while visiting the library of the Theosophical Society near Ojai, California. He certainly influenced a bunch of spiritualists over the years. However, like all of his ilk, his poorly defined "higher power" concept didn't age well with me. Nor did Theosophy, in general, really. The Krotona Institute of Theosophy was kind enough to let local residents borrow books from its library for a small membership fee. That gave me access to a lot of volumes that can't be easily borrowed and read.
I enjoyed conversations with people there, but discovered before long that they had only vague, general ideas and a dislike of scientific knowledge and investigation. I did enjoy reading old tomes about arcane philosophical thinking, though, along with a friendly set of people who were willing to discuss almost anything.
It's a pity there isn't more of that way of looking at things in more places. Really. It's also a pity that so many people only delve into alternative philosophies at a shallow level, adopting attractive points of view, but ignoring more complex questions. Few I met had any clear idea of what they actually believed in a broad sense.
That place is still there, and its library is still available. I, however, have moved far away from that place both physically and intellectually. For those who are interested, there are Theosophical Societies in most major urban areas. Few have the resources of the Krotona Institute, but they're worth a visit if such things interest you.
For more information: http://www.krotonainstitute.org/about/
= new reply since forum marked as read