The Rosicrucian Forum

August 1954 - June 1957

August,
1954
Yol. XXV
No. 1

Roscrucian Forum
A

p rv a te

p u b lic a tio n for m e m b e rs of A M O R C

Jan Coops, F. R. C., G ran d M a ste r o f The N etherlands.

fS e e p a ge 5 )

Page 2

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Greetings!
V

EVOLUTION VS. REVOLUTION

Dear Fratres and Sorores:
cataclysmic leveling of forests, combined
In mystical philosophy, the evolutionary with the factor of time, has produced, eons
process is always extolled as the preferred later, extensive coal beds. In human affairs,
method in any necessary adjustment in so- also, revolution is often essential if time is
ciety. The evolutionary method presupposes of the essence. Time is of the essence whre
an ultmate ideal or objective which is to be the continuation of the condition may destroy or lose a valuable opportunity to realattained progressively. Thus evolution constitutes a concatenation or chain of causes ize some desired end. Time is likewise a
vital factor where it is necessary to abolish
and effects by which one thing merges into
a threatened or actual wrong.
another constructively to finally reach the
end conceived or aspired to. It is apparent
Revolution is the application of forc in
that such an evolutionary process is less vioorder to achieve an immediate end. A logf lent and less disturbing to human relations.
ical case can be made in defense of forc
It requires surroundings and conditions con- when persuasin by reason and education
ducive to the development desired. It confails. A drowning person who is terrified
stitutes no forceful break within existing and whose struggles jeopardize the life of his
circumstances.
would-be rescuer cannot always be reasoned
By contrast, revolution is generally con with. He must be made unconscious by a
ceded to be the willful rupture of a social blow so that he does not interfere with the
order or 4the overthrow of established instiefforts of his rescuer. When a fire rages out
tutions. This violence is regarded as de- of control in the city, threatening all of its
structive and a display of base human
structures, buildings lying in its path must
passions. As a consequence, revolutionary
be dynamited to check its spread. This is a
methods are considered by many persons as revolutionary method of bringing about a
not being an intelligent approach to a situa- change in a serious condition where time is
tion but an evidence of loss of self-control.
of the essence. Where persons have been
Historically, however, many practices and incited to mob violence and will not listen
ideologies now extant, and which are highly to reason and in their temporary emotional
commended, have had their origin in the
instability jeopardize the lives of others,
forceful action of revolution. Several of the
forc must be appliedagain such is a revo
leading democracies have attained their ways lutionary method justified by the inherent
of life and achieved their cherished freedoms vales and their relationship to time.
by a violent break with circumstances of
There is, of course, always an inherent
which they disapproved. They have subsedanger in revolution. The circumstances
quently taken the position that the end
may not justify the sudden and drastic
aspired to justifed the means.
changes which will result from it. Evolution
In nature all is not evolutionary in the
being slower in human affairs, as for ex
sense of a gradual progressive merging of ample the effect of education and cultural
one phenomenon into another. Drastic and
refinement, adapts gradually to the transiviolent transitions occur which alter, for tion which follows from it. In fact, most
example, climatic and topographical condi persons do not realize evolutionary changes
tions. Volcanic eruptions, though most in customs except as they make a comparaoften destructive, as judged by man, have
tive study of them. Revolution, conversely,
nevertheless altered the terrain in a way
results in a sudden transformation and
which was later to be found of advantage
brings about a relatively immediate terminato man. Glacial descents have gouged paths
tion of some condition or thing. Unless the
for new rivers and formed bays which beindividual can make an immediate adjust
came excellent harbors. Earthquakes have
ment to the new condition that follows, or
disclosed veins of valuable ore. Prehistoric
realizes the valu that is to come from it, he

AUGUST, 1954

Page 3

or she experiences harm or loss. But in an

evolution of social relations, the consciousness of change is so gradual as to impose
little hardship upon the individual. There
is had a familiarity with the contributing
causes of the change over a period of time.
However, social revolution is an immediate
opposition to concepts and activities had by
at least a portion of the populace. It seems
to disfranchise a number of people from
what they may consider their rights before
they have acquired n understanding of the
valu to be derived from the change.
It may be asserted as a dictum that revolu
tion as a way to an end is not morally
wrong, but that it is justified only in an
emergency when time is of the essence.
Further, the end which revolution seeks to
attain or to preserve should be known
through experience to actually contribute
to the welfare of society. Certainly, revolu
tion as the application of forc against existing conditions or for the overthrow of
established institutions to further some
theory or assumption9 is logically unsound.
The underlying principie in this regard is
that the new end sought must be known
empirically to be superior before there is
an abolition of prevailing conditions. The
application of forc in social and political
relations is never just where peaceful methods would accomplish the same end.
Those who are about to launch a revolu
tion in any phase of human affairs must
first have the responsibility of determining
the relative valu between what they pro
pose and what the course of a revolutionary
change might produce. Revolution is warranted, regardless of extreme measures, if
the cost in delay of evolution would be greater than that of revolution itself. Revolution
is not inherently wrong. It must be rationally justified from the point of view as to the
necessity of such drastic method of change.
Fraternally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator

Why am I a Rosicrucian?
Recently I was asked this direct question:
Why are you a Rosicrucian? I have
thought a great deal about my reply, and I
have not been completely satisfied with it.
In retrospect, I feel that my answer was
neither convincing or was it well organized.
The feeling that my answer was inadequate
has prompted me to make a list of some of
the more important reasons which may explain why I have been a Rosicrucian of
many years standing. While this list may
also be applicable to other individuis, I wish
to explain that I present it purely as a per
sonal expression and not as a summary of
Rosicrucian principies. The reasons which
I list express a philosophy of life. Basically,
these ideas were a part of my conscious ex
perience before I ever heard the word Rosi
crucian. During years of membership, the
Rosicrucian philosophy has reinforced the
ideas I held before, and Rosicrucianism has
become synonymous with my philosophy of
life. For whatever they may be worth to
another Rosicrucian or to an individual not
associated with the organization, the following to me are the reasons why I am a
Rosicrucian:
1. I have always believed in a philosophy
based upon idealism. This idealism I
have broadly conceived in recognizing
the actualities of the physical world as
being substantially what they seem to be
in terms of our perception and through
the limitations of our physical senses. I
also maintain that these actualities are
secondary to the true reality which exists
in a world that lies, for want of better
expression, above and beyond the level
of the physical world. I believe, as Plato
expressed his philosophy, that there is
perfection which exists outside the physi
cal world, that for everything we see
manifested on a physical plae there
exists a perfect counterpart on a plae

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, 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 Department
of Publication of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/1 sterlng) A N N U A LLY FOR MEMBERS O N L Y

Page 4

that lies beyond our immediate reach. In

Rosicrucianism there is embodied this
practical or objective idealism with which
my philosophy of life finds a sympathetic
relationship. The Rosicrucian philosophy
serves as a channel or as a means for me
to better understand and grasp the full
importance of this concept of idealism.
2. Rosicrucianism as a philosophy directs
but does not dictate. I am not the type
of personality that could work and live
under the heel of any dictator. I would
be either resentful in conformance or I
would revolt. Consequently, in finding a
philosophy to augment my own concept
of idealism, I want one that helps, that
directs, guides, and points the way so
that I may analyze and use those portions
of it that seem to be acceptable to my own
thinking and seem practical in appli
cation.
I am humbly grateful for the work and
thought of those who have gone before
me and established the teachings as they
now exist. I am thankful to those who
have given even their lives that their
ideis might be maintained and perpetuated for me and my generation. If
I do not accept verbatim all of their ideas,
teachings, and philosophy, I do accept
with respect their effort and think that
any ideal that was worth the life and
effort of another individual is worthy of
my consideration whether or not I accept
it completely. I receive guidance and
leam tolerance by the teachings that constitute the Rosicrucian philosophy.
3. As a Rosicrucian, I feel free to express
myself even to the extent of contradicting
the statements, opinions, and ideas of an
other individual or institution. I do not
have to accept Rosicrucian doctrines or
principies contrary to my own reason or
convictions. I will not be bound by the
laws that any man or group of men estab
lished merely because they conceived an
idea to be right. I will not subject my
thinking to certain dogma, principies, or
creeds because someone at some other
time has said that these creeds are those
to which man should adhere. I will ex
press myself even though I may ultimately be proved to be in error. Freedom of
expression I feel as a part of my most

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

priceless heritage and a part of my own

experience. In Rosicrucianism I find
guidance toward a philosophy of life and
freedom to think for myself and to direct
my own thoughts and expressions.
4. I find in Rosicrucianism the mpetus towards growth regardless of physical or
mental limitations. In Rosicrucianism I
am able to draw upon the sciences, the
arts, and the letters of the present and
the past. I am able to incorprate the
findings that are revealed into my own
thinking and to come to the realization
that perfection has not yet been attained,
but growth toward perfection is possible
by anyone who devotes himself to the
effort. I learned within the Rosicrucian
philosophy that there exist real and satisfying vales, and not only do I learn
of their existence but I am directed to
ward the realization of these vales and
leam to incorprate them into my own
thinking and experience. In these vales
I am able to take new aim and to establish standards to live now and in the
future and to maintain a process of growth
that contines into immortality.
5. I learn that peace of mind is a state that
is not only to be looked upon in the passive sense but is a dynamic condition that
results from a positive attitude toward life
and the ability to direct ourselves in a
manner that will be constructive and
worth while. Through the exercise of those
inner attributes of the mind which the
Rosicrucian teachings reveal to me, the
techniques are learned by which the understanding of my true position of life
is possible and through this realization an
attainment is possible of an all-over
perspective that leads to the realization
of peace of mind.
6. I find in Rosicrucianism an aim in living. To be a Rosicrucian is to devote ones
self in part toward the attainment of true
vales and to make life purposeful. This
aim may be attained or at least satisfied
to a degree by applying the principies
taught in the Rosicrucian teachings to
our daily living. This causes the action
and function of life to have purpose and
to be more than an aimless shifting from
one borrowed idea to another proposed by
someone else.

AUGUST, 1954

7. In Rosicrucianism I am able to elimnate

from my consciousness one of the worst
enemies of manthat is, fear, There can
be no fear of either the seen or the unseen when we know our way and have
an aim or direction. I have experienced
my share of suffering, of despondency,
and of cise approach to death, but in all
that experience I have had no fear. I
have, however, done my share of complaining at my lot and not always accepted mental or physical pain with
equanimity, but above it all I have had
the conviction that whatever was the outcome of the experiences, that outcome
would be right. So I am assured that
life has a purpose, has an end directed
by an intelligence greater than mine, and
that no fear need be harbored by me
because no harm can come to a man or a
woman who looks to the divine nature of
self, either in this life or another.
8. Although personality is a secondary consideration in the Rosicrucian philosophy,
I am a Rosicrucian partly because I was
influenced and had great respect for the
life of an individual who in teaching and
in practice exemplified the principies and
formulated into a usable form for my own
inspiration and needs the Rosicrucian
philosophy as it exists in the modem day.
This individual, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis,
the first Imperator of the present cycle
of the organization, is the forc, or rather
the personality, that causes Rosicrucian
ism to be able to be brought into the
intmate life and the thinking of any
individual who is motivated to seek true
vales in this complex world.
9. To summarize: I am a Rosicrucian because I prize ideis more than physical
possessions, freedom of thought more
than regimentation, knowledge more than
superstition, and realize that only by di
rect awareness of the divine forc resident
within me may I attain an understanding of my destiny.
(The above arricie was written by the
Supreme Secretary.)
This Issues Personality
The life of Frater Jan Coops is a fascinating and varied chapter in Rosicrucian history. His experiences read like fiction but

Page 5

have the far-reaching influence of reality.

He was born in Utrecht in the Netherlands
on April 1, 1880. He is a descendant of an
od Huguenot family who fled to Holland
in the 17th century to escape the persecution
to which the Protestants were subjected in
France. The spirit of freedom of thought
and of conscience was inbred in young Jan
Coops. He attended public school for five
years. Then, as was the custom, he worked
as an apprentice at different trades, but finally emerged as a banking clerk. His restless spirit caused him to study nights for a
teachers certifcate in biology. This beginning gave him a working knowledge of several languages.
Born in the Dutch Reformed Church, he
found his interests shifting to metaphysical
and spiritual subjects at an early age. The
religious freedom and economic opportunities
of the New World intrigued him and he
emigrated to Caada in 1906. The od adage,
Go West, young man, appealed to Jan
and he finally settled in Vancouver, British
Columbia. While associated with a large
automobile distributing company in that
city, his attention was attracted to the history of the Rosicrucians. He read the usual
litera ture available on the subject, which
left him somewhat confused as to the
whereabouts of the authentic Order. One
day, while riding in a streetcar in Van
couver, he was seated next to an elderly
gentleman who was reading a Rosicrucian
book. Engaging the gentleman in conversation, he learned of a public lecture to
be given by the Rosicrucian Order the next
day. By means of this contact, he crossed
The Threshold into the A.M.O.R.C.
During the great economic depression of
the 30s, Jan Coops was tempted to accept a
position in his homeland of Holland. Having
met Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, several times
while a member of the Vancouver Lodge of
the A.M.O.R.C., he wrote the Imperator
advising him of his intention. To his surprise, Dr. Lewis in replying, requested him
to represent the A.M.O.R.C. in the Nether
lands: Your duty to be that of bringing
our work before the attention of prospective
seekers . . . After twenty-seven years of
absence from his homeland, it was difficult
for Frater Coops to get established. He
knew few people. Determined to succeed,
however, with his Rosicrucian mission, he

Page 6

spent every available evening attending

meetings where he might meet persons
searching for the knowledge, the sources of
which he represented.
In 1936, he conducted propaganda meet
ings in his home. The first Rosicrucian
Temple Convocation in the modern history
of Holland was held, December, 1936, in an
attic9 x 12 feet. Subsequently, the work
under the dynamic personality of Frater
Coops grew. He met with Dr. H. Spencer
Lewis, then incumbent Imperator, upon several occasions at F. U. D. O. S. I. conclaves.
Then carne the impact of the war and the
Nazi invasin of Holland. All Rosicrucian
literature and monograph material had to
be destroyed for fear of its being seized.
Under penalty not to convene, the fratres
and sorores of Holland, courageously directed
by Frater Coops, did meet sub rosa, thereby
keeping the fame burning at the risk of
their lives. In July, 1946, following the war,
Frater Coops was given a charter for the
whole of the Netherlands and was duly appointed Grand Master of that Jurisdiction by
Imperator Ralph M. Lewis. He subsequent
ly attended other affairs of the Order in
Europ at which the Imperator was present.
Against great odds and at a now advanced age, Frater Coops has slowly rebuilt
the Rosicrucian Jurisdiction of the Nether
lands. At the moment he is convalescing
from a serious illness, the result of his years
of arduous labor. By his side, as a most
faithful worker in the vineyard of the
A.M.O.R.C. stands his loving wife, Soror
Coops, upon whom he has always depended
for inspiration and competent assistance.X
Is Fatalism Logcal?
Another frater rises to address our Forum.
He asks: Ones destiny or fate is often said
to be retained in ones face, ones hand, and
in ones birth. Are there any logical grounds
for the doctrine of fatalism? How do the
Rosicrucian teachings explain these things?
There are an untold number of persons
who declare themselves to be fatalists. The
belief in fate is the belief in the predetermination of the events of human life. Fatal
ism contends that the whole course of each
human life has been predetermined. For
example, it holds that our associations,
friends, and enemies have all been previous-

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

ly established for us by an inexorable law.

It further contends that our work, professions, and even our specific interests have
been mapped in advanee for each of us.
Health, sickness, good fortune, our failures,
are all plotted, according to the doctrines
of fatalism, as a mariner would chart the
course of his vessel. This course of life is
declared to be not only predetermined but
inescapable. There is no exercise of will
or application of reason which can cause
any deviation from the dictates of fate, ac
cording to these theories. Whatever happens, be it good or bad, is said to be the
consequence of what has been previously
ordained.
There are some persons who conceive fate
as the arbitrary will of God. They believe
that some deity has charted the events of the
life of each human. Man is said to be like
a cog in a machine; he must make certain
revolutions, that is, conform to a specific
behavior only. And there are still others
who consider fate strictly a kind of mechanistic system; the human is thought to be
part of such a system. The fatalists say that
man is predestined by his Designer to fll
a role, just as an inventor designs and construets a part in a complex device to perform a specific function, and that such a
part is not interchangeable with any other
part and cannot vary its predetermined
purpose.
The first gross error of fatalism is the
denial of the divine powers of man. Man
has had conferred upon him reason and the
faculty of will, the ability to assert himself
as he desires. Man is, of course, philosophically, not completely a free agent. We know
that the human must, for analogy, move
east, west, north, or south. He has to choose
one of those directions when he is to move.
But the faculty of will allows man, within
its limited scope, to select what (to him) is
the most desirable, or appears to be the
most rational means or direction. Man is
not compelled in any direction except by
the exercise of his will or the influence of
external factors.
If man, as the fatalists would have us
believe, is a complete puppet, then his reason
and will are futile endowments. They are
faculties without any efficacy. What a
waste, then, is the individual direction of
our powers and the effort to accomplish

AUGUST, 1954

something in conformance with our own

reason! If man is obliged to follow a preconceived course, then why is he permitted,
through the function of reason and will, to
debate, to oppose certain courses, to set
some aside andtochooseothersinpreference?
Why is man, shall we say, tormented by
being allowed to make numerous beginnings
before following the one which fate has
decreed he must follow?
Furthermore, a fatalist denies natural law
and causality. Now each day we experience
what we cali causes which motvate us one
way or another. There are things which
we study, things which we experienceall
of which influence and mold our lives. They
shape our actions. They incline us toward
this or toward that. As such, these are
causes as man thinks of them. The fatalist,
however, would have you believe that all
these causes are inconsequential, that nothing at all is contributing to your inclinations
or to your behavior. The fatalist wants you
to think that your end in life has been established for you.
The fact of the matter is that the fatalist
himself is not consistent in what he professes to be his belief. For example, the
average fatalist deposits his money in the
bank, saves his money when he can, just as
others do. He does these things for the purpose of being prepared for some eventuality
to bulwark himself against some economic
emergency that might arise. Now, if the
future for him has already been predeter
mined, why save? If it has been ordained
that he is to confront economic distress, then
all the money that he could put in the bank
could not alter such a destiny. So why does
he save?
Further, you will find that the fatalist,
like almost every other person, consults a
physician when he is ill, asking for advice,
and he hopes that the physician may pre
scribe some treatment by which he will
improve in health. Why does the fatalist
do this? If he is going to die from the illness which he has contracted, and if that is
his fate, then it will avail him nothing to go
to the physicianyet he does so Further
more, we find that the fatalist like any
rational person, avoids walking over a cliff
or stepping out in front of a passing car.
In other words, he gives indication of wanting to preserve his life. If he were con

Page 7

sistent as a fatalist, then, like Pyrrho, the

skeptic, he would show no caution in the
face of danger. He would take the position
that since fate had ordained that he was not
to die until a certain time, he could disregard all dangers with immunity. Again, I
repeat, the inconsistency of the fatalist is
shown in that he does not disregard danger
any more than would any other person.
Fatalism inhibits all of the Creative qualities and inclinations of the individual. We
find that the fatalist subordinates his own
will and Creative powers. He is inclined
to allow himself to drift with circumstances.
His attitude is one of accepting what befalls
him. Often the fatalist refuses to believe
that through his own efforts, his own
thoughts, he may alter the course of his life.
He disregards the imaginative and constructive powers which have been given him.
Because of these factors, then, the fatalist
can never be a true mystic. His concept
may be summarized as follows: why seek
illumination and guidance? He thinks that
he cannot be other than what destiny has
prescribed. Therefore, no matter how he
studies, what knowledge is conveyed to him,
it cannot in any way alter the course laid
down for him by fate. As a consequence,
we see that the true fatalist foregoes all of
his divine potentialities. He becomes like a
blade of grass with its simple consciousness,
merely responding to the influence of its
environment and asserting no forc of its
own. Or, again he is but like a straw in
the wind.X
Your Bequests Help
There is no educational, fraternal, or cul
tural order or movement that can function
entirely on the dues of its members. Such
organizations must have periodic donations
from the members over and above the membership dues, if its activities are not to be
curtailed. Every truly cultural or humanitarian organization is obliged, by its prin
cipies and policies, to conduct ventures into
the sciences, the arts, and the literary realm
from which no direct revenue is received.
Since most are not publicly endowed or supported through taxes, their economic situation would be desperate without added
assistance from thoughtful persons who are
humanitarians at heart. Half or more of the

Page 8

institutions of higher leaming throughout

the world would cise their doors tomorrow
if this charitable spirit did not exist on the
part of a portion of the populace.
The A.M.O.R.C. is a fraternal and cultural
Order. Its dues are hardly adequate to meet
the basic needs of the members, such as
monographs, personal correspondence, charts,
diagrams, examinations, literature, monthly
periodicals, clerical assistance and postage.
In twenty-eight years the dues have been increased only 13% percent! General living
costs, costs of commodities and services, have
exceeded that percentage many times in the
same number of years. The Supreme Grand
Lodge has intentionally kept the dues nomi
nal and kept any increases far below the
trend of the costs of the times.
The growth of the organization has obliged
it, for its integrity and well-being, to include
many functions from which there is no income to defray costs. Our Rosicrucian Re
search Library is of service not just to local
members but to the staff who serve members
throughout the world. It is, therefore, a nec
essary burden. As an organization, we are
not just a school but a cultural movement.
We, therefore, have a duty to society, to
mankind, and we must give enlightenment
by pointing out the achievements of the
ancientsthe lessons they learned and particularly the mistakes they have made. We
must do our part to teach and instil an
appreciation of the beautiful through exquisite works of art and handicraft. Our
Egyptian Museum thus has grown to be an
institution having a splendid reputation
among cultured persons. Furthermore, it
fulfills a traditional obligation of the Rosi
crucian Order to further the finer and nobler
things of human endeavor. The same may
be said of our Science Museum and Planetarium. Both museums are admission free,
as are the traveling art exhibitions, from all
over the world, on display in our Art
Gallery.
The only way these activities can be
maintained is through the mdium of kind
donations for the work of the Order from
our members. The Council of Solace charges
no fees for the thousands of letters it sends
out and all of its reportorial work. It, too,
depends upon contributions. Public libraries
throughout the world and penal institutions
are given free copies of Rosicrucian books

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

for those who cannot purchase them. This is

another activity which dues alone cannot
meet. Then there are free public lectures
and periodic visits of officers to lodge and
chapter convocations and rallies, and the
maintaining of the grounds and buildings.
Further, there is an item of which most of
our members are not aware and that is that,
though the A.M.O.R.C. is a nonprofit Cor
poration and does not have to pay income
tax, it does pay taxes on its real property.
We are not a religious organization and
have no exemption, so our property tax is
considerableamounting to many thousands
of dollars annually.
Are the donations which our fratres and
sorores make over and above their dues sufficient to meet these burdens? The answer
is no. When members allow their dues
to become in arrears two or three months,
the burden becomes still greater. The indi
vidual lapse is trifling perhaps to the member. However, multiply it by many times
and it becomes a staggering obligation for
the A.M.O.R.C. to assume. One thing that
does help, in addition to donations, is the
bequests which kind and thoughtful mem
bers include in their last wills and testaments. When you prepare your will, think
of the A.M.O.R.C. Whatever little you may
give will result in remembrance of your
generosity. There is no finer or more humanitarian thing you can do, after the
Crossing of the Threshold, than to help in
the support of the Rosicrucian Order. Its
ideis and activities are needed in these
times of chaos and moral decline.
If you would be so kind as to leave a bequest, just address a letter to the Supreme
Secretary and ask for instructions in regard
to the legal ame of the Rosicrucian Order
for the purpose of making a will. You can
thus include the A.M.O.R.C. as one of your
beneficiaries. Your attorney or any bank
will prepare the will for you in proper form
at your request. Leave something of your
charitable inclinations, something materially representative of your inner self, to
further a humanitarian cause such as the
Order of which you are a part.X
Ethics or Expediency, Which?
A soror, addressing our Forum, says: The
United States of America, for example, became a free country because of its coura-

AUGUST, 1954

geous forebears. They had the courage of

their convictions and were able to accomplish great things because they were not
afraid to speak and act. In other words,
they were not yes men. However, today
there are those (and to whom I have been
cise enough to observe) who are successful
either because they are yes men or tyrants.
The person who is conscientious and tries
to live by his conscience, doing unto others
as he would have them do unto him and
doing a good job in his particular walk of
life, finds it difficult to succeed. It is difficult
for a person who is willing to eam his bread
by the concentrated use of his brain or
brawn to see others succeed by submitting to
the dictates of persons, regardless of the cost.
It is often very demoralizing to the sense of
right. Could the Forum consider this
problem?
The problem of receiving merit for moral
and ethical conduct is not a current one. It
is as od as human relationships. It is more
conspicuous in our time because of the pressure of competition in our great cities and
metropolises, where there is a congestin of
people. Man is far less independent than
he was centuries ago when a free man, with
a small plot of land, might depend solely
on his own labors for subsistence and simple
pleasures. Today man is obliged to curry
the favor of many individuis and groups
in order to retain employment or preserve
his business or profession. The average man
is reluctant to admit this, for it is a blow
to his ego. It is, however, an observable fact
that individuis in business or professional
life will, consciously or unconsciously, often
ingratiate themselves in a very patronizing
manner to one they consider influential to
their welfare. They will, under such cir
cumstances, suppress any opinions they have
which might not be acceptable to those
whose influence they seek. They will outwardly even agree with those ideas with
which actually they are not in accord. This
is, of course, indicative of cowardice. It is
the fear of incurring circumstances that
might be costly in time, money or prestige
by the assertion of ones own convictions.
Consequently, the individual sacrifices his
sense of right and beliefs for material ad
van tage.
Today this duplicity and perfidy is often
made in itself to appear right by having

Page 9

conferred upon it the appellation of diplomacy. It is considered by many as adroit

and a kind of special sophistication to be
deceptive in ones actions, to say and do
one thing to gain advantageand actually
believe another. In business today there is
a great decline of ethics. What is more de
plorable is that there is no contriteness associated with the acts. Rather, there is the
attempt to justify the measures on the
grounds of business acumen or expediency.
A transaction that is accomplished by repre
sentaron which if not positively false is
negatively so, by omission of facts, is con
sidered clever. The individual who in good
faith accepts statements or proposals in such
a transaction, on their prima facie valu, is
considered naive. He is considered a lamb
that should be shom. Thus there is among
such business people not criticism of the
methods of exploitation used but rather of
the simplicity of faith of the one who has
been deceived.
Of course, almost all transactions of this
character are within the bounds of law
law being thought of as a kind of necessary
annoyance or tradition imposed by society.
The Better Business Bureau is likewise a
deterrent factor in preventing an even bolder
disregard of ethical policy.
Ethics is not a divine importation. It is
the imposition of society. Its strength or
weakness depends upon the increasing or
decreasing moral sense of the individual.
The right and wrong of human conduct is
usually based on what is thought necessary
for the welfare of society. Consequently, different nations and groups of people have
varying standards of behavior and regulation
thereof. Man, as we have often said, does
have a sense of righteousness that is innate.
In other words, he has an inclination to
conform to the proper or to what he conceives as goodthe variation is in the interpretation of that good, the result of social
influence and guidance.
When material ends are considered the
most important factor in human existence,
when wealth, position, and power are emphasized, we then find ethical standards
diminishing. When physical satisfactions,
the result of material gain, are conceived as
the end in life, then only that conduct
necessary for their realization is considered.
How you got what you have and enjoy, is

Page 10

of no consequence. In other words, the end

justifies the means. When, however, there
is a consideration of the spiritual life of man
and moral satisfactions are sought as well,
then the ethical standards ascend. At such
a time man does not enjoy material gain if
it is at the sacrifice of his peace of mind or
his conscience.
Today, because of the precarious balance
of power throughout the world between the
nations of the East and West, materialism is
made to appear to be the salvation of human
life. There is a subordination of moral and
ethical vales which reaches down into
every day business relations. Religin is on
the increase today, numerically speaking,
but not because of its essential mystical basis.
Most of those now turning to religin are
frustrated. It is but a desperate move on
their part to find security against a rising
tide of materialism that confounds the in
dividual.X
About the Masters
The invisible, as a kind of unknown, al
ways fascinates. That which is without ma
terial substance or objective qualities has a
certain infinite character about it. The
mind, in considering such subjects, delights
in its freedom and enjoys the play of fancy
and imagination. Each individual has a
certain assurance that, no matter how fantastic his conceptions, he is not likely to be
challengedwho can prove him wrong, is
his attitude. He continually embellishes the
object of his fancy whenever its pleasure
begins to diminish. His only rule of guidance
is the satisfaction which he derives from his
thought. It is in this way that legends concerning matters, which are in the main in
tangible, become grossly distorted with the
passing of time.
One of the topics that greatly intrigues
the imagination of many students of the occult and mystical is that concerning Cosmic
masters or the great illumined personalities
who have passed from this earth plae or
may still reside here. The contact with the
minds or consciousness of these personalities
is a personal experience. Very rarely is it
possible of group substantiation. Therefore,
the individual is likely to allow his imagina
tion free play when giving thought to Cos
mic masters. The unfortunate part of this
subject is that many students assume what

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

should be the relationship between these

Cosmic intelligences and themselves. They
like to think of these masters in a particular
light, whether or not such is in accordance
with tradition or Cosmic law. When it becomes necessary, as it often does, that they
be disillusioned about some of their misconceptions, they are likely to be either offended
or presume that their informer is ill advised.
What is a Cosmic master? First, he was
a human being or still is such and, as any
other mortal, was born of woman. He was
subject to all human foibles, temptations,
and requirements of mortal existence. The
mastership he now has was not a divine endowment conferred upon him. The master
was not originally Cosmically ordained to be
a messiah for mankind. The mastership
which such beings come to display was at
tained through conscientious study and ap
plication and long preparation. Many of
the Cosmic masters had, at the beginning of
their personal evolution, less opportunity for
unfoldment and mystical awakening than
does the Rosicrucian today. Their master
ship, in the sense of knowledge acquired of
Cosmic and natural law and the ability to
direct the same, carne about as a result of
many personal sacrifices. As said, they were
obliged to make a conscientious study of their
own lives and experiences and of Cosmic
phenomena, as well as of that knowledge
which man had acquired before them. Plae
by plae of consciousness, they rose to a
greater perspective of Cosmic and human
relationship. Incarnation by incamation,
they made their advancement. Some eventually achieved that perfectionwhich the
Buddhists cali Nirvanawhen the embodiment of the soul-personality in material
form is no longer necessary.
The greater the moral awakening, the
spiritual enlightenment, the more extensive
becomes the selfs interests. Man comes to
include as an intmate part of himself the
love of mankind and love of life generally.
He considers it incumbent upon him, there
fore, to help in every way he can his fellow
mortals or other soul-personalities. How
ever, this desire to assist is and must be, the
master knows, always within the bounds of
Cosmic law. Activities, with the best of intentions, which would be contrary to Cosmic
law, even though motivated by compassion,
would be not only morally wrong but in-

AUGUST, 1954

capable of fulfillment. Thus no Cosmic mas

ter will become a personal guide or a kind
of handmaiden or genie for a mortal. No
master is Cosmically assigned, as some stu
dents wistfully think, as their personal attendant through life.
The Cosmic master does not resort to the
solution of those problems for anyone which
the personal experience, effort or initiative
of the individual, would accomplish for him.
Man has been given an intellect, reason and
will, together with various receptor and oth
er faculties, for the purpose of creating and
mastering his life. Man needs knowledge of
how this must be done. The Cosmic master
will help provide such wisdom by inspiration
the application and performing of the
necessary deeds must be done by the indi
vidual himself. It is this latter point which
individuis want to disregard for varius
reasons, often because of personal indolence.
Let us remember that we learn through
trial and test. We would never grow by
having every situation mastered for us. No
one improves his physical and muscular development by having someone else go
through gymnastic exercises for him. If it
were possible that, by a simple ritual or
ceremony, the master could be invoked to
do a mans bidding, like Aladdin rubbing
his lamp and summoning the genie, then
the individuals personal development would
be arrested. Only when we have sincerely
endeavored to accomplish something ourselves of a necessary and worthy nature and
without success will an appeal to these
Cosmic masters be heeded, the method of
appeal being clearly set forth in our monographs. However, the response of the master
will be noetic in its nature; it will not be
the actual performance of deeds. One will
personally experience the personality of the
master or feel the presence of an intelligence and will simultanously have an illuminating idea which will suggest what one
may do, through his own efforts, to realize
the desired end. If one seeks or expects that
which is contrary to Cosmic law and which
is selfish in the sense of serving his own
immediate self only, no response will be
had from a Cosmic master. Further, if one
is disinclined to do what has been revealed
as necessary for him to achieve the end, he
will find future appeals or contacts less productive, if productive at all.
In the main, the masters whom students

Page 11

do succeed in contacting, will more than

likely direct them to those phases of their
studies where the power and understanding
that the student needs will be found. Those
not students of these subjects but who,
through prayer and meditation have unintentionally made contact with a master, will
most often be led by symbology, allegory,
or direct message to the portal of an order
of the Great White Brotherhood such as, for
example, the A.M.O.R.C. After all, these
masters were all members of the esoteric
orders of which the Great White Brother
hood consists. What they learned was either
from such orders, as we shall see, or it was
taught to the orders by them. Thus, these
masters incline the supplicant to the channels of light and do not become personal
teachers and guides of persons as is so often
wrongly thought.
The individual often likes to think he can
have an exclusive master to teach him or
rather to perform miracles for him. This
attitude is born out of egoism. It is the
inclination to attach to oneself a circumstance or power by which he will attain a
transcendent state over his fellows and thus
appear superior. This very desire in itself
is sufficient not to bring about actually a
true contact with a Cosmic master. There
are those, too, who imagine that every im
pulse or idea from the depths of their own
subconscious mind is the message of a mas
ter. Thus random ideas or disarranged
thought which would not be even a credit
to mortal intelligence is often referred to by
such individuis as the dictates of my mas
ter. This is both a ludicrous and a pathetic
situation.
There are, too, those who read semioccult
fiction books where the life of a master is
delineated, the master often being a wholly
fictitious character. The element of the unknown and invisible, as we have said,
stimulates the imagination of the reader. Immediately he may presume that such a per
sonality is his personal master. He no
longer seeks to direct his life according to
the master within, that is, his own divine
intelligence. Rather he thinks of what he
wants and believes that the master, whom
he is to contact, will grant his every fancy.
Small gullible groups of persons, sometimes
under the direction of thoughtless or disillusioned personsor ones with a mercenary intentare led to remte regions for

Page 12

the purpose of contacting the master. Of

course, a fee is charged or arrangements are
made to which these persons are supposed
to subscribe and the costs are usually con
siderable. Mount Shasta is the favorite place
at which these unfortunate disillusioned per
sons assemble. There they sit in tents at the
base of the mountain, expecting some master,
about whom their leader reads to them from
one of the semifictional books, to make his
appearance momentarily and personally reveal great truths to them. Some actually
climb a little way up the foothills, the leader
usually remaining behind for some reason
or other. The whole circumstance is pathetic
and lacking in mystical insight.
Still other students are always deeply con
cerned as to whether or not this or that
master now resides on earth. Of what importance is such knowledge except to intrigue
the imagination? The higher consciousness
of the inner self transcends such barriers as
time and space. Therefore, where ver the
master is, the contact, if one is made, is
instantaneous. One of the common questions
we are asked today is, Where is Master
K.H.? K. H. or K.H.M. is an abbreviation
for Kut-Hu-Mi or the equivalent of the
Tibetan Bod-Yul. According to records in
the archives of the Rosicrucian Order and
the esoteric orders of the Great White
Brotherhood, the Master K.H. was at one
time the Deputy Grand Master of the Great
White Lodge. Tradition relates that he was,
in a past incarnation, Pharaoh Thutmose III
of Egypt who instituted what eventually became the Rosicrucian Order centuries later.
It is said that he resided at Lake Moeris
(Moras) in what is now the Fayum. He is
referred to in the Zend-Avesta, the sacred
works of the Zoroastrians, as the Illuminator,
and he was also known in Egypt as Kroomata. He passed through a number of incarnations, living in each approximately one
hundred forty years. Until some years ago
it was generally conceded that he resided
on the earth plae in a secret monastery and
temple near Kichingargha, called variously
Kichinjirgha, Kichi-Jirg-Jargha, or ParchaJarg-Hatba by the Tibetans and inhabitants
of Sikkim. Not long before the transition
of our late Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis,
he related that, td his knowledge, the Master
K.H. no longer resided in Tibet. The Imperator, Ralph M. Lewis, when in India and
visiting lamaseries on the Tibetan frontier

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

in 1949, gained the impression also that the

great Master-Mystic K.H. was no longer in
the physical in that regin.
Another of these great masters is Mora.
According to the data available in our teach
ings, he was born near the present city of
Cairo, undoubtedly in the vicinity of the
great ancient center of philosophy, Memphis,
about 1385 B.C. According to the same
records, he was reincarnated at that time
from another continent, a submerged continent, probably Lemuria or Lha-Marya. He
was said to have attained Cosmic conscious
ness at the age of thirty-four years. Then,
he received knowledge from the Cosmic that
was to be transmitted to the active brotherhoods on earth. Note that he was not becoming the personal guideof any individuis.
His knowledge, Cosmically received, was
given to authentic esoteric schools where
students had access to it after preparing
themselves for such illumination.
In each incarnation Mora, it is related,
lived varying ages from one hundred thirty
to one hundred thirty-five years. He, too,
was known by various ames as El-Kai-Ma,
El-Kai-Marya, Kai-Maria-El, and Melchior.
He became Grand Master of the Order known
as Hu-Sa-Maryans or the Good Samaritans
of which Jess was a member (see The Mys
tical Life of Jess). The sacred tradition
relates that he was the initiator of Jess
and Zachariah into the brotherhood. He
founded and named a temple at Mount
Moriah where he was in charge of a branch
of the brotherhood. It is further reported
that, in one incarnation, he contrbuted
much to the highest ethical form of Greek
civilization. In a later incarnation, he was
associated in forming the inner circle or
supreme council of the Great White Brother
hood.
It will perhaps be interesting to relate the
description of Mora as given in our teach
ings and which is traditional. It is said that
he is nearly seven feet in height, slender,
with a fairly long face and a dark beard
that is quite curly, coming down past the
ears on to the chin, the beard narrowing
as it reaches the chest. His mustache is small
but curly. The cheeks that show through
the beard are rosy in color. The lips are
rosy and delicately formed with signs of
tenderness and sensitiveness. The eyes are
deep set and brown. They are extremely
kind and smiling. Strangely enough, the

AUGUST, 1954

brow is not high, or possibly the full brow^

cannot be seen because of the way his hair
is dressed. The hair on the back of the
neck is in curls or waves, hanging down to
the shoulders. Generally, he wore a pur
white robe open at the neck or shaped to a
v-point. He also wore a girdle which was
generally bright yellow or orange-yellow
and a silk sash tied in a simple knot with
the ends hanging. The sleeves of the robe
were large and full the entire length. The
robe hung in soft folds from the shoulders,
gathered in at the waist by the girdle. He
wore, as well, white sandals and is general
ly seen carrying a scroll in his hands which
he opens and refers to.
Those who have made contact with Moria
say that he usually manifests to the student
as a soft violet light forming in the darkness
of ones sanctum. This then tums into an
aura which surrounds the formation of the
head which gradually develops in the dark
ness. Sometimes the face only is seen. Because of the great height of this master, the
face may seem to be suspended in space but,
of course, that is just an illusion. When
the head and face are seen, no words are
spoken, as related in our teachings. At other
times the arms and most of the body are
seen. There is rarely any spoken message,
according to those who have made contacts,
except with the very highly initiated. When
there is a spoken message, it appears in the
language of the one listening. Actually there
is no language but merely a communication
of ideas which the recipient interprets in the
terms of his own tongue. There are other
reports that State that, if the contact with
Moria has been successful for a truly developed student, a flower is left in the room,
usually something like a violet with a portion of the stalk seemingly fresh cut and
moist as though there were dew on the
petis and on the stalk itself.
It is particularly interesting to know, and
this further confirms the matter here discussed, that the message that a master
imparts, or which one who makes the con
tact will gain in his consciousness from
Moria, is always of a practical nature. It
tells the student what he must do. It places
him in contact with formulas and such
knowledge that he must employ himself to
gain his end. It never directs the student
to a place where his problem will be solved

Page 13

for him or where the things he needs will

be found in their entirety.X
The Soul Selects Its Body
A frater of Washington, D. C. states: In
the Forum session of February 1949, the
following statement was made: Another in
teresting point upon which many members
seek light and knowledge is in regard to the
selection of a body on the part of the soulpersonality as a place for its residence. If
each physical body is a mansin for a soul
temporarily here on earth, by what law and
what system are these mansions selected?
This is a subject which I will take up with
the members of our class in analytical discussion at another time.
The frater then relates that to the best of
his knowledge this topic was not pursued
further and he would like more light upon
it. Though in the mystical explanation of
this principie the phrase, selection of the
body is used, it is really an improper one.
The soul-personality does not select the man
sions, that is, the physical organisms, in
which it shall again reside. It is more of an
impersonal function, a conformity to law,
rather than the exercise of volition or will.
The unity of the body with the soul-per
sonality is as impersonal as iron filings responding to the impelling attraction of a
magnet. Let us also look at the matter in
this way. If the soul-personality had evolved
sufficiently to be able to determine that body,
that behavior or life which would best con
tribute to its development, it would not have
made the mistakes of its former life! Conse
quently, the status of the soul-personality,
what it is in its Cosmic development, is the
only factor which determines just in which
body it shall be clothed during the next
incarnation.
We may use another homely and, shall
we say, mechanical analogy to comprehend
this Cosmic law. In many industries processing foodas for example, the canning of
fruitthe first requirement is that the fruit
be graded as to size. The fruit is removed
from the containers in which it is brought
from the orchards. It is then placed on a
large, moving conveyer belt. From there it
moves to large, vibrating metal plates which
contain apertures of different sizes. The fruit
is slowly shaken by the apparatus so as to

Page 14

move across these plates. The different sizes

then fall through those openings l^rge
enough to accommodate them; thus, the
smaller and undesirable fruit is culled and
not processed in the same manner as the
more choice ones. The soul-personality, too,
we may say, gravitates to that embryo where
it will have an organism, parents, and a
potential environment best suited to the par
ticular experiences which it needs.
This Cosmic principie is not inconsistent
with biological processes. Diseased parents,
it is true, often transmit their illnesses to
their offspring, and consequently, this results
in mental and physical deformity. Of course,
perfectly healthy parents may have deformed children through no neglect or improper act upon their part. Such a body,
such a handicap, is often an essential requisite to the soul-personality of either the child
or the parents. If the child lives, eventually
it has an awareness of its infirmities. Then,
in all probability, the important lessons to
be gained from such a handicap were intended for it. If the child passes through
transition as an infant, or is incapable of
being conscious of its condition, it is plausi
ble to presume that the Cosmic principie intended the experience for the parents.
There is no way during this incarnation
by which we can be assured of the body our
soul-personality may reside in, in a future
life. It is possible, however, for us to prepare
ourselves for the next life. Through awaken
ing our inner self, becoming more conscious
of the Cosmic intelligence within us, our
whole soul-personality is advanced. The soul
is the Cosmic intelligence that is resident
within us. To the extent that we objectively
respond to its dictates, conform to its im
pulses, referred to as moral inclinations and
profound understanding of our lifes relationships, to that extent have we evolved.
Since we never retrogress, we know that
such mystical development will cause us to
be drawn to that body, to those associations
and opportunities which are in accord with
our attainment.
To the Cosmic, family descent, race, eco
nomic or social status, and religious affiliation
are of no especial consequence. It is the state
of consciousness, personal awareness and ex
pression of self of the individual, that
matters. Some individuis would believe,
perhaps, that they had retrogressed if they

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

were to be reborn of a color other than they

are now. Others would feel inferior if they
knew that they were to> be born of poor
parents or without social distinction. Such
persons entirely disregard or are ignorant of
what such a life and its vicissitudes might
actually contribute to their understanding of
Cosmic relations and vales.
I am certain that most of you realize that
it would be very unfortunate if the indi
vidual could choose the body and the life he
preferred. In the majority of such instances
the choice would be discriminatory. The
advantages would be evaluated in terms of
selfish, immediate, material interests. Very
few persons would make choices solely on
the basis of lessons to be learned or of reme
dies in character and personality which
might be needed. Still other persons would
desire a life in which they could enhance
their present material gains or prestige, even
at the very sacrifce of their soul-personality
evolvement. It is indeed beneficent that it
does not lie within the province of man to
arbitrarily select his next life.
Can we not escape the consequence of our
past lives? Must we endure the hardships,
the burdens, the often grievous experiences
to be had in the body which Cosmic law
ordains for us? Suppose, after reaching the
age of reason or maturity, we become con
scious of faults in our personality and we
sincerely strive to rectify them. Must we
nevertheless endure what has been ordained?
Were we compelled to make sacrifices even
when we were ready to make recompense
and sincerely adjust our lives to Cosmic
principies, then we truly would be slaves of
fate. However, this is not done. The Cosmic
law may cause us to be drawn to a body
where, if we do not voluntarily change our
thinking and behavior, compensation may be
forcefully exacted from us. However, if we
do realize changes to be made and sincerely
make the effort to bring them about in our
lives, then the process of Creative unfoldment begins. We find, then, that we are not
subject to an inexorable fate. If we begin
to alter our environment, we establish new
causes from which beneficial effects follow.
What would ordinarily have befallen us because of our previous life and environment
in which we had been placed does not then
come to pass.
Have you not wondered how certain

AUGUST, 1954

staunch noble characters, obviously illumined individuis, found it possible to

emerge from deplorable family backgrounds
and associations? You know of such persons
in your own experience. Perhaps you were
perplexed and wondered what elements in
such negative and destructive environment
could influence such amazing changes in the
individual. The factors for these changes
arse within the individual. Consequently,
he was able to emerge from them and to rise
above the mansin, that is, the body, to
which he had been Cosmically drawn. After
all, human will has been assigned to man
so that he may direct Cosmic forces constructively and to his spiritual advantage, if
he aspires to do so.X
The Weight of Pride
Pride is a human trait that can very easily
become a burden. It is particularly true that
false or assumed pride becomes a burden
because we are always conscious that we
are carrying it. A burden adds weight, interferes with our ease of progress whether we
walk or have our burden carried by another
form of conveyance. If we need to carry it,
if it is one of our possessions, or a group
of our possessions, we never forget that the
burden exists. In the same manner, pride
is a burden. It requires constant attention;
we are always aware of it; we cannot forget
it for a moment or we fear that it might
slip away from us.
The fact that pride is illusive should prove
to us that it is a superficial thing. If we
forget it, our behavior is not the same as
when we remember it. We must be aware
of it constantly. We must treat it as a
burden and always adjust our words and
our behavior to match this characteristic of
our behavior which we have chosen to adopt.
Being ever aware that pride is something
which we must keep in consciousness, it
causes us to be afraid that we may be caught
with our defenses down and that others
might see us as we really are instead of as
we prefer to be seen. In other words, pride
can be a veneer that is on the surface of
our objective consciousness. Pride functions
only to the extent that we direct our at
tention, consciousness, and our energy to it.
As soon as we release ourselves from the
consciousness of its presence, we become
aware that our behavior is regulated by im

Page 15

pulses other than the ones which we have

incorporated into pride. We know that those
to whom we have tried to present a certain
front, a certain pattern of characteristic
forms of behavior, will discern other feelings
and impressions that will come to the fore or
front of consciousness when we are not
thinking of the behavior pattern we wish to
be observed. These other characteristics
rather than the false pride which we have
assumed will be the means of modifying and
forming our behavior pattern as a whole.
To summarize this point of view, pride
produces self-consciousness. We must al
ways be aware of the front or behavior
which we are trying to present. If we forget
pride for a moment, we are afraid we will
lose prestige so we are constantly attending
to our own conscious state. We become so
self-conscious that we are unable to forget
ourselves in any respect. Relaxation becomes
impossible. To be ones natural self ceases
to be a known fact within our experience.
We are living entirely with a form of be
havior that is prepared in our own thinking
before it is put into action and appearance.
Self-consciousness is attention constantly
and forcibly directed towards our objective
self. We so exaggerate the importance of our
objective personality that our real self does
not have an opportunity to express itself
freely through the process of our effort to
present our objective thoughts to the world
at large. We shut off the ability to develop
the inner self, to raise thinking to a level
of consciousness where we will be able to
benefit by the impressions that might be
transferred to our conscious mind from our
inner self. Such a condition as this detracts
from all spiritual and psychic development.
We are unable to devote ourselves to anything other than the objective. We find that
constant attention toward self and the con
stant growth of self-consciousness so absorbs
our thinking and so Controls our behavior
that those vales which He in the realm of
the spiritual and have their seat in the
soul cannot be brought to the surface sufficiently to make us become conscious of them
or are we able to develop them in any degree. Intuitive urges are pushed back into
the subjective consciousness before we can
realize their existence or learn to depend
upon their valu. The individual absorbed
in self-consciousness never develops the

Page 16

ability to listen to the voice of the inner self

or to depend with reliability upon the
hunches which are no more or less than the
growth or assurance of the infallibility of
the intuitive urges that come from the soul
or subjective self into objective consciousness.
Pride is therefore the enemy of spiritual
and psychic growth. It is mans worst enemy
of his own development. The individual who
devotes his entire life to maintaining a
standard which he has set up by false pride
is devoting his life to a useless monopoly of
time. He goes through an entire existence
gaining absolutely nothing because all the
time he is in a sense giving attention to those
things that have no real or enduring valu.
Such a person is attempting to create a point
of view or an impression among his associates and acquaintances that will cause them
to have the impression of him that he is trying to convince himself actually exists.
To counteract these tendencies, it is important for us human beings to be ourselves.
We all have certain good traits and we have
certain traits that we are not proud of; no
individual is perfect. Each consists of a
degree of good and evil, of perfection and
imperfection. These traits manifest themselves in our thinking and behavior. They
exist simultaneously as a pattern of our en
tire personality and behavior insofar as it
is judged by ourselves and by the world
about us. We must remember that no indi
vidual is an exception. All have some perfections and imperfections. It, therefore, is
mans lot to honestly appraise his strong and
his weak characteristics, to see them in the
light of clear reason, to honestly admit the
existence of both the strong and the weak,
and to take those steps to the best of his
ability to strengthen the strong characteris
tics and minimize the consequences of the
weak ones.
Pride in real valu, in contrast to false
or assumed pride, is a true attribute of character. If an individual can develop the
ability to honestly appraise the characteris
tics of his thinking and behavior that enable
him to make an honest inventory of his
traits, then he has reason to be proud. Pride
without artificiality is not self-induced and,
being genuine, needs no conscious effort to
be maintained. For a man to become justly
proud is to recognize his abilities and lack
of them and furthermore to use his abilities

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

to benefit himself and humanity, and to attempt to overcome the weak characteristics
that might detract from the level of character that he should exemplify. To be proud
of using our abilities in this way is not the
same type of behavior as our carrying a
sense of pride always within the conscious
ness and attempting to paint a picture of
ourselves different from our actual native
innate individuality.
The individual who honestly appraises his
total behavior pattern, who tries to develop
a degree of moral and spiritual character, is
the one who exemplifies simplicity as the
opposite of pride. We must not confuse the
word simplicity with the term simple as
sometimes used in referring to individuis
incompletely developed mentally. Simplicity
is the opposite of pride. It is the recognition of ourselves as we are, and not as we
objectively propose that we want people to
think we are. Simplicity, therefore, is the
uprightness of the soul and as such it pre
vens self-consciousness because it is a sim
ple analysis of the whole of consciousness,
to the extent that it is possible within human
behavior to become aware of all those char
acteristics that go to make up our expres
sion as individual entities. It is true that
at the core we may all be perfect souls,
but the fact that we are incarnated into a
physical body with its own nervous system,
with its own ability to reason, and its own
reactions in the face of both our nervous
and mental attributes, indicates that we have
to develop a well-rounded personality.
To be absorbed in the world and its af
fairsthat is, to devote our entire conscious
ness and our mental and physical efforts
toward the understanding, realization, and
hope of possessions of the material world,
and never to tum thought inward, is an ex
treme as opposed to simplicity. This extreme
directing of consciousness and effort toward
the realization and attainment of the glamours of the physical world is to devote our
selves exclusively to the objective mind and
its pleasures and to those of the physical
body, and in turn direct ourselves again
toward being completely absorbed in selfconsciousness rather than in simplicity. To
accomplish anything in this physical world
is to exaggerate our position and to create
the tendencies that bring about pride. There
fore, if we are to develop ourselves within

AUGUST, 1954

and to relieve ourselves of the weight of

pride, we must occasionally tum our con
sciousness within and thereby learn of the
attributes and vales of the inner self which
will contribute to our well-being.
On the other hand, to be self-absorbed in
all matters, whether those be duty to God
or to man is the other extreme. In other
words, it is not intended that man be an
extreme introvert or an extreme extrovert.
To constantly direct our attention to objec
tive phenomena creates self-consciousness.
To constantly direct all attention within
oneself is to make one an ascetic or a recluse.
While there are advantages in introspection,
meditation, concentration, and direction of
our attention toward the inner self, it should
not be done to the point that we are completely self-absorbed and do not realize that,
both physically and mentally, we have to
cope with and learn to live in the world in
which we have a part.
To attain well-rounded development, to
attain harmony and balance, is the key to
esoteric philosophy. This is the principie of
Rosicrucian philosophy. It is the ideal to
ward which we striveto be neither extreme
introverts or extreme extroverts, but rather
to seek balance in life, and thus attain the
proper aim of man. The realization of our
responsibilities in the physical world and
our responsibilities to develop the objective
mind, and in addition the knowledge that
true vales can be gained from the applica
tion of the experiences that are ours, must
come from an understanding of the soul
within. The soul-personality that grows
with each experience without looking back
all the time, without appraising the steps
that have occurred in the past or the activi
ties to which we have devoted ourselves,
possesses true simplicity. The soul-personali
ty is evolving and in order to do so the soul
must express itself through the human body,
a body that is as perfect as we can make it
and a mind which we direct toward a true
and practical simplicity.
To obtain this simplicity so that it will
put aside the tendencies toward false pride,
toward overexaggeration of physical vales
and physical accomplishments, we must learn
to put away outward things and desires.
While we must cope with the physical
world, we must attempt to learn that we
are here to particpate in a number of

Page 17

experiences rather than to simply attempt

to accumulate the possessions made up of
material things. To look within properly
that is, with the proper amount of time de
voted to our inner self in contrast to the outside worldis to develop a sense of vales
that will balance the whole function of
human behavior. We will be able to realize
that as we particpate in the physical world,
we can learn the lessons that are for us to
learn and yet not evalate things so highly
that we will forget that our true purpose is
to prepare for a life where physical things
no longer exist, and that real valu lies in
the world of mind and soul rather than in
material.
To develop simplicity in contrast to selfconsciousness, we must add the contemplation of God to that of self. To direct our
selves in the contemplation of ourselves is
to exaggerate the position and importance of
objectivity. But when, as a part of our be
havior pattern, we set aside a certain portion of our time and energy to devote to the
contemplation of God, we are relating our
selves to the divine and are directing our
attention and consciousness, our effort and
our being toward being more intimately a
part of the forc that created us and maintains us. So it is that contemplation of the
divine takes our mind away from self-con
sciousness. Contemplation makes us more
aware of the fact that we are a part of
divine consciousness, and therefore we gain
perspective in realizing that self-conscious
ness, pride, greed, envy, and those things
that tend to exaggerate the objective' self are
secondary to the true purpose of life and the
accomplishments we hope to attain.
By ceasing the restless contemplation up
on its objective self and consciousness, the
soul-personality in its own consciousness begins to dwell upon the divine. By this proc
ess, it forgets itself in the divine and we become aware of the presence of God. In that
way, we are throughout life directing our
effort and consciousness toward the attain
ment of divine realization which is the first
step to actually reach the state where we
will no longer be physical but only soul,
existing exclusively in the presence of God.
Such a self is not blinded by its faults, or
is it indifferent to its own errors. It strives
to live in balance. This self recognizes its
position, not only in the scheme of things in

Page 18

its immediate environment, but also in a

Cosmic scheme in which it knows that it
may have to express in many lives, in many
places, and in many periods of time.
The increased light may show up our
errors or faults more plainly. We may become aware of our shortcomings in the light
that is thrown upon our whole behavior by
the realization of the excellency and perfec
tion of God, but the restlessness and uneasiness that accompany self-consciousness
vanish in the consuming desire that we may
have to attain full realization of a divine
consciousness which will replace the selfconsciousness within ourselves.
As we make progress in our psychic
growth, as we put off physical vales, as we
shed those tendencies that direct our effort
and mind exclusively toward the physical
world, we are constantly aware that we are
coming home; that is, we seem to be Corn
ing into a new environment which causes us
to recognize that it is the real environment
or the perfect situation for which we have
always hoped.
We realize that in becoming aware of
the divine consciousness, in contrast to our
awareness of self-consciousness, that we are
attaining a world which is at once new and
at the same time od and familiar. This is
because the true vales of life lie not in the
material world but in the psychic or spiritual
world, or better, let us say, the divine. We
are of a nature that will eventually reach
a state of perfection and the physical world
will no longer be needed for our expression.
As we become aware of this, and to the ex
tent that we recognize the presence of God
or the divine forc about us, our realization
seems a familiar one. We find satisfaction
and peace in knowing that we have at
tained a place or state of consciousness
which is more nearly perfect than anything
we could have known in terms of the physi
cal world.
To attain Cosmic Consciousness, which is
no more or less than the realization of
Divine Consciousness, is to find that the
answers to the questions of life are those
which can be made known to the man or
woman who seis from his consciousness the
constant pressure of pride and self-conscious
ness exaggerated by concern for physical
possession. Enduring vales reside in the
home of the soul. Awareness of the soul
leads us to that home and to those vales.A

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Distinctions We Shouid Make

A frater from Calgary, Caada, addressing our Forum, says: What is the difference
between Information, knowledge, and wisdom? Which of these is concerned with
cause and which with effect?
The meaning of words, not necessarily
their origin, is of the utmost importance to
our understanding of lifes relationships.
Words are the images of our thoughts; they
are the mdium in which we frame them.
The wrong choice of words may convey a
misconception of our thoughts and actually
do us an injustice. Furthermore, if we do
not analyze words which we read or hear
spoken, we are likely to have entirely false
notions arising from them. It is an error
to accept words which are commonly used
as being the correct expression of the idea
behind them. The habitual use of a word
is not assurance that it is the proper one.
That is why today we have what is known
as the Science of semantics.
The following two examples are proof of
the wrong use of words. Today there is issued a series of booklets for childrenand
for adultswhich are profusely illustrated
in color and are called comic books. The
daily newspapers likewise carry what are
called comic pages. Even a casual examination of these will reveal that most of them
are not humorous, droll, or that which is
truly comical in the proper definition of the
word. In fact, most of them are devoted to
tragedy as murder, kidnapping, robbery, and
mayhem! The general application of the
word comic to them is absurd.
Still another generally misapplied word
is funny. It is erroneously substituted in
conversation for the words strange or odd.
A situation may be weird, uncanny or mysterious, but the individual will often refer
to it as funny, when certainly the cir
cumstances are anything but facetious or
farcical.
Information is a point of knowledge ex
tended by one person or group to another
person or group that, it is presumed, is not
in possession of the same. Such information,
in a sense, is a kind of instruction. It is
intended to acquaint another person with
some knowledge which, it is thought, he
does not have. A distinction between teaching and information is that in the former
one person acknowledges the other as his

A U SU ST , 1954

superior, as his authoritative informer or

teacher concerning some subject. In the instances of teaching, the student solicits the
instruction. In information there is not al
ways reliance upon the knowledge being
imparted. All information is not factual.
It has not been intimately perceived. It may
be but opinion; even as such it constitutes
a kind of knowledge.
When we consider the nature of knowl
edge, we are entering into the technical
realm of epistemology which has intrigued
the minds of philosophers for centuries and
intrigues modern psychologists as well.
Knowledge is what is realized; it is any
single or combination of thoughts. It may
be said in general that any idea is a point
of knowledge. Caution must be exercised,
however, not to confuse knowledge with
truth and reality. All that is realized or
known cannot be empirically confirmed by
our sensesand it is such that constitutes
th basis in society for fact and truth. For
analogy, we are of the opinion that, after
reading these comments, you will have arrived at a conception of knowledge corresponding with the idea which we havewe
know this, we say, from our thought about
it, the conclusin which we have reached
from our reasoning about your reaction.
However, such is not factual. We have not
actually perceived your reaction to this
written comment. We have not heard you
express your opinion in the matter. Knowl
edge, therefore, is generally of two kinds:
perceptual and conceptual.
Perceptual knowledge is that had by im
mediate experience through the mdium of
the receptor organs. Yours is a perceptual
knowledge when you read these remarks.
It is the consequence of visual images or
words seen and the ideas derived from them.
They suggest a reality, a something apart
from yourself which enters your conscious
ness. Such knowledge, of course, is not necessarily truth. By that we mean that it
does not have reality, for we know that
there are no things that actually correspond
to, our sense faculties. Color, form, and dimensions are but sensations arising out of
vibrations received through the mdium of
our sense organs and the qualities of the
senses themselves. The reality of our objec
tive experience is but arbitrary. We have
become conditioned to accepting as truth or

Page 19

as fact what our senses cause us to realize.

We refer to this as common sense. Yet, in
the realm of science, this common sense is
often proved to be unreliable.
Conceptual knowledge is a consequence of
reasoning, of abstraction. It is not engendered by an immediate sense experience.
For analogy, we might ask you: What is
the cause of the increase of crime today?
After some deliberation you would give us
your conception of the cause. This idea that
you advance would not be something which,
in its entirety, you had immediately or perhaps objectively experienced. Rather, by the
means of syllogistical reasoning, you would
combine the elements of your past experi
ence with social, economic, and moral con
ditions, with what you have previously
hard, read and seen, and then deduce, as a
proposition, the cause of the increase of
crime. This would be conceptual knowledge.
However, it too depends on experience, for
we think only in terms of the ideas arising
out of our sense experiences and sense
qualities. These qualities of our senses provide the images fr our thought. In con
ceptual knowledge there is a rearranging of
the elements of thought, which originated in
experience, into a new order or concept.
From this we can see that information is
always knowledge; it is always either con
ceptual or perceptual. Information is ordinarily conceded to be true when it is capable
of being perceived by others or having such
a nature that it can be so perceived.
We have in the past given considerable
thought not only to the content of knowledge
but also to its distinction from wisdom. Perhaps the most succinct definition of wisdom
would be applied knowledge. Knowledge
is that which is known. All knowledge is not
necessarily rationally organized, systematically arranged, as related to some end or
purpose. Only when we arrange the ele
ments of our knowledge so that there is a
volitional efficacythat is, a power that we
can directdoes it become wisdom. Every
day we have a multitude of experiences.
The aggregate constitutes knowledge. When,
however, we analyze our observations and
evalate them with an objective in view
which we eventually make effectual, we
then have wisdom. We say that wisdom is
applied knowledge, for only when we use our
knowledge in an intelligent and pragmatic

Page 20

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

manner does it become wisdom. The man

of much knowledge is not always the wise
man. The wise man is the one who has ap
plied his knowledge, who has subjected what
he knows to a critical analysis, and has
discarded that which he finds brings him
little satisfaction.
The test of knowledge as to its valu in
our lives is its application to some problem.
If it stands that test, it emerges into the
category of wisdom. When we study the
Wisdom of the Sages, we are not by that
fact wise. We have merely acquired concepts and precepts or a recounting of the
experiences and ideas of others. To become
personal wisdom, the elements of such knowl
edge must be intimately experienced by our
selves through application to the affairs of
our lives. One never develops, for example,
a moral sense by a conscientious perusal of
some moral code, even though he may learn
its every word. He must experience the
results of the provisions of the code in relation to his own self-discipline and behavior
before he personally comes to conform to the
moral code. In other words, it must become an intmate part of his life, his actions,
as well as his thoughtso it is with the
knowledge of wisdom.
There is no relation of cause and effect
between information and knowledge. One
does not follow from the other. As we have
said, information is a kind of knowledge,
either perceptual or conceptual. However,
if knowledge is organized, analyzed and ap
plied, such application is the true cause of
wisdom, wisdom being the effect of such use
of knowledge.X
Is Sterilization Proper?

A soror rises to address our Forum: For

many years I have been a member of our
County Public Health Advisory Council and
active in field work with our Public Health
nurse in special education and clinic groups.
Because of the increasingly high divorce rate
and the desertion of children of these marriages by one or both parents, and the
increase in mental incompetency, field workers are desperately seeking a solution to these
growing problems. Most field representatives and field workers feel that legislation
permitting the sterilization of these classified

mentally incompetent persons would be one

solution or a step forward in that direction.
My question is this: Do we, as Rosicrucians, having accepted without doubt the
theory of evolution and Karma, have the
moral right to decide that this or that person
should be sterilized in the interests of public
health and welfare?
This resolves down to the further question
of whether we are our brothers keeper.
Let us approach the whole subject from the
point of view of what group-living or society
is trying to accomplish. Society is an ex
tensin of the family and tribe. Its primitive motivation, as ethnologists, archaeologists, and historians disclose, was mutual
help. Men banded themselves together for
protective reasons. Several men, acting in
unisn, can accomplish more against the
common enemy than can one man singly.
It must, as well, have been an early discemible fact that men are not equal in their
prowess and achievement. One could ac
complish what another could not. The exchange of service and facilities was essential
for any degree of equality in the enjoyment
of life. Still further unified or concerted
action would produce results that the indi
vidual could not. The basis of society, then,
is its utilitarian valu, the extensin of the
powers and satisfactions of the individual.
With the development of the moral sense
or conscience more noble ends were conceived for society beyond protection and
mere subsistence. Men sought to refine their
own natures as well as their environment.
They envisioned certain ideis or missions
for the life of man. There were obvious
obstacles to the attainment of these ends.
Some men were antisocial; they would not
conform to the social objectives and would
not sacrifice any of their personal powers
for the welfare of the majority. In other
words, they placed no restraint upon their
desires so that others, not so strong or favored, might also experience some of the
same joys of living. Such individuis were
extremely elementary and primitive in their
thought. They were wholly individualistic.
Complete individualism is contrary to society
and prevens men from learning from one
another and thus going forth collectively.
Society found it necessary to make laws to
restrict such individuis. Whether or not

AUGUST, 1954

such restraints are wise and just is not the

question here to be considered.
Another menace to society is the ill-health
of its membersmental and physical. Those
who are ill cannot function as part of the
social team. They cannot perform their
obligations because of their incapacity. Fur
ther, certain illnesses have the added danger
of being communicated or hereditarily transmitted, undermining the whole social structure. Society or the state is also an entity.
It delegates to itself certain rights and privileges as do the individuis of which it is
composed. Society thus strives for selfpreservation of its entity and its purposes
as does the single human being. As the in
dividual will destroy or take life in defense
of his own, so society, as a last resort, will
do likewise. It was to be expected that regulation of the socially unfit would eventually
be legislated.
The Science and art of eugenics grew out
of the appreciation of two fundamental needs
for the welfare of the human race: (1) the
preventing of the reproduction of persons of
definitely defective types; (2) the encouragement of reproduction by persons of social
stock. The very word eugenics is of Greek
origin and means well born. Eugenics is
the study of agencies under social control
which may improve or impair the racial
qualities of future generations, either physically or mentally. The science of genetics
or heredity had shown, in animal breeding,
the valu of the selection of healthy stock
for mating. It also disclosed the necessity of
avoiding reproduction by deficient animals.
Having overcome religious and some exaggerated moral scruples to a limited degree,
society has applied these lessons to its human
problems.
The first step was the segregation of the
mentally deficient or incompetent. In Russia, at least before World War I, the marriage of mentally defective persons was
prohibited. In several states of the United
States, marriage is prohibited on account of
one or more of the following conditions:
insanity, feeble-mindedness, epilepsy, criminality, and alcoholism. Throughout the
British Commonwealth such laws in general
also apply. The segregation of those types
which society considers incompetent to
marry is a costly procedure. Further, there
is no certainty that reproduction will not

Page 21

occur outside of wedlock. Several states in

America have laws which require the submitting of a health certifcate showing the
mental competence and physical health of
the individual. Furthermore, the applicants
for a marriage license are obliged to answer
a questionnaire with respect to their family
history. Nothwithstanding these Controls,
those who, for the welfare of society, should
not reproduce, have continued to do so. The
most effective method, it became apparent,
was the sterilization of the mentally defec
tive, the feeble-minded, and the insane.
Though this is compulsory in some states
of the United States, the general principie
has met with considerable opposition. Religionists and moralists have opposed it as
contrary to Gods law. Others contend
that, notwithstanding intelligent direction,
such a practice could be abused and result
in personal hardship and injustice.
Procreation is a Cosmic right in the sense
that it is a biological function natural to
man. Sex appetite is designed by nature to
serve the end of reproduction of kind. How
ever, shall we then say that a man or a
woman should be executed when they are
no longer able to reproduce? We have, as
well, the appetite or hunger for food. Nevertheless the intelligent and educated person
regula tes his diet, Controls his appetite. Is
he, by doing so, violating Cosmic law? We
think not. Our limbs are given t us for
locomotion and the serving of our physical
needs. The intelligent and well-informed
person will, however, permit his leg to be
amputated if, for some reason, it becomes
gangrenous and surgery is necessary to save
his life. No one considers these actions con
trary to Gods laws, except the fanatic.
The principie behind most religious doc
trine is that mans life is not entirely his
own. He has the endowment of life for the
purpose of accomplishing some spiritual end
in accordance with the teachings of his spe
cific faith. He is thus, morally and biologically, under compulsin to preserve this life
at all costs. As we have said previously,
society is also an entity. It, too, is a living
thing, for it is composed of human beings.
Its primary motivation is to preserve itself
also and to use those methods which are in
accordance with public conscience. Steriliza
tion is the removal of a function of man for

Page 22

the security, the well-being, of future man

kind.
Mystically, there is nothing inconsistent
with the practice of sterilization. The soulpersonality is destined to incamate in the
body best suited for its expression. There is,
however, no label of future identity attached
to a soul-personality indicating who its father
and mother must be. In other words, there
are no predetermined parents for the soulpersonality. Therefore, the sterilization of
a man or a woman is not denying the manifestation and expression of a soul. The improvement of the human race, so that soulpersonalities may have adequate vehicles, is
a spiritual or Cosmic motivation and thus
incurs no Karma. Though the orthodox religionist, who must abide by a literal and
limited interpretation of his hagiography,
may not agree with us, it will not in the
least disturb the mystic whose thinking is
not so inhibited.
There is, of course, potential danger in
the law of sterilization. Individuis and
groups, for selfish or malicious reasons, might
wrongly apply such a law. Such dangers,
however, are only in the administration,
not in the principie. This responsibility is
mans. There is always, for analogy, the
possibility that an innocent man may be
incarcerated for a crime which he did not
commit. Yet we cannot abolish laws requiring the imprisonment of criminis because
of those occasional misapplications. We must
improve the method and not let its temporary or occasional imperfections stand in the
way of the general welfare of society. So,
too, sterilization will ultimately be universally accepted by an enlightened society.X
Escape From Reality
A frater asks the question as to whether
or not it is wrong for one to use diversin
or various forms of pleasure as a means of
escape from reality. I presume that what
this frater is puzzled about is whether the
use of diversin or the enjoyment of any
of the pleasures of life in order to get away
for a while from our work, responsibilities,
our problems, is morally wrong. From a
moral standpoint, the indulgence in pleas
ure, as long as it is not in any way harmful
to oneself or to someone else, should not be
considered as wrong. It is obvious that any

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

individual must at times have release from

the tensions that are normal while he is
taking care of responsibilities. To be relieved of those tensions, to get away from
it all, to use a phrase frequently applied, is
a normal and proper type of behavior. Otherwise, we would never have any release from
those circumstances which are closely tied
with the making of a living, with the respon
sibilities that are normally assumed by the
human being living in modern society. And
even more important, there is the responsi
bility to self, because our own individual
development is closely related to our ability
to relax and view the circumstances with
which we have to deal in life from a disinterested point of view.
The problem, while frequently treated as
a moral one, as might be inferred by the
question that gives rise to these comments,
is in fact not strictly a moral problem. The
moral question in regard to pleasure has had
possibly too much attention from those who
attempt to prescribe for themselves and
others a rigid and regulated life, set along
certain standards which may or may not be
based upon logical reasoning. Many times
various forms of religin have been criticized
concerning the extent to which they attempt
to deprive the individual of many forms of
recreation or pleasure; that is, standards are
established seemingly for the purpose of
causing an individual more pain than pleas
ure. There are certain schools of thought
teaching that only by denying ones self can
anything at all be gained insofar as spiritual
or psychic development is concerned. This
concept has been unduly emphasized. It is
not true that the mystics of the past were
always solemn individuis who had no con
cept of pleasure or enjoyment of any kind.
Like many other things, the seeking of
pleasure in itself is not wrong. It is the attitude with which we seek pleasure and the
amount of time and effort that is devoted to
it that creates the problem that may have
implications beyond the mere act of pleasure-seeking itself. Escape from the realities
and tensions of our daily living can be found
through various forms of healthful recrea
tion. These periods provide both mental and
physical rest to the body which are as im
portant to the individual as the other forms
of rest that the body receives, such as sleep
and relaxation.

AUGUST, 1954

Escape from reality is therefore a permissible form of behavior if it is done with a

proper degree of moderation. It is the indi
vidual who seeks to escape from all respon
sibilities that hopes to solve his problems by
ignoring them and makes escape through
pleasure an improper use of pleasure. Indi
viduis who will not assume the responsi
bilities which are necessary to carry out
their part in life are not properly directing
their over-all pattern of living. To escape
from reality completely would be to lose our
sanity; that is, the individual who is con
sidered insane in some cases is the individual
who has refused to recognize the responsi
bilities of living that are inherent in the
process of life itself. By closing their eyes
to anything with which they do not want
to deal at the moment they gradually isolate themselves mentally and live in a world
of daydreams of their own creation. Such a
life is completely purposeless. It has no
meaning, no aim, no end. It accomplishes
nothing and the individual does not gain
the experience that is necessary in this in
carnation in which he finds himself living.
As long as we properly evalate the vari
ous phases of life, we will be able to establish a proper balance. Just as balance is
needed in establishing harmony in the body
to help in the maintenance of health, so
balance is needed in our mental health also.
It is necessary to properly consider which
has the most valu of all the alternatives
that may be before us at any time, and to
properly ration the time that we have
available, dividing it between those activities
that will give us adequate ability to carry
out the things of most importance and at
the same time provide for the diversin that
may be necessary from time to time to help
us lead a well-balanced and orderly life. To
seek escape by diversin merely to occupy
ones time is to waste life itself and to bring
about no purposeful end. Such a form of
escape, the absolute denial of responsibility,
is material weakness. Such weakness substituted for our responsibilities can be over
eme only by realizing that life has a more
complete meaning than a continual search
for something to do that will bring pleasure
to our senses.
To overcome this material weakness of
seeking diversin merely through ignoring
our responsibilities can be overcome by liv

Page 23

ing a life of Service. Service is one of the

forms by which experience and develop
ment can be gained. Each individual is not
an entity unto himself. Each individual is
a manifestation of the same life forc that
pulses through the entire universe and
through all forms of life. Service is a mani
festation of the part of us that is soul and
is of more significance than any mere physi
cal or man-made concept. Unlimited Service
by the individual should be an ideal toward
which each of us should strive. By dedicating our life to Servicethat is, Service to
ourselves, Service to our fellow man, and
service to Godwe are fulfilling a degree
of our purpose in being incarnated here at
this time.
A life of service will bring a certain
amount of sacrifice and disappointment. We
will at times be forced to give up something
we ourselves may want in order that pleas
ure, benefit, or help can be brought to some
one else, but service is a function of human
life for which the body and its wants become secondary to the expression of the soul.
It is through the mdium of thoughtfulness
and helpfulness to other individuis, of con
cern about our own growth toward a proper
relationship with the Divine, that the con
sciousness of the soul is able to find full
expression in ourselves.
Therefore, we can in our daily lives escape
reality temporarily. We can indulge in those
things that prove pleasurable to us in order
to provide rest, relaxation, and a degree of
entertainment, but we cannot substitute re
sponsibility for service. Service is an in
tegral part of life and of the process of
individual growth. It is by functioning at
an intelligent level and by using our reason
to fit ourselves into the environment of
which we are a part that we gain in direct
proportion to the amount that we give. We
cannot live a life devoted exclusively to the
accumulation of material things, and tum
those material possessions into a means of
providing diversin for ourselves, and hope
to achieve the development that we our
selves want. Again the question is resolved
to a matter of vales. We must constantly
ask what is it that has the highest valu to
us. Is it a material object we would like to
possess or is it the development of our own
consciousness and soul?A

'READING
TIMED
TO YOUR TASTE
^P^Vght, ur
Third Eye

Occurs A

This Complete Set for $1.00

inspiring, informative reading. Easily carried in your
CONCISE,
pocketeasily read in your available time. The entire set of
six books sent to you at one time, with postage paidonly $1.00
(7/2 sterling). When ordering, specify Series A. (Do not send
postage stamps.)
SUPERSIGHT, OR THE THIRD EYE

Q RE the tales about a third eye true? Did ancient man, like the legendary
Cyclops, have another eye in the center of his forehead? Is the pineal
gland a rem nant of this organ? Are m an's psychic sensitivity and inner
perception dependent upon the development o this third eye?
WHAT OCCURS AFTER DEATH?

T"} OES the soul remain conscious of its surroundings after death? Is a tie
established between the loved ones who rem ain on earth and the one
who departed? What sensations are experienced as the soul passes from
the body? Here is a mystical and scientific treatment of this great phenomenon that will fascinte you.
Mak' Your (V
n>phecies

TN

PSYCHIC PHENOMENA

ALL the strange experiences which are called psychic, w hat is fact
and w hat is fancy? Learn the basic psychological principies underlying
crystal gazing, automatic writing, and different kinds of fortunetelling. Discern the true from the false. Be your own investigator.
MAKE YOUR OWN PROPHECIES

"^AniAT lies beyond the veil of the present? How can you anticipate and
preparefor the future? Learn how to see the future develop logically
and intelligently out of the presentout of the things happening today in
and around you.
COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS

T 1HERE is a superconsciousness. It is an attunem ent with the Infinite Mind.

Learn how man may sense and know the order of this universe of which
he is a part Make your life conform to the Cosmic plan. Learn the nature
and way of developing Cosmic Consciousness.
COLORITS MYSTICAL INFLUENCE

T-J OW does color affect your life? What colors irrtateor are harmonious?
How can we mentally attune with colors? How are the harmonious
complements of colors accomplished? What is the mystical law of color
attraction?

THE ROSICRUCIAN SUPPLY BUREAU

ROSICRUCIAN PARK, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U. S. A.

October, 1954
Vol. X X V

No.

Rosicrucian Forum
A

p rv a te

p u b lic a tio n for m e m b e rs o f A M O R C

Salim Constantino S a a d , F. R. C., G ra n d M aste r, A m enhotep G ra n d Lo d ge of Egypt.

($e@ p a g e 4 7 )

Page 26

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Greetings!
V

IMPERSONAL LOVE
Dear Fratres and Sorores:
gives his life to charity, who aids another
All love centers in self. Whatever one in distress, even at a sacrifice of his own
does is done for self-interest. These postula- economic and physical well-being, is serving
tions are both philosophically and psycho- self. It is obvious that the theatre of operalogically sound. What we term as self is a tions, the extent of the inclusin of these
different aspects of self, vares. Some are
composite being, or state. The self is related
to the organic, physical being as well as to more immediately related to the person.
Their satisfaction may be limited entirely
the mental and psychic or spiritual nature
of man. Self is the awareness of ones own to the individual having the desire. The will
existence. It arises as the consciousness or to quench ones thirst, for example, or to
pursue a hobby, is constricted to the intmate
realization of the urges of ones own being.
Schopenhauer said that will is the funda person; it does not in its imagery include
the thought of providing pleasure or hapmental motivation of the organism, the basic,
piness for anyone else.
striving desire that permeates every entity.
Will is dynamic because the desires of
Will is not alone, according to this concept,
associated with the intellect. The cells of which it consists move the wilful being to
the organism in striving to perform their action. Just as self has long been identified
functions exhibit will, also. Each molecule poetically with its more extensive and im
of the physical being has its will, which is personal manifestations, so, too, love has
manifest in its persistent struggle to con more often been placed in the category of
the moral and spiritual inclinations. But if
form to its specific nature. Self is then,
the dynamic stimulus of the will is desire
finally, the realization of this universal will,
this desire, as it expresses itself through the no matter how it is objectifiedthen, too,
most assuredly, all desire is love. Conse
various aspects of our whole being. The
quently, ther is a hierarchy of loves, or
appetites, our passions, are also will and
constitute a lower manifestation of self, be desires, whichever term you prefer. Man
may love to eat, love sexually, love a philoing the realization of the physical being. The
sophical doctrine, or have a love of God.
will to achieve an intellectual or conscious
end, whether it be merely to walk from one None of these loves is false, or improper.
No will or desire is morally wrong unless
side of the room to the other, or to attain
it is perverted, that is, that it in some way
some abstract goal, are expressions of the
inhibits the other loves. Since the manifes
mental or thinking self. The craving, the
tation of self is mltiple, the loves related
desire to experience some exalted ecstasy,
there to, all must be given their expression.
related to a moral or a spiritual end, is likeTo repress or to suppress any love consti
wise will. It, too, is self, but of a more
transcendent character. We can thus better tutes an intervention with the essential
understand self as being the objective of our integration of ones being.
will or desire; it is that which the desire
From the standpoint of idealism and social
seeks to serve at the moment.
pragmatism, the moralist and sociologist
We have been accustomed to identify self alike exhort the cultiva tion of the higher
with only the more exalted aspect of will.
or spiritual love. This can be understood
Poets and mystics have long defined self from the practical point of view. If man
only in terms of moral and impersonal in were to stress principally the physical and
clinations. There are not, however, various intellectual loves, a rank individualism would
slves; or is one aspect of self to receive
ensue. The object of such loves would be the
that designation alone, and others to be
single person, his own immediate welfare
known by some other term. Whatever we
and satisfaction without respect for the con
do, therefore, that brings us satisfaction is sequence of his behavior upon his fellows.
truly always serving self. The person who Morality, or the idealistic, impersonal prin-

QCTOBER, 1954

Page 27

ciples of living would stagnate, if not become

entirely dormant. Society would either not
exist at all, or would decline to become a
compulsory unit serving the wholly per
sonal interests of a few of its leaders, as in
an oligarchy.
It is, however, one thing to advcate a
spiritual and moral love to be extended to
mankind in general, or as a conformity to
a divine concept; it is quite another to have
such a love become a real individual experi
ence, not merely a series of platitudes. The
lesser loves are the most dominant ones. The
will, functioning through the organic and
intellectual channels, is forceful. In fact,
the problem in those realms is more the
discipline or the nominal restraint of those
loves, keeping them within bounds, rather
than the need for arousing them. Such loves
are so insistent in many persons that the
transcendental, impersonal love, the moral
and spiritual impulses, are but vaguely experienced, if at all. It is exceedingly diffi
cult to arouse this supreme and more
inclusive love by means of an intellectual
appeal. To philosophize about the Cosmic,
or Deity, or to even study what are purported to be divine teachings, does not necessarily engender within one a corresponding
love for them. In fact, what some indi
viduis conceive as love of a faith is but an
intellectual satisfaction had from some
ideology. That which they have learned, or
which they believe, gratifies their reason.
But it is devoid of that emotion that would
cause it to be at the top of the hierarchy
of loves. In other words, many individuis
are in love with an ideal, a concept, rather
than with that all-embracing state of self
that is the mystical and religious experience.
Our loves have no natural corresponding
images. The love of food is not instinctly
identified with any particular substance. It
is only that which through practice and
habit we come to associate with the gratification of the appetite that eventually becomes the image of that kind of love.

Through habit, we acquire the image to correspond with the appetite. The same may
be said of intellectual love; that which brings
pleasure to the mind comes to symbolize the
object of the intellectual love, whether that
be the devices of a laboratory in which one
works with sheer enjoyment, or some treasured books upon a shelf. In each society,
custom and environment soon cause us to
establish these representative images of our
lesser loves. The transcendental love, the
spiritual one, likewise, has no inherent
imagery. Unfortunately, the attempt to es
tablish one, to idealize it, more often actually
interferes with the satisfaction of the love.
This spiritual or transcendental love, this
will and its self, are so all-embracing that
any particular thing held in mind as an
attempt to symbolize it actually transforms
its nature. The status of the love is thus
changed by trying to symbolize it. It is
converted to the intellectual realm which
is relatively lower in the hierarchy. It is
for this reason that we often observe the
incongruous emotion of hatred associated
with what one professes to be his religious
love. The individual is not, in such an instance, experiencing true spiritual inclination, but rather the intellectual love for some
creed or ideal. Consequently, all that which
actually or apparently counters his ideal
arouses within him anger and hatred. The
supreme love, being incapable of limitation
to any specific idea defined in terms of the
sense qualities, cannot be opposed. Since
we cannot put into words, that is, form a
finite picture of it, obviously then, no counter-picture given to us by another as an idea
or thought can offend us. If, for analogy,
God is inexplicable, then no one can offend
us by his concept of God; he cannot add,
or subtract from, a personal idea, for we
hold no such limited view.
It must be apparent that the transcenden
tal love is feeling, or an emotional state, but
it is without the limitations of any associ
ated idea. But can we love without an ob-

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, California,
under Section 1103 of the U . S. Postal Act of Oct. 3, 1917.
The Rosicrucian Forum s Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Publication of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Parle, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/1 sterling) A N N U A LLY FOR MEMBERS O N LY

Page 28

ject of love? That is, can we desire without

a thing to desire? The answer is Yes. Love
is for a satisfactionnot for a thing. In the
intellectual and physical realms, things are
the mdium to provide the gratification.
However, in the realm of the highest aspect
of self, the satisfaction is the realization of
the craving itself. It may be spoken of as
the love of love. It is the desire, not to
crave a thing, but the desire to be one with
all things. Further, it is to find happiness
in all spheres of our existence; it is to want
to ultimately relate every living thing, every
experience to the fullness, and the necessity
of existence. Since it is such an abstract
experience, this exalted love is impossible
of any explicit explana tion. It is more the
love or desire to beto be in harmony with
all. The more one can reach out and in
clude the vicissitudes of life, its mysteries,
its problems, its hopes and attainments, with
the variations of self, the more satisfaction
he experiences.
No single thing or group of things pro
vides the spiritual ecstasy. The satisfaction
is found in the feeling of wanting to belong
to everything and be of everything. Again,
it may be said, it is not so much an accretion,
an adding to ourselves, as the extensin of
self to merge with all else. This kind of
love is quickened by the application of cer
tain of the lesser emotions. If we can ex
perience compassion, if we can find pleasure
in doing for others, not by platitudes or in
a Pollyanna sort of way, but in finding
genuine satisfaction in aiding children, aged
people or animals, in expressing the paternal
and maternal instinct, we then climb the
emotional ladder to the higher aspect of life.
This lesser love must be, as is apparent, a
kind of impersonal love, one that includes
the welfare of others as well as ourselves,
which is not, as we have seen, truly im
personal. It must not be wholly an intellec
tual principie, something that is done mere
ly because it is logical or ethically right, or
as a sense of duty. Rather, it must be an
impelling urge to do for others because we
derive an emotional satisfaction of well-being
in doing so. With this kind of relatively
impersonal love cultivated, one gradually
ascends to the gratification of what is referred to as the inner self.
Fraternally,
RALPH M. LEWIS, Imperator

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Pur and Applied Thinking

A frater, addressing our Forum, says: In
Science there is a divisinpur science and
applied science. It has struck me that the
Rosicrucian studies follow the line of pur
thinking. That is a difficult thing for todays
manhis schooling, training, vocations and
daily living are all based on applied think
ing. Even his opinions are predigested for
him by newspapers, magazines, radio-news
analysts and commentators. It is a debatable
question whether many know how to think.
I like the Rosicrucian Forum because it
deais with its subjects more along the line
of applied thinking. From the questions
presented for discussion, there seerris to be
presumptive evidence, at least, that a lot of
the student body is having difficulty in trying to apply pur thinking.
In our normal activities, our thought is
principally a surface response to our environ
ment. It merely consists of perception, the
registering of impressions had by our recep
tor senses. The evala tion of the experience
is likewise most often superficial. We accept
or re ject what, upon almost immediate ex
perience, seems to be either gratifying or
not. By this we mean what is most beneficial or not to our interests. Thought, when
in the form of information, is, as the frater
calis it, applied thinking. It consists of definite notions or ideas which we have not
formulated, the result of our own reasoning.
We accept the worth of the idea as it is
conveyed to us and use it in just that manner. To use an analogy, it is like a man who
is trying to open a sealed box and has diffi
culty. A person haiids him a tool and tells
him this is the one needed for the job. He
then takes the tool, tries it, and the box is
finally opened. At no time, during the
procedure, does he question as to why it is
the tool for the job, or whether it could be
improved, or how it was developed.
The average individual is content to avoid
conflict with life, to find peace and ease at
the least expense of physical or mental ef
fort. In fact, for many persons such con
stitutes the summum bonum, the highest
good, of lifethe path of least resistance.
This type of philosophy, if we may dignify
it by calling it such, requires only that
knowledge which is applicable to the im
mediate situation. The knowledge is evalu-

OCTOBER, 1954

ated in utilitarian terms onlynamely, will

it do this job or perform that service? If
it will not, then the knowledge is discarded.
Its potentiality for any other achievement
or what may be its inherent conten is of
no importance. Let us again refer to the
analogy of the tool. After the tool has been
applied to a specific job and there is no more
work of the same type, it is then discarded
or at least forgotten. There is no consideration by the average thinker of the extensin
of the tool to meet other requirements. Fur
ther, he is not concemed with its metallic
content or the principie of mechanics which
it employs and by which it serves its present
end.
The applied thinker may accomplish considerably, as does a good mechanic, by using
what has been designed for him by another.
However, he is never a real contributor to
the advancement of society. He never can
construct or build beyond what someone else
has previously conceived. In applied science,
we have the technicians who assemble and
invent new equipment, methods, and devices. The telephone and televisin are ap
plied sciences. They are spectacular to the
layman. But each of them is dependent
upon pur science, the fundamentis of electronic theories and the laws of physics. Ten
thousand devices may be developed, each
different perhaps, by technicians and inventors, after the research scientist in pur
science has discovered the natural laws
involved. Think of the thousands of applications, useful devices, that depend upon Faradays discovery of the electromagnetic field.
The same may be said of Crookes and his
vacuum tube making possible a controlled
electronic flow, and of Hertz with his discovery of the transmission of electromagnetic
waves.
Pur thought is abstraction. It does not
always begin with empirical things, that is,
observable facts. It can be deductive and
speculative. It can analyze a situation as to
probable causes and then attempt to objectively prove the theory or hypothesis. All
abstraction or pur thinking cannot immediately be proved by facts. It may take
years to prove or disprove the conception.
Pur thought may, however, clear ones
thinking and may make more facile an adjustment to a situation. Many of our scientific postulations today are mathematical

Page 29

abstractions. They are pro ved only in reason

by the abstract science of numbers not by
observation of actual phenomena. The quan
tum and relativity theories are still in these
categories, though gaining empirical support
almost daily. In the realm of psychology,
the nature, for example, of the emotions is
as yet but an abstraction, whether one accepts the James-Lang theory or that of
Cannon. In philosophy, moris and ethics,
the content of good and right are abstract
as are also freedom, equality, and the nature
of knowledge.
It may be said, of course, that there is no
knowledge so useless as that which cannot
serve man. This would put the test of knowl
edge in its application to the practical affairs
of the human being. However, life is more
than bread and wine. It requires, as well,
intellectual pleasure and satisfaction. There
are intellectual adventurers as well as physi
cal ones. There are those who desire to pul
aside the veil of mystery that surrounds hu
man existence and who like to impose upon
it a purpose. They may gain no great remuneration for such thought, or build a
better home or secure a finer position, but
they do satisfy a longing. These pur thinkers, whether in the realm of philosophy or
science, are the real foundation of civiliza
ron. They are those who continually ask,
why? The adult is often slightly annoyed or
amused by a childs asking why something
is as it is, after he has explained its func
tion. To the average adult the function is
sufficient. However, the child has not learned
the importance of the function and is not
bound to it as a habit. Consequently, the
reason of the function, the final cause, is of
more interest to him than its efficient or producing cause. If we were more concerned
today with why instead of how our lives
would not be so complexwith numerous
gadgets.X
Has Everyone Psychic Powers?
A frater rises to ask our Forum: Why
do the intuitive and psychic principies operate for the undeveloped if they are con
sidered as the higher and more developed
functions of the mystic?
No human being is without the intuitive
faculty or psychic powers, though he may
have no understanding of them and may

Page 30

even deny them. The intuitive faculty is

an advanced intellectual and noetic experi
ence that flashes into consciousness. The
intuitive idea, or commonly called intuitive
knowledge, is not received in the conscious
ness in the manner in which it is realized.
It is not a complete knowledge implanted
in our minds and containing all of the ele
ments of which we become intuitively aware.
Intuition is a kind of involuntary judgment
where the elements of our experience are
rearranged into such an intelligent order
as to be irrefutable by our reason. The
guiding power behind intuition is the Cosmic
impressions received and the Cosmic intelli
gence or order inherent in our beings. Thus,
in a way, we do not as yet thoroughly
understand that this intelligence combines
our latent ideas into new concepts which
suddenly flash into consciousness. It is, shall
we say, a superior harmonious arrangement of thought that supersedes what reason
and the will are able to accomplish. The
Cosmic, we shall say, utilizes ideas, word
forms and qualities of our experiences, to
produce impressions objectively comprehensible and self-evident to us. There is no
person, even if he be what man calis igno
rante who has not experienced the light of
intuition. The commonly referred to hunch
is the intuitive impression with all the efficacy of its clarity.
When mystics allude to psychic powers,
they refer to those functions of the divine
consciousness within man which transcend
objective perception, reason, and will. They
allude, as well, to the qualities and functions
of the deeper stream of the subconscious self,
the more infinite part of mans being. These
powers are manifest in various ways as responsivity to vibrations which are not discemible to the receptor senses. These powers
likewise have reference to the transmission
or radiation of forces of the human or
ganism which are without any physical or
material substance or mdium. How these
higher qualities of selfor the soul-person
alitymay be used for the full advantage
of life constitutes the purpose of, for example, the Rosicrucian studies. Again we
must say, in reference to these more in
tangible powers, that they are not confined
to, or conferred only upon, certain persons.
No human being would be such without
these powers for they are an inherent part

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

of his being. In fact, objectively man could

not exist without the subtle but definite di
rection of the growth, reproduction, and
function of all the cells that compose his
organism. Co-ordinated with our spinal
nervous system is the autonomous or sympathetic nervous system which we know,
from our studies, governs many of the in
voluntary functions of our being, as the
pulsation of the heart and the respiratory
action of the lungs. This sympathetic ner
vous system is one of the principal transmitters of the psychic powers and intelligence
brought into our beings with the air we
breathe.
What, then, one may ask, are the virtues
of the one who makes a study of these
psychic powers, if all men have them? In
what way is he distinguished from one who
completely disregards these infinite properties of his being? The distinction is found
in the greater application that can be found
by an understanding of ones inherent pow
ers. One has this reserve of potentiality of
accomplishment of which he may know
little or nothing. As a consequence, it func
tions involuntarily for him doing just that
which is essential to his existence. Another
person leams how to employ these powers
to supplement his reason and to go beyond
the limits of his objective faculties. We may
use the analogy of the difference between
the chemist and one having no knowledge
of that science. The one who is ignorant
of the chemical elements and processes is
unable to combine them into numerous useful compounds and procedures to serve him
in his daily life. Then, again, the mechanic
will know how to use various devices at his
disposal to achieve some mechanical end.
One not so skilled might have the same ma
terial parts available but not know how to
combine or apply them to a useful end.
There is no instruction or technique which
will confer upon an individual any psychic
powers or a special gnosis which he does
not already potentially have. Any indi
vidual or group making such claims is doing
so ignorantly or falsely. Metaphysical and
mystical study is the awakening or cultivating of the latent powers which everyone
has and which, through disregard, have become almost atrophied so far as the direc
tion of them is concerned. For further
analogy, physical exercise in a gymnasium

OCTOBER, 1954

does not give muscles to the individual. Instead, he develops those he already has. With
such development he is able to command
and concntrate his strength in a manner
not possible before. Every individual has
access to intuitive guidance or Cosmic in
spira tion but most persons are so objective
that they oppose much of the flow of in
spira tion which is possible from their own
subconscious.
As said, we, of course, are never objec
tively disassociated from the other levels
of our subconscious or Cosmic selves. We
do, however, at times cause the one level,
the objective, to completely dominate self.
Occasionally, though, like water reaching
the top of the dam, impressions or impulses
from the depths of our being will spill over.
These are known to most persons, as we
have said, as hunches, strange feelings
or uncanny impressions. Because the
technique by which this phenomenon occurs
is little or not at all understood by these
persons, their reaction to it is either one of
fear or confusion. Consequently, they do
little to cultvate or develop it. Yes, the
psychic powers operate for everyone, but
the student of the psychic processes of self
has the advantage of controlled operation
and, therefore, can be assured of greater
results from such direction.X
Mysticism as Human Experience
Mysticism as human experience is more
than a theory. It is a vital factor that can
be brought intimately into the life of every
individual. The tendency to look upon mys
ticism as hypothetical, ethereal, or even
evasive, causes many people to believe that
it is something to which we can tura for
inspiration at an idle moment and not some
thing that can be utilized as an actual way
of life or intimately related to human be
havior. Actually, mysticism should be uti
lized effectively, not merely as a series of
theories or beautiful ideas to be expressed
upon limited occasions. Mysticism should
be an actual philosophy of life that can be
put into practice in everyday affairs.
If mysticism is to have valu, it is obvious
that it must be used, and not set on a shelf
like a more or less seless ornament to be
looked at and admired occasionally. Mys
ticism can be likened to tools taken into a

Page 31

workshop and actually put to use so that

their effectiveness might assist us with
whatever we have to do. Mysticism should
be a useful tool; it should be something to
cali upon when we need help. It should also
serve as a basic pattern for our behavior so
that inspiration, direction, and proper guid
ance would be ours at all times in our
ethical, social, moral, and spiritual lives.
In order to gain a practical concept of
mysticism, a concept that will cause us to
apply in our daily living the principies
which it upholds and teaches, we must understand that there can be no compromise
between materialism and idealism. For centuries thought has been divided between these
two extremes. Today, differences in point
of view of the materialist and the idealist
prevail, and while it is a common practice
for human beings to exaggerate the prob
lems of their own time, we are faced at the
present moment with a concept of material
ism that has probably never before infiltrated
the mind of the average person as much as
it has today.
I believe the reason for this intense concentration upon material knowledge and
material possessions is that we are still,
as a race, young in our application and
use of modern technological development.
These material achievements have caused
us all to stand somewhat in awe of what
man has been able to develop. We can
even in our lifetimes look back and remember when the things that are commonplace
today were only dreams in the most vivid
of imaginations. We accept lightly the phenomena of radio, of televisin, and of other
electronic developments. Most of us know
little except what we read in newspapers
about facts conceming atomic development.
These achievements are relatively new, but
they are accepted by a younger generation
as something that is commonplace. The
young of today look upon the phenomena
with no more interest than we as children
looked upon the commonly accepted ma
terial achievements of our time.
Actually, these are tremendous achieve
ments. The concept of radio and televisin
for example was nonexistent seventy-five or
a hundred years ago except in the minds of
a very few people. Science is looked upon
as the mightiest of all things, and it casts
a shadow upon the concept of God which

Page 32

religions are feebly trying to hold as being

of still more importance than any mechanical achievement. It is easily understandable
why the minds of a new generation, that
have been schooled with this respect for
science and this day-to-day acceptance of
mechanical advancement and achievements,
should be difficult to interest in a subject
such as mysticism.
Mysticism, philosophy, religin, ethics,
moris, and even the concept of divinity
are subjects that take second place in the
thinking of most individuis. They have
replaced the orthodox concepts of divinity
with the technological ones of modera sci
ence. There seems to be no bridge between.
The scientists who have attempted to bridge
this gulf, and to teach that there is funda
mental cause even back of mans apparently
unlimited advancement, have failed to light
the spark of curiosity or inquisitiveness sufficiently in the minds of people who believe
science infallible to motvate them seriously
to look into those elements of thought that
will bring inspiration and guidance from a
source more stable than the material world
which they accept as being the ultmate of
reliability.
Those who are inclined toward philosophy,
toward the realization that mans funda
mental vales lie outside the material world,
and that life contines into a sphere and
scope of existence which is no longer connected with the material vales which we
now exalt so highly, must realize that within
the mystical concept is the only channel
that can parallel the development that has
come in the field of technology.
Man has an overbalanced development at
the present time; he has developed by great
strides in material fields and has left the
mental far behind. Man has developed terrific means of destruction, but he hasnt
developed the ability to know when and
how to use those means; therefore, they are
like dangerous toys in the hands of a child.
We stand in the midst of an unsettled world
never knowing when some fool grounded in
science is going to touch off a series of destructive forces such as the world has never
before witnessed.
The solution is not alone in harnessing
the atom for peacetime usesit cannot be
as simple as directing the technological
achievements into other channels. The solu

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

tion to our social and political problems lies

in the thinking and the attitude of the indi
viduis constituting the composite of human
thought and behavior in the world today.
In my estimation, I repeat, there can be no
compromise between those who subscribe to
materialism as an ultmate reality and those
who find in idealism the vales which will
be perpetuated long after the material things
which we strive so hard to attain today will
no longer exist.
The solution lies in achieving balanceto
balance human thinking and human be
havior, to make human experience a com
posite of all the forces that compose human
environment, to teach individuis to accept
the material world for what it is worth and
at the same time to learn the validity of
the means by which man can associate him
self intimately with spiritual forces. Every
principie of self-development and of the
attainment of the state known as Cosmic
Consciousness, which is in contrast to selfconsciousness, has fundamentally constituted
mans search to find God. Unfortunately
today, few people are motivated to find God
for the sake of associating themselves with
the Divine. It is only when men, through
shock or some extreme occurrence in their
own lives, or the lives of those about them,
are forced to turn away from the material
supports upon which they have leaned that
they look toward a valu which is of more
significance and importance.A
Choice of Incarnation
Do you and I have any choice insofar
as incarnation is concerned, or are we by
mere chance placed in the situations in which
we find ourselves at any particular time in
the span of our incarnations? The answer to
this question can be known only in part.
We cannot be fully aware of the function
and manifestation of all infinite laws, because we are finite and still in the process
of learning. The extent of our knowledge
depends on how much we devote ourselves
to the learning process and our desire to
learn.
The critics of the theory of incarnation
point out that it is an inevitable situation
from which man can never find release.
Obviously, it makes no difference in the
operation of any law whether or not it is

OCTOBER, 1954

criticized. The laws of God and the laws

of the universe are effective, and our believing or not believing in them has nothing
to do with their operation. Our position is
to learn more about these laws, because if
the operation of a law is known only in
part it is obviously misinterpreted and misunderstood. The full knowledge that accompanies the function of a law, the reason
behind it, the way it operates, and the end
to be attained makes it possible for us to
grasp an entirely different point of view
of a situation from any previous one. Those
who criticize incarnation do so because they
lack understanding. Those who accept the
theory as a basis upon which to form judgment, and to adjust certain behavior, are
able to see in the operation of this law
certain justice and certain functions tending
toward the development of the individual
and to a means of eventually relating man
to a fuller understanding of the Infinite.
The theory of incarnation has certain logic
that appeals to the reason of a person who
gives it serious and unprejudiced considera
ron. It is fundamentally, as we know from
our monographs, an operation of the law of
Karma, which means that we create to a
certain extent that which we have. The
situations that may make our day-to-day
experiences of a pleasant or unpleasant na
ture are situations that have been brought
about as a result of previous choice.
We exist today as entities striving to per
fect ourselves, but the barriers to perfection
may be partly of our own creating. They
arise due to misinterpretations and wrong
judgments of the past. If this appears to be
unjust, we must bear in mind that certain
responsibility must be assumed for the privilege of being free. If we have a degree of
freedom of choice, then certain responsibility
is assumed as a result of making those
choices. It is through the experience of
exercising this choice and directing oneself
in the proper direction toward worth-while
ends and purposes that mans life becomes
a vast school of experience in which he gains
that knowledge and those things which are
essential to the growth which are necessarily
his.
Those who are incarnated todaythat is,
we who poplate the worldare obviously
not too far advanced insofar as the whole
scope of advancement is concerned. The fact

Page 33

that we live restricted to a physical world

with its limitations and to our misinterpre
tations of the various laws that function
about us shows that we are not yet advanced
to the point where we can realize the pur
pose of infinite law. If that ability lay
within our grasp at the moment, then we
would not be where we are. Therefore, we
are in the position like that of a child beginning his formal education. His knowl
edge and experience are extremely limited,
but the intelligent child, by proper motivation and proper direction, will enlarge upon
his knowledge and experience. When he
has reached adult years he will have gained
certain abilities and a fund of knowledge.
Our position in relation to the infinite
scheme is somewhat parallel. We are ex
tremely limited in our scope of experience
and knowledge, but we do have sufficient
intelligence to direct us to gain more experi
ence and increase our knowledge.
Since we are where we are, it obviously
means that our position of this moment has
been reached by way of certain conditions
or phenomena of which we are not entirely
conscious. If our present-day situation had
come about as the result of logical use of
our reason, we would be more aware of
our purpose in being here. We would be
able to see the circumstances that led to a
particular situation and the possibilities that
may develop. But actually, our knowledge
is not enough to explain all of our experi
ences. Just as a child cannot under stand
why he should learn to read and write, we
do not completely understand why we should
go through the particular experiences that
may be more or less uninteresting and at
times actually painful. Nevertheless, as we
can look back upon the child who temporarily may revolt against studying his read
ing, writing, and arithmetic, so can a more
intelligent power look upon us with the
same amused tolerance of our desire to es
cape from coping with the situations that
may momentarily seem to us as being not
particularly pleasant.
We incarnated as we are because we fit
into the particular circumstances in which
we exist. No one else but you or I could
be incarnated in the particular situation
that you or I live in at this particular time.
This may appear to be fatalism, but it is
not predestination because we still have the

Page 34

element of choice. We can proceed ahead

if we wish or we can accept things as they
are and merely coast with events. If we
exert no effort toward understanding, our
intelligence should make us aware that we
will necessarily have to repeat time and time
again a similar situation until we have the
ambition, the ability, the desire and motivation, to direct ourselves toward more purposeful ends whether they be pleasant or
not.
The purpose of this incarnation at this
particular stage of advancement is the fitting
of ourselves into the proper circumstances,
just as a round peg fts in a round hole. Our
incarnation into present situations has been
more or less automatic. This incarnation
carne about because we dropped into place,
as it were. This life is the particular spot
or point of experience that is ours in which
to learn, and we are here with the opportunity to learn if we will do so. This process,
however, will not continu in the same way
throughout eternity. Life in one incarnation
after another does not continu to be an
automatic unin of a soul and a physical
body. The forces may seem to lack reason
at the moment, but as we proceed in this
life and others to come, the reason will become gradually more eminent. We will begin to see logic in the procedure, just as a
child upon reaching adult years sees logic
in his teachers causing him to practice those
arts of reading, writing, and arithmetic
which he later has to apply in the business
of living.
Eventually, in its evolution the individual
personality will begin to exercise an increasing amount of choice in determining its
destiny. A time will arrive in future incarnations when the particular incarnation
will be selected as a result of intelligence
and experience. The previous lives, and
what those lives have contributed in terms
of knowledge and experience, to a personali
ty, will become more and more of a con
scious level where a personality is able to
select a particular phase of manifestation
and which it is able to realize as being
essential for its further and future progress.
We eventually become in a Cosmic sense,
what we now are in a mental sense. By
this I mean that now we exercise in our
day-to-day living a certain amount of judgment based upon reason. This reason, how

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

ever, is limited to our physical experiences

and to the knowledge which we have gained
and accumulated in this life. This process
is the logical exercise of the mind. Eventual
ly, we are able to piece together the experi
ences from one incarnation to another, and
we gain an increasing degree of knowledge
resulting from numerous incarnations which,
for want of a better term, I might cali
Cosmic logic. We are then gaining a degree
of infinite understanding that makes it pos
sible for us to fit ourselves into situations
that previously could not have been grasped,
insofar as our intelligent understanding of
them is concerned.
Most of us as adults today feel that we
are in a position to make certain choices;
that is, we feel that we have the intelligence
and the ability to select the paths or make
the choices that lie before us. We sometimes
do this abruptly, and sometimes after careful
consideration. We realize that we are not
always right; but rightly or wrongly, we
choose certain procedures to follow. We de
cide on a certain course of events or we
choose to turn this way or another. Those
choices are ours, they seem to be an ability
which is consistent with the human mind,
insofar as it exists at the moment. Even
in youth, we attained a degree of ability
to make certain decisions. We decided what
we would be as adults. We directed our
attention toward certain training or certain
education. Those were decisions of life.
They molded us to a certain extent, and
caused us to be what we are today. Many
of these decisions were wrong. Some of
them were correct. We now draw upon the
total of experience that resulted. Those who
have intelligence, and exercise it as their right
and a God-given ability, benefit by any de
cisin regardless of whether or not it be
erroneous. In other words, it is not neces
sarily the selection of a wrong or a poor
decisin that adds to the total of our experi
ence. It is how we react to the decisin itself.
Eventually, we reach a point in our psy
chic or Cosmic evolution where we begin to
make various choices in incarnations as we
now make in our day-to-day life. We will
reach a point where we can choose an in
carnation much in the same manner as we
now choose our occupation or our lifes work.
This is similar to the decisin we make in
the course of our business affairs or in regard

OCTOBER, 1954

to our educational training. The difference is

that we arrive at a decisin that will affect
an entire lifetime. We do not always make
our present decisions correctly as we have
already pointed out, and the same will probably be true when we begin to exercise a
certain degree of freedom in the choice of
incarnations. We will make errors in our
decisions; but, if we apply the same prin
cipie that we apply to errors now, we will
realize that certain lessons had to be learned
as a result of our decisin, be it right or
wrong. We will probably grumble about the
fate which we find is ours, depending upon
our personality, and we will go through the
process of experience much as we now live
through the results of a wrong decisin.
Life is a continuous process, and if we
continu to develop ourselves, eventually a
time is reached by some individuis when
the soul-personality is evolved to a point
where it has gained many of the general
experiences of life that are necessary; that
is, such experiences as are related to the
understanding of the material environment
in which we live have been mastered. When
the time comes that the material world no
longer holds experiences which are necessary
for our further development, each incarna
tion will become more of an act of will.
Rather than something to be discontinued,
incarnations will become in a sense optional;
and, when elected, we will incarnate for a
specific purpose.
Those individuis who have reached the
ranks of the hierarchy, those to whom we
might refer, to use the overworked popular
term, as masters, are the ones who are able
to select a life in order to carry out a certain
function and purpose. They may not be
avatars but, at least, they have closely approached that state. They are the ones who
upon reaching that particular point when
they can choose to incarnate into the physi
cal world, they will do so for the purpose
of carrying out a specific missionnot only
to contribute further experience to their own
development but to contribute to the ex
perience and guidance of other individuis
who may still be floundering in the cycle
of incarnations.
The truly great, who have lived in the
world as religious teachers, or as masters in
other fields or endeavors, are such individ
uis and such personalities. They direct

Page 35

some of the affairs of men more subtly than

we realize. Because not all of them have
been recorded in the pages of history and
probably many exist even today, we do not
recognize them as being those who have
risen above the mere mechanical functions
of human beings. You and I may be more
or less influenced by these individuis. They
are probably personalities that come into
our lives to assist us in making decisions,
and who assist us in reaching certain accom
plishments. We may not recognize these
personalities as those whose position here
on earth is to direct the faltering steps of
those who still have much to learn through
experience. These individuis are truly representatives of infinite love and infinite
wisdom. They are sons of God, they are
brothers of mankind. They are those that
have to do with the functioning of the Cos
mic scheme insofar as its manifestation is
concerned. While they continu to evolve
to the complete perfection of their develop
ment, they also realize that any degree of
their development and ultmate purpose and
end is related to the development of all man
kind and to the final perfection of the
evolvement of each soul-personality.
Growth in the Cosmic and psychic sense
entails the same principie that is involved
in all growth, that is, obligation. We can
not learn and grow in stature, either physically or mentally, without assuming those
obligations which cause us to utilize and
bring into practice and function the things
which we have gained. Choice in incarna
tion is ours when that point of development
exists. In the meantime our choices are less
significant. They are limited to the events
that shape our particular life at the moment;
and, as we gain in ability to properly judge
and evalate the choices that we now make,
we add to our ability of the time that will
come when those choices will be of more
significance and will involve not only a
momentary decisin of our daily work but
also a lifetime of experience and service to
others.A
Human Dignity
A frater rises in our Forum to ask: Can
there be true human dignity while there is
human charity? I do not believe that it is
possible to have true human dignity while

Page 36

a human being has to depend on another

for charity. I, of course, do not mean
mercy, love, or compassion. Therefore, I
sincerely believe that it is not only our
right, but indeed the duty of our age to
modernize the use of money, or mdium
of exchange, and thereby open the way not
only to human dignity for ourselves but
eventually for all mankind.
Human dignity as a phrase, particularly
since the last world war and during the
tyrannical reign of certain contemporary
govemments, has become rather hackneyed.
Just as the words freedom and liberty, it is
used to symbolize something rather vague.
It suggests a kind of virtue which is never
made quite comprehensible, except in the
minds of those using the phrase. Perhaps a
little analysis of the popular phrase might
bring about a meeting of the minds; certainly the phrase should not be used as an ideal
to be attained by various means until a com
mon understanding is had of it.
Dignity, we shall propound, is poise, or a
state of self-control and reserve. Intellectual
dignity consists of deliberate and careful
thought as opposed to exaggeration and unthinking expression. Dignity of behavior
means conduct suited to an occasion, free
of ostenta tion and emotional abandon. The
human dignity, therefore, means the exhibition of that moral, intellectual, and social
behavior worthy of the status of the human
being as compared, for example, with the
conduct of an animal of lower species. It
must be obvious that human dignity consists
of conformity to certain standards of thought,
behavior, and convention which men have
set up for themselves.
Tradition and custom, consequently, play
a prominent part in the determining of
whether a human is dignified. The social
requirementsand the moral standardsof
a primitive person and that of man of mod
era civilization, would contrast quite noticeably. In all probability, each would
consider the other lacking in dignity because
of the conflict of conduct.
We are thus confronted with the question
as to whether there is any universal human
dignity. In other words, what do all men
expect of all men? What is considered representative of the human status regardless of
the society of which man is a member? The

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

first requisite would probably be the necessity of man distinguishing himself in some
manner from other animals. If man, as he
contends in his religions and philosophies
and seeks to prove by his sciences, is a
superior being, these points of superiority
must be emphasized. They are the contributing factors to such dignity as man
relegates to his kind. The first and obvious
distinction is the human intelligence and
faculty of reasoning. The stupid individual,
the one who displays a paucity of intelli
gence, and the one who gives himself over
to emotional outbursts or external influences
with little exercise of thought and restraint,
would be held as not being characteristic of
the human statusthus undignified.
Man has also set certain standards of
conduct, or human relations, which he purports are prompted by a divine agency. This
means that man claims to have a unique
affinity with the divine agency which seeks
to lift him to exalted heights befitting his
status as a human. It is to be construed that
any deviation from such divinely determined
or moral motivation is conduct lacking in
human dignity. The dignity then consists of
certain actual or conceived activities of mans
nature which he is expected to live by. Falling short of them is to fall from dignity.
Among these elements of dignity which
man has established for himself are independence and freedom. However, the greatest thinkers for centuries have not agreed on
the content of freedom. Further, all must
admit that man cannot be a completely free
agentor completely independent. There
are, of course, today, many political ideologies and social institutions which offer ways
and means which purport to give man com
plete freedom and independence, but any
examination of them soon shows the fallacy
of their reasoning. Perhaps, the broadest ap
plication of this requirement of freedom is
the interpretation of it as the right to the
pursuit of happinesswithout intervention
with the rights of others to do likewise. This
right to gain happiness includes, of necessity,
the right to a livelihood and the right to
choose the particular kind of work or employment in which one wishes to engage.
It is the implication that human dignity
incorporateswithin limits, againthe exer
cise of human will. Animals are subjugated

OCTOBER, 1954

to natural will, to the laws of nature, and to

mastery by the superior humans. Mans will
or desires are to be limited only by what he
conceives as the divine and nature and, as
well, such provisions as he makes for his own
discipline. Any further forfeit of will by
man he considers as enslavement and beneath human dignity, for it violates the free
dom and independence which he assigns to
himself.
If man resents the subordination of his
will to other men without his consent to do
so, he likewise is resentful of absolute dependence upon his fellows. Absolute dependence violates the human dignity because
it detracts from the dynamic intelligence, the
power of accomplishment upon which the
human prides himself. Consequently, man
places charity in a dual characterto retain
his human dignity. He finds satisfaction
emotionally and morally in dispensing
charity, but has a sense of inferiority if he
is the receptor of charity. His conscience is
eased by his working for his livelihood and
thus he preserves this intangible, mysterious freedom and independence which he
cherishes.
The question is: can there be a disposing
of charity and the preserving of this dignity
by revolutionizing the economic and financial systems now in general practice? Immediately, certain systems will contend: Yes.
Marxism, for one, and other ideologies
equally as radical, will make similar claims.
Still others not embroiled in political ideolo
gies and who are actually supporters of the
capitalistic system will offer still other plans
to maintain this human dignity by avoiding
the necessity of charity. There are dozens
of new monetary plans and systems devised
almost monthly. A great many of these have
crossed our desk in the last decade. Some, in
theory, have commendable merit; others are
too idealistic to ever be practical, and they
also show the individuals lack of familiarity
with the complexity of the whole problem.
It is not our purpose here to consider any
single system of monetary change, rather, it
is to disclose that no system, alone, will pre
serve human dignity or remove the need of
charity and the embarrassment which some
of its recipients would continu to experience.
Without entering into the speculations of
this subject, it must be apparent that any

Page 37

mdium of exchange based upon a commodity easily accessible to one people or

nation, and not as easily accessible to all
others, introduces an inequity into the whole
system. The problem must concern itself, as
well, with geophysicsthat is, with the area
in which people live, the resources that may
be produced and which would have a market
valu. A people who are economically
starved by their restraints, insofar as trade
is concerned, are not inclined to democracy.
They are more apt to have a lesser sense of
freedom and independence, and their digni
ty is not so likely to be shattered by any
charity which might be proffered to them
by others. In other words, their environment
will have cultivated a sense of dependence
rather than independence.
As long as there are separate nations with
different geophysical advantages or disadvantages, it will be difficult to have a unified
political ideology and a sound economic sys
tem, or a universal human dignity.X
Does God Evolve?

A frater, addressing our Forum, says: In

one of the monographs it is stated, \ . . for
God will evolve as the consciousness of the
soul evolves. I understand that there is an
evolution of the soul-personality and of con
sciousness, but I wonder if we actually mean
that God evolves. If we do, then we do away
with a perfect God in the unchanging-univer
sal concept which we have come to accept.
What is God? There are perhaps as many
answers to this question as there are those
who would attempt an explanation. Outwardly, persons often appear to subscribe to
some theological definition of the deity but,
when called upon to give an individual ex
planation, their words, their ideas, will vary.
The concept of God is wholly individualistic.
It is partly environmental, the influence of
religious education, tradition, and cultural
association. It is also the result of the temperament and personality, that is, the result
of the personally evolved consciousness of
the individual, as well as his intelligence.
The individuals response to his psychic
naturewhat is called the moral inclination
or impression of the consciencegreatly de
termines his concept of God.

Page 38

The one whose personality is responsive

to his psychic and emotional impressions is
inclined to a greater meditation on the God
concept. The lesser the intelligence and edu
cation of the individual so inclined, the more
simple is his idea of God, the deity, the more
it tends to the primitive and anthropomorphic. The more intelligent the Cosmically
motivated person, the more he seems to perceive the flaws in primitive ideas of God.
He thinks, for example, that the personal
anthropomorphic deity is quite inconsistent
with a concept of the Divine and as lacking
the dignity of ubiquity. He is unwilling to
place God in the confining qualities of time
and space.
Man has placed God in a progressive
order. There is the conception of God as a
heroic human being, such as the deities of
the Greeks. Next, there is the supreme being
having manlike physical qualities. Advancing farther, man has depicted the Divine as
a dehumanized being, that is, one devoid of
all physical characteristics and yet retaining
memory, will, imagination and even such
emotions as joy, love, hate, and jealousy.
Then there is mystical pantheism, the con
cept of an all-pervading consciousness, a kind
of surging intelligence which becomes the
essence of all things. This concept is stripped
of nearly all the qualities known to human
experience but yet retains some elements,
though abstract, by which the mortal mind
can comprehend the idea.
Which of these concepts is God? The
metaphysician, the true mystic, would say
none of them. Like Kant, he would proclaim
that the human mind is too conditioned by
the organism in which it is resident, to em
brace the infinite. No vase, for analogy, can
hold the sea. We pour the sea into the vase
but what it holds is a minute portion of the
whole. No study of the contents of the vase
could give rise to the idea of the true proportions and vastness of the sea. No human
mentality can possibly comprehend the infi
nite nature of the Cosmic or God within its
own limitations. God, then, or the Divine,
so far as its absolute reality is concerned,
must remain the unknoum. It can be experienced in part but it is inscrutable in its
entirety.
Further, as best we can determine from
profound and mystical experience, as well

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

as metaphysical abstraction, Divine reality

cannot have a determinate naturethat is,
fixed, limited, and at rest. If there is unity
in all reality, then the whole must change,
too, as do its finite attributes. We cannot
truly assign any determinate qualities to
God, not even what men ordinarily think
of as being goodness. Ask men what they
mean by good, and you will find other men
that will abhor definitions attributing spe
cific qualities to the Divine concept. In
general God is the ultmate of the indi
viduals conception of supreme power, of
initial cause and moral perfection.
God has no form, no imagery, that in
reality represents Him. The human mind,
however, cannot conceive an amorphous be
ing or one free of some thought form. Conse
quently, it will try to arrest or capture God
in the framework of intmate human experi
ence of the infinite and in accordance with
personal interpreta tion. It is man who
creates the image, the idea of God. It is
likewise man who evolves God as the con
sciousness of his soul-personality evolves.
Since God does not exist as man conceives
Him, the God of mens minds is, therefore,
an illusionary one. By illusionary we mean
that there is no deity that actually corresponds to the human concept. The true
reality of God is so abstract as to be beyond
any full comprehension by the human con
sciousness. The mental picture, the idea of
the deity, is a great illusion, a magnificent
and, in most instances, a worthy ideal which
brings man closer to the Cosmic of which he
is a part. Man thus does evolve God, if we
mean by that phrase the human concept of
what God is.
The more expansive the concept of God,
as the result of a quickened and expanded
consciousness, the closer man is brought
in consciousnessto the Cosmic. The more
we increase our psychic perspective, the
more of the whole nature of the abstract
God do we embrace. As this perspective
increases, so does the image of God evolve,
but not His reality.X
What is the Aquarian Age?
A soror of Caada rises to ask our Forum:
In our studies reference is made to the
Aquarian and Piscean Ages. I should like to

QCTQBER, 1954

know more about the subject.

The so-called Piscean and Aquarian Ages
are related to certain astronomical facts, particularly the precession of the equinoxes.
The influences which they are said to have
upon human affairs are associated with the
doctrines of astrology. The Babylonians and
the Chaldeans, according to history, were
among the first to chart the heavens. The
early shepherds in what was known as Mesopotamia gazed at the inky canopy of the
heavens and were fascinated by the myriad
points of light which seemed to descend so
low that they could almost be touched. Night
after night, century after century, these
people watched and meditated upon the ce
lestial phenomena and soon were able to
record the movements of certain planets as
well as to theorize as to their nature.
The ecliptic or path of the sun on its
celestial journey is known as the zodiac. The
ancients ascribed to this course of the sun in
the heavens twelve figures through which
the moon passes each month and the sun,
once a year. Along this path, too, they noted
the passage of the five great planets that are
visible to the naked eye. According to the
theory of the Babylonians, which became the
foundation of astrology, there is a correspondence or sympathetic relationship be
tween the heavenly bodies, the earth, and all
things of worldly existence. The rulers of the
zodiac were gods; that is, the celestial bodies
were apotheosized, being thought of as divine
in telligences. These rulers were Sin, Shamash,
and Ishtar or the moon, the sun, and Venus.
The moving stars served as interpreters of
the divine will, while the fixed stars were
agents or modifiers of such will. The position
of the moving body to a stationary one engendered, or rather suggested, a specific
meaning. These meanings, then, were transferred to corresponding earthly powers and
to mans own nature. As a result, the destiny
of man and his welfare were said to be
subject to these celestial manifestations of
the divine will.
The word zodiac is derived from the Greek
root word meaning life. It is significant,
too, that zoion is the Greek diminutive for
zoon, meaning animal, because the symbolical divisions of the zodiac, as well as
some other stars, have been made to resemble animals. The Hebrew ame for
zodiac was mazzrth which means en-

Page 39

circle or surround as the ecliptic or path

of the sun appears to do. The Chaldean
word for zodiac was mizrata (watches). The
early astrologers, who were elementary
astronomers, were called watchers of the
stars. There was the Chaldean phrase, Divinities of the Council. The position of the
stars alluded to a council of the conceived
divine beings to determine the effects that
were to be had upon human beings, ele
ments, and events.
The zodiacal signs are actually twelve
constellations or star groups which girdle
the earth in the path of the sun. The term
sign is derived from their symbolic form.
These are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cncer,
Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. The ancient
shepherds and herdsmen, as they gazed long
at the star groups, imagined their form to
resemble earthly objects with which they
were familiar. Thus there appeared to the
ancients to be a waterman, a crab, a bull,
a fish, and other common objects. The effect
of this visual suggestion is not greatly unlike
the images that various cloud formations
seem to assume to us today. Often fleeting
cumulus clouds appear to our sight and
imagination as human faces or animal forms.
The zodiacal signs or constellations also indicate the twelve divisions of the ecliptic of
thirty degrees each. In fact, astronomically
the zodiacal sign refers to the constellations
of the ecliptic.
The course of the great stars gives the
divisions of the calendar, the day, year,
world year, and world era. A new world
era begins whenever the sun on the spring
equinox enters a new sign in the zodiac.
According to this theory, the position of the
sun on the vernal equinox moves eastward
from year to year. In 72 years it moves
one day, and in about 2,200 years, one
month or to a new sign. The period of
2,200 years, therefore, is the world era or
what is astrologically referred to as an age,
this reference being to one of the signs in
which the equinox occurs, such as Aries,
Pisces, or Aquarius. This changing world
period or changing position of the sun on
the vernal equinox is called precession of
the equinoxes.
It is advisable to explain, as simply as
possible, the astronomical hypothesis of what
this precession is and how it occurs. Imagine

Page 40

a spinning top. The axis of this spinning

top is an imaginary vertical line through its
center from bottom to top. If we disturb
the top, it contines to spin, as we know, but
its axis precesses around the vertical, tracing
out a cone. This means that the axis deviates
from a vertical position, gradually moving
in a circle or a cone about it. The earths
axis also describes a cone or one complete
revolution in a cycle of nearly 26,000 years.
The cause of the precession is the attraction
of the sun and moon to the equatorial protuberance or bulge of the earth. The angle
of the axis of the earth, in relation to the
sun and moon, causes the earth to expose
the larger bulk of its matter along the equator to the sun and moon. These bodies, the
sun and moon, tend to align the equator on
the same plae as the ecliptic, that is, cause
both the earths equator and the ecliptic or
suns path to be parallel to each other.
Though this is not accomplished, it accounts
for the axis of the earth gradually changing
over a period of 26,000 years and tracing a
cone as explained.
As a consequence of this precession, the
star toward which the North Pole points, the
polar star, changes with each complete revo
lution of the axis. At present the North Pole
is near or points to Polaris. In 3000 B. C.,
when the Great Pyramid was being built,
the North Star was Draconis. The spring
and vernal equinoxes begin at the times
when the plae of the earths equator and
the plae of the ecliptic or equinox intersect.
We commonly say this occurs when the sun
enters the zodiacal sign of Aries. However,
due to the precession of the equinoxes, this
vernal equinox begins in a different sign
about every 2,200 years. Because the earths
axis gradually revolves, it makes it appear,
as we look toward the heavens that the
zodiacal signs or constellations are moving
westward. This results, in each new period,
for the vernal equinox to be called the world
era or age. Actually, the beginning of spring
no longer occurs in the sign of Aries but it
is in Pisces. Astronomically, we shall leave
the Piscean Age, which began some 2,000
years ago, in approximately 200 years. As a
result of the phenomenon of the precession,
we shall at that time enter the Aquarian
Age.
As trolagically, each of these ages is said
to have a cosmic and a physical and psycho-

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

logical influence upon the earth, on events,

and man corresponding to the symbol or
sign which represents it. To the ancients
the stars composing the constellation Pisces
resembled two fishes, tied by the tail with a
long ribbon. It is referred to as a water
sign. There are various theories as to how
water became identified with the sign, aside
from the purely psychological one of the law
of similarity. It is pointed out that it was at
the beginning of the Piscean Age that Christ
chose fishermen as his disciples, that baptism
played such a prominent part in early Christian rites. Again, the fish miracles of the
Bible are made to be related to the Piscean
Age. Among other references, there is one
to the great sea conquests of the last 20
centuries, and the development of steam as
a source of power.
All of these conditions are not altogether
logical as attributed to the Piscean Age.
Lustration or purification by immersion
played a prominent part in the religiomystical ceremonies of the ancients long be
fore the time of Christ. Any thorough
student of the ancient religions of Egypt,
Persia, and Greece is well aware of this fact.
Sea conquests are not necessarily the stimulus of the Piscean Age but a progression and
combining of such factors as population and
trade. Primitive men would have no need
or desire to cross great expanses of water.
The next age into which we are advancing by the precession of equinoxes, as we
have said, is the Aquarian. The age-old
symbol for this sign is the water bearer
pouring water into the mouth of the fish.
Aquarius is the central figure in the fourth
divisin of the zodiac. Traditionally, it is
considered an air sign, being related to all
physical phenomena or abstract ideas having
any association with that so-called element.
When the world fully enters that sign, it
has been prophesied, there will be 2,000
years of humanitarian and universal broth
erhood. Further, all developments will be
related to a factor as infinite and intangible
as air. Great advances in aviation and all
principies related thereto are predicted for
the forthcoming air age. The advance of
nuclear physics now being made as a liberation from the more finite substance of water
and mass is declared an indication of the
coming Aquarian Age. Great breadth of
mind or universality of thought, as mystical

OCTOBER, 1954

philosophy, is said to manifest, particularly

in the Aquarian Age, as mens minds become
as lofty and as unbounded as the air itself.
Though, logically and empirically, much
skepticism arises in connection with the
traditional theories about the influences of
these ages, there can be no doubt that the
earth is affected by celestial bodies. Astronomy and astrophysics have brought forth
many examples of the physical effects of
these bodies upon the earth, common ex
amples being the seasons, the tides and other
cycles of phenomena. As the earth, by
means of the precession of its axis, changes
its relation to the constellations, is there,
then, an effect on the earths magnetic
forces? Are there alterations of terrestrial
currents of energy as yet not discerned?
Since we, as humans, are beings of energy,
are we not harmoniously related to the
spectrum of energy of the earth? Conse
quently, do these variations of cosmic energies, no matter how minute, bring about
mutations or alterations in the autonomic
or sympathetic nervous system of man
perhaps also changes in the endocrine
glands? If such occurs, it would follow that
there would be an effect upon the human
intelligence, on the temperament and per
sonality. Whether all such influences, as we
advance from age to age, would be progressively beneficial or at times detrimental,
only time alone will answer.X
World Population and New Souls
A frater of Berlin, Germany, addresses
our Forum and wants to know more about
the origin of new souls in relation to increasing world population and the principies
of reincarnation. He asks specifically: Are
not new personalities greatly handicapped
in regard to previous development? Must
they not start from the beginningas to
their personal evolvement?
In connection with this topic, a frater in
California asks: I would like to submit a
topic about which I have been thinkingIt
is concemed with the doctrine of reincarna
tion, and the specific obstruction to my
thoughts is concerned with the creation of
new soul-personalitiesdoes that ever happen? If so, how? If not, and the cycle of
incarnation being 144 years, the population

Page 41

of the earth must be relatively constant.

Then again, a frater in Australia, coming
before our Forum, says: Does not reincar
nation exelude the possibility of human life
on other planets? If not, how does such a
possibility fit into the scheme of things?
Let us begin with an observable fact or
commonly demonstrable knowledge, the
world population. The census of population
as conducted by all modern nations shows
beyond a doubt a considerable increase of
humanity throughout the world. The est
mate of the present population is 2,433,696
in thousands. In the United States, alone,
the population has increased over twentyeight million in thirteen years. Only a comparatively small portion of this is because
of immigration. The great increase of pop
ulation throughout the world is because of
the advance of hygiene, sanitation, and the
healing and other sciences. However, with
this increase have come many problems.
The food supply in many nations is being
made more difficult. The only solution is
the converting of large arid lands into culti
vable areas by means of an economic purification of sea water. This latter has not
yet been accomplished on a large and feasible scale.
If each soul cycle, as we are told in our
studies, consists of 144 years between births,
then everyone is reborn within that period.
Consequently, whence come the new soulpersonalities which constitute this increase
of world population? First, the wheel of
incarnations, or recurring births, does not
permanently revolve. There is an evolution
ary process or state of perfection that must
be taken into consideration. The soul-per
sonality is refined: it unfolds until its manifestations in thought, character, and action
correspond in quality with the Divine Intelligence, of which the soul essence is a
part. In other words, when men objectively
express the wisdom of the divine intelligence
within them, then, their personalities are in
harmony with the Cosmic Mind within
them. Man realizes God at such a time, and
God has self-consciousness in that realiza
tion. The cycle is thus complete. There is
no further need for rebirth. One soul-per
sonality is thus, to use the common expres
sion, withdrawn from Cosmic circula tion.
There is then a gradual diminishing in the

Page 42

number of soul-personalities. This is more

than balanced, of course, by the new births.
But, it may be asked, where do these new
soul-personalities come from if they are not
already in existence to accommodate the
increase in population? We must realize
that there are no fixed numbers of soulpersonalities, as one would think of a given
number of coins which must be continually
circulated. The source of the soul-personali
ties is infinite. We may liken it to the
infinite source of an electrical currenta
capacity that can never be exhausted. There
fore, regardless of how many electrical appliances are manufactured, as motors, elec
trical lamps and such, there always will be
sufficient power to manifest their functions.
Under such circumstances one could produce
millions more electrical lamps than are destroyed each year, but there would always
be the power to actvate them, to have them
give off the light which is their personality.
Still another way to look at it is this: ac
cording to Cosmic, biological laws, when
there is a physical channel, such as a body
capable of being the residence of the vital
life forc and the Divine Intelligence, there
will then be that manifestation through it
which we cali soul-personality.
Suppose, to answer one fraters ques
tion, the worlds population were increased
by twenty-fve million in one year. This
would necessitate many more soul-personali
ties. Would these new soul-personalities all
be primitive and crude, because they were
having their first incarnation? If this were
so and the rapid growth of population continued, it might seem that the world would
then be reverting insofar as individual spir
itual awakening is concerned. However, it
must be further realized that the first in
carnation of all people is not alike. The
first step of all soul-personalities is not idn
tica! The soul-personality is often affected
by its environmental factors, its parents, its
associations, the cultural advantages, and
also of importance are the particular age
and civilization in which the soul-personality
incarnates. If there is a gradual ascent of
the level of consciousness of a population
that is, if there are more fully expressed
selvesthen the soul-personalities, the offspring of such people, even if they were in
their first incarnation, would be more ad

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

vanced than those of a primitive society.

If this were not so, then there would be no
Cosmic plausibility for the gradual uplift
of human society. Consequently, where you
have an evolved societythat is, one that
is spiritually awakenedthe first incarna
tion of the soul-personalities of those people
would have such illumination as previously
would have been attained by others only
after two or three incarnations!
Of course, as Rosicrucians, we do not want
to presume as in the Middle Ages, and as
was declared by the Church at the time,
that the earth is the only habitat of intelli
gent beings. Numerous articles by Rosicru
cian officers have appeared in the Rosicrucian
Digest and elsewhere giving our conception
of the probability of life existing on other
worlds. We do not hold to the position that
life is a caprice of nature, a freak phenomenon to be found only upon this planet. Like
much other phenomena exhibited or found
manifest in the spectra of the stars, we
think, too, that life of a kind may not only
exist in our own planetary system but in
other galaxies of the Cosmos. Somewhere
in the infinite regions beyond earth, there
is life and intelligence having that selfconsciousness that man recognizes as soul.
The same universal Cosmic laws would thus
apply to such beings as do to man.
We can readily understand that some
frater or soror may now posit the question:
Do we then perhaps incarnate to such
other worlds to complete our Cosmic soul
cycle? Contrary to some opinions which
hold that we do, we take the position that
a soul-personality that began its cycle in a
body of human form, or of earth-man, would
continu its cycles thus. The conditions and
experiences in other worlds would be extremely different from our own in all
probability. The elements which would con
tribute to the evolving of a soul-personality
would be far different, perhaps, than what
might be experienced on earth. Therefore,
the shifting of an organism extremely dif
ferent from the human form, having recep
tor senses perhaps quite unlike ours, would
be placing an undue hardship upon that soulpersonality and the evolution of its con
sciousness. It would seem that the consistency
of the Cosmic would not permit this and
that the cycles would be completed on the

OCTOBER, 954

planetary body where the first incarnation

occurred. Further, there is no established
authority with acceptable persuasive arguments to come forward as yet to effect a
change in our opinion with respect to this
matter.X
Contacting the Cathedral
A soror, addressing our Forum, says: aIn
working with our little Pronaos, we are
daily confronted with the cry of young
membersand some not so young: Why
can we not contact the Cathedral of the
Soul? After much thought upon, and an
analysis of, the matter, here is my final
conclusin: The student is trying to see the
picture of the impressions on the closed
eyelid with the physical eyes, as we are
taught to see colors in the early degrees . . .
instead of seeing things in the world of mind
as he used to see his daydreams. We have
explained that we do not see anything with
our physical eyes. It was suggested that
students should think with their minds eye
of a beautiful fleecy cloud and then think
of themselves as floating through space on
this cloud to the Cathedral of the Soul. May
we have the opinion of the Forum in this
matter?
Let us begin with a brief review of the
original conception of the Cathedral of the
Soul had by our late Imperator, Dr. H.
Spencer Lewis. The Imperator had become
very conscious of the fact that many stu
dents of mystical philosophy and Cosmic
principies were periodically seeking contact
or harmony between their profound selves
and the Cosmic Mind. They had individual
meditation periods where, in the privacy of
their homes or elsewhere, they introverted
their consciousness for a few brief moments
to receive an influx of inspiration and a
rejuvenation of their mental and physical
powers. Some of these students used short
rituals of their own development. Others
used portions of Rosicrucian initiatory rites.
Still others had certain prayers that seemed
to induce for them the more profound or mys
tical consciousness, or they used vowels and
exercises taught in the Rosicrucian teach
ings. If these minds could be unified by
concerted effort and function, their indi
vidual success would be greater and their
Cosmic meeting would be beneficial to each.

Page 43

We shall quote in part from a former

Grand Master, Frater Charles Dana Dean,
who so aptly described Dr. Lewis great
dream and final accomplishment, the Cathe
dral of the Soul:
It was his constant desire that the day
might come when he could have with him
in these periods of Cosmic contact the companionship of those thousands of worthy
souls who looked to him for direction in
progressing along the Path that would lead
to the Cosmic Kingdom.
While others in their great religious and
spiritual consecration aspired to build magnificent cathedrals on this earth, whose ma
terial forms would be imposing, and whose
graceful spires of Steel and mortar would
point heavenward while rising but a little
way into the Cosmic realm, he planned a
Cathedral, the elements of which could be
brought together and solidified noiselessly
and without the contamination of material
principies in any form. He dreamed of a
Cathedral whose very foundation would be
laid so high above the greatest of the earthly
cathedrals that there would be no contact
and no association. He visualized a Cathe
dral whose belfries and spires would rise
into the unlimited heights of a boundless
Spiritual World. In his Creative imaginings,
he made the plans for his Cathedral on so
magnificent a scale that the portis to its
grand halls would be wide enough for the
millions of beings in all parts of the world
to enter at one time easily and reverently.
Within he would have chantries and chapis,
apses and altars, adyta and sanctuaries,
large enough, grand enough, beautiful
enough, to be the proper dwelling place for
the Spiritual Minds that would come often
to its communion services, and find those
things which are nourishing to the Soul and
inspiring to the mind.
The Imperator then set forth the specific
manner in which one was to attune with
the Cathedral, and this we shall also quote
in part:
At whatever hour we may wish to altune ourselves with the Cathedral and enjoy the contact and communion we shall
proceed as follows:
First, we shall wash our hands in clean
water and dry them well as a symbol of the

Page 44

cleansing of our bodies to enter the Cathe

dral. Then we shall take a drink of coid
water as a symbol of the cleansing of our
mouths that they may be pur and free
from any utterances that would be improper in the presence of the Masters and
the Spiritual Minds assembled in the Cathe
dral. Then we shall sit in silence ir some
place in the home where we may be alone,
whether in the dark or in the light, and,
closing our eyes, we shall say this brief
prayer in soundless words:
May the Divine Essence of the Cosmic
infuse my being and cleanse me of all impurities of mind and body, that I may enter
the Cathedral of the Soul, and Commune
in pureness and worthiness. So mote it be!
By this prayer we shall purge our minds
and cleanse our thoughts of any ideas that
would be unworthy within the sacred Ca
thedral. Then we shall remain seated, and
with eyes closed, visualize the consciousness
within us rising higher and higher, above
and beyond the limits of material existence,
to that Cosmic World to which our con
sciousness will seem to be drawn by the
very purity of its nature. We shall sit thus
in desire to reach the Cathedral until we
feel by a coolness of the atmosphere, by a
peacefulness in the body, by a restfulness
in the mind, and a sense of joy, that we have
entered into the Holy of Holiesa place of
quiet and peace, power and perfection.
It is particularly important to note the
phrase used and which we repeat: Then
we shall remain seated, and with eyes closed,
visualize the consciousness within us rising
higher and higher, above and beyond the
limits of material existence, to that Cosmic
World to which our consciousness will seem
to be drawn by the very purity of its na
ture. You may ask, How do you visualize
the consciousness rising within you? Con
sciousness is a state of realization, of aware
ness. It is not a thing in itself. It is too
abstract, it might be said, to visualize. One
cannot be conscious without being conscious
of something. Therefore, if we are to vis
ualize the consciousness within us rising
higher, we must have a visual symbol
we must be visually aware of something
ascending. At this point, then, we come to
the individual conception of the ascent. Each
may hold in mind, as a visual image, some

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

thing to symbolize the rising consciousness.

For analogy, one may think of himself as
soaring above the earth. On the screen of
consciousness he sees the earth and then,
as to one in an airplane, the earths surface
seems to recede farther and farther beneath him. He can next see himself entering into fleecy cumulus clouds and then going
beyond them into a cloudless canopy of
azure sky. This would be an example of
visualizing the rising consciousness.
As one holds this image in mind during
his meditation, a transition of his level of
consciousness occurs. Self moves or advances from objectivity and externality inward and upward to the more profound
states of awareness. The self gradually begins to have other states of consciousness
which are not visual but tactile, or feeling.
As explained by the late Imperator, these
sensations of consciousness may be those of
coolness, loss of weight of body and a sense
of complete freedom or liberation of both
body and mind. All limitations and anxieties
seem to be stripped away from us. There
is, then, a realization of other presences.
This may be experienced as a sound of exquisite singing or chanting by a choir or
even an inspirational phrase that is spoken.
We say spoken, yet the words will have a
different quality from those of human speech.
They will be auditory sensations, yet we
shall know that no physical tongue or mouth
has uttered them.
Eventually, as we reach a higher level of
consciousness, the sensations are so merged
that we find them almost inexplicable. There
is a complete harmony of th beauty of
color and sound and an ecstasy of feeling,
so that one kind of sensation is hardly distinguishable from another. The period of
such contact with the Cosmic may, as we
measure time, be but five seconds or even
less. To the one having the experience the
interval may seem to be an indeterminable
period of time as in a dream. Psychological
experimentation has proved that the interval
of the average dream experience during nor
mal sleep is but seconds, even though to the
consciousness the circumstances might seem
to require a lapse of many minutes or hours.
The essential point of this subject is that
the Cathedral of the Soul should not be
visualized as an actual structure somewhere

OCTOBER, 1954

in space, for it is only the symbolism of a

state of consciousness, of a conclave of minds
in Cosmic attunement. The visualization
should be temporary as a stimulus to bring
about the transference of self to a higher
state of consciousness. If one wishes, he
may temporarily visualize the Cathedral
high in the clouds and that in thought or
mind he is rising toward it. See your self
progressively rising through space toward
this symbolic Cathedral. When, however,
you have experienced the sensation of leaving your present surroundings, of becoming
light in weight and carefree in mind, dismiss
the mental picture of the Cathedral from
your mind. Its purpose has been served as
a symbol. At that time, transition and a
rise in consciousness is occurring; and the
visual symbol is no longer necessary. If
one contines to hold the picture in con
sciousness, he is but retaining the objective
state of concentra tion with its limiting in
fluence on the experiences which self might
have.X
Other Organizations

Is it beneficial to a student of the Rosi

crucian Order to delve into the Oriental
religions and to interest himself in the
teachings of other societies-or is that detrimental to his progress? The Rosicrucian
philosophy is a system whereby the indi
vidual, through the study of Cosmic laws
and principies as expressed in both nature
and man, lives and enjoys a fuller life. Such
a system necessarily must be quite comprehensive. It cannot confine itself to one
phase of human experience, limit itself to
a particular kind of knowledge only. The
Cosmic, in its phenomena and what man
calis laws, manifests itself both in what are
commonly referred to as the physical and
spiritual or psychic realms, these, of course,
being but different aspects of the whole. It
is for this reason that the Rosicrucian teach
ings concern themselves with the basic prin
cipies of various sciencesmany of such
principies having been discovered by Rosi
crucian scientists. Aspects of physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology, histology, anatomy,
physiology, and psychology are taught, as
well as metaphysics with its divisions such
as ontology.

Page 45

It is natural that each individual should

have his preference, or should exhibit more
interest in one subject than another. If, on
the other hand, the Rosicrucian member is
permitted to indulge in or pursue one subject
of the teachings to the neglect of the others,
he will never master them. He will fail
to achieve any success in the Rosicrucian
Order and is likely to attribute the failure
to the teachings rather than to his improper
way of study. There are those members
who occasionally protest the study of the
structure of matter or the nature of the liv
ing cell as it is presented in the teachings.
They remark that such is too material
and that they are only interested in spir
itual matters. Their attitude is one that
presumes that mans organism and mind are
quite divorced from Cosmic phenomena.
They fail to realize that the more infinite
forces function through the human body and
mind and that the material world is very
essential to the existence of the human be
ing. Man, for analogy, cannot become an
accomplished musician by studying only
theory, counterpoint, and harmony and not
learning the technique of some instrument.
There is a necessary relationship between
the two.
It is the balance of inquiry into the mundane with that into the spiritual and psychic
realms which constitutes the Rosicrucian
philosophy and has caused the teachings to
be so effective and to endure. If we recognize
the duality of the function of man, then
certainly we must, if we consider ourselves
students of life, be concerned with the underlying laws of this duality. As above, so
below. The Rosicrucian teachings show that
there is a spectrum of laws, that the same
Cosmic laws act for the different manifestations of being. Within the distant star and
within the living cell are operating related
laws. There is unity in the universe. What
this interrelationship is, is the principal
purpose of the Rosicrucian teachings to
reveal.
Though the student must not, for his own
enlightenment, overlook any topics of the
teachings, he can resort to extensive studies
along the line of his preference. For example, one of the degrees of the Rosicrucian
teachings gives a fairly comprehensive re-

Page 46

view of the principal Greek philosophies. It

is necessary to show how the mystery schools
with which some of the thinkers were affiliated contributed much to the advance
ment of human knowledge. It is also neces
sary to point out how the truths that these
thinkers discovered were foundational, that
is, how modern science and philosophical
thought today was built upon them or de
rived their stimulus from them. After all,
we cannot advance until we know what has
gone before or until we have some comparison to go by. There are those members who
are especially stimulated by these philo
sophical studies and teachings and wish to
pursue them more extensively. We then
recommend what they may study along
such lines and what will be both instructive
and interesting to them. The same may be
said of such subjects as ontology or the na
ture of being, or the metaphysics of Plotinus
or the mysticism of Dionysius.
We know that the Rosicrucian teachings
have encouraged members to make a study
an impersonal oneof comparative religions. Thus they have come to know better
mens concept of God and the moral life.
Some members have affiliated even with
Buddhist societies of various kinds. The late
Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, received
an honorary ordination as a Buddhist bishop
because of his writings on Buddhism. How
ever, he was not a Buddhist in fact; he was
nonsectarian. He did find much in Bud
dhism that gave him a better insight into
the thought and aspirations of the peoples
of the East. He was also a student of other
religious doctrines. The present Imperator
is a member of the Maha Bodhi Society, a
renowned Buddhist literary research or
ganization in India with branches elsewhere.
This society has its monasteries in India
which the incumbent Imperator has visited.
The Imperator and other true Rosicrucian
students use such studies and affiliations to
add to their fount of knowledge and to aid
them in their Rosicrucian pursuits. They
consider such as supplementary intellectual
and cultural activities, never intended to
supplant their membership in the Order.
The Rosicrucian is always advised against
affiliation with, or the pursuit of, a study
simultaneously with his Rosicrucian teach
ings which would be diametrically opposed

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

to them in thought or purpose. Such difference can result only in confusion. If the
member is not convinced of the advantages
of his Rosicrucian teachings when affiliating
with some other organization or studying
extraneous material, he should then make
a decisin immediately. He should either
discontinu the opposing studies or his Rosi
crucian membership. One cannot ride simul
taneously two horses going in different
directions.
There are those members who after their
interest is awakened in mysticism or related
subjects by reason of AMORC studies im
mediately join every group or society within
their means purporting to teach the same.
Thus they get mental indigestin. Often
they are not judicious in their choice of other
affiliations with contemporary movements,
for some of these movements have no authenticity or historical background. Many
such groups, large or small, are built around
a single, perhaps glamorous, personality.
The claims of such a leader cannot be verified in any history of esoteric societies to be
found in public libraries or encyclopedias.
These members who affiliate so readily with
such groups would not purchase real proper
ty, jewelry, or an automobile on such unsupported claims. Yet they affiliate with
movements professing to give metaphysical
teachings. Some of these groups and their
leaders claim that their teachings come from
lamaseries of Tibet or some other remte
and thus intriguing place. However, the
society has no original manuscripts to prove
this and the individuals claims are never
questioned by these zealous members. The
leaders never give out any actual address
or location as to where the teachings they
offer were acquired by them.
AMORC not only mentions its world-wide
connections, but members who attend the
annual International Conventions in Rosi
crucian Park meet personally officers and
members from these lodges and temples
throughout the world. In public and university libraries throughout the world may
be found numerous books on the history
and centuries-old existence of the Rosicru
cian Order. On display in our archives and
at each Convention are original works by
historically known Rosicrucians who con
tributed in some way to the teachings and

OCTOBER, 1954

doctrines of the Order. These things, then,

are not claims put forth by AMORC but
facts.
The Rosicrucian Order does not seek to
prevent any of its members from affiliating
with any other legitmate, constructive so
ciety or organization. It does caution its
members to investgate before they do. Expatiate on your knowledge if you wish, but
do not enter into a system of personal ideas
advanced by some individual leader under
a ame or title incorporated perhaps within
the last decade or so and with absolutely no
historical records or traditions of the past.X
This Issues Personality
Frater Salim Constantine Saad was born
in a land where the age-old civilizations of
the East merged with the culture of the
West. He was born in Lebanon in 1891.
The ancient cedar forests of his native land
were the principal source of timber for the
pharaohs of Egypt. Their fine furniture
and even the sarcophagi in which their
mummies were laid were made of the cedars
of Lebanon. The tombs have many muris
depicting the ancient trade between the
Egyptians and what are now the Le bese.
Frater Saad graduated from the American
University at Beirut, Syria, in 1908. Immediately thereafter he pursued the teaching profession in Lebanon for a period of
four years. Being drawn to the new world,
he went to Brazil in 1914, and resided there
five years. During this time he acquired
further education in the realm of engineering. Frater Saad has always been nonsectarian, not being a member of any religious
sect but liberally recognizing the great moral
influences behind all systems of religin.
This attitude caused him to become a stu
dent of comparative religin and philosophy
at an early age.
Having family connections in the United
States, he carne to that country and estab-

Page 47

lished himself in business in the State of

Missouri. His philosophical inquines even
tually brought him to the threshold of the
Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, and he affiliated
with the Order in the summer of 1937. After
he liquidated his business in the Middle
West, his interest in AMORC brought him
and Soror Saad to Rosicrucian Park in 1942.
The experience and technical training of
Frater Saad resulted in his becoming a
member of the Rose-Croix University facul
ty. In 1944 he was director of the AMORC
Planetarium.
Frater Saad returned to the Near East in
1946, associating himself with his brother
in Cairo. He became extremely active in
that ancient land in reviving interest in the
Rosicrucian Order. In 1949 during a visit
of the Imperator, Frater Saad had conferred
upon him the authority of Grand Master of
the Amenhotep Grand Lodge of Egypt. The
investiture of Frater Saad by the Imperator
took place between the paws of the Sphinx
where so many ancient candidates of the
Egyptian mystery schools had taken their
solemn obligations. With other officers and
members of the Grand Lodge of Egypt, he
participated with the Imperator in the sacred
ceremony conducted in the Kings Chamber
of the Great Pyramid in August 1953 on
the memorable day of prophecy.
The Order has received many benefits
from the versatile experience of Frater Saad.
Not only is he well-versed in Rosicrucian
principies and mystical philosophy, but he
has excellent administrative ability. As a
result of the compounding of these attributes,
he has been successful in overcoming many
obstacles to the growth of the Order in
Egypt, which were the result of the turmoil
in the Near East during the last decade. His
loyalty and devotion to AMORC, as well as
that of his good wife, who is likewise a
Rosicrucian of many years standing, are
known to members throughout the world.X

CHRISTMAS CARDS
Of

DISTINCTION
Featuring
EXCLUSIVE
REPRODUCTIONS
of

O. Abbatecolas
finest painting!

We are pleased to present

the work of the famous
artist and stage designer,
Abbatecola at work on The Three Manifestations'
Orondo Abbatecola, as the
cover for this years Christmas Card. The Three Manifestations was conceived as the basic
pattern behind all nature; a beginning, which is birtha crucifixin, which is development
and a resurrection, which is achievement.
In beautiful colors, these cards carry a significant verse, appropriate to the season, and also ar
inconspicuous symbol of the Order. They come boxed in lots of 10 for $1.65, and 25 for $3.90
Order early; the supply is limited. Write to: Rosicrucian Supply Bureau, San Jos, California
USE THIS
ORDER FORM

Rosicrucian Supply Bureau

Rosicrucian Park
San Jos, California
Gentlemen: Please send me the number and type of
cards I have checked on this form. Enclosed is my7
remittance for.....................................

^ o boxea
desired

.
4 x (
@ #1.65 (11/10 sterling).
, v of, 25
^ Abbatecola
A,,
, cards
, size
. 4x<
........... box(es)
@ #3.90 (1/7/10 sterling).

........... box (es) of 10 Abbatecola cards size

ame............................................................................................................................................. Key No.

Address..........................................................................................................................................................
State or
City.....................................................................................Zone...............................Country.............. .
P R IN T E D IN U . S . A ,

tfSIsSSSj T H R O SIC R U C IA N PRESS L T D .

December, 1954
Yol. X X V

No. 3

Rosicrucian Forum
A p rv a te

p u b lic a tio n fo r m e m b e rs of A M O R C

Carlos Nez A., F. R. C., Grand Councilor of AMORC for Latn America,
(see page 54)

Page 50

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Greetings!
V

CAUSES OF WAR
Dear Fratres and Sorores:
did inure to them later as a consequence of
The two greatest contributing factors to their Creative powers, it was evaluated by
war are poverty and power. The former is a them as very much less than their joy of
physiological cause, and the latter is a psy- accomplishment.
It is, therefore, not wrong to have a love
chological one. The gnawing, impelling urge
for food will compel a people to east aside all of power. It is in the application of the
normal judgment and restraint. The risk of power that danger arises. The man or men
life and of properties means little to the who have made their end in life the accumuhuman who is continually haunted by the lation of natural resources, or a gaining of
need of the bare necessities of living. Life the wealth of facilities, are the ones who are
without such necessities is a torture not to be really dangerous to humanity. Their spirit
endured. It is considered worth the gamble of conquest is tainted with avarice and cuof death to be free from abject poverty and pidity. They want power for possession.
all of its horrible accompaniments. It has Power for possession results in its use against
been truly said that there are many things others. The lover of power for possession is
worse than death. Slow starvation and the not content to have all that which he may
resultant disease, pain, and months or years need of something. He has also the perverted
of mental torment are such things. The desire to have more than any other may
people who intentionally or unwittingly, possess. Further, such a use of power seeks to
through stupid government regulations, cause prevent others from having to the same
a nation to be economically throttled and extent. It is, in other words, the restricted
thus starved are provoking wara war in use of power, the attempt to immure things
which no quarter will be shown by the or conditions with it. The person who uses
his powers to forc entry into a source of
enemy.
The love of conquest does not always be supplies which others may share in some
gin with military aggression, but often may manner may rightly love power, but it is
lead to it. The active mind loves domination used as a benefactor of society. The one who
over its environment, and those circum employs his power to bar the way for others
is not a real lover of power. He is not really
stances which challenge it. The student, the
philosopher, and the scientist love to exert enjojng the energy or forc he is bringing
the power of their minds over the mysteries to bear, but rather the ends which make it
of the unknown. They like to experience available to him alone.
mastery of self over the forces of nature.
Today, therefore, any nation which inSuch mastery is a satisfaction to the ego, yet terprets or proceeds to apply its economic,
it is constructive and beneficial to the whole financial, and military power, in the sense
of humanity. The philosopher who dissolves of denying or restricting equal opportunities
the superstition by revealing the mental for prosperity, freedom, and happiness to
causes which produced it, finds great satis other nations, is a provoker of war. A nation
faction in his achievement. In addition, how which because of its natural resources and
ever, he has been a benefactor to humanity.
availability to trade routes, technical skill,
The same may be said of the scientist who and monetary wealth, has acquired a power
devises a time-saving instrument. Such per of accomplishment is duty bound to exercise
sons find satisfaction in the application of a portion of such power toward assisting less
their personal power. What may later be de fortnate nations. The challenge of conquest
rived as personal gain from such power is of which compels the exertion of such power
no concern to them. Most of the great philoso- cannot be confined to the territorial requirements of a single nation alone. One cannot
phers were not rich in worldly goods. Many
of the great scientists and inventors were
consider himself, for analogy, a successful
likewise not wealthy men. Even if wealth
physician if he has just applied the power

DECEMBER, 1954

Page 51

of his therapeutic skill to his own community, when disease is rampant in an adjoining
settlement. A powerful nation in the future
must be construed in the terms of one that
accepts the challenge of world conditions.
It must be ready to use the might of its re
sources and skill to preserve for humanity
what it also enjoys for itself. The real lover
of power finds his joy in exerting it under
and in all circumstances and conditions,
whether the results inure just to his imme
diate benefit or to others as well. A true
application of political and economic power
must therefore be impersonal. It must work
for all humanity collectively. Whenever the
power is confined to national interests exclusively, it is an example of its misapplication and the danger signal of war.
If poverty is a provocative of war, then the
powerful nations, to rightly use their power,
must ever accept the challenge of poverty
where ver it exists throughout the world.
People may see eye to eye on the need of
food, security, and comforts. However, after
these physical needs are met, a succession of
different interests develops. These divergent
interests are due to tradition and endemic
customs. It may take many centuries, with
all of our technical developments, to reach
a standardization of living which will unite
people. This pursuit of often extremely dif
ferent aims makes it difficult for a people
of one nation to understand another and to
be sympathetic to their needs. Especially
is this so where ideis or intellectual aims
are had. An example of such intellectual
idealism is the various political ideologies of
today which bring the people in conflict with
each other. If it is more generally realized
that humans are still far more emotional
than intellectual, this difficulty can be
bridged.
More often the emotional nature finds its
satisfaction in certain cultural pursuits. An
audience of Russian, French, Germn, English, and Americans who are responsive to

music will alike enjoy a symphonic concert.

All of their intellectual, social, and traditional heritages and differences are bridged
by this single emotional appealthe love
of music. The same can be said of painting,
sculpturing, and handcrafts. If the great
powers will sponsor international art exhibits
and concerts, a bond of fellowship will be
established between all peoples. A common
ground of appreciation and regard for each
others cultural ideis will be had which will
subordnate the intellectual ones out of which
conflict now often arises. It is often believed
that the extremes of intellectualism which
exist between peoples those who differ
from you in their viewsmake such persons
strange and to be suspected. When it can be
shown that the depth of feeling of those who
do not necessarily think as we do is the same
as our own, hostility disappears.
In the Rosicrucian Oriental, Egyptian
Museum, we have proven this to be a fact.
Periodically in one of our galleries we display exhibits of paintings done by celebrated
artists of foreign nations. The collections of
paintings are either released from New York
or San Francisco. Recently we exhibited the
work of contemporary celebrated Australian
and New Zealand artists. The love of art
attracted to the Rosicrucian Museum, upon
this occasion, people who perhaps would have
been otherwise hostile to what they imagined
to be the Rosicrucian philosophical or intel
lectual ideis. Their appreciation of our display of this art, on the other hand, did not
necessarily invoke an interest in Rosicrucian
ism, or was it so intended, but it did make
them friendly and more tolerant of our other
efforts. The average man can feel more
deeply than he can think. Cultural unity,
therefore, must be furthered by the exchange
of that which appeals to the higher emotions
and sentiments of peoples everywhere. A
brotherhood of mankind can more often be
sensed through the work of music or art
than through the words of a philosopher.

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, California,
under Section 1103 o the U . S. Postal Act of Oct. 3, 1917.
The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every o+her month) by the Department
of Publicaton of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/1 sterling) A N N U A LLY FOR MEMBERS O N LY

Page 52

When men feel they are one, they will define

that oneness in terms of principies which
they can collectively understand.
Fraternally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator.
(Reprint of a former article by the
Imperator, who is overseas at this time.)

The Discovery of Self

From the standpoint of psychology, self is
the center of being. From the standpoint of
Rosicrucian psychology, self is even more
than the center of all our being. It is the
microcosm which is a replica or representa
ron of all the universe as centered in one
point of manifesta tion. It is difficult to de
fine self for it is complicated by the current
of thought that is constantly running through
and maintaining consciousness. Within self
lie the entire expression and the potentiality
of the human mindthe most intimate of
our possessions. It is the storehouse of our
prvate being, which includes the memory,
feeling, and the potentialities of the expres
sion that make the individual self unique
and separate from other selves, and yet we
are made to realize that self is a part of a
chain which is interconnected with all other
living things.
Possibly the best illustration of the unity
and yet at the same time the interdependence of self is the explanation contained in
the book, Mansions of the Soul, written by
Dr. H. Spencer Lewis. He illustrates the
principie of incarnation by having each self
be representative of, or represented by, an
electric light globe into which an electric
current is fed. The electric current is the
means of the expression of the light globe.
In other words, by the entry of electricity
into each of these globes, there results a
manifestation of light. Each light is a sep
arate segment of light. Light is not the
electric current or is the electric current
the light. Light is the expression that takes
place within the globe as the result of the
electrical current entering into it. Without
the electric current, there would be no light
but, at the same time, each light is connected to the others through the mdium
of the same electric current.
Self, as an individual entity, is something
like the light in the electric globe. It is an
individual expression, an expression that has

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

unique individuality and a specific person

ality. It radiates a certain forc or manifestation that is peculiar and individual to itself.
In that sense it is an individualistic expres
sion, and the same life forc that causes it
to be, to exist, functions throughout the uni
verse and is manifest in every self, just as
the electrical current from its source activates each of the electric light globes that
happen to be attached to that particular
electrical circuit.
Self is the center of all human experience.
In it function all things that cause the hu
man experience and the individual human
being to be an intelligent entity. Experiences
which contribute to the total of our being, to
the total of our character and individual
expression of life, are brought to a focal
point in this self. As we live we find self
expressing the various emotions and knowl
edge that it has bent its power to leam and
to grow upon. As the center of experience,
all experiences are realized and, possibly to
a degree, understood through the self.
In self we find hope, joy, sorrow, pain,
grief. All the emotions which indicate the
trend of life and the way in which life is
being adapted to its circumstances and to its
nature are reflected in the experiences of
self. To concntrate attention and time exclusively upon self and to direct our time
and effort toward the development and
understanding of self is, of course, a func
tion that is our responsibility in life. At
the same time, to exaggerate self by always
measuring everything with which we come
in contact in terms of it, we exaggerate and
intensify the side issues that are accompaniments of the manifestation of self.
To dwell upon self is to exaggerate its
shortcomings as well as to develop its abili
ties. To intensify the functioning of this
being, which is the I or the ego of the
individual, is to intensify all those accompanying reactions that go along with the
manifestation of self and which may be for
the good or the detriment of the individual.
Intensificaron of self to the point of selfishness only exaggerates pain and despair. We
can become so sensitive to the circumstances
about us that self is easily injured by the
various triis and tribulations that go to
make up the course of life.
Of course, one purpose of the realization
of self is to place it properly in relation to

DECEMBER, 1954

the whole scheme of being or of life. In

other words, there must come a time when
we realize completely what the potentialities
and the purpose of self are and how they
can be reunited or re-reconciled with the
vital life forc that causes the self to func
tion, at least temporarily, as an individual
entity. At the same time, however, our di
rection of attention to the self must be with
reasonable moderation; otherwise, we build
it into an overpowering ego which only
functions for its own purpose and for its
own selfish end. The word selfish itself
comes from the word self, and carries the
modern meaning of exclusiveness, that is, of
devoting the desires, hopes, and needs of
self to the exclusive benefit or satisfaction
of oneself regardless of the pain or consequences to someone else.
Many human emotions are intensified by
the failure of an individual to properly ad
just himself to the circumstances in which
he lives. Many of the actions which we may
do unconsciously or without careful consideration have dire effects upon the emo
tional structure of people about us simply
because we do not take into consideration
the effect of our own thoughtlessness and
the course of our own actions as they in
fluence other selves about us. It is well,
that if man is to adjust himself to the pur
pose for which he was created and to have
hope of reconciling his being to the ideis
that are representative in a divine being,
that we should never lose the habit of analyzing our own thoughts and actions in
terms of their effect upon others. To take
a course of action simply because it is our
desire to do so, simply because it is more
convenient for us to act in a certain manner
than it is in another, regardless of what may
be the consequences to someone else, is drastically affecting the psychojogical adjustment of the other individual to the varied
triis and tribulations of life from which
we ourselves ask to be freed.
How often in the exaggeration of our own
self-importance or of our own selfish desires
and end do we forget that individuis about
us are probably more affected than we real
ize by some of our actions or words. It may
be convenient for us to take a certain action;
we may think that it adds pleasure or it will
cause us less trouble than performing the
act in some other way; but if we fail to

Page 53

realize the effect of that act upon someone

else, we are building up within our selves
those selfish attributes that tend to shut out
our own development.
This is a very difficult problem from an
ethical standpoint. There are many things
which we do that have no direct bearing
upon the lives and fortunes of any other
individual; that is, it would seem to us at
times that it makes no difference how we
act or how we function. At the same time,
by analyzing how someone else reacted to
the steps that we had taken, we learn that
had we inconvenienced ourselves slightly,
we might have saved that someone else much
concern, much worry, heartache, and even
hardship.
Some will say that I am not my brothers
keeper, that it is not for me to adjust
every move and motive of my being to the
convenience of someone else. There are
certain grounds for argument in favor of
such a concept, but in the allover scope of
life, we collect scars upon ourselves by in
juries caused to someone else; that is, we
may think that our actions may be independent of another human being, but usual
ly they are not. They are interrelated and
just as in the illustration of the electric
light globe, if one is short-circuited, it may
blow a fuse that will turn off the current
from the whole group and thereby throw
that particular circuit into darkness. Thus
it is that if we, by our actions, do not
broaden our concept of self enough to take
into consideration the self of other individ
uis and entities about us, we are in a sense
short-circuiting the circuit; and by the
grief and problems which we bring to some
one else, we are building up Karma for our
selves, for which we must pay by receiving
similar treatment at the hands of someone
else at some other time.
To eventually come to know self one must,
while surrounded by the material world, at
times forget self. We are in a material
world in order to experience the process of
life and to compare constantly the material
environment in which we live with the reactions of our self to it. We tend to exag
gerate the selfs importance in terms of the
material. To occasionally forget self and to
live for the benefit of other selves is to train
ourselves to be able to face our own inner
self. This may seem like a rather elabrate

Page 54

and contradictory statement, but it is a typical process of nature that by concentrating

too much upon one thing, its importance becomes out of proportion to the whole. To
explain further, we become ready for even
tual self-realization when we realize that self
as an entity can stand, not supported entire
ly by the material universe of which we are
a part but by the forc of its own source,
and by taking into consideration the manifes
tation of that source in other selves.
The mystic believes that God can be ex
perienced through self; that is, his funda
mental concept is that the awareness of the
Divine or the Infinite is possible through
self without any intermediary. However,
in accepting this premise and realizing that
the self is the channel to connect us with a
forc outside the material body or the ma
terial world, we must not confuse the issue
and believe that self itself is God. God is
resident to a degree within self. We are
told that the kingdom of heaven is within
us, but it is not to be presumed from that
statement that God Himself is limited to
residence within our own being. He becomes known through the process of the
development of our own inner conscious
ness. God is remte from man until man
seeks God; that is, God makes Himself available through the channels which man can
use to approach Him. We may liken this to
a house upon a mountaintop: it can be seen
from a long distance; it is obviously there,
and we can have access to it when we make
the effort. The same principie is true in the
understanding of the Divine, of gaining the
Cosmic attunement for which we seek.
Through the awareness of the inner ex
perience of self being raised to a level of
consciousness where it can free itself from
the bonds and shackles of the material world,
we are led to God; and God is made to be
present within us as an existent forc within
our consciousness. But self, insofar as contact
with God is concemed, serves as an inter
mediary. It is not to be confused with God or
to be confused with the fact that God exists
independently of the universe. God transcends the material universe but is within it
as well.
Evil, with its attributes of sorrow, pain,
and despair, is a typical accompaniment of
the material world. Evil can be traced to
our relationship with matter and the ma

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

terial world, whereas the soul of man has

the ability to transcend all material things.
Through the soul, self may extend itself to
the source from which it carne, to the God
who created it, to the God who will give
understanding or cause understanding to be
in that soul if it reaches out toward that
source of infinite wisdom, knowledge, and
direction.A
_
This Issues Personality
Closely associated with the phenomenal
growth of our Latin-American membership
is Frater Carlos Nez. Over the years his
personal presence at lodges and chapters
throughout Central and South America has
served to form a strong bond of fellowship
between these far-flung groups of Rosicrucians. On his own time and at his own ex
pense, he has acted as liaison officer between
the staff at headquarters in San Jos and
the officers and members of Latin-American
groups. His most recent travels carried him
even to Germany, Holland, and France,
where he exchanged greetings with officers
and members of the Order. As a frequent
visitor to San Jos, he has become very well
known to members from every part of the
world. During the 1954 Rosicrucian Convention, he served as chairman, and during
the same week witnessed the appellation of
his first child in the Supreme Temple.
Frater Nez became associated with the
Rosicrucian Order at an early age. Born in
Mxico City in 1925, his mystical inclina
tions and interest in metaphysics manifested
themselves before he was ten years of age.
By then he had lost complete interest in the
strict orthodox religious sect into which he
was born. From nine to thirteen years of
age, he sought to understand more of the
universe in which he lived by studying and
reading in mathematics and science. In later
years he made his first prvate studies in
metaphysics, including some experiments
with suggestion and hypnosis. At fifteen, he
met a frater of the Rosicrucian Order, and
as soon as possible thereafter, was himself
initiated into AMORC in the Quetzalcoatl
Lodge of Mxico City.
He has at various intervals served as
Chanter, Master, and Inspector General of
his home lodge in Mxico City. In 1951 he
was given the high commission of Grand

DECEMBER, 1954

Councilor of AMORC for the Latin-American countries, a position he still holds.

