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
RAMN
A . F R A S , F. R. C.
In sp e c to r G e n e r a l o f A M O R C f o r S a n t o D o m in g o , D o m in ic a n R e p u b lic
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Forbidden Foods
A frater of New York City arises to ask
our Forum: Does the question of clean and
unclean foods apply in modern life? I am
thinking particularly of the eleventh chapter of Leviticus in the Od Testament. in
the instance of sea food, we are told to eat
only those species that have fins and scales.
This elimina tes all types of shellfishsome
of the very items that modern food scientists
emphasize we should have.
Those who are not familiar with the Sci
ence of exegetics have often been perplexed
as to the Biblical proscriptions against cer
tain foods, especially those in the Od Testa
ment. These arse principally out of what
are known as the Mosaic laws. These laws
are twofold and are said to have been revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. The first,
or the written laws (Torah she-he Khethabh), were the Ten Commandments. The
others are the oral laws. These latter, we are
told, were revealed to Moses when he remained on Mount Sinai for forty days. They
were intended to amplify the previous writ
ten laws. The body of laws, as a whole, are
commandments and prohibitions. As an example of the commandments, we have the
one to place fringes on garments by which
to remember God. As a prohibition, we
have the abstaining from work on the Sabbath and from the eating of certain foods.
An analysis of these laws shows that they
were concerned with sanitation and social
hygiene, as well as with the moral nature
of the people of Moses. We have known from
history that the basic elements of human
nature, instincts and emotions, change little
where environmental conditions are similar.
Therefore, the masses then sought to follow
the path of least resistance as they do now.
In addition, during the time of Moses the
mass of people were less informed about the
elementary requirements of sanitation and
diet. It is, obviously, easier to eat indiscriminately, as long as the food is palatable
and accessible, than to concern ourselves
with the search for certain kinds. Not hav
ing knowledge of bacteria and the nature of
disease, these people were not concerned for
the cleanliness of their persons and of their
cooking utensils. In the same area of the
world today, the Middle East and the countries of the Levant, are millions who live not
much differently, so far as hygiene is conceraed, than they did during the time of
Moses.
For Moses, as an individual or even as a
sage, to compel the abolishment of these od
and unhealthful habits would have brought
few results. In fact, it might have caused a
serious resentment of his intrusin upon
their way of life with what they might have
considered as fads and the purpose of which
would have been incomprehensible. To these
people, as to many primitives today, disease
was a supernatural afflictionan intrusin
of destructive entities. The priest or shaman
alone could cope with disease. He alone was
the medicine man, applying his incantation and rites. The tribes of the Hebrews
were afflicted with many skin diseases and
intestinal disorders, the result of their diet
and deplorable methods of living. A social
revolution in these matters was compulsory.
How to institute it must have been a problem to Moses.
Being a spiritually evolved person and
deeply concerned for the welfare of his oppressed people, Moses must have long meditated upon this matter during his sojourn
upon Mount Sinai. As a sagacious indi
vidual, he was familiar with the knowledge
of the Egyptians. He was acquainted with
their sciences and therapeutics of healing, of
ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in
the seas, and in the rivers, that ye may eat.
Another interdiction was the annual destruction of all cooking utensils upon the
occasion of the religious New Year. This was
made a religious rite but, behind it, was the
law of sanitation. Improperly cleansed uten
sils, which might contaminate food, were discarded and new ones acquired, thus preventing the spread of disease. Other religious
sects have adopted similar practices. Often,
under the guise of religious precept, they
have compelled, for example, changes in the
diets of their people. This was accomplished
as periodic fasts, the drinking of certain
cathartics as libations and the abstaining
from meat on prescribed days each week.
Actually, Moses and the other great reli
gious leaders who prescribed these methods
knew that there was nothing unclean in a
spiritual sense about any of the foods which
they prohibited. Some things may be harmful to the body in a physical sense but not
because the substance is imbued with any
satanic elements. In fact, in the fourteenth
chapter of Romans, we find, I know, and
am persuaded by the Lord Jess, that there
is nothing unclean of itself; but to him that
esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him
it is unclean. For the wisdom of God is not
meat and drink; but righteousness, and
peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. This we
interpret to mean that nothing is inherently
unclean. It is only relevantly so, as considered in rea tion to our needs and beliefs.
Again in Matthew we find: Not that which
goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but
that which cometh out of the mouth, this
defileth a man. In other words, man alone
can completely defile something, for he may,
by his thoughts, intend it to be evil. Nothing
in nature has such a purpose behind it.
Evil alone exists in mans concept of what is
good and its opposite.
The frater wants to know whether the
question of clean and unclean foods exists
in our modern times. The answer is: Yes,
but not in the religious and moral sense.
Today we do not need to resort to such
cloaking of facts in religious subterfuge.
Health is understood to be a realm quite
apart from spiritual matters; by that we
mean that disease or good health are not
entirely the consequence of our moris or
schedule set up in the lessons. The importance of breathing exercises should never be
underestimated. They are basic to the
awakening and expanding of conscious
ness.B
What Is Universal Love?
A soror now speaks before our Forum:
The phrase Divine Love or Universal
Love is common in our studies and because
each of the words, individually, is comprehensible, it would seem that the phrase
should also be completely understandable,
but is it?
What exactly do we mean by Universal
Love? It must differ from love generally,
as we know it, inasmuch as physical and
mundane love, however impersonal, requires
a personificatin to be realized and expressed.
How may love of a supernal intelligence,
which is not anthropomorphic, be personified?
In the theological sense, Divine or Uni
versal Love is made comparable to an exalted impersonal human love. If this conception were not associated with the phrase,
it would in fact be incomprehensible to the
average human being. Further, in using
this conception of Universal Love, there is
the direct implica tion of an anthropomorphic
or personalized god. In most of the historie
religions, as Judaism and Christianity, the
relationship between man and his god is
conceived as paternal. God is the Father;
and humanity, the children. The affection
and devotion, the compassion and emotional
bond which parents usually exhibit toward
their children, are believed to be displayed
by the Deity toward mortals.
Universal or Divine Love, though most
often associated with an anthropomorphic
god, is expected, of course, to transcend all
the foibles of mortal love. It is not thought
to be rooted in any physical appeal and
to be selfish; that is, it is not a desire for
any emotional or somatic satisfaction. The
theory is that God loves because love is of
Him. This love is a kind of feeling of goodness and grace extended toward all things
which are consistent with His nature. To
use a homely analogy, it is like the property
of a magnet. It attracts without discrimination all that has a natural affinity with its
own nature.
lives were taken. If an army of men deliberately invades for conquest and spoils
only, with the lowest motives possible of
avarice and im m orality, adverse karma
certainly is invoked. Conversely, if men of
the armed forces enter into battle willingly,
with the sincere belief that they are cherishing and protecting the noblest virtues of
man; then it can hardly be thought that they
would bring upon themselves adverse karma.
Again, there are qualifying circumstances.
If the men have no real knowledge of the
reasons for which they enter the war and
do not try to learn the truth; then they will
experience group karma for an act of omission as well as commission. If men in a
military campaign are innocent of ulterior
motives after using reasonable care to deter
mine the cause of war, the extenuating cir
cumstances could be considered in their
favor.
The question of religious wars is a complex one as regards karma. What of the re
ligious zealot incited by priests to engage
in an internecine war with other sects? He
is led by the dogma of his faith and the
preachments of its clergy to believe that
what he does is a fat from God. Such per
sons, we think, are not exempt from invoking an adverse karmic effect upon themselves
as individuis and as a group.
They have not properly interpreted the
divine quality. They have allowed them
selves to be entirely guided from without by
the words of others and have not meditated
upon what has been preached to them. How
can it be construed in the truest spiritual
sense that God would sanction acts which in
ordinary mundane affairs men would condemn as ungodly? How can murder, rapie,
and holocaust be truly a divine cause, re
gardless of what may be said to be the
ultimate purpose? If a man sacrifices his
life for noble purposes, as indicated, he will
undoubtedly invoke beneficial karma. It
may not be experienced in this life, how
ever, but in another, or by those he loves.
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L I T H O IN U S
O ct o ber , 1963
Volum e X X X IV
No. 2
mi! ni
A prvate publication
for m em bers of A M O R C
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The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
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Entered as Second Class Matter at the P ost Office at San Jos, C alifornia, under Section 1103
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evil. There are many questions that are unanswerable to a finite being because that
finite being is dealing with an infinite con
cept. What we can realize, however, is that
God and all the forces that He has put into
manifestation that lead to an end or to a continual evolvement in an infinite area of
existence caused the world to be and maintains it.
If we simplify the concept to an almost
extreme definition, we can say that the
Cosmic is the manifestation of the will of
God. The Cosmic not only is God but is the
purpose of His and our being. It is like winding a clock; as the tightened spring unwinds,
the various mechanisms in the clock are
caused to function. God in this sense wound
the spring of the universe, of all being, and
that spring is the Cosmic. It encompasses
and includes all forces, all that there is in
the universe, and as it theoretically unwinds,
these forces go on. They cannot be modified
or changed because they are a function of
Gods will.
Man lives as one part of this forc. He
is a part of the Cosmic, just as is everything
else, physical and psychic, all of which have
been ordained to serve an over-all cosmic pur
pose. Mans purpose here on earth, as far
as we can perceive it, is to become more and
more aware of his position in the cosmic
scheme. In that way, he relates himself to
his Creator and to the purposes of his Creator, thereby fulfilling his destiny.A
Should We Ask for Things?
A frater from Surrey, England, offers a
seeming paradox for our consideration. How
is one to reconcile the paradox of these two
principies: Thou shalt ask (this may allude
to assistance in some form) and the law of
Karma (as ye sow, so shall ye reap)? Surely
if a person is deserving of help, he will receive it. Or must he ask, also? But there
are those who receive through circumstances
that for which they apparently have not
asked.
There is no real paradox here since asking
is not related directly to the law of Karma.
Karma must be understood as an over-all
universal principie or forc, much like gravity or inertia. It does not act or manifest
with intent but rather acts on all free-state
elements because of its inherent characteris-
in making them we should attempt to understand that the process of correcting our
past errors through our present living is an
important privilege, allowing us to relate
ourselves more closely to the harmony that
is within the Cosmic.A
Should We Eat Meat?
A soror from Ohio takes issue with a statement intended to prove that man should eat
meat. She states: The argument that a type
of tooth indicates man should eat meat appears weak to me. Man is evolving. These
teeth havent changed yet. And they can
tear other things besides meat.
What is derived from the eating of meat
which cannot be obtained from other sources
since everything comes from the earth and
atmosphere, any way?7
This is one of the most recurring of Forum
questions, and it has been dealt with before
in relation to the comparative valu of meat
and vegetable diets, or in relation to its
moral and ethical vales. Since the question
is so basic and since it poses a kind of argu
ment that is not confined to this subject only,
I think it would serve a good purpose to
analyze the question from the standpoint of
good argument and logic.
It isnt difficult to concur with the sorors
points. The argument that a type of tooth
indicates man should eat meat is weak. A
type of tooth may indicate that man can
eat meat or that meat-eating entered into his
evolutionary processes, but that it dictates
what he should eat is certainly questionable.
Nutrition-wise, it has been shown by
countless persons that a meat diet is not
essential to health. Vegetarians, depending
upon the kind of diet they choose, progress
as well as meat-eating humans in matters of
health and vitality.
In the sorors next point, we can concur
to this extent, that the sources of all foods
are in the earth and atmosphere. To a cer
tain extent, man could take in so-called pur
elements and convert them directly into the
substance of his own body. It has recently
been demonstrated that certain bacteria could
be fed and sustained with a stream of electrons, which is about as direct a conversin
of energy as is possible. These are possibilities for the future. There may be a day
when men will no longer eat meat.
very liberal with regard to any new or different knowledge related to their professions.
Such persons are intolerant, not because
they do not affiliate with AMORC, but because they cise their minds to any thought
with which they are not familiar. Such an
attitude of mind, of course, is contrary to the
very precepts of mysticism and metaphysics,
which concern the enlightenment of man. If
one is certain that they are of that type, it is
useless to try to induce them to read Rosicrucian literature or discuss the subject.
It must not be accepted, however, that
when a person is not tolerant or susceptible
to Rosicrucian or mystical philosophy, he or
she will always be so. Most of us can look
back upon our own lives and recall when we
would have rejected any approach to the
Rosicrucian philosophy. In fact, years ago
some of us may have once turned down the
invitation to affiliate with AMORC. Now we
regret the loss of time before there was a
change of mind. Therefore, a friend who
displays no interest after a proper approach
about the Rosicrucian Order should be contacted again on the same subject two or five
years later.
Should we wait until a person evinces a
direct interest in the Order before we speak
to him about it? No, we must be more aggressive. We must be crusaders. In the first
place, many would not know we are Rosicrucians unless we identified ourselves and
spoke of the Order. The member of AMORC
who has not the courage of his convictions to
reveal that he is a member and to be proud
of it should resign. Not only is he not of any
real valu and support to the Order, but
membership in the AMORC can be of little
help to him. Only when one is proud of his
affiliation and has confidence in what he
studies can he then practice and apply the
teachings successfully.
There are two general ways to bring the
AMORC to the attention of the nonmember:
These are the active and passive programs.
The active requires taking the initiative and
speaking about the Order, determinedly trying to engage the interest of others you think
may be worthy to come into the Order. This
can be accomplished in many ways, a few of
which can be mentioned here.
We all have acquaintances, those whom
we meet quite regularly and have the opportunity of engaging in conversations of lengths
his comments, are often seriously wrong, revealing the fact that he was not a member
of the Order and did not have access to its
inner archives.X
Women in AMORC
A soror rises to address our Forum. She
asks, What part will the sorores of the
Order play in the world situation and in future plans of the Order? Men dominate the
world at present and also hold most of the
Grand Lodge positions. I wonder if women
will take a more active part in Grand Lodge
activities in the next cycle?
Since its inception, the Rosicrucian Order,
AMORC, has recognized the equality of the
sexes. The precept has been based upon the
tradition of the Order which made no distinction between the sexes in regard to
womens relationship to it. According to
tradition and history, women held equal
places of authority in the ancient Egyptian
mystery schools. Many were high priestesses.
In Greece, in certain of the mystery schools,
women also held authoritative rank. It is
noted that among the divinities of Greece,
goddesses were of equal rank with the gods.
The Pythian ora ces at Delphi were women.
There have been many absolute monarchs
in history who were queens. We have visited
the Rain Queen of primitive tribes in South
Africa, whose word was final law and who
received both respect and obedience from the
male members.
The domination of men in world affairs
has, generally, been due to two factors: First,
because women bear children, they were
obliged to assume the principal responsibility
in domestic relations. Men were trained for
hunting and combat and were thus better
prepared physically for war with which
politics and ruling authority were connected.
Control of the affairs of society thus gradually was monopolized by the male sex and
became more or less a tradition.
Second, a psychological factor developed
out of this custom. Aggressiveness, combativeness, and affairs beyond the scope of immediate family relations were considered the
theater of masculine activities. A male was
expected to exhibit these proclivities as characteristics of his sex. A woman, conversely,
was expected to manifest feminine traits, to
Creating Life
A frater, rising to address our Forum, asks:
How does the recent discovery that the
basic energy of life can be created in a test
tube correspond with the Rosicrucian teach
ings? Could it be possible that life itself could
ever be created artificially, as indicated in a
recent newspaper article?
The chemistry of life has advanced to a
high degree and is very technical. A combination of nucleic and amino acids or organic salts with certain electrical charges
passed through a gas has been reported to
have produced protoplasmic substances, or
simple living cells. These cells, then, would
build up a structure, a kind of templet,
which they transmit, thereby reproducing
themselves.
Has man, then, produced life? He has
actually brought together those material ele
ments as a shell, which when infused with
an energy, establishes the phenomenon of
life. Even in mysticism, it is stated that a
vital life forc and cosmic energy of one
polarity must infuse a material substance
of an opposite polarity before there are those
manifestations which constitute life. Man
is not a creator in this sense, but rather a
discoverer of cosmic and natural laws which
he can direct.
Let us use an analogy: Suppose man admired beautiful trees but depended upon the
caprices of nature to bring them forth and to
grow them. Eventually, he learned that the
seeds of a tree when planted in a particular
soil and nurtured in a certain way would
bring forth a tree. Can we say that man
created the tree? Rather, we can say that he
learned about the substances and direction
of natural phenomena by which trees are
grown at his will.
It was inevitable that in order to manifest
the phenomenon of life when he so desired,
M uticcd 9UumH#tUt4i'
"ESSAYS OF A MODERN MYSTIC
By D r. H. S p en cer Lewis
comes this inner illumination? It is part of
the Cosmic, the universal consciousness. The wisdom of
the Cosmicof the universal minddescends, expanding
outward. Figuratively speaking, it is like a spiral. It
permeates mans consciousness to become the superior
intelligence of his subconscious mind. There it lies ready
to be called forth and used by every mortal.
Rationalism and materialism are undermining the
dogmatism of many religions today. It is mysticism that
will be the strong element in preventing further de
terioration of morality. This book, Essays of A Modern
Mystic, will disclose the personal confidence and enlightenment that mystical insight can give to an in
dividual. You will find an inner peace and a sense of
security in reading the chapters of this book. Here is a
work written without prejudice. It is simple, forceful,
and convincing in the truth which it reveis.
w /h e, n c e
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given, there was an inequality in both capabilities and resources. Where both such con
ditions prevail, there is actually no equal
pursuit of interests by the members of so
ciety. The group or class, intellectually
handicapped or lacking talents, is in effect
being opposed by those with more aggressive
characteristics and abilities.
Under these conditions, the state which
emphasizes the equality of all of its citizenry
eventually finds itself in an embarrassing
and incongruous position. A class discrimi
naron arises consisting of the haves and the
have-nots. The rich and poor have always
existed in every civilization. However, where
the emphasis is placed upon a complete
equality and there is a lack of resources, as
well as an inequality of capabilities, the idea
of in justice is heightened.
The individual is inclined to reason thus:
I have an equal right with every other mem
ber of society to the fulfillment of my
wishes; therefore, I am not to be penalized
for lacking the talents or acumen of another.
In other words, he expects the state, which
has conferred upon him an ethical equality
that has made him politically the equal of
other men, to provide for his natural deficiencies as well. He deems it a folly to
proclaim that two persons have an equal
right to books on a shelf if, at the same time,
one of them is shorter in height than the
other and thus handicapped in his oppor
tunity. He reasons that there is no equality
unless the natural handicap of the shorter
individual is compensated for.
In earlier periods of the worlds history,
when the ideology of the equal rights of peopies was expounded, there were two princi
pal conditions which were different from
those now prevailing.
First, there was no concerted effort to
standardize living in terms of the quality
and kind of possessions which an individual
should have. A man might aspire to own a
pretentious home and a stable of fine horses.
He had the right to obtain them if he could,
The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Publication, Supreme Council of A M O R C , Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California 951 14.
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within the limitations of the laws of his society. He experienced his equality wholly in
his right of opportunity. It was not a right
to have the same quality of possessions as his
neighbor, regardless of personal qualifications. Second, the demand for the resources
needed to satisfy the more exalted standard
of living was not as great as it is now. The
materials needed could be obtained wholly
within the country or through free trade
with other powers. Further, the individual
might depart to some new land where there
was an abundance for his needs with a mni
mum of legal complications to be encountered in re-establishing himself. The sol
requirements were principally the initiative
and the personal sacrifice to make such a
journey.
In our present civilization, where the
principie of equality prevails, extensive advertising of producs through the mdium of
radio, newspapers, and periodicals creates
equal desires for these producs among all
people. The psychological effect is to cause
the individual to conceive that his equal right
includes the possession of such standards of
living, whether he personally is able to
achieve them or not. Such appeals, it is
admitted, do stimulate initiative and do advance many to higher material standards of
living. On the other hand, those who are
not proficient in attaining these things only
come to experience unrest as a result. They
become critical of their state.
Today, increased population and a complex mode of living in the nations having a
higher standard and proclaiming equality
of the people have brought about an insufficiency of materials. Such nations have
become more and more dependent upon the
resources of others. It is not economically
possible for all to have the kind and quality
of materials which are made to appear their
right.
The competition for material success, con
sequen tly, is growing more and more intense.
It becomes obvious that the more qualified
individual, the one most naturally adept,
with initiative and training, will be the one
who succeeds. There are just not enough
apples on the orchard floor for the others
yet each is made to feel that it is his right
to have one.
In trying to surmount this problem of the
inequality of the personal powers of indi
Tithing
A soror from Washington asks about tith
ing. What is the Churchs basis for it? What
is its origin?
Tithing dates back to the Mosaic period,
when the Israelites were expected to con
tribute one-tenth of their income or possessions to the purposes of religin. This practice was carried over into the Christian period
but put on a voluntary basis. Later, it became an actual basis for ta xation by small
government units not associated with the
Church.
The first thing he did was to buy a newspaper, which was dated exactly ten years in
advance of the date upon which he had reported to work that day. He scanned the
headlines, not interested particularly in the
worlds affairs but rather in developments
in his immediate locality that had taken
place in the ten year period over which he
had been transported.
Wondering how he might best take ad
vantage of the four hours and being an exact
and meticulous individual, he decided that
the best way to appraise the changes in the
city would be to charter a helicopter and
look over the city for a period of an hour.
