International Theosophical Conferences

File:ITC 2012 Lecture.jpg

Lecture in TSA auditorium. August 9, 2012.

Workshop on "Compassionate Communication" with Garrett Riegg speaking. August 11, 2013.

The website is http://www.theosconf.org.
On Facebook, see itcinc.

Activities and purposes

The purposes of ITC are several. First, at our annual conferences we share the great ideals and concepts of Theosophy. Second, as we plan and present the conferences we promote friendship and brotherhood among students all over the world. Third, we strive to build bridges of understanding and mutual support between leaders of many different Theosophical organizations. As an added bonus, we have fun as we learn from each other and guest speakers. Many also enjoy sightseeing before or after the conferences.

There are no dues or membership fees. Subject to review by the Board of Directors, the only requirement for membership is a respect for H.P. Blavatsky and having attended two conferences. Our unifying theme is the message of Theosophy as presented by H. P. Blavatsky.

The conference is supported by each year's registration fees and generous donations from individuals and lodges.

History

This brief history was written by Garrett Riegg, ITC President, in 2013:

Beginning in 1995, Willie Dade with the help of her family and lodge hosted six annual weekend conferences with more than 60 people attending mostly from the West Coast, Europe and Arizona. Willie spent most of her life studying Theosophy with the United Lodge of Theosophists (ULT). She started lodges in places like Chico, California and Brookings, Oregon. After Willie passed away in the year 2000, many of her students got together over the phone and decided to continue the tradition by hosting conferences all around Southern California.

The conferences were open and they attracted members of several Theosophical organizations. Until 2010 most conferences were sponsored or hosted by a local ULT lodge.

The name "International Theosophy Conferences, Inc." was adopted in 2008 when we became a non-profit California corporation and later obtained tax exempt status from the IRS. At this point we slowly began developing bylaws, officers and directors.

At the 2008 conference, at a small college near Philadelphia, our diversity increased as we welcomed a large contingent from the Theosophical Society Point Loma (Holland) and speakers from the Theosophical Society (Adyar), Free Masonry and Vedanta (a local professor).

In 2010, the conference was hosted by our Point Loma friends at The Hague in Holland.

Our 2012 conference was in Wheaton, Illinois (headquarters of the Theosophical Society in America). For the first time our conference was available as a live broadcast via the internet.

The fifteenth annual conference took place in New York reached a peak attendance of 250 people. Two or three speakers were scheduled concurrently, and all presentations were webcast and recorded by a dedicated group from the Point Loma - Blavatskyhouse group in The Hague. Most attendees were from the United States and The Netherlands, but others came from Brazil, Scotland, France, Japan, and Slovenia.

Conference dates and themes

Year	Number	Dates	Location	Theme	Website
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004			San Diego, California
2005
2006	8		Julian, California
2007	9		Petaluma, California
2008	10	August 7–10	Haverford, Pennsylvania	The Theosophical Approach to Globa Dialogue on the Synthesis of Science, Religion & Philosophy	http://www.theosconf.org/08%20CONF/program.html
2009	11		Theosophy Hall, Los Angeles, CA	Theosophy: “What It Is: How It Works: Why Study It	http://www.theosconf.org/09%20CONF/program.html
2010	12	August 12-15	The Hague, The Netherlands	Making Theosophy a Living Power in the World	http://www.inttheosconf2010.org/
2011	13	August 11-14	Julian, California	A Concurrence of Science and Spirituality	http://www.theosconf.org
2012	14	August 9-12	Olcott campus, Wheaton, Illinois	Karmic Cycles: Wheels of Spiritual Growth	http://www.theosconf.org
2013	15	August 8-11	Bohemian National Hall, New York City	How to Awaken Compassion? H. P. Blavatsky and the Eternal Secret Doctrine	http://www.theosconf.org