Frater Nezs personal and professional
life reflects a mark of success and achievement not often found in one so young. An
electrical engineer of the highest caliber, he
received his B.Sc. degree in Electrical Com
munications from the Polytechnic Institute
of Mxico and, later, his M.S. degree in
electronics and physics from the Kansas
State College in the United States.
At present he is a professor in electronics
at his alma mater in Mxico; he also serves
his government as Chief of the Department
of International Affairs in Telecommunications. On several occasions, he has represented Mxico before International Conferences on telecommunications. He is also the
author of the Worlds Plan for International
Broadcasting of Mxico.
In his spare time, Frater Nez devotes
himself to his attractive young wife and
daughter. As might be expected from a man
whose Rosicrucian ideis are applied in the
science of telecommunications, he has surrounded himself with classical music as well
as the most modern instruments for its re
production. In these he finds the inspiration
and harmony which make his life exemplary
of that ideal toward which Rosicrucians
everywhere are striving.B
Can Projection be Wrongly Used?
Occasionally there comes to my attention
correspondence from members who claim
that they are being persecuted by means of
psychic projection. This type of correspond
enceand oral complainthas become frequent enough for us to consider it in this
Forum.
The principies underlying the projection
of the psychic consciousness or the conscious
ness of the inner self have been thoroughly
illustrated in the monographs of the teach
ings. For this purpose, it will be sufficient to
merely touch upon one or two of the basic
principies of the phenomenon.
The human is a matrix of vibratory
energy, vibrations of various frequencies and
consisting of the two polarities, namely, positive and negative. As a whole, the vibratory
energy of the bodythe material nature of
manis predominantly negative. This is because the chemical elements of mans nature

Page 55

are composed of that spirit energy which

underlies all matter. This spirit energy, or
electronic energy, if you will, is both positive
and negative in its polarity. However, in
contrast to still another energy, it is pre
dominantly negative. This other energy in
man is the V.L.F. (Vital Life Forc), which
imbues every cell and is of the Universal
Consciousness of the Cosmic. In comparison
to the energy of matter, it is more infinite,
less restricted and thus more positive in its
polarity. The human aura is a combination
of these two energies: the spirit energy of
matter which is predominantly negative, and
the predominantly positive energy of the
V.L.F. of the soul forc.
Projection of consciousness is actually a
projecting of the consciousness of the soul
forc within us, in accordance with some
idea or concept which we may have. Let us
use an analogy, to better understand this
principie. An electric current flows from a
generator through an electric lamp. The cur
rent in the lamp is always directly connected
with its source, the generator. The current
in the lamp manifests by heating the ele
ments and becoming light. The light that
radiates from the lamp we may liken to the
ego, the self. The light is an attribute of the
current and dependent upon it, and so also
is the ego or psychic self, dependent upon
the positive polarity or soul forc which
is in us.
Psychic projection, to use the analogy
again, consists, then, of having the light of
the lamp spread out farther and farther,
either in one direction or in all directions,
as we may desire. The projection of that
light is really a projection of the manifesta
tion of the electric current that is within
it. Our ego, then, or self is our consciousness
of the soul forc within us; namely, the soul
forc within man manifests as the conscious
ness of self. When we project, we are extending that consciousness of self into space.
Physically you may be situated in a room of
your own home, but the self, the you is wherever the consciousness of self is, namely,
wherever you realize yourself to be, which
could be on the other side of the earth from
where your body is situated. When you
become engrossed, for analogy, in a motion
picture, as we are told in our monographs,
the self becomes closely identified with the
characters in the story, or lost in the inci-

Page 56

dents of the play. You then have projected

your self into the screen. You are no longer
aware of where your physical body is.
Projection of consciousness can be either
passive or active. If passive, we have become
receptive to the incidents and circumstances
of the place to which our psychic self is projecting. Thus, if I should desire to project to
a certain European city, with which I am
familiar, and use the technique given in our
monographs for the purpose, and if I am
successful I would find myself, in conscious
ness, in that city. Under such circumstances,
I will not appear there as a physical being,
that is, I will not see myself walking about
as one would see his image in a dream.
Rather, it would be as though I were looking out of a dark doorway upon a scene.
My own image would not be visible, yet in
consciousness I would be there and I would
be able to perceive all that happened. I
might have sentient experiences, that is, I
might feel, see, hear, and smell what occurs
at the lcale. However, so long as I remain
but an observer or spectator and do nothing
more, mine would be passive projection. Conversely, if in projection we try to communicate with another, or to make ourselves visi
ble in any form so that our presence can
be realized, then we are active in our
projection.
How is this phenomenon, which has been
known by many different ames such as
bilocation, Epiphany, and empathy, accomplished? As said, the specific procedure to be
followed by the member is related in the
monographs. The basic principie is that the
psychic self is of a positive polarity, since
it is a manifestation of the Cosmic or Uni
versal Soul forc in man. Consequently, like
the soul forc, it has no restriction and it
need not be body-bound. It can be projected
anywhere, any time into the Cosmic. How
ever, a malevolent thought, a thought as
sociated with hate, jealousy, envy, et cetera,
is negative, somatic, and earthly. If such
thoughts, as purposes, are associated with the
desire to pro ject, then the psychic self or
inner consciousness is not able to reach out
into the Cosmic. It is blocked by an unsurmountable barrier. Thoughts which are
destructive and malevolent are limited to the
objective consciousness of the persons think
ing them. No matter how strenuously such
an individual tries to reach out with such

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

thoughts and to project self with them, they

go no further than a few feet in their in
fluence. Such thoughts may be felt in the
limited negative vibrations of the human
aura. We have said that the negative vibra
tions of the human aura are of the material
or earthly substance of the body. They are
thus more limited and not able to radate
from the body more than a few feet. In the
immediate presence of such a person, we
may experience his acrimonious intents as
a feeling of unrest on our part, or a feeling
of repugnance toward him.
Furthermore, there is another factor which
protects every human from the attempts of
others to project their psychic self for improper or immoral purposes, and this is the
conscience. The conscience of an individual
represents the highest moral idealism of
which he is able to conceive. It arises from
a perception of the Divine qualities of his
own nature, and a defining of those qualities
into terms of moral vales. What we as indi
viduis morally will not consciously sub
scribe to becomes a bulwark of protection
against the vicious thoughts of others. Our
conscience or moral precepts are firmly
established in our subjective minds. They
have become a law to the subjective, by our
continual abiding by them and making of
them a habit. Therefore, when we are asleep
or in a so-called subjective state, these pre
cepts are active and prevent a violation of
our spiritual selves. They work by reflex,
repelling any thought that may reach the
inner consciousness and which is contra to
them.
This is not merely a mystical dissertation
or speculation. It has also been easily proven
by numerous experiments in hypnosis, hypnosis conducted for psychological and therapeutic purposes. It is an established fact that
a person who has been placed in a hypnotic
state, and has voluntarily submitted his will
and objective powers to those of the operator
cannot be compelled to do anything which is
in conflict with his moral sense. Such an
individual, when in a hypnotic state, instead
of being able to reason for himself and suggest to his own subjective mind, has the
objective reason and will of the operator
supplant his own functions. Consequently,
the subject, the one in the hypnotic state,
will obey every command or suggestion of
the operator. The subjective mind obeys the

DECEMBER, 1954

command, as it is the function of the sub

jective to do so. However, whenever a command is issued by the operator, as a test,
that the subject should resort to conduct or
language which is contrary to his moral sense
or conscience, the subject will be found not
to respond. It means that the subjective
mind has repelled the suggestion that the law
established there as the result of habit is invoked. This law acts as a guardian of the
threshold of the consciousness and actions of
the individual. Persons in hypnotic states,
as a matter of experimentation, have been
asked to resort to obscenity and indecent acts,
and the subject has always remained silent
and immobile. This indicates that such things
were contrary to the normal moral sense and
law of the subject.
In one of our monographs concerning pro
jection, and in giving assurance to our mem
bers that others could not take possession of
them by means of projection for any improper purposes, we say: What in your
waking state you would not permit, in a
sense of decency, would not and could not
be possible when you are asleep or in a sub
jective state, and at a time when the inner
self stands guard. Then, again: Your
moral standards and your conduct which
have become a habit put a wall of sanctity
and safety around you which no projection
can invade for improper purposes.
In spite of these age-old mystical princi
pies, and in spite of the fact that they have
been empirically proven by hypnosis, there
are those persons who insist in tormenting
themselves by the belief that they are being
violated by the improper thoughts and acts
of another while they sleep, and by means
of psychic projection. They will insist that
they have on occasion seen psychic personali
ties, with evil leers on their faces, enter the
privacy of their bedchambers. They further
relate that such projected personalities made
improper advances toward them, or other
acts which terrified them. Were such ex
periences actual exceptions to the Cosmic
principies? The answer is no. Investiga tion
of such cases has invariably revealed that a
series of events have led up to such delusions.
Usually the person has had some previous
shock or terrifying experience in connection
with the personality, which he later im
agines is projecting to him for improper
purposes. The shock of the objective ex

Page 57

perience causes a phobia, a fixation in the

subjective mind. Subsequently the individual
broods over the experience and such brooding enlarges it in his mind, and finally he
comes to dwell upon this fixation almost
every conscious hour. Little illnesses, minor
misfortunes, or minor unfavorable incidents
he begins to attribute to the influence of
that personality. The realization of the per
sonality becomes greater and greater within
the subjective mind where the phobia has
been established. Eventually the person ac
tually imagines the physical presence of the
personality at all hours. To put it more
simply, the impressions of the personality
from within, the result of the illusion, are
such intense sensations that the individual
is unable to distinguish between them and
reality, that is, the things he sees or hears
objectively. It reaches the unfortunate stage
where the victims reactions to his phobia
are actually confused with normal objective
experiences. The unfortunate person is sure
he has actually seen or heard in his presence
the person whom he fears, endeavoring to
inflict harm upon him psychically.
Such a victim of this fear may actually
have known, by previous study, that Cos
mically such projections are impossible, yet
because of his phobia, the experiences as
built up within his subjective have become
so real that he can no longer deny them,
any more than he can deny that he sees some
object outside of his window. The only solu
tion is to try to remove the phobia, to go
behind the cause and extrpate it from the
subconscious mind. This has often been done
eifectively through medical hypnosis, by a
trained psychologist or psychiatrist. The procedure is a simple one. The patient is put
(voluntarily, of course) into a hypnotic sleep.
Then a counter suggestion opposing the na
ture of the phobia is implanted in the sub
jective mind, by repeating it numerous times.
It becomes a law just as it would if it had
been suggested by the objective mind of the
patient to himself. The counter suggestion is,
of course, associated with the phobia as a
related idea. The subject does not objectively
know what has been said to him while he
was in the hypnotic state. In the post-hypnotic statenamely, when he is again nor
mal, and while going about his affairsif
the phobia thereafter again begins to take
possession of him, by association the counter

Page 58

idea arises simultaneously and ameliorates

it. In this way, the efficacy of the phobia
is gradually diminished to a point where the
patient is able to compose himself, his will
is strengthened, and he is thereafter able to
discipline his own mind.
(Reprint of a former article by the
Imperator, who is overseas at this time )

Does Luck Exist?

A frater in the United States Army, now
stationed in Italy, joins our F o r u m C ir c le .
He arises to ask: Is there such a thing as
luck? Why do we sometimes continually win
in a game while other persons lose, no mat
ter how hard they may try? Also, why is it
that some days it seems that everything is
against us; for instance, if you are waiting
in line for something to be issued, you get
the worst, while everyone else gets the best,
and so throughout the entire dayor life. I
am a member overseas in Italy and seem to
be going around puzzled about the world,
with many questions on my mind all of the
time. This is the first opportunity I have had
to submit a question to the Forum. For my
benefit and, of course, to help the Forum, I
will send in others from now on.
The word luck is used ordinarily in the
sense of one of two meanings. It is either
used in the sense of good fortune or chance.
Between the two uses, however, there lies a
vast difference of meaning. Either, fortune
is created for us or we do our own creating
of it. Those who assume that our fortune
lies entirely out of our powers and the cir
cumstances of environment are fatalists.
Such individuis presume that external
powers or entities may arbitrarily favor an
individual or affect him detrimentally. This
influence may, in the opinion of some, be
ordained in advance of birth, as a prescribed
course of living, which is inescapable. Again,
others accept it as a fate which is decreed
from day to day, or hour to hour. The unthinking and overzealous devotee of astrology
is often one of the latter type. He is apt to
believe that every favorable incident or unfavorable one is the direct result of an in
fluence upon him from the stars. Luck to
him means a fatalistic control of the affairs
of his life, regardless of the exercise of his
will, or the use of his own powers to create
his destiny.
Some students of mysticism have the same

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

attitude toward karma or the Cosmic doc

trine of Cosmic compensation. They presume
that conduct in a previous life has absolutely
determined the course of events for this one.
Consequently, they are of the opinion that
whatever happens to them is karmic, in the
sense of being the effect of a cause having
occurred in a previous existence. They ig
nore entirely the minor causes of their
present living. Such causes may be the accumulated mpetus of numerous current acts
on their part producing their present plight
or advantage. Such, again, is fatalism, and
results in a suppression of the individual will
and a submitting to circumstances. Let us
outrightly deny the existence of a fate which
predetermines and fixes the course of human
lives and events.
Causes may result in certain effects emphatically following, provided that the causes
are not countered or mitigated. The cause,
however, carries with it no power that pre
vens it from being altered by still other
more potent causes. For analogy, a ball
thrown with a certain velocity will carry a
number of feet in one direction, unless it is
intercepted by a bat, then it will reverse its
course and go in the opposite direction. Con
sequently, the only thing which may make
inflexible the course of human life is a submission on our part to all causes. If we cise
our mind and submit our will, then we are
like a straw in the wind. The wind will de
termine the fate of the straw, the directions
in which it will go. Man can become causative by exertiiig his thoughts and his will,
and can oppose the cause of his environment,
even his inherited tendencies, which are also
causes. Many men have overcome their
heredity and risen above physiological and
psychological disadvantages of birth.
Since, however, man is not yet capable of
knowing all natural and Cosmic influences,
which are causes and to which he is subject,
there are many incidents that will surprise
and dismay him. Such does not mean that
he has been intentionally selected by fate
or fortune for the events that follow. It does
mean that his exposures to circumstances
have been different from others, thus making
the difference in the experiences which he
has. Since we are often ignorant of these
differences which are at times hereditary,
they are mystifying and appear as though
we are under the aegis of luck.

PECEMBER, 1954

The other sense which is attributed to luck,

as said, is chance. The believer in chance
does not think that the advantages or disadvantages that accrue to him are due to fate
or supernatural powers. To him, chance has
really a mathematical content. He may admit that the exact formula or series of causes
is unknown to him, but often he strives to
learn the laws underlying chance so as to
direct it in his favor. Chance is related to
the law of probability. The premise of this
law, stated in nontechnical language, is that
anything may happen in time. Even the
most apparently rigid cycles of recurrence
will vary ultimately. The opposite or deviation from a fixed condition or circumstance
is bound to occur sometime because the
whole universe is subject to change. Further,
everything has one or more probable alternatives. And these alternatives recur in every
so many thousand, million, billion, or trillion
times. Let us look at it in this way. A coin
has two different sides, heads and tails. There
are a number of factors which may make it
fail heads up, when tossed into the air.
The tails side may be heavier, causing it to
plummet toward the earth first because of
greater gravitational attraction. The distribution of the weight of the design may cause
an unbalancing of the coin so that given the
same, or nearly same toss each time it will
land nearly always with the same side up.
However, where all such factors are equal,
then, according to the law of probability and
chance, the coin must land in a given num
ber of tosses as many times with heads up
as with tails. Thus, for a homely analogy, in
a million of such equal tosses, with equal
factors involved, a coin will land heads up
a half million times and with tails up the
same number of times. This equal number
may not be evenly distributed throughout
the million tosses. Thus, for example, the
coin might land heads up successively for a
number of times without once appearing tails
up. Then after a great number of tosses a
series of tails up would occur.
Frequently an individual encounters a
series of the altemate actions, like a number
of heads up of a coin in succession. To him
it may seem that luck favors him. Actually
he has just encountered an aspect of the law
of probability. The common or positive way
of referring to this law is to cali it the law
of averages. The person who chances a cir

Page 59

cumstance hopes that the change he wishes

may occur just at the time he wants it. In
other words, he gambles with this law of
probability. Gamblers at the Casino at
Monte Cario, who play the roulette wheel
have striven for years to work out mathe
matical equations based on the law of proba
bility. They hope to determine in just what
number of plays a number or combination
of numbers must recur. In fact, it has been
related that once or twice in the history of
that institution an individual has been able
to work out such equations with great success.
This law of probability accounts for some
individuis being lucky on certain days in
some game when each play will, for a num
ber of plays, occur in their favor, making
them the winner. Of course, in some instances the thoughts of the individual can
and do influence circumstances to their favor,
even though they may not realize it. A
group of men may be seated, waiting to be
called by an official seated before them at a
desk to fill a limited number of positions.
The concentration of one may compel the
man at the desk to look in his direction and
to be inclined to point to him to arise before
others. The man so selected may be unaware
that his intense thought caused it. He may
consider himself as but lucky. The fact
is, some of us can and do release our thoughts
more easily than others, and we are quite
unconscious of it.
Notwithstanding, then, the mysterious cir
cumstances which sometimes seem to surround the so-called lucky person, there is no
such condition as luck. We repeat, unrealized
causes and the law of probability contribute
to those circumstances which are called
lucky. We often experience a series of unfavorable events of a minor nature, all occurring in one day. We then say that nothing
is right today. Such is sometimes caused by
psychological and physiological conditions.
We are nervous and more tense than usual.
Consequently we move quickly and not cautiously. Thus we knock things over, spill
things on the table, drop objects, or we forget
things easier. All such circumstances provoke or become causes of still other aggravating events, until eventually the unthinking person is certain that the day augured
bad luck for him.
(Reprint of a former article by the
Imperator, who is overseas at this time.)

Page 60

Strangely Familiar Places

A soror in San Francisco addresses our
Forum and says: This is what has puzzled
me for years. Often in visiting an outdoor
scene or building, I have a distinct feeling
that I have seen and been at that particular
place at some previous time. I know that I
have actually not been there in person in this
life. Also, I know I have not seen the place
in a printed picture. I could explain the
sensation or feeling as a memory of a former
incarnation, except for the fact that in most
cases the buildings and scenery, as a landscape, are new in this worldfrom five to
ten years od. Further, I am from a family
that can trace its ancestry back hundreds of
years, and no member of it ever visited
America. What causes these feelings of
recognition of such scenes and buildings?
As the soror states, the fact that the places
are new precludes their being a memory of
a previous incarnation. Consequently, the
explanation centers in the fantasies of the
subconscious mind. The subjective part of
our mind creates thought patterns from ob
jective experiences, often without our will or
direction. The most common example of such
phenomenon is our dreams. We dream of
people, of incidents, and places which have
no actual parallel in our objective experi
ences. In other words, we dream of many
things which actually have never occurred
to us or been perceived by us during our
awakened state. When we are asleep the
will and the reasoning powers are dormant.
The subjective self is undisciplined by the
objective, and can and does release from
memory elements of actual experiences.
Under the influence of our uncontrolled emo
tions, the subjective combines these into
fanciful images or dreams. Even the most
fantastic dreams, of course, have in them
elements which have been experienced.
Otherwise, we could not realize them. The
dream, however, in its entirety, may be
strange and quite unlike any actual objective
experience. Then again, our imagination
during our aw^akened state, our so-called
flights of fancy, reaches through and makes
impressions upon the subconscious. These
impressions recur in our objective minds oc
casionally, under a new form of arrangement
of ideas that on the one hand seem new to us,
and yet there is a strange recognition or
familiarity about them.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Let me use an analogy to try to explain

this, shall we say, odd mental functioning
which we all experience at times. We may
think of mans progress upward spiritually
and in the attainment of knowledge as a
climb or an ascent. We may think of him
laboring up a great stairway, a stairway
representing the steps of accomplishment
and the things to be learned or done. At the
top of the great stairway, which seems to
run almost into infinity, is the peak of at
tainment. In our minds, we vaguely sym
bolize this attainment as a beautiful castle
or a magnificent white palace. The beauty
of the design and its pur whiteness denote
perfection or the illumination which is had
as a reward for the struggle upward. Now,
perhaps we never actually formulated this
whole scene in our thinking, as I have described it here. However, the idea was inchoate in our thinking; that is, it existed in its
elements as a result of our meditations on our
own progress and struggle upward in our
own spiritual development. Perhaps only for
a moment did we vaguely have such an allegorical conception of mans intellectual and
spiritual conquests, and then perhaps we dismissed it because of the invasin of other
thoughts. Nevertheless, if when we were
thinking of these different symbolsthe
clouds, the castle, the winding stairwayif
there were any real emotional emphasis or
feeling behind the thoughts, they would
register in our subjective minds. In the sub
jective they would then come to form a
thought pattern. The different impressions
would be registered in memory as an image,
or as a mental picture. Psychology calis these
impressions eidetic images.
Perhaps months later we might be traveling in a foreign mountainous country. It is
the first time we have ever been in that
country in our lifetime. As we journey
along, suddenly there appears at some distance a lofty rocky eminence. It is an actual
mountain crag. It seems to reach up into
the clouds which hover about its top. In a
crevice in the crag, we see winding upward
a graceful flight of stairs, their whiteness
glistening against the somber, brownish-black
of the rocky forma tion. Following them up
ward with our eyes we see indistinctly on the
peak an edifice resplendent in the sun. It
almost seems to float in the fleecy clouds
which surround it like a collar. Its crene-

DECEMBER, 1954

lated top and turrets penetrate the clouds in

a fairy-tale-like manner. Immediately the
whole scene seems akin or familiar to us.
To ourselves we say: Why I recognize this!
I feel that I have been here before. Our
guide then informs us that the stairs and the
edifice have only been constructed ten years
before and that no photograph of it has ever
been published. Nevertheless, the sensations
of familiarity persist.
What has occurred in such an experience?
What is the cause of it? The cause of it is the
psychological principies we have enumerated.
The objective experience of what we have
just seen participates in the symbolic idea
once formed, and now firmly established in
our subjective mind. The moment we see
an actual similar scene, the symbolic idea
is released from memory in the subjective
and associated with the present experience.
We are, therefore, conscious of two things
first, what we experience objectively; and,
second, the memory experience of our sym
bolic idea. The memory of the symbolic idea
is vague. We do not know that it was engendered by our imagination, that is, think
ing in the past, of man climbing upward
spiritually. Consequently it seems like the
recollection of some remte, actual objective
experience.
All of us have certain ideis of beauty,
whether visual or as harmony of sound.
These ideis are often very indistinct in our
minds. We cannot exactly express them in
terms or words, or even in designs. How
ever, these ideis become very firmly impressed on the subjective mind. Whenever
in our life we experience in actual form, as
a musical composition or as an object, that
which produces sensations or feelings cor
responding to those ideis, it immediately
engenders familiar feelings. It releases from
the subjective mind those images which were
associated with the ideis we have had, and
accompanying those images is the feeling of
familiarity. We are thus confused as to
whether we have seen the objects somewhere
before. Knowing these psychological princi
pies, it sometimes is not difficult to trace the
cause of such feelings of recognition. If the
objects are newly built, that of course dis
poses of having seen them in a previous in
carnation. The next thing, then, is always
to inquire into our ideis and flights of
imagination, as to whether there is any

Page 61

parallel between them and that which we

now objectively seek.
(Reprint of a former article by the
Imperator, who is overseas at this time.)

What Price Mastership?

A frater from Saskatchewan comes forth
with this interesting question: In considering the lives of many great men, such as
Francis Bacon, who was betrayed by his
enemies, Mark Twain who lost all who were
dear to him, and Benjamin Franklin who
was betrayed by his son, I note that stark
tragedy overcame them before transition.
Are these the prices we pay for Mastership?
The answer must be, to a certain extent,
yes. It is not Cosmically demanded that such
prices for success or Mastership be paid. It
is, however, a position in which one often
places himself in order to serve humanity.
If he does not make such sacrifices to further
a noble ideal when it is necessary, he does
not have the strength of character to succeed
to a place of leadership in any sphere worthy
of human activity. There are, of course, a
great number of men who were prominent
in the development of thought and the hu
manities who passed through transition with
out such pains and tribulations.
First, from a Cosmic point of view, man
may be ordained for the position he assumes.
I do not mean that fate has prescribed that
he shall be a great benefactor to humanity.
Rather, I mean that in the course of the cycle
of his soul-personality he is given the opportunity so to serve humanity. Such opportunity carries with it innumerable tests arising
out of the circumstances. By ones own
will and character, he either passes those
tests or he fails. If he fails, he may never
again be provided with such an opportunity.
Again let us make it perspicuous that these
tragedies have not been prescribed by God,
the Cosmic, or a fate. They emerge from the
conduct of the man who must challenge the
events of his time to serve humanity as a
leader.
Suppose a man of unusual intelligence and
great Cosmic insight or intuition is born dur
ing a time and in a community where people
are enmeshed in superstition and ignorance.
The natural inclination of such an individual
would compel him to inquire into and in
vestgate those matters which others had
merely accepted as tradition. His consequent

Page 62

studies and researches would be bound to

produce facts and knowledge that would constitute an aberration from the thought of the
times. The progressive mind then is either
obliged to suppress such discovery of truth
or expound it. If the individual is really
intelligent and truly inspired with the love
to advance mankind, he will not suppress
the results of his studies. The moment then
that he starts exhorting others to abandon
their misbeliefs and accept the truth, he has
issued a challenge to many who hear him.
To such persons he appears as a corrupter
of tradition.
Again, if some have been prospering by
the dissemination of false knowledge, they
consider him the usurper of their powers
and perfidious means of livelihod. Still,
again, those who may have enjoyed posing
as sages and preceptors in their community
would consider this expounder of truth as a
rival to their position of eminence. Immediately, therefore, the man who conscientiously desires to serve mankind has
unwittingly incurred the enmity of a great
number of persons and perhaps powerful
groups who malign and per secute him. Only
one who actually loves his impersonal work
and who feels he has a mission to perform
would and could endure the sacrifices he is
called upon to meet. The enemies intentionally misrepresent the benefactors of mankind,
and cause them to lose the confidence of the
general public. Oftentimes unthinking mem
bers of the benefactors family, or persons
who were once fairly cise to him, but did
not really comprehend his far-advanced ideas,
also turn on him.
No one, unless he has had to suffer this
persecution to further an ideal, can truly
realize the mental torment it entails. I have
had the personal experience of seeing a great
man continually persecuted in the most vile
way for years, because he dared to oppose
men who were misrepresenting or suppressing truth. I have reference to our late Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis. Each year,
with the expansin of the Rosicrucian Order,
AMORC, with its dissemination of truth for
the enlightenment of mankind, more and
more enemies were developed by its progres
sive activities. All of those who considered
AMORC a rival to their functions, or thought
its enlightenment of mankind prevented
them from exploiting humanity, viciously

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

attacked Dr. Lewis personally. He symbolized to these enemies, most of whom he

had never met, the intellectual and inspirational power and mpetus behind the Orders
activities. If, in their opinion, they could
successfully malign him, they believed they
could destroy AMORC and its cause. This
vicious attack extended from Dr. Lewis to
every member of his family and to his home
life. It sought to discredit him in public life
in nearly every civilized nation of the world.
Many of the accusations levelled against him
could not be ignored, as unthinking persons
often said they should be. To ignore them
would have amounted to a tacit acknowledgment of them. However, to disprove them
required the expenditure of hours of time
and considerable expense. It was an expendi
ture of money and time which could have
been used for the furtherance of the Great
Cause if the attacks had not existed. No one
will ever know the heartaches, and the men
tal and spiritual crucifixin which he had to
endure. All he would have needed to do to
save himself this torment would have been
to compromise with his enemies, to submit
to their demands. One not Cosmically given
such an opportunity to serve humanity might
have retreated before the personal onslaught
and saved himself.
What was the compensation for all of this
sacrifice? Certainly not money. No nominal
salary, such as the Imperator of AMORC re
ceived was worth the ordeal. A man with his
talents could have at any time in private
enterprise received a greater income without
experiencing such an ordeal. The reward
was in the gradual realization of the great
ideal which was being fulfilled. The com
fort to the soul, the joy from great constructive accomplishment was the incentive which
carried him on.
It is the incentive that carries on every
humanitarian who in his thoughts and con
duct is ahead of his times. Such men literally
have to buck the weight of thousands of
minds which are figura ti vely at rest. They
have to give their lives to setting into motion the individual consciousness of thou
sands or millions of minds. They use their
own intellect, personality, and spiritual
qualities as the stimulus by which humanity
is given momentum in the different periods
of the worlds history.
Baruch Spinoza, Portuguese Jew, born in

DECEMBER, 1954

Amsterdam in 1632, and great mystical

philosopher, was another mind who endured
great suffering because of misunderstanding
on the part of the masses. On account of
the scandal growing out of heretical opinions,
he was excommunicated from the Synagogue
in 1656, after vain attempts to have him
maintain at least an outward conformity.
So bitter was the feeling against him that an
attempt was even made to get rid of him by
assassination; and his opinions were hardly
less objectionable to Christians than to Jews.
Some historians have referred to him as the
man thrice exiled. His parents had been
exiled from Portugal to escape religious persecution there, and Spinoza could never visit
Portugal. Later he was excommunicated
from the Synagogue and, third, he was excluded from association with the illiberal
Christians because of his advance and unorthodox mystical views. The world now
refers to him as one of the most profound
minds of all times.
No sane person would want to endure
such hardships unless he were a fanatical
ascetic. On the other hand, one who is truly
imbued with the spirit of advancing knowl
edge and serving mankind will not shun such
sacrifices if necessary. Fortunately each stu
dent of mysticism or sincere seeker after
truth is not obliged to make such sacrifices.
Only when one is truly illuminated and thus
by his thoughts or leadership is compelled
to oppose a relatively static intellectual world
is he precipitated into such a situation. Then,
if necessary, he must pay such a price for
mastership.
(Reprint of a former article by the
Imperator, who is overseas at this time.)

Inluencing the Unborn Child

The question is often asked, Is prenatal in
fluence more than a theory? To answer this,
it is first necessary to have an understanding
of what is meant by prenatal influence. Gen
erally, it is the doctrine that the expectant
mother can, by her thoughts and moods, in
fluence the physical and psychic natures of
her unborn child. In this article, we use the
word psychic to mean the latent talents and
personality of the unborn child. Successful
prenatal influence would, therefore, result in
a child expressing certain characteristics
which had been molded by the mother dur
ing her pregnancy. The aim of the doctrine,

Page 63

expressed concisely, is to stimulate in the

unborn child certain tendencies which might
otherwise remain dormant.
Like many doctrines, the doctrine of pre
natal influence does not have an entirely
objective pattern. Some of the functions must
be deduced from what are observable facts.
Consequently, prenatal influence as to affecting the psychic qualities of the unborn child
has been much disputed. In the pst, ultraconservative physiologists and medical practitioners have decried its possibility. On the
other hand, belief in the doctrine has its roots
in antiquity.
Perhaps the first resort to these practices
was among the ancient Greeks. The mother
was isolated from all distractions; she was
not permitted to worry, to become grieved,
or to have any fears. It was further held
that if the mother would cultvate or express
her aesthetic tastes, this would have a corre
sponding effect upon the future aesthetic in
clinations of the unborn child. The mother
was encouraged to paint, to sing, or to play a
musical instrument. The physical needs of
the mother were, of course, not neglected.
It would appear that the ancient Greeks
associated the aesthetic qualities or talents
with certain organic functioning of the child.
At least, a nervous, distracted, depressed
mother would not, in their opinion, stimulate
the development of the Creative and mental
processes in the unborn child. If improper
diet on the part of the pregnant mother
might cause the child to have poor teeth,
likewise, then, anger and fear might cause
a child to be wanting in lofty idealism and
higher mental attributes.
Among the ancient Hebrews, the belief
was prevalent that things, seen after con
ception and during pregnancy, which affected deeply the emotions, would leave an
indelible impression upon the offspring. This
was carried to an extreme, amounting to a
superstition. For example, take the following: If a woman encounters a dog, her
child will have an ugly dog-face; if she meets
a donkey, it will be stupid; if she meets an
ignorant lout, it will be an ignoramus. Conversely, a more intelligent principie was also
stated and practiced: The embryo is formed
in consonance with the thoughts and emo
tions of the parents. It is obvious that the
unthinking mind would make a superstition
out of the doctrine of prenatal influence, just

Page 64

as it has corrupted many worthy concepts.

The unthinking primitive mind believed that
whatever the mother saw or heard that deeply affected her emotions left an exact impres
sion upon the unborn child. In other words,
if a mother were frightened by a snake, then,
most assuredly, the child would either fear
snakes or have an imprint of one as a birthmark on its body. This is a form of primitive
reasoning known as homeopathic or sympathetic magic. It is the belief that what affects
one of similar objects will be transmitted, by
the bond of similarity, to the other. The be
lief that birthmarks resembling a certain
form were caused by the mothers observing
such an object in some intense emotional ex
perience is still a prevalent superstition.
It is such tales as these which are popularly and erroneously associated with prenatal
influence, and result in the prejudices which
prevent an intelligent survey of the subject.
The question naturally arises, In just what
manner do the thoughts of the mother and
her behavior affect the unborn child? It is
particularly difficult to answer this question
because even the purely physical doctrine of
heredity is undergoing a transition. There is
considerable controversy among certain
schools of science as to whether or not talents
and emotional traits are actually inherited.
At first it was believed that all the experi
ences of the parent which had a vital influ
ence upon him would affect the offspring;
that is, the experiences would be inherited as
characteristics. However, we know, as one
biologist put it, that a man who has travelled
extensively does not necessarily have a child
who is familiar with geography. Inherited
characteristics arise from genes in the reproductive cells. These genes are molecules of
living substance. However, only certain con
ditions seem to cause mutation or change of
these genes, and these variations are trans
mitted from the parent to the offspring. Furthermore, the new characteristics must be in
the cells of the parent at the time of his
birth. If the characteristics are not already
in the cells of the parent, no matter what the
parent may do during his lifetime, such char
acteristics would not be acquired and trans
mitted to his offspring, according to the
theory. This would seem to almost remove the
effect of environment on heredity. There are
some authorities in genetics who contend that
inherited characteristics are entirely due to

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

the combination of different types of persons,

and not the result of the behavior of the
father or the mother.
Whether mind training, intensive study or
exceptional use of the mental processes, causes
a mutation of genes that can be transmitted
to offspring has caused much debate. Experimentation would seem to prove that it
does and this fact is important to the doctrine
of prenatal influence. A number of white
mice were selected for the test. They were
placed in a cage separated from an accessible
piece of cheese by several passageways. The
cheese was visible to them. Eventually they
would, after several attempts, find their way
through the passageways to the cheese. They
would become more and more conditioned,
that is, experienced in locating the cheese.
This constituted a training for the mice. Off
spring of several generations of such mice, it
is said, learned the way to reach the cheese
more quickly than did those which were not
offspring of the trained mice. Here, then,
was environment causing inherited mental
characteristics. In connection with heredity,
the problem also arse as to how the inheritance of instincts and emotions could be ex
plained. First, there was the question, Just
what are the emotions? Do emotions originate in certain areas of the brain? Are there
regions for each of the emotions, that is,
places in the brain for the sensations of anger,
fear, and so forth? If these regions are great
in a parent, will they be transmitted as equally great emotional characteristics to the off
spring?
James, the eminent psychologist, contended
that emotions do not have separate plexuses
or seats of origin in the brain. He asserted
that emotional feeling is the result of our be
ing conscious of a bodily change produced by
something we perceive. In other words, some
thing greatly affects one of our sense organs.
These impressions, in turn, affect the brain
neurons and their connections. A reflex ac
tion is started by the neurons and causes a
bodily change. We become conscious of the
bodily change and these feelings are called
emotions. For thousands of generations cer
tain bodily changes, and their reflexes, have
caused a mutation or alteration of the paths
of the brain cells. To use an analogy, it is
like water running over a rock in exactly the
same place for a great number of years.
Eventually, a groove or path is formed which

PECEMBER, 1954

the water will always follow. That path is

inherited. The path becomes the common
emotions which we all have. Individuis
having a large path or exceptional emotional
temperament transmit that characteristic in
the genes of their reproductive cells to their
offspring.
The connections of neurons or nerve cells
which underlie anger and fear are just as
much a structure as the color of the eye.
Each individual inherits the receptor and effector characteristics of the cells of his par
ents. If a person is able, according to this
principie, to control his reflexes, his reaction
to those things which cause emotional feel
ing, he actually is causing a variant which
can be transmitted to his offspring. Conse
quently, a person who compels himself to
conform to a certain behavior is causing a
mutation of his neurons. His offspring should
reflect such characteristics. Cannot, therefore,
the mother who exposes herself to certain
emotions, induced, for example, by music,
poetry or art, cause an effect upon the neu
rons of her unborn child which is still in an
embryonic and forma ti ve stage?
One of the principal objections raised to
this proposition is that the embryo lives with
in the mother as a parasite. It is contained
within the amnion, a thin transparent sac
filled with fluid. This sac is for protective
reasons. The liquid equalizes pressure on
the embryo from all sides and acts like a
buffer. Nourishment passes from the moth
ers blood by a process of seepage, known as
diffusion, through the tissue to the embryo.
The embryo accepts the food and blood and
develops according to its own hereditary con
dition, it is held. It is thought that there is
no connection between the maternal and the
fetal (that of the unborn child) blood. On
the other hand, the same physiologists admit
that antibodies do get through from the moth
ers blood to the vascular (blood) system of
the embryo. These antibodies are the protec
tive agencies that nature puts into the em
bryo during pregnancy to prevent the child
from being affected by any diseases the
mother may acquire. In effect, this is natures way of inoculating the unborn child
to protect it from contamination before birth.
Granted that seepage or diffusion prevents
the blood of the mother reaching the embryo,
it is admitted that oxygen and food elements
reach it. As Rosicrucians, we know of the

Page 65

A element which is inhaled and brought

into the lungs by breathing and which energizes the blood like a magnetic charge. This
Cosmic potential and vital forc radiates in
every cell of the blood. We know, and it is
a physical fact, that oxygen and this energy
reach our blood by being diffused through a
membrane in the lungs. If this A element
or nous can be diffused thus, it can likewise
be diffused, with its intelligence, from the
mothers blood through the tissues in which
the embryo is retained. The cells of the hu
man system are like minute radio stations.
Vibrations are emanating from them continually. Their emanations or vibrations are af
fected by our thinking and behavior (reflexes
as explained) and by our eating and breath
ing. These radiations, then, must have a cor
responding effect upon the blood cells and
the neurons of the embryo.
It is a common experience that emotional
and instinctive reflexes produce stimuli which
cause changes in our blood pressure, our
pulse rate, our salivary and gastric secretions,
and in the electrical conditions of the body.
Fear, for example, causes our mouths to become dry. Excitement, affecting the diges
tin, causes nausea. Experimentation has
been made to find the changes which may
accompany what we cali pleasant and unpleasant. In other words, when something
registers very pleasantly upon us, investigations have determined how that would affect
our gland secretions, blood pressure, et cetera.
As a further example, a current has been
passed through a circuit, including a galvanometer, and a persons body. A deflection
was apparent in the galvanometer when the
subject was stimulated in various ways. Thus,
words that aroused anger showed changes in
the electrical conditions of the body.
The adrenal glands lie just ahead of the
kidneys. Nerve fibres from the sympathetic
nervous system are connected to them. They
pour their secretion, adrenalin, directly into
the blood stream. Anger and fear stimulate
these glands through the sympathetic nerv
ous system. Adrenalin in the blood drives
the blood from the viscera (abdominal re
gin) to the muscles. It likewise decreases
muscular fatigue. These things, then, the
emotions can do. If they can so affect the
physical organs and glands of the mother, it
is apparent that such alterations must also
affect the radiations of her cells. Such ef-

Page 66

fects, in turn, will be transmitted through

the membranous wall surrounding the em
bryo or the unborn child. These radiations
must cause mutation or changes in the neuron connections being developed in the
embryo. They would cause paths to be estab
lished that will result in a sensitivity to cer
tain emotional states.
We do not mean to imply by the foregoing
that a mother, who devotes time each day
during pregnancy to reading classical poetry
so as to keep her thoughts lofty and engender
certain emotions, is going to give birth to an
other Browning or another Walt Whitman.
In fact, the child may never have any inclination toward poetry, but he will have a
greater aesthetic taste than otherwise. This
taste may be expressed in music or art or in
some other accelerated Creative enterprise.
Let it also be understood that for prenatal
influence to be effective, much time must be
devoted to it and the mother must religiously
devote at least two or three hours daily to
such psychic and aesthetic pursuits. They
must be pursuits that she really enjoys. They
must produce within her a deep emotional
feeling. Otherwise, the stimuli will not be
effective of results. It matters not whether
the mother, for example, is proficient at playing a musical instrument. What is important is that she loves to do so and plays
enough to be moved emotionally. Painting,
singing, reading good literature, all these
contribute to the same purpose.
General science is not altogether unappreciative of prenatal influence. In modem
times, the first prenatal clinic (called ante
natal) was begun by Dr. J. W. Ballantyne.
It was established in the Edinburgh Royal
Maternity Hospital. In 1915 a definite pan
for antenatal clinics was established. It was,
however, for the physical care of the expectant mother and child. By 1926 there
were nearly eight hundred such clinics in
England and Wales alone. Today these
clinics are, consequently, confined only to
talks to the expectant mother on dental hygiene, proper diet, clothing to be worn, and
the best care of the childs physical needs.
The Child Culture Institute of San Jos,
California, is today the only organization
concerned with prenatal development of the
mental faculties and latent talents within the
unborn child.
(Reprint of a former article by the
Imperator, who is overseas at this time.)

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Nature Cures
In some literature that carne to my desk
recently, I saw emphasized the term which
constitutes the title of this article. I have
seen it used more and more frequently, to
the extent that some people seem to have
the impression that nature cures are methods that are of comparatively recent devel
opment, as if they had just been discovered.
Oddly enough, there is only one kind of
cure for any condition that in any way im
pedes the harmony of the physical or mental
body, and that is what nature, the Cosmic,
or to enlarge further we might say, God does.
Nature cures is no more than a terminology for the fact that there are certain
energies or forces created in the universe
that tend to bring things to perfection.
The physical body was evidently created
or formulated to serve a certain purpose or
end. When we stop to analyze the attributes
of this body, we realize that it is a delicate,
highly accurate mechanism which, when
working properly, cannot be duplicated in
any other mechanical form. And there operate through it forces which tend to maintain that harmony, balance and perfection
of itself, insofar as its over-all operation is
concerned. There are at the same time con
ditions that interfere with this operation, and
anyone who has had an accident or an illness, even of a not too serious nature, knows
that when the body is not in harmony
that is, when it is not operating as it
shouldthe effects are very uncomfortable.
Pain and accompanying unpleasurable sen
sations develop, take over, and occupy all
of consciousness. And our attention is directed toward the shortcomings rather than
to the better qualities of this body which
constitutes the vehicle of the soul while we
live in this physical world.
Nature, however, if we apply the term
nature to all the constructive forces of the
universe that operate through the body, di
rects itself toward the reorientation of any
condition in the physical, mental, or spir
itual body of man which is temporarily out
of harmony. Every cure that takes place as
a result of any accident or disease is the
result of the operation of these forces. They
work constructively to bring about the reestablishment of the harmony which we
sought, or which we lost, when a condition

PECEMBER, 1954

of inharmony interfered with the life process.

The most simple of any change in the structure of our physical body is cured by nature,
if we may use the term. If you cut your
finger, there is nothing that you or any man
can do that will cause it to heal. It heals
because the forces operating in your body
actually heal it. There are, of course, things
that you can do to avoid the condition from
becoming worse. You can keep the cut hygienically clean. You can use a disinfectant
that might take out of it something that
would impede natures healing process, but
there is no salve, ointment, or medicine that
can be placed upon that cut which in itself
will do the healing. The healing is done by
nature. An important thing to remember is
that disease will be replaced by harmony if
natures forces have a chance to operate.
It is important to add to these comments
that this is not an attempt to belittle the
valu of any school of therapeutics. That
there is need for medicine or physical adjustment through manipulation or surgery,
that there is need of diet and certain other
forms of treatment, would be ridiculous to
deny. But the point is, that any intelligent
doctor of any school, if he is honest, will
admit that these things, whatever he uses,
whether they be drugs, foods, manipulation;
surgery, or any other form of therapeutical
treatment are not in themselves the healing
agent. They attempt, as man best understands it at least, either to assist nature in
the healing process, or to avoid further
complications. If one cuts ones finger when
working in an unclean place, then the antiseptic that is placed upon the finger tends
to assist nature to shut out those extraneous
things that might impede healing. It does
not do the healing, but it may avoid further
complications, and the same principie is true
with any physical disability.
An honest and brad-minded doctor told
me recently that I should not be annoyed or
complain if when I come to consult him I
have to wait in his waiting room, because
in all probability the rest of a few minutes
waiting would do me more good than he
could do. This points out that there are a
few fundamental things to assist natures
forces. Sensible living, cooperating through
proper rest, exercise, and food are things
which are demanded by the physical body
and will assist us in maintaining health and

Page 67

recovering it when it may be lost temporarily.

Do not, however, think that natures cure
is a new modern miracle. It is as od as life.
We know little about it, but we can learn
to cooperate by intelligently directing our
selves to work in cooperation with all the
forces that we understand will tend to maintain the ideal balance in lifeor, in terms
of Rosicrucianism, a state of harmonium be
tween mind, body, and soul.A
The Depth of Memory
Rosicrucianism teaches that memory is a
subconscious attrib u te of the subjective
mind. This reference means memory in its
fullest extent. Within the subjective mind
resides the memory of all things that we
have experienced. To review the psychology
of memory, we realize that memory is
consciousness of the past; that is, through perception and experience, we create our con
scious processes of the moment. The things
we are perceiving and our ideas concerning
them as they pass through our consciousness
at this particular moment are the things
that are accumulated in memory. Without
memory we would face every situation as if
it were new, we would have nothing to draw
upon, we would be unable to cope with even
the most elementary decisions in life because
of our inability to draw upon experience that
had previously been ours.
Everything, therefore, of which we are
conscious at every moment throughout life
accumulates within our memory, and there
it becomes a fxed part of our individuality.
It molds us. We are, to a greater extent than
we ordinarily realize, a manifestation of our
memory. Our memory has more to do with
our character than any other mental at
tribute. The reason for this is that our
character is formulated in terms of the
conclusions and ideas which have been ours
at some particular moment in the past.
We are not consciously aware of this vast
storehouse of memory that resides in our
subjective consciousness. We cannot always
at our command bring it back to the level
of consciousness where we may become
aware of it. In fact, every individual has
the experience of being extremely annoyed
at the inability to bring to a conscious level
or to a level of awareness an idea, a fact, a
ame, a number, or some other past experi-

Page 68

ence that he knows is in his memory but

has become difficult to recall. Recollection,
that is, the process of recall, concerns those
things that lie near the surface of conscious
ness. We readily recall our ame, how to
walk; we recognize faces that we see daily.
Those events of memory that are constantly
being called upon to be repeated in con
sciousness almost every moment of our waking life lie near the surface of awareness
and are brought into the stream of con
sciousness very easily by the mere process
of recall. With the passage of time, memory
dims insofar as our consciousness of the
events that compose it is concemed. We
can bring easily to conscious level certain
events that had a more important effect upon
us than others; they impress themselves more
deeply on our consciousness and are, there
fore, easier to recall. The exact working
of this process is difficult to understand and,
in fact, is not completely understood by the
most advanced psychologists and physiologists of today. The fact, nevertheless, is ap
parent that the ability to recall certain events
which reside in memory exists. Furthermore,
it does not take a great deal of intelligent
analysis to agree with the principie that we
consist to a great extent of those things that
compose or rather have been stored in our
memory.
Memory, therefore, is more important
than we ordinarily concede it to be. It is
so important that we should constantly be
concemed with what becomes memory. Man
lives almost all the time to himself. That
may seem to be a rather odd statement when
many social aspects of living are being emphasized, particularly in modern society or
rather in advanced forms of civilization. We
are, of course, greatly dependent upon our
fellow men and our associations with them,
but many hours of each day are spent exclusively within ourselves. We live within
ourselves, that is, within our own conscious
ness, and many of the ideas which come to
exist or come to the level of awareness
within our consciousness which are the result
of our perceptions and our conclusions are
completely privateideas we never express.
How frequently do we go through the ex
perience of feeling an urge to express some
thing that we know would not be socially
acceptable or might offend an individual to
whom we expressed it? Such ideas as these

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

become a permanent part of ourselves. They

are, in a sense, our true character, a real
individuality which may not ever be com
pletely exposed to our associates. To that
extent, we are each an enigma to other
human beings. We all have our private level
of consciousness which is not always ex
pressed except in indirect forms through our
behavior and through the total manifestation
of our character and of our ideis, aims, and
purposes as we live and express ourself as a
social individual.
Man lives, therefore, with himself, and of
that phase of himself that concerns him a
great deal is his memory. We are constantly
bringing into consciousness those things that
have happened in the past. Some psycholo
gists believe that dreams are fundamentally
a network of memory. They are, of course,
exaggerated, put into peculiar situations,
and changed about because they are not
consciously and intelligently directed; but
they are usually based upon memory of
individuis and events and places that reside
in our subconscious.
Memory can never be erased. The storehouse of memory as it exists in our subcon
scious mind is like a huge blackboard upon
which characters have been written in indelible or unerasable ink, so written that
they become impressed into the board itself
and actually become a part of it. They are
so fixed there that they cannot be removed
without removing the thing which holds
themin that case the board itself. And so
the mind is impressed with all events that
become memory, so thoroughly and com
pletely impressed that as long as the mind
endures, which we believe is through eternity, those things which constitute memory
will be impressed upon it. And there will
never come a time that we will not potentially have in memory those events and
ideas that compose it. We will always retain those memories which produce regret,
and those which renew happiness. There
are those of mistakes, and those of success.
All of them together compose a history as
it were of our lives, and they are ingrained
in our consciousness even though it be at a
level below awarenessbut they are there,
and they come forth at times when we least
expect them.
Furthermore, the intelligent person realizes that each individual must live with his

DECEMBER, 1954

memory. This is an important fact and a

responsibility of life. It is an important fact
to consider for the present and also for the
future, because it can all be summarized in
this form: so live today that when today is
past, when todays consciousness is memores, we can live with those memories
and have no regret. If every conscious
action which we take, if everything which
we have a choice in deciding is thought of
in terms that this, the next minute, the next
hour, the next day, or the next year will
be a memory, we may choose our actions
more carefully than we would if we acted
purely upon impulse of the moment and did
a thing that could be erased like chalk on a
blackboard.
So it is that there is certain utilitarian
valu in the selection of thoughts and actions
of the moment. What we do now, what is
momentarily the stream of consciousness,
the acts and thoughts of the present, will
become the memories we will have to live
with in the future. Whether our future is
to be happy, or if we will gain a degree of
contentment and development in our ability
to grow, will be somewhat dependent upon
what our memories arewhat those things
are that are stored up within the storehouse
of memory that are called upon to formlate
our character and our outlook. So consider
memory not only as a means of connecting
yourself with the past, but as a key to the
futureto living at this moment in a way
that every memory that is stored away will
be one that will add valu, and, if possible,
a degree of contentment to actions and events
that will take place in the future.A
Experience of the Mystic

The message of mysticism is the hope of

humanity. Mysticism freed from any re
ligious doctrine or bias, from superstition
or confusion in the minds of those individuis
who look upon it as a pastime for cranks or
fanatics, if made to stand as a dynamic
expression of the power of the individual, as
the expression of the soul, of the spirit, of
the nonmaterial factors of life, will produce
a more satisfactory culmination for a pur
pose in life and a contact with a source
which is more powerful even than the atom.
The most outspoken of the critics who refuse

Page 69

to accept anything so intangible as mys

ticism, as a valid concept of human be
havior, base their ideas and their criticisms
on purely objective arguments. Their whole
life is tied up with materialism and is em
pirical in the extreme. They literally prac
tice and believe in the saying that seeing
is believing, and, without objective confirmation of what they experience, there is
no validity to anything which they cannot
prove in terms of their objective experience.
These critics hold that mysticism is no
more than subjective imagination. It is, they
believe, the unbridled imagination of an
individual who is already of a more or less
impractical bent of minda theorist who
merely lets his mind run at random. They
further state that there is no validity to
mystical experience whatsoever, that such
validity is unconfirmed, and the results from
such experiences are only as extensive as the
somewhat vivid ideas of those who claim to
have the experience. Unfortunately these
critics are supported by persons who attempt
to make claims of unusual phenomena and
unusual occurrences in their own experi
ences for which they have no grounds or
basis.
Such behavior can be pointed to with
scorn and ridicule by those who would
criticize anything that is of a philosophical,
religious, or mystical nature; it pro vides the
means by which the critics of idealism secure ammunition which they can easily use
in their criticism. We cannot, by following
the same methods of the critics of mysticism,
hope to accomplish anything by becoming
critics of materialism or of the empirical
methods of science. Our position must be a
positive approachwe must point to those
mystics whose lives illustrate the ideis to
which we aspire.
Let us turn to the analysis of mystical
experience as expressed in the behavior of
human beings. We will analyze some of the
actual functions of mysticism and study the
lives of those who have reported their mys
tical experiences and have set forth their
philosophy in order that we can make a true
analysis of what their life has beenof how
it has affected the lives of others and how it
can affect the lives of those who, today, are
struggling in a material world.
In analyzing many of the principies of
mysticism, I have come to the conclusin

Page 70

that there are certain fundamental factors

that every individual should consider and
that these factors are closely related to the
lives of those individuis upon whom we
can look as examples of mystical expression.
In other words, I am trying to consider here
a composite of the mystics who have lived
and whose history is recorded for us. In the
composite history of these individuis and
their lives, their experiences and the phi
losophy which they taught, I find factors
that seem to be relevant and consistent with
the lives of these individuis and which to
me offset any criticism or comment of the
materialist who would refuse to find in mys
ticism the principies upon which true valu
will be based.
The mystics in their experience have al
ways claimed a certain kind of knowledge.
This is one of the valid supports of the
mystical experience. While such experience
is a subjective statethat is, to the extent
that meditation, concentration, contempla
tion, and removal from the interferences of
other environmental events seem to be essential to its full understandingit is en
tirely different from the subjective state that
may be induced by other processes. In other
words, there is no relationship between the
subjectivism produced by drugs or hypnotics
and that claimed by the mystic in his ex
perience. The subjective state artificially
produced, or the ravings of a disordered
mind either through illness or narcotics, will
not come to any purposeful end; that is,
there is no knowledge produced.
Those who have participated in the mys
tical experience always realize and report
that revelation is a definite result. There is
a report of something actually revealed;
there are statements that may not always
be understood by another person, but which
yet indicate that knowledge was forthcoming in the procedure itself. Those who have
participated in any kind of psychic experi
ence are fully conscious of the fact that
something comes into consciousnessa fact,
an idea, a bit of knowledge. It may not be
completely understood or readily explainable, but it is a fact nevertheless and can be
looked upon as something that has actually
occurred. In order to experience this state,
it is essential that the consciousness of man
be freed from the interferences of the en
vironment that may be directing his con

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

sciousness exclusively to the material world

and away from the concept of the Divine
toward which he is trying to direct himself.
One of the great mystics, Plotinus, said,
in reference to this state of the mystical
experience: Freed from deceptive activity,
and from every guile, let the soul be collected, in silence. Let the soul that is not
unworthy contmplate the divine soul.
Calmed be the body in that hour, calmed be
the striving of the flesh. Let all that is anywhere about be calm. Calm be the earth,
the sea, the air, as the heaven itself is still.
Now let the soul experience how into a
silent haven the divine spirit floweth in.
This is the attitude for mystical experience.
This is the state of mind by which facts
become relevant, by which knowledge becomes potent, by which ideas are born and
become a part of consciousness.
In addition to the fact that the mystics
find their experience a means for the attain
ment of a certain amount of knowledge, there
is another factor which seems to me to be
a strong argument for the validity of mys
tical experience, and that is a certain funda
mental agreement in the various reports of
mystics. All of them have a line of thought
or certain concepts that have been con
sistent with each other regardless of their
philosophy, their religin, or the age in which
they lived. The mystics have, in reporting
their experiences, seemed to bridge entirely
the concept of space and time as well as
the limitations of material environment.
They go beyond what may be their own
prejudices, ideas, and beliefs; and, out of
the numerous ideas that are expressed in
the lives and beliefs of the many individuis
who have been mystics, have come certain
fundamental ideas that are in agreement
and could not be in agreement unless they
carne from a source that was in itself a
fundamental and basic source of information.
In other words, hundreds of individuis who
have been taught a different religin, a dif
ferent philosophy, a different standard of
life, who have lived in different countries
would not agree fundamentally in their
concepts unless there was a thread of fact or
truth that runs through all the experiences.
In the analyzation of mystical experience
and the reports of the mystics, we find that
they agree upon a number of fundamentis

PECEMBER, 1954

such as that the reality with which they

made contact in their experience is a form
of consciousness. They all report in their
attempt to explain the mystical process that
they carne in contact with consciousness
other than their own and different from
that of human consciousness. Whether that
consciousness seemed to the individual mystic to be of a personal or impersonal nature
depends considerably upon the interpreta
ron of the mystic. The fact remains that in
the mystical experience a degree of reality
is closely tied up with a state of conscious
ness which we presume to be Divine.
The next point of agreement among the
mystics is that this consciousness is a one
ness, a unit; it has a finality in the sense
that there are no conflicting trends. This
unity which is produced within the concept
of the mystic is in direct contrast to the
complex environment of the world which
seems to be a vast multiplicity of many
things. The consciousness of oneness which
becomes a concept in the mind of the mystic
is a condition in which the plurality of the
objective world disappears and ceases to have
validity in contrast to the oneness of the
being which he contacts in his experience.
To again turn to Plotinus:
The One is, in truth, beyond all state
ment; whatever you say would limit it.
That all-transcending has no ame. But if
we do not grasp it by knowledge, that does
not mean that we do not seize it at all. Those
who are inspired and divinely possessed at
least understand that they hold within them
some greater thing. When the soul has suddenly taken light, we may be certain that
we have experienced divinity. For this illumination is from God and is God. We
may believe that He is present.
This oneness, this concept of a unity that
offsets the mltiple complications of ma
terial existence is a principie that the mystic
teaches us and which we can utilize to offset
the confusion of earthly existence. Further
more, the mystics agree that this unity is
not only a matter of knowledgethat is,
something knownbut that it is felt. There
is an accompanying emotional experience.

Page 71

The one, the unity, this consciousness that is

contacted is loved and an esthetic delight is
found in the experience that, when past,
leaves a poignant regret, a desire to return
to it. This feeling is an indication to the
mystic that he has contacted a reality that
is of more valu than anything he could
attain in the material world. The mystic,
as he grows in this concept of a conscious
ness which can be experienced and which
can produce an esthetic experience within
his own consciousness, becomes more and
more separated from the demands of the
physical world. This experience probably
explains such a persons apparent unworldliness and why the mystic and the philoso
pher have been looked upon as dreamers
and impractical individuis from the stand
point of the worlds standard.
In our daily life, we know that there is
normally a distinct divisin between the
subject and the object. That is, we are aware
as human beings that there is a difference
between the self and something at which
we look. In other words, we do not confuse
self with a tree which we perceive. The
subjectthat is, the selfand the tree which
is the object are easily recognized as being
separate and unrelated to each other.
In the reports of the mystics, concerning
their mystical knowledge and their experi
ence, it is found consistently that in mys
tical knowledge this gulf between the subject
and the object is transcended or bridged.
The being of the knower is merged with that
of the known, and there seems to develop a
type or kind of consciousness that is entirely
different from that which is usually experi
enced in our objective conscious moment.
We find in the mystical concept that a new
relationship grows out of the experience it
self. This is an application of the Rosicru
cian principie of the Law of the Triangle:
the brain consciousness is one point, the
mystical consciousness the second point, and
the third point is a form of consciousness
that is known only by the process of the
mystical experience itself. This conscious
state results from the drawing together of
the object and the subject of perception and
causing them to be perceived as unity.A

Egyptian
Temple Lamps

A u t h e nt ic
Import ed
Solid B r a s s
Hand- blown Glass

In order to bring students authentic and distinctive items for their sanctums, the Rosicrucian
Supply Bureau imports many student accessories
from other lands. The photographs on this page
depict the special care and attention given to
one of the finest items we offer for salethe
Sanctum Lamp, made in Cairo, Egypt. The
photo at right shows factory workers preparing
lamps for shipment while officers of Cheops
Chapter, AMORC, inspect the quality and design. Belowlamps are inspected, crated, and
stand ready for shipment to the United States.

An od legend about these Egyptian lamps states that because

the lamps were hung in a sacred place where the prayers of men
were offered and the powers of the gods invoked, there was imparted to them, a strange influence, which affected the lives of
all who carne within the rays of light they shed. A wish made
while one was being touched by a ray of light from a mystic
temple lamp would come true. Thousands journeyed to the
temples that had these rnate, strange lamps.
Although we relegate such beliefs today to bygone superstitions, we must still admire, the
splendid workmanship of these temple and sanc
tum lamps of Egypt.
Handmade, by craftsmen possessing the art
and skill of centuries, the lamps are of handblown glass and solid brass, elaborately designed
with symbolic, Rosicrucian figures. They will
lend a superb mystic charm to your sanctum,
den, or study room. These genuine Egyptian
articles are available to you for what is an exceptionally low cost outside of Egyptonly $7.50
(2/13/7 sterling), postpaid.
Send Order and Remittance to:

M BI

The R O SIC R U C IA N SUPPLY BUREAU

SA N JOSE, C A L IF O R N IA

U .S .A .

ONLY

$7.50

(2/13/7sterling)

February, 1955
Vol. X X V

No. 4

Rosicrucian Forum
A p riv a te p u b lic a to n fo r m e m b e rs of A M O R C

R o la n d Ehrmann, F.R.C., Inspector G e ne ral of the Union o f South Africa.

(S e e p a g e 7 6 )

Page 74

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Greetings!
V

FALSE IDEALISM

Dear Fratres and Sorores:

There is considerable fantasy associated
with the ideas of good and perfect. In the
first place, neither of these notions is abso
lute; it is relative as to actual or imagined
limitations in our behavior and environ
ment. The acm of what I desire and conceive to be pleasurable, either mental or
physical, is both good and perfect. It is good
because it is pleasurable. It is perfect if it
constitutes a superabundance, a fullness of
that goodness. If the good life means ones
being able to indulge ones desires, then to
that person the perfect life would consist of
such unrestricted constant indulgence.
Various theologies have often created an
impossible existence for mortals on earth because of their extreme and false idealism.
They have conceived certain divine conduct,
the behavior of the gods, as being transferable to mortal man. This theocracy or godly
life they imagined was often quite contrary
to human nature. It was thought to oppose
the natural desires and appetites. This sort
of godly life often actually vilified the body
as a contemptible and evil thing. In the
ame of divine goodness and perfection, it
developed a religious asceticism that was fanatical. Those who were not destroyed by
it, either in mind or body, were those who
secretly did not abide by its code and thus
were made hypocrites.
Consequently, though our moris and
ethics in the majority of instances in these
times can stand repair, it is incumbent upon
us to be guided by the reasonable necessities
of our natural beings and of society. There
are many things in which men indulge that
were once thought to be perverse and inspired by evil entities. These we now know
or shouldare impulses of our own organic being. They are motivations serving
the fundamental laws of life. If kept within
certain disciplinary boundsnot repressed
they in no way detract from mans spiritual
or moral potentialities and attainments. It is
not evil for a man or a woman to admire
the physical attractiveness of a member of

the opposite sex, even though maritally

bound. Such an interest is physiological, not
evilly inspired. The moral element enters
not in attempting to deny such a natural
appreciation, but in recognizing ones moral
obligation not to go beyond the sense of ap
preciation had. The same may be said of
the indulgence of any material or worldly
thing which brings a healthy satisfaction
and gratification both to the body and mental
interests. Without such satisfactions, life becomes a state of ennui, a drab monotonous
existence with a stultification of most of the
faculties of the mind and without emotional
stimulus.
When some individual or thing is representative to us of our concept of the good,
noble or perfect, we are likely to actually
corrupt it in our enthusiasm and misapplied
idealism. Instead of applying reason to the
object of affection, respect or reverence, we
resort to fancy, that is, uncontrolled imagery.
We are inclined to cloak such persons or
institutions in an unnatural behavior, to surround them with a kind of conduct or method
of living that would actually be impossible
for them to achieve. Often we draw upon
the legendary tales of gods, saints and holy
persons, which have descended to us. Some
of these traditions are true in part, but mostly they are fictitious exaggerations of some
incident. It must be realized that most of
these accounts of saints and godly persons
are merely word of mouth. To emphasize
how these beings transcended the ways of
most mortals, those who recounted the tales
carne to exaggerate, in their devotion, the
habits and manner of living of these personages. Many of the tales of the miraculous
birth of great Oriental founders of religin
are sincere, but nevertheless unfounded fantasies. Psychologically, the desire was to
remove these religious avatars, as much as
possible, from the usual mortal circumstances
and elevate them, thus giving them eminence
in the mind of the worshipper. They could
not, it was believed, be born as other men or
die in the same manner. At all times, too,

FEBRUARY, 1955

Page 75

they must surmount, by defiance in most

instances, natural law to which other men
submit and thus be almost constant performers of miracles.
There is also another psychological aspect
in connection with these idealistic fantasies.
We only deeply respect, admireor fear
those qualities in another which excel or are
extremes of our own character and personality. Let someone hand you a copy of
an essay originally written by a renowned
philosopher but which you have not read or
heard of previously. Let this person, who
may be a neighbor, tell you that he wrote it.
You will perhaps read it through; you may
think it quite well done and compliment
him. But you will rarely declare it profound
and of great philosophical import. On the
other hand, if you read the same material
in a textbook by the philosopher, who is
known to you, you would be more deeply
impressed. It is because there are associated
with the ame of the philosopher the idea
of authority and the fantasy of exalted wisdom which, it is presumed, must transcend
the ability of one less well known.
A person may often show little interest
in a painting of modern art by some acquaintance; he may even be mentally critical
of it. Another painting, no more expressive
in symbolism, draftsmanship or color harmony, shown in a museum and proclaimed
the work of a celebrated artist, will gain
greater respect and sympathetic analysis.
The more one is thought to rise above us in
any manner, the greater is our silent or expressed tribute to him.
The officers of the Supreme and of the
Grand Lodge of the A.M.O.R.C. and the
executives on our staff are often confronted
with this false idealism. They become unwittingly surrounded with an unnatural halo
which neither fits them or is becoming.
The fantasies of some very sincere Rosicrucians regarding their officers make it impossible for these officers to lead a normal life

and, at the same time, come up to the expectations of these members. We have, for
example, fratres and sorores, who, by their
idealism, seek to transfer a phenomenal,
superhuman memory upon the directors of
membership correspondence. They will say
in a letteror a personal interviewYou
will remember the problem I wrote you about
four years ago last August. Of course, the
frater, the Rosicrucian correspondent, will
frankly admit he cannot recall either the
letter or the problem. The inquiring member is chagrined and disillusioned that a di
rector of correspondence must refer to the
files for the matter in question. The fact that
the latter explains that he is obliged to answer dozens of letters, sometimes in one day,
is not accepted as the plausible explanation
it should be. The idealism, though false, has
caused the member to anticipate the impossible.
We speak of class masters in our studies.
These Rosicrucians are members high in the
degrees of the Order and have an excellent
comprehension of the teachings. They are
not, however, perfect in the sense of the
erroneous idealism by which they are sur
rounded by other members living at a distance from Rosicrucian Park. They are not
perfect in the sense of having mastered every
law and principie of the teachings. They
make mistakes, they have human weaknesses, they become ill, they still must, and
do, learn and evolve. These class masters
are like all Rosicrucian students and inquirers into natural and Cosmic law. The
only true master or perfect being would be
one whose understanding embraced the absolute in all its omnipotence and omniscience.
Our very Rosicrucian teachings instruct us
that we strive for a greater evolution of these
qualifications. When any consciousness has
attained Cosmic perfection, its mortal embodiment is no longer necessaryso why
expect the impossible from our humble but
sincere members of the staff?

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, 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 Department
of Publication of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/1 sterling) A N N U A LL Y FOR MEMBERS O N LY

Page 76

We regret to say that this fantasy is so

far extended to class masters at times by
some members as to conceive that their class
numbers are but a mere exclusive handful.
A class master is assigned to a section of
the teachings, perhaps one or more of the
neophyte degrees, or one or several of the
higher degrees. This may mean that he is
responsible for the correspondence of several
hundred members. This does in no way
lessen, however, his ability to serve that
number of Rosicrucians faithfully. In the
first place, it is thought and asked that each
Rosicrucian student will first carefully study
the monographs and apply the teachings,
seeking answers within the pages of the
monographs and within himself before asking for further information. The one who
eventually needs the extra help and writes
will receive either a personal or a form reply,
as the circumstances necessitate.
Every courtesy and attention, humanly
and economically possible, is given. To have
a personal teacherthat is, one who would
limit himself, shall we say, to a mere hand
ful of studentswould, as any thinking
member will realize, be impossible. Such a
condition would require a staff of several
thousand AMORC instructors. Each mem
ber would then need to meet this cost and
that would necessitate dues many many
times in excess of what the member pays
now. Further, little would actually be gained
by this, for the personal attention is contained in the monographs, in their preparation, in the thoughts presented, and in those
letters which are extended. The Rose-Croix
University in Rosicrucian Park is also an
excellent method for additional instruction
in class form.
When you meet Rosicrucian officers and
staff executives, you will not find them attired in the white robes of antiquity but
dressed as business or professional people
anywhere throughout the world. You will
respect them for their human ways, practical idealism, and real understanding of the
teachings. You will admire both their frank
admission that there are things above and
beyond their comprehension, and their devout desire to acquire more knowledge, not
alone for themselves but so that they may
help those whom they serve. You will find
in these teachers a more than usual adjustment between the material demands of the

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

day, customary living, and a devotion to

those principies which are both philosophical
and mystical. Figuratively, these officers and
staff executives dwell on two planes, not just
one. They are here on earth living as intelligent, morally circumspect persons, loving
and enjoying life, and yet striving toward
the mystical ideal of Cosmic consciousness.
Fraternally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator
This Issues Personality
Frater Roland Ehrmann, of Springs, South
Africa, was of an inquiring bent of mind at
an early age. Not being satisfied with a
communicated or secondary information, he
always sought to gain immediate knowledge
through personal experience. He was bom
in Switzerland, April 4, 1916. His parents
were established in a joint hotel-and-restaurant business. After completing his primary
and secondary education and being influenced by the business of his parents, he was
given further training in the confectionery
business. He held several positions in that
endeavor in the French section of his homeland.
His first contact with moral and spiritual
vales was through the conventional channels of the Protestant Church of Switzer
land. At the age of twenty, both mental and
physical adventures were strongly appealing
to him. Having completed his military train
ing, he decided to visit personally some of
the remte lands, details of which enchanted
him and his youthful companions. Eventual
ly, after a leisurely trip, he emigrated to
South Africa. Within eighteen months thereafter, his training and trade made it pos
sible for him to enter into a business
partnership. This business he subsequently
acquired and has since successfully extended.
He affiliated with the Methodist Church in
his newly adopted land, giving his services
to classes in Bible instruction. Unanswered
questions related to Cosmic matters intrigued
him and caused him to investgate them
personally. This led him to the threshold of
the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis,
and he crossed the threshold as a Neophyte
on July 17, 1940. The enthusiasm which
Frater Ehrmann had manifested in his hob-

FEBRUARY, 1955

bies, fencing and aviation, was now directed

into philosophical and mystical channels.
Once again he decided to make a firsthand
contact with the object of his interest. In
1951 he joumeyed from Johannesburg to
San Jos, California, to attend a term of the
Rose-Croix University and the International
Rosicrucian Convention. While there, he interviewed various officers and members of
the staff as to ways and means of spreading
the work of the A.M.O.R.C. in his country.
Upon his return to South Africa, with the
aid of other fratres and sorores, he organized
the existing Southern Cross Chapter in Jo
hannesburg. He presided as its first Master.
In 1953 he accepted the appointment, by the
Grand Lodge of AMORC, as Inspector Gen
eral of the Order for the Transvaal.
Frater Ehrmann, though conscientious in
his studies and a lover of abstraction, has an
exceedingly practical approach to the prob
lems of the Order. He has thus that balance
of interest and vales that constitutes the
Rosicrucian.X
Does Common Consent Make Right?
A frater and soror of the southem United
States rise to ask a question of our Forum:
We beg to ask for additional information
regarding some points in the monograph
which we do not understand. It is stated:
From the cosmic point of view, the doing
of that which by common consent is forbidden is the breaking of faith with the cosmic
consciousness. This, while not evil, is sinful.
What is meant by common consent? Is it
the consent of the group in which we happen
to live as, for instance, the state or the coun
try? Or the religious group we happen to
belong to? If this interpretation is correct,
would not then all injunctions established by
common consent of a group enjoy cosmic
sanction? We do not believe that this ip
meant by the statement in the monograph
We would like to know how to interpret it/
This question involves the subject of morr,!
criterion or standard for man. Is conscien - j
a font of divine moral proscriptions and commandments, a series of dos and donts, which
have been implanted in man? On the other
hand, is conscience, as moral rectitude, partially at least acquired from and cultivated
by environmental factors, the social heritage
of customs and accepted behavior? Rosicru-

Page 77

cians take the middle, the conciliatory, path

between the two extremes. The former is the
od theological idea; the latter is the modern
psychological concept. There is inherent in
each man the desire to do right, to conform
to what he conceives as the highest good of
human society. No man who is normal
wants to be ostracized by society; he does
not want to think of himself as being extremely abnormal or subnormal. Even the
criminal does what he thinks is best for him
self as a member of the kind of society to
which he belongs. There is always the inclination to do what seems the best, the
proper, the most efficientway of doing things.
This inclination, however, may not always
be conceived in the terms of the moralist.
Most men would want to do right, to be
consistent with what tradition and experi
ence seem to point out to be best, even if
they had never heard such words as morality,
ethics, or even God.
Earty in life, it becomes apparent to any
intelligent observer that there appears to be
a right and wrong way of doing things. This
right and wrong are not at first either moral
or ethical vales. They are appraised as the
most efficient end in human behavior and
relations. For example, it might be said that
I do not take anothers possessions because
I would then expose my own to a similar
seizure. Theft, therefore, is a practical
wrong. But I likewise receive a kind of inner
satisfaction when I do what I feel is right
and proper. The person who is a thief has
lost contact with the larger views of society
and his vales are distorted.
The form, the actual procedure, as taboos
and necessary obligations, that moris and
ethics assume is dependent upon the customs
and traditions of society. Persons who travel
to remte lands for the first time are often
shocked by what they consider the impropriety of conduct by people of other nations.
They may consider such deviations as sin
ful, evil, and the like. For those who are
responsible for such acts there is no compunction in committing them. It is because
they are not evaluated by them as improper
and the customs of their society do not con
sider them as such. As a consequence, their
moral sense or conscience is not in the least
offended by what they do. The sense of
righteousness or wanting to do the best
is thus governed by our contact with others

Page 78

and the accepted behavior. Our conscience

is mouldedand perhaps not always for the
bestby those about us. We are not born
with a moral code; we inherit one from
religin and from the dictates of the society
of which we are a part.
The sensitivity of the individual, the responsivity of his psychic nature to the influences of his associations, may cause one
person to have a more acute conscience than
another. Thus we speak of one person as
having a stronger sense of justice or a more
highly developed moral sense than another.
Some persons add to their heritage of the
common moral and ethical qualities of socie
ty. We find, for example, that certain religious sects object to the particular customs
of general society which other people readily
accept. They establish a new, a different
code of their own.
Since principally our public conscience or
prescribed code of moris and ethics are the
result of common consent, we can expect
that such might often be in violation of
Cosmic principies. Common consent does
not make right where it lies in the province
of the individual to know that certain conduct is wrong. Por analogy, in New England,
in the early history of the United States, it
was deemed quite proper to condemn someone as a witchand torture and bum such
an individual. It never occurred to the majority of the intellects of the time that such
a belief was an absurd superstition. We
might say that this majority, in sanctioning
such triis and executions, were innocent in
their ignorance. For centuries likewise it was
not thought sinful for human beings to be
held in bondage as slaves. Persons who in
every other way were morally circumspect
indulged in the righteousness of slavery.
By common consent it was morally right and
legal. Fortunately, time has, with the perspective of greater knowledge, changed this
common consent and altered the public con
science in these matters.
The mystical principie involved is whether
those who conform to such common consent
were guilty of Cosmic violation. From our
consideration of Cosmic vales, we must say
no. The Cosmic must, in its divine justice,
take into consideration the motive. One who
knows no wrong, does no wrong, so far as
morality is concerned. A child is not morally
guilty if he violates the law in his ignorance,

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

but nevertheless he must be prevented from

doing so again. There could be no respect
for Cosmic justice were the innocent to be
found guilty of that of which they have no
realization. However, one who, regardless
of the times or his environment, realizes
upon a higher premise or plae of thought
that certain acts are inherently wrong and
still indulges them, just because others do so
or because they are legal, is guilty. He is
in violation of Cosmic law because his motive
is wrong.
There is much in our modem society that
we sanction and in which we, in fact, participate with open mind and with a free
conscience that a more enlightened period
will come to condemn as morally wrong.
You will find, however, that the basic moris,
the so-called Golden Rule (a hackneyed and
much abused term) and the cardinal virtues,
arise out of necessity. These moris have
been found to be the most efficient, the best,
way of living; therefore, they please the inherent sense which we all have of wanting
to do that which is proper and acceptable.
The different religious founders and exponents of world religions have often attributed these virtues to direct exhortations
of God and this view is generally accepted
by the orthodox religionists. However, these
religious exponents perhaps also meant that
the universal acceptance of these virtues, because they are so related to human conduct,
implies that they are of divine origin. We
think that any society, even if it had never
heard of fortitude, truth, honesty, temperance
and the like, would soon have come to evolve
these cardinal virtues from experience indicating their practical need.X
Facts You Ought to Know
A frater has recently stated: I would like
to know something more of the administrative matters of the Order. There must be
complex problems arising in such an extensive, intemational order as ours, problems
which are quite a burden to our officers and
staff. Though I know the Forum is con
cerned mostly with doctrinal principies, or
the teachings, I believe if some of these
tasks of our staff were explained there probably would be ways in which we as members
might assist, or at least make the burden
lighter. In reply to the frater and for the

FEBRUARY, 1955

general information of our fratres and s

rores, we will set forth some of our problems
and activities.
Nonprofit Corporation: The Supreme Grand
Lodge of AMORC, the legally incorporated
body of AMORC, is recognized by the various governments of the nations in which it
functions and is registered as a nonprofit
body. This means that none of its funds,
revenues, or properties can inure to the benefit of any prvate individual, officer, or member. The funds must be used exclusively for
its constitutional purposes. In consequence,
AMORC is not required to pay internal
revenue taxes. Further, all donations, including dues paid to AMORC in the
United States and in several other countres,
may be deducted from the remitters per
sonal income taxes. However, and this point
is not generally realized by many of our
fellow members, this does not exempt
AMORC from the payment of real property
taxes. This tax item on our property and
buildings, together with their contents, is
considerable, amounting to thousands of dollars annually, and frankly it is a heavy
burden to carry. The Order is not a religin,
and there is no better proof of this than
that we must pay such property taxes
which churches do not.
Revenue sources: The principal sources of
income to offset our numerous expenditures
are dues, registration fees, Supply Bureau
receipts, and occasional donations over and
above the dues as made by thoughtful mem
bers. The donations help make up that which
otherwise might become a serious dficit.
Thus, any donations, no matter how small,
are always very welcome. Other members
have even been so kind as to leave a legacy
in their wills to AMORC. Such thoughtful
provisions and donations make possible many
of the nonrevenue producing activities of the
Order.
It must be realized that the member today
pays only 75 cents more in dues than did
the member in 1926almost thirty years
ago! That is not much over 25 percent increase in all those years, whereas almost
all other items and services in the past quarter century have tripled! AMORCs operating
expenses continu to increase monthly:
paper, postage, clerical and operational ex
pense, equipment, maintenance, and the like.

Page 79

Nonrevenue activities: The Rosicrucian Or

der is a cultural organization as well as a
fraternity. It is interested not only in preserving its traditions and extending services
to its members, but, as an organization, it
also makes a contribution of some cultural
activities to general societyactivities which
will add to the integrity and prestige of
AMORC. The Rosicrucian Egyptian, Orien
tal Museum, having the largest collection of
such antiquities in the western United
States, is one of these cultural media. The
Rosicrucian Art Gallery and the Science
Museum with its Planetarium are other examples of this type of activity. Both Museums are free of any commercialism and
there are no fees or admission charges made.
The Egyptian Museum, alone, had nearly
100,000 visitors during the past year. These
persons were from every part of the world
with the exception of Russia and her satellite
countries. The propaganda valu, the good
will of such a project, cannot be measured
in terms of money. On the other hand,
maintenance, necessary alterations, and additions to the collections constitute an obviously heavy expense. Donations and legacies for such an activity are indeed very
excellent ways for the Rosicrucian member
to perpetate his memory and to be assured
that he is not only assisting AMORC but also
contributing something to the enlightenment
of man.
Films: A new travelogue, constituting a journey through Rosicrucian Park and its build
ings, in color and sound, is now being
produced by the Rosicrucian Technical De
partment. It is a completely new and modem
versin of the film, Domain of Destiny.
Beautifully, it pictorializes all the extensions
of Rosicrucian Park, its buildings, and its
varied activities. This film when completed
will not only be shown to various lodges,
chapters, and pronaoi, but prints of it will
likewise be exhibited to public audiences
throughout the world.
Slides of certain Museum exhibits, in color,
are also under production. These show the
many arts and crafts as well as the spiritual
ideis that had their beginning in ancient
Egypt. The slides will be accompanied by
descriptive narration on tape. These, too,
will be available to any membership group
and for public showing. Like the films, these

Page 80

instructive slides and tapes are issued with

out charge.
Dues: While we are on the topic of dues
one of our greatest burdens is carrying the
member who is chronically delinquent
through procrastination. Since promptly paid
dues are just sufficient to meet operating ex
penses, it is easy to imagine what happens
when several thousand members each month
allow their dues to become two to three
months delinquent. Further, there is then
the necessity of the added expense of notifying a member several times of the need to
do his part in this matter. Everyone, of
course, becomes a delinquent at times, that
is to be expected. We are now speaking of
the person who unwittingly does so but is
nevertheless negligent in paying dues.
Actually, of the world-wide Orders, issuing
detailed instructionsas charts, diagrams,
special correspondence, publications, student
examinations and similar materialas part
of their fraternal services, AMORC dues are
the most nominal. There is no exploitation
of the membership. There are no large initiation fees either for entering the Order or
for advancing from one degree to another.
In fact, there are no initiation fees. Unlike
many other fraternal orders there are no
annual assessments of the membership for
propaganda or for dficits of various kinds.
It is this fact, however, that makes it highly
important and essential that the members of
the Rosicrucian Order be prompt in the payment of their dues.
Lectures by officers: Most fraternal orders
and many religious groups are obliged to
meet the necessary expenses entailed on
those occasions when they desire an official
of their grand lodge or supreme body to visit
them and deliver a leeture. To enjoy these
special privileges, the local body is required
at least to pay the transportation expenses
from the national or international headquarters of the visiting officer to their city. Some
religious sects will not send out a field lecturer until the local church has guaranteed
that all costs in connection with such a leeture will be met. That is not a mercenary
attitude; it is a highly essential one. After
all, someone must meet the expenses and it
is logical that the bodies receiving the advantages do so. For many years, the Rosi
crucian Order has sent its officers to various

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

lodges and chapters throughout the world

and the entire transportation cost has been
assumed by the Supreme Grand Lodge. With
more and more subordnate bodies coming
into existence, the demand for these officers
increasesand so does the expense. Most
lodges and chapters now kindly meet the
local hotel expenses of the visiting officers,
but very few have aided with the transporta
tion costs which are obviously heavy. As long
as it can, the Supreme Grand Lodge will
continu this activity at its expense. But we
must mention this item to indcate that this
is just another one of the expenses that the
membership dues cannot alone compnsate
for. On the other hand, if we were to elim
nate this service, then the fraternal contacts
with many of our members who cannot attend our International Conventions in San
Jos would be lessened. The only solution
to the problem is that the members, who
possibly can, make an occasional contribution
over and above their duesany amount will
help.
Future projeets: We cannot here attempt to
set forth all of the important developments
under way connected with the teachings of
the Order and the ritualistic activities that
are planned and conceived for the years to
come. Furthermore, it would not be appropriate that we announce here certain research
which we are planning to venture upon.
These things must be proclaimed in the
monographs, in a more confidential manner.
Further, we are now principally discussing
the physical changes and material needs of
the Order.
We can, however, relate that our late
Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, had as one
of his favorite projeets of the future, a day
nursery school for children, approximately
between the ages of two and one-half and
five years. It was intended that this school
be conducted in accordance with the latest
scientific methods and with Rosicrucian
principies and ideis. Some preliminary ex
perimental work along this line has been
carried out most faithfully under great difficulties by a few of our sorores in San Jos.
The plan that Dr. Lewis had in mind for the
future was to have a child psychologist in
charge of the enterpriseor, at least, some
one trained in that field. Projeets would
then be outlined for the play of the children
and for the study of them at play, their

FEBRUARY, 1955

movements, their reactions, their speech. All

of these observations would be carefully
graphed and analyzed. The operation of the
school including all of the provisions for the
children would be at cost, for it would be a
noncommercial venture. Each parent who
left his children at the school every day
would pay the same nominal charge that he
would at any other day nursery. Here par
ents would be assured, however, of excellent
facilities, scientific supervisin and preschool
training for their children. The project would
not be limited to children of Rosicrucians.
The important factor is that the statistical
results of this analytical study of the children
under scientific direction and guidance would
be made available in bulletin form, and
gratis, to Rosicrucian parents first, and next
to whatever parents our members would
recommend.
Although the nursery school would be selfsupporting, it would first require the ground
upon which to erect an adequately sized
building, and there would be the cost of
the structure itself. A small sum would have
to be available for taxes and equipment.
What a wonderful, humanitarian project!
Regular membership dues could not meet
this expense, but donations and bequests
could make it possible.X
What is Faith Healing?
A frater now asks our Forum: Is there
any differentiation between faith healing,
cosmic healing, or spiritual healing? When
did such practices begin and in these days
of advanced therapeutics d they still have
an important role or are they relegated to
the category of od superstitions?
Generally, all faith healing requires a dependence upon a supemormal power, a being
of divine or Cosmic origin. Further, it includes the belief that this source of healing
can be immediately contacted and can effect
cures regardless of the nature of the illness
or its duration. Faith healing, in point of
time, may be traced back to the earliest
period of medicine and surgery or the application of physical methods. In fact, they
often were concomitant or interrelated systems. In the days of ancient Egypt, the
priest-physicians uttered incantations, performed rituals and recited prayers as a routine preceding or during the proffering of

Page 81

drugs to the patient. Such incantations were

exhortations to the gods to bless the drugs
being administered to the sufferer. There
was a link assumed between the gods and
the physical means used to help the afilicted.
In antiquity, many diseases were thought
to be the direct consequence of malevolent
spirits or punishments inflicted upon the
sufferer by some deity. Thus the proper
relationship between these spirits or gods
and the patient had to be restored before
the latter could be cured. Persons made ill,
for example, by the frenzy of the Dionysiac
mysteries were cured by wild music and
dancing. However, the patient had first to
have faith in the supernatural powers working through the music and dancing as a
mdium. In inscriptions at Epidaurus in
Argolis in the 4th century B.C., it is related
that spots on the face, snakebite, blindness,
and so on were cured by the faith of the
sufferer. It is further related that the pa
tient was put to sleep in a temple-sleep,
during which he saw a visin and in the
moming awoke cured. It is apparent that
the early priests were acquainted with the
means of inducing hypnotic sleep and with
hypnotic suggestions. It has been inferred
from these inscriptions that operations of
various kinds were performed during sleep;
perhaps massage and other remedial acts
were executed. The inscriptions refer to the
remarks of one patient who saw the god
and his attendants seize him, cut open his
abdomen and stitch it up and, when he
went away on the morrow, cured, the floor
of the sanctuary was full of blood. The
priests of Asklepios, god of healing, are said
to have based the success of their surgery on
the faith that the sufferer had in the efficacy
of the god.
Christian records are replete with numerous examples of cures effected which are
said to be the result of the faith of the
patient. A paralyzed man was healed through
the faith of his friends (Matthew, 9:2); two
blind men were healed by faith methods
(Matthew 9:29); a daughter of a Canaanitish
woman was also healed (Matthew 15:28).
These are but a few of innumerable incidents
mentioned. An interesting point in connection with this is that on one occasion Jess
did not or could not heal a sufferer because of
his lack of faith. And He did not mighty
works there because of their unbelief (Mat-

Page 82

thew 13:58). This reveis that there was cooperation required on the part of the afflicted,
that he must recognize a dependence upon
the ultmate source of power. The early
priests of Asklepios demanded this faith as
a prerequisite to their treatment.
In the Middle Ages there was an increasing number of cures attributed to faith healing. Particular examples are the cures credited to St. Francis of Assisi and which were
listed in the bull of his canonization. The
subsequent Cambridge Platonists and John
Wesley set forth a specific philosophy of
faith healing. Martin Luther and the Ger
mn Pietists, of whom many were Rosicrucians, practiced the art of faith healing.
The methods of faith healing were not all
pristine; that is, some employed supplemental objects as well. Spittle was often applied
to the eyes of the blind to effect the restoration of sight, the faith of the patient being
a factor in the cure. The rubbing of the
spittle on the eye has been presumed in
modem times to be a form of minor surgery
in certain cataract conditions. There was
also the practice of sympathetic magic or
the law of contagion as indicated by the
touching of articles which were said to be
sacred: To lie in the bed in which a saint
had died and to have faith in his power
would cure. Such power has been attributed
to the bed of St. Vincent Ferrer. To kiss or
touch the medal of a saint was another
means conjoined with faith healing and was
said to assure a cure. A medal of St. Francis
Xavier was reported to accomplish this
result.
The Romn, Greek, and Christian cures
made great use of the hand, particularly
the right one, as an instrument of cure. The
laying on of hands dates back to an early
period. There are Egyptian tomb inscriptions showing the priests applying the hand
to the nape of the neck and the spine of a
patient and calling forth the divine powers
of the god to pass through the priest and his
hand to vitalize the life forc (sa-ankh)
within the afflicted one. The touching and
kissing of the foot of a sacred one or his
statueif one had the faithwas still an
other method by which cures were said to
be made. This practice is still to be seen
in the Romn Catholic cathedrals of Europe
and in South and Central America.
There are various techniques of faith heal

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

ing, the difference in theory accounting for

the difference in method. They are, principally, mental healing, magnetic healing,
and spiritual healing. Magnetic healing is
based on the belief that there is a universal
primordial forc which displays itself in
the balance between pairs of opposites or
persons of different polarity. We are charged
with this universal magnetic forc, and perhaps can be negative or more receptive to
this forc from someone else; or, conversely,
we are more positive, that is, inclined to
radiate this forc to one less positive than
we are. In the theory of magnetic healing
a man is presumably more positive than a
woman. In other examples, sex is not the
determining factor as to whether one is posi
tive; the important thing is the extent to
which one can draw this universal forc
within him to a focus and radiate or transmit
it to one more negative or receptive. The
magnetic healer would thus be one having
the positive faculty of transmittingthe
healing actually being accomplished by the
universal forc, not by the practitioner or
so-called healer. It is based on the physical
law of attraction and repulsin. Such eminent philosophers and Rosicrucians as Roger
Bacon, Paracelsus, and Robert Fludd prac
ticed magnetic healing. The latter two were
also medical physicians of note in their time.
Franz Antn Mesmer about 1775 became
noted for his fluid idea. This conceived that
there was a magnetic energy of the human
body which functioned as a fluid that could
be passed by means of the hands to various
parts of the anatomy of another. This same
fluid energy could induce sleep. We might
say that Mesmer was instrumental in popularizing an interest in inducing an hypnotic
state which became known as Mesmerism.
He was by no means a charlatan as was
claimed by most of his contemporaries. He
may have misconceived the nature and function of some of his discoveries, and his theories were exploited by others, but we think
of him as a sincere investigator of natural
phenomena.
Mental healing consists of methods of ap
plying the power of mind exclusively for
curative purposes. This method is said to
have both an active and passive phase. The
active is the importation of ideas and suggestions by the healer to the patient. This
may consist of the healers reciting prayers

FEBRUARY, 1955

which, in content, are afirmations or a series

of suggestions to the patient. Then, again,
they may be but affirmations, statements, intended to cause the patient to think and
subsequently act in a manner conceived to
be conducive to effecting a cure. The passive
phase is one of reception and assimilation
by the patient of ideas being suggested to
him by the healer. Again the recipient
must have faith, it is declared, in both the
method and ideas being extended to him
by the healer, if satisfactory results are to
be achieved. It is interesting to note that
the underlying premise of this system is that
healing is to be accomplished by the patient
himself. The suggestions are primarily to
cause the patient to place himself en rapport,
that is, in harmony with the Cosmic or uni
versal forces which are conceived to be curative and constructive in their manifestation.
In connection with mental healing, one
must not overlook the association of mental
telepathy with its practice. It is conceded
that mental telepathy or the transmitting of
thought is an established scientific fact and
not a mere fancy. Consequently, upon this
premise a relationship of absent healing can
be established whereby, with success, the
patient may be cured or greatly relieved of
distress. The same principie applies as in
mental healing except that the ideas or sug
gestions are telepathically communicated.
Spiritual healing expounds that the spirit
ual or psychical qualities of the afflicted one
need rejuvenation. This method contends
that all diseases have their origin in the
psychical nature of man; that is, that they
are the result of lack of harmony between
the body and the spiritual element of the
individual. Man, it is further expounded,
cannot actually effect any cure; he but reestablishes the fundamental unity between
the body and the Divine or Cosmic forces.
Thus the only real physician is the Divine.
The spiritual method embraces meditation,
invocations, and prayers, and endeavors to
bring about an influx of divine power in the
patient by which the disease will be excluded
and the normal function of the human or
ganism resumed. In this type of healing, the
word healer, as applied to the practitioner,
is a misnomer. He does not heal; he manipulates or, shall we say, directs by his methods
the way in which the patient is to restore
himself through the spiritual powers extant.

Page 83

From the psychological conception, the

underlying effect of faith healing is the pow
er of suggestion. Much is said today about
what has been known for a long time
namely, psychosomatic relations. We know
that the body, through the nervous systems,
not only can affect the mind and emotions
but, conversely, the latter can bring about
many organic disorders. Dominant ideas and
notions can induce psychic states, emotional
stresses, which take their toll in physical dis
orders. These interrelations can then be employed to effect cures by suggestions. If a
person has faith in an idea suggested to
him, it becomes a dominant power in the
mind as a central idea in directing forces
through the nervous systems. Persons will
not always take advice, no matter how sound
it may be logically. Such advice can often,
however, be suggested indirectly if the re
cipient has the faith that will keep his mind
receptive to the ideas which need to be implanted in it. Suggestion is best accomplished
when the consciousness of the individual is
made to focus upon some central idea. Then
the idea of the suggestion may by-pass this
focus of consciousness and enter the mind
subtly where it accomplishes its work with
out impediment. Further, faith may so focus
the consciousness of the patient upon the
source of his faith that his fears, which ordinarily inhibit his own curative powers, become temporarily allayed. This subsiding
of the aggravating thoughts and depressing
of the nervous system often relieves one of
the principal causes of his distress and a cure
is accomplished. The patient may attribute
his cure to the content of his faith, whereas
actually many times the passive attitude of
mind which his faith induced was the most
important factorthough not the exclusive
one.X
The Meaning of Religin
Religin is so complex that it requires a
very careful analysis of its nature to avoid
the fields of theology and comparative religions. Religin has different meanings to
different individuis; it is therefore necessary
to try to arrive at an average meaning so as
to give the subject as a whole a reasonable
definition and content. Religin is subject to
controversy, and difficult to isolate, unless
one constantly refers to the subject of reli-

Page 84

gions or to the analysis of a religin. To

separate religin from its various interpretations is to delete some of its essence so far
as those who are interested primarily in
theological discussions or in creed and dogma
are concerned. In the following comments,
I have tried to refrain from reference to any
religin and to consider the subject by itself,
free from opinion, prejudice, or the point of
view of any particular religinthat is, to
take the subject as one phase of the complex
phenomena of human knowledge and experience and consider it in relation to human
behavior.
It seems only proper to begin this discussion with a definition. To confine the study
here to certain limitations, I have assembled
four definitions, three of which I will present at this time, and the fourth at the con
clusin. These first three definitions generally
agree with what we might cali the currently
accepted concept of religin.
Definition one: Religin is a Service to,
and an adoration of, divinity as expressed in
forms of worship. This explanation should
be considered fundamental, and almost every
individual of any religious affiliation would
probably accept it with little qualification.
It is, in a sense, what the average man might
accept as a definition of religin. The practice through worship of showing a desire to
adore and serve a divinity is nevertheless not
a particularly heart-warming concept. Reli
gin connected exclusively to forms of wor
ship for the purpose of indicating Service
or adoration of a divinity seems to be incomplete, because it confines our religious responses to a pattern, or more or less a fixed
procedure. This seems to take the personal
interest and feeling away from the subject.
Definition two: Religin is a system of
faith and worship. This definition also
shows a tendency to classify. It limits the
subject to a specific, established phenomenon
by making it a systemin this case, a sys
tem of faith and worship. Most individuis
today would agree that the modern concepts
of religin number within them faith and
worship as two important functions or practices. Nevertheless, to consider faith and
worship as a system, that is, to incorprate
these principies into a specific form, is to
leave the resultant religious idea without
some of the attributes which should make
religin of most valu. This attempt to sys-

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

tematize tends also to limit and to cause

religin in this sense to be a fixed or unmovable idea.
The third definition concems the indi
vidual more than it does a group of beliefs
or a system. It is, Religin is an awareness
or conviction of the existence of a Supreme
Being which arouses awe, reverence, and
love. This definition approaches closer to a
concept of religious experience. It makes
religin more of an actual experience, with
man participating in it rather than treating
it as a system or pattern that is somewhat
separated from his experience. It is also the
first of the definitions here considered to
introduce the emotional response of the hu
man being, for, as we shall see later, religin
is not exclusively a matter of reason. It con
cems a response or the total behavior of the
individual, and that behavior includes not
only the exercise of his reasoning faculties
but also that of his feeling.
An individual may prefer any one of these
definitions, by choosing the one that best fits
his idea. Religin does not readily confine
itself to any definition, or does human interpretation of religin definitely apply to
some one analysis or definition in particular.
Religin may be fitted to any category that
best meets ones individual needs and re
sponse to the subject. As a result, interpretations are as varied as are the viewpoints
of the individuis who choose to make their
own conclusions and formlate their own
opinions. It is probable that no two forms
of religin in the entire world are identical,
because each religin has many phases given
to it by the individuis who interpret it.
Each individual ultimately arrives at his
own concept regardless of the system or the
pattern into which he tries to fit his religious
behavior.
It is difficult, as I have already implied, to
enter into a discussion of things of a religious
nature without influencing the conclusions
reached by ones own beliefs and prejudices.
Unfortunately, prejudice is a very important
consideration in the study of religin since
most religious ideas are based as much upon
prejudice as they are upon opinion and con
viction. Prejudice grows in our social structure and also influences individual opinion.
So it is that most forms of religin today
are closely related to what we as in
dividuis have made them in our thinking.

FEBRUARY, 1955

To interpret religin without letting those

opinions affect our conclusions is impossible. Although this analysis is intended
to be an objective presentation of the subject
of religin, anyone reading these words who
happens to know what my particular religious beliefs and convictions are would be
able to find my beliefs affecting my con
clusions even in this discourse, where I am
making every effort to avoid reference to
the particular religious concept in which I
believe. It is foolish to try to discuss, arge,
or elabrate upon religin or politics without
admitting frankly that our prejudices will
interpret and color what we have to say.
S y st e m s a n d F o u n d e r s

Religin begins with a body of teachings

which are those postulated by a personal
founder. Without personality, religin would
be lacking in its full meaning. It would
seemingly have very little character, or
would it appeal to the average individual.
The greatest religions that exist in the world
today are closely connected with their found
ers. The personality of the founder is a
factor that becomes important to the indi
viduis who follow the teachings. These followers support the founder in his beliefsin
his behavior. They look upon him as a teacher. Some actually accept their founder as a
prophet, and others deify him depending
upon the doctrine that has grown about the
establishing of a particular religin. Regardless of the position in which a religious
founder is held, the body of teachings that
have evolved, or have been built up from
the sayings, writings, or traditions about the
life and words of a particular founder, are
the basis upon which religious doctrine has
been founded.
Various stories and traditions exist about
these religious founders. The controversy is
particularly concemed with their authority,
their inspirationwhat they did and by
what authority. It would seem to one who
studies the matter carefully that those reli
gious founders who truly exemplified the
principies which they taught belong among
those whom we classify as avatars. According to mystical philosophy, an avatar is an
individual who has gained a high degree
of Cosmic evolution. Such an individual is
sometimes referred to as a master, but an
avatar is an individual who has advanced in
evolution physically, mentally, and spiritual-

Page 85

ly to a point where future incarnations are

for a specific purpose, usually in the service
of mankind. Through that service, and
through his life and teachings, there is established a system or a series of systems of
thought which if followed in organized form
becomes a religious group, body, or denomination.
To attempt to determine which of the re
ligious leaders were truly avatars and which
were not would be going beyond the scope
of this discussion; furthermore, we would
eventually end in hopeless confusion and
controversy. We as human beings are not
in a position to make this judgment. Frankly,
we do not know. We can understand only
certain points of evidence and gain hints that
will probably help us to arrive at a con
clusin satisfactory to our own acceptance
or rejection of the teachings of any religious
founder.
Actually, no one religin has the exclusive
possession of an avatar. Different religions
view their founder in different ways, but
none of them can say in full truth that that
one has exclusive control of the ways of
God. There are a few religious bodies now
active in the world that recognize equally all
of those who have been considered to be
avatars; that is, individuis who accept this
premise realize that the revelation of God to
man is in itself an evolutionary process based
upon the ability of the human being to
comprehend the revelation. Consequently,
they believe, and it seems reasonable to ac
cept this premise, that one avatar after an
other has appeared at different times, at dif
ferent places, under different circumstances,
but to point out one as greater than another
is to enter into an unending argument.
It is impossible to arrive at an analysis or
an estmate of the true background of all the
personalities who were avatars. The avatars
who carne to bring a message to mankind,
to devote their lives to that purpose, to
assume vicariously the problems of humanity in order that they might be lived
within the scope of the individuaos experience, were those who carne to present
an idea or a system of thinking that would
be for the welfare of humanity as a whole.
To try to isolate those individuis who come
under this classification is purely a manmade effort, and actually a waste of time.
Furthermore, we must remember that many

Page 86

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

of the established religions are far removed

from both the time and intent of the lives
of those who were their founders.
Most religions today are based upon a
system of thought within the limitations of
the doctrines and dogma decided upon by
individuis, that is, by human beings like
you and me. That the founders of the reli
gions in which these doctrines are now estab
lished taught all the man-made doctrines that
exist for us at this time is ridiculous. Yet
most religions practice this principie. It does
not take very long, after the passing of a
religious founder, for certain metaphysical
doctrines to become prevalent. Probably the
first change in those religions having the
body of tradition and writings that exist to
day is that the words spoken by the religious
founder acquire different interpretations. The
metaphysical question that always arises as
a result of this is whether or not the content
of the doctrine and tradition, and the whole
body of the religin upon which they are
based, remains or must remain the same as
that established by the founder of the reli
gious body and of which these doctrines were
not an original part. To state this in another
way, we must consider the question as to
whether or not the doctrines and traditions
built around the life of a religious founder
are the final and authoritative word of God.
There is always the further question as to
whether the revelation proceeding from a
religious founder existed prior to its revela
tion through the words and life of the found
er; that is, are the words spoken by a religious
founder a new principie, or based upon prior
knowledge? Did they come into being
through the personality and life of the reli
gious founder himself as a new revelation?
P r e p a r a t io n a n d P u r p o se

These questions are seldom answered in a

religious doctrine except to the satisfaction of
a limited group who have come to an agree
ment among themselves. Dogma and doc
trine take the place of the answers, and
certain forms and procedures are prescribed
by which men live in various interpretations
of the word attributed to a religious founder.
Religious doctrine which is established by
the successors to a religious founder usually
differs profoundly from the original spiritual
concept which was promulgated by the
founder. These concepts depend upon the

intent of the interpreters as to how they will

be stated. Religious doctrine, then, can free
or it can enslave, and religin has been used
for both purposes. Religin has, therefore,.
been used so that mens minds might be free
to look toward God, that men might be able
to lift their consciousness above the problems
of daily living and see beyond their physical
existence. On the other hand, religin has
been used to bind people in fear and in
superstition in order that they might be
exploited and controlled by other individuis.
There have existed institutions and organizations that have used religin purely as a
superstition and as a tool to keep people in
ignorance and make them conform to patterns established by those who sought the
spiritual revelation as a means of holding
man in conformance to their own desires.
We need only to look at history to find many
illustrations of this fact. Today the problem
of religin, among those who are farsighted
enough to see it, is to separate religious dog
ma and doctrine from superstition and bring
religin into the lives of individuis as a
dynamic forc for good rather than as a
controlling forc.
Religin in its purest formthat is, the
words and the light of its founderis a
system that has emotional as well as intellec
tual appeal. No one has a right to expound
or criticize a religin who is not sympathetic
to its basic principie; otherwise, he views it
entirely from the standpoint of reason and
not from the way those who participate in its
principies feel about it. Religin is actually
based more upon feeling than upon reason.
Consequently, reason seldom gives religin a
fair hearing. To reason about religin is to
consider the behavior and practices of its patterns and systems to the extent that we lose
sight of the fact that reason is man-made,
and how man feels is more important so far
as his religious responses are concerned. To
consider a religin fairly, we must, therefore,
be tolerant not only of mans ability to reason but of his whole behavior and how he
feels about his life and his relation to God.
Whenever a group of individuis meet to
decide upon certain tenets of religin, intolerance is an inseparable part of what they
do because they cannot separate their own
interpretations and their opinions from their
prejudices. They build their interpretations
upon their reasoning rather than upon the

FEBRUARY, 1955

efect of the feeling of those whom the reli

gin may influence.
Reason is to a certain extent predictable;
it follows certain pattems, whereas feeling
and emotion determine behavior based upon
ones reactions at a particular moment. If
you know me well, you will know that there
are certain things that will probably occur
in my behavior pattern under certain circumstances. You know that I will follow a
certain pattern as long as reason has dominance, but should an emotional pattern con
trol my behavior, then something different
from the normal pattern may take place. So
it is that if religin is analyzed, if it is actually picked to pieces by analytical study, or if
it is approached philosophically and psychologically, the true elements that made the
religin lose their potency, because reason
cannot pick out of a religin what there is
in it of primary valu. Reason can analyze
only the things that are acceptable to reason,
whereas that which has religious appeal to
an individual and brings him some degree
of comfort and help is based on feeling and
not on reason.
Through reasoning, religin is sometimes
made to fit into a circumstance for which it
was not designed. There has always been
an intmate connection between a religin
and its cultural background. The fact that
avatars appeared at various times and places
causes us to realize that they must have been
prepared to fit into the complexities of the
particular environment in which they lived.
Consequently, every religious teacher has
presented material within the pattern of the
culture where he lived and taught. He has
taught in terms of the understanding and
the knowledge of the individual of his time.
Would it not be ridiculous to believe that
avatars as superintelligent beings would incarnate in a certain society and circum
stance and then present their teachings in
terms not within the understanding of those
to whom they addressed their message? Con
sequently, the words of every religious
teacher need to be translated into the par
ticular pattern under which he taught. The
period, the social status, and the intelligence
of the people at the time of the message must
be considered in the light of the message,
because it was presented in its particular con
ten to suit the particular purpose of those
who then heard it.

Page 87

History shows that most religious founders

do not propound many things that are completely new; that is, each teacher gives a
fresh setting to an older idea or a particular
emphasis to some aspects in accordance with
the needs of those to whom he speaks. The
particular pattern of each religin fits into
the lives of those with whom the founder
dealt.
Under present circumstances, it is well to
consider the status of religin in modera
society as to its valu and its future. Regardless of what may be our religious point of
view, regardless of what may be our preju
dice or our thoughts of its future, there is
one thing very obvious, particularly in the
Western world today, and that is that reli
gin is thriving. There is a lot of it. Drive
anywhere in this country and you will see
new church buildings under construction,
new congregations being formed, new growth
taking place. We cannot deny that this indicates a need and a demand upon the part
of individuis for a religious phase of life.
If people look toward religin and believe
they need it, it would seem that an analysis
of what religin may give them is worthy of
consideration.
F o u r Q u e s t io n s

Therefore, we might consider the criterion

of a religin that will meet the needs of
man today in this more or less skeptical
world. The criterion of a religin, it seems
to me, can be decided by the answer you are
able to give to the following four questions.
In other words, I have not tried to set up
an interpretation of any religious doctrine or
dogma, or have I tried to present new ones.
What I am concerned with is religin in
terms of human experience, and I believe
that the answer to these four questions should
be the serious consideration of any indi
vidual seeking the help and solace of a reli
gin, as well as of those who propose to
teach a religin.
The first of these questions is: Does the
religin strengthen mans acuteness to spiritual knowledge? Religin is nothing unless
it brings to consciousness the spiritual con
cept, unless it can link man with a source
outside himself; so, consequently, the first
criterion in the analysis of any religin must
be that it within itself contain an ability
or an attribute to sharpen the individuals
perception for spiritual knowledge. The com

Page 88

prehensin and the understanding of spirit

ual knowledge, that is, in contrast to physical
or material knowledge, is the first prerequisite in religin so that it can be a potent
forc in the life of any individual.
The second question to be answered is:
Does the religin provide the philosophy that
can prepare man to face the pain, the sorrows, the disappointments, and problems of
life on earth? Unless a religin can answer
that question in the aflirmative, it is absolutely useless. As long as we live within the
environment of the physical world in which
we find ourselves, pain, sorrow, disappointment, tribulations, and problems will be a
part of our experience. As I have stated
elsewhere, it is my belief that evil is closely
connected with physical phenomena, that it
is in a sense an attribute of matter. As long
as we are associated and involved with the
physical world, we are also involved with
evil because it is a part of our experience.
It is a part of the Cosmic plan of evolution
that we be associated with evil. Consequently,
anything that gives us the ability to cope
with the problem of the physical world, that
helps to raise our consciousness above the
limitations of the material, is something that
is essential in our development and a part
of our all-over growth.
All of us have had what we believe to be
more or less our share of these particular
tribulations. Some have had more triis
than others, but we have faced them, and
we will have to face them again. There is
no alternative so long as we live. The indi
viduis who are unable to face the pain, the
sorrows, and the tribulations of life become
what we ordinarily classify as insane; that
is, such individuis separate mental attention
from the existing actuality and live exclusively in a world of illusion which they create
themselves. Thereby they are no longer in
a position to be hurt by outside influences,
neither can they grow, develop, or continu
in their Cosmic evolution. It is therefore
essential that a religin provide an important
criterion, a working philosophy, that will enable man to face these problems. Only
through facing these problems do we realize
what they are. If we cannot find the strength
and solace from religin to help us to direct
ourselves through lifes maze, and face our
problems as they occur, religin will be of
no particular advantage to us. There is no

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

use to try to ignore these problems. We

cannot deny the existence of the material
world and at the same time expect to adjust
ourselves to it. Neither can we deny those
things that are a part of the physical world,
such as sorrow and pain. We may try to
deny or ignore them, but they will still exist
about us, and we will fail short of our own
accomplishments by not working with them.
We need to build a bulwark that will
support us in the face of our tribulations,
and not some means for avoiding them. We
must leam by experience that a part of our
life is to tolerate the inconveniences caused
by those elements we encounter that are not
to our liking. We have to realize valu where
valu exists, and leam that Cosmic evolution,
as I have termed it, is more important than
any physical evolution. However, although
growth within the spiritual concept is more
important than the physical, the physical is
still a consequence that we must face. If we
cannot dominate or, at least, learn to live
in the physical world where we have our
senses and our being, how can we expect
to be prepared to live in another world?
These thoughts lead to my third question
of the criterion of religin: Does the religin
provide a proper perception of vales? Many
of the questions of life revolve around valu.
The problem of valu is as much a part of
religin as it is of philosophy. Individuis
can be judged by their sense of vales. What
any person vales will immediately be reflected in behavior and evidenced in his
character. In this sense, every individual is
a reflection of the things he vales most. The
establishment of a sense of vales, that is,
to be able to place worth on those things that
have continuous rather than transitory valu,
is an accomplishment toward which every
one should try to direct himself. A useful
and worth-while religious concept will assist
the individual in selecting those vales in
which he can have confidence, and which he
can be assured will endure. We can accept
those parts or portions of the material world
which we find agreeable, but at the same
time we need to put them in their proper
category so they will not overshadow the
vales of the world of spirit which we must
also acquire.
The fourth question in the analysis of
religin is: Does religin create a sense of
permanency in contrast to futility? The

FEBRUARY, 1955

greatest problem facing all people today, and

this problem is particularly applicable to
youth, is the need of an idea of permanency
of vales whenever it seems on the surface
of things that much of living is futile. One
might accept as a fact, if one does not reason
far enough, that the whole world is going
to be blown apart in a few years, or that
some catastrophe will occur. Such an idea
leads to expediency of action upon the part
of the average human. Actually, however,
there never was a time in history when
something was not about to occur, and as a
result, the world was not the same as it was
before. The world changesthis is evidence
of the process of evolution. We cannot stand
still. We must adapt ourselves to change
whether we like the pattern that is coming,
or dislike it. It is a part of our experience
or we wouldnt be here, so regardless of
what is going to happen tomorrow, the most
important thing for us to face at the moment
is how to fit ourselves to the circumstances
that exist at this particular time.
To decide to give up because something
is probably going to happen in the future
is to give up our whole evolutionary advancement. Whatever is going to be is partly
due to the decisions that we make and the
attitudes with which we face situations. At
least, we know that up to this particular
point in our lives, those things that have existed have been for the purpose of permitting
us to gain something by our participation in
the particular experiences that have occurred.
The same principie will apply to the experi
ences in the future. A religin that will help
us realize this sense of permanency that underlies all the apparent change will give us
strength and will help us not to decide that
all effort and worth-while purpose is futile.
V lT A L IT Y VERSUS I n ERTIA

An acceptable religin, therefore, must be

vital; that is, it must live and it must add to
the ability of the human being to live. A
vital religin in contrast to a set of written
dogmas and creeds must also include continuous revelation; that is, it must ever be
renewed by the contact of its adherents
through their association and realization of
an actual living presence of God, not merely
of some ruler who rather mysteriously exists
to them through the pages of certain doctrine,
books, or creeds. The idea that a religin
can be like a package in a store, which after

Page 89

being wrapped, tied, and sealed cannot be

changed, has caused many religions to stagnate in their thought. There are religions
today which at the time of their founding
were a departure in the thinking of the peo
ple, but over the course of time they have
become orthodox by their limitations to the
concepts that were first conceived about them.
Inspiration does not cease with the person
ality of a religious founder. The founder only
points the way. Inspiration is a continually
manifesting continuity.
It was never the intent of a true religious
founder to live his life up to a particular
point and make the end of his life be the
end of the system of thought which he
established. There have been those who
have tried to bottle up religin in this way,
to so bind it in dogma, creeds, and pattems
of action that it could never escape these
limitations.
The world ended for some people at the
conclusin of the life of their religious found
er. From there on, they have tried to live in
modem times without variation and with
out realizing that the principie upon which
their founder promoted or established his
ideis was that man should realize constant
revelation from God. Actually, revelation
through growth and development toward
higher concepts in religin is a continually
growing potentiality of the human mind.
The source of revelation is independent of
any individual whether that individual be a
religious founder, or whether he be you or I.
Revelation is founded within the consciousness of God, and that is continuous, because
the personality of God provides a continuous
revelation. It may be that there are those
who comprehend revelation better than others. There are those who are able to perceive
it more acutely than others, but all can per
ceive it to a degree. This constant perception
and realization causes religin to grow and
become developed into its higher forms. It
can then adapt a metaphysical, mystical, and
philosophical interpretaron that will fit into
the needs and behavior of the individuis
who follow the particular ideal. It is in mysticism, whether it be religin or philosophy,
that we find the highest expression of mans
relationship to God. This is the concept that
man himself can perceive God without the
intermediary interpretation of any other
individual.

Page 90

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

T h e C o n c l u s i n

So I arrive at my fourth definition of reli

gina definition which will be considered
extremely unorthodox. It will shock those
who hold rigidly to certain orthodox patterns,
and it will not be accepted by those who are
so tied to their creed and dogma that they
cannot see beyond the meaning of an established religious pattern, feeling that it can
not in any way be modified. Yet I believe
it incorporates the vitality that is necessary
to maintain religious thinking in the modern
world. My definition is the simplest of the
four which I have given. It is: Religin is
the pleasure of the awareness of God. The
purpose of life, in spite of its triis and tribulations, is to exist as pleasurably as possible.
Although triis and tribulations must exist,
they need not predominate. Man grows toward contentment and happiness, and in the
process there is a degree of pleasure. So if
we become aware of God as an entity, as a
divine and potent forc in the universe, as
something of which we are a segment, we
will derive satisfaction and pleasure in the
growth of that relationship. Therefore, reli
gin is a complex phenomenon primarily
because man makes it that way. In its funda
mentis, it is simple; and it can be reduced
to its simplest element in being the pleasure
of the awareness of God.A
Environment and Spiritual Progress
A frater, addressing our Forum, says: I
would like to know to what extent our en
vironment influences our spiritual progress.
Is it necessary that we make our own en
vironment in this matter?
Perhaps it would be best if we approach
the consideration of this question by first
determining what we mean by spiritual
progress. As Rosicrucians, we take the position that every human being is fundamentally spiritual. He is imbued with the universal,
the divine, consciousness in every cell of his
being. This innate divine consciousness is
what men know as the soul. The Rosicru
cian philosophy further contends that no hu
man being can any more be devoid of this
quality than he can be devoid of his physical
body. In essence, then, men are all spiritually endowed beings. This being so, what constitutes the progress which is associated with
the term spiritual progress?
It is one thing to be in possession of some

thing; it is quite another to have a realization

of it. To have something and yet not know
we have it is equivalent, in effect, to not
having it at all. If something is not identified
with the ego or self, it does not exist to the
self so far as its utilitarian valu is con
cerned. Consequently, it becomes necessary
to discover or to make manifest our spiritual
nature, to reveal what lies perhaps dormant
within our own entity. We speak of a persons making progress toward the awakening
or cultivation of talents. Spiritual progress
means the realizing of our divine or Cosmic
relationship and causing it to influence our
objective existence. It is not sufficient merely
to possess this spiritual quality.
We know that in the intellectual realm
certain diligent practices must be adhered to
if progress in learning is to be had. A perfunctory study of subjects, as language, law,
or music, will never result in their mastery. There must be an integration of all
those factors which will contribute to the
accomplishment of learning the subject. One
must have a capable teacher or text; he must
conscientiously set aside a time for study
and for any necessary practice. He must
instill in his consciousness all ideas or as
sociated thoughts that will cause him to have
an appreciation of the object of his study.
This association consists of being with people
who have similar interests or of going to
those places where such interests are to be
found, and reading or listening to speakers
that will add to ones font of knowledge in
the field of ones interest. This will also whet
ones enthusiasm, and enthusiasm is the
necessary emotional stimulus by which ideas
become more firmly fixed in memory.
When we start doing these things, we
will create an environment conducive or
sympathetic to the ideal which we want to
realize. A sympathetic environment is one,
for analogy, of a concert where the music
student is brought into an intmate contact
with the objectification of his aspirations. A
sympathetic environment is always one
which offers a mnimum of opposition to our
objective. It may not be a simple matter to
establish the desired environment. It may
entail sacrifice of time, effort, and even money. The student of classical music, to refer
again to our analogy, may know that to hear
a celebrated artist would defnitely contribute
to his own musical progress. To acquire funds

FEBRUARY, 1955

for the admission ticket might mean a per

sonal sacrifice, but to the aspiring musician
it is worth it.
Is there a specific kind of environment
that will quicken the consciousness of ones
spiritual nature and thereby accelerate ones
spiritual progress? There most certainly is.
There are spiritual vales, all of us will
agree. They are those vales which cause
our greater appreciation of the universal
reality, the Cosmic, and all its manifestations.
These things cause ones interest to transcend
the limited finite nature of his own physical
and social environment. All that which
arouses compassion and the humanitarian
love of ones fellows is attributed to spiritual
love, the higher desires of ones conscious
being. Love of nature, of the beautiful, of
the constructive and Creative enterprises of
the human mind, as expressed in the arts
and crafts, is of the spiritual content of man.
In contrast to this are the sordid interests
which are concerned only with the physical
appetites and a disregard of human suffering
profane and vulgar displays which lower
the dignity of man and overemphasize his
animal nature.
Many times we are obliged to live in such
vulgar and profane environment by circum
stances, economic and otherwise, which are
beyond our control. It is difficult for the
finer and more sensitive aspects of mans
nature, his moral and aesthetic qualities, to
assert themselves under such circumstances.
Consciousness of ones spiritual nature is submerged in the baser appeal to which one is
exposed. If spiritual progress is to be made,
a change in environment is necessary. At
least part of each day or week, one must
associate with men and women having an
interest in the lofty, the noble, things of life,
and a high idealism, those persons who are
interested in cultural pursuits and the devel
opment of human character. This may be
accomplished by affiliation with Rosicrucian
lodges, chapters or pronaoi, or by attending
some local church. However, if one attends
a church to make spiritual progress, he must
do so for the general association, not neces
sarily to be obliged to conform to any dogma
or any limited theological concepts. Of course,
the reading and study of the Rosicrucian
monographs, with their Cosmic principies
and their demonstrations of natural law, help
the aspirant to imbue his consciousness with

Page 91

thoughts which will quicken his awareness

of his own spiritual nature. It may be said
that spiritual progress requires the cultivating of the appropriate environment equally
as much as the discovery of one.X
Do Stars Influence Us?
A frater of West Virginia, rises to ask our
Forum: Do the stars control or influence us
in any way? At a recent gathering, I heard
that they do not. How can anyone give such
a positive answer whenwho does really
know?
We believe that this subject has been quite
extensively discus sed in this Forum several
times in the past. It is worthy of at least a
brief additional consideration at this time.
Previously, we have reviewed the early his
tory of the belief in celestial influence upon
the lives of men. The ancient Babylonians
and the Chaldeans conceived that there was
a correspondence between the planets, cer
tain fixed stars, the earth, and human and
worldly events. The stars were conceived as
heroic beings and gods, each having a par
ticular domain or realm of influence. They
were thought also to have a sympathetic
relationship between the phenomena of earth
and the activities of men. The principie of
correspondence postulated that whatever occurred as deeds or even thoughts, upon the
part of the celestial powers, resulted in a
corresponding response in human affairs.
This constituted a theory of transference of
the imagined powers, habits, and acts from
the celestial beings, or stars, to mortals.
Among the Ancients, much of what is
known as natural phenomena was consid
ered to be of teleological origin, that is, hav
ing a mind-cause. The phenomena were not
thought to be the blind function of imper
sonal natural law but, rather, conscious acts
upon the part of the personalities associated
with the planets, the sun, and the moon.
Thus, these celestial bodies, in the theories
of ancient astrology, intentionally influenced
the lives of men to do their bidding. This
teleological theory eventually went through
a transition so that the celestial influence was
thought to be wholly naturalistic, each planet
having certain inherent qualities which could
be either modified or intensified when the
planet was brought into a certain conjunction or relationship with others. The prin
cipie of correspondence, however, still

Page 92

perseverad. Since human lives were related

to the planets, depending upon the prevailing influence of the stars under which they
were born, men were consequently affected
in their earthly affairs by these celestial interrelations.
For centuries the most leamed men, philosophers, scientists, and statesmen, gave
serious study to astrology and placed much
credence in its doctrines. This, of course,
is no assurance of the accuracy of the belief
since many learned men of the past have
subsequently been proved to have been erroneous in some of their opinions. In connection with astrology, there developed an
almost insuperable fatalism. Men carne to
deny their own judgments and conclusions
in yielding to the expounded influences of the
stars that prevailed. Many persons, even to
day, will not undertake some venture no
matter what the circumstances are, or what
reason may dictate, if the aspects of the stars
are not favorable. Thus they submit their
own intellect and will to a conceived naturalistic power which exercises complete con
trol over every department of their lives.
Some astrologers today, however, insist that
the stars only incline but do not compel.
Astrology is one of the oldest consistent
beliefs in the history of man. How factual
are its doctrines? Is it but an age-old superstition, the shadow of an era of greater credulity? The Ancients, being the first
astronomers as well, did, of course, discover
the relation of various natural phenomena to
the celestial bodies. They saw how the sun
seemed to rise and set, and they noticed its
apparent connection with the seasons. They
charted its celestial joumey through the
zodiac, which path they were the first to
inscribe in clay. They noted the different
positions of the stars at various times of the
year; they observed the heliacal or strange
rising of other stars just at dawn and at
periodic intervals. They studied the phases
of the moon. Men began to speculate on the
relationship of these phases to the tides and
to functions coramon to women. All of these
physical forces and conditions not only drew
mens interest but it was presumed that since
they affected the climate and the seasons, so
too, they must, indirectly at least, influence
all life on earth.
If the moon influences gravity and the
tides, does it also affect the human nervous

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

systems? Because of its pul, does it in any

way retard or stimulate the flow of nervous
energy? Does it alter, even minutely, the
transmission along the neural pathways? If
the moons phases have some attraction toward the magnetic balance of the earth, and
since man is, as well, a kind of electromagnetic organism, to what extent is he affected
by this attraction? Would any change in his
electrical constitution affect his glandular response at different times monthly? If this is
a scientific proof, then most certainly mans
thinking and his emotional states vary slightly at different intervals corresponding to
celestial influences.
It is no longer an od wives tale that the
phases of the moon have an effeet on the
growth of plants. Botanists have announced
that their controlled experiments revealed
the influence of the moon upon plant life,
especially in connection with the time of
planting. Photosynthesis, or the influence of
the suns radiations on the chemical structure
of plants, is recognized.
I do not think that any intelligent person
will doubt that there are certain physical
influences exerted upon earth by celestial
bodies. Science is concemed today with Cos
mic rays, photons, and various radiations of
the energy of the sun. With the passing of
time, more of such phenomena will be discovered by astrophysicists and those in other
fields of related science. The question is, do
these subtle influences govern our lives? Do
they incline one person to a distinct type of
personality, as the aggressive, the philosophical, the poetic? Further, are they so farreaching that these influences make particu
lar times more favorable, for example, for
travel, for romance, or for making contracts
and other wholly human constructs?
We seriously protesteven though we may
invite the criticism of some astrologersthat
the stars enter in so specifically and directly
to the individual destinies of men. We be
lieve that such influences as the planets
would exert, would be as waves of influence
that would have a universal effeet upon all
men, as, for example, do the sun and moon.
Some men, when under such an influence,
because of the manner in which they are
constituted, and the effeet of the impact,
would be more or less extreme in conduct
than would others. To conclude, there is, we
believe, a happy mdium between the as-

FEBRUARY, 1955

sertion that all human decisions of impor

tance are the result of the influence of the
stars, and the converse belief that the doctrine
is without any foundation in fact.X
Cosmic Visualization
One of our staff correspondents, addressing
our Forum, says: I notice, in our corre
spondence and requests for help, what seems
to me to be one of the basic troubles which
the members have at times. In visualizing,
they make the picture too particular or, in
other words, they try to say just how things
should be done. It hardly seems plausible
for one to tell the Cosmic specifically what
to do. Also, one does not always know what
is best. May we have some comment on this
in the Forum?
What is the whole principie behind Cosmic
visualization, as set forth in our Rosicrucian
teachings? It is that we are trying to set into
motion, or rather to draw to ourselves from
Cosmic sources, those things and conditions
that we have in mind can be attained. Some
simple rules exist as to how this is to be Cos
mically accomplished.
AOne should not ask Cosmic aid for
that which is contrary to accepted moral and
ethical standards or what may be considered
public conscience. Moreover, one should not
petition for that which is in violation of his
own personal conscience. If we know that
what we seek is improper, wholly selfish, or
detrimental to the rights of others, our moral
or spiritual selves, then, are not brought into
attunement with the Cosmic. In fact, we
isolate ourselves, our higher conscious selves,
from the very source of power and aid.
BOne should likewise not ask Cosmic
assistance for that which lies wholly within
his own province to provide. The Cosmic
powers are not handmaidens to serve one
who is too indolent to help himself. Such
an indolent desire does not accompany the
necessary emotional mpetus and psychic
motivation by which will be had that Cosmic
intuition or guidance to achieve the end
sought for. Whether we express it or not,
we know when we are indolent and are
actually avoiding responsibilities and duties
which we should personally assume. It is
only after we have exhausted, and sincerely
so, all our own efforts, that unconscious work,
as it is known, begins; that is, our Creative
faculties are Cosmically stimulated.

Page 93

CIn Cosmic creating or asking for aid,

the desire must be specific. If we do not
know exactly what we want, we cannot ex
pect others to help us. Scattered thought is
very ineffectual in engendering Cosmic as
sistance. For analogy, it is useless to ask
Cosmic aid in acquiring wealth, because
wealth is not a thing, it is not a substance;
rather, it is the consequence of a successful
effort. One does not become wealthy except
through inheritance or gift, unless he first
is successful in some enterprise, the results
of which then bring him its fruits or wealth.
Further, one does not just ask for a job but
rather desires the kind of work that he is
best qualified to do. The point here made
is that it is incongruous to expect Cosmic
support in a matter that, even from the
human point of view, is not logical.
DVisualization or the organization of
our thoughts on the screen of objective con
sciousness is a prerequisite for both mental
creating and the petitioning of the Cosmic
for aid. The elements one wishes or which,
to him at least, seem essential are thus
brought into sharp focus. It is like putting
together the parts of a jigsaw puzzle until
they are fully comprehensible and constitute
a specific picture. Then, as we are instructed
in our monographs, we release this picture
into our subconscious, the inner self, by dismissing it from our conscious thinking mind.
The inner self, the deeper reaches of the
subconscious, transmits the picture to the
Cosmic, we are told, where the constructive
fulfillment of our desires must begin.
EIt is necessary that we fully understand the procedure by which the realization
of the projected mental picture is ultimately
accomplished. Actually, the Cosmic is not a
genie or a superhuman being that, figuratively, like Santa Claus, takes the necessary parts
off a Cosmic or ethereal shelf and puts them
together and then materially delivers them
to us to fulfill the mental order which we
sent forth. Rather, the picture or mental
image which we transferred to our subcon
scious self comes to establish an afinity be
tween our mind and conditions extemal to
it. There is, to use a homely analogy, a network of attraction established between our
emotional and intellectual selves and those
conditions and things which we need in order
to realize our mental picture. To use another
analogy, it is like having a series of electrical

Page 94

circuits, each one attuned to a particular

wave length or a high-frequency electrical
impulse or vibration. When an impulse or
radiated vibration, to which the particular
circuit is attuned, is received, it responds. A
light flashes on the instrument panel of that
circuit as a signal. It advises the operator
that the instrument is tuned with a sympa
thetic electrical wave length and allows him
to make us of that contact.
Another comparable analogy is that of the
great radio transmitters which beam Com
munications, as radiograms and the like, to
various countries of the world. The antennas of these large transmitters and receiving stations are all directional, that is,
their masts and wires are all oriented in
the direction of the countries to which they
are tuned. Radio transmissions from any
country are more strongly received by the
antenna system which is in its direction.
Thus, too, our mental image is associated in
our consciousness, after it is transmitted to
the subconscious, with those psychic faculties which will cause us to be more responsive to whatever in thought or objective
experience is more directly related to it.
Soon, then, we experience ideas or conditions arising which immediately suggest their
connection with our mental picture. As a
result, we are thus afforded the opportunity
to take advantage of these ideas and conditions by incorporating them into reality,
a practical plan for realization of our desire.
You know that, if you purchase some
thing of which you are very proud, as a new
piece of fumiture for your home or a set
of encyclopedias, or a new car, it seems that
suddenly you become aware of many others
like it. As you walk down the Street, you
see many automobiles, for example, just like
the one that you purchased. You have never
noticed so many of that kind before. Actually, there were just as many before you
purchased yours. It is because you are
intensely interested in that type of car and
are keeping it foremost in your conscious
ness. You are thus particularly receptive to
any objects similar to that mental image.
This is how the Cosmic aids us in the fulfillment of our proper desires.
FHowever, we must not presume to tell
the Cosmic where the elements of our mental
picture will be found or to declare the time
when each such element is to be had. If w p

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

are so certain as to how and when some

thing should be accomplished, then we are
master of the situation and, obviously, we
are not in need of Cosmic aid and none
will be forthcoming. Psychologically, it is
to our disadvantage to presume to convey a
picture of how and when the images of it
shall be materialized. By holding in con
sciousness such presumed circumstances as
time and place, we keep ourselves from having that intuitive responsivity to those Cos
mic impressions of which we are actually
in need.X
Unity or Diversity, Which?
A soror of New York takes issue, in a very
intelligent manner, with a former Forum
discussion. She says, in part, commenting
on the previous discussion: The answer
stated that it is the basis in fact of all mys
tical doctrines that, in the cosmic, there is
oneness not separateness9 not a myriad of
particulars. If this be sothen are there
no myriads of worlds moving in cosmic space,
no individuis (images of the creator or entities) inhabiting these worldsno things in
the universenothing that really exists?
Why then creation at all? How can we real
ly understand and interpret the occult law,
as above, so below, if consciousness reaches
a state where even symbols of realities no
longer exist?
The question, as we see it, is whether
reality is a unity, that is, a monism or possibly a plurality on the one hand and, on
the other hand, whether reality is a monism
but conceived by the human mind as a
plurality. Let us consider basic reality as
energy. We believe that this idea is consistent with scientific postulation today. In
fact, it is contended that mass and energy
are interchangeable. From the philosophic
and psychological point of view, we may say
that mass, or what we ordinarily refer to as
matter, is that energy which, through our
sense organs, has certain dimensions, qualities or form, as length, width, and depth
and which can occupy space and have
weight. The removal of the sense of sight,
for example, would immediately reduce the
world of mass, of matter, considerably. All
of the visual realities would disappear. Ener
gy, then, under specific conditions, acquires
qalities which the human consciousness perceives as the myriad of particulars.

FEBRUARY, 1955

Does our consciousness deceive us? Do

these things have no existence at all? According to the concept of basic energy or
universal spirit, as the Rosicrucians cali it,
which underlies all manifestations of matter,
there is no form, there are no separate qualities. There is but change. There is but the
scale of octaves of vibratory energy. These
vibrations or impulses, impinging upon the
receptor senses and transmitted to areas of
the brain as sensations, result in the ideas of
color, form, taste and the like, which we
have. For analogy, sounds have no identity
apart from the human ear and consciousness.
They are but specific vibrations. The od
philosophical adage is still true that, where
a tree falls in the forest, there is no sound if
there is no ear to hear it.
The separateness of things that seem to
exist in perceptual space is due to our inability to perceive the relation or connection
that exists between them. All things merge
one into another in essence in the sea of
underlying spirit or energy in which they
exist. Our inability to conceive form or mat
ter is an indication of the limits of our senses
to perceive that particular energy. Consequently, space to us is a condition existing
between those aspects of the energy which
we are able to discern. The worlds the soror
refers to and which exist to sight, to the telescopic lens, and to the new astronomical
radio detection telescopes, are concentrations
of energy that, due to interpretation by the
human consciousness, assume a mass.
Absolute being or reality, as we have had
occasion to state before in this Forum, could
not in its nature be static. To be is to be
active. It is the positive state of existence.
Rest or inertia is only a relative state in
comparison to being. Consequently, being,
as the great philosopher, Heraclitus, informed
us centuries ago, is in a constant state of
flux. It is always becoming, yet it never is.
What seems to be at rest, or fixed in nature,
is in reality a state of transition and not perceivable because of its slowness.
An analogy in connection with the previous statement will perhaps make it more
comprehensible. When two trains, which
are going in the same direction, run abreast
of each other at about the same speed and
we look out the window at the train opposite
us, it seems not to move at all. If the other
train is moving a little faster, then our train

Page 95

seems to stand, or move very slowly.

The colors of the visual spectrum are still
another example that the separateness of
reality is dependent upon human perception
and conception. Red, blue, and green are
not separate realities as they appear to us.
They are but vibrations of wave lengths of
light. When we go beyond the range of sight,
we still have existing the energy of light but
what seemed as colors no longer exists.
We are conditioned by nature, by our organic structure, to experience this diversity
and to transfer it to reality to make existence
consist of a collection of things. Conversely,
however, the philosopher, the mystic, and the
modern scientist have striven to demnstrate
the oneness, the unity, that underlies these
varied phenomena. They have tried to show
that the particulars of the world are but
shadows of change, just as one manipulates
his fingers to cast varying shadow forms on
a screen. To approach the truth more directly we look behind these shadows to discover
the basic essence which is the real.
Even the human being himself is but a
combination of energies, some of extremely
high vibration and others of lower. This
combination, with its acquired function of
consciousness, comes to conceive other such
combinations as human beings or distinct
personalities. The combining of various vi
brations of sounds, to resort to another analogy, produces musical combinations to the
consciousness but these combinations are not
independent realities in the Cosmic.
We are immortal, yes, because that of
which we are composed in essence is im
mortal; it is immanent in the Cosmic. The
particular construction which we put upon
our own personality, our physical powers,
and the attachments which we have to the
world of things are, however, not immortalized as such. We know that such a view as
we here express is contrary to most orthodox
religious concepts. It is, however, not con
trary to enlightened philosophy, mysticism,
or liberal science. Mysticism must go and
has gone through a transition, not in its
basic aims but in its interpretations. It is
bound to feel the impact of a more advanced
age and the fruits of knowledge of our era.
It will, consequently, prune its dead limbs
and allow more life to the trunk. If not, it
will become decadent as have many of the
prevailing religious doctrines.X

THE
SANCTIM
OF
SELF
An Amazing Revelation for
Attaining Personal Power!

Look at
These Chapters

D O YOU KNOW that happiness begins with yourself? Are you

continually torn by a conflict of desiresa restlessness that makes this
or that seem necessary to have or to do? Do you find that things once
longed-for often fail far short of the personal satisfaction you expected of them?
Now you can learn which of your feelings to discard as enslaving
influencesand which to retain as worthy incentives. Here is a book
that points out how you can take recourse to your inner consciousness.
There you may find a sanctuary from the bitter disillusions that spring
from wrong thought and action! The Sanctuary of Self is written in
an easy-to-read style. It contains both a frank psychological and a
mystical analysis of drives that motivate human behavior. This book
goes into the mystical valu of entering the silencenot as an escape
from reality and the duties of life, but as a means of discovering new
visin that makes for accomplishment.
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 con
tains over 350 pages (23 complete chapters); it is beautifully and
well bound, printed in large type. The price, $2.85 ( l/-/4 sterling)
per copy, includes mailing charges.
ROSICRUCIAN SU PPLY BUREAU
ROSICRUCIAN PARK, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U. S. A.

Profound
Yet Simple

Over 350 Pages!

I The Mystical Life
II The God Concept
III Self and Soul
IV Love and Desire
V Living Fuly
V I Light and Illumination
V II Death The Law
of Change
V III Causality and Karma
IX Karma in Effect
X Entering the Silence
XI Meditation
XII Nature of Prayer
X III Affirmations Their
Use and Misuse
XIV The Lost Word
XV The Technique of
Initiation
XVI Occuitism, Hermeticism,
and Esotericism
X V II Illusions of the Psychic
X V III Superstition
XIX Nature of Dreams
X X Prediction
XXI Mastership and
Perfection
XXII Spirituality
X X III Cosmic Consciousness

TH E

ROSICRU CIA N

PRESS,

LTD.

P R I N T E D IN U . S . A .

Aprl, 1955
Yol. X X V

No. 5

Rosicrucian Forum
A p rv a te

pu b lic atio n fo r m e m b e rs of A M O R C

Dr. G sb e rt L. Bo ssard , F. R. C., G ra n d Councilor o f A M O R C for the M id w e ste rn state s o f U. S. A

(S e e p a g e

110)

Page 98

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Greetings!
V

M AN VS. MACHINE
Dear Fratres and Sorores:
instruments and equipment for reducing
The word automation is comparatively time-consuming labor in the home. It likenew in popular usage. It generally signifies wise provides pleasurable diversions not pre
the increased mechanization of work once viously conceived or possible. Consequently,
done manually and formerly requiring the such mechanization does not just replace
employment of one or more persons. Auto men in the production of existing commodimation has made considerable strides, par- ties. It likewise crea tes new appeals. Though
ticularly in the last decade. This is due much that is so manufactured might be
principally to electronic control devices, com- termed gadgets or luxuries, their very exist
monly called brains. These devices can, for ence establishes a demand for thempeople
example, both detect characteristics of ma- want them. As an example, consider the
terials and utilize them for a specific purpose average American kitchen with its increasbeyond the capacity of the human being to ing number of appliances. These are not
do so by his own faculties. In numerous in all essential but they are desired because,
dustrial organizations throughout the world, to the average housewife, they are symbols
and especially in the United States, automa of modernity. Automation has brought most
tion has, consequently, reduced employed of these articles within the purchase range
man power. The rising scale of wages, com- of the average-income American family. It
bined with increased taxation, has made takes men off one job and employs them
automation seem economically advisable to on another.
Automation is being used more extensively
many industries.
This substitution of machines for men on at present in producing basic materials,
a large scale has obviously caused alarm rolled Steel, the cheaper production of coal
not only in labor circles but even in busi- and plastics. With the reduction of cost of
ness itself. It is one thing to produce in such substances, articles once just dreamed
greater quantity more cheaply; it is still about, or previously only in the drawinganother to have a market for the increased board stage, can now be manufactured. The
number of producs. Displaced unemployed light industries making the finished producs
persons cannot buy, no matter how much will counteract in the labor they hire the
the cost of a product may be reduced be- reduction in employment coming from auto
cause of automation. The paramount ques- mation, at least so it seems from present
tion is, Will there be a point of compensation prognostication.
This trend in automatic labor-saving de
where the persons replaced by machines
in industry now will later be absorbed by vices has still another effeet upon the popusome new gainful employment? For ex lace at large. It ultimately means that in
ample, we shall presume that one hundred each nation of advanced civilization there
men were previously needed to perform a will come about the near abolition of unservice or manufacture an object. Automa skilled labor. The assembly of all intricate
tion, a machine, disposes of ninety-eight of machines and devices cannot be done enthem. What shall these ninety-eight do to tirely by still other machines. Mechanics
are needed, men especially trained for cergain a livelihood?
Upon first consideration, the problem tain functions in integrating the intricate
seems serious and without solution. We parts that constitute the completed complex
think, however, that compensating factors machine. As further example, a modera
accounting or computing machine can per
should be taken into account before there
form a job far more rapidly and with a
is any hysteria which might obstruct further technical development. First, engineer- greater degree of accuracy on the whole
ing achievements and the progress in the than could several bookkeepers or mathemafield of electronics makes possible devices, ticians. But visit one of the industries that

APRIL, 1955

Page 99

manufactures the complex equipment. There

you will see rows of skilled workers seated
at benches assembling the multitudes of
parts that constitute that mechanical brain.
Certainly this number of employees must
actually or nearly counterbalance those per
sons replaced by the mechanical equipment.
This increasing number of skilled workers
acquiring mechanical aptitude, who work and
think in terms of machines, has the psychological effect of inducing inventiveness.
These workers will be inclined to envision
other producs of a mechanical nature for
public acceptance. These, in turn, will result in further employment.
A sociological problem connected with automation is whether an ultmate push-button
age will cause a decline of initiative upon
the part of the masses of men. Will a relatively few men become the creators, the sci
entific geniuses, who will provide at least
the key to all the material ends of living?
will the rest of humanity become dependent upon the ingenuity of these relatively
few? Any complex society, any civilization
of the past, that moved out of the agrarian
stagethat is, no longer was principally reliant upon agriculturehad men who were
dependent upon each other. Each mans duties, if he needed to work for a livelihood,
were dependent in part upon what someone
else did, the whole constituting the economy
of the society of the time. Very few could
stand alone, be wholly self-sufficient. They
required the services of craftsmen, artists,
physicians, lawyers, builders, scribes, teachers, philosophers, and of almost all the categories of trades and professions which we
know today as constituting the fullness of
living.
In each age, however, there was always
a minority, a few, that advanced the culture
of the time. Though most people contributed
to the requirements of their society by per-

forming some Service or by producing some

thing, in the end it was the thinkers and
organizers who brought forth the new developments. The majority are always but
repetitious and imita ti ve in their functions.
Obviously, however, everyone cannot create
something new or radically different; there
must be those who reproduce in quantity
the new object or Service so that others may
enjoy it. Consequently, though automation
may result in more and more facilities for
the masses toward which they contribute
little, behind such there will exist individ
ual intelligence and initiative. In other
words, there will in the future, too, be the
dreamer and creator that designs and brings
forth the ultmate push button.
Ease of living, less demand upon our time
for necessary functions, the result of mechanization and automation, will provide more
leisure. A consciousness that is not continually stimulated soon experiences ennui.
Therefore, the future will find millions of
persons vociferously demanding more and
more devices, things, for entertainment to
ward off boredom. Such persons will, of
course, be dependent upon the relative mi
nority to conceive and devise the mechani
cal and other contrivances to provide the
pleasure. This minority, as a result, will
create new avenues of production with subsequent employment. We do not believe,
therefore, that automation will be a threat
to the worlds future economy. It undoubtedly will, however, offer further resistance
to the impulses of the higher order of the
individual consciousness. The tendency will
be to become more objective and materially
inclined in ones view toward the ends of
life.
Fraternally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, 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 Department
of Publication of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/1 sterling) A N N U A LLY FOR MEMBERS O N L Y

Page 100

Fallacies in Reasoning
A great injustice is committed by many
people without the realization of their guilt.
It is common for persons to presume a cause
for an adversity that befalls them when the
actual cause is unknown. In presuming the
cause, they attribute to some condition, or to
some person, circumstances which are actual
ly nonexistent. A person may suddenly ex
perience an illness and shortly thereafter be
dismissed from his employment. These are
two serious impacts upon the physical, emo
tional, and economic welfare of the individ
ual. Obviously, they create a deep concern.
He compares his present circumstances with
those of a more favorable period. He may
look back six months and recall that he
seemed then to be enjoying good health, eco
nomic security, and a fair degree of happi
ness. Now, what precipitated his present
circumstances? He can recall no thing or
condition which directly contributed to his
current misfortune. Why should he be dis
missed? Of course, his employer gave him
the reason of depressed business. But why,
he contines to ask himself, should it hap
pen to him, and all at this time?
In his thinking, the individual searches for
a direct, all-embracing cause which will mark
the turning point in his life from one of
imperturbability to his present distress. Inhis
mind he goes over the events of the last six
months. Most of these are routine affairs,
things he has done with some regularity
most of his life; nothing distressing has ever
been related to them. Therefore, he concludes
that they are not factors in his present status.
Suddenly, he remembers! It was about six
months ago that he began reading a book
on occultism that a friend had insisted he
read. He had never read or studied such
subject matter before. The thoughts therein
were startlingly new and they fascinated
him. He enjoyed them immensely. It marked
a new experience in his life, a definite departure in his mental routine, at least. The
more he thought about this activity now, the
more it seemed a definite point of change
in his life. Yes, it was about thirty days
after reading that book that he experienced
the first symptoms of his present physical
disorder. Before that he was well. There
were no health troubles that he could recall.
It was also about five months after the study

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

of that book that his employer called him

into his office and informed him that busi
ness conditions necessitated his dismissal.
Two things stand out in the mind of the
individual so strongly that a bond of relation
ship is very easily presumed to exist between
them. They are: first, the reading of the
occult book; second? the ill-health and the
dismissal from employment. The first, then,
is conceived (without doubt) to be the cause;
the latter is thought to be the effect, or the
result. In most instances, there is no at
tempt on the part of people thinking in this
manner to analyze the imagined nexus, that
is, the bond between the two factors. How,
for example, could the reading of the book
be a causein that it had caused his diabetic
condition? Further, could the book have de
pressed his employers business to the extent
that the employee would be dismissed?
The individual is principally aware of the
transition in his life, in his thinking, which
occurred as the result of the study of the
book. Since something had been changed in
his conscious existence, that is, the creation
of an interest in a new subject, all other
changes, as well, are thus arbitrarily associ
ated with the same cause. In other words,
all changes in his life are sympathetically
connected with the one cause in his mind,
namely the interest he had in the book.
This is primitive reasoning. It is the kind
of reasoning anthropologists, ethnologists,
and psychologists expect to find in a savage
or primitive society. It is not the kind of
reasoning one thinks of finding ordinarily
among men and women of the advanced
society of our times. Nevertheless, it is very
common today. The Rosicrucian Order has
actually had new members, Neophyte stu
dents, termnate their membership in fear
of continuance because shortly after they
affiliated they experienced a sudden series
of adversities. Perhaps some loved one would
be killed in an accident, or perhaps they
lost some money or property. Not being able
to discem the true and directly related causes
of such events, they sought some recent event
which was outstanding in their Ufe after
which time the calamities fell. Their affiliation with AMORC being the only recent
outstanding change in their routine of living,
it became the target of their false reasoning.
There is also another psychological reason
for this transference of cause to some event

APR1L, 1955

unrelated to a subsequent happening. Subconsciously, the individual may have a sense

of guilt in connection with some act in which
he participated. The act makes a very strong
emotional impact upon him at the time. It
establishes itself in his subconscious mind
where it comes into conflict with his moral
and ethical vales. If any misfortune subsequently befalls the individual, emotionally
he immediately associates it with the former
act in connection with which there is a sense
of guilt. The sense of guilt, and the anxiety
aroused, obscures that clear thinking which
would ordinarily reveal the real cause of the
misfortune.
Let us give an analogy of the principie
mentioned above. A relative asks a person
for a loan of money for which he had a
great need. The person appealed to refuses
the loan on the grounds that he does not
have the money available. Actually, the in
dividual knows that he has the money and
he knows he could have lent it if he desired.
After refusing to loan the money, his conscience troubles him, no matter how he tries
to justify it to himself. There is, he thinks,
no way in which he can make compensation
for his wrong except to admit that he told a
falsehood; this he does not want to do. Thus,
he contines to experience the pangs of conscience. Shortly thereafter, he meets with
a series of disappointments. His application
for employment promotion to a position long
sought is tumed down. He is obliged to
dispose of real property for a price considerably below the amount of purchase. To
him, these are retributions or punishments.
For what is he punished? Why, of course,
he thinks, for his falsehood in refusing to
help a relative in distress. Actually, the true
causes might be shown to be that the posi
tion for which he applied was beyond his
qualificationseven when he first applied
for it long ago. Further, it is quite possible
that the property he sold at a loss was not
worth any more than he received for it on
the current market. The guilt, however, be
ing so dominant, colors the reason and the
consciousness; it, therefore, seems to be the
cause, as well, of the disappointments.
One might ask, could not these misfortunes
have been karmically caused through a previous and selfish act of the person? The
answer is No, for karma is not a special kind
of cause, in itself. Rather, it is a law em-

Page 101

bracing natural causes. Our acts produce

corresponding effects. This we term the law
of balance or karma. In the analogy given,
the natural causes of the misfortunes would
be apparent to anyone who was not laboring
under the sense of guilt.
The important lesson to be learned here
is to avoid that superstition and attitude of
mind that is primitive reasoning. It is the
attitude that presumes, as in magic, a symbolic relationship between things, as cause
and effeet, a relationship which often does
not exist in fact. If you allow this super
stition to dominate you, you may come to
deny yourself many fine things, even friendships, through condemning people falsely as
being the causes of your troubles. Think!
Analyzel Keep your imagination within the
bounds of logic!X
Are Projected Personalities Masters?

A soror rises to ask our Forum: Do Cos

mic masters ever permit themselves to be
seen by mystical students. . . .yet have no
message for the students, no announced pur
pose in so presenting themselves? Are they
not purposeful in their manifestations?
This sorors question undoubtedly arises
from experiencing a projected personality
whom she assumed or realized to be a master but from whom she received no communication. First, it must be realized that a
Cosmic master is a human being. He may
yet be living on this plae or he may no
longer in consciousness occupy a physical
body. The word master means that the par
ticular individual has, through studytrial
and tribulationacquired the ability to direct at will many of the Cosmic and natural
laws. His mastership exists in his exceeding
others by personal development of his faculties and the powers at his disposal. For
analogy, he may be likened to a master
musician, painter, or cabinetmaker. They
have no particular faculties that other men
do not possess. They exhibit no greater intelligence in other activities aside from their
art or trade. Their mastership is found to
exist in the skill relating to their specific
training and experience. So it is with Cos
mic masters. Through diligent study in this
life or several others, they have raised self
to an advanced and more profound plae
of consciousness. As a result, their perspec-

Page 102

tive and illumination is greater. They have

come to comprehend common errors of thinking and living which most men make and
which they know how to avoid. They have
also leamed of laws and principies not
known or understood by a less prepared and
enlightened humanity. As a result, like those
of a master artist or craftsman, their achievements exceed those of other men.
These masters, because of their enlightened
and mystical concepts, are true humanitarians. In fact, they consider it incumbent up
on themselves to make sacrifices for mankind beyond the efforts expended by other
mortals. As a consequence, they sublimate
their characters, diminish their intmate desires, and extend their consciousness so as
to include the welfare of others. They are
sensitive and responsive to sincere appeals
consciously or unconsciously made by those
in distress or who truly need assistance for
some worthy project. They respond by giving an answer to a question or a word or
sign of direction by which a problem may
eventually be solved. In most instances, they
function not unlike any professional counselor to whom one might go for leamed
advice. The Cosmic master is not a genie
or a slave to do the personal bidding of an
indolent individual. Succinctly put, they
never do for another what he should and
could do for himself. They are not handmaidens standing at the right side of the
thoughtless or indifferent individual.
We experience the help of these masters
in various ways. Frequently the help which
they will extend is realized as an intuitional
flash. One is, let us say, perplexed over a
problem. He has not been able to arrive
at a satisfactory solution. In despair, he dismisses the problem from his objective mind
for a time. Then, immediately, the unconscious work (as it is called in psychology)
begins. The inner and deeper planes of con
sciousness take over. Within this subconscious realm the work or solution to the
problem, transferred from the objective
mind, contines. This subconscious level is
more in attunement with the Cosmic mind
than the objective one. As a consequence,
an individual is more likely to be brought
into harmony with the mind of a Cosmic
master when this occurs. If the problem is
consistent with Cosmic principiesthat is,
if it is one that is not in violation of Cos

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

mic or natural law and if it does not abr

gate the highest moral codes of manthe
Cosmic master will project the solution to
the mind of one who needs it. This may
assume the form of a word or a sentence
of instruction and guidance.
Let us presume that one is undecided
whether to undertake a project that would
consume considerable time but would be
profitable in a financial way. One is also
not sure whether the enterprise will ultimately prove to be unethical, even though
profitable, and therefore possibly bring harm
to others. The Cosmic masters answer would
perhaps come in the negative, we shall say.
Do not proceed because of this or that reason. The explanation would be self-evident,
so cogent that one could not doubt the ex
planation given. The communication might
be auditory, as though someone spoke from
within. Moreover, and this is important for
it is the distinction between intuitive impressions and Cosmically projected Commun
ications, the recipient always seems to have
the impression of a personality being associated with the communication. If the com
munication is spoken, that is, auditory, it
seems to be in the voice of another, a man
or a woman. Further, in the minds eye,
that is, upon the screen of consciousness,
one may at times see the projected person
ality of the masterthat is, it appears in
physical form. This projection is mentally
transferred by the mind so that it appears
to be objective, occurring in the room or
place where one is at the time.
At other times, the Cosmic masters mes
sage may take the form of visual words. These
are experienced less frequently. However, one
seems to see in consciousness, as though appearing just before the eyes, a word or
sentence giving the answer or the counsel
needed. Usually the words are surrounded
by an aura of scintillating white or violet.
At other times, the master may appear dur
ing sleep and this is simply because the
objective mind is then relatively dormant
and Cosmic contact is more facile.
We do not believe that a Cosmic master
will make contact with the mind of another
without the recipients deriving some significance from it. Cosmic masters on this earth
plae or elsewhere do not project their personalities at random. Their mastership makes
possible controlled intentional projection of

APR1L, 1955

consciousness. The natural conservatism of

these masters in keeping with the sacredness
of the laws they invoke would prohibit them
from a mere demonstration having no spe
cific purpose. What, then, could be the pro
jection the soror experienced? It was in all
probability the unconscious projection of
some personality. The person was not a
master or he would have been successful
in causing the soror to realize the purpose
of the contact.
The soror assumes that the personality
was a master because he was a young man
with a turban. The average Westerner,
that is, person living in the Western world,
has a misconception about Oriental dress.
Since mysticism reached a high degree of
development at an early time in the East,
almost all its exponents wore, of course, the
costumes of their native Eastern land. As a
result, by an association of ideas, most Occidentals carne to associate mystical and eso
teric attunement with persons attired in a
turban, tarboosh or fez, white robes and
sandals, cordelieres about the waist and the
like. The fact is that millions of Hindus, Mohammedans, Buddhists, Zoroastrians,
Jains, and Parsis, as well as other sects,
dress in this manner in the Near, Middle,
and the Far East. Only a minute portion
of these millions are mystics in the true
sense.
The writer in his travels over the frontier
lands of Tibet, high in the Himalaya Mountains, met many red-robed lamas. A number
of these we photographed for our sound
films. Some of these photographs have appeared in the Rosicrucian Digest. The lamas
wore heavy wool robes, tied at the waist
with cordelieres. Some wore the traditional
pointed hat of a Tibetan. Almost all wore
sandals or were barefooted. All of them
were associated with a gompa9 that is, a
lamasery. Most of them spoke no language
other than a lamaic dialect. They were
picturesque, religious in attitude, but most
of them were uneducated except in the dog
ma of Lamaism. We repeat, they were not
mystics, though they inherited certain occult lore which they studied. In no sense
were these numerous lamas masters or miracle workers, as numerous fiction writers
would have you believe. The abbots, the
chief lamas of the lamaseries, were usually
special men. They were true masters of

Page 103

mystical and occult principies, and of the

ancient Sanskrit language as well as com
para ti ve religions. But these abbots were
few.
Suppose one were to receive the uncon
scious projection of one of these lamas in
his customary robe. Must one think him a
master because of his Oriental garb? Clothes
are not symbols of the state of consciousness
attained. A master, when contacted, never
leaves you in doubt as to his function and
visit.X
Is Deep Breathing Harmful?
A soror now comes before our Forum and
asks: I have been advised that deep breath
ing continued without pause over a period
of time (over-ventilation) is harmful to the
material body. Will you, therefore, please
advise how long the breathing exercises in
our teachings should be continued?
The first consideration in connection with
this question is why so much significance
in mystical and esoteric teachings has been
assigned to controlle breathing. It is hardly necessary to state that respiration or
breathing is a primary factor in life itself.
Breathing is an involuntary function governed by unconscious processes. Fortunately,
we do not have to remember to breathe, or
most of us would have ceased to exist
were it not for the distraction that follows
from a long period of suspended breathing.
Aside from the physiological spects of
breathing, there are also its ascetic and
spiritual connotations which date back into
remte antiquity.
The very word breath has by many peo
ple been made synonymous with life,
spirit, and soul. In Genesis 2:7 we
find: And the LORD God formed man of
the dust of the ground, and breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. The Hebrews had vari
ous ames for breath, spirit, and soul, as
ruach and nephesh. The Greeks used pneuma? meaning breath and air. In Latin there
is animus, anima, and spiritus. It was natu
ral to associate breath and breathing, not
just with the phenomenon of life, but also
with spirit or soul. It was obvious that life
was dependent upon breath. Moreover, such
attributes as consciousness and the function

Page 104

of mind immediately departed with life and

with the suspensin of breathing.
With the advent of the concept of the
duality of manthat is, that the self was
distinct from the physical formthe self
was attributed to the Vital Life Forc and
breath. The intangible entity, the inner be
ing or soul, was associated with air, and with
airs entrance into the body at birth and
its departing at death. When Jess breathed
upon the Disciples, he was said to have imparted to them the gift of the Holy Spirit
(John 20:22). The breath contained within
it the divine essence and consciousness, it
was assumed. The ancient mystics and philosophers, as the Rosicrucians, held that the
soul was drawn into the body with the first
breath at birth. In even the modera psychological sense, this concept would hold true
with some qualification. Breathing is essential to life. In each living cell there is a
kind of consciousness, an inherent sensitivity
which directs and regula tes its function. The
matrix of these cells and their sensitivity
constitutes a group-consciousness. In a complex organism such as man, this conscious
ness constitutes more than the perception of
externality. It also is a realization of the
organism itself, which consists of a self-consciousness. The enlarged self-consciousness,
the cognition of our ego with its related
moods and sentiments is what is generally
recognized as soul. Breathing vitalizes the
blood. It charges the cells and thus con
tributes to this mass consciousness from
which, in man, there arises the concept of
soul. Thus, there is a correspondence that
can be drawn between the metaphysical and
the scientific explanation of the soul concept.
Because of this relation of breath and
breathing to the spiritual phenomenon and
soul, they have played a prominent part in
the religious ceremonies of the ancients. The
Romans regarded it as a religious duty
that the nearest relative should catch the
breath of the dying just at that moment
when the spark of life departed. The inhaling of the last breath was an assurance that
the spirit of the deceased would continu
its existence in the person in whom the
breath was lodged. It is related that the
Seminle Indians of Florida had a similar
practice.
The Tyrolese peasants conceived that the
soul may be seen departing with the last

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

breath like a small cloud. Many occultists

have claimed that under certain ideal conditions, it is possible to see the last breath
assuming a vaporous form as it departs. Of
course, there has always been the inclination of people in the pastand many of
the presentto conceive the soul as a kind
of substance, as having specific qualities
which might be perceived at times. The
average Christian thinks of the soul as hav
ing dimensional characteristicshaving size,
and assuming a form not greatly unlike the
physical form in which it is said to reside;
he thinks of it in this light rather than as
a function of the higher consciousness of the
individual. If he did not think of it in such
terms, he would not associate with the de
parted soul activities and functions in the
next life which are similar in nature to this
one.
Among some tribes, the medicine man is
called in just before the transition of a person appears certain. He then places his
hands on the breast of the dying person.
Just after death, he transfers his hands to
the nearest relative, and proceeds to breathe
through his hands. This is to signify that
the next child bom to the kinsman of the
dead person will receive the soul of the de
ceased. Here again is shown the relation
ship of breath and soul as symbolized by
this act. In antiquity and even among primitive peoples today, the breathing on afflicted
persons, or upon sores, is commonly practiced. The breath is assumed to contain the
vital element, life, and divine qualities, and
therefore is potential with healing power.
In some mystical ceremonies, breathing up
on a candidate is still practiced. It is symbolic of the vital forc and the intelligence
of the Cosmic being imparted to the indi
vidual. South American tribes are known
to blow smoke upon warriors, saying concomitantly with the act: Receive the spirit
of bravery wherewith ye conquer your foes!
In this we see illustrated the belief that virtues, such as bravery, and other intangible
qualities, are associated with the efficacy of
the living breath.
It was the Hindus who made a science of
breathing, and attributed both philosophical
nnd psychological aspects to the phenome
non. The aspects of breathing were studied
and classified by them. To each were relegated certain physiological and psychologi-

APRIL, 1955

cal aspects. This Science of breathing first

appeared in the Upanishads, a philosophical
system of speculation upon the creation, on
the universe and mans place therein. Its
origin dates back centuries before Christ.
So analytical was this ancient Science that
centuries before Western science made any
investigation of the phenomenon of breath
ing, the Hindus discovered that the normal
respirations per day averaged 22,636 inha
la tions and exhalations. This is approximately 15.9 respirations per minute. Modern
Western scientists estmate the normal res
pirations per minute, for a healthy adult, as
being between 16-20. This is a greater rate
than that reported by the Hindus but the
meditative State of the Hind ascetic and
mystic would cause him to be more calm
and thus slow his breathing.
This system of the Hind philosophy assigned various functions to the breathing
phases, that is, as to whether the breath
ing was accelerated, diminished, or suspended
for a time. The depth of the breathing was
also related to various states of conscious
ness and emotional reactions. The principal
Hind word for breath is prana. There was
inclded in their instruction a fivefold list
of prana. There was a physiological and
psychological notion of breath established in
connection with each of these kinds of prana.
The yoga, which is one aspect of the Sankhya philosophy of India, stresses the science
of breathing to attain ascetic and mystical
states of consciousness. It is asserted that
from this method of breathing come many
beneficial effects to both the body and the
mentality.
The early Hind practices of breathing
and the art of breathing, as expounded in
the mystery schools, are not without support
in the psychological research of modem
times. Current psychology has not yet confirmed what the mystics know: that various
kinds of breathing aid the self to attain
higher levels of consciousness. However, the
psychological inquiries do reveal that there
is a distinct interrelationship between our
thoughts, emotional reactions, and the re
spira tory system. Resistance to respiration
smothering produces vigorous skeletal
movements from which follows a thrust
of the muscles. There is also the emotional
reaction of anger or rage against whatever
seeks to smother the breath. When one is

Page 105

engaged in rapt attention, he is said to be

breathless. A concentration of the mind,
intense focusing of the thought, brings about
a physiological change in the breathing rate.
Respiratory changes produce emotional ef
fects which can be perceived. There are
sighs of relief when emotional tensin has
passed. We know how persons who are
startled will catch their breath. A device
known as the pneumograph traces a graph
upon paper showing changes in the amplitude and the rate of breathing as the result
of emotional excitement or attempts to deceive. This is an early versin of the lie
detector. The device is attached to the chest
or to the diaphragm of the individual so that
even minute changes in breathing are detected and registered.
As such experiments show the physical
reaction in breathing to thought and emotion, so, also, the reverse process was developed long ago by the ancient sages. This
consisted of having changes of respiration in
duce emotional characteristics and states of
mind. It was conceived that man could thus
attain a mastery over the body and mind.
The Rosicrucian breathing exercises are not
alone suggested for metaphysical and psy
chological reasons. They are also intended
for the welfare and the health of the physi
cal body. The monographs show, scientifically and accurately, what occurs when we
breathe. They describe how air is the m
dium of both chemical and intangible Cos
mic elements which stimulate the blood and
cause certain minute charges of energy to
be radiated from the blood cells. This en
ergy has its polarity changed by alterations
of the breathing. The polarity is thus im
portant in relation to relieving and curing
physical disorders as well as stimulating the
mind or raising the level of consciousness.
The Rosicrucian student is never advised
to breathe beyond a time that would cause
discomfort or distress. He is never required
to hold his breath for any length of time
beyond the point of convenience. The Rosi
crucian student is never obliged to indulge
in periods of deep breathing over more than
a few minutesand once a day at most.
Such would be less effort for the individual,
for example, than would be participation in
a sport, or in walking fast for a distance of
two or three blocks. Obviously, the mono
graphs must assume that the individual is

Page 106

normal and in fair health. Consequently,

we advise that if a person is suffering from
a respiratory ailment, or heart condition
where the heart should not be accelerated
(the natural result of breathing exercises),
such particular individual should not prac
tice the exercises because of his subnormal
condition. It is not that the breathing ex
ercises are harmful in themselves! It is just
that he is not then capable of them. These
exercises are for ordinarily, healthy persons;
they are essentially beneficial to a normal
person, but one who has a cardiac disorder,
a heart ailment, cannot participate. The
individual, therefore, must use his own
judgment in matters of this kind.X
Many Gods
Thou shalt have no other gods before
me, is probably the best-known quotation
referring to monotheism in the Western
world. This injunction from the Ten Commandments is that of the Hebrew lawgiver
who set forth the principie of monotheism
as the basis of the belief of the people who
composed a great religin. It is the same
injunction that has been repeated by others
who have been proponents of monotheism.
The statement proclaims that one God shall
stand above all others and shall be supreme
and absolute, both in the universe and in
the mind of the people. This idea was probablv first given to the world by Amenhotep
IV, and it has been echoed down through
the centuries by one great leader after an
other. This concept grew in the highest
forms of civilization that have evolved, and
we find it in the most enduring of religions.
It is a basic principie of the greatest religions
that exist today and many, such as the mod
era theologians in the Christian world, have
reiterated the principie of one God. Other
religions such as the Islamic, in the words
of Mohammed, were presented with the con
cept that only one God exists and that man
can only serve one.
We can nevertheless re-examine the state
ment. To state that the individual shall
uhave no other gods before me,presuming these to be the words of Jehovah, the
God of the Hebrewsis definitely to imply
that there are other Gods, because how could
we select and state that there should be no
other gods before one God unless other gods

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

did exist? And so it is that we find in this

formal declaration of monotheism a state
ment acknowledging what might appear on
the surface to be the very opposite of the
principie of monotheism, that is, a confirmation of the fact that other gods exist. This
seeming contradiction has existed throughout
intelligent human thought and many who
have most vehemently declared themselves
to be the most radical in their belief of mono
theism have nevertheless gone through life
choosing their one God.
This formal declaration of monotheism is
a statement of the freedom and the necessity
that man must choose between gods, and the
choice does exist. It may seem odd, however,
that we in this modera day, in a world
which pays homage to one God, or rather
has accepted throughout mans memory a
belief in a monotheistic principie, should
have a choice as to what man will worship
or the god that he will choose.
Man has always conceived that there have
been two conflicting forces in the universe.
Crudely and commonly these forces are interpreted as good and evil. Many religions
have founded their basic premise and theology upon the principie that there exists
a representative of both factors, a God and
a devil, and that these two entities are con
stantly warring, in fact, are in a constant
contest for the possession of the individual
mans soul. This idea conveys the impres
sion that if man adheres to the laws of God,
he will conform to Gods laws, while if he
is tempted by the wiles of the devil he will
be etemally doomed. Such a principie is the
basis upon which much modera theology is
taught in many of our present religious denominations.
Actually, this choice is stated rather
crudely. For man to declare that one factor
of creation is good and another is evil is
probably one of his most presumptuous assertions. It is not within the power of man,
either as an intelligent being or as a striv
ing entity attempting to relate himself to
the circumstances in which he finds exist
ence, to determine what is good and evil.
It would be much more suitable if man
would choose between the good and the bet
ter. Man has within him the innate power
to always look beyond any limiting circum
stances that may exist at any particular
time. He has the power to select those things

APR1L, 1955

that ordinarily he might conceive to be evil,

or such as may thwart his way or block his
progress; and he has the ability to classify
those circumstances and things with which
he must cope, insofar as living is concerned,
as being good or better and to strive toward
the better.
There was probabty never a time when
man did not need this lessonthat is, man
has never lived in a period when there was
not a need of a revival of spiritual awareness. Since man is not perfect there could
not be a time when man did not need a
spiritual awakening, when he did not need
to be alerted to directing himself more systematically and more consciously toward an
attainment of a relationship with those factors and forces of the universe which are
higher and more important than the mere
everyday affairs of his existence. And in
this way, man has constantly been faced
with the necessity of choice. He has to choose
between those things which constantly confront him. Many times the limits of choice
are placed between duty and pleasure, or
doing what one wants and doing what one
should, in fulfilling ones obligations or attempting to avoid them.
In the process of making a choice, in acting upon the conclusin that we come to in
our own thinking as a result of these considerations, we are actually choosing our
highest concepts, and we are directing our
attention toward either those things which
were primarily to contribute to our selfish
needs, desires, and ends, or those things
which will lift us toward a realization of
a better life. Our behavior resulting from
our decisions is actually the result of our
choice of gods. Do we choose the God of
idealism, of high purpose, of inspiration, or
do we choose a god of self-satisfaction, of
greed, of selfishness, and of material possessions?
We acknowledge that today we live in a
great civilization, one which has accomplished more than any other of which we
have positive records. We have more physi
cal conveniences and accomplishments to the
credit of mankind than had ever been
dreamed of even as recently as a hundred
years ago. Furthermore, that this civiliza
tion is mechanistic cannot be denied. The
accent upon the harnessing of the physical
forces that we have found here on this planet

Page 107

and the bending of them to the use we may

wish to make of them, regardless of the pur
pose of that use, has definitely tied the civi
lization that we know in a cise bond with
the material culture which is the product
of Western civilization as we have it. We
can talk about ideis, principies, and con
cepts which seem to be most worthy of mans
following and consideration but in actuality
our day-to-day living, our normal function
and behavior as individual beings, is definitely
the product of the mechanistic influences that
have become so much a part of our presentday civilization. The materialism of our
age has actually infused all our thinking,
behavior, literature, and even religin and
philosophy.
We might ask why man has reached such
an advanced state of civilization and at the
same time has become a victim, as it were,
of materialism and the mechanistic philoso
phy which now pervades practically all our
thinking. History shows that there have been
repeated cycles of various types. One cycle
has been mans turning from a highly idealistic type of thought to that which is strictly
material. There have been repeated times
when men, in thinking that they were giving careful consideration to their own and
to general human welfare, have found dissatisfaction in things as they existed and
decided there must be other ways and means
by which their lot might be bettered through
some type of change. Obviously, without
this type of dissatisfaction there would have
been no progress. Dissatisfaction has frequently been the key toward growth, but as
with many other things which were good
at the beginning, their mpetus carried them
beyond the point of gaining advantage or
benefit for the human being.
In the 17th century, Europe was in the
midst of many wars and controver sies. These
became so frequent that mans life and prop
erty grew to be of little valu. There was
no incentive toward constructive living, to
ward properly directing time to an advan
tage other than to preserve the few meager
possessions that an individual might have.
There was constant controversy in both the
government and in religious circles as to the
interpretation of various doctrines related to
the practice of religin. Religin had ceased
to be, in the minds of many people, a means
of mans gaining solace from a proper re-

Page 108

lationship with God. It had become, instead, a political instrument that was used
by those who sought power or who sought
to preserve and hold the power which they
already had. Individuis fought each other
as a means of forcing others to conform to
the ideas which they had decided were true.
War became a common practice of subjecting people, not only physically but mentally,
to the will of someone else. If a king, bishop,
or other official decided upon a certain prin
cipie and someone else did not agree, then
the ruler would attempt through war to subjugate such people so that they would have
to accept, at least in practice, the principie
in which he believed. Throughout the 17th
century this condition existed. People be
came tired of it. Those who were poor and
uneducated, as were a mass of the people
at that time, would turn toward anything
that would offer them a little promise of
peace and security. Those who were the
true thinkers, those who were the Rosicrucians of the time, or those who took religin
seriously as a means to betterment of the
human race and of mankind strove to attain
some reasonable consideration that would
stop the constant fight between factions for
control of property and human life.
So it was that many individuis who were
inclined toward philosophy, those who were
attempting to preserve the knowledge that
was the heritage of the past and pass on a
useful knowledge that man could be benefited from in his daily life, looked away
from religin and turned their thoughts to
the natural sciences. The mpetus of war,
bloodshed, and the attempt of power to con
trol man became the factors which caused
thinking men to begin to develop an attitude
of research toward the world in which they
lived, and to attempt to explain the phenomena of nature in a way which became
the basis of the scientific method that has
pervaded Western thought since that time.
The philosophy which gradually evolved
wished to free itself from the limitations of
theology and dogma, and, while it attempted
to propose certain principies of idealism and
religin, it eventually threw them off entirely so that the naturalism which developed was merely a material philosophy, a
physical explanation of what man had observed and recorded.
The intent of many of the early philoso-

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

phers, or, we might say, of these first budding scientists, was of the highest. Early
naturalism tended to create a basis for moral
virtue; that is, since religin no longer controlled as it should the ethical and moral
practices in behavior of human beings, it
was decided that a different foundation
should be built upon which to establish these
moral principies. In other words, these first
philosophers in naturalism wanted to pro
vide a means, a foundation or a premise,
upon which man could live in conjunction
with his fellow man in a way that would
be conducive to his own and to the others
growth.
They believed in moral virtue, they be
lieved in the principie of right prevailing
over wrong. They wished to establish good
as a worthy aim of life and wherever possible combat evil. However, in attempting
to use a new philosophy, the philosophy of
natural science, as a base upon which to
build the criterion for moral virtue, they
soon were pushed aside from their aim, and
their purpose was lost in the process of development itself; that is, the purpose of these
early explorers in this field was soon ab
sorbed in scientific inquiry and application.
These early scientists became so involved
and so occupied in the process of understand
ing nature, of trying to interpret the world
in which the human being found himself a
part, that they were unable to any longer
provide out of their findings a basis that
would serve as an inspiration for man to
live an upright life. In other words, they
failed to provide from their original inquiries
those principies that would make moral vir
tues of more valu than the fruit of their
scientific inquiry and discovery.
Today the achievements of science cannot
be denied. We owe a great debt to these
early scientists. The lack of feeling for hu
man valu has left us with many material
attainments, which at the same time also
are lacking in permanent vales, an aware
ness of the true source of all being, the
world of the inner self which is the connecting link between man and God. Here we
are considering God in the sense of being
representative of those forces which are more
than material, which have vales superseding or transcending all material function.
So man today still chooses between gods.
He chooses between the God that will give

APRIL, 1955

him an upright life and will inspire his

children and those who follow him to do
better, or he chooses those things which will
bring him comfort, convenience, and pleas
ure for the moment. Man finds that both
are offered, that in the process of scientific
inquiry and its many discoveries the byproducts have been those things which have
eritertained and brought pleasure. It is easier for man to accept material things than
it is to turn to the analysis of his real self,
his true being, and how he is related to
God as a universal forc and to his fellow
beings, who like himself are living in a stage
of evolutionary advancement through which
they must pass.
The awareness of God through the will
and by the true desire of the individual to
attain the best, as expressed in him, is pos
sible only through his own contact with
that higher source. We need not put aside
the mechanical and material achievements
of the last few centuries, but we need to
coordnate those things that they may be
used for a purpose greater than is inherent
within them. In other words, how can our
modem civiliza tion and its advancement help
us to know our place in life, help us to de
velop ourselves to the point where we will
no longer be floundering human beings beset with troubles and problems, subject to
pain, sorrow, and suffering? Man has sought
happiness, and happiness is an end that can
be achieved once man has gained the per
spective that will permit him to put those
things which only contribute to his physical
well-being into the category in which they
belongthat of a minor category.
As Rosicrucians, we try to be both idealistic and realistic. We try to accept the world
and accept the principie that the inconvenience that may be caused by our physical
existence here is a part of a process through
which we must pass if we are to attain any
thing better. If we are to be free from the
restrictions of material limitations, if we are
to have sound bodies and clear minds, as
well as to be able to control factors about
us rather than permit them to control us,
we must reach the understanding of the es
sence of the forc that causes all things to
be because now we are only dealing with
the periphery of that forc. We are only
dealing with such manifestations of it as can

Page 109

be perceived and comprehended in a ma

terial or physical world.
The channel by which man can relate
himself to this ultmate idealthat is, the
ideal of God that is perfect, the ideal of hap
piness, of peace, and of a life or condition
where one cannot be thwarted by pain or
physical limitationcan be realized only by
searching within ones own being because
that is all that to us is real. The physical
world which the materialist vales so highly
cannot even be proved to exist, because he
only knows it as it apgears to him within
his consciousness according to his realization
of the pleasures that he thinks he gains by
possession and manipulation of the physical
world. Without consciousness the possession
of all the world would mean nothing. And
so it is through that channel, the channel
of the inner self, of our real being, of what
we cali the soul, that man has the ability
and the facilities with which to reach the
source from which that soul originated.
It is for that reason that we as Rosicrucians uphold the principie that mysticism
that is, the means of direct awareness of God
can revive the valu of human souls and
make a sound foundation for moral virtue,
that we can replace the overemphasis on ma
terial vales and successfully oppose those
forces that are contradictory to the develop
ment of the self to a point where it can become really united with the highest aims,
purposes, and forces of the universe. Man
can conceive a Goda God of his own ex
perience, a God that is the answer to all
questions, to all shortcomings, and is a means
or a way toward the attainment of ultimate
happiness, peace, satisfaction, and enduring
knowledge.A
PostScript

The day after I finished writing Many

Gods, I was reading a publicaton which
probably many people consider to be one of
the most materialistic periodicals in the
world. It was the Wall Street Journal, and
my attention was attracted to an article by
William Henry Chamberlain, whose line of
thought was very similar to some of the
ideas which I expressed in Many Gods.
Referring to twentieth-century civilization
and the status of its vales, he wrote in
part:
The human brain has developed out of

Page I 10

all pioportion to the human spirit. There

has been no growth of the soul to correspond
with the multiplication of gadgets which
minister to the comfort and convenience of
the body. Wherever one looks, there is a
yawning chasm between material progress
and the moral and cultural advance that
should accompany this progress.
Americans are a richer people than their
forefathers; but it would be hard to prove
that they are either happier or better. Indeed the crime, suicide and divorce statistics
might suggest the contrary.
It sometimes seems that the speed at
which people live in this mechanical age
slows down their capacity for quiet contemplation and Creative thought. We have developed methods of mass communication that
would have seemed miraculous 100 years
ago and amazing 50 years ago.
But what is communicated often seems
hardly worth the effort. Perhaps those who
used to read the Bible and Shakespeare and
Plutarchs Lives and a few other standard
classics by lamplight in the days before ra
dio and televisin and even movies were
getting a better education.
The hydrogen bomb is only a symptom
of the basic disease of modem civilization,
the lagging of the moral and cultural faculties behind the mechanical. It is easier to
recognize this disease than it is to prescribe
a cure. It is simpler to draw a blueprint
for a plae capable of achieving supersonic
speed than it is to suggest an effective program for a moral and cultural renaissance.
Such a renaissance, if it is to come and
bridge the dangerous schism which now ex
ists, will not be the result of any law or institutional change, of any drive or crusade.
It can only be the fruit of the still small
voice of conscience and reason, working on
the individual and awakening his instincts
for self-reliance, self-improvement and selfperfection.
If business men and women of our day,
as well as the leaders of our nations, will
sincerely heed such messages as this, possibly the true vales of civilization will
really endure.A

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

This Issues Personality

On August 12, 1890, in the Germn in
dustrial city of Cologne, a child was born
whose own growth and development proved
to be closely associated with the new age
which was then just beginning. He was
named Gisbert Ludolph Gerhardt, Barn von
Sudthausen, later changing his last ame
simply to Bossard. As early as 1915, he be
came interested in metaphysics and Oriental
mysticism, gradually leaving the strict con
fines of his early religious associations. His
increasing spiritual insight and a mystical
view of natural laws led him to pioneer a
great many developments in the physical sciences as an electrical research engineer. This
unique combination of mystic and scientist
proved to be the elusive key needed to unlock some of natures most treasured secrets.
Dr. Bossard participated in the design of
the electric switch gear for the Panama Ca
nal. His grade-crossing railroad flashing sig
nis and his automatic railroad block signal
system are standard equipment on American
and European railroads, and credited with
saving thousands of lives and millions of
dollars in property. He is also the inventor
of the first electric door chime, and honored
by having President Franklin D. Roosevelt
install his Telechime in the White House.
During the last war he served the United
States Government as Technical Adviser,
Ordnance Engineer, and Automotive Expert
Adviseragain, pioneering the early devel
opment of electronic brain devices in our
defense apparatus.
Over a period of many years, he has served
as president, general manager, and director
of engineering for several nationally known
manufacturing companies. At present he is
Consulting engineer and active head of the
Acm Technical Institute in Cleveland.
For his work as scientist, inventor, engi
neer, and educator, he has repeatedly been
honored by American and foreign universities and governments. He holds degrees of:
Doctor of Philosophy, Psychology, Divinity,
and Metaphysics, as well as the Masters
Degree in Religious Science. The American
Institute of Electrical Engineers honored him
with their highest professional rank, that of
Fellow. He holds hundreds of patents, and

APR1L, 1955

ranks as one of the foremost inventors of

our time.
Frater Bossards Rosicrucian activities are
receiving equally as much devotion and time
as his far-flung research work. A member
of AMORC since 1937, he has been the
author of numerous articles which have appeared in the Rosicrucian Digest. As a mem
ber of the International Research Council of
AMORC, he has contributed valuable infor
mation for the Rosicrucian lessons. He was
chairman of the International Rosicrucian
Convention in 1941; he reorganized both the
Dayton and Cleveland Chapters of AMORC,
serving as Master of Dayton Chapter; and
currently he is Grand Councilor of AMORC
for the Midwestem states of the United
States.
There are few contemporary Rosicrucians
who have earned the world recogniton and
degrees of honor accorded Dr. Gisbert Bossard. His contributions to modem technology
and his application of Rosicrucian principies
to his work are exemplary of the Rosicru
cian life.B
Prejudice Against Bigness

Sometimes a moments pause and an insight into our human foibles can spare us
much cynicism and mental distress. Our
psychological reaction to strength and power
is of two kinds. The first kind is the awe
felt in the presence of physical or mental
greatness and the power of influence. This
awe, if it does not necessarily threaten our
own security, engenders our admiration of
its source. We admire the aggressive personality, the strong man or woman and the
genius. We like to bask in the light of his
or her eminence. We assume a transference
of the glamor of their qualities to ourselves
as if the quality were a substance that
would rub off on Us by association. It is
for this reason that we are aware of the
numerous celebrity worshippers, those who
thrill in the presence of those they conceive
of as being great. Small boys make heroes
of athletes. Many men idolize noted ex
plorers or political figures. Multitudes of
women, young and od, almost deify popu
lar cinema actors and actresses.
If the power or strength we perceive in
another (and which we assume exceeds our

Page 1I 1

own) appears competitive, it instills fear,

this fear being the other psychological reac
tion to greatness. A feeling of inferiority
is the consequence of actual or imagined inadequacy as compared to what we hold to
be a standard. If one looks upon the qualifications of another, mental or physical, as
the acm to be attained, and if he feels not
equal to it, it inculcates within him a sense
of inferiority. The other personor the
thingappears as an obstacle and detracts
from ones own self-respect and confidence.
That which strikes at the ego arouses the
emotion of jealousy and even hatred. There
is the instinctive inclination to defend the
ego, to retaliate, to strike back at the offender.
If the person or thing resented cannot be
removed physically, it is then frequently
maligned, libeled or slandered.
The individual having this sense of in
feriority wants to reduce the distinction or
the power of that which he feels to be su
perior to himself. He believes that if he can
disqualify it by his remarks and action it
will thereby lose its eminence or importance
to others. Psychologically, the notion is that
as the other goes down in importance, the
status of oneself, or ego, will proportionately
rise. In a crude, primitive way this notion
is found expressed in the uninhibited actions
of animals. Where two pets are rivals for
the attention and affection of the master,
they may often be seen jostling each other
out of his presence. Each desires to be the
sol recipient of his caress and attention.
Unfortunately, this envying of power, of
influence, is extended by many people to
whatever is successful and affluent. There
are persons who habitually bear a grudge
against large corporations and businesses that
are powerful in their sphere of influence. In
their remarks, these persons associate unethical conduct, immorality, and ruthlessness with every mammoth group regardless
of the nature of the business. In their arguments they assume that a business, or an
individual, could not become wealthy or extremely influential without having resorted
to dishonesty and abuse of all principies of
decency.
It is an accepted fact that the analysis of
the history of any large and successful enterprise will reveal some acts that can be sub
ject to reproach; in fact, in many instances,
certain of their transactions could be called

Page 112

extremely unethicaleven seem dishonest.