He called a taxi and asked to be taken to the
municipal airport. On the way, he scanned
the newspaper, making notes on the changes
of conditions and circumstances, as well as
recording quotations from the stock market
and commodity pages. He believed that
thorough notes would serve him in taking
advantage of increases in prices of things
that he could buy and thereby realize the
appreciation in valu.
Arriving at the airport, he succeeded in
chartering a helicopter for an hour and was
taken on a trip over the city in which he had
spent his life. He was amazed to see the
obvious changesnew streets, new buildings,
new areas of development. While riding
over the city, he was able to continu making
notes regarding the direction in which the
city was expanding, where new streets had
been built, and where new ones were being
planned. He saw the trend of future business and in that way gained an idea of the
properties which would increase in valu and
to some extent the types of businesses which
were going to prosper.
He made thorough notes. He noted every
physical appearance that indicated change,
and he made a record of them. His hour was
completed. He retumed to the municipal
airport and then took a taxi back to the cen
tral part of town. There, as he walked down
the Street, he observed the many changes
that had taken place in the city. At the of
fice of a daily newspaper, he spent some
time going through the files of newspapers to
secure more specific data and information in
regard to the changes that had taken place.
He passed two hours in the newspaper office,
noting the many events that had occurred
during the ten-year period. With growing
reasoning and self-analysis that we all sometimes believe that no one else has fears.
Anyone who permits fear to dominate his
thinking and life is no better than a slave
because once fear intrudes upon conscious
ness and becomes a dominating forc within
it, every act and every thought will be
measured and judged in terms of that fear.
We might ask, What is there to be afraid
of? This can be enumerated indefinitely
because there are as many fears as there are
individuis; or rather, there are thousands of
fears for every individual. There is fear of
the future, fear of the present, fear of insecurity, fear of ill health, fear of accidents,
fear of financial reverses, fear of death, fear
of being unable to do what we believe neces
sary to cope with the problems and vicissitudes of our existence.
Fear, being such an individual experience
and being developed in our thinking by constant awareness of it, is the reason that makes
us believeor makes one who is bound to
fear believethat it exists only within our
selves. We look at the rest of the world and
those with whom we are associated and frequently think that they have no problems at
all in comparison with the fear that constantly Controls us and is the principal thought
in our minds.
Now, there are two ways to approach the
problem, and there is good in both methods.
Both must be used, but one is definitely subordinate to the other. The first is reason.
The second is to gain a different perspective.
Reason is the method that is subordinate.
If a child is afraid of the dark, simply to tell
him that there is nothing in the dark to be
afraid of is using reason, but that does not
alter the childs feeling in the least. The fear
will probably continu. What the child has
to be taught are those principies and ideas
which will change his perspective and cause
him to adopt a different viewpoint, a differ
ent approach.
Possibly, the child can go for a walk with
a sympathetic adult on a dark night. It can
be pointed out that physical objects do not
change because of the absence of illumination. Gradually, confidence can be instilled
in the thinking and the mind of the child
so that a fear of darkness is replaced with
understanding and a different point of view;
in other words, a change of perspective. Ex
perience and sympathetic understanding are
religious sects which believe in transmigration. This is frequently confused with rein
carnation. In substance, transmigration is
the philosophical and religious speculation
that the soul may incarnate in lesser living
forms than that of man. Simply put, the soul
under certain conditions may incarnate in
the body of an animal or a reptile. The
theory is that the soul is thus being punished
by having to inhabit such a form. Obviously,
such a conception, as said, is repugnant to
almost everyone. Those who are not conversant with the true doctrines of reincarna
tion confuse the two, and that is the principal
reason for their rejection of reincarnation.
The real student of reincarnation knows that
the doctrine teaches that the soul can never
retrogress. It cannot enter into any form in
another life on earth but that of a human
being. The true doctrine is as inspiring, as
lofty and in accord with human dignity, as
any other belief conceived or revered by man.
One must under stand the subject thoroughly to embrace it with conviction. If he
does not believe it, it will certainly not affect
the fact of its existence as a cosmic law. One
may, for example, live a noble, virtuous, and
truly spiritual life, and yet never even be
lieve in the immortality of the soul, that is,
that it survives death.
Some give entirely too much concern to
the thought of reincarnation and, in fact,
the afterlife. They make the entire existence
here nothing more than a preparation for a
hereafter. Many Christian sects are particularly guilty of this in their doctrines,
rituals, and creeds. This life is made to
appear relatively unimportant; yet they be
lieve that their god had a purpose for mans
being here. If such a god intended the here
after to be the most important state of ex
istence for the soul, then it would not seem
reasonable that it should be confined in a
body on earth for even one lifetime.
Let us not be too deeply concerned with
what we were in a past life or what we will
be in a future one. We are in this chamber,
this room, this state of consciousness. Let us
derive the utmost experience and understand
ing from it. Thus, if we are to incarnate
again, we will better influence the next life
by the life we live here. Neglect this life
and we will jeopardize any other to be lived
here or in a hereafter.X
Immovable Objects
A frater rises and asks the Forum: What
happens, spiritually and physically, when an
irresistible forc meets an immovable object?
This is an od question that has been discussed many times in the past. Yet it is a
perennial problem and of deep concern to
individuis in every age. It involves their
relationships with their employers or employees; with their co-workers, families, and
friends; and with their projects and hobbies.
It is a mechanical questiona social ques
tiona personal, psychological question.
When an immovable object meets an ir
resistible forc there is conflict. It could be
a conflict of interests, of ideas, or a more
tangible conflict of two physical bodies. It
will most likely result in an injury for one
or both parties in volved. The two objects
or parties will either annihilate each other
or somehow blend their identities into a new
form.
There is to this question a ready answer:
Strategic withdrawal. Generis and lawyers,
leaders of men, have used this approach since
the dawn of civilization. It has not been so
widely used in the more personal affairs of
the average person, however. Yet this is the
area with which most are concerned.
Strategic withdrawal is the most useful
tool in overcoming the stalemate when two
equal forces meet. Withdrawal provides an
opportunity to rearrange the pattern of the
forces involved. It gives time to gather
strength rather than expend it. Whereas
conflict must result in annihilation or compromise, withdrawal can result in victory.
We are speaking in terms here of a person who has a desire for accomplishmenta
desire to pursue a goal. Withdrawal is the
tactic of the positive agent, the seeker, who
comes up against a stone wall. It is a means
of accomplishing a goal without unnecessary
expenditure of energy. Quick recognition of
immovable objects will allow the channeling
of resources into different directions as soon
as possible. It is a vital key in the attainment of his ideis.
In conflict one is devoting his energies en
tirely to the matter at hand. His perspective
is clouded with the immanence of strong and
impelling forces. He cannot see the forest
for the trees, as the od saying goes. He loses
Dar To Be Different!
Dar to be different is an affirmation
that may seem like a platitude from a schoolboys textbook. To be different, even when
motivated by the highest of ideis, requires
the utmost courage. At one time, being dif
ferent, even if ones acts were justifiable, did
nothing more perhaps than expose one to discomfiting derision.
Today, progressive deviation from custom
is accepted as defiance. The attitude of most
people to such conduct is that it is a reflection on their chosen way of living. Consequently, they react most bitterly: first, by
hurling such imprecations as radical, crackpot, Communist, or cultist at the one who has
departed from the established road; second,
by opposition in an effort to discredit whatever may be the different endeavor. If the
condemning ones can be successful in this,
it will seem to prove that their manner of
living and thinking is wholly right and that
of the one who has differed, wrong.
Conservatism and tradition in society have
both commendable and objectionable aspects.
The virtue of the conservative attitude is the
caution it manifests. The human mind is
inclined toward change. Inactivity of mind
causes irritable monotony. Obviously, how
ever, to plunge into new circumstances, or to
assume new relationships merely because of
the change, is not intelligent and is fraught
with danger. Thus, every rational human
being will display caution or the best quality
of conservatism in his approach to life. He
will not relinquish the od way of thinking
or doing until he has made an analysis of
what is offered as new and different. In
other words, he will evalate the potentialities stemming from a change before actually
making it.
When once the logical advantages of deviating from a previous course have been
ascertained and then the change is not made,
we have the example of conservatisms becoming a vice. Too many confuse the philosophical significance of conservatism. We
should conserve the present, that which it
and the past provide and which we know
to be good. We must not, however, conserve
the future. The future is to spend, to use, to
convert into reality, into actual experience.
By trying to hold to the present continuously,
we are, in fact, wasting the future. The potentialities of the future are thus dissipated.
They never materialize into a present state.
The valu of tradition is to conserve what
time has proved as having valu. We all
want and should hold fast to qualities proved
to be beneficial. There are, however, a series
of goods in all our human experience. The
words better and best denote variations of
good, that is, of the quality of things.
Though something of yesterday is good and
its quality is still such, time may make it
possible to improve upon the good. The oil
lamp still provides the same reading facilities it always did, but the electric light excels
it for the same function.
Is Meditation SuTicient?
How effective is meditation as an instrument or method of personal achievement?
Meditation is often used erroneously by those
who profess to be students of mysticism and
metaphysics. There are those who frankly
enter a state of meditation, or what they
imagine it to be, as escapism. They wish to
avoid confronting some unpleasant reality
which they do not have the knowledge to
combat. They feel that in meditation they
will be afforded the opportunity of evading
that which has distracted them. In fact, if
they remain cloistered long or frequently
enough, they believe that in some mysterious
enigmatic way their troubles will pass
them by.
Those persons think of meditation in the
wholly passive sense. If they personally do
nothing, then they think that someone or
something will do it for them. It is necessary to know of what meditation consists,
that is, its proper purpose, if benefits are to
be derived from it. As we have often had
occasion to say in this Forum and upon leeture platforms, meditation is commonly confused with contem plation. The latter,
contemplation, is a form of concentration. It
is the focusing of attention upon a subjective
impression; in fact, it is the entering of the
subjective state.
When we are recollecting, we are in a state
of contemplation. When we are reasoning,
analyzing some idea or concept, within our
The fact that the voyagers would be confined in the metal shell forming the spaceship would not mean that they would be
isolated from the radiation of the polarity
of Nous. As a special radiation, Nous has
never been isolated in a laboratory and we
do not know just what its frequency is or
what its penetration qualities are. So in all
probability it could penetrate any metal ship
and reach the human beings inside.
The human organism has evolved in the
field of terrestrial magnetism. It is in harmony with or at least subject to the belts of
the earths magnetic fields. What will happen when an individual is far removed from
this magnetic influencenot for hours or
days, but for weeks and months? The opposite aspect of this matter to be considered
is what effect will the magnetic currents of
celestial bodies, such as the other planets,
have upon man when exposed to them in
future explorations.
There is also the question of time. The
time will vary in relation to mans own
vehicle in space. Time is relevant to the
position of the observer, according to the
theory of relativity. It will take intricate
calculations based on the speed of the projectile to determine the relative time in contrast to some other body relatively inert in
space. If, in the far future, man attains a
speed approaching that of light, or 186,000
miles per second, his determination of time
will be even more complex. Under such circumstances, his life may be extremely lengthened in time sense; in others, perhaps
shortened. All of this, of course, is nteresting but as yet only a matter of speculation.
It is quite probable that such factors will
have a very definite psychological effect upon
the personality of the occupants of spaceships. Will their sense of vales, the importance which they attach to themselves, to
their work, and to other things be altered
by their experiences? Will their sense of
responsibility diminish? Will the desire to
concntrate and the ability to exhibit initiative be altered? Will continued isolation
under conditions unlike those experienced
on earth and the varied magnetic effects
upon the nervous system and brain cause
delusions and hallucinations, distorting the
perception of reality? No one can answer
this as yet.X
mine whether one will be successful. Skepticism, malice, envy, and hatred are hostile
to invoking cosmic principies. They are the
wrong admixture to produce the desired
effects.
For further analogy, one cannot magnetize
a piece of wood with cobalt steel because
he is using the wrong physical principies.
Likewise, one cannot utilize the constructive
cosmic principies with a nefarious or selfish
attitude of mind. You must remember that
your sanctum is your cosmic laboratory. If
you do not take into it the right tools, namely, the right attitude of mind, humility, and
sincerity, you can only expect failure.X
How Is Selfishness Defined?
A question arises: What is the mystical
conception of selfishness? What may be
considered selfishness, and what not? To
what extent may we concern ourselves with
personal interests and yet be free from the
stigma of selfishness?
In the first place, it must be realized that
from both a psychological and mystical
basis one cannot be completely free from a
self-ish impulse. The self is an integrated
entity: It is composed of appetition, the de
sires and appetites of our bodies, generally
referred to as the physical self; and also it
consists of intellectual desiresour conceptions and ideis. Then there is the spiritual
aspect of this integrated self, which consists
of the moral dicta tes. Whatever we do is
thus motivated by at least one aspect of this
united self. The most sincere, charitable, and
humanitarian act is in this technical sense,
a selfish one. It is a serving of the higher or
what is generally referred to as the imper
sonal self.
The commonly accepted idea of selfishness
has to do with thoughts and actions which
are centered in the fulfillment of the inter
ests of the immediate person. Thus one who
is concerned only with the gratification of
his appetites or the furthering of his own
social and economic welfare is referred to as
selfish. Since the inclinations of the moral
and psychic self are extended to include the
welfare of others, such inclinations are eulogized as examples of selflessness.
In fact, those who are motivated by the
sincere desire to further the interests of oth
ers may actually believe themselves to be
free of any personal advantage accruing
L I T H O IN U S
February, 1964
Volum e X X X IV
No. 4
KISIIRI l'in
FORUM
A prvate publication
for m em bers of A M O R C
Greetings!
V
The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
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Psychic Hitchhikers
A soror brings up this point: These last
few months I have heard so much discussed
on a certain subject which is new to me that
I would like to ask the Forum two specific
questions.
The questions are based on the subject of
Psychic Hitchhikers. Let us say that there are
two persons who are each attempting to attune with a third point. One of them, presumably the more highly evolved, absorbs
all the built-up energy of the other for the
purpose of experiencing attunement. I understand that this process is used by those who
are unable to make such a contact by them
selves.
My first question is, Is it possible to build
up psychic energy as outlined above for the
purpose of making psychic contact? My
second question is, Is it possible to absorb
into oneself the psychic energy of another or
that of a group such as exists in lodge or
chapter experiments when performing an
attunement experiment?
Mystical attunement for most people at
best is a difficult process. Only a few can
easily enter the silence and commune with
the Inner Self or the Cosmic. For many,
such attunement is almost impossible. For
those searchers, particularly Rosicrucian students, who seek to find an intmate communion with the Cosmic, helping hands are
to be welcomed.
In Rosicrucian ritual and study there are
many aids to attunement. The more of these
the student uses, the more readily can he
experience a degree of mystical attunement.
Each aid is a steppingstone. The environ
ment to which he exposes himself is like a
pathway to his goals and objectives. Those
who expose themselves to good music, good
books, good friends will find attunement
much easier than those who participate in
no environmental experience conducive to
aspira tion.
In the play, The Alchemisfs Workshop,
the narrator points out the alchemists rev-
Evil Spirits
A soror from England brings up the ques
tion of evil spirits. She asks: Since there
are no evil spirits, what is the phenomenon
seen by clairvoyants in the aura of a socalled obsessed person? Can it control man,
or can man compel it to do his will?
Rosicrucians have always interpreted good
and evil to be that which is, respectively,
harmonious and inharmonious. As we view
the world, we are sensitive to a degree of
either of these conditions. And since we
interpret most of our sensations in terms of
the objective world, we associate many and
varied objects and experiences with good or
evil.
Over a period of time, certain things have
caused a lack of harmony in our lives, and
we cali these things evil. There are objects
that instill fear, hatred, uneasiness, or dis
comfort in us, and these objects we cali evil.
There are experiences that have caused us
pain, distress, emotional disturbance, or loss
of some kind, and we cali these experiences
evil.
The same can be said of good. All that we
associate with pleasant experiences, happy
times, satisfying moments, relief, victory, or
success, we cali good.
A person who is negatively obsessed is
disturbed, either physically or mentally. A
negative condition in his aura or environ-
ment has evoked in the consciousness corresponding images with which evil is associated.
The image could be visual. It could be just
a thought. It could be audible. An obsession
can take any of the sense forms. Obsessions
can also be positive and constructive. Ob
sessions are thoughts or imagery of some kind
that besiege the consciousness, that manifest
much of, if not all of, the time. If they are
negative, they can cause the deterioration of
the personalitys expression since such constant exposure to a negative image is a threat
to progress, peace of mind, and constructive
well-being.
Clairvoyants who sense anothers obses
sion or negative condition may also relate
it to a visual or other sense form associated
with evil. They may term this imagery an
evil spirit. But they are only giving ame
to a negative vibratory condition that is impinging upon and disturbing the conscious
ness of the individual. These conditions are
not entities. They are entities only in the
form man gives to the sensations they evoke
in his consciousness. But, as negative vibra
tory conditions, they do control man to the
extent of inhibiting his thoughts and actions
along other linesby demanding his atten
tion by their very presenceby creating a
disturbing condition that evokes pain, anger,
or fear.
As for mans compelling these conditions
to do his will, he is not dealing with entities
who in any real sense correspond to an animate spirit that listens, speaks, sees, or thinks.
He can compel himself to elimnate these
distractions. He can compel himself to think
about and engage in constructive activities.
He can compel these conditions because they
are part of him. They take form and have
being in his own consciousness, and it is there
that they must be dealt with.B
Were sorrybut this is how it happened. Because we were short of copy
and timethe article, Restoring Lost
Lives, from an earlier Forum was rerun
in the October, 1963, issue. Unfortunately,
an error of statement was overlooked.
Readers are referred to the Rosicrucian
Manual, Cremation, Funeral Ritual
for correct information regarding present
practice.
Sensitivity to Vibrations
A frater raises the question regarding the
effect of vibrations on ones surroundings. As
we are taught from the very earliest degrees
and throughout the whole scope of Rosicru
cian study, the subject of vibrations is one
which is fundamental and must necessarily
be studied to evolve our understanding of
the influence that the vibratory nature of
the entire universe has at any time or place.
It would be impossible to attempt to analyze the whole of this study in one article
because, in one sense of the word, the Rosi
crucian philosophy is a study of the vibra
tory energy of the Cosmic. The Cosmic itself
conceivably might be considered a mass of
vibrations. We believe that the whole uni
verse has a First Cause. Whatever we cali
this Cause, whether it be God, the Absolute,
or the Cosmic, is of secondary importance.
The important factor is that these vibrations
or vibratory energies were established and
continu to function; in their functioning,
they direct and lead all manifestation, physi
cal or immaterial, toward an end which has
been destined in the Mind of the Creator.
The human being is one element of this
vast creation. In a living being, the human
body is, as we are told in our earliest teach
ings, a vehicle of the soul. It is a living,
vibrating mass. It is distinguished from purely physical objects in that there is manifest
within the human body the combination of
two elements, or two different types of vi
brations. We distinguish these two different
types of vibrations as being the positive and
negative manifestations of Nous.
Nous, in a sense, is another relative term
which applies to the entire cosmic vibrations
that cause the universe to be. Nous expresses
itself in the human body in the form of
spirit, which is the vibratory energy contained in all matter, and in the form of the
Vital Life Forc, which is the essence of the
soul. Just as spirit is the vibratory mani
festation that makes physical and inanimate
objects possible of perception and existence,
so Vital Life Forc is the vibratory essence
of Nous and, therefore, of the Cosmic that
causes the soul to be and to express itself.
The vibratory energy, then, within the liv
ing human being, is the combined radiation
that comes from these two forces, intermingling and functioning simultaneously
Interfering Thought
A soror from England poses an intriguing
question. She writes: UA well-known writer
states that, All the great mystics cali atten
tion to the fact that the continuous turning
of thought in the head is one of the greatest
obstacles to the contemplative life. I would
like to ask, What is thought? Why is it?
What levels of thought exist? Could we have
wave bands of thought and could they be
picked up, either consciously or not, as
E. S. P.?
Thought is commonly associated with the
mental imagery that takes form in the con
sciousness of an individual. When we speak
of a thought, we are usually referring to
some realization, some idea, in a persons
mind. This idea may be visual; it may be a
word or group of words; it may be a feeling
of some kindan inexpressible sensation.
Thought can be aroused by intent, by mans
desire to review certain experiences or to
formlate new expressions out of the od.
Thought also appears out of the past or from
external sources such as the thoughts of oth
ers or thoughts resident in the Cosmic.
He now has in his power through thermonuclear weapons the means to exterminate
even his own kind if he does not control his
passions.
Animals are our brothers in life. They are
living things. We are very much akin to
them organically, or at least in the vital forc
that animates them. Let them live! Kill only
when it is absolutely essential for our own
preserva tion.
Fortunately, Controls are being established
over the big game in Africa. Large reserves
are set up, as in the Kruger Game Reserve
in South Africa and the one in Nairobi,
Kenya, preven ting the hunting of animals
in such areas. Further, strict licenses are
required for killing game in other sections.
Eventually, these licenses should and will
be prohibited. The same control will eventu
ally be set up by other nations prohibiting
hunting and the slaughter of game. The
increase of the human population is tremendous, and if the same percentage of
licenses were to be issued, the game would
soon be exterminated.
