How Do We Know if We are Making a Difference?

A couple of weeks ago a member of our Triangles group posted an important question in the chat box; she asked, “How do we know if we are making a difference with our Triangles work?”  I’d like to speak to this question in our work today.

When we consider the work we do in Triangles—in our own daily Triangles, here in our weekly group, or as part of the larger network of Triangles that spans the globe—it is important to evaluate the work and to attempt to assess its effectiveness.  And so it is appropriate to ask ourselves two questions:  1) What is the objective of Triangles work? and 2) Is that objective being met?

   

In teachings about Triangles the Tibetan states that “the work of the Triangles is to work with the minds of men, . . . to impress these minds with certain ideas which are necessary to human progress” (Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. II, p. 171). 

What are those ideas “necessary to human progress”?  We need look no further than to the Great Invocation, that vital heart of Triangles work, to grasp these necessary ideas.  The last line of the Invocation proclaims its keynote: 

“Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth.”

So, here is the answer to our first question:  What is the objective of Triangles work?  It is to impress and inspire the minds of men with a Plan for civilization that is vitalized by the Light of true understanding, by Love for all beings; and by the Power of purposeful living.

 

To answer the second question—Is the objective of Triangles work being met?—let’s first review the concept of the Plan.  What exactly is the Plan?  The books of Alice Bailey contain numerous descriptions of the Plan for humanity and our planet, for there are many aspects of it.

It is described variously as raising the level of human consciousness, as clear thinking, a sense of stability, a re-adjustment of values, purposeful living, group good, responsibility of nations, freedom, and love. 

A passage from the Old Commentary distills these many ideas and states that the Plan is essentially a Plan of goodwill:  “goodwill for all men, and through all men, goodwill” (Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. II, p. 595).  And goodwill, we are told, is “a fixed intention to bring about right human relations” (p. 173).

Thus, goodwill and right human relations serve as the vision and the touchstones for the Plan for the future civilization for humanity .

Let’s look for a moment at the idea of right relationship.  The Tibetan teaches that “the goal of all endeavour upon our planet is right relations. . . ” (The Rays and the Initiations, p. 738), for right relations are the mark of the soul and the foremost goal of the new civilization, “the civilisation of light and love which will be characteristic of the Aquarian Age” (Education in the New Age, pp. 130-131).

Life is nothing but relationship.  Our relations—with others; as members of our families, groups, nations, and with the planet and all life upon it; and our relations with our habits, our feelings, our thoughts, and with our attitudes and beliefs—are the means by which we experiment with energies, test ourselves with regard to life’s many lessons, and work at perfecting ourselves.  We do all this by means of our relationships.

Even our meditative work is focussed on establishing a relationship with the soul.  In fact, the concept of relationship serves as the very foundation of the sciences of Meditation and of Service.  Through these many relationships we come to better know ourselves and others.  And we learn that right relationships can be deliberately created:  right relationships are the result of intentional thought and disinterested motive; they are the consequence of a conscious effort to establish just connections with all aspects of life.

Thus, in seeking to evaluate if the Plan is, indeed, progressing, we might look for actual instances where those ideas “necessary to human progress” are gaining strength—factual experience, concrete evidence that:

*    human relationships are improving,

*    goodwill is increasing in the world,

*    humanity is becoming more balanced, more stable,

*    the human race is growing in consciousness,

*    humanity is demonstrating clear thinking,

*    love is more generously and wisely expressed,

*    living is more purposeful,

*    group good is increasing,

*    nations are more responsible,

*    freedom is more prevalent in the world.

If we based our inquiry on daily news reports, we would no doubt be hard pressed to find evidence of any of these ideas; for the news is consistently disheartening—scandalous, sensational, and firmly anchored in the miasmas of the astral plane.  The media reports on and benefits from war, corruption, crime, depravity, and from humanity’s seemingly endless glamours.  We know the adage, “No news is good news.”  But perhaps the reverse is more accurate:  “Good news is no news.” 

In order to offset this negative bias, perhaps we should search out news sources that demonstrate a more insightful understanding of events, an expanded perspective that is focussed on humanity’s strivings to betterment, those instances which will impress and inspire others—individuals, groups, and nations—to continue with their own strivings towards a finer society.  For instance, consider these good news stories from 2018 (and ponder on the significance of these stories, for they are far more than “feel good” news—they are meaningful measures of humanity’s progress):

Quietly and unannounced, humanity crossed a truly amazing threshold this year. For the first time since agriculture-based civilisation began 10,000 years ago, the majority of humankind is no longer poor or vulnerable to falling into poverty.

In 2018, after more than ten years of debate, 140 nations agreed to begin negotiations on a historic “Paris Agreement for the Ocean,” the first-ever international treaty to stop overfishing and protect life in the high seas.

Canada signed another conservation deal with its First Nations people, creating the largest protected boreal forest (an area twice the size of Belgium) on the planet.

Germany announced one of the most ambitious waste management schemes in history. The government plans to recycle 63% of its total waste within the next four years.

India’s environment minister . . . announced the country would eliminate all single-use plastic by 2022. . . .  And three years after India made it compulsory to use plastic waste in road construction, there are now 100,000 kilometres of plastic roads.

Morocco passed a landmark law that criminalises violence against women.

A new report showed that democracy is more widespread than ever. Six in ten of the world’s countries are now democratic — a post war record.

(https://medium.com/future-crunch/99-good-news-stories-you-probably-didnt-hear-about-in-2018-cc3c65f8ebd0.  Jan. 13, 2019)

Certainly, such examples embody those very ideas “necessary to human progress”—concrete examples of goodwill and right relationships.  And these accomplishments, and numerous others of equal amazement, surely testify to the betterment of the human condition and that of the planet and to the advancement of the Plan.  And beautifully illustrate Light, and Love, and the Power of the human spirit!

They also confirm the words of Foster Bailey, who reminds us of the necessity to make this Teaching practical:  “Spiritual teaching will be increasingly accepted. . . by the results of its effects upon the life lived and its practical usefulness in solving the problems of humanity” (A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, p. viii).

It is important to bear in mind that each of these achievements was first a thought.  A thought received by a visionary mind, brooded on, cultivated, then impressed upon those of like-mind, supported by the thoughts of countless others of similar vision, and honed by group thought and action until it was nurtured into form and appears now as a guiding principle for the new civilization. 

“To work with the minds of men, . . . to impress these minds with certain ideas which are necessary to human progress.”  Such is the work of all World Servers, including those of conscious vision such as Triangles workers.

The “good news” affirms that we are making a difference.