However, every large business is a combine of
many personalities that are aggressive. Some,
as individuis, have a highly evolved char
acter, and are disciplined in their actions
others are not.
Let us assume that you were to group a
number of large businesses, industries, and
financial institutions in a nation. Next, you
would consider them as individuis, not
plants or firms but persons. You would then
find among them no more discrepancy in
character, no greater deviation from com
mon standards of righteousness than you
would from a group of the same number of
actual persons in the commercial world or
elsewhere. A hundred persons selected at
large would display comparable moral and
ethical principies to this business group.
Let us keep constantly in mind that enterprises are composed of people. Boards of
directors of corporations and executives of
large enterprises are, as a whole, no more
corrupt and lacking in consideration of oth
ers than are the crner grocer, the pharmacist, or the enterprising local plumber. The
rudiments of character will assert themselves
in every circumstance. Power is potential
work. The work can be for good or bad.
The weak, the depraved, the selfish, the
ruthless, will assert whatever power is at
their disposal for results which society will
condemn as harmful or evil. The more
successful one becomes in acquiring wealth,
money, and possessionsand the influence
which accrues from themthe more power
will be at his command. This power, this
ability to achieve work of a kind, is not inherently evil. The principies of the individ
ual determine the manner in which he will
direct the power attained. Certain mammoth corporations have, of course, committed
wrongs against society, have exploited pub
lic interests. Their size and power, how
ever, should not be condemned but, rather,
the characters of their directing personalities.
Conversely, many a huge Corporation, both
directly and indirectly, has in numerous
ways well served the public interest and the
advancement of society. That they have done
so at a profit to themselves does not detract
from the effects had. Such enterprises do
not profess, after all, to be philanthropic or
humanitarian ventures. They are organized

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

for profit, and they so proclaim themselves

in their legal structures.
The fact must not be overlooked that the
large corporations today depend to a great
extent for their financial support upon the
sale of stock. The man in the Street, the
average individual and millions of his neighbors and fellow citizens, own huge portions
of this stock. They invest in it for the same
reasons as do the organizers and executives
of the corporationsfor dividendsfor prof
it. We do not know of any recent collective
protest by these large blocs of stockholders
of the policies and practices of such corpora
tions! Further, we do not know of any petitions by huge numbers of public stockholders
decrying the methods used by a large enterprise that was paying them dividends with
any regularity.
The large corporations that are accused
by individuis as being dishonest and work
ing against public interest are those very
ones whose stock is held by a cross-section
of the public. Further, the complainant is
most often one who has no financial interest
whatsoever in the enterprise. The millions
of persons who do own such stock are not
heard to utter the complaint. Are we there
fore to assume that the average man is quite
content to get his dividends regardless of
the policies of the enterprise in which he has
invested? If so, then that would be further
proof that the moris and ethics of the
average individual are not on a higher plae
because he is less big financially and influentially. If, on the other hand, no protest is
heard from this multitude, it might also be
construed that it is because the individual
finds no particular deterioration in the poli
cies and conduct of big business.
To venture an opinion, we would repeat
the statement we have made beforethat
there is actually a general decline at pres
ent in ethics. It is, however, not particularly
reflected in big business except in proportion to the power which such organizations
exert. The ethics of the average man today,
if projected to a similar proportion of opportunity and power, would be sadly lacking.
We think that avarice, dishonesty, and lack of
compassion may also be seen in the affairs
of many petty businesses and trades, but
with less obvious results. Bigness is not a

APRIL, 1955

fault in itself, but it makes more evident any

fault that it acquires or develops.
Inferiority is not a virtue by which all
that exceeds it is to be protested as a vice.X
W h at A re the Knights Templars?

A soror rises and asks our Forum: What

were the Knights Templars? Did they accomplish any lasting good? Did they have
any affiliation with the Rosicrucian Order,
and why were they abolished?
The Knights Templars were an outgrowth
of the Crusades of the Middle Ages. As is
generally known, the Crusades were a series
of military expeditions to Syria and Palestine, the later being called the Holy Land.
Such Crusades consisted of hordes of devout and adventurous kings and knights, as
well as ecclesiasts, soldiers, and simple peasants. Their motive was to libera te or reclaim
the Holy Land, the birthplace of the Christ,
from what they referred to as the infidel
Turks. At this particular period, Christianity meant the Romn Catholic Church; there
were no other Christian sects. All other
faiths and beliefs were non-Christian and
consequently, according to the prevailing
illiberalism of the time, were pagan, and
their followers, infidels. In the literal
sense, a pagan is one who does not recognize the God of revelation. A pagan, how
ever, is not necessarily an atheist. But in
the opinion of the Christians of that era
and of many nowa devout person who may
conceive God in the pantheistic sense, or as
a 'universal consciousness, is nevertheless a
pagan. Most certainly, all non-Christians
were thought to be such.
It seemed irreverent and a sacrilege to
Christians that places related to the birth
and times of Christ should be under the
domination of non-Christian authority. Small
bands of pilgrims, for years before the Cru
sades, had made their way to Palestine for
the purpose of visiting the holy shrines. In
their devotion and primitive belief, they conceived that such visits would endow them
with a spiritual sanction, assuring them es
pecial blessings in the next world. The countries through which they journeyed, mostly
on foot and at great sacrifice, were rugged
and away from the cities where little law
and order prevailed. As a consequence, these
pilgrims suffered assault, robbery, and loss

Page 113

of life by roaming bands who preyed upon

them. These tales reached Western Europe
and Christendom and became the incentive
for the Crusades.
During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, every generation raised at least one
great army of Crusaders. Besides these huge
armies, sometimes numbering as many as
three hundred thousand, there were small
bands of pilgrims or soldiers of the Cross.
For approximately two hundred years there
was an almost continuous stream of kings,
princes, nobles, knights, ecclesiasts, and common people from England, France, Germany,
Spain, and Italy pouring into Asia Minor.
Ostensibly, these migrations were for reli
gious purposes, drawing, as we have said,
many adventureis whose motive was exploitation. Murderers and thieves journeyed to
the Holy Land and robbed, pillaged, and
raped as they went. The devout, law-abiding Mohammedans whose culture far exceeded that of Europe at the time, were
shocked by the conduct of these Christians.
It was to be expected that they would protect their families and property from these
religious marauders. They, in tura, killed
the pilgrims or drove them off. Undoubtedly,
many innocent pilgrims lost their lives because of the reputation established by the
conduct of some of their number. The nonChristian peoples of the Near and the Mid
dle East could not distinguish between those
pilgrims having noble purposes, on the one
hand, and those whose objectives were perverse, on the other.
Being aware of this situation, Pope Urban
II, in 1095, at Claremont, France, exhorted
the people to begin the first great Crusade.
He called upon the knights and the feudal
barons to cease their warfare against each
other and to succor the Christians who were
living in the East. Enter upon the road to
the Holy Sepulcher; wrest the land from the
wicked race and subject it to y ourselves. It
is related that when the Pope had finished,
the vast crowds listening exclaimed almost
as one: It is the Will of God! This phrase
subsequently became the rallying cry of the
motley masses that comprised the Crusade
armies. They were convinced that they were
under the direct will of God and that brutality, murder, rape, and pillaging in the
Eastern lands were all justified by their
mission.

Page 114

It was impossible for these thousands to

take sufficient food with them for the journey, for the joumey lasted several months
and was made under trying conditions. Con
sequently, they were obliged to live off the
lands they invaded. Many innocent peoples
of the East, non-Christians, were killed, their
cattle seized, and their homes ransacked to
provide sustenance for the Crusaders who
moved in upon them like a swarm of devouring locusts. The retaliation was swift,
of course, and severe. Great numbers of
Crusaders were slaughtered by the Hungarians who rose to protect themselves against
the depredation of the hordes in their pas
sage through their country.
The spirit of avarice took advantage of the
circumstances. Many of the Crusaders sought
passage by sea to Palestine and to Syria, to
avoid the longer journey made entirely by
land. Wealthy merchants of the prosperous
cities of Venice and Genoa contrived to give
the Crusaders free passage to Syria and
Palestine. However, from these pilgrims they
exacted the obligation of exclusive trading
concessions in any city that the Crusaders
might succeed in conquering. This would
then permit these Western merchants to
have trading centers in these Eastern cities
and to obtain the excellent products of their
craftsmen. The jewelry, pottery, silks, spices,
furniture, and needlework of the East excelled anything produced in Western Europe
at the time.
Out of the Crusades there carne into ex
istence many curious religious and military
orders. Two of the most important of these
were the Hospitalers and the Templars.
These orders combined two dominant in
terests of the age, the monk and the soldier.
During the first Crusade there was formed
from out of a mona Stic association the order
known as the Hospitalers. Their objective
was to succor the poor and sick among the
pilgrims journeying to the East. Later, the
Order admitted knights as well as monks,
and subsequently became a military order.
The monks wore a cross on their robes and
swords were suspended from their girdles.
They would fight when required, though
devoting themselves principally to succoring
the afflicted pilgrims. They received generous gifts of land in the countries of the West.
They also built and controlled fortified mon
asteries in the Holy Land. In the thirteenth

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

century when Syria principally was evacuated by the Christians, they moved their
headquarters to the Island of Rhodes and
later to Malta. The Order still exists, its
emblem being the Maltese Cross.
The other prominent order was called the
Knights Templars, or Poor Knights of Christ
and of the Temple of Solomon. This Order
was not founded for any therapeutic aid. It
was, from its inception, a military order.
Its founders were a Burgundian knight
named Hugues de Payens, and Godeffroi de
Saint-Omer, a knight from France. In the
early part of the twelfth century, they undertook the protection of pilgrims flocking
to Jerusalem. They really sought to be
an armed escort for such groups. They were
subsequently joined by six other knights.
This number formed themselves into a re
ligious community. They took a solemn
oath to the Patriarch of Jerusalem, in which
they vowed they would guard public roads
and forsake worldly chivalry; their oath included the pledge to live in chastity, abstinence, and poverty.
The function of the Templars captured
the imagination, not only of the lowly freemen but of those high in secular authority
and within the Church. Baldwin I, King of
Jerusalem, handed over a part of his royal
palace to this Order of warrior-monks. The
palace was adjacent to the Mosque of AlAksa, the so-called Temple of Solomon. Because of this location they acquired the ame
Knights Templars (Knights of the Temple).
They wore no uniforms or any distinctive
habit at first, but dressed in their customary
clothing. Eventually they wore white robes
with the double red crosses upon them. Their
first act which drew universal attention to
them was their seeking to redeem excom
municated knights. Many knights had been
tempted to vilate their high calling of chiv
alry while on expeditions to the Holy
Land and had been excommunicated by the
Church. These, the Templars sought to re
deem and have enter their Order. They
likewise undertook to prevent rogues, murderers, perjurers and adventurers from exploiting the Holy Land.
There was one act at an early date which
brought them into conflict with the ecclesiastics. They sought to grant freedom to their
number from excommunication by parish
priests and bishops.

APRIL, 1955

The executive head of the Order was called

the Master of the Temple at Jerusalem.
Later, he was Grand Master of the Order
in Cyprus. The authority of this Grand
Master was considerable; however, it was
not absolute. He was required to consult
the majority of the Templars on such mat
ters as, for example, waging war. Over many
years the Templars waged war against the
infidels. The so-called infidels were principally the Saracens, the Mohammedans who,
in themselves, were a devout people but
fierce in the support of their faith. Often
the Templars, though displaying great valor,
were slaughtered in these campaigns, as in
the battle of October 18, 1244.
The Templars, as an Order, grew extremely wealthy. Their wealth consisted
mostly of great estates bequeathed to them,
and the gifts received from royalty. This
wealth and the power following from it, had
its effect upon them. There was at times
such an authoritative display by the Tem
plars as constituted arrogance. Nevertheless,
they continued by various means to align
themselves, as individuis in particular, with
the ruling families of Europe. One Grand
Master was godfather to a daughter of Louis
IX. Another was godfather to a child of
Philip IV. Their influence was felt within
the circles of the prelacy, for the Templars
were summoned to particpate in the exclu
sive Church councils such as the Lateran
Council of 1215.
.
A curious function, quite distinct from
their avowed purpose but which was indicative of their power, was that the Templars
became the great financiers and bankers of
the time. It is related that their Pars Tem
ple was the center of the world money market. In this bank, Popes and kings, alike,
deposited their money. The Templars successfully entered into foreign exchange of
monies with the East. This was perhaps the
first of such enterprises for Europe. They
charged no interest on loans, for usury was
prohibited by the Church and the crown as
being immoral. Rental fees above the usual
charges for rent on mortgages constituted,
however in fact, a kind of interest which
was tolerated.
History relates that the Templars reached
the acm of their power just before their
ruin. In effect, they had become a church
within a church. A quarrel eventually re-

Page 115

sulted with Pope Boniface VIII. On August

10, 1303, the King sided with the head of
the Templars against the Pope. This King
Philip eventually betrayed the Templars. He
had suffered great financial loss and he was
unable to recoup his resources. He conceived
that the suppression of the Knights Tem
plars would be of advantage to him. He
planned to unite all the Orders under his
authority. It was first necessary, he believed,
to discredit the Templars. This he sought
to accomplish by claiming that the Order
was heretical and immoral. He sent spies
into the Order who perjured themselves, it
is related, to falsely reveal the rites, oaths,
and ceremonies as being of a nature defiling Christianity. The public at large knew
the Templars had secret rites, but they actually did not know their true nature.
There were unfounded rumors that the rites
and ceremonies were salacious and blasphemous. Consequently, the statements of the
spies and perjurers of King Philip seemed
to confirm these tales.
The Pope was not inclined to believe and
act upon the accounts brought to his atten
tion through the machinations of Philip. The
King then cunningly brought his fabricated
complaints before the Inquisition which at
that time prevailed in France. This Inquisi
tion had the power to act without Consulting
the Pope. As a result, the Grand Inquisitor demanded the arrest of the Templars.
On the 14th of September, 1307, Philip
directed that the members of the Templars
be seized.
On June 6, 1306, Jacques de Molay, Grand
Master of the Templars, from Cyprus, was
Consulting Pope Clement V about the prospects of another Crusade. He took the occasion to refer to the charges that had been
made against the Templars, and then departed. All during the time of the incriminations against them, the Templars had made
no defense. Six months later, Jacques de
Molay, with sixty of his brethren, was seized
in Pars and forced to confess. They were
first tortured by the royal officials. Subsequently, the latter turned them over to the
Church Inquisitors for further torture. Most
of these Templars were od men, and died
from the inhuman cruelty inflicted upon
them by these representatives of the Church.
The confessions wrung from them were
false; they had been made to confess acts

Page 116

of irreverence and heresy. The Grand Mas

ter was obliged to write a letter in which he
admitted acts against the Church.
The Pope eventually sanctioned the acts
of the Inquisitors, and ordered the arrest of
the Templars throughout Christendom. Perhaps he was dubious of the injustices, for
he later established a new Inquisition to
reconsider the charges against the Templars.
Believing that they were to receive a fair
trial, the Templars withdrew their former
confessions which had been made under
compulsin. They were, however, greatly
deceived! The retraction of their confessions
was punishable by death by fire, a punishment which many were obliged to suffer.
On the 14th of March, 1314, Jacques de
Molay, Grand Master, and another were
brought to a scaffold erected in front of
Notre Dame. They were then supposed to
further confess before the assembled papal
legates and people. Instead, they withdrew
their confessions and sought to make a defense of the Templars to the vast crowds
watching the proceedings. They proclaimed
the innocence of the Order. They were immediately ordered burnt. They were thus
executed in that manner with the approval
of the Romn Church.
What had the Templars accomplished?
Many attributed to them the stemming of
the spread of Islamic power into Europe.
This they may have helped to accomplish,
but it is a moot question as to whether the
spread of Islamic culture into Europe would
have been detrimental to it. Generally, it
is conceded by historians that civilization
would have been advanced by centuries if
the wisdom in the possession of the Mohammedans had been allowed to spread in Eu
rope at that early time. It took several
centuries for knowledge in Europe to equal
and surpass that possessed by the Mohammedans at that time. The Islamic people
were the preservers of the early knowledge
of the Greeks and of the Egyptians.
Perhaps the greatest achievement of the
Templars was the encouraging of virtue
among the valorous and the strong. Many of
the knights had acquired much learning in
the Eastern countries during the Crusades.
They discovered that in the East there was
a civilization of a higher order than to be
found in the cruder society of the Christian
West.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Many Templars were secretly initiated

into the mystery schools of the East, wherein
the wisdom of the past was revealed to
them. Though a Christian Order, the Tem
plars were independent enough of the Church
so as not to be dominated by it in their
thinking. Many became Templars because
within the sphere of influence and the protection of the Order, they could study and
pursue knowledge that they dared not, as
individuis, study outside of such a circle.
The liberal-minded were given a kind of
asylum within the Order of the Knights
Templars. It was these studies, these intellectual pursuits and mystical rituals, that
perhaps gave credence to the rumors that
the Templars were heretics.
Rosicrucian traditional history relates that
many knights had crossed the threshold of
the Order and those in esoteric schools affiliated with it. A number of the knights dared
to inquire into realms of knowledge which
their adventures into Eastern countries had
made possible. It was a knowledge which
lay outside the restricted bounds of inquiry
of the Church.X
Is There Absolute Truth?
A frater in Caada, who, we believe, is
new to our Forum, asks a question: Is there
such a thing as absolute truth in logic and
in human knowledge? If all things are forever changing and in a process of evolution
and devolution, can our objective thinking
ever arrive at truth and ascrtain what is
valid? If our thinking is limited to the total
of our present knowledge, is not what we
assume as valid relative to further knowl
edge or truth of which we are unaware?
This is a question that periodically appears before this Forum. Because of the interest shown in it and its importance to
what is accepted as knowledge and truth,
it justifies further consideration even if the
explanation may seem repetitious. Before
one may entertain any notions as to the
kinds of truth, such as absolute, relative,
and the like, an acceptable definition of
truth should be made. Perhaps no word is
more bandied about than truth, with most
of those using it having no real conception
of its meaning.
Truth may be identified with reality.
However, this must not be construed to mean

APR1L, 1955

just that which has substance of an external

or material nature. Rather, we use here the
word reality to mean existence, that which
is real being that which we assume exists or
has, if you prefer the word, actulity.
Immediately someone may query, Is there
independent reality? Do things have a na
ture as we perceive them? Reality, as ex
perienced by the human consciousness, is
conditioned, as Kant explained, by the categories of our senses. We know and have
demonstrated to ourselves, by the scientific
means at our disposal, that many so-called
realities are but notions and have no exact
archetype beyond our minds. For the pur
pose of defining truth, it will suffice to say
that reality is that which has a kind of ex
istence to us. It is that which we accept
and act upon as having a specific kind of
nature. Thus we say that something is red;
others may perceive it as red also, and thereby confirm our sense experience. Its reality
to us, then, for all practical purposes, is
red, regardless of its actual causal nature
and its relation to light waves and to the
structure of our eyes.
Reality, in this regard, is not to be limited
to the impressions received by our peripheral
senses. Our thoughts, coming as the conse
quence of reasoning and judgment, may
likewise have this quality of reality to us.
The numeris, two and two, seem to me to
add to four. The syllogism, No finite be
ing is exempt from error; all men are finite
beings; therefore, no man is exempt from
error, also seems to be real to me. It has the
quality of existence, of being. It is not tangi
ble; it is, in fact, abstract. Yet it has a
definiteness that, to my reason, has a kind
of substance, it is equal, in my acceptance
of it as an experience, to that which I see,
hear, or feel.
It is obvious, then, that the significance
which I confer upon truth is the equivalent
of that which is real to me. When we say
with conviction to another that such-andsuch is true, do we not mean by this that
it is real? It has an actual existence to us.
It is positive. It has a being or nature cor
responding to the idea associated with it.
Succinctly, then, truth is what is real. Of
course, we mean by this what appears as
real to us.
From the very outstart of the analysis, we
have qualified the word reality. We have

Page I I 7

conceded that reality is contingent upon the

categories, the qualities, of the human senses
and the individual interpretation of them.
Man cannot know reality as it may be, as
he does not directly experience its nature.
Its impulses act upon his sense organs and
produce sensations. There may be, and undoubtedly is, a vast difference between the
sensation and its primary cause. If we assume this premise, then reality to us must
change with our sense impressions and our
interpretation of them. As we extend the
power of our receptor organs, such as sight
and hearing, by means of powerful instruments of detection and magnification, what
once was conceived as the real will no longer
seem so. Our knowledge of reality will thus,
as it has in the past, constantly change.
Likewise will truth change, since we have
identified it with a varying reality. As any
student of history knows, our truths are
relative. What once was accepted as real,
factual and true, as in the Middle Ages, is
no longer such.
What are so-called absolute truths ? They
are presumed to be those points of knowledge
or realities that remain unchanged. They
are etemal, about which there can be no
doubt; they are not capable of being refuted.
There is knowledge now which each of us
might bring forth and say that such conforms to the nature of absolute truth. Ac
tually, however, such is only relative to our
limited capacity at the moment to see its
varying nature. For something to be abso
lute, it would need to have a prmanent
quality, to stand apart from the universal
flux of existence. It would need to be eternally inert, neither adding to or diminishing
its characteristics. Such realities would be
contrary to all we think at present to be
mass and energy or as the laws of same.
Even God is not absolute! This may evoke
protestation and invite challenge. We think,
however, that a moments reflection will
bring agreement with the statement. The
very definitions of God, as had by any collection of people, will disclose that they
entertain no absolute notion of God. As indi
viduis, they have an idea of God but there
is no agreement on the realities of His na
ture. Furthermore, there is no absolute
agreement among human beings that there
is a God. We may cali that section of men
who disbelieve atheists. Nevertheless, the

Page 118

fact that all men do not believe, regardless

of the nature of belief, proves that the belief is not absolute.
The notion of reality is not of a general
nature. It is always an idea of something;
it is specific. Everything we hold to be real
has to us concrete, specific nature or qualities. Therefore, it will not suffice to say that
the notion of the existence of reality is uni
versal and, consequently, absolute. No one
has a notion of reality without an associated
idea of its content or consistency. What, in
fact, does reality mean to you? If you have
no meaning, it does not exist to you. If you
have a meaning, it will not have universal
acceptance. There will be others who will
disagree with you. Therefore, your reality
will not be an absolute one.
The fact that there are no absolute truths
should not alarm any one. For the practical
purpose of living, what seems constant and
real to us, and therefore an apparent truth,
is sufficient. For the time being, within the
limits of our understanding, whether they be
for a day or a lifetime, such truths have the
validity of being absolute to us, if not so in
actuality.X
Prayer For the Dead
A frater from West Africa now joins our
Forum to ask: Do we pray for the dead, or
to the dead? And why do we do so?
The prayers for those who have passed
through transition are determined by the re
ligious concepts of those who pray. First,
one does not pray for or to the deceased un
less he believes in immortality. Patently,
one who does not hold to the belief in the
survival of the personality has no need for
such a prayer. A belief that the soul is im
personal and survives by absorption into a
Universal Consciousness would not require
such prayers, as we shall discuss later, even
though this constituted a versin of immor
tality. The average believer in immortality
is not content to think just in terms of the
conservation and preservation of the divine
essence within his being after death. Rather,
he wants to believe that the soul is a higher
form of ego, and that it has a consciousness
of its surroundings after this life; further,
he wants to believe that the soul has selfawareness, knows where it is and who it is,
in terms of its earthly personality and asso-

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

ciations. This, of course, is a kind of primitive impulsethis desire to immortalize the

characteristics and functions common to mor
tal experience.
There are those, as well, who presume,
as part of their religious beliefs, that the
soul after transition remains in an intermediary state. This may be called Purgatory, that is, a kind of existence where the
soul is conceived as undergoing a purgation
of its sins before it is permitted to again
enter the full grace of the Supreme Being.
The ancient Hebrews also taught such an
intermediary state for the soul after death.
Several other ancient religions have had
these places and periods of trial and test
of the soul before what was thought to be its
final salvation.
For these souls, suspended as it were, be
tween salvation and eternal damnation, the
theologians advcate a series of prayers. The
prayers are not directed to those who had
thus passed through transition, but, rather,
they are pleas of intercession for them; they
are addressed to saints or angelic beings.
These beings, as a result of the prayers and
the performance of specific liturgies of a
sacrosanct nature, would so intercede that
the period of penitence would be lessened.
The catechisms of such sects innumerate
prayers designed for the penitent.
Those souls who are presumed to have
attained a status of divinity approximating
God, who are one of the hosts of angelic
beings in a heaven, have divine powers attributed to them. There are many sects who
subscribe to this conception. In some theologies, there are those who have passed through
transition and who are conceived as having
been imbued with a special efficacy. Theology refers to them as saints. Consequently,
it is thought that they have the prerogative
of exercising their divine powers at will, for
and in behalf of mankind. They are primarily mortals who have passed through
transition and become immortalized. Rituals
and prayers have also been devised in these
religions by which man can, it is taught,
properly approach the saints and have them
intercede for him.
Actually then, prayer to or for the dead
is dependent upon the individuals religious
conception of what occurs to the soul after
transition. Let us presume that one has the
general mystical viewpoint of the souls ex-

Page 119

APR1L, 1955

istence after transition. The soul, it is

thought, is an extensin of the Universal
Soul or consciousness, which pervades all
mankind. The soul is not a segment or
separate substance deposited in man at
birth, according to this view. Rather, it is
a flow as, for analogy, an electrical current
through a circuit. The human body is installed into that circuit and is thus made an
illuminated self-conscious being by the fact
of the flowing through it of this Universal
Soul. It is further contended that there is
no individual soul in mortal man, but rather
a separate manifestation o the whole soul
forc in his being. The soul forc in every
individual human being is in constant association with the universal consciousness
which is resident in all men; thus, all men,
in essence, are United but they are not aware
of this unity objectively unless they evolve
to that understanding. Further, that aspect
of the universal consciousness which is not
flowing through human bodies, that is, the
source itself, is always in intimate contact
with the inner consciousness of man. It is
only required that men come to an objective realization of the unity of their souls
with this Universal .or Cosmic consciousness
pervading all.
Since, according to this mystical conception, there is no distinction between the es
sence of the Universal Soul and that flow of
it through mans being, men are therefore,
in their inner natures, divine! Being fundamentally divine, they have inherently all
the attributes of divinity, as perfection, ab
solute goodness, and omniscience. The soul
in its essence in men can never be corrupt
or in any sense perverted by human con
duct. The soul lies beyond the capacity for
the human will and conduct to affect its di

vine nature. Men, however, may through

their perversity and ignorance, live lives
called evil which only obscure the full func
tion of their divine nature. Such conduct
does not diminish or alter the divine quality
of the soul. To use an analogy which we
have often used, the faulty or inadequate
electrical lamp does neither diminish or
alter the nature of the electrical current in
the circuit into which the lamp has been
inserted.
This mystical conception further contends
in its progressive explanation that the hu
man soul therefore needs no salvation. It is
never lost or damned. It is, therefore,
never placed in a Purgatory, or intermediary
state. At transition, the soul-personality of
man is absorbed into the whole Universal
Consciousness from which, as said, it has
never been severed. There is no personal
divine will that imposes punishment upon
the soul for sins or evil. The Universal
Soul can obviously not inflict penalties upon
itself. The law of karma, or compensation,
however, causes the individual during his
mortal existence to experience suffering for
wrong deeds, and, conversely, confers the
reward of happiness for virtuous ones. Ob
jectively, man experiences the consequence
of his own actsin this life or in another.
The prayers of the true mystic, therefore,
are neither for the dead, or to the dead.
One does not appeal to the Universal Soul
to purify or redeem itself! Prayers by the
individual, and not through the mdium of
another, should be directed to the Universal
Soul, the Divine Mind within his own be
ing. These prayers are for further under
standing and for the full manifestation of
the power of the Cosmic resident within
ones own self.X

RE M E M B E R THE C O N V E N T IO N
v
July O through 15,1955

In the

Valley
of

Heart's

ROSE-CROIX
UNIVERSITY
lies

Centered here in the Santa Clara

Valley, among growing cultural and in
dustrial activities, is a seat of learning
dedicated to Rosicrucians everywhere.
Rose-Croix University has long been
the pride of the Order! In it are manifested those ideis embodied in the Search for Truth freedom of investigation, freedom of
thought; tolerance, humanitarianism; the advance of science and reason; the development of
the mystical nature and the unifying properties of Rosicrucian philosophy.
Under competent personal instruction, each Rosicrucian is given an opportunity to express
his views and entertain discussion on those questions in his particular field of interest. Here
theories are converted into useful realities. Here learning is made a pleasure .
The instruction follows the same, simple style of the
monographs. No previous college training is necessary.
Plan now to join with other Rosicrucians in a three-week
course of study, and unforgettable
experiences. Write for the free bookLO W
let, The Story of Learning, which
TUITION
gives complete information. Address:
$45.00
THE REGISTRAR, ROSE-CROIX
June 2 0 - July 9
UNIVERSITY, Rosicrucian Park,
(THREE W EE K S)
San Jos, California.

June, 1955
Vol. X X V

No. 6

Rosicrucian Forum
A p riva te

p u b lc a tio n fo r m e m b e rs of A M O R C

A LB IN RO IM E R, F. R. C., Granel M a ste r o f Sw eden an d

G ra n d Secretary o f France
(S e e p a g e 133)

Page 122

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Greetings!
V

IS PAINLESS DEATH ADVISABLE?

Dear Fratres and Sorores:
and even the aged. It was considered an
justice to yoke the active, productive eleRecently an alderman in England made a in
ment
of the population with those who
public statement in favor of euthanasia could no
longer share their responsibilities
painless death. What prompted his state in war and
to the economy of
ment was a visit to a public institution where the land. Thiscontribute
attitude was, of course, an
helplessly crippled and deformed children extreme one, especially
the instances of
were patients. A great majority of these the aged who still had inpossession
of their
children had aflictions which were congeni mental
faculties
and
were
only
incapacitated
tal; they would never be able to care for
physical infirmities.
themselves or speak. In fact, they exhibited byThe
moralists and religionists object to
less self-consciousness than most lesser anion the principie that it lies not
mals. It is obvious that such beings merely euthanasia
in
the
province
of man to take life under
vegetate. They are but animate masses of
human considerationthat for man to
matter. They are unable even to simply any
do so is comparable to relegating to himself
evalate life in terms of happiness, friend- the
and omniscience of the
ship, hopes or aspirations. With most such Deity.omnipotence
These
same
however, are
cases where the abnormality began at birth, not wholly consistentmoralists,
in
practice.
They have
it is not alone a matter of a distorted or de not succeeded in prohibiting capital
formed body, but also of a mental deficiency mentthe taking of life by the legalpunishedict
and of arrested personality.
of society. Apparently, they are of the
The primary and realistic question in a opinion that divine justice is not sufficient
matter of this kind is what is accomplished and that the further punishment of death
by the preservation of such beings? Can must be inflicted. Likewise, the dogmatic
they bring happiness to their families, or do religionists have not been able to remove
they but bring years of heartache and eco- the stigma from modern society of that mass
nomic burden? They are not only unable destruction of human lifewar. Both acts,
to contribute in any small way to the wel- capital punishment and war, are less defare of society but become a liability to it fendable on principie than euthanasia.
as well. Further, they are not able to discern
There are also the occultists, metaphysitheir surroundings and derive any satisfac- cians, and mystics who abhor euthanasia on
tion from the basic life forc flowing through the premise that man, by so doing, is interthem. They are little more than automatons.
fering with Cosmic law. The soul, it is
If society caused them to be put to death declared, is permitted to inhabit an abnormal
painlessly, would suchfree of sentimentali- body at birth, a body distorted and perhaps
ty and religious dogmabe not best for all having an arrested mentality, for the pur
concemed?
pose of expressing itself in that manner.
The very subject of euthanasia is shocking The self, they say, has a lesson to learn from
to many persons. They, however, often com- the abject experience. It is further contended
pletely dismiss its rational aspects, being in- that the parents, perhaps karmically, are
fluenced almost entirely by their own expected to endure this depressing experience
to compnsate for past violation of some
emotions. Euthanasia is not a new theory,
but actually is a practice with a historical Cosmic precept. These persons declare that
background. As one example of many, the to have the victim of these circumstances
early Macedonians considered the helpless spared a useless life, perhaps one of sufferincurables as a burden upon society. Food ing as well, by means of a painless death
often being inadequate, painless death by the would vilate the Cosmic purposes underlying such instances.
state was the order for the insane, imbecilic,

JUNE, 1955

Page 123

Let us for a moment look with an open

mind upon the postulations made by these
persons to see whether they are wholly jus
tified. We shall begin by taking the ex
ample of the incurable child, the one whose
mental and physical deformities are con
genital. The child, as in many cases, never
acquires that self-consciousness whereby it
is able to completely distinguish between
self and other realities. Its whole activity
consists of involuntary responses to its en
vironment, like some simple organism. It is
incapable of attaining that state of conscious
ness where it would be able to evalate its
environment and its own acts in moral terms.
In other words, it cannot distinguish between
what men cali good or evil. It is not able
to exercise judgment or restraint. In that
state, the soul-personality cannot possibly
evolve. It cannot learn lessons, become cognizant of those deeper impressions which
man attributes to the psyche or soul im
pulses. From a purely polemic point of
view, it may be contended that the intelli
gence of life, called soul, is ineffectual where
there is no self-consciousness. After all, one
must know that he is, and place that con
sciousness of self in a comprehensible rela
tionship to his surroundings and behavior,
before there may be said to be an expression
of soul.
After all, what is that condition which
mystics relate as being the evolution of self?
Is it not ones becoming conscious of the
subtle impressions of the divine presence
within reaching through the subconscious
mind to ones objective state? The develop
ment consists of a series of adjustments and
responses to these finer psychic impulses.
Mystics advcate awakening and heeding
the voice of conscience, the dictates of the
inner beingKnow Y ourself. But all of this,
likewise, requires the mechanism of what is
considered a fairly normal functioning brain
and nervous system. It is not enough to
possess a light within ourselves; one must

also have the faculty of discerning that light

and thereby be able to use it as a guide.
The mystic shouldand really advanced
ones doreconcile the principies and laws
of mysticism with the laws of physical phe
nomena, called science.
It is therefore sound mysticism to ques
tion the speculation that a soul-personality
would be thwarted if such incurable indi
viduis as described were to be subjected to
humane methods of euthanasia. Then, there
is also the matter of being logically con
sistent. The average modem mystic per
sonally applies, and encourages his family
to do likewise, one or more methods of heal
ing. Besides mental healing or faith healing,
he may perhaps patronize a medical practitioner or a drugless physician. Why does
he do so? Is it not to rid himself of some
malady? He wants to abolish pain, the result
of some physical infirmity or subnormal
condition that has resulted. But, by the
reasoning stated above, would not such treatments be likewise interfering with the Cos
mic order of things? Could it not also be said
that it was Cosmically or karmically ordained
that the individual is to experience his discomfiture as a lesson to be learned? If it is
proper not to resign oneself to illness and
pain, and if such does not incur Cosmic
wrong by intervention, then why is eutha
nasia a moral error?
There is much that man does, and rightly,
to correct his circumstances and to make a
change in them. He does not ordinarily
consider himself, by so doing, in conflict
with the Cosmic! Euthanasia is, then, an
attempt by man to likewise make adjust
ments as he thinks best for all concerned.
Obviously euthanasia as a civil practice
would require the mutual consent of the
parents and of unimpeachable physicians.
It could not be made compulsory otherwise.
As to whether the state would ever be justi
fied in surmounting the objections of parents
and church is a moot question. However,

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, California,
under Section 1103 of the U . S. Postal Act of Oct. 3, 1917.
The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every o+her month) by the Department
of Publicaton of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/1 sterling) A N N U A LLY FOR MEMBERS O N LY

Page 124

in many countries of the world today, civil

authorities can compel surgery and medical
treatment for a child where its welfare is
concerned, and over the objections of parents
and church.
The point of this discourse is not an attempt to solve this complex problem, or to
take a stand conceming it, but rather to
present both sides of the issue for your serious
thought upon it.
Fraternally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator
Music for Meditation
The use of music as a background for
various activities goes back to the beginning
of the development of music. In our tem
ples it is customary to have selections of
music played during certain parts of the
ritual and for meditation periods that may
be observed in connection with a Convocation. This use of music is also frequently
employed by individual members in their
own meditation and concentration. It is
therefore not unusual for us to receive requests concerning suitable types or selections
of music that are most appropriate for medi
tation and during temple convocations.
The history of music is closely related to
the development of various practices in any
ritualistic type of activity. We find in the
earliest civilizations that the development
of music took place simultaneously with the
development of activities that were associ
ated with religin and with other serious or
more solemn practices of individuis in any
type of observance that may have been a
part of their social structure. Music is used
not only in connection with religions and
rituals, but it is also consistently used in
festivals and in other types of observances
that are primarily for entertainment and enjoyment.
The history of music further shows that
its progress is closely related to the emotional life of the individual. That its effects
were sensed more keenly by those who
reached higher degrees of development, insofar as civilization is concerned, is indicated
by the simultaneous development of music,
in most cases, with the advancement of civi
lization. As an example, we find that in
ancient Egypt a great deal of time and con

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

sideration was given to the study, the prac

tice, and the execution of music. A number
of very fine musical instruments were
evolved and developed. Some of them be
came unique in history and were used particularly in connection with observances in
the temples of the various sections of Egypt
where religious practices and various types
of observances were held.
It is common knowledge that much of the
music of the Western world had an mpetus
for its development in connection with the
early history of the Christian church. In
that way religin has contributed to the de
velopment of the heritage of music which is
ours today. During the past few centuries,
many of the great musical compositions were
related directly to church activities. The
composition, direction, and presentation of
music in the cathedrals and churches provided many composers with their only means
of livelihood.
In considering music for meditation and
temple use, it is also of interest to consider
briefly just what music is. Music may be
thought of as sound created by various in
struments, which combine rather simple
principies. Most musical notes with which
we are familiar today are produced by two
things coming together and producing a
noise, or by a forcing of air through a tube
or some type of hollow structure, or by one
object coming in contact with a tight string
or wire which produces a certain vibra tion.
Music, however, is more than sound alone.
Music is related sound, that is, certain sounds
put together in a manner that is connected.
In that sense, music can be compared with
language: the notes are the letters; the
phrases or measures of the musical score are
the words; the themes are the sentences.
Letters and words by themselves carry little meaning, but they can be combined into
sentences, and sentences into paragraphs
which produce continuity of thought and
express definite ideas. In other words, they
say something. And so it is that the sounds
or notes that compose music can be put to
gether into phrases and themes and arranged
in such order that they produce, in connec
tion with a rhythm, a timing, and a melody,
certain things which can be understood as
a whole. Again, these notes tell us some
thing and the theme is readily understandable.

JUNE, 1955

Music, as explained to us in our mono

graphs, is a universal language. We can
understand it to a certain degree without
knowing the language of the composer who
wrote it. It can be understood in the light
of our interpretation of the effect that the
sound makes upon our consciousness. That
music affects us in various ways can be
proved by a selection that is solemn, or one
that has the rhythm of a march, or music
that is of a faster tempo and usually associated with dancing or other types of festivity.
In addition to the cise relationship of the
development of music with religin, music
has also been associated with many forms
of ritual and drama. The highest form of
music insofar as drama is concerned is, of
course, the opera. Here the theme or idea
that the author attempts to tell is put into
a musical setting and written to be performed as both drama and music. In ritual,
music usually forms the background or the
means of setting the mood for the ritual that
is to be performed. We almost immediately
associate a great cathedral with solemn, processional-type of music. We associate a place
of amusement with music that is light and
gay. In ritual, such as our own nonreligious
Rosicrucian ritual, certain phases of musical
composition are conveyed to the participants
consciousness. These create an attitude of
calmness, also an attitude which contributes
toward the best possible understanding of
the ritualistic presentation, and will set the
stage for what is more important to be accomplished by the ritual itself.
To understand more completely the use
of music as related to meditation, it is im
portant that we thoroughly understand med
itation itself. The subjects of meditation and
concentration are so important that they are
among the first ones introduced in the earliest monographs of the Rosicrucian teachings.
We might say that the processes of medita
tion and concentration are the fundamental
disciplines of the mind. It is through the
channel of concentration and meditation that
we are able to use our mental faculties in
such a way that it is possible for us to gain
in wisdom, experience, and in our over-all
psychic development. Without these two
processes, there would be no use for any
other type of study. These are the channels by which we admit into consciousness
the knowledge that it is essential for us to

Page 125

learn if we are to gain anything from the

experience of life, and if we are to develop
the ability to bring consciousness and Crea
tive mental power to play upon the function
of living and the using of our mental facul
ties creatively.

Upon examining the mechanics of medita

tion and concentration, we will realize that
they are different. Concentration, we might
say, is an active mental process whereas
meditation is a passive mental process. In
other words, when we concntrate we try
to bring all the mental Creative ability that
we have within us to bear upon a certain
thing, such as a problem or something that
we are attempting to learn. Concentration
is the funnel, we might say, through which
our mental faculties are brought to bear up
on the situation to which we wish to give
our attention with the hope of reaching a
solution.
Meditation, on the other hand, is a more
or less passive procedure by which we at
tempt to absorb those impressions that may
come into consciousness and to sort out those
that may have valu to us. It is a period
of reflection, of preparation wherein we at
tempt to rest physically and to assemble our
mental attributes so they can be used in
more active mental processes.
We can comprehend consciousness in a
visual way. This can best be done by selecting a symbol to represent consciousness, and
the most perfect symbol for that representation is the circle. The circle is complete and
inclusive, as is consciousness, at any particu
lar time. Our consciousness at any moment
consists of the things which we are perceiving and the memories that are passing
through our mind. In other words, conscious
ness is at any one time a composite of many
impressions that are flashing through our
mind just as if we were viewing a scene
through a window.
Whatever may be our behavior at any
moment is the reflection of our conscious
state. We may be thinking of work that is
immediately at hand, or of problems waiting to be solved that seem difficult at the
moment; we may be having certain physical
sensations which may be pleasant or unpleasant; we may be thinking of an engagement we have to keep tonight or tomorrow,
or of an event that may have occurred yesterday and brought us happiness or sorrow.
All these impressions are constantly pushing

Page 126

themselves into the state of our present con

sciousness or awareness.
We are taught, in connection with the
study of concentration and meditation, the
importance of ridding our consciousness of
all this miscellany of impressions in order
to succeed in concentrating our mind upon
any one thing and really directing our at
tention to it thoroughly and completely. To
thus completely dismiss from consciousness
every impression except one is a most diffi
cult process to learn. Concentrating on one
thing requires a technique that takes prac
tice over a long period of time. The circle
of consciousness, that is, the state of aware
ness which is composed of our sensations
and thinking of the moment, is so completely
our private life, our personal situation at
any moment, that it is difficult to sort out
or to throw any part away or to push out
of our mind the many impressions surging
through consciousness. Even though we may
direct our attention exclusively to a problem
that may be confronting us, we are never
theless constantly pushing back into the un
conscious or subconscious area of our being
those things which we do not wish to have
intrude and bother us at a particular mo
ment.
The circle of consciousness, then, is some
thing which we have to learn to control if
we are to concntrate successfully or if we
are to be able to free our minds for the
benefit of inspirational meditation. In con
centration, the attention is directed toward
one fixed thing which becomes the point in
the center of the circle.
Music becomes a valuable aid in concen
tration when it filis our circle of conscious
ness. In meditation or in concentration the
background of music attempts to occupy a
certain amount of our attention, at least
enough of it that certain extraneous thoughts
certain ideas that are cluttering our mind
at a particular timecan be forced into the
background and the music allowed to take
their place. Music becomes to a degree the
content of consciousness, but we need not
direct our whole attention to it. It can be
heard in the background and at the same
time be enjoyed if it is music of a type that
tends to inspire and to make us calm and
relaxed. It is under those circumstances
that we are in the best position either to
enjoy relaxed meditation or to bring defi-

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

nitely before consciousness a specific prob

lem and direct our whole attention upon it.
In other words, music becomes a filler for
our circle of consciousness; it becomes a
background which tends to shut out those
impressions that might otherwise interfere
with the pur function of meditation and
concentration. The selection of music for
that purpose cannot be definitely regulated
by any absolute criterion. There are only
certain general principies. Obviously, highly
exciting music as used in the most exaggerated form of the dance or martial music
that is used for a military band, is not going to be the type of sound that will captivate our consciousness to make it calm and
at ease. Background music, that is, music
which is built of simple melodies or simple
themes and which is quieting to the con
sciousness, is the most effective type. This
does not mean that all music for meditation
must be extremely soft in volume, but it
means that the ideal music for meditation
runs more or less evenly. Certain themes
and variations, such as the fugue and other
similar structures in music, are those which
are ideal.
It is sometimes best not to consistently
use music of which we are overly fond or
with which we are too familiar. Music with
which we are familiar and the words that
accompany it, if used too often, may distract our attention from the purpose of
meditation and concentration. Furthermore,
music of which we become very fond may
attract our attention to itself r the intricacies of its performance. It is therefore best
to select neutral music as often as possible.
Various compositions can be tried.
In the Rosicrucian Supreme Temple an
attempt is made to select music that is appropriate to various parts of the ritual. No
final solution has been reached concerning
the exact music that should always be used
at any particular time. This is clearly indicated by the fact that we are constantly
looking for new music, and adding selections of different types and moods for this
use. This music is selected with the intention of contributing to the sense of purpose
in the Temple convocations, and to build
up, to the best of our ability, a situation
and an environment suitable for the work
and worship which is the purpose of the
Rosicrucian Temple.A

JUNE, 1955

Fraternalism and Religin

It is obvious that there has been an in
creased interest in religin, particularly in
organized religin, in the past ten years.
Many new religious groups are being formed,
new churches built, and there is much ac
tivity in relation to these groups. By looking
at the church page of any newspaper, one
may see the many choices an individual has
in his desire to gain any religious information. This gives rise to many questions upon
the part of both members and nonmembers
who write to us concerning the Orders posi
tion in regard to various points of religin.
Occasionally a letter is received inquiring
that if we are not a religious organization
why do we ask in our application that an
individual affirm a belief in God. Their
question is based upon the premise that anything that has to do with a belief in God,
a Supreme Being, or a mind which is greater
than the human mind, has to do directly
with religin. The idea that religin has
exclusive control, possession, or interpretation of matters dealing with the Infinite is
a misconception. Man can contmplate,
study, or reason about God, a Supreme Mind,
or a purpose in the universe without necessarily being a part of or participating in a
specific religious activity.
It is of course to be acknowledged that
the definition of religin can be made extremely broad, and if it is made to include
everything that has to do with any power
outside of man himself, then we might conclude that religions province was the province of anything beyond human manifesta
tion or function. Nevertheless, the fraternal
Order can exist independently of any specific
religious interpretation. There can be, of
course, fraternalism in religin and there
can be religin in fraternalism. There are
fraternal organizations which require, or at
least set up as a standard, the religious be
liefs of a certain group or body and it is to
be accepted as a matter of course that all of
its affiliates will be also members of a certain
religin. The reverse could also be true
that a religin could be built upon the con
cepts or the association of a certain group.
However, the larger fraternal Orders are
usually not associated directly with any one
particular religin or religious concept.

Page 127

The Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, is par

ticularly a good example of this. Among its
members are representatives of practically
every existent religin known in the world
today. Due to the intemational extent of the
Order, it is obvious that those who affiliate
with it come from many religious backgrounds. They do not necessarily affiliate
with the organization because of their re
ligious background, but rather to study a
philosophy and a system of thinking that
will assist them regardless of their religious
beliefs and training.
The study of Rosicrucianism in many
cases supplants or complements the religious
belief of the individual. It may even add to
that belief because it brings to the thinking
individual respect for those forces that lie
inherent in man and that are manifestations
of the Absolute or of a Supreme Being. But
on the other hand, this does not necessarily
mean that an individual finds in the teach
ings confirmation of his religious beliefs.
The individual who affiliates with the Rosicrucians must be open-minded and must be
desirous of searching for truth regardless of
where it may exist. This will not detract
from religious feeling or religious association.
In fact, truth should make religin even a
more potent forc in anyones life.
It is therefore our recommendation to
members of this organization that they study
and find solace in those forms of religin
that appeal to them. There is no reason
why they should in any respect give up
their religious ideis. At the same time,
they may go beyond some of the manifesta
tions of their religin in the understanding
of mans place in the world.
Religin, insofar as it relates to the study
of mans ability to live uprightly and to re
late himself to God, is a powerful forc, but
many religious organizations are so overshadowed with their procedure and with
their desires to gain certain control in other
fields, such as politics, economics, and sociology, that they deviate from their most important fieldthat is, of developing within
man a sense of respect and humility insofar
as his relationship to God is concerned. Any
thing that fortifies man for his betterment
to better understand himself and the universe
of which he is a partcontributes to his
well-being. Whether he finds these answers
in the field of religin, philosophy, psychol-

Page 128

ogy, or the occult makes little difference.

The intelligent man draws upon all fields
that are available to him and in his own
mind formulates his final belief and inter
pretaron of the Absolute.
Fraternalism, as exemplified in the Rosi
crucian Order, therefore provides true seekers of truth with a channel by which such
truths may be eventually obtained. It con
tributes to proper livingit gives man respect for God and the forces of the universe,
but it need not detract from the fact that
worship and adoration are a means by which
man finds strength and solace in meeting
the problems and vicissitudes of the course
of life.A
Is Church Attendance Necessary?
A frater arises to address our Forum. He
says: There is something that I would like
to get your opinion or conviction on. It is
the matter of church attendance especially
when church attendance conflicts with our
own tenetsreincarnation, and others. It is
quite possible, for example, for one to have
taken church obligations or made confessions
which give him qualms when he goes to
analyzing them later. It makes it even more
difficult when one has made public pronouncements and given his ame thereto as
subscribing to certain religious principies
with which he is not in harmony at a later
time. If his difference of belief is finally
known, then when he attends church he is
looked upon as a deviationist.
Many progressive-minc^ed persons whose
views have changed with their greater maturity of thought are confronted with this
problem. It is exceedingly unfortunate that
in many faiths children or youths are obliged
to take obligations to a religious creed or
dogma, obligations which would, in effect,
appear morally binding upon them. Such
young persons have little experience with
life. They have had no study of comparative
religions, no familiarity with classical philosophies or contemporary ones. They have
had little exposure to the errors of theology
even the ones of the faith to which they
are blindly required to subscribe. In most
instances, their whole association with re
ligious activity or theological creeds has been
in the church to which their parents sent
them. Their conformity, the obligations they

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

assume to it are more in the nature of a

compulsin than of intellectual or spiritual
choice. They think that what they have
done is best because of the counsel of their
elders. But will they be so ready to accept
the doctrines to which they have pledged
themselves when they have matured?
The attitude of parents that, What is good
enough for me is likewise good for my chil
drenis erroneous because it is logically unsound. The idea of God is not universally
interpreted; if it were, there would be a
universal religin. The idea of salvation or
spiritual sanctity is likewise not universally
accepted, so also are not the conceptions of
evil, immortality, and spiritual purification.
Each parent has the right to urge, and it is
their duty to guide, their children toward
moral circumspection and an appreciation of
Cosmic unity and omniscience. It is a fallacy, however, for a parent to assume that
his manner of construing these ends in the
form of certain dogmas or creeds is the only
and infallible one. Such an attitude is more
harmful than beneficial. While the youth
is under parental influence, he may not question or rebel from the compulsin being
applied. However, if the youth in his independent thinking later, as an adult, discovers
that the religin to which he formerly subscribed is no longer satisfying, a conflict
occurs. Such a conflict may have deep emo
tional significance. The young man or woman finds that a choice must be made be
tween personal convictions as to what represents truth to them and, on the other hand,
a violation of a solemn oath taken at an
earlier time.
In most instances the insistence of parents
that children or youths take obligations to
their church or faith, is a selfish one, whether
they admit it or not. It is usually psychologically prompted by the motive of wishing
to bind the young person before he or she
might arrive at a counter opinion. It is the
deliberate intention of putting the son or
daughter under a handicap so that he or
she cannot escape into other channels of
thought. These parents defend their position by saying that they are keeping the
child from straying and protecting its spir
itual welfare. Actually, all this could be
accomplished through religious or moral
training without the binding obligations to a
particular sect. A sect that demands such

JUNE, 1955

obligations is also exhibiting selfish motives

regardless of the traditions and other reasons
it cites.
True religin is not an external compul
sin. It is the result of an internal one, a
moral desire to be part of that which, to ones
conscience, is the good and the true. Any
other influence has no spiritual content and
will only eventually result in moral conflict.
Is the child or young person who is compelled or induced to take such oaths at an
early age justified in abrogating them? Un
der certain conditions, Yes. An obligation
should be taken and maintained only if it
represents the plethora of the personality at
the time. It should represent the individuals
full judgment after due inquiry and should
be sanctioned by conscience as being the
right course of action. If the obligation is
consummated under lesser circumstances
than these, it can be said that the self of the
individual did not actually particpate in the
obligation. We may really say that under
such circumstances there is no binding con
trac t, in either the legal or moral sense.
When one in later life finds that in some
other religin, or in metaphysics, mysticism,
or philosophy, there is a more adequate and
more representative truth, one that is soulsatisfying, he is justified in deviating from
the obligations made under the earlier in
fluences.
Of course, later in departing from earlier
obligations one should not take any steps
that would actually bring injury to others.
Thus, if ones church obligation had included any secret elements, he would be
bound in principie not to divulge them to
others, even if he no longer was attending
its functions. For one to continu to attend
a church because of an obligation made dur
ing a period of immaturity of mind, and to
which pledge he can no longer subscribe in
good faith, constitutes hypocrisy. Such a
state is far more disrespectful and morally
wrong than a quiet departure along new and
more gratifying channels of spiritual study.
When the authorities of the church threaten
to invoke anathema or to imply punishment
in the afterlife for such a departure, one
should then be convinced that it is truly time
for him to make a change. Such acts on the
part of church authorities indcate the wholly
mortal impulse to build or hold together a

Page 129

temporal organization by duress. Such con

duct, in itself, is quite a deviation from a
professed lofty and spiritual motive.X
Can the Psychic Self Be Retarded?
A frater of New York rises to ask our
Forum a question: Can the physical body
do anything to harm or retard the psychic
body or self?
We think of the physical, the corporeal
body, as being distinct from the psychic
self, from the Cosmic Intelligence that re
sides within us. Actually, this dualism is
functional only. There is not a complete
separation of the two, but rather, a parallelism and a mutual dependence upon each
other. Our physical organism is also of Cos
mic origin. Though we term it matter, and
though it is subject to the laws of molecular
structure as is all other matter, it is related
to the whole Cosmic order. Heat, light, electricity, life forc, nerve energyall of these
are correlated in the whole spectrum of Cos
mic phenomena. Each is but manifesting
differently. The body, the physical one, is
a grosser manifestation of the same Cosmic
laws as function through mind and the ego,
which we cali consciousness of the self.
We have explained in our monographs
that there are levels of consciousness. We
have described how consciousness is like a
musical scale with its various octaves. In
each octave we have a realization of a dif
ferent reality, that is, our experiences are
different. The lowest of these octaves is
what we commonly refer to as the objective
consciousness. It is more directly related to
our receptor senses, as, for example, seeing
and hearing. In the higher octaves of con
sciousness, the self, the you, has more direct
contact with the Cosmic Intelligence, which
enters our being with each breath of life.
This Intelligence, by the mechanism of our
being, is implanted in each cell where it performs specific duties. This Intelligence of
the cells, taken collectively, forms a psychic
consciousness having a greater sensitivity
than that of our sense faculties. It is this
exalted united consciousness which we real
ize in our meditations and when in passive
moods, and to which we attribute the term
our psychic body. The psychic body is there
fore not a substance but a more expansive
consciousness. It is more directly in harmony

Page 130

with the whole Cosmic of which it is a part.

We are not dependent for our realization
of it upon our physical mechanism, our body
and its organs. In fact, we cannot perceive
the psychic in the same manner that one
would a material reality.
We see, therefore, that the duality of our
being to which we often refr is functional.
There is a distinction in its expression, but
not in basic kind or essence. The objective
consciousness is bound to the objective senses.
Your realization of the I, the inner self,
is not tied just to your physical functions;
however, both states of consciousness are
part, as we have said, of the one stream
of consciousness. To make this point a little
clearer, we will use the analogy of light and
electricity. They are related phenomena.
For our realization of them, however, they
need separate media, different conditions, in
other words, to manifest to our understanding.
The objective faculties and the subjective
ones of perception, reason, will, and imagina
tion cannot, no matter how we exercise them,
harm the psychic self. They cannot con
tamnate, if you will, the realization of the
higher states of consciousness within us.
Your physical self, in other words, cannot
destroy the psychic body. Even if one were
to take his own life, he has not destroyed the
psychic forc. He has but released it. Just
as matter cannot be destroyed by the changing of its form, so the psychic essence which
impregnates our physical being cannot be
destroyed or harmed by any of our acts. We
can, however, obstruct the functioning of our
psychic body. We can prevent it from hav
ing that freedom of direction which it should
have over the body. When one denies the
impressions of self, the intuitive impulses
which would incline him toward one direc
tion or another, he is then hindering the
expression of the psychic self. He is then retarding the function of his psychic body.
Even if we refuse to be guided by this exalted, immanent Intelligence, and will not
abide by its impressions, we in no way
actually affect its real nature. After all, rejecting an influence is not corrupting its
source.
For further analogy, a sagacious and kind
friend may offer you excellent counsel in
some circumstance. You may completely
refuse to heed his words of advice and

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

proffered assistance; yet, your rejection has

not diminished in the slightest your friends
capacity to think logically, or his ability to
aid others who are more receptive to his
counsel. So too, is the relationship between
our will and reason on the one hand, and
the psychic Intelligence on the other. If
there is any harm accomplished by such a
hostility of attitude toward our psychic im
pressions, it is only to our objective welfare,
our health and peace of mind. Certainly, we
cannot corrupt or contamnate that Intelligence and Cosmic essence which men cali
Soul.
The homely analogy of likening a radio
receiver to our consciousness can appropriately be applied here to make this point more
explicit. Let us liken the consciousness to
the radio tuner. It is sensitive to vibrations
of various wave lengths. We can focus our
consciousness, attuning it, if you will, to a
specific wave length of vibrations. Con
sciousness is continually being bombarded by
impulses. Some are from without, as the
vibrations of heat, light, taste, and scents.
When we tune our consciousness to the
wave lengths which are received by our
ears and eyes, for further example, we are
then said to be wholly objective. When,
however, we tune our consciousness to our
faculty of reason i endeavoring to combine
various impressions into new sensations or
ideas, we are then subjective. But when we
withdraw consciousness from external im
pressions and from our own reasoning processes, and figuratively tum the dial to the
range of higher wave lengths, we then receive the impulses which are being transmitted from the Intelligence of the Cosmic
Mind flowing throughout us.
If we decide to keep tuning our conscious
ness to external impulses, to the world of
matter, we thereby shut out the vibrations
that are being transmitted to us from within
by our psychic intelligence. We are then
willingly depriving ourselves of more magnificent experiences. We limit our life. We
may even be impairing our health and happiness, for after all, the psychic intelligence
seeking to get through to us is always working for the harmony of our whole being and
personality with the Cosmic. If you insist
on retaining an unbalanced state of living,
physically and emotionally, by being principally objective and refusing the other as-

JUNE, 1955

pects of your being, you will eventually

manifest the error of your decisin.
Further, the more one keeps attuned to
the physical aspect of his being, the less becomes his power to respond to the higher
psychic impressions. Figuratively, the con
sciousness gets into a groove. He finds it
difficult to respond to the finer and less vigorous vibrations of the Cosmic. For further
analogy, it is like one whose ears are continually deluged by extremely intense sounds,
as of gun shots or of a pneumatic drill, for
hours each day. Such a person acquires a
kind of tone-deafness. His hearing is impaired, at least temporarily, for all sounds
beyond or below the range of the sounds to
which he is accustomed. So, too, one who
persists in confining his consciousness to the
objective realm becomes handicapped. Even
tually, he may even deny the existence of
the qualities of his psychic selfonly because he is no longer able to discern them.X
Achievement of the Mystical Viewpoint
In retrospect, the mystical experience
gives a meaning to routine living previously
lacking and provides a perspective within
which lifes vales can be better appreciated.
It is, as the mystics who have reported their
experiences have agreed, a means of bringing further enlightenment, of causing the
questions which perplex and irrita te us to
be approachable in a way that gives them
meaning and sense. The mystic may not
as a result of one or a hundred experiences
be able to solve all the problems of his life,
but he gains a perspective that helps toward
better adjustment. He gains a source of
supply, of help and support that he previous
ly did not have. It is through the combina tion of these experiencesthe ability that
the known can be felt and that the difference
between the knower and the known can be
bridged and that consciousness can be one
that inspiration is carried over into the daily
life of the individual.
Plotinus expressed these experiences by
saying, The Supreme is cise at hand, radiant, above the knowable. Here we may put
aside all learning. At this stage, swept up
ward in beauty, suddenly lifted on the crest
of the wave of the spirit, the seeker sees,
never knowing how. The visin floods the
eyes with light, but it shows not some other

Page 131

thingthe light is the visin. Seeing and

seen are one. Object and act of visin are
identical. No memory remains of past see
ing. Before, the consciousness had known.
Now all knowing is drowned in the surge
of love, in the intoxication of rapture. In
this raptness lies profoundest happiness.

Again, we have analyzed the expression

of a mystic that has been parallel to similar
experiences in the lives of all those indi
viduis who have attained a degree of mys
tical insight. I direct the attention of those
who would question the validity of mystical
experience to the consideration that this consistency, these principies which seem to be
fundamental to the lives of those individuis
who have entered into and participated in
mystical experience, could not be accidental
or by mere coincidence so systematically the
same fundamental experience, had the re
ports by the mystics been the ravings or
imaginings of disordered minds.

On the contrary, the mystics are complete

personalities. The individuis who have stood
out as the greatest of mystics in human his
tory are those who conducted their lives
with not less than normal efficiency and
many even excelled it. They were thus very
specifically distinguished from mere visionaries who had ideas that were never worth
while to be put into practical application.
Many mystics have been leaders of men,
leaders of countries, leaders of religions, of
philosophies; many individuis whose ames
are recorded with the greatest respect in the
pages of history are those who drew upon
the mystical experience and thereby upon
sources other than themselves by which to
gain the abilities and leadership which they
exemplified.
To emulate the great mystics is our privilege. It is a privilege and in a sense a
duty because, through the mdium of mys
ticism, man can reach his proper position in
the Cosmic scheme. Mysticism can become
human experience insofar as we as indi
viduis participate in it and prepare our
selves for that way of life. Men can deliberately cultvate a way of life which will
increase the number of mystical experiences
and the validity of knowledge that comes
from these experiences and at the same time
enlarge the range and the content of the
revelation that comes through this process.
This is the procedure by which man can

Page 132

correct his position in relation to his environment and by which he can properly rearrange the experiences of life and the things
with which he must deal so that experience
has meaning.
There are of course requirements. There
is nothing that can be attained without paying a price. We cannot, as I stated earlier,
find a compromise between materialism and
idealism; the stand must be taken one way
or the other and to emphasize one means
to give us the other. A requirement for the
mystic life is a nonattachment to the ordinary goods of life. This does not mean a
complete disregard of the physical world.
An individual does not have to become an
ascetic, but he has to develop a proper evaluation of vales. He must be able to analyze,
as he lives within the environment of which
he is a part, which of those things can be
utilized for worth-while constructive purposes
and those which must take secondary place.
This concept is a matter of analysis, a mat
ter of drawing upon the experiences of those
who have reported their mystical experiences
to us and of drawing upon our own experi
ence and using it constructively.
The process of mystical achievement is not
all negative; that is, it is not merely the
giving up of worldly possessions and worldly
experience that will bring about the mystical
state of mind. A person can become a dreamer and accomplish nothing. There is a positive phase to the attainment of the mystic
way of life. This positive side is the practice
of certain exercises that produce efficiency
in concentration, meditation, and contemplation. These exercises make it possible for
the individual to enter into those experiences
which precede the mystical revelation. With
out that procedure, nothing is gained.
In Rosicrucianism, which is a well-rounded
philosophy directing the individual toward
the mystical life, there are step-by-step
methods by which we are taught to utilize
these exercises of the mind and of the body
which tend to create conditions conducive
to psychic development. Such exercises build
up within us the ability to be receptive to
those impressions which come essentially
through the mystical experience itself. There
fore, we are constantly developing insofar
as we are attempting to apply and become
perfect in the performance of these simple
exercises and experiments. These exercises

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

produce efficiency in being prepared to recognize the valid mystical experience when
it takes place. If, on the other hand, we
direct our effort toward always grasping for
some material thing, we will never raise our
consciousness above the level of the thing
for which we seek, the thing toward which
we reach our hand to grasp.
A persons ideis can never be higher than
his aims. The aim, if limited in scope, will
produce ideas that are limited in scope. The
unlimited aim, the desire to experience this
oneness with the consciousness with which
we can enter into an intmate relationship
with this unity is the experience which will
bring about a dedication to vales which
have more reality and more effectiveness
within our day-to-day lives than anything
of a material nature which we can possess.
Through directing our attention toward
the mystical experience, we can find our
inspiration and direct our aim toward the
same accomplishment. It is constantly a
process of exercise within our own con
sciousness and our looking upward toward
those aims that are higher than that which
we have already achieved. We must aspire
toward perfection if we expect to utilize the
message which experience can convey. The
mystical process, let me repeat, is a dynamic
process. It is the filling of life, the filling of
consciousness with a purpose and with an
aim that can become an actual expression
within our selves. It is something that we
cultivate and build up to be the most im
portant in our lives; it is the ultimate of
the breadth of human conception because
mysticism is fundamentally no more or less
than a ame applied to the process by which
we relate ourselves to God.
Whichever way we want to go, the choice
is ours. True, we are handicapped by certain
limitations of our strength, our bodies, our
environment, but man can rise above all of
them. Most of us do not do thismost of
us do not have motivation sufficient to drive
us to forsaking those things which impede
the progress which we hope to attain. We
should, however, acknowledge the progress
we have made. The fact that your mind
meets in this reading other people who have
decided to direct their attention toward
evolvement is a step which the materialist
has not yet taken. You have at least given
word support to the principie that there are

JUNE, 1955

vales greater than those which are immediately accessible within your physical
environment.
Whether we all become proficient in the
mystical process is still a choice of our own;
it is a choice which we can make if we want
to pay the price. The end of all ends, the
ecstasy of living, Plotinus said, is the mys
tical experience of the soul. He that has the
strength, let him arise and draw unto him
self, foregoing all that is known by the eyes,
turning away forever from the mortal beauty that once made his joy. All our labor is
for this, lest we be left without part in the
noblest experience, which to fail of is to fail
utterly.-A
This Issues Personality
A combination of circumstances destined
Frater Albin Roimer, F.R.C., for a prominent Rosicrucian role. His mission, it would
appear, was to serve AMORC in an inter
na tional capacity. Frater Roimer, a native
of Sweden, received his early education in a
missionary school. After subsequent educa
tion, he became a medical gymnast. In that
capacity he was greatly interested in various
phases of therapeutics or healing. This
brought him to inquire into the motives of
persons and the effects of them upon their
lives, emotionally and otherwise. His investigation into the various concepts held by
persons about their function in life led him
to a study of occultism and mysticism.
In the year 1939 he affiliated with the
Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, in Sweden. The
Grand Lodge of that Jurisdiction at the time
was located at Malmo. The teachings found
immediate response within him and he diligently and enthusiastically applied himself
to them. In 1948, he and his wife, Alice,
also a member of AMORC, journeyed to
Rosicrucian Park to attend a term of RoseCroix University and the International Convention. Hoping to be of assistance to the
Swedish Grand Lodge of AMORC, he availed
himself of the opportunity while in San Jos
to study the Orders methods of operation in
America. It was providential that he did,
for shortly thereafter, the transition of Frater
Antn Svanlund, beloved Grand Master of
Sweden, occurred. Frater Roimer was recommended for the office of Grand Master;

Page 133

his recommendation was approved by the

Imperator and he was duly installed.
During the subsequent years, Frater
Roimer, with the aid of his loyal wife and
with considerable effort and personal sacrifice, rehabilitated the Rosicrucian Order in
Sweden. He introduced many innovations,
the result of his study in Rosicrucian Park.
The first Convention under his direction in
Sweden was attended by the Imperator,
Frater Ralph M. Lewis, and other dignitaries
of the Order in Europe.
With the recent transition of Soror Jeanne
Guesdon, Grand Master of AMORC of
France, Frater Roimer was once again required to assume great responsibility. Meeting in France last April with the Imperator
and with Frater John La Buschagne, direc
tor of the AMORC administrad ve office in
London, England, it was decided that he
should succeed Soror Guesdon. Consequently,
Frater Albin Roimer is now also Grand
Secretary of AMORC of France. From the
Grand Lodge offices in France, he directs the
combined Jurisdictions of Sweden and
France. His most proficient wife and a
capable administrative staff assist him. His
authority was conferred upon him in France
by the Imperator.
Frater Roimer is vigorous, determined, and
practical. He functions at all times in accord with his high idealism. He is another
excellent representative of the Rosicrucian
teachings in practice.X
The Domain of Destiny
We are proud to announce the completion
of a new traveloguein both color and sound
through Rosicrucian Park. In a very ex
cellent manner, this film takes one through
the Supreme Temple, the administra tion of
fices, the museums of AMORC, and to lab
oratories and libraries. Your visual tour is
quite comprehensive in enabling you to see
several of the offices and personalities of the
Supreme and Grand Lodge. The photography
also portrays the magnificent spacious lawns,
shrubs and flowers, of Rosicrucian Park. The
film is a modera and completely new versin
of a much earlier film of the same title.
Domain of Destiny, as the film is titled, is
exceedingly interesting and instructive to
Rosicrucians, as well as to their friends and
the general public. It is 16 mm. in size.

Page 134

Lodges and chapters are invited to write to

the Technical Department of AMORC to
schedule this film for local showing.
Obviously, the film has, as well, excellent
propaganda valu and should be shown at
public gatherings. It has been exhibited with
success before civic groups, service clubs,
womens organizations, and various fraternities. If you, as an individual member, can
make arrangements for the exhibition of this
film before any group of fifty or more per
sons, it will be provided free of charge. Cer
tain guarantees, of course, must be made in
addition to the necessary anticipated attendance. We must be assured that the film
will be shown by an experienced projectionist
who will take every precaution against damage. A film of this kind is expensive. Neglect
may permit it to be badly scratched requiring replacement with a new print at a cost
of several hundred dollars.
Since Domain of Destiny is likewise good
entertainment, make arrangements to have
it shown at some event of an organization,
club, or society with which you may have
connections. As we have only a limited
number of prints of this film and these are
in constant circulation, the Technical De
partment must have advance notice of approximately sixty days to fill your requirements. The film will be shipped to you with
out cost of any kind. The receiver, however,
will assume the expense of its proper return
to the Technical Department of AMORC.
There are other films of AMORC for
similar purposes. If you are not familiar
with them, write to the Technical Depart
ment for full information. Most of these
films are also in color and sound and 16 mm.
in size. A new film in black and white and
sound, dealing with the ruins of the ancient
Inca Empire, is now in the process of production. It was filmed in the interior of
Per, high in the Andes Mountains and re
veis the culture of these mysterious and fas
cina ting peoples. It is not expected to be
available for release until the first of next
year, so this announcement is made considerably in advance.
These sound films, and color slides as
well, accompanied by taped discourses on a
variety of subjects, are part of the function
of the Rosicrucian Technical Department.
Our Sound-Recording department is kept
busy producing various tapes of recordings

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

of discourses by the officers of the Order.

This department also produces dramatic
travelogue narrations and audio instructions
of various kinds. Most of these sound tapes
are available only to Rosicrucian member
bodies, however,such as lodges and chap
ters. All of these functions are part of the
membership service facilities of the Order
and its promotional activities. This material
has a world-wide circulation, some of it be
ing presented in several languages.X
Applying Law of the Triangle
A soror now asks the Forum, Can you
give us some examples orwillustrations of the
application of the Law of the Triangle in
daily life?
The Law of the Triangle as explained in
the monographs concerns the Law of Opposites or contrares and their unification
from which occurs manifestation. It is as
well a law of development by which a har
monious relationship is made manifest. As
Hegel, the philosopher, pointed out, we have
first thesis, then antithesis, and finally in the
relationship of the two we have synthesis.
Much of the phenomena of the Law of the
Triangle is psychological in its origin. It
has to do with the conditioning of our minds
and with the limitations of our sense categories. What we perceive to have a positive,
a definite nature, we also imagine to have
an opposite or negative state. This negative
may be nothing more than the complete
absence of the positive quality.
For analogy, nothing is the conception of
the absence of something. We first must
have knowledge of some thing before we
can conceive of a state wherein that thing
or any other does not exist. We cannot con
ceive at first of nothing, for that has no
existence, and we would not know it was
nothing until we had previously experienced
something. Thus we can understand that
the conception of positive and negative reali
ties includes their imposing limitations upon
each other. These qualifying conditions
create, to our consciousness at least, a third
state or condition which embodies the other
two.
In any enterprise that we are undertaking there must be more than two elements
taken into consideration. We are the moving
element, the active one. The next element

JUNE, 1955

is the person or condition to be acted upon,

which is relatively the passive one. The re
sult of our action, the effect that follows
from it, is the third element, or third point
of the triangle. This third point must be
analyzed, given as much thought in advance
as are the other two points of the triangle.
Much personal failure in enterprises, even
in personal projects in our daily lives, is
due to a lack of consideration of this third
point of the triangle. The individual per
haps just plunges in. He proceeds to act
upon the second person or condition. He
may have an objective in mind which is to
a degree the third point of the triangle.
However, the Law of the Triangle necessitates that one realize that an end is not just
the result of number one acting upon number
two. Two also in a less positive manner
exerts an effect upon number one. The orig
inal action exerted by number one is conse
quently to a great extent altered or mitigated
by its contact with number two.
When, for analogy, a person fires a projectile at an object to estmate the effect it
will have, he must first have knowledge of
the object fired upon. It must be determined
what resistance the object will offer to the
velocity of the projectile, or otherwise the
anticipated result, the point three of the
triangle, will be a failure.
In seeking to attain certain results or bjectives, individuis will sometimes in their
planning by-pass point two of the triangle.
They and their plans are point number one.
The end which they hope to attain is point
number three of the triangle. In their en
thusiasm, they admbrate the importance
of, or completely overlook, the intermedate
point two. As a result, they do not succeed.
Number one cannot act by itself. There
must be two causes for every effectone the
active and the other the relatively passive.
If one, for further analogy, wishes to at
tain success in a material way in life, to
enjoy prosperity, we shall say, and the luxuries and physical comforts it affords, he
must consider in advance point number two
of the triangle. There is first the individual
with his ambition and initiative. There is
then the objective as the point number three,
the desired end of wealth or prosperity. How
is point one to be bridged over to point three?
Before point three can be realized, the in
dividual must have some intellectual quality,

Page 135

profession, skill or trade which he can sell

as point two. It is only in doing something,
in acting upon, evolving, and developing
something that there can arise out of such
the third condition of success.
We have in this Forum in the past defined
success as the satisfactory culmination of
an enterprise. Unless you take part in some
enterprise, render a service, or make a commodity, you cannot possibly know success.
It must be realized that success is not tangi
ble. It is not a thing in itself, but rather
a state or condition arising out of two other
elementsone the moving and the other
the passive.
In applying the Law of the Triangle to
daily life, the formula is to determine in
advance as much as is possible the relation
ship of the three points of the triangle. It is
readily admitted that sometimes either the
second or the third point may be x, the unknown quantity: for example, the young
man or young woman who desires to be at
the top in the business world. The question
is, the top of what business? They should
not concern themselves at first with an ultimate end, but rather with the intermedate
step. What activity should they indulge in?
What vocation or profession should they
prepare for? What education, training, or
experience is first needed? A concentration
on one of these things plus hard work, initi
ative, and the application of intelligence will
help bring into being point threesuccess.
The same Law of the Triangle may be
applied to marriage. What is the emperament of each of the parties who are to enter
into matrimony? A consideration of their
potentialities, their character, moral sense,
education, and initiative should be consid
ered if the third condition, a happy marriage,
is to be eventually realized. If this is not
done, if one or the other does not reveal
his potentialities, the unity of the two opposites may produce a third condition, a
marriage state that is not compatible.X
Are There Guardian Angels?
A soror rises now to address our Forum.
She says: Are there really guardian angels,
protective, divine beings who concern them
selves with the welfare of human mortals?
We know that the Bible and theological
works, directly and indirectly, imply such

Page 136

entities. Further, are such beings associated

with a concern for human kind, a concern
also attributed to Cosmic Masters? What is
the origin of the belief in divine spirits and
angels?
The concept of benevolent forces and en
tities, as wholly or semisupernatural beings,
does not have its origin in the Christian Bible
or in the Od Testament. A study of the
culture and the magico-religious beliefs of
the Aryans, and of the peoples of ancient
Babylon and Egypt, shows that they, too,
had such notions. Also, an examina tion of
the religious ideas of primitive peoples of
our times who have no knowledge of Biblical
literature, or, in fact, of the ideas of the
ancients, disclose notions of protective gods
or entities.
The idea of demons and spirits is associ
ated with thaumaturgy and the earliest form
of religin, known as animism. The latter
belief is the concept that all things, both
animate and inanimate, are alive. The life
within the object may be possessed of a willful intelligence, constituting a thinking, designing entity. There is then conceived to be
a parallelism between the intelligence of the
object and man. In other words, the entity
thought to be embodied within the object,
whether it be stone or tree, is motivated by
the same emotions and ends as man. Thus,
the object may hate, love, fear, experience
suffering or pleasure. It would likewise re
talate for an injury or an effrontery as
would mortals. Consequently, mans relation to these objects caused him to imagine
the kind of thought and will that each displayed. If, for example, a boulder was dislodged on a slope of a mountain and, rolling
down, nearly or actually did strike a passing
person, the action was presumed to be teleological, that is, an intentional cause. Such
an act was considered malevolent; the
boulder, in other words, was thought to possess a demon, an entity, whose whole func
tion was to per form evil acts.
Conversely, natural phenomena or objects
whose functions are beneficial to man, were
attributed to the kind intentions of a be
nevolent spirit. From these concepts arse
the magico-religious practices, on the one
hand, of invoking the powers of these spirits
to work in behalf of mankind, or, on the
other, of conducting rites and ceremonies to
appease the gods or spirits by the proffering

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

of gifts. Students of comparative religin

and anthropology can discern the develop
ment of the idea of angels, devils, and de
mons from these primitive concepts. A
certain mythology was constructed around
the tales; these were eventually ensconced
in the hagiography, that is, the sacred writings of various sects, to become venerated
even to our day.
There are persons who resent any assumption that the dogma of their religious sect has
a relationship to any earlier or primitive
notions of man. Each religious devotee
and the Christian is more often not an exceptionwould like to think that the doc
trines of his faith are pristine. He makes
very little study of his own theology, or he
would know that much of its dogma and of
the living religions are syncretic; they have
been borrowed from each other and from
religions which, to the average man, are
almost unknown. Any student of history,
philosophy, and comparative religin knows,
too, that most of the doctrines incorpora ted
in the beliefs of the denominations of Christianity have parallel concepts in religions
antedating themsometimes by centuries.
Blind faith adds very little to our spiritual
unfoldment. It often compels one to hate
truth so as to preserve the erroneous conviction that what one believes is original and
inspired.
It is interesting to note the various and
often conflicting theories of the Christian
fathers on the origin, nature, and function
of angelic beings. It became necessary for
the apologists, those early theologians who
sought to defend the claims of Christianity,
to explain the kind of beings that sacred
literature referred to as angels. Further, there
was the dangerous inclination toward the
establishment of a cult of angels; men were
inclined to direct their worship to them instead of to the members of the Holy Trinity.
The belief in angels also offered excellent
grounds for the superstitious notions and
practices that men inherited. To discourage
this trend, the early fathers found it desirable to explicitly define the qualities of an
gels and their proper relations to mankind.
We shall first consider the theories advanced for the creation of the angelic beings.
Chrysostom, Greek Christian theologian, re
lates that angels were possessed of an incorporeal nature; their substance, it was said,

JUNE, 1955

was not of matter. He further relates that

angels are less liable to sin than man,
but they are not incapable of it. Ambrose
and Jerome, Latin church fathers, were of
the opinion that angels were created before
the material world carne into existence. They,
too, held that angels were beings without
physical bodies. Saint Augustine contended
that angels are spirits of an incorporeal
substance. He further affirmed that they
are invisible, sensible, rational, and intelli
gent immortals; they were created directly
from out of the Holy Spirit and thus were
th true sons of God. The noted Thomas
Aquinas, in his Tractatus de Angelis relates:
Angels are altogether incorporeal, not com
posed of matter and form; (they) exceed
corporeal beings in number, just as they ex
ceed them in perfection; differ in species
since they differ in rank, and are incorrup
tible because they are immaterial.
From the foregoing, the creation of angels,
according to the theological theories, is from
the Holy Spirit, or directly out of the nature
of God. They have a substance or being
that is not of a corporeal, or material nature.
The further assumption being that since they
are not composed of material substance, they
cannot be corrupted at all or, at least, are
less susceptible to evil influences.
The theory of angelic function, according
to these Christian authorities, is likewise interesting, though conflicting. Origen, early
Christian writer, informs us that angels are
the ministers of God. Their purpose is to
aid in promoting the salvation of man. In
fact, according to Clement of Rome, whole
hosts of Gods angels stand by ministering
to His will. There is also an obscure ref
erence to the effect that to some of them
He gave also to rule over the ordering of the
earth, and he charged them to rule well.
Justin defines the functions of angels as
beings who are commanded by God to care
for men and all things under heaven. From
Justins versin we gain the notion about
angels as being assigned in a supervisory
capacity over the various functions of nature,
including mankind, to see that Divine will
is obeyed. Justin also accounts for evil as
being the transgression of angels. These are
angels who had transgressed the Divine appointment, and by sinful intercourse with
women produced offspring who are demons.
These demons, says Justin, subdued the hu

Page 137

man race and sowed seeds of wickedness. It

is interesting to note that all angels are,
therefore, not good. There are those who fail
from high grace, actually committing sins
and becoming tempters. Sometimes, accord
ing to the versin of Justin, these are referred to as demons; others retain their
designation as angels notwithstanding their
perverse conduct.
Athenagoras, another Greek writer on
theology, defines the function of angels:
. . . to direct the providence of God over
those things ordered and created by Him.
Thus, we have God as the principal executive, and the angels as his subalterns. Origen
also refers to the angels of the Church as
the latters invisible bishops. The angels,
as we understand Origen, are to intercede for
man, to present the prayers of the faithful.
However, he admonishes mankind that these
angelic beings should not, in themselves, be
worshipped. Their powers should not be
invoked; there should be no cult of angels.
Tertullian, noted Latin father, relates that
angels look down upon mankind from heav
en, their principal function being to record
the sins of Christians. The angels, Tertul
lian further tells us, are corrupted by their
own free will. They are not corrupted by
any external compulsin but rather because
they intentionally deviate from the course
of divine purposeas theology relates it,
they have fallen from high estte. From
such fallen angels, Tertullian contines, have
sprung a race of demons. It is these demonic
beings who are said to inflict on mankind
all of the evils man experiences, such as
diseases and disasters. A further act of de
mons, according to this same authority, is
the deluding of men, causing them to prac
tice idolatry.
Saint Augustine postulates that the func
tion, the duty, of good angels is to announce
to men the will of God, offer to Him our
prayers, to watch over us, to love and help
us. These angels are said to form the heavenly city of God and to minister alike to
Christ and to the church fathers.
The great mystical writer who influenced
Christian theology considerably is Dionysius,
the Areopagite (A.D. 500). Considerable ref
erence is made to Dionysius concepts in the
Rosicrucian monographs. He wrote of a
celestial hierarchy. This consists of three
orders, each order being further subdivided

Page 138

into three, or a triad. The first order was

the highest, the one next to God. The lowest
was nearest mankind. If we think of these
orders as being like steps with the Deity at
the top and mankind at the bottom, we gain
a better picture of this hierarchal idea. Each
of these orders was composed of angelic be
ings arranged in ranks, those closest to God
having greater illumination than the rank
or order nearest below.
These orders constituted a spiritual hierarchy or graduated scale of divine beings.
The members of each triad or order of three
were equal to each other. The power of
God emanated downward through these
beings to mankind. Further, men were encouraged to climb upward, to return to spir
itual perfection by ascending through these
orders to the consciousness of God. This con
cept of Dionysius was perhaps influenced by
the earlier Neoplatonic doctrine of emanations, which taught that a radiation from the
perfect One descended to matter, the emanations or radiations becoming less perfect as
they descended and became more distant from
their Divine source. The notion is perhaps
also derived from the similar and earlier
Gnostic concept of aeons.
Thomas Aquinas, on the subject of the
function of angels, relates that they cannot
be localized; neither can they be in more
than one place at the same time. He explains that angels are not pur thought because a created, active being having a substance is different from the reality of pur
mind itself. This assumes that angels though
not having a corporeal substance, do have a
nature which distinguishes them from a
merely isolated mind, or just thought itself.
Thomas Aquinas also says of angels that
They have a far greater knowledge of God
than man. They also have a limited knowl
edge of future events. They have will, but
it manifests only in one directionGood.
They are devoid of passion. This, we see,
contradicts the view of other Christian
theologians that angels may deviate from
divine purpose by the exercise of their will
in the direction of evil.
In general, the function of angels from the
preceding comments of the theologians, would
appear to be the ministering unto the will
of God, or Supreme Being. They have the
performance of certain duties in the direction

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

of natural phenomena and the spiritual af*fairs of men.

In the realm of angelic guardianship of
men, collectively and particularly, the Chris
tian authorities have much to sayand again
their views conflict. Hermas, one of the
apostolic fathers, taught the doctrine of
guardian angels. He proclaimed that each
man has two angelsone of righteousness,
and the other of wickedness. Here again,
we find the idea that all angels are not
committed to acts of goodness. The good
works are inspired by angels of righteous
nessEvil works by angels of wickedness.
Origen assigns to each nation its guardian
ngel. However, it is related that God re
serves Israel for His own inheritance.
Origen, too, contends that each individual
has his guardian ngel to whom is entrusted the soul of the believer. This guard
ian ngel is presumed to protect the individ
ual from the power of the devil. The guardian
ngel is apparently not infallible because
Origen admonishes us that if it fails, the soul
comes under the influence of an evil one.
Basil, the Greek father, is of the opinion that
the guardian ngel is drawn away by sin as
smoke drives away bees . . . Though Augustine has angels watching over mankind in
the collective sense and being concerned
with the care of nations, he does not assign
a guardian ngel to each individual.
We must not overlook the psychological
factor in mans wanting a guardian ngel,
or its equivalent. Each individual at some
time in his life, becomes cognizant of the
limits of his own capabilities. It is thus
gratifying and inculcates a sense of security
to believe that one is under the aegis, the
protective influence, of some transcendental
power. It is the same sense of security that
a child has in the belief that in the event
of misfortune his parents are omnipotent,
and will somehow extricate him from the
situation. It is this realization of lack of
self-sufficiency and confidence that causes
men to want to believe that they are individually guided and protected. Men resort
to all sorts of means to invoke these tran
scendental personal powers. In fact, this very
belief in individual guardian angels resulted
in the cult of angels to which we have referred, and this began to rival the power
of the Church hierarchy. It is likewise for
this reason, as we have shown, that some

JUNE, 1955

of the early fathers in alarm declared against

believers invoking angels or praying to them.
From the mystical conception, no intermediary, as an ngel, or a personal Master,
is truly needed. Mysticism advocates an in
tmate and immediate consciousness of the
Divine Presence or the Cosmic Mind. This
attainment of knowledge of the Cosmic is
accomplished through ones own self. The
premise of mysticism is not to seek intercession by external beings, but rather, to
achieve individual attunement directly with
the Divine or Cosmic Mind. Pur mysticism
is in opposition in this respect to orthodox
theology and church dogma, as the latter
in the main depends upon certain external
factors for mans communion with God.
Mysticism takes the position that man may
personally bridge the gap between his mortal
consciousness and spiritual attainment. This
bridge requires tHe awakening of the inner
light, a Dawn of Illumination. To the mystic, all liturgy and creed are thought to be
incidental, merely an aid by which the in
dividual attains the personal knowledge of
God.X
What Is Self-Consciousness?
A frater now directs a question to our
Forum. What causes a person to change
from unconsciousness to self-consciousness?
One minute the mind can be asleep or unconscious, and the next it may awake and
be self-conscious. Does the subconsciousness
speed up the activity of ones brain, causing
one to have self-awareness? According to my
understanding of what I have read, one has
to be using his sight, hearing, and feeling
to be self-conscious. But if I shut my eyes,
plug my ears and lie very quiet, I can still
be completely self-conscious.
The common definition of self-consciousness is an awareness of self. This, how
ever, needs further qualification. One must
need ask: And what is the self of which one
is aware? To attempt to answer that ques
tion thoroughly now would be impossible because it is a complex subject. However, upon
first blush, we mean by self the ego, the I, as
distinguished from all other reality. This self,
as we note, has various categories. For ex
ample, if I perceive my arms and my legs
and if I touch my physical person, I say
that these sensations constitute my self. How

Page 139

ever, these impressions, especially the visual

ones, are not thoroughly convincing. I could
be seated in such a position that a foot near
meeven clothed in a similar shoemight
appear to be mine. Only, when I want to
move might I find that it was anothers foot
protruding and not mine. Self, then, is not
our objective, external appearance. As the
frater has related, if I block out the sensible
impressions, those of my receptor senses, I
will still continu to have the realization of
self. I will continu to exist to myself. What
then causes that consciousness of our own
being? Of what does it consist?
We can never fail to have a realization
of some sensation when we are either in
an objective or a subjective state. For anal
ogy, even when we seek to block out our
peripheral sense impressionsthat is, when
a blindfold covers our eyes, and our ears and
nose are plugged,we are yet conscious of
certain internal stimuli. We may sense internal pressure or feel the rhythmic pulsation
of the heart or of our breathing. In this,
there is a distinction of which we are aware.
We realize that apart from such impressions,
the feelings of our own organs, there also
exists Will. We sense that we have the func
tion of volition, the ability to choose, to
arbitrarily change from one set of impres
sions to the focusing of attention on another.
In other words, there is a consciousness of
consciousness. There is the realization of
intelligence, and the realization that we can
set aside in mind, a group of stimuli apart
from the very consciousness itself which experiences them.
The whole faculty of consciousness itself
is realized when we are either objective or
subjective. More simply stated, the knower
and that which is known are both known to
the same consciousness. Let us use the anal
ogy of a mirror to make this statement more
comprehensible. When we gaze into a mirror
we see not only our own face, but we also
see the mirror itself. So too, with conscious
ness, or the sensibility of the life forc within
us, it reflects as sensations, as images, the
impulses that register upon it. Likewise, it
registers the subtle vibrations of its own inherent nature. All other things realized have
qualities, characteristics, if you will, which
are related to our senses, such as hard, coid,
fragrant, loud, and large. The notion of
self, on the other hand, has no such specific

Page 140

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

quality. It is realized only as the power of

discernment and of volition. As Descartes so
succinctly expressed it: I think, therefore
I am. Mechanically described, we may say
that consciousness in man has such a complexity as to be able to record itself.
When we are unconscious, as under the
influence of an anesthetic, we do not have
this realization of self. The mechanism of
the mind by which consciousness is realized
is not functioning. The function of certain
areas of brain have been arrested by the
anesthetic, and consequently the impressions
of self do not register any more than do
visual or auditory vibrations of the external
world. This must not be construed to mean
that the essence of self, its basic nature, is
confined to, or limited by the organ of brain.
Consciousness of which self consists contines
to exist even in the anesthetized person, that
is, that sensitivity which makes conscious
ness possible. However, certain functions of
self are retarded and suppressed as the result
of the anesthetic. The subconscious activity
is continued. The intelligence, for further
example, contines to direct the functions of
the cells. The life forc in the anesthetized
person is resident, but it cannot reflect itself
in that manner which we discern as selfawareness. For further analogy, when one
breaks a mirror in which an object has been
reflected, the image is gone. Or, if he covers the mirror, the image is likewise gone.
Most assuredly, however, we would not take
the position that the object had also disappeared. We know that we would only need
to uncover or to replace the mirror, and the
image, the reflection, would again be visible.
The self can and does realize itself, that
is, have existence on other levels of conscious
ness than the objective and the subjective.
V

femem&en

These other levels are of the subconscious.

They lie behind the borders of the objective
and the subjective. The things which we do
or experience objectively may at times reach
through, go beyond the borders of that state
of consciousness, and have an effect upon
other levels of the subconscious, influencing
the other aspects of self. We may not be
aware of their subtle impact upon these
other aspects of self. Emotional disturbances
are examples of those conditions which may
affect the deeper self. Eventually, these as
pects may return in the form of strange
stimuli or sensations to the objective self.
On some occasions we may have peculiar
anxieties, fears, or notions that we cannot
directly connect with any experience. It is
because these have returned to us from a
deeper subconscious level. The latent im
pressions of self, when they again enter the
objective, associate ideas with them which,
in fact, may have no true relationship to
their origin. They may be symbolic only
of what originally disturbed this conscious
ness of the consciousness, or the nature of self.
Whenever the brain is functioning in such
manner that there are manifested those
mental states of the objective or the subjec
tive, there will then be had, as well, the
consciousness of self. Under such conditions,
consciousness of self is almost inescapable.
In deep concentration, the faculty of atten
tion being focused upon some problem, one
may not momentarily be aware of selfwith
this experience we are all familiar. It is
because the stimuli of the ideas concentrated
upon are more intense than is our realization
of our consciousness, that is, of the self.
Whenever the intensity of the concentration
lessens slightly, then this awareness of self
is again sensed.X
A

fluty O tkiouy J5, 9 5 5

JUNE, 195S

Page 141

INDEX OF VOLUME XXV (Comprising the entire Six Issues of the 25th Year)

NOTEThe small letters after the page numbers refer to positon 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

About the Masters, 10-13

Abstraction: 29b
James-Lang theory, 29c
Cannon theory, 29c
Metaphysical, 38c
Achievement of the Mystical Viewpoint, 131-133
Affiliation with other organizations, 45b-47a
Ages:
Piscean, 39a
Aquarian, 38d-41a
Effect upon man, earth, 40b, c, d, 41a
Ambrose (on angels), 137a
Appraisal of self, 16b-d, 17
AMORC: 8a, c, d, 11c, 46c, d, 62b-d, 78a-81a
Cultural activities, 79c-d
Dues, 80a
Facts about, 78-81, 127c
Lectures by officers, 80b
Nonprofit, 79a
Officers of, 75b-76c, 77a
Projects (future), 79d, 80d-81a
Revenue sources, 79b
Technical Department, 79d, 134b
Angelic function, 137b-d, 138b-d
Angels? Are There Guardian, 135-139
Angels, mystical concept of, 139a
Animism, 136a, b
Applying Law of the Triangle, 134-135
Aquarian Age? What is the, 38-41
Are Projected Personalities Masters? 101-103
Are There Guardian Angels? 135-139
Art Gallery, 8b, 51 d, 79c
Astrology, 39a, 40b, 58b, 91 d, 92a, b
Athenagoras, 137c
Attunement:
With Cathedral, 43d
Prayer for, 44a
Automation, 98-99
Avatars, 85b, c, d
B

Bacon, Francis, 61c

And magnetic healing, 82c
Balance, 17a, 23b, 32c, 66d
Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem, 114d
Ballantyne, Dr. J. W.
Antenatal clinics, 66b
Basil, 138c
Bequests Help, Your, 7-8
Better Business Bureau, 9d
Bigness, Prejudice Against, 111-113
Body, The Soul Slects Its, 13-15
Books:
Comic, 18c
Mansions of the Soul, 52b
Semioccult fiction, lid
Bossard, Dr. Gisbert L., 98, 110
Breathing Harmful? Is Deep, 103-106
Breathing: Hind practice of, 104b-105b
Related to soul, 103-104
Science of, 105a

Can Projection be Wrongly Used? 55-58

Can the Psychic Self Be Retarded? 129-131
Cathedral, Contacting the, 43-45

Causality, 7a
Causes of War, 50-52
Celestial hierarchy, 137d-138a
Chamberlain, William Henry, 109d
Chance, 58b, 59a-c
Charity, 35d-36a, 37a, b
Child Culture Institute, 66b
Child, Influencing the Unborn, 63-66
Choice of Incarnation, 32-35
Christian apologists, 136d
Christianity and angels, 135-139
Chrysostom, 136d
Church Attendance Necessary? Is, 128-129
Clement, 137b
Congenital deformities, 122a, b, 123a
Conscience: 9a, 10a, 20d, 77b, 78a
Guardian of the Threshold, 57a
Consciousness: 125d, 130c-d, 139d, 140d
Cell, 104a
Cosmic, 18b, 32c
Divine, 18b, 30b
Levels of, 42b, 44d, 129d, 140b, c
Planes of, lOd, 71c
Self-consciousness, 15c, d, 17a
State of realization, 44b-c
Universal, 55c, 118b
Consent Make Right? Does Common, 77-78
Contacting the Cathedral, 43-45
Contemplation: 17c, d
Capacity for, 110a
Convocation, first Temple in Holland, 6a
Coops, Jan, Grand Master of the Netherlands, 2, 5
Correspondence, principie of, 91c, d, 92c
Cosmic: 38d
And projection, 56-57, 102d
Attunement with, 43a-45a
Consciousness, 18b, 44d, 55c, 71a, c
Doctrine of compensation, 58c
Intelligence, 14b, 30a, 139a
Intuition, 61 d
Justice, 78b-c
Laws, 45b, 122d
Soul cycle, 42d
Cosmic Visualization, 93-94
Council of Solace, 8b
Creating, mental, 93c
Crookes, Sir William, 29b
(vacuum tube)
Crusades, 113-116
Cures, Nature, 66-67

D
Dead, Prayer For The, 118-119
Dean, Charles Dana:
Quote from, 43c
Death Advisable? Is Painless, 122-124
Demons, 137b, c, d
Depth of Memory, The, 67-69
Dignity, Human, 35-37
Dionysius, the Areopagite, 137d-138a
Diplomacy, 9c
Discovery of Self, The, 52-54
Distinctions We Should Make, 18-20
Diversity, Which? Unity or, 94-95
Do Stars Influence Us? 91-93
Does Common Consent Make Right? 77-78
Does God Evolve? 37-38
Does Luck Exist? 58-59

Page 142

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Domain of Destiny, The, 133-134

Dreams: 60a-b
And memory, 68c
Duality, 45d, 130a

E
Ehrmann, Roland, Inspector General of Union of
South Africa, 73, 76
Emanations, doctrine of, 138a
Emotion, 27b, d, 53a, 57c-d, 64b, d, 65a-d
Energy, 94d, 95a
Environment and Spiritual Progress, 90-91
Epidaurus, inscription at, 81c
Epistemology, 19a
Equinoxes, precession of, 39a, d, 40a, b, d
Escape from Reality, 22-23
Ethics, 77d-78a
Ethics or Expediency, Which? 8-10
Eugenics: 21a
Genes, 64b-c
Euthanasia, 122-124
Evolution vs. Revolution, 2-3
Evolve? Does God, 37-38
Expediency, Which? Ethics or, 8-10
Experience of the M y Stic, 69-71
Emanations, doctrine of, 138a
F

Facts You Ought to Know, 78-81

Faith Healing? What is, 81-83
False Idealism, 74-76
Fallacies in Reasoning, 100-101
Faraday, Michael, 29b
(electromagnetic field)
Fatalism, 33d, 92a
Fatalism Logical? Is, 6-7
Fear: 5a, 57d, 65d
Of competition, lile
Ferrer, St. Vincent, 82b
Film of Rosicrucian Park, 133d-134a
Franklin, Benjamin, 61c
Fraternalism and Religin, 127-128
Function, angelic, 137b-d, 138b-d

G
Glands, adrenal, 65d
Gnostic concept of aeons, 138b
God:
Choice of, 106-109
Concept of, 27d, 37d, 85c, d, 90a
Experienced, 54a, b
Primitive ideas of, 38a
Reality of, 38b-d, 41 d
Revelation of, 89d
GodefTroi de Saint-Omer, 114c
Gods, Many, 106-109
Grand Inquisitor, ll5d
Great White Brotherhood, 11c, 12b

H
Hand, cures by right, 82b
Harmony and balance, 17a, 23b, 44d, 66d
Has Every one Psychic Powers? 29-31
Healing:
Absent, 83b
Faith of patient, 81c, d
Magnetic, 82c

Mental, 82d, 83a, 123c

Priest-physician, 81b
Spiritual, 83b
Hegel, 134c
Heredity, 64a, b, 65a
Hermas, 138c
Hertz, Heinrich Rudolph, 29b
(electromagnetic waves)
Hierarchy:
Celestial, 137d-138a
Of loves, 26c
Of individuis, 35b
Hospitalers, 114b
Hugues de Payens, 114c
Human Dignity, 35-37
Human Experience, Mysticism As, 31-32
Hunch, 30b, 31a
Hypnosis, 56d, 57b, d
Hypocrisy, 129b

i
Idealism, False, 74-76
Illuminated personalities, 10b
Imagination, 61a-b, 69c
Impersonal Love, 26-28
Incamation, Choice of, 32-35
Incamation:
Evolution of, 41 d
First, 42b, c
Not predestination, 33d
Purpose of, 34a
Theory of, 33a
Indigestin, mental, 46c, d
Influencing the Unborn Child, 63-66
Information, 18c, d
Intelligence:
Cosmic, 14b, 30a
Human, 36c
In other planetary systems, 42c
Intuition, 30a, b
Is Church Attendance Necessary? 128-129
Is Deep Breathing Harmful? 103-106
Is Fatalism Logical? 6-7
Is Painless Death Advisable? 122-124
Is Sterilization Proper? 20-22
Is There Absolute Truth? 116-118

J
Jacques de Molay, 115d
James, Williams, 64d
Jerome, 137a
Justin, 137b

K
Karma: 22a, 33b, 53d, 101b, 119c, 122d, 123d
Causes of, 58c
Kichingargha, 12b
Knights Templars? What Are the, 113-116
Knowledge: 18c, 20a, 70a-d, 117c
Applied, 19d
Conceptual, 19c
Intuitive, 30a, 31a
Of comparative religin, 46b
Perceptual, 19b
Kroomata, 12b
Kut-Hu-Mi, 12a-b

JUNE, 1955

Page 143

L
La Buschagne, John, director London office of
AMORC, 133c
Law:
Of averages, 59b-c
Of probability, 59a, c
Of the Triangle, 71 d
Levels of consciousness, 42b, 44d
Lewis, Dr. H. Spencer: 5d, 12b, 43b-c, 52b
Buddhist bishop, 46b
Jan Coops and, 5d, 6a
Persecution of, 62b-d
Lewis, Ralph M., 12b, 46b
Library, Rosicrucian Research, 8a
Love:
Desire, 26d
Intellectual, 27c
Transcendental, 27c, d
Spiritual ecstasy, 28d
Love, Impersonal, 26-28
Luck Exist? Does, 58-59
Lustration, 40c, 43d-44a
Luther, Martin and Pietists, 82a

M
Machine, Man v s 98-99
Magico-religious beliefs, 136a
Magnetic healing:
Bacon, Francis, 82c
Fludd, Robert, 82c
Paracelsus, 82c
Maha Bodhi Society, 46b
Man:
Development of, 32b, 33a
Duality of, 45d
Emotions, 53a, 57c-d, 64b-d, 65a, d, 66a-b
Free agent, 6d
Hampered by custom. 9d-10a
Psychic evolution, 34d
Vibratory matrix, 55a, b
Man vs. Machine, 98-99
Many Gods, 106-109
Master K. H., 12b
Masters, About the, 10-13
Masters? Are Projected Personalities, 101-103
Masters:
Appeal to, 11b
As personal guide, lia
Class, 75d-76a
Cosmic, lOb-c, 85b, lOld, 102b-d
Development of, 35b-c
K. H., 12b
Moria-El, 12c-13b
Mastership? What Price, 61-63
Materialism, 10a, 31c, d
Meaning of Religin, The, 83-90
Memory:
And individuality, 67d
Images in, 60d
Storehouse of, 67d, 68d
Memory, The Depth of, 67-69
Mental creating, 93c
Mental telepathy, 83a
Mesmer, Franz Antn, 82d
Mind:
Divine, 119d, 139a
Human, 52a
Imagination, 61a-b, 69c
Primitive, 64a
Subjective, 56d-57a, 61b, 67c
Superstition, 63d
Mind-cause, 91 d

Mohammedans: 113c, 115a

Culture of, 116b
Monastery, secret, 12b
Moon, influence of, 92d
Morality: 9d, 16c, 20d, 21 d, 22b-c, 26d-27a, 77d
Principies of, 36b, 108c-d
Moria, 12c-13b
Mount Shasta, 12a
Museum, Egyptian, 8b, 5Id, 79c
Museum, Science, 8b, 79c
Mystic, Experience of the, 69-71
Mystical pantheism, 38b
Mystical Viewpoint, Achievement of the, 131-133
Mysticism as Human Experience, 31-32
Mysticism, critics of, 69b-d
Mystics and mysticism, 131b-132d

Natural law, 7a
Nature Cures, 66-67
Nervous system, sympathetic, 30c, 65d
New Souls, World. Population and, 41-43
Nous, 65c
Nez, Carlos, Grand Councilor for Latin America,
50, 54

Organizations, Other, 45-47

Origen, 137b, c
Other Organizations, 45-47

Pagan, 113b
Peace of mind, 4d
Persecution:
By projection, 55b
Of mystics, 62a-63b
Phobia of, 57b-d
Personality, This Issues, 5, 47, 54, 76, 110, 133
Philip IV, of France, ll5c-d
Philosophy, 28d, 31b, 32a, b
Photosynthesis (Cosmic rays), 92c, d
Piscean Age, 40c-d
Places, Strangely Familiar, 60-61
Pleasure, right or wrong, 22b-d
Plotinus, quotes from, 70c, 71b, 131b, 132a
Pope Boniface VIII, 115c
Pope Clement V, 115d
Pope Urban II, 113d
PostScript, 109-110
Power:
Awe of, 111b
Fear of, lile
For possession, 50c
Personal, 50b
Potential, 112b-c
Prayer For the Dead, 118-119
Predetermination, 6b
Prejudice, 84d, 86d
Prejudice Against Bigness, 111-113
Prenatal influence:
Clinics, 66b
Doctrine of, 66a
Greeks, 63c
Hebrews, 63d
James, Wm., 64d
Primitive mind, 64a
Pride, The Weight of, 15-18
Procreation, a Cosmic right, 21c
Projection be Wrongly Used? Can, 55-58
Psychic body, 129d, 130a-b
Psychic Powers? Has Everyone, 29-31
Psychic Self Be Retarded? Can the, 129-131

Page 144

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Pur and Applied Thinking, 28-29

Purgatory, 118c, 119c
Pursuit of happiness, 36d

R
Reality, 38b, c, d, 116d, 117a, b, 118a
Reality, Escape from, 22-23
Realization, 44b, c, 52d
Reason, 34b-c, 86d, 87a
Faculty of, 36c
Reasoning,
Primitive, lOOd-lOlc
Reasoning, Fallacies in, 100-101
Religin, Fraternalism and, 127-128
Religin, The Meaning of, 83-90
Responsibility in life, 52d, 68d-69a
Revelation, 89c-d
Revolution, Evolution vs., 2-3
Roimer, Albin, Grand Master of Sweden, Grand
Secretary of France, 133
Rosicrucian:
And the sciences, 45b
Child Culture Institute, 66b
Convention, 46d, 54d
Convocation in Holland, 6a
Digest, 42c, 103b, I lla
Exercises, 105c-d, 132b-c
Forum, 28c
Fraternalism, 127c, 128a
Museum and Art Gallery, 8b, 51 d, 79c
Order, 8b, 12b, 45b-c, 46d, 47a, d, lOOd
Philosophy, 3c-5b, 17a, 45b-d, 90b, 132b
Planetarium, 8b
Principies, 77c, 105c-d, 108b, 109b-d
Purpose of, 45d
Reason for failure, 45c
Study, 127c
Teachings, 30b, 45d-46a, 67c, 93a
Templar members, 116c
War and the, 6a
Rosicrucian? W hy am 1 a, 3-5

s
Saad, Salim Constantine, Grand Master, Amenhotep
Grand Lodge of Egypt, 25, 47
Saint Augustine, 137a, d
Science, pur and applied, 29a-b
Self-control, 36b
Self: 26a, 122d
And church obligations, 128b, 129a
Consciousness, 123a-b
Ego, 52d, 53a, 139b
Evolution of, 123b-c
Realization of, 52d, 53a, 54a, 55d
Subjective, 60b
Self-Consciousness? What is, 139-140
Self, The Discovery of, 52-54
Semantics, 18c
Service: 23c, d
To humanity, 61c, d
Simplicity, 16c-17d
Soul:
And breath, 103-106
Consciousness, 104b
Universal, 119a
Soul-personality: 123a
New ones, 41b-d
Opportunity given to, 61d
Source of, 42a
Subconscious self, 30b
Withdrawn, 41 d

Soul Selects Its Body, The, 13-15

Souls, World Population and New, 41-43
Spinoza, Baruch, 62d-63a
Spiritual Progress, Environment and, 90-91
Stars Influence Us? Do, 91-93
Sterilization Proper? Is, 20-22
Strangely Familiar Places, 60-61
Study:
Metaphysical, 30d
Reasons for failure in, 45c
Suggestion, power of, 83c

T
Telechime, llOd
Telepathy, mental, 83a
Templars, Knights:
As bankers, 115b
Members of Rosicrucian Order, 116c
Torture of, 115d-116a
Tertullian, 137c, d
Theories:
Of incarnation, 33a
Quantum and relativity, 29c
Thinking, Pur and Applied, 28-29
This Issues Personality, 5, 47, 54, 76, 110, 133
Thomas Aquinas, 137a, 138b
Thutmose III, 12b
Tractatus de Angelis (quote), 137a
Triangle, Applying Law of the, 134-135
Truth? Is There Absolute, 116-118
Twain, Mark. 61c

Unity or Diversity, Which? 94-95

V
Visualization, 44b-c, 45a, 93-94
Visualization, Cosmic, 93-94
Vital Life Forc, 55c, 104a

Wall Street Journal, 109d

War, Causes of, 50-52
Weight of Pride, The, 15-18
What Are the Knights Templars? 113-116
What is Faith Healing? 81-83
What Is Self-Consciousness? 139-140
What is the Aquarian Age? 38-41
What Price Mastership? 61-63
W hy am I a Rosicrucian? 3-5
Will, 26c, 36d-37a
Wisdom, 18c, 19d-20a
Words, meaning of, 18c
World Population and New Souls, 41-43

Y
Your Bequests Help, 7-8

z
Zodiac:
Ecliptic of sun, 39a
Meaning of, 39b
Other terms for, 39b, c
Rulers of, 39a, b
Signs of, 39c

August, 1955
V olu me X X V I

No. 1

Roscrucan Forum
A p rv a te

p u b lic ato n fo r m e m b e rs of A M O R C

Doctor H. Spencer Lewis, late Im pe rato r o f A M O R C , seated n his sanctum -offce a t the v e ry
d e sk a t which the frst issue of ths publicaton w a s conceived, a quarter o f a century a go .

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Page 2

Greetings!
V

TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY
Dear Fratres and Sorores:
A quarter of a century ago, this publication, The Rosicrucian Forum, was bom. It
had been conceived quite some time previously by our late Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer
Lewis, but conditions did not make its issuance feasible until 1930. Since that mem
orable date, The Rosicrucian Forum has been
subscribed to by members in nearly every
part of the world. It has never missed an
issue even during the turbulence of the Second World War. The policy laid down by
Dr. Lewis, that it was to be an exclusive
magazine for members only, has always been
conformed to also. Its obviously limited circulation has made possible greater freedom
of expression in matters related to the confidential teachings of the Order.
The Rosicrucian Forum has likewise, except for its front and back covers, adhered to
its original policy of confining all its pages
to text. It has avoided interior illustrations
and advertisements. It has thus assumed a
conservative and scholarly appearance which,
we believe, is worthy of the interest of the
Rosicrucian student. To a great extent the
subscriber to The Rosicrucian Forum reveis
himself as the more intensive student. His
subscription indicates a more inquiring and
analytical mind. The reader of the Forum
wants to know more about the subjects of
his interest. All who refer to themselves as
students are not necessarily alike in the
depth of their interest or profundity of
thought. In study, as in other things, there
are levels or degrees of perseverance. The
Rosicrucian Forum reader is one who goes
beyond what is required of him in his monographs.
We think it appropriate to quote Dr. H.
Spencer Lewiss Greetings as they appeared
in the initial issue of this publication:
I am happy to have this opportunity to
greet our members through the channel of
our newest publication. I have not had an
opportunity to read through all of the matter
that is to appear in the first issue, and I

am not quite sure of how much of the interesting discourses and discussions occurring
at headquarters in my prvate class instructions have been taken down by the stenographers and prepared for this publication. I
do know, however, that it is a real joy to
realize that hundreds of other members, if
not thousands of them, will eventually have
this special information that has heretofore
been limited to those who assemble from
time to time in my study for prvate instruction.
Most of the matter discussed in these sessions could find no place in any of our
regular lectures, inasmuch as it deais with
personal problems, or with matters disconnected from the points in the graded lectures.
On the other hand, every one of the discus
sions has been filled with intense helpfulness not only to those in the class but to
me, because it is through the working out
of the problems of our members, and the
discussion of the teachings with those who
are the most advanced, that we have been
able to bring out of the shadows many important points that have heretofore seemed
insignificant. It is only through test and
application that we come to realize the true
importance and power of some of our prin
cipies.
Therefore, I greet each one of the readers
of this publication and welcome you into my
personal gathering, not as an eavesdropper,
but as one who deserves to have this infor
mation, and were it not for such a publica
tion as this, the possibility of contacting the
knowledge brought forth in these prvate dis
cussions would be meager, indeed.
May peace and power come to each of
you and bring you joy and happiness.
Those who were on our staff during the
time that Dr. Lewis prepared the text for this
publication will remember his literary method. He would be seated in his large office,
now retained as the A.M.O.R.C. Conference
Room, before a desk often piled high with
correspondence. This consisted of letters

AUGUST, 1955

Page 3

principally directed to him by members and

officers of the A.M.O.R.C. throughout the
world. Some of such correspondence had
been addressed to various members of our
Instruction Department. It was of such nature, however, that it was decided it should
be answered personally by Dr. Lewis because
of his greater insight into the matters therein contained. Behind him was a large window over which was lowered a green venetian
blind. This blind was so arranged that the
sunlight emitted but a soft green glow into
the room. This crepuscular lighting created
an atmosphere of tranquillity conducive to
contemplation.
The Imperator would select a letter, read
it intently for a few minutes and then put it
down and begin to dictate in a firm but low
tone of voice. There would be no hesitancy
in his speech, no pauses to collect thoughts
or a need to reframe ideas. His diction was
excellent; the inflection of his voice was conversational; there was an absence of mandatory implication so often experienced in dictation or in oration. His phraseology, though
sufficient to communicate his ideas, was never
pedantic or abstruse. The most profound
thoughts were readily comprehended and appreciated alike by academicians and those
who lacked a higher education. In this regard he had a Socratic quality of challenging
thought and satisfying inquiry without appearing either to be speaking down to one
group or over the heads of another.
Though the contents of the Forum articles
speak for themselves, those who were so
fortnate as to hear the late Imperator dic
tate were amazed by his sagacity and acu
men. Rarely did he need to refer to a text
or reference work when dictating on historical or technical matters, his memory being
exceptional and his fount of knowledge, encyclopedic.
In those early and formative days, the
members in a certain high degree of the
A.M.O.R.C. were relatively small in number
and, as a consequence, Dr. Lewis took it as

an obligation on himself to answer personally

all their questions pertaining to the teach
ings. This, in addition to his numerous other
duties, however, was a considerable task. The
questions asked by these members and the
answers he gave constituted the principal
content of each issue of The Rosicrucian
Forum. In those issues throughout the years
until 1939, the personality of Dr. Lewis lives
on. It is my desire, sometime within the
next few years, to compile a book of these
articles with subjects arranged in related
order. There could be no greater tribute to
Dr. H. Spencer Lewiss memory or any
greater aid to the Rosicrucian student. Some
of these choice articles have now been made
into discourses for our Rosicrucian lodges,
chapters and pronaoi and have proved their
continued usefulness and inspiration in that
capacity.
Time has necessitated some modification in
the preparation of The Rosicrucian Forum
but without deviation from Dr. Lewiss
conception of its purpose. It is no longer possible for the incumbent Imperator to per
sonally answer all the correspondence of
members of any one degree in the Order.
Instead of feeling chagrined because of these
circumstances, we should, as members, rejoice. It is evidence of the growth and accomplishment Dr. Lewis so desired for our
beloved Order. However, every article appearing in The Rosicrucian Forum by the
present Imperator and his worthy assistant,
the Supreme Secretary, is based on direct
questions asked by the fratres and sorores, or
they are an elaboration on some point or
principie of the Rosicrucian teachings.
The Rosicrucian Forum is, in no sense,
a commercial publication. It accepts no paid
advertisements and is supported only by that
portion of the membership who subscribe to
it. Its issuance, therefore, is mainly a mem
bership service and labor of love.
Fraternally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, 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 Department
of Publication of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/1 sterlmg) A N N U A LLY FOR MEMBERS O NLY

Page 4

Facts About the FUDOSI

Because some persons are wont to attach
a mysterious significance or some ulterior
purpose to the past dissolution of the Fdration Universelle des Ordres et Socits Initiatique (F. U. D. O. S. I.), the following
facts are presented. The information herein
given is quoted from The FUDOSI, an international journal of that organization issued
in November, 1946:
In 1908, the famous Dr. Encausse, who
is better known under his mystical ame of
Papus, tried to gather in a vast Initiatique
Federation all the authentic and regular Orders who give to their followers and adepts
the traditional teachings of the Mysteries.
He held in Paris a great Congress where all
the Spiritualistic (spiritual) Rites had been
invited. But his Federation was unable to
organize and carry on such a work. In 1914
began the first World War. Papus was mobilized as a military doctor and suddenly
passed through transition in 1916.
In 1930, the European Imperator of the
Rose + Croix, Sar Hieronymus, Sar Peladans
disciple, deemed it advisable to take up again
this idea to harmoniously federate all the
initiatique movements. He, therefore, opened
extensive negotiations with representatives
of several Orders and Societies and, on the 8th
of August, 1934 he successfully and officially
opened the first International Convention of
the new Federation in which fourteen Orders
or Societies were duly represented. Other
confidential Conventions were held in Brussels in 1936 and 1939 and in Paris in 1937.
The dreadful war we have just passed
through kept the Orders and Societies from
all active work or co-operation ever since
1939, and it is only after overcoming
most Unusual obstacles and difficulties, and
through secret means, that some contact was
maintained between America and Europe
during the long and hard years of the hu
man upheaval and of the enslaving of Eu
rope. But, in spite of cruel persecutions, of
arrests, of the Gestapos questionings, of p
lice raids and searches, the sacred and
initiatique work never stopped and the flambeau regularly passed on from hand to hand,
at times in most unexpected and inaccessible
places, such as church towers and ancient
crypts. It was, therefore, with great joy that,
thanks to the valuable friendship between

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

all the leaders of the Federation, the various

Orders were able to meet again in a fraternal
gathering and to organize their work.
Some persons, whose minds have not as
yet received sufficient ligfat, have been wondering why it was necessary to gather in a
Universal Federation the Initiatique Orders
and Societies which, in their own field of
work, enjoy the most absolute and complete
freedom and perfect autonomy and independence. To this query we may reply
that, more than in anything else, it is in
the Initiatique work that the greatest vigilance is indispensable and that a strict and
active international discipline must be exercised.
We must acknowledge, and regret, that
there exist many false prophets and a number of so-called Initiates who use, for selfish
and tyrannical purposes of domination, the
pretext of initiation to thrust themselves on,
and exploit, gullible and sincere persons. It
was high time to warn the public against
these false leaders and against noxious doc
trines which they taught to trusting souls.
In each country, each authentic and reg
ular Order knows its imitators and such
false prophets. It was necessary to watch
these clandestine movements, to expose these
impostors or instruments of hidden and unavowed forces, in all countries, wherever
they be operating, and thus avoid any con
fusin between the regular and authentic
Orders and false organizations that are harmful or that give teachings that have nothing
to do with the Universal Tradition and Esotericism.
And also it was necessary that the au
thentic Orders be careful in selecting their
members and their officers and in maintaining their adepts and students on the right
path of the true doctrines, obliging them to
follow a strict line of discipline, rational,
sincere, and conscientious work, so as to
avoid radical teachings and heterodoxy. . . .
It is our much regretted (lamented) Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis (Sar Alden),
who created and drew the Universal Sym
bol of the F.U.D.O.S.I. (shown for years in
the A.M.O.R.C. literature). He presented it
to the members of the Congress in 1934 and,
owing to its profound significance, its uncommon and original combination, it was
unanimously adopted. It represents the Mys
tical Egg which, in Egypt, of od, involved

AUGUST, 1955

all the Mysteries. In its center are two

bipolar magnets, representing the two hemispheres united in one same spiritual brotherhood. Initiation is indeed universal and all
men of good will are entitled to it, whatever
be their birth country. An unfinished triangle and incompleted square are coupled
together in its center, because all traditional
initiations, far from combating each other,
are complementary, one to the other, so as
to give a unique Light to the Neophyte. The
holy Cross in the center represents the Christian current of Initiation, whereas the square
symbolizes the Hellenic Initiation and the
triangle, the Martinist Initiation. This Sym
bol thus achieves the miracle of realizing
the spiritual unity.
During the Convention held in Paris in
1937, our Brother, Sar Iohannes, showed to
the astonished members of the Congress that,
by placing the symbol of the F.U.D.O.S.I. on
the revolving disc of a phonograph and giving it an increasing speed, there carne a moment when a new esoteric symbol appeared
which, by itself, involved and vivified all
other symbols; the true Swastika of the Tra
ditional Hind Initiation. . . .
The chief executives of the F.U.D.O.S.I.
were the three Imperators, Sar Alden (Dr.
H. Spencer Lewis of the A.M.O.R.C.); Sar
Hieronymus (of the Rose + Croix of Europe);
and the late Augustin Chaboseau of the
Martinist Order; and the Chancellor of the
Federation, Sar Elgim (Jean Mallinger).
Numerous international conclaves were held
in Brussels and in Paris under the direction
of all or a majority of these illustrious officers. After the transition of Dr. H. Spencer
Lewis, the incumbent Imperator of the
A.M.O.R.C., Ralph M. Lewis, succeeded to
the office of one of the three Imperators of
the F.U.D.O.S.I. He, too, participated in these
conclaves in Brussels and Paris and deliberated upon their important matters.
By the issuance of much literature in several languages and through the mdium of
the journals of the respective member orders
and societies, as, for example, the Rosicru
cian Digest, the purposes of the F.U.D.O.S.I.
were gradually achieved. Information gathered through the representativos of this august body was published, disclosing the false
claims of the pseudo and clandestine organizations. The sincere and thoughtful investi-

Page 5

gators of the esoteric were alerted to the

impostor societies. Though many of such
false groups, mostly small numerically, still
exist, their efforts are ineffectual. The real
investigator of occult, mystical, and metaphysical societies, now knows the true character of the false bodies. Those individuis
who persist in affiliating with such clandes
tine movements are of a type of mentality
that must learn through severe experience
of their wrong judgment.
As was stated in the official F.U.D.O.S.I.
journal, from which we have quoted, the
initiatique orders and societies had originally, in their respective fields, enjoyed the
most absolute and complete freedom and perfect autonomy and independence. When,
therefore, the work for which the F.U.D.O.S.I.
carne into existence had been achieved, the
officers of the respective organizations of
which it was composed thought it was advisable thereafter to concntrate all their
efforts once again upon their individual so
cieties. To maintain the F.U.D.O.S.I. indefinitely, when its main purpose was served,
would have been an economic burden on
many of these esoteric orders which had just
emerged from the destruction of the war in
Europe. Further, with there being no longer
any great need to pursue the aims of the
F.U.D.O.S.I., the various societies and orders,
through their representatives, might inadvertently tend, in their enthusiasm and loyalty
to their own doctrines, to impose their views
upon their fellow members. This would, of
course, defeat the harmony of the F.U.D.O.S.I.
It was becoming evident that this cndition
might creep in as a result of the human
equation. The principal officers, therefore,
decided that it was time for a harmonious
dissolution of the F.U.D.O.S.I.
The final document of dissolution, as
drawn up on the date of August 14, 1951,
at a conclave of the officers in Brussels, sets
out the reasons for the dissolution in detail
and then concludes with the following statement:
1The FUDOSI is dissolved on this day,
14th of August, 1951;
2Each and every one of the affiliated
movements will maintain its initiatic
autonomy and independence, without
being bound in whatsoever manner to
the other Orders;

Page 6

3None of the Orders previously affiliated to the FUDOSI will be allowed

to reconstitute it without a written
agreement signed by the Orders
founders, or may take advantage of
it in the future;
4The present declaration will be published by the various Orders in their
own publications without any commentary.
Brussels, the 14th of August, 1951.
This document was signed by Sar Hieronymus, Imperator of the Rose + Croix of
Europe, Ralph M. Lewis, Imperator of the
A.M.O.R.C, and Jean Mallinger, Chancellor
of the FUDOSI, who, as said, met in conference in Brussels, Belgium, on the above-mentioned date. The document was prepared in
two languages, English and French. The
English versin, carrying the signatures and
seis of the above officers, is in the vault of
the A.M.O.R.C. at Rosicrucian Park. It, with
numerous other documents, is available for
inspection to all members attending the In
ternational Rosicrucian Convention in San
Jos annually. In fact, committees composed
of members examine this and other docu
ments every year. Any and all other mem
bers of the AMORC, who are in good
standing, may inspect it at the Grand Lodge
of the AMORC at any time upon formal request in advance.
AMORC, as a consequence of this conference, as well as the other orders and societies
of the F.U.D.O.S.I., discontinued the use of
the F.U.D.O.S.I. official emblem in its publi
cations. Such discontinuance does not imply
that any member society was expelled, re
moved, or disqualified in any way. Ugly
rumors to such an effect are worthy only
of the various enemies against whose attacks
the F.U.D.O.S.I. was originally constituted.
If and when circumstances require, as before,
the reactivation of the F.U.D.O.S.I. as a militant body for the defense of truth, it will
again be called into existence. As AMORC,
through the efforts of the late Dr. H. Spencer
Lewis, was one of the chief functioning powers in the furthering of the purposes of the
F.U.D.O.S.I., so it will be again, if there be
need.X

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Are the Good Always Poor?

A soror asks: Why do so many inventors
and writers become famous and rich while
leading immoral lives, and yet the poor who
are good morally receive no earthly riches
and fame?
There is no parallel extant between ma
terial success and moral rectitude. The rewards of a morally circumspect life, one
lived in accordance with conscience, are not
to be found in mortal fame or wealth. The
wages of sin, we have been told, are death;
but the wages of virtue are not necessarily
a plenitude of worldly goods. It is likewise
an erroneous conception to think that everyone who is a pauper is of a highly moral
and spiritual character. Among the impoverished, you will find vileness of thought and
iniquity, as well as among those who are
affluent. Being a success in a trade or profession does not imply that one is any less
moral than someone else. We believe that
an analysis of the known facts of the lives
of such personages as Thomas Edison, Henry
Ford, the Wright brothers, Michael Faraday,
and hosts of other inventors and scientists,
would show them as morally conventional
as any other less-known group of people.
In our daily lives, each of us is guilty of
acts and behavior which are less than cir
cumspect; and if the focus of public attention
were to fall upon these acts, it would incriminate us. The public does not know most
of us, so our lives are not subject to scrutiny.
Once an individual is in the light of public
interest because of his business or professional attainments, every act of his life is
open to analysis and criticism. His moris
may then be considered by a certain crosssection of the public as what they should
not be. However, the moris of famous per
sons in most instances do not fall below the
average of the same section of the critical
public.
The moral life should be indulged not
for public recognition. The morally upright
person should find his satisfaction in knowing that he lives in harmony with his own
conscience. If it is true that one cannot buy
spiritual insight and peace of mind, then
one should not expect, likewise, material
compensation because he is striving to attain
the virtues. If one is morally circumspect
and also in economic distress, the latter con-

AUGUST, 1955

dition is wholly the result of his environment or perhaps his lack of ability. There
are many persons who live a devoted, moral
life, and they are sincere in their religious
affiliation, but they may be nevertheless
stupidand often lazy. It is thus to be expected that such persons will have less
opportunity for advancement and accomplishment in any material field.
Conformity to a moral code does not carry
with it an assurance that one will be exempt
from struggles with the vicissitudes of life.
It is true that a clean-living and clean-thinking person is a more apt channel for Cosmic
inspiration and for intuitive guidancebut
he must also make the effort to achieve
success in some material endeavor. One cannot go about just wearing the mantle of
virtue and expect that the material rewards
of life will be made miraculously manifest
for him. It is likewise quite true, statistically
as a law of averages, that many spirituallyminded persons who are industrious and intelligent are yet poor. Their poverty may
be, and usually is, a combination of unfortunate economic and other circumstances
which have nought to do with their religious
convictions or moris.
There is still another aspect to this subject
upon which comment should be made. The
inventor, as well as the successful writer in
the nonfiction field, must have visin and
must be progressive. He cannt allow himself to be hampered by often obsolete con
ven tions and ethics. He is thus able, through
the flexibility of his intelligence, to see the
perfunctory actions of society and its foibles.
He will, consequently, rebel against them,
and at a time usually far in advance of the
eventual social changes. As a consequence
of his bold writing and visin, he becomes a
victim of the criticism of those who lack his
visin, or who are hypocritical in their living
and beliefs. The conduct of such an individ
ual is then condemned as being iconoclastic,
sacrilegious, or even generally immoralall
of this, of course, without any justification.
As we look back upon the life and times
of Thomas Jefferson with our now generally
broader perspective, we understand why he
was execrated and libeled as an atheist by
many of his orthodox, illiberal contemporaries. His mystical concepts far transcended
their notions. During the Victorian era,
much conduct which today is generally ac-

Page 7

cepted as being of good propriety, would

have been shocking and held to be immoral
by the populace of the time.
By the foregoing, we do not mean to imply
that every individual who has attained fame
and wealth today has likewise been of a
highly moral plae in his conduct. Many
persons gain wealth and success in some en
deavor only by a complete disregard of all
moral precepts. These have set for themselves
an objective in life to which all decency and
moral vales are sacrificed, all of their energy and intelligence being centered in one
direction. We cannot always judge their
personal happiness by the material baubles
with which they later surround themselves.
Such individuis ofttimes never know that
peace profound that comes from simplicity
of living and sincerity to oneself. They are
frequently cursed with an inexorable restlessness which keeps them changing from
one diversin to another to find the satisfaction that many less affluent persons know.
However, there are many persons who are
wealthy and yet have retained their spiritual
dignity. They have learned how to employ
their material gains in such a way and so
impersonally as to bring satisfaction to their
psychic and moral selves.X
Death and Transition
A soror now rises to address our Forum.
She says: This query is in regard to the fre
quently used expression, transition, which
is substituted in much of the Rosicrucian
litera ture for the simple word, death. While
I am aware that it refers to the survival
of the soul, and is considered spiritually more
accurate, still, this word is so frequently
used by those who fear physical death that
it has acquired (to me) repugnant connota tions. If death is not to be feared, since sur
vival of the soul is assured, why should the
Rosicrucians, who are scientists, fear the sim
ple, accurate and unprettified word, death?
The Rosicrucians substitute the word tran
sition for death, but most certainly not because of any fear of the latter. Rather, since
the word death has so varied a theological
and philosophical connotation, some of which
definitions are quite opposed to the Rosicru
cian concept, it is logical to supplant the
word with one that has a more intimate
significance to members. Almost all religious

Page 8

sects and moral philosophies proclaim an

afterlife; they adhere to the doctrine of the
immortality of the soul. However, most of
these beliefs and systems of thought assume
that death is a permanent truncating of mor
tal existence. It is thought to constitute a
final end of life on earth. They believe that
death is not merely the dissolution of the
body, but the termination for eternity of the
souls expression on earth. Simply put, the
majority of these other concepts do not concur in the doctrine of reincarnation.
The Rosicrucian philosophy professes a
belief in the return of the soul, its re-embodiment in a mortal form upon earth. The
Rosicrucian Order does not insist that the
member accept this view. There is a con
siderable valu to be found in the teachings
whether one subscribes to the doctrine of re
incarnation or not. Obviously, a failure to
accept the idea makes abstruse and complicated other propositions in the teachings
built upon that premise. Since the premise
of reincarnation is part of the Rosicrucian
teachings, death is looked upon only as a
change of consciousness. In other words, it
is only a transition from one State of awareness to another. The body is dropped, its
mechanism is discarded, and that form of
consciousness known as the mortal mind becomes nonfunctional. The inner aspect of
consciousness, or self, is preserved in a manner difficult to define in terms of mortal experience. Since this exalted consciousness
attributed to soul is declared to eventually
reside again in the body and to be associated
wilh a realization of mortal realities, or the
world, the whole cycle is looked upon as
merely a series of changes of consciousness.
Thus, there is the preference for the word
transition.
To the average religionist, death is a most
terrifying and horrible experience. Part of
its horror is, of course, primitive and instinctive. Life and self-consciousness ever
strive to preserve themselves. Whatever circumstance tends to oppose them or bring
about a suspensin of their activities precipitates a sense of helplessness and futility
resulting in great fear. In fact, in all society, the biological mysteries, as one ethnologist has referred to them, have always
been precipitates of wonder and of fear.
These are birth, pberty, and death.
Aside from what may be said to be the

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

natural instinctive fear of death, most re

ligious teachings concerning the afterlife
have a tendency to inclcate a further dread
of the experience. Theology has long laid
stress upon the punishment for sin to be inflicted after death for those who have not
atoned here. Though theological creeds, codes,
and liturgies have given extensive explanations of how the sinner is to expiate for his
sins, the devotee is frequently left in doubt
as to his salvation. Purgatory with its fantastic burning of souls, and hell as a place
of great torment of them, are dramatized
and actualized by the priesthood and most
of the clergy. To escape these completely,
or any long confinement in them, is usually
made a complex affair, shrouded in much
mystery, superstition, and ignorance.
Even in our time, religin has assiduously
built up this concept of punishment in the
afterlife. It has intentionally made it a terri
fying experience so as to retain its control
of the mass mind through fear. It has, for
example, made it appear that salvationes
cape from such tormentcan only be had
through an unquestioned allegiance to the
church and its hierarchy. The threat of excommunication and refusal to confer the
sacraments upon a religionist is the strongest
tie the church has upon the will of the
individual. However, when the individual
no longer fears the afterlife, no longer believes in an actual purgatory and hell, the
act of excommunication is a meaningless and
futile rite. The individual is then neither
psychologically or otherwise affected by the
excommunication.
To the Rosicrucian, whether it be con
tended his views are fact or theory, they are,
at least, logically more consistent than many
of the theological concepts pertaining to
death and after-existence. The Rosicrucian
philosophy expounds that salvation and compensation are to be had here on earth. It
is here where we have consciousness of that
deeper self which men allude to as soul. Here
is where there is that evaluation of the experiences of reality on the one hand, and
the immanent urges of that called conscience
on the other. It is here, too, where we ex
perience that ecstasy, that afflatus of the
soul that places men en rapport with the
Cosmic. It requires the mortal mind to
evalate the various states of consciousness
to which the self is capable of attaining. It

AUGUST, 1955

is here, too, where we make compensation

for the violations of Cosmic and natural
laws. Our thoughts and deeds are causative,
and the effects we experience are the real
heaven and hell.
The Rosicrucian likes to believe that he is
given the opportunity to adjust to lifes experiences and to compnsate and make
amends, if you will, for his errorsif not
in this existence, then in another life here
on earth. The Rosicrucian likewise conceives
the soul as an extensin of the Divine Con
sciousness in man. Therefore, the soul is
never corrupt and need not be saved, for
it cannot be lost. We provide our own rewards, and in numerous ways, inflict our
own punishment. The word transition, to
the Rosicrucian, better symbolizes these views
than the unqualified word death.X
The Scope of Perception
It would seem that mans scope of percep
tion is almost unlimited. It is obvious that
one of mans primary functions is that of an
observer of phenomena or a perceiver of
phenomena. We live in a world composed
of phenomena. Everything about us is in a
state which we term existence; that is, it is
something that exists other than ourselves
and has a degree of actuality.
We perceive the objects of the physical
world and we know that our environment
exists; that is, the world about us is in ex
istence, and we are made aware of it through
the perceptive apparatus with which we are
equipped. Every thing we know of the physi
cal or the phenomenal world is that which we
have perceived or a result of the understanding of what someone else has perceived. It
would therefore seem that our scope of per
ception is unlimited. We adjust ourselves
to the world in which we live as a result
of what we perceiveor at least we think
we make a reasonably satisfactory adjustment. On the other hand, we know that we
make many errors, that mans adjustment to
the physical world is imperfect, and that we
do not completely understand all of its functioning or our relationship to it. This fact
brings us to realize that actually our knowledge of the physical world is limited.
Apparently, mans five physical senses
serve him quite adequately, but they do not
serve him in absolute perfection. The five

Page 9

physical senses are themselves limited not

only in their range of vibrationthat is,
the vibrations which can make an impression and register upon these sensesbut
also in the structure of the physical senses.
Physiologists who have made a study of
the complex structure of the sense organs
are aware that these are not in any sense
of the word perfect. Any research in the
most modem literature available on the hu
man senses makes it clear that our knowledge of the sense organs and how they
operate is limited, and also that we are
limited in the knowledge which we are able
to perceive through these senses. When we
consider how much we depend upon our
five senses for information and for adjust
ment to the world in which we live, it
causes us to consider carefully how much
we can depend upon them. Authorities on
the subject agree that the operation of our
sense perceptors is far from perfect. This
fact causes us to realize that we cannot be
an absolute judge of our environment if dependent upon our senses alone. Neither the
physiologist or the psychologist can tell us
exactly how our senses operate. We do not
know the actual means by which the sense
organs function. We only know in general
that they operate and are sensitive to certain vibratory forms.
For example, the eye is sensitive to light.
It perceives light and operates much in the
manner of a camera, but exactly how these
light impulses are translated from the retina
of the eye through nerve endings into the
brain, producing the sensation of sight, is
something that still lies beyond the complete
ability of the scientist or the physiologist to
explain. Even more difficult is the explanation of the senses of hearing, taste, and
smell. The nerve endings of these senses
are of such nature that they bring us the
perception of the world in a limited extent
insofar as their ability to perceive is con
cerned, but exactly how sound waves are
translated into terms of sound within the
brain is a mystery still unsolved by the hu
man intellect.
On the other hand, we cannot avoid the
conclusin that most of us find adequate
the five senses with which we are equipped.
Without attempting to analyze them or becoming technical insofar as their operation
is concemed, we believe they are reasonably

Page 10

efficient. We see, feel, hear, taste, and smell

to an extent that which has become more
or less habitual with us. We use these
sensations that are accumulated within con
sciousness, as a result of the sense organs,
sufficiently so that we are able to perceive
a degree of the outside world. We get by
as it were, and we think of our sense faculties as being reasonably efficient because we
have reasonable success in our communication with the world outside ourselves.
Actually, we live in two worlds: (1)
public and (2) prvate. The public world
is that of phenomena, which we perceive
with our sense organs. The perceptions re
sult in the sensations that produce a mental
impression which is a composite of con
sciousness. When we are at any place at
any time, we have in consciousness, as a
result of our perception, certain sensations
that transate themselves to us in a manner
that makes us aware of the position and
place in which we are. Through combination of memory and the sense of sight, we
produce what is normally called a mental
picture within our mind. This picture enables us to relate the existence of things
about us as they are at the moment to other
sensations that we have perceived in the
past. Through memory and perception we
are able to orient and adjust to the environ
ment in which we find ourselves momentarly.
Whether or not what I perceive is identical to what you perceive is something that
can neither be pro ved or disproved. I look
at a certain color which I have been taught
is red. Actually, what I perceive is the reflection of light against a certain physical
object. Part of the suns rays, or the white
light that may strike upon that object, is
absorbed and part is reflected. What is reflected enters my eye, and as a result of
the sensation I am aware of the color red.
You and I have been taught that a certain
type of sensation registered in the conscious
ness is the color red. Whether you would
recognize as red what I consider red is some
thing that we cannot prove because we all
perceive within the prvacy of consciousness.
In consciousness we relate the various forms
of perception that enter into our conscious
ness and cause us to interpret the external
world as we see fit and as we have been
taught to adjust ourselves to it.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

It would seem that, since the various

sense organs of the human being appear to
be similar in each individual, what one perceives would be identical with what another
perceives. However, not only are we limited
by the differences in the physical organs
themselves and in our understanding of them,
but also we are limited in the effect of con
sciousness and attention upon any particular
event or condition existent at the moment.
It is a well-known fact that witnesses are
often unreliable in reporting the sequence
of events that caused an accident or some
other event. On the witness stand, individ
uis with no intent to lie or perjure them
selves, have reported conflicting evidence
when they were supposedly giving an eyewitness account of a single event. It would
appear to the uninformed that these individ
uis were making up their individual stories.
Actually, each is a report of the individuals
conscious awareness resulting from certain
perception rather than the perception itself.
An event that takes place before two or
more people will be interpreted not only
within the range and limitations of each
individuals physical senses, but it also will
be colored by the experience, memory, and
various sensations of that individual which
are related as a result of their own conscious
direction of the sensations that compose con
sciousness.
This is also true in the analysis of literature. Many individuis will approach a
book, a letter, a manuscript with the idea of
confirming something that they already be
lieve. We occasionally find individuis reading into Rosicrucian litera ture informa tion
that is not there. I recently had the experi
ence of an individual completely misinterpreting the purpose and scope of our booklet
Liber 777 that describes the functions of the
Cathedral of the Soul. This individual interpreted the booklet as being an essay in
favor of spiritism and pointed out that its
principies were the same basic principies
that are taught by Spiritualism. Actually,
the content of the book is far removed from
any thing of this nature. This book neither
condemns or recommends Spiritualism; it
has nothing to do with the subject. Yet an
individual in attempting to seek a confirmation of his own beliefs, read into this manu
script things that were never there. He also
interpreted the book as if it had been re-

AUGUST, 1955

cently written, while in reality many of our

members know that it was written over
twenty years ago by a former Grand Master.
Consciousness constantly alters and changes
the scope of our perception. We look for
that which we seek, and frequently, sometimes to our disadvantage, we find it. We
change our viewpoints and thereby alter
what we see or otherwise perceive. We are
constantly adjusting our perception to adapt
il to the concepts already existent within the
mind, and for this reason some individuis
reach a place where they are referred to as
being old-fashioned or reactionary. If an in
dividual is constantly attempting to confirm
that which he already believes or that which
he hopes will happen, he will constantly be
picking out of all the things he perceives
those things which go to confirm the par
ticular point he believes. As a result in con
sciousness he will honestly assemble a series
of ideas and principies that are consistent
with what he wants to believe and what he
hopes will be true.
We are also aware that insofar as our relationship to the world in which we live is
concerned, there can be other differences be
tween that world and the privacy of our
own thoughts. Philosophy has raised the
perennial question, to what extent do the
things which we perceive agree with the ac
tual thing perceived? or to state this in an
other way, ar perception and what we
perceive identical? If we apply the Rosicru
cian terminology to this problem, we can
state it in this manner. Actuality, in accordance with the Rosicrucian monographs, is
identical with ph}rsical phenomena; that is,
that which exists in the physical world we
refer to as actuality. The functions and
manifestations of the material world are designated in the Rosicrucian teachings under
the term actuality. In other words, to put
this definition into the simplest terms, ac
tuality is the physical world which we can
perceive through our physical senses.
Now again referring to the philosophical
problem which was previously raised, are
perception and actuality identical? Do we
see what actually exists? The most simple
explanation of this problem is known as
naive realism: the belief that the external
world, the world of actuality, is identical
with what we perceive. But logic does not
confirm this. We are intelligent beings, and

Page I 1

we have already realized or analyzed that

there is a difference between the actual
world and that which we perceive because
our perceptions are colored with our own
ideas, with our own associations, and to a
certain degree with our prejudices. What we
perceive is a world of actuality, but we real
ize that which we create within our own
consciousness. Working with the results of
perception as raw material, which we bring
into consciousness, we alter what we perceive
to fit the needs of our present circumstances
and of our wishes, desires, hopes, and prej
udices. The world of actuality is only known
to us through our realization.
Again, we will refer to Rosicrucian termi
nology. To distinguish from actuality, reali
zation is what we believe a thing to be. If
I see an object in the distance and interpret
it as being a man walking toward me, my
realization of the actuality of the object
which I see is that perception in conscious
ness which results in a man. In other words,
I realize a man and insofar as my realiza
tion is concerned for that moment, it is com
plete and true in terms of my own experi
ence, my own consciousness and complete
understanding of the situation. The actuality
which I am perceiving is realized as a man.
If, on the other hand, as I approach closer
to that object, I learn that it is a post with
a stick across it that at a distance makes it
appear to be a man, I will come to the
understanding that my realization was inaccurate since it was based upon the misinterpretation of the perception which had
come to my eye that made me believe the
actuality was a man.
Many things can cause errors of percep
tion. It may be that I am nearsighted and
cannot see clearly enough at a distance to
be able to properly identify the object. It
may be that my attention was superficial
and not sufficient to arrive at an accurate
conclusin. It may have been that I was
expecting a man to be at about that partic
ular place and my glance seeing an object
there immediately interpreted the object as
being a man. In other words, the limitation
of the senses, the content of consciousness,
and the ability of our perceptive apparatus
to perceive a thing adequately, caused the
actuality to be interpreted in a way that
was in conformance to my conscious state
at the moment and had no bearing upon

Page 12

the actuality itself. Realization produced a

man. It is true that further analysis proved
that realization to be wrong, but, for the mo
ment, the realization was complete and I
acted, behaved and functioned, as if I had
perceived a man. This is the important difference between realization and actuality.
We as human beings function upon a
level of consciousness which is based upon
our perception at the particular moment.
The behavior and the state of consciousness
which exists at any time is based upon our
realization not upon our actuality; that is,
whether or not there was an actual man
that produced the realization within my con
sciousness did not matter insofar as my be
havior was concerned. I may have moved
forward to meet the man. I may have remembered certain incidents of previous association with the man wrhom I expected I
would soon be meeting. Realization was the
important factor in my consciousness for
that moment. I was concerned only with the
realization that had come as a result of a
sensation which was produced by an actu
ality that tumed out to be a post.
Hundreds of illustrations bearing out this
same principie could be brought out of the
experiences of almost every individual. We
have all had experiences in which our reali
zation of a situation has not proved to be
consistent with actuality and as a result
some tragic or humorous situations have resulted. There is a popular cartoon series be
ing shown at a number of theaters which
is based upon this principie. It concems
a nearsighted character who misinterprets
everything because of his inability to see
properly. As a result many humorous situ
ations develop, of course, greatly exaggerated
in this cartoon, but this series has proved
popular because people like to laugh at the
mistakes of others. The principie illustrates
the same idea I have attempted to elabrate
upon here. We base our conclusions, many
of our actions, and much of our behavior
upon the realizations that we have of the
world. If we are in error through some
manner or other in coming to a particular
realization, then we do not adjust ourselves
properly to actuality and our behavior is in
error.
The errors of perception, particularly in
the field of visual phenomena, are well exemplified by the many optical illusions used

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

as illustrations of the ability of the eye to

perceive and also utilized by magicians and
those who perform sleight of hand in order
to deceive an audience. The fact that the
sense of sight cannot always be relied upon
to function accurately shows us that we must
constantly be on the alert to analyze those
situations which we perceive. The eye adjusts itself, more or less, to the situations
with which it is familiar, and will interpret
all those situations that it perceives in the
same manner. We cannot at this point go
into the scope of function of the various op
tical illusions, but they have always fasci
na led man and are based upon the principie
of relationships; that is, we perceive a thing
in a certain relationship that makes it ap
pear to be different from what it actually is.
As a result we misinterpret the length of
lines, the height of objects, or other common associations which are prevalent in most
optical illusions. When we give attention or
study to any of the simple geometrical illu
sions that are used in textbooks to illustrate
the unreliability of the eye, we must bear
in mind not only that we are mistaken when
we look at these illusions, but also that they
are an extreme example of the limitations
of the perceptive ability of the human being.
Actually, we know very little about the
physical world. That does not mean that we
are inadequate, that we live without proper
realization of the world because we do gain
a certain knowledge, but there is so much
still unknown that we should be very humble before all phenomena. Those who gain
too much pride in the contemplation of the
world and believe that they have mastered
it actually do not realize that the human
race is still young and, even though it has
existed for centuries, it may still be centuries in the future before the human race
will be able to assemble the answers to the
mysteries which yet remain unexplained.
We are placed in this physical world to
gain certain experience and certain knowl
edge. We have been equipped with sense
faculties that help us to perceive this world,
and we should use them to the best of our
understanding and ability. At the same time
we should become aware that our perception
is limited, that our senses deceive us, and
that what we perceive is not always what
we actually think it to be.
If we perceive illusions and know our

AUGUST, 1955

senses misinterpret lines and drawings, then

many other things which we perceive may
also be illusions. If you show a child some
of the usual optical illusions, he will accept
them at face valu; that is, he will interpret
them as being exactly what he perceives
them to be. He does not attempt to analyze
the fact that he is seeing something actually
different from what does exist. He simply
accepts visual evidence at face valu. We
are not much different from the child in
many ways. We will go through this par
ticular day perceiving things which we pre
sume to be actualities as they exist. We
accept those things as perceived much in the
manner we have always accepted them. No
one points out the difference to us, or if
they do we have a tendency to believe that
they are wrong or possibly not quite sane.
There seems to be no one to determine what
particular field of perception is consistent
with actuality and what is illusion. We live
in this world of physical phenomena, and
insofar as our intelligence, our interpretation, and our experience is concerned, we
believe we interpret it, but actually might it
not all be a world of illusion with our actions based on our failure to perceive the
truth that exists behind the manifestations
we perceive?
We know so little. If I make no other
point in these comments, I would like to
convince all who will give attention to these
ideas that the scope of knowledge that exists
and which is still unknown is so vast that
the very thought of it should cause any intelligent person to realize how little he knows
and understands of the world in which he
now exists. We have gained much in knowl
edge in the course of human history up to
the present time, but that knowledge is absolutely nothing in comparison with what
is still unknown. The greatest achievements
of man have but touched the outer circle of
the field of physical phenomena. We cannot
logically depreciate what man has already
gained, but we must realize that he is still
young in his understanding of the physical
world. He is like a child when the child
first leams to talk. In the ability to use
language he has gained a great deal, but we
well know that such a child is not yet in
a position to make decisions that will affect
all the experience of his later life. Furthermore, if we are to realize how limited our

Page 13

understanding of the physical world is, then

how much more limited is the world of psychic phenomena which has only been touched
upon insofar as mans experience is con
cerned.
The scope of experience before man which
is to understand the rest of the physical
world that is unknown and then to go on
into the psychic world, shows that eternity
is none too long a time for man to become
familiar with his existence, his place in it,
and the scope of creation. This should also
help us not to be disco uraged if we feel
that our understanding of the psychic world
has not grown as much as we think it should.
If we still are unable to properly interpret
all the physical world of which we are a
part, and in which we live, surely we can
realize that our lack of complete interpretation of the psychic world is only logical.
Before we can master psychic phenomena,
we must master physical phenomena, and
we may be, insofar as human experience is
concerned, many centuries away from the
mastery of physical phenomena. Consequently, the absolute mastership of psychic
phenomena can still be a great accomplishment lying in the future of our experience.
We are intelligent beings and we should
become alert to the situations that exist at
the moment. The individual who is able to
push himself ahead in human society today
is one who can recognize the lack and limits
of knowledge as well as the extent of that
knowledge. He will constantly be alert to
observe all the laws of physical phenomena
and to acknowledge the laws of psychic phe
nomena. Growth within the scope that we
are able to use and realize is the step that
is for us today.A
What is the Kabbalah?
A frater rises to ask our Forum, What is
the relationship or valu of the study of the
Kabbalah as presented by the Rosicrucian
Order?
The Kabbalah is historically of Jewish
origin, though many of its prominent exponents have claimed for it a mysterious
beginning dating far into antiquityeven
probably from an unknown race. Broadly,
it may be defined as a system of metaphysics, particularly stressing ontology and
creation. It concerns itself with the relation-

Page 14

ship of man to the initial cause and to the

powers and forces of the universe. It professes the divulging of certain keys to natural
forces by which man may command the
phenomena of nature to do his bidding. In
this sense, the Kabbalah has been, and was
long considered by many as, a magical art.
In no sense was the word magic used by the
great Kabbalists to mean the invoking of supernatural forces or powers of malevolent be
ings. The traditional Kabbalists and the true
occultists defined magic as a secret art by
which uncommon knowledge of Cosmic laws
and powers might be used for the welfare of
man. We might say that the Kabbalah, from
this point of view, was a metaphysical
Science.
The Kabbalah first carne to public attention in Europe or to those interested in related subjects in the 14th century. There
is every indication that it was known to
occult societies and particularly to the Rosi
crucians long before that time. The Kabbalahs profundity and its endeavor to provide
man with a direct connection to the deity
and his divine powers made an impression
upon Christian scholars during the 15th cen
tury in Europe. We are told that a leading It alian scholar, Pico della Mirandola,
urged Pope Sixtus (A. D. 1471-84) that doc
trines of the Kabbalah should be accepted as
part of the Christian doctrines. Thus, the
Kabbalah carne to have different meanings
to different groups of people. It depended
not alone upon the interpretation of it by
a specific group, but how they imagined
they might employ it to their own use. Some
saw in the Kabbalistic teachings an attempt
to explain metaphysically the Book of Genesis, and to reveal the unknown secrets of
nature. By these groups, Abraham was
thought to have been the originator of the
Kabbalah and there is, we are told, sufficient
reason to believe that he had at least made
a substantial contribution to it. In fact, in
the Sepher Yezirah, one of the books of the
Kabbalah, appears the statement: After
that our father Abraham had seen and pondered over, investigated, and understood these
things, he designed, engraved and composed
them and received them into his power.
Other groups saw in the Kabbalah a theurgic
method of gaining control over nature for
personal advantage. Still others looked upon

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

the Kabbalah as a sort of intellectual game

by which numbers and letters were used
both to propound and to solve philosophic
problems.
The word Kabbalah means tradition. It
is stated that some learned Jews have maintained that, in addition to the written law,
the Bible, or the spoken law, the Talmud
and Midrash, the Kabbalah had equally di
vine secret teachings never written or spo
ken except by initiation. Esdras, one of the
Apocrypha or books commonly banned from
the Bible, declares that the Lord told Moses:
These things shalt thou declare, and these
shalt thou hide. There is every reason to
accept the traditional idea that the Kabba
lah was a religio-Science teaching of the
ancient Jews and certain of their contemporaries. It was an attempt to explain the
phenomena of the universe along spiritual
and physical lines, that is, to disclose how
the phenomena of nature are directly the
consequence of law and not arbitrary manifestations.
Such teaching was beyond the comprehension and general knowledge of the masses
of the time. It was profound and exalted
above the common knowledge of the day.
Consequently, it was reserved for the indi
vidual who, by his moral and intellectual
life, had shown his worthiness to receive the
same. It was, in all probability, one of the
mystery teachings of antiquity, accepting the
word mystery with the connotation attached
to it at that period. The manner of divulg
ing such a teaching was almost always by
way of initiation. These initiations were
ordeals for testing the qualifications of the
seeker for an exceptional gnosis; the whole
initiatory rite being an introduction to the
unique wisdom.
The Sepher Yezirah, the first book of the
Kabbalah, is thought to be the oldest and
twice refers to Abraham as its author, a
quotation of which we have given. Another
ame for the Sepher Yezirah is the Book of
Creation. It has been traced back to the 6th
century but it is, very obviously, of a much
older source. It constitutes the main intro
duction to the collection of books of which
the Kabbalah consists. The Kabbalah is, like
the Bible, a number of books placed in a sequential order according to contents. Other

AUGUST, 1955

principal books of the collection are: the

Sepher Dtzenioutha or Book of Concealed
Mystery, and the Book of the Greater Holy
Assembly. The part of the collection which
includes these three is called Zohar, which
literally means Shining Light.
The origin of the Zohar, we are told by
one source to show the diversified nature of
the accounts of the beginning of the Kabba
lah, was the teaching of a celebrated rabbi
of Galilee in the second century. This rabbi
was Simen ben Yohai, a renowned miracle
worker. The enthusiasm shown by the peopie for his achievements, and the following
he acquired, aroused the Romn authorities.
He was eventually condemned to death by
them, but escaped and hid in a cave for
thirteen years. It is in this cave, according
to legend, that there were later found the
magic books of the Zohar.
The largest of these books is The Greater
Holy Assembly. This work discusses the
mystical properties of God and how they have
extended themselves to bring forth the physi
cal universe and man. It expounds that these
Creative divine properties are inherent in
both letters and numbers and can be utilized by man if he knows their right combination. The third book of the Zohar, the
Sepher Dtzenioutha, is more fully concemed
with the application of the forms of Kabbalistic letters and numbers and the secret of
their magical (natural law) properties. We
might, for analogy, say that this work is one
of formulae and procedure. The Book of
Concealed Mystery opens with the words:
The Book of Concealed Mystery is the work
of equilibrium of balance. In a lengthy
but scholarly manner, this equilibrium of
balance is declared to be an equal balance
between contrares. It is the balance between
any set of opposing forces. Thus true equi
librium is a harmony of rest and freedom
from stress. When two forces are equal in
strength, like two men pulling on separate
ends of a rope, motion ceases and is succeeded by a state of rest. This rest may
result in a kind of amalgamation of the
qualities of both the opposite forces. Thus,
if light and darkness are equalized, it is de
clared, we have that balance that is shade
or the quality of both those contrares. This
work then relates that the ancient symbol
for this equilibrium of balance is a circle

Page 15

with a point in the center. It implies that

the contrares are thus unified as symbolized
by the circle and the point in the center
thereof alludes to the concentration of their
integrated forces.
The first principal axiom of the Kabbalah
is the ame of the deity which is held to
be ineffable. Translated in the versin
of the Bible, this is I am that I am or
Existence is existence. Metaphysically,
this may be construed that God Is. He is
Absolute Being, whose nature is potentially
everything. Thus a more specific description is impossible. However, the Kabbalists
did not hold that God was formless. His
nature was a composite of many attributes
and powers. This form was not to be idolatrized. Eliphas Levi, renowned philosopher,
occultist and Kabbalist, says, in his Historie
de la Magie: The Kabbalists have a horror
of everything that resembles idolatry. They,
however, ascribe the human form to God
but it is a purely hieroglyphic (symbolic)
figure. They consider God as the intelligent,
living and loving Infinite One.
The word Sephiroth, used frequently in
the Kabbalah, in general means numercal
emanations. There are 10 Sephiroth, nu
meris 1 to 10. These numeris have an
abstract or symbolic meaning in relation to
the deity. Some say that Pythagoras system of numbers, wherein he attributes prop
erties to numbers and claims each expression
of nature has its number, was derived from
the Kabbalistic theory of numbers and sym
bolic vales. This, however, we very much
doubt. Pythagoras was a student of the
Egyptian mysteries. He studied at Heliopolis, Egypt, under the guidance of the learned
priesthood there. The greater part of his exceptional knowledge, which resulted in par
ticular in demonstrating the mathematical
relationship of the musical scale, was undoubtedly a knowledge imparted to him by
the learned Egyptians at Heliopolis who
taught the early sciences. There is every
probability that, if the Kabbalah has the antiquity attributed to it, it has inchoate the
early secret wisdom of the Egyptian mystery
schools.
Among the Sephiroth or numbers, singly
and in combination, it is declared, are to be
found the development of the person and
attributes of God. In other words, Gods

Page 16

nature has a numerical valu and His pow

ers are expressed in the sound of certain
spoken letters, the Creative power of God,
therefore, being in the spoken word. This
very concept dates back to the Memphite
teachings of ancient Egypt. The god Ptah,
whose principal seat of worship was Memphis, was called the Architect of the Universe.
He created or objectified his thoughts, we
are told, by the spoken word. Some of the
Sephiroth are male and some are female,
this being the principie of duality. Before
the deity first manifested himself as male
and female, the universe could not subsist.
It was, as we are told in Genesis, formless
and void. When, metaphysically speaking,
there was a unity of the two contrares,
male and female, positive and negative, there
existed that equilibrium, that arresting of
motion, that prevented creation. It was only
through their separation and distinct manifestation that the necessary motion of crea
tion carne into being.
The first Sephira is Number One, the
monad of Pythagoras or the self-contained
Creative unit. Leibnitz theory, as set forth
in his Monadology, may have been influenced by the early Pythagorean doctrine
of the monad. In this numeral One all the
other 9 numeris are hidden according to
the Kabbalistic teachings. The One, it is
explained, is indivisible and likewise incapable of multiplication. Divide 1 by itself and
you still have 1. Multiply 1 by 1, and it
remains unchanged. Thus the Number One
in the Kabbalahas in other systems of
metaphysical philosophyrepresents the de
ity, the great Father. One is the self-sufficient, the integrated, power of all creation.
How does 1 add to itself? How does it expand or acquire its diversified expressions
which account for the particulars of the
world? If we are able to define in any
manner this One, the Absolute or God, it
must have an image of itself, we are told.
This image is really, according to the Kab
balah, a reflection of itself which is called
Ediolon. It can be seen that it was necessary
to give forc and motion to the One to ex
plain the multiplicity of its forms. A thing
cannot act upon itself. It must act upon
something else by which change occurs. The
One is complete; it is a sol reality. Nothing else exists upon which it can act.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Therefore, the Kabbalah expounds the con

cept of the One having a reflection of itself.
This results in a duad.
Vibration, it is stated, begins between the
One and its reflection. This vibra tion is the
Creative interaction, the forc or energy by
which creation occurs. The whole 10 Seph
iroth are declared to represent Heavenly
man or primordial being. The ten numbers
and twenty-two letters are the foundation
of all things. These numbers and letters
have a direct nexus with the vibration existing between the One and its reflection. They
are, in other words, the key to the universal
vibratory energy. He (God) hath formed,
weighed, transmuted and created, with these
22 letters, every living being and every soul
yet uncreated. According to the Kabbalistic
teachings, twenty-two letters are formed by
the voice and impressed in the air. These
letters are audibly uttered in five situations:
in the throat; guttural sounds; in the palate; through the teeth, dentis; and by the
lips, labial sounds. In this statement do we
find the early beginnings of the use of vowel
sounds to evoke certain powers and forces.
Ibn Ezra, noted Hebrew philosopher, was
born in Toledo, Spain, in 1092 A.D. [Scholastics refer to him as Abenare or Avenard.]
He was, as well, an astronomer, physician
and poet. He was prominent at the time in
the capacity of grammarian. In writing on
the Kabbalah, he said of the Numeral One,
the self-contained monad: God, called the
One, is the creator of everything. This ame
of God signifies the One that is self-existing,
requiring no other cause for existence. And
if it be considered that, from an arithmetical
point of view, One is the beginning of all
numbers and all of them are composed of
units, it will be found that this is the One
which, at the same time, is the whole. . . .
The soul of man has been brought hither
in order to cause it to seeto see the writ
ing of God.
Certainly the foregoing is sufficient reason for Rosicrucians to have a familiarity
with the Kabbalah. It is one of the oldest
metaphysical systems known to man. It is
one of the earliest attempts at a science to
relate man to God and to the physical forces
of the universe. Any student of philosophy,
metaphysics, or occultism will immediately
see the eclectic relation of many systems of

AUGUST, 1955

thought extant today with that of the Kab

balah. It constitutes an insight into the
thought of our ancient forebears, many of
whose notions we continu to perpetate.
A word of caution, however, is necessary.
The Kabbalah, like many ancient teachings,
has been corrupted. A number of contemporary writers have written pamphlets and
books upon the subject which are wholly
their own interpretations. They have not
attempted an accurate representation from
early translations. They have had preconceived ideas as to what the Kabbalah should
be or what it really meant and have altered
it accordingly. Others have bent the contents of the Kabbalistic teachings so as to
conform to some teaching of their own. The
Rosicrucian instruction on the Kabbalah,
though not infallible, is a sincere attempt
to present, as closely to the original transla
tions as possible, the true Kabbalistic ideas.
It will suffice to say that a Rosicrucian
who does not study the Kabbalah will not
be hindered in his progress in the Rosicru
cian teachings. However, one who does study
it will find it intellectually profitable, at
least.X
Power of Habit
A recent letter asked if certain courses
of study that are currently advertised could
assist an individual in breaking a habit.
There must be many people trying to break
certain habits because there is much comment upon habits and announcements of
means, devices, and courses that will assist
an individual in breaking what is established as a fixed habit. We are, to an extent,
victims of habit. But at the same time we
depend upon them. Many things that we
do through the day are the result of habit,
and without such habits we would have to
devote much more time and effort toward
the accomplishment of these things that are
necessary in our daily lives. Habits are
useful mechanisms which take over and automatically carry us through many circumstanees of our daily routine.
There is a tendeney to exaggerate or elab
rate upon habits that may be injurious to
our health and well-being. Such habits are
probably brought to our attention more than
the habits that are useful and assist us in

Page 17

carrying on our everyday work. It is of

course acknowledged that we all probably
have habits that may not be conducive to
the best of health and the best of the per
formance possible by us, but we seldom take
inventory of the many other habits that are
to our benefit and even to our good. Many
of the things which most of us do automatically are beneficial; in fact, we each
probably have more beneficial habits than
injurious ones and, furthermore, many in
jurious habits seem to become more so when
our attention is directed to them too often.
Habits are established through use. They
are the development of a technique in the
most elementary analysis; that is, we develop the ability to do a thing without directing too much conscious attention to it.
We dress, for example, without thinking too
much about it. We automatically go through
the motions that accomplish our daily tasks.
Many of the things which we do in connection with our occupation are habitual. Cer
tain phases of our daily work, such as reaching for the telephone, or even dialing a
number, or reaching for our pen, paper, or
whatever tools wre may use, are habitual.
If we do not find the object when our hand
reaches the point where it should be, we are
surprised and our attention is directed to
circumstances that would otherwise have
gone unnoticed.
Habits, then, are something to be cultivated, not to be condemned. Possibly there
is too much attention given to the breaking
of habits and not enough to the making of
desirable, useful, and good habits. Habits
can be established, and anything that can
be established can be broken. Any habit that
can be developed can also be discontinued.
You use, in a sense, the same process in re
verse, and the reason the process of habitformation seems easier than that of habitbreaking is probably due to our attention
being directed in a different manner.
When we form a habit, we do not as a
rule begin with the conscious effort to establish a particular pattern or habit. We
do not necessarily have the concept of habit
in mind in forming it as we have when we
attempt to break it. Rather, we see an end
we want to accomplish. We want to gain
the ability to perform a certain act or do a
certain thing, and in our desire to gain that

Page 18

end we often overlook the steps that it takes

to create the habit that brings it about. Consequently, once a habit is established we forget that a process existed in bringing it into
existence because at that time our minds
were directed beyond the accomplishment of
the thing itself.
By applying this same principie to the
breaking of a habit that we want discontinued, we might find the breaking of that habit
somewhat easier. On the other hand, when
we attack the problem of breaking a habit
most of us think in terms of the habit it
self; we concntrate upon it and in that way
we set in motion the functions of the body
and mind that tend to carry out the habit
rather than to inhibit it.
Actually, the breaking of one habit is best
performed by substituting another in its
place, by inhibiting the performance. If a
habit annoys you, move or change the position of some of the objects that are connected
with the functioning of that habit. Bring
something else into the pattern or the pic
ture that will attract attention, and at the
same time devote attention toward the new
aim that you hope to accomplish. If you
are going to break a habit you are going
to do something in its place, so work to
ward the creation of that new thing rather
than entirely to directing yourself to the
breaking down of the od pattern. In this
way you concntrate, as it were, upon a
purpose rather than upon the destruction of
an established pattern.
In the study of the Rosicrucian teachings
we are actually in the process of developing
many habits. Every monograph should be
the pattern by which a trend or step is taken
toward the development of new habits. Not
only are we gaining a new point of view
and the development of techniques which
will make it possible for us to live better,
possibly more successfully, more happily, but
we are developing individual units of these
processes that are most important to our allover well-being. Each monograph presents
principiesprincipies that we want to in
corprate into our life and experience. If we
are to so incorprate them that they become
a worth-while thing or have a true valu
within our life, we must have them become
a part of us, and in becoming a part of us
become more or less automatic in their func

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

tion and performance and, in that sense, fit

into the category of a habit.
We cannot expect a study of a system of
thought to change our whole lives unless that
system is used. If, after the study of the
Rosicrucian teachings or any phase of them,
an individual hopes to replace all bad habits
with good habits with no effort upon his own
part, then he is approaching the whole mat
ter of living with an improper attitude. Ac
tually, we must remember that we cannot
expect the Cosmic, or God, to do anything
for us that we might be able to do for our
selves. If we were not given the potentialities we have, we might be more in a position
to cali upon divine aid to do things for us.
We are given the abilities to develop and
these we can use ourselves, and the strength
that we find for livingthe strength that
we find to meet the problems of existence
is what comes up in our consciousness through
development of our own abilities and innate
potentialities.
It is therefore important, if we are to
continu or attempt to speed up our evolutionary growth, to take inventory of our
habits, stop and give them a little consideradon, list those which we find desirable and
of aid to us so that we can cultivate them.
Those that annoy us can be brought to our
attention and then a new aim selected that
will take their place and in that way we
will be able to grow in the devising of means
and methods and purposes that will have
more valu to us and, in turn, will contrib
ute to our well-being and happiness. Above
all things, we must draw upon the knowl
edge that is available.
We so frequently overlook the convenience
with which we receive Rosicrucian teachings
in the form of monographs. They come in
the mail, we accept them, we do not alwys stop to realize that the content of
one monograph .may be the evolvement of
thought of many people over a long period
of time. Let us determine to draw upon that
experience and knowledge, to incorprate in
to our lives the points of information and
the instruction given us for the develop
ment of good habits and good techniques,
so that we can use this knowledge and de
velop our habits from a pattern that has

AUGUST, 1955

proved to be a means of bringing man the

best that is possible in the course of liv
ing.A
Some Aspects of Projection
The subject of projection has been fre
quently discussed in these pages. It is obviously a topic, a subject, of Rosicrucian
teachings, upon which there will be repeated questions because it is something
which is not familiar in the everyday life
of most of us prior to the time of studying
subject matter such as is covered within the
Rosicrucian teachings. It is not the intent
of these comments to proceed into analysis
of the methods and procedures of projection.
Such are to be found at the proper place
in the monographs and should be reviewed
by those who have already passed that point,
and should be anticipated by those who have
not yet reached that point in their studies.
In anticipation, it should be borne in mind,
too, that the proper development of the prin
cipies taught in the preceding monographs
is important toward the understanding and
the useful and beneficial application of the
subject when it is taught.
I wish at this time to point out some of
the psychological phases of projection that
may assist the student, who is studying and
practicing the exercises in connection therewith, to have a better background for the
understanding of the procedure and the proc
ess which is taught in our monographs. In
presenting this contemplation on projection,
we will be assisted by considering a new
definition of the subjecta definition that
will place the subject matter in an entirely
different perspective from that in which we
have previously considered it.
This informal definition is, to consider pro
jection as the cavareness of the illusion of
space and time. In our earliest monographs
the fact was brought to our attention that
space and time are not the physical entities that we normally conceive them to be.
In our daily lives we cope with our environ
ment, and, in relation to that environment,
we have set up the realization of space and
time so consistently within our consciousness
that most of us unconsciously consider space
and time to be the same type of actuality
or entity as is any object in this room. We

Page 19

look upon space as being only different in

composition from a table, for example, that
occupies spaceand consider time in the
same mannereach being only a different
type of measurement from the foot ruler or
the yardstick that we may have in our home
or office.
Actually, space and time are conditions
which are primarily the concept of con
sciousness. In other words, we are taught
that the whole existent universe is the re
sult of certain vibratory energy constantly
in manifestation. As physical beings we are
equipped to directly perceive some of that
vibratory energy. In other words, the physi
cal objects in this room, including its walls,
that we see as we look around are the type
of vibrations of which we are constantly
aware, and to which our eyes attune as we
become conscious of the perception of light
which is reflected from those objects. With
out light we would not see them. We also
know them by the function of our other
senseswe can feel them, for example, if
we are cise enough. But what lies in the
room in addition to these physical objects,
as we normally cali them, are still vibra
tions; that is, vibrations are existent everywhere, and what seems to be the vibrations
that are not interpretable within our con
sciousness in terms of our physical percep
tion, we normally cali space. In other words,
they appear to be gaps in human conscious
nessgaps because we do not have the proper
mechanical equipment with which to per
ceive these particular vibrations that are
existent.
Time is also similar. Time is a span of
consciousness. Time is very illusory. If we
are enjoying ourselves, we know that time
passes quickly. If we are burdened with
toilsome work, particularly if it is something
we dont want to do, time passes very slowly.
These relative conditions make us realize
that these entities that we commonly cali
time and space are actually conditions ex
istent primarily within our own conscious
state. The realization that they are illu
sions in the strict sense of the word, that
time and space do not exist to the Infinite,
enables us to comprehend that projection is
merely the circumvention of the ordinary
limitations of time and space of which we
are normally aware.