One often wonders what the hunter would
think if suddenly he were to become the
hunted. How would he feel running terrorstricken through the bush, tongue hanging
out, gasping for air, climbing over rocks, try
ing to conceal himself in order to get away
from dogs who were encouraged to hunt him
down, knowing all the while that the killer
was getting closer, that he would snuff out
his life or seriously wound him. Maybe, he
might think that he would get away with a
shattered arm or leg only to lie in the brush
for several days without food or water until
death mercifully would take his life. It is
to this misery that he subjects the game that
he hunts for his pleasure.'K
'Ptefeasie 'tyoun,
@ftcC&TUttd
VOCAL GUIDANCE
For The Crtical Years - Between 3 and 6
A p r i 1, 19 6 4
Volum e X X X IV
No. 5
r o s im iic ia j
FORUM
A prvate publication
for m em bers of A M O R C
Greetings!
V
ABOUT PREMONITIONS
least in part, as psychic phenomena. By
Dear Fratres and Sorores:
psychic, in this sense, we do not mean the
A frater, addressing our Forum, states:
supematural, but the latent faculties and
During the past few years, a frater had
powers of man that lie beyond the conscious
premonitions of the transition of the following prom inent world figures: Patrice mind. Each individual has problems, fears,
and worries. These he may never express to
Lumumba, Dag Hammarskjold, and lastly,
President Kennedy. Naturally, knowledge of others; yet he is often conscious of them,
this type is rather awesome, and one is perhaps giving them much attention. An
other person who has the power of hypertempted to share it with ones associates. On
aesthesia, that is, a supersensitivity, may inthe other hand, as the frater states: I surely
need your advice on what to do when I re advertently attune himself with the minds
of troubled persons. He may come to sense
ceive such psychic impressions because I feel
their fears. In his own mind, he may then
that revealing them to others would put me
interpret them as a serious and grievous
in a precarious position.
Another frater states: What is the pur event that will befall that person or persons.
pose of occasional premonitions, especially He may have the premonition that in the
near future such a person will meet a violent
those seemingly unconnected with the redeath, perhaps in a certain way.
ceiver? What should one do with a premoniIn contacting the mind of the troubled
tion? Try to counter negativeness? Warn
person, ones emotions are aroused vicarithe person? Try to invoke balancing of the
ously. These may include the emotion of
cosmic laws? Do nothing?
fear. Associated with the emotions may be a
To all of the above questions, one more
can be added that is very pertinent. It is, feeling of deep depression. There would be
corresponding ideas which would ordinarily
How does the phenomenon of premonition
occur? The following philosophical ques give rise to thoughts of accident, injury, or
tion might also be added: How can an effect violent death. Obviously, when one has fears
be realized before its cause exists? As for of such things, it does not necessarily follow
that they will actually occur. But if a person
example, how can we have a premonition
of a house burning days or weeks ahead of is quite normal, his fears will usually be substantiated by some circumstance which
the direct conditions occurring which bring
makes them probable. Thus, when another
about the fire?
According to the mystical conception of person is in attunement with him and has
the akashic records, all is potential in the the premonition, in most instances it materializes as a reality.
Cosmic. Everything that was, is and can be.
The same mystical principie expounds that
There is still another aspect which is
a mind that is able to contact the akashic
speculative but comes within the scope of
records, the Cosmic, may at times have access psychic phenomena and parapsychology. It
to such knowledge as a premonition of events.
is the telepathic contact with those who as
Of course, the so-called indelible akashic rec enemies are holding another individual in
ords are not actual inscriptions or any permathought almost constantly. Suppose a person
nent physical communication, as a writing.
is prominent in politics, as the leader of a
Rather, they allude to impressions received nation. Suppose this leader has established
in the consciousness which shape themselves national or intemational policies that arouse
into intelligence, into ideas in the mind of the hostility of another and ruthless oppoman.
nent. Such enemies of a prominent leader
But there is more to this than the akashic would be planning and plotting against him,
records. Premonitions may be explained, at at least to mitgate his control. The psychic-
The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Sx Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Publication, Supreme Council of A M O R C , Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California 95114
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other places most simple in their appointments that immediately put us at ease and
even in some way gave us a feeling of ex
hilara tion. Why? How do we account for
these reactions? Does the material substance
of the environment retain something of the
vibratory nature of the human aura and its
emotional content? Do other persons who
are sensitive then respond to such vibra
tions?X
The Technique of Psychic Development
At a Rosicrucian Forum, some time ago, I
was asked a question which probably has
been asked hundreds of times. It concerns
how an individual may distinguish between
physical and psychic experiences or manifestations. Sometimes the question is phrased,
How do I know if I have had a psychic
experience?
I answered this question by the elaboration of one word, technique, but this in turn
raised additional questions. Members of the
Order, many of them in the higher degrees,
who have followed my writings for some
years, pointed out that I have used this
word many, many times; that I have over
and over again referred to technique in rela
tionship to the Rosicrucian teachings, psychic
development, and the gaining of psychic
abilities. Just what, they ask, is the Rosi
crucian concept of technique?
If technique is to be the criterion by which
we are able to judge between those experi
ences, impressions, ideas, and mental conclusions that may be of an imaginary, physical,
or psychic source, then it must be as important as psychic development itself, a con
clusin that some individuis have reached.
This is true. Technique is one of the most
important factors because without it we do
not arrive at the purpose or end which we
are trying to achieve. Then to return to the
fundamental question, just what is tech
nique?
It is interesting how a person can use a
word repeatedly for a long time and not
stop to define it. I have illustrated the meaning of technique many times by referring to
such a process as playing the piano. Knowl
edge will tell us all we need to know about
the piano, its structure, function, and about
music. We can read books that will make
us as informed as anyone else could be on
The methods and details that are essential to expertness of execution are the whole
concept of technique because the purpose of
technique is to be able to do something as it
should be done, to be perfect, to be expert
in the doing; it is the technique that is the
essence by which this doing takes place. So,
in any art, in any science, in any activity
that is a part of human life, technique is the
involuntary functioning of knowledge, habit,
and muscular coordination that puts into ef
fect the purposes we want to achieve for
producing overt expression.
The technique of psychic development is
to be found in the same way that technique
is achieved in any other field of endeavor.
By knowledge and practice, we develop ex
pertness. We achieve the ability to execute
that is, to do something. The master musician or technician who works and directs any
complex process is the one who has become
so expert that the procedure goes on without
a conscious awareness of each individual unit
or phase. The person who performs intricate
details frequently cannot put into words the
actual steps and procedures which he has followed in order to carry out the operation of
the process that is his responsibility and
which he is directing.
Technique transcends the area of language. Language is a nominal symbolism,
and when we limit our understanding to
language alone, we can only live within the
realm of knowledge or the repeating of someone elses experience. Technique is the
ability effectively to utilize that knowledge
through the consciousness of all the cells of
the bodyas I have already mentioned. This
is why the expert in any endeavor, science,
art, or procedure cannot put into words how
or why he accomplishes everything he does.
Neither can the psychically evolved person
put into words how he distinguishes between
psychic and imaginary impressions. It is
through application, study, practice, medi
tation, and concentration that we arrive at
the technique of psychic awareness. Only
practice and persistence will bring it about.
When a degree of technique is achieved, we
do not need to stop to analyze what the difference is between an imaginary concept of
the mind and an actual psychic impression
because technique has made it obvious in
our own consciousness.A
Is Polygamy Justifiable?
A Frater arises to ask: What are the
Rosicrucian views on plural marriages, or
polygamy? Are there extenuating circum
stances which make it advisable, or is it
morally and otherwise wrong?
The question is best answered in terms
of the particular society and its customs of
which the individual is a part. In many
primitive cultures of the past and even in
the present, polygamy is an established cus
tom. It has sanction. That is, it was and is
not secretive but an accepted practice. The
motive behind the practice of polygamy in
such primitive societies is usually the result
of one of two factors. One factor is that war
or some other calamity has decimated the
brought about by an individuals own negligence and indolence. A person who is lazy,
careless, indifferent, and impractical will
bring about many failures in his own life.
He may bemoan his fate to others and, if
he knows anything about it, even claim that
it is the Dark Night of the Soul. But, actu
ally, he will know that the fault lies within
himself.
The difference between such an individual
and those who are really going through the
Dark Night is that the latter, at least at first,
sincerely try to meet every situation and
apply their knowledge before coming to the
realization that they are blocked by some
thing beyond their own ability. The lazy
person, however, always knows that he is
lazy, whether he admits it or not. The negligent person always knows that he has neglected what he should have done. The
careless one who is so by habit knows that
he fumbles and makes mistakes.X
Diet and Psychic Development
Does the habitual drinking of wine with
meis or too much eating of sweets, such as
cake, cookies, and candy, interfere with ones
intuition and psychic development?
Whether or not these acts are habitual
is not important. Habitual acts are not
necessarily negative. In fact, good habits are
the economy of life. Quantity is a more im
portant factor here. How much wine, cake,
cookies, etc., are being included with the
daily diet? It really is not easy to stipulate
what amounts are harmful. It only stands
to reason that a great deal of sweets will
raise the sugar level of the body and thus
bring about an imbalance in the metabolic
processes. Such injury to the body will affect
ones use of his intuitive and psychic faculties.
To experience mximum development in
these areas, a balance between the physical
and psychic systems is desirable. Anything
that upsets this balance inhibits psychic de
velopment. Negative conditions in the body
aggravate a persons mental state and are a
hindrance to his use of mental powers.
Over-indulgence in sweets is generally
conducive to physical conditions of a nega
tive nature and thus, indirectly, interfere
with ones intuition and psychic develop
ment.B
We have learned that good health demands modera tion in our eating habits. The
welfare of society depends upon our appetites
being curbed to the extent that all mouths
are fed. We have learned, also, that sexual
promiscuity endangers the health of the indi
viduis participating.
Sexual relations cannot be considered
apart from their effect on the mental and
emotional health of marriage partners and
the family. Where sexual relations tend to
disrupt the physical or mental health of an
other, they are cosmically wrong. The act
itself is secondary to these considerations.B
Mans Dual Nature
A soror asks: Why, if man is dual and
infused with Divine Consciousness, is it that
at many times the physical body takes precedence over his spiritual nature?
Duality of being is a basic part of Rosi
crucian philosophy. Its full implications,
however, are not always realized by the
member. A dual nature means in this case
a system of positive and negative forces of
equal strength and purpose. The dual po
larity of being gives rise to motion, or a constant flow of energy from one pole to the
other. These poles must be equal in order
to maintain balance. If one were greater
than the other, there would be no balance
and no order. Duality is the divisin of the
One into two aspects, an equal divisin that
retains the balance of the Whole.
Thus the physical part of man is an aspect
of being, as is the spiritual part. These forces
From
The Far
Corners
of the
Earth .
M Y S T IC T E M P L E L A M P S
Special arrangements have been made
in Cairo to have some of the mystic
temple lamps of Egypt made available
to members. Handmade by craftsmen
of a centuries-old art. Handblown glass
and solid brass. Total hanging-length,
22 inches.
Price includes postage. Each, only $7.50
(2/14/9 sterling)
1...
IN D IA IN C E N S E
This incense is Alankar . . . it means spiritual omaments or the inner jewels of virtue such as charity,
devotion, and love.
Each package of 20 sticks will burn for hours.
Sealed in a metal tube.
20 sticks, only $1.75
If desired, a chrome-fmished holder,
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but 50^ additional
R O S I C R U C I A N P R E S S . L T D ., -S A N J O S E
L I T H O IN U . S
(12/9 sterling)
June, 1964
Volum e X X X IV
No. 6
FORUM
A privte publcation
for m em bers o f A M O R C
Greetings!
V
INNER DEVELOPMENT?
clined to be a group person. He has what
is called the herd instinct. Consequently, he
is inclined toward those whose personalities,
physical and intellectual qualities, move to
action, to that action that he might not him
self ordinarily take.
There is a kind of mass hypnosis that such
charming personalities induce in others, consciously or unconsciously. Many of the
worlds ruthless, selfish dictators have had
just this kind of psychological effect on per
sons around them or even upon the populace
as a whole. The personality which they
display may be termed contagious in influencing people. It becomes an irresistible
suggestion to act in whatever way the per
sonality determines.
For example, it has been said that Hitler,
notwithstanding diabolical acts which he exe
cuted or permitted against humanity, had a
fascinating effect upon those in cise association with him. It is related, even in Germany, that in certain of his emotional moods
he appeared charming and had a magnetic
personality. More or less the same account
has been related about such persons as
Mussolini and Stalin. Howrever, sensitive
persons in the presence of such individuis
(even when the latter are in their more con
genial moods) wrill feel repulsed by them. In
other words, the sensitive person is psychically able to perceive the auras of these people
and their true psychic selves even when their
outer or physical aspects do not manifest or
agree with the true inner state.
We are certain that everyone has had the
experience of an undefinable dislike, even a
feeling of revulsin, for a person who outwardly, in appearance and manner, is charm
ing, smiling, gracious, and courteous. At such
times, we have all felt a sense of guilt, of
personal shame for our feelings since they
seemed to be groundless and inconsistent
with the obviously pleasing personality of
the other. This was due to a conflict between
our subconscious and objective selves. On
the one hand, we wrere experiencing subconsciously a true discernment of the person-
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the word duty. Duty is probably a misunderstood concept because it can be interpreted
in so many different ways, and, furthermore,
it is subject to interpretation that permits it
to be put aside pending clarification or a
desire for a better understanding. Also, there
is a tendency on the part of all human beings
sometimes to believe that duty is substantially the obligation of someone else rather
than their particular obligation. For that
reason, we might find it worthwhile to direct
our attention to the meaning of the concept
of duty. In our analysis or discussion of the
subject, we can hope to orient ourselves bet
ter in relationship to the obligations and
desires which we have as individuis.
Duty is a difficult word to define since
each individual interprets his own obliga
tions and duties somewhat differently. As I
have already intimated, our tendency is to
be more harsh in our definition of duty for
others than for ourselves. Since duty is a
relative term, definition can only elabrate
upon its meaning rather than isolate it. Gen
erally speaking, duty is that which a person
is bound by moral obligation to do or not to
do. It may be defined in another way by
saying that it is the moral obligation in itself.
We must bear in mind, whenever we discuss morality, that life as a whole has both
its privileges and obligations. We are some
times so concerned about obtaining our privi
leges that we forget our obligations. Just as
the law of karma is exemplified in the law
of what we sow, so shall we reap; so we
might say that this same law is exemplified
in the simplicity of the idea of give and take.
We receive life, and we are placed in an
environment for the maintenance of that life.
We are obligated to preserve and attempt to
evolve the circumstances that will bring that
life to its ultimate perfection. Here we see
the operation of the same law that is con
sidered the law of karma. That is, we have
privileges, and we have obligations. Some
times, we belittle the privileges. We feel
that we would be just as well off, if not bet
ter off, if we were not given the privilege
of life. We sometimes resent it. Some resent
it to the point of wanting to eliminate either
themselves or the life of someone else who
may, they believe, be interfering with their
own.
Whether we always freely admit it or not,
life in itself is a privilege. It is also our
Cremation
A frater recalls that Rosicrucians are partial to cremation as a means of disposing of
the body of a deceased person. Would it be
violating natural law, he asks, if the body
were willed to medical institutions for re
search?
The body of man is material in every
sense of the word. Its components are of the
earth, and to earth it will return. Upon
transition, the body has served its usefulness
to the soul personality incarnating therein.
Were it of no further valu, the sooner it
could be reduced to the elements from
whence it carne the sooner could those ele
ments be reunited into useful form again.
This is the principie behind cremation and
the regeneration of elements by fire.
Unreality of Space
A frater says: I have studied the Mandami and fully understand the concept of
physical space and our relation to it. What
puzzles me is the unreal aspect of space, and
I would appreciate a clarification.
There are three ways to consider the
subject of space. They are conceptual,
perceptual, and absolute. Conceptual space
is whatever way man may conceive space,
either from the mathematical or other
points of view. Perceptual space is space
as we ordinarily seem to perceive it. It
is our most common notion of space. In
other words, by means of our senses of sight
and touch, we seem to perceive such a state
or condition of space as a reality. It would
appear to be a negative reality, that is, the
absence of some object or substance. On the
other hand, if we perceive space as a hiatus,
a gap between things, we are, at least, realizing such a condition. If we realize it enough
to confer identity upon it, then it is a kind
of reality from the perceptual point of view.
More succinctly, whatever we perceive is
to the senses of perception. We perceive
space; so, from the perceptual experience,
it is a reality.
Absolute space is the notion that space is
a positive state, that is, that it is as much
a reality as matter. It can be argued that if
it takes so much time for light leaving one
point to reach another, it must have traversed
space and that, therefore, space is absolute
and consequently a reality. However, we
know that there is no such condition as true
space if we mean by that term a state of
nothing. We know that to our unaided
senses of sight and touch there pass through
so-called space radiations of various kinds
which are discerned by instrumenta tion
only. Therefore, we can say that there is
only matter and energy and not true space
if we mean by that term an absolute void.
Space, then, as a term, is a misnomer if
considered in this sense. It is truly unreal
Color Therapy
Regarding color therapy, would a blind
man benefit just as much since he cannot
have an objective realization of colors?
Color therapy is largely psychological in
its effect on the mind, just as is music ther
apy. Thus the realization of certain colors
and sounds is the stimulus that brings on
mental states such as excitement, lethargy,
contentment, etc. There are, of course, physi
cal vibrations associated with color and
sound: These, flowing through the environ
ment of a person, could possibly be sensed
as well.
What physical therapy has achieved
purely through the physical vibrations of
colors and sounds has not yet been accurately
charted. It is theorized, however, that a person bathed in a blue color would feel or
react differently than if he were bathed in
a red color. There would be an interaction
between the peculiar frequencies of color
and sound and the frequencies of spirit
energy that compose the body. If this is true,
then a blind person would react to color
therapy because of the effect of color fre
quencies on his physical system.
It is unlikely that the normal frequencies
of blue light would excite or agitate the
different frequencies of physiological matter.
They would coexist in a common environ
ment, along with millions of other frequency
bands; but one is probably in a channel dif
ferent from the other, thereby eliminating
the probability of interaction.
A third factor must be considered, how
ever. This is a blind or deaf persons ability
to perceive color or sound through his psy
chic sense faculties. With these senses highly developed, the blind or deaf person, not
unlike a mind reader, could perceive the
color of objects or become aware of sounds
and thus respond psychologically, with corresponding effects on his body.B
Is Inviting Hazards Suicide?
A frater asks: Are mountain climbing
and similar popular activities suicidal in any
sense?
Much in life that constitutes achievement
and accomplishment entails serious risk to
life. From the biological point of view, survival is of the greatest valu. In other words,
nature places great stress and importance
Suelden Transition
A frater of New Zealand asks a question
of our Forum: What effect would it have on
a persons soul if he suddenly passed through
transition? Today, I attended the funeral
of a person who had suddenly passed away,
and I wondered what effect it would have
on his soul.
In Rosicrucian terminology, we speak of
the soul personality rather than soul. In our
metaphysics, or philosophy, we do not admit
that there are individual souls. We believe
that such a conception is archaic and primi
tive, even though still perpetuated by the
theology of many extant faiths. We expound
that souls are not implanted in individuis
as separate segments or substances. Rather,
from the traditional doctrines of the Rosi
crucians, we hold that there is but one uni
versal soul forc in the Cosmic. By this, we
mean one Cosmic Intelligence of a divine
nature. This soul forc, as explained in the
monographs, is infused into each individual
with the first breath of life. In fact, it accompanies the Vital Life Forc with each breath.
Therefore, each person is imbued with the
same immutable and divine soul intelligence.
There is no difference in the soul qualities
of any person, regardless of where or when
he is born, or of what parentage. Further,
regardless of the life of the individual, his
social status, how he thinks, or his moral
sense, he is equally divine in essence, that is,
in the quality of his soul. There is nothing
which a human being may do that can corrupt or demean the soul in his being. It does
not lie in the province of anyone to change
or modify to any degree the soul qualities.
If the soul is of cosmic, or divine, origin,
then it is a logical premise that it is divine
to the same degree in any man, whether he
be saint or criminal. But there are spiritual
distinctions in men, as we all know. Some
are morally superior to others; some have a
greater spiritual consciousness. This distinction is not in the essence of the soul within
them but rather in its expression. In some,
the divine quality of soul is more manifest.
This radiation, this reflection of the divine
qualities of the soul, is the personality. It is
that which is the objective characteristic of
the inner impulsation of the soul. Consequently, these two, soul and personality, are
related. Therefore, in Rosicrucian meta
INDEX OF VOLUME XXXIV (Comprising the entire Six Issues of the 34th Year)
NOTE The small letters after the page numbers refer to position on page: a , upper half of first column; b,
iower half of first column; c . upper half of second column; d , lower half of second column Titles of articles
are italicized.
