Rosicrucian Forum, August 1957-June 1960

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The Rosicrucian Forum

August 1957 - June 1960



Rosicrucían ForumA p r í va t e p ub l i ca t í o n f o r memb er s o f A MO RC

August, 1957Volum e XXVIII No. 1

TED SOUZA, F. R. C.

Inspector General of AMORC for Central California, U. S. A.



PAGE 2 THE ROSICRUCIAN FORUM

Greetings!V V V

AMORC WORLD-WIDE ACTIVITY

Dear Fratres and Sorores:In a world of increasing materialism and

emphasis upon technical development, thata movement devoted to philosophy, meta-physics, and mysticism is able to survive isencouraging to idealists. The RosicrucianOrder, AMORC, has more than endured invarious sections of the world; it has madeexceptional strides. Where publicity hasmade it appear that the physical sciences arethe salvation of mankind and the solé pre-server of life’s valúes, it is obvious that func-tions such as those of AMORC are confrontedwith great obstacles.

The Rosicrucian Order, far from beinghostile to science, has in its history includedin its membership some of the world-re-nowned scientists. In fact, as every modemRosicrucian knows, the teachings of AMORCinclude aspects of the various sciences whichha ve kept abreast of the times. We as wellpride ourselves that in our research we have

anticipated years in advance many principiesnow heralded in the mundane world as newdiscoveries.

What we do deplore is the relative disre-gard of the humanities today. Such studiesare necessary for that true refinement of thenature of man which constitutes civilization.The world is now engaged in having a racein a vast armament. As a result, all industries and sciences essential to such a programare called necessary and utilitarian. Themost unfortunate thing in this activity isthat the current young generation is givena false conception of life’s valúes and of thosethings that contribute to it. Education is

made to appear solely as a feeder for en-gineering and technical professions and thatwhich is immediately related thereto. Education more and more takes on the aspectof a utilitarian significance.

It is apparent that it is the task of suchhumanitarian, philosophical, and nonsec-tarian organizations as AMORC to keep alive

an interest in the immaterial motives andideáis in life. If such is not done, even thefine arts will suffer—as they have sufferedin past civilizations. The United States isobviously the wealthiest and most economi-cally powerful nation in the world. From astrictly monetary point of view this means

that the average American has more moneyto indulge his interests than persons of lessfortúnate nations. Actually, however, thegrowth of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC,in the United States percentage-wise, con-sidering the population, is less than in othernations that are not so engrossed in materialism.

When our fratres and sorores read this,the writer will be in Asia Minor with twoother fratres. He will be gathering unusualmaterial for a series of Rosicrucian Digest articles and for other publications. The fratres accompanying him will be taking aseries of professional cinema films of the sites

of those ancient civilizations which had theirorigin in that región. These films in colorand sound will eventually be shown to mem-bers in various areas of the world. Also thefratres will take a series of still photographsof historical and archaeological sites to finallyappear in Rosicrucian publications.

Of all the esoteric orders, AMORC hasbeen the most diligent and outstanding inrendering this service, that is, in presentingphotographs and articles concerning the sitesof ancient mystery and initiatic schools, aswell as the places where the great philoso-phers, mystics, and scientists lived andtaught. By this means AMORC has united

the past with the present, and this unityhas made possible a rational approach to thefuture, by providing as guidance the greatpreceding thoughts and deeds of mankind.

The Imperator and these fratres will thenattend a special conclave of members andofíicers of the Order in London (August 31 -September 1) . Not only will Rosicrucian



AUGUST, 1957 PAGE 3

members throughout the British Isles be pres-ent at the conclave but dignitaries of the

A.M.O.R.G. in Europe. The following emi-nent personages have declared that they willbe present on this auspicious occasion:

The Grand Master and the Deputy GrandMaster of Sweden; the Grand Master ofDenmark and Norway; the Grand Masterand Grand Secretary of the Netherlands; theGrand Master of Italy; the Grand Master ofGermany; the Secretary of the AMORC ofFrance; the Deputy Grand Master of theLondon area who will represent the GrandMaster of Great Britain. Each of these menwill be introduced to the assembly of members and make a brief address.

Following the general conclave which will

be similar to rallies of subordinate lodges andchapters of AMORC throughout the world,there will be an international symposium ofthese officers directed by the Imperator. Theresult of this meeting will be far-reaching inits beneficial effects for the Order as a wholeand for the individual Rosicrucian in particular. Any active Rosicrucian member ofany jurisdiction or any degree is eligible toattend the conclave in London upon pres-entation of membership credentials andregistering for the occasion.

The Imperator, and the fratres fromAmerica accompanying him, will then havethe honor and piivilege of attending theannual Rosicrucian Convention in Skalder-

viken, Sweden, at which Frater Albin Roimerwill officiate. This event is always a memorable one and a tribute to the activity of that

jurisdiction of our Order. The Imperator andhis associates \yill then depart for Copen-hagen where they will address a convocationof the Grand Lodge of Denmark and Norwayin its temple. This convocation will be underthe direction of Grand Master Sundstrup.

From Denmark, the Imperator and thoseaccompanying him will joumey to Paris.There the Imperator will spend some timein conference with Frater Raymond Bemard,the Secretary of the Grand Lodge of AMORC

of France, at the Order’s administrative office.A special conclave of Rosicrucian members

from throughout France has been called forParis. The Imperator will address themthere. The Je an ne Guesdon Chapter of Pariswill act as host upon the occasion to otherofficers of AMORC from throughout France,Belgium, and Switzerland.

We must not fail to mention the verygratifying progress that the Rosicrucian Order is making in Brazil. For years there weresubordinate chapters—now lodges— in thatcountry. Just a little more than a year ago,however, the Grand Lodge of AMORC ofBrazil, as a subordinate body to the International Supreme Grand Lodge, was estab-lished. The teachings are now issued in the

Portuguese language directly from Rio de Janeiro. The issuance of the teachings inthe language of the Brazilian people has in-creased the membership and scope of theOrder in that country considerably. Tributefor this activity must be paid to Soror MaríaMoura and Frater José de Oliveira Paulo,members of the Board of Directors of theBrazilian Grand Lodge, for their tremendousefforts.

In Germany, under the leadership of theGrand Master, Frater Wilhelm FriedrichMueller, AMORC has become well estab-lished in new quarters. Re-organization hastaken place which assures a sound futurefor our Order in that country. The Rosi

crucian Order, AMORC, in Italy has nowpassed the first formative stages of its newcycle of activity. The Grand Master, FraterGieuseppe Cassara di Castellammare, hasissued attractive literature which is beingdisseminated throughout the nation. Mono-graphs in the Italian language are now avail-able to fratres and sorores. The ItalianGrand Master will also confer with the Im-perator in Rome during the latter’s joumeyen route from Asia Minor.

Fratemally,RALPH M. LEWIS,

Imperator.

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San José, California,under Section 1103 of the U. S. Postal Act of Oct. 3, 1917.

The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Departmentof Publication of the Supreme Council of AMORC, at Rosicrucian Park, San José, California.

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This Issue’s Personality

Frater Ted Souza’s kind and affable personality is winning many more people toRosicrucian ideáis and practices in CentralCalifornia. There his work as Inspector General for AMORC goes tirelessly on. Whennot working with the public, he spendsnights and weekends helping nearby Rosicrucian chapters and pronaoi in their affairs.In his home chapter in Fresno he has servedas Master, editor of the chapter bulletin, andcurrently instructs Rosicrucian degree classesat the chapter’s quarters.

Frater Souza, bom February 1 in the smalltown of Atwater, California, is one of those

fortúnate people—in this day of exceedinglygreat urban development—who have spenttheir early years on a ranch. There in thequiet of the countryside he had ampie timeto think about God and nature. In his ownmind, and without theological benefit, hewas able to catalogue his position in theCosmic scheme. Since then, and especiallysince he crossed the threshold of AMORC,he has tried to emphasize a good balancebetween the esoteric and the exoteric. He isa firm believer in the practical aspects ofRosicrucian study.

It was Frater Souza’s wife, Nadine, whobrought him and herself to the portáis of theRosicrucian Order. This ideal unión of man

and wife has resulted in a family of Rosicrucian adherents. Their three children arebeing raised with a liberal knowledge ofRosicrucian philosophy. The entire familygreatly enjoys cióse contact with the beautiesof nature, and summertime often finds thempicnicking in the Sierras, or swimming, fish-ing, or beachcombing along the shores of thePacific.

Since early childhood, radio became TedSouza’s province of endeavor. He receivedhis amateur radio license and his cali lettersW6FKL in 1932. Later, he joined the Merced County Sheriff’s office where he directedthe purchase and installation of the County’s

first two-way radio system. From thesebeginnings, he worked his way into com-mercial radio broadcasting. Even during atour of duty with the U. S. Coast Guard atthe time of World War II, he served in thefield of radio installation and service. Sincethen he has made great strides in the indus-try. He now is studio engineer for the

largest broadcasting company in Central

California. This enjoyable position providesFrater Souza with an extensive outlet forhis special talents, his love of people, and hisdedication to AMORC.

The Rosicrucian Order is indeed proud tonumber among its ardent workers this fraterfrom Fresno, California.—B

Psychic Sight

Throughout the degrees of the Order, thereare many references to “psychic sight.” Welikewise use the phrase, “psychic eyes.”Exercises are given in the monographs forthe development of these. Members aresometimes confused and ask, “Just where arethe psychic eyes located in relation to thepsychic self?” We have answered that “psychic eyes” is really a figure of speech, thatthe more propier term would be “psychicsight,” and it is that which should be de-veloped.

To begin with, we must realize, as hasbeen pointed out, that psychic impressions(that which is transmitted Cosmically andreceived by us psychically) are extremelyhigh vibratory rates. These vibrations arenot in the octaves of our receptor senses.They transcend all such vibrations as thosewhich we objectively discern. They do nothave the same quality as sound ñor do they

have the wave lengths of light such as weexperience as color, ñor do they include suchsensations as we associate with touch. Infact, they are in extreme ranges or octavesbeyond the physical forces. Each Rosicrucian, who has attained the Fourth Degree,is familiar with the Cosmic Keyboard. There-in he will note that we have shown scienti-fically that the phenomena of the cosmic areall arranged mathematically according to ascale, that certain manifestations and phenomena occur in various octaves. We areable to discern objectively only a compara-tively few of these octaves. The psychic impulses are far beyond the rates of electrical

waves, radioactive mattér, and cosmic rays.Yet we are able to discern them.Psychic impulses can be translated into

objective sensations which we can experience. The psychic impulses are not reduced,their nature is never altered, but we dointerpret them, under certain circumstances,as having visual characteristics — namely,



AUGUST, 1957 PAGE 5

form, dimensions, colors. At other times they

are perceived as being auditory, as a voiceor message. Or they may seem tactile, thatis, as producing waves of feeling, warmth orcoldness.

The psychic impulses are received by thesympathetic nervous system. It is this sym-pathetic nervous system which is attuned tothese higher frequencies. It is responsive tothem. The psychic centers, then being actedupon, induce into the spinal nervous systemimpulses of lower octaves. We may look atit in this way. The sympathetic nervoussystem receives the psychic impulses. Theyare carried to the psychic centers. Withinthese psychic centers, vibrations are set up

which are far lower in the scale than thepsychic ones, just as every musical tone inthe scale has a harmonio in the octaves farbelow, or above it. These lower vibrations,then, are transmitted as energy impulsesalong the spinal nervous system. Finally,these impulses enter the brain where theyactúate certain areas of the cerebrum andproduce in these areas sense data or sensations which are related to one of the objec-tive senses.

The brain area which is most responsiveat the time the psychic impulses are received,produces, as we have said, results which arerelated to it. If the most responsive area is

auditory, then we experience the psychic impulses as sounds, as voices, or as music. Onthe other hand, if the area which is actedupon in the brain is related to the visualsense, then the psychic images are of a visualnature—things seen.

Now we know that for objective impres-sions, those of which we wish to become par-ticularly aware, we must concéntrate. Wemust direct our attention to that which wewant to see or that which we want to hear,and the other senses are accordingly sup-pressed. Even when we are not concen-trating, when we are not making one of oursenses particularly sensitive to stimuli, one

of the areas related to our objective sensesmay predominate. If a psychic impulsecomes through at that time, it will be trans-lated in terms of that particular objectivesense which is dominant.

The transmitters of psychic impulses, thosewho are trying to send a message to usthrough the Cosmic, may have certain pref-

erences. They may desire that we receive

the message in a visual form or they maywish us to have it in an auditory or in anolfactory sense, such as the smell of incenseor the fragrance of flowers. Though one maydesire us to experience the psychic impres-sions in a certain way, we may have theexperience in an entirely different manner.The reason for this is, as we have stated,that one or another of the areas related toour objective senses might be particularlysensitive at that time and thus the psychicimpulses would be interpreted in the quali-ties of that area. Consequently, if we wantour psychic impulses to have a visual nature,to appear to us as something to be seen, thenwe must quicken or stimulate the psychic sight. This means that we must stimulatethat area of the brain by which the impulsesare interpreted in a visual sense.

We know that the body often generatesmore energy than it consumes. We are toldin our monographs how our bodies consist oftwo polarities of energy and how these po-larities are replenished in our body, onethrough the food we eat and the otherthrough breathing. A normal person willgenerate excess energy, that is, more thanhe usually expends in his physical or mentalactivities. This excess energy radiates fromthe nerves of the thumb and the first twofingers on each hand. To conduct experi-ments in psychic sight, it is necessary to usethis excess energy to stimulate or awakenthat area of the brain which translates psychic impulses into that which has a visualnature.

This should be accomplished by sitting re-laxed with the feet apart. In this particularexercise, one takes the first two fingers, afterthe thumb, on each hand and presses thesefingers together. He then places the twofingers of each hand lightly against histemples. The pressure should not be greatenough to cause discomfort and one must becertain that the thumb and other fingers donot touch the temples. A slight warmth willbe generated and, after a few minutes, amagnetic sensation, as a tingling, will be felt.

Next, the eyes should be closed and a deepbreath taken and held as long as comfortable.The eyes should then be opened and, as oneexhales, one should try to look toward a dárkarea in the room, or at least at an area that




is dimly lighted. If you have been successful

in stimulating psychic sight, images willseem to form. You will be interpreting thepsychic impulses you may have received atthat time as visual forms.

Let us be clear on one point. As the mono-graphs have pointed out, what you see onthis occasion is not occurring theurgically—that is, as strange phenomena outside of you.It is not happening within the space of theroom. What is occurring is occurring on thescreen of your own consciousness. Remem-ber that you are stimulating an area in yourbrain wherein the impulses transmitted alongyour spinal column to that area are beingexperienced as visual sensations.

This, then, is what is meant by developingpsychic sight. We must point out again thatpsychic impulses are formless. They havenone of the determinate qualities of sounds,forms, or any sensations which we objectively know. They produce these things within us. You can channel these psychic impulsesthrough any one of the five senses. Whenyou quicken your psychic sight, you aremaking them assume a visual form.

Many persons have had the experience ofsmelling a strong scent of incense in theirsanctum or in some room of their homewhere no incense had béen bumed recently,if ever. Such is definitely a psychic impres-

sion. It does not mean that the scent ofincense was transmitted to them but ratherthat the olfactory sense of their objectiveconsciousness was dominant at the time andthe psychic impression was translated as thefragrance of incense. If at that particulartime they had tried the exercise of quicken-ing the psychic sight, in all probability thesame psychic impression would have assumedsome visual form.—X

' (From Forum, Oct., 1948)

Cosmic Masters

There is no greater wrong, or more danger-

ous practice than the negligent or wilfuldistortion of a truth. There is an oíd philo-sophical axiom which says, “There are nohalf truths.” In other words, that which isstated as a law or principie having veracityis either so in its entirety, or not at all.

It is indeed most unfortunate when stu-dents of Rosicrucianism, mysticism and oc-

cultism read a simply presented mystical

principie and then make out of it a harmfulmisconception. It is hardly necessary to recite here that our monographs, in certain ofthe degrees, explain about “The Holy As-sembly,” “The Cosmic Hosts,” and “TheCelestial or Esoteric Hierarchy.” It hassimply been presented in our teachings thatthese intelligences, of which there are but afew, by virtue of their spiritual development,constitute an intermediary for defining forman the Cosmic decrees and the divine reve-lations which he has from time to time.These Cosmic Masters are often mentorsonly in the sense that they aid us in estab-lishing contact with the Cathedral of theSoul, and in properly understanding the

Cosmic impressions which we receive as ourconsciousness is quickened by the practiceof the exercises contained in our Rosicrucianteachings.

We first want to make plain and em-phatic that there is not an individual CosmicMaster for each individual human being, asa sort of ethereal shadow behind or lightthat goes before man. The same limitednumber of these Cosmic hosts may assistmillions of mortals. O ver and over againwe have recited in the pages of the Forum and in the Rosicrucian Digest, and in monographs and special letters that it is not in theprovince of these Cosmic Masters to become

personal guides of mortals in that they supervise their every human act. Such conductwould be in violation of the powers whichthe Cosmic has decreed man should have,and which he personally should exercise.

If we were continually to be guided ineverything and in all things, man wouldneed no soul, with its means of determiningright or wrong in the Cosmic sense. Hewould not need will, or the agency of choice.He would not need to reason, or to analyze,or to consider the voice of self, in fact, selfas an ego would not need to exist. All thatman would become would be a puppet, a sortof flesh and blood robot, who would be actu-

ated by these masters to do and not to docertain things. Mankind would be as a per-son in a hypnotic state, who loses all self-initiative and objective powers, and whoseactions are subject entirely to the commandsof the operator under whose influence he is.

To intelligent men and women, belief inpersonal Masters, in the sense described



AUGUST, 1957 PAGE 7

above (and as believed by some), is most

objectionable as it attempts to negate theDivine faculties with which man has beenblessed. Further, it is most dangerous toharbor such a thought, for the person whoso believes suppresses his own objectivepowers almost entirely. Though the CosmicMasters are not continuously directing everysimple, homely little personal human affair,such persons are wont to believe that everyidea, every impulse that flashes into theirobjective minds is not merely the result ofthe psychological functions of their mentalselves but the voice of the Master command-ing them to do thus and thus. Such ridicu-lous beliefs are not founded upon Rosicru-cianism, as taught in the official monographsof AMORC, ñor on the true principies ofmysticism, as expounded by the greatteachers throughout history. It is an abortiveconception that, if persisted in, eventuallyleads the believer into the realm of mentalaberration, and to the door of a psychiatrist.

The worst type of these cases, or, weshould say, a logical development from them,have the delusion that their personal Master has made them a médium by which to de-cree the conduct of others. They thereuponbegin issuing and proclaiming fearsomeedicts, attempting to regúlate the lives ofthose most credulous people with whom theyassociate, or who come to listen to them.

At first they confuse their friends, forthey speak with such words of assurance, insuch a positive manner that the unthinkingperson is inclined to respond to their sug-gestions. He is apt to think that they are“gifted” with some power which the ordi-nary mortal does not possess. As time goesby, however, suspicion creeps into the mindsof the well-meaning and trusting friends andassociates, for each week finds their personallives, their own wishes and desires en-croached upon. This invisible Master is con-stantly compelling them, through the ipouthof this médium, this third party9 to do thisand to do that. They can see that if this

relationship were to continué, their ownsouls would be in bondage to this person,who claims to be in constant communionwith this or that Master. Further, from thenature of the edicts, when they begin tothink about them, they can see how un-cosmical they are, how nonsensical some ofthe comments appear, and how unlike what

would emanate from a great, true Cosmic

Master.I have had letters come to my attentionwhich are worded somewhat aloñg the following lines: “Mrs. John Jones tells me thatshe is constantly attuned with the MasterBlank. This Master has ordered her as num-ber 55 (?) to tell me that I should ceaseliving at home, that I should cease studyingthis philosophy, or my soul development willforever be thwarted. Mrs. Jones further saysthat Master Blank has declared that mynumber is 71 (? ), and that I must report toher each week for further Cosmic orderswhich she alone will receive and issue.”

Moreover, some of these innocent victims,

such as the one who wrote the above type ofletter, have the Cosmic truths which theyhave gleamed from a concentrated study oflong traditional and well-established sourcesof knowledge, tom to shreds, which lea vesthem bewildered, mentally upsets them, andaffects their health. The person who is de-luded into thinking he or she is a médiumfor Cosmic inspiration for all other persons,injects all of his personal opinions on everyprofound, mystical topic irito these so-calledmessages which he passes on. He is apt togive ridiculous definitions and interpretationsof the nature of soul, of the Cosmic, and ofthe functioning of the laws of nature. Hisconceptions are often such that, if followed,

they would prove ruinous to the health,moráis, and sanity of those who believethem.

It is not always that those who claim to bein constant communion with the CosmicMaster, who is giving them messages foreveryone and the world at large, are mali-cious in what they are doing. It is, in fact,often that they are ignorant, sometimes mentally deranged. Frequently each impressionwhich enters their objective consciousness,and about which they form a conclusión, isnot conceived by them as a personal opinionwhich they have arrived at by a normalmental process, but they conceive it as a

Cosmic message from the Master. It has init all of the flaws of their illogical reasoning,often their lack of experience and education,and yet they try to compel all others to guidetheir lives by such words, as if they werethe declaration of a Cosmic pundit.

When, fratres and sorores, the CosmicMasters find it essential to enlighten you, it




will not be on the petty, common affairs oflife—where you should go, what you shoulddo, and whom you should meet—rather itwill be the interpretation of some Cosmicexperience about which you are not certain,and from that interpretation you will gainpersonal power and knowledge. You will beable to think clearly, and, most important,you will be able to direct the Mundane affairs of life yourself , as the Divine Mindintended you should. Beware of individuáiswho proclaim themselves médiums for a Cosmic Master, with the intent of diffusing theirimpressions and opinions hither and yon,and imposing them upon others. The Cosmic

Masters ne ed no oth er individual to attunewith in order to deliver a message to you.

The psychic self we each possess is the bond,the Divine bond, with these Cosmic Intelli-gences. It is the assurance that we can per-sonally attune ourselves with them, and thatwe do not need the channel of anotherhuman.

Do not be intimidated by the dire threatsmade by these persons, who have set themselves up as channels for the Cosmic Masters.If the voice within has not spoken to you, nomessage at the time is intended for you; nomessage has been given another for you,thus you do not need to accept what otherssay was intended for you, and you will suf-fer no punishment for refusing to heed them.

No ill will befall you, I repeat, if you do notheed the words of these self-proclaimed Cosmic médiums. If you once believe that thethreats they utter might actually invoke adestructive power, you are making yourselfsubject to the oldest fear known to man—the superstitious belief in black magic.

The Cosmic will inform you direct, or personally through a Cosmic Master what isintended for your consciousness to compre-hend, what is needed as a stimulation or in-spiration for you, and will not use the de-luded minds of mortals who believe theyhave been chosen as messiahs by the Cosmic

Masters. Also beware of the teachings, thedoctrines, the exercises, and any and allthings which emanate from such persons, orthat which they ask you to do or performunder any circumstances, if you valué yourhealth and your sanity.—X

(From Forum , Dec., 1948)

Are Our Lives Decreed?

A frater, addressing our Forum, pointsout what to him appear as inconsistenciesin the monographs with respect to the topicof fatalism. He says that in one of themonographs of one of the higher degrees itsays: “There is an appointed and decreedtime for transition in the earthly life ofeach individual and there is also a Cosmicreason and purpose in a seemingly untimelyending of an earthly existence.” Anothermonograph states: “Our own choice of voca-tion, manner of living and thinking willaffect the probable date of transition.” Instill another and higher degree, it says: “Innearly every case where disease of the flesh

of the body has seemingly brought abouttransition, or so-called death, there was alsodisease or an abnormal condition of thepsychic body that actually brought aboutthe transition.” Finally there is the state-ment: “No true mystic can believe in fatalism, except the fate that we create ourselves. There is no mysterious hand thatwrites our life’s fate on a scroll before ourbirth ñor at the time of our birth exceptthe mystic hand of our own acts.”

There is a psychological inclination forevery man to want to believe in fate. It ismost disturbing for most men to feel thatthey are pitting their puny mental and

physical powers against the magnitude ofnatural forces which surround them and ofwhich they are aware. Man is fully con-scious of his inability, most of the time, todirect these Cosmic powers to his own ad-vantage. He realizes that this futility isprincipally the result of his ignorance. Tobelieve that one must in some way directhis own destiny and yet not understandhow, is frustrating. Consequently, fatalism,on the one hand, instills a sense of confidenceand, on the other, a resignation to a powerwhich it is presumed has predetermined thelife of each individual.

The belief in fatalism frees some minds

from any responsibility for their acts. Theywish to believe that they can give themselves o ver to abandon. They further believethat the consequences of their acts, whichare enjoyable, would have been so whateverthey thought or did, and the same for anyadversities they experience. This type of




tually shortens his life, making it less than

that of the average span, it is not fate buthimself who is the cause.Many fatalists refer to adventitious events,

that is, sudden unexpected happenings whichvitally affect their lives, as being examplesof the intervention of fate. They are con-fusing fate with probábi lity . Inasmuch asman cannot ascertain in advance all thosecauses that will have an effect on his life, itis most probable that the element of surprisewill enter into his life. This probábility,however, is not a series of ordained events.Further, probábility can be reduced by pro-

jecting our judgments of experience into thefuture, which permits man to avoid certain

trends and what are called accidents.As the monograph has stated, a mystic,a Rosicrucian, cannot accept fatalism. To doso would be to deny his Divine heritage, hisnatural faculties, and to abandon the idealof personal evolvement and aspiration toperfection.—X

(From Forum , Dec., 1951)

Birth Control and Soul Development

Now a soror from Cañada rises to addressour Forum. She states: “With the persistenceof the question of birth control, particularlyin overcrowded countries like India and

China, where there are many millions, ifbirth control is largely practiced (I am notquestioning its wisdom), what will happento the soul-personalities who are seekingevolvement through reincamation? Will theface of the earth change once more? Willnew races people the earth in order thatevolution may proceed? Will the birth rateof our own race increase? — surely neverin proportion to the rate of decrease thatmay well take place in such place as India.Is there a Cosmic law that would show allraces what is the Cosmic will so that therace of man might not interfere even thoughattempting to lift itself up?”

At first blush, it would seem that con-traception or birth control would eventuallyarrest all further evolvement of soul-personalities. One who had attained, we shallsay, the second plañe of unfoldment, mightnot, because of birth control, be afforded themédium of another physical body for furtherevolvement. In endeavoring to answer the

soror’s questions, we shall not enter into a

consideration of the moral or Cosmic principies involved in the practice of contracep-tion, the reason being that this subject wasextensively treated in this Forum recently.Let us presume that the practice is agreedupon and that it is not Cosmically wrong.

By the time that there could be a volun-tary universal acceptance of birth controlamong the peoples of the world, there would,as well, be a universal higher unfoldmentof the soul-personalities of these peoples.Those who advócate birth control as a humanitarian measure have a more profoundconsciousness of the needs of humanity—and this notwithstanding the exhortations

of many religionists to the contrary. Thesepersons sincerely believe that there is lessevil in restraining birth than there is inoverpopulating areas of the world withstarving and underprivileged people. Theargument that the correction of such condi-tions can come through improved economic,social, and political conditions without birthcontrol, is not wholly sound. It is the congestión due to overbirth that makes for thesedeplorable states to a great extent. The in-telligent advocates of birth control recom-mend that its practices not be followedwhere there are adequate means for raisinga child to a higher status, spiritually andeconomically.

People who can intelligently and sym-pathetically discuss and propose these meas-ures for the welfare of mankind have attained a high degree of spiritual unfoldment.If most of mankind would reach such apinnacle of understanding, then patentlythere would not be need for so many cyclesof rebirths or reincarnations. That in itselfwould, then, decrease the necessity for soul-personalities to have bodies in which to ex-press themselves. Further, as stated, wherethe level of idealism of the mass of humanityascends, there is a general improvement inhuman relations. Under such an ideal Stateand with more illumined minds, there would

be a desire for children. Such persons wouldthen want to rear families so as to furthercontribute to the advancement of man. Inother words, the condition would readjustitself.

Certainly such a venture would not be aCosmic violation and, therefore, would notincur Cosmic opposition. Those who object




respect to this subject. The Akashic Records

are an abstract principie. They must notbe construed as meaning a material record,a writing or inscription of any kind in theordinary sense of the word. Now, as to theword Akashic , it is derived from the Sanskritword akasa. In the sankhya philosophy ofthe Hindus, the akasa is one of the fiveelements of that system of thought. In fact,the akasa represents the primordial sub-stance as space, ether, sky, or—as we Rosi-crucians say—spirit, out of which all material form is manifested. This, then, is thekey to our whole understanding of the Akashic Records. Spirit, we know, is a substanceor element which in itself is amorphous, butout of which come any and all things thathave reality to our consciousness. However,in our Rosicrucian teachings, we are shownthat spirit is but the negative polarityof the universal forcé. It is only one attri-bute of it. So behind spirit is this Cosmicuniversal forcé, dual in its polarity. Werefer to this Cosmic universal forcé as beingmind.

From a more analytical point of view,perhaps mind is not a wholly appropriatedefinition of the Cosmic. Most certainly wewill agree that the Cosmic does not displayall the teleological causation of the humanmind. In other words, it does not exhibit allthe imperfections of our own minds. How

ever, we confer mind upon this universalprimary nature—in other words, the Cosmic—because we seem to perceive in it certainfunctions which at least resemble our ownminds. For example, it appears causative,as having purpose, as having order, as dis-playing justice and the like. If we werestill more critical in our analysis, we wouldperhaps not even assign such things as purpose and order (as we ordinarily think ofthem) to the Cosmic. However, it is necessary for us to conceive some nature for theCosmic in order that it have a reality to us,so the word mind seems most acceptable.

In the Cosmic there can be neither past

ñor present, ñor future. It is just AbsoluteBeing. The appellations of past, present, andfuture are man’s designations of the move-ments of his own consciousness; they areñames for the various states of his consciousness. For example, that which seems to be astatic experience, we are inclined to cali

pas t; that which is most dominant in its im

pression, we think of in terms of the pre sent; and that which the mind creates within itsown processes, independent of the senses,such as the faculty of imagination, we thinkof in terms of the future.

Consequently, all that has occurred, allthat man conceives as being of the past, isnevertheless still rooted in the Cosmic. It is

just as active now as it was in any year thatman can conceive. It consists of those lawsby which it had its manifestation. The natureof what has occurred is never a reality suchas we objectively experience. In other words,Cosmically, an experience does not consist ofa day or of a series of colors or of a form

or a sound. These are but our perceptionsof the manifestations of the nature of theCosmic. The Cosmic, the primary nature ofall, is not static. As being, it is a constantceaseless motion. We experience the changesof this etemal motion. That which causesany manifestations we experience, or thechange, never ceases to be. After all, aportion of the Cosmic cannot escape fromitself and disappear. Thus, that which causeda “past” experience of man continúes to beof the eternal nature of the Cosmic.

As for the present, what is of the essencecontinúes as of now. As we stand upon thebeach and look at the breakers rolling

majestically inward, each appears, in somedegree, different from the others. If we wereto remain upon the beach for etemity andhave our full powers, of consciousness, wewould perhaps never perceive exactly identi-cal pattems of breakers. Nevertheless, theprimary source of those breakers, the ceaseless ocean itself, would be the same. Eachbreaker is part of that vast, ever moving,body of water. Each breaker seen by manand that which will be seen by him, origi-nates in the action of the sea and its relationto the shore.

Likewise, every human event, everythought and deed is potential in the Cosmic.

It is written in the Akashic Records, in theCosmic mind, that all that which manifestsshall come from the matrix of laws of whichthe Cosmic consists.

It is stated in our monographs, “Fromthese records, the thing is fulfilled and com-pleted at the time when best done.” Cosmi-



AUGUST, 1957 PAGE 13

cally, nothing is impossible except the ne-gation of the Cosmic itself. Th e Cosmic

cannot cease to be, for nothing cannot be,except as it is related to something. Sincenothing never preceded something, something cannot retum to it. Therefore, out ofthe Cosmic anything can eventually be ma-terialized if it is in harmony with the Cosmic.We can so direct Cosmic intelligence, themotion of its being, that it will create con-ditions that will have a nature, a substance,or form such as we wish to realize. Again,we repeat, it is written in the Akashic Records; that is, it is possible for anything to beas we conceive it. We must conceive it,because we are the ones who really giveform to the formless Cosmic by our senses,

our reason, our state of consciousness.We refer in our Rosicrucian teachings to

the “God of our Hearts.” We mean by thatterm the god that we, as individuáis, canconceive, of which we are conscious andthat has understanding to us. Now, obvious-ly, there cannot actually be as many godsas there are concepts of God on the part ofhuman beings. However, God is potential within any form that the mind can conceive.In other words, God can assume, by thenature of His being, any concept the humanmind chooses. So, too, the Cosmic is capa-ble of assuming any kind of reality thatour minds and sel ves can bring about. We

give out a thought that we wish wouldeventually materialize. It is already writtenin the Akashic Records that that shall bedone. In other words, it is possible for it tobe done, if we are consistent with our wishes.We must begin to make ourselves selectiveof only those aspects of the Cosmic as willbring it about. By our thoughts we mustdraw to our inner selves that Cosmic in-spiration and those powers that will makepossible, through our human talents, ourabilities, and relations, what we want. Thatwhich we seek is wholly in the Cosmic inessence but, in relation to our human livesand our notion of time, it will manifest in

a future.Another way to look upon this subject is to

think of the Cosmic as being a plástic substance such as soft clay. From this softclay may be created multitudinous forms.Within the clay, within the primary substance, all things which the mind can con

ceive are wholly extant. We must, however, to realize a particular form, mould

the clay, cause it to correspond to our ideas.The clay must become a counterpart of ourconcept, our idea, before it is what we want.Therefore, in communing with the Cosmicand in petitioning for what we seek, wemust adapt the Cosmic forces to the mouldof our own intellect, our own personalpowers, and our psychic consciousness. Wethus put ourselves in attunement with thosequalities of the universal nature, the Cosmic,as will quicken our consciousness in thedirection of the end which we wish to attain.We make the attributes of our being responsive to those Cosmic vibrations whichwill develop them. As a consequence, we

find ourselves drawn to people and to con-ditions as will make it possible for us torealize objectively that to which we haveaspired.

It is thus written in the Akashic Recordsthat man can be or have all that of which heis capable. We are, then, truly the masters of our lives. The Cosmic is the supply house.The assembly of these supplies and the real-ization of them is our responsibility. Thoughclay is possible of any form, it requires theapplication of the individual powers of thesculptor. Though the Cosmic can providethe substance for anything, it is man thatmust learn how to mould that substance to

conform to his concept.This does not mean that there are already

predetermined in the Akashic Records, as aform, as a substance, as a condition, the individual things of our lives. Not at all—justas in a mass of clay there are not predetermined all the things that the sculptoris going to bring out. There is only in theCosmic all that can be, if we will it to be byapplying those powers with which we havebeen endowed and then by drawing it forth,through self.—X

(From Forum , April, 1950)

Attunement with the PlanetsA soror in Cañada addresses our Forum:

“I have been interested in impressions thatkeep coming through to me recently. Theseare that our familiar planet is very neardestruction—insofar as life is concerned,anyway. Can these impressions come from




the minds of human beings now living onearth that have accepted the thoughts of

atomie destruction, or can they be trueCosmic impressions? Recently also, I íeelthat we, in our inner consciousness and being, have passed beyond the aura of thisplanet and the moon into Cosmic space,becoming adjusted to a superior planet alto-gether.

“Is it possible that advanced conscious-nesses in human form can thus progressfrom planet to planet in Cosmic space, andam I right in thinking that our present Earthmay be coming to a final end?”

An increasing number of persons are having dreams amounting to nightmares in

which they experience intemecine atomicwarfare. They wake with a vivid recol-lection of the horror of vast cities laid wastebefore them, and of structures and humanforms, alike, tom asunder. Some have real-istic dreams of hearing jet planes which fillthe sky, and which, although beyond therange of sight, appear to them at the timeto be hostile. In these experiences, the persons dreaming have seen whole cities bathedin a sudden, unnatural glare of light andthen have felt a terrific paralysis creepingover their being as if from an invisibleradiation; and finally they sank helpless totheir knees.

It can be related with assurance that themajority of such experiences are wholly aconsequence of mass suggestion and hysteria.The numerous published accounts detailingthe holocaust and cataclysm that will befallhumanity, if it is so unfortunate as to indulgein an atomic war, have a tremendous effectupon the mind. The individual needs litt leimagination to visualize the scenes depictedfor him in these written and verbal state-ments. Moreover, he is inculcated with asense of helplessness, a feeling that he cannotadequately prevent such statements frombecoming a reality. If the individual couldconceive of a proper defense or the development of amiable international relations, hewould reject these accounts as exaggeratedand most improbable. Unfortunately, thetrend of events only confirms the deteriorat-ing of diplomatic relations between the rivalpowers.

There is, then, on the part of millions ofpersons, a latent fear of what seems to them

to be the inevitable. They do not expressa defeatist point of view, ñor do they resortto any hysterical conduct. The fear, however, is so firmly planted in their subjectiveminds that the anxiety finds expression inthe uncontrolled or random ideas of whichtheir dreams consist.

This fear can be psychica lly transmitted,as well, so as to be sensed by others as animpending disaster of ineffable proportions.In other words, those who do not speak oftheir fears or of their dreams which followfrom their anxiety, nevertheless radiate adisturbing, negative vibration from theirauras. Other persons become conscious of theaccumulative impact of these depressingpsychic radiations. In fact, they are con-tagious; they spread throughout the wholeof society. Some persons have not been ableto associate this depression with any idea asto the imminence of war, but, rather, it is anemotional pall which hangs over them andwhich they cannot seem to shake off.

This condition will continué until thereare positive, constructive events which act asa stimulus to the morale of the masses, anduntil there is a retum of individual confi-dence in the immediate future. The laymanhas noted statements made in the press of theUnited States, for example, by noted militaryauthorities, that the nation must expect se-vere destruction of one or more of its largecities “in the next war” and a severe loss oflife in those areas. Still others emphasize thatif the nation were to expend double its present annual outlay for defense, it still wouldnot provide America with any immunityfrom attack “in the next war.” These re-marks, then, are most conducive to the negative type of mass hysteria now being experi-enced as weird dreams and states of anxiety.

As to whether some of these impressionsbeing received are directly from intelligencesresiding on other planets, we are inclined tothink not. Of course, there are occult schoolsthat have expounded for some time the

theory that the soul-personalities of humansprogress from one planet to another afterdeath in accordance with their development.According to this theory, assuming that theearth is of the lowest order in this hierarchyof habitats for man, the soul, after transition,inhabits a planet where the plañe of consciousness is higher. After a series of births




and deaths on the second planet, if the soul-

personality continúes to evolve, and reachesa certain point of development, it then moveson to the next higher planetary plañe.

In this doctrine, the planes of consciousness to which the soul-personality evolves,become identical with celestial bodies—actualplanets. To use an analogy, it is like aschoolboy who, with each advancement inhis learning, actually ascends a flight ofstairs to a classroom higher in the schoolbuilding.

The Rosicrucians have never held thatthere is any such necessary hierarchy ofplanets, namely, that there is a Number Onefor the highest intelligences, a Number Two

for those less evolved individuáis, and so ondown the scale. In other words, the Rosicrucians do not contend that there areplanets especially ordained as theaters forcertain degrees of evolution of the humanconsciousness, or soul-personalities. Anyplanet, any Cosmic body in ours or otheruniverses, which has been capable of sup-porting for thousands of years intelligentbeings, would eventually become the “home”of highly evolved soul-personalities.

Further, from the Rosicrucian doctrinalpoint of view, the soul consciousness per-meates the whole Cosmic. It is resident inall living things—which is, of course, a mys-

tical, pantheistic conception. However, onlywhen a living organism becomes complexenough to have a self-consciousness is thatbeing aware of its divine or universalproperties. Wherever, then, life could besustained for a great period of time andgrow into such an organism as man is—complex in nervous systems and brain—itwould have a consciousness of soul; therewould be self as we know it. It is absurd tothink that in the whole cosmos, the earth,alone, is the only planet exhibiting the phe-nomenon of life.

As Giordano Bruno, philosopher of theRenaissance, said: “Only one bereft of hisreason could believe that those infinitespaces, tenanted by vast and magnificentbodies, are designed only to give us light, orto receive the clear shining of the earth. . . .What! is a feeble human creature the onlyobject worthy of the care of God?”

If it is possible that life could exist else-where, then it is equally as probable that in

the myriads of worlds beyond our galaxy

there are several where the life forms havean intelligence and a state of consciousnessexceeding ours. Most certainly worlds farolder than ours exist, where for much longerperiods of time there have been conditionsconducive to life, and where highly evolvedforms must exist as a result.

If minds exist elsewhere in the Cosmos,whose ramifications psychically and in me-char^ical achievement far exceed our own,they would be aware, then, of our existence.

Just how they would communicate with uswe do not know. There truly might not bea meeting of the minds; their faculties, be-cause of their physical environment, might

be quite different from our own.To presume that such intelligences could

invade our consciousness with their ideas, weshould have had a more general indicationof it before now. Certainly, if they arealtruistic beings and possess such a far-reaching sense of perception, they wouldhave sought to alleviate the suffering ofmankind long before this atomic age. Whywould not they have told us of the fate thatwould befall us in the events of the past?In their earliest struggles long before theatomic age, men have almost exterminatedthemselves without warnings from space.Even if these Super Beings could not pene-

trate our consciousness then, and can onlydo so now, causing the vague impressionssome seem to have, it would require a hugeportion of our population to experience thiskind of attunement before men would re-spond, alike, to such subtle suggestions.There must be an almost miraculous en-lightenment come to mankind in the imme-diate future, from some source, if it is to saveitself from its own folly.—X

(From Forum?April, 1950)

The Subject and the Object

Have you ever asked, “What are the mostimportant attributes of human existence?”The attempt to answer this question is anexpression of a fundamental principie of du-ality. The reason is that there is no one fundamental attribute of existence aside from lifeitself. Whenever life exists in a form thatwe can be aware of, then its expression is




in a form that is more than a unitary inci-dent. It is expressed in a dual manifestationindicating that human existence is more thanany one factor. To place this principie, orrather these principies, in expression we cansay that the fundamental attributes of existence are in the existing subjects andobjects. In the most simple analysis, a sub

ject is self. The object is everything elsethat exists outside of self or in addition toself.

The individual insofar as his ability tocomprehend, to leam, and to experience isconcemed is himself the subject. Everythingthat exists is also the result of this subjectinsofar as the individual is concemed. This

does not mean that he, the subject, is thecause of everything else, but without thesubject there would be no awareness of anytype of existence or of any manifestation ofphenomena or being; and, therefore, beingitself is subject, insofar as its being a Stateof awareness of a subject which perceives agroup of objects which constitutes environ-ment. Man, therefore, lives in two worlds.He is the self, the entity that perceiveseverything else, and the environment whichexists outside that field of perception and isthe direct cause of all perception.

If only one self existed in all the Universe,then the explanation or awareness of ex

istence of subject and object would beapparent. If I were the only self, then Iwould be the subject by which all thingsother than myself would be registered uponconsciousness. There would, consequently,be nothing in the Universe as far as I wasconcemed except myself as a subject andthe phenomena that I perceived as objects.If we could simplify this situation even moreand say that I was the only subject and thatonly one object existed, then the total experience which would be mine as an intelligententity would be the actions and reactionstaking place as a result of me as a subjectbeing aware of the one object that existedoutside of me.

This situation would be the most simplesubject-object relationship that could possiblybe conceived; however, it is highly hypo-thetical and completely impossible. In sucha situation I as the subject would ^becomeaware of a thing which existed outside of me.That object, whatever it was, let us say a

piece of stone, would register impressionsupon my consciousness as I perceived it.These impressions would cause me to buildup certain ideas that were the result of theinterplay between myself as the subject andthe stone as an object. I would arrive at certain conclusions as to what the stone actuallywas, and I would probably speculate as towhy it was. And as a result of my perception and speculation, I would attempt toexplain myself and the object which was myenvironment because my total experiencewould be nothing more than the perceptionof this simple object.

Under such circumstances we might in-quire as to what the relationship between the

subject and the object would be. It wouldseem obvious at first that there would be anexpression of two distinctly different things.I as the subject and the stone as an objectwould be two things existing separatelyfrom each other. However, as a subject,would I ever perceive the stone or would Imerely build up impressions of that stonewhich affected my reasoning and consciousness? The stone, having certain attributesrevealed through my perception, would causeme to reach certain conclusions as to itsnature such as, for example, that it washard, that if I tripped over it, it might injureme, or that if I needed something as a weightor something to hang on to, it would be

useful.Various impressions would be created in

my consciousness that would be the basis ofmy reason and philosophy because of theexperiences I had with this object, the stone.It might be interesting to know what kindof a philosophy of life would be evolved ifonly one subject and one object existed.Such an illustration is too simple. There aremany subjects and objects and the constantinterplay between them builds the opinions,ideas, prejudices, and philosophy of all whoconstitute the human race and therefore arethe subjects in our particular field of con-sideration.

The relationship of subjects and objectsgives us a glimpse into the potentialities ofthe mind. We are subjects placed in an environment made up of something other thanourselves so that as a result of this interplaywe may gain experience and knowledge. Thesubject, then, is an evolving entity placed in




a situation where it should gain certainevolution. The purpose of this evolutionshould be to complete the experience of thatsubject, because the object would have noendurance in a world where objects no longerneeded to be perceived in order for the sub

ject to have such experience and growth.

The conclusión, then, is that the subjectexists for itself while the object exists forthe subject. The subject is therefore thephase of all creation that may have perma-nent valué and may be a part of an immortalforcé that goes on through all time andspace, while the object is only an incidentwhich exists merely for the convenience orthe benefit of the subject at one particulartime. Generally speaking then, the subjectiveand the objective worlds are the worlds ofvalué and of transitory material. The sub

jective world is the world of self, the worldwe cultívate. This is given to us as an expression of the ultímate manifestation of life.It is the segment of the essence that is life,that is the forcé and power behind all manifestations having its origin in the mind ofthe Creator. The object on the other handis purely an accompaniment of this forcé,one which is placed in existence as a meansof permitting the subject to be able to experience certain activity and to arrive atcertain conclusions.

If this analysis is valid, then true valuélies in the subject, and we have at our dispo-sition a great potentiality to evolve becausein the evolution of ourself, of our awareness,we are working with the forces or with theforcé which will perpetúate itself in timeand existence, and which re-relates itself tothe forcé which caused it to be in the firstplace. The objects will deteriórate and van-ish and have no valid existence except asthey have accumulated experience andknowledge within our consciousness andwithin the soul, the seat of the subject, whichwill endure beyond the limitation of anyobjective phenomena.—A

Realms of Being

The supematural has always held afascination for man. In defining this idea,we must also define the natural; and, in sodoing, we realize that these terms are highlyartificial. We actually cannot find the divid-

ing line between what is natural and whatis supematural. These terms have beenapplied in different ways by various individuáis. In the terminology of philosophyand of religión, we find that barríers havebeen set up in the attempt to separate thenatural from the supematural, but when weattempt to analyze and establish an actualline of demarcation where the two differ orwhere the two separate, we find that theline cannot be finely drawn.

We know that we accept certain thingsin the phenomenal world in which we liveas natural occurrences; yet, we also knowthat the miracle of life, the miracle of a seedsprouting and growing into a plant or a tree,

cannot be definitely said to be either naturalor supematural except from the standpointwith which we look at the occurrence. Thismeans that life is continuous, that what isnatural and what is supematural is primarilybased upon the concept with which man in-terprets the world in which he lives. Ourtendency is to accept things with which wehave become familiar as being natural phenomena; those things which we cannotreadily explain, we classify as supematural.

We can also approach the subject on thebasis that all creation is a continuity—thatGod has created a universe with many facetsand that man is merely an observer of, and

a participant in, this universe. Man under-stands a part of it, but a part of it he doesnot understand and may never understandwithin the limitations of his finite compre-hension. The fact that these two orders existis convenient for man’s classification ofknowledge because he is aware that thereare, in a sense, two orders of reality—thatis, the world which is physical and in whichhe functions to a certain degree, and theworld which consists of powers and forceswhich underlie the manifestations about himand of which he cannot be completely surein explaining their existence, their purpose,or their being. .

Man is constantly attempting to adjusthimself to these two orders of reality. Scienceattempts to explain as much as possible interms of the phenomena with which it deais.The individual who accepts a teleological interpretation of the world, who believes in theexistence of a divine forcé or a divine minddirecting all these phenomena, is often con-




tent to merely say that certain things are

not understandable by man and are knownalone to God. Th e mystic is not satisfiedwith such a simple faith; he is the individual who attempts to live intelligently inthe world in which he is a part and at thesame time strives to raise his consciousnessto a level whereby he can come into contactwith the source and first cause of all phenomena to build a philosophy upon his under-standing of God. Th e mystic interprets Godin a pantheistic sense; that is, he accepts asa basic belief that God is immanent in theworld and at the same time transcends it.

Belief in God is related to man’s wish toknow to what extent God participates in the

affairs of the physical world and to whatextent man may approach God. The ques-tion that man has asked since he has beenan intelligent creature is to what extent hecan contact God, or does God contact him?Can we come to know God and can we understand, to a degree at least, this phenom-enal universe of which God is a part, yetin many ways so far removed?

The answers to these questions are to befound in our awareness that there are twoorders of reality. There is the materialorder and there is the spiritual or, we mightsay, the psychic order—or to use our commonterms, there are the natural and supematural

orders. If we are to use these terms, weshould accept certain principies in regard totheir meaning and among them the conceptthat the supematural order is something thatis completely real and exists just as surely asdoes the natural order. Also, this super-natural order must be accepted as beingperfect and that the natural order is morallyimperfect. The eternal reality which is thesupematural order is related to the naturalorder—that is, God is immanent in thisorder and also transcends it. The nature ofthe relationship between the two orders de-pends, at least in part, upon the living soulswho popúlate the natural order.

The supematural order is not susceptibleto the same methods of investigation that areeffective in the natural order. Man’s knowledge of the supematural must either be basedupon divine revelation or sought by submis-sion to special laws that are not found in thephysical order. The supematural order may,from time to time, manifest itself in natural

phenomena, but these manifestations are not

predictable or controllable in the same wayas are the manifestations of physical events.Divine revelations—that is, informationwhich comes to us from a supematural order—are consistent with reason and may findthe support of reason, but such knowledgecannot be obtained by the operation of reasonalone.

I fully realize there are many difficultiesin this explanation because it touches at thevery heart of the order of reality. Any explanation that is attempted to be made byany individual will be subject to controversyand criticism. It seems to me that we mustaccept these two orders of reality, and we

must accept the fact that God is both of atranscendent and an immanent nature—thatGod functions in the universe by a processwhich may be called the transcendence-im-manence relationship. This concept, advanced by the English philosopher C. M. E. Joad, can be co mpr eh en de d by manythrough the understanding of the naturalorder by sfudying physical phenomena andby approaching the mind of God throughmystical attunement.

It is somewhat difficult to illustrate thisconcept, but possibly the following illustra-tion will convey the idea to some extent.Consider the movement of a sonata or a

symphony; it is a collection of musicalsounds, notes, and phrases, which science cananalyze as being nothing more than vibrations in the atmosphere. Such analysis doesnot fully explain a musical composition, forit is also a series of notes and phrasesarranged in a particular pattern. When welisten to music, we are more concemed withour conscious reaction to it than with a sci-entific explanation of sound.

The musical pattem prescribes the orderin which the notes are arranged and theintervals between them. The pattern is im-posed upon the sounds by the mind of thecomposer; the sounds are arranged in a

pattern that is at once the expression andthe embodiment of the musical idea whichthe composer has conceived and is trying tomake immanent in the world of physicalphenomena. The sounds as they are arranged in a pattern constitute a unity or awhole. In using such an expression, weunderstand that the whole composition is




more than the mere sum total of the differentsounds. Furthermore, the sounds when heardas a part of the whole composition are different from what they would have been hadthey been taken out of their context andheard in isolation.

In other words, it is because of the im-manence of the musical idea that the soundsare arranged as they are and the whole composition sounds as it does. If it were not forthe immanence of the musical idea in thecomposition, the arrangement would notoccur and composition would not be achieved.

In a musical composition, we find anillustration of the transcendence-immanencerelationship. The idea of the composer tran

scends the musical note and the compositionbecomes something more than a combinationof various sounds. The immanent idea ofmusic is not exhausted or used up by anyparticular sounds and particular combina-tions. When a musical composition is com-posed, it does not prohibit the re-use of thesame sounds in a different arrangement toproduce a different composition. The musicalidea is more than any particular renderingof it, more than any number of renderingsof it. It would still exist in the composer’smind even if the music which embodied itwere never written. In this sense, the musicalcomposition transcends the actual physicalcomposition of music.

To use another illustration—we might saythat the universe is the stuff with which Godworks. He is immanent in it and His com-binations of material are made known to usand can have meaning beyond the fact thatthey have actuality. A stone, a piece ofwood, or any other material thing, can bebrought into use when the human mindrealizes the potentialities in matter which, inturn, are due to the immanence of a higherforcé within it. Whenever we utilize physical things, we are utilizing not only thephysical matter itself but rather the potentialities which lie in it just as the musician

is utilizing the keyboard of a piano, and thevarious vibrations that constitute each sound,by putting the tones together in a way thatmanifests something more than the merecombination of individual notes.

To thump on a piano and make individualunrelated sounds is utilizing the piano, butto execute a composition is to bring some

thing into existence that did not exist in themere individualization of the notes. Eventhough these illustrations may be inadequate,they attempt to show that in many ways,man is led into two orders of reality. Manlives at all times subject to the influence ofthe effects of the transcendence-immanencerelationship through which God manifests.God is related to the earth and its crea turesby being at the same time both immanentin all creation and by the transcendent func-tion toward which man may direct his consciousness.

My purpose has been to attempt to showthat man is the resident of a sphere in whichhe is subject to two realms of being—the

mental and the natural, the physical and thespiritual, the material and the psychic. Inthese realms of being in which we have consciousness, God manifests through a transcendence-immanence relationship. God istherefore infinite and beyond all things thatman can measure; yet He is immanent andmanifests Himself through the médiums thatare accessible to man.

By being somewhat isolated in a universeof matter, man attains freedom to the extentthat he leams to cope with matter and alsothat he realizes the potentialities of hisspiritual evolvement. Man can transcend the

physical or material world. Also, man canbecome aware of God’s immanence. Thereis a point at which the mind of man maybecome aware of his own soul and throughthat médium have direct communion withGod. Man is confined to the physical body,God transcends the universe, but God is alsoimmanent in the universe and man iscapable .of transcending the limitations ofhis physical body through the developmentof his mind and the spiritual attributes ofhis being.

As man transcends his physical limitationsand perceives material things in their proper

perspective, he reaches a mental state wherehe becomes aware of God’s immanence in allthings and at this point the two orders ofreality can meet and unity can be achieved.This unity is the means by which man be-comes aware of God; it is the mystical culmina tion.—-A




The Meaning of Tolerance

Many questions come under what mightbe defined as being in the why category. Welive in an age that is referred to as beingenlightened. In the free world most peoplehave an opportunity for an education andcan in theory make progress in accordancewith their abilities and their determinationand application of their own efforts directedin proper channels. Yet we know the worldseems to reflect much imperfection. We findthat many of the problems with which weas individuáis and as nations are faced liefundamentally through to errors created byindividuáis. The consequence of these factsare in part the reason so many people ask

questions preceded with the word why.There is, of course, a legitímate use of

the word why in the seeking of useable andworth-while information, but many of thequestions that begin with the word why are,in part at least, unanswerable. The realmeaning behind the question does not alwaysbecome apparent and the circumstancesnecessary for its answering and solution lacktransparency. A typical question of thisnature is concerned with the application ofintelligence to the achievements and abilitieswhich the human race has attained in theperiod of modem civilization. Wh y are somany people intolerant? Why do so many

conditions exist that cause friction and irri-tation among men when there is no reasonfor those conditions to exist if tolerance werepracticed?

The fact is that in theory tolerance is asimple concept. For example, let us visualizethree average homes in a ordinary community. These homes are typical of a resi-dential community and in good repair. Theyare in a comfortable section of the community, the community might be anywherein the civilized world. These three homesindicate that the owners are of probablyequal mental ability and have an approxi-mately equal economic and social level of

living. In other words, even though I dislikeusing the overworked expression, let us saythat these three homes are occupied by threeaverage individuáis and their families. Theseindividuáis making up the three families areexamples of the average family of today asI have already implied. They are indi-vidually different, of course, as are all human

beings, but yet they do not have any out-standing characteristics either to the good orto the bad.

Now, let us examine their individual dif-ferences. Let us say that each head of ahome has different mental concepts. Let uspresume that the man in house 44A” is aRomán Catholic, and is a devout member ofthat church. He is also a member of theconservative political party in his country.He is a firm defender of the principies ofthat party, and much of his life is builtaround his religious and political concepts.Many people in the world today do live withtheir whole behavior pattern modified by thesocial implications of these two concepts.Religión and politics do to a greater or lesserextent modify the behavior and the thinkingof many individuáis.

In house “C” we find a man with otherideas and concepts. He belongs to a Protes-tant church and is a member of the liberalpolitical party. He is a devoted supporterof both. Therefore, religiously and politicallyas well as socially, the individuáis in house“A” and “C” are in a sense diametricallyopposed to each other insofar as tlieir outlookupon life and their interpretation of valúesare concerned.

Now, suppose that I live in house 44B,” thehouse in the middle. I do not belong to any

church. I do not subscribe to the literaldoctrines and dogma of any religious creedor denomination. I do not consider myselfirreligious because I believe in God. I alsobelieve that every man has a right to ap-proach that God in accordance with his ownway of thinking. Also, I am non-partisan.I do not give my support wholeheartedly toany political group. On the surface, I wouldsound like a rather innocuous, harmless crea-ture. I have no axe to grind, as it were. Iam not promoting any religious doctrine. Iam not advocating any particular politicalform of life, but nevertheless my social lifeis affected by my opinions and beliefs.

The social life is so closely associated withstrong beliefs in religión and politics thatone with a lesser belief would live in adifferent social world. In other words, myneighbors, 44A” and 4ÍC,” would move in adifferent world from mine. But the impor-tant question here concems our getting alongwith one another. We three live side by side




in a neighborhood. Is it not reasonable thatwe can still be human beings, that we canrespect each other’s viewpoints and permitone another to express those viewpoints aseach sees fit? Is there any reason whatsoeverwhy the three of us cannot live happily sideby side without interference, respecting theGod-given right of every man and woman tochoose for himself certain principies of beliefand practice?

The answers to my questions are, obvi-ously, yes. There is no reason why wecannot live together in peace and harmony.The same concept should be applicable notonly to three individuáis in a normal community, but should be applicable to three

families, three states, three countries, or eventhree worlds. The question, then, that anyintelligent person would consider is whydon’t people live together in peace andharmony under such circumstances? Thereare very few cases where they do. WhetherI and my two hypothetical neighbors coulddo so or not, I cannot answer because I donot actually live within such circumstances,and I could only know by experience. Butaccording to reason, we could—and this isthe crux of the whole situation. Toleranceis not based upon reason. It is based uponemotion. While we talk of tolerance as ifit were something amenable to reason, actually tolerance is a condition that is affectedfar more by feelings than it is by reason.

As already pointed out in these comments,we have advanced a great deal in this civili-zation of which we are a part, but not tothe point of knowing the full meaning anduse of emotions, as well as their control anddevelopment. If the world and the peoplein it could live together in a perfect era ofreason, then the problems that now face theworld would probably be solved very shortly.It would be very simple for reasonablehuman beings to get together and by reasonand judgment settle their differences to thepoint where one could carry on without in-

terfering with the other and still adhere tothose principies in which he was placing thegreatest of valúes. But, unfortunately, whilereason has come to the front in the development of knowledge and its application, wehave not equally brought to the realizationof thinking people the facts that we aredealing constantly with emotional situations

and emotions lie deeper than reason. Emotions are elements that are inherent withinthe consciousness of man.

Emotions existed before reason. Individuáis could feel and have reactions to thosefeelings before they even knew how to talk,let alone how to record their thoughts inwritten form. The greatest field of development of the human race is not in projectsconceming the atom or any other physicalsubstance, or even in increasing the world’sknowledge and its application, but rather inincreasing the ability of individuáis to dove-tail their emotional reactions, to realize thatemotions are the deep responses of thehuman mind to circumstances both within

and without.When individuáis awaken to the fact that

emotional responses must be based not aloneupon principies established by social prestigeor social custom, but upon our awareness ofa power or forcé which is resident within usor upon God, if we prefer to use that word,then man can begin to develop a psychologyof life which would acquaint him with thephysical reactions associated with emotions.He would leam how emotions can be directedtoward constructive as well as destructivechannels. In this way men will live together in tolerance, sympathy, and under-standing. But until we realize this situation

as being an emotional problem rather thanan intellectual one, men will go on talkingabout tolerance, but the results will not bepractical unless they are felt.—A

Time and Environment

To the new student of Rosicrucian philosophy, one of the apparently complex factorsin becoming familiar with the philosophy isthe concept of time as it is presented in someof the earliest phases of the teachings. Somany neophytes ask as to how the Rosicrucian philosophy deais with time that it is

difficult to select any specific question forfurther elaboration upon the subject. Mostof these questions have been elaborated uponthrough letters from our CorrespondenceDepartment and in the Rosicrucian Forum ,as well as in supplementary material pro-vided in the Rosicrucian monographs themselves.




To the individual who has not consideredtime from a philosophical standpoint, theimpact of the concept presented in the earlyteachings of the Order seems to be in complete contradiction to the student’s previousexperience with the understanding of time.To reiterate briefly the underlying philosophy of the Order, insofar as it concemstime, is that time is the duration of consciousness. This seems vague to an individual until he is able to experience thatconcept.

Gradually as the student proceeds in thestudy of the Rosicrucian philosophy in itsapplication and comprehension within hisown life, that concept becomes more and

more real. Through experience, the individual tends to realize that many thingswith which we deal in our physical environment take on a different complexión; thatis, they become different in terms of ourexperience with the phenomenon of time andwith other factors, as far as that is concerned, because of the expansión of our ownhorizon, of our own concepts.

To the individual who thinks of nothingbut his daily physical welfare, time is nothing more or less than a guiding factor towardthe events of each twenty-four hours thatconstitute the day. One who lives exclusivelyin the physical world, whose entire thoughtand efforts are related to those things of amechanical and physical nature, gives nomore consideration to time than is necessaryto adjust his sequence of daily living; thatis, he has a time at which to arise to do thethings necessary to permit him to report athis job or position, or whatever work thathe does at another fixed time.

For example, it may be necessary for himto get out of bed at six o’clock in the momingin order to take care of his personal affairsand to arrive at his place of work at eight,eight-thirty, or nine o’clock in the moming.Then his entire day is more or less governedby time.

If he is an employee, he has to devote acertain number of hours of his effort to thatemployer. Consequently, as he goes throughthe day of carrying out his routine, his concept of that routine is based upon the move-ment of the clock from one hour to the nextuntil that clock reaches the point indicatingby the measurement of the dial that he has

given the valué which he has agreed to give

to his employer in return for the compen-sation agreed upon.The rest of his day then is more or less

his own. He has obligations. He has certainrequirements to meet in his personal life,and he has time available for his own recrea-tion or to suit himself, but, nevertheless,from the time he quits work, let us say atfive o’clock in the afternoon, the balance ofhis time until he again reports for work mustbe divided between eating, sleeping, resting,taking care of personal affairs, and recrea-tion. How he divides that time is more orless his own personal problem. He has lessinterference in that area than he has in the

hours set aside for his employer as a retumfor compensation which constitutes his liveli-hood.

It is very easily seen from this analysisthat an individual, under such circumstances,is more or less a slave of time. To a certainextent, we all have to heed this physicalmeasurement of time; otherwise, we wouldfind ourselves completely out of touch andout of harmony with our environment. Also,we might be unable to make the necessarylivelihood which is essential to our physicalexistence.

This typical situation is an illustration ofthe individual^ tying his life so closely to

his environment that he is dealing constantlywith valúes which do not endure beyond theterms of the physical world. If the individualnever thinks of anything besides the physicalworld of which he is a part and the time bywhich the units of that individual world aremeasured, then his life never takes on valuéother than that of the physical world towhich he devotes himself.

As soon as the individual begins to specu-late as to what his real purpose is, what lifeis for, and what he is to do with that life,then he immediately begins to extend hisconsciousness into an area that goes beyondthe demands of the material world. As soon

as he gives any consideration to the realiza-tion that the material world is of secondaryvalué, he immediately becomes aware of thefact that time itself is simply one of thefactors of that world. Consequently, timehas no valué whatsoever insofar as his per-manent growth, advancement, and true selfare concemed.




In other words, man is an immortal being

and time has no bearing upon immortality.To realize the philosophical implications oftime, we must constantly be aware that timeexists primarily because of our measurementof it and our attention to it. Actually, thereare many simple illustrations proving thattime is not a fixed measurement in itself.If we do something to which we are devoted,time seems to pass quickly. If we do something that bores us, time is on our hands;it drags, and never seems to reach the pointthat we hope it soon will. Actually, there isno difference in these experiences in consciousness. Man has measured the durationof his consciousness. But when the mind isalert and active, then many things occupy

our attention and physical time makes littleimpression upon us.

Probably in this modem era where rapidtransportation and communication have cutdown so much upon the utilization of physical time, many of us have had experiencesbringing to our consciousness this awarenessof the rate at which time seems to pass morepotently than it could have in any othercircumstance.

A few months ago I flew from San Francisco to Chicago. The actual flying time isless than six hours, but it so happens thatthe units of time by which the events of life

are measured in San Francisco and Chicagoare different. The time observed in SanFrancisco is Pacific Standard Time; in Chicago, Central Standard Time. The differenceis two hours. In other words, when it is teno’clock in the moming in San Francisco, itis already noon in Chicago. Consequently, Ileft San Francisco at approximately eighto’clock in the moming, and when in approximately six hours I arrived in Chicago, mywatch said it was 2:00 p.m. In other words,according to this dial on my wrist, I hadmeasured physical time and found it to besix hours, but when I walked through theair terminal in Chicago, I noticed the clocksaid 4:00 p.m. Of course, what I observedis a fact known even to a child who hasstudied geography; that is, there is a difference in time zones. However, each time Iexperience such a circumstance, it alwayscauses me to ask myself—What time is it?Is it two o’clock, or is it four o’clock? If Ihad flown directly to New York, the time

would have measured a difference of three

hours.Actually, it makes no difference to myconsciousness what the clock says. The clockis merely a simple guide to the people wholive in San Francisco and the people wholive in Chicago. They use their docks tomeasure their day, which consists of work,recreation, eating, sleeping, and other activi-ties, as I have already mentioned. What theclock actually says makes little difference.It is the events that are related to that clockthat have importance.

In the Waiting Room of the air terminalin Chicago, I took off my watch and advanced it two hours, then took a taxicab or

some other form of transportation to a hotel,and oddly enough, by the time I arrivedthere, my consciousness had adjusted to thenew time factor. It no longer seemed to betwo o’clock or a little after two. I hadadapted myself to the circumstances of Central Standard Time, and it was four o’clockor after by the clock as well as in my consciousness.

In other words, my relationship to environment quickly makes it possible for meto qualify myself in being adjusted to it; andso it is, that if we tum our attention to thosevalúes which endure beyond the limitationsof the physical world, if we think in termsof eternity instead of finite existence, thenthe clock of our soul (if I may use such aphrase) will adjust itself to the realizationof those valúes which are equally impressiveupon our awareness. We can become accus-tomed to the valúes of eternity as we can tothe difference of two hours between Pacifictime and Central time. It is a matter ofadjustment. It is a matter of opening ourrealization to the concepts with which wehave to deai. If we are going to deal onlywith the physical world, we will adjust ourselves to the concepts of its method of regu-lation. If we are going to deal with oursouls and their eternal valué in their relationship to God and the Cosmic scheme, thenwe will, figuratively, set our docks in accordwith those valúes which go on forever. Suchvalúes permit us the possibility of growthand free us from the restrictions of materialfactors.—A



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October, 1957Volume XXV III No. 2

Rosicrucian ForumA p r i v ó te pu b l i c a t i on f o r m e m b e r s o f AM OR C

RAY MO ND BERNARD, F. R. C.

Secretary of the Grand Lodge of AMORC, France



Page 26 THE ROSICRUCIAN FORUM

Greetings!V V V

THE AGE OF FRUSTRATION

Dear Fratres an d Sorores:Without entering into a series of technical

phrases, we may define frustration as a stateof mind arising out of a blocked desire. Weare motivated to act by instinctive, organic,and mental desires. Such motivations as theappetites and passions are a common experi

ence.Mental desire is the impulsation of will. It is not organic as is an appetite. Rather itis the consequence of reason. We evalúatea condition or a thing in terms of its con-tributing valué to ourselves. We know orimagine that it will bring us satisfaction andwe accordingly desire it. When one, for example, believes he needs a new car and thatit will bring an added pleasure, he is thenexperiencing a mental desire.

There is a notable distinction betweenorganic and mental desires. One has anappetite and the desire to gratify it before he experiences any image that will fulfill

that appetite. It is only through habit thatwe come to associate certain objects or conditions as seeming necessary to satisfy anappetite. When we look upon articles of foodin which we have indulged with pleasurepreviously, they may by association arousethe appetite. Other persons whose diet neverincluded such articles of food may find theymake no such appeal. The appetites compelthe desire to find that which will bring abouttheir temporary gratification.

Mental desires most often create, that is,imagine, an object or condition that will adda pleasing stimulus to the body or mind.One, for further example, may dream of anadventure that will substitute for a relativelyuninteresting life that neither excites thebody ñor the mentality. He may come toleam, however, that his image was but anillusion and that it results in an aggravationrather than in a satisfaction.

The continual concentration upon someideal which is assumed to be essential to

happiness strengthens the mental desire. Itmay become as intensive in its aggravation,in its insistence for satisfaction, as a naturalappetite. Until the desire is fulfilled or untilit may be discovered that it is not possibleof realization, it can torment the individual.As long as the individual believes—or actu

ally realizes—that he is achieving the endof his desires, he can live with himself insome degree of tranquility. When he isequally conscious of the insistence of hisdesire, however, and its obstruction, he thencomes to know the pangs of frustrat ion.

We eventually come to certain terms withour desires. We either, for one reason oranother, wilfully suppress them, uncon-sciously repress them, or determine to presseach to its fulfillment. Organic desires asthe appetites are not successfully suppressed.They are essential to our organic being.They are not a product of the mentality, acreation of reason or imagination. Theyhave necessary and fundamental functions.They are so related to the organs and sys-tems of our nature that interference withsuch desires can have a detrimental influenceupon health.

At times we feel disposed to substitute forthese organic desires. In good faith one maybelieve a natural desire should be suppressedand supplanted with a mental one. The in-ordinate moralist believes that in his code ofcelibacy, for example, and the mental gratification he derives from his sexual absti-nence, he has found a satisfactory replace-ment. Such behavior often only results inconflicts. The natural desire continúes withuñaba ted aggravation. To endeavor to sub-merge its sensations, the substitute mentaldesire must be heightened by the individual.This frequently accounts for religious fanati-cism. In pursuit of mental desires, in suchinstances, one may go beyond the bounds ofrationality in endeavoring to extract the un-natural and to substitute satisfaction.



OCTOBER, 1957 Page 27

The repressed desire is the unconscious

obstruction. It is where one is holding backthe expression and fulfillment of the desirewithout a realization that he is doing so. Asthe psychologist and psychiatrist know, onemay not even be conscious of the represseddesire. Its urges may never reach the frontierof the conscious mind. The drive of thedesire, the impulsation of its energy, beingobstructed in its natural channels, perhapsearly in childhood, seeks and finds other out-lets. As a consequence, it stimulates emotions which are not directly related to it.It causes a disturbing chain of ideation andthoughts in the conscious mind which thevictim of the frustration does not at all asso-ciate with the cause.

To avoid excessive frustration and its con-tingent evils, an intelligent analysis of ourdesires is necessaiy. Ask yourself what isbehind your desires. If they are natural desires, as the appetites, then gratify themwithin the bounds of enlightened society. Anenlightened society is one that teaches, in itsschools and universities and by disseminationof information, the causes and needs of ourfunctional urges. It can and will explainwhat constitutes their natural purpose as wellas their abuse. An enlightened society willalso explain the need of morality, and forthis reason a degree of self-discipline is re-quired in the exercise of our appetites. Such

a society will point out fanatical moral re-strictions which may conflict with natureand cause frustrations.

Much of the frustration in modem society,in the so-called advanced civilizations, is ofmental origin. It lies in the appeals to theego and imagination. Modera advertising,with its alluring appeals, is psychologicallyprepared in its physical design and wordcontení. It creates mental attitudes of self-insufficiency and infei iority. It causes anindividual to measure his success in life, hisvery individuality, in terms of possessionsand social standards. It principally creates

these standards of living and then causes the

individual to feel inferior if he does not con-form to them.Man is a gregarious being; he is a social

animal. The modera person does not wantto feel isolated or ostracized from society. He wants to belong. Belonging is not construedby most men as a mere association with others, as living and working in a communitywith their fellows. They want to share whatis held to be the common good. What societyhas accepted as the beautiful, the afíluent, thedistinguished, the progressive, they want aswell. Anything less affects the ego. It causesthe individual, who is ambitious, to think ofhimself and his family as being placed in aninferior status. It has a tendency to diminishthe ego.

Modera advertising spells out, in attrac-tive artwork, colors, forms, and language,sentient appeals which are made to repre-sent happiness and fulfillment of life. Theseappeals crowd in upon the consciousness ofthe individual constantly by way of thepress, radio, televisión, and a myriad otheradvertising media. They establish in theminds of people a multitude of mental desires and the images which are supposed tosatisfy them. It becomes an economic impos-sibility for the average person to realize allsuch created desires. These desires vie witheach other for indulgence. There is a realiza

tion of neglect by the individual of somedesires which seem to be essential and, as aconsequence, frustration ensues. Frustrationis psychologically experienced as inadequacy.The individual considers himself inept insome manner in realizing that which he hasbeen conditioned by the times to think of asessential to his welfare and happiness.

These frustrations can be greatly mitigatedby the application of reason—or even of goodcommon sense. You cannot have everything;you cannot do everything. What activities,mental and physical, from your experiencecontribute to your greatest happiness in life?

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Are these activities in any way related toyour natural abilities, talents, and oppor-tunities? For example, one would not aspireto be a concert singer if his voice qualifica-tions were quite ordinary or mediocre. Doeswhat you desire also lie within the realm ofyour economic status? If i t will seriouslydisturb your financial seeurity and inde-pendence, it is then a futile desire, unlessyou have some assurance that it will compénsate for such present sacrifice.

It is also rational and expedient as well toask oneself whether that which is wanted isthe paramount desire. In other words, doesit compete with some satisfying habit whichone will not forego? One can have a hier-archy of desires, and most of us do. As we

advance in life, our interests change withexperience. We discard previous desires andindulgences and replace them with otherswhich we think, and which may be, superiorin their satisfaction. Two or more desireswhich compete in their appeal may meanthe foundation of frustration. Streamlineyour desires in this age of frustration to avoidthe penalties of physical and mental ill-health.


Imperator.

Valué of Confession

A frater, addressing our Forum, states, “Iwould like to know something more of thesubject of confession in relation to religiouspractice. I know this subject has been pre-viously discussed by this Forum. I amparticularly interested in the basic principiesof confession, why it has been made a partof religious systems. Confession seems evenmore significant today in light of the factthat psychoanalysis uses what certainly isa method of it.”

Confession can be either oral or written.It can be a brief spontaneous recital or anelabórate analytical declaration made to a

single individual or to a group; or it canconstitute a general avowal not particularlydirected toward any human. Why does theindividual voluntarily confess? What is themotive behind it? A confession is promptedby a psychological aggravation, the resultof a mental conflict. Knowledge which theindividual has concerning his own relation-

ships, his conduct, or the conduct of othersis experienced as being in conflict with hisown moral sense. The subject of the confession is, therefore, foreign to the psychicself of the individual. It tends to produceanxiety and mental distress by its contrarynature. Relief appears only to be had by aconfession, by an avowal of sin.

From this it can be seen that the moti-vating factor of confession is the individual’sconception of sin. Unless the individual isconscious that he has violated his acceptedreligious, moral or social creed, he hasnothing to confess. The wrong or evil conduct must be a personal conviction. Itmust be an intentional abuse of what theindividual has morally subscribed to as good.

A code, religious, moral or ethical, which isnot in accord with the moral or spiritualself of the individual, will not give rise to adesire on his part to confess its violation.

To be considered an evil or sin, the deedmust constitute, first, an offence against theself. The moral precepts underlying thecompulsión of confession may be associatedwith an external counterpart, as a religiousor moral system, but they must have be-come an integral part of the self-conscious-ness of the individual. The realization ofwrongdoing thus becomes a psychic disturb-ance. If this distress did not occur, the individual would never resort to confession.

In fact, the confession is a form of purging,the ridding oneself of a distraction, so that,psychically and emotionally, purity ofthought and, most of all, pe ace of mind maybe restored. In almost all religions, includ-ing those of the non-Christian sects and ofthe mystery school of antiquity, the rite oflustration or purification was always relatedto confession.

Fear, of course, plays an important partin the instigation of a confession. The in dividual seeks a remission of his sins toavoid the prescribed punishment of his religión. Almost all religions ascribe to theDeity, and often to his supreme temporal

representative, the faculty of perceivingman’s sins directly, whether he confessesthem or not. Consequently, the devotee believes he cannot successfully conceal them.As a result, he confesses them, not to ac-quaint his god with his evil acts, but to showthat he wishes to expiate them. To the sin-ner who fears, a failure to confess is held




to be a further indulgence of his wrong-

doing; it is a compounding of it, incurringa heavier penalty.The confession may assume the form of

a creed to which the individual subscribes.Thus, for example, the individual declaresthat he believes himself to be of such anature, being incomplete and imperfect, andpraying for light and for divine intervention.The form of many prayers is in itself aconfession, concluding with the appeal forabsolution of sins.

Psychologically, the individual can derivea satisfaction from his confession only if itis made to an authority that can grant for-giveness or help him to attain it. The

authority must be external and can be ap-proached outwardly or through the médiumof self. The mere reciting of evil acts com-mitted does not provide a psychic or emotional relief, unless the sins are absolvedor, from the confession, there arises somemeans of atoning for them. The principiehere involved is that the individual believesthat he has impaired his own spiritual natureor his faith by his evil conduct. Restitutionmust be made by him personally or throughan intermediary that will restore the originalstate within him.

To explain this, we may use the analogy ofa man who finally discards a large quantityof refuse from his own home because it hasoffended his sense of ordérliness and clean-liness. Though this refuse is no longerpresent, having been discarded, the home isnot quite restored to normal. The refuse hasleft stains upon the floor and walls. Thesehe must remove so that the house will as-sume its original cleanliness. Thus a con-triteness is not enough in confession. Theindividual wants security as well, the con-viction of the restoration of his originalmoral and spiritual status. This is attainedin accordance with the rites and dogmas ofthe faith of the individual. As one of thefathers of the early Christian church said,“The soul is healed by confession and dec-

laration of sins, with sorrow and the prayerof the church.”Confession has been popularized by

Christianity as a fundamental rite of thevarious Christian sects. However, confessionhas appeared in the rituals and customs ofthose people of antiquity who precededChristianity. There is no Babylonian or

Assyrian word for confession, but there is

evidence of the idea. It is indicated that theindividual acknowledged before a deity anoffence against religión, justice or moráis.In Babylonia, the concept of sin was prin-cipally a violation of the prescribed ritualism.There has been found, inscribed in cu-neiform, the Sumerian confession: “Unclean-liness has come against me; and to judge mycause—to decide my decisión, have I fallendown before thee.” In connection withSumerian rites of purification is found thephrase pit pi which means “opening of themouth.” It appeared that a requirement ofcleanliness was the speaking of the truth, acleansing of thought.

In Egypt, there are no formal ritualisticrequirements for confession. However, in ef-fect confession is very much in evidence inthe liturgies of ancient Egypt. The Book of the Dead, a collection of ancient liturgies,reveáis a number of them. The ancientEgyptian had a highly developed sense ofwrong conduct. The virtue of right conductwas set forth in numerous places. The Book of the Dead declares that Ka, the soul, wasto be weighed in judgment after death. Inthe great judgment hall of the next world,Osiris and forty-two gods presided in judgingthe worth of the soul of the deceased. Ka,as the heart and soul combined, was placedin the tray of a scale. In the opposite tray,

weighed against it, was Maat or truth,symbolized by a feather.

The Egyptian anticipated such an ordealof judgment after death and prepared forit by avowing what constitutes a negative form of confession. This negative confessionis really a declaration of his rectitude or in-nocence instead of an admission of guilt.For example, we have this ancient affirma-tion from an oíd papyrus: “I did not speaklies, I did not make falsehood in the placeof truth, I was not deaf to truthful words, Idid not diminish the grain-measure, I wasnot avaricious, my heart devoured not(coveted not?).”

In Hebrew language there is a definite wordfor the meaning of sin and of confession. Anumber of actual confessions appear in theBook of Genesis. In Chapter 32, Verse 10,

Jacob confesses his unworthiness: “I am notworthy of the least of all the mercies, andof all the truth, which thou has shewedunto thy servant; for with my staff I passed




over this Jordán; . . In Genesis Chapter

42, Verse 21, Jacob’s sons confessed theirguilt: “And they said one to another, weare verily guilty conceming our brother, inthat we saw the anguish of his soul, whenhe besought us, and we would not hear;therefore is this distress come upon us.”

A further example of these Hebraic con-fessions is found in Psalms, Chapter 51,Verses 2 and 3: “Wash me thoroughlyfrom mine iniquity and cleanse me from mysin. For I acknowledge my transgressions:and my sin is ever before me.”

Román Catholicism has made the rite ofconfession an integral and necessary part ofits faith. The doctrinal viewpoint has comethrough a process of evolution amounting toa refinement. At the sessions of the Councilof Trent, during the middle of the 16thcentury, the canons with respect to confession and the absolution of sins were finallyestablished. Session XIV brought forth thedeclaration that confession, in fact, consistsof three elements: contrition, confession, andpenance. Chapter I of the same session holdsthat the sacraments of penance are a neces-sity and an institution. It is not sufficientfor one to have been baptized a Christian.It is necessary that, as a sinner, he makethe sacramental confession to be worthy torepent and to ask for absolution of his sins.

Chapter IV defines contriteness, that is,

the cessation of sins when we realize ourguilt, as being of two kinds, namely, im-perfect contriteness and perfect contriteness,the former being repentance based upon fearof everlasting punishment. In such an in-stance, an individual confesses only to avoidthe consequence of his acts. On the otherhand, perfect contriteness is a full realizationthat the act is a sin against God, accompaniedby a personal dislike of immorality regard-less of whether or not it incurs punishment.The confessional sacrament, the Church pro-fesses, changes imperfect contriteness to perfect. The Church, it implies, brings aboutthe desire in the individual to expiate his

sins through the sacrament.The Church declares, of its sacramentalconfession, that it is “By Divine right necessary and established.” Perhaps Clement ofRome expressed the principie upon whichthe Church bases its necessary Divine right,when he said, “It is better for a man toconfess his sins than to harden his heart.”

A great controversy has centered about the

theory of the absolution of man’s sins by anyinstitution or any representative thereof. Achurchman has said, in defense of theChurch’s practices, that a criminal must berid of his criminal tendencies and those im-plements by which he can harm others, before he can be admitted to the peacefulsociety of the state. Then, likewise, he con-tends, must a sinner be prepared to enjoyspiritual society. Through absolution, theinward sins of heart must be put away.

The priests or clergy are called the in-siruments of the Church. It is claimed that,as individuáis, they do not absolve the mortalsins of him who confesses. They are but achannel for God. They prepare the individual for a proper State of contriteness, fora consciousness of his sin against God; theyfurther acquaint him with the nature ofpenance and thus create the condition fromwhich there follows, by necessity, from thegoodness of God, Divine forgiveness. In fact,in one advertisement recently published ina newspaper by a Catholic fraternal organ-ization, the father-confessor is tritely referredto as “a prívate wire to God.” One of theChurch’s fathers referred to the confessor as“animae carus” or soul’s friend.

From the point of view of the real mystic,absolution of sins through the médium ofanother mortal is not necessary. The mystic

acknowledges the necessity of confession onthe part of each individual, the confessionbeing the purging of that which is in conflict with one’s moral precepts and a necessary requisite for peace of mind. Our moralcode, our spiritual principies, are an integralpart of self. We cannot find satisfaction inthat which we realize abases self, namely,sin or what we conceive to be sin. By confess-ing, we formalize our evils. In other words,we weed them out and set them apart fromwhat we consider to be good conduct. Byprayer, by direct communion with the Godof our Hearts, we acquire that wisdom andthat strength by which to prevent a recur-

rence of that which we acknowledge as sin.However, the real mystic knows that contriteness is not enough ñor is penance.Neither one of these will completely removethe consequences of certain sins which, inthemselves, may be contrary to natural andCosmic laws. We must at times sufferpunishment for our evil deeds. Our acts




and thoughts are causative. If they have set

into operation natural laws as causes, wemust eventually expect to experience the ef-fects of such causes, known mystically askarma. God’s laws are immutable and applyto all men equally. Only by counter acts,causes which we set into motion by deeds ofrighteousness, can we mitigate the adverseones which we have established.

A man may find psychological consolationin thinking that a mere rite has absolvedthe consequences of a hurt which he mayhave brought to others. Mystically, however,such forgiveness only robs him of the realdetermination to sacrifice to attain the goodwhich will correct his nature and strengthenit. Easy forgiveness cultivates negligence.Man in measure must experience the consequence of his wrong deeds or at leastsuffer by his own efforts to right them.—X

(From Forum , April, 1950)

Dissatisfaction

If it were not for dissatisfaction, civiliza-tion in the modem sense of the word wouldnot exist. Men have been dissatisfied, and,as a result of dissatisfaction, have directedtheir efforts to overcome the situations thatlead to their lack of satisfaction with theirenvironment. Every mechanical achievementand every mechanical gadget which we have

at our disposal is the result of someone beingdissatisfied with the former way of doingthings. Men were not satisfied with word-of-mouth communication, and, as a result,the thoughts of intelligent men were chal-lenged—and means of communication, suchas we use today, become commonplace.

This illustration can be carried to almostevery form of human endeavor. Dissatisfaction with circumstances as they existedat a certain time has led to the improvementof those circumstances at the present time.Dissatisfaction today should lead to moresatisfaction in the future, as it has in thepast. There would be no technological prog

ress, and, more important, there would beno spiritual progress, if man were at alltimes satisfied. If man’s lot were perfect, sothat he seemed to be dwelling in a State ofeternal bliss, he would also dwell in a stateof eternal semiconsciousness.

It is when dissatisfaction creeps into ourthinking that we are challenged, that it is

possible for us to direct our attention toward

the constructive use of the forces and thematerials about us. Through these forces andmaterials, we attempt to achieve eitherphysical accomplishments or a realizationinto the fact that valúes and purposes existbeyond the realm of man’s control. Whileman cannot control all the factors of theuniverse, he has the ability to attempt toleam their manifestation and purpose, andhow he should fit himself into their manifestation or existence.

It is dissatisfaction with events of life thatcause man to look elsewhere for valúes. Dissatisfaction with conditions in the worldcause men to realize that physical valúes donot have permanent endurance. It is dissatisfaction with the physical that causes manto strive to leam what it is within him thathas valué, that constitutes the source andpurpose of life and directs his efforts towardthe understanding of spiritual and enduringvalúes that exist in a field that transcendsphysical manifestation.

Like many other things, in fact like almosteverything that we experience during ourphysical existence, dissatisfaction can be usedto man’s disadvantage as well as to his ad-vantage. Unfortunately, much of the appealof modern advertising is based upon thefundamental premise that the individual willbe made to be dissatisfied with what he has

and will want to buy or attain somethingdifferent, which, in theory, will bring satisfaction. In other words, much of the appealfor the sale of merchandise today is a definiteattempt to make one dissatisfied with asimilar type of merchandise that he alreadypossesses. When new automobiles or newtypes of machines of any kind are produced,all their new attractiveness is brought to theattention of the individual. It is impressedupon him that what he has is inadequate; atthe same time, all the advantages of the newitem are impressed upon his consciousnessso as to make him feel that he will only besatisfied if he exchanges the oíd for the new.

The result is that he obligates himself beyondhis economic means in order to accomplishthis purpose.

To obligate ourselves in that way mayunfortunately cause what we thought wouldbe satisfying to become a great dissatisfaction. The burden of carrying the additionalload of debt or responsibility, in order to




have achieved the possession of somethingnew, may detract from its valué, and almost

all of us have had the experience of wishingwe had kept what we had and not assumedthe additional responsibility merely to havea new and brighter gadget.

It is true, then, that while dissatisfactionis an important factor in human achieve-ment, it can also be an important factor inbringing about human happiness. The appeal to individuáis to acquire new things,because they are dissatisfied with the oídones, is a basic human appeal, but individuáisshould temper their desire to acquire theseobjects with a full realization of all thefactors involved. True happiness and satisfaction is, in the final analysis, not measured

by the number of new gadgets or new thingswhich we are able to acquire. Possession ofanything creates responsibility. If an individual does not fully realize that fact, thenhe is only deceiving himself when he thinksthat in a mad race to keep up with hisneighbors, or to acquire every new modelof an automobile that is produced, he isattaining happiness.

Happiness is a condition that exists in man, not outside of him. We can acquireevery new object that is produced for themarket of today and still not have the happiness that we may seek. Happiness comes inthe realization that we are in harmony with

the forces of the universe that exists aboutus. Happiness comes from the realizationthat the acquirement of the effects of thephysical world are not the permanent valúesthat lead to an enduring happiness; rather,the real valúes are those which may not inany way be attached to physical possessions.Therefore, dissatisfaction, if it exists, shouldchallenge us not to substitute that dissatisfaction with the possession of materialthings, but lead us to realize instead that dissatisfaction, like happiness, is inside of us.It is a lack of adjustment to the environmentand the valúes which we should seek.

Dissatisfaction will go on throughout life,because we will always be growing andalways attempting to find the true happinesswhich all men seek. Therefore, to use thisstate constructively, we will have to leamhow to achieve those enduring valúes whichbring a degree of satisfaction—valúes whichwill challenge us to spread that satisfactionto other individuáis, and to extend the use-

fulness of our own being, of our own knowledge, of our own impulses to bring about

valúes that have lasting satisfaction and contribute to happiness.—A

Exemption from Responsibility

Have you, like many others, sought amagic key or formula that would solve allproblems? In many of the stories that havebeen told throughout time, there has been thecentral theme that it was possible to discovera magic formula of some kind that mancould use for his advantage under any circumstances. These have taken the form offairy tales, or even myths, that told howcertain amulets or magic spells could be cast

in such a way that the possessor of certainfacts or certain objects would be able to control his destiny. Such type of literature isin a sense escape literature. It takes one’smind from reality. It causes the individualto daydream as to what he might do if hepossessed such a vast knowledge as wouldenable him to control all manifestations ofthe universe or if he possessed a magic objectthat would in itself bring control of all factorsof his environment.

We all know in reality that no physicalobject or no fact of knowledge can relieveus of the responsibility that is ours. Thereare certain experiences that are phases of

life in which we must participate, even ifwe may not be fully in accord with thenecessity of our participation. Nevertheless,consciously or unconsciously, we all seeksuch an achievement. One example of suchseeking is the desire of all of us to find theeasy way out in any problem that may con-front us. Almost all of us, when faced withthe solution of a problem, regardless of thenature of the problem itself, first look forthe easiest way to accomplish the end thatis necessary in order to solve the problem.This is fundamentally not wrong; that is,there is no reason why we should exert un-necessary effort. If there are two ways toaccomplish the same end, and one of thetwo ways requires a mínimum of energy anda minimum of effort on our part, then it isonly logical and obvious that we should takethe easiest way.

The concept that the hardest way is necessary in order to impress a lesson upon ourconsciousness is not always true. In fact, we




are intelligent beings, and it is equally an

obligation to use our intelligence in the solv-ing of problems, if it is possible to do so. Theerror of our ways lies in our doing nothingand still expecting to solve a problem. Thetendency to evade responsibility rather thanto find the logical and easiest way to assumethat responsibility are two different things.If we study a matter carefully and decideupon what is the easier approach in order tocarry out a solution of a situation, we areapplying our intelligence to the problemthat is at hand. If , however, we attempt toevade the responsibility entirely by eitherignoring the condition that needs our attention, or trying to find a way that lies outsidethe capacity of our intelligence, then we arenot using our lives, our time and abilities,in the proper way.

We know there is no magic key that willtake care of all of the situations in life. Lifeis a process of learning, and the way to leamis to experience the situations that develop,permitting us to apply what knowledge wehave in the solving of a problem or the control of a situation. In that process, we gainnew knowledge and understanding of situations that necessarily face the human beingas he lives as an intelligent entity.

There are individuáis who think of theirRosicrucian membership in the same waythat a primitive man might have thought ofa magic amulet. Such individuáis feel thatthrough being a Rosicrucian and subscribingto the principies which our organizationteaches, we should be exempt from certainresponsibilities and not suffer the same seriesof consequences that are open to all humanbeings. I have heard individuáis lament thefact that they had unhappy circumstances,or may have experienced pain, suffering, andgrief, and to State at the same time that as aRosicmcian they didn’t think that theyshould have to go through such experiences.This is an entirely wrong concept. Being aRosicrucian does not relieve anyone of responsibility. In fact, as is stated in thePostulant lectures that follow the Neophytegrades, there is a certain amount of accept-ance of responsibilities that is even moreimportant to the Rosicmcian than it is tothe person who is not so informed. In otherwords, to a certain extent, we increase ourobligations with our understanding.

To be a Rosicrucian is to put oneself in a

position of gaining knowledge and experiencethat will enlarge the concept of one’s life.In other words, what we leam should makeit possible for us to gain more from everyexperience that may be ours, whether thatexperience is pleasant or unpleasant. We willnot be exempted from responsibility. We willnot be exempted from our proper position inlife of necessarily being forced tp leam certain lessons and to experience certain situations in order to gain those lessons. Weshould have the satisfaction of knowing thatcertain knowledge is available to us, andcertain application of that knowledge is ours;and as we apply the knowledge in the degreethat we have leamed it, we will be able tobetter fit ourselves into the situations thatdevelop. As a result, we will gain masteryover our environment to the extent that isnot possible for those who do not seriouslyrecognize their being a part of a Cosmicscheme into which man is placed in order toleam his proper part in it.

Do not look upon your Rosicmcian membership as a means of being relieved of responsibility, but rather see it as a challengethat will cause you to better adjust yourthinking and your actions to the situationsthat must confront all men. We will thenbe truly applying the knowledge that is ours.We will leam how to use the mind creative-

ly. We will leam gradually to better adjustourselves to the situations that come about,and, more important, we will gain a betterconcept of valúes, so as not to exaggeratethose situations which are of a temporaryduration. In every situation and every experience that may be ours we will see thatwe are growing into a vaster environmentwith greater valué, and know that we caneventually come to a realization that man’strue being is with God and not with theproblems that may tantalize us as physicalbeings in a physical environment.—A

Body, Mind, and Soul

The general classification of man as having body, mind, and soul is so ingrained inthe concept of man that any psychologicalstudy of man has to take into considerationsome manifestation or some function of thesethree principies. Man has a tendency todraw a hard and fast line when he defines




or attempts to establish classifications. Heattempts not only to assemble knowledgebut to set up standards by which all otherknowledge will be judged. Consequently,very strict lines of demarcation are established in the minds of most individuáis inclassifying man as a triune being.

Actually, we know that these attributesare not necessarily innate. To have body,mind, and soul is a classification which manhimself has adopted for his own convenience.In other words, it is nominal terminology.Man has simply tried to segregate some ofthe conditions or manifestations of behaviorand function in the human being into limitedcategories. He observes himself, he reflectsupon himself, he observes other human be

ings and sees all kinds of manifestation andall kinds of function. He realizes that thereare different functions taking place withinthe human being, and he attempts to definethem in terms of the minimum number ofqualities which he observes. It is generallyconceded that the three qualities—body,mind, and soul—are as few as it is convenientto conceive.

From the popular point of view, theseclassifications could be further described asthe material, mental, and spiritual phases ofman. The body, of course, is the materialpart; the mind is the mental, and the soulis the spiritual. But here again, the terminol

ogy is limited to the interpretation of theindividual. What I may mean by material,mental, and spiritual may not carry the sameconnotation that you include in the meaningof these words. You and I may use thesesame three terms to describe a type of function within the human being, but we mayattribute to these three terms an entirelydifferent state of circumstances; therefore,the terms add very little meaning to theoriginal classification of body, mind, andsoul. These terms are simply an attempt toput into different words the same idea, or,rather, to connect the three states which wehave classified as existing in man as beingrelated to three similar conditions that areuniversal or that exist outside of man.

It is my purpose here to attempt to con-sider these classifications in terms of Rosicrucian philosophy, or in terms of theRosicrucian philosophical background—thatis, to try to take a more comprehensivo viewof man in his whole manifestation and to

attempt to determine what phases of hisbeing are important for us to study.

As Rosicrucians, we can better understandthese characteristics of man’s compositionand nature by a description of the functionof these categories or classifications ratherthan by attempting to elabórate further uponthe terminology with which to describe them.We use the terms body, mind, and soul, yetwe cannot describe those three factors anymore completely by adopting three otherterms; neither can we by enlarging upon theterms make them more inclusive. However,from the standpoint of the philosophy inwhich we believe, we can treat these conditions as categories rather than classifications.I am interpreting the idea in the sense that

a category can be more specific, while aclassification is more general.

The concept of these categories is to ana-lyze the human being on a plañe that compares the categories of his being with thecategories of universal existence. From thisstandpoint, man’s functions are physical,metaphysical, and mystical. I have saidthat, from the popular standpoint, body,mind, and soul are related to the material,the mental, and the spiritual. I have triedto expand the horizon somewhat and to ex-tend these concepts to parallel the physical,the metaphysical, and the mystical.

From the physical standpoint, there is no

denying the fact that, insofar as objectivephenomena are concemed, man is a physicalbeing. Consequently, his physical existence,the maintenance of his body and all partsand functions thereof, concems knowledge inthe fields of physics, chemistry, physiology,and anatomy. These are fields of knowledgewhich man has developed and in which hehas accumulated facts and knowledge withwhich to understand the world and to understand th e physical phenomena of whichhe is a part. These fields are relatively welldefined, with progress continually beingmade in each of them; and man as a livingbeing, insofar as he is physical, is affected bythe findings and the knowledge contained inthe physical sciences.

To approach the study of the mind ofman, we will consider what I broadly wouldlike to characterize as a metaphysical function. When Aristotle wrote his metaphysics,he meant for the word to imply the realmbeyond physics. Metaphysics included the




study of the phenomena which he had underconsideration at the time and which wentbeyond the field of physics. Today the termis more loosely defined, but, generally speak-ing, the metaphysical supersedes the physical. It concems functions that have to dowith the second classification of man—namely, mind.

In the metaphysical, we are concemedwith those attributes of man having to dowith the psychological and the philosophical.Insofar as the physical is concemed, man hasno means of substantially changing or ma-nipulating his physical being; he is limitedinsofar as he can use and change materialconditions. Metaphysically, we enter thefield of psychology, which has to do with

mind and behavior, where such problems asfreedom of will, judgment, and motivationare paramount considerations, as well as theextent of man’s control in moving and direct-ing not only his immediate body, but hisdestiny. We also speculate conceming man’spurpose, why certain conditions exist, whyman is here. We attempt to accumulate notonly knowledge, but to put that knowledgetogether in a way that will add to the totalcontení of man’s possessions, insofar as hisnonphysical possessions are involved. Inother words, we are concemed with theaccumulation of wisdom.

Philosophy was originally meant to mean

a love of wisdom. It is in the mental area ofman’s existence that he decides what hewants, what he can use, and what the purpose of life will be. Thus he is concemedwith those phenomena that may be usefulto him now and in the future.

Beyond the metaphysical, further specula-tion leads to the mystical. Man now ap-proaches the field of axiology, the study ofwhat makes valué, how valúes originate, andwhat causes them to continué to exist. Herewe are in the field of our own philosophy,because the Rosicmcian philosophy is basedfundamentally upon the concept of mysti-cism, not as it would be limited by a creedor doctrine, but in its most elementary sense,which is that man as an entity can relatehimself to a more comprehensive or tran-scendent entity. The fundamental premiseof the mystical philosophy of Rosicmcianismis that man has within him some power,ability, or attribute that makes it possiblefor him to transcend the ordinary functions

of being. Normally, mysticism includes allthings that permit man to rise above thephysical and the mental. It is, therefore,the field of religión, idealism, aesthetics,eschatology, and teleology. In these disciplines are incorporated the most sublimeconcepts of man.

Religión directs man to God; it is the mostelementary approach of man to God. Ideal-ism goes hand in hand with religión, butdirects the eamest inquirer beyond the re-striction of dogma. Idealism causes man torealize that the valúes which he considersin his own mind are related to those valúeswhich endure beyond the physical universe.Eschatology concems the doctrine of finalends and purposes. It directs man’s thinking

to his true nature and to the final purpose ofhis existence. It raises questions concemingthe nature and state of existence known asimmortality. Teleology concems the purposeof all being. It is to the mystical what valuéis to the metaphysical. It considers the purpose of the universe and the power thatdirects it, and whether or not that power isa product of consciousness.

The greatest possible achievement of manis a balanced relationship between mind,body, and soul. The ability to live in perfectharmony with the physical, the metaphysical, and the mystical is what we define asharmonium. Few have ever attained this

absolute perfection. Those who live ex-clusively in the physical or the materialignore the other two functions. Those wholive exclusively in the metaphysical or themental are dreamers; they ignore the needs,demands, and purposes of the physical, andfail to carry over their endless speculationsinto a mystical concept that will eventuallycause them to gain any conclusión from theircontemplation. These individuáis are merelythe dreamers; they remind me of those people who can memorize facts but cannot usethem. I know of individuáis who can reciteinnumerable facts but cannot solve elementary problems. Such people live on a purelymental plañe.

There are also those who attempt to ignoreboth the physical and the metaphysical.They depreciate the physical as having novalué or as being nonexistent. They thinkmind is only a trick of nature, and that onlyby being completely mystical at all times,by being extremely idealistic—living in the




clouds, as it were—can man realize his fullpurpose and attain his ultímate ends. These

individuáis are just as wrong as those wholive exclusively in the physical, because,whether we like it or not, all three of thesefunctions are manifest in us.

From the standpoint of eschatology, thefinal end of man is immortality, and therefore the mystical is of more importance inconnection with the ultímate purpose of manthan is the physical or the metaphysical.However, man while he is still a physicalbeing must be concemed with the physical.He should attempt to balance the relationshipof his consciousness to the realizations thatcome from body, mind, and soul, and tobalance his behavior with the knowledge he

gains from these sources.The perfect Rosicmcian, in my estimation,is the individual who has established a degreeof harmonium. He has gained a degree ofcontrol of his body; he directs the speculationof his mind; and he attunes himself withGod and therefore fulfills the physical, themetaphysical, and the mystical functions ofhis being. Such a perfect individual probablydoes not exist. It would be a great achieve-ment for any of us to be able to say in allhonesty that we had mastered ourselves, but,whether or not we attain mastership, we candirect ourselves in that direction.

The functions of body, mind, and soul are

not completely understood. Furthermore,they cannot be completely isolated fromeach other. They must function togetherand sometimes overlap one another. Wemust never forget that these are man-made,artificial divisions, having no fine line thatcan be drawn between them. Consequently,most human knowledge is out of balance; weonly know it in part.

Unfortunately, a great deal of humanknowledge is very far out of balance; infact, there are serious students of humannature who today question whether the fundamental problems of the world are not dueto the physical sciences far outreaching the

advance of the metaphysical and the mystical sciences. Time will adjust these in-equalities, but time is a long period. If thephysical sciences continué to outrun theidealistic sciences, as they have during thepast one or two hundred years, this conditionmay go on a number of centuries, or even a

millennium, but eventually conditions willchange.

The conditions that exist today, we mustnever forget, exist because they fulfill thecircumstances and the destiny, as well as theKarma, of those of us who live in this particular situation. If we would wish for adifferent world, where an emphasis is in adifferent channel, then we must wish fordifferent entities to manifest in that world.The imperfect expression of our being, as itis at the moment, is attuned to the circumstances that now exist; and it is our obliga-tion, our Karma, to leam what we can, sothat out of this experience, and out of theknowledge in which we particípate, we maybe able to better formúlate an existence

which will be more in accord with the ideáiswhich we hope to express.In considering each of these categories, it

is, of course, true that we are gradually leav-ing the more accepted fields of human knowledge. In other words, we know more aboutthe physical than the metaphysical, and moreabout the metaphysical than the mystical.Although man has devoted himself more tothe physical, it does not mean that we knowall about the material world, but our knowledge is at least more complete. When wethink of man as being body, mind, and soul,it is the soul of which we know the least.Furthermore, confusion results from the

multiplicity of definitions that have beenconnected with the word. Many individuáiscannot separate in their own thinking thedifference between mind and soul, althoughmost of us would have no difficulty in dis-tinguishing soul from body.

Rosicmcian terminology has established astandard of definitions for the terms body, mind, spirit, and soul. I refer you to ourteachings for those definitions. We use theword soul to mean the manifestation of thelife forcé within us which carries an intelligence from a higher source and which is anaccumulation of what we have gained inthe past.

Defining the soul, however, is not enough.What is more important is that we study itsnature and manifestation and that we leamwhat to do with the soul. Like any otherentity, the soul in its expression must bechanged and modified. As intelligent entities,we must evolve in the realization of our




relationship to the soul. Consequently, ourlives still continué to be bound by certain

physical and metaphysical—or, to use theother terms, material and mental—restric-tions until the realization of the purpose ofthe soul becomes so complete that we livewholly within it, and we are thereby able,through the full realization of the potentialities and the meaning of the soul, to throwoff all bonds which would restrict us.

The idea is not new. Plato compared thehuman soul to a chariot drawn by two steedsand driven by a charioteer. One of thesteeds represents the soul, and the otherrepresents our animal or physical desires andambitions. Desire makes us wish to tumaside and tarry at the pleasant places of life

and to particípate in those things whichbring us physical enjoyment. The soul isimpatient. It wants to rush on, because itsprovince is that of reason. Soul directs uson toward the realization of the divine.

The soul is the seat of personality. It is,in fact, the essential self. It is conscious ofneither time ñor space. Through the soulwe are able to have those sensations andexperiences which take us beyond the physical and metaphysical world. Those whohave experienced telepathy, who have hadvisions, who have seen the future, have doneso because the soul is a power that is able toreach beyond the world to which the physical

and the mental parts of us are confined. Thetrue home of the soul is not in this, but inanother order of reality. In the fulfillmentof a purpose, which we may not completelycomprehend, the soul is incamated in anumber of successive bodies. In that way itis placed into contact with the time order,that is, with the world of time and space,for a definable period, or for a number ofperiods of time. Thus the soul is the vehicleof personality throughout all phases of existence.

Mentally and physically, it is our privilegeto evolve into a vaster realization of the soul.This process is erroneously referred to as soulevolution. Actually, perfection exists in thesoul if we can perceive it. I do not believethat the soul is completely merged aftertransition in a sea of universal consciousness,but that it sustains immortality without los-ing its individuality. Wh at we cali immortality is but one phase of the soul’s expression.

The soul in our day-to-day life is normallyinaccessible to us, but, in certain psycho-

logical conditions, impressions from the soulrise into consciousness—or, to be more spe-cific, the consciousness of the soul becomesa part of our everyday consciousness. Thesoul, therefore, is the médium of mysticalexperience, and from this cióse relationshipwe gain through the soul an appreciation ofthe aesthetic, the beautiful, and sublime.

Charles Kingsley said, “When I walk inthe fields, I am oppressed now and then withan innate feeling that everything I see hasmeaning if I could but understand it; andthis feeling of being surrounded with truthsthat I cannot grasp sometimos amounts toan indescribable awe.” This idea agrees with

my concept of mysticism: that the channelby which man can know God is through thesoul; that we are at times made consciousof the soul’s consciousness. The knowledgepossessed by the soul intrudes upon our ownobjective being and awareness and impressesitself upon us.

The essence of our personality, which Icali soul, is more than body and mind. Thehigher spiritual agencies which function inthe universe, agencies which touch andquicken us, which enrich us with what wecali gifts of inspiratio n, are the result of oursolicitations in meditation and prayer. Thepoint of contact comes about as a result ofconcentration and attunement. This pointwhere inspiration reaches us, where aestheticexperiences are made real, where the mystical ideal is perfected, is the soul.

Although, as I have said, this región ofrealization is normally inaccessible to consciousness, it is nevertheless a well-knownfact that we are often aware of inspiration.We may not know how the healing andstrengthening influences, which bear uponus as a result of our prayers and meditations,do their work, but it is the soul which is themédium, the necessary médium, throughwhich the work is done. God influences manthrough the soul. Th e vehicle of God’s emi-nence, the soul, if not actually divine, can

at least contact the divine.Only when the confusion of ordinary liv

ing and the consciousness of day-to-day existence subsides are we able to become awareof that still, small voice that is continuallyheard by the soul. At the moment of beinginfluenced, we may be completely unaware




of the soul’s function. Upon the realization

of the beautiful and the sublime, we ap-proach a reality of inspiration of which weare fully conscious, and we actually lose consciousness of most other things.

The phenomena of spiritual healing, spiritual regeneration, and spiritual insight, andthe realization of man’s potential onenesswith God, are also to be explained on theassumption that God, in response to man’spetition through concentration, meditation,prayer, and attunement, acts upon us as individual entities through the médium of thesoul, which, as its function, heals the body,strengthens the mind, and sustains us forthe ultímate realization of our destiny.—A

What Am I?

A soror of England rises to address ourForum: “There is a question which has puz-zled me for years. What am I? What ismine inalienably? The soul is not mine; itis part of the universal soul which tenantsmy body while I am in it. My body is notmine really; it is merely an assortment ofcells which I occupy as tenant for a time.My consciousness—but that is only a function of the soul! What is left to be mine?”

This is a question conceming individualityand universality. Man is not truly individual in the sense that he is either completely

independent or self-sufficient. As an organicbeing, as a substance or a system, man is acomposite of universal forces, a part of Cosmic phenomena. To say this is absolutelymine with respect to any aspect of one’spersonal existence or being would be to declare that it is completely divorced from anyrelationship to nature. It would mean thatit is outside the boundaries of all reality oris a separate reality which, of course, is ra-tionally impossible to presume.

The ancient Greek philosophers told usthat all matter, all perceivable reality, thatis, form, is but an expression of universalessence. What is ours, in that it is unlike

anything else, can only be a personal realization, the experiences had by self. Thisrealization is distinct in its manifestation, yetfundamentally it is composed of universáis.Our personality is the sum total of a seriesof sentient experiences, sense impressionsfrom the external world and, as well, therealization of our own conscious state. To

these we react and such responses constitute

the manifestations of our united selves whichare referred to as the personality.No two persons can evalúate, that is, in-

terpret the myriad impressions that crowd inupon their consciousness alike. Their struc-ture of reality, their viewpoint of existence,their own awareness of self, are all differentfrom those of others. There are many persons who seem to be in complete accord onall things. However, an analytical interro-gation of them would reveal numerous minute differences of opinion. Their sentimentsand emotional responses would vary and so,then, would that abstract entity called self.

To answer specifically the soror’s question,What am I? We are a particular state ofconsciousness deviating, no matter howslightly, from every other state of consciousness had by any other human being. Is thatconsciousness mine? The answer is: Yes, inits manifestations but not in its contributingessence or cause. The experience of existence, your conscious interlude, is yours alone.This is logical because it cannot be another’s;no other could have it. We cannot separateself, the you, from the experiences, the conscious states, which your organism, yourphysical and mental being, has. These thingsare what you are, as against all other thingsor beings. It is your consciousness thatmakes the realizations you have. It creates

them. They are producís of your being. Theyare of you. Your experiences, your realizations of self, have not a universal nature.That which brings them about does have—your brain, your senses, your nervous sys-tems, your soul or vital forcé of life. But theimpingement of impulses upon them, asscreened on your consciousness and as espe-cially realized by you, is unique to you.

Your experiences, your interpretations ofreality, the expansión of self, are the mostflexible factors available to you in life. Theyare, of course, subject to external conditionssuch as your environment and your healthas well. But nevertheless you are free to ex-

ert a power of mind so as to think and believethem as you wish. The oíd metaphysicalaffirmation, “I am what I am,” can be con-strued to mean that what we conceive ourselves to be is what we are. It matters notwhat our tme reality or relationships maybe, if we do not realize or understand them.As we conceive ourselves to be, that is what




we truly are in our personal existence; it is

what we govern ourselves by.I am, then, only what I think myself tobe. That is my greatest freedom, my self-evaluation. This evaluation may, of course,be false. I may be really damning myself.In fact, man may never know his true Cosmic relationship. Our development, however,comes in evolving our concept of self, in en-larging its manifestations of what we are.We may say, in conclusión, that the true selfis not the object but the subject.—X

How to Conduct Experiments

Now a frater from India asks: “I do notseem to get the desired success from perform-

ing some exercises and experiments. Most ofthem are for developing certain faculties. Myquestion is: how many times a day, or howmany hours weekly, should one devote himself to the exercises to get the desired results?For example, the projection exercise: howmany years are necessary to practice such anexercise to achieve success? Further, why isit that some develop their psychic facultiesby the Fifth or Sixth Degree and some donot attain success even after reaching thehighest Degrees?”

Let us begin our answer by explainingthe difference between an experiment andan exercise, especially in relation to the Rosicrucian teachings. Our definition of the

word experiment is not different from thatgiven by Science. Succinctly, it consists of aseries of tests according to a predeterminedarrangement to prove or disprove a hypothe-sis. It may likewise be a test to determinespecific results under controlled conditions.Thus, one may conduct experiments in thetransmission of thought, popularly calledtelepathy.

A controlled experiment, of which most ofthe Rosicrucian ones consist, is one in whichthe specific performance of the experiment,its modus operandi, is set forth and govemsthe whole activity. The experimenter knowsin advance what he seeks to achieve and the

methods which he is going to employ. Theunknown factor, to him, is the result. Willhe, or will he not, have success with the particular method used? Obviously, under themethod of controlled experimentation, ifthere were repeated experiments without results, they would be concluded—providedthey were exactly performed, and would

have proved the method was at fault. If,

further, results are not obtained but it isconcluded that the method is sound, in general, then perhaps certain necessary elementsmay be lacking. Rosicrucian experimentationincludes human beings who have varyingpowers of perception and attention or con-centration. These variables can and do ac-count for the differences in results, evenwhen the procedure is otherwise the same.

The human equation is the unknown ele-ment. It cannot be easily seen as to its application to the experiment. One who isconducting an experiment in physics usesphysical objects that can easily be perceived,that is, weighed and measured. The controlled experiment can determine in advancethat all the equipment to be used is the samefor each experiment. But in psychic andmystical experiments there is the unrevealedinequality which may account for success insome instances and failure in others.

In the Rosicrucian teachings, an exercise alludes to the practice and the repeated performance of an experiment or some phase ofit. An experiment in the Rosicrucian teachings is primarily intended to enlighten one,or to acquaint the individual with certainlaws or factors conceming the phenomenon.The exercise, on the other hand, is intendedto make the student proficient in the use ofsuch knowledge as the experiment may

demónstrate.Most of the Rosicmcian exercises are con

cemed with self-evident laws. By this wemean that they are Cosmic or natural lawswhich have already been taught and revealedor should be known to the student. He hasbeen told of their function and how theyshould be applied to achieve the specific ends.The exercise is to cause the student to develop the technique in the use of this knowledge to his personal advantage.

Let us use a simple analogy for the furtherexplication of this point. You wish to learnto swim. First, an accomplished instructordemonstrates the strokes to you in a gym-

nasium. He explains the theory and technique of swimming. Next, he takes you intothe pool and, under his controlled direction,has you conduct a series of experiments. Hehas you try floating, kicking your feet, andbreathing correctly. By such experiments, hewants you to experience personally certainaspects of the swimming technique.




Next come the exercises. Each week for

one hour or so you must personally try toapply what has been demonstrated andtaught to you. You have to develop the co-ordination of movement of your limbs andyour breathing and to develop the musclesrequired for the propulsión of your body inthe water. All of the experimentation andthe demonstrations are futile, however, without the actual fol low-through exercises.

Everyone cannot be proficient in everything. Immured within our body and mindare certain potentialities. Our latent talentsand powers vary. That is what makes usdifferent. There is not one of us who doesnot excel to some degree more than someother no matter how inferior we may be inall else. The exercises are intended to awak-en and develop our latent powers. They re-veal what things we can accomplish best. Weshould, however, try to improve all aspectsof our nature, but preferably we should concéntrate upon what seems to be our naturalforte.

There are no exercises in the Rosicrucianteachings that require one to spend severalhours a day, or even several hours a week,in the application of certain laws. If onewishes to achieve a particular end it is ad-visable for him to do the following. Heshould use part of his weekly sanctum studytime for that particular exercise, without

holding up his current studies. If he has anyother spare time during the week when itwill not interfere with his duties and obli-gations, he may tiy the exercise at suchtimes.

We advise Rosicrucian students to discontinué an exercise for a while if, after per-forming it six, eight, or ten times, they findno particular personal improvement. Underthese conditions, they should put it aside anddevote the time to other phases of the Rosicrucian studies. Sometimes one’s particularpsychic function, insofar as development isconcerned, is contingent first upon another aspect. It may not be possible for some in

dividuáis to achieve the results in one exercise until they have first been successful inanother. It is for this reason that we say:do not continué indefinitely an exercisewhich is not disclosing some results.

For further analogy, one cannot perfecthimself in public speaking if he has a physical affliction that makes proper pronunciation

difficult. It would be more reasonable and

expedient to concéntrate first upon the reme-dy of the physical impediment before indulg-ing in further public speaking exercises.

Now, to answer the last part of the frater’squestion, we are not all bom equal in thesense of the development of our soul-person-ality. Each of us is on some plañe of consciousness at birth, but we are not all of thesame plañe. Those who are more advancedin this incamation will respond to certainexercises more easily and while yet in themiddle Degrees of the Order. However, eachof us does advance psychically as we reasonably practice the exercises and study accord-ingly. The student must stop gauging himselfby the progress made by another. Measureyour success by what you have gained inknowledge and achievement from the teachings since you first affiliated with the Order.

Attainment in the Rosicrucian teachingsdoes not necessarily mean the performanceof some feat of natural phenomena. It canand does mean a greater understanding oflife, further freedom from superstition andanxieties, more self-reliance, and PeaceProfound.—X


It is quite comprehensible how some persons come to be assured that a fate doesgovem our destiny. In their experience,they have observed that the lives of someindividuáis seem almost from birth to havebeen fashioned for a specific destiny. Theevents in which they participate seem to bedefinitely related to their qualifications andtraining. Raymond Bernard, Secretary ofthe Grand Lodge of AMORC, France, whoin no sense is a fatalist, is nevertheless onewhose life’s work seems to have been or-dained for him.

Frater Bernard was bom May 19, 1923,in Bourg d’Oisans (Isére) France. He comesfrom a family of pioneers. His paternalgrandparents migra ted to Algeria in 1874.The family was very instrumental in con-

tributing to the cultural advancement ofAlgeria, especially in the area of Oran. Thisspirit of progress and of orderly arrangement of affairs was inherited by youngRaymond.

Frater Bernard received his higher education at the University of Grenoble inSouthern France, from which he graduated.




He majored in the humanities, especially

philosophy, with several semesters of law.In 1944 he did military service in the Frencharmy as required by law. He became anartillery officer and was stationed in Ger-many from 1944 to 1946.

Frater Bernard’s maternal side of the family were active and successful in business inSouthern France. After his demobilizationfrom the army, he at first decided to beassociated with his family in business enter-prise. He was successful in this—but therewas an unsatisfied yeaming for somethingmore than a commercial enterprise. Thisyeaming went back to his early youth, whenat fourteen years of age, he had an arduousappetite for esoteric literature. Frater Bernard was bom in the Catholic faith as aFrench tradition. His parents, however, werevery liberal in their thought and neverpursued the dogma of the sect. This liberalinfluence was expressed early in life byyoung Raymond Bernard.

During the war, 1941, while but eighteenyears of age, Frater Bernard made the ac-quaintance of an English lady who becauseof the circumstances was necessarily hiddenin France in a región where he lived. Untilthe war, she had actively affiliated withAMORC in America. She revealed the nature and activities of AMORC to Frater Bernard. He was elated. What she told him

seemed to fulfill a long desire and search.He read the Rosicrucian Digest and otherliterature which she surreptitiously gave himduring the Nazi occupation. Direct contactwith AMORC in America was as yet im-possible.

After months and years of waiting, hewas finally able to apply to AMORC inAmerica. To his chagrín, he found that suchaffiliation was still not possible because noremittances could be sent to the UnitedStates. He was advised to contact Soror

Jeanne Guesdon who was then beginningthe very arduous task of establishing thepresent AMORC activities in a postwar

France. Frater Bernard carne to know SororGuesdon very well—but by correspondenceonly. As he has related, he knew of hergreat sacrifices and labor at that time toestablish AMORC in France for its presentcycle. She had to struggle, he relates, withshortages of materials, economic restrictions,and many other contingencies of the day.

Frater Bernard eventually became the sec-

ond AMORC member active in France, bear-ing the key number 2—the Imperator having the key number 1.

Soror Guesdon had in her later correspondence to Frater Bernard expressed thehope that some day he could assist with herduties as a staff member of the AMORCGrand Lodge of France. Strangely enough,after her transition, Frater Bernard leamedfrom her attorney that she had told thelatter, “When I am gone, Monsieur Raymond Bernard will come to Villeneuve todo this work”—and her prophecy has beenfulfilled. After the transition of Grand Secretary Jeanne' Guesdon, and at the requestof the Imperator, Frater Bernard met with

him and Soror Lewis, and other dignitaríesin Paris to discuss his appointment to anofficial capacity with ÁMORC, France.

After January 15, 1956, Frater Bernardand his attractive wife, also a member, andtheir young son carne to Villeneuve Saint-Georges and took up residence at the GrandLodge of AMORC, France. He assumed thetitle and great responsibility and duties ofSecretary. He has exhibited not only anexcellent comprehension of the Rosicmcianteachings, but has displayed splendid exec-utive ability as well. Under the directionof the Supreme Grand Lodge of AMORCand the Imperator, he has brought about a

great advancement of the Order in his country. His suggestions and plans are fruitfulof thought and have proved themselves inpractice. He has won the admiration andrespect of the AMORC France membership.

Frater Raymond Bemard, youthful andvigorous, not only indulges his studies, buthas found time for such active sports asswimming and tennis. Embodied in such ayoung man is the spirit and future ofÁMORC.—X

Demonstrating the Principies

Just because you are not able to make apiece of cork on the top of water move in

any definite direction, every time you wishto try the experiment, is no indication what-soever of a lack of inner development. Whenthe right time comes and the developmentwithin you is required to do something ofa very definite and important nature, youwill find the Cosmic helping you to makethe right demonstration. If you have been




somewhat unsuccessful with your experiments, or even if you happen to be one

who has never been successful at all withany of the experiments, do not allow thisfact to cause you to believe that the exercises and studies have not been helping youin a way that does not show in all theworldly things, every time you wonderabout it. —from Forum, Oct. 1931

Transference of the Physical Self

A frater of South Africa asks our Forum:“Is it possible to transfer one’s physical selfinstantaneously to a distant locality asclaimed by the Sufi sect? The Sufis claimthat this can be done and is done by deepconcentration and thought. Is there a specialtechnique?”

The Sufis are an oíd Moslem mystical sect.They have symbolized and we may say ex-tracted the mystical principies from theteachings of the Koran. They differ fromthe mass of Mohammedan adherents by conceming themselves less with the externalaspects of their religión. Through asceticismand particularly isolation from materialismand its distractions and by devotion to medi-tation, they have gleaned a deep insight intohuman nature. They have discovered andemployed the latent powers of the individualwhich were little known to other men, withthe exception of mystics, until comparatively

recent times.It can undoubtedly be said with assurancethat much which the Sufis carne to know,and mastered, was not actually inherent inthe dogma of their own religión. It was apersonal mystical illumination that couldcome to any man who lived, studied, andmeditated as they did. The feats that theSufis accomplished, as those performed bythe mystics and adepts of Tibet, India, Egypt,and Europe in the past, awed the relativelyignorant masses. To the masses who werenot conversant with natural law and to whomalmost every phenomenon of nature was adeep mystery, these mystics seemed to be

miracle workers. In a sense the impressionswhich these feats made upon the multitudewere the equivalent of the effect of a demon-stration by a modem scientist before a groupof primitive people today.

It must be realized that it is only four orfive centuries ago that in certain catalepticor trance states, where the body was coid

and rigid, with no conscious response or evidence of breathing, the victim was thought to

have passed through transition. To retumsuch a body to normalcy by any means what-ever would appear as a miracle to those whodid not understand the method. As Dr. H.Spencer Lewis once explained in a publiclecture, if one dipped his fingers in spittleand soil, then rubbed them lightly over theeyes, so as to break a film which coveredthem, and thereby restored sight, this wouldbe a miracle to primitive people who couldnot comprehend what was being done. Actually such an act would constitute a cmdebut simple form of surgery.

Imagine, as well, what an amazing im-pression upon the primitive mind a hypnotic

demonstration would have. There is histori-cal proof, on which we have commented pre-viously, that the ancient Egyptian priestsused hypnosis even in some of their templerites. It is known that mass or group hypnosis is possible. In fact, it is often demon-strated today in university classes in thestudy of parapsychology and related sub

jects. Under such conditions, the group isgiven a powerful suggestion. It has an ideaimplanted in the consciousness which the individuáis are made to accept while underhypnosis. Some of the tales of miracles andof strange phenomena, supposedly witnessedor experienced, undoubtedly fall into such a

category.The subject of bilocation is well known toresearchers in psychic phenomena. It is atechnical term referring to the simultaneousappearance in two places of one’s person.Actually, it is the phenomenon known in theRosicmcian teachings as pro jection. Whatis projected is the psychic self, a higher as-pect of consciousness, which is perceived asbeing identical in appearance with the physical self. One, then, may be in his home, sayin Brighton, England, and be experienced,visually perceived, by another who knowshim as walking on a Street in, shall we say,Seattle, Washington. This phenomenon has

been commonly experienced by many persons who are not Rosicrucians or mystics.It has obviously awed them. Modem psy-chology has given various explanations ofthe phenomenon. Such explanations ap-proach those given by the Rosicmcians, towhom proje ction has been known for a considerable time. There is nothing superna-




tural about the phenomenon. It consists of

the gradual application of natural laws manifest as powers of the normal human being.Obviously, those having no understanding

of the achievement, and being confounded byit, would look upon such manifestation as aninstantaneous transference of the actualphysical body from one place to anotherthrough space. We doubt very much if Sufiliterature, of which we have a considerablecollection in our Rosicrucian Research Li-brary, makes the explicit declaration that thephysical body is being so transferred. Weventure the opinion that it conveys the ideathat the self may be transferred at will todistant places. Such a phrase, however, toone who is not conversant with the phenomenon would seem to imply that the physicalbody was so transferred. The frater, ofcourse, is quite familiar with our principies.It is quite probable that those reporting tohim have misunderstood the Sufi claims inthis regard.

Let us look into this subject from a trulymystical and philosophical point of view.What we are is self. In other words, we arenothing more than we realize ourselves tobe. The Epicureans taught that conceptmany centuries ago. It is of little consequence where we are. It is where our stateof realization is that matters. Your body maybe in bed but if you are unconscious and do

not realize your whereabouts, then you, theconscious being and not just a mass of tissuesand organs, are not there. Unless you realizesomething, it does not intimately exist toyou. If you can fully experience a place, seeit, hear and feel it, then for all purposes you,the thinking, perceiving self, are at thatplace.

When one extends his consciousness of selfto enter into an environment, he is projectedinto it. Where the physical part of himselfmay be at this time is of no consequence sofar as his realization is concemed. The pointto be made here is that there is no advantagein one’s transferring the body if he can trans-

fer his consciousness of self instead. What-ever the body may do must be realized bythe mind before it has any reality to us. Ifthe mind can realize it without the physicalparticipation, then the latter is not necessary.

Let us use a simple analogy to better clari-fy this view point. There was a time whenevery communication had to be made in

person. One had to go ph ys ically to the

place at a distance and convey to anotherorally some message. Today by means, forexample, of the telephone we can speak toone across the world in a fraction of a sec-ond. So far as the contení of the message isconcerned, there would be no advantage intransferring the body along with the intelligence or message which is being convey ed.—X

Wha t Is Color Blindness?

A frater of California, addressing ourForum, says: “We have color-blind childrenin our family. They are color-blind in different degrees and yet enough to bar them

from working where it is necessary to dis-tinguish colored lights. My side of the family has exceptionally good visión. Thechildren’s mother has eye weakness—on theside of their maternal grandmother there arevarious eye weaknesses but I do not knowof any color blindness. I would appreciatethis matter’s being discussed in the Forum.”

It would perhaps be best to approach thissubject with a very brief review of whatconstitutes color. Are colors inherent in ob

jects? Are the lea ves of trees and the grass green? Are there red roses and is blue actually a part of the summer sky? Physicshas revealed to us that the different colorswe see are due to different wave lengths oflight. The visual spectrum, that portion oflight which we can see, consists of a vibra-tory energy. Those vibrations—or wavelengths—which are longest in the spectrumare the color red. Those which are the short-est are violet. This spectrum is a kind ofscale with the longest wave lengths or redat one end and the shortest or violet at theother. In between, from the highest to thelowest wave lengths, are the variations or agraduation of one end into the other, com-prising all the colors we know.

Sunlight or puré white light is actually aharmonious blending of all wave lengthsvisible to us. An object’s color depends on the

light which illuminates it and the light theobject reflects and transmits to the eye. If, forexample, sunlight falls on an object, it willreflect only a certain wave length of allthose of which sunlight consists. That wavelength, when reaching the eye, will causeus to experience the object as having a particular color. The object in its molecular




structure may reflect only the longer wavelengths. It will then appear to us as red.

Let us suppose that an object appearswhite to us when in the sunlight. This indi-cates that it reflects equally all the wavelengths of light that illuminate it. Let a redlight, or any light of particular wave lengths,fall upon such an object, and it will reflectthose wave lengths only. It will have to theeye the color that those wave lengths repre-sent. From observing a beam of sunlightpassing through a prism, we know that sunlight contains all the colors of the spectrum.The wave lengths, being of different length,are refracted, are separated, into the colorsof the spectrum.

“When a skein of red yam is held in the

red end of the spectrum, it appears red. Butwhen it is held in the blue end, it appearsblack.” In other words, the red wave lengthsof light reflect from the red yam. When itis held in the blue, there is such a mixtureof the wave lengths as to create the visualsensation of black. There is the absorptionquality. “Similarly, a skein of blue yamappears nearly black in all parts of the spectrum except blue.”

From this and many similar experiments,we know that color is not an intrinsic partof any object. Rather, it is a sensation. Whatand how are the sensations of color caused?We are not completely certain of this process,

though researchers at AMORC and in thesciences of physiology and psychology havequite definite theories as to how the sensations occur. There are certain photocolorsubstances in the organism of the eye that,when stimulated by a wave length of light,are temporarily changed in their composition. This, in tum, produces minute electricalcharges, that is, nerve mutations, which inthe brain are received as color sensations.There is, for example, what is commonlyknown as visual purple, technically calledrhodopsin. This can be excited in such amanner as to affect the color sense.

Related to the eye are the rods and the

cones. The rod-shaped sensory bodies inthe retina are sensitive principally todim light. The cones, as the ñame implies,are conical sensory bodies likewise in theretina of the eye. These, too, are acted uponby the stimuli of light. Experimentation hasshown that in bright light the visual purplein a vertebrate’s eye is completely bleached.

It appears quite evident, in the opinion ofexperimenters, that the mechanism of visiónin the bright light is different than in thedim light.

The mechanism has been given two general classifications. One is scotopic or twi-light visión; the other is pho topic. The latteris responsive to the spectmm in daylight il-lumination. In scotopia, that is, dim light,there is a colorless gray which seems to castitself over objects. Where one does not havenormal sight and is subject to this scotopicsight, ever-increasing illumination does nomore than bring a greater brightness. Itwould seem, as said, that a dim illuminationexcites the rods but not the other sensorybodies, known as cones. Let a person of nor

mal sight adapt his eyes to the darkness.Then in poor illumination the spectmm, tothat individual, will seem colorless.

Congenital color blindness is relativelyrare but, of course, there are cases on recordand existent. Night blindness has been foundto be hereditary. There is a celebrated example in Montpellier, France, where inthree generations nearly forty per cent ofthe descendants were stricken with this af-fliction. In color blindness it is theorizedthat the mechanical process of the eye, knownas the photopic, does not function properly.All the related sensory bodies are not thenbeing excited within the retina. As a result

there is a colorless gray which seems to coverthe spectmm. The visión, in such cases, willrespond, however, to the brightness of greater illumination but, we repeat, the colors ofthe spectrum are not apparently experiencedin absolute color blindness.

Later research with eyes of vertebrates hasdetermined that as many as seven photo-chemical elements are necessary for colorvisión—with, of course, the proper func-tioning of the mechanism referred to. Fivephotosensitive pigments have been extractedfrom the retina of vertebrates.—X

The Evolution of God

A frater of New York rises and addressesour Forum: “Religiously man has evolvedfrom animism, through polytheism, to mono-theism. Most people have an anthropomor-phic conception of God, but the moreadvanced ones consider him as a Mind-Cause. Is it probable that in the future the conception of the advanced thinkers will change?




If so, what does the Rosicrucian Order con-sider will be the conception of the future—which, of course, will be progressive?”

For man to know God, in the sense that theDivine or Cosmic and all of its attributescould be conceived, would mean that manwould no longer be finite. The human intelligence that could embrace the Absolute inits entirety would have to be co-extensivewith it. We may use the following simpleanalogy to better explain our statement. Onewho stands upon a high plateau, which isringed with magnificent snow-capped peaks,is not able to view the panorama at one time.The angle of his visión is limited. He canonly see a portion of the magnificent scenery.To see more he must revolve, turn about;

and then he sees only a new section fromeach of the different positions which he hasassumed. Figuratively speaking, the evolv-ing human consciousness is the equivalentof the spectator gradually turning about onthe plateau and having revealed to him eachtime a separate and new spectacle. At notime could the human consciousness embraceall of the Cosmic phenomena.

In the first place, as Immanuel Kant sopositively asserted, the human organism isconditioned in its conceptions. Our categories, such as the sense qualities and thenotions of quantity, and of time and space,are realizations. The structure of our brain,

the kind of sensations to which we respond,and the ideas which are formed, can nevergive us a true picture of the Absolute, caliit what you will. For analogy, we maychange the color of the glasses throughwhich we peer at Cosmic reality, but wewill always be conferring upon it an illu-sionary form, the result of such glasses.

If the human consciousness were entirelyabsorbed in the universal consciousness, thenthere would be a harmony of man’s mindwith the Absolute. On the other hand, therewould then be no individuality, no suchconstruction as we cali self. For, althoughman realizes self, no matter the afflatus of

his soul or the state of his Cosmic Consciousness, he has not yet a complete conceptionof the Cosmic. To realize the individual self,the human ego, to any degree, means thatone is still possessed of finiteness. Suchfiniteness is an assurance that the Cosmicconception that accompanies the realizationof self is relatively limited.

Succinctly put, the Cosmic, the Absolute,or God, whichever term you prefer, transcends in its pristine and all-embracing nature any construction in terms of ideas whichman may place upon it. Man ’s definitionsof the Cosmic are always limited to thequalities of his senses. His comparisons aremade relative to his experience and knowledge. Greatness in terms of power andachievement has always been but an extensión of human ends and faculties.

Animism, the earliest form of religión,reveáis the lack of knowledge had by manin recognizing the qualities of life forcé.With the further distinction of such proper-ties of life, these powers were then con-ferred by the human upon all images, those

alive and those not; and they were reveredbecause of their mystery. Since primitivereligión and its spirit—as well as those ofsome of the dogmas of modera sects—arerooted in fear, all superior forces and powers were apotheosized by man as supematuralbeings, and were likewise to be feared.

Polytheism reveáis the human lack of ap-preciation of the unity of natural phenomena.Each manifestation of natural power or development was conceived as being distinctin purpose and origin. Gradually, such vir-tues and powers were unified by the mindof man and were held to be vested in atheogony, or a single family of gods. The

next step was the pantheon, .the hierarchywhich had a superior deity and a graduatedscale of lesser deities. From this then emergedthe conception of monotheism, a supremedeity in whom all the former, lesser powerswere incorporated. Such a conception re-flects man’s progress in social organizationand in goverament, and in the centralizingof powers in certain persons.

Anthropomorphism — that is, men andgods of the same general image—is the conferring by the human mind of its own formand powers upon an assumed, superior being. The god must be like something. Mancan only think in terms of his experiences

and his sense qualities, such as color, dimen-sions, fragrance, taste and the like. A superior being is held to be superior in thathe must excel man to some degree. Therefore, the human activities and qualities areexaggerated and then attributed to this being or god. Such beings must have greaterstrength, greater beauty of form, greater en-




durance and mentality than those had byman.

Fundamentally, it was conceived, as well,that the self-discipline and virtues of the godor gods exceeded those of men. Since human virtues were eventually thought to em-anate from the gods, the latter wereconceived to be morally perfect. The earlyGreeks, however, whose gods were heroicbeings, were believed to possess many of thefoibles of human nature and were thoughtto be subject to the same temptations.

Though the notion of the universal mind,or a teleological cause, is recognized as anadvanced religious conception, most of .thedevotees interpreting it have an anthropo-morphic view. In their case, the attributes

are not a physical form or a manlike imageconferred upon the divine, but rather hu-manlike intellectual and emotional qualities.The average devotee of the Universal Mindconcept bestows upon that Mind the usualhuman mental faculties. He holds this Absolute Mind to have purpose, to seek ends,to have ideáis of which it is conscious andtoward which it strives. Man further attributes to this Mind notions of valúes suchas good and evil, construction and destruction, harmony and inharmony, evolution anddevolution. Further, he believes that thisUniversal Mind displays such emotions aslove and compassion. Such a conception,though in a sense less primitive than thenotion of the physical image of the divine,is still too humanized, too infused withhuman comparisons, .to be other thananthropomorphic.

To refer to Absolute Being as a conscious forc é is perhaps an ascent in thought overthe usual defining of Universal Mind. However, even the word conscious has its rootsin ideas paralleling that consciousness expressed in man himself. A word other than“conscious,” yet designating its functions,might be more appropriate.

It is to be noticed that as man’s spiritualand mental visions enlarge, he strips theformer “Gods” of their determinative quali

ties. It is because man comes to realize ina more profound understanding that suchformer qualities are too confining, too finiteto be of the divine. The divine, as Spinozahas related, is no particular attribute, ñorcan it be limited to the sum of all thoseattributes which are known to man. Thedivine, or God, must and always will tran-

scend the human conception which is hadof Him. The advanced religions will, like

most of the mystics of oíd, perhaps finallyfind that God is ineffable and inscrutableinsofar as words and terms are concemed.There will be just the Absolute Being, theOne, the All, the Eternal—even these wordshave human connotations in implying anunderstanding of God.—X

Were They Members?Frequently it is asked, why did not such

eminent men as Benjamín Franklin, IsaacNewton, Gottfried von Leibnitz, Claude De-bussy, and a host of other celebrities revealtheir Rosicmcian membership? Why is itthat in most reference works such as ency-

clopedias and histories—even biographies—there is no reference to their Rosicmcianaffiliation? From such prima-facie evidenceit would appear that these persons havenever had any connection or association withthe Rosicrucians—and that AMORC’s reference to them is, to say the least, highlyimaginary.

First, it must be realized that the times inwhich most of these celebrities lived werenot generally as liberal as now. Religiouspersecution and tyranny were even moreprevalent. The mass mind was not as familiar with the subjects of the Rosicmcianteachings, as with philosophy, metaphysics,hermeticism, and the sciences. In fact, manyof the subjects taught and more or less pro-claimed by AMORC today would have beenthought heretical three centuries ago by thepublic. In those days the great philosopher,Baruch Spinoza, was thought to be a godlessman! Even in the more recent times, Thomas Jefferson was declared to be an atheist be-cause of his liberal views on the divine andfor his construction of certain Biblical terminology! Today, .the educated person on read-ing the writings of these men would calithem unorthodox9perhaps, but at least theywould be regarded as being exceedinglyspiritually-minded men. In fact, Spinoza hassince been heralded as “God intoxicated.”

In such times and because of such conditions, the Rosicmcian Order functioned subrosa for the most part. It did so to preventthe persecution of its members by fanaticalreligionists. Whereas today, with the excep-tion of Spain and one or two other countrieswhere religious tyranny reigns supreme, theChurch may vilify and attack the Rosicru-




cian Order, it yet lacks the power to imprisonits members and to confíscate its records and

membership rolls. Because of persecution,membership cards or printed identificationswere in the past not issued to members asthey are today. No fraternal emblems werewom. In the past, a casual inquirer wouldnever leam who were members of the Rosicmcian Order.

The buildings of the Order were likewiseconcealed for the same reasons. The wordsecret, in those days, as applied to the Order,meant not just “prívate” (as now) but actually necessary concealment. All assembliesor conclaves of the Order were sequesteredin some inconspicuous place. There were, ofcourse, no photographs taken of the celeb

rities, no announcements of dignitaríes whowere present, as is common today. It wasnot that the Order desired such a state ofaffairs; it was not that these eminent personsof the past were not proud of their affiliation!They were. However, more could be ac-complished by their silence than by anyproclamation of their membership at thattime.

There were exceptions, of course, to thissecrecy of affiliation. One such notable example was Robert Fludd, eminent Englishmedical doctor (1574-1637). He is known asa Rosicmcian apologist because of his defense of the Order. The unfair attacks onthe Order had reached virulent proportions

in malicious libel. Fludd issued works indefense of the Rosicmcians which are mas-terpieces. He gave his ñame as author andimmediately became a personal target ofattack.

Some of the authors gave pseudonyms inconnection with their works. Only membersof the Rosicmcian Order knew the real iden-tity of such authors. Public references, asencyclopedias, would have no such informa-tion at their disposal. In these public reference works, it might be said: “—it isalleged that he was associated with theRosicmcian Order though there is no evidence to that effect.” Still other encyclo

pedias will relate that a certain eminentpersonality was in association with a personwho was known to be affiliated with the“sect” known as the Rosicmcians. An example of this indirect reference appears inan encyclopedia with regard to the foundingof the Royal Society of England. It men-tions ñames, as that of Ashmole, who was

a known alchemist—and a Rosicmcian.Unless an individual authored books 011

the Rosicmcian Order or on its teachings—which many did, in their own ñame, orthrough a pseudonymn which was known—there was no outward indication of hisRosicmcian affiliation. Determining whetherone was a Rosicmcian in centuríes past cannot be done by the same standards that weuse today. Because persons did not say thatthey were Rosicmcians was not proof thatthey were not. To AMORC today, the indi-cations of membership of celebrities of thepast rests on four general points:

(1) Personal revelation by the individualhimself.

(2) Works signed by a Rosicmcian sym-

bolic ñame.(3) Traditional accounts from the Orderitself referring to a person’s affiliation.

(4) Manuscripts and books containing terminology and symbols distinctly that of theRosicmcians.

We are, of course, proud of the distin-guished persons who have been affiliatedwith the Order in the past—and at thepresent. Iñ themselves, however, such per-sonalities add nothing to the personal ad-vantages which are to be derived frommembership in the Order. Who has affiliated,or who is a member now, adds no moreprofundity to the teachings ñor does itquicken one’s consciousness and contríbute

to his enlightenment. If distinguished mindshave contríbuted to the teachings, that isimportant by the fact of what they havediscovered and taught. If they have madeno direct contribution to the organization,then their eminence is of no greater valuéto the Order ñor to the individual memberthan is any other ñame.

There are individuáis who are constantlyinquiring as to “what prominent personshave been, or are, affiliated with the Rosicrucian Order?” It is evident from their in-quiríes that such information would be adetermining factor for them as to whetherthey become members of the Order or not.

Psychologically, such persons are seekingpersonal distinction vicariously. In otherwords, not having distinguished themselvesor feeling unable to do so through personaleffort, they “want to belong” to a group ofeminent persons. In this way—vicariously—they believe they will have eminence re-flected upon themselves.—X



Supematural!

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or are they momentary glimpses into a world of phenomena of which man is yet inignorance? Is there an intelligence which manifests in an extraordinary manner orcan all unusual experiences be explained by natural law and order?

The word S u p e r n a t u r a l rings throughout the world today as ithas for centimes. But in this age an impartial investigation and aserious study of the unusual can be had. What greater fascinationis there than that of the unknown? What greater enjoyment can behad than an inquiry into the mysterious? The greatest minds of all

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December, 1957Volume XX VIII No. 3

Rosicrucian ForumA p r í v a te pu b l i c a t i on f o r m e m b e r s o f AM OR C

RUTH PARRAN, F. R. C.

Inspector General of AMORC for New York City




Greetings!V V V

RECONSTRUCTION OF SOCIETY

Dear Fratres and Sorores :The question was asked of us the other

day: “If it were in your power to do something constructive for the whole of mankind,what would you consider the greatest need?”Most of us have some general conceptionof the deficiencies and insufficiencies of the

human race. As a consequence, our mostimmediate response is to cite some programor form of activity that seems the probablesolution to the problem as we unthinkingly conceive it. We say “unthinkingly” becausemost of our notions of the basic causes ofsocial disturbances and unhappiness in theworld do not origínate in our personal ob-servance or analysis of prevailing conditions.They are inheiited ideas, mostly the opinionsof others. The suggestions we are inclinedto offer are, therefore, more or less repeti-tious. They are a personal recital of theviews of others which have seemed probableto us and are expressed in our own words.

As we, however, sincerely ponder such aquestion, try to discover what might be doneto alleviate the growing social disorder andturbulence, our first suggestions, the usualones, seem fallow. Most of what is proposedto assure world peace and the harmony ofsociety has already been tried to some degree in past centuries—and without con-vincing success, It would seem, then, that aradical approach to the entire problem isneeded.

The word radical has today the undertoneof unpleasant connotation. It is made toappear that the nonconformist, the one whoseeks to depart from customs and conven-

tions by tuming sharply at right angles tosome of them, is a fanatic and anarchist.The true radical, however, is not a destróyer. He does not tear down because of sadisticdelight. He does not shatter the concepts andtraditions of others to enjoy any hurt suchmay cause them. What he removes or castsaside is part of an evolutionary scheme. He

considers it as debris to be replaced by afiner, more noble structure. Like any intelligent builder, he does not remove any existing thing until he has something which,in quality, form, or content, will transcendthe former.

The intelligent radical knows that, if his

ideáis or concepts have not yet been proved,then the change he proposes must at first begradual. To oblitérate the established in itsentirety upon theory alone can only resultin chaos, if the idea is false. The radical,however, is willing to risk some loss wherethe new concept gives evidence of havingmerit and will result in improvement.

Why not, then, a reconstruction of society,not strictly along political lines as evidencedin Communist countries but in every depart-ment of human endeavor? Is it not time forthe world to acquire a new look at itself?Such a proposal, of course, is but an echo ofPlato as voiced in his New Republic. Today

much of what Plato proposed over two thou-sand years ago would not be acceptable be-cause it would not be practical in a worldof different circumstances and demands upon.the individual. But the necessity of such areconstruction still prevails.

How and where would such a reconstruction begin? What aspects of modem lifewould it revolutionize? Should anything re-main inviolate—if it could be improved— just because it was hoary with age or bathedin an aura of reverence? Wh y not beginwith a philosophical system of moráis andethics? Let such a system have as well apsychological foundation, that is, be related

to the categories of the human mind, in-stincts, and emotions. Take moráis out ofthe category of religious traditions, supernatural edicts and the fear of punishmentin the afterlife. Let such moráis be a practical rational method of behavior, a scientificrelationship of the individual to his society.Cause the moráis to be as impersonal as



DECEMBER, 1957 Page 51

mathematics and dependable in adapting .theindividual to the requirements of successful

living.Many of the powerful organized religionshave exerted too great an influence on theconduct of government. Such an influence,since it represents an implied spiritual purpose, seldom has its doctrines questionedinsofar as they tend to shape the laws ofthe land. As a consequence, we have Christian, Hindú, Buddhist, and Judaic nationsfor example. Such reference means that thelawmakers, the legislators, and constitutionsof such countries are primaxily influenced orunder the aegis of the precepts of the respective dominant religions.

The moral principies, at least as they are

expressed in the laws of the country, shouldbe reviewed. They should be detached fromtheir religious background and analyzed asto their worth in human behavior. If theyare found to be sound and pragmatic, theyshould be retained because of such qualitiesand not because of their ecclesiastical traditions and exposition. Let the philosophicaland psychological definition of the goodness of the individual be entirely understood.What constitutes the individual’s part insociety? Do not place goodness strictly uponthe level of a spiritual obligation to be met.Goodness must not be made to seem just apersonal sacrifice and compassion, a specialkind of conduct which all men are to assume

as a price for the divine privilege of life.Rather, man should be taught what theirbasic drives and desires are. These shouldnot be considered as inherently evil or asearthy and something opposed to divine purpose. Their function should be understood.Then the need of the individuars restraintin social discipline should be explained.

Since life is basically selfish in the senseof preservation for its own end, the desiresand urges of so-called normal human beingscannot be construed as being inherently evil.They are consistent with the impelling forcé

of life. But man is a social animal as wellas being a member of a species. To live, he

must co-operate with society. In fact, societyin a complex world is his habitat. To defythe requirements of society is to fight againsthis own Ínterests and to jeopardize his life.

Just as the emotionally mature and balancedperson will not take his own life, so, it couldbe explained, the normal person will notoppose such rules as are necessary for hissocial existence.

Religión expounds certain ecstasies, supreme pleasures, to be had in the next lifeas a reward for virtuous living and conform-ing to the dogmas of its sects. Let a modemphilosophy, augmented by science, disclosethe pleasures of living in this life. It should

be delineated that mortal pleasures are not,however, limited to sensuality alone. Thereare intellectual pleasures and states of consciousness derived from the attainment ofcertain ideáis that afford transcendent pleasure here on earth.

It can be related that instinctively everyindividual strives to do right. This inclina-tion may be of divine origin but it can alsobe explained from a philosophical and psychological point of view without depreciatingits spiritual significance. All men do whatthey conceive to be right—even the criminal.It is incumbent to define the right in termsof praotical living and how the individualcan come to realize it. When this is done

and abided by, the individual can experiencea degree of happiness commensurate withwhat religión expounds as the spiritualreward.

A reconstruction of society must, as well,endeavor to arrive at a unified purpose forman. The various arts and sciences, thehumanities as a whole, and religión general-ly have separate valúes for their activities.These may be stated as aesthetic apprecia-tion, utilitarian achievements, economy,knowledge, health, and longevity. There isno parallelism between these human en-


The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Depárrmentof Publication of the Supreme Council of AMORC, at Rosicrucian Park, San José, California.

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deavors. The respective interpretations ofwhat these endeavors hope to achieve for

mankind do not all coincide. Many are inconflict with or have a contemptuous atti-tude toward one another, as has long beenevidenced on the part of religión towardScience.

Very few modera scientists—with the ex-ception of such men as Eddington, Jeans,and Einstein—can explain how science iscontributing to a unified purpose in societyother than: (a) providing factual knowledgeof nature and (b) applying such knowledgeto longer life and ease of living.

One may ask, What should man strive toknow? Why should he live longer? Shouldnot man set an ultímate objective for him

self on earth toward which his knowledgeand gradually increasing longevity would bemere tools or instruments? Science politelyleaves these questions to the category ofspeculation and abstraction. It states thatthese are of the realm of religión and philosophy. The latter are often critical ofscience as being too material and lacking inany idealism.

In trying to preserve its traditions, societyremains thus divided. A conciliatory, liberaland courageous movement is needed to tietogether the lines of human thought andactivity. We must courageously hew awayall obstruotions that prevent a unified pur

pose for mankind. Are we, of today, afraidto face a reconstruction of the elements of asocial order to which we have become ac-customed? Or have we become caught inan impelling tide which it is easier to floatupon than to swim against—until humanityis ultimately immersed in a Whirlpool ofsocial chaos?


Imperator.

Is Morality Declining?

A frater in Australia now addresses our

Forum. “Is morality in the world decliningtoday, or are the changes we witness normalones to which we shall have to adapt ourselves?”

The basis of moráis in most all societiesis that behavior which conforms to the com-monly accepted spiritual principies. In thematter of moráis, a society fashions them

according to that good which has its foun-dation in a generally accepted religious codeas, for example, the Ten Commandments.Such codes or so-called edicts are associatedwith some traditional heritage. Usually, theyoriginate in an exposition by the founder oravatar of the sect which adheres to them.

The moral practices of a society, however,more often are a considerable elaboration upon the basic spiritual precepts which havebeen recognized. This elaboration is theconsequence of an interpretation, and it isengendered from experience as to what conforms to the good of society and the social conscience. The fluctuation, the change inthe moráis of a society, is likewise due tovarying interpretations of its basic spiritual

precepts. Of course, a society may becomedevoid of spiritual idealism. Its foundationof morality is then strictly a matter of ex-pedient behavior. In such instances, menwill prohibit or require certain acts, not be-cause of any allegiance to a God or to spiritual traditions, but because they have foundthe acts necessary for their mutual welfare.A society, therefore, which might have littlespiritual influence or teaching, could as amatter of expedience outlaw theft, murder,and perjury.

The extensive education of a society, therising level of knowledge, has a considerableimpact upon its morality. Education broad-

ens the mental view and likewise libéralizesthe thought. As a consequence, all codes,religious and legal, are construed morebroadly. The construction is motivated inthe enlightened societies principally by rea-son rather than by emotion. Education, if itis general and not confined to specific sub

jects, tends to acquaint the individual morewith himself. Th e subjects of metaphysics,psychology, psychiatry, anatomy and physi-ology, for example, give one an insight intohis constitution and thought processes. Muchthen which was once thought “evil” or a“sin” is tolerated—at least it is not consid-ered immoral.

For example, let us consider the case of agirl that has a child out of wedlock. Themodem, enlightened society does not consider that a sin against God. It recognizesthe natural urges of individuáis and thetemptations of persons to submit to naturaldemands. The people of such a society mayrealize that the consequence of such acts




could become a social stigma; therefore, so

ciety will establish legal requirements inwhich the parents are obliged to support thechild and in some instances may be com-pelled to marry. These are rules of expedi-ency, however, and not of moráis.

The modern society comes to know thatmuch of morality and conscience is the consequence of environmental influence and ofsocial pattems and habits to which one mustmore or less adjust. They know that theletter of the moral code is man-made. Themotivation to conform to a standard of good is immanent in most persons but the construction and words of that desire are whollyof human origin—not Divine.

Morality and social idealism are closelyaligned. Men’s ideáis for the betterment oftheir kind stem from the so-called spiritualurges which they have. It is the result ofthe finer sentiments and impulses which theyexperience within themselves. A well-de-veloped sense of sympathy, compassion andlove of one’s fellow men arouses thoughts orideáis to represent them. In the formationof such ideáis men frequently tum to religious precepts or to the traditional moralcode. An analysis of most of the great docu-ments or declarations of governments, suchas their constitutions, reveáis a spirit mostconsistent with the prevailing morality of

the people.When social and spiritual idealism decline, then, regardless of the level of societyand its learning, morality lowers propor-tionately. A materialistic society is onewhose principies of idealism—gratificationof the physical being and a limited expression of the ego—tend to disregard moralprecepts. It fails in self-discipline. It con-forms to certain behavior only by socialcompulsión—the law of the land—not be-cause of any personal desire to do so. Wefind men resorting to an increasing numberof unethical acts, even what amounts tothievery, deception, and lying in their busi

ness transactions; they come to justify suchconduct as being necessary, as the compulsión of competition or as subtle points of salespsychology, or shrewd máneuvering and thelike. They will often with little compunctionruthlessly ruin individuáis. They go the fulllimit of the legal boundaries of their society—if not beyond.

When there is corruption of self-discipline

as applied to any form of conduct, it usuallydeteriorates in every other relationship intowhich the individual enters. One who hasno compunction about lying in business be-cause it proves to his advantage will alsoresort to making mendacious statements inhis other affairs. One who will hurt anotherin order to gain in one form of activity willdo likewise in any other commitment whichis to his advantage. Psychologically, whenthe personal consciences of groups of individuáis are lowered, the mass or public conscience declines, as well.

Extreme materialism contributes to thelowering of the prívate and public conscience

—and the decline of moráis. It establishes awholly external dependence. The individualcomes to believe that his whole personalpeace and security is to be found in the material achievements of his day. He relies onwhat he can buy, control, and possess forthe satisfaction of his ego. Humanitaríanidealism and the impulses that are calledmoral dictates are then placed in a secondarycategory. Those who govem their lives byprincipies founded upon the higher motiva-tions come to be termed dreamers and idealists, these references being made in a deroga-tory sense.

Any great prosperity of the masses tends

to lower the moral standards of society. Atsuch times it is the end that seems to justifythe means. If material things are easily ac-cessible or relatively so, and if they providea kind of happiness—even though transient—that then suffices. The more lasting happiness, which a moral philosophy and study advócate, is considered of comparativelylittle valué. It may even be thought an inter-ference with the required time for materialattainment.

Incongruous as it may seem, in the lightof the above remarks, in prosperous timesreligión will flourish; more and more elabórate religious edifices are built at such times.