Page 20

In the process of projection we are con

cerned primarily with an expansin of con
sciousness. Consciousness, being a vibratory
energy in itself like all other things, is not
limited merely to the cranium or to the
physical brain. It vibrates unceasingly everywhere but it takes training for us to utilize
all of it. The random movements of a baby
indicate that consciousness is a very minor
feature of his existence. He does not coordinate thoughts, actions, or principies; coordination has to be gradually developed.
Gradually awareness takes place and he becomes able to put together in consciousness
and in thought and behavior a unified func
tion. But once we gain sufficient knowledge
of consciousness and a sufficient control over
our perception to take into consideration the
world in which we normally function or can
exist with the least effort, we fail to realize
that consciousness may have possibilities of
expansin beyond that point; that is, we
limit it to our immediate needs. As long as
we can find something to eat and a place
that is comfortable to stay when we do not
have to work, many of us are satisfied and
consciousness is developed no further.
Actually, projection is a continuation of
the development of consciousnessthe abil
ity to make ourselves aware of situations
that seemingly are limited by our ordinary
day-to-day concept of time and space. Once
the illusion of space and time is banished
from consciousness, then projection, or the
realization of conditions outside the normal
limitations of our brain perception and thinking, is immediately opened up to us.
We also must learn that there is a vast
difference between physical and mental contacts and impressions. It may seem strange
that we should strive for perfection and attunement, projection, assumption, and other
processes that we are taught in our higher
degrees, but we must bear in mind the fact
that we are already aware that there is a
difference between a physical and a mental
impression. If I touch a table, I receive a cer
tain physical sensation that is transmitted to
my brain. This becomes a concept within con
sciousness and causes me to have a certain
realization that is connected with the physi
cal thing which I am touching and with
previous memories and association. But if
I think about touching a table, although I

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

can be conscious of almost the identical

sensations and impressions, we all know that
they are different. If you do not believe
this, then the next time you are hungry
think of eating a meal and see if it gives
you the same satisfaction as though you were
actually eating one. This is an illustration
of the difference between physical and men
tal concepts and experiences.
It is therefore to be realized that since we
can live, as it were, on two planes, a physi
cal and a mental one, insofar as our relationship to the physical world is concerned, we
can also live on still another plae insofar
as our relationship to the psychic or Infinite
world is concerned, and that our impressions,
sensations, concepts, and other means of
awareness will be different and our ability
to perceive them must be cultivated. Only
time and experience and applied effort are
known to be the way by which man can
gain the ability to improve his knowledge
and the extent to which he can function.
Therefore, if we are to become proficient
in the psychic arts as well as the mental
and physical arts, we are going to have to
practice them just as we have had to practice the development of all techniques that
may be a part of our behavior.A
On Faith and Belief
A frater, addressing our Forum, says:
Possibly it is not out of order to repeat
my suggestion that our Forum consider the
distinction between faith and belief or what
relationship they may have.
It is first appropriate to make a distinc
tion between knowledge and faith, A discussion of knowledge usually precipitates one
immediately into the realm of the abstract
and into the lengthy subject of epistemology
and its various theories. For our purpose
here, however, we may presume to give a
brief explanation of the nature of knowl
edge. All that is realized through percep
tion or reflection and which has the quality
of reality to us is knowledge. What we
are aware of objectively and which assumes
specific qualities to our senses, as, for ex
ample, color, dimensin, sound, is a point of
knowledge. Further, whatever is communicated to us, as a written or spoken word,
and which symbolically becomes associated

AUGUST, 1955

with ideas we have personally experienced,

is likewise knowledge because it acquires a
reality to us. This is knowledge through
perception.
When we reason, combining the elements
of our thought, and arrive at a conclusin
that seems self-evident, we have then reflective or conceptual knowledge. Such con
cepts, if logical and if not refuted by
objective experience, are as specific a knowl
edge to us as anything we may have seen
or heard. To know is to have that realiza
tion by which something comes to have re
ality to our minds. One may think, yet he
may not necessarily know. All that we think
does not have positive existence to us. We
often doubt the validity of our thoughts as,
for example, in conjecture and speculation.
When we know something, we mean that
we have that consciousness of an impression
or an idea that makes it appear to have as
much existence as we do to ourselves. We
cannot always immediately substantiate, that
is, make factual, many of our most logical
conclusions. Nevertheless, if they have such
forc of conviction, because of their rational
connections, as to be accepted by us as a
reality, they are then a point of knowledge.
Faith is a substitution for knowledge. It
is a reliance upon a thing or circumstance
whose reality has not been intimately ex
perienced. I have faith that the sun will
shine on another day but I have not yet ex
perienced that future day. It is not, there
fore, actually a point of knowledge. Faith
consists of dependence upon the implied na
ture or quality of that in which we have
faith. Wherever there is faith, there is that
which suggests to the mind the probability
of fulfillment of a certain condition. Since
I have experienced the suns reappearing
many times, I deduce from that fact that
it will continu to do so. That deduction is
not related to immediate experience. There
fore, it is faith.
It might be asked, And what is the dif
ference between this definition of faith and
reflective knowledge as we discussed it previously? The elements of reflective knowl
edge, with the exception of the conclusions
derived from them, are founded upon ex
perience. This very explanation as to the
distinction between faith and knowledge is
an example of reflective knowledge. I have

Page 21

inquired into the basis of the faith of others

and myself and I have observed the processes
of a persons thinking. Such is factual to
me. To me at least they are realities. There
fore, they are points of knowledge. Upon
them, then, I have based my proposition as
to the nature of faith which is to me reflec
tive knowledge. My conclusin developed
out of the realities of my experience; in
other words, in some instances faith does
parallel reflective knowledge. But since faith
does not universally do so, we cannot declare
it to be the equivalent of knowledge.
Faith, generally, is dependent upon prob
ability and implication. One is said to have
faith in the authority of the clergy of a cer
tain sect. As a consequence, all statements
made by such individuis with respect to
the doctrinal matters of the sect are taken
upon such implied authority. They are thus
not knowledge born of either intimate ex
perience or of reflection upon such experi
ence. A child has faith in the opinions and
statements of his parents. The child looks
upon his parents as omniscient and pre
sumes that the statements which they make
constitute reality or truth. Though tradition
has made faith a virtue, in reality it may
often be a deterrent to the acquisition of
knowledge. Faith is often blind. It is interwoven with emotional qualities. Where there
is religious devotion or love for some source
of information, there is then no inclination
to be skeptical of that source. There is, in
other words, a sense of loyalty toward the
object of love or reverence which tends to
restrict open inquiry into the ideas which
it imparts. Further, this loyalty of faith is
sometimes so militant as to refuse to con
sider any factual data which may oppose it.
In the absence of empirical knowledge,
that conveyed by the receptor senses, or con
clusions based upon the same, faith pro
vides a sense of security. It may fill a void
in experience and satisfy curiosity. One may
have faith in the contents of a sacred writing by virtue of his inability to disprove it
and because it provides a certain moral and
psychological satisfaction. But one must be
ready to reject this implicit faith and the
entire contents of the work whenever the
phenomenal world discloses that certain of
its statements are factually false or that they
must not be interpreted literally. To do

Page 22

otherwise s to obstruct knowledge. As a

personal opinion, we would venture the
statement that faith must be placed in a
secondry relationship to knowledge. The
latter, in the majority of instances, is more
expedient and therefore potential with per
sonal accomplishment.
Belief has a similarity to reflective knowl
edge. All that we believe is not possible of
objectivity, that is, of being experienced ob~
jectively. You may, for further analogy, be
lieve that there is an underlying cosmic
energy in which all else has its origin. Extensive research in physics and astrophysics
may compel a logical theory that such a primary kinetic energy underlies the most
minute particulars of the universe of which
man has knowledge. It may be believed
then that this primary energy must conform
to certain basic laws of other energy known
to man. This conclusin, obviously, is parallel to what we have considered reflective
knowledge to be. The belief is so positive
that it, too, as sumes a reality to us. It
does, however, fall short of perceptual knowl
edge in the fact that it cannot be objectively
confirmed by our receptor senses.
Belief is inferior to perceptual knowledge
in that it is principally subjective, though
its ideas may arise out of the observation
of phenomena. Perceptual knowledge, on the
other hand, is actually both objective and
subjective. What we see has reality to our
sense of sight and is, as well, accepted by
our reason because its qualities are perceivable. I will, for analogy, not reason against
the form of something that persists to my
faculties of sight and touch. Belief must,
therefore, be subordinated to perceptual
knowledge for the reasons given. We must
not persist in our beliefs when objective ex
perience refutes them. To adhere to a be
lief, notwithstanding fact, is to resort to
faith, a mere allegiance to probability or
implied knowledge.
The beliefs of many persons are but con
ditions of faith. Such individuis have not
arrived at their beliefs as a result of their
own reasoning and consequent conviction.
They but accept notions communicated to
them which are often devoid of any elements
which are demonstrable to the individual so
believing. These so-called beliefs, we repeat,
fall wholly within the category of faith.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Much of our learning, so far as conviction

of it is concerned, is but faith. We do not
take the trouble or do not have the means
of empirically proving that which is imparted to us, so we rely on the authority
of the source.X
Are There Soulless Beings?
A soror now addresses our Forum: I recently read an article regarding an instrument lately perfected which is used to
register the heartbeats of an infant just be
fore and during birth. It was stated that
no doubt many stillborn children died for
lack of oxygen and also it was thought that
the lack of oxygen at this crucial time might
be the cause of many weak-minded children
or children without a conscious mind. The
thought carne to me: Do these weak or imbecilic children have a soul? Is it possible
for a human being to live and have no soul?
These questions I submit to our Forum.
Unless a thing is realized, it is not of us.
We may have a particular faculty or a ma
terial possession but, unless we are aware
that we have the same, it has no real part in
our conscious nature. The fact that others
may perceive something as being related to us
is of no valu to us unless we can be made to
have the same realization of it. What one
cannot realize he cannot consciously utilize.
It is undoubtedly true that there is much of
our composite being of which we are not
aware and which in some manner contrib
utes to our existence as well as our being.
Nevertheless when we speak of ourselves,
we mean our ego, our conscious entity.
Therefore, that which lies beyond our selfrealization is lost to our personal conscious
being.
Upon this premise one is, in fact, soulless
until he has that awareness of self that constitutes what man designates as conscience,
the moral sense or soul. The soul is a manifestation of Divine consciousness and Vital
Life Forc within the physical organism of
man. It is a function or state of self which
man comes to discern. Psychologically, we
can say that soul is a high degree of selfconsciousness. Eventually, this awareness of
certain immanent urges and sensations creates the notion to the mind of a reality set
off and apart from the physical organism. It

AUGUST, 1955

becomes to the mind an entity independent

of the world and of the body and it is given
the identity of soul. In other words, man has
come to say: This quality, this functional
characteristic of my being, I refer to as soul.
If one has no such conscious response to
these inner sensations and mandates or transcendent aspects of self, to himself, then he
has not soul. To himself, because of the lack
of perception of his deeper consciousness, he
is soulless. A man has soul only when he
realizes it. The function of soul is to make
the mortal side of man cognizant of its nexus
with a power that transcends the mortal be
ing. Where this function, for any reason, is
not activethat is, it is dormantthat being
for all purposes of soul is, in fact, soulless.
Man has attributed, in part, his supremacy to other living conscious things on the
grounds of his highly developed self-consciousness or soul. Whenever for any reason he
lacks this quality, he no longer is superior
in a Divine sense lo other animals. Rosi
crucians contend that all living things have
soul essence in them. The Divine conscious
ness is universal. It permeates the lower ani
mals as well as man. The phj^sical structure
of these lower animals, the organism of the
brain or the nervous system, does not make
possible that sense of introversin of con
sciousness, as in man, that brings about a
realization of the indwelling intelligence.
Therefore, a dog may be said to have the
element of soul but not its function, for he
is incapable of that more extensive realiza
tion of self.
One who is an imbecile is, therefore, soul
less in this same sense. He is not able to
respond to the essence of soul, of realizing
the Divine quality of his own being. Again
we repeatthis, of course, does not mean
that the individual is devoid of that essence
from which the consciousness of soul emerges.
The connection is there but the reflective
mechanism by which it manifests is nonoperative. It is for this reason, in discussing
karma, that we have said that imbecilic per
sons are not examples of karma, for they
personally are unable to realize karmic effects. One must have an awareness of those
causes which he has induced through his
thoughts and deeds before karma is effective.

Page 23

Certainly it will be agreed that one is neither

effectively punished or rewarded who has
not experienced the causes of the same.
Likewise, this fact enters into ones guilt
or whether he is to be adjudged evil from
the consequences of his acts. Unless it can
be shown that a person knew that what he
has done is in violation of the accepted moral
sense or contrary to what is right, he is not
morally guilty. He may be guilty in a legal
sense and, therefore, be punished or at least
prevented from a continuation of his acts.
If, however, he is unable to evalate his acts
in accordance with the standard of conduct
which is related to the commonly accepted
virtues, he has committed no moral wrong.
We excuse infants for this lack of moral
valu and judgment of their acts. Likewise,
there are others whose soul in effect is so
suppressed in its manifestation that they are
declared to be, in principie, soulless.
Contrary to traditional beliefs, our soul is
dependent upon the normal functioning of
the organ known as brain. The essence of
soul exists, of course, independent of the
brain; that is, the brain is in no way the
creator of it. Certain areas of the brain,
however, in connection with our nervous and
glandular systems, make possible the full
functioning of this soul essence, the Divine
consciousness. We may use the homely anal
ogy of a finely produced motion picture.
The story it has to portray is excellent:
technically, the film is splendidly produced;
there is fine photography, sound recording,
Processing, editing, and the multitude of details that enter into the perfect film. How
ever, an ineffective or damaged projector,
optical, and sound system, may reproduce a
distorted versin of the film. In fact, the
projector may even be unable to project the
perfect film at all. When the are lamp in
the theater suddenly ceases to function, the
screen goes dark. No intelligent person in
the audience would think the film had vanished or dissolved or that there was no film
at all. Rather, he would realize that the
mechanism was unable to manifest the prop
erties of the film. So, too, some are soulless
in their functional nature as human beings,
even though they, and every other human
being, possess the soul essence.X

to m d m d w j
HAVE YOU ever looked with concern at the
language habits and customs which your child is
acquiring? Do you want to bring out the best
qualities of your child and, as well, adapt him admirably for the world of tomorrow? What is the
proper psychological attitude for the development
of a child before and after birth?
If the mothers diet, improper clothes, and insufficient sleep affect the unborn child, then what
effect does worry, fear, and anger have upon it?
What should or should not be curbed in the parent or the child to cultvate Creative abilities early
in life? The ability to develop the personality from
babyhood, to avoid harmful habits, and awaken
latent talents, impels the parent to consider seriously the important period before and after the
child is born. It is said, give me a child for the
first seven yearsbut it is also imperative that
the parent begin before the first year of the infants life!

(KKigM

/ 4 c c e fe t

'ie e

The Golden Age of Pericles in Ancient Greece

taught the creation of a pleasant environment to
appeal to the sense of beauty in the parents. The
right start was and still is an important factor in
the birth and development of a child. The Child
Culture Institute ofers a F re e explanatory book
for the enlightenment of prospective parents, or
those with young children. You owe it to your
child to inquire. Address:

Ghilc) Qultuie Institute

SA N

R o s ic ru c ia n P a rk

JOSE,

CALIFORNIA

October, 1955
Volume X X V I

No. 2

Rosicrucian Forum
A p rv a te

p u b lic a tio n fo r m e m b e rs of A M O R C

C A M P EZELL, F. R. C., G ran d Councilor of A M O R C for Southw estern States, U. S. A.

Page 26

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Greetings!
V

PROGRESS A N D REFINEMENT
Dear Fratres and Sorores:
from its environment, the object may assimilate elements which cause it to take on
Should you go ahead? Is the progress you larger proportions, or to become more comdesire advisable? It is not an exaggeration plex, without losing its identity. This de
to say that much of the dissatisfaction which velopment, then, can mean a greater func
some persons experience in life is due to the tion, or extensin of the attributes, or the
progress which they have sought and made.
size of an object. For example, the ferns of
Progress is advancement, the moving toward the steaming tropical jungles are a develop
an objective. However, one can advance ment over the same species grown in an
toward darkness as well as light. Likewise, environment less favorable to them. Evolu
one can advance in a descent, as well as in
tion can also mean that development which
an ascent. We are, for example, all progress- is a concatenation of changes. Starting at
ing toward od age, yet od age is hardly its apparent irreducible minimum something
an end to be desired. Emphasis, therefore, becomes a number of other things, eventualshould not be put upon progress as a method, ly returning to its original form. The most
but rather upon the end toward which prog complex of the changes is held to be the
ress is directed. If your ends or ideis in life highest point of that development. Such
are inconsistent with the functions of nature
cycles of development or evolution are comor the actual welfare of society, then when mon in nature. The acom becomes the oak,
you progress toward them, you are per- which in tum brings forth other acoms.
haps retrogressing from health, success, and The cell develops a complex, living form
happiness.
a human being which in turn produces
In ordinary experience, what we desire other cells to form the embryo, et cetera.
becomes to us an objective. The approach to
Environment and heredity produce mutait is progress. If we want a house, and we tions, alterations in the structural and func
acquire a lot and the funds to build, we say tional nature of living things. We are also
we are making progress. Often, though, the inclined to cali such changes evolutionary
progress in one direction may constitute ret- refinements. Thus an animals legs become
rogression in another. We may be obliged more slender and its paws or hooves smaller,
to make such sacrifices from an ethical, as the dogs, for example, by which it is able
moral, or physical point of view, that as a to attain greater speed and agility. The idea
whole we may have lost rather than gained that this process is a refinement, however,
ground.
exists entirely in our consciousness. To na
It is possible to evalate human progress, ture, one necessity has no greater valu than
that is, progress in human affairs, by com- another. The fish that becomes a reptile,
parison with progress in nature. We speak and the reptile that becomes a mammal,
of the evolutionary trends in nature. We with the change of climatic or geographical
think of such an evolutionary process as be conditions, from natures point of view, were
ing progress. What is nature moving from not progressions, they were actually only
or to? As applied to nature, evolution seems adaptations. The refinements, so-called, of
to be a development. Things have an irre their functions, the discarding of some at
ducible minimum of reality to us. Below tributes and acquiring of others was just a
that minimum, the object no longer has ex way of making each equal to the demands
istence to us. Consequently beginning with
of its existence. Only by mans conception
that minimum, the only change which is of the standards of living things is the mampossible, so far as we are aware, is the de mal an advancement from the fish. We hold
velopment of the object. This development
a diamond to be of greater valu than car
may occur as an accretion. In other words,
bn, from which it is created, merely be-

OCTOBER, 1955

Page 27

cause it has greater valu to us. The diamond

is not an evolvement from carbn, in the
sense of having a greater valu in the scheme
of nature.
The only development or real evolution
in nature is that series of successive changes,
by which a thing becomes more complex9
not just different. This complexity is a retaining by a thing its original principal attri
butes, and the elaborating upon them or the
acquiring of others related to them. A com
plete metamorphosis, by which a thing becomes something else, with less or just
different characteristics cannot be considered
a true evolutionary process. Only that which
has a cyclical change in nature, which began with a simple state and attained a com
plex one, and then recurs in simple form is
evolution in the sense of actual development.
In our human affairs, then, we have a
norm by which to judge our progress. Prog
ress does not just consist, in our affairs, of
a change from what we have or are to what
we want to have or wish to be. It must be
an extensin of what we have or are. You
have not become more complex, you have
not extended yourself, if you have acquired
greater learning at the sacrifice of your
health. You have not, by the same reasoning, progressed if you have gained great
wealth and economic security at the expense
of your self-respect and peace of mind.
Progress is not a shuffling of our virtues and
inherent assets, a discarding of some for
others. It must mean an elaboration of the
same evaluation which we put upon self to
day. This does not mean that a substitution
of a right concept for a wrong one is not
progress. The recognition of a virtue is most
certainly the equivalent of its elaboration.
It is presumed that you recognize that a
healthy body and mind are basic requirements of the human, in the physical and
mental sense. It is presumed that you recog
nize that observation and thought, or study
and reflection are necessary for the intelli-

gent direction of self and your surroundings.

It is presumed that you recognize the need
of social unity, of working with your fellows
collectively, and yet preserving for them and
for yourself certain inherent rights and freedom of expression. If you recognize these
factors as necessary to human existence and
welfare, then anything which expands them,
gives them more complexity, is real progress.
Anything which may tend to suppress them
or cause them to retrograde, no matter how
appealing to the imagination it may be is
not an advancement from simplicity to com
plexity, but just change.
We are all today talking about the progress
we want, or which we expect to materialize
in the more or less immediate tomorrow. Is
all that we so anticipate a true progress, or
may it not just be a deviation from the
present? Advancing toward some ideis we
have may actually be a retrogression from
the above necessary vales which we should
put upon our existence.
Fratemally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator.
(Reprinted from ForumAugust 1944)

Living the Teachings

A frater now says: I have just been

reading the monthly bulletin of our chapter
and have come across an article entitled
Effective Help. This article reads as follows: New members often wonder how the
teachings can help them in their daily work.
Here is a simple way expressed by one of our
fratres: I am being wamed or informed
two or three days ahead if I am going to
run into trouble at work. Depending on this
reliable information, all I do is to be very
careful. I sort of double-check everything I
do and, with my co-workers, I try to keep
my mouth closed, and this always keeps me

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, 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 Department
of Publication of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Parle, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/1 sterling) A N N U A LL Y FOR MEMBERS O N LY

Page 28

out of trouble. Its as easy as that, but you

have to know it.
1, too, am a new member and the thought
expressed here strikes me as being unusually
simple and outstanding in that, regardless of
whether one is pre-warned or notbeing
very careful-^double-checking on things
and keeping ones mouth shut are primary
requisites of success. If this frater has learned
that through the teachings of Rosicrucianism,
he needs nothing further in life. I would
enjoy knowing your (the Forums) reaction
to this thought.
We do not quite agree with the frater
that the above conduct alone is an assurance
of success in life. There are several other
factors needed. However, these qualities of
character to which he refers are very helpful. One of the first principies of the teach
ings is the need to develop or rather to manifest our intuition. Immanuel Kant conferred
upon intuition the quality of a priori
knowledge., He held that there is a synthesizing or combining power of the mind that
puts our experience into an order from which
truth or real knowledge can be extracted.
On the other hand, John Locke, English
philosopher, inveighed against the idea that
there is an innate knowledge. When men
have found some general propositions that
could not be doubted of as soon as understood, it was a short and easy way to conclude them innate.
There is a happy compromise between the
concept, on the one hand, that there is implanted in the minds of men a complete
wisdom as a collection of ideas and, on the
other hand, the notion that all knowledge is
the direct result of objective experience. We,
as Rosicrucians, contend that there is a
deeper synthesizing judgment of the human
mind that is innate or intuitive. This intui
tion is of experience inbred in the human
mind and organism. It is part of mans harmonious relationship with the whole Cosmic
scheme of which he is a part. We believe
that mans judgments and experiences, if
brought before this bar of intuition, are
properly evaluated. At such a time we feel,
rather than know, them to be either wrong
or right. Therefore, we can act in accordance with such innate impulses if we will.
There are definite categories or limits of
the mortal intelligence and faculties as we

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

know. Whenever an experience is contrary

to these categories, if we have developed that
sensitivity by which we can realize them, we
intuitively respond to them. There is derived from the experience a kind of psychic
judgment which in no way is objectively
apparent. This judgment either vigorously
impresses the mind with an opposing view
or it may actually confirm our reasoning,
giving it a kind of self-evidence.
What we may think of as a premonition,
as knowing something in advance as this
frater says, is a psychic perception of the
subtle elements of things and circumstances
that we cannot as yet objectively discern.
We may have a knowledge not born out of
what our receptor senses appear to reveal
to us that this or that is to occur. It is as
though we had an x-ray quality to our con
sciousness that can penetrate an object and
reveal its flaws which our eyes do not detect. This premonition is then an intuitive
perception, the consequence of psychical pow
ers. The Rosicrucians, as we have said, stress
in the early phases of their teachings the
need for cultivating and relying upon this
faculty of intuition. They caution against
presuming that a mere opinion or disinclination to act upon our experiences is a
true intuitive impulsethere is a vast dif
ference. The derision by some rationalists of
intuition has been based upon this common
confusion of its nature and the belief by
many that intuition consists of an actual
reservoir of innate facts or points of knowl
edge to be withdrawn like objects from a
shelf.
Being cautious is instinctive. When one
exercises caution it is indicative that some
experience which he encounters is not perspicuous to him. Man has learned through
untold generations that things which are not
thoroughly comprehended or fully apparent
may have lurking within them an element
of danger. This attitude is very evident in
the behavior of the lower animals. An ani
mal will carefully approach any unfamiliar
object or circumstance prepared either to
flee from it or defend itself from that which
threatens. There is then every need to relate
intuition to caution. One who resorts, at
every possible opportunity, to his awakened
and cultivated intuition, is exercising cau
tion in his affairs. Such a person should be

OCTOBER, 1955

quite successful if he is also both industrious

and justand has as well a normal degree
of intelligence.
As for the last precaution to which the
frater refers in a homely way, that of keeping ones mouth closed, that, too, under cer
tain conditions is very beneficial. There is
an od adage which, in effect, says: Only
speak when what you have to say is more
golden than your silence. Thoughtless
speech is an uncontrolled power. It goes
forth airnlessly and may do untold harm in
confusing minds or unnecessarily disturbing
persons. The object of speech by man is not
merely a vociferous response to his emotions
as a cry of pain, pleasure, anger, or exclamation. We talkor are presumed tofor
the purpose of communicating ideasthe
transference of intelligence from one mind
to another or others by means of the voice.
One should ask himself before he speaks,
Has what I am about to say any real valu?
If not, it is obvious that silence would be
better. It would prevent us many times from
becoming involved in the aftermath of our
speech, if we would think first.
It is quite true that much of our conversation is impulsive. We automatically give
voice to our feelings and random thoughts.
Therein lies danger. In many instances,
after having spoken, the folly and fallowness of what we have said is finally realized
by us. There is not one of us who has not
at some time in his life wished he could have
retracted a thoughtless impetuous remark
which he has made. It is difficult but neces
sary to hesitate a second in speaking to become conscious of the impact of the idea to
which we are going to give vocative form.
In correspondence, we have found it nec
essary, since we represent not just ourselves,
but a world-wide organization, to write a letter from the point of view of how it will
sound when read aloud to others. Is there
something being said in the letter that you
would not want read back or published a
month or ten years henee? This compels
caution and a judicious presentation of the
thoughts that enter into a letters composition. The same policy, with much advantage,
can and should be displayed in our speaking.
Most of us, in general, in an indirect way,
know these things. The Rosicrucian teachings, however, point out and emphasize the

Page 29

fundamental laws underlying them. As a

consequence, they take them out of the realm
of mere conviction and cause them to be
practical, that is, applicable to everyday liv
ing.X
Is Karma Deferred?
A frater of the British West Indies arises
now and asks our Forum: May a question
that has been bothering me for a little while
be submitted to the Forum? If effect follows
cause as a natural consequence, how is it that
a persons karma may be deferred? Would
not the Cosmic be precluding the law from
taking its normal course?
Karma, as we have on many occasions
explained, is the law of compensation, or the
law of causlity. It is in-*no way an arbitrary intelligence interceding in the affairs
of men, or is it an act of retribution for
the misdeeds of humans. With this premise
understood and accepted, karma is then re
alized to be entirely impersonal. It is exercised alike against individuis of any station
in life, creed, or race, whose thoughts or
deedsas a causeinvoke it. To the sentimentalists, this may seem harsh, naturalistic,
and merciless. However, in the uniform
exactitude of karma there is to be found
Cosmic justice. One would and should ex
pect a Cosmic precept and law not to be
immured by prejudice or bias.
The responsibility for the consequences of
invoked karma lies always upon humans.
For analogy, one does not try to transfer
to the effect of gravity any injury he may
have suffered when he falls from some
height. Neither should one assume that kar
ma is intentionally adverse or beneficent in
the effeets that follow from the laws of which
it consists. To refer to karmic laws as though
they consisted of a matrix of special phe
nomena, or unique causes and effeets, is erroneous. Karma is a generic term for the
relationship of all laws, both physical and
spiritual, to which man is subject. Karma,
as well, includes the relationships we have
with our fellows and with society at large.
If one acts in such way as to arouse jealousy, hatred, or envy, he has engendered
psychological causes that are bound to re
sult to his detriment. These, too, would come
under the heading of karma. The psycho-

Page 30

logical reactions of those we have hurtor

pleasedsince they are natural law, the phe
nomena of nature, are obviously of karma.
Logically, and as Sir Isaac Newton made
plain in his laws of motion, there is never
a single cause. A thing cannot act upon it
self. It must act upon something else. The
active cause and that which it acts upon
are both causes. The effect rises out of the
interaction between these two causes, the ac
tive and the passive. Therefore, there is al
ways a set or pair of causes for any effect
experienced. There are also no preferred
causes. Man may prefer certain effeets that
come from causes, and therefore, he chooses
active ones that produce them. Cosmically
and in nature, at times, a cause whose effect
ori man may be adverse will be much more
active than one whose results man may pre
fer: For analogy, a cause that might ruin our
health can, on occasion, be more direct and
immediately effective than one which we
might choose to improve our health. We can
so dissipate our life as to bring about illhealth in a very short time, such a cause
being very intense. Those who are ill know
that the most beneficial causes of health, or
of a curative nature, are relatively slow in
their effeets in comparison with those which
are ruinous.
It is cogent that man must seek to know
something of the causes, such as natural
phenomena and Cosmic law, that influence
life. It is obligatory upon him to select those
which are more efficacious and to avoid
equally effective ones that may be adverse.
There is a common saying playing with
fire. This alludes to a behavior which ex
perience has shown precipitates as causes a
series of events from which (if no action is
interposed) seriously adverse effeets will follow. Just as there are such causes which
can be harmful, so, also, there are acts and
thoughts that can work to our advantage.
An active cause is never arrested or
ceases to be until some more active one is
interposed. When this occurs, the first cause
becomes relatively passive to the one which
acts upon it. If one has precipitated a cause,
as a natural or Cosmic law, of which one is
cognizant, he can only escape its effect by
invoking a more active counter-cause. The
new one will either mitgate the former
somewhat, or completely defer it. To illus-

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

trate this, let us use the further analogy of

a ball on a billiard table. A fast rolling ball
is moving to an undesirable crner of the
table; that crner represents some conditions
or effeets not wanted. Now, if another ball
is set into motion obliquely across the table
so as to collide with the first ball, this first
one will have its course diverted or com
pletely stopped. So, too, we may defer kar
ma by employing thought and deeds of
counter-purpose.
Karma, as a law of causality, has one
purpose, if we wish to use a term that suggests arbitrary action, and that is, from every
set of causes, effeets must follow. Therefore,
again we sayit is mans responsibility as
to what the effeets shall be. Either intentionally or inadvertently, man institutes the
causes. For man not to be able to defer
karma, would make karma a retaliatory ac
tion, which is not in accord with Cosmic
principies. Does this mean then that one
can escape the effeets of his wrongdoing by
instituting a counter-cause? The only way
a counter-cause can be established is to pre
ciptate one whose nature and function is
distinctly different in every respect. Thus,
what man calis an evil act (which is a cause)
can only be mitigated or deferred by one
whose nature is more harmonious and what
men cali a spiritual good. A spiritual good
is one of motive, as well as of action. Thus,
to invoke a counter-cause to oppose an evilly
engendered one, the motive must be sincere.
The counter-cause cannot merely be to evade
the consequences of ones acts.
Morally right acts that put into motion
constructive causes are not just those determined by a religious code, or are they necessarily limited to the dictates of society.
To act just within the law, whether that be
temporal or ecclesiastical, is not sufficient.
The deed must also conform to ones con
science, to his personal sense of rectitude,
or it will be productive of a cause other
than that desired. A man must act in accordance with the spiritual level of his con
sciousness, that is, as he personally believes
the right to be. This right, it is patent, must
not be one limited to the personal or selfish
advantage of the individual. One may be
lieve it right to gain whatever he wants;
this, of course, is a response to the lower
nature of man, to the welfare of the im

OCTOBER, 1955

medate self. But the higher aspect of ones

self-consciousness is more expansive. It includes ones relationships with other humans
as well.
A man cannot set his hand against his
fellows for his own advantage and think
that he is acting in accordance with expan
sive, Cosmic law. Such conduct only in
duces causes of like nature to be instituted
by others against him. Consequently, the in
dividual experiences the effect of the hurt
he has imposed upon others.X
Did Man Evolve?
A frater now presents an interesting question to our Forum. He writes: In Genesis
it states that God created man on the sixth
day, and on the seventh day He rested
having completed his work as far as this
earth was concerned. If his work was com
pleted then, all mankind must have been
created at that timethe sixth day. It does
not indicate that God kept on creating man.
Of course, we understand that a day did
not mean twenty-four hours, but a period
of time. In that case, man could have been
created at different times during that period,
which would make the Soul-Personalities of
different ages.
Some philosophies teach that man evolved
through the mineral, vegetable, and animal
kingdoms. It is my understanding that our
Rosicrucian teachings proclaim that man was
created a Spiritual Being, as Man, and carne
to this earth where he functions in a physi
cal body while here. We are also taught
that at his advent upon this earth, man was
bisexual. The only bisexual animal life we
know of is very low in the scale of evolu
tion. Just where in the evolution of physical
forms did man appear? Was he self-conscious or did he have only animal conscious
ness, or was he a single-celled, bisexual,
animal-like man when he first carne to
earth?
As Rosicrucians, we hold to the concept
that man was not a spontaneously created
being. He did not come into existence with
the intelligence and full development of the
faculties which he now possesses. We further
contend that organically man was not cre
ated as he appears, that is, as a homo sapiens.
We are quite cognizant of the fact that this

Page 31

concept is contrary to orthodox theological

notions and the literal interpretation of the
Book of Genesis. Such orthodox views are
not in accord with the knowledge which man
acquired through the sciences. Further, they
are not wholly consistent with the more profound understanding of mystical philosophy.
First, we hold to the position that man
organically, that is, physically, is a developed
being, cali him evolved, if you wish. He is
what he is because he has been thus fashioned by his environment and biological
selection. His eyes and ears, the nose and
hands, the feet, are not arbitrary creations
especially designed for their function. They
are, rather, the adjustment of the living or
ganism to the necessity of its subsistence.
Animals were not given eyes so that they
might see; they have eyes because they do
see. The organs and functions of sight
evolved out of the needs of the organism to
see. For analogy, it does not rain so that
things may grow; rather, things grow because it does rain.
This concept does not detract from the
principie that a Divine impulse imbued mat
ter with life. It does not remove an infinite
Intelligence, as a conscious forc, acting
through the phenomena of nature. Instead
of promulgating the idea that the Divine
Intelligence brought forth as a spontaneous
creation the completed physical form of man,
we declare that the Divine impulse was at
first of simpler forces and energies. These
simpler forces and energies persisted. They
are universals. Out of them there evolved
numerous expressions, or the organic forms
that we know, including man. This view
may rob man of the vainglory that he has
set for himself. It makes of him but one
of the creations of the Divine Intelligence,
not the central one for which all exists. It
does not, however, deny that he is the highest manifestation of the Divine on earth in
that he is able to have that self-consciousness by which the Divine is realized.
That man evolves in intelligence should
not be doubted. In our present era there
still exist aborigines who are in their be
havior animal-like. Their offspring, if placed
in modern environment, adjust rapidly,
evolving, if you will, to the manner of living
of modern man. In two or three generations
they display intelligence or a coordinated

Page 32

power of mind equal to that of modern man.

Of course, it may be contended that these
aborigines are already humanswhich they
are. There is no link, to use a hackneyed
term, which has yet biologically established
the fact of mans emergence from any par
ticular lower form of lifeas for example,
the anthropoid apes.
Man has proved in his experimentation
that various forms of life can be altered.
Mutation occurs through such controlled factors, as temperature, nutrition, and stimuli
of various kinds. The similarity of mans
organic system to that of other living things
is a strong and substantial support, at least,
of his biological emergence from other or
ganic beings. The study of the embryo and
the development through which it passes be
fore the human stage is attained is also extremely convincing.
Why should man feel distressed that the
Cosmic life forc and the Divine impulse
has manifested itself through less evolved
and complex formsthat is, from the invertebrate to finally attain the vertebrate?
In our Rosicrucian philosophy, we consider
the body a fulfillment of Cosmic law, as is
all matter, but of a lesser manifestation than
that of the soul-personality. The body is but
the vehicle by which the soul-personality
comes to express itself. Why then the great
concern as to from what substance or pat
tern it has descended? After all, when we
think of man, is it not that high degree of
self-consciousness which is conceived as soul?
We do not define man as a body consisting
of this and that, of organs and systems!
Such mechanisms are only incidental to that
function of the Vital Life Forc and Divine
consciousness within them which produces the
ability to become aware of the infinite cause
and to realize its Cosmic unity with all else.
From the strictly philosophical point of
view, in whatever form there would evolve
that state of consciousness constituting the
attributes of soul, we would then have man.
Though biologically man is a distinct species, mystically and psychologically we con
cede man as a state of mind. Is it not this
state of mind that concerns us most rather
than the physical factors that serve it as a
mdium? If the divine part of man is the
realization of his Cosmic cause, then his
form is, and must be, of subordnate im-

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

portance. If man can endure another million years, in all probability that exalted
consciousness of which he would consist
would reside in a form quite unlike his
present one.
In many circles today, it is accepted that
intelligences reside on other worlds. The flying saucer enthusiasts enter into long discussions in some of their accounts as to what
these super-intelligences are like. Some of
the descriptions relate these intelligences as
being quite different in appearance to man.
If then there are beings exalted to man in
consciousness, which gives them a more
highly evolved soul-personality, how can
man think that his physical form was spontaneously created by the will of God, as it
now is? Man in his present physical form
would then be inferior to the different species from other worlds which some men assume to be superior.
Let not our ego cloud the real valu of
our being, that is, the consciousness of the
deeper aspects of self. It is that which is
truly man.
Organically, in his simpler forms, man
was probably bisexual. There is every indication of that as we study simple organisms.
In using the term man, we are doing so in
the biological sense. We still hold, that there
is not man, mystically, until he has attained
that state of consciousness of the Divine that
makes him the lofty being he is.X
Dreams and Visions
Fully 75 percent of the dreams and vi
sions reported by our members are so per
sonal and intmate that an analysis of them
would lead us to tread upon very sensitive
ground and an interpretation would be so
personal and intmate and of so little interest
to anyone else that the matter would soon
become boresome and monotonous. Then
again, I cannot conceive of such a plan because I do not know of any individual who
could properly analyze and interpret the
dreams and visions of our members since
the second party is seldom likely to know
all of the points that constitute the background for the dream and visin or the
points that would be emphasized by the in
terpretation. I occasionally have a symbolical or mystical dream that is of intense and

OCTOBER, 1955

seriously important significance to me, but

I cannot conceive of its being interpreted by
any other person or for any other person
to be able to arrive at its true significance.
For instance: A few weeks ago while
thinking of some matters pertaining to a
laboratory device for demonstrating the har
monios of music and after spending one evening studying the mathematical relationship
of the musical tones, I retired after midnight and, after attending to scheduled contacts I had to make, fell asleep. I was
awakened around three oclock by a very
strong musical note that really brought me
back to wakefulness. At the same instant I
saw a large harp, as used in symphonic orchestras, with one of its strings being played
by a mystical hand. This hand coming from
an invisible arm seemed to be plucking one
string about two thirds of the way down or
nearer the lower end of the string than the
upper end which impressed me as being very
peculiar. In the morning I analyzed this
dream and suddenly realized that it was a
complete explanation of one of the problems
puzzling menamely, that in building my
device I must arrange it so that the musical
string would be plucked nearer to the sound
box rather than at the other end and that I
should take as my fundamental note that
which I had heard. This I discovered, by
playing on my cello, to be the note of D.
Now suppose I had made a report of that
dream to anyone of you or described what
occurred. Without knowing what I was interested in and the problem which greatly
puzzled me, could you have interpreted the
dream or visin? In an attempt to analyze
and interpret the dreams and visions of our
members we must know all of what has
been in their consciousness for some period
of time and which has concerned them not
only for the past few days but for weeks,
months, or years. Often we must also know
what problems are about to arise in the future and to which the dream or visin might
have some relation. For this reason a visin
or a dream to be analyzed would have to be
accompanied by a mass of manuscript that
would take hours of study before attempting
to interpret the dream and even then our
interpretaron might not be associated with
the proper incident or problem that has confronted them or is about to confront them.

Page 33

Thinking of my dream I can recall now that

there were at least four or five other mat
ters of interest to me about that time to
which the dream could have been related by
a second person.
(From Rosicrucian Forum, August 1934)
This Issues Personality
The field of journalism offers one of the
finest avenues for the expression of those
ideis which best serve the public interest.
Through a free press Rosicrucian idealism
also finds its way to the hearts and minds
of people who are searching for more under
standing. Where a member of AMORC is
aligned with joumalistic endeavors, he ex
periences a privilege of expression which can
be mutually beneficial. Such a member is
Frater Camp Ezell, Grand Councilor of
AMORC for the Southwestern States. And
few men have used their association with
the press to better advantage for the good
of all people than has he.
Born July 23, 1894, in Beeville, Texas,
Camp Ezell entered the printing trade upon
graduation from high school. Starting in the
composing room as a printers devil, he eventually became a linotype operator. In this
profession he worked for many of the nations largest daily newspapers. After several
years of learning the mechanics and routine
affairs of a newspaper, Frater Ezell turned
to that phase of newspaper work in which
he found his true mission............speaking
to the people through editorials and special
columns. Backing up his years of experience
with night school and special courses in jour
nalism, he began working with some outstanding writers. This led him to buy and
publish his own newspaper for several years.
Having always had a sentimental attachment to the place of his birth, however, he
soon retumed to Beeville with his wife,
Helen, and for the past ten years has served
as editor of the large weekly Bee-Picayune
in that city.
That part of Frater Ezells history which
is related to his search into occult literature,
mysticism, and finally the Rosicrucian Order,
AMORC, carries all the fascination of a mys
tical adventure. Bom into a religious en
vironment whose doctrinal confines later
became much too rigid for his inquiring

Page 34

mind, he early in life began a study of

comparative religin. This led him to in
vestgate the tenets of many faiths, but, in
his own words, he was always searching for
something he could not find in books. He
tried in vain to find satisfaction in creeds
of various denominations, but not until he
crossed the threshold of the Ancient and
Mystical Order Rosae Crucis did he find
that for which he was seeking.
With that happy unin more than twentyfve years ago, Camp Ezell began a life of
service and dedication to AMORC. His love
for its traditions and landmarks has moved
him to particpate in many Rosicrucian
events which required much of his time
and also extensive travel. He and his wife
were two of only a few Rosicrucian members
from the Western Hemisphere who joined
the Imperator in the sacred ceremony held
in the Kings Chamber of the Great Pyramid near Cairo, Egypt, on August 19, 1953.
On other occasions he has attended Rosicru
cian rallies in New York, Philadelphia, London, and Dallas, and for many years, the
International Convention in San Jos, for
which event he also served as Chairman in
1948.
Frater Ezell is that kind of Rosicrucian
who combines greatness in personal achievement with a love for the simpler elements
of life. His hobbies are music, travel, and
good literature. He fnds great joy in caring
for the animals on his small ranch, from
hiking through the woods, attending base
ball games, or from such cultural pursuits
as opera, art exhibits, concerts, and stage
plays.
Like Rosicrucians everywhere, Frater and
Soror Ezell have a room in their home set
aside as a prvate sanctum. Here they enter,
with a feeling of humility, to find attunement with the Cosmic. In this way, and in
his diligent attention to the needs of AMORC
in Southwestern United States, Camp Ezell
fulfills his mission and his greatest joythat
of serving the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC,
and the many, many people in need of spirit
ual and material assistance.B
Giving Treatments to Others
Many questions come to us asking us to
outline the ethical and legal aspects involved
in the giving of treatments at home.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

In answer to these questions, I want to

say very positively that each and every mem
ber of our organization who is not a licensed
physician should not attempt to give treat
ments to the general public, or to friends, or
neighbors, or especially strangers who may
come to them or solicit their help. The lessons contained in our course of study regarding treatment work, especially those
lessons pertaining to contact treatments
where the patient must be present in the
same room with the one giving the treat
ments, are for the purpose of enabling our
members to take care of any emergency
that may arise in the home to help alleviate
any pain or suffering among members of his
or her family. These lessons are not intended
to make healers or treatment practitioners
out of our members so that they can give
treatments to anyone and everyone. The
Rosicrucian organization is not a healing
cult or a movement for the progression of
any new or od system of therapeutics. The
healing work is purely incidental and is only
one of the phases of our teachings and only
one of the many benefits that come to our
members as a result of their association
with us.
Ethically and legally no member who is
not a licensed physician should give any
treatments to anyone outside of his own
home and he should never do even this with
out the assistance of a regular licensed phy
sician, if he has any suspicion that the
illness may be a contagious one, or a very
serious one, or one which he does not thoroughly understand. It is always better to
cali in a licensed physician to have the pa
tient5s troubles properly diagnosed and prop
erly treated, for such treatment will not
interfere with whatever additional help is
given by our members through our own
methods and it will save many embarrassments.
According to the laws of most states any
person who gives a treatment to another
person with or without any fee or with or
without any attempt to make a complete
cure is practicing medicine within the
meaning of the laws and is therefore liable
to a fine, or imprisonment, or both. When
we speak of a licensed physician we mean
a physician who is licensed by the medical
society or state board and is therefore legally
permitted to practice whatever system he has

OCTOBER, 1955

studied and from which he has been graduated and received permission to proceed as
a practitioner.
Some of our members have attempted to
treat strangers and to almost set themselves
up in the business of healing. Because of
the great success they have with our princi
pies they find it very attractive to help many
people and build up a reputation as a successful healer. Many of these have found
themselves suddenly face to face with a
legal problem and have been heavily fined
or threatened with imprisonment. It is not
a question of whether they accept fees or a
voluntary donation or anything else. It is
merely that they are violating the law by
giving treatments without being licensed to
do so. I must warn all of our members
against attempting to establish themselves in
the healing work among strangers unless they
are licensed practitioners.
(By Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, from ForumAug. 1933)

Giving Material Help

One of the problems that often perplexes
me because of the difficulty wre find in solving it is that of trying to guide our members
in a rational way in the giving of material
help to others. It is especially difficult when
we find that our members are giving money
or other material things to those who come
to them asking for it. It is so easy to make
mistakes in this regard and, on the other
hand, it is so easy to remain indiiferent
under the belief that one is avoiding the
errors of wrong giving.
We are not the only organization of a
fraternal nature where the members are
approached by those who make a living out
of soliciting help, especially financial help.
I trust that all of our members will read
in the Forum magazine what I am now
saying, for it is for their benefit. There are
two kinds of persons who should be carefully investigated before much help is given
to them. First, there is the person who
claims to be a member belonging to one of
our branches and who lost or mislaid his
membership card and who is now stranded
in some distant city and wants the mem
bers of that city to help him. This is the
kind of solicitation that is well known to
every fraternal organization. In ninety per

Page 35

cent of the cases the one who is pleading

for help is not a member of the organiza
tion at all but has become familiar with
its terminology and general purpose through
reading some of its literature. If very closely
questioned it would be found that he has
never been a member, or at least was a
member for only a few days and was then
either suspended or asked to resign for some
very excellent reason.
Strangers who cali at our branches, or
upon individual members of our Order
asking for help, should be requested to
show a membership card proving that they
are either in good standing or have paid
dues up to within a very recent date. It
may be argued that a person who is in
want could not possibly have his dues paid
up to date, but therein lies the loophole for
the pretender to take advantage of you. If
he cannot show a membership card and
prove he is a member in good standing and
worthy of your special help, then you should
deny him any special favors as a member
until you can investigate. Of course, if you
choose to help such a person in the same
manner as you would any stranger who
may not be a member of this organization,
that is a matter for your own mind and
heart to answer. But you should take into
account the fact that anyone who will stoop
to pretend to be a member of the organiza
tion for the sake of working on your frater
nal sympathy is unworthy of your help
under any circumstances. Some such persons
have gone from city to city and collected
large sums of money and even clothing and
other things upon the promise of repayment
or a retum of the articles.
The second type of person is the one who
lives right in the community of one of our
branches and who has actually been a mem
ber or may be a member at the present
time, but who is constantly soliciting finan
cial help on the grounds that he or she is
unable to find employment or find any means
of support. These persons are few indeed,
for we seldom find an actual member in
our organization who is in such a predicament even during these trying times. But
if anyone claims to you to be in special
need and there is a Sunshine Circle operating in connection with this Lodge or Chapter, then you should have that person go to
the Sunshine Circle and solicit help. The

Page 36

Sunshine Circle will help each person in

the proper way and will prevent you from
making any mistakes by giving to the occasional person who is a professional solicitor
and who has no intention of finding any
work or any other means of support so long
as he or she can beg and borrow.
(By Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, from ForumAug. 1933)

Jess Forgives
Here is a question of mystical interest to
all of our members and yet it involves a
fundamental of theology and Christian doc
trine. One of our members in Minneapolis
asks this question: What is meant by the
statement in the Ninth Chapter and sixth
verse of Matthew which reads: The Son of
man hath power on earth to forgive sins.
This Soror says that according to her un
derstanding the people whom Jess healed
had not sinned against Him and others who
sinned in many ways had not sinned against
Jess in any sense, then why should Jess
forgive them and why should He have the
power to forgive them or why should He
have assumed the arbitrary authority to for
give them? Since sinners had sinned against
God and against divine laws, God alone
should be the one to be able to forgive. She
wants to know if the verse in the chapter
has been correctly quoted or translated.
In the first place, we cannot rely upon
the exact translation of any particular sentence attributed to Jess. The utmost that
we can depend upon, and from a mystical
point of view that is quite sufficient, is the
spirit of the sentences and paragraphs, attrib
uted to Him. We all know that listening
to an orator, preacher, or lecturer delivering
his sermn or listening in person makes an
entirely different impression upon us than
when we read his exact words taken down
precisely by shorthand. In such a case there
is no change in the wording, but there may
be a change in punctuation, since in such
a case the punctuation is more or less arbitrarily used by the reprter, and many
pauses or breaks in the flow of speech which
give emphasis to what the lecturer is saying are overlooked. Then there is the additional shade of meaning that is often given
by the emphasis upon a carefully selected
word in a sentence. All of these are lacking

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

in a coid, printed form of any discourse.

For these and many other reasons we should
not pin our faith and our understanding to
the precise words used in the Bible.
Every mystic understands that when Jess
said He forgave the sins of others He was
speaking as a representative of God and as
a channel for the Cosmic laws. He meant
that in the mind and consciousness of God
and the Cosmic the sins were being forgiven
to such an extent as any sin can be for
given. Forgiving the sins did not mean
completely neutralizing them, completely
wiping them out of all existence and leaving
the person in the same status as though he had
never committed a sin. It meant the forgiv
ing or prevention of the direct results of the
sin, thereby leaving the sinner only the
burden of remembering the lesson and thus
making proper compensation. Jess meant
to teach this idea and tried to make plain
the fact that if we asked God or the Cosmic or
asked God through Jess, the representative
and Son of God, the emissary of Gods omnipotence, for forgiveness, the very attitude
on our part was one of admission of guilt,
regret for our act, a recognition of the omnipotence of God, and an agreement to make
compensation for our error. All of these combined would neutralize part of the Karmic
debt that would follow any and every violation of divine or natural law. I am sure that
this is the true and correct mystical interpretation of the quoted passage.
(By Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, from ForumAug. 1933)

Making Cathedral Contacts

I think all of us rejoice each time we read
a letter in any of our departmental mail Corn
ing from a member who has suddenly made
a perfect contact with the Cathedral of the
Soul after many weeks, months, or perhaps
a year of futile test and trial.
None of us is able to tell just why some
of our members do not make these contacts
quickly and easily, as a majority do, and
we are riot able to help them in overcoming
the difficulty, whatever it may be. We have
learned, however, through the past years,
that those who continu to try are eventually successful, and when success comes to
them it is abundant, for after a long series
of disappointments the first contact they do

OCTOBER, 1955

make is generally so supreme and beautiful

as to constitute a rich reward for all of the
delays and worry. In fact, many of those
who seem to have to wait until certain intemal phases of spiritual development are
complete, before making the Cathedral contact, have a more perfect and complete contact when the time is ready and thereafter
have less difficulty in continuing such contacts than those who make them so easily
at the first trial. Many who contact the
Cathedral the first time they attempt to
make the contact make only partial contacts
sufficient to convince them that the contact
is made and they are in attunement but not
sufficient to give them all of the beautiful
realizations they wish. Such members have
to build up gradually the degree of contact
and fullness of its realization until it is what
it should be. Those who are delayed in mak
ing the first contact are evidently carrying
on some inner development that precedes
the contact rather than that which follows
it, and after the contact is once made they
do not have to go through the same developing process as do others. Why this difference
exists we cannot tell, but in the end both
kinds of members attain the same end and
the same degree of rich spiritual attunement.
Let us rejoice for a moment over such a
contact being made after a long and disappointing series of experiments by our good
Frater MacCartney, a medical physician in
Florida. He writes on May 8 of this year
as follows:
It is now 9:20 a. m. and I am quite
elated. I have been very diffident about trying any longr to contact the Cathedral, feeling that I was unworthy and, therefore,
could not bring it into realization. I tried
again last night but found that a number of
radios playing near me interfered, and as a
final trial I proceeded this moming to follow
the usual custom, and what joy! For a few
minutes nothing seemed to happen, and then
I saw a purple light which developed and
became larger and turned into a brilliant
violet, and I knew it was the light of the
sacred triangle in the Cathedral and soon I
was conscious of the fact that the soul of
me was entering within the sacred place.
I am more than delighted and know now
its great peace and power.
We can rejoice not only over the fact

Page 37

that he has had this surprising and inspiring

contact that will remain a conviction and
reality throughout his life, but we know from
the experiences of hundreds and hundreds of
others that having made this contact so completely he will now find it easy, simple, and
beautiful, to lay aside, many times during
the day and evening, the outer, worldly
cloak and self, with all of its triis and
tribulations, worries and problems, and enter
freely and happily into a sacred place where
he will find holy communion, beautiful music, supreme rest, inspiring, vitalizing, intellectual food, and Cosmic peace. He will be
like a dweller upon two planets with the
power to change his place of abode at will.
The world of Light, Life, and Love, free
from earthly things, is now as open to him
as the so-called freedom of the world here
below. What a magnificent thing it is to be
able to transpose oneself from one world to
the other and yet retum and carry on, knowing always that one does not have to wait for
transition or the complete separation of body
and soul to enter into the kingdom of heaven
and find Light, Life, and Love.
I hope that you will keep this in mind in
your contacts with members and tell them
of this incident, typical of thousands of others
who may even now feel in their disappointment that the time may never come when
they will contact the Cathedral. The time
is always cise at hand and trust and confidence are keys which help to unlock the
great closed doors that separate the future
from the present.
(By Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, from ForumAug. 1933)

The Life of the Masters

Here again is the question that has been
asked and answered so many times. It re
lates to that peculiar book called, The Life
and Teachings of the Masters of the Far
East, or with a similar tille, written by Baird
T. Spalding. This book paints very fascinating pictures of an investigators journey into
Tibet and of what he saw and leamed there
regarding the great Masters and their marvelous phenomena. When the manuscript of
the book was first read to me in San Fran
cisco, I condemned it as being absolutely
contrary to the real facts of Tibet as known
to everyone who has had any contact by
correspondence with the teachings of Tibet

Page 38

and who knows anything of the real teachings of those people. Nevertheless, the book
went into print and from the time it fell
into the hands of the people up to the present hour a eonstant investigation of the life
of Mr. Spalding has been made by literary
geniuses and students of human nature. We
have received newspaper clippings from all
parts of America alleging that Mr. Spald
ing has admitted that he never was in Tibet
and never made the contacts described in
his book and did not know anything about
the things he has described. Whatever his
personal life may have been, one thing is
certain, the book is not an accurate account
and is not dependable in this regard, and
our members would do well, indeed, to refrain from taking the book seriously or
recommending it to any seekers as a true
account of the lives of the Masters of the
Far East. Many of the points in the book
have been proven erroneous and so one must
hesitate to recommend and indorse such a
book. Generally speaking, the book is childisheven silly.
There are many books that we constantly
recommend and indorse highly and there are
some books that we condemn as being absolutely worthless because they are not even
good fiction but simply pur and unadulterated falsehood invented for the purpose of
deceiving and making money out of their
sales. When Mr. Spaldings book was still
being revised and prepared for printing it
was offered to us to be sold by us as a part
of the Rosicrucian Library. We knew its
title would lead to a tremendous circulation.
We knew that from a monetary point of
view it would be one of the best books some
publisher could offer for sale for a few
months. But we immediately condemned it
and refused to have anything to do with it
and today we are of the same opinion. The
San Francisco newspapers at one time were
filled with items alleging the admissions on
the part of Mr. Spalding that his book was
not reliable or even based upon reliable information. We know that the stories in that
book of the action and lives of the Masters
are not only inconsistent with the facts but
absurd and insulting to the intelligence of
any thinking person.
(By Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, from ForumJune, 1934)

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Jealousy and Love

Our good Frater, Dr. Thomson of Nevada,
enters the Forum this aftemoon with a request that we comment on the emotion of
jealousy or the passion of jealousy, as he
calis it, and reveal its relation to the various
fundamental human tendencies and emotional activities. He says, rightly, that the
general belief is that jealousy is in some way
related to love and that jealousy is bom out
of love. He feels, however, that jealousy is
something that is directly the opposite to
love. What interests him mostly is the fact
that he has observed in his professional career that many forms of ill-health were attributal to long or intense expressions of
jealousy or the maintenance of a jealous
attitude.
Now before we speak on the ill-effects of
jealousy or how jealousy in the heart and
mind of an individual can produce illness,
let us analyze jealousy itself as an emotion
or passion. First of all, we realize that it
is not something that we can attribute exclusively to human beings for jealousy, like
love, will be found among various species
of animals and in some animals jealousy
becomes a very treacherous thing or leads
to the most treacherous of actions, breaking
down all of the highly developed attributes
in the animal which it has acquired through
years of training at the hands of animal
experts. In fact, animal trainers have told
me that they have little fear of the most
ferocious of animals so long as jealousy is
never born in their hearts or minds and that
once the emotion of jealousy is awakened all
of the fine development of the higher qualities of the animal are annihilated and the
animal returns in all of its mental activity
and emotional expression to the most primitive State of its forbears. There seems to
be something of a destructivo, explosive, uncontrollable, poisonous nature in the emo
tion of jealousy that knows no law, that
listens to no reason, and will not be restrained even when the effects are self-destructive. It is, therefore, one of the most
powerful of all of the destructive emotions
possessed by animals who have the ability
to do any form of reasoning or thinking.
Jealousy is born out of desire and, therefore,
is accompanied by or dependent upon some
degree of analytical reasoning, but the rea-

OCTOBER, 1955

son is always erroneous for it is based upon

a false premise and is obsessional in its
effect.
The desire out of which jealousy is bom
is the desire to possess. It is a strange fact
that the highest emotion known to man and
to animal alike is that of love and that the
greatest good done by man is done through
the impulses of love, and yet love itself can
create expressions of two very opposite passionsnamely, the passion to give and to
share what one loves, and the passion to
own, possess, and control that which one
loves. The one passion is wholly unselfish,
finding its pleasure and happiness in the
joy and happiness of others. The other is
purely selfish, even to the degree of being
miserly and seeking no happiness or pleasure
out of the desire but being willing to see
others suffer and even to bring suffering
upon oneself in order to satisfy the desire
to possess.
We see in these facts that one form of love
is purely harmonious with Cosmic law. Undoubtedly the highest and most sublime emo
tion of the divine consciousness of God is
that of love. His love for men, His love for
all things created by Him, has resulted in
the establishment of laws and the action and
reaction of these laws in a beneficial and
bountiful manner whereby continuous blessings and benedictions are bestowed upon
man. It is through that Gods unbounded
love that we have life and all of the rich
heritage that is ours throughout the universe.
There is not the least restriction upon the
dominating action of love throughout the
universe. When this divine emotion reflects
itself in the heart and mind of man, it
makes him unselfish, sympathetic, and joyful, for he too finds the greatest happiness
in life through loving and sharing that love
and by encouraging in others the desire to
love and to share love. In the material
affairs of life this action manifests itself in
the very broadly human tendency to want
to have others love what we love and enjoy
that which brings us happiness and creates
love in our hearts. Most of the beautiful
things created by man have been conceived
and produced under the impulse of love and
because of mans desire to share with others
that which he loves that others may also
love the same things.

Page 39

Jealousy, on the other hand, is just a re

versal of all of this. It is bom of a selfish
desire to possess and to keep to oneself that
which is loved or enjoyed or valued. The
fire of jealousy is fanned into greater heat
by the very thought that the thing which is
loved is likely to be shared or enjoyed
by others. Therefore, jealousy is not a part
of love or the true opposite to the emotion
of love. Hatred is the opposite of love, but
even hatred will not have the reaction upon
the individual physically and mentally that
is sure to result from the harboring of jeal
ousy in the human breast.
A person who is affected by the emotion of
jealousy is constantly throwing the entire
psychic and physical system of the human
body out of harmony with Cosmic rhythm.
This alone would be sufficient to produce
ill-health. But the continuation of this emo
tion leads to many forms of mental reactions
and these reactions tend to break down the
mental stability and integrity of the objective
mind and brain functioning so that in addition to the effect upon the purely physical
standard of the body the mind is also weakened in its integrity and resistance. To be
jealous and to hold within the human breast
the emotion of jealousy and allow it to express itself in any form (which it inevitably
does) is sure to start the process of destruction in the physical and mental body of man.
It is an insult to the object desired and to
the love that is supposed to be the foundation of the jealousy. When jealousy begins
to manifest itself in destructive ways outwardly as, for instance, attempting to destroy
the object that is loved in order to remove
any further expression of jealousy, the mind
begins to weaken in its rationalism and in
its ability to comprehend things in their true
light and from this moment on the jealous
person is possessed of evil spirits and is in
truth controlled and dominated by one of
the darkest forces of the world of evil. Real
love is gracious and kind, bountiful, generous, and ever seeking to be harmonious with
the universal love of God. It seeks not to
possess the object of its love or to limit it
and restrict it in being loved and enjoyed
by others, but finds happiness and peace in
the knowledge that all enjoy that which is
worthy of being loved.
Undoubtedly there is some degree of sincerity back of every expression of jealousy.

Page 40

It is most certainly true in those Human relations in which love and jealousy are generally involved. When a man loves a woman
deeply enough to have the emotion truly
classified as love, there can be no jealousy,
for love is kind and harmonious and always
unselfish. If the man seeks to own and
control, possess and domnate the object of
his love and becomes jealous because he cannot hold unto himself exclusively the object
of his love, he is transmuting the goodness
of his love into the evil of his selfish desires. Any attempt to restrict love by dominating it and limiting it will be sure to
destroy it, for love is extensive and everincreasing. But it must be unselfish to remain free of the destructive elements. The
same is true of a womans love for man.
These great emotions operating within the
human body are always of two classifications: those which are harmonious with and
a part of the Cosmic laws and principies
and those which are contrary to them and
are of the worldly kingdom. Until man rises
above the one and attains glorification in the
other, he cannot be truly happy and approach a spiritual kingdom.
(By Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, from ForumJune, 1934)

The Fascination of Reincarnation

I believe there is no doubt that the subject of reincarnation is one of the most fascinating of those which occur in the study of
any system of metaphysics, mysticism, or occultism. I base my conclusin on the fact that
few subjects demand the amount of correspondence or number of replies to so many
questions, particularly from early degree students, as does reincarnation. To those individ
uis who are first introduced to the subject,
reincarnation seems to have an extreme fasci
nation. This fascination, in tum, affects the
student in a way that makes him seem to
be unable to secure enough information on
the subject. As a result, there are many
questions upon which the student wants
elaboration and, in spite of what is provided
in the lessons to read and studyor even
the answers to the questions they submit
the questions still keep repeating themselves.
In fact, new questions related to reincarna
tion come frequently to our Correspondence
Department.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Reincarnation is not a simple subject. It

is one that we could readily classify as vast.
Its implications include a great scope of hu
man understanding and experience. Nevertheless, it is difficult to explain to members
of A.M.O.R.C. anything about the subject
which they do not already know. They have
studied the presentation of the theories concerning reincarnation which are contained in
the Rosicrucian Monographs, and no doubt
many have read the book by the late Dr.
H. Spencer Lewis, Mansions of the Soul.
These are the two best sources for information concerning reincarnation, and almost
anything else that is written, or said, is
merely a commentary upon the monographs
and this book.
To clarify in other ways, or to provide
additional information concerning the sub
ject, is merely to take individual phases of
the subject and elabrate upon them. We
might also question, why does reincarnation
appeal to the individual? Why do the ques
tions to which I have here referred come
so many times and keep coming from many
groups of students? The same questions occur
month after month and year after year
so that our Correspondence Department becomes familiar with the type. At the point
in the monographs where the subject is in
troduced, sometimes almost the identical
wording is used in questions regarding re
incarnation. The attempt to analyze the
appeal of reincarnation, the attempt to answer why it has such a fascination for the
individual, is an attempt to unravl the mystery of the human mind; and this is of
course impossible.
Reincarnation and its full meaning is
closely related to the whole scheme of things
to the whole scope of life and being. It
is not limited to the point of view of any
one individual, or any one group of indi
viduis; the ideas which compose it must
be constantly judged in connection with a
scope which is universal and therefore limitless. The whole understanding of the sub
ject probably lies beyond the ability of the
human mind to grasp its explanation. Re
incarnation, with its questions, is a part of
the eternal question of the why of existence
and being; it is, therefore, unanswerable.
Reincarnation appeals to the thinking of
individuis and stimulates the mind pri-

OCTOBER, 1955

marily because of its mystery. It is certainly a mysterious phenomenon to those

who have never heard of it or have not seriously investigated its concept. To the indi
vidual who knows little or nothing of its
theor}^ or principie, it is something so completely outside his experience that it appeals
to him as probably the outstanding mystery
of all experiences. Its mystery lies in the
same appeal as all mysteries appeal to us
as individuis; that is, it is closely related
to the question of the past, the present, and
the future. If you stop to consider carefully,
you will realize how so many mysteries can
be analyzed into interpretations or segments
of time. Reincarnation stimulates the imagination conceming the nature of the past. It
causes the past to be a series of actual events
with which there may have been personal
association rather than events which are
recorded in a history book. It makes us feel
that we are more closely related to the past
than we had ever before been aware of.
The theory of reincarnation alerts the in
dividual to the realization that the past is
not simply a series of events that have been
recorded about somebody else at some other
time, and which therefore are only distantly
and indirectly related to our life and concepts. Reincarnation brings to us the realiza
tion that the same individuis have existed
at various times and in various eras; and we
can imagine that situations and conditions
existed with which these individuis, such as
you and Iand perhaps actually you and I
had to deal in the past in the same way
that we have to deal with various problems
in existence today. Therefore, reincarnation
causes the past not to be merely a record
of events of another time, another period
and another group of people, but rather the
past becomes a living entity that exists in
terms of consciousness as well as in terms
of recorded history because of the possibility
that we may have been related closely to
it, if the theory of reincarnation is true, and
may have actually experienced another pe
riod of history at a different time. This ap
peal of relating or associating our thinking
directly to the past is naturally one reason
that the study of reincarnation appeals to us.
Many individuis, frankly, have studied
reincarnation in the hope that they might
discover who they were in a previous rein-

Page 41

camation. As in the case of many natural

laws and principies, however, the theory is
not so simple. To isolate ourselves as indi
viduis at some point in the past, among
millions of others, would even be a difficult
problem if our memory were continuous.
Actually our memory is so closely associated
with our objective consciousness that we cannot readily reach into the inner recesses of
the memory of the soul. The subject of
memory needs elaboration beyond that which
can be given to it in these comments.
Whether or not we learn of our individual
existence at a certain time and place in the
past, the fascination of the possibility of our
existence still causes the appeal to be made
to our consciousness in seeking more knowledge about such a theory. The fascination
of the study of reincarnation is not, how
ever, completely related to the events of
the past.
The mystery of reincarnation also appeals
to human imagination in that it offers some
explanation of the present. The present is
always inexplicable. It is as it were a great
question mark. To the best of our knowledge, there has never been a period of time
when people were settled and not wondering what was going to occur next. Much
of the behavior of the human race is based
upon their reactions to the uncertainty of
the present and its approach into the future.
To believe that we, today, exist in circumstances that are more difficult, or that cause
a more complicated problem to our particular
experience, is a misunderstanding. To attempt to instill impressions into the minds
of people now living, and particularly young
people, that the situations that face us are
more difficult and more trying than were
those faced by individuis in other periods
of history is a mistake. This does not mean
that the problems which confront us today
are not important and certainly to date many
have not been solved, but it does mean that
they are peculiar to our state of existence
at this particular time.
Intelligent analysis makes us aware that
there have always been and always will be
problems regardless of the period in which
individuis live. Such a point of view causes
materialism to be exaggerated. It also sometimes causes individuis to abandon responsibility, to postpone serious decisions. If

Page 42

individuis live with the concept that they

may be blown up by an atom bomb tomorrow, then the attitude is one of carelessness which ignores present-day experience,
which ignores an attempt to explain the
present by not making it a challenge. Ac
tually we should continually be attempting
to meet the challenge of the times. To fail
to face such a challenge is to tear down the
foundation upon which character and moral
structure is built. If the present is leading
into a future much more undesirable than
the past or the present with which we are
familiar, then we are not going to solve our
problems or answer our questions by giv
ing up our intention to live with the present
merely as best we can.
The present is explained, to a degree, by
the theor}' of reincarnation because every
situation that exists does so because of cer
tain forces and factors that have existed in
the past. This is not a statement that the
past is wholly responsible for the present,
but is a conclusin based upon the general
concept of cause and effect. All causes,
whether they be known or unknown, eventually culminate, and the culmination of
those causes is the manifestation of which
we may become aware at any particular
time. There also exists the manifestation of
causes or processes that have not reached a
point of culmination. We are, regardless of
when and where we live, always challenged
by the existence of circumstances that have
their roots in the past, and a part of their
culmination in the present while other proc
esses aie going on to reach their eventual
culmination at some future time.
Those who regret the fact that they are
living today, who feel that conditions are
beyond their ability to handle, or bewail the
existing circumstances of modern day, should
seriously ask themselves the question, With
my particular mentality, my physical equipment as I am made, and the past circum
stances in which I have existed, how could
I possibly exist anywhere else at a different
time? We are here because the immediate
circumstances act as a means of completing
a phase of our experience. A sound con
clusin to these considerations will bring us
to the realization that, if we are intelligent,
the circumstances surrounding us at this par
ticular time are those which we should ex

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

perience because they could not be different.

We could not be anywhere else at the mo
ment any more than we could forc a square
peg into a round hole. This is the law of
cause and effect on a universal level. Acknowledgment of this law will make us realize
that our existence, as it may have been in
the past and as our attitude may be now, is,
in a sense, a niche which we had created
and in which our experience must take place.
Another phase of the mystery of reincar
nation is its concern with the future. If re
incarnation brings to consciousness a differ
ent consideration of the past, if it helps us
to a degree to explain the present, it also
holds out hope to the future. Throughout the
record of human existence, it has always
been presumed that the future may be better than the present or the past. Humanity
has always hoped that conditions for life
are better or will improve. Religin thrives
upon this principie, the principie of much
religious doctrine being that regardless of
how things may appear under present cir
cumstances that the future, either in this
life or another, will be better. This appeal
is a constant hope on the part of the indi
vidual that the future will be less oppressive
or less difficult than the present. None of
us live as perfectly as we would like. None
of us have all the things physically, mentally, or spiritually that we would like to
attain. Therefore, any principie, be it reli
gious or philosophical, that holds out hope
for better circumstances in the future naturally has appeal.
While religin and philosophy hold out
such a hope, they offer very little to bring
about its realization. The only real hope
that a better condition may exist in the future, that more happiness, more understand
ing and complete knowledge and growth can
be ours, is within the belief that we live
in a constant, growing, Cosmic scheme of
which our own life is an individual segment. This scheme is something that goes
on growing regardless of what we as indi
viduis may do, and if we can fall into
step with that progress, then we too will
evolve with the growing scheme that is a
part of the universal one, and that as one
part we will grow with it and realize our
place in it. Reincarnation offers that hope
for the future. It offers the hope that we

OCTOBER, 1955

can be different, that we can have certain

control over our destiny, that we can live
today for the purpose of our own evolvement, that we can choose our behavior, and
by living right, being just, and to the best
of our ability utilizing our own potentialities, we can advance ourselves in attunement with the Cosmic growth, with the
universal growth. Thereby, in each life and
in each moment of life we approach nearer
to God.A
More Suicide Nonsense
In analyzing Freuds nonsensical ideas
regarding suicides, we find that the specialists in Freuds system of psychoanalysis contend that in many cases the person
whom the suicide hates and wants to destroy is his own father. These Freudian
experts contend in their ridiculous system of
psychiatry that the dominance of the father
in the life of every child plays an important
part in shaping his future personality, and
that this natural admiration of the child for
the father develops later on into a sort of
jealousy, suspicion, hatred, or envy, and that
the adult eventually looks upon the father
as the one who is the natural enemy of the
child, or the grown-up child. These experts
claim that in place of affection a simmering
subconscious dislike develops.
Now such statements are typical of the
nonsensical ideas of Freud. If he were speak
ing solely and exclusively of that class of
people known as the abnormal, mental abnormals, or the mentally unsound, there
might be a degree or percentage of correctness in his statement for it is common for
the mentally unsound and irrational to be
lieve that the person who is injuring them
and who is responsible for their confinement
or their imaginary troubles in life is someone cise and near to them, and very often
the mother or father is the one who is censured the most. From my personal dealings
with the unsound and the insane in many
years of specialized study and treatment of
them, I have found, however, that only a
small percentage of them are mentally un
sound, and almost exclusively those suffering from one definite form of mental and
physical unsoundness are continuously obsessed with the idea that their loved ones,

Page 43

particularly mother, father, wife, or husband are responsible for the imaginary
wrongs that have been built up in the un
sound mind. The large majority of these
persons accuse persons outside of their family circles, blame all their troubles upon
someone outside of their immediate family
group, and very generally ame someone
who was either unassociated with any of the
conditions, real or imaginary, which the un
sound person constantly reviews, and very
often the individual selected as a target for
their attacks is a purely imaginary person,
or one who is so indefinitely described and
named as to be impossible of identification.
It would be a strang world, indeed, if
all of the mentally unsound, as well as the
insane, harbored resentment, hatred, envy,
and the desire to kill against a father or
mother.
In dealing, however, with the subject of
psychic suicides, the question was asked by
the scientific writer of a newspaper article
whether psychic suicide is a reality, and
whether a person can take his own life with
out shooting or without taking poison, or doing any material things to bring on so-called
death. His question was whether the purely
mental desire to die was sufficient to term
nate a healthy persons life. Now according
to this writer in the New York American of
March 4, 1934, Professor A. A. Brill of Columbia University, an eminent psychiatrist,
answered that such psychic suicide was a
possibility. Dr. Brill in arguing his point
seemed to assume the idea that all persons
desiring to commit suicide are in an abnor
mal mental state, or in other words are in
sane. I am sure we will take exception to
that fundamental assumption, for unless you
prove that having only one irrational, illogical, and unsound idea in the mind constitutes a completely unsound mentality, or a
degree of insanity, you will have to admit
that many persons apparently very rational
are moved to suicide not through any in
sane obsession or abnormal psychological
idea, but by an emotion that is to some
degree perfectly reasonable and yet Cosmically wrong. The man who believes that
by his transition his support will be taken
from the shoulders of those who cannot afford to support him, and his insurance money
or other material effeets will assist the others

Paqe 44

in their fight for the necessities of life, is

not essentially irrational in his thinking, de
spite the fact that his idea is wrong from
a purely social and Cosmic point of view.
The argument regarding psychic suicide
hinges wholly upon the belief on the part
of these strange psychology experts that if a
person determines that he desires to die and
con centrates his thoughts upon it long
enough, and becomes obsessed with the pieture of the method by which he wishes to
die, he will establish within his being certain destruc tive conditions that will bring
about so-called death without the use of poisons or injury to the physical body in any
sense.
It is well-known in the treatment of diseases that hopefulness is a very helpful thing
in being able to cure, and that despondeney
and the absence of all hope is a very deterrent factor in the making of cures. On
the other hand, there are thousands of nota
ble examples in the history of therapeutics
proving that those who had abandoned all
hope and who had been told that there was
no hope and who had made all reasonable
and proper arrangements for the immediate
and inevitable transition, and had abandoned
themselves to a quiet position of awaiting
so-called death, were healed and cured in
spite of their mental attitude, and lived a
long life thereafter. Such cases are exceptional, of course, but like James said, it only
takes one white crow to prove that all crows
are not black, and these exceptional cases
prove that the attitude of the mind does not
always destroy or heal according to the
ideas held in it. At any rate these doctors
and scientists should be discussing mental
suicide and not psychic suicide, for they are
using the term psychic erroneously, and I
suspect that they have deliberately done so
in order to make their talks and writings
appear more attractive to the public.
Unquestionably, we affect our health by
our thinking, and unquestionably a despondent, doubtful attitude of abandonment is far
more harmful to the person who is ill than
may be suspected, but just whether a perfectly healthy person can destroy his life or
bring about transition solely through a men
tal attitude is a very doubtful matter, and
even if it is ever proved that such a possi

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

bility is indicative of a fundamental law, it

still would be mental suicide, and not psychic
suicide.
(By Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, from ForumApril, 1934)
Music and Rhythm
At this time I want to discuss something that is still one of the most appealing
of all emotional instinets of the human con
sciousness. I have a letter before me from
Frater Cobem who wants to know why
classical music appeals to some, why popu
lar music appeals to others, and why some
do not like jazz while some seem to actually
love it and feel unhappy without it.
Now when you divide music into its vari
ous forms you are dividing harmony by
rhythm, for music is a combination of both
and that which distinguishes the one class
of music from the other is mostly the element of rhythm. Musicians may refer to
the rhythm as movement and there may be
other ames that are familiar to you but,
after all, you will understand exactly what
I mean if I tell each one of you to stop
right now and take a lead pencil and start
tapping it on the desk or table or chair
next to you. If you tap the pencil regularly
with a slight pause after each tap you
will have a form of rhythm. If you vary
that rhythm by tapping the pencil once and
after a long pause give it two taps and
then one again, then after a long pause
three taps cise together, you will have a
different form of rhythm and will be approaching a fundamental or basic principie
of music.
If you will start down the piano keyboard
and strike any one note in the same manner in which you were striking the table or
chair with the pencil, you will find that the
repeating of the one note with the same
rhythm or same time space between two
touches of the note becomes monotonous, because in the first place the rhythm is regu
lar and primitive, and the note does not vary.
If you strike two different notes, alternating
them and having the same space of time
between strokes, there will be no variation
in your primitive fundamental rhythm but
there will be variation in your tones. This
variation in tones will begin to reveal a
melody and, in fact, there are many mar-

OCTOBER, 1955

velous pieces of classical music in which

two notes are often repeated in this same
manner a number of times. Now if you
liad a third note and go back and forth
between the three with an even amount of
rhythm, you still have unchanged primitive
rhythm but you have an increase in the
melody. By striking note No. 2, then going to note No. 1 and then No. 3 and then
striking No. 3 a second time and going back
to No. 1 and then going to No. 2, you begin
to build up melody even if your rhythm remains fixed. Now with these three notes, if
you start to vary the rhythm by making
longer or shorter pauses between some of the
notes, you will begin to have a higher form
of the development of music.
Classical music and popular music are
created in the same manner. If you strike
two notes at the same time you will have
either harmony or the lack of it, called a
discord. By striking several notes in combi
na tion you have harmony. Now by taking
melody, which means the number of different notes in their periodic relationship to
each other, and some note struck at the
same time, it gives you a chord of harmony
and by varying the rhythm or time a little
you can easily compose a piece of music
which may be classical, popular, or crazy
jazz, just as you choose to make it or cali it.
Now rhythm, or motion, and the periodicity of time between motions and the
cycles of the periods are fundamental princi
pies throughout the universe. Everything in
the universe works according to a law of
motion and in rhythm with all other mo
tions. Your heart beats in rhythm with
some of these other rhythms and so are the
actions of various organs and parts of your
body. Your entire being, therefore, has a
rhythm of its own that is in harmony with
certa in other universal rhythm. If this
rhythm is upset and you are out of harmonic time with fundam ental Cosmic
rhythm, illness is bound to result and you
will be sickly even to such an extent that
injuries may occur to the body.
Because each one of us has a fundamental
rhythm of our own, we are naturally attracted to certain kinds of music that have
an harmonic rhythmic relationship to our
own rhythm. For this reason the strange and
unique syncopated rhythm of jazz is pleas-

Page 45

ing to some persons. The jazz represents

and is attracted to the rhythmic condition
of certain persons bodies and minds while
other forms of rhythm and music are strong
affinities for the rhythm of bodies and minds
of other persons. Reading, thinking, meditating, and other psychic or Cosmic exercises
can change the rhythm of the human body
and therefore certain pieces of music that
were pleasant at one time may now become
unpleasant or inharmonious or distasteful.
Nearly all jazz music and all forms of
modem dancing are based upon primitive
movement and primitive rhythm. For this
reason highly intellectual, cultured, and refined and especially Cosmically developed
persons do not agree with jazz music and
jazz music does not agree with them. But
it is difficult for such a person to pass judgment upon jazz music or to understand why
anyone else likes it and he had better not
attempt to do so. There are certain kinds
of music, harmony, and rhythm that are
like food to my soul and help me in many
other ways and there are but a few chords
and a few movements of rhythm that are
so destructive to my sensitive qualities or
abilities that they are almost maddening at
times. But I would not think of believing,
let alone expressing, the idea that the mu
sic that is disturbing and annoying to me
must likewise be disturbing and annoying
to most people and should, therefore, be
condemned.
All you have to do is to analyze some of
the travelogues and other moving pictures
that deal with primitive dancing of distant
tribes and which show all the motion and
sound, to see what great joy or great consolation or grief or exuberance certain types
of people get from certain types of music
and rhythm to understand that every form
of music and every form of rhythm has its
proper place in the scheme of things and is
good for someone somewhere. Fortunately,
music is something that most of us can con
trol, select, or modify unless it is coming
from a neighbors radio. For this reason it
has not become the very detrimental thing
that it might be in the lives of some and
I regret to say that too few make use of
the proper kind of music to benefit themselves as they might.
(By Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, from ForumApril, 1934)

Page 46

Improbable Situations
There is 110 doubt that mystery and apparently unusual or unsolvable problems ap
peal to the minds of many human beings.
This natural trait can be used to our ad
vantage. The appeal of the unknown and
the mysterious can bring us both pleasure
and knowledge. If no appeal existed, we
would not exert an effort to do anything
different from that we have done before.
In other words, we would not attempt to learn
or attempt to gain knowledge. Man simply
would not evolve. Man would still be a
cave man or some other type of aborigine
if he had not had the slightest interest in
something that was otherwise unknown and
had attracted him.
On the other hand, the sense of mystery
that man is endowed with gives him another
important faculty, that is, the ability to
reason. Man can draw upon his experience
and knowledge; and, as a result of comparing notes within his own mind, he may from
the facts that he knows and has experienced,
or that may have been explained to him,
draw upon such experiences and knowledge.
By the process of his own mind, he is able
to draw conclusions as he judges information
or situations that come to his attention in
the course of his lifes experience. It is,
therefore, important that man develop his
ability to reason and his ability of judg
ment. It is also possible that the mystery
that may appeal to him, the glamour of the
unknown, or the exaggerated statements of
someone appealing to the gullible, may place
the individual in a classification where he
will be influenced by those situations which
do not bring benefit to him.
The use of reason gives man the quality
that has frequently been called common
sense. Common sense, when used in the full
implication of its meaning, is a most valuable trait. It is very easy for one to be
swept off his feet, as it were, by claims
that are the result of those appealing strictly
to the individual who does not exercise this
use of common sense. Almost every day
one may read in a newspaper of some in
dividual who has lost property, money, or
even life as a result of following the schemes
of individuis who set out simply with the
purpose of taking advantage of some indi

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

vidual. Such schemes or such actions of

dishonesty are based upon the premise, at
least in the minds of those who perpetrate
them, that the average individual is more
affected by the glamour of the unknown and
by the mystery or the desire to get rich
quick than he is by reason and common
sense. In other words, criminis could not
carry out many of their schemes if in
dividuis exercised common sense. They
would then not fall victims to the appeals
to their imagination and to their hope for
something different.
I received a letter recently in which a
member stated that she had read in a book
of an instrument that had been demonstrated
to photograph past events. This instrument,
according to what the soror wrote, had taken
a picture, so it was claimed, of Washington
delivering his inaugural address more than
a century and a half ago. It was claimed
that this mechanism was able to capture
vibrations that were normally imperceptible
to the human eye, and record the event,
photographically, that had taken place at a
time in the past. Just how the instrument
was able to pick out one isolated event at a
specific time was not explained. The letter
reminded me that this idea is not new.
Some years ago, an enterprising individual
here on the West Coast of the United States
claimed to be able to tune in sounds that
had occurred in the past just as we tune in
a radio station. He could, for example, tune
into the words of the Romn Senate as they
conferred concerning the Romn Empire in
the years of approximately the time of the
birth of Christ. He could tune in the words
of the Sermn on the Mount, or of Lincolns
Gettysburg Address. The basis of his claim
was that these sound vibrations never com
pletely ceased and could be picked up just
as a radio picks up the vibrations sent out
by the radio transmitter.
I was amused by the sorors letter of this
week that now the same thing can be done
with photography because of the incident of
which I have just written. Picking up
sounds in the past was supposed to have
been done when radio was comparatively
a novel thing and everybody was listening
to it to hear the new programs. This photographic idea seems to be affected by tele
visin which is gradually replacing radio as

OCTOBER, 1955

a mdium of entertainment. The soror ac

tually asked if such a thing were true, and
if it were within our power to explain the
working of such a mechanism or even to
furnish one of them to her for use.
I think that most individuis who will use
the reason and common sense to which I
have previously referred will stop to think
that such instruments are, at least at the
present time, beyond the ability of a hu
man being to assemble. I do not question
the fact that vibrations may go on forever.
If a rock is dropped into an absolutely still
body of water, the ripples from it will first
appear to be quite radical, the water will
be agitated, but gradually they will disappear until the lake appears to return to a
complete smooth State, or as it was before
anything was introduced into it. Actually
the vibrations probably continu beyond the
ability of the human eye to see them, and
it is logical to believe that any vibration,
once started, may go on throughout etemity.
However, to accept the principie that these
vibrations are interpretablethat is, capable
of being grasped and brought back to their
original status or strengthis a different
matter. While the vibration of my voice as
I dictate these comments may affect the air
in this room, in fact may affect the environment around me sufficiently so that peo
ple may be able to hear my voice in the
adjoining rooms, in the hall, or even out of
my window, it does not mean that these vi
brations in understandable form will go on
indefinitely. The vibration may exist but
if you are a mile away, or, as a translation into terms of time, if you are a year
in the future, these vibrations would be so
far removed from their original source that
it is doubtful they could be reassembled in
the form that could, in any manner, repro
duce my voice again.
It is also important in the analysis of any
such statement, as the one to which I have
referred, that there be a fine line drawn be
tween the realm of the probable and the
possible. I have just pointed out that it is
within the realm of possibility that vibra
tions, once set in motion, continu to exist

Paqe 47

forever. That does not necessarily imply

that it is within the realm of probability
that these vibrations can ever be reassem
bled in their exact form and manifestation
at the time of their origin.
It is within the realm of possibility that
man someday may be able to travel in interstellar space. He may be able to visit
the moon, but it is also within the realm
of improbability that you and I will do it
within the next few days. It is well for
us to examine all claims of the kind to
which I have referred and weigh them carefully before deciding whether or not to take
them seriously.
We must also bear in mind that a thing
or an idea may have an element of mystery, but that does not in any way mean
that it is related to the metaphysical, the
mystical, or the occult. There is, to a cer
tain extent, a popular belief that anything
that is of an occult, metaphysical, or mys
tical nature is shrouded in mystery. This is
a front presented by those who are sometimes unscrupulous in their ideas concern
ing these fields.
Actually, nature works in a comparatively
simple form. The complexity of nature lies
in our misunderstanding of its laws. Most
people misunderstand those principies which
we classify as being in the category of the
mystical, the metaphysical, or the occult.
Understanding of their meaning and function causes us to realize that they are not
mysterious, they are not involved, and that
we do not need to elabrate upon the mys
tery or the unknown phase in order to make
them of interest or of valu to us. The
greatest things of life are found in our own
experience and, while there is nothing wrong
in being fascinated by things we do not
know, and by the appeals of the unknown
and of mystery, we would be wise to mod
rate this fascination by common sense so
that we can live a balanced life and be, at
all times, in a mood and with an attitude to
avail ourselves of all the bounties of the
Creator, and attune ourselves to the constructive forces of the Cosmic.A

Cape Fisherman

^ e t 'Zfousi (fyitetm tu
(focetitty Stand Cut
C ape M a la y a Bride

Send
TRETCHIKOFF

CHRI STMAS
CARDS
Make your Christmas greeting a Christmas gift!
These full-color reproductions of Tretchikoff masterpieces are mounted on arge double cards, 6 x 9
inches. Inside is a distinctive Christmas message.
The prints can be removed and framed, if desired,
thus combining a beautiful gift with a Christmas
wish. This is truly a special card for your special
friends.

111

Tn-.,.
The W e e p in g Rose

The above assortment of three cards comes boxed in lots of 10 for $2.90 ( l/-/9 stering), and 20
for only $5.50 (1/19/4 sterling), including envelopes. Avoid the Christmas rush and order early.

THE ROSICRUCIAN SUPPLY BUREAU

R O S IC R U C IA N P A R K

S A N JOSE, C A L IF O R N IA , U. S. A.

December, 1955
Volum e X X V I

No. 3

Rosicrucian Forum
A p r v a t e

p u b lic a t o n f o r m e m b e r s o f A M O R C

i. LESLIE W IL L IA M S, F. R. C., G ra n d Councilor of A.M.O.R.C. for Pacific N o rth w e st States, U, $, A,

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Page 50

Greetings!
V

THE UNITY OF CULTURE

Dear Fratres and Sorores:

A very little of the worlds population today is mystified by the living habits and
culture of modem society. Within the present span of life of those who are middle-aged,
it can be recalled when modera devices would
awe people in remte sections of the world.
The primitive areas of the world were rarely
introduced to the technical advances of civilization. The line of demarcation between
that which stood for the highest human
achievements, especially in the sciences, and
primitive customs was pronounced. The aborigine was very often terrified by the phonograph, the automobile, the rifle, flashlight,
aiid similar common objects of civilization.
The basic and traditional habits of a
primitive people change slowly. Their reluctance to divest themselves of crade ways
of living is not due only to sentimental attachment or tradition; in the main, the
problem is economical. The improved way,
the higher standard of living in the physical
sense, is usually an economical impossibility
for them. They prefer the better but cannot
afford it. However, there is an amazingly
ready acceptance of the technical miracles
of the advanced civilization. Televisin,
which followed the advent of radio, finds the
natives of East Africa, the Egyptian peasant
of the Nile, and the Indians of South Ameri
ca curious but neither awed or fearful.
More and more their culture is being subject
to the inroads of the by-products of civiliza
tion. Jeeps penetra te where once only burros
or llamas trod. Power lines cross deep
canyons and stark mountain ranges where
once only isolated thatched roofs broke the
continuity of virgin land. Lumbering trucks,
manufactured in a land thousands of miles
distant, intrude upon pastoral scenes and
hardly receive any notice from people who
still dress much as did their ancestors of
centuries ago.
Where necessary, these indigenous peopies readily adapt themselves to the use of
technical devices. They become capable
truck drivers; they operate complex powered

farm machinery for large landowners. They

leam, with surprising rapidity, the intricacies of present-day machinery and become
efficient mechanics. The mechanical aptitude that made them proficient in their sim
ple crafts, likewise makes it possible for them
to bridge the development of centuries and
learn the mysteries of todays machines.
My travels during the last twenty years
have often taken me beyond what has been
called the fringes of civilization. I have
intentionally entered remte areas. I sought
to study the customs of the people, their
beliefs, religin, and their concepts of life,
death, and immortality. I have noticed the
tremendous transition taking place with such
peoples, especially in the last decade. It is
becoming more and more difficult to find
a people or culture that has not experienced
an intrusin of the elements of the twentieth
century. Plstic and metal household objects,
simple but practical, are being purchased by
these peoples. Manufactured shoes are tak
ing the place of crude sandals. Needles and
thread are replacing primitive handmade
implements. Corrugated iron is slowly tak
ing the place of straw for roofing. Metal
implements are replacing stone and wooden
agricultural ones. Textiles produced in a
modem plant in Europe or America are
beginning to compete with hand-woven fabrics. Inexpensive simple musical instruments, produced in one of the great cities
of the world, are competing with the tradi
tional ones made laboriously in a stone hut
by a primitive craftsman.
The psychological factor is that most of
these peoples evince no hostility toward the
mechanical age and the facilities it provides.
They are not tradition bound. They acknowledge the superiority of that which an
advanced civilization provides in a material
way. They have no false pride which would
cause them to cling to those customs and
objects which are obviously obsolete. The
new generation, in particular, wants what it
seesthe new, the different. With an improved economy, where these peopleas, for
example, the Peruvian Indians whose habi

DECEMBER, 1955

Page 51

tat I recently visited high in the Andescan

be gainfully employed, they will live as any
other modern people.
Education, of course, will heighten the
standard of living, especially in such mat
ters as hygiene. Actually education will be
enhanced by the introduction of the producs
of civilization. When these primitive peopies see the advantages of material things
in comfort and pleasure, they will want
them. They leam, subsequently, that many
of these things can only be had provided
they prepare themselves to learn how to use
them and to earn them. Education thus
has to them, at first, a utilitarian purpose,
a way to material ends. After being subjected to the influence of education, the
native intelligence, which is often very high,
responds and finds joy in intellectual attainment for its own sake.
It would appear to this observer that the
gradual unifying of living conditions, causing persons to want and to depend upon
similar devices and to find their livelihood
and pleasure more or less alike, is the first
step toward the establishment of one world.
People are more easily reached objectively
than they are subjectively. An individual
will respond more quickly to an improved
form of transportation or the heating of his
home or to entertainment, for example, than
he will to your concept of God. Religious,
spiritual, and political idealisms are abstract
and are, therefore, intangible. As a conse
quence, they are not easily comprehended.
It is difficult, notwithstanding what missionaries may advcate to the contrary, to show
how your god or your view of the after
life is superior to anothers concept. In fact,
sometimes it is quite questionable, in the
opinion of the writer, whether the missionarys religin has any moral superiority over
that had by the one he seeks to convert.
But show the individual how he may till
his soil more easily, acquire better clothes,
and find simple new pleasures, and you have

won his admiration and respect. When he

discovers that education will enlarge on these
advantages, he is then ready to be introduced to abstract subjects.
The great nations of the world will be
taking a practical step if they continu appropriating sums of money to introduce
freely or cheaply their products to backward peoples. Get such people to live
somewhat alike and their viewpoint, their
visualization and idealism, will begin to con
verge to a common end. When the majority
of peoples come to accept such practices and
commodities as being essential to normal
living, they become less inclined toward
political ideis which may oppose those ways
of living.
Fraternally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator.
Phenomenon of the Human Aura
Of particular interest to all Rosicrucians
is that phenomenon known as the human
aura. To those who do not understand even
though they have experienced the subject,
it seems mysterious, almost supernatural.
Actually, the aura is the result of Cosmic
and natural laws, as are all other phenomena
which we experience. As Rosicrucians, we
know and realize that there is no such thing
as the supernatural. Nothing is beyond
the Cosmic and natural order; everything
is in accordance with it.
In a discussion of the human aura and
how it affects us, it is first necessary to be
gin with a brief analysis of its nature. Mans
body has a radiation extending from it. This
radiation is an energy. We may liken this
radiation to an electromagnetic field, because it has characteristics similar to electricity and similar to magnetism. This
radiation from the human body is vibratory,
as are all energies. But it has, as we have
said, magnetic qualities, as well; that is, it

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, 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 Department
of Publication of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/1 sterling) A N N U A LLY FOR MEMBERS O N LY

Page 52

has what we choose to cali polaritypositive

and negative. The polarity manifests itself,
or is evident to us, by the fact that the
aura will, at times, attract and, at other
times, repelas will the magnetic field
around the poles of a magnet. We cali one
of these polarities of the human aura posi
tive because it is the most infinite in its
manifestation; it is more extensive. By contrast, the other polarity is negative, or finite,
limited.
The negative polarity of the human aura
is the result of the material elements which
we consume in our food. The human body
itself is negative because it is an organic
substance made up of the finite mateiial
substances of the earth. We replenish our
body with finite substances and so our physical body, generally speaking, is primarily
negative. These negative properties constituting the spirit energy of our body, contribute
the negative polarity to the human aura.
The other polarity of the aura, the posi
tive, is the result of our taking into our
lungs a Creative energy of a very subtle
and highly vibratory nature. This energy
emanates to the earth from the sun. We
take in this subtle forc, this infinite, vibra
tory essence, with each breath of lifeand
that constitutes the positive element and
polarity of our aura. This positive vibra
tory quality that we take into our being
with each breath is so high in its frequency,
in the rapidity of its vibratory nature, that
it exceeds the vibratory rates of any electrical energy known to manthat is, energy
which we define as electrical.
Therefore, we have two polarities, negative
and positive, which form a kind of electromagnetic field, as we have said, around the
human body. It can be intensified to such
an extent that it will extend itself great distances from the body. Each human aura,
however, is not distinctly separate; it is not
isolated in space, because the human aura
as a vibratory energy, can combine with
other energies which surround us. In our
Rosicrucian teachings we have been told that
the spirit energy of matter, that is, the
energy which causes matter to manifest in
its atomic structure, is negative because it
is finite and limited. We have also been
told that the vital life forc and the psychic
energy which is, as I have said, taken into
our lungs through our breath, is positive

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

and infinite in its nature. Now, when we

wish to extend our aura, to project it outward to any great distance, it is the positive
polarity that must be extended. We cannot
increase the negative polarity of our aura
and expect the aura to radiate any distance
from the body. It is the positive polarity
of the aura that becomes the mdium, the
vehicle for the projection of our psychic
consciousness, that carries it forth through
time and space.
In our Rosicrucian teachings we are also
given instruction about the intonation of
vowels and how beneficial they may be in
many ways. We know that when we intone
a vowel sound, we set up vibrations in the
air around us. Through our intonations we
disturb the air, and the air becomes a m
dium for transmitting those disturbances, or
vibrations. Those vibrations may be conveyed to other persons who may hear them.
As a result of their hearing themor as a
result of feeling these vibrations in certain
ways in which we shall explainthe psy
chic centers of these persons are stimulated,
are affected, and they respond psychically
and emotionally to such vowels.
As we have been told in our Rosicrucian
monographs, there are a number of psychic
centers. These psychic centers are really
transformers for changing the rates of vi
bration that are high into a lower octave,
so that they will produce certain effects
upon our organism and our mentality. A
few of these psychic centers are the pituitary, the pineal, and the thyroid glands.
When these glands are aroused by the in
tonation of vowel sounds, they stimulate
the sympathetic nervous system, which system is attuned with the Cosmic forces. In
consequence there is caused a greater flow
of the positive vital life forc through our
whole being, and the positive polarity of
our aura increases. As a result, our aura is
extended outward for an infinite distance,
depending upon the amount of stimulation.
When we are cise to one whose aura is
strong and positive, we feel, shall we say,
its magnetic effect; there is a kind of attraction which we respond to psychically. The
aura of such an individual reacts upon our
own sympathetic nervous system and that,
in tum, acts upon our spinal nervous sys
tem and we have a psychic and emotional
response to it. In fact, the human aura

DECEMBER, i955

is detected principally by us not in a physical way, but as a psychological and emotional response. We can truly say, therefore,
that we feel an aura because the qualities
of an aura are not directly perceived in the
sense of being seen, as we shall further explain. Severe illness may temporarily weaken
the aura. Illness depletes the vitality; it
upsets the polarity balance of the aura and
causes it to become extremely negative and
limited. It will then not extend itself more
than a few inches from the body.
The auras of a number of people may,
at times, blend, or be made to produce a
mass effect, especially where a group of peo
ple are brought together to conduct an experiment. There will be a general harmony
of their auras and perhaps the effect of a
mass aura which will be very intense. Such
auras, however, are not always positive; this
depends upon the thoughts and actions of
the people. Thus, a group of people meeting
together in love and harmony will have a
positive aura; the aura will be attractive and
appealing. Those brought together under the
intense emotions of hate or fear will have
a negative aura which will be repellent or
disturbing to others.
Groups of persons who gather together for
spiritual purposes, for mystical exercises, for
philosophical discussions of a constructive
nature, will generally manifest a positive
aura as a group; the effects of such an
aura will be beneficial to all who contact
them. Such auras may extend outward at
a great distance from the people who are
so meeting. Now, this does not mean that
all persons who are gathered together conducting a similar work or discussion have an
actual unity of auras. Each persons aura
is slightly different and it is because of that
slight difference that there is that harmonious attraction between them. Actually, two
auras that are identically positive or negative
would repel each other as would two poles
of a magnet having the same polarity.
For analogy, we may compare the exten
sin of the aura from the human body to
that of the projection of a radar beam. We
know that in radar a beam of ultra high
frequency energy approaching the speed of
light, functions like light; it can be projected
in a str a ig h t line, and its angle of reflection
will be sigilar to its angle of incident. In
radar, wheri a beam is sent out and contacts

Page 53

some obstruction, something in its path, it

is reflected back, like light, to its source.
By this means, instruments determine the
location of the obstacles. In a similar way,
a positive aura can be projected outwardly,
and directed so that it may contact the auras
of other persons and various objects whose
nature it may affect in certain ways. Whenever an aura is so projected, if another
individual is at all sensitive to psychic im
pulses, he will sense the projected aura. He
will feel as though there is some presence
around him. He will be conscious of another
personality. Such a person need know nothing about the nature of an aura. After all,
for further analogy, one does not have to
know the physics of light or heat to experi
ence them.
Ones mental attitude and his psychic de
velopment, as well, can change the nature,
that is, the polarity of ones aura. One who
harbors hate, who is inhibited with fear, or
who exhibits extreme jealousy, is in a nega
tive state and, as a result, his aura is nega
tive and contracted. Conversely, one who
displays compassion and love, or spiritual
inclinations, is in attunement with the higher
self of his own being, and as a result, his
aura is positive and more extensive. It must
be realized, of course, that our aura, like
any electromagnetic field, is always composed of both polaritiespositive and nega
tive. But the aura is likewise always
predominantly one or the other polarity in
its manifestation.
Deep breathing adds to the positive po
larity of the aura for we take into our lungs
the vital life forc with its positive qualities.
This energizes our being with a positive
forc. The excess of energy, then, gained
through deep breathing, not only radiates in
our aura, but actually radiates from the ra
dial nerves in each hand. The terminus of
these radial nerves is located in the thumb
and first two fingers. If we hold a glass of
water by placing our hands around it and
breath deeply, we charge the content of that
water with the positive radiations of our
aura. Such water, after being charged by
our aura, has a beneficial effect when taken
internally. The exercise of charging the
water by breathing and affecting it with
radiations from our body need not be carried on any longer than for a period of
about five minutes. Sometimes during this

Page 54

process of charging the water, we will see

certain physical changes in the water itself:
it will seem that slight globules are forming
on the surface; these are similar to the appearance of water under high temperatures
when it is about to reach the boiling poinl
and will soon begin to vaporize.
The aura may be developed by the concentration of its forc and of its quality
that is, by deep breathing and by concen
tra tion upon another with a constructive purpose in mind and the attempt to reach that
person psychically. It is just as though we
concentrated our energy upon the muscles of
our arms by exercising them; as a result,
our muscles would become enlarged and
would tend to become capable of feats of
greater strength. We have been speaking of
the positive aspects of the aura and how we
may develop it by our thoughts and actions.
We have touched upon only the negative
side. Our thinking is highly essential in relation to the development of our own aura.
By negative thoughts we mean destructive
and pessimistic thoughts. Such thoughts keep
our auras so negative that they become, as
we say, body-bound; that is, a negative aura
is more or less limited to the immediate
physical person. Its extensin when it is
primarily negative is almost impossible!
The colors of the aura, or the colors that
are associated with it, are characteristic of
the conditions of our body our general
health and our state of mind. We might
say that the colors are symbolic of the kind
of aura we are manifesting. The colors will
reveal, as well, whether our aura is negative
or positive. Furthermore, the colors of the
aura reveal the causes of the polarity of our
aura, that is, what is causing it to be either
negative or positive.
In connection with this, it is necessary to
make plain to you that actually the auras
have no color inherent in them. An aura
truly does not have color, but it does pro
duce color, or rather, causes us to associate
the idea of color with it. The aura frequency
that is, its vibratory rate, or, we shall say,
its electromagnetic emanationsis so high,
that it is beyond the ocular range, beyond
visible light. Consequently, it is actually
impossible for the radiations of the aura
directly to excite the retina of the eye.
Being similar to an electromagnetic radia
tion, an aura can and does inducethat is,

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

does bring aboutvibratory changes in other

energies. When the vibrations of an aura
impinge on a field of light, that is, come
in contact with a field of colored lights surrounding a human body, they produce a distinct change in the frequency or vibratory
rates of that light. The impinging of the vi
brations of the aura upon a field of light
produces a subtle change in the color or
light, but the change is sufficient to enable
us to notice it objectively as a slight change
in the field of light itself. In other words,
what we are seeing, then, is not colors in
the aura, but the effeets which an aura pro
duces on a field of light. We see the changes
in the field of light; those changes we men
tally associate with the aura. Those then,
are the so-called colors of the aura. Actually,
what we are seeing are the secondary effeets
of the aura upon light. For this reason, in
most of our aura experiments, we have a
field of light set up by the projection of
certain colors and lights upon a screen. Tho:e
lights are very definitely physically pro
duced. Then, we place an individual before
them and the radiations of his aura produce,
to use technical terms, a beat frequency, an
intermediary vibration, constituting a change
in the field of light. That change or color,
in a lower octave, corresponds to the particu
lar state or condition of the individuals aura.
It is also possible for us to perceive colors
of an aura, or those which are produced by
an aura, without the physical means of col
ored lights. Sometimes when we are cise
to a person and we sense that individuals
aura, we also realize simultaneously a kind
of color sensationthe color seems to surround the person. Actually, we are not see
ing that persons aura, but the vibrations of
the aura impinge upon our sympathetic nerv
ous system. As you have been told in the
monographs, the sympathetic nervous system
is connected with the spinal nervous system
by little nerve branches called rami. The
vibrations of the aura are transformed and
reduced to lower vibrations in the sympa
thetic nervous system and then transmitted
through the connecting rami to the spinal
nervous system. There, these vibrations are
carried to an area in the brain where the
impulses are received as visual sensations
realized as colors. For example, when you
press your fingers against your closed eye,
you produce impulses by that pressure which

DECEMBER, 1955

are translated in your brain as changing

colorsyet you are not actually seeing any
light or color. Therefore, you can also see
the color of an aura around an individual
without any physical means, but you must
realize that the sensation of color is in your
brain and consciousness not in the auric
radiation!
Now we will consider briefly some of the
principal colors that considerable experimentation has proved are associated with the
auras polarity and are the result of our
thinking and deeds. The color purple indicates that the aura has a strong positive mag
netic attraction; its effects will extend far.
It indicates that the character of the in
dividual is honorable. There is, as well, con
siderable psychic development. Therefore,
the purple aura is a positive one.
The color violet, that is, a color predominantly violet, indicates an individual who
has an inquiring mind; he is a lover of truth
and knowledge. It also indicates humility
and a mystical zeal. That aura, too, in its
polarity is positive.
The color blue is symbolic of the intellectual type of individual, the lover of truth.
He is given to rationalizing, to thinking
things through. He has a strong sense of justice. We cannot say that he is necessarily
highly developed psychically, but he is spiritually inclined and possesses strong moral
precepts. This aura, too, is positive in its
polarity.
In an aura, the color green alludes to virginity. It also indicates aspirations to the
finer, nobler things of life. It shows that the
individual is spiritually unfoldingby that
we mean that a psychic development is tak
ing place. That aura, then, is likewise
positive in its polarity.
Bright red as associated with an aura in
dicates that the individual is an extreme
materialist. He is skeptical of anything abstract or idealistic. Furthermore, the in
dividual may be pugnacious and have a
tendency toward bratality. He is definitely
lacking in an aesthetic sense; he has little
love of the fine and the beautiful. Such an
aura in its polarity is negative.
When we are conscious of the color yellow
in relation to an aura, we know that the in
dividual is philosophically inclined. He desires knowledge, but not merely for utilitarian reasons, as a profession or a trade. He

Page 55

wants to know and derives satisfaction from

the displacement of curiosity with facts. Such
a person is also usually kind in his relations
with others. He is noble in his character.
Such an aura, too, is positive in its polarity.
In conclusin, I would like to discuss brief
ly the subject of psychometry, often known
as vibroturgy. This is a field of psychic Sci
ence. It is a means of perceiving or sensing
the vibrations of the nature of things, places
and conditions, without actually objectively
perceiving them. In other words, we sense
the nature of the thing psychically without
actually seeing, tasting, or smelling it. This
psychic science parallels the Rosicrucian explanation of the Fourth Dimensin. In space,
we think of there being three dimensions:
length, breadth, and height. But those three
dimensions by themselves do not tell us the
nature of an object. What the object is, its
reality to our consciousness, depends upon
our perceiving its mass atomic vibrations.
This identification is the Fourth Dimensin.
By psychometry we psychically sense the
nature of things which we may not be able
to perceive objectively. We know that every
object, animate or inanimate, like a grain of
sand or a stone, has nevertheless a vibratory
nature because it consists of spirit energy
of which electrons, atoms, and molecules are
units. Therefore, since everything has vibra
tory energy, it has an aura. Modem physics
speaks of the probable electromagnetic field
that exists in the shell of electrons, circling
the nucleus of an atom. This electromag
netic field is the aura of the atom. The
mass of atoms or molecules produces an aura
for everything that exists. Persons who have
reached a high degree of psychic develop
ment or sensitivity, or who are born with it,
in picking up an object can tell from the
aura of that object certain associations it
has had with other things or people. Ob
jects that are brought into contact with the
human aura absorb certain of its radiations
in their own aura in some way which we
do not entirely understand as yet. Inani
mate objects, for example, retain some of
the radiations of the human aura in their
own electromagnetic sphere.
As a simple example of this, often someone in touching a coin or an article of clothing will immediately experience a peculiar
sensation from it. In his consciousness, he
will have an image of a person who owned

Page 56

that object. Objects are particularly affected

by intense auras, those which are extremely
positive or negative in polarity. You may
have had the experience of walking into a
hotel room or a home that was most acceptable in its physical appearance, and yet, for
unknown reasons, you had felt depressed
by the surroundings. It would perhaps be
because of some great emotional disturbance
or illness that had left, from the aura of the
person involved, a subtle impression upon
the physical structure of that room. Everyone entering the room would not experience
this effect, but some would. There are those
who can pick up an object belonging to
someone, whether that person is living or
dead, and, by holding it in their hands for
a few moments, sense enough of the vibrations of the aura of the original owner to
be able to give a fair description of the person, or of some particular incident which had
greatly affected the life of that person.X
This Issues Personality
Once again we have an example of good
business sense and a practical course in life
merging harmoniously with mystical philosophy and idealism. This example is found
in the life of J. Leslie Williams, Grand
Councilor of the A.M.O.R.C., for the Pacific
Northwest.
Frater Williams was born in Birmingham,
England, in 1906. At the tender age of two
years, he was brought to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Caada by his parents. In that city
he received his early education. After completing his formal education, he began what
he first thought was to be his careerassociation with a large financial institution.
With the passing of time, restlessness grew
upon him; he discovered that he desired
participation in the mercantile world. He
found it pleasant to mingle with people and,
having the ability to express his ideas well,
he entered the field of salesmanship.
In 1929, Frater Williams became a member
of a large paper-and-stationery organization,
working in the territory of the Canadian
prairies. The famed beauty of British Columbia, however, lured him to Vancouver
in the year 1937. Many changes in his life
were to occur as a result of this westward
move. He became a sales executive in charge
of packaging and specialties of a large con
cern and, subsequently, took over the distri-

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

bution of the producs of a new divisin of

the company.
Throughout the years, Frater Williams
felt a haunting interest in mystical and re
lated subjects. He was eventually conscious
of a desire for definite information on such
subjects. This quest led him to the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC. In 1942, he Crossed
the Threshold of the Vancouver Lodge of
the A.M.O.R.C., to find the satisfaction he
had long sought. In 1947, he became Master of that Lodge, serving it most efficiently.
Two years later he was appointed InspectorGeneral for Vancouver by the Grand Master of the A.M.O.R.C. In 1949, the Grand
Council of the Order, with ratification by
the International Convention, elected him to
the honored office of Grand Councilor of the
A.M.O.R.C., for the Pacific Northwest. In
the year 1950, he served in the capacity of
Chairman of the International Rosicrucian
Convention in San Jos, California. He is
also a 32nd Degree Masn and a member of
the Rotary Club.
Frater Williams is married and has two
fine children. What spare time his domestic,
business and fraternal activities afford him
are divided between his hobbies of golf and
the reading of classical and philosophical
literatura. Frater Williams wide experience
in the business world and his devotion to
the Rosicrucian principies have made his
counsel on various matters invaluable to all
fratres and sorores who know him.X
Food and Nutrition
Are you interested in what you eat? If
you are, you have an interest in common
with other people. The sale of books and
periodicals on the subject of nutrition, food
and diet, as well as the products of various
food stores, constitutes a large volume of
business which has increased in the last
twenty or thirty years. This volume of
business in food products and increase in
the demand for publications that are devoted to the subject of diet is indicative of
the fact that individuis think a great deal
about their food consumption.
This interest is universal, as it should be.
As Rosicrucians, we study about health in
our monographs. To provide additional in
formation on food and diet, Some years ago
the Supreme Grand Lodge published the book,
What to Eatand When, by Dr. Stanley

DECEMBER, 1955

K. Clark. This book has been reprinted

many times which shows the interest that
exists in what we eat, according to the mem
bers and individuis who secure publications
from the Rosicrucian Supply Bureau.
If you are interested, if you are one who
reads books and periodicals that are devoted
to the subject of nutrition, then you will be
particularly interested in the coming term
of the Rose-Croix University. At the 1956
term of Rose-Croix University, we are planning to offer, for the first time, a course
entitled Food and Nutrition. If some other
title is selected, this title which we are now
designating for the course will be descriptive of its contents.
This will be the first time that the RoseCroix University has offered a major course
concerning nutrition. This course will be
of the same length as other major courses
described in The Story of Learning, the
booklet which describes all courses offered
by the Rose-Croix University each term.
It is our intention, at the present time,
to secure the services of an individual who
is trained and competent to teach the sub
ject of human nutrition. There are many
schools of thought in regard to food, diet,
and nutrition. Almost everyone has personal
ideas on food. Just as on religin and politics, there are people who have fixed ideas
upon this subjectalways willing to discuss
their point of view, and, in fact, attempting
to impress others with their point of view,
and theirs only, as being the right one. Furthermore, some individuis actually promote
diets, or are promoters of fads and ideas,
which may or may not have actual validity.
Time alone sometimes proves the effectiveness or the usefulness of these ideas. Those
competent to make tests and triis study the
various nutritional factors that are involved
in the consumption of food by human beings,
and they arrive at some general knowledge
as to the types of food that should be used
and their effect on the human system.
Common sense brings the realization that
food is a very important factor in human
existence. People live to eat in many cases;
wars have been fought; arguments have
many times been started over the question
of food or the acquiring of areas of land
that would be productive of food. Many
habits of ancient men grew out of his mov
ing about, and this in turn was governed

Page 57

by the availability of food. Whether or not

ancient man was very much concerned about
the kind of food he received, there is not
as much record as there is about his need for
food and the quantity to support himself,
his family, his tribe, or the group of which
he was a part.
In these days, when very few individuis,
at least in the Western world, produce their
own food, food becomes even more of an
important factor, because we have an obviously large choice of what we are able
to purchase or use to meet the nutritional
needs of our body. As a result, as I have
already stated, many interpretations of this
subject have been promoted. Various types
of diet have been suggested by different peo
ple. Many of them have proved to be of
valu and others have proved to be merely
a passing fancy on the part of the originator
of the idea. Oddly enough, if one should
study all the diets that have been proposed
for human use, one would find so many
extremes that it would be almost impossible
to decide which ones really had valu.
It will not be the purpose of the course
offered at the Rose-Croix University to pro
mote any one particular diet or system of
nutrition. The course will, instead, analyze
the human being from the physiological
standpoint. The nutritional needs of man
will be studied. The basic principies of what
food is and how it is assimilated into the
body will also be studied. The course will
teach the general principies of nutrition and
food consumption, as well as its preservation and preparation. Various types of diet
will be studied. An attempt will be made
to approach different food habits and ideas
with an open mind, so that the student that
takes this course should have an excellent
background with which to analyze, intelligently, various diets that may come to his
attention. In this manner, he will learn
the basic fundamentis of human nutrition
so that he can intelligently act upon those
principies that will lead to his own wellbeing and health.
This is only one feature of the 1956 term
of the Rose-Croix University, and we hope
that our Forum readers will write to the
Registrar of .the University for more information concerning the many interesting
courses that will be available to those who
become a part of the student body of the

Page 58

1956 Rose-Croix University session. While

on the subject of the University, let me repeat here what has been stated beforethat
one does not need an academic background
to attend the Rose-Croix University. This
University offers its courses of study to Rosicrucians, and the students who attend these
summer sessions are average members of
the organization. Anyone who can read and
comprehend the monographs can be sure that
he will understand the courses presented at
the Rose-Croix University, and that he will
be directed towards further study in the
field of his interest.A
The Concept of Immortality
Most men have hoped for immortality.
This is a statement from a historical standpoint as well as from an individual one of
the present. Human beings prize life. They
cannot conceive of a time when life will
be no more. These individuis believe that
life is such a priceless possession that death
is something which is to be feared; something
to guard against at any cost. In other words,
the individual that looks upon life with
such valu, looks upon death as the greatest
of all evil. Such a concept is so common,
that many superstitions, fears and practices,
have been built up around the belief that
death is the end of all existence. As Rosicrucians, we try to instill in the mind of
our students the idea that the end of life,
or at least the life that we know at this
time, is transition; that is, life is changed
from one state to another; and consequently,
death, in the sense of being a termination
of all things, does not exist.
The hope for immortality on the part of
man has not always been supported by the
highest of motives. It has sometimes been
a purely selfish desire to perpetate oneself, or in many cases to perpetate even
ones property, possessions, or pleasure. In
other cases, this hope for immortality has
been a pathetic hope. Many religious doc
trines have had as a basis for their beliefs
and have appealed to all who may have
suffered or been persecuted the principie
that life after all is not what it seems to be.
This belief is ingrained in the mind of all
those who may be unfortunate or living at
a low economic level. The appeal held out
by such a doctrine is that there is a better
life than that which we now live. This life

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

will give us, as it were, a chance to be

even. The idea is held out to those who
suffer, that the time will come when such
suffering will be no more; when those who
are now rich will be poor, and those poor
will be rich; and those who now suffer will
be free from pain, and those who now are
free from pain may then be caused to suf
fer in order to balance out their freedom
from suffering at this time. In other words,
this is the fundamental doctrine upon which
the belief of heaven and hell is based. These
concepts grew out of the primitive religions,
and were gradually incorporated into the
thinking of men in various parts of the
world. This thought is, nevertheless, based
upon a fundamental principie that life is a
continuous entity that would at one time
arrive at its ultmate purpose and its under
standing of all things, and at the same time
find its reward or its punishment. This con
cept of immortality is so limited that it
causes us to restrict our whole concept of
God in the Cosmic.
The belief that the Cosmic purpose is to
equalize the incidents of individual lives, is
to place actually too much valu or emphasis
upon those individual lives. It is inconceivable if we use our broadest powers of reason and judgment to think that a God, who
is all-powerful and all-wise, would devote
any of His attention or timeif we can con
ceive of Him as an individualto planning
that a man who committed a crime today
should suffer doubly for that wrong tomorrow. In other words, if one individual is
particularly lucky in life, and another is
unlucky, that is no reason to believe that
the reverse should take place in another life,
or that one individual should suffer etemal
punishment while another would suffer
eternal bliss. I say suffer because each
would get tired of the circumstances in
which he existed if it were to go on through
eternity.
What I would like to convey, in these
thoughts, is that the concept of God and the
Cosmic is much bigger than anything of
this type that a man can conceive of in his
own reason. God and the Cosmic, and the
Cosmic after all is no more than the composite of laws that God has put into effect,
concerns the functioning of the entire universe. It concerns the functioning of every
thing that composes it from beginning to

DECEMBER, 1955

end, and since it is a part of a plan, everything that fits into it is also an element of
that plan; and it will function in accordance with laws which have been ordained
for its operation. The concept of Karma is
that we will sow what we reap; that is,
we will make our lives, whether now or in
the future, exactly what we wish them to
be, or based upon our behavior. Immortality, then, is far greater, far bigger than
any human interpretation of good and evil.
We find it difficult to put away a con
cept that is limiting rather than expanding.
The accepted orthodox religious viewpoint
has frequently restricted the thinking of peo
ple to a point that man cannot reason beyond heaven and hell. Man finds it difficult
to conceive that immortality is a state that
exists throughout eternity. It does not begin, and it does not end. To believe that
death, to use the term by which we ordinarily refer to the end of life, is a complete
end would be to believe that birth was not
a beginning, because actually, birth and
death are the same thing. If we have con
sciousness on a plae different from that of
earth prior to birth, I believe that as the
time of birth approaches, that in conscious
ness, there might be the same concern as
we might have towards death here on earth;
that is, we would be concemed with the
future just as we are concemed with the
future now. Birth and death are both transitions. They are a change of status. They
indicate a time when we pass from the
known to the unknown. Whether the process is what we cali birth or death, it is an
identical phenomenon. It is transition. It is
growth.
It is not within the ability of man to con
ceive or describe those phases of immortality
of which we are not presently conscious.
Immortality is a condition which lies completely beyond us. We cannot describe it
because we are not aware of it. We do not
know, for it is impossible to define an un
known. You cannot describe to me, for ex
ample, a mathematical formula with which
you are not familiar. What is unknown
is impossible to put into words, to put
into any kind of objective manifestation.
Therefore, to attempt to describe an ex
perience that has not previously existed
in consciousness, that has not come into
the state of objective realization, is im

Page 59

possible; and, therefore, a concept of immor

tality consisting exactly of what it is and
how it functions lies beyond the grasp of
human consciousness at the present time.
Nevertheless, there does seem to be evidence
that life is a continuity, and I believe that
continuity is etemal.
I believe that man is fundamentally no
different after transition than he was before. I believe that if personal immortality
prevails throughout all times, that individuality, which is the essence of my soul and
the essence of my character, will also con
tinu in some form. I believe that one hour
after transition I will have the same wants,
the same wishes, the same aspirations, and
even the same prejudices that I had an hour
before. I will still be, even after transition,
an imperfect entity in the state of formation,
like clay in a potters hand. Whether I func
tion on a physical plae or on any other
plae, I will remain imperfect in manifes
tation and function, because when I am perfect, I will no longer be functioning on any
plae that I can possibly conceive of in
terms of human reason. I will, at such time,
reach a category of consciousness in which
I will understand everything that is now un
known. I will see the whole aim of life,
and of the universe. In other words, the
whole picture will be clear. But until that
time, I will continu to probably live as I
have, regardless of where I am, by a process
of trial and error, until I reach some kind
of condition where consciousness and reali
zation shall be enough to make me under
stand the purpose of existence.
We all are entities in a certain point of
growth. We have reached, each of us, dif
ferent stages. Some have advanced further
than others, but what we are at the actual
moment is our status as it exists at this
particular time, and the processes that have
brought us to this point are natural. As all
processes in nature are gradual, so will our
evolvement be gradual and we will con
tinu to grow. The fact that our physical
body wears out does not mean that we suddenly take on mental, psychic, and spiritual
powers, knowledge or experience, that we
did not have before. When the physical
body has served its purpose, we still go on,
we still have to learn, we still have to grow,
and that growth goes on until an eventual
level of consciousness is reached when we,

Page 60

to use the terms of the East, are reabsorbed

into the Infinite from which we originally
had our being. This situation also defies
description in terms of words, because it is
absolutely impossible to put into words that
which we have not previously experienced.
A
Growth of Interest in Religin
It has been stated in these pages before
that it is obvious to anyone who is reason
ably observant that religious interest is on
the up grade; that is, there is growth in re
ligious interest at this time. This conclusin
will be reached if we judge by the fact that
there is increase in attendance at churches,
and a greater growth in the physical struc
ture of church buildings. There are more
churches, there are bigger ones, and more
expensive ones. These indications tend to
give us the impression that there is a great
religious growth, or rather more of the reli
gious feeling sweeping the world today.
In times past, twenty-five to fifty years
ago, such condition might have been called
a revival. Many individuis will remember
the days when revival meetings held by
various churches were a community project
or activity. People regarded them as quite
an event, particularly in a small town.
There were no major forms of entertainment to occupy time, and the revival meet
ings held from time to time, particularly if
a well-known evangelist participated, attracted a great deal of attention; this was
looked forward to as a period of, more or
less, relaxation and enjoyment. In those
days there were a number of well-known
evangelists, as there are today. Some of
these became known as a ame evange
list, just as we apply the word today to
people who are well known to the public.
It might be interesting to judge the ap
parent interest prevailing in religin today
by its results. Religin, in the strictest sense
of the word, has been that forc which has
attempted to uphold the highest aspirations
in man; that is, religin is supposed to have
been an influence that has led to culture,
a high sense of ethics, and to high moral
standards. We will not debate the point
whether religin has always succeeded in
accomplishing these ends, but few people
would disagree that these are ends that are
most worthy for a religin to attempt to
uphold.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Today, however, there is not much evidence that the interest in religin that seems
to be growing is doing a great deal to actual
ly change the feeling of people; that is, there
is evidence to indicate that much of the
current religious interest is not truly genuine
or permanent. I believe that there are a lot
of people who want God in the same manner
that some want a hot-water bottle during the
nightthat is, so that they can obtain con
trol or relief from temporary discomfort.
Turning to God, in a sense, brings about
such a relief. An individual who is uncertain regarding his living habits, or of his
social, business, or personal habits and practices may use religin as something to turn
to in order that he might be directed to God
long enough to get his mind away from the
things that he feels he should not be doing
in the first place.
While it is true that membership in some
churches is growing rapidly, and that the
nations population is the highest ever recorded, there is also an increase in debt,
crime, and taxes which seems to accompany
the increased population. Consequently, we
would not say that the increase in debt,
taxes, or crime is an indication of growth,
and it causes a serious-minded individual to
ask the same question as to the increase in
religious interest. However, there is a statistical increase in the number of individuis
indicating their interest in religin; there is
also an increase in criminal cases coming
before our courts. Too, it seems, from the
publicity on the front pages of newspapers,
that there is an increase in the seriousness of
criminal offenses that take place with a de
gree of regularity in many civilized countries
of the world.
It has not been my purpose to declare that
religin does not have its place or is not of
valu. The truly devout individual is an
asset to his community, and is an inspiration
to those who will look to him for guidance
and help. But a genuine revival of that
type of religin, it appears to me, is not taking place. There are no more devout people
in the world today, there just are more peo
ple claiming that they are interested in
religin. In other words, as I have already
stated, they are turning to God as a tem
porary relief from their own conscience, or
from problems that may bother them.
While religin has its purpose, and should

PECEMBER, 1955

serve a most useful end in human society,

mans search for God does not necessarily
need to be limited to his religious beliefs.
Man should lear some of the fundamental
principies that the greatest religious leaders
of all time have taught themselvesthat is,
to refer to the Christian principie as an ex
ample; the kingdom of God lies within the
individual. The attainment of release from
tensin and pressures of modem-day living
is not necessarily to be found in the adapting
of practices laid down by an organized re
ligious group, but rather within the process
of looking into our own inner selves, and
understanding that the life spark that is
within us is a part of God with which we
can become more intimately associated. Consequently, the individuis who truly should
become the examples for the future and
should be the leaders insofar as our spiritual
welfare is concerned, are those who are truly
mj^stics, and whether or not they support
the neighborhood church, or whether they
contribute to its building fund, is of far less
importance than it is to learn how they, too,
can become aware of the presence of God
within their own life and consciousness.A
Infinite Awareness
Awareness is the description which we apply to the definition of consciousness. With
out this word we would have difficulty in
conveying in the form of a definition the
concept of consciousness. Consciousness does
not lend itself readily to a definition. It is
extremely difficult to put into words that
state which we recognize as an inherent
quality or attribute within ourselves and
accept as a matter of fact. We consider
consciousness as a condition that is always
with us except during periods of sleep or
occasionally as a result of some physical or
chemical change of our physical structure.
Consciousness is our concept of continuity
of being. We are aware of our existence
because of this state which we cali conscious
ness. Even though we divide consciousness
into objective and subjective forms, we realize that it is a state of continuing existence
that makes us intelhgent entities. While it
cannot be proved to exist in terms of objec
tive phenomena, nevertheless we are aware
that without it we would not have any ex
istence whatsoever.

Page 61

The most familiar things sometime become

the most difficult to explain. It is hard to
conceive a state of complete lack of con
sciousness because our entire life, experience,
and leaming is definitely related to con
sciousness. We have our whole being, as it
were, in consciousness. Without conscious
ness we would experience neither pleasure
or pain, but would have merely an exist
ence which might be called vegetative; that
is, we would be like a tree or any form of
plant life that seems to have the life impulse
within it without the existence of any central
unity. The lack of objectivity makes con
sciousness so much of a prvate experience
that its conception is impossible except in
terms of that experience. To define a thing
in terms of the thing itself causes us to be
lost within the cmplexity of terminology;
and yet we find ourselves unable to under
stand consciousness through a definition unless we use the concept of awareness as a
descriptive word or factor.
Awareness includes the functioning of
everything that is evident to our concept of
life. We have our relationships with other
individuis and with our total environment
because we are aware of their existence and
the fact that they also function. To exist
without this awareness is inconceivable, and
yet awareness is no more or less than our
attempt to describe a state which actually
underlies that process. Awareness as a proc
ess is our description rather than our defi
nition of consciousness because consciousness
is experience. Consciousness in infancy is
only a potentiality. The objective conscious
ness, for example, at the time of birth is a
faculty which has the potentiality of con
sciousness only insofar as impressions would
be registered upon that consciousness. As
these impressions became registered, we
built up awareness of ourselves and of the
situations around us so that consciousness
became a composite of all that we arethat
is, a total of our knowledge and experience.
Our awareness seems to be very far-reaching. It is extensive to the point that we can
take into consideration many factors. From
the average individual^ mind or conscious
ness, at any one time, there can be drawn
many experiences and much knowledge that
the individual has stored there. Consequently, it seems unlimited; however, but little
of our total consciousness is included at the

Page 62

focus of our attention. The point of atten

tion, that is, the point to which we are directing our consciousness or what we might
cali the area of awareness, is extremely
limited at any one time. Whatever we are
doing usually occupies our state of aware
ness at the moment. If we are working or
playing we are directing our attention to
our activities and the associations that are
brought about in our consciousness as a result
of the activities and those things to which
we attend. Such attention can be voluntary
or involuntary. It is voluntary when we
concntrate in any degree, when we direct
our attention, or rather direct our conscious
ness through the attribute of attention, directly toward any one thing. Attention is
involuntary when we daydream or merely
idle away time and allow any impressions
at will to enter our state of awareness and
occupy the central portion of our conscious
ness at that particular time.
It is evident that consciousness has a
scope far beyond our average use of it. By
properly applying ourselves, that is, by di
recting our attention to things that need
consideration or that we wish to consider,
we realize that the ability of man to become
aware of many things is practically unlim
ited. This human ability of attention is
seldom exercised to its fullest extent. It is
remarkable, when we stop to think of it,
how little we know; that is, we know only
certain facts, principies, or results of experi
ence in terms of a comparatively narrow
area. The expert in one field may have only
very limited or elementary knowledge of
other fields. Because an individual becomes
an expert in one field of leaming or develops
a degree of skill in one act is no indication
that he is also an expert in other fields of
knowledge and endeavor.
Since we do not use our consciousness
to our fullest extent, it is obvious that many
things, of which we are not aware, are passing by us. Repeatedly there is demonstrated
the lack of ability of individuis to report
everything that they see. We walk down
the Street, and unless things in particular
occupy our attention we pass by without
seeing many occurrences or incidents. This
has become a problem from a legal standpoint, since frequently witnesses, who are
completely conscientious and truthful, misrepresent facts because they were not aware

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

of all the circumstances existing about them

concerning the events of which they are
testifying.
If this is true insofar as objective con
sciousness is concerned, it is very logical
that it is even more so where awareness
relating to a broader field is concemed.
Much of our lack of appreciation of the
early experiments in the Rosicrucian studies,
for example, may be due to the limitations
of our own awareness. There were possibilities of development in these experiments, but
sometimes our attention was directed so
definitely towards the specific end that we
may have had in mind, or the end for which
we hoped, that we were not able to grasp
the full import or the complete meaning of
the exercise or experiment which we were
attempting at the particular moment.
It is obvious that we must voluntarily
control our attention if we are going to direct
our awareness towards the accumulation of
knowledge of things that happen about us in
the physical world, and it is also equally
logical that we must cultvate an awareness
of even more subtle phenomena if we are to
contribute to our ability of psychic percep
tion. The mystical point of view, that is,
the ability of man to relate himself to the
Absolute and to become aware of the more
subtle influences that enter consciousness, is
to be developed by the acuteness of our at
tention and by the ability to broaden our
awareness so that we may grasp and become
conscious of those things which take place
about us, not only insofar as pur physical
sensations are concerned but as the impres
sions and intuitive urges come into conscious
ness. To be able to grasp the psychic
impressions, to be able to leam through our
subjectivethat is, to comprehend that
which enters our consciousnessis to develop our ability to an awareness of all
impressions that may come before our con
scious mind.
The development of attention and ex
tensin of our state of awareness is going
to go beyond the limitations of a physical
field or a state directly connected with ma
terial phenomena. It will become possible
for us to expand our concepts to the Infinite.
This is Infinite Awareness, the ability to
conceive, to understand, and to grasp all
impressions that may enter ones conscious
ness. To be able to relate ourselves to those

DECEMBER, 1955

forces which are constantly a part of us is

to be able to grasp not only the purpose in
life but the solution to problems which may
assist us to better adjust ourselves not only
to our physical environment but also to our
psychic environment.A
Health and the Individual
Rather recently a question carne from a
member who is studying the Sixth Degree,
asking why results are so variable insofar as
the use of some of the Rosicrucian principies
of treatment are concemed. To answer this
question, we must take into consideration
what sometimes is not given thought in a
therapeutic treatment that is, the vast
differences existing among individuis. Indi
vidual differences are so definite that indi
viduis respond differently to the same
stimulation. We know that individuis differ
insofar as behavior is concemed. They may
differ in extreme. In other words, you may
be amused at what irritates me. There
actually are cases where the same stimulation
produces sorrow in one individual and mirth
in another.
Insofar as our physical structure is con
cerned, we are different just as we are in our
mental outlook and attitude. Not all of us
respond in the same way to a particular
type of physical treatment. Many systems
of therapeutics have been established on the
principie that a chemical or structural change
of the human body would produce a certain
result. In other words, to put this into a
simple forma certain pill, when taken
intemally, is to accomplish a certain thing.
For example, many people take an aspirin
tablet to stop a headache. Usually aspirin
stops the headache, but some people do not
react favorably to aspirin. Some do not react at all. There is no apparent reason for
the result to not be the same in all cases;
that is, fundamentally our physical bodies
are similar, and it would appear that when
a chemical enters the body, it should react
the same in yours as it does in mine. Ex
perience pro ves this is not always true.
The same principie applies to structural
changes, whether the changes are brought
about through manipulation or through surgery. If an individual has a certain change
made, permanently or temporarily, in his
physical structure, it is on the basis of a
theory that that change will produce a cer

Page 63

tain result. Sometimes, the result is not

forthcoming, and the individual is disappointed, or feels that the treatment has been
a failure. This objective analysis of the
success or failure of any type of treatment
is of course influenced a great deal by the
feeling of the individual. If you or I have
gone through the experience of having a
certain type of treatment that is not successful, we are naturally opposed to that treat
ment. We may even be resentful that the
treatment occupied time, cost us money, and
probably much inconvenience. We do not
know what the present circumstances would
have been if it had not been for that treat
ment. Possibly, we would have been worse
off than we are now.
The fact nevertheless remains that, in all
systems of healing and in the maintenance
of health, particularly in the field of professional therapeutics, it is important that
more consideration and more study be given
to the principie of individual differences. We
cannot refuse to recognize the fact that in
dividuis, in their reactions, are as different
as they are in their moods and ideas.
Consequently, whenever we approach a thera
peutic application of any principie, regardless of what its basic idea may be, we should
feel that, generally, the idea applies and the
principie will work, but that the results will
be in accordance with the capacity of the
individuals ability to assume or take on the
treatment to which he is subjected.
I believe this is particularly true insofar
as the application of the principies of Rosi
crucian healing is concemed. It is difficult
for many people to have complete confidence
in such type of healing. Many individuis
associate Rosicrucian healing and treatments
with the so-called ideas of mental healing.
This is not quite true. Rosicrucianism does
not necessarily present the idea of mental
healing, it presents the basic principies that
a balance between the forces that constitute
the soul qualities and the physical qualities
within the human being needs to be maintained. You learned in your early monographs that we refer to these two phases as
the A and B polarities. We know that the A
element concerns the nonmaterial, or what
is ordinarily referred to in common terminology as the spiritual component of our be
ing, and that the B element concerns the
physical or the material composition which

Page 64

makes up our body. When these two ele

ments are in perfect balance, the human
body is a most efficient operating mechanism.
In fact, it is more than a mechanism; it is
a uniquely operating entity in that it is
energy self-contained. It is life vibrating
through a physical mdium.
Unfortunately, we do not maintain that
perfect equilibrium throughout life. Various
incidents, such as tensin, accidents, and
illness, that come about as vicissitudes of
living are conditions that change the status
of our existence. As a result, our balance
is lost to a certain degree, and in some cases,
it is never completely restored. To work
toward the ideal of balance, to try to main
tain a proper level of existence, is an ideal
for which we should always strive. In other
words, to maintain constantly, in proper bal
ance within ourselves, a manifestation of the
A and B elements as they should be is an
ideal, whether or not we can achieve it as
an actual fact.
The Rosicrucian teachings inform us how
we can exist so that our living will be conducive to a certain level of existence. The
teachings give us additional steps, so that we
can add to these A and B elements within
the body. But we must always remember
that in applying these Rosicrucian principies
of health, we are applying them to an ex
istent entitythat is, to a being such as you
or Ithat has a complex history of existence.
In other words, we all have lived through
circumstances, some of which were our own
fault and some the result of our environment
which we could not completely overcome.
We can, however, direct ourselves in reaching or returning to a closer balance of harmony within ourselves than may have existed
before. Individual differences are conditions
that were probably established before we
became familiar with all of these principies.
Most of us were adults before we knew any
thing about Rosicrucianism; and, consequently, we could not possibly have lived in such
way as never to have had any inharmonious
circumstances develop in or about us during
a lifetime.
Another fact is that transition is inevitable.
There comes a time when we have served
our purpose as entities on this particular
level, and the balance that is idealistically
to be maintained within us as living human
beings is resolved for a purpose higher than

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

that with which we are familiar. Consequently, at that time there is no type of
treatment, no pill or procedure of any kind,
that will change the course of events, because we are then passing on to another
level where we will attempt to apply constructively the lessons that we have learned
here in still vaster fields of existence.A
The Purpose of Soul
A frater of British Guiana asks: If the
soul dissolves back into its source after tran
sition and is fundamentally divine and can
not be corrupted by human conduct, then
why its manifestation on earth? For what
purpose has it come?
We prefer to consider soul as a function
in man, rather than an arbitrarily created
separa te entity implanted in the human.
Early primitive conceptions and medieval
theological views which still persist, conceive the soul as a substance. To them, it is
a divinely created entity quite apart from all
else, and this, they believe, has been conferred upon man. The theologians who have
sought to make man not only the greatest
of all creation, but to make him even the
very purpose of existence, thought that man,
alone, possessed a soul. This assumption was
heightened by the fact that man of all liv
ing things displayed conscience, or a moral
sense. These functions, it was declared, were
attributes of soul. Since they were not exhibited by other forms of higher life, it was
concluded that other living things were devoid of soul.
To the more philosophically and metaphysically minded, this assumption was not
logically sound. Further, the advance of
modern science, particularly in the realm
of psychology, has shown the fallacy of the
substance idea of soul. It reveis that selfconsciousness, upon which conscience and
the moral sense depend, is not exclusively
limited to human beings.
Let us think of soul as a universal intel
ligence. It is an intelligence that has a coexistence with life forc. Every liberal
biologist will readily admit that there is a
consciousness, a sensitivity and a persistence
of function in living cells that constitutes a
kind of intelligence. In fact, the word intel
ligence is most appropriate to explain these
characteristics of living matter. All life,
then, has a universal intelligence. At their

PECEMBER, 1955

bottom, the living cells of complex and sim

ple organisms have similar responses and
characteristics.
Is it an exaggeration to refer to this con
sciousness and intelligence that is of life, or
which accompanies it, as being divine? The
entire phenomena of the cosmos, that are
commonly called material and thought of
as immaterial, have a common unity. We
either think of this whole as being but a
mechanical procedure, or as an intelligence
which manifests in myriad ways. This basic
intelligence is then God, Cosmic, or Divine
Mind, whichever term you may wish to
use. The mystical pantheist, as the Rosi
crucian, will not detach the functions of
this intelligence from its nature. In other
words, the Rosicrucian will not say, as does
the theist, This is God on the one hand
and, on the other hand, here are His
powers or manifestations. Rather, the Rosi
crucian will say: They are but one and
the same.
For analogy, we cannot detach the beam
of light from the lantern. Though difieren t
in nature, the two are one. It is not a
lantern if it cannot emit light, and the
light cannot exist as a beam without the
lantern which produces it. Therefore, God,
or the Cosmic, is likewise the efficacy and
the manifested power and intelligence of
which everything consists.
This intelligence constitutes the forc, the
energy, and the laws of nature. It is in
the rocks, the grain of sand and the material
substance of the human being. Likewise,
its intelligence is the vital life forc that
impregnates and animates matter. Further,
it is also the consciousness of each cell of
the living organism. Consequently, no liv
ing thing is devoid of a divine intelligence.
It is the divine intelligence which gives each
thing its form and its expression. By this,
we do not mean that the organism was arbitrarily designed to be the particular kind
that it is. The form that it assumes, including its characteristics, is the result of
biological development and a product of environmental influences, as well. The intel
ligence follows the mold that heredity and
environment have created.
As the organism develops, becomes more
complex, it acquires numerous additional
attributes and functions. The universal con
sciousness and intelligence expands its modes

Page 65

of expression. There evolves a conscious

ness of self by which the entity comes to
realize itself as existing, or seeming to exist,
apart from other realities. Duality is established; there is then the ego and the world.
There is the body and the mentality. With
further evolution of responses to the innate
consciousness, finer sensations of it are to
be had. The mental states and the emotional
and instinctive urges are evaluated in terms
of personal satisfaction. These are less gross
than the pleasures of the appetite. Often the
living entity comes to realize a conflict be
tween the finer sensations of self and the
desires of the body. The more exalted or
sensitive impulses of the consciousness are
not so easily isolated, or clearly associated
with the organic self. We can trace our
hunger to specific, physical conditions. Our
feelings of conscience and of moral wrongdoing, however, are not identified with any
particular organic process. To mans under
standing, they seem to stem from a mysterious, innate function. Their dictations seem
to be the conclusions of an embodied but
intangible intelligence. This experience is
what has caused man to allude to an inner
self, a divine presence, or souL
The declarations in rational terms, in
words or thoughts, of this soul, this enlarged
function of the universal consciousness, are
not the same in all men. The organism,
the body and mind, through which the uni
versal consciousness must manifest, varies
as a result of heredity and environment.
This accounts for the soul-personalit}^, the
personal expression in other words, of the
same universal consciousness.
A simple analogy may make this indi
vidual variation of the universal essence
more comprehensible. Today, we have highfidelity recording and reproducing audio
equipment. This equipment is designed and
constructed so as to include a much greater
range of the octaves of sound. With the use
of such equipment, music can be recorded
and reproduced with the same fidelity as.
the ear hears it in the concert hall. It is
a very simple matter to prove this. An excellently recorded selection played upon one
of the older audio systems does not produce
the full scale of tones; they are dampened
or throttled, shall we say. The very same
record played upon a high-fidelity apparatus
sounds amazingly different and more bril-

Page 66

liant. The od and new audio systems thus

have different personalities. We could not
properly say that the record used was dif
ferent in nature when played on either system. We know it was the same, and that
it was perfectly recorded. The difference is
in the channel, the mdium through which
the music of the record was given expression. Thus, the same is true of the soulpersonality. The variations are not the
result of different souls, but of the difference
in the human organisms through which the
universal essence finds expression.
Man declares he has soul because he has
arrived at that state of organic development
that permits him to respond more fully to
the universal consciousness resident in his
being. He is aware of qualities and attributes of his being which other beings can
not yet realize. He perceives, for example,
that of which the intelligent dog has but an
immature perception. A dog, however, has
a degree of self-consciousness, as does also
the anthropoid ape the chimpanzee, for
further example. This self-consciousness is
commonly exhibited as a sense of guilt and
shame, as well as of pride. It is a crude
display of those attributes which, in man,
become soul characteristics.
It may be said that there is no soul in
sofar as man is concerned until he realizes
it. That which we do not realize is, for all
practical purposes, nonexistent to us as in
dividuis. In man, soul consciousness is
greatest because man is capable of realizing
its finer or more infinite qualities. Man returns to God in conscious life only when
he experiences unity with the Cosmic within
him. Man, like all things, is a product of
the universal consciousness. His ego, the
self, however, is not of the Cosmic until it
knows that it is. It is because the function
of self is the realization of its full ego. This
realization signifies our knowing that we
are and that we are part of the whole. Until
man has this realization, the self, then, is
isolated in its function. It must know itself and its relations.
What, then, is the purpose of soul? The
acm of consciousness is realization, not just
of the various universal expressions of its
nature, but the realization that it isI am
that I am. The divine consciousness has
its self-consciousness in the fact of mans

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

realization of his soul, of the universal con

sciousness in himself. Man in his awareness of his Cosmic unity becomesin that
awareness Gods self-consciousness. The
universal consciousness extends outward to
create the multiplicity of forms of reality.
It completes its cycle and returns to itself,
when one of its expressions, as man, realizes
the fundamental essence of which he is
composed.X
Can We Oppose Karma?

A frater, addressing our Forum, says:

My first question is, If the assumption is
correct that certain diseases and especially
those which are considered hereditary may
be caused by karmic conditions, would medi
cal help interfere with the Cosmic law of
karma? This leads to the second question,
If man can never wilfully interfere with
the operation of karma (as I am disposed to
believe), should we not then reconsider our
way of disposing of the body after transi
tion? Instead of cremation or burial, should
we not place the body at the disposal of
competent medical agencies so that it can
be used to the good of our fellow men?
First, let me once again briefly review the
traditional and doctrinal meaning of karma.
The word is of Sanskrit origin. Literally
translated, it means deed or to do. As
we think or act, there follow from such
thought and deed certain results. Thus kar
ma is the law of causlity, of cause and ef
fect. Each motivation, acting upon our
environment or upon the lives of others or
as it may invoke natural and Cosmic law,
will produce certain effects. There is nothing supematural or arbitrary about it. Nat
ural law is karma. A stone thrown in the
air is acted upon by gravitation and the
effect is the return of the stone to the earth.
A harsh word is a cause. The effect upon
the ego of the one toward whom the word
is directed, and his reaction to it, is likewise karma. Kindness shown someone and
that persons eventual reciprocation toward
the doer is still another example of karma.
We must reiterate that karma, as cause and
effect, is not all adverse. It can be, and
often is, salutary as well.
Since karma is not arbitrary, that is, fixed
and fatalistic, there is no reason why it

DECEMBER, 1955

cannot be countered or modified by other

causes and effeets which man may in
duce. If one is, for example, aware of
adverse karma, the result of some previous
conduct, why should he not adopt a pat
tern of behavior of which the effeets would
counter the karma? If one later wants to
live a charitable and impersonal life in accordance with Cosmic principies, he may.
He thus sets up a series of benevolent ef
feets which may, to a great extent, mit
gate the results of some previous wrong acts,
in the moral sense. If this were not possi
ble, then there would be no reason for one
ever to seek to improve his life.
We do not mean by the foregoing that
when a series of causes has been engendered
by our conduct that simply having a spirit
of contriteness or new intention would stop
the effeets of the previous acts or thoughts.
To use an analogy to further explain this,
one may have disregarded good judgment
in his diet and have overeaten on rich foods.
As a result of these acts or causes, he acquires a digestive disturbance. Subsequently,
the mere resolution to alter his eating habits
is not going to relieve him of distress. He
has actually to establish counter causes. He
has to go on a rigid diet and seek various
ways and means of rectifying the harm he
has done himself.
We are, in our daily life, constantly opposing and modifying karma, as we should.
We learn a lesson from misfortune in business, health or our domestic lives. If we
are intelligent, we adapt ourselves to a new
course of action so as to counter .the pre
vious effeets. When, for further analogy,
we have a severe toothache, it is karma.
We have violated in some manner the nat
ural health laws necessary to prevent the
dental distress. Perhaps this is due to early
parental neglect. When we go to the dentist for treatment, we are opposing one
karmic cause by setting up, through the
treatment method, a new series of benevolent
causes. The principie of karma has thus
been served. That principie is to familiarize ourselves with certain natural laws by
which a more harmonious adjustment to
life can be made.
When one is born with a hereditary disease that causes suffering, certain lessons
have already been learned by that unfortu-

Page 67

nate individual. He has experienced the

pain of the ill or of the physically handicapped. It should make him humble and
compassionate. He can take therapeutic
treatment, medical or otherwise, to alleviate his suffering and mitgate his karma
thereby. Let us suppose that he takes such
treatment and yet has no feeling of compassion for the suffering of others. He is
physically relieved of his own suffering with
out learning his lesson. Has the principie
of karma been defeated? I think not. Such
an arrogant attitude will only cause that in
dividual eventually to vilate the conventions and ethics of society which, in another
way, will bring him detrimental effeets.
The disposal of human remains is governed by two principal factors. First, there
is the religious concept of the deceased or
his family; second, it is govemed by the
hygienic requirements of the community.
Many orthodox religions, interpreting the
Bible literally, abhor cremation. The reason
commonly given is that cremating the body,
turning it into impalpable ash, would make
it impossible for restoration at Judgment Day.
Even if one accepts this judgment resurrection literally, the practice of interment of
the body is inconsistent with it. With the
passing of time, the body, as it is now com
monly interred, is reduced to nothing but a
dust. Any semblance to human form is
gone. If, then, some miracle can restore
such dust on Judgment Day once again into
an animate human form, so could the same
miracle reconstruct the cremated ash. Mys
tically, cremation is the most consistent dis
posal, for thus the body is retumed, quickly
and hygienically, to the simple elements of
which it is composed.
There is certainly no adverse karma be
ing created by willing ones body or mem
bers thereof to a scientific institution for
research purposes, the results of which would
contribute to human welfare. Since karma
is not all adverse and since it is not intended
as a punishment or as an act of retribution,
it is quite in order to help in this way to
alleviate human suffering.X
Time, Space, Motion
A frater of London, England, propounds
an interesting metaphysical question. He
says: If time is motion that we are con-

Page 68

scious of for a certain duration, what is

inherent in space to give rise to motion?
Certainly mathematical order is there or,
otherwise, the tick of the clock would not
be able to manifest itself; there would not
be a continuity of ticks and one tick would
represent a beginning and an end, a finality. A state of No-time and correspondingly
of No-space and No-mind would exist to
appreciate the tick, that is, one factor could
not exist without the others.
Motion must be the product of space and
matter and space must be, in my present
state of knowledge, a manifestation of spirit
energy. From this I imagine that the only
thing in the universe that can exist of its
own accord in a permanent state of Notime, thereby being infinite and everlasting,
is the Universal Divine Mind of the Cosmic
of which our soul is a part. The whole of
existence seems to me to suggest that the
mortal world is a creation of this cosmic
consciousness, which is itself a mammoth
mind, the like of which is reflected in our
own.
When we speak of time as being motion,
I think it is necessary to explain that mo
tion is not inherent in time itself. Rather,
time is a concept, the consequence of mo
tion. To declare that time is of motion is
to give time an absolute, that is, a positive,
existence which it does not have. The quality of time is perceptual and conceptual. It
is, in other words, a product of experience
and of change in the consciousness of ex
perience. The concept of time arises from
the duration of the consciousness of an ex
perience. It is the measured interval of our
realization of anything. You stare at this
page. The time of your perception or the
seeing of this page consists of dividing that
interval of consciousness into mathematical
units of seconds, minutes, or hours.
Consciousness has motion in the variations
of the sensations which it has as a result,
for example, of seeing, hearing, or feeling
some extemal stimulus. However, to the
mind our state of consciousness, our realiza
tion of some experience, may seem sustained.
Before the experience changes, in other
words, the period of consciousness of it might
be considerable; but how long is such a pe
riod? The only way in which that can be
determined is by arbitrarily applying motion

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

to the apparently sustained conscious state.

This is accomplished by the mechanical
movement, for example, of the hands of a
clock. So many movements constitute a
minute, an additional number constitutes an
hour, and so forth. By counting these
changes, these arbitrarily established move
ments, we are able to determine the length
of the duration of consciousness. This length
is perceptual and conceptual time.
The theory has been postulated in the
past that there is absolute time. This is the
notion that time is a reality independent
of the human consciousness. This concept
contends that past, present, and future, are
realities of which man may become con
scious but which have no dependence upon
him. The concept of absolute time seems
convincing to the average individual who
has become accustomed to using time in his
life as though it were not an abstract, but
a tangible thing. The present, the now, con
stitutes an immediate experience. I look out
the window and I see a tree. I say that such
is immediate experience. It is of now. It
is the present. Actually, however, there was
a fraction of a second necessary for the
visual impression to become an idea in my
consciousness. Where then did the now
begin? Was it when the light waves, causing the image of the tree, struck upon the
retina of my eyes? Or was it when I derived the notion of tree from the visual
sensation? The whole of such an experi
ence is, in fact, a chain of physiological and
psychological links. Which part of the chain
begins what I choose to cali the now of
the experience?
May we not look at the matter in this
way? Whenever I am conscious it is now.
How can I distinguish in time between what
is immediate as an extemal experience and
an impression of memory? If I recall what
I did twenty seconds ago, when I realize
it, it is as much an immediate experience
as something seen or heard. The memory
idea is occupying my consciousness. My
consciousness does not move forward or backward. It but changes from one experience
to another. An experience may be of some
thing I touch or it may be of an impression
recalled from memory. We give our experiences a sequential order. Those that are
sentent, that is, directly received by our

PECEMBER, 1955

senses, have a greater vividness than do the

impressions recalled from memory. Also we
realize the difference between the memory
impression and one arising from our sensory impulses. Such memory impressions are
given a secondary category. They are termed
past.
It might be said by someone that the
memory experience is repetitious and thus
it is obviously of the past. The argumnt
might be presented that the experience was
first had through the senses and then, secondly, as a recollection. Since the memory
impression is secondary, it might be con
tended that that is why we realize it to be
past in the stream of consciousness. How
ever, with a little thought on this subject,
it will be disclosed that such reasoning is
not altogether cogent. It is a psychological
fact that no two experiences are had simultaneously, no matter how they may seem
to be so to us. Therefore, each experience, so
far as our realization of it is concerned, is
independent of every other. Each is now.
A memory impression is of now, regardless
of how we may relate it to any other now
experience we have had. The relating of it
to a sequential order and the terming of
it past is but an arbitrary act upon our part.
Let us suppose that, like those mental
unfortunates who have lost contact with
reality or the objective world, you were to
live entirely in the subjective. Then each
memory impression, each idea, the result
of your imagination, would be accepted by
you as of the now. It would be, to your
mind, an immediate happening. You would
not be in position to compare one experi
ence with another so as to confer upon the
experiences a different temporal relationship
as past, present, or future.
Place or space has considerable to do with
the concept of time. Our consciousness is
the observer. As it is moved into different
relationships to the energy of the Cosmic,
our notions of time are changed. What
we see occurring in the heavens as a nova
that is, a new star, flashing into visin or
a meteorite rushing across the night sky
seems to be now. Actually, in the physical
sense it is not. The phenomenon you see
may have occurred a million light-years
ago. Light travels at the speed of 186,000
miles per second. The light that causes us

Page 69

to see a distant star when we gaze into the

heavens may have left innumerable lightyears ago. By a light-year we mean the
distance that light travels in one year. Consequently, what we see and what to the con
sciousness appears to be of the present is
in the past if it is measured by the term
of the speed of light, by which visual im
pressions are conveyed to us. The causes of
all our sense impressions are, in this regard, in the past if you relate them as a
link in a chain of factors that lead to our
experiencing them. The same events may
be future to one whose consciousness is at
a greater distance from the cause of the
impressions than yourself.
Let us agree on the fact that all Being
is in motion, including our own conscious
ness. The now is when the consciousness
is moved to the realization of some phase
of cosmic energy. In the cosmic there is
no time because in it there are no gaps or
blanks as the hiatus in human conscious
ness. One change merges into another in
the cosmic. Nothing is sustained long enough
to have such a distinctive relationship as to
be of the past, present, or future. Nothing
is in the sense of being arrested or fixed.
Therefore, nothing was.X
Is Vegetarianism Necessary?
A soror rises to address our Forum as
follows: What is the Rosicrucian Orders
opinion of vegetarianism? May vegetarians
eat fish and eggs? Why do eggs create passion? Did Jess eat fish? Was Jess a vege
taran? How about the karmic effect of
meat and fowl? Meat eating has saddened
my conscience for quite a while and I have
almost completely stopped with the exception of fish and eggs. I realize that vege
tarianism cannot make you good, but if
you are striving for Divine goodness, how
can you eat meat with an undisturbed con
science?
The reasons being given for abstinence
from flesh eating are several; not all of
them are moral or ethical. The practice
dates back to antiquity, but the actual ame
vegetarianism is as recent as the year 1847
when a society gave it prominence. Among
the orthodox Hindus, meat eating is prohibited, and has been for centuries. The

Page 70

worshippers of the Hind deity Vishnu abstained. The practice is not limited to Ori
ental sects, however. The Seventh Day
Adventists abstain from flesh eating, as also
do the Dukhobors and several Catholic Orders such as the Trappists. There are numerous lesser known sects and societies who
have made vegetarianism, by ame or prac
tice, one of their fundamental requirements.
Vegetarianism does not merely exelude the
eating of meat. Some of its adherents have
included a proscription of fish and fowl.
Some persons even exelude all animal prod
ucs such as milk, eggs, and cheese. Fruitarianism is a term that applies to those who
exelude from their diet all vegetables; they
confine their diet to fruits, nuts, and grains
prepared in various ways. There are those
who refuse to eat any vegetables the roots or
tubers of which are grown underground, as
for example, potatoes and beets. The reason
is given that these are not exposed to the
sunlight and therefore lack essential, if but
intangible, nutritional elements.
The reasons for the practice of vegetarian
ism may be divided into two main classes:
the first of these is health and economy; the
second is religious, or the moral and ethical. The health reason is the idea that ani
mals have communicable diseases which may
affect the human organism in various ways.
Along with this concept is the one that
meat may contribute to our nutrition, in
part, but that it is detrimental to our gen
eral health and is not essential for our
physical well-being. These theorists have
also contended that the eating of meat deprives man of the nutritional valu of other
foods in which he would otherwise indulge
to a greater extent.
The religious, moral, and ethical concepts
have been far more influential in winning
abstinence from flesh eating than have the
reasons of health. To eat flesh, fish or fowl,
means to destroy life, to kill. The moral
principies of many religious sects throughout the ages prohibited the taking of life
for the purpose of sustaining it. In the
Hind religin, Brahma, or the Universal
Soul, permeates all living things. Man has
no right, according to this concept, to deprive the individual manifestations of that
Universal Soul from evolving by destroying
any of its earthly forms. With some other

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

sects, only certain kinds of animals may be

eaten because it is said that the flesh of all
others is morally contaminated. Behind such
prohibitions was perhaps a hygienic motive.
The inclination toward the excessive eating
of pork in Biblical times was undoubtedly
detrimental to health. The excluding of it
on moral grounds was the only way, per
haps, that abstinence could be achieved.
Among some who refuse to eat meat, the
reason offered is the inheriting of the char
acteristics of the lower animals thus consumed. In other words, it is contended that
the lower instinets and animal passions are
transmitted in the flesh of the animal. The
consumption of such flesh, they claim,
heightens the animal instinets of man and
his passions will tend to obscure his spiritual advancement. This is, of course, a kind
of primitive reasoning. It presupposes a
magical contagion by which the properties
of one thing are transmitted to any and
all other things which may be brought into
contact with it. It reasons that habits and
character are qualities which are infused
throughout a whole organism. The taking
into the human organism of any part of an
animal would, by this primitive reasoning,
transfer such qualities to man. Persons who
believe this are of the confirmed opinion
that the meat eater could not possibly be
truly spiritually inclined. They think that
not only is his being subtly contaminated
by the flesh eaten, but that his conscience,
as well, will be weighted under a sense of
guilt in destroying life.
From the dietetic point of view, statistics
establish that most persons who are not engaged in hard, physical labor do consume
more meat than is necessary for them. The
average American in the last two decades
has increased his consumption of meat considerably more than most people throughout
the world. This is due chiefly to Ameri
cas favored economic situation during this
period. In past centuries the English peo
ple were leaders in meat consumption. It
can hardly be contended that either the
American or the British peoples are less
spiritually or morally evolved than others.
Let us look frankly at the moral question.
Admittedly, it is a controversial one. The
opinion given here will undoubtedly not be
acceptable to the confirmed vegetaran whose

PECEMBER, 1955

abstinence is on moral or religious grounds.

The moral sense, conscience, or the con
sciousness of soul, transcends that order or
vitality that animates the body. Every re
ligionist looks upon the consciousness of self
as being of a higher order than that which
causes his physical organism to function. He
looks upon the body as merely a mdium for
the expression of self. It is a shell for the
nucleus of the more expanded self which
he calis Soul. From this conception, if the
highest manner in which the body can serve
the whole man is to be maintained the body
must remain in good health. Certainly, it
would be conceded that the body does not
confer any spiritual properties upon the
higher consciousness. Proper nutrition does
provide for taking into the body Cosmic
qualities to maintain a perfect, or nearly per
fect organism. Eating can do no more than
this.
The spiritual consciousness, so-called, is
not a substance that is fed by material
elements. It is evolved by its experiences
in its relationship to life and to reality.
There are no properties or elements existing in food which directly nourish the soul
or moral sense of men. We cannot eat our
way into spirituality. It is, as well, an instinctive urge and biological law that one
kind of life will live upon another. It may
be contended that man, with his advanced
reasoning, has it within his power to modify and refine these primitive urges. The
realization of the finer sensations of con
sciousness, defined by us in moral terms,
lets us establish our own vales of right
and wrong. However, there is no command
direct from on High which declares that the
taking of life for food consumption is im
moral. The command in the Decalogue,
Thou shalt not kill, is not qualified. It
may be interpreted to apply to human life
or any kind of life according to the sentiment of the individual interpreting.
There is brutality and repugnance ex
perienced in the slaughtering of animals for
food consumption. If the aver age person
could visit a slaughter-house and see sheep
and cattle killed, he would find that his
appetite for meat would subside considerably,
at least for a time. There is no doubt that
from a nutritional point of view, substitutes
for meat can be as healthful as meat, and

Page 71

especially so if they are fortified with the

proper vitamins. The sentimentalists, whose
feelings we can understand, can thus abstain from meat eating as a personal initiative; they thus can personally feel encouraged
by the fact that their abstinence from meat
consumption is in no way inflicting pain
upon lower animals because of any desire
on their part.
The ethics of the vegetaran, however,
should be consistent with his doctrine. If
he believes it is morally wrong to kill for
food, it is likewise and equally as sinful,
then, to take animal life for any other
reason. I have known of vegetarians who
were vociferous in their protestations of
meat eating, but who nevertheless wore
leather shoes! They used leather handbags
and many articles in their homes were
made of animal by-products. Such objects
were only possible by the killing of animals.
The practice of these individuis obviously
made their protestations ludicrous and even
to appear hypocritical.
As to whether Jess ate fish, we know
that he associated with fishermen. His disciples fished for a livelihood. Whether he
personally ate fish or not, he did associate
closely with those who caught fish for hu
man consumption. Logically, then, he did
not consider the taking of life of the lower
animals, for subsistence, as being a crime
against the Divine, or an obstacle to spirit
ual progress.
Conscience may be social or individual.
Social conscience consists of the taboos and
proscriptions of society, that is, what men
collectively may declare to be wrong or
evil. The individual conscience consists of
the interpretation based on his own sense
of righteousness as related to his personal
habits and affairs. The individual should,
for his personal happiness and peace of
mind, be guided by his personal conscience
wherever and whenever it does not interfere
with the welfare of society. If meat eating
is repulsive and demoralizing to you, refrain
from it. Do not necessarily, however, become a crusader for it. This is a Rosicrucian
postulation and conception with the added
emphasis that what we eat, as long as it
does not destroy health, has no relation to
the expanding consciousness of man or his
soul qualities.X

THE WORLDS
FIRST INDIVIDUA!,
AMENHOTEP
IV
What every member has
been waiting for
A companion piece of
statuary to the popular
Nefertiti bust!
AM ENHOTEP I V . . . This exquisitely sculptured bust statue of the
fam ous Egyptian pharaoh stands
7 nches high, is authentically
colored, and sells for only $5.25
( 1 / 1 7 / 6 s te rlin g)

In 1358 B.C., in Egypt, Pharaoh Amenhotep

IV (Akhnaton), as if divinely infused with the
concept, declared for the first time in the worlds
history that there is but one sol, everliving God.
This monotheistic religin had a tremendous effect
upon the customs and practices of the people,
which was never entirely lost, even to the time
of Christianity.
The above-pictured piece of statuary was especially designed for the Rosicrucian Supply Bureau
by one of Americas foremost sculptors. In your
home it will be a constant reminder to you of the
impact this young pharaoh had upon the thinking
of men and women from his time till now.

A matched set of the Amenhotep and

Nefertiti busts is especially priced for those
who have not previously purchased either
one.
M atched Set
O n ly $ 1 0 .0 0

( 3 / 1 1 / 5 ste rlin g)

Nefertiti
Stan ds 7 inches high
In beautiful color

Single price $5.25

( 1 / 1 7 / 6 ste rlin g)

ROSICRUCIAN SUPPLY BUREAU

SA N JOSE,

CALIFORNIA,

U. S. A.

February, 1956
V olum e X X V I

No. 4

Rosicrucian Forum
A p r v a t e

p u b lic a t o n f o r m e m b e r s o f A M O R C

R A Y M U N D A N D R E A , F. R. C., Granel M a ste r fo r the G ra n d Lodge of A M O R C , G re at Britain.

Page 74

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Greetings!
V

MYSTICAL HUMILITY

Dear Fraires and Sorores:

It is perhaps appropriate at this point to
comment on the nature of humility. In the
first place, humility must not be confused
with the ascetic practice of self-abnegation.
Among certain religious zealots of the Orient,
it is customary to renounce the world and
live as a recluse in a cave or grotto. This is
done for two reasons. The first is to show
disdain for worldly interests. It is an attitude
of aloofness from the world. Often, like the
Manicheans of od, these ascetics hold that
all earthly things, even the body, are evil
and, therefore, contemptible. Secondly, these
misguided ascetics often fear normal desires
and urges. They consider them temptations
which are to be combated. Not being too
confident of their inner strength, they feel
more secure if they can isolate themselves
from human society, or at least suppress
every normal desire, almost to the point of
transition from this life. There are those
who think of humility as a modified form
of this self-denial. They refrain from smiling, from showing joy under the most proper
circumstances, and even resort to wearing
soiled and tattered garments. They invite
and endure insults. They live in squalor
when it is not necessary and refuse to better
their social or economic position. Normal
instinctive pride in personal accomplishment
they look upon as a vice.
Such conduct, in the ame of humility, is
a corruption of the true mystical principie.
Further, it results in the violation of many
other Cosmic principies. It is right for man
to be happy. It is proper for him to aspire
to a better economic, intellectual, and social
status. In fact, such kind of living in the
ame of humility, as we have described
above, is hypocritical and certainly that
which is deceitful is not in accord with Cos
mic principies, no matter what the motive
may be.
Continuing with the negative aspect of

humility, let us also state it is not ingratiation. This mistaken conception manifests
as continually going out of ones way to serve
the whims and fancies of others. A person
who runs immediately to get a chair for
another that is capable of getting his own, or
who hovers above, making minor adjustments
or arrangements so as to anticipate apparently every petty desire of another, is one who
is ingratiating himself. Such acts may not
be accepted by the other person as humility
and service, but rather as nothing more than
an attempt to win favor. Instead of winning
respect for the motive behind them, such
acts may produce just the opposite effect.
Another false interpretation of humility is
obsequiousness. This consists of assuming a
cringing, servile manner. Such persons, in
the presence of others, hang their heads, will
not speak unless spoken to, and take the atti
tude that they are to be commanded and can
not exercise a will of their own. They even
refer to themselves as inferior beings, not
worthy of the courteous attention that any
normal person will show another. Unfortunately, I have known persons who assumed
such behavior, all with the honest but erroneous belief that it constitutes mystical
humility.
Now, let us consider the positive aspect,
that is, what true mystical humility is. First,
it consists of sincere reverence for all spirit
ual or divine precepts and manifestations.
No matter how strange or different a religious
practice may be, it will be respected as the
belief of the practitioner. One will doff his
hat, kneel, bow or whatever is the custom,
when entering the temple or church of any
religin, not with the intention of endorsing
the belief or precepts, but with respect for
that which is sacred to another. The humbleness lies in keeping within bounds your per
sonal convictions, so as not to exercise them
in a manner offensive to another. True
mystical humility requires one to be always
conscious that his personal achievements in

Page 75

FEBRUARY, 1956

business or professional life are not altogether the result of his own individual efforts
or erudition. What talents we possess, or
what faculties we have been able to evolve
so as to master circumstances, are due to the
use of natural Cosmic principies. Thus we
are under obligation to such powers and
principies. We can never pay for our possessions. We are always indebted to nature
for her resources and to the Cosmic for the
privilege of living. Mystical humility requires that, for each success, we display not
egoism but a desire to help one less fortnate.
We do not criticize another or become servile
and belittle the dignity of our own personality, but try to help another in some little
way to achieve as we may have done. We
do not assist others to do what they should
be able to accomplish for themselves. Rather,
we help them to understand their problems
so that they may personally succeed.
When we succeed in anything, whether it
is a mystical demonstration or the culmination of a business enterprise, we must think
of it in an impersonal sense. We alone did
not bring about the success. We were given
knowledge, understanding, and the opportunity to serve. We are happy and can show
our joy in accomplishment; yet we must
admit that we have been aided.
No matter how aggressive you are, how
hard you study and work and drive so as
finally to succeed, you are still Cosmically
obligated. You have been permitted to have
such initiative and faculties so as to accom
plish. They are gifts that have been bestowed upon you. Show your gratitude.
Mystical humility, then, is expressed in
the attitude of reverence, gratitude, and
tolerance.
Fraternally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator.
(From ForumFebruary 1947)

When Is Anger Justifiable?

