Dean and Founder of The Prosperos
(from TheProsperos.org/Thane)
Thane’s approach to teaching was revolutionary, his method the oldest kind of therapy in the world — agape. Agape is a very special kind of love: the unselfish, unconditional giving of love.
Nowhere in the world today is the idea of agape more clearly demonstrated or espoused than in the teachings of Thane of Hawaii. In his classes, in open lectures, on recorded lessons, and in his writing, Thane demonstrated a unique ability to draw the truest meaning of agape from his students.
Thane was the Founder and first Dean of The Prosperos. He was also a well-known figure in the fields of psychology, philosophy, education, consciousness, religion, and cosmology. His many years of research in such diverse areas as occultism, mysticism and Freudian and Jungian psychology enabled him to be among the first to bridge the gap between old and new, between modern scientific knowledge and ancient spirituality. Throughout more than 60 years of teaching, Thane found exciting new methods for communicating both timeless secrets and current insights from the fields of Mind study and physics to an immensely diverse following.
If one were to ask, “What did Thane teach?”, any answer that included philosophy, spirituality, ontology, thought-power, religion, psychology, or consciousness would be correct, but his aim could not be captured by categorical titles. The Teaching is not confined to intellectuality or what is called “metaphysics.” The goal is to reach each individual at his or her point of confusion and frustration and lead them to insight. The subject matter is not chosen to be charming social talk, or clever intellectual repartee, but rather to be meaningful guidance for those seeking a more wholistic view of themselves and of their world. Thus, Thane taught in either the oral tradition or through constantly up-dated letter-lessons to his students. (Prosperos Mentors continue this tradition of the “ear-whispered word.”)
Of all the topics and perspectives Thane addressed, none gained him more notice than his advanced positions (for the time) on sexuality.
Like Socrates, Thane knew that imparting information is not enough. Each student enters his search for Self at a unique state of mind and affairs. He realized that the task of a true teacher is to draw knowledge out of each student rather than to add information to misconception. Each student must, therefore, be taught as individually as possible.
Every person coming in contact with Thane’s teachings is connecting to a great legacy of knowledge. Thane’s extensive background ranged from some of the most noted thinkers in the fields of psychology to some of the most obscure groups studying metaphysics and occultism. He was a student of Mr. Gurdjieff (the Sufi master from Russia). He studied zen in Japan, yoga in India, occultism in Europe and America. Lillian DeWaters, Emmet Fox, J. Krishnamurti, C.G. Jung, Kurt Lewin , and Lewis Mumford are among the many famous thinkers with whom he associated. As a lecturer he traveled several times around the world, addressing groups ranging from a mere handful to thousands, teaching the common and the famous alike. Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science, titled Thane, “the teacher of teachers.”
In addition, he served with the military during World War II; he was in the “underground” in Germany prior to World War II and spent months in Nuremberg prison. He authored many books (presently published by The Prosperos, by reprint permission are such titles as: I Saw Hitler Make Black Magic, Not So Secret Doctrine, Old Wine in New Bottles, Leap Into Sanity) and articles on a wide array of topics. Thane had an unusual association with the entire panorama of the world of entertainment. He appeared in plays, light opera, and motion pictures and counted many stars from the entertainment field, as well as from academia, among his students, clients and friends.
To some of his students, perhaps the most important factor of all was his sense of humor, coupled with precise timing and his judgment of when humor could be the best therapy of all. This is clear in the recorded classes where he could sometimes move from an atmosphere of thoughtful exploration to complete hilarity and then to profound insight in a matter of minutes.
“What did Thane teach?” . . . any answer that includes philosophy, spirituality, ontology, thought-power, religion, psychology, or consciousness would be correct.
Ultimately, Thane’s work has been for his students. Beyond the background and training which were his tools he brought a compassion for the world that was his alone. He exemplified the principle that the relationship between student and teacher is more than a professional liaison — it is a sacred trust. It was no less than life to him. Whatever the problem, the obstacle, the confusion or the hurt, it was there that he tried to touch and to heal.
Of all the topics and perspectives Thane addressed, none gained him more notice than his advanced positions (for the time) on sexuality. This may seem odd today, but it is nonetheless true. His approach was basic openness and frankness without dogma. In all of his teachings he proved the limitlessness of every person’s individuality and disproved the barriers placed on love — barriers arising from materialistic constructs which generate frustration and contribute to the agonized condition of the world today.
Because his concern was for all people —their hopes, their dreams, their fears — Thane was known as a social innovator. Throughout his life he advocated for every individual’s freedom and personal rights. He was among the first to stand against racial, social, and sexual hypocrisies. Compassion of this sort was unusual for a teacher so well known in fields relating to spirituality or religion. But it follows; Thane was never a man to draw lines but rather was a zealot at erasing them.
Thane’s concepts of the universe and of man are not new; his concepts of teacher and student are ageless, and yet his practice of timeless Truth was distinct. As Thane learned from his teachers, so his students learned from him. Thane went beyond his teachers in his understanding, and his hope was that his students would surpass him.
This is the tradition of Thane. Every class and all training of Mentors incorporates these principles. The ultimate goal is the student’s liberation from hypnagogic enslavement to materialistic theories.