Clairvoyants Who Sense Negative Condition, 81a
A
Cleanliness of Persons and Utensils, 14a, d, 15a
Ability of Man to Perceive. Illa
Color Therapy, 134a-b
About Premonidons, 98a-100b
Commonplace, Beyond the , 109d-lllc
Accepting Help. 12a-c
Concentration, 8b-d, 9b-10a, 55a
Accept Reincarnation? Must We , 6tb-62d
Concept of God. Anthropomorphic, 29b
Accidents of Birth, 12d
Conditions? W hy Does the Cosmic Require Special,
A Fable. 55d-57b
68c-69c
Affection, Objects of, 88d-89a
Condoning Undesirable Behavior, 112d-113c
Affirmations and Positive Thinking , 79a-80c
Conduct (Moral and Ethical) Conformity, 71a
Age Lasts About 2,160 Years, 58d-59a
Confirmation, Which? Knowledge or, 2a-3c
Air. Something in the, lOd-llb
Conflict, 63a-d
Akashic Records, the Cosmic, 98b
ConscienceMoral Sense, 117c
Altitude Flying, Psychic Effects of, 67b
Consciousness of Divine, Personal Development, 18c
Analyze Motives and Consequences, 47d
Conservatism and Tradition in Society, 64a-65c
Analyzing Sensations of Impressions, 5b
Contacting the Cathedral of the Soul, 3d-5b
Anesthetics and Drugs Produce States of
Contemplation or Meditation? 65d-66a
Hypnosis, 95d
Cosmic Attunement Arrived at Peisonally, 95c
Anger A Valu? Has, 27d-29a
Cosmic Attunement, Hypnosis and, 94b-95d
Animals, Domesticated. Win Affection, 88d-89a
Cosmic Energy, 45b-d
Animation, Suspended, 37d
Cosmic Goals, 125b-l26d
Anthropologists and EthnologistsFrazer and
Cosmic, God and the, 29b-30b
Tylor, 85a
Cosmic Harmony, 20d-21b
Appetites, Curbing the, 118c-119a
Cosmic IsEternal I Am, 86d
Applications for Membership, 41b
Cosmic Plan? Does Use of Subconscious Powers
Aquarian Age, The, 57b-59b
Disrupt A, 17b-18a
Are You Nonsectarian? 18a-19b
Cosmic Require Special Conditions? W hy Does the ,
Ask for Things? Should We, 30b-31b
68c-69c
Assimilative Process for Experiences, 17d
Creating Life, 45a-46c
Astrology, 57d-59b
Cremation, 130d- 131a
Attitude Determines Spiritual State, 34a
Cryptesthesia, 5d
Attitude of Real Seeker, 3a
Cultivate Expression of Psychic Aspects, 71b
Attunement With Another, 116b, c
Cult Not An Approved Word, 65a-c
Aura Is Vibratory Energy, 82a
Curbing the Appetites, 118c-119a
Aura, NegativePositive, 89b-90c
D
Aura, Residual, lOd-lla
A Word About Health, 108a-d
Dar To Be Different! 63d-65c
Dark Night of the Soul, 113c-115a
B
Decadence of Past Civilizations, 71b
Declaration of Independence, 23d
BalanceBetween Soul and Body, 77d
Deep Breathing for Health, 19c-20a
BalanceHarmony, 31d, 32d, 33a
Defined? How Is Selfishness, 69c-70c
Basic Training (Rosicrucian), 17b
Definition (Extreme) Limits Thinking, 34b
Behavior, Condoning Undesirable, 112d-113c
Delinquency, 139b-c
BeliefsAbstract Knowledge, 2b-3b
Detecting Personality From Objects, 100b-102a
Beyond the Commonplace, 109d-lllc
Develop Awareness and Respond to It, 90a
Binder, Dr. Theodore and Blood Pressure Study,
Deviation From Custom Is Defiance, 63d
77a-b
Diet A Controversia 1 Subject, 76d, 77c
Birth for A Death? Is There A, 36c-37a
Diet and Psychic Development, 115b
Body and Soul, Nourishment of, 75c-78a
Different! Dar To Be, 63d-65c
Books:
Divine Love in TheologyImpersonal, 20a-b
Mansions of the Soul, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis,
Doctrine of Eschatology, 39c
62a-b, 135d
Doctrines (Innumerable Subjects) in Teachings,
Spiritual Property of Food, The, Dr. Lewis, 77c
The Republic, ,Book 3, Plato, 87a
61c-d
Does Charm Represent Inner Development? 122a-123c
Bringing Others Into AMORC, 39c-41b
Does Use of Subconscious Powers Disrupt A Cosmic
Bull Fights, 90d, 91 d
Plan? 17b-18a
Businessman, A Competent, 55d-57b
Do You Have Fears? 59b-61b
c
Drugs A Cause of Retardation, 13a
Drugs, Hallucinogenic, 17c
Cathedral of the Soul, Contacting the, 3d-5b
Duality, Law of, 75c
Changes in Personalities of Associates, 84a
Dual,
Nature, Maris, 119a-d
Changing Thoughts and Attunement, 115d
Duty,
The Meaning of, 123c-125b
Character Is Behavior, 41 d
Charm Represent Inner Development? Does,
E
122a-123c
East, Making Salutations to the, 136c-137d
Chemistry of Organisms and Diet, 33c
Effect vs. Cause, 31c-32d
Childrens Need, Recognize, 13b-c
Effects of, Space Exploration, Psychic, 67a-68b
Christian Sects Incompatible, 26d
Christianity? Is Rosicrucian Philosophy Compatible
Egyptian Relies Unpacked, lOlb-d
Einstein, Albert, 16c-d, 133c
With, 26a-27d
Electric Charges Passed Through Gas, 45a, 46a
Church Develops Religious Attitude, 18c? d
Encyclical, The Late Pop's, 23d
Civilization? What Is Wrong With, 50a-53b
Idealists, 113b
Immovable Objects, 63a-d
Importance of A Sanctum, 78c
Impulse, Self ish, 69d
lndependent. Never, 21c
Indiscriminate Advice, 17b-c
Indifference of Life, The, 74a-75c
Individual, Karma and the, 31b-33a
Individuality of Man and Soul-Personality
Infringement, 27d
Inequality of Personal Powers, 52b
Infinite, All Instantaneous, 36b
Inner Development? Does Charm Represent,
122a-123c
Inner Self, Knowing the, 41c-42d
Innocence and Guilt? What Are , 117a-118c
Insight, Gaining. 83d-85a
Insight, Mystical, From Practice, 84d
Inspectors General, 94a
Instincts and Past Lives, 7d
Integration; Personality, Self, 7c
Interests, Unrestrained PersonalConflict, 50d
Interfering Thought, 86b-87a
Intolerant Persons, 40a
Intuitive Theory of Moris vs. Taboos, 71c
Is Inviting Hazards Suicide? 134b-135c
Islam and Mormon Polygamy, 109b
Is Meditation Sufficient? 65c-67a
Is Nudism Necessary to Health? 85a-86a
Is Polygamy Justifiable? 108d-109d
Is Risking Life, Suicide? 22b-23c
Is Rosicrucian Philosophy Compatible With
Christianity? 26a-27d
Is There A Birth for A Death? 36c-37a
Parapsychology, 100c. d
Parapsychology Class, RCU, 101a
Personality From Objects, Detecting, 100b-102a
Personality Which We Develop, 74d
Perspective in Fear and Reason, 59d
Petitioning Help, 11b, d-12b
Philosophy, Pur ScienceKeys to Knowledge, 17a-b
Physical and Psychic Manifestations. 34a-35d
Physical Circumstances of Man, 61a
Place of Rebirth A Magnetic Influence, 132c
Pleasure in Creating, Realizing, 135b
Plice Officers Experience, 112d
Poisoning. Mental Self. by Suggestion, 47c
Polarity of Nous, 68a
Poles Must Be Equal for Balance, 119b-d
Polygamy Justifiable? Is, I08d-109d
Positive Thinking, Affirmations and . 79a-80c
Possession, Our Greatest, 53c-55b
Potentialities of the Soul, 75d-76b
Power to Help Men, 92c
Prayer
A Mystical Experience, 140b
What Actually Occurs. 140a-b
Prayers? Who Answers Our, 126d-128b
Preceptor Depicts Cosmic Light, Wisdom, 137c
Precession of the Equinoxes, 58c-59a
Preincarnation, 82d-83d
Premonitions, About, 98a-100b
Prepared to Receive Rosiciucian Philosophy? 39d
Prerogative to HaveA Belief, 51b. d
Pride in Membership, 93b-94b
Primitive TribesNaked, 85b
Prince Ragoczy of Transylvania, 111d
Piinciples of Health, 108a
Privacy of the Mystic, The , 115c-116c
Privileges and Obligations, I24a-125a
Problem Solving, 107b-c
Profit by UntruthUnsound, 87d
Proscriptions Against Foods, 13d
Psychic Development, Diet and, 115a
Psychic Development, The Technique of, 102a-l03b
Psy'chic Effects of Space Exploration, 67a-68b
PsychicFaculties, Powers Beyond the Conscious, 98c
Psychic Hitchhikers, 78a-79a
Psychic Manifestations, Physical and, 34a-35d
Psychology and Parapsychology, 7a
Psychology and Psychical Research Subject:
Xenoglosis, 5c
Puipose and Cause in Existence, 103d-104b, d-105a
Purpose for Mans Being HereBelief, 62d
Purpose of Cosmic Laws Essential to Function, 69a
R O S I C R U C I A N P R E S S , L T D .,- S A N J O S E
L I T H O IN U . S . A .
mi! ni
A prvate publication
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The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Publication, Supreme Coundl of A M O R C , Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California 95114
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however, such is explained only in the symbolic sense and is not to be taken literally in
detail.
The writings of Dionysius first gained
attention in A.D. 503. Dionysius was called
the Areopagite because he was thought to
have been converted by the Apostle Paul in
the Areopagus, a high court on Mars Hill
in Athens. In his writings, there are numerous references to his great master and guide,
Hierotheus. Dionysius says in his work entitled, The Divine ames, that Hierotheus
has already unfolded the truths. Hiero
theus is apparently an assumed ame under
which a certain master of Edessa wrote.
This master, Stephan Bar Sudaili, a scribe
and monk, wrote in the 5th century. His
work was entitled, Book of Hierotheus. It is
probable that Dionysius master was this
monk, Sudaili, who lived approximately
A.D. 475-525.
According to the doctrines of Dionysius,
which became extremely popular, there is
an initial Supreme Deity. He cannot be
known, but he can be reached and experienced. There are two ways for the soul, he
said, to experience this Deity: One is by the
affirmative way; the other, the negative. The
progress of the soul is both downward and
upward, through a ninefold rank of angelic
beings, a celestial hierarchy. These beings,
or intelligences, are ranged in a trinity of
threes, three times three equalling nine.
Each group of three is lower in intelligence
and spiritual perfection since it is farther
removed from the cosmic or divine source.
The way up through this trinity of threes
constitutes a celestial ladder for the soul, a
climb back to God. Man must strip himself
of certain evil ways and evolve as he climbs
from one to another of these intelligences or
angelic stages. Each of these intelligences is
said to impart something of its wisdom to the
soul so that it can attain its ultimate per
fection. The first of the intelligences and
nearest to God, or the first trinity, is said to
be the Seraphim, the Cherubim, and the
Thrones; the second are the Dominions, the
Virtues, and the Powers; the third and lowest are the Principalities, Archangels, and
Angels. The lower group are said to be
more like symbols and signs that lead and
guide men upward. Dionysius called this
the negative approach, and it is the one
which he preferred.
These, then, are the origin and the symbolic meaning of the tem, Path of Pur
IntelligenceX
I have no doubt that almost everyone remembers as a child reading the story of the
ant and the grasshopper. This story had to
do with the industrious ant that labored during good weather and had food stored away
for winter when it was difficult to find food.
The grasshopper derided the ant for its industriousness, but when it became coid and
no food was available, it was glad to ask for
help from the ant. The moral of the story,
of course, was to impress young people with
the valu of work and planning ahead. Possibly, such a type of story would not be out
of place in this modern-day tempo of living.
I am unaware as to whether the story is still
read in our grade schools today.
It is true that the social organizations of
many insects and many other forms of life
are highly complex. They have been studied
and discussed by many authoritative biologists. It is easy to understand when we ex
amine the complex social structure of the beehive, the ant hill, or the colonies in which
many other forms of life exist, that it would
at first thought appear to be an evolved form
of society. This, I believe, was a commonly
accepted concept of fifty or more years ago,
more so than today because modern man has
seen the impact of the combination of technology and dictatorship well illustrated in
some countries now as well as in the immediate past. While those countries that have
had this type of government have taken advantage of technological situations and have,
in many cases, become advanced in certain
fields, they have fallen down in others. Most
individuis who have lived under a dictator
ship have not been too happy with either
the government itself or its end results.
The human being differs from lower forms
of animals or animal life in general in that
he is equipped to think creatively. He is
also in a position to broaden his decisions and
develop more of a degree of choice than is
found in the levels of lower animal life. It
does not seem to me that those who talk of
the ideal society as being under a form of
regimentation recall the fact that some of the
greatest developments of mans history have
come about as the result of the freedom of
the individual to think.
It is questionable whether today we would
have the philosophy of Plato, Scrates, and
Aristotle if these individuis had been restricted in thought. In fact, when Scrates
As A Man Thinks
A frater asks, If we are what we think,
then why cannot our thoughts more readily
bring us success?
Great emphasis has been laid on the supposition that, As a man thinks, so is he.
In mystical study, we accept this as being
almost axiomatic. But, naturally, the chal
lenge arises that no matter how much he
thinks about it, not everything a man thinks
has its counterpart in the world of reality.
It is evident that a man must do much more
than to think health to be healthy or to think
riches to be rich. Many students of mysticism accept an axiom such as As a man
thinks, so is he; then they attempt to relate
their efforts and progress to it. When they
find that thinking about things brings no
startling results and that concentration is of
no greater help in achieving their goals,
they soon lose interest in study or give up
their quest for greater Light completely.
Errors of Conscience
A soror of England, addressing our Forum,
says: There are persons who do strange
things in the ame of conscience, and I find
it hard to understand such a conscience. It
seems that these types of conscience lean very
much toward the objective side, or the mundane.
Conscience represents our moral convictions. It is the inclination to conform to a
sense of righteousness, which manifests in a
particular kind of conduct. Such responsive
behavior may be so positive as to pursue a
particular course of action or to refrain from
some action. It is, however, erroneous to
think that the dictates of conscience are al
ways proper and right. Many acts which,
however, were subsequently proved to be
wrong and, in fact, in some instances very
harmful have been committed in good faith
motivated by conscience.
It is often assumed that conscience is a
divine inclination, that it is the dictate of
the soul and that, therefore, its functions can
result only in constructive, beneficial, and
morally perfect acts. Conscience is a composite. First, psychologically and mystically,
it consists of an intuitive impulse. It is an
awareness that the individual has to his hu
man relationships. It is a sympathetic ex
tensin of the interests of self to include the
welfare of others. We act on conscience as
we believe we would want others to act to
ward us. A sensitive person is responsive to
& n j/ 04f
PERSONAL
CONTACT
ib SPOKCM WORD!
Ever since man learned to reproduce the spoken word m echanically, he has utilized this marvel o f technology to comprehend and master the elem ents o f his universe. Recordings m ake far things seem near. They bring intim acy and
understanding. They enlarge mans perspective, and bring about a com m union o f minds. The use o f m ans inventive
genius to enlarge his own knowledge o f his environm ent is the highest purpose to which reason can be employed.
Since in so many cases inventive genius has coincided with Rosicrucian training and perspective in the past, it is only
tting that Rosicrucians everywhere em ploy the discoveries o f their brothers in these Creative fields. It is with this in
m ind that we urge members to obtain these excellent tape recordings o f the instructive discourses and messages o f
their officers and teachers. Our list of subjects is growing m onthly, and if you have even the sim plest tape recorder
available, you will enjoy hearing the discourses below.
Title
Ij o u
Approx.
Length
Voiee
R. M. Lewis
C. A. Poole
R. M. Lewis
H. Miles
R. M. Lewis
H. P. Stevens
R. M. Lewis
R. R. Clayson
C. A. Poole
J. D. Freeman
M. Chard
P. Falcone
C. A. Poole
R. M. Lewis
Cost
19 min.
13
24
45
21
24
14
20
14
16
22
24
23
13
$3.50
3.50
3.50
6.00
3.50
3.50
3.50
3.50
3.50
3.50
3.50
3.50
3.50
3.50
The above titles are only a sam ple o f what is available. A complete
list will be sent with your order or upon separate request. All tapes
are made at 7 W per second. Send your order to:
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R O S I C R U C I A N P R E S S , L T D ., S A N J O S E .
California 95114
L I T H O IN U S . A .
U. S. A,
October, 1964
Volum e X X X V
No. 2
RO SIO Rlim i
FORUM
A prvate publication
for m em bers of A M O R C
Greetings!
V
vides a deeper insight, a sense of Peace Profound, an awakening and developing of the
powers of self. It makes possible Creative
activity and the formation of a practical phi
losophy of life, leading to greater happiness
and attainment. The extent of this attainment depends, of course, upon the degree
of the mystical development of the individual
and on the manner in which he interprets
these experiences.
The true mystic is at all times aware that
he is using natural and cosmic laws. He does
not consider them occult in the sense that
they are hidden, supernatural forces to be
aroused by secret methods. A mystic may
consider his teachings esoteric. However, by
this he means prvate or confidential. He
is happy to share them, at least to introduce
others to the same channels or source of
knowledge to which he has access. But to
him such knowledge is sacred and it is not
to be profaned by promiscuous use, by passing it on to the man on the Street. The mys
tic believes and knows that one must first
prove himself worthy or such knowledge
would be of no avail.
Through ignorance or misinformation, the
word mysticism is frequently misused. In
newspapers, periodicals, and conversation,
one often sees or hears the word interchanged
with others that really mean mysterious,
weird, or occult. Such wrong reference,
common as it is, shows a lack of knowledge
of philosophy and a complete unfamiliarity
with the meaning of mysticism.
It is shocking to hear even a clergyman
speak disparagingly of mysticism. He fails
to realize that if one were to remove the
mystical element from Christianity, or out
of religin generally, such would become but
a shell devoid of religious spirt. Clergymen
who speak in that manner have perhaps contacted some group or organization which
styles itself mystical but whose practices are
not truly such; then, on that basis, an opinion
of mysticism is formed. However, for an
academic degree in theology, a thelogian is
The Rosicrucian Forum is Publshed Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Publication, Supreme Council of A M O R C , Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California 95114
Entered as Second Class Matter at the P ost Office at San Jos, C alifornia, under Section 1103
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Psychic Sounds
A letter representative of many to this
Forum reads: On several occasions, I have
heard a voicenot exactly a human voice, but
more a ringing voice vibrating through space.
It says a distinct sentence and then discon
tines completely. This has happened mostly
after I have gone to bed although it has oc-
intense sensations of sound than the disturbance of the air which you hear.
In these examples, of course, the individual
knows or is conscious of the origin of such
sounds. He is aware that they do not exist
apart from him and are, in fact, internal.
This is usually because there are sensations
of touch which accompany them, such as
pain or discomfiture. When, however, in
ternal sounds are intense and are not accompanied by tactile sensations and are not
directional, that is, do not seem to come from
any one direction, the individual then is
very much mystified. He is apt to believe
them to be of external origin; but since no
one is present or nothing seems to have
caused the sounds, the experiences seem to
take on a supernatural origin.
Consequently, when physical disturbances
within us produce sensations of sound with
out pain or other awareness, the hearer is
inclined to attribute them to weird or ex
ternal forces. Such sounds may be like a very
high-pitched whistle or, again, like frying or
crackling if they are disturbances within the
ear. A combination of such sounds may create the impression of hearing the incoherent
voice of an invisible speaker. Also, such
physical causes lead persons to imagine that
they are hearing music or song. If the condition is not investigated and corrected, the
fear and consequent inhibitions may produce
psychoneurosis, namely, hysteria, obsessions,
etc.
The question may be asked, when one
hears sounds and there is no external cause
discemible, how is he to know whether or
not they are from an ear affliction? If a
physical ailment, that is, an ear affliction,
is the cause, a lessening of hearing in one or
both ears or perhaps slight inflammation will
be noticed. The discomfiture and the loss of
hearing may not actually accompany the
consciousness of the sounds; but if one has
had them not long before the hearing of such
sounds or subsequently, it is advisable to
have an ear specialist examine the ears. In
all probability, that will end the hearing of
strange sounds.
P sychological: The term cryptesthesia
refers to the often displayed human faculty
of determining events and realities without
the means of the physical senses. Cryptes
thesia, consequently, concerns psychic phe-
Favorable Cydes
A soror in Southern California has two
questions for our Forum. How can one possibly choose the good hour for a surgical operation? For example, I was in the hospital
for four days, having a series of tests. Then
the doctor chose 7:30 a.m. for the operation.
According to the book Self-Mastery and Fate,
this was not a good period for surgical operations. Being conscious of this fact now and
also having had complications set in, I am
wondering whether all this would have been
different had I been operated on in another
period. If so, why? How can a few hours
make such a difference?
Each moment in life brings us to new destinies. A turn here, a moments hesitation
there, some knowledge too late; each can
change the course of a persons life. Each
moment presents different circumstances and
thereby alters the outcome of events to some
extent.
There are many circumstances that revolve around the events of our lives, how
ever. No single circumstance governs an
entire event, and this must always be kept
in mind. The cosmic influences as depicted
in the Cycles of Life are one such circum
stance. They lend to or take away from the
propitiousness of any act or event in life.
They are an impersonal influence and act
upon man as do other cosmic, natural forces.
Also, they can be mitigated by other circum
stances entering into the picture.
purpose and not allow it to become completely inactive. For analogy, we seek to
repress crime in a community but we control
the flow of vehicular traffic.
The next question which follows logically
is, What in our natures should we control
and what should we repress? Whatever is
common to our physical nature, that is, our
organic being, and to our mental self should
be exercised. This exercise must be intelligently performed. The individual should seek
to understand first the nature of his physical
self, its various desires and appetites. He
must learn what, from the physiological and
biological point of view, these desires or func
tions serve. He may acquire such knowledge
from his physician or from appropriate textbooks on the subject.
