REFLECTIONS ON WORLD SERVICE
In this issue of the newsletter we will be exploring the theme of world service,
as it is expressed by the new group of world servers, using a number of quotes excerpted
from our literature. Every seven years, the Lucis Trust, the parent body of World Goodwill,
places a special focus on the new group of world servers, and 2005 is the latest in this
rhythm. The week of 21st to 28th December is set aside as a Festival Week, and public
meetings in London, Geneva and New York provide a space for deeper reflection on the meaning
and significance of the group. [This year, the week will be preceded by a Seminar on
Saturday 17th December, featuring invited guest speakers. See our website
at www1.lucistrust.org for
details of events in each centre]. The selfless efforts of those who are dedicated to serving
the world are surely worth celebrating. By recognising their impressive achievements so far,
and learning of their visions for a better world, we subjectively support their work, and open
up opportunities for co-operation. Please contact us for further information about the events
we have planned, and also if you would like to help publicise the week through distributing
literature. The theme of our meetings this Festival Week will be “Living Synthesis”.
The phrase, “the new group of world servers” comes from the writings of Alice Bailey,
the founder of World Goodwill. Coined early in the twentieth century, the phrase points to a
phenomenon of great and growing significance. Aspects of this phenomenon have been recognised
by other thinkers, and been given a variety of labels – “cultural creatives”,
“world citizens”, “visionary pragmatism” (see Visionary Pragmatism), “the second tier in
spiral dynamics”, “integral thinking/living”, “international civil society”
(see International Civil Society), and other phrases. What each of these is pointing to is
an unprecedented change in human living, a change that at its root has two key principles,
which we will explore below – group work, and world service.
One obvious question that springs to mind is, “who are they?” What qualifies a person to be
described as a member of this group? More than anything else, it is an attitude of mind and
heart, a fixed determination to promote an atmosphere of goodwill in all circumstances.
Another way of saying this would be to say they are united through the common purpose of world
service. So there are no visible signs of membership. It is likely that most of its members
have never even heard the term. And yet, they know, without being told, that they are members,
simply because they recognise each other when they meet. So in a sense, the new group is
“virtual” – like a multinational work team linked together only by email, it is bound together
in subtle, subjective ways.
Why is the group still described as “new”, when it was first identified in 1932? The present
era of mass transit and telecommunications is the first time in recorded history that it makes
sense to talk about such a group as a group – because it is only now that its members are really
able to meet and communicate on a worldwide basis. Likewise, this is the first time when the
idea of the world being one community has gained widespread acceptance, strongly reinforced by
the image of the Earth from space. Also, this may be the first time when there has been a large
enough number of such people alive for them to reach a “critical mass” of fruitful interaction.
And from a more subtle perspective, it is only now that humanity has evolved enough in
consciousness for such a group to be in subjective telepathic rapport, and to be sensitive
to group impression from higher sources of light and love. So for all these reasons, the group
signifies a new trial in human functioning.
The last point about “newness” also links to the principle of group work. As stated before,
the group is not a formal organisation, but is united by a common attitude and purpose, which
its individual members intuitively sense in each other. And it is precisely because they
recognise this attitude and purpose, that they find it only natural to work together in groups.
They submerge any personal ambitions so as to better realise specific service objectives. And
in addition, the groups they form stand ready to cooperate with other groups of like mind
(see Fluid Alliances).
The principle (or purpose) of world service also deserves mention here, for it may sound both
too grand and too vague for many to relate to. How does one serve the whole world? But to
imagine that it implies doing something concrete for every sentient being on Earth is to miss
the point. World service can begin on one’s doorstep. What matters is that all barriers of race,
class or creed have vanished in the server’s consciousness. In this way, serving just one other
person becomes a microcosmic reflection of serving the whole. In any case, serving the whole
world is possible, through prayer or meditation. This need not mean formal meditation practices
in a religious or spiritual context – although many world servers do work in this way – but
it does mean deep thinking and reflection on the vision for the work. And the principle of
inclusiveness applies with equal force in this case: to meditate or visualise for the exclusive
benefit of one group or individual is to lose sight of the unity-in-diversity that is the world.
Inclusiveness is part and parcel of goodwill, and so is second nature to a world server.
Everyone can aspire to become part of the new group, simply through cultivating goodwill
to all.
The extracts that follow, taken from various addresses and articles on this theme, hopefully give
some sense of the nature and significance of this amazing phenomenon that has the potential
to save the world. (N.B. All unattributed extracts are by members of the Lucis Trust
Headquarters staff.)
GOODWILL IS...the heart-beat of service
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