This does not indicate a deepening moralsense upon the part of the individual. Rather,the individual who has more ampie fundsduring the eras of prosperity contributes tothe traditional institutions with which hisfamily has been aligned. Such institutions heaccepts as having some valué, even thoughin his personal life they may influence him




only slightly. He supports them as a kind

of prop or background of his social order.Today, church attendance in the UnitedStates in particular is greater than ever—without necessarily any increased moral behavior on the part of the populace. A greatnumber of these church attendants are escapists. They are confused and fearsome of thetimes in which they live—and of the nuclearsword of Damocles which hangs over theirheads. The American press with its contin-uous scare headlines, exceeding most of thepress of Europe in this regard, and in itsimplied dire threats to mankind incites asense of helplessness in many people. Theydo not understand the present activity andthe intricacies of science; they acquire a dis-torted view of the whole function of theatomic age from their public sources of in-formation. They tum to the quieting andemotional appeals of their religious sects; inconnection with these, most are not obligedto think and many more often cióse theireyes to reality. They hope then for somedivine intelligence to intercede while theywithdraw, figuratively, from the problems oftheir day.

The intelligent, thinking members of society realize that most moráis expounded byreligión, as said, have their roots in specificnecessary human behavior. To completelyabolish such moral standards would be to

bring society to the brink of destruction. Asa consequence, advanced societies will incorpórate the fundamentáis of such moralprincipies in their legal codes, as most havedone. The average man, then, will realizethat such standards are for his personal bene-fit as well as for his neighbors. Thus, evenif he acts solely for self-pleasure rather thanout of love for his fellow man, he will wantto prevent morality from completely deteri-orating.—X

Does the Universe Expand?

A frater of South Africa now arises to ask

our Forum: “If all there ever was is eternal,then how can the universe expand? Howdoes the saying of ‘there is nothing new under the sun’ fit into this? If you could sheda little more light on these questions, I wouldbe very pleased.”

It would seem from logical thinking thatthat which is infinite could not expand.

From the time of the ancient Ionic philoso-

phers most thinkers have conceived the universe as a continuum and infinite in nature.The reasoning has been that for a thing tobe finite it must be compared to somethingelse. To what would the universe be compared, if it is ubiquitous and is all inclusive?Simply put, into what could the universeexpand? From the astronomical point ofview, however, the universe is not just ab-stract puré being. It is ph ys ica l propert ies ,galaxies, nebulae, stars, suns, gases, andradiations. Of what that consists in whichthey dwell is as yet a metaphysical problem.It is, of course, a kind of being but as of now,so far as science is concerned, it is unidenti-fiable.

The theory of the expanding universearises from the observation that remótespiral nebulae are, to all appearances, rush-ing away from the earth. These nebulae arealso apparently rushing away from eachother at “terrific speeds up to 7,200 miles asecond.” Distinguished astronomers at Mt.Wilson Observatory found that the speedsof nebulae are proportionate to their dis-tances from us. This theory coincides withthe cosmology expounded by the theory ofrelativity.

A nébula, for example, whose light takesten million years to reach us has, accordingto this theory of proportionate distance, a

speed of 900 miles a second. “Others areapproximately proportional to their dis-tances.” Presuming that the nebulae arerushing farther away from us each second,if we trace them backward we find thatoriginally they must have had a startingpoint in the neighborhood of our sun. According to the estímate based on this theory,they were all congregated relatively near thesun but a few thousand million years ago!We can think of them like marbles congregated around an orange—then somethingscattering them at stupendous speed. Thistheory then of the receding nebulae suggeststhat we are living in an expanding universe

so far as these properties are concemed, ifwe consider them alone as the universe. Thisexpanding, it is further contended, must havestarted as recently as a few thousand millionyears ago.

It is related that, if the theory is true, thestars were once parked together. The greatage of millions and millions of years which




the astronomers have attributed to the starswould not be true. This theory of the reces-

sion of the nebulae is based upon what isknown as Doppler’s principie. For simpleanalogy, we know that the sound of an auto-mobile hom grows deeper in pitch as it re-cedes from us. “On the same principie, lightemitted by a receding body appears redder incolor than that emitted by a body approach-ing us,” says Sir James Jeans. The color inlight corresponds to pitch in sound.

The spectral lines of color which are welldefined are studied by the astronomer. Theyconstitute a kind of celestial speedometer. Byobserving the “red shift”—that is, the colormoving farther into the red in the spectrum—it is determined that the body is receding

from us. Conversely, when it is in the blue,it is held to be approaching us. Most nebulae,it has been found, have an increasingly redder light. It is thus thought that they arerapidly receding.

In conflict with this theory of the relationship of redness to the recession of celestialbodies is the fact that there are other causesof redness. It is claimed that distance aloneproduces redness. Therefore, the body mightnot be receding when it is observed. A notedastronomer has said that the gravitationalpulí of the stars and nebulae on light passingnear them causes it to be deflected. Further,light from the nearest nebulae is not redder

“but bluer than normal.” It is held thatlight can only be bluer by an actual physicalapproach. This would mean, then, that thenebulae are approaching us. There are bodieswhich have a redness for some mysteriousreason which man has not yet leamed. Onthe other hand, it has been discovered thatmasses seem to exert a repulsive forcé “fargreater than the attractive forcé of gravita-tion.” Various theories have been introducedto try to explain how one body may repulseanother so as to cause it to hurtle into outer“space” at tremendous speeds. If this is so,of course, it supports the expanding-universetheory.

Let us visualize a large vessel in whichare grouped a number of marbles. Suddenlythey are dispersed and move with greatspeed away from the large marble whichthey formerly surrounded. We presume, aswe have heretofore said, that the marblesand their radiations symbolize the physicalproperties of the universe. What, then, is

the large vessel in which they move? Aslong as the marbles remain in that vessel,in which they move, they have not expandedanything except in the distance between oneanother. The marbles are not the wholereality. That in which they move is likewiseof the reality. So long as that in which thesemarbles move is capable of retaining them,then that itself constitutes a reality. It is asmuch the universe as all within it. No matter how fast and far celestial bodies recedeas masses and energies, their médium is notnecessarily expanding just because it continúes to contain them.

If we knew that the most distant nebulaewere actually limits of that in which theydwell, then their recession would constitute

an expanding universe, but we have no suchknowledge. It is quite probable that, if theuniverse is a sea of energy, in which dwellmasses called matter, then this sea, as a whole, may púlsate; that is, it may expandand contract periodically. This would ac-count for the whole electromagnetic spectrum of radiation—that which is known andthat which is not yet known.—X

Does the Soul Enter at Birth?

A frater in England addresses our Forum,and says: “A recent newspaper report relatesa physician’s hearing a baby cry before

birth. I have understood it to be laid downas a fun damental pr incip ie that soul or inde-pendent life enters the body with the firstbreathing at birth. If a baby were heard tocry before birth this would appear to con-tradict the above fundamental principie andcali for a revisión of same. If such an in-stance were to happen only once in a millionbirths it would be sufficient to nullify theabove law. I would like this subject con-sidered in the Forum.”

The metaphysical and ontological principie involved conceming birth and the en-trance of the soul essence is this. With theindividual breathing of .the separate organism

through its own respiratory system the in-fant acquires a separate consciousness andthe quality of nous, that positive polarity bywhich it becomes an independent expressionof soul-personality. The crying of the infantbefore birth indicates physiologically that airmust exist in the lungs of the child. But itcannot bé established that the child before




birth is a separate physical entity and thatair in its lungs was acquired solely throughits own respiratory and nervous systems.Further, the positive polarity of nous con-veyed by the air in the unbom infant’s lungsdoes not vitalize the child’s independent nervous systems. Before birth, the physical at-tachment of the child to the mother impliesthat the organs and nervous systems of themother are the dominant influence.

Taking these physiological and psycholog-ical facts into consideration, we believe thatthe metaphysical and mystical principie(that there is no separate consciousness ñorfunction of soul until the child takes itsfirst breath independent of its mother) mustcontinué to prevail. The positive polarity ofnous, that Creative forcé and intelligencefrom which the function and phenomenoncalled soul arises, exists in the air which webreathe. It is a material property in thesense that it is a frequency in .the spectrumof energy, but it is of such a high frequencythat it is generally considered to be immaterial.

This essence, as said, could be in thelungs of the unbom child just as it is in theones of the infant following birth. Themechanism by which this energy is converted into intelligence and states of consciousness, by which the soul manifests, isbinary before birth. By that we mean that

it functions just before birth in unisón withthe organism of the mother. There is notthat detachment which constitutes a freesoul-personality.

We may use a simple analogy to betterexplain this. Let us assume that we havetwo devices which are capable of functioningseparately. However, they are mechanicallyattached to each other so that they function synchronously; or, perhaps one is the“mother” device and govems the other. Letus further assume that the electrical currentflowing through each device is of the samevoltage and of the same cycle. This electricalcurrent we may liken unto the positive

polarity of nous taken into the lungs witheach breath. Although both devices or machines are imbued with the same electricalenergy, neither one can be said to be inde-dependent, that is, self-goveming. Even ifboth interlocked units produce similar ef-fects—just as the crying of the unbom andthe newly bom infant are the same—.they

are nevertheless mutually governed, or atleast one is controlled by the other.

We must repeat, then, that we do notthink the fundamental precept as set forthin the Rosicrucian ontology, that the soulenters only with the first breath of the new-bom infant, is altered by the case citedhere.—X

Importance of Explanations

Surely, there is no intelligent being whohas never asked the question, W h y l Almosteverything that comes about in our experience raises that question, and its answer issometimes very difficult to find. Why certainevents should take place, why certain ex

periences should be ours, are questions uponwhich men not only ponder, but sometimesactually brood to the point of being morbid.There are individuáis, who, as a result oftheir brooding and consideration of ananswer to a question, have made themselvesactually physically ill, or brought about acondition which has made it impossible forthem to properly do their work and carryon their regular activities.

In other words, the importance to theaverage individual of the explanation ofcertain factors is so great that the amountof effort and time that is put on the attempt is sometimes completely out of pro-

portion to the question or answer. Thereare many explanations that are never at-tained by the human being in this physicallife. This statement may be discouragingfrom the point of view of the individual whois literally using all his efforts toward solvingsomething that may be forcing itself uponhis consciousness, but, regardless of this fact,it is nevertheless tme.

We can find a parallel to .this situation ifwe look back over our own life. Many werethe times when as children we asked thequestion, Why? Why should we behave ina certain manner? Why should we studycertain subjects in school? Why were moral

issues important? Why should we do thingsthat our parents told us to do, when itseemed as though there were other activitiesthat would be more enjoyable and moreuseful to us?

Many of these questions were not an-swered at the time that they seemed important; that is, we were unable to arrive




at a satisfactory explanation of why weshould go to school, or study certain subjects,

or why we should behave in a certain manner. As adults, we now believe we knowthe answers to the questions, but their importance is all out of proportion to what itwas at the time when the situation orig-inated. In other words, we have a vague ideaas to why it was necessary for us to go toschool and receive an education, but ouranswer to that question today would nothave satisfied us when we were children.In other words, the sum and substance ofthe argument is that often when the explanation is found it is no longer of theimportance that it seemed to be at the timethat the question originated.

I think this same fact can be applied toall the questions that are raised in the courseof human existence. We cannot today explain many situations that exist in our livesor about us. We cannot explain the existenceof good and evil. We cannot understandwhy some people seem to needlessly suffer.It is very difficult for us to accept the suf-fering of good people, or the innocent persecution of those who do not seem to deserveit. We cannot understand why some of ushave more energy than others, why some arehappy, why some are not. These questionshave been questions that have existed inthe mind of intelligent people as long as theyhave been intelligent, but I am more or lessconvinced that the answers to the questions,when they come, will have much less importance than we place upon them at thepresent time.

Just as we see now why it was necessaryfor us to behave in a certain way when wewere children, so at some indeterminablefuture time, we will probably see why it wasnecessary for us to go through certain experiences today; but then the experience, ifit has been properly leamed, will have moresignificance than the reason for which wehad to participate in it.

Possibly the reason for explanations to allthings not being easily forthcoming is thatthere is more importance directed to theexperience than to the end to be obtained.Man lives a continuous existence, and tohave all the answers to all the questions hemay ask come at any one particular timewould, in a sense, stop all his progress andall his growth. The process of living is not

a process that can be summed up by theanswers to the questions that begin with the

word why. The process of living is a processof continual growth, and man has tremen-dous potentialities into which he can grow.As he grows into them, he is experiencingthe process of living itself, which is con-tributing in a way that may not be completely apparent to a type of living that weordinarily classify as immortality.

In that period there will probably befurther experiences to take place, furtheractivities in which to participate, the fullmeaning of which will continué to lie ahead,because the only answer, the only state ofabsolute perfection that can exist in theuniverse, would have to be in an all-knowing

consciousness, the consciousness that we normally ascribe to God. Man’s evident purpose,then, is to eventually reach a similar state,a state when he will have all knowledge andwill be perfect as God is perfect; but untilthat time comes, man only moves in thatdirection, and as he meets and, to a degree,Controls the situations that are his in life,he will be contributing to an accumulationof knowledge and experience that will causehim to be able at some time and place toanswer the why of things.

When these questions which originate inman’s physical life are answered, there willbe others to challenge the ability that manhas acquired in the accumulation of theknowledge which has brought him to thatparticular point, and the answers we havesearched for so long will not be important.—A

Human Freedom and Evil

The attempt to reconcile the existence offreedom and evil in the world has been asubject of philosophical speculation by manyindividuáis throughout history. To interpretthe purpose of life, man attempts to pene-trate the apparent meanings of the universethat he views, or in other ways perceives,and also attempts to explain the existenceof those events or manifestations that areseemingly inconsistent. Casual observationof the universe makes it possible for us toreach numerous conclusions, depending uponour interpretation. There are events andmanifestations that clearly point toward theexistence of a divine being. There are alsomany events and manifestations that seem




to be in opposition to the existence of asuperior intelligence.

Regardless of our interpretation of theuniverse, man is aware of the problem ofevil. He is faced with the existence of negative forces in the universe that thwart hisdesires and seem to stand in the way of hisprogress. Anything that in this mannerimpedes man obviously is considered a detri-ment and therefore an evil. A serious ex-amination of both historical and contem-porary events causes us occasionally to bevery discouraged by the evident existenceof evil. Whether or not good is after all thefinal purpose in the ultímate achievementof man, or whether evil is the more potentpower in the universe, having one’s self

blocked from all worth-while attainment isa possibility that no intelligent person canignore.

The problem of evil has had the consideration of many people throughout the his-tory of man’s thought. The solution tothis problem has never been satisfactorilyreached, although individuáis settle it byvarious methods. Some avoid the problemaltogether by simply acknowledging that thehuman being is incapable of understandingthe whole of creation, and thereby is satisfied to come to the conclusión that mansimply cannot understand some of the inconsistentes that seem to exist in the uni

verse. Other individuáis will acknowledgethat good and evil both exist simultaneously,and man must cope with both, avoiding oneand trying to attain the other.

There also are those who attempt to avoidthe problem altogether, or simply considerevil as an illusion, and good as a reality,and therefore state that evil is nonexistent.Such a philosophy is difficult to adopt andeven more difficult to consistently accept andpractice as a philosophy of life. We areaware of the existence of crime, atrocities,war, dishonesty, and other forms of behaviorwhich detract from man’s virtue. In ourawareness of the existence of these things, it

is extremely difficult for us to accept honestlythe premise that such events are merelyconcepts of the mind and do not exist inactuality. We cannot ignore the fact thatevil is existent and manifests in such behavior.

The philosopher Epicurus made a negative approach to the problem of evil when

he asked the question as to whether Godeither could not or would not keep evil outof the world. Epicurus argued that if Godcould not keep evil from the universe, thenhe was not infallible. If he would not, thenhe did not exemplify the love that is pre-sumed to exist in divine nature. In thecriticism of deity, Epicurus did not come anynearer to solving the problem of evil thanhave many other philosophers.

We cannot accept a point of view thatdepreciates the valué of the Infinite. Thelogical conclusión by the average humanbeing is that, while God is infinite in knowledge, in experience, and in purpose, He stillpermits evil to exist. We are therefore forcedto conclude that either evil does exist as an

actuality in the world, or that man misin-terprets the nature of evil.I once defined evil in this manner: “Evil

means anything that interferes with ourplans, that may cause us to abandon ourhopes or aspirations, that destroys what wehave worked to create, or causes us to sufferbodily or mentally.” This concept of evil, Imight add, is purely subjective. It is basedupon something interfering with our individual lives. This definition of evil is interms of considering ourselves in relation toenvironment, and considering evil as something that intrudes itself between us and asatisfactory relationship to environment. I

have now come to the conclusión that thedefinition does not go far enough; that evilis an actual factor in environment; and thatevil is exclusively an attribute of the materialworld.

We cannot conceive of a divine goodnessco-existing with evil; therefore, everythingthat is evil, whether it be an evil action, orevil behavior, is related to material whichcomposes the physical world in which welive. From this point of view, evil is anattribute of matter, and exists only so longas matter itself exists and has effect uponus only so long as matter is a factor of ourenvironment.

I am fully aware that this theory is con-troversial. Nevertheless, I am more andmore inclined to accept as a premise thatevil is inherent in matter and exists as anactuality in the material world. As long aswe are a part of the physical world, we arein a position where we are forced to workwith the solution of the problem of evil be-



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cause it is ever-present and ever a part ofthe environment of which we also are a part.

To grasp this concept, we must rememberthat matter is a transitory manifestation;that it is a part of a physical world madefor a specific purpose and made to exist fora specific length of time. It is a temporarycondition that will no longer prevail whenits purpose is fulfilled. We must cope withthe material world as long as life exists ina physical body. We fail to cope with it byshutting our eyes to the fact that evil existsin matter. Evil is inherent in the physicalworld, and it may be one purpose of man’slife to leam how to overcome its domination.

To lessen the domination of matter andits attributes, we must remember that man,

as a living being, lives in two orders ofreality. He is a physical entity insofar ashis body is concemed, and in this sense heis a part of the material universe. At thesame time, we must remember that man issoul, and soul is an expression of the Divine.Man is a part of matter, which I have statedis inherently evil. Man has to accept theresulting problems that are necessarily im-plied by this concept, since his body, inwhich his soul manifests, also partakes of thequality of evil that is in all matter. Toavoid facing this fact, some religious phi-losophies attempt to subjugate matter entirely, or consider it as a subordinate partof experience. By adopting such a point ofview, the importance of matter with its attributes is completely abolished from man’sthinking—or matter is completely ignored.

The seat of personality—that is, the realself, the I or the ego—is the soul. The soulis the essential self. It is timeless. Its truehome is not in this world, but in anotherorder of reality. It has existence, as it were,on a higher plañe. To fulfill a specific purpose, and to gain certain experience, thesoul is incamated into the physical orderfor different periods of time so that it canrelate itself to physical phenomena andparticipate in the experiences that come as aresult of that relationship. To attempt to

understand why this should be, or why manshould experience this existence in a material world, which may be evil, is something that philosophy and religión have triedto explain in many ways. It is difficult, andhuman reason alone is incapable of attain-ing a completely satisfactory solution.

As we leam of and experience the physicalworld of which we are a part, we alter our

point of view; we change our concepts aswe advance in our own growth and development. As intelligent beings, we can possiblyarrive at certain points of agreement, andcertain understanding of those phenomenawhich become apparent to us, and therebybecome more intimately aware of both of theorders of reality in which we have existence.

Merely to state that in opposition to evilthe valúes of truth, goodness, and beautyare desirable is not enough. This point ofview has been unduly emphasized, and inemphasizing the virtues, their separationfrom our actual world in which we live iswidened. The invisible world of valúes is

somewhat like/a mirage, something thatseems to lie above us, and is seemingly un-attainable, something toward which we aspire and seem to approach but which manyof us never attain.

We are encouraged to look up and aspireto the attainment of ideáis; but, when we dotoo much looking and not enough living, weare merely reiterating in words the highideáis to which we subscribe. In thinking ofgreater virtue and greater valué, we leaveour ideáis isolated in a field of fantasy, likea mirage or a cloud floating above the actuality of the world in which we live. Manyindividuáis pay homage to ideáis but actuallyseem to find no way, ñor even have a desire,to attain an intímate awareness and relationship to that world of ideáis.

To consider further the impact of evilupon us, we will direct our attention to theopposite; that is, we will consider the valuéof goodness. Intelligent men accept withoutquestion that goodness is one of the highestaims of man. They also accept that the manwho is truly good is never content with justhis own goodness. The good man is desirousof enlarging that concept. True goodnessmeans making the concept universal. Allreligions have held that goodness is a worth-while attainment. Philosophers have taughtthat the good man is the man given to the

pursuit of goodness, and therefore devotinghimself to the welfare of his own advance-ment, his fellow man, and of God.

Men who seek goodness aspire to be betterthan they are. Sócrates emphasized that allmen pursue the good. Our frequent apparent preference for evil is caused by our




mistakes of judgment in regard to the natureof good and how to obtain the good. At any

moment what we may happen to be pursuingappears to be good to us while we are pursuing it. We tend to desire and pursue thegood, even though we may misdirect oursteps. Some individuáis may he and chea.t,but they do so in order to secure some endwhich is beyond the actual act of lying andcheating. The petty thief and the hardenedcriminal may be working toward what theymistakenly believe is good.

To pursue good is the right of any man,and good may be pursued through rightconduct. Right conduct, therefore, is an endin itself, whereas wrong conduct is alwaysa means to an end beyond itself. The individual who commits a crime is participatingin wrong conduct because he is using it asa means to something other than the processof conduct. He is attempting to achievesomething which he believes may be goodfor him. The individual who consistentlyfollows a path of right conduct is workingor living to achieve goodness itself throughconduct and not because he will gain something more than the benefits of that type ofliving.

If, as Sócrates said, all men pursue goodness, then we might ask by what means orwith what part of his nature does man aspireafter goodness? It would seem obvious thatilhat phase of man which aspires after good

must be in itself good, for it is the charac-teristic of á good man or of a man so faras he is good to aspire after and desire goodness. If man aspires for good, even thoughhe may be in error in his method, there hasto be a part of man’s nature which leadshim to so aspire and desire, and this is apart of him that is good. Therefore, goodis evidently a part of man.

Such a process of reasoning brings us tothe tentative conclusión that goodness isimmanent in the soul of man so as tocounteract evil in matter. It is the sourceof that which is in man and known to usto be moral aspiration and endeavor. There

fore, goodness is not only transcendent—thatis, something that seems to he outside orbeyond us like an unrealized ideal—butgoodness is also immanent within us, beinga source that is a part of our inner nature,that aspires to relate itself to the same typeof nature. Plato tried to establish this point

when he referred to the individual soul asnot only modeling itself in accord with the

ideal of goodness, but also partaking of goodness in the sense that the soul was a médiumfor the manifestation of the good.

I will attempt to illustrate this idea byreference to the fact that the same truthwhich applies to goodness also applies tobeauty. As goodness gives valué to humanlife, so it is that the presence of beauty inworks of art causes these works to havevalué. A picture which inspires us with itsbeauty is composed of matter. The canvasand the paint which make the picture mayin themselves have no aesthetic valué. Nevertheless, the idea which the artist wishes toexpress needs to find expression in matteror else the idea remains aesthetically worth-less. Without paint, canvas, and other materials necessary to create the picture,without words and sounds, the inspirationof the painter, the poet, or the musicianwould never be realized,

Because of this nonrealization, there neverwould come into existence in the world ofactuality the expression of beauty conceivedin the mind of the creator of beauty. Therewould always exist a potentiality of valuébut not valué in itself, because valué to berealized in the physical world must be madein terms of the actualities that are of thephysical world. When the idea of the artistbecomes expressed, or, we might say, be-

comes immanent in matter, the idea thenachieves valué in the material world in thatour physical senses can perceive the idea.Yet, at the same time, we know that theidea exceeds in valué its manifestation; thatthe idea intrinsically has greater valué thanthe matter in which the idea is ultimatelyexpressed.

Possibly, this theory helps us to realizethat the two orders of reality, the physicaland the nonmaterial world, actually exist;that they both have a place in our lives.Through them we become aware that welive in one world and at the same time wecan aspire toward the attainment of the

other.The expression of beauty by the artist is the expression of his innermost urges. His Creative abilities and ideas, coupled with the techniques that he has gained, make it possible for that beauty to be expressed. The creation of the artist is an expression of



PECEMBER, 1957 Page 61

himself. It is, in a sense, an overflow ofhimself, of his inner self, into the materialworld through which he expresses. It is anoverflow of an idea which was previouslyonly an immaterial idea, which has becomeembodied in matter as a result of his expression through that médium. The expression embodied in matter is an example ofan ideal being expressed in matter. The ideais transferred from the transcendent to theimmanent. It becomes actual in the material world, whereas previously it was realonly in a transcendent world. Although theidea may become immanent in the actualityof the physical world, it still continúes toexist as transcendent in the spiritual worldbecause the artist is never satisfied that histrue ideal is ever perfectly manifest.

Every great musician has been dissatisfiedwith what he composed, because the musiche heard in his soul was more sublime thananything he could put into material tones tobe audible in the physical world. The musician, the artist, or the writer brings aboutan expression of his ideas as an overflow ofhis own being, but also the artist’s creationis a necessary overflow. The artist’s expression constitutes an overflow of his own being,of his own inner self into manifestation.

The Creative urge is a tremendous forcé. It must be expressed. Just as the forcé of water accumulated behind a dam will seek to find its level, so the Creative urge of a

Creative forcé in the mind of an artist or in the mind of any human being will attempt to find embodiment in the material world, because it is the only world in which he can now produce evidence of his creation and expression of his ideas.

If this is only a mortal concept, it hasthe implication of being immortal. As theartist unable to contain his own inspirationpours himself out into the works of art, so itis that God, unable to contain the nature ofHis own goodness, pours Himself into theworld of His creation. It is possible thatGod has no more motive for His overflowinginto a world which He has created than the

artist has motive in his writing, painting, orcomposing. The universe which God hascreated is a necessary expression or exter-nalization of Himself. God needs the material universe; it is the means by which Heidealizes His own expression into a realitywhich functions or exists as an actuality in

the material world and as a forcé or infinitepower through all creation.

In the actuality of the material worldwhich God has used as a médium of expression, the material with which the expressionmust be made evident is in itself imperfect.Matter, partaking as it does of evil, oftenproves intractable and inadequate for God’sexpression. Matter thwarts the artist’s in-tentions. It stands in the way of the fulfillment of his ideal, and frequently interfereswith his execution. For this reason theartist is frequently dissatisfied with the com-pleted expression that he has attempted toform in the material world.

If the artist experiences such sensationsof being thwarted by his manipulation of

material, it may also be that the materialcomposing the universe, which God uses asHis médium, and in which His creation isembodied, may also at times thwart Hisintention. It may be that you cannot conceive of the intentions of the Creator beingthwarted. I will restate the same idea inanother way by saying that material, beingimperfect, prevents God’s creatures fromfully realizing the Creator’s intention in regará to them.

As entities, we have been altered by thematerial in which we are incamated, inwhich the design of the Creator is embodied.This is so in order that purpose in life may

be realized. God, by having expressedthrough the médium of the material whichcomposes the physical universe—that is, bybreathing life into dust, as the Bible statesit—has left the Divine spark, the humansoul, to fend for itself. Before leaving thatspark of divinity which is the essence ofmen as individual entities, God endowed thissegment of Himself, this manifestation of life,with the attribute of freedom so that it maystruggle as best it can against the obstaclesand limitations which the material worldimposes upon it.

Thus, the material médium in which Godhas created may not be so much for the

sake of the creation itself as it is the condition that God has chosen to use for makingpossible the existence of human freedom, acondition made possible and fulfilled by theprocess of interposing a material barrier between us as human entities and the universalmind of which we are the expression.




I believe that this barrier tends to separate us from the Creative source of ourbeing, but at the same time this materialbarrier confers upon us our individuality,our most highly prized possession. To statethis in another way, matter with its attributes of evil is the instrument by means ofwhich God secures the freedom of all Hecreates. If the universe consisted of nothingbut God, the expressions of God, the emana tion from God’s nature—that is, if theseexpressions and emanations of God werenot expressed in, embodied in, or containedin anything other than themselves—it wouldbe extremely difficult to conceive how theentities which God has created as individualsegments of Himself could be independent

of God at any time and yet achieve anyindividuality or separateness. If, on theother hand, man is independent to a degree,then he is free; that is, God has given himfreedom. Man is an individual, and throughthe exercise of his freedom he presumablyhas the potentiality of obtaining the perfec-tion that exists even in God Himself.

The physical universe, then, with all itsimperfections, with its inherent evil, maybe regarded as a Cosmic laboratory in whichthe experiment of character formation andthe development of morally free individuáisis being conducted. The conditions for theconducting of this experiment, or operation,

are necessarily imperfect. Human beings, asentities, have to face a brute, intractable environment, not always amenable to theirwills and against which they have to strug-gle in order to provide the experience whichis the result of the process of adjustment.

These conditions are in general providedby the material environment in which weas human beings exist in our material bodies.God’s creatures are not all of creation. Inaddition, matter is an actuality and a partof His creation. Our souls are emanationsof the Divine, temporarily incamated in matter as a means of experience, the meaning ofwhich will become more and more evidentas time and experience proceed.—A

Defense Against Catholicism

Malice has no justification merely be-cause it is garbed in religious vestments orecclesiastical titles. One should expect froma religious sect—or its temporal body, the

church—the same display of decency andfair play which its teachings exact from itsfollowers. Perfidy, vindictiveness, and men-dacious statements by any religious institution toward those who entertain differentviews only point up the inconsistency of itsclaims to Divine guidance.

The voice of the Román Church today isthe loudest in the world in protesting againstreligious intolerance. It inveighs againstsuppression of religious liberty and freedomof conscience in Communist-dominated coun-tries. It recounts how, in Hungary, and otherIron Curtain countries, its clergy and ad-herents are victims of an intolerance whichtakes the form of brutal persecution.

The same voice that beseeches the Free

World to come to the aid of Christianity—especially the Román Church—gives ordersthrough its prelacy to attack, vilify, suppressand persecute philosophical, metaphysicaland religious groups not approved by it.Where the Román Church has acquired control of the government as in Spain and ef-fectively in Italy, the very freedom ofreligión, which it expounds for itself, isvirtually nonexistent for others.

In other nations throughout the world, inits own media, newspapers and periodicals,the Román Church continually attacks andmaligns the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC. Ittries, wherever it can, by false and mis-

leading statements, to defame the A.M.O.R.C.in public joumals, newspapers, and radiobroadcasts as well.

In the French colonies recently, for furtherexample, it had endeavored to intimidatepersons by claiming, in periodicals, that anywho afíiliate with the A.M.O.R.C. shall becondemned to hell. In one South Americancountry, it has had its Catholic societies sendCommunications to newspapers which de-liberately falsify the activities of the Rosicrucian Order. Countries in the Caribbeanand elsewhere in the world have also experienced this vicious and scurrilous attack inthe ñame of Catholicism—and Christianity!

The literature and articles which havecome to our attention in several languagesshow a deliberate attempt to discredit allsystems of thought which the Román hier-archy has come to consider competitive toits own. Such conduct is a deviation fromthe professed spiritually motivated high principies of the church. It is a deterioration to




the expressed rancor and methods of a pettymerchant against a competitor.

To try to remain aloof and apparently in-different to this insidious campaign by theRomán Church is only to give tacit supportto it. Our silence is misjudged as inabilityto speak in our defense. We now repeatwhat we have said often in our literature:we are not a religious organization. We havefraternal rituals and we do consider metaphysical subjects but such does not make usa religión. We advance no particular methodof religious salvation. We proclaim no found-er who has prescribed a sacred creed ordoctrine. We have no confessors or clergy.Those of any faith, and even those of noformal religious attachment, may become

members of the A.M.O.R.C.The Román Church in its literature of attack has endeavored to show the rectitude ofits conduct by insisting that AMORC is areligión and not a philosophical society.There is the implication that if we are areligión we are then open prey for vilifica-tion by the church. In such reasoning, where-in enters the principie of freedom of religiónand conscience of which the Román Churchis continually prating? Is it to be construedthat this freedom is to be enjoyed only bythe Román Church? Are all other institutions of a moral and philosophical nature,not approved by the Román Church, to bevictims of its avaricious ambition to domi-

nate all free thought?The A.M.O.R.C. does not attack any re

ligious movement or society. However, wecannot let our members and friends and allthose who regard «the liberty of thought asone of the greatest possessions of mankindto remain in ignorance of the tactics of theRomán Church toward all not favored byits hierarchy. We take this militant standin defense of our purpose and also in defense of the ground upon which all institutions for human freedom stand.—X

Are Animáis a Bad Influence?

A soror states: “For the past ten years my

life has held an intímate contact with fourcocker spaniels in the house of our countryplace, with four other dogs in the kennelsoutside and they absorb so much of myenergy, time, and often cause frustration—Iam wondering if the effort is worth theprice in the Cosmic scheme of things.

“The Magi (Ancient Order of) taught meyears ago never to be in the presence of

animals, that they would disappear from theface of the earth eventually. The I AM’staught that animals were created by thenegative thoughts of man and would disappear eventually from earth.

“The theosophists teach that animals area part of evolution, that their souls retumto a pool between reincamations until adevelopment—acquired through contact withthe human being—is achieved.

“Are animals the connecting link betweenus and the vegetable kingdom in evolution?Are they happenstances on earth and to beconsidered taboo? Do human beings haveresponsibility towards animals in aiding

their development and evolution?”Look upon an animal of the higher or-

ganisms, such as a dog, and see reflectedthere your simple organic functions andmany of your psychological ones as well.Animals are links in the biological chainof evolution of which homo sapiens or mod-ern man is but another. Our functional dis-tinction and intellectual superiority as beingsdoes not remove us from the category of aphysical relationship to the vertebrates andparticularly the primates. Simply put, wetoo are animals.

From the religious and mystical point ofview, we humans are living souls. This

adaptation to an evolved self-consciousness, or awareness of our ego, of which consistswhat is called soul, still does not elimínatethe biological factor that we are physicallyanimals. We do not, in enlightened metaphysics, take the position that man alonepossesses soul. To think so, as theology gen-erally expounds, is to flatter the human ego.The essence of soul, that which gives riseto the notion of it, pervades all living things.The life forcé and consciousness are related.Wherever there is consciousness—yes, evenin plants—there is a rudiment of soul. Thisis not a primitive religious idea but, in fact,it is in accord with advanced psychological

concepts. When an organism reaches a certain complexity in its nervous systems andbrain, it attains that sensitivity, that abilityto introvert its consciousness and realize itsego, which engenders the idea of soul. Wherethere is an evolved self-consciousness, thereis what men desígnate as soul.




Does this detract from the divine conteníof soul? Does it make it less spiritual in itsquality? We think not. Life forcé is aCosmic essence. It is one of the infinitenumber of energies of the whole spectrumof Cosmic energy. All creation is of thedivine, if we think such creation to be ofan infinite mind. Some energies are, in theirphenomena, more universal, that is, higherin the scale of their function. Therefore, thelife forcé, of which consciousness is an attribute and from which soul consciousnessarises, is divine, even in animals. No organism, however, is a “living soul” until ithas the realization of its Cosmic origin andseeks to guide its life according to an evolvedconsciousness of self. Man, so far as we

know, is the only being that has so far at-tained this status.Anyone who has had dogs as pets and

has carefully observed their behavior, knowsthat they have a high degree of self-consciousness. This is evident in such conductas the displaying of guilt because of actswhich they have learned are displeasing totheir masters. Some dogs steal food and arequite awrare that such acts are disapproved.When the master points to where the stolenarticle formerly was and speaks about it, thedog will bow its head and retreat. A dog thatkills a rival pet, as a bird or cat, will try tohide, displaying a strong sense of guilt.

Allow me to refer to myself and a personalexperience. I need only .to mention to mydog certain wrong acts, such as stealing ordestroying objects, and it will cause himto indicate a great sense of guilt. When Icali these things to his attention, he lowershis head and slips away from my presenceto his dog bed. If I go over to the bed andagain bring up the subject, he tums hishead away from me. When I li ft hishead, he tries to tura his gaze away fromme. No human could exhibit a greater senseof wrongdoing.

This self-consciousness of the dog is alsoindicated in its sense of loyalty, its affection

and sympathy for those beings, human orother animals, toward which it displays itslove and willingness to sacrifice. Such virtues man eulogizes and often, in humans,attributes them to the motivations of thesoul. There are characteristics about thedog that can inspire the human and areworthy of exemplification by him. That

dogs also display ferocity, brutality, andundisciplined passions is true; but such ele-ments of a primitive nature are likewise tobe found in the human.

The human has the faculty of reflection. He can contémplate his conduct and evalúate it. However, the ends or valúes he setsupon his conduct are wholly arbitrary. Somesuch ends have become aspirations whichhave undeniably elevated mankind. Othervalúes, as he has slowly learned, have beenobstructions to his progress and he has hadto remo ve them at a great price. In lookingupon the dog, we see ourselves in a gradualascent. We do not mean to imply that thehuman species is necessarily a descent fromthe dog. Anthropologically, however, the

dog undoubtedfy does constitute a branchof the same tree from which man organical-ly has descended.

All living creatures are affinities in thelife forcé. We are bound to the same basicbiological requirements. All living thingsexhibit such functions alike, as respiration,irritation, assimilation, reproduction, and ex-cretion. Glorify man as you wish. Nevertheless, he stands on a common ground with allother living things.

Millenniums ago, man began the domes-tication of certain animals in his environment. He made them beasts of burden orused them for hunting and guarding his

person or property, Dogs were among thefirst animals to be domesticated. As theseanimals became dependent on man, they,especially the dog, retumed affection andloyalty for the kindness shown them. Thisbehavior on the part of animals and theirapparent helplessness in the domestic statearoused the paternal instinct in man. It isthen that animals became pets. Men andwomen wanted to fondle them, protect them,and have them about. Pets reach down intothe subconscious of man and bring out someof the finest and noblest instincts of his complex nature. This in itself causes man to bemore impersonal, inclines him to extendself-interest beyond the limits of his ownimmediate welfare.

Candidly, we cannot find words acrimo-nious enough to convey our feeling in regardto the statement by an organization thatman should “never be in the presence ofanimals” or that animals were “created bythe negative thoughts of man and would




eventually disappear from the earth.” Whenwe are in the presence of animals, we are

witnessing a creation that has exceeded andmost likely will always surpass any achieve-ment of man. We are looking upon a sparkfrom the same Cosmic fíame as ourselves.Removing ourselves from the presence ofanimals will not remove the animal fromus.—X


Ruth Farran, Inspector General of AMORCfor New York City, exemplifies the individual whose ideáis and concepts are strength-ened rather than weakened by opposingthought. With an open mind she accumu-

lated knowledge that was contrary to heraccepted ideas. She used that knowledge toeventually substantiate her own views andthereby take them out of the realm of theoryand speculation.

Ruth Farran was bom in Masón City,Iowa, the oldest of three children. She at-tended rural school and graduated fromIowa State Teachers College in 1922 with aR.A. degree in teaching. While subsequentlytéaching in rural schools, she reflected muchon her college course in psychology. It wasnot only the content of the formal lecturesthat had impressed her, but rather the asidesof her instmction. The professor had studied

New Thought and he had perhaps inad-vertently planted the seed of inquiry into thenature of self in the fertile mind of RuthFarran.

In her teaching profession, Soror Farranhad become proficient, advancing to a Normal School training supervisor and later toa high school principal. During the summervacation in 1928, she visited her mother andwas stricken with a serious illness. Herphysician had little hope for her recovery.Her elderly mother who attended her con-traoted the disease and passed through transition. Though deeply saddened by the lossof her mother, Soror Farran had been impressed by her mother’s courageous attitudetoward death. Her mother was a Rosicrucian. It was through her mother that Ruth Farranbecame a Rosicmcian, Crossing the thresholdof .the Order in 1928.

In 1929 she entered Columbia Universityand attained her Master’s Degree in June1930. She sought to continué on for a Ph.D.

She found much opposition, in that her personal thought was “out of harmony with

the current mechanistic teachings.” Con-centrating on specialized aspects of psychology, she devised experiments to determinethe difference in personality characteristicsin children between the ages of eight andfourteen. She also endeavored to show therelation of eidetic imagery (visual images)to the greater flexibility of intelligence ofindividuáis.

In 1930, Soror Farran contacted the thenRosicmcian Chapter in the famed RoerichMuseum in New York City. Shortly afteraffiliating, she was privileged to becomeClass Master of the Seventh Degree. SororFarran’s enthusiasm singled her out for in-

creasingly important and responsible posi-tions in AMORC. In 1933 she became Secretary of the New York Chapter, and thenlater Secretary of the Board of Trustees andDirector of the Rosicmcian Sunshine Circle.In 1947, the Imperator Ralph M. Lewis appointed her to the office of InspeGtor Generalof the New York City area, a position whichshe still fulfills with great service and honor.Her active interest in AMORC brought herto International Conventions in San José in1934 and 1938.

Soror Farran’s ideal was still to be real-ized, that is, the coordination of mysticalconcepts with those of science. She knew

that to have her concepts considered in scien-tific circles they must be presented as logical-ly and even empirically wherever possible asthe postulations of science. She became asubject of Dr. Gardner Murphy of ColumbiaUniversity in experiments in extra sensoryperception. So successful were her experiments that her scores were related in the

Journa l of Pa rapsycho logy as having “theelement of covariance (consistency) to agreater degree than any of the others.” Subsequently, Soror Farran contributed manyeffective articles to technical journals andthe Rosicrucian Digest, reconciling the mechanistic views of science with idealistic concepts of the nature of self.

Soror Farran is respected and loved bymembers of the Rosicmcian Order in NewYork City and other Lodges and Chaptersof the Atlantic Seaboard where she is wellknown. She is known to be one well versedin the Rosicmcian teachings of the Order.She has made Neophyte and advanced mem-




bers of AMORC alike realize the rationalityand workability of the Rosicrucian studies.

— X

Nirvana and Cosmic Attunement

A frater in Japan addresses our Forumand asks: “I understand Cosmic Attunement(or Consciousness) to be a forestate of nirvana, a glimpse of the Absolute with thepreservation of the duality of consciousness,the retaining of the ego. I believe nirvanato be the complete merging of the ego-consciousness with the Absolute, impossiblein the physical body. It seems there is arelationship between these two phenomena.I would like this Forum to consider the difference between nirvana and Cosmic attunement, if such difference actually exists.”

In the course of events, the thinking per-son is often caused to believe that mortalexistence, the life which he experiences, isfutile. Everyone experiences a number offrustrations. Early ideáis are not all realized.The success of enterprises is frequently notexperienced. With age, one is conscious ofhis diminishing power of achievement. Theend of life offers principally decrepitude, disease, and ultimately death. This last (death)to most men is an instinctive fear which,with the coming of oíd age, often looms asa terrifying ordeal. To escape this kind ofexistence, to hope for something .that affords

a compensation for these vicissitudes of mortal life, has been the dream of mankind.It is in these very contemplations upon

life that the doctrines of Gautama Buddhatook firm root. The Indians (East) in thesixth century B.C., the period of Buddha’sbirth and Ufe, had come to realize that tobe subject to birth was to be subject to decayand death. They had discovered that thereis nothing that man can do in a materialor intellectual way that would grant himimmunity from such a process. Those whowere rebom, regardless of their social status,or other earthly fortune, would be chainedto the process and to its eventual consequence.

Eventually, in Buddhism, the true salva-tion of man seemed to consist in evolvingoneself into an eternal personality. By one’sbecoming eternal, perfect, and by residing inthe essence of one’s origin, the necessity of re-birth is mitigated. The phrase actually usedwas: “reappearing in the mother’s womb.”This alluded to the primary source of all

from which man carne, not just in the physical but in the spirit or essence as well.

In fact, it is man’s realization of the con-tingent character of birth and death—thesuffering attendant to them, that is “the impulsa tion behind religión.” Religión consistsof certain innate feelings stemming from thepsychic and their relation to the exteriorworld. The insecurity of the world contributes to the search for a permanent groundfor some sort of Absolute where stability andemancipation from suffering can be attained.Buddha is related to have said: “Having beenmyself subject to the contingency of birthand experiencing its unpleasantness, I havesought for nirvana which is without suchcontingencies—which is unsurpassed and

secure from worldly yoke, and obtained it.”Toward the cióse of his life, Buddha is re-ported as saying: “Sure is my final emancipation; this is the last birth, there is nolonger the possibility of rebirth.”

In Buddhism, nirvana is the final physicaldeath. It is .the consummation of earthly existence prior to that emancipation of whichparinirvana consists. Every mortal who dies,of course, does not experience parin irvana unless he has attained the high state of consciousness of which nirvana consists. InBuddhism, it is taught one must experiencerebirth until the consciousness is so evolvedas to no longer necessitate its return to mor

tal life; then one is no longer subject tosuffering and to evanescent pleasures.Parinirvana, then, comes only to those

who have prepared themselves for it by firstattaining nirvana. One who experiences thisnirvana, this last death, is said to “expirelike a burning lamp (after exhaustion of fueland wick).” Actually, the beginning of pari-nirvana is realized at the end of the lastcycle of conscious existence.

Thera Anruddha describes Buddha’s pass-ing (nirvana) thusly: “There was then noprocess of respiration to be noticed in theorganism of the great saint, whose mindwas then unshaken, steadily concentrated,

and was in its peacefulness when he expired.With an unperturbed mind he did bear thepangs of death. Jus t as fire extinguishes inthe exhaustion of all materials of burning,in the same way his consciousness becamecompletely emancipated.”

Parinirvana, then, is the goal of the Bud-dhist. But just what is .this state that is eter-




nal and that stops the wheel of rebirth?Literally translated, the word Parinirvana means “going out.” This, however, is notvery informative except in the sense ofmeaning the release of the consciousnessfrom the world. But, parinirvana, as wehave noted, has a more profound and em-bracing significance. Broadly, parinirvanais an escape to the unbom , the formless . Weare told that nirvana is “the subsidence ofall predisposition toward the form of creation, the relinquishment of all ideas of be-longings, the extinction of all desire, thedispassion, the cessation of the ultímate.”This constitutes a series of negations, of notbeing this or that of mortal existence. It isa condition of nescience; but still, there is

the question of what kind of reality is parinirvana?Buddha, it is recounted, was often inter-

rogated as to w7hether parinirvana was astate of existence or nonexistence; whetherit was neither existence ñor nonexistence; orwhether it was both existence and nonexistence. According to authorities on Buddhism, Buddha never answered these queriesin a direct manner. It was not thathe sought to evade the question, but it ispresumed that the contení of parinirvanawas so undefinable, so inexplicable that, inhis opinion, it did not fall into the categoriesof the inquiry.

In the opinion of the Jains, the sages of Jainism, parinirvana is unlike the extinctionof the lamp fíame, for it is not the annihila-¡tion of the soul. Many Western minds, es-pecially followers of other religions, asChristianity, are inclined to think of nirvanaand parinirvana as being the extinction ofsoul. The Jains say, rather, that it is atranscendent state of the human soul. It isa state of the soul which has risen and re-mains etemally emancipated from passion,hatred, birth, disease, and decay. Theirphilosophical explanation is that the soul hasreached a state where all causes cease to be.It is no longer, in other words, motivatedby desires from which stem the passions,sensuality, and suffering.

Looking at the subject of parinirvana fromthe psychological point of view, it is thestate of puré consciousness, but withoutpersonality. It is a condition of sensitivity,yet one which is amorphous, that is, without any form or image. In parinirvana there

are no ideas that correspond to or suggestany kind of reality. Obviously, this is difficult to comprehend. How can one be conscious and yet not be conscious of something?

Nirvana is a kind of unconsciousness. Inmodem psychology we speak of the uncon-scious but we do so only in relation to theconscious or objective mind and the subjec-tive processes. We conceive the unconscious as having an awareness in its own state.But in parinirvana the consciousness is without personality and without image of anykind. It is, we can only assume, just a vitalpotential, an energy, puré being, with noillusion of reality associated with it.

Since the consciousness to which parinirvana alludes has no organism, no processes,

it can have no experiences, as we think ofthe word, no sensations and no ideas. Consequently, no terms can be formulated in parinirvana—no quality, feelings, and no desires may be had. We have been told thatparinirvana is free of all such contingencies.Words attributed to Buddha, but probablyput in his mouth, describing this state, relate that it is “where water, earth, heat, andair do not find footing, there no light burnsand the sun does not shine, the moon doesnot shed her radiant beams and darknessdoes not exist.”

From the mystical conception, parinirvana is the unity of the individual expression

of consciousness with the whole Cosmicstream. It is not that the individual consciousness has ever lost its contact—or everwould—with the Cosmic Consciousness, but,in parinirvana, i t is no longer obliged to haveits expression in matter. On the other hand,personality is completely annihilated. Theparinirvana state is the one-ness of being.However, there must be some realization,some ecstasy, something that makes thatstate wanted in preference to mortal existence; those who seek to attain parinirvanaare at least possessed of that desire.

The eminent Indian philosopher, Profes-sor Radhakrishnan, states about parinirvana:“Perfection is then the sense of one-nesswith all that is, has ever been and can be.The horizon of being is extended to thelimits of reality . . . it is therefore not cor-rect to say .that the dewdrop slips into theshining sea; it is nearer to the truth to speakof the shining sea invading the dewdrop.There is here no sense of loss, but of infinite




expansión when, foregoing all, the universegrows.” This latter notion of parinirvanaparallels the mystical conception of CosmicConsciousness, the only difference being that,in the latter, one need not pass throughtransition .to experience this exalted state ofconsciousness. It, too, consists of a sense ofone-ness with all being. The individual isnot lost but he feels that his being and allof reality are en rapport.

Cosmic Consciousness, further, is not without its gratifications, its beatitudes, its ecsta-sies, which are unlike anything that ourobjective experience creates. However, onecan retum from a momentary state of Cosmic Consciousness, again to confront life,and one may live with it. Cosmic Conscious

ness does not make one immune to sufferingor desire. But the noetic experience received,the insight or illumination which one re-ceives from Cosmic Consciousness, causes theindividual to have a more intelligent ap-proach and adjustment to life. Such, then,lead to a renunciation of many habits thatwould ordinarily contribute to suffering andunhappiness.—X

Rendering Cosmic Assistance

A frater asks our Forum: “When promi-nent persons are reported to be ill, is it wisefor a Rosicrucian to write them stating that

one is a Rosicrucian and that one has .theirñame on a ‘healing list’? Should one saythat he is ‘praying’ for them? Is such worknot better done in a genera l way in caseswhere the help has not been solicited by theill person? As I understand it, it is alwaysin order for one to petition the Cosmic forthe guidance and health of our leaders.

“Under what conditions may one properlyrender Cosmic assistance without havingfirst been appealed to or solicited for thathelp?”

In the matter of absent healing it is essential wherever possible to have the coopera-tion of the one who is to be the recipient of

such assistance. Cooperation in this instancemeans having a receptive attitude. Further,it means a sympathetic state of mind towardmetaphysical healing. One who is hostiletoward such methods because of ignoranceor religious prejudice naturally cannot enterinto the necessary state of passivity and re-sponsivity by which he can receive the

thought directed toward him. He is likewisenot a channel for such Cosmic forces asmight also be directed to him.

One need not be a Rosicrucian to behelped by the Order’s absent healing methods. He may, in fact, know nothing of suchlaws and principies. He must be willing tobe helped and he must realize that what isbeing done is not supematural but rather inaccordance with natural laws even thoughthe same may be different from what hemay have experienced previously. To tryto help one in spite of himself is ineffectual.In other words, if one, through ignorance,considers such methods to be fatuous, or ifhe shows resentment toward unfamiliartreatment, no help should be attempted. The

individual with such a conviction or suchresentment sets up a psychological barrierin his psychic self, in the subconscious,through which it is difficult to penetrate withconstructive thought.

There are, of course, extenuating circumstances which make it necessary to help oneimmediately without first attempting to advise the individual what is being done. Itcan only be presumed then that the individual has no inherent antipathy toward absenthealing methods and will be happy to receiveany extra beneficial influence in his welfare.Some very effective results have been ob-tained in the absent treatment of nonin-

formed patients. We repeat, however, thatwhenever possible, the individual should beadvised as to what is being done.

Metaphysically and psychologically, whenone knows that others are trying to assisthim Cosmically, he then mentally helps himself by virtue of such knowledge. First, hetries to purge his mind of all thoughts thathe believes might obstmct the anticipatedhelp given by others. He tries to imagine just how those forces being projected to himwill feel, or what their effects will be. Thereis a tendency to cooperate personally (whenthe patient can) by assuming a mental attitude and making self-suggestions that con

stitute an excellent self-stimulus. The moraleis raised by the very .thought of the helpcoming from others. One’s will is strength-ened, there is an increased mental resistanceto the ailment, and a rigor that causes oneto fight his afQiction.

Writing to prominent persons, as officialsof govemment, celebrated writers, industrial-




ists, actors and actresses, stating that one isgoing to upray for” them, or place them on

their “personal healing list” is a procedurelacking in decorum. In the first place, thereference to prayer9 to one who is not aRosicrucian, who may not be familiar withthe nature and functions of the Order, maycreate a false impression in the mind of thatperson. The use of this term connotes sec- tarianism. It implies that AMORC is areligious sect, which, of course, the Rosicrucian Order is not. To speak of a healinglist, to one who knows nothing of the principies employed, may suggest some form offanaticism or superstition. One must havein mind at all times the dignity of membership. One must not speak or write in sucha way as to tend to lower the prestige ofthe Order in the opinion of another. Ouroperations should always be on a plañe com-mensurate with the reputation and purposesof AMORC.

Writing to prominent persons, in theñame of the Order, offering to help whenthey are not acquainted with the nature ofthe help to be given may create also the impression of a brummagem act—by that wemean that it may seem to be an effort togain cheap publicity at the expense of theunfortunate affairs of the other.

In times of great interaational stress whenthe leaders of government are confrontedwith momentous decisions, Cosmic help

should be directed toward them. In accordance with our Rosicrucian teachings,during our sanctum periods of meditation,such individuáis should be visualized. Weshould think of them as receiving strengthand, most of all, Cosmic illumination throughtheir own psychic selves. Thoughts towardthat end can and should be directed to them.To write to such individuáis, however, thatsuch is being done in the ñame of AMORCis not appropriate and is lacking in decorum.The motive behind the writing of such let-ters would be altruistic, of course, but, werepeat, it is apt to be misconstrued.

It must further be realized that prominent

people, public officials or executives of large organizations, cannot be immediately contacted by letter from an unknown person. Such individuáis have one or more secretarles who first open and read all such Communications from unknown persons. Such secretaries have the authority to pass on

the Communications to their superiors if in their opinion they are worthy of his time;

if they think he should not be troubled with such letters they never reach him.Your silent thought is more directly help-

ful for a prominent individual than anyletter telling him what you intend to do.Most certainly your letter in no way furthersAMORC in such cases; rather, it is detri-mental in the impression it may create.

If you wish to let some prominent personknow about AMORC, here is the properprocedure. Select a Rosicrucian leaflet orbooklet, place it in a neatly addressed en-velope and send it to the address of theindividual. As explained, your communication may go no further than his secretary;

however, she will know the interests of heremployer and will see that he gets it if heis in sympathy with such literature. Thereis also the added advantage that the secretary, reading the letter first, may also be-come interested.

The fact is that once a year we urge ourmembers to select six or twelve prominentpeople in their community and, in a sealed,first-class envelope, send to each a leafletwhich they feel is appropriate. It is notnecessary that the members affix their ownñames and addresses to such envelopes. Theliterature enclosed in the envelope bears theAMORC address, and that is the one towhich you want the individual’s attention

directed.—X

Is Intuition Always Helpful?

A frater of Australia addresses our Forum,saying: “The voice of the inner consciousness, according to the Rosicrucian interpretation, operates for the ultímate benefit of theindividual concemed. Joan of Arc’s voicesappear to have tended toward good resultsfor the French nation, and thus, in part,for mankind’s, although her following theiradvice caused her physical destruction. Why,then, according to the recent news account,did the celebra ted Mr. Waugh hear voices

which without exception were evil so thatthe survival of his sanity depended on hisignoring them, and ultímately, it would appear, silencing them?”

We think of intuition in the esoteric senseas being a Cosmic voice speaking throughthe objective consciousness. Most persons




who study esoteric philosophy are inclinedto believe that the content of such intuitiveideas is formed in the Cosmic—that it ispreframed in .the words and terms in whichit is realized. and then transmitted to theouter consciousness. In the Cosmic, in theuniversal intelligence of which the Cosmicconsists, there are no languages. There areno sense qualities or sensations from whichideas are formed such as men realize. Thewords of intuitive ideas are always our own.All the elements of the ideas already existin the previous experiences which we havehad.

Just as previously, it is again necessaryfor us to briefly review in this Forum themechanism, the processes, by which intuitive

ideas are had. Intuition consists of an un-conscious reorganization of our existing ideasinto an order of greater clarity. What wasonce confusing then acquires an illuminatingperspicuity. A conclusión or solution, notobtained through the usual reasoning processes, breaks into the consciousness like aflash of light, self-evident in its clarity.

How is this accomplished? We all areaware that the elements of our experienceare in the mental processes filed away incategories of the memory. This is like agreat filing system with numerous divisionsor drawers—some of which have to do withmechanics, art, sounds, colors, feelings, geo-

metrical forms, and the like. Some of thesepreviously experienced ideas are easily re-called at will, or by means of consciousassociation; for example, we see a beautifulsunset and that may immediately recall asimilar experience and all of the incidentsrelated to it.

However, innumerable other ideas may behad which are derived from experiences thatare likewise filed in memory, particularly inour subconscious of which we have no im-mediate knowledge. We cannot recall thembecause we do not know that they exist.Many of such impressions pass over into thesubconscious without óur awareness of themwhen they are perceived. So, we then havea vast reservoir of materials, impressions ofimpulses, ideas, one may say, awaiting association into a new combination of complexideas.

Let us assume that one is laboring withsome personal problem. He contemplates it;he reasons as to what course of action should

be taken. No satisfying solution, no seemingly plausible idea, is forthcoming. Finally, inexhaustion or desperation, he dismisses thewhole problem from his consciousness, hisobjective and subjective minds. Actually,however, the ego, the subconscious self, isstill desirous of surmounting the particularproblem. It is not content to be defeated.Then, in the subconscious, in the psychic se lf ,there continúes what is called the unconscious work.

In the psychic self, the subconscious, theoriginal thought over which the individuallabored has become a dominant motivation.It carries on where the reason and will ofthe individual had left off. However, it applies a higher judgment, a keener intelli

gence, to the work at hand. Furthermore, assaid, this subconscious has access to the largereservoir of impressions of which the individual consciously has no knowledge. Thesubconscious begins an arrangement, an in-tegration of all the ideas, simple and complex, which might have in them any relationto the problem at hand. It strives for harmony in such unity of ideas.

Actually, this objectively unconscious process is in accordance with the Law of the Triangle. In other words, there are threepoints involved: First, it takes the thesis, thepositive idea; then it advances to the secondpoint—it considers the antithesis, the op-

posite or negative approach which mitigatesthe former. Up to this point, this is probablywhat the conscious mind has also done. Hadthe conscious mind been able to go furtherit would have been successful. The subconscious, however, advances to the third point,the synthesis, the join ing tog ether of the twoopposite conceptions—the thesis and the antithesis. It is this synthesis, then, that be-comes the solution. When this is attained,the new idea with its illumination is flashedin its entirety into the conscious mind. Thereit appears as a “hunch” or an inspiration,or, in fact, the intuitive knowledge.

Since the synthesis, the intuitive idea,

guided by the Cosmic intelligence of thepsychic self, is so perfectly developed, andmore comprehensive than any previous notion had by the conscious mind, the latterreadily accepts it. Of the intuitive idea, thereis no doubt because, as we have said, it appears as a self-evident truth.




The form that the intuitive communication takes in our conscious mind may beeither an auditory or a visual image, orsometimes a combination of both. In otherwords, the intuitive intelligence may berealized as spoken words, as a voice deepwithin ourselves. It may appear as a positive sentence, ringing in its forceful clarity.Again, the words may appear on the screenof consciousness in a visual form, luminousin appearance as well as in cleamess ofthought. That the intuitive idea assumessuch images only means that the sensationspassing from the psychic, of the subconscious, have stimulated one or more of theareas of our receptor senses, such as seeingor hearing, and have taken such a form. It

must not be construed that the psychic hasan actual “voice” and that it actually speaksin a physical sense.

Can such intuitive voices, or rather theideas which they commimicate, be reliedupon? The answer is Yes, if they are trulyintuitive. Unfortunately, many impressionshad when we have been laboring with aproblem are not intuitive. For example, onemay be desperately struggling with a vitalproblem, desiring to leam through reasoningwhat course of action he should take. Psychologically, when fatigue comes there is aninclination to accept any passing or randomideas that may seem plausible. It is the de

sire to escape the fatigue that comes fromprolonged concentration of tensión; such anidea is merely part of the reasoning process.It may not be a real solution. When followed,it may prove to be fallacious and the thoughtfound not to have come from intuition at all.

How may we know authentic, intuitiveideas? “Only by the forcefulness with whichthey impress our objective consciousness,”we answer. Further, we would answer thatthey aré of a positive judgment—new, clear,and convincing. Consequently, they alwaysproduce an emotional reaction, such as athrill, a feeling of exaltation and great satis

faction. Sometimes an intuitive idea comesto mind that has no relation to any of ourprevious thoughts. This means that the psychic consciousness in its process has founda harmonious relationship between associatedideas and brings that forth as the new thought. Obviously, the intuitive process is

more active and developed with some persons than with others. However, everyonecan improve his intuition; that is one of thethings that the Rosicrucian teachings are tohelp the member do.

Do truly intuitive ideas help the member?They do, but this must be construed in thebroadest sense. Let us take the illustrationof Joan of Are, mentioned by the frater whoasked the question we are now considering.

Joan of Are had dedicated herself to thecause of her people and nation. That shemight have to give her life was not important to her. That which was importantwas that she succeed in her mission. Shewas intuitively helped to attain her end. Toher, the loss of personal security and of her

life were incidental.Now, what about the voices people hear

who are mentally deranged either tempo-rarily or permanently? Are they intuitive?Most assuredly not. Such voices may arisefrom a number of conditions such as paranoia. We know that there are levels of thesubconscious. The deeper levels reach to theCosmic, and it is from such realms that theintuitive ideas come. However, there areother levels of the subconscious which borderupon our conscious. In the case of a deranged mind, obsessional ideas and phobiascan draw out of this borderline of the subconscious all associated ideas that may seem

to be related. They, too, in their randomdisorder, enter the conscious mind. For themost part these seem to assume an auditoryimage, that is, as the spoken word. Thementally ill person is not able to distinguishbetween the objective, or reality, and theunreal. Instead of being realized as comingfrom within his own consciousness, thevoices are given a separate entity.

Such random ideas may be originally repressed thoughts, ungoveraed and uncon-trolled in their release. In fact, they maybe quite different in their moral content;as for example, they may be very different

from what the person may normally think asright, or be inclined to do. So, in their influence, in their effect upon one’s life andrelations with others, these ideas may becalled evil, that is, detrimental.

But, we repeat, such are not tme, intuitiveideas.—X



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Rosicrucian ForumA p r í v a t e p u b l i c a t i o n f o r m e m b e r s o f A M O R C

February, 1958Volume XXVflll No. 4

DH AN JISH AW D. PATELL, F. R. C.

Inspector General of AMORC for Bombay, India




Greetings!V V V

ADMIRABLE HUMAN QUALITIES

Dear Fratres and Sorores:Recently we were asked what facets of

man’s personality, in our opinion and fromour experience, afford the greatest joy to be-hold. Admiration of the qualities of a thingor of a personality, to a great extent, reflectthe idealism of the observer. Our ideáis aretranscending concepts, that is, ends or ob-

jectives which we believe to consist ofsuperior qualities to be realized and attained.Consequently, when in our experience weperceive the elements that participate in our

ideáis, we find pleasure in whatever or who-ever displays them.A young man whose interest is primarily

athletics and physical culture is likely toconsider strength and an excellent physiquethe acmé of perfeetion. These are the qualities which to behold afford him pleasure.He thinks of them as at least some of thegreatest qualities attainable by man. Theintellectual, though he might not hold thata brilliant mind was the only essential forexcellence in human nature, would findpleasure in the company of those who dis-play intellect. The spiritual idealist would

judge perfeetion in man by his morality

expressed not alone in words but in relateddeeds. We repeat, then, that to a great extent the perfeetion we see in others butmirrors our personal estimation of the excellence of human personality and character.A general agreement among people on suchstandards is difficult to anive at.

Each society, of course, has adopted certain standards by which the individuáis ofwhich it consists are judged. These standards are first usually established by themoral code of the society. What constitutesthe moral good, the virtues expected of acircumspect person? In Christian and Judaicnations, for example, the Decalogue or TenCommandments represent the moral preceptsby which spiritual excellence and social behavior are principally judged.

The statutes prescribed by law and pre-vailing customs also determine the qualitiesof character and good citizenship in eachsociety. We know, of course, that an idealCitizen in one nation may not be accepted

as such in another because of varying standards.

In our opinion, we should begin with man,the animal. The human being inheiits—infact, they are a biological part of him—allthe passions and appetites of the lesser animals. Basically, man is a predatory animal.He is ruthless in the necessity of self-interestand preservation. He will kill, destroy, seizewhatever he can to further his survival andhis well-being. This latter means his appetites and pleasures generally. These tenden-

cies are instinctive to the human animal justas they are to the beast.As one has said in the past, “Man is beast

and star.” The star represents the transcendental influences that are part of the com-posite nature of man. In other words, manhas a high degree of self-consciousness, of therealization of himself in relation to his actsand to his external world. This power ofreflection and evaluation of his behavior isconcisely called conscience. There is inbredin man a sense of righteousness.

We do not mean to imply that the humanpossesses innate ideas of goodness, or moralprecepts, that he knows specifically what is

right and wrong in conduct from birth.There is, however, the desire, the motivation,on the part of the individual to pursue acourse of action that follows what his fellowhumans conceive to be good. Humans aregregarious. They do not want to be isolatedin person or in behavior from other men.Consequently, there is satisfaction had inrealizing that one is conforming to the common good. Obviously the nature of that goodis what the customs and traditions of theparticular society, of which the individualis a member, prescribes.

In most individuáis there is a conflict between absolute conformity to a sense ofrighteousness and the wholly animalistictendency of a personal satisfaction, regard-less of its effeets upon others. The animalin man is of longer standing than the evolvement of self-consciousness or the spiritualconsciousness in him. We may mysticallycontend that the spiritual essence, the divineimpulse, has always been in man since his



FEBRUARY, 1958 Page 75

existence. We may also pantheistically as-sert that the divine in essence actually per-

vades all things. However, the manifestationof the divine or what the Rosicmcians calisoul-personality is of a far more recentadvént. Man had to become a considerablyevolved mental being before he could reflectupon his inner feelings, sentiments, and emotions and be able to construe them in termsof spiritual or moral qualities and valúes.It is only then that there emerged the soul-personality.

It is the higher function of man to displayhis consciousness of self, to give expressionto his sentiments as compassion, justice,fortitude and the like. These are, however,a minor or lesser impulsation, insofar as

their effect upon him is concemed, than themore gross motivation of the appetites. Itrequires no great strength of will to givevent to our animalistic tendencies. To op-pose them, however, as we all know, is oftena struggle of great consequence.

To the writer the following are alwaysimpressive facets of man’s personality; First,an extensión of self, commonly called un- selfishness. The individual, of course, psychologically is never truly unselfish, forwhatever we do is in response to one aspectof the nature of self. Rut where we do op-pose the interests of the limited physical selfto serve the interests of others, there is anindication of the more inclusive or extensive

function of self.Second, the individual who acts, as much

as is humanly possible, upon the analysis ofhis own experiences, we feel, is to be highlycommended. The person who makes whathe accepts as knowledge an intimate conclusión of his own thought is in our opiniona preferred person. We mean the one whodoes not accept the conclusions of otherswholly upon implied authority or becauseof a mass acceptance of an idea. This is morethan one’s having an open mind. It meansthe exercise of one’s own mental and psychicfaculties. It is true that we cannot prove or

disprove personally everything which is expounded as knowledge to us. We can, how

ever, before final acceptance, reason aboutits plausibility. If there is any doubt in ourminds, then the reality of what is profferedas fact should be under question. Undersuch circumstances, one should ever be readyto consider counter views, to take them underadvisement.

One cannot, in connection with this sub ject, help respecting and admiring a healthyskepticism. It is important that one be awareof the difference between a skeptic and acynic. The latter generally has a negativeattitude toward all new ideas which are related to him. A skeptic, however, is one whowants a statement, that implies factual con

tent, to be substantiated. He will not, asmost persons do, confuse an opinion withfact.

The writer cannot help also feeling admir-ation for the one in a highly materialisticage who nevertheless willingly displays thefiner emotions and sentiments that make onea humanist, a philanthropist, or a spiritualidealist. A religionist is not necessarily ofthis type. One associated with a formal religión as a member of a sect may act undercompulsión at times, or accept a faith ontradition. In such instances, the religionistmay have no personal corresponding emotional, psychic, or spiritual relationship toward his affiliation or the doctrines of his

faith. In fact, such an individual may be soilliberal, so prejudiced, and so imbued withhatred or envy toward opposite sects as incharacter to be quite other than spiritual.

Fraternally,RALPH M. LEWIS,

Imperator.

What Are Psychic States?

“What is the difference between states ofhypnosis, self-hypnosis or auto-suggestion,and psychic states?” asks a soror of ourForum.

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Generally speaking, “psychic” is a termdesigned to denote the nonphysical aspectsof man’s being. It confers a duality uponman, in function at least. The word psychic comes from the Greek word meaning soul and breath which, among the early Greeksand other peoples, were synonymous. Mostof us are aware of the división of our humanactivities. We are conscious of our objectiveacts and the external world. We are alsoaware of self , or at least what we term tobe such. This self, with most persons, in-cludes not alone their physical being buttheir instincts, emotions, subliminal urgesand their fantasies and thoughts. Since theselatter qualities which are related to self, asdistinguished from the body, are compara-

tively intangible, they receive the designationof psy chic. The reason for this is that theywere once thought to be related to the souland to be an immaterial infusión.

Consciousness is a stream whose functionsare varied. There are depths to this streamand, at various levels, figuratively speaking,different phenomena occur. li k e the electro-magnetic spectrum, however, with its octavesof energy, the various phenomena of consciousness are not isolated one from another;they merge one into the other. It is, therefore, difficult at times to determine whatideas or impulses origínate in the differentlevels of the stream of consciousness. The

psychic, however, generally alludes to thesubliminal consciousness, to the realm of thesubconscious.

The psychic plus the objective consciousness, which is our realization of the externalworld, is one but, unfortunately, these twophases are not realized by most of us asbeing an integrated state. The lower aspectsof consciousness, our responses to externalstimuli, are objective. The higher aspects ofconsciousness begin with self-consciousness. When we think of self as the various in-stinctive feelings and emotions we have andthe realization of the “I”, we are on theborder of the psychic. We must not thinkof this border as being fixed, as consisting ofa particular experience or idea had alike byall persons. Actually, these psychic states vary in their profundity, in the depths thatenter into the stream of consciousness.

There is often reference in the Rosicrucian teachings, and in esoteric philosophygenerally, to the psychic body. This body

is not a substance, unless one thinks in termsof modem physics, that is, that mass and

energy are interchangeable. The psychicbody is the energy of the vital forcé thatanimates us. It is the primary impulse thatinfuses each cell. It carries with it an intelligence, a behavior pattern, from the mostprimitive states of mankind and perhaps before man was man. It as well carries withit the pattern of Cosmic order of which thisenergy of life consists. We are then, to usea psychological term, well conditioned by a

prior i influences.The infant at birth, before acquiring any

experiences objectively, is subject to tre-mendous reserves of impressions and impulses arising from deep within its stream

of consciousness. As one psychologist hassaid, and it should be well known to allRosicmcians, “The lower part of the physical energy is locked up in atoms—the largerpart, the psychic energy, is similarly lockedin the instincts and the biological behavior.”

Only a relatively few of these impulses,these behavior pattems, reach the consciousmind and are acted upon. Many are realizedas inexplicable feelings which, because of thedifficulties of defining them in terms of ac-tion, are suppressed. Some are repressed inthe psychic realm itself because of intemalconflicts. The conflict is often due to anundesired subliminal feeling which we have

of certain urges, causing the repression ofwhat actually should be brought to the consciousness of the “I.”

In animals instincts are autonomous andthey dominate their lives. There is no attempt at an inhibition of them. In man,when a certain stage of objective consciousness has been attained, he feels strongenough to set up a bulwark against thepsychic. He devises codes of moráis, re-strictions that he thinks best for his life,and he seeks to control the inner behaviorpattems which strive for expression.

In organized or collective living, certainrestraints in our instinctive behavior are

necessary. We must hold back, for the wel-fare of others, some of the psychic energyand its inclinations. Conversely, however,some of our conclusions as to how weshould behave are contraiy to our personal instinctive needs as human beings.This type of restraint results in various ill-nesses. How much of the psychic should




be called forth? To what extent should thewholeness of our nature be manifested? are

still unanswered questions. Rosicmcians havebeen working on this problem for severalcenturies. Póssibly no single organizationhas given so much thought to helping manto know himself. This problem is also amajor challenge which modem psychologyis endeavoring to meet.

By various means we can accomplish adisassociation, a functional severance of theconscious from the subconscious, the objective from the psychic. Such phenomena ofdisassociation are trance states, hypnosis, andself-hypnosis. This disassociation means thatrealization or the awareness of the individual is introverted. It is turned back into the

psychic, into the región behind the objectiveconsciousness. Those attributes of the subjective mind, such as will and syllogisticalreasoning, are temporarily dormant. Thepsychic states then dominate. The real self,the moral and other habit pattems long established, take precedence over the will ofthe individual.

In hypnosis, too, since there is the tem-porary disassociation from the usual func-tioning of the conscious mind, the psychicconsciousness responds to the suggestionsgiven it by others. It must be realized that,like a stream, the psychic consciousness notonly pushes impulses to the surface but re-ceives from the surface many impressionsthat are imposed upon it.

It is not necessary at this time to set forththe various means by which hypnosis can beinduced. This Forum has dealt rather ex-tensively with such practices and theoriesabout it in the past. Suffice it to say thatself-hypnosis is the means by which the individual enters certain psychic states bymethods which he employs himself. One ofthese methods is auto-suggestion. In the latter instance, the conscious mind by persistentrepetition implants an idea in the psychicwhich becomes dominant there. The reversethen occurs. The idea has a tendency tosurface, to come again to the fore of con

sciousness and to motívate the individualwithout being called forth.It is necessary to caution the student and

member that the psychic must not be construed entirely as a reservoir of Divineknowledge. All psychic impressions are notCosmic revelations. All psychic states are

not demonstrations of Cosmic consciousness.Further, all symbols or ideas arising in the

psychic are not mystical; that is, they arenot from an illuminated spiritual being. Theindividual, for example, who indulges inplaying the planchette or ouija board andspells out messages upon it which are un-familiar to him is not receiving an intelligence from a spiritual world. He may bebut releasing ideas from his own subconscious mind, from the psychic part of hisbeing. Remember, we repeat, that thepsychic is a stream. In endeavoring to reachout through it into the Cosmic, you mustpenetrate deeply.

The whole stream is termed psychic butits phenomena are different. All visible wave

bands, for analogy, in the ocular spectrumare of light but the wave bands may berealized differently, some as the colors red,green, blue, and so forth. So, too, we mustleam to distinguish the different psychicstates.—X

Our Destiny Is Near

It is a natural tendency to relate destinyto the future. Wh at may be our end, orwhat may be the materialization or realization of our hopes and desires, is related tosome event that is going to occur at an un-specified future moment. We are aware that

we move toward some end, and whateverthat end may be is usually associated withour concept of destiny. The end of our life,the beginning of some new activity, immor-tality, or some decided change that may takeplace in our being, physically, mentally, orspiritually, is closely related to the destinythat will be ours.

This relating of destiny to a distant futuretime and place is a practice which hascaused the average individual to think of hisdestiny as being far removed from his im-mediate circumstances, surroundings, or en-vironmeiit. That which we cannot foreseedistinctly, and which we do not understand,we not only tend to place in the future, butwe may unconsciously hope to isolate in thefuture. Many individuáis have tried to for-saké concern about problems by simply re-fusing to consider what may happen tomor-row or a year from tomorrow, and in thatway they live in a certain amount of falsesecurity based upon the belief that what is




going to happen, what may be their destiny,is so far removed that they need have noconcern about it.

It is obviously true that the most important time with which any of us is concernedis the present. We should not constantly livein the future, particularly at the cost of thepresent, but what we are doing at this particular moment is assisting us to prepare forthe future, whatever that future may be,and that in itself is contributing to ourdestiny or to our ultímate end.

Our destiny therefore should be consid-ered. It is not something to be completelyforsaken as a future problem that will bemet at the time it occurs. What should bedone in regard to our destiny is to preparethe use of the present moment so that whenthe realization of the future comes to us—that is, it becomes the present—we will beequipped in the best way possible to meetany contingencies that may exist at theparticular time and place. To do so is torealize that our life span from birth to transition is a unit, and that there are times inthe course of that life when we must consider that unit as the whole thing in itself,and not as segregated moments set up by asystem of artificial measurement. There isno one point which is an end or a realizationof destiny because we constantly carry in uswhat our end may be. Our success or our

undoing is a part of our present existenceas much as it is of the past or even of thefuture.

We may not realize what that future maybe, or what our ultímate destiny is, but it isnearer than we ordinarily think; that is, it isa part of our existence right now. Nothingin nature, to the best of our knowledge, de-velops spontaneously to completion. For example, destiny is not something that willoccur momentarily twenty-four hours fromnow or twenty-four years from now. It isan actuality in which we participate at thismoment. Just as a change in the conditionof the physical body takes place through a

gradual process, so do all changes take effectthrough a process of gradual change.As an example, no disease develops spon

taneously. We may refer to the fact thatthis moming we woke up with a coid, butactually the coid or respiratory disorderfrom which we may suffer is something thathas developed over a period of days and pos-

sibly longer. We have in some way violatedcertain laws of nature. We have therebypermitted certain inharmonies to invade oursystem; and, although the system foughtgallantly, it was gradually overcome by theinharmonious condition to a point that webecame aware of these inharmonies as physical symptoms. The manifestations of inhar-mony broke through the threshold of realization that had held it back, and we realized,as if it were suddenly, that we had a coid.Almost all diseases occur in this manner.An individual may have vague feelings ofdisharmony in the body, but the actual onsetof a disease, or the realization of the symptoms of the disease, is something that takesplace only when the inharmonious condition

has already advanced to a state that weconsciously become aware of it, and natural-ly it is at this point of conscious realizationthat we presume, or at least accept as ournormal conclusión, that the disease began.

The same truth applies to our mentalfaculties. No idea is completely momentary.The great achievements of men have resultedfrom evolved ideas. It is possible that, likethe realization of a coid or any other inharmonious condition of our body, consciousrealization may come comparatively suddenly, causing us to think that an idea whichcomes into our mind may be created inde-pendently of past action or past thinking and

is a spontaneous occurrence. Usually, i f itwere possible for us to relate all our thinking to the sources from which it carne, andupon which ideas are based, we would realizethat what for us was a new idea, or whatmay have been a new idea to anyone, hadcome about as a result of our association ofideas and the knowledge and experience thatwe have used over a period of time.

Someone might disagree that inspirationis not momentary, that individuáis havesudden, intuitive impressions that seem complete. The classic example of the conversiónof St. Paul might be cited as a definite evidence of this condition. Actually, even in

spiration feeds on what has already beenevolving in consciousness. It is true thatwhat we cali intuition or the results of inspiration may seem to occur momentarily;actually, it is the correlation of the inspiration and bits of intuitive knowledge of whichwe have become conscious over a period oftime that suddenly integrates into a whole




and acquires a complete meaning. In otherwords, just as in the previous illustrations I

have used, what happens at the point ofrealization is that a number of differentforces or sources of ideas come together andbecome manifest as an integrated whole.

To take again the example of St. Paul’sconversión, St. Paul was an intelligent man.He had been participating in actual persecution of the Christians, according to the his-torical sources we have about him. Certainly,in that activity, he had become generallyfamiliar with what was then accepted as theChristian principies of belief, ethics, andpractice. Therefore, his inspiration or sud-den conversión was a realization that carneabout as a result of a knowledge which he

had voluntarily or involuntarily gatheredtogether, and it finally carne as a completenew meaning to him, which reorganized hisentire thinking and modified his whole life,existence, and destiny.

In my estimation, it is not necessarily thepurpose of the Rosicrucian teachings to giveus the ability to foresee our destiny or tocome to a realization of any future functionor activity. Rather, the purpose, accordingto the philosophy that we study, is to recog-nize that there are potentialities in the individual at all times. All individuáis, and Ido not think I am exaggerating when I sayall, fail to realize these potentialities, evenfail to use them or attempt to develop them,but, as soon as an individual tums his attention toward his inner abilities and hisinner self, the response is an eventual co-ordinating in consciousness of many principies, ideas, facts, and the relating of experiences in such a way that a gradual newphilosophy of life takes form.

The responsibility of the individual inutilizing Rosicrucian teachings is to leamhow to direct the potentialities of our beingso that they can evolve, grow, and materializeinto a state of conscious realization. It is notour purpose to necessarily direct our livesin accordance with our own selfish ends, orto plan our destiny as an architect wouldplan a building. Rather we should learn todraw upon each situation of our experienceand each bit of knowledge that can be oursand permit them to be related in consciousness. We will develop the ability to drawupon the full faculties of the inner self andthus become conscious of the intuitive ideas

and inspirational knowledge that will helpus to relate apparently separate ideas to a

new realization which will have more meaning than any of its parts.In other words, man’s development in this

life is to hamess his own potentialities, andthen listen to his own inner self, to the still,small voice—that is, the voice of conscience,the voice of the Cosmic speaking throughhis inner self. In this way, man will prepare himself to meet his destiny, whateverit may be.—A

Why People Fear

Fear is as oíd as man. Wh y do peoplehave fears? This question can be answered

from a biological standpoint, and it is quitea complete answer. If man did not fear, hewould certainly live a careless life. Withoutfear, we would venture into situations thatmight cost us our lives; consequently, fearwas instilled into living beings as a part oftheir instinctive equipment with which theywere able to m.úiilain self-preservation. Weshould fear certain situaiions until we understand them. We should fear going into aplace with which we are not familiar; dangermight luvk there. We should fear the possi-bility of so m ; circumstance happening aboutus unless we took the necessary measures toavoid it. In other words, fundamentally,from a biological standpoint, fear is to assistin self-preservation, and fear is related tothat of which we have no experience or haveno knowledge to cope with the situation.

It is, therefore, from a psychological standpoint, possible to say that fear is based uponthe unknown. This springs, of course, fromthe biological implication. What we do notknow we may fear because, not knowing it,we do not know what the circumstances willbe when we are placed in cióse relationshipto whatever that circumstance is. It is per-fectly normal, then, for a person to have theemotion of fear, and it may upon many occa-sions help him protect his life.

The kind of fear that is not as productive

of maintenance of life valúes is the fear ofunknown circumstances that may cause usto panic and not think. In, recent events manysituations have been overplayed in newspapers, magazines, and other news-distributingforms, that have caused people to have fearsof circumstances; if they had stopped and




thought carefully, no fear would have controlled them, or at least taken possession of

their thinking. Fear of unknown—completely unknown—circumstances is a form of self-preservation, but fear of what might happenif something else happens is to give ourimagination free run, and certainly not touse our abilities for a constructive means orpurpose. Of course, people seem to feardeath. In other words, they fear change, andmany, regardless of their religious affiliation,still evidence that fear.

People fear annihilation, but more thanthat, I think most human beings living todayfear a change in circumstances that wouldtake away from them the things which theybelieve are of valué. The average family

works to accumulate many physical or material possessions—a house, an automobile,various appliances, such as refrigerators,washing machines, televisión sets, electricrazors, electric mixers, all kinds of gadgetsthat go to contribute to the well-being of theindividual and the ease of living. Thesethings have become symbols of success orassociation with the twentieth century civili-zation.

Were he not in possession of some of theseobjects today, the average individual mightwish to conceal the fact; he might beashamed of what he lacked. Many of thesethings have been obtained by a certain de

gree of sacrifice. By sacrifice I mean thatfamous system of time payments so prevalenttoday, the uncertainty of which under somecircumstances may cause the individual tofeel momentarily that his possessions mightbe taken away from him or that he mightbe taken away from them. This may actually cause near panic.

A few days ago, an explosion near whereI live flooded with calis the switchboards ofthe pólice and county officials, and yet it hada very simple explanation. Anyone doingany serious thinking would not have calledfor an explanation; he would have realizedthat his curiosity would be satisfied in tomor-row’s newspaper. Such a state of nervoustensión is not conducive to a healthy society.

It is all right for us to fear in case of abiological necessity, but it would be better toconsider valúes—enduring valúes, or wemight say eternal valúes—such as wouldhave more meaning than mechanical gadgets,and would give us the assurance of their

survival regardless of what might happen inthe physical world. Then, if we depended

and relied upon those valúes, we might notbecome nervous or reach a state of panic be-cause of the possibility of being deprived ofour favorite gadget.—A

Do You Want Help?

The title of this article might seem super-fluous. Of course you want help. Every one,at one time or another, wants help. The individual who may be the most isolated, eitherphysically or mentally, is faced at some timein life with a situation upon which he wantsthe help of other individuáis. Help is a partof our social structure. The human race

exists as it does today because it has workedtogether and not in isolation. It is hard toconceive of what history would have been ifevery individual human entity were so isolated that he or she had no connection what-soever with any other individual.

One reason the members of the animalkingdom, lower than man, have not evolvedmore than they have may be that manyspecies, to a more or less degree, exist inisolation. On the other hand, someone mightargüe that some of the social insects, such asbees, which have a highly evolved socialstructure, have not evolved because they cannot see further than the circumstances that

exist beyond the relationship of one to another.Generally speaking, however, as human

beings we are occasionally in need of thehelp of other human beings. There are c ircumstances with which we cannot copealone. These may be of a purely physicalnature. For example, few of us are strongenough to move an object weighing over acertain number of pounds, and so we ask theassistance of someone else to help us lift,push, or otherwise transport it. We need towork together to build the great structuresof modem civilization. We need to worktogether in order to formúlate ideas that willbe worth while. Help is not a sign of weak-ness. To ask for help is actually a sign ofstrength.

This latter fact is one that we should allrealize and in which we should thoroughlybelieve. In other words, as human beings,we sometimes need help and it is not onlyour privilege to ask for that help, but it is




our obligation. Frequently by receiving help,we are put into a better position to give help;and unless we as individuáis can contributeto something other than our own personalaims, desires, and hopes in this life, then lifeis certainly completely futile. We know fromexperience that the things we can do forsomeone else frequently give us more pleasure than the acts we have performed strictlyfor our own selfish ends, desires, and hopes.

It is with the realization that man needshelp—often he needs that help desperately—that the late Dr. H. Spencer Lewis institutedand established as a departmental function ofthis organization what is now known as theCouncil of Solace. Possibly the ñame is notclear in its implications to all members, forI find repeatedly examples of AMORC stu-dents who, even when most needful of thehelp of the Council of Solace, do not knowthat they can ask, or do not seem to thinkthat they should ask, for that help.

Actually the Council of Solace functionsto help anyone who wishes to ask for it.There is no barrier of race, creed, belief,membership in any organization, fees paid,or any other criterion in securing help fromthe Council of Solace. All anyone, regardlessof who he is, where he lives, whether he be-longs to this organization or any other organization, needs to do in order to secure thehelp of the Council of Solace is simply toask for it. This department of AMORC has

functioned now for many years. It gives usa great deal of pleasure to read of those whohave received help and have benefited by it,and it also gives us pleasure to give that helpto the extent we are able, whether theindividual ever comments con ce m in g itor not.

Published in the literature of the organization in various places, and in a bookletprepared by the Council of Solace, is a veryspecific statement of exactly what the Council of Solace is, and its scope of operation.Briefly I might summarize that the Councilof Solace consists of the officers, staff, andcertain high degree Rosicrucian members

who use the principies that are taught inour teachings to assist other individuáis.They do this through the giving of absenttreatments for conditions of health, and ofthe concentrating upon problems of thosewho may submit such problems to the attention of the Council of Solace.

Every work day, members of the staffmeet in the Supreme Temple in a special

convocation for the purpose of giving thishelp to those who request it; also, the officersand other members give of their own timefor this same purpose, by devoting a certainperiod each night or each evening at a spe-cially selected time to directing the construc-tive thoughts which they can conceive, andto calling upon the constructive forces of theCosmic that they may work through themand reach out to those who look to the Council of Solace for help.

Individuáis who seek the Council’ s helpusually communicate in some way requestingthe help that it can give. What we shouldbe mostly concemed with here is the makingit clear to the individual that the help isavailable and how one can go about obtain-ing it. To cali upon the Council of Solacefor help is an important psychological factorin itself. If you have confidence enough inthe ideáis and principies taught by this organization to ask that help be directed towardyou, then you have a more stable foundationfor the solving of your problems than youmay realize, for it is a human characteristicthat once confidence is placed in any personor persons, or any forcé or power, that individual is in a better psychological state tocope with his problems than if he had nofaith whatsoever in any condition existingoutside of him. Therefore, you are doing

yourself a favor if you will ask for help.Many of our members and nonmemberswho have not availed themselves or havemerely considered availing themselves of theCouncil of Solace may have hesitated to doso because they did not know just how togo about it. What I would like to do here,rather than go into more theoretical discus-sion of the function and purposes of theCouncil of Solace, is to set forth a few suggestions that may assist you in availing yourself of these services when and if you needthem.

If you have a problem of any type, whether it be personal, conceming your family

affairs, your employment, or whether it beyour health, then the first thing that youneed to do is to communicate with the Council of Solace and merely state in the fewest possib le words , “I have such-and-such a problem. Please help me.” Securing the assistanceof the Council of Solace is that simple. The




Council of Solace, or rather the clerks whowork in that department and keep the records

for those who give the assistance, will imme-diately record your ñame and problem in arecord form that is kept, and those who assistwith the Council of Solace will be informedimmediately of the circumstances. You willalso receive a form letter, together with abooklet, that sets forth what you can do andwhat the Council of Solace attempts to do.This is merely a formal acknowledgment.

It is very important that you bear in mindthat the purpose of the Council of Solace isnot to enter into personal correspondencewith those who seek its aid. In the first place,for someone to dictate a long letter to youabout your problems is probably not going to

solve it, and is going to take time that couldbetter be used in the application of themetaphysical principies which the Councilof Solace attempts to put into practical oper-ation. Please remember that you will simplyreceive an acknowledgment. You will knowthat the work has begun. What you want isthe help that the Council of Solace can give,not simply a series of letters being mailed toyou about the situation conceming whichyou have written.

In case of an emergency, you can send atelegram or cable. These, of course, receivethe immediate attention of officers and ofthose assisting with the Council of Solace,because a telegram obviously indicates thatthe element of time is important. However,a telegram was brought to me a few daysago that consisted of about seventy-fívewords. It had been sent as a straight wire,and I am sure must have cost the sendereight or ten dollars. It is not necessary toreport in detail through a telegram when youneed help. A telegram merely directed tothe Council of Solace, AMORC, San José,California, stating, “I need help for personalproblems,” or “I need help for illness,” or“Give me help for an accident,” or somethingof that kind, a mere statement of the mini-mum facts in a few words is all that isnecessary. In fact, the words, “Help for

accident,” or “Help for severe illness,” wouldbe all that would be necessary in times ofemergency for the Council of Solace to beginits work.

Do not attempt to enter into a detaileddescription of problems that are personal, orof symptoms of a disease. Simply state the

necessary obvious facts. The Council ofSolace can carry on its work from there,

and remember that once you have asked, youalso have an obligation. You have an obliga-tion to continué sensible treatment, in thecase of an illness, to follow the instructionsthat are given by the Council of Solace, andto apply to the best of your ability andknowledge the teachings that you havelearned in the study of the Rosicmcianphilosophy. If you will make the request forhelp and cooperate to the best of your ability,you will be benefited, and of course that isthe purpose of your original request.—A

Magic

Among the occult sciences the subject ofmagic is looked upon by some as of little orno importance, and by others as actually in-cluding all that is essential in the understanding of the occult. In the higher degreesof this organization, an attempt is made torationalize the various interpretations ofmagic so that the student may be somewhatfamiliar with an attitude that is sane andreasonable, as well as to do away with anyfalse conceptions that might in any way contribute to superstition and misbelief.

It must not be forgotten that fundamental-ly within the doctrine of the Rosicmcianphilosophy is the sacred right and duty of

the individual aspirant, seeking to attainoccult and metaphysical knowledge, to feelbound to defeat in every way he can theattempts of superstition to enslave his ownmind or that of other human beings. Freedom from superstition, and therefore freedomfrom fear, is one of the most important messages that the Rosicmcian teachings havecarried to humanity in the centuries thatthey have flourished.

To deal with the subject of magic in anymanner is to invite the possibility of re-open-ing concepts that lead to exaggeration ofideas tending to have the foundation stoneswithin themselves to encourage certain formsof superstition. I am going to discuss brieflysome of the aspects of magic as it is dealtwith by various occult points of view, andalso try to point out that what we havecalled, and what has been called in occultliterature for a long period of time, white magic is actually no more or less than theunderstanding of laws and principies which




are of Cosmic origin. Magic to many learnedscholars today is considered to be no more

than an accumulation of crude superstitionout of which religión had its beginning.These individuáis look upon religión as nomore or less than a form of superstition ora form of magic.

In the so-called enlightened mind of today,particularly where it has been influenced agreat deal by materialistic philosophies ofthe past century, the idea of magic belongsto the childhood of the world, when men sawgods, devils, and other invisible beings in allthe phenomena of nature. Primitive manhad a tendency to personalizo the winds, therain, the mountains, day and night, the stars,the earthquakes; everything good or bad wasrequired to be placated by the use of certainrites which became known as magical pro-cedures.

While magic is as oíd as mankind, it isstill widely believed and practiced in manyparts of the world; actually, to some extent,it is practiced in eveiy part of the world,even in its most civilized parts. This is due,so we are told by some authorities, to thelack of education, or to the difficulty oferadicating beliefs which have come to usfrom the past. It is rightly pointed out that,when concepts of magic in the popular senseare engrained within people, the elementarydevelopment of the reasoning faculty is pow-erless to cope with it; that is, men who do

not use reason or do not find an explanationfor something that is of significance to themare always glad to accept an explanation thatseems to have its origin outside the field withwhich they are usually familiar.

Much that was magic exists today underother ñames. One is a very common word—suggestion. The use of suggestion, whetherit be in the simplest form or in the elabórateprocedures of psychiatric treatment, is in asense the use of forces other than physicalfor a definite purpose. While the psychiatristwould be amazed at having his processes referred to as a form of magic, actually thereis little difference except in the application.

If we look for a definition of the wordmagic, we will find that a good definition, asrecognized by an established dictionary inthis country, says: “The art which claimsor is believed to produce effects by the assistance of supernatural beings or by a masteryof secret forces in nature.” We might add

that in the popular viewpoint this definitionmight further state that magic takes the place

of science among primitive and barbarouspeople; they usually combine what scientificknowledge they possess with a mass of super-stitions. It is also generally believed thatmagic is an integral part of most paganreligions, and that its overthrow in theWestern world has been largely due to theinfluence of Christianity, which condemnedthe so-called magical processes, and alsocondemned the procedure that man shouldappeal to spirits and demons.

To refer to magic as being concemed withsecret forces is somewhat misleading. Ifsuch secret forces existed and were employedby magic, they would obviously be no longersecret. It might be much better in ourterminology to use the term superphysical

forces. We might further make a definitionof our own by saying that magic is any effectproduced by a knowledge and application offorces which exist beyond the plañe of thephysical or material world, the means themselves being piimarily nonphysical. Actually, then, magic in this sense has nothingwhatsoever to do with the supematural, unless we use the word supernatural as refer-ring to all phenomena which are non-phys-ical.

The physicist performs magic in his labo-ratory. He has performed magic in manyways. Products that are wonderful results

of such work are, for example, radio, televisión, and other electronic applications.But however wonderful these things are,they are not magic. Radio, as I have said, isnot magic, but it provides a means ofcommunication. Telepathy which accom-plishes a similar end through mind communi-cating directly with mind without a médiumis considered as magic. The cure of diseasesby drugs, physical manipulations, or otherkinds of treatment is not magic. The cure ofdiseases by thought power or prayer is whatwe might consider magic. As telepathy istoday more generally acknowledged, andpsychotherapy is a recognized form of thera-

peutical treatment, it is rather absurd todefine magic as a pretended science or asimple belief.

We are all practical magicians, though wemay not know it ñor understand the effectsproduced or the methods by which they areaccomplished. In other words, the individual




who finds his place to a certain degree withinthe scheme of the Cosmic realm and in rela

tionship to the universe of which he is a partand utilizes all the laws at his command,whether they be physical or nonphysical, isin a sense a magician. He is applying lawsthat exist and is directing those laws towardconditions that can manifest within or abouthim.

The further statement I made that magicwas largely destroyed by Christianity is alsosomewhat exaggerated. It may be true thatthe practices of black magic, as they wereknown—that is, the efforts of individuáis touse forces for other than constructive aims—did receive considerable discouragement byChristian ethics and moráis. Nevertheless,

magic still exists in the most educated andcivilized communities, although probably under other ñames. Also, it is as prevalent andessential in Christianity as it is in so-calledpagan religión. The ceremony of the mass,for example, is a puré piece of ceremonialmagic, including the blessing of holy waterand other rites and practices of the Catholicchurch. It is true that the Church would notcali these processes magic, or, if it did, itmight refer to them as white magic, but similar rites of pagan religions are called black magic, or simply magic.

However we apply terminology to anything, whether it be physical or nonphysical,does not alter it; so, consequently, even

though the Church does not cali any of itspractices and rites magic, they neverthelessmay be so. For example, to cali up spiritsand ask for their help is black magic. Tocali up the saints and ask for their help isconsidered a common practice among certainreligious bodies, and at the very least, wouldnot be given a ñame stronger than white magic.

Actually, the difference between white andblack magic is not whether the rite is per-formed within the orthodox church, or anyother church. The distinction lies far deeper,depending upon the means employed, and,more essentially, on the purpose and motiva-

tion of the individual who employs suchpractices; that is, if white magic and blackmagic exist, the difference lies as much within the motivation of the individual as it doeswithin the process itself. Virtue can run overeasily into vice. The door between good andevil is always open, and readily passed

through, so one may stray without realizingit from a right-handed path to a left-handed

path.Newspapers and popular magazines todayare full of advertisements which might beclassified as black magic, just as they are fullof advertisements for medicines and otherforms of items that would be claimed to addto the benefit of humanity; but anythingfrom quack medicine to the wrong use ofsuggestion, the development of personal mag-netism, how to make other people subjectto your will, or to make money throughthought power—all of these procedures canbe used destructively as well as constructive-ly, depending upon the attitude with whichthe individual user approaches them.

Basically, the fundamental principie isbased on the use of selfishness. The individual who seeks to gain the use of powerswithin and around his own environment,simply for the purpose of benefiting himself,is in a sense employing black magic. Thepowers are the same. The individual is theone who makes the decisión. The use of anyforcé that is given us for a constructive purpose for a personal and selfish end is a degreeof an application of black magic.

This same principie can be illustrated ina broader sense. Prayer is common to allreligions. Actually, it is common to man.Man is a praying animal. The atheist andthe agnostic pray, for prayer, whether it be

addressed to God, a saint, or any othersource, is addressed to one’s own self, regardless of how we might attempt to disguise itin another form. It is a cali of the mortalto the immortal man, the opening of a chan-nel between the physical self and that phaseof self which can put itself in closer attunement with the divine source which gives itlife and existence. Prayer ranges from amere request for help to a cry, plea, or de-mand for the changing of forces that existabout the individual who prays.

Unfortunately, much prayer in times ofdifficulties verges dangerously on the border-line of what might be properly called black

magic. A prayer for victory in war is aprayer for the defeat of the enemy, andthough victory is conceived as being synony-mous with right by the would-be victors, wasthere ever a war fought for an admittedlyunrighteous cause? Yet prayer for eithervictory or defeat is against the law of love.




In fact, it would seem to be against the lawof God. Prayer, if prayer there should be,

should be for justice, for peace, for humanbrotherhood, for truth, leaving the issue between the opposing battalions to God, whoalone knows the end toward which His wisdom is directed.

And so the story is told, which a few yearsago was elaborated upon by a well-knownauthor, that the razor’s edge is a fine linedividing good from evil, or dividing the constructive from the dark forces. The decreesof Karma cannot be changed by the prayersof men. It is as childish as it is unmoral towish that it were possible. Mercy and com-passion are inherent in the idea of divine

justice, and how can we—how daré we—askfor more?

There is then essentially no particularspell of mystery about magic. Magic, i f weare to continué to use the word at all, is thedegree upon which we rely and use forceswhich may not be measurable by physicalor mechanical standards. When we applythe principies of mysticism, metaphysics,and occultism, all of which deal with thenonphysical attributes of our being and ourrelationship to the divine, then we are in asense using magical forces.

As long as those forces are used construc-tively, we ourselves will leam what the fieldof magic actually constitutes and to whatextent we may become masterful magicians.

The perfect magician is the individual whohas at his command those powers which prepare him for immortality, which relate himto the sources, purposes, and ends for whichhe was designed, and speed up the evolvement which is necessarily his. The purposeof evolving is to be released from the chainof incamation that now provides man withthose experiences which we have as physical-ly bound souls in the environment providedby the material universe.—A

Taoism and the Akashic Records

A frater addressing our Fomm asks:

“What is the relationship between the Chi-nese conception of Tao and the Rosicrucianconception of the Akashic records?”

Much that is taught today in the realmsof mysticism and philosophy is both syn-cretic and eclectic. With the migration andunity of peoples their thought in these

realms has merged. Teachers of new concepts have borrowed inspiring ideáis and

incorpora ted them with their own views.This eclecticism, this merging of thought,has been so gradual in some instances thatthe origin of certain views in a philosophicalor religious system is often almost completely concealed. The Sankhya philosophy,from which the word akashic is derived, webelieve historically antedates Taoism. Wefurther believe that the parallel between theearlier doctrine of the Akashic records andTaoism is not coincidental, but is still another example of eclecticism. Consequently,a brief review of the doctrine of the Akashicrecords is first in order.

The premise underlying the Akashic records is that there is a universal, Creativeforcé. Within this forcé and its order andintelligence are indelibly impressed, in anamorphous and potential way, all things.Thus, all things that are and all things thatultimately will be are recorded potentially,in essence, in the universal intelligence.Nothing is created by the intelligence ofman which is absolutely new. Nothing, according to this conception, that follows fromnatural phenomena, as the consequence ofearthquakes, floods or glaciation, is new.Everything is predetermined as a necessarycondition that must proceed from the universal forcé.

For an understanding of this idea there

must now be some elaboration. When onerefers to the Akashic records one is obviouslynot alluding to any material records or in-scriptions. Further, the principie must notbe construed as meaning that in the Aka sa ,which means indeterminate essence, there isan idea which is an archetype, or corre-spondent, to some object which comes intoexistence in the world. In other words, thereare no blueprints, figuratively speaking, noplans or designs in the Akasa from whicheventually carne the telephone, the airplane,radio, televisión, and other inventions anddevelopments.

The Akashic records should be construed,

rather, as meaning the unity of all naturallaw and that order or manifestation fromwhich anything is possible. There is nothing that ever will be that is not alreadyrooted in this configuration of laws andforces. Let us use a simple analogy to bettercomprehend these remarks. Let us suppose




that a collection of marbles in a containersymbolizes Cosmic and natural laws, as well

as their forces and possible arrangement andmanifestations. Any design which thesemarbles might assume when they are pouredout upon the table is therefore potentiallyalready existent within the collection! Themyriad designs do not exist actually in theirform in the collection of marbles; rather, themarbles are always capable of one of thenumerous designs which eventually followsfrom it.

Further, according to the doctrine of theAkashic records, all human creations aremerely man’s intellect, as a channel, broughtinto contact with the potentiality of theAkashic records. It is a law of the universal

essence, according to this doctrine, that manshall create. He cannot escape doing so.When his mind is inspired by the universalconsciousness, a design then flows from thehuman intellect. Such a design is but oneof the infinite arrangements which Cosmicand natural law can and will assume whenfunctioning through the human intellect.

Another way in which to look upon thissubject is that in the universal consciousness,the Akasa, there can be no form. Everythingthat was or will be is merged already in theprimary essence. The forms that appear ashuman creations are but the channeling ofthe particulars, the arrangement of a portionof the forces of the Akasa. The human mindgives them identity, confers upon them form—but in essence, nothing is changed or new.

Taoism started as a ph ilosoph y and eventually became a religión; finally, it evendegenerated to superstitious beliefs and practices. Its origin is attributed to the HanDynasty of China (206 B.C.-220 A.D.). Asa philosophy, Taoism sought the unity of allorganisms. It was the attempt to fit allreal ity into a pattern. In this objective itfollowed the traditional purpose of all phi-losophies. As a religión, Taoism is said tohave sought “a power over nature and overman by adjustment with the Tao throughmagic.”

Let us go back to the 4th century B.C. inChina. At that time a new conception ofastronomy had reached China. “The heavenswere regarded as revolving about the solidblock of the earth. The polestar was thepivot.” The revolution of the heavens wasaccompanied by the interaction of two prin

cipies: yin, the negative, and yang, thepositive. We would term this the attraction

and repulsión of two polarities. These twoprincipies, yin and yang, operated through“five forces or agencies, water, fire, wood,metal, and soil.” These agencies producedall the phenomena of earth, the seasons, andday and night. Even man and his responseto earth are related to be the consequenceof yin and yang.

There is a basic theory quoted in Taoism,namely: “One yin9 one yang is the Tao.”In other words, Tao is the Cosmic energy;it is the Absolute but its functioning consistsof the interaction of its two polarities. Taois none other than the oscillation of its twoaspects—yin and yang. In this theory there

is much that is contiguous to modem scien-tific and metaphysical theories as to thefundamental nature of absolute being.

Mystics tried to sublímate the philosophical view of Tao. They protested that theTao is but a ñame, and a ñame is not suffi-cient for the realization of the tme natureof a thing. For a full realization of the essence and power of Tao, they proclaimedthat the human must identify himself withit. In this we see again asserted the ancient,mystical principie of absorption and unión.Since Tao was in itself held to be a unityof all expression of form, or the onenes ofall organisms, therefore what Taoist mysticssought was unity with unity.

These Taoist mystics accepted the philosophical doctrine that the Tao is universal; it is the oneness of all being. However, theydeclared that Tao is not transcendent. Itdoes not rise above all else. It is not supremein relation to that which emanates from itsown nature. In other words, “Tao producesall, but it is not above all.” It is in fact,then, all the phenomena of nature but it isnot any particular of nature ñor is one expression of it considered inferior to another.

The Tao mystics inveighed against thestudy of books or literature which attemptedto delineate the nature of Tao. The substance of their objection to this was that

books require thought and the application ofreason. Thought and reason provide aknowledge which is related to sensuousthings, the experiences of the senses. De-pendence on the faculties of perception andreason, according to these mystics, arreststhe consciousness, prevenís it from attaining




the enlarged function of such an organismas an improvement, as a progression that

constitutes evolution. Whether in a philosophical sense, from the point of view ofnature (not man’s estimation), such reallyis evolution is not a subject which we willentertain now.

With man the same type of reasoning isapplied as to the determination of his evolution. The elaboration and extensión of hisfaculties and powers and the refinement ofhis qualities are accepted as his personalevolution. Anthropologists have proven thatprimitive men were capable of reasoning.Using such reasoning as a basis, the mentaldevelopment of the intelligent person of today is generally held to far exceed that of

the Australian aborigine, for example. Thisis said to be proof that man’s intellectualpowers (as they are today) have far evolvedfrom those of his early progenitors such asthe Neanderthal Man.

In religious matters it is likewise generallyconceded that monotheism and mysticalpantheism are evolved concepts in contrast,for example, to animism and polytheism.Fortunately, man’s imagination allows forthe projection of a state or quality into thefuture. In other words, what appears asgood to us of the Now, can most often beimagined with a further improved state pro-

jected into its future. If man were not capable of this idealizing, all progress—or whatis assumed to be progress—would haveceased.

In our present social relationships, govem-ment, intemational affairs, world economyand morality, there appear obvious faults tous. It is not difficult for us to conceive ofthe elimination of such noxious conditions.Most thoughtful people can conceive aUtopia of a kind, even if such would proveimpractical eventually. The conceived improved status for the individual or for mankind as a whole is then said to be an evolved one. What is thought to be an ultímatestate for man—perfeetion spiritually, intel-lectually, and socially—is only an assump-

tion in comparison with man’s present evalu-ation of circumstances. Yet, as one looksback in retrospect, no matter the puerilityand imperfection of our present status as weconceive it, there are indications that societyas a whole has evolved. Of course, from thepoint of view of morality one may say that

all the oíd evils are still with us. Perfidy,corruption, and the violation of the com-

mandments for right living persist.Consider, however, the tremendous in-crease of the world population from theaspect of percentage; even morality and self-discipline have evolved. Certainly, in theacquisition of knowledge about himself andhis world, man has evolved. In an ever-growing complex society, the mastery ofcertain problems constituting evolution is,however, often mitigated by ever-rising newproblems.

As to whether mankind as a whole willevolve, or only the particular individual, wedo not think there is great difficulty in real-izing the evolutionary relationship between

the two, that is, man and society. The individual will and must go through that subli-mation, or make that progress which is heldto be evolution, before the society of whichhe is a part can do so. At least, there mustbe those who begin the evolutionary processes. The ideáis for the evolutionary trendsof society—in the spiritual sense, as well—flow from the individual. If we assume oraccept that religión has had a salutary effectupon mankind or society, then certainly thefirst motivation carne from the individual.

It was the individual, the avatar, thefounder, the Messiah, who was illuminedand inspired and who by his preachmentsled a multitude from darkness to what isconsidered to be Light. Zoroaster, Moses,Buddha, Jesús, Mohammed—they are someof the relatively few who through personalevolvement tended to lift mankind by itsproverbial bootstraps. The same may be saidof Thales, Sócrates, Plato, Aristotle, Pythag-oras, and a host of other ancient and modem thinkers.

Mystically, we may postúlate that onewould not be truly evolved who did not orcould not pass on his evolutionary changesto his fellows. The thought and the deedsof the evolved personalities or intellects mustbe contagious. They must be capable oftransmission and of the inspiring of society

—at least of a portion of mankind. Certainindividuáis have been so evolved as to completely adúmbrate all the achievements oftheir fellows. The personality evolution ofsome humans has so greatly exceeded theirtime that their contemporaiies could notcomprehend their words or behavior. Such




exalted personages, under such conditions,frequently paid for their great personal evolution with their lives—at the stake or onthe rack.

Though the individual must first contribute his personal evolutionary effects tosociety, yet the latter in tum may reflectits progress upon the individual. Societyadopts certain standards, ways and means,which it expounds as being evolutionary.In turn, it exposes its members to those influences. Such practices then become en-demic to the particular culture of the period.The individual who lives in that societyconsequently gradually assimilates the ideáis.Consciously or unconsciously he participatesin these ideáis and practices and thereby

further con tributes to the evolutionary trend.For analogy, there are undoubtedly millionsof persons in our most civilized nations today who would not compel their childrento attend school were not the law enforcingthat practice. Their children are thus evolvedin the educational sense even perhaps againstthe will of their parents.

For the general evolution of mankindthere must be reciprocity between what thefrater calis the “larger circle” and the individual. We hold that the particular individual can evolve without the larger circle, butunfortunately no one will realize it excepthimself. Even to him the evolution would

be in concept only, rather than in accom-plishment. Society must go along apace formost men to know when one of their fellowsexceeds them in something so that they maybe called evovled.—X

What Is An Avatar?

A frater of Japan addresses our Forum,and asks in substance, “What, specifically,is an avatar? Do Rosicmcians accept the traditional meaning of the word? Who werethe avatars, and are there any now living?”

The word avatar is of Hindú and possiblyof Sanskiit origin. In the Hindú religión,the term referred to any of the pantheon ofHindú deities who incaraated in humanform. One who has attained spiritual illumination and is, in fact, a deity, or the equiv-alent in attainment, and one who retumsto mortal existence to serve mankind is considered to be an avatar according to theHindú religión. Mystically speaking, an avá-

tar is one who has reached a state of CosmicConsciousness—that is, when his consciousness is in perfect harmony with the UniversalMind, he is no longer Cosmically obligatedto incamate in physical form; the soul-per-sonality has learned its specific lessons andhas, in fact, completed its needed cycle. Thiscycle begins with the extensión of the soulforcé outward through the human form to aneventual state of full realization of man’sCosmic unity. When this realization is attained, the soul has then retumed in consciousness to its source.

Upon such a traditional, mystical premise,many mystical philosophies, religions, andmetaphysical concepts are founded. Themanner of explaining the principies and laws

involved in such a process varíes to somedegree with each system. It has generallybeen accepted that an individual who hasexpounded great spiritual truth and who hasdemonstrated transcendental powers did notacquire that knowledge and power in onelife. It may be contended that he is a highlyevolved soul-personality. Perhaps it will beproclaimed that such a person is on the lastplañe of consciousness to be experienced inhuman form. Because of that, he has ac-quired a psychic visión and a personal powerexceeding that of other mortals. Such anindividual’s theurgical achievements areexplained on the grounds of an exalted

theophany or spiritual experience.In the mysticism of the East, no particularindividual avatar was thought to be the onlyson of the solé god. In pantheistic religions,the avatar was one who became more fullyconscious of the universal Intelligence, theall-pervading God-Mind. He was one throughwhom the plethora of Divine Light wouldflow. To most mystics—perhaps other thanthose of the Christian sects—such personagesas Zoroaster, Moses, Vishnu, Buddha, andChrist were thought to be but a few of theavatars. There were others who had likewise attained the perfeetion of the soul-personality. Included, too, would generally bethose who had throughout history attaineda great influx of spiritual light. The particular religionist, however, the devotee of adistinct sect, as for example the orthodoxChristian, would probably resent the spiritual head of his faith being considered butone of a pantheon of avatars. To him itwould seem as though his spiritual leader




brutally taken measures to stop the firstparty’s relationship with the Rosicmcian

Order? . . . Also the nonmember is not mystically minded in any sense whatsoever andrefuses to investígate the nature of the Rosicrucian Order.”

There are extenuating circumstances thathave a bearing on the answer to this question. A marriage, intellectually and socially,begins before the nuptial rites are performed.In other words, both parties to the marriagecontract should have a free exchange ofmind. As near as possible they should reciteto each other their likes and dislikes to dis-cem their mental and, to an extent, theiremotional compatibility. It is, of course,rare that two individuáis, particularly a man

and a woman, will have mutual interests inall matters. Sex alone is an assurance thatthere will be interests that are generallymore masculine or feminine. There should,however, be certain dominant mutual interests that will transcend other differences inthought and activity. If there are no suchdominant interests other than sex itself, theprospect of a successful marriage is verydubious.

First, where there is a difference in religión, each being of a different faith, it isessential to determine immediately the liber-ality and degree of tolerance of the intendedmate. To the infatúa ted and to young lo ver s,

religious difference seems inconsequential.Perhaps they overcome that barrier at firstby one’s agreeing to a Service in the churchof the other. After marriage, however, ex-temal influence may be brought to bear.The parents of one or both of the youngcouple may inveigh against the other’s faith.They insist that their son or daughter havethe children of the unión brought up in theirparticular faith. If i t is not the grandparentswho so interfere, then perhaps it is theclergy. The situation can become a complexand an unhappy one. Unfortunately, thereis nothing that breeds intolerance like over-zealous religious faith.

In line with this reasoning, the Rosicmcian member, who intends to marry, shouldfrankly discuss his or her membership withhis future mate. Naturally, it is advanta-geous in many ways for man and wife to becompanion-members. However, it is notnecessary to induce the intended husband orwife to become a Rosicmcian. It is impor

tant, however, to leam whether a tolerantattitude of mind will be had toward such

membership. If one, after explaining thephilosophical and humanitarian nature ofthe Rosicmcian Order to the other, findsthe latter evincing an unreasonable hostilitytoward the Order, he should consider thatsufficient waming. No marriage should thenbe consummated unless there is a change inthe hostile attitude.

To proceed with a marriage, knowing thata strong prejudice exists on the part of amate, is to invite incompatability and un-happiness. One should not gamble on beingable to change the viewpoint after marriagewhen the relationship then imposes manyother obligations. Sometimes a man or a

woman erroneously tries to measure the loveof another by the willingness of the otherperson to make great sacrifices for it. Inother words, in a selfish way one may de-mand that the other give up certain cher-ished and constructive habits and interests

just as an indication of love. Such is abrutal attitude and reveáis a weakness ofcharacter that should constitute a tacit waming of what can be expected in the subse-quent married state.

Where one does not, before marriage,reveal his interests, studies and affiliationsbecause he is afraid the discussion might bedisturbing, his cowardice may be creating

future havoc for him. If one later discoversan unreasonable objection to his studies, hehas in part at least by his previous silencebrought the tribulation upon himself.

There are psychological reasons, as wellas religious prejudices, that may cause ahusband or wife to object to another’s Rosicmcian, Masonic, literary, sport, or some other kind of affiliation. A wife, for example,may not wish to feel that she has competitionfor her husband’s interest in her. She maythink that her husband’s life should completely revolve about her interests like asatellite. If he spends any time away fromher or in interests foreign to her understanding or choice, she considers that ascompetition for her affection. The reactionwill be one of quite unfair criticism of thehusband’s interests. The criticism may bemade along economic lines, that is, that theycannot afford the membership now that theyare married. Yet the wife will not offer tosacrifice interests of her own for the same




economic reason. Then, again, she may saythat the studies take too much of his time or

that they are in some other way detrimentalto them.

Husbands and also wives for the abovereason have been known to get an illiberalclergyman who looks upon all mystical andphilosophical studies as pagan and hereticto condemn the affiliation to the mate. Inother words, the protest is then being putupon a religious basis to give it prestigewhen, in fact, underlying it are entirelyother and selfish motives.

It is hardly necessary to state that individuáis cannot all have similar likes and dis-likes. Our personalities, talents, training andexperience account for our varied interests.

Many persons are not temperamentally orintellectually adapted to the study of anysystem of formal philosophy, metaphysics ormysticism.

An individual may be an extrovert anddislike reading and study except when necessary. Often such persons would like to havesuch an interest, that is, they would like tohave the knowledge that comes from study,but without the effort required. Frankly,then, they envy the knowledge that theirmate has acquired due to such studies. Itinculcates within them a sense of inferiorityand envy. They want to be equal to themate in all things and yet are not willing

to sacrifice time and effort to do so. Theywill not embarrass themselves by revealingtheir true feelings. Consequently, they strivefor an equality by attacking the interest, thestudy, of their mate. They make it appearthat they do not personally pursue such astudy because they know—when they actually do not because of their unfamiliaritywith it—that it is harmful or useless.

What should one do under such circumstances of intolerance when married? This,of course, is a question that must be decidedby the individual because circumstances varyin each case. If there are children in thefamily, divorce should be avoided at almostall cost. The first obligation is to the futurewelfare of the children. If there are no children, then the individual must considerwhether separation or divorce is a greatersacrifice than the denial of his personal self-improvement and knowledge. If he believesthat his married life is contributing in manyother ways to his happiness, then perhaps

the sacrifice of his Rosicrucian membershipis necessary.

If one finds that objection to the Rosicrucian study is due to religious prejudice, intolerance, and such selfishness as we havecited above, then a parting of the ways isprobably best. Where the character of oneperson in a marriage unión is of such adespicable type, the sacrifice of Rosicrucianmembership would not be an ultímate reme-dy. The un just criticism would soon centerupon some other interest of the mate.

The Rosicrucian, of course, if he followsthe precepts of the Order, will never do anything in his membership that will undulyarouse animosity toward it. He or she willdo everything within reason not to let the

studies and membership interfere with necessary household duties, marital relations,and mutual family interests.—X


It has been said that India is religiouslyintoxicated. This phrase does not have reference to the variety of religious sects found inthat country because the United States, forexample, has perhaps the greatest number ofreligious groups and cults in the world. Theintoxication undoubtedly refers to the Indiantemperament and inclination toward spiritual and philosophical pursuits. The subjec-

tive interests are often far more dominant inthe individual in that land than are thetemporal pursuits. One bom in India mustmake a considerable effort to bring about abalance in his life between the traditionalinfluences and the rapid transition now under way toward industrialization and theparticipation in physical sciences.

It was in such an atmosphere that Dhanji-shaw D. Patell, our Inspector General ofAMORC for Bombay, was reared. FraterPatell was bom in Bombay on October 6,1904. At the early age of eleven years, hewas initiated into the solemn rites of theZoroastrian religión. Such an occasion iscalled “Navjote Day.” The ceremony tookplace in a small city, Igatpuri, not far distantfrom Bombay. At the time, it was a railway

junction. In addition to the induction ceremony, an incident occurred on the same daywhich left a lasting impression on youngPatell. His father was a locomotive engineer(driver). A strike was impending against




the railway, and his father was under pres-sure to discontinué working and thereby add

to the chaos that would ensue. His fatherresisted the threats and pressure, and con-tinued his duties at the risk of great personaldanger. This courage to stand for one’s con-victions under all circumstances was a morallesson young Patell did not forget.

After completing his high school educationwith honors, Frater Patell enrolled in anarchitectural school. There was as yet nocertainty as to just what he intended for hisfuture. He subsequently served as a drafts-man in an architectural and engineeringschool, thinking that such practical trainingwould be useful, even if in the future heshould change the direction of his career.

The aesthetic side of Frater Patell’s naturewas very strong. He saw the beauty in manythings in his daily life not appreciated byothers. At every opportunity he wouldsketch and paint what he saw.

Frater Patell’s ambition finally floweredinto wishing to be an artist. He subsequentlypassed successfully govemment examinationsin drawing and painting. In photographyhe found the opportunity to combine scienceand art. He became a partner in a photo-graphic enterprise. From there it was butanother step upward to the Wadia Movie-tone Studios where he applied his artisticideas. Not long afterward he became a cine-matographer. To his credit, Frater Patell hashad several noted cinema pictures producedin three languages—English, Hindi, andBengali. The hard work demanded of himin this enterprise caused ill-health, and hewas forced to retire from it. Soon afterwardhe entered the insurance business in whichhe has been successful.

The subtlety of mysticism and the philosophy of the East was innate within the natureof Frater Patell. Time found him alwaysbrowsing in secondhand bookstores, purchas-ing works on occultism and mysticism. In1934 he became associated with the SriRamakrishna Mission. He became a studentof its teachings under a learned disciple.

But, it was an incident in the spring of1948 that led him to the Threshold of theRosicrucian Order, AMORC. A friend paidhim a visit in his office. This friend waslearned in mysticism and related subjects,having authored two such books which FraterPatell had illustrated. During the visit, he

revealed his psychic power by relating thatanother associate in the office was a member

of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC. The associate was deeply surprised at this revela-tion and admitted gladly his affiliation.Frater Patell was greatly impressed with theincident and requested information as to howhe might enroll in the Order. He subsequently crossed the Threshold that sameyear.

Frater Patell’s enthusiasm and love of theOrder resulted in his organizing the BombayPronaos in 1953 which he served as Masterfor two terms. He has subsequently renderedgreat Service to the A.M.O.R.C. He con-ducted public meetings in Bombay for theOrder in 1953, and two more in 1956. He

also organized two charity shows, one forflood relief and another for a tuberculosisfund; these events likewise brought theRosicrucian Order, AMORC in Bombay favorable publicity.

Frater Dhanjishaw Patell was honoredwith an appointment by the Imperator tothe office of Inspector General of AMORCfor Bombay in June of 1957. Frater Patellsays of his membership, “the RosicrucianOrder, AMORC has given me the opportunity to serve humanity in distress.”

Frater Patell has a lovely wife who shareshis interests, and a daughter eleven yearsoíd. His daughter is a member of the Rosicrucian Torch Bearers. In Frater Patell arethe qualifications which the Order considersthe epitome of Rosicrucian membership.—X

What Is the True Sabbath?

A soror, addressing our Forum, says: 44Weare not taught in our studies the importanceof keeping the seventh day holy. . . . Doesit make any difference to the Cosmic whichday we keep holy? . . . Can you clear thispoint up?”

The Sabbath, as a day of rest or its equiva-lent, is not only kept by Christians and He-brews but by Buddhists, Moslems, and evenprimitive peoples. Th e connotation put upon

the day, and its origin as well, has variedwith different cultures and peoples since remote antiquity. A rest day among primitivepeoples was not influenced or inspired by thepractice of higher cultures or civilizations.Most frequently their day of rest is not anyparticular period. These primitive rest days




are not always associated with the devotionsto a god or a religious worship.

When a tribe finds it necessary to imposetaboos, that is, the prohibition of certainconduct and activities, a day would be setaside to give emphasis to them. The rest insuch instances is really not the principal ob

jective but follows out of the restrictionswhich have been placed upon the individual’sconduct. The rest, then, is the negative aspect of the day, not the positive one.

Again, these primitive rest days havebeen established for the purpose of especialtribute or honor to be paid to some sacrosanctcharacter. It may be in honor of a chieftainwho is believed to have a divine nexus.Though there is a sacrosanct atmosphere

associated with the individual who is beinghonored, the day chosen for the event maynot be considered in itself sacred or holy.These particular primitive days of rest havea parallel in degree only to some of ourholidays.

The distinction between a modem holidayand a primitive day of rest is the kind ofrestrictions imposed in the primitive society.Among Australian tribes such days aremarked by fasting and abstinence fromstimulating drinks, sexual intercourse, loudnoises, dancing or singing. A general qui-escence prevails. Prophylactic communalrest days are also common among primitive

people. In other words, if a people had beenunder an exceptional emotional and physicalstress and strain, the result of some cata-clysm, catastrophe or epidemic, a day wouldthen be ordered for the opportunity of re-cuperation. In such instances the day might,in addition, become the occasion of solemnworship and religious ceremony. Prayersmight be offered in gratitude by the sur-vivors. Libations and oblations might alsobe made to the god to appease his wrath andto seek his intervention in any recurrenceof the calamity.

Among primitive pastoral people, shep-herds and herders, there is rarely observeda day of rest. Their occupation being suchthat little exertion is required, it has beenapparently thought that a separate day ofrest for them was not necessary. However,in the same society it has been observed thatagriculturalists whose labor is more arduouswere granted a day of freedom from theirlabors. It has been theorized that, with the

transition of the people from a pastoral toan agricultural society, the influence of aneeded day of rest resulted in contributingto the periodic adoption of one day weekly.

Usually this rest day was made to corre-spond to market days. Here we see theutilitarian aspect entering to establish thecustom. Agriculturists, shepherds and crafts-men, for example, cannot visit the marketand buy wares unless there is a period offreedom from their daily labors. A combination of the two circumstances, rest and market day, was a practical and efficient conception—except for the merchants at the marketplace. This custom of combined market andrest days is common among tribes in NewGuinea, Sumatra, and Java.

Superstition, as well as necessity and religión, has played a prominent part in theestablishment of a day of rest. Certain daysamong primitive peoples are considered un-lucky. The notion arises probably from anassociation of ideas. A certain unfortunateor disastrous event occurs on a certain dayof the week or period of the month. Theelementary reasoning would deduce thatthere was a contagious influence (magic)between the two. Therefore, that period inthe future would be one of curtailed activities, consisting of taboos imposed upon thepeople. This became their Sabbath, consisting of rest, restriction, and retrospection up

on the significance of the origin of the day.Though there is no proof of the theory,it is generally assumed that the HebrewSabbath, as an institution, had its origin inBabylonia. Man y of the religious customsand concepts of the Hebrews have parallelsin the beliefs and rites of the people whowere once their captors. The Semitic no-madic tribes of which the Hebrews mainlyconsisted were a relatively primitive andsimple people compared to the Egyptians andBabylonians. The Egyptians and Babylo-nians had attained a high state of civilizationand organized religión when the Hebrewswere their slaves. The alert Semitic mind,open to new ideas or experiences, wouldreadily borrow what seemed plausible to it.

In Babylonia, however, the Sabbath (Sab-attu) was not established because of thecreator’s resting on the seventh day. It wasa celebration, a festival, on the occasion ofthe full moon on the 15th day of the month.The event occurred “when the earth’s satel-




lite ‘rested’ for a while at the height of hisbrilliancy.” The Babylonian calendar even-

tually had months of 29 or 30 days each.Three of the weeks consisted of seven dayseach, the fourth week being nine or ten daysaccording to the length of the month. Thereare two theories advanced for the seven-dayweek of the Babylonians. The first is theseven divine planets of which the earlyastronomers knew. There was perhaps con-ceived a correspondence between the earthlytime, the week, and the number of planets.Second, these Babylonian astronomers knewthat the lunation may be roughly dividedinto four periods of seven days each.

The Babylonians designated the SabbathSabattu. This is probably the source from

which the Hebrews derived their word Sabbath. Scholars assume that the word originat-ed in the still earlier Sumerian Sá-bat. Thiscompound means “mid-rest” or “heart-rest.”In the fifth tablet of the Semitic story ofcreation, most of which tablets are in theBritish Museum, we find an interesting refer-ence. We quote below only a few lines:

At the beg inn ing of the month, then appearing in the land,

The horns (moon) shine forth to make known the seasons.

On the seventh day the tiara perfecting, A Sabbath (Sabattu) sha lt thou then en-

counter ? mid-month (ly?)The Hebrews merely changed the day ofrest in its place in the week.

To the Hebrews the Sabbath was the re-sult of a covenant between God and thepeople. Ezekiel, one of the four great He-brew prophets, in reviewing the history ofIsrael from the day the people were chosenby God, presents this message: uHallow mySabbath. A sign between me and them thatthey might know that I am the Lord thatsanctify them.” There are other similar ref-erences as “And Creator of all days blessedthis day which he had created for a blessingand a sanctificator and a glory above alldays.” It was then a day that the Hebrewsoffered thanks to their god for his liberation

of them from the Egyptians and his subse-quent protection.As the Sabbath became definitely a day

of rest as well as a sacred one, specific taboosof conduct were proclaimed. In the Mishraththere are defined “39 main categories for-bidding work.” It is interesting to speculate

upon why work is held taboo on sacred dayseven among primitive peoples. It would ap-

pear that the psychological premise is thatwork is principally a self-interest. Whetherone is employed by another or labors forhimself, he does so because of basic self-interest as sustenance. Most labors are like-wise concemed with profane, mundane ac-tivities. On a sacred day when a god is tobe worshipped, one must by his attitude showthat his mind and his hands are both freeto serve the higher being, and His require-ments. One cannot serve two masters simul-taneously—the self and the deity.

The Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday eve-ning. The modernization of the Jewishrituals has varied the acceptance of when

the Sabbath begins for worship. Seneca, theRomán statesman, misunderstood the signifi-cance of the day. He construed the day tobe one of idleness. To the Jews, however,one would rest only from daily labors butactivity was expected from them in study,prayer, and certain types of recreation.

The early Christian successors to the He-brew Shabbath called it Dies Dominica or“Lord’s Day.” The Moslems have a similarholy day of rest and worship which theyterm Al Ju m ah , the “meeting.” The meet-ing is for worship. The practice is derivedfrom the Jewish and Christian customs butthe day is Friday. On that day, labor is suspended only while services are being con-

ducted at the mosque.The Buddhists in Buddhist lands have a

sacred day of rest, a cessation of activitiesand fasting. It is known as Uposatha. Itfalls on the “day of the new moon, on theday of the full moon, and on two days whichare eighth from the new and full moon.”This custom is of Aryan origin and has norelation to Judaic or Christian influence.

It actually matters not, mystically, whatperiod one sets aside for the reverence of“the God of his heart.” A day is sacred notbecause of historical events or any designa-tion given it, but by the attitude of mind, bythe conduct of human beings on that day. A

day, of course, is not inherently sacred.Man’s state of consciousness becomes sacredonly by its elevation. Also, there is no uni-versally sacred day. Due to the differencein time, the day called sacred by men inone nation is either the day before or afterin another part of the world.—X



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Consíder TheseChapter Titlesl

PREFACEINTRODUCTION

IX Mysteries of Time and SpaceFourth DimensiónConscience andMoráisImmortalityThe Dilemma ofReligiónThe MysticalConsciousnessThe Philosophy ofBeautyPsychology of Conflict The Human Incentive Conclusión Index

THE AUTHORRalph M. Lewis, F. R. C., Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, is the author of the books, Behold the Sign! and the Sanctuary of Self. The Conscious Interlude is considered one of his most thought-provoking and fascinating works. It is the culmination of years of original thought.

Man's Moment In Etemíty

I Inquiry intoX

Consciousness XI

II Adventure into Self XIIIII Inquiry into

KnowledgeXIII

IV Nature of Truth XIVV Will

XVVI Is Absolute Reality

Mind? XV IVII Illusions of Law and XVII

Order XVIIIVIII Causality

one behind, and the one ahead of us. Ourwhole span of life is but a conscious interlude —literally an infinitesimal moment of exist-ence. How we live this split second ofexistence depends upon our consciousness—our view, our interpretaron of life’s experience. The purpose of this unusual book,The Conscious Interlude , is how to make themost of this interval of life.

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April, 1958Volunte XXVII! No. 5

Rosicrucian ForumA p r í va t e p ub l i ca t i o n f o r memb er s o f A MO RC

THEODORE H. LYONS, F. R. C.

Inspector General of AMO RC for Dallas, Texas, area.




Greetings!V V V

ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATIONDear Fratres and Sorores:

Periodically, the subject of artificial in-semination arises to provide a flurry of con-troversy, and then it subsides beneath abarrage of religious objection. The recurrenceof interest in this subject is more frequentand is gaining support in many circles here-tofore silent upon it. The questions concern-ing artificial insemination, or the artificialconception of human life, may be dividedinto three categories—biological, social, andreligious.

Eugenics, as a science, has shown theimportance of heredity and of the transmit-ting of characteristics from generation togeneration. The principies of controlled conception, as in the breeding of cattle andhorses, have proved its valué. A stock orbreed is definitely improved in specific characteristics by the mating from the strain withthe desired qualities. Among humans thenormal biological improvement is very gradual and to a great extent a result of chance.

With primitive peoples, natural selectionculis out the physically weak and those lessable to survive. An advanced society, however, is govemed by moral principies and

greater sensibility. It does not prohibit frommarrying, and producing offspring, individuáis whose characteristic traits may bedetrimental to society in some particularway. It likewise does not insist that thosewho have attained only a certain intelligencequotient shall mate.

There are, however, requirements in modem society that make it mandatory that onlythose who meet certain physical specifica-tions shall reproduce. It is only in compara-tively recent times, and in only some areasin the world, that society compels the physical examination of those wishing to marryand prohibits the mentally defective or those

having serious communicable diseases frommarrying. This is a step in the right direction, but obviously a slow one in the improvement of the race, as compared withthe scientific techniques learned in cattlebreeding. Artificial insemination in humansbegan with the purpose of alleviating a condition of physical disability. Where normal

sexual relations for parenthood were notpossible, the artificial implanting of thespermatozoa provided a remedy. It causedpregnancy and brought about healthy, normal offspring. The child is, of course, of theblood of the mother, but the father-donorusually remains unknown.

The physicians who perform the artificialinsemination, in accordance with legal requirements, employ the experience gainedfrom the study of genetics. A father isselected whose health and heredity meet the

required standards. He is usually one whoseintellectual qualities are of a class comparable to that of the prospective mother. Inother words, the spermatozoa of a moronwould not be impregnated in a woman ofintelligence and sensibility.

Socially, in certain categories, the humanrace could be definitely and rapidly advanced by means of controlled mating. Itwould consist of a uniting of only those whomet higher standards than now existing toreproduce. But such a scientific method asused in cattle breeding would obviously beoffensive to the social principies. A purelyscientific breeding of humans could not take

into consideration romance, love, or evenmarital compatibility in the psychologicalsense. The biological principies, alone, wouldprevail. Any attempt at such measures obviously would disrupt and eventually destroythe institution of marriage. Such has beentried with degrees of success in past civilizations—with success only so far as the physical and mental evolution of the descendantsare concerned.

Advocates of artificial insemination deplore the lack of dissemination of the seedsof brilliant minds. Great thinkers, poets,artists, and scientists who have contributedby their achievements to the human race

may have but one or no progeny. It is contended that, if under scientific control, abank of the spermatozoa of such personscould be preserved and implanted in womenwhose qualities would complement them, arace of geniuses could be propagated. Inother words, there would be a super-race bred from this select, human stock. It is



APRIL, 1957 PAGE 99

subsequently become what he is, as a naturalprocess of organic life? Suppose the soul in

man is a product of evolutionary progress,does this detract from its attainment? Does,for analogy, the fact that our great telescopeshave evolved from simple beginnings lessenin any way the valué of their highly efficientmodem contribution to the advance ofknowledge?

That man has grown into his estáte as aconsequence of Cosmic and natural laws isno less a tribute to Cosmic intelligence. Eyes,ears, and fingers were not spontaneouslycreated to serve their functions. They evolvedout of circumstances which made them nec-essary so that the organism might survive.Other species no longer needed snouts when

they developed prehensile characteristics,that is, when they could clutch and graspwith their forelimbs. They could then bringobjects up to their eyes and nostrils to identi-fy them by these senses. They were nolonger obliged to put their snouts in directcontact with the object. When certain Primates no longer led an exclusively arborealexistence, they lost the power of opposing thefirst toe to the other toes of each hind foot.The rear feet then became mere supportsfor the body. The toes of the front limbsremained prehensile for clutching and climb-ing. The intelligence within these beingsadapted itself to the circumstances in which

it was precipitated.The soul is not a substance. It is theñame given a state of consciousness whichthe human has come to recognize. It is aconsciousness of the intelligence residentwithin the Vital Life Forcé and which intelligence has developed an organ capable ofits self-realization. Everything that is alivehas this vital intelligence. The intelligencein other things, however, is not able to reflectand respond to itself. In other words, thereis no consciousness of consciousness . The selfis a reflection of what we cali soul. The morethe organism is capable of responding, not

just to its environment, but to itself as well,the greater becomes the self—the personality.The complex self, the highly evolved consciousness, is aware of its innate urges andimpulses which are a part of the stream ofintelligence within it. It is this innate mo-tivation, this inner self, that men identifyas soul. Part óf this motivation is inheritedfrom the long line of human descent. It isthe memory of the genes. Part also is thevery breath of life, the universal intelligencewhich life establishes in the physical organism and which is, as all energies, Cosmicin origin.

Every living thing, a blade of grass orthe simplest invertebrate, has soul essencewithin it, that is, it is potential with the kind

of soul expression that man has. It is onlypotential for it does not have the complexbrain and nervous systems and glandularstructure to permit its development andexpression. For analogy, we may pass a rayof sunlight through the crudely beveled edgeof a piece of glass and we will perceive someof the spectrum. We will not experience,however, the magnificent visible spectrumwhich we would if the ray of sunlight passedthrough a perfect optical prism. Neverthe-less, the radiation source, or the light, is thesame in essence in both examples. So also,the universal intelligence of the Vital LifeForcé only awaits the médium that will pro-

vide it with the qualities expressed by man.Only when an organism attains the characteristics of the human, do we have theliving soul. Soul is not made for man. Manbecomes the soul when he acquires themeans by which he manifests those qualitiesof soul that the human reñects. With thefirst breath of life, man becomes a livingsoul. First, however, he has reached upwardand organically evolved to become man.

Fratemally,

RALPH M. LEWIS,Imperator.


The Rosicrucian Forum ¡s Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Departmentof Publication of the Supreme Council of A MORC, at Rosicrucian Park, San José, California.





It is, however, rational to believe that so-ciety should carefully analyze the methods

used and generally exercise control of artificial insemination. The practice should notbe restricted because of its function, but onlyas to the purpose for which it is used.


Imperator.

Rosicrucian Sunshine Circle

Undoubtedly, you have been searching allyour life for a means whereby YOU couldput into actual practice the rule of helpingyour brother. You have undoubtedly alsofelt the urge to aid in making this world a

better place in which to live.As you know, every material thing thatexists in this universe was first conceived inthe mind, be it the mind of God or the mindof man. You also know that, after the ideais fully matured in the mind, the next stepconsists of opening channels through whicha physical manifestation may be permittedto materialize. God’s method was throughthe WORD. The method used by man isthat of laying the actual groundwork for themanifestation desired.

This means that if you truly and sincerelydesire, in your heart, to help, aid, and assistin solving the problems of today’s world—if you desire to put into actual practice the

law do unto others as you would have them do to you—you cannot sit quietly in somecomer and wish the solution or law into ef-fect. Rather, you must first study the situa-tion, leam what is needed, and then throughphysical effort on your own part put intomaterial manifestation that which you haveleamed is necessary.

Throughout the centuries past, man hascome to realize that his brother in distressmust receive some kind of assistance if he,the distressed brother, is to again rise andtake his place in society. Man also realizedthat he singly would not be able to satisfyall the requests for aid which come to him

unless some orderly system of distributáonwas arranged whereby others might join himin creating a wherewithal through whichsuffering and distress might be relieved.

Because of this realization there have comeinto being institutions and organizationswhose members devote themselves alone to

helping those who are suffering misfortune.These institutions and organizations, which

are now known as “organized charity,” oper-ating to do the most good, must limit themselves to the immediate needs of those whocome to them. Otherwise their field ofactivity would be confined to a few, andmany requests would go unanswered, thusdefeating the very purpose of their existence.

Under the circumstances, “organized charity” must assume an impersonal attitude.Because of this impersonal attitude there islacking, in the procedures of these institutions and organizations, that warmth ofpersonal interest which is so necessary forthe recovery and well-being of the one whoreceives.

To supply this need for a touch of kind-ness, a friendly smile, and just a ray of sunshine, there carne into being an organizationknown as the “Rosicrucian Sunshine Circle.”

The Rosicrucian Sunshine Circle is a bodyof men and women who may or may not bemembers of the ROSICRUCIAN ORDER,AMORC, but who, upon authority of thelate Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order,AMORC, have united themselves into agroup so that through their unified effortthey may spread a “ray of sunshine” overa greater area.

The objective of the Rosicrucian SunshineCircle is to voluntarily offer their services tohelp any who are in need. The services

which are supplied include the giving ofadvice, metaphysical help for various ail-ments, practical help, and encouragement.

For instance, we could tell you how theHavana Sunshine Circle with a donationfrom other Sunshine Circles of 500 drams ofStreptomycin was able to make hospitaltreatment available to many who could notpay the cost of the drug. We could tell youof the wonderful donations made to a psychi-atric hospital and how, through the use ofdecorations, painted walls, and music, pur-chased with the donation, some progresstowards normalcy is being made by unfor-tunates confined there. We could tell you

of the almost miraculous responses to themetaphysical aid rendered.We could continué telling you soul-stirring

stories taken from the lives of those whoneeded immediate help, but we are sure youare not reading this resume just to be enter-tained. Rather, we know you continué to



APRIL, 1958 Page 101

read because YOU personally want to help

someone, some where, sometime; that youwant all the people of this great world ofours to become one big brotherhood andthrough this brotherhood of man bring tothe world Peace Profound.

There is no better way of understandingyour neighbor than to go to his or her assistance at the moment help is desperatelyneeded. And there is no better way to rendersuch assistance than through the RosicrucianSunshine Circle. It doesn’t matter whetheryou are a member of the Rosicrucian Orderor not, you can become a member of thisgreat world-wide movement for better understanding through se rv ices r en dered.Whether or not you are your brother’s keep-

er, you certainly can help him when heneeds help. So, the next step is up to you.We are holding open the door of service, andwe are extending a welcoming hand of fel-lowship. We are inviting you to join theSunshine Circle and through such affiliationreally come to know your fellow man.—F

For further information write to:Rosicrucian Sunshine CircleRosicrucian ParkSan José, California

Seeing Cosmic Attunement

A soror has recently asked the Forum: “Isit possible to see perfect Cosmic attunementin a dream, and have others with you alsosee the same thing?”

To properly answer this query, we mustanalyze both parts separately, discuss whatwe mean by Cosmic attunement, and thenreview the nature of dreams. Attunementwith nature and the Cosmic is not somethingwhich can be seen as such. Rather, it is anawareness, a state of being, something whichcan only be experienced. Our entire existence is govemed by unseen forces and lawswhich regúlate the actions and reactionsthroughout all facets of life. The phrase“Cosmic attunement” embraces the state or

condition of our realizing or being aware ofthese Cosmic forces or laws—not only know-ing that they exist, but knowing within oneself why they exist, how they function, andwhat effect they have upon us. But morethan that, attunement also indicates a realization of how one may control these lawsand put them to use for the good of mankind.

In order to see a thing, there must be

something present which is capable of beingperceived, and from the above remarks it isobvious that there is nothing capable of perception in the idea of Cosmic attunement.It may be asked, “Since attunement cannotbe seen, how can we know if such an awareness becomes ours?” The fulfillment of thisawareness will make itself known to different people in different ways. Some mayeven achieve attunement without knowingit. To others, the realization may be verydramatic, as with Buddha and AmenhotepIV. One may have what he would term a“spiritual or mental awakening” or he mayexperience a complete mental and physicalrejuvenation, so to speak. But the main point

is that no matter how the attunement itselfmanifests, it will come in the general formof an awakening rather than as somethingperceivable with the objective senses.

The dream, being of the nature that it is,is not the conveyor of Cosmic attunement.Attunement probably would not come in adream, since dreams most often have theirfoundation in ourselves. They are the result,in the main, of impressions, subconscious orobjective, or physical discomfort. Even thosedreams which seem weird and have no basisin our objective consciousness are usuallyeasily explainable in the light of conditionswhich prevailed during the time we slept.

They are the result of worries or problemsof the day, or perhaps of the pleasant thingswhich have transpired recently.

Unpleasant dreams may be brought aboutfrom discomforts suffered during sleep—either excessive heat or coid, or muscles whichtense during the night. It is not true thateach and every dream we have, even if re-current, has some deep psychological orspiritual meaning which can be interpreted.Occasionally a dream may have some bear-ing upon one’s spiritual development, buteven then it is only a small part of a generalover-all change or transition taking placewithin the individual, and Cosmic attune

ment would not make itself evident in dreamform.Going further, because of the private na

ture of the dream—by this we mean the factthat dreams manifest within the mind ofthe individual who has them—it is very un-likely, if not impossible, that others presentwould be able to “tune in” on the dream and




thereby witness what occurs in it. Thus,

even were it possible for Cosmic attunementto come in the forrn of a dream, others pres-ent would not be aware of it. The individu-ality of attunement, also, would have theeffect of precluding others from witnessingthe coming of the attunement.

Cosmic attunement is something whichmust be striven for. We cannot sit back andwait to receive it. Through introspection,silently tuming our thoughts inward andupward in an effort to awaken and realizethe Christ Consciousness which dwells withinus, we can attain toward the achievement ofattunement with the Cosmic. This introspection cannot be shared with others ñor canothers go with us as we del ve into ourselves.Therefore, when we have at last found thekey to the divine consciousness, it becomes apersonal thing within us. It is not one whichcan be shared with others except through theresults of our attunement, wherein we useour newly awakened powers for the generalgood of those around us.—W


That intellectual curiosity which makesfor knowledge and personal advancementoften manifests itself early in life. It mayrise above the restrictions of environment asan immanent impelling forcé. This was the

case with Theodore H. Lyons, Inspector General of AMORC for the Dallas, Texas, area.

Frater Lyons was bom in Sheboygan,Wisconsin, on Christmas Day in 1906. Hishome environment was one of intellectualstimulus on the one hand and a rigidity ofreligious formality on the other. His fatherhad been a professor of languages in a Michigan college and was a clergyman until histransition. There was inculcated in youngLyons a deep admiration for intellectual at-tainment, but he also had a restlessness ofspirit which was not content with the usualpresentation of learning. This restlessnesshad not crystallized itself into any specific

ideas until later in his youth.When but thirteen years of age, FraterLyons left home to make his way in theworld. At that tender age, he became self-supporting. He worked his way throughschool and the University of Minnesota. Atsixteen years of age, the lectures of a professor struck a responsive chord in young

Lyons. This professor spoke often about the

lives of eminent men of the past, eulogizingthem. He told of their admirable personalqualities as well as of their achievements.Frater Lyons fell to wondering what strangepowers these men had access to and whatgave them . their exceptional far-reachingvisión, insight, and clarity of reasoning.

Actually Frater Lyons made his inquirya prívate mission. He set about asking otherswhat the source of wisdom was that eminentmen had and others did not seem to possess.He was told that it carne to them as a resultof divine inspiration. But Frater Lyons waslikewise admonished by his informers thatthe usual academic and religious channelswere not adequate for such illumination.These remarks only tended to shroud inmystery the whole subject.

After completing post-graduate work atthe University of Minnesota, Frater Lyonstravelled extensively throughout the Middleand Eastem states of the United States. Hefinally decided to make his home in theSouth. It was while he was in Florida thathe chanced upon the advertisement of theRosicrucian Order, AMORC. This advertisement challenged his interest because itreferred to that unique source of wisdomthat brings enlightenment and personal pow-er to the individual. The advertisement socorresponded to his interest that he was

frankly skeptical. However, it became themédium by which he was led to the thresh-old of AMORC and affiliated. Frater Lyonssays of his extensive studies with AMORCthat they introduced him to “a new realmof self-confidence by virtue of complete rebanee on Cosmic Guidance.”

After the usual business vicissitudes, FraterLyons, in 1953, organized his own business in Dallas, Texas. It has successfully ex-panded into the manufacturing of a productused extensively by the ceramic tile industryin the United States.

When the Triangle Chapter in Dallas wasformed in 1952, Frater Lyons made his first

contact with other Rosicrucians through it.He became the Chapter’ s first chaplain. Subsequently, he served as Master and thenDeputy Master. Frater Lyons’ enthusiasmand organizing ability made it possible forhim to take an active part in the formationof the first Rosicrucian rally held in Dallas.He has participated as well in the organiza-




tion of various pronaoi in Texas. In March1957, Frater Lyons was honored by theGrand Lodge in receiving an appointment asInspector-General of AMORC for the Dallas,Texas, area.

Frater Lyons’ versatility and Creative abil-ity are displayed in his recreational activitiesand hobbies. He has a home workshop wellequipped with power tools. Chess, too, en-gages what time remains after his work,home duties, and Rosicrucian studies. Hehas well earned the appellation “Cyclone,”given him by his brothers and acquaint-ances.

Frater Lyons’ helpmate, Soror AliceLyons, is also a splendid Rosicrucian and hasgiven him support and much assistance in

his various Rosicrucian activities.—X

Delusion of Black Magic

A soror, addressing our Forum, says: “Aperpetual problem with many persons isblack magic, though many do not know orrecognize it by that ñame. People just donot understand that they are the principalcause of the conditions which they attributeto black magic.”

It is a mistaken idea that the fear of blackmagic or of what it is thought to consistexists only among people of a primitive so-ciety. The psychological elements that make

for the belief in black magic are prevalentin the most modem and so-called advancedsociety.

The basis of black magic is, of course, thatof magic itself—namely the belief that thereare supernatural forces which can be invokedand directed at will. These forces may beindependent of substances, as free agents,spirits or entities. They may also be intangible forces resident within objects aswithin stones, sticks, trees, and flint. Thereis also believed to be an intangible nexusbetween objects and supernatural forces. Inother words, these supernatural agenciesmay be attracted to a stick, to a pebble or a

piece of cloth.The method of directing and employingthese forces constitutes the subject of magic,the belief that individuáis have the knowl-edge and power to accomplish these things.Actually, magic assumes a science, a tech-nique, whereby it is presumed that certainlaws underlying these supernatural forces

are put into effect. The only real distinctionbetween magic and black magic is the effectthat is conceived to follow from them. Blackmagic is the practice of employing the conceived magical agencies and property forsome malevolent purpose.

The one who practices black magic mayactually presume to be using natural andsupernatural forces to bring misfortune,hurt, disease, and death upon another.Whether the victim actually believes in itspower is the important factor. Without thebelief in the efficacy of black magic, no onecan become a victim of it, for its basis isentirely psychological. The very fear whichhatred and malice awaken in the hearts ofthose against whom they are directed creates

an atmosphere in which black magic mayhave its roots. When one knows that thoughtsof hatred are directed toward him, combinedwith curses and magical rites, the power ofsuggestion is very strong. It requires an in-telligent person, one not inclined towardsuperstition and not susceptible to suggestion, to refrain from imagining that any ill-ness or disease he acquires is not caused bythe thoughts and acts of his enemies.

One who is open to suggestion withoutreasoning upon its plausibility and believesin the potency of black magic will sooner orlater experience death because of his suscep-tibility. To such an individual any accident,

the cause of which is not obvious, or anymysterious disease is attributed to blackmagic. The disease weighs heavily upon themind of the individual. He is convinced thatsupernatural forces directed by someone areundermining his health. Co nseque ntly,he resigns himself to his fate. This negativeattitude of mind becomes a psychologicaldepressive on the will to live and the cura-tive powers of the individual. Among primitive tribes such a victim comes to believethat his ill-health is due to someone’s point-ing “the munguni” (death bone, pebble, orflint) at him.

We have seen in tribal areas of South

Africa the witch doctor use such a “munguni” for a multitude of goetic purposes. Inrites of prognostication, a small odd-shapedbone, either of an animal or of a human, ispopularly called by the tribe the “talker.”It, with other small objects, is shaken likedice by the shaman or witch doctor whosquats on the ground before a tanned skin




of an animal. These objects when shaken

are then thrown by him on the skin andallowed to fail as they will. He then beginsto read the future of an individual or groupfrom the relationship of the “talker” to theother objects. The “talker” is thought to beimbued with supematural power. It is assumed to place itself intentionally in therelationship that it assumes to the otherobjects. This same “talker” can be used toexecrate a victim, if it is pointed at him orin his direction with accompanying wordsdepicting what should befall him.

As one anthropologist has stated: “A sav-age does not recognize natural death.” Tohim all death is the result of some sinisterart’s being practiced against him. Perhapsthe only exception would be actual combatand even then, if he is not a victor, heimagines that evil agencies have been alignedagainst him.

The power of suggestion in black magic,where its potency is believed, is evident inthe following typical case. In a village inChina there was a local deity known as fu -t i. He was believed to prepare the under-world for those who pass through transition.In other words, he was the god of the dead.A list of several ñames of persons in thevillage was found lying upon the little stonealtar of the village t’u-ti. This caused con-stemation among those whose ñames ap

peared on the list. It is related that severalof these persons died within a fortnight.The psychological premise is that the per-

son believed that the god, seeing this listof ñames placed upon his altar, would assume*hat they had died. He would then immediately make preparation for them in theworld of the dead. There would be, consequently, from this type of reasoning aninescapable bond between these death ritesand preparation by t’u-ti and actual deathitself. The victims imagined that death mustresult because their ñames were known tothe deity as of persons having died, when,in fact, they had not.

Perhaps the most effective and simplebook, showing the causes of black magic andits whole fallacy as a superstition, is Mental Poisoning by our late Imperator, Dr. H.Spencer Lewis. We shall quote a few briefparagraphs from this intriguing and instruc-tive book by Dr. Lewis: “He who fearsblack magic through a sincere belief in its ex

istence and potency, automatically, through

self-suggestion within his own mind, becomesnot only enslaved by that fear but a readyvictim of the evils his mind invents.” HereDr. Lewis makes clear that positive defenseagainst black magic is a disbelief in it. Thepotency of black magic lies within the victim’s own mind, not in any forcé invokedby others against him.

Dr. Lewis further relates: “There are twostrange characteristics of the human mindthat have bearing upon the belief and practice of black magic. The first is that thehuman mind or consciousness has a tendency, a very definite impulse, to believe andaccept as truth what it wants to believe orwhat it feels is a compliment to its abilityto reason and reach conclusions. Second,there is the ever-present inclination to acceptas a belief, as a truth, as an unquestionedprincipie, an idea or conclusión that agreeswith another idea or group of ideas previously established in the mind or consciousnessfrom personal experience.”

Dr. Lewis here makes plain that the individual who wants to believe in black magic,and who resents any consideration of thefacts to the contrary, is making himself anatural victim of self-administered mental

poisoning. Dr. Lewis in this work, Mental Poisoning, points out that the suggestionwhich black magic may assume on the part

of others may be audible, as commands, orvisual suggestions like pictorial ones.The woman who says to another, every

time she sees her in the course of a fewdays, that she looks ill, seems palé and notlike her usual self, is, in fact, sowing seedsof black magic. One who is susceptible tosuggestion will take such remarks in a positive factual way. She will become super-sensitive to her condition, imagine symptomsof illness. Eventually after several days herbelief will be confirmed because her fearswill make her ill. She will perhaps actuallyappear palé and lethargic.

We are all inclined to act upon the stimu-

lus of suggestion. In fact, most of ouractivities are the result of responses to whatwe see, hear, feel, and so forth. It is necessary for us to analyze or at least think aboutthe reality of a suggestion before we accept it.

Dr. Lewis, in regard to this, succinctiysays: “For these reasons and many more,




it behooves every man (and woman) care-fully to guard his thoughts, his words, his

gestures, and his actions. The human mindis more sensitive than the most sensitivephotographic film or the most sensitivemicrophone.”