The individual learns that repression may
create subnormality, which results in disorganizing his whole personality and his relation to life. There are some functions which
we cannot repress without immediate violent
reaction in the form of severe pain or death.
We know that we cannot repress our respiratory action, that is, we cannot stop our
breathing, without strangulation ensuing. We
know, also, that we cannot completely repress
the desire for food without suffering starvation. However, there are functions necessary
to our organic being which can be repressed.
Nevertheless, such repression over a long
period of time can cause glandular disturbances which will detrimentally affect ones
health, physically and mentally. The fact
that no effects of a drastic nature are experienced at once from such repressions causes
many to indulge them in the belief that no
harm ensues.
Celibacy is one of these repressions that
results in personality distortions. Often religious misconceptions which teach that nor
mal sexual relations are immoral have caused
persons to seek complete abstinence from
such relations. As a result, they disorganize
and warp their lives. Whatever is in accordance with its purpose and in human
relations cannot be conceived as immoral.
The counter state of repression is excess.
Any function which causes the individual to
rule his whole life by it, that is, to set it up
as the main objective, constitutes an excess.
Such is an abuse of nature, a dissipation of
her powers. A normal healthy person can
interpose will power to discipline his desires.
Unconscious Wrongs
A soror writes: There have been instances
in my life when I have done what appeared
best at the time, but much later I have seen
that others have been terribly hurt by my
deed. If, unconsciously, we hurt others deeply through our self-centeredness and inability
to comprehend, will these acts become debts
of karma to be righted?
This question involves the laws and prin
cipies of karma. Karma is the law of causality, meaning that for each act there is a
reaction; for each cause, an effect. Another
term for karma is the law of compensation.
Karma, as a law, is impersonal. It is not a
theistic act, wherein a god or deity seeks to
exact retribution for some man-made wrong.
Rather, karma is as impersonal in its effects
upon all persons as is the phenomenon of
gravity. Just as gravity displays no discrimination for or against the classes of human
society, so neither does karma. Therefore,
one who unconsciously commits a wrong is
subject to the consequence of his deedbut
with certain lesser effects.
There are mental and moral acts, as well
as physical ones. Therefore, there are moral
consequences or causes, as well as material
ones. When through ignorance one hurts
another, he will come to know the effects of
such a hurt. The lesson derived from the
experience will be the effect that it has upon
him. For analogy, a careless boy throws a
stone and breaks a window. The effect is the
broken window. There is also the vicarious
effect upon the boy. He comes to realize the
damage, the result of his negligence, and his
responsibility for it. That is his compensation and the karmic effect.
When deliberately and with malice aforethought one throws a stone to break a win
dow, there is then a dual system of causes
invoked. First, the physical one from which
arises the shattering of the glass; second, the
moral one. The individual has set into motion a state of mind within himself, a kind
of conduct which ultimately must have its
effect, not only in broken glass, but also in
the painful adjustment of his own thoughts.
He must learn what the destruction of property means in personal loss and feeling.
Sometime, he will come to experience the
consequence of acts parallel to his own. Such
an individual, according to the laws of karma,
A Book That
Challenges
Belef!
This book, The Conscious Interlude, provides stimulating adven
ture. It presents a liberal philosophy of life. Figuratively, thi
study places you on the threshold of realitysurveying with ai
open mind all that you experience. The book opens a world o
radical thoughtradical only in that the author has succeeded ii
freeing himself of all traditional ideas and honestly reappraise
what we have been told and are accustomed to believe.
Consder These
Chapter Titlesl
IX Mysteries of Time and
PREFACE
Space
INTRODUCTION
Fourth
Dimensin
X
I Inquiry into
XI Conscience and
Consciousness
Moris
II Adventure into Self
XII Immortality
III Inquiry into
XIII The Dilemma of
Knowledge
Religin
XIV The Mystical
IV Nature of Truth
Consciousness
V Will
XV
The
Philosophy of
VI Is Absolute Reality
Beauty
Mind?
XVI Psychology of Conflict
VII Illusions of Law and XVII The Human Incentive
Order
XVIII Conclusin
VIII Causality
Index
TH E AUTH OR
O NLY
Our friends in the Briish Isles are permitted by their Government regulations
to obtain this book direct from the 3 7 5
U. S. A. But it may also be purchased
from the Rosicrucian Supply Bureau,
25 Garrick St., London, W.C. 2, England. ( 1 / 7 / 3 sterling)
R O S IC R U C IA N P R E S S LT D
SA N JO S E
L|TH<
Mans Mornent
In Eternty
No. 3
lisimim
ini!ni
A prvate publication
for m em bers of A M O R C
Monument to A
Rosicrucian
Here in this centuries - od
church in Mortlake, a suburb
o f London, are interred ihe
r e m a in s o f the c e le b r a te d
E n g lis h mathematician and
Rosicrucian, Dr. John Dee
(15 2 7 -1 6 0 8 ). Falsely accused
by the superstitious of using
enchantments against Queen
Mary, he was acquitted and
later became Queen Eliza
beths counselor on affairs of
the Kingdom.
Greetings!
V
PLANETARY STEPS
Dear Fratres and Sorores:
Is there a correspondence or a relationship
between the stages of development of the
soul personality and the possible life span of
beings on other planets? In various ways,
this question has been asked by students of
philosophy, metaphysics, and mysticism.
The question involves certain presumptions. The first and most obvious is, of
course, that life exists elsewhere in the
greater universe and is not confined to earth
alone; the second that such life has attained
an organic and intellectual development
comparable to or exceeding that of homo
sapiens, or man.
With an increasing knowledge of the
probable origin of life and its development,
as recently expounded in the accounts of the
discovery of the D.N.A. molecule, the possibility of the existence of life elsewhere in
the universe is generally accepted by most
biologists and astronomers. It does not seem
reasonable that the conditions that nurture
and sustain life on earth are a caprice of
nature confined only to this minute cosmic
body. Our universe and sun and its planets
occupy but one small part of the great ellipse
that composes the Milky Way, our galaxy.
In this galaxy, it is assumed that there are
several million other universes with their
bright stars, or suns, and planets. Beyond
our galaxy are millions of others, with per
haps billions of universes with an infinite
number of worlds and suns.
Exactly the right conditions in any such
universe would need to prevail if life were
to exist there in even its simplest state. A
sun too cise to a planet would make it too
hot for the living cell. One too distant would
not provide the proper temperature. Fur
ther, the atmosphere would need to be freed
of certain destructive gases. But considering
the tremendous multiplicity of worlds that
exist and the law of probability, numerous
celestial bodies which support life of a higher
order of intelligent beings could exist. This,
of course, does not mean that their physical
TO EVOLUTION
appearance and faculties would be exactly
the same as ours. Even upon earth, there is
a great variation among mammals. However,
regardless of their physical form, their organ
of brain could possibly have attained as
great a development as it has in the creature
man.
The question arises, then, why have not
these intelligent beings established communication with earthlings in a manner evident
to all mankind? There are scientific speculations in regard to this. First, these beings
may exist millions upon millions of light
years from earth. Multiply 186,000 miles
per second, the speed of light, by the number
of seconds in one year and you have the in
comprehensible distance of one light-year
from earth! It is quite probable that even
though equal to humans in comprehension,
such beings know no more about the exist
ence of earth than man knows about their
world! Thus they would not attempt to
communicate with earth.
How would beings capable of communication as far as intelligence is concerned do
so? The problem would be not just a matter
of language; it would depend upon the pow
ers and faculties of perception. Would the
faculties of such entities be the same as ours?
Would an intelligent transmission to us be
such that we could receive it? For analogy,
if we had not the receptor organs of sight,
that is, if we could not see, we would have
no knowledge of visual images. Then if a
being were attempting to communicate with
us in a visual form, we could have no reali
zation of it. Suppose that we are lacking
some other faculty by which the transmitted
intelligences of outer-world beings could be
perceived? We would have no knowledge of
them. These are speculations of science and
philosophy in regard to potential communication with intelligent beings existing else
where. There is a general conviction regarding the probability of such life, but how to
substantiate it is as yet in an amorphous
state.
theater for intelligent beings, it seems incongruous to him that a soul personality should
be confined merely to life on earth.
What we can be certain of is that if there
are beings capable of self-consciousness to
the degree that homo sapiens is, then such
beings have what men at this time generally cali soul. Further, to consider the high
er conception of mysticism, namely, that if
there is universal soul consciousness which
pervades the Cosmic and which acquires a
form of self-consciousness in complex living
organisms, then such beings anywhere in
any universe manifest the qualities of soul.
Fratemally,
RALPH M. LEWIS,
Imperator.
The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Publication, Supreme Council of A M O R C , Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California 95114
Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, California, under Section 1103
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RATE: 45c (3/6 sterling) per copy; $2.50 (18/3 sterling) per year FOR MEMBERS O N LY
Healing Electronically
A soror poses the following question: uIn
a discussion group which I attend regularly,
which is attended by laymen and also by
professional men, including physicians, the
subject has arisen of the possibility of healing
electronically. Briefly, the theory advanced
involves the following:
The human body, its molecules and cells,
is essentially of a vibratory nature. If it were
possible to determine electronically the vi
bratory rate of healthy cells; then it would
appear that disea sed cells could be made
healthy by the restoration of the correct rate
of vibrations.
This speculation seems to approach the
realm of probability since related kinds of
therapy are being used or investigated by
physicians in all categories. The growing
realization that there is a great deal of electrical activity in the cellular structure of the
body has led to the advancement of much
electronic equipment in diagnosing and
treating disease. The od heat lamps, colordesigned rooms, and musical selections were
all evidences of the application of treatment
through invisible waves of one kind or an
other. Each of these is receiving increased
attention in the healing arts.
There are other indications and evidences
of electrical activity in the bodythat which
is a product of certain chemical reactions.
In a sense, medicines and drugs evoke a degree of electrical activity by the chemical
action they induce. Externally applied elec
trical energy is now used to stimulate cellular
activity throughout the body. Heart beats,
blood pressure, mental activityall are
measured in terms of electrical impulses.
When we begin to talk about electrical ac
tivity, we also get into the realm of waves,
vibrations, and frequencies. This is a more sophisticated field of therapy, but definitely
related and certainly the next step in the
fascinating field of understanding the human
body. Science is on the verge of isolating the
characteristic frequencies of various cells,
whether healthy or diseased. As these fre
quencies are isolated, it will be yet another
challenge to find a corresponding frequency
outside the body which can be applied and
which can affect diseased tissue.
In theory, it seems quite plausible. In
practice, there remains the question of arti-
Transition of Infants
A frater asks what purpose there is in a
new-bom babys passing through transition
after merely a few days of life. Can the soul
personality obtain any experience in this
short length of time, or is the experience
meant for the parents?
The Cosmic Soul, of which each of us is a
part, is continuously seeking expression. This
is an inherent impulse in the Cosmics eternal
effort to be . Where there is a mdium for
expression, Soul will manifest. In the cosmic
sense, there is no beginning or end to Soul,
or to its potential for expression. Therefore,
we may say that the reason for so short-lived
an existence was the physical limitations of
that particular body. Such a vehicle simply
was not capable of sustaining life. It was
part of the constant battle for physical forms
to endureto survive. But with physical
forms there is always the potential for accident, malfunction, or incompleteness.
To Soul, it means little as to when it loses
a particular mdium of expression, for it al
ways seeks out and finds another. Thus the
emotional experience of an early transition
is not the soul personalitys, but that of the
family or relatives. The loss is theirs, not
that of the soul personality involved.
If there is any lesson to be learned, it is
for humanity to develop ways and means to
correct physical deficiencies and weaknesses
so that each body can manifest a full life
span. Humanity must learn to prevent accidents that interrupt a full term and must
gain knowledge in the ways of preventing
human misfortunes in the future.B
Psychic Development and Peace
A frater submits this question to our
Forum: In view of the fact that most indi
viduis and nations are at different stages
of evolution and psychic development, do
you believe there will come a time when
there is peace over the entire earth?
Let us first have some agreement on what
we would consider to be peace over the en
tire earth. To most persons, especially at
this time when there is much political uncertainty and threatened nuclear war hangs
over mankind like a sword of Damocles,
peace is construed as the abolition of war.
But such peace is only a concord between
different organized societies, or sovereign
states. Concomitant with such eventual in-
of mankind have ever achieved it. The adherents of the great religions in the main
have given this principie of the brotherhood
of man only lip service. In their private
lives, they have failed to let the inner man,
the greater psychic part of themselves from
which their higher ideis stem, direct their
lives.
There are those who have attained this
peace profound within themselves. They are
capable of teaching the method to others.
There are societies, of which the AMORC is
one, who likewise delineate the way.
However, as an accomplished fact, this peace
profound still depends upon the evolution
and psychic development of the individual.
You can lead a horse to water, but you
cannot make him drink.
Man must want to develop the finer sen
sibilices and emotions of his being. To do
this requires sacrifices. He must be willing
to forgo submission to all sensual appeals.
He has to cease making the whole end of life
the gratification of his physical appetites and
desires. Gautama Buddha, the worlds first
great psychologist, taught that desire is the
central cause of human suffering. If one
gives way entirely to desire, as does most of
humanity today, personal peace is an impossibility.
We cannot eliminate desire entirely, or
should we, for man would thereby become
phlegmatic. It is desire that gives man the
drive by which he has also accomplished
those things in art, science, and literature
that are worthy of him. Desire, though, can
be projected to extremes. It can invade the
security and well-being of others, and therein
lies the strife between human beings.
Man must attain a state of consciousness
where, as we have often said, the self will
also embrace the interests and well-being of
others. The philosophical precept of eudaemonism must become uppermost in the
human consciousness. This is the theory that
the aim of right action is personal well-being
and happiness.
Peace, then, begins not with treaties be
tween states, political concords, and United
Nations, but rather with the concepts and
activities of the individual. To paraphrase
a renowned statement by Dr. H. Spencer
Lewis, no nation or people can rise any
higher than the level of its individual con
sciousness.X
A Universal Language
A frater from southem Australia asks:
How good is the idea of a universal lan
guage for humanity and to what extent
should it be encouraged? There are very
few people who would arge against the
virtue of a universal language. There isnt
much that anyone can say against it. By
erasing communication barriers between the
people of the world, the possibilities for
peace, prosperity, and international understanding would be greatly facilitated.
It is felt by many statesmen that the lan
guage barrier is today the greatest cause for
misunderstanding between nations. Lan
guage is, after all, our principal means of
communicating with others, and if we cannot
communicate, we are at a loss to understand
their actions and behavior.
There is a more practical aspect to be
considered also. The translation and duplication of countless written instructions, his
tories, novis, and commentaries would be
eliminated by the institution of a common
language. Travel between countries would
be more inviting, enjoyable, and educational
than now. The whole field of language instruction would all but disappear. There
would be in all phases of international rela
tions a fluidity that would minimize national
differences and bring human similarities into
a working relationship.
It isnt opposition to the idea that pre
vens its implementation; rather it is a ques
tion of peoples hesitancy to surrender their
present language for something new. It
would require not only a tremendous psychological adjustment, but also an enormous investment of time and materials to bring
about the change.
Individually, of course, millions of people
are already changing their language or
learning an additional one. The conversin
to a single language for the whole world is
not impossible, and it would only require a
decisin by every nation to cooperate in such
a venture. For the people it would be difficult only for a short time; then everything
would be familiar again, and the great social
barrier would be breached.
The main task in the preparation for such
a venture would be the creation of the com
mon language. Once all nations are agreed
on what a common language should be, it
could be implemented in stages by requiring
Understanding
Truth
W isd om
Fellowship
Academ ic Freedom
Q ualified Instruction
Complete Laboratories
M odern Classroom s
Extensive Librar/ Facilities
Personal Demonstrations
Field Trips
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m sirunn
FO R II
A prvate publication
for m em bers of A M O R C
Michael Faradays
Home-Laboratory
Here, in Ham pton Court,
near London, this celebrated
English chem ist, physicist, and
Rosicrucian (1791-1867) conducted m uch o f his research.
Faraday, noted for his discoveries in the eld o f electromagnetics, was a member of
the Royal Society of London.
Greetings!
V
V V
WHAT IS PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT?
Dear Fratres and Sorores:
psyche, has been postulated as a kind of
The conception that man is dual is as od divine substance implanted in man. It is
as mans first analysis of his being. He has thought to carry with it certain attributes
obvious functions that are so unlike in their as consciousness, conscience, the moral sense,
phenomena that it is difficult to conceive of and other immaterial powers and functions.
their being other than separa te processes.
There were and are various schools of
The reason and the various mental processes thought concerning the inherent quality of
are quite easily differentiated from the physi soul. According to some theologies, the soul
cal organism and its activities. In fact, the is immured by sins which man has inherited
ancient Greeks considered reason the high and from which it must be liberated before
est attribute of mans nature and a distinctly it can have a full expression. This libera tion
divine quality implanted in the body. The is to be accomplished by certain acts of salsoul and reason were more generally con vation. Consequently, the individual aspires
sidered to be synonymous and one of the to that spiritual attainment, that freedom of
basic attributes of his dual nature.
the soul, which can be attained by conformThe Greeks, too, related love in its most ing to prescribed religious rites. This ac
elevated sense to the soul. Soul was a rational tivity is a kind of spiritual development or,
and loving entity. This love was construed in terms of the Greek ame for the soul, a
as compassion and was considered to be of the psychic development.
highest moral sense of which man is capable.
It is also a philosophical and metaphysical
The soul as an entity or a substance was
conception that the soul, as an infusin of the
thought to be ethereal, amorphous, and in body,
is accompanied by an efficacy and an
visible. It had no material qualities as does
that is a sort of supernatural
the body. These other qualities, though dis- intelligence
or
cosmic
mind
power. This doctrine extinguished from the physical organism, pounds that this intelligence
the
seemed to enter and leave the body with the rational mind, or the mortaltranscends
intellect.
breath. Consequently, the Greeks identified directs the involuntary functions of the bodyIt
soul with air, breath, or pneuma. The soul, such as the respiration, circulation of the
then, was of this airlike quality which soared blood, and other organic processes over which
to other regions. Long before the Greeks, the will has no direction. However, this
the notion of wings had been associated with
is accessible to the objective con
the soul and symbolized by a bird or by super-mind
sciousness. Man can be attuned with a
winged insects.
Eventually, the soul became personified source to accomplish phenomena which his
with the mythical character, Psyche. Ac normal mental processes cannot achieve.
Since this super-mind, or intelligence, of
cording to Greek mythology, Psyches husband was Cupid. When she discovered who the soul with its energy is infinite in its cos
he truly was, he departed; this was accom- mic relationship, it is held that it can and
does produce phenomena beyond the capaplished through the treachery of Venus.
Psyche searched and found him after suffer bility of the brain and the body. It is not
ing persecution by the jealous Venus. She limited by time or space. It has its own state
was then portrayed as a beautiful girl with of consciousness, both perception and con
ception; that is, it can realize what the physi
wingsthe soul in flight.
Psyche became the root out of which grew cal senses cannot perceive. Likewise, it can
such words and terms as psychic, psychology, generate ideas which are far more illuminatpsychosomatic, and numerous others depict- ing than those produced by the reason. This
ing the inner nature of man in contrast to mind and its forces, it is further contended,
the physical. In most religions, the soul, the exist like a reservoir within the human or-
ganism to be utilized to extend mans mastery over himself and his environment.
Since this intelligence and its powers are
of the soul, it naturally follows that they
would be referred to as psychic forces by
adherents of mysticism and metaphysics. It
became common in these systems to expound
ways and means of developing the psychic
powers of man. This development, or
method, has been defined in various ways
by the different schools of metaphysics and
esotericism. Actually, the term develop is
a misnomer when associated with the notion
of psychic powers, for if there is a transcendent soul forc, a divine intelligence, functioning as a higher mind in man, it certainly
does not lie within his province to develop it.
At least, the finite cannot logically exercise
a control over the infinite. Consequently, the
only development, according to this concep
tion, would be volitional methods of mind
whereby man can come to realize his latent
powers, awakening and directing them but
not adding to their omnipotence. Man develops only his state of awareness, his ability
to realize and develop a channel within him
self for the expression and function of his
immanent psychic power.
With the development of organic psychology, the word psychic acquired a different
meaning. It no longer had a relationship to
any spiritual, supernatural, or separate embodiment in man. All forces in man, all
phenomena attributed to him, were considered to be a unitary single quality of his
whole organism and quite natural. The
memory, the reason, the emotions, the socalled moral sense, conscience, consciousness
these were different functions arising out
of the complex monad or single entity which
man is declared to be. The human organism,
according to modera psychology, can produce
diverse forms of phenomena just as there
can be different notes produced by a single,
unified piano keyboard.
However, there is by this science a general
classification of the human phenomena. Some
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sonality, not incarnated, exists in no timespace mdium. It has not gone from this
world in the sense of traveling to one place
or another. When soul and body separate,
they simply become disjoined. Neither ceases
to exist. Neither goes anywhere in space or
time. They simply cease to manifest as a
unity. We might compare this to turning off
the switch on an electric current. When a
light is tumed off, the light bulb and the
electricity are still immanent. The electricity
does not fly off some place.
Thus when we speak of earthbound personalities, we are not speaking of one personalitys being closer to earth than another, for
in the cosmic sense no personality is any
closer or farther away than any other. When
we speak of earthbound personalities, we refer to the grosser elements of their natures
to which they gave vent and expression dur
ing their incarnation. It is these elements
which cause them to be immersed in similar
gross conditions whenever manifesting or
expressing in a physical form.B
What Is the Fourth Dimensin?
