us our place in the unfoldment of nature which has so many secrets to reveal to us if we learn to “read the book of nature”- all that we need to know is there. This talk explores the lessons we can learn from nature inner and outer and how to apply them in our daily lives.

Madame Blavatsky - Hand and Heart
Looking at the two dimensions to HPB’s teachings- from the more intellectually orientated to the mystical, as expressed in the “Voice of the Silence”.

List of Older talks:

Recovery of Innocence
As the world around and within us becomes increasingly complicated we drift further and further away from nature and the simplicity of the Spiritual Life. Consequently our relationships with our fellow human beings and the natural world become strained and in many ways unfulfilled. This talk just gives a few hints as to how we may repair some of this damage and find a way to recover the innocence of our True Nature and live in its Light and take a step towards living as truly Spiritual Beings.

Open Your Own Treasure House
We constantly look outside ourselves to find what we always have inside our very hearts- in this talk we look at how we can find this Treasure and make use of it in our day to day lives -the teachings of Theosophy and other traditions are used as evidence that all the great World Teachers, including H. P. Blavatsky placed emphasis on looking Within to seek the Truth.

Life, Death and Immortality
Inwardly we are Immortal Beings; but we have forgotten, as our thoughts became overlaid with the illusions of our transient nature. This talk touches on the twin laws of reincarnation and karma, but tries to give pointers as to how we can regain awareness of our Immortality.

We are all Grail Knights
This talk looks into stories relating to the Holy Grail in its many forms physical, mental and spiritual and also at comparative tales in other cultures and traditions. It also explores the symbolic meanings of the Grail Quest and the Knights involved in stories. But mainly it deals with the Grail as a Spiritual Quest and our own life's journey to find the “Truth” overcoming many obstacles and fighting our own 'dragons', developing the required qualities on the way and eventually becoming recipient of the Grails most sacred treasure.....

An Appeal to the Higher Self
William Q Judge wrote that “Remember that the greatest and truest friend is the Higher Self” The Bhagavad Gita informs us that it is “the lord, the asylum, the resting place and the friend”. Based on a quotation from Shankaracharya's Crest Jewel of Wisdom, this talk explores how we can make befriend the Higher Self and accept its guidance and inspiration.

Divya Dhvani,The Divine Sound
The Jain sage Mahavira was said to have never used words to teach his disciples but his whole being gave off a Divya Dhvani (Divine Sound). His followers wrote down what this Divine Sound conveyed to them. We can relate this “Sound” to the “Voice of the Silence” and this talk explores the fascinating subject of teachings that transcend words or images.

What is True Theosophy?
There is much confusion as to what the core teachings of Theosophy are. Using ideas from HP Blavatsky's article of the same name and other sources hopefully this talk may give some pointers.

Jain Path to Freedom
Jainism precedes Buddhism by several centuries and it is even claimed that Gautama Buddha was a disciple of one of their Tirtankaras (or saints). It is a religion based upon compassion and love. This talk looks at some Theosophical views of Jainism as well as some of its basic teachings.

Bodhidharma and the Esoteric Schools
HPB tells us that the word Bodhidharma means “Wisdom Religion” and is therefore identical in meaning to Theosophy. But it is also the name of great Indian Adept who introduced Chan (Zen) Buddhism into China. Both aspects of this term are explored in this talk with reference to the Esoteric Teachings of Buddhism.

The Path of the Modern Mystic
The Theosophical Masters tell us that the adept is the “rare efflorescence of a generation of enquirers; and to become one, he must obey the inward impulse of his soul irrespective of the prudential considerations of worldly science or sagacity.” This talk gives a few hints as to how we can at least commence the journey to reach this goal.

This Mind is Buddha
This is the basic teaching the Buddhist Adept Bodhidharma and of Zen in general. It also can be related to other mystical, religious and philosophical systems. This talk also looks at Theosophical teachings on the nature of Mind.

Kwan Yin and the Path of Compassion
In China Kwan Yin is the Goddess of Compassion and worshiped as such. In Japan her equivalent is Kannon and in Tibet Avalokiteshvara is the male equivalent. H. P. Blavatsky in the Secret Doctrine equates her with the Divine Voice is us all and proceeds to give an esoteric interpretation. This talk looks into the various aspects of this fascinating subject.

Nature Spirits-fact and fiction
Exploration of nature spirits in myth and spiritual literature.