We can inadvertently poison the mind ofunthinking persons who are particularlysusceptible to suggestion. We can also in-fluence for good the minds about us. Dr.Lewis says in reference to this: “We canpour into the mind and consciousness of an-other a smiling attitude, an increasing deter-mination of will power, a picture of brightfuture, an open doorway to opportunity, acleansing power that will reach to every partof the body and a divine effulgence of spirit-

ual joy that will rejuvenate and redeem themost hopeless of ere atures.’5We cannot too strongly urge that all in-

terested in this subject obtain the book, Menta l Poisoning. It is a small work veryeconomically priced but invaluable in theinformation which it provides. It is obtain-able through the Rosicrucian Supply Bureau,Rosicrucian Park.—X

Visualizing for Success

A frater of France states to our Forum:“Visualizing is for many of us a great lawand a great problem at the same time. Howcan two Rosicrucians compete, for instance,in a stadium for a race, and both visualizevictoiy for themselves, presuming, too, thatboth perfectly visualized? How could eitherbe the victor?”

This question is an interesting hypothesisthat, upon the surface, appears confounding.Let us briefly, at first, review the mysticaland psychological principies and laws in-volved in visualization. Mystically, visuali-zation consists of painting upon the screenof consciousness an image, simple or complex. A person does not begin with a wholecomplex picture of the end he wishes to at-tain or some thing he wants to acquire.Knowing what he desires, he begins first to

paint the picture, that is, forming on thescreen of his mind symbols or representa-tions of that which he desires. This meansthat in his mind’s eye he gradually seesforming this picture of his desire.

Suppose, for example, that one wishesto visit relatives at a distance whom he has

not seen for many years. He begins hismental picture perhaps with seeing himself

walking to the bank and depositing a sumof money. Then he sees the entries in thebank account accumulating until the amountneeded for transportation or fare has beenattained. The actual travel he sees as nodifficulty so he concentrates upon this mentalimage, this visualization of accumulating thefunds. When he sees the picture as complete as he can visualize it as a mental image, he then dismisses it entirely from hismind.

There is a mystical reason for the dis-missal of the mental image. One wishes theimage, the visualization, to be transferredfrom the objective to the subconscious and

thence outward into the Cosmic. Accordingto Cosmic principies, and as often demon-strated, Cosmic forces or powers will be at-tracted to the mental image and cause iteventually to become a reality. In otherwords, the individual by the positivo thoughttransmitted into the Cosmic will be drawnto those conditions and circumstances bywhich he will bring the visualization intoreality in objective ways.

From the mystical point of view, the conditions of one’s mental picture do not actu-ally exist inchoate in the Cosmic. Rather,the various relationships of ideas in themental image cause the one who is visualizing to be attracted to those experiences andconditions in his affairs that will make possible the fulfillment of the desire. If onedoes not dismiss the mental image when hefeels it is complete in his mind, then he ob-

jectively arrests it. In other words, the image is bound to his objective consciousnessand cannot work for him. It cannot reachout into the Cosmic and draw those com-pelling influences that will lead him intochannels of fulfillment. Persons with noknowledge of mystical laws of visualizationhave nevertheless succeeded by the use of itunawares. A Cosmic and natural law func-tions for those who ignorantly apply it aswell as for those who do so with understand-

ing. Of course, the latter can apply the lawsmore frequently and usually more bene-ficially.

Mystically, too, the image on the screenof consciousness must become so realistic asto be actuálized. There must be such sin-cerity associated with the formation of the




mental pie ture that our other senses, in ad-dition to sight, participate in the experience.We will be able to respond to the picturein such a way as to almost feel, hear, ortaste its elements, depending upon its nature.A perfect visualization of an apple, for ex-ample, would likewise excite our memoryof its taste and its fragrance. The applewould have the qualities of our other sensesbesides that of sight. If the mental imageis not accompanied by this feeling of reality,it will not be effective in attracting that Cos-mic impulsation toward its realization.

As for the psychological aspect of visualization, there are several parallels betweenit and the mystical concept. Visualizationrequires concentration, focusing of our attention, on visual images. One must be ableto rapidly altemate in consciousness oneimage after another so as to be able eventu-ally to construct a complete, a unified mental picture which one can hold for a briefperiod of time. It is extremely difficult tofocus the consciousness upon several imagesat the same time. In fact, it is psycho-logically impossible to do so. We know thatit is difficult to focus our sight objectivelyupon several things, as we look about at oursurroundings. The reason is that the consciousness can realize only one visual im-pression at a time. It can, however, vacillateor altemate so rapidly that we may seem

to be looking at and be aware of many thingsat one time.

Actually, then, in visualization, we shouldbegin with a simple desire rather than acomplex one, if we wish our mental imagingand visualizing to be successful. In visualiz-ing, we hold in consciousness for a fractionof a second or more an element of the ultímate mental picture. Then our attention,our focused consciousness, altemates to another image or part of the picture. This isdone until the composite, the whole pictureas a unit, can be perceived by us on thescreen of consciousness.

To use an analogy* we may wish to visu-alize a rose with its stem and lea ves. Wefirst see the flowér portion itself, its shape,color and even the drop of dew on its petal.Next we visualize the deep green stem withits thorns. After concentration on both ofthese elements separately, seeing them clear-ly in mind, we then bring them together.

We finally see the composite, the flower andstem.

Before one can expect to visualize effec-tively, he must develop his observation , hisfaculty of concentration on what he sees, sothat he will be able to realize his impres-sions. If one does not observe carefully, hecannot retain in memory what he sees. Ifyou do not have definite memory impres-sions, you cannot recall them so as to forma mental image. You cannot, for example,visualize a building which you pass on yourway to work in the morning, if you havenever noticed it as you walked before it.

There are differences in each individualin regard to powers of observation, abilityto concéntrate, the extent of will or persis-

tence and memory, which make results invisualization different for nearly every per-son. Consequently, two persons, as in theexample given by the frater, who were bothvisualizing the same subject and who eachhad the same knowledge of the laws andprincipies involved, would not have exactlythe same degree of success. The physiologicaland psychological variations in each individual, though perhaps minute, would causeone result to be superior to the other. Espe-cially would this be so in the case of thefootrace cited by the frater, where the physical aptitude and functions of the individualmight vary also.

Visualization, mystically, is a tremendousaid in drawing to oneself, as explained, Cos-mic power. Psychologically, too, the imagearouses emotions that stimulate the mind andbody and co-ordinate their functions so thatthe individual’s power of personal accom-plishment is greater. Visualization, for fur-ther example, excites and strengthens thewill with its driving forcé.

Good visualization can, therefore, manytimes mean the difference between successand failure in a venture. It will not, however, overcome completely serious deficien-cies upon the part of individuáis. Forexample, one may visualize himself promoted

from a bookkeeper to an accountant in posi-tion. He will fail , however, no matter howgreat his visualization, if he has not alsostudied and prepared himself for higheraccountancy. Further, the Cosmic shouldnot be expected to help when one has notfirst helped himself through proper prepara-tion.—X




Attracting What We Lack

A frater of South Africa, rising to addressour Forum, says: “In the book, Rosicrucian Principies for Home and Business, Dr. H.Spencer Lewis states, ‘What you lack is notyour possession, or at your disposal, becauseyou have not attuned yourself to it, or havenot attracted it to yourself.’ This sentencehas been puzzling me for a long time, and Ihave gone through the monographs time andagain and do not seem to be able to put myfinger on the answer. . . . I hope you willsee your way clear to provide the meaningof ‘attracting’ (and the technique) in ourForum.”

It is first necessary to give some considera

tion to the word lack. There is a naturallack and there is also an artificial one. Bynatural lack, we mean that which constitutesa deficiency in our health, physical or mental, or that which is required for our necessary welfare. If one is, for example, anemic,there is then a lack of the proper bloodcontent. There is a deficiency of that whichis required. If one is also unable to acquiresufficient food for a balanced diet and helacks nourishment, again then we have anexample of a natural lack.

If one is out of employment, there is thenan insufficiency in his economic status, andwe may cali this, too, a natural or an essential lack. There are many so-called essentiallacks for which man should strive. It is in-cumbent upon man to advance himselfphysically, intellectually, spiritually, andeconomically. As far as the last is concemed,it must be qualified. It is in this latter cate-gory that we enter into a phase called theartificial lack.

The artificial lacks are those that are notessential; that is, they are not really a deficiency that would interfere with normalhealth or even moderate economic security.This kind of lack is a matter of desires thatare cultivated or intensified by our imagina-tion. For example, a man who desires an ex-pensive sport car which is not essential to

his normal welfare and does not constitutea natural deficiency is, therefore, seeking anartificial lack. We say it is artificial becauseit is not a tme lack. Man only conceives it assuch because he does not already possess it.Anything we think we want, we may assumeto be a need when actually it may not be.

Consequently, not having a thing, psychologically, will appear to us as a lack in our

lives. To Cosmically ask for aid in gainingthese kinds of artificial lacks is actually torequest the Cosmic to assist one in acquiringexcesses or luxuries.

From the point of view of Cosmic moralityand justice, we have no right to ask or de-mand such excesses or luxuries, unless wehave proportionately compensated for them.This compensation is just not a matter ofpaying someone else for them. In otherwords, if we have made some sacrifice tohelp someone, or others, to receive naturallacks to overcome their essential deficiencies,then we are justified in asking for Cosmicaid in acquiring a personal luxury. Many

persons who fail in gaining these artificiallacks have not actually personally analyzedtheir own affairs. They have not come torealize that what may seem so important tothem may be actually a luxury, and it maybe one for which they have not compensatedin the least as explained. Consequently, theycannot Cosmically attract it.

Let us look frankly at the matter of luxuries. There is nothing immoral in the excess of possessions. One may have far morethings than he can readily use or even fullyenjoy. But the objects themselves have noinherent immoral nature. The factor thatis important is whether the habit of desiringluxuries as excesses in living will work detri-mentally upon the human character andpersonality. Do such luxuries cause the individual to have wholly self-centered interests? Are all of one’s desires for his ownsensual living? Do such desires so dominatethe personality that all moral valúes aresubordinated to them, causing the individualto be mthless in his aggressive approach? Ifluxuries do this, then they are harmful be-cause they are undermining the moral selfand weakening the character.

Perhaps there are those of you who arenow thinking of persons you know whoseem to be acquiring an abundance of luxuries which they may not need and who are

also selfish; yet the luxuries seem to haveno adverse effect upon them. However, laterin life, such persons may bring upon themselves circumstances which you would notwant to experience. Many wealthy peoplewho are without noble principies devote theirwealth to personal gratification and satiate




themselves. They become debauched withtheir numerous appeals to their senses. Finally, nothing relieves the ennui which theyeventually experience. They find themselvescontinually pursuing the appeals of newthings, always hoping to stimulate theirdiminishing happiness in life. They becomeembittered by the satisfaction which othersfind in things of a simple nature.

In life we should first work toward essential lacks wholeheartedly, and by so doing,gradually attain success which will in itselfattract the Cosmic power by which one maylater have luxuries. Such things will havethen been eamed and will then be fully ap-preciated. A man must have a job, a pro-fession, of a business as an essential to his

well-being and to those who are dependentupon him. To be without such is a naturallack. However, when one is in business forexample, if he strives to observe commonethics, to be just and honest in his relation-ships with others, he is then attracting Cosmic support. It is quite natural that one willdesire to promote and advance his business.He will leam all the techniques necessaryto stimulate his sales and expand his organization. Or, if working for another, he willdo all he can to impress his employer withhis worthiness.

The promotion of one’s business or pro-fession, however, is not quite enough to ex-

pect Cosmic support. Such an interest alonewould be a wholly self-centered one. Onemust also see that his product or the Servicewhich his business renders is fair to others.Is the product being misrepresented? Is thebusiness being advanced by dishonest or un-ethical means, unfairly hurting others insome manner? Does one truly feel proud ofwhat he is doing? Can he conscientiouslyassert that others, as well as himself, benefitas a result of his business activities? Theanswer to these questions determines whether you are attracting such Cosmic power aswill provide luxuries for you—without illafter effects.

In the matter of attracting to ourselvescertain things which we consider naturallacks or essentials, there is a preparation wemust make. Our attitude of mind is of firstimportance if we are to have Cosmic attunement. It must be realized that life has noobligation to us. We are animate consciousbeings endowed with faculties that are appli

cable to our needs as humans. The restdepends upon us. We can dissipate ourintelligence if we will; we can fail to reasonand to contémplate; we can fail to study andacquire new knowledge if we choose. If wedo these things, we are barring ourselvesfrom becoming a channel for Cosmic support.

Let us not think of the Cosmic as a deter-minative power, as an arbitrary will thatnods favorably in the direction of one humanand denies another. Such is an anthropo-morphic conception of the Cosmic, notworthy of an intelligent person and mostcertainly not a conception to be held by aRosicmcian. The Cosmic is a congeries ofwhat one may term laws. By that, we meana series of powers and forces that impersonally and uniformly work for the benefitof man, if they are invoked in the properorder. The manner in which man placeshimself in contact with the Cosmic determines the powers that he will attract to himself. Likewise, he can—like the contra poleof a magnet—repel these same Cosmic powers by his conduct.

If one believes, after serious thought, thatwhat he desires is an essential lack and thatby deriving it he will help others to benefitas well as himself, then he should preparehimself for what he wants. To resort justto prayer itself is not sufficient. If one praysin such an event, whether as a part of areligious system or not, he should at leastask in that prayer for personal enlighten-ment, not just for a supematural interven-tion in his behalf. He should ask for waysand means of leaming what he can do tobring about personally what he desires.

If it requires that one take a special courseor study, a particular subject, to becomemore proficient in his job or business, thatis a proper step. If one thinks it necessaryto reorganize his business, to reduce it, or tochange the mode of operation to acquire theessential lack, that also is a proper way ofattuning one’s self with Cosmic power toovercome a lack.—X

What Makes Matter Animate?

A frater, addressing our Forum, asks:“What causes matter to become animate?Since matter is a complexity of vibrations,does animation occur within the range of




certain combinations of waves of differentlength?”

Rosicrucian principies explain the anima-tion of matter in this manner: There is firstnous which is a universal cosmic Creativeforcé. It is a harmony of dual polarities ofenergy, that is, positive and negative. Thepositive aspect emanates as a vital life forcé.In other words, it is the forcé that impreg-nates matter and makes it living and conscious. This positive polarity is vibratory incharacter. Though the vital life forcé is pre-dominantly positive, it also has within it thenegative quality. Consequently, in the livingcell we find both polarities manifest, thenucleus being positive and the outer wall,negative.

The negative polarity of nous is referredto by Rosicrucians as spirit—meaning, liter-ally, energy. This negative energy or spiritis the underlying substratum of all matter.It is the particles of the spirit, as electrons,that give matter its substance. But spirit,too, though predominantly negative, is dualin its polarity. It has its positive aspect. Itis this duality of the polarity of the particlesof matter that bring about their attraction,repulsión, and the complexity of matter ormasses of molecules which man can discem.

Thus we have matter predominantly negative and vital life forcé predominantly positive, both emanating from the same source,the universal Creative forcé termed nous. When the vital life forcé, after emanatingfrom nous, combines with the manifestationsof spirit or inorganic matter, we have thatcreation called life. In the Rosicrucian Manual, nous is defined rather extensively. Wehere quoté from it: “It operates through asystem of harmonics by means of a CosmicKeyboard of eighty octaves. Each octaverepresents a definite number of vibrations ofNous, beginning with two vibrations per sec-ond for the first octave, and ending withtrillions of vibrations per second for the lastone.

“Nous, in more understandable language,may be said to be a combination of VitalLife Forcé and Cosmic Consciousness movingfrom the Source toward earth in an undulat-ing manner, in an infinity of waves, travel-ling at different rates of speed, each ratecharacteristic of a special phase of manifesta-tion. Within these waves, travelling withthe same speed as the waves themselves, are

to be found those particles of Nous essence,which, grouped together according to specific

number combinations, make cognizable allmanner of creation. It is due to the vibratoryrate of each Nous wave that the createdmasses themselves are able to send forth thevibrations by which they are known andrecognized.”

Since the days of the alchemists, man hassought to find the “Philosopher’s Stone,” thekey by which not only matter can be trans-muted but life created chemically. Modemscience, in the field of biochemistry, is stillexperimenting with the creation of ele-mentary life forms. Just recently it was an-nounced in a technical science journal thata noted biochemist believed that he was on

the verge of the creation of life from certainnucleic acids. It was determined, he stated,that these acids were present in an extensiveform in all living matter. The problemseemed to be to transform nucleic acid from“an inert” state into “an active” one.

The article further related that, if a verysimple form of life were eventually developed from this nucleic acid, biochemistrywould still not know how to evolve it intoeven a simple cell. Just how nature formedthe cell from the very essence of life as yetremains a mystery. The simplest cell is avery complex development far beyond theability of present science to accomplish.

Now, let us suppose that science does eventually create animate matter from nucleicacids or other inorganic matter. How couldsuch an achievement be reconciled with theRosicrucian teachings as briefly outlinedhere? Inorganic matter of a certain con-stituency becomes receptive to the infusiónof the vital life forcé. It has the power incertain compounds, yet a mystery to science,to attract the positive polarity of nous, whosevibratory nature produces the phenomenonof life when combined with matter or spiritenergy.

Let us suppose that it is finally establishedthat nucleic acid, under certain conditions,compounded with other elements, generates

simple life. It could not be said that actu-ally the nucleic acid was the conveyor ofthe vital life forcé. Rather, it would be moreproper to state that nucleic acid, with theother elements in x-proportions and underx-conditions, attracts and retains in a stateof proper relationship the vitalizing energy



Page IIP THE ROSICRUCIAN FORUM

of life—the positive polarity of nous. This,then, would be consistent with the researchesand findings of science and the postulationof Rosicrucian scientific principies, if andwhen science brings about at will the genera-tion of life.

Biochemistry, of course, at this time in itsresearches to find life-producing substances,entertains no idea of any external energy,such as the vital life forcé, impregnating mat-ter. Rather, it thinks in terms of chemicalreaction under which such a phenomenonarises as will constitute life. On the otherhand, the recent journal, as we have said,admits that nucleic acid, isolated from livingmatter, in itself suggests none of the char-acteristics of life or how it actually may con

tribute to life.—X

Finding the Answer

Have you ever stopped to think how muchof our life is devoted to finding the answerto some question or problem? In our every-day experience, we are repeatedly facedwith problems of various kinds, and to answersome question which is a result or a phaseof the problem that confronts us at any particular moment is the purpose toward whichmuch of our effort is directed. Everyone isnecessarily involved in the process of livingand that process seems to carry also an in-

volvement in the solution of situations thatrepeatedly face us as we go through ourduties or periods of recreation or whateverwe may be doing.

At times these problems are relativelysimple, insofar as we judge the whole courseof our life in relation to the particular problem. On the other hand, we are sometimesfaced with major problems of which thesolution will be a key or a vital part of thecourse of our entire lifetime. Problems takeon different appearances, insofar as ouranalysis of them is concerned, insofar as theyaffect situations that may be more or lesstemporary or affect conditions that are vitalto our living as a whole.

Also we are never completely able to de-vote all our time exclusively to one problembecause questions and problems of variousdegrees of intensity frequently are a composite of a situation which we face as we goahead with our lives, trying to take care ofour business and general life plans. In other

words, we may have a major economic orhealth problem in the background of ourminds at all times. At the same time, wehave smaller problems or questions thatarise in the course of each day or in thecourse of our plans for the fu ture. The Solutions to these problems, the answers to thequestions that we want to find, are a phaseof our existence to which we must devotea great deal of attention and time.

If it were possible for every human beingto go to a reference book or to seek advicefrom someone else that would immediatelyanswer any problem, it would then appearthat life would be much less complex thanit is now. The very nature of life itself pro-hibits this condition from existing. If our

lives were such that the solution to eachproblem, the answer to each question arisingwithin the scope of our lives, could be foundby referring to some previously written in-structions or if the answer could be securedfrom some other individual, then experiencewould probably be nonexistent. We wouldsimply live from one reference to another,and progress would come to a completestandstill, insofar as we know it for the civili-zation of which we are a part and for ourlives as individuáis.

If all questions that are going to occur tous had already been answered, then theywould cease to have importance. Problems

would not challenge us, and we would haveno Ímpetus to attempt to be different, to im-prove ourselves, or to adjust ourselves to thecircumstances of life which is a part of theexperience necessary to cope with in theprocess of living.

Actually, experience has shown us, as welook back over our lives, that most questions,regardless of what they may consist, oncethey are solved appear to have relativelysimple answers. We may deal with a problem to the point of exasperation and in itseventual solution, it sometimes seems thatwe have arrived at a conclusión which wasapparent all the time. Frequently, we won-der why it was that a problem or question

occupied so much of our attention and effortwhen in the final analysis, the solution wasso simple.

In surveying the solution from this pointof view, we seem to forget that the processof dealing with the problem or question has,in a sense, simplified it. The fact is, if we



APRIL, 1958 Page I 11

conscientiously apply ourselves to the solution of a problem or to the arriving at an

answer, we have familiarized ourselves withall the circumstances involved. When thatproblem is eventually solved or the answerto the question has been found, we have inthe intervening period—that is, in the periodwhich we have applied ourselves to thesolution of the problem—become so familiarwith the situation involved, that the solutionappears far more simple than did the complexity that created the question in the firstplace. In other words, familiarity with thesituation makes the answer appear moresimple than it actually is.

The questions of complexity and simplicityare completely relative. For a mathematician

to solve an involved mathematical equationis comparatively simple because of his priorknowledge and experience. An individual,however, with no knowledge of the solutionof such an equation would find the problemvery complex until after he had studied thenecessary material, had gained the necessarymathematical knowledge with which to solvethe problem. For this reason, many studentswho attempt to use the principies taught inRosicrucian teachings in regard to intuitionand concentration fail to understand that intuition or concentration does not provide theobjective knowledge which man can obtainby his own efforts.

Let us go back to the question of mathe-matics as an example. If we might create ahypothetical problem that involves mathe-matics, we might be able to better see themeaning and complexity of problems asa whole. For example, if you found it necessary to arrive at an answer to a questioninvolving a mathematical computation andyou tried to arrive at that answer purely byexercising your intuitive abilities and byconcentrating on the problem, this entirecomplex problem would be hopeless unlessyou fortified yourself or created a back-ground of knowledge in mathematics suffi-cient to arrive at the solution to the problem.The tools with which to work, in other

words, are conditions and parts of knowledgethat we must obtain by our own efforts. Ifin the entire span of your life you had neverlearned even the elementary principies ofarithmetic, you could not expect to arriveintuitively at a solution to a mathematicalproblem.

It may be difficult to grasp this situationfully, but it is well to remember that intuition is the sixth sense that puts together inour consciousness the things which in a degree we already know. A student of mathematics who is studying some particularphase of mathematics may have difficulty insolving a problem, but by concentrating uponit, by using his intuition, he is better ableto grasp the meaning of principies he hasalready learned. Then through the use ofintuition, he may be able to put these bitsof knowledge together in such a way thathe will arrive at the solution to the complex problem with which he is dealing.

I believe that everyone has had the experience of working on a problem, such as a

mathematical problem, without satisfactoryresults. Then dropping it entirely, possiblygoing to bed, he would, after a full night’ssleep and rest, arrive at the solution muchquicker than he would have if he had con-tinued to concéntrate his efforts upon theproblem itself.

Intuition is that phase of our consciousnessthat brings together the blocks that create acomplete structure. If you are going to concéntrate on any problem with the purposeof arriving at a solution through the use ofintuition, be certain that you are prepared,be certain that the building blocks that willcréate the eventual solution are already inyour mind. If you are going to build a houseout of blocks, you must have the blocks. Inother words, you must have the raw material. It will be your imagination, yourmanipulation of the materials, your concentrating upon the ideas and the eventualstructure you hope to create, that will giveyou the Ímpetus, or forcé, or inspiration toput these blocks together. Thus they willeventually bring about the completed construction, but you must have that material.

So it is with the solving of all problems inlife. We must have the raw materials withwhich to work, the experience of life, theeducation, the knowledge which we are able

to accumulate. These are the raw materialswhich we can use. Then, by following theprincipies taught us in the Rosicrucian teachings conceming concentration and intuition,we will be able to bring these materials together in a form that will create what wehope and what we desire.—A




Were There Women Philosophers?

A soror asks our Forum whether womenhave been prominent as philosophers, mys-tics, and leaders of thought in past centuries.In primitive society, women have frequentlyparticipated as priestesses and sorceresses. Inancient Egypt, the priestesses were prominent and exercised great authority in thetemple rituals. Some functioned in ceremo-nies on an equal footing with men. In theancient Egyptian religión, goddesses wereworshipped equally with the gods. Thesacred Egyptian Trinity, the “Holy Family”of Egypt, consisted of Osiris, Isis, and Horus.Statues of Isis were in nearly every house-hold. She was the goddess of love and fer-

til ity ; in other words, she was representa ti veof the mother qualities.Among primitive peoples in Greenland

and among tribes of American Indians, Ne-groes, Siberians, and Fijians, women functioned as sorceresses. It is generally held—even today—that women possess a super-mysterious power, a particular supernaturalbond in excess of that of men. Consequently,it is believed that they are most proficientin prognostication, in revealing events ofthe future. Because of this belief in women’sexceptional supernatural endowment, witch-craft was, therefore, generally attributed towomen. Since women are more emotionally

constituted than men and thus have a greatersensibility in most instances to extemal in-fluences, this is probably the reason for theirbeing thought to be contiguous to the supernatural.

We recall our safari in South Africa to thevillage of the Balobédu tribe of the BasutoNation. This was the capital of the cele-brated Rain Queen, Mujaji II I. In our ac-count of the visit to this remóte area inAfrica, appearing in the October, 1954, Rosicrucian Digest, we said in part: “Among thetribes and villagers in the area, it was re-puted that she possessed a supernaturalfaculty for producing rain. She transformed

the hovering clouds into sheets of water byritual formulae, thus saving the land andits people from the ravages of drought. Inone hundred forty years there have beenonly three such queens, each ruling over thelittle wildemess empire almost autocratically,with the power of life and death unquestion-ably lying within her domain.”

We personally met this tribal queen andparticipated in her ceremony of formal ac-ceptance of our presence. This consisted ofour drinking a special beverage profferedus, which was made of a traditional brewsimilar to beer, and had quite a high alco-holic content. It was poured from an earthenvessel into small calabashes resembling cups,which were given to each of us white visitorscomposing the safari. There was no questionof the intelligence of this tribal queen andthe power which she exercised over her people of both sexes.

Among the Oriental nations generally,with the exception of ancient Egypt, therewas not much attention paid to the educationof women. In China of the past the women

of the wealthier classes were permitted someliterary training. In India, with the exception of the Parsis, in the past it was thoughtimproper for women to either read or write.Custom did permit the entertainers, as thedancing women, to become literate.

When we tum to the ancient Grecianworld, we find varying customs regardingthe education and leaming of women. TheSpartans insisted that girls be given physicalexercise and training in the gymnasia similar to that provided for the men. Theyleamed running, leaping, discus-throwing,and even wrestling. The motive behindthis particular training was the ideal of

health and strength held by the Spartans.It was expounded that such training wasnecessary for the perfection of the race. Itwas considered an important factor in at-taining beauty of the body and in addingto one’s social standing.

The women of Sparta also participated inmany religious festivals. The Parthenia ofAlemán are choral songs in which especiallytrained girls participated. They were notonly trained in singing, but had gone througha rigorous course of physical exercise so thattheir bodies might appear as beautiful astheir voices. Once married, the training ofthe women of Sparta ceased. However, such

women had greater leisure than their war-rior husbands, and it is assumed that theyattained “a higher intellectual level.” InAthens, at this time, girls received no education outside the home. The Athenian idealfor women was that they should become“prudent housewives.” In the 6th and 7thcenturies, B. C., the intellectual level of



APRIL, 1958 Page II3

women was considerably higher. Womenbecame more prominent socially, the excep-tion being in Ionia where the freedom ofwomen was considerably restricted, as wastheir opportunity for leaming. In the restof Greece, this freedom permitted women togo freely into the streets, unescorted, on footor in carriages.

Plato appears to have seen “no essentialdifference between the nature of men andwomen.” In his Ideal Republic he plannedfor equal education for both sexes.

In the Age of Pericles, women of cultureemerged. One such group was calledHetaerae. They composed music and songs.However, in terms of the moral standards

of today, they would be considered licen-tious. This moral laxity was perhaps adoptedto depict their personal freedom from therestrictions under which most other womenof social stan ding were confined. TheHetaerae were neither wives ñor mothers.

The goddess Hestia of Greece was thedivinity of the hearth fire. In temples ofancient Greece a select group of chasteyoung girls, intelligent and of good families,was trained to tend the sacred fire of Hestia.These girls were taught music, dancing, art,and many of the handicrafts as weaving andthe painting of pottery. They became leam-ed in the prevailing myths and religious

traditions of the time. Similarly, in Romethere was a school of vestal virgins whotended the sacred fire of Vesta from whichthey derived their title, Vesta being theRomán equivalent of the Greek goddess Hestia. It is from this school of vestal virginsand similar early practices in ancient Egyptthat our present-day Rosicrucian colombes have their traditional origin. In the Románforum there still may be seen the ruins ofthe school of the vestals or virgins.

Sappho was the Greek lyric poetess ofLesbos of the 7th century. She is perhapsthe greatest of all women poets. She had abrilliant mind and transformed her ideas onmany subjects into poetry. Because of herpolitical frankness, she and her family werebanished to the Island of Lesbos. There shebecame “the center of a literary circle.” Thisactually evolved into a school for “beautifuland brill iant girls.” These girls coming fromthe upper classes devoted their whole timeto composing music and song. Sappho was

guided by the principie that it was a disgraceto be illiterate.

Sappho’s brilliance of mind and warmpersonality caused her to be idolized by heryoung girl students. Their affection for oneanother is reflected in the poetry they leftfor posterity. This cultural group arousedthe envy and hostility of many of the Greekswho slandered the relationship betweenSappho and her students. History has longrepeated this slander. Only in comparativelyrecent years have modem historians vindi-cated her character.

In later Rome, with the exception of theschool of the vestal virgins, most of the education for women wras carried on “at homeunder prívate tutors.” In some cases girls

were permitted to attend the “ludus” orprimary school. The higher schools wereexclusively for boys. Moving on to theChristian period, we find education considered necessary “as a preparation for the fu-ture life .” St. Jerome advised women toleam the Scríptures. It was implied thatthe good Christian must leam to read andwrite so as to take full advantage of thetenets of his faith.

The Renaissance gave Ímpetus to the education of women. One’s social standing depended upon “polite leaming.” Educationwas held to be a complement to the gracesof both sexes. However, there were no spe-

cial schools for women. They were taughtprívately by the great masters. Many of thewomen themselves became outstandingteachers and occupied chairs in the universi-ties of Italy and Spain. In the 19th century,the leading nations of Europe, England,France, and Germany, gradually gave equal-ity to women in the secondary schools andgenerally even in the universities.

Many brilliant women in the literaryworld and especially in philosophy did littleto make public their leaming. There was areticence about belonging to a female intel-ligentsia. Astuteness and leaming werestill principally associated with masculine

achievement. To be well educated or toexhibit exceptional intelligence had a ten-dency in the society of the last century todetract from the femininity of the individual. Many women thus concealed theirinterest in such subjects as philosophy forfear of losing the “respect” of the oppositesex.




Psychologically, it has been established

that men have no greater capacity for intelligence than have women. The pursuit ofadvanced leaming may often cause a womanto sacrifice many of those traditional socialqualities associated with her sex. Thus manywomen have hesitated to pursue such sub

jects as philosophy. Women are more emotional than men and so are less inclinedtoward speculation and abstraction, againaccounting for the lesser appeal of philosophy for them. Where, however, philosophyis interwoven with intuition and idealism,as in some phases of metaphysics and mysticism, women take a more prominent andnotable part.—X

Does Reading Relax?

A soror now addresses our Forum: “Somefriends and myself were discussing the effectsof a treatment and whether it makes anydifference if one reads to make the time passfaster. . . . If our mind has so much to dowith our body, would reading shorten thetime of treatment? Would it be reasonableto suppose that our body would derive morebenefit from the treatment if time seemedlonger, that is, if we did not read duringtreatment?”

The question here is really whether reading, a preoccupation of the mind, wouldcause the individual to be less conscious ofthe passing of time, less tense and, therefore,more conducive to aiding the therapeutictreatment. If the reading matter is of suffi-cient interest to hold the attention of theindividual and if the sensations had from thetreatment are of less stimulation than thereading matter, the patient would, in mostinstances, be more relaxed. The particulartreatment to which the soror refers is of ahigh-frequency electrical nature.

Of course, a great deal depends upon thecontent of the reading matter if one is tobecome relaxed. An exciting novel, thoughit may hold the consciousness or attentionfrom wavering, would stimulate the emo

tions. Every one who has read an excitingand thrilling adventure novel knows of theemotional reaction that occurs. The heartmay palpitate, the blood pressure rise slowly,and there is an unconscious rigidity or tens-ing of the muscles. It is patent that suchtype of reading is hardly conducive to thefurtherance of any treatment.

As to whether reading causes time to ap

pear shortened depends again upon the litera-ture read and its effect upon the attention.Intense concentration on reading matter islikely to cause one not to be aware of ex-temal stimuli. The duration or period ofconsciousness is determined by changes inthe stimuli. In other words, a period of consciousness or time is measured by intervalsand their changing. Change to change oraltemation to alternation of consciousnessgives rise to the idea of perceptual time. Wemeasure time perceptually by counting altérnate periods of rest and motion. For example,the face of a clock has fixed points or numeráis upon it. These are at rest; that is, theyare motionless. The hands of the clock movefrom one point or hour to another. We countthe intervals of change, the number to number, and that designates our perception oftime.

If we are so occupied by our reading asto be aware of no other impressions, we loseconsciousness of measured time. Under suchconditions the time may seem to be eithervery long or short to us. If the contents ofthe book have a number of incidents de-scribed which, in reality, would take a longtime—even though they take only a fewminutes of reading—we might have the impression that we had actually been readingfor a long time. It is because the ideas in

the book would become subconsciously associated with actual experiences which wehave had and which correspond to them.

Let us use an analogy to understand thispoint: Suppose one were reading an articleconceming the hazardous predicament of asolitary mountain climber. The writer goesinto detail to relate how the climber suddenly broke through a thin covering of ice andwas plunged part way down a steep crevasse.In his fail, he managed to brace himselfagainst the slippery shaft-like walls of thecrevasse.

He then realizes that he has fallen twentyfeet from the surface. His feet are hooked

in a ridge of ice on one wall and his backbraced hard against the other so that he is ina crouched position. Beneath him the wallswiden and drop a sheer five hundred feetto a rocky gorge. If he dares, even momentarily, to lessen the tensión of his legs againstthe wall, his feet will slip or his back willslide. Since the crevasse is wider beneath



APRIL, 1958 Page I 15

than aboye, if he slips, he will have no fur-ther possibility of again checking his falland regaining a position similar to his present one.

The loose ice caused by his break-throughfrom the surface is cracking and shearingoff and crashing down on him. Then afterstriking him it slides off his head and face,bouncing against the crevasse walls to thegorge far below. His face is now bleedingfrom the abrasions caused by the falling ice.The calves of his legs are beginning to achefrom the constant rigidity and the coid. Yethe dares not even move a toe. One slip ofhis feet and he will hurtle to his death.There is one chance possible, he discovers,by twisting his head and tilting it back

against the wall. He can see above him an-other ice ledge about twelve inches in width.It is on the same wall against which his backis braced. Now across from him he sees onthe opposite wall a ledge of similar widthand above these on each wall are other pro-

jections. These constitute a kind of ice lad-der. If one could reach them and spreadhis legs so that each foot engaged one ofthese opposite ledges, he might be able toclimb upward.

But the nearest projection is at least eight-een inches over his head. If he extends hisarms slowly above his head very carefully,he might be able to grasp this ledge back of

his head. He would then be holding on be-hind his head, his hands grasping in anawkward and reverse position. To pulí one-self up and to hold on would be an extremelydifficult task. He would have to be able toswing his legs upward and out to the ledgeon the opposite wall. The body would thenbe stretched horizontally across the crevasseor ice canyon. Could he, is the questionpounding in his brain, then release his handsand, bracing his shoulders against the wall,inch himself up so as to be able to graspanother projection above his head and thenon and on again until the top was reached?

If you have followed this description close-

ly, mentally visualizing the predicament ofthe fallen climber, you would have a consciousness of more time than has actuallytranspired in the reading of it. It would bebecause you were living the experience sub-

jectively. You would be conferring upon thewords you read the actual time that youwould imagine it would have taken the

climber to think and do the things described.The whole interval of consciousness mightseem like many minutes to you as you emo-tionally live the experience with the climber.Yet the reading perhaps would be a matterof seconds.

Certainly, too, such reading as the incidentdescribed here would not contribute towardrelaxation. In treatment the time requireddepends not upon your realization of timebut rather the actual measured time neces-sary for the desired effect. Let us supposethat one is taking a heat treatment by infra-red light. It might require actually ten minutes to induce sufficient heat in a certainarea to relieve the pain or congestión, as thephysician might advise. By reading or sleep-

ing, the time might seem less or more to thepatient. The consciousness of time, however,would not accelerate ñor retard the effect ofthe infrared heat.

It is true that the time factor has a psy-chological importance in many affairs of ourlife but not in the matter about which thesoror asks.—X

Televisión Versus Reading

Does televisión affect detrimentally thereading habits? It is assumed in some circlesthat a large portion of the public has beenconverted from the reading habit to a pro-

longed viewing of televisión. Just recently,we heard an executive of one of the largestpublishing houses of the popular pocket-sizebooks state that televisión has seriously af-fected the circulation of many periodicals inthe United States. He simultaneously de-clared that the cheap, paper pocket-editions ofbooks were increasing their sales. He admit-ted, however, that this increase was princi-pally in the “fiction” type literature.

The majority of televisión viewers arethose who seek entertainment, though agreat number endeavor to justify the timethey spend before the magic screen by relat-ing the utilitarian and “educational” advan-

tages of such indulgences. The greaterportion of nightly televisión viewers werethe former habitués of radio plays andperiodicals of a fictional nature. To them,televisión is principally a transference of asimilar interest to a médium providing anincreased satisfaction through the addedvisual senses.




The dual sense impressions, visual and

auditory, likewise require less concentrationthan attention through one sense alone. Inother words, it is less difficult to focus attention on stimuli derived simultaneouslythrough sight and hearing than, for example,

just hearing. One sense faculty supports theother in implanting impressions on the mind.That which when heard may not be readilygrasped may be so visually perceived as tocomplete the cognition and the idea. There-fore, less concentration is needed for anappreciation of a televisión program thanwhen listening to one by radio or from read-ing about the same subject.

Where entertainment is the principalmotivation, there is a certain amount of in-dolence on the part of the individual. Wedo not want to expend effort in seeking en-

joyment unless such is satisfying in itself.Consequently, the less concentration requiredby the usual televisión program makes anappeal of which many persons are not aware,but to which they respond. As a result, theindividual who becomes addicted to televisión, though he may eventually be spendingless time before his magic screen, is never-theless reluctant to return to the formermédium of entertainment. He finds it in-creasingly difficult thereafter to exert thesame effort of concentration, as previously,on other interests.

Assuming that one actually does resort totelevisión for cultural improvement—the en-lightenment of the mind—how does it compare with reading for the same purpose? Letus suppose that a prominent philosopher orscientist is to give an address over a televisión network. In the majority of thecountries, the law requires a submitting ofthe manuscript in advance to the televisiónstaff authorities. They examine it to determine whether it conforms to regulations and the particular policies of the management.The speaker is thus hemmed in, immured byrestrictions. What he states is definitelyconstrained and is often not fully representa-

tive of his true convictions. At least, hisopinions and expressions are not as com-prehensive as they should be.

Even when a noted thinker, such as aphilosopher or scientist, is being interviewed,he is often screened before the interview. Heis given to know what general questions areto be asked and what subjects are considered

taboo for the reasons previously stated. How

ever, in a book that an individual has pub-lished, or in an árdele, he is not so confined.Obviously, one would not go to the troubleto have a book published on an informativeor technical subject if the publisher wouldrestrict him in the manner of the televisión.Further, in a book there need not be thecompression of ideas, the synthetic presenta-don, or the resort to generalities required bythe limited time of a televisión program.

Further, the speaker, as an educator, scientist, or philosopher, knows that he has anaudience viewing the televisión different fromthose who read. Regardless of what manyprofess as their reasons for viewing televisión, they are predominantly the entertainment seekers who view a prominent thinker—whose books they may not have read—mostly as a kind of curiosity; their interestbeing more in the personality than in thesubstance of his address.

If, for example, Albert Einstein wereliving and were to speak and be seen overone of the principal televisión networks, onecould be assured that a great number of hisaudience would only be intrigued by a viewof the celebrated man. To them, he would bea kind of intellectual oddity. There wouldbe a paucity of listeners and viewers at theconclusión of the program who would seekout and read even the books conveying the

simplest presentation of his thoughts.Psychologically, education by televisión

for the masses, even where they profess interest in it, is not comparable to reading.There are too many factors of distraction.Unless one has c ult iv a ted concentrationthrough study, there is the proclivity todigress in interest because of the diverseappeal. The speaker himself is closelyscrutinized. There is a fascination, perhaps,for some gesticulation or facial expression ofthe speaker. His attire or the accent of hisvoice may likewise distract from the thoughtshe endeavors to convey.

Though all these visual impressions may

be interesting to the viewers, requiring lessfocusing of attention than does reading andstudying, they are obstacles to leaming. Thebook by comparison is far more impersonal.It is more direct in the conveying of itsideas. The ideas of the printed word aloneengender the mental picture. They are,therefore, more true to what the thinker



APR1L, 1958 Page 117

wants to communicate than are the spokenwords by means of televisión. Even if one

says the same words on the televisión screenas in his book, his actions and appearancecompete with them for the attention of hisaudience.

The important advantages, as we see them,and the principal educational valúes of televisión are twofold. The first of these is thecontemporary potential of televisión pro-grams; the second is their exhibitional character. As for the contemporary, it permitsthe presentation of current events andthoughts while they are still related toexisting circumstances. The immediate opinion of Sir Winston Churchill, for example,on a matter of pressing intemational politicalimportance, or the explanation of somescientific principie or development havingimmediate influence upon the lives of themasses, by an eminent scientist on the sub ject, would have valué even if presented ina language for mass understanding. Thevalué is the time factor , the thought beingimmediately related to the elements whichgave it cause.

The exhibitional valué of televisión isobvious. The viewing of a scene, the demon-stration of a device too complex for the massmind to comprehend readily from readingis an important contribution of televisión topublic education. But for general improve-ment of the mind, where one truly wants to

leam, televisión is no substitute for reading.—X

Handwriting Analysis

A Rosicmcian has asked our Forum: “Canone truly judge a person’s character by ananalysis of his handwriting?”

The analysis of handwriting is not anabsolute science. The practice has been generally given the ñame graphology. By stat-ing that it is not an absolute science, it ismeant that no uniform laws have been dis-covered from which absolutely similar effectsfollow and which are beyond any question.Characteristics and trends are found in hand

writing analysis which have a high degreeor percentage of accuracy, but they do nothave the reliability of the laws of the basicsciences. At the present time, there is moretheoretical than empirical knowledge associated with character analysis by means ofhandwriting.

To a great extent, handwriting analysismay be said to be in the same category as

much present-day psychoanalysis. The latteris a construct based upon psychology andsuch sciences as physiology and neurology.As yet, it is a composite of fact determinedfrom clinical observations and statistics onthe one hand, and theoretical conclusions onthe other. From such experimentation andstudy, facts of an empirical nature areemerging as will make the present theoretical aspects of psychiatry eventuallyworthy of being declared a science. That itis yet hardly a specific science may be de-duced from the opposing schools of psychiatry, as the followers of Freud, Jung, andAdler. Their basic premises are different.

In what we may cali an absolute science,the approach or technique may be different,but the primary laws must be and are thesame—or else the practice is still in the theoretical stage.

Handwriting analysis in the field of crim-inology is an art that does employ severalsciences and their related arts—as chemistry,physics, and photography, as well as precisión methods of measurement. Handwritingexperts in the analysis of questioned docu-ments, as forgeries, will make a chemicalanalysis of paper and ink, and of the type-writer keys and the ribbons used. They willshow similarities or dissimilarities of ink anddefinite objective means about which there

can be no question. Where positive scientificmeans are used in such analyses, handwritingexperts will not differ. However, in anyresort to theory or personal conclusions goingbeyond the border of science, they may dis-agree. This disagreement arises only whenthere is a departure from the objective andfactual aspects of their profession.

We have personally known one of thegreatest handwriting experts on questioneddocuments who appeared in some of the mostprominent legal cases in America conceming such matters. He and his colleagues hadabsolutely no faith in character analysis byhandwriting. They claimed that the deduc-tions of graphology are not apodictical in agreat number of cases, and therefore becomeonly assumptions. They point out that thepremises are as yet too speculative to beclassified as a science or as an art foundedupon sciences.




Is the hypothesis of character analysis byhandwriting sound? In general it assumesthat persons of certain temperaments havedefinite physiological and muscular reactionswhen writing. A dynamic, aggressive, per-son, bold in his thinking and actions willperhaps form letters and arrange the sensa-tions of his writing in a specific manner.Conversely, a phlegmatic personality, onegiven to a vacillating will writes in suchmanner that the looseness and irregularityof his handwriting will depict his character-istics. Again, one who is methodical, cau-tious, and meticulous is said to reveal thesequalities in the precise, almost uniformheight and spacing of his letters. Theywould appear as though each were first care-

fully studied before being written.Each general disposition of an individual,

each broad element of character, virtue andvice, according to graphology, is said to bereflected. in the appearance of one’s handwriting. An egregious nature is depicted ina broad, sprawling hand; a penurious character, they state, is disclosed in the heightand configurations of letters and words—these symbolizing the close-fisted nature ofthe individual.

However, handwriting experts, those inthe field of criminology, assert that no broadground, such as related, can be establishedto determine character from one’s penman-

ship. The way we write, the style, varíeswith our moods and emotional response tocircumstances. But the way we form certainletters, the manner in which we cross ourt’s, loop our l’s, or drop or curl the lower lineof our y ’s, for example, are habits that re-main with us. They are the identity of ourhandwriting and they are distinctly personal.These configurations repeat themselves under all conditions under which we write.Such, however, do not prove character, thesesame authorities state.

Men of opposite personality and livinghabits may employ a similar formation ofletters. It is likewise noted that when one

is fatigued, ill, or under great emotionalstress he may write quite differently thancustomaríly. He will continué to form certain letters in his usual manner; he may,however, sprawl his words, loosely run hissentences uphill—a practice not followedwhen in a more calm mood. One whose writing a graphologist would ordinarily inter-

pret as being quite self-disciplined would,under anger, write in a jerky or bold hand.

Graphologists, in defense of their practice,point out what they relate to be similar qualities found in the handwriting of well-knownpersons. They select individuáis whose char-acterístics are known historically or as ob-served contemporaries. They analyze, forexample, the handwriting of great statesmen,

jurists or philosophers—men whose liveshave a broad similaríty as being perhapsleaders and dynamic or profound thinkers.They then profess to see in the signaturesor manuscrípts of such persons similar for-mations or styles. It is then theoreticallydeduced that such configurations symbolize a quality of human character applicable to

all persons of a similar temperament.The premise is precisely this. We shallsay for convenience that A represents a particular class of individuáis, as perhaps leaders, great warriors, or noted artists. In thishandwriting certain formations peculiar totheir class are noted; these peculiarities areB and C. If, then, B and C are found in thehandwriting of other individuáis, it is rea-soned that they fall into the classificationof the people designated A.

Now, if every time B and C appeared itcould be indubitably established that theyconformed in character to what their handwriting symbolized, such analysis would be

an absolute science. Unfortunately, such isnot yet the case.—X

Conscientious Objectors

A frater from England addresses theForum: “Dr. Lewis, on page 303 of Rosicrucian Questions and Answers , when speakingof those not permitted to join the Order, says,‘This naturally eliminates . . . those whopretend to be conscientious objectors to theupholding of the nation’s best interest in thetime of peace or war.’ Does this passage in-dicate that an individual may not dissociatehimself from anything laid down as law bythe state if he feels it to be wrong? Is itaimed at those who pretend to be conscientious objectors simply because it suits them,or does it imply that all objectors are hypo-critical and misguided?”

The frater further relates that he wasimprisoned for refusing military conscriptionduring peacetime, because he could not



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June, 1958Volu me XXVIII No. 6


BAR RIE BRETTONER, F. R. C.

Inspector General of AMORC for Eastern Australia




Greetings!V V V

SUBLIMINAL SUGGESTIONS IN ADVERTISING

Dear Fraires and Sor ores:Do we see and yet not see—simultaneous-

ly? Can we perceive something visuallywhich may influence our subsequent think-ing and acting and yet not be ordinarilyconscious of the impression?

The recent experiments in connectionwith motion-picture advertising have usedwhat is termed subliminal perception. Therewere rapidly flashed on the motion-picture

screen, periodically during the course of aphotoplay, simple word suggestions. Thesesuggestions had reference to refreshmentswhich the viewer was to buy and whichwere available in the theater. The spectators,it was reported, were motivated to buy therefreshments and as a result increased saleswere noted. They experienced a desire forthe refreshments without any realization ofhaving perceived the visual announcementabout them on the screen. How this wasaccomplished was a seeming mystery to thegeneral public. It also, of course, raised themoot question as to whether such a practicewas ethical and legal.

An impulse registering upon one of oursense organs as that of sight, for example,must be intense enough in its stimulus andbe sustained long enough—that is, a matterof a fraction of a second—or we are not ob-

jec tiv ely conscious of it. In other words, inthe sense of having vibrations of visible lightact upon the retina of the eye, we can seeand yet at times not be aware that we areseeing. The fact of our attention or thefocus of our consciousness is also important.If we are concentrating our attention onauditory impressions, that is, sounds, aswhen intently listening to an orchestra, wemay not be aware visually of our surround-ings. Our eyes physically respond to the

light waves reflected by objects around usbut the consciousness is, instead, directed tocertain other impulses and we do not realizewhat we visually perceive.

As you walk down the Street, deep in reflection, perhaps thinking about a problem of the day, myriads of visual impressions are

being received by you. How many of themcan you recall? Few, if any. Your objectiveconsciousness was not responsive to any particular visual stimulus. Each day of our livesthere filter through to our subconsciousnumerous impressions which are subliminal. This means that they are below orbeyond the threshold of our objective perception. The impression is being received inthe normal way, but the stimulus is of tooshort a duration to be realized by the conscious mind, by means of objective perception.

Let us use the analogy of the motionpicture. As we look at the screen, it appearsthat the film is in continuous motion. Actually, however, each individual frame or picture remains a fraction of a second in ourvisión before another comes into view. Eachframe is a separate still photograph. Theconception of motion is had by the sequenceof these still photographs rapidly followingeach other. In commercial and sound mo-tion-pictures, these pictures usually followeach other at the speed of 24 per second.Between each picture we see, there is, then,

a fractional period of darkness—of no newvisual impressions at all. We do not realizesuch darkness because the visual stimulusof the preceding picture is being retainedby nature on the retina sufficiently long tobridge the gap of when we do not see.

In other words, a visual stimulus mustremain in consciousness a certain length oftime so that we may realize it objectively.However, our eyes are open during thatperiod and impressions are falling upon theorgan of sight of which we are not con-sciously aware.

Many impressions that arise in our conscious mind seem vague and unfamiliar tous; they are things which have been reg-istered in our subconscious previously without our objective realization. Such uncon-scious or subliminal impressions, heard orseen, help fashion our thoughts from whichfollow many of our actions. Like other impressions which are consciously perceived,



JUNE, 1958 Page 123

they produce sensations; the sensations areonly experienced when they come to the

fore of the conscious mind. When lookingat the theater screen, if there is rapidlyflashed upon it the phrase “Drink So-and-So!” the visual impression would be of tooshort a duration to cause any ordinary per-ception of it. It would be subliminal, belowthe threshold of visual experience as ordi-narily had. The suggestion would, however,reach the subconscious. There, the impressions would stimulate any desires or ap-petites which would be related to it.

Suppose it were a hot night when thespectator was in the theater. Further, let ussuppose that that which was flashed uponthe screen was the ñame of á familiar brandof soft drink. The familiar ñame registeredin the subconscious, and the subliminal suggestion would create the desire for the drinkequivalent to having a conscious picture ofthe brand. The only difference is that thespectator would not realize the cause of hishaving a rather sudden thirst.

Many of our desires are roused in thissubconscious manner. We commonly and er-roneously think of such desires as beingcaused by something not related to them.Many times we all have said to ourselvesor to others: “I do not know why but I havea craving for this or that.” The cause ofthe suggestion stems from a latent impression implanted unconsciously in the sub

conscious. We use the word unconscious here to mean that which is not realized objectively.

Is this type of advertising ethical? Doesit take advantage of the unconscious proc-esses of the human mind? In the first place,subliminal suggestion can in no way havean effect upon one if subconsciously he doesnot already have a related desire for whatis suggested. Suppose one has, as many do,an innate dislike of tobacco. This resistanceto the nature of tobacco is well establishedin the individual’s subconscious. Subliminal

advertising appeals that he smoke a certainbrand would in no way create the desire

for it.This principie is closely related to the psychological ones of hypnotic suggestion. Ourown personal conclusions constitute a farstronger suggestion to ourselves, to our ownsubconscious, than do any that may be implanted there by others. It is a well-estab-lished fact that in hypnosis a subject willnot act upon a suggestion contrary to hisown moral character. He will not commitan act under hypnosis which normallywould be offensive to him. Likewise, onecould not be immorally motivated contraryto his moral precepts by any form of subliminal suggestion.

Subliminal suggestion can move us to dothings which are acceptable to us but whichwe might not otherwise have thought of orwilled ourselves to do.

It can be said, figuratively speaking, thatthis type of advertising is an attempt tosneak in through the back door of the mind.In this sense it is not a frank form of sales-manship. It can, however, scarcely be in-

jurious to an individual. It would not leadhim, for further example, to buy somethingbeyond his means. For further example, ifone has not made a purchase of somethinghe likes because of the need for economy,then that sense of economic restraint withinhis subconscious would block or inhibit any

subliminal suggestion to him to buy it.Fratemally,RALPH M. LEWIS,

Imperator.

Nuclear Tests

The 1958 series of Nuclear Testing nowstarting in the South Pacific has broughtfurther comment and expressions of concernto our Forum. These letters can be summedup by a soror who asks anxiously about thepossibility of a nuclear explosion developing


The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Departmentof Publication of +he Supreme Council of AMORC, at Rosicrucian Park, San José, California.




Page I24 THE ROSICRUCIAN FORUM

into an uncontrolled chain reaction whichwould envelop the earth.

Although scientists admittedly are not yet

fully aware of the capabilities and destruc-tive powers involved in the experiments theyconduct and the weapons they develop, theydo know to a good degree the extent of immediate damage any given weapon willcause. The energies released by a man-madeatomic explosion are minute when comparedwith .the forces created within any good-sized storm.

On the other hand, there is an aspect ofthe atomic tests which has recently begunto receive much publicity, and which shouldcause concern in all of us. This is the build-up of radioactive Strontium-90 in the at-mosphere.

The material is a by-product of H-bombexplosions and is carried up in the form ofradioaGtive dust particles. Gradually, over aperiod of weeks, months, and even years,these particles filter back down and buildup the radioactivity level of the planetsurface.

The insidious thing about Strontium-90is that it finds its way into the calcium bonetissue, especially among children, and, if toomuch lodges there, it can be instrumentalin causing bone cáncer. Also, unlike manyradioactive substances, Strontium-90 does notdiminish in radioactivity over a period oftime, so far as is known.

The strontium-contaminated fall-out ma

terial settles on vegetation which is eitherconsumed directly, as vegetables, or indirect-ly through dairy cattle eating it and passing the Strontium-90 into the milk. Thisprovides a direct avenue to the bones, sincemilk forms the calcium in our bones.

At present, the radioactivity levels are notdangerously high. However, science has, asa result of its atomic research, loweredrather than raised its estímate of the máximum “safe” dosage of radioactivity whichthe human body can withstand. Thus, itbecomes more and more apparent that thereare dangers involved which are not readilydiscemible.

This, coupled with the fact that the effects of Strontium-90 are cumulative, indi-cates that, as some scientists now realize,there is no true minimum or máximum dose.Each little bit builds up on the precedingamount, with the result that in time thesesmall accumulations exceed in total the

“safe” amount of exposure, causing disease,or even death.

Recently, several eminent scientists wamed

that the amount of Strontium-90 will reachfour times the present level in the bones ofchildren by 1977, even if no further atomictests are made in the future.

Should the tests continué at the presentrate, they feel that the level in bones ofpersons in the Northeastem United Stateswould reach 200 times the present Strontium-90 level by the year 2100, bringing it totwice the level now considered to be themáximum permissible.

The question and problems involved inthe solution of this situation are manifold.

The dangers involved in the continuationof atomic testing are obvious if one looks

into future generations. Unfortunately, thepossible hazards presented by not furtheringour atomic development, for war as well aspeace, are also apparent, and not nearly solongterm as are genetic hazards to cominggenerations, and more conceming to theworld military and political leaders.

The humanitarian decisión obviouslywould be to stop, or at least seriously curtail,nuclear testing on a world-wide scale. SovietRussia would no doubt strenuously object .tosuch a plan, since her level of refínement ofnuclear weapons is below ours.

The United States has approached thelimits of power development and is nowconcentrating on the production of morecompact, portable, diversified atomic weapons.

Much of the testing is not in the line ofnew development, but rather amounts toshooting off already tried and tested weapons. Since we know that the nuclear testswill not be stopped entirely, .the obviousanswer lies in limitation or curtailment, notin the scope but in the quantity of test shots.

Rather than fire four or five examples ofa given weapon in order to study all its aspects, the scientific and military programshould be so well mapped out and co-ordi-nated that the same amount of informationcan be obtained from one or, at most, twoexplosions. In this way, the increase of

Strontium-90 will be slower than if the testscontinué at their present rate.We agree that prevailing world conditions

tend to make some atomic testing necessary,but not at the expense of certain, unseendisease and death for .the future worldpopulation.—W



JUNE, 1958 Page 125

Will Man Control Nature?

In a respected scientific publication, I re-cently read an article in which the authorconcluded, as he summarized man’s conquestof space and his achievement of a certaindegree of control over the forces of the earth,that eventually man will control all theforces of nature—that man is endowed withthe intelligence by which he can utilize, andin fact control, all the forces existing in theuniverse. Although the author did not sayso, the intent was that man has the authorityand the birthright, as it were, to eventuallyexercise his control over everything that ex-ists. Most of the article was based upon theprincipie of a form of materialism that is

frequently found in many modem scientificapproaches.I could not help being amused because his

conclusión reminded me of a philosophy withwhich he might not agree—a philosophy ofreligión. It is stated in sacred literature thatman was given dominion over all things upon the earth and within it. So it would seemthat science and religión may finally haveapproached a point of unity, of agreement.

Fundamental religión .that bases its beliefs,conclusions, and philosophy upon a strictorthodox and literal interpretation of sacredwritings has advanced for centuries the ideathat man is the dominating intelligence in

the universe and that God created him sothat he might control everything that ex-isted about him. This is the philosophy ofreligión, the valué of which has been de-preciated by many scientific minds, partic-ularly those who uphold the philosophy ofnaturalism which has so definitely in-fluenced the thinking of the modem worldphilosophies.

To me this is more than interesting; it isalmost fantastic that after centuries of con-troversy, of differences between the funda-mentalists of religión and the liberáis in thematerialistic field of philosophy there shouldfinally be found a point in common. Thepoint is that man should be endowed by hiscreator either from the standpoint of religiónor by native intelligence and brain powerfrom the standpoint of biology to be the rulerof all that exists about him including himselfand fellow crea tures.

We might refer to all the universal forces,regardless of how they may be subdivided

in the terminology of philosophy, religión,or science, simply as the forces of nature.

In the Rosicrucian teachings, we much pre-fer the term cosmic, and usually we referto the cosmic forces as that which includesthe divine mind and all that emanates fromit. In other words, I like to think of theCosmic as including everything that everwas or ever will be. The Cosmic is, in asense, the expression of the mind of God, orwe might even go further and say that themind of God and the Cosmic are the same.They are synonymous.

However, to occupy our time with thisnominalistic philosophy which simply setsforth terms to which man assigns meanings,to help his understanding of the earth or to

confuse his fellow human beings, is to avoidthe central point instead of directing attention to it. When we consider man’s relationto all forces both within and outside himself,whether those forces be called the laws ofGod, the Cosmic, the material forces of theuniverse, or the laws of nature, we need forconvenience to agree on terminology.

Nature is an all-inclusive term which Iwill proceed to use here for the simple reasonthat it is well known and well understood.I will mean by the word nature and the lawsof nature, in these comments, what I havealready defined in the terms of the Cosmic;that is, nature constitutes all that is, all thathas ever been, and it contains the potentiali-ties of all that will be. In other words, natureis the universe and all that is a part of it,including man himself and all forms of life.

We would enter into a long philosophicaldiscussion and probably arrive at no conclusión if we examined the basic premise asto whether or not man exists upon earth,either by creation or evolution, for the pur-pose of dominating nature’s forces and itsmanifestations. I have already pointed outthat we can find substantiation for such apoint of view both in religión and in science.Religión says that man is the ultímate ofGod’s creation, and that everything else thatGod created or makes manifest is secondary

to man and is for him to control, modify,use or otherwise develop, in any way hesees fit.

Now I have advanced at least the opinionof one scientific wiiter that science takes thesame point of view, that everything existingin the universe, including all of nature’s



JUNE, 1958 Page 127

even to the very simple acts that men normally, voluntarily, and individually perforen

—have failed. Every great dictatorship inhistory to date that has suppressed the freedom of individual expression to the extentthat the individual no longer had any valuéhas not been able to survive. In other words,we can say generally .that where man hastried to control the social and political aspects of mankind, he has usually failedmiserably.

Do we, then, want to think of man ascontrolling all the factors of environment?If man cannot control at least some of thefactors that affect social relationships, howthen can he control all of nature?

As I concluded reading the article which

stated that the time would come when mancould control all natural forces, my firstreaction was to hope that I would not liveto see such a time. I am not interested inwhat we could technically cali an anthropo-centric govemment. I believe that nature itself is as much an expression of all that isin .the universe as is man, and that manwas not placed here in this universe merelyto develop a control of nature’s laws, butrather to leam how to work with them andto benefit by that process. Those who believethat the ultímate aim of man is to controlnature, I believe, missed the point as to theultímate valúes of existence.

There are many who believe with meand will accept the philosophy that one ofthe ultímate purposes of the universe isman’s right to attempt to relate himself har-moniously with the forces that he findsfunctioning in the universe. And in his ex-periencing his relationship with those forces,he will realize that he is living in a universewhich is theocentric rather than “mancen-tric.” In other words, we should learn todevelop a kingdom of God on earth as wehave a degree of relationship with the kingdom of God in ourselves.

Man’s control of nature then, it seems tome, is a dream of those who would want todomínate, who would want to become little

dictatórs. I am confident that most of uswould rather leam to use the forces aboutus for a means that will bring peace, harmony, and happiness to a group of individuáis working in cooperation with the lawsof nature rather than to shatter them completely, or rather to shatter our own lives

and our own hopes of future evolvement, byentering into an attempt to control the

forces which were made for us to use.In the days before mechanization, domes-tic animals were used for more purposesthan they are today. I am sure .that all whoare at least as oíd as I am will rememberthe days when the primary method of transportation was provided by the horse. Horseswere used for work and to transport manfrom one place to another. We found inthose days that the horse was an intelligentanimal. He could also be a pet and in manycases was treated as such. He was lovedand respected by those who owned him. Hewas treated kindly by those who had anydegree of consideration for the expression

of life and for the manifestation of nature’slaws. Thus we see a simple illustration hownature’s forces were hamessed.

The horse was used .to bring us conven-ience, to provide transportation and a meansto make our livelihood, but that did notmean we controlled the horse. We did notmake the animal completely subservient tous. The horse was still an independent entity and even when mistreated had at timesan individual existence. So I believe thatall the forces of nature can continué to existwithout man’s dominating them. If I maygo so far as to say so, the differences between hamessing a forcé and dominating itis the difference between success and failure,between happiness and despair. When wehamess and constructively utilize nature’sforces, we do it for the welfare of all. Whenwe exercise control, our motives are funda-mentally selfish and must end in disaster bythe nature of the laws themselves.—A

How Donations Are Used

A soror in Texas says: “I am a fairly newmember of AMORC, and I am receiving aidfrom the Council of Solace for ill-health.You must receive a lot of donations fromyour members. What do you do with thedonations you receive from time to tíme

from members such as myself?”First, let us answer by asking a question.

What are the sources of revenue of AMORC?They are primarily three in nature: A—dues; B—Supply Bureau; C—donations. Thelargest single source of revenue is the membership dues and registration fees. But




against this stands the greatest expense of theOrder, that is, the research and preparation

of the teachings. This expense includes alsothe mailing of the monographs, the Rosicrucian Digest, the correction of examinations,the enclosure of study charts, the answeringof correspondence, and acknowledgment ofmembership activities. All of this expensetoo, of course, includes the necessity of main-taining the buildings for operation, the pur-chase of functional equipment such as type-writers, yariety of office machines, vaultswith files, and furniture. There is also thepayroll for the large staff of stenographers,clerks, membership instructors, maintenancecrew, janitors, gardeners, technicians, truckdrivers, and related essential expenses.

The continual increase in the price of pa-per and printing—and now postage—as wellas that of wages to personnel, makes the totalpractically equal to the amount of dues.There are then to be met as well the huge

property taxes which AMORC is obliged topay. Though AMORC is a nonprofit organi-zation and is so recognized by all of thegovemments in the lands in which it func-tions, it still must pay realty taxes. Theexemption which the Order receives is forincome tax only. If we were a religious or-ganization, which we are not, we would nothave to pay realty taxes. We think this initself is sufficient answer to those who be-lieve that we are a religious organization.For after all, we are classified as not beingone by the tax departments of the vaiiousgovemments.

The revenue derived from the secondsource, the Supply Bureau, must first meetthe expenses incurred by that Bureau. Thisconsists of the publishing costs of our nu-merous books and the manufacturing expense of the items that the Bureau suppliesto our members, as well as the forwardingof them to the members. The residue ofthis fund is then used to meet déficits indues. In other words, the Supply Bureauhelps meet the increasing costs .to which thefixed dues cannot adjust.

The third source of revenue, donations,bequests, and contiibutions, no matter howsmall, are essential to compénsate for al]of AMORC’s nonrevenue activities. Let ustake the Council of Solace to which the sororrefers as an example. There are no fees forsuch services. Yet, the Council writes thou-

sands of encouraging, advisory, and helpfu]letters to members and to nonmembers

throughout the world. Such activity is a partof the humanitarian service rendered by theRosicmcian Order. The Council of Solaceemploys several people constantly to keeprecords of the cases, read reports, and givespecial fr ee instruction to those who solicitits help.

How are all such expenses to be met?They cannot be added to the expense ofactive membership, for the dues would beinadequate. It requires donations to carry onthis good work. Those who receive the services of the Council of Solace are requestedto contribute whatever they can. But whetherthey do or not, its facilities are available to

them nevertheless.AMORC is not a school organized forprofit as are some correspondence schools inaccounting or law. It is, in fact, a fraternal,cultural, humanitarian Order. It has the ob-ligation to contribute something to the bet-terment of mankind. We are Rosicruciansnot just for our personal enlightenment andsatisfaction. We are expected to advance andhelp humanity in tura as we receive fromthe Order. The Order itself must conform tosuch principies and traditions. Therefore,various nonrevenue-producing activities arecarried on by AMORC. By nonrevenue wemean these other activities which are con-

ducted without fees or charges of any kind,as they should be.What are some of these nonrevenue-pro

ducing cultural activities? The RosicmcianEgyptian Museum is one. It is visited byover 115,000 people annually. These visitingmembers and a vast host of the public arefrom throughout the world. In a pleasantatmosphere, they see scientifically and ar-tistically displayed the finest collection ofEgyptian and Babylonian antiquities in thewestem United States, and they leam ofthe early struggle of mankind. They seerevealed in various devices man’s handicraftsand evidence of those advances which manhas made and the very foundations uponwhich much of our present sciences and artshave been built.

The visitors go home to their respectivecities and towns in various lands with addedknowledge and deepened respect for thenoble purposes of the Rosicmcian Order. Ad-mittedly, it requires a large outlay of funds



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to maintain the Museum and its exquisitecollection. However, the same amount ofmoney could not be expended in any otherway to produce the same excellent publicrelations for the Order.

There is then, also, the Planetarium andScience Museum. In the Planetarium, theobserver witnesses the spectacular role ofthe Cosmic bodies, of astronomical phenom-ena. The visitor pays a nominal admissionfee which, of course, in no way retums themoney originally invested in the buildingand construction of the equipment. In thesame building is the Science Museum. En-trance to this is available free to all. Here,the visitor sees exhibits of devices whichdemónstrate in a fascinating manner nu-merous natural laws. Such an experience

quickens his interest in science and providesthe visitor with an appreciation of physicalphenomena of the universe and of AMORC’sactivities.

Every principal library in the world—this side of the Iron Curtain at present—hasone or more of the Rosicrucian books. TheseRosicrucian books are published by AMORCin several languages. The books are donated to these public libraries, hospitals, penal institutions, and numerous reading rooms.Who pays for these books and the thousands of free copies of the Rosicrucian Digest andits equivalent in other languages, such asEl Rosacruz and the La Rose-Croix? Certain-

ly such costs are not met from the member-ship dues, for they would not be adequate.It is the loving, thoughtful contribution ofdonations by members that makes this possible. Each donation, whether it be a fewcents, shillings, or many pounds or manydollars, makes this possible. It is anotherof the many ways in which donations areused.

Then there are the numerous series ofillustrated slide lectures which are sent free to lodges and chapters by the Technical Department of AMORC. The preparation ofthe illustrations, with the research that isrequired for them, the final photographing

of them, the writing of the discourses, andthe recording of them on magnetic tape is avery definite expense. Rut such lectures andillustrations are extremely beneficial to allmembers who see and hear them. Again, itis only the donations by members, over and

above their dues, which they make occasion-ally that make this possible.

We must not fail to mention as well theinteresting and instructive color-and-soundmotion pictures which are produced by theTechnical Department of AMORC. Thesebring «to members and to their friends, without charge, a unique presentation of subjectsand places not usually available in the com-mercial film world. These cinema films arealso made available as a cultural contribution by AMORC to schools and universitiesand various history groups—all, of course,without charge. This creates interest inAMORC on the part of the public and causesthem to have the right opinion of its pur-poses. Rut again we say it is only thedonations that make this possible. Your dues

alone would never be sufficient if it werenot for an occasional donation.

Hundreds of thousands of Rosicruciansand the general public .throughout the yearshave visited Rosicrucian Park. It is a placeof beauty. It symbolizes the tranquillity, theharmony of nature, and in fact, whatAMORC is striving to bring about withinthe consciousness of every Rosicrucian. Thisbeauty of the Park is obviously an expenseto create and maintain. It could be doneaway with and the Order could use a drabconcrete commercial office building. However, in doing away with this beauty, thisesthetic setting, we would also be depriving

the Order of part of its spirit. Your donationsmake Rosicrucian Park possible. It is athing for the membership to be proud of,in that it creates respect for the Order.

Further, have you ever realized that, un-fortunately, not every member pays his duespromptly? Just think what it means when,let us say, two or three thousand membersbecome lax at times in paying their dues—and this happens rather frequently. Supposemembers forge t to send their dues for twomonths. Multiply the sum of two monthsby, we shall say, «two thousand. Think ofthat déficit for those months. Yet, the postoffice has to be paid promptly, so do the

employees, the printers, the taxes, and allof the other expenses we have mentioned.It is for «this reason that the Rosicrucian

Order, AMORC, depends upon and deeplyappreciates whatever donations or contribu-tions you make, as well as your remem-brance of the Order in your Will. As a non-




profit organization, every officer and staffmember of AMORC is on a definite salary.

No funds inure to the personal benefit ofany individual serving it.—X


Music held a magical charm for the littleboy. Whenever music was heard, he wouldstop his play and sit at rapt attention. Thelittle face did not reveal the great emotionalresponse going on within. Music transportedthe small lad to a psychical realm whereneither time ñor space existed. The child’swhole being seemed to feast upon the musical strains. There was evident a tensestraining to absorb each note heard.

This boy was Barrie Brettoner, now Inspector General of AMORC for Eastem Australia. He was bom in West Riding Town-ship of Ossett, Yorkshire, England, February22, 1913. Barrie’s precocity as to music con-tinued. When he was but six years of age,his playing drew special commendation fromthe National College of Music. When hegraduated from that college with honors atthe tender age of 12, he was then recognizedas a child prodigy. Some years later, FraterBrettoner’s mother’s health required that sheleave England for warmer dimes. The family decided on New South Wales, Australia.This afforded young Brettoner an experiencewhich made a lasting impression upon his

active mind. Enroute to Australia, he con-tacted much of the mysterious East Suez,Port Said, Alexandria, and Colomba. It wasa new and fascinating world that challengedthe youthful imagination.

In Australia, young Brettoner continuedhis musical education. By contra st, he alsotook special training in draftsmanship in alocal technical school, but music dominatedhis life and his talent was ever evident. Atthe early age of sixteen, he received thecoveted and highly prized honor of beingmade a Fellow of Trinity College of Music,London. The depression of .the 30’s com-pelled the young man to utilize his musical

training as a livelihood. He eventually didbecome a noted theater organist in prominent Australian cinemas. It was during thisperiod that Barrie Brettoner met FraterStefan Kowron, one of the first Rosicmciandignitaries in Australia. Frater Kowron, withpatience and skill, answered questions that

music had been emotionally engendering inthe mind of Frater Brettoner. He shortly

thereafter crossed the threshold of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC.Frater Brettoner’s popularity at the organ

in Australia resulted in his accepting anoffer to tour New Zealand where he wasacclaimed. By now, a love of travel hadbeen acquired and he accepted another pro-posal to tour the United Kingdom, and laterthe continent, as an organist. The highlightof his life, Frater Brettoner has often said,was while on the continent. He received aRosicmcian Initiation in the beautiful temple of the Grand Lodge of AMORC in Copen-hagen. “The huge bouquets of tulips presented to me in the theater at this time . . .were as nothing compared to the exquisite

fragrance o f' the deep red roses whose in-toxicating perfume permeated that mysticTemple and ceremony.”

After a highly successful concert tour inEurope, Frater Brettoner returned to Sydneyand was soon serving in the Australian Army(1940). After the war, Barrie Brettoner, asdid many men, was seeking to find himselfin varied ventures. During this interval heassisted Frater William Norris, first interaa-tional lecturer for AMORC in Australia, inlocating lecture halls. Later, during the second series of such lectures by Frater JohnLa Buschagne, Frater Brettoner again helpedin various capacities.

Frater Brettoner was recommended forand accepted the Mastership of the now well-established Chapter of AMORC in Sydney.He lent his ability and enthusiasm to histerm of office. In the spiing of 1955, he wasappointed by the Grand Master of AMORCas Inspector General for Eastem Australia,an office in which Frater Brettoner continúesto serve faithfully and efficiently. In hisprivate life, Barrie Brettoner is associated atpresent in an administrative capacity withthe Australian Broadcasting Commission inSydney. He lists his personal interests asbeing a trinity; namely, mysticism, music,and classical ballet. He adds to this, however,the usual Australian love of water sports.—X

Psychic Immunity

A soror in Japan addressing our Forumstates: “There are Biblical accounts of peoplewho were immune to fire, water, and otherphysical hazards; there are also accounts of



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bodily levitation performed even to this dayby the yogi in India. Through developingthe psychic faculties, is it possible to attainimmunity to fire and other accidents thatconfront us daily in the physical world? Or,in other words, how far can we go in chang-ing the conditions of the physical worldpsychically?”

The many miracles recounted in thehagiography of the past and in the Bible canbe questioned in the light of modern knowl-edge. Many of such, undoubtedly, were theapplication of natural laws which, to thegenerally ignorant and uneducated classes,would seem like miracles or divine inter-vention. We can but imagine the amazingimpact the commonplace technical develop-ments of our time would have upon people

of the Biblical period. Not knowing thenatural laws employed, only one answerwould seem probable to them, that is, thatdivine or supematural agencies were per-forming the feats.

We can recall when we were upon thefrontier of Tibet, in the Himalayas, that oneof the Tibetans who was hard of hearing wasshown by us a modem hearing aid. Whenhe was shown how the sound carne out ofthe receiver when it was placed in the ear,he evinced amazement! When the devicewas proffered to him to examine and try,he backed away in obvious fear. When weendeavored to persuade him, he became

alarmed and fled. To him the whole devicewas an awesome unnatural phenomenon—something between a feat of magic and amiracle.

We do not mean to imply that men in thepast could not use their personal power andprocesses of mind to perform unusual feats.Undoubtedly, the Biblical miracles weredemonstrations of the exceptional applicationof Cosmic power and the unusual knowledgepossessed by the individuáis. In South America and in primitive sections of Africa, nativewitch doctors, or shamans, have exhibitedstrange telepathic powers. They have re-vealed immediate knowledge at times con-ceming events that had just happened orthat occurred but a brief time before. Theirlocation sometimes was a hundred or moremiles away and lay across almost impenetrable terrain—far from the scene of theevent. Thus, the circumstances excluded anypossible physical means of communication.

Australian aborigines living in the desertarea of central Australia have likewise exhibited mysterious psychic powers of trans-mitting thought; such has been part of theirblack magic practices. The fear that one hasof the magical powers of another may makehim apparently susceptible to the thoughtswhich are related to the practice.

In discussing psychic powers and theirpossible effect upon the physical world, onemust arrive at an understanding of what ismeant by the word psy chic. In the psycho-logical sense, psychic refers to man’s subliminal nature. It consists of all those aspectsof man’s being which are distinct from hisphysical functions. Consequently, in thissense, the instincts, the sentiments, intuition,and mental processes generally are held to

be psychic. Therefore, if one arrives intui-tively at an idea by which he is able toaccomplish something objectively not other-wise possible, it could be said that he hasused his psychic powers to do so.

In the realm of parapsychology, the word psychic also alludes to the inner, subliminalpowers of man as distinguished from hisphysical ones. But “psychic” in the field ofparapsychology particularly refers to the ex-trasensory powers which man has, as setapart from his known mental ones. Meta-physically, “psychic” generally denotes thedivine or spiritual properties which are resi-dent in man. It is commonly identified with

“soul.” In the Rosicmcian philosophy, “psychic” refers to the inner nature of manwhich transcends in power and scope of in-fluence the physical attributes of his being.In this latter sense, “psychic” constitutes thattranscendental aspect of consciousness calledthe inner self. However, this inner self isonly more divine than the physical andmental functions in that it is more con-tiguous to the Cosmic. Actually, the physicalfunctions of man are but a more grossmanifestation of the divine.

We may think of the Rosicmcian explana-tion of the psychic from this point of view.White light is more perfect than red lightbecause it contains all of the wave bands ofvisible light, whereas the color red containsbut one of the vibratory bands of whichvisible light consists. Therefore, by com-parison we can say that the psychic self ofman is a more extensive aspect of the humanthan any other single manifestation of his




whole, integrated self—the whole self beingof the psychic. Further, the psychic self has

a greater contact with other aspects of thewhole Cosmic reality. Thus, when properlydirected the psychic self has access to powersof the Cosmic and acts as a channel for suchpowers which the physical self cannot ordi-narily discem or command.

When placed in a psychic state, such asthat induced by hypnotism or trance, the individual acquires an immunity to many sensations which are ordinarily experienced.Surgery can be performed upon a properlyhypnotized person so that the hypnosis isthe equivalent of an anesthetic. The subjectexperiences no pain whatsoever. Hypnotismis often used in the delivery of a child with

out the mother experiencing any distress.Mass hypnotism has frequently been con-ducted by a skilled operator so that his audience will seem to see or hear whateversuggestions he implants in their minds. Thispractice has often been demonstrated in theFar East. The audience will be told that acertain phenomenon is occurring before themwhile they are in this hypnotic state. Theaudience, of course, is not even aware thatthey have been gradually induced into asubjective state where they are subject tothe will of the operator. He then cleverlydescribes and dramatizes what they are tosee. To the audience, while in this condition,what the operator relates is reality, thoughto any spectator not under this spell, it isnonexistent.

At the conclusión of the mass hypnosis,what is termed the post-hypnotic effect takesplace. The individuáis then recall from theirsubliminal minds the ideas that were im-planted there. To them, then, when in a normal state, it is as though they were recallingan actual experience which they had per-ceived. Th e most fantastic tales are thus madeto appear as realities. This phenomenon ofmass hypnosis has been conducted in America and Europe as a demonstration of thepowers of the psychic self, the subliminalworld within man.

However, under emotional stress of ur-gency and of profound, deep sincerity, mancan personally appeal to the psychic levelsof his consciousness and then can performremarkable feats. Men have resisted pain,endured suffering and undergone great or-

deals by an appeal to their psychic and subliminal natures. Some of the martyrs bumed

at the stake by the Church would seem tohave experienced no pain whatsoever in theecstasy of their religious fervor; however,such individuáis may not have consideredthat they were under any kind of psychic in-fluence at the time. Orthodox religionists,after making fervent appeals to a saint or toa personage considered sacred, have receivedpsychic help and have believed that the immunity to suffering carne directly from thatsource. It is most likely that the prayersthey offered brought them into communionwith their own psychic powers. There thenwould be experienced a sudden influx ofpower as a positive condition, or perhaps itwould be the negativo aspect of psychic sup-

port, that is, an immunity to some extemalcondition.

In certain psychic or trance states, a cata-leptic condition is induced, producing exces-sive muscular rigidity. During such statesgreat weights have been placed upon thebody of the individual without any evidentdiscomfort to the person. Again, under suchconditions, the respiratory system of the individual can be so arrested that, withoutcareful medical examination, the subject whohas lost consciousness appears not to breathe,and to have died.

During the Middle Ages, when such cataleptic states were brought about by accident,and when there was no law in existencerelative to embalming, many individuáiswere actually buried alive under the assump-tion that they had died. The exhumation ofthe body later, for some reason, proved thatthey had been buried alive. The individualin a cataleptic state can be confined in a tinyspace, as a coffin, for days where there wouldnot be sufficient air to sustain life in a normalperson. When brought out of this catalepticstate, such a person will display no physicalill effects!

Our psychic self, the psychic levels of ourconsciousness, bordering directly upon the

greater spectrum of the Cosmic, can extendour personal power in many ways. The mostbeneficial way is to receive the intuitiveillumination that can flow to our consciousmind by the stimulus of our psychic self incertain perfectly natural ways.—X



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Creative Thought

A question brought to my attention inrecent correspondence was concemed withCreative thought as differing from any otherkind of thinking. The individual makingthe inquiry was a student well enough advanced in the Rosicmcian teachings to beimpressed by the fact that mental creatingis an actual existing condition, that thoughtsdo have power in themselves.

Any individual who has experienced theeffectiveness of thinking, either in his Creative process, or by using any form of mentaleffort for the purpose of bringing about conditions which may not have existed other-wise, is well aware that there is an effectiveforcé behind the process of thinking. We, as

Rosicmcians, believe there is effectiveness inthought, that it is literally true that what aman thinks is an indication of what he is,that thoughts can be conveyed other thanby the process of speech or writing. In otherwords, we believe that the condition knownas mental telepathy actually exists.

To bring such facts into the open for thematter of substantiating their existence, orfor proving their existence to an individualwho may have no consideration for the pos-sibility that thought transference, for example, can exist in actuality, is a very difficultmatter. It is hard to present a subjectcompletely unrelated to what another indivi

dual may be thinking. This entire argumentor procedure has its foundation upon the oídcontroversy between materialism and vital-ism; that is, the individual who is thoroughlyconvinced that all the valué in the world, allthe facts in the world can be related to amechanistic system, is not prepared to beconvinced that he is wrong. In other words,to convince a materialist that thoughts havecertain power or forcé, that mental creatingis possible, or to convince him that thoughttransference is possible, is to try to under-mine that individuars own beliefs and con-victions.

To put this in another way: If an individual is sincerely convinced that material

ism and mechanism are the fundamentalprocesses of the universe, that there is nohigher forcé in all existence than that ofmechanical laws which function here onearth, then we are asking him to give up hisown beliefs and convictions when we try to

convince him there are other valúes andforces that to us supersede or transcend material valúes, and that actual effective mani

festations and functions of thought exist inthe world of actuality.

If you were to approach a sincere, religiousperson and tell him you were going to provethat what he believed in from a standpointof religión was fundamentally false, thenyou would be faced with a severe problemof the individual’s being biased against anyargument you were to present. To use thissame illustration in another form: Stop andthink for a moment of some idea, concept,belief, or conviction that to you is one of themost important things in the world. Considersomething you believe in to the extent thatyou will not even believe it is a belief, some

thing you know and of which you are con-fident; then imagine my trying to presentan argument to disprove that inner conviction of yours.

It is very difficult for an individual to havehis own convictions overthrown by an argument. More than argument is necessary.Actual experience of a condition opposite towhat he believes, working consistently, isusually the only thing that will changefundamental beliefs or convictions.

That which I believe in is something Ihold to be my own personal property. It isone of my most sacred possessions, and I willresent any effort on your part, or any other

person’s part, to overthrow those beliefs. It istrue that the broad-minded individual will atleast listen to arguments opposed to his fundamental beliefs and convictions, but the factthat I may be open-minded, that I will listento you trying to argüe against my beliefsand convictions, and that I will carefullyanalyze the proof you are attempting to present does not mean my convictions will beoverthrown and abandoned merely on thebasis of one, two, or three sessions of argument and proof presented by you.

It usually takes time to alter the fundamental beliefs and convictions of one individual. I have gone into this matter inconsiderable depth in order to impress upon

any reader of these comments that we cannot judge the materialist or the individual whosephilosophy is based on mechanism merelyby his refusal to accept our arguments forsomething entirely contrary, or definitelyopposed to that which the individual believes




in as a part of his or her philosophy of life.What is necessary is for every individual tolive to the best of his ability the principiesin which he has found valué, and in thatmanner a method will be set up by which,in the actual living of principies, the ideáiswill become fundamentally more potent, orat least more definite in expression. Intelli-gent individuáis will observe these manifestations or forms of behavior and will be moreprone to take into consideration the possibili-ty that they have validity.

We who claim to believe in the power of thought, and in the factor that thought is a function of the universe having a relationship to actual fundamental valúes and forces, sometimes forget there is a difference between just ordinary thinking and Creative

thinking. The thoughts that pass through our minds in the course of the day are, as the psychologists tell us, substantially no more than the ideas with which we are dealing in our daily life. Wh at we think about most is simply the putting into words of the ideas with which we are concemed. To put it simply, most of our thoughts are no more than subvocal speech; that is, we are talking to ourselves about the things with which we are concemed at any particular time.

Creative thinking has to be more thansilent conversations with ourselves. Creativethinking has to cause us to be concemedmore vitally and to direct our mental powers

toward that which we are trying to create.This, of course, is analyzed in some detailin the monographs where concentration andmeditation are dealt with insofar as actualfunctioning forces. There is a difference between merely thinking of an idea and concentrating on that idea. To concéntrate uponit directs our vital forces, as it were, to thething we have in mind. There is even a further step. The actual process of concentration can be obtained from the monographsand need not be repeated here, but evenequally as important as the process of concentration is the attitude behind the process.

I recently read an article in one of thiscountry’s outstanding scientific publicationsin which a scientist reanalyzed the contro-versy between vitalism and materialism. Heis an intelligent individual, and he presentsvery strong arguments for materialism andgives some very convincing argumentsagainst vitalism. In doing so, he presents his

case well, and he shows the importance ofdependence upon material things and uponour objective faculties to judge and cope withthese factors of the material world. As Iread his article, I admired his presentation.I was partially convinced by some of hisarguments, but it seemed to me that thearticle lacked something and I tried to sum-marize in my own mind what was lacking.The missing element for me was that hisargument provided for no explanation, or,in fact, took no consideration whatsoever ofthe factor of fee ling.

Now, I am convinced, and I believe almostany intelligent human being will agree, thata human being is as much a feeling entityas he is a reasoning entity. We have feelingswhether we like them or not. Almost every

thing we do concems not only a series offacts and ideas which we can put into words,either in expression or in thought, but thesame ideas and facts leave a certain emotional factor in our consciousness as a resultof or because of the ideas.

Should someone come into this room whileI am dictating this discourse and state a fact, Iwould react differently than if I were sittingat my desk doing nothing in particular andthe individual entered and stated the samefact. If the door opened at this moment andsome individual stepped in front of my deskand made a simple statement, I would bevery annoyed whether the statement were

trae or false or had anything to do with anysituation with which I was concemed. Iwould be annoyed because of the interrup-tion in the writing of this particular discourse. I had directed my thoughts to itover a period of time. Now I am concentrating on my notes, and going through theprocess of putting them into words which Ihope will convey these ideas to someone else.

To be interrupted in that process shouldnot, from a standpoint of analytical reasoning, have anything to do with the discourseitself. In other words, if my preparation hasbeen adequate, there is no reason why, afterthe interruption, I cannot pick up where I

left off and complete the discourse. But Iknow from experience and my own nature,and from my own ideas and inner thinking,that an interruption before my completionof this dictation would be annoying. Theannoyance would be due not to my reasoning about the interruption, but to my feelings



JUNE, 1958 Page 135

in the matter. It would be a completelyemotional reaction. I would be irritated; I

would probably be short with the individualwho approached me and would not give theidea proper consideration. This reactionwould probably apply to almost any personwho is interrupted during deep concentration.

Now, everything with which we come incontact in life is dealt with in terms of rea-son and of feeling. Whether or not my reaction to an individual’s interruption isproper, whether it is polite, or even reason-able, is not the most important question. Itmay be unreasonable of me to be short withan individual. It may not be proper to beunwilling to discontinué what I am doingand listen to someone else, but nevertheless,the fact that I will not be reasonable, thatI will be annoyed, is a part of my total be-havior pattem, which is based partly uponreason but principally upon emotion. Re-gardless of the right or wrong in the matter,or regardless of the arguments anyone maypresent, we are influenced. by our feelings.

This is an important fact to remember tobe used constructively. Anything we attemptto do in the field of mental creating, anything we attempt to direct our thoughts to-ward for a purpose, must be done with thefull realization that how we feel about it isas important as how we do it. To approacha problem or any activity with the propermental attitude is as important as to ap

proach it with the proper mental thoughtsand knowledge to do it properly.I recall a quotation from a well-known

writer in the field of business that I thinkillustrates this point. The late B. C. Forbeswrote in an editorial some years ago, “I recall reading about a young woman in anorganization who had something to do withsending out letters, and who reaped substan-tially more satisfactory responses than otherssimilarly engaged. A superior complimentedher, and asked her if she could account forher better showing. She replied, ‘I endoseprayerful thoughts in every letter.’ We don’tknow everything. May it not be that goods

produced by loyal workers carry with theman aura or something which somehow con-veys a favorable impression, which some-times induces consumers to choose them inpreference to products manufactured bycoldly disinterested workers?”

To me this is a remarkable statement, and

it was made by a man who was a student ofbusiness and also a student of human nature.

He realized that there was a factor whichcould enter into a coid, business process andinfluence its ultimate outcome. In otherwords, I think Mr. Forbes was familiar withwhat I have been saying—that it is not onlythe knowledge and efficiency with which athing is done, but the attitude underlyingthe thought in the making up of the wholeprocess, that will affect the results.

If everything you do is approached withthe idea that two factors are involved, bothknowledge and feeling, then you will findyour problems are more apt to be resolvedthan they are if you approach them purelyon the basis of coid logic. I am sure thatproper feelings, the proper awareness of our

emotions, tend to make thoughts functionmore smoothly. In other words, properlydirected feelings and emotions are the lubri-cant oiling the thoughts which permit themto work in a way we hope will tend towarda satisfactory outcome. Never underestimatethe power of thought, but realize thatthoughts can be more powerful when theirintent is based upon those feelings that as-sure their outcome in a way acceptable tous.—A

The Capacity of the Brain

It is recognized that the human brainhas a capacity to grasp many factors of

environment. Many amenities of modemcivilization and much of what is enjoyed bymankind living in the modem world areproducts of the function of the brain. Thehuman being’s ability to hamess his thinkingapparatus to the extent of producing whata few hundred years ago would have beenconsidered miracles is evidence of the factthat the human brain has potentialities ofcreating in a physical world far beyondanything anticipated in earlier times. Itwould appear in consideration of the growthman has made in so many fields in the lastfew years or decades that the limits of thehuman brain are still far beyond our grasp

today.It is quite possible that our achievements,in the control and manipulation of the physical world, will continué to advance. Thereis no reason to believe that man should notwithin another hundred years be as far advanced over what he is today as he is over




the circumstances that existed a hundredyears ago. We can reasonably anticípate

such adyancement provided man does nottum all his physical energies and all theconstructive abüity of the human braintowards those things that will cause hisdestruction, instead of insuring an environ-ment conducive to the functioning of lifeand growth.

It is in those functions lying outside ofman’s cióse relationship to the physical worldthat we find the capacity of the human brainmay be somewhat limited. The brain is, froma physiological standpoint, one of a numberof sensitive organs within the human body.It is a physical entity—its construction isin a sense similar to that of any other physical organ and its performance is parallel toother physical organs in that it serves adefinite purpose within the anatomical struc-ture of the human body.

There is a tendency to confuse the usesof mind and brain. The brain, as I havepointed out, is a physical organ. The mindis not a physical thing; in fact, its existenceis denied by empirical philosophers and byscientists who claim that their basis forvalidity of any truth or supposition must bebased upon the existence of physical factsto support that belief or proof. It has al-ways seemed more or less odd to me thatthe most material-minded individuáis whoclaim to have no belief whatsoever in any

function or existence of mind or any othernonmaterial thing will, nevertheless, reachconclusions in the processes of their ownthoughts which are in themselves nonmaterial and impossible to localize in directassociation or connection with any physicalor material thing.

We presume that the brain is associatedwith thinking because injury to the brain, orits being drugged so that it cannot function,also eliminates the ability to think and ourawareness of a conscious state of being.Nevertheless, it is the belief of some psychol-ogists, and such belief is supported by manyphilosophies and religions, that the brain is

only the médium through which the mindfunctions and that many functions of themind lie completely beyond the capacity ofthe brain to grasp, analyze, or even to indi-cate the methods or procedure by which certain types of thought take place.

There are many functions which the hu

man brain cannot explain. There have beenmany illustrations of events related to telepa-

thy, to the conceiving of future events, toprophecy, and to man’s relationship withforces which lie outside the material world.It would seem that such phenomena takeplace, not exclusively in the brain, but inwhat we cali the mind, that is, the awarenessof the individual of existence which may ormay not be directly related to the rest of hisphysical being.

The human brain has a great capacity, asI have already attempted to outline here, anddue to it man will continué to evolve, wehope, toward better living and better adapta-tion of himself to the circumstances of hisenvironment. But it should be understoodthat since the human brain is a physicalorgan, it is in a degree limited to the samerestrictions and limitations as is any physicalobject. So the human brain cannot withinself—that is, by its own processes—judge thecomplete activity of all its functionings andthe functionings that work through it. Thehuman brain cannot judge the mind ñor

judge the conclusions that are reached as aresult of thought within the mind, just aswe cannot overtake our own shadows. Inother words, the brain is not in a position to

judge what is of an entirely different naturefrom that which it constitutes.

For judgment to be exercised properly acertain amount of association and tolerance

must exist. We cannot always judge the ac-tion of another person unless we place ourselves, as nearly as possible, in that person’senvironment. Unless we know that person’sthought, his background, his problems, weare unable to reach honest judgment. Nei-ther can the objective thoughts that passthrough the brain purely upon a day-to-dayphysical level be the basis upon which judgment shall be made of our relationship to aSupreme Being or to the nature of the soulor to the conditions that may be existent inthat phase we describe as immortality.

Everything in the universe has its placeand its function. Whether or not man ac-

cepts the belief in a divine purpose in crea-tion and a divine end for that creation,material science itself has proved time andtime again that every part of the whole seemsto fit in the manifestation of the whole, andso it is that the brain has a very definitefunction. Without it, we would not live as




personal interests above the aim of societywhich is the welfare of all people. The thief

steals because what he acquires is to hispersonal benefit. To do so is, psychologically,wholly right from a personal point of viewbecause it is to his personal, but limited,advantage. To the individual, then, he hascommitted no personal crime, even thoughhe may be quite aware that society con-siders it as such. He has, in his own think-ing, only violated what others want him todo or not do and which they have declaredto be law.

It is obvious that each individual will tryto advance his own interests, exercise hisown powers to the fullest for his own gain.If all persons were permitted to do so, society

would be nonexistent. What the criminaldoes not realize is that a just society pro-tects him in more ways than it restricts him.

Revolutions and anarchy have occurredwhen society enacts and enforces laws whichtoo greatly restrict the liberty and powersof the individual and tend to enslave him.In other words, society then no longer functions for the welfare of the individual butfor his exploitation. Under such conditions,the intelligent citizen considers that his inalienable right as a human being has beeninfringed upon. His rebellion, in the technical sense, is a crime because he has violated the laws of organized society. He, however, is not a real anti-social but rather onedesirous of reforming society.

In so-called democratic society, the peopleextend the power to it to legislate laws fortheir own self-goverament. The law makershave full power to enact any laws govemingthe conduct of the people that will notabridge the rights of the citizens which, under that government, they have reserved forthemselves. Consequently, a person observing such laws of society, of the state, is never acriminal, no matter what his conduct maybe like. A person, for example, may be ex-ceedingly unethical and unfair in his rela-tion with others. He may lie, he may usevile profanity, he may lead a dissolute life

but, if he is living within the palé of thelaw, he is not a criminal in the legal senseof the word.

There are, of course, other mandateswhich men recognize in addition to the lawsof society. There are Cosmic laws and thoseof nature, the moral laws or codes and social

customs, as good manners and the like. Onecan be a criminal in the sense that he vio-

lates these things. There are, for furtherexample, the laws of health. These may berecognized in dietary provisions, in the lawsof physiology and related sciences concem-ing man’s physical well-being. If one abusesthe body through wrong eating and danger-ous habits of living, use of narcotics, exces-sive drinking of alcoholic beverages andsmoking, he becomes a criminal against nature. Some societies do not incorpóratesuch health laws into legal statutes unless,in their opinion, the welfare of the wholepeople is concemed.

The wrongful use of narcotics is an example of where the violation of the personal

health of the individual is made a legalcrime as well. The reasons for this are obvious. The prohibition of the sale of liquorhas been and is made by some govemmentsa law. The same premise applies to alcoholicbeverages being injurious to the health ofthe citizenry. Public opposition has frequently repealed such a law, the conflict beingwhether such drinking was but a personal crime in a strictly moral or religious senseor whether it was actually a detriment tosociety generally.

If alcohol taken as a beverage even in amoderate form would be injurious to society,then logically its prohibition by societywould be unquestioned by intelligent, justpersons. Medical authorities and others,however, aside from the moral point of view,have contended that moderation in suchdrinking is not injurious. Thus arises theconflict about such laws.

The individual, then, may commit manyabuses of nature, even of Cosmic principies,for which he has no responsibility to society—only to the Cosmic and his own conscience.Society is reluctant to interfere, unless thereis a consensus of opinion that such behavioris detrimental to the people colleGtively. Ifthis attitude is not taken, then we have atyrannical society. For example, in some na-

tions today there is a prohibition of certainactivities of all other religions except thatof Román Catholicism. For other sects to dowhat is banned by those govemments is il-legal according to their laws. In such wehave an example of the arbitrary infringe-ment of the inalienable rights of the indi



JUNE, 1958 Page I39

vidual by govemments with a pervertedpurpose.

An individual should be permitted to wor-ship his god as he conceives him in the lightof his own conscience, so long as he doesnot interfere with the right of others to doso as well. If his personal conception andpractice is Cosmically wrong, his then is apersonal Cosmic crime, and only such.—X

Is Speed of Light Ultímate?

A frater now brings to our Forum aninteresting subject. “According to Einstein’stheory of Relativity, an object of any masscannot exceed or approach the speed of light.This theory does not seem to tie in with

the theory of the expanding universe, inwhich matter is said to bé accelerating awayat an ever-increasing speed, as shown by thered shift.”

We have briefly in our Forum in the pasttouched upon the theory of the expandinguniverse. It will be necessary to do so againin connection with the subject introducedby our frater. Astronomical observations re-veal that remóte stars and nebulae have theappearance of rushing away from «the earthand from each other at terrific speeds. Thesespeeds are calculated to range up to 7200miles per second! It is estimated that thesereceding masses are traveling at speeds, generally speaking, which are in proportion totheir distance from us. The greater the dis-tance, the greater the acceleration. For example, a nébula that is at a distance of 10million light years from earth will, accord-ing to the calculations, have attained a speedof 900 miles per second.

In tracing backward the course of thenebulae speeding away from us, it would ap-pear that at one time they all congregatedin the immediate región of our sun. At thedistance at which such are now estimatedto be and their assumed speed, it is only “afew thousand million years ago” when theywere neighbors of the sun. If .this theory beright, then we are “living in an expanding

universe.” Further, this expansión began inthe relatively recent astronomical time of afew thousand million years ago.

The speeds assigned to these recedingCosmic bodies, nebulae, are not absolute.They cannot be directly measured. Thespeeds are deduced by what is known as the

Doppler principie, or more popularly, thered shift. For example, the sound of a whistle

of a railway locomotive that is going awayfrom us is deeper in pitch. As a locomotiveapproaches us, the pitch rises. Accordingto the Doppler principie, as a locomotiveapproaches, the waves of sound crowd inupon each other. In other words, the earhears more waves per second. This increasesthe pitch of .the sound. As the locomotivespeeds away, the ear hears fewer waves persecond and the pitch is lower. The sameprincipie is applied to light emitted by areceding body. The light is reddened by therecession of the nébula. The more distant,the redder is the color of the light emitted.

This determination is accomplished by an

examination of the spectral lines of the receding body. This means observing at whatend of the spectrum of light the waves ofthe particular body fall. When the nebulaeare receding from earth, the waves of lightare apparently spread farther apart. Theirlengths are greater; “the dark lines are displaced toward the red end of the spectrum.”It is from this action that the term red shift originates. The study of .these spectral linesdetermines also the speed of the object.

However, there are nebulae that are redder than they should be for their apparentdistance. There are also other factors whichcause redness of celestial bodies and, therefore, cause some doubt to be cast upon theapplication of the Doppler principie to remote nebulae. “Some stars have a lightwhich reddens in a mysterious way.” Anoted astrophysicist, De Sitter, postulates atheory of the nature of the universe. Inthis he contends that distance alone produces the reddening of light; that is, it is notdue to the receding of a mass. Still anotherphysicist contends that the gravitational pulíof nebulae and stars on light passing nearcauses defleotion and the reddening in color.

Dr. Arthur Compton, a noted authoiity oncosmic rays, has shown that radiation is de-flected and reddened when it encounterselectrons in space. Further, when radiationin space interacts with stars and other matter, it is duplicated and reddened. Anotherpuzzling observation in connection with thetheory of the expanding universe is the example of our nearest nébula. The nearestnébula is growing bluer. Light is only madebluer by an actual physical approach. This




would mean that the nearest nébula is approaching rather than receding.

What causes this expansión of the Universe? This theory is greatly dependentupon Einstein’s postulations which we willnot consider further at this time. However,at incredible distances in space, “masses appear to exert a repulsive forcé even greaterthan the attractive forcé of gravitation.”There is therefore the hypothesis that atsome remóte time the older nebulae, thosethat have been receding longer, will beblocked by the compression of their ownradiation. In other words, it is contendedthat these masses move rapidly throughspace emittíng the greatest radiation of en-ergy ahead of them. This radiation will thenbecome so compressed as to cause thesebodies to be retarded and to eventually cometo a relative rest.

Light is the greatest speed of which manhas knowledge. It is estimated to travel at186,000 miles per second! It is a vital factorin the determination of space-time relaüon-ships. Objects moving at varying speedschange their mass and their dimensión, according to the theory of Einstein’s Relativity.This concept has subsequently been provedin various simple ways. Th e measured lengthof a yardstick becomes shorter, if it be givena velocity in a direction along the line ofits length. Simply put, if a yardstick ismoved rapidly enough along the plañe or

direction of its length, it will shorten in pro-portion to the velocity.

This shortening effect only becomes ap-preciable when the velocity approaches thespeed of light. For example, at only 30 milesper hour velocity of an object, the amountof apparent shortening is 1 ten-million-mil-lionths of 1 percent. But at a speed of halfthat of light, or 93,000 miles per second,the apparent shortening of an object is 13.5percent. At 186,000 miles per second, thespeed of light, there is a 100 percent short-ening! This means that at the speed of lightthe mass becomes infinite; it has no natureto us. Its length contracts to zero.

Further, the clock stands still at the speedof light. Our time is measured in the frameof the passing of light from apparently moving cosmic bodies. If a mass attains thespeed of light, then there is no passing oftime. There is no relative frame for con-trast. In other words, we have no reference-

body for the telling of time. As Einsteinhas said, “Every reference-body has its own

particular time; unless we are told the reference-body to which the statement of timerefers, there is no meaning in a statementof the time of an event.”

Walter Kaufman, noted Germán physicistin the early part of the century, found thatthe mass of an electrón could be changed ifits velocity were sufficiently increased. Butthe ratio of the apparent mass when movingto the stationary mass depends upon “thevelocity of the electrón and that of light.”The velocity of .the light acted as limiting valué.

It is generally held in the realm of physicstoday that a “speed exceeding that of light

is physically impossible.” The masses thatwe perceive as matter have a radiation velocity lower than that of light. They be-come a reference-body to light. “At a velocity of the speed of light, the measured lengthof an object would become zero and its massinfinite—both inconceivably impossible.” Infact, the highest velocity with which a material particle of any mass has been foundto travel is a beta particle from radium C.This velocity is equal to 98/100 of that oflight or 182,800 miles per second.

Therefore, the receding bodies of ouruniverse—if they are increasing their velocity—will never attain the speed of light as

we know it. If they would, they would nolonger have any identifiable form; theywould become light itself and infinite.

For further reference to the various theo-ries, postulations, and findings concemingthis interesting subject, I give the followingfew reference works as a bibliography:

Earth9 Moon, and Planets,by Whipple

Nature of the Physical World ,by Eddington

Mysterious Universe, by JeansSpace, Time, and Relativity,

by Sheldon

It is quite possible that some or all ofthese books may be found in your publiclibrary. There are, of course, numerousother technical works touching upon or going into the subject more extensively.—X



JUNE, 1957 PAGE 141

INDEX OF VOLUME XXVII (Comprísing the entire Six Issues of the 27th Year)

NOTE—The small letters after the page numbers refer to position on page: a, upper half of first column; b, lower half of first column; c, upper half of second column; d, lower half of second column. Titles of articles are italicized.

AAbbots, Preceptors, 71a-dAbsolute, 103b-105a, 134d

Adh esión , Cohesion, Magnetism, 116a-117cAdversity, 19b-21aAgatharchides, 108d-109b

A Glance at Fundamen táis , 83d-87aAhriman, 94b-cAkhnaton, 60cAlchemists, Rosicrucian:

Ashmole, 112c Boyle, Robert, 112c Dee, John, 112c Fludd, Robert, 112c Locke, John, 112c Maier, Michael, 112c Newton, Isaac, 112c Paracelsus, 112c

Wren, Christopher, 112c Alchemy, 108b-112c Alexander, Dr. Rolf, 40d-42d Alphabet, Hebrew Cabalistic, 40b AMORC:

Aim of, 15a, 68c-d Contributions to, 69a Hierarchy, 75d Sixth Degree, 20d, 85d Spanish-American Section, 43c Tradition, 127d

Ampere, Andre Marie, 117a Andrea, Raymund, 79c

Anim áis? Should We Risk Lif e For , 66d-68a Anthropomorphic Experiences, 30d, Illa Appeal, 60a (See also: Prayer) Appear ances, Outward, 82b-83c Apply ing the Laws, 107b-107d A Pra ctical Emot ion, Lo ve, 90c-92a

Appro ach to Health, Rosicrucian, 20c-22c Aptitude, 4d-5a (See also: Talent)Archives, 70d-71d Are Persons Possessed of Evil? 94b-95d Ar e Sins Fo r given? 124a-125a Ar e Th ere Soul Mates? 92a-94b Aristotle, 51c, 110c Aspirations, 15aAstronomic, Life of our Sun, 63b Attunement, 76b-77a, 85c Aura, lOOd-lOlb, 117b-c, 137d-138a

BBabylonians, 30bBeauty, 135b-136bBeing, 50a, 90d-92aBelief, Immortality and, 130b-132aBible, 26d, 27a, 29a, 34b, 98aBlack Stone, 100cBlackwell, H. C., 66cBody, Psychic, 138c-dBooklets:

The Eternal Quest, 46a, 69b Mastery of Life, 46a, 69b The Listener, 53a-b

Book of Genesis, 98a Books:

Behold the Sign, 40c Primitive Culture, 135d Rosicrucian Manual, 40c, 117b The Golden Bough, 135d

“Unto Thee I Grant,” 71c, 129d Brahma, 22d Brahmanism, 34b Brotherhood, 67c Buddha, 16b, 95d Buddhism, 70d Buddhist, 16b

cCan Opposed Religions Coexist? 15a-16d Cathedral, Contacting the, 107d-108a Cathedral of the Soul, 107d-108a Catholic (See: Román Catholic)Causation, 124a Cause:

Adversity, 19d-20c

Cosmic, 65d Dreams, 57a-58b Illness, 138b-139c Karmic, 123b-125a Pain, 22bSomatic Sensations, 61a-b Vibratory Rate, 47a

Ceremony, Rosicrucian Initiation, 5d-6a Character, 19b-20b Christ, 125a Christian:

Bible, 26d, 27a, 29a, 34b, 98a Clergyman, 16b Sects, 22d, 60d Sin, 124b

Christianity, 60d, 94c, 98a, 100b, 112a Churchill, Sir Winston, 10b Clement of Alexandria, 109d Coconscious Mind (see Mind)Code of Ethics, Rosicrucian, 21b Cohesion, Magnetism, Adhesión, 116a-117c

Compassion, 67b-68a Compensation, Law of, 123a Concentration, Power of, 41a-42d Conceptualist, 123b-d Confidence, 27d-28a Conscious Mind (see Mind)Consciousness, 2a-4a, 31a-32b, 76c, 88a-89a, 98d-99b,

125b-126b Conservation of Matter, Law of, 9a Contacting the Cathedral, 107d-108a Continuity of Life, 131a-b Convention, Rosicrucian, 119b Corpuscular Theory, 137c Cosmic: 18d-20c

Attunement, 2c-4bConsciousness, 3d, 7c-d, 32a-b, 55b-56c Forcé, 19b-c, 29b-c, 31c, 40c-42d, 134d Laws, 44b, 50c, 65c-66a, 71c, 90c, 95d, 99a, 118d,

124dMind, 47a, 118c, 132b Obligation, 90c

Principies, 64b-66a, 124c-125a Realm 119a-d Scheme, 70b, 128a Sin, 52a-b

Cosmic Theft, 89b-90c Cosmic Versus Human Laws, The, 50a-52b Creative Forcé, lld-13d Creeds, Religious, 124b Cross, 39d-40bCycle, Incarnation, 118a-119d




DDamocles, 54aDays of Rest (see Sabbath)De Oliveira Paulo, José, 3d De Sitter, Willem, 139d Debussy, Claude, 46c Decalogue (see Commandments, Ten) Defense Against Catholicism, 62b-63b Deity (see God)Delusion of Black Magic, 103a-105aDemonstrating the Principies, 41d-42aDesires, 26a-28aDestiny is Near, Our, 77d-79cDi Castellammare, Giuseppe Cassara, 3dDictatorship, 126d-127a _ Disassociation (see Hypnosis)Diseases, occurrence, 78c Dissatisfaction , 31b-32a Divine: 59a

Being, 57d Forgiveness, 30c Goodness, 58d Guidance, 62c Light, 89d Mind, 8a Do We Evolve? 87c-89b

Do You Want Help? 80c-82c Does Reading Relax? 114a-115c Does the Soul Enter at Birth? 55d-56c Does the Universe Expand? 54b-55c Donations Are Used, How, 127d-130a Doppler’s principie, 55a, 139c-d Dreams, 101c-102a Duality, 15d-17b, 66a

EEddington, Sir Arthur Stanley, 52a, 140d Education, 2b, 52d Egypt, ancient, 112a-c Einstein, Albert, 52a, 116c, 139a, 140a Emotion, 21b-c, 134c-135a Environment, Time and, 21d-23d Epicureans, 43b Epicurus, 58b-c

Escapists, 54a Eschatology, 35c, 36a Eugenics, 98a Evil, definition, 58c-d Evil, Human Freedom and, 57d-62b Evolution: 16d-17b, 87c-89b

Mystical, 89b-90d Evolution of God, The, 44d-46c Evolve? Do We, 87c-89b Exemption from Responsibility, 32c-33d Exercises:

Eye, 5d Projection, 39c Rosicrucian, 39d-40b Visualization, 105b-c

Expanding Universe, Theory of, 54b-55c, 139a Experiment, definition, 39b Experiments, How to Conduct, 39a-40c Explanations, Importance of, 56c-57d Eye: 44b-c, 122b

Exercise, 5d

Ezekiel, 95bF

Fatalism, 8c-10a Farran, Ruth, 65a-66a

Photograph, 49 Fear, Why People, 79c-80c Films, 2d, 129cFinding the Answer, llOa-llld Fludd, Robert, 47b

Forbes, B.C., 135b-c Forces:

Control of natural, 125a-127d

Cosmic, 13c, 105c Superphysical, 83c Universal, 38b

Franklin, .Benjamin, 46c Freud, Sigmund, 117c Frustration, The Age of, 26a-28a

GGenesis, 29d, 30a Germany, 3d, 113dGod, 13b, 17d-19d, 28d, 30c-31a, 33d, 35c, 38a, 44d-

46c, 52d, 57c, 58c-62b, 100a, 125b, 126a God, The Evolution of, 44d-46c Goethe, Johann Wolfgang, 87d Goodness:

Definition, 137d Divine, 58d Valué, 59d-60b

Graphology, 117b-118d Greece, ancient, 112c-113c Guesdon, Jeanne, 41b-c

HHandwriting Analysis, 117b-118d Happiness, 32b-c H-bomb, 124a Healing:

Absent, 68b-69c Spiritual, 38a

Hebrews, 93d-95d Help? Do You Want, 80c-82c Hetaerae, 113a Hinduism, 87bHow Donations Are Used, 127d-130a How to Conduct Experiments, 39a-40c Human Freedom and Evil, 57d-62b Hypnosis, 42c, 77b, 132a-b

II? What Am, 38a-39a Idealism, 35c Immortality, 37b

Immunity, Psychic, 130d-132d Importance of Explanations, 56c-57d India, 92d-93d, 112c Insemination, Artificial, 98a-100a Interlude, conscious, 38c Intolerance, 91b Intuition: 78d, 11 Id

Processes, 70a-d Intuition Always Helpful? Is, 69d-71d Is Intuition Always Helpful? 69d-71d Is Morality Declining? 52b 54b Is Speed of Light Ultímate? 139a-140d Italy, 3d, 113d

. J Jainism, 67b Jeans, Sir James, 52a, 55a, 140d Jefferson, Thomas, 46d Jesús, 88d, 89d, 119b Joad, C. M. E., 18c Joan of Are, 69d, 71c

Jung, Cari Gustav, 117cK

Kant, Immanuel, 45b Karma, 36c, 85a Kaufman, Walter, 140c Kingsley, Charles, 37c Knowledge, intuitive, 70d Koran, 42a Kowron, Stefan, 130b



JUNE, 1958 Page 143

LLack, Attracting What We, 107a-108d Laws:

Cosmic, 30d, 108c, 125c Mosaic, lia Self-evident, 39d

Lesbos, Island of, 113bLewis, H. Spencer, 42c, 81a, 104b-105a, 107a, 118d Lewis, Ralph M., 3d, 28a, 41c, 52b, 65c, 75d, 100a,

123d Life, 17a, 109b

Natural creation, 99b Vital Life Forcé, 109b

Light, speed, 140aLight Ultímate? Is Speed of, 139a-140d Lives Decreed? Are Our, 8c-10a London Conclave, 2d Lyons, Alice, 103a Lyons, Theodore H., 102b-103a,

Photograph, 97

MMagi, Ancient Order, 63c

Magic, 82c-85bMagic, definition, 83c Magic, Delusion of Black, 103a-105 a Marriage and Mem bers hip , 90d-92cMass, ceremony, 84a

Masters, Cosmic, 6b-8bMaterialism, 125b, 134b

Ma tter Anim ate? Wh at Mak es, 108d-110a Mea ning of Tol erance, Th e, 20a-21d Members? We re Th ey , 46c-47d Mem bersh ip, Ma rriage and, 90d-92cMessiah (see Jesús)Metaphysics, 34d-35b, 52d Mind: 33d-38a, 136a-b

Cosmic, 12a-13a, 44d Divine, 8a, 125c Peace, 28d Universal, 46a-b, 89c

Mind, and Soul, Body , 33d-38a Miracles, 90b, 131a-b Mission, Sri Ramakrishna, 93b Mohammed, 88d Monotheism, 45d

Mo ral ity Decl ining? Is, 52b-54b Moses, 88d, 89d Moslems, 93d, 95d Mt. Wilson Observatory, 54c Moura, María, 3d Mueller, Wilhelm Friedrich, 3d Mujaji III, Hain Queen, 112b Murphy, Dr. Gardner, 65d Museum, British, 95a Museum, Roerich, 65c

NNature, definition, 125d Nature? Will Man Control, 125a-127d Neanderthal Man, 88a Nebulae, 54c-55c, 139a-140d Nervous system, sympathetic, 5a Newton, Isaac, 46cNirvana and Cosmic Attunement, 66a-68a

Nonconformist (see Radical)Norris, William, 130c Nous, 56a, 109a-c Nuclear Tests, 123d-124d

oObject, The Subject and the, 15d-17b Objectors, Conscientious, 118d-119d Observation, 106c

Our Destiny is Near , 77d-79c Our Personal Crimes, 137b-139a Overpopulation, 11c

PParapsychology, 131c-d Parinirvana, 66d-67d Patell, Dhanjishaw D., 92c-93d

Photograph, 73 Peoples:

Ancient, 112a-113d Primitive, 98b, 103d, 112a-b, 131b-c

Pericles, 113a Personality:

Facets, 75b-c Seat, 37aSoul, 56a, 59a-b, 62b, 63d Standards, 74a-b

Personality, This Issue's, 4a-c, 40d-41d, 65a-66a, 92c- 93d, 102b-103a, 130a-d

Phenomena:Cosmic, 38b, 45a Objective, 34d Psychic, 42d

Philosophers? Were There Women, 112a-114a Philosophy, original meaning, 35b Photographs:

Bernard, Raymond, October 1957 Brettoner, Barrie, June 1958 Farran, Ruth, December 1957 Lyons, Theodore L., April 1958 Patell, Dhanjishaw, February 1958 Souza, Ted, August 1957

Planets, Attunement with the, 13d-15d Plato, 37a, 50c, 60b, 87d, 88d, 113a Polytheism, 45d Prayer, 84d-85a Press:

American, 54a European, 54a

Principies, Demonstrating the, 41d-42a Prognostication, rites, 103d-104b Projection, 42d Pronaos, ,Bombay, 93c Psychic:

Body, 76b-c Centers, 5a Definitions, 131c-132a Impulses, 4d-6b Phenomena, 43d Self, 8a, 70cSight, development, 5c~6a

Psychic Immunity, 130d-132d Psychic Sight, 4c-6b Psychic States? What Are, 75d-77c Psychoanalysis, 28b Pythagoras, 88d

QQualities, Adm irable Hum an, 74a-75d

RRadhakrishnan, 67d Radical, definition, 50b Rain making, 126b-c

Reading Relax? Does, 114a-ll5c Reading, Televisión Versus, 115d-117b Realms of Being, 17b-19d Reconstruction of Society , 50a-52b Records, The Akashic, lld-13d Relativity, Theory of, 139a, 140a Religión: 35c, 51a-c, 94c, 125b-d

Zoroastrian, 92d Renaissance, 113dRendering Cosmic Assistance, 68b-69d



August, 1958Volume XXIX No. 1


CLIFFORD C. A BR AH AM S, F. R. C.

Grand Councilor of AMORC for the Caribbean Area



AUGUST, 1958 Page 3

and compelling the adjustment. The adjust-ment is a function resorted to in place ofcertain otherwise aggressive behavior whichsociety would condemn. Instead of plowingdown the middle of the field like an infuri-ated bull with head lowered and destroyingeverything in one’s way, the individualweaves, tums and alters, his course as maybe necessary. He eventually attains the sameobjective, perhaps a little later, but withoutincurring .the wrath of society.

A straight line is not always the bestcourse between two points in life. The un-thinking person experiences a desire andthen looks about for that which will repre-sent its satisfaction. He next drives in thedirection of that end. He struggles with andpushes against all obstacles and conditions

that seem to impede him. In fact, opposi-tion and frustrations in getting to an objective excite the desire and heighten the aggressive spirit. Psychologically, this is a veryimportant and necessary factor of our being.If opposition were to dampen or diminish ourdesires, we would never achieve. Under suchcircumstances man, if he survived at all,would perhaps still be living an arborealexistence.

Adjustment does not lessen the aggressivespirit. Rather, i t evaluates the approach toan objective. Instead of just looking aheadto the goal, adjustment causes one to con-sider the circumstances and conditions thatlie between it, the individual, and the present moment. It causes the individual to buildand create ways to bring about the climaxprogressively by negotiation and compro-mise at times.

One is reminded of the psychological testsconducted with a chimpanzee, where a banana was suspended over .the primate’s head.The fruit was so placed that the chimpanzeecould not reach it by stretching for it. Inthe same room in one córner were twowooden boxes which the chimpanzee ignored.The primate leaped, time after time, for thebanana and could not reach it. Its blind

aggressiveness drove it to what seemed theshortest course, that is, jumping up fromwhere it stood. Finally, the chimpanzee became tired. The futile effort, however, hadnot diminished the natural desire for .thefruit. Adjustment then entered in. The primate looked at the boxes in the córner ofits cage upon which it had often climbed inplay. It walked over to one box and draggedit beneath the banana and climbed on it.The box was not high enough for the bananato be reached. After some surmising andexperimentation, the primate placed thesecond box on top of the first and thenclimbed on the stack and obtained the fruit.

The error often made by society today isthe imposing of too great a restriction uponthe individual. The aggressive spirit cannot

be completely immured or extirpated. Itmust at least be allowed adjustment. If not,it will throw off all inhibitions and resortto primitive savage behavior, resulting inbrutality. Before we condemn the aggressiveattitude of certain nations in our time inoverthrowing their own govemments anduniting themselves into a federation of stateswhich seem hostile to the rest of the world,let us consider the impositions which mayhave been put upon them, as history oftenreveáis. How have they been exploited bythe more powerful nations? Have their peo-ple’s personal ambitions been curtailed inpast decades or centuries to a point wherethe achievement of a better standard of living may not have been possible? Have theirresources been utilized by other nations tolittle advantage to themselves?

It is true that some such small nationsmay be the naive tools of systems of ideologywhich wish to exploit them and are purpose-ly inciting them. However, if they previouslyhad been given co-operation for intemal ad

justment by the sovereign states that nowcali them aggressive , the present trend ofevents would probably never have occurred.

Fratemally,RALPH M. LEWIS, Imperator.

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San José, California,under Section 1103 of the U. S. Postal Act of Oct. 3, 191 7.


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It often takes time and maturity of mindbefore one’s restlessness of spirit can beproperly and personally interpreted. Beforethe arrival at that point of self-analysis, itmay seem to one that quietude can only beattained by physical reorientation, that is,travelling from one place to another. Simul-taneously, one may indulge in a series ofdiverse interests hoping to find in them thesatisfaction that will bring to rest .the innerturbulence.

Frater Clifford C. Abrahams of Port-au-Prince, Haití, was one who sought desperate-ly to find himself. This restlessness of spiritbegan with Frater Abrahams at an earlyage. He was bom at St. Andrews, Jamaica,

British West Indies, September 6,1909. Aftercompleting his early schooling there, he tookspecial courses in business and accounting.When he was but seventeen years of age, heleft his native land and decided to establishhimself in Port-au-Prince, Haití. There wasthe belief that probably this physical change,this new environment, would bring himsomething, he did not know just what, thatwould give to life what he vaguely soughtfrom it.

Although Frater Abrahams had been bomin the Episcopalian faith, his restlessness ofspirit caused a mental search for satisfyingtruth. At sixteen years of age, he affiliated

with the Román Catholic Church, .thoughstíü sincerely searching. Frater Abrahamswas destined to make Haití his home. As ayoung man, he worked with several business concems in various capacities—cashier,salesman, and chief clerk. In the meantimehe devoted himself to the study of law andfinally became an attomey.

In 1950 Frater Abrahams ventured to establish his own Wholesale and commissionfirm, dealing in pharmaceutical and medicalproducís from well-known American andEuropean manufacturers. Evident success inbusiness still left an emotional and intellectual void which the frater tried to fill withprolific reading of works on mysticism, phi-losophy, and historical subjects. Religiousdogmatic creeds and tenets provided no last-ing satisfaction.

One day a member-friend loaned him theRosicrucian Digest. This became the “opensesame.” There was immediate response on

Frater Abrahams’ part to its contents. It ledhim to the portáis of the Rosicrucian Order,AMORC, and he crossed its threshold in1941. Since then Frater Abrahams has beenan ardent student of the Rosicrucian teachings. He says: . . from which I acquiredsatisfying answers to the buming questionsof Whence? Whither? and Why? Most ofall, I know an inner peace that I have neverpreviously experienced.”

Frater Abrahams, having found his mis-sion, actively participated in Rosicrucianfunctions in Port-au-Prince. He was one ofthe organizers of the Martínez de PasquallyLodge of AMORC in his city. He served asits Secretary for the years 1954-55. Hefinally became Master of this Rosicrucianbody in 1957. He has twice visited Rosicru

cian Park in San José, and studied for oneterm at the Rose-Croix University. In 1957he was duly appointed, by the Grand Master, to the honorable and important positionof Grand Councilor of AMORC for the Car-ibbean area.

Frater Abrahams is married and has fivechildren. His oldest son, he proudly pro-claims, is the present Treasurer of the Martínez de Pasqually Lodge of the Order. Hisyoungest daughter is now a Colombe.

Frater Clifford Abrahams has allowed theactivities of the Rosicrucian Order to deeplypenetrate his life and has found the experience a fruitful and beneficial one.—X

The Psychic World

Only two of our peripheral senses have aquality in common. Both sight and touch provide sensations that give rise to the ideas of

form and dimensión. As for the other senses,each is a world of its own. Certainly the mental images established by smell have no corre-spondence in ideas to those of sound. If, forexample, one person can hear but not smelland another person can smell but not hear,it would be extremely difficult for them tocommunicate about the experiences of thesetwo respective senses. Yet both types ofsensations are of the objective consciousness.

The psychic realm constitutes octaves orlevels of the same stream of consciousness towhich our peripheral or receptor senses re-spond. The psychic is that aspect of consciousness which responds to or is attunedto variations of vibratory energy of a higher



AUGUST, 1958 Page 5

frequency than that of the physical senses.The psychic consciousness is no more dis-

associated from what is termed the consciousness of the objective and subjective mindthan are hearing and smell unrelated to theobjective mind, just because they are different in function. The functions of the or-gans of hearing and smell are dissimilar.They give rise to unlike sensations but suchsensations occur in the same stream of consciousness. The psychic has its particularorgans, its glands, centers, and nervous system. The sensations which they produce areunlike those produced by our receptor sensesbut they have their seat in the same singlestream of consciousness.

We may use the analogy of light for better understanding of this point. Infraredlight is of such wave bands, rate of vibrations, that it is not discemible by the nakedeye. Nevertheless, it is of the energy ofwhich light consists. It is characteristic ofthe human mind to conceive as separate allphenomena whose impressions appear as dis-tinct to it. We often fail to realize that theremay be a continuity of the nature or substance of something, even though its function is different. It is only in recent years,for further example, that Einstein has established the fact that mass and energy are buttwo different aspects of the same fundamental quality. For example, the mass ormatter could be called the objective; and

energy, because its manifestation is quitedifferent, could be called the psychic.The word ps ychic is but a designation of

a different manifestation of a Cosmic energyin our united stream of consciousness. It iserroneous to think of psychic as being divineand spiritual in contrast to the experiencesof the objective and subjective. The psychicis more infinite in its extent than are theimpulses received through the receptorsenses, but the psychic is part of the Cosmickeyboard of universal energy in which theworld of reality or .the material world par-ticipates. All vibratory responses to whichthe human organism responds are basically

of Cosmic or divine origin.A psychic experience is one whose phenomenon is related to the higher levels ofconsciousness. It is subliminal, that is, it liesbeyond or behind those levels of consciousness that respond to the physical world only.The psychic experience stems from our at

tunement with impulses which are not limited to the finite range of sight, hearing, and

so forth. It would appear that such categoriesas time and space, to which our sense experiences are bound, do not apply to thepsychic experience.

From a psychological point of view, evena dream can be said to be of a psychic nature. In other words, psychologically, it ispsychic because it is an involuntary mentalfunction, one lying beyond our objectivefaculties. On the other hand, from the mystical point of view, dreams are not considereda psychic experience. They are thought ofas being a mechanistic process of that lowerlevel of consciousness of the so-called subjective mind.

To the mystic and metaphysician, thepsychic experience drives its impulse, itsstimulus, from a higher order of phenomena.The psychic experience may originate as atransmission from other minds; thus it wouldbe telepa.thic. However, it may also comefrom an ecstatic attunement with Cosmicforces and intelligence which He outside theindividual organic being. Succinctly put,one may have a momentary realization ofthe Absolute, renowned as Cosmic consciousness. The Christian would refer to the sameexperience as a revelation of an experienceof the Christ consciousness.

To realize personally that one has had apsychic experience or has made conscious

contact, the phenomenon has to be trans-lated into terms of our sense qualities andassociated ideas. We are only capable ofthinking of ideas with which we are familiar.Ideas are the bricks that compose the structure of our thought. If one were to discardall the ideas and the sense qualities in whichthey are framed, such as colors, forms, di-mensions, and so forth, his consciousnesswould be a void.

Whenever we have a sensation it becomesrelated .to some notion that gives it identityto us. For example, there are epicritic sensations, a type of cutaneous reception per-mitting discrimination between small degrees

of sensation, as of heat, coid, and pain. Opposed to these are the protopathic sensationscapable of only gross sensory discrimination.There also are somaesthetic sensations; theseare realized as a feeling of our own skin.The psychic experiences are translated intovariations of these kinds of sensations as well



AUGUST, 1958 Page 7

nized for its particular quality. Its positivestate is then the complete representation of

all of those elements that compose this quality. It is the absolute assertion of that whichis necessary .to its nature. We say, for example, that something is positive ly alive. Itmanifests those qualities basically charac-teristic of life, such as irritation, assimila-tion, excretion, and reproduction.

To use an analogy which we have cited onprevious occasions, a liquid quart containeris positive in its state or condition when itbecomes filled. When it has any amountless than its potentiality, its capacity, it isnegative. The quart container is then notmanifesting its potentiality, its true nature.Positive, consequently, is the fullness of a

function or quality of something. Whensomething has no such fullness, it is negativebut only in relation to a standard of fullnesswhich has been established for it. A pintis a negative incomplete condition of a quart,but a pint in itself is positive because suchis the fullness or capacity of its own nature.

Positive has always been associated withaction. Therefore, that which is said to beinactive or inert is a relatively negative state.This definition, however, only applies wherethe essence or the quality of a thing is considered to be action. Obviously then, its op-posite must be inactive. On the other hand,let us use .the example of a building. Itsideal state is one of stability or inertness, so

its apparent motionlessness in such an example would be its positive condition. If,however, the building eventually reaches astate that its ordinary use produces tremorswithin it, it then would be said to be in anegative condition. From this we surmisethat positive and negative are really termswhose valúes are not innate but are relatedto human conceptions.

All thought is an active function. It re-quires cerebral energy, so consequently,thought is motion. However, because thoughtis active, we cannot say that it is alwayspos itive in its eff ec ts. Philosophically,thought may be said to be pos itive when

it moves the individual to action. Whenthought is causative, when it compels oneto objectify his ideas in action, it is positive.However, this does not take into consideraro n any moral or ethical valúes. In theindividual sense, a criminal planning a rob-bery, which he executes according to plan,

has been positive in his thinking. Militarystrategists who plan .the details of the war

which they eventually materialize havethought positively.When a group of individuáis even planned

to thwart or obstruct some function or ven-ture, and successfully achieved it, they havethought positively. They have caused, bytheir thoughts, conditions or things to comeinto existence. Let us say that two nationsengage in war and plan for the defeat ofeach other. Both are positive in their thinking to the extent that they cause acts tocorrespond or to participate in the thoughtswhich they have.

From the mystical and esoteric point ofview, a thought is positive not only when itis causative but when it contributes to acertain moral or ethical ideal as well. Itmust be in harmony with what is interpretedor accepted as being good. In this instance,the plans of a criminal or any group seekingto attack the accepted good would be negative. Such a negative is obviously relativeto that conceived to be good. There arereligious sects who consider the doctrines ofrivals as being negative—that is, negativein content to what they hold or believe tobe divinely right.

Psychologically, though all thought in itself is active and positive (because it isenergy), it may also be negative in its effect.Thus if one holds thoughts that inhibit or

arrest one’s actions necessary for well-being,his thoughts are negative. For further analogy, if one is ill and thinks he will not re-cover and consequently negates any treat-ment given him, his thoughts are negative—but they are only negative in their effect,not in thought itself.

It is not true that just positive thoughtalone is power. All thought is power! It isthe application of that power which we nor-mally cali pos itive or negative. Thought isnegative if it nullifies or prevenís the at-taining of what is conceived to be a desiredend.—X

Wh ich Philosophy Is True?

A frater now addresses our Forum. Heasks: “A question arises in my mind: Whyhave so many different philosophies, reli-gions, and varieties of religious experiencein the past claimed to have been originated




from a spiritual revelation basis? Why, also,should not all these various philosophies be

the same as the Rosicrucian philosophy?What part of these different philosophies canwe take as truth? How would we recognizétruth when we come face to face with it?”

Most philosophies do not claim a divinerevelation as their source unless they arefundamentally of a religious nature. By religious standards, some philosophies are evenproclaimed to be atheistic or heretical, soobviously they could not purport to be di-vinely inspired. Spinoza, actually a reli-giously intoxicated man, was execrated bythe rabbis of his own faith and by Christiansalike. Sócrates was condemned to death asalienating the thought of the youth from

the traditional religious beliefs.For a religión to have acceptance by themasses, it must be authoritative. Religión expounds a way by which man can conformto the will of a god. This means the acceptance of certain doctrines as well as theprescribing to a specific conduct. What givesa religious system or teaching its authority?One man is not accepted as a more spiritualor divine médium, than another unless somecondition is considered to have brought aboutsuch a transformation. Men prate that theyhave been in communication with the Divine,the Supreme Being; other men, however, arenot inclined to accept .their statements unless they are accompanied by some evidence

of a special gnosis or power. So-called mira-cles (the application of natural law in anexceptional or unique demonstration) haveseemed to substantiate religious founders’claims to a divine revelation. Usually, astuteknowledge alone is not sufficient. Manyphilosophers and astute thinkers have beenknown to the people and yet such are notaccepted, necessárily, as being messiahs orsacrosanct personages.

Fanatical zeal combined with an appeal-ing doctrine causing the individual to resistand survive opposition is often construed asbeing indicative of a divine power. Oncefaith in the authority of the religious founder

is established, there is little question in theminds of his followers conceming the teachings which he promulga tes. Each great religious founder did go through a mysticaland psychological experience in which hewas illumined by an influx of knowledgethat he considered a divine revelation. He

thought of himself as a channel for the lightwhich he had received.

At such a time the self-evident tmths, theconvincing conception which most often removed previous tortuous and confusedthoughts of long standing, brought about atransformation of the personality. The individual was then relieved of discursivethought; his whole concentration was nolonger toward an understanding of a previous problem of life but rather now to pro-claim its solution. It resulted in dynamic action. Enthusiastic conviction is contagiousnot only in the religious world but even inprofane circles. Those who associated withsuch zealots would be incited by their confidence and the evident power of their per-sonalities. They were thus convinced thatthe messiah, or founder, had tmly been in-fused with a divine power and irradiation.

All religious doctrines come to man direct-ly from men, and, indirectly, from theDivine source. In such instances, the tmthis had on faith, the implied authority ofthe words of the founder, or messiah. However, it is no longer faith but belief whenone meditates upon the teaching expoundedand comes personally to believe it in thelight of his own mind; the religious exponentthen has caused .the devotee to have a personal religious experience. The enlighten-ment and understanding are wholly the dev-otee’s own. Th ey have only been engen-

dered by another.In mysticism, the spiritual understanding

is an intímate one. The individual entersinto a state of consciousness where he experiences what he interprets as a unión withthe Absolute or God. The interpretation, theideation that flows through the consciousness as an after-effect of the experience hadduring that interval, is construed to be aCosmic or Divine infusión. The mystic seeksno intermediary, as priest or clergyman. Hefeels he is equally as capable as any othermortal of invoking divine unión—which isthe basis of mystical and religious experience.Once the experience is had it becomes its

own authority, held to be equivalent to thatof any other mortal who makes like claims.Now the question as to why all philoso

phies are not alike, or the same as theRosicmcian teachings. We must, if we areto understand the question clearly, considerthe assumption behind it: each philosophy



AUGUST, 1958 Page 9

emphasizes that its concepts are truth. Con-sequently, if what each expounds is truth,

how can they vary from one another if eachreceived its knowledge from an Absolutesource? In other words, why are they notin agreement?

Let us attempt an answer by asking thequestion: what is a philosophy? It is a sys-tem of beliefs which may or may not bedemonstrable and which constitute knowledge to the believer. A system of philosophybegins as an attempt to answer questionsabout nature, self, and man’s relationshipto the universe. It is thought that each philosophy will provide the thinker with a hap-py adjustment to life. Every philosophy isa practical one to the extent that it providesa satisfaction of a kind. If it does not do soit is soon discarded.

One of the principal inquines of mostphilosophies has been the nature of truth. Itis the very substance of philosophy. No matter how a philosophy may define truth, itstenets must be of such character as to provide a reliable dependence and to constitutea knowledge sought. A philosophy may con-tend, as did that of Plato, that .the basic ideasmen have in common, which are universal,such as the concepts of j usti.ee and beauty,are truth. Since aü men have these conceptsto some extent, they are said to be innate,implanted in them from a Divine source.Thus, they and other such universal ideas

are thought to be truth.Another philosophy may assert that truth

is whatever men come to accept as beingreal. Thus, truth becomes relevant to per-ception and understanding. If something hasan inexorable clarity to the mind, or a reality which is indisputable, it is held to betruth. Belief, then, can make its own truth.It has only to have convincing reality to themind and be irrevocable.

Many of .the doctrines deny absolute truths —that .there are unchanging elements andconditions existing beyond the human, whichin some manner or other man must endeavorto perceive and understand. According to

the Rosicrucian philosophy, there is reality,but it has no fixed nature unless we thinkof its etemal motion and consciousness assuch. Over the whole period of human ex-istence, the change of certain phenomena ofreality has been so relatively slow that ithas a persistence which men come to cali

law , and even to think of as absolute. Rosi-crucians postúlate that some such phe

nomena can be perceived objectively anddemonstrated, as in the realm of science.It now has that quality of reality which istruth. A hundred .thousand years henee—more or less—such phenomena may sochange that what was once conceived astruth would no longer be accepted as such.

In this respect, all philosophies whichplace any dependence on the human senseswill naturally agree on certain persistentexperiences as truth. However, with the Rosi-crucians and certain other philosophies,knowledge and truth must not be limitedto just that which falls into the realm ofempirical or objective experience. Abstrac-tions, contemplation about subjects whichcannot at the moment be substantiated ob jectively but which do provide a rationalexplanation, are also to be accepted as truth.However, they must not be refuted by anyempirical proof as, for example, the findingsof science. If they are, they must be rejectedas truth. To do otherwise would be to denyentirely the experience of the senses.

The fact that several philosophical systemsmay have abstract truths which they teachand which do not agree with each other,does not prove .that any one of them is neces-sarily wrong. As abstract truths, they areentirely relevant to the human understanding and are to be accepted unless the senses

can provide opposing evidence. Since thereare no fixed or absolute truths, all experience is relative to the evolving human understanding. One cogent system of philosophyis, therefore, as acceptable as another.

We must, however, reiterate that the factof their being just different ideas had by aschool or system of philosophy does not jus-■tify them to be claimed as abstract truths.They must not at the time be possible ofrefutation by fact, though, of course, theymay eventually become fact in their ownright.

For further explanation, let us say thatsystem A and system B are both expounding

abstract truth, but they are not in agreement. If subsequently A can substantiate,that is, demónstrate in a phenomenal way,its truth, and B cannot, then what A expounds must take preference over B. It is,then, a matter of the preponderance of evidence—reason supported by the senses.—X



AUGUST, 1958 Page 11

Rosicmcians do not accept this. Rather,they take an intermedíate position. They

speak of the Supreme Mind or Intelligenceor Cosmic as permeating each cell and it isthat intelligence which, working throughthe human brain and nervous systems, produces the ideation which we refer to as intuitive knowledge. The Rosicmcians say thatthis cell intelligence has a functional effectupon our reasoning, resulting in intuition.

It is not possible, in an objective way, toprove that each cell has infused within itan intelligence which originates in a universal mind. We can, however, in the scienceof biology, prove that a cell functions according to its specific order, a seeminglyinherent purpose which corresponds to in

telligent action.What do we mean by intelligence? Is itnot the ability of a living thing to (a ) adaptitself readily to new conditions that are toits advantage, and is it not also the abilityto (b) reason, to evalúate circumstances andto act according to such evaluation? If weagree to this, then intelligence is not a thingor a substance but rather a function. Wecan only, then, demónstrate intelligence,prove it a reality, by disceming certain behavior which we attribute to it. Its fundamental causes, however, may be quite concrete. If we perceive in the universe, thatportion of it which man can discern, thatphenomenon that seems to parallel the qualities of intelligence which we ourselves exhibit, then we have the right to deduce thatthere is a universal intelligence.

Science resorts to the deductive methodalso. It has its abstractions and its theories.It does not consider them equal to fact, butit uses them as an incentive, as a point ofdeparture and inquiry to arrive at objectiveknowledge. The Rosicmcians do not contendthat all they experience is verifiable fromthe materialistic or scientific point of view.Much which to the Rosicmcians is subjectiveexperience or what mysticism relates as being of an elevated plañe of consciousnesscannot be confirmed along naturalistic lines

—at least not yet. But the Rosicmciansteach how the experience may be had. Thenthey expound a hypothesis, a theory if youwill, as to the causal nature of the phenomenon.

However, the Rosicmcians endeavor toeventually substantiate, to prove, their hy

pothesis so that it is possible of general perception and acceptance. The Rosicmcians

likewise contend that certain phenomenacannot be reduced to the five common receptor senses. To use a term borrowed fromparapsychology, man has extrasensory powers. Even these have yet to be proved froma material point of view. Such extrasensorypowers register impulses, vibrations, that arebeyond the octaves to which our other sensesrespond. Consequently, such experiences canbe proved only within the scope of their ownmeans of perception. For a homely analogy,one cannot prove that a certain scent existsby looking or feel ing for it. Each kind ofphenomenon exists in the realm of thosesenses which respond to it.—X

True Nature of Superstitions

A frater addressing our Forum says: “Iwould like to have explained the principieof cause and effect in relegating such pres-ent-day superstitions as ‘luck’ to where theyrightfully belong. There is so much super-stitious literature today conceming fortune-telling available on -the open market thatsuch beliefs should have their true naturerevealed.”

Another frater addressing our Fommstates: “Are superstition and faith one and the same? For instance, a person wears amedallion around his neck to prevent acci-

dents and bring good luck. Is that superstition or faith? A ship or an automobile isblessed. Is the one who sails on the ship, ortravels in the automobile, superstitious, ordoes he have faith in feeling safer? Cansufficient faith be generated from an objectof superstition (medallions, etc.) to amountto or bring about Creative thinking?”

It is first necessary that we have an understanding of what superstition consists.Psychologically, superstitions all consist oftwo principal factors: (A) a presumption ofthe quality and causal nature of a thing orcircumstance; (B) the presumption that sucha quality or cause is of, or invokes, super

natural powers.When man is not able to discern the op-eration, the natural causes through whichsomething occurs, he is inclined to imagine,to presume them. He presumes to make theexperience, -the phenomenon, explicable tohim. The human mind avoids the unknown,




especially if it has a direct influence on thewelfare of man, because such is terrifying.

The unknown induces a sense of helpless-ness and insecurity. Therefore, to invent anexplanation for the unknown makes possibleeither a defense against the mystery or ause of the phenomenon in some way.

Ignorance and superstition obviously arerelated. The first gives rise to the latter.When man does not know or cannot know,he provides his own answers. This , in itself,is commendable. It constitutes a kind ofknowledge. It is worthy belief if it is sincere,and if it represents the application of reasonto the problem. Many of the great thinkersof the past believed things which the ad-vance of knowledge has disproved. But suchfalse knowledge, mistaken knowledge, theresult of abstraction and contemplation, isnot necessarily superstition. Superstition isa mere presumption as to the cause or quali-ty of something. It is but an opinion. It isnot the result of rationalizing.

The early cosmologists who, after muchdeliberation as to the phenomena of nightand day, ventured beliefs as to whether thesun moved around the earth, or whether theearth moved around it, were not supersti-tious. No matter how absurd in the light ofmodem factual knowledge, most of thosetheories were not superstitions. They werehonest beliefs coming as the consequence oflimited observation and personal reflection.

Further, as related, superstition attributesa supernatural relationship to those causes orqualities which it assumes for things. Inother words, since an observable bond ornexus cannot be perceived as existing between two things or conditions, an intangiblesupernatural one is then imagined.

Suppose an individual made a solemnpromise to fulfill a certain important dutyfor another person on a particular day. Sub-sequently, the individual intentionally avoidsfulfilling his obligation. Nevertheless, he isconscious of his violation and this disturbshis conscience considerably. He believes thathe has hurt his friend by his default and

thinks that in some way he may be punishedfor it. The next day, then, the one whohas defaulted suffers a severe fall with minorbut painful injuries. A few days later heloses his wallet and a considerable amountof money. A fortnight later a purchase orderhe was anticipating, one which would have

brought him a substantial commission, iscanceled.

All of these misfortunes are logical; theyappear as the result of natural, probablecauses. The unusual sequence of such events,however, is impressive. Why should theyhappen with such rapidity, might be thethought of the victim. Immediately, hesearches for the cause of that sequence ofevents at that time. There comes to the foreof his consciousness the willful violation ofhis promise. He thinks that such a wrongmust be compensated for. He imagines thatsome supernatural, inexplicable bond hastied the conditions together—his violationand his misfortune.

How can gazing at the moon produce in-sanity? How can tying a string around awart and then burying the string cause thewart to disappear? Why does walkiñg be-neath a ladder bring bad luck? The super-stitious cannot explain such beliefs as thesein terms of rational causation. Rather, theyimagine qualities, supernatural forces, to becauses which are thought to produce the ef-fects. The intelligent person would investígate and try to find an actual causal relationship between the act and what was saidto follow from it. A superstitious mind isalways the ignorant and unthinking one, andmakes no such investigation.

Faith often becomes aligned with superstition because of its psychological nature.

Faith is not a process of rationalization fromactual experience. Faith is not even beliefin ithe true sense of the word because it isnot the consequence of intelligent and logicalabstraction. Faith is reliance upon implied authority. We have faith in something be-cause of what it represents or because ofwhat we think it represents. In fact, thevery essence of faith is not to question thenature of its implied authority.

The orthodox religionist must accept onfaith the dogma of his sect. What is ex-pounded to him is not possible of verificationin an evidential or a factual manner. Thedoctrines of his religión are an implied

authority which he must accept. That un-questioning acceptance is faith . Faith isobviously distinct from knowledge.

It is relatively easier to have faith thanto have knowledge of something. Faith,alone, is a reliance upon the integrity ofwhat it implies. Obviously, much of such




faith is misplaced. The implied, authoritydoes not always exist in just the manner thatit is accepted. As for integrity, often it, too,is nonexistent, and then .the faithful are butinnocent victims of exploitation.

It is far better to substitute belief for faithespecially where the subject matter is notpossible of a critical analysis and of experience. At least, intelligent, free thoughtabout that which is accepted on faith wouldshow the absurdity of much of the latter.When one assigns his reason over to faithin the blind acceptance of it, many superstitions can become associated with the faith.The individual never questions such practices because of their relationship to theconditions of the faith.

To comment specifically on the frater’s

question: just how can wearing a medallionaround the neck prevent accidents and as-sure good fortune—we would remark thatsuch medallions are phylacteries, amulets.This practice assumes either one of twoprimitive beliefs:

First, that the object, as a fetish, possesseswithin itself a supematural power which itexerts upon the person of the wearer, in thisexample, protecting him. Second, that theobject has a sympathetic bond with an ex-temal agency or forcé that can be invokedfor the benefit of the wearer.

Millions of people today have not advancedbeyond the first conception, given above, re-

garding the wearing of a medallion. Theyactually conceive that the blessing or useof it in a ritual infuses the inanimate objectwith a divine efficacy. Others do not subscribe to this, and yet they will believe thatthe medallion because of its being namedafter or bearing the image of some sacredpersonage provides the wearer with a kindof invisible bond with the sacred being.

Most of these wearers when presentedwith such statements as these would denythem. But, why would they otherwise exhibit the exphcit dependence upon themedallions? They are not wom as simplesymbols having no efficacy in themselves.

Rosicmcians, like members of other fraternalorders, also wear emblems, but certainly nospecial powers- or attributes are ascribed tothe object in itself; ñor do they believe thatthe object has any relationship or powerto invoke supematural forces. Rosicmciansdo not wear their emblems for protection

when traveling, to avoid sickness or accidents when in swimming, boating and thelike. They do not fear any break in a supernatural protective forcé when removing theemblem from their person.

Frankly, much that is held on puré faithshould, for one’s personal welfare and en-lightenment, be scmtinized as to its worth.Not to do so, or the fear to do so, is in itselfa superstition.

There is a psycholog ica l advantage de-rived by the superstitious in wearing medallions and amulets of a religious naturewhich represent their sacred personages. Intheir faith, in their believing that the wearing of the medallion gives them a protectiveinfluence, their minds are freed from worry;they are given added self-confidence. In-hibitions are removed permitting one to dothings which if he thought he was relyingwholly on his own resources he would nothave the personal power .to accomplish. Inother words, in such blind acceptance onfaith, one is giving himself a powerful sug

gestion. This quickens his personal powersand makes him able to accomplish what hecould not do if he thought he was relyingentirely upon his own ability.—X

Failure in Cosmic Appeal

A frater in Australia, addressing ourForum, says: “It was stated previously in

our Forum that Cosmic law is immutableand that it is always uniform in its resultswhen properly invoked. With this I agree,but the statement was also made that whenfailure resulted after a petition for aid itwas because the petitioner had wronglymade his request. However, suppose the petition was properly made and yet failure isexperienced. How is this type of failureexplained?”

First, one cannot always be certain thathe has fulfilled the method of Cosmic petition as required. Inadvertently, one mightmake a proper petition believing that he haddone so and yet failure would ensue. There

are at times extenuating circumstances ofwhich the petitioner may be ignorant inmaking his appeal. These circumstances areperhaps a violation of Cosmic laws and, as aresult, the appeal remains unanswered.

Let us use a hypothetical case, to explain.One has been given a business proposal by




which it seems, if all contingent conditionsare met, he will be assured of financial suc

cess. However, the individual who has madethis proposal merely desires an investmentof funds for an unethical project. He hasnot told the one petitioning the Cosmic allof the details of the proposed business. Hehas not explained perhaps that the methodsto be used in the business would be the theftof another’s ideas. The petitioner, then, ingood faith, assiduously follows every require-ment of appealing to the Cosmic. When theappeal fails, obviously he is mystified. Ofcourse, it could be said that the failure isdue to an improper petiüon because of thenature of the whole plan, and the questionhere concems proper petitions.

An appeal to the Cosmic never fails, whenall the requirements have been met. If thepetition is not met, it is because Cosmicallyin some manner it is not justified. The lawsof Karma, compensation, or causality enterinto the matter. One may have set into mo-tion by his previous acts, his behavior, certain causes which make it impossible at theimmediate time for Cosmic fulfillment ofan appeal.

Let us use another analogy, to explain.Suppose two young men are beginning sep-arately two new businesses, each havingcompleted college. Each of their businessesconcems the technical manufacture of adevice used in a complex electronic appa-

ratus. There is great possibility that one ofthe two concems could receive in .the futuresubstantial orders for the product from alarge business house. One young man isaware of the constant need of further studyand research in his business to keep abreastof the times and to give the best service tohis customers. Therefore, he spends all hisavailable time in preparing himself andsubsequently improving his product as aresult. The other young man thinks that hiseducation and his previous study in college,which was no more than that of his rival,is sufficient. His principal interest at thepresent is to sell as many of his producís as

he can with a minimum of effort.A day eventually arrives when both ofthe young men and their concems have anopportunity for the huge order that theyare hoping for. However, only one of thetwo concems will get the contract. Theyoung man who was disinclined to study or

try to make his product more effective ap-peals to the Cosmic to aid him to receive

the order. The young man has good char-acter and he sincerely follows the procedurefor Cosmic assistance—but he fails! He doesnot receive the contract. His competitor does.

There is nothing mysterious about this, ofcourse. Perhaps the buyer heard that therewas little development being made on theloser’s product. Therefore, he was not in-terested in it. The karmic law of neglect, asa cause, produced the eventual actual non-response to the appeal.

How many times has each of us greatlydesired something which seemed so impor-tant to his happiness and yet failed to ma-terialize? Though greatly chagrined at what

appeared as a loss or failure, weeks—evenyears—later we found that it was to ourultímate advantage that we did not realizeour former desires. The desire we had, thething we needed or thought we did, maynot have been Cosmically proper for ourlives. Our varying interests, associations, ourintellectual and psychic development cangreatly influence our change of desires.Things that are essential now, or seem to be,with the perspective of time are often foundnot to be important. Think of some of theambitions you had as a youth. With thematurity of mind which you now have,those early objectives, as you think of them,make you smile. You are grateful that you

did not succumb to them.The attitude to take is that you will sin

cerely, with open mind—that is, withoutdeceit—and with proper purpose, petitionthe Cosmic for assistance. If it is forthcom-ing, one .then extends his gratitude by ren-dering whatever assistance he can to others.If no aid is forthcoming, it is first necessaryto review the entire procedure of your appeal. Have you neglected any particularrequirement in petitioning the Cosmic?Again, are you wholly justified in what youask? If you sincerely feel that all is properin your appeal, then proceed again. If thereis still no further response, you should real

ize that Cosmically there is some reason whythe laws are not óperative for you at thetime.

Patience is also a virtue. Where time isnot of the essence, one must realize that theCosmic laws perform according to their natural relationship and not to our point of




view of necessity. What you ask for, ifproper, may not materializo today but may

come about weeks or months henee whenthe causes and effeets can best be furthered.—X

Becoming Aware of Our Surroundings

A typical symptom of today’s preoccupiedexistence is brought forth in the letter of asoror who writes: “I have, on occasion, no-ticed when in town and speaking to a friendon the sidewalk that people on the Streetseemed not to see us, though they walkedaround us. I have often wondered if I haveperhaps walked around other people withoutseeing them in the same way.”

We have all, at one time or another, beencalled out of a daydream or period of “un-awareness,” to suddenly realize that we havewalked or driven several blocks, perhapseven several miles, without realizing it—notbeing able to recall any details of that partof the trip.

It is very common, especially in largecities where a person knows relatively fewpeople out of the total population, for individuáis to walk down the streets, not completely unaware of their surrounding, butimmersed in their own thoughts to the extent that they appear to take notice of verylittle around them. They look “through”rather than “at” those whom they encounter

in their walk.To be sure, they notice others insofar asnot walking into them, but these others arerecognized only as obstacles, not as people.

Often, friends will pass one another onthe Street without realizing it or recognizingeach other.

We can become so wrapped up in ourthoughts that the outside world becomes onlya series of fleeting impressions, with no last-ing reality or valué. We completely over-look the small but important things whichfill life and the universe.

Nature is a constant wonderland if weopen our consciousness to it, rather than

cióse ourselves off and withdraw into ashell composed solely of our own problems.Being of a contemplative tum of mind is

a fine thing, but not if we contémplate onlythose things which pertain to our jobs, ourpersonal lives, and those of our immediatefamily.

We should train ourselves to be attentiveto the world around us. We should let our

selves be drawn out by the little details ofthis world.Watch a small child or baby animal as it

begins to develop awareness of its surroundings, especially after it has become mobileand is in the stage of personal exploration.Nothing escapes its notice and completescrutiny. All the fumishings of its home,every detail of its surroundings, must befully investigated; any container must beopened and emptied of its contents so thatnothing remains hidden. All moving thingsmust be caught and studied to see “why andhow.” Fear is completely lacking. Onlycuriosity and the desire to know are present.

As in so many other things, this too isan area where we can receive a valuablelesson from the very young.

By watching and following their develop -ment, we can gain a rebirth of sensitivityand awareness which we might never ex-pect to achieve in some other way. Theyhelp us to achieve the refreshing, new out-look toward our life and surroundings whichis so vitally necessary to bring us out of ourall-absorbing preoccupation with ourselves.They further help us to again bring life andsubstance into that series of impressionswhich constitutes the universe around us.