A frater, addressing our Forum, asks:
What is the Rosicrucian explanation of the
fourth dimensin?
There are and have been various concepts
advanced to explain the fourth dimensin.
These are metaphysical, philosophic, and
scientific. Under these categories, various
things have been termed the fourth dimen
sin. The Rosicrucian conception embraces
certain elements of each, but it is also quite
unlike the others. The views presented, of
course, are a hypothesis. As yet, no single
concept can be considered as irrefutable, that
is, as absolute proof that it is the fourth di
mensin.
The concept, or theory, most generally
advanced today outside of the Rosicrucian
teachings is the scientific theory. There are
three ordinary dimensions for space: length,
breadth, and thickness. Each of these dimen
sions is at right angles to both of the others.
In physics, it is necessary at times to desg
nate not only where a particle is but when
it is there. Thus time is made somewhat
analogous to space; the theory is referred to
as the space-time continuum. Let us real
ize, for example, how space affects time, how
it can determine the so-called flow of time,
that is, whether time is past, present, or
lems. If we could all live free of any restriction; if we did not have matters of
personal health, social status, or economic
conditions with which to deal; then our worries would be lessened considerably.
I would like to consider a few points that
may help each individual to learn to control
worry. If we cannot solve all our problems
immediately, we should, at least, learn to
cope with the matters that come before us
and cause us worry. There is a degree of
good in the advice on the part of the wellwisher who says, Dont worry.
If we develop our habit pattems properly,
we may be able to develop the ability of not
letting worry get to the point of causing
mental and physical grief or of developing
conditions that will be detrimental to our
health. The problem that appears to be insoluble is the one that probably needs the
most attention and consequently tends to
cause worry. Therefore, learning to deal
with our problems is one step toward the
control of worry.
There are some other points that are worth
considering. First of all, do not try to convince yourself that a problem is simply in
your own mind and nowhere else. That is,
consider your trouble or problem as an actu
ality. In our terminology, we mean by
actuality those situations, conditions, or
physical objects that actually exist in the
environment. To ignore worry is not to con
trol it. Affirmations, unfortunately, solve
very little.
Many years ago, there was a school of
psychology that believed in affirmations to
the extent that if a person had a problem,
all he had to do was to say he didnt have
it and the problem would cease to exist. Bitter experience convinces us of the lack of
truth in this supposition. Merely saying to
ourselves that we dont have a toothache
when we do have a toothache is no means
of controlling the actual pain. The pain will
continu until its cause is corrected, regardless of what we tell ourselves.
Therefore, the first way to deal with wor
ry about a problem is to acknowledge frankly
that the problem is an actuality and that we
shall deal with it as an existent condition
and not as an imaginative one within our
minds. Merely to say that a condition exists
in the mind and not in actuality does not
in any way make it less a problem to be
worried about.
FEBRUARY, 1965
Page 89
In the other brain they will become sensations and ideas to add greatly to that persons
knowledge immediately. In this way, one
person could inherit from another an accumulation of knowledge that otherwise might
take him years to acquire. Furthermore,
such impulses could be stored, constituting
a kind of Cerebral Impression Bank ready to
transmit its impressions to human brains at
any time. Years of slowly acquired knowl
edge deposited in the brain would be ready
for immediate conscious recall at a seconds
notice.
Such so-called psychic phenomena as extrasensory perception and mental telepathy
will be thoroughly understood. It will be
shown that every individual possesses the
faculties but not all are able to develop them
effectively. The relationship of these phe
nomena to certain glandular and cerebral
processes will be known. Greater use of
them will be made in a way that today would
seem uncanny and to the orthodox religionists even sacrilegious.
The causes of crime will be definitely
classified and understood. They will fall into
such categories of science as the psychological, physiological, and sociological. It will
be known that certain mental and emotional
types are potential criminis and cannot prevent their antisocial behavior. However,
corrective and curative methods will be
known and applied. The most difficult cate
gory will be the social, which will increase
its contribution to crime because of unrest
caused by excessive population.
Religin will undergo a revolutionary
change. Even today we can see signs of this.
Those who suggest that certain changes be
made which will be in accord with an enlightened future are severely criticized as
being radicals, heretics, nonreligious, and
the like. Religin will have to face up to a
new understanding of how man carne into
existence, of his relation to other living
things, of what causes him to have a moral
sense, of what gives rise to the notion of soul,
and of a new concept of immortality. Many
things which are now accepted as basic
truths in sacred literature will be found to
be merely legends or myths. This will compel a reorientation of the religious viewpoint.
Moris as a system of rational philosophy
rather than a religious creed will become
more widely accepted. Men will see the
forms of life known to man have certain persistent qualities by which life is identified.
Every living cell exhibits these characteristics
and a seeming intelligence. This intelligence
is infinite in its nature in contrast to the
more limited objective consciousness arising
out of the unity of the V. L. F. and the body.
This superior intelligence is that which is
of the nature of the V. L. F.
What man considers his soul, that in
which his personality is established, is his
consciousness of this intelligence of the
V. L. F. This realization takes the form of
a more pronounced and intimate kind of
self-consciousness. We are not, in other
words, just a self in the sense of realizing
our physical form or in our consciousness
of bodily pains, pleasures, and appetites. Self
is also a consciousness of the entirety of our
organism and our awareness of the whole
process. This is experienced as a subtle subliminal feeling, or emotion.
Slowly, we build up what we cali the soul
personality. Such is our behavior response
to the inner impulses and the motivations of
the V. L. F. within us. Another way of
saying it is that our soul personality is our
expression of the cosmic intelligence accompanying the Vital Life Forc in us. Some
may cara to cali this intelligence the Univer
sal Soul, which is alike in all men; but each
acquires a different response to it, and that
response in his behavior and expression is
his soul personality.
What occurs at transition is based on the
premises we have outlined here. First, there
is the separation of the V. L. F. that activates
the molecular substance of the body and
causes it to be alive. This vital forc, with
its order and apparent intelligence, is not
destroyed but contines after transition its
relationship to all other cosmic forces of
which it is a part. It is like an electric current, which contines after the device which
it has activated has been destroyed or disassembled.
However, there is a difference in that the
consciousness that arse as a function in the
body and produced the realization known as
soul personality leaves an impression of it
self on the V. L. F. It causes the V. L. F.
to have, shall we say, an internal vibratory
state superimposed upon it, which is preserved after death.
Let us assume that a stream of running
water is the infinite, ubiquitous V. L. F. and
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Volum e X X X V
No. 5
liMiurm
mi: ni
A prvate publication
for m em bers of A M O R C
Mystics9 Crner
Johann Kaspar Lavater, poet,
theologian, and mystic lived in
this house in Zurich, Switzerland. In the house at the
rear of the little court at the
left lived his friend, another
poet, mystic, and philosopher,
Johann W olfgang von Goethe.
Greetings!
V
The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Publication, Supreme Council of A M O R C , Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California 95114
Entered as Second Class M atter at the P ost Office at San Jos, C alifornia, under Section 1103
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Faith healing is principally the introverting, the turning inward, of this energy into
ones own nervous system so as to vitalize
the cells, blood stream, and the nervous systems. The devout religionist who prays that
he may be healed attunes his subconscious
self with the cosmic forces which are in and
around himself. He thereby induces an in
ner state of harmony by self-suggestion, and
this curative energy is often pertinent enough
to correct the inharmony of the malady from
which he is suffering. Actually, by such a
method the patient frequently is healing
himself.
The average medical doctor will wish to
inform his patient that it is also necessary
that he have the right attitude of mind.
In other words, he must think positively.
It is only another way of saying that the
patient should introvert the power of his
thoughts and the radiant psychic energy to
revitalize the natural curative properties of
his being.
It is a known psychological factor that
faith healing requires a belief in the existence of some transcendent extemal power.
The average individual would have no suc
cess with faith healing if he were told that
primarily he is inducing a state of mind by
which he energizes himself and stimulates
the immanent healing processes. When ill, it
is instinctive for one to feel dependent upon
some condition or thing other than himself.
Are faith healing and spiritual healing
related? They are basically the same. Spir
itual healing generally refers to the belief that
a supernatural or divine power reaches down
to or is invoked to enter the patient and heal
him. Actually, these psychic qualities permeate our being at all times and only need
to be stimulated and directed.
We cannot fail to mention certain dangers
that exist in faith healing. An individual
may be stricken with a serious infection
which can be remedied more quickly and
effectively by such physical means as the
injection of an antibiotic. The patient may
not have the ability to direct his own psychic
powers to heal himself quickly. Consequent
ly, a delay may cost him his life. For ex
ample, a serious attack of appendicitis needs
professional care unless the individual by
long personal experience knows that he or
she absolutely has the ability to cope with
such a condition. Delay might otherwise
and Grand Lodge are to be highly commended for their dedicated and highly effective management in these difficult times.
All salary information and the general
payroll are thus available to every member
who attends the Convention, either by per
sonally being a member of the committee
which examines these records or books or
by hearing the committees report. Such
a committee investigation includes reference
to all income of the Order, all bank and
other deposits, as well as the Orders fixed
and liquid assets.
It must also be stated that as a nonprofit
organization, the books of the Order are
audited periodically by accountants of the
United States Treasury Department to deter
mine that the AMORC is conforming to
requirements under the law. The Grand
and Supreme Grand Lodge officers receive
modest salaries for their work and the responsibilities they assume as well as for the special
experience required of them. In the commercial world, they could receive larger
salaries for similar responsibilities.
The committees of members who have
investigated the affairs of the Order at each
Convention have often stated in their Reports
read before the entire Convention that the
officers salaries are of a low scale judged by
outside standards in the United States.
However, each officer of AMORC is supposed to receive extra compensation, not in
money but in the satisfaction from what he
is doing.
W hen a subordnate body is closed by the withdrawal of the charter, what disposition is
made o f its effects?
Balancing Karma
A frater now rises to address our Forum:
If an individual is suffering from the
memory of a crime or wrong committed
against another, how can his intensely guilty
conscience be eased or eliminated if it is not
possible to make restitution to the individual
against whom the crime was committed?
Let us first recall that karma is the law of
compensation, of cause and effect. It is not
retributive, that is, it is not a conscious being
or individual who is imposing punishment
for wrongdoing. Likewise, karma does not
intentionally bestow awards as a merit for
deeds performed. Karma is impersonal
action, just as are any natural causes and
effects. We each know that in human ex
perience we have instituted certain causes at
times from which we could foresee the de
velopment of eventual effects. If the effect
was not to our liking, we could often obstruct
the effect by altering the cause. This might
consist of instituting a counter cause in order
to mitgate the undesired effect. Scientists,
mechanics, and housewives make such
changes in their causative actions almost
every day to produce the kind of effects they
want to experience.
We also know, however, that there are
some causes willfully or otherwise begun by
us whose effects, if they are undesired, we
cannot prevent. We are obliged to suffer
them out, learn from them, and try to avoid
Mans Existence
To ask the question whether or not man
exists would seem not only foolish and useless but also by most standards of anaylsis,
rather stupid. Man believes in his own
existence as a result of introspection, that is,
awareness of his own experiences. We do not
have to prove our existence to ourselves, and
we accept the evidences of life in the physical
body as the existence of other human beings.
We base our belief in existence upon both
a subconscious and an objective decisin. The
subconscious is through introspectionthat
is, a looking into our own minds and deciding
that we existand upon the objective use of
our sense faculties to perceive the phe
nomena of life as expressed by other indi
viduis.
Whether or not man would be satisfied
with either one of these means of checking
upon his own existence, we do not know,
since we cannot conceive of a state of exist
ence where we would have only subconscious
or objective faculties and not both. When we
ask regarding the existence of God, we leave
both the area of our subconscious and objec
tive experience and enter into an area of
speculation. The speculation then is based
purely upon the reasoning of our own indi
vidual selves dependent upon knowledge and
experience.
These thoughts carne to me as I read a
recent book review of a book entitled The
Existence of God. This book sets out to answer, at least to a degree, the question that
man has asked many times: Is there a God?
Why a book should be devoted to this ques
tion is one which was not answered in the
review that I read, and in consideraran of
the various philosophers discussions of the
existence of God, I do not feel particularly
motivated to read the entire book.
Furthermore, I am a little concemed about
the authors observations regarding the
existence of God because whether or not any
one particular man writes a book which can
explain the answer to the question as to the
existence of God to his satisfaction makes
little difference to me. Even if he decides
that he proves God does exist, or does not
exist, does not make any difference to me.
What some other individual may conclude
in reference to the existence of God would
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R O S I C R U C I A N P R E S S , L T D ., S A N J O S E
L I T H O IN U . S
iiiisimum
FOKUM
A prvate publication
for m em bers of A M O R C
Canonbury Tower
This symbol of an earlier age,
only m inutes from the center
o f London, has had a long and
curious history. Francis Bacon
once owned the lease on it, and
the Curtain Theater then stored
its props there. Today, the
Bacon Society occupies a part
o f the premises, and so does a
repertory theater company.
Greetings!
V
RATIONAL MYSTICS
there is a period of fasting preceding the
Dear Fratres and Sorores:
There are those who in pursuing their meditation. The clothes one puts on are not
eccentric robes or eosturnes. Mystics do not
study of mysticism believe that participation
affect oriental designs or the costumes of any
in medieval and modera superstitions is
justified. They indulge in practices such as particular regin or people.
Ones dress may be merely such as he
the planchette, or ouija board, automatic
writing, cryptic or strange and incomprehen would wear to be comfortable. No turbans,
sible correspondence, and other equally fan sandals, scarves, mantles, sashes, or any
peculiarities of dress are necessary. Immetastic things. It is apparent that such
diately, by this postulation, we remove one
individuis have no proper conception of the
of the elements of fanaticism and eccentricity
nature of mysticism. They confuse mysticism
with occult practices of the Middle Ages which some persons ignorantly or wilfully
have associated with mystical preparation.
which even then were execrated by real
This cleansing, however, is more than
occult philosophers and mystics.
physical. It is, as well, moral and mental.
It is hardly necessary to define mysticism
Prayers are offered in which one silently
here, but we shall offer a brief definition to
show how far some of those who refer to seeks to have guidance in accordance with
the most lofty aspiration of which he is
themselves as mystics have deviated from its
principies. Mysticism is the intmate experi capable. The aspirant likewise pleads that
ence of the Divine through self, or a per he may be strengthened in his moral evaluasonal imion with God. Consequently, mysti tion; that he may know if his conduct is
cosmically proper so that he will not offend
cism is concemed only with the development
the spiritual forc with which he wishes
of the consciousness of self, or the realization
attunement.
of the psychic powers of ones being, by which
Next, there is the sincere effort to purge
he is brought into attunement with the Absofrom ones mind all thoughts which are relute, or the Cosmic.
There are but three major steps for mysti lated to the lower order of ones being, such
cal attainment: These are preparation, medi- as envy, hatred, jealousy, and avarice. Successful purgation is experienced as an aflatus
tation, and illumination. Each of these has
of the soul; that is, there is a sense of nobility,
been subdivided into other steps. The subof righteousness, and a feeling of freedom
divisions are really elements of the three
from the pangs of conscience, guilt, and selfmajor divisions.
condemnation.
The preparation for mystical attainment,
During all this preparation, there are no
after centuries of practice and as expounded
strange or mysterious rites. There is nothing
by illumined individuis, has been reduced
said or done that anyone who has studied
to a few essential requirements. These consist principally of purgation. The aspirant mystical philosophy from authentic sources
must purge himself of all thoughts and prac would not thoroughly understand and approve. If the aspirant uses words or sentices which are of a nature to prevent his
tences which are inscrutable, weird, and
consciousness from ascending to a higher
senseless, it means that he is confusing some
plae. It is really a psychological process
sort of medieval occult gibberish with mys
wherein one conditions himself to be receptive to the finer and more exalted impres ticism.
The one who explains his mystical prepara
sions of the Divine Mind within him.
tion to another in sentences which are vague
Purging includes the rite of lustration,
and cryptic or states very mysteriously,
that is, the cleansing of the body extemally
and intemally. One bathes thoroughly and
You know what I mean, is not a mystic;
puts on clean and simple clothes. Usually,
he is absurd. When the assumed mystic uses
The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Publication, Supreme Council of A M O R C , Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California 95114.
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Biblical Questions
There are many questions asked of our
Forum about Biblical matters. These ques
tions usually ask for our interpretation of
some phrase in either the Od or New Testament. It is our policy in most instances to
refrain from giving interpretations, the reason
being that most often they would not be
really Rosicrucian but purely those of the
individual answering the question.
Since AMORC is not a religious organiza
tion, it does not expound any specific defining of any part of the Christian Bible. Such
is left to the individual himself. Further, it
must also be realized that since the Rosicru
cian Order is world-wide, it includes thou
sands of members who are not Christian, but
are either of different religions or nonsectarian.
The Bible, too, is a universal book. It can
be taken literally as it is by millions of
people, or it can be understood in a symbolic
and allegorical sense as it is by multitudes of
other persons. Many individuis actually
accept the Bible as being the literal word of
God, as if it were divinely inspired as it is
written. In this regard, we do think it advantageous to touch briefly upon the history
of the Bibleboth the Od and New Testaments.
The Bible has come to mean a sacred book.
However, any sacred book other than Chris
tian can also be called a bible, because bible
means book. Consequently, in the technical
sense even the Koran, the sacred book of
Is Intuition Dependable?
These comments are based upon an answer
to a question by a member who asked, Is
intuition always correct? Mine is not. No
doubt, any member of this organization who
has practiced the exercises in relation to in
tuition and has studied the lessons that have
to do with it can be completely sympathetic
with the two parts of this question. This
individual is attempting to reconcile what he
believes to be a fact, that intuition is de
pendable, with his own experience which is
that he has not always found it to be
dependable.
The matter most involved in the consideration of intuition is the realization that its
use is a technique to be gained and not a
gift to be had without any effort. The human
infant is born with certain attributes and
potentials. Very few forms of life exist at
birth in their fully developed form. In lower
forms of animal life, we find that the offspring have certain capacities that the human
being does not.
Some animals, for example, can move
about quite well within a few minutes after
birth. Some birds can run around within a
short time after they are hatched. But the
human being, a more sensitive and highly
developed entity, must develop many of its
attributes as physical and mental growth
takes place. The infant can make a noise,
but he cannot speak. He can move his legs,
but he cannot walk or run. There are many
other coordinated faculties that have to be
developed through instruction and experi
ence, or trial and error.
We learn a language by being associated
with it. If a child were raised from the age
of five to ten without ever having heard
anyone speak, a language would be absolutely unintelligible to him when he first
heard it. Have we not all had the experience
of listening to a foreign language? I believe
that anyone who listens to a language of
which he has no knowledge makes an unconscious effort to understand it. I have heard
foreign languages spoken and tried to attune
my ear to something that sounded familiar.
It is natural to attempt to associate ourselves
with sounds that have come to be meaningful
in terms of our own experience.
The learning of a foreign language, incidentally, is a good illustration of the gaining
of the ability to use intuition. A few years
consciousness, we can be aware only objectively. What we see, hear, feel, taste, or
smell comes into our objective mind so that
we become aware of external objects and
conditions and gain a personal realization of
them.
But, also, from time to time, there comes
knowledge through intuition directly from
the soul, from the Inner Self. We are taught
as children not to pay any attention to these
impressions, that they result from imagina
tion, that we are daydreaming. Many chil
dren have been told that an intuitive
impression was a fairy tale, a myth, or merely
imagination on their part. Gradually, then,
they developed the habit of giving credence
only to those impressions that entered con
sciousness through the five physical objec
tive faculties. Therefore, much of the
education which the average individual has
had in the past few hundred years has
stressed the importance of the impressions
received through the physical senses. He has
been taught to consider the intuitive or sixth
sense as being unreliable.
As adults, therefore, we have a problem of
a dual nature: We have to develop the use
of a sense faculty which we have not de
veloped with age as we have our other sense
faculties and which, also, we have been told
not to develop or rely upon. We are faced
with the problem of reactivating a potential
ability which has lain without cultivation
and use for many years. In addition to
that, we have implanted in our consciousness
the idea that such use is of no valu.
Consequently, it is not surprising that,
even though intuition is dependable, many
of us feel that our individual intuition is not
correct. It is so simply through lack of use
and practice. To develop a perfect intuition
would probably be the most important accomplishment that could take place in one
incarnation because it would open a path or
a new avenue for gaining knowledge and
experience directly from the Cosmic itself.
An adult who has lived in a manner which
forced intuition into a position where it was
not looked upon with respect or encouraged
can never develop intuition to perfection because it is too late. We just dont have the
time left or the ability to stay with it sufficiently to bring back all that weve lost in
our childhood and younger adult years. We
can develop it to a degree; and to the degree
Prediction
Confidence is born of knowledge. When
one knows, he is forearmed, at least to the
extent of that to which his knowledge is
related. Just as one hesita tes in the drk
when walking in an unfamiliar area, so,
too, the mind is reluctant to undertake any
ventures without some assurances. Men are
adventurous; they love to pioneer. But every
intelligent pioneer has in advance certain
convictions about the unknown. He draws
upon experiences of the past to assist him
in determining the future.
To most men, the future appears as predetermined events. It seems to them like a
stage, all prepared and awaiting the right
moment for the curtain to rise and reveal
the setting. Whether what is exposed will
be beneficial or alarming is a question that
has long proved distressing. If there were
only some way in which to obtain a preview
of future events, they believe their lives might
be secure. If events were established in ad
vance so that man could perceive them before
they occur in his life, he could perhaps retreat from disaster and embrace opportunities as well. All factors of chance would then
seem to be removed.