A Soror of New Zealand addressing our
Forum says: I wonder if anger is ever
justifiable. Having suffered so much since
childhood from anger, it seems I find myself with almost a cringing dread of any
thing approaching anger; and yet recently,
it has been necessary to show decided spirit
on occasion. Whenever this occurred, I have
felt as though I wanted to plunge into clear
water and drink copiously to cleanse inside
and out.
Anger is an emotion, and an emotion is
an internally aroused sensation coming as
the result of some external or mental stimuli.
Although, psychologically, instinets and emotions are usually dealt with separately, yet
there is a fundamental relationship between
the two. Certain experiences to which we
may be subject will cause an instinctive reaction to them; that is, we have inherited
a kind of pattern of behavior response to
such experiences through numerous generations. This response causes us to have cer
tain sensations or feelings which fall into
the category of one of our familiar emotions,
as anger, fear, or joy.
If someone suddenly slaps your face, you,
as the shock of surprise and pain is felt,
most likely display anger. Some individuis
who have not cultivated self-control would
instinctively strike back; others would exhibit their anger in a more restrained man
ner, as a vocal protest. Instinctively, we
seek to avoid any circumstances that inhibit
our welfare, that hurt or restrain our actions. A restriction of the ego, a blow to
the pride, can be as painful as a blow to
the body. When we are aware of the ob
ject of this disturbance of our well-being or
a restriction of it, the emotion of anger is
aroused. The anger constitutes the organic
attempt to resist and to surmount the opposing and frustrating condition.

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, 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 Department
of Publication of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, Califorria.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/1 sterling) A N N U A LLY FOR MEMBERS O NLY

Page 76

Anger prepares us for action. There is

a tensing of muscles and a surge of muscu
lar strength to combat the condition which
aroused the emotion. Anger gives every indication of an internal, organic, emotional
disturbance. Anger has been referred to as
an emergency emotion. It causes the sympathetic nerves to stimulate certain organs
to sudden action and to arrest the action
of others. Thus, for example, the adrenal
glands are aroused and discharge their hor
mones into the vascular (blood) system; the
adrenalin thus poured forth, quickens the
heart actionas we all knowand expands
the blood vessels allowing for greater cir
cula tion. The sweat glands are likewise
stimulated.
However, anger has its negative effects, as
well. It causes a decrease or a cessation of
the digestin during the height of the anger.
Laboratory experiments with small animals
have proved this. A cat whose stomach
was being viewed through a fluoroscope
while it was eating revealed a rhythmic
movement of the organ. When a barking
dog was brought into the laboratory the cat
became angry; the motion of the stomach
ceased, as did the digestive processes. These
processes were not resumed until about fifteen minutes after the dog had been re
moved. Consequently, it is significant that
anger while eating, or immediately afterward, is harmful.
It is a fallacy, however, to consider anger
to be a weakness of character that should
be removed. Anger has a definite psychological and physiological advantage if not
permitted to completely dominate the reason. What is indigna tion but anger subject
to some restraint by the will? Society becomes indignant when there is some heinous
crime committed against it. Men become
angry at an obvious injustice to some indi
vidual or cause. As a result, they retaliate.
They are moved by their emotion to exceptional action, to oppose or to rectify the in
justice. What is rebellion against a tyrant,
or against lawlessness, but anger? Lack of
this emotion would mean that the individual
would never be stimulated to act on behalf
of his own welfare whenever a restriction
or a hurt was imposed upon him. To do
away with anger would be to remove the
spirit that motivates the fight against per
sonal and social injustice.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Blind rage, however, is usually futile and

accomplishes little except to disturb the in
dividual physically and emotionally. For
anger to be effective, that is, to serve its
function, it must be under the supervisin
of reason. The action that it arouses to op
pose the frustration and the restraint must
be intelligently directed. Where injustice has
been done and there is that anger that
amounts to indignation, it must be directed
into rational channels or its energy is wasted
and futile.
It is a good policy to abide by the od
admonition to count to ten before giving
vent to anger. Sometimes the imagination
causes a wrong interpretation of circumstances in which there are no grounds for
anger. A sudden, uncontrolled outburst may
only bring about subsequent remorse.
The individual who is angered by events,
and whose anger is justified, but who seeks
to stoically suppress it is only harming himself. Such inhibiting of the emotions causes
the excitation aroused by them to become inverted instead of giving vent in bodily ac
tion, loud speech, gesticulation, and muscular
tensin. Such a person forces himself to
suppress all such displays. As a consequence,
the emotional and psychological changes still
persist and continu to interfere with the
normal organic function, for a prolonged
period. Such stoicism is a false philosophy.
It is not indicative that one is lacking in
character or self-restraint because he dis
plays anger. Anger is natural. It is natures
way to combat conditions which restrict the
advantages and personal welfare of the in
dividual. It is first necessary to give thought
to whether the opposition is intentional and
requires a combative attitude on our part,
or whether it may be unintentional and ac
cidental. The individual, for example, who
kicks a stone over which he has just stumbled is exhibiting blind anger. There is no
need to combat an inanimate object or those
circumstances which are the result of an
accident.X
What Makes For Leadership?
A Canadian soror addresses our Forum and
says: Several people have asked me: Why
has my son, or daughter, never been elected
to office in the group to which he, or she,
has given such faithful servicewhile others

FEBRUARY, 1956

who are carrying too many offices as it is,

and who do not want the office, are elected?
Other persons have asked: Why has O.......
gone to the top in her organization? Does
she put herself forward? I myself have been
elected again and again to offices which I
certainly have not wanted. I have been willing to take the responsibility, but, then, so
have many other people. What are the
qualities of leadership?
Leadership does not necessarily imply that
the individual is qualified for his task. One
may hold, by popular consent or election,
an office in some group or society and yet
not actually have greater ability than any
other member of that body. The average
individual in social groups is recommended
and elected for office because of emotional
influences. The persons electing or recommending him will often take little time to
look into the intellectual assets, the experi
ence, or the talents of the candidate. They
more or less accept the candidate per se,
that is, as they perceive his personality.
An affable, pleasing personality, one who
seems to be able to say the right thing at
the right time, who knows his limitations,
conceals them and exploits his virtuesno
matter how limited they may beis most
likely to be elected to an office. He knows
how to sell his personality, and how to
make the least seem the most.
The psychological requirements of real
leadership are not the faculties of pulling
or pushing people in any direction. It requires one, who by his actions, his conduct,
inspires people to follow him, to seek his
counsel and his direction. The real leader
impresses persons, not just by his speech,
but by his accomplishments, as being one
who has the initiative and the ability to
achieve an end. A real leader is one who
makes other persons conscious of his superiority in specific capacities without offending
their pride. He is one with whom persons
want to be associated. They sense a per
sonal gain by being in his presence. They
see in him a person who has an abundance
of certain virtues and powers which they
admire; they believe they can acquire or
gain some advantage from following him.
Those who lead by compulsin, by militant forc or by intimidation, are not real
leaders. They are merely holding the title.

Page 77

They do not inspire people to follow them;

they compel through fear. Under such cir
cumstances, the followers only await the
opportunity to rebel and to overthrow the
leader. The qualities of the leader must include a knowledge of the requirements of
his office which exceeds that of the majority
of his followers. He must have the ability
to apply such knowledge to circumstances
when they arise. He must have the courage
of his convictions so that he does not retreat when confronted with opposition. This
courage must be so dominant that the leader
exudes it and it gives mpetus to others who
lack his initiative and enthusiasm.
The pseudo leaders are those who momentarily impress others with their glib speech
and who resort to flattery. The how-to-winfriends philosophy exhorts one to flatter oth
ers. Of course, every individual is more or
less susceptible to it because our ego must
be fed like our body. The personable indi
vidual who expresses himself well and knows
how to appeal to ones vanity makes these
kinds of friends quickly in any group. He
will receive votes quickly, as well. The
more retiring, though better qualified, person remains either unknown or makes little
impression upon his associates. The popu
lar personality, however, who actually does
not have true ability is soon exposed when
placed in an office where there are real demands made of him. If he does not have
the necessary qualifications, he fails and is
seldom considered for any other office by
the same group.
The real leader has such an ebullient en
thusiasm for the activities in which he has
an interest that he is forever planning, do
ing, and talking about them. He is not intentionally selling himself, or is he seeking
office. He reveis, however, that he has the
ability, and that is soon discovered by his
associates. They elect him to office even
when he would rather serve the cause with
out the title. The leader, then, must be one
who is capable of transmitting some of his
dynamic personality to his associates. He
must be able to spread his own enthusiasm
to others and move them to action for the
cause to which he is devoted. He must display exceptional knowledge of the required
subject and have the visin and the vitality
to make his ideas become realities.X

Page 78

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Psychic Initiations

A frater in California rises and addresses

our Forum. He asks, Is it customary in
higher initiations for them to last, off and on,
for a period of eight weeks or longer? It
seems that the last three have lasted a con
siderable time.
The primary purpose of all initiations is
to introduce to and have the candidate be
gin upon a new course of action. In fact,
the etymology of the word initiation is the
Latin verb initiare, which means to begin.
Thus any method, by which someone is to
be acquainted with heretofore unknown
knowledge and which is intended to cause
him to act in accordance with it, constitutes
an initiation. The young man who begins
a course in manual training, wherein the
mysteries of the tools are explained to him
for the purpose of eventually making him a
carpenter, is being initiated. On the other
hand, one who begins to read a textbook
solely for the purpose of the acquisition of
new facts is not being initiated. Initiation
must exact action from us. You are not only
to receive, but you must respond, begin some
thing new as a result of what has been given
to you.
In true mystical initiation, the beginning
must constitute a change. There must be an
evolutionary progression. One must depart
upward from what he has been doing or
from what he is. One who passes through
a ritual in which, as part of the rites, there is
exhibited to him, in symbolic form or otherwise, new knowledge, and who is further
instructed in what changes he must bring
about in his thinking or living, is yet not
initiated until he conforms to what has been
revealed to him. In the final analysis, then,
we initiate ourselves. If we do not, we are
not initiates, no matter how many initiatory
ceremonies we have participated in . . . As
an example, there is our Rosicrucian First
Neophyte Degree Initiation. The member is
obliged to make certain mechanical arrangements of his sanctum, altar, and his ritualistic
paraphernalia. Then, he must proceed with
the intellectual aspects of the ceremony, that
is, a reading of the ritual. Further, there are
the vocative aspects: the affirmations which
he must recite softty. No matter how assiduously he has done these things, unless
he has experienced psychologically certain

results, unless he has inwardly felt certain

changes taking place, unless he has been
moved by sentiments within and is compelled to decide upon a new course of action
in his life, he is not initiated. He must feel
and willingly give himself to a transcendent
spirit. He must know from these feelings
that he has risen above his od order and
way of thinking. Further, he must feel rejoiced that his consciousness has been ex
tended and that he is en rapport with all
being everywhere.
Each individual experiences this theophan}^, this psychic initiation, differently.
Just as lights, colors, music, and rhythmic
perambulation during an initiatory cere
mony bring delight to the candidates objec
tive senses, so, too, must his psychic self revel
in being brought into closer harmony with
the Cosmic. The psychic self, by the technique of initiation, must be brought into
attunement with the great universal con
sciousnessor, as we say, the Cosmicfor
true mystical initiation to be had.
In fact, in mystical initiation, all rites,
gestures and physical conditions, as well as
phraseology, are subordnate to the function
of providing the psychic self with another
Cosmic experience. That is why, if an esoteric initiation ritual is merely read or the
ceremony is merely mechanically performed,
it may often seem inane. Each word uttered
or each act performed has a sacrosanct pur
pose. Each is but a provocative cause. The
initiation is incomplete, unless there follows
from it an immanent experience, a psychic
unfoldment. The Rosicrucian member who
reads the initiation ritual and never endeavors to perform it in the psychological man
ner in which it is prepared, to induce the
inner response, has lost its valu entirely.
The psychic initiation, the illumination,
the afflatus of the soul, which is true mysti
cal initiation, is not always concomitant with
the performance of the ritual. If a mystical
initiation ceremony is entered into with the
proper spirit, that is, with a sense of humil
ity, an open mind and reverence, one is cer
tain eventually to experience the psychic
initiation. The inner initiation may at times
correspond with each act, or word read or
heard. You may inwardly perceive, as you
objectively see and hear. Then, again, at the
conclusin of the initiatory ceremony, you
may not have perceived or experienced any

FEBRUARY, 1956

changes, emotional or otherwise, or anything

that would indicate a spiritual afilatus, except perhaps a feeling of exhilaration. This
may mean that the psychic initiation will
follow. It may come an hour later or it may
come days later. It may occur in what appears to be a dream in which you may per
haps visualize yourself going through a
series of events which, though different in
their detail, are similar to the initiation
which you objectively had. The difference
is that you will inwardly feel and realize the
full import of what has occurred and you
will know that you have been truly initialed.
Such an initiation, revealed in that manner, may sometimes extend over two or three
nights. For example, you may find yourself
wandering in a dark cave, completely lost
and bruising yourself against the rocky projections of its walls. You will perhaps be
startled by hideous sounds and occasionally
see, in a dim way, terrifying forms, which
may cause you to strike out in great fear.
Suddenly, a figure may appear in a luminous, diaphanous robe, more beautiful than
any earthly figure you have ever seen. It
may admonish you, in a melodious voice, to
keep your eyes focused upon a particular
symbol which will be made visible to you
and that symbol will disclose a moral precept or law.
If you do as you are instructed, you finally emerge into the most radiant light your
eyes have ever seen. It is a light that is more
brilliant than the sun. You turn to look
back upon the cave from which you made
your exit and you realize that all it contained was the darkness of ignorance and
what you experienced therein were not realities, but indications of your own state of
mind, illusions, misconceptions aiid they
alone were the terrors. By discovering your
self through concentrating upon the symbols
depicting Cosmic laws and principies, you
advance into the light of full understanding
and the joys you now experience are the
result of your subsequent illumination and
your liberation from a specious living and
thinking. Such a psychic experience makes
plain to you the symbolic initiation through
which you passed in your degree work. This
is not necessarily an exact description of any
one initiation, but is representative of the

Page 79

manner in which psychic initiations follow

the objective ones.
Whether or not one may have a psychic
initiation without actually participating,
physically and intellectually, in an objective
initiation ceremony, is a question that comes
up quite often in correspondence. The answer is yes- However, psychic initiations
are usually stimulated by first preparing
our selves for them. The objective rituals,
such as are extended to you in your degree
studies, create the right environment and
posit the proper psychological atmosphere
which experience has shown that AMORC
is conducive to mystical initiation. A true
mystical initiation ritual includes all those
elements which properly appeal to our senses.
It endeavors to harmonize the qualities of
the senses, so that the whole objective self is
working in unisn and can better serve the
psychic self. It prevents any one aspect of
our consciousness from being dominated and
keeps us from fastening our consciousness
solely to objective things. Such harmony of
our objective being makes it easier for us to
attune ourselves to the psychic self; that is
why certain music and the combination of
colors and rhythmic motion are used. These
harmonious vibrations react upon the higher
positive energy of the sympathetic nervous
system which Controls or directs our attune
ment with the Cosmic. In this way, the two
natures of man, the physical and spiritual,
are co-ordinated and make us more easily a
channel for Cosmic experience.
Ordinary dreams, having a strictly organic
or mental origin, must not be confused with
psychic initiations. There is a progressive
continuity to psychic initiation which makes
it a complete and comprehensive experience.
We are never left in doubt as to what has
transpired. Each act is related to every other
which follows. There is an understanding of
purpose and there are certain corresponding
feelings produced within us, which are of a
psychic nature. There is never any con
fusin or despair, even though, in the beginning of a psychic initiation, one may, as
related in the analogy above, at first find
discomfiture, even fear. This passes away
and the conclusin is a most ecstatic illuminating experience.X
(From ForumFebruary 1947)

Page 80

Reflections of a Rosicrucian Convention

As the time of the 1956 Rosicrucian

Convention approaches, I am reminded of
comments that have been received from, mem
bers who have attended past Conventions.
There are, of course, many reactions to a
week so full of activity as the Rosicrucian
Convention. We prepare a questionnaire for
members who attend the Rosicrucian Con
vention and ask them to kindly fill it out
and return to us. They are asked to express
their opinion concerning the events of the
Convention, and to give their reactions to
the various functions in which they had the
opportunity to participate. These reactions
are of course varied, since every individual
enjoys those things in which he has participated the most; and of course not all of
us like the same things. What may be the
most pleasing to me may not attract you as
much as would some other event.
One frater who attended the Rosicrucian
Convention last year wrote in a way which
greatly impressed me. It was a different
kind of report than I ever received conceming a Rosicrucian Convention in the past,
and I believe that the frater will not object
if I share some of his comments with readers
of the Rosicrucian Forum. This frater stated
that after he retumed to his home, he tried
to picture in his mind what it was that
brought him the most enjoyment and benefit at the Rosicrucian Convention. He said,
I look back on the scene at Rosicrucian
Park and remember the many lectures, demonstrations, and events that constituted the
formal program of the Convention week. I
also remember seeing many people, the
members that constituted the crowd that
rushed from one place to another to be sure
not to miss anything, and to take part in
everything. Some of these people that rushed
from place to place were looking for unusual
things, but actually they found no masters
of mystery, no magicians, no sleight-of-hand
performers; they found human beings like
themselves who had similar interests to what
they had, and with whom they enjoyed
association when they took time to be aware
of it. They also had forgotten something;
they forgot that while they might have been
in search of masters, they themselves were
the masters. A few found answers to their
most important questions.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

I watched them, I saw the miracle take

place, I saw them stroll about the grounds;
then, I saw some go into the shrine for a
period of meditationand experience the
realization of the gift of mastership. They
sat there at first a bit hesitant and uncertain,
but soon they relaxed; and before my eyes,
I saw what was a miracle occur. Uncertainty and tensin vanished; the wonderful
mantle of serene calm called peace profound enveloped them. For them, there will
be no more questions, they have found the
answers; to them, Rosicrucian Park gave its
all. How do I know this? I, too, went to
Rosicrucian Park with questions in mymind.
I, too, sat before the shrine and learned for
the first time the true meaning of peace profound. It is not to be found only in the
rushing from one event to another at a con
vention, but one may find it in silence and
repose wherever one is willing to give the
time for that purpose. I learned this great
lesson at the shrine in Rosicrucian Park, and
because of it, I now say, I appreciate more
than ever before the principies which are
presented in the Rosicrucian teachings.
It is true that realizations of this kind are
sometimes brought about as a result of
change in environment; not that environ
ment alone is the factor that makes possible
development or lack of it. A change of en
vironment is sometimes an active forc that
causes us to reassemble our facts and ex
periences which we already know and to
put our knowledge and experience into new
perspective. This frater gained that new
perspective at the Rosicrucian Convention,
and we sincerely hope that many others who
have attended and will attend in the future
will also have their perspective redirected
and their realizations better organized so
that they too may know peace profound.A
Exoteric and Esoteric Knowledge
There are two kinds of knowledge: ex
oteric and esoteric. Primarily, exoteric knowl
edge has to do with the phenomenal world.
It is the knowledge that the individual leams
or the human race has accumulated about
the physical world in which he lives. There
are certain laws that seem to be manifest,
such as the movement of objects in space,
the tides upon the oceans of the earth, the
changing seasons, and the existence of gravi-

FEBRUARY, 1956

ty. This exoteric knowledge is the knowledge

of the physical world, of the immediate en
vironment, of the physical adjustment of
ourselves to that world, but all other knowl
edge that cannot be isolated, confined, or
described in terms of physical phenomena
falls into the classification of esoteric knowl
edge.
It is believed by those who accept an
idealistic philosophy that esoteric knowledge
does exist and the true realities of the universe lie within the scope of esoteric knowl
edge. It is impossible to find confirmation
of the existence of any form of esoteric
knowledge in the physical world. Confirmation must come from beyond the physical
world. The validity of knowledge, according
to the idealist and according to the basic
principies of Rosicrucian philosophy, is
found in terms of its agreement or conformance to the Absolute.
Exoteric knowledge, or knowledge of the
physical world, is obviously that which is
perceived by us through our physical sense
structure. We are able to see, feel, hear,
taste, and smell those things which constitute
the world around us. If we would technically enter into the analysis of the subject
of epistemology, which is the science of the
nature and validity of knowledge, we might
raise serious questions as to whether man
does perceive the material world or whether
he only perceives impressions of it. That
question is one of epistemological inquiry
which we cannot do more than touch upon
here. We know, for example, when we
smell a rose, we receive a certain impression,
but is that impression of the rose or is it of
certain chemical reactions that occur when
the rose approaches the sense faculty of
smelling within the human nose? Do we
smell the rose or do we smell the chemical
change in the air caused by the rose? Of
course, this raises the question of whether
we can perceive anything in the physical
world, or do we only perceive what an external thing causes to exist within the sense
perceptive apparatus that perceives it?
We can accept naive realism as a premise
to this extent, that what we perceive through
our senses is essentially what exists outside
our bodies. In other words, the objects and
things that make up the environment we
particularly, in terms of Rosicrucian phi
losophy, classify as actualities and believe

Page 81

they are actual existent things. We perceive

objects substantially as they are, and the
reason we believe we do is that we cope
with them to a certain degree of success.
In other words, we move around in the
physical world, and, because of that, we
believe that we have perceived essentially
in correct form that which actually exists.
Consequently, our world of actuality is re
lated to our world of thought through the
channel of the physical senses. Through our
five senses, we are able to perceive what
exists in the physical world about us. As
the result of our sense perceptions, we are
able to draw conclusions within our own
consciousness concerning the existence, the
use, and our application of external things.
The physical sense perceptive ability, there
fore, is the channel between us as thinking
entities and exoteric knowledge.
Esoteric knowledge cannot be perceived or
grasped through these physical senses. Furthermore, we are not satisfied that man is
capable of perceiving esoteric knowledge
merely through the process of reason; that
is, the putting together of ideas, while it is
a human process and ability that lies potentially within the human mind, is not in
itself a Creative function sufficient to bring
new knowledge into being. Reason is merely
an ordering into proper sequence or getting
into a certain form the knowledge that we
have obtained through the physical senses.
Therefore, we must look for another source
if we are to procure esoteric knowledge.
The source of esoteric knowledge is intuition. Intuition is commonly taken to mean
a direct, immediate, and certain way of
gaining knowledge that dispenses with both
the element of the logical inference that is
present in reason and the element of sensory
observation associated with our day-to-day
experience. This knowledge exists outside
the world of physical phenomena and has to
be obtained by a means which goes beyond
any physical limitation.
Preferring a baseball game to Sunday
School, a boy who apparently left his home
for Sunday School went to the baseball game
instead. When he carne home, he was somewhat surprised to find his mother very much
concerned because he had not attended Sun
day School. The mother had experienced a
hunch, an idea, that the boy was not in
Sunday School and was able to substantiate

Page 82

the fact. From that day forward, the boy

entertained very much respect for a form
of knowledge called intuition exercised or
evidenced upon the part of his mother. That
this knowledge exists seems futile to deny.
There have been too many examples of confirmation in experiences where individuis
have gained knowledge that has not come
directly through the physical senses.
Intuition is frequently used to refer to the
direct and immediate way in which we apprehend some things. As it is a form of
perception or a process in which knowledge
comes into consciousness directly and with
certainty, it is the opinion of many that
such knowledge exists and is apprehended
through a sixth sense. Many psychologists
will agree that the solution of problems have
frequently come to the individual who is attempting to solve a problem as if it occurred
by inspiration. They tend to deny, how
ever, that such insight affords sufficient evidence to prove a special intuitive faculty,
but yet they are unable to deny the fact that
such knowledge has come into consciousness.
There is a cise relationship between in
tuition and mysticism, and since mysticism
is the fundamental basis of Rosicrucian philosophy, we must always in the final analysis correlate any principie which we consider
as a philosophy with the basic concept of
mysticism. Intuition, while we have noted
that it functions in different kinds of knowl
edge situations, is in its general meaning
that which refers to a persons sudden feeling of certain knowledge for which there is
no apparent evidence other than the power
that the conviction has established within
human consciousness.
A related meaning to the function of in
tuition concerns knowledge which has come
to many of the outstanding characters and
leaders in history by the way of visions, in
terior illumination, inner voices, and similar
experiences. Such intuition commonly has
the effect of suddenly resolving the metaphysical, moral, or religious concepts within
the person concerned. In many cases such
incidents have caused a complete reorienta tion of all life and all action. In some Eastern
schools of thought, we have read of holy
men who have subjected themselves to long
periods of self-discipline, and as a result
would suddenly know the reality that lay
behind all things previously unknown. In

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

all ages and in many places, incidents of this

nature have been experienced by many in
dividuis.
In a famous passage of The Symposium,
Plato says that the philosopher, after laboriously trying to mount upward toward the
realrn of ideas that exist in the Absolute, has
by the means of the discipline of various
earthly forms of existence been able to
achieve a visin of eternal beauty which
transcends all physical beauty. Scrates and
Joan of Are, widely different in their beliefs, culture, and even the ages and countries in which they lived, both listened to
inner voices at critical or crucial moments
in their lives and found a road to reality
through the knowledge that was revealed
to them in this manner. Saint Paul had a
visin on the road to Damascus that changed
him from being the persecutor of Christianity to its main advcate. Such forms of
intuition are characteristic of the way in
which knowledge is related to the mystical
experience.
The mystic is a person who is able to
raise his consciousness to the point where
he transcends the physical world in which
he lives, sees beyond the worlds illusion, and
comes to the realization that one divine
reality exists with which he can feel himself
united. Knowledge for the mystic is there
fore the ability for him to perceive the Ab
solute, to relate himself to God, to be able
to rise above the limitations of the world
of physical phenomena and come into con
tact individually with that which exists with
in the realm of esoteric knowledge.
It is, to a degree, more important that an
individual attain esoteric knowledge than
exoteric knowledge; yet each of us as indi
viduis is destined to live here in a physical
world and gain understanding of its prin
cipies. The universe was not created by
God as an illusion for the amusement and
bewilderment of His crea tures. The agnostic
may acknowledge that there exists a reality
and at the same time may affirm that man
can never know it. On the other hand, God,
or whatever ame we give to the Real, is
everlastingly knowable. There is a veil that
exists between man in his present state, and
God, but the veil can be lifted, this shrine
can be entered, the unknowable can be made
known. The path to the unknowable is
through the known. It is by way of the

FEBRUARY, 1956

illusion of what appears to be reality that

we can approach the knowledge of true real
ity and apprehend it. Man himself is merely
a mirror of the universe, a little world with
in the greater, but he is a part of the reality
and a part of all that has made it.
If we accept the existence of esoteric
knowledge and the viewpoint of the idealistic
philosophy propounded by the Rosicrucians,
we realize that we are entities existent with
in a physical world striving to be released
from that world in order to come into a
complete and final association with the Real.
To the average individual who does not
think, it might appear that all is reality and
illusion. That is, he would presume that
that which he can perceive is reality and
that everything else is illusion. This indi
vidual may presume to support a concept of
religin or a basic philosophy, but actually
such an individual believes that everything
which cannot be physically substantiated is
merely in the field of illusion.
To the individual who truly seeks for
esoteric knowledge, this concept will actually
be reversed. He will find that we live in a
world of illusionthat the whole physical
world exists merely as an incidental tool
and an incidental place of action in terms
of immortality. We have had the experience
in our lives of going to a place possibly once
maybe it is a swimming hole, or a place
for a picnic; perhaps it is a beautiful view,
or a city, or some place we may have visited
at one timeand we remember the incidents
of that occasion either with pleasure or with
pain, depending upon the impression they
made upon us. We may never see that place
again; it was one isolated incident in the
total experience of our life. Likewise, each
earthly life which we live as individual
human beings will be as isolated incidents
within the totality of our existence, upon
our reaching that point when we are able
to look back and survey the whole scope
of our individual being. From our experi
ences in those isolated earthly lives, we have
proved that which is real and which is
illusion, and we have come into a complete
and final association with the Real. We are
the essence of the totality of those lives.
The totality of existence then includes
good and evil, light and darkness, esoteric

Page 83

and exoteric, material and spiritual. They

all exist within the phenomenal world. God
is a pervading forc in all of it; He is in it
and He transcends it. If we are able to cali
that complete manifestation the substance
of existence, the nature of the Absolute, then
we can realize that God is the existence of
all things. He is absolute light; He is abso
lute reality. He exists in this absoluteness
beyond the ocean of illusion which is at
the moment the physical world in which we
live.
With this point of view, it seems foolish to
arge the existence of soul. Whether or not
there is proof of life after death is not im
portant; there is proof of the continuity of
being, and consequently it is logical to assume the continuity of life. Whatever
may be the enormous stretches of time that
lie before the soul as it journeys through its
many physical experiences and its many
physical bodies, there exists at this same time
an ever-widening consciousness and an everexpanding visin that has as an end the even
tual relating itself to the Absolute toward
which it aspires.
Immortality is the only existence of which
we are conscious. It is another ame for the
whole of existence and includes the past,
present, and future. All of life as is encompassed by immortality can truly hold wonderful experiences. Now or in the future,
beauty, truth, and ideis can be realized.
Those vales are the real vales, and they
can be known to man through the physical
senses and through intuition. They exist
through eternity. Nothing is annihilated;
the idea of ultmate annihilation of an indi
vidual consciousness can be abandoned. The
universe and all it contains is eventually to
be reabsorbed into God from whom it emanated, richer in some mysterious way for
its existence in terms of time and space. The
drop which falls into the ocean is not lost
it has only become one with its source. We
can readily realize that the possibilities be
fore the soul while confined in this universe
of illusion may include many magnificent
experiences. We also can rest perfectly assured that those experiences which lie before
this soul when reality has been completely
comprehended must be inexpressibly more
glorious still.A

Page 84

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Knowledge and Reality

The complexity of the human conscious

ness is realized when we take into consideration that within it reside the fundamental
patterns of all our thinking and behavior.
This means that there exist within con
sciousness many attributes and potentialities,
as well as a desire for a normal, contented
life, of which we gradually become aware
as soon as we become conscious entities. The
behavior of a child demonstrates this tendency through the development of a normal
curiosity when he begins to be aware of the
external world. As this child grows into an
adult, he extends his curiosity beyond the
immediate environment and into abstract
thinking.
Every phase of life should be a challenge;
that is, we should have a desire to familiarize
ourselves with our environment and to try
to find answers to the various questions that
are raised by the process of living. Some
individuis live a more or less vegetative
existence; that is, they lose interestif they
ever had itwith what may be the important things of life or they never question the
major experiences of living. They simply
exist from day to day, satisfying to the best
of their ability the desires that are the nor
mal cravings of the physical body. They
make little effor.t to inquire further into
what may be a worth-while existence or an
attempt to pierce the veil of the unknown
and to learn something that may not have
previously existed in consciousness.
As we look about us, we see the world
of which we are a part. Some of it has significance; nevertheless, we accept it as commonplace. Other parts of our environment
are little understood. Much of the world
about us we gradually come to understand
through experience and the acquisition of
knowledge. Some things we seem never to
grasp completely. These latter things or
events fall into the classification of the mysteries of life that are not given man to know
without effort or without growth of con
sciousness beyond a level of receiving the
sensations that are registered within our
minds by the objects and events which com
pose the external world.
Individuis then can be classified generally into two different typesthose that
are concemed about existence and those that

accept existence at its face valu. The latter

may be the easier of the two ways of living.
The individual who does not analyze, who is
not concerned about anything except making a living or getting enough to eat, lives
a comparatively simple existence. It is the
individual who begins to ask questions, the
individual who wishes to go beyond the veil
of the known, the individual who is not
content to be satisfied with a mere routine
existence who is distracted from many com
mon events; he wishes to delve further into
the meaning of life. This individual is, in
fact, trying to be a spectator of all existence
and all being. He wants to know the an
swers to the questions that begin with
why; he wants to know that he exists as
a conscious being; what the purpose of ex
istence may be; how he can best fit himself
into circumstances that may make this ex
istence better understood by him and qualify
him to actually live in a manner that will
permit him to take advantage of his own
potentialities and of the environment in
which he lives.
Such an individual is formulating a phi
losophy of life. He may not express his
thoughts in these words, but actually every
thinking individual attempts to some extent
to develop a philosophy of life. Philosophy
in this sense may not have the meaning of
the academic term, but rather, it has the
meaning of an attempt upon the part of
the individual to use his mind and his per
ceptive abilities to fit himself into the com
plexity that is life. Attempting to do this,
in attempting to live a more extensive life
than that which merely is the physical ex
istence based upon a response to sensory
impressions, causes this individual to think.
When man seriously thinks for himself, he
is soon confronted with questions that have
been the basis of the problems of philosophy
toward which great men and women have
directed their thinking throughout history.
It is only as we begin to think seriously
about the problem of living and the scope
of existence that we approach a philosophy
and realize that men and women in the past
have given serious thought to the same ques
tions that also now occupy our attention.
Actually, the individual who may never have
studied philosophy in a formal sense, who
may never have consciously directed his at
tention toward what he would conceive to be

FEBRUARY, 1956

a philosophic problem, nevertheless becomes

aware of the same questions as have the great
sages of all time. These problems have to do
with the most complex questions of existence,
such as: What is real? Is man immortal?
How can we attain knowledge? What is
knowledge? As the individual attempts to
find answers to his questions and turas to
religin, philosophy, metaphysics, mysticism,
or occultism, and reads the textbooks or
publications that have been prepared in these
fields, he is sometimes amazed to realize
that here are problems discussed which he
has thought were original and existent only
within his own consciousness.
There are many systems of philosophy.
Each has, to some extent, attempted to answer all of mans problems, usually from
its particular point of view. On the other
hand, there have been trends in philosophy
which have existed in many schools of
thought and have been reiterated and enlarged upon by many individuis. Actually,
there is no one system of philosophy that
stands as a complete answer to all questions
of which man can conceive.
As a philosophical organization, the Rosi
crucian Order attempts to set forth certain
fundamental principies of philosophy which
can become the basis for the formulation of
a philosophy of life and a basis upon which
mans concepts may be established and grow.
The Rosicrucian philosophy is unique in the
sense that it is willing to give consideration
to all reasonably valid knowledge; and it
does not attempt to expound a philosophy
of any one individual or attempt to forc,
upon the consciousness of those who study
its principies, a point of view that denies
consideration of other concepts or principies
that may be worth while. The Rosicrucian
philosophy attempts to shed light upon all
the problems of philosophy, upon all the
problems of living. It is not the final word,
or is it infallible, because we are aware
that it is, after all, the formulation of
thought brought together by human beings.
True, there is less error when many indi
viduis contribute, but nevertheless it is to
a degree based upon human effort and has
the limitations of anything that is put in its
final existent form within the human mind.
Basically, the Rosicrucian philosophy is a
broad concept. It tries to take into consid
eration the idiosyncrasies of the individual

Page 85

and the scope of human thought; it tends

to establish valid principies which will serve
to enrich the experience of the individual.
The student who studies and applies this
philosophy in his own life may gradually
gain a Cosmic view of the totality of ex
istence rather than just a world view or a
view limited by the viewpoint of one in
dividual.
Among the problems of philosophy, it
cannot be said that one is more important
than the other; nevertheless, the problem of
knowledge is one which is fundamental to
the understanding of many other problems.
This vital question of what constitutes knowl
edge, and how we can recognize it, is actually
very seldom considered until it is brought
to the focus of our attention. If a child after
his first day in school was asked, What did
you leam? he would probably be confused
by the question. He would not yet be famil
iar with the fact that he had participated
in the process of learning. Life has been
accepted by a child of this age upon its face
valu. He has not previously stopped to
analyze that there were facts previously un
known by him that now seem to be known,
or impressions that he was unable to interpret that now seem to have meaning. To the
child, the process of learning has been noth
ing more or less than a degree of adaptation
to environment which has taken place with
out the conscious realization that such a
process existed. As adults, we also accept
things more or less at face valu. We look
about us and we draw conclusions based
upon the impressions we receive through
our physical senses.
It is true that most individuis read newspapers and periodicals as well as books which
they think will provide certain knowledge.
This knowledge may be of valu in their
work or may be merely entertaining. To
those who have an inclination toward philo
sophical inquiry, opinions of others are
studied in order to broaden their horizon of
knowledge; yet very few people consciously
direct themselves toward the acquisition of
knowledge for the sake of knowledge alone.
The average individual does not attempt to
define knowledge or what it is that con
stitutes a process of learning. He merely
assimilates certain phases of experience with
out analyzing them. What the knowledge
is that we attempt to leam is primarily

Page 86

associated with the subject matter. If the

individual decides to go to school and learn
to be a bookkeeper, knowledge to him is the
leaming of the various routine procedures
that are necessary in keeping a set of books.
In the experience of most people, knowledge
is usually specific, yet the nature and the
validity of knowledge involves one of the
most profound phases of human inquiry because we are dependent upon knowledge for
growth. What knowledge in itself actually
is, is seldom analyzed separately from the
thing that we attempt to learn. Our need
and dependence upon knowledge is so vital
that every step that we take in our lives,
whether those steps be related to earning
a living, to enjoying ourselves, or gaining
further knowledge, is closely related to the
knowledge process.
So it is that down through time, man
has asked the question, What is knowledge
and how do we know when that knowledge
is valid? The same question from a philosophical point of view is, Can man have
trustworthy knowledge? In other words,
is it possible to perceive anything that has
sufficient valu to be the basis of learning
within human consciousness? This question
arse when man first began to formlate
an elementary philosophy.
Plato classified human knowledge into two
categories: the first, he called true knowledge5
and the second, he called belief or opinion.
According to Plato, true knowledge is reliable, but it is difficult for anyone other
than a mathematician or a philosopher to
grasp the concept of true knowledge. Belief
or opinion is the equipment of the ordinary
individual, and this is quite unreliable; in
fact, belief or opinion, according to Plato,
is the ultmate source of all error, and men
fell into error by depending upon opinions.
The ancient skeptics and, as far as that is
concemed, some moderns who are also skeptical, were analytical in realizing the ease
with which men fell into error, and so they
raised the question as to whether it is pos
sible to obtain any certainty in any branch
of human knowledge. That question still
exists. Can true knowledge be obtained, or is
everything that we know merely a human
error within itself? In other words, is what
exists in our consciousness merely the result
of the impressions that have been sifted
through our sense faculties and from which

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

we formlate our individual conclusions?

Are these conclusions mere opinions or be
liefs which have little validity in comparison
with a true knowledge which by itself would
have existence and validity of its own?
We cannot intelligently discuss the prob
lem of knowledge without also considering
the question fundamental to metaphysics.
Metaphysics asks what is real. There are
two metaphysical theories to explain reality.
The first of these theories states that the
material which composes the physical world
constitutes fundamental reality. The second
theory is that in which man affirms that the
world is a mere tool for his use, and that
ideis, the principies which have no tangible
existence, in the final analysis, are the things
that have valu and are truly a part of
reality. This explanation of materialism and
idealism is briefly a definition of the two
most popular schools of m etaphysical
thought. If our metaphysical point of view
is materialistic, the world of physical ob
jects constitutes the world of final reality,
and there is nothing in existence that has
valu beyond that of material things. If, on
the other hand, our point of view is that of
the idealist, if we are more concerned about
the nature of the Absolute, the realization
of God, and the existence of beauty, truth,
and virtue than we are of the nature of the
material world, then these concepts create
a better life with a fuller meaning. In the
world of the idealist where ideis predom
nate, material things obviously take second
place. Merely to make our thinking conform to what we interpret as being the
nature of the physical world is not a true
criterion for knowledge.
The average individual who accepts naive
realism (that is, the belief that the external
world is identical to what we perceive it to
be) presumes that what he perceives is an
exact duplication of that which exists in the
phenomenal world. We know through experi
ence that the senses are not always reliable.
From time to time, we have experienced
optical illusions. We think this room is a
rectangle because it appears to be a rectangle, but actually, we do not see it as a
rectangle; we simply fill in the fact in our
own consciousness that it is a rectangle because of our experience. We see parallel
lines which appear to meet at some distant
point. We see many things contrary to what

FEBRUARY, 1956

physical examination seems to actually have

them to be, and so our world is a world
which is constantly being divided between
reality and illusion. Jllusion is our concept
of what may exist or what we choose to be
lieve exists. Reality is our realization of all
that exists, whether it be in the field of
physical phenomena, psychic phenomena,
spiritual existence, or any other category.
As we divide our philosophy into the
fundamental metaphysical classifications of
either materialism or idealism, we find that
our whole thinking has to be adjusted to dual
considerations because we must always ac
count in our own awareness for everything
in terms of whether it is a physical entity
or whether it is what we might cali a psychic
entity or an idea. Mans environment, then,
consists of things and ideas. We cannot deny
the existence of either one. Even the materialist must admit that there do exist ma
terial objects and thoughtswhich is the
most important depends upon the formulation of our philosophy of life.
If we place the most importance upon the
physical things, then as materialists we will
be satisfied more or less with a comprehensive realization of the physical world and an
accumulation of a certain quantity of its
products. If, on the other hand, we are
idealists, if our philosophy is based upon the
concept that there exists a power or forc
greater than we might evidence as individ
uis and that the real things are only reflected in the physical world, then in this
world of ideis, in this concept of a being
which transcends the existence of physical
phenomena, we gain a view, however small,
of that which is reality. Reality, then, is an
attribute of the Divine that exists independent of and yet within all things.A
Reincarnation Proof
Some time ago in the Forum discussions
we touched upon the case of the little Hind
girl who suddenly carne to realize that she
had lived before in another part of India,
and had expressed this idea to a great many
persons. We explained how her memory
seemed to be unusually good in regard to
events in her past life and how she desired
to go and visit the former home of her previous earthly experience. We stated in our
discussion that we would investgate this

Page 87

matter further and get some later reports

about such investigations that were being
carried on by scientists and others interested
in this unusual incident.
Now during the month of August of this
year, we have received some further reports
from across the seas, and it appears that the
little lady has very successfully established
the truthfulness of all of her claims.
The little lady is Kumari Shanti Devi. At
a very early age she began telling her father
that she had previously lived in a little town
in India called Muttra, and that she had
been the wife of a cloth merchant there,
and that she passed through transition at
the time that her little son was born. For a
number of years she told her father that she
recalled many of the scenes and places in
the od town of Muttra, that she remembered relatives who lived there, that she
believed her former husband and former son
still lived there, and she wanted to go and
see them. Her father, while casually impressed with her story, hesitated for a long
time in making the journey to Muttra. The
belief in reincarnation is not strange in
India, and it is quite common for the natives of that country to express their belief
that they have lived in previous lives, and
such beliefs are accepted as reasonable by the
majority of the people of that country.
Here in the Western World we do not
think it strange when we hear a person say
that he believes that before his soul was born
in this life, the soul had existed in heaven
or in a spiritual world, and was in fact a
part of Gods Universal Consciousness. All
of us except possibly those who are atheists
or rank materialists accept such a thought
as reasonable and sound and understandable
in every way. In India, and some of the
oriental countries, however, the idea generally expressed is that the soul lived pre
viously, not only in a spiritual world for a
time, but in the physical world on this
earth. There are a few sects or cults that
believe or want to believe that possibly the
soul lived in a previous physical body on
some other planet than the earth, but that
idea is not so commonly accepted.
It is generally claimed that at least threefourths of the population of the world be
lieve more or less firmly and soundly in the
idea that the soul in every individual has
lived in a previous physical body some-

Page 88

where in the uni verse. It is only here in

the Western World that the idea of reincamation, or of past incarnations, seems
strange and is open to challenge. A great
many in the Western World who challenge
the idea seem to think that the doctrine of
reincarnation is contrary to the fundamental
Christian teachings and therefore in all socalled Christian countries the doctrine of
reincarnation is challenged by the orthodox
Christians. I am not going to take time this
morning to arge the point that the doctrine
of reincarnation is not incompatible with
all that Jess said and explained and taught,
and that the early Christian Church did not
taboo the idea of reincarnation at all. All
of this is explained in our books entitled
Mansions of the Soul and A Thousand
Years of Yesterdays.
However, little Kumari Shanti Devis father finally agreed to take her on the joumey
to Muttra. The little woman had been very
anxious to see the boy to whom she had given
birth in a previous life and who she seemed
to know was still living. Finally a relative
of her present father made an investigation
and found that many of the people about
whom she spoke as living in Muttra actually
existed, and her father finally communicated
with a man whom she described as having
been her former husband, telling him of the
circumstances and asking him if he believed
there was any likelihood of the girls story
of her relationship.
The young woman had also described a
brother of her former husband, and contact
was made with him in Delhi, where he lived.
He called on little Kumari Shanti Devi and
the moment she saw him among other men
she picked him out as her former brotherin-law. In an interview he found that she
knew all about his prvate family affairs and
knew of other facts and details which she
could not have leamed in her brief earthly
existence in the present incarnation in the
distant city where she lived. He became convinced that she was actually the reincamation of his brothers former wife.
Finally when Kumari Shanti Devi and
her father arrved at the distant village in
India, the girl selected from among many
men the man to whom she had been previ
ously married, and he proved to be the man
she had named, and in the business she had

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

described, and she knelt down before him

in the usual customary manner of Hind
wives, acknowledging him as her husband.
Here she met the young man who had
previously been her son. She did not recognize him, of course, but he proved to be
just a few months older than herself.
The man who had been her husband questioned her very closely conceming her supposed former life and was astounded when
she gave the most accurate replies regarding
very prvate incidents in the lives of both
of them. She even made the proposal to return and live with him again but this idea
was naturally rejected.
But in the meantime, while the father and
young lady were making their own investigations, scientists, newspaper men, psychiatrists and psychologists, physicians and
experts in mystical principies and religious
doctrines were crowding to the little town
and village to make their own investigations.
It is natural to expect that all of the Hindus,
Buddhists and others who have always be
lieved in reincarnation are perfectly convinced that Kumari Shanti Devi has told
nothing but the truth, and that all of the
facts are exactly as she has related them.
But we find, also, that newspaper men and
scientists have also become convinced. Mahatma Gandhi was particularly impressed
and invited the girl to visit him in his retreat
at Wardha. He became impressed with the
truthfulness of her story and has started an
independent investigation which will con
tinu probably for several years.
All of religious India looks upon this case
as the one outstanding opportunity for them
to prove beyond all doubt the truthfulness of
the doctrine of reincarnation. They say it is
Indias glorious opportunity to establish the
fact that the oriental religions are not entirely wrong, and to lift themselves above
the crticisms of many unthinking Christians
who point toward the religious devotees of
oriental countries as being pagans or even
heathens. One of the most enthusiastic investigators was Alfred E. Pieres, former
newspaper correspondent in Tokyo and now
connected with the Times of Ceylon. His
thorough investigation has been reported to
many newspapers and has become a document in the history of this unusual case.
We have noted from our correspondence

FEBRUARY, 1956

and from reports being sent to us from vari

ous parts of the world that there is a gradual
increase in the number of cases of persons
who recall outstanding events in their previ
ous lives. It is not true that this increasing
publicity about these matters is due to any
increased desire on the part of the newspapers to publish such reports or give credence
to them. The subject of reincarnation and
previous birth had always seemed ridiculous
to newspaper writers, magazine writers, and
book writers. Even though Western World
newspaper editors would not believe or give
one moments thoughtful credence to such
reports, they often decided to publish large
and fantastic reports of any such cases that
carne to their attention, because, as the news
paper men have always said, such stories
and reports make interesting reading and
help to make the Sunday magazine sections
of the papers and the pages of popular magazines more popular and more interesting.
Scientists say, on the other hand, that
evidently the human consciousness is going
through some form of gradual unfoldment
or development whereby the memory of
the long distant past is becoming reawakened
in each successive generation. Within recent
years a noted British scientist declared that
the great discoveries of the next hundred
years will be chiefly in the realm of the
metaphysical, the spiritual and the occult.
Dr. Alexis Carrel, the famous American
surgeon and scientist, who recently wrote
and published the book entitled, Man9 the
Unknown, has pointed out the existence of
telepathic and other metaphysical phenom
ena and credits the developing and progressive human consciousness with being able
to delve very deeply into laws and principies
that have heretofore been considered merely
mysterious and perhaps mythical. But it is
undoubtedly true that more and more per
sons, especially between the ages of ten and
thirty, are becoming conscious of visions,
impressions, ideas and facts that seem to
lift themselves out of the memorys storehouse and parade themselves across the field
of human realization with a greater degree
of accuracy and cleamess than at any other
time in the past.
The question is often asked by our mem
bers and friends as to why all of us cannot
recall something of our past lives if we have

Page 89

lived in a previous earthly existence. We

have called attention to the fact that the
human memory is a strange factor and that
most of us find difficulty in recalling the
events of our early childhood. Only very
outstanding and highly impressive events of
our childhood seem to release themselves
from our memorys storehouse in this incarnation. Why, then, should we expect facts
and pictures of a previous existence to be
brought easily into realization? However, it
does seem as though all the important events
of our lives at the present time or in the past
have registered themselves somewhere in the
archives of the memorys storehouse as a
part of the consciousness of the immortal
soul in us, and for some reason, probably
due to Cosmic changes in our consciousness,
more and more of these facts are being
quickened into present-day realization. If
this contines, in another cycle of twelve or
forty-eight years, more of us will remember
things of our past, even into another incarnation.
In no other school or system of meta
physical thought has as much been done
and taught to help the investigator discover
his past existence as through the Rosicrucian
Order. . . .
And another point that is often raised in
the discussion of reincarnation, and is now
brought very forcibly to our attention by
this incident of the rebirth of the little girl
in India, is in regard to the period that must
elapse between incarnations. It is stated in
our books and monographs that the average
time for rebirth is one hundred and fortyfour years, or approximately so. That is, we
may figure that every one hundred and
forty-four years, each one of us will be bom
again on this earth or in a physical body
somewhere in the universe. But this Indian
case and some other cases that have been
brought to our attention indicates that there
are exceptions to this law of averages. This
little Indian girl, for instance, passed through
transition while she was giving birth to her
son. Yet within a few months she was reborn in another physical body. She was
still a woman in her prime at the time of
transition, and so there was no period of
one hundred and forty-four years between
her previous birth and her birth in the
present incamation. . . .
(From ForumOctober 1937)

Page 90

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Mystical Money

Many of our members want to know what

has happened that all at once the United
States Government has decided to give much
publicity to the Great Seal of the United
States by printing the two sides of the seal
on the back of the new one dollar bil. The
1936 series of money recently put into circulation contains the reverse and obverse
sides of the Great Seal. One side of the seal
showing the eagle and the American shield
has been reproduced from time to time so
that most of the citizens are somewhat fa
miliar with it, but the reverse side containing the pyramid, the Egyptian landscape,
the All-Seeing Eye in a triangle, and the
strange Latin phrases, is a very new thing
to most Americans.
This new series of one dollar bilis certainly
constitutes what we might cali mystical
money. . . .
We should not forget that the selection of
an eagle for the obverse side of the seal and
as an emblem to be used in many ways was
originally designed by a group in the Orient
who selected the eagle to be the emblem of
the United States and central portion of
North America, just as they decided on the
bear for Russia, the lion for England, and
similar symbols in different parts of the
world. At the same time the obelisk was
selected for America as a related emblem,
and when the first great monument was
built at Washington as a memorial and as
something to be wholly symbolical and emblematic, it was built in the form of an
obelisk. The obelisk is the cenotaph and
not a tomb erected to the memory of Wash
ington, and in the earliest days it was quite
a mystery to the American citizens as to
why such a typically Egyptian style of
architecture was adopted for the first Amer
ican monument in a new world that was
beginning its cycle of existence with every
thing of a new style and new order. Yet
as we look at the matter now, the country
was not a new one and the Great Seal and
first great monument were not new in design, and really the spirit of the people was
not new. But the form of government was
something new and started a new order of
things which has proven successful.
Incidentally, may I say I hope the mys

tical money now in circulation will bring

mystical good luck to each person who receives it or contacts it. Perhaps more and
better things can be done with this money
than with any other kind. At least it will
be so if that is the determination of each
individual who receives it and spends it.
(From ForumJune 1936)

The Great Seal of the United States

A soror of Montana now addresses our
Forum. She says: The new one dollar bil,
with the Great Seal of the United States,
with its obverse side on the right and the
reverse side to the left, carne under discussion, and I was asked to explain why the
Great Pyramid was selected as an element
for the Great Seal of our country. Of course,
I had to admit that I did not know, but did
express myself something like this: the eagle
with the dove of peace and arms symbolizes
the idea that this nation has peace as its
main objective, and will maintain it by forc
if necessary. The Great Pyramid, on the
other hand, is a constant reminder that this
nation has its roots more firmly fixed in an
even greater civilization than ours, and that
the Great Pyramid is a connecting link be
tween Atlantis and her greatest hour of evolution and the ideis and aspirations harbored in the hearts of the founders of these
United States of America.
The sorors interpretation does not deviate greatly from the profane historical significance of the Seal, and, as well, its mystical
import. First, let us consider the profane
historical facts of the origin of the Great
Seal of the United States, as are provided by
the Department of State of the United States.
A few hours after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, a need for a Seal
to impress upon official papers was realized.
Late on the very afternoon of July 4, 1776,
the Continental Congress appointed a committee to bring in a device for a Seal for the
United States of America. The results of
this committee proved not satisfactory to the
Secretary of the Congress. Therefore, still
two other committees were, in succession,
formed between the years of 1776 and 1782,
for the purpose of designing the Seal and
submitting it to Congress for adoption.
The third committee, on May 9, 1782,
submitted a design by William Barton, a

FEBRUARY, 1956

prvate citizen. Mr. Barton had been selected

to prepare a design because he had studied
heraldry. The report was referred to the
Secretary of Congress, Charles Thomas, who,
with the committee members, after some
consideration, suggested that changes be
made in Mr. Bartons design. Mr. Barton,
under the influence of the committee and
certain other persons with high government
connections made the desired changes. The
new design was finally submitted on June
20, 1782. This was accepted and became the
present Great Seal of the United States.
Now, lay before you a new One Dollar
bil and study the Seal, as we give you the
State Departments official interpretation of
its symbolism. On the obverse side (front)
of the Seal, which is on the right end of the
bil as you look at it, you will see a spread
eagle, with an escutcheon against its breast.
The stripes of this escutcheon represent the
several states all joined in one solid, compact, entire. The solid white band across
the upper part of the escutcheon, which, in
fact, unites the stripes, it is said: Unites
the whole and represents Congress. The
motto E Pluribus Unum (one from many)
which is seen in the banner flying on either
side of the eagles head, alludes to this un
in. It will be noted that in one claw of the
eagle, there is held an olive branch, and in
the other arrows. These, we are told, des
gnate the powers of peace and of war.
Immediately above the eagles head may be
seen a constellation. This denotes a new
state taking its place and rank among other
sovereign powers. The stars of the constel
lation represent the collection of great world
powers, and thus it signifies that the United
States has entered such a congregation.
On the reverse side of the Seal, the left
end of the bil as you look at it, is seen the
pyramid. It is, however, not necessarily the
Great Pyramid, because there were many
similar pyramids in Egypt. It is stated that
this pyramid signifies strength and duration. The eye above the pyramid and the
motto Annuit Coeptis mean, He (God)
hath prospered our undertaking. This, it is
said, alludes to the many interpretations
that Providence or the Divine had favored
the American cause. The date on the pyra
mid, at its base, namely, 1776, and the words
Novus Ordo Seclorum (a new order of the

Page 91

ages), it is held signify the beginning of the

American era, which commenced from that
date. All of the above, then, is the official
interpretation of the Great Seal, as given by
the State Department of the United States.
There is more to be said. The All-Seeing
Eye and the pyramid are very od symbols
which have long been used by esoteric orders
and orders using esoteric symbolism, as, for
example, the Rosicrucians and the Freemasons. It is known that a majority of the
signers of the Declaration of Independence
were Rosicrucians and Freemasons. Freemasonry is very proud of the fact and has
often mentioned it in its journals. The Rosi
crucian Order is no less proud of the part
its members played in the early formation
of this country, and we, too, have had occasion to make mention of these facts in our
publications.
It is known that Benjamn Franklin greatly influenced the final design of the Great
Seal submitted by the third committee. Ben
jamn Franklin was a Rosicrucian. When he
went to Europe on a diplomatic mission for
the United States, he availed himself of the
opportunity of meeting with the Rosicru
cians in Europe. Later, in some of his
correspondence, he mentioned the early Rosi
crucian colony of Pennsylvania. He praised
their assistance in contributing the translation of the Declaration of Independence into
many foreign languages for dissemination
by the government of this country to the
governments of other powers throughout the
world. This translation was exclusively performed at the Rosicrucian colony in Penn
sylvania, and is a historical fact noted in
records of the United States and in the
archives of the State of Pennsylvania. It is
also recorded in the classical history of the
establishment of the early Rosicrucian colony
in Pennsylvania, by the noted Rosicrucian
and Masonic historian, Julius Friedrich
Sachse.
Being a Rosicrucian, is it any wonder
that Franklin influenced the acceptance of
such symbols as the All-Seeing Eye and the
Pyramid in the Great Seal. In esoteric sym
bolism, since the time of ancient Egypt, the
Eye has been used in this manner to mean
the all-pervading consciousness and mind of
God, which is ever present and which looks
with understanding upon all things. In our

Page 92

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, we have

original antiquities bearing this symbol,
which date back into the early dynasties
thousands of years ago. The pyramid has
long been used as a geometric as well as an
esoteric symbol. It will be noted that the
pyramid in the Great Seal has thirteen
courses of stone. Further, it will be observed
that the Eye is set in a triangle above the
pyramid. This signifies that that which
would be a truly great achievement, no matter what it be that is built must have approval in the Mind of God, in other words,
His acceptance.
In passing, let us note how the United
States had at its very inception used the
phrase New Order of the Ages. Many
persons today speak contemptuously of the
phrase New Order, only because it has
been a slogan of a radical political ideology,
but those who speak disparagingly of it are
possibly not aware that the phrase, New
Order is part of the motto of their own
country. A New Order did begin with the
United States. Let us hope that the precepts
of our country will always remain of the
same high order, and as new and as advanced as they were in 1776, when religious
dogma and avariciousness had so little effect
upon the high motives of the founders of
our Government.X
(From ForumDecember 1944)

Reading the Akashic Records

A frater addressing our Forum says: I

have a question to ask this Forum. It is
Have any of our members developed the
ability to read the great Akashic Records?
I have read that the Akashic Records are a
record, down to the minutest detail, of all
that has occurred in the solar system since
it was in a nebulous state. So, with that in
mind and with so many of the historical
records destroyed by the most destructive of
all animalsmanor distorted by man, it
would be a good thing if some of us would
get at some historical record that is reliable.
The word, Akashic, etymologically has its
origin in the Sanskrit word Akasa. In the
Sankhya philosophy of the Hindus, originally written in the Sanskrit language, the word
Akasa means an indeterminate substance, as
ether or as space is generally conceived.

Therefore, mystically, the Akashic Records

are the complete knowledge of all that is,
was, and shall be, which exists in the inde
terminate, intangible, all-pervading Cosmic
Mind. There is no past, present, or future in
the Cosmic Mind. In fact, time is nonexistent in the Cosmic. All that will be in that
future which man conceives already is in the
Cosmic. All that man thinks as past is still
current in the Cosmic.
In contrast to the Cosmic, with its immu
table laws, by which things and events occur,
mans mind is relatively stationary. Consequently, events and things seem to approach
our consciousness and to depart from it.
Thus we are inclined to think that things
are not yet or have been. It is difficult for
us to understand this. It is admittedly abstruse, because we reason by means of ex
perience, and experience is contingent upon
our consciousness. Let us, however, look at
the matter in this light. In fact, let us use
a homely analogy to illustrate our point.
We shall think of the Cosmic as one of those
merry-go-rounds, which are used for the
amusement of children, and upon which
they ride at carnivals. On this merry-goround are a number of objects, such as imitation horses, camels, etc. These objects
never diminish in size or have any less exis
tence, no matter how often the merry-goround revolves. A man standing on the
ground, to one side of the merry-go-round,
we will liken unto the human consciousness.
He is only aware of those objects on the
merry-go-round which actually pass in his
field of visin, immediately in front of him.
What he sees there is the present to him.
What goes on and revolves out of his sight
is the past. What has not yet tumed to enter
his view, he considers as the future. In fact,
what the man sees, has seen, or will see are
all actually part of the merry-go-round at
all times. Insofar as the merry-go-round is
concerned, they are always with it and thus
to the merry-go-round they are always the
present.
So, too, it is with the Cosmic Mind, all
things happen by virtue of the Cosmic laws,
and thus all things continuously exist in
their essence in the Cosmic Consciousness.
Nothing can be lost to the Cosmic Mind, for
all is of the Cosmic Mind, in the sense that
everything is of its Cosmic law. This etemal

FEBRUARY, 1956

record of all in the Cosmic is the indelible

Akashic Record. A man can read the Akashic
Records by attaining momentary states of
Cosmic Consciousness. By this means, he
will receive such illumination as will restore
knowledge of what has transpired and is lost,
or knowledge which may be found through
search and by diligence.
Often, through the individuaFs state of
Cosmic Consciousness, the Akashic Records
divulge the means for realizing something
as a development in the future. The spontaneous, intuitive ideas, which are often re
ferred to, and which have inspired persons
to create things which do not now exist,
come from this source, the Akashic Records.
It must be apparent, of course, that the in
delible record of the Cosmic laws and the
memory of that which is in the Cosmic are
not actually a physical record. Akashic
Records is an allegorical term. It does not
allude to any actual historical, physical inscription to be found at any price. The read
ing of the Akashic Records does not consist
of reading any communication that has been
written in any language, which is suddenly
revealed to the eyes of man. The term
reading the Akashic Records, is also alle
gorical. It means the translation of our Cos
mic impressions into objective, commonplace
terms and into workable ideas for everyday
use. Whenever you meditate in your home
sanctum and are rewarded by enlightenment, by an understanding, by helpful ideas
by which you can bring into existence things
or conditions, you then have been reading
the Akashic Records.
Today we are rediscovering things which
once existed thousands of years ago. At the
time they are discovered, we sometimes think
that they are quite original, for we have not
yet learned that they once existed in the
past. Later, to our amazement, we may find
that it is a duplication of something which
had been done and lost to the memory of
man. The electrolysis process, by which we
are able to electronically pate metis, by
which we use a cathode and an anode in a
chemical solution, through which an electrical current passes and causes an emanation
of electrons from a metal to deposit itself
about some other metal, is considered a very
modern process. However, just recently
there has been discovered in Egypt an an-

Page 93

cient device which definitely had electrodes

in a container, which was obviously intended
to contain a solution to accomplish some
thing exactly similar to the electrical plating
which we do today. Thus, through the il
lumination which the inventor has today, he
is permitted to read the Akashic Records.
He often, therefore, brings into existence
that which, by the passing of time and the
destructiveness of man, has become lost to
the objective memory of humanity.X
(From ForumDecember 1944)

Appealing to the Cosmic

A soror in the East, addressing this Forum,

asks: Why is it that when a person makes
an appeal to the Cosmic for a home, health,
and better living conditions that they are
not granted?
It is obvious that some fratres and sorores
are exceedingly disappointed when they have
conscientiously followed instructions and the
desires they sought to have gratified do not
materialize.
Has the law in such instances failed? Was
the statement made in the monographs purely speculative, or has the individual himself
failed in applying the law? A natural or
Cosmic law is immutable. It is known as a
law because of its persistence, its unfailing
uniform performance when properly invoked. If certain forces or powers of nature
would manifest for some persons and not for
others, or might work under some certain
conditions today but not tomorrow, they
would not have that order and dependability
which we attribute to Cosmic law. Consequently, failure in exercising the law must
be due to the individual. The individual
often is quite unaware of his wrong direction of the law, and, therefore, we shall cite
some of such examples so that you may
avoid mistakes that result in disappointments.
A man works in the office of a large commercial organization. He is perhaps in his
early thirties. So far as age is concemed, a
great future potentially lies ahead of him.
His particular duties are routine; they do
not require considerable specialized training
or do they oblige him to assume great responsibility. His salary is commensurate

Page 94

with his work, but necessarily low because

of the kind of duties he has. In the same
office is another young man, no better appearing, with no better personality, or does
he have any more native intelligence. How
ever, this latter young man obtains promotions. He seems always quite ready for each
position offered to him. He assumes the new
duties with understanding and executes them
well. The first young man is envious of the
latters promotions and considerable increase
in salary.
Let us assume that this first young man
has some knowledge of mystical principies,
of mental creating. He desires a promotion
to another position in his office and he clearly visualizes the details of such a position. In
fact, he mentally sees himself seated at the
desk and doing what might be required of
him. Further, he sees the larger pay check
being given him at the end of each weeks
labors. Then he concludes his meditations
by directing a date, the exact day, in other
words, when the manifestation of his desire
for promotion shall occur.
The day arrives, but his desire is unsatisfied. He reviews the procedure which he has
followed. Was he selfish? Honestly to him
self he says he was not. If he had received
the position, he would have given some of
his monetary increase to help worthy causes.
The fact is that, Cosmically, the young man
was not entitled to the fulfillment of his
wishes. He was unprepared and he was do
ing nothing to prepare himself. He was asking for promotion, for greater responsibility,
and more money, but he was not prepared
to earn it. Thus, in effect, he was selfish, because he was not exchanging abilities for the
advantages he wanted. Each night when he
went home, he forgot his office, with the exception of the desire for promotion. Never
once did he seek to study any texts or go to
a night school to acquire the knowledge that
would be demanded of him in his new posi
tion. He spent his leisure hours entirely in
recreation and in self-indulgence, whereas
the other young man was studying higher
accountancy three nights a week. This latter
young man was acquiring a fount of knowl
edge which he could offer his employer in
exchange for the promotion and the rewards
the advanced position would bring. He was
not expecting an unearned compensation. He
was giving time and effort so that he might

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

receive. Obviously, then, the desire of the

first young man was not Cosmically fulfilled,
because such fulfillment would have been
harmful to another. If he had received the
promotion, he would not be entitled to it,
untrained as he would be, and, therefore, he
would be doing unsatisfactory work.
Analyze your desires before directing their
manifestation. Have you a right to express
them or to expect them to be fulfilled? Still
another example is the one who desires good
health and who applies mental principies
in that direction, without result. How is the
individual conforming to what he really
wants? He is desiring good health, on the
one hand, and, on the other, is refusing to
change his mode of living which contributes
to his ill-health. If one knowingly eats
wrongly, dissipates, and overworks, he can
not expect Cosmic law to perform in his behalf, while he wilfully violates other Cosmic
principies. There is an od legal adage about
one coming into a court of justice with unclean hands. This means that the one seeking relief from an injustice is himself a
wrongdoer. The same may be applied to
directing the manifestations of our desires.
Do not ask or expect munificence from the
Cosmic, if you are violating Cosmic prin
cipies.X
(From ForumDecember 1944)

This Issues Personality

The ame of Raymund Andrea is known
to Rosicrucians throughout the world. The
fact of his prominence is due not alone to
his long tenure of office as Grand Master of
the A.M.O.R.C. of Great Britain. It is also
due to the many books he has written on
mysticism, Rosicrucianism, and related topics which have had world-wide circulation.
His articles, appearing in the Rosicrucian
Digest throughout the years, have also won
for him a host of friends, both Rosicrucians
and nonmembers.
Raymund Andrea was born in Bristol,
England in 1882. He left school at a fairly
early age. In those years there was little
or no public support of education for aspiring students. One was obliged to finance his
own education as best he could. It was economic necessity which forced young Andrea
to lea ve school while in his teens. His

FEBRUARY, 1956

Page 95

yearning for knowledge, however, was in

no way quelled by these circumstances. He
entered into commercial life and was obliged
to work hard and learned to appreciate the
valu of labor and its rewards. This early
training stood him in good stead when later
he had great responsibilities placed upon
him.
Frater Andrea eventually became a clerk
in a prominent lawyers office. Though he
did not aspire to law as a profession, the
association brought him into contact with
professional and literary persons. He availed
himself of the opportunity for the study of
good literature, particularly biographies of
great men whose sacrifices and attainments
inspired him. When but twenty-one years
of age, the turning-point of his life occurred.
He became interested in New Thought lit
erature emanating from America and diligently studied it. It caused him to make
a search for a source of philosophy in his
own country. Though he made numerous
contacts, the inner yearning was not satisfied.
Some years later, Frater Andrea carne
across an article of the Rosicrucian Order
appearing in an American journal and writ
ten by Dr. H. Spencer Lewis. He immediate
ly corresponded with Dr. Lewis. After a
brief exchange of letters, Dr. Lewis gave
Raymund Andrea the opportunity to serve,
which he sought, by a re-establishment of
the Rosicrucian Order in Great Britain. To
quote Frater Andrea: His letter (Dr.
Lewiss) presented to me the broad, firm
outline of what the inauguration meant and
what it would entail: the only condition
being that I should become a servant of the
Order and leave everything else to find its
proper perspective and fall into proper place.
That is how my real lifework started.
In 1921, Frater Andrea was granted by
the late Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis,
an official charter appointing him Grand
Master and Deputy Inspector General of
Great Britain. This constituted a momentous
task. To the then present genera tion little

was known of the history of the Rosicrucians.

There was no one to guide or assist Frater
Andrea. Like other great teachers before
him, he had to make tremendous personal
sacrifices against the inertia of unfamiliarity
and disinterest so as to give the movement
mpetus in his land. He redoubled his
studies in all fields of thought that would be
of aid to his duties. He perused works of
art, music, history, theology, mysticism, and
science. In each of these, as if by Cosmic
direction, some word, principie, or law was
revealed to him which was most needed at
the time.
With the passing years a successful foundation and structure of the Rosicrucian Or
der in Britain was laid by Frater Andrea.
He married in 1926, and his devoted wife
became his great companion and assistant
in his lifework. World War II greatly dislocated the Rosicrucian activities in Great
Britain. The North and South American
jurisdiction of the A.M.O.R.C. went to the
aid of its sister jurisdiction in England and
for several years extended studies and mem
bership privileges to members direct from
America. In 1946, Frater Raymund Andrea,
Grand Master of Great Britain, and the incumbent Imperator met in conference in
England. It was then decided that an amalgamation of the two great English-speaking
jurisdictions would be advantageous to the
spread of the Rosicrucian teachings.
The decisin of 1946 has proved a wise
one. There are now a number of chapters
and pronaoi established in the British Isles
and also a very active administrative office
in London. To the members throughout
Great Britain, our beloved Raymund Andrea
is now in the capacity of a venerated eider
brother and counselor. He can rightly look
back with pride upon the great work he
has accomplished. He labored in the vineyards of the Order shoulder to shoulder with
the late Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis,
who always had for him great admiration
and affection.X

REMEMBER THE CONVENTION

JULY 8 to 13, 1956

From the pages of one of the most fascinating and accurate accounts of the
Great Pyramid, comes a revelation of super minds whose impact upon society
has been felt for centuries. W h a t wonders lie hidden in this vast monument
of stone? W h a t does it tell us of the future?
This account contains references to Science s Iatest discovery, the hidden
subterranean passageways of the Pyramid; it explains their secret purpose.
RELIVE THE G L O R Y OF ANCIENT EG YPT

The Symbolic Prophecy

of he GREAT P Y R A M ID
By Dr. H. Spencer Lewis
Here is a concise and most enlightening story of the mysterious race of
people who built the Great Pyramid. It tels of the mystical purpose behind
its construction^of the great initiations that were held in its chambers and
underground passageways.
To the early initiates, the K ings Chamber was the culmination of their
mystical rites. According to modern interpreters of the pyramids measurements and prophecies, civilization symbolically has now entered into the
K ings Chamber. Does this mean the culmination of civilizations existence
^ o f its progress and advancement? W here do we go from here?
N o reader of this book can fail to grasp the great knowledge possessed by
the Egyptians, not only as it was applied to the Great Pyramid, but to many
other magnificent structures as well. Treat yourself to the best^obtain a
copy at once.

Only $2.50 (17/10 sterling), including postage.

The ROSICRUCIAN
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA

SUPPLY

BUREAU
U. S. A.

April, 1956
Volume X X V I

No. 5

Rosicrucian Forum
A p rv a te

p u b lic a to n fo r m e m b e rs of A M O R C

W IL L IA M
G ran d

V. W H IT T IN G T O N , F. R. C

Councilor of A M O R C fo r South Atlantic States, U. S. A.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Page 98

Greetings!
V

RELIGION IN THE SCHOOLS

Dear Fraires and Sorores:
Should public schools be used as a mdium
for religious instruction? This is a question
causing considerable comment today. At first,
it would appear that the effects of such in
struction upon the school system would be
negligible and beneficial to the young students. Beneath its apparent surface advantages, however, lurk many dangers that
strike at the heart of democracyand at the
freedom of religin.
The leading democracies of the world and
all progressive states advcate separation of
State and Church. To truly represent a
people, a govemment must not have such
bonds and obligations as would prejudice or
bias its policies in matters which touch the
welfare and freedom of conscience of its
people. God and the domain of the Divine,
stripped of theological dogma, are abstract
subjects; they are subjects which individuis
interpret only in accordance with the depth
of their moral consciousness and inner ex
perience. There never has been a universal
God or religinone that was intimately in
accord with conscience and accepted by all
people. The only exceptions are those religions that have doctrines established upon
fear. These will appear to hold masses of
minds inflexible in all walks of life. In such
instances the immanent fear causes obedience and opposes a frank consideration of
any other concepts which, though contrary,
might be more personally satisfying.
A government, then, that is allied with,
or under the domination of, any religious
sect, is not capable of religious tolerance. It
is under the imposition to enforce the prin
cipies of the sect to which it subscribes. Part
of what such a Church-State government rqpresents is the ecclesiastical edicts and doc
trines of the Church with which it is allied.
The State, then, is not supreme in its legislative, judicial, and executive functions. Its
decisions and actions must at all times take
into consideration the traditions, policies, and

practices of the religin it is to support.

Obviously, such a State cannot be tolerant
toward any other religious system which its
boundaries include and which might differ
from the one which it is obliged to further.
The religin of a Church-State constitutes
the supreme law of that State in practice
whether it is so stated in its constitution or
not. The Church-State where such a system
prevails actually has the technical authority
to suppress such illegal thought and prac
tice within its domain.
Public school systems are under the direction of the State. In democracies, the direction of such public education is, in principie,
functioning in accordance with the will of
the people. The State should not, therefore,
permit the school system to be so obligated or
influenced by any thoughtreligious or not
which is contrary to the expressed will
and freedom of the people. The argument
often put forth by the exponents of religin
in the schools, that such instruction will
be open to all sects equally, is, in effect, a
farce. There are only two sects in the United
States, for example, which have very actively campaigned as a united front for religious
instruction in the schools. These are the
Romn Catholic Church and the Lutheran
Church. The former is by far the leading
exponent. As a unified religious body and
a single sect, it is the largest and politically
the most influential. The facilities needed to
provide religious instruction in the public
schools for this sect would require that a
major portion of the classrooms, school transportation, and teaching aids would have to
be made available to them at public expense.
Few of the other sects have such a dominant influence upon their followers and, as
a result, cannot demand to the same extent
the facilities of the public schools. Thus,
there would be no true equality. In practice,
religious instruction would result in the appropriation of large amounts of public funds
to accomplish what is primarily the right

Page 99

APRIL, 1956

and the obligation of the Church to support,

in any nation where State and Church are
separate. Further, it is to be realized that
religious instruction in public schools on a
large scale means the infiltration of the
school administration by the sects clergy,
or their subalterns. It would be impossible
to prevent a sectarian influence from reaching into the academic realm.
There is the very apparent danger of the
deliberate revisin of textbooks to conform
to the religious instruction of the dominating sect. Gradually, the freedom of
thought and of knowledge, for which the
State stands in principie, would be corrupted.
If one doubts this, let him recall the prevalent boycott and ban influence of the
Catholic Action societies with respect to mo
tion pictures, televisin programs, and books.
With a foot inside the administration door
of the public schools, religin can, and most
likely would, do these things, no matter what
the professed motive.
In the United States and in Caada, as
leading examples, there is a constant hue
and cry in religious circles for the public
support of parochial schools. The principal
argument advanced is that these parochial
schools provide facilities and educational in
struction for thousands and thousands of
children thereby relieving the State of that
financial burden. Since the parents of these
parochial school children are taxpayers, it is
claimed that they are obliged to support two
school systemsthe public and the parochial.
It is further contended that if they must pay
school taxes, then the State should use such
tax money to support also the parochial
schools to which they send their children.
The premise set forth by these exponents
is not a sound one. The public is taxed to
maintain a nonsectarian school system available to all children of all races, creeds, and
sects. If any portion of the public prefers
unique schools, specializing in the postulations of some phase of moral and religious

instruction of interest to them in particular,

it is their duty to provide it and at their
independent expense. Suppose some other
body of individuis wish to introduce a mys
tical philosophy to be interwoven into the
academic instruction of their children; would
they, too, have the right to demand that
certain schools be built and maintained for
this purpose from the public tax funds?
Where would such a method end?
One must not overlook the vital fact that
the maintenance of parochial schools by the
State would strike a severe blow to liberal
education. It would obstruct the open-minded
policy that every progressive nation wants
to inclcate among its people. The ecclesiastical authorities of parochial schools, even if
they were supported by public tax money,
would nevertheless insist on the administering of their own academic instruction. They,
not the public educators, would be the ones
to determine just how the history textbooks
should be written for their students, which
subjects should be modified and which should
be completely suppressed. As a result there
would prevail a limited type of education
for the masses, impregnated with the biases
and prejudices of the religious sectand all
done with public funds.
Think of these facts and keep religious in
struction out of public schools and the
Church out of the Stateif you valu free
dom of thought and conscience.
Fraternally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator.
Form Letters
Occasionally, correspondence comes to the
desks of officers, or to the correspondents of
this organization, criticizing a form letter
which the individual has received. The
criticism is directed to the fact that a form
letter had been received, and not to the
content of the letter.

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, 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 Department
of Publication of the Supreme Coundl of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/1 sterling) A N N U A LL Y FOR MEMBERS O N LY

Page 100

This raises a most interesting point of

consideration, because it essentially involves
the ego of the person who wrote the letter.
An individual may become critical because
he receives a letter which appears to be pro
duced in quantity. Even in this age when
quantity production is considered desirable,
there still remain some individuis who feel
that a communication should not be pro
duced on that basis. Actually, such a point
of view does not take into consideration the
basic purpose of correspondence or of com
munication in general.
Almost everything with which we come
in contact today is manufactured on an assembly line basis. The programs on radio
and televisin, the motion pictures exhibited
at our theatres, even the plays put on by
actors in person, are presentations which
are alike to an entire audience. In other
words, when you go to a legitmate theatre
or to a motion-picture theatre, or turn on
your radio or televisin, there is no time
when you may select a program exclusively
for yourself. Everything that you perceive
through one of these media is the product
of many individuis preparing something for
not only you but for hundreds, or possibly
millions, of people.
This same principie can apply to a form
letter. If I receive a letter asking a ques
tion, I usually dictate an answer to that
letter and deal with the question as completely and adequately as it is possible for
me to do. This letter is dictated to a stenographer who types it, puts it in an envelope,
and mails it to the person who sked the
question. Let us presume that ten people
in writing were asking the identical ques
tion. Then I would presume that these ten
people wanted information that would provide the answer to their question. Would
there be any advantage in answering the
question in ten different ways, that is, in
slightly rewording the answer to the ques
tion? or could I tell the stenographer to
whom I dictated the answer, Send this letter
to these ten people who asked the same
question? They would each secure the in
formation they wanted.
In the Rosicrucian teachings, we know
from experience that certain principies presented in certain monographs will produce a
similar response on the part of each person
who reads them for the first tme. We

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

therefore anticipate at those points certain

questions that are identical, and over a
period of many years, the officers and staff
of this organization have prepared answers
to those questions. We frankly acknowledge
that these answers are form letters, and we
use them because they are efficient. They
save time and money, and they provide the
information that the individual wants. If
you have ever criticized a form letter, ask
yourself just what it is you want in answer
to your letter.
Do you want to satisfy your ego by think
ing that someone took the time and went to
the expense of dictating a letter to you privately that no one else could possibly read,
or do you want a complete answer to your
question that will satisfy you, as well as
other individuis who have asked the same
question? I believe that upon reflection the
latter will be your answer, and that explains
why we and many other organizations use
form letters.
There is another factor to consider in
favor of form letters. For example, if you
write to the Council of Solace, you expect
metaphysical aid. Such metaphysical assistance is given promptly upon request, to
any one who writes and asks for that help.
Your request is also acknowledged with a
form letter. We use this method because
we believe that the individual wanting help
would prefer that those who work with the
Council of Solace should use their time to
give help, rather than to spend the same
time dictating a letter that is not only unnecessary but the need of which has already
been taken care of adequately by a form
letter.
However, may I point out that the
Rosicrucian Order attempts to deal with its
members personally, and if a members corre
spondence or question requires an answer
which is not adequately answered by a form
letter, then a personally dictated answer is
sent. Every officer and member of the staff
of this organization, including myself, dictates many such letters every day.A
Th e Valu of Hypnosis

Because considerable publicity has been

given to the subject of hypnosis, a number
of questions have come both from the mem
bers of this organization and from other

APR1L, 1956

inquirers wanting to know the valu of

hypnosis and whether or not we recommend
it. There is a certain popular fascination
regarding hypnosis. Under its influence an
individual is caused to act in a way not
normally the one to which others are accustomed. Because of the curiosity of the
average person to see or observe something
different, he is fascinated by the manifesta
tion of certain phases of hypnosis.
Hypnosis is not something new, yet in two
or three different fields recently it has been
brought to the attention of the public. In
dividuis who may or may not be properly
trained in the use of hypnosis have given
demonstrations which have brought the sub
ject to the public eje more than is usual.
Basically, hypnosis is exaggerated suggestion; that is, it is suggestion which the sub
ject accepts without question. Those who
knowTthe basic Rosicrucian psychology can
readily understand how hypnotic suggestion
can be so unquestionably accepted. We are
taught in our Third Degree that the subjective mind reasons deductively; that is, it
accepts as fact the principies or suggestions
which we give it. For this reason it is not
a healthful procedure for an individual to
be constantly giving himself or herself nega
tive suggestions. When through expert handling the objective faculties are temporarily
put in abeyance so that the subjective takes
over completely, the individual who is using
hypnosis can make suggestions which the
subject will carry out without question.
The hypnotic suggestion, therefore, reflects the ability of the operator to domnate
the individuals subconscious mind, or rather,
his subjective consciousness. Such an indi
vidual is under control of suggestions, and
the suggestions given by the individual us
ing the hypnosis cause the subject to act in
accordance with the suggestions given.
The question most frequently asked is the
same as the title of this article. Does hyp
nosis have any valu? The answer is obvious
to a thinking person. All things under
proper use and proper control have valu,
and hypnosis as a therapeutic agent directed
and used by a competent physician, who has
been specially trained in this field, has definite valu. The fact that the average doctor
does not or will not use hypnosis should
indicate that special training is required,

Page 101

and, in fact, is necessary before hypnosis is

used as a therapeutic agent.
In the hands of individuis improperly
trained and not qualified to use hypnosis,
claims have also been made for its valu.
Some individuis have claimed to be able
through the use of hypnotism to cure diseases
or conditions such as persistent headaches
or insomnia. They have also claimed to be
able to correct an individuals bad habits
and replace them with good habits. Some
of the amateur hypnotists have gone so far
as to state that they can make over the
character of the individual who is seeking
help. A sensible, thinking person will seriously doubt these statements.
If the solution to the problems of physical
and mental health, as well as many of our
habit pattems, was as simple as our merely
going through a process of being hypnotized,
there would not be very many problems
in the world. Actually, the use of hypnosis
can be dangerous, and it is deplorable that
any one not properly trained in all the possible manifestations or operations of hypnosis
should be permitted to use it.
Under such circumstances, no individual
should ever submit himself to hypnosis with
out knowing that he is under the care of a
competent physician. When a neurotic symptom, for example, is treated by an amateur
hypnotist, and it is suggested that the indi
vidual will have no more of the symptoms
which may have been brought about by a
neurotic condition, there is no one who can
prove that a symptom even more dangerous
may not replace the one which has been
eliminated by suggestion. There are existing
records in which individuis under the in
fluence of hypnosis have been forbidden to
smoke or forbidden to use alcohol as a means
of helping them to break a habit, but while
they followed the suggestion and did not
smoke or did not drink, they did other
things; in fact, some actual]y tried to commit
suicide as a result of being unablebecause
of the suggestions givn themto carry out
their former habit patterns.
Hypnosis may have its uses in various
forms of healing, particularly in psychotherapy. Actually, however, even though
the subject has been studied in various fields
of therapeutics and in psychology, its right
place is still uncertain and debatable. But
regardless of what its background has been,

Page 102

its use should at least be limited to those

who have a most'comprehensive knowledge
of the unconscious, or subjective mind. There
should be individuis trained not only in
therapeutics and in the use of hypnosis, but
also through the actual experience of dealing
with mental phenomena in the life of indi
viduis who have developed various mental
ills; then these individuis may be prepared
to take the responsibility for the use of
hypnosis in connection with psychotherapy.
Like many other factors of the mind, hyp
nosis is only one manifestation of a condition
which is yet not completely understood. It
is hardly necessary to repeat here that the
advance made by man in physical sciences is
much greater than that which has been made
in the field of mental and spiritual sciences.
While we have advanced to a high degree
in the ability to use the physical structure
of the universe and have learned a great deal
about material laws and the composition of
matter, we have let the human mindother
than in the accumulation of knowledge in
regard to material thingsremain very little
different from what it was prior to the great
strides made in physical phenomena and
our understanding of such.
If we were able to examine the mental
abilities of an individual 200 years ago as
compared with one now, we would find that
he had essentially the same latent possibilities for development; that is, I am convinced
that an individual with a reasonable educational background of 200 years ago, after
being trained in this modem age as we
train high school graduates today, would be
equally as well adapted to the twentieth
century as he was to the eighteenth century.
In other words, man has not brought about
the physical achievements of the present age
because he has exceeded his predecessors in
mental ability, but rather because his application has been directed essentially to
ward dominating and using the physical
world either for the purpose of his own
enjoyment or to bring about the destruc tion
of some other individuis.
The greatest advancement in physical sci
ences has been primarily in the fields of
communication, transportation, and indirectly through the productions of the material
of war. This statement may be challenged,
but I think a little careful consideration will
make us realize that it is nonetheless true.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

I do not want to give up any conveniences

and comforts that physical science has
brought to me, and neither do you, but I do
want to be sensible, and I think most intelligent people will agree that we should learn
more about the power and the possibilities
of the mental world so that our progress can
be balanced. Mentally, spiritually, as well
as physically, we will then be able to ad
vance along a comparatively normal level,
and in that way be well-rounded entities,
able to evalate experiences and achieve
ments without being too suggestible ourselves
when it comes to a subject of such popular
appeal as th^t of hypnotism.A
This Issues Personality

Those who may think that mysticism is

purely speculative and idealistic, and there
fore would not appeal to the logical mind,
have failed to take into consideration, for
example, the many Rosicrucians who are in
the legal profession. One of these logical
thinkers, a member of the legal profession,
and prominent in the affairs of the United
States Government, is Frater William V.
Whittington, of Washington, D. C.
Frater Whittington was born December
10, 1904, in Benton, Illinois. He proceeded
through the elementary and secondary schools
in Benton and subsequently graduated from
Georgetown University and Law School. In
idealism, Frater Whittington aspired to internationalism and an expedient unity of the
governments of the world. The State De
partment seemed to offer an opportunity for
the fulfillment of this ideal. In February
1924 he entered the Department of State
of the United States. He subsequently resigned in May of 1935 to take a position in
the Federal Communications Commission in
Washington. His first love, however, was
apparently the strongest for he returned to
the Department of State in December, 1937.
Being of a studious inclination and engaged in work which required an under
standing of human relations as well as legal
technicalities, Frater Whittington was drawn
toward philosophy. In his reading he pursued
various philosophical periodicals. In one of
these, an advertisement about AMORC
strongly appealed to him. It became the
mdium which led him to the threshold of
the Order, and he affiliated with it in 1933.

APRIL, 1956

Frater Whittingtons diligent application

to the Rosicrucian teachings and his interest
in its activities in Washington resulted in
his appointment as Master of the Thomas
Jefferson Chapter of AMORC in that city,
in 1935. He was re-appointed Master at a
later date. In the interim, he served as
Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Func
tioning now as Grand Councilor and In
spector General of AMORC for the South
Atlantic States, Frater Whittington makes
frequent visits to other cities, addressing assemblies of Rosicrucians convened at rallies,
or in their respective Lodges and Chapters.
His inspiring talks are always a recognized
feature of any Rosicrucian program.
As a treaty expert of the Department of
State, Frater Whittingtons work has taken
him to Europe and Latin America on many
occasions. He has served as treaty adviser
at numerous international conferences, including the United Nations Conference on
International Organization at San Francisco
in 1945 at which the U. N. Charter was
drawn. He has availed himself whenever
time permitted of the opportunity to meet
Rosicrucian dignitaries in the various foreign
lands he visited. He has been an honored
guest of these dignitaries who look upon
him as an outstanding representative of the
Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, in America.
Frater Whittington was married to M.
Vashti Burr in 1938. Soror Whittington is
likewise a prominent lawyer and one who
has diligently served AMORC in various
capacities, as well. Beneath the dignity of
Frater Whittingtons demeanor, is a jovial
disposition which manifests itself in good
fellowship. When not engaged in the duties
of his profession or in Rosicrucian activities,
he finds relaxation in his favorite hobby
music. Both Frater and Soror Whittington
have been counselors to many Rosicrucians
who look upon them, not just as fellow mem
bers, but as personal friends.X
Our International Afiliations
The Rosicrucian Order throughout the
world is divided into jurisdictions. A juris
diction consists of a certain area of the world
which may embrace one or more countries.
Jurisdictions have at times Consolidated for
reasons of efficiency and economy. This
centralization has been found to be very ef

Page 103

fective in expanding the work of the Order.

It has, in particular, dispensed with the necessity of considerable duplication of admin
istrativo facilities. This jurisdiction is truly
international. It consists of the Americas, the
British Commonwealth and Empire, France,
Switzerland, Sweden, and Africa. This vast
area has been a gradual amalgamation. It
has resulted in considerable growth to the
Order but, of course, with it have risen the
complications of the day with their disadvantages. These disadvantages are gradually
being overcome without loss of the efficiency
of centralization.
In England, the London administrative
office, though as yet an economic loss, has
the advantage of shortening the time in
sending literature to inquirers throughout
the British Isles. It is also possible now for
our fratres and sorores in the British Isles
and elsewhere in the sterling area to obtain
many items of the Rosicrucian Supply Bureau established in the London office. The
director of the London office is Frater John
La Buschagne who, at present, is at Rosi
crucian Park undertaking a review of
AMORC administrative procedures. This is
being done in preparation to his establishing
for the Order another operations office in
South America. Upon completion of his
work there, he will return to London. In
the interim, Frater Alian Campbell, his able
assistant, is directing the London office which
is located at 25 Garrick Street.
We are happy to announce that shortly
a British Isles ritualistic body will be conferring all of the full degree initiations upon
eligible AMORC members in the British
Isles. Members there will be notified directly of all particulars so that they may avail
themselves of this memorable opportunity
afforded them. The ritualistic body is func
tioning upon special authority of the Imperator, and the initiations will be conferred
in London.
The Grand Lodge of AMORC in Amsterdam, Holland, due to the present incapacity
of our beloved Grand Master, Jan Coops, is
functioning under the direction of Acting
Grand Master H. Th. Verkerk Pistorius.
Frater Coops is recuperating from a serious
illness which, in no small way, comes as a
result of his excessive labors for the Order
at an advanced age. In this century, the
activity and re-establishment of the authentic

Page 104

Rosicrucian Order in Holland is principally

the result of the efforts and sacrifice of
Frater Coops. His good wife has labored
with him. Considering the effects of the
Germn occupation of Holland, the progress
made by AMORC since the war in that
country has been remarkable. Acting Grand
Master Pistorius has shown excellent foresight and administrative ability in carrying
on the work of Frater Coops.
The Grand Lodge of Sweden, now affiliated
with this jurisdiction, is under the direction
of Frater Albin Roimer. Since the reorgan
izaron of AMORC activities in Sweden a few
years ago, exceptional progress has been
made. A recently received photograph of the
new edifice housing the Grand Lodge ad
ministrative offices and temple is most impressive. It is a material symbol of the
growth and enlarged activities of the Order
in Sweden. Frater Roimer, with the great
aid of Soror Roimer and other officers in
Sweden, has been tireless in his labors for
AMORC. Frater Roimer, as well, is Grand
Secretary of AMORC of France, having assumed that office upon the transition of our
beloved Soror Jeanne Guesdon. He has been
obliged to direct simultaneously the affairs
of both Grand Lodges.
AMORC in Lima, Per, recently dedicated
a new temple. The building was erected by
the chapter there and is very substantial and
handsome, with its tiled floors and interior
design which conforms to the traditional requirements of Rosicrucian temples. The Rio
de Janeiro Lodge has now very extensive
facilities, including a beautiful patio where
ceremonies may be held outdoors and yet
in privacy. The chapter in Sao Paulo, Brazil,
has moved into extensive quarters in a mod
era skyscraper building. The Past Master
is a commercial artist and, during his term
of office, lent his talent to the beautification
of the temple which is very impressive. The
Martnez de Pasqually Chapter in Port-auPrince, Hait, is in the process of becoming
a lodge. The Haitian fratres and sorores are
very exact in the performance of traditional
rites and ceremonies. One is proud of their
observance of those rites which have such
significance to the Order.
In Havana, the work of the Order is evidenced by great enthusiasm. The fratres
and sorores do not just belong; they make
AMORC part of their lives. This same en

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

thusiasm, being contagious, has spread

throughout the chapters and pronaoi in Cuba
where the growth of the Order is noted, notwithstanding the usual religious opposition
to liberal thought and freedom of conscience.
The Santo Domingo Chapter in Trujillo,
Dominican Republic, has attractive and
inspiring temple facilities. Since an interna tional fair is now being held in their beau
tiful city, they will perhaps have several
visiting Rosicrucians at their convocations.
Such visitors may expect a true spirit of
fraternal hospitality extended to them.
The Regional Grand Lodge of Mxico has
recently been converted into one of the reg
ular lodges of the Order. It will retain its
original ame of Quetzalcoatl Lodge. It was
the last of the older type lodges existing un
der the provisions of an earlier constitution.
Quetzalcoatl Lodge has now moved to larger
quarters in Mxico City. This will permit
many activities not formerly possible. The
officers of the lodge and Frater Carlos Nez,
Grand Councilor of AMORC, should be congratulated on this move. The work of the
Order in Puerto Rico is also indicating a
marked growth. The chapter in San Juan
has central quarters in the city and is conducting a membership campaign that is stimulating considerable interest. The chapter
in Ponce recently dedicated a new and most
attractive temple which is for their permanent occupancy. The dedication ceremony
was marked with great enthusiasm, assuring
further growth for AMORC in that city.
Venezuela now has a lodge and two chap
ters. The Alden Lodge in Caracas, which
was the first in that country, has its own
building which was erected especially for it.
This is occupied through the kindness of the
late Soror Yolanda Diaz who made it possible.
The Southern Cross Chapter in Johannesburg, South Africa, has planned an extensive
rally for later this year. Having witnessed
one of their previous rallies, we know it will
be instructive to members and a means of
arousing further popular interest in the Or
der in that part of the world.
In Australia, Frater Barrie Brettoner, In
spector General, recently visited the Newcastle Pronaos. He plans other visits to
Rosicrucian bodies in Australia in the near
future. The Sydney Chapter is likewise
planning for another rally. The one in 1955
was estimated by its officers to have been

APRIL, 1956

the most successful in the history of that

chapter.
We wish it were possible to mention in
detail the work of the Order in New Zealand,
Denmark, in South and Central America,
and Switzerland, as well as our many
active bodies in Caada, but such is not
possible at this time. These other places
will be reviewed in another report about
our international activities. We do, how
ever, urge our fratres and sorores to look
at the directory in the Rosicrucian Digest.
One month a domestic directory is published
in the Digest and the next month the inter
national directory appears. These directories
will acquaint you with the various affiliations
and activities of Rosicrucian jurisdictions,
lodges, chapters, and pronaoi throughout the
world. Such information should instil pride
in your Rosicrucian affiliation and cause you
to visit and associate with that Rosicrucian
body which is adjacent to you. When you
travel, make a note of those cities having
Rosicrucian subordinate bodies. You will
always be a welcome visitor at them.X
Psychic Development in a Physical World
The criterion of psychic development has
never been established. Every human being
has a certain degree of psychic development,
some more and some less, but exactly what
to use as a standard by which to measure
psychic development is something upon
which we cannot agree, any more than in
dividuis engaged in the field of education
have been able to agree upon the standards
of leaming. The individual who becomes
interested in developing himself psychically
would naturally look for evidence that his
development is proceeding satisfactorily and
in a manner that he hopes will greatly increase his psychic abilities.
There is no general agreement on a basic
definition of what constitutes psychic abili
ties, but, generally, we classify psychic
abilities as those attributes or traits which
are normally not explained in terms of
physical and material laws or phenomena.
This concept makes the matter of definition
somewhat difficult. For example, if I speak
so that an individual in the next room can
hear me, it means that vibrations emanating
from the mechanism of my throat are activating mechanisms in that individuals ear.

Page 105

To convey thought in that manner seems a

relatively simple thing because we are customarily acquainted with the process of using our voice to convey an impression to
another individual through the mdium of
vibrations caused by the registering of our
voice upon someone elses ear.
Just exactly what takes place, not even
Science can explain in detail. In other words,
I cannot thoroughly explain to you why a
thought in my mind is conveyed to your
mind merely through vibrations which are
apparently put into existence by certain
movements of the muscles of my tongue and
throat. Nevertheless, to retum to this simple
illustration, if an individual in another room
perceives a thought in my mind because I
have spoken that thought and that individual
has heard it, we consider that process to be
a simple physical or normal process. We
consider it a normal or customary event occurring in the phenomenal world and in
terms of what we cali known or physical
laws.
If, on the other hand, the individual in
the next room should perceive my thought
without my opening my mouth or making a
sound, and yet that same idea develops in
his mind that I had in my mind and which
I wished to convey to him, we would cali
the process telepathy, and it would be considered to be supersensory, that is, beyond
the normal physical process. It would seem
that a thought had been conveyed from me
to the other individual by a process which
superseded or transcended the normal phys
ical laws or normal processes by which we
usually convey impressions, ideas, thoughts,
words, or concepts. However, the end is the
same. The individual in the room next to
mine receives the same idea that I had in
my mind.
The first process would be considered a
physical one, or rather, it is accepted as
being in accordance with physical law. The
second process we might say is in accordance
with psychic law, for the simple reason that
the process does not comply with physical
laws in the ordinary sense of the word.
Therefore, in general, we classify anything
as being psychic which is not explainable
by physical or so-called natural laws. Although some individuis use the word spir
itual as synonymous with psychic, we usual
ly consider psychic in the sense that it is a

Page 106

process or procedure which manifests in a

manner different from the manifestation of
physical laws.
The individual, then, who seeks psychic
development hopes to be able to do all kinds
of things, to perform acts, gain certain ends
and accomplishments without the use of
physical laws, or by ignoring the material
laws. Whether or not this is ideal is a mat
ter of personal opinion. There are certain
things that it seems best to do according to
physical laws, but the curiosity of human
nature has always made the individual hope
for the miraculous. It is the miraculous that
always fascinates the human race. Individ
uis sometimes are attracted to religin, not
because of the high and lofty ideis which
it teaches, insofar as human behavior and
social conduct is concerned, but rather to
marvel over the supernatural happenings
that are ascribed to the history and personalities associated or connected with the
religin which has attracted them.
Why does an individual want to deal with
supernatural laws? Why are we fascinated
by things which we do not understand? This
is a difficult question to answer, but I think
that basically, from a psychological point of
view, it is the appeal of the unknown. The
average individual from the time he is born
is endowed with a certain innate interest in
the unknown. The baby, when it first begins
to perceive something around itself, and becomes aware that an environment exists in
which it is apparently situated, is fascinated
by movements, by lights, by anything that
attracts its attention, and about which we
would presume it knows nothing.
Animals are sometimes brought into a
position where their instinct for preservation
is overruled by their curiosity. Something
attracts their attention and they observe,
watch, or particpate in the events that occur
rather than heeding the instinct that would
preserve them. The basic principie of a trap
in which an animal is caught is an appeal
to its curiosity or to other instincts, such as
that of obtaining food. Of course, some traps
are accidental in that they are not perceived,
but many times curiosity plays an important
part.
As long as human beings are the curious
animals they are, they will continu to be
attracted to those things that do not seem
to have obvious explanationsthat is, things

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

that seem to be a manifestation of some

law or some function appealing to them
through its being extraordinary. I believe
anyone who has read metaphysical or occult
literature is familiar with the story (the
origin of which I do not know) which tells
of a disciple who was studying with a mas
ter, and who wished the master to teach him
how to walk on water. The master kept
postponing the discussion of the subject, but
one day in their travels they carne to a
river and the disciple said, Now, here is
the opportunity for you to teach me how I
may cross this water by walking upon it.
The master merely pointed and said, There
is a bridge. Why is it necessary to walk on
the water?
The idea conveyed here is that the differ
ence between the natural and the supematural world is only a difference existing
in our own minds. The master knew
that it was essential to cross the body of
water, and he also knew that the method
was unimportant. Whether man availed
himself of the bridge which had been built
for that purpose or walked on the water
made no difference, but as physical beings,
the obvious thing to do was to use the bridge
because it was there. This applies to most
psychic and physical comparisons; that is,
the individual who wants to gain psychic
knowledge and psychic ability just to be able
to prove to someone, even if it is to himself,
that he can ignore or refuse to cooperate
with certain physical laws, has no real pur
pose in studying such laws in the first place.
The purpose of any knowledge is to advance
oneself; that is, the basic principie of learning is to make us, as intelligent entities, bet
ter able to fit into the environment of which
we are now a part, or of which we may be
a part at some future time. This is normally
called leccrning or evolving.
We are moving toward a certain point
which may not be completely clear to us;
nevertheless, we are at the present time
living, and we hope to acquire a better
knowledge of the purpose and course of life.
Whatever we do to acquire that end is a
part of our learning. In the process of learning and evolving, we cannot forget that we
are human beings, and the fact that we are
human beings with certain physical limita
tions and lack of knowledge means that this
is a particular stage or period in our progress

APR1L, 1956

wherein we must continu to gain experi

ence. If we would not need to use and
experience certain physical laws, we would
not be here in the first place.
The fact that we need to learn and to
master certain physical laws is an evidence
that we should be able to gain certain control
and certain knowledge as a result of our
environment. In other words, if mans pur
pose in existence is to master his environ
ment in order to prove his own perfection
and ability to retum to the source from
which he comes, then he must cooperate
with all the forces that exist in order to be
in complete accord and understanding with
these laws. I would therefore concludeand
there will probably be numerous people
who will not agree with me, but, neverthe
less, I believe this conclusin is consistent
with our Rosicrucian teachingsthat the
criterion of psychic development is not what
one does outside or beyond physical law,
but rather what one does within the scope
and limitations of physical law.
In other words, we cannot measure a persons psychic ability by how much he claims
to be able to achieve in the fields of telepathy,
clairvoyanee, projection, or other manifestations of a psychic nature, but rather how
perfectly he adjusts his entire life to the
environment of which he is a part.
If we are intelligently able to live constructively and advance ourselves physically,
mentally, and spiritually, we are developing
psychically as well as physically. Both are
important. It should be self-evident that we
live in this world, and therefore that we must
learn a certain degree of mastery of the laws
which govem it. At the same time, it is
normal and it is proper for us to explore
the world of the mind and of the psychic
faculties. It is our right to leam to use all
the powers that are within us, and to associate them with the mental, physical, spir
itual, and psychic laws in such a way that
a harmonious living will result.
We are, therefore, students; we are learn
ing; we are learning the great lessons of
life; and in order to prepare us for that time
when we can become aware of the source of
this spark of life that is within us, the soul
is accumulating that knowledge. We should
make every attempt to adapt ourselves completely and fully to the circumstances that
we find to be a part of this progress or

Page 107

erolvement. So, in order to be happier, to

be healthier, and to live as we were destined
to live, we need to study and apply both
physical and psychic laws. We need to use
them not for selfish purposes or merely
to satisfy curiosity, but, rather, to become
a part of the development of the total whole
which we, as living entities, as living souls,
should be.A
How Shall We Concntrate?
A frater asks, What is the proper way
to concntrate? His further remarks indicate that he is confused as to the distinction
between concentration and meditation. Not
long ago, an extensive article was published
in the Rosicrucian Digest, as the Thought
of the Month, delineating the difference be
tween concentration, contemplation, and
meditation. It is suggested that members,
who have the May, 1955 issue of the Digest,
reread the facts expounded in the article.
Upon this occasion, we shall stress the mean
ing of concentration and its psychological
aspeets.
Concentration, when applied to the mind,
has reference to the attitude of attention.
When we concntrate upon anything, wheth
er our concentration is visual or auditory,
we are focusing our attention upon the
stimuli received through that particular
sense. Our attention, in other words, is be
ing drawn toward a specific class of stimuli.
When you are reading this article, you
are focusing your consciousness, through
your sense of sight, upon the visual stimuli
of the letters and words which they com
pose. When you concntrate on a musical
program, your attention or concentration is
being directed to be responsive, primarily,
to the auditory sensations caused by the
sound of the musical instruments.
We may think of concentration, that is,
attention, as being like a flashlight or electric torch. The light of the torch is our
consciousness. When we want to become
attentive, we focus that torch upon some
particular object so that it visually is more
prominent to us than anything else. To
become less attentive is to turn the con
sciousness away from that particular stimulus or, as with the light of the torch, to
direct it toward some other object. Concen
tration or attention, as we shall now refer

Page 108

to it, is a stage of preparation and exploration. When we are attentive, it sig

nifies that we wish to respond to a select
group of stimuli, whether they be visual,
auditory, olfactory, or tactile. Willful at
tention constitutes a matter of selection and
exploration. There are kinds, or a group, of
sensations of which we desire further knowl
edge, so we, by attention, give them preference in our consciousness.
However, attention may be voluntary or
involuntary. The former is when we seek
out particular stimuli or desire to give prominence to one that has first aroused our at
tention. When, for analogy, we pick up a
book and deliberately proceed to read it, we
have voluntarily focused our attention upon
the contents of its pages. We have sought
out an object for our visual attention. When
an object rolls across the floor and the stimulus attracts us and we continu to focus
our attention upon it, we have the example
of voluntary attention which at first aroused
us.
Conversely, there is involuntary attention
that is, when the stimuli aroused attention
without our will. Examples of this are the
sudden flashing of a brilliant white light be
fore us or a loud noise like the report of
gunfire nearby. The impact of the stimuli
is so great that we involuntarily focus our
attention in the direction from which it
comes. Voluntary attention comes from
within. It is aroused by the desire to focus
the attention upon a certain kind of stimuli.
Involuntary attention is primarily external.
The stimulus acts upon us from without
and commands the focusing of our attention.
Why does it command our attention? We
cannot be conscious without being conscious
of certain sensations aroused by stimuli.
Impressions which are more intense are the
more dominant. Momentarily at least they
hold the focus of our consciousness. Since we
must respond to sense impressions, we can
not avoid being attentive to the forceful
stimuli being received.
For a considerable time, in both philosophical and psychological circles, the ques
tion has prevailed as to whether we can be
simultaneously attentive to two different ob
jects or sets of stimuli. Experimentation is
still being conducted to ascertain the answer
to this question. Generally, the consensus
of opinion is, as in our Rosicrucian teachings,

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

that we are conscious of but one stimulus at

a time. In common experience it may seem
that this is not so in fact. But that is because the visual attention, for example, may
oscillate rapidly from one stimulus to an
other. In watching a cinema play, you are
shifting your attention rapidly from the
visual impressions to the auditory ones. The
fluctuation is so quick that it appears simultaneous.
It would appear from experimentation
that we can focus our attention upon groups
of similar objects and actually realize them
simultaneously as one experience. Marbles,
for example, arranged into two, three, or
more groups are received in the conscious
ness as a single visual impression. It must
be realized, though, that the attention can
altemate so rapidly that we are unaware
of its doing so and we experience the sensa
tions as occurring at the same time. Ambiguous objects, whose nature is complex
and cannot be grasped as a whole at once,
are divided by the observer into two or more.
The attention will fluctuate from such a
complex object to some one part of it and
then to another, as though there were no
unity to it. At first, with the ambiguous
object, the observers attention, for a second
or two, may be focused on it as a unit. Then,
the diversity of its nature, the conflicting or
rivaling of impressions of its complex nature,
will cause the attention to shift from one
part or area to another.
This psychological fact contains a lesson
in concentration. Voluntary attention should
be given to objects or conditions which are
as free from diversity as possible. If this is
not done, there is divided attention, a con
flicting condition, which results in a dissipation of energy used in the focusing of the
consciousness. If one, for example, is to
concntrate upon the text of a book which
is highly illustrated, there is likely to be
competition for attention between the con
tents and the pictures. In such an instance,
unless ones will is sufficiently strong to suppress the more appealing impressions of the
illustrations when reading, the former should
receive attention first. The reader should
carefully satisfy his curiosity as to the con
ten of all the illustrations and then focus
attention upon the text.
In fact, whenever that which requires the
attention is of a diverse nature, it should

APR1L, 1956

be determined which element has for us the

more intense appeal, which element, in other
words, has the greatest attraction factor. This
should then first receive the attention of
the observer. Next, he should proceed in his
concentration to the next element and progress in that manner until all the essential
factors have been scrutinized.
With ambiguous or complex objects, when
each element has been given attention separately, where this is possible, the objects
will thereafter assume by association a
unity to the consciousness. They will have
an apperception or understanding to the
mind. The attention can then be subsequent
ly focused upon the complex object without
frequent fluctuation to its several parts.
It has been noted in experiments with
visual attention that there is a tendency for
an observer to fluctuate his attention from
the beginning of an object to its end and
back. Suppose one has the task of untying
a number of knots in a rope. This is a
rather laborious and monotonous task. Let us
further suppose that he is required to begin
with the first knot at the top of the rope and
then progress downward. The attention will
shift frequently from the first knot, upon
which the observer is working, to the last
one. This will be especially true as he becomes fatigued, or if he confronts difficulty
in the task. We can assume that the fatigue
and inner impression compete for attention
by creating the desire to end the task. This,
in tum, causes a shift of visual attention to
look at the last knot, the anticipated goal,
and to appraise the labor required before it
is attained. A person reading a very difficult
text on a particular subject, after reading the
first two or three paragraphs, will find his
attention shifting to the bottom of the page
or to the last page, indicating fatigue and
anticipation of the conclusin of the labor.
From this another lesson in concentration
is to be had. Do not have, if possible to
avoid it, several tasks needing your atten
tion lying within range of your observation.
If one task becomes arduous, as you tire you
will be inclined to shift your attention to
other tasks as you contmplate their requirements. We can see, then, that attention
can be oscillated by impulses coming from
within us, such as our changing thoughts,
moods, and feelings. One who attempts to
study in the midst of unfinished work or

Page 109

other demands being made upon him will

experience poor concentration, a fluctuating
of attention. Free what you want to be the
focal point of your attention from competitive appeals. Isolate it, if you can, from all
else that may command your attention. One
cannot properly study, if his mind is preoccupied with thoughts that focus his atten
tion, his consciousness upon them. If you
cannot decide whether you should study at
a particular hour or do something else at
that time, then dont study unless you can
subordinate the other appeals to a lesser
degree of attraction.
When we read, of course, there is a constant shifting of attention from word to
word or from a group of two or more words
to another group. This fluctuation is exceedingly rapid. However, there are fixations, a
number of points where our attention is
focused per second. Tests have been made
with college students in connection with
reading that reveal an average of four fix
ations per second for the moderately rapid
reader. With some individuis the fixation,
the focusing of attention on a single word or
combination of words, reaches six per second.
Some distractions which interrupt the
focusing of attention are not of an extemal
origin. There is the circulatory factor. In
all normal persons the blood pressure has a
slight variation. This variation is sufficient
to cause fluctuation of attention in matters
of intense concentration. The slight change
in circulation causes a variable supply of
blood to the brain. This in tum, it would
seem, affects the efficiency of the brain. A
complex problem or matter that requires in
tense focusing of attention for either perception or apperception needs a delicate
cerebral adjustment. Any distraction that
requires the shifting of attention disturbs
this delicate cerebral mechanism. It then
becomes difficult to recover the same degree
of attention as previously had. In fact, as we
all know from experience, the chain of
thought may become completely lost.
In profound thought, the attention is upon
a particular shade of meaning. The comprehension is derived from focusing the at
tention upon the subtle significance arising
out of one or more ideas or impressions had.
When this delicate balance is lost, it may
never be re-established in exactly the same
manner so that the same ideation would re-

Page 110

cur. Environment as free of distraction as

possible is necessary, as well as the avoiding
of fatigue or of any external impressions
that will cause shifting of attention.
Most of us think of noise, or intense
stimuli, as a sudden movement of an object
or flash of bright light, as the principal distractions. We can, however, if exposed to
an environment for a long period of time,
become so conditioned to it that its former
distractions no longer cause a fluctuation of
attention. Individuis have been obliged to
study in rooms, through the windows of
which would come the reflection of a blinking nen sign on an adjacent building. Eventually, they became unconscious of the
blinking to the extent that it would not
cause the oscillation of their attention from
it and other objects. Other persons have become so conditionedthat is, adjustedto
noise such as traffic signis, the whine of
generators, the exhaust of motor vehicles,
and horns that they are able to subordnate
these impressions. Concentration, or the
focus of attention, is no longer distracted by
such noises.
Conversely, some individuis will often
find an environment of comparative silence
one of distraction to them. They find they
cannot focus attention because the contrast
of silence is so dominant to them that they
find themselves concentrating upon it. This
silence is an interesting psychological prin
cipie. Silence is a negative state. It is not
a reality in itself, but the apparent absence
of one, that of sound. In contrast, this nega
tive state of silence acquires to the con
sciousnessas do, for example, space and
darknessa positive quality that domina tes.
There is often heard the admonition to
avoid tensin in concentration. Experimentation has shown that all attention pro
duces, and perhaps requires, tensin to some
degree for success. The focusing of the con
sciousness or attention engenders a flow of
energy directed to the receptor organs of
the faculties of perception being used, wheth
er it be the eyes or the ears. Tests reveal
that, in intense concentration, there is an
accompanying tensin of facial muscles and
even of the arms and legs. It is assumed
that there is an overflow of energy engendered, which causes the muscular tensin.
It is noted, too, as most of us have experienced, that an emotional state is neces

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

sary for complete attention. The emotional

state, as an internal stimulus, it would seem,
helps provide the necessary energy for the
focusing of attention. It prevens, too, the
fluctuation or shifting of the attention to a
great extent. Fear, curiosity, hate, love,
wonder, these emotional states give internal
stimulus that facilita tes concentration. If
you have no emotional response to the sub
ject you are studying, reading, or listening
to, the concentration will wane. You must
want to study because it is satisfying or
because it gratifies your natural curiosity or
because you have the desire to know, if you
expect to retain what you have read or
heard. Memory is affected by emotional
impact. The emotions increase the concen
tration upon that which arouses them. In
turn, the greater attention provides a more
intense impression upon the memory.X
Mystery of the Fourth Dimensin
A soror of England, addressing our Forum,
says: I would appreciate a further discussion in our Forum upon the subject of the
fourth dimensin. It would seem that this
subject is presented in different ways by
various sources of informa tion. Which ver
sin is right, or is there some common rela
tionship between the different explanations?
The topic of the fourth dimensin is necessarily a profound and complex one no matter
how it is approached. The three dimensions
are, of course, a matter of common experi
ence; they are length, breadth, and thickness.
These are tangible; that is, they are sense
perceptions. Both matter and space appear
to have these qualities. From the Rosicru
cian philosophical point of view, the fourth
dimensin is the significance which the mind
derives from a substance and by which it is
realized, or has identity to us. We may say
that an object is 3' x 4' x 6". These figures
only convey an idea of the extent of the
form of the object, or how much so-called
space it occupies. These dimensions, how
ever, do not convey to the intelligence any
concept as to what the object is. The Rosi
crucian conception is that the fourth dimen
sin consists of the vibratory nature of the
object by which it is detected by one of our
senses so as to be realized as a specific object.
Suppose, for analogy, that a field of red
light occupied an area, 12' x 8' x 4'. To these

APR1L, 1956

three dimensions could be added the numerical valu of the vibrations of the color of
the red light, as found in the visible spectrum. The fourth dimensin thus would be
the number of the wave length of that color
of red as determined from an analysis of the
visible spectrum. Four sets of numeris
would thus provide four dimensions. Three
of these, as said, would relate to the space
that the object occupies. The fourth would
signify what kind of object or physical phe
nomenon it is, and by which it has reality
to our consciousness. It is apparent, then,
that the fourth dimensin is of primary
importance to us as a matter of identity.
Without the fourth dimensin there obviously could not be the other three. From the
Rosicrucian concept, the fourth dimensin
should probably be the first.
In modern physics, the fourth dimensin
has been identified with time, from this point
of view, there being a space-time factor.
That which we term space9 or the measurement of objects in it, is greatly affected by
other factors. Relativity has shown that the
measurement of objects in space depends
upon the position of the observer, that is,
principally the speed at which the observer
is traveling in relation to that which is being
measured. An object moving by us at great
speed seems to contract to our perception of
it; at a lesser speed, it relatively expands.
Time also depends upon the observers posi
tion in space. Light coming from a distant
star A, to an observer on earth would be
past when it left A, and be of now or the
present when it would arrive at the earth.
To another star B, at a greater distance from
A than the earth, the reception of light
would be of the future since it would not
have arrived there yet.
We might say that the fourth dimensin
includes a number of intangibles, or rather
relationships between those qualities which
we ordinarily conceive as abstract, such as
dimensions, space and time. In the broad
sense, the fourth dimensin is the state of
consciousness, the apperception or human
understanding of certain vales.
In some occult circles there are fantasies
associated with the subject of the fourth
dimensin which have no demonstrable basis.
These fantasies expounded by many occult
writers are highly imaginative and cannot
be proved by them even in experience. They

Page I I 1

only confuse the more probable nature of

the fourth dimensin and cloak it in further
mystery and ambiguity. In general, these
occult writers, therefore, refer to the fourth
dimensin as a kind of ethereal substance
and invisible essence underlying' all exist
ence. They often explain the fourth dimen
sin as a kind of divine, Creative forc in
which things exist awaiting a phenomenal
metamorphosis by which they will then assume a physical reality.
Some of these writers imply that absolute
reality, that which is the potential forc of
all being, or prima materia, is the fourth
dimensin. From such a premise, then, it
could be deduced that the fourth dimensin
could never be known until it had a nature
that could be objectively realized. When
thereafter it would be realized, as all else
that we now perceive, it would then not be
the fourth dimensin but rather whatever it
would appear to be. Consequently, the fourth
dimensin, from such reasoning, could never
be known. It would merely be an abstract
term applied to an abstract notion, impos
sible of verification in any of our daily
experiences.X
Cultivating a Sense of Humor
A frater of South Africa rises to address
our Forum: How can we cultvate a sense
of humor?
It is often advocated that we should
laugh much for health. Laughter relieves
tensin and it is usually an indication of a
happy state of mind. As an emotional ex
pression, it has a salutary effect upon both
mind and body. It is patent, however, that
the laughter must be sincere, that is, spontaneous and not affected, if it is to be bene
ficial.
The natural temperament or disposition
of an individual has considerably to do with
his sense of humor and consequent laughter.
One who has been frustrated by experiences,
either as a child or later as an adult, and
acquires a neurosis, cannot readily laugh.
The anxiety associated with his emotional
state inclines him toward depression. His
problems, either imaginary or actual, are
exaggerated out of all importance to their
actual consequence. They domina te the
consciousness of the individual whenever he
is not preoccupied. He is not sufficiently

Page 112

free in his thinking or extroverted enough

to consider circumstances not touching him
self and which might be humorous. The
cultivation of humor with such unfortunate
persons is next to impossible until their affliction, which is the obstacle, is remedied.
There are, again, those persons who have
no emotional disability, as a neurosis, yet
who lack a sense of humor because of the
paucity of imagination. What is humorous?
There have been many volumes in many
tongues written on this subject. Some are
mere personal opinions. Others have attempted to define humor after an analysis
of what seem to be the psychological causes.
We advance a plausible theory here that the
cause of humor is an element of incongruity
in a sita tion which amounts to absurdity.
Where a situation is obviously well established and there is an extremely inadequate
or senseless attempt to alter it, we then
have the elements of incongruity and ab
surdity. Suppose, for example, we see someone attempting to open an almost impregnable
vault with a bottle opener. The situation is
so incongruous, so absurd, as to be humorous.
Again, if one is exceedingly dignified and
reserved in his manner and suddenly his
coat is ripped when stretched, we have a
humorous situation. The contrast between
the unkempt appearance provided by the rip
and the dignified demeanor of the individ
ual is an absurdity from which humor
springs.
Though social conventions frown upon
such humor, nevertheless people will laugh
at what may be the misfortune of another,
if it provides the elements of incongruity
and absurdity. A persons slipping and
sprawling in an unconventional position will
evoke laughter. Actions which distort or
make absurd some function of a person
or of a common practice are incongruous
and thus humorous. For example, baggy
trousers, hats exaggerated with large feathers
or flowers, a stumbling or faltering gait, an
especially large mouth or nose, will arouse
amusement. Almost all clowns and comedians resort to such measures because of
the psychological principies of incongruity
and absurdity.
There are, of course, degrees of humor,
some of which are coarse and common. These
are popularly called horseplay or slapstick.
Some of the examples given are of this type.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

The more simple the mentality or primitive

the person, the lower the degree of humor
to which he will respond. The incongruity
and absurdity must be obvious to him. They
must lie within the realm of his experience.
The greater the intelligence and sophistication of an individual, the less readily will
he respond to the comedy of a circus clown.
He will find humor in situations whose ele
ments are more subtle. In fact, that which
he enjoys as humor may not be appreciated
by other persons. Some of the worlds great
wits, whose works are treasured by the literary-minded, would not be the least amusing to those who laugh at the antics of
popular comedians.
To cultvate a sense of humor is to try to
see, in many situations that arise in life,
not just their tragedy or immediately apparent circumstances, but their absurdities
as well. One must have imagination to do
this. He must be able to compare the incident experienced with what it might have
been. He must be able to reason clearly and
to be a good observer.
For further example, one may be amused
by a huge brawny man who is functioning
as a waiter in a teashop. This man, with
the physique of a wrestler, whose large powerful hands are carrying little trays with
dainty cups, evokes amusement in one with
imagination. In his actions, this man is not
eccentric; he carries out his duties properly
and well. Only as one can perceive in the
circumstances the incongruity of the apparent misapplication of the mans physique
and strength to the duties of his job does it
become a humorous situation.
Unless one is by temperament depressed
or suffering from an emotional disturbance,
he will have a sense of humor to a degree.
He will, however, respond only to situations
in accordance with his intelligence and ex
periences, as we have previously stated. One
having little imagination may respond only
to primitive comical situations. Another will
be bored by such and enjoy elever witticisms
instead.
Custom and environment play a prominent part in what constitutes the humorous
situation to us. One who is familiar with
the customs of a country will note, in a
play or cinema performance, some ridiculous
error in connection with an incident in the
play. Persons well versed in the history of

APR1L, 1956

a nation will be much amused at a drama

which is attempting to portray seriously an
epoch and yet makes glaring mistakes in
costumes, architecture, and m anner of
speech. Persons not having this environmental or educational background are ignorant of the incongruity and so to them it is
not humorous.
Unless one, we repeat, has acquired a
physical or mental distress which causes an
emotional imbalance, he will be able to appreciate the humor of many of lifes vicissitudes. As we live, we become more observant
and analytical and, as a consequence, our
sense of humor develops by our ability to
draw upon experiences we have had and
to make comparisons. Just as some persons
are inclined to be moody or glum, so the
emotion of happiness may dominate others.
It is often a personal characteristic. Such
persons will laugh readily and often out of
all proportion to the humor of a situation.
Their innate happiness or freedom from
perturbation is explosive. It seeks expression
and relief in laughter. The slightest stimulus
sets them off. One who is in the company
of such a person is likely to believe that his
own sense of humor is quite undeveloped.
It is only after a time that one comes to
discover the emotional difference in his per
sonality and that of the other.
Just as every cloud has a silver lining, so
most of the situations in life have some
humorous elementif we search for itand
this search constitutes the cultivating of
humor. If we are the principal character
in the misfortune, we often cannot appreciate
its humor as, for example, when someone
dumps water from a window as we are
walking by, attired in our finery. In such
circumstances the effect upon us is to arouse
an emotion opposite to and of greater intensity than that of enjoyment. For this
reason, the situation can be humorous to a
spectator and not to the one involved, as
we all know.X
The Importance of Ego
A frater in Minnesota who, we believe,
is new to our Forum, writes: Psychologists
speak and write of ego deficiency, ego weakness, lack of drive, detachment, and selfinsufficiency as causes of misery, conflict,
lack of success, unhappiness, and even sui

Page 1I 3

cide. Rosicrucian philosophy teaches that we

should elimnate the word T from our
vocabulary. How is it possible to develop
confidence and courage without emphasizing
the ego?
It is not possible to extrpate the ego completely and yet remain an entity. To lose
complete consciousness of self so that we do
not objectively at least respond to its urges
would be to lose contact with reality. This
has been sought by the inducing of trance
states through such a mdium as hypnotism.
Various religious sects have attempted to
suppress self in order to attain certain states
of consciousness. Though they have professed the elimination of self, actually they
have but transferred it into another level
of consciousness where its realizations are
different. As long as one is able subsequentlyor at the timeto have experiences,
certain sensations, regardless of their nature,
the ego or self contines to endure. What
is it that is having the experience, whether
physical or mystical? It is the ego, the 1.
It is ego that is conscious of these sensations
in rea tion to what it is. We must be, that
is, we must have that self-consciousness that
constitutes the ego, before we appraise other
sensations that are its experiences.
It is the self that causes us to dominate
our environment, to reglate or master it
so that it will serve us. In lower animals we
find but the blind drives of hunger, thirst,
sex, and self-preservation, which respond to
environment. In man, however, we have, in
addition, reason and will. We are able,
through memory and reason, to relate a
series of experiences and their effects upon
us. The will is able to set these experiences
apart from our own organisms, to give them
separateness from our being. We are thus
able to have a consciousness of our will, our
personal desires, on the one hand, and the
objects of our will, or all other realities, on
the other.
Though we have the instinctive urges of
our organic being, as do the lower animals,
we also have mental desires, the desires of
the moral and intellectual aspects of self.
As we have often had occasion to say in
this Forum, all that we do, we do for self.
The most allegedly impersonal or unselfish
act is nevertheless inspired by a desire. All
desires orignate with self. A sincere act of
charity is done because we want to do it.

Page 114

It gives us a sense of satisfaction to help

another. A deep love for another person or
for a cause, which produces service in their
behalf, is but a desire to achieve an end
that brings in its wake personal gratification.
There is no such thing as impersonal love.
All love is for self-satisfaction, whether
sensual, intellectual, or moral. We cannot
act without acting for self.
The essential thing is to understand that
there is a hierarchy of selves, that is, a
chain of selfs aspects or attributes. The
physical self, the realization of our immediate person, is the most constricted manifesta
tion of self. It truly is selfish in the commonly accepted meaning of that term. It
does not extend in any degree to the ad
vantage or betterment of others. The extensive self, the one that reaches out, in its
functions, to include the welfare of others
as well as its own entity, is the moral or
spiritual function of the ego. This exhibits
the spirit of justice and compassion. It is
more inclusive of the interests of other per
sons. But, as said, this moral self has its
satisfaction in the performance of its own
acts. The virtuous man derives from his
acts of virtue a pleasure, sublime but nevertheless pleasure, from the realization of the
righteousness of his acts. Goodness, it is
said, makes for happiness. Happiness, how
ever, is pleasure and it is self, the ego, that
experiences such sensations of enjoyment.
Does all this seem inconsistent with the
admonishment in our Rosicrucian mono
graphs that we should try to eliminate, or
use less, the personal pronoun I in our
vocabulary? The very attempt to do so
makes us conscious of how often we use the
word I. We are so much inclined to use
the word in the detached sense, it is as
though so many functions or attainments
have begun solely with the exercise of our
individual personal powers. We say, I
have done this or I have done that. What
would be more appropriate to say would be
that with Cosmic inspiration or as a re
sult of intuitive knowledge or with the
suggestions of others, we were able to ac
complish this or that.
What the Rosicrucian philosophy is try
ing to achieve is to impress upon us our
moral obligations and our recognition of our
dependence upon the greater self, the Cosmic
mind and powers which infuse our being.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

We are actually not detached and separa te

beings. We do nothing exclusively by our
selves. No matter to what extent our per
sonal works go, we have an obligation to
nature, to life, to our inheritance of intelli
gence and healthand often to more persons
than we are willing to admit. Only the
greater self is extensive enough to admit this.
By requesting members to refrain from
the extensive use of the word I, especially
neophytes, is to create an opportunity for
them to begin to cultvate the habit of paying recognition to other factors that account
for their success as well as themselves. Until
one attains that state of consciousness, he
falls short of that concept of unity and
interdependence necessary to become a real
mystic. The braggart, the egoist, is incapable,
therefore, of mystical attainment. He is
egocentric, his consciousness is confined,
centered exclusively in the limited powers
which he himself may physically and intellectually direct.X
Divorce and Remarriage
A soror in England now asks a question
of our Forum: May we, through the mdi
um of the Forum, have the Rosicrucian views
on divorce and remarriage. Quite frankly,
I think it is wrong to remarry even if the
marriage partner has passed through transi
tion. Why? I am afraid that I have no
answer, only an inner conviction. Perhaps
it is because the dead never leave us
psychically.
There are two principal factors that cause
the individual to oppose divorce and remar
riage. The first is religious scruples; the
second is the personal opinion of the indi
vidual as a consequence of his own moral
views or conclusions drawn from experience.
As to the first reason, one may refrain from
divorce and remarriage on religious grounds
if it provides him a moral satisfaction to do
so. We would heartily oppose any move by
a religious group to make such objections
universal as against all other members of
society. There are those who have moral
standards equally high but can see the
necessity of both divorce and remarriage in
our modern and complex society. As for
the second factor: where the individual, in
his or her personal conscience, feels not disposed toward divorce and remarriage, such

APR1L, >956

a decisin should be respected. He has the

right not to accept personally such relations,
but he must allow others to make their
choice accordingly as well.
Theology and pur mysticism imply and
advcate that marriages are made in heaven,
the mystical principie being that there is a
unin of two souls by which they merge into
one being. Two sexes, two opposite polarities,
are united to so harmonize and assume their
ultmate purpose of oneness. The vows of
most marriage ceremonies imply this mys
tical merging by which two become one. The
assumption is that there is that harmony,
integration of personalities, exchange of
immanent powers through the mdium of
love, that such can be accomplished.
In theory, in idealism, the marriage accomplishes this perfect spiritual unin. But
man is more than a spiritual entity. He is
also an organic, psychological, and intellectual one. Actually there may never have
been any true mystical marriage consummated by the two parties. The real personality, the expression of the inner self of
the individual, may have been deliberately
suppressed. As a result, the other partner in
the marriage was deceived. There cannot be
any true blending of soul-personalities in
such a circumstance. There may be a psychosomatic malady, a physical or mental
maladjustment, that prevents that harmony
and unin which is the mystical and religious
ideal of marriage. It is, therefore, ridiculous
from the pragmatic point of view, to claim
that in the sight of God such two persons
are one and must remain so. Can a person
who subsequently actually comes to detest,
hate or fear, his or her marriage partner be
considered spiritually united?
A spiritual marriage has failed when a
state of happiness is not achieved which exceeds the happiness that each individual
could achieve individually. In fact, we
might say that the spiritual marriage never
existed. One might, economically or otherwise, fare better by being unmarried but if
in a marriage, even though existing in poverty, the individuis find greater happiness,
then marriage has succeeded psychologically,
sociologically, and spiritually. From the psy
chological point of view, one seeks marriage
to attain greater happiness than he can in
the single state and yet retain self-respect
and conform to the dictates of society. If a

Page 115

partner finds that he or she is mismated,

whether physically or psychologically, and
the condition cannot be remedied and brings
torment to one or both, shall they remain
married? Does not such a state of affairs
induce unhappiness, the contra-pole of the
true purpose of marriage?
Some marriage rituals include the phrase,
or its equivalent, that one chooses a mate
for better or for worse. Upon first con
sideration, this would seem to imply that, if
a man or a woman is revealed to be otherwise than represented to be prior to mar
riage, no matter how cruel and bestial, the
circumstances must be endured. It seems
more plausible to interpret this phrase from
the point of view of health and economic
circumstances. Better or worse in matters
of health or economic standards would not
affect the true relationship of marriage.
Abuse of the marriage partner, mental and
physical cruelty, would disrupt any true
marital relationship.
Modem religin does not select the mate
in marriage. In most societies at the present
time, unless primitive, the individual chooses
his own marriage partner. He or she pre
sumes to make a wise choice and to have
sufficient knowledge about the character,
personality, and health of the fianc before
entering into marriage. If they are, as adults
of presumed normal intelligence, allowed
that indulgence and then subsequently discover they have made a mistake in judgment, they should be allowed to divorce, to
terminate the contract. As our late Im
pera tor, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, expressed it:
If marriage is to be made comparatively
easy to enter into, it should be equally as
easy to abrgate. His premise was that,
if we make it simple for persons to precip
tate themselves into a situation without a
thorough analysis of the partnership, they
must be permitted to extricate themselves
from their mistake.
One of the prominent religious sects, most
vigorous in its opposition to divorce and remarriage, proclaims that the latter consti
tutes an act of adultery if it follows divorce.
The premise is that, once united in a cere
mony invoking Divine blessing, the souls are
never separated in this earthly life. There
fore, marriage to another, while one of the
original parties lives, is construed as living
in adultery and this invokes Divine penalties.

Page M6

It is more or less common knowledge, how

ever, that many members of this sect, though
not divorced, are separated from their
spouses. As is natural, and not to be condemned, they are again attracted and fall
in love with another person of the opposite
sex. Being forbidden marriage by their
church, they enter into a state of actual
immorality, not an implied one. From the
social point of view, which has a greater
impact upon the moris, remarrying or resorting to promiscuity? We do not mean to
imply that all who conscientiously conform
to the chuichs requirements of no divorce
and no remarriage resort to such conduct,
but many do, so that they may lead a nat
ural life consistent with biological urges
which precede theological edicts.
Though divorce, from the Rosicrucian
concept, should exist and carry with it no
moral or social stigma, it necessarily must
be kept within bounds. If such is not done,
the whole function of marriage as a custom
becomes a farce. It will result in promiscuity.
Marriage would degenerate into legalized
prostitution. In some countries and in some
states of America, divorce is only permitted
on proof of the commission of adultery by
one of the marriage partners. This, in our
opinion, is too stringent. What of the one
who is a sadist and who physically abuses
the marriage partner? or the one who ridicules his wife publicly before friends and
children? What of the one who commits
lewd acts that degrade and whose conduct
is obviously such as to be ruinous to the
health, mental or physical, of the marriage
partner? Can social conscience honestly insist on the continuation of such a marriage?
Can it with clear conviction insist that one
should remain in a state of living hell so as
to conform to man-made legal or theological
creed? These are the questions that those
who oppose divorce and remarriage must
answer. The answer must not be phrased
in words of their church or of their reason
alone, but their own conscience must reply.
X
Are We Individual Souls?
A frater in New York, addressing our
Forum, says: According to one of the early
degree monographs, The soul is always connected to the Great Soul, therefore never

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

individualized, and in the same monograph

there also appears: Therefore, I am not I
but a part of the Divine All, so how is Rein
carnation even conceivable?
The theistic concept of soul is necessa^
for the generally prevailing theological notion of the souls salvation. This theistic
notion is that God, a Divine being, created
souls as separate entities, and implanted
them in physical forms. The soul comes
from a divine source according to this idea,
but is subsequently divorced from it when
embodied within the human form. It becomes an individual possession of each person. It lies, therefore, within the province
of each person to do with his soul as he will,
according to this notion. The theistic view
further contends that man has corrupted his
divine gift, his soul, and must redeem it
through various procedures expounded in the
hagiography of the different sects.
From the philosophical and metaphysical
point of view, what nexus, what connection,
remains between man and his God if the
soul is a separate segment within each
mortal? Man would become so independent
that he would have no mdium by which
to reach his God. The separa tion of the soul
from the primary source creates a void, in
theory, that theologians for centuries have
been trying to bridge. There is also the
challenging question as to how that which
is divine in essence, as the soul, which is
conceived to be of God, can be corrupted by
man. Candidly, if the soul were originally
perfect as a creation of God, does it seem
consistent that the mortal can consequently
alter it, defiling that which is a perfect,
Godly creation? Or, does the soul once cre
ated and implanted within the human, lose
some of its infinite qualities? If so, the soul
is not immutable. Furthermore, it would not
then be Godlike in its nature when in man.
Mystical pantheism does not seek to
wrestle with these glaring theological inconsistencies. It has long propounded its own
concepts which have appeared more logical
and more satisfying to great numbers of
persons. For centuries, mystical pantheism
has promulgated the idea that it is the in
finite consciousness, the mind of the Cosmic,
or God, that permeates all mankindand
other manifestations. This divine conscious
ness or mind, within each human, and which
accompanies the Vital Life Forc and the

APRiL, [956

breath of life, is the soul. It is, therefore,

an extensin of God in man. It flows continuously through man from its source like
the alternating flow of an electrical current
from its generator through an electrical
circuit.
The soul, then, is never severed from the
Divine soul and its influences. Man can
respond to this impulsation within his own
being, but he cannot control or possess it.
Further, the most important aspect of this
doctrine is that the soul in each human is
identical in quality. There is no such thing
as a hierarchy of soulsthose more or less
eminent. Man cannot corrupt this soul es
sence unless one wants to confer upon man
the power of defiling the whole Divine
stream of consciousness! This is an absurdity
that the most radical religionist would not
be inclined to expound.
In accordance with the doctrines of mys
tical pantheism, each human is directly and
intimately united with the Cosmic. There
is no need for the individual to try to establish some theoretical bond to bridge a gap
between a separate soul and the souls source.
Every human is likewise bound by this
universal soul forc to every other mortal
and even to other living creatures lower in
the scale of consciousness. God dwells within
the breast of each man and woman in ac
cordance with the doctrines of mystical pan
theism. The mortal is not obliged to seek
ways and means of re-uniting himself with
the Cosmic. In mystical pantheism, the prin
cipal obligation of the mortal is to attain
self-realization, that is, to become aware of
the Divine Mind, the universal law, the
Cosmic Soul within himself. Man is always
of the Cosmic. It is only necessary that he
experience this eternal unin.
Though mystical pantheism recognizes no
soul segments, or separate souls, it does ad
vcate that there is a difference in spiritual
manifestations. Some individuis exhibit
more spiritual qualities and obviously have
a greater moral consciousness than do others.
This variation in the awareness of their own
soul quality is termed the soul-personality of
the individual. Consequently, the mystical
pantheist has the ideal of evolving not the
soul, which needs no redemption or perfection, but rather his consciousness of it which
becomes his soul-personality as distinguished
from others. There are lesser degrees of soul-

Page I I 7

personality but never lesser degrees of the

soul essence.
The Rosicrucian philosophy and its mys
ticism is in harmony with the basic doctrines
of mystical pantheism as just outlined. What
then is it which reincarnates? It is a superimposition of the soul-personality upon the
Universal soul-stream which incarnates. The
impact of self upon the stream is carried by
itjust as the carrier wave of a radio broadcasting station carries upon it the impulses
that are transformed into sound in a receiver.
The soul-stream is not altered but becomes
the mdium for the self, the state of realiza
tion that we cali the inner self, or 1. It is
these states of realization that are individualized and which incamatenot separate
segments of soul.
To use a further analogy, let us think of
a river as the Universal Soul. It is one
continuous body in essence or quality. Stones
which are thrown into the stream and strike
the surface cause concentric rings, or waves
of water to radiate. These waves are composed of the same substance as the whole
river. The quality of the river, its water
content, has not been changed by the stone.
There is, however, a pattern superimposed
upon the surface of the water which remains
for some time. Think, then, of the pattern
as being the soul-personality, the incarnated
entity.X
What Is Psychology?
Recently I was requested to speak on the
subject of psychology and to present some
of the fundamental ideas of the subject to
a group of Rosicrucian members who were
attending one of the night classes held each
winter under the sponsorship of the RoseCroix University. I found it somewhat dif
ficult to limit the subject to a matter of a
short discourse. The first problem was that
of definition, and such problem faces anyone who attempts in one lecture to cover
subject matter as broad as that of psychology.
How are we to define psychology, or as far
as that is concerned, any other complex
subject matter? A definition should be funda
mental, and it should be simple. It is supposed to simplify a problem by bringing it
into focus; therefore, a definition should
always be in terms of something that the
individual already knows.

Page 118

Some years ago, dictionaries were prepared in such a way that when one sought
the meaning of a word, he found it defined
by the simple procedure of being given an
other wrord. If this word was understood,
the definition would be adequate, but occasionally the meaning of the synonym was
unknown to the person Consulting the dictionary. It would then be necessary to look
up the word which defined this first word,
and frequently the dictionary referred to the
original word. In this way, reference was
made back and forth between two words,
and no definition or meaning was made clear
to the individual seeking the information.
Almost any subject, even one with which
we are generally familiar, may be difficult
to put into the form of a definition. For ex
ample, would you find it easy to define
arithmetic? To say that arithmetic is the
study that includes addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and divisin of numbers and
letters is hardly a definition. We need to
know more generally what the subject involves, rather than the specific items with
which it deais. In other words, to define a
subject by merely telling what it deais with
or what it concerns is not always sufficient
to make the definition of a subject clear and
reasonable to the individual.
Psychology might easily be defined in the
same manner as arithmetic. We might say
that psychology is a subject that deais with
perception, judgment, sensation, knowledge,
thinking, soul, mind, functions, or the inner
attributes of a living being. These are all
phases of psychology, but to say that it is
a subject that deais with these things is not
an adequate statement of the scope of the
subject. Actually, psychology is defined to
day in terms of behavior.
Originally, when psychology carne to be
considered as a subject by itself, or rather,
began to become a science, it was defined as
the study or the science of the mind. While
this definition still has effective meaning
and certainly in psychology we deal with
mental attributes and mental phenomena
actually, the psychological concept today
has to do with how living entities function
and express themselves. In other words,
psychology can best be defined as the study
of those things that have to do with behavior
and conduct.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

This is particularly true insofar as the

human being is concerned. The human be
ing is a behaving animal. If we observe man
in a detached manner, we see him as a liv
ing, vibrant entity that is carrying out cer
tain functions at all times. He is moving;
he is striving; he is exerting certain effort;
he is forcing issues; he is making decisions.
He is always exemplifying a mode of con
duct. We are not here considering the moral
standard of that conduct, whether it is good
or bad or right or wrong. We are simply
observing the fact that a man is behaving
or he is conducting himself in a certain
manner. When we attempt to study how
man behaves, why he behaves, and why his
conduct is of one type on one occasion and
is different on another occasion, then we are
entering the field that is generally Consoli
dated into the concept of psychology.
If we confine psychology to Rosicrucianism, I believe we are fair in stating that the
Rosicrucian concept of psychology is -the
consideration of mans behavior and how he
can benefit himself by proper behavior, how
he can develop patterns of conduct that are
to his advantage and will accrue to his
growth and general advancement. In this
process we will have to know something
about him physically and mentally. We
leam how he responds to certain situations,
and we attempt to determine why he re
sponds to situations as he does. Then if we
have some idea, even though it may not be
complete, of the how and why of behavior,
we attempt to set up studies that lead us
into directing human life and human living
into patterns of behavior that are desirable
and that will create ends and means which
are advantageous to man and will become
part of the general evolvement of his whole
being.A
Rosicrucian Ideis and Principies
I was somewhat surprised recently to receive a letter from a member of the Rosi
crucian Order who asks, What are the
Rosicrucian ideis and principies? I found
it difficult to know just what motivated the
question and what type of answer was expected. I was unable to dismiss from my
mind the problem of this frater, and like
many questions that seem simple on first
presentation, consideration over a period of

Page 119

APRIL, 1956

time caused it to take on more significance

and importance.
I did not answer this question thoroughly;
in fact, I instructed the frater that he would
be wise to reread the literature which was
presented to him prior to his becoming a
member; that the ideis and principies of
the Rosicrucians had been presented in our
literature in a manner that we hoped would
interest him and thereby would motvate
him to submit an application for member
ship.
After more thorough thought on the mat
ter, I have decided to list briefly some of the
ideis and principies that this frater may
have wished to receive. I do not believe he
failed to realize what the principies are, but
like many individuis, he was having difficulty in putting them into concise form. It
is frequently very difficult to consoldate
ideas into a simple statement, or to define
something with which we are generally fa
miliar. The following is not a process of
definition or consolidation, but rather a
summary of a few thoughts that come to my
mind in connection with this question.
As to the ideis of AMORC, surely we
could say that they are ones considered as
the most desirable in the behavior of a hu
man being. Insofar as character is concerned,
the Rosicrucian ideis contribute to the de
velopment of honesty and integrity in prac
tice and to the promotion and use of
knowledge in mans growth and life. The
ideis in connection with character, then,
are for the purpose of evolving a wellrounded human being who will be beneficial
to himself and to society.
Philosophically, the Rosicrucian ideis are
based upon the proper placement of vales,
a concept which we have stressed many
times in articles in this publication and in
other sources. Man is to realize that the
true vales, the most desirable things to
possess in all of life and all of the universe,
are those which are not necessarily linked
with the material world but which transcend
materialism and are associated with mans

soul and his concept of a Supreme Being.

Actually, from a philosophical standpoint,
Rosicrucianism is a form of idealism. From
the standpoint of metaphysics, Rosicrucian
idealism concerns the study of reality as
being inherent in the world of ideas; that
is, reality is associated with those vales
which transcend the material concepts of
man.
The principies of Rosicrucianism are the
expression of the highest human ideis in
practice. The principies, I believe, include
the use of the Rosicrucian teachings in our
daily life. The principies cannot be listed
categorically, because they include all the
items which are taught in the Rosicrucian
teachings and which are exemplified in the
Rosicrucian rituals. These principies constitute Rosicrucianism as a composite study
and as an application to human life. It is
probably best represented in a Rosicrucian
principie itself, namely, that the most de
sirable state that man can attain is a state
which we in our teachings term harmonium.
Harmonium means perfect balance be
tween material and immaterial, body and
soul, man and God, future, present, and
past. In other words, harmonium is a bal
ance of all the characteristics which come to
be human experience and human expression
in a relationship that will cause man to real
ize that valu exists in all things and can
be drawn upon from all experience.
Probably another principie which is most
important has to do with knowledge, not
necessarily in the academic sense, but on
the principie that the human race has fre
quently been bound by ignorance and there
by controlled by superstition. Man has the
right to know, to relate himself to God as an
individual entity, not through outside media
or through practices imposed upon him or
forced upon him by an outside agency.
Therefore, a principie, as well as an obligation, of the Rosicrucian is to combat super
stition whenever it is possible and to live
those ideis and principies which express
the nature of the divine within him.A

REMEMBER THE CONVENTION

JULY 8 to 13, 1956

A CHANCE TO PROVE

yousi PesU&ncd ^UeosU&

UNDER
COMPETENT
DIRECTION
AT THE

Rose-Croix University
RALPH WALDO EMERSON, modern philosopher, said "A man should learn to detect
and watch that gleam of light which flashes
across his mind from within. . . . Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because
it is his.'1
How many of your own ideas which you
dismissed from your mind as too different r
newor merely because they were your
ownhave years later returned, as Emerson
said, in the alienated form of someone else's

recent accomplishment? Perhaps you; like

many others, have let germs of Creative
thought die for want of a place in which to
mature them.
Waste no more yearswrite today to the
Rose-Croix University, San Jos, California,
for a free copy of The Story of Learning.
It contains a complete curriculum of the
courses and tells how you may enjoy the
various privileges. Attend this summer
short term; reasonable tuition.

June, 1956
Volu me X X V ! No. 6

Rosicrucian Forum
A

p rv a te

p u b lic a tio n fo r m e m b e rs of A M O R C

A RTHUR G. SUNDSTRUP, F. R. C.,

Granel M a ste r of the Rosicrucian O rder, A M O R C , fo r De n m ark an d N o rw a y .

Page 122

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Greetings!
V

SELF-DISCIPLINE IN MYSTICISM

Dear Fratres and Sorores:

Discipline is the establishment and exercise of certain Controls in the behavior of
an individual. As most of our behavior follows as a result of our thoughts, our notions
and ideas, this control, therefore, also applies
to our mental states. Discipline, as related
to mysticism, then, means the imposing by
ourselves of certain restrictions upon our
mental and physical actions. The discipline
we impose upon ourselves is determined, to
a great extent, by: (a) what we want to
attain in the realm of mysticism; and (b)
what we think contributes to that attainment and what interferes with it.
Mysticism, generally, w hether Jewish,
Islamic, or Christian, incorporates alike cer
tain fundamental elements. It is these ele
ments by which it is distinguished from all
other philosophical or religious concepts. We
may summarize these elements into two gen
eral definitions. First, mysticism is the unin
of the individual self with God. Second, the
mystical unin is an intima te experience per
sonally acquired. There are certain implications that immediately arise as we analyze
these two elements.
Let us consider the first of the two ele
ments. It implies that the self-consciousness
of the individual, the I or ego, ordinarily
does not have that realization of God, that
oneness, that constitutes unin. Obviously,
if it existed as a normal state, it would not
need to be attained. The aspiring to this
unin does not imply that the individual is
detached from God or the Cosmic forces. For
analogy, one can be a part of something and
yet not be conscious of his connection. One
can be a resident of a dwelling and yet not
know of its history. The mystical aspirant,
then, concedes that his being and his con
sciousness are of and in the stream of Divine
Intelligence and Creative forc. The ego, the
self, however, is not of this Divine stream or
source, he believes, until it has consciousness
of it.

Self is a state of consciousness. Unless

there is reality in the nature of awareness,
there is no consciousness. In other words, we
cannot be conscious without being conscious
of something. Insofar as our self-conscious
ness is concerned, then, we, our ego, are not
of God or the Cosmic until we experience
such a unin. This may be said to be the
pragmatic side of mysticism, incongruous as
this term may sound. The mystic is a realist
in the sense that he considers that of him
which is, his self, is not of God until he consciously unites it with the Divine. All else
to the mystic is but dream and aspiratin. It
is experience alone that provides the mystical
knowledge. The true unin requires a reali
zation of the self as being one with the
Divine.
The second element of mysticism places
dependence solely upon ones own efforts.
The mystical unin is an intmate experi
ence. The mystic is the subject; the unin,
or state of oneness with God or the Cosmic,
constitutes the object. There is no intermediary to be considered, as priest, prelate,
master, or philosopher. All such intermedi
arles cannot create the mystical state into
which one is precipitated. They, like ritual,
liturgy, and rites are, at the best, but preparatory media. The transition in conscious
ness by which self has this experience comes
as a result of personal effort and must be
intimately had. Prayers, burning of candles,
saying of rosaries, making of sacrifices, are
no substitute for the personal raising of ones
own consciousness. All of these, from a psy
chological point of view, only aid in inducing
that state of mind called the mystical or
ecstatic experience. Where they have not
done so, they have, in terms of mysticism,
failed. We repeat: there is no vicarious mys
tical state. There is nothing independent of
one, or done for him by another, that consists of the true mystical state.
Why this mystical state? What advantages has this unin of self with God as of

JUNE, 1956

Page 123

this life, here and now? All things are done

by men because they are to satisfy some
aspect of self. The phenomena of our being
may be divided into the categories of spirit
ual or psychic self and the physical and
mental ones. These are, of course, the vari
ous kinds of reality which are experienced
in relation to our being. Our thoughts are
of the self, so are our bodies and our moral
inclinations. Each one of these has its re
spective gratifications. There are sensual
satisfactions, as appeasing the appetites;
there is also a sense of gratification in Cre
ative achievement and that subtle and profound pleasure that arises from conforming
to what we term our spiritual motivation or
conscience.
Each of these aspects of self has its ideis
as well. These ideis are such qualities in
fact, or we imagine them to be, as are the
highest satisfactions of the different aspects
of self. The spiritually inclined individual,
the religionist, the mystic, the moral idealist,
conceive of God or the Cosmic, whichever
term is preferred, an absolute perfection. It
is the ultmate in moral righteousness and
moral or indwelling harmony to them. Also
to them there is no pleasure or ecstasy to
equal this concord of self with the Greater
One. All other satisfactions, though accepted
for their worth, fall short of this Summum
Bonum. The mystic consequently, wants to
capture, to realize this supreme pleasure,
here on earth.
The mystic may be distinguished from
most religionists in that the advantages he
seeks, through this unin, are to be had in
this life. His is not a preparation for an
other existence in a hereafter necessarily.
The real mystic who transcends asceticism
does not ignore his physical body or tem
poral existence. If self can realize something
of the absolute and if such exceeds all other
satisfactions, why not have such an exalted
experience during mortal existence? Why

wait until another life and disregard the

possibilities of this one?
The real mystic is not trying to escape
the reality of this life. Rather, he is trying
to exalt it, transmute it into a series of tran
scendental experiences. To the mystic, heaven is not remte as a place. Rather, it is a
state of mind which can be attained here by
the raising of mortal consciousness to a plae
of oneness with the Absolute. If there are
experiences, realities, to be realized which
exceed in grandeur and personal satisfaction
those of the body and intellect, they should
be brought into the realm of this span of
life. At least we can presume that this is
what the mystic would consider the advan
tages of his methods and way of life.
Self-discipline, then, consists of such rules
of thinking and doing as will enhance the
mystics attainment of such ends. He will,
for example, keep all his desires within
bounds. He will not suppress desires because
he knows that they are inclinations and
drives, arising within our physical and men
tal selves. A desire is an urge to satisfy
some need, whether it is food, sex, or the
preservaton of the ego expressed as pride.
The first step in such self-discipline is to face
realistically our desires. One must determine
their functional grounds and what purposes
they serve. Each must be gratified only to
that extent. We scratch an itch not for the
pleasure it will bring us in a positive sense
but to remove the irritation. The mystic will
let no kind of desire so dominate his con
sciousness as to exelude all else. He will so
control and reglate his desiresnot sup
press themthat the whole of his being may
express itself. The one who lives a sensual
or an intellectual life to the exclusin of the
expression of whatever moral inclinations he
has, is living subnormally. He is manifesting
only half or less of the possibilities of his
being.
The mystic must exercise self-discipline in
connection with all mystical exercises and

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, California,
under Section 1103 of the U . S. Postal Act of Oct. 3, 1917.
The Rosicrucian Forum s Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Publication of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/3 s+erling) A N N U A LLY FOR MEMBERS O N LY

Page 124

studies. The fanatic in esotericism is the one

who has disregarded the basic principie of
self-discipline. Impatience is an excess of
desire. It is submitting to desires as such
without any qualification. One who is impatient is one who is thinking only in terms
of the ultmate end regardless of the consequences in achieving it. As a result, he may
set into motion a series of events, happenings, that either will prevent him from realizing his end or will mitgate the pleasure of
anticipation deriving from it. It is, then,
essential for success in all mystical studies
as in almost all else in lifeto discipline or
control the desire of impatience.
Fraternally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator.
Are Living Masters Necessary?
A frater in India quotes to our Forum
a passage published in a book with reference
to the Rosicrucian Order. It says: The most
serious defect of the Rosicrucian system, like
that of its sister, Theosophy, is its lack of a
real, living master to whom the student may
go. The theme of the article, relates the
frater, is that without a living master it is
not possible to progress much. After making
progress with the help of a living master,
then one can meet with the masters on the
psychic plae. The frater desires to know
what our real opinion in this matter is.
Let us first ask ourselves, What is the aim
of the Rosicrucian Order? It is to awaken
and fully develop the latent divine and psy
chic powers which man possesses. The Rosi
crucian Order postulates that man has
stressed his objective faculties to the detriment of the other powers he possesses and
little uses, and often does not realize he has.
The awakening and direction of these facul
ties will give man greater mastership in
life. It will aid him in surmounting many
obstacles which now thwart his attainment
of lasting happiness in life. These latent
powers are subconscious attributes of mans
nature. When quickened, they may increase
his intelligence, his perspective of life, and
make it easier for him to combat those factors which bring about disease and the degeneration of his faculties.
Next, how do the Rosicrucians expect to
accomplish these things? Most certainly not

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

through any so-called miracles or the exercise

of thaumaturgic powers. The Rosicrucian
teachings consist of a heritage of knowledge
founded upon Cosmic and natural laws.
These laws the member studies, demonstrates
and applies both to his own nature and to the
world about him. These laws embrace almost
all the fields of the arts and sciences. Some
of them are unique and so generally un
known to the man in the Street that, were
he to hear of them, he would think of them
as mysteries or fantasies. However, the
same things were once said of all phenomena
that were new or unusual. There is no such
thing as the supernatural except as our ignorance of certain causes makes us attribute
to an imaginary realm the misunderstood
phenomenon.
Are there Rosicrucian masters? Yes, there
are those who are masters in the sense that
they excel in the direction of their innate
Cosmic powers. They have perfected themselves, more than most men, in tearing aside
the veil of mystery that surrounds human
existence and its true relationship to the
Cosmic. These men or women, as masters,
can accomplish what others might think are
miracles. They do not claim to be exercising
any especial powers. They do not profess
to be blessed with an efficacy that is denied
the rest of mankind. They are but availing
themselves of what can be had by all humanity that desires to prepare for it and
make the necessary sacrifices to attain it.
Have these masters acquired a higher
level, that is, state of consciousness and perception? Yes, they have. Self, in its realiza
tion, with them has moved deeply into the
stream of consciousness and embraces a
greater extent of the whole Cosmic Con
sciousness than with most men. This stream
of consciousness, though, runs through all
mankind. It is only necessary that men will
themselves to wade more deeply into it. The
Rosicrucian teachings provide the technique
for this state of introversin of the conscious
ness, the tuming of it inward, to embrace
the infinite intelligence of the stream itself.
In the Rosicrucian Order, then, must one
become the personal disciple of a living
master? The Rosicrucian answer to this is
No. The real Rosicrucian living master is
a master teacher. It is his principal obligation to pass on, through the mdium of the
Order, all such distinct gnosis that he has

JUNE, 1956

acquired as a result of his personal illumination. He willas they doprepare manuscripts, write articles and lectures for the
Order of which he is an integral part. The
Rosicrucian master has no exalted ego which
causes him to believe that, after his illumination, he has transcended the Order. The
Rosicrucian Order gave him light and it is
morally incumbent upon him to reflect it
back again. He does not, therefore, isolate
himself from the Order and select a personal
idolatrous following. Like all great mystics,
he attributes his wisdom to the Cosmic and
that mdium which aided him, the Rosicru
cian Order.
The Rosicrucian master realizes the need
to encourage others so that they may pre
pare in the same manner he did. He knows
that the teachings of the Order are demonstrable laws which carne to be known as the
consequence of the personal researches, stud
ies and attainments of others who were mas
ters. There is no better thing than to be a
part of a body of persons that impersonally
presents truth, free of idolatry and individual
reverence, such as the Rosicrucian Order.
The Rosicrucian Manual, an official pub
lication of the Order, excellently expresses
an opinion on masters in relation to the
members. It indicates that what each student
must strive for is not to attain spiritual ad
vance through the mdium of another but
through personal inner development. To
quote: After preparation through study and
meditation, after deserving through service,
after attaining through practice and with
nobility of desire, there comes to all adepts
an influx of illumination and inspiration,
which maintains a continued connection
with Cosmic Consciousness. This is called
illumination by the mystics. This is one of
the gifts desired by all adepts.
As for world masters or coming world
masters, the Rosicrucian Manual has this to
say: The Rosicrucians know better than
this. They know that the next great master
to come to each will be the master within,
and not some foreign person of one tongue,
affiliated with one school and limiting his
redemption to those who are within a certain
fold. And the Rosicrucians have never solicited funds for the support of propaganda for
any such masters or the organization of
colonies or utopian places where anticipated

Page 125

masters or new races might be bom or

created.
Living masters are necessary to the Rosi
crucian Order only as ideis of achievement
and to impart their illumination to the great
body of instruction that makes up the Or
ders teachings. The Rosicrucian Order
abhors personality following and personality
reverence. We are to be guided by principies,
not personalities.X
Are Business Ethics Declining?
A frater rises to ask our Forum: Is man
being made nobler these days by business
or is he more and more looked upon as a
mere outlet for inanufactured goods?
Business, as such, is an impersonal entity.
It is a system, as is physics, chemistry, or
mathematics. It has its basic requirements
which are not of a moral or ethical order.
Success in business is the satisfactory culmi
nation of its desired ends. These ends are
profit if, for example, the enterprise is a sale
of a commodity or of a service. In theory,
how this end is attained is of no consequence,
if all the rules it is bound to observe have
been complied with. This makes business a
nonsentimental factor and, as a nonhuman
entity, it is such.
Any enterprise in which human beings
participate is always confronted with two
factors, namely, expediency and principie.
Expediency is the accomplishment of the
purpose of the enterprise as efficiently as
possible. Principie, on the other hand, takes
into consideration human factors. This
means moral and ethical provisions. Everyone in business knows that expediency and
principie frequently conflict. Most businesses
could exceed their current profits if they
were to be ruthless and disregard, within the
law, the effeets of their enterprise upon
human interests.
Generally, in the past, the existence of
principie or ethics in business was a matter
relegated solely to the conscience of its executives. A man of principie conducted his
business on a high and ethical plae. One
who was not resorted to expediency. This
meant he used every method to gain his
ends, regardless of its consequent effect upon
others. These unprincipled practices of many
large and small enterprises caused the even

Page 126

tual entrance, by public demand, of government control and the establishment of Bet
ter Business Bureaus.
It takes men and women of high charac
ter to impose self-discipline in circumstances
which at times may work to their disadvantage. When, for example, one knows
that he can dispose of a surplus obsolete ob
ject by representing it as other than what
it is and he refrains from doing so on prin
cipie, he is a man of excellent character.
The instinct of preservation, the furtherance
of self, is a strong primitive drive with each
of us. It is a natural inclination to take advantage of every circumstance that will
further it. By comparison, principie, which
is also a product of reason, is a lesser im
pulse with most persons.
The political pressure and monopoly that
business ofttimes now attributes to labor
unions, even if so in fact, is to a great extent
a reaction to the behavior of industry decades
previous. Great industrialists and small
business executives alike were often, in the
past, too inclined to overlook the human
factor in employment. The employee was
a segment of their operating machine like
a lathe or a printing press. The employee
was to be exploited to the fullest, squeezed
to the utmost. When it became no longer
feasible to retain him, he was to be cast
aside. It was reasoned by employers that
men were not compelled to work for them
and, if they did, they had to accept whatever conditions were provided. The social
indifference often amounted to inhumanity
and provoked the opposite extreme of which
business complains today.
The modern businessman must be grounded
in the rudiments at least of practical psy
chology. Business, insofar as customers and
employees are concerned, is also a matter
of human relations. One is not just selling
commodities or service, but he must also
create good will for his institution. It is a
lack of perspective for one to be discourteous,
inconsiderate, or to exploit either a customer
or an employee. The creating of ill will cuts
into sales and into worker efficiency. Men
are always human beings, never machines.
The emotional aspect of these relations is a
vital factor with employers, if they intend
to remain in business for any period of time.
Aside from government regulation, Better

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Business Bureau supervisin, and the highprincipled individuis, many executives are
otherwise conforming to ethics. They are
motivated by a realization of the psychologi
cal necessity of doing so. In other words, it
is good business to inspire confidence by a
fair attitude and practice. These employers
may not all be noble in their intent but
common sense tells them that ethics keeps
business relations on a high plae and is
good business.
Conversely, the employee must take an
ethical view of his job and his employer.
There are far too many workers who look
upon their employment just as a job. To
them it is an unpleasant duty, a drudgery
which should be shirked at every opportunity. Some employees have almost a sadistic
enjoyment in placing their employer in a
position where his operations are made more
costly. Whether they are conscious of it
or not, there is an envious resentment of
the employers proportionately greater profit.
There are employees who do nothing to
improve their minds or skills by which they
could rightly demand and expect greater
compensation. They believe it is their right
to exact from their employer, by whatever
power they can exert, increasing pay with
out giving more in return. This kind of
conduct is lack of employee ethics and is
equally as grievous as the employers abuse
of his workers.
Ethics is not a mysterious subject. It con
cerns right and wrong conduct in social rela
tions. Experience, custom, and environment
have shown that certain behavior on the
part of individuis strikes at the freedom,
welfare, and happiness of others. Such con
duct must be prohibited. It is not just a
question of morality, as the moral obligation
of treating ones fellows properly. It is expedient to do so. If each man exploited his
fellows with complete disregard of the wel
fare of others, then mutual respect and
cooperation would dissolve. Society would disintegrate. No man would trust another. Men
would function separately as best they could
and all the progress that comes from an integrated society would disappear. When in
your personal behavior you strike at the
foundation of society, you eventually destroy your own security and that of your
children.X

JUNE, 1956

Are Men Born Free?

A frater from New York arises to address
our Forum. He says: What is so desirable
about choices for the sake of having choices
rather than the end result of which freedom
is but a means? The theologian says that man
has freedom to choose between Heaven and
Hell. What kind of freedom is this? Who
would choose Hell for any reason except that
it would make one happy? Do not all men
seek happiness as they conceive it? Wherein
then lies that freedom with which men are
said to be born?
Before any consideration can be given to
whether men are truly free, there must be
an understanding of that of which freedom
consists. A free thing, animate or inanimate,
is that which is not encumbered. It has no
bounds in the sphere in which its freedom
is thought to exist. Thus mental freedom
means no restriction of thought and its expression. Freedom of person means no phys
ical bondage or hindrance of the activity of
the person. It is cogent, then, that an indi
vidual who has imposed upon him any obligation or dependency, no matter what its
nature, which inhibits or restricts freedom of
will, is not free. In fact, can one who im
poses an obligation upon himself that pre
vens change be really thought of as free?
Can one who adheres to a particular code of
behavior or who confines his thoughts to a
specific channel, even if of his own choice,
be considered free? Such a person has sacrificed any such freedom as he may be presumed to have had when once he makes an
inflexible choice. To be utterly free, theoretically, one should never commit himself
to any permanent course, whether that be of
thought or of action. It means further that
to be free every function and experience in
life would need to be subject to individual
decisin and be a result of personal choice
before this absolute freedom could prevail.
In the above sense, no man is born free.
Biologically, we are placed in a framework
of impulses and drives which, in the main,
are inescapable if we are to continu to live.
Who has been so free in his choices as to
have denied the pangs of hunger, the com
pulsin of sleep and of drink indefinitely,
and lived to boast of this freedom? First, we
are bound to the forces of nature of which
our very being consists. Even our very desire

Page 127

of choosing that which satisfies some part of

our nature is an unavoidable function of our
being. We cannot fail to exercise will. It is
a mental desire following a rational appraisal
of our experiences. It is as inherent in our
nature as are the lower appetites. Will must
function and, in exercising its characteristics,
it is not free. If I am to move, I must move
in some direction. Whatever direction I
choose, right or left, forward or backward, I
am selecting a direction, and this I cannot
avoid doing.
For man to have absolute will, he would
need to be a free entity, that is, be separate
from all environmental influences and from
natural and cosmic laws. Choice would have
to orignate wholly within man as a sep
arate reality. If choice would be motivated
by any appeal or influence, then absolute
freedom would not exist. Since such a state
is impossible, the poetic theory that man is
born free is a fallacy.
What men term freedom is the right of
one man to exercise his will as against an
other. A must eat and B must do likewise if
he is to live. A is only said to be free if, in
the necessity of eating, he may select what
he desires to eat and which may be different
from the choice of B. We are free, by this
interpretation, to choose what may satisfy
the impulsations and influences under which
we live as human beings. Men construe as
freedom the function of opposing each others will. This opposition may seem quite
varied in the particulars of choice it permits
but, organically, there is no difference. All
men have as their end in life, and all hold
the summum bonum to be, happiness. No
man intentionally acts except as it shall
bring pleasure to him in some form. The
martyr who prefers death on the pyre is
experiencing great happiness in his sacrifice.
The one who denies himself a pleasure does
so because his self-abnegation provides him
with even greater happiness. When men
choose, they are conforming, but they are
seeking that which best provides the conformity.
If men are to live in accordance with what
a society or religin constitutes as good, they
must first experience it to be such. If men
lacked the faculty of reason and could not
evalate things or conditions as being best,
then, in fact, men would never be good.
Rather, they would be of a single tempera-

Page 128

ment and behavior of which they would

have no knowledge for lack of comparison.
Men must be able to experience the conse
quence of their acts and determine whether
such is to their collective advantage. If they
find it so, this then constitutes the good
which all rational men will choose.
If men were motivated entirely by Divine
Wisdom, there would be no need for indi
vidual reason or will. They would be as
puppets. No man would then have a realiza
tion of God. He would be so submerged in
God as to not realize his relationship to Him.
The man who stands looking into the sun
becomes blinded by it and eventually he nei
ther sees the sun or anything else. It is
advantageous for a man, though not an abso
lute freedom, to be able to make choices
from which he may learn the vales of lifes
experiences. He is thus able to choose with
a greater sense of appreciation of that which
provides the more enduring happiness.X
Pronounce Them Properly
A frater states: We would like to have
discussed in the Forum the official pronun
ciaron of some of the words often used in
our rituals and correspondence. There has
been observed a great variance in the pronunciation of such words as Frater, Soror,
Imperator, Rosae Crucis, and AMORC. It is
felt that fratres and sorores everywhere
would welcome such information.
In past times we have covered this subject,
but it is advisable to do so again periodically
for the benefit of those who have more recently affiliated with our Order. It seems appropriate that we begin with the ame
Rosicrucian. We are using a phonetic type
of spelling to convey the proper pronunci
aron. The word should be pronounced:
Rose-i-crew'-shun. It will be noted that em
phasis is placed on the third syllable.
As all members know, A.M.O.R.C. is the
abbreviation for the full ame of the Order
or Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis. It
is pronounced as Am'- ork. The last syllable
is as in cork. The Rosae Crucis is Latin
for Rosy Cross and has been used in this
form for centuries throughout the world. It
is pronounced: Rosy-crew-sus. This is the
Anglicized form.
The words frater and soror are Latin for
brother and sister. The word frater also

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

means friar, a religious title. The two

words are traditional with the Order as
salutations. Actually, the word frater should
be pronounced freighter. Since this is
rather harsh to the ear, we have taken license for a long time and have softened the
a, so it should be said: frh-ter. The a
is pronounced as in art. The word soror
is pronounced so-rar.
The title Imperator is one which for cen
turies has been assigned to the executive and
ritualistic head of the Rosicrucian Order. It
is originally from the Latin and was the
official designation of the Romn Emperor.
It means Emperor or Commander in chief.
Its proper pronunciation is: Im-pe-ry-tor.
Again the Order has taken license with the
pronunciation of this word because of the
harshness of its sound. Therefore, we Rosi
crucians say Im-pr-a-tor, with the accent
on the second syllable which is pronounced
like the fruit, pear.
The meaning of Shekinah is fully ex
plained in the Rosicrucian rituals of the
lodges and chapters and also in the Rosicru
cian Manual. The word is of Hebraic origin.
It is pronounced: She-kne-ah. The a is
said as in art. A pronaos is an organized
body of Rosicrucians which has fewer mem
bers than a chapter. There are many of
these pronaoi throughout the world. It is of
Greek origin and has reference to the outer
courtyard adjoining the great temples, where
preliminary ceremonies were held. It is because a pronaos is a preliminary body to
that of a chapter that the A.M.O.R.C. has
conferred this title upon it. The word is
pronounced: pro-ny-us. The plural is
pro-ny-oi.
There are various ritualistic offices neces
sary for the performance of the traditional
rites, ceremonies and initiations of our Order.
The titles of some of these offices are some
times wrongly pronounced. The ritualistic
mother of a lodge or chapter, whose station
is in the West of the temple is called matre.
The word is of Latin origin and comes from
mater. It is pronounced: mah'-tray. Here
again license is taken with the proper pro
nunciation, but it is now traditional usage
with the Rosicrucian Order. Colombe is a
title of a ritualistic office. Her office is one
of great mystical significance and its sym
bolic function is many centuries od. The
title is pronounced: cull-oh'm. A neophyte

JUNE, 1956

is a tyro or a beginner in a study or practice.