—W

Power of the Eyes

A soror says: “One of our monographsstates that the eye itransmits power intospace. Yet, I am sure that the teachings ofthe Order would not commend the idea ofthe casting of an ‘evil eye.’ On what basismay beneficent influences leave the eye andbe transmitted, and other influences not leavethe eye? Would not a staring eye always bedisturbing to the viewer?”

It has long been thought that the eyetransmitted a subtle power. The most common belief has been wholly superstitious inthat the power believed to be radiated from

the eyes was thought to be evil. Many persons in past centuries have been executed aswitches and demons because it was believedthat the power from their eyes was a malevo-lent influence.

The belief in a radiating power from theeyes and the symbolism of the eye goes back




into remóte antiquity. Some of the earliestreferences pertaining to .this influence of

the eye are to be found in -the “pyramidtexts” of ancient Egypt, particularly the 17thchapter of the Book of the Dead. We findthat these records state that the sun andmoon were the two eyes of the sun-god.There is some confusion in the ancient sig-nificance of the idea as related to the sun-god. In one place we are told that the eyeof the sun was destruotive “and was repre-sented as a serpent.” On the other hand, thesun-god’s eye was said to be a goddess and“could protect the living king or nurse adead king.”

The eye of the sun-god could also be em-ployed as a messenger or agent to do thegod’s bidding. The eye is here delineated asa malevolent forcé. It is related .that thesun-god, Re, sent out the goddess Hathor asone of his eyes “to slaughter mankind.” Theright eye was said to be the sun and the lefteye of the god was the moon. It was themoon eye which was evil.

One of the elabórate rituals of ancientEgypt was known as “The Eye of Horüs,”Horus being a god and the son of Osiris andIsis. The three formed a sacred trinity inEgyptian religión. Behind this ritual thereis an ancient myth upon which it wasfounded. Perhaps, too, some historians think,the myth may be based upon a legend of abattle between two prehistoric characters in

which one lost his eye to the other. However, according to the ritual, Horus gave hiseye to his father, Osiris, who had been slain.With it, Horus opened the eyes of Osiris andrestored him to life.

The whole theme of the ritual is theresurrection of Osiris by his son Horus. Themurder of Osiris by his brother Seth, thenhis resurrection, and his eternal life formthe world’s oldest passion play or religiousdrama. From this ritual and its related mys-tery rites carne the first belief in resurrection,rebirth and eternal life. Its influence uponthe captured Hebrews and later Christianitywas considerable.

The ritual of “The Eye of Horus” includedrites of puiification which depicted Horuspurifying his father before the latter wasresurrected. The symbol of the eye, particularly “The Eye of Horus,” carne to de-pict the symbol of giving and of gifts. AsHorus gave his eye for Osiris, so mankind

gave “The Eye of Horus”—that is, exchangedgifts with good will. In fact, any sacrifice

for benevolent reasons carne to be knownas “The Eye of Horus.”It appears that, concomitant with the rec-

ognition of “The Eye of Horus” and itsmeaning in the days of ancient Egypt, wasthe “Eye of Osiris.” This latter symboliceye was called Uta and was a most importantemblem. It is profusely presented in thatcollection of funereal texts called the Book of the Dead. It mystically symbolized the“ All-seeing Presence of Divinity ” This eyethen depicts the all-inclusive visión and consciousness of God from which nothing is ex-cluded. No matter where man dwells orwhat are his activities at any time, he isever in the all-seeing visión of God.

The “All-seeing Eye” carne to be a symbolof Egypt. Through the process of syncretismor borrowing, it carne to be incorporated inthe esoteric symbolism of organizations ofthe Western world centuries later. In fact,today in almost all Rosicrucian lodges andchapters throughout the world, this symbolof the “All-seeing Eye” appears on the Mas-ter’s lectem in the “East,” or elsewhere intheir decorations. The same ancient meaning is related .to it.

In Greco-Román times, the various objectsconnected with the god Horus acquiredmagical properties. The symbol of the eyealluded to the power transmitted by the eye

of the god. The object itself as an amule twas regarded as having inherent powerwhich could destroy or inflict a malevolence.It is believed that from this early beginningthere developed the notion that the eye cantransmit evil. Today in the Near and MiddleEast and in the Orient the belief in the“evil eye” is very prevalent.

There are, of course, psychological reasonsfor the superstition that the eye is a trans-mitter of malevolent power. In anger, thefacial expression is contorted, the lips maycurl, nostrils may Ínflate, and the eyes arenoticed to change. The lids may cióse slight-ly, narrowing the eye. The accompanying

intense concentration gives the eyes the appearance of hardness, that is, of hostility.The focus of attention on a face is usuallythe eyes. Noting these changes in .the eyes,when one is laboring under the emotion ofanger, they suggest to the viewer that anevil power is emanating from them.




Combined with these physical changes ob-served, the viewer may experience an emo-

tional response to them. He may feel atenseness in his solar plexus, probably theresult of fear, which sensation arises whollywithin his own being. The sensations, thoughwholly psychological, he may regard asbeing directly caused by a power transmittedto him by the eyes of the other person.

Some persons have a hypnotic stare. Thismay cause other persons to becoiiie fasci-nated and apparently unable to resist look-ing at their eyes. The viewer then is easilyinduced into a hypnotic sleep. Subsequently,the eyes of such a person may be believedto be possessed of a strange and dominantpower. In primitive society persons with adeformity of the eyes or with cataracts wereoften thought to be exerting an influenceon the observer, because their eyes becamea focus of attention. Individuáis under theinfluence of certain drugs may have distended or greatly contracted pupils whichbecome fixed in their stare. This gives thema weird and awesome appearance. The emo-tional reaction of the observer to the appearance of such eyes has been falsely attributedto a power directly emanating from them.

In the esoteric literature of the arcaneschools it has long been declared that abeneficent power could be transmitted bythe eyes during certain concentration ex-ercises. This power, it was taught, could be

used for mentally creating and producingchanges in one’s physical environment. Morespecifically the focus of .the consciousnessthrough visual concentration caused theenergy of thought to actually radiate throughthe eyes. This energy, of which the particular nature in terms of vibratory rate wasnot known, could alter or affect the energyof matter. At least this is the premise ofthe es ot er ic teachings. It was likew isethought that such transmitted energy fromthe eyes could be used for healing purposes.

In these traditional esoteric schools it wasnever taught that the power of the eyescould be malevolent, that is, evil. It was

contended that the psychic energy of a per-son, the harmony of his own being, was toostrong a protective influence to be affectedby any external destructive power. One’sthoughts are normally more dominant thanany external thought projected to him. Consequently, one’s own instinctive desire for

well-being would oppose any malevolentforcé directed toward him mentally or by

means of the eyes.In modem tests in the field of parapsy-chology, visual concentration has seemed toproduce at times noticeable effects upon others. Let us suppose, for example, that in areception room there are two strangers wait-ing for an appointment with the physician.Both are reading. Neither is apparently conscious of the presence of the other. Oneperson looks up from his periodical withoutany change of position or movement and begins concentrating, staring, at the other oc-cupant of the room. Statistically, accordingto a number of tests, the one stared at wouldfeel a strange urge to look up. The sensationshe would have would be difficult to describe.His own concentration would be interruptedand he would experience a sort of stimuluscausing him to tum in the direction of theconcentrated gaze.

This, of course, could come under the headof telepathic transmission or the projectionof consciousness without implying any relationship to the visual gaze. However, insimilar experiments with the eyes closed,when the subject did not know the experi-ment was being conducted, the results wereless successful. Thus there seemed to be arelationship between the focus of the attention and the e j e . In other words, thereseems to be in modem experimentation a

confirmation of the esoteric principie oftransmission of power from the eyes.—X

Sleep - Learning

A soror of Kent, England, now addressesour Forum, asking: “Is it possible to trainthe subconscious mind by audio-suggestionwhile the person is asleep?”

For many years the early monographs ofthe Rosicrucian teachings presented exer-cises in which parents were taught to speaksoftly to their children while the latter wereasleep, to accomplish a certain end. Par-ticularly, the object was to implant within

the child’s subconscious the suggestion whichwould constitute a subliminal motivationwhen later he was awake. The child wouldtherefore leam the desired subjects or ideas,or respond more readily to the instructionthan if it had been read or given verballywhile awake. The psychological principie is




that in some instances the response to leaming is difficult. The individual cannot con

céntrate, or perhaps fails to have sufficient interest in the necessary subject matter of the instruGtion.

During sleep the subconscious is more active than is the objective aspect of mind. Thereceptor organs are perhaps just as respon-sive to stimuli as when awake, but the consciousness is inverted and is not as recep-tive to impressions derived through thesesenses. Consequently, deeper levels of consciousness may be reached without conflictfrom the will and reason of the sleeper.

In the Rosicrucian studies we symbolizethe consciousness as a balanced scale. On

one of the trays of the scale is the objective-subjective mind with .the respective attri-butes. On the other tray is the subconscious,which is more expansive, embracing a fargreater reality—much of which we have noobjective awareness. When the individual isasleep, the diagram shows the tray of thesubconscious to be weighed down, that is,indicating .that it is more receptive than theobjective mind.

Sleep and hypnosis have a great similarity.In fact, the word hypnosis is derived froma root meaning “sleep.” In sleep, of course,the sleeper is not under the domination orcontrol of the will of another as in hypnosis.

But, nevertheless, he is susceptible to sug-gestion which can be implanted in his subconscious mind at times without awakeninghim.

When AMORC introduced these principiesand laws of sleep-leaming in its teachings,they had not been taught elsewhere. Subse-quently, these doctrines were published byAMORC in Rosicmcian periodicals inten-tionally made available to .the public. Theywere then copied by individuáis outside theOrder and commercialized; in fact, some ofthe exact phraseology was used. Unfortu-nately, some of those who copied this material made absurd claims for sleep-leaming,

statements which had never been made byAMORC. Today the public is often exploitedby being sold expensive phonographs andspecial records for sleep-leaming, accom-panied by fantastic claims which are contrary to metaphysical and psychological principies and laws.

Sleep-leaming cannot induce a contra-be-havior, that is, an activity which when one

is awake he would consider to be in conflictwith his moral principies or ethics. If, forillustration, one believes that a particulartype of work is contrary to his ethics, anysuggestions to the subconscious would notin the least result in the mitigation of suchpersonal objection. One’s own inner convic-tions based on his own conclusions and experiences are always more efficacious thanforeign ideas implanted by another. No matter how long one may listen -to the voice ofanother, or to the repetitious playing ofphonograph records while asleep, that ide-ation which is part of his own ego, his ownpersonality, will not be altered in the slight-

est degree.Conversely, however, if one has certain

fears, doubts or anxieties which are, in fact,groundless and which are not part of hismoral structure or the result of carefulthought, they can be bridged by a propermethod of sleep-learning. For example, suppose one desires to be a salesman but isafflicted with stage fright and imagines hecould never present himself or his productin the proper way to a client. In such aninstance, suggestion to the subconscious maybe a great help in ehminating his inhibitions.During the process of audio-suggestion during sleep, he may be told in positive terms

that he is an intelligent individual, that hereally is forceful, that his presence instillsconfidence, and that he can gain the attention and respect of his clients.

Of course, the phraseology would not beas concise as given here; in fact, the methodof presentation is most important. It is not

just a matter of introducing certain phraseswhile the subject is asleep. The statementsmust have a ring of conviction, and theymust consist of a series of intelligent af-firmations. Illogical statements, inane suggestions, are rejected by the subconscious ofan intelligent person—just as they would berejected by his objective mind while he was

awake. That is another reason why a setof standard phonograph records preparedalike for all persons, as sold on the marketby some of the concems advocating sleep-leaming, are absolutely inappropriate. Thepersonality, the ego, of every individual isnot the same.




Experiments have shown that sleep-leaming has been quite helpful in increasing thememory of a certain subject, that is, therecollection of points of information im-planted in the memory. Some years ago weread a report from a leading university inwhich students preparing for their final anddifficult examination were subjected to experiments in audio-suggestion during sleep.

The students were divided into two groups, A and B. Every one of the students, alike,studied the textbooks and attended classlectures for the same number of hours dailyunder this plan of controlled experimenta-tion. The A group, however, during sleep,had played back to them succinct quotationsfrom the studies of the day, by means of

ear phones attached to the head. The B groupdid not particípate in the audio-instructionwhile asleep. The findings revealed a sig-nificantly high rating on the examinationof the students composing the A group.

What the organizations advertising recordsfor sleep-leaming do not say is that themethod is not infallible. It cannot accom-plish for everyone who partícipates in thepractice that which it claims. Some individuáis react to a low threshold of auditorystimuli. In other words, no matter how softly spoken the words are to them, they wakeimmediately. There are others who apparently do not hear unless the sound of the

voice is raised to such a level that it awakensthem. It must be realized that in sleep oneactually hears in the same manner as whenawake. The organ of hearing and the receptor senses are functioning, but the impulses, or stimuli, received are not ordinarilysufficient to arouse the objective consciousness, and bring it to focus on the impulsesso that one realizes what is being said in anobjective way.

Another point which some of the adver-tisers of this system erroneously imply is thatthe practice quickens the intelligence. Actually, it adds in no way to the innateintelligence of an individual. If the method

is successful, it may remove any mentalblocks or inhibitions which prevent thefacilitation of leaming in the usual manner.There will not be a complete transformationof the personality of the individual as is oftenclaimed for sleep-leaming. It will not addtalents or attributes, but it can, if successful,

under the proper conditions, awaken talentsalready possessed. It never will make agenius of one who has a low intelligencequotient.—X

W ar and Karma

A frater in Australia now rises to ask aquestion of our Forum: “Does the sacrificingof one’s own life involve karmic debt whereone is protecting his own country?”

Karma is the law of compensation andcausality. This means that for each act ordeed there is a reaction; that is, for everycause there is a corresponding effect. Thecausation of karma, however, is not purpose-ful or determinative. There is no intent to

inflict punishment or bring about retributionor confer rewards for acts of commission oromission.

Karma is the impersonal manifestation ofCosmic and natural law. One’s thoughts oracts invoke certain conditions or forces fromwhich follow results. For illustration, onewho throws a stone into the air has createda karmic condition. He has set into motionthe forcé of gravity. The effect will be toretum the stone to the earth’s surface. Ifone is struck by the descending rock whichhe has cast into the air, he is merely experi-encing the natural effect of a cause whichhe instituted. There is certainly no intent

behind the result; neither gravity ñor thestone intend to inflict an injury upon him.The whole procedure would be quite impersonal.

According to metaphysical and mysticaltraditions, there are karmic laws that function other than in the physical realm. Inother words, they are related to the generalfabric of’physical laws but are actúa ted in adifferent way. These causations are relatedto human purpose and motives. Thus, forexample, hatred, malice, and injustice bywhich others suffer may bring about karmiceffects where the one who produced themwill experience circumstances of like kind.

Such laws or effects are also impersonal.They are not functioning to impose a punishment on any human. The principie seemsto be that the effect ultimately causes theindividual to realize the suffering which hisconduct may have imposed upon another.Such karmic laws in effect would be a lesson.




One who is belligerent and offensive toothers brings about a karma. He is not se-

lected to be an object of retribution. Rather,he has invokéd causes, conditions and circumstances, that sometime in his life he toowill have to confront; then he will realizethe same emotions and feelings his conductinduced in others.

Therefore, in accordance with this higheraspect of karma, it would seem the underly-ing motive of our acts is a prime factor asto the effects that will follow from them.We are imbued by nature with the instinctive drive to preserve self. This means notonly our physical being but the ego, ourhuman dignity and all that self may in-clude in its embracing nature. Certainly we

include, in the preservative characteristic ofself, our loved ones and what our moralsense or conscience accustoms us to acceptas the good. A man will thus include in thecherished precincts of self his family, thosethings upon which he confers his higher ormore expansive love, and his country—pro-vided, of course, that his country’s laws,customs, and ideáis conform to what he holdsto be a common and spiritual good.

It is, therefore, incumbent upon the individual, unless he is a pusillanimous character, to defend these elements that participatein self. He certainly will fight to the extentof sacrificing his life for them. His motives

will be generally impersonal, though actually he will be acting in the interests of hismore inclusive self and the sacrifice of hislife will be an act of human probity, nobleconduct. Such acts then will not invokeany karmic effects that would be adverse.Of course, it must be realized, and we repeatthis as we have on a number of occasions,that karma and its effects are not all adverse.Karma consists of causes and effects. We canalso put into motion and precipítate causeswhich will bring us beneficent results fromwhich we will gain good or advantage.

The individual who states that the takingof life under any circumstances is spirituallywrong, and that he will not submit to warof any kind, is unrealistic. He is actuallydefying the Cosmic motivations of life forcé.He is opposing the basic nature of his ownbeing. Somewhere along his ancestral linesomeone took a life in a protective and de-fensive manner or he would not have been

propagated and lived to proclaim his im-practical philosophy. Suppose he had been

subject to an attack by a mentally derangedperson when a child. Further, suppose hisfather had accepted a philosophy similar tohis own. No defense would then have beenoffered and his life would have been taken.

In the matter of a war, a people must bevery cautious before they agree to allowthemselves, as a collective citizenry, to beprecipitated into one. Individuáis who live apersonally circumspect life and who incur aminimum of adverse karmic effects may,however, experience the collective adversekarma of a nation wrongly at war. We, ascitizens, in a war where the populace hasany voice in the affairs of their government,

are responsible for the acts of our publicofficials and of the nation as a whole. If anation assumes an arrogant attitude towardthe rights and requirements of other peoplesand pursues an unreasonable and belligerentcourse that leads it to war, its citizenry in-curs adverse karma. They have, by theirthoughtlessness, set into forcé causes of adestructive nature whose effects the individuáis must experience, such as disease, personal injury, loss of property and loved ones—and other calamities.

Nations that throw about the weight oftheir military power and intimidate othersovereign powers are creating adverse karma

for their people, regardless of .the beneficentand peaceful lives that their individual citizens may live. We know people who giveno thought to intemational affairs, tariffrestrictions, trade blocks, unnecessary military aggression, and intemational cartels withtheir unfair monopoly. Subsequently, suchpeople, then, bemoan the economic and political complications which eventually ensuefrom such conditions and which reach downto inflict personally some distress upon them.

We may ask, What is the difference between the sorrow and suffering of experiences in what may be considered a morally

justi.fi able war and one that is brought about

by a people’s indifference or improper conduct? So far as the individual suffering orpersonal injury or grief over the loss of lovedones is concemed, there is no difference, nomatter the cause of the war. However,where the public conscience, the sense ofrighteousness based upon an intelligent sur-



AUGÜST, 1958 Page 21

vey of events, necessitated the war, there arecompensations that mitígate the effects. Thepersonal sorrow is offset to an extent by thefeeling that the sacrifice is being made fora contribution toward the uplift of mankindand the eventual betterment and security ofhumanity. No one will deny that a warwhich frees a people from inhuman bondage,even though individual lives are lost, is aworthy action, if men are to express theirspiritual idealism.

We must realize that sacrifice in life mustbe made. There are prices we pay for eventual karmic effects that make life worthliving.—X

The Anticipation of Tomorrow

The mysteries of time and space have always intrigued men. We find it very difficultto free our consciousness from this consideration because in the physical world we arealways faced with conditions impressing uswith time and space whether we want to beaware of them or not. As far in the past aswe have a record of man’s thinking, therehave always been in every culture those individuáis who because of their concern withthe problems of time and space have devotedconsiderable effort to attempts foretelling thefuture or to the regaining of youth.

It would seem to be a contradiction for

man to be simultaneously interested in thefuture and the past. This interest is associ-ated with concern of the unknown. Everymature adult has some desire to recover theenergy and enthusiasm of youth. We alsowould like to peer into the future as a placefor the expression of the vitality which wewould have if we could regain all the powersof youth and at the same time retain ourpresent knowledge and experience.

These desires on the part of man are thebasis of much fantasy. They are, in a sense,no more than a series of daydreams. Thelate P. D. Ouspenski, in the only novel thathe wrote, attempted to tell in story form the

events in the life of a man who had anopportunity to live his life over again. Inthe novel, the main character through aseries of complex situations is able to returnto his youth and to live his life again witha complete memory of what had occurredbefore.

This man’s life had been a failure. Hehoped to benefit by the errors that had occurred in one life and to make a new lifeupon the basis of his previous experience.Actually, this individual found that it wasimpossible for him to act any differentlythan he had before. He had been wamedthat he could not make new decisions andcorrect the errors that he had committed inthe past.

What we forget if we ever dream of being able to live over again is that our rela-tion to environment will be the same unless one or the other is modified. Unless theenvironment or we are fundamentally different, the reactions between the two willalways be substantially the same.

We can think of many events or acts thathave occurred in our lives which, if we hadthe privilege to live over again, we believewe would modify. But in order to modifythem, we would have to be different personalices. We could not behave other thanwe did before unless we were placed in anentirely different environment or unless wewere a completely different entity. Knowledge in itself is not enough to change therelationship between self and environment.

In other words, in the story by Ouspenski,even though the character had .the abilityto remember what had occurred in the past,memory itself did not change the environ-

mental pressures that existed at the time ofcertain events. The individual in the bookbehaved in the same manner as he did before and again arrived at a mature age re-gretting the same mistakes that he had madein the previous life.

A great deal of time is consumed by usin thinking of the future. We think thattomorrow will be a new opportunity, that itwill be the chance to do something differentand even something better. But in .the eter-nal mystery of time and space, the wholecrux of the matter goes deeper than ourmere desire or hope to take advantage ofa future situation. The fact is that tomorrow

is a realization that exists only in our minds.The future is not an actuality in the sensethat the term is defined in Rosicrucian philosophy. The future is only a realizationwhich we have anticipated and imagined outof our own memory, experience, and whatwe believe we want. Furthermore, most of




our anticipations in relation to the futureare bound closely to the material valúes

which we find so important today; consequently, since tomorrow does not exist as anactuality, it cannot be proved to be an ex-istent in terms of material actualities. Infact, tomorrow has no existence at all exceptas we may imagine it. Tomorrow will neverbe found in terms of today’s material valúes.

The individual who expects to accomplishmore tomorrow than he did in the past, whenhis accomplishments are directly related tothe material universe in which he functions,will frequently be disappointed because thematerial valúes of today are only transientthings that cannot be made to have actualityin an imaginary period of time that has not

yet come into existence. This fact explainswhy .tomorrow can often be so disappoint-ing. We should seek new and enduringvalúes and at the same time strive to attainthe knowledge and perspective which willpermit us to recognize such valúes.

The human being is the only living en-tity that places great emphasis on time. Inthe rest of the animal world, time is of littleconsequence. If you will observe the averagedomestic animal, you will notice that it ex-ists in terms of consciousness, and, as ex-plained in our monographs, the life of ananimal illustrates perfectly to us that timeis actually no more or less than a measure-

ment of the duration of consciousness. During that duration, the animal is alert. Whenit is not alert, it usually rests or sleeps. Itdoes not spend any interval being concemedor dwelling upon the possibilities that maybe produced in terms of an unknown orindefinite future.

The only way that future valúes may beobtained, and in which the future can bene-fit us, is through the process of growing intoit. The future as usually defined is themoment in advance of the one in whichwe actually exist. That it will actually existthere is no proof except in experience, andour experience has been that previous pres-

ent intervals have been followed by futureintervals. But as these intervals are trans-ferred from the present to the future, theyimmediately take on all the complexitiesand involvements of the present and nolonger contain the opportunities that theymay seem to have promised in the im

aginary concept of the future within ourconsciousness.

Growth is a process that takes place inthe present, and as it carries over into othersegments of what we cali time, we ourselvesgrow too, and in such growth we fulfillcertain functions and purpose of our being.Our objective awareness of time and ourusual reliability upon its infallibility causesthe future to assume unreal aspects. We cando with the future whatever we want aslong as the future is purely a state in ourminds, but when we grow out of the presentinto other intervals of being, then we findthat the same situations of self and environment in relation to each other are as complexas ever. It is only by drawing upon all the

ingenuity that is possible from the greatestdepths of our being that we are able to copewith situations existing as a result of thecombination of self and environment whichwe as individual entities experience in relation to time as the flowing médium in whichwe exist.

The soul thrives on experience. As finitebeings we can see no purpose for the soulto function at the level of environment, thismaterial world, other than to provide itselfthe opportunity to participate in certain experiences. Through this participation thesoul, in itself, does not become more perfect.However, the realization gained through the

experience of the soul causes us to evolvethe personality which will accompany thatsoul and which will become such expressionof it as we will ultimately become at someother time and place. To the soul in itsprocess of growing through experience, timeis of no consequence. Growth is simply aprocess in which the soul participates without consideration of what we know as time.

The eternal rhythm of being is the manifestation of the forces that cause the universe to be. This rhythm is the manifestation of Cosmic Law which has been ordainedby a forcé external to us to manifest theexistence of being as it is expressed in theuniverse. In this eternal rhythm of being,the accents are placed by God, or we mightsay by the first cause of the universe. Theaccents are such that the rhythm activatesthe fundamental processes of all being andof the universe.




The rhythm of being is like the sound ofa chord played upon a great organ that

seems to echo the rhythm of its own naturethrough all time and space and into eternity.Our obligation as individual entities is to be-come attuned to this rhythm—to feel ourselves a part of the basic vibrations of theCosmic. This rhythm exists as the pace-maker or the pattern by which man canco-operate and co-ordinate his efforts withthose which exist elsewhere in the universe.To get into step with the Cosmic is to gainconscious realization of the divine rhythmwhich is the cause of universal manifestation. To acquire an awareness of that rhythmis identical with what we cali attunement orthe attainment of the mystic state whereour soul, our personality, and our realization

become at one with the ultímate and finalforces of the universe.

The concern of every mystic as well asevery individual who seeks mystical knowledge should not be for the future. In fact,the concern of the mystic should not be withtime because inasmuch as the mystic, or theaspiring mystic, relates himself to materialvalúes and to those physical entities whichare measured by physical standards, he is, ina sense, identifying himself more firmly withthe material standards which he is tryingto escape in order to reach the realms of being that lie outside a material world.

' The experiences lying in the field weknow as psychic or spiritual are those notassociated with the physical standards andmaterial entities with which we are familiarin .the environment of our physical existence.In order to associate ourselves with valúeswhich are of God and ordained by God forman to attain, we must conceive of thosevalúes as being something that exists asmuch in reality as do the material thingsabout him and which his senses perceive asexisting in actuality.

What I am trying to summarize is this:to the extent that man concems himself withphysical valúes, he limits his relationship to

any other kind of valúes. To live in a physical world giving most of our attention to theaccumulation of material things, and be concemed about those material things at afuture time, is literally chaining ourselvesto those physical entities which are aboutus. To be able to raise our concepts, to di

rect our consciousness, to the realization ofour inherent powers and to the attainment

of the understanding of God as an actualexisting entity, we must associate ourselveswith those higher valúes and dwell uponthem. We must release the hold of materialthings that would tend to limit our abilityto grow.

The consideration of any material entitydetracts from mystical awareness. Surely, allof us know -that concentration and meditation is difficult under circumstances tendingto emphasize in our consciousness the existence of our surroundings. Concentration andmeditation can best be achieved when weare in a place that is comfortable, quiet, and

conducive to what we want to do. Whenevermaterial valúes are the primary things ofour awareness, then we are chiefly attachedto such valúes and only secondarily directedtoward the consideration of the higher concepts we wish to achieve.

This does not mean we do not recognizethe existence of physical actuality and thenecessity of the realization that a part ofour experience must be the result of ourability to cope with those actualities, but itdoes mean that in our placing of valúes allmaterial and physical entities should be ofsecondary valué. Time is certainly one of the

most prominent physical valúes that restrictus to a physical level. For this reason wemust leam not to emphasize the importanceof time in our Uves.

Mysticism is a philosophy of man’s rela-tion to God; .therefore, the mystic, and hewho aspires to be a mystic if he is going tosucceed, should in every way possible alsotry to be god-like in his estímate of valúesand in his outlook toward the universe. Itis only by dwelling upon the ideáis andvalúes that transcend those on the physicallevel .that man finds in his own nature theability and the incentive to lead himselffrom the finite toward the infinite, from thephysical to the spiritual, from being a physical entity—as is all life on earth—to beinga soul entity which is .the expression of thegreater light that infuses all the universe ifwe but open ourselves to permit its entry.—A



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October, 1958Volume XXIX No. 2

MARIA MOURA, F. R. C.

Director, Granel Lodge of AMORC, Brazil




Greetings!V V V

DOES SCIENCE NEGATE GOD?

Dear Fratres and Sor ores:

Does science invade the province of theDivine? The answer is yes, with qualifica-tions. Before the great advance of science inthe eighteenth century, many phenomena,whose physical or natural causal relationswere unknown, were attributed to the directwill of the deity. In other words, such eventsor phenomena were conceived by the aver-age man, if a devout religionist, to be arbi-trarily brought into existence by a fíat ofGod.

A common example of this was the weath-er. Severe storms or droughts, with their adverse effects, were generally believed to bethe consequence of God’s volition. It wasoften proclaimed by the clergy from thepulpit that God was “imposing his wrath”upon the people for some omission or com-mission. Prior to the advent of the theoryof organic evolution and advanced researchesin biology, it was contended that man was aspontaneously created being, this idea beingprincipally supported by theology. Man washeld to be arbitrarily chosen by God to be

in the particular form which he assumed.Man’s hands and fingers, for further example, were declared to have been separatelydesigned for their functions rather than tohave evolved by the demands of environment.

Even Descartes, the noted French philosopher, deplored any similarity between ani-mals and man. He tried to explain away thefact of their organic relationship, especiallythat animals might think. He says: “Thegreatest of all prejudices we have retainedfrom infancy is that of believing that brutesthink. The source of this error comes fromhaving observed that many of the bodily

members of brutes are not very differentfrom our own in shape and movements. . . . ”and “. . . I have held it demonstrated thatwe are not able in any manner to prove thatthere is in the animals a soul which thinks.I am not at all disturbed in my opinion bythose doublings and cunning tricks of dogsand foxes, ñor by all those things which

animals do. . . . I engage to explain all thatvery easily merely by the conformation ofthe parts of the animals.”

Geology and archaeology have also beenaccused of violating and invading the pre-cincts of the Divine. Geology has shown thetremendous age of the earth—since supported by demonstrations of radio carbón—which far exceeds the era of the beginningof creation as set forth in traditional sacred

writings. Archaeology has likewise thrownlight upon the periods of man’s society,changing entirely the time formerly esti-mated by religión. Medicine has shown theorigin of disease and plagues, attributingthem to lack of sanitation, improper diet, andneglect of hygiene, rather than to Divinedispleasure. Psychology has expounded thatmoral valúes are not wholly a supernaturalmantle or infusión that enters into men.Conscience is in great part due to our society,customs and associations.

Further, all revelations and visions arenot necessarily the consequence of Divineinsight. Some are the result of a disintegrated

personality, the inability of the individual todistinguish between subconscious impressions, mental images, and the world ofreality. Psychology will contend and provethat much of what men heretofore havecalled soul is really a matrix of finer sensi-bilities and sensations, the result of deeperemotions arising out of the forcé of life itself in the organism. These urges are partof the vital forcé of the organism setting upstimuli within, just as stimuli from the outerworld act upon man’s peripheral senses.These inner sensations are another aspect ofthe stream of consciousness which man, forwant of understanding, has named soul.

If these things, these manifestations, andthe manner in which men have presumedthey carne into existence, actually constituteGod’s exclusive function, then, of course,science could be said to now parallel theDivine. Such reasoning consists of limitingthe deity to certain qualities. Then, of course,when such phenomena prove to be demon-




strable by science, it appears to diminishGod’s nature. What, however, is necessary is

an entirely different evaluation of the Divine,or God. If He always remains sufficientlytranscendent, then the increasing wave ofmaterialism and the advance of knowledgeby science can in no way detract fromDivine eminence.

The religious view that contends that science is gradually negating God is the theistic conception. It conceives a personalized deitywho has pre-determined all reality, all theparticulars in the universe from pebbles tostars, from the amoeba to man. It confersupon the deity a series of particular purposesand plans. Each thing is not thought to bea development, as a part of forces and pow

ers inherent within it or working upon it,but rather is thought to be the fulfil lment of a preconceived design in God’s mind. Eachthing, it is believed, is a separate creation inthat it was divinely foreseen that it shouldbe, or that it would come to pass as it actually is. According to this theistic conception,God is the creator and His functions aresomewhat like the mind of a human inventor. He arbitrarily creates and directly Controls all of that which comes into reality.

When science reveáis that creations arenot necessarily spontaneous, or preconceivedto be dependent upon each other, then itobviously appears as if it is making an at

tack upon God. But science, in reality, isonly disproving a particular conception ofthe Divine, namely, the theistic one.

Suppose, instead, we presume a teleological cause behind all existence, that is, a mindcause which is universal, or cali it Divineif you will. However, it is not anthropomor-phic. It is not human-like or a personal deity.All things are amorphous and potentialwithin this mind, for flowing from it, oractually within it, are the energies, forcesand powers which constitute reality. Since,however, it is mind, it can be presumed thatit has self-consciousness of its own nature.

It, therefore, continually strives to be. Themind, with its consciousness of being, con-

stitutes that law and order which men seemto perceive in nature. The developments, theevolutionary processes that are experiencedin natural phenomena, do not stem, therefore, from a plan for the particular forms orshapes that seem to come about. These arebut mere incidents—manifestations of thecosmic or divine forcé of which this universal mind consists.

Let us use a simple analogy. The colorsensations that the eyes and brain registerwere not designed by this universal divinemind as such. It was not plaimed that therebe the human eye or the sensation red. In-stead, the eye is an organic developmentcoming forth from a combination of forceswhich are of the divine consciousness. Thecolors are but wave lengths of another en-ergy, which is part of the consciousness ofthe divine, part of its whole harmoniousnature.

The consciousness of the divine mind, infulfilling its being, results in man’s perceiv-ing a variety of phenomena, the continuityof the whole not as yet realized by him. He,in tum, thinks of these phenomena as being separate, as being especially designedcreations.

This conception, pantheistic though it be,

puts God in all things. It makes the forcesand energies, which are discovered and uti-lized by science, manifestations of a supremeimpersonal consciousness and power. Sciencebut discovers and uses this divine power. Itreveáis empirically how things come intoexistence—not by an individual fíat of Godor as a result of a preconceived design, butas a direct result of His own nature. Nomatter how extensive the discoveries of science, regardless of their disclosures of theuniverse as a phenomenon of physical forces,there continúes to transcend all such theoneness, the unity of this spectrum of ener-

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gies, which exists in the teleological cause,the divine mind.

The adamant materialist will recognize notranscendent cause. To him nature is not anextensión of a supreme intelligence and power manifesting in forces and energies, but,rather, a physical mechanistic forcé, unconscious in every respect and with no inherentmotivation or vitalism. This materialisticuniverse is monistic, being physical only.The mystical pantheist conceives a monisticuniverse also, but to him it is all God. It is

just as the arms and legs of a man are notreally separate things, but are the elementsof the one organic being, man himself.

Unless man broadens and expands his con-ception of the nature and power of God, to

him it will appear that science has negatedthe Divine. God, to man, is but a notion,an idea, so far as gaining an understandingof Him is concemed. Man’s understandingof God, then, must grow at least in propor-tion to the increasing knowledge he acquiresabout the physical universe. Science, evenin its constructive pattem, can unwittinglymake atheists of those who have arrestedtheir notion of God, who cling fast to anobviously obsolete idea. They must elabórateon that idea, because if robbed of it theywould have nothing left.


Imperator.

AMORC Motion Pictures

Each generation is not independent of theone that preceded it. Knowledge, too, is acontinuity. Though each generation maymake startling discoveries and come forthwith revolutionary progressive ideas, the ful-fillment and use of them is dependent on thecontributions of earlier minds—even those ofcenturies ago. All of the new devices andthe thrilling projects in the realm of elec-tronics are contingent, for example, uponmathematics and the principies of physics

long well established. The basic principiesof higher mathematics find their root in thegenius of the ancient Greeks and otherearlier peoples.

Our religious systems are founded uponthe revelations had by men many centuriesago. Many of our social taboos, and thatwhich we construe as good or wrong be-

ha vior, are not new innovations. They arethe discoveries of a society dating back to oídcivilizations. The Decalogue or Ten Com-mandments and other codes expoundingright conduct, though now often attributedto divine revelations, were really the shrewdobservance by men centuries ago of whatis essential to proper human relations.

Theft, murder, rape, lying, are funda-mentally wrong, not just from a moral pointof view, but as a matter of necessity if societyis to be held together. In other words, menmust not fear one another but must com-mand mutual respect if they are to workand live together. Time can littie changesuch codes of behavior if society as we wantit is to continué. Consequently, these things

are maintained today because they are essential to us.

Men should not be tradition bound. In theRosicrucian teachings and in numerous ar-ticles and lectures disseminated by the Rosicrucian Order, it inveighs against submittinguncritically to tradition. A tradition mustbe as effective today as the day it was in-stituted, or it should be discarded. If a tradition is not effective at present, it then willshackle men’s minds and bodies. But tradi-tions beyond which men have not conceived,or which time has not brought somethingfiner, should be preserved.

To a great extent, we leam about our

selves from what has transpired in the pasteras of history. A student of history can seein the trend of events today the errors ofyesterday which, if not extirpated, maycause the same circumstances to recur. Thathistory repeats itself is no idle aphorism,because we are so constituted that as hu-mans we will always respond to certainsimilar stimuli and environmental conditionsmore or less alike. The evolution of humannature is slow. Superficially, our culture,our way of living, may be quite drasticallydifferent than in the past, but as humans wehave the same emotions as did the Romans,Greeks, Egyptians, and Babylonians. Modera

education may be more extensive but thepristine intelligence of the people today inbeing able to cope with entirely new circumstances doies not exceed the ability of thepeoples of ancient Rome or Athens to do so.

The present then is a concatenation ofevents leading from the past and which willlikewise influence the future. It therefore




behooves the intelligent, modem person tobecome familiar with history, not only ofevents but of thought. We should know whypeople thought as they did, why customssprang from such concepts, and we willthen understand many of our modem waysof living which we now just accept. Perhapswe may discover how fallow are some ofthose customs which we preserve and whichwe even look upon with an attitude ofreverence.

It is for these reasons that AMORC main-tains a museum consisting of the largestEgyptian and Babylonian collection in thewestern United States. This large collectionof treasures has been gathered from the farcomers of the earth for a period of nearly

forty years. It began with the nucleus ofthe prívate collection of the late Imperator,Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, who donated it to theRosicmcian Order. Now the RosicmcianEgyptian Museum has won national and in-temational recognition. Though its main-tenance constitutes a definite expense toAMORC, it is an activity of which eachmember should be proud—and toward whichhe should occasionally make some donationover and above his dues.

The Museum is visited by over 115,000persons annually, there being no admissioncharge. It is a member of the esteemedAmerican Association of Museums which

has its headquarters in the Smithsonian In-stitution in Washington, D.C. The Rosicmcian Egyptian Museum is regularly visitedby classes of students from the elementaryschool level to university groups. Professorshave wiitten works using some of the mu-seum’s objects as the basis of their text.

Hundreds of persons each day walkthrough the galleries and look at the attrac-tively displayed artifacts and see the handi-work of men and women who departed thislife centuries ago. These religious objects,funeral appurtenances, weapons, utensils,and jewelry in their art and design speakeloquently of the heritage which they haveleft us today. All of this educational featureis in the ñame of the Rosicmcian Order andbrings the Order recognition, adding to itsesteem among intell igent and cultural people.

To supplement these objects on displáyfrom the various great civilizations, AMORC—many years ago—started a cinema project.It was planned to film the actual sites of the

great civilizations—Babylon, Thebes, Mo-henjo Daro, Greece, the Hittite area in AsiaMinor, the American civilizations as theIncas and Mayas. The Rosicmcian CameraExpedition went to Tibet, Siam, India, theinterior of the Andes, to photograph theseremóte places. Still photographs of thesehistorie and archaeological places by AMORChave appeared in the Rosicrucian Digest andoutstanding magazines, encyclopedias, andschool textbooks—with due credit beinggiven to the Order.

Color-and-sound motion pictures have alsobeen produced showing the mins of thesegreat temples, palaces, mystery schools, andsites of once great peoples. These motionpictures have been shown to women’s clubs,

history societies, service clubs, schools, andhave been exhibited over T.V. stations. Theyare all exhibited free . The propaganda in thefilm is kept to a bare minimum. However,the ñame in connection with the film issufficient to evoke questions such as What isthe Rosicmcian Order?, What is its purpose?,What does it teach? So again, your duesin part—and your occasional donations—make this possible.

The latest in a series of such documentary-and-travel films is the Aegean Odyssey. Ittakes the spectator to the great temples inGreece, to the site of the oíd Eleusinianmystery schools, and reveáis some of the

great art work and architecture of centuriesago, and some of the modem settings aswell. It explains and reveáis what is notordinarily shown in theaters or in the usualtravelogues.

If you are affiliated with an AMORClodge, chapter, or pronaos, ask its officersthat they communicate with the AMORCTechnical Department, Rosicmcian Park,San José, and that they obtain the film forshowing. There is no charge for the film.Ask the officers to arrange a function locallyto which you and other members may bringfriends to see this newest film and otherRosicmcian ones as well.

As we have said, our Rosicmcian filmshave been shown before many public bodies,such as the Rotary Club, Chamber of Com-merce, Women’s Clubs, and church groups.The only obligation is the responsibility forthe care of the film. Damage, of course, mustbe paid for. If you can arrange for andguarantee an audience of fifty or more per-




sons, members or non-members, you mayreceive the AMORC film for showing. It isfirst necessary that you write the TechnicalDepartment for full particulars. You can doa good work for others and for AMORC byarranging to have this film shown in yourcommunity before various groups and people.

—X

Hypnotism and Attunement

Many times in the past few months, members have written asking questions aboutvarious aspects of hypnotism.

That hypnotism was known by the an-cients has been well established. Many ancient mystics were aware of, and used,

certain hypnotic methods in their studies,even though they were not familiar withall its aspects.

Hypnotism for years had a “bad” reputa-tion, largely through the ideas of peoplewho did not understand it. Franz Mesmer,an Austrian physician, rediscovered it duringthe 1770’s, and began experimenting withit. As a result of his research he was considered a charlatan and dangerous; he wasdriven from several different cities.

We are now beginning to understand moreabout these phenomena, although all the answers are very far from being found.

One of the most prevalent questions conceming hypnotism can be summed up in the

letter from a frater who asks: “When willwe receive instruction in hypnotism? Itwould seem that hypnotism could afford amédium through which to improve concentration and develop Cosmic Attunement.”

Hypnotism is a method of subjugating theobjective faculties and direetly revealing .thesubconscious. However, it is an artifíciallyinduced process and lea ves the subject nocontrol over the subconscious and what impressions are put into it. In a hypnotic state,this is controlled by the hypnotist, not bythe subject.

By its very nature, then, hypnotism is notand cannot become a médium through which

Cosmic Consciousness may be attained.Cosmic Consciousness can be reached onlythrough personal inner development, and wemust be aware of, and maintain control over,the means by which this development issought. Since through hypnotism we do notmaintain that control, it is impossible toachieve our goal by its use.

Regarding its valué as an aid to concentration we find the same difficulties arising.It may be possible, through post-hypnoticsuggestion, to improve temporarily one’spowers of concentration, but the effects wouldnot be permanent and would gradually di-minish. Since we must work objectively aswell as subconsciously to develop our concentration permanently, hypnotism againserves little or no purpose.

While we recognize the valué of hypnotism in many realms, particularly in thefields of medicine and psychiatry, we realizethat there is little or no place for it in ourinner development.—W

Will Elimination of Ego Hinder Cosmic Development?

At a recent open Fomm, we were asked,“By eliminating the personal ‘I,’ as we aretold to do, aren’t we losing our individualityto the degree that we submerge some of ourCosmic inspiration, thereby hindering ourdevelopment? Do we mn the risk of becoming just one of the crowd?”

The thing within us which truly differ-entiates one person from another is the innerSelf, the Personali ty of the Soul. This isDivine, and cannot be denied or eliminatedby us.

When we speak of elimination of the ego,

or the personal “I,” we refer to somethingneither permanent ñor Divine, but something which is objective, material, and tran-sitory—something which is an affectation,so to speak.

People tend to forget about their trulypersonal or individual inner Self when theythink of their individuality, since it is fareasier to think of the many objective or physical characteristics which make them out-wardly different from other persons. Therefore, they feel that it is these immediatelyapparent things that truly comprise thatwhich they think of as individuality.

It is this mistaken idea that we must be

ware of. We must keep in mind that theseoutward differences which we deem so important are the .things which often block ourtme personality from appearing. By tryingto subjugate our misleading theories aboutthe importance of our outward individuality,we do not really lose individuality and thereby become merely one of the group, con-




forming to -the expected behavior of the

group, but rather we allow the inner Self tomanifest itself within to the fullest extent.We take máximum advantage of the tenden-cy for the expression of the personality ofSelf to bring forth the full meaning of ourtrue inner individuahty.

The monographs state that all men areendowed with soul and this soul is the samein all of us—an unseparated segment of thegreat Universal Soul. How then does oneaccount for the fact that individuality between persons and peoples exists? We knowthat soul expresses itself differently withineach of us.

This difference in the expression of soulmanifests in that which we know as per

sonality. It is in the personality of the soul,the soul-personality, that our true individuality lies.

As we all are aware, it is our personalitywhich carries our process of developmentfrom incamation to incamation, graduallygaining experience and development. It isthese different personalities which account ina large part for the differences in individuality between persons.

Thus, by understanding what we meanby “eliminating the ego,” it can be seenthat through doing so we do not run the riskof subjugating or submerging our true indi viduahty to the point of becoming merely

a figure in the crowd, following like sheep.Ñor do we hinder our Cosmic developmentby deadening or stifling our inner capabili-ties and differences.

By eliminating the ego, we allow our truepersonality to manifest itself anew.—W

The Mystery of the Kundalini

A frater rises to ask our Forum: “What isthe Rosicrucian interpretation or explana-tion of kundalini?”

In an explanation of the kundalini, wediscover an amazing knowledge had by theancient Hindus of the human physiology.

We also discem in their literature an in-termingling of mythology and occult lorewith factual matter conceming the humanorganism. It must be realized, however, thatmuch of the terminology used is symbolicalonly; it cannot be taken literally. The de-scriptions given are not taken by the ad-vanced student as actual images of a thing

or state, but rather as representative of some

thing that will help the mind to grasp afunction more readily. It is just as we mightrefer to the sun as a golden ball or the moonas a silver disk.

Perhaps one of the important and authori-tative sources conceming the kundalini canbe found in the writings of W. Y. Evans-Wentz. The author is noted for his works onTibetan teachings, lore, and rituals. Whilein Gangtok, Sikkim, gateway to Tibet, Mr.Evans-Wentz had brought to his attentiona rare manuscript in Sanskrit. Gangtok isthe point where the Rosicrucian Camera Ex-pedition in 1949 entered oíd Tibet and filmedcenturies-old lamaseries. The members ofthe expedition, including the Grand Treas-urer and the Imperator of the A.M.O.R.C.,know well from personal experience thatthese lamaseries are treasure archives of rareliterature. From such a source carne thewritings in the magnificent little book, Unto Thee 1 Grant, now published by AMORC.

The manuscript which Mr. Evans-Wentzwas permitted to examine and later transíateproved to be the Bardo Thódol (the TibetanBook of the Dead). In its original languagethe title means Liberation by Hearing on the

After-Death Plañe. The treatise concemsthe whole cycle, the phenomenal existencebetween death and birth. In other words, itis devoted to an explanation of what occurs

after death and until the event of rebirth.It dwells quite thoroughly on the subject ofkarma. The Bardo Thodol has been referredto as “a manual for guidance through theunderworld of many illusions and realms.”It purports to guide one in preparing himselffor the ordeal he must encounter after death,when he is to be tried as to his worthiness.

The Bardo Thodol is popularly called theTibetan Book of the Dead because its purpose is similar to that of what is known asthe Egyptian Book of the Dead. The latteris not a book as we know the temí. Rather,it is a series of papyri and scrolls, writtenover centuries of time, and constitutes a com-

pendium of funeral liturgies, magical rites,prayers and ceremonies preparing one fordeath, and a prospectus of what one mayexpect in the ordeal immediately followingtransition from this life.

The Bardo Thodol consists of tantric works.Tantra in Sanskrit means “discourse or treatise.” The tantra s are usually of a religious




nature and belong to a school of yoga calledthe Yoga Carya Mahayana. There are twochief groups of tantras, one Hindú and theother, Buddhist. The Hindú tantra is generally in the form of a dialogue betweenthe god Shiva, as the divine guru (religiouspreceptor), and his disciple. The principalcharacteiistic of both classes of tantras is thatthey are usually based upon the yoga philosophy.

A study of the Bardo Thódol and of theSanskrit works in yoga indicate that thereare fourteen principal nadi (psychic nervesor channels) and hundreds of thousands ofminor nadi in the human body. These nadimay be likened to the nerves as described inthe physiology of the West. However, the

nadi are not identical to the nerves of theWest. In yoga the nadi are conceived to beinvisible channels “for the flow of psychicforces.” Actually, the conducting agents inthe organism are said to be the vital-airs(vayu). There are, then, within the organismcertain vital-airs which become invisiblechannels for the flow of psychic energy.

In the Bardo Thodol and in the yoga philosophy, it is explained that there is a “GreatHighway” for the passage of the psychicforces in the body. In Sanskrit, the Hinduscalled this highway sushumnanadi. Theforces are concentrated in centers calledchakras. These are likened to what we could

cali dynamos, stationed along the highwayand interconnected. In this we see certainamazing parallels between what we knowas the central nervous system, with its sympathetic trunks (great highway) lying oneither side of it. Along these trunks are theganglia which are connected with it bymeans of rami, small nerves. Such knowledge of the nervous systems indicates a studyof anatomy and physiology centuiies beforethe West had knowledge of these matters.

We are told in these works of the Eastthat, in these chakras or centers, are storedthe vital forcé (vital fluid) upon which allpsycho-physical processes ultimately depend.

Six of the dynamos (psychic centers) aredesignated as being of fundamental importance. What is particularly significant to usis the first Root-Support. It is situated in theperineum, that is, the región included in theoutlet of the pelvis. It is related that in thisfirst root-support is “The Secret Fountain of

Vital Forcé,” presided over by the symbolicGoddess Kundalini.

The initial aim, the objective of the prac-titioner of yoga (as practiced in the East),is to awaken what in the tantras is calledthe Serpent Power. This Serpent Power ispersonified by the Goddess Kundalini. To bemore specific, we are told in the BardoThódol and in yoga literature elsewherethat the kundalini is located at the base ofthe spinal column. It is given the symbolicform of the serpent because it is said to be“a mighty occult power that lies coiled likea serpent asleep.”

Once this dormant coiled power is arousedinto activity, it then penetrates, one by one,the psychic centers. Eventually, it reaches

the “thousand-petalled lotus” in the braincenter. We are further told that, subsequently, this awakened occult power, this tremen-dous reserve of psychic forcé, feeds all partsof the psychic body. When this occurs, theyogi, the practitioner, is said to experienceillumination.

All this we interpret as meaning that thereis a great dormant source of psychic energysituated at the base of the spine which normally has a slight flow into the chakras(psychic centers) or in the nadi, the invisiblenerve channels. When, however, it is fullyreleased, it uncoils like a serpent, perhapsspirals, and ascends to each center, stimu

lating all of them and eventually sendingits charge to the principal center in thebrain. The whole psychic body, the invisiblenerve centers, are re-vitalized and broughtinto harmony, resulting in the great illumination of the individual.

The Bardo Thodol further explains thatcertain mantras (secret words), when ut-tered, set up vibrations which afféct theinner vital-airs (prana vayu). The stimulatedvital-airs, the invisible channels, finallyarouse “the Goddess Kundalini,” the sleepingserpent, the great occult power. This, then,as we have related, ascends from one psychiccenter to another.

The vital-airs or vital forcé serves as a“psycho-physical link” uniting the humanwith the divine. When the individual is sounited, he receives Communications from theSupreme Guru (the great spiritual teacher) .In other words, it is the Divine Intelligence.Once the whole organism of the individual isunited and brought into psychic and physical




harmony, it is then likewise en rapport withthe Cosmic Mind for great illumination and

inspiration.Putting aside Sanskrit terms and archaic

occult symbolism, the modem student ofmetaphysics and mysticism, the Rosicmcian,can understand what is being related in theancient manuscript concerning the kunda-lini.

It is a great source of semi-dormant power lying within each human. There aré vitalchannels through the psychic centers andsympathetic and autonomous nervous sys-tems for the release and use of this power.To an extent a portion of it is constantlybeing emanated and directs the functioningof the psychic self. However, this great re

serve of psychic power can be so stimulatedas to pour forth even a greater amount ofits energy into its channels and into thebrain. When this is done properly, the physical and psychic are so harmoniously in-terrelated that man finds realization of thehigher self and of Cosmic consciousness, aglorious and beneficial experience. It is tobe noted that certain intonation of words,with their vibratory effects, is important inconnection with the arousing and stimula-tion of this power.—X

Happiness in the Next World

Shall all of this life be but a preparationfor an anticipated life in another existence?Shall men show little concern for the vicissi-tudes of mortal existence, its strife and suf-fering, finding consolation only in the*thought that after death there will be thereward of happiness?

The essential premise, the sustaining one,in most organized religions of the presentand of antiquity has been a supernatural ordivine judgment of the soul after death. Inthe hagiography of the Egyptians, that collection of liturgies known as The Book of the Dead, there is a detailed description of theweighing of the soul. In the Judgment Hall

of Osiris the gods were assembled. The jackal-headed god Anubis placed the humansoul upon one tray of a balanced scale. Uponthe other tray was placed a feather, symbolof Maat (truth). The soul was, therefore,being weighed against the truth of the de-ceased’s confessions as to the manner of

his mortal living. The deceased was re-warded or punished accordingly.

The tremendous moral influence of this judgment in afterlife upon human behaviorin this existence is quite patent. The morereligious the individual and the more con-vinced that a reward of happiness or penaltyof punishment awaited him after death, themore circumspect he would become, Whenthe individual realizes that he is guilty ofsome proscribed sin of omission or commis-sion, he quickiy resorts to theology, the creedof his faith, as a means of ameliorating whathe conceives to be the punishment afterdeath.

Just as religión in its doctrines promisesrewards after death satisfying the highest

human conception of happiness, so too it ex-pounds terrifying retribution for the sinner.The doctrines of the particular sect or itssacred writings do, however, provide waysof purgation and atonement. These give thereligious votary a psychological lift. Theyheighten his morale and assure him thatimmortal happiness may be his.

Life is a gamble. There is nothing mancan do in his youth or in his maturity thatwill absolutely assure him of felicity hereon earth. The unanticipated arises and willoften counter his plans. Mortal happiness atits best is not a positive condition but prin-cipally, with most persons, one of chance.

Man can, however, by proper living, lessenthe consequences of many factors that bringsuffering. Increased knowledge—properly di-rected—prevents errors, the violation of natural laws from which arises physical andmental anguish. But certainty as to con-tinued happiness on earth is impossible.

The science of axiology or the theory ofvalúes alone reveáis why man cannot ex-pect to experience a continuity of happinessduring his mortal existence. Our loves, ourdesires, the achievements we have, or thosethings that constitute the good for us or ap-pear of great valué, determine not only happiness but often invoke the opposite, grief.The more we love and valué something, thegreater is the certainty that its loss or injuryor damage will bring us remorse and suffering. We are so constituted that we cannotfail to create these valúes. Our pleasures aremainly the momentary satisfaction of oneof our selves—mental, physical, moral, orspiritual. There is no way in which the




constancy of those things contributing tosuch pleasure can be assured. As life is

evanescent, so is its happiness.To declare that happiness in any form in

which it may manifest is solely a product ofthis life, transient though it be, is to invitethe severe criticism of most religious persons.Life would then appear futile to them andmany would not think it worth enduring.The fact is that happiness is related to thehuman consciousness and the various sensesof man. Happiness in its different aspects isthe pleasurable, the gratifying of some ap-petite or desire—even the most exalted happiness that we term spiritual is the result ofa transcendent desire. To have happinessin another existence after death, conformingto man’s understanding of it here, wouldmean that man would need be immured inan organism, with senses and nervous systems similar to those he now has. Not only,in other words, would there need be a transference of those sensations he experiencesas happiness here to a life after death, butthere would also need be a transfer of hisearthly physical and mental qualities as well.If one wishes to hear the strains of a violinelsewhere, the violin must be there also.

Is it not better to think of happiness as being a reward on earth for right living, areward that is, however, fraught with ob-stacles and challenges? It is one that isgained by many sacrifices, but that makesit that much sweeter. Epicurus, the philosopher, said: “The end of our living is to befree from pain and fear. And when we havereached this, all the tempest of the soul islaid.” We make and experience, every hour,degrees of heaven and hell, for they lie prin-cipally in our own consciousness. We caninherit pain or great ecstasy in an afterlifeonly if we inherit as well the body and itsvarious levels of consciousness.

Unfortunately, too much emphasis is being placed upon happiness in the next life.The current life is too often presented prin-

cipally as being an intermedíate stage between whence man carne and where he willbe. The present existence is expounded bymany sects as being only an opportunity forspiritual catharsis and the expiation of sins.The physical happiness, the pleasures of theappetités and their indulgence, is repre-

sented as the only kind of happiness that amortal can expect here. The ecstasies of thesoul, of spiritual consciousness, are expounded as reserved for the religious in a futurelife, as a reward for their staunch devotionin this one. As a result, personal spiritualsatisfaction, true mystical enlightenment thatbrings peace profound, becomes the goal offew men. They think earthly existence in-capable of ever conferring such things uponmortals. In other words, the gratifícation isby means of bread and wine on earth, butprofound titillation of the moral being isthought to be left for some intangible realm,cali it heaven or what you will.

Just recently, a Román Catholic bishopin Cleveland, Ohio, addressed an audience

of 60,000 Catholics gathered in a stadium.He was participating in a ceremony com-memorating the visión of Saint Bemadettein Lourdes, France, a century ago. In speak-ing of Bemadette, he said: “Our Lady urgedBemadette to lead a life of prayer andpenance and particularly to pray for way-ward sinners. She told Bemadette she didnot promise her happiness in this world, but in the next’9

If all this be taken literally, and it is sounderstood by untold millions of devoteesof different sects, one resorts to prayer andmeditation especially to escape this life. Itis made to appear that little valué, except as

a step to eventual immortality, is attached tothis existence.

About us are the manifestations of cosmicand divine laws. In an understanding ofthem or an attempt to do so, one will seethe working of the Supreme Reality, God,Cosmic, the Absolute. Each such experiencecan afford its heavenly pleasure to the observer. No more spiritual happiness can behad than this momentary afflatus of thesoul, when perceiving some phenomenon ofnature and then realizing one’s unity withthe Divine. There is a sense of peace, and

joy that is heaven on earth.

Such divine experiences on earth makemen worthy of any afterlife that may come.Do not overlook your present conscious inter-lude. It has within it some of the elements ofany heaven which mortal man can conceivefor another life and it is for us to experiencehere and now.—X




Life after Transition

My subject is not very original. If all theliterature that has been written and all thewords that have been spoken about life aftertransition could be put together in one place,the amount of material would be overwhelm-ing and, no doubt, very confusing. Further-more, there could be no one human beingwho could judge whether or not any or allthe material was authentic, reliable or truth-ful.

Man has contemplated the possibility oflife after this one in many ways and hasdrawn as many conclusions as there havebeen theories. Religión, of course, has triedto organize these conclusions and establish a

pattern or system which places the answersin the category of a doctrine. When we finda group of people agreeing on the nature ofimmortality and the kind of life that follows this one, we do not usually find theconclusions as a result of thinking, we findthem as a result of a creed, doctrine, or aseries of beliefs imposed upon the group bysome external factor, usually a church.

Without questioning the sincerity of manyprofound religious convictions, I ask myselfwhy any religión may actually have authority to describe the kind of existence to followthis period of life on earth. It is certainlytrue that the various interpretations given

by different religions cannot all be right;therefore, it is natural to ask if any are cor-rect. When very young, I was reared underthe influence of a religión which taught asliteral fact that the future life was dividedinto two sections. You would either live ina city whose streets were paved with goldand carry a harp through eternity, or youwould literally burn in an actual hell of fire.There was no intermedíate position and therewas no changing from one to the other onceyou had been assigned to either place. Actually neither location had a great deal of appeal to me as a boy; I do not particularlylike a harp, and such a heaven did not seemto be worth giving up that which, according

to the instructions of that religion’s doctrine,must be given up. Other religions have other descriptions of a future life, and we wouldfind such a confused explanation concemingthe nature of immortality that the furtherwe investígate, the more confused we be-come.

Many times I have written in the Rosicrucian Forum and in other discourses of

the Order that the material world of thepresent time has many faults because it de-tracts from an individual’s contemplation ofvalúes which lie outside the material world.Possibly, in making such broad statements,I may have overlooked one beneficial thingthat materialism has brought to the presentgeneration. It in many ways has lessenedman’s concern with immortality in com-parison with some periods in the past. May-be it is good that the emphasis upon material things should tum man’s thoughtsaway from a constant considering of immortality and a judging or weighing of everydecisión we have to make in terms of wheth

er it will assist us in the final outcome to-wards gaining another step toward heavenor avoiding one toward hell.

To ask why we are interested in thesesubjects is to explore the very nature ofman’s thinking. What has aroused my interest at the moment and caused me to makethese observations is that the appeal of immortality can be so distorted. Many individuáis today seek many things by manydiverse channels; all of which can be directedor accredited directly or indirectly to thisinterest in immortality. If the human race,as it exists today, had no concern ñor awareness of a possibility of an immortal state,then many activities now occupying muchtime would receive no attention.

I am appalled from time to time at literature that comes to my desk which makesclaims so extreme that I cannot see whypeople consider them. I wish for more fundamental proof when I read that someone hascome from Tibet under present-day circumstances with knowledge never before re-vealed to man, or that a flying saucer haslanded in somebody’s field and from it hascome an individual to give all the answersto all the problems that have ever confrontedmankind. Yet hundreds or even more individuáis are seeking eagerly to believe another individual who reports upon such inci-

dents as these, and such people suddenlytransform their whole lives by believingimplicitly in the information revealed throughchannels of this nature.

Why do intelligent men and women accept these statements as facts? I believethe answer lies in this fundamental interest




in the human being to be immortal. In otherwords, the individual, if he were concemed

only with his life today, would not be inter-ested in looking for pseudo-saviors who maycome before men to offer their wares, as itwere. Even religions are aware of these circumstances. We find many injunctions insacred literature to “beware of false proph-ets,” but unfortunately, the individual whois most influenced by a false prophet is theindividual who believes that his false prophetis the only one who is legitímate—in otherwords, that only other prophets are false.

It is very difficult to reason with an individual on the subjects relating to his philosophy of life, liis religión, his beliefs in im-mortality and usually also his zeal to want

everybody to believe what he does.Two recent books on the subject of lifeafter death have been called to my attention within the past two months. One is arepublication in the United States of a bookpublished in England sometime ago. Anotheris a recent book which is represented to be areport given by a woman to two friends asto the nature of her life after transition.The faults in these two books are to me quitefundamental. I do not question the sincerityof the authors. These books seem to be writ-ten in a vein that is not for the purpose ofconVerting the world to a new belief ornecessarily proving any already establishedfacts or new facts, but rather to present astory as the authors understood it. However,I do question very much the reliability oftheir source of information.

In the first place, I have never been con-vinced (and let me qualify very carefullyat this time that I could be wrong) thatlegitímate or actual valid Communicationshave been received through médiums. I amspeaking of médiums in the customary sense,as they are used in spiritualism and in certain forms of psychic phenomena. It seemsto me that the revelations by médiums arealways open to the possibility of being influenced by the mind of the individual himself who is acting as a médium.

No doubt there are many conscientiousand sincere médiums, even though there areunfortunately some who are not sincere orpossibly actually fraudulent—at least suchhas been proved in the past. But regardlessof the sincerity of a médium, we know fromour studies that the individualities of each

of us reach very far into the inner-recessesof our subjective consciousness and the areas

of consciousness that lie immediately out-side of our usual objective perception.

While we may not be proficient in beingable to draw from the subconscious, or fromour subjective conscious levels, ideas thatare already in a useable form and whichwill benefit us, it is nevertheless true thatconsciousness whether subjective or objective, subconscious or unconscious, is the prod-uct of one manifestation.

The consciousness of the individual beingis an entity. We cannot at all times beaware of all of it, and unless we developour psychic abilities there will not come atime when we can be aware of even a very

small fraction of it. All the thoughts thatwe have, all the experiences and sensationsthat compose our individual selves, are eventually registered upon the total of consciousness; and consciousness becomes in all itsphases a manifestation of our entire being.

It is, therefore, logical to me that regardless of how deep we may go into the subconscious or subjective area of our being,we will find in all our consciousness traitscertain features that will identify them asbeing the “I” that constitutes each of ourindividual selves. In other words, in the verydeepest portion of my subconscious mind arefunctions which indicate my individuality

and cause even my subconscious area to bedifferent from yours.Were I to be identified by my subcon

scious states, I would still in some sense bethe individual that I am and, therefore, dis-tinguishable from any one else. It would notbe more difficult to distinguish between youand me as individuáis exclusively in the sub

jective area of our being than it would beto make such distinction in our objectiveconsciousness. Therefore, everything we door think, objectively or subjectively, is modi-fied and regulated to a degree by our individuality. The médium who may not beconscious of the message transmitted, while

claiming to be the intermediary between anunbodied soul and the physical world, is,therefore, necessarily affected in the inter-pretation and explanation which that médium conveys by the very nature of his orher own individuality and conscious or unconscious states.




What seems of equal importance in regardto books, particularly those referred to in

explanations of existence in a future life, isa distinct weakness in that every thing isreported in terms of physical phenomena. Itis true that someone might say such reportsare given because we could only understandthem if they were put in terms of the material world with which we are familiar.However, in a book I was reading recently,references were given even to the type ofclothing the individuáis in after-life wore,the buildings they used, and the referencementioned earlier included also the way thestreets were paved. This book conveyed theidea that a réplica of the physical universeexisted in future life. I cannot find any sym-pathy toward such a point of view. Whatexists in a future life, if such individual im-mortality is to be attained by us at any timein that future, certainly must be differentfrom the physical world in which we nowlive.

The physical world is as it is because weare physical entities and we are a part of it.We know from actual observation that whatleaves the body at transition is not a portionof its physical essence. Therefore, whateverfuture life may be, it is not a replica of thematerial world, and when anyone is pre-sumably describing life after transition interms of their associations with physical ob

jects and physical entities, I am immediately

inclined to believe that such a concept isfundamentally wrong, that it cannot be thetruth. We can no more understand the function of a state of being unrelated to physicalphenomena than a child who is first leamingto say a few words can understand the function of a verb. It would be impossible to explain to a child who has only mastered afew words in a language what a verb was orhow it functioned.

I also believe it is impossible to have ex-plained what an existence is like that isentirely separated and apart from a physicallevel of being. Whenever we hear or readof reports of a future life as being parallel

with conditions and entities existiug in thephysical world, then we are, in all probabili-ty, only being absorbed by the story whichis a figment of the author’s imaginationeither consciously or unconsciously. Thebelief that there are things existing in anonmaterial world which are duplicates of

material things in this world is only theresult of our own imaginations and our

feeble hope that the possessions we have inthe physical world may be preserved. It isindicative of a desire to retain some of thematerial objects which we may have workedhard to achieve.

The question arises again, why all theinterest in a future life? All the teachingsof the great masters, all the inspirational material which we can find that help to makeus realize valúes not related directly withthe material world, stress the importance ofpresent-day living. The fundamental error,in my estimation, is to divide immortalityinto segments—as is our tendency to divideconsciousness into segments. We give these

segments different labels—the objective, thesubjective, the conscious, the unconscious,and similar terms. Actually, it is all onestate of consciousness, a part of which wemay not be objectively aware. Immortalityis also merely a man-made term. It appliesto the whole being, the manifestation of aliving forcé, and we are familiar with thatliving forcé as being embodied in the physicalentity.

It is to be presumed from experience thatat transition the physical entity ceases to beinvigorated and enlivened by the immaterialforcé which infuses it, causing it to be amanifestation of a living soul. But, nevertheless, if that soul survives the physical ex

istence, then it is a continuity of the existence simply in another form. Immortalityis a synonym for life, for being, and thisstate of immortality exists throughout eter-nity, according to many religious teachingsand the fundamental philosophic principiesof our teachings.

The phase of which we are consciouslyaware in our present-day existence is onlya part of our whole existence, but it willcontinué and we will eventually come to arealization of other phases. A time and placewill exist, it is my fundamental conviction,when all these experiences and phases willbe united into one, and we will then be

conscious of the one importarit factor thatevery moment of being has had its purpose.The most important use we can make ofbeing is to utilize it in the expression thatexists at each point of our conscious realization of being. It may sound old-fashionedand not in accordance with many modem




concepts when I say that the present mo-ment if lived right is the solution or the

key to immortality regardless of what maybe our personal beliefs as to a future life.If we live to the best of our ability and tothe best of our knowledge and strive to fitourselves into a Cosmic scheme that is greater than we as individuáis, immortality todayor tomorrow will take care of itself.

It is good that man has a curiosity con-cerning the unknown. If man did not de-vote himself towards the discovery of theunknown, he would still be an uncivilizedbeing. But he should not devote himself soexclusively to the unknown that he fails totake into consideration the importance ofthe known. The problems, circumstances,

and advantages that are ours today are thepart of our experience which we should concéntrate upon and the rest will take careof itself. Speculation upon the nature of afuture life of which we do not have direct experience is possibly an enjoyable pas-time but not a very productive way to useour energies at the moment.

Immortality is a state that does not haveto be attained. It is an existing state that weshould leam to use. Our segment of immortality is at the moment, and I am surethat if we live it well, all the future willtake care of itself. Many individuáis havedifferent convictions upon these subjects. Ibelieve that a personal immortality is at-tainable, and that the individuality whichis thé ego or the “I” will continué to survivein some form or another because the cosmicforces that cause all being to be must beconsidered to have a constructive and Progressive nature if we are to relate logicallythose forces to the total manifestation ofbeing and to a teleological concept of theuniverse. I believe that we exist as individual entities and will always continué todo so, but in what form and what place itis not our position now to attempt to describe,and no great advantage is going to be gainedfrom speculating upon what may or maynot be the circumstances of the future.—A

Is Death by Plan?

A soror of Toronto, Cañada, addresses ourForum and asks: “I would appreciate it verymuch if you could tell me if death is by planor accident? Is there a definite time for usto enter transition?”

There are two ways to approach an answerto these questions. Which one will be pre-

ferred depends upon the religious or philosophical background and affliliations of theindividual. If one holds to a theistic conception of the deity, that is, a personalized,anthropomorphic type of god, then each actin the life of every individual is presumedto be pre-determined. Philosophy may calithis same view, finalism. In other words,from the moment of birth, each event hasbeen previously established. The so-called“choices” of the individual are then notreally such, according to this conception, butrather they are a series of impulsations. Theperson is impelled to act as he does whethersuch be for his immediate benefit or not.

All of these acts are so organized that theylead to the eventual one as foreseen, theone that results in transition at the timedesired by the ever-directing god.

There is little difference between such areligious or philosophical view and fatalism. Each individual’s fate, as a course in life,has been prescribed for him, according tothe fatalist, and it is inescapable. The be-liever makes of himself, in principie at least,a puppet. He dangles from the figurativedesires, wishes and volitions of a supremepower, as though he were being pulled bystrings. Each act, each thought, is not hisown. He is but continually motivated bythe higher intelligence or being.

There is a psychological reason, other thanreligious tradition or creed, as to why somepersons cling to the belief that not onlydeath but all their acts are the consequenceof “God’s will.” To think thusly obviates thenecessity of a personal responsibility forone’s life. One is then inclined to give wayto his impulses and inclinations with littleconcern for their effects. The effects areeasily excused to oneself, at least, on thegrounds that they are not self-initiated. Infact, it is but a transference of responsibilityto God, or to whomever or whatever onebelieves holds the puppet strings of his fate.

The other conception which proclaims thatthe date of death is planned also subscribesto a teleological cause, that is, a divine andpurposeful mind. In this mystical and metaphysical conception, the date of death assuch is not pre-determined. Rather, it is heldthat the soul-personality of the individual isof such a level of consciousness, of such an




inner understanding, that in the plan ofthings, he will attract such conditions as

causes from which a chain of effects willfollow. These effects will eventually bringabout the transition at a specific time—ifthere is nothing to interfere with them. Wesee, therefore, that the planning in thisconnection insofar as transition is concernedis very broad.

We may look at this subject in this manner. We will designate a particular combina tion of circumstances by the letter D.Whenever these circumstances are attainedit will bring about a cessation of life. Bythe inherent nature of his soul-personality,the individual is intemally motivated to pro-ceed from Step A in life to Step B; thence to

Step C; finally to D. When D is reachedtransition occurs. The procedure is such thatD is finally reached at the conclusión of theindividual’s life at an exact time.

From this viewpoint, the Cosmic or DivineMind has established certain impersonal lawsto which each soul-personality is subject. Aseach soul-personality is more or less different, the influences of these laws, the causesand effects, bring about different times oftransition. The 144-year Cosmic cycle of in-camations, the period from one birth to another birth, is govemed by these sameprincipies. Thus, if one passes through transition at 80 years of age, the soul-personalitywould reside in the Cosmic realm for the

difference between 80 and 144—or 64 years.However, there is a certain amount of

flexibility in the date of transition accordingto this 144-year Cosmic cycle principie. Onepan vary the time of his transition by theuse of certain Cosmic laws, such as in themanner of his living whereby he can pro-long or shorten his earthly existence. Buthe cannot alter in the Cosmic the time thatthe soul must reside there. For example, onemay live so harmoniously, using constructiveCosmic principies that he attains the age of90 on this earth plañe. But he will then havean inexorable period of 54 years in the Cosmic—again, the difference between 90 and

144 years.In a philosophical and logical sense, thereis truly no such thing as an accident. Everything occurs by what we cali causes andeffects? or rather, a series of events whichappear to have a causal relationship. Whatman calis an “accident” is a combina tion of

urmnticipated circumstances. When two au-tomobiles crash into each other on a highway

it is not an accident in the sense of beingwithout any order or causal relationship.The laws of physics apply in the propellingand meeting of the cars—just as much as ifthe drivers had intended the collision anddirected it!

Every death is an accident except murderor executions if we take the position thatman did not intend it and was not familiarwith the circumstances that would lead di-rectly to a specific time of transition. Onthe other hand, no death is an accident ifwe think of it as being a condition whichfollows from a series of events.

From the mystical and Rosicrucian point

of view, it is best to look at the whole matter in this light: If we give no concern toour way of living, our death will eventuallyfollow just the same. It will come as apropulsión of our tendencies inclining us todo this or that from which death will follow.In other words, we will act in such mannerthat Step B will follow A; and then C willfollow B, until D—the transition—occurs. If,on the other hand, we act in accordance withthe laws of living as they affect health ofbody and mind, and if we Uve as much inharmony with Cosmic functions as possible,the time of transition could be extended. In-stead of the course of life reaching its climaxat D, it might in such a situation be carried

forward to Step F or Step G .—X

AMORC and Christianity

A question which is often asked in oneform or another concems the feelings ofthe Rosicrucian Order about the Master Jesús and the so-called “iminaculate con-ception,” as well as other Biblical “miracles.”

A frater from New Zealand sums this upby inquiring: “When you mention Christ,you refer to Him as ‘Master Jesús,’ andwhen speaking of Christianity you appearto place it in the same category as otherreligions. How do you define and interpret

the conception, resurrection, etc.? Can Rosi-crucians be Christians, and what happensto the beliefs of a Christian when he be-comes a Rosicrucian?”

The unfortunate part of the teachings ofmany branches of Christianity is that theyfail to recognize the validity of any other




religión. In their eyes, the only way to gainsalvation is through Christ, the “Son of God.”

People who are unfortunate enough to havebeen bom in Buddhism or Moslemism, forinstance, are doomed to Hell before theystart because they are not Christian.

Christianity, they say, teaches brotherlylove, and other “Christian virtues,” as doesAMORC. They often do not realize thatthe Koran, the Tannach, the Hindú Scrip-tures, and most others teach the same les-sons, often word for word, as the ChristianBible. These laws, then, are not necessarilyChristian, but rather they are Universal.

Cosmically, it was necessary for a personbelonging to each geographical area to bringthese Cosmic truths to his people. An Orien

tal would have been a suspect in Jerusalem just as a Hebrew would have been in China.Also, the presentation of these laws had

to be different in each area, as were thetime elements concemed. The people of theOrient, with their contemplative nature,were ready for Buddha long before the Ara-bian people were ready to receive Moham-med, and the Western people to receive

Jesús.Each of these was a messenger for the

same God. Moslems, Buddhists, and Chris-tians alike worship this same God, but notall the Christians, or Moslems, will admitthis. (Christianity is not the only religión

guilty of assuming that theirs is the onlyGod, and different from that which the restof the world worships.)

Jesús was a son of God just as we allare. He was a highly enlightened man, aCosmic Master, one among a number of suchgreat Masters.

The followers of Jesús felt that no personso illumined could have been naturally conceived. In fact, among the mystics it hadbeen a generally held belief that divine con-ception is possible; that the power of amental or audible word by a highly illumined being is capable of impregnatingmatter and bringing lifeless matter into con

sciousness. Even if the birth of Jesús hadnot been a virgin one, this would in no waydetract from the Cosmic consciousness heexperienced and in which he was made adivine being. In fact, there are many per-sonages who have been declared by theirfollowers to have had an immaculate con-

ception or divine birth, some of whom preceded the birth of Jesús.

There are many possible ways to explainthe resurrection. A frater recently evoked thetheory that Jesús was not really dead whenremoved from the cross and entombed, buthad merely become unconscious, reviving inthe tomb and bursting free. Many authori-ties feel that his body was removed by hisfollowers, who spread the story of the resurrection to further that idea of Divinity con-nected with his ñame which was so necessaryto bring new seekers into the light of histeachings. Either of these explanations ispossible, though the latter is more probable.

When viewed with an open mind, theseideas, though perhaps new to many, can be

easily accepted by Christians as well as non-Christians. Rosicrucians, as has been re-iter-ated many times, can be Christian just asthey can be Jewish, Hindú, Buddhist, Mos-lem, or of any other faith. Nothing happensto one’s Christian beliefs when he becomesa Rosicrucian other than a possible reorienta-tion of those beliefs, both in their own lightand in view of similar Cosmic truths pre-sented in other philosophies.—W

Valué of Autosuggestion

A Texas soror has stated to our Forumthat apparently AMORC does not use the

word autosuggestion in connection with anypart of its work. She asks then if what werefer to as suggestion is not actually autosuggestion. She relates that in our teachingswe tiy to bring improvement within ourselves through conscious thought, affirmation,petitioning the Cosmic for guidance, andthrough the practice of suggestion. The sororalso inquires of our Forum if, in our medita-tion practices, in dwelling within, and inmuch of our psychic work, we are not actually practicing a kind of autosuggestion.

Let us be certain that we first understandwhat suggestion actually is. We frequentlyrefer to it, but can we define it so as toknow of what it consists? Let us say thata suggestion is an idea that has indirect referenc e to other than its own content. Mostof our ideas are immediate and self-contained.If we perceive an object on the river, con-comitant with our perception of it we mayknow that it is a boat. Subsequently, we mayanalyze what kind of boat it was that we




any direct relationship with the incident itself; that is, there is no logical connectionbetween them and the cemetery.

One who is in a highly emotional condi-tion is far more subject to suggestion thanone who is not. This nervous state causesone to become more responsive to impressions. It gives the impressions greater em-phasis so that will and reason can be onlywith difficulty imposed upon them to analyzethe ideas which they arouse. Children aremore susceptible to suggestion than adultsbecause they are more inclined to have emotional reactions to their environment thanto rationalize their experiences.

Psychology has likewise found that “suggestion can be an empathic tendency of anindividual to mimic or share in the behaviorof others and to do so unintentionally.” Inother words, suggestion can cause us toproject our personality so as to assume theconduct of others. For example, a person,seated alone in a room where others in thegroup are laughing and smiling, finds theatmosphere contagious. Even though he maynot know the cause of their merriment, hesmiles, too. He unconsciously mimics theirattitude.

An individual not ordinarily inclined to-ward reading, if obliged to sit for some timein a room where all the others are reading,will be influenced to look at books or maga-

zines. He will do this, even though theremay be points of interest outside a windownear him. The suggestion causes a mimicryof the social habits of his environment.

Autosuggestion is primarily what thewords imply. It is suggestion to oneself. Onemay be conscious of the acts or words andyet he may not realize that it is a suggestion which he is giving himself. One canso imagine something, by repetition of thethought, that it becomes a reality to him.Many religious martyrs, tom on the rack orbumed at the stake, by believing themselvesto be receiving divine grace, have by suchthought, notwithstanding the circumstances,

freed themselves from pain. The ecstasy andbeatitude they imagined caused them to beimpervious to physical suffering. This, asautosuggestion, induced a hypnotic state inwhich apparently the victim did not feelpain.

Affirmations may have the effect of autosuggestion, if repeated with complete con-

viction as to their efíicacy, and if the causeswhich would undermine the power of suggestion were removed. Thus, for example,one could not eat unripe fruit and agitate adigestive disorder while at the same timeaffirming he was recovering.

A considerable part of metaphysical héal-ing, or self-healing, is due to autosuggestion.The distressed person has absolute confidencein the system which he is using. He believeshe is placing himself en rapport with theCosmic or divine curative forces. These be-come a suggestion to himself. He is lesstense, less fearsome and, as a result, allowsthe natural curative process of his being tofunction more normally. Every medical phy-sician and psychologist is aware of the psy-chosomatic effects in recovery from seriousillness or surgery. The thought of the individual can arouse either harmful orbeneficial emotions in connection with hisrecovery. In other words, the mental attitude of the patient can be in accord withthe treatment administered or counter to it.

In meditation, autosuggestion can be beneficial or it can be an obstacle. It dependsupon the procedure used. In exercises con-cemed with mystical principies, it is notadvisable to tell the neophyte or student,in advance, details of the results expected.Obviously, the student wants to know thereason for the exercise and this should ¡be

explained. But when one relates the par-ticulars experienced by other students, theybecome the foundation upon which the par-ticipant tries to construct his own experience.The student is ardent; he is anxious to besuccessful. To him, success means mentalimages, visual, auditory or tactile, similarto those of others. Every sensation he hasduring the exercise he consciously or evenunconsciously tries to fit into the frameworkof the experience of others. In most suchcases his results are wholly autosuggestion.He has implanted the details of the experience that he wants to have within his ownconsciousness.

The beneficial aspect of autosuggestion inmystical exercise is to implant in the subconscious certain definite principies of procedure that are to be followed. They thenbecome a guiding influencé for the neophyte,with the power of the subconscious behindthem. They impel the consciousness in acertain channel when the vacillating will




may otherwise fail to keep the mind con-centrated on the purpose of the exercise.

Almost every instruction, advice or coun-sel that arouses an emotional response withinus is a form of autosuggestion. It is what ispsychologically known as image-building.The mental image is set up in our mindsas an ideal, as the result of certain pleasingemotions that may have accompanied it.Consequently, in our behavior, in our ac-tions, we try to emulate the image that exists in our minds and which we have foundpleasing. We act then as we have motivated ourselves to act. Morality, right living, act-ing according to conscience, are primarilythe result of autosuggestion.—X

This Issue’s PersonalityMany individuáis are inclined to think

that destiny shapes the course of their life.But actually, we are the principal factors,either consciously or unconsciously, in thecourse that our life eventually takes. Wecannot anticipate all the events that cometo transpire in our lives. However, ourthinking, actions, and associations graduallybring about circumstances that form thechannel through which pass the years ofthis mortal existence.

In the instance of Soror María Moura,one of the two executive officers of the GrandLodge of AMORC of Brasil, she was the

primary influence in shaping her own destiny as she now experiences it. Soror Mourawas bom in Sao Paulo, Brasil, January 30,1919. As with most Latín-Americans, herearly religious affiliation was Román Catholic.At an early age, after completing her college studies, she realized that her spiritualand intellectual life was not wholly satisfac-tory. There was something wanting thatchurch attendance alone did not provide.

Soror Moura was acquiring a very prac-tical experience in the business and profes-sional world. She was meeting many prominent persons who, however, often indicateda serious lack in their personal lives. Thisconvinced Soror Moura that there was someunknown ingrediente some secret elementneeded to fill the hiatus she was experiencingin her life. While active for several yearswith a large Brasilian air line in the capacityof public relations and secretarial functions,she continued her search for this unknowningredient.

In the year 1948, Soror Moura was un-dergoing some dental work. During thedental sessions, she directly or indirectlyrevealed the search that she was making—the dentist was a Rosicrucian! The contactwas made and in the latter part of the sameyear, she crossed the Threshold of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC. It was after thisexperience that Soror Moura’s destiny became closely linked with that of AMORC inher country. In 1951, she became co-founderof the Rio de Janeiro Chapter, now a Lodge.In 1952, she was elevated to the Secretary-ship of the Board and simultaneously func-tioned as Matre, a ritualistic office. In 1954,she was honored by being appointed Masterof the Rio de Janeiro Lodge. She then en-

tered into the arduous task of translating into Portuguese, the language of Brasil, im-portant documents and papers transmittedby the Supreme Grand Lodge of AMORC inSan José.

In the latter part of 1957 and early 1958,she assumed the tremendous task of becom-ing co-founder of the now rapidly-expandingGrand Lodge of AMORC of Brasil. Of hermost able associate and co-founder, we shallrelate particulars in our next Forum issue.

Soror María Moura is an indefatigableworker deeply imbued with the principiesof the Order, and devotedly dedicated to itsfunctions. Her hobbies are all amplifications

of her work, further shaping her destiny asan executive of the Rosicrucian Order inher country. Her favorite avocations arereading, music, traveling, and teaching.—X

Black Magic and Superstition

Many of our members, especially in Africaand the Federated West Indies, ask questions conceming the widely varíed forms andpractices of the “art” of Black Magic withwhich they have grown up in their nativelands.

“Black Magic,” of course, is a demonisticform of magic, operating through spirits,generally, used with evil intent to causedeath, misfortune, or other harm.

There exists among the African tribes abelief of association between an object re-cently handled by a person and the individual himself. In such a case, a piece ofclothing or even dust from the victim’s foot-print may be taken, and any injury caused




such objects, it is believed, will bring similarresults to the victim.

One of our members who lived manyyears in British West Africa tells of a nativeboy who carne to a doctor friend convincedthat he would die, for a local man with areputation as a practitioner of Black Magichad accosted him and, smashing an egg athis feet, stated that his life would smashlike the egg.

One method thought to bring harm to afamily or household is to hide in the roof,or some other part of the house, an objecthousing a bad spirit. Until a native doctorendowed with the ability to search the ob

ject out and banish the “spirit” has purifiedthe house, the family is beset by all sorts

of misfortune.Besides these forms of magic, there is a

great fear of various kinds of supematuralor spirit beings. There are spirits whichroam at night and will capture and kill or,worse, will possess the bodies of those whomust venture out after dark. Water spiritsare also described. These inhabit swamps orcertain other water bodies and do harm ofvarious degrees to the unwary or the un-protected.

Protection plays a great part in the livesof people in these and many other areas.The powers ranged against them are so greatthat they feel it essential to have some means

of protection. This may be a potion or charm,but the most common and desired is a talismán or a fetish of one kind or another.Rings or amulets to be wom around the neckare the most popular. The Rosicmcian Supply Bureau is daily besieged with requestsfor such items to protect the wearer not onlyfrom Black Magic and Spirits, but from ac-cidents, poisoning, and any other bodilyharm. All we would have to do to double ortriple our membership ring sales would beto claim such fantastic powers for them.

In one way, the use and effectiveness ofsuch talismans illustrates rather than repudi-ates the true nature of Black Magic—that it

is purely psychological in its method of attack. This is shown by the fact that if theintended victim has a talisman which hebelieves, or “knows,” is powerful enough toward off the powers of his tormentors, thenthey can east all the spells they wish andhe will not be harmed. If he loses the talisman, however, he is a doomed man. He

knows this, and, surely enough, he fallsvictim to the magic and dies, or loses hiswealth, or similarly responds to whateverform the magic is to take.

The treatment of cases of magic is aspsychological as are the effects of its use. Inthe case of the boy whose life was smashedwith the egg, the doctor took the boy in, hadhim lie down and visualize the egg brokenin the dust. By talking to him for severalhours, he had the boy visualize the egg asgradually coming together; first the yolk andwhite pulling in, then slowly the bits ofshell forming around them. Eventually theegg was whole again with only the cracksshowing and, finally, even the cracks weregone. With the egg whole and sound once

again, so was the boy’s life. The doctor thensaid that his power was greater than thatof the practitioner and promised the boy hewould never again be bothered. In this case,belief in the power of the white doctor re-placed the need of a talismán.

If the peoples in those areas, so fraughtwith fear and superstition, could be edu-cated to the tme nature of these beliefs, theproblem of Black Magic would no longerexist.

The misery and death brought about bythe use of Black Magic comes from no ex-temal or supematural cause at all. It isbrought about solely because of the victim’s

belief in it, and is created within his ownmind through his fear of it.The victim has grown up among these

superstitions and believes in them so devout-ly that merely the suggestion that someoneis using magic against him is enough toconvince him of impending doom. If hewould realize that this power carne fromwithin himself entirely, and truly believedthat the so-called magic could not harm himunless he allowed it, he would then sufferno ill effects.

It does no good to accept this fact academ-ically, so to speak, without tmly acceptingit emotionally as well.

A person in Africa recently wrote sayingthat years ago another man pronounced acurse on him, stating that he would becomeinsane. It hasn’t as yet come about, buteven though the individual has long feltthere probably is nothing to fear from thecurse, he still often worries about it. Thisis a case where the victim has analytically




determined the truth of the situation but,because of his long traditional acceptance of

the native superstition, he cannot completelyexpel the possibility that the curse mightreally manifest. Should he continué to letthat occasional worry grow upon him, thecurse could prove true; not because of thecurse itself, but because of his inability toforget about it.

The key, then, to one’s nullifying the effects of Black Magic is one’s refusal to believe, both mentally and emotionally, in thesupposed power which is evoked by its use.Once a person knows that it works onlythrough fear, and accepts that fact with hiswhole being, he will realize there is nothing,in reality, to fear. The forces of Black

Magic and superstition then will be trulynonexistent.—W

Mental Pictures of the Blind

There are two separate questions submit-ted to our Forum which have a relationshipand, consequently, we shall endeavor toanswer them jointly. The first question is:“What sort of mental pictures do blind persons perceive?” The second query is: “Areblind people influenced by color?”

A congenitally blind person, that is, onewho is bom blind, would not have the samevisual images as we do. In most cases, hewould have just color sensations, even though

he had never seen any colored objects. Thesecolor sensations could be induced by themechanical means of pressure on the eyelidsor by rubbing them. Let one cióse his eyestightly or cover them with a cloth so thatno light may come in contact with the eyes.Then let him press gently, but firmly, onthe eyeballs with the index finger of eachhand and then suddenly release them frompressure. In most instances geometric pat-tems of color will be seen. At times theseare more intense than at other times. Rather,we should say that one will have the sensations of varying color and forms as well.

These colors are due to stimuli of pressureupon the nerves leading to the retina and

from it to the area in the brain having todo with color. The stimulus is not due tolight waves coming in contact with thenerves. A congenitally blind person wouldnot know the nature of the colors he saw.He would not be able to identify them. Hewould “see” by the method explained, that

is, have sensations of perhaps red, orange,green, or blue, but he would not know the

colors. He could not describe the colorswhich he was perceiving in this manner sothat others could identify them for him.

Eventually such a blind person would as-sign some ñame of his own to the color heexperienced. Let us presume that he wastold that there are three primary colors—red, green, and blue. Let us also supposethat he was perceiving, by the method wehave described, visual images of these colors.He would then presume that what he wasexperiencing was red, green, and blue. Butwhich one was red, green, or blue? If hewere, in fact, always just perceiving a fieldof blue in consciousness, he might designate

it as red or perhaps green!One who is not congenitally blind butbecame so later in life, because of illness oraccident, would experience mental imagesof a visual nature. In our relating to sucha person a description of a house or a land-scape, he would be able to recall from memory objects or scenes which he formerly sawand which would seem to him to parallelwhat we are describing. We all know thata great number of our visüal images areones recollected from our experiences. Theperson who suffers blindness later in life hasa decided advantage, if one may cali it that,over the congenitally blirid person. This advantage is that, before his blindness, he hadbeen able to store a vast number of visualimpressions in his memory. He can, subse-quently, draw upon them to help his under-standing of what others are relating to him.

The congenitally blind are assisted in un-derstanding their world by special emphasisbeing placed upon their other sense percep-tions. For analogy, a child who is born blindis made to carefully feel an object like aglass tumbler, a fork, a spoon, or a chair.After the object has been carefully felt andexamined in this way and the tactile sensations, those of touch, are registered in thechild’s memory, he is told that what he feltis a chair, a fork, and so on. The mental

image formed of the object is not a visualone, but is a tactile one—of fee ling. For example, you have never seen air but, whenit blows upon your face, you know fromthe sensations of feeling that such is knownas air in motion. The experience has identity,becomes a mental image to you by touch




rather than by sight. So, too, do congenitallyblind persons fill their sense world withrealities.

It is an established fact that most blindpersons develop acutely their psyc hic sense. The loss of one peripheral or objective sensemakes them more conscious of the finer impressions or stimuli which register upontheir sympathetic nervous system. They cultívate a reliance on these more subtle andfiner impressions which they receive. Manyblind persons have related (and it has beendemonstrated) that, if they are not dis-tracted, they will sense an obstacle in a room.In Crossing the room in which a chair is intheir path or a door is closed, they will discern it. They will suddenly stop before

reaching it and put out their hands and lócate the obstacle. The famed Helen Kellerdemonstrated this many times.

The blind often find it quite difficult todescribe the sensations which they have bythis psychic means of detecting objects—ac-complished by hyperaesthesia, that is, super-sensitivity. This is frequently experienced asan epicritic sensation, a kind of pressure asthough something suddenly were pressing inon them from without. It could be, and thisis offered as a hypothesis, that, due to theblind person’s almost unconscious relianceupon his psychic or subliminal faculties, heis unknowingly to some extent projecting his

aura out from his physical person. Thisaura, we shall say for better understanding,can be likened to an electromagnetic field.

When this field is disturbed or agitatedand any substance comes in contact with it,then, like the use of radar to detect distantplanes or ships, an impression is made uponthe consciousness. When the aura is thusdisturbed, it produces, through the nervoussystem, a peculiar sensation of pressure asof contact with some substance. This is thewarning to the blind person to exercisecaution.

All of this proves, too, that we do havesubliminal faculties, psychic powers, which

we do not ordinarily use. They are suppressed by full reliance upon our peripheralsenses as a matter of habit. In fact, whatwe refer to as intuition or the guidance ofthe Divine Mind within us, is principallydue to this psychic perception. Impressionsare registered upon our nervous system whichare not detected by our objective senses.

They are then transmitted to the brain, andthere reduced to sensations perceivable bythe objective consciousness. They take theform of some mental image, some notion oridea. They come through into the objectivewith such perspicuity, and in such a flash,that we entertain no doubt about them.

Let us again refer to the analogy ofradar. The psychic sense receives subtle impressions which the objective senses cannotregister. Thus as radar it detects objectswhich are not visually disceraible. Then, inthe complexities of the brain and mind thereis a transference of these impressions andsensations into ideas. Sensations previouslycaused by things we have objectively perceived become related to the transformed

psychic impressions so that there arises inour consciousness an image that we canunderstand and to which we respond ac-cordingly and to which we refer as an intuitive flash or hunch.—X

Resting the Mind

A frater now asks our Forum: “Would itbe possible to stop the function of our brainby lowering the temperature in our bodies,thus inducing a state of absolute rest for ourthinking mind?”

A distinction must be made here betweenthe brain and the mind. We presume thatthe frater has reference to the brain and its

organic functioning. In our Rosicrucianteachings we expound that mind really is aconsciousness and intelligence that infuseseach cell of our being, accompanying thevital life forcé. This mind is an involuntaryfunction. In other words, it acts independent-ly of the human will. It is this mind thatdirects the involuntary action of the heart,the circulation of the blood, and the respira-tory system, for example. Fortunately forour existence, we do not have to consciouslythink about and direct such functions.

The mind, as an infused intelligence resi-dent in living cells of the organism, is neverat rest; it is never dormant. It continúes its

functions when we are asleep and its principal functions are not inhibited even byan anaesthetic, or we would not be able toendure surgery. This mind, this consciousness, is of several levels or stages of deepsensitivity. How many, as yet we do notknow. The whole stream of this consciousness may be called the subconscious. Varia-



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The Mystical LifeThe God ConceptSelf and SoulLove and DesiceLiving FullyLight and

IlluminationDeath—The Law

of ChangeCausality and KarmaKarma in EffectEntering the SilenceMeditationNature of PrayerAífirmations-—Their

Use and MisuseThe Lost WordThe Technique of

InitiationOccultism, Her-

meticism, andEsotericism

Illusions of thePsychicSuperstitionNature of DreamsPredictionMastership and

PerfectionSpiritualityCosmic Consciousness

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An Amazing Revelation for Attaining Personal Power!

Do YO U KNO W that happiness begins with yourself? Are you continually torn by a conflict of desires— a restlessness that makes this or that seem necessary to have or to do? Do you find that things once longed for, often fall far short of the personal satisfaction you expected of them?

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In this book the author, Ralph M. Lewis, F. R. C., Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order, A.M.O.R.C., brings to you the results of his years of experience with the practical aspects of mysticism. The book contains over 350 pages (23 complete chapters); it is beautifully and well bound, printed in large type. The price, $3.10 (£ 1 /2 /9 sterling) per copy, includes mailing charges.

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Greetings!V V V

CHANGING YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS

Dear Fratres and Sorores:During normal times, on Sundays and

holidays, why are the public highways con-gested with automobile traffic? Is it just thelove of the people for the great out-of-doors,and for the sensation of an effortless rapidmovement of the body? Those are perhapssome of the explanations; however, the rea-son goes deeper and has a more seriouspsychological foundation. We avoid monot-

ony and ennui only by the continuousvacillation of our consciousness. A fixedstate of consciousness, that is, the retentionof an idea which does not change causesmental fatigue, which develops into irritabil-ity. There is no greater torture than bore-dom, as many can testify.

There are two ways of actuating our stateof consciousness. The first is to have it im-pelled without volition on our part. We maylook at or listen to something, for example,which continuously excites our mind withits varying impressions. Changing sounds,spoken words, the movement of objects, vari-ation of colors—these things hold attention

by the sensations they produce within us,thereby causing our consciousness to be active.

In fact, consciousness would become dor-mant if one sense impression, a sound forinstance, would be sustained so that wecould hear or be aware of nothing else. Thisis known to workers in shops and industrialplants, where for hour after hour their earsmay be assaulted by some particular andconstant sound, such as the whir of a motor-driven saw. Eventually this sound is blockedout of their consciousness; they no longerrealize it. Consciousness needs change. It iskept active only by the varying impressions

it receives, with the resultant sensations fromthem.The second way of actuating our con

sciousness is by our will, by thinking, byreasoning, by organizing the ideas whichhave already registered in our minds intonew and different conceptions. A man may

be seated in a cave, where no external impressions can reach him, with no sounds orsights to attract his attention, yet his mindmay be furiously active because of his re-flections. The studious type of individual,the thinker, can always self-stimulate hisconsciousness. Thus, he can be assured thathe will never experience the monotony of aninert mind. Through practice, his mentalpowers have become flexible and intellectual

activity is quite facile for him.Conversely, however, the other types of

individuáis, which unfortunately constitutethe majority, find self-instigated mental activity strenuous and laborious. They preferto remain passive and that the world,instead, act upon their consciousness. Consequently, for this to come about they musthave bodily activity, which they find lessdisturbing than the exercise of mind. Inother words, they decide to place themselves in such a position that their environment willract upon them, that scenes willever change without their even having todirect their own consciousness.

To use a simply analogy, if you wantsomething to move before your eyes, youeither exert the effort to move your handor something else up and down before yourface, or you can go to the window, remainstationary and let things on the thorough-fare move themselves before your visión.

The majority of people prefer the lattertype of activity. They find it more pleasingto move their bodies along the highways forthe changing environment it affords, andbecause it continuously assaults the consciousness with different sense impressionsthat prevent monotony and thereby cause

pleasant, though often superficial interests.The fact that this is so is evident that theyfrequently change the direction in whichthey drive their cars for pleasure, and varytheir rate of speed. They are constantlyseeking a new thrill, a further stimulus ofconsciousness, without the exercise of their




mental powers. They prefer to be acted upon, rather than become active themselves.

The cause of this deplorable condition isoften to be found in the homes of these people. Many of them are wealthy and ownluxuriously appointed homes, or are in quitemoderate circumstances. When they remainat home, other than for sleep, dining, or toentertain, they feel immured in a prison.The home is not really such to them, butmerely a shelter or residence. There is nothing in it which stimulates their imaginationor causes an active state of consciousnessfrom which they can derive enjoyment.

A home must be the habitat of your interests as well as your body. It must affordan outlet for your emotions and your desires

as well as a place to hang your hat. In itsfurnishings, devices, or appurtenances, theremust be something that will challenge yourmind and stimulate your thinking in a pleas-ing way. A home does not need to be aschoolroom or laboratory where tediousmental occupation is demanded of you. Itshould, however, provide interests to yourmind which are restful, relaxing, and whichmove your consciousness pleasantly, withoutthe need of accelerating your body 30, 40,or 80 miles an hour along the highway, toget the same results.

If you cannot conceive of what to bringinto your home that will afford these men

tally constructive, not dissipating pleasures,you are poverty stricken, even though youmay be wealthy in material possessions. Ifyou have no hobby, no special mental interest which brings you great satisfactionin your idle moments, you are abnormal—you are an extreme extrovert. You are thusunable to create your own environment, andyou are obviously a slave to forces and factors which act upon you. A man who says,“Well, there is no particular avocationwhich appeals to me,” is in the same breathsaying, “I have no desires, except the instinctive ones of my appetites. I find no

pleasures, except in eating, drinking, andbodily indulgences.

Most persons who must continually bemoving about, go here and there for diversión, are doing so because they cannot findit in their own minds, and, yet, they arealways restless. Actually, the external ex-citement for which they are ever in searchis not thoroughly satisfying to them. If theywould admit it, they are always wantingsomething more but they do not know what.

I recommend that such persons read someof the popular science, mechanics, and craftsbooks that are on newsstands. In time, theymay find some craft, some illustrations, oran article related to it that will appeal immediately to their latent talents—talents

which they may not realize they have. Isuggest also that they visit some of the hobbyshops in different cities, that, for example,have on display model railroad equipment,and kits for home experimentation in chem-istry, radio, and electricity. I further suggest that they write for the catalog of“Handee Home Shop Materials.”* Its suggestions for things that can be made at home,and the devices and tools for such a purposestimulate the imagination of anyone whomight be mechanically inclined.

Also they should visit the display of artstudents in schools or universities when theyare open to the public. There is a tremen-

dous sense of satisfaction in creating, infashioning ideas into things. You may neverbecome a Rembrandt or a Rodin, but youwill enjoy your efforts tremendously. Youmay never have had clay in your handsbefore. If, however, there is any unsuspect-ed art in your being, no matter how elementary, as you start to use the simple toolsof the beginner sculptor, and see a form tak-ing shape under your fingers, you will geta sense of satisfaction as you have never before experienced.

You do not have to have a palatial homefor these things. A comer in a basement or

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San José, California,under Section 1103 of the U .S . Postal Act of Oct. 3, 1917 .


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an altic will suffice. Even a little table insome part of one room on which you may be

able to write or draw. Have you ever triedwriting? You may amaze yourself at theresults, if you do. No one can really learnto write, by going to a school which pro-fesses to teach it. Such a school, admittedlyis useful in teaching the rudiments, such asgrammar, English, and technical fundamentáis for the presentation of ideas, and forthe marketing of your finished product.However, the development of ideas and theexpression of them comes from practice—try it.

Once you develop mental pleasures and anoutlet for them in your home, you will notneed to rush here and there for recreation

or for a change of scenery. You will notobject to the fact that your body remainsstationary for a few hours, because yourmind will be scintillating and your consciousness revolving from one experience toanother, under the magic touch of yournew-found interest and your own will.


_____ Imperator.* Chicago Wheel & Mfg. Co., 1101 West Monroe Street, Chicago, 111.(From The Rosicrucian Forum—Oct. 1943)

Has Palmistry Any Basis?

A soror of New England addresses thisForum circle for the first time, I believe. Shesays: “It has been said that no two personshave identical lines on their respective hands.Rosicrucian monographs say that ‘memory isthe working tool of creation.’ Although, ofcourse, the lessons do not say so, I wonderwhether the lines on our hands must, therefore, be marks of experience, so to speak.

“Every hand does seem to have a fewmain lines which are similar. I am not in-clined toward superstition, but these factsmake me wonder if there was ever any basisfor palmistry.”

Palmistry is an ancient pseudo-science and

a form of divination. Technically it is re-ferred to as chiromancy, and at one time waspart of the official practises of ancient Rome.Even as late as the year 1475 A. D., the chiefelements of palmistry were codified, that is,incorporated into a recognized system ofpractise and interpretaron.

The theory of chiromancy, or palmistry, isthe assumption that there is a correlation be

tween the hand and the brain and, therefore,by means of it individual character can beread. Further, by the same means, it isclaimed that the future of the individual canbe predicted.

It is often not realized by the “clientele”of the palmists by what means they professto make their interpretations. It is interesting to disclose the methods of the palmistwho has made a pseudo-science of his “pro-fession.” The general shape of the hand isthe first classification they consider. Next,the flexion-folds (the lines), and then themuscular projections (the mounds) are ex-amined in connection with “the doctrine of

signatures and the influence of planets.”The left hand is usually preferred for a“reading” since it is less deformed by work,that is, its characteristics are less concealedby callouses or by a roughened texture.

French practitioners of palmistry haveplaced hands in seven classes. They are:elementary, grand (possibly meaning thehand of an aristocrat not exposed to anyabusage), necessary (this probably means anordinary hand subject to common usage, in-cluding some menial labors), the artist, philosopher, psychic, and the mixed.

The outstanding feature is said to be thethumb. The line surrounding the base of the

thumb is the life line. At least, that is oneof the suppositions of the earliest palmists.If the line is without sinuosities (withoutwinding or folds) the line is said to representhappiness. The first phalange of the thumbis said to signify will; the second depicts theextent of the indi vidual’s logic. The ball ofthe thumb is termed the Mount of Venus,and on its features depends, it is said, theindividual’s success or failure. Next to theline of life, which it joins beneath the index-finger, is the line of the head. Above andparallel to it, it is declared, is the line of

fa te , and parallel to it, and toward the heelof the hand, the line of fortune. From the

origin of the life line to the base of the littlefinger runs the line of health.The supremacy of man is greatly depend-

ent upon the pr ehensi le characteristic of hishands. Much of man’s environment, nowmastered by him, would have been insuperable if not for the dexterity of these mem-




bers. It is the hands which are capable ofexecuting the conceptions of the mind. Oth-erwise, so far as man is concerned, theworld would never reflect his ideas. Thehands have fashioned man’s ideas into forms.Next to the head and the heart the handshave been eulogized in liturgies as one ofman’s greatest gifts. The hands have like-wise been thought capable of bestowingblessings and evoking curses. The hands ofa craftsman were, particularly in ancienttimes, thought to be possessed of an inherenttheurgical power because of their Creativeability. Even, today, as we watch the skill-ful fingers of a mastercraftsman, a workerin ceramics, a sculptor, or a goldsmith, forexample, it almost seems as if they possess

an independent intelligence instead of mere-ly following the commands of the mind.Is it any wonder, then, that people of low

intelligence or superstition in the past bé-lieved that there was a definite correlationbetween the lines of the hand and the brain?It is also a kind of elementary reasoning thatthe hands of people performing the samekind of work should have common charac-teristics. Thus, it would be believed that thehands of philosophers should be similar, andthose of blacksmilhs. Scientifically, there hasnot, as yet, been discovered any rationalfacts to support the hypothesis of chiro-mancy.

A common misconception in connectionwith the practice of palmistry is that thoseof an aesthetic nature, i.e. those of an artistictemperament or profession such as musi-cians, philosophers, painters, should havelong slender hands and fingers. Consequent-ly administrative geniuses, or those of ex-cellent business executive ability, would haveshort thick hands and more or less stubbyfingers. You have heard these claims your-self. Look around you. You will find asmany artists and writers, successful onesalso, with short stubby hands as those withslender ones and visa versa. The late Im-perator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, although

having excellent administrative talent, wasartistic in temperament and found his greatest expression in writing and painting yethis hands were thick and his fingers heavyand short.

All humans do have, speaking generally,similar flexion-folds (lines) just as all nor

mal persons have ten fingers. At that pointall similarity ends and the variation is asgreat as there are people. The fact alsoremains that persons with long life lineshave died young, and those with short oneshave lived to a venerable age. It might beasked, then, how is it that some palmists canmiraculously delineate the character of theone whose palms they read?

This faculty is not due to palmistry butrather to the highly developed sense of character analysis of the individual—and som ething more. Some of these individuáis arepsychically sensitive. They feel readily theaura of those persons with whom they comein contact. From the vibrations of the aurathey are able to detect the personality, thecharacter of the individual, regardless of hisor her objective appearance. They can tellwhether the individual is spiritually evolved,kind in disposition, tolerant and sympathetic.Likewise they can determine whether he iscruel, niggardly, and bigoted. They are alsoable to determine whether a person hasaesthetic tastes, is worried, in good health,etc.

It would, in all probability, be impossiblefor them to describe the sensations whichthey have from the impressions of the aura,but they can, and particularly through experience, define them rightly. The fact thatthey hold the hand, ostensibly to read thepalm, actually pro vides them with a closercontact with the aura. They undoubtedlycould, and would, obtain the same resultsfrom placing their fingers upon the foreheadof the client, for example. It is perhaps truethat some palmists are not aware of thesource of the impressions they receive, thatis, that enter their consciousness as they lookupon the mounds and lines of the client’shands. Therefore, they actually believe thatthey are reading the palms.

It might be said that those who possess ahigh degree of psychic development and areapt at cryptesthesia, use palm reading, crys-

tal gazing, playing-cards, teacup readings,etc., as mere props. In other words, they areused as a material and dramatic backgroundfor their immanent and, often little under-stood, functions. Further, these props go along way in impressing the clients.

(From The Rosicrucian Forum—Oct. 1943)





José de 0. Paulo was born in one of themost fabulous cities of the world. The exoticprofile of Rio de Janeiro has sent many apoet’s heart singing the praises of that jewelon the south Atlantic seaboard. It seems fit-ting that this should have been the setting, in1908, for the birth of Frater Paulo who todaylends such grandeur to Rosicrucian activitiesin Brazil. The equanimity and grace withwhich he fulfills his arduous assignmentsreflect the delightful and earnest tempo ofthe country in which he lives. It is also fit-ting that here, through Frater Paulo and hisable associate Soror María Moura, the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, is making great new

strides.Prior to his association with the GrandLodge of Brazil, Frater Paulo spent manyyears in the field of commerce. His collegestudies and his contacts with commercialrepresentatives from abroad brought him anearly knowledge of English and Spanish.This skill in languages enabled him to takea number of positions as a translator andproved of inestimable aid when he set aboutthe gigantic task of translating volumes uponvolumes of Rosicrucian lesson material intoPortuguese, the language of Brazil.

It was through an avid love of readingthat Frater Paulo first contacted the Rosicru

cian Order. While paging through a widely-circulated periodical one day, he carne uponan advertisement which carried the in-triguing invitation to investigate further themysteries of Being. An age-old fraternal organization known as The Rosicrucian Order,AMORC, offered to help the sincere seekerdiscover the true nature of self.

Here he immediately found a fulfillmentof his search for a satisfying philosophy oflife. It fulfilled both his longing for mystical enlightenment and a need to find prac-tical ap pl icat io n for his ideáis. Beingpractical as well as mystical in nature,Frater Paulo wasted little time in helping tobring about the establishment of a Rosicrucian body in Rio de Janeiro. With hispresent associate, Soror Moura, he was co-founder of the first Rosicrucian Chapter inRio de Janeiro, serving later as Chairmanof its Board of Directors, and serving atother times as Chanter, Deputy Master, andBulletin Editor.

But his destiny led him further—to themost important task of his life—co-foundingthe Grand Lodge of Brazil. As a directorof that body he holds the equally responsibleposition of treasurer. Since that historiemoment in 1957, Rosicrucian activity hasrapidly advanced in Brazil with its GrandLodge now being one of the major divisionsof the International Jurisdiction of AMORCwith its Supreme See in San José, California.

Frater Paulo at home is a family man,having a charming wife and daughter. Whattime he now finds free from the many dutieshe has assumed, sees him busy at home orbusy with one of his avocations, which include singing, and other aspects of art andmusic.—X

Creating in the Cosmic

A frater of South Africa addressing ourForum says, “Is it proper to say that undercertain conditions one may create in theCosmic world? I understand that even straythoughts on the part of an individual havetheir impact on his destiny, day by day . . .and that by concentration, marked concentration, he can, through the use of Cosmiclaw, create or draw together the elements oflife to make wise dreams come true. As Iunderstand it, there must be far more thanprayer or more than emotional desire; the

objective must become real, and there mustbe put forth knowledge that the objectiveis possible, right, and well merited.”

Really, we do not create in the Cosmicthough this is the term that we commonlyuse to designate certain activities on ourpart. What we are doing here is creatingand using the Cosmic to help us materializeour thoughts so that we may convert theminto reality.

Let us begin by considering briefly thecommonest method of what is called “creating Cosmically.” We begin by “visualiza-tion.” We must firs t have a clear conceptionof what we want. If we are vague, we can

no more create mentally than we couldcreate with lumber and tools if we had noobject in mind. Second, we must sincerelyask ourselves if what we want is ethicallyproper; does it have merit? Will the receiptof it bring harm to another through loss,economic disadvantage, or distress in someway? Is what we desire a luxury that will




detrimentally affect our health or moráis,or our personal advancement in any way?Our conscience must be the guide in pro-viding these answers.

If finally we have a clear perception, thatis, an idea of what we want, and if there isno conscientious objection to it, then we areready for the third step. We begin in ourconcentration to form a visual image of whatis desired on the screen of consciousness. Aswe are told in our monographs, we thinkof the screen of consciousness in our mindas being like an artist’s canvas. Upon this,we mentally paint, part by part, element byelement, what we desire—just as an artistwould compose his painting on canvas.

Suppose it is not an object that you de

sire but an experience. It may be that youwish to take a special course in music in adistant city. Your visualization of the mentalpicture which you paint in your mind mustinclude all the essential elements that willmake this objective possible. You will seeyourself, by extra work perhaps and in-come, acquiring the funds for the joumey.Then you will see yourself so regulatingyour affairs that you will have time to beabsent from your regular duties. Then see thefimshing touches, such as actually attendingthe school, studying there and receiving theknowledge and the benefit which it provides.

The fourth step is the release of the mental

picture into the Cosmic. Dismiss it from yourobjective mind. Release it into the subconscious, which stream flows outward into theCosmic mind and intelligence. For analogy,suppose you drew a sketch of a cabinet thatyou wished to have. Carefully you wouldindicate all of the cabinet features in yourdesign, the dimensions, kind of wood andpaint which it should include. But, so longas you were keeping the structural drawingon your person, it would never materializeinto a reality. It would be necessary foryou to give the drawing to a cabinetmakeras a necessity for its execution. So, you mustdismiss the complete mental image fromyour objective mind. We say then that sucha mental image has been released to theCosmic to create.

Actually, we are transmitting to the subconscious a picture of what we want, andit is reflected into the Cosmic. The Cosmicforces and attributes which will further ourmental image will cause us to be attracted

to such conditions as will bring it about.Simply put, there will be a continuous subconscious urge and inclination on our parttoward all avenues which will help bringabout the fulfillment of our desire, the ac-tualizing of what we have visualized. Wenow find ourselves inclined to Cosmic impulses, motivations toward which we mightnot ordinarily respond but which wouldfurther our desire.

Individuáis say, and you have heard them,that “suddenly things seemed to open upfor me.” A way was apparent. I met thisperson or I read this notice which broughtme into contact with elements that helpedme to realize my dream. In other words,these people were really being Cosmically

made more conscious of all those factors,those elements, which would make it possible for them to bring their mental imageinto existence.

Let us use another analogy which wehave often used before. One buys a car ofa certain make. Perhaps previously he hasnever paid much attention to that make butnow as he walks down the thoroughfare, hesees many cars of the same make as his own.It may seem to him that the car he hasselected has almost ovemight increased innumber. The psychological factor is that heis particularly conscious of his own car, itsdesign is very definite in his mind, and he

has an emotional attachment for it. He likesit; prefers it. Ordinarily, before he madethe purchase, the similar cars going bywould not have attracted the same attention.There would not be the emotional responseand reaction to the suggestion which theynow provide.

So, too, once having properly released amental image into the Cosmic, ways andmeans for our personally realizing it seemto continuously spring up before us or arebrought to our attention. If we take advan-tage of these opportunities, through our ownefforts, soon then we do create in a materialway what we have desired.

It is essential to note that what we desireis never suddenly delivered to us like something taken by the Cosmic out of stock fromsome infinite warehouse. The Cosmic doesnot keep replenishments or a supply of com-modities to materialize for us upon our de-mand. This sort of false notion is one of the




major factors why so many Cosmic appealsfor the creation of something fail.

There are those who may relate, “I wasgreatly in need of a certain thing and ap-pealed to the Cosmic for its creation. Later,perhaps weeks or months, suddenly it carneinto existence.” Such a statement, however,shows a lack of analysis of all the contrib-uting conditions that actually brought aboutthe desired thing. The individual who spokethis was failing to realize the various stepsby which the whole was finally consum-mated.

The Cosmic does not create for us; rather,it makes it possible for us to create for ourselves. If this were not so, we would, figura-tively, almost all of us become parasites—

tossing all of our problems and needs intothe Cosmic lap as if it were a genie intendedto do our bidding.—X

Disease and Sin

A soror in Glasgow, Scotland, says: “I donot see diseases such as tuberculosis andcáncer as a terrible sin against society. Aperson who has suffered a great deal of ill-ness may contribute quite a lot to society.Many of us have leamed through illnessand disappointment, and even debt can be-come a compensation. Could you make thisa discussion for the Forum?”

Disease is suffering. The theology of oíd—

and some forms of it today—made sufferingthe consequence of sin. From that point ofview, every pain, particularly any misfor-tune that befell men, augured a divine punishment. In the various orthodox sects ofChristianity with their puritanical creedsand innumerable taboos, it is almost im-possible not to sin. As a result it becamea simple matter to attribute any illness ordisease as being retribution or a punishmentfor a violation or because of some sin. Godwas literally kept busy imposing punish-ments upon mortal man because of hispusillanimous character.

What is sin? In general, it is any conduct which is conceived to be a violation ofa divine edict. It is construed as humanaction intentionally—and sometimes unwit-tingly—committed in opposition to a religious or moral code. Succinctly put, a sinis the breaking of what man interprets as adivine law. Man is the interpreter of thedivine. All saints and sacrosanct beings who

have professed to have had revelations ordisclosures from spiritual sources were themselves mortals. Therefore, it is they, as humans, who define what in human behaviorand human relations is good conduct andwhat is sinful. It is, of course, held thatGod will excúlpate the sinner if he performscertain prescribed rites and by so doingatones for his sins. Those who do not areto be punished here—and most assuredly inthe hereafter. Since so many sinners, asconstrued by religión, seem to escape thepenalty upon the earth plañe, particularemphasis is placed upon the just compensation that will be meted out to them in thehereafter.

It has been difficult at times for orthodox

and organized religión to explain convincing- ly how one who has conscientiously sub-scribed to their moral, and religious codesbecomes afflicted with disease. Why is hevisited with such suffering if he is a “good”and “devout” person? It is presumed bythem that behind each such event there is areason—God’s reason. Most times then, it isfurther presumed that, notwithstanding avery commendable display of devotion, thesuffering individual nevertheless must havebeen guilty of something not orthodox. Inother words, he must have, in secret or other-wise, sinned.

In the broad sense there is no relationship

between disease and morality. The mostmorally circumspect person is still subjectto natural laws which are impersonally di-rected for and against man. The laws ofnature are a manifestation of the Cosmic.They stem from its divine source but theywork as impersonally fo r and against theinterest of human beings as do the naturalphenomena of electricity and gravity. Thecriminal can use the power of electricity aseffectively as can the priest or clergyman.

The morally circumspect individual triesto understand Cosmic and natural lawswhich affect his life. He avoids doing anything that will cause him to become diseasedor in ill-health. However, he is subject tothe same viruses and bacteria as anyoneelse. If, through ignorance, he contracts adisease it is not an intentional impositionof suffering upon him by a divine being.It is really a form of self-punishment. Afterall, any immorality which results in abreach of the laws of health is a sin com-




mitted against ourselves. In the mysticalsense, man is only a sinner when he will-fully violates Cosmic and natural principieswhich degenerate the health processes of hisbody and mind, or interferes with what maybe termed the natural rights of other humanbeings.

What are the natural rights of other human beings? Again, we enter into the realmof human interpretation. Today major nations are in a state of coid war, principallydue to a difference in the interpretation ofhuman rights. These rights concern freedomof the individual; the manner in which menshall organize in the form of society for thefurtherance of their mutual welfare; andwhat shall constitute the human objective

commensurate with certain moral or religious idealism.

Fundamentally, freedom as a right shouldallow the fullness of expression of the variednature of man to the extent that it does notdeny other persons similar opportunities. Itis held in most nations that man’s personalpowers and being, though organicallyevolved, are in accord with an original divinemandate. The exercise of such rights in accord with such an understanding, and withthe necessary restrictions stated above, is theultímate objective of the enlightened society.The man or woman who opposes such rightsof others is not only in violation of man-

made law but is considered to be immoraland a sinner, as well.The fact is that much of our suffering is

due to karma. It is the logical consequenceof the law of karma. Karma is the law ofcompensation and causality. This means thatfor every cause we institute an effect follows from it. There is a natural karma.Through ignorance we unwittingly invokecertain causes, set into motion certain forcesor conditions from which follow unpleasantresults as disease and ill-health. In the caseof adverse karma, it is not being imposedupon us as a retribution, or to punish us inany way. Karma is as impersonal as gravity,

which causes water to fail over the side ofa cliff in some spectacular manner. Fivecenturies ago men innocently brought uponthemselves many diseases due to lack of theknowledge of sanitation, for example. Nevertheless, the law thus invoked worked to theirdisadvantage just the same as if they had

knowingly committed the violation of naturallaw.

Today, much of our illness from which wesuffer is likewise due to ignorance of certainfactors which the next generation may learnto avoid. We may soon discover the cause ofcáncer, for example, and how to prevent it.Men now suffer this malady not because ofany moral sin but due to natural forceswhich in some way they oppose in theirmodem way of living.

We cannot conclude without repeat-ing, as we always do, that karma is two-fold in its effect. It is not adverse any morethan that all causes could be to the disadvantage of man. There are in the Cosmicand in natural forces, when invoked, causes

that bring results and effects which arestiic tly to our advantage. Just as illnessis not the result of some sin which we havecommitted against God or against some religious code, so too, many of the little rewardsand pleasures which we experience in lifeare not special mandates descending to usfrom the Cosmic; rather, they indicate thatwe have been working harmoniously, eitherintentionally or unintentionally, with theseimpersonal Cosmic laws. As a result the effects, the pleasure or happiness, is what wederive from the experience.—X

Awakening our Talents

A frater now addresses this body. Hesays: “I know that in our Rosicmcian monographs exist the laws and exact procedurewhereby we can awaken and develop ourtalents and latent abilities. Undoubtedlysome of this information has been digestedpreviously by me, but for the moment I amat a loss to organize it for use. What aretalents? How are they acquired? And, mostimportant, how can I organize any I maypossess, and finally, how can I apply themto my living?”

Let us discard the conventional definitionof talent. As an immediate beginning, toserve our purpose, we can say that talentsare aptitudes which we display. An aptitudeto most of us means general inclination toward something, such as, for example, me-chanics, with perhaps more ability in thatthan in some other endeavor. This seemsirreconcilable with talent, as perhaps you areaccustomed to think of it. It is the habit to




think of one having a talent as possessingsuch particular ability that he will exceedone who does not have the same inclination.

Let me use an analogy: There are twomen; one is a prominent student of languages, a teacher of them, in fact; the otheris a clerk in a large office. The clerk isrestless in his work; he is fascinated withmechanical things. He likes to toy withmachinery, engines, motors, and devices.Besides having that love, he displays a mechanical talent, an ability to do mechanicalthings better than anything else which hedoes. On the other hand, the other man, thelinguist, has no particular interest in machinery or mechanics. Most certainly what-ever he does mechanically is not equal tohis linguistic ability. However, when bynecessity he does devote his time to mechanical things, he can accomplish more withthem than the clerk who has a talent formechanics.

In your own experience, you have perhaps known people who would have madefair attorneys or mathematicians, better thanusual perhaps, because they excelled in thoseor related fields when called upon, but whonevertheless detested them and would dobetter in their chosen field. This belies thepopular conception that one who has a talentalways can achieve more with it than onewho does not have it.

A talent, therefore, is a personal respon- siveness, a sensitiveness on your part todemands made upon your faculties or intellectual powers, a sensitiveness whichexceeds any other you have, so far asCreative ability or ability to accomplish isconcemed. Because of that sensitivity, thatinstinctive and organic inclination on yourpart, the performing of all acts directly con-nected with it come easier for you. Since itis easier, that is, not so laborious, and sinceit satisfies you emotionally, you like it aswell. It does prove that greater possibilitiesfor you lie within the channel of your talent.

There are two ways of explaining thissensitivity of talents. The materialist’s the-ory is that in certain cortical and associationareas of our brain the neurons (nerve cells)are more highly developed, this developmentsometimes being a coincidence, and at othertimes a matter of heredity. However, thematerialists are not in accord as to whether

the predisposition or talents can be trans

mitted from father to son. Dr. August Weis-mann, whose works have become a classicon heredity, says “Gauss was not the sonof a mathematician; Handel’s father was asurgeon, of whose musical powers nothing isknown; Titian was the son and also thenephew of a lawyer, while he and his brother, Francesco Vecellio, were the first paint-ers in a family which produced a successionof seven to the artists, with diminishingtalents.

These facts, however, do not prove thatthe condition of the nerve-tracts and centersof the brain, which determine specific talent,appeared for the first time in these men; theappropriate condition surely existed previously in their parents, although it did notachieve expression.” The point of interestin this statement is not whether the talentshave been transmitted from parents, butthat the “appropriate condition” can existwith some people and “not achieve expression.”

The Rosicrucians have a mystical explanation for the possession of this sensitivityamounting to talents, which we all have to acertain degree. The personality of the soulis distinctly separate in that it is not boundby family relationships; that is, each of ourpersonalities is different, regardless of family connection. Cosmically, in other words,we are not ordained to pursue a life or pro-fession similar to that of our parents, unlesssuch is necessary to the evolvement of ourpersonality. If it is our mission in life, orsomething we must learn, and the manner inwhich we must serve, then, of course, wemay be inclined, through a predisposition, todo those things which our parents have alsodone—in other words, to follow the samepursuits.

In this incamation, our parents are thosewho, by their training and by their association with us, can contribute best those experiences we need for the perfection of oursoul’s ego—the personality. However, wemay have entirely different predispositionsor talents than our parents. The talents areendowed on us because by the pursuit ofthose interests we can best serve the Cosmicand acquire those earthly experiences necessary for the rounding out of the soul’s personality, the development of self. However,




the Cosmic endowment of those talents isquite within the findings, in other words,

within the explanations offered by the physi-ologists and psychologists. In other words,physically speaking, this endowment consistsof the sensitivity of certain nerve-tracts andareas of neurons in our brains.

The mechanical process and the physiolog-ical aspect are quite necessary if we are tomanifest talents, for, after all, talents are notsomething, even though the Cosmic intendsthem for us, that mysteriously descends uponus like a vapor from the heavens. They arephysically and materially developed withinus but the Cosmic has decreed the ones theyshall be. This mystical and Rosicrucian principie concerning talents further confirms or

is in harmony with science. Each time weare placed upon this earth plañe, unless wehave incurred a great karmic debt, we arecaused to have such parents who will furtherour psychic development—the perfection ofself. Consequently, our parents will be thosewhose native intelligence and sensitivity tothe finer and nobler things of life, and thoseends necessary for creating from their environment, will be greater.

The parents may not have the educationñor the fame which the child will attain.It will be found, however, that they havethose instinctive and psychic qualities whichwill contribute to the excellence in attain-

ment of their progeny. A son, because ofhis oratorical ability and logic may become afamed attomey. His father may be a humblefarmer, but it will be proven easily that thefather has a keen intelligence and excellentreasoning powers.

Again, talent is not always related to intelligence, that is, the procedure of thought.Talent springs from certain emotional re-sponses as well. A great depth of feeling, ofcompassion, of love, and the ability to ex-press self musically, for example, is as mucha talent as an intellectual aptitude, such asliterary ability.

A particular talent is designated by the

area of the brain which is a seat for certainpowers of mind and the exercise of certainemotions. When the soul enters the body, itsincarnated ego has the mission, the incentiveto develop along certain needed lines, to ex-press itself in definite channels. That incentive is that which causes the areas of the

brain best able to bring about that missionto become especially sensitive and manifest

as talents. Therefore, in reality, the development of the body and the brain as avehicle for the soul and its ego, conform toa prescribed pattern. It is not difficult forthe body so to develop, because the soul hasbeen put in a body which has been selectedto meet the demands that will be made uponit. It is like an inventor with a certaindesign which he has visualized and wishesto create, and is given the materials bestsuited to his purpose.

So far it would seem from our discussionas though we could not escape our talents.Everything appears to be preconceived forus; however, let us not forget that we mortals

have been given wills, which permit us toreject and to deny our powers or to recognizethem. Therefore, whether talents which arelatent within us are exercised and broughtto the máximum of their efficacy, dependssolely upon us as individuáis. If we deny atalent, we retard the development of self,the personality in this incarnation.

Talents are never so dormant that we cannot become conscious of their existence. Theusual discovery of a talent consists in findingthe easy manner in which we can developthe technique to do something, or the imme-diate comprehension we have of the detailsof some art or science, combined with our

likeness for it, An inclination to try something, a mere fascination for some endeavoris not an indication of a talent. Many of ushave thought we would like to do a certainthing. After some application to it, wefound it laborious and difficult for us to com-prehend, and therefore no longer enjoyable.

If you have a longing to indulge an art ora science, to be a mechanic or mathemati-cian, try it. Do not give up your presentprofession or occupation, but make it a hob-by or avocation. Very shortly you will findwhether you have the aptitude. This will beindicated by the ability to concéntrate without effort on the instructions of whatever

you are pursuing, and, with practice, arapidly developing perfection and an in-creasing, rather than decreasing, pleasure.

Further, you will find that as you exercisethe talent (and this is a further proof thatit is one), you will be able to observe in yourworld, your daily environment, ways and




means of utilizing your ability neverdreamed of previously. Just as a man who

acquires greater physical strength is able tolift greater weights with ease, so one whoexercises his talents finds about him moreand more channels for their expression.

There are usually one or more talentswhich we possess and of which we are verymuch conscious. Sometimes, since they seemso dominant, we devote ourselves to them, tothe exclusión of others—perhaps one mayeven have greater possibilities. It, therefore,becomes necessary for us to awaken thesesubmerged talents—rather, to discover thatwe have them. To do this, you must suggestthe nature of certain vocations, trades, arts,or sciences as an idea to your subjective

mind. Allow the stimulus of those ideas toarouse within you any special responsivenessyou may have to them.

For example, go to an opera, or visit anart gallery and look at good paintings, trydescribing an incident of the day in writ-ing. See if you can mentally create an impro vement on some mechanical device. Inother words, let your consciousness dwell onunaccustomed experiences, something towhich any talent sensitivity you may havecan respond. The mental area of which atalent may consist in your brain may be nowas a parched ground waiting for rain to giveit life.

An excellent way to awaken talent is tovisualize people in different trades, profes-sions, arts, and sciences, to which possiblyyou have given little or no thought. Whenyou visualize them doing these things, if youfeel a quickening in your solar plexus, asort of suppressed excitement, that then isyour cue to investígate that particular sphereof activity further. Go to the place wherethese things are being done, those to whichyou respond, and see if you can have thisexperience directly, or try imitating the activity in your home, by studying or readingabout it. Many a man never knew he had atalent for art, for example, until he started

to dab around with someone’s palette andbrushes. Fin ally he senses a mastery, anease of achievement, and a satisfaction thatinwardly told him, “I have discovered atalent.”

(From The Rosicrucian Forum—April 1943)

The Mystery of the Divining Rod

A frater of the State of Maryland nowarises to inquire: “If the subject of thedivining rod has not been discussed in theForum , please do so. I know the subject wasdiscussed in some detail in a Rosicrucian‘Pronunciamento,’ of which I have that particular copy, but the article left severalthings unanswered, such as the exact natureand source of the energy which attracts therod, the type of energy in the human bodywhich flows toward the earth currents, andhow and why the human energy goesthrough the rod instead of through the feet.For example, what causes the rod itself tomove, and how may this power be strength-

ened and developed to a point where reliableresults are obtained?“This whole series of questions stems from

having observed a dowser demonstrating hisability, and the very last question comesfrom a selfish interest, as I have discoveredthat I possess a very slight ability in thisregard and would like to strengthen it, ifpossible.”

The phenomenon of the divining rod wasknown in antiquity and was used both forpractical and superstitious purposes. TheRomans used a virgula furcata, or forkedtwig of hazel or willow, to augur events. Theturning of the twig or rod signified to themcertain omens. The use of the divining rod

was discussed in the work De re Metallico written in 1546 by G. Agricola. SebastianMunster’s Cosmogony in the sixteenth cen-tury again mentions the use of the diviningrod. The descriptions indicate thát it wasused for locating metallic lodes or subter-ranean water.

Germán prospectors in the fifteenth cen-tury used a divining rod to lócate mineralsin the mountainous región of their country.The Germans brought it to England, historyrecounts, during the reign of Queen Eliza-beth. They employed it to assist Cornishminers in locating mineral deposits. TheEnglish are said to have ascribed the ñame

dowser to whoever employed the diviningrod with success. Today a dowser uses itprincipally for the locating of streams ofwater which are sub-surface.

The practice consists of holding a twig orrod of hazel or willow in the hands. Thehands grip the rod at its extreme ends. When



PECEMBER, i 958 Page 61

the dowser approaches a hidden source ofwater or metal, the rod turns vigorously in

his hands, the turning of the rod indicatesthe presence of the water or metal. It wouldappear that the dowser is not exerting anyphysical effort or will to turn the rod.

What does academic science say with re-spect to this phenomenon? The averagephysicist will execrate it as either deceit,trickery, or superstition. Such a scientist,however, is actually making an offhand sur-mise as to the opinion of science, on thephenomenon. The fact remains that sciencehas made numerous serious investigations ofdowsers and their use of the divining rod inlocating water and metáis. An English pro-fessor, Sir W. F. Barrett, was convinced that

twistin<5was not a perfidious display on thepart of the dowser. After an extensive analysis of all elements which, at least, wereobservable in the practice, he said that thephenomenon was due to motor-automatism. This means a reflex action on the part ofthe practitioner in response to some stimulusupon his mind.

Professor Barrett further concluded, andthis is quite significant, that the dowser’spower “lies beneath the level of conscious-perception.” It was an admission that therewas a mental disturbance of the dowser bysome unknown stimulus and the mental disturbance caused him to turn the rod in his

hands without realization that he was thecause. It would appear that this particularinvestigation established nothing more thanthat no deception was involved and that

(a) Some forcé or energy became a stimulus only to certain individuáis;

(b) The forcé in some way excited thesubconscious mind of the dowser, bywhich a muscular power was gen-erated.

This particular investigator further related that his findings revealed that the bestdowsers have been illiterate. This may havebeen caused by the opprobrium associatedwith the practice. In other words, educated

persons, being aware that in staid scientificcircles the practice was looked upon as asuperstition, did not attempt dowsing for fearof identifying themselves with a misconcep-tion. The illiterate person would not be soapt to know of such prejudices and wouldattempt the practice with sincerity of motive.

During the middle of the nineteenth cen-tury there was an ever-increasing interestin psychical research, and dowsing was sub-

jected to many investigations having a trulyscientific approach. The revelations of suchinvestigations, although not fully or satisfac-torily explanatory, were very enlightening.

In 1854, after a report submitted by Mon-sieur Riondels conceming the discovery ofa spring by means of the divining rod, theParis Academy of Scien ce appointed a com-mittee to investígate the phenomenon. Thereport of the committee, instead of beinggiven to the Academy, was finally publishedas a book. It was averred in the book thatthe committee learned that the rod wasmoved directly by the muscles of the dowser

and not by any external agency.These learned gentlemen carne to the

conclusión that no supernatural forcé ornatural energy was turning the rod in thedowser’s hands; his own muscles were doingso. But because of some subjective suggestion or involuntary action upon the dowser’spart, they inferred that he could not resistturning the rod under certain conditions.Somehow, or in some way, a powerful suggestion coming from the subjective mind ofthe dowser was affecting the contracting ofhis own arm and hand muscles.

There are other examples of this actionof the subjective mind and the results of suggestion upon the movements of the body, butthey are not identical to the use of the divining rod. For instance, there is the use of thependulum for purposes of prognostication. Aboy of ten or twelve years of age is madeto stand on the floor within the center of acircle three or four feet in diameter, so asto be free from interference. About sixinches from his body he holds a cord whichis suspended vertically and on the end ofwhich is a small weight. The cord andweight hang free so they may oscillate likea pendulum. The boy is asked his age.Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the pendulumoscillates the number of times corresponding

to the years of the boy’s age. The subject isquite certain that he held the pendulum stilland sincerely avers that he did not cause itto move.

Psychologically, the explanation is not difficult. His own knowledge of his age causedhis subjective mind, when the question was




asked, to respond and move the body slowlyin accordance with the proper number of

years. Objectively, the boy was not awarethat he was doing this. A slight muscularmovement caused the pendulum to sway.However, in such an instance the subjectalready knows that which becomes the stimulus of his bodily movement. In the case ofthe dowser, knowledge of the location of thewater is not had, so in fact the phenomenaare not parallel as some have believed.

Further investigation showed eight suc-cesses out of eight triáis when the dowserused a wooden rod. When rods of other sub-stances were substituted, the successes werenot high, out of the number of triáis. Witha copper rod the results were four out of

seven triáis; with the iron, two out of four,and with a glass rod no success was had. Another interesting discovery was the relationship between the weights of metal detectedand the distance when the rod was affected.The greater the amount of gold, the furtherin distance the rod became affected and be-gan to turn in the hands of the dowser.Small amounts of gold, conversely, requiredthe dowser to be much closer before therewas any evidence of movement of the rod.

Experimenters also took various metáis,which a dowser could ordinarily detect, andwrapped them in heavy sheets of paper,without causing any apparent different effectupon the movement of the rod or the lessen-ing of the detection of the metáis. Whateverthe emanation from the metáis it would appear that the paper was no insulation againstit. It was also determined that there was acorresponding relationship between the di-rection and strength of the movement of therod and the depth and location of the water.The greater the depth of the water, the lessvigorous was the movement of the rod. Vary-ing the direction of the water caused analteration in the direction of the movementof the rod, so the investigators related.

The conclusions of these later experimenters did not differ much from their pre-decessors. It was their concensus of opinion

that the movement of the rod is the resultof a muscular action of the dowser, a con-traction of his arm and hand muscles, ofwhich he is unconscious, causing the rod toturn, the muscular contraction being due tosome unknown external excitation affectinghim. The parallel between this unknown ex

ternal excitation which affects the dowserand that which affects homing pigeons was

noted. The experimenters at that time wereignorant of how homing pigeons are able tofollow courses that lead them over greatdistances to return to their homes.

One experimenter cites an instance thatwould seem at first to oppose the opinionthat the muscles of the dowser turn the rodbecause of a mysterious effect upon hisnervous system. In this particular case therod was placed in a sheath or hollow tube.The dowser’s hands gripped the sheath andnot the rod. However, the rod was observedto turn in the sheath where it could not havebeen affected by any muscular action of thedowser’s hands. It was then assumed that

the rod might turn without the dowser.However, it was found that the rod mustbe in the hands of certain persons before itwill respond. By certain persons is meantthose individuáis having cryptesthetic powers; namely, a certain hypersensitivity.

Attempts were made to determine thenature of the energy or stimulus affectingthe rod or organism of the dowser. Magerconducted experiments with a galvanometer,on the assumption that minute electrical cur-rents were the cause. The needle of thegalvanometer was but slightly deflected incomparison to the much more vigorous anduniform movement of the rod. Many dowser s have been observed consciously to try tooppose the turning of the rod in their hands.Nevertheless, the rod would turn. Wherethe dowser has been successful in some casesof apparent violent movement of the rod, inholding the ends rigid, the center of the rodwas noticed to twist and sometimes to break.

Another curious but, I believe, significantfact is that silken or woolen gloves worn byan ordinarily successful dowser immediatelywill cause the movement of the rod to cease.This would indicate that a natural physicalforcé subject to insulation was being dis-played, and removes the phenomenon fromthe category of superstition or a purely psy-chological manifestation.

It would also appear that metáis, andeven water, radiate certain energies to whichsome humans are particularly sensitive. Ofcourse, we are quite aware of the radioac-tivity of minerals, and we know that they do affect the human organism. It would alsoseem that certain subtle energies affect the




nervous system of dowsers and in turn causethe subjective mind, by excitation, to produce or exert a powerful and involuntarymuscular action. In the hands of these particular persons, the rod becomes an instru-ment—a form of detector. The rod, placedbetween two forces, or at least between themysterious radiation from the minerals orthe water and the sensitivity of the dowser,responds. The subconscious intelligence ofthe dowser then causes the muscular action—the actual turning of the rod.

Such persons apparently develop withinthemselves with the uses of the rod what wemight term a human radar system. Certainradia tions from metáis or water impingeupon this magnetic radiation generated by

the dowser, possibly in his own human aura,and he reacts to it, indicating by the turning of the rod the location of the sourcefrom which are emana ting the radia tions.

The homing pigeon, a once mysteriousphenomenon, is now believed to carry within his own physiological make-up a naturalradar system. In its flights, certain earth andother subtle magnetic currents impinge uponthe sensitivity of the pigeon, causing him toreact to them and making it possible for himto follow a course by reflex action. In hisflights he thus follows these reactions likea radar-equipped plañe flying through a fog,guided only by the graph and shadows ap-

pearing on the flüorescent end of the cathodetube of the radar device.In the light of what science now knows

about the radioactivity of metáis and theexceptional supersensitivity of the aura ofhumans, the divining rod is not to be considered a superstition, but a phenomenonworthy of careful scrutiny. In the August1943 issue of the Rosicrucian Digest, we published a photograph that was officially takenby the British Roy al Air Forcé, showing of-ficers of the Roy al Air Forcé in a desert ofNorth Africa, using a divining rod success-fully to lócate water.

The early Rosicrucian teachings have long

discoursed upon earth rays and their effectsupon living things. When we first intro-duced these ideas, naturally we were subjectto much scoffing and criticism. Time, ofcourse, is substantiating them. Experimentsin dowsing (and also telekinesis) have beenconducted in connection with psychical re-

search here at the Rose-Croix University,and it has been established beyond doubtthat there is nothing supernatural about itwhatsoever. It is a natural phenomenon. Wehave certain theories about it which we aretrying over a period of time to substantiate.

Just what the frequency of these radia tionsis and what their exact nature is in the fieldof electromagnetics is not definitely knownyet.

We live in a sea of electromagnetic radia-tions, and we are learning more about themall the time. Many of them truly do “liebelow the level of our conscious perception.”Wé are not aware of their direct effect onus, only their secondary effect—the thingswhich they cause us to do and which often

seem eerie or weird. We must rememberat all times that the so-called supernaturalis just that for which man has not yet foundthe natural explanation.

(From The Rosicrucian Forum—Dec. 1945)

How Does the Soul-Personality Develop?

A soror of California asks our Forum:“Does the soul-personality usually developalong one line ? For example, does one beginto express himself in music or art and continué in that art from one incamation toanother until he reaches a high degree ofperfection in it, and neglect the sciences andpoetry? Or does he develop in just one, thenthe other, until after many incarnations hehas a perfect personality and is very versa-tile and quite a master of all of the arts andsciences?”

The soror’s question reminds me of Oriental bazaars I have visited in Egypt, Iraq,and lands of the Near East. The further onedeviates from the beaten path in his travelsin those lands, the more primitive and trueto ancient customs are the bazaars. In Bagh-dad, for instance, the bazaars are not mereplaces for the sale of native merchandise,but are centers of manufacture as well. Asin antiquity, there are no wholesalers or

jobbers for the product. The customers walkthrough the alleylike arcades, with canopiedtops reaching from one side of the Street tothe other, to keep off the torrid sun’s rays.On either side of the Street are cubicles orstall-like rooms completely open at the front.They are barely high enough for a man to




stand in. Most of them would only accom-modate from two to three men. In these areseated or standing the craftsmen plying theirvarious trades. The objects they produce arepiled high in front of them for inspectionof the passing throng who barter in raucousvoices for the commodities.

I have stood by the hour before differentof these craftsmen who were working inmetal, principally in copper and brass. Thedust kicked up by the shuffling feet wouldsettle down on anyone who stood about. Per-spiration would be running down one’s face,from the stifling heat and lack of air. Flies,large and sticky, crawled over one’s handsand neck, which fact did not trouble thenatives swathed in their native garments. Iwould watch the craftsman with his crude-looking hammer, skillfully beating a heavysheet of heated soft copper into a largeutensil for carrying water. As I saw himdexterously turn the vessel and strike it hereand then there, I knew I was watching thesame type of craftsmanship as was done cen-turies before the time of Christ.

Aside from the historie interest, there isalso an object lesson to be gained. To perfect the shape of the utensil, the workmannever continuously struck the copper sheetmore than a few times in exactly the sameplace. First he would strike it on one sideand then on another. Then he would concéntrate heavy blows in one place, using alarge hammer, and then a series of quick,light blows on the opposite side. To havecontinuously struck the copper sheet in oneplace would have distorted its shape. Allsections of the copper sheet had to be ham-mered, some more than others, so that thewhole would assume the form the craftsmanhad in mind.

So it is with the soul-personality. No personality could truly attain perfeetion—namely, a sensitivity to the fullness of the soul—if it were developed along one line only. Theperson who is inclined to science, who isvery analytical and logical, is developing justone aspect of his personality. It brings hima particular appreciation of the Divine within himself and in nature, whether he realizesit or not. The personality who develops hisesthetic qualities and pursues an ideal ofbeauty is making himself sensitive to stillother aspects of the soul. It requires all of

these varied responses to completely fashionthe pe rfe ct personality, one which the worldwould claim as being amazingly versatileand understanding.

You have seen persons who were mastermusicians, but who likewise were helpless ineven the administration of their own simplepersonal affairs. I remember traveling byplañe to a foreign country with a renownedmusical celebrity. He was an outstandingconcert violinist, and he was on a tour ofthe capitals of South America. His ñame isknown to all Americans and to persons in-terested in cultural things throughout theworld. He has played on many nationalradio broadeast programs. He might bestyled a genius in music, yet the man wasvery impractical. If it were not for the aidof his practical-minded wife, who accom-panied him, he would have been greatly confused by the simplicities of presenting a pass-port, claiming his baggage, and even, itseemed, knowing just when and where toget on board the plañe.

Such persons as a rule lack even the mostordinary mechanical sense, so that the work-ings of nature’s laws, other than in music,are often the deepest mystery to them. Youadmire them for their music, but you couldnot cali them a balanced or well-roundedsoul-personality. In their lives, for analogy,they would be like a copper vessel which hadbeen struck in one place continuously by thecraftsman. Such persons need other incar-nations to round out the perfeetion of theirpersonalities.

It is quite true that a soul-personality mayhave a keen interest in painting or music,for example, for two or three incarnations insuccession. Such is only to complete thataspect of the soul-personality. Again, it islike the craftsman in Baghdad who struckthe copper vessel several times in one placewith the hammer before turning it to another side to fashion it there. After such asoul-personality has become sufficiently ap-preciative of that harmony of the soul which

is realized through music and the arts, itthen becomes interested in perhaps science,oratory, literature, and so on.

Just as the copper vessel has a bottom, top,and sides, so man has many attributes of hisbeing. All of these attributes must bebrought into relation to each other fot* the




perfection of the soul-personality. The extreme intellectualist must at some time alsobecome an emotionalist. He must experienceas well the feelings of the esthete and theconsciousness of the mystic. Before perfection is reached, we find a man displayinggreat versatility. He becomes adept at mat-ters of science, mechanics, and he is skilledin one or more of the arts, is versed in writing and speaking, becomes extremely inter-ested in world affairs, and may make usefulcontributions to one or more branches ofknowledge. He is as well a philosopher anda mystic. The world has known many suchmen, as Imhotep of ancient Egypt, Aristotle,Pythagoras, Leonardo da Vinci, Francis Ba-con, and I think we can rightly include Dr.

H. Spencer Lewis, first Imperator of thepresent Rosicrucian cycle.

(From The Rosicrucian Forum—Aug. 1945)

Mystical Meaning of the Crucifixión

A frater from the New York Lodge asks:“What does the religious symbolism of thecrucifixión mean when interpreted into Rosicrucian teachings?”

Unfortunately, many persons labor underthe opinion that the crucifixión was a uniquemethod adapted to the execution of Jesús.They believe the actual nailing of the bodyto the cross has some latent meaning to beattributed only to Jesús5 death in that manner. As a form of capital punishment, execution by crucifixión was practiced in theRomán Empire for a considerable period oftime before Jesús. It was a State form ofexecution comparable to such common meth-ods today as hanging or electrocution. AsDr. Lewis points out in his work The Mystical Life of Jesús, the fact that Jesús wascrucified is evidence that it was a Románpunishment and not Jewish. It was cus-tomary for the Jews to stone to death thosewhom they wished to execute, not to crucifythem.

Consequently, Jesús’ appear anee on thecross under order of execution during thatperiod would not have excited any wonderas to the method by which his death was tobe accomplished. It would have been accepted as the ordinary means which Románofficialdom used to commit to death thosewhom their tribunals condemned.

The symbol of the cross, of course, in itsvarious forms had for centuries many eso-teric meanings to mystics and philosophers,before its ghastly use by the Román State.However, the crucifix as a symbol of Christ’s(Christus) body nailed to the cross nevermade its appearance until the seventh century.

The primitive minds of the early Chris-tians gave great emphasis in their art work,sculpture, and painting to the physical as-peets of the crucifixión. The cross and allthe implements of crucifixión, as the nailsand the flowing blood, were stressed. Certainsymbology strictly related to the crucifixiónbegan to emerge, but its temporal meaningstill adumbrated any higher or mysticalevaluation. In the art work this “cross ofpassion” was often depicted in green, thecolor green denoting that the cross was cutfrom a tree. Sometimes it was colored red torepresent being stained with Christ’s blood.Likewise, there was the “resurrection” cross.This was frequently done in blue to signifythe blue of the sky, into which Christ, asrelated, is to have ascended. At other timesthe cross was puré white, to symbolize thepurity of invisible divinity.

The first abstract meaning attached to thecross by Christianity and which to a greatextent parallels some earlier meanings wassacrifice. Today I believe the average Christian, not versed in symbolism and the ancient meanings attributed to the variousforms of the cross before Jesús, thinks of itas representing human sacrifice.

For the primitive disciples of Jesús, thecrucifixión accomplished considerably. It established the glory of the King Messiah; itshowed that Jesús could and did rise supremeover the treatment to which he was sub-

jected. Any lack of coordination of the phil-osophical precepts and teachings of Jesús inthe minds of his simple followers at the timewas overcome by the emotional impact ofthe crucifixión.

The full depth of his teachings may havebeen lost on the minds of some of these de-voted disciples and followers. The crucifixión, however, disclosed the whole world oftruth and po wer which lay in suffering. A man who could invoke the power of God toperform the miracles, which Jesús had oftendone, could easily vanquish his enemies




through some theurgical act, and this musthave been foremost in the minds of his

followers. Yet he didn’t! He preferred to re-veal to the common man that notwithstand-ing the suffering one must endure to preservethe truth—the conviction of his faith—agreat reward will be his if he does so. Itdisclosed that Jesús desired to convince others by great suffering to himself that mandoes not die; the self remains supreme andascends, even though the physical being suf-fers or ends its earthly existence.

All of these constructions were put uponthe crucifixión by the early followers.Through a brutal exposition of physical suffering and torment, their inner selves werestimulated and raised to that sublime ecstasy where the mystical meaning of suffering andsacrifice became known to them. To themthe Kingdom of God was no longer antici-pated; it was no longer a mythical place ora probable state of supremacy over theevanescent events of life. It had been demon-strated that a belief in God actually tri-umphs over all the artífices of evil persons.Had not Jesús defied all that his enemiescould do to him? Had he not come throughthe crucible immune thereafter to humansuffering and the conspiracies of men? Didhe not live again and ascend to a state ofpermanent happiness?

One thing alone had won for him thatsalvation—faith .and a willingness to sacrifice for it. This whole meaning was depictedin the simple words “Christ died for oursins.” (I Cor. 15) Unfortunately, later ec-clesiastics have put other and oftentimesambiguous constructions upon those words,which have detracted from their true mystical meaning.

We must be realistic about the times of Jesús. First , the enemies of Jesús were refer-ring to him as a charlatan. They impliedthat he was nothing more than a clevermagician and that his mira cíes were no exercise of divine or natural laws. They point-ed to all the erudite and skilled magiciansof the East who put on many splendid performances before the multitudes and who,in fact, simulated the very miracles of Jesús.Such magicians were learned in optical il-lusions and legerdemain, namely, the decep-tion of the senses. Many of the people whowitnessed the miracles of Jesús were dubious

about their being truly theophanic displaysof his divine powers. They would admitthat they couldn’t explain how he accom-plished these things, but they were skepticalof Jesús’ explanations.

To such multitudes it would naturallyseem—and to like multitudes today undersimilar circumstances—th at Jesú s shouldhave a verted his arrest and crucifixión. Ifa man has the power to raise the dead, forexample, why should be submit to being putto death himself? The crucifixión of Jesús,therefore, was a momentous test. The sur-vival of his teachings, his whole mission,hung upon the event. The crucifixión andthe expected subsequent death meant eitherutter defeat or the fulfillment of his promises.

His resurrection was the triumph of histeachings.

As one theologian has said, “Sufferingneeds no key, it is its own interpreter.” Allhuman beings are closely united by suffering.The hours of physical and mental sufferingin the average individual’s life are far morenumerous than the ones of happiness. Youdo not need to explain suffering; everyonehas at sometime in his life intimately experienced it. It becomes only necessary thento show that suffering is not in vain but thatit is an alchemical process. Through it, man’snature is purged of false conceptions. Truthsof life, of death, of happiness, of love are

known for their real valué. Suffering is sacrifice! Only through travail and pain do weknow what the good of life really is by com-parison, by being conscious of one of the extremes of existence.

This, then, is the mystical significance ofthe crucifixión, and the Rosicrucian interpre-tation, of course. The body must be purgedthrough human experiences, that the soulmay be seen and heard.

(From The Rosicrucian Forum—April 1946)

Why Various Human Races?

A frater now asks this Forum the following thought-provoking questions: “The howand why of the existence of the varioushuman races puzzles me. What is the roleeach race plays in the unity of mankind?In other words, what does each race contribute to the destiny of all humanity? Isthe human consciousness, or rather the soul,




obliged to pass through the various races toacquire its necessary experiences, and is thatwhy the races exist? Which is the superiorrace?”

In many occult circles, and in schools pur-porting to teach mysticism, it is frequentlyexpounded that God, or the Divine Mind,created the races as they are by a fíat andfor a purpose usually associated with themystical progression of human consciousness.In such a doctrine, these organizations reveala fault common to their philosophy, anddivergent from the true principies of mysticism, and from the Rosicrucian teachings.

All things are not the fíat of God or theCosmic Mind. Upon a first consideration,

this may even seem blasphemous. In theultímate, of course, every manifestation innature, every reality is the consequence ofteleological order, that is, of the order ofwhich the Divine Mind consists; however,this does not denote that each function, eachchange, each particular of our world or ofthe universe, which we can perceive, hasbeen ordained to be just as it is at the timewe experience it.

We can believe and accept that the initialcause of all, the Divine Consciousness havingan awareness of the whole, knew all thingsin their potentiality, that is, was aware ofany results that would come from the causes

that were established by its natural laws.We do not believe, however, that there werealways intents or purposes for each resultbeyond the laws themselves—namely, thatthe Divine Mind ordained the law of gravityso that its function could be used by man inhis construction of things, and in his personal industry. Rather, we contend thatgravity is one of the laws of a stupendousCosmic order not yet fully realized by man,and its functions are only conceived by manto have been designed for his benefit. Inthis we agree with Spinoza, philosopher andmystic, that “after men had persuaded themselves that everything that happens happensfor their sake, they had to regard that quality in each thing which was most useful tothem as the most important, and to rate allthose things which affected them the mostagreeably, as the most excellent.”

