Roundtable Discussion
With Justin Tanksley and Christopher Howard
1st Sunday of the month, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. CT
Join at any time!
If you are seeking deeper understanding, meaningful dialogue, and spiritual community, join our Roundtable Discussion—a welcoming, interactive forum where seekers of all backgrounds come together to explore timeless themes from a theosophical perspective. Each month thought-provoking topics will be discussed in an atmosphere of respect and open-minded inquiry. Your voice and curiosity are welcome.
SEPTEMBER 6, 2026 — The Spiritual Function of Beauty
"Beauty is no dead thing. It is the manifestation of God in nature. There is not one object in nature untouched by man that is not beautiful, for God's manifestation is beauty."— Annie Besant, The Immediate Future
Explore beauty not merely as aesthetics, but as a manifestation of underlying spiritual order. Consider how encounters with beauty can awaken intuition, reverence, and a sense of unity.
OCTOBER 4, 2026 — Symbol and Consciousness
"The primitive purity of a creed can become soiled; its apostles can degrade and soil it by the inevitable admixture of human element. But its symbolism as the concrete expression of some now lost idea of the founder will survive forever. It may have its meaning changed, nay even its outward form altered. Like the phoenix of old, it will continue periodically to revive from its ashes." — H.P. Blavatsky, Pagan Symbolism Indestructible — Why? Lucifer, April 1891
Explore how sacred symbols can outlive the religions and doctrines that produced them. Investigate whether recurring symbols and myths preserve fragments of universal spiritual truths, serving as bridges between ordinary consciousness and deeper realities.
NOVEMBER 1, 2026 — The Mystery of Initiation
"As a man born blind might know the world by touch, but if his eyes were opened would see a new world... so is it with the man who, having passed through the great ceremony of Initiation... Another world is around him, a new phase of consciousness belongs to him." — Annie Besant, The Perfecting of Man
Move beyond ceremonial notions of initiation to consider the inner transformations that accompany expanded awareness, responsibility, and self-knowledge.
DECEMBER 6, 2026 — The Evolution of Compassion
"Compassion is no attribute. It is the Law of Laws." — H.P. Blavatsky, The Voice of the Silence
Examine compassion not as sentiment but as an expression of spiritual perception. What changes when one genuinely experiences the interconnectedness of all life?
JANUARY 3, 2027 — The Mystery of Sacrifice
“Sacrifice is love in the fullest and deepest sense of the word. The Logos Himself has set the example of sacrifice by pouring out His life into matter to bring a universe into existence. In doing so, He has not lost life, but has gained a further expression of it. The law of progress for the individual is to follow that divine example, to learn that giving is the true living, and that to pour oneself out in service to others is to realize the highest potential of the soul." — C.W. Leadbeater / C. Jinarajadasa, The Law of Sacrifice
Consider sacrifice as transformation rather than loss. Explore how service, love, and self-transcendence can become pathways to spiritual growth and a fuller expression of the soul.
FEBRUARY 7, 2027 — Death Before Death
"Before the soul can see, the Harmony within must be attained, and fleshly eyes be rendered blind to all illusion... Before the soul can comprehend and may remember, she must unto the Silent Speaker be united; just as the form wherein the wax is cast is swallowed up and lost within the golden fire." — H.P. Blavatsky, The Voice of the Silence
Explore the meaning of inner transformation through the surrender of the personal self. What illusions, attachments, habits of thought, and identifications must be relinquished before the deeper spiritual nature can be recognized? Consider whether wisdom arises not by acquiring something new, but by allowing the transient self to fall away.
MARCH 7, 2027 — The Purification of Desire
"Desire only that which is within you. Desire only that which is beyond you. Desire only that which is unattainable... Desire power ardently. Desire peace fervently. Desire possessions above all. But those possessions must belong to the pure soul only, and be possessed therefore by all pure souls equally." — Mabel Collins, Light on the Path
Explore how desire is progressively detached from personal ownership and redirected toward impersonal, universal spiritual reality, culminating in the dissolution of separative desire into unity.
APRIL 4, 2027 — The Future Human Being
"As you study… it will not seem so strange that from man you should pass on to superman, transcending the barrier of humanity, and finding yourself in the region where divinity becomes more manifest." — Annie Besant, An Introduction to Yoga
Explore humanity’s future evolution as the unfolding of consciousness itself—not merely physical development, but the progressive manifestation of inner divinity. What qualities emerge as consciousness expands beyond the limitations of the present human stage?
MAY 2, 2027 — Becoming a Conscious Co-worker with Evolution
“All are entitled to the grateful reverence of Humanity, however, man ought to be ever striving to help the divine evolution of Ideas, by becoming to the best of his ability a co-worker with nature in this cyclic task.” — H.P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine
Conclude the series by examining what it means to consciously participate in the evolutionary process. How does Theosophy move from philosophical understanding into lived service, self-transformation, and cooperation with Nature’s intelligent law of unfoldment?
Facilitators 
Justin Tanksley is a member of the staff at the National Center of the Theosophical Society in America (TSA). He is a board member of the Theosophical Order of Service and an organizer for the Young Adult Theosophists in America. He leads an in-person Roundtable Discussion for TSA, and participates in several theosophical groups in the US and the world.
Christopher Howard is a longtime volunteer and member of the Theosophical Society in America. He is also a member of the Wheaton-Olcott lodge and serves as a co-facillitator for the Introduction to Theosophy class. Christopher is a lifelong musician with over 40 years of experience as a guitarist, music minister, and songwriter, blending his deep love of sound with contemplative practice.
Program Format
This is a live, interactive online program. This program will not be recorded.
Join online via a Zoom link that will be emailed upon your registration. Please download Zoom for free at zoom.us/download and test your connection at zoom.us/test. For further information, check out www.theosophical.org/FAQ or email webinars@theosophical.org.