The word is pronounced: kne-o-fight. A
postulant is one who is a candidate of a philosophical, mystical or initiatic school. The
word is pronounced: phst-u-lant.
It is suggested that fratres and sorores
make a record of this information for future
reference.X
Does Rendering Help Oppose Karma?
A frater of Calcutta, India, now rises and,
addressing our Forum, says: In one of the
monographs is found the statement, The
theological sin against God finds its equivalent in mysticism in the sin against indi
vidual karma. This means that everything
we say, contmplate, or do will have its
compensation. Now, by rendering aid in
personal sacrifice or through the Cosmic,
would we not be encroaching upon the work
of nature, that is, changing conditions which
nature has justly brought about? In such a
case will we be entitled to compensation?
In relieving suffering and rendering other
countless forms of aid, thus changing things
brought about by nature, would we, under
the above law, be liable to make compensa
tion for such interference?
It is first necessary to think of natural law
as not being purposeful. Such laws as we
see manifested in the sciences of physics,
chemistry, and even biology, do not constitute an intentional or willful development
toward an end. Without entering into the
philosophical problem of causation, we can
say that purpose in natural law is but a
human conception. The phenomena of nat
ural laws are the result of the necessity of
their reality, not an intentional activity to
manifest as they do. We can, therefore, with
human will, which is causative as having
purpose, change the various phenomena of
nature. In doing so, we establish certain
effects for which we assume responsibility.
What follows from them to our advantage
or disadvantage is not an intentional effect
upon us by nature. In fact, karma is causality but it does not consist of either inten
tional reward or retribution.
Every physical science, for example, is
continually not changing natural laws but
redirecting and controlling their manifestation to satisfy some purpose or ideal of man.
Further, how could one be charitable with

Page 129

out altering the course of environmental and

social influences? If one is in economic dis
tress and, out of the impulse of charity, we
come to his aid, we are interfering with a set
of circumstances involving natural laws perhaps. If, because such constitutes interfer
ence, we were to desist, then all charity and
all humanitarian activities would cease.
There are, Cosmically speaking, two gen
eral classes of laws or phenomena. One falls
into the category of physical forces or agents;
the other is termed spiritual, moral, and the
equivalent. Actually, these classes are interrelated. The results of each can have effects
on man which he may either experience as
beneficial or detrimental. The working of
these laws is impersonal. They are not determinative. They do not strive to reward
or punish us. It behooves us to know which
is to our advantage and which is not. It is
like one working with chemicals. He must
know how they may be compounded so as
to provide useful or destructive power as
related to mans welfare.
If one, by his conduct, incurs adverse
karma, it means that he has set into motion a
chain of development, without regard to time
or place, from which he may experience
adversity. Karma is not fate. It is not an
immutable law in that one should be punished regardless, or that such karma is inescapable. One can avoid karm a that is
adverse but only by instigating a new series
of developments which will result in bene
ficial effects. We may say that he is actu
ally not escaping karma but he has so
changed his motives, his actions, as to intro
duce new harmonious factors. When one
has done such, he is then entitled to the
beneficial consequences which follow.
If karma were a mind that had specific
ideis, one of which was to exact punish
ment from an individual, regardless of cir
cumstances, then any interference with it
might impose adversity upon the one so
doing. However, we repeat, we must think
of karma as being impersonal. These Cosmic
forces are like streams of water from a hose.
You may point the hose in any direction but
the consequences of which direction you
select is your responsibility.
When one is suffering either through
ignorance or malice aforethought, it is our
moral obligation to aid him if we can. It is
representative of the better nature and qual-

Page 130

ities of mankind to do so. If such individuis

desire assistance and are willing to abide by
our advice, we should help them. We must
reveal to them, if we know, what violations,
what wrong application of law, they are
resorting to. If they conform, they will then
be changing .their own karma, and every
human is permitted to do this. If they refuse
assistance and persist in the continuation of
their activities, then the results they experi
ence are of their own instigation. In either
instance, the one who endeavors to be helpful will incur karma of his own. However,
this karma, by the very nature of the acts
engendering it, will involve those laws of
the spiritual plae which cannot help being
beneficial.X
Do the Blind See?
A frater from Spain, addressing our Fo
rum, says: Do blind human beings see during their dreams? If they do, can they understand and realize what they see? It is
possible that those who were born blind can
not understand what they see subjectively
but possibly their inner self conveys a satisfactory meaning to them. What has our
Forum to say about this subject?
Press your closed eyeballs with your finger tips or move them in a circular motion
and you will see colors and geometric pattems composed of colors. These are visual
images which have no relationship to extemal objects. The sensations are caused
from pressure or stimulus on the eyeball and
related nerves. They are not from light
reflected to the eye from objects. It is in this
sense that those who are congenitally blind
can see. We know that objects are not
actually colored. They but reflect light
thrown upon them and the substance of the
object causes certain wave-bands of color to
be withheld, as others pass on to the eyes.
The vibrations of light that do reach the eyes
and their rods and cones cause certain color
sensations in the brain. We then associate
that particular color with the object seen.
Consequently, if color sensation can be stim
ulated by other means, such as we have
explained, we are then seeing also.
Where one is congenitally blind, that is,
born without sight, he would be unable to
identify any color sensations that he would
come to realize. If he were to perceive, by

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

the method of pressure on the eyeballs, the

colors, red and green, for example, he would
not know them by those ames. If you spoke
of red to him, he would not know which
of the color sensations he experienced would
be the one to which you were referring. The
same may be said of the geometric patterns
he would experience, such as rectangles, triangles, and concentric circles. One might,
however, give him models of these forms,
which he could feel, and then tell him what
they are named. Subsequently, he would
then associate those forms with the visual
images.
The congenitally blind dream, as do other
persons. Our dreams are composed of images
of all the qualities of our sense experiences.
Thus, for example, we have auditory images
or the sounds we hear, and the tactile ones or
the sensations of impulses felt. We all know
that dreams consist of sounds, tastes, and
sensations which we seem to feel. The blind,
even though born without sight, will have
dreams in which there are images or sensa
tions corresponding to those had in the waking state. They will have visual images, .too,
but, of course, these are limited and correspond to whatever stimulus of the visual area
of the brain there may be. If they have ex
perienced colors from the internal stimulus
of the eye, that is, pressure on the eyeballs,
then, in the dreams which they have, such
colors and patterns will recur.
The significance of dreams to the blind
would be the same as to most other persons
who have normal possession of their facul
ties. In other words, sounds and sensations
of touch, smell and taste, will have to them
the same association with ideas of reality as
they do to any one else. For example, the
beat of a drum will, in a dream, be related
to ones experience with drums. The scent
of a rose in a dream will be associated, in
the case of one born blind, with his having
previously smelled and felt the form of a
rose. Whatever ideas the congenitally blind
have, when they experience the sensation of
color subjectively, these ideas will be translated in more or less the same way in the
content of their dreams.
Our dreams and psychic experiences, as
well as our intuitive knowledge, are all com
posed of the content of our sense perceptions.
We cannot think or have any mental images
which do not have the content, the elements,

JUNE, 1956

the sensations, of our receptor senses. Each

mental image must consist of such qualities,
for example, as color, dimensin, sweetness,
sourness, saltiness, loudness, softness, hardness, fragrance, and so forth. These qualities
are the framework of all of our ideation.
Dreams and intuitive impressions are an in
tegra ting forc of the ideas of experience.
Intuition is a higher order of rationalization
and judgment of the mind. The most noble
transcendental concept coming to us as a
result of Cosmic attunement, and which the
mystics refer to as illumination, must use
the commonplace elements of daily experi
ence for our comprehension. If other factors
were employed, instead of such daily experi
ences, then the intuitional experience would
have no relation to our sense qualities and,
as a result, would be incomprehensible to us.
The alphabet is an excellent analogy to
explain this psychological principie. Com
mon words, even profane words, employ the
letters of the alphabet in their construction.
So, too, words of spiritual, exalted or sacred,
nature must utilize the same building blocks
of the alphabet or they would have no meaning to us. We know, therefore, that Cosmic
intuitive impressions in their abstract form
are intangible. They are merely impulses
which become translated in the mind into
the qualities of our sense experiences. Again,
for further understanding of this point, we
may use the analogy of the mechanical de
vice known as the teletype. This machine
conveys electrical impulses over great distances either by means of direct wire or
radio transmission. At the receiving end
these groups of impulses are tuned to electro
magnetic devices corresponding to the differ
ent letters of the alphabet and other symbols
such as numeris and the punctuation
marks of the typewriter keyboard. Thus the
electric impulses, which in themselves are
meaningless, become translated into a communicable intelligence, our everyday language.X
The Neophyte Grades
The word neophyte has become generally
popular in recent years. It is usually applied to individuis who are beginning a new
activity or entering a new type of work. It
is derived from the ancient Greek, and at one
time carried the meaning of being something

Page 131

newly established or newly planted. The

individual who affiliates with the Rosicrucian
Order is first referred to as a neophyte and
in this sense the word is used to convey its
broadest meaningthat is, a beginning in
something that is new to that individual.
There is no reason for the word neophyte
to ever be used with reference to an individuals capabilities. As I understand the
common use of the word, it applies purely
to the element of time and not to the element of ability. In the Rosicrucian studies,
for example, a neophyte is just as capable
as is the individual who has reached the
highest degree. Ry capabilities, I mean that
any individual who desires to learn has the
potential ability to learn if he is properly
motivated and wishes to do so. Whenever
any of us start something new, we do so in
order to gain something we previously did
not have. Those things we start by choice
are usually for the purpose of bringing about
some change. We start a new activity in
order to gain socially, economically, or culturally.
In the broadest sense of the word, an indi
vidual begins membership in the Rosicrucian
Order for the cultural advantages and the
hope that those advantages will help him in
all phases of living. The proper application
of the cultural background to be gained will
establish the foundation which will help an
individual to adjust to his environment and,
therefore, should be advantageous materially, mentally, and spiritually. A natural
inclination for anyone beginning a ew procedure of any kind is to want to learn as
much as possible as soon as he begins. All
of us wish we could study something that
would interest us, and, as a result of a few
simple instructions, be able to master what
we wished to learn. The process of learning
is not that simple; we learn by studying and
applying what we study. In all of mans
history there has been no method of learning
found that will completely replace the ele
ment of time which is an essential factor in
mastering any ability or application of
knowledge.
The Neophyte grades of our teachings
have been prepared for the purpose of meeting both the demands of the new member for
information and to start that member prop
erly in the teachings that he desires to study.

Page 132

The Neophyte Degrees, therefore, serve three

purposes.
The first of these purposes is to introduce
the subjects that constitute the Rosicrucian
teachings, and, thereby, familiarize the new
member with the type of subject matter
which he wants to study. Obviously, an introduction and a thorough mastery of the
subject are two different things and cannot
be compared. Consequently, the subjects discussed in monographs of the Neophyte De
grees are all discussed again in higher
degrees because the introduction cannot be
the means of a complete mastery of the sub
ject.
The second purpose of the Neophyte De
grees is to clarify the terminology which is
used in the Rosicrucian teachings. Each
human process has its specific tools and
terminology. They may be simple or complex, but to master any process, there are
certain fundamentis with which an indi
vidual must work. In the Rosicrucian teach
ings, these basic .tols are the words by which
the concepts of the teachings are conveyed.
To have a complete understanding of the
terminology is an essential to mastering the
Rosicrucian philosophy; and, throughout the
Neophyte Degrees, many words used in
Rosicrucian philosophy are clarified and defined as to their meaning.
The third purpose of the Neophyte De
grees is to determine whether or not a new
member is sufficiently interested to advance
into the Temple Degrees which constitute
the complete teachings of the Order. After
a members application has been approved,
we feel that his ihdication of interest and
sincerity in studying the Rosicrucian teach
ings is best illustrated by his reaction to the
introduction to the subjects that constitute
our teachings. After satisfactorily completing the Neophyte Degrees, the new member
has indicated interest and sincerity in study
ing the basic teachings of the Order. He
then enters the Temple Degrees and is no
longer a neophyte.
These three purposes combine the appli
cation of ideas to the needs of time to gain
the information contained in our teachings.
As far as intellectual comprehension is con
cerned, almost every member would be capable of reading the lectures either more
rapidly or more frequently. Many people
have tried to gain knowledge by speeding

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

their assimilation of facts. In any fieldeven

in religin, philosophy, or psychologythis
may be possible insofar as the accumulation
of knowledge is concerned, but would prove
a detriment insofar as use and application of
the knowledge is concerned. Rosicrucians
should be interested primarily in the means
of applying the knowledge they acquire in a
practical way. Consequently, assimilation of
what is taught and the practice of the prin
cipies presented are more important than
merely grasping intellectually the content of
the monographs.
The Rosicrucian philosophy is the foundation through which you can leam a new
technique. The technique is more important
than the knowledge because it is a new way
of doing things. Technique cannot be said
to be more important than knowledge because it is the result of the application of
knowledge. In addition, technique is some
thing that goes beyond knowledge; that is,
knowledge can exist without technique and
in some cases technique is achieved without
complete knowledge. For example, the tech
nique of a musician supersedes knowledge,
and it is the means by which knowledge of
music is made to express itself through the
playing of an instrument. The technique we
learn through the study of Rosicrucian teach
ings constitutes those abilities that make it
possible for us to apply and draw practically
upon the fund of knowledge which we
leam.A
Moral Responsibility
In the January, 1956, issue of the Rosicru
cian Digest an outstanding article appeared
by a prominent biologist, Dr. Skutch, entitled
Moral Wisdom. It was explained at the
time of the publication of this article that it
represented a scientists philosophical point
of view. There is much in it for thought,
and in case any reader of the Rosicrucian
Forum neglected to read the article, I would
like to refer him to it. Read it carefully and
considerately. Remember that it concerns
the human being as a moral entity and that
it deaisfrom the standpoint of this scientistwith the age-old question of the ability
of the individual to decide his own fate and
to assume his own obligations.
In reaching a decisin in regard to what
the purpose of life should be and what we

JUNE, 1956

as individuis most want to accomplish, it

is pointed out in this article that by the free
acceptance of responsibility, we begin to
make ourselves what we aspire to be. There
is much food for thought in these few words.
Their meaning conveys to us the fact that
the more we fight against the responsibilities
that we find to be ours, the more we hinder
ourselves in the progress we hope to attain.
Actually, the key to happiness and to suc
cess exists to a degree in our own ability to
accept the responsibility which is ours. The
acceptance of our responsibilities is a part of
the process by which we as individuis at
tain what we most desire.
Every individual has an ideal, a hope, an
ambition, or an aspiration. I say every indi
vidual; I might qualify that by saying every
thinking individual has some type of aim or
ideal which he hopes to achieve eventually.
As long as we resent the situation in which
we live, as long as we look upon the respon
sibilities that we may have assumed, voluntarily or involuntarily, as a burden, we are
hindering ourselves from being able to be
what we should or what we want to be. In
other words, the refusal to accept responsi
bility is a barrier that we ourselves erect to
interfere with the progress of our own advancement.
There are all kinds of responsibilities in
life assumed by the human being. Some he
assumes voluntarily; some of them he assumes with resentment, or at least without
enthusiasm. Many responsibilities are manmade, and in order that society can function
to some extent as a unit, some of these
responsibilities are forced upon us by other
man-made laws. In other words, we have
the responsibility of behaving within the
limitation of certain patterns.
I cannot run down the Street throwing
rocks in everyones window just because I
enjoy the sound of crashing glass; therefore,
it is illegal for me to interfere with other
peoples property or to be a party to its destruction. If I should perform such an act,
I can be taken into custody by the proper
forces of law and restrained from so acting
in the future. Of course, I know in my own
mind that I have a responsibility not to destroy property, but just in case I might be
tempted to do so, there is a law that also
confines me; consequently, the responsibili
ties that most affect our relationships with

Page 133

other individuis are augmented by regulations and restrictions against which most of
us do not fight because most of us are not
inclined toward criminal tendencies.
Most moral responsibilities do not lie completely within this category. They are in a
rather vague area with which we have to
deal and with which we must learn to live.
We are permitted certain discretionary
measures in deciding what will be our reaction toward any particular situation. Gen
erally speaking, the concept of the moral
refers to a standard of behaviorthat is, how
we live and react. It refers to those things
that are considered either by society, by the
nation of which we are a part, or by our
religious or basic training in the family, to
be those things that are right and proper.
Morality, therefore, is the basis of conduct.
It establishes the essence of character, and
therefore anything that is moral is relative.
What may be immoral to you may not be
to me. This is even more amplified if we
compare the moral concepts of individuis
living in radically different situations; that
is, people who lived two hundred years ago
in a different society, in a different part f
the world than we do, had entirely different
moral concepts than we may have.
Even today there are different moral practices in different parts of the world, and we
must not make the mistake of believing that
the moral concept is synonymous with civili
zation. There are people today just as highly
civilized as we are but they may have an
entirely different moral concept. That does
not necessarily mean that my concepts are
immoral or that theirs are com pletely
moral. It means that the concepts of moris
insofar as what is right and proper in human
behavior may be interpreted differently. The
purpose for which man lives and the happi
ness which he may hope to achieve may not
be directly linked to moris as much as some
would have us believe.
Moral responsibility, it seems to me, concems the behavior and conduct which is ours
when considered in connection with the so
ciety in which we live and the standards to
which we subscribe. An idealist will base his
behavior and conduct upon principies which
have to do with the ideas that he holds most
sacred. The materialist may not be bound
by such standards, but, all in all, we should
live so as not to interfere with the good

Page 134

moral principies of those about us. At the

same time, we should not compromise our
own character by submitting to practices or
behavior which are inconsistent with our
ultmate aim in life or our concept of vales.
Moral responsibility concems the decisions
which we make that affect our own lives and
the lives of oier people with whom we are
associated. If we temper our decisions with
justice and consideration of the rights of our
selves and of others, and of the ideis to
which we subscribe, we are doing the best
we can. If we make decisions arbitrarily,
merely based upon the principies which are
dictated to us by a social code, a religious
doctrine, or the laws of the country, then we
are not exercising our own native abilities
and intelligence properly. We all are called
upon to decide between various standards;
or, rather, we are forced to make judgments
based upon what is right and wrong. We
frequently fail, but the individual who attempts to make these decisions consistent
with good practice and teaching of his own
most highly valued ideis is living a balanced life.
As Rosicrucians, we subscribe to ideis the
source of which we believe to be related to
a power greater than that of ourselves. We
believe that we are souls incarnated in a
physical world, and that therefore the soul,
or the source of the soul, is of more conse
quence and importance than all the physical
manifestations which consttute our environ
ment. Our character and our standard of
moris should therefore be based upon those
principies which will preserve our concept
of vales and, in fact, which will augment
the valu of those things which will endure,
regardless of the status of the physical or the
material world and lawrs about us. We must
base our decisions and our responsibility up
on an analysis of all acts of life, based upon
the true valu which we assign to them; that
is, decisions and action must be placed in the
proper perspective. Our decisions will then
be based upon a principie which will cause
us to consider that we are literally an evolv
ing soul. What that soul gains or leams that
will bring it to ultmate perfection will be
based upon the discipline by which it is governed through our own decisions and
through our consideration of the souls source
and ultmate end.A

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

This Issues Personality

Frater Arthur Sundstrup was born in the
great and cultural city of Copenhagen, Denmark, on September 5, 1894. Showing an
early inclination toward study, in a period
when university attendance was not as com
mon as it is today, he was fortnate to be
given the opportunity of entering the Uni
versity of Copenhagen. Subsequently, he
chose a mercantile career and was apprentced to a large firm of coffee importers in
Copenhagen. Reing diligent and conscientious, he learned rapidly the details of his
chosen business. Within a few years he was
rewarded by being appointed executive in
charge of the concerns accounting department. In 1924 further promotion carne to
Frater Sundstrup. He was then made sales
manager of the organization and, as well,
conducted other mercantile activities on his
own initiative.
In Frater Sundstrup we again find a blend
of practical business training and the inquiring mind of the philosopher and mystic. He
had been reared in a family that had a deep
interest in metaphysical and esoteric subjects. As a boy he was exposed to discussions on these topics, which made a profound
impression during his formative years. As a
consequence, at the early age of twelve years
he was permitted to affiliate with the local
Rlavatsky Theosophical movement in Copen
hagen.
In 1920, Frater Sundstrup had the good
fortune of meeting Soror Carli Andersen.
This Soror had spent several years as a mem
ber of the New York Lodge, and had aided
Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, first Imperator of
AMORC in North America, to establish the
work of the Order in that city. She returned
subsequently to her native country. It was
Soror Andersen who introduced Frater
Sundstrup to the Rosicrucian Order,
AMORC.
Enthusiasm for the Rosicrucian studies re
sulted in Frater Sundstrups gathering a
number of equally interested and qualified
persons to petition Dr. H. Spencer Lewis for
a charter to establish a Grand Lodge of
AMORC in Denmark and Norway. The pe
tition was acknowledged and the charter
granted.
The first Rosicrucian initiation in modern
times was held in Copenhagen on the 30th of

JUNE, 1956

September, 1920. Frater Sundstrup was appointed to a ritualistic office in the Temple.
After holding several lesser positions in the
Order, in March of 1932, he was elevated to
the responsible and honored office of Grand
Master of the Order for Denmark and Norway. This office was conferred directly upon
him by the late Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer
Lewis.
Frater Sundstrups attractive bachelor
quarters reflect his scholarly and aesthetic
interests. His library is a well-chosen one
containing the classics and an extensive
selection of mystical, metaphysical, and
philosophical works, many of which are now
rare. The walls are adomed with excellent
paintings and engravings. Visiting dignitaries of the Order from other lands, including
the incumbent Imperator, Ralph M. Lewis,
have had the pleasure of being guests in this
library-study of Frater Sundstrup. He is a
man of quiet and dignified appearance who
impresses all with his kindly manner and
sincerity of purpose.X
The Nature of Sacrifice
A frater from Berlin, Germany, says,
addressing our Forum: One of our mono
graphs states that monetary sacrifices would
be an insult to God. May I present my
view on the matter. When a person sacri
fices money to such an extent that he really
feels the loss of the money which would
otherwise have given him pleasure, either
directly or indirectly, why should that not
be recognized as a sacrifice? Is not the entire matter of sacrifice an inverse process,
that is, starting in the material by the act of
sacrifice, then passing through the psycho
logical by instilling a certain thought into
the sacrificethis in tum resulting in the
satisfaction sinking into the subconscious
where it comes to rest as a spiritual asset?
The rites of sacrifice have been known to
every race and civilization. The objects of
sacrifice are varied and have been both animate and inanimate. Human sacrifice has
been limited principally to barbarie and
semicivilized peoples. It is said that the
Aztecs, noted for human sacrifices, had not
begun this practice until about two hundred
years before ie conquest of their land. In
India for centuries the suttee was common.
This was the practice of immolating a widow

Page 135

on a funeral pyre. The Greek colonies, and

likewise the Romans, offered human sacri
fices. The purpose was mainly the expulsin
of evil, or the compensation for evil acts up
on the part of some individual, or of society,
collectively.
There are two general classifications of
sacrifice. One is known as sacralization and
the other is desacralization. In sacralization,
the rite is intended to raise the sacrificer to
a higher level of communion with the gods.
The object, or the victim of the sacrifice, becomes a mdium through which the sacri
ficer is brought into a closer affinity with
that to which he is sacrificing. The sacrificer
feels inadequate to make the direct contact
and therefore some function, he believes,
must constitute the element to bridge the
hiatus between himself and his objective.
In desacralization, the reverse process may
be said to apply. Some object, animate or
inanimate, constitutes an obstruction be
tween the sacrificer and his objective. The
object, then, is sacrificed to sanctify or purify
it so that it then offers no interference to the
state the sacrificer desires to attain. Then
again, an object may be thought sacred and
because of that it cannot be consumed or
used in any physical way unless it is first
desacralized.
Insofar as its functions are concerned, a
sacrifice is performed to satisfy either an
objective or a subjective purpose. The ob
jective purpose is to try and induce into an
element certain spiritual or magical quali
ties. Among most primitive people there is
thought to exist throughout nature a uni
versal good, a prevailing, beneficial and constructive ageney commonly called mana.
Objects thought to be particularly imbued
with mana may be sacrificed so that it can
be transferred to other persons or things.
The rite may also be for the purpose of
drawing mana into the object so that thereafter it is sacred.
The subjective aspect of sacrifice is par
ticularly related to the sacrificer. It is in
tended in some way to alter his nature, to
cause him to gain certain qualities or virtues, or conversely, to lose undesired ones.
Today in all religions sacrifice is related to
either of these two aspects, the objective and
the subjective purposes. Psychologically, in
religin, we sacrifice perhaps because we
wish to appease our deity. We may feel that

Page 136

a conlinuation of our good fortune is dependent upon returning a portion of our worldly
goods or services to the religious mdium
through which we conceived the deity as
functioning. It is more or less the same
motivation as when one confers a gift upon
a temporal potentate for the purpose of evoking his continuous favor. This motivation
stems from the instinct of preservation, the
desire to preserve our state of relationship
for our benefit.
One may have a sense of devotion, a deep,
spiritual love that is an ecslasy, and in his
sheer joy make some sacrifice by action or
in the giving of an object that is symbolic
of his emotion. He will perform some act
or give some object which has an intmate
relationship to his spiritual nature. He may,
for example, give of food to a religious cause
when the giving of such food or material
objects means the denial of his own needs.
The hurt, the loss, which he experiences is
the subjective aspect. It is the giving of self.
When one donates a religious or sacrosanct
object as a sacrifice, again he believes that he
has created by that act a bond between his
inner being and the ideal of his devotion. He
forfeits the cherished object but receives in
return as a compensation the greater love of
his god or gods.
The most admirable and subjective type
of sacrifice is the sincere forfeiture of a valued possession, of something that would provide the giver physical pleasure. In such
sacrifices we find the examples of an evaluation of material ends set against immaterial
or subjective vales. There is the loss of
advantage in sacrificing time or possessions
for a cause of a spiritual or moral nature.
There is, however, a subjective and subconscious satisfaction that is had which more
than compensates for the material loss. The
moral sense of righteousness, of aligning the
ego with what one conceives to be divine
purpose provides a higher and more profound happiness than can be derived from
retaining that which is offered in sacrifice.
With most pseudo types of sacrifice, still
practiced by modem, civilized peoples, there
is the offering of an object or a gesture of
service solely as a symbol of sacrifice. These
pseudo sacrificers are those who drop a few
coins in the basket as a token of sacrifice, or
who condescend to devote a few minutes
some day to some humanitarian or religious

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

cause. They are performing the rite but

have not experienced the psychological as
pect of true giving of themselves to the point
where they experience a real afflalus of
the soul.
As to whether it is lacking in the spirit of
sacrifice to give money for a spiritual cause,
the answer depends upon the circumstances.
If one gives money to further a divine need
only because it is less demanding on him
than the giving of time or something else, he
is not truly sacrificing. For further example,
let us consider a person who is quite ill, or
who may be lonely in a hospital or nursing
home and is in need of consolation and the
stimulus of a personal visit. If one sends
flowers to the patient as a substitute for a
visit there is no real sacrifice. It is again
merely a token gesture toward convention
and the appeasing of ones own conscience;
he has done something because it is expected
of him. The sending of flowers is excusable
if it were not possible to make a personal
visit, or if the individual is well cared for
and has personal friends visiting him. With
in reason, the effort, the sacrifice of time,
the inconvenience of visiting a patient are
more in accord with the real subjective as
pect of sacrifice. One is then raising himself
by the act of sacrifice to a higher level of
character and of self-consciousness.
There are times, however, when a contribution of money constitutes a real sacrifice
in self-denial and has a true subjective mo
tive behind it. An individual may not be
able to serve in some way because of cir
cumstances or lack of qualifications. He may
not have any object or possessions to give
that would be adequate in the instance con
cemed. Consequently, giving money, for
example, to build a church, a fraternal
temple, a hospital, or a library, is a real
sacrifice because it satisfies his exalted inner
self. There is this requisite, though, in the
giving of money: the contribution must be
such that it prevens one from doing what
he oherwise would have done had he kept
it, and from which he would have derived
saisfacion. In oher words, if the giving of
money is in no way a personal self-denial,
i is no a sacrifice in he psychological or
myslical sense. If one gives a dollar or a
pound lo a causemoney which he well
needs for somehing elsehen, according o
his same principie, one who is more afflu-

JUNE, 1956

ent in life must give many more times that

sum to have made an equivalent sacrifice.
If it were not for these monetary sacrifices
on the part of some of our fratres and sorores,
over and above their dues, it is doubtful
whether much of AMORCs activity could
continu today. In fact, if each member
once a year, whenever he chose, around the
holidays or at other times, would make a
sacrifice toward humanitarian activities,
such as AMORCs, regardless of the amount
of the contribution, they would experience
this spirit of sacrifice. It must be said that
many members, in the paying of their dues
conscientiously, are making a real sacrifice.
Others who are more affluent should and
could make other contributions to experience
the psychological exhilaration of the moral
and psychic selves through sacrifice.X
What Are Rosicrucian Officers?
A soror says, Members are frequently inquiring as to whether I believe the Supreme
and Grand Lodge officers of AMORC to be
Masters. My answer has been: No, but I
do believe them to be initiates. I have then
been asked to explain this, which I have
done. Perhaps our Forum can throw further
light on this subject.
In answering this question, it may be appropriate to begin by asking one, namely,
Just how do persons become officers of the
Supreme and Grand Lodges? What are the
qualifications? Each officer of the Order be
gan just as a humble neophyte. He applied
for membership, as do many thousands of
other persons, either direct to the Grand
Lodge of the AMORC or, in the past, to one
of its subordinate lodges. As is every mem
ber, he was then examined and accepted by
the prevailing authorities. He was then
obliged to study and prepare himself in the
teachings of the Order. It must be understood that these individuis did not apply to
or affiliate with the Order for the purpose
of becoming its officers. Such is not possible.
Individuis do not apply for officership in
the A.M.O.R.C. There is no constitutional
provision to permit that. Persons are select
ed, appointed, and approved after having
been members for some time. No one knows
in advance that he is to hold an office in the
Supreme or Grand Lodge and, therefore,
cannot expect or demand it.

Page 137

Let us give some specific examples. The

incumbent Imperator, Ralph M. Lewis, was
initiated into the Order as a youth. He affiliated with the then California Grand Lodge
of AMORC in San Francisco. As other mem
bers, he studied and advanced through the
degrees of the A.M.O.R.C. He also served
in various ritualistic capacities in the Tem
ple, volunteering his services, as do other
members, for such position. Then the in
cumbent Supreme Secretary, Frater Willard
Moore, resigned his position to retum to his
profession as a musician. The office of Su
preme Secretary required, as one of its quali
fications, familiarity with the doctrinal and
ritualistic functions of the Order. It also re
quired administrative training and experi
ence. In those early formative days of the
Order monetary compensation for employment by the A.M.O.R.C. was a serious prob
lem. There were insufficient funds to pay
salaries comparable to those paid in the professional or business world for equivalent
work. It necessitated a willingness on the
part of one who had the qualifications to
make considerable financial sacrifice for an
indefinite time. A committee of members of
the then California Grand Lodge recommended Frater Ralph M. Lewis for the posi
tion. Members of the American Supreme
Council, who functioned under the original
constitution of the A.M.O.R.C. in America,
voted upon the matter. These persons lived
in various cities throughout the United
States. Their decisin was in the affirmative.
In the capacity of Supreme Secretary,
Frater Ralph M. Lewis actively worked with
the late Imperator from the year 1924 to
August, 1939. Upon the transition of Dr. H.
Spencer Lewis, the Roard of Directors of the
Supreme Grand Lodge, in accordance with
the constitutional provision, elected him to
the office of Imperator. He had had fifteen
years of personal training and preparation
for that office, including high degree initia
tions in several of the affiliated esoteric or
ders in Europe.
The incumbent Supreme Secretary, Frater
Cecil A. Poole, succeeded Frater Ralph M.
Lewis to that office in 1939. Frater Poole
had been engaged by Frater Ralph M. Lewis,
when the latter was Supreme Secretary,
to participate in lee ture tours for the
A.M.O.R.C. throughout the United States
and Caada. Frater Poole, years before, had

Page 138

affiliated with the Order and had studied as

a sanctum member, as do many others
throughout the world. His education and ex
perience had prepared him for public speaking. He was called to San Jos, with others,
to be considered for the position of lecturer.
He was chosen by Frater Ralph M. Lewis
and approved by the late Imperator. He pursued this activity for some time. Subsequent
ly, Frater Lewis appointed Frater Poole to
direct the activities of the newly organized
Latin-American Divisin in Rosicrucian
Park. This divisin had formerly been situated in San Juan, Puerto Rico, under the
competent direction of Frater Armando Font
de la Jara. When Dr. H. Spencer Lewis
passed through transition, the Supreme
Council of America, the Board of Directors
of the Supreme Grand Lodge, elected Frater
Poole to his present office upon the recommendation of the present Imperator.
The Grand Master of this jurisdiction,
Frater Rodman R. Clayson, as a member,
affiliated with the Oakland Lodge in Cali
fornia. He served it in the capacity of Mas
ter at one time. He exhibited an excellent
understanding of the doctrines of the Order
and made sacrifices, as have other members,
to serve it without any thought of reward.
The growth of the Instruction Department
at the Grand Lodge necessitated another
capable assistant. Frater Clayson had such
capability and was engaged as a staff in
structor. He then held no official office. A
few years later, after the transition of Grand
Master Thor Kiimalehto, the Supreme Coun
cil appointed Frater Clayson to that honor
able office on the logical grounds of his ex
perience and qualifications.
Frater Harvey Miles, Grand Secretary,
and Frater James Whitcomb, Grand Treasurer, had both been members of the
A.M.O.R.C. for a considerable number of
years before being appointed to their re
spective offices. It was because of their ex
perience and training in the Order that they
were so selected.
Does an officer have to be a master in the
sense of being perfect in the exercise of all
the principies of the Rosicrucian teachings?
No human being can truly master every
phase of the Rosicrucian teachings. Each in
dividual excels in some branch of the teach
ings more than in others. This is because we
all are different in our personal development,

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

our latent talents, and other characteristics.

We may use the analogy of a student in college. It is not expected that he will excel
equally in mathematics, art, literature, phi
losophy, and science. One who is a Rosicru
cian master must have an excellent comprehension of all the teachings of AMORC and
be able to apply, exceedingly well, several
of its important principies.
The Rosicrucian officer must have a liberal
mind. He must be willing to make personal
sacrifice in time and effort to serve the Or
der. He does not work by the day or by the
week but does what needs to be done in his
capacity. His ambition must not be a career
in the Order but rather a desire to further
propaga te the Order and its teachings. The
Order must come first in all his considerations. If one cannot do this or is not willing
to do so, he is then not qualified for such an
office. One who seeks great monetary remuneration for his work or ability should
seek elsewhere than at the Order. The
A.M.O.R.C. is not a commercial enterprise
and its compensation in money is modest in
comparison to what might be received in industry or in a profession. The fact that these
persons serve AMORC as officers under these
circumstances indicates that they have the
proper spirit.
Rosicrucian officers are human beings.
They have all the foibles of humans. They
would be the first to admit their faults, their
insufficiencies, and lacks. They, like every
other member, are striving for perfection
which they hope to acquire through the
teachings. They live normal lives and have
normal social relations. You would probably not be able to distinguish them from
other people by their appearance. In a discussion with them, however, and from their
knowledge of various aspects of life, their
idealism and philosophy, you would discover the influence of the Rosicrucian teachings.
There are many Rosicrucians who have an
excellent knowledge of the teachings. Before
such individuis, however, can be of real
valu to the Order, they must have exhibited
in some way that they have the proper spirit
of service and sacrifice. Further, they must
be trained in the administrative details of
the Order. Because it is an international or
ganization, these details are complex. From
our members throughout the world, we select
persons, mostly younger men and women

JUNE, 1956

though there is no objection to older per

sons who have special abilityfor their
qualifications to become department executives, assistants, or possibly officers in the
future. They are then given extensive training at the Grand Lodge and put through a
probationary period before being accepted on
the staff.
Every Rosicrucian staff member must con
tinu to study diligently not only the Rosi
crucian teachings but related subjects of
Science, philosophy, and history. If the indi
vidual does not do so, he lacks the preparation to be of valuable assistance to our fratres
and sorores throughout the world. The Rosi
crucian Order grows in many ways, not just
materially but in what it has learned and
what it has to offer. Consequently, its staff
and officers must grow intellectually and
spiritually as well, if they are to keep pace
with and be able to serve the Order.
There is not a Rosicrucian officer of
AMORC who would do more, upon being
questioned, than to refer to himself as being
a Rosicrucian student. He of all members is
best qualified to know his lack in comparison
to his aspirations and to what can and should
be attained. The true mystic is humble, selfeffacing, sincere, practical, and realistic.
These are the basic requirements for one
who serves the Order as an officer of the
Supreme and Grand Lodge and, in fact, as
an officer of any pronaos, lodge, or chapter
throughout the world.X
Religious Emotion
We have received numerous questions
from our members concerning various types
of appeals that are being made through the
mdium of advertising which deal entirely
with the response of the individual to certain
types of religious feelings. These appeals are
frequently found in various publications in
which there is an attempt made apparently
to teach the individual that, whatever may
be his religious beliefs, he is falling short of
the mximum use of the divine forces in the
universe. It is, of course, true that the aver
age individual is not familiar with the
potentialities of this forc or, as the Rosi
crucians would express it, he is not using all
his innate powers and abilities.
We must bear in mind that every individ
ual, in one way or another, responds to the

Page 139

desire to be more acquainted with and realize

more fully the significance of communion or
attunement with God and with the Cosmic
scheme. However, man must realize that
this is accomplished through his own effort
and, furthermore, that no set of religious
principies or pseudo religious practices can
bring about in him a conception of his rela
tionship to his Maker unless there is created,
as the result of instruction or study, a true
experience that is accompanied with ones
convictions.
Man has always been subject to the re
ligious convictions of another. It is well
known that certain religious feelings become
so definite in the mind of the individual hav
ing some certain experience that this individ
ual feels obligated to attempt to forc this
experiencewhich is, after all, his own per
sonal experienceonto anothers life, and we
might add, the total experience of another
individual. We have repeatedly pointed out
in these pages, and in our teachings, that
secondhand experience is of no valu. There
fore, the Rosicrucians have always contended
that the true religious emotions are brought
about by ones own understanding and
experience.
True religious emotions are those based
upon reverence, love, compassionall leading
to an ultimate state of ecstasy. It is not nec
essary that this last attainment be accom
plished through any one pattern or formula,
as expressed by any religious creed, doctrine,
or system of beliefs. There are many re
ligious people who profess no particular creed
but rather have found suitable outlets for
their religious beliefs and principies in a well
balanced life and in the development of a
philosophy of life which is, to them, their
means of adjusting themselves to their en
vironment and to the forces of the universe
with which they find themselves in contact.
To appeal to ones religious convictions or
emotions, in order to direct them along cer
tain prepared lines of thought, is an attempt
to limit the Creative ability of the individual.
Unfortunately, today we find that almost
anything can be done in the ame of re
ligin. Organizations, whose functioning
might be questioned if they were not re
ligious, can make all kinds of claims as to
the benefits that will come to the individual.
These claims can neither be proved or disproved because of the fact that one cannot

Page 140

be forced to bring into the field of material

the proof of his or her experiences, which he
can claim actually happened in the guise of
religious experiences. Established religions
are not attempting to advance claims other
than the benefit that can come to the indi
vidual through his communion with God
under the religious practices established. But
those who use religin as a means of advancing a theory or new set of principies of living
are not attempting to better the individual
as much as they are to appeal to certain
emotions of that individual to bring about an
imaginary feature for the particular system
of thought offered.
Reviewing in our minds the history of the
human race we will see many evidences
where fear has been used to forc the in
dividual into certain religious beliefs. This is
easily done by holding before that individual
a fear of the consequences of not adopting a
certain religious viewpoint. Eternal punish
ment or eternal ecstasy are the results of our
behaviour under this form of appeal. How
ever, with the expanding consciousness of the
human being brought about by the advance
in civilization, and particularly in physical
sciences, this appeal has lost its hold. Men
and women are no longer afraid of natural
phenomena which are understood. Thunder
and lightning were, in the past, interpreted
as being evidences of Gods displeasure. Even
today we find those who interpret earthquakes, floods, or other unfortunate occurrences as being the result of the direct
intervention of God due to His displeasure
with mans behaviour.
Another appeal which is now used to attract attention of certain followers is the
personalization of God to the extent that God
can be reduced to the status of an advisor or
helper of that particular individualthat
man can become able, through a certain set
of rules or instructions, to commune directly
with God, and the intended inference is that
when this process is understood God will
assume all the individuals problems and he,
in tum, will be free of having to use his own
initiative and effort.
Communication with God is not a new
thing established by a twentieth century
school of thought or cult. It is, and has been,
an aspiration of man ever since he has been
able to think as an individual. But the mys

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

tic, the individual who desires this communi

cation, must first come to the realization that
God is manifest in all things, including him
self, and that true communication will come
in direct proportion to the ability to adjust
his thinking and living to a harmonious rela
tionship with these forces within and outside
of himself. Briefly, Rosicrucians will see that
this is a statement of the Rosicrucian view
point of mans communion with his Creator.
Our advice, in answer to these many mem
bers who inquire concerning various religious
movements, is to judge correctly the motive
behind the appeal. Is it merely to attract a
following or to sell a course of study, or is it
founded upon the earnest desire of one who
has a true religious feeling to lead others to
closer communication with his Creator? Furthermore, remember that religin and reli
gious emotions is something that is difficult
to share. We each must follow certain paths
in our lives alone. We must arrive at certain
conclusions and, as a result, will have those
experiences which will prove to us, and to
us alone, what, after all, is the relationship
that we, as individuis, bear to the rest of the
universal forces that exist.
A good criterion for the judging of a re
ligious appeal is whether or not it conforms
to our own convictions. We are not forced
to accept the religious opinions of others but
we are privileged, and it is indeed a very
great privilege, to be able to live as we are
convinced is the right way and the means to
a better understanding. Therefore, as Rosi
crucians, our obligation is to respect the true
religious beliefs of others and to do nothing
intentionally which will interfere with the
practice on the part of others of those rights
which they consider sacred. At the same
time we, in our own minds, make those reservations which permit us to adopt any system
of religin that is suitable to our own needs
and satisfaction.
True, this organization is not religious, in
the sense that it does not dictate the affiliated
members religious convictions. Neither does
it uphold, or deal in, a religious system,
creed or belief, but we do want to cultvate
in the minds of our members the recognition
of religious experience and an awareness of
its true place in our scheme of living.A
(From ForumFeb. 1943)

JUNE, 1956

Page 141

INDEX OF VOLUME XXVI (Comprising the entire Six Issues of the

26th

Year)

NOTEThe 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.

Absolute, the, 82c-83d

Actuality, 9a-13d
Affiliations, Our International, 103b-105b
Akashic Records, Reading the, 92b-93c
Alden Lodge, Caracas, 104d
All-Seeing Eye, 90a, 91b-92b
Alphabet, 131a-b
AMORC:
Contributions to, 137a
Denmark and Norway, 134d-135a
Great Britain, 94d-95d
H. Spencer Lewis and, 4d-6b
Initiation, 79c
Journalism, 33c-d
Pronunciation of, 128b
Rose-Croix University, 57a-58a
Andersen, Carli, 134d
Andrea, Raymund, 94d-95d
Photograph, 73
Anger, When Is, Justifiable? 75c-76d
Anniversary, Twenty-Fifth, 2-3
Appealing to the Cosmic, 93c-94d
Are Business Ethics Declining? 125c-126d
Are Living Masters Necessary? 124a-125c
Are Men Born Free? 127a- 128a
Are the Good Always Poor? 6c-7c
Are There Soulless Beings? 22c-23d
Are We Individual Souls? 116b-117d
Atlantis, 90d
Attunement, 36d, 37a-d
Aura, human:
Colors of, 54b-55c
Deep breathing, 53d-54a
Illness, 53a
Polarity of, 52a-c, 55a-c
Sympathetic nervous system, 52d, 54d
Aura, Phenomenon of the Human, 5lc-56a
Australia, 104d
Awareness, Infinite, 61b-63a
Aztecs, 135b

Barton, William, 90d-91a

Belief, On Faith and, 20d-22c
Bible:
Cremation and, 67c-d
Genesis, 31c
Quote, 14c
Blavatsky Theosophical Movement, 134d
Blind, the, 130a-131b
Blod pressure, 109d
Booklets:
Liber 777, lOd
Story of Learning, The, 57a
Books:
Historie de la Magie, 15c
Life and Teachings of the Masters of the Far East,
37d-38b
Man, The Unknown, 89b
Mansions of the Soul, 40c, 88a
Rosicrucian Manual, 125b, 128c
Sepher Yezirah, 14b-d
Thousand Years of Yesterdays, A, 88a
What to Eatand When, 56d-57a
Zohar, 14d-15b
Brahma, 70b
Brazil, Sao Paulo, 104b

Breathing, deep, 53d-54a

Brettoner, Barrie, 104d
Brill, A. A., 43d
Buddhists, 88c
Burr, Vashti M., 103b
Business Ethics, Are, Declining? 125c-126d

Campbell, Alian, 103d

Can We Oppose Karma? 66c~67d
Carrel, Dr. Alexis, 89b
Cathedral Contacts, Making, 36d-37d
Cathedral of the Soul, lOd, 36d-37d
Catholic Action societies, 99a
Chaboseau, Augustin, 5b
Christian teachings, 88a-d
Church attendance, 60a-d
Church-State government, 98a-99b
Clayson, Rodman R., 138a-b
Cobern, Frater, 44c
Colombe, pronunciation, 128d
Color:
Human aura, 54b-55c
Visual images, 130b-c
Common sense, 46b-c, 47a-d, 126c
Concntrate, How Shall We? 107c-110c
Concept of Immortality, The, 58a-60a
Conscience, 8d
Consciousness:
Divine, 9a, 22d-23d, 32b-c, 65c-66c, 122b-123d, 124d
Self, 8d-9a, 22d-32c, 61b-63a, 65c-66c, 122b-c
Continental Congress, 90d
Coops, Jan, 103d-104a
Cosmic:
Consciousness, 65a-66c (See also: Consciousness:
Divine)
Justice, 29d (See also: Karma)
Law, 14a, 30b-31a, 32a-b, 36c, 39a, 40a, 58c-d,
79b-d, 92c-94d, 129c
Mind, 92c-d
Peace, 37c
Principies, 74b, 75a-b, 79b-d
Rhythm, 39c, 45b-c
Cosmic, Appealing to the, 93c-94d
Council of Solace, lOOd
Cremation, 67c-d
Crime, 60c-d
Cuba, Ha vana, 104b-c
Cultivating a Sense of Humor, 11 ld-113b
Culture, The Unity of, 50-51 c

Death and Transition, 7d-9a

Death: 7d-9a
Fear of, 8c-d
Life and, 58a-60a
Declaration of Independence, 90d-91c-d
Denmark:
AMORC, 134d-135a
Desacralization, 135c-d
Desire, 123c-124a
Devi, Kumari Shanti, 87b-89d
Diaz, Yolanda, 104d
Did Man Evolve? 31-32d
Diet: 56d-58a
Vegetarianism, 69d-71d
Digest, Rosicrucian, 5b, 94d, 105a, 132d
Divorce and Remarriage, 114c-116b
Does Rendering Help Oppose Karma? 129a-130a

Page 142

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Dominican Republic, Trujillo, 104c

Do the Blind See? 130a-131b
Dreams, 32d-33c
Of blind, 130b-131a
Dreams and Visions, 32d-33c
Duality of self, 65c-66c
Dukhobors, 70a

Ego, 113b-114c, 122b-c

Ego, The Importance of, 113b-114c
Emotion: 110c
Anger, 75c-76d
Definition of, 75c
Fear (of death), 8c-d
Jealousy, 38c-40a
Love, 38c-40a, 114a
Emotion , Religious, 139b-140d
Encausse, Dr. (Papus), 4a
England, (See: Great Britain)
Environment, 26d
Esdras, 14c
Esoteric, Exoteric and, Knowledge, 80d-83d
Evolution of man, 30a-32d
Evolve? Did Man, 31a-32d
Evolving, 106d
Existence, 9a
Exoteric and Esoteric Knowledge, 80d-83d
Expediency, 125d-126d
Ezell, Camp: 33c-34b
Photograph, 25
Ezra, Ibn (Abenare or Avenard), 16c

Facts About the FUDOS1, 4-7

Faith and Belief, On, 20-22c
Fanaticism, 124a
Fascination of Reincarnation, The, 40b-43a
Food and Nutrition, 56d-58a
Forgiveness, 36a-c
Forgives, Jess, 36a-d
Form Letters, 99d-100d
Forum, Rosicrucian, 2-3, 35b, 80b, 132d
Fourth Dimensin, M ystery of the, llO c-lllc
Franklin, Benjamn, 91c-d
Frater, pronunciation, 128b-c
Freedom of choice, 127a-128a
Freemasons, 91c-d
Freudianism, 43a-c
FUDOSI, Facts About The , 4-7
F.U.D.O.S.I.:
Organization of, 4a-b
Symbol of, 4d-5a
Dissolution of, 5d-6a

Gandhi, Mahatma, 88d

Genesis, 14b
Giving Material Help, 35a-36a
Giving Treatments to Others, 34b-35a
God: 60c-61a, 65a-b
According to Kabbalah, 15c-16d
Communion with, 139c-140c
Concept of, 51b, 58c-d
Consciousness, 64a-b, 66b-c
Forgiveness, 36b-d
Mystics concept of, 82d-83d, 123b
Good, 127d-128a
Good Always Poor? Are the, 6c-7d
Government in schools, 98a-99d
Great Britain, 94d-95d, 103c-d
Great Pyramid: 34a
On U. S. Seal and Money, 90a-92b
Great Seal of U. S., 90a-92b

Growth of Interest in Religin, 60a-61b

Guesdon, Jeanne, 104a

Habit, hypnotic removal, lOlc-d

Habit, Power of, 17b-19a
Haiti, Port-au-Prince, 104b
Happiness, 127d-128a
Harmonium, 119c-d
Harmony, 79c-d
Health and the Individual, 63a-64c
Heaven, 123c
Hell, 8c
Help, 27d-28a
Material, 35b-36a
Help, Giving Material, 35a-36a
Heredity, 26d
Hind:
Diet, 69d-70b
Kumari Shanti Devi, 87b-89d
Reincarnation, 87b-88a, 88d-89d
Sanskrit, 92b
Holland, 103d-104a
How Shall W e Concntrate? 107c-110c
Human Aura, Phenomenon of, 51d-56a
Humility, Mystical, 74a-75b
Humor, Cultivating a Sense of, 11 ld-113b
Hypnosis, The Valu of, 100d-102c

Illumination, 78b-79d, 125b, 131a

Imagination, 112c-d
Immortality, The Concept of, 58a-60a
Imperator, pronunciation, 128c
Importance of Ego, The, 113b-114c
Improbable Situations, 46a-47d
Individual, Health and the, 63a-64c
Infinite Awareness, 61b-63a
Initiation:
Ancient, 14d
First modern, 134d-135a
First Neophyte Degree, 78b-c
Psychic, 78a-79d
Initiation, Psychic, 78a-79d
Intelligence, Divine, 31 d
Intuition, 28a-b, 81d-82c, 131a
Is Karma Deferred? 29c-31a
Issue's Personality, This, 33c-34b, 56b-d, 94d-95d,
102c-103b, 134c-135c
Is Vegetarianism Necessary? 69d-71d

Jara, Armando Font de la, 138a

Jealousy and Love, 38c-40b
Jefferson, Thomas, 7b
Jess:
Forgiveness, 36a-d
Reincarnation, 88a
Vegetarianism and, 69d, 71 d
Jess Forgives, 36a-d
Joan of Are, 82c
Journalism, 33c-d
Jurisdictions of Order, 103b-c

Kabbalah? What is the, 13d-17a

Kant, Immanuel, 28a
Karma: 29c-31a
Feeblemindedness and, 23b-c
Karmic debt, 36d
Rendering help, 129a-130a
Karmay Can We Oppose? 66c-67d
Karma Deferred? Is, 29c-31a
Karma, Does Rendering Help Oppose? 129a-130a
Kiimalehto, Thor, 138b

JUNE, 1956

Page 143

Knowledge and Reality, 84a-87b

Knowledge, Exoteric and Esoteric, 80d-83d

Vegetarianism, 69d-71d
Nutrition, Food and, 56d-58a

Labor unions, 126a

La Buschagne, John, 103c-d
Laughter, 11 ld-113b
Law of Causality, 66d
Leadership, What Makes For? 76d-77d
Learning, 106d, 131d
Leibnitz theory, 16b
Letters, Form, 99d-100d
Levi, Eliphas, 15c
Lewis, H. Spencer, 40c, 137d-138a
Carli Andersen and, 134d, 135a
FUDOSI, 4-6b
Photograph, 1
Quote, 2b-d, 115d
Raymund Andrea and, 95b-d
Lewis, Ralph M., 135a, 137c-138a
Liber 777, lOd
Life and death, 58a-60a
Life of the Masters, The, 37d-38b
Living the Teachings, 27d-29c
Locke, John, 28b
Love, 114a
Love, Jealousy and, 38c-40a

Obelisk, 90b
On Faith and Belief, 20d-22c
Our International Affiliations, 103b-105b

MacCartney, Frater, 37b

Making Cathedral Contacts, 36d-37d
Mallinger, Jean (Sar Elgim ), 5b
Man:
Evolution of, 31a-32d, 46a
Mana, 135d
Manicheans, 74a
Masons (see Freemasons)
Masters, Are Living, Necessary? 124a-125c
Masters, The Life of the, 37d-38b
Material Help, Giving, 35a-36a
Matre, pronunciation, 128d
Meditation, 107c
Memory, 110c
Meny Are, Born Free? 127a-128a
Metaphysics, 86c-87b, 89c
Mxico, 104c
Miles, Harvey, 138b
Mirandola, Pico della, 14b
Money, Mystical, 90a-c
Money, sacrificing, 136c-13 7a
Moore, Willard, 137c
Moral life, 6c-7c
Moral Responsibility, 132d-134b
More Suicide Nonsense, 43a-44c
Motion, Time, Space, 67d-69c
Music: 44a-45d
Harmonics, 33a-b
Music and Rhythm, 44c-45d
M ystery of the Fourth Dimensin, llO c-lllc
Mystical Humility , 74a-75b
Mystical Money, 90a-c
Mystical pantheism, 116d-117c
Mysticism, Self-Discipline in, 122a-124a
Mystic, the, 82c-d, 123a-124a, 139b

Nature of Sacrifice, The , 135a-137a

Neophyte:
Meaning, 131b-c
Pronunciation, 128d-129a
Neophyte Grades, The, 131b-132d
Newton, Sir Isaac, 30a
Norway, AMORC, 134d-135a
Nez, Carlos, 104c
Nutrition: 56d-58a

Papus (Dr. Encausse), 4a

Parochial schools, 99b-d
Paul, Saint, 82c
Pennsylvania:
Rosicrucian colony in, 91c-d
Perception, The Scope of, 9a-13d
Per, Lima, 104b
Peruvian Indians, 50d-51a
Phenomenon of the Human Aura, 51d-56a
Philosophy:
Of life, 84c-85b
Rosicrucian, 8d-9a, 81a-d, 85b-c, 113c-114c, 117c,
132c
Systems of, 85a-b
Physical Science, 129b-c
Physical World, Psychic Development In a, 105a-107c
Photographs:
H. Spencer Lewis, August
Camp Ezell, October
J. Leslie Williams, December
Raymund Andrea, February
W illiam Whittington, April
Arthur Sundstrup, June
Pieres, Alfred E., 88d
Pistorius, H. Th. Verkerk, 103d-104a
Plato, 82c, 86b-c
Polarity of human aura, 52a-c
Poole, Cecil A., 137d-138a
Postulant, pronunciation, 129a
Power of Habit, 17b-19a
Premonition, 28c
Primitive peoples, 50-5le
Progress and Refinement, 26-27d
Projection, Some Aspects of, 19a-20d
Pronaos, pronunciation, 128c
Pronounce Them Properly, 128a-129a
Psychic Development In a Physical World, 105a-107c
Psychic Initiations, 78a-79d
Psychology: 117d-118d
Business, 126b-c
Psychology, What Is? 117d-118d
Psychometry, 55c-56a
(See also: Vibroturgy)
Psychotherapy, 101b-102a
Ptah, 16a
Public schools, 98-99
Puerto Rico, 104c-d, 138a
Punishment for sin, 8c-d
Purgatory, 8c
Purpose of Soul, The, 64c-66c
Pythagoras, 15d-16b

Quetzalcoatl Lodge, 104c

Reading the Akashic Records, 92b-93c

Reality, Knowledge and, 84a-87b
Refinement, Progress and, 26-27c
Reflections of a Rosicrucian Convention, 80a-d
Reincarnation, 8a, 40b-43a, 87b-89d
Reincarnation, The Fascination of, 40b-43a
Reincarnation Proof, 87b-89d
Reason, 113d
Relativity, llla -b
Religin, Growth of Interest in, 60a-61b
Religin In the Schools, 98-99

Page 144

Religious Emotion , 139b-140d

Remarriage, Divorce and, 114c-116b
Responsibility, Moral, 132d-134b
Rio de Janeiro, 104b
Roimer, Albin, 104a
Rosae Crucis, pronunciation, 128b
Rose-Croix University, 57a-58a, 117d
Rosicrucian:
Aim, 124b
Convention, 80a-d
Digest, 5b, 94d, 105a, 132d
Evolution, 31b-c
Forum, 2-3, 35b, 38a, 80a
Habit, 18b-19a
Healing, 63a-64c
Intuition, 28b-29b
Kabbalah , 16d-17a
Masters, 124a-125c
Officers, 137a-139b
Park, 80b-d
Perception, llb-c
Philosophy, 8d-9a, 81a-d, 85b-c, 113c-114c, 117c,
132c
Pronunciation
of terms, 128a-129a
Psychology, lOla-b, 118c-d
Rose-Croix University, 57a-58a
Symbols, 91c-d
Teachings, 124c-d
Terminology, 132a-b
Rosicrucian Convention, Reflections of a, 80a-d
Rosicrucian Ideis and Principies, 118d-119d
Rosicrucian Officers, What Are? 137a-139b
Rhythm, Music and, 44c-45d

s
Sachse, Julius Friedrich, 91 d

Sacralization, 135c
Sacrifice, The Nature of, 135a-137a
Sankhya philosophy of Hindus, 92b
Sar Alden, 4d, 5b
(See: H. Spencer Lewis)
Sar Elgim (Jean M allinger), 5b
Sar Hieronymus, 4b, 5b, 6a
Schools, Religin In the, 98-99
Scope of Perception, The, 9a-13d
Seal of U. S., 90a-92b
Self: 113c-114c, 124d
Union with God, 122a-124a
See also: Consciousness: Self
Self-abnegation, 74a-d
Self-Discipline in Mysticism, 122a-124a
Senses:
Five, 9b-13d
Of blind, 130a-131b
Sepher Yezirah: 14b-15a
Quote, 14b
Seventh Day Adventists, 70a
Shekinah, pronunciation, 128c
Silence, 110b
Situations, Improbable, 40a-47d
Skutch, Dr., 132d
Slapstick, 112b-c
Scrates, 82c
Some Aspects of Projection, 19-20d
Soror, pronunciation, 128b-c
Soul, 8d, 9a, 32b, 22c-23d, 64c-66c, 83c-d, 116b-117d
Soulless Beings? Are There, 22c-23d
Soul-personality, 117b-d
Souls, Are We Individual? 116b-117d
Soul, The Purpose of, 64c-66c
South Africa, Johannesburg, 104d
Space, 19b-d, 67d-69c, llla -b
Space, Time, Motion, 67d-69c
Spalding, Baird T., 37d-38b
Spiritualism, lOd

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Suggestion, lOla-b
Suicide Nonsense, More, 43a-44c
Sundstrup, Arthur: 134c-135a
Photograph, 121
Sunshine Circle, 35d-36a
Supernatural, 124c
Suttee, 135b-c
Symposium, The, 82c

Teachings, Living the, 27d-29c

Telepathy, 105d
Televisin, 46d-47a
Temple Degrees, 132b
Theology, 8c
Theosophy, 124a
Therapeutics: 63a-c, 67c
Hypnosis, 101b-102a
This Issues Personality, 33c-34b, 56b-d, 94d-95d,
102c-103b, 134c-135c
Thomas Jefferson Chapter, 103a
Tibet, Masters of, 37d-38a
Time, 19b-d, 67d-69c, llla -b
Time, Space, Motion, 67d-69c
Transition, 7d, 8b, 9a
Transition, Death and, 7d-9a
Trappists, 70a
Treatments: 34b-35a
Psychiatric, 44a-c
Therapeutic, 63b-64c, 67c
Treatments to Others, Giving, 34b-35a
Twenty-Fifth Anniversary, 2-3

Union with God, 122b-123c

United Nations Conference, 103a
United States:
Declara tion of Independence, 90d, 91c-d
Money, 90a-c
Seal, 90a-92b
United States, The Great Seal of, 90c-92b
Unity of Culture, The, 50-51 c
Universal intelligence, 64d
Universals, 31 d

Valu of Hypnosis, The, 100d-102c

Vegetarianism, Is Necessary? 69d-71d
Venezuela, 104d
Vibrations:
Sight, 47a-b
Sound, 46d, 105b-c
Vibroturgy (See: Psychometry)
Vishnu, 70a
Visions, Dreams and, 32d-33c
Visual images, 130b-c
Vowels, intonation, 52c-d

What Are Rosicrucian Officers? 137a-139b

What is the Kabbalah? 13d-17b
What Is Psychology? 117d-118d
What Makes for Leadership? 76d-77d
When Is Anger Justifiable? 75c-76d
Whittington, W illiam V.: 102c-103 b
Photograph, 97
W ill, 113d, 127c
Williams, J. Leslie: 56a-d
Photograph, 49

Yohai, Simen ben, 15a

Zohar, 14d-15c

August, 1956
Volum e X X V II

No. 1

Rosicrucian Forum
A p r v a t e

p u b lic a t io n f o r m e m b e r s o f A M O R C

ROBERT WEIMTWORTH, F.R.C.

G ra n d Councilor of A M O R C fo r N e w En gla n d States, U.S.A.

Page 2

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Greetings!
V

SHOULD WE THINK OF SELF?

Dear Fratres and Sorores:

To what extent should we become selfconscious? While mysticism and certain
philosophies advcate introverting our consciousness and having a realization of self,
still other branches of thought inveigh
against it. We are familiar with such phrases
as egocentric, egotistical, selfish, and
self-centered. All of these imply that the
focus of attention upon self is either psychologically disadvantageous or ethically improper. Either the idea of mysticism is
wrong, or the opposite view is wrongor
is there a happy mdium?
First, it is necessary for us to appreciate
the fact that self is integrated. It is not a
single State or condition, in other words.
There are various aspects or functions of
what we term self. It is the awareness of
our own entity, of the existence of our being.
But, then, our being has no single quality
or nature to us either. My organic structure,
my body and its functions is of my self. I
may say that my physical self is suffering
a distress; I experience an ache or a pain.
However, I likewise designate my moods and
emotional responses as being of my self.
Then my thought world, my rationalizing
and imagination, I consider as my intellectual self. The moral self, or conscience, is
still another of these aspects of the integrated
self. What, then, constitutes the wrongful
attention to self? Which expression of self
may I be devoted to without incurring that
censure as indicated in the remarks above,
such as my being egotistical, and others
equally uncomplimentary?
Let us visualize a small telescope. Its eyepiece is quite small. The lens apperture at
the opposite end is relatively larger. If we
look through the eyepiece in the normal
manner, our visin then through the opposite
end of the telescope is extensive. We behold
a world of greater proportions; that is, we
see objects considerably magnified and some

which are not visible to the naked eye. Let

us now figuratively tum the telescope about
and gaze through the larger end where the
principal lens is located. Our visual experi
ence is now reversed. Objects are greatly
diminished, or those seen previously are not
seen at all. The world we ordinarily realize
becomes a small one, more compact.
In our speculations, let us further consider
the larger world as viewed through the tele
scope as that greater reality which we cali
the Cosmic. It is what we conceive to be
the Divine and infinite realm. The small
world we see when looking through the oppo
site end of the telescope is the finite reality,
the physical world. The telescope we may
consider as self. It is the state of consciousness, the realizing instrument. It is the
organism, one may say, by which the greater
and smaller worlds are experienced. When
we gaze through either end of the telescope
we realize the instrument being used as well
as what we see through it. This realization
is similar to your reading at this moment.
You are conscious of these words, but nevertheless you have an awareness of your self.
Suppose, now, you withdraw your visin
from either end of the telescope and, instead,
gaze upon the instrument alone. You turn it
over carefully in your hands. Assiduously,
you inspect its mechanism and construction.
This, then, is the focusing of your attention
upon the instrument of observation itself.
The instrument becomes detached in importance from its function. Your attention
to the instrument is figuratively a lost mental
effort for it in no way causes it to better
serve you in the manner in which it was
intended. It is possible that you might become so engrossed in your examination of
the instrument that you would forget its true
function. You might think of it as a point
of interest in itself instead of a mere means
to an end.
In this simple analogy we have an example of the individual who has perverted

AUGUST, 1956

Page 3

his consciousness of self. He is trying to

isolate self, the individual entity, from its
necessary relationships. He has truly become
egotistical, or self-centered. Such a conception of self causes a distorted sense of vales.
It is exaggerated out of proportion to its
true worth. The self is only a consciousness
of our functions in contradistinction to the
larger reality of which we as an organism
are a part. A man cannot live separately
from his fellows and from society. He most
certainly cannot isolate himself from the
laws and forces of nature. To think only in
terms of the immediate self, the sensations
we have of it, the pleasures and satisfactions
which we experience, our pains and desires,
is like trying to isolate a fame from the
candle. They are interdependent. The candle exists for the fame, and the fame cannot
exist without it.
What the world condemns as selfish and
egotistical is the attempt to concntrate
wholly upon the realization of self. It is a
confining and a contraction of the conscious
ness. It is not true introversin. It is only
a limited phase of it. The mystic withdraws
his consciousness from the finite world in his
meditations; he turas it inward. He does not,
however, arrest his consciousness within his
own being. To refer again to the analogy of
the telescope, he directs his consciousness
through the instrument toward the larger
apperture, the lens. The consciousness, then,
is projected through his being into the Cosmic, a realm of greater magnitude. Though
the mystic does not psychologically lose all
realization of self, the self does become sub
ordnate to his experience of the greater
realities. He realizes spiritual and mental
images of God and the Cosmic, of ultimate
reality, of moral idealism, which far transcend the realization of his own limited being
and ego.
Actually, the mystic is not thinking of self
in his meditative arts and practices any more
than is the physicist or the chemist who con-

centrates intensely upon some phenomenon

of the physical world. The only distinction
between the mystic and one who contemplates the world of everyday is the extent of
their consciousness. As we turn the con
sciousness inward and through our being,
figuratively speaking, it spirals upward in a
more extensive manner than that of the materialist. The particulars which are the
objective of the empiricist are not of concern
to the mystic. To him, the realization of
harmony of the whole, the experience of
which quickens all the faculties, is the most
important factor.
We may use another analogy, that of the
poet and the physicist viewing a sunset. The
poet has a deep appreciation of the aesthetic
vales of the whole experience. He is affected
by the rosy glow of the sun upon the water,
the deepening shadows, the iridescent colors
of the billowing clouds which frame the sinking sun. He is exhilarated emotionally by
his visual sensations. The physicist, however,
may be more concemed with the excellent
demonstration of the laws of optics which the
experience provides. He notes in particular
the refraction of the suns rays upon the
water. He observes the spectrum of colors
caused by sunlight passing through spray
cast up by the breakers. He notes, too, the
filtering effect of the wave bands of light
in the sky as the clouds momentarily pass
before the sun.
The modem mystic will vacillate his con
sciousness of self between the external world
and the Cosmic. He will also have an appre
ciation of the material importance of the
world in which he lives. He will use the
inspiration that comes to him through his
Cosmic consciousness to better meet the
demands of mortal existence. He will never
allow his consciousness to be centered exclusively in self, for that he would consider
to be a dissipation of the powers of his being.
He will concntrate upon self only in a philosophical and an analytical manner so as to

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, California,
under Section 1103 of the U . S. Postal Act of Oct. 3, 1917.
The Roscrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Publication of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/3 sterlng) A N N U A LL Y FOR MEMBERS O N L Y

Page 4

better under stand its function. He will never

confer any supremacy upon his self-awareness apart from the other reality of which
he is capable of experiencing.
Fraternally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator.
Intelligence and Mystical Enlightenment
A frater in Caada, addressing our Forum,
asks: Are there any grounds for believing
that intelligence, as shown through I. Q. tests
or other similar tests, and soul development
are related? We are told that whatever we
do to develop ourselves in music, art, and so
forth, we take with us as part of our soul
equipment and carry it on when we are incarnated into another body. The so-called
talented persons in music in early childhood
must be those who have developed such talent in previous incarnations. Am I right in
my assumptions?
Everyone, who has had mystical enlight
enment, exhibits exceptional intelligence.
Everyone who is exceptionally intelligent,
however, is not m ystically enlightened.
Though this may seem an incongruity, it is
easily explained. Intelligence is the alacrity
of the mental faculties. It is the ability to
adapt the reason to new circumstances as
they arise. The intelligence can, therefore,
be devoted entirely to the objective world.
It can, as well, be unresponsive to emotional
and psychic impressions. Many intelligent
persons display little emotion, and some have
a paucity of sentiment. Many criminis have
been found to have a high intelligence quotient, but exhibit little moral sense. The rank
materialist who has no appreciation of
spiritual idealism may, nevertheless, have a
brilliant mind.
One who resorts to meditation and, as a
consequence, has periodic Cosmic attunement, and experiences intuitive enlighten
ment, finds that his intelligence is quickened. The intuitive experiences act as a
stimulus to the mental powers. The con
sciousness is accelerated; there is a greater
mental visin; the subtle relationship be
tween ideas is facilitated. Even one of average intelligence will exhibit a high I. Q. after
a series of true Cosmic attunements. The
judgment displayed is more the consequence
of an unconscious synthesis of thoughts. The

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

ideas come as intuitive flashes. Others of

high intelligence may arrive at the same conclusions but they are consciously labored or
reasoned.
The frater is seeking to know whether
there is a latent knowledge and intelligence
of the soul with which men are born. He
further desires to know whether exceptional
talent in early childhood constitutes such
knowledge of the soul. The philosophers have
not been in agreement on this subject. Scra
tes expounded that man was bom with
knowledge which the soul acquired in its
divine sojoum. This he declared could be
awakened by his Socratic method of interrogation. This concept Scrates probably obtained from the Orphic philosophy which
had long proclaimed the rebirth of the soul.
The English philosopher, John Locke, inveighed against th idea of any knowledge
implanted in mans soul. To him all knowl
edge, all ideas, were born out of objective
experience. Leibnitz, in his Monadology,
declared that all things are composed of
simple monads, each with its preconceived
harmony, or intelligence which directs its
function. The soul of man was a particular
kind of monad imbued with such a divine
intelligence. Immanuel Kant, too, in his
doctrine of a priori knowledge, advocated the
idea that there are synthetic categories of
the mind that influence all the knowledge
which we acquire a posteriori or after birth.
We must not overlook the fact that talents
have, as well, an organic basis. In the cerebrum there are areas that have a physical
relationship to talents. Music, art, languages,
mathematics, and mechanics have their prin
cipal functions in these special areas. Heredity may at times through the genes transmit
an aesthetic sensitivity that will incline one,
for example, toward the arts. Certain areas
of the cerebrum develop to a greater extent
than others in some individuis. This will
also account for the physiological point of
view, for exceptional talent in children.
From the mystical viewpoint, a highly
developed talent will be carried as an inclination, as an impulse, in the soul-personality. When the latter again incamates, this
impulse will fashion the organism, the brain,
so that it will exhibit the characteristics of a
highly developed talent. There is that intelli
gence which influences the neural cells that
are best adapted to that area of the brain

AUGUST, 1956

responsive to the qualities of the talent. Such

children, as others, will also need to take
training in music, to leara the notes and to
familiarize themselves with the theory and
Science of music. However, the effects of the
empirical experiences, the actual training,
will be much more rapid with them than with
others. Much that is taught will seem elementary to them and be quickly assimilated
and adopted. Comprehension and response
will be almost immediate. Though there will
not be the memory of any particulars of
technique, all will seem very familiar and
the necessary physical and mental co-ordination will be easily attained.
The inherited knowledge of the soul-personality does not consist of words, numbers,
or geometrical forms. Likewise, it does not
consist of the data of any science or art. It
is rather a responsivity to leaming which
pursues or follows a branch of knowledge
which one had previously acquired. Let us
presume that, through heredity, one has had
transmitted to him a highly developed mechanical aptitude. This aptitude does not
include the knowledge of any tools or any
laws of mechanics. It carries with it no blueprints or schematic designs of apparatus or
equipment. It is but an inclination that
should be given expression. One is first
obliged to leam how to use tools, read blueprints, and acquire a fundamental knowledge
of the principies of mechanics. All of these
are objectively experienced. Such are not
transmitted to the offspring in the genes. The
physical inheritance, we repeat, is but an
inclination, a responsivity, toward adapting
ones intelligence to all experiences related
to a talent. Such a person exhibits more
rapid leaming in that sphere of training.
The same applies to the motivation provided
by the experiences of a soul-personality in a
past incarnation. We are drawn toward
those channels which will provide us with
the objective knowledge to express them.
The knowledge itself in detail in terms of
human ideas is not carried over.X
Rational Mysticism
Mysticism has been related to the concept
of mystery for so long that few can understaijd that it is a system of thought having
a rational basis. The mistaken impression
that mysticism is an attribute of the mysteri-

Page 5

ous or in some other way associated with

mysterious activities or processes has caused
mysticism to be relegated to a position of
secondary importance in the thinking of the
people who pride themselves in being citizens
of a practical civilization. There is little in
most individuis thinking that relates the
concept of mysticism to the practical business of day-to-day living. This concept is
based upon a misunderstanding of the scope
of mysticism. It has developed from the restrictive influence of religious interpretation
of mysticism.
As Rosicrucians, we are taught in our very
earliest monographs that we need not necessarily relate the mysterious with the mystical
concept. Mysticism is essentially the basic
type of philosophy underlying Rosicrucian
philosophy. To make it understandable and
practical is both a function and an obligation of the Rosicrucian philosophy and those
who uphold it. Therefore, it is of importance
that we approach mysticism from the standpoint of reason and are able to clarify in our
own thinking that it has a rational basis.
We should, by example of living and of
teaching, uphold a practical concept of mys
ticism that will help make it possible for us
to illustrate to the world and to other indi
viduis that we can attain a rational basis
of the mystical philosophy that is productive
of true valu.
The Rosicrucian philosophy defines mys
ticism, and we refer to it so frequently that
it is necessary to constantly reiterate the
meaning which we wish to imply. We are,
in this sense, placed on the defensive. It is
essential that we be conscious of the true
meaning of a subject so much a part of the
philosophy in which we believe and which
we want to apply practically to the process
of living.
In our frequent use of a definition, we are,
of course, faced with a tendency to restrict
the meaning of an important idea rather than
to clarify it. Too much repetition of the
definition of any subject or word sometimes
causes the concept being defined to have
little meaning insofar as actual experience
is concerned. In other words, this repetition
causes an individual to sometimes feel that
he is restricted in his interpretation of a condition or philosophy which actually a person
should be able to feel and experience. Insofar as the formal definition of mysticism

Page 6

is concerned, it usually places it as a concept

or doctrine which permits man to relate himself, without any intermediary, directly with
the infinite. Mysticism is the doctrine or
system of thought that makes man realize
that he has valu superseding that of his own
individual self or entity. By this I mean
that man is or can be aware of the existence
of a power or forc which supersedes any
other power or forc that normally manifests
in the physical universe.
Each individual is seldom aware of his
own concept of mysticism or of its manifestation. We can be aware of the presence of
the manifestation of mysticism when we as
individuis realize or we find another indi
vidual realizing that the difference between
the earthly and the Cosmic or the temporal
and the eternal has been transcended in con
sciousness. This means that in our own
thought or the thought of an individual who
we realize has a mystical concept is of such
nature that true valu can be placed outside
the realm of the physical universe and found
on a different level; that is, the ordinary
vales of existence have been transcended
and an individual with the mystical concept
automatically at all times perceives Cosmic
vales as being paramount in all experience.
Such an individual has gained a feeling that
while he physically exists on a level of the
earthly or the temporal, he actually belongs
to and is a part of the Cosmic, the Divine,
and the Eternal.
For the sake of convenience, I will classify
mysticism into two forms. These forms really have nothing to do with the meaning of
mysticism, but rather with the means by
which the concept of mysticism is acquired
or realized by the individual. I will refer
to these two forms of mysticism as elementary and evolved. The elementary form
of mysticism is the outgrowth of the original
or the primitive form. The evolved form of
mysticism is the concept of mysticism that
has come about as a result of mans realiza
tion of his own potentialities to be able consciously to comprehend the existence of a
divine forc resident within the same environment that he himself lives and yet, at
the same time, transcending that environment.
Elementary mysticism is exactly what the
term implies. It is a concept that has not
yet risen to a level of correlation with the

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

universal concept of being. Elementary mys

ticism is confined to the views that are the
same as those directly related to ones ma
terial experience and indirectly related to a
more or less naive concept of the Eternal.
Originally elementary m ysticism was
brought about by a process that impressed
upon the individual a concept of deity and
the Eternal of which he previously may not
have been aware. In this way forms and
procedures developed, and in some cases
these procedures, which later may have become initiatory in their nature, may have
become more important insofar as the process
was concemed than the actual meaning
which was attempted to be conveyed by the
process. The elementary mystical concept
was therefore associated in some cases with
a mysterious or magical act. This association probably is the foundation by which
the idea was developed, and carried into
modern times, that mysticism is in some way
a mysterious philosophy or a composite of
magical and mysterious acts or events having
no place in the practical existence of human
beings particularly as they live today.
Nevertheless, even if these acts or pro
cedures did have a mysterious or magical
overtone, this was not inherently an error
in the act itself. Many times this particular
emphasis or overtone was the result of the
individuis who supervised the processor
it was due to improper interpretation by the
participant. But, nevertheless, the act served
a purpose. By means of certain processes the
participant was able to enter into communion
with the Divine in such a way that he eventually carne to believe that he was sharing
a supernatural mode of existence. In other
words the act itself, if it were initiatory or
ritualistic, provided the mpetus that opened
the eyes and the mind of the individual who
had not previously thought in terms of such
a concept as mysticism.
Many people today may consider ritualis
tic procedure as being a crude way of approaching mysticism. This belief is based
on an erroneous idea of the meaning and
purpose of ritual. We know that the true
meaning of ritual and initiation as is presented in the Rosicrucian teachings is a means
by which man is able to approach a concept
that he might not in any other way have
brought to his consciousness. The concept of
the proper realization of the meaning of an

AUGUST, 1956

initiation ceremony is a concept of a unin

with divinity brought about by participating
in the ceremony. Not only is initiation the
basis of the mystical approach in our philos
ophy, but it was the foundation for the
development of many primitive religions
which as they shed their superstitious or
magical concepts became the basis of the
ethical and moral philosophies which have
been the foundation of many phases of
human civilizatin.
It is interesting from the historical standpoint that one of the most fundamental pro
cedures that was used to achieve this end
was probably the sacrificial feast. In the
sacrificial feast the participant by being a
partaker of a certain meal according to a
certain formula under the circumstances
which were laid down by the priest or religious rules felt that he in some way became
one with divinity. The ritual of the feast
has been incorporated in religious and fra
ternal practices of modern times. We as
Rosicrucians have such a symbolic feast in
connection with our observance of the New
Year. Our ritual constitu es a reaffirmation
of the valu we place on our own mystical
philosophy. It has both historical and per
sonal significance because it illustrates how
man in the course of evolving consciousness
can use such an act as one means of attaining a knowledge of the divine.
The ritual also illustrates to us today the
use of a simple process which should impress upon our consciousness that we as
individuis can humbly come before the
Cosmic and by carrying out a simple act
place ourselves in the proper mental attitude to be able to be aware of the vastness
of the philosophy of mysticism. Regardless
of the development of our abilities to reason,
regardless of the development of our intelli
gence and our mastery over the physical
world, we must still impress upon our con
sciousness by reason and by action the necessity of approaching the Cosmic itself as
humble entities still in the process of evolv
ing. Through the use of ritual we can grasp
or become aware of Cosmic illumination and
are able to realize that by proper preparation and performance of our obligations we
will be able to rise farther up the scale of
that illumination.
A more highly developed phase of ele
mentary mysticism found its expression in

Page 7

the mystery religions. So far as history is

concerned these first developed in ancient
Egypt. From these mystery schools carne the
traditional beginning of the Rosicrucian Order. These schools were also highly evolved
in other countries of ancient times particularly in Greece. In many of the forms of the
religious practices which grew out of these
mystery schools in Asia and in Greece in
ancient times and in the religions and phi
losophies that have evolved from the mystery
schools, the participant attained by means
of his initiation the concept of a unin with
divinity. Through the process of participat
ing in these mysteries the individual became
a possessor of the immortality through which
he hoped to achieve complete understanding
and realization.
In a sense, these ancient practices were
the foundation for the sacraments which
were incorporated into religin. Through the
sacraments, the human being is considered
to be born again into a higher State of existence.
When man is able to conceive the uni
versal or the Cosmicin other words, to
expand his consciousness from the limitations
of the material world to include a Cosmic
concepthe then is able to conceive his relation to the totality of all being and to Divin
ity itself. The mysticism that results from
such a concept is widened. It is deeper, insofar as mans conscious awareness is concemed, and this awareness inspires man as
a result of the relationship he achieves with
the Divine. This broader concept of mysti
cism, this relationship with the Divine, comes
about as a result of reason. The emotional
effects or phases of the initiatory processes,
that may have been crude or elabrate, are
augmented by mans exercising his own
reason.
Such a conscious act raises the personality
above the illusion of the physical senses, and
makes man realize himself as a being in
bondage in the physical body to the earthly
or the temporal. The individual aspiring to
the mystical concept, thereby attains the
power to distinguish between appearance and
reality. He is able to comprehend the ma
terial as a form of the manifestation of the
Cosmic or the Divine. The individual gaining this evolved mystical concept also gains
awareness of the eternal as existing in the
transient or the temporal. He recognizes the

Page 8

unity of all things in God, and thereby, with

his gaining of the mystical concept, passes
beyond the irritations of the process of becoming and living a physical life into a reali
zation of the peace of timeless being. He is
conscious of man as being in God, and aware
of every moment as being eternal.
Intellectual mysticism is potentially a
common possession of all human beings.
Whenever rational thinking makes the effort
to conceive the relation of personality to the
universal, then this concept of mysticism
manifests in consciousness. This is Cosmic
consciousness and is evident in all inspired
thinking of the great teachers, leaders, and
avatars throughout all time. This concept of
mysticism even penetrates into the most
orthodox of religions, and Christianity and
Islam are both somewhat naively dualistic
in their belief in the distinguishing differences between the earthly and the heavenly.
Whenever great thinkers, under the influence
of these religions, or any other religin or
philosophy, have conscientiously endeavored
to attain a clarity of realization regarding the
relationship of God and the world, or man
and the Divine, such thinkers cannot help
opening the door to mysticism. Therefore,
mysticism has found expression in all the
great teachings of those who have aspired
to relate man to his source.
The true mystic thinks of his existence as
being under the pur conception of being,
and of this being existing in the Infinite
while at the same time manifesting itself in
the temporal. The individual who really can
absorb himself in this thought gains a con
cept that he lives in one world and functions
at the same time in another. In the Christian
mysticism of Meister Eckhart, the concep
tion is of being in the living God, and it is
also the same in Moslem mysticism or the
mysticism of the Hindus. Whatever modification mysticism may assume through the
philosophy or religin that may be prevalent
in the mind of those who teach it, what in
tellectual mysticism is actually concemed
with is our being in ultimate reality.
Rational mysticism is therefore synonymous with evolved mysticism. It is a step
beyond the elementary process by which man
comes to a realization of the Divine through
an act or procedure. The act or procedure
which we know today as ritual and initiation
is still necessary. It is both important and

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

inspiring. It is a step by which man lifts

himself from the realm of being merely a
man to an area where he may be conscious
of the Divine. This step is often the first
step, and it is a means of constantly reiterating in our own mind the importance of
the step we have learned. Each time we
particpate in an initiatory or ritualistic act
which has for its purpose the raising of mans
consciousness we are renewing our aware
ness of the mystical idea and the eternal
which we wish to comprehend and realize.
Actually the ultimate purpose of evolved
or rational mysticism is to be able to be
aware of ultimate reality. This is the Rosi
crucian goalto see reality, to be completely
aware of truth, to function on a Cosmic
plae in contrast to an earthly plae, to
transcend the limitations, the irritations, as
well as the suffering and happiness that is
experienced on a material level. We will
then be able to be aware of a transcended
area of existence to which we can direct our
consciousness at any time regardless of the
physical circumstances with which we are
restricted or limited. At the same time we
can project ourselves to another plae and
dwell there with the realization that we have
found our true home, that we have arrived
at our real place of being. This is transcendent awarenessthe awareness of being,
that is, the awareness of Divinity and real
ity.A
The Development of Mind Power
The concept of the mind is so vast, regard
less of the point of view with which it is
approached, that it is very difficult to define
its nature and scope. If we believe that we
appreciate the power of the mind, actually
we cannot grasp its potentialities. The mind
includes all that exists in the universe. Re
gardless of whether an individual may be a
materialist or an idealist, he still cannot deny
that it is within the mind, no matter how
defined, that the memory of the past, the
ideas of the present, and the potentialities
of the future are latent. Mind is the only
human attribute that transcends time and
space. Within the minds of our ancestors
slumbered every thing that we know today:
the development of electronics, radio, electricity, air-conditioning, the telephone, your
televisin set, the atomic bomball were in

AUGUST, 1956

the minds of those who have lived before us,

whether they lived in ancient times or in
the time of our grandparents.
This concept is consistent with the prin
cipie in Physics and Chemistry conceming
the law of the conservation of energy and
matter. Nothing can be completely destroyed, or be permanently eradicated. All
things are existent forever. The reason our
grandparents or our ancestors of a thousand,
two thousand, or five thousand years ago did
not have the mechanical conveniences or the
knowledge that we have was simply because
they did not become aware of them. All
things exist in mind prior to manifestation
in reality.
The materialist will take exception to my
interpretation. He may concede that in mind
all things exist, but he may not consider
the potentiality of the mind while I advance
the theory, consistent with Rosicrucian phi
losophy, that mind is a continuous entity
manifesting in individual segments of which
you and I are very small segments. One of
the stoic philosophers made the statement
that the hearts desire should forever remain
unattained. That may seem to be a pessimistic viewpoint, but actually the attainment
of the hearts desire shuts off much of the
Creative mpetus of the mind.
You know and I know by common experi
ence that anticipation is sometimes more
pleasurable than actuality. What we antic
pate doing, what we plan to do, particularly
if it involves effort and some sacrifice, creates
within our own minds a greater concept or
idea than the actuality can possibly be.
What we hope to do tomorrow, what we may
save our pennies for or devote our effort to
is conceived in our mind as better than the
actual event or object attained due to our
concentration during the time of anticipa
tion.
I believe most people have experienced the
letdown that sometimes comes from an ac
tuality to which they have devoted effort to
attain. The reason for this is that within the
Creative power of the mind itself, we are able
in our thinking, in our planning, and even
in our daydreaming to go beyond or to
transcend the scope of actuality that cannot
possibly be achieved. We can visualize, we
can imagine, we can hope for things beyond
the realm of achievement because within the
mind we are unfettered. We are not re-

Page 9

stricted by the bonds of any physical mdium

or are we restricted by our own lack of
intelligence or lack of physical strength or
capacity. Therefore, the ancient stoic who
said that the hearts desire should forever
remain unattained was realizing that such
desire, or fondest hope, or greatest ideal, is
in some manner a torch to be carried ahead
of us to light the path of the ordinary more
or less monotonous and regular events of
daily living.
To attain our hearts desire is to extinguish
the light temporarily. Life consists of more
than the attainment of anything we can
imagine. There is valu in the maintenance
of the desire for achievement itself. There
fore, the hearts desire, the ideal to which we
subscribe and which we hope to attain may
be of more importance in its existence as an
ideal than in its materialization. To con
sider all mental concepts as ultimately becoming materializations with which we can
deal on a physical plae, is to frst build up
an idea, lift it to a level of aspiration, and
then to reduce it to the level in which humanity struggles. The concept of mind is,
therefore, a vast one, one so complicated and
so large that it is, as I said earlier, difficult
to circmscribe or limit it by definition.
Nevertheless, if we are to consider the Cre
ative power of the mind in any respect we
must be concerned with what constitutes the
mind.
From a naive and superficial point of view
the logical explanation of mind is that while
it is a definite entity in itself, that is apart
from the physical body, it exists as something that is related to another forc within
the body; that is, the mind is virtually
synonymous with Soul. This concept, of
course, is rejected by the materialist and
subscribed to by many idealists, that the
mind is a function of a forc within us which
supersedes any material manifestation. The
mind is not the brain. It is a function that
comes only with life and is an existing mani
festation of life. Mind in man is considered
to be more highly developed than in any
other living thing. The ability of the mind
to conceive all that has been or that will be
is the one fundamental difference between
man and animal. The phenomena of today
slumbered in the minds of our ancestors
as do all the attainments of the future slum
ber in our minds.

Page 10

Within mind at this moment lie the solutions of all problems, whether they be
political, economic, social, or religious. The
problems that make it possible for the front
pages of our newspapers to have headlines
are at a point of solution within mind if
mind could be made aware of them and be
able to grasp them. Unfortunately mankind
is giving more consideration to effects than
to causes. We do this as individuis, and
so we cannot blame society. Something happens today and if that event is an important
factor in our lives, if it upsets our routine,
if it has something to do with our living in
such a manner that it affects us radically we
become very much concerned about it whereas we should have been concerned about it
a year ago or five years ago.
Because causes are subtle and gradually
accumulate, most of our problems, physical,
mental or spiritual, have causes of which
the roots lie in the background of experience
and consciousness. The same idea can be
projected into the future. The problems that
will be ours tomorrow have their solution in
events and thoughts that are taking place
now if we can be made aware of them.
May I add parenthetically here that there
is no magic formula in the Rosicrucian
philosophy or in any ism, philosophy, or
religin that will make it possible for you to
grasp those potentialities without, if I may
quote Sir Winston Churchill, blood, sweat,
and tears. That is, there is no magic key
that opens the door to our own potentiali
ties. It is something that has to be brought
into consciousness by the process of living
itself. Otherwise we wouldnt be here living.
Its that simple.
Another concept considers mind as distinct
from body, but at the same time believes it
to be something that interacts with the body.
One of the fundamental problems of philos
ophy is the mind-body problem. How does
mind, an immaterial thing, affect a material
thingthe body? The first theory I mentioned is that mind and soul are the same
and have a supematural effect over the body.
The second is that mind and body are distinctly separate. One acts upon the other in
some mysterious way. That concept is hardly tenable because it is inconsistent with the
laws of nature, as we observe them in the
universe, that two unlike things can directly
affect each other. Consequently, we cannot

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

accept the theory that mind and body are

distinctly different and affect each other only
by interaction.
Another concept is that mind is tied closely
to the brain and considers that the function
of the brain is also the function of the mind.
This is the concept of naturalism which is
the mechanistic psychological outlook of to
day generally known as a scientific approach
in which psychology and biology are so
closely related that no attempt is made to
separate the strictly functional from those
which are physical. Some materialists go
still further, and incidentally some idealists
also take this view to deny the existence of
mind with the statement that human behavior can be adequately described without
the use of a vague and indefinable term.
This point of view appears contradictory to
what I have already said, but we here enter
the field of semantics, that fascinating study
of language. Mind is an overworked word,
and if we deny the existence of mind we
automatically open up the avenues to con
sider another term for mind and its func
tion. Possibly by redefining and reapplying
terminology, we will be able to clarify the
idea. To accept the strict mechanistic idea
that to deny mind because it cannot be defined or explained is to evade the issue.
Regardless of what we cali this forc, power,
or condition, existing as a great potential,
as I have already outlined, the fact is that a
vast realm of knowledge and experience does
exist somewhere. If we do not classify it as
being in the mind, we will have to use an
other term to mean the same thing.
In contemporary psychology, we see from
the days of the early mechanist to the
present time almost a complete circle. Con
temporary psychology and the conscientious
research psychologists of today have retumed
to an interest in the whole organism and all
of its aspects. The psychologist today looks
at the human being as a human being, and
not as a collection of various parts and func
tions. Twenty or thirty years ago psychology
was approached like arithmetic; that is, we
studied one section or phase at a timethe
nervous system, perception, attention, judgment, and other attributes. Actually these
functions cannot be separated from the con
sideration of the organism as a whole. On
superficial examination, functions seem unrelated, but they are all the function of

A U SU ST , 1956

consciousness, sometimes happening simultaneously, and therefore definitely related.

Consequently, the view of considering the
whole human organism as a functioning unit
that is, grouping together its behavior and
its mental activities into one manifestation of
behavioris the returning as it were to the
fundamental, the consideration of the human
entity as being physical and mental, and
therefore functioning as a whole unit. Modern psychology can therefore be defined as
the science that studies interactions between
living organisms and environment.
I have referred to the fact that all physical
achievements slumber in the mind, but some
have only been recently realized. Many
mental achievements have surpassed physical
achievements and there probably have been
many intelligent men who will not be excelled in intelligence in all the history of
humanity. The philosophers and great
thinkers of the past have used the power of
the mind and tried to show that man had this
ability.
The organismic concept, this concept of
the living being as a complete unit interacting with its environment, is basic to the
Rosicrucian philosophy and psychology. It
upholds the basic concept to which idealistic
philosophers have subscribed that mind is
not an isolated entity, but is in all matter
including the cells of our bodies.
I have also completed a circle. I first stated that mind was a complete entity that
pervaded or filled the universe completely
and of which we were aware as a segment.
Then I attempted to define mind as if it
were an entity in itself that could be isolated.
Actually, this analysis or definition of mind
is not fully satisfying for the reason that
mind cannot be restricted. Mind is everywhere. We are taught in our temple degrees the very important fact that each indi
vidual cell carries in it a degree of conscious
ness and whenever cell structure is modified
there is an accmpanying modification with
in the mental life of the individual who has
such an experience. We do not think in our
mind or in our heart to use the two ideas
that have been advanced over a period of
human history. We think with our whole
being and yet the physical organism composed of cells in which there is a unit of
mind in each is not the container of mind
exclusively because mind supersedes or tran-

Page 11

scends any physical thing that would attempt

to contain it.
Pantheism is the idea that God as a deity
exists in all creation and yet transcends it.
The pantheist believes that God is an entity,
but not in the sense that we are individual
human entities. The pantheist believes that
God as a creator exists in everything He
created. He is in the cell structure of wood,
of the soil, of the rocks, as well as of the
human being, and yet God transcends all
these. He is not restricted to any phase of
creation. Mind is the same. It is in us. We
are aware of it because we function to a
great extent on a mental and emotional level.
But mind goes beyond us and therefore it
is the link which makes it possible for in
telligence to have continuity. Mind then is
both the conserver and the creator. It is the
evidence of intelligence as an accmpanying
attribute of life. It conserves the experience
of the soul and at the same time is the contact with the source that causes the soul to
be. Mind is to the soul what the brain is
to the body. It is the entity that maintains
the intelligence that is worthy of the soul.
We refer in our terminology to the mani
festation of the divine forc or the C re a tiv e
forc in the universe as being a forc which
we cali Nous. Nous is a convenient term for
the C re a tiv e forc in all things. To return
to the pantheistic concept of God as God
pervading all things and yet transcending
them, we might say that that phase of the
deity that pervades all things is what we
cali Nous. We divide Nous into spirit and
vital life forc, but we will not go into those
technicalities at this time except to say that
mind is merely a phase of Nous. Mind is
the attribute of Nous as heat is the attribute
of fire. One cannot function without the
other. They are inseparable and consequent
ly mind has the same relationship to the
divine, or to the C re a tiv e forc that is resident within this world, as heat has to fire. It
is almost impossible to conceive one without
the other.
I have already referred to the Creative
power of the mind indirectly. I have also
implied that this power functions more on
the level of awareness than it does of discovery; that is, I made the statement that
all technological achievements of our socalled modern age slumbered in the minds
of our ancestors; in other words, it is only

Page 12

necessary for us to become aware of the con

ten of mind. You might ask, how can one
consistently say that the mind is Creative?
The Creative process of the mind is the
bringing of this awareness into consciousness.
We find it convenient to live our day-to-day
lives on a purely objective basis. We very
seldom cali upon the full potential of the
mind. Most of us find that we can make
our living, we can have the pleasures that
we feel are necessary, we can live in reasonable comfort, barring some major catastrophe
or development, purely upon an objective
level.
It is the easiest way and the fact that most
people do so live can be observed in the be
havior of the average human being. Let
something interfere with that routine; let a
problem whether that problem be physical,
emotional, or some outside change in en
vironment suddenly disrupt the even tenure
of life and panic breaks loose. The individual
blames everybody but himself. People desperately try to find a solution outside of
themselves. They go to religin or they turn
to some ism. They practice one system or
another. They buy a bottle of different vitamins or try some new diet.
All these procedures are always the result
of some change in an ordinarily more or less
routine existence. There would be no demand for health-food stores, doctors, fortunetellers in any twenty-four hours if human
beings could adapt their living to their full
potentialities. If we can learn to draw on
our present experiences in terms of the past
and future at the moment instead of tuming
in panic to some outside forc when some
thing happens we would have a more even
tenure of life. The fact is that man just does
not know how to awaken this intense power
of the mind which is available.
The fact of our being here is evidence of
our limitation. We believe that we are at
least aware of the existence of mind power
and we are trying to learn to use that forc.
But we are only students in that attempt.
Few have mastered life. Mastery is a part
of our development, and I think it is closely
related to the ll-over purpose of life. When
the time or place is reached where man can
voluntarily and consciously become aware of
his tremendous mental abilities and the pow
er of the mind that is within him, he will
then have reached a different stage of exist

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

ence. He will probably be removed from a

material level of living because that will no
longer be essential to his experience. Consequently, I am of the opinion that our life
confined to a material world is for the pur
pose of exploring the world of mind. When
that exploration is done and we realize its
connection with the Creative forc of God,
we will then be ready fr the next step and
that may take place within a few years or
the next thousand years or more. We do
not know.
But mind even in our limited knowledge
of it can be a Creative forc. Probably you
yourself have performed or seen experiments
in which physical factors affect the color, size,
and manifestation of the aura. It is a very
simple experiment. Such an experiment is a
demonstration of the effect of mind upon a
physical thing. The aura is no more or less
than the spirit energy that radiates from the
body which is the material phase of Nous.
The fact that sound, emotion, and feeling
can affect that manifestation and that we can
see this effect is evidence that mind is a
potent forc and is not merely an idea. As
I have already stated, there is no key to mind
power, to mind development. There is no
magic word or symbol and yet I know that
some people are looking for it and will go
on looking. Some of you may even discon
tinu your association with AMORC when
some traveling salesman comes along with
a new argument. From the viewpoint of
human nature, we all are familiar with
humorous stories which revolve around the
ability to make money quickly or easily.
Mankind is always looking to gain some
thing, and if he thinks that he can do it by
a short cut he is usually willing to try. Pos
sibly this too is a part of our experience in
living in this material world.
I do not want to present a picture that is
discouraging. I want to try to leave with
you the thought that what we need more
than anything else at this moment is a conscientious inventory taken in appraisal of
ourselves. Many of us are better off than
we have ever been before because of what
we have learned, but most of us are dissatisfied because of what we have not learned.
It is the od story of the human being not
having quite enough. Remember the stoic
who said that the realization of our hearts
desire should forever remain unattained. If

AUGUST, 1956

we cannot have an ideal that is greater than

anything we can achieve at the moment, then
nothing we achieve at the moment will be
worth having when we achieve it.
Consequently, follow every avenue that is
sane and sound toward the undrstanding of
that C r e a tiv e forc that is already within you.
If you can utilize that forc, you will not
need any other because that is the same forc
with which God created the universe and it
is resident within you. The evolution of you
as a mental, physical, and psychic being is
in the gradual achievement of that realiza
tion. It comes slowly and requires patience,
but so does every other worth-while accomplishment.
I feel after a good many years of working
in this field of exploration that at the present
time you cannot find anything better to serve
as a guide than the Rosicrucian teachings.
They proceed from grade to grade taking
you mentally, physically, and psychically
through steps that are conducive to that ulti
mate achievement. The achievement of
course resides potentially in you. I know
of those who have attained enough of it to
realize the vast potentiality that is ours. If
we would only take honest inventory and
realize what we ourselves have attained, we
would feel more satisfied. So many accomplishments hang on such a slender thread.
If we learn to tap our inner resources even
to a small degree, we will gain in proportion to our realization that they are there.
Learn to depend upon intuition and the
power of the mind in small things, and you
will find that the forc is there to assist you
even more than you might realize in major
things.A
Our Mission in Life
Frequently this Forum has questions directed to it such as: What is our special
function as human beings? What are we
Cosmically ordained to door are we ordained?
It is natural that none of us wants to dissipate his powers or to waste his opportunities. Consequently, if it is possible for us to
know in advance what our mission is, obviously that knowledge would make life
much easier. If a fate decreed our mission
in advance, we might not be in accord with
that decree. After all, we have individua]

Page 13

powers of perception and judgment. We

have likes and dislikes and resultant desires.
We might all be miserably unhappy if there
were a blind fate that laid out a course for
us in advance. We might aspire to some
thing quite different and feel Cosmically persecuted if we had to fulfill the decree of
fate. Rosicrucians, therefore, do not accept
the notion that our mission in life is predetermined, as a fate, for each of us.
There are those who are of the belief that
Cosmic masters find them a place in life.
As a result they are inclined to resign them
selves to the conceived choice and motivation
of these Cosmic masters. Eventually, they
learn that their conception was wrong and
they are sadly disappointed. We must al
ways be conscious of the fact that each of
us has been instilled at birth with the means
whereby we can know our own capabilities
and discover our latent talents. Within our
selves lies the answer to the question, What
is my mission in life? No master, then, can
rob one of his birthright to set his own course
in life. Each of us will grow, profit, and
find his respective mission through personal
experience.
Let us look at this problem of our mission
in life from a logical point of view. There
are two principal tendencies in life which
move a man to action. Aside from the appetites and desires of our physical organism,
which are necessary for our existence, there
are, as well, obligations and ideis. The obligations are those things which our conventions, social standards, and ethics cause us
to feel we must assume. These obligations,
however, are as varied in their nature as are
the interests and achievements of man. They
may, for example, include debts, the helping
of parents or those in distress, supporting of
charities, and the like.
The ideis that we have, on the other
hand, are those things which the individual
aspires to as ends in life. We may say that
they are the reasons why the individual
wants to live and from which he gains a
positive pleasure. Such ideis may be roughly referred to as our ambitions. The fulfillment of obligations provides a satisfaction
of a negative nature. We refer to it as negative because it but relieves the aggravation
of a disturbing condition. The meeting of an
obligation is not as exhilarating as is the fulfillment of an ideal. The ideal provides an

Page 14

additional stimulus. Unlike an obligation, it

is not just the removing of some aggravation,
some imposition. Rather, it is the gaining
of something as well. The moral sense will
often compel adherence to an obligation. It
is something we may not like to do but feel
we must do under the circumstances.
The question before us is this: Which is
the right mission in life, the meeting of our
obligations or the pursuit of our ideis? The
answer to this is probably, to follow the in
termedate way. We should strive to meet
reasonable obligations and also to attain
ideis. There are certain arbitrary measurements to determine just what should be our
mission. These are an admixture of Cosmic
obligations on the one hand and our personal
satisfactions on the other. Every sacred
tome written by mystics and sages proclaims
the Cosmic obligation of mans duty to man.
They advcate, as well, the recognition of
the brotherhood of man. There is also the
need to have a realization of mans divine
heritage. Further, such sacred works adv
cate the expressing of the divine within us,
as a higher form of life. Man is required to
create about him in matter, in the physical
world, as Plato said, those forms which will
express his ideas of beauty, whether this
beauty is of physical, mental, or spiritual
valu. There is also imposed upon man the
Cosmic obligation of establishing here on
earth that which reflects his spiritual con
sciousness. Therefore, our mission in life
includes these definite obligations which ev
eryone must meet if he is satisfactorily to
pursue his mission.
Each man who acts to the very best of
his capabilities, his training, experience, his
education, even if he be a Street sweeper or
scavenger, is fulfilling his obligations. He is,
within the limits of his powers and abilities,
contributing as much to society as does the
teacher, the physician, or the engineer. On
the other hand, one who tries just to get by
the simplest way he can is not fulfilling his
obligations. Whenever it is possible, every
one should try to enter into employment,
into a vocation, or a profession that will
bring him pleasure. In doing so, the indi
vidual gives of himself without any unconscious restraint. One who insists, however,
in doing what he likes to do when he is not
prepared for it, and deprives another who
is, is defeating his own mission in life. He

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

is not meeting his obligations, Cosmically

speaking.
We must not confuse a position of eminence and distinction with our personal mis
sion in life. In other words, ours may be a
very humble mission. It may be to do what
we can do well. It is likewise immaterial
whether, in doing our work, whatever its
nature, our ames are never on the lips of
another. Some of us may not find out what
our true mission in life is until the end of
this incamation. At that time we may real
ize that all the tribulations through which
we had to pass and all the varied experiences
were necessary for an inner growth. This
whole life, then, may be in some instances
just one of preparation so that we may serve
in a more qualified way at some other time.
Preparation for our mission in life comes
by being mystically guided. This means that
one must be ever ready to listen to intuition,
to what may be termed the higher judgment.
Such intuitive direction is contiguous to the
great intelligence of the Cosmic mind. It is
incumbent upon us to be obedient to such
inspirational appeal. It may be required of
us to make changes in our life. Intuitively,
we may be urged to undergo certain denials
in our way of living. These intuitive directions do not specifically tell us what our
mission is; they do not map out the step-bystep procedure. Rather, they direct us to do
certain things whereby we will acquire the
experience, the knowledge and wisdom, from
which our mission in life may be created.
There are those who are well along in life
and who have been somewhat confused as to
what their true end was until, suddenly, they
have come to the realization that all of their
experiences have provided them with a visin
and a judgment which qualified them for a
course of action for the remainder of their
lives and which constitutes their true mission.
Each of us can in part at least make the
A.M.O.R.C. our mission. It is not possible
for each member of the Order to become a
member of the staff at Rosicrucian Park.
Each member can, however, give thought to
the Rosicrucian Order a few minutes each
day. He, for example, can see that all those
whom he knows and who are pondering on
one or more of lifes mysteries, become acquainted with the A.M.O.R.C. and the light
which it can throw upon such mysteries.
Even this little effort by a member makes

AUGUST, 1956

the A.M.O.R.C. a part of his mission in life.

It must be realized that, in serving the Or
der, you are not just aiding a world-wide
fraternity. Every Rosicrucian well knows
or should knowthe principies and aims of
our Order. A.M.O.R.C.s obligation is the
enlightenment and liberation of all men and
the evolvement of their consciousness. Is
there a more humanitarian cause than this?
Is there any cause that is more worthy of
some effort on our part? If man possesses
enlightenment and liberation of mind, he
then possesses mental, physical, and spiritual
strength. He would then have noble aspirations and would share his illumination with
others. This would bring about the type
of world we talk about. To serve the
A.M.O.R.C. is thus to work for the welfare
of mankind unselfishly.X
Can Opposed Religions Coexist?
A soror of California addresses our Forum.
She says: In one of my monographs it is
stated: There is no such thing as a false
religin unless you think of a boy as being
a false man. This thought has helped me
considerably. However, it has occurred to
me to wonder how two contradictory re
ligions could coexist.
The fact is that opposed religions have
coexisted for centuries. A dm ittedly, the
coexistence has not always been tolerant.
Religious wars have been a blot on the his
tory of civilization. Persecution in the ame
of religin still contines, though not on
quite the extensive scale it did, for example,
in the Middle Ages. Modern examples are
the religious intolerance exhibited in such
countries as Spain and Colombia. Religious
hatred and intolerance are likewise exhibited
in the United States but they rarely reach a
state of open violence. Bigotry, overzealousness, and ignorance are the prime causes of
conflict between sects.
One of the main branches of the Lutheran
Church in recent years has prohibited its
members from affiliation with secret societies
or fraternal orders where solemn oaths are
taken. This would deny the members affilia
tion with such organizations as the Rosicru
cian Order and the Free Masons. A Romn
Catholic parish priest in California told his
congregation that they should not attnd nonCatholic weddings and funerals; and, further,

Page 15

they should not congratlate friends married

outside the Romn Church, even if they were
not Catholic. He stated that such conduct
would be considered as a mortal sin. Obviously, the psychological effect here was to
isolate these Catholics proper from other
elements of society. Such detachment causes
hostility toward other sects. It constitutes a
deliberate divisin of society.
An emphatic statement can be made that
illiberal sects cannot coexist, especially if any
one of them constitutes the majority of so
ciety. Freedom of religin, as separation of
State from Church, endures in a nation only
so long as the greater number of the populace
is of such a liberal mind. There are, for
example, in the United States large religious
sects which, if they were the majority numerically, would defy the Constitution of the
United States or at least delete its provision
of freedom of worship and conscience. They
are emphatically, by the principies of their
faith, opposed to equal freedom of all re
ligious sects. They consider themselves the
true and only church and the official channel
of Christs divine authority.
This attitude constitutes a growing menace
to the freedom of religin in the United
States and elsewhere. Such sects plan and
plot so that their members may hold public
office such as members of planning commissions, district attorneys, superior and appellate court justices. Such orthodox adherents
are often very conscious that they have at
tained their office only as a result of the
unified voting of the members of their faith
and belief. As a result, they are very much
aware of a debt of obligation which makes
itself felt in arbitrary decisions which do
and must enter into the deliberations of all
such public officials.
Two factors enter into the militant aggressiveness of most religious sects. First is
the indoctrination of its devotees with the
idea that the dogma, the specific theology of
their religin, emanates as a divine revelation. The exhortations of their founders,
saints and messiahs, are conceived as divine
authority and above human error and question. Any different view or interpretation is,
therefore, conceived as a challenge of the
word of God. The individuaFs devotion
and loyalty, therefore, compel him to assume
a militant attitude. He strikes back. He tries
to repel and suppress, if not extrpate, any

Page 16

contra ideas. He considers it a moral duty

to do so.
A second factor in militant aggression in
religin is the misconceived religious duty.
Those who do not accept the believers faith
are thought, by the extremely orthodox, to
be outside the grace of God. The adherent
then considers it his moral obligation to convert all others to his faith. Frequently both
his church and he himself pursue methods
that are definitely offensive to the one they
seek to convert. Their approach is a negative one. They issue tracts and pamphlets
delineating the falsity and errors of
others doctrines. Their method is defamatory and incurs the wrath and retaliation of
those who are not of their faith. Their whole
concept is the defamation of the opposing
belief, to tear it down and then save former
misguided followers. No individual with
a normal ego will accept benignly such an
attack on his beliefs. He will defend these
beliefs if for no other reason than that his
thoughts and beliefs have as much merit as
anothers.
There are many undiplomatic and stupid
remarks made by clergy and laymen alike
which incense individuis and increase re
ligious conflict. A few weeks ago, I attended
the graduation ceremonies of a class of young
men and women. Several races were represented, as well as numerous religious sects.
A Christian clergyman had been selected by
the nonsectarian school to give the benediction at the conclusin of the exercises. In
his remarks he several times used the
phrases, We do this in Christs ame and
We ask Christ our Lord to do this or that.
In the student body and among the hundreds
of parents and friends attending were Jews,
Buddhists, and other non-Christians. The
remarks of the clergyman were obviously
strictly Christian and not consistent with
other faiths. He could also have invoked di
vine blessing without reference to Christian
terminology and theology. These things may
seem minor but just reverse the circumstances. If a Buddhist priest had given the
benediction and was thoughtless enough to
refer frequently to Lord Buddha, many
Christians would have been indignant.
The only way that opposed religious systems can coexist is if both have an exalted
spiritual conception. Then, they realize they
are not opposed in principie but only in in-

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

tellectual presentations and methodology.

Suppose each member of a faith were to ask
himself, Why do I subscribe to my religin?
What are its objectives and of what spiritual
and moral advantage is it to me as a human
being? Let us suppose his answer to be: I
cultvate through my religin a greater con
sciousness of God or the Cosmic. Further, I
learn to conform to the spiritual dictates of
my conscience or soul which emanates from
the divine source. As a result of such attain
ment, I acquire that enlightenment that will
cause me to live in what we conceive to be
divine conduct, this being construed as the
true brotherhood of all men.
Further, suppose that he presumes that,
through his religin, he will learn to avoid
offense against nature and such moral standards as are necessary for a progressive so
ciety. Let us further presume that he believes
that consideration of the welfare of humanity
and moral rectitude will bring an inner peace
and reward on some plae of existence after
this. In substance, with little variation, that
is all that any religin can offer to its
devotees. Anything else is but ritualism,
liturgies, edicts, and proscriptions designed to
accomplish such an end. Beyond this there
exists in any religious sect only a maneuvering for political domination and the exercise
of the power of a hierarchal prelacy or
clergy.
If a religionist will honestly concede, to
himself at least, that that is what he expects
of religin as the highest good, then why not
allow others the same expression? The difference in their creeds, declarations and interpretations is not important, if agreement
is had that such are intended only to attain
a common end. There is no superior religin
if all strive for a mutual goal. No religin
that subscribes to such an end is inherently
wrong or is it divinely opposed. It is only
by such a humanitarian and philosophical
approachas well as mysticalthat opposed
religions can coexist indefinitely in our mod
era. society.X
This Issues Personality
A restless youth found himself and peace
of mind while researching through books on
occultism and related subjects in a public
library. This former youth is now Grand
Councilor, Robert Wentworth. Frater Went-

AUGUST, 1956

worth was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, on

May 1, 1911. His family were staid New
Englanders who saw to it that young Bob
was given religious training in the church
of their faith.
After completing his education in the
public schools of Lynn and Peabody, Massa
chusetts, Frater Wentworth was confronted,
as were many other youths during the great
depression of the early 30s, with the problem
of finding employment where none was
available. Men much older and of long ex
perience in the various vocations and trades
were his competitors for employment wherever he turaed. It was then that he displayed
the in itiative which characterizes Frater
Wentworth today. He determined to enter
the field of poultry husbandry while yet only
eighteen years of age, and with little capital.
He persisted in this vocation, approaching it
from the scientific level, and beginning on a
very meager scale. Today, his enterprise is
known throughout the State, and his producs
bring a premium price.
Material progress, alone, left young Went
worth unsatisfied. His early religious pursuits had left many questions unanswered
which they had engendered in his mind. All
of his spare time found him perusing books
on philosophy, metaphysics, and occultism
in the local public library. When still a
young man, while browsing in a library, he
carne upon an AMORC bookmark in a work
on the life of Mesmer. The comments on the
bookmark were wholly in accord with the
motives of his search. They led him to the
threshold of the Rosicrucian Order and he
became a member in 1932. Frater Went
worth says: Our beloved Order put purpose,
meaning, and progress in my life.
Subsequently, Frater Wentworth attended
five international Rosicrucian Conventions at
Rosicrucian Park. He cherishes the memory
of making the acquaintance of the late Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis. In 1943, the
Grand Lodge Convention elected him Grand
Councilor of the New England States, and
he has been re-elected each year since. Frater
Wentworth has been diligent in his concern
for the affairs of AMORC in his regin. He
works closely with the Master and the Board
of Trustees of the Johannes Kelpius Lodge
in Boston, gladly giving of his experience and
time whenever needed. Periodically, he visits
other Rosicrucian bodies in the area, such as

Page 17

the Pronaoi in Providence, Rhode Island, and

in Hartford, Connecticut.
Frater Wentworths demeanor is marked
by simplicity and humility. Anyone engaging him in conversation, however, is soon
impressed with his prodigious knowledge of
the Rosicrucian philosophy and allied
topics.X
Nature of Unity
A soror in Caada, appearing before our
Forum for the first time, says: I think there
is generally a mistaken idea as to what unity
is. The majority of persons seem to think
of unity as a strictly outer form. To them
it appears to mean that everything must
have a common level, that no one is to be
better informed than another. Even in some
schools they hold the bright children back
so that those not so good shall not get an
inferiority complex. How does unity, as a
term and condition, apply to things and to
human relations?
Logically and empirically, the condition of
unity is where two or more things have a
dominant appearance of being one. The
unity does not necessarily need to result in
the loss of the identity of the elements contributing to it. The unity, in other words,
does not have to be of a cohesive nature. For
example, we may take six different objects
and so attach them to each other that they
compose a single unit. Thus they have unity
and yet they retain their separate appear
ance. The essential point is that all the ele
ments are bound by some dominant common
factor. While such persists, they are unified.
They may otherwise have diverse qualities.
It is to be noted that we have stressed the
word dominant. The condition of unity must
supersede any other quality of the elements
that enter into it or the notion of unity does
not exist. Where one is not conscious of
diversity to some degree, then there can likewise be no notion of unity. An object which,
to our observation, has singleness of nature
only, conveys no notion of unity. It is the
diverse nature of things having a dominant
bond that suggests unity. It would appear
that the conception of unity arises out of
diversity. It is the human mind that discovers in the separateness of things some
quality which is contiguous to the nature of
all. In the phenomenal world, the world of

Page 18

appearances, there is always diversity.

Things seem to have separate natures. In the
noumenal world, nothing is. Everything
changes and only in essence is there oneness.
Since true unity must always display the
elements of which it consists, it cannot be a
complete equalizer. A hammer is a unit. It
consists of a wooden handle attached to a
metal hammer head. In no sense can there
be any complete equality between the two
elements that compose the hammer. Certainly the handle is quite unlike the hammer
head both in design and in substance. Their
unity is in their common contribution to the
oneness of function.
Organized society is a unit of individuis.
It is the unity of their expressed purposes
and ideis. Yet how unlike are its members.
There is religious unity as conformity to
creed. Political unity is conformity to an
ideology, but in neither one of these is there
a complete equality of the members. A
brotherhood may be a unity of professed objectives and activities. It does not imply that
every individual feels and thinks and experi
ences alike each category of life. Unity requires, psychologically, that the differences
of separate entities be submerged for a com
mon end from which arises the concept.
Can unity among men be a compulsory
action or must it be voluntary? Since unity
is a quality conferred by the mind of man
upon certain experiences which it has, then
only when this quality is present in these
experiences does unity exist. There can be
a unity of minds and a unity of objects, as
we have seen. A number of men marching
in precisin step constitute a unity of action
of their physical being, provided we take
only the objective aspects into consideration.
These men may be young trainees. They
may be under compulsin to march in just
that manner. Each step that some take, how
ever, may be opposed by a mental attitude.
Mentally, in other words, a number of these
young men may be rebelling against and hating such forced training and marching. If we
are to consider these men from the subjective
point of view, their mental attitudes, we
would find that no unity exists among them
with reference to their marching. In society,
then, unity may be considered either from
the viewpoint of action or volition, the mo
tive. Where men act in certain ways under
compulsin, there is no unity if their social

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

behavior is thought of in terms of volition.

However, if all one wants to consider is the
objective aspect, collective action, such as the
analysis of a complex mechanism, then he
would say that unity prevails.
Where human beings are considered, their
intellectual and emotional natures must be
taken into consideration. Their unity must
stem from these qualities as well as from
their actions. We can say, therefore, that
men are not unified whenever their actions
and words are not m otivated by their
thoughts and feelings. With inanimate objects
we expect the influence of unity to be mostly
external in origin, unless they contain inherent properties which so unite them, as a
magnet and iron filings. With men the unifying forc is thought to orignate in the
mind as will. The unified action of men in
a state is no true society if it does not represent the common influence of their thought.
The Rosicrucian Order is an example of
the unifying influence of mind. In no organi
zaron will one find any greater diversity of
race, creed, nationality, and culture. These
persons living throughout the world are
united, having the quality of oneness in
their conformity to a common ideal and pur
pose. The unifying factor arises within each
separate member as a result of his voluntarily subscribing to the Rosicrucian teachings. This kind of unity is self-contained.
It exists independent of external forces and
conditions. Environmental and other conditions may alter frequently, but the decisin
to be a member and a student of the Rosi
crucian Order causes each to act from inner
compulsin in a certain like manner. The
expression of such impulses causes that
sameness that denotes the idea of unity.X
Does the Cosmic Test Us?
A frater in California places the following
questions before our Forum: Is it necessary
for the Cosmic to test people? Must the Cos
mic put us through ordeals to determine
what we know?
This particular frater recited in a recent
communication the numerous failures he has
experienced in his business and personal af
fairs. He has obviously become exceedingly
cynical. He further considers that each ordeal and conflict in life is the predetermined
act of the Cosmic. He thinks that he is being

AUGUST, 1956

exposed to hardships as a test to determine

his worthiness to enjoy happiness and to
know success. The psychological consequence
of this transference of respnsibility to the
Cosmic results in personal embitterment.
The frater sees no contributing error or
fault in his own mental and moral attitude.
Actually, he comes to anticipate failure while
at the same time desiring success. His resentment closes his mind to his own possibilities.
Eventually he comes to hate the very source
from which he could derive help.
Thinking of the Cosmic as testing us individually is both elementary and primitive.
It is a theistic concept, that is, conferring
upon the Cosmic the nature of a personal
deity. It is the notion that the Cosmic as an
intelligence, designs each act and circumstance in an individuals life. It is likewise
a fatalistic assumption. It assumes that cer
tain circumstances in life have deliberately
been preconceived as tests which are inescapable. Consequently, one adverse circumstance after another conveys the idea to such
a believer that he is being persecuted and
this inculcates hatred of divine powers.
In the Rosicrucian monographs we fre
quently refer to Cosmic tests and triis. Such
phrases are never meant to establish the idea
that they are preconceived, intentionally assigned tests to each mortal. What, then, do
we mean by Cosmic tests and triis? We are
to construe this as meaning those Cosmic
forces and the events that by necessity follow
from them to which we are exposed. To use
an analogy, a boulder that is dislodged after
a heavy rainstorm and falls down upon a
roadway obstructing it, is a Cosmic test and
trial for the traveler. In the first place, the
dislodgement of the boulder is the conse
quence of natural forcesrain washing away
the supporting soil and gravitational forc.
No intelligent person will think of any of
these factors as being determined, as being
an intentional cause of the eventual result.
The Cosmic is impersonal in the display of
any of its inherent powers. The test and trial
in this analogy is in the circumstances that
confront the traveler. What is he going to
do to eliminate the obstacle before him?
That is the trial. The test consists of the
exercise of the qualities of his character. Can
he so concntrate the power of reason and
co-ordinate his physical strength so as to
meet the problem intelligently and solve it?

Page 19

Each day of our lives, each of us is confronted with this kind of Cosmic test and
trial as a series of adversities, perplexities,
and problems. Man has been exposed to life
in such a manner as to bring about his own
refinement and developm ent, physically,
mentally, and spiritually. Only when there
is opposition to our own desires and conceived
ends are we required to cali upon the fullness of our being. No man knows his
physical strength, for example, unless he is
first taxed by some weight which he is
obliged to lift in order to accomplish an end.
It is only as he goes from one increasingly
heavy object to another that he ultimately
learns his muscular and physical capacity to
lift weights. He is thus met with a chal
lenge. Shall he exceed the present weight
by preparing himself to lift one that is still
heavier? He soon discovers and learns
whether he is determined, whether he is a
procrastinator, or whether such efforts might
be better directed.
Mystically, we speak of learning from the
book of life. This is not only a metaphor but
also a truism. However, this book of life, its
circumstances and events, have not been prepared with us mortals as the objective. Life
is the natural development of the varied ele
ments of which the Cosmic consists. In
meeting and surmounting the obstacles that
arise, we acquire experience, and experience
is knowledge. We possess the faculty of reason and will to benefit by such experiences,
or to deny them and suffer the consequences.
In fact, most of the obstacles we experience
in life are self-created. We produce them.
They follow as the result of our own
thoughts and deeds. There is none of us who
has not said with sincerity at some time:
If I only had my life to live again, I would
not do thus-and-thus.
We must avoid instituting by our thoughts
and deeds such causes as bring calamities
and misfortunes upon ourselves. As we look
back upon them now, we do not think of
such circumstances as being Cosmically ordained tests and triis. We know that we
were the causes of most of them.
Men in their ignorance, not finding or
being able to perceive the causes of their
adversity, are wont to transfer them to the
supernaturalIts Gods doing. The Cos
mic decreed it! The masters are imposing
this upon meand similar phrases are

Page 20

commonly heard. All life is a trial, for no

man knows what he is, his potentialities and
possibilities until lifes conflicts are conquered. If we realize this early in life we
begin to derive benefit from the experiences
that arise. We find the way to live in
harmony with ourselves, our environment
and with other people. We are never freed
of some misfortune, but we do avoid many
otherwise unpleasant events.
What we expect from life, what estimation
we place upon it, likewise determines how
severe will be the triis which we make for
ourselves. One who aspires to be a world conqueror, and to dominate the lives of all other
men and women, is creating for himself great
hatred, enm ity, and danger. One who
measures success in terms of wealth only is
likewise due for many disappointments. If
he becomes wealthy he will know many
pleasures but not profound happiness. He
will need to be scurrying from one place to
another pursuing one thing after another
ever searching for the illusive, permanent
pleasure. Humble and more basic activities
that could provide him satisfaction, he will
never know. He may be able to buy great
paintings and sculptures and fill library
shelves with first editions, yet he will never
know their real qualities. They will be
empty forms to which his uncultured self
and unawakened aesthetic qualities cannot
respond. Other men may like luxuries, too,
but they have not wholly sacrificed their
spiritual idealism to them. As a result, they
find many lesser satisfactions which bridge
the intervals between luxuries.
Character is formed by adversity. It is
quite true that some men and women are
faced with a series of misfortunes which
apparently they have not instituted. Still
others seem to be the frequent recipients of
many easily acquired benefits. What should
be the attitude of the individual in the first
circumstances? Should he bemoan the vicissitudes of life and become embittered because of his misfortunes? As difficult as it
may be, he should continu to strive toward
the end he seeks and try to determine wheth
er the end is plausible. Each rebuff to which
he does not submit strengthens his character,
his will, and his mental visin. Then, when
favorable opportunities do arise, he is a
stronger individual and better able to take
advantage of them.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Suppose that all through life one has been

hopeful, uncomplaining, striving to do what
his experience and moral sense term as right,
and yet he contines to know adversity.
That, then, is the psychological time to test
ones philosophy of life, or his religious precepts. Do you believe you are being prepared
in this life for another? Do you think that
love, justice, and tolerance, for example, will
entitle you to some more lofty State of ex
istence, as extolled by most religions? If you
do, then these concepts should at such a time
give you consolation. If you are an atheist
and a materialist and have scoffed at these
things, then be consistent with such a view;
take each moment of life for all it affords
and complain not that it is difficult.X
Rosicrucian Approach to Health
Do Rosicrucians take medicine? Do they
consult physicians? Are they subject to the
same kinds of illnesses as nonmembers? Some
of you may smile at the naivet of these
questions. However, they frequently arise in
the minds of the Neophyte, the new member.
The Neophyte has the right to expect that
his affiliation is introducing him to a new
knowledge and a nw source of personal
power. The extent of this knowledge he is
yet to learn. He must also learn that the
Rosicrucian is not an abnormal human being
or is he exempt from natural laws.
The early monographs, and particularly
the Sixth Degree of AMORC, are devoted to
the Rosicrucian system of therapeutics or
healing. There is considerable emphasis in
that degree on anatomy and physiology.
Especially is this so as regards the digestive,
respiratory, and nervous systems. It is
stressed that all disease is a lack of harmony
in the body and mind of the individual. This
reference to harmony is not a mere poetic
phrase. It is pointed out that each cell of
the human organism has an electrical quality
and a dual polarity, its nucleus being predominantly positive and its outer area, predominantly negative. The nucleus is a
pulsating intelligence with a consciousness of
certain duties to perform as part of that
matrix of cells that constitute the whole or
ganism. Any severe disturbance of this
harmony of the cells disrupts their function
ing and is objectified in organic and functional disorders. In general, the maintaining

AUGUST, 1956

and restoring of health is, as the Rosicrucians

say, a problem of hormonium. How this
harmonium is accomplished constitutes the
specific technique of the Rosicrucian method.
In many respects what the Rosicrucian
teachings st forth in regard to healing is
an intelligent analysis of the functions of the
human body and mind as taught by physi
cians of other schools of therapeutics. After
all, the analysis of certain procedures of
organic function is but a matter of careful
observation by any trained observer. How
ever, the Rosicrucians have advanced ideas
regarding the blood and its vitalizing powers
that are original and are receiving serious
consideration by outside investigators. Rosi
crucian principies and hypothess about cer
tain phases of the function of the nervous
systems are likewise radically different and
are also under investigation by other serious
inquirers. The Rosicrucian, of course, concurs with the rational principie that health
is the foundation upon which every other
human activity is built. One can often accomplish much while depleted in health but
it is patent that, with good health and the
same initiative, his success will be even
greater.
The Rosicrucian principies, theories, and
practices are an incidental yet important part
of the whole Rosicrucian philosophy. The
Order does not attempt to bring forth professional healers. It does not try to confer
authority upon anyone to practice healing
publicly as a livelihood, using the Rosicru
cian methods. In fact, AMORC warns the
member that such is neither constitutionally
proper, legal or ethical. It permits the
member to use the healing principies not
only for himself and his family but for any
nonmember whose afflictions he can relieve.
He is cautioned not to make charges for such
treatments, not only because he is not legally
licensed to do so but such a practice is contrary to the Rosicrucian code of ethics.
There are, of course, licensed medical and
nonmedical physicians who are Rosicrucian
members and who do use the Rosicrucian
system in connection with their profession
and who have attested to the amazing results
they have obtained in certain cases. The
degree of success of the Rosicrucian treatment methodboth contact and absent heal
inghas been. exceptionally high. To what
extent the member attains perfection in the

Page 21

technique of healing and whether he is con

sistent in his treatment is an important factor
in the Rosicrucian therapeutic system, as in
any other. The Rosicrucian is always working with natural laws. Though the results
may often seem miraculous, there is no supematuralism in volved, or is any claimed.
Long abuse f ones health may result in
slow recovery with the Rosicrucian method
and in some instances recovery has not been
effected at all. One must always realize that
transition is inevitable. It is absurd to think
that life can and should be prolonged for
ever. The Rosicrucian philosophy explains
why transition must occur. It likewise postulates what should be the ideal, the normal,
life cycle for every human being. It is the
objective of the Rosicrucian healing tech
nique to establish such health as will let the
individual enjoy life for that full cycle
and then the Cosmic law of transition to be
fulfilled.
The Rosicrucians are not faddists or
fanatics in any sensemost certainly not in
matters of health. Their position is that
every recognized system of therapeutics,
medicine, chiropractic, osteopathy, naturopathy, has merit. None has a panacea for all
ills, or that one would be supreme and would
provide cures for most of the discomforts
of body and mind. Though, for example, the
Rosicrucian method does not instruct in
surgery, it readily and sanely endorses surgery as necessary in many conditions where
there is an emergency and life is at stake.
No intelligent person will deny the valu of
surgery, for example, in removing an obstruction in the digestive system or some foreign body. No drugless system could be of
similar aid. Further, medication can often
be replaced or found not necessary when
osteopathy or chiropractic treatment can be
given.
It is not so many years ago when, for
example, diathermy, as heat induced by
microwaves, was construed as fraudulent or
valueless by the traditional systems. Few, if
any, medical practitioners would have such
auxiliary equipment in their offices. Now the
valu of such is recognized and enthusiastically prescribed and applied for the relief of
certain disorders. Likewise certain drugs
have unquestioned merit, as the antibiotics
which prevent, or aid in the cure of, serious
infections.

Page 22

The Rosicrucian has the encouragement of

the Order to consult, in addition to his Rosi
crucian methods, the physician who, he be
lieves, may aid him. In fact, the Rosicrucian
membership includes physicians of every
recognized system of therapeutics. These
physicians are proud to be members of
AMORC and find nothing in our teachings
that in any way interferes with their practice. The Rosicrucians in all their philosophy
desire to be rational and avoid fantasies.
Rosicrucians admit of pain. They do not
declare it to be wrong thinking, or an
evil thought, or a vagary of the mind.
The Rosicrucian advocates not the denial
of pain but an immediate recognition of it.
The purpose of pain, he contends, is a
Cosmic blessing. Without pain, inharmony
and abnormality in our intricate organism
would persist, unnoticed, until irreparable
damage or death would ensue. It is a false
philosophy under any guise that expounds
that pain is a hallucination or is due to improper thought, and that a mere change of
our mental attitude will remove pain. It is
an equally false notion that denies the ex
istence of substance or of the body and
claims that disease cannot exist because matter is but an illusion. To Rosicrucians, pain
is Natures alarm system. It tells of an abnormal or subliminal condition that needs
correction. Find the cause, remove it and
the pain will go. In fact, as every physician
knows, pain often follows a prolonged period
of abnormality. Often the condition has prevailed for some time before Nature brings
it to our attention via the sensation of pain.
Certainly one would not fail to respond to
a fire or a burglar alarm. He would not
deny its cali. The same response of imme
diate recognition is required of Natures
signal, pain.
It is absurd, as well as harmful to the
Rosicrucian Order, for some members to
assume a supercilious attitude in these matters by declaring that advanced Rosicru
cians never consult a physician, take
medicine, undergo surgery, or are seriously
ill. There is nothing in the teachings that
makes such a declaration. Rosicrucians are
nt supermen or superwomen who live out
side the pal of nature. They often do things
that are amazing to the nonmember, but

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

such is always in accord with Cosmic prin

cipies and not an exception to them. If in
some way we, consciously or unconsciously,
abrgate the harmonium of our beings, we
need treatment. None of us is such a master
of Cosmic law that he does not make mistakes and have physical reactions to them.
When inharmony exists in our body, we
must use each and every method, for the
best it provides, to rehabiltate ourselves. It
is imperative, when seriously ill, even before
trying any Rosicrucian treatments, to con
sult a physician. You are not capable of
thoroughly diagnosing your own condition.
Only a trained person, like a physician, is
able to satisfactorily determine the cause in
serious disorders. Obviously, before any sys
tem can provide relief, the cause must be
known.X
Is Childless Marriage Immoral?
A frater in Nicaragua, a medical physi
cian, addressing our Forum says: From the
Rosicrucian point of view, where young married people do not have children when it is
possible for them to do so, can such be con
sidered living in immorality?
Almost any conduct or relationship can
be placed in the category of immorality. It
all depends on ones moral perspective
what standards one applies to the situation.
Eating meat on Friday constitutes a violation
of the religious precepts of one Christian
sect, and so such is then dogmatically im
moral. Killing even flies is a crime against
the vital life forc and Brahma, according
to the orthodox Hind; so that, from their
conception, is immoral. Not to have the male
child circumcised is a form of immorality
to the orthodox Jew. To indulge in alcohol
or any intoxicant is a sin to the Moslem,
and therefore immoral. Each of us has done
some of these things, and we feel free in
conscience, particularly if those things are
not prohibited by our religious adherence.
Morality, in creeds and dogma, is most
certainly not of divine origin, though mens
religions would have you believe it to be.
Morality is the adaption of ones behavior
to the innate desire to conform to social conventions. Men inherently want to do right.
They do not want to ostracize themselves

AGUST, 1956

completely from society by acting and living

contrary to it. As a consequence, they will
conform to those established rules and traditions which give them a sense of rectitude.
Even the criminal conforms to a code of
principies, which may, however, deviate from
the will of the majority. Men, then, propose
or gradually develop such rules of conduct
as they believe serve the higher aspects of
their nature and will provide them with a
moral satisfaction. These constitute the
moral codes.
Moral codes are influenced by environmental conditions, even by the regin in
which one is living, the traditions which men
inherit and the necessity of their kind of
society. Some moral codes are wholly arbitrarily established and men readily accept
them because they are proclaimed by an
authority whom they recognize. All their
lives they may have participated in some
act without any sense of guilt or objection.
If, however, they are orthodox Romn Catholics, for example, and the Pope issues a bull
declaring that such behavior from then on
is an offense against their faith, they will
readily abide by his edict. To them, from
that time on, such conduct is an unquestioned immorality though all non-Catholics
would not so consider it.
Biologically, the sexual urge is for the
basic and natural purpose of procreating the
race. For nature, there is no question of
moral taboos as long as the basic appetites
are satisfied. From the religious point of
view, then, it might be argued that any
sexual relations where procreation is not intended is a violation of Gods, or Cosmic, intention. However, men are not wholly
consistent in their interpretation of this
natural urge. On the one hand, they declare
the urge to be intended solely for the cretion of offspring, and on the other hand they
declare it immoral to bring forth children
out of wedlock. In his moral interpretations,
man, it would seem in this instance, defeats
what he professes the divine intention to be.
Conversely, if a man and a woman are married and have no children, they are also
thought by some orthodox religionists to be
immoral.
One must look upon this matter realistically as well as idealistically. Man is not only

Page 23

a soul and an animal, physically speaking,

but he is likewise a social entity. Society
imposes upon him many obligations and
precipitates him into circumstances that na
ture did not conceive. For example, there is
the economic factor. Immediately after marriage, all persons cannot raise a family. They
are not so situated that they can afford the
financial liability. Both the young husband
and the wife need to work to maintain their
home. It is also necessary that they first
acquire such resources as will assure them
that they can rear children in an environ
ment that will prepare them for life in a
highly competitive and turbulent world. Are
such young people to be considered as living
illicitly and as being immoral? Here we are
confronted on the one hand with a pragmatic
situation, a very realistic one; on the other
hand, the idealistic vales. The individual
must provide the answer according to his
own perspective, the view he wishes to take.
There is also this factor to be taken into
consideration by the orthodox moralist.
Suppose young persons were to remain unmarried until their economic security was
assured, until they were able to finance and
rear children. This would create, and it has
created, a situation that would likewise fall
into the category of im m orality. Such
healthy young persons, possessed of the
natural sexual appetites would be strongly
tempted toward illicit relations. For them
not to enter into such relations, being restrained from such until much later in life,
in many instances would produce psycho
logical maladjustment. This would indeed be
a sin against nature.
The sexual act is a natural one. It is not
indecent or immoral in itself. However, cer
tain restraints must be placed upon such
sexual relations by society for its own preser
varon. To allow promiscuity would be to
strike at that necessary unity, the family,
which is the core of society. Further, pro
miscuity could cause, and it has caused,
social diseases which bring about the dissolution of a race. The intelligent person, there
fore, will most certainly not consider a
marriage where there are no children as be
ing an immoral State.X

&
ciepice
mufSA

CU FUXISUCISM
PERSONAL INSTRUCTION

- BY THE SPOKEN WORD

/ ^oncentration, Contemplation, M editation. These three techniques

^ embrace our whole existence. Every successful endeavor in the
material, mental, or spiritual world depends upon the effectiveness
of application. These techniques, with the added emphasis of the
spo\en word, may now be a part of your home and sanctum.
Ralph M. Lewis, Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order, speaks to
you with mastery of his subject and with the full clarity of a perfect
recording.
You can use this recording time and time again with benefit. It con"
tains simple, practical exercises by which to attain these
techniques.
Beautifully appearinghigh fidelityover one-half y 3 3
hour instructiori. Postpaid at............................................ mm
Double-Sided, 12-inch Recording
By Ralph M . Lewis, F.R.C.

October, 1956
Volum e X X V II

No. 2

Rosicrucian Forum
A p r v a t e

p u b lic a t io n f o r m e m b e r s o f A M O R C

A R M A N D O FONT DE LA J A R A , F. R. C.
Deputy Granel M a ste r o f the Latin-A m erican Divisin

PAGE 26

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Greetings!
V

W HAT IS FAITH?

Dear Fratres and Sorores:

The word faith has an aura of reverence
surrounding it. It is used as a mysterious
element of encouragement and moral buoyancy for the discouraged and depressed. To
many persons it has actually assumed the
quality of a phylactery, become a kind of
mental amulet. Faith, to have valu, must
be understood. It is not a thing in itself,
but rather a State of mind. There are words
which are used as synonyms of faith, such
as hope, belief, and confidence. They are
not, however, entirely parallel in their significance. Actually, faith can have a deterrent effect upon the life of an individual if
it has the wrong connotation to him.
Faith is the reliance upon certain qualities
exhibited by a thing or condition. The qual
ity is not self-evident; it does not reveal its
nature. If it did and this was perceived,
that experience would not be one of faith but
of knowledge. To use an analogy, if I have
heard someone discourse, logically and eloquently, upon a certain technical subject, I
then do not have faith in his ability; rather,
I have knowledge of it. Let us presume
there is a certain popular cause being sponsored. The principies of the cause may
appeal to me. I want it to succeed. The
cause, however, is as yet an untried one. I
have no personal knowledge that it will suc
ceed in fact. The qualities of the cause, what
it represents itself to be and what it eventually is to accomplish, can only inspire my
faith.
Let us consider faith from its commonest
application, that of religin. A religious devotee has faith in the various pronouncements and promises of his church and its
clergy. The church and the clergy both
imply a spiritual bond and an authoritative
divine insight and relationship. Much of
that which is expounded by both is, obviously, unsupported statement from a purely
objective or empirical point of view. In
other words, the majority of theological

promises, made as part of religious doctrine,

cannot be verified b}r tangible proofs. The
religious devotee must have faith in them.
He must accept an implied quality, that of
authoritative spiritual connection. This implication, to the faithful, becomes a substitution for knowledge. Faith, then, we repeat,
is reliance upon the implied quality of
things and conditions.
All faith is not necessarily devoid of rationalization or of empirical experience.
There are at times contributory circum
stances which are very strong in their implication and which, though not knowledge,
nevertheless justify reliance upon them.
There is the faith that a child has in its
parents. The father may seem omniscient
to the little boy or girl because he is able
to solve most of the childs problems. Because
of what the father has been able to do for
the child, there is the obvious suggestion
that he is potentially able to cope with other
problems brought to his attention. Then,
there is the faith that is exhibited by one
who, for the first time, consults a specialist,
as a physician, architct, or an attorney.
This specialist has the quality of authority
as to his capabilities. This evokes reliance
upon his advice, constituting a faith in his
remarks.
The danger associated with faith is the
tendency for many persons to let it supplant
actual and related knowledge. Some religious
sects have made faith in itself dogmatic, that
is, an element of their doctrines. They insist
and demand for the individual to have no
more than faith in their religious matters.
They erroneously present faith and truth as
being of one nature. Consequently, such re
ligious adherents will, as a conceived moral
duty, renounce all factsrefuse even to con
sider themif they oppose in any way their
faith. There is the particular individual who
has faith in the literal meaning of the Bible.
He is more popularly known as a Fundamentalist. He adamantly rejects all scien-

QCTOBER, 1956

PAGE 27

tifie evidence that reveis the error of certain

literal interpretations of the Bible. An example of this is the notation in the earlier
versin of the Od Testament that genesis
occurred in 4004 B. C.! The blind reliance
upon implied authority, which is faith at its
worst, causes an individual to cise his mind.
He will not question the source of his information under any circumstances. He will
even deny that there is improbability associated with anything offered by the source
of his faith.
This misapplication of faith, reliance upon
implied quality, puts mens minds at the
merey of unscrupulous powers. It makes it
possible for selfish interests to utilize the
credulity of such persons to keep them in
ignorance and bondage. The very superstitious person is usually one of strong faith.
His superstitions are groundless; they are the
assumptions of nonexistent causes and effeets. Nevertheless the individual has faith
in them. He has reliance upon their implied
authority, that is, the legends and tales in
which they abound. Faith should only arise
from circumstances of strong probability.
Current developments in a particular enterprise, we may say, suggest their future con
tinuaron. So far as can be determined by
observation and thought about them, this
probability for the future seems assured.
Such a circumstance, then, warrants that
reliance that constitutes faith. Without that
kind of faith all progress, obviously, would
be arrested. Confusion and chaos would ensue instead.
Justified faith, such as we have just con
sidered, should, however, be but a temporary
measure. The faithful should constantly be
alert to replace faith with knowledge. The
true mystic, for example, subordinates a
faith in God to a knowledge of Him. The
most renowned mystics have conceded that
it is impossible for the human mind to em
brace absolute knowledge of divine reality
and yet they expound that it, the human

mind, can experience that unin with divine

reality which constitutes knowledge.
Though hope is commonly interchanged
in definition with faith, there is a definite
distinction. Psychologically, hope falls into
the category of wishful thinking. It is an
anticipatory desire for some thing or con
dition. I hope it will not rain tomorrow, but
I do not necessarily have faith that it will
not do so or do I know that it will not.
One may hope that his economic status will
improve in the future, but he may not have
faith in his ability to achieve that end. It
is to be noted that hope is always related
to a future time. We do not hope for the
present but always for the future. Conversely, faith may be of the past, the present,
or the future. One may have faith in certain
events of the past and that they will influ
ence, in some particular way, his present or
future status. He may have faith or the
implied reliance upon the ability of one of
the present. Likewise he may have faith in
the probability of a future occurrence. Of
the two, faith and hope, the former is (with
qualifications) the more commendable.
In most instances hope is devoid of any
actual or implied faets. Faith, on the other
hand, if founded upon reasonable probabil
ity, as previously stated, justifies our retention of it as a motivating forc in our lives.
Hope, however, relies upon a caprice of
events to bring about the desired end. In
other words, the individual, who hopes, is
placing his dependence upon indefinite factors to fulfill his desires. The one whose
faith is related to probability, in lieu of
available knowledge, has centered his atten
tion upon reality. This reality is the par
ticular object of his faith.
Everyone who has faith has confidence in
the object of his faith, even though it may
be misplaced. But everyone who has con
fidence is not necessarily displaying faith.
Confidence, too, is a reliance upon a thing
or condition. Such confidence, however, can

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, California,
under Section 1103 of the U . S. Postal Act of Oct. 3, 1917.
The Rosicrucian Forum s Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Pubcation of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Parle, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/9 sterling) A N N U A LL Y FOR MEMBERS O N LY

PAG E 28

be engendered by actual knowledge quite

apart from the implied reliance of faith. I
have confidence that a tool, which I use, will
produce like results under like conditions.
I have observed its functioning. I know from
experience its manner of operation. It is
true that it might break but, aside from such
an event, I know how it should and will
operate. The operation of the tool is not a
matter of faith to me. I am not relying upon
any qualities which it may imply or upon
the authority of anyones statement as to its
efficiency. I might have faith in someones
sales presentation about a new tool only to
discover by experience that it was inadequate.
It is advisable to look objectively and
rationally on those faiths which we cherish
and cling to. Are they obsolete in the light
of newly acquired knowledge? Will they
stand this test of analysis? Have we the
courage to frankly scrutinize them?
Fratemally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator.
Doing Good What Is It?
A soror of Rhode Island rises to address
our Forum. She says: What does it mean
to do good? What principies are to be used
in really helping other people? I ask this
not so much in terms of motive as in terms
of consequences.
There are two general types of good. The
first of these is psychological and is the basis
of both types. The good is the pleasurable.
It is that which is satisfying to some aspect
of the nature of the individual. A good dinner is one that is deliciousthat is, palatable
and gratifying to the appetite. A good day
is construed either as having pleasant weather or in terms of events which have our approval and satisfaction. Good, as applied to
objects, may have reference to their qualitative nature. A good garment, for example,
is one of which the texture, design, and color
fulfill to our satisfaction what we expected
of it. Good, when applied to a man, alludes
to his general qualifications which are con
sidered proficient or they denote his moris
and ethics.
From this it can be seen that no thing is
really intrinsically good. It is good only to
the extent of the human evaluation of it.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Good is relative to the valu which we set

upon a thing or condition. Good changes
with varying culture and environment. The
good of one society in its customs may not
be acceptable to another. The Aztecs sacrificed human life to a god. This act was
considered a good for their society. Today
such a custom would be considered brutal
and murderous.
The second type of good is traditional. It
consists of that accumulation of customs
which a society inherits and which by its
conventions it is obliged to accept. These
may consist of a collection of liturgies and
rites which are presumed to have a sacrosanct origin and are, therefore, good. Examples of this are the various customs of
fasting and self-denial for religious purposes.
Such denials may not be pleasurable to the
devotee sensuously. He would perhaps far
more enjoy food than denying himself. Tradition, however, compels him to accept these
acts as contributing to his spiritual growth,
meaning the welfare of his soul. He derives
psychological satisfaction in the conscientious
conformity to the proscriptions of his society.
Religious and moral systems, of course,
proclaim that certain conduct on the part of
the individual is a positive good9 whether it
is individually realized as such or not. In
other words, the act is thought to be inherently good when performed, whether the
doer experiences a satisfaction from it or not.
We may use the analogy of the Decalogue
with its prohibitions: Thou shalt not steal;
thou shalt not commit adultery; and so
forth. It requires the presumption that such
goods were actually divinely declared and,
therefore, must be accepted as being good,
independent of any human interpretation of
them. History, however, discloses that such
moral edicts usually can be traced to the
minds and tongues of mortal men. The avatars and messiahs have stated that such were
given to them as divine revelations. They
were undoubtedly Cosmically inspired but
the words, the actual fats, were couched in
the thoughts and words of man. Time has
altered or modified that which has been pre
sumed to be sacred and good conduct, as we
have mentioned. Mens minds change with
an evolving consciousness and thus their concepts of good do so as well.
Some moral edicts have persisted since the
earliest writings on human behavior. The

OCTOBER, 1956

celebrated admonishments of one Ptah-Hotep,

an ancient Egyptian vizier of some five
thousand years ago, are an excellent ex
ample. Such moral precepts, however, are
related to that behavior necessary for the
preservation of a progressive and enlightened
society. Men long ago have determined that
society, collective and co-operative living,
provides a welfare that exceeds the satisfac
tion of living like a brute or a lower animal.
Observation and analysis disclose that to
maintain such a society there must be imposed upon the individual certain compulsions and restrictions. Obviously, murder,
rape, theft, and even untruth strike at that
unity that is society. These actions man con
siders not good because he has found them
detrimental to his welfare which means they
are unpleasurable to him. As a consequence,
such prohibitions have acquired a reverential
halo by subsequently being attributed to a
divine source and as being a positive good.
Early priesthoods found it advantageous to
impose such behavior by setting it in a
framework of proclaim ed supernatural
authority and reverence. One, however, must
not lose sight of the fact that society is manmade. It is man who evaluates society as
good and interprets all that contributes to
it as likewise good.
Does this mean, then, that there is no
good except as man conceives it? The answer
must be yes? but with qualifications. Man
of necessity must think of the absolute, ulti
mate reality or Cosmic and natural laws as
being good. They should not necessarily be
thought of as determinative good. In other
words, the Cosmic and nature, the latter be
ing of the former, are not purposeful in that
each of their manifestations is the conse
quence of a preconceived good. Neither is
the Cosmic evil. The whole of all Cosmic
action, we must presume, is harmonious, and
harmony is construed by man as good. That
which may cause suffering or appear as a
catastrophe is experienced by man as detached from the whole of which it is actu
ally a part. It only appears as other than
good because its relationships are not discernible to man. An earthquake is destructive and disastrous to mans welfare. On the
other hand, in the Cosmic unity it is but a
necessary functioning and adjustment of the
earth to internal pressures and thrusts.

PAG E 29

It is incumbent upon man to co-ordinate

his being, his thoughts and deeds, with all
Cosmic phenomena as best he can discern
them and can do so. Such conformity is the
nearest he can come to participating in a
positive or absolute good. I am what I am.
To be as conscious of and as consistent as
possible with what I am is the highest moral
good. I have capabilities and powers which
animals do not possess, at least not to the
same degree. I have a moral impulse, that
is, I can frame such notions as right and
wrong. If I fail to conform to this impulse,
I am not consistent with what I am. I am
denying a part of my own nature. In this
respect, then, I fail to do good. It matters
not if my interpretations and the context of
my notions of good may change with the
years. What is important is the aspiration
to do good and that will represent my most
lofty moral idealism.
There are certain things, as we have noted,
that constitute the good for men collectively.
Health, security, longevity, peace of mind
are examples. These provide satisfactions of
various kinds to the individual. It is apparent, then, that we are doing good when we
aid an individual in attaining such aims.
There are, too, as we have said, those goods
necessary for the preservation of our present
society, as fundamental moral precepts and
ethics. To help another to abide by these
constitutes a good.
This type of assistance to another is of a
general nature. It provides the assurance
that it is furthering a good acceptable to the
majority. Where, however, there is some
particular ideal or objective to which an
individual alone aspires and which he con
ceives as good, then caution must be exercised in helping him. A careful analysis
should be made of the particular circum
stances which he requires. Is what he thinks
of as good likely to redound to the detriment
of another? It must be realized that so-called
individual or specific goods may also have
detrimental results upon society. A man, for
analogy, may desire to construct an indus
trial plant in a district that will provide
him a substantial economic saving. This
would constitute such material advantage and
satisfaction as to have him refer to it as
good. The operation of the plant in the dis
trict might cause fumes and gases that would

PAG E 30

be harmful to the nearby residents. It is

patent that, in helping the individual to l
cate his plant in that particular district,
would really be doing harai to a majority
of people.X
Is There Awareness After Death?
Man wants to survive death not only in
essence but in function as well. Any intelli
gent person will readily admit that though
death may alter the form of the body, yet
its elements are not lost. Matter, of which
the physical body is composed, is indestruc
tible though it may be reduced to mere ele
ments and their particles. The survival that
man desires, however, is of that conscious
entity, the personality, the self. The urge
for survival after death is for the realization
of ones own personal entity. It may be
phrased: Not just that I am, but that I
know that I am.
This desire for a continuation of personal
existence after death goes back as far as the
earliest human records of mans aspirations.
Even then, immortality was conceived in
terms of function. The immortal self was
held to be a human image possessed of all
somatic characteristics as, for example, the
appetites, visin, hearing, and locomotion.
This immortal self was thought to be surrounded by friends, similar events, and
treasured articles of this world. The existence
in the next life was, in reality, thought to
be an exalted extensin of the pleasurable
living of this one. There were, of course, in
antiquity, a few exceptions to this conception as the religious notions of the Babylonians, who thought death but a dreary
existence of almost nonexperience.
What most men truly aspire to in their
yearning for immortality is the full retention
of consciousness after death. They speak of
preserving the realization of self, yet further
inquiry reveis that such, alone, does not
satisfy them. They continu to cling to the
notions of space and time which they identify
with reality. The after-existence, then, to
them, must have dimensional characteristics.
They want to realize the after-death place.
They also want to realize a present period in
contrast to a previous or past existence on
earth. They hope to be conscious of forms,
things, circumstances, personalities, events,
and to be able to recall incidents from mem-

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

ory. To lose such functions, to them, means

a real death without survival. They are of
the belief that these things are important.
They speak of soul as an immortal element,
yet they persist in clothing it in material
conditions and mundane functions.
Though men prate of the unity of immor
tality, the merging of what they term soul,
with its infinite cause, yet they qualify it in
terms of detachment. Ultimate reality is
oneness. There are no particulars. There are
neither things or persons as such. These
distinctions and definitions are wholly prod
ucs of the human consciousness. Therefore,
when man thinks of immortality in terms of
particulars, his notions are contrary to the
oneness of the ultimate reality, or the Cos
mic. Upon things and human experiences,
men confer notions, such as good, bad, evil,
inferior, or superior. If things were to exist
after death in the manner men hope for,
then the human vales which they have
attached to them would also remain; conse
quently, after death there would be evaluations similar to those of earth. All of the
petty appraisals which stem from the con
sciousness of mortals would continu in the
immortal realm.
Many of the affections and loves which
men know here are grounded in mortal and
mundane relationships. We like one person
better than another for numerous reasons,
some of which are not complimentary to our
better selves. We may like someone because
he displays the same weaknesses as we do.
We enjoy the companionship of another perhaps because he defends our overindulgences
in which he also likes to participate. We
may admire and think of one as having a
worthy intelligence only because he confirms
our opinionseven though they may be
bigoted and intolerant. Does belief in im
mortality require one to have a consciousness
of such personalities after death? Does one
want life after death to include a continued
friendship and love for these affections of the
flesh?
We speak of the higher planes of con
sciousness of the exalted self of the soulpersonality and its perfection on the one
hand. Conversely, we then proceed to at
tribute to this higher self in the immortal
realm, many experiences that are wholly
anthropomorphic, or humanlike. What is it

OCTOBER, 1956

that we really want? Do we want a life as

we conceive it to be after death, or the State
as it may exist in fac? The images of our
consciousness, the chain of ideation which
we have, is greatly dependent upon our
sense qualities. We cannot, therefore, expect
that with the removal of those senses at
transition that these qualities will remain in
some probable afterlife. Why should we insist that any realization which might occur
on another plae of consciousness be of the
same nature as this one? Why should we, in
our beliefs and hopes, want to keep the self,
figuratively and literally, earth-bound to the
same kind of preferences as it has had in a
physical organism?
It should be realized that what we cali
self, the awareness of our own entity, is
dependent upon a highly developed organism
such as the brain. In function, self is the
ability to set off as apart from each other
the sensations of extemality and those of the
mechanism of our being. When conscious
ness has an awareness of itself, we then have
the notion of self. When we are able to
realize will, the faculty of choice as apart
from that which it chooses, we then derive
the concept of self. The essence of self is
life forc, and the universal intelligence
which is immured within it. This essence of
self, or life forc is also found in organisms
lower than man. All that manifests the re
sponsivity and the intelligence of life has
consciousness to some degree. It just needs
the mirror of the brain and mind of man for
him to realize it.
The question is: Can this reflection of con
sciousness, this image of the intelligence of
life, be retained when the organism through
which it manifests has been dissolved? Is
it not possible to reconcile the traditional
religious, philosophical, and mystical beliefs
of the survival of the personality after death
with examples of physical phenomena? Sup
pose we accept the premise that the life in
an organism is, in part at least, a universal
energy which enters a substance whenever
its properties are suited to its adaption.
This universal energy has its own con
sciousness. This consciousness is its internal
striving to maintain the necessity of its own
nature by being responsive to that which
will further it. This consciousness or re
sponsivity of the universal energy will be
very extensive; it will exhibit an intelligence,

PAG E 31

a power of selection and rejection, of prop

erties and conditions, that will cover a wide
spectrum of other Cosmic forces. Like a
high-frequency carrier wave of a radio transmitter, which has superimposed upon it
sound impulses, this universal energy may
carry the effects of its contact with the lesser
consciousness of the human personality.
Thus, the universal energy which contributes
to life may be a preserver and transmitter of
the qualities of the human self. The self,
from this concept, would not be, after death,
the conscious entity that we now realize it
to be. Rather, it would be a series of modified impulses locked within the Cosmic
circuit of the universal life-giving forc.
How could mortals experience this kind of
self, of one who has passed through transi
tion? Since all beings are imbued with this
universal consciousness and intelligence,
there would be a harmony established be
tween the surviving impulses of self, and the
minds of certain mortals that could attune
to them. Everyone would not have that
degree of introversin and apperception as
to realize the impulses coming from what
might be termed a disembodied conscious
ness. The experience might be thought of
by many as a guiding impulse of their own
subconscious.
With each birth, the universal conscious
ness would thus deposit in the organism one
or a combination of such subtle impulses of
the self as would help fashion the new soulpersonality. In addition, however, the soulpersonality would be subject to genetical
influence, or that of heredity. The impulses
of self while resident in the flow of the uni
versal life forc, after death, might be con
ditioned by such an experience. In fact,
many of the strange experiences called
psychic, subliminl, or subconscious urges
which are exhilarating and inexplicable to
persons, may actually be the result of these
acquired modifications of the impulses of
self, which were acquired after a former
transition.
All of this, of course, is offered merely as
a theoretical premise, we repeat, to try to
offer some ground of reconciliation for the
advances in modern psychology with the
age-old precepts of mystical philosophy. The
impulses of self carried by the universal
energy after transition would not have ex
periences of a qualitative or quantitative

PAG E 32

nature. There would be no realization of

forms or qualities such as we experience
here. The self would not realize itself as
we do, for it would not have the determinative faculties of an organism by which to do
so. But, in all probability, these impulses
of self carried by the universal energy would
acquire certain changes, mutations, if you
wish, and be exposed to certain stimuli when
freed from the body. These, then, would
subsequently manifest as ideas, notions, and
aspirations when they were again embodied
and clothed with a mentality.
Again we can only say, as has so often
been said in the Rosicrucian monographs,
that the great experience is that of life. Here
is to be experienced the real focal point of
the consciousness of self. It is here where we
can appraise what men cali finite and in
finite. Here on this mortal plae man realizes the Cosmic, and most important, he
knows that he does so. It is here where im
pulses and sensations are brought through
the veil of self and are transmuted into noble
realities. Do not look to transition as the
great factor of the human cycle. It is truly
a marvelous phenomenon, but it is this life
that allows you to bridge the finite and the
infinite. It is this life that provides the varying levels of consciousness which you can
learn to attain with their myriad experiences.
What a tremendous Cosmic gift is being
discarded by those whose mortal days are
given up mostly to preparation for some other
imagined existence! Life is the unfoldment
of the phenomenon of Cosmic Consciousness
in man. It cannot be grasped in its entirety
by any mortal, but all who strive may know
some of its blessings. Those who devote
themselves exclusively to the objective side
of life are also dissipating it. They are failing to experience its greater ramifications.
They are but looking at the bridgeand not
at that which it connects.X
Diversity of Opinin
A frater in a large city of this country in
a recent letter directed to the Correspondence
Department stated that while he realized
that throughout history men have held various opinions and convictions he could not
arrive at a reasonable explanation of why
such a diversity of opinion should exist and
why these different opinions should be so

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

emphatically supported by those who were

desirous of maintaining a particular opin
ion. Furthermore, he stated that it seemed
to him that these differences in opinion were
more outstanding in the fields of religin
and politics than in other subjects. At least
he has observed, as have many others, that
most individuis are anxious to support their
own particular opinions in these two fields.
There is probably less logic exercised in the
discussion of religin and politics than in
most subjects. Most of us have developed
definite prejudices in these two fields.
The difference between an opinion and a
prejudice is basically that a prejudice is an
ingrained opinion which we have accepted
as a part of our habit pattern so completely
that the opinion Controls us rather than that
we control it. An examination of opinions
and prejudices shows that they frequently
have little foundation. Many individuis are
unable to support their belief in their choice
of religin, politics, and many other subjects.
Some beliefs or accepted opinions have been
handed down to us from our parents or associates. Others have arrived at a particular
point of view because of some minor incident or some favorable impression that be
came established in their consciousness and
experience. Our failure to realize that every
individual can arrive at opinions in the same
manner as we can makes us fail to comprehend, at the same time, that every individual
has a right to his opinion. It is not as im
portant to consider the fact that many opin
ions exist as it is to attempt a system of
education that will teach human beings to
realize that when opinions transfer them
selves or are transferred into prejudices
there is a possibility of danger.
Many of the most critical controversies of
history have developed from prejudices. Intelligent individuis will attempt to adjust
opinions if they find that all phases of the
question are presented and a careful analysis
is made of the various opinions involved. But
the individual who has a fixed prejudice
goes into such a discussion with his mind
already made up; that is, his decisin is not
going to be influenced by rational discussion,
rather it is going to be based upon a solution
arrived at in terms of his own particular
opinion as it exists at the moment. An indi
vidual entering a conference or an attempt
to compromise with this point of view is not

OCTOBER, 1956

approaching the subject properly. He is

simply using the opportunity to publicize
his prejudices and hopes probably to influ
ence other individuis by his particular opin
ion rather than to modify his opinion as it
stands at that time.
The individual who decides to accept only
one opinion and to consider that it is right
is overlooking a function of human evolution. This is particularly true in the
subjects which we mentioned; that is, indi
viduis arrive at a definite opinion or deci
sin and not only do they consider the
opinion something of their own possession,
but they also attempt to establish an artificial
foundation or proof for it; that is, religious
prejudices are based upon the principie that
God has ordained the opinion to which the
individual has subscribed and therefore it
cannot be changed. An individual believes
in a certain principie not because logic, reason, and experience has led to that conclu
sin, but because he has accepted as a
fundamental premise such opinion or con
cept to be the ordination of God.
Reason will explain to us if we will listen
to it that there are probably few elements
of human affairs that God has ordained. God
has, as a Supreme Being, put into effect laws
and principies which man must learn to live
with; that is, man is an evolving entity that
is attempting to harmonize himself with
the laws that have been established by the
Creator. The opinions, prejudices, ideas, and
conclusions which the human being may
find to be his in the process of his evolvement are not necessarily ideas instituted and
maintained by a Supreme Being. God is
probably less interested in the daily affairs
of the individual than many individuis of
certain religious beliefs would prefer to believe. The concept is false and causes us
to want to support our opinions by a higher
authority.
Thinking is a process which is given to
mankind as an innate ability. It is a birthright in a sense; that is, man is endowed
with the ability to think, but no two indi
viduis think exactly alike. In the physical
world, two precisin machines may be
almost identical insofar as physical measurements are concemed, but still slight modifications may be found if the analysis is
carried far enough. Also, even though the
human being has the ability to think and is

PAG E 33

given the capacity and the equipment with

which to think this does not mean that
thinking as an entire process or entity has
eventually to become one fixed pattern. By
this I mean that human beings as evolving
entities do not all think alike, and it is
probable that when they reach their ultimate
goal there will still be differences of opin
ion.
Thinking is a process, not a thing in itself.
The different ways of thinking which are
expressed by individuis can be compared
to the melodies which may be played on a
single musical instrument. The melodies
represent the different thoughts. Thinking,
in other words, is not the instrument itself
which is comparable to the structure of
thought, it is more like the results produced
by the instrument. Just as many melodies
can be played upon a musical instrument,
so can many thoughts or systems of thoughts
come out of the thinking ability of an indi
vidual or a group of individuis.
The problem of the intelligent human
being is not to attempt to reconcile all
thought or attempt to direct thought and
human thinking toward an ultimate agreement, but rather to cultivate the ability of
the individual to think for himself and at
the same time teach that individual tolerance
for the other individuales thought. There are
religious groups that have but one aim
that is, to dominate the thought of mankind.
These groups that would object to being
called radical are in this sense of the word
radical; that is, they are trying to change the
structure of human evolution. They are
attempting to formlate ideas which a small
group wants to have accepted and claim that
these ideas have the support of the Supreme
Being and everyone must think the same
way or suffer eternal punishment in the life
hereafter.
This is not the destiny of man. Man is to
evolve as individual entities as well as a
social group. He is to devise the ways and
means to answer his own questions. He is
to use the structure of thought to play upon
it the melodies of his own imagination, Cre
ative ability, and application of knowledge.
In this way, each human being can devise
those ideas which he can accept from among
those that are useful and those that are useless. The useful ones should become an
inspiration for his own life and by example

PAGE 34

for others, but he will never lose sight of

the fact that in the evolvement of his own
conclusions and in the representation of the
ideas to which he subscribes that every other
human being has the same right as he to
evolve his own opinions; therefore, there
will always be a diversity of opinions. Civilization as we know it in the physical world
and evolution as we conceive it in the psychic world would come to a standstill if man
were denied the right to think, the right to
evolve his own melodies of thought on the
instrument of his mind.A
Does Hunting Create Karma?
A soror presents a question to our Forum:
My husband likes to hunt and fish and,
when he brings game home, we enjoy eating
it. However, he goes hunting primarily because he likes to hunt, not particularly for
the food he brings home. Does the killing
of animals for the sake of killing and pleasure bring about adverse karmic conditions?
Life lives upon life. In the lower forms
of life, one thing devours another as a means
of sustenance. It has acquired, through eons
of time, the instinctive appetite for a par
ticular kind of food. All living things, of
course, are not camivorous. However, even
when we walk across a field, we may kill
microscopic organisms of which we are not
conscious. It is almost impossible, by our
living, not to destroy life in some manner.
In Indic philosophy, the doctrines of
Brahmanism speak of a universal soul which
permeates all living things. This soul in
beings, according to such teachings, is going
through an evolutionary process from incamation to incarnation. The Brahman,
consequently, is forbidden to destroy any
living form, even an insect, because such is
the decimation of a soul in one of its stages
of development. From their conception, the
destruction of life causes the violator to incur adverse or detrimental karma.
Though the religions of the West, in the
main, do not advcate such a doctrine, many
Christians, however, will not eat the flesh
of any crea ture, animal, fish or fowl. They
have a personal compunction against it, even
though the Christian Bible most certainly
does not support such extreme measures. In
accordance with the biological laws of life,
man is justified in destroying life for his

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

sustenance, particularly when he cannot find

substances whose ingredients are equally
nourishing. Philosophically, there is no conscience in nature. Each thing has the necessity of its urges and impulses of which it
consists. There is no evil in any phenomenons functioning according to its intuitive
naturethat is, conforming to what it is.
Conscience and moral precepts begin with
man. It is man who evaluates life in accord
ance with the evolvement of his conscience,
that is, his own response to his feelings and
to traditional beliefs and prevailing associations. These include religious doctrines
and dogma which man lays down. As man
evolves, his sensitivity is developed. He has
finer feelings and sentiments which spring
from the enlarged self-consciousness referred
to as soul. He sympathetically extends his
feelingspsychology calis it empathyto
other persons and things. He feels the pleasures and hurts of others. He is embarrassed,
shocked, mortified, and angered by what
other persons or living things may be made
to endure. As a consequence, he reacts to
ward these conditionsa state called a sense
of justiceas if they personally occurred to
him. The average sensitive person will resent, for example, the abuse of a dog, cat,
or horse. He calis it inhumane treatment.
He means by that that his consciousness has
so evolved that he experiences a degree of
mental suffering in observing the physical
suffering to which an animal is exposed.
The average person will have no hesitancy
in killing an annoying fly. He will not, how
ever, summarily severely beat a pet dog
because its behavior may annoy him. Why?
It is because, whether he so realizes or expresses the idea or not, the dog has a state
of consciousness that in m any respects
parallels his own. He knows that the animal
has feelings of pain, hurt, or pleasure that
bear great correspondence to his own sentient experiences. He would thus mentally
suffer if he were to severely beat the dog.
Men know that, in hunting, they often
inflict severe pain upon animals or fowl
that are not killed outright. The more sensi
tive individual feels it unjust and inhumane
to inflict suffering on other conscious beings
for a moment of pleasure. This state of
mind is induced less frequently by fishing,
a fish being a simpler organism with a less
complex seat of consciousness than a deer,

OCTOBER, 1956

for example. This suggests, therefore, that

it experiences less suffering. As a consequence, the individual who fishes has less
sense of guilt. For men to hunt, not for food
but for sport, to use the quivering tissues,
sensitive nervous systems, and vital organs
of living things as a target, is beneath the
noble dignity which man as a whole has attained. The only way in which man has
evolved is in his intelligence and the
acquisition of a sense of vales. He only
excels other living things in his masterful
direction of natural forces and in his moral
idelism. Without *the exercise of such
idealism, such lofty self-control and appreciation of the functions and order of nature,
man is just another animal.
Man is aggressive and he likes to display
his power and his mastery. This is worthy.
It is the motivation that has propelled him
forward and made him dominant among liv
ing creatures. However, it does not have to
be accomplished at the sacrifice of relatively
helpless animals. The average sportsman
would not test his marksmanship and skill
against another human equally as skilled,
armed, and stalking him in a forest. The
odds would be too even and thus the danger
too great. He hunts partly because he knows
he is superior and has a chance of safety in
that superiority. To kill animals in selfdefense and for food, when necessary, is
morally justified.
Target practice and trap shooting are skillful. If one wants to test his ability, it can
he done by this means equally well. As for
the outdoors, hiking or shooting with a
camera in game areas will provide all the
thrills that killing does. I have been on
safari with a camera in East Africa, Kenya
and Tanganyika, and in South Africa. I
have been in the lion and elephant country.
I have seen and photographed lions within
ten feet of me. My associates have had the
same experience many times before. The
lions, when not hungry or provoked, would
not attack men or other game. When hun
gry, they go on the prowl and make their
kill. They do not kill for sport. Many men,
however, with native thrashers or beaters,
will harass the game, drive them into a
position where, with powerful guns, they
may be killed for sport.
From the mystical point of view, those
who exhibit a love of killing do incur a

PAGE 35

karmic debt. At some time in their lives

they will come to experience a State of helplessness and suffering which they will need
to endure. They will then, perhaps, consider their circumstances to be a great injustice and will undoubtedly say that they
are being persecuted!X
The Unity of Mysticism
One problem conceming mysticism is to
convince the average individual that it has
practical valu. Mysticism has so long been
associated with the realm of religin that
most people who have given any thought
to the subject have considered it in terms of
a religious doctrine or as being in the domain of theology. Mysticism has thereby
been considered generally as controlled by
some religious denomination or power. In
the many centuries of mans history, particularly in those centuries when civilization
evolved, mysticism has, therefore, been classified in the popular mind as something of
a mysterious or semireligious naturesome
thing that has little advantage or even purpose insofar as the daily lives of individuis
are concerned.
If mysticism as a philosophy is to become
a practical and a dynamic forc in the world,
it must be taught as a system or even, we
might say, as a science of living which man
can utilize in his everyday life. It need not
necessarily be related to a system of re
ligious thinking. It is therefore necessary to
approach the study of.mysticism as a unifying forc. Mysticism will be able to bring
together various avenues of mans contemplation of himself and of his place in the
universe. Man will then be able to draw
upon the vast sources that mysticism opens
to the individual to use the concepts that it
teaches in his daily life.
It is impossible to reach an agreement that
will suit everyone, specifically defining the
end or the goal which constitutes the meaning and purpose of life. In spite of the lack
of agreement on a definition, it is generally
conceded that one of the primary purposes
of life is to attain a degree of happiness. On
the basis of this premise it may be readily
concluded that the process of life is there
fore, at least in part, a search for happiness.
Just as the goal of life is difficult to define,
probably no two people will agree exactly

PAG E 36

what it is that constitutes happiness. Generally most of us will again agree that
happiness is the State of mind and body that
is conducive toward having the individual
feel at ease with himself and his environment, and at the same time, permits him to
enjoy a degree of physical and mental com
fort and pleasure. If the purpose of life is
at least in part a search for happiness, then
the life that human beings have lived during
the centuries of the existence of man on
earth has been productive of an amount of
success.
Mankind has attained a certain degree of
happiness although, of course, every indi
vidual has experienced periods of unhappiness and grief. The degree of happiness that
most human beings have attained indicates
that the purpose of life has, to some extent,
been successful. What is more important
is that in this search for happiness on the
part of man, other developments have occurred at the same time. The search for
happiness by man has given birth to all the
cultural expressions of civilization such as
the arts, religin, philosophy, and science.
These expressions are the cultural achievements that man has brought into existence
as an accompaniment to living, while at the
same time, his efforts have been directed
primarily toward the attainment of happi
ness.
Of all the cultural expressions which have
been brought into existence by man in this
process, probably religin and philosophy are
the greatest and have the most far-reaching
effect. These are mans closest allies with
true wisdom. Religin and philosophy are
what we might cali the choicest products of
mans cultural achievement. That is because
in them we find the highest expression possible both of mans feeling and his reason.
When we associate feeling and reason in
proper balance, we realize the fullest manifestation of mans potentialities. In such a
balance we have evidence of mans life leading toward a purposeful end. These two
expressions of mans cultural achievement
have supplied the strongest mpetus to the
evolution of human civilization.
It is necessary, when we mention civiliza
tion, to somewhat qualify the term. Frequently civilization, even by those who
claim it has reached a great height, is limited
by definition and restricted only to mans

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

achievements in one particular field. In the

reference to the term here, I am referring
to civilization as the composite of human
efforts and attainments in the process of
mans search for happinessthat is, I mean
by civilization, the manifestation of all the
worth-while attributes or accomplishments
of man. This concept includes the realization of beauty, love, justice, sympathy, kindness, tolerance, liberty, and freedom, as well
as the attainment of a degree of mastery
over environment. It is the use and mani
festation of all these things which are usually conceded to be among the highest vales
of human attainment.
In considering all the products of mans
cultural expression, we realize that he has
produced evidence of human accomplishment in many ways. But we should realize
that philosophy and religin are the tools
by which the human being can be transformed from the physical being that he
normally is to the divine being which he is
potentially. Or we might say the individual
can be transformed from the man to the
god. In the course of human history and
civilization in terms as we think of it here,
there have been many expressions of both
religin and philosophy. However many of
the particular expressions of religin or the
particular faiths that compose religin today
and their underlying basic thoughts may
vary one from the other in terminology,
ceremonies, and rites, they all agree essentially insofar as their ultimate objective is
concerned. That objective is the regenera
ron of man as a physical being into man as
a god being or a divine being. Both religin
and philosophy strive to provide the mpetus
and the means by which man can rise from
being just man to his actual existence as an
intricate part of a divine forc or entity.
This evolution of man toward the fulfillment of his potential possibilities is not
readily observed by the more or less casual
attitude of the so-called average individual.
Nevertheless, most people are aware that
human society is changing. Actually human
society has always been in a state of change,
because just as man as an individual entity
cannot remain static indefinitelythat is,
remain the same physically, mentally, and
spiritually throughout all timeso must so
ciety, of which the individual man makes up
the component parts, be in a constant state

OCTOBER, 1956

of transition and change. Consequently,

human society is iii transition today in many
ways. We are aware of this transition, interpreting it as being more apparent than
it may have been in the past, because we are
here as spectators of the process. We are
aware of some of the strides that physical
Science has made which will and already
has affected the progress of the mastery of
human environment.
We live in an age of materialism, but that
is not a new situation. Materialism has been
a dominating philosophy in human society
before. No doubt today it is a predominant
mpetus to the transition and change that
we observe taking place in society. It is true
that the higher vales of life are being challenged in every way possible; that is, there
exists today a preponderance of emphasis
upon the physical and material. Physical
Science has become so important in the daily
lives of every individual that the same indi
viduis tend to look up to it as a most
important function or factor in their lives.
To express the tendency of todays materi
alism in a different form, there is at the
moment a preponderance of the animal na
ture expressive in human activities all over
the world. This fact explains in part why
there is so much turmoil and misery, so
many ideological conflicts, opposing creedal
divisions of thought in religin, and antagonistic political factions in almost every
human society. Because of these basic differences between individual men, because of
the existing friction in society, and because
man sees civilization threatened by forces of
a material nature over which he has no con
trol, he lives in more fear than is consistent
with the attainments of the civilization of
which he brags at the present time.
Modern Science with its material achieve
ments has given man the amenities of a
highly comfortable and labor-saving life.
Unfortunately, all the accomplishments and
all these attainments have not brought to
man the peace and happiness which he has
hoped to attain, or has science always contributed to mans attainment of the end and
goals he hopes to achieve. Nevertheless, we
must not fail to recognize that science like
religin and philosophy has its own vales.
It has filled a place and will continu to do
so as one of the achievements of man; it has
assisted and is assisting with the creation

PAG E 37

of the environment within which man has

to function.
It has frequently been stated that the solu
tion to the problems of the world and to the
problems of humanity lie in following a cer
tain course of action. Such a statement has
been made at every period of history. A
statement of this nature is easy to make
because it only reflects individual opinion or,
in many cases, it reflects a prejudice. At the
same time, there are few who deny that
the world does need a reaffirmation of the
spiritual vales which have been promoted
and upheld by the great religious and philosophical systems that have flourished in
various periods of mans history. If such a
reaffirmation of spiritual vales can be combined with a utilization of the discoveries of
modern science, man then will have taken a
long step forward in his evolutionary proc
ess. In other words, what man needs to do
today more than anything else is to coord
nate all the sources of his civilization and
all the attainments of his own thinking.
Man has had a tendency to draw upon
only one facet of his achievements rather
than to use every heritage that is his, and
to coordnate and combine all the apparently
conflicting forces that converge upon him at
any particular moment. Man is dual in his
own nature; this duality is expressed in
mind and body and in reason and feeling.
Both are important; he exercises reason primarily in his accomplishments with the
physical world. Science is essentially a product of reason and its application. Feeling,
on the other hand, is essentially a product
of emotion. Feeling is the seat of religin,
piety, love, tenderness, and justice. This
concept of feeling should be combined with
reason which is the seat of the intellect, of
analysis, and of visin which will penetrate
the veil of ignorance and superstition.
We hear some people claim that humanity
today is in need of a new system of thought.
Actually, we are not so much in need of a
new system as of proper application of exist
ing knowledge. What humanity needs is a
system of thought which combines the greatest achievements of religin and philosophy
with the achievements of science. We need
harmony and coordination between all of
mans achievements. Man needs a philoso
phy of science and a science of philosophy;
one that will balance the other.