Such students assume that man is thepivotal point in the universe. They contendthat nothing is only the natural consequence

of a physical law. They hold that its finalend exists in some relationship to man. Thusto them, for example, light, heat, color,sound, and the chemical combinations arenot fully understood, or their function complete, until the human mind can see in themsome Cosmic purpose to serve man. Thiskind of reasoning is based upon the oídorthodox religious concepts that the universewas created as thé theatre for man, and thathe was spontaneously created to act in it.It is the result of confusing man, the highestmanifestation of nature, with the idea thatall else exists for him. A majestic tree in aforest is no more a product of nature thana toadstool, ñor are all of the surroundingliving things conceived to bestow grandeur

upon the tree.Man himself is the result of a number of

causes which are of the Divine system. Hisfunctions as man are also of the great universal order. Therefore, there are manythings contiguous with his life and with hisexistence here on earth that are part of thesame Cosmic order as himself, but they werenot designed to serve him. It is part of hisnature that he can see in them benefit tohimself and command them, but this doesnot mean that the purpose he perceives isone that exists in the mind of God as well.

Therefore, we boldly say that the racesare the result of physical causes, naturallaws, and that they were not created withthe intent of serving any spiritual or material end for man.

Several of the frater’s questions can beanswered by the facts and particulars of thescience of Anthropology. Exactly where andwhen man carne upon earth is not yet agreedupon. It is not definitely known. If it isfinally accepted in scientific circles that theSinanthropus Pekinensis was actually ahuman, then man roamed the earth theearly part of the Quaternary Age, perhapsten million years ago. If we wish to haveman begin with the earliest known date ofhis artifacts, that is, the first flint instru-ments which he has left us, then his existence was comparatively recent, aboutthree hundred thousand years ago. It is acorollary that man must have tramped theearth not unlike the dumb beasts about him,for eons of time, for centuries upon cen-turies of mental midnight, before even that




light of intelligence which made possible thechipping of flints dawned upon him.

The first real differentiation of man, thatis, where we can determine the variouscharacteristics of him, is the Cro-Magnon ofabout 10,000 B. C. Variability is one of themost potent factors in man’s ascent to hisstatus today. We know that no two peopleare exactly alike, even “identical” twins ofthe same ovum can be recognized apart bythose who know them very well. These dif-ferences produce kinds. If these kinds areisolated and perpetúate themselves, and arekept separated, we eventually have types. And finally these types develop into whatwe term races.

After isolation, adaptation appears, which

is still another contributing factor to racialdevelopment. For example, people living intropical areas where solar radiation is extreme become adapted to it by an intensepigmentation, a darkening of the skin, whichshields them from the strong ultraviolet rays,and this adaptation also causes their flaringnostrils, because of the heat and moist cli-mate. Conversely, a coid, dry climate causesdepigmentation, as the ultraviolet rays arerequired for heat. Likewise, the nose be-comes narrow and pinched at the nostrils.In temperate and northern climates, thestature is much greater than in the tropics.Sexual selection also contributes to the characteristics of a race. Therefore, if those living in the jungles, whose pigmentation ismore intense—namely, those of black skin—are healthier and produce more children, theracial color will tend toward deeper pigmentation. The reverse is true in the northernclimates.

Anthropologists today recognize that thereare three great races of man. The constitu-ent individuáis have many points of resem-blance, that is, they have many physicalcharacteristics in common. These threeraces have occupied the continents of theOíd World, and have spread to the NewWorld where they freely mix. The threeraces are the white, yellow-broivn, and the

black. They are so called because the colorof the skin is the most obvious and discern-ible physical chara cteristic. There are no species of man. Man himself is a species.Consequently, all of the races breed freely,with subsequent fecundity. All of the groupsare just races, or rather sub-races, such as

the Alpines, Nordics, and Hamites of thewhite race. The Mongoloids, the American

Indians, and the Malays are of the yellow- brown race. The Negroes, the Negrillos, andNegritos are of the black race. This divisiónof the species homo, or man, it is believed,carne about through six great dispersáis ofhumanity over the face of the earth.

1. The spread of the Neanderthal manover habitable Europe. The late Neanderthal man existed about 20,000 B.C.

2. The spread of the Australoid type, whowas like the Neanderthal man, butslightly more modern, until he reachedAfrica. He was perhaps the pre-Dra-vidian, who eventually carne to settleIndia.

3. The spread of the Negro over Africaand eastward through Egypt andthrough Arabia to India, the Philip-pines, and the Malay Peninsula.

4. The spread of the Aurignacian typesof the Iranian plateau to modern Asiaand back to Europe. The Aurignacianis a later modification of the Neanderthal man.

5. Spread of the Neolithic man, not laterthan 5000 B.C., from the Asiatic plateau, through Asia to America, andalso over Europe to Great Britain. Itis this type which is believed to havebecome our American Indians—theMayans, Aztecs, Incas, etc., isolationand adaptation accounting for the dif-ferences in their physical appearance.

6. The spread of the Neolithic man fromthe Eastern Mediterranean to India,and also through Egypt into parts ofAfrica along the shores of the Mediterranean.

The black and white races are the mostdivergent. The yellow-brown race is nearerto the white race. Anthropologists give us aschematic diagram of the races and subraces.This diagram is in the form of a tree. Thetree springs from the Neanderthal man. Thefirst branch is the black race and it has itsvarious limbs, the Negroes, Negrillos, and

Negritos. Further up the trunk is the yellow-brown race, with its subraces, and finally the white race, with its branches, theAlpine, Nordics, Hamites, etc. In blood as-similation, the yellow-brown race is closeron this tree of races to the white race thanto the black. The order of arrangement is




not by superiority, but in order of appear-ance.

The black race has been held back by itsgeographical location. The climate greatlyaffected them. They were enervated by theextreme heat, and handicapped by dense jungles and the diseases which are so preva-lent in them. In other words, the black racewas compelled to spend so much of their lifeenergy in just living that their intellectualand cultural attainments were resultantlyslower. The white race was stimulated bythe coid winters and the healthiness andfertility of the temperate zones in whichthey flourished.

The Negro, however, when removed fromthese environmental obstructions and af-forded the same opportunities for intellectualdevelopment has advanced himself rapidly,and there are many noted examples of hiscontributions to science, literature, and thearts. We only need mention one of these—the renowned Dr. George Washington Car-ver. He is now (1942) eighty years of age.He was born a slave in a log cabin; todayhe is an eminent scientist and a collaboratorwith Henry Ford in the experimentation forpro ducin g syn th et ic foods. Simply, itamounts to the fact that the white race hada tremendous advantage which the Negro, orthose of the black race, are gradually over-taking, to their credit.

The Neanderthal man, who settled in theNile Región, perhaps about 8000 B.C., hada rich soil with an ideal climate to furtherhim. He flourished in this incubator ofcivilization, at a time when the black racewas still struggling with the far more rigor-ous, almost insurmountable forces of naturein Equatorial Africa.

From the mystical point of view, the soulessence in each of the three primary racesis the same. It is the same flow of DivineConsciousness from the Universal Soul, andit is no more or less perfect in the blackman, than in the white or yellow-brownman. The soul gravitates to the physical

body best suited for the development of thepersonality which accompanies it. In theCosmic scheme of things, it is the personalitywhich evolves from incamation to incarna-tion, until it is as perfect as the soul whichit reflects. If the soul, with its personalityneeds the experience of a life within the

body of a Negro, or within the body of aMongol, it will enter such bodies.

It is a false conception or doctrine to believe or expound that the soul enters thebody of the white man last because it experiences its greatest expression in thatform. The highly evolved personality dis-playing spiritual qualities may frequentlydwell in the body of a Negro. Certainlyeach of you of this Forum, in your ownworldly experiences, has known men andwomen of the black race who exhibited morecompassion, more humanitarian qualities,more kindliness, more tolerance, and morelove for their fellow human beings thanmany persons of white skin whom you know.The pigmentation of the body does not de

note the degree of one’s spiritual attain-ment. . . .In a Cosmic sense, they are equal, and in

an intellectual sense, the black race, as awhole, just needs the advantages which thewhite race has so long enjoyed, and then itwill make equally tremendous strides.

(From The Rosicrucian Forum—Aug. 1942)

Lodestones and Luck(?)

A soror in St. Louis asks this Forum thequestion, “Just how did occur the supersti-tion that the wearing of a lodestone impartsto the wearer good luck or good fortune?There are actually concerns in America andelsewhere that sell such stones, set in rings,with the suggestion that they exert a benevo-lent power to the one who wears them.”

This is but another form of amuletic belief. Amulets or talismans are inanimateobjects such as, for example, stones and oddlyshaped sticks, which are believed to be im-bued with protective influence. Sometimesit is thought that one having supernaturalpowers may, by certain practices, rites or in-cantations, instill these occult forces withinan object. There they remain to influencethe one who may have the object in his pos-session. At other times the priest or shaman,

or one believed to be possessed of occultefficacy, may transfer it to the object. Theamulet then is thought to be animóte , that is,alive with this particular power which mayenvelop its possessor.

Belief in this primitive magic still prevailsin our present society, because there are




minds whose reasoning processes are as elementary as those of early man. Amulets, as

lucky pieces or charms, are worn today bymillions of persons who mingle with and area part of our modern civilization.

Almost everyone knows of someone whocarries on his person a lucky coin, effigy orsome odd little object to which he attributessome power . Those, who are obsessed withthis superstition, in their own defense pointto some event that brought them good fortune upon their coming into possession ofthe amulet. Perhaps, after having their attention attracted by an oddly shaped pebblewhich, out of curiosity, they had picked upand placed in their pocket, some unexpectedevent occurred shortly thereafter which

greatly furthered their welfare. The twoincidents are related in the mind of the individual because of the impression each madeupon him at about the same time. The oddlyshaped pebble, he believes, must have au-gured or portended good fortune. Therefore,it instilled confidence in him when circumstances would otherwise depress him. Thusfortified by the mere suggestion he makes tohimself, he acquires mental and physicalstimulus and the will to achieve, which hemight otherwise lack. The subsequent resultor success of his venture is really caused bythe psychological factor, the personal assur-ance which inhibits hesitancy or anxiety.

A lodestone, because of its magnetic prop-erty of attracting iron, must have greatlyimpressed our ancient predecessors andprimitive minds of all periods who wereaware of it. Here was an object that had thephysical appearance of an ordinary piece ofore. Yet it seemed to have qualities whichsuggested that it was animate or alive. Itcould attract and embrace particles of oreand it could likewise repel others of its ownkind. If suspended, it would revolve andseem to adjust itself in space as if by someinvisible forcé. In fact, it appeared to exertinvisible power.

William Gilbert, M.D., physician to

Queen Elizabeth, was especially interested inthe strange magnetic phenomenon of thelodestone. In 1600, he wrote a treatise on thesubject, Lodestones and Magnetic Bodies—and on the Great Magnet, the Earth. He experi-mented in the field of magnetism and elec-tricity and the above book relates his dis-

coveries. He particularly discovered the relationship between the magnetic propertiesof the lodestone and that of the earth. In hiserudite work he discloses how profoundlyimpressed the ancients were by the magnetic properties of that ore. The ancientEgyptian historian, Manetho, relates that theEgyptians called the lodestone “the bone ofHorus,” implying that it was a supernaturalphenomenon. Of the multitude of ancientswho wrote about the lodestone and the manyto whom Gilbert refers, the following arebut a few: Plato in the lo ; Aristotle in hisfirst book, De Anima; Theophrastus, theLesbian, in Caius Plinus Secundus; andGalen, the great Greek physician and medical authority of the second century after

Christ.Some of the superstitions attributed to

lodestones by the ancients are rather amus-ing. Pliny relates (Book XX XIV , ChapterIV ) that a lodestone which is rubbed withgarlic will not attract iron, that it will loseits virtue if placed near a diamond. Gilbertshows that his experiments soon disprovedsuch contentions. Some of the ancient priest-hood, like some of those of today, were notbeyond deception to awe. They inspiredtheir devotees, and created the impressionthat they were vested with supernaturalpowers. Pliny relates that the temple ofArsinoe at Alexandria had an arched roof

of lodestones and that the effigy of the goddess appeared to be suspended in the air.Ancient philosophers held the universe to

be permeated with a universal soul. Thisdivine forcé animated all things, both menand stars. The lodestone was the most effective example of this universal soul, as expressed in the lower forms of matter, that is,minerals or ores. It was believed that it wasthis universal soul or intelligence which permeated the heavenly bodies and, as a forcéof attraction and repulsión, kept them intheir rightful places. Thus, the lodestone,whose immanent forcé was so evident, wasbelieved by the superstitious, to have a direct

and strong influence upon the human souland the course of events. In other words,it was so imbued with beneficial occult power that it brought good to all who had it intheir possession.

William Gilbert was reverently impressedwith the phenomenon of magnetism. He




realized that it was a manifestation of thenatural cosmic forcé which existed throughout the whole universe. To him it pro vedthat the whole universe is animate, that is,imbued with a vital forcé and that nothing,as we Rosicrucians say, is truly dead matter.Said Gilbert, “As for us, we term the wholeworld animate; and all globes, all stars andthis glorious earth, too, we hold to be frombeginning by their own destínate souls gov-emed and from whom also to have the impulse of self-preservation.”

We Rosicrucians are quite in accord withGilbert’s admiration of the phenomena ofmagnetism and its properties. The fundamental property of attraction and repulsión,so common to the lodestone, the Rosicrucians

have long attributed to spirit energy under-lying all matter, and, as the basic propertyof the Vital Life Forcé in the most minutecells of living matter. It is truly a qualityof the universe.(From The Rosicrucian Forum , August 1948)

Initiations Are a Personal Experience

In the past, we have always asked ourmembers to keep the result of their initiationrituals confidential, and tried to discouragethem from telling their experiences to othermembers, particularly those who had notyet performed the ritual themselves.

Initiation is an extremely personal thing.The results which any given individual mayreceive are something which will have meaning to himself alone. If these are shared, ortold to one who has not yet taken ceremonyhe will be influenced, even if only subcon-sciously, by the other’s experience.

Lately, much confusion has resulted fromolder members telling Neophytes what theyshould see and experience while performingthe First Neophyte Degree Initiation Ritual.

This confusion can be summed up by afrater who writes: “Prior to the performanceof my first Initiation, I was told that I wouldsee many changes in my facial reflection inthe mirror, and that among these would be

my Personal Master, and possibly an Oriental High Priest. None of this occurred,and I do not know what to think.”

The letter cited is a case, not only of pre-maturely revealing the supposed successfulresults of the initiation, but of incorrectlyinterpreting those results.

Until recently, the First Neophyte Initiation was a preliminary exercise in reincarna-

tion. If all conditions pursuant to theperformance of the ritual were proper, theNeophyte would indeed see changes in hisfacial reflection. Often these were quitedramatic, even depicting persons of the opposite sex, or of other races and other cultures. The initiate was advised that theseother faces may have been indicative of hisearthly appearance in a past incarnation.

Many, of course, were fascinated with thisexplanation and intrigued by the experi-ment. A number of members, however, being nervous about the exercise anyway, werefrankly frightened by these startling results.

A number of the officers, including the

Imperator, felt that this dramatic and sud-den demonstration of reincarnation, so earlyin the studies, and with no previous discus-sion of the principies involved, or indeed ofthe principie itself, tended to constitute toogreat a shock to the new member. For thisreason, during a current program of mono-graph revisión, the First Neophyte Initiation Ritual was completely rewritten andchanged, a fact which has been heretoforeunpublicized.

The meaning of the revised ceremony forthe student is just as deep and personal asthe original, if not more so, but the intro-duction to reincarnation has been conspicu-ously left out and, in fact, the whole meaning of the ritual has been redirected.

If a person who has taken the previousFirst Initiation tells a new member what toexpect, it can only cause confusion and doubtin the mind of the Neophyte since he willby no means experience the results he hasbeen led to believe he would. By the sametoken, even if he should realize that thepresent initiation cannot lead to the climaxspoken of, the Neophyte will still carry thoseimpressions given in his subconscious, andhis own initiation will be influenced by them.His experience, then, will not be truly hisown.

It is for this reason that we find it neces

sary to again admonish our members to keepthe results of their initiations confidential.They are of meaning and benefit only tothe individual who experiences them, andcan cause bewilderment on the part of other members in the performing of theirrituals—W



SECRET DOCTRINES OF JESUS

THE ROSICRUCIAN PRE SS, LTD. PR1 NT ED IN U. S . A.



February, 1959Volume XXIX No. 4

Rosicrucian ForumA p r í va t e p ub l i ca t i o n f o r memb er s o f A M O R C

MRS. H. SPENCER LEWIS, F. R. C.

Mem ber, Board of Directors, Supreme Gran d Lodge of A. M. O. R. C.




Greetings!v V V

ARE METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OBSOLETE?

Dear Fratres and Sorores:Will science and technology make obsolete

systems of thought which have previouslybrought satisfaction to mankind? Is meta-physics to be relegated to a realm of abstrac-tion as a mere intellectual stimulus havingno real valué in an atomic age? Perhaps ananswer to this may be found in the natureand purpose of metaphysics.

The word metaphysics carne into existence

in connection with the works of Aristotle.Etymologically, the word means “over” or“beyond physics.” It is related that oneAndronicus of Rhodes, compiling the writings of Aristotle, called the fourth and lastpart of the latter’s works metaphysics be-cause it followed treatises on physical sub

jects. However, Aristotle himself called thatparticular part the “First Philosophy.”

Subsequently, metaphysics became a ñameapplied to inquiries into particular subjects.Generally metaphysics, down through thecenturies, concerned: (A) ontology, the nature of being and first causes; (B) the natureof knowledge; (C) psychology or an inquiry

into the nature of soul. The psychology ofearly metaphysics is not to be confused withthe science of that ñame today. In fact, theinquiry into that subject of metaphysicswould be more appropriately termed theology.

These inquiries embraced by metaphysicswere not empirical; they were not the ob

jective, the material analyses and demonstra-tions of a science. They were rationalizedprocesses of logical thinking for the purposeof ascertaining truth. The ultímate end ofmetaphysics was the same as that of puréscience, that is, the enlightenment of man.In the realm of ontology or reality, man

pondered as to whether there was a prima materia , a first matter. Was there, in otherwords, an ultímate substance from which allelse carne? Further, did reality have a be-ginning? If there were an underlying causebehind all being, was it teleological, a pur-poseful mind, or solely a mechanistic forcé?

At the time metaphysics first began thecontemplation of these mysteries, the principal instrument employed to find a plausiblesolution was the mind, reason alone. Chemis-try and physics could be, for example, oflittle assistance in their elementary stages.The atom itself was a theoretical particle forwhich there was no possibility of substantia-tion. In fact, it must be realized that profound thought upon these subjects provided

to the reason answers having greater per-spicuity for the individual than anythingthat could be introduced objectively. Rudi-mentary science did nothing more in ancienttimes than leave the thinker suspended in akind of vacuum. It tantalized but, becauseof its inadequacy and limitations, providedlittle satisfaction.

It is plausible that man began to delveinto the subject of epistemology or the nature of knowledge. Does our knowledge—ourideas—have any correspondence with thereality outside ourselves? Have thoughts,ideas, as much substance as things? Is thatwhich is indubitable (appears as truth to the

reason ) an actuality? How do we arrive atour knowledge and what aspects of it aredependable and what others, false? In philosophy, and metaphysics which became co-existent with it, the thought processes werethe essential tools. An inquiry into theseprocesses was an essential requirement. Suchan investigation by metaphysics paralleledthe early study of the nature of knowledgeby psychology.

Psychology itself was for a long time inthe category of a pseudo science. Its activitieswere definitely held to be theoretical andabstract. There was a paucity of knowledgewith regard to the relation of the reason,the sense organs and sensations from them tothe brain and the mental faculties. Even today, logic, not a physical science, needs toexplain not the functioning of mind but themethods by which we arrive at conclusiveideas, that which has the conviction of truthto us. In fact, the problem of truth, what is




it, whether there are absolute truths orwhether they are merely contingent and

relative, falls principally into the realm ofphilosophy.

Metaphysics and philosophy will give waymore and more to science—and are doing sorapidly at this time. Generally, of course,metaphysics and philosophy are subjective realms. The stuff of which they consist isthoughts, ideas, the result not of induction,that is, not the examination of external par-ticulars. Much of their subject matter, asstated, was at one time beyond the boundsof perception, of observation, and of physicalanalysis. Certain phenomena existed in human experience. Man was aware of thembut he could not approach an explanation of

them objectively. They were intangible ina material sense. Metaphysics and philosophy provided answers.

The human emotions have a tremendouspersonal impact upon our lives. We knowhate, love, fear, sympathy. They have ob

jective relationships; that is, we love or hatethings. But how did these things cause us tolove or hate? What really are these feelingswhich we have? Men did not know in thesense of there being any concrete connectionbetween things and these feelings. As a consequence, philosophy and religión sought toexplain them on an entirely subjective andidealistic basis. They made love a divine

quality, an attribute of soul. Hate was alsofrequently assigned to an infusión of somesupernatural agency.

Now psychology and physiology have intro-duced hypotheses explaining the emotions onan organic basis. They refer to the nervoussystems, the hypothalmus, and so on as causing interactions between external sensationsand those set up within the organism itself,the latter being the emotions. Though theseexplanations are as yet theoretical in part,yet experimentation along wholly objectivelines has demonstrated them sufficiently to

remove them entirely from most of the earlyphilosophical speculations.

Mind and soul were once the preferred—and privileged—categories of inquiry of boththeology and philosophy. Now these subjective ramparts are falling to the objective on-slaught of a persistent, material, scientificexplanation. Mind has been removed fromthe substance theory. It is no longer, as mostof the classic Greek philosophers thought, adivine substance implanted in man—at leastit is no more divine than the functioning ofhis heart, lungs, or other organic processes.Psychology is now establishing the fact thatwhat most men cali mind or the mentalprocesses is not an organic substance or essence but rather a series of functions oper-

ating on levels of consciousness related to thebrain and nervous systems.Soul and self are, figuratively, at this time

under the microscope of science. Even as theRosicmcians in their advanced teachingshave declared for years, soul and self areattributes of man’s highly developed self- consciousness. In fact , in this regard psychology is gradually objectively provingwhat many of the modern philosophers, withthe exception of the idealists, have expounded.

The classic subjective realm of metaphysics and philosophy is gradually beingconverted into the objective, into material

proofs or disproofs. Metaphysics and philosophy have always had, as their sincereobjective, the acquisition of that knowledgehaving the efficacy and conviction of truth.Therefore, they lose nothing by having theirspeculations demonstrated as truth or eastout as misbelief. It is better to have thoughtwrongly about something than not to havethought about it at all. Philosophy, thoughit will lose in time a number of its classic“truths,” will never become obsolete. Manyphilosophers of our modern times concurwith the Rosicmcian conception that truth isonly relative to the expanding mind of man.

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San José, California,under Section 1103 of the U .S . Postal Act of Oct. 3, 1 917.

The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Departmentof Publication of +he Supreme Council of AMORC, at Rosicrucian Park, San José, California.

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Today’s “universal” truth may be discardedtomorrow even by science.

Not long ago a noted physicist questionedthe universality of natural laws known toman. Professor Morrison of Columbia University pointed out: “The present conceptsof the universe are based on the a priori assumption that there is an universal sym-metry in the cosmos. . . .Yet, one great universal conservation law, known as the lawof the conservation of parity, has recentlybeen shown not to be an universal law atall as the result of epoch-making experimen-tation. . . . The first experimental proof thatone of the basic conservation laws, based onthe concept of universal symmetry, does nothold true in all cases has led to the casting

of doubt on the universality of all other greatconservation laws. . . . This does not meanthat these laws are no longer true but it doesmean that they may not be universal. Theremay be exceptions to them under conditionsas yet unknown, possibly in some other partof the universe.”

But even science must have its philosophyknown as the Philosophy of Science. It musthave, strange as it seems to use the word, itsidealism. It must try by abstraction to findreasonable cause for its activities. Man’simagination and reason will always be far inadvance of his observation and experience.As his experiments and empirical knowledgepush out to new boundaries, there alwayswill be the abstraction, the philosophicalspeculation, as to what may lie beyond them.These speculations will not be called knowledge but they will become a pattern for in-vestigation. They will constitute the newphilosophy of challenge and pursuit.


Imperator.

What Is'Certain?

There is no way of measuring the amountof effort, energy, and expense directed to-ward man’s attempt to find certainty. Everyindividual would like to know that what hemay be doing is not only the best under thecircumstances, but that there will be positiveassurance of its being the correct thing todo, with no danger of anything going wrong.This search for certainty so occupies the time

and effort of so many persons that evenagencies of government have been estab

lished to help assure men and women thatconditions affecting their lives will not bemodified by changing events.

In this country within the lifetime ofmany of us, there have been steps taken bythe government to assure us that bank ac-counts and other forms of savings cannotpossibly be lost. The government insuresbank accounts of individuáis so that theymay be without fear or the uncertainty thatthe money deposited in those banks mightbe gone at a future time when they wouldwish to avail themselvés of it.

Every individual seeks certainty in almostany project he undertakes. If this certainty

is not in existence or if an individual cannotby his own efforts establish that certainty,there are means of doing the next best thingwhich, incidentally, is one reason why theinsurance business in the modern age is sucha gigantic enterprise. We cannot be surethat our property will be preserved. Óurhouse can be destroyed by fire. Our posses-sions can be stolen and, of course, even ourlives will eventually end, but some compen-sation for the average individual is avail-able by covering the cost of the house byfire insurance, the cost of other articles bytheft insurance, and by even taking out insurance on our own lives to assure funds to

carry on work we may have started, or toprovide funds for our dependents when weare no longer here to supply them.

This effort on the part of man to findwhat is certain becomes an obsession withmany individuáis. So much effort is directedtoward securing assurance of certainty thatno time is left for the finer things of life.The appreciation of aesthetic valúes whichman can enjoy, and which interrupt theroutine and problems of his existence, hasno physical valué. Consequently, many menturn away from cultural pursuits in orderto devote themselves to the preservation ofphysical assets, properties or valúes, that

they feel must be obtained. A life of con-stant seeking of physical valúes becomes likean endless chain—the more we obtain, themore we have, the more concerned we arewith the preservation of our possessions, themore attention we necessarily give to thosethings which we prize as being valuable.




Physical possessions demand that we expendeffort to be certain that these articles are

secured in some way.The common phrase “Are you certain?”is repeated many times. Someone asks foran opinion and then reacts by saying, “Areyou certain?” In other words, people de votemuch time seeking for explanations, opin-ions, and guarantees of everything theystrive to do. The physical world, we shouldknow, cannot be in any way guaranteedinsofar as certainty is concerned. Actually,there is no certainty. Only in eternity canit exist. Even then, it may be merely as arelative factor insofar as our concern withit is involved.

There is no certainty in the material

world. The place where you are may at anymoment be destroyed by a natural cause, anearthquake, a cyclone, or some other disaster.These conditions, whether man-made or not,are potentially in existence at every momentof our lives. It is not my purpose to causeundue alarm in the thinking of the averageperson; yet, as intelligent beings we shouldrealize and acknowledge that anything ofvalué in the physical world or held to besignificant is as transitory as a puff of smokecoming from a chimney on a coid day.

Life as we know it here on earth is notintended to be a certainty. The purpose oflife is not attained in physical valúes. Thereason for this is very simple: there is nocertainty in physical things. All that ispermanent are the laws which our Creatorhas ordained, and everything we witness,perceive, or have as a part of our environment, is a manifestation of these laws, notthe laws themselves. We believe and havefaith that the Creator has established lawswhich will continué to function regardlessof our awareness of them. That these lawsexist and cause the universe to be is the onlyfact of which we can be certain, but of theways in which they will manifest we haveno idea except what is based upon previousexperience.

We walk on a solid object and presume

that we will not fall through it. Previousexperience has taught us that a solid thingwill support us; however, we can be de-ceived. I recently read of a woman in acountry of the Western world driving on ahighway when a terrific earthquake tookplace; it cracked open the earth at the point

where she was and completely swallowedthe woman with her car. I have no proof

of this except in the reading of the account,but it is indicative that even a solid concretehighway is not a positive assurance of certainty that it will remain what we conceiveit to be.

Life on earth is a school of training inwhich we are prepared, through certain experiences, for something that is to follow. Just exactly what it is that will follow, mancannot see any more than a child in thefirst grade of school can anticipate what willfollow in the higher grades of study. But toconsider life and the physical entities andobjects that exist about us as certainties ofpermanent valúes is to deceive ourselves.

Life is a series of uncertainties and for it tobe otherwise would not be life. Perfectionalone would create a state of uncertainties,and perfection lies in the manifestation ofdivine law itself, which law, as stated, mani-fests to us only in its functioning, not in thepureness of its own existence.

It is conceived that a time will arrivewhen we will be able to perceive directlythe manifestation and function of this lawin all its purity. Then we will begin toachieve an awareness of certainty and per-manency because our awareness, understanding, and relationship with everythingexisting at that time will not be of physicalvalúes that can be wiped out by fire, disaster,or by the act of man. Instead we will recog-nize permanent existing forces which continué throughout eternity.

These comments, then, are an appeal forthe intelligent human being to accept lifeand the environment in which life manifestsfor what it is—a state of uncertainty. It isa state that cannot be guaranteed. The answer to the question of whether our possessions will exist tomorrow or that we ourselveswill exist is known only to God.

Man must learn that it is of very littleimportance whether all we are and all wehave will be in existence five minutes fromnow. It is an insignificant factor when we

consider the universe as a whole. Since manis a living being, endowed and infused witha forcé that cannot be analyzed as can therest of the physical world, we reason thatwithin us is an indestructible phase whichman has called soul or life-force. So, if thereis any certainty in this life, in this physical




world, it is the certainty of life itself. It issomething that cannot be analyzed by the

chemist ñor isolated by any other scientificmeans; it goes on maintaining this expression of being even when the physical vehiclewhich contains it has broken down and appears to be unsuitable for the maintenanceof life. The real valúes which we are toachieve lie in relationship to this nonma-terial forcé existing in us, and the closer webecome acquainted with that forcé, the near-er we will come to realizing the certaintiesof being.

Therefore, certainties are not a part ofphysical existence, but a part of another existence which we will attain and learn tolive in at some future time if we will hon-estly appraise our situation now and livein accordance with the limitations and un-certainties of the present. Man is givenintelligence. Let us use that intelligence tooccupy our time in analyzing our environment and what we can learn from it. Wemay have no further change. This may bethe only time to leam of the physical valúeswhich man uses today, but the main lessonwe must learn is that our evaluations aretransient and only a means of paving a waytoward more permanent and enduringvalúes.—A

Retirement and Culture

The Rosicrucian Order receives an increasing number of comments from personswho have reached retirement age or haveactually retired. It is of particular interestto me to notice how concern on this subjecthas mounted in the past twenty or twenty-five years. Columns on retirement living arenow published in various newspapers. Anumber of monthly periodicals are now onthe market which appeal primarily to retired persons or those who are approachingretirement age. Much discussion in the fieldof industry and employment is given notonly to the matter of retirement but to its

methods and the equipping of people so thatthey might understand the problems of retirement. Most of us, when under the stressof heavy work, are of the opinion that retirement would be very easy. It would simplybe a process of quitting work. In actualpractice, the people who are most convinced

of this fact find themselves least adaptableto being able to retire gracefully and enjoy

themselves.With the institution of Social Security in

many countries or a type of compensationto which retired individuáis are eligible, andwith the increasing interest in providingproper compensation from companies withwhom individuáis have been employed overa long period of time, the economic questi@nof retirement has ceased to be the most important one with regard to the process ofretirement or the activities of retirement,although it remains important.

Again referring to letters directed to theRosicrucian Order, most of these letters donot concern economic problems. Those that

do are usually from individuáis who havebeen retired for some period of time andfind that the inflationary tendencies of morerecent years have actually reduced the in-come which they had anticipated for theirretirement years.

Retirement is a psychological as well as aphysical state. Many individuáis cannot retire gracefully. There are individuáis whoseem to feel that they are so essential to thework they are doing that they will never letgo. It is for this reason that some large business concerns have found it advantageous tomake retirement compulsory at a certainfixed age, usually 65. The theory is that all

individuáis may reach a time when theyshould be aware that their services as individuáis can be assumed by someone else. Inthis way, new ideas are injected into ad-ministrative positions.

On the other hand, those who opposecompulsory retirement point out that inmany cases there are individuáis who arehealthy, who are alert, and who are themost competent to carry on certain functions, and therefore should not be denied theprivilege simply for the reason that they areover a certain age.

There are many competent executives andothers over the age of 65, who are carrying

on quite satisfactorily in numerous fields ofendeavor. In fact, those who are workingbeyond the age of 65 are usually individuáiswho are in better physical and mental healththan many people considerably younger whoare holding responsible positions at the present time. Any individual who reaches the




age of 65 and is still healthy and mentallyalert is certainly indicative of a life of funda-

mentally good health and good habits whichwill probably continué to be to his valué inthe future.

I have discussed some points of retirementrather haphazardly without arriving at anyconclusions or presenting the problem in itsentirety. It is not my intention to discussthe entire scope of the problem of retirement.That is more of a social and economic problem than it is a problem concerning membership in AMORC. Where the question orproblem of retirement may come cióse tothis organization is in the implication of mytitle with these comments and which asso-ciates retirement and culture. Many people

would think that no relationship exists, butactually the problems of retirement otherthan economic, as I have already pointedout, are frequently those of adjustment to adifferent and somewhat new environment.I have been very much surprised at someindividuáis who have adjusted well to retirement living and others who do not seemto be able to make the adjustment. Thosewho adjust satisfactorily are those who havecertain interests.

The word culture is broad in its meaning.It does not mean that a person has to be,necessarily, a profound student of any particular subject. Culture in general refers tothe habits and abilities of the individualleading to interests that are sufficient to ab-sorb his attention and to give him somethingto do that will be time-occupying and willalso make him feel that his efforts are ofsome valué.

There are individuáis today below theretirement age who work at a routine typeof position, or executives who devote wakinghours almost exclusively to the demands oftheir work. Such individuáis eventuallyrealize that their work is their life eventhough they may at times complain aboutthe burdens they carry. When and if theyreach a point of retirement, they are goingto start asking themselves about their inter

ests. Unless such individuáis are in an economic position where they can do anythingthey please without consideration of thecost, they will realize that their interests arevery definitely limited, for the simple reasonthat they do not participate in anythingfundamental outside their routine work.

The person who today does nothing butwork, and for entertainment is devoted to

shows, parties, or televisión, has not builtup any interests that are going to be sus-tained. Interests in general are of a culturalbenefit to the individual and to society.Knowledge in specific subjects, whether theybe simple or profound, will contribute to acultural background that will make it possible for an individual to select things to dothat he will not only enjoy but find of benefit to himself and possibly to other people.After all, the fundamental purpose of livingis to benefit ourselves and others who livein our environment.

Retirement should not bé looked upon asa period in which to exclusively maintain

selfish interests. A recent survey made byan economic association in this countryshowed that those who were privileged toretire in European countries were generallymore anxious to do so than in the UnitedStates. An explanation of this was based upon the assumption that the cultural interestsof these individuáis were broader. Most ofthem were associated in organizations,schools, or activities that challenged theirthinking. Anyone will find more satisfactionin living if his interests extend beyond amere objective occupation of time. Certainly, most forms of commercial entertainmenttoday are just that. In other words, goingto a motion-picture show or a stage function,or looking at televisión, means a projectingof one’s self into the function that is takingplace. Such entertainment is purely an ob

jective activity.True culture also takes into consideration

a subjective functioning because the interestsare built up within ourselves. A person witha proper cultural background can find someinterest besides devoting all his leisure timeto looking at a televisión screen. I am notcondemning televisión. It is a suitable formof objective entertainment when one can findsomething televised that is of interest, butobjective en te rt a in m en t in itself is notenough. We need to build interests and ac

tivities that spring from within us, becausethat is the source of all our being. It is ourselves with whom we are going to have tolive when and if we reach a period of retirement.

Therefore, I would suggest to all who havequestions concerning their adaptation to a




life of retirement, that they expand theircultural horizons, that they look now into

courses of study, into activities that will beof interest in their spare time. Certainlythe Rosicrucian Order fulfills this functionadmirably. The individual who finds thework of the Rosicrucian Order of interestand challenging to his thinking is creatingan immense reservoir of knowledge, informa-tion, and at the same time creating questionsthat will be an inspiration or an Ímpetusto more research and work. Therefore, en-courage yourself and others to look into thedevelopment of self as a means of makinga future period of life happier, more satis-factory and moré worth while.—A

Opportünity KnocksNo doubt, any reader of these comments

has heard the oíd expression, “Opportünityknocks at the door.” It seems almost triteto cali attention to this saying. Like manyothers, it is so commonly known that itstruth is actually forgotten. Most peoplewhom I have met who are always bewailingtheir bad luck are those who would laughwith scorn at such statements as “oppor-tunity knocks,” or any of the other well-known sayings with which many of us areso familiar.

Words can be used so extensively that weforget the ideas they convey. Actually,

great opportunities come to every living being. Great opportunities, I said—not justsimple ones. Every human being, within thecapacity of his knowledge and experience,has had great opportunities. Every one of usis less successful than he should be. We allhave had chances to do better, to be moreimportant, to have achieved more success,even fame or wealth. Everything that wehave ever wanted, physically, mentally, orspiritually has had an opportünity to beours. We have had repeated chances to bewhat we want to be, but most of us are dis-satisfied with what we are.

Such comment as this sounds like sooth-

saying, or merely the reiteration of wordswhich will make an individual feel biggerthan he is. All of us have heard about affir-mations or simple processes which purportthat health can be achieved and riches at-tained. Most of us know that regardless ofhow many times we might repeat, “I am

rich,” we still will be economically no different from what we were before we started

affirming it.Actually, making affirmations is occupy-ing our time whereas we should be willingto accept opportunities as they come about.Great opportunities are present at all times,but we as individuáis usually do not thenrecognize them. We are not alert to theirexistence. We are often so concerned aboutour own petty problems or circumstances,our efforts to make a living, to do the thingswe want to do, to seek pleasure, to gain timefor entertainment, to have leisure, or to getour work done, that we fail to realize fullywhat goes on about us. The only prepara-tion that is necessary to take advantage ofopportunities is to watch with a definite purpose and a single fidelity what each daybrings.

How long has it been since you have takentime to simply dismiss from your mind thecares, problems, worries, and matters thatoccupy most of your waking hours, and tolook aróund? When have you taken a walkfor the one purpose of being in a position toobserve, to see what you could see, and tolet that information register in consciousness? When have you read great literaturemerely to permit the perfection of expressionthat goes into the writings which constitutegreat literature to sink into consciousness andto see if the inspiration of those expressions

might bring about an original thought withinyour own consciousness? When have yourelaxed and listened to music, or to any othersounds that you like, not to analyze themñor to study them, but to see if they willproduce in you a condition which will beharmonious with intuitive ideas that arealways on the threshold of consciousness andready to press into consciousness, if we relaxenough to permit them to enter.

Many of our day-to-day thoughts, manyof our problems and triáis are like a lidplaced upon a container, with a weight tohold it down so that the lid cannot move.Nothing can come out of the container or

enter into it. We live a life of consciousnessupon which we have put the weight of ourown conclusions and prejudices, our ownideas and opinions, so that we receive nothing that we as individuáis do not permit toenter through the ordinary channels of thesense faculties. If you want something that




you do not have, if you hope to be something that you are not, then literally lift the

weight off your consciousness. Direct yourself away from yourself. Dismiss from yourconsciousness for at least a féw minutes eachday, the problems of money, health, association with other people, of family, and ofbusiness. Open your consciousness so thatideas will have a chance to survive therein.Make your consciousness a fertile soil inwhich ideas may grow.

Probably someone will say that I havewritten nothing here that he does not alreadyknow. I do not deny that, but do you practice what you already know? That is the important factor. If opportunity knocks at thedoor of your consciousness and you do not

answer it, it is because you hold the doorclosed. Open the door by opening yourvisión. Seek beyond the circumstances of themoment and let in the thoughts that fill theuniverse, that are a part of the DivineMind—of the Cosmic scheme. If you areever to achieve anything that you have notyet achieved, you must first permit thatsomething enter your being besides yourown defenses against the environment inwhich you live.—A

Rosicrucian Tour to Egypt

Every Rosicrucian, every student of eso-

teric philosophy and of history, is aware ofthe romantic appeal of Egypt. So many ofour present customs began in Egypt. Thearts, religión, and even some sciences hadtheir birth in that enigma tic land. Egypthas had the longest period of continuouscivilization in the world’s history. Its mam-moth pyramids, its stupendous temples(which even today are architectural mar-veis), its colossal statuary, are never to beforgotten by the visitor to that land. TheNile, like a thread of vital life, cuts throughthe hot sands of the desert, spreading oneither side black alluvial soil which for cen-turies has been the artery, the life line, of

Egypt. Along this oasis of varying width, afew miles on each side of the Nile, for cen-turies has clung the civilization that wasEgypt-

In the summer the desert reflects back theintense rays of the sun, making the heatalmost unbearable. But in the winter , the

climate has that air of exhilaration, of dry,springlike balminess, that is found perhaps

nowhere else in the world. The winter skiesare cloudless and the climate rainless. Thisaccounts for the excellent state of preservaron of its antiquities down through manycenturies.

Along the Nile the visitor sees life thathas been little touched by time. The primitive boats, with their patched sails, ply theirway from the west to the east banks of theNile, carrying their wares to open bazaars,as they have far back in the memory ofman. The raucous cries of the vendors inthe bázaar, the colorful array of foodstuffs,the exotic commodities of the East make thewhole scene appear to be some romantic

episode of the past—yet it is of today. Thecraftsmen sit cross-legged on the ground,and with a skill taught them by their fa-thers, who in turn were taught by theirfathers, their deft fingers and simple toolsshape fascinating articles in brass and copper.

As one climbs the grand gallery of theGreat Pyramid of Cheops, immured by hugegranite blocks, a thousand thoughts coursethrough the mind, as the heart pounds withthe thrill of the experience. Who were thegreat and the simple ones who trod thesestones in centuries past? Centuries beforeChrist, men possessed a secret gnosis, a greatknowledge, that made possible this edifice

as a monument to the learning of their time.There, above, one finally sees the entrance tothe King’s Chamber, a place of initiation. Solemnly one enters, stooping to do so, forthe short passage was so designed to makeall bow who entered the chamber, whetherthey were prince or potentate.

Then there is the great hypostyle of Kar-nak Temple, a vast colonnaded hall. Some ofthe capitals of the huge columns of thetemple can accommodate one hundred menstanding upon them in cióse formation. Onesteps from the heat of the midday into thecool shadows'and breeze of this vast temple.Uniquely designed by long forgotten archi-

tects, the columns of the roofless temple create air currents and drafts constituting anatural air-conditioning.

Then, on another day, one crosses theNile—called by the ancients Mother Nile—to the west bank. In this direction oncesolemnly moved the funeral barges of the




past, with their musicians and the laméntingloved ones of a great pharaoh or nobleman

whose sarcophagus, or coffin, this funeralbarge conveyed. As the solar disk Tía—thatis, the sun—sets in the west each day, so theancient Egyptians at Thebes transportedtheir dead to the west bank of the Nile.From that ancient custom our expressionpertaining to death, “going west,” originated.Great necropolises (cemeteries) and tombsare located in the Valley of the Kings andQueens on the west bank of the Nile, clois-tered against the rugged limestone hills.There once lay Egypt’s great.

Upon entering the corridor leading downto the sepulchral chamber in the tomb of apharaoh or king, one is forcefully impressed

with the fact that human nature respondsslowly to the advance of time, for he seesmuráis painted in vivid colors on the wallsdepicting the vanity of the departed. Inself-eulogy, the deceased pharaoh extols theaccomplishments of his lifetime. He prays,in hieroglyphic inscriptions, that the godswill recognize these great deeds and, whenweighing his soul against the feather of truthin the hall of judgment in the next life, willdecide in his favor.

At another time it is moonlight. Theswaying, graceful palms cause a rhythmicshadow to play upon the majestic columnsof Luxor Temple. The silence is heavy. The

moonlight dances a phantasy on the ripplingwaters of the Nile which almost lap againstthe temple wall. This night an event is tooccur that the Rosicrucians of the tour partyhave been looking forward to. Quietly theRosicrucians file out of their comfortablehotel quarters. They are led by a Rosicrucian officer into the night and into the greattemple, which almost speaks to them in theirattunement with it. Then in the shadow ofgreat ñames, events, and surroundings, thatseem to live again, they hold in the moonlight a Rosicrucian ceremony not unlike thatheld by the brethren of the ancient mysteryschools.

You can be such a visitor! You can havethese experiences! A Rosicrucian Egyptian All-Expense Paid Tou r is planned for Jan u- ary 5, 1960. Leaving New York City byplañe, the Rosicrucian tour party goes firstto Paris where for two days it will see thesights of that great city. The members of the

party will also sit in convocation with the Jeanne Guesdon Chapter of AMORC in

Paris—as one of the events. Then, too, theywill be taken by a Rosicrucian officer to thefascinating home of the great mystic and al-chemist, Alessandro Cagliostro.

From Paris the Rosicrucian tour party will journey, by plañe again, to Cairo, Egypt.Four days they will be in Cairo! A specialceremony conducted by Rosicrucian officersin the King’s Cham ber of the Great Pyramidof Cheops will be an exclusive event for thoseof this tour party. A visit to the great CairoMuseum will be included as well as themosques and bazaars of oíd Cairo.

Next is the great highlight of the journey,a ten-day trip by steamer southward up the

Nile! The ancient cities along the banks un-fold before you as you wend your waysouth. You disembark here and there to per-sonally explore the temples and great sites,their history being explained to you by acompetent guide.

In Thebes, ancient capital of Egypt, whereAkhnaton defied the priesthood, you willspend three days. You will visit KarnakTemple, which was built over a period oftwo thousand years by a succession ofpharaohs. You will journey across the Nileto enter the tombs of Tutankhamen and thegreat Rameses and view with astonishmentthe huge tomb-temple of Queen Hatshepsut,

the first great woman in history. Thenceyou will leisurely continué your journey upthe Nile to many other historical places ofwhich you have read and have dreamed.You will finally re turn to Cairo by Pullmantrain.

Here are the facts: All meáis, hotel bilis,air, train, and steamer fares, and entrancefees, including special guides, automobiletransportation in the cities for sightseeing,are included. There are no extras exceptwhat you may personally want to make.

The tour price for this 20-day tour, allexpenses paid, from New York back to NewYork, is only $1256.60. Departure from New

York City is on Janu ary 5, 1960.Though the AMORC is sponsoring thetour, it has naught to do with the financialmatters ñor does it make any profit on thespecial tour price. Consequently, it is notresponsible for the details. However, we arehappy to state that air transportation is ar-




ranged by the reliable company, Air Franee, and the other travel details by SITA, the

Student’s International Travel Association, anoted and reputable travel company. TheAMORC has brought these arrangements toyou so that you may have all these specialfeatures at low cost. Rosicrucian officers willgive special talks to the tour party.

Write today for a fr ee , fully descriptivefolder giving itinerary and details of how youmay be one of the tour party. Of course,Rosicrucians may have accompanying themon the tour nonmember friends and rela-tives. The price for them is on the sameeconomical basis. Address your letter for thefree literature to Arthur Piepenbrink, GrandRegional Administrator of AMORC, San

José, California, U.S.A.—XThe Monographs and the Bible

Recently a member asked our Forum: “Inview of the fact that the monographs ask usto lay aside all other theories, beliefs, andconceptions while studying the monographs,do you feel that a devout Christian shouldlay aside his Bible?”

This particular request is a very impor-tant, yet widely misunderstood, part of theteachings.

What do we mean when we ask the Neo-phyte to lay aside his previous teachings orbeliefs when he studies the lessons? Are weasking him to refute all that he has beentaught, that he has believed in, or that hehas held sacred?

No. However, many students, as is natural, compare the Rosicrucian teachings withthose of their previous experience as theystudy them. Often those earlier teachingshave been presented in a very dogmaticmanner. In effect, the previous teacher hassaid, “This is the way it is, and it can be noother way!”

Then the new Rosicrucian student finds amonograph on the same subject saying, “Itcould very well be this other way, however.

Let us explore and find out.”The student, in comparing, may feel thatthis new approach or direction is against hisformer belief and is loathe to follow the pathin that direction.

We ask, therefore, that the Neophyte approach the teachings with a completely open

mind. We want him to approach the lessons, not for the purpose of comparing them

with his former beliefs and rejecting thoseparts which differ, but rather for the purposeof exploration. It has been said that theRosicrucian is a walking question mark. Thisindicates that he always seeks the truth.

When, therefore, something in the teachings appear to differ from or dispute something in our previous teachings or beliefs,we should first analyze both thoroughly tobe sure they are not just two ways of sayingthe same thing. After we have done this,and there is in truth a controversy, weshould again analyze both with the thoughtof determining which one appears the morelogical. The thought or idea to keep in mind

_is, “can it be proved?”On the basis of this complete analysis, wecan determine whether the new idea solvedthe problem more logically than our previousone. If it does, then we should entertain noqualms conceming the substitution of theproof in the monographs for the outmodedexplanation which we had previously.

This should not be taken in any way tomean that the Christian should give up hisBible. Nothing in the Rosicrucian teachingsdiffers from the teachings of the ChristianHoly Book any more than they differ fromthe Koran, the Talmud, or the Upanishads.The Bible is one of the great inspirational

books of the world, and in fact is used in theweekly application of one of the early monographs.

The Christian will find that the teachings,contrary to being a substitute for his Bible,will help him in his understanding of thesymbology and mysticism in that greatwork.—W

What Is White Magic?

A frater asks our Forum: “What is theRosicrucian interpretaron of white magic?”

Magic is the presumption that there areoccult powers and forces in nature which

must be invoked by the application of certain agencies. It also expounds that, in addi-tion to natural forces which cannot beordinarily perceived or commanded, thereare supernatural forces which likewise canbe brought to serve human will in uniqueways. Belief in magic is the assumption that




there are sympathetic bonds between theselatent powers, which lie beyond the compre-

hension or ability of the average human being to employ, and certain men.In a broad sense magic more closely ap-

proaches the realm of science, and the lawsunderlying phenomena, than does religión.Religión recognizes a supreme supernaturalpower which is to be appealed to. The humanbeing in relation to his god or gods is madedependent upon the will of the deity. Magic,however, presumes a formula—rites or cere-monies which are causative and can set intomotion specific powers or forces. It is truethat in magic there is no systematic inquiryto determine whether the forces it recognizesactually exist or not. Further, unlike Science, there is no question, in most instances,as to how certain agencies can invoke orrelease these powers. However, in magic manis made the manipulator of the powers fromwhich certain effects are expected to follow.In general, he is more of a free agent thanin religión.

Early religión and magic were often related in religio-magic practices. Some sectstoday, in their ecclesiastical practices andrites, are perpetuating what constitutes magicthough, they, of course, would deny this.They allow—in fact, encourage—their de-votees to wear medallions, for example, andassume beliefs in connection with them thatparallel the notions of sympathetic magic

and phylactery. They permit the idea tobe harbored that certain objects touched orkissed have the efficacy of transmitting abeneyolent influence. They have rites forexorcising devils and demons out of personsand things; yet they will condemn as paganor heathen others who have similar practices.

Black magic has been so named throughthe centuries as denoting the use of magicalrites for malevolent purposes. Black has longsymbolized darkness which, in turn, has beenthe cover for evil deeds and deception. Consequently, the relation of black to magicalludes to the attempt to invoke supernaturalpowers, or the conceived occult forces of

nature, for evil intent. It will be noted thatin magic man does not generally think ofhimself as having intercourse with a supremeintelligence or mind but rather with impersonal powers which must function in a certain manner when the causes underlyingthem have been invoked. Consequently, in

magic the motive exists in the human insti-gation of such powers as he believes he may

direct.Here again we have a similarity to thefunctions of physical science. The naturallaws which the scientist employs are impersonal. They are not personified. Motive andpurpose for their application exists exclusive-ly in the mind of the scientist. One might

just as aptly refer to black science or white science depending on the purpose to whichit was directed.

White, symbolically and perceptionally, isin direct contrast to black. It has long repre-sented that which is without mar or imper-fection, being purity both morally and physi-cally. White magic has always denotedmagical works which were intended to pro-vide some noble or benevolent purpose. Inthe Bible there are many examples of whatfalls into the category of magic to invokespiritual powers to accomplish some good.Even divination or foretelling of the futurewas considered a form of white magic. Itwas the means of using certain agencies thatwould give man an unnatural insight intothe events of the future.

All that has been claimed to be whitemagic has not actually been magic. Somepractices were the employment of naturallaws that had been discovered and passeddown from generation to generation. Manytherapeutic remedies, using extracts of herbs

to be taken internally or used externally toalleviate a malady, were called white magic rites. The superstitious mind had no realization of what was actually being accom-plished. Certain herbs were selected and pre-pared in a specific manner in a medicinalform. Accompanying their prepáration therewould be incantations which were believedto induce into the herbs from some intangiblesource extraneous magical powers. So, whena cure was effected, the external magicalagencies were given the credit for the curerather than the actual chemical ingredientsof the herbs. In fact, early medicine was associated with such magical practices.

Calling such remedies white magic neithermade them magic ñor diminished their efficacy for good. Many of the practices ofthe alchemists of the Middle Ages weretermed white magic. Many of these sincereearly investigators were seeking ways andmeans of employing little known or revealed




forces of nature to do their bidding for thewelfare of man. Even the transcendental

alchemists, who sought not to change basemetáis into gold or silver but rather triedto bring about a transmuta tion in the thoughtand consciousness of man, were often claimedto be white magicians. They strove to com-mand and direct higher powers and forceswithin man’s nature for what they con-ceived as morally good.

In an intelligent age as now there is noplace for magic. Intelligent persons knowthat its premise is false. There are, of course,many phenomena which are yet mysteriousand inscrutable. It is assumed that under-lying them are fundamental natural laws—not supernatural ones. It is known that any

person who once discovers these laws,through empirical methods, study, or analysis, can command them. There are no inter-mediary hidden powers which are intendedto act as a key for chosen men. So magiccontinúes today only among the ignorantand as a sacrosanct tradition of some theo-logical systems.

Modern metaphysics and esoteric philosophy well know the distinctions betweenmagic, religión, philosophy, and science.Nevertheless some schools of esotericism havecontinued to confer the term white magic,with a kind of sentimental reverence for thepast, upon practices which are actually mys

tical or, in fact, the scientific use of naturallaws. This does these esoteric schools moreharm than good in this day and age. Theword magic now has a detrimental connota-tion and alludes, in the minds of most persons, to deception and superstition.—X

Mystical Meanings

A frater addressing our Forum says: “Ayounger member asked me, cIs there anydifference between Divine Love, Christ Consciousness, and Cosmic Consciousness; canyou express any one without the others? Ifthere is a difference please explain it.’ I

would say that one could consider them asthree points of a triangle. If one gains Cosmic Consciousness, he must express theother two; and if one begins to expressDivine Love and then Christ Consciousness,this must lead to Cosmic Consciousness. Inother words, they are interrelated and no one

of the terms can be an isolated existence.I would like the Forum’s opinion on this

matter.”The frater is quite correct in his assump-

tion that there is an interrelationship between the meanings of Cosmic Consciousness,Christ Consciousness, and Divine Love. Theyare, in fact, more or less different ways ofsaying the same thing. The most impersonal,the broadest term of the three, is Cosmic Consciousness, as we shall endeavor to explain. From the true mystical and Rosicrucian conception, Cosmic is the totality oflaws and the phenomena which manifests inman and nature. They are the forces, energies, and powers which account for the finiteand infinite worlds. The Cosmic is there

fore a unity, the absolute, the one; the par-ticulars which man experiences are butexpressions.

Further, there is no manifestation of theCosmic which is less divine than any other.Nuclear forces constituting the intricateparticles of matter are of the same cosmicsource as those levels of self-consciousnesswhich man designates as soul. One is morefinite, restricted in its function, than theother but not in essence. For analogy, awhole oil painting is more extensive thanany single or group of brush strokes of whichit is composed; but nevertheless, the brushstrokes are of the same substance of whichthe whole painting consists.

It is held that inherent in the Cosmic is aconsciousness, an intelligence if you will,which composes its order. It is the pheñome-non which is measured, weighed, and classi-fied as natural law by physical science inthe realm of matter. It is likewise the moti-vating forcé and order that directs the evo-lutionary processes in living matter. It mayseem strange, perhaps unorthodox, to referto consciousness as existing in inorganic matter, but we contend that the persistence ofthe forces in matter implies a kind of intelligence, though, of course, of a lower orderthan that expressed in living forms.

Man has various levels or degrees of consciousness, of sensitivity, to different impulses and impressions. All of the levels ofconsciousness to which man may attain are,of course, but part of the hierarchal order ofthe scale of consciousness of which the Cosmic consists. When one attains Cosmic Con-




Rosicrucian Order was an extremely heavytask for Dr. Lewis and one that he had to

assume principally alone except for this earlyhelp given him by his wife.Dr. and Mrs. Lewis were married in

Brooklyn, New York, in 1914. It was theiroriginal plan to tour Europe and, amongother places, visit the site of the RosicrucianOrder in Toulouse, France, where the Im-perator had received his initiation and theauthority to re-establish the Order in America, but World War I precluded any travelto Europe at that time.

In February, 1915, the Order held its ini-tial convocation in New York City. SororMartha Lewis was honored, as the Impera-tor’s wife, in being the first to cross the

threshold, namely, to be initiated in theA.M.O.R.C. for this cycle. She has beena c t i y e l y associated with the Order ever since.

The subsequent growth of the Order required Dr. Lewis, as Imperator, to makeextensive journeys throughout America, Cañada, and Europe. Soror Lewis always ac-companied him and assumed the manyduties which he assigned her, thus helping tolighten somewhat his administrative burden.On one of these European journeys, SororLewis was made a Fellow of the Royal Artsand Sciences of London, England.

Soror Lewis is the mother of four, namely,Earle C. Lewis, Madeleine Perata, VivienWhitcomb, and the present Imperator, Ralph

M. Lewis—the latter two being children ofDr. Lewis’ first marriage.

After the transition of Dr. H. SpencerLewis, Soror Lewis aided as administratorof the Rose-Croix Sanitarium for a numberof years, this sanitarium having been found-ed by the late Imperator. Soror Lewis wasquite successful in the application of Rosicrucian treatments and therapeutic methods.She continúes this work at every opportunity.

Soror Lewis is a member of the Board ofDirectors of the Supreme Grand Lodge ofthe A.M.O.R.C. and an honorary trustee ofseveral lodges and chapters of the Orderwhere she has delivered addresses. She is

past president of the San José Women’s Cluband has taken part in many cultural andcharitable activities.

Each year the instructor of the class inparapsychology at the Rose-Croix University asks Soror Lewis to give a demonstration inthe phenomenon of psychometry. She has

exceptionally developed extrasensory powerswhich make this demonstration interesting

to the students of these subjects.Lodges and chapters have often extendedinvitations to Soror Lewis to be a guestspeaker at their rallies. She has availed her-self of these invitations within the limits ofher time. She has enjoyed meeting thefratres and sorores on these occasions. Thiscoming spring she is scheduled for furtherrallies in the Southwest—Dallas, Texas, andAlbuquerque, New México.

Soror Lewis has numerous friends throughout the world, members of the A.M.O.R.C.with whom she keeps in cióse touch throughcorrespondence. Many members write herpersonally for advice, which she gladly gives

within the limits of her time.—XMechanical Consolation

A soror now addresses our Forum: “Thereare rather commonly in use in the Easterncities of the United States tape-recordedmessages of consolation. There are telephonelistings in various cities which a troubledperson may cali. Upon calling the number,a tape recording is heard of a voice sayinga few consoling words or, in some cases, therecitation of a prayer. What does AMORCthink of these telephone messages? Does therecipient gain any real benefit?”

There is nothing more intimate than self.

Though we may not be aware of our subliminal urges or subconscious repressions andinclinations, the objective aspect of self isvery prominent to each of us. We are allaware that we have certain anxieties—onesthat at least have a definite character to ourobjective minds. In other words, we are quiteconscious of certain aggravations which wecali worries. Likewise, we have our hopes,ideáis, and fantasies that constitute the personality, the outer manifestation of self thatwe know. It is what we think of ourselves,it is how we estímate ourselves, that consti-tutes what we think we are.

It is extremely difficult for the average

person to alter his conception of himself andof his relationship to his environment merelyby self-suggestion. For analogy, if one isdepressed, feels lonely, thinks that no onehas any interest in his welfare—and, in fact,no one may actually have such an interest—it is quite difficult for that person to change




this notion by the mere recitation of affirma-tions to the contrary. In other words, it is

difficult to argüe successfully with self. Self-suggestion may have, in certain circumstances, a very hollow ring. The feeling ofloneliness, germinating the idea that allhumanity is unconcerned with his welfare,is more dominant and impressive than amere affirmation to oneself of the friendshipand good fellowship of mankind.

An outside viewpoint, the sound of an-other’s voice, even if it repeats words whichwe have often said to ourselves, has a po-tency. First, we are not saying them—another human being is. We are not justtrying to enter into another conflict orcontroversy with ourselves. The sound of

another voice expressing sympathy and en-couragement fortifies the morale. It satisfiesthe hunger of the ego for recognition.

The fact that one may realize that thevoice is mechanically reproduced does notgreatly lessen the valué of its influence uponthe moralé. The voice pro vides a sympa-thetic, human companionship. One no longerfeels alone; there is an external expressionof kindness. It has a reality, even if but inwords beyond the limits of what we may sayto ourselves. There is the further satisfac-tion that the motive behind the tape record-ing is humanitarian. It is motivated by ahumanitarian thought; someone, some where,prepared the recording because he believed

what he said. At least, in making it avail-able in this public manner, he must havebeen inspired to bring relief and happinessto other mortals.

Just the realization of such kind conductupon the part of other persons may affordthe very consolation many ego-depressedindividuáis need. It is a known fact thatsome persons enjoy, as a relief of theirloneliness, the mere dialing of the telephonefor the correct time. The tape-recorded voiceannouncing the time provides a vocal companionship. It terminates the feeling ofdesolation and relieves the sense of remote-ness or isolation from the world.

Telephoning a number to listen to wordsof cheer or encouragement, which provide agreater stimulus than one’s own thoughts, israther a new versión of an oíd practice.Emotionally, there are some things that are,for all of us, powerful stimulants to a low-ered morale. There are certain selections of

music which engender rising spirits when-ever we hear them. At times we may play

a phonograph record that actually has in itsmusic a sympathetic bond with our subconscious. Consciously or unconsciously, themusic may be related to incidents in the pastthat were very satisfying to us emotionally.The playing of the phonograph recording results in our emotionally re-living such incidents.

Paintings and poetry have likewise beenused for centuries as psychological pick-ups.Some words in a particular piece of literaturecome to portray beautifully a pleasing mental image which the individual has built upin his mind in the past; thus, these mentalimages provide an euphoria , that is, a sense

of well-being and buoyancy. In fact, anenvironment that contributes to our peaceand well-being is made up of symbols ofvarious kinds, things that have a special,gratifying meaning to us.

Humorously, but nevertheless with verac-ity, it is said that a woman will raise hermorale through buying a new hat. The pur-chasing of the hat, which has varying appealsto the feminine ego, is the equivalent oftelephoning a certain number so that onemay hear soothing, consoling words. It is away of bringing into one’s environment thosepsychological factors which our own will andreason cannot adequately provide.—X

Numeral One and Unity

A frater of Australia addressing ourForum says: “Is it possible that one can bemisleading as an expression of many. Forexample, a number of parts may form oneof anything, that is the complexity of thecomplete things. The Cosmic as a great one may have many degrees of reference; thecomposition of a number of elements con-stitutes one change; the number of planetsof one solar system is another. It seems tome that one is a term used as an abbreyia-tion. How can we be certain about the relationship of one and its components in terms

the mind knows?”The frater has proposed a profound butinteresting topic for our Forum. First, letus approach the subject psychologically.Unity and one are not synonymous iñ human understanding. We do, of course,commonly interchange the words but seman-




tically they are really different. We applythe word unity to that grouping of things

which to the mind assumes the order orappearance of one. But, by the use of theword unity, we therefore imply knowledgeof a preceding essence of separate elementsor components. Even though the componentsin a complex order may lose their formerseparate identity, and there appears to beonly a oneness of quality or substance, westill think of the complex state as a unity—it is because we retain our memory of itsprevious parts.

There are, however, numerous things thatto our minds are a single substance or thing;namely, they appear as one. They have thatwholeness, that ubiquitous quality of same-

ness, that suggests no former separation ofparts. Actually, however, there is nothingknown to man as yet which is the ultímateindivisible. At one time the atom was believed to be the smallest indivisible particle—the real one. Modern nuclear physics hassubdivided the atom not only into electronsbut into other charges and particles. As yet,no man can say with assurance that anynuclear particle, no matter how infinitesi-mally minute, constitutes the limit of divi-sibility.

Psychologically, the one is that whosecomponents are not apparent to us. Thereare many things that we think of as one,

upon a first or superficial observance, whichfurther experimentation reveáis as consistingof minute particles that in unity give. theappearance of oneness.

Can the Cosmic then be an actual one, asman ordinarily thinks of that word? Obviously not. This would require a singlesubstance or quality throughout. It wouldbe a static state or condition, an inertia. Itwould be contrary to every manifestation ofthe Cosmic of which man has knowledge.We commonly refer to the Cosmic as being astate of harmony or agreement. We may ask,then, harmony and agreement of what? Forthere to be harmony, there must be a con-

cord between two or more things. A singleentity, wholly of one substance or kind,could not manifest the quality of harmony.

Suppose, as we relate in our Rosicrucianteachings and in numerous articles, that theCosmic is an all-pervading energy. As anenergy, to not be static, it would need to

either have variations within itself or havea relationship as a component to another

energy or energies. We speak of the universal cosmic energy as being dual in po-larity, that is, as having positive and negativequalities. These in turn in their vibratoryscale manifest all the expressions of theother energies and mass of which man hasknowledge—undoubtedly, there are an infinite variety as yet unknown to us. TheCosmic, then, is not really an absolute one,a single unvarying thing or state as manthinks of the one. Rather, it is a harmoniousunity of the dual qualities of which theCosmic must consist.

Nothing, of course, can escape the unityof which the cosmic cónsists. Nothing can

detach itself so that it becomes independent,or as two in effect. The alphabet, foranalogy, is one if we think of it in its en-tirety. It is, however, a unity if we thinkof it as composing the separate letters ofwhich it consists. But, the alphabet can haveno reality to us without our realization ofthe different letters of which it is composed.If the human consciousness were able toembrace in one entire scope the unity of theCosmic—that is, each manifestation beingequally and simultaneously impressed inspace and time upon the mind—then it wouldonly appear as one to us. Since we perceive,however, varying expressions of the Cosmic,

we think of it as a unity, not of separateparts but of varying manifestations.There are probably no external parts or

things. What we concéive to be such mayactually be but images formed by the mindfrom sensations we have of the forces ofnature acting upon us. Some modern philosophers, however, hold that things actuallyexist independent of the mind, just as weperceive them, and the mind is but one ofthem. In other words, things have the reality that we perceive them to have.

Alexander Samuel, noted modern philosopher, contended that things have inherentprimary qualities such as extensión, univer-

sality, reciprocity, and order. These qualities actually exist in things. They are not just conditions of the mind. Nevertheless,these things of the external world are notseparate parts but are the result of the varying nature of the Cosmic, the Cosmic beingbut a unity of qualities and being one only




It would appear that, as we are taughtin our Rosicrucian studies, as the objective

consciousness loses its sensitivity to externalimpressions, then like a balance scale thefaculties of the subconscious rise and becomemore dominant. The phenomenon relatedabove then becomes apparent. Persons un-dergoing surgery and while coming out orgoing under anesthesia have noticed thequickening of their psychic faculties. It isnot that the anesthetic actually stimulatesthe psychic side of man, but rather that itdulls the objective consciousness and itsfaculties permitting the phenomena of theother levels of consciousness to be realized.

It is necessary here, while discussing thisphase of the topic, to correct a wrong im-

pression which most persons have; namely,“At high altitudes, the percentage of oxygenremains constant.” The decrease of oxygenwe suffer, for example, in mountain climbingor flying in an unpressurized plañe is due todecreased b arometric pressure. This loweredbarometric pressure decreases the passageof oxygen from the lungs to the blood. Inother words, the oxygen cannot get throughto the blood and lungs as easily as it can atlower altitudes. The fact is that at highaltitudes beyond 40,000 feet even breathingpuré oxygen is not enough, for the barometric pressure is too low. It is for thisreason that pilots flying at high altitudes

must be in either sealed compartments orspecial suits in which there is maintainednormal pressure.

In our Rosicrucian studies, we are taughtthere is a universal Creative forcé termednous which radiates throughout our universe.This forcé has a dual polarity—two distinctqualities, one positive in its vibratory radiation and the other negative. The negative aspect is termed spirit and is thoroughly ex-plained in the monographs as being the un-derlying essence of all matter or materialsubstance. This negative polarity is finiteand restricted.

The pos itive polarity of the universal

energy Nous permeates the whole universe.It is infinite in function. It has the qualitywhich we term Vital Life Forcé. When it isinfused into inorganic matter having a certain chemical composition, the latter thenbecomes a living organism. The Rosicrucianteachings state that this Vital Life Forcé is

taken into our lungs by the air we breathe.It is carried by the air. It is V.L.F. which

charges the living cells. The V.L.F. is themysterious element—the intangible, positivequality carried by the médium of air. Thefrater’s question is: In a rocket projected intospace if one does not breathe air for weeksor months but only a mixture of oxygen,nitrogen, and other chemical components ofair, how then does he receive into his beingthis necessary positive polarity of V.L.F.?

Our answer to this is that the chemicalproperties of air even when artificially pro-duced by man are a catalyst for the V.L.F.In other words, they draw and hold thevibratory essence of the V.L.F. whetherthese elements are in the atmosphere or pro-duced by man. The energy of the V.L.F.permeates everywhere but is taken into ourlungs in an intensified and concentratedform through air or those chemicals of whichair is composed. Bringing together the* components of air for breathing in a sealedchamber nevertheless draws the energy tothem which man then breathes. The ex-tremely high vibratory rate of the V.L.F.is not impeded or restricted by the metáis orsubstance of the sealed chamber. Ás towhether the proportions of the V.L.F. in amixture of oxygen, nitrogen, and so onbreathed by man provides him with the samequantity of V.L.F. as the atmosphere, only

further experiments will tell.—X

Vital Life Forcé and Blood Plasma

An examination of articles in the Rosicrucian Forum , as well as questions that comebefore forums held at Rallies and Lodge andChapter meetings, reveáis two fundamentalfacts. One is that the same type of questionsare repeated time and time again. This isindicative of the fact that as members gothrough the degrees of the Rosicrucian teachings the same questions occur at certainpoints in the study of the Rosicrucian teachings. The other factor I have observed is

that new questions are usually related to newenvironmental cir cu m sta nc es . Thirty orthirty-five years ago, for example, the question which has now come before the Forumconcerning the relation of .Vital Life Forcéand blood plasma would not have been askedbecause blood plasma was not generally




known and was not used in the way it istóday.

The Ímpetus to the use of plasma wasprobably one of the by-products of the Second World War. The need for transfusions—particularly for men wounded in action,for the treatment of certain diseases, surgicalshock, and other situations that cali for areplacement of blood—brought about thedevelopment of plasma, making the fundamental constituents of the blood availablefor transfusión without elabórate tests andpreparations.

I am not sufficiently informed concerningthe nature of blood plasma to explain in de-tail its composition and the physiologicalconsiderations that are given to its prepara-tion and administration. However, my un-derstanding is that it is a fundamental sub-stance that can be used to replace blood lostby an individual through injury or othercircumstance. Its use has proved its effec-tiveness. There have been since its more orless general acceptance no doubt thousandsof cases where human lives have been savedand suffering minimized as a result ofprompt and efíicient transfusions, or puttingof blood plasma into the circulatory systemof injured individuáis.

The question concerning the Rosicrucian Forum that has arisen on this subject iswhether or not blood plasma contains Vital

Life Forcé. This is more or less a hypo-thetical question because again we are entering that realm of discussion or contempla-tion that has to do with the interrelationshipsbetween physical and non-physical entitiesor conditions.

The Vital Life Forcé as it is explained inour teachings is the term applying to theelement that we breathe which is other thanthe physical components of the air thatcause the human being to be the living being he is—or, as far as that is concerned,gives life to any living entity here on earth.The human body, including the air that isbreathed by it, can be analyzed from the

standpoint of its chemical constituents. Theair itself is a gaseous compound consistingof oxygen, nitrogen, carbón dioxide, andother gases. These are necessary to theproper functioning of the physical body, inthe same sense that food is. They are material entities; even though in a gaseous

state, still they are of a physical composition.

We might generally consider the air, forexample, to be a part of our environment. Itis a part of the earth itself. Although exterior to the surface of our planet, it is heldabout the planet by the same laws that holdother objects on it and extends to a distanceof approximately one hundred miles; although it is difficult for most individuáis tobreathe satisfactorily and maintain normalmetabolism even at twelve or fifteen thousand feet. Beyond that point, and even atthat point for some individuáis, supplemen-tal air—or the main constituent of air, oxy-gen—is needed.

Vital Life Forcé, on the other hand, is anonmaterial essence. It is in the air. It isin the entire universe, entering the bodywith the first breath, when man becomes theliving soul. It is, according to that point ofview, closely associated with the soul itself.Life, Vital Life Forcé, and soul are thoseattributes or parts of the human being notreadily considered to be a part of its physicalcomposition.

Blood plasma, then, is no more or less than—and I use this from a strictly popular pointof view—a certain quantity of condensedblood. It is a physical entity, a physicalproperty just as the blood itself. It containsthe same elements from a chemical stand

point, and from the standpoint of the material world, as does the blood that coursesthrough the circulatory system of everyhuman being. As such, it does not containthe Vital Life Forcé, but man has been created to be a receptor, as it were, of the non-material elements that are so necessary tohis being. The blood in the body of a new-born child does not contain a great deal ofthe Vital Life Forcé except that provided byits mother. The true influx of Vital LifeForcé comes as that child takes its firstbreath. Immediately the blood is infusedwith the Vital Life Forcé, as well as otherelements of the air we breathe.

From the standpoint of Vital Life Forcé,the plasma is, in a sense, an inert substance.It can readily become a receptical for VitalLife Forcé once it is a part of the bloodstream of a living being. When transfusióntakes place, and blood plasma is introducedinto the circulatory system of the individual,




A saint is usually beatified as the resultof a very great duty to his Church, whichever

one that may be. In many cases these havebeen truly enlightened individuáis, whosevisión and foresight brought progress to theirreligión. It is interesting to note that manyof those proclaimed saints by the RománCatholic Church were originally put to deathby that self-same body on charges of heresy.The early Church was frought with super-stition, and anyone who acted out of theordinary, or did not conform to the will ofthe Church officials, was suspected of havingintercourse with the devil. A case withwhich every one is familiar is Joan of Are,who fought for the liberation of France atthe direction of voices which carne to her.

It is difficult to outline the unfoldmentof a typical saint because the method andcircumstances in each case differ, and eachgained recognition in a way and for a resultapplicable to his case only.

Finally, the decisión of whether to confersainthood upon an individual for his servicesis made by mortals. Men, who in truth lackthe ability to delve into the Cosmic to findthe true nature or degree of the developmentof the personality, decide whether or not theindividual in question is worthy of beingnamed a saint.

This is a decisión which, if the true mean

ing of the title Saint is to be observed, shouldbe left to God and not to men.

We must conclude that in the final analysis there is very little place in the “Cosmicscheme” for the saints collectively, as thereis for the masters. However, the individuáishave their place in the Cosmic organization,whether they were merely devoted personsacting to the best of their ability in the service of man and their Church, or whetherthey were truly enlightened to the degree ofhaving attained mastership.—W

Is Suicide a Stigma?

A frater of South Africa now asks theForum: “I would like to put a question tothe Rosicrucian Forum: what is the Rosicrucian view on suicide? What I am trying tosay is this. If 4A’ commits suicide, his gravemay be placed slightly apart from the rest.

Should society inflict this additional sufferingon the family?”

This is a subject which must be boldlyfaced. It cuts across religious doctrines andprejudices as well as social customs. Thesuicide has been condemned principally be-cause of theological concepts. Religious sectshave interpreted suicide as a sin because theindividual has taken life—his life. Withoutquoting the variations of religious literatureor exegetical interpretations, the religiouspremise or objection is that man has no rightto assume a prerogative that is God’s. It isheld that it lies within the will and understanding of the deity to determine whenthere shall be the cessation of one’s life.Simply put, the moral condemnation on thepart of religión is that man has usurped aDivine right in the taking of his own life.

Such reasoning on the part of religión is,however, not wholly consistent with thedogma and the doctrines of some Christiansects. For example, a personal God is oftenconceived as having ordained a destiny foreach mortal. Thus, it could be reasoned, aman in taking his own life is pursuing acourse which he is destined to follow by atranscendental, a higher impulsation than hisown will.

What religión seems to overlook is themotivation, the physiological and psycho

logical factors lying behind the act of suicide.The instinctive urge to live, the inhérentinclination toward self-preservation, is ordinarily dominant in every normal person.Death in itself is not sought as pleasure. Itpro vides no positive satisfaction. When oneresorts to death, it is to court a negative state.It is the avoidance of a mortal or physicaltorment. The suicide is one who, at the time,is physically, mentally or morally unable tocope with some prevailing situation.

To the suicide, the act he performs isthe preferable one because there appears tobe no altemative except pain and anxieties

which are unendurable to him. Epictetus,the Greek philosopher, expounded that menshould not fear death for such ends humanmisery. “Where we are, death is not yet;and where death comes, there we are not.”In other words, death ends the consciousness



A Chance

To Prove

YOUR PERSONAL

THEORIES

Under Competent Direction at the

Ralph Waldo Emerson,

..

modern philosopher, said"A man should learn todetect and watch that

gleam of light which flashes across his mind fromwithin. . . . Yet he dismisses without notice histhought, because it is his."

How many of your own ideas which you dis-missed from your mind as too different or new—ormerely because they were your own—have yearslater returned, as Emerson said, in the alienatedform of someone else's recent accomplishment? Perhaps you, as have many others, let germs of Creativethought die for want of a place in which to maturethem.

Waste no more years—write today to the Rose-Croix University, San José, California, for a free copy

of The Story of Leaming. It contains a completecurriculum of the courses and tells how you mayenjoy the various privileges.

ROSE-CROIX UNIVERSITYT H E R O SI C R U C I A N P R E S S , L T D . P R I NT E D I N U . S A .



April, 1959Volume XXIX No. 5





Greetings!V V V

I N S U B O R D I N A T I O N

Dear Fratres and Sorores:Defiance of authority is increasingly

prevalent in modem complex society. It maypopularly be called delinquency , hoodlum- ism, or lack of moral discipline. But thereare just two fundamental causes of insubordina tion to established authority. They are:(a) tyranny and (b) misconceived freedom.Tyranny is perhaps best described as the abuse of authority, the exploitation of the powerthat authority provides. Tyranny arises prin-cipally from the seizure of authority for endsin which the public interest is disregarded.

Authority will only win respect and vol-untary support from those subject to it whenit is intended to serve them and can be shownto do so. As authority constitutes a power,whether it is believed delegated by man ordivinely bestowed, the manner in which thepower is to be applied is important. Power todirect, to govem, to command must be impersonal if it is to have the moral and physical suppo rt of men. When kings werebelieved to be divinely appointed, it was as-sumed that the mantle of authority was giventhem to promote the welfare of their subjects.

In other words, authority implies certainother related qualities. It presumes that thepower will be tempered with justice and directed by reason and not be ruthless or ir-rational. Intelligent authority, consequently,should be impersonally applied, it is presum-ed, for the interest of those over whom itprevails. When authority deviates from theseobjectives, it becomes perverted and is re-sented as tyranny.

Though men from the days of savageryand barbarism to the present have been sub

ject to authority, there is a latent psychological resentment to it. In principie, men mayaccept authority, yet in feeling they oppose

it, even though such opposition may neverassume expression in any form. Authorityconstitutes supervisión—and supervisión, intum, is restrictive. There can be no supervisión without the element of restriction. Theego and will of the individual motívate him

to act and think in various ways. In suchthought and action, the will and ego findtheir expression and satisfaction. When oneacts, he usually does so in accordance with his

judgment, that is, the action follows from adecisión. The judgment or reasoning thatprompted the decisión may be fallacious, butit is one’s own; it is of the self. One consciously or unconsciously resents the curtail-ment of this self-expression.

Freedom of the individual is not alonefreedom of the person; it is conceived to be,as well, the freedom of the will. No one isthought free who cannot exercise choice. Itis not necessary to enter into a philosophicalpolemic as to whether man is truly a freeagent or is by his nature obliged to submitto whatever desire most dominates him. Thefact is that man experiences what to himis freedom when his will is enforced. Consequently, supervisión, direction and restriction, of which authority consists, oppose thesense of freedom. If authority is not to inciteinsubordinaron, it must cogently be exercised and fully display the other qualitieswhich it embraces.

In an ever-increasing complexity of gov-ernment, bureaucracy is expanded. Thepublic servants of these cores of authorityoften are egocentric and arrogant in the display of the authority delegated to them. Theyuse their power as a sword rather than as aninstrument or tool of public service. Theconduct of certain bureaucratic employees istyranny, that is, the abuse of authority. Psy-chologically, they make all too effective thefact that they are constraining the powersand liberties of the individual. Their áp-proach is frequently offensive. It is negativeinstead of positive. It is a “you can’t do thisand you can’t do that,” instead of “it is

necessary under law that this be done so thatthis public interest or that be better served.”Disrespect for law and order or insubor-

dination to established authority is incited byan unintelligent imposition of authority. A j í increasing number of citizens come to look




even being that which is divisible into twoequal parts. In other words, the even has nomonad remaining between the equal parts.The odd he declared to be two equal parts,leaving a monad between the parts. The ancient followers of the Pythagorean schooldeclared the monad (1) to be odd and to bethe first odd number “because it cannot bedivided into two equal numbers.”

Aristotle, in his Pythagoric treatise, re-marks that “the monad partakes also of thenature of the even number, because whenadded to the odd , it makes the even and whenadded to the even numeral, the odd isformed.” The mystic and esoteric philosopher can see in the terminology of thePythagoreans the reason why certain ñamesor qualities were attributed to numbers. Forexample, the monad (1) was said to repre-sent God, the first cause. It also denoted thevirgin or purity. Now, if the monad as apoint is a mathematical and geometric be-ginning, a first cause, then certainly thesequalities are like that which man attributesto his conception of God. The monad, thebeginning, is simple and free of complexity,meaning again a state of purity which theword virgin symbolizes.

The dyad (2) was called by the Pythagoreans, among other things, audacity. Itwas so referred to “because it was the earliestnumber to separate itself from the monad.”The triad (3) alluded to the past, present,and future. Furthermore, it was the middle,the harmony. Rosicmcians can certainly understand the numeral 3 as denoting theharmony of opposites. In fact, Pythagorasdeclared that “opposites neither pass one intoanother, ñor are they ‘separated out.’ ” Hemeant and explained that there was a balance, a merging between opposites. This wasa conception that presaged the scale ofmathematical unity of the elements of matter.

It is interesting to note that one of thelater Pythagorean philosophers, in explain-ing that every object manifests according toits number, drew a picture of an object andthen filled it with pebbles. The number ofpebbles was to illustrate to the students themathematical Gontent of nature by whicheach thing has its particular form. Remember that these startling concepts were expounded centuries before Christ!

Later Pythagoreans, relatively modernscholars, have pointed out that the tetrad (4)is the cause of permanency and stability, andthese qualities are symbolized by the square.The numeral 4 was said to also allude todivinity. Many ñames for gods or deitieshave but four letters, such as:

Amon (Egypt), Syre (Persia), Theos(Greece), Deus (Latin), Gott (Germán), andDieu (French).

In later times, occultists assigned ñamesand meanings to larger numeráis. It issometimes quite difficult, even almost impossible, to know by what reasoning thesenumbers carne to acquire their significance.Possibly, the real reason has been lost inthe passing of time.

The frater asks about the numeral 666.This is referred to as the numeral of the beast. It is a number occultists assigned toan individual “associated with Satan,” thatis, one who pursued an evil course in life.The numeral also appears in RevelationXII I: 18, “Here is Wisdom. Let him thathath understanding count the number of thebeast: for it is the number of a man; andhis number is six hundred, three score, andsix.”

The numeral 888, for further example, isthe number of Iesous or Jesús, and is held tobe in contrast with 666, the Satanic number.A study of the Kabala, as taught by theRosicmcians as a supplementary teaching,is a fascinating inquiry into the symboliccombination of numbers and letters.—X

Projection or Autoscopy

Recently an article appeared in a large andwell-accepted publication in Cañada on thesubject of autoscopy. It particularly evokedmuch interest on the part of Rosicmciansbecause of the similarity of the phenomenonof autoscopy to psychic projection. A number of Rosicmcians have asked our Fomm tocomment upon it.

Psychic projection, as explained in ourmonographs, consists of the ability of theindividual to project the psychic self, that is,the awareness of self, beyond the confines ofthe physical body. It is the phenomenon ofbeing conscious of one’s own being in an immaterial form located in space—near or far—and distinct from his physical entity. Many




in Switzerland under the direction of theGrand Lodge of AMORC of France.

In 1956 Frater Troxler presided over theformation of the Rosicrucian Pronaos inNeufchátel as well as the Chapter in Lau-sanne (which is now a Lodge). In Novem-ber of the year 1957 the Grand Secretaryof AMORC of France, Frater RaymondBernard, honored Frater Troxler with theappointment as Inspector-General of theOrder for Switzerland, the position being oneof great responsibility.

In his home in Yverdon, Frater Troxleris building a Rosicrucian temple. Thistemple is to be used by the Initiatic Officersof Switzerland in conferring the beautifultime-honored Degree initiations. The Fraterhas recently been kindly requested by FraterBernard to serve in the capacity of Masterof that Initiatic Degree Body of Switzerland.

In the words of Frater Bernard, GrandSecretary for AMORC France, “Frater Troxler is a real mystic and a hard worker. Heis held in great esteem by each of the manyfratres and sorores to whom he is known.He is not only a mystic, but a true Rosicrucian mystic.” No finer thing could be saidof anyone —X

The Rosicrucian Convention

For those who have not yet attended anInternational Rosicrucian Convention a few

words are in order. In the first place, eachof us must realize that AMORC is a fraternalorganization. It is not a school alone, ñormerely a philosophical society. As a fraterni-ty, we have fraternal relationships. We arefratres and sorores. Though we have waysthat are taught to us by which we can contacteach other, shall we say, on the mental andpsychic plañe, it is necessary for us as humanbeings to come together at times and directlyexchange ideas. Furthermore, we subtlyconvey from our own inner selves, by meansof our auras, certain radiations, which inturn create in others a condition of harmonyand understanding.

It must be realized that Rosicrucians regardless of race, creed, or nationality areunited in spirit, having certain common interests. They desire knowledge. They wishthat knowledge for the improvement of selfand to evolve their soul-personalities so thatthey may contribute something directly to

the advancement of mankind as well as toreceiving personal satisfaction.

The Rosicrucian Convention is so designedor organized as to include the various basic,interests of the members as well as theirneeds. The whole Convention and its eventssymbolize the purposes of the Order—what itis striving to do, as well as its many differenttypes of activities.

For example, you will want to note thesethings:• At each Convention there are personal

classes where you may meet with otherfratres and sorores, perhaps members fromdistant places throughout the world. Inthese classes there will be explained andillustrated certain phases of the studies inwhich you are now engaged. In otherwords, these are special classes for each ofthe Degrees.

• The work of the organization is not entirely abstract, mystical or philosophical.It is concemed with physical and materialrealities as well—the phenomena of nature;consequently, there are demonstrationsconducted with equipment and by quali-fied instmctors to portray the operation ofdifferent laws of nature. The program ofmost of our Conventions includes addressesby scientist-members who explain in simple terms some of the phenomena ofnature, fascinating features related to theRosicrucian teachings. These lectures and

demonstrations may concern various universal laws as they apply to galaxies, starsand planets; or they may have to do withcell life, anatomy, with the functioning ofthe mind and consciousness, or time andspace.

• It is fully realized by Rosicrucians thatman is more than just an intellectual being, that all knowledge cannot be con-veyed just by the faculties of sight andhearing. We are emotional beings also.Our psychic selves must be contactedthrough the higher levels of consciousness.For this reason, beautiful, traditional,mystical ceremonies are held in which the

member can participate. In perceiving thebeautiful lighting, hearing the music, see-ing the ceremonial costumes and traditional architectural designs, the individualmember is induced into a state of consciousness where he acquires certaininspiration or stimulation that could not




be attained through mere spoken or print-ed words.

• We live in the world of everyday as wellas in a world of contemplation and medi-tation. A Rosicrucian outlook on the affairsof life is important. How can our philosophy, our teachings, be fitted into theproblems and circumstances of our times?Those who attend the Convention have theopportünity to hear speakers who areprominent in professional and prívate life—Rosicrucian members—who will addressthe Convention on world events and conditions.

• The Convention is not al l work and study.It is a time of good fellowship, providingoccasions for the expression of the truefraternal spirit, On the beautiful and spa-cious grounds of Rosicrucian Park one hasmuch time to sit and chat with memberswho may be from one’s own State orProvince, or from across the world! Imagine a picnic lunch somewhere in Rosicrucian Park. Later in the day, you may seean outstanding travel film of some remóteand historical area. Then, there are special musical programs, a banquet, and adance.A Convention means really five glorious

days! Thére are activities for everyone fromeight o’clock in the morning until the earlyevening hours. There are tours throughoutthe various buildings; and you may attend

Convocations in the beautiful Supreme Temple; astronomical demonstrations in theScience Museum and Planetarium. You havethe opportünity to examine the renownedcollection in the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and see the handiwork of the peoplesof thousands of years ago—the culturalfoundations of a civilization upon which westand. The registration fee for five days ofsuch activity, including the banquet andother entertainment, is only $7.50—just $1.50 a day. Corning to the Convention mayrequire a little sacrifice for you, but it issomething you will long cherish. The factthat so many member repeatedly attend ourConventions throughout the years is proofthat they have found the Rosicrucian Conventions to be worthwhile.

Remember the dates: July 5-10, inclusive.For a free listing of accommodations writeto: Convention Secretary, A.M.O.R.C., Rosicrucian Park, San José, California—and en

dose postage stamps. If you are not inthe United States, please include postal

coupons.—XCan the Soul Be Restored?

A frater, now rising and addressing ourForum, says: “Reputable doctors have re-ported that a dead dog was brought back tolife. This was accomplished by first killingthe dog by draining its blood, then presum-ably infusing it with new whole blood. Thesuccess of this experiment may somedayembolden doctors to duplicate it on humanbeings, which raises some interesting metaphysical questions: Since the soul enters thebody at birth and leaves it at transition, doesa new soul then enter the body with reviv

ifica tion after death? Or is it the same soul(all a part of Cosmic consciousness)?”

The subject first to be considered in ananswer to the frater’s question is whether thedog in the experiment was actually dead.True, examination of the animal would indícate that all the usual characteristics ofdeath were present. There would be, ofcourse, the absence of respiration, no bloodto circuíate, an inert heart—in fact, no function or response of any of the organs orsystems. However, was the vital life forcécompletely absent from all cell matter? Thisis strenuously doubted. At différent timesthere have been restorations of dead animals

in experimentation and otherwise. Even hu-mans have been pronounced dead in accidentssuch as drowning and have been revivéd.Physicians and experimenters in this field inlearned treatises in science journals have ad-mitted that to the present the “restoratíon oflife” has to follow the state of “death” al-most immediately. If deterioration of cellstructure has begun, life cannot be restored.

Would it not be better to have declaredthat within a certain lapse of time the common functions of life can be restored. Thiswould not mean that life itself was being restored but merely revived from a sub-statecorresponding in appearance to death. It isa moot question as to whether the wholeorganism dies at once. As a functioning unit,one may appear to die immediately, butthere may be sufficient vital life forcé residentin the cells to be rejuvenated by the processused in experimentation. When this reviv-ification occurs, then the unitary functions




of the organism are again resumed and thebeing exhibits the usual characteristics of

living.There is as yet no reason to doubt thistheory. If it be so, then all the soul qualities(the universal Cosmic intelligence of whichsoul consists) do not immediately detachthemselves from the body. The qualities ofthis residue of Cosmic intelligence, whensufficiently regenerated, would once againmanifest as soiil-personality, as a personalconsciousness of one’s own higher levels ofconsciousness. Further, it would be the same soul essence as before the individual was considered to have died. If there were no seriousinjury to the nervous systems and to thebrain, there would again exist the same soul-personality.

Let us realize that soul-personality is alsoquite dependent upon the organ of brain forits manifestation. It is through and by meansof the brain that we come to have a realization of the Cosmic or vital life forcé with itsintelligence within us. The stream of consciousness that permeates our being is the“stuff” of which soul consists. The higherlevels of this consciousness we cali psychic in contrast to the objective and subjectivelevels so commonly known to us. When weare able to experience sensations of thepsychic level of consciousness, we cali itsoul, psyche, divine essence, God within, the exalted self , and numerous other definitions

given by various religions and philosophies.The personality is the sum total of our(a) realization of this higher consciousness;(b) our conception of it; and (c) the way wethink, act, and feel in accord with it. Theevolvement of the soul-personality is theattempt to raise our objective awareness, ourbehavior and thinking, extemally, to thatpoint where we feel we are in accord withthe idealism we psychically have experienced.

If this is difficult to understand, let usthink of a sculptor visualizing a beautifulabstract form. It is only one kind of realityto him, an inner one, a sort of ideal. Hethen wishes to realize it objectively, that

is, to embody it in material form so that hemay deriye visual aesthetic satisfaction fromit that will conform to the inner appreciationhe has. Simply put, he wants to creatematerially an object which will participatein his mental construct. So he models ofmaterials an archetype of his mental image.

The inner ideal he had we may cali thesoul substance, that is, the psychic levels of

the universal consciousness accompanyingthe life forcé in our body. The image theartist makes of clay is the perso nality , shapedgradually to conform to the concept whichhe has, namely, the soul.

If the brain is injured in the so-calledtemporary death, then the ability to becomefully aware of one’s psychic self, and particularly to transíate it into objective termsof thought and action, might be difficult.The soul-personality as realized might varyconsiderably from the former one. Thepersonal evolution, so far as consciousness ofthe soul essence is concerned, might be of alower degree for the remaining years in the

present existence. Whether the realization ofthe former personality evolvement as a latentmemory would remain in the subconsciousunaffected by the partial death, and temporary disorganization, can only be specula-tive. The whole subject, of course, must beat the stage of this type of experimentation,in the category of abstraction and assumption.

It is significant to note that many primitive religions and many mystical philosophiestake the position that disposal of the bodyshould not occur until a certain number ofhours or, in some cases, days after the pro-nouncement of death. The underlying premise in this regard is, as we have said, thatalthough the common characteristics of deathare present, yet all life forcé has not departedfrom the body and the Cosmic intelligencehas not completely waned or been diffuseduntil that particular time has elapsed. Thisshows the notion that any restoration of lifeso-called before that time would really bebut a stimulus only of the life that was already there and had not departed.—X

Some Observations on Reincamation

Reincarnation as a subject never loses itsfascination. The amount of literature con-cerning it makes it difficult to speak or writeabout. When any new material appears, itis substantially a repetition of what has beensaid before, assembled in a slightly. differentform. Therefore, my presentation here isnot necessarily original, ñor is it new in thesense that the ideas may never have beenexpressed elsewhere.




This article is a summation of what Ibelieve to be the Rosicrucian concept of re

incarnation, intérspersed with my personalcomments which may or may not have sub-stantial valué. It is true that the more westudy a subject, the more it should becomefamiliar. In that way the answers to ques-tions which may háve previously concernedus may be less vague.

The whole concept of reincarnation is onethat dates back as long as man has been athinking entity. One of the most erroneousconclusions about reincarnation is that it issomething that developed in the period usu-ally referred to as the span of civilization.When individuáis first became capable ofthinking, the idea of reincarnation seemed to

generate itself in connection thereby. Thereare many explanations of man’s interest inimmortality. Many claim that it is no moreor less than man’s selfish desire to maintainhimself, his possessions and individuality.Regardless of the arguments for or againstthe general concept of immortality, man has,nevertheless, thought óf himself as a con-tinuing entity, a being that is not limited toa manifestation in one single segment ofexistence.

To grasp this concept of the basis of reincarnation, we must orient our thinking tothe fact that reincarnation is based upon theprincipie that there is an element, an entity,of being that is permanent, while there isanother manifestation of being that is notpermanent. In other words, the whole concept of reincarnation revolves around thepoint that something in man has permanenceand eternal valué, and goes on functioningregardless of the circumstances or the media.We may cali this eternal valué or entity byany ñame we choose. Those who accept thistheory believe the manifestation to be of Godor the Creative forcé. If we confine ourselveshere to the Rosicrucian terminology, we willuse the term soul as meaning everything inman that is not material; in other words, soulis the entity or the activating forcé thatcauses man to have mind and being, and

causes the body to be animated or living.In his concept of reincarnation, man had to

first believe in valúes superseding the physical universe—that anything physical wasexistent for the purpose of providing an environment and a médium through which this

soul or soul-force could manifest. For thisreason, as far as historical records substan-

tiate our research, men and women who havebelieved in reincarnation were usually thosewho were substantially more developed spirit-ually, mystically, and psychically than theaverage of the human race about them.

This statement needs qualification sinceany principie adopted as a religious doctrine,of course, has many followers who acceptcertain dogma with blind faith and withoutquestion. In other words, there have beenreligions in the world established by personswho had achieved spiritual valúes and spirit-ual concepts, but whose followers lost sightof the valúes which the founders upheld.Consequently, at times religions which be

lieved in reincarnation have thrived. Hun-dreds of followers accepted that belief withoutplacing any particular valué on it, just asmany religions today accept doctrines andprincipies without questioning their source,or even the possibility of their having anelement of truth.

Generally speaking, however, those whogave thought to reincarnation have been ableto see beyond the limitations of the physicaluniverse. They have developed their entirephilosophy upon the principie that something exists which is more important thanthe physical being. The belief was that thesoul is a continuing expression from the be-ginning of time through all being and throughall the period that God has ordained time tobe, and that this individual segment of soulhas utilized various means of expressing itself, each incamation being one segment ofthe total expression.

To the individual who fully subscribes tothis theory, each human life is a very smallportion of being and relatively unimportant.This concept of the unimportance of physicallife has lead those who did not fully under-stand the principie, and motivation back ofthe thinking, to believe in the mortificationof the physical body. As a result of thismisinterpretation, practices have developedin some areas of the world that deprecíate

the physical body to the extent of not givingit próper care.

Among those who have taught reincarnation as a doctrine, there have been some ofthe greatest philosophers, religious leaders,mystics, and avatars of all time. Repeatedly,



Page NO THE ROSICRUCIAN FORUM

these individuáis have subscribed to thetheory, and to this fact many people point

for proof of reincarnation. Because so manybelieved in it, it seems improbable that allthose intelligent people could have been inerror; however, such is not complete proof.Regardless of what we may believe, we mustremember that reincarnation is a man-madetheory, as I will touch upon a little later.Some great religious leaders and philosophershave denied reincarnation; so, consequently,we have our choice. But I think the balanceis in favor of those who have supported it;personally, I believe that the thinking of somany men and women, which has led themto the conclusión that reincarnation is a factor a possibility, must carry a certain amountof weight.

It is difficult to break a subject into itsparts, but I believe it would be well to selecta few points and consider the general sub

ject by referring to some of the questionsusually asked in regard to reincarnation.These are not specific questions, but rathergeneral concepts that have occurred in theminds of individuáis conceming this broadsubject.

In general, the appeal of reincarnation tothe human mind is based upon the logic of it.There is reasonableness, we might say, inthe rational mind to agree that the physicallife span of which we are conscious at themoment cannot in itself be the end. As Ihave already mentioned, the belief in valúessuperseding the physical does cause man toattune himself to the concept of a philosophywhich maintains that the immaterial elementor the soul is something that goes on in-definitely. If the universe, as we believe, wasactually created by a superior intelligentpower or forcé called God, and it functions,as we are aware of at the present time,merely so that the human being composedof the intricacies with which we are familiarlives, thinks, and works for a period of four-score years and ten and then all is over,then the creator has perpetuated a monstrous

joke on human life.

There is no rhyme or reason in the conceptof expended energy in existence for such atemporary, limited period. Everything innature would seem to indicate that this lifeof which we are now conscious is one phaseof a greater existence. Therefore, any in

dividual who approaches the subject of reincarnation with an open mind will find it

logical that life is a series of manifesta tions;or that life, as we know it, is one of a series,and that soul, which includes that life, man-ifests in different forms at different timesover different periods of time in differentplaces. Certainly, logic upholds this type ofthinking.

Nevertheless, after arguing from the pointof logic, I wish also to state that regardlessof how logical the concept of reincarnationis, or regardless of how many thinking peoplehave considered it so, logic in itself is notproof of anything. Many ideas have beenproven by the human mind to be logical,but logic, truth, and reality are not neces-sarily synonymous. To reitera te again, reincarnation is a man-made theory. It is ahuman concept or a human interpretationthat we give to a higher or Cosmic law.

Reference to law causes me to recall aphrase common upon the lips of many people, “the law of reincarnation.” I haveprobably used it myself, but the term shouldbe eliminated. Reincarnation, as we understand it, is not a law. It is an effect. Thelaw that exists is the law of Karma. It includes the general principie of give andtake, of completing a cycle as evidenced byits own most common symbol, that is, aserpent swallowing its tail. Karma is theprincipie or the law behind incamation, and

incamation is the effect of the operation ofthe law.Society is divided into various levels. Re

ligious concepts or the philosophies of otherindividuáis influence us more often than ourown judgment and intuition. We attempt tocoordínate the principies, in which we believe, with social and moral standards whichmay have nothing to do with the all-overscheme of things. We attempt to developour own principies and beliefs in terms ofthe consciousness of God according to ourinterpretation. Actually, it is probably tmethat God is concemed very little about thefoibles of human nature and did not laydown the moral and social laws to whichmany humans think humanity has to con-form in order to ever reach a fuller conceptof God. In other words, the laws that manmay establish for one physical incamationare only a matter of man’s individual interpretation of one life and one environment.



APR1L, 1959 Page 1I 1

This concept does not apply to the law ofKarma, which operates at all levels. We cannot deny its existence. Neither can we expectexception from its operation. If I put myfinger in a fire, I will experience pain. Thiseffect is due to the law of physics, and nothing, no argument, will change it. If, in areasonably free country, I do an honest day’swork, it means a day’s pay. This is according to the law of economics. If I steal yourwallet as you go out of a room, I may haveto serve a term in jail. This is the workingof moral law enforced by political entities.All these illustrations are of cause and effect,and incidentally they have very little to dowith anything outside their own sphere—physics, economics, or moráis.

If I devote my life to the acquisition of

knowledge and to the attempt to develop thepotentialities given to me as an intelligentbeing, then I will presume to have oppor-tunities to use these principies. The functioning of Karma is one far more extensivethan of any law operating only at a physicallevel. Karma affects not only the immediatepresent, but periods that lie in the futurewhich will continué to exist as long as.thereare intelligent entities to be aware of existence.

We must not confuse the level of function.The law of Karma works throughout allthings, but not always for the same reason.In other words, man is not burned when he

sticks his finger in the fire because of apunishing God. Your social and moralbehavior does not concern Him as somereligions would have us think. God is concerned about our acceptance of the laws ofthe universe and how we relate ourselves tothem. Ours is a challenge to live to thefullest extent that life offers. We are to fitinto a great scheme; and all parts, we mightsay, are segments of one great manifestationlike cogs in a wheel. The wheel is more important than the cog, and the concept of lifeas a whole, or Karma existent over centuries,is more important than the mental anguishthat may come to a child who stole a dimeand feared punishment.

What I am trying to convey, and whichis rather difficult, is that many moral, social,and intellectual concepts are based uponprejudices. I am not denying or dióregardingworth-while moral standards. I am trying toemphasize proper valúes by looking at them

from a different point of view. Life is moreimportant than any human-made moráis orethics. Karma is a principie that has to dowith living, not at this moment, not in thislife, but eternally. Without the principie ofKarma, living would be unendurable. It isthe only explanation of human differenceand of the problems with which we have tocope. It is the only hope that that whichwe have today may be put to advantage, sowe can gain in knowledge and understanding—and, we hope, in happiness. There is noexplanation in any other religión or philosophy for the hopeless cripple, the deformedindividual, the idiot or deficient person, forpain and grief, sorrow and misery, for poverty, and the many degrading forms ofexistence, except through the operation of

the law of Karma.Nevertheless, the critic of the theory mightask, “Does God, therefore, forcé human beings into pain, poverty, and unhappiness?”Actually, such a critic has missed an important point in this argument. God does notforcé me or anyone else into any circumstance. Circumstances happen on limitedlevels of manifestation, as I mentioned. WhenI put my finger in fire, God does not bumit. This is the important fact to remember.The bum is the result of a manifestation ofa physical law. If *1suffer pain that seems tobe unexplainable, if individuáis are bom intoa social status that leads to misery, poverty,

and want during most of their lives, it is notGod that does it. It is the functioning ofthe law that is, in its inalterability, a proofof the justice of God. That the law cannotbe changed by wishing, thinking, or makingsupplication, that it works for all, is proofthat it will surely work uninterrupted forevery individual regardless of circumstances.

In considering Karma we must take it outof the limitations of physical time and space.Karma, in terms of cause and effect withina limited length of time, is different fromcause and effect within eternity. Surely, wecan all remember disappointing experiencesin childhood. Can you not remember some-thing you wanted and didn’t acquire, or thetime when you were ill or hurt and couldn’tparticipate in an activity you had planned?Cari you remember the importance that suchan incident had in your consciousness, how itseemed that your whole life was worthless,that your purpose for living was hopeless




because of this incident? Now as we lookback, we realize that such was only an inci

dent.Someday we will look at this whole earthlylife, not at one but many of them, with thissame amused tolerance. Regardless of howyou may have suffered, or of the experiencesthat took place, a whole incamation willhave no more significance than the childishwhim of losing something you thought wasirreplaceable. The same relative proportion-ate importance will be placed upon an entireseries of reincamations when measured interms of etemity.

Another question about reincarnation con-cems its cycles. Our monographs teach thatthe reincarnation cycle runs in periods ofapproximately 144 years. We must remem

ber, however, that this is a man-made ap-proximation based upon evidence believed tobe reliable. Also, nature functions accordingto laws only a part of which we can perceive.Nature does not function on the same sched-ule as some man-made things. For example,during the past few months it is supposedto have been fall and winter, but yet, naturehas not acted in that manner. We have hadcomparatively good weather. Nature doesnot always conform to the clock and thecalendar. Summer does not mean perpetualheat, neither does wintér mean perpetualsnow. Cycles are general.

Even the cycles of the year applied to us

as individuáis, do not mean that your seventhcycle is one of doom and your first cycle oneof vast opportunity. In fact, all periods havetheir constructive days and offer opportuni-ties in various ways. You cannot judge thelength of various incarnations on a fixedbasis of 144 years. Possibly, over a period of10,000 or 20,000 years, you would find thatthe 144-year cycle has worked out at anaverage, but you may have been incarnateda dozen times in the past three or four cycles.The average is important, and in terms ofetemity, they have to be considered over avery long period. We do not know enoughabout the theory of cycles to be specific. Theyare not too important; neither is the number

of incarnations. It is what we are doing withthe present cycle that has immediate valué.

In reviewing our childhood, many of uswould not be certain of the years we spentthere, or how many grades of study werecovered. We would have to think about it.

In other words, each unit becomes insignifi-cant in terms of time, and the same is tme

of our periods of incamation in terms ofeternity.

Another common question concerns therelationship of memory to reincarnation. Theperson making inquiry wants to know whyhe cannot remember the specific events ofhis reincamations. The answer is not difficult. Actually, memory is quite limited. Itis given to serve us in certain ways, not tobe infallible. Most of us remember fewevents of our childhood. Those few standout, but, barring something unusual, it wouldbe difficult for you to recall some event whichoccurred when you were ten years oíd. Inother words, without some outstanding event

with which to associate another event, youprobably cannot isolate a specific time as toyears. I challenge you to go back beyond theage of ten. Can you remember events in thethird, second, or first year of your life?

We frequently wonder why memory is soillusive, particularly when trying to thinkof something we feel we should be able toremember. If memory is illusive in onephysical life of experience, how much moreillusive would it be over a period of manylives? One reason for memory to be illusiveis its association in practice with language.Incidentally, in our monographs we aretaught to visualize and not depend on language exclusively; however, most of us do

not followr this advice. It is easier to thinkin words. Almost all our memory and association with our environment is in terms oflanguage.

We think, we daydream, we live, we existto ourselves in language. Without language,we could remember only a few events; therefore, we cannot recall much that happenedwhen we were three years oíd. With a limited vocabulary, we were unable to verbalizeour experiences, to put this concept intopsychological terminology. As we grew oídenough to put into words all that we experi-enced, our memory became more specific.Therefore, in even one life, unless we can

depend upon a reasonable vocabulary, wecannot depend upon memory.

Let us go a step further. Suppose that yourlast incamation on this earth was approximately 150 to 200 years ago, or during the1700’s. You may then not have spoken your




present language. Even if you did, let ussay that you had lived in New England during the period prior to the RevolutionaryWar, and were now listening to a conversaron by your contemporaries of that time orhad a recording of it, you probably wouldnot understand it.

English has changed, particularly in itsoral expression, as have all other languages.Most of us realize changes in languages inour own lifetime, but do not think them toosignificant. The English of 200 years agowas different from that of today. Also, thechances that you were incamated in an Eng-lish-speaking country are remóte. You mayhave spoken other languages, even such asmay not exist today in the same form.

Because of this language barrier and ourtendency to carry memory in terms of language, little of an incamation can be recalledby our present consciousness. Language isa most useful tool, but to put experience interms of it is a limitation mentally, physical-ly, and psychically. Consequently, in theRosicrucian monographs we are taught fromthe very beginning to learn the importanceof visualization, to learn to put every experience into some symbol in addition to wordsso that we can gain and accumulate permanent knowledge that can be carried overfrom incamation to incamation and fromexperience to experience without the neces-sity of having a dictionary.

Because language is a man-made tool—useful, it is true, but still man-made—it is alimited tool. The storing in memory ofevents and experiences in terms of languageis one of the most limiting factors that civili-zation has brought upon us. Man is not ableto bring his experiences consciously from oneincamation to another, or even from one experience to another, without putting all hisknowledge in language, and in that processhe sometimes misses the most important partof the knowledge.

Those who have had experiences that seemto confirm some of the principies of reincarnation usually have memories in terms ofevents and circumstances that are rathervague and do not make a complete picture.A passage of music, or a picture, may seemto cause one to feel related to a familiarsituation. More may be spoken through thearts than through the language.

The course of existence is complicated. AsSt. Paul said, “We see today only darkly.”We have only a glimpse. When I spendalmost an hour attempting to analyze somephases of incamation, I have probably shownmy ignorance as much as my knowledge. Noone can completely bridge that gap whichwould clear the knowledge existing beyondthe limitations of our physical environment.We will go on as long as we live askingquestions that are unanswerable, but by mov-ing in the right direction, we may come to agreater future realization. There is moreknowledge available to us now than everbefore. We may not have reached a statethat is completely acceptable or completelyhappy, but we possess the knowledge to moveon, to throw off limitations such as depend-

ence on language as a means of memory.Above all, keep in mind that our specula-

tions and theories are man-made; but also ifyou forget everything else remember I havetried to show that immortality is a conditionof perpetual existence, that there is nothingto fear in death, as it is ordinarily referredto. It is a phase of change to be welcomedas any other event.

Death is a transition for which we shouldbe constantly prepared, but should not expectit momentarily and thus foresake good judgment and the benefit of living today. Transition is inevitable because from the momentwe are born we begin to die, and the lengthof time it takes is the life span. When thetime of transition comes, we will move oninto new experiences and opportunities—toparticípate in new problems. But the wholeis greater than the parts. We particípate ina vast scheme of things, which is known asthe universal or Cosmic Being.

As to work we do not like to do, most intelligent people agree that the best way isto put our shoulder to the wheel, figurativelyspeaking, and get it done. That is better thandoing nothing. Not all of life is satisfactory.We have unwished for phases of existence,but we can learn from such experiences andthen carry in visual and other concepts theselessons into other phases of our existence.Immortality is life—not ours to give or take,but ours to share in. When we evalúate,with honest appraisal, the privileges of thatparticipation, we find that it has more tooffer than we are acknowledging.—A



APRIL, 1959 Page 1I5

an immediate outlet. Though hatred includesthe emotion of anger, it is an emotion whichis prolonged for want of immediate satisfaction. It is, in other words, a sustainedanger, resulting from a hurt that developsinto hate.

Hatred can be at times more injurious tothe one harboring it than to the one towardwhom it is directed. This is especially sowhen a hatred is misdirected, as for example,hatred that is built upon hurt to the pride,or when an inferiority complex is present.There is little opportunity to abate suchhatred because it is ethically and sociallyproscribed. To attack, repel, or in any waypublicly combat the source of hatred basedon envy would bring the condemnation ofothers. As a result, the emotion is suppressed

where its stimulus may eventually causepsychosomatic illness to the one harboringit. It is a kind of venom which poisons themind and nervous system of the individualwho cannot dissipate it.

Hatred is a dangerous primitive emotionwhich can easily blind reason in its intensesensations. Usually hatred builds slowly, going through lesser emotional stages at first.When one begins to experience the symp-toms of it, he should begin an analysis ofhimself and the causes of the hatred at once.He should carefully consider the extent ofthe injuries he has suffered, whether physicalor mental, and determine whether they are

of such severity as to require the emotionaldisplay of hatred. It is often preferable toexhibit righteous indignation—to use commonphraseology, have a show-down at once—rather than to try self-control to the extentof complete suppression, that is, locking upthe anger and permitting it to smoulder into

* hatred.—X

About Cynics and Skeptics

A frater now asks our Forum: “What isthe remedy for cynicism and skepticism? Ihave heard it said that in most cases the faultlies in the inadequacy of the individual himself, and not in outside influences or disap-pointments. Is a skeptic covering up certainguilt that he does not wish to admit? Whatis a good purgative or remedy for this feeling of skepticism?”

The common usage of such words as“skeptic” and “cynic” may have quite a

different connotation than their originalmeaning had conveyed. In ancient Greece,for example, there was a school of philosophywhich we now term the Cynics because oftheir doctrines. There was another schoolknown as the Skeptics; its ideáis and teachings were quite contrary to those of theCynics. The words and their meanings arethus not really interchangeable.

A cynic is a captious individual, one whois fault-finding—disinclined to accept anyideas which do not conform to his own opinion. He is ready to discredit anything heexperiences which does not coincide with hisown objectives and advantages. In a sense,a cynic is a mental isolationist. He forms anopinion of valúes and virtues, and then immures them by opposing all contra views.

The thoroughgoing cynic is really antisocialand contributes little to society. He takesthe position that his interests and activitiesare the core of society; he repels anythingwhich in any way alters them. Consequent-ly, if the cynic’s thoughts and his philosophyare fallow, their contribution to society isthen nugatory, that is, of trifling worth.

What causes this cynicism? The cause ismost often psychological. Some experiencein the life of the cynic has given him anacrimonious viewpoint toward human rela-tions. He has perhaps suffered defeat, andthereby acquired an inferiority complex, afeeling of inadequacy. This induced a sar-

donic attitude toward all new ideas, methods,or practices. He sneers at them so as todemean them in the minds of others. In thisway the cynic hopes to keep all otherachievements at a level with his own. Hefears further defeat or inferiority by com-parison.

A cynic will even disparage another whoseconcepts are similar to his own. He willimply that the other person had plagiarizedhis thoughts or that their exposition of themis less effective than his own. For homelyanalogy, a cynic would throw mud on aneighbor’s home to soil it so that he wouldnot have to improve the appearance of hisown. Though the conduct of the thoroughgoing cynic is despicable, he is usually anemotionally troubled person who needs helprather than censure.

Many crimináis are cynics. They are em-bittered by their conflicts with situationsarising in life and which they have not been




able to master. Their cynicism consists ofstriking back at society, of defying it anddestroying its conventions when such is within their power. The criminal often ridiculesall moral and social virtues and most of thosewhich are held to be common decency.

What can one do to help the cynic? Actually, though the cynic will be boastful of hisown ability or activities, he really considersthem to be of a lesser quality than others—that is what makes him a cynic! The cynicmust be given the opportünity to really proveto himself that he can do certain thingsequally well or better than some others. Oncehe really acquires self-confidence, there isinculcated an attitude of tolerance towardthe ideas of others. Psychologically, he thenfeels he can afford to be charitable of others;

before such a time, he thinks that he is quiteinsufficient and that he cannot afford to ex-pend recognition or the praise of the effortsof others.

One must avoid asking the cynic to dothat in which he believes himself to be par-ticularly deficient. His. sense of inferioritywill cause him to refuse to undertake thetask. It will constitute but another failurefurther depressing and embittering him. Heshould be encouraged to do something simplewhich has not yet entered into his obviousdislikes. If this is done successfully, heshould be praised and requested to do something further until a series of achievements

have been accomplished. The next step thenis to request him to perform an act whichis related to his feeling of inadequacy. Bythis time sufficient self-confidence shouldhave been established for him to undertakethe task with little persuasión. If he is thensuccessful he will no longer be a cynic. Theonly exceptions are those suffering personality maladjustments, and who may needpsychiatric assistance.

The skeptic is quite another type. He isone who really has some very commendablequalities—though at times they are provok-ing ones. The skeptic insists on doubtinganything that is on faith or hearsay. Every

thing must be demonstrable to him. It mustbe empirical, having an objective foundation.If something is not demonstrable, if it isabstract only, he retains an open mind butwill not accept it as truth. The skeptic, likethe ancient Sophists, makes man the measureof all things. Nothing is until it is indisput-

ably shown to be such. The skeptic acceptsbelief, at its best, as a temporary kind ofknowledge which must be rejected by what-ever is revealed as fact, as being evidentialto the senses.

The skeptic is obviously not an idealist.If he had an ideal, it would need to be immediately converted into demonstrable reality—consequently, it would no longer be anideal in the strictest sense of the term. Theskeptic, therefore, may miss much enjoymentin life by confining himself to a principallyobjective existence. The world of romanceand imagination is, in effect, more or lessrejected by him.

We have mentioned that the modemskeptic is inclined to submit all knowledgeto empirical evidence, to the proof of the

senses. However, the ancient school of theskeptics whose first representative wasPyrrho, of Elis (365P-P275 B.C.) had no reliance upon the human senses! They declared that all experience consisted of sensations and held that sensations vary withdifferent people; the training and environ-mental influence of people cause them tointerpret their experiences differently, andconsequently there is no uniform knowledgeupon which all people can place their de-pendence.

Where men live, the altitude, the climate—all of these cause a variation in theirexperience and cause dissimilar knowledge.

Pascal, French philosopher and skeptic, said:“We see scarcely anything just or un justthat does not change quality in changingclimate. Three degrees of higher altitudeoverturns all jurisprudence. A meridian decides the truth. Fundamental laws change;right has its epoch. Pitiful justice boundedby a river or a mountain! Truth this side tthe Pyrenees, error that side.”

Legend has it that Pyrrho so mistrustedhis own senses that he would not step out ofthe way of an approaching wagón and hadto be rescued by his friends.

Though skepticism may often be discon-certing to the idealist and the enthusiast, itis advantageous in tempering impetuosity.That which may appeal to the emotions andarouse imagination, when subject to thecloser scrutiny of reason and observation,may be found to be an illusion.

Certainly, a scientist must be a skeptic toa reasonable degree. He must, of course,




have an open mind in order to investígateand analyze. He must have sufficient imagina tion to engender a theory or hypothesisto be pursued. However, he must be sufli-ciently skeptical to question what may seemprobable and yet cannot be objectively sub-stantiated.

Perhaps an excellent and proper exampleof skepticism is the attitude of academic science toward the tales of the flying objectsas seen in the sky and said to be spacevehicles from the planet Venus and otherheavenly bodies. The scientists cannot andshould not take as evidence the hearsay accounts of those who claim that they havespoken to people from other worlds or haveridden in flying saucers. The scientist hasto have direct, observed facts. He cannot

take the assumption, for example, that certain material under the microscope is a virus just because others are convinced that it is;he has to put it to a test. He wants knowledge just as much as the man on the Street—perhaps a great deal more—but he does nottake chances, does not allow himself to becarried away by hysteria and illusion.

Traffic pólice in any city of the world,as well as accident insurance investigators,know that witnesses to an accident cannotagree on the details. Out of six witnesses, anaverage of 50 percent will disagree on justexactly what occurred. Science cannot befounded on that which is motivated by emo

tional responses. So, scientific skepticism isnecessary.—X

Exorcism Services— Superstition or Necessity?

The subject of ghosts, hauntings, discar-nate entities, and other “psychic manifestations” has been discussed in a number ofarticles in this Forum, but these variousaspects of it are so intriguing that they cropup time and again.

A new member recently addressed ourForum, expressing the view that such thingsexist, stating as partial proof the reason thatthe various religions have a service of exorcism. “If such things as spirits are meresuperstition,” he said, “then we must termreligión superstitious as well,” a view whichhe could not accept.

By definition, we find that exorcism is theact of driving off an evil spirit by adjuration,

delivering someone from an evil spirit, oraddressing, conjuring, or conjuring up, anevil spirit.

Religionists have always expressed a needto bring enlightenment to peoples less privi-leged than themselves—to bring the “Wordof God” to backward lands. Missionarieshave done much to open and “civilize”primitive areas such as Africa, the Pacificislands, and the American continent. Intheir contact with the primitive inhabitants,they found polytheistic religions and greatemphasis placed in the supematural, espe-cially a preoccupation with evil spirits,ghosts, and other such entities. This preoccupation can still be found in Africa, theWest Indies, and some parts of the Americas.

The most influential personage in the

primitive society is often the witch doctor,for he is capable of calling up these supernatural beings to do his biddings. He cansupposedly cause the spirit to bring misfor-tune to a person, and by the same token, canbanish an existing spirit from the home orbody of a person.

Strange to relate, however, the chances arequite good that the ritual of the missionary’sown religión includes a rite or service ofexorcism designed for exactly the same purpose as the witch doctor’s ceremony forbanishing evil spirits.

Of course, the religionists might cali thespirits by another ñame, such as “discarnate

being,” but the inference is the same.In fact, there is no difference, except indetail of performance, between the “Serviceof Exorcism” of the church, and the rite ofbanishment of the witch doctor. Both arebased entirely on ignorance and superstition.

Many religionists acknowledge this fact,and then counter by pointing out that theservice is a hold-over from ancient times—one which has outgrown its usefulness butis still retained, though never used.

Only the other day a letter carne from amember in Australia telling us of a womanapparently beset by two personalities: onethat was her normal self, and the other,

entirely different, that would “take her over”against her will. She was aware of this otherpersonality, but powerless against it. Shewent to her minister for aid, and he determined that she was possessed by an “evilspirit.” When prayer did not aid the woman,the minister resorted to the rite of exorcism,




which he performed several different times,to no avail. Up to the time the letter wassent to us, the victim had suffered for fiveyears or so, gradually becoming worse.

From the complete description of her ac-tions and symptoms it seems fairly obviousthat the poor woman suffers not from posses-sion of an “evil spirit,” but from a classicexample of schizophrenia, or what is popu-larly known as “split personality.” Sheneeds the aid of a competent psychiatrist,not the ministrations of a person so super-stitious as to believe in evil spirits.

It is unfortunate, but true, that many ofthe so-called spiritual leaders of this en-lightened age are victims, in some respects,of the very superstition which they supposed-ly are combating.

Of course, it is true that this play on superstition helps hold a congregation, at least inmore primitive areas, but we cannot helpfeeling that mankind would be served tomuch better purpose if these elements wereeliminated from religious dogma and doctrine, and their true nature freely presentedand taught.—W

Cosmic Appeals

A frater desires to know about the relationship of the different types of appeals thatcan be made to satisfy one’s worthy desires.He relates that we are told about appealing

to the Cosmic Masters when in need. Weare also told that certain days are betterthan others for holding in mind a desire tobe gratified. Further, the book, Self Mastery and Fate with Cycles of Life, sets forth certain cycles indicating preferable days andhours for the accomplishing of particularobjectives. The frater also asks if these conflict—“or can they be reconciled?”

As Rosicrucians, what do we mean byCosmic Masters? We use the term Master to mean one who has excelled in some skill,learning, method, or practice. Mastership,of course, includes having an especial knowledge of something by which the superiorityhas been gained. A Cosmic Master is ahuman being who has, through study andvaried experiences on this earth plañe,acquired exceptional knowledge of Cosmicand natural laws and the ability to applythem. It is in the latter that his mastershipenters. These intelligences on either a Cos

mic plañe, or as yet residing here on earth,may be contacted through attunement as isexplained in the Degree studies. It might besaid that most of the contacts are with thoseCosmic Masters who are still residing here,and the attunement is through the médiumof the Cosmic.

It must be explained that the Rosicrucianteachings do not make of these Cosmic Masters fatalistic guides. Each individual is notput under the aegis of one of these Masters;that is, each person does not have a personal direction in the course of his life. To presume that all the events of our life arepre-determined by an intelligence, as aMaster, is sheer fatalism! Such a philosophyrobs the individual of personal initiative. Hebecomes disinclined to plan personally or toreason or exercise his own mental facultiesto accomplish an end; he thinks that the matter will be consummated by merely “askingthe Master.”

There are some unfortunate persons whobelieve that a Cosmic Master is somethinglike the genii of the tales of Arabian Nights. All they need do, they believe, is to rub amagic lamp, as it were, or to say a certainstrange word, and the Master like the genieof the tales will appear and do their bid-ding. This notion shows an utter disregard—or ignorance—of the fact that each humanbeing at birth, if normal, has been givenmental faculties with which to meet or surmount most of his obstacles. We are notpuppets pulled about with strings by somesuperior intelligence, or by wise beings called

Masters.In the first place, one is not entitled to

Cosmic aid from a moral point of view if heis indolent and wilfully negligent. If onerefuses to exercise and to exhaust his own knowledge and personal power to attain,then Cosmically he is unworthy of the as-sistance of the Cosmic Masters. For suchintelligences to help the indolent personwould be to ingeminate his weakness.

If any degree of success is to be attained,the appeal to a Cosmic Master must take intoconsideration numerous factors which we asmortals might term ethical and moral. First,that for which we ask must be consistentwith conscience. Conscience, of course, ispartially the consequence of the conventionsof the society in which we live and which are




accepted as good or otherwise. The con-science of people across the border in anothercountry, or across the seas, or in differentlands may vary one from the other. But,underlying conscience is the inherent urgein each individual to do right, that is, to soact as to be consistent with the common goodas it is interpreted by the masses. If weknowingly ask for that which is contrary tothis inherent impulse, our appeal to theCosmic Masters will fail. We cannot expectto conceal our inner feelings and intent fromthe very superior intelligences to whom weappeal; they are always exposed, always ap-parent.

Second, we must have no motive or purpose in our intent that is solely selfish. Bythat we mean, one must not ask for that

from which he alone exclusively benefits. Wemust also not ask for things which woulddegrade our own chara cter or that of othersor interfere with our soul-personality development. To ask for money, for example,from sheer cupidity, that is, just to possess it, constitutes avarice and one would neverreceive Cosmic help or guidance from aMaster while having such a motive. Further,the petition should be such that in its ful-filment it imposes no unnecessary hardshipor misfortune on others.

The assistance which one receives from theCosmic Master is not directly of a materialor tangible nature as so many erroneously

think. The Cosmic Masters do not manifest,that is, materialize money, property, poweror fame in any form, to an individual; ñordo they in some phenomenal manner conferdirectly upon an individual success in anenterprise. The assistance given by a CosmicMaster is in the form of a personal illumination, that is, a guidance through understanding, through a revelation of certain usefulinformation. In other words, the guidancetakes the form of inspirational ideas whichsuddenly enter our consciousness and bywhich we learn of ways and means to personally bring about what one desires. Atall times one must be the pr ime mo ver in thefulfillment of the desires. But knowing what to do and when is always of great importance. An inspired plan or procedure comingto the sincere person is obviously a great

gift. It must be realized, too, that the Cosmic has no warehouse to which Masters haveaccess to fill orders from appeals they receive.

There are, of course, times which are moreadvantageous for attunement than others.These specific periods should be used. It isnot that attunement is not possible at othertimes, but rather that the psychic self ofman is more dominant during such intervals.For analogy, each of us knows that certainhours are more effícacious for study thanothers. For some persons the early morainghours are preferable. There are others whofind that contemplation and meditation aremore easily achieved in the early eveninghours when the labors of the day are done.

The psychic self goes through daily, evenhourly, cycles of greater or lesser sensitivity.

By this we mean that the higher levels ofour consciousness, called psychic , are moreresponsive to psychic impressions at suchtimes and that objectively we are able toreceive and retain such impressions. Thebook, Self Mastery and Fate With Cycles of Life, by Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, among numerous other references to cycles, also de-lineates what periods are best for such typesof activity. As explained in our monographs,one’s personal Sun-day is a preferable timefor all psychic exercises and Cosmic attunement. One’s personal Sun-day is the day ofthe week upon which one was born. Forexample, if one was born on a Friday, then

that is his Sun-day. His Creative powers andpsychic faculties are particularly on theascendant on that day of the week. Thereare, then, hours during that day which arebetter for certain activities.

These matters are all explained in detailin the monographs of the higher Degrees.We cannot, of course, take up these mattersby individual correspondence. Those whodesire information about this particular sub

ject of Cycles in advance of that phase ofthe Rosicrucian teachings are advised to ob-tain a copy of the aforementioned book fromthe ROSÍCRUCIAN SUPPLY BUREAU,Rosicrucian Park, San José, California, for$2.85. It is also available from the ROSI-CRUCIAN SUPPLY BUREAU, 25 GarrickStreet, London W.C. 2, England, for 16/6sterling.—X

Y Y T

Remember the Rosicrucian Convention—July 5 through 10, 1959




Greetings!V V V

DIVINE IMAGERY

Dear Fratres and Sorores:God is a personal concept. It reflects the in

telligence, education, religious, and socialbackground of the individual. The notion ofGod is thus framed in the ideation, thethoughts arising out of the experiences whichone has. We can think only in terms of theelements of our experience. There is no suchthing as a purely original thought devoid ofany relation to the qualities of our senses.

A truly original thought could neither be un-derstood by us ñor could it be communicatedto another.

For these reasons it is impossible to createa uniform conception of God acceptable toall men alike. The description must have anintimacy to the individual or it is not acceptable to him. The one who thinks of Godas an impersonal, teleological (mind) causeor forcé in the universe, cannot accept ananthropomorphic notion, that is, a manlikeimage of the deity. The mental or psychicimage of a supreme being had in the religious experience is only symbolic of thereligious spirit and emotionalism of the in

dividual. The religious spirit recognizes atranscendent power, an omniscient and om-nipotent cause. WÍhat then depicts or de-lineates to the person such qualities? Whatimage can he relate to omniscience and om-nipotence that will have significance to him?The elements of his experience, throughreading, hearsay, or personal association, willconstitute the body of this supreme something.

All of this only confirms what the philosophers, mystics, and psychologists alreadyknow. The theophany from which the notion of God is engendered is wholly subjective. The feeling had cannot be taught. Itinculcates the religious spirit of humility

and inferiority to an all-pervading, supernatural power, and the passion to be em-braced by it. However, it may be stimulatedand aroused but it is first immanent.

It is often most difficult for man to con-ceive personally an image or symbol thatwill represent the virtues attributed by sacred

literature to a deity. There is little in ourmortal, everyday existence which suggeststhe nobility and divine qualities of a god.What, for example, is perfection? What is

good, eternal, or infinite? Ask the averageman or woman to divorce from the qualitieshe thinks of as God’s any traditional descriptions of Him. Ask him to supplant thosehabitual ideas he has with an imagery of hisown. In most instances the individual will

either find that his God is in a vacuum inso-far as an image of him is concerned, or hewill use a terminology which is almostidentical to what he has inherited from hisreligious sources.

There is, as we have had occasion to sayin this Forum before, an evolution of God.It is not that the Cosmic or Divine as areality actually evolves, but rather thatman’s conception of it becomes more complex and lofty with the elevation of his consciousness. There are many persons whoseconception of God or of a Divine cause isquite different today from what it was ten,twenty, or thirty years ago. The notion thatthey had as young men or women would nolonger satisfy their psychic selves. Such anotion would now seem false and contraryto their reason.

The intellect, the reason, does enter intoone’s conception of God. Though the religiousimpulse stems from the subjective aspect ofman, the image of it will always be a rationalconstruct of mind. What to the reason wouldseem improbable, as a consequence of one’spersonal experience, will not be accepted. Infact, that which does not appeal to the intellect is apt to be considered a sacrilege ifassociated with the imagery of the divine.

For example, the modern man cannot accept animism as a conception of God. Ñor

will he recognize a belief that will relate anynatural phenomena, as the sun or moon, tothe deity. The religious spirit, however, ofa simple nature-worshipper and those whoare devotees of the accepted religious faiths,is nevertheless the same. But there is a greathiatus in their education and environmental



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influences. One, therefore, cannot well visualize and rationally accept the other’s

imagery of their own immanent religiousmotivation.This psychological factor has often been

noticed by me in connection with interviewswith people from various parts of the world,especially when the discussion carne to centerupon religious topics. The devout Christianwill invariably, in discussing some theoph-any, that is, the experiencing of a divine per-sonage, relate that Jesús Christ appeared tohim. In all sincerity he will tell how, in hisdream—or waking state—Christ spoke to him.The Román Catholic will frequently feel thathe has been contiguous to the presence of the“Holy Mother,” or one of the numeroussaints. The follower of Mohammed, par-

ticularly one who is a student of Islamicmysticism, will describe a visión, or dream,in which he saw the Prophet Mohammed.

Jews, Hindus, Jains, Buddhists—if they experience a divine or holy presence—will allimage it in the attributes and form of theirparticular holy personage. I have yet to havea devout adherent of any sect relate that hehas had an ecstatic religious experience anddescribe it in the divine image of another faith.

The reason is as we have cited. The imagehad is a consequence of the intellect. It isthe symbol of what is personally experienced. To the Christian, for example, Buddha

could not possibly depict the same emotionalimpact as does Christ; there would be nocorrespondence between the idea, the image,and the religious motivation, the psychic impulse. All of this indicates how training andassociation actually contribute materially toone’s imagery of God and the divine realities.

It also denotes how erroneous it actuallyis to insist that one’s imagery is the truepersonification of his divine impulse. If thedevout Christian had been bom in a countrywhere Moslemism or Buddhism, for example,were predominant, and he had become a devout adherent of one of these faiths, he would

perhaps be no less spiritual. His moral senti-ments and religious impulses in all probabil-

ity would be as great as they are as aChristian—yet his imagery would be quitedifferent.

To the unthinking religious devotee itseems that the exalted religious sentimentsand expressions must come to him only inthat imagery associated with his faith. TheChristian, therefore, believes that the deitywill express Himself only through Christ, orthe ecclesiastical personages of his religiousdoctrines. Since the religious experience ofthe non-Christian is visualized in the formor identity of dissimilar beings, the orthodoxChristian will often deny that the experienceis a divine one.

This imagery of the religious experience is

actually more of an impediment to man thana help. True mysticism would have theunión with God or the Cosmic as an inexplicable, even ineffable, experience. No sensequalities or visualization would be adequateto represent it. It is true that the experience,to be realized at all, would need to be associated with some qualities of our senses. Butthe mystic would try not to immure the experience in any one image—in other words,to say of a particular sensation or idea: That is my consciousness of the divine. Imageryis finite. It is, therefore, more a sacrilege tohave the personal religious impulse confinedin an image than to recognize no image as

being wholly omniscient and omnipotent.Fraternally,RALPH M. LEWIS,

Imperator.


Probably it is necessary as a stimulant andincentive in life that we confront manyobstacles when we are young. These, then,bring to the fore whatever talents and latentpowers we may have. They strengthen ourcharacter or they reveal us as weak if we re-treat from the opposition. (turn to next page)

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San José, California,under Section 1103 of the U .S . Postal Act of Oct. 3, 191 7. _

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forces would oppose any thought, no matterhow transmitted, that would disturb the

intrinsic harmony of the Cosmic. Thoughtthat was evil in purpose, regardless ofits nature, that is, its vibratory content,would be Cosmically opposed and becomeineffectual.

We have here two diametrically opposedviewpoints. We believe, however, that a re-conciliation can be had between the mechanistic and scientific conception of thetransmission of thought and the mysticalnotion that destructive thoughts will beCosmically opposed. Let us go back to theRosicrucian doctrinal premise that each cellof the human being is imbued with vitallife forcé and a Cosmic or divine intelligence.

There is a nisus, an inherent urge in theCosmic intelligence resident in man, to ad-vance the organism, the self, so that it willattain a certain biological, mental, and psychic perfection. This, in the physical order,is known as the instinct of self-preservation.Destructive tendencies that would causedeath, we know, are combatted by the lifeurge. Life struggles valiantly that its existence in matter, with all its attributes, maysurvive.

Destructive thoughts would engender inthe mind of the one thinking them certainrelated emotions—as, for example, hatred.These emotions, in turn, through the auto-nomic and sympathetic nervous systems,

would produce a vibratory energy of afrequency of which we have as yet no knowledge. It would be a discordant impulse.Upon being received by anyone who wouldbe attuned to it, there would be aroused inthe consciousness of that recipient the pro-tective psychic forces of the universal intelligence in his being. In other words, justas one reacts to that which threatens hislife in a physical way and causes him toinstinctively protect himself against it, soin the subconscious there would be a defen-sive mechanism set up against vibrations ofthought that could be destructive.—X

The Scope of Rosicrucian Healing Exercises

A question frequently asked of our Department of Instruction, particularly bymembers studying the lessons of the SecondNeophyte Degree, concems the uses to which

the Rosicrucian Healing Principies may beput. Many members, especially after having

favorable results with the simpler exercises,such as those designed for curing headaches,tend to feel that these experiments are in aclass with the Biblical miracles, and so canbe used for any and all ailments.

Of course, these exercises are in a wayrelated to those marvelous feats performed,for instance, by the Master Jesús. The principies involved are the same. But in orderto apply them to such a degree one musthave truly evolved to a state of Mastership.

Therefore, for all practical purposes, wemust acknowledge that while the exercisesin the monographs are related to those“miracles,” they are in a great part limited

in their application—often due to the levelof development of the user.Many members wish to know how the

exercises may be used to cure or improvesuch conditions as bone defects, from whichthe victim may have suffered since birth, orchronic ailments like cáncer, diabetes, orheart disease.

Oftentimes, they want to help the patientto be able to give up his routine medicaltreatment. Occasionally they urge the suffer-er to forego this regular treatment on thebasis that they can achieve the same resultsin a natural way.

In many cases they are correct. The con

dition can be helped by the application ofcertain of the Rosicrucian Healing Principies.However, at least in the case of serious

chronic cases, we always advise that theprincipies be used in conjunction with theregular medical treatment. Never on hisown account should a Rosicrucian memberadvise another to give up medical treatmentof an illness, unless the member is also acompetent medical doctor. The results couldbe quite serious, especially if the choice ofRosicrucian Treatment happened to bewrong. This in itself would not create anadverse effect, but it might not provide thenecessary degree of treatment where such

treatment is actually needed.As we mentioned earlier, a common re-quest is for a treatment to help in cases ofstructural defect, such as clubfoot or curva-ture of the spine.

“Surely,” the member feels, “if we cando such good with pain, or many illnesses,




that required a great deal of time in termsof days, weeks, and months. I was recently

reading the diary of Benjamin Franklin keptwhen he retumed from England to Americaupon the occasion of his first visit to Europe.The time involved, which constituted manyweeks, seems incredible today. Surely to alesser intelligence than that of BenjaminFranklin, these would have been wearisomeweeks. In this so-called jet age, it is possibleto make the same Crossing in a matter ofhours. In other words, man has, in the physical sense of the word, gone a long way inconquering the limitations that space seemsto place upon him.

But space means more than the lifting oflimitations. Space is lack of knowledge,concerning an area which in itself we do notperceive because of our physical inability todo so. Man is equipped with sense facultiesthat permit him to perceive only the tangibleportions of his environment. As a result,man looks upon space as a challenge andhas devised some ingenious ways of conquering it, such as jet transportation, for example.

But space is more than a challenge toman’s ingenuity. This gap in the consciousness should be a continual challenge to man,not only to control and contain it but to ex-pand his consciousness and realization ofareas which lie outside the field of his immediate perception. In our realization thatthere is something we cannot perceive, we

should be humbled by the thought that man,after all, is a very insignificant entity in thescheme of things.

We can perceive a room. The room inwhich I dictate these words has four walls,two doors, a ceiling, and a floor, as well asa window and an artificial source of illumina-tion. But that which is between me and thewall we cali space. Actually, in this universe,if it is presumed to be purposeful, there cer-tainly should not be so much area entirelywasted. According to our Rosicrucian definition of space, what exists between me and thefour walls of this room is an area that I cannot perceive, a gap in my consciousness, and

if I could perceive it, I would be wiser andmore advanced than I am at this moment.Therefore, we should strive to understandspace as we cali it. Let us realize that thereare elements of existence—that vibratory energy exists which makes these four walls,ceiling, and floor produce this room, and that

at the same time an equal phenomenon exists within the area between me and these

walls which I have not yet been able toperceive.There was a time when man believed that

there were two worlds—a world of physicalobjects and a world of space. He believedthat in this world of space were the departedspirits of human beings. According to hisreasoning, the salvation of the soul and themoral, ethical and spiritual existence of beings took place in the same world that welive in at all times.

Persons with imagination conceive survivalwith no difficulty in another location. Inother words, early man thought Heaven wasabove the stars or within the earth and thatthe soul simply journeyed in space from onepoint to another, and that there existed aform of motion similar to that in the physicalworld and to which man was accustomed.None of these conceptions is possible today.If there is another life comparable to a physical life, there must be another nature, or itmust exist in another space-time order, isthe argument of those who realize that wecannot have another form of living manifest-ing in the same physical world of existence.The reason for this is that we can only believe in another world by drawing an imagi-nary boundary about this world, and that,of course, is impossible.

This thinking has grown up with a cer

tain conception of space that seems to comeabout concurrently with our beliefs in another world. According to this concept, thespace we inhabit is completely a unit in itself; and being complete, it must be unique;for, since it occupies or is all the room thatthere is in existence, there could be no outside in which another space could existseparately.

To put the matter more technically, wemay think of the whole of space as the to-tality of all positions which would be sweptby an expanding sphere centered at any given point and moved outward without limit.It may also be defined as a totality of posi

tions which could be reached from a givenpoint by continuous motion or be related toa given point by distance and direction. Butif one point (A) can be reached from another point (B), then B can also be reachedfrom point A. Henee, every point in spacewill serve as well as any other as a center.



JUNE, 1959 Page 131

lethal weapon? What moral responsibilitywould the Rosicrucian incur? Our answeris: None, under such circumstances.

The law of life is preservation. Every cellof our being is continually fighting to exist;the red corpuscles oppose any attempt whichmight destroy them, made by germs andviruses which endanger life. If we do notpreserve life as individuáis we would thennot exist to promúlgate our cherished ideáis,religious or otherwise. A Rosicrucian couldbe a law enforcement officer without violat-ing any Rosicrucian principies and yet haveknowledge that in his own defense or in thedefense of helpless or defenseless persons hemay be required to take a life. In such aninstance, his act is not motivated by maliceor retribution. Obviously, such taking of life

would be done only as a last resort.—X

Mental Discipline or Indolence?

A distinction must be made between mental indolence and mental discipline. A discipline constitutes a controlled behavior orconduct. When we discipline ourselves, itimplies that, in some manner, we aré con-trolling our actions, emotions or thoughts.To accomplish this, it is first necessary toestablish a criterion to which to adhere.Something must be conceived as the rightcourse of action or thought, a standard to goby. Discipline, then, is the restraint and the

avoidance of any motivations or conductthat will viólate that which is conceived tobe right.

We all are familiar, of course, with moraldiscipline—or the impositions or prohibitions,for example, we place upon certain behaviorconstrued as immoral. There are, also,ethical and social disciplines. In our rela-tions with others, we must avoid the use ofcertain offensive language or acts. Socialrefinement consists of this self-imposition ofrestraint upon conduct which is not expectedof a gentleman or a lady. A discipline may,if adhered to regularly and with voluntaryconformity, eventually evolve into a habit.

A real student is required to mentallydiscipline himself. A human, as all animals,is inclined toward the path of least resistance.That which is fatiguing, that which, for example, requires concentration or effort, isordinarily avoided. Of course, what may bean effort for one person may be a pleasant

stimulus and enjoyment for another. A student may find satisfaction in anticipating aneventual completion of a subject and theattaining of an academic degree in it. Ingeneral, the subject matter of his studies maybe interesting. But in almost every profes-sion, for example, there is some one phasewhich is less intellectually pleasing than another.

It is at this point that the student mustexercise discipline. He must use his will tointerpose between the temptation to skipstudy and pursue some appeals to the senses.He has to cultívate a regularity of study.Eventually he finds this discipline rewarding!The different portions of his subjects becomeeasier to comprehend. The continuity ofthought, as a result of regularly acquired in-

formation, makes progress from one topic toanother more simple. The reason for this isthat there are no hiatuses of forgetfulnessbetween the study of one subject and another. Then there comes the satisfaction ofmastery, the realization that you really know, that you are a victor over yourself aswell as the topic.

The intellectually ind olent —in otherwords, the mentally lazy—find excuses foravoiding the mental discipline of study andthe acquisition of knowledge. One of thecommon statements made by them is: “Idon’t want to tie myself down.” This reallymeans: “I don’t want to concéntrate on a

subject or to focus my consciousness, whichrequires of me the exercise of will and effort.” In effe ct , such individuáis are notreally mentally aggressive. They do notwant to extend their mental faculties, to reach out with the mind and to create,through study, new experiences from whichthey may learn many worthy things.

Such people as these want to have a passive mind only. They want experiences tocome to them, to impress themselves uponthem. They want to be a recipient only, butnot a mental attainer. They, then, onlyexpose themselves to things that are gratify-ing. By gratifying, we mean that which issensually pleasing as well as mentally satis-fying. In what they do there must be noconscious effort, nothing that will interferewith ease. Th es e perso ns wish others,through the médium of entertainment, likeradio, televisión and popular magazines, toexpound in detail so that they will need to




do little reasoning or that little conceptualactivity will be required of them.

These mentally indolent persons attemptto explain their objection to “tieing fast to astudy” as meaning that they wish to havemental freedom. To become a member of acultural, philosophical system, such as theA.M.O.R.C., or to subscribe to a system ofstudy would, they imply, hinder their mental freedom. Now such an explanation isreally evasive and not a sincere one in mostinstances. Does man ever accomplish anything in an intellectual way, or some other,without conscientiously dedicating himself toit? If there be freedom at all, it consists onlyin making a choice of our cultural pursuits.Once that decisión has been made, the nextrequirement is application. This consists of

concentration and the focusing of our attention and mental powers upon the selectedsubject, if it is to be learned and mastered.Don’t tie yourself fast, and you will findyourself at loose ends.

In further defense of the individual’s re-luctance to pursue a definite system of studyis his remark that he does “a lot of reading.”There is a further distinction that must bemade between desultory reading and study.Desultory reading consists of the perusal of,for example, current magazines and popularbooks on varied subjects that appeal—andwhich usually require little individualthought and reasoning. For entertainment,

strictly and frankly, it is quite in order butit is no substitute for study. To go from onebook to another on unrelated subjects oftenmeans the acquiring of unrelated informa-tion. One, of course, can have independentsubjects of study as, for example, algebraand ancient history. They are not relatedbut each in itself must be thorough and havecontinuity.

Reading for entertainment, as one wouldread a newspaper, provides little informationthat is real ly retained. The reading of abook, where study is not the purpose, usuallyresults in the reader’s remembering onlythose portions which particularly impress

him or which provide an emotional response.In study, the essential content of the sub ject matter which is read must be retained,whether it produces a pleasing emotional response or not. Rosicrucian students, forexample, who “just read” the monographsi n v a r i a b t y gain little from them. One must

want to know and to remember what he hasread. He must try to recall the importantelements of the monographs. If he cannot,they are of no avail to him.

The study habit for those who have lostit is sometimes a little difficult at first toagain acquire. It needs “tieing oneself fast,”mental discipline. Soon the habit is formed.There is then an unconscious focusing of attention and an easier retention of what isread.

Remember, being a free thinker does notmean to be a mental rambler.—X

The Nature of Duality

A question brought to this Forum asks:“Does duality actually exist in the universe

as separately existing states or conditions?Or is duality the result of the human mind’scomparing the functions of one phenomenonwith another? In other words, is it not possible that variation in a phenomenon or amanifestation of nature may only suggestthe idea of a dual creation or duality?”

The concept of duality in creation has per-sisted down through the centuries. Primarily,the idea of duality arises from man’s generalclassification of dissimilar reality. With theconception of a Supreme Spirit, God, or thetranscendent power in the universe, all elsein contrast to it, such as the physical world,was conceived as being another and different

kind of reality. Here, then, entered duality,the world of spirit, the Divine, on one hand,and the world of matter on the other.

Though reality was thought to have thisdual nature, theism, the belief in a god as acreator, made duality unequal in valué.Actually, in fundamental thought, most the-ology adheres to what in effect constitutesmonism. In other words, God, being theprimary cause, is the first reality; the material world, his creation, is a secondaryreality—the effect of the first.

Let us presume that the Cosmic is but avibratory energy. This energy is of variousoctaves or rates of vibration, the different

rates of vibration composing, we shall say,the electromagnetic spectrum. In this spec-trum of energy, various phenomena occur,as heat, sound, light, magnetism, and perhaps infinite other manifestations of whichwe as yet have no knowledge. However, toproduce a particular manifestation, we shall



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assume, there needs to be a unity, an in-tegration, of two of these different octavesor cycles of energy. Simply put, “A” as an

energy, needs to combine with “B” beforewe can realize such a state or substance as“C.” Though “C” is a composite of “A” and“B,” it doesn’t necessarily imply that “A”and “B” are not complete in themselves andthat they are but parts of a duality. “A”and “B” are only a duality in relation to thenature of “C.” Actually, “A” and “B” mayhave a quality, a character, a function oftheir own which is quite self-sufficient.

In a true universe all phenomena wouldbe basically related, that is, of one nature—one phase or variation merging into another.The so-called distinct or apparently separaterealities would exist only in the human per

ception of the whole. The limitations of thehuman sense faculties make it often impossible to determine where one particularphenomenon merges with another. Consequently, this would cause the conception ofseparate realities. Where two states or conditions appear to contribute to a third, theyare assumed to be the dual qualities of it.

Contraríes or opposites likewise give riseto the notion of duality, such as light anddark, coid and hot, hard and soft. Actuallywhat we have in such contraríes are varia^tions of a single state rather than absoluteopposites. Darkness, for example, dependsupon the sensitivity of that which detectslight. Where the human eye experiences novisible light, instruments may detect infraredand other wave bands of light not discemibleto the eye. In other words, darkness does notexist to such instruments. In the instanceof sound and silence, which are apparent opposites or dual states, silence is but relevantto the deficiencies which exist, human orotherwise, for detecting sound.

There are some negative states, so termed,which are psychological only. They actuallyhave no existence except in the human consciousness. Such negative states are but theabsence of a positive condition. For furtheranalogy, we have space and matter. Space,however, is relatively negative to the positivereality of matter. Perceptual space is butthe inability of the senses of sight and touchto determine form or substance, space beingthe perceptual absence of matter. Positive isusually psychologically conceived as the active state of something, the fullness of the

nature or quality of something. By contras!,the diminishing of it is psychologically negative.

The point we wish to make here is thatnothing in the Cosmic is either truly positiveor negative. Upon first blush this may seemto be contrary to statements made in ourRosicrucian monographs and especially ourRosicrucian ontology. Actually, however,what may be termed a negative polarity orphenomenon, if it has reality at all, onlyseems such in contrast to the quality of whatis termed its opposite. Within itself, what itis or accomplishes, as separately realized, ispositive. If we compare it to what we thinkof as the more active or more infinite state,then it acquires to us a negative valué.

In our Rosicrucian philosophy, we refer to

the universal Creative forcé which is tradi-tionally named nous. We say that nous isdual in polarity, that it has both positiveand negative polarities. Why do we makethis división in something that is declaredto be a single unitary condition? It is be-cause out of that single reality of nous thereemerges a varíety of phenomena which we,as humans, experience. In our understanding and evaluation as mortals, we confer agreater valué or importance upon one classof manifestations than upon another. Weinsist that all matter, for example, or physical reality, is subordinate to and of a lesserquality than vital life forcé with its attributeof consciousness. Therefore, the latter we

term the pos itive polarity of the dual natureof nous.

However, we do admit that both suchpolarities, the positive of the vital life forcéand the negative forcé of matter, are reallybinary in nature. In other words, thoughwe contend that matter is primaríly negative,yet it, too, as we know from its structure,has positive charges. The living forcé in itscell structure is also binary, having a negative polarity also.

Are we not really, after all, figurativelyspeaking, but comparing the function of onevariation of phenomena with another andarbitrarily determining which one we shall

term the positive and which the negative?There are variations and changes, yes , butan absolute duality, no.

Another example in connection with thissubject is the problem of causality. First, wemust discuss the common notion that there




are but single causes from which effects follow. I will not enter into the abstract sub

ject as to whether cause itself is but a notionof the mind rather than anything’s being inits nature inherently causative. However,for every effect there are two causes: one isthe active, the moving, cause; the other isthe passive on which the cause acts and fromwhich follows the effect. A thing cannot bea cause in itself. It must act upon somethingby which a change, as an effect, will occur.

We may cali the active cause pos itive andthe passive one, by contrast, negative. Wecannot, however, say that there is actuallya duality of causes, positive and negative.In other words, we cannot affirm that somethings or conditions are created or establishedto be positive causes and others, negativeones. Actually, what we perceive as a negative cause in one effect may become active,that is, positive, in some other relationship.A ball thrown at a bat is a positive cause.However, the ball that is struck in golf isnegative in comparison to what follows as aneffect, after the ball’s being hit by a blowof the active club.

Duality, then, is not absolute, but relativein the world of phenomena.—X

Consciousness and Mind

During a Forum conducted at the EasternCañada Rally last autumn, one question con

cerned an explanation of the relationship ofconsciousness to mind. The necessity ofmaking such an explanation indicates theoften repeated fact that terminology havingto do with psychology, philosophy, religión,and even the physical sciences is sometimesconfused both by the layman and the expert.The terminology that is selected to apply toany set of circumstances is, of course, arbi-trary. There is no reason why we chooseone particular word to have a specific meaning. Some persons believe words and mean-ings to be closely related, but there is littleproof insofar as the modern use of languageis concerned to warrant such a belief.

In the early period of the origin of language, it may be that sound was closelyassociated with the actual meaning conveyed.This is particularly true of nouns when theyapplied to specific things. However, much ofthis relationship has been lost, and languagetoday has become a highly technical tool.

Unfortunately, the technicalities and use ofthe tool are sometimes more involved than

the intricacies of the language. The obviousmeanings of the terminology selected in anyparticular system of thought or even in regular conversation are frequently lost in technicalities. It is only necessary to go to astandard dictionary, such as Webster’s International or the Oxford Dictionary insofar asthe English language is concemed, to findthe meaning of any word at random and dis-cover its many synonyms, antonyms, andcomplicated definitions.

Recently I had occasion to look up in Webster’s Dictionary a comparatively weíl-knownword, the subject of which I was using ina discourse I was preparing; to my surprisethere were five different definitions of theword. These were related, but still specifical-ly different. These meanings had grown tobe associated with that particular word.

Science has attempted to confine definitions specifically to certain situations. Wherever that is impossible or difficult, sciencemany times uses symbols, particularly theso-called exact sciences. Mathematics is thediscipline, we might say, that speaks mosteloquently through symbols, but related sciences, such as physics and chemistry, alsorely heavily upon symbols. It would bedifficult in the field of psychology or philosophy to use symbols, for if we did, wewould simply be using them instead of cer

tain words.Much confusion exists for the average individual who first studies anything of apsychological or philosophical nature aboutthe two simple words, mind and brain. Inthe popular sense, these two terms are notdefinitely distinguished, so in the Rosicrucian teachings we attempt to do that in thepreliminary lessons presented to the Neo-phyte member. Throughout our teachings,we attempt to clearly define these words andclearly distinguish between them.

To reiterate the basis of these definitions,it is only necessary to point out that the brainis a physical organ, one of many physical

organs in the body. The mind, on the otherhand, is a nonphysical entity. It is, we mightsay, the result of the processes of the brain,although actually the mind goes further thaneven that definition would imply because itincludes all the subtleties of both subjectiveand objective phenomena. It also reaches in-



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to sources of knowledge which lie completelybeyond the nervous system of the humanbeing of which the brain is the central organ.

Mind and brain, then, should be generallydistinguished in the sense that brain is aphysical part of the body and mind is thenonphysical accompaniment. It is our beliefthat the mind has its seat in the brain.Through experience, it seems to us that wehave mental concepts which are a part ofthe mind within the head which is the lócaleof the brain. At one time it was believed thatmind is an attribute of the heart, having itslócale there, and that the brain is the seatof all consciousness or all nervous activity.

Just what function was assigned to the brainat that time, I do not know.

