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Re: The New Adepts

Oct 12, 1997 10:04 AM
by Titus Roth


Bart Lidofsky <bartl@sprynet.com> wrote:

> And, rarely, a group clicked. They work together, forming a natural
> hierarchy based on competency; by dropping their mutual shields, there is no
> quarrel about who is in charge, because they KNOW who does what the
> best.

I have long been interested in how a group can function effectively, given the
nature of today's individualism and egotism. A group I was part of had some
form of the above hierarchy, if you can call it that. And it worked well for
30-40 years. But several years after the founder died, some yet to be dealt
with weaknesses of the members came to the foreground and were not mastered.
Effectively the spirit within the group, or maybe you would call it the group
monad, died.

My tentative observation is that unless there is at least one strong selfless
and ethical person in a group and an essential integrity in the membership,
the people who rise to positions of leadership are often the aggressive
self-serving ones, who lead to its effective downfall.

Mother Theresa's group somewhat illustrates the point. By some accounts, she
was a tough-as-nails but benevolent dictator. She attracted many sincere
persons who shared and were stimulated by her ideals. I don't know what will
happen now, but it will be interesting to see if an essentially good
organization can have its founder's values survive after her death. If history
is any guide, the Missionaries of Charity will within a generation weaken and
stiltify. But my hope is that it will take much longer than a generation.

A question, Bart.  Have you really had experience with a group that matches
your description? BTW, my tone is not a challenging or mocking one.


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