PAGE 38

According to the Rosicrucian philosophy,

the fundamental forc which exists throughout the universe and is the forc put into
effect by the Creator is called Nous. We use
this word as the designation of the manifestation of the Divine or of the energy
created by the Divine and as it is evidenced
in man and matter.
Nous is the forc behind all life; behind
the evolvement of mental and physical forces
whatever their nature may be. It is the
essence and the immanent principie which
pervades everything and is, indeed, what
ever is life. This forc, which we as Rosicrucians know as Nous, has been referred
to by various terms. Actually, the terminology is not important; it is the realization
of its meaning and the feeling of its potency
that is important. Plato called this forc
the good. Kant called it the transcen
dental thing in itself; Schopenhauer, the
will; Spinoza, substance; Emerson, oversoul. The Christians refer to it as the
Father in heaven; the Moslems as Allah.
Many other terms have been used, but they
all mean substantially the same thing.
The mystics and the men of wisdom of all
ages have agreed that if man through selfculture and selfless service can realize and
experience this one universal existence, or
life, or Nous, whatever we cali it, that underlies all phenomena, then right understanding, beauty, love, harmony, and peace
can be achieved individually and collectively. The realization of this truth will promote
fellowship, sympathy, and brotherhood, not
only among the various religions and philosophies, but also among those who do not
limit their faith to a particular creed or sect.
It is, therefore, important for us to realize
that the greatest achievement that man can
contribute in this age, this modern age to
which we so proudly refer as the twentieth
century, is a coordination of existing knowledge. This coordination will be achieved by
mans reaffirming his true vales, and his
concepts of relationship to the Divine, as
well as his cooperating with the achieve
ment s of science. Then civilization may go
ahead with mans attainment of control over
the physical universe; and, at the same time,
he will be developing the forc or power
within himself, which is the contact with the
Divine.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

The means by which such an accomplishment may become an actuality must be

through the power of the will of individuis
to assert themselves to the extent of indicating their preference for eternal vales.
The individual who accomplishes such an
end must have the visin of a mystic and
the practicality of a physical scientist. Mys
ticism, when properly understood, is the one
banner under which both may function because mysticism is the point of unity by
which all men can have an opportunity to
attain the understanding of mans divine
essence and to express it dynamically and
practically in life.
By combining all mans cultural and scientific forces together, and linking that combination with his spiritual understanding
and psychic potentialities, man will have
achieved a great step toward the ultmate
realization of his destiny and proper place
in the universe. The control of physical
knowledge and material achievements in
their proper relationship to mans ultmate
end is dependent on his realizing that the
channel through which this achievement
may take place is that of mysticism. As a
mystic, man can be a practical human be
ing; and, at the same time, without intermediaries, he can direct his consciousness
and sincere thought toward God and the un
derstanding of the purpose and unity of the
universe.A
Rosicrucian Symbolism
Why does the Rosicrucian Order use symbols? Have they an essential place in our
times, or should they be relegated to a past
era and obsolescence?
A symbol is a picture of an idea. Like a
written word, it is intended to convey an
intelligence. In fact, the first kind of writing consisted of pictographs and hieroglyphs,
that is, various pictures of objects which
eventually evolved into word-signs and finally became letters of alphabets. Symbols,
however, are far more universal in their
application than is a language. For example,
the word triangle in English may not be
comprehensible to a person who knows only
the Arabic tongue. Certainly, however, that
person would recognize the geometric form
of the symbol of the triangle and it would
therefore convey some significance to him.

OCTOBER, 1956

Symbols are of two general classes: natur

al and artificial. A natural symbol consists
of a design, composed of straight lines or of
curves, that resembles some phenomenon or
thing in nature. Thus, the Egyptians drew
two parallel, wavy lines to represent water.
Many people of antiquity, and aborigines of
the present, draw a circle with lines radiating from it to depict the sun. Today we use
a symbol, a kind of zigzag line, to depict an
electrical spark and lightning. We use a dot
with five points extending at various angles
from it to represent a star.
Artificial symbols are those that are not
simulated portrayals or pictures of what man
actually perceives in nature. Rather, they
are invented by him to transmit in a simple
and efficient way a particular idea. Two of
such common symbols are the dollar sign
and the symbol of the pound sterling. An
other excellent example of an artificial sym
bol is the national ensign or flag of a
country. Why are such symbols invented?
It is because they graphically and effectively
convey a meaning to all minds better than
words can do. Every person might not be
able to describe alike his conception of the
symbol he sees. Yet, nevertheless, it will
have significance to him.
In the sciences today, as for example in
physics, symbols are used profusely. One
need only look at the schematic diagrams
of electrical circuits of various electronic
devices to note the myriad standardized
symbols. Each of such unique signs communicates to the physicist, or to the engineer, a very comprehensive idea that would
otherwise take many words of description.
We might say that symbols comprise a kind
of shorthand having a universal nature, a
meaning to many persons regardless of their
language. Still another example is the
Morse Code used in radiotelegraphy and
telegraphy. Whereas language may change,
basic symbols (those that are closely relat
ed to an idea) rarely undergo any subsequent change in meaning.
Symbols have been used in the past as a
cryptic or secret code, as well. They have
been devised to have significance to a special
group of personsand to conceal their context or meaning from all others. Many of
the symbols of the medieval alchemists were
of that nature. However, some of such sym
bols are still in common use with little or

PAGE 39

no change of meaning in the modern science

of chemistry. The ancients originated sym
bols for the constellations; some of these
were natural symbols. They were what the
constellations appeared to look like in the
heavens to the naked eye. These symbols
are perpetuated by modern astronomers.
The mystical and philosophical orders
such as the Rosicrucians, the Kabalists, and
the Martinists, have used many symbols for
centuries. At first, such symbols arse as a
means of simply pictorializing profound
ideas. The Rosicrucian Cross is one such
symbol whose beautiful simplicity reveis
an inspiring m ystical and philosophical
truth., Succinctly explained, the Cross represents the physical body of man with arms
outstretched in salutation, standing erect as
he faces the rising sun. In the center of the
Cross is mounted the partially opened Rose.
The Rose represents the soul of man unfolding as it receives the greater Light of
illumination, just as the physical rose opens
with the touch of the suns rays. Legend
relates that very early man was impressed
with the shadow of the cross cast upon the
ground behind him as he stood with out
stretched arms, facing the rising sun, the
dawning of a new day, in adoration. The
Rose carne to symbolize his emotional response to a spiritual understanding which
he felt within his breast.
There are, of course, the Kabalistic explanations of the Hermetic Cross. This
particular Cross appears on the birthday
greeting cards sent to every Rosicrucian and
it is rather a complex design. Not only do
its geometric forms have meaning, but its
colors, as well, portray the mystical and
spiritual teachings of the Kabalists and the
Rosicrucian alchemists. An explanation of
the Rosicrucian Hermetic Cross is given in
the Rosicrucian Forum magazine of several
years ago, and also appears in the Rosicru
cian Manual. We repeat that description
here for the benefit of those who do not have
the above-mentioned explanations at hand.
It is usually called the alchemical and
hermetic Rose Cross, and is a very od and
mystical Rosicrucian symbol. On the four
ends of the cross there are three alchemical
symbolsmercury, sulphur, and salt. At the
top and bottom of the cross, mercury is in
the center, sulphur is on the left, and salt
on the right. Also on the ends of each arm

PAGE 40

of the cross, but closer in, are four pentagrams. The circle at the top of the pentagram stands for spirit; the first triangle on
the left, with the point downward, and a
line parallel to the base, stands for earth;
the other triangle with a line parallel to the
base, but with the point upward, on the left,
stands for air. The triangle on the right of
the pentagram, with the point downward,
stands for water; and the triangle on the
right with the point upward, stands for fire.
The pentagram is very deep in mystical
meaning, being a symbolic representation of
the Rosy Cross itself.
The end of the longest arm of the cross,
or the lowest, is divided into four sections.
Each section stands for the colors of Malkuth of the Cabalistic Tree of Life. These
four colors are lemon, olive, russet, and
black. Above these four sections of the lower arm there is a six-pointed figure or hexagram, which has six planets on its points
the bottom, Moon; next to the right, Venus,
Jpiter, Saturn, Mars, Mercury, and the
Sun in the center. The hexagram was once
considered the most powerful of all symbols.
These planets are arranged in the order of
certain Cabalistic rituals which they represent. The four large rays or points projecting out from behind the cross are
symbolical of the rays of Divine or Cosmic
light. These rays have the letters I N R I ,
which, according to Frater Wittemans, stand
for Latin words meaning nature is completely renewed by fire. The other smaller
rays with letters on them represent the first
letters of resonant ames as used by the
Greeks and Egyptians in their ancient mystery schools.
The petis of the great rose on the cross
are twenty-two in number and represent the
twenty-two letters of the Hebrew Cabalistic
alphabet. The twelve outside letters repre
sent the twelve signs of the Zodiac. The
seven petis or letters in the middle rose
stand for the seven planets and the seven
double letters of the Cabalistic alphabet. The
three inner petis, or mother-letters, repre
sent air, fire, and water. The four projections behind the small Rose Cross are the
points of the Maltese Cross. It, too, is rich
in symbolic meaning. Then, of course, there
is the Rose Cross proper with its ve petis,
in the very center of the large cross. This
large Encyclopedic Rose Cross symbolizes

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

all the majesty, power, beauty, and protection which the Rosicrucian Order has to
offer.
It is not necessary to go into a detailed
explanation of all the Rosicrucian symbols.
Various Rosicrucian and other symbols have
been extensivety explained in the monographs, the Rosicrucian Manual, and the
book, Behold the Sign. The latter books are
obtainable from the Rosicrucian Supply
Bureau and should be in the library of every
student and Rosicrucian.
Everyone, of course, is familiar with the
symbolism of mathematics, numbers, and
signs having a specific, practical power when
compiled in a certain way with other nu
meris in accordance with experience and
reason. The symbols of mathematics are
actually keys to unlock many problems. The
symbols of the Rosicrucian Order are likewise keys to natural and Cosmic laws.
Consider, for example, the ontological significance of the dot, the square, circle, triangle,
rectangle, the cross, the numeris three, four,
and nine, and a host of others.
Rosicrucian symbolism is intended to enlighten the mind by giving concrete examples that in visual form simply present
an abstract idea. The symbols are never
intended to mystify or awe-inspire anyone.
Further, never do the teachings imply that
the symbols, as composed of straight lines
and curves, contain within themselves any
potency. They do not contain any magical
property within their forms. They are but
pictures, we repeat, of concepts related to
laws and principies and they are not an
mate, or do they have a vital power within
their physical form. The triangle, for fur
ther example, has no efficacy except in conveying the idea of a doctrine or truth which
does have significance. A flag, for analogy,
is in itself valueless; it is of little intrinsic
valu. It is but a piece of colored cloth. It
does, however, represent a sovereign nation,
a people, a political system, and a way of
living.X
Strange Phenomena of Mind
A Dr. Rolf Alexander, a medical physician, recently astounded a public gathering
of the press in Britain by dispersing a cloud
above Hampstead Heath by sheer effort of
will. It is related that Dr. A lexander

OCTOBER, 1956

stepped on the Heath and stared at the

cloud which had previously been selected by
the newsreel man filming the experiment.
In seven minutesspeeded up on the film
the selected cloud disintegrated completely,
while neighboring clouds remained static
and unchanged. The televisin commentator,
Michael Westmore, who showed the film on
his programme, said that Alexander was
tested on at least a dozen clouds before the
dispersal was actually filmed. Dr. Alexander
succeeded each time. Said Dr. Alexander:
Anyone can do it. This will open a new
page in science.
This demonstration, as all strange ones
whose causal connections are not apparent,
aroused considerable comment in the press.
Several Communications from Rosicrucians
in various parts of the world, who read the
newspaper account, have asked about it.
These feats are not common only because
the ability to so concntrate sufficient energy
and to be able to project it to influence matter at a distance and on a large scale, is
extremely difficult. That it has been done
numerous times, though not always in like
manner, is an established fact but it has not
been properly explained. Technically, this
type of projection of mind power to move
physical bodies without mechanical or physi
cal means is known as telekinesis.
In the early years of the present century,
our late Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis,
gave a demonstration of the concentration
of will and the projection of mental energy.
Seated before a group of ivestigators, including gentlemen from the press and others
who were scientists, he caused a photographic pate to have impressed upon it the
image of a crude equilateral cross. This
cross was revealed to the ivestigators when
the pate was developed. The pate selected
by the ivestigators had a very sensitive
emulsin. It was not prepared in the presence of Dr. Lewis. He had at no time before,
during or after the demonstration, actually
touched the photographic pate. In fact, dur
ing the demonstration, which lasted approximately five minutes, the closest he was to
the pate was eight feet.
Dr. Lewis had announced previously that
he would endeavor to impress upon a sensi
tive photographic pate an image of his concentrated thought. He told no one what the

PAG E 4!

symbol would be until the demonstration

was completed. The ivestigators were
skepticalfortunately, they usually are-
and that makes for a more thorough demon
stration. Of course, as in all such demonstrations, there are those unsw erving
materialists who will not even recognize the
results. They insist that one undertaking
such a demonstration is endeavoring to use
supernatural powers and, therefore, the entire procedure must be a fraud. Dr. Lewis
explained at the time that this demonstration
did not concern the supernatural but rather
natural laws. The laws used were as natural
as the physical laws of any science but were
uncommon, as they still are, and not as yet
thoroughly known or understood. Dr. Lewis
related how, according to Rosicrucian teach
ings, the phenomenon occurred but, he said,
there is a mechanical, or rather we can say
a psychological and physiological aspect
which is not thoroughly understood even by
those who use the power. This is perhaps
what Dr. Alexander alluded to, after dispersing the cloud, when he said: This will
open a new page in science.
Will is the ability to concntrate, as a
mental desire, to hold in mind a thought and
to surround it with the energy of the mind
to accomplish a certain function. The will
can be so intense that, in holding an image
in mind, the whole consciousness, the cere
bral energy and its functions, as well as the
psychic powers of being, become actively
associated with that mental image. Actually,
from a quantitative point of view, the en
ergy so utilized is exceedingly minute. It is
perhaps of such a frequency, such a rapidity
of vibrations of high cycles, that it is not
easily measurable at all. This energy can,
like the microwaves of electromagnetic en
ergy in use in televisin and radio communication systems, be transmitted out of the
organism into space. It would appear, as
well, that extreme emotional states so affect
the autonomic nervous system and the brain
as to generate this phenomenal energy
quickly and to concntrate it.
This psychic energy is perhaps drawn
from the nuclei of millions of cells which,
in the human organism, function like tiny
batteries and which may account for the
phenomenon of mental telepathy. Many of
those who have been successful in the occa-

PAG E 42

sional projection of thought have admitted

that it has been done unconsciously under
emotional stress when, for example, one is
in a serious accident and thinks of a loved
one at that time. The latter then receives
some words that were in the consciousness
of the injured person.
To deliberately concntrate this psychic
energy (we use here the word psychic in
the sense of a subliminal not a supernatural
power) and to be able to transmit it so as
to produce an observable event is difficult.
It at least requires much practice with the
laws and principies of visualization, concentration, and an understanding of the nature
of the psychic centers and those more subtle
forces of the human organism. It is possible,
the ancients have long declared, for men to
draw a subtle Cosmic power through the
glands and psychic centers, as well as the
nervous system. In other words, man can
have access to an energy exceeding that
which is ordinarily produced by his own
organism. This excess, then, can be transmitted and directed so as to affect material
things.
Just how a subtle energy of mind, presuming it is of an extremely high vibratory rate,
can alter the nature of a gross material substance or cause it to change its position is
still a mystery. We can offer the hypothesis
that there is a relationship between such
mental energy and the energy that ties together the parts of the molecular substance
of which the physical thing is composed.
There is, perhaps, a harmonious response
between this energy of mind and the electromagnetic properties of physical substance.
This is yet to be learned. Philosophically,
this theory is consistent, if we are to accept
the idea of the universe as a unity of all
phenomena. Psychology has long derided
the claims of these demonstrations, but times
have changed its position and its viewpoint.
First, there carne the investigators of psychic
phenomena under the category of psychical
research. Then the researches in parapsychology began slowly to prove many points
which the mystics had taught for centuries.
The problem is that it is difficult to explain to another person just how one is successful with such phenomena. One may
know the technique which he employs, yet
another cannot immediately perform with
the same results even when that technique

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

is explained to him. As a consequence, one

may think that what has been stated to
him is either fraudulent or impossible. But
let us use an analogy. Suppose a person
knew nothing of music. He went into a
room and saw someone producing very har
monious and pleasing sounds by striking
with his fingers what looked like a long row
of uniform black and white ivory objects.
This would be a piano but the one who had
never seen one before and knew nothing of
music would be mystified by the whole procedure. Being curious, he would want to be
able to produce the same effects. Imagine
the musicians trying to explain to him, in
a short time, just what he did to produce
the music and why he did it. Further,
imagine the curious person, after listening
no matter how carefully, immediately trying
to do the same thing.
The ability to concntrate the power of
mind intensely for a few seconds is actually
essential in this demonstration of the phe
nomena of mind. It is the drawing of this
energy to certain plexuses from which it can
be discharged to follow a conceived pattera.
Dr. Alexander, in his account, has stated
that, after such demonstrations, he feels a
tightening in the regin of the solar plexus.
The writer has likewise in his experiments
had the same sensation after a projection
of thought. First, the experiments have been
most successful with those who are cise to
him, as members of his family. The concentration was always of short duration but
extremely intense. When successful, the
effort used in the concentration left this
writer fatigued and with a sensation of depletion or weakness in the regin of the
solar plexus. It would seem that when one
is extremely emotional the process of transference of thought is more easily accomplished, even without conscious effort.
Some individuis would never be able to
accomplish these exceptional feats of telekinesis, as have been described, because they
are incapable of such exercise of will power
and concentration. This is no reflection
whatsoever on them. It is a situation similar
to that of a person practicing and, as a result of his practice, improving his technique
in painting or playing a musical instrument,
but that does not necessarily make of him
another Rembrandt or Beethoven.X

OCTOBER, 1956

This Issues Personality

Circumstances and events at times touch
the lives of individuis in such strange and
remarkable ways that they lend credence to
the belief that they have been ordained to
fulfill a specific purpose. Such an individual
is Armando Font de la Jara.
Frater Font de la Jara was born in the
small town of Vega Baja on the northern
coast of Puerto Rico in the year 1890. When
he was fifteen and acquiring his elementary
schooling, his father passed away. This imposed an economic burden on the family and
young Armando had to go to work as an
apprentice with a hardware concern. Working diligently, he eventually attained an
executive position with that firm. Being
conscious in his early youth that he was
being deprived of a formal education, he set
out to remedy that deficiency. He began
extensive reading courses. He devoted every
available hour to the study of works on
mathematics, astronomy, the arts, and special articles in an encyclopedia. He soon
became proficient in his self-education.
Frater Font de la Jaras literary pursuits,
as history and philosophy, brought him into
contact with accounts of the ancient esoteric
orders. Traditionally by birth, he was a
Romn Catholic, but he was influenced by
the liberal mind and free thought of his
paternal grandfather. He was taught that
truth knows no boundaries. Eventually he
affiliated with the Masonic Order, as a young
man, and became Master of his lodge and
special instructor in the York Rite.
Frater Font de la Jaras quest for esoteric
knowledge was not complete. There remained an insatiable curiosity. In the spring
of 1916 he carne across literature about the
Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Cracis. He
and some cise friends wrot to the Supreme
Grand Lodge, then located in New York
City. That was the beginning, as Frater
Font de la Jara states, of a complete and
satisfying transition in his lif. Later the
same year he was appointed by Imperator
Dr. H. Spencer Lewis to the office of Grand
Secretary of the West Indian Grand Lodge.
As time went by, a number of further wellearned honors and appointments carne to
him, being more than we can set forth here.
In October, 1916, he was appointed Supreme

PAG E 43

Grand Master of the Supreme Grand Lodge

of the Spanish-American section of the
A.M.O.R.C. by Dr. H. Spencer Lewis in his
Pronunziamento No. 117. This began the
Latin-American jurisdiction of the Order on
a large scale. It also began a long and
laborious development of the introduction of
the Rosicrucian teachings throughout South
America. Most of this work, with its vast
detail, fell on the shoulders of Frater Font
de la Jara.
In March, 1934, Frater Font de la Jara
officiated as co-founder of the Rose-Croix
University in San Jos, California. In September, 1937, he was appointed Deputy
Supreme Grand Master for the SpanishAmerican Divisin by the then Grand
Master of AMORC, Thor Kiimalehto. In
September, 1954, he was made an honorary
life member of AMORC by the incumbent
Imperator, Ralph M. Lewis. The romantic
history of the beginnings of the LatinAmerican Divisin of the A.M.O.R.C. appears in an article by Frater Font de la
Jara in the July, 1952 issue of the Rosicru
cian Digest. We urge all who have that
copy to reread it.
Frater Font de la Jara has a charming
family who respect his lifework, that of
AMORC. He is encouraged in his pursuits
and ably helped by his wife. Members in
Puerto Rico and Latin America, generally,
who know him refer to him as the grand
od man of the Order. The late Imperator,
Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, was proud to refer
to him as my very good friend. The incum
bent Imperator is happy to say the same.X
How Secret Should We Be?

How revealing should one be about his

membership in AMORC? To what extent
does secrecy apply in relating our fraternal
connections? The sincere and enthusiastic
Rosicrucian wants to introduce the Order to
others. How may he do so without violating
his obligation of secrecy and how should this
be interpreted?
The Rosicrucian Manual, which should be
in the possession of every member, gives a
concise and comprehensive explanation of
secrecy in regard to Rosicrucian membership. However, we shall discourse further
on the subject at this time. Let us start with

PAG E 44

the premise that every individual is not

ready to pursue metaphysical, mystical, and
philosophical studies. There may be a num
ber of reasons for this. Primarily, an indi
vidual may not be suited to abstractions.
The sensualist, the extrovert, the empiricist,
gives little time to introversin, to meditation, in fact, to pur thought. They allow
themselves to be almost entirely motivated
by external stimuli. Their life is devoted to
attention to that which arouses their senses
from without. They are seldom occupied
with cognitionthe isolation of an idea and
the analysis of it. Simply stated, they use
a mnimum of their mental powers for meditation or study.
To offer litera ture about the Rosicrucian
Order and its varied activities to such a person would be a waste of time and effort. His
consciousness and mentality is not responsive to such subjects; he does not have the
inclination and often lacks the understanding necessary to become a member.
There are those who say that whatever
is accepted to be truth and is beneficial to
mankind should be generally disseminated
without restrictions of any kind. The fallacy
of this contention is easily apparent. To
extend the Rosicrucian teachings which
every sincere member respects and reveres
because of their revelation of Cosmic and
natural lawsto such individuis, as we
have described, would constitute a sacrilege.
They would trample the literature, vilate
the Rosicrucian principies, and misapply the
terminology. They would, in their ignorance
and bigotry often religious intolerance
try to destroy that which was given to
them. Consequently, secrecy, as a protective
measure, enters into Rosicrucian membership.
The secrecy exhibited by Rosicrucians
should be construed in the light of privacy
and preservation rather than that of concealment. One is permitted and, in fact,
encouraged to disclose his membership under
proper circumstances, and to proudly admit
his affliation. Every member is urged to
wear a Rosicrucian emblem for a twofold
purpose. First, by this means, other mem
bers can easily identify him. Second, it
invites questions from another and provides
the opportunity to explain about the Rosi
crucian Order.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

The secrecy referred to exists in not revealing the monographs themselves, the
rituals, the passwords, or any part of the
prvate studies and teachings, to those who
are not qualified members. C ertainly,
AMORC does not in any way conceal its
physical existence. Rosicrucian Park is
prominent in the city of San Jos. Its Museums attract over 100,000 visitors each year
mostly the public. The Orders public
lectures, radio programs, announcements,
and articles in general periodicals and newspapers throughout the world, publicly and
proudly, reveal its existence. The same may
be said concerniiig the several million pieces
of literature about AMORC distributed by
its members each year.
Let us present a hypothetical case representing the proper attitude concerning
secrecy upon the part of a member; this
situation will also illustrate a good propa
ganda approach. An acquaintance may ask
you: What is the emblem you are wearing? In answer to this query, one does not
try to be evasive or mysterious; such an
attitude would be absurd and inconsistent
with the very reason for wearing the em
blem. Rather, the member would reply:
It is a Rosicrucian emblem. I am a mem
ber of the Rosicrucian Order.
The inquirer might then ask: Is it a
religious society? The answer is: It is not.
It is a fraternal order. Or, you may explain
that it is a philosophical society. It is nonsectarian, that is, it is not affiliated with any
religious body. The questioner may then
ask: What is the purpose of the Rosicrucian
Order? The answer may be: It is like many
other fraternal orders in that it operates on
the lodge systemthat is, it has lodges and
chapters which are meeting places in many
of the principal cities throughout the world.
However, it is not primarily a social organization. It is devoted to a study of the nature
of man and his relationship to the world in
which he lives. There are forces and powers
of our mind and nature to which we have
access but which are little understood by
most of us. As a result of such understanding, ignorance and superstition are removed,
and this helps us in many practical ways in
the affairs of life.
At this point the inquirer may become
more specific. Well, what do you teach in

OCTOBER, 1956

particular? Can you give me some of your

lessons? The answer to this should be:
The teachings are given only to members
of the Order. The inquirer may then con
tinu: Why cant anyone have them? The
reply should be: uAny one can have them
who is ready to prove his sincerity and the
purpose he has in mind in having them.
First, let me give you this leaflet of explanation. If after reading it you are still interested, write for the free book which it offers.
That book explains how you may become a
member and enjoy the many fascinating discourses and practical advantages given by
the Order.
The member may then further explain
how he, personally, has benefited through
his affiliation. This is stated, of course, without revealing any of the details of the confidential teachings. Now, if the individual
asks: What material benefits accrue as the
result of membership?then the reply
should be that such are proportional to the
understanding one gains and the manner in
which he applies that understanding. He
may continu by countering with the remark: What material benefits, for example,
may accrue from the study of English and
Arithmetic in schools? These studies are
valueless unless we take such knowledge and
use it in the practical affairs of our life.
There are also satisfactions from which there
are no material benefits. For example, why
does one read a good book, see a fine
dramatic performance, or attend a concert?
He cannot immediately thereafter go out
and convert such an experience into material
or monetary vales! He derives an intellectual, emotional, and aesthetic satisfaction
from such experiences that make life more
livable.
From such a presentation as this, one soon
leams the depth of interest and readiness
of the inquirer for that which AMORC has
to offer. If he implies that he is interested
only in that which provides a material benefit, something that is a substance, you then
have your answer. He is not ready for
membership; he is the type of individual
who places the greatest importance on money. He fails to realize that the greatest
benefits of life come from first preparing
ourselves. For the rest of his life such an
individual tries to find som ething that

PAG E 45

money will buy to provide lasting happiness.

This something he looks for in terms of
things.
The Rosicrucian may use his teachings to
assist another. He may give advice using
some simple Rosicrucian principie which will
help another to solve a problem or to achieve
some needed end. He may loan a copy of
the Rosicrucian Digest containing an arricie
that he believes appertains to the interest
and the welfare of an inquirer or friend. He
may likewise loan any Rosicrucian book.
The actual teachings, however, and the
rituals he has pledged upon his honor and
oath not to so vilate by permitting them to
come into the hands of others who are not
members.
One should avoid assuming a mysterious
air or adopting a strange attitude when
speaking about his membership. Intentionally trying to enshroud the Order in an
atmosphere of secrecy can create only con
fusin and doubt in the mind of the inquirer.
Remember, if you are a member of the
Order, you represent it in everything you
say and do! The more dignified, the more
intelligent and normal you are in your appearance and manner, the better impressions
you make upon the inquirer. If you wish to
show that your membership distinguishes
you in some way, show it through your
rational presentation of the organization and
your depth of understanding of the affairs
of lifenot through a gibberish of words,
eccentricities of conduct or gesture.
One should also avoid speaking of ones
psychic experiences. First, these are intmate
revelations to you. Second, they have meaning just to you. The construction you may
place upon them would not be what others
would place upon them. Further, to those
who have no knowledge of the terms, or to
those who are just beginning to seek an
understanding of the mysteries of life, the
revelation of your experiences would appear
perhaps weird, even frightening.
At all times, we repeat, be rational and
reasonable in your membership. Present
your affiliation in that manner. Do every
thing in your power to bring others to the
threshold of the Order and to cross over and
become fellow Rosicrucians. Do it, however,
in a manner that reflects well upon both
the Order and upon yourself.

PAGE 46

In connection with appropriate litera ture,

we would like to mention a brochure recently released by AMORC. It is entitled: The
Eternal Quest. The outer illustration is
very attractive. The introduction has a popu
lar, intriguing, philosophical approach. The
booklet contains specific statistics and answers to questions that the average inquirer
would like to have, such as: Who are the
Rosicrucians? What do the Rosicrucians
teach? What renowned personalities were
associated with the Order in the past? Then
follow certain interesting facts about the
operation, activities and world-wide affairs
of the Order.
This new brochure concludes with a direct
invitation for the reader to write for a free
copy of th Mastery of Life. These brochures are small and may easily be carried in
your pocket or purse. We suggest that you
write for a supply of them. They will be
sent you postpaid and without cost. When
you receive them, your only obligation is to
put these little messengers of AMORC to
work. Do not permit them merely to lie
about. Give them to others, or place them
where others will see them.X
Twin Souls
A frater of West Africa now rises to address our Forum: I wish to refer to my
recent letter in which I reported the mental
and physical condition of a fraters wife in
Victoria, and to add that she is a twin. Her
twin brother passed on early in infancy.
There are those that say that most of her
actions are now affected by the personality
of her departed brother. In other words, she
is said to be living a double life. I mention
this general belief because it is very popular
with Nigeriansand because I want to have
the Rosicrucian explanation.
The natural phenomenon of twins is one
that has evoked considerable superstitious
belief through the ages. The beliefs associ
ated with the relationship of twins are often
the result of primitive reasoning. In homeopathic or sympathetic magic, there is the
belief that those things which have similar
properties have an invisible bond or nexus
existing between them. The psychological
factor is that the similarity in the primitive
mind becomes in itself a reality. It is con-

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

ceived to have as much existence as the

actual things which resemble each other. For
example, a carefully drawn symbol of the
sun is thought, by some aborigines, to have
the inherent properties of the sun. Because
of the striking physical resem blance of
twins, it has been imagined, by those who
conform to the above type of reasoning, that
they have parallel personalities and interchangeable psychic selves.
From the biological point of view, it must
be recognized that there are two types of
human twins. Many twins are biovular,
that is, of two separate eggs. A considerable
number of twins are uniovular or derived
from one egg. Man is the only animal
known to produce both kinds of twins. The
litters produced by animals are the result of
several eggs maturing together. According
to statistics compiled by the British Govern
ment, 1 out of every 100 births is twins, 1
in 10,000 is triplets, and 1 in 1,000,000 is
quadruplets. It has been established that
twins are more frequently of like sex than
of unlike sex. One-egg twins are rarely of
unlike sex. The divisin of the one egg
transmits the similarity to the sex as well.
Joined twins are always of the same sex.
This implies that they are one-egg twins
and the fission was incomplete.
A research, as yet not complete, suggests
that findings seem to disclose that uniovular
(one-egg) twins show a symmetry of finger
patterns. In uniovular twins heredity characteristics are said to have a considerable
resemblance. In other words, inherent characteristics as traits in one-egg twins are
remarkably alike. In two-egg twins the re
semblance is no greater than between
brothers and sisters of separate births.
Further, pairs of related sex are on the aver
age more closely alike. From all this we
have the statistical facts that twins of a
single egg are frequently of the same sex,
resemble each other more closely and show
similar inherited characteristics.
The one-egg twins would have psychic
centers, psychic faculties, and sympathetic
nervous systems which would be closely attuned. The same life-force intelligence or
consciousness of the single egg would be
transmitted to the organism of . each. In
other words, the same physical characteris-

OCTOBER, 1956

tics and same intangible consciousness of the

egg would become part of the mental, physi
cal, and psychic beings of both twins. What
man terms soul is his response to the psychic
and emotional aspect of his being. He re
lates to soul the intuitive and intangible
sensitivity of the stream of consciousness of
his whole being. The Cosmic mind that permeates him, and of which he becomes con
scious to various degrees, determines mans
soul-personality.
Each egg has its specific vibratory rate
of impulse. It conveys hereditary qualities
and the Cosmic intelligence of the life forc.
If it is divided in such manner so that from
its fission there are born two human twins,
then their psychic centers and autonomic
and cerebrospinal nervous systems will be of
the same general vibratory rate as if they
were almost the same organism. We know,
from our Rosicrucian teachings, that all the
cells of an organism cause it, collectively, to
have a specific vibratory rate. Each cell adds
its particular vibratory rate to the millions
of others and thus each of us, in the collective sense, has a specific frequency of vi
bra tions. Applying this phenomenon to
uniovular twins, we would find them harmoniously in accord in many reactions and
responses to their environment. To make
this more clear, we may use the analogy of
two tuning forks which are tuned to the
same pitch or rate of vibration. When one
is struck a blow, they will both vbrate in
resonance, even though the one not struck
may be removed from the other by several
inches or feet.
There are many cases on record where
such identical twins, or those of one egg,
though separated by many miles, have evidenced a sympathetic response to some emo
tional shock of their twin. An identical twin
has often felt the sorrow, hatred, and fear
of his twin brother or sister long before be
ing acquainted with the causes of such emo-

PAGE 47

tions by normal means of communication.

There is also evidence of similar likes and
dislikes between such twins, though in minor
tastes the similarity is not so pronounced.
It is in order, therefore, to say that the
soul-personalities of these one-egg twins are
very closely attuned. They are, however,
not identical. Environment and associations
play a considerable part in the evolvement
of the soul-personality. What we read, with
whom we associate, what we do, are im
portant factors and influences in our having
realization and understanding of the extensive part of self, that is, the Cosmic intelli
gence of our being which we cali soul. Thus
there can be that difference between iden
tical twins, the result of their interpretation
of vales, and the circumstances to which
they may be exposed separately.
It is unfounded superstition to believe
that, when one twin passes through transi
tion, the living twin is thereafter dominated
by the departed soul-personality. In the instance of transition of one such identical
twin, the other may have to go, for some
time, through an emotional and psychic adjustment. There will result a kind of emo
tional fission as though part of his self were
unresponsive or even unconscious. This will
be due to the fact that when both twins were
living they sympathetically responded to
some degree to the finer, the subtler, impressions of each others beings. With the severance by death, one twin, the living one,
is then responsive wholly to his or her own
emotional and psychic nature. This radical
change may make itself manifest in the be
havior of the individual and sudden apparent
differences in the personality. Others who
observe these changes, including the surviving twin, may imagine that it is a positive
influence being exerted by the deceased soulpersonality. Rather, however, it is a nega
tivo or noninfluential effect that is being
realized by the surviving twin.X

YOUR SOUL
UNVEILED
REINCARNATION and HYPNOSIS
...............subjects which have taken the public by
storm in recent times! YOU SHOULD KNOW
HOW to discuss intelligently the subject with
friends, neighbors, or relatives. This magnificent
book alone gives you the facts about REBIRTH.
It is a regular encyclopedia of Information regarding the soul and the spiritual part of man on
earth and in the Cosmic.

M ANSIONS
OF THE SOUL
By H. SPENCER LEWIS, Ph.D., F. R. C.

Tliis Book Explains

All about the soul and its cycles of reincarnation, and how you can become acquainted with
your present self and your past lives in an analytical way.
It tells you in plain and understandable language where the Mansions of the Soul are, why
the soul has these Mansions, and what is accomplished by them. It reveis to you that Jess
and his disciples were aware of reincarnation and referred to it in their teachings. Indisputable
quotations from the Bible prove all this beyond a doubt. There are many chapters and many
pages in this book dealing with the intmate problems of the spiritual life and the problems you
have to contend with daily while here on earth. You will become acquainted with your inner self
and your real power of mind and soul while reading this book.
O rd er a Copy for Yourself as W e ll as O ne for
a Friend. Send Remittance to the

ROSICRUCIAN SUPPLY RUREAU

San Jos, California

U. S. A.

PRICE
P O ST PA ID

( 1 / 2 / - S te H in g )

December, 1956
Volum e X X V II

No. 3

Rosicrucian Forum
A p rv a te

p u b lic a tio n fo r m e m b e rs of A M O R C

Jl

X
V '

H A R R Y L. G U B B IN S, F. R. C.
G ra n d Councilor o f A M O R C fo r G re a t Lakes A rea, U. 5. A.

PAGE 50

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Greetings!
V

THE COSMIC VERSUS HUMAN LAWS

Dear Fratres and Sorores:
In general, when referring to Cosmic, we
ordinarily mean the inclusin of nature, that
is, all physical phenomena and, as well,
whatever purposeful or divine cause we may
conceive as underlying it. From the theistic,
or personal-god point of view, all natural
phenomena and their laws are commonly
thought to be but an instrument of the
deity. In other words, they are conceived to
have been designed to fulfill the intent of a
personal divine being. Consequently, it is
most often believed that these forces and
powers of nature have no inherent divine
content. They are not co-equal to the Su
preme Being. It is believed that the manner
in which they function is in accordance with
an arbitrary fat of the Supreme Being. For
analogy, it is like a puppet master who is
continually pulling a string to maniplate
the images he has made.
There are also the deists. They are those
who believe that all physical phenomena
were preordained to conform to specific
divine principies. Therefore, all functions
of nature would operate in accordance with
the power and purpose originally conferred
upon them and independent of the divine
will which created them. This conception is
much like that of a clockmaker who, having
once fashioned a clock and given it the
means of operating, concems himself no
longer with it. It is his creation, it is true,
yet it is not a part of him and he in no way
functions through it.
One must also not lose sight of the pantheistic conception. This view holds that mind
exists in nature. In fact, physical phenom
ena, the forces of nature, are but the various
expressions of a universal mind. The mind
is an active forc manifesting in all the forms
which man perceives. The star, the sea, the
living organism, and man himself are but
developments of this Cosmic teleological
cause. There is, then, the pantheist may
contend, not matter, but just mind, matter

being that manifestation of mind that exhibits certain qualities to our finite senses.
In the course of his life, man establishes
customs and rules of behavior which are
often contrary to nature. Is man, then, in
violation of Cosmic principiesthat is, di
vine law? It is to be realized that the answer
to this question must lie in whatever rela
tionship to the Cosmic man has assumed
for himself. Is he, for example, a theist, a
deist, a pantheist, or a materialist? His re
ligious and philosophical beliefs will deter
mine his answer.
Let us presume that one is a theist. To
him nature is a system, as we have said, or
body of phenomena designed to fulfill a
divine intent. On the other hand, it is com
mon experience that the functions of natural
forces can work to mans detriment as well
as to his personal advantage. Earthquakes,
hurricanes, floods, and sim ilar natural
catastrophes are examples of the havoc that
can be worked upon humanity. The theist,
in his religious doctrines, has made nature
beneficent in its ultimate end. When natural
calamity befalls man, he endeavors to ex
plain it on either one of the two following
grounds: (a) that it is the infliction of punishment upon man for violation of a moral
or divine edict; (b) that the phenomenon is
intended to contribute to some magnificent,
transcendental divine objective that escapes
mans finite understandingall men suffer
temporarily from such natural calamities in
this life only to be rewarded hereafter, if
devout and circumspect.
There are instinctive urges and impulses
associated with mans essential physical na
ture which he is compelled to combat. There
is an inclination to gratify to the fullest
extent the natural appetites and passions.
One of these is the dominant sex appetite.
Man, however, has, through the dictates of
social convention and religious idealism,
cultivated a restraint in this regard. He
imposes this restraint to hold in abeyance

DECEMBER, 1956

PAG E 51

those inclinations which, psychologically and

biologically, are nevertheless quite natural.
Is this defiance of nature, this conflict of
moral order and law with basic Cosmic
urges, a violation of divine principies?
The theist endeavors to circumvent these
natural im pulses with limited purposes
which he as cribes to divine will. He,
for example, expounds that the innate urge
to avail oneself of whatever appeals to him
is morally wrong. He states that God has
inveighed against the seizure of the possessions of another and that this amounts to
theft. The theist however, is placed in the
difficult position of explaining why these
excess desires are inherent in man. By
means of a complex theology, he ascribes
such temptations to satanic or evil forces
which, as moral obstacles, man must surmount.
The deist and the materialist, conversely, are inclined to take the position that
natures laws have no moral content. They
are of the underlying forc of all being in
its varied processes of development. In these
processes, nature has acquired certain patterns of behavior. This behavior s part of
the organic function of man. It is what he
is. Man, if he wishes, may appraise it as
good or evil, as he sees fit, but his opinion
of it in no way confers a quality upon it.
We may think of gravity, for analogy, as
evil if its effects are to our disadvantage.
Conversely, we may consider it a divine
endowment if its phenomenon in some way
benefits us.
According to the deist, it is actually, as
all phenomena of nature, impersonal. Na
ture, in other words, is not concerned with
our personal welfare. Nevertheless, the deist
contends that conformity to natural law is
the highest order of human life. Laws of
society which restrict the natural law would
be immoral because they oppose a system
which was originally Cosmically established.
It must be apparent that a strict accept-

ance of the deistic concept would result in

antisocial behavior. In fact, society could not
exist if such practices were to be followed.
A middle course is required, and yet it must
be consistent with nature and human experi
ence. Psychologically, we all are motivated
by self. Everything we do is done for our
physical, mental, or emotional gratification.
There are, however, gradations of these
desires of self. The lowest of these are
wholly physical. Yet they are necessary to
our physical existence. If we were to concede
fully to their demands, we would be nothing
more than predatory animals. Each act
would be performed solely for our immediate
physical gratification without regard for its
subsequent effects on others.
Reason, a higher aspect of self which con
tributes to conscience, interposes will, as
Aristotle asserted, to discipline the lower
self. Experience has shown man that he is
not wholly independent; in fact, he is dependent, in numerous ways, upon his fellow
man. If he is completely and selfishly aggressive, he incites all others against him.
He then finds that every hand is against him,
as he is against every other. Experience has
likewise revealed that there are greater
satisfactions to be had in mutual restraint
and co-operation. Further, men are inclined
to accept the traditional taboos and customs
of society, even when they cannot fully appreciate their vales. They comply with
them rather than completely oppose society
and isolate themselves from their fellows.
Thus, society finds it necessary to circum
vent and to direct the forces of nature in and
about man.
Man morally justifies this opposition of
his will to natural law upon the grounds of
harmony. He seesor believes he doesan
order working throughout all Cosmic expression. He believes it is a moral obligation on
his part to participate in this harmonious
arrangement. If he is a religionist, he conceives it as a duty to his God. He terms it

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, California,
under Section 1103 of the U . S. Postal Act of Oct. 3, 1917.
The Rosicrucian Forum s Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Publication of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/9 sterling) A N N U A LLY FOR MEMBERS O N LY

PAGE 52

a necessary life of goodness. If he is a

metaphysician and a philosopher, he may
believe it is an innate right for man to im
pose his will upon nature to further mankind
as a whole. The furtherance of mankind, its
refinement and evolution, can come, he be
lieves, only through a unity of men which
is society.
In the making of laws and the establishment of codes of ethics and moris for the
advancement of society, man can and does
make grevious errors. He can so oppose
nature, by the rules he makes, as to destroy
himself. Eccentric diets, based on exaggerated religious concepts, or self-mortification
of the body upon the premise of spiritual
purifcation, can, for example, destroy
health. Rigidly enforced celibacy, puritanical
ideas of sex, can warp the personality and
cause serious emotional disorders. Such
abrogation of natural desires is truly a Cos
mic sin. The intelligent society is one that,
through the various sciences as, for example,
physiology, biology, and psychology, makes
a serious inquiry into the natural functions
of man. It seeks to learn what is necessary
for the preservation of health of mind and
body. Then, through sociology and the
social sciences, it discovers and analyzes the
requisites of behavior for the healthy society.
It then determines to what extent natural
forces must be compelled to coincide with
social relations. Such interference with
or rather direction ofnature is no Cosmic
violation.
Unfortunately, science is greatly handicapped in this activity by many of the traditional religious proscriptions which are
obsolete and are, psychologically and
otherwise, detrimental to the individual.
This is a further reason for the need of the
reconciliation of religin and science which
modern metaphysics and mysticism is at
tempting.
Fraternally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator.
Mltiple Inspiration
Soror Wood of Colorado writes a most interesting letter that raises a number of questions conceming inspiration. In order to
present these questions, I am going to quote
some excerpts from her letter: I have just

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

received the April, 1955, issue of the Rosi

crucian Forum and was most interested in
reading the article, Many Gods written, I
would presume, about a month and a half or
two months ago. At about the same time I
was searching for an idea to write an article
in a course I have been studying. Suddenly
I was strongly inspired to write one entitled
One God. The article almost wrote itself.
When I received the April, 1955, issue of the
Rosicrucian Forum, I was somewhat surprised to read in the article, Many Gods,
things similar to those which I had written.
The idea and development is very similar
although my. approach was different.
This experience brings three questions to
my mind. First, is it possible to inadvertently tune in on someone elses Creative ideas
and methods? Second, does my article become any less valid or original as a result
of such inspiration, and would its commercial valu be less? Third, is it ethical to
publish such an article or submit it for publication? Would a reputable magazine be
interested in it?
There is no doubt that many people have
thought along the lines presented in this
letter. While the average person may not
have associated it with the process of writing, I do not believe there has been a person
who has not at one time or another had the
experience of reaching a conclusin, having
an idea, or making a suggestion which was
similar to something they found that another
person had done or was going to do. The
question, of course, arises immediately as to
what extent transference of thought or in
spiration from the same source may enter
into this experience. While I, as well as
many others, have had experiences of arriving at the same conclusin as someone else,
I believe that the most remarkable experi
ence that I ever had which is parallel to
that of Soror Woods was one that occurred
about three years ago.
At that time I was convalescing from an
illness and devoted time when I felt like
working to the preparation of a lecture
which I intended to present at a future date.
This lecture had captured my interest and
I was deeply engrossed in it whenever I felt
I could do the research and writing necessary
for its completion. I worked occasionally on
the lecture over a period of some time, and
fnally (I remember the date distinctly be-

DECEMBER, 1956

cause it happened to be Labor Day of 1953,

September 7) I concluded my preparation
of the material for the article, and although
I was at home, I dictated the article on the
dictaphone so that it would be ready to be
transcribed by my secretary the following
day at the office. I gave considerable time
to its dictation and re-edited the article a
number of times. My thoughts were completely involved in the preparation of this
article. I titled the lecture The Presence
of God.
It was almost a month later when I received at my office a copy of the magazine
called The Listener. This magazine is well
known in Great Britain. It is published by
the British Broadcasting Corporation and
contains many fine articles in each issue.
The particular issue was the issue of Septem
ber 3, 1953, and in looking over that issue
which I still have before me as I write these
remarks, I found that one of the articles was
titled The Practice of the Presence of God.
Of course, the last three words attracted my
attention as it had been only recently that I
had finally presented my lecture and had it
in mind. I began to read it and was astounded to find that not only the argument,
but even the wording was very similar to the
article which I had prepared, particularly
in the first few paragraphs.
If any individual had read my lecture and
this article one after the other, he could
have had basis to believe that one was
plagiarized from the other. It was interesting to see that this was impossible. The issue
of the magazine of September 3, published
in London could not even by Air Mail have
reached me on September 7, the day I actually dictated my lecture due to the week-end
holiday. Even if it could have done so, the
fact is that I had spent at least two weeks
prior to that date working at odd times on
the lecture and no doubt at that time the
issue of The Listener in which the other
article appeared was already on the press
and may have been written as many as
thirty days or sixty days before I began
preparation on my lecture.
With the illustration of my own experience, together with that of Soror Wood, I
think it would be interesting to examine the
three questions which Soror Wood asked and
which summarize very well the questions
that come to mind as a result of such ex-

PAG E 53

periences. Her first question, as to whether

it is possible to inadvertently tune in on
someone elses Creative ideas and methods,
I would answer that I believe it is. I believe
that it is possible for us to receive inspiration
through mental telep ath y from various
sources. If an individual is concentrating on
a lecture such as I was, I believe that anyone who has a sympathetic understanding
of my philosophy, my work, and my ideas
might have been able to receive or rather
conceive some of the same ideas that I was
writing; and, of course, the reverse is true,
I may have received some of my ideas from
the other writer.

The odd thing in my experience was that

I do not know the author of the article to
which I referred in the British publication
either by ame or reputation. I have no
knowledge of his ideas, concepts, or philoso
phy except as expressed in the article which
in many ways paralleled mine, although in
the end, he arrived at a somewhat different
conclusin than I did. Nevertheless, it is not
essential that two individuis know each
other to experience mental telepathy. If
telepathy functions as it is explained to us
in our monographs, then the essence of what
constitutes lifethat is, the life essence it
self or nousis a connecting link between
all living things, and it is possible that
through that connecting link we may become
aware of the ideas and concepts of other
individuis. It has not been proved conclusively that this can be done voluntarily
at all times. Usually such ideas come in a
form of inspiration and are not necessarily
a verbal repetition of another individuals
ideas.
While I believe that mental telepathy is
a possible answer to the first question, there
is another answer, and that is that inspira
tion can come from a higher source than
from us as individual human beings; and
when two individuis arrive at a similar
conclusin or have similar ideas, it is within
the realm of possibility that their ideas had
come from the same place and that they ar
rived at them without any contact mentally,
psychically, or otherwise with each other.
After all, we must take into consideration
that inspiration produces concepts of which
we become aware in objective consciousness.
Such concepts enter our consciousness
through the inner selffrom the soul as it

PAG E 54

were. We have the ability, if we become

aware of these intuitive or psychic impressions, to tap, as it were, all the knowledge
of the universe. We are not successful in
gaining all of it, but we do become aware
of snatches of it, and certainly it is not only
coincidence that two individuis removed
from each other geographically, might still
arrive in purpose and ideas at similar conclusions.
The second question concerns the validity
or originality of such an idea; that is, was
the article that Soror Wood wrote or the one
that I wrote original with us as writers?
From a commercial standpoint, is the article
valid as an original work, or is it in the
strictest sense of the word a copy of someone elses work? I dont think this matter
has ever come to a court of law for decisin,
and it would certainly be interesting to know
how an intelligent judge would rule in a
case of plagiarism that involved such a situation.
Actually since plagiarism is defined in
terms of man-made laws and concerns the
use of words and language, it is impossible,
I believe, for anyone to repeat verbatim an
idea exactly as another person had done.
Consequently, from this standpoint, the mat
ter would be outside of civil law. From an
ethical standpoint I am of the opinion that
there is no less validity or originality in such
an incident; that is, I believe even if the
inspiration was from the same source or that
mental telepathy in some way entered in
to the composition of the article that was
written, it still is original work upon the
part of the person who did the writing. It is
certainly original in the sense that each
individual worked to prepare in written form
an expression of the ideas or inspiration that
carne to that individual.
Furthermore, no one human being has
the right of possession to ideas that are
strictly in the realm of ideas. To copy a
physical machine or object would be to in
vade a realm of the rights that a person
might have by patent, but the ideas that
are expressed by two different individuis do
not necessarily take away from the origi
nality.
There are many cases in history of many
achievements of Science that were arrived at
almost simultaneously by different individ
uis. The theory of evolution is a famous

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

illustration. Darwin and Wallace arrived at

almost the same conclusions at about the
same time. Yet each is recognized as an
authority in his field, and each has been
given credit for the work that he did in
evolving a theory that has become the foundation of modem biology. If we were to
carry this matter far enough, we would have
to arrive necessarily at the conclusin that
no idea is completely man-made, that any
idea is a factor of life itselfin other words,
that everything that we know has come
through some experience or some inspira
tion, and from that viewpoint, we have no
right of personal possession to something
that we have only elaborated upon in consciousness and in terms of our own knowl
edge and experience.
I, therefore, believe that the Creative work
of an artist, a musician, a writer, a scientist,

or of any other individual is a valid production if that individual has conscientiously

strived to prepare such original in the sense
that he has produced it through his own
inspired preparation. We can, therefore,
accept those things which have come as a
result of our own effort, and which have
been brought to completion by inspiration
during the preparation of that particular
thing upon which we were working.

The third question is closely related to the

second one; that is, should such an article
be published, since by its publication, with
the authors title attached, it would be an
acknowledgment of that individuals original
work? Consistent with the conclusions to
the second question, I can see no reason why
that cannot be done. If the ideas are worth
while or will have any valu whatsoever to
other individuis, then it is not only the
right of the individual who originated the
concept to the idea to make it available to
others, but it is also an obligation. If we
have evolved to the point where we can receive inspiration to the extent of being able
to produce those things which may have
valu, then we also assume an obligation to
make that inspiration available to someone
else so that he too might be inspired to draw
upn those sources which will inspire them
to equal things or preferably to much greater
accomplishments.
I have a strong conviction, which causes
me to be completely in accord with the
Platonic Doctrine, that concepts and ideas

PECEMBER, 1956

exist free of time and space limitations

that ideas exist separate from their embodiment and can continu to exist when a
physical mdium no longer exists to sustain
them. Ideas transcend the level of the
physical world and they need not be de
pendent upon it. They are the ultimate
rather than the beginning. Ideas of most
consequence are those which never can be
completely confined to a physical mdium.
Justice, beauty, love, and good are concepts
that exist only in the form of ideas, and as
behavior may be patterned after their direction. Consequently, the ideas that are expressed in any form are those which are a
part of the evolvement of the individual who
creates or assembles them. They as well
become a part of the common heritage of
humanity which can draw upon them and
use them for inspiration for their evolution.
The fact that ideas are not restricted to
the material world of which we are a part
is a clear indication that vales exist that
transcend any material media, and that these
limitations are not of the same nature as the
limitations normally associated with the
physical world. If ideas can continu to
function in spite of the existence of the
physical world or material media, then we
have a degree of evidence that immortality
is a state where those things that are most
worth whilethat is, the results of our in
spiration will survive our physical ex
istence.A
Terms for the Divine
A soror, addressing our Forum, says: Is
what we cali God the Cosmic Consciousness
or is it the Absolute?
There is much terminology for God and
the Cosmic which has a similar connotation
to various people. We have, for example, the
Absolute, the Divine Reality, the Divine,
Supreme Mind, Ultimate One, the Deity,
Supreme Being, and many others. Actually,
the word used is of no consequence. It is
the idea that is associated with the word.
We have found persons denying a belief in
God who proved not to be atheists. They
objected to the word because of certain
orthodox concepts long associated with it
and with which they were not in accord.
Newer terms and words represented to them
a more advanced and enlightened idea.

PAG E 55

When they did not accept God, we discovered that they disagreed only with certain
definitions which have been attached to the
word.
Let us take the word Absolute. To many
persons this conveys the same idea as does
God to others. They think of the Absolute
as the Totum Simul, that is, the total of all
existence, the essence of all being. It is to
them the noumenal world, the true reality
behind the everyday world of appearances
and change. It is a pantheistic conception,
that is, God in all things. The Absolute is
to them the efficient and final cause of all
that is. Their concept, of course, does not
allow for any dualism. There is not God
on one hand and His manifestations on the
other. To them nothing is separate from its
cause. All things particpate in the complete
all-embracing nature of which God consists.
Consequently, the word Absolute has greater
spiritual perspicuity to them than does God.
Today, you will find many persons who
shun making a definite assertion of a belief
in God. They will first ask what your con
cept of God would be so that they may know
if they are in agreement with your notion.
There are many persons who rigidly adhere
to the concept of God as a personal deity,
a kind of supernatural entity detached from
reality. We cannot question their right to
accept this God of their hearts. However,
to others such a notion is primitive and ele
mentary, and is not representative of the
evolved consciousness of many men and
women. As a result, they reject the word
God in preference to a term that conveys
a more intimate meaning to them.
The phrase, Supreme or Universal Mind,
is one very often used by students of mys
tical philosophy and metaphysics. It denotes
a teleological cause, a purposeful or mind
cause universally extant, that is, lying be
hind and expressed in all things. Further,
it is to these persons Absolute Mind or Intelligence. They do not think of it as being
embodied in any form or substance. Asso
ciated with this concept is that of Universal
Consciousness known as Cosmic Conscious
ness. This consists of the intelligence of
divinity as a directing and Creative forc
which emanates throughout the whole Cos
mic or the whole reality. It manifests in
matter as those nuclear forces of which mat
ter consists. It likewise exists in organic

PAGE 56

substance as the rhythmic order of life.

There are those who use the word Cosmic in
a dual sense. To them it consists of the
actions and thought of the mind of God as
a working forc in the universe. In other
words, the Cosmic is the dynamic power of
both the material and immaterial worlds and
yet is not God Himself.
In this connection it is appropriate to
quote the definition of Cosmic and of
Cosmic Consciousness as found in the
Rosicrucian Manual: Cosmic The Universe as a harmonious relation of all natural
and spiritual laws. As used in a Rosicrucian
sense, the Divine, Infinite Intelligence of
the Supreme Being permeating everything.
The Creative forces of God. It is an in
tangible, unlimited source from which radiate the immutable, constructive powers of
Divinity. The Cosmic, therefore, is not a
place, but a state or condition of order and
regulation.
uCosmic ConsciousnessThat conscious
ness, radiating from God, which pervades all
space (and henee all things), having vitality,
mind, constructive power, Divine Intelligence. Into this consciousness is projected
all the psychic consciousness of all Masters,
and all Adepts may attune with it. It knows
all, past, present, and future, for it is all.
After preparation through study and meditation, after deserving through serving, after
attuning through practice and with nobility
of desire, there comes to all Adepts an influx
of illumination and inspiration which maintains a continued connection with Cosmic
Consciousness. This is called illumination
by the Mystics. This is one of the gifts desired by all Adepts.
In general, then, we may say that God,
accepted in the mystical sense, and Cosmic
Consciousness are one, the consciousness of
the Cosmic being the mind, intelligence, and
self-realization of what one may conceive
as the Divine. We cannot detach mind from
self. If we could not be conscious of our
own existence or any manifestation of reality, we would not be. It is because we are
first to ourselves in our self-consciousness.
Consequently, the consciousness of the Cos
mic is that sensitivity and awareness of the
whole being of which the nature of an omnipotent and omniscient reality like God
must consist.
The personalized concept of God, as that

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

associated with the Jehovah of the Hebrews

(Yehwah), stems from a paternal concept
of the deity. He is conceived as the Father
of man and the Creator of all things. He is
also conceived as a kind of supreme artisan
or craftsman, as the Egyptian priests of an
cient Memphis thought of him. It is an
anthropomorphic conception. God has form,
according to this idea, which resembles that
of man, but is far more infinite in His pow
ers and functions. This notion helped an
cient peoples, as it does millions of simple
minds today, to better conceive their relationship to a Supreme Power. Their chieftains, their great warriors and heads of state
are exalted humans with superior powers.
The deity, then, must, as the Ultimate Pow
er, transcend them all and yet be somewhat
like them.
It is, of course, difficult for the mind of
many persons to embrace such abstractions
as pur mind, the absolute, infinite forc
or an isotropic state of consciousness. A
superior being, with qualities that are, to
some degree, humanlike, is, for most people,
more comprehensible, though very elementary. Such a notion of God is restricted and
inconsistent with logical reasoning. However, if such a personal deity were to be
stricken from the minds of such believers,
they would be destitute of any spiritual
image.X
Our Dream World
The realm of dreams has held a fascination for man from the very earliest times
up to the present. There is something about
the dream experience that places it in such
distinct contrast to our daily experiences that
we cannot fail to be intrigued by it. Our
daily activities and our behavior when
awake are primarily objective. It is only
through the dream that the average indi
vidual has any concept of the functioning
of that area of the mind usually classified
as the unconscious or the subconscious.
The contrast between the experiences and
sensations of our waking hours and those of
the dream state are so distinctly different
that men from the very beginning of time
have attempted to explain this rather odd
state of existence that seems to come simultaneously with sleep and bodily rest.
It is probably through the attempt to in-

PECEMBER, 1956

terpret the dream state that many superstitions were first conceived by man. These
ideas were not evolved with the intent to
actually deceive individuis; but, rather,
they were superstitions resulting from the
attempt of an individual to explain circumstances that seemed otherwise inexplainable.
Can we imagine how early man must have
felt when he was conscious of participating
in certain experiences but awoke to find
himself just where he went to sleep? The
individual gradually evolved theories to ex
plain these sensations; and probably these
theories were the origin of the basis through
which man carne to believe that he was composed of not only body but of some other
essence that existed free and independent of
the body.
When primitive man made himself comfortable for sleep, and relaxed into that state
of restfulness, he became conscious of continuing activities more or less related to
those of his everyday life; and yet when he
awoke, he found that he was where he was
when he had retired. He, therefore, carne
to the conclusin that some element of his
being, a spirit as it was later called, could
leave the body and participate in experiences
free and independent of bodily activity; or
he may have concluded that his spirit left
the body and had independent existence of
its own. Upon this conclusin, man may
have arrived at the first crude considerations
of immortality.
Although we have advanced a great deal
in the field of psychology and understanding
of mans bodily and mental functions,
actually there is still a great deal not known
about dreams. There have been psychologists who had based the premise of many
of their conclusions upon the analysis of the
dream state, and upon consideration of what
the events in dreams may or may not mean;
but, actually, insofar as the full meaning
of dreams is concerned and the nature of
their existence, there is still much unknown.
There are, however, a few basic principies
that have been generally agreed upon that
serve as a basis for future study. It is
necessary in approaching such a study to do
so with an open mind because the early
conclusions, as I have already mentioned,
were based or rather predicated upon the
concept that a supernatural event occurred.
It should be obvious that dreams are a

PAG E 57

perfectly natural state that is a part of the

experience of the average individual. For
this reason, it is necessary to separate the
difference between the belief prim arily
based upon the superstition that dreams all
carry a supernatural meaning and the belief
in the concept which considers dreams as a
natural phenomenon. If we accept dreams
as being a natural phenomenon, this concept
detracts from the idea that dreams may have
supernatural meaning.
There have been those who have claimed
that dreams are the means of prophesying,
or that they symbolically have meaning
other than what is apparent, but much of
this type of theory has been based upon the
false premise that dreams actually result
from a supernatural interference with
natural law or natural phenomena. To
consider dreams from that standpoint is to
believe that the dream is an attribute entirely
separated from normal consciousness. This
supposition assigns to the individual a power
that functions beyond his control and which
he is unable to understand. Actually, there
are various causes of dreams, some of them
purely physical.
There is always a state of mental activity
in the waking hours. We constantly have
thoughts passing through our consciousness.
It is very difficult to isolate a moment in
time when consciousness is not active to any
extent whatsoever.
Consequently, consciousness may be
looked upon as a seething mass of sensations,
impressions, and reflections that constantly
take place in the mental area of our being.
The mind is both objective and subjective:
objective in the sense that we are aware of
the thoughts passing through it, and sub
jective in that there are other concepts lying
below the marginal area of realization.
There are also those functions of the mind
that maintain the involuntary functions of
the body. To conceive of the fact that mind
in its functioning should stop completely
at any time is almost inconceivable. Al
though the mind rests as does any other part
or attribute of the body, it does not neces
sarily cease functioning completely when
the body is at rest or in a state of sleep.
Consequently, dreams are fundamentally
no more or less than the functioning of the
mind and functioning in an area that intrudes upon the consciousness of our being

PAG E 58

to impress itself upon us objectively.

Actually, insofar as research has been able to
determine, a dream takes place after the
period of deepest sleep. In fact, most psychologists claim that most dreams are very
short of duration. Even though they may
seem to be long because of a series of events
that we remember having taken place, actu
ally they may happen within a few seconds.
Just as in waking hours, we can recollect
the events of a trip that may have taken two
or three weeks, within a period of two or
three minutes, so can we in a dream state
recollect many ideas or put together many
concepts that may seem to have covered a
long period of time.
Actually, a dream may not have impressed
itself on our consciousness for more than a
few seconds. It is, therefore, generally con
ceded that most dreams occur within the
last two or three minutes before waking;
that is, they are impressions in consciousness
that intrude upon the gradually awakening
objectivity.
As we gradually withdraw from the state
of sleep into the state of wakefulness,
thoughts intrude upon consciousness and
these lead to other thoughts or associations
which are gathered in consciousness, some
times erratically or inconsistently because
of the fact that we are not awake to control
and direct those thoughts. This situation
accounts for the absurdness of some dreams
and the ridiculous situations that seem to
occur. The subjective mind, of course, accepts all thoughts by a deductive process;
and if the objective mind is not alert to
analysis, inductive reasoning does not take
place. Then in the semiwakeful state that
exists near the end of a period of sleep, the
mind grasps upon one idea. It will accept
this idea and carry it to rather odd conclusions without interference of the normal
control which we have during our waking
hours. When a thought comes to our mind
while we are wide awake, we direct the
memories, reflections, and associations that
we associate with it. We direct the progress
of thinking; we attempt to draw logical conclusions as a result of this process, but
without complete control of consciousness
such as exists in the period of the awakening
state. Also, under the influence of drugs,
ideas run free by themselves. One idea leads
to another and usually no continuity of any

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

particular valu results from this free association of ideas.

Dreams, therefore, in the general sense
have little meaning; usually, they consist of
this uncontrolled functioning of ideas, con
cepts, and conclusions that come into the
mind. They are often associated with some
thing with which we are familiar, because
the thoughts that occur in dreams are not
new. They are simply innovations upon
situations, conditions, or places with which
we are somewhat familiar.
In mans attempt to explain dreams, he
has usually gone from one extreme to an
other. He has, as first pointed out, considered
them entirely in the realm of the super
natural. Now the naturalistic psychologists
believe them to be nothing but the rambling
of the objective mind. Both of these conclu
sions may be partly true. A more serious
consideration of the phenomenon of dreams
may cause us to realize that, like all other
functions, attributes, and events of our lives,
they play a part in our lives. Dreams cannot
be segregated as something completely apart,
either in a supernatural sense, or simply as
an objective or physical event.
This does not, necessarily, mean that
dreams are a source of prophecy. It is pos
sible, I do not doubt, for the advanced
individual to have glimpses of the future. I
believe such experiences which would be of
a psychic nature would be more inclined to
occur in a state of meditation or concentration, rather than in complete sleep in the
form of a dream. I am inclined to believe
that many of the so-called prophetic dreams
that are recorded in religious and mythological literature were more likely the result
of visions or psychic impressions that carne
to those capable of understanding them
while in a relaxed but waking state.
The mind is a complex entity; but it is
obvious even to the novice that the con
sciousness that makes up the mind is divided
into many degrees. We can only give terms
to the general divisions of these states; and
while the objective and the subjective cover
the divisions in a general sense, it is in the
realm of the objective that there are also
divisions. The consciousness of the moment
can be distinguished from the area of
memories, and there are other areas where
the mind functions without our conscious
realization. Events of a long time ago still

DECEMBER, 1956

exist in the subconscious mind but are not

readily brought into objective consciousness.
When these impressions do intrude upon our
every day of consciousness, we become aware
of them; and possibly in the dream state
they have more ready access to the conscious level because there is nothing to bar
their way.
It is through the subjective mind, that
area that lies completely below the objective
and the conscious area, that we are able to
relate ourselves to the life forc or the in
telligence that exists elsewhere in the universe. The impression which is of an
intuitive nature, the so urce of psychic
experiences, comes through the mdium of
the subjective mind; but to be aware of
these experiences or these impressions, man
must cultvate the ability to be able to interpret them in terms of objective realization.
Intuition, for example, becomes effective
when we are able to perceive the impressions
that forc themselves to us, as it were, or we
allow them to pass to a conscious level. It
is, therefore, to be concluded that a psychic
experiencethat is, the realization of im
pressions that come through the subjective
mindmay come into consciousness at any
time whether we are awake or asleep.
Normally, as I have already stated, these
come as a result of meditation, concentration,
and attunement, but it is possible that such
impressions may also enter through the
mdium of a dream. I point out this possibility, but at the same time, it must be
remembered that dreams are not primarily
the mdium of psychic experience.
Mans development, his mental evolution,
is for the purpose of evolving his mental
capacity to the point where he may be able
to comprehend the impressions that enter
his consciousness, and to direct their entering
and his interpretation of them. Therefore,
it would defeat this purpose to believe that
mans connection with the subjective was
always through the mdium of dreams
which, in a sense, never become completely
understood or completely real in our objec
tive consciousness.
One interesting side observation on the
subject of dreams is this: Did you ever consider or ever reflect as to whether your
dreams are in a light or a dark setting? Some
people dream of a landscape, for example,
of a situation that occurs just as it would

P A S E 59

be in full daylight. Other people dream as

if the world were in a rather shadowy state.
In other words, all their dream experiences
seem to take place in subdued lighting as it
were, never in the direct light of day. If
you are an individual who dreams in that
manner, you may never have analyzed it
before, and this may bring it to your attention. If your dreams are always dark, then
you are an individual who looks upon life
with considerable questioning. You may not
be a cynic, but a perfectionist; or you have
the tendency to be demanding, always ques
tioning, the truth or falsity of any situation
confronting you. If you are carefree and
more of an optimist, an individual who is
always willing to look upon the brighter side
of things, then your dream experiences come
in a lighter setting. This is an interesting
comparison, or consideration, to make with
your experience and it has no serious significance.
Actually, the individual who is of an
analytical nature, in the sense that he is
always questioning the veracity of another
individual or a situation, finds his dreams
to be somewhat of a nature of groping in
the dark. He is always searching and testing
in his own mind, trying to find the real
truth, or an ultmate explanation for all
mysteries.
There is another interesting observation in
connection with dreams. I wrote upon this
subject in the Rosicrucian Forum once be
fore. Most crippled people or people with
physical defects see themselves in dreams as
physically whole and perfect. They do not
carry over into their dream state their limitations. They see themselves as they would
like to be. Since I wrote upon that subject
sometime ago, I have had an experience that
has proved this fact to myself. A disability
which I have experienced in the meantime
has caused me to be acutely aware of the
fact. I have many times dreamed of participating in a situation which is a physical
impossibility for me. This type of dream
seems to be an experience that forces itself
upon my consciousness, probably because I
resent the physical limitation and dream of
my desire of attaining freedom from it.
In this concept there is a realization that
man can aspire to perfection in conscious
ness, regardless of physical or material limitations. The experience proves that there is

PAGE 60

hope for us. We can evolve to the pont

where the perfection that we seek in con
sciousness may become reality without limi
ta tions and restrictions of the m aterial
world.A
Physical Reactions to Prayer
A frater of Hong Kong, addressing our
Forum, says: Can any member of the
Forum tell me what causes the coid or very
cool feeling that one has when he is saying
his prayers? This feeling or sensation can
best be described as similar to that coid sen
sation one feels when he enters an air-conditioned room from the heat of the outside.
There is one difference: this coid sensation
comes from inside the body and is not
caused by any tempera ture drop.
We have in this Forum in the past discussed very extensively the nature of prayer.
It is, however, necessary to reconsider some
of these points in relation to this question.
Prayer, generally, is an appeal. It may be
made vocatively or it may be written. It
is an appeal to what the individual believes
is a transcendent power. One prays to a
beingat least to an intelligencewhose
nature one assumes exceeds his own in powers and capabilities. Obviously, one would
not pray if he did not think such an appeal
was to a source that was capable of granting
his desires. Prayers have been classified
under three specific categories. They are:
prayers of intercession; prayers of confession; and prayers of adoration. The most
common motivation is the prayer of inter
cession. The individual hopes, by means of
his appeal, to invoke the wisdom and action
of the Supreme Power in his behalf. Psycho
logically, this type of prayer is accompanied
by a feeling of insecurity and helplessness.
The individual who feels or believes himself
self-sufficient to meet demands made upon
him, by the events of his life, will seldom
offer a prayer of intercession.
Prayers of confession are attempts at
purification. They are a mental catharsis,
an endeavor to rid oneself of feelings of guilt.
The prayer of confession, however, is dependent upon the belief in forgiveness. One
knows what he thinks are his sins of omission and commission. The mere reciting of
them provides some relief, but it is not sufficient. There is, as well, the desire to be rid

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

of these torments of conscience. The prayer

of confession, therefore, almost always includes a petition for pardon or forgiveness.
If it is thought that this is accomplished,
then the disturbing thoughts are purged
from the consciousness.
Egyptologists have translated a vast number of inscriptions which they have termed
negative confessions. The Pharaoh and the
priests, in their liturgies, have set forth a
series of declarations that they have not
committed or omitted this or that act. In
substance these negative confessions are of
the following nature: I have not falsified the
measure of grain; 1 have not taken advantage
of anothers widow or daughter; and so forth.
Here, then, the prayer is intended to establish the virtue, the sanctity, of the individual
and thus seemingly justify such requests and
demands as are to be made of the god.
The prayers of adoration are particularly
exemplified by the hymns of the Hebrew
prophets and those of Akhnaton. The indi
vidual is pouring out in words his feelings
of religious ecstasy. It is an afflatus of the
soul. He feels a sense of deep gratitude to
the god, the source of supreme power which
he recognizes, and he is compelled to express
it. These prayers of adoration and jubilation
seldom petition for any benefit. The heart
of the individual is full and his principal
desires for the time are satiated.
It is hardly necessary to state that prayer
has an emotional motivation. The emotions
of prayer, however, are often mixed. The
prayers may be engendered by such emotions
as fear, ecstasy, love, and despondency. With
most primitive peoples, the predominant
emotion may be said to be fear. It may
consist of a feeling of awe of certain natural
phenomena which the individual apotheosizes as a god. He grovels before the symbol
of this god, pleading for intercession and
protection in much the same manner as he
would before a powerful chieftain or warrior.
Many of the existing living religions
Christianity not excepted have devotees
whose principal motivation for prayer is that
of fear. In fact, some of the doctrines of the
leading Christian sects intentionally incl
cate this fear of the deity and the afterlife
to strengthen the hold of the clergy upon
the believers. Love of the deity as a paternal
and benevolent power constitutes another

DECEMBER, 1956

great emotional motive for prayer. One be

lieves that his god is omniscient and compassionate and thus will understand his
tribulations and extend sympathy beyond
all mortal considerations.
It is common experience that any intense
emotional stimulus will cause somatic sen
sations, that is, physical reactions of which
we will be, aware as feelings. We are quite
aware of the physical reactions of anger.
The face becomes flushed, the blood vessels
of the neck and forehead may be visibly
extended, the heartbeat is quickenedjust
to mention a few of the evidences of the
emotion. With fear, beads of coid perspiration may appear on the forehead, the throat
seems parched, the heart may beat so rapidly
that one may think another can hear it. The
extremities, as the feet and hands, may become coid because of the reduced circulation.
Prayer, meditation, the reading of morally
inspiring literature, participating in ritualistic ceremonies of a mystical or religious
nature, can produce a theophany. This
means a spiritual or religious experience.
This experience is rooted in the emotions
aroused by, for example, the prayer. The
individual may self-induce a partially sub
conscious state. He may feel that he is losing
consciousness of reality or the objective
world, and is entering another sphere of
existence. He may no longer be able to see
his surroundings. His spirit may be liberated from all bondage of anxiety and care.
This may be followed by an ecstatic sensation, that is, intense pleasure, a titillation
of the whole being. The individual may also
experience kinesthetic sensations, as a feel
ing of inner movement in the regin of the
solar plexus. Kinesthetic sensations may also
take the form of the perception of a great
weight or pressure upon the body or, conversely, the absence of it to such an extent
that the body seems to be floating.
During these religious and psychic experi
ences, pronounced thermal sensations may
be realized. There may be a feeling of a
wave of coldness, as a draught of coid air
blowing over the body, or even as a chill
creeping upward or descending downward.
Conversely, sensations of heat at times are
experienced. Actually, a thermometer may
register no definite temperature change in
the individual. The sensations are rather of
a psychic than an organic nature, though

PAG E 61

there are instances when the circulation of

the blood during such an experience is so
altered that actual temperature changes,
corresponding to the sensations had, do
occur.X
What Makes Differences in People?
Here we have two fratres submitting
questions to our Forum, questions which are
somewhat related in content. One frater
states: Isnt it a fact that we act differently
at times because of the desire of the soulpersonality to express its past experiences?
Isnt this the cause of having thoughts occur
in our minds, seemingly from nowhere, some
good, some bad, some strange?
The other frater says: Independently of
time and place, I have invariably found myself surrounded by the same type of people.
I cannot escape them just as one cannot
escape his own shadow. Ones past experi
ences with this type of men and women will
not help him to overcome their antagonism
because the situations in which one met them
before will repeat themselves. As a matter
of course, you will also meet friends again,
the same friends you met before though
appearing different. What is the Rosicrucian
viewpoint on this subject?
Homo sapiens is a kind, but there are in
finite variations of that kind; the three
fundamental differences are physical, men
tal, and social. Physically, or organically,
there are such variations that no two persons
are exactly alike, even though they may be
similar in appearance. These organic varia
tions likewise account for differences in the
nervous systems, emotional natures, and ego
of the individuis. Thus, some persons are
distinctly introverts; their interests are a
world of their own making. They may be
devoted to reading, studying, writing, abstraction, and Creative functions related to
this concentration upon their own mental
processes. Other individuis may be functionally and genetically inclined toward
extroversion. This type of person must have
his consciousness continually activated extemally. He must be with people and be
subject to physical activity and continually
moved by events. The stimulus of his own
thoughts, the faculties of his reason and
imagination, are not sufficient to gratify
him. If he remains at home, he must invite

PAGE 62

friends in or sit before his televisin set by

the hour in order to prevent being bored.
It can be seen that the physical, mental,
and psychological natures of individuis
contribute considerably toward setting them
off one from the other. The other great
influence is the social or environmental one.
Our habits are formed as a result of our
associations, our exposure to persons and to
circumstanees. Our thoughts are influenced
by the comments of others. Our opinions,
biases, and prejudices are the result of our
experiences in life. Racial prejudice, for
example, is not so much a personal conclu
sin arrived at by rationalization as it is the
inherited opinions of others. Religious ideas
are traditional with the average devotee.
He thinks his affiliations and his beliefs to
be best, but they are not the consequence of
an impersonal analysis of the concepts of
others. Rather, he but expounds what he
has been taught and which has become a
social and moral obligation to hima way
of life and the processes of thought.
It is a common experience that two children raised alike during their earliest years,
later separated and brought up in distinctly
opposite environments, would reflect those
differences in their subsequent personal lives.
The suggestions of environment, the various
experiences to which we are exposed, are
sometimes quite subtle. One is not aware
of the gradual molding of his thoughts, actions, and personality. The impact of those
lessons may extend over such a period of
time that the individual thinks the ideas he
voices and the behavior which he exhibits
are his own, and are inherent characteristics.
From a mystical point of view, the soulpersonality also has implanted within it the
inclinations of its past experiences. These
may be termed the lessons leamed and habits
acquired which are transmitted to the con
scious mind of the individual as intuitive
urges; they give distinction to the individ
ual^ behavior and thoughts. For analogy,
two brothers, or two sisters, may display
radical differences in interest, personality,
and abilities. The physiologist and psychologist will assert that this difference is due to
slight variations in development of the re
spective areas of the cerebrum and of
glandular function. Nevertheless, organically, psychologically, and environmentally, as
well as mystically, these elements constitute

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

the variations in the individuis.

We attract to ourselves certain kinds of
circumstances and people. This attraction
may not result in what we like, but the
responsibility is often ours. Let us use the
following common example. A person may
find that wherever he is employed his fellow
employes display an animosity toward him
after a short time. They talk to him less
and less frequently, or are exceptionally
reserved even to the point of snubbing him.
He changes his place of employment. Not
long after being employed at the new place,
there is a recurrence of the same condition.
Why, he wonders, am I always surrounded by such discourtesies and unfriendliness?
Now, let us look at the individual himself
for the answer. Perhaps, within a few days
after entering a new place of employment,
he begins to discuss freely remarks which
he has overheard some of his fellow employees make. He may embarrass those who
made the original statements, especially
when they did not wish their remarks to be
publicly voiced. He contines doing this
with others, thinking that it is merely a
means of making conversation. He thus
aggravates his associates, arouses their dis
trust of him, and they rebuff him by ostracizing him.
Then, there are those persons who have
a deep sense of inferiority. They attempt to
overcome this by making sardonic remarks
and virtriolic statements about any subject
in which others show an interest. As a re
sult, such persons alienate themselves,
crushing all personal interest in themselves.
Wherever such persons go they create a hostile and unsympathetic environment for
themselves. They make enemies of potential
friends.
Constructive interests, reasonably virtuous
conduct, a cooperative, friendly attitude may
well result in attracting certain types of in
dividuis. Human beings are gregarious.
They like sociability and a sense of sincerity.
One whose character and emotions are
stable, who is intelligent and friendly, in
spires confidence. The better element in a
group of people wants to be more intimately
associated with that kind of person. They
are drawn to him like satellites to a planet.
The od adage, birds of a feather, etc., very
aptly applies in such circumstances. How-

DECEMBER, 1956

ever, a weak character will invite those who

are parasites and unscrupulous. For example,
one who is not judicious with his favors or
in the loan of his possessions will always be
imposed upon by those who see this puerile
tendency in his nature. If one cannot say
No! emphatically when he should for his
own best nterests, the omnivorous type will
take advantage of him. It will then seem to
the victim that wherever he goes the same
kind of people are waiting for him. They
are, it is true, but he has prepared the way
for them to gravitate to him.
A periodic self-analysis is vitally impor
tant. We are not only acted pon by our
environment, but as we have related in these
few examples, we, to a great extent, are also
the creators of environment al conditions. We
most certainly make our friends and many
of our enemies. We also bring about a number of unpleasant situations in which many
times we find ourselves immersed. A true
friend, if he thinks you are honest with
yourself, will gladly and kindly tell you
those things which he believes would
strengthen your character if they were to be
corrected. Of course, one is not inclined to
hear such things because they strike at the
ego. Nevertheless, we must do either one of
two things. We must accept constructive
criticisms that have merit, or perhaps con
tinu the unwitting creation of unpleasant
situations in our lives.X
Reincarnation and Our Sun
An interesting question was submitted at
the last Rally conducted by the Francis
Bacon Chapter in London, England. In sub
stance, the question is this: Astronomically,
the life of our sun has been estimated to be
200,000,000,000 years! Human life depends
upon the existence of the sun and its energies
in numerous ways. Since this sun of our
solar system is therefore not etemal and will
at some time cease to exist, how will that
event affect reincarnation and the evolution
of mankind? Will mankind have evolved by
then to such a spiritual state or condition
that it will no longer be necessary to live a
physical life, or will it have taken up an
existence elsewhere?
The premise underlying this question is
the traditional law of reincarnation, namely,
that the soul cycle is 144 years from birth to

PAGE 63

rebirth. Consequently, if one lives to be 75

years od on the earth plae, it would then
be 69 years before his rebirthin other
words, the difference between 75 and 144
years. If, according to a'stronomy, there will
come a time when the sun will so lose its
vital radiations that it will no longer sustain
life, how then would such souls incarnate?
Would such a physical phenomenon oppose
the traditional law of reincarnation? These
are the implications of the question.
In the first place, there is no guarantee
that man as such is to be etemalized, except
as man expresses his vanity in the literature
he wishes to hold sacred. Supposing, in eons
of time, in the Cosmic processes, that such an
order of life as man shall cease to be. Actu
ally, there would be nothing destroyed in
such an event except the particular expression of those combinations of forces that
manifest as life, and which provides that
state of consciousness which exhibits what
we cali the soul-personality. The universal
or Cosmic soul, which extends itself into
human form and acquires that superconsciousness which we know as soul-personality, would not in its essence be destroyed if
man were to be no more. The universal soul
would be no more eliminated than would be
a beam of light which no longer has a mirror
to reflect it.
Let us think of the physical human entity
as a material substance that has been refined
graduallywe might say, polisheduntil it
is capable of reflecting the divine light and
having that self-awareness that constitutes
soul. For analogy, when a mirror, optically
speaking, has become a perfect plae and
reflects all objects without a distortion of
their image, it has then, accomplished its
purpose. When in the future the human
consciousness may be able to apperceive its
Cosmic relationship to its greatest possible
capacity, its function, as a reflecting
body may then be fulfilled. It might then
no longer be necessary for the Cosmic to
have a realization of itself through the re
flecting consciousness of manor, possibly,
some other organic form might supersede
him in performing that function.
Gradually, man has evolved to his present
physical and mental status. It is not neces
sary for one to enter into the discursive
subject of whether the human has descended
from lower species. It is enough to know

PAGE 64

that, at least as man, the human has gone

through a series of refinements from, shall
we say, the Neanderthal period and before.
Why must we assumeexcept in our re
ligious worksthat Nature will not supplant
man, that is, evolve a being to replace him?
Other kinds have become extinct. Further,
even in those future eons of time when our
sun may no longer support life on earth,
there may be other forms or organisms elsewhere that could attain the state of being a
soul-personality.
We have no assurance that in galaxies,
island universes, which appear as mere undefined blobs of light to our present telescopes,
there are not worlds which harbor living,
evolving things. We may not be able to cali
such entities men only because from a physi
cal point of view they may be quite unsimilar. They may be intelligent beings,
however, with perceptive faculties unlike
ours and yet which may exceed ours. They,
too, may attain that state of developed, per
sonal consciousness and Cosmic awareness
that is defined by man as soul. For all
we now know, such do exist. Further, such
may have existed and even become extinct
long before our little globe carne to play its
part in the Cosmic drama.
If the present and anticipated trend of
world population increase contines for an
other few centuries, the earth may well
become overcrowded. This is said with a
full realization that, in all probability in a
matter of but a few decades, several million
acres which are now arid will be provided
with water and become fertile as a result of
technological advances. It is also said with
an appreciation of the fact that the food
supply for mankind will be enhanced by the
production of many synthetic commodities.
It is perhaps fortnate that keeping pace
with this population increase are experiments which may ultimately permit travel
to other planets in our solar system and even
lead to eventual colonization of one of them.
Though it sounds like a borrowed thought
from science fiction, migration to other celes
tial bodies may become a necessityas much
a necessity as is the present shifting of
peoples from crowded Europe to Australia
and to Africa.
When we alter our conceptions of our
Cosmic relationships, many problems that
concern us vanish, and many perplexing

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

questions disappear, as well. If, for example,

we abandon the od theological concept that
all Cosmic phenomena are determined by
their contribution to human welfare, the
future then does not become quite so complex or seemingly inconsistent. As humans,
we are but an element in a vast process of
change, evolution, and devolution. Our
whole period upon the stage of reality, the
million or so years past and whatever time
may remain, could be but a tick in the Time
of etemity.
I, for one, am disinclined to think that
all that has preceded was teleologically
staged for the ultimate, triumphant entrance
of man to play a stellar role. I think of man
I am now referring to human life as we
know it on this earthas but one expression
of an infinite series of changes. Each change
has its moment. Each one reflects to some
degree the majesty of the whole. Man does
that perhaps to a greater degree than any
thing else of which we have knowledge.
That man is the final end, the ultimate
achievementI leave this thought to the
self-gratification of the theologians.X
Does Suppressing Facts Produce Karma?
A frater from Caada now asks our Forum
a question: If we find some od, forgotten
injustice, fraud, or murder, and we keep it
secret, will there be any bad karmic effect?
In bringing the matter to light there may
be involved those who are not guilty and
who may suffer some punishment. Is this
right or wrong to do?
This does constitute a problem because it
concerns a balance of vales. One is the
obligation to reveal that which will right a
wrong. The other is the obligation to prevent
the hurt of innocent parties. The first ap
proach is to realize that punishment of one
who has committed a crime is not the Cosmic
responsibility of the individual who knows
of it. If we know of one who was guilty of a
crime in years past, and whose evasin of
the law is not now harming or threatening
harm to another, and if revealing his identity
would bring suffering to innocent persons,
it is then best not to report him. While in
the one instance you would be complying
with an obligation to society as a formality,
you would be, at the same time, bringing
considerable hurt to anothera hurt which

DECEMBER, 1956

society might not be able to rectify. The

moral obligation to omit reporting is greater
than to commit the injury of another.
There are, of course, many extenuating
circumstances in a case of this kind to which
careful thought must be given if one wants
to avoid incurring adverse karma. We will
offer further suppositions to give these differentiations clarity. One may have committed
a crime for which an innocent person has
been convicted. The imprisonment of the
victim not only causes him suffering but
also causes great distress year after year to
his family. The guilty person has, we shall
as sume, a position of prominence in the
community and has a wife and children who
are unaware of his past life. They would
suffer great humiliation and social stigma if
their husband and father were exposed.
To remain silent in such an instance, not
revealing the guilty party would be to compound a wrong of which one has knowledge.
Cosmically, as a matter of conscience, the
silent one is, in fact, aiding and abetting the
criminal. His is a positive act; he is contributing to a situation which was orginally
established by the criminal. In revealing
him, hurt will be experienced by other inno
cent persons, but there is not also the violation of a moral right. One is thus obliged
Cosmically and rationally, to reveal the
identity of the criminal in the analogy just
given.
We may resort to still another analogy to
emphasize the necessity of careful analysis
of all circumstances in matters of this kind.
One may have committed a serious crime
years ago for which he has escaped detection.
The revealing of his whereabouts may involve innocent persons who will suffer as a
result. However, you may know that this
criminal remains a menace to society; you
may have leamed that he plans to, or in
fact, may continu his criminal acts which
involve the loss of property or personal in
jury to others. Here one set of circumstances
quite outweighs another in their moral importance. The active criminal contines to
hurt numerous members of society. More
persons may suffer because of his continued
freedom than would by his being detected
and convicted.
Quantity usually does not enter into Cos
mic principies and moral vales, but in this
analogy, it most assuredly does. For an

PAGE 65

example, it is better to experience the pain

which accompanies the extraction of an
infected tooth than to let the tooth remain
and pollute the whole blood stream.
We can only repeat that which we have
so often said: that karma is not the infliction
of punishment by the Cosmic, neither is it
an intentional award of the Cosmic for some
meritorious act. According to etymology, the
word karma is of Sanskrit origin. Literally,
it means deed or to do. It concerns
causal relations, or the law of causality.
Deeds, or what we do, institute a series of
causes. These are the invoking or putting
into operation of natural laws.
So-called Cosmic laws are but those phenomena which by their scope transcend the
natural laws, or what we cali the physical
world. Succinctly, gravity and the spectra
of electromagnetic waves, for example, are
also Cosmic laws. However, the latter are
manifesting in a grosser way; that is, they
are perceptible to our finite senses. We
know that if we invoke the law of gravity
by throwing an object which is heavier than
air above our heads, it will crash to the
ground. If we are careless in doing so and
are struck by the object, that is our karma!
Certainly, in the above analogy, neither
gravity or the Cosmic sought to punish us.
So it is with those moral precepts which we
associate with the harmony of the Cosmic.
These precepts function impersonally. It
behooves us to be judicious in our thoughts
and actions lest we invoke laws which in
their impersonal performance may bring
adversity upon us. Conversely, the opposite
is true; we may knowingly or unwittingly
set into motion laws as causes which will
result in what we cali good fortune. Many
of our so-called blessings are not inten
tional endowments but rather they are the
,consequence of some act or series of acts in
the immediate present or which have been
cumulative.
We have no comprehension of all the cir
cumstances which constitute the plenary
relations and connections of the Cosmic. Our
minds are too finite ever to comprehend the
Absolute in all its ramifications. Many times
we will thus decide and act in such a way
that Cosmic causes may follow with their
effects which are not favorable to us. There
appears, however, to be this saving grace
the motive underlying our acts. It would

PAG E 66

seem that motive in itself is an impulse

which is provocative of Cosmic laws aside
from any circumstances related to it. Thus,
though the acts following from a motive may
set into motion a certain concatenation of
causes, the motive may ameliorate them.
For example, if one, in good faith and with
out malice or avarice, acts contrary to cer
tain Cosmic laws, the adverse effects may be
mitigated as a consequence.
If there was not this Cosmic law which
has a relation to motive, then each man
would be a victim of his own ignorance. It
is not possible for man to have a comprehension of all Cosmic laws and principies
regardless of the extent of his study. The
more he studies, however, the more he learns
how to use in a positive way the laws of the
Cosmos to his advantage.X
This Issues Personality
There is a quality about the Creative mind
that causes it to be inquisitive and searching.
One cannot create without being both observant and analytical. The facts of experi
ence that one thus acquires become the very
material in which he embodies his Creative
ideas. As a result, the Creative mind is usu
ally a liberal and tolerant one. It was this
Creative impulse that led Frater Harry L.
Gubbins, Grand Councilor of AMORC for
the Great Lakes Area, eventually to the
threshold of the Order.
Frater Gubbins was born in Alpena,
Michigan, January 19, 1902. He received
his early education in that State and subsequently his technical training in the me
chanical field. He has been tool engineer
for the Packard Motor Car Company, of
Detroit, for a number of years. It was,
however, in Windsor, Caada, in the winter
of 1932 that circumstances designed that he
should know of the Rosicrucian Order. Being
of an inquiring mind, Frater Gubbins and
a few, friends of like interest formed a small
study group; the declared purpose of the
group was the impartial investigation of
philosophical and religious ideologies.
It was the intent of these students to look
into the professed claims and expounded
doctrines of many societies and to do so
without prejudice. During the course of such
discussions, it developed that one of the

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

group was a Rosicrucian. It was suggested

that much benefit could be obtained from
the Rosicrucian teachings and philosophy.
This excited the curiosity of Frater Gubbins,
and he wrote AMORC for information. The
early part of 1933 saw him as an active
member of the Rosicrucian Order, and he
has been a member continuously from that
time.
It was a relatively short time after that
that Frater Gubbins affiliated with Thebes
Lodge of AMORC in Detroit, Michigan. He
succeeded a frater in the Lodge as SecretaryTreasurer. Since that time he has served in
many offices in that Lodge, including the
very honorable one of Master.
It was his active work on behalf of the
Order in his regin that caused the Grand
Council of the Grand Lodge in 1948 to recommend him as Grand Councilor. Subsequently, he was duly elected to that office
to succeed Frater H. C. Blackwell, who had
transferred his home to California.
There are many lodges and chapters of
AMORC in the jurisdiction over which
Frater Gubbins presides as Grand Councilor.
Several of these subordnate bodies have
annual rallies of large proportions. Frater
Gubbins has been most faithful in attending
them and in participating in their events.
His addresses and counsel are always most
favorably received. He has an excellent
sense of balance between esoteric and exoteric vales which makes him most capable
in his capacity.
Aside from his Rosicrucian studies, Frater
Gubbins has the hobbies of music, fishing,
and serving as a committeeman with a Boy
Scout Troop. The Gubbins are the proud
parents of four childrentwo boys and two
girls ranging in age from twelve to twentyfive years. Their daughter served as Colombe
to attain the honor of Colombe emeritus.X
Should We Risk Life for Animals?

A soror of Northern Rhodesia, Africa,

now addresses our Forum: I would like to
place a question to the Forum. An argument
has cropped up in our local newspaper. A
man, who signs himself Catholic, has sug
gested that a human being should not risk
his life to save that of an animal. There

PECEMBER, 1956

have been several replies. Some say no.

Some say 4y e s I should imagine that a true
Christian would risk his life to save an
animal. Am I right?
Let us face the biological fact that man is
an animal. Organically, he is not unlike
many of the animals referred to by him as
inferior. If man has distinction, it is in his
intelligence. It is in his ability to perceive
what he considers to be the causal relations
between things on the one hand, and, on
the other, to direct his activities toward a
conceived purpose. The most exalted aspect
of the human animal, that which gives him
transcendence over other living things, is
his self-consciousness. This results in that
awareness that is designated as soul and
which gives rise to that self-discipline that
constitutes moral discernment. It makes
possible an idealism by which one conforms
to those finer impulses of his emotions which
we cali the sentiments.
With these qualifications, a human being
is expected to exhibit more compassion, tolerance, and sympathy than would an animal
not having the same mental qualities as man.
However, any person who has had pets,
especially those of the higher order as, for
example, dogs and horses, knows that they
often exhibit a defense of their own kind,
and even the defense of animal companions
which are not of their own species. Dogs
have been found to defend other dog com
panions when they have been attacked.
They have been known to risk their lives
to prevent their small companions from
drowning. They will also oppose their own
kind to protect the cat that is a family pet.
They have commonly stood guard over an
injured or dead companion which has been
struck by a vehicle, even though their own
life was exposed to danger.
Should a human being, who is supposed
to be particularly imbued with a conscious
ness of the divine impulsation, fail to risk
his own life to save that of a distressed ani
mal? Where there is the possibility that a
human being may save the life of a helpless
animal, even though his own is endangered,
it is his moral duty to do so. In performing
such an act, motivated by the compassion
to do so, man is conforming to those higher
attributes of his nature that distinguish man
kind. A human being should, if he concedes

PAGE 67

to any form of conduct having a moral basis,

endeavor to eliminate suffering wherever he
can. This is not mawkish sentimentality but
a necessity if society is to elevate itself above
the brute.
I think it will be conceded that sport cars,
televisin, electronic push-button gadgets are
not the single indication of advancement of
mankind. Where there is no refinement of
the passions, no extensin of the self-consciousness, we having nothing but a human
machine. Such a machine is ruthless. It
shows a disregard not merely of animal life
but of its own kind as well. Have we not
had sufficient examples of this mans inhumanity to man in the recent world wars?
In our religions, we prate about the spirit
ual brotherhood of mankind. During the
Christmas season in particular, we extol
good will on earth, and so forth. There is
one relationship that is factual aside from
any idealistic notion. It is the brotherhood
of living things. Everything that lives is
permeated with the same vital essence. In
life forc all living things have a common
bond. The expression of this life, the vehicle
or organism which conveys it, may differ.
Within each animate thing, however, is the
same fundamental urge to be. Each has its
varied reaction to this impulse. With the
complexities of the organism, its higher
states, opposition to life, interference with its
functions, produces a greater sensitivity to
pain. A drowning dog has a realization that
it is fighting for its life. A dog trapped in a
fire experiences the same excruciating pain
as man and the same instinctive terror to
ward life-destroying forces.
The dog may not have a Christian no
tion as to the meaning of death or immortality, but it is motivated by the same impulses
and sensations to survive as is man. The
brotherhood of life, of vital essence, of
which we all are a part, necessitates mans
risking his life to save an animal, if he is
worthy of being called a human being.
Naturally, no one is required to sacrifice
his life when it is obvious that it would be
impossibl to effect a rescue. Where there
is hope that a rescue can be effected, the
response from every able human should be
to help this fellow living creature, regardless
of the form of that living thing. As for the
human being who stands by and impassion-

PAGE 68

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

ately watches an animal struggling and suf

fering and makes no effort to help it because
he cannot risk his life for religious reasons,
that individual should be ashamed of his
faith. Where is the probity, the nobility, of
a religin that interprets divine guidance as
indifference to suffering of any kind? What
gods or saints are worthy of reverence who
demand that the human soul in physical
form be preserved at the expense of the
spiritual display of compassion? From the
orthodox point of view, it could be better
said that the one who spums risking his own
life for that of an animal has saved his body
but lost his soul.X
You Can Help

Primarily, each of us affiliates with the

A.M.O.R.C., because of some personal advantage which we expect to gain. The individual
who thinks of himself as self-sufficient would
never become a Rosicrucian, or resort to any
method of self-improvement. The Rosicru
cian teachings, however, do not extend
promises of direct material advantages. One
is not offered insurance benefits, employment
aids, financial loans, and the like. Rosicru
cian membership is not of that type. Those
who affiliate with the expectation of receiving such assistance would be immediately
disappointed nd would soon become inactive. Those who labor under such misconception are themselves responsible. There is
nothing in any of the introductry Rosicru
cian literature or the teachings themselves
which either states or implies such functions.
The Rosicrucian Order, however, is intended to help the individual member in
each department of life. Its duty is to make
the individual more successful in his lifework, trade, business, or profession. The
Order is not so abstract and idealistic as not
to take cognizance of these practical needs
and personal welfare of its membership.
The premise upon which AMORC has long
established its principies and practices is the
cultivation of the latent attributes of the in
dividual. If ones consciousness is quickened,
if his visin is broadened, if he is shown how
to use more extensively the fullness of his
own being and Cosmic powers, his accom
plishments are more extended. We are cer
tain that no one will deny that clear

reasoning, the stimulation of the imagination,

effective concentration, and the elimination
of popular misconceptions and superstitions
do give an individual a tremendous personal
advantage. It is precisely these things that
AMORC does for its memberswith, of
course, their co-operation.
Success, as we have said on a number of
occasions, is a satisfactory culmination of
an enterprise. Success, therefore, is not a
thing in itself. It is the satisfactory result
of something else that is undertaken. No one
can make another a success in anythirig.
Success requires personal initiative combined
with intelligent effort. The unique knowl
edge regarding oneself and the world in
which he exists and their interrelations is
the Service that AMORC provides. It helps
the individual to attain success. The Rosi
crucian Order does not teach one how, for
example, to be a writer, chemist, salesman,
or mechanic, but its teachings have made
men and women more successful in all of
these and numerous other activities and enterprises.
Another factor about AMORC member
ship is the assistance it gives the individual
in becoming properly oriented in life. There
are many persons who dissipate their powers
and intelligence, misuse what they have
gained, by aspiring to false or evanescent
ends in life. The ultimate end in life for
each person is happiness. This must not be
construed to mean that which provides satis
faction just for the individual alone. How
ever, it is in the proper interpretation of
such notions as happiness, death, immortal
ity, and ones social and Cosmic obligations
that we believe AMORC excels.
Many members were materially successful
long before hearing of AMORC. Their ob
ject, obviously, in becoming members was
not material advantage. They were fully
conscious of the need for such things as the
development of latent talents, further en
lightenment, the cultivation of intuitive
impressions, and those things which make
for peace of mind. For these things they
turned to AMORC.
Regardless of the specific reasons why one
is now a member of the Rosicrucian Order,
he assumes certain obligations with his
membership. These obligations are not just

DECEMBER, 1956

the financial or the legal ones, such as adherence to the constitutional rules of the
Order. They are, as well, moral ones. If one
has derive certain advantages from his
affiliation, whether spiritual, intellectual or
material, it is incumbent upon him to further
the cause of Rosicrucianism. He of course,
can do so by making contributions of a
financial nature to AMORC. He also can do
so by leaving a bequest to the Order in his
will, regardless of how small the amount
may be. But he must realize, however, that
AMORC is a vehicle by which we, individually and collectively, ride toward those
ends we conceive and which the Order
furthers. However, this vehicle is not selfpropelled. Each one of those who is carried
along by it is required to help propel it. The
greatest propulsin is the speaking and acting which you can do in the Orders behalf.
The light which the Order can disseminate
is not to be concealed beneath a bushel
basket. If you have found the Order it is
because others made it possible for you to
do so.
AMORC has quite a variety of literature
which has been attractively lustrated and
printed with word-and-thought appeal to
various types of inquirers and seekers. It is
your obligation, as well as that of the staff
of the Supreme and Grand Lodges, to dis
seminate this literature. There are thousands
of places, even in your community and area,
where a leaflet can be left so as to attract
attention and invite interest. Many members
make a habit of placing a few of these in
their pocket or purse, daily leaving one or so
in such places as buses and other public conveyances, telephone booths, libraries, bookstores, concert halls, doctors and dentists
reception rooms, and hotel lobbies. One
never knows when a casual conversation may
disclose the philosophical, metaphysical or
mystical inclination of anothers mind. That
then is the psychological time to place a
leaflet in the hands of the individual, with
the mere statement: I think you will find
this interesting. Each leaflet invites the in
dividual to obtain a free copy of The Mstery
of Life, which fully explains Rosicrucian
membership.
We have just prepared an entirely new
brochure entitled, The Etemal Quest. Its
simple and forceful cover-design challenges

PAG E 69

the imagina tion. Its few pages begin with

an inquiry into the accepted mysteries of
existence. It then follows with a brief state
ment of the history of the Order. It includes
pertinent facts as to the present-day activities and the extent of the Order for the
analytical mind. It is small enough to be
put in your pocket or purse. Write for a
supply of these. They will be sent you without cost, postpaid. If you wish other literature, ask for it.
It is imperative, however, that you order
only what you can use and please use
what you order. There is no literature, no
matter how carefully prepared and executed,
that is quite so ineffectual as that which is
kept unopened in ones own home. The unused literature not only defeats the purpose
for which it was prepared but it is an extravagancea waste of effort, postage and
funds.
Write to: The Rosicrucian Extensin De
partment, Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, Cali
fornia, U.S.A., and ask for a small packet
of the new leaflet or a packet of the general
leaflets. When you have used these, please
send for more. Also, we would like your
opinion of the new leaflet.X
Do We Stop Growing?
I received a letter some time ago from an
individual who had read some literature
conceming the Rosicrucians and had found
it of great interest, but concluded by saying,
I am 80 years od. Do you advise me to
submit my application for membership at
this age? How would you have answered
that question?
I hesitated to answer it, for I, frankly, felt
that possibly anythig I would say would not
be the proper advice. My inclination, how
ever, finally governed my answer because I
told the individual that he had everything
to gain and nothing to lose by becoming a
member of the Order; that is, if individuis
are interested and desirous of starting a new
project, why shouldnt they start, regardless
of age? It is probably true that in the normal
course of events, a person of 80 years of age
or more will not be a member for many
years. Nevertheless, I have come to the con
clusin that age makes no difference. An

PAG E 70

individual may have time to study only a

few lessons, but at least he has studied that
many. The step has been taken. Certain
ideas have been implanted in the conscious
ness that will be a permanent part of that
persons individuality.
Consistent with the ideis to which we
subscribe in the Rosicrucian teachings and
the belief that we have concerning the continuity of life, regardless of the limitations
of our physical existence, there is never an
ideal time to begin an activity that contrib
utes to our growth. Or, we might say that
any time is a good time for constructive
effort. To postpone because of age what we
hope to do is merely to postpone the impulse
to attain something that we know7 to be of
valu. The individual who begins to study
at an advanced age is going to gain certain
principies .and certain experiences from that
study, regardless of how long or short the
study may be in terms of time. What may
be gained, no matter how little or how much,
cannot be taken away. What we have at
tained of real valu is ours forever.
It is not within the scope of human understanding to be able to say just how much
may be gained, but it is certain that some
thing can be added to consciousness. Even
if no more than one new idea is understood,
an inspiration is realized, or the revaluation
of life is begun, then important steps have
been taken that may contribute to an allover evolutionary progress. According to the
Rosicrucian philosophy, man must advance
from a state of objectivism to a state of
realization of the true realities of the universe. In other words, man advances from
a mere mechanism to an entity that is in
complete harmony with his Creator. To
realize the Cosmic, to realize the proper
place of man in the Cosmic scheme, man
must by his own choice take steps that will
contribute to this realization. He should
start this process whenever he has the im
pulse to do so. To procrastinate is only to
lose more time or probably never begin a
constructive type of program which would
contribute to mental and psychic growth.
We must always take advantage of those
situations which seem to lead toward that
ultimate realization. An excuse of age or
physical circumstances at the moment, while
it is a common one used from the eradle to

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

the grave, lacks conviction. It is not for the

average individual to decide when growth
must start, neither is it his decisin as to
when it stops. Growth is continuous, and to
be a part of it, is to fit into the eyele of
Cosmic manifestation as best we can at any
time it may seem fitting and that we are
motivated to do so.A
Tibetan Manuscripts
A soror of England rises to address our
Forum: The precious manuscripts in Tibet
are they in safekeeping against destruction?
Whenever there is invasin and war, there
is always the possibility of the destruction
of literary or art masterpieces. Armies con
tain many men who are ignorant of such
treasures and, through the hatred and passion of the moment, deliberately destroy
them. This may occur in some of the gompas
or lamaseries in the Tibetan regin. In all
probability, however, irreplaceable manu
scripts have been concealed by the monks
or lamas, a task that would not be too difficult in the wild regin of the Himalayas.
It must be realized, as the writer has
personally observed in his travels in the
Himalayas and the Tibetan frontiers, that
most of the od scrolls do not contain esoteric
secrets. They have great valu to the various
lama sects as discourses on Lamaism. Such
consist of a combination of Buddhist doc
trines with early indigenous primitive rites
and beliefs of Tibetan tribes. Lamaism is not
in any sense to be construed as a highly
advanced metaphysical and mystical system
or even to be the pur and beautiful teach
ings of Buddhism. The older of the manu
scripts or scrolls are written in Sanskrit.
The majority are valuable as antiquities
rather than as great contributions to world
litera ture or philosophical knowledge. Many
historical writings of India exceed them in
brilliance of thought as, for example, the
Sankhya philosophy.
These Tibetan manuscripts are principally
written on cloth and wound around a fat
piece of wood about two feet in length. They
are then covered by two fat boards about
four inches in width. They give the appearance of a bolt of cloth. The archives of a

PECEMBER, i956

lamasery, which are seldom visited by foreigners, look like a room lined with shelves
containing assorted packages from which
labels dangle on strings (see photograph in
the December, 1949, issue of the Rosicrucian
Digest). The chief lama or abbot presides
over the archives. One of them kindly con
descended to pose for us, holding one of the
ancient scrolls, a number of which our party
personally examined. Occult fiction has done
much to misrepresent the facts as they exist
in Tibet. This occult fiction, appealing to
the popular imagination so as to stimulate
book sales, would have it appear that each
lama is a most enlightened mystic and
miracle worker. Actually, most of these
lamas are quite simple and are very much
limited in their fount of knowledge.
In 1949, the writer and a camera expedition for AMORC visited not only lamaseries
but a lama school. This was a rare privilege
afforded but a few persons from the outside
world. We observed the lamas sitting crosslegged in rows before low benches which
served as their desks. On these benches were
open scrolls. Standing in front of the lamas
was the chief lama who functioned as their
preceptor. He was leading them in their
recitations. They were obliged to learn by
rote the contents of the scrolls which were
recited in a rhythmic chant. The contents
were mostly prayers and liturgies. These
lamas were not as familiar with profound
mystical and metaphysical principies as
some of our early Temple Degree Rosicru
cians.
The abbots and preceptors are men who
are obviously quite learned. Most of them
know not only their Tibetan dialects and
ancient Sanskrit but one or more of the
Indian dialects and English. Conversation
with them revealed that they were conversant with profound philosophical and
mystical precepts. Though they were exceedingly intelligent, they were reluctant to
talk freely with a Westemer. The impression we gained was that such abbots had,
at some time in their lives, been students of,
or had access to, rare and secret manuscripts
which antedated those which they were now
expounding to the lamas of their sect.
This wisdom was undoubtedly that esoteric gnosis to which tradition refers. It was
that which a segment of the Great White

PAGE 71

Brotherhood preserved for centuries behind

the mountain fastnesses of Tibet. It was this
same wisdom which, centuries later, was
disseminated through special masters and
teachers to mystery schools of the West to
add to that knowledge which they already
possessed. Eventually all the wisdom which
Tibet cherished and preserved found its way
into the archives of the select initiatory
schools of the West. This, then, has been
transmitted from generation to generation
through the Initiations and doctrines.
It is doubtful if there exists in Tibet today
a source of knowledge so unique and so en
lightened that such an organization as the
Rosicrucian Order does not possess and teach
it. The book issued by AMORC, entitled
Unto Thee I Grant is a translation of a
very od Tibetan manuscript on ethics and
moris. These continu to be universal in
their application and are enlightening. It
is an example of the older authentic Tibetan
works which have descended to the West.
There are undoubtedly a few remte
lamaseries where the chosen lamas who
became abbots received advanced instruction
in Cosmic laws and principies. Rosicrucians,
if they knew Sanskrit and if they had access
to such concealed archives, would undoubt
edly find principies that were startling to
them, but mostly in the fact of their remarkable similarity to the teachings of the Order.
It is quite probable that these abbots,
popularly called masters by the West, can
direct natural laws so as to produce most
impressive phenomena. In doing so, they
are not necessarily using a knowledge unknown to Rosicrucians. However, in their
monastic lives, they devote hours to the
practice of the principies to achieve their
success, whereas some Rosicrucians may fel
that, if they devote one hour a week to
regular study, they are being conscientious
and making a sacrifice. Even the common
lama spends at least four hours daily in
study and m editation. The rest of the
twelve or fourteen hours a day is devoted to
tilling the soil and labors necessary for subsistence.
We would venture to say that the majority
of the few scrolls containing the rare esoteric teachings are safely hidden and pre
served.X

_ OU CAN MORE EASILY LEARN

that which you enjoy studying.

This fact is undisputed by modern psychology. At
Rose-Croix University the acquirement of knowledge is made a
pleasure. The interesting presentation of practical information
by unique methods of demonstration and student participation makes a threeweek course here equal to longer periods at other institutions of leaming.
Go to school the Rosicrucian way where facts are fun, learning is a
labor of love, and study is zestful. Plan now to make your summer vacation
profitable. Good fellowship with people who think as you do, unforgettable
experiences, and a new vista of living await you. Write for the free booklet
which gives you full particulars. Do it now. Address:

Low
T u i ti on
$45.00
June 17 to July 6
(THREE WEEKS)

ROSE-CROIX UN IVERSITY "ZjZSt

February, 1957
Volu me X X V II

No. 4

Rosicrucian Forum
A p rv a te

p u b lic a tio n fo r m e m b e rs o f A M O R C

LESLIE A. NEAL, F. R. C.
D e p u fy Granel M a ste r fo r the London, England, area.

PAGE 74

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Greetings!
V

EQUALITY A N D HIERARCHY

Dear Fratres and Sorores:

A hierarchy is a progressive order. It is
an arbitrary arrangement by which individ
uis or groups of persons have a rank or
distinction conferred upon them. Examples
of hierarchies are the religious, political, and
military organizations. As the hierarchal or
der is progressive, those at its lower end con
sequently have less importance, distinction
or power than those at its top.
A hierarchy is an arbitrary classification,
as it is man who determines the variation of
rank of which a hierarchy shall consist. In
a military organization the supreme authority is given a title indicating his supremacy.
All steps or degrees of lesser importance in
the sense of authority are likewise assigned
their title or rank. Symbolically, a hierarchy
may be likened to a ladder. In looking at the
ladder each rung seems to have an appearance more or less similar. Further, if the
ladder is laid upon the ground, there is still
no great distinction between the rungs. They
have a uniformity that suggests an equality.
However, as soon as the ladder is placed in a
vertical position for use, the relationship of
the rungs in their importance changes. One
of the rungs is immediately at the top and
one is at the bottom; the others are in respec
tive relationship to these two.
If we conceive the ladder as a method of
attaining a certain plae or height, then,
obviously, the top rung is the supreme one.
When it is reached, the finality of the ob
jective is then achieved. The bottom rung
constitutes, in relation to the top one, a
much lower order. In other words, it is a
mere beginning.
Elementary schools, as well as universities,
constitute a hierarchy in the arrangement
of the years required to finish a prescribed
course. The first grader is at the bottom of
the academic ladder; the high school snior,
at the top. A hierarchal order in life is inescapable. Yet there are those persons who
resent the term hierarchy, or any applica-

tion of it. They believe it annuls the prin

cipie of equality, the basis of the ideal of
democracy. Their contention is that no person should be placed in ranks or groups as
being subordnate to others. They particularly dislike the reference of hierarchy as applied to spiritual rank or classification. They
state that it implies that one individual is
spiritually or divinely endowed more than
another.
Let us go to the core of the issue by giving
thought to the nature and extent of equality.
Just how equal are We? Biologically, we all
are of the same species, homo sapiens. There
our biological equality ceases. It is hardly
necessary to delineate the varia tions in our
physical structure, the differences in size,
weight, color of eyes, and hair, for example.
Also, there are notable distinctions in the
intellectual sphere. The ability of some per
sons, more easily than others, to assimilate
the elements of their experience, to rationalize, to exercise judgment, to synthesize what
they have learned, to adapt it to the affairs
of living, is apparent in every level of society.
In the moral realm, as well, it is very
evident that some individuis exercise greater
self-discipline than do others. There are
those who are antisocial to the extent that
society refers to them as criminis. There
are those whose interests are so limited that
they do not extend beyond their own im
media te welfare and who are so primitive as
to be ruthless in gaining their own advantage. It cannot be said that equality refers
to equal opportunity. Genetically, some
persons are bom under a very distinct hand
icap. They are physically, mentally, or
morally handicapped. It is also a psychological fact that certain environmental influences
may distort the personality. They may cause
a mental outlook that becomes detrimental
to the social as well as the physical and
mental welfare of the individual. A child
bom of diseased parents, a fact which may
cause it to become permanently abnormal,

PAG E 75

FEBRUARY, 19S7

is certainly nal equal in opportunity with

others. No matter how much that child
might try, it would never fully overcome
its inheritance.
Only in the most abstract sense can it be
said that men are equal. We can presume
that this means that they are equal before
God, the Cosmic, or the impersonal opera tion
of natural law in their lives. Even here men
are not wholly equal, if one takes into consideration the different religious and philosophical concepts of mans purpose and moral
obligations. For example, there are those
who look upon the doctrine of karma as a
kind of divine imposition. They think of
adverse karma from the point of view of
retribution being exacted for some wrong
act or sin of a past life. Until this deed has
been compensated for in this life, according
to those who so interpret karma, the penalty
of misfortune and suffering befalls them.
To such believers, then, men are not even
spiritually equal. There are, in other words,
those with shackled souls.
It is best to reason from the premise that
we are equal only in being human, as distinguished from other living forms. From
that point of view, our will, the cultivation
of our moral sense, our intellect and environmental factors all combine to place us in one
of many categories. Each of us, then, gravitates to some level in the sphere of our
physical, mental, and social activities. Our
friends, interests, affiliations, education, our
economic and social progress, confer upon
us a rank. They place us on different rungs
of respective hierarchies.
Most of us have the opportunity of changing our rank in one or more of the hier
archies in which we find ourselvesif we so
desire. Even the desire to change, to advance in some theatre of lifes activities, in
itself constitutes a rank. The reason for this
is that some persons have aspirations and
others are indolent and do nothing. If one
considers success in some field of endeavor

as a rank which is to be attained, then those

who do not so aspire are conceived to be in a
lower degree.
In the Rosicrucian Order there is a segment of the members which is referred to as
The Hierarchy. These members are especially distinguished; they are of the foremost
rank in a certain preferred category. Does
this mean that the Rosicrucian Order discriminates in its members? Does it also
mean that the Order does not consider its
members equal in their affiliation with it?
The Rosicrucian movement does not discriminate in what it promises or provides each
and every member. The member, however,
may distinguish himself in certain relations
he has with the Order. He may acquire,
during his period of membership, specific
qualities, characteristics, that set him off
from others. Those, for example, who have
remained in the Rosicrucian Order for years,
who diligently and faithfully study, and who
have served the Order as well as themselves,
have cultivated distinguishing qualities. They
have entered a certain class or rank which
cannot be denied.
The Order has certain objectives. It makes,
of necessity, certain demands upon its mem
bers for their and AMORCs welfare. These
obligations are conscientiously fulfilled by
some membersand by others, not. These
obligations compose a hierarchy of qualifications, of merit, by which members distin
guish themselves. Those who have done
these things are of the Hierarchy to which
AMORC refers. They have by their own
efforts and observance of Rosicrucian prin
cipies created a rank for themselves and the
honor which must be attributed to that rank.
Those who are not as yet of the Hierarchy
are equal with all the members, but they
can make themselves unequal in the sense
of attaining this honorary distinction.
There is nothing derogatory in the establishment of hierarchies because, as said, the
variations of human nature and of its at-

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, 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 Department
of Publication of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/6 sferlng) A N N U A LL Y FOR MEMBERS O N LY

PAGE 76

tainments create them. The nature of a

particular hierarchy, the rank or classes of
which it is composed, may place it above
or below another hierarchy. Not only, in
other words, are there ranks within a hier
archy but the hierarchies themselves fail
into various classifications according to hu
man interpretation and construction. For
analogy, a hierarchy of social prominence
might be considered inferior to hierarchies
of science, education, and humanitarianism.
The social ladder, in other words, may not
be thought (of as attaining the same apex
of achievement as that of the great teachers
or public benefactors in their respective
hierarchies.
Fratemally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator.
The Smell of Death
A soror rises and says: What is the
smell of death or how do you explain the
smell of death? In books and newspapers
I have read at times: The smell of death
was in the air or words to that effect. I do
not, however, have reference to the putrefaction of the material body. During World
War II, the message carne that my son, a
pilot, was missing in action. That night, as
I paced the floor of my home, I sensed this
odor which is hard to describe other than
acrid or pungent. With this odor carne the
thought, This is the smell of death. Several
months later the final message carne that
my son had been killed in action. Is there
an odor to death which is transmitted when
we are subjectively and intuitively attuned?
This subject is definitely related to that
of psychic impressions. By that we mean
impressions in the sense of ideation or
thoughts which are intuitive in their origin.
They arise suddenly in the fore of the con
sciousness and are not related to any immediate sensible, that is, objective, stimulus.
Psychic or intuitive impressions, which come
as a result of attunement with other minds,
as in telepathic Communications, produce
mental images. The image itself is not trans
mitted. There are, however, radiations of a
frequency and energy whose nature is not
yet known which are transmitted and which
are the cause of the images experienced. We
may use the analogy of modern televisin.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Various microwave impulses are transmitted

which actate the cathode tube of the receiver. This produces a grouping of electrons
in such a manner as to cause pattems of
lights and shadows. These, in tum, compose
the image of the object which was originally
scanned by the televisin camera.
Now, let us think of the transmitted
televisin impulses as being the radiations
of thought. The cathode tube or receiver,
we may say, denotes the mind, the con
sciousness, of the recipient of the message.
The picture on the face or screen of the
tube is the visual image that one experiences
who is psychically attuned. There is a distinction, however, and an important one,
that must be made at this juncture. The
human receiver is unlike the televisin in
that it is not limited to only physical and
auditory images. The sensations had may
also be realized as tactile, gustatory, and
olfactory. Simply put, our psychic impres
sions may also be had as images of touch,
sensations of feeling, those of varied tastes
and also realized as scents and odors.
The most common of our psychic or intui
tive images are those of sight and sound.
These two faculties command most of our
attention. We are more sensitive to such
impressions. They ordinarily play a more
prominent part in our day experiences.
Since the areas of our brain in which these
sensations arise are more responsive through
use, psychic impulses will more readily be
transformed into these types of images. In
experiments in telepathy, those who have
been successful have at times not received
auditory impressions of transmitted words,
but visual symbols corresponding to them.
Thus, for example, the transmission of the
word triangle may not necessarily be re
ceived as a vocative image of the word but
as a visible form of the triangle apparent
suddenly on the screen of consciousness.
Many Rosicrucians, in reporting on their
meditations in their sanctums or in conducting special experiments, have mentioned a
combination of the sensations of tranquility
and the scent of incense or flowers.
It would appear from a psychological
point of view that the nature of the trans
mitted impulses determines the quality of
the image to be realized. For further ex
ample, an attunement with another that is
both successful and harmonious will arouse

FEBRUARY, 1957

memory sensations of a pleasurable nature.

This may result in the scent of flowers, per
fume, incense, or any olfactory sensations
which were originally pleasing to the indi
vidual. If they are of a visual nature, they
may not actually be received as an image
of the person transmitting the impulses to
them. Rather, what may be experienced is
a mental picture of any object, incident, or
scene that was once a gratifying experience.
Many individuis, having these psychic at-*
tunements of a pleasurable nature, always
experience brilliant fields of harmonious
colors or scintillating geometric designs.
In the case of violent death, where there
is a cise affinity between two persons, as
a mother and son, the unconsciously transmitted thoughts under the impact of intense
emotion would be intermixed. They would
consist of love, perhaps fear, and even hatred
of the circumstances that caused the impending transition. These would then arouse
in the mind of the recipient an intermingling
of stimuli. The recipient would perhaps at
such times realize them as an olfactory
image, such as the referred to smell of death.
Why would this particular odor instead of
some other be realized by this soror? We
can only theorize in regard to this. The
soror may have, at some time during her
life, had the experience of the scent of a
dead body, animal or human, undergoing
putrefaction. It would have had a strong
emotional effect upon her, the memory of
the scent being firmly registered in that
association area of her brain related to the
olfactory sense. As a consequence, intense
psychic impulses of an inharmonious nature,
of mixed emotions, would arouse such a
scent associated with the experience of death.
Other persons undergoing the same experi
ence with death might never realize such
a scent. In fact, their psychic images might
be tactile instead, as reported by some Rosi
crucian members. These reports speak of
the sensations of a chill, as though an indi
vidual were, suddenly and momentarily, exposed to a coid draught. They have also
reported a sensation as of the blood draining
from their faces and an icy touch on their
cheeks. Actually, there were no physical
draughts or any icy touches. These were
sensations psychically induced as tactile
images in the manner in which we have
explained.-X

PAGE 77

The Extent of Loyalty

A soror, addressing our Forum, asks:
What is the nature of loyalty? Further,
where does the bond of loyalty end? Is there
a point to which it can be carried to the
extreme?
We may define loyalty succinctly as devoted support. This support may be of an
animate thing, as another person. It may
also be of abstract things as some public
cause or principie. Both of these elements,
the devotion and the support, must be active
before one may be said to display loyalty.
Devotion, as an affection or attachment for
some person, for example, may not, in itself,
be productive of loyalty. There are gradations of affection and feeling that one may
have for another. One may have a mutual
interest with another in some enterprise.
Consequently, the pleasure derived from
such companionship engenders a fondness
that could be called devotion to the individ
ual. If, however, a crisis arises which
involves the object of affection, the other
personin, shall we say, a public scandal
the devotion may not be deep enough to
bridge the incident. Ones sense of personal
security and integrity may be greater than
the affection he has for the involved indi
vidual. One may believe it necessary, in
his own best interests, to become less asso
ciated with the involved person.
Mere support of some enterprise or
apparently popular cause does not imply
loyalty. One can be enthusiastic about some
grop venture that appeals to him. He may
derive much satisfaction from personal
participation and the support of its objectives.
The enterprise may eventually perhaps be
severely criticized by his religin, his employer, or a member of his family. He may
consider the continued support not worth
the breach of relationships incurred and,
therefore, he may abandon the cause. Again,
one may be ohliged to support some person
or activity because of economic or political
necessity. Such support may be entirely
devoid of any feeling of devotion or affec
tion. Consequently, no sense of loyalty
would exist.
Loyalty is characterized by that devotion
which manifests as the desire to support the
object of the devotion. The devotion is had
for some element or quality of the object.

PAGE 78

If it is a person, it may be because we admire

the character or ideis of that individual.
The devotion arouses a defensive and preservative attitude. One wants to see a continuation of those qualities to which he is
devoted. Further, he may wish to amplify
them in some manner. All of this requires
activity. It is a positive inclination. It re
sults in support. One is required to do, even
to sacrifice, something to maintain the devo
tion which he has.
Loyalty becomes apparent only when the
element of support is required. When the
devotion and affection for the object is
threatened, such activity as constitutes the
support is then called forth. Two persons
may display a mutual interest. There may
never have been an occasion for either one
to defend that interest or to support it by any
act of sacrifice. If such interest is attacked
and one makes a sincere effort to preserve
the bond, he is exhibiting that support which
constitutes loyalty.
Though we think of loyalty as a virtue,
being the support of a devotion, often it is
not rational or even noble. The sense of
loyalty can be grossly misplaced. One may
be loyal to an enterprise which subsequent
circumstances may reveal to be destructive
in its function and immoral. There is a
psychological factor that enters into loyalty
which may account for it but also at times
may work to ones detriment. Our devotion
is always for that which contributes to the
satisfaction of self. One is never truly im
personal. Even the most noble and spiritual
pursuits are pleasurable to our moral selves.
A deep and moving devotion that results in
the support of the object of the devotion is
intimately allied with our own self-interest.
We will sacrifice and serve such an interest
in the manner that is designated loyalty
because it is contributing to our own idealism.
One has the same sympathetic support for
the object of his loyalty as he does for that
which constitutes the images, the impulses,
and the ideas associated with his own ego.
One fights for self-interest. He fights, as
well, for those things to which self-interest
extends and which it includes. As one often
defends vigorously his personal preferences
and qualities of character just because they
are his own, even though they may be

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

wrong, so he likewise may exhibit misplaced

loyalty.
Since loyalty includes the element of
devotion, it is often more emotional than
rational. That which engenders the feeling
of affection and attachment may have no
logical grounds. Something said or done may
excite a wholly emotional appeal. The
responsive action is to support that which
pleases. We support it because, as said, we
want a continuation of the emotional gratification. Consequently, there is much behavior
on the part of individuis that may be
termed blind loyalty. It is an impulsive and
emotional motivation compelling action on
the part of the individual that could not be
supported by any rationalization.
There is the question as to whether one
could be really loyal without the emotional
impulsation. Since w have declared devo
tion to be one of the requisites of loyalty,
this implies that emotion is the prime mov
er. Devotion is feeling. It is sentiment.
Reason can, in its concatenation of ideas,
stimulate the emotions. One could evalate
a thing rationally and, as a consequence,
develop for it that deep attachment that
would result in loyalty. Obviously, such
loyalty would be of the preferred kind. It
would be less frequently misplaced and less
likely to bring about any personal disadvantage. Loyalty to abstract things is usu
ally of this nature. A mans loyalty to his
system of philosophy, for example, is founded upon its rational appeal to him. Since,
however, ones reasoning is not infallible,
neither are all the loyalties which may be
built upon it.
Whenever devotion to an individual or to
some cause requires support and thus crosses
the bridge to becoming an act of loyalty,
that is the time to carefully scrutinize the
circumstances. One should question himself
as to whether the circumstances warrant a
continuation of the devotion and support.
The crux of the matter is not whether one
should make a sacrifice of his own comfort
or security to defend such devotion. Many
worthy loyalties require that. The emotional
satisfaction more than compensates for any
such sacrifice. One should, however, if he
can, transcend his emotion with his reason
and find whether his loyalty will be perhaps
perpetrating some wrong.

FEBRUARY, 1957

Will his loyalty to the person or to the

principie be constituting a gross injustice to
another person? Will he, in the passion of
his loyalty, be hurting others? Is he, in his
display of loyalty, merely satisfying his ego
at the expense of his own moral self ? If one
learns from such a self-inquiry that the answers are in the affirmative, then that is the
time to terminate the loyalty. To do otherwise is to resort to an impulsive emotional
support constituting blind loyalty.X
This Issues Personality
Some individuis are living symbols of
their city or of their nation. Their manner
and appearance reflect the culture and traditions of their homeland. Frater Leslie A.
Neal is such a symbol. Bom in London in
1902, and having spent most of his life in
that city, except for intermittent foreign
travel, Frater Neal represents what most
persons in the rest of the world expect a
Londoner to be like. He has an air of sophisticated dignity and a deep but dry sense
of humor that is contagious.
On both sides of Frater Neals family the
male members were engaged in business and
trades which dealt with mechanics and invention. This influence, however, did not
greatly touch his life for his talents were
more aesthetically inclined. After completing his secondary schooling, he became associated with a banking institute in London.
This did not satisfy his imaginative and
sensitive personality. All available spare
time was utilized in a devotion to music and
drawing. Young Neal wanted to go beyond
a mere appreciation of music. He wanted to
be able to express it, but environment and
lack of facilities have never made that
possible.
The sensitivity which yeamed for expres
sion in music was realized in the pursuit of
religin and moral idealism. As a youth,
Frater Neal became a member of the Church
of England and gave strict observance to its
tenets. However, the flexibility of his mind
led him to go beyond the borders of sectarianism. He became an ardent reader of
New Thought and philosophical works. His
pursuit of such literature eventually led him
to the portis of the Rosicrucian Order,
AMORC about a quarter of a century ago.
Frater Neal, subsequently, returned to the

PAG E 79

banking business after an absence for a time.

Since that time he has become associated
with the foreign branch office of one of the
most prominent banking systems in England.
His aesthetic interests, however, were not
satiated, and at every opportunity he traveled extensively on the continent of Europe.
His centers of interest were the great museums and art galleries.
The dependability of Frater Neal was
soon recognized, as well as his devotion to
the teachings of the Rosicrucian Order. He
was one of the founders of the Francis Bacon
Chapter in London. He subsequently served
a three-year term as its Board Chairman. In
1951, the Imperator, Ralph M. Lewis, and
Grand Master, Raymund Andrea, of Eng
land, appointed him Deputy Grand Master
of the London Area.
In 1952, with Frater Lawrence H. Ewels
of the Francis Bacon Chapter, he toured the
British Isles, lecturing to various groups of
Rosicrucians. This activity of the two fratres
laid the foundation for many new Rosicru
cian bodies in Great Britain. The 1954 In
ternational Convention of the Rosicrucian
Order, in San Jos, California, was honored
with the presence of Frater Neal, who addressed the large assembly.
Frater Neal has a charming wife who is
the daughter of a prominent writer on the
subject of economics. She encourages his
aesthetic and intellectual pursuits. In Frater
Neal, the Rosicrucian Order has a most effective representative, and its members have
a worthy fellow student.X
Ideis and Their Application
In this modem age which is considered a
stronghold of materialism, it is apparent that
many people are still thinking in terms of
idealism. They are asking questions and one
question which has occurred in our correspondence, and which no doubt comes to
most thinking people today, concerns the
reason as to why there is an apparent lack
of connection, or why there exists a great
gap, between ideis and their application.
The intelligent individual can find much
evidence today that ideis are the most important things in the world. Nations claim
to work for peace; men claim, as individuis,
to work for those virtues which will be for
the purpose of establishing peace and good

PAGE 80

will, as well as making the world a better

place in which to live. Nevertheless, it seems
that time and time again, regardless of the
efforts that are directed in this direction on
the part of individuis and groups of indi
viduis, when a crisis comes, man seems to
resort to the application of his original or
animal nature. The tendency is for nations
to go to war; for individuis to think primarily of their selfish interests and, in spite of
the needs or demands of others, to proceed
along their own path, in their own way, no
matter how this may affect someone who
may be near them.
We have been repeatedly taught that men
and women of intelligence should be able to
work out, calmly and intelligently, their differences of opinion. It would seem that in
this modem age the civilization that has
developed up to this time should be able to
produce, as a result, a forc or a desire, by
which individuis should be able to compromise and work together. Yet it is well known
to anyone who has lived in the past few
decades that nations will resort to forc in
order to bring about the completion of the
end they want to accomplishthat is, when
faced with a situation contrary to their pur
poseeven though publicly they are supporting various organizations whose purpose
is peace and arbitration.
The same is true with individuis; there
are many individuis in every town, city,
and locality of the world today who normally, in their day-to-day existence, are good
people. They live more or less ordinary lives;
they probably belong to some church or
religious denomination in which they sub
scribe to certain ideis of practice. Unfortunately, many of those individuis cannot
distinguish between the ideis supported by
a group and their individual selfish desires.
Under many circumstances, instead of putting into practice in their daily dealings with
other individuis the ideis which their re
ligin or philosophy has taught them, these
individuis resort to any means they can use
in order to gain an end which they feel is
important at that particular moment.
Insofar as these individuis are concerned,
most of these ends are economic. The person
will frequently live a normal, well-balanced
life, but may resort to mild forms of trickery
or even mild forms of deceit in order to
gain a few extra dollars. Furthermore, there

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

are individuis whom we contact in our daily

life who talk a great deal about the ideis
and principies to which they subscribe but
actually, in their dealings with other people,
they fail to put these principies into practice.
We all have a tendency to look for an
ideal situation. We sometimes aspire to
greater ideis than we are able to achieve.
Man has always speculated conceming a perfect society, a place and circumstance where
human beings would live together in perfect
harmony, where there would be no greed,
selfishness, or deceit. Such a condition has
frequently been referred to as a utopia. The
ancient philosophers as well as the modem
have used this theme as a principie to illustrate the perfect social achievement of man.
Man has been unable to achieve in his social
and political relations a state where such
conditions can exist at all times. It seems
that there are always those who cannot wait
for society to work as a unit. Such persons
will take advantage of situations and attempt
to gain something for themselves at a cost
which will eventually have to be paid by
society.
When individuis affiliate with groups of
people who subscribe to ideis, they do so
hoping that they will be put in contact with
higher ideis and with people who behave
in conformance with those ideis. Many in
dividuis go to church, for example, not only
because they feel that they must have expression for their worship of God, but because they will be put in association with
individuis who profess to subscribe to the
highest ideis of which man can conceive in
this earthly life.
Individuis also join other organizations
that have, as their purpose, the application
of ideis which are for the benefit and wel
fare of man. Unfortunately, many of these
people become cynics. The cynicism that
creeps into their thinking is due to their
finding out that the individuis associated
with idealistic movements are just as hu
man as they themselves are. In other words,
the ideis that are exemplified by the
institution or organization with which they
associate are ideis that no member seems
to actually attain and include as a part of
his entire thinking and behavior. Individuis
who are disappointed in the actions of other
people are, of course, failing to realize that
they themselves are no different. The fact

FEBRUARY, 1957

that they associate with a group in order to

be put into contact with ideis is an indication that they are also aware of shortcomings
insofar as the attainment and application of
ideis are concerned. Then why should they
feel offended because they associate with oth
er individuis who feel the same way, or
rather who have also the same shortcomings
that they had hoped to be able to overcome?
In other words, if you associate with an
organization in order to be inspired by its
ideis, you are personally aware that you
need such inspiration, that your life falls
short of the ideis which should be its in
spiration. Then, should you be disappointed,
or should you take offense when you find
others associated with you who are just as
you are? They, too, are looking for a means
of attaining or associating themselves with
the ideis which they hope to achieve, but
with the realization that they are at that
moment far away from that attainment.
Every group or movement, even to an association of nations for the purpose of peace,
has the very highest of ideis. All realize
that these ideis have been unattained in
practice, and it is due to their imperfection
and their inability to carry out these ideis
as individual entities or individual groups
that they join with others who are no more
perfect or no less perfect than they them
selves are. They come together so that their
united efforts may accomplish more than
that of any one individual or entity.
It is not surprising, then, that ideis in
their application fail far short of ideis in
theory. This condition will continu as long
as human individuis are as they are. In
other words, we are growing toward the
realization of ideis, and in the process we
are gaining some inspiration and direction
toward a perfect goal. The ideal to which
we subscribe usually contains an element of
perfection; that is, we are inspired by those
things that are associated with a world that
is better than that in which we now have
our daily existence. In that association we
see the possibility of perfection; and in contrast to our own imperfection, to our prob
lems and the petty conditions with which
we live, we are desirous of raising ourselves
to a higher level where we can achieve
perfection.
At the same time, we should be aware that
human beings are imperfect. We are entities

PAGE 81

placed in a material environment to gain

perfection and, therefore, any association to
ward perfection is only one of degree. Perfec
tion cannot be attained by merely wishing
for it or by merely associating with others
who are desirous of the same accomplishment.
Ideis do have valu; they are the means
by which we prepare ourselves to overcome
the limitations of our imperfection. Ideis
are the stars toward which we aim, toward
which we direct our efforts. If it were not
for ideis, man would have nothing toward
which he could direct his desire to improve
himself, or direct his attempt to improve the
future for himself and others.
In the field of ideis is the inspiration that
has caused worth-while accomplishments to
take place. It is through the mdium of
ideis that the great philosophers and re
ligious leaders have spoken, even though
humanity falls short in its carrying out these
noble purposes and ideas. Yet, without these
idealistic concepts to guide us, the earth and
those who live upon it would truly live a
drab existence. There still are many things
in the world in human society which most
of us do not like. There will continu to
be those forces operating which seem contrary to human ideis as long as man is a
resident of this earth, but gradually these
conditions can be modified.
Man has the ability to practice the ideis
to which he subscribes, to the extent of his
capacity. Man has the ability to put into
practice the virtues which are a reflection of
the highest ideis that may exist in the uni
verse. Those things which contribute to the
welfare of mankind; that is, the growth of
the arts and sciences is the factor that makes
life better, in one way or another. The prac
tice of virtues that make good more impor
tant than evil, that make honesty the stand
ard of behavior, that establish as a standard
of living the belief that good is more powerful than any manifestation of evil, and that
human beings can work together as a society,
tends to further the evolutionary needs of
the individual.
Human beings are given a certain amount
of choice in their actions. This is neither the
time or the place to analyze the philo
sophical consideration of the problem of the
existence of free will, but it is reasonable to
assume that all men have the power to
choose, to a certain extent, the actions that

PAGE 82

determine their behavior. The thief has the

opportunity to take the valuables which attract him or to tum away and leave them
where they are. The clerk in a store has
the choice to shortchange the individual who
is buying from him or to give him full measure. In the application of these simple virtues that are so much a part of the daily
lives of men and women, our choice is be
tween those things which exemplify the
virtues and the ideis that have been taught
us in religin and philosophy; that is, the
choice is between those actions that further
only our selfish ends or those that seem to
be desirable fr the benefit they will produce
in the evolvement of character.
In the practice of this freedom of choice
on the part of the individual, man constantly
has before him the choice that he can make;
and this choice is, primarily, that man can
choose to be good when he could choose to be
evil. In making this choice, in choosing good
rather than evil, man is infinitesimally adding to the total virtue of the universe. Good
actions, right choice mean that goodness and
virtue are increased, that in the universe, a
little more good exists because of the action
and the choice taken by the individual.
If man through choice will exercise the
result of his own behavior and choose good
when he could have chosen evil, then the
amount of good and virtue in the universe
will be increased; and by this gradual increase as the result of the choice on the part
of individual men the time will come when
the total amount of goodness will outweigh
any negative forc that functions in contrast.
Therefore, the amount of good in the world
may be increased if man will make the effort to increase it; and in direct proportion
to his efforts and success in making this in
crease, the ideis to which religions and
philosophy ask us to subscribe will come
nearer to actual manifestation in our daily
lives and, in tum, in society.A
Outward Appearatices
Many years ago, probably all of us were
taught that we cannot always judge an ob
ject or person by outward appearances. Actually, at the same time we were taught to
rely upon the impressions of our objective
senses. In other words, it is odd that most
of us in our early lives were frequently

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

given various moral and ethical precepts to

live by and at the same time we were directed to rely upon information that reaches
us through our senses of feeling, seeing, tasting, smelling, and hearing. We were also
taught to consider the information so received as reliable. It is contradictory to be
lieve that we cannot rely on outward ap
pearances and at the same time be taught
that the physical sense faculties are the
ultmate source of reliable information.
It is, of course, a fact that outward appear
ances are frequently deceiving. It is very
simple to criticize the behavior of other indi
viduis or certain things they say. It is easy
for us to do this because we have been
taught to rely upon our objective faculties,
so what we see, hear, and otherwise perceiv
becomes the basis for our interpretation. If
we feel that an individuals behavior is inconsistent with his ideis, or the ideis to
which he is supposed to subscribe, we become
critical of the individual. We frequently fail
to analyze carefully what the individual
really feels and what his nature may really
be. If we could examine the contents of the
mind and thereby arrive at a better understanding of what the individual is thinking,
our judgment would be modified.
As Rosicrucians, one of the first principies
we are taught is that the physical senses are
unreliable. That actual reality and ultmate
knowledge lie in a field or area beyond the
realm of the physical being is a fundamental
principie of the A.M.O.R.C. philosophy. We
are taught from the very beginning of our
studies to develop and rely upon intuitive in
formation. We are made aware of a fact of
early childhood which we have forgotten
that awareness is possible without our depending entirely upon the results of our
physical senses which are the product of our
physical perception and judgment.
However, we sometimes forget that, even
though subjective knowledge is more important than objective knowledge, the inner self
requires development more than the outer
self. Actually, we sometimes live and behave
as if we were not convinced of this fact.
Consequently, it is a challenge to all Rosi
crucians, to all individuis who subscribe to
the higher ideis of being, to constantly be
on guard and make it possible for themselves
to develop those habits that will cause judg
ment to be based not on objective realization

FEBRUARY, 1957

alone but on the consideration of all that is

of valu in every thing that is judged.
An individual who is interested in knowl
edge would not throw away a book merely
because of its outward appearance. If a book
was battered and torn but still contained all
the words that were originally printed in it,
if the knowledge that we believed we needed
was contained in that book, then we as intelligent individuis would read the book, re
gardless of its state of appearance to the
physical eye. In other words, it is obvious,
and really needs no repetition here, that the
outward appearance of a book has nothing
whatsoever to do with its contents.
This same fact obviously applies to many
other fields. The color of ones skin, the
nature of the behavior of an individual is
not alone that by which character, ability,
knowledge, intelligence, wisdom, or even
psychic attainment can be judged. While it
is true that ones character is reflected in
behavior, the individual who has the ability
to gain intuitive knowledge and to rely upon
intuitive information will try to gain a
deeper insight of what may be misiriterpreted
from outward behavior. He will do this in
preference to drawing conclusions from surface observations.
There are many individuis from whom
we tum away because we do not like their
appearance or their behavior and yet these
individuis may need our guidance the most.
Sometimes the person who is overbearing
and annoying expresses that type of behavior
as a defense against his fear of insecurity.
The individual who may be the most forward and who would be judged to be the
most confident may be the one who most
needs a helping hand. His bravado type of
behavior may be a covering for his insecurity
or lack of ability.
It is true that all of us should make every
possible effort to put into practice in our
objective behavior the ideis and principies
to which we subscribe. If everyone could
practice his ideis then his behavior would
be synonymous with his belief and show of
confidence. Unfortunately, there are few
human beings who have advanced to the
point where they can always depend upon
their true character and true idealism to
reveal itself through all phases of their be
havior. Therefore, since it is obvious that
we all fall short of demonstrating our ideis

PAGE 83

in actual practice let us always carry in our

own mind the realization that, we ourselves
would not want to be judged exclusively by
our outward appearance and behavior.
Everyone whom we meet and deal with
in this world constitutes, in a sense, two
individuis: the individual of objective be
havior and the individual of personal hopes,
ambitions, and ideis. It is our obligation
to carry this thought constantly in mind so
that we can temper our behavior and our
objective attitudes by our real sense of valu.
As we do this, as we attempt to make our
selves comply in a physical world with what
we really believe, we will gain the ability
to see in other individuis an expression of
the ideis and principies to which they sub
scribe. Therefore, prepare yourself to always
look deeper than the surface. As you should
not judge a book by its cover, do not get into
the habit of making snap decisions as to any
individuals worth or true valu by his out
ward appearance, regardless of what that
appearance may be.A
A Glance at Fundamentis

Over a period of a good many years, I

have watched with interest the ideas and
principies which often are presented as new
revelations. Many of these ideas are pre
sented usually by some individual who uses
an od idea or a known principie in a dif
ferent way. In the new dress an od idea
attracts a certain following of individuis
who believe that this new presentation con
stitutes not only a different way of looking
at a fact or idea but an entirely new concept.
Many times such principies appear merely
under a new ame or under an appeal that
has previously not been brought to the attention of the individual.
In the Rosicrucian Order, we constantly
review the basic principies that compose our
philosophy. Consequently, when we receive
books or literature concerned with what is
reported to be a new approach in thinking
or a new system of thought, it is easy to
gain the perspective of seeing in these socalled new approaches the same ideas which
have repeatedly been expressed in other
forms. The same thing has occurred many
times. Frequently, individuis become quite
indignant when a new book or pamphlet is

PAGE 84

presented to me and I do not seem to grasp

the importance of its concept.
Some years ago in a fad caused by a book
that attracted much attention in this country for a few months, one individual even
went so far as to state that AMORCs entire
teachings should be modified to conform to
the principies presented in the book which
was reputed to be a new philosophy of life.
This point of view is, of course, an ex
ample of shortsightedness. An individual
who is so swayed by reading a book or a
pamphlet that he loses perspective of the
fundamental ideis or principies upon which
a basic philosophy stands has been influenced
in his consideration by emotion rather than
reason. Frequently, the appeal of books, discourses, and lectures is an emotional one
rather than a rational appeal to his reason
and better judgment.
An adverse criticism or a refusal to accept
some of these presentations that are made
from time to time cause some individuis to
believe that such failure of acceptance is due
to lack of progress by the individual or organization. For example, when an idea
strikes a certain type of individual with an
emotional impact, he tends to draw the con
clusin that only those who lack a Progres
sive sense would fail to see the valu and the
message contained in the new presentation.
Actually, after one watches, over a period
of more than twenty years, and sees organizations and individuis make an impression
upon peoples thinking and then disappear
out of existence, it is rather discouraging to
have to point out repeatedly the fact that
what is presumed to be new is nothing more
than an od idea dressed up in a new form.
There is a great deal of difference between
progress and the mere taking of a known
principie and changing its appearance.
This fact is illustrated in modern industry.
Frequently, the new model of some type of
machine that comes to the market, with a
great deal of fanfare and advertising, is
nothing more than an outward change in the
appearance of the same machine that may
have been manufactured only a few months
before. A complete new concept in the world
of mechanics, for example, would be the
utilization of new principies or an entirely
new idea; whereas, most innovations are sim
ply the same principies that we have known
in the past but in a new dress. For example,

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

in the automobile industry there have been

very few major changes in the combustin
engine during the lifetime of most of us. The
principie by which the combustin engine
functions today is very similar to the first
that was manufactured. Yet, to believe some
presentations concerning todays automobile,
one would think that it was a radically dif
ferent machine from that which existed even
a few years ago.
If one is to be truly progressive, the in

dividual must not only be receptive to the

presentation of reasonable ideas, but he must
also have a Creative and an imaginative point
of view that will permit him to make new
applications of od ideas. In the process of
application or in the research to bring about
improvements, there should be a rational
tendency toward the development of a true
basis of progress.

Progress is as much a matter of applica

tion as it is of knowledge. Progress is the
utilization of known principies free from
emotional appeals in connection with envi
ronment as it may exist at the present time.
It is progress to be able to use a foundation
upon which to stand; the basis of a philoso
phy of life must be adaptable. It must include those principies which will fit an
individual regardless of the circumstances in
which he finds himself or the age in which
he lives. Consequently, the fads that may
occur in so-called new thought or modern
concepts are usually situations where more
emphasis is placed upon a particular inter
pretation rather than upon an application
that could be utilized in an individuals life.
The Rosicrucian philosophy establishes a
standard of developing those principies which
meet this criterion; that is, the Rosicrucian
philosophy is based upon concepts which had
been utilized many centuries ago and can still
be utilized today. There are few things that
exist in the world today that have changed
only slightly from what they were four or
five or more thousand years ago. And yet,
some of the principies which are taught in
Rosicrucian teachings and which serve as a
fundamental basis for the guidance of our
lives are no different than they were in the
time of the ancient philosophers.
That these same principies can be applied
in a complex mechanical age shows that they
have permanent and enduring valu. As
members of AMORC today we live in a

FEBRUARY, 1957

modera environment, and yet we can con

tinu to apply these principies and find them
helpful to our way of living. Such an application of principies is a true indication
of the real progressive nature of rational
ideas that can endure through time and still
be utilized in practice as well as in principie.
In order to be familiar with the Rosicru
cian principies, it is important that occasionally the basis and aims of these principies be
re-examined. It is worth our while periodically to take inventory, whether that inventory is of our physical possessions or of our
mental realizations and abilities. To be aware
of what we have to work with is highly
important. Frequently, a situation that faces
us at any particular time may have the key
to its solution in a knowledge that has been
previously brought to our attention but
which we, through lack of re-examination
and review, may not have readily available.
For this reason it is important to review, not
only the fundamental principies that the
Rosicrucian philosophy teaches so that we
may draw upon that knowledge when we
need it, but also that we keep practicing the
exercises and principies which will make it
possible for us to become proficient in their
application and in bringing their usefulness
into manifestation at anytime we may choose
to do so.
A glance at the fundamental principies
of the Rosicrucian philosophy will permit us
to summarize briefly the basis upon which it
has its foundation. I believe that these prin
cipies can be summarized by dividing them
into three general classifications. The Rosi
crucian philosophy exists and is based upon
a system of thought which is essentially
psychological, metaphysical9 and mystical.
The psychological application of the prin
cipies of Rosicrucian teachings has to do with
behavior and technique. These two factors
are closely related. Fundamental to all the
success that an individual may have in utilizing the Rosicrucian philosophy, for the benefit of his own evolvement, is his attainment
of the ability to use the psychological factors
of AMORC teachings. Following an introduction in the first few lessons after one
affiliates with the Order, the teachings con
cern themselves primarily with such factors.
The first thing that a new member wishes
to know is what he can do with certain prin
cipies and elementary knowledge. Therefore,

PAGE 85

very early in the introductory Degrees of

Rosicrucian teachings the principies of concentration, meditation, attunement, and oth
er related factors are emphasized. Early in
the teachings, experiments and exercises are
introduced to make it possible for the indi
vidual to begin to develop the latent abilities
that lie within that individuals conscious
ness and inner self. This is the psychological
phase of the Orders teachings to develop
techniques which will in tura modify the
behavior of the individual. The importance
of these techniques is the same as applied
to any system of thought.
Frequently, music has been used as an
illustration. An individual can read a book
on musical theory and practice but until he
actually practices the techniques presented
he cannot be a musician. Therefore, to gain
the abihty to use the knowledge which the
individual studies, it is of first importance
to develop those techniques which permit
him to apply such processes as concentration
and meditation to the problems of everyday
living.
The next general classification of the Rosi
crucian teachings is the metaphysical. Some
individuis might think that the metaphysi
cal should be the first rather than the second
actually, the metaphysical underlies the
psychological. The metaphysical aspect of
the Rosicrucian philosophy concerns itself
with the fundamental purposes and vales
of its principies. Metaphysics as a discipline
has to do with the study of those things that
are real. Consequently, metaphysics, insofar
as it is a part of the Rosicrucian philosophy,
teaches those real things which the individ
ual may previously have not realized in
terms of valu and reality. We use the term
metaphysical loosely; it frequently has more
meaning than one might realize.
For example, we refer to many of the
principies of healing taught in the Rosicru
cian teachings as being metaphysical healing.
This is true in the literal sense because in the
healing principies taught in the Sixth De
gree, for example, the Rosicrucian student is
conceraed with arriving at the foundation of
the matter of maintenance of proper harmony in the human bodythat is, the superficialities are put aside. Concern is directed
toward those factors which will enable the
body and the living entity, the human being,
to function as it was ordained to function

PAGE 86

through the full manifestation of those powers of the inner self and of the ability of the
self to cali upon those forces which lie outside of the immediate area of realization.
The metaphysical basis of the Rosicru
cian teachings, therefore, sets forth in the
mind of the individual a purpose in life. In
other words, these principies clarify previously confused thinking. This process brings
about a new concept of vales. It causes the
student to better realize that when he places
himself in a position of being able to distinguish between the vales of the objective
world with which he has been primarily
concemed in the past, and of being able to
select those vales which endure regardless
of any impermanency of the physical world,
that he then can gain a concept of a reality
which will alter his entire thinking and be
his basis for the development of a philosophy
of life.
The third general classification of Rosicru
cian fundamentis, the mystical, might again
be questioned as to why it was listed. third in
stead of first. Someone could point out that
the Rosicrucian Order is fundamentally a
mystical organization and that the mystical
concept should be the first principie to be
considered. This is true; and therefore even
in the ame of the organization the word
mystical is used to indicate the Orders na
ture and purpose. But mysticism, as a thing
in itself, is not easily introduced or presented
to the extent of making a complete impact
upon the mind of the individual until he has
a foundation upon which to build.
The psychological phase, as I have already
pointed out, concerns the development and
the ability of the individual to utilize prin
cipies which he may not have in the past.
The metaphysical phases of AMORC teach
ings cause the student to expand his horizon,
to look for valu, and to peer into the depths
of reality that are lying outside his prior
concept of existence. The mystical phase is
a culmination of all this knowledge. Truly,
it is the crux of the Rosicrucian philosophy.
Through mysticism, you arrive at a final
point where only two elements are left, you
and God. In other words, mysticism is the
system of thought, or the discipline if you
prefer the term, wherein man can leam to
associate himself with the Divine or with
those forces which transcend those which
manifest objectively in the material world.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

This individual relationship, which each

human being has the right to establish be
tween himself and those forces that lie beyond him, is the ultmate purpose and the
ultmate state of perfection. We often talk
about the achievement of mastership. Mastership is no more or less than the individ
uis having reached that point where he
feels that he is in communication and in
cise association with forces that exist beyond
the level of ordinary objective and material
existence.
The mystical concept is a combination of
all the philosophies that we may have studied, including the element of personal awareness and assurance. Regardless of how well
we may develop our techniques or how broad
a concept we may have gained in the meta
physical world, these are of no valu except
as they equip us with the ability to eventually use as tools the principies leamed,
such as concentration, meditation, and attunement. This process makes it possible
for us to reach that state of attunement
where we will be related with our ultimate
source.
It is through mysticism that man learns
the application of intuition. Man has always
had the ability to cali upon intuitive knowl
edge but it is only through the mystical con
cept that he realizes how to utilize intuitive
knowledge, a sixth sense as it were, and how
to relate himself with forces that will pre
pare him for a future standard of living and
bring him to the threshold of true master
ship.
Through metaphysics we leam that the
real part of man is that phase of him which
is other than material, and which is usually
called the soul. Elsewhere, I once wrote that
the soul is the most direct of Gods manifestations of which we can be conscious. Conse
quently, the soul should be treated with prop
er dignity and as an expression of God. It
may be realized as the most intmate mani
festation of God of which we can become
aware. Consequently, mysticism is the final
defense of the dignity of the individual.
Almost all principies in philosophy and
sociology have a tendency to be interpreted
at a material leveland thereby is lowered
the valu of the individual. Individuality,
the true self, is frequently submerged by the
erroneous concept that many beliefs attained
by man are for the benefit of many individ-

FEBRUARY, 1957

uals. In fact, all beliefs when considered

only in the field of physical application, tend
to detract from the advancement of the in
dividual. Materialism places individuality
on the same level with other physical things;
that is, it is the philosophy which considers
man as a mechanism. Consequently, if man
is to be dignified as an entity having the
potentiality of evolvement, it is only mys
ticism that can uphold this inherent dignity
of mans soul and permits man to evolve to
ward the realization of that forc from which
he carne, the Absolute.A
What Is the Subconscious?
A frater rising to address our Forum, says:
I am at a loss to understand subconscious.
It is my understanding from a psychological
approach that all desires which must be suppressed (because society says they are
wrong) find their way into our subconscious.
There they remain ever seeking to escape.
The Rosicrucian monographs of the Neophyte
Degrees indicate that suggestions which one
wants to materialize should be placed in the
subconscious mind. Is the subconscious of
psychiatry the same as the subconscious mind
of the Rosicrucian teachings? If not, wherein do they differ?
Conscious has been subdivided into numerous related terms by various writers and
ivestigators in the fields of psychology,
psychiatry, and philosophy. There are such
terms as preconscious, unconscious, coconscious, subconscious, and others. All those
who discuss these terms are not in agreement
upon them. Some schools of thought support
one definition or term, and others another.
Let us, for example, consider the eminent
classical writer on the subject, Dr. Morton
Prince. His works were authoritative in the
field in the early part of this century. He
became the exponent of certain theories in
psychology that led to his being considered
the founder of a particular school. His writings are thus considered to be classical au
thority as are those of Freud, Jung, and
Adler. A very learned text by Dr. Prince
bears the title: The Unconscious. Suffice it
to say that in this work he postulates that
the subconscious has to two main subdivisions. One of these he terms the unconscious;
the other, the coconscious.
The unconscious, to Dr. Prince, is a kind

PAG E 87

of physical function of the subconscious. It

consists of neurograms, that is, modified
neural structures, the result of organic ac
tivity. Simply stated, it is a kind of uncon
scious pattern which has been established by
certain physical functions which are carried
out in our organism without our being con
scious of them, that is, without our being
aware of these impulses. To use a homely
analogy, it is as if certain grooves or channels
were being formed, which the impulses will
follow, producing functions without our hav
ing an awareness that this is being done.
The coconscious, the other aspect of the
subconscious, Dr. Prince states, consists of a
chain of ideas which do not enter conscious
awareness. This function, as contrasted to
the unconscious, is psychological. It is ideation rather than a wholly physical or mech
anistic process. To state it more succinctly,
the coconscious consists of a stream of ideation which combines and recombines, but
which is coexistent with our conscious mental
processes except that we are not ordinarily
aware of this stream of ideas. This means
that behind our thinking mind, our conscious
thoughts, there occurs a process of other
ideas. Some of these ideas of the coconscious
(the subconscious) occasionally cross the
border into the realm of the conscious and
then we realize them.
Psychiatry, as that of the Freudian school,
is of the opinion that these coconscious ideas,
on entering the conscious mind, often assume a different character. In other words,
the expression of the idea in the conscious
mind is different from that which motivated
it in the subconscious. It may be said in this
sense that such ideas coming from th sub
conscious, often misrepresent themselves, or,
at least, they clothe themselves differently
when they enter the conscious mind. It is
also contended, and has been clinically demonstrated, that some ideas become fixed in
the subconscious of which we have no longer
any conscious memory. Such ideas may become subversiveagitators in our community of conscious thoughts. They plague us
behind the scenes. They disturb our con
scious ideation causing fears and anxieties
the cause of which we may not understand.
There are those, too, who use the term
subconscious to mean a separate or independent mind or consciousness that has been
implanted within man. They conceive this

PAGE 88

to be wholly divine or supernatural in its

nature and that it is ever more or less in
conflict with the conscious state of the per
sonality. Those who take this position are
identifying the subconscious with the theological and certain philosophical explanations
of soul.
The Rosicrucian conception is midway be
tween these two extremes. It recognizes cer
tain elements of both. Let it be said, how
ever, that the Rosicrucian concept preceded
by several centuries many of the modern
theories of the subconscious. Of course, the
word subconscious is relatively new. Early
Rosicrucian philosophy used different terms
to define its doctrines. To the Rosicrucian,
consciousness is a stream of sensitivity which,
for its functioning, is dependent upon the
physical organism of man. It is not just the
material substance of man as it is ordinarily
thought of, that generates consciousness. On
the one hand is the vital forc and on the
other, the energy of matter, which in combining with it brings forth life. From life
there emerges consciousness.
Consciousness arises, then, out of the
harmonious relationship of these two major
forces of which man consists as a living en
tity. Consciousness, therefore, is not a sub
stance; rather, it is a function, an effect.
We may use the analogy of sound. Sound is
the effect of certain vibrations acting upon
air. A and B, in other words, unite to pro
duce C. In the instance of music, A is that
which originates the vibrations or impulses.
B is the air upon which they act, and C is
the sound or effect. The Rosicrucian law of
the triangle illustrates the principie of this
manifestation of consciousness arising out of
the unity of two other conditions.
From the metaphysical point of view,
Rosicrucians postlate that the vital forc,
that energy that combines with gross matter
to produce life, carries with it an intelligence.
The nature of this intelligence is held to be
Cosmic. By this the Rosicrucians mean that
there are certain universal patterns, goveming influences, which, by means of this vital
forc, pass into all living things. These in
fluences become mostly an unconscious direction of our organic being. They impel us
in numerous ways to become the kind of
being which we are.
This consciousness, this sensitivity or responsivity, is not divided into separate seg-

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

ments, as the various terms applied to it

would have one believe. We may use the
analogy of the visible spectrum and its gra
dations of colors. The colors are only wavelengths of light which we interpret as red,
blue, green, etc. Each color is part of the
whole vibratory nature of which visible light
consists. Because its various phenomena appear different to us, we isolate them, think
ing of them as being separate.
The stream of consciousness likewise has
its octaves of manifestation. These we cali
states of consciousness, which have been
given different ames, the most common be
ing the objective and subjective states. But
behind them is the whole subliminal stream
of consciousness with its impulsions, the
cosmic or universal drives of the vital forc
of which it consists.
This subliminal stream of consciousness,
since we are not aware of its numerous vari
ations of manifestation, we group into one
general, all-inclusive state which we cali
subconscious. Its operations are being explored by both psychology and its offspring,
psychiatry. For centuries, the mysticsand
numerous religionists, as wellhave known
other aspects of it which they have come to
term superconscious, absolute conscious, and
cosmic consciousness.
Undoubtedly the stream of consciousness
is like a hierarchy, that is, it is composed of
steps or levels of sensitivity and responsivity.
Those levels of everyday use, the objective
and subjective, are its lower aspects. By that
we mean that they respond to only the more
gross vibrations. Their sensations are consequently of a lower order. Immediately be
hind them, perhaps, is that particular level
of the subconscious in which lie those latent
ideas implanted in childhood, or which in
various ways have become resident there.
From the deeper levels of this stream arise
those impulses which are in themselves without ideas. The notions which come to be
associated with them actually arise in the
lower octaves of our mind. In other words,
ideas must have the qualities of our sense
experiences. Every.thing we know, or that
we come to realize, must, for example, have
certain qualities or sensations, such as di
mensin, color, space, time, heat, pain,
pleasure, or it is meaningless to us. Consequently, the cosmic impulses of the deeper
levels of the subconscious, must transcend,

FEBRUARY, 1957

rise above the distorted ideas in the lower

levels. They must come to the fore of the
consciousness and associate with themselves
ideas which figuratively would be like a
breath of fresh air in their inspiration.
This reaching into the depth, or shall we
say, outward into the stream of conscious
ness to experience the exalted impressions
and to clothe them into ideas comprehensible
to us, constitutes the technique of mysticism.
It is an art which requires much study and
perseverance. All persons occasionally ex
perience the superior judgment that arises
from the impulses of this cosmic stream of
consciousness. It may manifest to them as
an exalted idea, an inspirational thought
commonly called a hunch. The details of
such knowledge do not exist in the cosmic.
But this higher state of consciousness has,
we repeat, the faculty of organizing the
ideas of the lower levels of consciousness into
such thoughts which may go beyond the
common faculty of reason to bring forth.
Dr. Prince, in explaining this function of
the organization of ideas by the subconscious,
says: The process reminds us of the printing of visible letters by the concealed works
of a typewriter; or of visible letters of an
electrically illuminated sign appearing and
disappearing according as the concealed
mechanism is worked.
To conclude, the Rosicrucian concept of
the subconscious mind is more inclusive than
the subconscious as referred to by psychiatrists. Rather, their aspect is but one level
of the whole, just as actually our objective
and subjective states are likewise but part
of it.X
Cosmic Theft
A frater, addressing our Forum, says:
There are many persons whose moral vales
would never permit them to steal the per
sonal belongings of another, in fact, any
material assets. One, however, is caused to
doubt the moral valu of such persons whose
ethics permit them to take from the Cosmic
its many blessings, its inspiration and blueprints for happy living, without showing appreciation, without paying back into the
Cosmic Bank. Does not such lack of appreciation constitute theft?
Logically, under the principies and phi
losophy of law as it pertains to property

PAGE 89

rights, the acceptance of chattelsor services

for which one is obligated to pay, and
does not, constitutes theft. In the moral and
in the mystical sense, the human has a debt
to life. If he receives certain blessings and
advantages, he should show his gratitude to
the Cosmic in some so-called unselfish service
to mankind. To not do so would in this sense
be a theft of opportunity and advantage.
It can also be contended philosophically
that nature is quite indifferent and imper
sonal insofar as the individual is concemed.
Man likes to think that he is constantly
under the aegis of some supreme intelligence
or mind. He wishes to believe that such is
guaranteeing his security, or at least, that
he can turn to it to rectify his blunders, the
result of his own will. The average human
is quite inconsistent in his thinking and be
havior. He resents any interference with
what he considers his innate right to think
as he pleases and to exercise his will in ac~
cordance with his personal judgment. Almost
every moment of his conscious life, he is
creating circumstances which are wholly the
consequence of his own decisions and initiative. When events are to his disadvantage,
when his decisions have had a nugatory effect upon his efforts, then he seeks a divine
or Cosmic intervention. It is at that time
that he wants to surrender his will to what
he conceives to be a higher authority.
The fact is that the Cosmic and nature
are not concemed with the individual, or
even with the species. There is a whole, or
greater, pattem of which the human is but
an infinitesimal part. If the human deviates
from the progression, the evolutionary de
velopment into which he fits, he is sacrificed.
Humanity can destroy itself and be permitted to do so if it does not conform to
Cosmic and natural laws. Man will not be
saved in spite of himself. There are ways
by means of which man has discoveredin
his studies, in his meditations, and in the
enlightenment of his consciousnessas to
how he can work in accord with Cosmic and
natural law; in doing so, he not only prolongs his existence but confers upon it a more
general state of happiness and well-being.
The faculties of reason, will and imagination,
for example, permit man to perceive these
Cosmic opportunities and to take advantage
of them. But he also has the right and the
power to reject them and subsequently to

PAGE 90

learn of his errors through misfortunes which

he brings upon himself.
Most of the advantages and benefits which
we enjoy in lifeeven healthcome to us
through our relations with other human be
ings. In a complex society such as we have
in our modern world, no individual is wholly
independent or self-sufficient. His achieve
ments, though they may have been initiated
by himself, are dependent on others to a
great degree for their fulfillment. No great
industrialist, or an inventor, has achieved
without the indirect cooperation of others.
The creator in every field draws from his
mentality and from his intuitive self. But
the manifestation of those creations, many
of the elements that go into making them
realities perceivable by others, depend upon
the producs and the services of other people.
When life has been kind to us regardless
of our industry and Creative ability, we are
morally obligated to compnsate society in
retum. We are not what we are just because
of ourselves. It is incumbent on us to place
back into society, into the collection of struggling humans, something of our advantages
gained. If this is not done, society retrogresses. It becomes fallow and incapable of
providing the opportunities for advancement
even to the most ambitious and aggressive person. History confirms this principie. During
the Middle Ages, all individual progress
stagnated. Opportunities and advantages for
the individual were exceedingly few. Those
who were brilliant and industrious neverthe
less found themselves shackled to a society
that was ignorant, superstitious, and exceptionally lacking in true moral insight. Such
individuis were confronted, figuratively
speaking, with a great boulder placed in their
personal path.
As man develops and influences liberal,
moral standards, and cultivates ethics or a
just behavior with his relationships, he opens
the door to personal opportunity. Consider
today those countries behind the Iron Curtain that have suppressed society because of
political ideologies that are imposed upon the
people. Consider also those countries this side
of the Iron Curtain where there are various
classes or groups of people who are sup
pressed by religious tyranny, as in Spain.
The poverty, the suffering that results, the
loss of freedom of conscience and expression,
have been brought about by men themselves.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

It is a Cosmic obligation, in the mystical

sense, to show appreciation of the working
of Cosmic laws. The Cosmic has not given
us gifts, in particular such benefits as we
may enjoy in life. These come chiefly as the
result of our own application of the powers
of self and the direction of the forces of
nature. However, these powers and these
forces which we exercise harmoniously (or
otherwise), in accordance with our will, are
of Cosmic origin. We must show gratitude
not for what they produce, but because they
exist for our use.X
Love, a Practical Emotion
A soror now questions our Forum: If
creation of the universe and life is a me
chanical process, then of what purpose is it
for men to cultvate love and to help each
other? Is individual love wrong because it
is not universal? If so, how can it be
avoided?
The statement about the nature of creations being mechanical alludes to forces
which are not teleological, that is, that no
mind cause brought Being into existence.
However, reality may be the consequence
of intelligence in the metaphysical sense and
yet it may not be a purposeful creation of
the particular details of the universe. It may
be assumed that the underlying forces have
a kind of inherent sensitivity equivalent to
a state of consciousness. The forms or par
ticulars of such forces need not necessarily
come from intentional causes, that is, be
preconceived. Absolute Being may be a selfsufficient, self-creating intelligence. All the
phenomena which we experience could be
but the consequence of the variations of be
ing. After all, Absolute Being has to be
something. Its intelligence is displayed in
its persisting in what it is and not in being
something else.
The particulars, the manner in which be
ing manifests, need not be designed, that is,
be the result of a supreme mandate. They
could arise out of the very necessity of what
being is. Men, for example, have fingers,
not because it was so planned but because
the conditions under which they became
men necessitated fingers. The rain, sun, and
soil were not conceived to bring forth plant
life. Rather, plant life followed from the
fact of the rain, sun, and soil.

FEBRUARY, 1957

This kind of conception which reconciles

metaphysics with science, and which might
be termed the new metaphysics, does not
espouse a wholly mechanistic universe. It
recognizes a universal intelligence as existing in, or manifesting through, the very
phenomena with which science is concerned.
It is an idealistic philosophy and yet it is
not contrary to most aspects of science. To
a great extent, the more profound doctrines
of the Rosicrucian philosophy are in accord
with it.
This intelligence operates both in inorganic matter and in living things alike. In
living things the intelligence acquires a reflection of itself. In a living thing there is
a consciousness of the necessity of the unity
of its own organism. The living thing, in
other words, strives to continu to survive
and to preserve that unity which it is. By
this it more closely conforms to the function
of the greater reality or the Cosmic of which
it is a part. In man, the organism not only
seeks to preserve its unity but acquires, as
well, a consciousness of its relation to other
expressions of the Cosmic. Man realizes a
greater oneness than his own being. Psychologically, emotionally, psychically, he as
pires to merge with that which transcends
his own nature. He has the realization of a
greater depth of this universal consciousness
of which he is an integral part. This motivation is the religious or spiritual impulse
in man.
Love is desire. The desires of man are
numerous. They compose a kind of hier
archy or scale. There are those loves which
are related to our appetites and passions.
They are the physical loves. There are also
intellectul loves. They are our ideis and
aspirations, as those of the artist, poet, and
scientist. There are the moral and spiritual
loves. These are engendered by our sentiments and particularly by our consciousness
of the greater reality of the Cosmic or the
oneness which we may attribute to God.
A desire is prompted by some insufficiency,
actual or imagined, in our nature. There
then follows an aggravation, which the de
sire seeks to remove by providing what is
needed. Physical love is prompted by the
sex urge or to gratify self, that is, the ego.
One may love a friend, a member of his own
sex, because the behavior of that person
gratifies ones personal self. One who is kind

PAG E 91

to us is pleasing to our nature, he is satisfying our emotional self. We desirethat is,

we loveall that which is gratifying to the
aspects of our being.
The individual love to which the soror
refers is perhaps physical love for one of
the opposite sex or of human beings because
they in some manner please her emotional
being. This individual love is an innate
quality of our nature. It is no more wrong
than to love food, comfort, or peace of mind.
We desire these things because they are
necessary to what we are. It was not designed that we love. Rather, we love so as
to be what we are.
All men love but, unfortunately, the organic or physical loves are more common
than the exalted kind. The grosser animal
desires are stronger. They are more dominant. Man was an animal for a longer
period of time than he has been an enlightened evolved conscious being. These primitive
loves are the first necessary ones. We have
to express the physical loves if we are to
have a personal existence. There must be
the plant before there can be the bloom.
When men speak of cultivating love, they
mean the more extensive all-inclusive loves,
especially the moral or spiritual desires.
These loves, even though they are related to
our own personal satisfaction, in effect reach
out to include the welfare of others.
The humanitarian in his benevolent and
charitable acts is gratifying the desires of
his emotional and psychic nature. To ob
serve the suffering of humanity pins him.
He desires to remove such mental and emo
tional aggravations. He loves then any conduct, any act, which brings the surcease to
such suffering. Though this love is not im
personalas no love isyet it is more commendable than those loves which are confined to ones immediate physical pleasure.
When men love God or the Divine, they
are but seeking a way to satisfy a desire for
the whole of the Cosmic, to include more of
it in their consciousness. They are plagued
by a sense of insufficiency, of extreme finiteness, that causes them to feel helpless. They
want to feel the strength of unity with all
being which they vaguely sense. They want
to embrace it and experience an emotional
and spiritual security. This kind of love is
referred to as universal love because it tran
scends in its nature all other kinds.

PAGE 92

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

The universal intelligence, the Cosmic,

does not love the individual as such. It has
placed in man, however, the consciousness
of its own nature which makes him love
and that is the most important. The Absolute
Being or the Cosmic cannot love in any sense
as does man. This is because the Absolute
does not desire. It is self-sufficient.X

Are There Soul Mates?