It is for these reasons precisely that most
men have long sought to tear aside the veil
of the future and look upon what they pre
sume to be exposed events. Prognostication,
prediction, and fortunetelling have long been
pseudo arts and sciences. With most methods, it was not a matter of studying cosmic
or natural causes as trends or eyeles to learn
what could or probably would follow from
them.
comprehend each earthly experience in relation to cosmic principies and natural laws.
It may take one life or one hundred to learn
what is necessary; the time factor is imma
terial in the cosmic scheme. There are,
therefore, those whose understanding and
accretion of mystical knowledge or cosmic
principies may be quite negligible in one life.
They may be obliged to reincarnate several
times to learn compassion, self-discipline, and
the impersonal life.
Where one manifests in his moral behavior
a willful disregard of spiritual or cosmic
principies so as to be designated by society
as evil, he has not retrogressed from a former
state. We can be assured, contrary to orthodox theological conceptions, that he has not
fallen from a higher estte. One may make
mistakes or commit deeds for which, karmically, he must make compensation either
in this life or another. Such acts may delay
or retard his progress, but they do not cause
him to descend in the cosmic scale.
Morally speaking, the crude person is one
who has not yet been sufficiently enlightened
by the wisdom of the Divine Intelligence
within him to realize the error of his ways.
It is true that one may commit in this in
carnation acts of a more serious consequence
than he had ever been guilty of previously.
Even this must not be taken as a sign of
the decline of the soul personality. It merely
proves that the individual has always been
capable of such acts because of his lack of
mystical understanding. It took some par
ticular combination of circumstances in this
life to make the potential wrong into a re
ality. One who is weak in moral will may
seem to exhibit an innocuous conduct. This
is possibly due to no other reason than that
he has not been exposed to temptation.
Advancement in the mystical sense in each
incarnation is not a passive state. One whose
conductthoughts and deedsis m erely
innocuous and, therefore, cannot be criticized may not be exhibiting signs of pursuing the mystical life. The mystic is active
in the pursuit of his exalted ideis. In his
mundane affairs, he may be a carpenter, a
banker, or a physicist; but, aside from the
daily demands upon him, he will in his life
express and demnstrate his convictions and
understanding of the higher principies. You
will know when you meet such a person
that he is struggling, seeking, striving, and
INDEX OF VOLUME XXXV (Compristng the entire Six Issues of the 35th Year)
NOTE The small letters after the page numbers refer to position on page: a, upper half of first column; h, lower half
of first column; c, upper half of second column; d, lower half of second column. Titles of articles are italicized.
Prophet, The, by Gibran, 17b
A
Rosicrucian Questions and Answers . . . , 49b
Abilities, Creative, of Children, 109b
Rosicrucian Manual, 80d, 81c
About Abstract and Ultmate Truths, 117c-118d
Self-Mastery and Fate . . . , 33b, 133c- 134b
Accumulation and Use of Wealth, The, 35a-37a
Unto Thee I Grant . . . , 17b
Acknowledge Your Needs, 20c
Breakdown
of Law and Order, 52d
Adarn and Eve, Before, 37a-c
Breathing
Fresh Air, 126d-127c
Advice From Parents, 109a, 114d
Buddha, Jess, Mohammed, 14c
Affirmations of R-f C Creed, Helps, 21c
Affirmations, The Effectiveness of, 106d-108d
c
AffirmationsYears Ago, 88d
Calculator Performs Mathematical Functions, 39b-c
Aid to AnotherAdvice, Speak, 114d
Can Quantity Make Right? 51c-53a
Air, Breathing Fresh, 126d-127c
Can We All Attain Perfection? 67c-69a
Air, Contaminated, Tolerance for, 127a-b
Cathedral Contacts, 59b-e
Akhnaton Shrine, The New, 115a-116c
Cause
Behind the Cause, 81d-84a
AMORCNonprofit Organization, 106c
CausesMoral and Material, 46c, 47b
Amulets, The Magical Power of, 131d-132c
Cerebral Impression Bank, 91c
Analyzing Our Dreams, 18a-19d
Cell Structure and Electrical Activity, 63c-d
Ancient Work, The, 16c-18a
Ceremonial Magic, 26d-27a
Application to Teachings, Result, 69a
Certified Public Accountants, 105d
Applying Rosicrucian Teachings, 116d
Choosing
Funeral Services, 41a-42c
Are All Psychic Experiences Mystical? 98a-100a
Cili in Lungs Work on Dust, 127a
Are Good and Evil Absolute? 93d-94d
Circumstances, Our Own, Created, lile
Are Ideas Our Own? 86d-88a
Clairvoyance, Precognition, 42d, 43b
Are New Souls Perfect? 34b-35a
Clean
Up This Planet? 22b-c
Are You Miss or Mrs.? 54b-d
Coincidence,
The Psychology of, 37c-38b
Arthur Andersen & Co., C.P.A., 105d
Comparing Incomparable Situations, 61c-d
As A Man Thinks, 20d-21d
Compensation, Make, To Escape Karma, 140a
Ascent and Descent of the Soul, 4b, d, 5b, c
Concentration'-A Dynamic Potential, 119a-d
Ask for Material Things? Is It Wrong To, 125b-d
Concentraron, Practice the Technique, 89d-90a
Astrology and the Future, 53a-54b
Concepts of World Are Illusions, 21a
Attain Consciousness to Embrace Interests of Others, 66d
Conditions Have Periods or Cycles, 71c
Attain Perfection? Can We All, 67c-69a
ConductA State of Mind Set in Motion, 46d
Attractions, Our Public, 10c-12b
Conduct, Right, 69a-b, d-70b
Attunement Between Living and Dead, 79a-c
Conscience, Errors of, 22c-23d
Attunement of Self With Divine Counterpart, 67c-d
Conscience Is An Awareness, 22d
Attunement Periods, Time Zones and, 59b-60a
Conscience vs. Arguments of Objective Self, 30d-31a
A University for Young and Od, 109c-llla
Consciousness, Arrested, for Ultmate Truth, 118d
Aura Is of A Material Nature, 62d
ConsciousnessObj ective, Subconscious,
Aura, Science Recognizes the Human, 76c-77a
107c-108d, ll2c-d, 113b
Authority, Lingering Parental, 108d-109c
Consciousness
Survive Death? Does, 92a-93d
Automatic Writing, 124a
Conservatism Always Advisable? Is, 125d-126d
Averages? Is There A Law of, 77a-78c
Constitutions to Conform to Accepted Code, 2d
Awareness to Human Relationships, 22d
Control of Worry? The, 88a-90a
Awareness of Union With God, 27b
Convention, Toronto International, 56b-57a
Awareness of Universal Soul, 34d
Cosmic Forces Complete Our Processes, 119d
Awareness (State of), Ability to Realize, 75a-b
Cosmic Influences in Mans Life, 53d
Cosmic, Integrated Entity: As Above . . . , 82b
B
Cosmic Laws, Natural and, 101d-103a
Balance and Cause and Effect, 82b, c, 83a, c
Cosmic Lessons, Interfering With, 60a-61a
Balancing Karma, llla-112b
Cosmic Manifests in Vibrations, 62c
Baptism, Sacrament of, Origin, 115d
Council of Solace Fail? Does the, 70b-71d
Basilides, Exponent of Gnosticism, 5c
Creativity, Radical, 126c
Before Adam and Eve, 37a-c
Cremation, 86a-b
Behavior, Human and Insect, 13d-15a
CrimeClassified, Understood, 91c
Behaviorism, 7c
Cryptesthesia-Determining Events and Realities, 29b-c
Beings (other) Communicate With Earth, 50c-d
Curvature of SpaceEinsteins Theory, 90b
Belief in A Transcendent Power, 101a
Cycles and Laws Which Recur, Know, 133b, 140c
Bequests to Rosicrucian Order, 36b
Cycles, Favorable, 33a-34b
Between Incarnations, 78d-80a
Cycles or Cosmic Tides Reflect Moods, 34a
Bible Has A History, 128a
D
Biblical Questions, 127c-129b
BodyBuffer Zone, 76d
Daily Mystical Exercises, 116c-117c
Dead, Science Reviving the, 64a-65b
Body-Mind Relationship, 100b
Death? Does Consciousness Survive, 92a-93d
Body, The Importance of the Physical, 85b-86d
Books:
Decisions, Mostly Surface Deliberations* 56a
Deepfreeze Humans Only,* 64a
Bible, !27d, 128a
Degree, Now in, Most Important, 134c-d, 135c
Book of Hierotheus, by Stephan Bar Sudaili, 6a
Delusion, 58d-59b
Constitution of Grand Lodge, 103c, 104a, 10>6d
Desire to CompareEgotism and Selfishness, 134b, c
Constitution of Supreme Grand Lodge, 103c, 104a, d
Determine To Bring no Hardship to Others, 23b-c
Divine ames, The, by Dionysius, 6a
Develop Ability to Use Intuition, 124c, 131c
Existence of God, The, 112d
Develop Latent Powers by Practice? 75d
Facts of Life, The, by Somerset Maugham, 77a-b
Development and Peace, Psychic, 65d-66d
Koran, 127d
LITHO IN U S . A .
Finim
A privte publication
for members of AMORC
Refuge of a
Courageous Spirit
Leo Jud ( 1 4 8 2 - 1 5 4 2 ) , renowned
Swiss reformer and mystic, lived
in the aboye house in Zurich,
Switzerland, for nineteen years.
Known to his contemporaries as
M eister Leu , he was fearless in
his criticism of bigotry and superstition. Like Zwingli, another
reformer of the period, he sought
to bring about a reformation
within the doctrines of the
Church.
Together they proclaimed that the congregation,
not the hierarchy of the clergy,
represents the Church. His orations were noted for their subtle,
mystical precepts.
Greetings!
V
The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Publication, Supreme Council of A M O R C , Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California 95114
Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, California, under Section 1103
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say that man alone has a soul. If, as previously stated, beings having a self-consciousness equivalent to man are found in the
future to exist in the greater universe; then,
certainly, they would have the equal right to
claim such an entity as soul.
Until man became homo s a p ie n s , a
rational, highly developed self-conscious be
ing, he had only the essence of soul but no
conception of it. In the lower animals, there
is that same vital forc and consciousness,
which gradually evolved in man to its own
awareness and designates itself soul. Those
who fear that the theory of evolution demeans the status of man will perhaps learn
before another century has passed that there
are many other factors that strike at mans
egotistic conception of being the central
object of all creation.
Fraternally,
Ralph M. Lewis,
Imperator
Is
Religin Obsolete?
which is beyond our comprehension is defined, but we as living beings are related to
that forc.
Religin should deal with mans relationship to his source. What he may philosophize
and develop as interpretations of what the
various practices of life should be is secondary. If one believes in the practices of a
certain church and receives certain satisfaction from it, there is nothing either particularly beneficial or harmful in following those
principies and practices so long as he realizes
that they were not ordained by God Himself
but only represent mans interpretation of
methods for contacting God.
The mystic believes that there is a cise
relationship between man and the Creator.
He further believes that each entity, each
living thing, is an expression of the Divine,
and that each living entityman, in particularmay communicate in his own way with
that divine essence from which he sprang and
of which he is a part. Mans desire to be
conscious of that relationship is, in my estimation, the essence of religin; and if I do
things differently than another to attain that
end, it does not make my religin any less
important, less practical, or less effective.
I do not believe with the author of the
article to which I referred that religin is a
spent forc; but I do believe that many of
the efforts that are made to keep religin
an established institution are spent forces
that might well be spent completely. What
we need is not more religious organizations
or institutions functioning in the ame of
religin. What we need is a more complete
concept of the mystical relationship between
God and man, which can only be developed
within our own selves. Mans relationship
to God, regardless of how he may interpret
that relationship or interpret God, is the es
sence of religin. Since man is created by
and maintained by a transcendental forc
which we cali God, religin will never be
obsolete to the extent that what we cali reli
gin may help us to attain a satisfying rela
tionship to that forc.
Religious denominations will come and go
and probably the ones we have now will be
completely forgotten in the thousands of
years that may go on in history; but man
will still strive to relate himself to the source
from which he carne.A
Premonitions N o Superstition
A frater from Montana brings to our attention a newspaper clipping, entitled, Butte
Boy 12, Suffocates in Tunnel Cave-in. The
article contines: A 12-year-old Butte boy,
who said he dreamed Thursday night of be
ing buried beneath earth and boards, Friday
suffocated in a tunnel cave-in at a gully west
of Butte. . . . The tunnel was a hole four feet
deep with an entrance four feet long, covered
by dirt and boards.
Too often, such occurrences are passed off
as coincidence, superstition, or figments of
the imagination. But the cases on record
show premonitions to carry infinite details of
an event. Times and places are clearly
marked. The whole event passes in review
in the mind of the person prior to its happening.
For a person who has never had an experience of this kind, the reports of others are
hearsay. It is difficult, if not impossible, to
visualize the character of a premonition
when one has never experienced the phenomenon. Only those who have had premo
nitions of one kind or another are in a position
to testify, and their number is relatively
small.
Premonitions take many forms. Sometimes, it is merely a feeling a person has.
Sometimes, it is an actual physical reaction
in the way of chills, nausea, or effects associated with shock or danger. Premonitions
may manifest as sounds or voices, or as visual
images in the mind. We cite herewith two
further examples of premonitionsone visual,
the other kinesthetic.
A young couple of our acquaintance determined to go bowling at a bowlarium which
they had not visited in years because new
alleys had been opened which they had
patronized instead. The decisin to go was
made about 6 p.m. Just as they were ready
to depart, the young man took suddenly and
unexplainably ill, a factor which cancelled
the evenings plans. About fifteen minutes
later, an explosion shattered the night air,
rattling windows and generally shaking up
things for miles around. The bowlarium
which they had planned to visit had blown
up exactly at the time that they would have
been on the premises had the change in plans
not occurred.
Shortly after the explosion, the illness
disappeared as mysteriously and quickly as
it had appeared. The two incidents, the illness and the explosion, were not associated
until later, of course, but the time elements
coincided upon later reconstruction of the
events.
The bowiarium had been closed for repairs
and paint fumes had built up in subterranean
passageways. The young couple was unaware
of the closure, however, and would have
driven to the site. Most probably they would
have left their car in order to read any posted
signs explaining why the operation was
closed. It would have been this maneuver,
in their opinion, that would have placed them
at the doorway of the bowlarium at the time
of the explosion, and they would have been
the only casualties since no one else was near.
In another case, a man, also a personal
acquaintance, was driving a truck on a highway marked by heavy shrubs and sandy
banks. On one particularly straight stretch,
without any warning, a large triler truck
pulled out of a blind Crossing immediately
ahead. My acquaintance applied his brakes
and all butgave up any chance of avoiding
a collision. Then the triler truck mysteriously disappeared. But before he had time to
wonder about it, he saw the same triler
truck doing exactly the same thing, only this
time it was a few hundred yards beyond him.
By this time, his speed had decreased and he
was able to slow sufficiently to allow the
triler truck time to clear the Crossing in
front of him. Had he not been slowed by the
act of the premonition, he could not have
avoided a collision.
These events and countless others related
by people from everywhere in the world give
credence to the fact of premonition. The
greater questions that lie before us are
Why? and How? At first glance, it
would seem that events must be preordained
and, if they are, then man has no control
over his fate and all his efforts to be master of
his destiny are to no avail.
This is no idle speculation, for premonition
does indeed mean that events are predictable.
If they are predictable, there is a serious
challenge to mans claim to free will. From
reasoning of this kind, fatalists are born; and
fatalists are prone to let decisions ride, to assume no responsibilities, and simply to wait
for things to happen.
Fatalism is an unfortunate outcome of
phenomena of this kind. Although premoni
Valu of Scepticism
A frater, addressing our Forum, asks:
How sceptical should a Rosicrucian be?
When does scepticism become a stumbling
block or a hindrance to the learning of
truth?
There are two proper ways to approach
all new knowledge, whether it be the result
of personal experience or that which is re
lated to us by others. The first method is
to subject knowledge to empirical proof.
This consists of our endeavoring to substantiate it by the evidence of the senses.
Obviously, the empirical proof is not infallibleour senses can be deceived. How
ever, since we live in a world of reality,
such proof must be accepted unless reason
indicates the probability that it may be false.
In such an event, empirical proof should
not be permitted to become dogmatic. The
intelligent person keeps his mind flexible.
His mind is kept responsive to different conceptions; it is kept prepared to analyze even
contradictory ideas. We may summarize this
approach to new knowledge as liberalism .
The second method is that of abstraction.
It concems concepts, or ideas, advanced but
not demonstrable at the present either by
ourselves or those expounding them. These
are, for example, postulations and philosophies which for the time are incapable of
being proved to our senses. They are not
conjectures, however, but rational conclusions which cannot be related to facts. Many
such abstractions may become tomorrows
empirical knowledgethat which may be
seen, heard, or felt.
To reject such abstractions because they
cannot at the moment be evidentially supported is to limit our visin. Many vital
influences in the lives of men in the realm
of philosophy, religin, and government were
once but ideis which inspired them, appealed
to their reason, and yet had no factual foundation. Therefore, what the preponderance
of experience cannot deny and reason can
not refute, we should also accept as relative
truth and knowledge.
Most men are willing to accept the reality
of every experience if it has the confirmation
of the senses. Unfortunately, however, they
do not subject their experiences to the inquiry
of reason. As a result, it often requires sub-
Cycles of History
Interest in cycles has been evidenced by
man over a long period of time. In our
correspondence here at Rosicrucian Park, we
see an unwavering interest in this subject.
Correspondence regarding cycles results particularly from the interest in the book, Self
Mastery and Vate with the Cycles of Life ,
by the first Imperator of this jurisdiction, Dr.
H. Spencer Lewis, published by the Supreme
Grand Lodge.
As stated in his book, we cannot enter into
correspondence to establish, interpret, or
comment upon the cycles of any individual.
The book serves him as a guideline for
Self-Suggestion
A frater rises to speak to our Forum members: There have been a number of arricies
in popular periodicals and newspapers on
the subject of self-hypnotism, or self-suggestion. Many of the things governing our
daily lives are matters of suggestions received
from televisin commercials, billboards,
magazines, conversations, and such. Could
some of the aspects of our Rosicrucian teach
ings be simply a matter of hypnotism, or
self-suggestion? Where does suggestion begin
and end as a controlling factor in molding
our personality and character?
The essence of this question is do we
deceive ourselves in conducting some of the
experiments of the Order? Are we suggesting to ourselves results which, in fact, do not
exist? There is no doubt that suggestion is
a most effective and subtle factor in influencing our thoughts and actions in life. Its
subtlety exists in that we are not always
aware of the stimulus or suggestion which
causes us to act in a certain way. We often
are prone to ascribe our actions to our reasoning and conclusions when, in fact, our
emotions have been aroused by some subtle
suggestion which motivated us in a certain
direction.
A suggestion is an element of a complex
idea. It is, in other words, one of several
ideas that have formerly become united as
a single thought in our minds. Usually, the
suggestion is the central or strongest element
of such a complex idea. When it is experienced, it associates with itself immediately
and often without our conscious effort all
other ideas which are related to it. We may
say that the idea of a suggestion is a symbol
of all the other ideas which can be related
to it. When we see a picture of the sun,
we think of light and heat. When we see
a mountain stream, we think of coid water,
a vacation, or of fishing. We recall all ideas
which our personal experiences may have
associated with a mountain stream. Such
thoughts arise immediately in the fore of
consciousness upon perceiving a mountain
stream.
The factor of imagination also plays a
prominent part in connection with sugges
tion. An object perceived may by the faculty of imagination be extended as an idea
into a new and different order than we have
actually experienced. How many times, for
example, have we pointed to a cloud formation and said, See how that cloud resembles
a horse galloping? We have never seen
a horse galloping in the clouds, but the form
of the cloud extends itself by suggestion into
an order, or arrangement, that resembles our
experience of a horse galloping.
The psychology of advertising and selling
uses the principie of suggestion extensively
to create and awaken desires within the indi
vidual for the producs which the manufacturer wishes to sell. In the hot summer when
one is usually thirsty, a billboard may have
an illustration of a huge cake of ice beside
which hovers a polar bear. Through the top
of the ice is thrust a bottle of a favorite drink
with beads of moisture on it. It is most appealing. It draws to itself all our experiences
with cooling drinks and the gratification of
our thirst. It makes us seek a drink or become more conscious of our thirst.
In the Rosicrucian teachings, obviously, no
exercises or experiments are given for the
purpose of deceiving the student. Nothing
slow-acting poison. Peptic ulcers, hypertension, cardiac afflictions are but a few of the
adverse effects by which one can destroy
himself.
Psychologically, such a person in a group
can cause dissension. He may create suspicion among others; spread gossip; pit one
individual against another. Unless action is
forcefully undertaken to remove him because
of his actsnot his thoughtshe can and will
harm others around him. But, we repeat, it
is what he may say or do that defames or
disrupts society. It is not any power which
his thoughts have upon others.X
AM O RCs Beliefs
Many who express an interest in AMORC
ask for a statement of its beliefs. They want
to have a codified doctrine which they can
identify with AMORC, a doctrine regarding
life, death, creation, man, God, and similar
subjects.