Consciousness is another vague term; infact, it is so vague that some schools of psy-chology differ as to what constitutes consciousness, and some schools deny thatconsciousness even exists. This was a favoriteargument of the behavioristic school ofpsychology some years ago when it claimedas a fundamental premise of its psychologicalphilosophy or the foundation upon which itsscience was built that consciousness wassimply no more or less than a concept gainedby man through his use of what he believedwas thinking or rather what he claimed wasmerely subvocal talking. The individual con-siders situations within his own consciousness, as we generally use the word, but this

process was considered by the behaviorist asmerely a process of talking to one’s self.It is the belief of Rosicrucians that con

sciousness is more than subvocal talking;that consciousness is an attribute of the mindrather than the mind itself. To go back overour definitions, the brain is the physical organ. The mind is the seat of consciousness,a nonphysical accompaniment of the brain.While consciousness in itself, we might say,is the process of the mind, we might think ofa river as being illustrative of these concepts.The area cut out of the earth, the channel inother words, is the physical limitation or thecontainer of the river. The channel, to a cer

tain extent, directs the river’s flow. It is thephysical enclosure that holds the water,under normal circumstances, within certainbounds. The river itself is the mass of water.Depending upon the size of the river, a certain volume of water is contained within thelimits of the banks of the river. The current,

the movement of the water in a general direction, is the result of various laws, gravityfundamentally, causing the general watercontení of the river to flow or move in aspecific course. The current and the flow,we might say, are synonymous.

To associate these ideas with our terminology, we might say that the river withits banks and channel, the physical part ofthe earth enclosing the river, is like thebrain. The water, the content of the river,is comparable to the mind. The stream, themovement, the activity, the purpose of theriver’s being, in a sense, is comparable toconsciousness.

The brain is therefore the enclosure or theseat of the mind during our incamation inthe physical body. Mind becomes the poten-

tiality of all that man can be as a livingbeing to direct, in a sense, voluntary andinvoluntary processes of his being. Consciousness is the stream of activity, the stream ofbeing or the life forcé itself that flowsthrough the entity of the human being andmakes him what we believe to be an intelligent and adaptable entity here in this material environment.

These illustrations are possibly exaggerat-ed because there would be many differencesbetween a river channel and the brain, thewater and the mind, and the current of theriver and consciousness; yet there are certainparallels that may help us to better under-

stand the fundamental relationships betweenthese terms and what we, as Rosicrucians,believe to be their psychological significance.—A

Understanding Accidents

A soror recently presented this Fomm witha question on a subject spoken of severaltimes in the past, but which is worthy ofexamining again. She asks, in part, “Is theresuch a thing as an accident? Does the CosmicPlan allow for such things as accidents, particularly causing transition? It seems that ifaccidents were possible, this would result in

complete disharmony, which, as we know,is against nature.”To answer this question adequately, we

must first make an attempt to determine justwhat an accident is.

Of course, we all can think of examplesof that which we term accidents. If we are




driving a nail, and hit our finger with thehammer, we cali it an accident. If a man

steps from a curb in the middle of a blockand is struck by an auto driven well withinthe legal speed limit, this is an accident. Bythe same token, if a person is struck by afalling object which has not been purposelyaimed at him, this too is an accident.

In fact, we find that the usual test towhich we put an occurrence is in the natureof, “Was this done on purpose, and was thereany portion of the event or events leadingto the conclusión which could have been will-fully altered by the party or parties involvedin order to change the outcome?” If thesequestions can be fully answered in the negative, then man is likely to consider the occurrence an unfortunate but unavoidable

accident, one which just “happened,” butthrough no particular cause.

On analysis of any given accident, however, we can easily find causes which leadto the various phases of the series of eventswhich led up to the accident itself.

Now we see that accidents do indeed havecauses, but we still have a criterion by whichto classify our accident as an accident. Wesee that in the usual, ordinary turn of eventsthe causes leading up to our accident do notoccur. As an example, a small airplane suf-fers engine failure and crashes. Investigationshows that a bolt in the cylinder head wascracked, and finally parted in flight. The

severe strain on the other bolts caused themto weaken, allowing the head to blow off under the compression forcé. Here we have thecauses of the accident, but it is still just anaccident, since other hundreds of the sametype, brand, and year model of airplane areflying continually without mishap.

Therefore our criterion for calling thecrash an accident is the fact that it was aninordinate or unusual occurrence. It happened outside the usual run of affairs. If allairplanes of its age, model, etc., began tosuffer the same type of failure, it would bean accident no longer.

Accidents, then, are seen to have causes,

but we consider them to be random ones.Other types of accidents can be seen tohave causes that are completely undetermin-able, as in our example of the man struck bya falling object. Certainly, he had no realization that the object would fail, ñor did heknowingly place himself in the proper place

at the exact instant to be struck. Only an“accident” put him there. By the same token,

had he stopped just short of the spot, andtherefore been saved, that too would be anaccident, or perhaps he might term it “anact of Providence.”

In the analysis of accidents from the Cosmic viewpoint, however, we find that there isno such thing as an inexplicable occurrence.We are constantly surrounded in nature by—as a previous article on this subject termedit—“that persistency of phenomenon whichwe cali law.” We find that we cannot escape this law, and as a consequence ofnature’s law, all things occur by a continuouschain of causes and effects.

Even when man is unable to perceive a

logical series of causes leading to the effecthe terms an accident, this chain exists.The man moving toward his meeting with

the falling object was governed by certainlaws of motivation and propulsión, just asthe object itself was acting under the irrefutable laws goveming the gravitational attrac-tion of the earth on objects in space and lawsgoveming the speed of falling objects. Wecan conceive of other laws goveming thefact that the object was there to fai l—perhapsthose physical laws of weathering whichwould cause a rock to break away from a cliffedge and fail to the base.

To return to the man stepping from the

curb—an analogy used in these discussionsbefore—we find that he has intentionally created the principal cause leading to thefinal effect, as opposed to the man in theabove example, whose presence was merelya secondary cause, and not intentionally ini-tiated.

By stepping from the curb in mid-block,rather than continuing to the intersection,the proper place to cross, the person intentionally brought about the condition of beingstruck. We easily see how the causes relateto one another, and we can just as easilyrealize that the final effect would always exist as a potentiality in this given situation.

In analysis, we can see the existence ofthese laws, but man does not often conceivethis complex unity, and not fully understanding it, he has the notion that these strangeresults are accidents.

Therefore, not having this understanding,we are inclined to use the term accident for



JUNE, 1959 Page 137

this actually existent, but not realized, seriesof causes.—W

Is There Infinite Purpose?

A frater now arises to address our Forum.He states: “Everything is of the Great Inf inite, and therefore It knew what our impressions would be before creation. What isthe purpose of our living and of all theplanets and stars, etc., around us?”

Another frater, from England, asks whatwe consider is a related question: “If thesoul is divine and perfect, then what is Soul-Personality that it has to evolve and improveitself? If there is nothing apart from Godwhy should the mundane, mortal part of usneed to evolve?”

Let us consider these questions in theirorder. First, this again brings up the oídphilosophical problem of purpose versusnecessity. Man conceives himself as purpose-ful. This is evident in his visualizing of endsor objectives for himself which he wishes toattain. These become his purpose. But whatis the psychological origin of purpose? It isdesire. We have urges or inclinations whichphysically or mentally aggravate us. We desire to acquire those things or conditionswhich remove the aggravation. For example,we desire food to remove the pangs of hun-ger. We then have a purpose in seekingfood.

Man’s evaluation of the things of his environment in relation to himself give objectsa valué which is not inherent in the thingsthemselves. Gold is just another ore. It hasno valué—only as man has found a particularuse for it. In desiring gold, man has established a purpose. Philosophically, we can saythat the motivation behind purpose is a consciousness of insufficiency or inadequacywhich we strive to surmount in some manner. In other words, purpose is a plan bywhich we expect to attain ends we establishfor ourselves.

Because purpose is so dominant a factorin the human mental processes, man trans-

fers it to nature, as well. He often considers,for example, that nature has provided rainso that vegetation will nurture. The springseason is designed, he thinks, planned, if youwill, so that there can be a period of regener-ation. Man has, for further example, beengiven fingers, he believes, so that he can have

the advantage of the prehensile power of hishands. The sun is given so as to provide

heat and light for life.Actually, these things may occur completely devoid of purpose. Nature does notneed plant life to fulfill a conceived end foritself. Therefore, rain comes as a naturalphenomenon and plant life follows as an in-escapable necessity of such a circumstance.Further, the spring season is not a purposefulcause of ferti lity and regeneration. Rather,these things follow as a necessity of the eventof spring. Man’s fingers were not planned toserve him in the manner in which he usesthem. His evolution causes him to use hishands more, and he and the primates gradu-ally acquired the versatility of fingers forgrasping. Eyes, too, were not a purposefulintent. The eyes of man and of living thingsare different. Eyes in their primitive statewere light-sensitive cells that through centuries of time evolved into visual organs andstructures varying with and depending uponenvironmental conditions.

More and more man is confronted with thefact that the oíd theological theory of theearth’s being especially created to be hishabitat is an erroneous assumption. Theearth was not devised to complement the human ego, that is, that man is the supremecreation in the greater universe. We knownow that the earth is a mere planet of asun; the latter is a relatively small star in a

galaxy of millions and millions of stars. Infact, some of the so-called “red-giants” inthe constellations (so named because of theirbrilliant red glow) are stars which in sizeare even larger than the whole orbit of theearth around the sun!

To further approach the problem of necessity, let us consider being, or absolute reality,in the abstract. Being is that which is. Thatwhich is must have some nature, state orcondition, or, logically, it would not be.What it appears to be is then what it is bythe necessity of its nature. Hydrogen is suchby the necessity of its molecular structure—not because it was determined to be that as

a purpose instead of being oxygen.Of course, it could be contended thatbasically the causes of all things were prede-termined, conceived—and what follows fromthem by necessity was, after all, purposeful.Actually, that kind of infinite determinismas a notion, so prevalent in orthodox religión,




is primitive thinking. It is endeavoring toplace the Divine in a category paralleling

the functions of the human mind. If the Divine is accepted as self-sufficient and perfect,it is, in other words, complete, both in quantity and quality; and therefore it would notneed to be purposeful. What could infiniteintelligence need? What would it need toaspire to that would not already be containedwithin its nature?

Further, if it is insufficient, from whatwould the infinite intelligence create thatwhich it needed? To provide a source fromwhich it would seek its requirements wouldbe to establish an equal or a supreme beingor substance to itself! If A has to turn to B to complete itself, then B is independent ofA and, at least, it has that much superiorityto it. Such reasoning subordinates the superiority of an infinite intelligence. Cer-tainly, it is no longer infinite if it is insufficient.

Is it not a more complimentary view tothink of man as just part of a Cosmic function, man being part of a vast universal development? Is it not more complimentaryto think of man as having come to expresson earth at least a greater manifestation ofCosmic and natural laws than any otherdevelopment that follows from the necessity of the intemal substance of the Cosmic.There is no special purpose for man except what man makes for himself. In realizing

his Cosmic nature and relationship, the Cosmic has self-consciousness; that is, it realizesitself through man. Of course, this functionwould not exist alone for man but for anybeing having developed the same intelligenceand degree of self-realization that man has.

The idea of purpose is a strong and primitive impulsation in homo sapiens. It is difficult for the average human, in abstractionand because of his traditional beliefs, to thinkof reality, of absolute being, as always having been. It seems, from the limitations ofour mental categories, there must have beena time when being did not exist as a substance or even as an energy. In such primi

tive thinking, it is then thought that thegreater universe was created not just interms of galaxies, island universes and stars,but that even a basic vibratory energy wascreated. If a thing is believed to have oncebeen created, then it is just another simplestep in human thinking to imagine that it

likewise must have been desired—that therewas a purpose for it. The next step in such

a concatenation of reasoning is to wonderwhat is the particular purpose of each phenomenon or reality experienced by man—including man himself.

The next question asked by the frater is:Why does the Soul-Personality need to ac-quire perfection if the Soul is of the Infinite—which is perfect? The infinite intelligencethat accompanies the living forcé of man is

perfe ct. As man acquires a self-consciousness,a realization of this Inner Being, he calis thesensations which he has of it, and the notionabout it, Soul. But in the Rosicrucian teachings we refer not just to Soul, but to Soul-Personality. That which we manifest orexpress of the Soul forcé within us, what weexhibit outwardly, is our per sonality. Wethink that no one will doubt that the personality of each of us varies. Further, webelieve that no one would contradict thestatement that the personalities of most menfall far short of that perfection of which theythink the Soul consists. Consequently, whatwe evolve, then, is not the Soul but its expression, the personality.

A question like this is concisely and veryeffectively answered in the Rosicrucian

Ma nual9 a volume which all Rosicruciansshould possess. However, we shall quote justa portion of the explanation for “Soul-Per-sonality” as it appears in the Manual.

“The personality is Self , and Self is anexpression of the Soul within the body ofman. The Soul strives to manifest its divinenature and Cosmic qualities through the ob

jective consciousness of man. To the extentthat man becomes conscious of his divineessence, his Soul, to that same extent doesSelf, or the personality, conform to it.”—X

Sleep Learning

A frater asks: “If a person falls asleepduring a talk, for instance, at a Convocation,does he subconsciously get the contení of thetalk? If so, is it retained in the conscious

or subconscious mind; and, if in the latter,how is it made conscious?”The whole theory and practic e of sleep

learning has been made popular of late withnumerous advertized courses and expensiverecording devices by which it is supposed tobe accomplished. Some of the claims for



JUNE, 1959 Page 139

these sleep leaming courses are preposterous.They cannot possibly accomplish all of thethings professed for them. Those who aregullible enough to believe such claims andpay the large fees and buy the costly equip-ment, leam eventually that they are victimsof misrepresentation. Many years ago, longbefore the public had ever heard the phrase,“sleep learning,” and before any of the so-called courses in its instmction existed, theRosicmcian Order was explaining its basicprincipies. These were given as an incidentof instmction without extra fees or the necessity of purchasing equipment. Beside settingforth what such could accomplish, AMORCalso delineated what sleep learning could not accomplish.

First, let us relate what psychologicallaboratory experimentation has found inconnection with memory retention in relationto sleep. A theory had been advanced that

forg etting may progress slowly during sleep.In other words, it was theorized that one for-gets more quickly during his waking statethan while asleep. As early as 1925, tworesearch scientists named Jenkins and Dal-lenbach, began experimental tests. Theysought evidence that when sleep fol low s at once after learning that such would favorretention of the impressions had. The testsdid prove, from the curves charted on thegraphs, that recall was greater if one wentto sleep immediately following a period of

learning.To check on the accuracy of this evidence,further tests were made with “those whospent intervals between leaming and sleepin daytime activity.” For example, the studyof some matter in the morning and then becoming occupied with several hours of otheractivity before sleep, was one of the specifictests. That which these persons retained ofwhat they had learned was less than thosewho leamed just before sleep. The scoreswere much higher after sleeping than afterequal intervals of activity following theleaming.

Another interesting result revealed by the

tests was that retention of learning was high,as high after eight hours as it was after twohours of sleep. In other words, if one wentto sleep following the leaming, the length of time one slept would in no way affect theretention of what had been learned. The conclusión was that “forgetting is not so much a

decay or deterioration of oíd impressions andassociations as it is a matter of interference ,inhibiting, and the obliteration of the oíd bythe new.”

It would appear that sleep immediatelyfollowing learning consolidates the memorytrace. In other words, it seems to arrest andpreserve it. Conversely, activity by thecrowding in of new impressions, interfereswith the retention process.

A further interesting test was based onthe problem of one’s partly learning a lessonin the morning and then completing it in theevening just before sleep. How would thiscompare in retention with one who leamspartly in the evening before sleep and fin-ishes a study in the morning? The resultsof this test were in favor of the evening-moming learning combination. If the learning were begun in the moming, the day’sactivities interfered with the memory trace,consequently, the total recall was less.

The final conclusión, based on a largenumber of tests with college students wasthat “sleep directly after learning delays theonset of forgetting which thereafter takesplace.” There is a great decline in retentionif there are intervals of activity betweenlearning and sleep.

All of this indicates that what can betransmitted to the subconscious mind withoutinterference is retained there almost intactwith little diminution. During the day, even

that which we do not want to retain, whichfor example, we have not studied or do notconsider learning, may nevertheless make astrong impression on memory. Such extran-eous thoughts and impressions constitute aninterference to that ideation which we do wish to retain. Consequently, they causewhat we wish to retain to deteriórate, thatis, to become forgotten.

If we can reach directly into the subconscious with any impressions or ideas, theywill have greater forcé in being retainedand therefore will be more useful to us.AMORC in its teachings, for many years,of course, has expounded upon the balancing

of the objective and subconscious minds. Ithas used the illustration of the scale to explain this state of balance. When the ob jective side of this scale is weighted down—that is, is more active—the other side, thesubconscious is relatively less active. Inreality, the subconscious is not less active but,




rather, the objective phase dominates theconsciousness when we are objective.

During sleep, the objective consciousnessis less dominant. This is easily comprehen-sible. The receptor senses are almost completely dormant. We are not seeing, hearing,smelling, in the usual way. At least, we arenot focusing our attention, our consciousness, on the impressions from those senses.In such a state, as in hypnosis, ideas that arepresented to the sleeping person can oftenmore effectively reach the subconscious intheir puré form. They are not interferedwith or disturbed by the reasoning process.

Many years ago, AMORC in its teachingsdisclosed experiments it had conducted withchildren. It found, for example, that unde-sired habits could be broken by a parent moreeasily if he spoke softly to the sleeping childin a series of commands that certain of hisacts be discontinued. It was found not thatthe child remembered just what had beensaid to him when he awoke, but rather thatin its conduct he showed himself disinclinedto continué the offensive habit. In particular,when the child was ordered not to do theoffending act he would respond more readilyafter the sleep episode.

Further tests with adults who found itdifficult to concéntrate and study revealedthat they were greatly helped in leaming byhaving the lesson repeated to them whilethey were on the borderline, that is, just

going to sleep. In some instances, repetitionwhile they were asleep assisted in overcom-ing their forgetfulness.

The person with poor powers of concentration cannot easily acquire impressions instudy with sufficient forcefulness so as to re-tain them in memory. These persons arehelped by leaming just before going to sleep.There is then little subsequent interference

to disturb the weak memory trace, and it ismore easily retained vin the subconscious.

However, where one has never given thoughtto a subject previously, or where a subjectis of a nature that would have been beyond his intelligence when he was awake, sleeplearning has not been effective! Suppose thatdifferential calculus, in mathematics, is toodifficult for one to learn while he is awake—we shall say, that he has an I.Q. not equalto learning the intricacies of this subject. Nomatter how much repetition during sleep ofthe lesson, the individual does not comprehend it any better.

We must remember that what reaches thesubconscious externally must subsequentlybe released into the objective mind for recalland for comprehension. It is in this objectivemind with its intellectual power that comprehension occurs. A person of low intelligence is not going to learn, is not going tounderstand, beyond his normal understanding through the use of the sleep instructionmethods. It is in such claims (as this beingpossible) that many of these courses in sleeplearning misrepresent. They imply that onemay become an excellent student and master of subjects which, in his waking state, hestruggles to understand.

To answer the frater’s question specifical-ly, if he had been listening intently to thediscourse just before falling asleep, it is quiteprobable that he would remember the con-tents of the lecture better the next day thanif he had not slept. However, if he had not been concentrating upon the discourse beforehe went to sleep, he would remember littleor nothing of it. After all, if it were truethat we learn better and become masters ofa subject by sleeping in a lecture hall or in aclassroom, then we all ought to sleep—con-tinually.—X

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Remember the Rosicrucian Convention — July 5 through 10, 1959



JUNE, 1959 Page 141

INDEX OF VOLUME XXIX (Comprising the entire Six Issues of the 29th Year)NOTE—The small letters after the page numbers refer to position on page: a, upper half of first column; b,

lower half of first column: c, upper half of second column; d, lower half of second column. Titles of articlesare italicized.A

Abrahams, Clifford C., 1, 4a-d About Cynics and Skep tics , 115b-117b Absolute, 9b-c (see also God)Academy of Science, Paris, 61c Accident, 38b-39c Accidents, Understanding , 135d-137a Adjustm ent, Aggress ion and, 2a-3d Aegean Odyssey, 29d Aesthetic Valúes, 76d Affirmations, 42b-c, 80b-c African Tribes, 43d-45a Aggress ion and Adjustment, 2a-3d Agrícola, G., 60d Air, 90a-91d, 92b-c Airplane, 136bAlchemists, Transcendental, 85a Alpines, 68c-d Ambition, 2a

AMORC (see Rosicrucian) AMORC and Christianity , 39d-40c AMORC Motion Pictu res, 28b-30a Amulets, 44bAndronicus of Rhodes, 74aAnger, 114d-115bAnimism, 122dAnoxemia, 90c-dAnthropology, 66d-69c Anticip ation of Tomorrow, Th e, 21a-23dAnthropomorphic, 27b, 38c-d, 122a-b

Appeal, Fa ilu re in Cosmic , 13d-l5a App eals, Cosmic , 118b-119dAptitude, 57d-60bArchaeology, 26c

Ar e Metaphysics and Philo sop hy Obsolete? 74a-76b Aristotle, 65a, 70c, 74a, 103a Art, 63d-65a (see also Avocation) Attu nement, Hypnotism and, 30a-30cAudio-suggestion, 17d-l 9cAura, 53c, 63b

Aurignacian, 68cAustraloid, 68b-dAuthority, 98a-99c Autoscopy , Pro jection or, 103d-105c Autosugges tión, Valué of, 40d-43aAvocation, 51b-52a, 57d-60b Aw akenin g our Talents, 57d-60bAztecs, 68c

BBacon, Francis, 65a Baghdad, 63d-64d Bakery, 41cBardo Thódol (see Books)Barrett, W. F. (Sir), 61a-bBecoming Awar e of Our Surroundings, 15a-cBelief, 12a-13aBernadette, Saint, 34cBible, The Monographs and the, 83a-83dBilocation, 103d-105cBlack Magic, 84b-cBlack Magic and Superstition, 43d-45a

Blind, Mental Pictures of the, 45a-46cBlood Plasma, Vital Life Forcé and, 91d-93aBody-image, 105b-cBooks:

Arábian Nights, 118cBardo Thodol (Tibetan Book of the Dead), 31c-32d Book of the Dead, 16a, 16c, 33b Caius Plinus Secundus, 70c Christian Holy Bible, 83d, 84c

Cosmogony, 60d De Anima, 70c De re Metallico, 60d lo , 70c Koran, 83dLodestones and M agnetic Bodies . . . , 70b Republic, The, 99b-c Rosicrucian Manual, 138dSelf Mastery and Fate With Cycles of Life, 118b,

119c Talmud, 83d Upanishads, 83d

Brahman, 100a, 102bBrain, 46d-47d, 52c-53a, 58b, 59b-c, 108a-c, 134d-135d British Royal Air Forcé, 63b Buddhist, 32a, 40a-c, 93b-c, 123a

cCairo, 82c-d

Can the Soul Be Restored? 107c-108d Carver, George Washington (Dr.), 69a-b Catholic, Román, 34c, 43b, 123a Causality, 133d-134a Cause and Effect, 11 Id Ceremonies, Mystical, 106d Certain? Wha t Is, 76b-78a Chakras, 32b-dChanging Your Consciousness, 50a-52aCharacter Analysis, 53cChrist Consciousness (see Consciousness)Christian, 83b-d, 93a-94b, 123a-c Christianity, 16b, 39d-40c, 56b Christianity, AMORC and , 39d-40c Color, 45b-cCompensation, Law of (see Karma)Concentration: 23c, 30c, 47a-d, 54d-55a,

Visual, 17b-c Conscience, 118d-119aConsciousness: 80d-81a, 104a-b (see also Subconscious)

Christ, 5d, 85b-86c Cosmic, 5d, 6d, 30b, 85b-86c Objective, 4d, 6b, 36d-37c, 47b Subjective, 4d-6c, 36c-37c

Consciousness and Mind, 134a-135d Consciousness, Changing Your, 50a-52a Convention, The Rosicrucian, 106b-107c Cosmic: 10c, lia, 69b-c, 88d-89d, 124d-126b, 136c,

138a-dAppeal, 13d-15a Attunement, 23a, 99d, 101cConsciousness, 5d, 6d, 30b, 85b-86c, 127d-129b,

135a-cCycles, 144-year, 39b, 112a-b, 119c-d Law, 22dMasters, 118b-119d Objective, 139d-140d

Cosmic Appeals, 118b-119d Cosmic, Creating in the, 54c-56a Cosmic Development?, Will Elimination of Ego

Hinder, 30c-31c Cosmic Schem e, “Saints” in the, 93a-94b Craft (see Avocation)

Craftsman, 63d-65a Creating in the Cosmic, 54c-56a Creating Your Future, 99c-101d Crete, 102d Cro-Magnon, 68a Cross, 65b-dCrucifixión, Mystical Meaning of the, 65b-66d Cryptesthetic Powers, 62c Culture, Retirement and, 78b-80a




Curse, 43d-45aCycles, 39b, 112a-b, 119c-dCynics and Skeptics, About, 115b-117b

DDallenbach, 139a-b da Yinci, Leonardo, 65a Death: 107c-108d, 113d

After, 33b-34d, 35a-38b Degree Classes, 106c Deity, 27a-b, 38c Democracy, 99a-b Demonstrations, 106c Descartes, 26bDesire, lOOd-lOlb, 137a-138cDiscipline, 99c, 131a-132cDisease and Sin, 56a-57dDivine Love, 85b-86cDivine Imagery, 122a-123dDivining Rod, The Mystery of the, 60c-63cDoes Science Negate God? 26a-28bDowser, 60c-63cDravidian, 68cDrAqms 5c

Duality, The Nature of, 132c-134a Dyad, 102d, 103b

EEarthquake, 77bEconomic, 78c-79aEgo, 30c-31b, 59b-cEgypt, Rosicrucian Tour to, 81b-83aEinstein, Albert, 5bEmotions: 75a-b, 114b-115dEnergy, 5b-10d, 17bEngland, 60dEnvironment, 21c-22d, 50c-d, 99c-100cEpictetus, 34b, 94d-95aEpistemology, 74c-76bEuphoria, 88c, 90dEvans-Wentz, W. Y., 31c-dEvil Thought, Good and, 124d-126bEvolution, 137c-dExorcism Services—Superstition or Necessity? 117b-

118a

Experience, Initiations Are a Personal, 71b-dExtrasensory, 11cEyes, Power of the, 15d-17d

FFailure in Cosmic Appeál, 13d-15a Faith, 10c, lid, 12d Fatalism, 38c Fellowship, 107aFirst Neophyte Degree Initiation, 71b-d Flexion-folds, 52b-53d Flying Saucers, 117a Ford, Henry, 69b Franklin, Benjamin, 128a Freedom, 98c-99c, 132a Future: 21d-22a

Life, 35a-38b Future, Creating Your, 99c-101d

GGalen, 70c

Geology, 26cGilbert, William, 70b-71aGod, 8b-d, lia, 22d-23d, 26a-28b, 34d, 38b-39b, 67a-d,

69b-c, 70d, 85b-86c, llOd-llld, 122a-123d, 129a-b, 132d

God?, Does Science Negate, 26a-28b Good and Evil Thought , 124d-126b Government, 76c Grand Lodge of Brazil, 43c, 54c Growth, 22c-d

HHabit, 132c Hagiography, 33b Hamites, 68c-d Hand, 52b-53dHappiness in the Next World, 33b-34d Harmonics, 6aHas Palmistry Any Basis? 52b-53d Hate?, Should We, 114a-115b Healers, 127a-bHealing Exercises, The Scope of Rosicrucian , 126b-

127bHebrews, 16b, 40a Herodotus, 102a Hierarchal Order, 85d Hierophants of Egypt, 102a Hindú, 31b-33a, 40a-c, 123a History, 28c-d Hobby (see Avocation)Home, 51a-52aHow Does the Soul-Personality Develop? 63d-65a Hypnosis, 18bHypnotism and Attunement, 30a-30c

IIllumination, 93c-d Image-building, 41c-43a Imagery, Divine, 122a-123d Imhotep, 65aImmaculate Conception, 40b-c Immortality, 35a-38d, 109a Incas, 68cIndian, American, 68c-d Individuality, 30c-31b, 38b Indolence, Mental Discipline and, 131a-132c Infinite Purpose?, Is There, 137a-138d Initiations Are a Personal Experience, 71b-d Insubordination, 98a-99c Intelligence: 19b

Definition, lla-b Divine, 32d-33a Higher, 6c

Interests, 79b-80a Is Death by Plan? 38b-39d Is Suicide a Stigma? 94b-95d

Is There a Supernatural? lOa-llc Is There Infinite Purpose? 137a-138d

Jains, 123a-b Jenkins, 139a-b Jesús, 39d-40c, 64a, 65b-66d, 103d, 114d, 123a-b, 126c-

127b Jewish, 40c, 65b, 123a-b Joan of Are, 94a Jongman, Harm, 123d-124d Judgment Hall of Osiris, 33b

KKabala, lOld, 103dKarma, 14a, 19c-21a, 57b-c, llOd-llld Karma, War and, 19c-21a Karnak Temple, 8Id, 82d Knowledge, Nature of, 74b Kundalini, The Mystery of the, 31b-33b

LLanguage, 112d-113b, 134b-c Lausanne Chapter, 106a Law: 9b-c, 77b, llOc-llld, 136c-d

Blue, 130b Mosaic, 130d Natural, 85a

Law Enforcement and Mysticism, 129b-131a Learning, Sleep-, 17d-19c, 138d-140d Lewis, H. Spencer, (Dr.), 53b, 65a-b, 93c, 119c



JUNE, 1959 Page 143

Lewis, Martha, 73, 86d-87cLewis, Ralph M., 3d, 28b, 52a, 76b, 99cLife, 33b-34d

Life after Transition, 35a-38b Life Forcé, Space , Oxygen , and, 90a-91d Lodestones and Luck (?), 69d-71a Lodge, Martinez de Pasqually, 4c Lodge, Rio de Janeiro, 43c, 54b Loneliness, 88a-b Love, 114bLuck(?), Lodestones and, 69d-71a

MMager, 62d

Magic? , Wh at Is White, 83d-85b Manetho, 70cMasters, 71b, 93a-94b, 118b-119a Materialism, 28a, 35c, 58b Mathematic Relationship, 101d-103d Matter, 133b-d Mayans, 68d

Meanings, My stic al , 85b-86c Mecha nical Consolation, 87c-88d Mechanistic Viewpoint, 125a-126a Medallions, Wearing, lid, 13a Medicine, 26c Meditation, 23c Médiums, 36b-d Memory, 112c-113a

Menta l Discipl ine and Indolen ce, 131a-132cMental Image, 45b-d, 55a-cMental Pictures, 99c-101d Mental Pictu res of the Blind, 45a-46cMesmer, Franz, 30aMetals, 62dMetaphysical Healing, 42c

Metaphy sics and Ph ilos oph y Obsolete?, Are, 74a-76b Mind: 18a, 75c-d, 89d, lOOa-lOlc

Cosmic (see God) Mind, Consciousness and, 134a-135d Mind, Resting the, 46d-47d Minerals, 62d Miracles, 65d-66b Mohammed, 93c-d, 123a-b Monad, 102d-103a Mongol, 68c, 69c

Monition, 90d Mon ograp hs and the Bib le, The, 83a-dMorality, 56dMorrison (Professor), 76aMorse Code, 125b-dMoses, 93c-dMoslem, 40a-c

Motion Pictures , AMORC, 28b-30a Motivation, Subliminal, 17d-19c Moura, Maria, 25, 43a-d Munster, Sebastian, 60d Music, 63d-65a Musician, 64c

My stery of Numbe rs, 101d-103d My stery of the Div inin g Rod, Th e, 60c-63c My stery of the Kundalini, Th e, 31b-33b Mystica l Meanings , 85b-86c Mystica l Mea nin g of the Crucif ixión, 65b-66dMysticism, 8d, 23d, 123c-d, 129b

Mysticism, Law Enforcem ent and, 129b-131a

NNadi, 32a-dNature of Duality, The, 132c-134a Neanderthal, 68c-69b Necessity, 137a-138b Negative, 7a-d, 133b-134a Negro, 68b-69c Neolithic, 68dNext World, Happiness in the, 33b-34d Nile, 81b-82d

Nisus, 126a-b Nitrogen, 90a-91d Nordics, 68c-d

Nous, 91b, 133c-d Numbers, Mystery of, 101d-103d Numeral One and Unity, 88d-90a

°Objective (see Consciousness)One and Unity, Numeral , 88d-90a Ontology, 74bOpportünity Knocks, 80a-81a Oriental Bazaars, 63d-64d Ouspenski, P. D., 21b-d Oxygen, and Life Forcé, Space, 90a-91d

PPalmistry Any Basis?, Has, 52b-53d Pascal, 116dPaulo, José de O., 49, 54a-c Pendulum, 61d-62a Penfield, Wilder (Dr.), 47c Philosophy Is True?, Which, 7d-9d Philosophy, 9a-b, 134b-dPhilosophy Obsolete?, Are Metaphysics and, 74a-76b Photographs:

Abrahams, Clifford C., August, 1958 Jongman, Harm, June, 1959 Moura, María, October, 1958 Paulo, José de O., December, 1958 Lewis, Martha (Mrs. H. Spencer Lewis), February,

1959Troxler, Charles, April, 1959

Physical Valúes, 76d-78b Plan?, Is Death by, 38b-39d Plasma , Vital Life Forcé and Blood, 91d-93a Plato, 9a, 70c, 99b-c Pliny, 70c, d Polycrates, 102a Porphyry, 102d Positive, 133b-134a Positive Thinking?, What Is, 6d-7d Power of the Eyes, 15d-17d Preservation, 131a Projection or Autoscopy, 103d-105c Pronaos, Neufchátel, 106a Psychic: 4d-6d, 32a-33a, 53c-d, 90d-91a Body, 32a-33a, 104c

Centers, 32a-33a Experience, 6a-c Nerves, 32a-33a Perception, 46b Powers, 46b Projection, 103d-105c Self, 32a-33a Sense, 46a-c

Psychic World, The, 4d-6d Psychical, lOc-dPsychological Pick-Ups, 87c-88cPsychology, 26c-d, 74b-76b, 105a, 139a-140dPunishment, Capital, 65b, 130cPurpose, 137a-138cPyramids, 81b-82cPyrrho of Elis, 116cPythagoras, 65a, 101d-103c

QQuatemary Age, 67d

RRaces?, Why Various Human, 66d-69c Radar, 46b-c, 63b Radiations, 60c-63c Realization of Space, 127c-129b Receptor:

Organs, 18a Senses, 4d-6c




Reincarnation, Some Observations on, 108d-113d Religión, 8a-b, 35a-36a, 84a-85b, 94c-d, 109c, 117b-d,

134b, 137d-138a Resting the Mind, 46d-47d Resurrection, 40c Retirement and. Culture, 78b-80a Revivifícation, 107c-108d Rhythm, 22d-23a Richet, 105 a Riondels, 61c River, 135b-dRomán Catholic Church, 94a-b Root Support, 32b-c Rosicrucian: lOc-llc, 139a

Conception, 85c Egyptian Museum, 29a-b Explanation, 58d-59a Feelings, 39d-40cGrand Secretary, AMORC, Holland, 123d-124d Healing Principies, 126b-127b Letters, 78cMotion Pictures, 28b-30a Ontology, 133c Order in America, 86d-87c

Philosophy, 8a, 9b, 21 d Rose-Croix Sanitarium, 87b Rose-Croix University, 63b-c, 86b Second Neophyte Degree, 126b-127b Studies, 91a-bSupreme Grand Lodge, 87bTeachings, 6d, 8d, 17d, 18b, 46d-47a, 83b-d, 89b-c, 91d, 118b-119d, 127c-128d, 129b-131a, 134d, 138c-d Technical Department, 29d-30a

Work, 80a Rosicrucian Convention, The, 106b-107c Rosicrucian Tour to Egypt, 81b-83a

sSacrifice. 65d-66d“Saints” in the Cosmic Scheme, 93a-94b Samos, 101d-102a Samuel, Alexander, 89d Schizophrenia, 118a Schweitzer, Albert (Dr.), 93c Science, 74c-76d, 84a-85b, 116d-117b, 134b-d Scope of Rosicrucian Healing Exercises, The , 126b- 127b Sculptor, 108b-c Self: 87d, 104a-d (see also Ego)

Expression, 98c-99a Inner, 30c-31b Suggestion, 87d-88a

Sensation: 5d, 47b-c Epicritic, 46b-c Tf l r t i lp

Should We Hate? U4a-115b Sin, Disease and, 56a-57d Sin, 94cSinanthropus Pekinensis, 67d Skeptics, About Cynics and, 115b-117b Sleep, 18a-bSleep-Learning, 17d-19c, 138d-140d Society, 2c-3c, 28c, 94c-95d, 129d-130d Sócrates, 8aSome Observations on Reincarnation, 108d-113d Sophists, 116b-c

Soul, 26d, 31a, 33b, 59b-c, 69b, 74b-75d, 75c-d, 109d- 110c, 138c-d Soul Be Restored?, Can the, 107c-108d Soul Personality, 30c-31a, 108a-d, 138c-d Soul-Personality Develop?, How Does the, 63d-65a Space, 133bSpace, Realization of, 127c-129b Space, Oxygen, and Life Forcé, 90a-91d Spinoza, Baruch, 8a, 67b Stigma?, Is Suicide a, 94b-95d

Stoics, 95aSubconscious, I7d-19c, 36b-37c, 46d, 55b, 61b, 138d~

140dSubjective, 61c-d (see also Consciousness)Subliminal, 46b (see also Motivation)Suffering, 65d-66d Suggestion, 13c, 40d-42b, 44d Sun-day, 119dSupematural, 10b, 43d-45a, 61c, 69d, 83d Supernatural?, Is There a, lOa-llc Superstition, B lack Magic and, 43d-45a Superstition or Necessity?, Exorcism Services, 117b-

H8aSuperstitions, True Nature of, llc-13c Supervisión, 98b-cSurroundings, Becoming Aware of Our, 15a-c Symbols, 134c-d

TTalents, Awakening Our , 57d-60b Talisman, 44b, 69d-70b Tantra, 31d-32a Tape-recording, 87d-88c Teleological Cause, 38d-39a

Test, Psychological, Chimpanzee, 3b-c Tetrad, 102d-103b Thebes, 82a Theistic, 27a-b, 38c Theophrastus, the Lesbian, 70c Thinking?, What Is Positive, 6d-7d This Issue’s Personality, 4a-d, 43a-d, 54a-c, 86d-87c,

105c-106a, 123d-124d Thought, Good and Evil, 124d-126b Tibetan Book of the Dead (Rardo Thodol) (see Books) Time, 21d-22d, 127d Tomorrow, The Anticipation of, 21a-23d Tour to Egypt, Rosicrucian, 81b-83a Tradition, 28c-d, 122c Transfusions, 92a-93a Transition, 38b-39c, 113d Transition, Life after, 35a-38b Triad, 102d-103b Troxler, Charles, 97, 105c-106a True Nature of Superstitions, llc-13c Truth, 9a-d, 74b-76a

Tyranny, 98a-99auUnderstanding Accidents, 135d-137a Unity, 129a-bUnity, Numeral One and, 88d-90a

VValué of Autosuggestion, 40d-43a Vibration, 124d-126b, 132d Visualization, 54d-56a, lOOc-lOld, 113b Vital Life Forcé, 6d, 32b-33a, 90a-91d Vital Life Forcé and. Blood Plasma , 91d-93a

wWar and Karma, 19c-21a

Weismann, August (Dr. ), 58c What Is Certain? 76b-78a What Is Positive Thinking? 6d-7d What Is White Magic? 83d-85b Which Philosophy Is True? 7d-9d White Magic?, What Is, 83d-85b Why Various Human Races? 66d-69c Will Elimination of Ego Hinder Cosmic Develop

ment? 30c-31b Witch Doctor, 117c-d Word, 134b-d World Events, 107a World, The Psychic, 4d-6d

YYoga, 31b-33a



August, 1959Volunte XXX No. 1

Rosicrucian ForumÁ p r í va t e p ub l i ca t i o n f o r memb er s o f A MO RC

GIUSEPPE CA SSA RA , JR., F. R. C.

Grand Master of AMORC for Italy




Greetings!

V V VTODAY’S LACK OF CONCENTRATION

Dear Fratres and Sorores:In the nations proclaimed to have a higher

standard of living, there is an alarmingdiminishing of an important personal quality. Generally speaking, the individual findsit more difficult to concéntrate, where theexercise of thought is required. Psycho-logically, concentration is the function offocusing the attention upon certain stimulias, for example, the impressions of sight orsound. When we consciously, that is, will-

fully listen, we are focusing the consciousness upon the vibrations of sound, so as torealize them. We may find such directionof our attention apparently effortless or ex-tremely difficult. In the latter instance theconsciousness or attention tends to vacillate,to digress, to some other stimuli requiringless effort.

This experience has always been common.Certain stimuli, objects of our attention, aremore appealing to us than others. Thatwhich appeals is gratifying to us in somemanner. There is perhaps, as well, an emotional support of the interest. Awe, fear,

joy, love, hate, and curiosity, all aid in keep-ing attention focused, the concentrationfixed upon some thing, event, or series ofimpressions.

Ennui or boredom is the consequence ofhaving a placid emotional state. In suchcircumstances, what we experience has notaroused us emotionally. Such a state actually becomes fatiguing and disturbing. Therefore, we direct our consciousness to someother stimuli which has for us greater attention valué. However, all concentration isnot first caused by external impressions.Imagination, idealism, and mental disciplineplay a prominent part in the duration orsustaining of concentration.

In our imagination we may establish anideal. By that we mean a preferred thingor condition, which we desire to attain. Infact, an ideal is a mental desire. The factorsthat enter into the realization of the desire,what needs to be accomplished or acquired,may require considerable physical or mental

effort. The effort may result in fatigue. Theeyes may tire, the limbs ache, but there isthe mental drive to continué. The mentalimage of the ideal, the preferred desire, be-comes the incentive. Merely the visualization of the ideal may provide an emotionalsatisfaction that mitigates the irritation ofthe fatigue. The inventor and scientist oftenwork long hours, even missing meáis andsleep, in an almost feverish concentrationupon their Creative work. Many persons in

various lines of work, inspired by an ideal,often forget their physical well-being inorder to succeed in some plan.

Mental discipline is the hamessing of thewill so as to concéntrate one’s powers, mental or physical, upon a desired objective.There is a personal control of one’s behaviorand faculties with some aim in mind. Leaming requires this mental discipline. Learningis not merely the acquisition of new impressions, experiences or ideas had as immediate, self-evident knowledge. Leaming issubjective as well. It requires reason, theanalysis of experience, the formation ofspecific notions as distinguished from just

what we may see or hear. Everything per-ceived is not immediately comprehended.Study, for example, is more than readingand knowing individual words. It consistsof extracting meaning from them or com-bining them into a communicative and in-formative form.

To learn we must concéntrate. We mustmake the mind figuratively hew to the lineuntil understanding is had, even though theprocess may be temporarily fatiguing, a kindof aggravation. In youth there is usuallythe compulsión by parents and teachers forthe necessary concentration on school studies. With adults mental discipline is essential. The individual must evalúate the

essential effort and any discomfort it maycause as against the eventual satisfaction ofthe attainment.

A distinction must be made between en tertainment and learning. The former isintended to amusé, to provide pleasure to



AUGUST, 1959 Page 3

one or more of the senses. Entertainmentavoids any concentration where there is

need for reasoning or voluntary activationof the processes of mind. Principally inentertainment the mind is passive. It isbombarded from without by impressionswhich require little exercise of thought uponthe part of the recipient. He emotionallyresponds without any conscious volition.What one may learn from an experience ofentertainment depends upon the impact itselements have upon the emotions. If theentertainment is thrilling, exciting, veryamusing, the incident is wholly or partiallyremembered, regardless of any intellectualvalué which it may have. Simply put, inentertainment the mind does not seek out

ideas from its impressions. Rather certainones implant themselves in a ready-madeform upon the consciousness.

It is obvious that entertainment is morepopular than learning, because the latterrequires the harnessing of the mind throughmental discipline. We are creatures of habit.Habit is a kind of groove, a path of leastresistance that we are inclined to follow. Wecan acquire an entertainment or a learninghabit or a combina tion of both. Prior to theadvent of televisión, there was a greater balance between entertainment and learningfor the individual. Though radio was popularas a predecessor, yet more persons even thenalso read books and periodicals partly forentertainment and information.

Even casual reading requires concentration. One cannot sean the pages of a bookor an article as he does the televisión screenand have a comprehension of the contents.The words, the sentences, in the book orperiodical must be realized, the ideas mustbe extracted, if the contents are to be com-prehended and the continuity not lost.

One, therefore, acquires a reading habit,that is, the patience to indulge the necessaryconcentration, no matter what the nature ofhis reading. Further, if one, in the past two

decades, went to a public lecture, whetherpaid or free, upon a learned subject, as sci

ence, philosophy or world affairs, he expectedthat it would be at least of one hour’s dura-tion. He would not make an effort to attendfor less time than that. Ordinarily the lis-tener found it not difficult to sustain hisconcentration upon the subject for the houror a slightly longer period.

Today we find circumstances changed,particularly in those nations where televisiónhas become popular. Advertisers who sup-port the televisión programs must hold theiraudiences. To do this their programs mustpsychologically place the viewer in a passive state. This means that the viewer is requiredto put forth only a minimum effort in con

centration. The impact of the program,therefore, must be pr im ari ly emotionalrather than intellectual. To accomplish this,an educational subject must be dramatized,made entertaining, rather than being astraightforward appeal to thought and rea-son. Consequently, the presentation of theprogram elicits little original thinking uponthe part of the individual and makes littledemand upon his intellectual powers. Thereare, of course, strictly educational programsbut these are limited and subordinated bythe entertainment variety.

The incalculable harm that this conditionaccomplishes is the lessening of the ability

of the individual to sustain concentrationthat calis for thought. Straightforward lee-tures on televisión by necessity, of course,are mostly limited to a period of fifteen minutes or less. The viewer, the listener, therefore, has gradually and without being awareof it formed the habit of limiting thoughtfulconcentration to that period of time. Eventually he finds it distracting and disturbingto listen to a lecture of a longer period.

Televisión has affected the reading habitsof millions of persons as well. This is re-flected, particularly in the United States, inthe decline in circulation of some former

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San José, California,under Section 1103 of the U. S . Postal Act of Oct. 3, 1 917 .


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popular periodicals. Long articles are generally not tolerated and are soon east aside,unless of a fictional character. Nonfictionalmaterial is condensed, abbreviated and sim-plified, to require a minimum of voluntaryconcentration, that is, mental effort.

In an analysis we have found that, evenin those subjects where persons profess aninterest and upon which they would, a decade ago, have listenéd to a well-presentedaddress for an hour, such must now be generally limited to a period of thirty-five minutes. Bey ond th at tim e, the audienceconcentration —that is, attention —wavers.There is no longer the habit of sustainedthought for a longer period of time by amajority of persons.

Since Creative development and individual progress are dependent upon thought and voluntary mental activity, the laxity of concentration of this type today is truly alarm- ing.


Imperator.

We Invite Yo ur Questions

This Forum is not infallible. There aremany questions that are outside our province.However, there are numerous questions wecan answer that would quite possibly throwfurther light upon subjects of your Rosicru

cian studies, as well as help you in many ofyour personal affairs. We therefore solicityour questions for this Forum.

There are necessarily certain conditionswhich we ask you to kindly observe:

• The questions must be of a nature thatwill interest other members and readersof the Rosicrucian Forum besides yourself.

• The questions should not be of a naturewhereby the answers can easily be ob-tained from common sources, such aslegal advisers, realtors, bankers, etc.

• Try to relate your questions as much aspossible to mysticism, philosophy, metaphysics, psychology, and problems ofeveryday life so that they would interestothers as well.

Please understand that questions whichyou submit cannot be immediately answeredin the very next issue. Issues of the Rosicru

cian Forum must be prepared weeks in advance to meet printing schedules. Further,sometimes a perfectly proper and interestingquestion has to be held for two or more issuesbefore answering. This is due to the factthat it may have been recently answered andrather extensively. We do not want to repeatan answer frequently because repetition isuninteresting. In other words, if one issuecontains a rather extensive answer, for example, to a question conceming karma, wewould not like to write another immediatelyupon the same subject, even though the question were phrased differently. We prefer tohold such a question for perhaps three orfour months. However, such a delay onlyinfrequently occurs. If for any reason yourquestion is not acceptable to the Fomm, you

will be told.What questions do you like to have an

swered in the Rosicrucian Forum? We wishyour comments on those answers which particularly appeal to you. We also want yourconstructive criticisms. They will be helpfulto us, too. Of course, the fact that one personmay not like a particular answer does notmean that that subject should be eliminatedfrom the Forum; others may desire it. All ofus are not expected to like the same material. The Forum is a liberal publication inthe sense that it freely expresses knowledge,belief, and opinion regardless of whethersuch is contrary to traditional conception.

There are no special groups or opinions towhich we have to concede. You too can beequally as free in either concurring or takingissue with the answers.

The object of the Forum is to challengethought, convey information and to provideideas. Whether every article will necessarilyplease has to be a secondary consideration,if what is said should be said. Sometimes,as we all know, that which is a little disturb-ing and unconventional is very necessary forour growth intellectually and spiritually.

While we are on the topic of discourses,we would like to remind you that you canalso have spoken discourses by the Imperator,

Grand Lodge officers, and other officials hereat Rosicmcian Park. These are recorded onmagnetic tape at a speed of 7% words persecond. These tapes may be rented from theRosicmcian Technical Department, Rosicmcian Park, San José, California, U.S.A., forthe nominal sum of $1.50 each (sterling 11



AUGUST, 1959 Page 5

shillings). The tapes are returnable at special postal rates of 5 cents to 10 cents each,

and similar rates in foreign countries. Thetaped discourses are professionally recordedand run an average of 12 to 30 minutes intime.

It is suggested that you write, enclosingpostage stamps (foreign members providepostal coupon) to the Rosicrucian Technical Department and ask for a fr ee list of tape-recorded discourses that are available forrent. The time that a tape may be retained—possessed on one renting—is limited to oneweek. You will especially enjoy these spokenmessages in your home.—X

Awakening Cosmic Experience

A frater, addressing our Forum, says: “Inthe past we have often read in variousmedical journals and articles of the recentprogress in the field of brain surgery whereby certain areas of the sympathetic nervoussystem of the brain . . . when exposed tomild electric shocks or impulses, would makethe patient . . . relive certain past experiences in his life. Unlike hypnotism . . . thepatient in this case is in full possession ofhis senses and faculties. Would it be possiblefor one who has experienced Cosmic Consciousness or who has had similar psychicexperiences to relive these experiencesthrough the method described? Would he

gain further mystical insight or knowledgeof the Cosmic?”A recent very enlightening article, entitled

“The Interpretive Cortex,” appeared in a sci-entific journal. It explains that the deep con-volutions (folds) and fissures of the braincortex contain the millions of cells whichprovide the complex functions of what istermed the human mind. Neurological surgery has disclosed that there are areas ofthe brain where past consciousness may bereactivated by mild electrical stimulation.The author divided these areas into two cate-gories. One he termed experiential, andthe other, interpretive.

When the experiential areas were stimu-lated by the electrical current, the patient,who did not lose consciousness, would re-call some event of the past. The recollectionwould not be a generalization, as when werecall some event from memory. Rather, itwould be complete in all its details just as it

had been originally experienced. There is aconstant surging of electrical potentials, mi

nute currents, throughout the brain cortex. Itis theorized, for the function is not yet fullyunderstood, that experiences alter the patternof these potentials. The alteration is thenpreserved in the cells of certain areas wheresubsequent excitation will reactívate theoriginal pattern or experience.

Dr. Penfield, the author, gives numerouscase examples. We shall quote: “Th e patient, S. Be., observed, when the electrodetouched the temporal lobe (right superiortemporal convolution), ‘There was a pianoover there and someone playing. I couldhear the song, you know.’ When the cortexwas stimulated again, without warning, at

approximately the same point, the patienthad a different experience. He said, ‘Someone speaking to another, and he mentioneda ñame but I could not understand it . . . Itwas like a dream.’ ”

The other areas, responding to electrodesapplied to them and producing numerousimpressions, have been arbitrarily calledinterpretive because of the nature of the recall. In these responses, the individualwould interpret his surroundings and presentexperiences quite differently from what theywere in fact. It has also been theorized thattfyere is a possible co-ordination between theexperiential responses and the interpretive,the interpretive providing a relationship ofexperience to self and to the external world.

The interesting fact in connection withthis phenomenon is that an experience, thatis ordinarily beyond recall, can be reactivated in detail, that it is not lost. We mayspeculate that the ever-changing stream ofconsciousness, with its electrical potentials,may, in the usual recall, never quite againstimulate the original pattern of an experi-énce. But, when a current is applied to theseareas, the pattern is reformed. During suchapplying of electrical currents, the patientswere conscious but no pain was felt. In fact,they had no sensation of the touching of thecortex with the electrodes. It appears that

there is no sensation had in this corticalmatter.Now, what is Cosmic Consciousness and

the experiences which we attribute to it?We may assume that the Cosmic is a harmony of all phenomena which men designáteas physical, psychic, and spiritual. This, at




least, is the Rosicrucian conception. We mayalso say that this harmony is of a universal

consciousness or a spectrum of forces whichhas a self-order that is teleological or con-scious-like. All things are of it and in it. Thehuman consciousness, the whole organismof man, is a particular combination of theforces of this Cosmic. The stream of consciousness in man is, therefore, capable ofbeing responsive to more than the objectiveand subjective realms of mind. Man, ofcourse, is more aware of these subjectiveand objective octaves of consciousness be-cause his physical existence *has demandedthat he give them more attention. It is quiteprobable, however, that man in his earlyprimitive stage utilized what we now termextrasensory powers of perception. The subconscious aspect of the stream of consciousness in him perhaps functioned through other organs and glands which are now eitheratrophied, or partly so, and which protectedman while his reason was as yet unde-veloped.

Cosmic Consciousness, then, is the resortto the deeper levels of consciousness ordinarily not voluntarily used, and by which manperceives more of the whole or universalconsciousness. It is as though normally, withthe use of the objective faculties only, manis peering through a slit in a curtain at theaudience ( the world at large). His viewunder such circumstances would be obstruct-

ed and limited. Then, suddenly, he has themeans of pulling aside the whole curtain, ifbut for an instant. For that second, thereis revealed to him the whole theatre ofreality, the great spectrum of the Cosmicforces. He has then experienced CosmicConsciousness or, in other words, he has be-come conscious of the Cosmic.

But what imagery does this experience as-sume to the individual? To be realized, itmust have some quality or characteristicthat is relevant to our sense experiences. Ifthe nature of the Cosmic experience wereentirely unique in all its elements, the sensations which it produced would be inscrut-

able and ineffable. Therefore, the Cosmicexperience must have some parallelism tocommon experiences.

What the actual momentary realization ofthe unión of our human stream of consciousness with the Cosmic is like, we maynever know. The reason for this is that the

perception is had upon a higher—or deeperlevel of consciousness—which has its own

qualities of perception. There is, however,a transference or reduction of the impressions had to the lower order of consciousnessand these impressions are there interpretedin terms of our usual sense qualities and theimages which they assume in our objectivemind. Cosmic Consciousness may then beexperienced as an ecstatic state, a sublimefeeling of the unity of self with all existence,an extreme pleasure—but nevertheless a

pl easurable sensation. Often it is realized asa state of great passivity or peace, as if alldistress and anxiety were momentarily dis-pelled. Again, it may be an influx of greatpower. Generally, this Cosmic Consciousness is experienced as a kind of ataraxia,that is, a freedom from emotional disturb-ances—but yet it is feel ing .

Accompanying such sensations, CosmicConsciousness may also arouse visual images,as geometrical forms or bands of beautifulcolors seeming to pass before the screen ofconsciousness. Auditory images, as éxquisitemusic or song, may be heard in the flash ofthe Cosmic contact. The individual maythink of himself, at the moment of contact,as being the recipient of some charism, aspecial divine endowment with an influx ofgreat wisdom.

Simply put, this experience produces anharmonic in the lower order of consciousness,

in the subjective and objective octaves. Thereit is realized as an intense pleasing sensation, assuming an image which conforms tothe qualities of one or more of our senses.When one has a true Cosmic Consciousnessexperience, he never forgets it. He mayknow nothing of its nature; he may neverhave even heard the term. In fact, the individual may be an orthodox religionist. Ifso, he will perhaps refer to it as a revelationof God or an at-one-ness with Christ. Bud-dha, Mohammed, Krishna, or one of theavatars or founders of his faith. But thesource and nature of the experience is sounique, it can rarely, if ever, be forgotten.

To conclude, the question at point is, Canone have a Cosmic Consciousness experience which is not transferable to the objective consciousness? Further, could electricalstimuli, such as we have discussed, awakenthe memory of such contact so that it couldbe realized objectively? We can only the-



AUGUST, 1959 Page 7

orize upon this question. We presume thata Cosmic Consciousness experience is so po-

tent that it will always excite the spinalnervous system through the psychic glands.Consequently, it would then always providean experience, as explained, that one wouldobjectively realize. Conversely, however, itis possible that the psychic self, the higherorder of consciousness, has, in its own realm,experiences which may not stimulate thelower order of consciousness and man wouldnot then be aware of them. Such experiences, however, might probably register inthe ganglionic substance of the brain cortexin those areas termed experiential, to beawakened by gentle electrical stimulus.

At least this is a hypothesis that mystics

and neuro-surgeons collaborating might either substantiate or refute.—X


If we divide a person’s life into three parts—the early years, the middle years, and theclosing period—how unrelated they oftenappear as we look backward. In most instances there is little suggestion in the earlypart of our lives, in our activities or even inour expressed thoughts, of what life willeventually come to unfold for us. If ourlives were wholly motivated by our own willand effort, the connecting links from the be-ginning to the events that eventually follow

would be quite apparent. There is, however, an unanticipated current of circumstances, both beyond our precipitation orcontrol, which involves us. This currentoften compels us to change course, reorientourselves, and make such adaptions whicheven a most vivid imagination could not conceive in advance.

There was much in the early life of FraterGiuseppe Cassara, Jr., Grand Master,AMORC, Italy, that would in no way implya mystical pursuit on his part or the directionof an organization such as the Rosicrucians.Frater Cassara, born in Palermo, Italy, Oc-tober 2, 1921, traditionally was a Román

Catholic and as a boy grew up in the ortho-dox doctrine of that faith. He had an excel-lent education in primary and secondaryschools and a private mil itary academy. Healso completed four years of law at the University. He graduated with high honors,receiving a Doctorate in Law.

Between the age of 20 and 21 FraterCassara apparently contemplated a literary

career. Even at such a young age he became Co-director of the publication UAppel- lo. He also wrote for such daily journals asthe Giornale di Sicilia. There was still noindication of Frater Cassara’s latent mysticalaptitude. One of his first prominent writingsconcerned itself with his legal background,and was entitled “Fundamentáis in CriminalLaw.”

It seemed quite the natural and properthing that Frater Cassara would make lawhis life work. After all, his grandfather wasa lawyer and his father as well. He eventually carne to work in the law offices of hisgrandfather. After his father’s transition he

assumed the latter’s place in association withhis grandfather. Frater Cassara subsequently received the eminent honor of being ad-mitted to practice in the Supreme Court ofhis country. Because of success in his pro-fession he became one of the assistants ofItaly’s Vice President.

Frater Cassara was initiated into FreeMasonry—a courageous step in a predomi-nantly Román Catholic country. In Masonryhe contacted some liberal minds; one especially, who was a student of philosophy andmystical matters, became a personal friendof Frater Cassara and directed his attentionto AMORC. Thence, he crossed the threshold of the Rosicrucian Order. It constituted

the opening of a door revealing the vista ofa new world. Subjects and challenging questions which he had never previously enter-tained were now embraced by him.

Frater Cassara was further stimulated inhis Rosicrucian membership by contactingFrater Raymond Bernard, now Grand Master of AMORC, France, who was travelingin Italy. Frater Cassara then took an activepart in the rejuvenation of the RosicrucianOrder, AMORC, in Italy and in consolidatingits membership into a jurisdiction. He wasappointed Grand Master for Italy in 1956by the Imperator.

Frater Cassara is most ably assisted by

his wife, who holds the esteemed office ofGrand Secretary of AMORC, Italy and is anexcellent linguist. His legal profession re-quires Frater Cassara to travel extensivelythroughout Europe and South America. Hemakes a point of visiting the lodges of therespective countries. He, with the Grand




Master of France, Frater Bernard, and Mad-ame Bernard, visited the recently concluded

International Rosicrucian Convention in San José.In recent years, Frater Cassara has been

appointed a member of the National Com-mittee for Information on the EuropeanMarket. His quick mind and gracious manner have made him as well an ambassadorof good will for AMORC. Frater Cassara hasfive children, but notwithstanding his do-mestic, professional, and AMORC affairs, hestill has time to occasionally indulge hishobbies of swimming, reading, and writ-ing.-X

Sign of the Cross

A frater now rises to address our Forum:“What is the origin, significance, and meaning of the Sign of the Cross, as used in theRosicrucian rituals?”

It is really startling to find the commonignorance that prevails upon the part of thepopulace with regard to the origin of thecross and its varied meanings and usesthroughout the centuries. In the RosicrucianEgyptian, Oriental Museum in RosicrucianPark, in one of the galleries, there are various exhibits of ancient Egyptian jewelry.This is in the form of original necklaces,bracelets, and amulets worn by noble ladiesand princesses of thousands of years ago.

They are made of faience, ivory, alabaster,and obsidian. Many of these exquisite arricies include the Crux Ansata (looped cross)or Tau (T-shaped) cross. The explanatorycards describe the crosses authentically.However, frequently individuáis, of themultitudes visiting the museum, will challenge the description in this manner: “Howcould these be ancient Egyptian crosses?The cross carne into existence only with thebirth of Christianity.” Or they will say ineffect: “I thought there was only the Christian cross. How could the Egyptians haveone?”

All of this indicates how common usage or

adoption of a thing or custom creates anerroneous impression of its origin. The aver-age Christian, for example, would be verymuch amazed to find, in Hindú temples andTibetan lamaseries, religious accoutrements,symbols, devices, and practices which arequite similar to what he finds in his own

church—but preceding them in usage by centuries.

There are several dozen varieties of thecross! Perhaps the ancient Tau or T-crossused by the Egyptians and Phoenicians is theoldest. We have, for example, to ñame afew, the Crux Ansata, the Celtic, Greek,Maltese, Latin, variations of the Swastika,Lorraine* the monogram of Christ, as well as,of course, the Rosy Cross. In regard to theswastika, we must say that this is an ex-ceedingly ancient cross, used in variousforms in ancient India, and derivations oiwhich are found among the American In-dians. It was recently popularized as a per-verted and hated symbol of Nazi Germanv.Its original meaning was mystical and al-luded to cosmic motion or the universal Creative forcé. It was revered and, of course,never used in any tyrannical way or in con-nection with any political ideology.

The cross is perhaps one of the earliestsymbols devised by man to express a fundamental point of knowledge in a universalway by a simple form. In symbology thedot represents a point of beginning or creation. Since Creative being is active and notstatic, it extends itself. This extensión of thedot, then, is the line. Two parallel linescarne to represent two contraríes or onposingstates or conditions. They depicted man’srealization of the duality of nature as he conceived it—as, for example, light and dark.

male and female, day and night, wet anddry, good and evil, and so on. For everypositive state, man carne to recognize a possible opposite polarity or contrary.

In the religious concepts of early man,these contraries were often in conflict witheach other but also they could be wed orunited. This merging of the opposites issymbolized by the unity of two separatelines. Perhaps the commonest unity was the“X,” though the Tau cross (T) was likewiseanother versión of such combination. Experience disclosed to ancient observers andthinkers that, when dual or opposite forceswere united, a new single state or condition

became manifest. It was then accepted thatmany unitary things are but a composite oftwo conditions or elements of unlike nature.The point of contact or Crossing of the twoseparate lines, therefore, depicted manifestation, the coming forth of a new substanceor condition.



AUSUST, 1959 Page 9

The point of creation or manifestation in across was symbolized by a design at the cen-

ter of the cross. At first it was a flower, merepetáis, not representing any particular kind.At other times it was a geometrical symbolas an oval or a circle. The Crux Ansata

fis , in fact, a combination of the Taucross with a loop above. To the ancient Egyptian it symbolized immortality or eternal life. It has also beenreferred to as a phallic symbol, that is,

a sex symbol. Though it can be construed assuch, the sex connotation would only havereference to the law of life and creationwhich was venerated by the mystery schoolsand not promulgated in a vulgar sense.

Each of the various forms of the cross has

a different meaning, mystical, religious,philosophical, or as a heraldic design. Theseheraldic symbols were used in armorial de-signs by knights and kings, often having amundane significance. The Christian cross,as commonly used, is a form of cross em-ployed by the Romans for the execution ofprisoners, that is, for crucifixión. This formof capital punishment had existed long before the time of Christ. In fact, as Dr. H.Spencer Lewis explains, one must not over-look the fact that other persons besides Jesús were being executed on similar crossesat the same time. It was because JesúsChrist was sacrificed in this manner thatChristianity adopted that particular kind of

cross as its symbol. It is quite possible that,had Christ been executed in some other manner, then the device used would have alsobecome a sacrosanct symbol.

To the Hermetic philosophers and mysticsof ancient times, the cross had for long another meaning. It is a meaning, though,which in part parallels certain aspects of theChristian symbolism of the cross. To theHermetic philosophers and mystics the crossdepicts the physical, material substance ofman, the body. It represents the hardships,tribulations, and suffering which this physi-cal aspect of man’s dual nature enduresthroughout life. Transfixed upon the cross

at the point of unity of its lines is the rose.To Rosicrucians, the rose alludes to man’ssoul-personality in the process of unfold-ment. It is always depicted as a partially unfolded rose. As the rose receives morelight (understanding) it opens wider, re-vealing its beauty and exuding its fragrance

or inner grandeur. The refinement of thecross, its polishing in contact with the vicis-

situdes of life, contributes to the unfoldmentof the rose. We interpret this as meaningthat, as man learns from his experiences incontact with the laws of life, often throughpain and suffering, his consciousness evolves.This evolution is expressed in a more spirit-ual personality and understanding, depictedby the rose.

The ancient mystics, Hermetically, referred to the cross by the use of the Latinword lux , which means light. The ancient Uin lux was written like the V and helped tosymbolize the cross physically as well as eso-terically. The word rose in earlier referenceworks is said to have its root in the word

dew. To the alchemist the rose and dew weresymbolically united. The alchemist useddew in early experiments as representingpuré water and particularly a kind of Cosmic effulgence. The dew on a rose is like-wise thought to bring forth its fragrancewith greater intensity. Consequently, therose represented dew or a Cosmic efficácycentered in the cross (that is, within man’sbody).

From these brief explanations about thecross, it should be apparent why the Signof the Cross, as a symbolical gesture, playssuch a prominent part in Rosicrucian rituals.In making the Sign of the Cross, Rosicrucianmasters, officers, and members are thus everreminded of the Cosmic laws and mysticalprincipies embodied in the symbol. Of thissign, the Rosicrucian Manual says in part:“It is used by masters, officers, and memberswhen taking or indicating a solemn obliga-tion to the Order or its members. It shouldnever be supplanted by any form of pledge.. . . The sign thus made is the most sacredand binding of any, for it calis upon themaker to tell the truth, regardless of all costsand all consequences, mindful of the Terrorof the Threshold and the waming of yourconscience.”

The Manual further delineates the specialmanner in which the Sign of the Crossshould be made and states: “It should bemade slowly and with dignity and sincerereverence. It represents the Obligation andOath taken by all Initiates at the time of theFirst Degree Initiation and at other times inceremonies and convocations.”—X




Social Service and Karma

A soror of Cañada rises to address ourForum: “I am a social worker in an agencywhich deais with children and families andam wondering if there is danger of ourworking at cross purposes with the Law ofKarma. Our work is humanitarian and basedon concepts of service. But might we, insome of the assistance offered and some ofthe planning done for people, even with thebest intentions, sometimes hinder their souldevelopment and realization by contraveningsome of the disciplines which life couldbring to bear upon them? Today our thinking is directed more and more to givinggreater and greater social service. Is it notpossible to carry this too far?”

The soror’s interesting questions can besummarized as, “To what extent am I mybrother’s keeper?” To rob one of his inde-pendence, of his self-reliance, and the em-ployment of his native abilities would be amoral and social crime. Certainly the onedoing so, notwithstanding the intention ofservice, would incur karma as well as affect-ing the karma of the recipient. The acts ofthese well meaning persons, regardless ofmotive, could be at times a serious interven-tion in another’s pursuit of life.

Social service requires an understandingof the basic nature of society. Society iscomplex. It consists of human interdepend-

ence. It is almost impossible in modern society for one to subsist entirely by his ownefforts. Especially is this so when one hasbeen conditioned to accept certain standardsof living as being essential. So related, asa matrix, are the elements of society that aserious deficiency or need upon any part ofit is reflected in the lack of euphoria of itsother members. The intelligent member ofsociety realizes that, for personal survivaland a guárantee of his manner of living, heis obliged to maintain a certain status quoin society.

Economic, health, moral or political up-heavals are inescapable. Every member of

society will be affected by them to some degree. No man or woman can live entirelyunto himself. He is obliged to give to someextent of himself, either in property, knowledge or service to his fellowmen. This is apragmatic requirement. Of course, it is niceto think of it as a voluntary charitable im

pulse. But even without such impulses, suchservice will need to be imposed by the state,

as we find it being increasingly done in thesocialized trend today. It can be said thatwere there more of the unselfish humanitarian motivation on the part of the individual there would need be less of theannoying and often offensive compulsorypower of the state in enforcing social cooper-ation and welfare.

Each individual of society must definitelybe, in relation to every other person, both arecipient of aid and a dispenser of it in someform of service. Emergencies and crises arisein the lives of individuáis at times that prevent them from contributing in any way tosociety. Such persons become dependents

for various lengths of time. Social serviceis designed to particularly assist such un-fortunate persons during their period of distress.

But human nature is often inclined toward indolence and is basically concernedwith self. It is, therefore, easy to acquire thehabit of being a receiver only. Conversely,giving in any form, though it may have itsmoral and other compensations, as a ruleexacts more effort and the sacrifice at timesis not pleasurable. The recipients often begin to assume that the help they receive isa right for which they need make no compensation. However, they may be shrewdenough to veil from the social worker their

true feelings. The continued assistance theyreceive, when not actually justified, weakenstheir character. They are not inclined toresist obstacles or to endeavor to find waysand means of surmounting them. They cometo look upon the success or well-being ofothers as luck or good fortune which theymust share with them. They do not realizethe efforts put forth by others to maintaintheir place in society. Whenever some situation arises which disturbs their equanimity,they immediately appeal for assistance. Thiscontinúes until the receiver becomes a para-site upon society and even profanes by dis-use his own divine Creative power and

faculties.The mental, physical, and economic stateof such parasitic individuáis is often patheticto behold. They will elicit the sympathy ofsocial workers and cause them to cióse theireyes figuratively to other factors and to continué the assistance. The social worker,



AUGUST, 1959 Page II

however, in doing this is definitely interfer-ing with the karma of such individuáis.They must, as the soror aptly puts it, come toknow the discipline which life would bringto bear upon them if they were left to theirown resources. Such individuáis really needto suffer a while, to be deprived, to be required to plan, work, and strive in their ownbehalf. They must come to learn the sacri-fice that goes with the giving of those thingswhich they so readily and unappreciativelyaccept.

A golden rule to go by in social service,which assures that there is no contraveningof the karma of another, is to help those whofirst help themselves. It is not difficult todetermine those who are really temporarilyor permanently helpless. The attitude of the

person can easily be probed in questioning.Children are sometimes helpless victims ofadults who use them as tools to exact theassistance of social service. The child, ofcourse, must not be made to pay the penaltyof the discipline of adults, but parents whocould do more for their children must becompelled to do so. To do things for theparents that they themselves should do iskarmically weakening their character. Theyoung child may soon become aware of thefawning disposition of its parents and cometo acquire it as an ideal or habit in life. Thusmisplaced charity or social service can seri-ously iniure the character of the young

person.—X

Theory of Ghosts

A Frater asks our Forum: “What explanation does the Rosicrucian Order make for thestill prevalent belief in ghosts?”

This is a subject which is integrated withthe religious beliefs of some, and consequently can become quite controversia!.Since most religions are founded upon faith,a discussion which may tend to cast a shadowof doubt upon a particular faith may seemoffensive to some. However, as Rosicrucians,professing an open mind and a desire for

truth, we are certain they will consider thesubject as being dispassionately presentedhere.

There is commonly an interchange between the words spirit and ghost; actually,there is a specific distinction between thetwo. Originally, the word spirit carne from

the same etymological source as breath andbreathing. With the ancient Greeks andRomans, pneuma , or breath, contained thevital forcé, the very consciousness that gaveself-awareness to the individual. In fact,breath and soul were thought to be synonymous. This conception is quite comprehen-sible because with death breathing ceased,and with it those qualities that make for lifeand personality. Therefore, the intangible,invisible characteristics of man’s nature, theother aspects of his assumed duality wererelated to breath and were subsequentlytermed spirit.

With the passing of time, spirit carne torepresent a higher order of manifestation,as the essence or personality of the gods or adivine efíicacy. The word, ghost, on the

other hand, in the vulgar sense had referenceonly to the disembodied spirit of man. Theghost did not always necessarily mean thesoul of the individual, but rather the psychicbody or counterpart of the physical one anddetached from it.

In psychological terminology and in therealm of psychic research, ghosts are re-ferred to as apparitions. Commonly, suchapparitions are thought to represent thespirit of a departed person. It is assumedthat such apparitions are capable of becom-ing objective to the extent of affecting thereceptor senses; in other words, that theycan become visible, heard or felt.

Since time immemorial, individuáis andgroups of persons have related experiencingapparitions or phantoms. Such reports, however, do not necessarily constitute evidenceof their existence. There have been throughout history many examples of mass decep-tions upon the part of people—deceptionswhich were later disclosed by serious andunemotional investigations. At one time allinsane persons were believed to be possessedof devils or demons. In the Middle Agespersons testified that others were lycan-thropes, that is, werewolves, and that theyhad seen them being transformed from human to beast. Only careful investigationrevealed that hysteria and ignorance ac-counted for such false testimony.

The superstitious person who has strongconvictions about ghosts can easily be de-ceived by the illusions, for example, of badlighting. They will not attempt to investígate what seems to confirm their superstí-




tions. The manner in which the light of themoon may pass through the foliage of trees

in a forest will cause shadows to form on theground so as to give rise to many weirdshapes. What has been reported as theghosts of oíd men, women, and monstershave often been found to be but the shadowsof brush, trees or rocks highlighted by thelight of the moon.

There is hardly a person who has not,upon awakening at night, been startled bywhat seemed to be a figure standing or seat-ed in the córner of his room, or framedagainst a door or window. By courageouslyadvancing to the apparition, it would befound to be the result of clothes lying acrossa chair or an object of furniture casting ashadow so as to suggest a form to the imagination.

As an example of these illusions account-ing for many “experiences” with ghoststhere is the classical account by Sir WalterScott. Byron, the famous poet, had just recently passed through transition. Accordingto Sir Walter Scott, he awoke to see whatappeared to be a very clear apparition ofByron standing and facing him. The vivid-ness and cióse resemblance to the recentlydeceased Byron was remarkable. Sir Walterrelates that he willed himself to approachthe phantom. He then discovered that itwas an illusion caused by “certain plaidsand a cloak hanging in the hall at Abbots-

ford.”What boy who has had to walk alonealong a road passing a cemetery at night hasnot seen “white things” fluttering or “darkthings” darting among the tombstones? Cour-ageous investigation would reveal newspapers blowing about, or the moving boughsof a tree causing a shadow to intermittentlyfail upon a white tombstone. The fear hehad of the cemetery, a fear rooted in thebelief that ghosts were there, would makethe lad susceptible to the illusions and to thehallucinations.

The seeing of ghosts is often the result ofhallucinations which may be pathologically

caused. A morbid condition of the brain, ofthe nervous system and certain emotionaldisorders may cause the hallucination ofperceiving something which has reality tothe unfortunate person only. Such an individual obviously cannot be convinced that healone had the experience because it was as

real to him as anything else he perceived.Many of the so-called theophanic or re

ligious experiences of seeing saints andangels are definitely pathological in nature.Alcoholism and drugs may cause such a

disassociation of the subconscious mind fromthe conscious mind that the images seen, feltor heard have absolute reality to the afflictedperson. This disassociation can likewise occur during sleep. When one awakens froma sound sleep he may not at first be able todistinguish between lingering dream impressions and what he objectively perceives orhears. A temporary hallucinatory state maybe established wherein there is an inter-mingling of the dream impressions and thoseexternally experienced. A nightmare maycarry its emotional effects over to the wak-ing state so that in a darkened room one hasthe hallucination of seeing objects wherenone exist—or of hearing them.

There are what is known as apparitions o f the living. This phenomenon has often beenverified by persons of good health and notthose given to superstitions. This experience consists, for example, of seeing thephantom of a known person, even in broaddaylight, walking by or entering a house orroom, in a most natural manner. In fact, theobserver at the time may not even think ofit as being an apparition but only discover-ing that it is so later.

Individuáis have seen a living relative

walk along a hallway and cióse a door, exit-ing into the Street. Later, the observer wouldquestion the relative, saying that they hadnot heard them enter the house but saw themlea ve. The relative would reply that he hadnot been in the house at the time but, infact, had been some distance away with other persons. Subsequent verification did provethat such was the case.

The records of psychical research societiesare replete with such cases of apparitions ofthe living which they term bilocation. Theseapparitions are apparently what mysticismcalis psychic projection . The consciousnessof the individual, the psychic self, is pro-

jected in such a manner that it can objectively affect the senses of another or othersso that they perceive the image of theindividual. This is not a supematural phenomenon but rather a supernormal one. Letus look at the matter from a wholly logicaland practical point of view. If it be as-




sumed that mental telepathy consists of thetransference of an energy, of electromagnetic

waves, which can establish by activatingcertain areas of the brain of another, impressions that compose words, why then cannot such waves induce visual images, aswell?

Let us put the subject in this way. If aneffusion of such a mysterious mental energycan create words in the consciousness of another, then it should be able to producevisual images in a hyperesthetic person aswell. Suppose one unconsciously mentallyrelives the experience of walking down afamiliar hall of a relative’s home and leav-ing from the front door. Instead of histhoughts creating a word picture in the mindof a sensitive person, there would instead bethe mental picture of the act? There wouldperhaps be that momentary detachment ofthe conscious state from the subconscious ofthe receiver so that he would experience theimage as if he were actually, objectively ohserving it.

We know that detachment in cases of highfever, alcoholism, and the use of drugs,makes it impossible for the afflicted personto distinguish between reality and hallucina-tion. Is it not' probable that in the transference of thought under certain conditions thatthis detachment may occur so that the re-ception has every appearance of reality?

The apparitions of dying, persons have

been noted and the circumstances of thedeath verified that which was observed. Acase reported states that a woman saw anapparition of her brother seriously woundedand dying while mounted on a cavalry horse.She was greatly distressed by the experience.Other relatives tried to reassure her by ex-plaining that the distant brother was, in fact,in the infantry and had never been in thecavalry, and that therefore her experiencewas a mere hallucination without fact. Sub-sequently, it was revealed, however, thatthere had been a mutiny in the infantrybattalion in which the brother had beenserving. He and others, unbeknown to the

family, had recently been transferred to thecavalry, and he had been shot and killedwhile serving in that capacity. The eventoccurred on the day and comparative timethat the sister saw the apparition.

These kinds of apparitions are best explained on the premise of being telepathic

Communications. It has been found that this phenomenon occurs at times when a great

crisis or emergency confronts the sender. Thetremendous emotional Ímpetus of the event seems to provide the stimulus for the transmission of the energy or forcé. It usually occurs where there is a strong emotional bond between the receiver and the sender.

The dominant question here is: does thepersonality of the departed, the self-con-sciousness survive death? Further, does itacquire the power of telekinesis, that is, theability to move material objects and to ma-terialize itself so as to be perceived by thesenses of mortals? For belief in the spiritsof the dead re-appearing, one must have twodefinite concepts:

(a) the belief in the immortality of self,the sur vival of the personality after death.It must be thought that the soul and self, orpersonality, are synonymous. For such aconception as this, the soul must be thoughtto be anthropomorphic, that is, that it as-sumes the form and personality of the livingperson. It also must be believed that theself, or personality, has no direct dependenceupon the physical organism, that it is buta kind of substance which the body, as ashell, contains and which death releases. Allstudents of mysticism and philosophy willnot accept such a view in its entirety, however.

(b) It is also necessary for a belief in apparitions of the dead that one believe thatthe self or soul manifest itself, at will, insuch material substances or forces as to beseen, heard or felt by mortals.

Those who do not subscribe to such a belief have nevertheless experienced strangepsychic phenomena. But they will not concede that such was actually the apparitionof a departed person. These dissidents willtake the position that if this phenomenonwere a natural function of the disembodiedpersonality, then the experience should not be a rare one because millions of people, bythe bond of love for those who have departed, would, it would seem, be able to experience the personality of the deceased brother,wife, mother, son, etc. Certainly, they mayargüe, a far greater proportion of personswould have the experience of seeing the apparitions of the departed than the relativelyfew who profess to having done so.




It may further be argued that if the soulis functional and not substantiative, then the

personality of the deceased could not materialize itself after death. In other words,presumed that the vital life forcé has withinit a Cosmic or universal intelligence whichdirects its functioning in an organism; thislife forcé when infused in matter gives riseto the individual consciousness. The organism gradually develops until it acquires thestate of becoming aware of itself. It acquiresa self-consciousness. This, in turn, has be-come so highly developed in men that theyrefer to it as the inner self or soul. Soul is,then, a manifestation, but a fun ctio n ratherthan a substance or thing which has beenimplanted within the individual. The essence of the soul, one of its two causes, thevital life forcé, is part of the whole spectrumof Cosmic energy.

Further presuming, at death this vitalessence of life departs. The energy of matterand that which causes life are then returnedto the universal forces of which they area part. The individual personality, which isthe result of the composite of these two, dis-appears just as musical notes, for analogy,cease when the fingers no longer play uponthe strings of the lyre. We repeat, the Cosmic forces which brought the Soul-Person-ality into expression are never cosmicallylost, but the result of their unity ceases to beas man knows it when death occurs. Now,

this conception is held by many mystics andmetaphysical thinkers and such personscould not indulge belief in apparitions of thedead any more than they could think ofmusic continuing as detached from the in-strument and the player.

Further, if souls are deposited in bodiesas detached substances and after death areliberated again to be detached substances andto manifest to the living, why then do theynot do so before birth? Or, is the soul afterdeath, after residence in the body, quite un-like that which entered the body at birth?This question is a matter of doctrine andphilosophy which most believers in ghosts

do not attempt to answer.Psychical research, admitting that thereis much yet that is unsolved mystery in therealm of the psychic, has found that hallucination plays the most prominent part in“seeing ghosts.” Persons emotionally dis-turbed by the loss of a loved one and griev-

ing can often project from their ownsubconscious an image of the loved one into

their conscious mind, and it is so detachedas to have the realism of being objectivelyexperienced. Even other persons can be induced through mass suggestion or hypnoticinfluence to imagine that they, too, experience the phantom.

These comments are in no way intended as being conclusive in relation to this subject but rather they present current theories, doctrines and vieWpoints pro and con.—X

Should Rosicrucians Go to Church?

This question is prompted by a questionthat occurred in an open forum at a recent

Rosicrucian Convention. The question askedwas, “Is it wrong for a Rosicrucian to attendthe Catholic Church?” Whether or not anindividual wishes to attend any church isnot a question of right or wrong.

Recently I wrote conceming the standardsof measurements of an individual^ development, and at that time I was thinking interms of the fact that, as Rosicrucians, it isvery difficult for us to categorically state inregard to every single incident of our liveswhether a thing is right or wrong. I believethere are activities and events that may beright for one person that are wrong for another. That is, outside of certain principiesof human dignity and of the principie thatour lives are necessarily social and consequently what we do may affect another individual, that there is no right or wrongwhen the decisión involved does not affectthe welfare of another person.

It is obviously important that Rosicruciansas well as anyone else conform to socialpractices that have been found reasonableand purposeful in human society. I meanby that that theft, murder, destruction ofother people’s property, interference withother people’s lives are definitely wrong be-cause we are attempting to partake of otherpeople’s efforts and not giving the same con-sideration to the rights of another individualas we expect for ourselves. That is why human society has established laws whichregúlate an individual. In other words, anindividual cannot carry a gun with him,shooting at anything or anyone he wants to

just because he thinks he would like to do so.




It is, of course, very difficult to draw a linewhere it is necessary to distinguish between

what is morally wrong and morally right,but in my estimation, there are many deci-sions that we have to make in life that neednot be classified in the categories of rightor wrong except as they apply to each of usas individuáis.

If an individual wants to affiliate with theCatholic Church, for example, and he believes conscientiously in its tenets, he findssatisfaction and enjoyment in participatingin its activities, then it is not wrong. In fact,it is right for him to do so. But since I donot believe in the same way he would haveto believe in order to adjust to such an affiliation, neither is it wrong that I should abstainfrom affiliating with the Catholic Church.This does not mean that the Catholic Churchis either right or wrong, but it does meanthat it may fill the spiritual needs of certainindividuáis, and certainly they are entitledto have those needs filled or have their livesmade more purposeful by participating inthe fulfillment of those needs as furnishedthrough that channel.

To make this consideration broader as towhether a Rosicrucian should attend anychurch or not, the same argument applies.I personally know Rosicrucians who are de-voted, conscientious, sincere, and activechurch members. They are proud of whatthey are doing. They benefit themselves and

many who associate with them by what theydo. In other words, by being church members, they are right, but it is quite possiblethat for me the same choice would be wrong.It is my opinion that I would not gain agreat deal, neither would I contribute to thewelfare of anyone else by attending church.Therefore, to me, it would be a rather use-less gesture. When I have attended church,it has usually been to satisfy the wishes ofsomeone else, or when I was very young, itwas to satisfy the command of someone else.

The question here goes deeper than theright or wrong of Rosicrucians affiliatingwith established religions, or, if we wish to

broaden this, with other fraternal orders,societies, groups of any nature. Any move-ment that is ethically, morally, and sociallyupright and of worthy purpose deserves thesupport of those interested in the aims andpurposes of the movement, institution, organization or group. If a Rosicrucian wishes

to affiliate with such a group, then that ishis option. There is only one requirement

that I would say should be placed upon theRosicrucian, or rather we might say an obligation. The Rosicrucian should be sincere.He should comply with his convictions. Heshould not affiliate with any group merelyfor prestige or for the purpose, as we frequently say, of “keeping up with the Jones’.”

His affiliation should be because he feelsthat it provides an avenue for his own expression and an avenue for him to grow ashe thinks he should. If the environment ofany society produces this advantage, thenmost decidedly the Rosicrucian who feelsthat benefit is to be found in affiliation, forhim such affiliation is right.—A

Visits and Appointments

Rosicrucian Park is a most attractive place.It was designed to be such. Its landscaping,shrubs, flowers, trees, and spacious lawns areliving symbols of the harmony of naturewhich constitutes a basic study of the Rosicrucian teachings. The Egyptian and Oriental architectural design of the buildingsand the Oriental motif of their decor has anexotic appeal. Though Rosicrucian Park islocated in a thriving section of the city ofSan José, yet there is an air of tranquilityabout it that is immediately evident to thosewho stroll its walks and sit in its shady

nooks.Over 115,000 persons a year visit Rosicru

cian Park and its Egyptian Museum, Plane-tarium and Science Museum! These visitorsare from every nation on this side of theIron Curtain—and include some refugeesfrom captive nations. It is not unusual forthe day to include visitors from Nigeria,New Zealand, Egypt, Cañada, England,Venezuela, México, and South Africa, aswell as from points throughout the UnitedStates. These visitors have heard of theRosicrucian Order and its museums throughliterature they have read or from the com-ments of friends. They are either traveling

in the vicinity and include Rosicrucian Parkin their itinerary, or have especially goneout of their way to spend an hour or twowalking about the grounds and inspecting itsfacilities.

Non-members, the traveling public, constitute the greatest number of visitors to




Rosicrucian Park. They are eligible to visitonly the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum withits renowned collections for which there isno charge, and the Science Museum andPlanetarium. They, of course, are not grant-ed admittance to the Supreme Temple. Theyare permitted, however, in the Administra-tion building if they have business of somenature with the Order. The public are given free literature in the Museum and anyquestions they ask are graciously answeredby the Curator or by the hostesses. Thecourtesy extended the public, college, andschool groups visiting our Museums is evi-denced by the letters of appreciation whichare received from them by the Curator orwhich they address to the Rosicrucian Order.

The number of visitors to Rosicrucian

Park does include, of course, several thousand Rosicrucian members annually. TheRosicrucian member when arriving at Rosicrucian Park is invited by instructions onthe sign posts in front of the various build-ings to visit the Museum. At the main deskin the Museum is a Rosicrucian Staff Official.If the member wishes to go through the Ad-ministration building, and particularly tovisit the Supreme Temple, that is his membership privilege (Saturdays, Sundays, andholidays éxcepted). He is expected to re-quest that, however. A hostess is then calledif the member expresses the desire to visitthe other buildings, and he or she is taken

on a guided tour of the principal administra-tion offices and is given the opportunity tosee the various departments of AMORC inoperation.

In addition, every member has the opportunity to have a brief interview with eitheran officer of the Order or one of its officialdepartment heads. These department headsare known to members by the correspondence they have with them. However—andthis is important—an. interview with any specific officer can only be secured by appoint-ments made in advance. For example, if amember, whether he has come from halfway around the world or just around thecórner, cpmes to the reception room of theAdministration building without an appoint-ment, he may not be able to see the particular officer he wishes at thát time. Thatmay be because that officer is working on apre-arranged, important matter that he cannot interrupt; his work would be important

and in the interests of the Order—whichmeans the thousands of other members whoare not at Rosicrucian Park at the time. But,

the visiting member will be given an interview with any other officer or departmenthead who is then available. No member isever deprived of the opportunity to contactsome staff official.

If you wish to speak to a specific officeronly, and if you do not want to be disap-pointed, make an appointment in advanceby letter. Do not take the chance of comingto Rosicrucian Park and finding that theparticular frater is out of town, or is en-gaged in previously-planned work whichcannot be interrupted at the time. It mustbe realized by the Rosicrucian members thatif officers were to see every member who

dropped in and asked for them daily, theywould have little time for anything exceptbeing á reception committee. How, then,would they prepare lectures, monographs, doresearch work, write articles, answer the letters of other members, and serve the thousands of students in various ways?

By making an appointment in advance,a time is set aside for you. Even in suchcases, an appointment, for emergency rea-sons, may need to be transferred to anotherfully qualified officer who will gladly interview you.

The Rosicrucian member should not askfor appointments on Saturdays, Sundays,

holidays or after 5:00 p.m., because suchcannot be granted. The officers and staffofficials do not always completely termínatetheir daily work when they leave the Administration building in the evening. Theyoften have to take part in Convocations inthe evening in the Temple, or give lectures,or write material for one or more of theRosicrucian publications in the quiet of theirhomes. Further, you will agree that, as human beings, they have a right to some personal life, some hours for rest, recreation,and personal affairs. They cannot, therefore,accept interviews at their homes. All ofthese things are in accord with system andorder , which is one of the basic principies of

our Rosicrucian teachings.Some members arrange to visit Rosicru

cian Park on a Sunday or a holiday becauseit is convenient for them, because they arenot working at such times. On many of thesedays they will find the Rosicrucian Museums




and Planetarium open, at least in the after-noons. But please do not expect to find the

Administration building open and the Staffat their desks; they, too, must have theirSunday and holidays with their families.

You are welcome to visit RosicrucianPark, but please remember the followingpoints of information so that you will derivethe most benefit from your visit:

(a) The Administration building —opendaily, 9:0 0 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Satur-days, Sundays, and holidays except-ed).

(b) The Rosicrucian Egyptian, OrientalMuseum — open daily, M ondaythrough Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00p.m.; Saturday afternoon, 1:00 p.m.

to 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5:00p.m.(c) Rosicrucian Planetarium and Science

Museum—open Wednesday and Sunday aftemoons, from 1:00 p.m. to5:00 p.m. Theatre of the Sky lectures at 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

(d) The Supreme Temple—open to activemembers upon presentation of cre-dentials, Monday through Friday,9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Convocationsare held in the Temple Tuesday eve-nings at 7:30 p.m. from October 1 toMay 15 each year.)

(e) Appointments desired with a particular officer must be made in writing inadvance. (No appointments Satur-days, Sundays, holidays or evenings.)Rosicrucian members who come onthe week days without appointmentwill always have the opportünity ofseeing some officer or official of theRosicrucian Order that is avail-able.-X

Are You a Thinker?

There seems to be an error of judgmenton the part of some people as to exactlywhat constitutes thinking. I am not referringto thinking in the sense of a psychological

process, but rather I make reference to thecontení of consciousness which we normallyconsider as being our thinking process. Thisprocess includes the ideas and concepts thattake place in consciousness and toward whichwe direct the state of awareness that constitutes our objective being at any particular

moment. To define thinking as a processfrom a technical or a physiological point of

view is to become involved in many linesof thoughts and opinions which are beyondthe scope of this consideration.

At any particular moment, the normalconsciousness has, in addition to a State ofawareness of being, a composite collection ofideas, thoughts, concepts, or perceptions thatare seemingly accumulated and existing ina point which we cali consciousness. Theconsciousness or thinking of the moment ofany individual, that is, that point towardwhich attention in consciousness is directed,differs from time to time based upon thepoint of view, the knowledge, and experienceof the individual. The collection of ideas as

a procedure of thinking is a process thatmakes it possible for us to learn. If the human mind was not capable of collecting andretaining ideas, man would exist even at alower level than some of the lower forms oflife, because he would never be able to caliupon conscious experience or memory tohelp him meet a situation that existed atany particular time.

In other words, without the thinking process in consciousness, all experience would benew. There would be no retention of knowledge and prior experience by which mancould develop habits and be able to functionon the basis of what he has experienced before. Therefore, insofar as it helps us tolearn, the thinking process is, of course, thefundamental basis upon which education ismade possible. Without the thinking process,we would be in a much less civilized statethan we believe ourselves to be at the present time.

There is, however, one drawback to thisconcept of education and development of thehuman being based primarily on an accumu-lation of knowledge and experience. Whileretention of knowledge and experience ismost important, it is not the total functionof thinking or of conscious existence. Theemphasis placed upon education in moderncivilized countries has also directly or in-

directly influenced the concept of the ac-cumulation of information and knowledge.This idea was brought to popular atten

tion in recent years when there developed aseries of programs, presented as entertainment on radio and televisión, which consisted mainly in the asking and answering




of questions. These presentations becameknown as “quiz programs” and for a while

had a tremendous following. Exactly whatcaused people to be so interested in theseprograms is difficult to define, except thathuman beings like to see other human beingsin situations that cause them to be affectedor taken by surprise by the circumstancesin their environment. Everybody waits tosee what the question is that is to be givento the contestant, with the mixed hope thatthe contestant will fail or succeed. The emotional response of the viewer of the pro-gram will be similar to that of the contestant, and as a result of this vicariousparticipation, the average individual seemsto enjoy the proceedings. Of course, thewhole program is also associated with thehope for reward, the gaining of somethingfor nothing.

The appeal to the viewer of a program ofthis nature is a very complex psychologicalsituation to analyze. Exactly why peopleliked the so-called “quiz programs” beyondthese observations is most difficult to define.The fact that they did not last, but now areless prominent than before, shows also thatthe thinking that went into the analysis andthe thinking that took place on the part ofindividuáis who watch the programs wasmore or less a passing fancy that did nothave stability or endurance. If i t had, theidea would have lasted longer.

These programs have, in a popular sense,however, carried out the idea to which Ireferred earlier, that is, the confusion ofeducation and the ability to think contrastedwith the ability to retain knowledge. Theindividual who was a Champion on one ofthese programs had an extraordinary abilityto retain knowledge; but one may ask: Ifthe individuáis in the past who have madegreat achievements had done nothing butretain knowledge, would they have been ableto accomplish anything? If those men whohave brought about the great inventions ofthe present era had been cramming themselves with information to be able to act as

a living encyclopedia, would they have attained the place they have in science throughtheir inventions? Or, as I read recently, i fColumbus had been a “quiz Champion,” hemay never have had time to discover America. He would have had his consciousnesstoo full of words and facts about the things

that already existed. In other words, his information would have been encyclopedic.

It would have been about a flat world. Hecould have told all that existed in that flatworld, but he would never have had time tothink about the possibility of a round one.

So an individual who is simply accumu-lating facts is too busy accumulating factsthat already exist and remembering wordsand thoughts of others, things that he hasmemorized about conditions, incidents, orevents that already exist. What he thinkshimself can have no particular lasting valuésimply because he is repeating what alreadyis known.

To burden the memory with too manyfacts is to weaken judgment and to discour-age constructive and Creative thought. Whenwe absorb knowledge by reflection and bythe application of experience, such knowledge becomes a part of our mental processes.We are able to cali it forth when the mindneeds to bring the ability of consciousnessto direct judgment and decisión in terms ofproblems that exist at the present time.

Merely to have a good memory is sometimes of very little use. The memory of allthe incidents that have ever occurred in thehistory of the human race would not solvea problem by an individual faced with asituation that has not existed before. Greatmen, some of the greatest philosophers ofall times, are often referred to jokingly as

being absent-minded. They could not remember simple facts. Benjamin Franklin,one of our great thinkers, particularly madeit a habit not to clutter his mind with factsthat were readily available. Wh y memorizeall the facts in the encyclopedia when youwill only want one at a time, and the encyclopedia is at least as near as a libraryor possibly within your reach. A measureof education is not based upon man beingable to accumulate facts, but by how he canuse facts and experience.

All this is indicative of the fact that manhas a consciousness and a mind which canand should be used. Memory is very im

portant, but its position or place in consciousness should not be over-emphasizedand used to the exclusión of all else. Thegreatest potential that exists for the humanbeing is the potential of Creative thought;that is, thought that is an assembling ofprevious knowledge as well as the directing




of the inner ability of man’s consciousnesson a problem.

We are taught in our earliest degrees thatconcentration is a tool that makes it possiblefor us to utilize the full potentialities ofthe mind. Through concentration, we domore than simply redevelop in consciousnessthe memory of incidents or facts that wehave learned in the past. We bring our ob

jective consciousness into a sympathetic anda coordinate relationship with the inner self,the subjective consciousness, the mind of thesoul, which in turn is a part of all the con-structive forces of the universe. We are given by these forces the ability of calling uponall knowledge, all being, and the universalmind itself for direction, inspiration, andthat spark of creativity which makes manproductive of real progress, progress thatwill aid him in his evolvement as a livingentity.—A

Making Things Easy

I recently wrote in another place thatthere was certainly no harm in trying to dothings the easy way if there was a choice.If we have a task to perform, and there ismore than one way or method that the taskcan be performed, it is certainly only reason-able and logical that we should select theeasiest way. In other words, there is no use,there is not anything to be gained by pur-

posely directing our efforts along the hardestpath to perform any specific end. We aregiven intelligence by which we can plan aprogram or the method by which we are going to do something, and certainly if we aregiven that intelligence we can use it by tak-ing the easiest path in order to save ourselves physical or mental strain and effort.

I state these facts because I do not wantit to appear that man should do things thehard way, but at the same time, to do athing because it is easy and to avoid anotherthing because it is hard is an entirely different circumstance. If—to repeat—we can ac-complish the same ends by two methods, one

easy and one difficult, then intelligencedictates that we take the easy way. If thereare two tasks or two obligations to be performed or fulfilled, one is easy and one ishard, and we do only one because it is easy,then we are definitely committing what Ibelieve to be a moral wrong. I say moral

because I believe an individual has a moralobligation of accepting certain responsibility,

of taking a degree of pride in achievement.If there is any fault specifically to findwith conditions that exist in the present era,conditions that have followed considerableupset in the world in the first half of thiscentury, then it is the concept that seems tohave gained prevalence since the ending ofthe second World War that we do not haveto do things right, correctly, perfectly, or dothe things that are hard. Here at Rosicrucian Park we employ almost two hundredpeople. A portion of them—more than half,in fact—do certain detailed, routine work.These individuáis are typists and clerks,those who perform activities that they must

be trained to do, but nevertheless are important links in carrying out the workthat has to be done here. I have been ap-palled at the individuáis who have appliedfor positions as typists who not only cannotoperate a typewriter efficiently, but cannoteven spell, or are not familiar with the functions and use of the English language. However, to me, the important thing is not thatsome have not acquired this knowledge. Thismay be the fault of our educational systemrather than the individuáis themselves. Astill more important fault in my estimationlies in the fact that some of them do notcare. I have had girls employed that notonly could not spell but would make no ef

fort whatsoever to look up a word in thedictionary if they were in doubt. They didnot care whether what they did was rightor wrong.

It is at that point that difficulty develops,that there is a difference between the easyand the hard way. The easiest way may beto write a word without determining whetherit is correct or not. The hard way is to lookit up in the dictionary and get it right inthe first place, but there is a greater difference between right and wrong than in choos-ing between two methods to accomplish thesame end. Consequently, it seems to me thata degree of responsibility and a pride in

achievement of work correctly done is notreceiving proper emphasis in the home andin the schools. As Rosicrucians, if we contribute to the evolvement of human beingsto the welfare of society, it should be oureffort to attempt to instill certain realizationof responsibility and achievement in the




minds of those with whom we come in con-tact.

Today, business tries in many ways toovercome the shortcomings on the part ofemployees and those who carry out certainfunctions for the accomplishment of the actsof the business world. To me, more impor-tant than some of the problems of our em-ployment situation today, particularly herein this country, is the repeated appeal onthe part of many advertisers to encouragethe adoption of certain forms of procedure,or to buy a certain mechanical aid to carryout work which will make the work easier.I do not think that doing a thing easiershould be the appeal as to why it should bedone. I think that if the majority of peopletoday are directing their attention toward

finding the easiest way to do something, theyare going to wake up some day with therealization that a little hard work mightavoid many future problems.—A

Do You Know?

A replica in format, that is, cover designand interior arrangement, of the Rosicrucian Digest, is now available in three other languages: El Rosacruz in Spanish; La Rose+ Croix in French; and O Rosacruz in Portu-guese. El Rosacruz is published in Rosicrucian Park; La Rose+Croix is published inVilleneuve Saint-Georges, France; and O

Rosacruz is published in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil.In addition, the Grand Lodge of Germany

now issues a most interesting quarterlypublication and, in the near future, will jointhe family of periodicals that are identicalin appearance with the Rosicrucian Digest. The Grand Lodge of Sweden has an excel-lent periodical in its language, issued underthe direction of Grand Master, Frater Alb.Roimer. Ever since the time of the lateGrand Master, Frater Jan Coops, the GrandLodge of The Netherlands has published avery fine Rosicrucian journal; it is now pre-pared under the guidance of the Grand Mas

ter, Frater H. Th. Verkerk Pistorius. Underthe direction of Grand Master Sundstrup, theGrand Lodge of Denmark and Norway alsoissues a journal. The Grand Lodge of Italy,under the leadership of Frater GiuseppeCassara, Jr., Grand Master, has diligentlyprepared and disseminated a Rosicrucian

journal with a cover design similar to that ofthe Rosicrucian Digest.

. V V V .We take pride in announcing that anotherGrand Lodge of AMORC has now affiliatedwith the Supreme Grand Lodge of this Juris-diction, that is, it has merged with theAmerican Jurisdiction. Our Jurisdiction nowincludes Germany. Frater Wilhelm Fried-rich Mueller is the very active GrandMaster of Germany.

Our Jurisdiction is now the largest in theworld and therefore has a great responsibil-ity to its subordinate Grand Lodge officersand members. This unification of variousnations and jurisdictions makes possible auniformity of the teachings and methods ofthe Order in all the countries which it in

cludes. Every new method or idea devisedthrough the researches of the Supreme GrandLodge is immediately introduced to each ofthe Grand Lodges affiliated with it. Thissimilarity of phraseology and literature, forexample, helps to identify the Order every-where and gives it a true intemational character.

V V VAs most of our members know, the Grand

Lodge administers in Rosicrucian Park thework of the Order—its teachiners—in twolanguages, English and Spanish. The teachings of AMORC in French are disseminatedby an administra ti ve office in Villeneuve

Saint-Georges, which is a suburb of París.The administra ti ve building in France hashad two additions, the latest an exceedinglymodern one in every respect. This expansiónis to the credit, ingenuity, and activity ofour newly appointed Grand Master forFrance, Frater Raymond Bernard.

In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, another adminis-trative Staff under the direction of the Supreme Grand Lodge disseminates all theRosicrucian teachings in the Portugueselanguage. The executive officers, BrazilianGrand Secretary, Soror María A. Moura,and Grand Treasurer, Frater José de OliveiraPaulo, are now engaged in building a new

administration edifice; it is to be completedearly next year.The independent jurisdictions of AMORC,

as The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark-Nor-way, Italy, and Indonesia, maintain theirown administrative facilities. Through theyears and recently, the Grand Lodge of




Sweden has issued many fine editions of theRosicrucian Library in Swedish. Never be

fore in its history has the Order been sowell known. Today, many millions of persons have heard of or read about the Rosicrucian Order. In time, as their interest increases in the more serious and profoundthings of life, a number of them affiliate withthe Order as members.

v v. y .This increased familiarity with the ñame

of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC and itsactivities unfortunately has certain unpleas-ant or negative aspects as well. There areindividuáis who spring up in various countries with organizations which they haveestablished bearing ñames similar to that of

the Rosicrucian Order—as cióse as the lawwill permit. It is obvious that they intend to confuse the public, leading them to believe that there is some relationship betweentheir little self-promoted activities and theworldwide Rosicrucian Order. The fullñame and symbols of AMORC are, of course,legally protected. But these litt le groupsproceed just short of actually violatingAMORC’s legal rights. They use such ñamesas “True Rosy Cross,” “The Secret Orderof the Rosicrucians,” “The Rosicrucian II-luminati,” “The Ancient Order of the Rosicrucians,” etc.

The leaders of these little movements(which they have started themselves) moveabout from country to country, their addresses usually being a post office box wher-ever they happen to “hang their hat”temporarily. The leader, who has no actualRosicrucian connections with the authenticOrder, endeavors to gain prestige for himself, to give himself a background which heactually has not; in his cheaply prepared,mimeographed literature he allocates tohimself the most amazing array of titles. Hemay refer to himself as the president of thisor that university or college, as being theHierophant of this, or the Grand Master ofthat, and as being of the 33° of some otherbody, etc.

Diligent investigation of such claimsreveáis that in the majority of cases thecolleges of which such persons profess tobe presidents or executives are, in fact,non-existent, or are on paper only. Theorders and societies of which they are supreme potentates can never be located ñor

can they, or will they, give them any addressto which a visitor can go. As we have said,

these individuáis try to align themselveswith authentic orders by placing after theirñame the degrees of these bodies, implyingtheir connection there with. When corre-sponding with the authentic organizations,the claims of the clandestine groups or theirleaders are absolutely disclaimed.

Now, it may be asked, why is all thisdone? Frankly, it is done to deceive gullibleand unthinking persons. Such persons learnthat they are deceived only after the expen-diture of much money and time. In oneparticular case in London, England, an individual and his colleagues laid claim tocertain university activity that they were

professing to direct; a London newspaper inan expose revealed the whole thing to be afarce! But this same individual continúesnow with a new array of ñames, titles, andprofessed connections.

You will easily recognize these fraudulentgroups by their attempts to simúlate terminology as used by AMORC for decades; theymay also be recognized by the exaggeratedclaims of their leaders who refer to themselves as supreme heads and executives of astring of organizations, the majority of whichno longer exist, but the ñames of which theyhave borrowed from history and tradition.

AMORC welcomes the activity of authentic mystical and philosophical societieswhose aims and teachings are designed toenlighten man, as it is also endeavoring todo. However, AMORC will militantly op-pose all individuáis and groups who woulddefile and prostitute the ñames, history, andtraditions of worthy orders for their ownpersonal benefit. Our files are replete withauthentic information about these pseudoand false organizations and their leaders. Inthe majority of instances we can give youevidence as to the mendacious activity ofsuch persons if you will write us. On theother hand, if an organization’s claims orits leader’s comments are true, AMORC, withits worldwide ramifications can substantiate

it and gladly tell you that they are as theyrepresent themselves to be.We only ask, and hope, that when such

literature comes into your hands, literallycovered with titles for its leaders and bearing egoistic claims, you will write us beforeexpending any money. In many instances




matter, a kind of cohesive condition, whichcompels inorganic matter to pursue a specialform or a definite order. Let us use ananalogy that we have used before, that of afast revolving top or gyroscope. Gently probethe spinning top and it seems to reboundfrom the touch. Though its rotation may bedisturbed, it immediately adjusts to the external influence, maintaining its balanceeven though its movement may be momen-tarily affected. The same response and adjustment of life forcé to impulses affectingits balance within matter is consciousness.

There is, as William James, eminentclassical psychologist, said, a stream of consciousness which infuses the whole of man.It is the integration of the consciousness ofevery individual cell. Each cell contributesto a mass consciousness which is the subconscious with its functions called mind,including the consciousness of the brainlikewise called a phase of mind.

Now, wherein does soul relate to mindand consciousness? What does the averageperson mean by soul? Let us for the moment disregard one’s religious interpreta-tions or even the philosophical connotationsthat may be had. In other words, what experiences does an individual have who believes in soul, and which he designates assuch. We all distinguish between externaland internal sensations. One group we termthe world, the other, self. But even self

needs further delineation because self canbe the somatic sensations we have as pain,thermal and pressure feelings. Self is obviously, then, more than just the body. Itis conscience as well, the moral sense, theurge to do what the individual by both convention and interpretation conceives to bethe right. It is also the realization of willas being interposed in matters of choice. Itlikewise consists of sentiments and higheremotions by which the individual comes tovoluntarily relate himself and his behaviorto events and circumstances, the eternal “I”or “ego.”

If one contemplates this psychic self, as

distinguished from the physical, he findsthat soul is inchoate in the former. Herealizes that these same psychic elements ofself are what he would likewise cali soul. He may, however, take the position that selfis solely a psychological function arising outof the mechanism of the organism of his

body. Soul, on the other hand, he may con-tend, is a divine quality which is immuredwithin the body but is not the consequenceof its processes or functions. If the individual insists on there being a separation in theorigin and nature of self and soul, he then isobliged to explain how he has knowledge ofthe existence of his own soul. It must havesome identifiable, explicable qualities in itsself by which he knows it. The individualwill find it is impossible to relate any sensations, impulses or influences of which he isconscious and to which he attributes theñame soul that are different from those heregards as of self.

Now, it may be contended that a criminal,a vicious perverted person, will also be a-

ware of self, of inner impressions of varioussubtle or psychical impulses. How can onebehave in such a manner and yet be saidto be conscious of soul if soul and self aresynonymous? The answer to this is not toodifficult. If soul were to direct and governimplicitly the manner of human behaviorthere would be little need for organized religión and its methods for the salvation ofmankind. Each man would in voluntarilylead a divinely circumspect life and couldnot be guilty of what religión terms sin andimmorality. The fact is, however, that mancan interpose his reason and his appetites soas to behave in a way quite contrary towhat the finer sentiments of self would dic

ta te if they were permitted to express.Character and personality are but externalmodifications of the pristine quality of whatwe refer to as soul. They are the mannerin which we cloak the soul’s impulses. Consequently, what society calis an evil personcan have in essence a perfectly motivateddivine self, that is, as divine as man can be.

Let us then summarize: A—Mind is the inherent impelling order

of the vital life forcé resident in every living cell. In the brain it manifests as certainintellectual and mental processes of whichwe can be conscious. Its latent aspect isknown as the subconscious.

B—Consciousness is the sensitivity of lifeforcé in matter by which it responds to itsinternal nature and its environment.

C—Soul is the individual’s awareness ofthe aggregate of his own being, the entiretyof self.—X



A Book That Challenges

Belief!

This book, The Conscious Interlude, provides stimulating adven-

ture. It presents a liberal philosophy of life. Figuratively, this study places you on the threshold of reality— surveying with an open mind all that you experience. The book opens a world of radical thought— radical only in that the author has succeeded in freeing himself of all traditional ideas and honestly reappraises what we have been told and are accustomed to believe.

Consider TheseChapter Titles!

PREFACEINTRODUCTION

IX Mysteries of Time and SpaceFourth DimensiónConscience and

MoráisImmortalityThe Dilemma ofReligiónThe MysticalConsciousnessThe Philosophy ofBeautyPsychology of Conflict The Human Incentive Conclusión Index

THE AUTHORRalph M. Lewis, F. R. C., Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, is the author of the books, Behold the Sign! and the Sanctuary of Self. The Conscious Interlude is considered one of his most thought-provoking and fascinating

works. It is the culmination of years of original thought.

Marís Moment In Eternity

I Inquiry into Consciousness

AX I

II Adventure into Self XI IIII Inquiry into

KnowledgeXIII

IV Nature of Truth X IV

V WillX V

VI Is Absolute RealityMind? XV I

VI I Illusions of Law and XVIIOrder XVIII

VIII Causali ty

We stand between two great eternities—theone behind, and the one ahead of us. Ourwhole span of life is but a conscious interlude —literally an infinitesimal moment of existence. How we live this split second ofexistence depends upon our consciousness—our view, our interpretation of life’s experience. The purpose of this unusual book,The Conscious Interlude , is how to make themost of this interval of life.

Beautifully Bound and Printed

To our Commonwealth FriendsOur friends in the British Isles are permitted by their Government regulations to obtain this book direct from the U. S. A. But it may also be purchased from the Rosicrucian Supply Bureau, 25 Garrick St., London, W.C. 2, England.

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G en t l em er t :Piease send to me a copy of T h e C o n s c i o u s I n t e r l u d e as advertised,

postpaid. I am enclosing (# 3.7 5) or (£1/7/3 ).

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October, 1959Yolume XXX No. 2


EMIL GERHA RD STARKE, F. R. C.

Grand Councüor of AMORC for Argentina




Greetings!V V V

VALUE OF ABSTRACTION

Dear Fratres and Sorores:Our lives are a combination of tangibles

and intangibles. The tangibles are empirical.They are a matter of the experience of oursenses. In other words, they have perceivablequalities. This page and its printing is suchan example. The paper has certain qualitiesto both our sense of sight and that of smell.But these tangibles are no more a reality than

many of the intangibles which influence ourlives and to which we must adjust. Some ofthese intangibles are morality, what it is; thetheories of society and govemment; immortality; the purpose of human existence, evenas to whether there is a purpose; God; happiness; causality; justice and order. These arebut a few of the myriad of intangibles whichwe must construe in relation to our lives.

Abstraction is the reality which we giveto an idea in our minds and for which thereis no exact correspondence in particulars,that is, in things outside us. Belief may makean abstract idea become a convincing pointof knowledge to us. In other words, we know the idea and, as such, it is as forceful in its

effect upon us as something we have objec-tively perceived. We confer upon it a valuéand integrate it in our behavior pattern.

Let us use an analogy to further clarifythis. Suppose one’s home is near a heavytraffic intersection, with motor vehicles rush-ing past at great speed. He recognizes thesetangibles. He has knowledge of them andaccordingly he acts in a cautious manner ashe approaches the intersection. Now, let ussuppose that he believes in a religious ormoral teaching which expounds that a certain behavior is morally wrong and would bedetrimental to his afterlife.

There is little distinction in these two kinds

of knowledge so far as their effect upon theindividual is concerned. One knowledge isof immediate perception, the actual observation of the traffic intersection and its potentialdanger. The other knowledge is a coilclusionwhich the individual has arrived at in hisreasoning. It is composed of the elements

of what he may have read or heard uponthe subject of immortality and its relationto moral behavior. The individual cannotobjectively prove this latter kind of knowledge by the confirmation of his senses as hecould that of the intersection but, until it isdisproved, it carries with it a mental convic-tion which is a strong motivation in his rela-tions with other persons.

There are other elements of our knowledgewhich are perceivable but which are nevertheless an indirect experience. These elements have not been directly subjected to ourpersonal analysis, ñor have they been ration-alized by us so as to constitute a belief. Thesethings are matters of hearsay, what othersrelate to us as being facts or true. Such information may be but the opinion of another,a conclusión not arrived at through any personal contemplation. The one who acceptssuch hearsay as knowledge is doing so whollyon faith alone. There is a great amount ofdata which we consider part of our generalknowledge and that is of this latter category.We dó not take time to investígate this in

formation and, in many instances, we cannotdo so. The fact that much of it may be ulti-mately proven to be erroneous may not inany way be adverse to us in the present. Inother words, it may be of such nature thatwe are at the present time not obligated toresort to or rely upon it.

Unfortunately, however, there is much ofour knowledge of the hearsay and opiniontype that does govern our personal viewpointof life’s vicissitudes. We take the point ofknowledge at its pr ima fa ci e valué, the meaning it merely seems to have. Even if suchpoints of knowledge are not factual subjectswhich can either be demonstra ted or objec

tively disproven, we can nevertheless contémplate them as abstractions. We can takethe particular idea as it has been presentedto us, or as we have inherited it from thecustoms of our times, and subject it to personal scrutiny. We can ask ourselves, Canthe idea have a meaning other than that




commonly associated with it? Is there a realrational ground for the ordinary conception

of the word or term?Dwelling on abstractions in order to arriveat a personal conception of them is a mostsatisfying procedure. It often results in acomplete reversal of some of our habits or achange in our idealism. It can often alterthe pessimist so that he becomes an optimistwhere certain important issues are concerned.The reason is that the valué , the content ofthe point of knowledge, may by abstractiongo through a complete transformation.

Again let us resort to an analogy for a better understanding. Let us take a hypotheticalquestion, Why is the afterlife, existence afterdeath, of such great concern to multitudes of

people? In beginning such an abstraction, itis first necessary to rid one’s mind of all thepreconceived notions one has about the sub

ject. We are reminded in this regard of theremarks of Rene Descartes, the noted Frenchphilosopher of the 17th century, with respectto this point: “As for all opinions which I hadaccepted up to that time, I was persuadedthat I could do no better than get rid ofthem at once, in order to replace them afterward with better ones, or, perhaps, with thesame, if I should succeed in making themsquare with reason.”

In the analogy we have here, put asidewhatever religious or philosophical ideas youmay have about life after death. In otherwords, what do you think about it? Begin aseries of personal, even critical questions onthe subject. Why should man live afterdeath? What evidence is there that he does?Do you have a conviction that there is suchan experience? Is it because you want to believe it? Does such an inclination stem fromany basic emotion as, for example, the in-stinct of self-preservation?

Bringing the clear light of reason to bearon many abstract subjects may shatter someillusions you have long pursued. You mayexperience pangs of conscience, have a sense

of guilt that you are deserting oíd traditions.You can fortify yourself at this stage by

pointedly asking yourself, Do I want to knowthe truth? Do I want to know and believewhat is acceptable to both my conscious andsubconscious mind?

Once you are over the hurdle by freeingyourself of previous attachments, the understanding that eventually comes to you as aconsequence of abstraction will appear as aself-evident truth. It will seem to have theperspicuity of intuition. You will have a feeling of intimacy—that what you know reallybelongs to you. It is born out of your ownmental and psychic powers. It is not just atenant of your mind, that is, a kind of outsidesquatter in your consciousness.

The rules which Descartes gave for ourprocess of arriving at relative truth drawnfróm abstraction can be applied by anyone.We feel it advantageous to set them forth:“The first rule was, never to receive anythingas a truth which I did not clearly know tobe such; that is, to avoid haste and prejudiceand not to comprehend anything more in my

judgment than that which should present itself so clearly and so distinctly to my mindthat I should have no occasion to entertaina doubt of it.

“The second rule was, to divide every dif-ficulty which I should examine into as manyparts as possible, or as might be required forsolving it.

“The third rule was, to conduct mythoughts in an orderly manner, beginningwith objects the most simple and the easiestto understand, in order to ascend, as it were,by steps to the knowledge of the most com-posite, assuming some order to exist even inthings which did not appear to be naturallyconnected.

“The last rule was, to make enumerationsso complete, reviews so comprehensive, thatI should be certain of omitting nothing.”

Abstraction need not be laborious. It doesnot have to be tedious and fatiguing. Each of



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us has often had a passing doubt about oneor more things that pass as accepted knowl

edge. Some evening, or any time when youcan relax and be quiet and have an hour tospare—take the time—bring a particular sub ject to the fore of your consciousness. Fig-uratively, turn it around and around; lookat it from every mental angle and quizzyourself as directed above. At first, concentration may be difficult, that is, holding themind in focus upon a single subject. As theinconsistencies of the subject, if there aresuch, begin to flake off from the idea and thecore stands revealed, you will then beginto derive emotional satisfaction. This willmake concentration much easier—in fact, en-

joyable.Fraternally,

RALPH M. LEWIS,Imperator.

How to Improve Your Concentration

As I look back, it seems to me quite oftenas a boy when I was assigned a task or alesson to which I did not give my full attention that someone would say, “Keep yourmind on what you are doing.” That phrasemust have been quite popular a good manyyears ago, and probably others will remember it being used. The phrase contains a lotmore information than we might think atfirst examination of the wording. It is doubt-

ful that from a psychological standpoint itwould bear the scrutiny of careful examination, but generally the idea was conveyed.I or anyone else to whom the phrase wasdirected would realize that from a standpoint of a parent, teacher, or supervisor,work that was to be accomplished was fall-ing short of the ideal due to the lack ofattention that was being given to it. Another common phrase that carries more orless the same idea is simply the two words,“Pay attention!”.

If work of any kind is to be done, the consciousness must be directed to it. Someonemay contradict this statement by saying that

habitual actions take place without directingour conscious attention to the process. Thatis true, but at the same time, those actions or procedures which we do habituallywithout attention are usually more or lessroutine activities. Any work that we do,anything that is worth while requires that

the focus of our minds be directed at whatwe are doing. In other words, to a degree

we should concéntrate on anything that isworth having our attention at any particularmoment.

The teachings of this organization arebased upon a fundamental concept that ifan individual is to evolve in the applicationof the principies that are taught and is goingto be able to use their inner powers to thefull extent of their possibilities, the individual must develop the ability to concéntrate. Concentration is directing the forcesof the mind to apply to a specific event,action, or achievement that is to be desired.

The process of concentration as taught inthe Rosicrucian monographs is one of themost important keys to human developmentthat ever has been made available to us asindividuáis. The individual who is capableand persistent enough to develop the tech-nique of concentration to the point of perfection has gained an important step in living and has gained a tool which that individual can utilize in the development ofpsychic, mental, and physical abilities.

Concentration is to the mind what manualart is to the body. When one becomes pro-ficient in the doing of anything that requiresmanipulation or manual function, he is saidto develop dexterity. Dexterity is almostsynonymous with perfection; that is, theutilization of our physical body in a way

that brings about an accomplishment or anachievement in the manner that accom-plishes an end or purpose. What dexterityis to the physical body, to the coordinationof our muscular system in order to carryout certain physical acts, concentration is tomind and consciousness.

We are taught that the Creative forcé ofthe mind is one of the greatest and mostpowerful forces that can be used by the human being; but with all things, there aremethods, procedures, and techniques necessary to bring about the actual manifestationof any art. There are necessary periods oftraining, practice, and experience to develop

a complex manual operation; for example, togain the dexterity to use the hands so thatthey will skillfully direct the operation of atool or be properly directed over the keyboardof a musical instrument. In concentration, weare using our minds to bring about a certaindesired end. When we concéntrate on a prob-




lem, the concentration is directed towardbringing us a solution. The development of

perfection in that technique will solve manyof our problems.As far as the technique itself is concerned,

the Rosicrucian is referred to the instructionsin the monographs that provide, step by step,the methods by which perfection or better-ment of the procedure will be achieved. Butmore than anything else, the individualneeds to leam that as with any task concentration requires, to repeat the phrase, “Tokeep your mind on what you are doing.”

There are many people who believe theyconcéntrate, but actually are permitting allkinds of extraneous matter to enter the mindat the same time. They start out in accord-ance with the Rosicrucian technique ofvisualizing and directing their consciousnesstoward a certain fact, principie, or idea andthen let their minds wander. Their mindswander due to the attraction of the environment of external pressures that may bebrought to bear or merely by daydreamingand thinking of something else rather thanthe task at hand. The first step in concentration and a continuing step to make iteffective then is to always keep your mindon the fact of concentration itself.

To achieve what you may hope to achieve,to use the principies taught by the Rosicrucians to solve your problems, you must learnto concéntrate. To learn to concéntrate youmust learn to direct the functioning of yourmind, to think of one thing and to exclusive-ly keep your attention in that direction.Then, when it is dismissed from consciousness to dismiss it entirely, to leave the mindblank, as it were—free of interference notonly from the idea or concept upon whichconcentration was directed, but free fromextraneous ideas entering and literally spoil-ing the picture. It is a good idea for theRosicrucian who feels that his advanceméntis not all that should be desired to reviewthe technique of concentration and then tohonestly review the effort and accomplish-ments of one’s self in developing this tech

nique as well as it can be.Concentration is needed in times of crises,

when problems arise, when serious situationsdevelop in our lives or we reach a pointwhere we seem to have accomplished all wecan. Frequently, concentration is the onlykey that we have, the only tool that we can

use to bring about a solution. To be readyfor the important events in our lives, to be

ready for the crises or fór the solving of amajor problem, the technique of concentration must already be developed. It is too latewhen the problem arises; therefore, whenyou concéntrate or meditate or direct yourattention to constructive thoughts, rememberto keep your mind on what you are doing.Then, you are laying the foundation thatdevelops the technique of concentration thatwill be available to you when you need itmost.—A

Asking for Help

At a membership Forum held at one of the

Rallies sponsored by a Rosicrucian Chapter,this question was asked of the panel: “Whyis it necessary for us to ask the help of theCosmic for others in view of the fact that theCosmic is all-seeing and all-knowing?”

This question actually involves two factorsthat need to be separated before the answercan be given intelligent consideration. Thefirst factor concerns the condition of necessity. Is it necessary to ask the Cosmic forhelp for ourselves or for anyone else? Theanswer to that phase of our question is “no.”It is not necessary that we ask the Cosmicfor help. In fact, it is conceivable, althoughit cannot be proven true, that there have beenpeople who have gone through life withoutcalling upon the Cosmic or upon a deity forhelp of any kind. This would be an unusualincident, I admit, because even people whohave professed to be atheists have at timesengaged in more or less informal prayer;that is, they have called for help upon forceshigher than themselves, even though in theirlives they may have denied the existence ofsuch forces.

It seems, although again this may not besubject to proof, that there is a human ten-dency to reach for something above or beyond the usual environment when one isfrustrated. An individual whose circumstances may lead him to a condition where

he finds human help and his own of no availin bringing about a solution to a problemwill unconsciously cali on other sources.Usually this takes the form of some type ofprayer, an appeal to a god, to a higher forcéto intervene or to help him surmount theobstacles with which he is faced.




Nevertheless, it is not necessary for man todo this. Men may live without calling onforces outside of themselves, but I believethat if they do their lives will be fuller andmore satisfying. Not to cali upon higherforces than those of our own making or atour own level is to have no interest or awareness of them. The process of concentration,meditation, or prayer is an actual acknowledgment in terms of action or function bywhich an individual, both consciously andsubconsciously impresses upon his mind thefact that there are areas of being more important than he is.

Therefore, to retum to the first part of thisquestion, if the necessity exists, the necessityis to aid man by his own process of acknowledgment—acknowledgment of forces greater

than himself. Whether or not he asks forhelp for himself or for someone else is goingto be his own decisión. If he does not, it willbe his own loss, not only in terms of whetheror not he receives the help but in terms ofincreasing his intimacy with forces outsidehimself.

Even if we ask for foolish things, or thingsto which we have no right, we are in a smalldegree directing our attention away from thestresses and activities of our day-to-day livingsufficiently to acknowledge that there is someother forcé to which we can direct ourselves.I would say, then, for man to live a well-rounded existence, and to be able to evolve

himself as an entity, that it is necessary forhim at times to cali upon the Cosmic or whatever else he wants to cali the forces lyingoutside his own environment. But his califor help is not so important as his acknowledgment of the forces.

When we ask for help for someone else,we are putting ourselves in a position sympathetic to the higher purposes of the universe.In other words, in considering someone else,we are taking ourselves away from the wants,needs, and demands of our own limitedsphere of existence. We are expanding ourselves, as it were, and involuntarily acknowl-edging that all life is from a single source,

and that all life is related.If we are to succeed as individual expressions of life, it is not going to be simplybecause we are different or we are outstand-ing, but partly as a result of the success orthe forward movement of the life forcé itselfthroughout eternity. I do not believe it is

possible for one individual to gain tremen-dously in his evolution or any psychic ad-vancement while all other members ofhumanity go the other direction. I believethat each of us has a responsibility to a certain degree to try to encourage the awarenessof the inner self on the part of all humanbeings. To the extent that we do encouragethat awareness, we are not only helpingothers through the good advice we may give,but we are helping ourselves. Again, we areinvolved with this law of necessity—the necessity of living to the fullest. In that processwe are acknowledging forces that exist beyond us and acknowledging that we are onesegment of life and not a completely isolatedentity.

The other phase of this question raises theproblem of why the Cosmic has to be askedto do what it already knows should be done.That problem is as oíd as man. It has beendiscussed by theologians and philosophers forcenturies, and probably no satisfactory answer has been reached which would be accept-able to every person who has ever consideredthe question. The thought in the mind ofthe individual who asked the question at thebeginning of these comments must have beenthat if the Cosmic includes all knowledge andall awareness, since we also presume thatthe Cosmic is good, why should it be necessary to indicate to the Cosmic, to God, or toany other forcé that one entity, one expres

sion of life, is suffering or needs help beyondits own limitations, or the limitations of otherhuman beings about it. The presuppositionis that the Cosmic should know an individual^ needs and should come to his rescue,as it were, without being asked. The presumption here is based on a wrong premise,which is that no help is given by the Cosmicuntil someone asks for it.

Every day many people appeal for helpto the Council of Solace of this organization.These requests are for matters of health-rpersonal problems that may be social, íinan-cial, or relate to other acute problems of living. These problems are usually matters

which the individual feels inadequate to solvealone, or at least, he realizes his own limitedabilities and wants all the help he can get,which is perfectly natural and that is whythe Council of Solace exists.

Let us examine for a moment what happens when an individual asks for help from




our Council of Solace. I do not mean whathappens mechanically speaking in the Coun

cil of Solace here at Rosicrucian Park, as Ihave written on that subject matter íhor-oughly in the Forum before. What I meanis what happens psychologically and psy-chically.

An individual becomes aware that he hasa problem. Regardless of its nature, he feelsthat he is incapable of reaching a solution,so if he is wise, he will try to get properhelp. If it is a problem regarding health, hewill consult his physician. If the problem isof a different nature, he will consult a spe-cialist in that field. But in addition he willwrite to the Council of Solace to the effectthat he has a problem concerning a certain

matter, and will ask for the help of theCouncil. In this sense he is appealing to theCosmic, because the Council of Solace is madeup of individuáis who attempt to provideservices as intermediaries between the individual and the Cosmic. It represents a pointto which our membership and those iníer-ested in our work may turn. It is an inter-mediary, as it were, not that it is absolutelynecessary, but it is an aid.

Now whether or not the individual submitshis problem to the Council of Solace, direct tothe Cosmic, through a religión, or any otherprocess, it does not mean that prior to suchsubmission the Cosmic was not aware of theindividual’s problem and not doing anythingabout it, if we may speak as though the Cosmic were a type of personality, which, ofcourse, is not quite accurate.

The Cosmic is the collection of laws, principies, and forces that have been put intoeffect by the Creator. They are functioningat all times. They function for the good andwelfare of the whole universe and for theultimate carrying out of the laws designedand made effective by the Creator. Therefore,we are all benefiting by them at all times.We will benefit by them more if we willcooperate with them. Anything we do, suchas appealing to the Council of Solace, directlyto the Cosmic, or giving absent healing in the

case of illness, is simply an attempt to placeourselves in a position to be in a harmonicrelationship with those forces and better ableto use them.

A crude illustration might be made in thisway. A copper pipe carries water to variousparts of our home. If the pipe is clean and

not clogged in any manner, the flow of waterwill be better than i f some impediment enters

the pipe and prevenís the flow of water. Now,íhe flow of waíer is like íhe manifesíaíion ofíhe Cosmic. Ií pervades íhe whole universe.If we keep ourselves clean, figuraíivelyspeaking, íhaí is, if we direcí our íhoughísíoward íhe principies conducive ío a har-monious relationship wiíh íhe Cosmic, íhenwe are in a better posiíion ío draw upon iísforces and processes ai íhe time of our need.Consequeníly, when we are faced wiíh prob-lems of our own or are seeking ío cali uponCosmic forces for help wiíh oíher people’sproblems, as for example in íhe case of giving absení íreaímenís, we are placing ourselves in íhe besí possible síaíe of mind andbody ío be recepíive ío íhese forces. In oíherwords, we are, figuraíively speaking, clean-ing our pipes. Wre are preparing ourselvesío be woríhy of being able ío uíilize ío íhemáximum íhe forces íhaí exisí and may func-íion íhrough us.

If man ever áííains a perfecí síaíe, he willbe able ío cali upon íhese forces insíanílyío manifesí in a way íhaí he can uíilize. Ido noí say íhaí he will be able ío performmiracles in íhe sense íhaí íhaí word is popu-larly iníerpreíed. Man will always have íoexerí his own efforís, use his own intelli'gence, and develop his own skill, buí he willalso be able ío bring immediaíe help wher-ever necessary. Thaí, in íhe final analysis,

is masíership.Mosí of us who live íoday are ai various

síages of advancemení in our aííempí ío aí-íain eveníual masíership. Therefore, we areimperfecí; buí íhrough mediíaíion, concen-íraíion, and íhe direcíing of our íhoughís,regardless of íhe moíive, from time ío íimeío íhe perfection and puriíy of íhe Cosmicforces, we are relating ourselves ío íhem.Each íime we do so we should equip ourselves ío act as a médium or a channelthrough which we also can help oíhers.

The meíhods by which íhese processes íakeplace are explained ío some degree in ourbookleí, The Art of Absent Healing, and inour Sixíh Degree. The maííers períaining íohealíh apply subsíaníially also ío any problem íhaí may be íhe loí of a human being.Our relationship, íhen, is wiíh a world ofperfection while we live in a world of imper-fecíion. We are gaining knowledge íhroughour relaíionship wiíh íhis inadequaíe physi-




cal universe. If we are aware that there isa perfect universe, of which this is only a

shadow, then we are in a better position todevelop ourselves toward that perfection. TheCosmic does not function exclusively for ourbenefit. It will function for the benefit ofall life, for the benefit of the eventual ac-complishment of the purpose of the universeitself. We as Rosicrucian students throughthe application of our philosophy create acloser relationship with the Cosmic and as aresult with God and our inner sel ves.

The Sixth Degree tells us that the perfectcondition of the human body, or the humanbeing, is the state called harmonium, whereabsolute harmony of relationship prevailsamong all parts of the body and mind. Then,perfect health and a degree of contentmentresult. The words “As above, so below” arewell known. To extend this concept further,there is also a universal harmonium whichis exemplified by the perfection of God andthe perfection of His laws, which are theCosmic. This state of universal harmoniumcan be extended to include the physical universe as well as the Cosmic.

As we raise ourselves toward these Cosmiclaws, we enter, too, into a degree of perfection. To the extent that we do so, we understand and utilize those perfect forces to meetthe problems which result from our imperfectunderstanding and adaptations.—A

Did Egyptians Believe in Reincarnation?

A frater addressing our Forum says: “Ifthe Egyptians believed in the release of thesoul following transition, why did they go tosuch pains to mummify and in other wayspreserve the bodies of the dead in monumental tombs?”

This question opens up a fascinating review of some of the principal concepts heldby the ancient Egyptians relative to the souland the afterlife. Though most all peopleshave had a belief in immortality, the earliestreligious doctrine of the survival of life afterdeath was formulated by the Egyptians. This

religious belief in survival after death con-tributed greatly to the architecture, arts, andindustries of the Egyptians. It inspired greattombs of a monumental nature, as the pyra-mids and the splendid mortuary templessuch as that of Queen Hatshepsut. The tombsof the feudal nobles became depositories of

artifacts and the elabórate designs on theirwalls revealed the life and customs of that

ancient period. The building of the pyramidswas an evolvement from the mastaba, ormud-brick, fíat, oblong coverings over a shal-low pit grave in which the body of the de-parted was placed.

In the Egyptian religión the survival wasnot thought to be merely a shadowy or impalpable kind of being. It was thought thatthe body was reborn in phys ica l substance—the soul, or spirit, re-entered into a resur-rected body.*' The surviving personality retained all the sensations of its earthly existence provided it passed the judgment of thegods, the weighing of the soul which wetechnically cali psychostasia. In such a state,the deceased experienced no adversity or suf

fering of any kind. The sensations felt weremostly ecstatic, an intensification of the en- joyments of this life.

The soul of man was commonly depictedby the Egyptians as a human-headed bird,translated Ba. On the tómb illustrations, thisbird was seen fluttering from the mouth atdeath. Ba, as a bird, was associated withbreath and wind, a common association ofsoul among ancient peoples. As the soul, orBa, entered at birth, so likewise it departedat death. However, we repeat, the physicalbody was thought to be infused by Ba afterdeath and to occupy “heaven.” 1

Accompanying Ba was another figure

which we today interpret from the hiéro-glyphic and demotic writing as Ka. Thislatter was a miniature replica of the deceased.The significance of this figure has been apolemic subject among Egyptologists. It is,however, generally conceded to be a symbolof the self, the inner being, or, as we mightsay, the conscience of the individual. It wasthus distinguished from the soul. It was thepersonal guide, the personality of the individual.

In the chapel adjoining the sepulchralchamber of the tomb, the family of the deceased would leave actual quantities of food,or symbols of it, for the departed. Likewise,

in the tombs were placed the treasured pos-sessions of the embalmed body. The favoriteweapons, musical instruments, furniture andeven timepieces were placed therein. Thesewere to be used in the physical sense by thedeceased in his afterlife.

If this practice seems elementary and




primitive, we must realize that in civilizedlands today many religionists have an idea

of the afterlife quite approaching this notion.They may not place objects in the crypts forthe dead to use in the next world, but theydo imagine that the deceased lives in a quitematerial realm doing and using things quitesimilar to those used on earth.

The place of the other world, to the ancientEgyptians, was where Osiris dwelt. Osiris, amost highly venerated god, had been mur-dered by his brother, Seth—from this it isconceived the story of Cain and Abel origi-nated. The body of Osiris was dismemberedand east into the rushes of the Nile. Hissister-wife, Isis, recovered the pieces of hisbody, put them together, and he was resur-

rected. The resurrected form was theneternal in the next world. This is the earliestevidence of the doctrine of resurrection. Thewhole tale of the death, resurrection, andimmortality of Osiris became a religio-dramaof the mystery schools. It was the first passion play. This idea of resurrection greatlyinfluenced all later concepts conceming it, in-cluding that of Christianity.

The Book of the Dead is a collection ofliturgical prayers and magical rites, paintedand inscribed on papyri rolls. Therein itstates that if the body should decay the soul

^may settle in one of the deceased’s portraitstatues. In front of the pharaoh’s mortuary

temple were great, domed portraits of him.Inside the tombs of the nobles and viziers,and of the great officials of the pharaohs,were also placed beautifully sculptured statues of them. The soul of the departed wasalso thought at times to again enter themummified body in the tomb, returning fromthe other world for a brief sojourn. If thebody were disintegrated, then it would tem-porarily occupy a portrait statue of itself.

In the next world the surviving personalitywould sit on thrones “in the circumpolarregión of the sky.” It was there that the“higher divinities dwell.” In the tomb wall-paintings, or on the decorations inside the

sarcophagi (mummy cases), the souls in thenext world are also depicted as perching likebirds “on branches of a celestial tree.” Thestars were thought to be the souls of the deceased perching on the tree of the heavens.There they would be surrounded by themore eminent of the deceased, that is, thekings or pharaohs, who, in the next life, led

the life of royalty and served as judges.Modem Egyptology has translated from

the Book of the Dead prayers that the deceased might lea ve the tomb, not just bynight, “when all spirits are free to hauntthe earth,” but by day in any form theychose. Such forms in which the deceasedcould incarnate were animals, birds, andflowers. It is interesting to note that on manyof the sarcophagi are painted small ladders.These were intended to help the soul of thedeceased to ascend to heaven. Finally, littlefaience ladders, blue or green in color, somenot over two inches in length, were placedas symbols upon the mummified figures. Inthe Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, in Rosicrucian Park, the funereal collections of hu

man mummies and sarcophagi include origináis of these fascinating little faience ladders.Included in the funereal appurtenances

were what are termed ushabtiu, or respond-ent gods. These are small figures representingthe deceased who were in the next worldand assuming for them all the unpleasanttasks which the deceased had to performhere. This, then, left the deceased free forthe enjoyment of his exalted existence. Amost interesting collection of these is also tobe seen in the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum.

This next world of the ancient Egyptianshad two main divisions: first, the “spirit oflight” ; second, “the field of rushes.” The lat

ter is the most common, and it referred to afertile area in the afterlife where agriculturewas carried on with ease resulting in tre-mendous crops—that is, produce—far exceed-ing anything of earth. Agriculture, the culti-vating of the land, was the great enterpriseand wealth of the Egyptian freeman andnoble. He could not conceive of anythingmore gratifying than to be the owner of afruitful area of land. This, then, they conceived was the habitat of those whose soulswere weighed against the feather of Truthand found morally good after death. Also itwas thought that at the cióse of each day inthe celestial world the soul would playdraughts, a popular game on earth.

From the Book of the Dead we quote apassage: “the dead man follows Osiris in therealm of the dead, the gates of the under-world open to him, barley and spelt are given to him in the ‘field of rushes’ (in heaven)and he is like thé gods who abide there.”

We are told that the soul of the deceased




might journey with the sun from sunset tosunrise in the latter’s journey across the

heavens. The sun was depicted as a solarboat sailing across the heavens; on many ofthe temple walls and in tombs, we find thissolar boat portrayed. The souls of men mightalso journey in similar boats. It is significantthat at sunrise the souls were said to be atliberty to return to their oíd homes—much,it seemed, to the consternation of the living.At their home they could sit in the shadeof their garden and enjoy “breezes of thenorth wind.” These beliefs contributed tothe fear of apparitions and the roamingspirits of the dead—which fear persists to thepresent day.

Animáis were worshipped as early as the

beginning of the feudal period of Egypt.However, most Egyptologists, and we mustconcur, do not think that this is indicativeof a decline in the Egyptian religión. Theanimals were worshipped, at least for a considerable period, because they symbolized some virtue or power which men revered.Animals and birds were strong, swift, virile,cunning, or pretty. In these living creatures,therefore, men saw objectified the qualitieswhich they desired for themselves, eitherhere or in the next life. It was a religiousduty for them to reverence the animals, notfor themselves, but for those qualities whichthey exhibited.

Later, however, it was believed that theseanimals were “the abode of spirits of divineand other beings.” The bull Apis was worshipped at Memphis. It was thought to be anincamation of the god, Osiris, and the second life of Ptah. These bulls were especiallyselected by the priests. Only those who boreupon their forehead a natural white trianglewere chosen. With great ceremony thesebulls were embalmed and interred in hugestone sarcophagi. One of the largest of suchnecropolises is the Serapeum at Sakkarah,the site of ancient Memphis. The bull Bkha was likewise reverenced; it was black andfamed for “its strength, violence and pug-nacity.” This bull was thought to be thereincarnation of Mentu, a war god of thelittle town of Hermonthis “about ten milesfrom Thebes,” ancient capital of Egypt.

We have here noted that, according to theEgyptian religión, the popular belief wasthat the dead could assume different shapes,or forms, at will. This is the doctrine of

transmigration so often confused with reincarnation; it is the belief that the soul resides

in animal form instead of passing only intoa human shape. This transmigration beliefof the Egyptians must be distinguished fromthe later beliefs of the Vedic teachings ofIndia. The soul, according to the Egyptianconcept, was not made to reside in variousanimal forms (as the Indians taught) to ex-piate for its mortal sins.

It would seem from a casual examinationof the Egyptian religión that the ancientEgyptians were intoxicated with a belief inthe afterlife, and that their earthly existencewas one of joyous anticipation of this nextlife. However, a spirit of skepticism and pes-simism entered into a period of their history.

This period is actually referred to by modernhistorians as the “Era of Pessimism.” Itwould seem that the Egyptians became some-what dubious of the claims of their priest-hood. After all, there was no tangible evi-dence of the existence of an afterlife. Eventhe pyramids which had been standing forcenturies, during the time of the feudal ageand the empire era, were beginning to decayand were no longer the glorious houses ofthe souls of the departed. One papyri in-scription laments: “Death tears a man awayfrom his house and throws him upon thehills. Never will he return again to beholdthe sun.”

Then, at a funereal feast during this Eraof Pessimism there was sung:

And he who lives in the grave perce ives not

Your lamentations Therefore

With joyous countenance keep a day of fes tival and rest not in it;

For no one takes his goods with him ,Yea, no one returns that has gone henee.

In spite of this pessimism about the afterlife, the belief in transmigration and incarna-tion prevailed. Herodotus, Greek historianwho spent some time in Egypt with thethe priesthood, says: “The Egyptians werethe first who asserted that the soul of manis immortal, and that when the body perishesit enters into some other animal, constantlyspringing into existence; and when it haspassed through the different kinds of terres-trial, marine and aerial beings, it again enters into the body of a man that is born; and




that this revolution is made in three thousandyears. Some of the Greeks have adopted this

opinion, some earlier, others later, as if itwere their own; but although I knew theirñames I do not mention them.”

It is to be noticed that the soul was thought,after death, to incamate upward in successivestages through lower forms, eventually afterthree thousand years to again function inhuman form. There are other definite indi-cations of a doctrine of reincarnation. Theritualistic ñames of the first two kings ofthe XIXth Dynasty seem to bear out thatthey were to incarnate. Amonemhat I ’sñame was “He who repeats births.” Senu-sert I ’s ñame was: “He whose births live.”Also, in the XIXth Dynasty, the Ka ñame of

Setekhy I was: “Repeater of births.” TheXVIIIth Dynasty, during the empire period,left records that indicate that “reincarnationincludes the lesser folks.” The Book of the Dead has a dozen chapters for spells (magicalrites) to be recited to aid the deceased to incarnate. The XV III th chapter begins: “thebeginning” and gives spells for “making existence” in forms, to live again.

Pythagoras is usually credited with havinginvented the concept of reincarnation, butthis doctrine was “hoary with age” before thetime of Pythagoras, who, it must be remem-bered, spent considerable time in the mysteryschools of Egypt. Herodotus says of Pythagoras that the latter “adopted this opinion asif it were his own.” At least, Pythagorasgave it eminence and rid it of many of itselements of superstition, giving it a moretranscendental meaning.—X

Learning while Sleeping

There seems to be a revival of interest inthe question of whether or not instructioncan be continued while an individual sleeps.On the market are a number of devicestheoretically made for the purpose of in-creasing one’s knowledge by having an in-strument under one’s pillow that playscertain information from a record while aperson sleeps. The amazing thing about theappeal of this instrument—and I refer to itas one instrument although there are, I understand, a number of them—is that manypeople think that this idea is new. Actuallythe concept is very oíd. Learning whilesleeping has been discussed and experiments

have been performed in this field for manyyears.

Deviating from the central theme, I wouldlike to refer to the question of motivation.Why does an individual want to utilize theperiod of sleep for learning? I know that myanswer is going to be opposed by many individuáis but, frankly, I believe that the interest to learn while sleeping is due to a humanurge to want to do something as easily aspossible. In other words, to make it perfectlyclear, we all have a degree of laziness in usand would like to learn in a way that wouldrequire the minimum of effort. This willprobably be emphatically contradicted by individuáis who favor the process. Actually,I am not sure they have a great deal on

which to stand in their argument.Sleep is a process established by naturethat is very little understood. Medically,psychologically, and physically we knowvery little about sleep. We know some peopletake more sleep than others. We know thatunder stress we can do without sleep andstill perform certain activities with a highdegree of efficiency. It has also been proventhat after a certain length of time, dependingupon the individual himself, this degree ofefficiency breaks down when there are pro-longed periods without adequate sleep.

I have used the term adequate sleep, andyet no one knows exactly what constitutes

adequate sleep. Some people require tenhours or more in twenty-four before theyseem to be completely rested. Others sleepas little as four hours in twenty-four, andthere are, of course, many degrees in-be-tween.

Medically, it has been found that completerest whether or not accompanied by sleepwill sometimes perform as much service tothe human body as will our sleeping soundly.No doubt all of us have had the experienceof waking in the morning from a sound sleepand being tired—that is, sleep did not seemto produce all the rest and relaxation that itshould have produced. But regardless of anytheories we may have in regard to the process of sleep itself, we may be evading thequestion by deviating greatly in that field.Nevertheless, in considering learning wThileasleep, it should be constantly kept in mindthat no final solution to the central problemwill be given until we know more about sleepitself.




Insofar as some advertised courses areconcerned in regard to gaining abilities while

asleep, anyone giving serious consideration topaying out money for the purchase of aninstrument for this purpose should thinkcarefully before he takes the step. The appealin some advertisements I have read has beenthat it is a sensational new discovery, thatan individual can gain a great deal in theprocess of listening to the repetition of factswhile asleep.

My first experience with this subject tookplace when I was studying psychology at auniversity many years ago. At that time theidea had not been given any popular advertising or promotion. It was purely a studyin the psychological laboratory.

In the experiment with which I personallywas involved, the class was divided into twoparts. We each received for a certain periodof time every day instruction in the MorseCode—that is, the code used for normal tele-graphic communication. No one in the class,if I remember correctly, was proficient in thecode, so we all started out comparatively asequals to learn the Morse Code and to be ableto use the telegraph key to prove our learningability. The instruction we received was thatwhich would normally be given to an individual training to be a telegrapher.

The experiment lasted about three weeks.All of us received identical training exceptthat half the class received an additional hour

of training, if it might be called that, by having the Morse Code and the letters eachsymbol represented repeated on a phono-graph record while they were asleep. Inother words, half of the class received instruction while asleep to supplement thatwhich they received while awake.

At the end of the course, a test showedthat there was no specific correlation betweenthe sleep instruction and the instruction received while awake. In other words, theaverage of the two groups was practically thesame, which proved to the professor and tous at the time that nothing had been gainedby those who received instruction by phono-

graph record while asleep.I have read reports on this subject thatdiffer with my experience, and I am certainly open to being convinced of any further developments in this field. I have triedpersonally in the study of a foreign languageto increase my vocabulary by going to sleep

with a record playing giving various mean-ings of words to be learned. I cannot honest-

ly say that my knowledge of the languagewas augmented by that process.Insofar as Rosicrucian psychology is con

cerned, it seems to me that there is a veryobvious fact basic to the Rosicrucian teachings that is overlooked by the individual whobelieves that he might be helped while beinginstructed during the course of normal sleep.It is presumed that the subconscious mind isalways alert regardless of whether we areawake or asleep. On this premise it is believed by some that if suggestions would besubtly given to the subconscious mind, suchas the Morse Code, or words of another language, or any other series of facts we want

to learn, that the subconscious mind wouldgrasp that knowledge. It would be easier forus to make that knowledge then a part of ourobjective awareness. In other words, wewould be able to become consciously awareof the knowledge we seek and with morefacility than we could without the instruction during sleep.

There is one great fallacy in this argument. During conscious moments, we arenot necessarily aware of the content of thesubconscious mind. There is a great store-house of knowledge that exists in the subconscious mind as a result of all our experiences. It is believed by many that the subconscious mind never forgets—that every impression registered upon consciousness, consciously or unconsciously, becomes a part ofthe vast storehouse of memory that remainsin the, subconscious mind forever. In theearliest degrees of our teachings we are givena simple experiment in regard to intuition,that of determining the time of day by direct-ing our thought to that purpose and allowingour subconscious mind to bring that knowledge to the level of consciousness. Each ofus has had various degrees of success withthis experiment. Each can decide for himselfhow successful he or she has been. But weall have had difficulty with that experimentand still greater difficulty with some of the

more involved experiments. In other words,in our normal living, we are not in a stateconducive to be aware of the content of thesubconscious mind.

As stated, I have attempted to improve myknowledge of a foreign language by use ofsleep-instruction. Now, it is quite possible




that my subconscious has an absolute mas-tery of the language with which I am con

cerned. In faqt, I am of the belief that itdoes. I have studied the language over a longperiod of time, and I believe each bit of information that I have learned about it isregistered in the subconscious mind. Possiblyby listening to phonograph records while Iam asleep, I could add even more informationon the subject to my subconscious contení.But that does not help me when I go to speakthe language because I do not have the abilityto draw all knowledge from my subconsciousmind.

The Rosicrucian student—instead of directing his time, effort, and money to equip-ping himself with the facilities to learn

something while he is asleep—would be muchbetter off, it seems to me, by using the exer-cises as given in the Rosicrucian teachingsto increase his ability to draw upon theknowledge that exists in his subconsciousmind. The attainment toward which we alldirect our efforts is to fully realize the poten-tialities, content, and knowledge of the subconscious mind. In one lifetime, we willnever gain perfection in our ability to tapthat source of information, but, to the degree we do so, we can direct our ability toimprove in any field of knowledge to whichour subconscious has been exposed, as wellas to draw upon experiences of the past andthe complete storehouse of memory.

Rather than to attempt to edúcate oursubconscious mind, our first attention shouldbe to edúcate our conscious mind, our objective consciousness, to learn to use the intuitive knowledge that comes to us and todevelop the habit of making it a part of ourliving experience. Intuition can become soinfallible that we can draw upon it wheneverwe wish to do so. This is the challenge ofRosicrucian psychology. Some degree of perfection may be achieved as the result of ex-ercises and concentration presented throughout the Rosicrucian teachings.—A

Is the Soul Conscious?

A frater rises to address our Forum. “Thesoul has consciousness from eternity. Thebrain is the channel through which we areconscious of self. Then, what médium doesthe soul use to be conscious of itself? Doesthe soul use the mind as the viewer , and the

personality as the mirror , or vice versa?”The frater’s question is a profound, meta-

physical abstraction most worthy of consideration. Let us first arrive at an understanding again of the nature of soul. The human organism is a combination of forces.First, there are the molecular substances thatconstitute the matter of which the body consists. The Rosicrucians refer to this as spirit. It is the same essence which underlies thestructure of all matter. But, also, there is thevital life forcé. Infusing matter of a certainconsistency, this makes it animate, alive.Accompanying the vital life forcé is consciousness as an attribute. This vital lifeforcé, with its attribute or consciousness, isidentical with the universal or Cosmic Con

sciousness. Other terminology of a mysticalnature would refer to it as the universal mind. Wherever there is consciousness youhave some aspect of mind.

We must really associate the soul of theindividual with both the vital life forcé andself. What do we mean ordinarily by soul? Ordinarily, it is understood to be the divineessence, or Cosmic intelligence which perme-ates man. Since vital life forcé transmitsthe universal consciousness, it is then thatwhich gives rise to what men cali soul. Obviously this same quality also exists in lesserorganisms. Man is not privileged alone tohave this essence; but it is man alone, at least

on this earth, of all living things, who hasthe realization of this element and comes toterm it soul.

With the brain, man has developed theability to analyze the consciousness itself.Man is able to distinguish between externallystimulated sensations and those which seemto have their origin entirely within him.Aside from perceiving his body, his physicalself, man also is aware of the emotions, in-stincts, and sentiments which he generallycomes to define as the psychic , or inner self. It is this highly developed self-consciousnesswhich man interprets as soul. It may be dis-puted by some that self and soul are synonymous. Some religionists want to make ofsoul a kind of seed implanted in man. Butthe personal self or soul cannot be separatedfrom each other, in fact. Ask the averagereligionist what he is conscious of about himself and that he designates as soul. His de-scription of his feelings, impulses, even hisideation and what he calis his moral sense




are psychologically related also to what hecalis self.

Simply put, then, our consciousness of theconsciousness in our being, in other words,our exalted self-consciousness, is what we calisoul. This functional aspect of soul, the factthat it is not an implanted substance, doesnot lessen the divine or mystical importanceof it. In experiencing what we cali soul, weare, in fact, becoming conscious of the universal or Cosmic intelligence that permeatesus and all beings.

The only individuality of the soul is its perso nality, as incongruous as this maysound. We have said that the notion of soularises from the function of consciousnessoperating through the brain and nervous systems by which we have self-awareness. Butthe state of awareness, the development ofconsciousness of each person, varíes, as wewell know. To the extent that we have arealization of the universal consciousnesswithin us, to that extent do we express it.We try to conform to the sensations we haveof this exalted self (soul) to the best of ourinterpretation. Our behavior, then, in re-sponse to it, the objectivity of the thoughtsand feelings it arouses within us, is our personality. The personality, then, is the individual image of our concept of soul.

For further clarification, let us use someof the analogies of the frater who has askedthese questions. The objective consciousness

is a kind of mirror in which are reflected theimpulsations of the stream of Cosmic Consciousness within us. This is the universalsoul, as we have said. But the image in themirror of the objective consciousness is not adirect correspondence to the object, that is,to the Cosmic Consciousness within us. Ourinterpretation and our realization distorts thereflection, the image which we have. Consequently, our soul-personality is never iden-tical with the cause that engenders the notionof soul in our minds. Conscientious study ofmystical subject matter and certain religiouselements brings about a refinement of theself-expression which corrects the image and

gives it a closer resemblance to the divineessence within us.Is the soul conscious of itself, the frater

asks. As we realize the consciousness of thevital life forcé within us—or self—to that extent does the universal soul have a kind ofself-realization. The universal soul with its

consciousness has an awareness of its internalnature by which it persists and carries out

its dynamic activity in the Cosmic. In otherwords, it responds in various ways so as topersevere in its functions, and this is consciousness. But to know itself as a humanbeing tends to realize himself could only beaccomplished through an organism such asman with his complex brain and certainlimitations. Certainly the puré, dynamic,universal consciousness would not have thesensations and feelings that man has, ñorwould it have the personality reaction to suchan experience the same as a human being.