A soror of South Africa, addressing our
Forum, says: What exactly is meant by
the twin soul? My reason for asking this
is that the question is frequently discussed
. . . . and it seems to be the great aim of
some persons lives to find their twin soul
or soul mate. These persons seem to be
lieve that illumination lies in this end. The
unhappy part of it is that there seems to be
quite a lot of unhappiness in many homes
since such persons believe they are bound
to spend their lives married to the wrong
soul or half-soul.
Those who advcate a search for soul
mates are of two distinct types. First, there
are those who labor under a belief in pre
destinaron. Second, there are those who use
the term to justify, at least to themselves,
extramarital relations or to escape marital
incompatibility.
Let us consider the first type. He is one
who conceives that fate or a divine being
has ordained all the major events of an in
dividuis life. For that individual a member
of the opposite sex, having complimentary
soul characteristics, by which is meant a
personality and physical attributes necessary
for the perfection of his own life, has been
created for him. His soul-personality, he
assumes, is an incomplete segment; it is impossible for it to have its complete expression
or unfoldment unless it is united with an
exact counterpart of the opposite sex. To
use a homely analogy, the individual thinks
of his complete life as being like a jigsaw
puzzle. His individual self he conceives as
but one part of this puzzle. Somewhere there
exists and has been designed, not by accident but by intent, the other and necessary
part. This, when united with his own soulpersonality, will result in personal perfection
for both individuis.

Marriage, to this individual, is not a proc

ess of mutual understanding and the cultivating of sympathetic emotions and interests.
Each of the segments of the soul-personality,
he believes, need do nothing except to be
mobile and observant. Eventually, in their
respective peregrinations, they will encounter
each other. Immediately, then, like opposite
poles of a magnet, they will be drawn to
each other in permanent harmony. They
will not be attracted merely as members of
the opposite sex, according to this belief, but
will have complete physical, mental, and
spiritual attachment. They will experience
exaltation and accomplishment in all ventures, far exceeding what either could hope
to attain individually.
The fallacy of this notion must be apparent to an intelligent, serious-minded person.
If ones whole life were planned for him,
if he were to be united with a specific mem
ber of the opposite sex to complete his entity,
why then the mystery of it all? Why the
hide-and-seek game? Why the necessity of
an adventure to find a useful part of oneself?
We have not, for analogy, been obliged to
search for another eye to complete our sight,
or for another leg so that we may eventual
ly walk properly. This handicap imposed
upon humanity and obliging it to seek an
other part of its own soul would be a capricious act and not worthy of a divine being.
The soul is not a segment that is broken
up into parts and implanted in separate
beings who must unite so as to complete its
nature. The soul is not a substance; it is a
functiona unique state of awareness which
we have. The divine intelligence impregnates
and infuses the vital life forc in each cell
of our being. It is the consciousness and
intelligence of each cell. The aggregate of
these cells, the total of this consciousness,
in a complex organism like man, engenders
a high degree of self -consciousness. This selfconsciousness is a realization of the divine
intelligence and its various impulses which
man experiences. This realization we cali
Soul. To the extent that it is developed and
manifests, it is our personality. Thus we
say soul-personality. The personality is but
an expression of our realization, we repeat,
of the innate consciousness and intelligence
and the manner in which we respond to it.
Our conscience or moral sense is an expres-

FEBRUARY, 1957

sion of our feeling and understanding of

what we term soul.
The divine intelligence in all human be
ings is predominantly positive in its polarity,
its state of reality, in contrast to matter and
to the body which is of a grosser nature. In
soul essence, then, both men and women are
positive in relation to the predominantly
negative quality of their physical being. One
can develop his soul-personality, that is,
quicken the consciousness of the Divine intel
ligence within him, without any relation
with a member of the opposite sex. Rosicru
cians, of course, do not advcate celibacy.
They consider it as being contrary to natural
law. The fact remains, however, that many
ascetics, who have led a celibate life, be
came renowned mystics. Histories of mys
ticism and of religin reveal their ames.
The point made here is that mystical illumi
nation and greater soul consciousness do not
depend upon ones unity with some other
soul segment.
The second type of persons, who con
tinually prate about their search for soul
mates, are usually those trying to conceal
the defects of their own nature. They may
have made hasty and unwise marriages.
They allowed themselves to become impassioned by some physically attractive member
of the opposite sex. They, subsequently, discovered that they were perhaps incompatible
in every other aspect of their natures. When
their sex ardor cooled, then so did the attractionfor that was the only bond. As a
consequence, instead of admitting their error,
they professed that their spouse was not
their true soul mate.
Such persons are frequently searching for
other and similar adventures in passion.
They are often uncontrollably polygamous.
They are not content with one mate. They
sayor actually believethat they will find
a person who has all the characteristics
needed for happiness and to whom they will
be but physically attracted at first. They do
not expect to have to make any adjustments
or alterations in their own personality. They
will need no self-discipline, no further restraints, or change of their habits or char
acter. They believe they may continu to
act and to think as they have and that this
mysterious soul mate will, in some miracu-

PAG E 93

lous manner, convert all of their idiosyncrasies to a blissful state.

In this class are included also those indi
viduis who are just definitely promiscuous.
They never intend to make the sacrifices
necessary for a truly happy marriage. Mari
tal fidelity bores them. They must have
relations with numerous members of the
opposite sex. Their immoralityor at least
lack of self-controlthey will not admit.
They attribute their promiscuous conduct to
their search for a soul mate. Those who know
the character of such persons realize that the
phrase they use is but a subterfuge.
Marriage fulfills a natural biological func
tion. The opposite sex completes a unin of
physical polarity. There is a physiological
and psychological imbalance until such rela
tions as constitute marriage are complete.
The celibate state can in many instances,
through frustration, cause psychological disorders. The first and biological attraction of
the sexes is physical. There are certain char
acteristics of each sex which idelize it to
the opposite one. This is the physiological
law of natural selection. It may result in a
relatively temporary harmony or satisfac
tion of the physical appetites.
Man is more than a physical being. He is
also a mental and psychic one. Under psychic
we include the aspects of self which are attributed to ones spiritual or moral nature,
A person who is sensitive in nature and of a
highly cultivated moral sense can find no
permanent harmony with a coarse and vul
gar person. A satisfactory marriage cannot
result where one member is highly intellectual and cultured while the other is ignorant
and superficial in his or her nterests.
It is rare that all qualities are equal in
both persons. However, there must be some
qualities common to bothmore than just
physical attraction. Man, as an animal, is
polygamous. For a monogamous state, a
marriage with one partner, to be successful
in our modern society, there must be restraint and willingness to make sacrifices on
the part of each. It must be realized that
environment and heredity develop special
interests and habits. These vary with the
individual. Two persons, especially of op
posite sex, cannot expect to have all the
same interests, likes and dislikes. The indi

PAGE 94

vidual must be willing to tolera te that inter

est or activity which is not compatible with
his own, particularly when it does not strike
at health, moris, and the basic economy of
the family.
A husband may think that many of his
wifes indulgences are foolish or unnecessary.
They may be customs which a woman has
leamed to enjoy from her mother, older
sister, and other feminine associates. Likewise a woman will need to understand, for
example, that a man occasionally enjoys
male talk. He likes to speak freely about
sports or other activities that fall into the
customs and interests of his own sex. There
are also little personality differences which
manifest because of variations in temperament and habit. One may be methodical and
neat, while the other is informal in dress
and rather negligent where details are con
cemed. The other again is perhaps highly
spiritual with a strong moral sense relating
to strict observance of religious tenets. The
opposite member has perhaps an innate sense
of righteousness but prefers a more liberal
and individual interpretation of matters of
conscience. Marriage is the striking of a
state of balance between the extremes in
personality of the married partners.
One gradually by long association, mutual
respect, and that love that embraces the
whole personality of the mate, evolves his
soul mate. He does not find it ready-made.X
Are Persons Possessed of Evil?
A soror of England now asks: Do you
believe that there is such a condition as be
ing possessed of a devil? I do not refer to
a person who is demented but to one whose
utterances are full of venom, who is never
known to perform a good deed or to say a
kind word.
Everyone has met such a person during
his lifetime. They are vindictive, malicious,
and perfidious. They typify, actually symbolize, in their conduct what has been attributed to a Satanic being or devil. It would,
upon first blush, seem that such persons are
imbued with a malevolent personality.
The association of good and evil in con
duct with beings or personalities goes back
to ancient Zoroastrianism. Good or benevolence was apotheosized as Ormazd. This
good principie was opposed by Ahriman, the

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

evil principie. In Zoroastrianism there was

a constant conflict between these two prin
cipies or deities for the control of the human
soul. To each of these supernatural beings
were attributed all those qualities which man
has come to associate with good and evil.
Since good and evil are of a psychological
nature, that is, related to our personal feel
ings, Ormazd and Ahriman assumed such
characteristics.
Ormazd was the god of lightgolden, inspiring, lofty, virtuous and beautiful. To
dwell in him meant great happiness and
peace of mind. Conversely, Ahriman was
the deity of darkness. In darkness lurk
dangers, disease, filth, and the vices. Dark
ness is likewise always associated with fear
and death. These things bring pain and
suffering to man. Mans enemies are thought
of as being ugly in their hatred and viciousness. Ahriman was an enemy of mankind,
since he sought to capture and imprison the
souls of men. Consequently, he was depicted
as a horrendous being, hideous in appear
ance. Zoroastrianism and Mithraism greatly
influenced Judaism and Christianity and
other religions with this doctrine of good
and evil and the concept of a Satanic being.
The intangibility of these deities or super
natural spirits caused them to be associated
with air, as that was the mdium by which
they were transported. Consequently, it was
believed that they entered the body through
the mouth or nostril. Among some primitive
peoples, elementis or agencies of the
Satanic spirit are thought to enter through
various apertures in the body. Once within
the body, these superstitious believers im
agine that these elementis domnate the
mind and personality of the individual.
There is even a modera school of occult
philosophy teaching the doctrine of the in
fusin of elementis and demons. Demonology is aii age-old primitive concept.
In the Od Testament there are references
to the insane as being possessed by demons.
This belief prevailed during the Middle Ages.
The mentally sick, and particularly the
violently insane, were execrated by the
masses. The victims were chained and horribly beaten and starved, all with the view
of driving from them the devils with which
they were thought to be possessed.
Today we have persons who ostensibly
appear normal in their social relations on

FEBRUARY, 1957

the one hand and who, on the other hand,

are so antisocial as to be referred to as evil.
They participate in many of the customs of
society, as do others, they dress like other
people, they avail themselves of all the advantages of social institutions, but nevertheless they are cruel and brutal. They appear
to have no moral sense and perhaps exhibit
sadistic tendencies. Their characters are such
that they typify, as said, all the traditions
and malevolent conduct related to a Satanic
being or devil. They are, however, not
victims of any inclusin; no spirit, devil or
anything similarly termed by the superstitious, has inhabited them or taken possession
of their will, mentality, or body. Rather,
they are victims of a maladjusted personality.
Vicious or malicious personalities, who de
fame others or who enter into various anti
social acts, are suffering from psychological
disorders. From a legal point of view, they
are not insane. In other words, they are
quite capable of knowing the difference be
tween right and wrong from the moral and
ethical point of view. They are also perhaps
able to exercise their will so as not to enter
into wrong conductyet they desire to do
so, They enjoy their evil actsin fact, they
have a kind of fiendish delight in them. It
is of this that their abnormality consists.
These emotional disorders that engender
such behavior may stem from a number of
sources. One may have experienced a psychic
trauma, a severe emotional shock. Perhaps,
for example, some group of society, a busi
ness organization or even a church, may
have inadvertently opposed some ideal or
desire of the individual. He may have been
dismissed from some position which was
highly gratifying to his ego. As a result, he
had become unduly humiliated and embarrassed. Perhaps, as well, he already had
suffered from a deep inferiority complex.
The experience then constituted a consid
erable shock to the ego and the emotions.
Such individual comes to feel that it is neces
sary, in some way, to retaliate for the actual
or imagined wrong. Just as one will ward
off a physical blow, so he feels it necessary
to strike back at the source of his aggravation.
Such persons, because of emotional shock,
suffer from faulty reasoning. They want to
cause others to suffer in the same manner
as that in which they experienced hurt. Often

PAG E 95

this tendency to retaliate extends beyond

those with whom such persons have had
relations. They resort to contumely and
perhaps vitriolic verbal attacks on the character of all people with whom they come in
contact. Their personality has undergone
such an aberration that they actually find,
as has been said, a sense of perverted pleasure
in bringing misfortune to others. They are
quite aware of what they are doing and
have such control as to often avoid detection of their part. At least they are careful
to avoid legal responsibility for their acts.
Many normal persons are angered or emotionally disturbed temporarily by some ac
tual or imagined hurt they have experienced.
They may retaliate directly in an angry
outburst which is natural. Then, again, they
may harbor a resentment for a considerable
time against the one who caused their hurt.
Their personality will not be so disturbed as
to exhibit a sadistic delight in what they are
doing or will they enter into a series of
antisocial acts.
From the mystically enlightened point of
viewand psychologically as wellgood and
evil are primarily states of mind. They are
not absolute conditions. The only absolute
evil, if there is any, we might say is an
intentional violation of known Cosmic and
natural laws. Where one defies that of which
he is a part and is dependent upon, he most
certainly exhibits the nearest behavior to
so-called evil. However, such is again a
form of mental unbalance. All other socalled evil is related to human vales and
judgment. We, as a society, denounce this
or that in mans behavior as being wrong
or evil. We regard this or that moral or
religious code as a standard and declare that
which is opposed to it to be evil. Other societies or sects may even uphold much of
that which we condemn or consider sacrilegious.
Good, evil, heaven and hell, lie within the
boundaries of mans mind, as Buddha expounded many centuries ago. Our outlook
on life, our estimation of its importance to
us, establishes good and evil to us. For analog}r, to some persons childbirth out of wedlock is an unforgivable sin. With others,
having a more liberal mind, it is an indiscretion, not to be encouraged but most cer
tainly no sin against Godand no sin against
nature.X .

LEISURE HOUR
SERI ES

B iS M

ENTIRELY

N&UA .

AND TIMED
TO YOUR TASTE

This Complete Set for *1.20

is reading designed for your convenience, concise, inspiring
HERE
and informativeeasily carried in your pocket. The entire set
of six bookssent to you at one time, with postage paidonly
$1.20 (9/- sterling). State
remit in postage stamps.)

series "B," when ordering.

(Do not

WHAT IS PSYCHIC POWER?

TS psychic power a mythor a source of unlimited mysterious energy to

-L be directed at will? It is not a faculty just bestowed upon a chosen few.
You and every mortal have access to this Cosmic forclet this booklet tell
you about aw akening and directing it
T DEAS

THE ART OF MENTAL CREATING

can become thingsstop random thinking Your thoughts can have

purpose. Make your thoughts into efective causes from which will follow
realitiesthis is not fantasy but an explanation of how to use your mind
processes constructively.
SELF-HEALING

T7 VERY physician knows that successful treatment depends upon the

* -* patient's mental attitude. What is the proper approach to self-treatment?
Here is a book that tells how to aid in the receiving and recovering of
health from the use of long established methods of self-healing.
PSYCHOLOGY OF MYSTICISM

T-JOW does one establish an intimate relationship with God? What are
-* the psychological principies which mystics use to attain mystical en
lightenment and God relationship? Let this book explain
MYSTIC ART OF BREATHING

I j O E S the soul essence perm eate the air which we breathe? What psychological and mystical principies lie behind the ancient and Oriental
methods of breathing? Here is a revelation of the practices of breathing for
quickening the inner consciousness.
MYSTERY OF NUMBERS

T-TAVE numbers an inherent poweris it true that such numeris as 3

and 7 are related to hidden universal forces? How did numbers begin?
What are the occult traditions associated with them?

THE ROSICRUCIAN SUPPLY BUREAU

ROSICRUCIAN PARK. SAN JOSE. CALIFORNIA. U. S. A.

F R IN T E D IN U . S . A .

o ^ ^ o T H E

R O SIC R U C IA N P R E S S , L T D .

Aprl, 1957
Volu m e X X V II

No. 5

Rosicrucian Forum
A p rv a te

p u b lic a tio n fo r m e m b e rs of A M O R C

ALBERT M O O R E , F. R. C.
Inspector G eneral o f A M O R C fo r Southern Califo rn ia

PAGE 98

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Greetings!
V

IS MAN A SPONTANEOUS CREATION?

Dear Fratres and Sorores:
The creation of man has long been an
issue between religin and science. Judaism
and Christianity, using the Book of Genesis
in the Od Testament as a divinely revealed
source of information, claim creation to be
the arbitrary will of the deity. This creation
would have occurred, according to the in
formation in the St. James versin of the
Bible, some time after 4004 B.C.! Geology,
zoology, anthropology, and related sciences
show the advent of human life as occurring
tens of thousands of years before. Though
science has not found any Primate from
which it can show that man has directly
sprung, it has revealed similar characteristics
of a physical order between man and the
anthropoidea. At least the intelligent person
today knows that civilization, an advanced
society of man, existed for many centuries
before the period claimed for human creation
in the Bible.
The opponents of the doctrine of the de
scent of man and evolution believe that such
theories detract from mans divine status. It
is their contention that man was especially
ordained to be the most sublime creation in
the universe. Man was the acm of divine
intent, the image of the deity. Some religionists will not take issue with the idea of
evolution of inorganic matter or lesser living
things. They will, however, not concede
that man may also have emerged from sim
ple protoplasmic forms as plant life. They
hold that such a conception, aside from opposing the exegetical interpretation, makes
the human being too much of an animal.
It does not account for the substance or
quality called soul, which religionists also
consider to be an exclusive human endowment.
Just what do we mean by man? Physically, organically, he is not greatly unlike other
Primates. We know that his blood can be
transfused into a chimpanzee and that it
will harmoniously merge with it. But when

human blood is transfused into a dog or cat,

for example, the red corpuscles of such ani
mal are destroyed and death ensues. The
religionist will concede, it is believed, that
the distinction of man is in his intelligence
and exalted states of consciousness. Man of
all living things has acquired that state of
consciousness which constitutes self. He has
a realization of his being in relationship to
all else. He not only responds to other reality
but realizes it has distinction from his own
nature. Man, as well, has aspiration, the
desire to transcend his present status. He
conceives ideis, cteria for his physical,
mental, and emotional nature which he
hopes to attain. In his religin he has conceived transcendental states of consciousness,
sensations, which gratify his psychical nature.
Man attributes these impelling urges and
their ecstasies and the mental images which
they assume to a quality of his being that
he calis soul. These latter sentiments and
ecstasies are the qualities of man to which
the human mind gives ascendancy. These
are the things which man is inclined to think
of as unique in the cosmos.
The attributes and functions related to the
soul find no parallel in any other reality experienced by the human mind. They, there
fore, seem an especial infusin or permeation
of the human by a supernatural power or
being. The qualities of soul appear as a
gift, a mantle vested upon the human. It
would, in the opinion of most mortals, de
precate the essence of soul to think that it
exists in any form other than man. Further,
this type of reasoning seems cogent to man
because there is no behavior by other living
things that reflects moral motivation.
Though such reasoning is traditional, and
to think otherwise has been held to be sacrilegious, it is not sound. Why would not
that of which the soul may consist also
evolve? Why could not man have been but
one of the numerous developments of the
vital forc of life? Why could man not have

PAG E 99

APR1L, 1957

subsequently become what he is, as a natural

process 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 telescopes
have evolved from simple beginnings lessen
in any way the valu of their highly efficient
modem contribution to the advance of
knowledge?
That man has grown into his estte as a
consequence of Cosmic and natural laws is
no less a tribute to Cosmic intelligence. Eyes,
ears, and fingers were not spontaneously
created to serve their functions. They evolved
out 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 grasp
with their forelimbs. They could then bring
objects up to their eyes and nostrils to identify them by these senses. They were no
longer obliged to put their snouts in direct
contact with the object. When certain Pri
mates no longer led an exclusively arboreal
existence, they lost the power of opposing the
first toe to the other toes of each hind foot.
The rear feet then became mere supports
for the body. The toes of the front limbs
remained prehensile for clutching and climbing. The intelligence within these beings
adapted itself to the circumstances in which
it was precipitated.
The soul is not a substance. It is the
ame given a state of consciousness which
the human has come to recognize. It is a
consciousness of the intelligence resident
within the Vital Life Forc and which intel
ligence has developed an organ capable of
its self-realization. Everything that is alive
has this vital intelligence. The intelligence
in other things, however, is not able to reflect
and respond to itself. In other words, there
is no consciousness of consciousness. The self
is a reflection of what we cali soul. The more
the organism is capable of responding, not

just to its environment, but to itself as well,

the greater becomes the selfthe personality.
The complex self, the highly evolved con
sciousness, is aware of its innate urges and
impulses which are a part of the stream of
intelligence within it. It is this innate motivation, this inner self, that men identify
as soul. Part f this motivation is inherited
from the long line of human descent. It is
the memory of the genes. Part also is the
very breath of life, the universal intelligence
which life establishes in the physical or
ganism and which is, as all energies, Cosmic
in origin.
Every living thing, a blade of grass or
the simplest invertebrate, has soul essence
within it, that is, it is potential with the kind
of soul expression that man has. It is only
potential for it does not have the complex
brain and nervous systems and glandular
structure to permit its development and
expression. For analogy, we may pass a ray
of sunlight through the crudely beveled edge
of a piece of glass and we will perceive some
of the spectrum. We will not experience,
however, the magnificent visible spectrum
which we would if the ray of sunlight passed
through a perfect ptica! prism. Nevertheless, the radiation source, or the light, is the
same in essence in both examples. So also,
the universal intelligence of the Vital Life
Forc only awaits the mdium that will provide it with the qualities expressed by man.
Only when an organism attains the char
acteristics of the human, do we have the
living soul. Soul is not made for man. Man
becomes the soul when he acquires the
means by which he manifests those qualities
of soul that the human reflects. With the
first breath of life, man becomes a living
soul. First, however, he has reached upward
and organically evolved to become man.
Fratemally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator.

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, California,
under Section 1103 of the U . S. Postal Act of Oct. 3, 1917.
The Rosicrucian Forum s Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Publication of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/6 sferling) A N N U A LL Y FOR MEMBERS O NLY

PAGE 100

Hallowed Places on Earth

A frater, a physician, now addresses our
Forum. He says: Are there any hallowed
places on earth which are consecrated by
the Divine Mind? I have reason to believe
that there are.
Sacred areas, or those declared to be so,
are as od as religious and religio-magical
practices. The belief that a thing becomes
sacred or that it assumes a supernatural
quality is related to primitive concepts or
magic. Contagious magic is the belief that
whatever has once been brought into contact
with a particular efficacy or quality, especially one of a supernatural nature, con
tines to retain that quality. If a shaman,
that is, a medicine man, of a tribe touches
an object, such as a stone or stick, in the
course of his magical rites, it retains the influence of whatever power he is believed to
have invoked. It is the primitive concept
that there is a transmission of the quality
from one thing to another, even that quality
which has no material nature.
In sympathetic magic, we have the prin
cipie of similarity. This is the notion that
things which look alike must necessarily
have the same qualities. The primitive rea
soning behind this is that similarity in itself
is a reality. It constitutes the bond between
the similar objects by which the quality of
one is transmitted to the other. Amulets and
images of gods or supernatural beings are
thus thought sacred because of their similar
appearance to th idea of the divine entity
or being.
In modern religions as, for example,
Christianity, theologians may contend that
the religious medallions and images are symbolic only but, to a great number of their
adherents, the idea of symbolism is perverted
into a notion of primitive reasoning or magic.
In other words, the objects are thought to be
inherently sacred because of their use. They
are believed to be possessed of a nexus with
some divine efficacy. They are often kissed
or touched with the actual belief that the
touch transmits a beneficial influence.
The earliest sacred places were not edifices
but rather areas of ground consecrated to
magical or religious rites. In these areas
ceremonies were conducted in which the
supernatural forces or the powers of the gods
were invoked. These areas were often se-

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

lected because of their physical appearance

or their relation to some natural phenome
non. There might be, for example, a grotesque monolith, a large stone, which
assumed the appearance to the primitive worshippers of an animal revered by the tribe.
Consequently, the similarity of the appear
ance of the stone to the god caused the inference that the regin was sacred. I have
seen, in my journeys to the interior of Per,
the sacred shrine of an ancient tribe of Indians who were zoomorphic worshippers.
The huge stone resembled a jaguar, an ani
mal sacred to the tribe. A great stone amphitheatre was erected in front of the sacred
object. The whole immediate area was set
aside for religious ceremonies.
The sacfred Kaaba in the court of the Great
Mosque in Mecca contains the famous Black
Stone toward which the Moslems face when
praying. It is said to have been a meteor
that fell to earth long before Moslemism was
in existence. The phenomenon probably
awed the early nomadic tribes. It carne from
the heavens where the gods were thought to
dwell. It then had, so it was believed, a
sacred relationship to them. Subsequently,
with the advent of Moslemism, though a
different interpretation has been given the
stone, it retains its sacred connotation.
In Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plain in
England is a great circle of huge monoliths
built by an ancient people, the origin of
which is under speculation. Some of these
stones are so arranged that, by peering
through an aperture between two vertical
shafts at a certain time of the year, the
phenomenon of the rising sun appears directly between them. The whole immediate
regin was evidently used for religious rites
and worship of certain natural phenomena.
The immediate question is, Are there areas
which become hallowed not in mens minds,
but by the infusin of some power or forc?
From the mystical point of view, men, by
their thoughts and behavior, may bestow a
mysterious quality upon an area. They emit
from their own auras an intangible vibratory or radiant energy which infuses the
material substance, as rocks, trees, and
ground. This, upon first blush, may seem to
be fantastic and impossible of substantiation.
Yet, it has been psychically experienced by
many persons. In such regions the individ
ual will be conscious of strange sensations

APR1L, 1957

which induce feelings of reverence, of humility, and even the consciousness of some
unseen presence. It is readily admitted that
under some circumstances this feeling is
merely the result of suggestion. A sensitive
person entering a great and magnificent cathedral may sense this feeling, but principally because of the environment and the
purpose which it suggests. Others, however,
have such experiences in regions or places
where there is no indication of consecration
to divine objectives.
There is, of course, included in the Rosi
crucian teachings the doctrine that the hu
man being has an aura. The aura is an in
visible and intangible radiation which extends from the body for varying distances.
This aura we may compare to an electromagnetic field, though its qualities are un
like any energy known to science. For cen
turies, mystics have expounded this concept.
Modera science is now trying to prove it in
terms of natural phenomena. Mysticism
claims no supernatural quality for the aura.
Rosicrucians explain its relationship to the
nervous systems and mental processes.
In some way, seemingly mysterious because the theory of it and how it occurs has
not yet been proved, the human auras radiations imprgnate material substances. We
may say that these radiations are captured
by them and retained indefinitely. Consequently, these substances, in tura, radiate
this subtle energy with which they have
been infused. Human beings who are sensi
tive to these radiations detect them with
their own aura. It is like one magnetic field
being brought into contact with another. The
detection of these impulses by the nervous
systems engenders sensations which are ex
perienced as feelings of awe, reverence, and
related emotions.
It would appear that wherever persons
come together and emit these psychic radi
ations, generated by the higher emotions
which have been aroused in spiritual rites,
an effect is left upon the material substances
in the immediate vicinity. For such an effect
to be produced, the area would have to be
subject to these intense radiations for some
time. I have experienced these sensations in
tombs, shrines and temples, primitive and
otherwise, in various parts of the world.
However, each such place visited did not
result in these sensations. Rosicrucians have

PAG E 101

often experienced these feelings of higher

emotions in their own ritualistic temples
where they regularly conscrate their minds
and thoughts to sublime idealism. That is
why attendance at such fraternal gatherings
and places is beneficial, and should be encouraged.
There are earth rays. In other words,
there are terrestrial energies and magnetic
belts caused by radioactive minrals and the
very magnetic fields of the earths strata.
This has been well explained in one of the
Rosicrucian Pronunciamentos in scientific
terms with several references to their demonstration. Some areas of the earths surface
bring about a confluence of these energies,
resulting in strange sensations to human
beings and all other life that enters the re
gin. There are certain regions where indigenous primitive peoples will not venture.
They cali it an evil place or words to that
effect. Explorers have found that such areas
produce an eerie feeling, centering in
the solar plexus. Some such places have, as
well, been found devoid of all animal life
and even of vegetation. Yet, immediately
outside the regin, the fauna and flora would
flourish.
Conversely, we find that there are regions
held to be sacred by primitive peoples only
because within them sensations of great
tranquility are produced. Such could rightly
be called hallowed ground and yet could be
explained by physical phenomena. Whether
such were Cosmically designed to be hal
lowed, we leave it to the individual to decide
for himself.X
Habit Patterns
The psychology of habit formation is well
treated in our mongraphs. The Rosicrucian
leams that habits are patterns of the level
of consciousness that lies slightly below what
we normally refer to as our objective awareness. Even after the discussion of the basic
psychology that underlies the formation of
habits, our correspondence never ceases to
have questions relating to the formation or
the breaking of habits. That subject is not
only well treated in our monographs but it
also has been discussed from various points
of view on the pages of this Forum in the
past.

PAGE 102

Why are we so concemed with habits?

Probably the question can be most readily
answered by the fact that habits are so much
a part of our lives. We seldom stop to think
of how many things we do habitually. Ac
tually, we seldom think of constructive
habits. Emphasis is placed upon those habits
which we may feel are habit pattems that
we would be better without. We here at
Rosicrucian Park frequently receive requests
from members concerning the methods of
breaking habits. Oddly enough, this is a
negative attitude. What we should concn
trate upon more is the developing of good
habits. Since a great deal of our life is regulated by the habit patterns which have been
established in our lifetimes, then more at
tention should be given to the means by
which habits can be established that are
constructive and worth while to our welfare
and general development.
Many times the breaking of a habit that
we feel is not to our advantage can be
brought about by a replacing of the undesirable habitthe habit which to us has become annoyingwith one which is construc
tive and good. Possibly too much attention
is directed by the individual toward the
breaking of a habit rather than toward re
placing it with a good one. The fact that
those habits of ours which seem to be undesirable have so much of our attention is
in itself a negative factor. We tend to emphasize the habits that we want to break
and neglect ever thinking about those which
are constructive and worth while. Were it
not for the constructive and valuable habits
which all of us have and of which we seldom
think, we would be unable to carry on our
daily activities. It might be a good idea to
occasionally make an inventory of those
things we do habitually which would require
more effort and time if we had to think
of them as volitional actions.
Whether we feel that all the habits are
desirable and constructive makes no difference insofar as the fact that we are literally
creatures of habit is concemed. Much that
we do is directed and comes about as a result
of our habit patterns. Whenever we find our
selves uncomfortable or irritated by environ
ment, usually a cise analysis of the situation
will indicate that something is occurring in
our environment that is not in sympathy or
in harmony with our habit system.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

It is a well-known fact that as individuis

approach and pass that period known as
middle age, they become annoyed with many
events in their environment which to them
are not acceptable. Our parents found our
behavior when we were young annoying;
and we, in tum, as we advance in years,
find the behavior and attitudes of younger
people equally annoying. The cause of our
annoyance is not in what is done by the
younger generation as being necessarily in
error or in any sense morally wrong, but
rather that these new forms of behavior or
attitudes are so contrary to our habit pat
tems that we cannot readily adapt ourselves
to the procedures and activities of the young
er generation. We should be tolerant and
realize that what they are doing is the re
sult of their own experiences and the devel
opment of their own habit pattems. In
future years new habit pattems of other
people will be equally annoying to them.
Environment in its ceaseless change may
bring about an annoying effect upon their
methods and procedures of life and the habit
patterns which they will build up over the
years.
When we are irritated by environment,
it is because that environment interferes with
our established systems of thinking, living,
working, and playing. Consequently, if we
are to adjust ourselves satisfactorily or to a
certain degree, happily, to the situation in
which we live, we must always take into
consideration the fact that our habit pat
terns can also be changed, and the modification of those patterns may assist us in living
a happier and more fruitful life.
To be in an environment where there is
a great deal of activity is annoying to those
who live a sedentary form of life, and of
course the opposite is true. It does not mean
that we have to become entirely remade, or
gain an entirely different point of view, but
we should realize that the habits which we
develop are tools which we use as a means
to assist us in living, and that we should
never become slaves to habits, whether those
habits be considered morally or socially good
or bad.
While our bad habits seem to predomnate,
as I have already mentioned, and we fre
quently attempt to change them, we should
also be reminded that sometimes our good
habits may be the means of causing us not

APR1L, 1957

to derive from living the satisfaction that we

should. Even if what we believe to be a
good habit restricts us, then possibly that
habit needs renovation as much as some of
the habits which we feel are negative.
How can our habit patterns be changed?
Fundamentally they can be changed by directly bringing our interest to bear upon
different situations. If your habits have
caused you to feel that you have lost touch
with conditions about you, then it will take
definite determination on your part to devote
some of your time to other thingsthings
which will bring you into contact with activities that will change your point of view.
The next time you feel it desirable to direct
some effort toward the breaking of a habit
that you feel may be annoying or not constructive to your health or well-being, or you
find that something in your environment is
annoying the pattern of your living, then
determine to establish a new habit. Select
an activity, something that you believe you
can create interest in and an enjoyment by
doing, and direct yourself systematically to
ward the establishing of a pattern that will
bring about that particular end.
If as much effort were directed toward the
creation of constructive habits as is directed
toward the breaking of what are considered
to be undesirable habit patterns, then life
in itself would be happier and more conten.
Whenever effort is directed toward a Crea
tive end, instead of merely trying to do away
with something that already exists, we are
drawing upon the constructive potentialities
of our own being; that is, the human entity
was made to be Creative, made to draw upon
the ceaseless energy of the vital life forc
that flows through us as human beings. To
channel that forc into constructive effort,
into developing attitudes, mannerisms, be
havior, and general activity that is worth
while and which will bring us a degree of
satisfaction and interest in the world about
us, is to utilize the forces that lie within us
for a constructive and worth-while purpose.
On the other hand, to strive constantly to
break up our habit patterns as they exist
today without trying to replace them, is to
cause us eventually to become morose, pessimistic, and ill-adapted to the environment
of which we are a part.
There is no simple key or solution to the
breaking of habits or the establishing of new

PAGE 103

ones. The process requires a certain amount

of effort on our own part, and an amount
of interest in the world about us, and the
interest that we should direct to our own
selves. These interests tend to stimulate our
use of the divine essence within us, which
is a segment of our being; and directly in
proportion to the extent that we use the
forces of our inner selves, we attune ourselves to those vales and those principies
which have permanent and etemal endurance.A
Is There a Secret Essence?
A frater rises to address our Forum and
says: As I conceive it, the tem Absolute
has reference to some sort of essence. It is
something that cannot be defined by any
kind of words or thoughts, or compared to
any beings, Biblical or otherwise, finite or
infinitethe All-in-All. It is something that
is separate, in a way, from all things, but
yet is responsible for all things. But, as we
think, somewhere, something has manifested
as a point of manifestation, out of the Abso
lute, some sort of essence not known to man,
or was it an essence that had consciousness
as we experience it. I do not think the
mystery of mysteries can be understood by
any being or any state which evolves from
it. The opinion of the Rosicrucian Forum
on this subjct would be appreciated.
The word Absolute, in the Cosmic and
philosophical sense, can have no true definition. It cannot be defined by any qualitative
or quantitative term. Absolute must be a
pleroma, that is, a condition of fullness. This
we construe to mean the whole, the one, the
essence of all. It may have myriad manifestations and yet the Absolute is unlike any
one of them. Further, the sum of all its
manifestations cannot be it, either. To give
a quality or condition to the Absolute would
be to make it finite.
On the other hand, we think of the Abso
lute as being infinite, having infinite at
tributes. As Spinoza conceived it, it would
in a sense seem to confer upon it a negative
state. Something is, or it is not. If it is,
then it must have some characteristics that
give it its state of reality without necessarily
limiting it. We can think of the Absolute
as an amorphous essence, that is, without
any limited, definite form. Its nature, its

P A S E 104

being, is an essence, a kinetic energy from

which may emerge those states which man
perceives as different realities. None of these
states are fixed. They are all in a condition
of flux, of change, as Heraclitus said cen
turies ago.
Even this energy has no quality or characteristic by which it may be known. In its
ever-changing nature it assumes the various
energies of the electromagnetic spectrum of
which we have knowledge and of an in
finite number of which we do not know.
The subject of the Absolute is one of ontology,
or the nature of pur being. There can be
nought but being. To be is to be active.
Therefore, pur being would be just a pri
mordial energy. Being is not a kind, it just
is. That is the most mystifying and challenging thought for the finite human mind
to comprehend. Quantity and quality are
human notions. They seem like positive,
absolute realities to us; therefore, we are
strongly inclined to espouse them as having
a relation to pur being. We think that pur
being must have some determinative nature,
some particular attributes. If being is all,
it then is nothing in particular, or can it
ever be any single thing or collection of
things.
Likewise, the Absolute cannot be bound
by any thing or have limita tions. That which
is cannot become greater in a sense of expanding into something else which is not
of it. If it is all, there is nothing to assimilate
or convert it into anything else. Also, there
is nothing which can keep it from being
what it is. The Absolute is ubiquitous and
it is isotropic, that is, of the same essence
throughout.
We say that the Absolute is infinite and
yet as we speculate upon the subject, we
wonder, can it be? There is, of course, no
external substance, as we have said, or con
dition which could bound it, for that which
would limit it would exist itself, and there
fore be part of the Absolute. But might not
the Absolute establish limits of function
within itself? Relatively, would not these,
then, be its boundaries? If, as we said, the
Absolute or being is an ever-changing ener
gy, the more concentrated that energy
(which is merely a relative term) the more
positive it would become. It would, in other
words, represent more fully the active state
of the Absolute. Any lesser condition, that

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

is, diminishing of that concentration would

be negative by comparison.
We must assume that the energy of the
Absolute is not constant in its activity. After
all, any constant state would be a fixed one,
a kind of arrested state contrary to what be
ing must beas we mortals try to conceive
it in the abstract. Therefore, part of the
activity of the Absolute must be an oscillation between its own self-generated poles,
that is, between the extremes of the point
of greatest concentration and the point of
the lesser concentration. These points or
polesand we use these words in the purely
relative sensebecome the Absolutes internal boundaries, though it has no external
limits and is thought of as being infinite.
To understand this hypothesis better, we
may think of a circle. The line of a circle
is ubiquitous, infinite; that is, it has no beginning or has it any ending. The circle,
however, we do consider to be finite because
we can measure its diameter or circumference. This measurement of the circle is pos
sible only when it stands in relation to some
thing else of a tangible nature, as a line or
wall. Let us suppose that .there is nothing
else but so-called space. Further, let us sup
pose that we were in it. We would then
experience no limitation, no boundaries;
there would be no diameter or circumference
of even a circle. All such would be infinite
in whatever direction we moved. Let us
further suppose, that as we moved some distance in any direction, we would experience
ourselves being gradually pulled back again
toward our starting point by some forc or
attraction. That particular point in every
direction where we would experience this
attraction, this pul upon ourselves, we would
come to conceive as the intemal boundary.
We would perhaps conceive the limits as be
ing like that of a circle or sphere. The circle
would be infinite, however, in the sense of
having no external limitations. All there
would be, would be the circle; yet it would
be finite in its own internal state. The Ab
solute, thus, may have contrary extremes of
the intensity of its own being. These ex
tremes are its finite internal boundaries.
Modem nuclear physics is striving to de
termine whether there is a basic and abso
lute underlying energy in which all other
radiations or energies have their roots. Rosi
crucians cali such a primordial energy spirit.

APRIL, 1957

Out of spirit, they state, come all those vari

ations that compose the particulars of which
all known energies, such as light, consist.
In Rosicrucian terminology, spirit has
polarity. By that is meant that there are
aspects of it which are more positive, more
active in their nature, and those which are
less so. It is in this flux of attraction and
repulsin between the two polarities that
there develop all the kinds of radiations
found in the spectra of energies.
Modern research into cosmic rays is the
effort to determine whether they are the
building blocks of the universe. Are they
what the Rosicrucians cali spirit, which literally means energy? Are they of the Ab
solute, the secret essence of being?X
Heart Trouble
If we were to believe the newspaper reports of sudden transitions and the stories
of specialists, it would appear that the Amer
ican nation, at least, is rapidly disintegrating
through heart trouble. Only a few years
ago it was commonly stated that most of
the American people were doomed to early
transition through appendicitis. You were
not normal unless you were abnormal with
appendicitis. You were peculiar, unusual, or
un-American if you did not have an attack
of appendicitis and an operation for it. Now,
you hardly hear mention of this great calamity. Before that, the common belief was that
we were all ready to pass away through the
great white plague, or tuberculosis. Were we
to trace the cycle of waves of dire things
that had fallen upon the American people,
we would note that each one of these has
gradually passed away, and the average
death rate remains about the same.
Great emphasis is being given nowadays
to the fact that diagnosis shows thousands
upon thousands of cases of heart trouble. To
substantiate this, we read in the newspapers
that practically every person who passes
away suddenly was a victim of unsuspected
heart trouble.
I suppose that each one of us should be
alarmed by these newspaper and medical
reports and should become excited over the
possibility of having a very weak heart or
an abnormal one. We all look like a crowd
of healthy individuis, but only a few years
ago, they used to say to us, Yes, you are

PAG E 105

healthy now, but remember, the little bug

will get you. That was when the germ
theory first started and we were reminded
that germs were responsible for every disease and that these little bugs were in all
the food we eat, the air we breathe, the
water we drink.
Young people were wamed not to kiss,
people started to refrain from handshaking,
water filters were placed on every faucet,
the air in our rooms was screened. Committees were organized in every city to examine
the back rooms of bakeries, delicatessens, and
restaurants. Candy stores had all of their
equipment and materials examined; pur
food laws were created over night by men
who knew nothing about food, health, or
germs. Officials were appointed at Washing
ton to tell us what canned goods were safe,
and the whole country was living in fear
of the little bugs.
Still, we noticed that among the poor peo
ple, the children would eat fruit from unclean fruit stands, and sit on the edge of a
dirty, filthy curb, while eating a piece of
bread that was unwholesome-looking. Yet,
these children lived, in a majority of the
cases, and the little bugs did not seem to get
them to the extent that we had been advised. Funny little bugs. Great intelligence
they had for a time. They selected healthy
persons and persons that lived in fairly
wholesome circumstances, and made victims
of them, while they closed their eyes or discreetly passed by the little children and
adults that lived in unfortunate circum
stances. We finally decided that may be they
didnt exist as profusely as we thought, or
there were not so many varieties of them
as the creator of them declared. And so the
germ theory was swallowed up by one of its
own bacteria.
So far as the heart is concerned, I want to
say that statistics of a dependable and rehable nature show that hardly one person
in a hundred has a perfectly normal heart
because hardly one person in a hundred has
any organ in the body that is perfectly
normal, and not one person in ten thousand
is perfectly normal in every respect. If we
are going into an early grave for abnormalities, then you and I and everyone had better
make arrangements for our funeral and pre
pare to have an early transition. One can
hardly go to a dentist nowadays and have

PAGE 106

him agree that he has ever seen a perfectly

normal mouth. Even if you think you have
perfectly normal eyesight and have no need
for glasses, just go to the average specialist
and he will point out where your eyes are
abnormal in some regard.
Of course, we all have something slightly
abnormal, and it is more than likely that
the average person has some abnormality of
the heart to a slight degree. In many cases,
it may be more than a slight condition, but
that does not mean that the person is going
to pass out of life suddenly or that the heart
is going to cause any trouble.
Here is a letter from one of our Sisters
who is very much upset because her per
fectly healthy and happy daughter has been
told by an expert that she has a leaky heart.
She does not know exactly what that means,
but FU tell you that it is just equivalent to
an expert going to a farmer and telling him
that the fine pump in his well that has been
working so good and is still working satisfactorily leaks a little. I am sure that the farm
er, uneducated in scientific terminology and
knowing little about the super-seriousness of
the specialists work, would look at the bearer of gloomy news and say, Well, what of
it? The pump works good and what leaks
from it isn.t lost, and as long as it serves
me well, let it leak a little, for I never saw
a pump that didnt leak.
The truth is that the only pump that
doesnt leak is the theoretical pump that sci
entific engineers and draftsmen draw on
their plans or pictures in their textbooks, and
I feel quite sure that the only heart in any
human body that doesnt leak a little bit or
have some other functional or organic weakness is the perfectly normal heart that we
find pictured in the textbook on physiology.
Of course, a heart can leak very badly and
when it does, the patient will probably be
the first one to know that there is something
wrong with his health, or the heart, and it
doesnt require a specialist to tell him.
Also, it is undoubtedly true that we are
living at a pace that is overstraining the
heart. The many hours of activity that we
squeeze into each day, the lack of complete
rest accompanied by perfect relaxation, the
high emotional pitch of our indulgences
mentally, physically, spiritually, and psychically, the mad rush to get away from
uptown so that we can go downtown in order

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

to return uptown again, and the whole course

of life here in the Western world is a heavier
strain upon the heart than Nature intended.
On the other hand, Nature is gradually
strengthening mans heart, just as it has
strengthened the bones and muscles of cer
tain parts of his body because of special use.
So far as sensations and symptoms are
concerned, there are very many physiological
conditions of the body and abnormal conditions as a result of diet, drinking, smoking,
breathing, and exercise, which cause slight
pains or disturbances in the upper part of
the body, which we may think are indications of a weak heart or a serious condition
in the heart.
The worst thing that any person can do is
to worry about the heart, to concntrate con
stantly upon it, watch and listen for every
little sensation in the chest, and interpret this
as an abnormal action in the heart. Persons
seem to forget that the heart is not the only
organ in the chest and that there are two
lungs there, and a very complex nervous
system, and other functions besides the beating of the heart. The nervous system can be
so upset as to cause twitchings and aches in
and around the heart without having any
real connection with the heart.
The same is true of the lungs and of the
muscles and tissues in the upper part of the
body. When a person becomes obsessed or
frightened by the idea that he has something
wrong with the heart and constantly concentrates his thoughts upon it with fear and
anxiety, he centers all of his abnormal con
dition around the heart area and produces a
condition that was not there originally.
More persons have frightened themselves in
to a sudden stopping of the heart, producing
transition, than has ever been suspected.
Unless something more than a few aches or
pains, or somebody more qualified than a
nurse or physician who has examined you
only once, states that you have a weak heart,
you should not accept this dictum and proceed to create the very condition that you
fear. Sudden transitions need not be the
result of heart failure, as it is called, but do
not forget that transition never occurs until
the heart does stop.
In a medical college of many years ago,
there was one hypothetical question put to
every student. It was something like this:
A man in perfect health, slightly over-

APRIL, 1957

weight, a mild smoker and drinker, not given

to sufficient exercise, but inclined to overeating, especially of rich foods, developed cer
tain conditions, etc., etc., etc. What would
you say was the cause of his death?
Those students who were not qualifed to
diagnose the mans condition properly from
the symptoms given always fell back on the
one safe answer to give. His transition was
due to the stopping of the heart. Nobody
could say that that answer was wrong. The
person who passes away during an operation
or while sick with scarlet fever, diphtheria,
pneumonia, or any other disease, or who
passes away during a sudden accident or injury, is a victim of the stopping of the heart
in other words, heart failure, because the
heart failed to continu to function. There
fore, when you read in the newspapers that
persons passed away suddenly because of
heart failure, you should smile rather than
become alarmed and while the statement is
absolutely true, it does not mean what it is
intended to mean.
Let us all become gloom chasers and refuse
to be frightened by the wave of wamings
about an epidemic of weak hearts. If you
must think of your heart and concntrate
on it, or direct your attention to it a hundred
times a day, why not hold the .thought that
it is a pretty good heart and has served you
pretty well for a long time and is going to
serve you for a long time to come. Certainly,
you wont hurt yourself by such thinking,
and it will be more constructive than any
other kind of thought. So much for the sub
ject of heart trouble, as we contact it in our
correspondence.
by Dr. LewisR.C. Forum, June 1931
Applying the Laws
Sometimes I wonder whether all of our
members take as many opportunities to test
some of the laws and principies as they
might were they to think a few moments
about the possibilities. I am reminded of
this through a letter just received from the
Master of the English Branch in Montreal.
He calis my attention to the fact that one
time when he was in a very thick fog, he
used the vowel sounds of the word in the
higher grades and caused the fog around
him to be dispersed to a considerable distance.
Members in the lower grades will find it

P A 0 E 107

very interesting to stand in a heavy fog,

when they have the opportunity, and pronounce the various vowel sounds that have
been given to them and to note that in a few
minutes thereafter the fog around them begins to lessen and seemingly to withdraw
from around them, and to leave a wide open
space in which it is easy to see.
Others have written to us that they have
taken a hint from something said in one of
the lectures about practicing the principies
of concentration and of vowel sounds on
sleeping animals, especially a sleeping cat or
dog in the home. Such animals are very
receptive to mental vibrations. It is easy to
make a sleeping cat or dog rise and tura
around or do certain things, if the experiment is practiced for a while.
No matter where one of our members may
be, there are always some opportunities to
test some of the laws and principies. Each
test not only produces another interesting
demonstration of the law or laws involved,
but strengthens the members power and
ability to do these things. You know how
often we make these experiments here, but
we sometimes feel that our members con
fine their experiments solely to what is in
the lessons and do not think of seeking for
other opportunities. Let us keep this in mind
and suggest it from time to time to those
who do not think of it.
by Dr. LewisR.C. Forum, June 1931
Contacting the Cathedral
Once more we have an interesting letter
from a member who very clearly and concretely expresses certain experiences while
contacting the Cathedral of the Soul. This
experience is similar to that which many have
had, and perhaps by analyzing and expressing it to our other members they may come
to understand some of the peculiar sensations
which they have experienced during such
contacts.
The sister living in New York writes as
follows:
I wonder if any of our other members
have had this experience in their contacts
with the Cathedral of the Soul. First, a feel
ing that ones real self, or ones angelic,
spiritual self is becoming a part of the actual
walls or structure of the Cathedral. Secondly, after feeling that I am within the struc-

PAGE 108

ture or a part of it, it seems that I can never

forc myself to be on the lower floor or lower
level of the Cathedral, where I see a great
many praying or meditating, but always
find myself drawn upward toward a certain
high place that is directly facing the altar
and about on a level with the lavender tri
angle over the altar. This triangle always
appears to me to be a fourth dimensional
living and vibrating thing.
Certainly, there is interesting food for
thought in this sisters comments, especially
in regard to that point where she says that
she senses that her real self becomes a part
of the very walls or structure of the Cathe
dral. This we sensed long ago in our first
experiments and that is why we called it
the Cathedral of the Soul, for the very
essence of body of the Cathedral is built out
of the soul of those who contact it, and as
soon as we contact the Cathedral and become
attuned with it our spiritual bodies or
ethereal bodies, as some cali them, blend in
and become part of the structure, leaving
our mental personalities free to meditate and
enjoy the worship of the place.
from R. C. Forum, Aug. 1931
What Is the Philosophers Stone?
A frater now asks our Forum: The term,
the philosophers stone, frequently appears
in literature. It is, of course, generally
known that it was a term used by the al
chemists. To me it seems that its actual
meaning is either abstruse or else there is
no agreement as to its nature. What I have
read is not definite as to whether it was a
substance sought, a principie or method, or
a spiritual power that one in some manner
acquired. It is an intriguing subject and
one upon which I would like further light.
The philosophers stone was the ultimate
end of the alchemists search or at least
essential to it. Consequently, some consider
ation of alchemy is necessary for an understanding of this mysterious stone. Since
the earliest period of historyand before
the metal gold has played a prominent part
in mans social, economic, and philosophical
life. The importance of gold to ancient man
was primarily utilitarian. But the religiophilosophical ideas associated with it conferred upon it another and intrinsic valu.
Its comparative rarity, its brilliance, was

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

likened to the sun, and its durability of luster

suggested a correspondence to supernatural
qualities.
Perhaps the oldest reference to gold is in
the code of Menes, founder of the First and
Second dynasties of Egypt, somewhere be
tween 3500 and 3000 B.C. It is stated therein that one part of gold is equal to two and
a half parts of silver. In the primitive burial
pits of predynastic times there have been
found crudely made objects of gold, indica ting its still earlier valu to man. The ancient
Egyptian developed an alloy of gold and
silver, the ame of which, translated into
the Greek, became known as elekt ron. Queen
Hatshepsut used it profusely. One huge
obelisk, erected by her and still standing, is
said to have been originally coated with
elektron which shimmered in the scintillating sun of Egypt.
Gold has been considered by mankind as
a great treasure and an exalted gift down
through the centuries. Pharaoh Tut-ankhamen ordered a golden throne to be made for
himself. Queen Shub-ad of Ur of the Chaldees had royal goldsmiths design her a
fabulous golden headdress. The Queen of
Sheba brought a present of gold from Ophir
to King Solomon. King Croesus of the Lydians in Asia Minor founded a gold currency.
He also amassed one of the greatest gold
treasures in the ancient world. Alexander
the Great used gold coinage to run his vast
empire. Haroun-al-Rashid, renowned caliph
of Baghdad, counted his wealth in gold
dinars. In the Western World, the splendor
of the golden work of the Aztecs became the
envy of plundering Spain.
Gold in ancient Egypt was mined principally by slave labor. A Greek geographer,
Agatharchides, about 150 B.C., relates a
vivid and shocking description of these slave
mining-operations. In part, he tells that
some of the miners had their wives and chil
dren living with them. An artisan in charge
of the work would point out the rocks. The
young men burrowed and followed the veins,
which spread like roots of a tree. They had
lamps strapped to their heads and were
lashed by overseers to pick away constantly
at the mineral-bearing rock. Adolescent boys
were forced to enter the tunnels and remove
the rocks, carrying them outside. Older men
and multitudes of the sick transported them
to the crushers; these were men less than

APR1L, 1957

thirty years of age and especially strong.

Women who had been sent to the mines with
their husbands worked at a grinding mili in
groups of three. More skilled slaves performed less arduous tasks in the process of
refining the metal.
Notwithstanding the avaricious urge for
gold, there is nothing in their writings that
relates that there was any attempt by these
ancient Egyptians to make gold through an
alchemical process. The oldest record that
may be construed as a kind of alchemical
formula is contained in the famous Leyden
papyrus found in the early 19th century.
The papyrus was written in the 3rd century
A.D., and was found in an Egyptian tomb.
It takes its ame from having been purchased
by the Leyden Museum in Holland. It was
written during the syncretistic period in
Egypt, a time of gradual merging of Egyp
tian, Greek, and other cultures.
The papyrus relates how to imitate gold
and silver and how to make false gems. It
outlines methods of producing alloys which
give the appearance of gold. It is quite evident that the author well knew that he was
not actually transmuting other metis into
gold. Whether he was a counterfeiter, or a
clever artisan, who was merely relating how
to make artificial gold and silver, is not cer
tain. It would not be appropriate to cali
either him or his methods truly alchemical.
The valu of the Leyden papyrus is the fact
that it is the earliest record of formulas for
imitating gold.
The origin of the word alchemy in itself
is a mystery. The word chymeia is of Greek
origin. The Greek geographer Agatharchides,
referred to previously, relates that the Egyp
tians used the word chyma to refer to an
ingot of gold, this word being a derivative
of the Greek cheo, meaning to pour or to
cast. It was not until about 100 A.D. that
the word alchemy began to make its appear
ance, and this was in the city of Alexandria.
This city was a virtual melting-pot of the
legends, religions, and philosophies of Africa,
Asia Minor, and Greece. During this period
a manuscript, signed by Democritus, and
subsequently proved to be a forgery, made
its appearance. It related the four elements
of Democritusnamely, air, earth, fire, and
waterto astrological signs and the powers
of planets. Astrology had been introduced
into Alexandria from the civilizations of the

PAG E 109

Twin Rivers, that is, from the land of the

Tigris and Euphrates. Further, the Stoics
had adopted astrology and given it prominence in Alexandria as well.
Eventually one ame in literature originating in Alexandria carne to receive credit for
the invention of alchemy. This mysterious
character was known as Hermes Trismegistus. The latter part of the Greek ame
means, literally, thrice great. Manetho, an
cient Egyptian historian, relates that Hermes
Trismegistus wrote 36,525 books, and that
he was the founder of alchemy. The number
of books was, it has been conjectured, related
to the number of days in the yeara book
for each day. The ame Hermes was that
of a Greek deity who functioned as a psychopompos, that is, according to mythology,
he guided the souls of the dead in a procession.
Hermes Trismegistus became associated
with the traditional Egyptian god Thoth who
was also a psychopompos and played a
prominent part in the Osirian rites and Egyp
tian theology. It is Thoth, it is said, who
stands at the judgment scales in the afterlife
when the souls of men are being weighed.
To Thoth was attributed the invention of
writing and the biinging of learning to men.
During this syncretic period in Egypt, ames
of the deities of different civilizations began
to be identified with one another. The great
city of Thoth in Egypt became known also
as the city of Hermes. The wisdom, arts,
and sciences attributed to the Egyptian deity
found their correspondence in the achievements of Hermes.
Clement of A lexandria (150P-P220),
Christian father, wrote that Hermes had
written thirty-six books. These were treatises
on the religio-philosophy of Egypt, though
they were now appearing in Greek. They
included works on medicine, healing, astronomy, alchemy, religin, and philosophy.
This group of treatises became known as the
Corpus Hermeticum. One of the earliest of
such works attributed to Hermes Trismegis
tus is that known as Poemandres, literally
meaning the shepherd of men. It is a mys
tical work. There is considerable speculation
on the origin of the title of Trismegistus. A
lOth century writer has said that Hermes
was called Trismegistus because he spoke
about the Trinity, saying that the God-Head
is one in three.

PAG E 110

It is generally conceded that there was no

single individual who bore the title of
Hermes Trismegistus. Rather it was a collection of occult and esoteric writings by the
Egyptian sages, later Greek writers and even
Arabs, who assigned to their work the title
of Hermes Trismegistus. In fact, it may be
theorized that the Egyptians who claimed
that what they wrote carne from Thoth were
merely rendering tribute to that mythological character. They probably meant that
they had been inspired by the god Thoth,
that their words were merely his coming
through their minds and hands. In a sense
we have the same thing today when treatises
on certain esoteric subjects are referred to
as Hermetic philosophy, and yet are relatively new.
It is possible that literature actually proving the founding of alchemy in Egypt was
destroyed by order of the Romn emperor,
Diocletian. In 297 A.D., Diocletian put down
a rebellion in Egypt. He then ordered the
buming of all books in Egypt on the chemia
of silver and gold. He thought that then
the Egyptians would not be able to recoup
their financial losses with the destruction of
such formulas.
The doctrines of alchemy may be divided
into two general classes: one is physical and
the other, transcendental. The former is the
one most frequently encountered in reference
to the early beginnings of the science of
chemistry. For an understanding of the
transcendental, one is required to refer to
works on philosophy and mysticism or the
direct writings of some of the alchemists
themselves. With the ancient Greeks began
an explanation of the cosmos along material
or physical lines. They sought the unity of
all observable phenomena. With Thales
they departed from the od theogonic cosmology, that is, a world created and directed
by a family of gods. Empedocles (490-430
B.C.) had declared that there were four
separate elements which accounted for all
thingsearth, water, air, and fire. They
were combined and recombined to make all
the various substances by the action of two
forces, two contrares, love and hate.
Aristotle, in later opposition to Emped
ocles, declared there was but one prima
materia, that is, one primordial matter. This
was associated with four essential qualities:
heat and dryness causing fire; heat and wet-

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

ness resulting in air; coid and dryness in

earth; coid and wetness in water. A change
in the proportions of these properties would
account for all the substances of our world.
This suggested scientific procedure, experi
mentaron with various substances and their
properties, to make changes, to transmute
one substance into another.
Actually, Aristotle was not an alchemist.
His theories and postulations, we may say,
did inspire alchemyif it did not exist long
before in Egypt. Assuming, as most historians do, that physical alchemy grew out of
the studies of Aristotle, it did find fertile
ground in the Greek colony at Alexandria.
These Alexandrian alchemists did not think
of mass and behavior as being the essence of
matter. To them other qualities, such as
color, were an indication of the nature of a
substance. A metal alloy, for example, hav
ing the color of gold was thought to be of
that substance.
The Arabs conquered Egypt in the 7th
century. They embraced all Greek leaming,
which they spread westward along Africa
and brought it into Spain. They likewise
took with them Alexandrian alchemy. This
included the two aims of alchemy: (1) to
transmute base elements, as lead and copper,
into gold; (2) to discover an elixir, a living
substance that would cure all ills and prolong life. No matter what we think of the
methods employed, both were worthy aims.
The theory, so far as the metis are con
cerned, is that they differ from each other
in degree but are the same in essence. In
other words, any base metal, such as copper
or lead, could be changed into gold. Metals
were thought to be living substances. For
example, they generate in the womb of the
earth. There are, however, numerous conditions in the earth that oppose the proper
maturing and perfecting of the metis. It
was believed that metis could be injured by
nature or deformed and thus fail to attain
their true perfection. Lead, for example, was
thought to be deformed silver. The function
f alchemy was to get rid of these defects
and permit the metal to rise to its true state
of perfection.
Geber was the most famous of the Arabian
alchemists. We are not certain as to when
he lived, but it is generally held to be during
the 8th century. He and his Arabian successors modified the philosophical theories of

APRIL, 1957

the Alexandrian alchemists. It was contend

ed that the true nature of matter is not in
its essence or in a single quality. Rather,
the fundamental principies were sulphur,
fire, mercury, and salt. These were not ac
tually the common properties by such ames,
but were more embracing in their meaning.
Gebers idea was really anthropomorphic.
The metis were living, as we have said; they
were thought to generate, to enter into mar
riage with opposites, to become pregnant
and go through many of the functions which
mortals do. The metis also had a body and
soul, the latter being an essence of which
more will be said later. It was the work of
the alchemists to purify the body of each
metal. The body was its outer form or ap
pearance. When the body was prepared,
then it was to be infused with the soul which
would best suit it.
The elixir was a living substance, a funda
mental quality in matter of a high degree
of perfection which, when introduced into
any metal, would transmute it into a state
of perfection. When alchemy was related to
the planets, it was conceived that there was
a correspondence of qualities between the
celestial spheres and metis. Gold corre
sponded to the sun; silver to the moon.
Mercury, iron, tin, and lead corresponded
relatively to Mercury, Mars, Jpiter, and
Saturn. Planetary signs were assigned to the
metis, some of which still remain as identifying marks for certain elements in modern
chemistry.
The principal search of the alchemists
(speaking generally of the different theories)
was for a pur and penetrating matter
which, when applied to the metis, plants
or vegetables, exalts them. This perfect es
sence, this soul of matter, imparts its nature
to all which is brought into contact with it.
Other things are refined by this pur and
penetrating matter. This substance which
transmits its perfect qualities was called the
philosophers stone. It was the power in
nature that could transmute base metis into
gold. The philosophers stone, it was said:
is a combination of the male and female
seeds which beget gold and silver. Now the
matters or elements of this stone, and the
prima materia above all, are concealed by a
multitude of symbols, false and allegorical
descriptions, evasive or deceptive ames.
An alchemist, describing the philosophers

PAGE I I I

stone, said: In appearance it is a subtle

earth, brown and opaque; it stands the fire,
and is considered to be of no valu (to those
who do not know its nature). Pierre Jean
Fabre, French physician and alchemist, said
that the philosophers stone is a seed out of
which gold and silver are generated . . . it
may be found in all compound substances
and is formed of salt, mercury, and sulphur
which, however, are not to be confounded
with the vulgar substances so denominated.
The physical alchemists were of three
different classes. First, there were those who
had one interest only, the transmutation of
base metis into actual goldthe making of
gold was their whole purpose. We can pre
sume that their interest was exclusively
mercenary. Probably the majority were
of this type. To them, the philosophers stone
was a fundamental essence of matter which
had the property of purifying other metis,
transmuting them to gold. It is this which
they sought in their laboratories. Then there
were those alchemists who had what might
be termed the scientific spirit. They were
inquiring into the mysteries, the phenomena,
of nature. They believed that* beneath the
various forms of matter was a first material.
They thought it had the power to change one
substance into another. As a result of their
search, like the efforts of Geber, they de
veloped new processes, such as distillation,
which are perpetuated in the modern science
of chemistry. They likewise compounded
many new substances of valu to mankind.
They were, in fact, the progenitors of
chemistry.
The third class of physical alchemists was
candidly the charlatans. They did not ex
periment, did not believe in the principies
of alchemy. However, they counterfeited all
professed transmutations, and claimed to
have achieved transmutation. Their purpose
was one of deception and fraud. It is they
who brought alchemy into disrepute. No
matter how wrong the other alchemists may
have been in their methods, if they were
sincere they are worthy of our recognition
for what they sought and did. That their
methods were involved with religious rites
and with superstition is the result of the
mentality of the times, and we must look
at it from that perspective. A derisive atti
tude on our part toward them does not flatter
our own intelligence. We should not be

PAGE 112

quite so smug. What of the malicious and

superstitious attack in our age on the scientific doctrine of evolution? What will men
five centuries henee think of such illiberal
views and of our current race discrimination?
Alexandria, Egypt, in the second and third
century was a philosophical and religious
center. There was great rivalry between
Gnosticism and Christianity. Simultaneously, Neoplatonism, the Egyptian mystery
teachings, and the od cults from the civiliza
tions of the Twin Rivers were flourishing in
Alexandria. The H erm etic philosophy,
which is attributed to Hermes Trismegistus,
included elements of all these studies and
teachings. Out of these Hermetic doctrines
there emerged transcendental alchemy.
Those who pursued its teachings disdained
physical alchemy. They did not resort to
retorts, pelicans, and alembics. To them the
prima materia, the philosophers stone, was
not a substance. Sulphur and mercury were
but ames for human qualities, not actual
elements.
Man, the transcendental alchemists expounded, consists of dissoluble elements. Be
fore his Adamic fall from grace and into
corruption, he was of the same pur ele
ments of which paradise consists. He has
since sunk to the level of the material, cor
ruptible elements of which his body consists.
Consequently, the search for the philoso
phers stone was to recover the incorruptible
immutable elements of mans true nature.
These alchemists then sought to transmute
the base elementa, the weaknesses and passions of human nature, into the gold of
spiritual qualities. They sought to help man
rediscover his soul, to experience rebirth and
attain immortality.
To these noble-minded transcendental al
chemists to acquire spiritual truth was the
only reward of their labors. By transmutation of metis they signified the conversin
of man from a lower to a higher order of
existencefrom a natural life to a spiritual
life. Basil Valentine, noted alchem ist,
wrote: First, there should be the invocation
of God, flowing from the depths of a pur
and sincere heart; and a conscience which
should be free from ambition, hypocrisy and
vice, as also from cognate faults such as arrogance, boldness, pride, luxury . . . In this
sense the philosophers stone is the spiritual

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

gnosis and exalted wisdom whose virtue,

when once learned, transmutes man to a
higher plae of consciousness and personal
power. It is evident that these transcenden
tal alchemists were mystics. Transcendental
alchemy is a syncretic doctrine, a combination, borrowing the principies of alchemy
and mysticism.
The Rosicrucian alchemists were both ex
perimental scientists and transcendental
philosophers. Several eminent scientists and
thinkers were associated with the Rosicrucians in their alchemical researches or they
were themselves members of that fratemity.
The following are a few of that number:
Paracelsus, Robert Fludd, John Locke,
Michael Maier, Robert Boyle, Christopher
Wren, John Dee, Ashmole, and Isaac Newton.X
Experiments That Fail
Members often write and say that some
of their experiments were not as successful
as they hoped and they are, therefore, sticking to the experiment week after week, and
letting the new lectures pile up because they
do not want to go ahead until they have
mastered each one of the experiments. This
is .the wrong method to take to progress or
even to master any of the experiments. If
you have tried any one of the experiments
two or three times and have not had the
proper success with it that you expected
during the week, the thing to do is to lay
that lesson and experiment aside and go on
with the new lessons and the new experi
ments just as though you had mastered the
previous ones and were ready for the new
ones.
You will always find that the new lessons
and the new experiments cast more light
on the previous ones and help you to develop
so that some day when you go back and review the previous experiments, you find
that you can now do them better than when
you first tried. Many of the new experi
ments that come to you in the new lectures
deal with the same laws as contained in
previous experiments, but they are presented
in a different way or from a different angle.
Very often the new ones are more easily
performed than the od ones, because they
bring into use some other faculty or power
you possess, and which you have not used.

APRIL, 1957

We always advise such members to pass

by the experiments that they have had difficulty with and go on with the new ones,
and then a month later go back to the od
ones and try them again. Such members are
astonished with the results they have had
when they go back to the difficult experi
ments of the past and now find how easily
they can do them. This convinces them at
once that they have been progressing inwardly and that the -time was not ripe for
them to do the experiments when they first
tried.
In other words, do not allow anything to
interfere With your going ahead with the
new lectures as they come. If you get behind
for two or three weeks and have a number
of lectures piled up that you havent studied,
take the new one when it comes and read it
and study it thoroughly and then follow this
by reading one or two of the od ones that
have piled up on you. In a few weeks you
will have covered the od ones and be right
up to date with your new ones.
Remember that when inner psychic development is once started it must be constantly
nourished with new principies and higher
laws in order to keep it alive and growing.
All of our lessons and lectures are arranged
to do this very thing, and for that reason
members should not hold up their progress
while they go back to try some od experi
ments or labor unnecessarily long with some
experiment that can easily be passed by for
the time being and taken up at a later date.
by Dr. LewisR.C. Forum, June 1931
This Issues Personality
Albert Moore was bom and brought up
in the staid, conservative atmosphere of Glas
gow, Scotland. After graduating from high
school, he attended part-time classes at the
Royal Technical College in Glasgow. He
majored in mathematics and machine design.
To supplement his studies, he served an apprenticeship as a marine engineer. Young
Moore had chosen marine engineering as a
career.
Frater Moore was reared in a family of
strict adherents to the Protestant faith. He
was thus obliged to conform to many pre
cepts punctiliously. With a growing maturity of mind, he found he could not
subscribe to some of the postulations because

PAGE 113

they provided no inner response. Further,

many of the subjects, the questions that
crowded into his active mind regarding life
and mans purpose were dogmatically condemned as heretical or sinful thoughts by the
church of his childhood affiliation. This
opposition to an honest search for truth
caused Frater Moores rebellion to his religious affiliation. Ultimately, he severed his
religious obligations and began an independent inquiry for satisfying truth.
About this time, in the year 1923, Frater
Moore migrated to the United States, arriving in Portland, Oregon, in July. He anticipated following a career as a marine
engineer for which he was prepared. How
ever, not being an American citizen he was
not permitted to serve in that capacity. It
would mean a wait of five years before
citizenship could be conferred upon him.
Frater Moore was determined to be a citizen
of his adopted country. The circumstances
meant that he would have to alter his plans
for a livelihood.
After much deliberation, Frater Moore
decided upon the field of building construction which had been his second choice as a
career. His technical training at the Royal
College in Glasgow stood him well. After
additional studies of two years in architectural draftsmanship, he was prepared for his
new work. He has never regretted his de
cisin and has become a successful home
builder in the Los Angeles area.
There was still the haunting desire to find
answers to the mysteries of life which had
plagued him as a youth. As a consequence,
he became a prolific reader of books on mysticism, philosophy, and occultism. On one
occasion, Frater Moores wife bought for him
a book on the power of mind. Within the
book was a leaflet about AMORC. A reading
of it brought immediate response on the part
of Frater Moore. This was that for which
he had long been searching. Frater and
Soror Moore both applied for membership
into the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC. They
crossed the threshold in 1940.
Ten years later, Frater Moore served as
Master of Hermes Lodge, in Los Angeles,
California. Upon the retirement of beloved
Frater Gilbert N. Holloway, Sr., as InspectorGeneral for Southern California, the Imperator duly appointed Frater Moore to that
position. He now functions in that office.

PAGE 114

Frater Moore is not only conscientious in

his regular visits to lodges, chapters, and
pronaoi in the regin which he counsels, but
he is also well respected by members and
administration alike. His unassum ing,
friendly manner, his warm greeting, his
practical approach to problems dignifies the
office which he holds. Soror Moore is equally
active in the work of AMORC and is an in
spiration to her husband.X
Sane or Insane?
None of the worlds greatest psychiatrists
or psychologists has been able to draw a
definite line between sanity and insanity,
or to establish any standard demarcation of
mental and physical actions showing where
sanity ends and insanity begins. This is
because the condition called insanity or
abnormal mental status is a relative condi
tion and not a positive one. I am inclined
to agree with the most rational and commonsense psychiatrists when they say that all of
usincluding every human being who lives
are insane to some degree and therefore
sane to some other degree. It is when this
degree of insanity is larger than the degree
of sanity, or when the actions resulting from
the degree of insanity make themselves more
manifest than usual that we cali a person
insane.
After all, it may be said that any unusual
or out of the commonplace mental inclina
tion on the part of an individual is a degree
of insanity. The man who a few years ago
insisted in going about the streets of the city
without a hat because he believed that he
felt better, that his hair grew better, and
that certain scalp conditions were prevented
by not wearing a hat, was looked upon as
partially insane by the multitudes who saw
him. From the psychiatrists point of view
in technical language, he was insaneon
that one point.
The man who will take every possible
opportunity to get away from business and
find every excuse to slip out of his office and
break any social engagement to play golf at
any hour of the day between sunrise and
sunset is an example of a degree of insanity
on one subject. Those of us who are
spending much of our time in delving into
ancient manuscripts and prefer seeking the
unusual truths of life in preference to the

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

standardized pleasure, would be called insane

to some degree. The inventor who refuses
to eat or sleep properly and ignores his
family and his own physical well-being to
lock himself up in a little room day after
day and night after night with his whole
mind and all of his thoughts concentrated
in trying to make a square peg fit in a round
hole may be hopelessly insane or merely in
sane to some degree, depending upon wheth
er or not he has a really rational idea by
which to solve his problem.
I knew a man a few years ago who
went around New York seeking capital of
a small amount to help him manufacture
an auger for boring holes. He said that he
had invented a bit that would bore a square
hole instead of a round one. It was pitiful
the way men with money and men of scientific comprehension would listen to this
man with a twinkle in their eye, thinking
that they were dealing with a hopelessly
insane fellow, and then smilingly tell him
that they had no money for his invention
but if he could find a way of boring holes
in the ocean or boring holes in the clouds
they might listen to him. Everyone who
heard him through could only think of round
holes being bored by a brace and bit. They
had a conviction that since all holes previous
ly bored had been round, any wide divergence from a round hole was impossible and
anyone who thought he could do such a
thing must be insane.
However, the man finally succeeded in
manufacturing his device, and it is now sold
by most places where carpenters tools are
sold. He has proved himself to have been
sane and rational.
By this we see that we judge sanity and
insanity by certain relative standards. I
have heard a pianist say that he has always
believed that the man in every orchestra
who plays the large viola must be insane.
He said, Imagine spending time learning
how to play a great big instrument that is
as clumsy as a piano in a home and yet will
give you nothing more in the way of music
than um, um, tum, tum. The man who
learns to play it can never satisfy his musical
inclination by playing a nice melody and he
can never play a solo or get a real kick out
of his musical education until he joins an
orchestra. From the pianists point of view

PAG E 115

APRIL, 1957

the viola does not produc music except as a

background for other instruments.
We who think ourselves sane often wonder
whether a man who calis himself a psychiatrist and who spends all of his time during
the day and during the night, studying the
lives of people who do peculiar things and
reads ponderous books about the ifs, ands,
and buts of peoples minds, is really sane
himself.
We are told that the person who has an
outstanding obsession of some kind which
inhibits all his thinking and dominates all
of his thoughts and actions throughout days,
months, and years is truly insane. That
would open the doorway to most of us who
are obsessed with the idea that there are
secrets of life not generally known and
which we are determined to discover and
become acquainted with. It would also include thousands of specialized thinkers in all
parts of the world. It would include the men
who are burrowing their way deeply into
the earths crust examining every grain of
sand and making long and copious notes and
comments about the strata of soil as though
there was nothing else in the whole universe
than the dirt beneath the surface and ignoring the sky, trees, flowers, mountains, rivers,
and all the beautiful things of life.
It would include the man who is sitting in
a small room with hundreds of pounds of
glass around him and all kinds of funnyshaped bottles, working with a blowtorch
late into the night hours trying to invent a
bottle that can never be refilled after it is
once opened.
It would not only include the man who
is seeking to invent a machine that will
demnstrate perpetual motion, but it would
include the man who is trying to make a
model airplane fly in a perfectly vertical
line from its resting place on the ground.
It would also include the man who is sitting
in the midst of thousands of books and with
pounds of manuscript around him writing
profusely his draft and scheme of how a
peace plan can be promoted that would
change human thinking ovemight and end
all warfare and strife.
This idea of insanit)r would include the
men who are digging into the ruins of Egypt
seeking for certain secrets connected with
the coloring of the pigments used on the

walls of the temples. It would include the

man who is trying to find a way of making
a fountain pen that will not leak. It would
include a host of men and women who are
trying to find a way to self-mastership
through a quick understanding of all of lifes
secrets by attending a class of five paid leetures in one week.
How, then, are we to decide who is sane
and who is insane? The answer always depends upon the viewpoint of the one who is
passing judgment. If we should suddenly
standardize our walking in America and say
all persons going east must walk on the right
side of the Street then we might cali any
fellow on the left side an insane person, but
he would have just as much right, backed
up with logical arguments, to say that all
of the rest of us were insane and he was
sane.
There are some degrees of insanity, of
course, that are unquestionably the indication of a diseased brain and one that is not
only abnormal in the psychological sense
but in the pathological and physiological
sense. Such cases, however, are not the ones
that are puzzling either to psychiatrists or
the average human being.
The safest attitude to take is never to pass
upon the insanity of any one because we
never know the real thoughts back of any
outward demonstration of the mind, and we
never know what is actually going on within
the mind.
As to whether everyone of us passes
through one incarnation of unbalanced
mental attitude in order that one may learn
some lessons, or whether one generally es
capes this and only a few have this experi
ence, I am not prepared to say and I do not
know where any positive information on this
subject may be found. The safest thing to
do is to consider all persons sane but different
in their mental ways of functioning. Pass
no judgment on others lest judgment be
passed upon you, and there is not one of
us that is so free from peculiar ideas and
peculiar ways of doing things or uncommon
habits and tendencies that some busybody
psychiatrist or mental expert cannot put his
finger on us and say, Here is a most per
fect example of abnormal mentality.
b y D r . L e w is ,

R. C. Forum, June, 1932

PAG E 116

Adhesin, Cohesion, Magnetism

Though this subject is fairly extensively
treated in our monographs, yet it occasionally occurs in questions. A frater asks this
Forum: What is the relationship between
adhesin, cohesion, and magnetism?
From common observation, adhesin is
where there is an attraction between particles
of different kinds. Wood and glue, stone and
cement, paint and wood are such examples.
Another observable fact about adhesin is
that the attraction does not cause separate
particles to lose their identity or become one
in quality. No matter how great the adhesive attraction or strength of glue and
wood, we can perceive the difference in their
nature. What causes this adhesin between
certain particles? Physics explains this on
the principie of molecular attraction. In
their atomic structure there is a feld of at
traction which causes the molecules, the par
ticles of some substances, to adhere to others.
In cohesion, the particles of some sub
stances do not just adhere but they complete
ly unite so as to be one in appearance. In
cohesion there is not just an attraction but
a merging of the substances. Drops of mercury, for example, will, when brought to
gether, enter completely into the nature of
each other so as to form a larger drop bf the
same substances. Several drops rolled about
so as to touch one another by cohesion will
unite themselves into a visibly perfect whole.
Physics likewise explains the action of co
hesion as being the forc of molecular
attraction. The effect of cohesion is principally noticed with liquids like raindrops
running together to form larger drops upon
a windowpane.
An experiment in physics shows an interesting comparison between adhesin and
cohesion. Suppose we have two U-tubes with
their side tubes 30mm. and lmm. in diameter. We pour water colored with ink in one
of the two U-tubes; in the other, we pour
mercury. We then note that in neither
case are the surfaces in the two sides of the
U-tubes at the same level. The explanation
is that the water wets the surface of the
glass and is attracted to it. Adhesin is,
therefore, established. In other words, the
water clings to the glass and so the surface
of the water remains at a higher level. On
the other hand, mercury does not wet the

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

glass. The cohesion of the particles of mer

cury draws them so cise that it looks as
though there were a repulsin on the part
of mercury for the glass. In other words,
it is as though the mercury were pulled
away from the glass and contracted into
itself. Because of this cohesion, the surface
of the mercury in the U-tube pulling down
into itself appears concave and lower than
the water. It would appear that in cohesion
there is a stronger attraction between the
particles of a substance than there is toward
any other matter.
Also the effect of adhesin is found in the
capillary attraction of soiL When it rains
heavily, the water permeates the soil to
some depth. When the sun shines again, the
moisture on the surface evapora tes. The
water below then is drawn upward toward
the drier surface. There is, we can say, an
adhesive attraction of the soil for the water.
What is magnetism? This is still a ques
tion for which orthodox physics has not had
a thorough explanation. Physics offers theoretical explanations but it is not satisfied
with them. Magnetism contines to be one
of the research projects of theoretical
physics. There are thousands of applications
of magnetism in our daily life but its nature
still mystifies. We know how to use it
without having a thorough comprehension
of it. The most common examples of its
application are the electromagnetic fields in
the multiplicity of different motors and
generators of various appliances in daily use.
The word magnetism is derived from
Magnesia, a regin in Asia Minor. The
ancient Greeks found there an abundance of
rock called lodestone which attracted iron
filings or iron dust. Lodestone is also found
elsewhere in the world. Magnetic properties
can be induced from a lodestone into iron
and Steel by rubbing them with a piece of
the rock. We know, too, that magnetic
properties can be induced into a bar of soft
iron by winding around it coils of copper
wire and passing an electrical current
through the wire. This is known as electromagnetism. The poles of a magnet are of
different polarity. One is known as the
N-pole and the other as the S-pole. The
N-pole being attracted in the direction of
the North Magnetic Pole of the earth if the
magnet is allowed to swing free. It has been
observed, as every beginning student in

APRIL, 1957

physics knows, that like poles of a magnet

repel each other and unlike attract each
other.
Science owes its first scientific investigation of the phenomenon of magnetism to
Michael Faraday, the eminent physicist and
Rosicrucian. Faraday made a special study
of what he called the lines of forc. He
sprinkled iron filings on a sheet of paper
and placed a magnet beneath it. He then
studied the pattern or directions which the
iron filings assumed on the surface of the
paper. He noticed that they were like a
multitude of small arrows all pointing in the
direction of the N-pole of attraction and also
indicating the repulsin of other poles. In
other words, each little iron fiber became
like a little magnet itself with its own poles
of attraction and repulsin. Faraday then
conceived that these lines of forc existed in
space about the poles of a magnet even if
there were no iron filings present. He
thought of them as being an extensin of the
forc of attraction and repulsin of each pole
of the magnet.
The theory of magnetism was first ad
vanced by the French physicist, Ampere.
According to his conception, every substance
has minute electrical particles, as electrons,
which have fields of attraction and repulsin.
Ordinarily, their cumulative effect does not
exhibit the phenomenon of m agnetism.
When, however, the object is magnetized,
then its inherent minute particles become
rearranged with their poles all lined up in
order like soldiers at attention. Thus the
lines of these particles would have their
N-poles facing toward one end of an iron
bar and their S-poles toward the opposite
end, with a certain neutrality or balance in
the middle of the bar. Just how magnetism
accounts for these arrangements of the elec
trical charges of the substance is not yet
explained.
In general this theory of magnetism is also
in accord with what Rosicrucians have long
taught about the subject as well. The Rosi
crucian Manual, in an article on magnetism,
says in part:
Every electrified body has its aura, and
when that aura is active it constitutes a mag
netic field and the aura is sometimes called
magnetism. Magnetism, from a purely elec
trical point of view, is described somewhat
differently; but even so the fundamental law

PAG E 117

involved in the foregoing definition remains.

The fact that some minerals are naturally
magnetic, as iron of a certain nature, while
others can be made magnetic, indicates that
magnetism is not a result of the atomic or
molecular structure of matter but rather of
an electrical action that is taking place with
in the substance or which can be set up
within the substance. In electrical science,
we are instructed how to induce magnetism
in a metallic body by surrounding it with
an electrical charge; but this further illustrates the law that magnetism results from
action in the aura that surrounds all matter.
This aura is fundamentally an essential part
of the electrn, and the molecule therefore
has an aura which is a mixture of the auras
of the electrons composing it.X
Reversin to Type
On my trips to Europe, I have had the
opportunity to study od familiar cases which
clearly illustrated the tendency on the part
of human nature to revert to type.
In several cases where young people had
been taken out of the unfortunate primitive
customs and habits of their tribes or classes
of people, and taken to other cities to be
educated, trained, and modernized, when
left to tum to their former environment,
they gradually abandoned all of the modern
training they had received, even to the extent of abandoning the better clothing which
they had, and which they could easily maintain, and adopted the unclean and unpleasant
methods of sleeping and eating. In each of
these cases which I have studied, it was
found that these persons moved along the
lines of least resistance and found it easier,
despite the many years of education and influence in other cities, to adopt the primitive,
unfortunate ways of living of their relatives
and friends.
All of us in our more subtle forms of habits
in thinking and acting constantly revert to
our individual type, and this fact is one of
the most difficult conditions to overcome in
the processes of human evolution.
Regardless of the mooted points relating
to the astrological conditions and those of
reincamation and Karma, the fact remains
that each one of us is born with certain
tendencies, characteristics, and evolving de
sires which constitute our fundamental na-

PAGE 118

ture, and no matter how we may try to

change these by changing our environment
or desiring to improve ourselves, we will
continuously revert to type unless we deliberately use our will power and our other
dormant faculties, and lift ourselves out of
the mold in which we have been formed,
and re-create a new character and personali
ty for ourselves.
by Dr. LewisR.C. Forum, Dec. 1934
The 144-Year Cycle and Population
Change
A frater of Australia addressing our For
um asks: If an atomic war of an unprecedented scale were to sweep the world and the
human race was greatly diminished in
number, would this upset the law of incamation of 144 years? Under such circumstances
there would be a lesser number of bodies to
accommodate the soul.
This is a question that frequently recurs
although an explanation of it in recent years
has been given at an early point in the
studies (the Second Neophyte Degree). To
begin, let us consider the source of the soul.
Rosicrucians do not think of soul as a segment, that is, as an individual or separate
substance which is implanted in each human
body. Rather, they hold to the doctrine that
the soul in each human is an extensin of
the one universal soul of Cosmic origin. It
is a flow of vital forc and intelligence which
permeates all humansand other living
beings. Its individuality, the Rosicrucians
further affirm, is only apparent and not
actual. This universal soul intelligence is
affected in its expression by the organism
of the particular body through which it
flows. The brain, the nervous systems, the
will and behavior of the individual may, and
do, inhibit the manifestation of the soul
forc and intelligence. The extent that the
souls urges and impulsations influence the
individual, and further the extent that he
responds in moral or spiritual behavior, con
stitutes the individuals soul-personality. Our
personality or self is therefore a reflection
of our mentality and our abidance by the
motivation of our soul forc.
Consequently, from this reasoning, two
individuis having the same perfect universal
soul forc resident within them will, how
ever, display different degrees of spiritual

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

insight and behavior. Further, from this

point it is obvious that there are not any
very od, or fewer or more perfect, souls.
There is but one divine soul essence. As we
have explained, it is expressed variously due
to the body or the being which it infuses.
One does not develop or perfect his soul; this
lies beyond the province of man. The soul
is perfect as an extensin of Cosmic mind.
Man evolves his self-consciousness, that is,
his realization of the soul or divine quality;
and, as a consequence, his personality becomes more in accord with the nature of
the soul.
We may use a homely analogy which we
have often used before to further explain
this principie. It is that of a high-fidelity
musical recording. We shall say that it has
been produced by master musicians; it has
been recorded by expert technicians, and
with apparatus capable of covering the full
scale of vibrations produced by the musical
instruments. Mechanically, then, the re
cording is as perfect as human knowledge
is capable of devising. Now, one purchaser
of the recording plays it on an old-style
reproducing machine. His apparatus is not
able to cover the full scale of octaves of the
originally played music. The base notes of
his equipment are not low enough, and the
treble notes are not high enough. The result
is an imperfect reproduction of an originally
perfect musical selection.
Another person who purchases the record
ing has a modern reproducing device; it is
capable of expressing the original music in
its pur, full, and perfect quality. So it is
with the purity of the soul: different human
vehiclesbodies, mentalities, and circum
stancescause the individuis to manifest
different expressions of the one perfect soul
forc and intelligence within them.
The 144-year incamation cycle is a Cosmic
law and phenomenon discovered by the
ancient mystics after much observation,
study and recording of facts. It would
appear, according to this law, that the
natural cycle of mans life is 144 years from
birth to death. In fact, modern biologists contend that the natural span of an animals
life is from five to seven times its growing
period. This would, by the law of averages,
also mean that man should live to be about
144 years of age. However, mans disregard

APRIL, 1957

of many of natures requirements centuries

ago has diminished his natural span to a considerably lesser number of years of life.
Gradually, in some countries of the world
today, due to improved methods of living,
the human life span is increasing.
According to the 144-year cycle of incamation, if one lived here on earth the full
number of years, he would then almost
immediately incamate in another mortal
body on earth after transition. Since man
does not live the full span on earth, part
of the cycle is on earth and the remaining
years are in the Cosmic realm. For example,
if one lives until he is eighty years od on
the earth plae, then during the difference
between that and the 144 years (or 64 years)
the soul-personality would dwell in the Cos
mic before being reborn. In other words, the
cycle is 144 years from birth to rebirth.
There are millions of persons passing
through transition each year. Consequently,
there would need to be an equal number of
bodies to accommodate these soul-personalities when they are reborn. All this would
be quite simple if there were no fluctuation
in world population. The fact remains that
the population of the world is rapidly in
creasing. The plausible question then is,
Whence come the new souls to occupy this
additional number of human births?
For an answer, we return to the subject
first considered, namely, that there are no
separate souls. There is but one universal
soul forc. This forc flows through any
number of human bodiesor any living
beings that exist for it as a channel. Through
whatever human form this soul forc flows,
it becomes a living soul. Such human beings
are not new souls, for the universal soul
forc has no determinative quality such as
age. The body through which a soul forc
flows for the first time is but experiencing
this ageless and infinite intelligence for the
first time. It is a new experience for the
human, but that which he experiences, in
essence, is not new.
For further analogy, when you place a
new electric lamp in a socket, you are not
manifesting a new electrical current. It is

PAG E 119

the same electrical forc expressing itself in

a new form. You know that the electrical
current is relatively inexhaustible. You
could string up about your home many new
lamps where there had been none before.
Each of these lamps would then express a
new personality, that is, give forth light;
yet, each would be activated by the same
electrical current as had been flowing
through the older lamps. No matter how
many lamps were added there would always
be the ever-ready electrical current to illumine them.
Now what of the opposite circumstances
that of an atomic war which might decimate
the world population? What would happen
to those soul-personalities who had not completed their 144-year incamation cycle? The
destruction of the body no more affects the
universal soul forc than the breaking of an
electric lamp affects the electrical current to
which it is connected. Upon the destruction
of the body, the soul-personality would be
of the Cosmic, of that to which it had always
been related. The soul-personality would
then remain in the Cosmic, united with the
universal soul forc, of which it was a part,
until such time as there would be a human
form to again accommodate it.
In the Cosmic there are no such qualitative
conditions as timeas we have often pointed
out. The incarnation cycle exists as a func
tion. The years related to it are merely a
man-made determination of the duration of
the cycle. As to what adjustment would be
made for the long period in the Cosmic realm
before the individual personalities could
complete their 144-year cycle, we would not
venture a conjecture.
What we would like particularly to emphasize in conclusin is that souls are not
segments. The soul forc is independent of
the human bodies through which it flows. It
accommodates itself to whatever human
forms are available so that there may be an
expression of what we cali the soul-personality. A diminishing, or an increasing of the
population of humanity, would have no ef
fect upon the nature of the universal
soul.X

REMEMBER THE ROSICRUCIAN CONVENTION - July 7 through 12,1957

The Plan of Y our Life

SELF MASTERY AND FATE

WITH THE CYCLES OF LIFE
is a practical method to map the course velopment. Learn the periods in weeks and months
of your lifehour by hour, day by day. No when certain physical ailments may manifest in
guesswork of indications, no fantasm. A simple,your body.
startling, surprising survey, sanely stating the marA Daily Guide
velous mystical manifestations of the cycles of life,
which enables every man or woman easily to leam This is not a book to be read through once or
more about the fortnate and unfortunate periods twice and then placed on the library shelf. You
in each day. Here is an opportunity to be prepared and each member of your family will be able to map
for all the strange occurrences which perplex every'
the charts of your life every week, every day
human being. This book, Self M astery and Fate, out
in
fact.
charts will be like maps of a voyage on
contains a system which time has shown has no the sea The
of
life
just what can be expected
equal in any form of astrology, numerology, or each week and showing
month.
The
use of the book and its
character reading.
information has been made simplewithout mathe
matics or consultation of any other book or alIt Has a Thousand Uses
manac. The book includes easily-understood diaFor parents to guide their children, for the house- grams and tables. It is wll printed and bound.
wife, the business employee, the man or woman just
starting his or her own business, the heads of big PRICE, POSTPAID................................$ ^ S 5
corporations, this book will be a guide for health,
(16/6 sterling)
education, finance, social affairs, and character de-

ere

ROSICRUCIAN SUPPLY BUREAU * San Jos, California

T H E R O S IC R U C IA N P R E S S , L T D .

P R IN T E D IN U . S . A .

June, 1957
Vo lu m e X X V II

No. 6

Rosicrucian Forum
A p rv a te

p u b lic a tio n fo r m e m b e rs of A M O R C

H A R O LD P. STEVENS, F. R. C.
G ran d Councilor o f A M O R C fo r Eastern C a a d a

PAGE 122

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

Greetings!
V

IS DEVOTION TO
Dear Fratres and Sorores:
Is the individual who methodically and
meticulously devotes himself to details intellectually inferior? Which is the more commendable, doing numerous things yourself
to your own satisfaction or assigning details
to another? These are questions much discussed in the business, academic, and the
social world. An arbitrary position in regard to them, that is, a specific answer to
these questions, has at times resulted in con
siderable embarrassment to individuis. One
has often been made to seem negligent or
indifferent because he is not inclined to the
pursuit of details. Others have been caused
to feel that they have a small mentality because they like details involving minute
particulars.
There are two principal factors that must
be considered in any project assumed by an
individual. The first is efficiency; the second
is economy. The rule of efficiency is to do
the job well in a minimum of time. Even
if one is performing some duty for himself,
it is presumed that he cannot devote to it
an indefinite amount of time. The exception
to this, of course, is where the individual
particularly enjoys his activity and intentionally prolongs it for the pleasure derived.
Such, however, constitutes play rather than
work. Psychologically, it is advisable, of
course, for one to do what he likes whenever
he can. However, necessary duties, even if
they be liked, cannot usually be prolonged
for pleasure. Consequently, we will presume
that time is a factor in whatever has to be
accomplished.
An analysis of efficiency usually resolves
down to the element of avoiding waste motion or effort. For analogy, let us assume that
a person is obliged to pick up two separate
objects, of which there are a number, and
to assemble them into one piece. Efficiency
would consist of so arranging the two sep
arate kinds of objects as to form convenient
piles. Certainly no one would wish to place

DETAIL WRONG?
all the objects in one heap, thus requiring
that they be sorted before each assembly.
Next, a study of the two separate objects
would need to be made to determine their
relationship. What would be the quickest
method of engaging or uniting them? It
would not be efficient to give this consideration each time the objects were picked up.
There is also the matter of adaptability
of the individual to the task. Some persons
are more dexterous than others. There are
also those who may have, as applied to this
analogy, more mechanical aptitude. This
means that a mechanical problem and its intricacies are more quickly comprehended
and its solution reached. It is known that
many persons of an artistic temperament, as
musicians, seem very inept at even the sim
ple task of driving a nail or removing a
screw. This lack of efficiency in mechanical
things is not altogether inherent in the indi
vidual. It may be a cultivated dislike resulting in insufficient observation of even the
most simple mechanical techniques. Further,
the dislike may cause an unconscious maladroitness with tools or machinery.
The other element entering into the per
formance of any project, as we have said, is
economy. If cost enters into the final result
of any work program, then the amount of
time and labor consumed is of vital impor
tance. It is patent that if one shows slight
mechanical aptitude, for example, and is
thus inefficient, consuming unnecessary time
in his work, he should not be employed at
that type of activity. For economy as well
as efficiency, we must consider the attitude
of the mind of the worker. Does he like
what he is required to do? Has he been
assigned a task which annoys him and causes
him to fret, to make mistakes or repeat his
actions? There is an od adage that a race
horse should not be harnessed to a plow.
If he is, he will dissipate his energy and
perform unsatisfactory work. The abilities
and inclinations or temperament of a person

PAG E 123

JUNE, 1957

are like the functions of some intricate apparatus. They can be used effectively only
in connection with some project that corresponds to their nature.
Every achievement is an evolved one. It
may be conceived, that is, at first imagined,
in its entirety as a completed thing. But there
are usually several elements that must enter
into its finality. There are two types of
Creative personalities. One is deductive and
the other is inductive in his approach to the
creation. The former, the deductive, has a
tremendous faculty for visualization. In his
consciousness he perceives the final image,
the design and whatever function or pur
pose it is to serve. To conceive the final
image, he must have some conception as well
of the factors of which it is composed. One,
for further analogy, cannot very well imag
ine a door without the corresponding idea
of the manner in which it is to open or cise.
With such an idea would likewise be the
thought that hinges would be required for
the doors support and movement.
This conceptualist, however, might not
visualize in what manner the hinges were
to be constructed or installed on the door.
In fact, he might not be at all interested
in giving any thought to such detail.
The idea of the door, its ultmate pur
pose, which perhaps inspired him, might
lose its emotional stimulus for him, if he
were obliged to think about such details.
The other Creative personality, the induc
tive one, is more minutely analytical. He
finds no satisfaction in a mental picture
unless each of its parts, with its relationship,
is first understood. He is not satisfied with
the fact that a vehicle moves and transports
loads. Rather, he asks himself: Why does it
move? Why does it move in the direction
in which it does? Further, why is it as it is
instead of some other design or shape?
The detailist, this possessor of the induc
tive Creative mind, is often less an idealist
than a realist. He cannotor psychologically
will notconsider some project and its pos-

sibilities until the individual elements of

which it is composed have been demonstrated
to him. The idealist, the imaginative mind,
on the other hand, chafes under this laborious process of analysis and test. However,
his dreams and visions are not possible of
fulfillment without the essential details.
Many expert accountants, for example, are
not capable of conceiving a new industry or
a completely new business venture. They
can, however, analyze such a proposal introduced by another and tell whether, financially, the plan in its economic potentialities
is sound.
The man of visin, popularly referred to
as the idea man, is helpless without the
detailist, the specialist who works with the
minute elements upon which the whole
structure depends. Where one, however, is
endowed with Creative imagination and, we
shall say, is promotionally minded and can
visualize projects as future realities, he
should not be burdened with details. In referring to details as burdens, we do not do
so in a deprectory sense. Details are a
burden to an individual only when his men
tal powers become harnessed to the dot and
cause him to lose sight of the outer circle.
The ability to analyze and work with the
specific or the detailed is more common than
is the ability to visualize in order to accomplish or complete a reality, especially in the
Creative sense. Conversely, those who are
capable of conceiving a new advertising
campaign, for example, which is different
in its sales and psychological approach,
might not be able to design the special literature it would require or to write its copy.
The one who stitches and sews the garment has as much a place in that industry
as the designer. No detailist is misplaced if
he is efficient and finds satisfaction in the
perfection of the particulars. The perfect
bricks are needed for the strong structure.
Fratemally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator.

Enterad as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, 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 Department
of Publication of the Supreme Council of A M O R C , at Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.25 (16/6 sterling) A N N U A LLY FOR MEMBERS O N LY

PAGE 124

Are Sins Forgiven?

A soror in Caada addressing our Forum
writes: The karmic laws say that we must
balance our good or ill. If we do wrong we
must pay for it. How can this be reconciled
with the teachings of the Master Jess who
says that our sins shall be forgiven us and
be remembered no more? Does this set
aside the law of karma?
Again, as we have so often said, the law
of karma or compensation is not teleological,
that is, it is not a mind-cause. There is no
intent to exact a penalty to make us pay for
anything. There is no purpose such as the
imposing of punishment. It is strictly a
matter of causation, or the law of cause and
effect. If one pushes down on one tray of
the balance scales, the other tray accordingly
rises and vice versa. The trays have no
motivation of a moral or ethical nature in
their movement; rather, they conform only
to natural law. So it is with karma, for it
is likewise impersonal.
Etymologically, the word karma has its
root in a Sanskrit word meaning deed or
to do. As we do in our thinking and ac
tions we cause certain conditions to arise.
The nature of such causes determines what
shall follow from them. A series of malicious
and malevolent acts will ultimately create
reactions in our personal lives of a like
nature. The ill experiences we then have in
this life, or in another, are of our own mak
ing. They are not the expressed intent of
any mind seeking to punish us for our acts.
Since karma is cause and effect, it is no more
adverse than it can be beneficial. We can
and do bring about most of the real, lasting
happiness and so-called good fortune which
we may experience in life.
A sin is that which is held to be a moral
wrong. Before one can sin there must be
certain moral standards, codes, or mandates
established with which he is obliged to comply. Philosophically, and from a rational
point of view, one cannot sin who is ignorant
of that which is professed to be good. The
Christian is an infidel and a sinner to the
orthodox Moslem. The Moslem is an infidel
and a sinner to the orthodox Christian. Both
of the persons vilate, either through gnorance or intentionally, certain of the sacred
edicts of each others religious creeds. Under
such circumstances, neither one considers

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

himself to be a sinner; neither one confers

any divine content upon the majority of the
others doctrines or beliefs. A code must be
accepted as having a moral and divine precept inherent within it before the violation
can be accepted as a sin.
Does this mean, then, that the atheist who
accepts no divine being or source, would not
be a sinner? Further, does it mean that
there are no absolute sins which can be committed whether man knows of them or not?
We maintain our position that sin is the
parallel opposite of that which we recognize
as morally good. If one accepts no moral
goodinsofar as a code is conceivedhe
cannot sin. There is this distinction, how
ever, whether one accepts it as a sin or not,
if he violates a Cosmic principie or natural
law, he must and will experience the consequences of his acts. Let us use a homely
analogy. If a boy throws rocks, whether he
has been told it is wrong to do so or not, he
is subject to whatever consequences, as damages, ensue from his act.
Whether one recognizes the divine or not,
if he lives in such manner as to be out of
harmony with it, he will experience the
adverse consequences. In this sense, there
are certain absolute conditions which must
be conformed to. It is really erroneous to
cali their violations sins. They are Cosmic
laws. The goodness related to them is but
a man-made interpretation. It is based on
how he experiences their effects upon him.
Many sins, those proscriptions established
by theology, have no divine counterpart.
They are in no way related to Cosmic forces
and laws. They are but theological structures without any Cosmic consequences if
they are violated. Examples of such so-called
sins are: the eating of pork by the Jews, the
refusal to go to confession by Romn Catholics, and the killing of animals by the
Hindus. Where one has violated Cosmic law
or a law against nature, there is no forgiveness, in a sense, of an arbitrary removal of
the effects of the act. The religionists may
dislike this statement; this is because it gives
them a sense of satisfactioneven a feeling
of securityto think that when they have
violated some law which they consider to
be a sin, some supernatural authority will,
under some unique conditions, summarily
set aside the effect. Mystically, what is
meant by our sins being forgiven is that we

JUNE, 1957

are forgiven when we tum to Christ, or to

the practice of the Christ principies in our
way of living. If, in other words, we begin
to live in accordance with the Cosmic harmony within, there is set up a series of
counter-causes. The effects which follow
from them offset, or mitigate, that which
might have followed from the previous acts.
A sincere attempt to live a clean spiritual
life can so alter the effects of a previous
immoral one as to seem to constitute a per
sonal pardon or forgiveness. By turning to
Christ, or any system of moral living that
conforms to natural and Cosmic principies
and wrhich employs self-discipline, and the
higher aspects of the consciousness of self,
one can transform his life. His sins, then,
are remembered no more, in that the
effects of the previous causes have become
arrested, that is, blocked by the subsequent
acts.X
Do Tranquilizers Produce Mystical States?
One frater states: I would like discussed
the effect of tranquilizer drugs on the mys
tical state. Another frater asks: What is
AMORCs attitude toward mescaline and
such aids in attaining visionary or psychic
experiences?
To summarize these questions, Can drugs
induce such a state of consciousness as would
constitute a mystical experience? The an
swer is, Yes, they can produce similar ex
periences but they have definite disadvantages in mystical attainment that make
their use for such purposes inadvisable. Just
beyond the level of the objective conscious
ness and the subjective, with its functions
such as reason, imagination, and memory,
are other levels of consciousness. They are
like closed doors behind which exist conditions of which we are not conscious in the
objective sense. The doors sometimes open
by themselves. Impressions come out and
slip into that chamber we cali the conscious
mind. There they influence our thoughts
and account for unusual inner experiences
which we have. Their origin is not always
recognized. We cannot always realize that
these impressions come from behind some
inner door of the mind. We may actually
believe them to be the result of our thinking
processes and to be in some way related to
the reality of the objective world.

PAGE 125

Consciousness is a stream; its shallow

portion is that in which we ordinarily dwell,
the objective and subjective states. The rest
of this stream, which grows much deeper,
is grouped under one title, the subconscious.
It has its impressions that are conveyed to
it by the very life essence within each cell
of our being. The stream of consciousness
has its memory carried over from untold
numbers of generations and transmitted
down to us. It also has a relationship to
the Cosmic forces of which life itself and
the energy of our material being consists.
These memory and Cosmic impressions are
more subtle than those provided by our re
ceptor senses. They do not as easily command our conscious or objective state as do
the vibrations of light, sound, and touch, for
example. These impressions of the subcon
scious levels are realized only under ideal
conditions. To use an analogy which we
have often used before, they are like the
notes of stringed instruments which are being
drowned out by the brass in an orchestra.
Our normal consciousness is too cise to the
brass instruments, the objective impressions,
to be easily aware of the stringed instru
ments, the subconscious ones.
In the Rosicrucian and related authentic
esoteric teachings, the individual is taught
how to contact, to perceive, these finer im
pressions of the subconscious. He is likewise
told about their valu, and how they can
be applied to the affairs of living. He is
shown how they are as natural as what one
ordinarily realizes but that they are on a
different plae of consciousness. He is
shown, also, that he can, in a natural man
ner, become aware of these subconscious
realms of his being. The fundamental prin
cipie or method is to suppress the conscious
state, to free our realization from the activity
of the receptor senses. It is obvious that, if
our attention or concentration is upon some
visual or auditory image, we cannot be
aware of the more subtle impressions of the
subconscious and the mystical realm of the
mind.
Actually what is really done in the prac
tice of attaining mystical consciousness is to
elevate the state of ones awareness. It is to
lose completely the ordinary state of con
sciousness. Self, as we ordinarily realize it,
with its material and emotional qualities,
then disappears. In its place a new kind of

PAGE 126

consciousness is engendered. We are not

unconscious under such conditions, except to
the impressions of the external world. To
use another analogy, it is like one who sud
denly tums from the window where he has
been gazing at the outside, and then concentrates instead upon the interior of the
room. You would not say that, because the
observer is no longer aware of what occurs
in the Street, he is unconscious. Rather, you
would say that he has transferred his con
sciousness to a theatre of other activities.
The inducing of the natural mystical
state of consciousness is nt easy. In fact,
it is difficult. It is a difficult experience for
those who, most of their lives, have disregarded all inner impressions because of fear
or ignorance. The overzealous student of
these principies and phenomena, leaming of
the advantages of mystical illumination and
guidance, wants to accelerate the process.
He becomes impatient. He is inclined to try
quick methods, some of which may be unsatisfactory, if not actually dangerous. Such
persons would resort to drugs such as reserpine, chlorpromazine, and mescaline, and
even alcohol and different anaesthetics. Such
drugs bring about a detachment of the ob
jective consciousness from the demands of
the senses and the objective world. They
make contact with the subconscious fairly
facile. However, the individual finds that,
upon retuming to the objective state, he is
not able to retain the elements of his experi
ence. They seem like a vague dream. Con
sequently, their practical valu is lost.
William James, the classical psychologist
and philosopher, in his work Varieties of
Religious Experience, relates experiments
with drugs to induce the mystical state. We
shall quote these in part as confirmation of
the inadvisability of resorting to such
methods.
Nitrous oxide and ether, especially nitrous oxide, when sufficiently diluted with
air, stimulate the mystical consciousness in
an extraordinary degree. Depth beyond
depth of truth seems revealed to the inhaler.
This truth fades out, however, or escapes,
at the moment of coming to; and if any
words remain over in which it seemed to
clothe itself, they prove to be the veriest
nonsense. Neverthless, the sense of a pro
found meaning having been there persists;
and I know more than one person who is

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

persuaded that in the nitrous oxide trance

we have a genuine metaphysical revelation.
Then James quotes J. A. Symonds, an in
telligent investigator of the phenomenon,
who reported a mystical experience with
chloroform. We here give Symonds comments in part: After the choking and
stifling had passed away, I seemed at first in
a state of utter blankness; then carne flashes
of intense light, altemating with blackness,
and with a keen visin of what was going
on in the room around me, but no sensation
of touch. I thought that I was near death;
when, suddenly, my soul became aware of
God, who was manifestly dealing with me,
handling me, so to speak, in an intense per
sonal present reality. I felt him streaming
in like light upon me . . . I cannot describe
the ecstasy I felt. Then, as I gradually
awoke from the influence of the anaesthetics,
the od sense of my relation to the world
began to retum, the new sense of my rela
tion to God began to fade. I suddenly leapt
to my feet from the chair where I was sitting,
and shrieked out, Tt is too horrible, it is too
horrible, it is too horrible, meaning that I
could not bear this disillusionment. Then I
flung myself on the ground, and at last
awoke covered with blood, calling to the two
surgeons (who were frightened), Why did
you not kill me? Why would you not let
me die? Only think of it. To have felt
for that long dateless ecstasy of visin the
very God, in all purity and tendemess and
tmth and absolute love, and then to find
that I had after all had no revelation, but
that I had been tricked by the abnormal excitement of my brain.X
The Scope of Tradition
To what extent should tradition be a factor
in our lives? This question should be con
sidered seriously by every thinking indi
vidual. Tradition is an influence in the life
of everyone whether or not it is readily
acknowledged. Many of the things which
we do more or less habitually are based upon
tradition. We accept certain ways and means
of accomplishing desird ends and find that
tradition is a helpful key to the methods or
procedures by which we carry out a plan
of action.
To a certain extent in this modern world,
there is an emphasis by some upon the defy-

JUNE, 1957

ing of tradition. In many cases the individ

ual who claims to be in favor of defying all
tradition is more or less an exhibitionist;
that is, some individuis cali attention to
themselves merely by doing things differently from other people. They really do not
have a constructive end in view. They simply believe that by defying the procedures
which society accepts, they will stand out
in society; and therefore, in their own mind,
this action gives them more importance than
if they were going along with the crowd.
There are times, of course, when going along
with the crowd is an error; that is, tradition
at times must be defied. In many cases his
tory has proved that the individual who had
the courage to defy tradition was able to
accomplish ends that would not have been
possible had the individual abided by all the
forms of tradition existing in the society of
which he was a part.
Tradition, like so many other things, can
be an aid or a hindrance, depending upon
our attitude taken toward the circumstances
in volved. Actually, tradition should be considered as a thread of continuity upon which
we can base the standards of our actions.
Tradition considered in this sense acts as a
form of stability for the individual to have
something upon which to stand. One does
not have to defy or comply with tradition
completely; that is, it can be a guiding forc
or a means by which an individual can
modify circumstances that will still fit in
with the spirit of tradition and yet make it
possible for that individual to carry out those
activities and purposes which are construc
tive and worth while.
Tradition should always be taken into con
sideration with environment; that is, there
are circumstances that change the effect of
tradition upon a situation of the moment.
For example, in the Rosicrucian Order, there
are traditions being maintained in our rituals
and teachings. These traditions have devel
oped during the course of the history of the
Order. They are the landmarks upon which
the organization stands, but probably in the
early temples, wherever they may have been,
there were procedures and activities done
slightly different from what is the policy
today.
Many years ago there were no electric
lights. Today we use those lights in the Su
preme Temple to make possible the creation

PAG E 127

of the environment suitable to the Rosicru

cian convocation. The lighting of the Su
preme Temple and of temples of Lodges and
Chapters throughout the world makes pos
sible effects that are impressive and that appeal to the aesthetic sense of the individual.
In the use of the relatively modern applica
tion of electricity toward various forms of
illumination, we re enlarging upon tradi
tion; that is, we are calling upon the mechanical aids that are readily accessible to us to
make the environment of the Temple even
more conducive to the purpose that is to be
accomplished in the work and worship that
takes place in that Temple.
There is no disrespect of tradition in the
use of these modern aids to carry out the
ends and purposes that we have in mind.
In other words, the individual who would
say the Temples of our Order should not use
these modern means of illumination, or the
sound system for the reproduction of music,
would certainly not be working for the best
interests of an organization or its members.
Such attitude would be depriving the indi
vidual of those mechanical means which help
impress the traditional factors of the Order
through its rituals and teachings upon the
mind of the participants in the convocations
that are conducted in Rosicrucian Temples.
One of the most important factors of tradi
tion in connection with AMORC is that it
establishes the continuity which makes the
organization a living thing yesterday, today,
and tomorrow. When we participate in a
Convocation such as the annual New Years
observance, for example, we are taking part
in an activity that has grown with the Order,
that has become an established custom; it is
a procedure that makes it possible for the
individual to relate himself to other Rosi
crucian members of the past and present,
and at the same time it serves as a bridge,
so to speak, for those who will come in the
future.
Man needs a time in his life to pause and
to reconsider his own situation. It is at these
times that he takes inventory of his own advancement and of his own aims and aspirations. The annual observances, such as the
New Year Festival which is traditionally a
part of our structure, is one of these times.
In the participation of those activities which
go to compose the ritual that makes an
annual observance a definite procedure, we

PAG E 128

have the opportunity to renew our own

devotion to a principie which has been found
to be practical, useful, and inspiring to in
dividuis in many eras of time and in many
places.
The philosophy that underlies the Rosicru
cian teachings has been found extremely
flexible; that is, it can be applied to the life
of an individual today in whatever status
he may live. He uses the principies because
he develops the true vales of his own na
ture. The fundamental philosophy of the
Rosicrucian teachings is to extend the proper
dignity of position and valu to the inner
self, to the development of that self, of the
soul, if we wish to use that term. The self then
may take its place not only in our present
economic and social environment, but in the
Cosmic scheme of which we are a part, and
where our relationship is of more importance
than is our physical relationship to the
physical environment.
A philosophy which makes it possible for
any individual so inclined to tum his attention to these vales which are permanent
and eteraal, rather than transient and temporary, is conducive to the well-being of that
individual. It places the individual in a
position to live in such a way that his primary effort is related to the preparation of
himself for a life which supersedes the life
that exists in terms of the physical world.
There are various kinds of vales with
which the individual must deal. There are
the vales which have to do with his prvate
life, with his family and his friends. There
are economic vales in the accumulation of
possessions and property which make it pos
sible for the individual to live with a reasonable degree of adjustment to his surroundings. The highest vales are those which are
not related in any way to persons and things
of the environment with which we associate
ourselves as physical beings.
The physical world is transitory, and it is
only logical that the individual who is using
his ability to think is using this transitory
world as a step or a ladder that will prepare
him for a life of more importance, or which
transcends any phase of life of which we
can be aware within the limitations of a
physical world or a material existence.
Therefore, we draw upon all factors which
will make it possible for us to utilize that
philosophy in our advancement as individ

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

ual entities. We are using the landmarks

established in the past. We respect the traditions that exist, because they are the product
of the experience of those individuis who
have gone before and who have found that
the principies maintained by tradition were
steppingstones, points of advancement to
ward the ends that we want to accomplish.
Regardless of the progress of the modem
world, the individual of one hundred, five
hundred, or a thousand or more years ago,
who looked seriously at his relationship to
God and the Cosmic, was trying to adjust
himself to the realization and utilization of
higher vales that would put him in proper
relationship with the Cosmic, of which he is
a part. Therefore, to respect those traditions
that have been established as a result of the
efforts of other individuis is to respect the
time-honored principies that will be con
ducive to our own advancement. At the
same time, if we are intelligent entities,
sincerely desirous of improving our own
status and that of others about us, we will
never cease to draw upon those aids and
advantages which can be applied in addition
to accumulated tradition, and to do our part
in enlarging or creating further traditions
that will be of aid and benefit to those in
dividuis who follow.A
Headlines in Your Life
How recently have you seen a newspaper
without headlines? I mean by headlines the
large black type that usually reads across
the top of the page from left to right. With
a few notable exceptions almost every news
paper today carries these large black letter
words at the top of every edition issued
throughout the day. When we consider the
number of newspapers issued in the civilized
world, we realize that there are many head
lines. If you live in a large city in America,
you will see headlines on a number of competing newspapers, and frequently all of
these headlines are different. To read such
papers might lead you to believe that a num
ber of events which constituted a crisis had
occurred simultaneously. These headlines attract attention. They are the banner head
lines that help the sale of the publication.
A little analysis will cause a thinking person to realize the artificiality of many head
lines. Obviously, when an event of momen-

JUNE, 1957

tous interest or forc takes place, a headline

may be warranted, but did you ever stop to
think how daily headlines are selected? Is
there a crisis in the world at every moment
of our waking life? Probably this statement might be true if applied to the life
of certain individuis. Actually, can you
visualize the editor of a newspaper looking
over a number of news items that he believes worthy of making front-page stories,
trying to determine which ones to put in
headlines? The question for the reader to
consider is, does the story put in headlines
warrant the space and attention given to it,
or was it chosen merely as a necessity to
give some story more importance? Was the
editor of the paper in selecting that particular
story as a headline item merely fulfilling
the need of the edition going to press at that
time?
The point of these comments concerns the
headlines in your own life. If you have
made your own headlines by depending upon
the daily newspaper, you are having a very
complex view of the world and the people
in it today. I do not overlook the fact that
we live in a complex world, but is it not
complex enough without exaggerating it? In
other words, why should the public have
headlines forced upon it every day even in
our present world where social, economic,
political, and other types of news are being
made fast.
Is it essential for our own well-being and
for the welfare of humanity that in our daily
newspaper we should constantly be faced
with headlines that seem to exaggerate and
to bring out of focus the events that may
have taken place since the last edition of
the newspaper was published? This constant
exaggeration of people and events should lead
us to consider from time to time just how
we should react to the presentation of the
daily news.
We take great pride in that the free world
offers a free press to the readers of news
publications. But is a press completely free
when the reader may be influenced to select
those items which the publication or its
editor chooses to place in exaggerated form?
Frequently these headlines apply to condi
tions or situations which have a tremendous
emotional impact upon certain individuis.
Some of these events could well be made

PAG E 129

less conspicuous than to be exaggerated in

the position of headlines of the publication.
There are events in the life of every in
dividual that are headlines to him. The tuming points in life, the results of great decisions, the circumstances that surround tragedy, the events that cause life to change or
be better are headlines in our own lives. We
can date the habits that we have developed,
and the general course of our own life by
certain tuming points that were to us in a
position equivalent to a headline. Actually,
we do not live or at least we should not live
constantly in a state of extreme tensin
created by having our attention directed to
one crisis after another. We should not al
ways need as a motivating factor the mpetus
of a strikingly emotional appeal to cause us
to reglate our lives from day .to day. Many
of the less complicated events of life, in time,
become the most important.
Most of us cannot remember the head
lines of a year ago, or even a month ago,
unless they concemed some outstanding
event of world-wide consequence. Yet, if we
would look back through the files of the
newspapers, we would find that almost all
of them carried a large headline every day.
The events that made headlines a month ago,
six months ago, a year ago, or five years ago,
or even more, probably influence our life
very little today. The same comparison is
true for us in our individual existence. Events
that concerned us a few days past may not
be so important as they were then, and
conditions which seemed to indicate a crisis
a year ago have either been solved or we
have learned to live with them. Even from
the most distressing circumstances there
seems to come some type of a conclusin.
We reach a position where we have to adjust, correct, or live with certain conditions.
In the book Unto Thee I Grant there is a
paragraph that illustrates this point, it reads
Pain that endureth long, is moderate; blush
therefore to complain of it: that which is
violent, is short: behold thou seest the end
of it. It might be well for everyone of us
to think of the problems that are ours today
and realize that in the past we have had
probably equally as difficult problems. These
problems .that face us at the moment are like
a headline that we see across the top of the
evening paper as we walk home or go about

PAGE 130

our business after concluding our working

day. They stand out in front. We seem to
be unable to avoid them.
A problem that is ours is constantly irritating us by being ever in consciousness, and
the question as to its solution is constantly
irritating us and probably affecting everything that we do. If we realize that similar
problems have existed before, that we have
had those irritating moments in the past and
yet cannot now even remember what some
of the problems were, we recognize that
many of the circumstances of our day-today existence are of no more permanent
significance than the headlines of the news
paper that we may have read today or will
read tomorrow.
Every individual has to learn to properly
evalate events as they take place. These
events may have very significant meaning
to us as individuis, but our exaggerating
them will not help us. To exaggerate a prob
lem is to emphasize it. Sometimes a problem
can best be solved by devoting a certain
amount of time to concentrating upon it in
its solution and then attempting to leave it
alone.
To work constantly upon a problem causes
it to grow; we cultiva te it. We bring in
extraneous factors that tend to exaggerate the
circumstances and actually make its ultimate
solution further removed or more difficult
just as the headlines in the newspaper may
be an exaggeration of a situation that need
not necessarily monopolize our consciousness.
So may our own problems be the result of
our own headlining of situations that need
our conscientious concentration and meditation rather than continuous concern. Remem
ber the real headlines in your life are
momentous occasions that you can easily
distinguish. Do not try to make every event
and every situation that occurs in your dayto-day existence have the proportions of a
headline.A
Immortality and Belief
Men have asked, through the centuries,
What is immortality? It is not my purpose
here to analyze the answers to this question.
To the Rosicrucian, the answer is that im
mortality is now. It is lifelife in its most
expansive sense; that is, the forc that makes
life is a forc which we relate to the Divinity,

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

and consequently it is an existent forc that

goes on through all time. We cannot under
stand in our finite knowledge all the implications that this apparently simple explanation
of immortality brings to us. We cannot grasp
exactly what it means to conceive of a forc
that always has been and will be.
However, as has been reiterated so many
times and in so many places, we should, as
intelligent entities, realize that if there is
one factor of which man can be aware, that
is permanent and enduring regardless of the
changes that may take place as to our con
sciousness, then that factor must be, and
obviously is, related to the one forc, power,
or entity that has permanent and continuing
endurance. It should be our purpose and
object to learn how we can become aware of
the importance of this factor and how we
can live our lives so that we will be placing
primary emphasis upon the valu that will
be related to such a forc or factor.
There are so many things that have been
written, discussed, and presented upon the
subject of immortality that a re view of all
of them would be of little valu. From the
time that man has been a thinking being,
he has shown tendencies to direct a great
deal of his thought toward a future life,
consequently much religin and philosophy
have been built around the question of im
mortality.
In the Western world, the three great re
ligions place different interpretations and
stresses of importance upon this immortality,
but, generally speaking, the Western concept
of immortality is that life survives beyond
the time when the problems and difficulties
of this earthly existence are over. The con
cept is that certain forms, beliefs, and ac
tivities should be complied with as an assurance that the immortality, or the phase
of immortality that follows this earthly life,
will be worth while, and, in many cases,
enjoyable.
Oddly enough, this concept of relating enjoyment with immortality tends to limit it
to a more or less physical level. The religions
that hold out the existence of a heaven for
those who comply with the requirements of
the religin usually picture that heaven as
being similar to a physical existence, except
that there will be none of the drawbacks of
physical living; there will be no pain, for
example. No such difficulties as we are usual-

JUNE, 1957

ly accustomed to in the material world will

be experienced.
I am not going to question the validity
of such thinking. We have no way, actually,
of proving whether or not these ideas are
true, a part of the truth, or merely wishful
thinking as to the individual. What is more
important is to remember that immortality
is not a state in time. It is a state of continuance, a state of living, and wherever it
may take us, or whatever its surrounding
circumstances may be and our relationship
to them, our situation to which we have to
adjust, become a part of, will be a condition
already established whether or not it conforms to our preconceived concept.
Unfortunately, one of the by-products of
mans religious interpretation of immortality,
including, to a certain extent, his philosophical considerations of it, has led to some misconceptions and ideas which are not neces
sarily conducive to the highest vales in life.
If life is a continuing entity, then man is not
in a position to judge just how that continuation will take place. Neither is he in
a position to know which manifestations of
life, as we are aware of them in individual
segments, will exist and under what cir
cumstances.
Probably, insofar as my interpretation of
the subject is concemed, one of the most
inconsistent concepts related to immortality
is that life, regardless of its manifestation,
is not taken into consideration by the aver
age religious belief in immortality. In terms
of most Western religions, the concept of
immortality concerns human beings. I may
be wrong, but, to my knowledge, there is
little information given as to what becomes
of animal life, of plant life, and life as a
whole as it manifests in our environment,
which literally teems with life. Is the life
of an animal to be considered as ending with
the ending of existence of its physical being?
If an animal grows od and dies because of
the natural processes of physiology, and the
biological concepts which we understand to
be related to physical life, does it mean that
just because the segment of life had manifested in animal form rather than a human
form that its life must cease to exist?
Actually, from a physical and physiological standpoint, man is also an animal. There
is no reason to believe that the segment of
life that manifests in me so as to make me

PAG E 131

a living being is in its fundamental nature

any different from that which exists in a
horse, a dog, a bird, or even an antthat is,
the life itself must be the same. Similar
physiological processes take place in all liv
ing forms, but religin, even though its pur
pose is that of relationship to God, seems to
be quite silent upon what will happen to
these individual manifestations of life that
for convenience we classify as the animal
world.
Another factor that religin does not seem
to take into consideration is to think of the
number of individual manifestations of life
that have existed on this planet since it first
began. To conceive of all those individual
entities of life as existent at some time and
place manifesting all at once is a concept
that goes beyond the ability of the human
mind to conceive.
Hypothetically, imagine a place in which
every living thing that has ever existed on
the face of the earth, and which has, from
the physical standpoint, diedor, as we say,
passed through transitionimagine all those
manifestations of life existent at this moment
in one place and existing in a way parallel
to that which we exist here on earth. Yet
that is more or less the concept that religin
gives to immortality. How is man going to
re-relate himself to all those life entities of
which he may have been aware even in
the comparatively short scope of his own
lifetime?
The answer to that question is purely
academic, because actually it is unimportant
whether it is answered or not. The fact is
that the individual life that is ours is the
thing with which we are most concerned,
and, of course, the lives with which we have
been associated have created certain emotion
al reactions and attachments which have a
profound effect upon us and our thinking.
How all these will be gathered together into
any kind of functioning unity at any time
in the future is entirely beyond our conception.
Whether or not we can ever understand
as physical beings this state of immortality
is also a factor that is unimportant, because,
as we live, our different areas of awareness
seem to develop or grow with us. The child
does not have the same area of awareness
or the same concept and consciousness as the
adult; and we, as individuis, have only a

PAGE 132

glimpse of immortality and are unable to

relate all those factors which tend to reach
a point of culmination at some time or place.
The more important factor for us to con
sider is to learn to utilize the potentialities
we have, to put vales in the proper place,
and to the best of our ability, to live in such
manner that we will be satisfied to account
for our method and procedure of living,
whether it be here and now or tomorrow
and somewhere else. Then gradually, as we
go through the phases of life, a segment of
immortality, we will fit into those conditions
as they come about, and we will gradually,
step by step, realize the whole purpose of
which now we see only individual parts.
Immortality cannot be defined in terms
of belief in religious doctrine or man-made
philosophy. It can only be grasped by the
process of living it; that is, immortality is
to be learned through being immortal. No
other factor will explain all the questions
that arise in the mind of man, and he had
better devote himself toward that principie
of living, rather than to trying to explain
in terms of his present environment that
which he cannot understand.A
Intuition Distinguished From Desire
Two sorores address our Forum on related
subjects. One asks: In obeying hunches and
impulses, how may intuition be distin
guished from desire actions, and resultant
errors obviated? The other soror queries:
Do we not accept actual memories as being
intuition on occasion? Or are intuitive ideas
actually memoriesmemories of the soulpersonality of long ago or of this very life?
Admittedly, many impressions or ideas
arising in the mind and declared to be in
tuitive are forgotten incidents of memory.
Such ideas are also often engendered by de
sires which are subliminal. Because of their
unfamiliar nature, they are mistakenly attributed to the intuition. The intuition is
commonly related to the supematural, by
students of mysticism and esoterism. It is
conceived as a function of the Divine Mind,
if not the actual imparting of Cosmic wisdom
to man. What such believers conceive as
flowing from the intuition, they are wont
to accept as a spiritual or Cosmic revelation.
To accept the intuition in this sense without
further analysis is often to deceive oneself.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

It is reminiscent of those who were absolutely devoid of all knowledge of simple psy
chological principies and thus in the past
have attributed all such phenomena to super
na tural entities or gods. There are still those
who hold that dreams have a correspondence
to realities and to intelligences transcending
this world.
Let us attempt an understanding of this
subject by inquiring into the nature of socalled intuitive knowledge or impressions.
The former consists of those notions or ideas
which seem to flash into the consciousness
without volition and without the process of
reasoning. The knowledge is usually selfevident, complete, satisfying. Such are popularly called hunches. The source of this
gratifying object of knowledge is usually
quite mystifying. The mystery in connection
with it arises either from the fact that its
content is not associated with any recalled
train of thought or it filis a gap which prolonged reasoning has not been able to fill.
Intuitive impressions are in the first category. They are usually random ideation,
isolated ideas, which seem to come from
nowhere into the consciousness suddenly.
They may be in the form of a single word,
a phrase, or perhaps a visual image as a
scene. In themselves the words, the sentence,
or the scene may be intelligible. Its causal
connections, its relationships, however, appear unknown. In other words, why did the
thought arise? Why should one be thinking
of that without any previous consciously
associated ideas?
However, all that is attributed to intuition,
as we have said, is not worthy of that in
the highest sense of the word. Psychologically, it is an established principie that all we
perceive is not consciously experienced. There
are things seen or heard, for example, whose
impressions pass through into the subcon
scious without any awareness on our part.
Subsequently, such ideas may be released
into the conscious mind where they assume
a new and unfamiliar experience. Many of
these unconsciously recalled experiences are,
therefore, attributed to intuition. Current
experiences may have some particular sensa
tions which have an affinity and association
with the latent experience in the subcon
scious. They, figuratively, trigger the sub
liminal ideas, draw them to the fore of the
consciousness.

JUNE, 1957

Aimost everyone to some extent has repressed desires. There is a distinction be

tween suppression and repression which
must be understood. Suppression is a voluntary act; it is wilful, intentional. We are
conscious of what desires we suppress. Re
pression is an unconscious function. Urges
and inclinations of our ego, the self, which
may be natural to it, may be in conflict with
our beliefs and our moral standards, for ex
ample. As the Rosicrucian teachings have so
clearly pointed out, we have, by our decisions and opinions of right and wrong
and our conscious habits formed in relation
to them, come to establish an unconscious
law against their violation. This unconscious
law is the function of repression. It holds
back the desires.
To use a homely analogy, this repression
manifests like a fire which is being confined
to the attic of a home. Those living below
may not be aware of the fire in the attic
which the closed windows and the plastered
wall have confined to that area. Occasionally
a wisp of smoke enters below. The occupants
see it and know there is a fire but they are
not immediately aware of the source or how
it originated. So, too, eventually these repressed urges crash through the barrier into
the conscious mind. There they align them
selves with various sense impressions to become strange or unfamiliar ideas.
The ideas, in which these desires are even
tually clothed, do not usually have direct
correspondence to the latter; that is, they
may be quite unlike the desires in their na
ture. The ideas may be only symbolic of
their cause. Consequently only one who has
made an extensive study of such symbolism
may discera their connections. Even these
specialists often interpret the symbols wrongly. These images, prompted by the repressed desires, constitute much of what
many persons allude to as intuitive im
pressions.
From the mystical point of view there is
a latent Divine Intelligence inherent in man.
It is often referred to as the wisdom of the
soul. This mystical principie can be reconciled with certain biological and psychologi
cal facts. Life forc which vitalizes every
cell of the human organism has what may
be referred to as its consciousness and its
intelligence. It conforms to the inherent
necessity of its being, in doing what it has

PAG E 133

to do in such manner as to be called intelli

gence. This intelligence is harmoniously responsive to energies of which man is just
learning in his sciences. The mystic would
say that the life forc is sensitive to other
cosmic impulses in the spectrum of energies
of which it is a part. Furthermore, the
genes transmitted from parents to offspring
for untold generations implant their subtle
inclinations in this life forc.
Thus behind our conscious mind and in
herent in the instinctive impulses of life, and
its designated intelligence, is an a priori
judgment. This judgment does not consist
of particular ideas, however. It has no such
qualities as dimensions, colors, sounds or
tas tes. Rather it is but latent registered im
pressions. To use a further analogy, they
are like impressions that have been recorded
on a magnetic tape. In their latent state
such magnet impressions are not words or
music. But when the tape passes through
the proper electrical mechanism, the im
pressions are converted into intelligible
sounds. When, then, the latent impressions
of the life forc, the so-called instincts and
the memories of the genes, become stimulated or aroused, they exert an influence
upon our thoughts. This influence constitutes
a higher judgment, an unthinking process
which comes forth as intuitive ideas.
We refer to it as a higher judgment because our thoughts and the sensations which
they arouse, if they run counter to these in
herent and latent experiences, are often
modified by them. The intuitive impulse is
oftenthough not alwaysthe better judg
ment. It may be experienced, however, not
as an idea, as we have said, that is, a specific
communication, but as a mood or inclination.
One may have a feeling as a deterrent
toward something he wants to do. Again, it
may be a feeling of assurance that he should
proceed when objectively it would appear
more logical that he not do so.
A preponderance of the success of reliance
on intuition has given it that complimentary
reference of higher judgment. Of course, we,
as mystics, do think that these latent im
pulses and their relationship to cosmic im
pulses and their influence upon the thoughts
of an individual entities them to the desig
na tion of higher judgment.
As to exactly how one may distinguish
between these impressions from the sub-

PAGE 134

conscious, to be certain that they are of the

higher judgment or intuition, is difficult.
The only definite distinction is that truly
intuitive impressions, in the sense in which
we have discussed intuition, are those which
are illuminating and appear as self-evident.
They are also the ones which tend to bring
about a solution to perplexing problems over
which we may have labored and to bring,
as a result, deep emotional satisfaction. Those
impressions that arouse a sense of guilt, fear
and conflict are most likely from the source
of repressed desires.X
What Is Divine Love?
A frater now rises to address our Forum.
He asks: What is divine love? I under
stand, of course, that divine love is not the
same love as is manifested between two
people, such as mother and son. Because
God is not a personal condition, I also know
that Divine love cannot be like human affec
tion as experienced between two people. The
Church says God is love, and the Rosicru
cian monographs state that Love is the su
preme spiritual law. Is there not some other
word, term or phrase, which more closely
explains or defines to Rosicrucians the mys
tical law of which we speak?
In the human sense, love is the fulfillment
of a desire. There are various kinds of loves:
sexual love, the love of a child for his dog,
the love of a musician for the creations of
his art, the love of a religionist for his God.
Love is for all those particulars which will
gratify either a physical, mental, or psychic
desire. We all love what appears beautiful
to us because it is that which is pleasing to
us in some manner. Since our concept of
beauty changes, so too, our love of things
may vary. There is not, however, an im
personal or selfless love as religionists, poets,
and even mystics have often declared. What
we love, we love because, as said, it brings
some part of our being satisfaction. The
mother who loves her child is conforming
to the gratification of her personal, maternal
instinct. The love of man for his God is
likewise not impersonal. He is conscious of
a transcendental state, of a spiritual idea
which he has conceived. It affords him great
peace of mind and emotional satisfaction to
give vent to this exaltation through prayer
and otherwise.

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

What of Divine love? Do we mean by

that a kind of paternal love that God has for
humanity? Such would be anthropomorphic
in nature. It would be the conferring of
human qualities upon the Deity. The frater
who asks this question has definitely stated
that he does not consider Divine love to be
of this nature. In both the philosophical and
mystical sense, we must consider Divine
love as a grace, that is, a state or condition
of absolute Divine harmony which encompasses all things. That love which is of the
Divine is an inherent harmony. It is the
concord of which all things conceived to be
of the Divine consist. Since nothing can
actually fall outside of the scope of the
Divine insofar as its nature is concerned,
all is thus embraced by this Divine love.
Orthodox Christian theology holds that
men can fall from, or out of, gracethe
Divine love. Rosicrucianism, mysticism, and
metaphysics contend that such is not possible.
All things consist of the nature of the Di
vine, and since their very substance is in
conformity to the Divine law, no thing can
be separated from its very nature.
Man, however, is a highly developed or
ganism with a highly developed conscious
ness in comparison with other living things.
Consciousness in its states of realization,
that is, in itself, constitutes a reality. Con
sciousness is not a substance, rather, it is a
state or condition. As such a state or condi
tion, the human consciousness is either in
harmony with that upon which it depends
for its existence, or it is not. The conscious
ness of the human depends upon the physical
organism, the vital life forc in that being,
and also its responses to various impulses
that play upon it.
The human consciousness is capable of
experiencing an exalted tranquility, or har
mony, that comes from its response to the
Cosmic forces which act upon it. The lofty
consciousness of man is one, then, that de
sires to be aware of, to realize, its unity with
the Absolute of which it is a part. This lofty
consciousness is not content just to accept
the fact that the elements by which it exists
are of the Absolute or Divine. It also wants
to realize the greater harmony of that divine
unity. When it experiences such harmony
through prayer or meditation, or by what
ever means it is aroused, that, then, to the
lofty consciousness constitutes Divine Love.

JUNE, 1957

This lofty human consciousness is not actual

ly the recipient of a particular love extended
toward it. It is not the beloved, as theology
considers man, but rather this lofty con
sciousness is the lover.
When man relates that he has experienced
Divine love, he means that he has perceived
within his being the greater harmony of his
own nature with that of the Divine. This
ecstatic experience he then depicts as a par
ticular emanation to him. Actually, he dwells
in it all the time but he may not know this
until he becomes aware of the internal concord which it has produced within him. That
awareness, then, is what he calis Divine love.
We may use the homely analogy of one
who has been traveling for days on a large
ocean liner but who has for some reason
been confined to his stateroom. Finally, he
goes upon deck for the first time. There, the
whole majesty of the sea stretches out before
him. He is thrilled by the experience. He
has been continually upon the sea, since the
very beginning of his journey, but it was
only when he looked out upon the sea that
he carne to realize his true relationship to it.
The sea did not seek to impress him with
its existence. He could not escape it since
the actual vessel in which he was traveling
was afloat upon it. It was he who brought
the sea into his consciousness and thereby
acquired an awareness of its significance.
Divine love, then, is our realization of the
all-embracing nature of the Divine in our
own beings.X
Does Beauty Lie Within an Object?
A frater, now addressing our Forum, asks:
Does the beauty of the rose (or any other
object) lie within the rose; or does it just
exist within the mind of the viewer? Beauty
is psychological, not physical. Each quality
of our senses has its ideal. With the olfactory
sense, things are either fragrant, acrid, or
fetid. The taste sense has three qualities:
sweet, bitter, and salty. The visual sense
has color qualities and spatial dimensions.
Hearing has pitch and such variation of intensity as loud and soft. It is not difficult
for us to determine what is the preferred
quality of each of our senses. It is the one
that provides the most pleasing, the most
satisfying sensations. To man the beautiful
is that which is the most gratifying experi
ence. We generally refer to pleasing visual

PAG E 135

or auditory sensations as being beautiful.

There are other experiences which are likewise beautiful, but we designate them by
other ames, as fragrant, harmonious, and
the like.
A beautiful visual object is one of which
the symmetry of line and contour and the
colors are pleasing to our sight. Let us take
the rose which the frater has mentioned.
Neither its color or its fragrance, which
contribute to the concept of its beauty, ac
tually exist as qualities within it. The sub
stance of a red rose is of a nature that filters
out all other wave lengths of the visual
spectrum of sunlight that fall upon it except
one, the vibrations of the wave length of red.
These wave lengths then reach the retina of
the eye and are thence conveyed to the brain
where, as sensations, they are interpreted as
the color red. The rose in its chemical
structure gives off from its oils vibrations
which, upon reaching the nose, excite the
olfactory sense and are realized as fragrant.
It is a common experience that a colorblind person might not perceive the red rose
as being red. Perhaps to him it might be a
shade of blue or even gray. A person who
has had an injury to his nose or who has a
severe coid will not be able to perceive the
odor of the rose as fragrant. In fact, it might
even be unpleasant to him. This is an indication that concepts of beauty are relevant to
our senses and their receptor organs.
We must not overlook the fact of environmental influences, such as social customs,
in their affecting our ideis of beauty. Writers on anthropology and primitive society,
as E. B. Tylor in Primitive Culture and
J. G. Frazer in The Golden Bough, reveal
the various types of feminine beauty among
such peoples. Elongated ears, stretched by
wearing heavy earrings, extended necks, and
changes in the conformation of the skull
beginning with childhood, are good examples.
We know, too, that each race generally has
a tendency to admire its own physical types
as being outstanding. We have also established character and personality as representations of beauty. We think of a person who
has nobility of character and who displays
high moral standards, such as the traditional
virtues, as being beautiful in spirit.
What we are accustomed to, as certain
art and music standards, also tends to constitute our conception of beauty. Most truly

PAGE 136

Oriental musicnot the Western versin of

itis not acceptable to the Occidental. It
may sound shrill and inharmonious to him.
Likewise to the Oriental, the clothing, the
attire, of the Occidental, man or woman,
may seem very plebian, not having sufficient
grandeur to be called beautiful. These ideas
of the beautiful are not always a matter of
variation in the sense organs or even of
culture. They may be due to the basic
personality, the emotional and psychic na
ture of the individual. To some individuis
intensity in anything, color, scents or sounds,
is offensive and, therefore ugly. Conversely,
that which is more subtle and appeals to the
sentiments, imagination and the higher emo
tional self, the so-called aesthetic nature, is
acclaimed as beautiful. This difference is
easily noticed in the selection by people of
their clothing, jewelry, furniture, the architectural design of their homes and even the
type of car they may purchase.
Those things which principally appeal di
rectly to the appetites, and thus fail within
the category of the beautiful or equivalent
terms, are usually of a cruder nature. That
which appeals to the lofty planes of con
sciousness, to the more delicate sense of
vales, requires more artistic skill to produce.
As man cultivates his mind and his faculties
of imagination, perception, will, reason, and
idealism, his objects of beauty are more intricate, his sense of harmony becomes more
complex. He sees beauty in many things
and in combinations which may be lost en
tirely upon a less cultured person.
It is often said that real beauty is found
in simple things. That is true only so far
as the particular nature of the object is con
cerned. But before such a simple thing as,
for example, a seashell, may be conceived
as beautiful, there must exist in the mind
an ideal which may be complex. The mind
must find in the seashell, in its delicate
configurations and pastel colors, some sympathetic response to inner feelings of har
mony, of proportion, and color, and a
relationship to many other psychic feelings
difficult to express.
The evaluation of life begins within our
own consciousness. To a great extent we
label our experiences as being either worthy
or unworthy. It is still appropriate to say,
therefore, that life is greatly what we make
it.X

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

What Are Vibrations?

We frequently use terminology without
an adequate comprehension of its meaning.
The word or term may be appropriately
associated with other words to imply some
general meaning, but by itself it might be
difficult to explain. We find, therefore, many
students of the esoteric using the word
vibrations though knowing little of the phe
nomenon. They use the word in connection
with philosophical, mystical, and esoteric
phenomena and presume that, therefore, it
has little relationship to its physical counterpart. Generally, vibrations have the same
meaning, no matter how applied, although
there can be various types of them.
We shall take a few moments to re view
some simple laws of physics. A broad defini
tion of vibration is that it is an oscillating
or underlying motion or pulsation. Conse
quently, vibration does not exist in itself
a point that mystical students must keep in
mind. If vibration is a kind of motion, it
patently must be a motion of something.
There is that which moves or vibrates. When,
for example, we pluck the string of a violin,
it gives forth a note, a sound. If we look
at the string while it is in motion, it appears
broader than when it is mtionless. We
realize then that it is oscillating back and
forth. It is pushing the air in a wavelike
motion, which finally reaches our ears.
Solids, liquids, and gases may serve as carriers of the vibrations of sound; that is, they
can so vibrate as to transmit their movement
to the air and thence to the ear. A solid, for
example, may also transmit its vibrations di
rectly to the ear by induction, if it touches
the mastoid bone of the ear, causing us to
have auditory sensations.
There is no sound in a vacuum, because
there is no air to become a mdium for the
vibrations. The speed of vibrations vares in
different substances. The vibrations, in other
words, are more easily transmitted as mo
tion in some substances than in others. Some
substances more easily retard than accelerate
a motion. For a homely analogy, a wooden
object can be thrown farther with the same
effort than could a pillow of the same size.
A comparison of the speed of sound in
various substances is shown by the following
examples. The numbers represent meters per
second.

JUNE, 1957

Air - 331
Hydrogen - 1286
Oxygen - 317
Water - 1487
Steel - 4700-5200 Sea Water - 1730
In water we can see the effect of vibrations, that is, their wavelike motion. We see
a series of crests and troughs. These give
an undulating appearance. The hollows or
troughs are called nodes; the peaks or crests
are known as loops or anti-nodes. The mo
tion is an up-and-down oscillation of the
water between the nodes. The distance from
one loop or crest to another is called the
wave length. The number of such waves
that pass any given fixed point in a second
determines the frequency of the vibrations.
If we fasten one end of a flexible tube,
like a rubber hose, to a hook in the wall and
hold the other end, and then move it in a
wavelike motion, we produce what are called
longitudinal waves. The disturbed particles
of the hose move along from the end held
in our hand toward the one fastened to the
wall. Water waves are both longitudinal
and transverse. A coiled spring produces
longitudinal waves. If we depress one of the
coils and then release it, we then see that
that coil depresses the next one to it and
that in turn still another, and so on, the
disturbance traveling longitudinally along
the spring.
Vibrations travel well through many
solids. Let us suspend a small steel rod and
rub it with a cloth dusted with rosin. This
induces vibrations (a kind of motion) which
are transmitted along the steel rod. Proof
of this is had by holding against One end
of the steel rod a small ivory ball suspended
on a string like a pendulum. The vibrations
from the rod cause the ivory ball to oscillate,
to rebound from the rod.
There are what is commonly known in
the physics of sound as sympathetic vibra
tions or resonance. Let us set up two tuning
forks of the same frequency (the same num
ber of vibrations per second). The forks
may be separated by several inches. If we
then strike one fork a vigorous blow with a
small hard rubber hammer or even with a
pencil, causing it to vibrate, we will observe
in fact, hearthe other fork vibrating in
resonance or in harmony with it. This demonstrates the mystical principie of harmonious attunement between two persons who are
in the same state of consciousness.

PAG E 137

Down through the centuries there have

been various theories as to the actual nature
of that energy known as light. At one time
the corpuscular theory of light prevailed.
Simply, this means that light was conceived
as little corpuscles that were shot in streamlike bullets. The prevailing theory today is
that the phenomenon of light is wavelike.
Its vibrations are said to travel transversely.
It has its wave lengths and frequency as explained previously. The quantum theory of
energy constitutes, we may say, a combination of the corpuscular idea and that of
waves. According to this concept, each
particle or unit of energy radiates in conformity to the wave theory.
A frater has asked about the vibratory
rates of particular substances such as oil,
food, and even man himself. Such objects
are compounds, being composed of many
chemical elements. Their atoms vibrate individually to different frequencies and unite
as molecules to have a composite or partic
ular vibratory rate. Such vibrations, like
those of light, are electromagnetic. They are
far different from the vibrations or oscillations of sound, for example. They undoubtedly have, as we Rosicrucians teachin fact,
they must havean aura, a subtle emanation
of their combined vibratory nature. Once
the vibratory number of that particular
thing or substance is known, then that becomes its true identity. However, though
in principie we know that this is so, in a
physical way it is difficult as yet to determine
this particular aura of substances. Galvanometers are sensitive instruments for measuring
very delicate electrical currents but as yet
science has not devised one capable of determining the minute frequency of the energy
of various substances so as to give them a
vibratory identity.
As for the human being, the Rosicrucian
teachings make it quite plain that man is a
composite of the chemical elements of his
body on the one hand and, on the other,
those of the vital life forc which animates
the body. This means that he is predominantly negative so far as the polarity of the
vibrations of the chemical elements of his
body are concemed. He is predominantly
positive in the polarity of the vibrations of
the vital life forc which animates the body.
These two polarities combine to comprise a
mean auraby that we mean an average

PAGE 138

of either negative or positive polarities of

an extremely high frequency of vibra tion.
Sometimes this average may be predominantly negative, if one is extremely objective,
that is, if one heeds little the higher or more
positive aspects of the life forc within him.
At other times, when one seeks to suppress
the physical and devote himself to medita
tion and to his subliminal self, the aura is
more positive in its polarity.
If as yet there are no instruments to measure the human aura in terms of specific
vibrations, how do we know it exists? As
stated in our Rosicrucian teachings in certain
of the higher degrees, man perceives the
aura not objectively but psychically. The
word psychic in this sense is not a vague
or mysterious term. Man has a built-in
mechanism by nature in the form of his
subconscious mind, the psychic aspect of his
being. This, with the sympathetic nervous
system and the psychic glands, detects such
vibrations. These in turn cause sensations to
which man responds and by which he realizes the human aura. For analogy, no man
has ever seen an emotion as a combination
of sensations. Men can measure only physically their reactions to emotions. Yet the
human organism, as we all know, can respond to and sense emotions. Therefore, we
know that such phenomena do exist.
As a further analogy, for untold centuries,
man could respond to the phenomenon of
light with his organs of seeing (the eyes)
before he had any instruments for measuring
it. Yet even without these instruments men
did not doubt that light exists. So, too, there
will be a time when the specific vibrations
of composite things will be charted in mathematical tables, though this is still in the
science-fiction stage.X
Illness and Thought
A soror in Caada now rises and asks our
Forum: I realize that the Rosicrucian Order,
long before modern medicine began the use
of the term psychosomatic in connection with
symptoms, was teaching this interplay be
tween body and mind. However, my ques
tion is, Where does one draw the line? I re
fer to individuis who believe that every ailment a Rosicrucian may be prey to is the
result or consequence of wrong thinking.
The Rosicrucians have long referred to the

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

psychic body and mind. They do not mean

by this an actual body or substance. Rather,
to them it connotes a state of consciousness
which transcends or lies beyond the objective
consciousness. They hold that this psychic
mind and consciousness has its organization
and its nervous system. In other words, it
functions more directly through the autonomous and sympathetic nervous systems
and thus is quite responsive to cosmic forces.
There is a certain parallelism, the Rosicru
cian teachings state, between these two, the
physical and psychic bodies. We may refer
to the psychic body as the subconscious and
emotional self of man, if you will. What
impresses itself upon either of the two reacts upon the other. There is a transference
of sensations from the psychic body or self
to that of the physical organism.
Likewise, our thinking and behavior can
set up a detrimental reaction in the emotional
and psychic self. Fear, anxiety, tensin,
frustration, these can and do establish psy
chic conditions which produce certain diseases, through the nervous systems connecting
the organisms.
The Rosicrucians have held that this psy
chic body, in its energy, is positive in polari
ty, in contrast to that of the physical
organism whose material substance is predominantly negative. The Rosicrucian teach
ings also postlate in detail that there is a
closer harmony between the psychic body
and all the other universal or cosmic forces
than there is between the latter and the
physical body. It is through the psychic self
that all mystical exercises and demonstrations must be conducted. Simply put, the
psychic body is more contiguous to the Di
vine than are the other aspects of mans dual
nature.
It is often asked, if mans psychic body is
more attuned with the cosmic, how can any
disturbances or inharmonies be engendered
in it by our physical self and our thoughts.
Actually we do not corrupt or alter our
psychic body by our thought. What we do
at times is to interfere with its harmonious
relationship to our physical selves. Allow me
to present an analogy to further explain this
point. When an automobile motor is out
of tune, this does not necessarily mean that
any of its components or specific parts are
in themselves destroyed or ineffective. It
means that their integration or functioning

JUNE, >957

in unity has in some manner been interfered

with.
Though our psychic minds can react unfavorably upon our physical organism, due
to our thinking and consequent behavior
which constitutes a psychosomatic condition,
this does not mean that every ailment is from
that cause. A digestive disorder, for example,
can occur from excessive eating of rich and
spicy foods. Only in the most extreme sense
could this be called a psychosomatic condi
tion. One might arge that lack of forethought in ones diet, resulting in arousing
the intelligence of the life forc to rebel
against such foods and causing the digestive
organs to function irregularly, is psychoso
matic. From an exaggerated point of view,
of course, this is true. But, frankly, such a
digestive disorder is not one of the mental
life or thought so much as it is a lack of
thought.
Let us look at psychosomatic relations in
terms of cause and effect. Primarily the
psychic cause of an ailment is an emotional
disturbance, a nervous disorder which reacts,
through the sympathetic and spinal nervous
systems, upon various organs, resulting in
physical inharmony. The psychic cause may
also result in a mental aberration at times
without any corresponding physical illness.
Generally speaking, the psychic cause is a
secondary one. It begins by mental or physi
cal inharmony which, as said, is a transference of that condition to the psychic. Ex
cessive worry, for example, is a mental cause
of illness. It eventually is transferred as a
disturbing condition to the subconscious,
from which a neurosis may develop. This
then becomes the secondary and active cause
of the illness which is finally realized as an
effect.
Many of our illnesses are due directly to
behavior and to physical causes, and the
psychic effects are minor. If one excessively
exposes himself to the sun, is severely burned
and develops a toxic condition, the result is
most certainly not due to any psychosomatic
relation. For further analogy, if one for any
reason neglects his sleep and depletes his
energy and incurs illness because of it, the
primary cause of his inharmony is objective.
Also if one exposes himself, without due
precaution, to communicable diseases, again
the cause of the illness that he may contract
is purely somatic, not psychical.

PAG E 139

Likewise cures cannot be made by thought

alone. Certainly to a degree right thought
in stimulating the psychical regenerative
powers is necessary. But any therapeutic
system which opposes methods of treatment
other than that of holding the thought (a
trite term) is inadvisable and irrational. One
cannot vilate the laws of hygiene and
health, abuse his body with indifference, and
presume that by his repeating daily to him
self the affirmation I am healthy, he will
actually remain so. The body is subject to
physical and material elements and forces
of which it is composed. They, too, must be
considerednot just the psychic nature of
man. As Rosicrucians, we know that man
is dual in function. Consequently, both as
pects of this duality must be intelligently
and conscientiously considered in the prob
lem of health.X
This Issues Personality

Environmental conditions, such as the

Great Depression of the 20s, combined with
natural inclinations toward philosophical and
mystical pursuits led Grand Councilor Harold P. Stevens to the threshold of AMORC.
Born in Chicago May 16, 1903, Frater
Stevens completed his elementary and sec
ondary education in public schools of that
area. He entered Oberlin College where he
chose chemistry as his major. After two
years, he found himself without funds. He
considered that he was at the crossroads of
his life and felt uncertain as to how to proceed. He decided to enter upon a five-year
plan of financial and intellectual orientation. During this period, he entered into
various kinds of employment in Chicago,
Florida, and elsewhere.
In 1928, he resumed his education by enrolling in the University of California, and
majored in physics and mathematics. Economically, it was necessary that he support
himself by part-time work for the University.
He graduated in 1931, the depth of the eco
nomic depression in the United States. In
dustries offered him no opportunity at that
time, notwithstanding his specialized train
ing. Frater Stevens retumed to the Univer
sity .taking post gradate courses and what
ever employment the University could offer
him. His income was exceedingly meager;

PAGE 140

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FORUM

at times hardly sufficient for bare necessities.

However, his time was well spent in meditating upon the vicissitudes of life.
The door of good fortune suddenly opened
in 1934 and several offers were made to
Frater Stevens. He chose, however, to return
to Chicago and to work in the research laboratories of the American Can Company.
His work was highly technical in the physi
cal fields of heat, electricity, and the mathematical treatment of same.
Another side of Frater Stevenss life was
strongly asserting itself. When he was but a
lad of twelve, he discovered that he had the
faculty of mentally controlling many of his
body functions, such as reaction to extemal
stimuli. This phenomenon fascinated him
and he pondered over it, as well as using
it to his advantage. At fourteen years of
age, Frater Stevens had an illumination that
left a deep emotional impact upon him. It
constituted an enlarged view of the purpose
of life. He felt that every individual has
something that he must contribute to the
welfare of mankind. He was determined to
know just what his particular Cosmic obliga
tion was. In college he had taken additional
courses in philosophy and psychology. He
now began to pursue reading in comparative
religions.
Diligence in his work resulted in numerous promotions for Frater Stevens. He eventually was chosen by his company to organize and operate a laboratory in Caada.

e m

e m

He was appointed manager of its technical

research department. In the interim, he had
come across the Rosicrucian Digest which he
read with interest. He wrote for literature,
but for some reason never received it. He
became affiliated with the Anglo-Catholic
Church. The priest assiduously instructed
Frater Stevens in mystical principieslater
he learned that the priest was a member
of AMORC. Finally, Frater Stevens Crossed
the Threshold of the Rosicrucian Order in
December 1951. He subsequently became a
member of the AMORC Hamilton Chapter,
in Caada, and served in various capacities
in that body. In 1954, he was honored by
an election to the office of Grand Councilor
of AMORC for Eastem Caada.
Frater Stevens work requires him to trav
el extensively, speaking before many tech
nical bodies. This particularly affords him
the opportunity to address many Lodges,
Chapters, and Pronaoi of AMORCboth in
Caada and the United States. His counsel
and discourses are always of great benefit to
Rosicrucians.
Frater Stevens has a Rosicrucian family.
He is proud of the fact that Soror Stevens is
a companion member. His daughter is a
Colombe and his son lames a member. Whenever Frater Stevens has been asked to perform some service in his capacity as a Grand
Councilor, even where personal sacrifice was
entailed, he has done so most promptly and
efficiently.X

b e r

t h e

ROSICRMAN COPENTIOHI
. l u l a

t h r o u g h

1 2 ,

1 9 5 7

JUNE, 1957

PAGE 141

INDEX OF VOLUME XXVII (Comprising the entire Six Issues of the 27th Year)

NOTEThe 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.

Abbots, Preceptors, 71a-d

Absolute, 103b-105a, 134d
Adhesin, Cohesion, Magnetism, 116a-117c
Adversity, 19b-21a
Agatharchides, 108d-109b
A Glance at Fundamentis, 83d-87a
Ahriman, 94b-c
Akhnaton, 60c
Alchemists, 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
Animals? Should W e Risk Life For, 66d-68a
Anthropomorphic Experiences, 30d, Illa
Appeal, 60a (See also: Prayer)
Appearanees, Outward, 82b-83c
Applying the Laws, 107b-107d
A Practical Emotion, Love, 90c-92a
Approach to Health, Rosicrucian, 20c-22c
Aptitude, 4d-5a (See also: Talent)
Archives, 70d-71d
Are Persons Possessed of Evil? 94b-95d
, Are Sins Forgiven? 124a-125a
Are There Soul Mates? 92a-94b
Aristotle, 51c, 110c
Aspirations, 15a
Astronomic, Life of our Sun, 63b
Attunement, 76b-77a, 85c
Aura, lOOd-lOlb, 117b-c, 137d-138a

Babylonians, 30b
Beauty, 135b-136b
Being, 50a, 90d-92a
Belief, Immortality and, 130b-132a
Bible, 26d, 27a, 29a, 34b, 98a
Black Stone, 100c
Blackwell, H. C., 66c
Body, Psychic, 138c-d
Booklets:
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

Can Opposed Religions Coexist? 15a-16d

Cathedral, Contacting the, 107d-108a
Cathedral of the Soul, 107d-108a
Catholic (See: Romn Catholic)
Causation, 124a
Cause:
Adversity, 19d-20c
Cosmic, 65d
Dreams, 57a-58b
Illness, 138b-139c
Karmic, 123b-125a
Pain, 22b
Somatic 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, Adhesin, 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-4b
Consciousness, 3d, 7c-d, 32a-b, 55b-56c
Forc, 19b-c, 29b-c, 31c, 40c-42d, 134d
Laws, 44b, 50c, 65c-66a, 71c, 90c, 95d, 99a, 118d,
124d
Mind, 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 Forc, 11 d-13d
Creeds, Religious, 124b
Cross, 39d-40b
Cycle, Incarnation, 118a-119d

PAGE 142

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Darwin, Charles Robert, 54c

Death? Is There Awareness After, 30a-32b
Death, The Smell of, 76a-77b
Decalogue, 28d
Deductive Personality, 123a-d
Deists, 50a-51a
Deities (see Ormazd or Ahriman)
De la Jara, Armando Font, 43a-d
Democritus, 109b
Desire, Intuition Distinguished From, 132b-134a
Detailist, 123b-d
Development of Mind Power, The, 8d-13b
Devil, 94b-95a
Devolution, 64c
Devotion, 77c-78d
Dialects, 71b
Digest, Rosicrucian, 45c, 71a
Diocletian, Valerius, 110a
Diversity of Opinion, 32b-34a
Divine: 6b, 8d, 38a-c, 91 d (See also: Cosmic)
Essence, 103c-105a
Forc, lid
Laws, 44b, 50c, 65c-66a, 71c, 90c, 95d, 99a, 118d
Mind, 55b, 100a
Objective, 50c
Divine Intelligence, 133b
Divine, Terms for the, 55b-56d
Divinity, 130b
Does Beauty Lie Within an Object? 135b-136b
Does Hunting Create Karma? 34a-35c
Does Suppressing Facts Produce Karma? 64c-66a
Does the Cosmic Test Us? 18d-20c
Doing GoodWhat Is It? 28b-30a
Do Tranquilizers Produce Mystical States? 125b-126d
Do W e Stop Growing? 69d-70c
Dream World, Our, 56d-60a
Drugs, 125b-126d

Eckhart, Meister, 8b
Economy, 122a-123d
Edicts, 28d
Efficiency, 122a-123d
Ego, 3b
Egyptologists, 60c
Electromagnetism, 116d- 117c
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 38a,
Empathy, 34c
Empedocles, 110b
Energy (see Spirit)
Enlightenment, Intuitive, 4b
Equality And Hierarchy, 74a-76a
Esoterism, 132b
Essence? Is There a Secret, 103c-105 a
Ethics, 21b, 52a
Evil? Are Persons Possessed of, 94b-95d
Evolution, 35a-38b, 54b, 59b
Ewels, Lawrence H., 79c
Experiments That Fail, 112c-113d
Extensin Department, Rosicrucian, 69a
Extroversion, 61 d

Fabre, Pierre Jean, lile

Faith, 16b, 26a-28a
Faraday, Michael, 117a
Fate, 13b-c, 19a
Finite, 104d
Forc:
Cosmic, 19b-c, 29b-c, 31c, 40c-42d
Creative, lld-13d, 50b
Vital Life, 99b-d, 130b-c, 137d-138a
Forum, Rosicrucian, 3b, 39d, 52c, 59d, 98b, lOld, 103d

Francis Bacon Chapter, 63b, 79c

Frazer, J. G., 135d
Freedom of Religin, 15c-d
Freemasons, 15b
Freud, Sigmund, 87b
Fundamentalist, 26d-27a
Fundamentis (see Rosicrucian Teachings)
Fundamentis, A Glance at, 83d-87a

Geber, llO d-llld

Genesis, 98a
Gnosticism, 112a
Goal, Rosicrucian, 8c
God, 8b, 11c, 13a, 15d, 27b-c, 33a-b, 55b-56c, 124c-d,
126c-d, 131c, 134a-c
Gompas (see Lamaseries)
Good, 28b-30a
Great White Brotherhood, 71b-c
Gubbins, Harry L., 66a-66d
Photograph, 49

Habit Patterns, 1Od-103c

Hallowed Places on Earth, 100a-101d,
Hamilton Chapter, 140c
Harmonium, 21-22c, 134c
Headlines in Your Life, 128d-130b
Health, Rosicrucian Approach to, 20c-22c
Heart Trouble, 105a-107b
Help, You Can, 68a-69c
Hermes Lodge, 113d
Hierarchy, And Equality, 74a-76a
Himalayas, 70c-d
Holloway, Gilbert N., Sr., 113d
Homo Sapiens, 61 d, 74c
Hope, 27c-d
How Secret Should We Be? 43d-46a
Human Laws, The Cosmic Versus, 50a-52b
Hunches, 132b-c

Ideis, 13d-14b, 123c

Ideis and Their Application, 79d-82b
Illness and Thought, 138b-139c
Illumination, 15a, 56b
Images (see Psychic Impressions)
Immortality, 23b-d, 30a-31a, 57b, 130b-132a
Immortality and JSelief, 130b-132a
Incarnation Cycle, 118a-119d
Indic Philosophy (see Philosophy)
Inductive Personality, 123a-d
Infinite, 8b, 194d, 119b
Initiation, Rosicrucian, 5d-6a, 8b
Insane? Sane or, 114a-115d
Inspiration, Mltiple, 52b-55b
Intelligence and Mystical Enlightenment, 4a-5b
Introverts, 61 d
Intuition, 14c-d, 59a, 82d-83a, 86d, 132b-134a
Intuition Distinguished From Desire, 132b-134a
Is Childless Marriage Immoral? 22d-23d
Is Devotion To Detail Wrong? 122a-123d
Is Man a Spontaneous Creation? 98a-99d
Issues Personality, This, 16d-17c, 43a-43d, 66a-66d,
79a-d, 113b-114a
Is There a Secret Essence? 103c-105a
Is There Awareness After Death? 30a-32b

James, William, 126b

Jess, Master, 124a
Johannes Kelpius Lodge, 17b
Judaism, 94c
Jung, Cari Gustav, 87b

JUNE. 1957

PAG E 143

Kabalists, 39c-d
Kant, Immanuel, 4c, 38a
Karma, 34b-35c, 64c-66a, 75a, 117d, 124a-b
Karma? Does Hunting Create, 34a-35c
Kiimalehto, Thor, 43c
Knowledge, 4c, 19d

Lamaseries, 70c-71d
Law of Triangle, 88b
Laws, 52a-54b, 95d, 107b-c (See also: Cosmic)
Laws, Applying the, 107b-107d
Leibnitz, Gottfried Wilhelm, 4c
Lewis, H. Spencer, 17b, 41b-c, 43b-d, 107b, 107d,
113b, 115d, 118a
Lewis, Ralph M., 4a, 28a, 43c, 52b, 76a, 79c, 99d, 123d
Leyden Museum, 109a-b
Life, 130b-132a
Locke, John, 4c
Love, a Practical Emotion, 90c-92a
Love, Divine, 134a-135d
Loyalty, The Extent of, 77a-79a

Magic, lOOa-b
Magnetism, Adhesin, Cohesion, 116a-117c
Man:
Evolution of, 35a-38c, 98a-99d
Manual, Rosicrucian, 39d, 40c, 43d, 56a, 117b
Manuscripts, 70c-71d
Manuscripts, Tibetan, 70c-71d
Marriage? Is Childless Immoral, 22d-23d
Martinists, 39c
Masons (see Freemasons)
Master Jess, 124a
Mastery, 12b
Materialism, 37a, 87a
Materialist, 8d, 10c, 50c-51b
Meditation, 4b, 60a, 76d
Memphis, 56c
Mesmer, Friedrich Antn, 17b
Metaphysical, 85b-d, 90c
Mind, 8d-12c, 17d-18c, 41b-42d, 50b-c, 55b-d, 57d-58a,
76c, 87b-89b, 100a, 133c, 139a
Mind Power, The Development of, 8d-13b
Mind, Strange Phenomena of, 40d-42d
Mission in Life, Our, 13b-15a
Mithraism, 94c
Moore, Albert, 113b-114a
Moral, 3b, 124b
Wrong, 124b
Morality, 22d-23b, 28b-29d
Morse Code, 39b
Moslemism, 100c
Mltiple Inspiration, 52b-55b
Museum, Rosicrucian, 14d, 44c, 102a
Music Standards, 135d
Mystery Religions and Schools, 7c
Mystic Philosophy (see Philosophy)
Mystical Consciousness, 125d-126d
Mystical Enlightenment, Intelligence and, 4a-5b
Mystical States? Do Tranquilizers Produce, 125b-126d
Mysticism: 35a-38c, 86c-d, 101a, 132b
Rosicrucian Concept, 5b-8c
Mysticism, Rational, 5b-8d
Mysticism, The Unity of, 35c-38d

Natural Laws, 41c, 50a-52b

Naturalism, 10c
Nature of Unity, 17a-18d
Nature, Psychic, 139c
Neal, Leslie A., 79a-d

Neoplatonism, 112a
New Year Festival, 127d
Nous, lid , 38a-b

Obliga tions of Man, 13d-14c

Objective Consciousness, 138c
Od Testament, 29a, 94d, 98a
Olfactory Sense, 135b
Oneness, 30c-d
Opinin, Diversity of, 32b-34a
Ormazd, 94c
Our Dream World, 56d-60a
Our Mission in Life, 13b-15a
Our Sun, and Reincarnation, 63b-64c
Outward Appearanees, 82b-83c

Pantheist, 50b-c
Parapsychology, 42b
Persecution, (see Religin)
Personality, Creative, 123a-d
Pharaoh, 60c
Phenomena of Mind, Strange, 40d-42d
Philosophers Stone? What is the, 108b-112c
Philosophy: 4c, 34b, 35c-d, 70d
Rosicrucian, 5c-d, 9a, 10a, 11b, 17c, 21b, 70b-d,
82d, 84d-86b
Photographs:
Robert Wentworth, August
Ormando Font de la Jara, October
Harry L. Gubbins, December
Leslie A. Neal, February
Albert Moore, April
Harold P. Stevens, June
Physical Reactions to Prayer, 60a-61c
Plagiarism, 54a-b
Plato, 14b, 38a
Platonic Doctrine, 54d-55a
Population Change, The 144-Year Cycle and,
118a-119d
Power of Mind, 8d-12c, 41b-42d
Prayer, Physical Reactions to, 60a-61c
Preceptors (see Abbot)
Precepts, Moral, 29a-d
Prejudice, 32c-33b
Primates, 98a, 99a
Prince, Dr. Morton, 87b-89b
Progress, 84c
Projection:
Of mental energy, 41b-42d
Pronunciamentos, 101c
Psychiatry, 87b-89b
Psychic:
Body, 138c-d
Impressions, 76b-77b
Radiations, 101b
Psychology:
Contemporary, lOd, 31 d
Habit formation, lOld
Psychosomatic, 138b-139b
Ptah-Hotep, 29a

Quantum Theory, 137c

R
Rational Mysticism, 5b-8d
Reactions to Prayer, Physical, 60a-6le
Reincarnation and Our Sun, 63b-64c
Religin:
Faith in, 16b-d, 26b-d
Nobility, 68a
Persecution of, 15b-16a
Relation to Mysticism, 35c, 36b-d
Western, 130d-131b

PAGE 144

THE R O S IC R U C IA N FO RUM

Religions, Can Opposed Coexist?, 15a-16d

Religious Creeds, 124b
Resonance, 137b
Reversin to Type, 117c-118a
Rituals, Rosicrucian, 6d-7b, 127c-d
Romn Catholic: 23a, 124d
Church regulations, 15b-c
Rosicrucian:
Code of Ethics, 21b
Concept versus Psychiatry, 87b-89b
Convention, 119b, 140b
Digest, 45c, 71a, 140c
Extensin Department, 69c
Forum, 3b, 39d, 52c, 59d, 98b, lOld, 103d, 123b
Hierarchy, 75c-d
Initiation, 5d-6a, 8b
Manual, 39d, 40c, 43d, 56a, 117b
Monographs, 32a
Park and Museum, 14d, 44c, 102a
Philosophy, 5c-d, 9a, 10a, 11b, 17c, 21b, 70b, 82d,
84d, 86b, 128a
Pronunciamentos, 101c
Rituals, 6d-7b, 127c-d
Supply Bureau, 40c
Symbols, 39c-40c
Teachings, 13a, 18d, 47a-b, 68a, 70a, 85b-86a, 101a,
107b-c, 125d, 127b-128b, 133a, 137c-138a-d
Rosicrucian Approach to Health, 20c-22c
Rosicrucian Symbolism, 38d-40d

Sane or Insane? 114a-115d

Sankhya Philosophy (see Philosophy)
Sanskrit, 65c, 70d-71c, 124a
Schools:
Initiatory, 71c
Lama, 71a
Schopenhauer, 38a
Scrolls (see Manuscripts)
Self: (See also: Self Consciousness)
Analysis, 63a
Aspects, 2a-b
Consciousness, 3a-d, 30a-32b
Self? Should W e Think Of, 2a-4a
Sensations:
Somatic, 61a
Kinesthetic, 61b
Thermal, 61b
Should W e Risk Life for Animals? 66d-68a
Should W e Think of Self? 2a-4a
Sins, 124a-125a
Society, 15c, 18a, 23c-d, 28c-29d, 37a, 52a, 80c-81c,
127a
Scrates, 4c
Soul: 9d, 63b, 98d-99d, 118a
Development, 4a
Soul Mates? Are There, 92a-94b
Soul-Personality, 5a-b, 47a, 63c-64a, 92b-d, 118b-119d
Souls, Twins, 46b-47d
Spain, 15b
Spinal Nervous System, 139a
Spinoza, Baruch, 38a, 103d
Spirit, 104d-105a
Stevens, Harold P., 139b-140d
Stoic, 9c, 12d, 109c
Stonehenge, lOOd
Strange Phenomena of Mind, 40d-42d
Subconscious? What Is the, 87a-89b
Subjective:
Point of View, 18b
Supernatural Laws, 41c
Supply Bureau, Rosicrucian, 40c
Symbolism, Rosicrucian, 38d-40d
Symonds, J. A., 126c
Sympathetic Nervous System, 139a
Sympathetic Vibrations, 137b

Talent: (See also: Aptitude) 4d-5b

Teachings, Rosicrucian, 13a, 18d, 47a-b, 68a, 70a,
85b-86a, 101a, 107b-c, 125d, 127b-128b, 133a, 137c138a-d
Telekinesis, 41a, 42d
Telepathy, Mental, 53c-54b
Telescope:
Analogy with Self, 2a-3b
Evolution of, 99a
Terms for the Divine, 55b-56d
Test Us? Does the Cosmic, 18d-20c
The 144-Year Cycle and Population Change,
118a-119d
The Extent of Loyalty, 77a-79a
Theft, Cosmic, 89b-90c
Theist, 50c-d
Theophany, 61a
The Scope of Tradition, 126d-128c
The Smell of Death, 76a-77b
This Issues Personality, 16d-17c, 43a-c, 66a-66d,
79a-d, 113b-114a, 139a-140d
Thought, Illness and, 138b-139c
Tibet, 70c-71c
Tibetan Manuscripts, 70c-71d
Totum Simul, 55c
Tradition, The Scope of, 126d-128c
Tranquilizers, 125b-126d
Transition, 105a-107a, 131a
Transmutation, 109a-113b
Triangle, 38d, 76d
Trismegistus, Hermes, 109c-112a
Twins:
Biovular, 46c
Uniovular, 46c-47c
Twin Souls, 46b-47d
Tylor, E. B., 135d
Type, Reversin to, 117c-118a

Unconscious Mind (see Mind)

United States, 15b-c
Unity of Mysticism, The, 35c-38d
Unity, Nature of, 17a-18d
Universal Mind (See: Divine Mind)
Universal Soul, 118b-l 19d
Utopia, 80c

Valentine, Basil, 110b

Varieties of Religious Experience, 126b
Vibrations? What Are, 136c-138b
Visualization, 123a-d
Vital Essence, 67c-d
Vital Life Forc, 99b-d, 137d-138a

Wallace, Alfred Russel, 54c

Wave Theory, 137c
Wentworth Robert: 16d, 17a-c,
Photograph, 1
Westmore, Michael, 41a
What Are Vibrations? 136c-138b
What Is Divine Love? 134a-135b
What Is Faith? 26a-28a
What is the Philosophers Stone? 108b-112c
What Is the Subconscious? 87a-89b
What Makes Differenees in People? 61c-63b
Will, 31a, 41 d
Wittemans, Frater, 40b

You Can Help, 68a-69c

Your Life, Headlines In, 128d-130b

Zoomorphic Worshippers, 100c

Zoroastrianism, 94b-c

'