The next point at issue is whether the particular soul-personality, the quality and character of man’s consciousness of his own innerself, survives in just that form. It is likeasking: does the olfactory image, the particular scent that man associates with a flow-er, continué to persist when his organ ofsmell is gone?

The cause of that olfactory image, whichman has, constitutes the vibrations from theflower, and they persist without human nos-trils to detect them. It is only the scent orsmell reacting on the human brain that givesthe flower its particular image or scent-per-sonality in man’s mind.

We want to believe in a way that it isdifficult to demónstrate, objectively at least,that the conscious image we have of vitallife forcé and its consciousness within us re-mains on after the physical organism hasdisintegrated. It is as though in the mirrorwhich is broken the image would not be lost.Having once been formed as an image, itwould persevere in a mysterious way! It isquite possible that the image of self—the conscious personality—does impinge upon thewhole stream of the vital life forcé. Then,when at death the stream of universal consciousness is no longer flowing through thatparticular body, it will, nevertheless, carrywith it a subtle impression of the personalityit produced while in the physical body. Thisimpression, then, made upon the universalconsciousness, would be conveyed with the

vital life forcé to again enter any other organism capable of retaining it and realiz-ing it.

To the present time, we only know thathuman beings are capable of having such arealization as soul. The impressions of thepast personality would, if this all be sound




reasoning, influence the interpretation andrealization had of the inner self in the mind

of the person into which it was reborn. Itwould perhaps give that person a more facilegrasp of his inner self, which would betermed a more highly evolved soul concept.

These are naturally but speculations andare offered as possible paths of research tosubstantiate the age-old religious and mystical concepts of the survival of personalityand of reincarnation.—X


It would almost seem that some men aredestined to be exposed at an early age to avariety óf cultures and customs. Further,

they seem to be endowed with such reasonand visión as to be able to extra ct from suchexperiences the best that each pro vides.These men, whether they realize it or not,become the real missionaries in the world.They do not necessarily advance any particular creed or system of thought, but theyare prepared to properly evalúate conditions,and therefore to make plain to others, whoseexperiences have been less varied, the truevalúes of life.

Such a person as this is Grand Councilor ofAMORC, Frater Emil Gerhard Starke ofBuenos Aires, Argentina. Frater Starke wasborn in a little town in Saxony (Germany)

on April 30, 1903. In his instance his paren-tai influence was an exceptional factor ingreatly orienting his life. His father was aprosperous textile manufacturer, a successthat implied that he had a practical outlookon life. Beneath the business acumen, however, his father was a philanthropist and atrue humanitarian. In fact, he was the silentbenefactor to many economically distressedfamilies in the community.

No less an instrument in the characterformation of young Emil Starke was hismother. He well recalls how she often re-minded him that the examples by which onemust live are not all to be determined fromprominent people. Those in humble situations have virtues which are often commend-able. After all, success in itself is not necessarily a badge of justice, tolerance or honesty,for example.

Emil Starke, after attending local schoolsuntil ten years of age, was sent to a largeschool in a nearby city. There he learned

Latin and French. Four years later he wasadmitted to the famous Saint Afra College

at Meissen, a city renowned for its manufacture of pottery. The College, thoughoriginally sectarian, was now nonecclesi-astical. Its specialty was the Humanities9classical Greek, Latin, and philosophy. Thestudents apparently took *a page out of ancient history by living a Spartan life andstringently disciplining themselves. However, a great spirit of democracy prevailed inthe school which was diametrically opposedto the socialistic trend of Germany at thetime.

Life in this College was inspiring to youth-ful Starke. It inculcated in him a freedom ofthought and almost a reverential love of learn

ing. By today’s standards, however, the institution was not utilitarian. There wasthe ever-increasing pressure in Germany, aselsewhere in the world, not to just loveknowledge as a beacon but to use it as animplement, or tool, figuratively, to grub outan existence. After leaving Saint Afra College, Frater Starke began the study of law.The economic conditions immediately following World War I did not make it possiblefor many of his classmates to strive for a pro-fession. They were compelled to seek anywork, no matter how menial. Emil Starkehimself lost his affection for law when he sawthe socialistic trend of the government of

Germany of that period.Frater Starke’s father and grandfatherboth, at early ages, had been sent abroad aspart of their liberal education. Young Starkewas thus sent to Argentina. He arrived atBuenos Aires in the winter of 1924, a youngman not yet twenty-one. Customs were obviously quite different. After leaming thelanguage, he quit his employment and sethimself up in a business as a foreign manu-facturers’ representative. In his spare time,he studied medicine at the local university.He eventually decided against such a career,as he could not be in accord with the pre-vailing theory of diseases. His studies, however, did engender his interest in psychologyand the working of the mental processes.

As Frater Starke’s work advanced, he sawthe need to familiarize himself with engineer-ing principies. After various vicissitudes, hebecame proficient in machine design.

World War II, and the fact that he wasof Germán origin, caused him to be placed




on the American Black List, which was asevere blow to his business as a manufac-

turers’ re pr es en tativ e. Subsequently, here-established his business, however, andcontinúes in this field today.

In 1946 Frater Starke “Crossed theThresh-old” into the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC.A few years later several other fratres ap-proached him to help him establish theBuenos Aires Chapter. This became an ac-complished fact in 1955 and Frater Starkewas honored by being appointed the Chapter’sfirst Secretary. In 1957 the Grand Masterof AMORC appointed Frater Starke to thehonorable office of Grand Councilor ofAMORC, Argentina, which office he still re-tains.

Frater Starke says the only personal conflict that he really has been confronted withis that of being torn between two interests—the one being the wholly practical extroverttendency and the other to devote himselfonly to the pursuit of knowledge. But he saysit was “the Rosicrucian teachings whichhelped me to gradually understand that itwas not my duty to give way to either oneof these tendencies exclusively, but to mergethem into a harmonious way of living.”

Frater Starke is married, and his wife andfamily have given him much encouragementin his excellent devotion and service to theRosicrucian Order, AMORC. He feels, too,that it is his personal mission to combat the

incredible reluctance on the part of so manypeople today to accept new and unbiasedthought.—X

The Meaning of Symbols

A frater of South Africa now addresses ourForum: “Is symbolism arbitrary? Wouldsome of our symbols be just as satisfactoryif their ántithesis were used, that is, for example, white for black?”

What is a symbol? It is a sign or designrepresenting, in a compact form, an idea.Actually we may say that a symbol is a picture or objective image of an idea. Now, of

course, it is true that the objectification ofideas or concepts may vary with differentpeoples. But an analysis of most symbolsindicates that psychologically they are a verycióse representation of the thought for whichthey stand.

Symbols are of two general kinds: First,

natural symbols and, second, artificial ones.Natural symbols are elements of natural

phenomena, of things actually seen or heard.A circle with oblique lines radiating from ithas for untold centuries depicted the sun toman. Wavy lines have represented the sur-face of water . The inverting of the letter Vhas signified a mountain peak. Two inter-laced but perhaps crudely drawn trianglesportrayed a star. Natural symbols are prin-cipally pictographs, that is, primitive draw-ings of what man has experienced objectively.If one makes even a superficial study ofEgyptian hieroglyphics, he will see that thisearly writing evolved from making picturesof things.

Artificial symbols are those which man hascreated to represent an idea. They are usually abstract, that is, the symbol does notnecessarily look like any reality. The artificial symbol, in fact, depicts a principierather than an elementary reproduction oísomething.

Let us consider the qualities of black andwhite to which the frater has referred. Blackhas long symbolized darkness and evil in themoral sense; also ignorance. Further it hasdepicted a void or chaos. Now, could theántithesis—that is, white—have been arbi-trarily used as effectively? The answer is:Most certainly not. We might say that blackand white are a combination of natural andartificial symbols. Simple reflection upon this

will make the point quite obvious. The nightis black. In the night all objects usually per-ceived in the day either become invisible orthe forms lose many of their qualities such ascolor and proportion. Darkness then is un-revealing and confining. It certainly cansymbolize ignorance for one whose mind isin darkness—not exposed to a variety of experiences and reality and which remains de-void of any new knowledge.

Black is as well a symbol of immoralityor evil. Darkness is a cloak that obscures.We cannot in darkness see the acts of others.Darkness, therefore, conceals crime andwickedness. In fact, the wrongdoer prefers

darkness to hide his malevolent acts. Terror,therefore, can lurk in darkness. Especiallywas this so for early man, who feared preda-tory beasts as well as human beings.

Conversely, white depicts the brilliance ofsunlight. The sun was an object of worshipto peoples of almost all early civilizations.




Not only did the sun give out light and heatbut it impregnated the earth with its rays

and caused it to be fruitful. Light is revealing. Everything that has substance standsfully exposed in light. Light dispels shadowsand reveáis whatever may be lurking inthem. In the light, man experiences manythings. He observes. He learns. Light thusbecame the symbol of learning and of wisdom. Further, white depicts pur ity. A thingwhich is white has no blemish. It is uniformin the quality which it presents to the eye.It does not suggest that it is obscuring anything. The puré spirit, the noble soul or character, was one without obscurity or blemish.Consequently, white was an excellent symbolof the abstract notion of virtue.

The Rosy Cross is an abstract or artificialsymbol. It consists of two elements, eitherone of which could represent some other idea.The rose in itself is a natural symbol. It isan entity, néeding no further interpretation,that is, it conveys the immediate idea of aflower. The abstraction is the additive meaning given to it mystically. The cross has hadnumerous abstract meanings. One of itsearliest meanings disclosed man’s observationof phenomena from which he deduced certain principies. The numeral two representsduality. A pair of anything suggests to themind that there is a dual quality to that particular reality.

Early man realized the principie of dualityfrom many of his daily observations as, forexample, night and day, male and female,light and dark, hot and coid, life and death,and so on. He also discovered that, in theunity of dual things, manifestations and dis-tinctly different phenomena often occurred.Hermetic philosophy, an evolution from ancient Egyptian teachings, symbolized theunity of dual forces or conditions by joiningtwo lines. This was done at first in the formof an X and then in variations of such a

joining.The Rosicrucian cross symbolizes the phys

ical body of man, with arms outstretched,facing the light (for an influx of knowledge).

In the center where the horizontal arm joinsthe vertical staff of the cross is superimposedthe rose. The rose, to early Rosicrucians, asthe alchemists, represented dew, a spiritualeffusion. Subsequently, it represented thesoul of man in the physical body. The par-tially unfolded rose alluded to the evolving

consciousness of the soul as it receives theGreater Light, Cosmic lllumination.

To a principally artificial and abstractsymbol as the Rosy Cross almost any meaning could be attributed by the imaginationof man. But the simple design, as a symbolshould be, pictorially teaches a lesson ofmany words. It allows every intellect toframe the principie in ideas which are mostintimate and comprehensible to it. For example, the brief mystical explanation wehave given here of the Rosy Cross could havebeen, and has been, elaborated on extensively. Oíd Rosicrucian mystical tomes have de-voted pages to this simple symbol. TheHermetic Rosy Cross, or the AlchemicalCross, is a very complex symbol and also an

abstract one, because the elements of whichit is composed are arbitrary ones to representsigns of the zodiac and chemical elements.

The more complex a symbol is, the lessspecific it is, that is, definite in its meaning.Since signs suggest images to the mind, themore of them, the greater the profusion ofideas. Escutcheons, heraldic shields, armorialinsignia are usually of this complex natureand seldom convey a distinctive intelligenceto anyone except the designer or those whohave been informed about them. The simplerthe symbol, the more likely it is to be universal ly understood.

For those who wish to pursue this inter-esting subject of symbolism further and morefully,, we recommend the small fully-illus-trated book of symbolism entitled Behold the Sign. It is available at the R o s i c r u c i a n

S u p p l y B u r e a u , Rosicrucian Park, San José,California, postage prepaid, for $1.60 (11/9sterling) .—X

Have Our Ñames Hidden Power?

A frater arises to say: “I would like tohave the Forum discuss the following question: Does the ñame one bears have anythingto do with what he real ly is? For instance,the girl’s ñame Martha contains the vowelsound mar. Rodman, a man’s ñame, contains

the basic rah and ma vowels. The first initialof the late Dr. H. Spencer Lewis containseh from ehm, pronounced aim. There aremany other examples but the above willsuffice.

“What I am trying to arrive at is whetheror not our ñames have anything to do with




our success or failure. Does the sounding ofour ñame, either by ourselves in giving our

ñame to another or by the speaking of it bysomeone else to attract our attention, haveanything to do with our success?”

In modern times there has been widelypopularized a system of numbers, in relationto the alphabet and the formation of words,called numerology. These systems, for thereare variations of them, profess that everyletter or combination of letters has corre-spondence to a number. These numbers, inturn, are stated to have a vibratory contentwhich may affect human beings in variousways. Thus, using a combination of lettersin one’s ñame is an assurance of producingspecific effects, either advantageous or detri-mental. For their “authority,” the majorityof these systems refer to Pythagoras, Greekphilosopher of the 5th century, B. C.

Actually, a study of Pythagoras’ system ofnumbers reveáis that it has little in commonwith these modem systems which cater, ingeneral, to the credulous and superstitious.In discussing with some of these students ofnumerology the origin of their system, wefound that they had not even made any studyof the Pythagorean principies so far as theyare still extant.

Pythagoras’ philosophy of numbers may be“summed up in the doctrine that things arenumbers.” If we give thought to this amoment, it does not seem to make sense. Anumber is abstract. How can it, therefore,be a thing? However, if we think of it inthe modern scientific sense, it would appearthat the philosophy of Pythagoras was actually anticipating the scientific concept of thissubject. In modern science a substance, as achemical element, has an atomic number andweight. The atomic number is the total ofthe positive charges of the atom. For example, hydrogen has an atomic number of1; carbón, 6; oxygen, 8; iron, 26; gold, 79,etc. Atomic weight, on the other hand, consists of the combined number of positivecharges and neutrons in an atom. For furtherexample, “the atomic weight of oxygen is

taken as 16.”Though many modern historians are dis-

inclined to attribute such an astute visiónof physics to Pythagoras, in all probábilityhe did mean that things are composed of particles. The number of the particles and theirvibratory nature is what causes them to

manifest their qualities or form to us. Toknow the number of something, in this sense,

is to know its power to materialize as a reality. This does not mean, however, that theabstract numeral had a potential power initself. For analogy, the element carbón has,as said, an atomic number of 6. It is the sixpositive charges, and their negative opposites,however, which give the chemical propertyof carbón. The numeral 6 is not a power initself except as it is related to the positivecharges, the protons, or, as we Rosicruciansstate, “positive electrons.”

Pythagoras, in his philosophy, also taughtthat the “units of numbers are considered asphysical points.” In other Words, he relateda spatial quality to numbers. Thus, the figure 1 was the beginning; 2 was duality; 4was the square, and so on. He used numbersto symbolize certain abstract notions and actual circumstances as well. Justice, Pythagoras symbolized by the square, and thenumeral 4 represented both the square and justice. This has been termed nonsense bymoderns. It is not, however, if we think ofit in terms of symbolism only. Certainly, theabstract numeral 4 inherently is no more

just than any other number. Further, asquare, which has four corners, has no more

justice to it than a triangle or a circle. However, when we look at the matter symbolical-ly we find the suggestion for the ideaunderlying both the geometric form of the

square and the numeral 4.All sides of a square are equal. Equality

is an expression of justice. To be just, onemust equally consider all sides. No one sideshall be given greater preference than another. The equality of sides is justice. Weeven use the slang term with relation tohonesty by saying that someone is “on thesquare.” A mere play on words, yes, but thewords and signs are used to express an abstract principie, that of justice. Certainlythis is no more exaggerated than the religiousconnotation attributed to the symbol of thecrucifix or the national idealism which theflag of a nation is made to depict.

Pythagoras endeavored, in his philosophy,to show the generation of reality, the becoming of beings by the symbolism of numbers.He began with a dot as a point of beginningand then led upward through numeráis toshow development in the physical universe.He assigned, perhaps arbitrarily, a polarity to




numbers. Some had a pos itive contení;others, a negative. Nevertheless, we cannot

assume that he meant that there was a positive property or power in certain numbers.Rather, he meant that certain quantities ofproperties, in relation to other groups of substances or things, would act in a positivemanner. It is related that, in illustrating hisproposition that things are numbers, Pythagoras drew a picture of an object. Then hefilled the outline of the object with pebbles.This was to indicate that a particular number of a kind of particles—atoms, if you will—isrequired to give an object its nature to oursenses.

Ñames have vowels within them. Thesevowels, when intoned as sounds, have a vi

bratory quality. Vibrations of sound canaffect us directly through the sense of hear-ing. This is a common experience. Alsocertain vibrations of this nature, impingingupon our sympathetic or autonomous nervoussystem, can affect the emotions and excitepsychic centers. These sensations, in turn,produce a change of ideation, thoughts, mental images, psychic and emotional states.Music, of course, is the common example ofthe latter effect, combinations of vibrationsheard as sound and producing within usvarious moods.

As for ñames, the sound of their tonalquality can be soothing or irritating, as eachof us has had occasion to experience. However, what is pleasing in a ñame to one per-son, that is, its sound, may not be to another.In other words, all vibrations are not uni-versally beneficial or detrimental. This veryfact is sufficient to make nugatory the preceptof the theory of numerology, as it is presentedin most of the popular systems. Even combinations of sounds, such as ra and ma, whichhave generally certain psychical effects, mustbe intoned at a certain pitch. It is not justthe intonation of the vowel but its exact vibration that is important. This fact isstressed in the Rosicrucian teachings.

Quite naive are those persons who believethat the changing of their given ñames toinclude certain vowels will mean the em-bracing of harmonious vibrations that willalter their personality and mentality to theirbenefit. All they need to do is to make acasual investigation and they will find individuáis whose ñames since birth have in-cluded the very vowels and combinations of

them which they now want to adopt. Theywill find that such persons have not neces

sarily had wonderful lives. They will findthat such persons have also experienced adversity, sorrow, and disappointment, notwith-standing the nature of their ñame.

Life is not quite so simple that we canevade its responsibilities, and the exercise ofour mental and physical faculties, and gainsuccess by the mere act of changing ourñames.

In connection with this thought, the littleverse quoted by the frater who asked thisquestion is rather significant:

Verbena hasrít any beans, the catnip carít meow ,

The dandelion doesrít roar because it

dorít know how.Th ere9s nothing in the ñame at all9 as you can plainly see,

A rose by any othe r ñame would smell as sweet to me.

To travel on your ñame alone worít get you very far.

The ñame you bear has naught to do with what you really are.

- X

Rosicrucian View of Divorce

A Latin-American soror asks our Forum:“When two married persons, who are com-panion members, get a divorce, are they going against the Rosicrucian principies anddoes the Order consider this action contraryto its prestige?”

The Rosicrucian Order considers marriagea sacred institution. Mystically, of course,marriage consists of the unity of two souls orpersonalities, as well as the unity of twophysical beings. In the mystical, as well asthe biological sense, marriage is the unifica-tion of the two polarities or sexes in whichthe presumed ideal state is attained. However, marriage is also a necessary social institution. Marriage, with its legal and socialobligations, makes possible the first socialimit, the fa m ily . There can be a family relationship, of course, without the formality ofthe marriage rites, but these rites exercise arestraining influence upon the individuáisand, in most instances, encourage the familyassociation.

The family is the basis of society becauseordinarily it provides an atmosphere of pro-




tection and affection for the offspring. Itconstitutes a médium for the transmitting of

certain moral, ethical, and other codes necessary for a citizen of society. Marriage, andthe family relationship, is intended to harborthe child until he has sufficient maturity ofmind to adapt himself rationally and properly, as an adult, to the demands of his society.

The dissolution of the institution of marriage would mean widespread sexual pro-miscuity. The responsibilities of the parentsfor the children would, therefore, he les-sened; and the culture, training, and pre-paration of the child for its social obligationswould be diminished. Without the familyrelationship there is little affection or respectfor adults and their way of living on the partof the children. The family is the basis ofthe home also and in the home there areinculcated certain aesthetic tastes and responsibilities for those things which society con-siders essential to its well-being.

An individual, it is presumed, marriesprincipally because of the natural biologicalurge for unity with the opposite sex ex-pressed in various phases of desire or love.There are, of course, so-called marriages ofconvenience for security, economic, and social advantage; these, relatively speaking, arein the minority in contrast to the motivationsof most marriages.

Philosophically, however, the final causeof marriage is the individual’s desire to at-tain a state of happiness through the unitywhich i t pro vides and which he believes cannot be realized in his single status. Marriageis not—in the majority of instances—an intellectual venture. It is, so far as what theindividual expects to accrue from it and whatmotivates him in the first place, principallyemotional. The individual expects it to be anaccretion in his personal happiness. He be*lie ves it will add to the enjoyment of his life.

Marriages are not made in Heaven! Theonly aspect of marriage that lies outside theprovince of man himself is the immanentdesire for the opposite sex which he may in-terpret according to his moral and intellectual

capacity. There is no guarantee that theselection the individual makes is the best forthe desires that motívate him. To use ananalogy that may leave us open to criticism,marriage is like selecting a food to satisfyone’s appetite. We may later find the selection is not digestible.

The selection in marriage is psychological-ly difficult for many reasons. Physical beauty

and attractiveness, the so-called magneticpersonality, usually are the principal deter-mining factors in first drawing togethermembers of the opposite sex. The physicalappeal is inherent; it is instinctive, genetical-ly and biologically. Such appeal might be sufficient for producing a healthy race. However,such a selection is not adequate to establishthe basis for the family or for happiness,aside from sexual satisfaction. Incompati-bility of interests, as religión, education,idealism, and temperament, may eventuallycause individuáis to detest each other, eventhough married. This in itself reveáis thatthere is no divine protective mantle thatdescends upon those who enter into the marriage state.

So far as nature is concerned, biologically,if there is offspring, the unión is completeand its function is served. But man’s moraland social ideáis make of marriage a differentcondition than that of nature. They conferupon marriage a halo of sanctity which maynot exist in fact. A true marriage must bemade by the individuáis who enter into it,not by theological and legal fíats. Since themajority of individuáis enter the state ofmatrimony for a happiness exceeding whatthey have experienced as unmarried, anything less is failure.

To compel individuáis to live together, de-filing each other’s character, supplanting lovewith loss of respect, if not hatred, is a mock-ery of the ideal of marriage. It is the antithesis of the mystical unión which alladvanced religions expound as the esotericnature of marriage. Likewise, it does notaccomplish the social purpose of marriage.Under such conditions the family relationship is inharmonious and an environment isestablished which does not contribute to producing an emotionally stable citizen, havingthe probity expected of him. In fact, moderncriminology attributes much crime and mental disorder to the emotional trauma of incompatible marriages.

Many persons make mistakes in contractsand agreements which they enter into withone another. If there is no meeting of theminds, a contract cannot be equitably con-summated. Marriage, in the legal sense, isa contract. If circumstances develop so thatthere is no meeting of minds—and hearts—




bring about conscious unity of the personalsoul with its source, God or the Absolute.

The mystic’s position holds that being of Godis not sufficient. It is necessary for him toenter into the plethora of Divinity, into afull consciousness of a oneness with the soul’ssource.

In that oneness with God, there is not onlyattained (believes the mystic) a greater personal power of accomplishment but an illumination by which life can be lived in ac-cordance with divine order. In such guided living, the errors of the impetuosity of desiresand passions can be over come. Spelling it outin common language, this means a freedomfrom the mistakes of the human’s solé de-pendence upon his limited mortal faculties

and intelligence.The art of mysticism, its technique, consists of learning how this personal unión withthe Godhead, the Absolute, is to be attained.It is done through meditation, that is, achange in and an evolving of consciousnessto embrace the divine essence resident withinself. An important element of mysticism,which distinguishes it from most religionsis that the mystic, to experience the ecstasyof unión, is not dependent upon any inter-mediary. He needs no other man, be hepope, prelate or priest, to intercede for him.He must invert his own consciousness in certain ways. For analogy, no one can digestfood for us to nourish our body, and so no

one else can experience for us the Divine.The mystical experience is an intímate consciousness of God.

Anything further than this delineation be-comes just an intricate elaboration of theways, means and methods of different schoolsof mysticism. The basic precepts, however,must be the same or one is not a mystic. Inthe Middle Ages the majority of mysticswere ascetics and recluses. The theology ofthe time stressed the evil of the world. Sal-vation of the soul was only to be attained bymystical unión and that, in tum, by escapefróm the world. Further, any adherence tobodily comfort was adjudged submitting to

the sins of the flesh.The modem mystic has moved to the op

posite pole from such extreme views. Themodern mystic still desires this Cosmic unión. He still resorts to meditation and specificpreparatory steps by which he invokes theconscious state of oneness. However, he no

longer renounces the world. He believes thatonly as he understands the needs of mankind

and his place in it, can he fully appreciate,as well, the divine self and its connections.More than this, the modern mystic believesthat his unión cannot be attained with a sel-fish motive in mind. He cannot expect thatthe illumination he will have as a personaltranscendency is just for his individual satisfaction. The unión with the One, if andwhen attained, as Cosmic Consciousness, imposes upon the mystic a moral obligation. Hemust utilize his knowledge, and whateverendowment he has received, for the welfareof other men.

The modern mystic interprets the help thathe can give as meaning that he should be-

come more proficient in whatever is histrade, business, profession or occupation. Itis not just that he may materially benefit ina personal sense but that in some way,through his efforts, the mantle of ignoranceand suffering may be lessened for the restof mankind. To do these things the modemmystic cannot live or act as an eccentric. Hecannot hie himself away to some mountain-top or the depths of a forest and exeludehimself from humanity. Quite the contrary!He must win the respect and confidence ofhis fellows by associating with them. Hemust dress in an everyday way, and liveand look as others do—with modification. Hemust try to depict good health, aspiration,morality, intelligence, and such virtues astolerance and justice. This is a lot to expectof any mortal but at least the sincere mysticcan excel most men in some of these things.

Consequently, a mystic can be, for example, a lawyer, a physician, truck driver,merchant, stenographer, clerk or farmer; hecan be from any walk of life and be as activein it as any other person.

The ph ilosophy of mystic ism is the intellectual aspect of mysticism. It is, for example, the attempt to explain what themystic conceives by the word God, or theAbsolute. Further, it is an analysis of thevarious steps of consciousness by which themystical unión is attained. It may also consider, in a dialectical way, the content of themystical experience, that is, in terms of sensations had and the motivations which follow. The philosophy of mysticism may takethe whole procedure of mysticism and divideit into successive phases, naming each phase




This has been done in this very Forum inthe past and in articles appearing in the

Rosicrucian Digest. In fact, the Rosicrucianteachings include, as part of their vast subjectmatter, a very comprehensive system of the

ph ilosop hy of mysticism. The latter, however, we reiterate, is the intellectual, therational, aspect of the subject. But the puréresults are the psychical aspects, that is,the personal, individual unión with theCosmic.—X

Exercises to Perform Daily

So often our students in the early Neophyte Degrees write to us and request a program that they may follow for best resultswith the Rosicrucian teachings. They gen

erally point out that there are so manyexperiments in the First and Second Degreesthat they are at a loss to know just whichones to continué and which to set aside. Theyexplain that it is physically impossible towork with all of the experiments each day;so just what procedure should be followed?

In the first place, the student should keepin mind the purpose of the experimentswhich naturally is that of stimulating thehealth and developing the divine inner forces,and should therefore concéntrate his attention along these lines. There are a greatmany experiments in the early lessons thatare particularly beneficial to the health.These, of course, deal with deep breathingand various health-giving habits. No doubtone of the most important experiments toinclude' in any program is that of concen-trating on the parts of the body while hold-ing the breath. This exercise can be per-formed in just a few minutes and can bedone regardless of one’s surroundings; inother words, regardless of where one maybe at the time. So, this exercise especiallyshould be indulged in.

Very often a daily schedule can be so ar-ranged as to incorpórate several exercises ata time. For instance, instead of setting asidea definite period for indulging in deep breathing and then another period for concéntrating

on the parts of the body while holding thebreath, these can be done together. This initself will save many minutes in the courseof a busy day. The student should also tryto follow the schedule of drinking a certainquantity of water, especially upon arisingin the morning and before retiring at night.

These exercises are especially beneficial inbuilding up the health. The exercise of con-

centrating on the parts of the body whileholding the breath is mentioned as an experi-ment for developing within the student thatcondition known as Cosmic Consciousness. Ittends to awaken all of the parts of the bodyand eventually will result in an extensiónof the perceptions.

Then, we have the purely mystical or psychic experiments that -are very necessary toone’s daily routine. It would seem that theaverage student works with an experimenta few times during the week following hisstudies and then sets the experiment asidefrom that time on. Particularly is this trueof the experiments in Mandamus LessonsFive and Six. After the student finds thathe can successfully cali upon the “Still SmallVoice Within,” he gives no further thoughtto it; and yet, is it not true that a highlydeveloped sense of intuition is desirable?

Think for a moment what a wonderfulthing it would be to be able to receive in amoment’s notice help and inspiration fromthe divine inner self. This can only be doneby a certain development of the importantglands and centers, and to bring about thisdevelopment, practice is necessary. And so,is it not important to submit all questions,regardless of their nature, first to the innerself before attempting to analyze them inthe physical? The same is more or less true

of the exercise in Mandamus Lesson Six thatis for the purpose of sensitizing our transmis-sion and receiving equipment.

Then, to go further, the student should tryto hold as many Cathedral of the Soul Con-tacts during each day as is convenient to hisdaily routine . . . These periods of silentmeditation are beneficial in ways too numer-ous to mention. A careful examination of theCathedral booklet, Liber 777, will help thestudent to understand the wonderful benefithe can receive by a few minutes of silentmeditation during the various hours sug-gested.

Naturally, there are a great many other

important experiments in the early lessons,but it is true that it is difficult to add eachand every one to a daily routine, and so wesay again: Arrange a system that will incorpórate a few of the most important exercisesand maintain this system.

(From the October 1939 Forum)




December, 1959Volume XXX No. 3

FRANCES HOLLA ND, F. R. C.

Granel Councilor of AMORC for Southern California




Greetings!V V V

POVERTY AND POWER

Dear Fratres and Sorores:The two greatest contributing factors to

war are poverty and power. The former isa physiological cause, and the latter is a psychological one. The gnawing, impelling urgefor food will compel a people to east aside allnormal judgment and restraint. The risk oflife and of properties means little to thehuman who is continually haunted by the

need of the bare necessities of living. Lifewithout such necessities is a torture not to beendured. It is considered worth the gambleof death to be free from abject poverty andall of its horrible accompaniments.

It has been truly said that there are manythings worse than death. Slow starvation andthe resultant disease, pain, and months oryears of mental torment are such things. Thepeople who intentionally or unwittingly,through stupid government regulations, causea nation to be economically throttled andthus starved are provoking war—a war inwhich no quarter will be shown by theenemy.

The love of conquest does not always be

gin with military aggression, but often maylead to it. The active mind loves dominationover its environment, and those circumstances which challenge it. The student, thephilosopher, and the scientist love to exertthe power of their minds over the mysteriesof the unknown. They like to experiencemastery of self over the forces of nature.Such mastery is a satisfaction to the ego, yetit is constructive and beneficial to the wholeof humanity. The philosopher who dissolvesthe superstition, by revealing the mentalcauses which produced it, finds great satisfaction in his achievement. In addition, however, he has been a benéfactor to humanity.

The same may be said of the scientist whodevises a time-saving instrument. Such persons find satisfaction iri the application oftheir perso nal power. What may later bederived as personal gain from such power isof no concern to them. Most of the greatphilosophers were not rich in worldly goods.

Many of the great scientists and inventorswere likewise not wealthy men. Even ifwealth did inure to them later as a consequence of their Creative powers, it was evalu-ated by them as very much less than their

joy of accomplishment.It is, therefore, not wrong to have a love

of power. It is in the application of the power that the danger arises. The man or menwho have made their end in life the accumulation of natural resources, or a gaining ofthe wealth of facilities, are the ones who arereally dangerous to humanity. Their spiritof conquest is tainted with avarice and cu-pidity. They want power for possession. Power for possession results in its use againstothers. The lover of power for possessionis not content to have all that which he mayneed of something. He has also the perverteddesire to have more than any other maypossess.

Further, such a use of power seeks toprevent others from having to the same extent. It is, in other words, the restricted useof power, the attempt to immure things or

conditions with it. The person who uses hispowers to forcé entry into a source of sup-plies which others may share in some manner may rightly love power, but it is usedas a benefactor of society. The one who useshis powers to bar the way for others is nota real lover of power. He is not really en-

joying the energy or forcé he is bringing tobear, but rather the ends which make itavailable to him alone.

Today, therefore, any nation, or peoples,which interprets or applies its economic, fi-nancial, and military power, in the sense ofdenying, or restricting equal opportunities forprosperity, freedom, and happiness to other

nations, is a provoker of war. A nation whichbecause of its natural resources and avail-ability to trade routes, technical skills, andmonetary wealth, has acquired a power ofaccomplishment is duty bound to exercisea portion of such power toward assisting lessfortúnate nations. The challenge of conquest




which compels the exertion of such power

cannot be confined to the territorial require-ments of a single na tion alone. One cannotconsider himself, for analogy, a successfulphysician if he has just applied the powerof his therapeutic skill to his own commu-nity, when disease is rampant in an adjoin-ing settlement.

A powerful nation in the future must beconstrued in the terms of one that acceptsthe challenge of world conditions. It mustbe ready to use the might of its resourcesand skill to preserve for humanity what italso enjoys for itself. The real lover of powerfinds his joy in exerting it under and in allcircumstances and conditions, whether the

results inure just to his immediate benefit orto others as well. A true application ofpolitical and economic power must thereforebe impersonal. It must work for all humanity collectively. Whenever the power isconfined to national interests exclusively, itis an example of its misapplication and thedanger signal of war.

If poverty is a provocative of war, thenthe powerful nations, to rightly use theirpower, must ever accept the challenge ofpoverty wherever it exists throughout theworld. People may see eye to eye on theneed of food, security, and comforts. However, after these physical needs are met, asuccession of different interests develops.These divergent interests are due to traditionand endemic customs. It may take manycenturies, with all of our technical develop-ments, to produce a standardization of livingwhich will unite people. This pursuit ofoften extremely different aims makes it difficult for a people of one nation to under-stand another and to be sympathetic to theirneeds. Especially is this so where ideáis orintellectual aims are had. An example ofsuch intellectual idealism is the various political ideologies of today which bring thepeople in conflict with each other. If it ismore generally realized that humans are still

far more emotional than intellectual, this

difficulty can be bridged.More often the emotional nature finds itssatisfaction in certain cultural pursuits.Russian, French, Germán, English, andAmerican audiences, who are responsive tomusic, will alike enjoy a symphonic concert.All of their intellectual, social, and tradition-al heritages and differences are bridged bythis single emotional appeal—the love ofmusic. The same can be said of painting,sculpturing, and handcrafts. If the greatpowers will sponsor international art exhibitsand concerts, a bond of fellowship will beestablished between all peoples. A commonground of appreciation and regard for each

other’s cultural ideáis will be had which willsubordínate the intellectual ones out of whichconflict now often arises.

It is often believed that the extremes ofintellectualism which exist between peoples—those who differ from you in their views—make such persons strange and to be sus-pected. When it can be shown that the depthof feeling of those who do not necessarilythink as we do is the same as our own, hos-tility disappears. They become to us “bro-thers beneath the skin.” A people who haveone major interest in common are moretolerant of the lesser differences betweenthem.

In the Rosicrucian Oriental, Egyptian Museum, we have proven this to be a fact.Periodically in one of our galleries we dis-play exhibits of paintings done by celebratedartists of foreign nations. The collection ofpaintings are either released from New Yorkor San Francisco. Recently [1945] we exhibited the work of contemporary celebratedAustralian and New Zealand artists. Thelove of art attracted to the Rosicrucian Museum, upon this occasion, people who perhapswould have been otherwise hostile to whatthey imagined to be the Rosicrucian philo-sophical or intellectual ideáis. Their appreciation of our display of this art, on the other

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hand, did not necessarily invoke an interest

in Rosicrucianism, ñor was it so intended,but it did make them friendly and more tolerant of our other efforts.

The average man can fe el more deeplythan he can think. Cultural unity, therefore,must be furthered by the exchange of thatwhich appeals to the higher emotions andsentiments of people everywhere. A bro-therhood of mankind can more often besensed through the work of music or art thanthrough the work of a philosopher. Whenmen feel they are one, then later they candefine that oneness in terms of principiesand laws which they might collectively understand. Fratemally,

RALPH M. LEWIS,(From August 1945 Forum) Imperator.

Sexual Activity and Spiritual Development

Several persons lately have addressed ourForum asking questions conceming variousaspects of sexual appetite, its gratification,and in particular what effect, if any, willsexual activity have on one’s inner or spiritual development.

These questions have covered nearly theentire ground of this subject, from the fraterwho writes, “Is it true that sexual desire is

base and materialistic, and that we can never achieve enlightenment until we learn tonegate it?” to the one who asked, “Howmany days or hours must we abstain fromintercourse before entering the sanctum?”

In order to fully answer these queries, wemust explore the question of sex and humanmoráis from a realistic viewpoint.

The normal human being, in his earthlyexistence, is subject to a number of needsand appetites wholly connected with hisphysical or material existence. Because ofthis relationship of these needs with earthlyexistence, various religions and sects havetaught that the way to enlightenment isthrough achieving freedom from them. Thesewould include the need for food, drink,shelter, and so on, as well as the desire torelieve the sexual urge, which is normal inman.

A study of the validity of these ideas,however, shows that the material existenceis just as important to our total development

as is the Divine existence. If this were not

so, why would we even have a life on theearth plañe? Our physical life and thoseneeds or urges which accompany it are necessary experiences, and the satisfaction ofthese appetites, by the same token, arenecessary as well.

We should realize, of course, that anything may be overdone, and this includesthe fulfillment of our biological needs andurges as well as anything else. These appetites overserve their need when they are in-dulged in to extreme excess. This applies toeating, as well as to sexual relationships.

However, again, we must qualify ourcomments by cautioning that it is not wrong

to enjoy filling these needs. It can be arguedthat the final, trae end of eating is the sus-tenance of life, and that nature has set re-production as the final goal of sexualattraction, but this should in no way meanthat we should not enjoy a properly preparedmeal with some of the finer added attrac-tions which make the difference betweenbare sustenance and a pleasurable experience, ñor that there are no other ends associated with our sexual relationships.

Most persons do find a pleasure in fulfill-ing their sex desire, and this is absolutelynormal. Sexual abstinence, particularly self-enforced celibacy, is in truth unnatural, nomatter what authority, ecclesiastical or oth-erwise, might be quoted in its support. Tocontinually oppose any natural desire, in-cluding sexual, results in frustration whichmay cause serious psychological damage orpersonality distortion.

Realistically speaking, then, we find thatnormal sexual activity is the proper courseto follow, and that celibacy, particularlyself-enforced, even for so-called “spiritual”reasons, as well as extreme overindulgence,is what would be considered against the lawsof nature.

Finally, and we have been asked thisseveral times in recent weeks, where doesself-stimulation fit into this over-all picture?

Self-stimulation, in the sexual sense, hasbeen long frowned upon as an abnormal oreven unhealthy practice. Religionists anddoctors both, for many years, wamed againstit. And yet it is almost universal throughoutall the peoples of the world, and prevalent inboth sexes. This might lead one to wonder




is, of course, due to the gradually evolvedcustoms of which we have spoken. Polygamy

is such an example. The taking of more thanone wife among one people is a morally circumspect custom. With other peoples it isbigamous and immoral. The natural impulseto be part of the “good” causes the individualto adjust to the customs of his nation orpeople with free conscience.

In every society, however, there are thosewho act and live quite contrary to its moralstandards and apparently are devoid of anypangs of conscience. Such conditions mayoften be due to an emotional abnormality.The individual may be emotionally imma-ture to the degree that he is not as responsiveto the psychic impulses of his nature that

constitute the factor of conscience. Perhapshe has a paucity of desire to share in thegood will of his fellows. He is inclined, by adistorted construction of his feelings, to actually be antisocial. Therefore, he can and willact in a way that violates the moral behaviorof his group without a sense of guilt of anywrongdoing that marks the function of conscience.

All persons who conform to the dictates ofsociety, its laws and moral codes, are notparagons of conscience. Social pressure, thecompulsión of social influence, and, frankly,fear of punishment and other condemnationare the reasons why great majorities of peo

ple conform to the requirements of theirgroup. There are many whose moral im-pulsation is deficient and they only awaitthe opportunity to deviate. A good con science, however, is the unity of both thepsychic and intellectual factors. In otherwords, one should be guided to do the rightby the inner desires, but he should also examine closely the customs of his time. Manythings that are proscribed or denounced asevil should be reinterpreted in terms of a newsocial relationship and a greater understanding. Few persons today would think it“wicked” to play tennis on Sunday, as itwas generally thought to be a century ago.Consequently, though there is an inner mo-

tivation to conduct oneself so as to be freefrom an act of immorality, one could nevertheless play tennis without a violation of conscience.

There is ofttimes a conflict, as we have hadoccasion to say before in this Forum, between public and private conscience. The in-

tellect, as in the example given, will showthe obsolescence of some customs, the violation of which would theoretically be opposedto public conscience. However, the privateconscience can no longer accept such. Thismay cause one to be a lawbreaker from so-ciety’s point of view, that is, from the established rules and regulations, and yet bemorally circumspect so far as the psychicdirection of the personal self is concerned.

Thus, as said, conscience in part is com-posed of urges and desires, but they are rela-tively lofty. The desires and urges ofconscience move us to want to have thefriendship, love, and respect of our fellow-men. Any desires which we have that aredetrimental to the health, freedom, and

security of other men, or which viólate theirdignity as human beings, do not stem fromconscience.—X

Combating Negative Thoughts

Our Forum is now presented with twoquestions, one from a frater who is a medicalphysician, and another from a soror. Thesequestions are similar in nature. One asks:“How may we combat or nullify the depress-ing effects of the auras and thoughts of others? Being a physician, these are very powerful at times, especially when one is caughtunaware. My belief is that such experiencesare not the result of personal karma but thatwe must learn the way to negate such influences.”

The other question submitted to our Forumis: “How can oíd thoughts be negated andnew thoughts planted in our subconsciousminds when we are subjected daily to mis-conceptions, habits and beliefs which are themode of the day? How can we, under theseconditions when we penetrate the wall ofhabit, be sure that what we are placing thereis for our good?”

To begin with, let us be certain that weunderstand what is the nature of a negative thought. All negative thoughts are by nomeans destructive or immoral. A thoughtmay be disappointing, disillusioning, restrain-ing, and thus, in its relationship to certainideas or activities, be relatively negative.But such a thought in itself may not be im-proper and, in fact, should perhaps be received and accepted by us.




Let us use a simple analogy to further

explain this premise. Little Johnny wantsto eat a chocolate bar of candy just beforehis dinner. His mother tells him definitelythat he may not do so, knowing that it wouldaffect his appetite for dinner, and that thelad should first eat some wholesome food.Now, Johnny’s thought is positive! It isdynamic. It consists of obtaining and eatingthe chocolate. In relation to his positivemental program, his mother’s order and explanation is negative. It is negative becauseit obstructs the positive nature of Johnny’sthoughts. Johnny would like to combat hismother’s negative thought, but should he?

The thought of the mother in itself is not

negative. The content of her thought is likewise positive. After all, it consists of a pro-posed action interfering with an act of Johnny’s—namely, the eating of the candybar—and it concerns his own welfare.

Now, let us be realistic. Many things inlife that restrain us or obstruct our plansand even our cherished ideáis, we condemn asbeing negative. Rationally, they are negativebecause they are the ántithesis of what weconsider are our thoughts and actions. Weoften think of govemment rules and regula-tions as inhibitory—therefore negative. Theymay not have any valué, and then again,such rules and regulations, if analyzed im-personally, would perhaps be found to ouradvantage even though they do irritate andapparently obstruct us.

It is necessary then, if possible, to determine the motive behind the contra-thoughtsof others. Are they vengeful, jealous, acri-monious, or are they the result of a sincereconviction with good intent? If they are ofthe latter classification, that is, with theproper motivation, such thoughts, eventhough relatively negative to Our own, cannotaffect us in a detrimental way psychically.They can have no harmful effect upon ouraura or emotions. Of course, if we mentallydwell upon them, the fact that they curb ouractions and that we allow ourselves to be-come angered because someone dared to sug-gest a view opposite to our own, we thencause our own distress!

If thoughts are intrinsically negative, thatis, if there is an ulterior motive being directed against us, we then should stimulate ourconsciousness and will, and arouse the Crea

tive forces of our own mind. With each of us,

as Rosicrucians, as human beings, in fact,there are certain thoughts, mental images orwords which have a personal, positive quality. The mentally saying of such a word orthe intoning of the vowel sound or the visualization of the inspiring thought image, willmitígate any negative thoughts directed toward us. We use the word negative now inthe sense of “malicious.” In other words, youwill then build up a wall of sanctity and pro-tection about yourself. You must remember,too, that your own thoughts—unless you arein a hypnotic state—always have a far greater efficacy than the thoughts of others directed to you. By suggesting to yourself peaceand protection, and conceiving that thesecome from the divine or cosmic world, youstrengthen your will to command innerstrength and mental reserve to repel anyagitation.

By this process you make your own aura of such a vibratory and positive polarity thatit easily counters and resists any externaland otherwise negative forcé. Again, we usethe term negative in the sense of being destructive.

In our teachings we are told of an age-oldmystical process. It is that of drawing acircle of magnetic, psychic forcé about ourselves, into which thoughts intended to beharmful cannot penetrate. Actually, this

drawing of the circle about us constitutes theraising of ourselves to a plañe of consciousness where we become insentient to suchnegative vibrations.

One of the questions before our Forumasks how any thought can be planted in oursubconscious when we each day are continu-ally subject to misconceptions, wrongfulhabits, etc. The fact that we know thatsomething is erroneous or false makes it quitesimple to no longer allow it to influence ourthinking. After all, no normal intelligentperson will consciously and willingly acceptwhat is erroneous and deceive himself. Weimmediately reject whatever we know has no

reality and which is not veridical. Just toyourself, at least, figuratively dissect, that is,thoroughly analyze what you think or knowto be false. Then, at the same time, replaceit in your mind with the truthful facts.Simply stated, substitute truth and fact formisconceptions and falsity. You have thenimmediately and completely mitigated any




detrimental effect that the false knowledgecould possibly have on you.

One must realize that an idea has no powerin itself. Only as an idea is accepted andbecomes a part of our consciousness can itpossibly affect us in any way. Intellectually—that is rationally—dismissing an idea ren-ders it worthless in power insofar as influ-encing you is concerned.

Much that we accept as knowledge, as wehave often said in this Forum, is a relative truth. For the time being, insofar as it lieswithin our power to perceive and understand,something may appear as true and have abeneficial valué. With the passing of timeand the transition of circumstances, yester-day’s truth may be today’s unreality or illu-

sion. The only thing we can do in this regardis to continually probe ideas that come to ourattention, and which have a vital bearingupon our lives. We must not accept something merely because it is traditional, is believed by many, supports what we want tobelieve, or flatters the ego.

Further, what may prove false tomorrowmay be a relative good for us today andfrom which no harm may ensue. Many actsin the past have been committed in goodfaith—but also in ignorance; there would beno karma involved in the committing of suchacts if they were done in a sense of inno- cence9 that is, with no malice aforethought.

However, today knowing better, we wouldviólate our inner sense of righteousness ifwe were to perform those same acts. Wewould then be incurring a moral and a Cosmic responsibility.—X

The Christmas Theme

Christmas has many meanings for manypeople. Actually, the primary meaning tothose of the Christian religión is the observ-ance with respect and profound feeling ofthe birth of the one who originated theirreligión. Perhaps Christmas means something different to you. The theme that isuppermost in your mind may have connota-tions which go beyond the life, regardless ofhow great it may have been, of one individual.

There may be others like myself whosereaction to the concept of Christmas is basedupon the memory of Christmas stories. Thereexists a vast amount of literature about

Christmas, and in the English language,some of these have become classics that arerepeated almost every year in school, on thestage, and in churches. They are read forenjoyment by individuáis and families. Oneof the best known of these classics is, ofcourse, Dickens’ Christmas Garol, a storywhich is probably known to every reader ofthe English language throughout the civilizedworld. It carries a theme and series of ideasthat bring home very poignantly the principie which we are taught from childhood asconstituting the ideáis of Christmas.

There are other stories equally as impressive. For example, there are: Van Dyke’sThe Other Wise Man; Gal dos’ The M ulé and the Ox; and the most recent of these classicsinsofar as they appeal to me is the now well-known opera by Menotti, Ama l and the Night Visitors.

It would seem that the stories of theseauthors, each living at different times andunder different conditions would be entirelydissimilar. Actually, there is a central themein all these stories. In my mind, this themeis the Christmas theme, the meaningful principie that lies behind the concept of theChristmas season. Let us examine for amoment these stories and see if we can dis-tinguish this theme.

Dickens’ Christmas Carol révolves arounda crippled child, a child that suffers, andthrough his suffering, the attitudes, actionsand lives of individuáis of his family andthose indirectly affected by his family aregreatly modified, the central theme beingthat suffering produced a comprehension ofbeauty, a realization of the aesthetic, themystical and the idealistic in the minds ofthose who were associated with the eventsportrayed.

Van Dyke’s The Other Wise Man conveysthe principie of loss. One man seeking thenewborn king is delayed from proceedingwith his companions, who continué their

joumey to Bethlehem. Further tragic eventsdelay the fulfillment of his purpose, and in

seeking to achieve his purpose, he graduallygives away the wealth that he had accumu-lated and intended to lay at the feet of thenewborn king. And in the giving, in the ex-penditure of what he had given of himself,while not directly a form of physical suffering, but nevertheless of sacrifice, this wise




as doctrine in the Christian religión, thathe died so that men might live. Actually he

illustrated that death had no significance aslong as proper realization was given to thereal part of being—that is, the soul.

In the beginning of Mohammed’s career,he advocated the same theme, but he devi-ated as time went on and did not completelyfulfill the promise of his earlier years. Butstill as we read some of the magnificentpassages in the Koran, we find echoed thesame principie that submission to one Godand the placing of less emphasis upon thephysical self than on the awareness of selfare means to the realization of all that isworth while and of eternal valué.

Into these concepts is incorporated the

essence of mysticism. Mysticism brings intothe realization of man’s experience the factthat self is what is to be developed, enlargedupon, and that man should gain realizationof self through the process of the experienceof life. If man is to achieve significance inthe scheme of things, then the whole Cosmicscheme must be a part of his thinking andof his concept of being. The m}rstical realization which will bring about a comprehen-sion of the purposes of being and of man’sexistence are those which have come aboutas the result of man’s ability to see beyondwhere he actually is isolated at the presenttime.

The materialist lives as a man who endoses himself in a windowless house. Assuch, he sees nothing except that which isimmediately before him, but the mystic, inturn, is like the man who lives in a houseof glass so located that he can see the ex-panding horizon; he can witness the risingand setting of the sun, the change of theseasons, and the existence of all the manifes-tations of those laws put into effect for man’srealization.

The mystic looks out of the shell of thebody and sees existence as extending indefi-nitely beyond the limitations of all thoseforces and events that seem to bind him tothe physical world while the materialist can

see only that which is immediately beforehim. The barrier of material itself shuts offthe visión of being, the visión of purpose andthe theme of life as it advances beyond anything that is limited by the nature of theuniverse in which we are temporarily ex-istent.

It would seem, then, that the theme ofChristmas should find a harmonious relationship with the theme of peace, the themeof human suffering, and that of realization.And why, we ask, as have all men throughout all time, does suffering have to be soclosely a part of the procedure by which themystic realization is achieved by man?

To answer this question is only to theorize.We cannot answer it completely, but we doknow if we observe the manifestation of nature, the fulfillment of cosmic law, thatsuffering, pain and trouble, has a part of alltransitional phases of being. Birth and death,the two great transitions of the whole lifespan, are usually accompanied by pain. Thechange of the Caterpillar into the butterfly

is effected by contortions that take place andmust be accompanied by a degree of pain.Even in nature, we find the great changesin the manifestation of the physical universeitself take place by upheavals such as storms,earthquakes, tempests and torrents, whichare in a sense related to man’s individualconcept of pain.

In other words, there exist in the universegood and evil, and as I have written else-where, I have chosen many times to compareevil with the material and good with the immaterial or the psychic. Material is negativeand the psychic is positive. We live in anegative world in which we are a positivecell.

All forms of evil trace their origin tomaterial entities. That evil, pain, suffering,and grief are a part of the lot of man’s physical existence, we cannot deny because theyactually are existents that we must face. Weare continually faced with the problem ofevil and the imminence of pain. We facethe fact that on a mental level, we cannotalways adjust ourselves satisfactorily to thedemands and needs of the circumstances inwhich we live. In this Christmas theme wehave seen that there is hope because in eachcase suffering, or what we might cali evil3has been the key to realization and to evolve-ment.

What is man’s position, then, in this universe of good and evil? M an ’s moralobligation is, of course, to live as best he can,but man’s free will is given him so that hemay choose the direction in which he willgo and the selections that he will make. Mancould receive no valué from this right of




free choice, from this ability to choose, werethere no choices to make. If all the universewere good, if there were no pain or suffering, then man would only experience goodand peace. He would never be able to understand them were he not familiar withtheir opposites.

We were made by the Creator as entitiesempowered with the ability to choose, tochoose between the good and evil, the negative and the positive, the dark and the light.Therefore, man exists in a position where hecan, by choice, determine his own end andgoal. We can acquire a degree of virtue bymaking the right choice. We can move toward the good because we are granted theability to act right, to select good when at

the same time it is possible for us to actwrongly or select evil. Free will gives usthe choice. It gives us the right to be virtu-ous when we could choose to be evil. As aresult, we cannot only increase the growth ofour own soul, the evolution of our own being,but by choosing right, by choosing good, wecan expand the amount of virtue in the universe and, so affect others about us.

In these Christmas stories, we perceive theChristmas theme, which tells us that thosewho chose to do good vastly extend the influence of their lives so as to produce goodfor others as well as themselves. Therefore,those who acquire virtue by their own efforts,as a result of their resistance to temptationand their endurance of suffering, are worthysubjects for the realization of the Christmastheme, for the realization of the true dignityof man and his relationship to God throughthe mystical experience.—A

Faith and Superstition

The difference between faith and superstition is a difference of degree rather than oftechnical definition. Questions asking forclarification of the significance that one termmay have over another term are frequentlybased upon a confusion in regard to meaningregardless of what may be their use.

Terminology is a man-made means of applying certain meanings to certain sounds.Due to the long period of time in whichterms are in effect, the exact meanings be-come confused by various interpreta tions.One of the classic examples of this fact isfound in the distinction of meaning between

the words soul and spirit. Originally, thewords probably had specific meanings, eachisolated from the other, but today, due tointerpretations that have been placed uponthe words over a long period of time, theyhave become in some respects synonymous.In other respects, the words are so confusedthat they are used indiscriminately withoutclarifying their shades of meaning or indi-cating any distinction.

A similar situation exists in regard to thewords fai th and superstition; however, thedegree of difference is considerably greater.Many individuáis who profess to have pro-found faith would be insulted or at leastoffended if the faith which they had wasbranded by another as a superstition. Gen

erally speaking, faith is considered to bemore refined or more advanced than a concept or an incident interpreted as a superstition.

Historically the meanings of these termsare found in the history of man’s ownthought. Many actions on the part of primi-tive men were the basis for the developmentof practices, attitudes and procedures, whichcan be technically classified, in view of ourknowledge and experience of today, as superstition. In other words, individuáis placedcertain valúes upon certain objects, eventsor procedures without knowing or even being concerned as to why that valué was soplaced.

Superstitions have developed out of moreor less unrelated events. For example, if anindividual had a successful hunt when tryingto feed his family and on that hunt he sawa certain sign such as a rock falling from acliff or a leaf falling from a tree, he incor-rectly related the two events in the causeand effect relationship. Thereafter he believed that whenever a rock fell from a cliff,it would be a good time to hunt. Many beliefs and practices were built up in a similarway; that is, one event was observed at thetime of another event, and primitive manchose in his own mind to relate the two otherwise unrelated events.

Actually, we know today that such eventsare merely coincidence. If a man makesmoney or wins a lottery or has some othersimilar type of what he would refer to asluck when his shoe was untied, he mightbelieve or develop the idea that by leavinghis shoe untied he would be more successful




financially. Actually, we know such a conclusión is completely false. It does not haveany relationship insofar as the two events orcircumstances are concerned. Nevertheless,much that has governed the lives of primitive men was based upon causes and effects

just as unrelated as are these illustrations.In more modern times there still exist

some superstitions. However, some of themhave been replaced by faith, particularly inthe field of religión. Many who profess certain religious convictions might take offenseat the statement that modern faith is, in adegree, no more or less than a superstitionbased upon the experience of someone else.The average person today, does not base faithon any religious principie, precept or being,

because of his own experience necessarily.He bases his faith on what someone has toldhim or what he has read in a book. Faithbased on such a premise is little differentfrom the superstitions that grew out of theeveryday life of our primitive ancestors.

In order to interpret this subject mattermore broadly, we will consider some of theclassic definitions of these two processes asa means of better examining their meaningand significance for us as individuáis. In astandard English dictionary, we find thatfaith is defined very briefly. In fact, here isa concise definition: “Belief in God, revela-tion, and so forth.” This modern definitionranks faith as a part of belief. In other words,the principie undérlying this definition isthat anyone has faith who accepts and prac-tices a belief in the existence of a being or apower that lies outside the limitations ofman’s existence or outside the materialworld.

According to this definition then—andwhich is, as I have already stated, given bya reliable dictionary—faith and belief aresynonymous. They are the same thing.There is no faith without belief. There couldbe no belief without faith—that is, insofar asGod or immaterial things are concerned.

Such a definition limits faith, but at thesame time, it simplifies the meaning of the

terminology involved. It also, we must concede, makes the word fa ith a purely religiousmatter. In fact, faith becomes a doctrine ofreligión insofar as it applies to a SupremeBeing. We, of course, can have a degree offaith in our fellow men, and we practice another form of faith in our belief that certain

material entities exist and will continué toexist. We exhibit faith in this sense everytime we cross a bridge. We presume thatthe bridge will maintain its rigidity and willnot collapse while we are in the process ofCrossing.

Superstition in the same dictionary is defined in a considerably more complex manner. It says, “An irrational abject attitudetoward the supernatural, nature or God, pro-ceeding from ignorance and unreasoning fearof the unknown.” The dictionary’s presenta-tion of these two words, as considered inrelationship to each other, indicates the oneimmediate conclusión that faith is a goodthing. It is a worth-while concept. It is, ina sense, a concept that has had or received

the polish of civilization and has been modi-fied by man’s advance in learning.

Superstition, on the other hand, is treatedas a purely primitive concept based uponlack of reason, based upon acceptance ofideas without reason. This interpretation ofthe two definitions is consistent with the his-torical references I made to the subject ear-lier. It seems to bear out that superstitionbecame faith as man progresséd, but, if thisis the case, then to distinguish specifically orto draw a definite line of demarcation between superstition and faith is impossible.We cannot indicate a point of advancementin man’s history of thought where supersti

tion ceased and faith began.What is faith today grew out of the superstition of yesterday, and what may be faithtomorrow may be considered a superstitiontoday. In other words, superstition graduallybecomes faith with use over a period of time;it depends upon our perspective. In otherwords, a concept’s relationship to the marchof events will decide whether the concept willbe in the classification of superstition or faith.

Primitive man would still accept modernfaith as a form of superstition while moderaman accepts it as something better or moreevolved than superstition. However, the linewhere the change took place cannot be de

fined. Consequently, exact definition of either term is impossible because they aretérms that have to do with the evolvementof man’s thought and are constantly chang-ing. The God in which I have faith today,for example, may be an entirely differentconcept from what I was taught as a child;




and this statement probably applies to any

one who acknowledges a belief in God.One of the more classic definitions of faithis that of St. Paul when he said, “Faith isthe substance of things hoped for, the evi-dence of things not seen.” This classic definition has been of great solace to many whobelieve in the religión to which St. Paul gavehis life to propagate. It is, as it were, a sub-stitution of uncertainty for certainty.

St. Paul was aware of the fact that manis a material being; and even in his timethere were materialists just as there are today. In his attempt to offset the argumentsof materialism and the support it received indistinction to the religious ideology in whichSt. Paul was interested, he tried to find some

thing upon which man could attach his existence. He searched for some foundationupon which man could stand and that wouldsubstitute in the immaterial world for whathe found to be stable and apparently endur-ing in the material world. Therefore, hebrought to man’s attention the possibilitythat faith might be this element, that it couldbe the substance of those things he hoped forand had not yet obtained. In other words,faith would take the place of an actual material entity, and it would be the assuranceof those things which he could not perceivethrough his physical senses.

In this sense, we have again an example

of a religious leader using terminology to fithis own argument. Not that his argumentswere unsound or had no valué, but still heapplied the concept of faith to the parallelillustration of a physical entity. He did notbring the question of reason into faith. Hesimply made a dogmatic statement that couldbe the basis of man’s acceptance of the pre-mises which he was trying to instill in man’sreasoning.

To retum to our dictionary definition, Ithink one of the important references tosuperstition is that it not only proceeds fromignorance but is based upon unreasoning fearof the unknown. Most of the superstitionthat has existed and still exists in the world

can be found in the roots of ignorance andin the inability of the individual or, wemight say, the refusal in some cases of theindividual to reason about what he does notknow.

The Rosicrucian Order has always had asone of its tenets the opposing and the sup-

pression of superstition. In many religions

today there is more superstition than thereis faith of the type that St. Paul and otherleaders taught. The dependence upon fearin order to enforce certain beliefs is to amore or less extent the basis upon whichcertain religious procedures, groups and prac-tices, hold control over their aclherents. Inthis, superstition would apply better to theiractivities than faith, although few modernreligions would admit this practice.

In other words, after analyzing the historyof man’s thinking, the modern dictionarydefinitions of the words with which we areconcerned, and St. Paul’s classic presentationof his concept of faith, we find that faithtoday is no more than a civilized veneerplaced upon superstition. It is an evolvingconcept that causes man to hold fast if hewill subscribe to the principies and to theideáis that cannot otherwise be proved. Faithdoes, in a modern day, cali upon man toexert some reason, but usually the less heexerts, the better off he will be if he wantsto remain content with the acceptance ofprincipies or ideas upon faith. But at leastwhen man begins to question the infallibilityof faith, he is using reason to a degree whichis a step toward knowledge.

Neither superstition ñor faith can existin an atmosphere of complete knowledge.Knowledge must contain all the answers if it

is absolute—and thereby would be eliminatedthe need of individuáis to carry on practiceswhich they had been taught would helpthem. Knowledge would make clear as towhether or not certain practices, procedures,customs or activities would have valué. Mancould then decide upon the valúes which hewould think necessary to achieve in life.This he would do on the basis of knowledgerather than faith.

Absolute knowledge, in other words, is theone concept that can replace both superstition and faith. Idealistically, the Rosicrucianteachings look toward that achievement. Itis stated early in the Degrees of our study

that knowledge is more important than faithand that we should de vote ourselves to suchacquisition because to the extent that weobtain knowledge, we set aside the necessityof looking to faith to sustain us regardless ofwhat may be the circumstances under whichwe exist.




Man is imperfect in his present state, soabsolute knowledge is in the realm of thedivine. Unti l man develops his own divinenature, he cannot reach out to absoluteknowledge; consequently, his knowledge willonly be partial, and he will probably continué to use faith to supplement or to fill thegap between the limitations of his knowledgeand the concepts of the divine. But gradually man can evolve to the point of absoluteknowledge that will supplant all superstition,faith, and any other support in which hehopes to achieve a point of view that willhelp him live his life to the fullest.—A


To read into the lives of people who haveserved AMORC is often an adventure into aworld of fantastic activity. Francés Hollandhas a seemingly bottomless reservoir of energy as she moves about from lodge to chapterto pronaos in the large Rosicrucian popula-tion of Southern California. In her new officeas Grand Councilor for that area, she makesfrequent contacts with hundreds of Rosicrucian members each month. As a representativo of the Grand Lodge she is their counselorand mediator in all issues, large and small.Hers is truly a life of dedicated service toideáis which were already manifest in heras a child.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, June 4, 1914, shewas raised in an environment which directedher interests toward mystical subjects. Although orthodox at the beginning, when onlythirteen years of age, she sought for something more beyond the confines of herreligious affiliations of that time. It was in,1933 that her attention was first drawn toAMORC. This was the culminátion of herinitial search for more knowledge. She wasimmediately impressed with the integrityand authenticity of the Order. Yet therewere obstacles to overcome. She was stillunder twenty-one years of age, she had noAMORC member to vouch for her, and noemployment to meet the obligation of dues.

During a two-year-waiting period, she sub-scribed to the Rosicrucian Digest, listened toAMORC-sponsored radio programs, and readall available AMORC books.

Soror Holland subsequently applied forand was accepted as a member of AMORCin 1935. She immediately set out to meet

other members, and has remained a eon-firmed protagonist of Rosicrucian subordinatebodies and their activities. It is in this fieldthat she finds the greatest outlet for herenergies.

Since 1937, she has served in a numberof ritualistic offices at Hermes Lodge in LosAngeles, later becoming Master of the SanDiego Chapter, then organizer and first Master of the Pomona Chapter—all in SouthernCalifornia. In 1958 she made a capablechairman for the International RosicrucianConvention in San José, was appointed Inspector General for AMORC that same year,and a year later was elevated to her presenthigh office as Grand Councilor.

Other than her AMORC activities, Francés

Holland has given years of work to community service projects. The Y.W.C.A., the RedCross, her local Disaster Council, and a largeindustrial firm have all had the benefits ofher skill in public speaking and teaching.At home with her husband, Soror Hollandnow indulges her favorite avocations whichinclude writing, gardening, and interiordecorating. Her happy and successful marriage to a design engineer complements alife filled with love and dedication.—B

The Psychological Effect of Music

We have a question here which, reduced

to a few words, amounts to this: Recently amusician playing a piano in a Chicago saloonbegan to play the piece titled Áh , Sweet Mystery of Life. A man standing near by beganlo cry and demanded that the music be dis-continued, and then took a gun out of hispocket and shot and killed the piano player.The question is: Why did this particularpiece of music cause the man to take the lifeof another man?

The psychological effect of music is verydifficult to understand, but there are certainpieces of music which do have certain definite forms of effect. There is a good psychological reason why a definite classificationof music is used for military purposes, to lead

soldiers to war. There is just as good a reasonfor the use of other classifications of music,such as the pieces selected as anthems, ormusic in the cathedrals for prayers.

We know the psychological effect of abeautiful waltz, such as the Blue Danube,and we are only too familiar with the psycho-




logical effect of jazz on our young people.But outside of these four classifications, thereare many intermediate stages of classifica-tion that have very different effects upon thehuman consciousness. We must take intoconsideration the emotional and mystical development of the individual. It is a psychological fact that any song which a veryyoung child hears repeatedly, such as alullaby that was used continually by thenurse or the mother to pacify the child, hasbecome so registered in the consciousness thatthat lullaby played in the future life of theindividual will awaken mixed emotions ofsadness and sweet memories and somethingvery sacred.

It is known also that music that was asso-

ciated with the passing of a loved one everremains as a sacred piece in the consciousnessof those who suffered the loss most. If aman’s mother were passing through a funeral ceremony, the son hearing a special songwould ever remember that piece of music,and wherever it would be played it wouldarouse memories of his mother and he wouldinstantly refrain from wrong actions, orfrom profanity, or even from damning Godand the Church. He would cease his wrongactions and endose himself with reverenceand an attitude that would control all of hisactions. To all of us there are certain piecesof music that are sacred and idealistic and

representative of the better side of ournatures.The late Reverend Dr. Robert Norwood, a

noted ecclesiastic, wrote many mysticalbooks. He wras a true student and supporterof Rosicrucian ideáis and wrote one storydealing with a low character who was savedby his love for a little flower. But everypsychologist and every criminologist knowsthat even a criminal can be made to turnback in his tracks and undo the wrongs hehas done through the influence of a piece ofmusic, and sometimes that piece of musicwould surprise us. It might be a simplelullaby, or even the ditty of “Jack and Jill.”It might be a popular song, and among someof the popular songs can be found songs thathave had a great influence for good upon theuntrained mind.

There was a time when the song of achild’s plea for the father to come home fromthe barroom had a great effect upon the father. Today there are many such songs: Ah,

Sweet Mystery of Life, TheRosary, and a fewother ones are songs that are typical of greatemotional effects on various types of minds.

Now, in that particular incident of themusician being shot in the Chicago saloon,we have a peculiar instance. Whether trueor not, from our viewpoint it is a typicalpossibility. The man who did the shootinghad evidently been drinking, maybe throughsorrow, grief or cussedness. Whatever the motive he was there in a place where this particular piece of music— Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life—seemed to him to be a sacrilege. Theeffect of the music upon him in that placebecame unbearable. If he had been at homeand heard it over the radio, he probablywould have been moved to tears or to prayer,

and in other ways would have revealed thesuffering that he was going through. In adifferent environment, he could not expresshimself; therefore, he demanded that themusic be stopped and when it did not stop,he destroyed the source of it. From a psychological point of view this is very logical, al-though entirely wrong.

I know what it is to suffer from such effect. Just the other day while all of us were atMt. Pico, one certain piece of music wasplayed. The effects suffered by me were sogreat that it was all I could do to keep fromshrieking and crying. I did not want to stopthe music although personally it would have

helped me. We were having our mysticaldemonstration. I had selected the music forthe orchestra, and one of the numbers wasone that always affects me deeply. I knewit would affect all who were advancedmembers.

(From June 1937 Forum)

Are Experiments All-Important?

One of the biggest problems facing ourmembers in their progress, if we are to judgeby the many letters to this Forum, as wellas the AMORC Department of Instruction, isthe lack of success with some or even all of

the experiments in the lessons.How oftén we receive letters full of de-

spair. The member is certain that he willnever progress, or even be a good Rosicrucian,because he failed to achieve satisfactoryresults with some experiment. Sometimes wehear from some totally despondent person




who has never succeeded with an y experiment or exercise.

This correspondence causes us at times toask—“Precisely what degree of emphasisshould we place upon the experiments?” Asthe student can tell, an experiment is neverput in a monograph as a “filler”—or for itselfalone. It always relates to, and in most casesserves as the proof of, the main underlyingtheme or principie in the lesson.

But do we expect these experiments towork infallibly, at all times for all students?We could not be realistic and still answerthis in the affirmative. There are manyreasons why an exercise might not work:conditions of environment or physical surroundings and comfort, such as noisy traffic,

TV or radio, very hot or coid weather—orperhaps the proper mood in the sanctumbecomes impossible to establish. These andmany other difficulties might cause occasion-al failures with exercises or experiments, aswell as with rituals.

But what about those who just cannotseem to ever achieve the desired results, orat least fail in the experiments with a degreeof regularity? Can they hope for development?

We say that they certainly can develop—in fact their development is actually constant,so long as they continué to study and practice. Often there is a degree of success which

is minute, or which might not impress themember who is looking for vast or startlingresults. But he is aiding his progress by thevery performance of the experiment.

The main thing for all to keep in mind isthat success with the experiments is not aprerequisite or even an essential to progress;the main essential is our understanding ofthe principies in the lessons. This understanding can be achieved through study, evenif the experiments might not prove all thatone could ask.

So if you have been disappointed with yourexperiment results, don’t become discouraged—reread the monograph and attempt it again.Send in a report to the Department of In-struction, even if at the end of the week it isa negative one, for the Instructors can oftengive further advice for specific exercises. Andabove all, remember that the understanding of the principies is the truly important con-sideration, not necessarily the successful performance of the experiments.—W

Human Souls and World Destruction

A soror from New York, new to our Forumcircle, asks: “If human souls reincarnateover and over again until a state of perfection is finally reached, what would happento souls in various stages of development ifthe earth, or world, in which we live weresuddenly destroyed? Would such souls haveto continué their development in a disem-bodied form, or would they reincarnate inhuman bodies on some other world?”

To begin, I believe that when the sororrefers to “souls in various stages of development” she means “soul-personalities,” for thesoul is never imperfect. The soul being theonly divine element in man, it never loses

its nexus, or link, with its source; it neverdiminishes in its quality of perfection. It isthe personality of the soul, the Self, whichmust be evolved and perfected to be in harmony with the ever-perfect and divine soul.

Suppose some sudden cataclysmic destruction of the world should occur, and such isnot beyond probability. For instance, novae,or new stars, are on the increase in ourgalaxy. Seen through telescopes, they appearsuddenly as brilliant specks, millions uponmillions of miles distant from earth. It is theconclusión of several eminent astronomersthat these so-called “new stars” may actuallybe distant suns like our sun, perhaps even

larger, which are not ordinarily visiblethrough our telescopes, and which have suddenly exploded. The tremendous brillianceof their light is the result of their completedisintegration. Sometimes they remain forseveral weeks; at other times, they disappearin a very short time.

It is also the opinion of these astronomersthat our sun, the center of our solar system,must at some time explode in a similar way.When that occurs, the theory is advanced,the side of the earth facing the sun at thattime would be seared; the seas would boiland evapórate; the crust of that side of theearth would be like molten lava from heatreaching a temperature of several hundredsof degrees. Even the opposite side of theearth could not support life because of theexcessive heat and the radioactivity, whichwould immediately destroy all living things.

Under such circumstances, the soul-personalities, which would still be resident in bodieson earth, would be released as in transition,




but as the result of this other cause. The

same Cosmic principies would apply. Thesoul-personalities would be drawn into theAbsolute—the Cosmic, of which they were apart. If the earth is the only theater for theexpression of life—life as far advanced asma n—then the Cosmic woúld need to providefor the development of the soul-personalitieson another plañe.

However, there is no proof to indicate thatlife does not exist somewhere in one of theother universes, of which the cosmos consists.In fact, we can neither prove that life does,ñor that it does not exist elsewhere than onearth. All that we can declare is that the only human and animal intelligence, so farknown to man, is on the earth. In all prob-ability, advanced life is not immured on oneof the planets of our solar system. If it were,and possessed an intelligence far in excess ofours, it would have by now made itself knownto man by Communications, at least of aphysical nature.

It may be said that we ourselves are notable to communicate with another planet inour own solar system—so how could we ex-pect them to do so! That has been true, butis not true now. Radar beams propagated instraight lines have penetrated the formerobstacles of the earth’s magnetic belts. Oncefree in space, they can and will reach otherplanets. Signáis are tlien possible. If these

people have faculties similar to ours and haveintelligence at least equal to our own, theycould then comprehend the signáis as beinginstituted under the direction of mind.

Suppose that our solar system does notrespond to any such signáis which we trans-mit. Suppose, even further, that rocket ex-ploration on, or immediately above, planets,in the not-too-distant future, will reveal nosigns of life, that would still be no indicationthat the whole cosmos is fallow so far aslife is concerned, with the exception of earth.

Our universe is but one of a number ofisland universes, many of which are morevast than ours, and which are visible to us

only as a nebulous haze. In all probábilitybeyond them, beyond any present means ofdetection, there exist still other universes.Each of these has its one or more suns, orperhaps countless satellite planets of as gréator even greater magnitude than our earth.It is hardly probable in all this vastness ofthe cosmos that the phenomenon of life has

occurred merely on earth. From a purely

scientific point of view that would mean thatonly on earth there occurred, as if adven-titiously, that combination of physical conditions which are able to support life.

It is known that certain factors are necessary to life. In fact, life on earth hangs upona thread of balanced, favorable conditions.However, if there is a unity of natural lawthroughout the cosmos, these factors, theseconditions must occur elsewhere—somewhereon the infinite number of worlds which exist.

It was the physicist, Kirchhoff, who concluded after demonstrations, that the darklines in the spectrum of the sun are causedby the continuous spectrum of the sun passing through layers of gases which surroundthat luminous orb. These gaseous layers arecooler and absorb those light waves which thesun itself would send out, and which wouldotherwise appear where the dark bands arefound in the solar spectrum. It was foundthat certain elements, heated to incandes-cence and placed in the path of a beam oflight, produced corresponding dark lines inthe spectrum. Thus, i t was known that thegases surrounding the sun contain the sameelements as the earth.

The later experiments in spectroscopyhave shown that the spectra of distant starslikewise contain various elements, such asnickel and cobalt. If the same inorganic ele

ments as on our earth also exist millions oflight-years away from this planet, why notorganic elements as well? If, then, life iselsewhere, and if earth were destroyed, in allprobábility the soul-personalities, not yethaving attained perfeetion, would come toinhabit bodies in remóte worlds.

As Rosicrucians we cannot subscribe tothe conjecture of some sects that there isa hierarchy of worlds on which man mustreside, each in turn, before the soul may befinally absorbed into the Cosmic as perfect.In all of the traditional mystical writingsdescending from venerable sources, it is heldthat mastership, or perfeetion of the soul-

personality, may be attained on this earth.Whether it also may be concurrently attainedby other beings born successively elsewhere,we do not know.

Instead of jealously insisting, as in theMiddle Ages, that earth alone is inhabited byintelligent beings, let us hope that time mayreveal that we do have cosmic neighbors in




the dim reaches of space. It is my sincere

conviction that some day man may com-municate with intelligent beings beyondearth, who are the consequence of naturallaws, the same as himself. Most certainly,human intelligence is not a chance seed,dropped inadvertently upon the earth, ñor isthis globe so regal that she, alone, was select-ed for man. We agree with Giordano Bruno:“ . . . the earth is but a planet, the rank sheholds among the stars is but usurpation; it istime to dethrone her.”—X

(From October 1946 Forum)

Interpreting Cosmic Guidance

A frater now addresses this Forum: “Howmuch of an interpretation is necessary by themember receiving Cosmic impressions? Ofwhat importance is personal interpretationof Cosmic guidance? How does one achieveproper interpretation and how may one goastray in interpreting such messages?”

It is first necessary to say that the interpretation of Cosmic or intuitive impressionsis very closely related to the intelligencewhich receives them—but in a unique way.The respective tongues or languages of man-kind do not exist in the Cosmic Mind; theyare man-made devices. Consequently, theCosmic impression is, at its first inceptionor realization by us, translated into or inter-

preted in terms of the language with whichwe are most familiar. The communication,the intuitive or Cosmic flash of intelligence,does not come to us couched in Germán,French or English, for example. We objec-tively embody the Cosmic impressions inwords of a language so that it will havemeaning to us. *

Another category of necessary interpretation, though not a voluntary one, is the selection of ideas to correspond to the Cosmicimpressions which we have. No matter howprofound, how transcendental the import ofthe Cosmic communication, it must alwaysbe embodied in ideas which are related to

human experience and human valúes. Ourminds can embrace only that of which wehave had experience, in part at least. Thesynthesizing quality of the mind may beinherent, as the philosopher Kant said, asan a priori factor, but first there must behad those qualities of experience with whichit can work. Wé think in terms of our sense

qualities, as color, dimensión, and such con

traríes as hot and coid, light and dark, softand hard, and the like. Every impression,every idea, to be comprehensible to us, mustincorpórate these qualities. An original idea,so abstract that it would not relate itself tothese sensations or qualities, would be mean-ingless.

It is often difficult for us, in daily experience, to relate the sensations we havehad to ideas representing them with sufficientclarity for others to have a realization of ourfeelings. Consequently, it is even more difficult for a person to express to others theimport of a Cosmic impression which he hashad. Cosmic guidance and intuitive impressions cause a superrationalizing on the partof our mind. Within the subconscious process of our stream of consciousness, theseCosmic impressions associate with themselvesideas or thoughts, from our fount of knowledge that will best express them. This process is involuntary; it is not the result of theexercise of will. We do not reason as to whichideas are best suited to the impressions had.We can, therefore, say that objectively weare not interpreting the Cosmic impressions.However, the impressions are never realizedoutside of familiar terms or ideas because,as we have said, they would not be knownto us; they would be meaningless.

The Cosmic impressions flash into con

sciousness as self-evident truths; as we allknow, they seem quite complete and comprehensible. It is because of this preconscious-ness or preobjective association of the ideasthat the Cosmic impressions or messagesseem to come to the individual out of theCosmic just as they are realized.

We may use a homely but, I believe, ef-fective analogy of how Cosmic guidance istranslated into terms of human intelligence.The perforated music rolls that are used inautomatic player pianos in no way resemble,as we look at them, the finished musicalcomposition that is heard. The perforationsor slits in the music roll do not visually ap

pear like the notes of the musical scale. However, as you know, when air passes throughthem into the piano, it actuates combinationsof keys in the instrument, producing musical notes and chords. We may liken theperforations in the roll to Cosmic impressions. The keys of the piano will representto us the objective impressions, the result




of daily experience, the qualities of our

senses. The musical notes themselves, weshall say, depict the ideas expressed as aconsequence of the Cosmic impressions. Nomatter how elabórate the perforations of theroll as, for example, in a classical composi-tion, there would need to be keys on thepiano to correspond to them or the resultwould fall far short of what was intended bythe composer.

Education does not necessarily make forprofundity of thought. Intelligence, observation, meditation, and reason do. A personmay live a simple life and yet he may bevery analytical and gain exceptional wisdomfrom his daily experiences. He retains inmemory a fount of complex ideas, symbolsof valué and meaning, which can be reas-sembled in a flash by the Cosmic impressionsinto a new and more enlightened order.Actually, the perfect interpretation of theCosmic impressions is made in the processitself. When you realize the Cosmic impression, there have already been associated withit the most significant ideas of your intelligence and of your experience. Anything thatyou would do thereafter, as a matter of reasoning or analysis, would be likely to undowhat had been done by the superior Cosmicprocess.

May one person gain a greater valué orinsight from a Cosmic impression than an

other? The answer is: Yes, that is possible,if the experience is personally had and nolrelated to him by another. In such an in-stance, the consciousness of self, or the plañeof consciousness to which self can penetrate,may be deeper in one person than in another.The individual has drawn from life’s experiences a more profound meaning or, wecan say, there are more keys in his keyboardto play upon than in that of another. As aresult, the Cosmic impressions have a greaterwealth of ideas to assemble in his consciousness. The same blow of a mallet, for furtheranalogy, upon a wooden drum will be lessresounding than on a metal one.

It is for these reasons that we discourageRosicrucians from endeavoring to interpretanother’s Cosmic impressions. All one isdoing in that case is to express himself interms of the depth of his own consciousnessand the extent of his own experience. Hemay be too shallow in these qualities foranother and would, therefore, be doing an

injustice to the other’s impressions. Con-

versely, to use a trite term, he may, in another instance, be “speaking over the headof the other” in his interpretation. An interpretation that does not correspond to yourpersonal convictions, knowledge, and depthof consciousness of self is lacking in intimacy.It has a feeling of being foreign and strange.Therefore, it does not inspire confidence anddoes not motívate one to action. On theother hand, the interpretation which is associated involuntarily with your Cosmic impressions has the warmth of your ownunderstanding. It is, in other words, self-evident.

One can go astray in interpreting Cosmic

messages when he insists upon interpretingthem in the light of his personal preferencesor biases. A Cosmic impression, the voiceof the inner self, as we all know, may becontrary at times to what the decisions ofour reason would ordinarily be. If we, therefore, seek to alter the intuitive impressionwhich always comes to us without the la-bored processes of our reasoning, we mostassuredly affect detrimentally the Cosmicimpressions. Let us again resort to ouranalogy of the perforated music roll to explain this. The perforation of the roll is doneto conform to the composition of a profes-sional, or perhaps even a master musician.If We make slits in the roll arbitrarily, we

distort the true interpretation of the master.We can advaiice the valué of Cosmic guid

ance to ourselves only by enlarging uponself. In other words, we must extend ourexperiences through study, contemplation,and meditation. As we do this, we becomeattuned with the Cosmic Mind. We thengive it the opportünity to reorganize ourthoughts as Cosmic impressions. As a result,they have more vital importance to us. Theperson who is continually objective maygain an accumulation of knowledge asworthy material to be reassembled by Cosmicimpressions, but he is never passive enoughto allow the finer impulses of the Cosmic

to motívate him.In conclusión, we would say: Do not be so

concerned about the interpretation of yourCosmic impressions—as you realize them,so they are. Be more concerned about theway to attain more of such impressions.—X

(From April 1954 Forum)




Spiritual and Natural Law

A frater now asks a question which ischallenging. “What is the difference betweena natural and a spiritual law as mentionedin connection with the Order’s purposes?These purposes have been set off as ‘devotedto the investigation, study and practical application of natural and spiritual laws.’ ”

Spiritual and natural laws have referenceto different levels of phenomena experiencedby man. The distinction is in human perception and conception, not in essence. What,for analogy, is the difference between up and down? The answer is: the positionwhich the individual assumes in relation toan object or to a direction. What is aboveour head is “up” and what is beneath ourfeet, we cali “down”; neither up ñor downhas an absolute nature, each being relativeto our perception of direction. Natural lawconsists of phenomena having periodic re-currences^ These phenomena are of that reality, of that being, which seems to have asmuch physical existence as has man himself.When we speak of nature we mean all thoseforces, powers, and substances, which manobjectively perceives and which do not findtheir origin in his imagination and will. Another way to conceive nature is to think ofit as that expression or manifestation of Cosmic energy and order which man is able to

discern. It is that matrix of Cosmic phenomena which lies within range of the human to perceive.

Obviously what lies beyond this range ofman’s discemment is either not known tohim, or he but speculates upon it. Such unknown or abstract reality is generally notconceived as nature, but rather as the Absolute. The absolute, most men place in thecategory of the Divine or spiritual realm.It is common fallacy to associate that whichis not comprehénded by the human mindor which is said to transcend it, with thespiritual. The latter, by its apparent invisi-bility and infinite quality, is regarded as a

more direct product of a Divine being ormind. The ancient Greeks in their cosmog-ony thought that the sky beyond the highestmountains and beyond the limits of the seas,as they knew them, was divine because ofits mystery and infinity. The more manreduces the infinite to the finite, that is, toa qualitative and quantitative nature, the

more material it becomes to him, the more

it falls into the category of what he calis“natural forces” and agencies. It is then removed from the category of the supernatural.

We may say that, in effect, the spiritual,to most men, connotes the supernatural. Itimplies that it transcends, or seems to transcend the physical universe. It goes beyondthat of which man is objectively aware. Itis a phenomenon that he cannot seem to direct at will. With the passing of centuries,more and more of the supernatural has beenreduced to the level of the natural. Somemen actually consider that which they com-prehend as being less important than the intangible and unknown. The mysterious isalways awe-inspiring. It is immediately associated in most minds directly with Divinebeing and takes on a quality in their njindsentirely out of proportion to its true nature.

There was a time that to attempt to scien-tifically analyze the blood was held to be sac-rilegious by some religious sects; it was considered to be an invasión into the spiritual,into the supematural realm. The alchemists,in their attempts at transmutation of basemetáis, were considered sadistic. God, it wasdeclared, had a secret process for the creation of the elements. Man was presumptu-ous to enter the supernatural realm and toseek to discover the spiritual laws workingtherein. The same views are frequently ex

pressed by some people with respect to modern physics exploring the nature of matter.Today, most men are conditioned to the

exploration of physical phenomena. Theydo not question, or rarely do, man’s right towrest from the universe its secrets whichwill unlock material forces. To them, thespiritual remains related to what they termthe soul and its properties. The soul, tothem, is an amorphous, divine consciousnessor mind, with certain attributes, as the moralimpulses which they cali conscience. Thecombination, to them, is directly of God. Allprincipies or rules of thought and moralcodes which appear to have their origin in

soul and conscience are thus declared to bespiritual laws. When modern philosophy andpsychology disclose that conscience is notentirely a product of any innate spiritualquality, it often causes resentment on thepart of those who insist in a separation ofthe spiritual from the material. They arethe ones who wish the separation to be abso-




lute, not merely relative. They further re-

sent the statement that soul-personality isalso the consequence of a psychological ad justment between our environment and ourconsciousness of self.

The reason for this resentment is thatsuch individuáis think that the relating ofnatural phenomena or that which has physical properties to the more intangible is asacrilege. It seems to them that God losesHis eminence if any function which is attributed to Him is shown to have an extensión into the physical universe. Such aconception is an extreme dualistic one. Itis the contention that God must in everyway, at all times, transcend the world ofreality. They think he must not be im-

manent, that is, in any way dwelling withinthe world. Nature, or the physical universe,is, to them, but a bi-product of God. Theyconceive the world as being like a mechanism created by a craftsman, which thecraftsman may direct but in which no part ofhim actually exists—it being just a productof the craftsman’s hands and mind.

To the real metaphysician and the mystical pantheist, as the Rosicrucian, there is butone vast spectrum, or keyboard, or phenomena. It is the Cosmic, the universal or God-mind working through a sea of vibratoryenergy. The laws are real ly the basic function of this energy. There are no divisions

of phenomena in this spectrum. One manifestation merges into the next. Man experiences this phenomena in dual ways:

One is wholly objective, the result of hisfive receptor senses and their specific organ-ic limitations. That portion of reality toman has a substance, a quality which hecalis material and physical. Many of itsimmediate causes man has discovered and heterms them natural. Other phenomena actúate him and are subjective, as dreams, oreven his inspirations, his emotions, his moralidealism. He finds it is difficult to tracethese to so-called natural causes. They arethus related by him to the primary cause,

to the spiritual. Actually, however, thesephenomena are, in essence, no more spiritual than the forces that cause the statelyprocession of the planets or the movementof the earth about the sun.

If we come to leam that the wonderfulmystical experiences we have, and whichtranscend in their beauty and inspiration

anything objectively seen, actually do not

flow direct from an extemal, spiritual source,but from the depths of our own consciousness, are they less divine? Consciousnesswithin us is like a river; as it flows outwardinto the sea of the Cosmic it becomes deeperand broader and more extensive in the impressions that it engenders within the humanmind. These vaster experiences of our consciousness are but a greater perspective ofthe whole divine intelligence within ourbeings.

When you look upon a flower or out uponthe sea or upon a simple chemical element,or the human organism, you are beingbrought face to face with the Divine cause.These things are not in themselves God, butare of His consciousness. He is in them. Atree is not any one of its leaves but to be atree, it must include all of those parts ofwhich it consists. We cannot see with ournaked eyes the microscopic cells which givethe tree its life and growth; nevertheless, itwould not be reasonable for us to cali justsuch cells spiritual, and the grosser manifestation of them—the bark and leaves— thematerial. Let us remember that the mani-festations of the Cosmic which are grossenough to be objectively perceived, we calimaterial by custom. We ordinarily attributethem to nature. Conversely, that which forthe moment lies beyond this range we define

as spiritual. Underneath, however, their respective causes merge to form the harmonyof the one—the Cosmic.—X

(From June 1954 Forum)

Meaning of Advancement

A frater, speaking before our Forum, says:“When I see the little labels on the membership cards of my fellow members I wonderif they are as far advanced as the labelswould indícate. Does one’s point in time inthe Order have anything to do with hisadvance in the study of the degree monographs ?”

One’s length of time in AMORC certainlydoes have merit, It means that the individual has conscientiously subscribed for thatnumber of years to certain constitutionalrequirements; he has faithfully met his obli-gations which AMORC has imposed uponhim as a member. When one affiliates with acause or organization, whatever its nature,



Poge 70 THE ROSICRUCIAN FORUM

and remains loyal to it year in and year outit speaks well for the character of that individual, his perseverance and devotion.

Being an active member of AMORC and in good standing requires more than the merepayment of dues. As members in the veryhighest degrees know from their personalexperience, there comes a time when theyare obliged to do certain things, to indicateby word and deed their active membershipin addition to prompt payment of dues. Inthe event that such doctrinal stipulationshave not been met, the individual’s membership is reverted to an inactive status regardless of his standing as to dues.

If we greet and welcome the Neophyte inhis decisión to acquire new knowledge and

understanding, how much more should wehonor those who have been steadfast with theRosicrucian teachings for years! The labelon each membership card—beyond five-years’membership—is a simple method of showingthe Grand Lodge’s recognition of the mem-ber’s years of affiliation with the Order.

There is, however, no corresponding relation between the years one has been a Rosicrucian member and his personal advance-ment in knowledge of and in application of the teachings. It is no reflection upon theteachings of AMORC whatsoever that onewho has been a member but five years mayactually have a deeper comprehension of

the teachings than one who has been affiliated for fifteen years. Further, one ma} un-fold in five years—that is, display—greaterpersonal powers than one who became amember ten years previous. It must be real-ized that each member does not enter theOrder with equal qualifications. We arefamiliar with the fact that some have agreater education; some are more intellectu-ally advanced. However, of even greaterimportance is the fact that the soul-personality of each individual is quite unlike othersat birth.

There are a number of factors involvedin this. In his personal consciousness, onemay have already attained what we term in

our monographs the second plañe of CosmicConsciousness. This means that his psychicunfoldment, his responsivity to Cosmic impressions would be advanced beyond that ofanother member who perhaps was just onthe first plañe. In the event that both theseindividuáis entered the Order at the same

time and conscientiously studied alike, theone on the second plañe would show considerable advancement over the other. Onemay affiliate with the Order several yearslater than the other, and still, in his personal success with the teachings and hisunderstanding of them, be far more advanced than the earlier student. Again, thismay be due to the degree of advancementof his soul-personality.

We must not overlook the initiative andthe application of the individual, for theseare vital factors. One may have a tendencyto procrastinate. He may allow his mono-graphs to accumulate, always trying to jus-tify his neglect either to the Grand Lodge orto others on the grounds of some interfering

activity. Within himself, he really knowsthat this accumulation is the consequence ofhis indolence, that he has not applied himself with regularity, that he has allowedother things to interfere. Eventually, onewho has entered the Order several yearslater may manifest intellectual, psychic, andspiritual superiority in the teachings overthe student who has procrastinated. Theessential thing is that the length of time onehas been in the Order can be indicative ofone’s own progress, that is, to himself. Oneshould come to realize that each year he hasmoved beyond the year before, in his understanding, in personal power and peace of

mind. If at the end of the year an individual can find no corresponding improve-ment in himself, a better comprehension ofthe teachings, at least, then, he has failedin some way.

It is never advisable in mystical and metaphysical studies in particular, to try to determine one’s own progress in reference to thatmade by another. There are two reasonswhy one should not do so. The first wehave already considered, that is, one mayin consciousness at birth already have beenadvanced beyond us; therefore, a comparisonwith the strides he has made is not a justone. Second, most of us are not aware ofthe full lives of other members whom wemay know. These other persons may beable to expound profusely the tenets andteachings, yet in their personal lives theymay have had no success even with thesimplest of the experiments. If our comparison is based wholly upon an intellectualappraisal of such a person, as to how much




better than we they express the teachings,there would not be an adequate analysis. We

might, in our own application of the teachings to our daily lives actually be furtheradvanced than they. But not knowing theirlives fully, we would be underestimating ourown progress.

It is best to take the position, in regardto this matter, that time does not make theRosicrucian. What Rosicrucianism means,what we are striving for, has been elaborate-ly and comprehensively set forth in ourmonographs. There is no time factor for therealization of such objectives. Some may attain many of these ends in a relatively shortperiod; others may require their whole life-time. There is no specific time when one

must attain illumination and personal mastery. Each year, each life , contributes toward that end. Each little step in that direction brings its own reward as well as innerand outer satisfaction. Further, there is noplethora of illumination insofar as man isconcerned; that is, there is no absolute andfinal wisdom and power which man comesto attain, and beyond which he can nevertranscend no matter how long he lives. Iftomorrow you were to have that insight,those apodictical revelations that were tomake of you a mystic equal to the greatMasters of yore, you would still have reachedno climax. You would continué to grow ifyou continued to study and apply yourself.

One has only to read the inspired works ofthe renowned mystics to note their confes-sions of ignorance. In other words, theyhave come to realize that the more manlearns of the Cosmic and its myriad work-ings, the more humbled he becomes and themore he realizes the relative paucity of whathe knows to what yet must be known.

Unfortunately, some members comparethe study of Cosmic philosophy with thestudy of an art or science. In these latterfields, within a given number of years anintelligent student, under able tutelage, may

acquire a knowledge of all the currentlyknown principies and laws of the particular

science or art to which he has applied himself. Thus, such courses in colleges, uni-versities or technical schools conclude withthe conferring of academic degrees withinfour to eight years. The Rosicrucian is astudent of life, of the universe of divine principies. These are never fully understood byman because, as man’s consciousness ex-pands, he is permitted an ever-growing anddeeper insight into the subject of his search.More and more if it becomes revealed tohim, it is like a man walking toward thehorizon. He finally reaches the point wherethe horizon was previously. But when hearrives, lo and behold, there is a vast area

still beyond, which is intriguing and causeshim to go on if he is an adventurer and atrue mystic. The true philosopher is alwaysan adventurer.

To say that man would know all withina given period would constitute a ridiculousassertion; it would mean that the finite,conditioned mind of the human would be atsome time or other equal to the infiniteUniversal Mind. One would think it an un-intelligent remark for another to make if hesaid that all can be experienced and knownabout life if one lives to be sixty years ofage. This would imply that all life afterthat period would provide no new knowledgeand should not be lived. In fact, we knowthat each additional day brings deeper convictions and new perspectives of previous experiences. Our evaluations and judgmentschange with the growth of the psychic selfand the intellect. So, since Rosicrucianismis a study of our relationship to the Cosmicand life, why further a false goal of alimited period in which to master all theteachings it expounds. Each monograph, eachyear of membership, bears its own imitas those members of long standing can wellattest.—X


V A V



<gaira iMHAVE YOU ever looked with concern at thelanguage habits and customs which your child isacquiring? Do you want to bring out the bestqualities of your child and, as well, adapt himadmirably for the world of tomorrow? What isthe proper psychological attitude for the development of a child before and after birth?

If the mother’s diet, improper clothes, and in-sufficient sleep affect the unborn child, then whateffect does worry, fear , and anger have upon it?What should or should not be curbed in the par-ent or the child to cultívate Creative abilities early in life? The ability to develop the personality

from babyhood, to avoid harmful habits, andawaken latent talents, impels the paren t to consider seriously the important period before andafter the child is born. It is said, “give me a childfor the first seven years”—but it is also impera-tive that the parent begin before the first yearof the infant’s life!

/ícceftt 7¡6& 'pnee ^006The Golden Age of Pericles in Ancient Greece

taught the creation of a pleasant environment toappeal to the sense of beauty in the parents. The right start was and still is an important factor inthe birth and development of a child. The Child Culture Institute offers a F r e e explanatory bookfor the enlightenment of prospective parents, orthose with young children. You owe it to yourchild to inquire. Address:

dille) Quítale únstituteR o s i c r u c i a n P a r k

S A N J O S E , C A L I F O R N I A

T H E R O SI C R U C I A N P R E SS , L T D . P R I NT E D I N U . S . A .



Rosicrucian ForumA p r i va t e p ub l i ca t i o n f o r memb er s o f A MO RC

February, 1960Volume XXX No. 4

DR. H. TH. VER KER K PIST OR IUS, F. R. C.

Grand Master of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, for Holiand



Poge 74 THE ROSICRUCIAN FORUM

Greetings!V V V

PROBLEM OF MASTERSHIP

Dear Fratres and Sorores:Perhaps the best approach to this subject

is to arrive at a general definition of whatconstitutes mastery in any activity. Certainly, it must be agreed that mastership requiresactivity, that is, initial effort. It is an individual attainment and not an endowment orinheritance. We may say, then, that mastership is the attaining of perfeetion in a func

tion or art. Art, in this sense, also alludesto any science, or to manual as well asintellectual enterprise.

Obviously, from the foregoing, a master isone who excels in his or her specific under-taking. Consequently, we have master arti-sans, artists, teachers, scientists, physicians,and spiritual practitioners. A master spiritualpractitioner is one who is well versed, notonly in a spiritual idealism, that is, in pos-sessing a knowledge of Cosmic laws andprincipies, but who has acquired, as well, theskill to apply his knowledge to the mundaneaffairs of man. Again, we see that in spiritualand moral valúes, a master is an active per-son; his mastership is the result of the reduc-tion of his exceptional knowledge to anobjective and expedient end. In fact, theonly way one can display mastership, whether in the execution of fine silverware, or inconnection with mystical principies, is byaccomplishment.

Mastership in any realm is a matter offirst expending conscientious effort and long,laborious practice. In recognizing a masterwe are recognizing the gradual developmentof a skill. The mastership of an individualcan only be realized by the fruits of his workin comparison with that of others who arestriving along parallel lines. Mastership isderived not alone from a sudden illumination,

inspiration, or hunch. One may have anideal, an inspired mental image of doing something differently and more efficiently, but itmust first be tried. It is the application ofeffort in spiritual matters as well as in somecraft that brings about the refinement ofwhich mastership consists.

Practice results in the development of one’sfunctions and often the awakening of dormant talents. Slowly, it also brings aboutthe coordination of whatever special powerswe have. Practice may also reveal that mastership in some chosen enterprise cannot beours. Every artist cannot be a Rembrandt,ñor every composer a Beethoven—any morothan every spiritual idealist can become a

renowned mystic in achievement. Practice,if intelligently performed, will improve allof us. It may reveal as well that we are notequal to our aspirations. It may disclose thatthough we may improve our results, yet ourpersonal talents and abilities are such thatwe cannot exceed the work of another. Inother words, it may be disclosed that we maynot attain that perfeetion which constitutesmastership.

Just what is a spiritual or Cosmic masterso often referred to in religious and mysticalwritings? Historically, they are principallymortals; they are individuáis who have beenstudents of some moral philosophy or religious teachings to which they have givenmuch profound thought and contemplation.Psychologically and mystically they haveinduced a personal, religious, or mysticalexperience. They have had an intímateconsciousness of what, to them, is the Absolute, the Cosmic, or God. They then feel aunity with this transcendent reality. As theresult of such a theophany, they are illu-mined. They have a more perspicuous insight into human relations and man’s affinitywith Nature.

All of this has not as yet made the man amaster, except perhaps to make him a con-vincing exponent of what he believes orprofesses to know. His mastership is only

revealed when he goes out among men, en-ters into society, and brings his transcendentexperience down to a utilitarian, everydaylevel. In other words, when he exerts anunique power of accomplishment because ofthe enlightenment he has had, then he is amaster. Before that, one may be a master




teacher or philosopher but not a spiritualmaster.

Metaphysical systems and mystical teachings often relate that the intelligence of thesespiritual or Cosmic masters, even after theirtransition, continúes to help struggling hu-manity. Simply stated, in their mastershipof time and space and of the conditions thatmay exist between the mortal and immortalworlds, these masters are conscious of thefoibles and derelictions of a less enlightenedhumanity. In spiritual compassion they thenassist the aspiring mortal to solve his prob-lems and surmount the difficulties which heconfronts in life.

We may use a homely analogy to explainthis relationship. The function attributed to

these Cosmic masters is equivalent to thatof a professor of mathematics who notes thesincere efforts of a student to solve a particular problem. He then observes that thestudent lacks the comprehension of an essential part of mathematical knowledge; theprofessor accordingly gives him special instruction. With such help the student thenis able to assist himself.

Certainly it is patent in the analogy abovethat the student of mathematics would neverbecome proficient in the subject and acquiremastership except eventually through hisown efforts. A kind and benign professorwho would do the problem for the student

would actually be a handicap to the latter’seducation rather than a help. The Cosmicmaster, then, whether he can inspire themind of a mortal from another plañe of consciousness or instruct him visually and orallyon this plañe, will never substitute for thepersonal efforts, meditation, exercises andpractices of the student himself.

The false mystical philosophy, and oftentheology, is one that robs the individual ofhis own opportunity for mastership. It is theone that makes the student or aspirant apuppet in the belief that the Cosmic masters,as unseen intelligences, may be appealed to

as intermediaries to accomplish what onecannot oí* will not do for himself. Psycho-logically, man is fortified by the belief thatthere are transcendental powers to which hecan appeal or which he can invoke at times.But it is necessary that he also believe thatsuch powers will only become an extensiónof his own. He should believe that theirpurpose is to give him further knowledgeand mental, physical, and moral strength tosucceed personally by his own enterprise. If,in one’s system of teachings, the “masters”become a substitute for the exercise of one’sown inherent powers of self, such teachingsare false and dangerous.

In the Far East, we find among a greatnumber of people a belief in numerous in

visible, supernatural masters. They arethought to constitute a kind of hierarchy ofgenii who are arranged in accordance withthe greater or lesser powers which they aresaid to exert. In other words, they arethought to literally stand ready to do man’sbidding.

Some individuáis are actually helped bythis kind of superstition, but they do not at-tain this help as a result of a personal master.Rather, when they fail, through their inabili-ty or indolence, to achieve a certain end,they are saved from a sense of inferiority bymeans of this belief. Immediately they appeal to one of the numerous “masters.” The

problem in the majority of such instances,of course, is no nearer to solution throughappeals of this type. But when the actasked for does not materialize, the individualsuggests to himself that “it is not the Master’s will that it be done.” In other words,the individual excuses his own failure andfrees himself from a feeling of inadequacyand inferiority by this kind of idea.

An analysis of the explanation of thesevarious masters which many of these personsrefer to reveáis them to be nothing more thanfigments of their own psychological idealism.The masters believed in by such persons are

Entered as Second Class Matter at tlie Post Office at San José, California, under Seclion 1103 of the U. S . Posta l Act of Oct. 3 , 191 7 .

The Rosicrucian Foruhn ¡s Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Departmeniof Publication of the Supreme Council of A MORC, at Rosicrucian Park, San José, California.





actually often unknown even in any tradi-

tional religión or system of mystical thought.The ñame of the master is either one the dev-otee has assigned to “his Master,” or he mayhave no appellation for him at all. It is foundthat the individual, however, has a spiritual ideal.

This ideal is the result of his cogitation onsome personal problem or an impersonal, ab-stract one. The individual desires a certainsatisfaction in connection with the problem.In other words, there is the desire that theproblem be solved, a mystery cleared, certainquestions answered, or a void fílled. Theindividual then imagines the kind of beingand the attributes which he would need tohave in order to achieve this desired end.One may say that in the subconscious thereis a transference of the spiritual ideal whichthe person has to an imagined, external,transcendental personality. The hope, thewish, is transformed into an imagined, supernatural entity.

Of course, such a master is always emo-tionally satisfying to the individual. TheMaster is born out of the ideal which he has.If he can make the ideal seem alive, it bringsa kind of deceptive gratification. He hasthereby created an image of fulfillment inwhich he can take refuge when reality be-comes too difficult to confront. The fact thathis resorting to this kind of psychological

master does not actually remedy any situa-tion does not trouble him. As we have said,he considers the failure not to be his. Rather,he believes that such failure is the consequence of another and “higher purpose” thathis Master, the imaginary one, has in mindfor him.

It is apparent that masters of this typewhich some individuáis set up for themselvesare not true Cosmic masters; they are self-induced delusions.


Imperator.

How to Study the Monographs

Every day many letters are received frommembers asking the advice of the Department of Instruction conceming the propermeans of monograph study in order to gainthe most from the reading.

A review of the various study methods in-

dicates that probably the best way to reallylearn any material is by using a techniquetaught in college How-To-Study courses,popularly termed the “S Q 3R,” or “SurveyQ 3R,” method of studying. This techniqueis outlined in detail in many books, includ-ing F. P. Robinson’s Effective Study, a standard college How-To-Study text.

Briefly, the ñame of the technique indi-cates the way in which it is used, for itmeans “Survey, Question, Read, Recite, andReview”—the steps in which the study isdone. We will proceed here to outline thebasic system as it applies to the monographs.

Like all course or study material, themonographs contain only a few basic ormajor points in each lecture, with support-ing, substantiating, or explanatory materialfilling in the rest. Also, like any other studymaterial, the lessons contain clues indicatingthese important points. The majority of theseare obvious, such as the paragraph headingand the points in the summary. The illustrations also often offer valuable clues.

Thus the importance of the “Survey” isshown: skim through the entire monograph,noting the paragraph headings, the summary, and other clues in the lecture.

Now we come to the “Q” or “Question”part of the method, and here is where ourwork actually begins. Tum the first heading

into a question which will serve to arouseyour curiosity and cause you to really readto find the answer. This will help increaseyour understanding and will also make thepoint stand out in the explanatory material.

The first “R,” as we have shown, standsfor Read. Now that you have formed a question, you read to find the answer. Go rightto the end of the first section, not passivelyplugging along, but actively searching forthe answer.

The second “R” indicates that we Recite. After reading the section, put down themonograph and try to recite the answer toyour question. Don’t try to quote from the

lesson, but use your own words. If you don’tremember, glance over the paragraph or section again. Take very brief notes, puttingdown cue phrases in outline form in yournotebook.

After leaming the first paragraph, page,or section in this way, go on to the next andrepeat the Question, Read, and Recite steps




must forfeit all else in life toward its at-tainment. Therefore, that individual becomes

callous. He intentionally suppresses certainsympathetic responses which might movehim in the direction of mystical or philo-sophical idealism. These ideáis, at least he sobelieves, conflict with his material and empirical views. They are thus thought to bean obstacle and are disregarded. Eventuallysuch persons find that certain of their psychicimpulses become less and less felt. The individual perhaps is a success materially, butnevertheless displays a mean and self-cen-tered character.

One who has evolved his personality mystically, expanded his consciousness of self,may gain prominence in one sense and yet

not in another. The individual may not havethat prominence which the world recognizes.This brings us to the topic of prominence. To be prominent is to stand out, to be easilydiscerned, to become even conspicuous. Itrequires that one does or has done somethingwhich draws attention to him. One can be aprominent fool as well as a sage. By common usage, however, we have come to asso-ciate prominence with some socially acceptedact. The opposite kind of prominence isknown as notoriety.

Before one can be prominent, he mustexcel in some quality. He can only attractattention to himself, directly or indirectly,if he does excel. Further, that in which heexcels must be of a nature that is readilyrecognized and understood by another. Ifthe qualities of one are unrecognizable be-cause persons are ignorant of them, then theindividual is not prominent to such persons,no matter what his proficiency. Therefore,popular prominence is of those characteristicsor qualities which the majority of men recog-nize as exceeding some function of their own.

Prominent artists are often at first only sorecognized and accepted in their own circles.They may have a style that the public cannotunderstand or appreciate. The same may besaid of other specialists. A mystic, one having a highly evolved consciousness, may not

be recognized as prominent by the publicat large. If one has no aspiration towardmystical and philosophical insight, and thedevelopment of his latent faculties, such ac-complishment in another has no particularvalué to him. In fact, such a person mayoften think the mystic to be inferior because

of his extremely different and often incomprehensible terminology and views. The

tendency of the human ego is to ridicule thatwhich it does not understand rather thanadmit its own ignorance. Many mystics, forexample, who in more enlightened timeshave had their works and lives acclaimed,were derided as fools by their contemporarieswho then did not understand them. Of course,the same may be said of poets and those whohave furthered humanitarian ideáis whichwere far in advance of their time.

There is the problem of valúes to be takeninto consideration also. The more material-istic a nation or people become—and there isan intense wave of this at present—the moreare individuáis measured by such kind of

valúes. Such questions as these are common-ly asked. Has he a big home? Does he be-long to an outstanding, expensive and exclusive club? Is he wealthy? Is he makinga big salary? Is he the head of a large Corporation? Does he receive recognition by thepress, the local politicians and the like? Ifan individual fails to meet these conditionshe is appraised by many persons as havingno prominence whatsoever. The individualactually may have noble idealism , have abroad view of life, a profound understandingof human relations, and yet be accepted asnonprominent, if not quite prosaic in his relations.

Many persons with an evolved consciousness are of this category; that is, they hayeno worldly prominence. Actually worldlyprominence, resulting in adulation, with thepretense, hypocrisy and parasitism that ac-company it, would be a hindrance to theirreal interest. We must not, however, createthe impression by what we have said thatone who is successful in material or profes-sional endeavor or who has acquired anabundance of worldly goods is, therefore, notevolved in consciousness in the mysticalsense. We know many Rosicrucians who areprominent in the generally popular sense.They head corporations. They are outstanding in some branch of science or as physi-

cians, government dignitaries or militaryofficers. But they are also mystics. They arepersons having an excellent, well-developedpersonality, displaying all aspects of the integra ted selves of which man consists.

There is little to indicate to the massesthat these prominent Rosicrucians are mys-




tacted Frater Jan Coops, Grand Master ofthat country. He ably assisted Frater Coops

in his work as time permitted. He wentagain to Indonesia, but subsequently returnedto Holland and completed a course at a leading University. He then carne to occupy animportant position with a large petroleumcompany. At this time the aging Grand Master, Jan Coops, was in need of permanentassistance. Frater and Soror Pistorius de-cided that the former should resign his execu-tive position, which demanded so much time,and serve the Order in Holland. This meanta great financial sacrifice. However, theywere soon Cosmically assisted by another fineposition which was offered him. This did notmake such demands on his time, and further

allowed him to remain in Holland to continué his service to the Order.Since the transition of Frater Coops, Frater

Pistorius has been appointed by the Im-perator, Ralph M. Lewis, as Grand Masterof Holland. In this capacity he functionsmost excellently. His literary ability hasmade it possible for him to offer several verysplendid works for the spiritual and financialbenefit of AMORC in his country. SororPistorius has been not only an inspirationto her husband in his Rosicrucian duties, butalso devotes many hours each day to thefurtherance of AMORC in Holland.

It is people like the Pistorius family whoare noble examples of the lives of Rosicrucians in our times.—X

Does the Cosmic Decree Transition?

A soror of the state of Virginia asks ourForum, “Why believe that the Cosmic willsour transition if mere man can change it?”The same soror further states, “I simply cannot reconcile present-day catastrophes—thesinking of shiploads at once, the crematingand gassing of thousands at once, etc.—withthe teachings that the Cosmic wills our timeto depart this life. I have questioned thisbefore but did not have a satisfactory explanation.”

These questions resol ve into one; namely,if the Cosmic exercises will and directs theaffairs of man, can man oppose the will ofthe Cosmic with his own? In my opinion, theterm will of God, or will of the Cosmic, isa misnomer. First, it does not convey the

true function of the Cosmic Mind; second,it causes an idea to be had with which it

is often impossible to reconcile the experiences of every day. Ordinarily when menrefer to the will of God, they use the wordin the same sense as the human will. It isa conception of the faculty of preference,the ability arbitrarily to choose betweenalternate things or acts. The conferring ofthis human faculty upon the Cosmic Mind,or God, is actually a human weakness. Itis an inheritance of a very primitive thought.It is that interpretation of God known tech-nically as anthropomorphism , which meansa god that is manlike.

Man’s evolution of the idea of God has,to an extent, kept abreast of his own intellectual and physical development. Whenman had little or no knowledge of naturallaw, when the most simple phenomena suchas lightning, sunrise and sunset were greatmysteries to him, God then was identifiedwith such phenomena. In fact, anythingsuperior to man’s power—and understanding—was apotheosized, that is, conceived as adeity of some kind. Psychologically, thepremise was that God is any po wer or source greater than man. Man did not necessarilyconceive such gods as being beneficent orparticularly concerned with the welfare ofhimself; in fact, man did not love such godsand often he did not believe that they lovedhim. He was imbued with a fearsome re-

spect for their ubiquitous power, just as asmall boy looks with intermingled feelingsof fear and admiration at a giant steam loco-motive.

Slowly man mastered many of the thingswhich he once feared. He was finally ableto control almost all living things. Manythings not directly subject to his control, likethe elements, he carne to understand. Theunderstanding removed the dread fear ofthem. This gradual supremacy which heacquired he rightly attributed to the powerof his own mind. It was his ability to reason and to think that was making man a masterof his environment. He was conscious that

therein was his greatest asset. Notwithstand-ing his advance, man has likewise been conscious of certain continued limitations. Also,his admiration has grown for the magnitudeof the universe as he perceives it. There wasexisting in this universe so self-evident askill, far exceeding his own prowess, that




man’s conception of God, his ideal of theSupreme Power, was thus transcended. God,of course, must exceed man. Man’s greatestasset is not muscular strength but mind.Therefore God, man believed, must be a being that exercised mind but to a far vasterextent. The anthropomorphic conception ofGod became a being that thinks, reasons, andwills.

Since man creates what he wills, men believed that their God did likewise. Eachthing that is, is contended by many religion-ists to be the result of a divine decree—anexpression of will. Men are quite well awarethat they are prompted to exercise theirwill because of desires which they have,especially desires of a mental nature. De

sires which are directly of the body, as theappetites, do not require will to enforcethem. A normal person does not need towill himself, for example, to eat or to drink.The mentality, however, creates artificial de sires. We have moods or inclinations whichare the sum total of our thinking and of ourfeeling. These become mental desires orpreferences. They are often so impelling thatwe choose them in opposition to an appetite.Many times we refuse to eat when hungry,simply because we have some mental desire,some purpose which so occupies us that wedo not wish to take time to eat. Again thereare those who, for analogy, go on hunger

strikes. They choose an ideal or a mentaldesire instead of a bodily appetite.When men ascribe will to God, they are

thus conferring upon Him desires. The question then arises, What kind of desires wouldGod have or need? If the Cosmic Mind orGod is self-sufficient, constituting the wholeof being, desire could not be experienced. Acondition of plethora is usually attributedto the Divine state. This plethora is a ful l- ness. A Divine desire would be an indicationof a lack in the Cosmic. Can God lack anything requiring Him to will —to prefer —something apart from His own nature? Further, if something could be desired by the

Cosmic or God, from whence would it come?It would have to be desired because it is notin God’s nature. Therefore, from wherewould it be acquired? If everything mustcome from the One , out of the Cosmic being,then it must be apparent that there would beno desire for something which already is.

It is but a polemic and circumlocutory dis-cussion to counter by saying God’s will isnot a desire or a preference for things buta wish that His purpose be fulfilled. To declare that God must will man to do this orto do that infers that there is an alternateway; namely, that man can escape from theCosmic plan and be or do something else.This ascribing of purpose to God, that is, hiswill that something shall come to be or shallbe, is an atavistic idea—it is a going backto a time when primitive man conceived thatthere is also a malevolent power or intelligence in the universe. This they called byvarious ñames. Today this being is conceivedof in orthodox circles as Satan. It was believed that there was a Divine struggle with

Satan for supremacy in the Cosmos. Each,God and Satan, had final ends or purposesthey sought. It was God’s will to achieveHis ends and Satan sought to enforce hisown objectives.

If God has a purpose which He must will—that is, choose —and toward which allcreation is evolving, it is an indication ofthe lack of perfection of the Cosmic. It wouldmean that God has not yet attained His finaland perfect state. I am reminded of thesplendid words of Spinoza with respect tothis thought: “The latter appear to affirmthat there is something external to God andindependent of Him, upon which, as upon

a pattem, God looks when He acts, or atwhich He aims as at a definite goal. Thisis simply subjecting God to fate, and nothingmore absurd than; this can be maintainedconcerning God, who is the first and onlyfree cause, as well as the essence of all thingsas of their existence.”

“God is the essence of all things as of theirexistence” means that all laws, all phenomena in their primary state, always havebeen and are of God. The way things areand will be is now the full and perfect planof the Cosmic, from which nothing canescape. That something shall happen oneway and something else another way doesnot signify an arbitrary fiat or expressionof God. It is merely that the effects are different because the causes have varied. Thatsome men shall die today and others passthrough transition tomorrow does not meanthat the Cosmic has willed a specific timeof transition for each. It is part of the greatCosmic Order that humans have a certain




amount of flexibility in the exercise of theirbeing. They can misuse their powers andterminate their earthly existence today. Others, through application and circumstance,can use their earthly experiences wisely andthus live longer. . . .

We say in our monographs that the Cosmicwills the transition of every man. Perhapswe should not have used the word wills. Itcreates the misconception that the CosmicMind has inscribed the hour of passing foreach mortal. What is really meant is thatin the mind of the Cosmic there is an effectfor every combination of causes. Whenevera man shall so live that certain causes shallcome about, the effects of which mean histransition, then he shall die. A shipload of

humans sinks and hundreds of lives are lost.The Cosmic has not arbitrarily willed thatat that hour catastrophe is to occur and thatit shall be the appointed time of transitionfor each one on board.

It is in the Cosmic Order, however, in thevery nature of that which is the Cosmic, thatmen through their sociological and politicalaffairs and their technological developmentscan invoke causes which, by the necessity oftheir nature, will bring about death. Humansthemselves, collectively as a nation or as agroup, instígate causes which bring abouttheir end. It is in the essence of the Cosmicthat every mortal shall pass through transi

tion. It is likewise in the essence of the Cosmic that man himself evokes the causes of histransition, depending upon the experienceshis soul-personality needs and which experiences in turn are what directs a full life ora short one.

There is no escape from the Cosmic Order,but man may adapt that order to his living.There is an orderly way and a disorderlyway of living. If we live disorderly in theCosmic sense, we are not opposing God’s will,as religionists often say. We are only pro-ducing a combination of ill effects for ourselves, which should cause us eventually todesire to prefer the orderly way of living.The manufacturer of the piano keyboard, foranalogy, has not willed that man shall playupon it harmoniously. He has provided manwith a keyboard—mathematically, acoustical-ly, and mechanically proper—which i f usedin various ways will produce numerousmanifestations, that is, combinations ofsounds. Man can produce on that keyboard

either a harmonious sound or a discord. Ifone plays a discord on the keyboard he isnot opposing the manufacturer’s will. He isonly bringing about an unpleasantness forhimself.—-X


Vibrations and Transparency

A frater, addressing our Forum, says:“What are the properties of such material,solid substances as glass, cellophane, and certain clear plastics which allow the vibrationsof all other material substances to passthrough and reach our eyes unhindered? Infact, in certain conditions, vibrations notmanifest to the unaided eye are brought into

view by the use of the magnifying glass,telescope, microscope, etc. To my mind,transparency in solid, material substances isa mystical property, and I would appreciatevery much whatever elucidation you may beable to make.”

Let us consider the question, turaing ourattention to glass which is the commonesttransparent substance. Glass is made from“a fluid condition at a high tempera turewhich has passed to a solid condition withsufíicient rapidity to prevent the formationof visible crystals—” We know, of course,that glass consists of a combination of silicicacids and alkalis, that is, potassium or sodi-

um. In glass, it would seem that the molecular structure offers little resistance to thetransmission of light waves. To use a generalterm, light is a vibratory energy consistingof various wave lengths; these compose theocular and invisible spectrum. By invisiblewe mean those wave lengths not discemibleby the unaided eye, such as X rays.

An opaque object reflects wave lengths tothe viewing eye. We know that daylight iscomposed of al l the colors of the visible spectrum. A white object, therefore, is an opaqueone that reflects all the wave lengths fallingupon it equally—all the colors, simultaneous-ly. Then they blend into the white lightof which they are composed, and cause theobject to appear white. Suppose we have ared cloth and hold it in daylight. It looksred because it reflects only those long wavelengths which produce the color red. (Redwave length, 0.000063-78 centimeters.) If ared cloth receives only waves which have nored, it will appear dark. The color of an




opaque object then depends upon the wavelength of light which it will reflect. It seems

that the molecular structure of an opaquesubstance can absorb or hold back certainwave lengths (vibrations of light), lettingothers pass through which reach our eyes,and which are later, in the brain, translatedinto a particular color sensation.

Let us now take a piece of red glass andplace it in the path of daylight which is dis-persed by a prism. We will note that all thecolors of the spectrum formed by the prismare absorbed except the red, causing the glassto appear red. If we put a green light in thepath of the spectrum of color every colorexcept green is absorbed. If we put the greenand red glasses together, in a similar way,

light coming from the prism almost vanishes.The color of a transparent object such asglass “depends on the wave lengths of lightit transmits.” We note that an opaque ob

ject reflects waves and that a transparentone transmits the vibrations of light. Onetheory has been advanced that the atomicstructure of a transparent substance has lessdensity, let us say, less compactness of itsatoms and permits most of the waves of thevisible spectrum free passage. “There arecertain glasses which have the property oftransmitting radiations of shorter wavelengths than occur in the visible spectrum.”For example, the ordinary window glass ofour homes seldom transmits the shortest rays.Conversely, a fused boric oxide will, likequartz, be transparent even to the very shortest rays. A specially manufacturad glassknown as Vita Glass, employs the factor oftransmitting these shorter rays. Yet, it lookslike common window glass. Its ñame im-plies its health qualities.

If iron oxide is present in glass “in a ferriccondition,” it is said to greatly diminish thetransparency to the shorter ultraviolet rays. Glass having lead in its composition will absorb all of the ultraviolet rays. The longwaves (red) are refracted least. The shortwaves (violet) are refracted the most.

In the instance of the magnification of

light wayes, to which the frater refers, thewaves are concentrated, focussed or gathered,so to speak, so that more of them reach thehuman eye, increasing the apparent size ofthe object to the sight. We cannot agree withthe frater that the vibrations of all of thematerial substances pass through transparent

substances. As has been noted, certainglasses, for example, obstruct all of the ultra

violet rays. Furthermore, certain glasseshold back, absorb, the wave lengths of lightbeing reflected from objects. Certain plastics,though appearing transparent, have a crys-talline composition which obstructs the passage of particular waves of light—if not of thevisible spectrum, then those of the invisibleone.

We cannot entirely follow the frater’scomment that in his opinion “transparencyin solid material substances is a mysticalproperty.” We could say that until thephysical phenomenon of transparency is understood it may mystify one, but there is nomystical element or principie actually in

volved. At the most, transparency, as aquality, can be symbolically related to morality and purity. That which is transparentobviously cannot deceive or conceal. Transparency at times has allegorically referred toan attribute of human character, namely,frankness, simplicity or innocence, freedomfrom guile. In our opinion that is the nearestapproach of transparency to being a mysticalquality or property.—X

Mental Treatment Fads

One of the greatest frontiers, as yet littleexplored, is not alone interstellar space, butthe realm of the human mind. Though psychology, neurology, and psychiatry havemade great strides as explorative sciences ofthe mental functions, the brain and nervoussystems, there remain tremendous mysteriesof the mind to perplex them. Just how wereason, imagine, perceive, will, feel, andknow is only partial ly understood. Howr impressions of the receptor senses are trans-formed into sensations, and these in turnconverted into ideation or chains of ideas,is still a matter of some fact interwoven withmuch hypothesis.

The instincts and emotions have beenplausibly theorized since the time of theancient Greek philosophers. In recent years

the James-Lang theory of emotions was thecenter of controversy in science until superseded by more advanced theories. In the timeof the Greek philosophers all mental functions were primarily associated with the soul.This was particularly so of the faculty ofreason. However, Democritus (about 460-




360 B.C.) declared that our perception of ex-temal images was due to certain sized atoms

entering the apertures of our sense organswhich accommodated them.The greatest mystery of mind that has per-

sisted down through centuries of rationalismhas been the cause of man’s abnormal mentalmotivations. Why, in other words, have certain men acted in ways contrary to theirown and society’s well-being? Why havethey displayed such erratic or eccentric behavior as to be considered insane by theirfellows? Certain theological theories, religious beliefs, even to the present day, haveconsidered such unfortunate persons as vic-tims of an extemal, supernatural forcé, suchas evil entities, devils, or demons. Personswere thought to be “possessed” and needed tohave these entities exorcised by the prayersof priests or the incantations of some magi-cian. The methods resorted to as “cures”were often brutal, such as chaining theafflicted person to a wall and lashing him intounconsciousness to drive out the devils.

With the popularity of the terms “conscious, preconscious, superconscious, subconscious” and the like in recent decades, varioustheories about them, with systems foundedupon them, have been advanced. Since thetime of William James, who established thefirst laboratory for psychological experiments, inquiry into these subliminal realms ofconsciousness has been usually by academic

investigators. They were those who had tohave some training in physiology, neurology,and medicine, as well as psychology, beforethey could treat what were regarded as mental or emotional diseases.

When the transition occurred then mindwas no longer thought to be wholly a matterof philosophical speculation or a subject confined to theology, it became popularized.Emile Coué (1857-1926), a French psycholo-gist, was the first modern advócate of positive thinking, offering a mechanism by whichthis was to be accomplished. His system ofaffirmations and self-suggestions, though having merit, was exaggerated and exploited by

his contemporaries. Actually, his system became eventually so distorted that the mereaffirmation became a substitution, with manypersons, for the necessary act itself. To suggest to oneself that a condition was to occurwithin oneself was erroneously made toequal the act of bringing it about.

Of what the “power of suggestion” con-sisted, and how the subconscious or “uncon

scious” mind acted upon it and performedso-called miracles, became the subject ofmany best sellers and articles appearing inpopular periodicals. In addition, traveling“psychologists,” many with no formal education in the subject, traveled about givingpublic lectures on the theme of “secrets ofthe subconscious” and at substantial fees.

Freud and his psychoanalytical principiesand theories were next highly popularized.Sigmund Freud was a genius. He, morethan any other man of recent times, revealedhow the greater part of self, like the bulk ofan iceberg, is submerged. We are not conscious of this submerged self and its innate

expressions and latent desires. However,such expressions are released as urges andimpulses into the conscious mind where theyassume quite a different nature. Why we actand behave as we do became principally as-sociated with this stream of the subconsciousin the articles dealing with the subject. Theabnormalities and anxieties of emotionallydisturbed persons were said to be due to in-hibitions, repressed desires, and impulsationsoften from an infantile period in their lives.In part this theory is generally recognizedby psychologists and psychiatrists. On theother hand, such other classical authorities inthe field as Jung and Adler do not whollyconfirm the Freudian concepts.

The technical aspects of the subject wereintricate and difficult for the layman. Thencarne the “popular expositions,” mostly un-authoritative exploitations of the public interest in the subject. They were mostly byones who wanted to capitalize on the desper-ate individuáis who felt that they personallyneeded help for mental health or for members of their family, but could not afford pro-fessional fees. In various cities in the UnitedStates, England, Australia, New Zealand, andelsewhere, numerous little advertisementsappeared by so-called hypnotists, psycho-analysts, mental catharsis practitioners, andthe like. Their fees were more reasonable

and the gullible reader succumbed to the appeals.Even more recently there has been pro-

claimed in these countries and elsewhere“revolutionary systems” for discovering mental blocks and engrams that are inheritedfrom past lives. These systems claim that by




an interrogation method uof an unique nature” they can clear the consciousness and

cause the individual to understand his realdesires and to view his self and his worldlyrelationships in a new light. All this wasnot to be done in a philosophical or mysticalway, but as a “scientific” treatment prin-cipally for emotional disturbances, inferioritycomplexes, and mental illnesses.

There is a very strong appeal to the imagination in these systems. It is claimed thatone is to be taken back, by “regressions” andin a semitrance state, to experiences had invery early childhood and even in past lives.This practice is not concemed with the mystical or metaphysical doctrine of reincarnation, but for the practical purpose, it isclaimed, of clearing from the inheritedmemory unconscious urges which conflictwith the individual^ common experiences inthis life.

Who accomplished these things as instructor s, analysts, or consultants? Werethey physicians thoroughly grounded in themorphology and physiology of the brain andnervous systems? Were they gradúate clin-ical psychologists or psychiatrists holdinguniversity degrees in the field of the subjectand licensed by the local government to conduct therapeutic or healing practices? Abso- lutely not. The early ones were those whoread a book on these so-called unique methods. Some of these readers were bookkeepers,

truck drivers, ditch diggers, and salesmen.They became interested in the fantastic,popular theory of the semifictional literaturewhich they read. The literature or book wasoften syncretic, that is, borrowed phrasesfrom texts on philosophy, metaphysics, psychology, and psychiatry. But the majority ofthese readers did not know that many of thephrases were borrowed. They did not havethe background to know i t They thoughtthat all the terminology was original.

The popular books then grew into centersor schools where, for short courses and forfees in amounts from $50 to $500, one mighthimself become a practitioner with no other

background than the money he paid for feesand the desire “to become a consultant andgive treatments.”

There is a strong appeal to the mercenaryaspect and ambitions of the individual in thiswhole system because, after so many lessonsfrom an instructor who has also paid a large

fee to someone else for the same teachings,he may become a consultant. He may then

set up an office and advertise to “clear” othersof their mental obstructions and, of course,charge substantial fees in turn. One is ledto believe that soon he will eam back theoriginal investment and from then on makea substantial profit—which some do.

The fact is that there are eventually morewho take the course, sometimes at greatsacrifice to themselves and family, than thereare persons who will subsequently come toconsult them. A great number of such gulli-ble persons find that they never get a suffi-cient number of customers or clients, if youwill, to even recover their initial fee. Theindividual who is garrulous, a born huckster,and can talk fast, makes a success of it, provided he is equally unethical. A great number who lack academic training and are notfamiliar with promotion and public relationscome to regret that they ever spent theirmoney.

The regrettable part of the whole systemis that many unfortunate, afflicted men,women, and children are being subjected toa system or method that is not scientificallyrecognized and that is conducted by personswho perhaps but a few weeks or months before were attending gasoline pumps at a service station or waiting on trade behind a coun-ter in a grocery store. Persons who arehighly emotional are subject to the attention

of unskilled, and often uneducated, practi-tioners. Persons are trusting the delicatemechanism of their minds to practices similar to hypnosis. These persons are especiallysensitive to suggestion or ideas implanted intheir minds by these consultants who “inter-pret” the impressions, and the victims aretold that such interpretations are really thelatent ideas and desires coming from theirown being which they must obey.

Happily married couples have had theirmarriages disrupted by these interpreterswho may say that the individuáis are notsuited to each other. Individuáis, who needed the care of trained psychiatrists, but in

stead have gone to these neighborhoodpseudo practitioners and have taken up thesystem at a cost of a few hundred dollarsin fees, have also paid the penalty of losingtheir sanity.

When one has a serious intestinal disorder,for example, he no longer buys a nostrum




from the traveling medicine man who, duringcircuslike performances, claims a special curefor his product. If one’s eyesight fails, hedoes not trust his eyes to an examination byone who took a course of some kind a fewweeks before. Why, then, trust your mindand mentality, upon which your whole relationship to reality depends, to some pseudo—or highly-amateur mental practitioner re

gard less of his personality?What valué do you place upon your sanity

—or that of your family—or on your peaceof mind? Investígate the quality of suchtreatments and courses with at least theequal care you use in examining the foodyou buy.—X

Fear and Anxiety

ln a letter a frater comments upon variousphases of his studies and asks that some spacein the Rosicrucian Forum be devoted to thesubject of fear and anxiety, because he feelsthat a great many people are victims, in asense, of these emotional states.

There is no doubt that many people be-come almost obsessed by false fears, and theanxiety that results from such condition istruly a detriment to their physical and mental well-being. No doubt this continual mental stress is an underlying cause of numerousphysical and mental disturbances. Many

common ailments are functional in theircause; that is, there is a mental conditionbehind that which finally becomes a physicalmanifestation. Almost all doctors of allschools will concede this point.

A fairly common malady, among men inparticular, is that of stomach ulcers. A fraterwho is a stomach specialist and a prominentmedical doctor has told me that most casesare due to mental stress, to anxiety, tensión,and concern. If this one, more or less common, physical ailment has functional beginning, there is no doubt that there are otherphysical disorders with a similar basis. Inview of the fact that statistics show that institutions for the care of the mentally ill are

filled to capacity, and even overflowing, wecould generally conclude that a great deal ofthe treatment necessitated in these institutions is no doubt fundamentally due to afunctional condition. Basic in most of theseconditions is fear, and it might be well togive a little consideration to the analysis of

what constitutes fe ar and anxiety, and thetypes qf fear which seem to affect many individuáis.

It is true that fear has a physiological basisand reaction as well as a psychological manifestation. Fear is an emotion. It is not a condition based upon and controlled entirely byreason. We cannot here go into a completeanalysis of the emotions, but, in general, weall know that emotions are under the controlof the sympathetic nervous system and notcompletely dominated by the reasoning mind.

In proof of the statement that fear is anemotion, we state that it is perfectly normalfor any human being to fear regardless of thereason he exerts. If you are walking in thedark, for example, and a sudden movement

which you cannot explain takes place nearyou—something touches you—a white figurecrosses your path —an unexplained lightflashes near you —an unusual noise attractsyour attention —your reaction is fear. Regardless of how brave you may be or howquickly you are able to exert your reason toovercome that fear, still the first reaction canbe one of fear. Fear will manifest undersuch conditions because it is a part of thestructure of our physiological system that isclosely related with our instinct of self-preservation.

Fear is an emotion which has a definitephysiological manifestation. Under such a

circumstance as has been described, the bodybecomes tense, hair rises on the neck, theadrenal glands release their product into theblood stream, which reaction is for the purpose of giving the body quick energy, to prepare it to flee from the source of the trouble,or give it additional strength to face whatevermay be the physical requirement that thecondition brings about. In other words, theemotion is under such circumstances a partof the protective system of the body, makingit possible for man to be able to get awayfrom a dangerous situation or to defend himself, and the mental reaction is first to acertain extent that of fear.

Without fear, man would be unable to livein a very complicated world. He would nothave the involuntary incentive to preparehimself to take care of unusual situations.He would be unable to exercise at all timessufficient reason and judgment to keep himself out of difficult and dangerous situations.Therefore, as in the case of all emotions, fear




has a certain protective and useful valué tous. The problem of fear develops when it is

assigned to many other things and is so dweltupon by the mind that a constant state ofanxiety exists. Anxiety is nothing more thana continued state of fear —a concern thatsomething is going to happen that is notwanted, and that is not going to be conduciveto our best interests and well-being.

Oddly enough, the average individual soonreasons away the sudden emotional surgesof fear. To retum to our example, if an individual sees a white object in the dark, he immediately has a sensation of fear. Almost atthe same time he may find that the whiteobject is nothing more than a handkerchiefthat someone has dropped and which the

wind has blown. Reason immediately comesto the rescue to allay the fear that has de-veloped within him. It is difficult to be afraidof the known, particularly when that knownin our experience is harmless. The emotionof fear aróse in our minds and affected ouractions so long as the handkerchief in theabove example was not known. As soon as itwas known reason took over and fear wassubordinated.

It would seem that the obvious conclusiónfrom these observations would be that thebest way to eliminate fear is to understandthose things which seem to develop fear andanxiety in our lives. This is a very simple

step when it concerns simple situations. Touse the same example again, when an individual has explained the momentary fear ofan unknown object on a dark night andreason has dismissed the thing as harmlessand known, such a situation has banishedfear from the mind. However, if a morbidindividual would continué to dwell anxiouslyupon this problem, it is quite possible that hemight associate all white handkerchiefs inthe dark with an absolute fear. This latterpossibility is extremely remóte unless therehave been other factors contributing towardan unstable personality, to begin with.

The biggest problem related to fear andanxiety in our lives, as already inferred, isnot so greatly concerned with these simplesituations, but with far more subtle conditions. The average individual who may suffer from constant anxiety has far more subtlefears underlying his life and thinking. Thesefears are mostly ill-defined and are broughtabout sometimes by a feeling of inferiority

or without the circumstances in which reasonwould be able to take over for the emotion.Most of the fears that exist today are not somuch fears of the unknown, insofar as aphysical phenomenon is unknowable, butrather fears as to the possible reaction ofother people and things.

I believe that I would find confirmation, inmany fields of psychological research, of thestatement that the anxieties and fears thatmost people are burdened with today are ofa social and economic nature. They are fearsof losing a job, of not being able to get alongwith associates, of displeasing the boss, of becoming ill and not having the funds to meetthe demands; of having their income reducedor of having their expenses increased. Some

have fears of not being able to accomplish thework which they believe is expected of them,the fear of social distinction, of inability toact or behave properly in the presence ofcertain individuáis, and the fear of becomingsocial outcasts by not being able to make theproper impression upon people with whomthey wish to associate.

All these fears closely related with makinga living and getting along with people are sosubtle they do not bring about the violen!reaction that a loud, unexpected noise in aquiet room might produce, or the sight of awhite object on a dark night. However, theyenter into the consciousness and remain there

without reason dismissing them, and theybecome to the mind what an unhealthy infec-tion is to the body, constantly poisoning themind with anxiety and causing every decisión, motion, and act to be weighed in termsof this irritating anxiety that is constantlywithin the mind. When this condition be-comes sufficiently infused into the thinkingof an individual, the individual has gonebeyond the mere act of will or reason to relieve the condition. By merely saying, “I willnot worry any more about my job,” one isexpressing an idle affirmation which he himself does not believe, if he thinks his job is in

jeopardy and he cannot secure another one.To overcome fear and anxiety one must

have something that has in his life morevalué than any physical or mental thing ofwhich he could be deprived. If you areanxious and worry about your job, yoursocial obligations, your financial status, orany factor related to any of these things, ilmeans that you are assigning more impor-




tance to those particular things, or any one

of them, than you are to anything else, andit is a perfectly natural reaction for a personto exhibit more concern or anxiety about thethings upon which he places the greatestvalué. Therefore, the fundamental way torid oneself of fear and anxiety is to redis-tribute or reshuffle valúes concerning them.

The truly deeply religious person—and Ido not necessarily mean the one who observesreligión in its outward forms, but the onewho has a firm belief in God and in Hispower—is one who has diminished a ten-dency to worry. This also applies to theindividual who has gained conscientiously aphilosophy of life, which is the same principie as that of the individual who has a firm

religious conviction. For example, if we, asRosicrucians, not only read the teachingsand principies which are put forth, but also,firmly and honestly, without any trace ofdoubt in our minds believe these things andlive these principies, we become aware thatthe greatest and most desirable valúes thatcan be achieved by man are in terms of hissoul and the development of his psychicbeing.

We further become aware of the fact thatregardless of what may be our fortune, andregardless of the vicissitudes of our dailylives, nothing can take this greatest of allvalúes from us. Therefore, since we know

that the thing which we most cherish is indestructible and cannot be taken from ourgrasp, the things which are secondary willcease to cause us worry. This seems like asimple statement, but it covers a broad concept; it covers the concept of not only formu-lating in words a philosophy of life, but offormulating the convictions to live that philosophy of life. It is not easy, but it is mostsatisfying when it is done.

It is important to mention that the buildingof a stable concept of life upon a nonmaterialworld does not mean that the physical worldis to be ignored. Just because our treasuresof greatest valué may lie in a psychic plañe,does not mean that that gives us license toshirk our responsibilities, for the one whohas such philosophy of life is equally awarethat the responsibilities which he assumes inthis earthly life are for the purpose of greaterinner development to be utilized at still othertimes to come. At the same time, however,we will be aware that we do not have to

allow anxiety as to our physical position to be

a constant drain upon our energy and uponour physical and mental well-being.—A(From Forum—February 1947)

Divine Mind and the Human Mind

This problem involves a series of questionsthat have been asked by many students andby those who have seriously considered thesubjects of philosophy and metaphysics. Ifthe human mind or the mind of man is asegment of the Divine mind, why are thereso many unanswered problems in the universe? Why is it that man cannot betterconceive the scheme of the Cosmic and bemore aware of the working of a Divinemind?

Implied in these questions is the under-lying belief that because our mind is considered to be a manifestation of the Divineor Supreme Being, why should a segment ofthat mind be in ignorance of many vitalquestions that concern life and death, aswell as the purpose of the universe and theposition or valué of the human being in hisrelation to it? The question is partly an-swered by considering that while there isno difference in kind, insofar as various seg-ments or manifestation of mind are concerned, there is a relative difference. Thisprincipie is somewhat illustrated by com-

paring the adult mind with the child mind.We consider that lack of knowledge andexperience cause a child to be different fromthe adult. A child will make mistakes thatan intelligent adult will not. A child willhave a comprehension of things about himthat is different from the conclusions reachedby an adult. The adult knows, from his experience, that experience will also come tothe child mind, and that in its growth it willcome to understand what the adult alsounderstands. At the same time, we who areadults know that as the child mind developsto understand certain things many gaps orquestions will remain, just as they do in the

adult mind.Growth, the gaining of knowledge and ofexperience, in other words, all developmentconstitutes a state of transition in human life.We advance toward a personal realizationwherein all knowledge will be at our com-mand, and therefore, all understanding willbe available and no questions will be un-




answered. However, we do not advance inone lifetime to that complete comprehension,

just as the child does not advance in onehour, one day, or in one year, to completeadult comprehension. The adult has pur-poses, ideas, and problems beyond the comprehension of the child so that the childmay feel, in fact, that he is being thwartedor his freedom interfered with in his attempt to live and understand. So the adultin not knowing the full functioning of theDivine mind feels that he too is thwartedin that there are forced into his life restric-tions that are beyond his ability to grasp.

Human mind, or the adult mind particularly, insofar as the family relationship isconcemed, dominates the child mind. There

is the belief on the part of the adult that thisis for the best interest and welfare of thechild. Certainly no parent that has anycivilized decency is purposely going to re-strict a child merely for the pleasure ofrestriction. It is reasonable to think thateven if we do not understand all the Cosmiclaws and Divine purposes, if we work onthe premise that the Cosmic laws are purposeful and the Divine mind represents theultímate good, we are not going to conceiveof this Supreme Being as one that is merelyplacing restrictions upon human life for thesatisfaction that might be brought to such aBeing by seeing mankind in a position ofsuffering, trial, and the continual facing ofinsolvable problems.

A few days ago I watched a gardenerchanging a bed of flowers. He took up by theroots many healthy plants, each of whichwere living things expressing as best theycould in the way nature ordained that theyshould express themselves. The soil wasthen changed, cultivated, and made readyfor what the gardener believed to be morebeautiful plants, and new expressions ofplant life that would thrive and bring satisfaction to him and those who enjoyed thegarden.

Now, if we could imagine that these individual plants were capable of intelligent

thinking, we could consider that those whichhad been destroyed must have at the timebelieved they were subject to the will of anavenging forcé or creature that was greaterthan themselves. If they could form a philosophy, it would have to be a philosophyof fatalism and doom—a belief that they

were subject to forces over which they hadno control—and that eventually their lives

would be snuffed out and they would be destroyed. They would not be able to graspthe over-all picture. They could not see thatbeauty and the development of the plot ofground was of primary importance; andmore essential than the maintenance of theirindividual lives. They would not be able tograsp the fact that, within a few months, theplace they once occupied would be morebeautiful, more complete, more expressive ofnature’s laws for the reason that they hadbeen superseded by other forms of plant life.They might go so far as to establish a philosophy which would include a belief in immortality—that when their lives were ended

due to the power of a being beyond theircontrol, their life expression would go on inanother place or in another form.

It is not very satisfying for us, supposedlyintelligent, free-willed human beings, toplace ourselves in the same position with theuniverse as these plants had occupied in relation to the gardener. We do not like tobelieve that we are subject to the whims ofa Supreme or Master gardener who is moreinterested in the expression of the earth orin the expression of humanity as a wholethan in us as individual beings. We, too,have built up a philosophy—a philosophythat has a hope that the expression of lifeon earth is only a segment of the total expression, and that when that manifestationof life ends it will have the opportünity toí*row further and to express itself in different and, we hope, better surroundings.

Our illustration does show, limited as itis, that the Divine mind of which we are apart has within itself a purpose beyond ourcomplete comprehension. Just as the childcan gradually develop to a point of comprehension equal to the adult mind that directedit, so can we eventually develop to a pointof comprehension equal to the Divine mindof which we are a part. However, to thebest of the knowledge of scientists, this cycleof life on this earth has been going on for a

longer period of time than we can readilyimagine. Therefore, any single life is a verysmall transitory expression in relation tothis whole. Little wonder, then, that thereare so many questions left unanswered. Ifwe can find some satisfaction in answeringa part of these questions, we can have a




fuller satisfaction in that another life canbegin at a point of advancement beyond thebeginning of this one.

Man’s expression of himself, of his true individuality, comes through the process ofdealing with the universal forcé about him.Our physical lives are constantly modifiedand tempered by the physical conditions withwhich we deal. We can take one of twoattitudes toward this position in which wefind ourselves. It can be one in which weresent being placed in such a position—andby that resentment actually thwart the possibility of growth, development, and advancement toward a more complete comprehensionof things —or it can be an acknowledgment of the position in which we are, not

as a position beyond our control but thatwithin our control rests the ability to strivefor those valúes which seem evident as beingof more valué than mere resistance to thestate of things about us. We will gain littleby fighting against what we are; we can gainmuch by co-operating with the forces aboutus, and in that very process become moreaware of the Divine mind of which we area part.—A

(From Forum—June 1947)

Willing Oneself to Relax

A soror of Cañada rises to ask our Forum:

“Can the application of will power sometimesbe a deterrent to the acquiring of a desiredresult? I teach people to relax, using a system which follows through—physically, emo-tionally, mentally, and spiritually, as deeplyas each person wants or is able to take it.Now, one of my greatest difficulties in teaching a certain type of pupil is to overcometheir determination to do it—in other words,to relax their will power. Such people grittheir teeth and try to forcé a response by aneffort of will. Now I cannot teach that willpower is undesirable; someone in the othercórner of the room may be in need of justenough self-discipline to help him find thetime and energy to do the necessary dailypractice.”

To relax means to cause a condition oftensión to become lax, or to yield. There areinnumerable things which may cause tensión. Primarily these are stimulations bywhich we have, through the lash of will,driven ourselves to accomplish something.

The muscles, under the impulse of the nervesbeing tense for a long period, are unable immediately to slacken or yield when the workhas been accomplished. It is like a springthat has been compressed for a long time under pressure. It loses its resilience and is unable to return completely to its former statewhen the pressure is removed.

There are, of course, psychosomatic ten-sions. We are not conscious objectively ofwhat causes our nervous tensión under suchconditions. There is a subconscious aggravation as subliminal anxiety which causes emotional reactions. These emotional states causethe tensión. Such persons cannot readily betaught to relax. They do not know the causeof their tensión and cannot elimínate it with

out help for their emotional disturbances.They first need the assistance of a psycholo-gist or psychoanalyst to make them aware ofthe latent causes of their trouble. When theycan again face realities, realizing them, ad-

justing consciously to circumstances whichthey may have been subconsciously opposing,the tensión eases—at least, from that time onthey can be taught to relax.

It must be realized that will is a mentaldesire. We say mental desire to distinguish itfrom the desires arising solely out of the appetites and instincts. The desire of will, aswe know, can and often does oppose otherdesires. We may, for example, forcé our

selves to go on a hunger strike when physically our body era ves food. We may, likewise,deny ourselves sleep in órder to pursue somework or pleasure. One may deny a sex appetite because of moral ideáis enforced bywill. Therefore, will can be and often iswith everyone, an intensely positive desire,an extremely stimulating motivating forcé.

Will compels action of some kind whetherphysical or mental. The action takes thecourse necessary for the satisfaction of thewilVs desire. Consequently, we can freelysay that will power stands in a contra-posi-tion to relaxation. Wil l is the concentrationof energy, the necessary tensing of certainmuscles in order to accomplish an end. Relaxation has as its purpose the easing, the“laxine,” of tensión. One can no more relaxby willing himself to do so by the use of intense concentration than he can shout himself into silence.

A contra-activity, however, may help attimes to induce relaxation. Suppose one is




obliged to pursue a strenuous mental activityfor several hours a day. Perhaps he is a

public accountant or a university studentcramming for a final examination. For hourshe has been concentrating, focussing his attention on pages of a textbóok, or on rows offigures in a ledger. Such a person can findrelaxation by a change to a temporary andvigorous, physical exercise. Fast walking,swimming, doing push-ups or riding a bicyclewill bring the relief. They are also expend-ing energy by this physical exercise, contract-ing, using muscles. But, there is a rechannel-ing of the energy and a withdrawing of itfrom its former source of concentration.They relax the existing tensión. As soon asthey feel the former tensión leave they can

cease their physical activity. The short period of exercise will not have been sufficientto have caused any other tensión and sothey can immediately rest and recover.

There is, however, a habitual tensióncaused by an inherent restlessness. This hasa psychological basis, as well. An overcon-scientious person may have this experience.Such an individual is reluctant to take timeaway from his work or duties. He thinks ofentertainment and recreation as “wastedtime.” He has acquired the habit of usingwill to drive himself. When he is not work-ing there is the taunting urge of conscience and will to keep going. Consequently. even

though trying to particípate in some changeof activity, such a victim cannot entirely doso. The habit impulses keep his mind chainedto the subject of his work. In a sense the per-son is not happy until he retums to it. Buthe is always made uncomfortable by the tensión under which he constantly labors.

This restlessness, the ceaseless drive towork, the pangs of conscience when onetakes time away from it, usually have a psychological origin. The individual may havea subconscious guilt complex. Subconsciously,he may believe that he has neglected doingsomething of importance and is ashamed ofthe neglect. He is, therefore, now conscious

ly trying to compénsate for that guilt byexcessive conscientious application to hiswork. What he neglected and what causedthe shame may have no relationship whatever to his present occupation. In fact, theindividual may not even realize that thereis any relationship between some past, for-

gotten experience and his present restlessness.

Are there different ways to relax? Yes,there are many ways, almost as many asthere are individuáis. In other words, eachof us usually finds some little method thatseems to relax us. We may not always suc-ceed, however, in making that system ormethod function equally well for another.The causes of our tensión are often quitedifferent from those of another. We maylearn how to compénsate for the particularcircumstances that cause our tensión. However, probably the same compensations wouldnot be applicable to another.

There are a few simple suggestions thatthe Rosicrucian teachings offer which, though

not universally beneficial for the reasonsmentioned above, have been helpful to manypersons. First, there is deep breathing.Loosen the clothes, particularly around theneck and throat. Step outside or stand beforean open window. Inhale deeply. Hold thebreath as long as it is comfortable; then slow-ly exhale. Continué this for several minutes.This brings into the lungs the positive polarity of the vital life forcé and of Nous. Itcharges the blood cells, revitalizes the blood,and eases nervous tensión.

Next, be seated in a comfortable chair in asemi-darkened and quiet room. Avoid brightlight. This is what many persons fail to do.

Light is a stimulus. It causes visual sensations and thus prevenís relaxation. Loudsounds are also stimuli that interfere withrelaxation. Remove tight clothing and shoeswhich will allow easier circulation of theblood to all parts of the body.

Bring together the thumb and first twofingers of the right hand; then, press thesefingers in the hollow at the base of the skullat the back of the neck. This is the occipital región of the brain. While so pressing thefingers firmly but gently, take a deep breathand hold it as long as convenient and slowlyexhale. Do this several times. This causesa discharge of excess psychic energy, as explained in the Rosicrucian teachings. Thisenergy then goes through the radial nervesinto the finger tips and thence is transmittedto the occipital región. The energy is thenfurther transmitted to the spinal nervous system and eases tensión.

It is difficult not to think of something while relaxing, that is, to keep the mind vir-




tually blank. But one can at least keep outall thoughts of the day or of tomorrow thatwill arouse emotions. The emotions, as feelings, cause nervous responses which can induce tensión. Do not will any thoughts. Donot will at all except to dismiss disturbingthoughts. Keep the feet raised at least at alevel with the body; this causes less laborto the heart in pumping the blood. Of course,if you can lie in a completely recumbentposition that is even better.

Try this method in addition to any of yourown experiences that have proven helpful.-X

W ha t Makes Genius?

A frater of Australia now addresses ourForum: “It was stated in a previous Forumthat, before intuition can be fully effective,it must have the materials of the problem athand to deal with. So I ask: ‘What makes forgenius in a child?’ Having read the otherday of a child who, at a very early age, wasa genius at mathematics, without havinglearned it, makes me ask how his intuitionfunctioned. Is it possible that there was apsychic influence guiding the child’s mind?”

All genius is not necessarily excellence ina special talent. Psychologically, genius hasbeen held to constitute a high degree of intelligence. An intelligence quotient that ex-

ceeds 140 is recognized as genius. Theintelligence of a genius is generally appli-cable to any problem in which there isinterest. For example, Leonardo da Vinciwas an artist, a scientist, an inventor, andan engineer, excelling in all those fields.Many great statesmen have been excellentartists or musicians. Sir Winston Churchillis an outstanding statesman, an excellentwriter, and has great ability at painting.

Dr. H. Spencer Lewis was this type ofgenius. His intelligence was principallydirected into specific channels. However,whenever there were other activities thataroused his interest and he applied his intelligence to them, he excelled in them also.He was an excellent orator and author; hewas proficient in painting and had an excep-tional mechanical ability in creating devicesand apparatus for the Rosicrucian Plane-tarium and science activities.

There are individuáis who, at a very earlyage, show exceptional ability. They mani

fest a distinct talent, without much trainingin the field. For example, there have beenchild prodigies who have composed operas ata tender age or led a symphony orchestrawith great skill. However, all the elementsof such talent are not inherent. In otherwords, the child was not bom with theability to read a musical score or to knowone instrument from another. The childwould need to learn the musical scale ob

jectively as would any normal person. Thegenius, as talent, would be displayed in theexceptional application of what he wouldhave learned. It would manifest in the Creative enlargement of these elements into newand elabórate forms.

Within the brain certain association areas

having to do with music, tone valúes andharmony of sound, would be abnormal. Byabnormal we mean exceptionally responsive.Any impulses or sensations related to thefunction of those areas would stimulate themin a manner to produce related ideas exceed-ing the product of the normal mind.

As for the child who became a proficientmathematician, investigation would undoubtedly prove that the child had been taught theintegers or whole numbers and their particular valúes. The talent consisted of thephenomenal ability to utilize these numbersin the solution of mathematical problems.Such a person is not necessarily a genius in

the true sense of the word. In fact, he maybe a “mental freak.” There have been childprodigies who, upon attaining adulthood,were failures in other enterprises. They displayed no flexible exceptional intelligenceapplicable to various situations that aróse inlater life. In fact, the talent of many childprodigies has been known to subsequentlydiminish with age.

Unusual intelligence and creativity are themore certain signs of genius. These in turnare definitely related to the intuition or, ifyou wish, the psychic consciousness and intelligence. It would seem that a very intelligent person registers many impressions inhis subconscious mind, in the inner archivesof consciousness, of which he is not alwaysobjectively aware. When a situation arisesor a problem is brought to his attention, the“genius draws upon his consciousness (thesubconscious).” He may not consciouslydraw upon it but, having an idea in mind,there will flow from the intuition related




ideas by which the matter at hand is seen inits clear and logical light.

The Creative mind is of this type. Ideas which engage the reason or hold the attention seem immediately to stimulate the intuition. Other ideas come forth which, systematically and immediately, integrate the loose thoughts in the objective mind into a harmonizing whole. A psychologist has called this creativity of a genius or of any Creative mind a “subliminal uprush.”

Mysticism and psychology have agreementin part on the functioning of the intuition.We, as Rosicrucians, say that intuition is asuperior or exalted judgment of the mind.It takes the elements suggested to it by ourusual thinking procedure and integrates and

arranges these elements into a highly satis-factory and superior order. By superior order we mean that arrangement of ideaswhich transcends what our reasoning accom-plishes. Consequently, the intuitive flash oridea usually appears to us as self-evident,that is, leaving no doubt in our minds at thetime as to its accuracy.

Mysticism refers to this procedure as theCosmic mind or divine intelligence withinman. It is actually the working of a latentand a more profound functioning of themind. However, the terms or ideas themselves which come to us intuitively are bornout of our actual objective experiences. We

never have an intuitive experience in a foreign language ñor are our intuitions everforeign to our interests. The Cosmic does notimplant ideas as such in our intuitive mind.Rather, the function of this superior intelligence consists of a reorganization of ourthoughts in a manner exceeding that ofwhich our reason is capable.

Oftentimes this work of the intuition goeson without objective awareness. We mayperceive something, see or hear it, which doesnot unduly command our attention. Suddenly and definitely, then, there flashes into ourconsciousness what seems an entirely unrelated idea. Where did it come from? Therewas perhaps something in what we perceivedand which did not necessarily hold our attention that, in the inner mind, in the subconscious, fused several thoughts into a newand rational idea. Of course, the “iiewness”of the idea would only exist in its particularcombination. Its elements would be thosewith which we were familiar, otherwise, the

new combination would be incomprehensibleto us.

The intelligence of genius is also shownin the supporting analogies which it is ableto bring forth to confirm an idea. The intelligence is shown in relating an analogy quitedifferent from the idea in its particulars butthe same in spirit. The ability to bring forthsuch analogy reveáis a clear insight into thefunction and purpose of that which is a Creative idea. Thomas Edison said that geniusis ten percent inspiration and ninety percent,perspiration. This is most certainly true. Thenew idea, the Creative idea, though clear inmind, always needs to undergo much re-finement before it is practically adaptable.The idea fundamentally may not change by

such a procedure but the elements of it willbe altered by trial and error. This anyonewho is known as a genius will readily admit.

Genius or exceptional intelligence is alsoexhibited in the ability of abstraction. Thisconsists of taking intangibles, hypotheticalsubjects, and bringing them into a rationalorder without reference to any external ormaterial factor. The deductive process ofreasoning is equally important with the in-ductive process, to the exceptionally intelligent person. By means of the deductivemethod he can imagine in its entirety someprogram as an end to be attained. This thenmay be submitted later to those inclined to

analyze each part inductively—and thus maybe established the deductive concept in fact.Many men who have presaged events orthings which were not possible in their time,but which later carne to pass as reality, weresuch deductive thinkers. Their visualizing,however, exceeded the means of fulfillmentat the time in which they lived.

Do we carry over a knowledge from a pastlife? According to the doctrine of reincarnation, our previous experiences are implantedin the soul-personality’s consciousness. Thesethen become part of our subconscious andincline us to similar interests and pursuitsin the next incarnation. It is, as Sócratessaid, a matter of awakening the memory ofthe soul. There is also the probábility that,if one is in psychic attunement with a mindhaving a special fount of knowledge, suchmight be received by the subconscious mindof the recipient. The transference of suchknowledge is, of course, done in a limitedway through hypnosis. If the knowledge is




of a complex nature and if one does 1101

possess a high degree of intelligence, it isdoubtful if the objective consciousness couldsubsequently properly interpret what it hadsubconsciously received.—X

Emotions versus Moráis

A soror now rises to address our Forum:“Will you please discuss how far humanbeings should go in their consideration oftheir fellow man. As an example, a ciósemale relative married a girl whom he nolonger loved as greatly as he did when theybecame engaged. After an overseas absenceof more than a year, he met another girlwhom he loved more and with whom he wTasin complete harmony. Yet, because his fi-ancée had waited for him and he had pledgedhis word to marriage, he felt obliged not tohurt her upon his return. He thought it the‘right’ thing to do to marry her because oftheir promise, etc. The marriage is not a

#iappy one. It constitutes complete self-sacri-fice on the part of this man.

“One sometimes sees people mated whohave very little in common, and yet even theassociation with more harmonious compan-ions of the opposite sex is avoided because ofso-called obligations and the ethics of society.Although right and wrong are producís ofour own individual minds, just what course

of action can be considered justifiable withrelation to our fellow human beings? Alsohow does Karma play its part?”

In the first instance which the soror men-tions, we have definitely a conflict of emotions. One aspect of these emotions is, ofcourse, popularly called conscience. Moreconcisely put, there is the desire for the com-panionship of the girl who is not the fiancéeon the one hand and, on the other, the desireto conform with the innate sense of right-eousness or moral díctate. The normal per-son is inclined to abide by what he feelsconstitutes the good, the just. He does notwish to be a social outcast or iconoclast. This

sense of justice is a psychological transference of the effects of conduct toward anotherto one’s self. In other words, justice is thesympathetic extending to oneself the effectsof circumstances and conditions to whichothers are exposed. We feel that somethingis unjust if it is a hurt which we personallywould not want to experience.

Conscience, as we have had occasion to

declare in our Forum before, is a combinationof the innate Cosmic urge to conform to the good and the social and moral codes whichdefine that good, and its opposite evil. It isbecause conscience is such a combinationthat there is no universally expressed conscience or accepted moral code. The psychicaspect of conscience, the so-called moralsense, always has to be interpreted in thelanguage and experience of the individual.It is this objective aspect of conscience whichaccounts for its diversity of expression.

Our desires, psychic and emotional impulses, are not all of equal intensity. Further,they are not necessarily of a hierarchal order; that is, some are not always the most

intense and others always less. The mostintense desire at one time can be subordinat-ed at another time. Will itself is a desire.It is a mental desire. If will is enforced, thenit is the preferred desire. We know, ofcourse, that will can, and often does, sup-press a natural desire, even an appetite.Such is an excellent example of the suprem-acy of mind over matter.

If one has a strong conscience, the positiveimpulse to conform to a recognized valué , theso-called good or right, can supersede aphysical desire, though often such succumb-ing to conscience may bring frustration as inthe case cited. The young man interpreted

his conscience in the sense of moral obliga-tion; promises made and acts to the contrary,to him would constitute an injustice. To doother than he did would have undoubtedlybrought the young man greater mental an-guish than his continued marriage. Psychologically, he was not prepared to sympa-thetically experience the hurt of what heconsidered an injustice to another.

Was the individual right in following hisconscience? Yes, he was. From the view-point of the outsider, the one who is notexposed to this emotional conflict, it wouldseem that he made an unnecessary personalsacrifice for an ideal. But if one is to experi

ence any degree of peace of mind, he mustpursue a course that is consistent with hisconscience. To do that which humiliates oneor causes a loss of his self-respect is to existin a state of mental misery.

Of course, it would seem that the expedi-ent thing would have been to frankly explainthe situation to the fiancée and thus avoid a




more or less loveless marriage. For the youngman, however, it was not a question of ex-

pediency or a rational decisión. It was amatter of submitting to a preferred desire, ofsuccumbing to the ethical obligation of society which had become integrated with hisconscience.

The moráis and ethics of society are acollective decisión; that is, they represent amajority’s idea as to what constitutes not

just the good for a particular individual butfor the whole. Again, such is an objectivecode. It is objective in contrast to the personal subconscious moral impulse. It is theform in which that impulse is expressed.Such moral and ethical codes are sometimescontrary to the biological nature of man

They may acquire a hoary tradition whichbecomes fanatically adhered to when, infact, the ground of the tradition is obsolete.Many persons realize that such public moralor ethical codes are not really expressingtheir own personal moral sense. They, however, are afraid to defy the code or conven -tion for fear of condemnation or legal punishment.

An example of this obsolete moral codeis the former puritanical laws of New Eng-land. To attend theatres on Sunday, to enterinto any sports, to dance—in general, to dis-play any joys or participate in plea sur ableactivities—was considered a moral wrong, asin. The fallacy of this is that man is soconstituted by nature that he will seek pleas-ure and happiness physically in enjoymentwhenever and wherever he can. Happinesscannot be construed only in terms of religious fervor and experience. Conformitv tosuch codes is usually due to fear of publiccondemnation.

Most biologists, anthropologists, and psychologists will agree that man is inherentlyinclined toward polygamy, that is, havingtwo or more mates. In many primitive so-cieties this practice is followed without anydegenera tion of society. However, in mostcivilized lands of the world the practice isnow taboo. It has been declared immoral by

most of the world’s prominent living religions. This, then, is the cause of a conflictbetween desires upon the part of many indi

viduáis. On the one hand is the biologicalurge of attraction toward those of the oppo

site sex and, on the other, the moral impulseto conform with what has been interpretedas the good, the restriction, and this bringsconflict. Consequently, where the impulse ofconscience is not dominant, we then havenumerous examples of promiscuity.

It must be realized that conscience has noterminology in itself, no specific rules, codes,do’s or don’ts. It is but a Cosmic urge leftto the objective mind to define in terms ofits own experience as to what constitutes theright or the wrong. This wrong and right inspecific acts the individual draws from hisreligious teachings, the conventions of society,and his own personal experience.

All men cannot be left to their individualconscience and their construction of moralbehavior. There could be no common good,no unity, no public discipline if such werepermitted. The most society can do is toanalyze human behavior and intelligentlytry to determine which acts are for the public welfare and which are not. Time hasshown that per jury , theft, cruelty, rapiñe,murder and the like destroy civilization andeventually man himself. Obviously, then,these become necessary prohibitions and areincluded in moral and ethical codes. Ofcourse, morality includes as well the theory as to what is conducive to spirituality andis in accordance with divine law. In interpreting divine law, we have nothing moresubstantial in most instances than the doctrines of the various religious sects and whattheir teachers proclaim as their sacred works.

The enforcement of such religious codesnever has a universal acceptance. The conscience of many persons will not compel theircompliance. For example, there is a religioussect that will claim it is a mortal sin topractice contraception. Others, being equallymotivated by conscience, feel it is morallymore consistent to keep a family limited tothe number that can be properly cared forin every respect. These latter also believethat to give one an opportunity to become a

healthy, educated, worthy member of societyis preferable to the mere contributing to thenumerical propaga tion of the race.—X

V V V



Experience

Provides Knowledge

. . .at táe ^6&e-0to¿%

%{*Uvenúitcf

Haphazard events bring only unrelatedknowledge. Directed experiences—practical dem-onstrations of natural phenomena—reveal theorder and system of nature. Things do not just

happen—behind each occurrence is the causefrom which it follows by necessity. Throughthe intelligent use of such causes you can accomplish mastery of life.

At the Rose-Croix University, demonstrationsand personal instruction convert theories intouseful realities. Enjoy classroom and laboratoryinstruction in various arts and sciences.

Awaken Ta lents - Redisco ver Life

Do you long to investígate personally someof the mysteries of nature, functions of themind, the mystical effects of music and color,and numerous other related subjects? Fullyqualified Rosicrucian teachers will satisfy yourintellectual desires.

Simple instruction—no university or collegeeducation is necessary—as easy to understand asyour Rosicrucian monographs. Plan to come

next summer for three wonderful weeks! Writeto the address below for a FREE copy of The Story of Learning , which fully outlines thecurriculum and requirements for entrance.

Rose-Croix University - Ro sicrucian Pa rk - San José, Calif., U.S.A,

Ju ne 2 0 - July 9

T H E RO SI CRU CI A N PRE S S , L T D. í l S p j i o PRI N T E D I N U . S , A



April, 1960Volume XXX No. 5


JULES MOTT E, F. R. C.

Grand Council of AMORC for Northern France




Greetings!V V V

ADVANCED AGE AND ATTUNEMENT

Dear Fratres and Sorores:Often, persons of advanced age are in

clined to believe that it is futile for them toretain membership in the Rosicrucian Order.They think that their impaired visión, difficulty of concentration, and failing memory-retention, make continued practice of theRosicrucian exercises of no avail. Such anattitude, however, is one of abandonment.

It is true that as we grow older—from fiftyyears onward—the faculties of perceptiongradually dull, in some individuáis almostimperceptibly so. Psychological research hasrevealed that very gradual indeed has beenthe diminishing of the intellect of personswho have kept mentally alert, who havestudied and resorted to mental exercises alltheir life. In other words, at an advancedage, such persons continué to display a keenintellect often far-exceeding younger personswho are not mentally active.

The following are a few classical examplesof those who at a later period in life achievedintellectual greatness.• The Román, Cato, at 80 years of age, be

gan his study of the Greek language.• Sócrates, at an advanced age, learned to

play on musical instruments.• Plutarch began to leam Latin at an age

between 70 and 80.• Jean Philippe Rameau was beyond fifty

years of age when he wrote his first operaand made a great success.

• Dr. Samuel Johnson applied himself to theDutch language but a few years before hisdeath.

• Tudovico Mondalesco, at the great age of115, wrote the memoirs of his own times.

• John Ogilby, the translator of Homer and

Vergil, was unacquainted with Greek orLatin until he was past fifty years.• Benjamin Franklin did not seriously begin

his philosophical studies until he was fifty.• John Dryden in his sixty-eighth year com-

menced the translation of Vergil’s The Aeneid , his most pleasing production.

The great enlightenment , the experiencemystically referred to as the attainment ofCosmic Consciousness carne to most of thegreat avatars at about the age of thirty-five.However, this period of enlightenment oc-curs in accordance with cycles of se ven years.Therefore, many persons have experiencedtheir greatest mystical and intuitive insight—conditions which brought them understanding and peace of mind—at later periodsof life. We have reports from members whohad these profound, mystical experiences atthe ages of forty-nine, fifty-six, sixty-three,or seventy years of age—in fact, some ofthem had these experiences even at a greaterage.

Since the average age of a Rosicmcianstudent is approximately forty years, by thetime many members have attained the ageof sixty they have had years of study inAMORC. By then, the intellectual aspectof the teachings is of lesser importance tothem. If he has been conscientious in hisstudies, the member is quite aware of thebasic principies and doctrines of the Rosicmcian philosophy. The later years arethose of application, of applying what hasbeen intelligently acquired and known previously; it means trying the exercises andendeavoring to achieve what constitutes theobjectives for which the member is striving.Since the majority of the higher degree exercises concern psychical matters, any diminishing of the objective faculties of theperson would not be a deterrent.

There is really an advantage, mysticallyspeaking, in advanced age. There is less de-mand upon the objective self; the materialambitions of the individual have then usually been realized. He or she has raised hisfamily. In all probábility they are retiredfrom the great objective demands of a trade,business, or profession. Further, they havehad many years of experience with the vicis-situdes of life. They know the faults andevanescent appeal of many of the events andthings with which one is confronted during



APRIL, 1960 Page 99

the course of his life. Their judgment beingmore mature, they then have a better understanding of what constitutes life’s realvalúes.

The average person who has been a student of mysticism for many years finds inlater life that mystical attainment is far morefacile than it was when he was younger.There is less conflict with self, for one thing—the physical desires, the appetites, are lessdemanding. Self-discipline is therefore moreeasily achieved.

We may use the analogy of a balance, orscale. With the descending of one side of thescale, the objective and subjective, the otherside, the subconscious, the psychical, ascends;we mean that the ascending side becomes

more responsive. Even those older folks whohave had no training or study in mysticism,would more readily admit that they are moreintuitive than when they were young. Theysense conditions and circumstances for whichthere is apparently no objective clue. Theyare more subtly sentient. They frequentlyhave what are called monitions and premoni- tions—that is, knowledge of events that arehappening at a distance or that will happen.In some circumstances they may have amental image of the impending event in almost minute detail. In other instances theymay just feel , that is, have an emotional re-sponse as to the effect of an event—that it will

be fortúnate or unfortunate.A younger person who is not aware of thisgreater sensitivity, that usually accompaniesadvanced age, may attribute it to overanxietyor the susceptibility to suggestion.

Philosophers have often said that eachperiod of man’s life has its virtues and itsrewards. Pythagoras divided man’s life intofour quarters, each corresponding to one ofthe four seasons. Spring is for youth; sum-mer is for maturity; fall is for middle age;and winter is for oíd age. These philosophersstress the futility of endeavoring to continuéor restore all the satisfactions of one period

of life in the next period. In the fall of lifeit is not possible, for example, to expect allof the functions and virtues of the spring ofone’s life. To use a phrase from the vernacular, one should truly try “to be his age.”

Certainly, though one may reminisce onthe pleasures of youth, he would not wantto forfeit the wisdom (if he is at all contem-plative) which time has conferred upon him.Often we hear persons say: “I would liketo be young again if I could then know whatI now know.” Maturity of mind and a morecogent view we have of life and our adjustment to it—are some of the virtues of thefall and winter periods of life.


Imperator.

The Cost of Peace

Rosicrucians are repeatedly asking whatto do to help maintain, preserve, and bringabout peace in the world. This is a mosttypical Ro sicr ucia n question. With theknowledge gained from AMORC teachings,the student desires to develop his inner selfand to evolve to the point of raising his concepts completely above those of the physicalworld. He realizes that discord and inhar-mony, being so much a contrast with thepurposeful and useful forces of the universe,

make war purely a waste of time on the partof man. Not only are discord, inharmony,war, pestilence, destruction, and all thesenegative forces a waste of time, they alsodeprive man of his most important right—that is, the time needed for perfecting hisinner nature, the time needed for growth andevolvement, instead of its being used to direct man’s whole attention, effort, and energy toward the accomplishment of somethingextemal to his personal development.

No one can deny the terrific cost of warin money, material, and lives, and we lookback to regret the terrific expense that has

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happened twice in this century. The eventsof the two world wars together with other

wars that have taken place in this centuryhave cost an inconceivable amount, in fact,an amount that cannot be judged becausethe valué of the price cannot be transferredinto terms of material valúes or entities.

But more than these costs has been thecost of time. During war or during totalwar, as the term has evolved in recent years,man’s attention and efforts become directedtoward the prosecution of the war. Littleelse can be done. War becomes a mad rushon the part of the population of countries toequip themselves to prosecute the war itself.All of us who can remember events of eitherone of the great world wars or possibly of

both of them fully realize the implicationsthat are created mentally and physically.Society becomes absorbed as a part of thesystem of war. It directs itself completely todoing nothing but working for the winningof the war; and, as a result, men have littletime for anything but to eat, to sleep, towork, and to entertain themselves in themoments that are free.

In other words, what I am trying to say,among the penalties of war is the penaltyof lack of constructive thought. The processof war makes man no more than an animal.The advancements that are accomplishedduring war (although some can be applied

to pea ce time uses) are fundamentally andpractically those which are associated directly with the prosecution of the war itself.

Therefore, to summarize—war is a terrificwaste, a waste of life, of materials, of mentalcreativity, and a retarding of spiritual evolve-ment. Obviously, life and materials arewasted. Man’s Creative abilities are tumedaway from the things toward which heshould be directing his efforts; therefore, thehuman being fails to develop as it had beenordained by the Creator that he should.Man’s advancements are in the materialworld during war, and he retrogrades insofar as his spiritual advancement and evolve-

ment are concerned.It would seem from this analysis that al-most any price would be a worth-while priceto pay for peace, and no doubt this is true,unless that price itself becomes so involvedthat it, in turn, creates the same conditionsas are created by war. Unfortunately, fromthis point of view, the situations that have

occurred in the events that have proceededto take place since the ending of the Second

World War have not changed substantiallythe philosophy that developed from war itself. Today we still are directing a substantial part of our efforts in the same channelsthat we would be directing them if war werestill an actual fact. Much of our effort isbeing given toward the development ofmeans that will, we claim, maintain thepeace. Much mental creativity is directedtoward the development of ammunition,methods of defense for our protection and,incidentally, to keep us up-to-date with whatmight be the possessions and developments ofa potential enemy.

We proceed to consider life as something

to be paid or forfeited for this purpose. Inthis race to achieve supremacy in a materialworld where we can kill our enemy beforehe can kill us, we have the tendency to em-phasize a materialistic philosophy of life sothat man has less time for his own innerdevelopment and for his evolvement to aplañe where these material valúes would nolonger have significance and, therefore,cease to bring pressure upon him.

Today, great nations are racing with oneanother. They are demanding that all theirattention and effort be directed toward theconquest of those areas which man now doesnot dominate. It is most worthy that the

experimentation be directed toward the ex-ploration of space and the gaining of knowledge of our universe. One purpose of manis to learn domination of the universe, tolearn to understand the operation of andthe control of physical laws, but at the sametime, it is not the goal of being that weshould so direct our efforts to these purposesthat we forget a more fundamental fact—that is, that man’s existence is not alone forattaining physical dominance in a materialworld, but also for the development of soul,which is to be eternal and must have theattention of each of us. Those factors whichdetract from such knowledge tend to limitand restrict the evolvement of each individual being.

Furthermore, even if we do not enter intoa discussion of the metaphysical phases ofthis matter, that is, if we forget for a momentthat man’s purpose is to unfold his soul, thatsegment of him which is a part of God, or atleast develop his own understanding of it,




there is placed today such emphasis uponthe gaining of physical mastery and suprem-acy that we do not direct or divide equitablythe efforts that are put forth.

At present in various places in this country, fabulous amounts of money are beingspent to experiment with different types ofdestruction and transportation methods. Theamount of money spent in each such experiment is almost inconceivable to the averagehuman being, and if only half of this moneywere spent in this manner and the otherhalf used to direct intelligent research in thefields of health and of social problems, mancould be benefited and possibly his psychicevolvement would be helped, or at least a

situation for it made more favorable. If wewould devote more of our attention, ourwealth, our effort, and our creativity towardthe fighting of disease, poverty, economic andsociological problems, as well as toward theconquest of space and the preparation to re-sist a future enemy, we might achieve theability to maintain peace.

It will be very easy for my intent here tobe misinterpreted. I do not think that weshould give up preparedness, that any nationshould permit itself to be placed in a position where it is not reasonably using itsresources for its own preservation and for

the benefit of its citizens. At the same time,it seems that it would not be wrong for intelligent human beings to consider theirposition and to use judgment in the properdistribution of wealth and effort in such amanner that these efforts and this wealthwould be directed to benefit as many as possible.

Also we should consider that in fightingour enemies, we should include such enemiesas cáncer, mental disease, poverty, economicproblems, and similar conditions as enemies.These need our concentrated effort and weshould direct our best mental creativeness

against them. Anything that seeks to delayor impede the evolvement of the human soulis the enemy of man; therefore, we will paythe price of peace, but let us pay it in working against all things which obstruct peaceamong countries, peace among peoples, andpeace of mind.—A

Misplaced Faith

A soror now addresses our Forum: “Realiz-ing the power of faith and the valué of goodintention, should one establish for himself—or anyone else—any limitations in the expec-tation of mira cíes? In other words, friendshave argued with me that ‘all is possible.’They have implied that limbs or organs thathave been missing would, by an exultant andunswerving faith, be replaced, etc. What arethe limits on these goals?”

We first answer this question by sayingthat either we believe in Cosmic and naturallaws or we do not. If we believe in theselaws, then we must assume that there are noexceptions to them for any purpose. Religions speak of sacrosanct laws, divine de-crees. Philosophy and science expound thedependability of Cosmic and natural laws.If we are to infer or believe that, underunique or special circumstances, these lawsmay be mitigated or completely nullified toallow a miracle, then a series of problemsarises.

We readily admit the incongruity of sometheologies. On the one hand, they expounddivine laws and yet, conversely, preach ofmiracles which, in fact, constitute exceptionsto them. Any intelligent individual willreadily admit the meager knowledge of manas regards the myriad phenomena of the Cos

mic. Much may happen which man cannotanticipate or comprehend. However, thesame intelligent person wants to believe, andthe orderly structure of his personal existencedepends upon it, that Cosmic laws are in-fallible. It is in this very infallibility thatthe intelligent and thinking person mayrecognize divine or Cosmic justice.

In fact, one might ask himself, What reliance could one put upon moral codes andsacred promises predica ted upon divine laws,if they are revocable by divine caprice? Mostreligions and systems of mystical philosophyexhort man to follow spiritual guidance. Thisimplies an utter confidence and dependence

upon the stability and eternal valué of suchprecepts as the guidance must include. Obviously, there would be great hesitancy inaccepting such principies, if they were believed to be subject to arbitrary changes.

Miracles have always been prominent inthe hagiography of the various religions.What, then, are these miracles? As one reads




of them, they almost all appear as exceptions to natural phenomena. They are miracles

only because they appear to go counter toor mitigate natural laws. Are such miraclesfigments of the imagination, or can naturallaws be arbitrarily set aside under particularcircumstances? Obviously, the miracles, aswe know them, are hearsay. They are accepted on faith alone, which means theimplied authority of the source relatingthem. In modern times there have been fewreports of miracles that parallel the tradi-tional ones.

It must be understood that what wouldappear as a miracle to one people might notbe so to another. Where people are lackingin the understanding of how something is

accomplished which is spectacular and anuncommon phenomenon, they will think ita miracle. By a miracle is meant the arbi-trary exercising of a supernatural power thatwill cause a phenomenon as an exception tonatural law. For example, to natives on anisolated tropical island, the hardening ofwater into ice, so that one can walk on it,would be a miracle. A device in which mancould be seated and fly would be anothermiracle. A voice coming out of a small boxas a radio or phonograph would be still another. A photograph taken and immediatelyprocessed, showing the image of a person,would be an act of magic or a miracle.

Ignorance on the part of the spectators ofthe physical or psychological law whichbrought about the manifestation would be thereason for their accepting it as a miracle.As we look around us today and note thecommonly accepted technological develop-ments, we cannot help realizing that thesewould be miracles to the superstitious be-lievers of the Middle Ages. It must berealized, too, that the average ignorant andsuperstitious person is always inclined to believe in an arbitrary supernatural interven-tion. It is a form of primitive reasoning.It is such a belief that is the basis of magic.

The intelligent and educated person todayis not predisposed toward accepting the ideaof miracles. He has seen too many fantasticand amazing accomplishments come aboutthrough the human direction of Cosmic andnatural laws—not as exceptions to them.Consequently, if something strange, startlingand different occurs, such a person first seeksfor the rational explanation. He searches for

the natural cause. He wants to believe in anorderly universe, not one in which man

stands at the mercy of an unpredictable willin all things.

There will continué to occur, and therehas often occurred in recent times, thatwhich is, at first blush, so astounding andperplexing as to suggest that it is a miracle.Man is easily inclined to slip back, to regress,into the primitive state of thinking that anarbitrary will has set aside natural lawT. Hehas to fight this state of mind continuallyor be led back into superstition. There arehappenings in healing, in cures, for whichno immediate explanation is forthcoming.From existent knowledge, experiences of thepast, these events should not have happened

and yet they did. However, even so, this isnot proof of a miracle. Rather, again itdemonstrates the paucity of our knowledgeof certain phenomena. Eminent physiciansand surgeons, men of science, not given tosuperstition, will often say in effect: “Something brought about this event which, I mustsay, mystifies me.”

The intelligent mentality, the inquiringmind, will not let such an experience endthere. It will be a challenge to him to findthe original cause in Cosmic and naturallaws underlying the phenomenon. Such aperson will not allow himself to accept it asa miracle.

Numerous persons will cite how prayerand faith in religious doctrines brought abouta desired result when all known pragmaticmethods had failed. This will be conceded,but it is still not an indication of a miracle.In prayer and meditation, an individualoften receives an influx of power, a regener-ation of his whole organism that is bothpsychic and psychological. There is a stimulus that accomplishes an end where oftenmedication and other material methods cannot. However, such is the use of laws, ofnatural powers and forces perhaps not as yetunderstood. Men have lived by their beliefsin Cosmic help when materia medica or othertherapeutic methods have given up hopefor them. They have exercised the power ofmind so as to revitalize the life forcé inthemselves in a manner such as materialmeans could not accomplish.

Seemingly hopelessly paralyzed personshave been made to walk after entering intofervent religious reviváis. Others have re-




gained their speech when visiting a religiousshrine in which they have had implicitfaith. But we will not concede that suchexamples are miracles. They are the resultof the efficacy of suggestion which releasesa tremendous stimulus from the psychic nature of man. The affliction is subject to acounter shock which remedies the originalblock or inhibition caused by some earlytrauma. These results cannot all be easilyexplained by natural and Cosmic laws. Manyare yet too mystifying. But always the attempt should be made to find such a naturalsolution, if we are to hold fast to the con-ception of an orderly universe.

As to whether “all is possible,” we wouldprefer to say that such a phrase must bequalified. If it is meant that any naturallaw can be set aside because of one’s faiththat it can, then we say that such statementis erroneous. Such a faith might producechaos. It would be possible, then, for oneto have implicit faith in an exception tonatural law for personal benefit, while another might have faith in the reliability ofthe same law for his well-being.—X

Idealism and the Practica! World

The question of how to relate ideáis whichone has accepted as worthy of support andworth while as the basis of one’s own phi

losophy of life to the conditions that exist inthe practical world is a problem that has itsroots in the basic conflict between idealismand materialism. As long as human societyis in conflict or has a difference of opinionbetween those who subscribe to one or theother extreme, the problem will continué toexist in the minds of all people who attemptto reach a satisfactory adjustment in theirown thinking and behavior.

Various methods have been used and areused today by those who believe that theyhave solved their particular problems. Oneway is to ignore, forsake, or shut oneself offfrom the material world. To lead a life entire-

ly isolated from the world and its problemsmay have certain advantages and may notnecessarily be an indication of a degree ofone’s support of his ideáis, but it is somewhatlike the mythical ostrich who upon hidinghis head in the sand believes himself safefrom his enemies.

The material world exists as it does today

whether we like it or not. If our ideáis clashwith the majority opinion of the materialworld, we are not going to solve completelythe existing conflict by ignoring that worldaltogether. Idealism can be supported without compromise within the world in whichwe find ourselves. If we were not for somereason placed here to face the consequencesof the physical world, then we would pos-sibly exist in a world entirely consistentwith our ideáis, but it can never be forgot-ten that materially and physically everyhuman being is still in a form a ti ve position.He is learning, he is gaining experience, andthe experience that he gains may be de-pendent upon the problems and possibleconflicts that cannot be provided through

any other means than the material world.Man has obligations to his Creator, to his

fellow men, and to himself. To ignore anyone of these obligations is to become unbal-anced and, to a certain extent, a misfit in thescheme into which he is born. Possiblysome individuáis can find complete satisfaction in considering only their obligation toGod. The monastic life may settle the problem to such individuáis, but there are fewcapable of gaining the experience they needunder such circumstances. This is due to thefact that part of one’s obligation to God isalso involved in his obligation to other human beings and to himself. If an individual

chooses to stress only his obligation to himself, selfishness is the result.To ignore everything else, even though

making self-development the prime purposeof life, is to forget the other two obligations,which would mean leading a comparativelyuseless life, insofar as others are concerned,or actually becoming a detriment to otherpeople’s living because of concentration upon self. The same applies to the third pos-sibility. Exclusively devoting oneself to one’sfellow men may be very much misunderstoodby the very ones whom we seek to serve.The conclusión is obvious—that man doeshave all three obligations, and unless he at-

tempts to balance his life to include a rea-sonable awareness of all three possibilities,a part of his experience is being ignored.

Living in the world of practicality onefinds that to meet all of one’s obligations hemust constantly be faced with the necessityof attaining certain material things. Foodand shelter are considered instinctive in




man’s desire to have these necessary material accompaniments to his existence. Ex

treme idealism, on the other hand, wouldteach us to have no thought of the source ofour food or comfort or even any care fortomorrow; but to so live, while it mightserve self, does not take into considerationthe other two obligations to God and man.Quite frequently our correspondence depart-ments are faced with this question, usuallymade in the form of whether or not an individual can be consistent as to his ideáis andpurposes and at the same time compete ina world where selfishness and greed seemto be the primary motives by which mostmen live.

There have been many times when in

dividuáis who have upheld their ideáis ratherthan to subscribe to methods or activities contrary to their ideáis have suffered by so doing. Certain noble sentiments have beenbuilt up on behalf of those who have sufferedbecause of their ideáis. Some have becomemartyrs for a cause, but this is the extreme.While there are many examples of peoplelosing out in life, insofar as the possessionof material things is concerned, by holdingtheir ideáis higher than their desire forpersonal acquisition of things, there arethousands of other people who have livedmoderate lives, upheld their ideáis withoutcompromise, and never found themselves in

the extreme position of starving or denounc-ing their idealism. The extreme cases cometo our attention more than the ordinary. Fewmen have sacrificed much for their ideáis,but many have stood by their ideáis at someinconvenience and difficulty and gained re-spect by so doing, as well as self-satisfaction.

In the final analysis, the decisión betweenone’s ideáis and the demands of the material world must be relegated to the role ofconscience. The basic character that makesup our individual natures Controls our conscience, which is probably only a reflectionof the ideáis to which we subscribe and thecharacter by which we live.

Conscience will direct us, if we will let it,by emphasizing in our own thoughts the difference between valúes. If an individualplaces more valué on possession of huge sumsof money, regardless of how they might beobtained, in contrast to a clear conscienceand peace of mind, then his actions will bequestionable insofar as his idealism is con

cerned. On the other hand, if the loss ofcertain material advantages is secondary to

the establishment of peace of mind and self-development, no one subscribing to suchidealism will feel that sacrifice has been greatin passing by some of the material thingsthat might be theirs at the sacrifice of ideáis.Probably the world needs more practicalidealism, more individuáis willing to subordinate the satisfaction of their senses andthe desire for material gain so that ideáismight prevail over a greater part of humanity.—A

(From Forum—June 1950)


If each of us were to review his life, hewould find that it was a particular incident,sometimes an unexpected event, that hadshaped the eventual course of his life. If ithad not been for that, the way we live, or atleast our idealism or career, might have beendifferent. This most certainly applied toFrater Jules Motte, Grand Councilor ofAMORC for the north of France.

Frater Motte was born in Le Cateau-Cambrésis in 1910. The first event that herecalls vividly occurred on the date of August 26, 1914. It was a dreadful sword fightbetween the French Cavalry and the “Ulhansof Death.” This was the lad’s first introduc-

tion to the horrors of war and the brutalityof mankind. It made a lasting impressionon the young consciousness.

Frater Motte was reared by his mother,for whom he had a very deep affection. Theresponsibility of raising the boy was themother’s, since Jule’s father was in the NearEast. During this time the boy attended astrict, but charming, little Norman school.The discipline of the school inculcated within him, at an early age, a love of knowledge.

When World War I ended, the familywere united in the north of France. Onceagain they occupied the beloved familyhome. Young Jules went back to school. Hisappetite for leaming now having been whet-ted, he passed his examinations brilliantly.Each Thursday Jules was free to do as hewished. His favorite recreation then was towalk in the open country. The fragrance ofthe vegetation, the azure of the skies, thecaress of soft breezes, or even the bite of thefail winds invigorated and inspired him.




There was something wonderful about lifeand living. In the summer, on these Thurs-

day solitary excursions, he found he hadpleasure in seeking out plants and flowerswhose ñames were unknown to him.

After completing his secondary education,Frater Motte followed in the occupation ofhis father. He had then also cultivated aninterest in world problems, particularly thoseevents which were contiguous to the welfareof the individual. While a youth of onlyseventeen, Frater Motte began to think that ifhe were to ever understand people, he mustfirst know himself . He began then to lookwithin himself, to question his own behaviorand to analyze self. This also brought him tothe study of science and metaphysics.

It was an accident, however, that deepenedFrater Motte’s interest in metaphysics andeventually really led him to AMORC. Hewas a young man taking part in a bicyclerace. A reckless motorist struck him down.Spectators thought him killed, if not seriouslyinjured. In the fraction of a second, whenhe was struck, and before he lost consciousness, there paraded before him in kaleido-scope some of the important events of hislife. Though Frater Motte was severelybruised, he did not reveal the accident to hisparents so as to save them shock.

By sheer will-power he was quite recov-ered in eight days. This taught him to rely

on the Cosmic Creative forcé within himself.This newly developed confidence in the infinite power never left him. He was inspiredby the accident to study the mystical worksof noted authors. These, as he matured, in-creased his desire to in some way unselfishlyserve humanity. At this very time he wasbrought into contact with AMORC andcrossed the threshold of the Order.

Frater Motte was Secretary of the Descartes Chapter of AMORC at Lille, France,upon its establishment. Subsequently, he wasappointed by Grand Master Raymond Ber-nard, of AMORC France, to serve as GrandCouncilor for the Order in Northern France.

Further indication of Frater Motte’s desireto serve humanity is the fact that he is Chair-man of the Welfare Center at his birthplace.He is likewise a member of the Red Crossand other public Service organizations.

Many fratres and sorores in his section ofFrance look to Frater Motte as an example of

a Rosicrucian, one who derives much fromlife by giving much to it.—X

Is Gambling a Vice?

A frater addressing our Forum, asks:“What is the proper viewpoint on gambling,that is, in localities where it is legal? Shoulda mystic shun such activities as lotteries,bingo games, horse racing, etc.?”

This is a rather delicate question to answerwithout perhaps affronting some individuáis.There are those persons whose religious doctrine prohibits gambling under any circumstances for they declare it to be morallywrong. From a rational point of view, however, gambling in the sense of taking a

chance in games or lotteries which are legal,does not involve spiritual valúes. Such gamesof chance do not detract from or inhibit one’ssoul consciousness. Gambling is not intrin-sically wrong. But circumstances related toit at that time and place may make it a socialand moral wrong. After all, all life is achance, a gamble, and there is no certaintyexcept death and taxes, as the classical phraseputs it. Whatever we plan to do is a gamble,a chance is being taken on incidents andevents with the hope that nothing will occurto obstruct and defeat our plan.

Psychologically, most persons in a smallway gamble in games of chance: first, forthe thrill of winning; second, because of thehuman proclivity to gamble for something ofvalué with little effort or cost. If gamblingis limited to just this, there is little or noharm accruing from it. Certainly there isno moral jeopardy. There are, however,other factors which enter into the subject.Criminal elements will control the games ofchance in many areas so that the opportunityof winning favors them to such a degree thatit is principally to the disadvantage of theplayer. Various rackets “fix” the games sothat the proportion of winning is unfair anddishonest.

Because persons are instinctively inclinedto gamble for sport and hope to win “some

thing for nothing,” they unwittingly encour-age the criminal element to control gambling.However, religious protestations and theeventual banning of all games of chance under their influence (as often happens) actually increases the opportunity for criminaldomination of gambling. The majority will




still want to play games of chance as manhas done since the earliest times recorded in

history. (In fact, in the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum may be seen ancient gamingdevices.) Pursuant to bans placed on gam-bling, there are often set up illegal gamblingestablishments operated by the criminal element. In such places the player is takenadvantage of, and cheated at every oppor-tunity. He has no redress because what he isdoing is often illegal.

For example, since horse racing is legalin many countries and in certain States ofAmerica, and is Government controlled,crime in connection with such racing is re-duced to little or none. Further, a good por-tion of the proceeds of such legal racing

receipts is used for social welfare, hospitals,orphanages, and the like.The United States generally prohibits lot-

teries. Many people do purchase lotterytickets which ar e legal in other countries. Inother words, such prohibiting of lotteries onthe mistaken ground of morality, compelpersons who are so inclined to obtain foreignlottery tickets—illegally. For example, inEngland and in México there are national,Government-sponsored lotteries and pools ofchances on winning football teams. Theseare carefully supervised and the winning ishonest.

Millions of persons spend a little sum ofmoney every month in the hope of winningsome fairly large amount. The proceeds areused by the Government in financing manyhumanitarian services, homes for the aged,hospitals, etc. Actually, the person whospends money on these lotteries, even if hewins no prize, does gain through institutionswhich they support and which are also available to him.

The opponents of such gaming declarethat it encourages individuáis to waste moneyneeded for necessities and encourages theincurring of debts, and they point out thatthis is a moral wrong. Individuáis whogamble heavily and who cannot resist spend-ing their whole income on games of chance

are abnormal. They are emotionally ill. Byprohibiting gambling you are not taking thiscompulsión or weakness out of the individualñor are you removing temptation from hispath. You would thus be encouraging himto go underground, to patronize illegal gambling syndi cates.

Mystically, we must understand that lifeowes us nothing. Life has given us the op-

portunity to make something of ourselveswith the faculties with which we are en-dowed. We should create by being causative.Therefore, to expect to go through life witha minimum of effort and the hope that fortune will smile upon one is unrealistic andcan result in failure and disaster. Those whoare of this mentality will always exist be-cause they are weak in character. Eliminat-ing legalized gambling will not affect thechange in the character of such individuáis.

The individual who thinks he can usemystical principies and Cosmic law to helphim win in lotteries and horse races will begreatly disappointed. Mystical principies are

based upon the application of the powers ofthe individual; they, we may say, are supple-mental. In other words, when one is tryingto accomplish through his own effort and notthrough chance, and then appeals to the Cosmic, the mystical principies are more effi-cacious.

To conclude, no one is going to be morallyand spiritually contaminated by playinggames of chance for amusement, or even forhope of gain. But there are qualifying re-quirements which we must make clear. Inplaying these games of chance, one must notdo so if such practices will bring hardshipsto others, or if one is violating other moralprecepts in so doing. For instance, we couldeven say that it is morally wrong to make acontribution to a church if, in so doing, oneviolates his obligation of support to his family. In gambling, too, one must take intoconsideration not the act, in itself, but anyand all circumstances relating to it.—X

Bom to Fight

A frater from Cañada now rises andaddresses our Forum: “Recently I read adescription of the life of General ClaireChennault, of ‘Flying Tigers’ fame. Herewas a man born to fight and kill; in peace-time he Was aimless, restless, and unhappy.

There are others, of course, with this sameinborn instinct, and the role of the airplanein modem war seems to have brought thismore into the limelight.”

“I began to think: Why do some menhave this compelling urge to fight and kill?What of their mission in life since in peace-




time they were bored and useless? Do theyincur karmic debt?”

An extrovert is one whose world is prin-cipally objective. Infrequently he is inclinedto subjective activity such as contemplation,abstraction, and imagination. Even when hedoes resort to the inverting of his consciousness, it is not for the satisfaction which suchprovides but rather it is a temporary ex-pediency, that is, so that some objective andmaterial end may be served. Such personsare bored by mental activity and ñnd pleasure and relaxation in physical work andexercise. The extrovert has a very essentialplace in our modern world. For example,he can usually become a more proficientsalesman, public relations representative, andsuccessful politician.

The extrovert is not necessarily one wholoves war and killing. He is not any moresadistically inclined than the introvert. However, the extreme extrovert in his love ofphysical activity and objective excitementneeds to have his consciousness stimulatedfrom without. He finds it difficult to stimulate it himself through study or throughmental creativity. Consequently, he is drawnto those circumstances and environmentswhere such stimuli may be felt. The extrovert, therefore, is inclined toward sports,particularly as a participant. If that is notpossible, then he derives a vicarious satisfaction from watching games. The more chal-

lenging and rigorous the sport, the morehazardous, the greater the emotional satisfaction felt by the extrovert. The extrovertloves adventure and exploration. Psychologically speaking, the basis of adventure isthe thrill of its hazards, the risk it includes.Therein lies the distinction between theordinary traveler and the adventurer. Thelatter likes to conquer in a physical way,not to just experience the new or the different.

The same kind of experience, however,gradually causes ennui, or dullness. Theextrovert needs to intensify the stimuli if heis to find the same satisfaction. A skillful

boxing match does not satisfy those who taketheir thrills vicariously. They want to watcha combat that is rough, brutal; they like tosee knock-downs and smashing blows. Themore of this that occurs, the louder are theshouts of satisfaction. This attitude parallelsthe behavior of the crowds who attended the

gladiatorial con tests in ancient Rome. Menwho are extreme extroverts are not as emo-

tionally sensitive as are most introverts;further, the more hazards which they experience and dangerous feats in which they participate, the more conditioned they becometo them. It requires the greater impact ofmore frequent dangerous incidents to provide continued satisfaction.

In modem warfare, the man taken out ofcivilian life has to be psychologically conditioned in training camps to the horrors ofwar. He has to be taught to kill, kill, kill! After all, any repugnance which a man mayhave to killing in combat may mean the lossof his own life and, moreover, the loss ofmany more of his own nationality. Mostyoung men who are as yet not introverts toan extreme can be emotionally hardened tothis psychological requirement of war—evenwith reluctance. Those who cannot be soconditioned for combat often have nervousbreakdowns. Psychologically, they rejectthe circumstances and become psychiatriccases. The young man who is normal andnot a very definite extrovert will later adjustsatisfactorily again into society and acceptthe importance it places upon human life.

The professional soldiers of history, themercenaries of the Egyptians, Greeks, andRomans, became, in a sense, professional kill-ers. Their conscience troubled them not be-cause they were acting within the bounds of

the law, serving the country in whose hirethey were at the time. The continual ex-posure to blood, mutilation, death, and therisk of their own lives was a routine matter;and it was accompanied by the lust for adventure and daring activity. Any otheractivity would have been considered prosaicand boresome. It would be practically impossible to extirpate this love of war—and ofkilling—from such individuáis. They wouldnot kill merely for killing, alone. They werenot psychopathic killers. On the other hand,killing as an incident of combat, of the adventure of war, would provide the thrill thatwas necessary for their personal satisfaction.

Psychologically, we can truly say thatsuch persons are “bom to fight.” If theycould be provided with some other activitythat would offer the same hazards, as riskingtheir own lives in combat, they would probably accept that activity. War, however, inall its ramifications, finds little to compete




with it in providing consistently daring ad-venture.

The courageous man, the patriot, maybecome a hero in exposing himself to extremedanger and perhaps in necessary killing. Buthe will readily tell you that he hates it andhe means what he says.

There are those who are sadists and actually are psychopathic cases. Such individuáisderive an abnormal satisfaction from killingand in watching others suffer. These unfortunate persons are usually easily distin-guished from the ones who are extremeextroverts—those who enjoy the thrill ofcombat, for example. The latter are perfectlywilling to expose themselves through aerialor ground warfare to risks which may in-volve losing their own lives. To them it is

a game, a dangerous one that brings pleasure.As in the case of the knights of oíd, these individuáis find a certain amount of chivalryand fair play in their combat. The greatGermán air aces of World War II had a certain code of ethics in their single “dogfight” maneuvers as did also the Alliedfighters. However, the sadist, the psychopathic killer, is usually a coward. He enjoysthe imposing of suffering upon others but heavoids risking his own self to pain or death.

Karmically, perhaps, those individuáiswho find a certain pleasure in martial combat, or war, have a lesson to leam. In somemanner the futility of what they do must be

brought to their consciousness. However, thelesson cannot be taught them through physical pain or suffering because such profes-sional soldiers have often suffered personalinjuries and have often been on the thresholdof death. Their emotions have to be reachedthrough another kind of loss or sacrifice—something other than their own physicalselves.

Of course, this is often difficult to accom-plish. These persons are usually self-confi-dent and assured. They are reached only insituations where they find themselveshelpless to defend or protect dearly lovedones who may be suffering. Sometimes a

serious illness to one of their family, perhapsthe loss of a wife or child in an accident,shocks them emotionally to the extent thatthe shell of their callousness is cracked. Theygradually begin to develop a greater sensitivity; in other words, they begin to findpleasure and happiness in finer sen timen ts.

It is difficult to say specifically what mission in life such individuáis have. But, inour present society, in the way we live today, I think it would be agreed that suchindividuáis are needed. As long as the worldis an armed camp, as long as we need tre-mendous armed forces, we have to have individuáis of that emotional structure.

Most ex-servicemen will tell you that thetop sergeants who trained the men for combat are of this type—courageous, deriving acertain thrill out of the adventure of war.They are a kind of leader that the world stillneeds. Without them, a peace-loving nation,one extremely sensitive to the finer things oflife, would be exposed to a people or nationwho were more ruthless; they would be helpless without that type of leadership in time

of war.—X

Rosicrucian Healing

There has never been a perfect system ofhealing. This is quite comprehensible whenwe realize that man has not yet a completeknowledge of the human organism and itsfunctioning. Further, science is not aware ofall the factors necessary for health and whatall the conditions are which mena ce life. Inaddition, a generalization for the human raceis not possible yet. One people will thrivein an environment that will prove hostile tothe mental or physical well-being of others.

It is, therefore, unfortunate, that there aresome systems of therapeutics which expoundor imply that theirs is undoubtedly thepanacea for all ills, a kind of direct road tohealth. Such claims are the result of theignorance of those making them or are out-right perfidy.

The fact is that almost all systems ofhealth, the result of serious research and intelligent direction of natural laws, have meritin part, at least, so far as man understandshimself and nature. No one system of healing can effect all cures, for then there wouldnot be any need for others. It is regrettablethat rivalry and actual jealousy exist between

some of the health systems, drug and drug-less. Each practitioner of a system obviously,if sincere, has confidence in what he haslearned and what his method proclaims. Hewill think it the best and, therefore, in loyal-ty to it, is inclined not to investígate honestlyother competitive systems but often to speak




of them in a derogatory way. In doing thisthe individual may be actually suppressing

some phase of healing that could alleviatesuffering.Leonardo da Vinci, renowned artist, en-

gineer and scientist, found it necessary tomake an extensive study of the humananatomy for proficiency in his work. Michel-angelo, the great painter, felt that he couldnot do his best work without also a lengthystudy of anatomy. He practiced dissectionso that he might know actually what thebone and muscle structure was like. Shouldone who is treating, or attempting to heal,the afflicted know less about the morphologyof mankind? There are, however, so-calledhealers and systems of healing where there

is no attempt to study the physical natureof man. Such systems, of course, even ifthey have any merit, are ridiculed by thosewho conscientiously study anatomy, physi-ology, biology, and related sciences.

Regardless of the oaths required of physi-cians or practitioners of certain systems ofhealing, there are those individuáis whoseprincipal interest is naught but material gain. Their relation to their patients is akind of assembly-line procedure: to turn outas many as quickly as they can in the courseof a day. Their methods suggest that theirinterest is quantitative only—in other words,a number of persons per hour at a specific

fee each. The time given the patients is inproportion to their mercenary motives. Withsuch practitioners, healing is a professiononly. In other words, it is not truly guidedby humanitarian impulse.

The patient is often as intelligent, if notmore so, as the physician, though he maybe educated, trained, or skilled in a differentfield of endeavor. Such a patient reacts un-favorably toward such a coid mercenarymethod of treatment. He is thus encouraged“to shop around” among therapeutic systems and healing cults for relief.

The Rosicrucian system of healing isfounded upon the basic principies of theRosicrucian philosophy. These, in turn, meannatural laws and principies. To be effective,the Rosicrucian member is obliged to studycertain physical aspects of man’s nature aswell as the metaphysical ones. He learnsabout the nervous systems, for example, tothe extent that it is necessary for the treat-ments, as well as their relationship to or

ganic functioning. The Rosicrucian systemis not intended to train individuáis to be-

come professional practitioners. The Rosicrucian system has brought considerable reliefto sufferers, as thousands of persons cantestify. In some cases no particular resultswere had. There are many reasons why suchresults were not forthcoming, but we canonly conjecture about them.

The rational aspect of the Rosicruciansystem of therapy is that it also recognizesits own limitations. First, it sensibly does notclaim to be able to effect a cure of everyillness or that it is omniscient in its knowledge of disease. No other system is all-in-clusive either, as said, but few will makethis admission. Also the Rosicrucian therapy

method frankly admits that for some conditions or afflictions other methods are necessary and even preferable. For example,foreign bodies in the human system may require surgery for relief. Also a badly de-cayed tooth needs extraction.

The Rosicrucian system recognizes thatheat and hydrotherapy are also useful aswell as certain types of medication. In otherwords, Rosicrucian therapy avoids fanaticaldevotion to any system at the expense of thepatient. How many patients of other systems have died because the treatment theyreceived had been inadequate! And yet thephysician or practitioner would not recom-

mend any other treatment that could havesaved the life—or perhaps he was ignorantof such remedies.

Not many years ago, hydro, thermo, andshort-wave electrical treatments were considered quack methods under any circumstances. Now medical science realizes theiradvantages in certain applications, and so doseveral drugless schools of therapy. The Rosicrucian is always urged, if his malady per-sists, to consult a physician and, if serious,to do so immediately, in addition to hisRosicrucian treatment. There is nothingabout Rosicrucian healing methods that caninterfere with, for example, medical, chiro-practic, or osteopathic treatments. In fact,many Rosicrucian medical and other physi-cians have included certain Rosicrucian healing principies successfully with their ownprofessional methods.

We must admonish all Rosicrucian members that Rosicrucian healing is intended pri-marily for the relief of the student himself.




It is not intended to train him for professional service as a physician. The Rosicrucian

is not licensed to practice healing in anyform. Any attempt to heal others for mone-tary compensation, or to establish himself asa professional healer, is a violation. First,it is contrary to the Rosicrucian ethics whichprohibit such activity. Second, it is in violation of medical laws in the community inwhich the individual resides. Any personwho practices in defiance of this admonish-ment jeopardizes his membership in theA.M.O.R.C. and is subject to arrest and fineunder the laws of his community for prac-ticing healing without due license.—X

Colors, Health, and Harmony

A frater asks our Forum: “Just what isthe relationship of color to the human organism?—that is, how does color affect man?Further, can colors be used for healing purposes?”

Some years ago a group of scientists postu-lated the theory that the color sense in manwas developed over a great period of time.The theory stated that in its first stage, thiscolor development was limited to the perception of only two colors. It was declared thatperhaps the first color that man distinguishedwas red. This assumption was based on thefact that red is the most luminous and excit

ing of the colors. Though this theory appeared to have support, it has never beengenerally accepted. The cave paintings ofprehistoric man, found in France and Spainin particular, show variations of color. Itwould appear that such colors were intentionally used and that early man distinguished one from the other.

Light is, of course, the first stimulus;color is a secondary stimulus. Even personswho are color-blind are known to be just assensitive to variations of light as are thosepersons who are not color-blind. Many in-sects, to whom color seems to have no dis-tinguishable appeal, are attracted to brightlights and luminous objects. Fishermenknow that fish are attracted to objects thatreflect a brilliant light. Prehistoric man,probably first responded to the intensity oflight rather than to color variation.

In their tombs and temple decorations theancient Egyptians used a variety of colors.Sir Gardner Wilkinson, noted Egyptologist,

relates that the Egyptians used principallyred, green, black, and yellow. For a con

siderable time they did not have black. Whenthey discovered how to produce it, they thenused black extensively. Yellow was oftenused “to harmonize with it .” Some of theraces of mankind had no ñames for the colors which they used. There is, however, nodoubt about their distinguishing such colors.For example, the Assyrians had no ñame forgreen; certain East African tribes have noñame for purple.

The theory of the mechanism by which weexperience the sensation of color is still apolemic discussion among physiologists, psy-chologists, and philosophers. Research hasshown that blue has the widest range over

the human retina; next in order are yellowand green. In other words, if we were todraw three circles over the retina of the eye,for each of these colors, figuratively speaking,the blue would be the largest zone of sensi-tivity. The Young-Helmholz Theory statesthat the ends of the visual spectrum, the blueand red, primarily stimulate the cones in theeye. According to this theory, there arecones which respond primarily to but threecolors—red, blue, and green. When thesecones, or sensory bodies of the retina, areequally stimulated, we have the sensation ofwhite.

Conversely, however, psychologists and

artists do not hold to this theory. They areof the opinion that there are four primaries:red, green, yellow, and blue. All other colorsare a blending of these.

When we come to the problem of whyman is attracted to certain colors and dis-plays preferences for one over another, wethen enter the field of aesthetics. Since theearly times of which we have record, mankind has been, and primitive men of todayare, attracted to bright and shiny objects.That which glistens, as a piece of metal or apebble, will seem to please the aborigine.Perhaps this was first due to the intensityof light as a stimulus of high importance.The shiny objects were undoubtedly the firstthings that were considered beautiful.

Even today, modern man is influenced bythis primitive urge for the bright and shinyin objects he purchases—even if such are intended for utilitarian purposes. The chromedecorations on automobiles and many homeaccessories are examples of this primitive




aesthetic taste. The love of gems and glisten-ing stones is likewise a primitive carry-overin addition to whatever significance customattributes to them.

Red and orange have been found to be themost popular colors among primitive peoples.The color red is dynamic and appeals toyouth—even as it does to the primitive andcommonly to uncultured persons. “Theochreous earths most easily provided primitive pigments.” In fact, red is found nearlyanywhere. We are all familiar with areascontaining red clays. This color is commonlyused for the adornment of the person byprimitive peoples, as a sign of beauty. Blueis likewise popular with them because it islike the sky in most regions of the world.

Man is conditioned to accept it as pleasur-able, and therefore beautiful, because helikes it.

Aesthetic colors are those that excite thewhole organism of the individual. They arethe ones that produce emotional responses.With many lower animals the color sense is“bound up with feeding and reproduction.”The animal comes to associate certain colorswith his food and with sex. Man has likewise been conditioned by his environment;colors that are representative of nature—theblue of the sky, the yellow or orange of thesun, the green of vegetation—have a generalappeal, and in varying degrees are beautiful.

There are, however, variables that mustbe taken into consideration where aestheticsare concerned. Color preference is related toenvironment. For example, the Chinese donot react to the same colors as do the Ameri-cans or English. A story is told that beforeCommunism prevailed in China, a gasolinestation was painted white and did very littlebusiness. To the Chinese, white suggestsdeath and sorrow. After a change in itscolor, the gasoline station increased its sales.Of course, we know the effect of color in advertising—how it arouses certain desires orreactions.

In India, and to Hindus in particular, yel-

low is a symbolic color. Marigold flowers areplaced on corpses béfore they are immersedin the sacred Ganges and crema ted. TheRosicrucian Camera Expedition filmed sucha rite at Benares, the sacred city of theHindus, where the placing of these marigold flowers on deceased Brahmans wascommon. In Japan, red is never popular be-

cause of its symbolism of fire and destruc-tion.

Our moods are often affected by the environment in which we are placed. Certainrooms or home decorations cheer us, andothers depress us. The same applies to colorsof clothing. Again, variables enter into theseconsiderations; that is, we may have beenconditioned to the stimulus of a certain colorso that we prefer it. In the former Rosicrucian Clinic and Sanitarium there was a colortherapy room. In addition to other treat-ments given, certain patients were obligedto lie in this room for a time, exposed tocolored lights which tinted the room. Musicwas played which had an emotional relationship to the color used. Many patients found

relief from tensión under certain particularcolor combinations. Lectures and demonstra -tions on this subject are part of one of thefascinating courses that are given each sum-mer at Rose-Croix University, in RosicrucianPark.

Stanford University in California, a fewyears ago conducted experiments in connection with colors and their effects upon motion picture audiences and spectators attheaters. Dr. Robert Ross found that: “gray,blue, and purple were associated with trage-dies. Yellow, orange, and red complimentedthe comedy sense. Red was also suggestive ofgreat, dramatic intensity; gray and purple

were the next most effective.”The motion-picture director, William A.Welmann, has, it is related, an interestingtheory in connection with the emotions in-duced by colors. He thinks that color is related to “primitive environment association.”Mr. Welmann made a chart of the emotionalequivalent of colors. These color and emotional relations he used in some of his successful films. For example, the following isbut a portion of the information on his chart:

Black—Night—negative; glumWhite—Snow—uplift; purityGray—Rain, fog—oíd age; decadenceBlue—Sky, the sea—thought, inspira tion

Green—Leaves; foliage—Springtime;health; welfare

Red—Blood—sunrise, sunset—combat; life;vigor.

Another example of the influence of environment on color preference is that greenis popular in arid countries, as among the




Arabs, and also among people of coid cli-mates.

The greatest number of impressions arereceived through the eyes. Subconsciously,our emotions are affected by color vibrations.Colors are light of different vibrations so itis not strange that our bodies and mindsshould have physical and psychic reactionsto them. There has been a controversy between scientists and philosophers as towhether color is a reality that exists outsideof the mind; the philosophers have declaredthat color is but a sensation and is purelysubjective. They point out that to a color-blind person blue may seem black, or gray.They endeavor to show that a color is notsuch until it is perceived by the mind.

However, physicists take the position thatcolor is a reality and a quantitative thing,and not dependent upon the color sense.They point out that red, for example, has aspecific number of vibrations and has adefinite line in the spectrum, being specifi-cally objective. They continué, saying thatno matter what the subjective interpretationof that vibration is, it is a positive realitywhich instrumentation shows, and does notchange its place in the spectrum. The argu-ment, of course, can be carried further, forthe support of both sides. Insofar as ourrealization of color is concemed, it is psychic.

Aristotle believed that there were colors

that had a relationship to certain sounds.When we hear sounds, he contended, theysuggest particular colors. Sir Isaac Newtonalso experimented with trying to find har-monious relationships with the diatonic(sound) scale and the spectrum of color. Dr.H. Spencer Lewis, in the early part of thiscentury, built a small color organ based onRosicrucian teachings and principies. Whenplayed, the colors were flashed upon thescreen; they had a complimentary relationship to the music being played. This wasone of the first color organs ever constructedin America.

In the middle thirties, Dr. Lewis construct

ed another color organ, a much larger oneand improved compared with the earlier instrument. The screen, at that time, occupiedthe full stage of Francis Bacon Auditorium.Scientists, musicians, and the general public,numbering several thousands, witnessed thedemonstration before the color organ wasdismantled. Much publicity was given this

color organ which Dr. Lewis had named the

Luxatone.The specific relationship of a color to asound is still in the experimental stage.There is no complete agreement on what theharmonic relationship between the color andmusical scales should be. In the Rosicrucianteachings there are interesting charts givingthe Order’s conception on this matter; theseare included as part of the instruction thestudent receives.

The Rosicrucian teachings disclose what ismeant by “clash of colors.” In general itmeans those vibrations of the spectrum orradiations of light in color given off by ob

jects which are inharmonious; these differ-ences in certain colors are so extreme thatinstead of blending or complementing “theyoppose and cause a dissonance of color.”

Many works have been written on colorsymbolism. Some of these notions arise bynatural suggestion; that is, they are relatedto conditions and circumstances in our environment. Other color symbolism has beenartificially established due to some notion orexperience which man has had. For example,red generally depicts action, courage—alsoblood, carnage, and destruction. Yellow sym-bolizes glory, sunlight, prosperity, and gold;for some, it alludes to illness. Purple haslong been the symbol of royalty, magnifi-cence, heroism, passion, and mysticism.

The more sensitive the individual, themore emotional, the more responsive he isto color. Artists, writers, designers, poets,and mystics are particularly affected by colors. It has been found that blue is thefavorite with women and red with men.Athletes, both men and women, favor red. Intellectuals are said to prefer blue. Forsome strange reason, egoists choose yellow. Itis commonly known that children respond tobright colors and primitive people do, as well.It is perhaps the color intensity that attractsthese individuáis. Conservative people generally select brown.

The Rosicrucian teachings have a method

of diagnosis in connection with color which,in general, is effective. Through this system(which we will not describe in detail here),it has been found that if the patient producesa color response of blue or green he needsnegative treatment. Red and orange in thediagnosing would suggest a need of pos itive applications. When white is seen in con-




nection with the diagnosis, a little of eachtreatment, negative and positive, is recom-mended.

Colors have been used most successfullyin therapy for the emotionally ill. War vet-erans suffering from neurasthenia and shock,and who were in deep depression, wereplaced for several hours a day in a room withgreen walls and yellow and amber lights.It was reported that they showed considerable improvement after several days. In another case, a veteran, suffering from severeinsomnia, was placed in a ward especiallyplanned for color therapy. The color schemewas mauve, blue, and green. These colorshave a sedative action. After twenty-fourhours in this specially prepared ward the

patient slept.Women suffering from melancholia were

placed in a room with red lights, carpets, andwalls. Red being a dynamic color, the melancholia was dispersed within a short time; insome cases, the condition was eliminatedafter the patient was in a color room for onlya few days. A mild stimulus is provided bythe colors yellow and gold. Patients havebeen brought back to normal under such acolor influence when the emotional illnesswas not severe.

In still another example of treatment bycolor is the case of a patient who refusednourishment; his condition became serious.

He was placed in a red room for twenty-fourhours and it is reported that he then asked for his breakfast. In a mental institution inIllinois a series of experiments in colortherapy was conducted. The conclusionswere that red had a remedial effect on thosesuffering from melancholia; blue was bene-ficial to the neurotic and those not severelydisturbed emotionally. They likewise foundthat among the mentally ill green was betterliked, and red was preferred by women.Further conclusions after investigationshowed that spring-green, a combination ofpurest blue and yellow “is a fine mentalsedative; brown is restful but depressing, but

may be relie ved by orange and yellow.” Blueis cooling and has sedative properties to somewho are depressed but it should be used withcaution. Green also has cooling propertiesand counteracts the brightness of the sun,thus exciting the eye to a less degree.

Color, therefore, can be most effective inhealing. We do not know as yet the full

extent of the valué of color therapy. Im-portant, also, is the use of color to prevent illness. The color schemes of our homes, offices, schools, the lighting and drapery, thewalls and carpeting, even the clothes wewear, are a field of continued investigation.What must be brought out, however, at thispoint, is that the color we like is not necessarily best for us. We may like the exciting,stimulating color of red, and yet, for our individual health, for our emotional selves, redmay not be as beneficial as blue or green,or even yellow.—X

The Soul’s Memory

A soror from San Francisco, addressing

our Forum, says: “Why is there so little ornothing mentioned in mystical writings ofthe existence of the soul just prior to retum-ing to an earthly body?”

Then, a soror from Texas rises in ourForum to ask a related question: “When thesouls are on the higher plañe waiting to re-incarnate, it has been said that they passthrough many strange experiences. Can weknow what kind of experiences? Is it a formof punishment? Of course, it is not physical,but is it mental or psychic?”

We will readily admit that the Cosmicplañe most assuredly transcends this mortalor physical one. By transcending we mean

“to rise above” the limitations of earthlydiscernment and mortal consciousness. Thatbeing agreed upon, then what médium havewe to determine, to describe, the kind of experiences which are had by the soul-personality after transition? The qualities by whichwe would explain any experiences would beonly those which we know. They would con-sist of ascribing, for example, to the Cosmicsuch conditions as hot, coid, soft, loud, bright,dark, colors, pleasure, and so on. Furtherthey would need be described in words orframed in ideas formed out of the substanceof human knowledge.

Since we will not recognize, and rifí^htly

so, that the consciousness of the soul-personality after death would have sensationsdependent upon the human organism, wehave no actual means of describing the experiences after death. Such an attempt couldonly consist of an elaboration of what weconsider the exalted state on earth or thegood as we know it. Ask, for example, the




orthodox religionist what heaven is like andyou will receive an explanation of ecstasiesfounded upon the mortal conception of happiness.

If one conceived that the soul-personalityafter death is truly liberated from physicalsentience, then its perception in the Cosmicwill be of a distinctly different nature. Itwill have its own experiences on a plañerelated to it which it can perceive and com-prehend in its own terms. The soul consciousness would not be restricted by ocularor auditory range or by a sense of smell,taste, and feeling. The soul-personality undoubtedly has media of realization of whichthe mortal self has no conceivable notion.

We think of the Cosmic state as being anall-embracing one. Therefore, the nature ofthe Cosmic, what it is, would not be channel-ized into particular qualities from whichcould arise limited perceptions and sensations. We can assume, and mystical tradition teaches, that the soul-personality retainsthe experiences which it has had during itscycle of oneness with the Cosmic. This im-planting or registration is conveyed then intothe subconscious, the psychic levels of consciousness of self, upon rebirth. How wouldsuch experiences be realized by the mortalwho rein cama ted, or would they be?

First, we can say that these experienceswould be the impulsations, the various moti

va tions, which we cali spiritual or moral inclinations. When we, in our objectiveconduct or behavior, try to attune with thesoul consciousness within us, the higherlevels of self, we would be brought en rap-

port with the souVs memory of its Cosmicexperiences. But such Cosmic or soul memories would need be, and are, translated onlyin the terminology, the ideation, of ourmortal minds. We could not objectivelyknow ñor could we understand the Cosmicexperiences which the soul-personality hadduring such interlude out of the body, exceptby the analogy of our own common termsand language. In other words, the impres

sions we receive would naturally fall intothe categories of our sense qualities.For a crude analogy, let us use the word

beautiful. Suppose in some way during yourmeditation and contact with the memory ofthe soul you had a sensation with which youassociated the term beautiful. What wouldthis mean to you? How would you express

it? Would you not find y our self resortingto the analogy of your senses? You woulddescribe something perhaps in terms of someobject seen, whose symmetry—that is, itsform and color—was so harmonious andpleasing to you as to be called beautiful. Orperhaps you would recall beautiful soundsor colors and say that your soul experienceof a previous time in the Cosmic was likethis, only far more so.

It must be realized that the impressionscoming from the memories of the soul, fromthe higher self, are not always transposedinto sensations of the same sense. In otherwords, one may not always express themas visual images or auditory ones. They maybe realized as exquisite sensations that arelike and yet exceed in their stimulus anyexperience that we can objectively recall.

The memories of the soul may guide onethrough the process of intuition. This intuition functions as a higher judgment. It oftentakes over and arrives at a self-evident conclusión after we have abandoned someproblem objectively. It finds or brings aboutharmonious relationship between our ideasso as to make the solution indubitable to us.At other times, the influence of the soul-personality comes as a constructive inspira-tional urge. It moves us to act in a certainway that inspires our confidence.

Objectively in this life, we may never

have participated in a venture such as wemay be intuitively urged to do. We maythen ask ourselves, Why should I do this?How do I know that it will be successful oreven the proper thing to do? We nevertheless “feel” within ourselves that it is rightand that it should be done. Perhaps we cansay that this “feeling” is part of the Cosmicexperience of the soul-personality after transition. The soul-personality after transitionwas exposed to the fullness of its Cosmic relationship and thereby acquired a more profound sense of evaluation; therefore, it be-comes a more helpful guide when againembodied. Once more we must warn that the

soul-personality would not experience in theCosmic any situation parallel to somethingthat exists on earth. The soul-personality,however, in some way which we do not understand does acquire a universality of valúes, that is, the ability to comprehend allrelations and subtly advise us.

We must realize, first, that most of us




medítate infrequently and, when we do, weare inclined to tell the intuitive self, thememory of the soul, what we want done. Asa result we are often not guided. Secondly,most persons never learn, or even want totry to learn, the art or technique of intro-verting the consciousness so as to contactthis soul memory. They are always too muchin a hurry to take the time for study andpreparation. As a result, they go it alone.They may gradually lose the faculty of thispsychic contact. Furthermore, from a prac-tical point of view, they spend more time inrecovering from mistakes in their over-re-liance on their mortal consciousness than itwould have taken to awaken and to utilizethe intuitive memory of the soul as a

guide.—X

What Is Sacred?

The concept of sacredness associated withan object or idea is so vague in the mindsof most individuáis that a definition of theword sacred becomes involved and often con-fusing. Individuáis have usually thought ofsomething sacred as necessarily removedfrom their own reasoning and so have accepted primarily the decisions or directionsof someone else as to what is or is not sacred.With many words used without analysis bypersons who use them, it is sometimes worth

while to analyze their conception; therefore,to determine to our own satisfaction themeaning of sacred we should consider whatthe concept implies.

It might be well in considering the stateor subject of sacredness whether or not anobject or idea has to be associated with areligious thought or implication in order toqualify for a concept of its being sacred. Ibelieve that the average individual immediately associates the word sacred with a religious function, institution, or place. It hasbeen used so much in its religious connota -tion that it is very difficult for many peopleto conceive that religión actually does not

have complete monopoly over the conceptof that which is or is not sacred.Many persons have been religiously

trained since childhood to accept withoutquestion the idea that certain tangible ob

jects and certain ideas are sacred and arewithout doubt beyond the ability of any individual to modify. The definition of sacred

implies in many ways the concept that Ihave just outlined; that is, sacred has to dowith a religious concept, idea, or object. Oneof the definitions given in a standard dictionary of the English language makes theword holy synonymous with sacred andrefers to anything that is sacred as beinghallowed by association with a divine conceptand, therefore, entitled to reverence andrespect.

It is not my purpose here to detract fromany concept upheld or expounded by religión, but actually I believe that the concept of sacredness is more profound thanthat which may be limited only to one fieldeven though that field is religión. There aremany concepts in regard to the state of sacredness. In reference to definitions again,another definition of sacred is merely thatwhich is dedicated, that which is set apart inhonor of someone or something and, therefore, devoted exclusively to a certain personor to a certain end. In this concept or fromthis point of view, the meaning of the wordsacred is immediately broadened. We findthat sacred can apply to objects and ideaswhich lie beyond the limitations of religiousdogma or theological viewpoints.

There are, also, many false concepts, theprimary one being that sacredness is a statein itself. This concept has developed amongmany people who are not necessarily of limit

ed training or background. In our moderncivilization are those who believe that thatwhich is sacred or is believed to be sacred orrather accepted by a certain majority assacred is something that is absolutely un-touchable and cannot be explored, examined,or submitted to critical analysis.

Many people actually believe that to sub ject anything to examination that is considered to be sacred is an unholy act in itself,in fact, an act of disrespect for those whomight hold the object or idea as sacred. Ifthe concept of sacred is such that it cannotbe submitted to examination by intelligentand sincere individuáis, then it would be best

to banish such concept entirely.Any concept conceived by the humanmind should be subject to analysis and evento criticism by the human mind. I presumethat there are those who believe that anything considered sacred was not conceivedby the human mind in the first place butrather that it is of divine origin. Actually,




we have no substantiation of such a conceptbecause man himself has established hisideas which he considers to be sacred andalso has selected the objects so considered.

The point that I am most interested in atthis time is to present for your considerationthe idea that the condition of being sacredis not inherent in anything; that is, it isonly the valué assigned by an individual orby human beings as a group that bringsabout the state of sacredness. This, of course,leads us to a consideration of the objectiveand subjective aspects of trying to arrive ata definition or a realization of what the termreally means. Actually, many of the concepts that I have referred to here have beenobjective; that is, when man considers a cer

tain book, a certain statue, or any otherphysical object as sacred, he is exercising thetendency of projecting from his own thinking an idea of someone else as a reflection,in a sense, and associating that thought withthe object and presuming that the state ofsacredness is within the object itself.

Those who believe it is unwise, or at least,ill-advised to criticize a holy book, such asthe Bible, have the feeling or have developedthe idea that the book and its content issacred because of the intrinsic valué of thebook and its writings regardless of theirsource or who wrote them. Modem criticismof literature has caused us to be somewhat

more realistic. We know that any holy bookis the result or record of the experiences,reflections, or meditations of human beings.It is true that many of the individuáis mayhave been more evolved than we are, but itis also tme that many of them may not havebeen evolved even as much as you or I;therefore, such a book is subject to the sameerrors as are the writings of any human being. If the thoughts expressed cannot befaced with puré reason, their valué definitely is not as great as might be presumed.

Writing and the ideas expressed in writ-ing do not have to be perfect in order to havevalué. In many cases the imperfections

themselves lend valué because they point outthe frailties of human existence and the in-evitability of human error. To tum to abook considered sacred is to share in theexperiences and inspirations of those whohad the ideas that made possible the recording of the chapters and verses of such a book.

If we look upon those concepts or those

writings and the ideáis expressed as beingbeyond the limitation of our mind to analyze,then we are depriving ourselves of the abilityto share in the same experiences, to sharethe facts and ideas that were recorded forour direction. The objective concept of sacredness, then, is to project or, I might bettersay again, to reflect the ideas of someone elseinto another object or idea.

Actually, the true concept of sacrednessis a subjective concept. Sacredness or theconcept of being sacred begins within ourselves. This is well expressed by the ritualof our own Temple Convocations when theMaster reads, “We come to this sacredTemple, made sacred by our thoughts andconduct.” It is, therefore, within the mind

of man and in the expression of man—inother words, in his mental content and hisbehavior—that he himself makes sacred thosethings which are external representations tohim of ideáis and purposes which he holdsof great valué.

The Temple of the Rosicrucian Order, forexample, its rituals and all the phases of itsfunction as they are exemplified either inwriting or by physical objects, becomes sacredin direct proportion to your finding valué inits functions and objects. You yourself pro ject into these functions and objects suchvalúes and benefits as you have gleaned fromyour associations. These then serve as ex

ternal symbols of the experiences that havebeen a part of your own consciousness, yourown development, and, in a ,sense, a part ofyour own life.

Sacredness, then, begins within, and itsexpression on the outside is secondary to theintent and idealism that underlies what wefind manifest in the world outside of us. We,therefore, believe that that which is sacredis not to be profaned by actions inconsistentwith our ideáis. When we project, as it were,our ideáis into objects and concepts, we sym-bolize in an external form those principieswhich we believe to be for us the highestideáis and worthy of our direction and aspi-

ration.To profane a sacred object or a sacredplace or to belittle a sacred idea is to be atraitor to our own inner self. We can do noharm to any external object insofar as itseffect throughout eternity is concemed, butto fail to respect the ideáis which are exemplified in this external form, and which we




ourselves have assigned there, is to be incon-sistent with our own ideáis, aims, and aspi-rations.

None of us would want to see an objectheld sacred by any individual to be profanedor made to appear cheap or not worthy ofwhat it represents to another person, buteven more serious are the consequences tothe mind and to the experience of the individual who performs such an act because hedepletes himself of the ideáis which havebeen represented externally. In order to understand the concept of sacredness, we mustremember that we ourselves create what issacred to us. In doing so, we realize thatevery man, every woman, does the samething; therefore, in the process of evolve

ment, in the process of setting up our ownsacred landmarks, we are living in an environment with other intelligent entities whoalso establish their own ideas of what issacred.

Consequently, within the concept of sacredness comes the concept of toleranceand goodwill. In recognizing the in viólatesacredness of other objects because theyrepresent a series of ideas established by acreed, cult, doctrine, or philosophy, it is moreimportant that we recognize the right ofeveryone to build his own sacred ideas andthat we recognize, with tolerance, the rightto maintain them. As we wish to have our

ideas respected, so we must respect others,and if this concept could be practiced con-tinually, then tolerance and peace would bethe lot of all men.—A

A Suggestion for Learning

I recently wrote an informal discourse onthe subject of using our time properly toapply the principies which we have beentaught. This brought to my mind a quotationwhich I discovered quite by accident sóme-time ago. However, in preparation for thatquotation, I will point out that all of us havevery definite opinions; and, generally speaking, most of us think quite highly of ourown opinions. We believe in what we believe, and most of us are somewhat reluctantto have our opinions proved to be in error.We tend to hang on to our own opinions asif they were something of great valué.

Oddly enough, most of our opinions are just what the word implies, ideas which we

have accepted more or less in the objectivesurface area of our consciousness. Most ofour opinions cannot bear too much analysis.They have a tendency to break down whenfaced with important facts or reason. Thereason for this is that we derive most of ouropinions by drawing conclusions from thereactions of others or from superficial obser-vation.

How many of us actually do any researchon our opinions? When you have formed anopinion, when you have arrived at a conclusión which you think is correct, do youconsult a dictionary, an encyclopedia, anauthority on the subject of your opinion, ordo you merely take the word of someonesuch as a writer in a newspaper or a popularmagazine? Then, adding to it your own idea,do you say, “This is my opinion,” and dis-regard the fact that somebody else maybelieve differently? In other words, we fre-quently omit the research that might at thebeginning cause us to modify our opinion,but nevertheless our opinions are somethingthat we have accepted as our own and whichwe carry around with us and frequently areall too willing to share with someone else.

We should, if we accept our opinions asimportant decisions or important basis forour behavior, at least develop with everyopinion a degree of tolerance. Many of usdo not. I am frequently intolerant in anything that would disprove the opinion thatI have accepted. I treat my opinion as if itwere a valuable possession. I want to showit off. I want to use it, and there is certainlynothing wrong with that, provided that atthe same time I have adopted a sufficientlyopen mind and idea of tolerance to enableme to have equal respect for the other per-son’s opinion—the same respect that I expectof another person.

However, what I am attempting to pointout here is that because of the high respectwith which most oí us maintain our ownopinions, our general attitudes of mind are

more influenced by such opinions than theyare by the facts and convictions of others.This should not be true. We should, as Ihave said, always be willing to listen to theideas and principies of someone else. In otherwords, we should be willing to examine theproof, but since man’s nature is such that hedoes not always do so, we still can capitalize,




as it were, upon this stubbom trait of character of the average human being. We might

take into consideration that when valuableinformation is available to us, we should accept it with the same degree of tenacity, orat least study it with this same degree offeeling as we do our own ideas. Our ownopinions produce a certain emotional over-tone which causes us to react to them moreemphatically than we do to simple factsotherwise presented.

Now, to return to the beginning of thesecomments, I said that a quotation I had ac-cidentally come upon brought out this pointvery clearly. It has to do with gaining ofknowledge and the application of that knowledge as we study it. The quotation is as

follows: “Lay hold, therefore, of my instruc-tions and meditate upon them, and so let thyheart be fitted also to conceive as if thouthyself was the author of that which I nowteach.”

Apparently this is an ancient quotationand whoever was the author was very muchaware of the tenacity by which people holdto their own opinions. He therefore advisedthat in all learning that is worth while theindividual should take the attitude that theteacher is expressing the opinion of the leam-er, and the learner should take the attitudethat he can gain if he will accept theseteachings with the same point of view that

he would accept these principies if he himself were the author. This is an importantview to remember. When you come in contact with ideas that have valué, that are worthwhile, that are worth giving consideration,think of them at least tentatively in the samemanner as if they were your own opinions.—A

Meaning of Mental Images

Another member, addressing our Forum,asks: “When one closes the eyes and seesplaces and faces unknown to him, do theyreally exist some where? Or does the mind

invent them?”Visual images not objectively perceivedmay result as a phenomenon from severalcauses. Of course, we know that we all mayvisualize; that is, we may recall from memory on the screen of our consciousness ascene or an object that we may have seen.It may be a house or a shop window seen

the day before or a rural scene from child-hood. But why do we recall a scene if weare not trying to do so? This may be causedby what is technically known as free association. This means that something we mayhave seen at the moment or heard or somesensation we have, became an element thatrelated itself to the present experience, that is,the visual image we have. Consequently, byassociation a complete image is then flashedinto consciousness from memory. Most oftenwe do not know what it is that stimulates orarouses this free association.

Actually what we experience at the moment as constituting the suggestion, andwhich releases the image from memory, maynot be objectively realized by us. We may

not be particularly conscious of an impression and yet it will be sufíicient to excite thememory and bring forth the mental image.How many times have you heard someonesay, after describing something that he suddenly recalled, “Now, I wonder why Ithought of that?”

There are, however, other causes of mentalvisual images of persons, places, and thingswhich are unfamiliar to us. One such causeis what is known as paramnesia. Sometimeswe may have visited a city or town. A frienddrives us about, pointing out the interesting and historie sites to us. We look and listenas he explains. But perhaps, while we are

partially conscious of what he is describing,we also glance in another direction. It maybe down an alley or side Street. Somethingthere attracted our attention but not suffi-ciently for us to become aware of it objectively, for we are still listening to our friend’swords. Actually, then, we do not realizeconsciously what we have seen when looking down the alley or side Street. Nevertheless, what was seen was registered in oursubconscious mind.

Weeks, or perhaps years later, while weare relaxed or maybe on the borderline ofsleep, there flashes into our consciousnessthe image of a house with a peculiarly de-

signed iron railing mounted on a low brickwall. We try to recall the house. We arecertain we have never seen it. In fact, itis unfamiliar to our conscious mind. Whathas happened is that we have released, un-consciously, this image of the past experience. These may also be called eidetic images.




Also in connection with paramnesia is theexperience of being in a city that we know

we have never visited previously and find-ing a Street or house that seems very familiarto us. How can we feel that we have beenin this lócale before and yet know that suchis impossible? Principally, such an experience is caused by seeing in the city that weare now visiting a Street, a shop or house,some structure that bears a strong resem-blance to one which we have previously un-consciously perceived somewhere else. Wecannot, of course, recall the original scene;and we do not know that the one resemblingit in the town now being visited has bysuggestion caused a recollection of it. Insuch circumstances, a person will say: “This

place seems so familiar. There is somethingabout it that makes me feel I have been herebefore.”

There is another cause for seeing imagesthat are unfamiliar to us. This cause is related to what we have previously explained.We are aware of only that which we realizeand of which we are conscious. In concentrating or having our attention attracted bysome visual image, one that is most prominent, we remember it. However, in walkingdown the Street, for example, while in abrown study (thinking, and in a partiallysubjective state), we are nevertheless continuing to see. When we arrive home we

may not be able to recall much of what wepassed on our walk because of our being en-grossed in our thoughts. Nevertheless, certain visual and auditory impressions, evenscents, did penetrate and register upon memory without our being conscious of them.Consequently, later these images by association may be released into our consciousmind. We wonder at the time where theycarne from. We also wonder if such placesand faces actually existed. Of course, theyare reality but we cannot recall ever per-ceiving them.

There is also the deeper psychicá l aspectof this phenomenon of mental images. Wemust not neglect the possibility of a tele-pathic contact with the mind of another. Inmeditation, while relaxed, we may, unwit-tingly and without effort, attune with the

mind of another person. We may know theindividual or we may not. The person maynot have any knowledge of us. We maysuddenly see a mental image of that personfor but a second. Then, again, we may notsee an image of the person but of his loca-tion or even some scene which he has inmind at the moment.

Further, we can project our consciousness,that is, cause a higher level of our consciousness of self to reach out into space and tomentally perceive a place or a person. Inother words, the psychic self may joumeyin the flash of a second to a place which itperceives; and then the impressions of it aretranslated into a visual mental image. Usually, however, the psychic experience of pro

jection is realized as such because, for themoment, we lose entirely our awarness ofwhere we are and have only the sensationof being in the place of our mental image.This is called actualizing our realization.Simply put, we are in such an instancepsychically in the place which we realize.The experience, therefore, is quite unlike amere mental image that is unfamiliar to us.

If we have an active imagination (manyof us in our day dreams let the mind roam),then in our fancy we see and hear manythings. We, of course, know they are notrealities but figments of the uncontrolledimagination. Everyone has these flights of

momentary fancy. This uncontrolled imagination, however, may suddenly result in theformation of a scene or an image of a placeor person that had not been included in theelement of our fancy. It may startle us andcause us to wonder if it has any resemblanceor relation to reality, something actuallyonce experienced. In such uncontrolledimagination, random ideation, the subjectiveprocesses of mind take over and there is aninvoluntary combination of ideas. Elementsof many thoughts are combined with others.It is like a child that takes scraps of photographs and reassembles them into a new anddifferent order. Consequently, such mental

images as these are wholly producís of ourown minds; they have no existence external-ly as we perceive them.—X

V V V

REMEMBER THE ROS ICRUC IAN CONVENTION - July 10 through 15




June, 1960Volume XXX No. 6

SERGIO SAN FELIZ REA, F. R. C.

Inspector General of AMORC for Caracas, Venezuela




Greetings!V V V

SHOULD RELIGION BE AN ISSUE?

Dear Fratres and Sorores:This is a presidential election year in the

United States. It is a period of critical importance not only to America but to all ourallies as well. The party that wins the election will have certain particular foreignpolicy ideáis. Because of the prominence ofthe United States in world affairs, this willvitally influence her relations with otherpowers.

The factors that influence a candidate forpresident of a democratic government aremany. Ordinarily, his religious affiliation,his particular faith, is not considered as af-fecting his ability to faithfully perform theduties of his office, if elected. The UnitedStates is primarily a Christian nation. It isaccustomed to expect that the President ofthe United States will be of a religious dis-position. The Constitution of the UnitedStates, however, proclaims religious freedom.Therefore, the candidate for president may,in theory at least, subscribe to any faith.

To vote for a man principally on thegrounds that he is of a particular sect or

against him because of his religious convictions is bigotry. It is further contrary to thespirit of the democratic Constitution of theUnited States. This reasoning may well apply to almost any of the numerous sectswhich are represented in America. It is pre-sumed that they are but varied methods bywhich man expresses his conscience and concept of God. It is further presumed thatone’s religión can only influence a man’spolitical office and obligations beneficently,that is, function as a moral mould for histhoughts and actions.

What, however, if his church is likewisea sovereign power, a political state? Further,

when the hierarchal head of the candidate’sreligión is both a religious and temporalpower, exacting from its devout adherentsabsolute allegiance to its edicts, the religiousinfluence then is a critical one. It is no secretñor is it a derogatory remark to state thatthe Román Catholic Church has the traditional ambition to re-establish the Holy

Román Empire. It is historical fact that thechurch considers itself superior to the stateand the obligations taken to it as being para-mount to those vowed to temporal authority.

It is likewise fact that the Román prelacyand the church as an institution have madeit known that the separation of the state andchurch is an invalid theory. The RománChurch considers that it has a divine man-date to enter into the political affairs of anynation to direct, control, and influence thefuture propagation of its faith. The RománChurch, on its very doctrinal foundation andby its dogma, cannot accept the principie ofreligious freedom. It has proclaimed itselfnumerous times throughout history as the church founded by Christ and has assumedthe attitude that all other Christian sects arepseudo faiths and deviations.

With such reasoning the Román Churchcannot truly be tolerant of other faiths. Itcannot accept them as equals in cultivatingthe religious spirit of the individual. Wher-ever the Román Church has gained suprem-acy by establishing Román Catholicism as

the state religión, it has used its influence tooppose or abolish all other religions. Spain,Portugal, and Colombia are the most con-spicuous examples.

In countries where freedom of religiónstill exists and the state functions indepen-dently of religious control, the Román Churchhas attacked the principie of separation ofthe church and state. It has by variouspolitical means endeavored to compel thestate to support its parochial schools, to pub-lish its textbooks, to provide public transportation for students to its schools, and to paySisters of the church as teachers in the publicschools. All of this it has accomplished with

varying degrees of success.The Román Church has used its boycott methods to enforce its censorship of plays,motion pictures, books in public libraries, andof radio and televisión programs. An example of this is the method used to prohibitthe exhibition, in certain cities of America, ofthe film Martin Luther.



JUNE, 1960 Page 123

Religión should not enter into politics in a

democratic state. But what if the religión isof such nature that its influence cannot bedivorced from the decisión which the chiefexecutive of a nation must make? What ifthe religión insists that the edicts issued byits hierarchal head transcend the interestsof the state? It is not a question of whetherone is a Román Catholic or Protestant interms of how he worships his deity. Rather,it is a question of whether one who is theexecutive head of the state will be obligedto give preference to the demands of the Vati-can, a foreign power.

The Román Church functioning in anynation is at the most only nominally subordínate to that nation. It is an intemationalpower seeking to re-establish itself as a supreme religio-political world state. Its decreesare considered infallible, as Pope GregoryVII declared. In his Dictatus, he claimedthat the Román Church has never erred, ñorwill it err to all eternity. Further, no onemay be considered a Catholic Christian whodoes not agree with the Román Church. Can,therefore, a Román Catholic president beconcomitantly a conscientious servant of thestate and also a devout Catholic?

There will naturally arise in the courseof world affairs events where a decisión inaccordance with true democracy and theConstitution of the United States will conflictwith the world policy of the Román Church.In such an event, a Catholic president (asRomán Catholics who hold lesser politicaloffice) will be confronted with the desires—if not the demands—of his church. Will hedefy his church, to which as a devout Catholic his obligations are sacred and, therefore,of primary importance?

It is puré political sedation to state, andto have the people believe, that the religiousissue should not enter into a presidentialelection where a candidate is a devout Román Catholic. It is an issue that concernsthe future freedom of the conscience and

thought of a people. It likewise concems the

freedom of our allies for the same reason.America expends great sums for foreig n aid. Who may enjoy that foreign aid may welldepend on how free we are in a religioussense to make that decisión.

The Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, is not areligious ñor a political movement. As aworld-wide Order, we have persons of perhaps every faith affiliated with us and manymembers who are nonsectarian. We harborneither prejudice ñor bias toward any sect.We present these views realistically. Wemust not say that the subject is not an issue.It is. It has been for a long time, as worldhistory reveáis.

Fratemally,RALPH M. LEWIS,Imperator


If everyone were to have remained at hisplace of birth the life of each would probablyhave been quite different. Likewise, if thosewho did remain had not, life for them mighthave been either more or less favorable thanit is. Changing environment offers manychallenges to the individual. There are demands made upon one’s intelligence and re-quirements that make for adjustment, andthese in turn mold character. Frater SergioSan Feliz Rea was one whose fortunes wereindeed favored by travel in various landsand at an early age.

Frater San Feliz was bom January 27,1896 ,cióse to the Cantábrico Sea in the Provinceof Asturias, Spain. His was a large family.He was the oldest of eleven children. Thelarge family constituted an economic burdenupon his parents but it contributed to a splen-did home atmosphere. Notwithstanding thehard labor on the farm to provide sustenance,a spirit of charity was always shown to theless fortúnate. Frater San Feliz says, “Neverwas there a beggar turned from the door.”

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San José, California, under Section 1103 of the U. S . Posta l Act of Oct. 3 , 19 17 .

The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department

of Publication of the Supreme Council of AMORC, at Rosicrucian Park, San José, California.





As on most all farms, young Sergio was

obliged to help with the labor at an early age.Raised as a Catholic, Frater San Feliz, aswas customary, attended Mass regularly. Hiseducation was in the public schools, whichwere v&ry deficient. He did not realize thisdeficiency until later years when he wasobliged to compénsate for it by much addi-tional study. In the ethical sense the schoolsystem was commendable. He was taughtto respect his elders and to show consideration for the weak and the destitute.

In 1912 Frater San Feliz determined to goto Toronto, Cañada. Confusion aróse in thearrangements and he was obliged not to pro-ceed. This caused him much disappointment.Sometime later his father again gave himthe money to go to Cañada. After some dis-agreement with the travel agency, he suddenly decided to go to Tampa, Florida, wherehe had relatives. “This,” says Frater SanFeliz, “proved to be a Cosmic inspiration.”

In Tampa he obtained temporary work ina cigar factory. It was customary at theplant to have a man read news items, ex-cerpts from philosophical works, history, andnovéis to the employees for a period of threehours each day. Frater San Feliz was en-couraged by these readings to further pursuehis education. He went to night school. Hisinterest was in sociology because he wasquite aware of many social injustices then

existing in labor relations.In 1918 he left Tampa and decided to in-

vestigate the realm of therapeutics, especiallydrugless healing methods. Arriving in NewYork, he found it impossible at the time topursue such studies there and so proceeded toToronto, Cañada. In that city he eventuallyenrolled in a chiropractic college and gradu-ated in 1925.

He desired to once again visit his parentsand the land of his birth. It was while inSpain that the word Rosacruz carne to hisattention. He cannot recall where he heardit or if he read it, but it kept pounding inhis consciousness. He tried to trace the

source of the word. No one seemed to know.It then became a symbol of search for him.The search caused him to affiliate with theFreemasonic Order. In his numerous personal contacts he carne upon a professor inthe School of Medicine at the University ofSeville. The professor had been a discipleof the renowned mystic, Dr. Encausse (Pa-

pus). This gentleman referred Frater San

Feliz to Rosicrucian literary sources of thepast.The year 1937 found Frater San Feliz in

France. He decided to exile himself fromSpain because he could not reconcile himselfto the political affairs in that country. Inthis revolutionary period Spain was perse-cuting the defeated loyalists, especially theFreemasons. His attention was then againdrawn to the new world, this time to Caracas,Venezuela. Three days after arriving at thatcity, Frater San Feliz met Dr. Juan BrangerBenedetti. Dr. Benedetti was instrumental inFrater San Feliz’ eventually Crossing thethreshold of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC,in November of 1940.

A world of new activity now opened toFrater San Feliz. His personal affairs pros-pered. He became the first Guardian of theRosicrucian chapter in Caracas in 1946,which body later became the present AldenLodge. In 1954, Frater San Feliz carne toRosicrucian Park and attended a term at theRose-Croix University. In 1955 he was appointed to the honorable and responsibleposition of Master of Alden Lodge. In 1956he was likewise appointed a member of theInternational Council of Solace. On June 26,1957, the Grand Master of AMORC appointed Frater San Feliz as Inspector General forCaracas. Again he attended a term at the

Rose-Croix University in 1958, and in 1959served as co-chairman of the International Rosicrucian Convention in San José.

Frater San Feliz is married; he has threecharming daughters and two grandchildren.His pleasing personality and devotion to thework of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC,have won him numerous friends of the manynationalities in both hemispheres.—X

Forum Readers

Do your Rosicrucian member friends readthe Rosicrucian Forum? If you enjoy theForum , speak about it to other Rosicrucians.

Ask them if they read the Rosicrucian Forum. If they do not, then kindly explain theadvantages which you have found in beinga reader. Tell them that the informationwhich the Forum contains is not obtainablein the other Rosicrucian literature. Much ofthe material in its pages cannot be foundin any other publications. It might be ad-



JUNE, 1960 Page 125

visable in establishing your point and in

giving emphasis to your remarks to loan yourcurrent copy of the Forum so that the othermember may learn of its valué direct. Ofcourse, you should see that it is returnedto you. The subscription rates are nominaland an announcement of them appears in-side the front pages.

The Rosicrucian Forum was begun thirtyyears ago, in August 1930! It was originatedby our past Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis.He conceived it as a perso nal and priva te publication for Rosicrucian members only.It was his intention that the Imperator woulduse its pages to write for you upon subjectsof particular interest to Rosicrucians of everyDegree of the Order. The articles were tobe—and always have been—answers to directquestions submitted by members. Thus, thepublication is truly a foru m. That this publication has succeeded all these years and isfulfilling its original purpose is indicated bythe very splendid letters acknowledging itscontents.

We also receive considerable controversialcomments. Our member-readers may have adifferent viewpoint. This challenge, of course,keeps the Forum very much alive, instruc-tive, and liberal in its views.

Since the Forum accepts no outside advertising, it must be maintained wholly by itssubscription price which, as we have said,

is very nominal. Consequently, the morecopies which are printed, the more eco-nomical it is to publish each copy, and thecost is then amortized over the total circu-lation. It is for this reason that we appeal to you to obtain for us more Forum subscribers.

Have you ever thought of what a wonderful year-round gift a Rosicrucian Forum subscription would be? And how economical, aswell? If you have a Rosicrucian friend whodoes not read the Forum , give him or her asubscription gift. In this way you will ac-complish two very fine things. You willbring pleasure and enlightenment to yourfriend and, as well, you will further assist

AMORC in the publication of this uniqueperiódica!We welcome the questions of every Forum

reader. We need your questions if we areto provide answers. However, try to formyour questions on subjects related to theRosicrucian teachings —philosophical, mystical, and on aspects of science. The ques

tions must be of a nature that would be of

interest to others besides yourself. Further,the questions should not be on subjects thathave just been treated recently in the pagesof the Forum. Obviously, we do not like torepeat a subject frequently. Questions cannot be answered in the very next issue be-cause each issue must be prepared some timein advance for printing.

Your kind cooperation in all these matterswill indeed be appreciated.—X

Proper Emphasis

It has repeatedly been stated that one ofthe costs or penalties of modern civilizationis that we live under more stress and strainthan did our ancestors. This idea has beenpromoted to such an extent that it is acceptedas a basic fact. Actually it might be worthexamining whether or not this concept ismerely an accepted opinion or whether it hasa basis of truth. We are told from thestandpoint of individual health that due tothe speed and stress under which the average person lives today, each individual ismore prone to certain types of disease thanwas current in previous times. The statistics,bearing this out, claim that more people today suffer from diseases or physical dis-abilities brought about or exaggerated by the

economic, social, and political pressures under which they live.There is no doubt some specific relation

ship between nervous tensión, pressure, andphysical well-being. The Rosicrucians havetaught for centuries that the ideal con-dition of the human body is that of harmony.By harmony they mean balance betweenall parts of the body and, even more im-portantly, between mind and body, betweenbody and soul. A perfect state of harmoniumexists only when this state of harmony iscomplete, and man is cognizant of the factthat he is composed of body, mind, and souland tends to regúlate as best he can a har

monious relationship and adjustment amongall these attributes. In other words, it is notnew to the Rosicrucian that mental statesaffect bodily conditions and that, further-more, health of the mind and awareness ofthe soul are as important as the maintenanceof order and health in the physical functionsof the body.




On the other hand, among the conditionsthat affect the body are the pressures thatproduce emotional reaction. An emotion thatis set off by some factor in environment canbe very strong. One can suffer definitephysical illness as a result of a complex andparticularly from a sustained emotional experience. But here is an interesting factorwhich has not been given much attention.In spite of the pressures existing in today’scircumstances of living, man’s emotions havenot changed substantially in the past fewhundred years—not more so than his physical body.

There have been physical changes I admit,but they are relatively minor; that is, theindividual today has approximately—in fact,

has very near—the same physical capacities,the same physical body that his ancestorshad a thousand, two thousand, or more yearsago. Consequently, he is substantially, froma biological point of view, the same type ofindividual.

Psychologically, the same fact applies. Theindividuáis who lived some centuries agohad emotional experiences similar to those ofours today; that is, the basic emotions aregrief, fear, pleasure, and others closely related to our self-preservation. When a manis thoroughly under the influence of fear, itmakes no difference whether he lives in theTwentieth Century or had lived in centuries

prior to the time of Christ. The emotionalreactions will be as strong, will be of thesame nature, and will affect the individualin the same way.

What I am attempting to point out hereis that man is not living today subject to anystronger emotional reactions than his ancestors had experienced. If a man is scared orif he is suffering as a result of grief, thenthese emotional influences will be the samein any period of time.

The question, then, is whether our modernenvironment seems to be a means of causingmore frequent or more prolonged emotionalexperiences than in the past. Possibly the

emotional circumstances of today’s living aremore subtle than those in other periods oftime. This is not necessarily caused by thechanges in man’s environment, but ratherby his own desires, hopes and ambitions,whereby he has subjected himself to morefrequent and more prolonged emotional pro-voking circumstances.

I know an individual, for example, whohad a profound emotional experience becausehis neighbor had bought a new Cadillac.Now, that is certainly a very artificial cir-cumstance. To permit an emotional experience to grow out of envy is not so much acircumstance of the times as a circumstanceof the immaturity of the individual whopermits such an emotional reaction to takeplace. We should not permit ourselves to begovemed by the behavior of others insofaras that behavior has no bearing upon ourown general well-being or development orupon the development and well-being ofsociety in general.

To be so enviously concemed about theaccomplishments, possessions, or attainments

of another individual as to allow that circumstance to create an emotional impactupon one’s own life is substantially a lackof ability to cope with the environment inwhich we live, except on a very immaturebasis. An adult individual with a maturepoint of view should be concemed first abouthis own development, about his own life,and not necessarily judge that developmentor his own accomplishments by the physicalpossessions of someone else.

To follow this same line of thought a littlefurther, the individual to whom I referredfinally bought a Cadillac himself, and indoing so created a debt. He is now involved

in another emotional experience as a resultof the sacrifices he is having to provide forthe appearance and prestige that he believeshe has gained. It is most unfortunate whena brand ñame of any material object becomesindirectly the cause of a heart attack, ulcers,or emotional disturbance. Nevertheless, thissituation exists.

As I have already pointed out, there is adegree of immaturity on the part of the individual who permits the emotional impactof an experience to play such a predominantpart in his life. This, in turn, is partly dueto the fact that in much that we experiencetoday the emphasis is placed in the wrong

position. We are being geared, as it were,to a life of climaxes.A good example of this is found in what

someone has called the monster of the livingroom, that is, the televisión set. I am notgoing to begin a general criticism of televisión, but I want to point out that, in theprocess of a program produced and intro-



JUNE, 1960 Page 127

duced into the home in a limited amount oftime, the emphasis is frequently in the wrongplace.

Sometime ago I watched a televisión presentaron of a classic—Robert Louis Steven-son’s Treasure lsland. There was nothingthat could be criticized insofar as the me-chanics of the presentation was concernedand in the acting of the individuáis, but thescope of a long novel was packed into sucha very short time that what actually tookplace was a series of dramatizations of theclimactic points of this story. The part of thebook which provides the background, or shallwe say the continuity, which has made itreach the status of a classic, was not touchedupon. What occurred was a series of drama

tizations, and the events portrayed were, ofcourse, the outstanding events. It gave onethe impression that the individuáis participating in this dramatization lived throughone climactic emotional experience after theother in rapid succession without continuity,without connection, without reason.

If we are forced to be observers of suchpresentations and to see only the high pointsof emotional compact as exemplified in astory in which the background is told inmore detail, then gradually we are going tosubject ourselves to thinking of life as aseries of emotional circumstances. Actually,most of our lives are relatively smooth—

that is, if we look back over the past year,or five years, upon events that were of importance to us. There were the climaxes ofour lives as they occurred, but if we had torelive our lives by simply living those climactic experiences one after another withoutthe not-so-emotional periods in between, wewould in the end probably find ourselves illor very emotionally upset. Life provides thetimes that are not periods of climax, thetimes of relaxation, the times of routinewhich are also important insofar as our totalexperience of life is concerned.

Therefore, in our own lives, in dealing withpersonal problems and being concemed with

our welfare, we must be careful how we ar-range the emphasis. If every individualwould examine all of his or her problems,with a full realization of true valúes insofaras their relationship to the universe is concemed, he could then place these problemsin proper category and judge them not necessarily in connection with each other and in

connection with the desires, achievements,accomplishments or gains of other people,but merely as they stand in direct relationship to himself. He would be rearrangingthe emphasis, putting them in proper order,and distributing his energy in solving them.Many problems fail to be solved by theemphasis we place upon them. Such emphasis causes them to lose perspective. We thendrain ourselves emotionally and worry aboutthe problems, rather than taking proper stepsto attempt their solution.

Therefore, we might say that if modemtimes and modern civilization have becomea burden to humanity, it is not because ofthis modem civilization itself but rather theemphasis we place on things. If we feel thatthe esteem of our neighbors is more important than anything else, we are going to beinfluenced and led into unwise steps in trying to keep up with them. But if we fullybelieve that the fundamental virtues,the real valúes of life, are found in the con-templation of the infinite and our place inrelation to it, then the fact that our neighbors, acquaintances, or friends may havepossessions which we would like also to havecan be recognized in that light and not byoverburdening ourselves with responsibilitiesthat will lead to emotional complications andcause us to create rather than to solveproblems.

Proper emphasis, then, is the result ofproper analysis in considering our own placein the scheme of things, and the relationshipof all the events of our lives to that schemeof things and to our whole life. In the Cosmic, man is but one point of manifestation.Fulfillment of man’s purpose is in his re-relating himself to the Cosmic. By being toomuch involved with the physical world inwhich we now exist, we draw away from theattainments that should be our heart’s tmedesire. When we place emphasis upon whatwe really want and the ends to be attained,the intermediary steps become less of anobstacle to surmount.—A

Purpose of Being

Many men have asked themselves whythey exist. Some of the classics of literaturecontain thoughts expressing observationswhich men have made conceming theirdestiny. The question will continué to be




asked as long as man is a thinking being forthe simple reason that to a certain extent it

is in such a question that man realizes hisown destiny.

The asking of the question is a step thatgoes beyond the circumstances that usuallyoccupy man’s mind when he is faced withthe question. By this I mean that whenman is satisfied, contented and happy, he isnot often concerned with his existence. It iswhen he is faced with problems, difficulties,grief or other pressing situations from withinhis immediate environment that he pausesto ask himself why he should exist at all orwhat, after all, is his purpose of being.

Purpose and destiny are, of course, closelyrelated, or we might say that destiny and

finality are terms that have to do with theultímate purpose of being and the ultímateanalysis of life as a whole. Actually, we findthat any attempt we make to explore thisrealm of thought, even though we acknowl-edge our inability to arrive at a final andcomprehensive answer, is to become involvedin terminology, concepts, and philosophies ofthe past.

These concepts influence our outlook anddecisions so that it becomes rather difficultto approach the question of purpose with anentirely open mind and a complete realization of a situation applying peculiarly to usand one that can be applied only to circum

stances which exist about us. In other wordsconclusions reached by men on the subjectof destiny and being are usually influencedby the same conclusions as have been reachedby other men. Our religions and philosophiesare more or less an accumulation of theseconclusions and even the man who may notbe well read is affected by the viewpointsthat have come to him from various sources.

Nevertheless, to analyze partly from a psychological point of view, the realization thatdestiny is finality helps us to clear ourthoughts. Whether this be for a man or aphysical object, the eventual destiny is thefinal end of any entity. For example, the

finality or destiny of a pencil is to write.For a man, it is to live. The pencil fulfillsits real destiny when it writes well or properly. Man fulfills his destiny and, therefore,approaches his final purpose or purpose ofbeing when he lives perfectly. From thispoint of view, the final end of being, andwithin that final end is, of course, included

its purpose, is to realize fully the nature ofself or the nature of being. For the pencil,its destiny is to write well; for the man, tolive well. But the difference between aman and a pencil or any other tool used byman exists in the fundamental nature of theman and of the tool.

A tool being an instrument, a physicalentity, by its nature cannot motívate or actívate itself. It is always dependent uponexternal forces. Its purpose or destiny isrealized only by its being managed or directed by another entity—in this case, a livingbeing. A tool, such as a pencil or any otherobject, is inert. When lying on a table byitself, it is nothing more than a materialentity. Its destiny is not within its own be

ing, but only as it is, in a sense, forced uponit by an external object or power—that is,through the motivation conceived and executed by a thinking being.

Man, on the other hand, as distinguishedfrom a tool, motivates and activates himself.He is capable of realizing his destiny by himself without outside direction. Man is notdependent upon the motivation that is initi-ated by objects in his external physicalenvironment. It is true that environment asa whole plays a part upon all our actions andindirectly has to do with the shaping ofmotivations and actions, but physical environment does not, in itself, perform the

function or motivation or activation. Man asa reasoning entity is able to initiate suchfunctions through his reason and then puthis ideas into actual overt expression.

I have referred to the fact that the pencilcan lie on a table and be inert. It has onlya potential purpose. There is in its existenceno apparent destiny, finality, or purpose ofbeing. But it can be picked up by you orme and put to a specific use. In other words,the pencil or any physical tool lacks self-motivation. It, therefore, is isolated fromfulfilling its destiny or its purpose throughlack of self-motivation. It is completely anisland in itself until some other forcé causesit to be something more than an inert object.

Man also can be considered, insofar as heis a physical entity, of being isolated in spaceor isolated in his own environment. But thedifference between man and any other physical object is that he has within himself theability to transcend this isolation in propor-tion to his realization of the forces that func-



JUNE, 1960 Page 129

tion or manifest in him which are in additionthe physical entity that he is. In otherwords, man is more than the physical com-position of which he is composed. Whilethere are material elements in him such asare also in the pencil, there is also a forcéof life within him, and this forcé produces asource of energy, and participation in thescope of the universe far beyond that of anypurely physical object.

For this reason, man need not be con-tinually an isolated entity. He is able toparticípate in functions and activities by hisown effort and by his own initiative that isnot possible for a physical object. It is inthis respect that destiny and finality, insofaras they are related to physical objects in com-

parison to their relationship to a rationalhuman being, have a considerably differentbasis of expression.

There are, of course, many physical ob jects. There is more than one pencil. Thereis more than one man. Humanity is the sumof all men, but in affirming and realizing histranscendency (that is, his position in advance of other physical entities) while parti-cipating as a member of the human race,man is also a unique individual; that is, heis a living soul.

In his capacity as a living soul, man further transcends isolated physical objects inspace, and to the extent that each individual

realizes the life forcé or divine essence within him, he raises himself above the standardof being merely another human being amongmany others. Humanity, then, consists ofthe physical entities that make up the humanrace, and it also consists of those who havebeen able to transcend this physical existenceto gain abilities, knowledge, and expressionwhich lie at a higher level. The individualwho gains awareness of his inner self be-comes one of those human beings who isable to express himself as a living soul and,therefore, be one of those who give a purpose of being to humanity as a whole.

As a living soul, man is subject to a dif-

ferent law and order than exists on thePhysical plañe. He is also subject to anotherar a of law and order. By his nature, he

therefore, escape the limitations of thePhysical world and even the destiny of aPhysical human being while the tool or machine cannot escape the essence of its own

eiiig. By transcending the limitations of

the physical world, man achieves an existence, a realization, which carries him beyondthe potentialities of any physical entity.

Man, therefore, has great potentialities.He, too, is a complex, physical being thatcan accomplish a great many things at aphysical level, but also, as a living soul, hecan go beyond any physical accomplishment.When man fails to achieve his destiny, bothas a physical being and as a soul-personality,it is because of his inability or lack of desireto release himself from the restrictions of thematerial universe. It is doubtful that lackof ability should ever interfere since eachman has the right to, or is endowed with,the potentialities which make it possible forhim to look beyond the physical universe.

Lack of motivation, desire to be or to live tothe fullest extent of his possibilities, is usually the limiting factor.

Man limits himself, that is, he fails to takeinto consideration his immaterial potentialities by giving too much attention to himselfas a physical being. He is too interested in theappeasement of his appetites and the desireto live as a physical entity. He may alsolimit himself by directing all his attentionto other physical human beings as such, notin consideration of the potentialities of theirdevelopment as living souls but as physicalentities with limited ideáis and purposes.Man often limits himself by developing a

desire to live for no other purpose than toattain physical possessions or objects.By taking any of these steps, man lowers

himself to the level of a tool and actuallybecomes a tool in a sense because he, too,loses the ability of self-motivation. He be-comes controlled by external physical forces

just as the tool depends upon external physical forces. The man who does not realize hispsychic or spiritual qualities and devoteshimself to the attainment of the satisfactionof physical desires and the gaining of material valúes is exactly like the pencil lyingon a table that is unable to realize its destinybecause there is no motivating forcé to actí

vate it except some physical object that maypress upon it in one way or another.If man is going to learn to fulfill his des

tiny, he must do it first by a desire to raisehimself above the restrictions and limitationsof a physical world. It is by the use of theabilities with which he is born, above all bythe use of reason, experience and feeling,




that he is able to alter his course from aphysical tool to a living soul. These threeattributes seem to be primarily a possessionof man given to him, it would seem, for thepurpose of accomplishing the end of distin-guishing himself from other physical entities in existence on the face of this planet.

Reason gives man the ability to penetratebeyond the obvious impressions which register on his physical senses. It is throughreason that he is able to coordínate the per-ceptive impressions reaching his mind andto store that knowledge for future use.Through man’s living, he gains experiencewhich can be drawn on repeatedly, and hecan also, by studying history and the world’sliterature, philosophies and religions, drawupon the experience of others. We must alsoremember that man is a sentient being. Hehas the ability to express the emotion ofcompassion, not expressed by other livingcreatures with which we are familiar.

Man can vicariously assume the difficultiesand problems of others. In this manner heparticipates in a relationship between humanbeings that is higher than those of purely aphysical nature and level. By fully usinghis ability of reason, experience and feeling,man is able to motívate himself to the degree of attaining the transcendent point ofview that looks beyond and over the limitations of man as a physical being whose pur

pose or destiny is only to be manipulatedlike a tool in a physical world. Reason, feeling, and experience give man the ability tobe aware of himself as a living soul. He canthereby place proper valué on the physicalpart of his being as a vehicle to carry himto certain experiences that will lead him to atime and place for the further perfeetion ofhis soul-personality which will endurethrough all eternity.—A

Sun Worship

Another frater asks our Forum: “W hat arethe similarities and differences in sun wor

ship in various times and among differentpeoples? In particular, I am interested withreference to the Egyptians and the Incas.”

The worship of the sun and the inclusiónof it in sacrosanct rites is prominent in primitive religions and in many of the highlyorganized ancient religions. The subject hasbeen extensively written upon by anthro-

pologists, archaeologists, and by authorities

on comparative religión. The literary sourceson this subject, therefore, are very volumi-nous. We can only hope, in the space pro-vided, to show briefly the tremendousimportance the sun had in the religious andsocial life of ancient and primitive peoples.

It must be realized that primitive peoplesand those of ancient civilizations were morecontiguous to the phenomena of nature thanmost peoples of today. The majority of thesepeoples were dependent upon agriculture,fishing, and hunting as a livelihood. Theskilled crafts and trades, though often highlydeveloped, as in Egypt, Phoenicia, andGreece, employed a relatively few persons.Further, many early cultures were composedof nomadic peoples. They drove their flocksand herds from one fertile area to another,living simply in tents made of the skins ofanimals.

The great sky was a source of continualinterest to such people during lonely hourswhen their tasks were finished. Artificialillumination was crude and encouraged littlework or recreation by its means. The heavens, therefore, provided tremendous fascina-tion. As these simple people looked up intothe black canopy stretching over their heads,they could not help wondering about theshimmering rays of light which they saw.What were they? Were they alive? Were

they gods or goddesses? Did they direct orin any way influence the lives of mortals?The clusters of stars that composed the

constellations assumed various forms. To thefertile imagination of these sky-gazers theseconstellations resembled animals, reptiles,and so forth. The ñames of these constellations today had their origin in these earlyobservations. It is just as we may see acloud formation which, to our imagination,suggests some face or object.

The most important celestial phenomenonhas always been the sun. It is most prominent in the sky and its effects upon terrestrialthings and on man himself must have been

observed early in the ascent of man. Thusman carne to learn his dependence upon itsheat and light. The sun appeared far superior to the moon and to the visible planetsbecause, when it appeared, they were sub-ordinated or became entirely invisible. Thediumal journey of the sun, its apparent pathacross the sky, was an awesome and perplex-



JUNE, 1960 Page 131

ing phenomenon to many of the ancients.The sun seemed actually to rise in the Eastfrom behind a distant mountain or to comeup from out of the depths of the sea.

The fierce heat of the sun implied that itwas a powerful entity and one of great vigor.Its brilliance suggested majesty and royalty.All of these qualities men were accustomedto attribute to a great leader, king or supernatural being.

In Babylonia, the pellucid atmospheremade the celestial bodies seem relativelycióse. This inspired the study of their move-ments and speculation upon their origin andpurpose. Out of such study and speculationthere was engendered astrológy and the

rudiments of the science of astronomy. Among the ancients the sun, moon, and visible planets were placed in a kind of hier-archal order. Thus they were arrangedaccording to their conceived power and rank.The sun was always in a superior positionand the moon, next. The early alchemistsimagined a relation between prominent metáis and the sun, moon, and planets. The sun,therefore, was a symbol of gold, the moon,silver, and so on.

The civilization of ancient Egypt is thelongest in the history of the world. Consequently, there developed slowly from primitive cosmological concepts highly organized

theologies throughout the many centuries. Inthat land of almost continuous cloudless skies,the intense light and heat of the sun com-pelled the Egyptians to resort to variousmeasures to cope with them. The power ofthe sun, therefore, commanded respect andawe, both of which are psychological elements that enter into reverence and worship.

The Egyptian kings and pharaohs wererecognized as representatives of the sun. Thesun was a divinity. The king was his son. Therefore, he was also divine. One of theancient rituals required the Egyptian king,as representative of the sun, to walk solemnlyaround the walls of the temple “in order to

assure that the sun should perform his daily journey around the sky without interrup-tion.” The solar boat is seen inscribed onmany monuments in Egypt. It is a vesselwhich was thought to transport Ra, the sundeity, across the heavens, thence beneath theearth and again to the East where he wouldlight the heavens in the moming.

After the autumnal equinox the ancientEgyptians held a festivity called “the festivi-ty of the sun’s walking stick.” It was thoughtthat, as the luminary’s light and heat di-minished in the autumn, he would need astaff to lean upon. The festivity was to sym-bolically provide him with such a staff.

Ra, the sun-god, was the god of the Helio-politan priesthood. He was one of an Egyptian pantheon of deities but was quitegenerally accepted as the supreme god,especially in Lower Egypt. Tiy , the motherof Amenhotep IV, was well acquainted withthe theology of Ra, the sun-god. Also, thehusband of his nurse was reputed to haveonce been a priest at Heliopolis, the See ofRa. The sensitive and aesthetic young Amen

hotep must have often meditated upon thestories he had learned from his nurse andfrom his mother of the powerful god of thesky.

I think it very appropriate at this point toquote from the excellent work, Son of the Sun, by Savitri De vi and published byAMORC:

“Yet, one can imagine Prince Amenhotep, a delicate and sensitive child,stooping to pick up a fledgling fallenfrom its nest, because he felt for thefragüe drop of life; or smoothing downwith his little hands the burning-hot furof a cat lying in the sun—a sight so com

mon in ancient Egypt, where thosegraceful felines were universally caredfor—and enjoying to see how, while itpurred, it kept gazing at the farawaydisk with its half-shut emerald eyes. Heloved the sun as a living and loving god,and, being by nature kind to living crea-tures, he loved them all the more inHim.”Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, while still a

young man, rebelled against the Amen priesthood and established a new capital city,Akhetaten. This city was dedicated to thenew monotheistic religión which he established. To him there was one god and Aton,

the sun disk, was the symbol of this deity.He changed his ñame from Amenhotep,meaning, “Amen is pleased” to Akhenaten,“Joy of the Disk.” The sun was not worshipped in itself. Rather, it was the cosmic energy which emanated from it that was theobject of his devotion. This energy was conceived to be the universal Creative forcé




by which all things carne into existence. Hisconception of a divine universal forcé radi-ating through the sun was too far in advanceof his time for general acceptance. We mightsay that it was a religio-scientific conception.

The reverence that Akhenaten had for thissolé god and the Aton symbol is magnificent-ly expressed in his renowned “Hymns to theSun.” There is a certain parallelism betweenthem and some of the psalms in the Bible.We quote but a few lines from one of thesebeautiful verses:

Thy dawning is beautiful in the horizon of the sky,

O, living Aton, beginning of life!When thou risest in the eastern

horizon,Thou fillest every land with thy beauty,

Thou art beautiful, great, glittering, high above every land,

Thy rays, they encompass the lands, even all that thou hast made.

The Brahmans make offering in the mom-ing to assure the rising of the sun. They sayof the sun “assuredly it would not rise wereone not to make that offering.” The Greeksbelieved the sun drove a chariot across thesky. It is related that the Rhodians “flunga chariot and four horses each year into thesea for the sun.” Presumably they thoughtthat the horses that pulled the sun’s chariotmight tire. Therefore, this immolation of thehorses was to provide the sun with freshteams. The Spartans and the Persians alsosacrificed horses to the sun. “The Spartanssacrificed from Mt. Taygetus, a beautifulrange behind which the luminary set eachnight.”

The ancient Mexicans conceived the sunas a source of all vital power. As a consequence, they named him Ipoluemohuani,meaning “He by whom men live.” Since thesun bestowed life, it was thought that it, too,must have its vigor periodically revived. Asthe heart was the symbol of life and vitality,the bleeding hearts of men and women werepresented to the sun to “maintain him invigor and enable him to run the course of thesky.” The most barbarous wars were conducted each year so as to obtain captives forthis monstrous human sacrifice.

Similar rites were performed by the May-ans in Yucatán. I have visited and photo-

graphed the sacrificial altar where, periodically in the past, youths and maidenswere laid on their backs, their chests weresplit open with obsidian knives and theirbloody hearts, while still pulsating, weretom from their bodies and given as an offering to the sun and other deities by the priests.

The Incas had a well-established religiónin which the sun was the focal point of de-votion. The sun-god was named Ynti. Hissister-wife, the moon, was Quilla. Cuzco,visited by the Rosicrucian Camera Expedi-tion, high in the Andes of Perú, was oncethe capital of the Inca Empire. There stillremain in Cuzco the foundation stones of theTemple of the Sun, which is surrounded bythe temples of lesser deities of the Incapantheon. The planet Venus was said to bethe page of the sun, and thunder and light-ning were his ministers.

Like the pharaohs of Egypt, the Inca wasconceived to be the son of the sun. Chasteyoung girls from noble families were selectedto be virgins of the sun. They were placedin institutions, actually convents, at a tenderage to dedicate themselves to the service ofthe sun. They were under a kind of govern-ess called mamaconas. Life in these institutions was very circumspect. No moral trans-gressions were permitted. If any girl deviatedfrom the moral mandates, she was punishedby being buried alive. Chastity and puritywithin the institution was an inviolate rule.These virgins were taught to make fine gar-ments, to spin, weave, and paint. Some ofthe finest examples of Inca art are the workof these virgins of the sun.

Since these maidens were considered“brides of the sun>” the Inca, being a son ofthe sun, was allowed to choose concubinesfrom among them. When he tired of them,they were released and sent back to their vil-lages. They were provided for during therest of their lives and were honored by thepeople.

Even our modern scientific knowledge andtheories conceming the nature of the suncannot prevent us from having a kind ofaffinity for it. Perhaps it is our primitiveinheritance, but we cannot fail to recognizethe sun as one of the greatest cosmic phenomena intimately affecting our lives andfor which we have a deep emotional feeling.Its energy is in us and almost all that we



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desire or need is equally dependent upon it.This dependence, then, creates in us an emo

tional bondage for the sun that coid reasonand knowledge find it difficult to shed.—X

Cosmic Guidance

A frater of New York now addresses ourForum: “In complete attunement with theCosmic Consciousness, theoretically our Soul-Personality is capable of knowing all, ofreading the akashic records and then beingable to convey the necessary information toour mind. It would seem, then, that theevolvement of the Soul-Personality by rein-camation is necessary only to attain thefaculty of intelligence and the facility ofpsychic attunement with the Cosmic Consciousness.”

A frater of California also asks our Foruma related question. He says: “During ourstudies we gradually aim to expand our ob

jective consciousness by bringing into it thecontents of our total unconsciousness. Theshadow or veil between the objective andsubjective consciousness may be said to be-come thinner and thinner. This results inthe increased knowledge and the enlarge-ment of the consciousness of man. I haveread that the annexing to our Soul-Person-ality from the deeper layers of the uncon-scioüs may lead to a state of inflation whichmay change man for the worse. Please dis-cuss how the Rosicrucian teachings willguard against or prepare us for such inflation; and further, please comment on thepossibility of any hazards faced by the student if he is suddenly called upon to experience an influx from the unconscious into hisobjective consciousness.”

Let us begin with the questions of the firstfrater. The soul is an extensión of the Cosmicor Universal Soul, in the Rosicrucian andmystical doctrines. In essence, whateverqualities the Cosmic possesses, the humansoul also possesses. We are taught, in con-trast to tiie older theological notions, thatthere are no variations of soul perfeetion oromniscience. That which does vary andwhich evolves is the personality. Succinctlystated, the personality is the image and thesoul is the object. The personality as animage is but a reflection of the soul. It isnot a perfect image because it needs to reflect

itself through the encompassing elements ofthe human organism and objective conscious

ness.That which is refined, evolved and perfect-

ed, then, is this image of the soul, that is,the Soul-Personality. The more evolved thepersonality, the more illumined it becomes,and the more it represents in its expressionthe qualities of the soul. The truly spiritual-ly enlightened person is one whose personality is therefore more in harmony with hissoul. In other words, the image resemblesmore closely the object, the soul.

The personality can never, however, pos-sess the complete knowledge of the soul.Mortal man can never acquire the omnis

cience of the Cosmic itself. But gradually,through quickening and evolving the consciousness, man does expand the personality.He does add to his objective knowledgethrough what is ordinarily called intuition. It would be more proper to say that from hissubconscious self, from the soul source, manacquires a wisdom, a superior judgment. Wedo not actually receive from the Cosmic afont of facts, empirical knowledge in the nature of words or sense qualities. Rather, weare more particularly guided by a difficult-to-define impression that motivates us to takethis or that course of action. Our judgments,under the subtle impressions of this subconscious influence, prove to be more accurate

and dependable than our usual reason.Sometimes this Cosmic wisdom, this su

perior knowledge of the soul, or cali it theintuitive faculty, constitutes an exceptionalperception. By this we mean that it is aninexplicable insight. Usually there are noempirical grounds for this insight, that is, noobjective reality to support the feeling wehave of the gentle urge for us to act in theway we do.

Actually, reason, or what is popularlycalled common sense (meaning the reason ofcommon experience) will often oppose thisCosmic guidance. It may seem to us thatthe guidance impulse is not rational, notlogical, and that it may be, in fact, quiteopposed to our customary experience. Be-cause of this, many persons disregard whatthe uninformed may cali hunches. Theythink of such as being an inner emotionalresponse to a circumstance which should besubordinated to coid reason. As a result,



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ymous. There is no such dualism as a

transcendent God who, on the one hand,exists and, on the other, creates the worldapart from Himself. God is the universe.When one looks upon a tree, a cloud, a star,or any creature, no matter how humble, he isexperiencing a mode of the all-embracingGod. God is but another ñame for the under-lying energy and intelligence by which everything is, but it has not just been createdby this essence, it is of it.

It is quite apparent that the pantheist ex-cludes a personal God or an anthropomorphicbeing as a deity, of which man is said to bean image. In pantheism, God is not remóte.He is everywhere and in everything. He isthe continual expression of what we perceive.It is obvious that there is something of aparallelism between the ideas of pantheismand naturalism, especially in the universalitywhich they both expound. Naturalism teachesa mechanical universe, that is, material forceswhich account for all of reality. Pantheism,on the other hand, speaks of a mind cause. The cause is God, as a purposeful motivationworking in and consisting of the nature ofall things.

Pantheism and vitalism are thus related.God is a vital, living, thinking cause. He, asthe essence of all things, brings about a development and evolutionary trend by whichsome things become a more complex expres

sion of His nature than do others. In pantheism there is also an awareness, a God consciousness., in all reality. God, in the small-est material element, is the conscious, theknowing order, of its development. Con-versely, in naturalism, things manifest by ablind series of forces that apparently coincidewith a pattern which man recognizes as anorder.

Pantheism, to the liberal mind, has anappeal that is not shocking to such a mind’sreligious sense. The world, according topantheism, is not just a material substance,devoid of the infusión of the spirit of God.It is not evil, ñor a corruption or retrogres-

sion from a high and divine state as so manytheologies conceive it. Rather, it is held thatthe world, as matter, is intrinsically good,for it is of God. Its attributes are of Him.If one tries to understand the function of allthings, relate them to each other and thento himself, he is brought into harmony withGod. Nothing is out of harmony with God

for nothing is divorced from His nature.

Evil is not inherent; it cannot be in anythingin nature according to the pantheistic conception. Evil is only as man wrongly appliesthings of the world and thereby comes tocreate things which he calis by that ñame.

It is erroneous to think that the pantheistis apotheosizing things of the world, that is,making particular gods of them. Since to thepantheist all things are of God, even farmore than man can perceive, it is folly forman to worship any single thing or a collection of them as God. Man must worship Godin the impersonal universal sense, as mindand energy assuming the multitude of expressions which we experience.

Certainly Pharaoh Ak hnaton was a pantheist, though heralded as a monotheist. TheAton, the sun disk, was a symbol of the Creative energy of the universe. Its rays, asAkhnaton’s hymns to Aton expound, descended into the earth and sea and are thedivine cause of all things.

Plutarch tells of an inscription appearingin the temple of Isis: “I am all that hathbeen, is, or shall be; and no mortal has liftedmy veil.” Here the mother goddess is iden-tified with all reality. The Kabala of theancient Jews is pantheistic in that God, asthe power of word, expressed in letters ofthe alphabet and in numeráis, composed theessence of all being.

Most of the Greek philosophers before the6th century, B. C., were pantheists. Xeno-phanes, inveighing against the oíd theologyof the gods as heroic beings, said: “Butmortals think the gods are bom as they areand have perception like theirs and voice andform.” To Xenophanes, God “is one eternalnature,” that pervades all things. To Par-menides, also of the period, there is onlybeing. God, he declared, is an unchangingbeing, a continuous substance of which allthings consist. “Wh at can be spoken of andthought of is; for it is possible for it to be,and it is not possible for what is nothingto be.”

Baruch Spinoza expounded that God is aninfinite substance. His attributes are infinitein number having various modes. Of all theattributes of which the divine substance consists, only two are known to man, namely,thought and extensión (space). Spinoza said:“ . . . God, who is the first and only freecause, as well as of the essence of all things




as of their existence.” A personal god was

not acceptable to Spinoza because it was notworthy of the divine.There has been and is considerable re

ligious objection to pantheism, especially onthe part of Christianity. It fears pantheismon the grounds “that it must oblitérate moraldistinctions and destroy faith in God withwhom man must converse.” Here we see thebelief that it is necessary to conceive God asa personal being, a specific image, so thatman may have communion with the deity.

We recall the objection that Xenophanesraised toward this conception nearly twenty-five hundred years ago. He said in part,speaking of man’s practice of attributinghuman qualities to God, “Yes, and if oxenand lions had hands and could paint withtheir hands and produce works of art as mendo, horses would paint the forms of gods likehorses and oxen, like oxen. Each wouldrepresent them with bodies according to theform of each.” “So the Ethiopians maketheir God black and snub-nosed; the Thra-cians give theirs red hair and blue eyes.”

Is it not possible for man, in an environment conducive to the elevation of his consciousness, to quietly attune with nature andexperience the God’s essence within her?Can man ever be any closer to God thanwhen there wells up within him a great loveand reverence for the majesty of nature’s dis

play which he views? When man for themoment realizes the unity of all, the matrixof reality of which he is a part and sensesthe power of the Cosmic, he is then en rap-

port with God. Certainly, it must be agreedthat God is more than what man objectivelyexperiences, but what he does perceive is ofGod. Of what other source would it be?Why must man imagine God as somethingapart from what is? Assuredly the pantheistglorifies the infinity of God more than anysingle image of Him can do.

A religious objection has been that, if Godis in all things, then what about that whichis evil and sinful? It, too, then would em

brace God. How can we reconcile the divine,the perfect, the good, with its opposite? Thisviewpoint, as said before, is erroneouslyfounded on the premise that there is an absolute evil which exists. The pantheist’s con-tending that God is in all things does notadmit of a positive evil. What men termevil is functional in relation to their per

sonal perspective. The evil man is one with

a destructive and wrong interpretation oflife and social valúes. Innately, however,he is no more evil than is the substance ofany other being, animate or inanimate.—X

I Am That I Am

A soror now rises to ask our Forum:“What is AMORC’s interpretation or explanation of the Biblical phrase, ‘I am that Iam’?”

The question refers to Exodus 3:14: “AndGod said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM:and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto thechildren of Israel, I AM hath sent me untoyou.” It is not our custom to endeavor tointerpret quotations from the Bible. First,the Bible is a universal book; that is, it is sowritten that persons of every level of intelligence and variation of education may derivesome meaning from it. There are those whoare wont to interpret the Bible in a whollyliteral sense, accepting each word for theapparent meaning it conveys. There areothers who construe its terminology sym-bolically and esoterically. Consequently, itis obviously difficult to have an agreementon Biblical meanings. Since, also, the Rosicrucian Order does not promúlgate any religious sect and is not a religious institutionitself, it is appropriate that we do not become

embroiled in religious controversy.However, the particular phrase mentioned

above has often been referred to in mysticalliterature. It has a particular esoteric qualitythat would seem to require a mystical or atleast a philosophical explanation for understanding. On these grounds we can endeavorto give an explanation.

First, the words are said to have beenspoken by God to Moses. They are apparent-ly a designation of the deity but spoken inan abstract manner. In other words, howwould a Supreme Being, that is all thingsand whose nature exceeds human perceptionand apperception, describe Himself? Any

particular delineation in terms of form orhuman sense qualities would detract in thehuman mind from God’s ubiquitous nature.A particularly limiting description of Godwould not bring about a universal acceptanceof Him. Presume that an individual had anintímate conception of the deity. This imagebrought him peace of mind and a spiritual



JUNE, 1960 Page 137

satisfaction, as it does to millions of persons.

Then, further presume that another person,holding an exceptionally authoritative position as did Moses, were to come forth anddescribe God in terms that were quite atvariance with the individual^ image of thedeity. Let us further suppose that theauthoritative person were to declare thatsuch was the manner in which God describedHimself.

From such circumstances serious confusionwould arise. The intimacy which the individual had with his own consciousness ofGod and for which he would have an alle-giance and devotion would cause him todoubt, if not challenge, the statement ofMoses.

The phrase, “I am that I am,” precludessuch a sitúa tion. We might better understand this, if we take the liberty of changingthe phrase to: “I am all of that which menthink a great and beneficent God to be.” Godcould be neither less ñor more than whatconstitutes his whole being. Again, we mightsay, “I am of what I am,” which, in itselfis all things and, therefore, inscrutable interms of human qualities.

We note in the Biblical verse quoted thatGod further said: “ . . . Thus thou shalt sayunto the children of Israel I AM hath sentme unto you.” Think a moment. Whatmore all-embracing term could be used, that

would be comprehensible, than “I am” ? Inother words, whatever you want to conceivethe Divine, Ultimate Reality, Puré Being,the Absolute, or the Cosmic, to be, God isthat. I am that which you think to be om-nipotent, omniscient, and eternal, and anyand all other related qualifications.

Of course, one may construe the Biblicalaccount in such manner as to say that noactual words that appear in the Bible werespoken to Moses. Psychologically and mystically, it could be contended that Moses hada mystical experience. In this experience hebecame en rapport with the consciousness ofthe Divine. He was inspired and subsequent-

ly he objectively interpreted his experiencein the words he gave forth to the Israelites.In this sense Moses was illumined and realized the need to define the deity in a termacceptable to all minds.

Since this phrase is so esoteric, each individual may construe it in accordance withhis personal feelings and intelligence. How

ever, whatever the interpretation, it can

never be resolved to a finite limiting status.It remains an exalted exposition of the Absolute One.—X

Is Psychic Power Spontaneous?

A member from Australia has addressedthe Forum with the following question:“According to the Order’s teachings, it isnecessary to study certain principies andmake experiments to develop the psychicpowers.

“I have a friend, quite advanced inSpiritual studies, who says that these powerswill come naturally, and only then will my

thoughts and actions be purified, and therewill be no danger of misusing these powers.“What are the views of the Forum con-

ceming this problem?”When answering a question of this kind,

it is first necessary to examine all facets ofits presentation. In this case, it would beinteresting to know where the friend receivedhis advancement in studies of a psychic nature. Fundamentally, all recognized schoolsof psychic and occult thought have as theirbasic goal the development of the psychicpowers. This always entails a great deal ofstudy and effort in one degree or another.Therefore, in order to have reached his de

gree of advancement, the friend must havehad to study certain principies, very possiblywith experimentation of some sort combinedwith them.

We can see, then, that his contention thatthe ability to use these powers will comenaturally could not actually have been so,even in his own case. It is quite likely thatthe friend is a devotee of some Orientalschool of mystical knowledge, many of whichpreach development through introspectionand withdrawal. They often refer to Buddhaas an example of the virtues of this system,since his great enlightenment carne duringa period of rest and quiet meditation.

Similarly, the enlightenment of Amenhotep IV carne during such a period. But thefactor often overlooked is that these personsdid not just spontaneously receive the powersof perception and thought which were giventhem; rather, these powers carne as the resultof much personal development and evolvement.




When this question is analyzed, therefore,it can clearly be seen that there must be aprogram of study and development in orderthat one be endowed with the ability to makeoptimum use of these psychic powers.

Here we should clear up another miscon-ception evident in the wording of this question. From the way in which the remarksof the friend were phrased, it would appearthat these powers carne suddenly and, perhaps unsolicited, from some outside source.Actually, we know from the teachings thatthese powers truly exist within us, althoughthey may be dormant and the ability to usethem to advantage may not yet be ours. Inorder to be able to use them effectively, oreven at all, for that matter, we must first

learn of their existence and be given the keyto their practical application. This we receivefrom the monographs.

In a large sense, it is not absolutely essential that the experiments be followed re-ligiously. However, the studies are muchmore satisfying if the exercises are done withsome degree of regularity. The principiesunderlying the powers within us are con-tained fully in the text of the monographs.Often these are stated empirically, leavinglittle room for question. As a result, membersoften ask, “You state this principie in anabsolute fashion, but how do I know that itis so?”

The answer is, “By performing and per-fecting the accompanying experiment orexercise.”

The experiments serve as the proof of theprincipies. We find the intellectual understanding of the principies is had throughreading, but the application is developedthrough experimentation, not meditation. Onewill never learn to use his powers if hedoesn’t practice.

It is often felt, by those who don’t fullyunderstand the implications of the development of the psychic abilities, that experimentation can be dangerous. In fact, where suchexperimentation has been suggested by ir-

responsible parties, it has proved to be so.However, under a system whose solé purposeis the development of the individual, wherethe studies have been compiled and tested byresponsible, and even enlightened personali-ties, such a possibility is not likely to exist.

This is truly the case with the personalinstruction outlined in the monographs.

These teachings have been developed andexpanded throughout many centuries—everything in them is authentic and has been welltested by many thousands of individuáis. Weknow and can prove that no danger, eitherto the individual or others, can result froma course of logical, reasonable experimentation for psychic development such as is pre-sented in the Rosicrucian monographs.

To briefly summarize, then, it must berealized that the great natural forces or powers and the ability to use them will not cometo us spontaneously if we only sit and wait,but that they do exist already within us.Also, we must engage in an active programof study and experimentation in order tolearn to make full use of the powers. Whena reasonable course of study, such as thatof AMORC, is followed no danger of misus-ing these powers is present.—W

Level of Attainment

We are accustomed to the fact that almosteverything with which we deal in the worldtoday can be measured by some standard.The simplest measurements are those of sizeand weight insofar as they concern physicalobjects. More subtle measurements withwhich we are acquainted are those of time,temperature, barometric pressure and similarconditions measured by an artificial standard

in order that they might be judged. To determine a length or width of an object is asimple matter. It is easy to read the scaleof a thermometer or determine whether theatmospheric pressure is going down or goingup by reference to a barometer. Otherfamiliar standards of measurement are thoseon the instrument board of an automobilewhich provide data conceming the functioning of the motor.

Without these means of measuring and judging the operating condition of a motor,for example, or the temperature of a room,we would be at loss if not actually handi-capped by our inability to judge the matters

upon which we depend by a standard ofmeasurement. These measurements are notan attribute that is intrinsically a part ofthe condition or physical object measured.

In other words, temperature is a standardby which man judges the relationship ofhimself to the environment as caused by natural conditions outside or artificial condi-




result of memorizing or study would probably be affected.

It is not even possible to measure suchadvancement in terms of our psychic sel ves.Whether we are in the First Degree or inthe highest one of this organization is notas important as our basic outlook upon theteachings and our ability to apply what wehave leamed. Although we all aspire toperfection and to arriving at the highestlevel of attainment, there actually is no level.There is always a process of growth orevolvement. All conditions, regardless ofwhat they may be, lead to change. It is thecontinuation of change that makes possibleexperience, growth, and the ability to copewith situations with which we must deal in

daily living.The individual who gives too much atten

tion to the extent of his advancement, or toattempting to classify the level of his attainment, is probably more absorbed in thatprocess than in the attainment itself. Whilestandards of measurement and instrumentsfor measurement are of much valué in theiruse insofar as they affect physical things, itwould be a good idea for us to attempt toseparate our thinking from this type ofstandardization when we approach mattersthat have a philosophical, social, religious, orpsychic valué.

The psychic advancement of an individualcannot be expressed in terms of his experience, but rather in terms of his total functioning as a complete human being. Theindividual who has advanced the highest isthe individual who is able to cali upon notonly material aids for his well-being, butupon immaterial conditions and to utilizethem. His life is balanced. He is able to usethe knowledge that he has leamed. He isable to carry over into actual experience andgrowth the principies that have become apart of his consciousness.

Nothing is to be gained in classifying thisadvancement, but rather in rememberingthat attainment is a constant growth. It cannot be considered as a level if we wish torepresent it on a scale, but rather as a linemoving upward or downward depending upon the individual. As we study, grow, andapply the principies that we learn, as wegain ability to rely upon intuitive knowledge,the level of attainment is moving upward.As it moves upward, we expand our consciousness and reach new levels from whichwe can aspire even to higher ones. But whatthat level may be in terms of any scale is ofno importance. What we are in relationshipto the Cosmic scheme is of importance to usregardless of how others may judge it or howwe may classify it.—A

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REMEMBER THE INTERNATIONAL ROSICRUCIAN CONVENTION

July 10 through 15



JUNE, 1960 Page 141

INDEX OF VO LUM E X X X (Comprising the entire Six Issues of the 30 th Year)

NOTE—The small letters after the page numbers refer to position on page: a, upper half of first column; b, lower half of first column; c, upper half of second column; d, lower half of second column. Titles of articles are italicized.

A Abs traction , Valué of , 26a-28a Accomplish, 106cAccomplishment, criteria of master, 74b-d Achievement, 19d Adler, 84dAdvanced Age and Attunement, 98a-99c Advancement in studies, 137c-d Advancement, Meaning of, 69d-71d Aesthetics, llOd-llla Ah, Sweet Myste ry of Li fe , 62d-63c Akhnaton, 135c

All -lmpor tant? Ar e Experim ents , 63d-64b Am ah l and the Night Visitors, 56c, 57a-c AMORC: (see also Rosicrucian)

Active Member, 70a Departments, 16b Full Ñame Protected, 21a

Grand Councilor, 39b-40b, 62a-d, 104c-105c Grand Lodge, 20b-d, 7b-8a, 62b, 79a-c Grand Masters, 20b-d, 7b-8a, 7d, 79b-c, 80a Grand Secretary of Italy, 7d Independent Jurisdictions, 20d, 21a Inspector General, Caracas, 124d Italy, 7b-8a Membership, 69d-70b Objectives, 70a Rights, 21a

Worldwide, 21 d Anxieties, 84d Anxiety , Fear and, 86a-88c Apparition, 11c-14b Application of Teachings, 70b-71d Appointments, Visits and, I5c-17b Arabs, 112a Are Exp erimen ts All -lmpor tant? 63d-64b Are Mind and Consciousness Synonymous? 22a-23d Are You a Thinker? 17b-19a Asking for Help, 29c, 32b

Assyrians, 110c A Suggestion fo r Learnin g, 117b-118b At-one-ness, 6dAttainment and Process of, 140a-b

Attainment, Le ve l of , 138d-140d Attunement, Advanced Age and, 98a-99c Awakening Cosmic Exp eri ence, 5a-7a Awareness of Soul, 125d, 129b

BBabylonia, 131aBehold the Sign, 41 dBeing, Purpose of, 127d-130bBenedetti, Dr. Juan Branger, 124cBernard, Raymond, 4dBlue Danube, 62dBooks:

Aenid, 98b Art of Absent Healing , 31d Behold the Sign, 41 d Bible, Universal, Book, 136c Book of the Dead, 33b-d, 35a Liber, 777, 47d Rosicrucian Manual, 9d The Magnum Opus of the Rosicrucians, 79c The Mide and the Ox, 56c, 57a

Bom to Fight, 106d-108c Brahmans, Offering to Sun in Morning, 132b Brain, 5a-7a, 12b-c Bruno, Giordano, 66a Buddha , 6d, 57d-58a, 137d Byron, Lord George Gordon, 12a-b

cCassara, Giuseppe, Jr., 7b-8a Catholic Church, 14c, 15a Cato, 98bChinese and Color, 111b Christian, Cross, 8b-9b

Nation, United States, 122a Religión, 56b, 58a Sects, Pseudo Faiths, 122c

Christmas Carol, 56c-d, 57b Christmas Theme, The, 56b-59b Church? Should Rosicrucians Go to, 14c-15c Churchill, Sir Winston, 92b Civilization, Modem, 125c

Stress and Strain of, 125c, 126b Color Vibrations, 82d-83c Color Organ, 112b Color, Experiments in, 11 Id

Colors, Health, and Harmony, 110a-113c Combating Negative Thoughts, 54d-56b Concentration: Definition, 2a, 28a

Perfection in, 29a Concentration, How to Improve Your, 28b, 29c Concentration, Tod ay1s La ck of, 2a-4a Conditions Concerning Forum Replies, 4b-4d Conscience, 94b-95d

A good, 54b And Guilt, 53c Future Freedom of, 123b Taboos and Prohibitions, a Part of, 53b Theological Concept, 53b

Conscience Distinguished from Desires, 53b-54c Conscious? Is the Soul, 37b-39a Conscious of, 119bConsciousness and Mind Synonymous? Are , 22a-23d Consciousness: 28b, 84b-c

Content of, 17bCosmic, 5b-7a, 37c, 38b, 46c, 70bHis, 69c

Intimate, 46bLower Order of, 6d-7aMortal, 113d-114aNormal, 17cOur, 118b-119cPast, 5bSoul-personality’s, 93d Stream of, 23a, 69c

Constitution of the United States, 122a-b, 123b Cortex, The Interpretive, 5b Cosmic Guidance, 133a-134c Cosmic: 29c-32a, 45d

And Individual, 140d Consciousness, 5b-7a, 37c, 38d, 46c, 70b Energy and Order, 68b, 131d-132a Intelligence, 37c, 38a Impressions, 66a-67d, 70b Impulse, 53dLaws, 9d, 101c-103a, 106c Masters, 74d-76b Mind, 93b Neighbors, 65d-66a Phenomena, 68b-c Philosophy, 71b-d Plañe, 113d-114d Relating Oneself to, 127d Responsibility, 56b

Cosmic Decree Transition? Does the, 80b-82c Cosmic Guidance, Interpreting, 66a-67d Cosmic Experience, Awakening, 5a-7a Coué, Emile, 84b Council of Solace, 30d-31b




Creator, 59a

Cross: Alchemical, 41b-c Celtic, 8c Christian, 9a-b Crux Ansata, 8b, 9a Greek, 8c Hermetic, 41b-c Latin, 8c Lorraine, 8c Maltese, 8c Rosicrucian, 41b Rosy Cross, 8c, 41a, 41c Tau, 8b-d

Cross, Sign of the, 8a-9d

DDaily, Exercises to Perform, 47a-47d da Vinci, Leonardo, 92b, 109a Democritus, 83d Descartes, René, 27b-cDesires, Conscience Distinguished from, 53b-54c Destiny of Man, 127d, 128a, 129d

Destruction, Human Souls and World, 64c-66a Detachment—Separation, Relative, from Attunement, 134c

Dexterity of Body, 28d Dickens, Charles, 56c-57bDid Egyptians Believe in Reincarnation? 32b-35bDivine, Mind, Source, 45dDivine Mind and the Human Mind, 88c-90aDiscipline, Mental, 2c-3bDiscourses Available from AMORC, 4d-5aDivine, Father, 45 aDivorce, Rosicrucian View of, 43d-45bDo You Know? 20b-22aDoes Prominence Signify Evolvement? 77b-79a Does the Cosmic Decree Transition? 80b-82c Dryden, John, 98b

EEast Africans, 110c Effects and Causes, 82a-b Effort, 2c-dEgotism, Danger of, 134b-c Egyptian Museum, 15d

Kings and Pharaohs, 131b Egyptians and Colors, 110bEgyptians Believe in Reincarnation? Did , 32b-35b Egyptians’ Festivity, Sun’s Walking Stick, 131c Egyptology, 32b-35b Electrical Current Stimulation, 5b El Rosacruz, 20b Emotional Reactions, 126a-127d

Stress, 139b Emotions versus Moráis, 94a-95d Emotions, Analysis, 86c-d

and Guilt, 53c-54a and Intellect, 51b-52a and Music, 51c, 63b-d

Emphasis, Proper, 125c-127d Encausse (Papus), Dr., 124b Enlightenment, 98c Environment and Color, 111b Evil, 135c, 136b-cEvolvement?, Does Prominence Signify , 77b-79a Exercises to Perform Daily, 47a-47d Experience, 26a-cExperiments All-Important?, Are, 63d-64b Experiments of Mandamus Lessons 5 and 6, 47c

Followed religiously, regularly, 138a-b Extrovert, 107a-b

FFaith and Superstition, 59b-62a Faith, Misplaced, 101c-103a Fear and Anxiety, 86a-88c

Forum Readers, 124d-125c Franklin, Benjamín, 18d, 98b Free Masonry, 7d Freud, Sigmund, 84c-d Functional Ailments, 86b

GGaldos, 56c, 57a Gambling a Vice?, Is, 105c-106d Genius?, What Makes, 92a-94a Ghosts, Theory of, 11b-14c Giornale di Sicilia, 7c God in Things,—Pantheism, 134d-136c God, 26a, 32a, 46a, 46d, 53b, 59b, 60b, 61a, 68c-69c,

80c-81d, 134d-136b And Universe Synonymous, 134d Describing Himself, 136d, 137a-b en rapport with, 136b, 137b Infinite Substance, 135d of Heliopolis, 131c

Gods, 32b-34bGrand Councilors, 39b-40b, 62a-d, 104c-105c Grand Lodge, 4d, 20b-d, 62b, 70a-c Grand Masters, 20b-d, 7b-8a, 79b-c, 80a Grand Secretary, Italy, 7d Greek Philosophy, 22b, 83d, 135d

Plato, 22b Sócrates, 22b Xenophanes, 135d, 136a

Guidance, Cosmic, 133a-134c Guidance, Interpreting Cosmic, 66a-67d Guilt Complex, 91b

HHabit, 3b-4aHallucination, 12b-14cHave Our Ñames Hidden Power? 41d-43cHealth and Harmony, Colors, 110a-113c, 125dHelp, Asking for , 29c-32bHermetic Philosophers, 9b-cHerodotus, Historian, 34d, 35bHistory of Cross, 8a-9dHolland, Francés, 62a-cHow to Improve Your Concentration, 28b-29c

How to Study the Monographs, 76b-77aHuman Mind, Divine Mind and the, 88c-90aHuman Souls and World Destruction, 64c-66a

II Am That I Am, 136c-137cIdealism and the Practical World, 103b-104cIdeáis, 116d-117bIllumination, 71aImages, Meaning of Mental, 118b-119d Immortality, 26c Incas, 132c-d India and Hindus, 111b Intangibles, 26a-c Intellectual Aspects, 77b-d Intelligence, Unusual, 92d-94a

Demands Made Upon, 123d Interpreting Cosmic Guidance , 66a-67d Intuition, 99aIs Gambling a Vice? 105c-106d Is Psychic Pow er Spontaneous? 137c-138c

Is the Soul Conscious? 37b-39aJ

James-Lange Theory, 83d James, William, 23a, 84b Johnson, Dr. Samuel, 98b Jung, 84d

KKarma, Social Service and, lOa-llb Karma, and War, 108b Kirchhoff, Physicist, 65c



JUNE, 1960 Page 143

Knowing a Mystic, 45b-47a Knowledge, Draw Upon, 37a

vs. Faith, 61c-62a Koran, 58a Krishna, 6d

L

Lack of Concentration, Today’s, 2a-4a UAppello, 7 c La Rose + Croix , 20b Law, Spiritual and N atural, 68a-69d Learning, A Suggestion for, 117b-118b Leaming, 2c-3cLearning While Sleeping, 35b-37b Level of Attainment, 138d-140d Lewis, Dr. H. Spencer, 9b, 92b

M

Mak ing Thin gs Easy , 19b-20a Marriage, Philosophical Cause, 44b

Sacred Institution, 43d

Selection in, 44c Mástership, Pro blem of , 74a-76b Material World, 103b-104c Maturity and Immaturity, 126c-127d Mayans’, Sacrifices, 132c

Mean ing of Adv ancemen t, 69d-71d Meaning of Mental Ima ges, 118b-119d Mean ing of Sym bols, Th e, 40b-41d Memory, 17c-19a, 36d, 85a

Mem ory, Th e SouVs, 113c-ll5a Menotti, 56c, 57a-b Mental Discipline, 2c-3b

Men tal Ima ges , Meaning of, 118b-119d Mental Tre atm ent Fads, 83d-86a Mexicans, and Sun Worship, 132b Middle Ages, lid, 65d-66a Mind, 18d-19a, 22a-23d, 36c-37b, 83d

Adult, 88d-89c Child, 88d Cosmic, 93b Divine, Universal, 37c

Mind and Consciousness Synonymous? Are, 22a-23d Mind, Div ine and the Human, 88c-90a Miracles, 101d-102b

Mis placed Fai th, 101c-103a Mohammed, 6d, 58a Mondalesco, Tudovico, 98b

Monographs, How to Study, 76b-77a Moráis, Emotion s versus, 94a-95d Moráis and Ethics, 95a Motte Jules 104c-105c

Nonmembers, Visitors, 15d, 16a Norwood, Reverend Dr. Robert, 63b

OObligations of man, 103c-104c

And Ethics, 94b Ogilby, John, 98b Omniscience, 133b Opinions, in Leaming, 117b-118b O Rosacruz, 20b

P

Painting, 51cPaintings, Prehistoric, 110b Pantheism—God in Things, 134d-136c Pantheist, 69b-c Personality, of Soul, 38a-39a

Survival of, 39a Peace, The Cost of, 99d-101b Peace and Tolerance, 117b Penalties of War, lOOa-lOlb Penfield, Dr., Author, 5b-d Persuasión, Gentle, 134a Philosophy: 85b, 101c

Greek, 83d Hermetic, 41b Of Mysticism, 46d, 47a Plato, 22bPythagoras, 42b-43a

Photographs: Cassara, Giuseppe, Jr., August, 1959 Holland, Francés, December, 1959 Motte, Jules, April, 1960 Pistorius, Dr. H. Th. Verkerk, February, 1960 San Feliz Rea, Sergio, June, 1960 Starke, Emil Gerhard, October, 1959

Physicists and Color, 112a Pistorius, Dr. H. Th. Verkerk, 79b-80b Plato, 22b Plutarch, 98b, 135c Poverty and Power, 50a-52a Polygamy, 95bPotentialities of Man, 129c-130b Power, Poverty and, 50a-52a Powers, Learn to Use—Practice, 138b Practical World, Idealism and the, 103b-104b Preparedness, 101b President of the United States, 122a

Román Catholic, 123b Primitive People and Color, llOd, Illa Problem of Mastership, 74a-76b Prominence Signify Evolvement?, Does, 77b-79a Proper Emphasis, 125c-127d

Rosicrucian Forum, August 1957-June 1960

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Transcript of Rosicrucian Forum, August 1957-June 1960