As every member knows, the Rosicrucian
Order has no such codified doctrine. A state
ment of beliefs in particulars is diametrically
opposed to the true purpose of AMORC. Rosicrucians are, figuratively speaking, walking
question marks. They are seekers who realize that mans consciousness is always evolving; that current conceptions are subject to
change.
The Rosicrucian is developing an attitude
and aptitude for change. Through the intui
tive faculty, he is able to respond to the
requirements for harmony in connection
with what each day brings forth. He is
searching not so much for final answers as
for understanding of todays problems in
relation to his ability to cope with them.
Those who want a statement of beliefs are
often looking for an organization which will
support their own convictions. They want
an itemized list against which they can
compare notes. If their notes agree, they
join. If not, they look elsewhere.
AMORC is interested in having in its
membership only those who are truly seeking, those who are prepared to explore the
universe with an open mind and who have
no fixed idea as to what lies behind natures
still unopened doors. It encourages inquiry
and invites into its group those who wish to
discover the universe through its unique
mystical process.B
Is Retaliation Justified?
realizes that the qualities of our sense facultiescolor, sound, dimensin, tactile sensa
tions, and even pain and pleasurecannot
exist after death since they are the consequence of the mortal, physical organism.
Even perception, the state of awareness or
the kind of consciousness that would survive,
must be different, just as most other forms
of consciousness of which we are aware and
which appear to be dependent upon a rela
tionship to the physical organism. If one
destroyed a violin, he could no longer play
compositions upon it. However, can or does
the music which did issue from the violin
persist after the instrument no longer exists?
In other words, can something of conscious
ness, some level of it, persist when the physi
cal organism through which it functioned
ceases to be?
The human organism, the molecular structure, is impregnated by a vital forc or energy
by which it becomes anmate. It thus sets up
templets, or pattems, of itself by which it
reproduces and transmits its kind. The recent
scientific discovery of the DNA, the living.
molecular system that perpetuates itself,
confirms this much.
However, does this vital forc, when it is
eventually separated from the molecular
structure at transition, retain something of
the consciousness of self as a kid of aura?
Does the consciousness, like a drop of colored
fluid falling upon a stream of water, merge
with the stream yet retain its identity? Mystics say that it does, but they state, also, that
this awareness is quite unlike anything we
experience in our mortal bodies. Therein is
the difference between most views held by
orthodox religin.
Immediately following transition, is it pos
sible that there is a sympathetic, vibratory
relationship between this kind of surviving
consciousness and mortals on earth? This
would appear to be true where there has been
a strong emotional bond between the deceased
and the one who remains. Mystical tradition
says that such a bond exists but not in the
spectacular, primitive way suggested by the
so-called psychic seance addicts. This delicate
unin, like the faint aroma of a rose that has
been removed from a room, lingers for only
a short time. Apparently, it is detected only
by persons of great sensitivity or by those
who have had a strong emotional bond with
the departed. It is for this reason that every-
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Seientifieally Correct
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Fascinating
LABORATORIUM
R O S I C R USANC JOSE,
I A NCALIFORNIA
S P95114,
P LU.YS. A. R U R E A U
R O S I C R U C I A N P R E S S , L T D ., S A N J O S E
L IT H O
IN U . S . A .
ROSICRUCIAN
FORUM
A prvate publication
for members of AMORC
Greetings!
V
VALUE OF RITUALS
Dear Fratres and Sorores:
Imperator
Psychic Revelations
The student who first approaches the
study of that area known as the psychic
the opposite of the physical and materialis
anxious to gain certain skills and abilities
and prove to himself the existence of the
psychic world. It is, therefore, common for
The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Publication, Supreme Council of A M O R C , Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California 95114.
Entered as Seeond Class Matter at tiie PosA Office at San Jos, California, under Seetion 1103
o f the U . S. Postal Act o f Oct. 3, 1917. Seeond Class postage paid at San Jos, California.
RATE: 45c (3/6 sterling) per copy; $2.50 (18/3 sterling) per year FOR MEMBERS O NLY
Is Nature Cruel?
A frater, rising to address our Forum, asks,
How does cruelty in nature comply with
cosmic law?
First, we must also ask a question, Who
is it who says that nature is cruel? Is it not
man who makes that accusation? Man arrives at this conclusin because of the effects
which the various phenomena of nature have
upon him. It is man who establishes the
vales of good and bad and of kindness and
cruelty . It is interesting to note that even
these human vales are relative. What man
adjudges adverse or beneficial under one
circumstance, he may consider the opposite
under a different condition.
What may be endemic to one people and
accepted as good by them will be thought of
as calamitous by another. For example, the
periodic inundation of the Nile River irrigates many hundreds of thousands of acres
which otherwise would be desert land. The
waters of the Nile bring with them alluvial
soil from equatorial Africa. Throughout the
centuries, layer upon layer of this soil has
built up a deep and most fertile land bordering each side of the Nile. However, the same
periodic flooding by a river in some other
part of the world not dependent upon such
a phenomenon would perhaps mean disaster
to them. As most regional floods do, it would
destroy farms, cities, and take heavy toll in
human and animal life.
Children in AMORC
A certain soror speaks for many other
members when she asks why boys of Rosi
crucian parents are not allowed to partic
pate in convocation rituals and other adult
activities of the Order.
Boys are not excluded because they are
boys, but because they are children. Girls,
unless they serve in the ritualistic capacity
of Colombe, are likewise excluded from
adult activities. This exclusin is not meant
to deny children the opportunity of Rosi
crucian training and instruction, but such
training is basically the parents task. Par
ents who are Rosicrucians cannot help but
inclcate the spirit of the Order in their
children, and their lives as Rosicrucians
should set an example the children will want
to follow. Membership in the Order is reserved for adults simply because the presentation is made at the adult level.
The Order does provide a more elementary presentation of mystical principies
through its Jnior Order program. Boys and
girls who are in the Jnior Order are preparing for full membership, and when they
reach adulthood, they are in a position to
truly enjoy and master the teachings with
comparative ease.
Whether or not a child participates in an
organized system of mystical instruction is
really secondary to the more important consideration that he be taught the Rosicrucian
way of life by direct conversations and
experiences with his parents.
Children, unlike adults, usually have all
they can do in the way of organized study
to keep up with their school work. It is
important at this time of their lives to con
cntrate on developing the tools for modern
livingnamely, reading, oral and written
expression, mathematics, and logic. The
more time they give to these, the better able
they will be to express and apply their
innermost feelings and convictions. While
children are engaged in the practice of these
arts, their parents can gradually bring about
a love of mysticism, a love of knowledge,
and a love of life through the natural com-
Developing Intuition
A frater asked our Forum: Is there an
optimum point beyond which the intuition
cannot be developed?
Even in our monographs, we commonly
use the term, developing intuition. How
ever, it is more probable that we actually
develop the process by which we experience
the functioning of intuition. Academic organic psychology as taught in most colleges
and universities rarely makes reference to
the term, intuition. If it does, it relates it to
instinct and insight.
Instinct, briefly explained, is said to be a
trauma experienced by the organism in its
process of development from lower stages of
life. Such trauma, or shocks, become impressed as a memory in the genes of the
living cells, constituting a kind of collective
consciousness that has inhered for hundreds,
perhaps thousands, of generations. Consequently, when any circumstance occurs
which is similar to that which caused the
original impression on the genes, we then
experience a reflex action. In other words,
we react instinctively toward such circumstances. Our instincts are then a long,
established behavior which is part of the
intelligence or, rather, experience of our life
forc. In the main, instincts tend toward the
preservation of life and the general wellbeing.
Quite often, we are inclined to attribute
to intuition the impressions or urges which
we have and which are, in fact, instinctive
in origin. Insight is a fairly appropriate word
for describing the phenomenon of intuition.
By insight is meant a judgment arrived at
without apparent reference to our peripheral
senses such as sight and hearing or the resort
to reason. Intuition manifests as a selfevident idea, leaving no doubt in our mind
as to its reliability after it seems to have
flashed into consciousness without our having labored over it. It appears to come from
nowhereexcept from the depths of our
consciousness. It does not, as said, arise as a
conclusin following an immediate process
of reasoning upon a particular subject. In
other words, it does not seem to come
directly from our reasoning faculty.
Most frequently, intuition in its finality
is related to some matter to which we have
given considerable previous thought without
having arrived at a satisfactory conclusin.
In fact, it may concern a subject which we
have once dismissed as being inexplicable
and inscrutable; that is, to which objectively
we could find no solution or answer.
The intuitive idea, often called a hunch,
may also come into consciousness as an
apparently new concept, a virgin idea. At
times, this may be due to our having forgotten that we once entertained a thought
related to the intuitive impression. A term
that psychology has related to intuition or,
rather, insight, is unlearned knowledge.
It is because the intuitive impression, or
idea, appears to be objectively unlearned by
us in the manner in which we become conscious of it.
If we have a problem or
something which we do not understand, we
should first quietly think about it. We
should use the faculty of reason with which
we have been cosmically endowed. Our
reason, though not infallible, can and will
often make many things have a greater
perspicuity. In fact, the intuitive process will
not usually work upon any idea, any series
of thoughts, unless there has first been an
exhaustive attempt to apply the reasoning
process. A simply lazy mind does not stimulate intuition. By contemplation, sitting
quietly and thinking about it, we release
into the subconscious the idea, which has an
accompanying emotional impact, the real
desire for knowledge. It is the sincere at
tempt to arrive first at the knowledge ob
jectively. The real seeker after knowledge
or the mastery of a situation arouses his
intuitive processes. Therefore, we do not
really develop intuition; but by contempla
tion and meditationwhich we develop
through practicewe make more facile the
release of the intuitive knowledge.
The optimum, or limit of success of the
function of intuition, is dependent only on
the experience and general depth of thought
of the individual. The more serious and
profound the thinker, the more the intuition
has to work with and the greater the valu
of the knowledge which it transmits into the
conscious mind. A mentally shallow person
will quite infrequently be inspired or have
any intuited knowledge of importance come
to him. The function of arrangement by the
Cosmic Mind which constitutes intuition is
in itself unlimited. However, what we give
it to work with by observation, cogitation,
and study are the determining factors of the
extent of its helpfulness to us.X
contemplation.
Initiation
Initiation brings into the realm of reason
the purpose and into the realm of emotion
the spirit of ones introduction into the
mysteries.
This quotation, written by the Imperator,
is the most comprehensive definition of
initiation that has ever been put into words.
Initiation is a difficult concept to limit to a
few words. Because of the fact that so much
is involved in the initiatory process and
Projecting Peace
A frater, addressing our Forum, now
asks: How can we as Rosicrucians project
peace to those around us? Is this a process
of assuming peace and then radiating or
projecting it? Can this be done in ones
immediate environment and in the world
at large?
We think that before there is an attempt
to expatiate on the projection of the idea of
peace, an understanding should be had on
the meaning of it. Again, in this we are
confronted with the problem of semantics.
We use the word peace frequently, but can
we adequately explain it? Further, is what
we cali peace a plenary definition of the
word? Is it not possible that the word em
braces more than we are accustomed to
associate with it?
To most persons, peace is simply imperturbability, that is, the avoidance of that
which is disturbing to their tranquility. To
others, it is merely the negative opposite of
war or conflict. Thus, according to such an
idea, if a people were not at war and if they
could successfully avoid any perturbance,
peace would then reign!
enough about the conditions that were developing and then exerted themselves sufficiently to do something about them, a true
racial harmony and peace might now prevail.
The idea or desire for peace arises when
our personal harmony or well-beingmen
tal, physical, or psychicis disturbed. The
approach, then, should not be one of escape.
or should it necessarily mean the suppression of all that which seems to trouble
or distract us. The matter in question should
first be fairly and frankly surveyed. The
causes should be ascertained if possible.
Then each individual with others who may
be concerned should seek a remedy for the
situation. Peace is made; it does not just
come about. It results as a state of constantly doing. Peace is not a vacuum, the
absence of unpleasantness, but rather it is
the creation of conditions for reasonable
gratification and harmonious experiences
and sensations.
Therefore, if we wish to induce a state of
peace cosmically with our thoughts, we first
must have an understanding of wherein the
turmoil exists. We must have some idea of
what conditions should not be so that we
shall know what to remedy. The thought we
have should not be just the general idea of
peace but should assume more the idea of
a specific remedial suggestion. We should
try to visualize the cause and direct the
thought for the elimination of that cause.
We must construct peace with our projected
thoughts by applying them to that which
opposes it.
Let us suppose, for analogy, that there is
a general strike in the community which is
causing a ,tie-up of vital transportation resulting in the shortage of certain essentials
to the populace. We wish to bring about
peace cosmically. It is necessary, if we are
to have any effect, to try to discera wherein
the difficulty lies and strive for the elimina
tion of it or the improvement of the condi
tions. This may require the focusing of our
consciousness and thoughts upon certain
persons who may be the central figures in
the situation. In a sense, what we are now
endeavoring to accomplish through Medifocus is to bring about peace. We single out
individuis who by their conduct are vital
factors in circumstances that obstruct or lead
to peace.X
A Moral
Dramatically
Told!
ROSICRUCIAN SU P P L Y BUREAII
ROSICRUCIAN PARK, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA 95114, . S. A.
R O S IC R U C IA N P R E S S , L T D ., S A N J O S E
L IT H O IN U . S . A .
u sic r iic im
FURlUH
A prvate publication
for members of AMORC
Spinosa9s Home
This modesl dwelling in Amsterdam, Holland, was the home of
the c e le b ra te d p h ilo so p h e r,
Baruch Spinoza, 16 3 2 -16 7 7 . Because the frontiers of his mind
extended far in advanee of those
of his time, he was execrated
alike by Christians and Jews as
an atheist. He held that a conception of a personal God, a God
of will, moods, and ideis, was
beneath the dignity of the Di
vine. He was one of the most
profound of all thinkers and was
so imbued with a love of the
Divine that he was called Godintoxicated.
Greetings!
V
V V
THE MECHANIZED MENACE
Dear Fratres and Srores:
The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Publication, Supreme Council of A M O R C , Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California 951 14.
Entered as Seeond Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jos, California, under Section 1103
o f the U. S. Postal Act o f Oct. 3, 1917. Seeond Class postage paid at San Jos, California.
RATE: 45c (3/6 sterling) per copy; $2.50 (18/3 sterling) per year-FO R MEMBERS O N LY
Valu of Life
What is the true valu of life? This is a
question that every individual has asked.
Life is so complex that it is difficult to screen
the true grain from the chaff in order to
select the enduring vales from among all
boak or record of the subject. We may sometimes wonder about those whose lives are
not recorded and ask what was the purpose
of their existence. It would appear from the
record of some historians that the only people
who have lived fruitful and good lives were
the few who stand out now in retrospect.
Actually, history should be a composite of
all the lives of each individual and the total
lives of all.
There is more to life than becoming a
hero or an outstanding individual in one
particular field at one particular time or in
one particular era of history. What life has
contributed to his evolvement is a far more
important consideration. An individual who
has lived has done so in order to evolve his
realization of himself as a divine entity. To
the extent that he has evolved a degree of
consciousness of his divine nature, his life
has been a successand possibly more of a
success than some of the heroes whose lives
have been recorded in history.
At first, consideration of this idea may
seem selfish, and someone will ask, Is not
the important function of life the Service that
we can give to our fellow men and to human
welfare? It is true that, in the course of
our own evolvement, we must realize that
man does not stand alone as an individual
entity in relation to the cosmic forces and
the divine energy of the universe.
At the same time, our purpose is to evolve
our realization of that status. We shall find
in the process of evolvement that we shall
express the nature of that toward which we
aimthe Divine. If our understanding is correct, the Divine is the embodiment of love,
mercy, and justice; and so, by taking the
proper steps to self-evolvement and selfrealization, we shall practice love, justice,
and mercy as a part of our experience of
life and contribute thereby to the evolvement
of other human beings just as we contribute
to our own.
The true valu of life is the realization that
life is a gift from the Divine which we should
cherish, nourish, cultvate, and learn to understand so that when the individual soul
retums to1 the Divine, it will return with
full consciousness of its evolvement and all
the steps that brought it through the cir
cular route from the Divine to the Divine.A
What Is An Atheist?
Generally, one who denies the existence of
a Supreme Being as a Deity or a conscious
cause behind all reality is technically considered to be an atheist. However, many are
placed in this category who are not true
atheists. Not to accept the conception of God
which is had by a person or sect may cause a
nonbeliever to be execrated as an atheist.
Thus, an individual may not accept the
notion of a personal or anthropomorphic God.
He may not accept the idea that there is a
humanlike being who transcends mortals and
rules their destiny. To his mind, such a belief
may seem elemental and primitive. By refuting such a conception, he is considered
an atheist because those who do believe it
will recognize no other image.
The pantheist who conceives a Universal
Mind , disembodied from any form and permeating all existence, is also generally accepted as an atheist by the orthodox Romn
Catholic, Protestant, and Jew, for example.
To the average religionist, God is a being
with certain personal qualities; not to accept
this conception is to him atheistic. Of course,
we must recognize that theism is the belief
in a Supreme Being. Therefore, those who
cannot concur in such a view would be by
definition contra-theistic or, in other words,
atheistic.
But is one who has a reverence for the
majesty of creation, the magnitude of the cos
mos, the universality of its function, and its
impersonal influence on all creatures an athe-
many times it throws completely out of perspective the actual news. This is an unfortunate circumstance, one that is not going
to be quickly remedied because as long
as the general public reacts to extreme interpretations of facts, those responsible for
preparing the news are going to continu to
make that news sensational.
I had an experience some time ago that
brought to my attention how important it
is to be selective of the news. There is one
newspaper which I read regularly every
morning. I find that it gives me a reasonable
summary of the information that I need, and
I am speaking particularly of information
which I need in my work as an official of
the Rosicrucian Order.
Consequently, every morning I read the
high lights of this particular newspaper. During a vacation when I was away from my
office for two full weeks, these newspapers
accumulated and were laid aside carefully
for me to peruse when I returned. I remembered from previous experience when I had
been absent from my office that I had used
considerable time to go through the papers
that had accumulated.
The thought occurred to me that possibly
that was a waste of time; so instead of taking
the papers and looking at them in the order
they had been received, I did just the opposite. I picked up the latest paper, read it, and
then went back one day. After going back
three or four days, I found it was unnecessary to read the rest of them for two significant reasons:
One was that many itms that had been
important when they happened had been
clarified or their importance had become
less significant. A short item might conclude
a matter which a few days before had appeared to be quite important. The other
reason was that many items which might
have given me concern or required some at
tention were no longer pressing after two
or three days and did not need to be considered at all.
I found that reading the news backwards
eliminated a lot of time and effort because
those things which were not important had
ceased to be repeated in the papers after a
few days or a solution had been found. Con
sequently, I have tried to take the attitude
since that time of examining all news in
retrospect.
Visualization
Visualization is mental perception. We
loosely apply the term to almost any mental
process that reproduces the actual physical
process of perception. Many people visualize
by closing their eyes and imagining that
they are seeing an actual scene as they first
perceived it by the sense of sight.
Some people, however, have better auditory memory than they have visual. I hap-
Meditation
Meditation is the process by which the
mind is able to digest that which it has per
ceived. It is well illustrated by the parallel
concept of physical digestin. Through all
the channels of perception that man has
physical and psychicthere enter the mind
many, many perceptions. Some of these constitute no more than a fleeting glance or
sensation that hardly produces any more
response than a vague impression.
Such perceptions do not usually make a
profound impression upon consciousness and
the behavior that results. Other impressions
are vital and strong. They usually enter con
sciousness accompanied by an emotional ex
perience: Something that amuses and causes
one to laugh may be remembered longer
than a fleeting impression that has no emo
tional accompaniment. Of course, that which
Is Conscience Racial?
A frater from Caada, addressing our Fo
rum, says: I recently listened to an address
in which the statement was made that con
science is racial and individual. He was
discussing the seven ages or dispensations of
the Bible, the second age in particular, commencing after the great flood when the peo
ple were not ruled by a king or government
but by their own consciences. His position
was that, since conscience is racial and in
dividual, the result was a world full of sin
and wickedness.
To me, this does not appear to be true
since cosmic laws and the laws of nature operate everywhere alike. However, there have
been times in the history of man, such as the
Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades, when
it was considered right to torture and kill the
enemies of a particular religin. Did the
men who instigated and perpetrated those
deeds suffer qualms of conscience?
Conscience is not an innate code of mor
is implanted in man by a divine decree. If
conscience were a specific course of beha
vior native to all mankind, all people who
believe themselves motivated by conscience
would behave alike. It is all too apparent
that individuis and groups of persons who
sincerely consider themselves acting in accordance with conscience will not agree on
its dictates. Conscience is related to what is
referred to as the moral law or moral will.
This is an impulse on the part of the indi
vidual to resort to behavior which he adjudges to be righteous. For analogy, we may
believe that there is a universal sense of justice had by all people. Admittedly, the
sense of justice is often more pronounced in
some persons than in others. This justice
is not a knowledge learned. Rather^ it is
an instinctive evaluation of the difference in
experiences insofar as they react upon the
welfare of human beings. It is the faculty
of being able to determine the mean, that
is, the equilibrium, between extremes. For
its expression, this sense of justice depends
upon the observation of opposing conditions
and what may be considered as contributing
to the hurt of an individual.
A member of society may be conditioned
by his social environment to consider slander
as being no hurt to another. Consequently,
his sense of justice, his sympathetic feeling
Enjoy the
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by unique methods of demon
straron and student participation make the
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Go to school the Rosicrucian waywhere
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study is zestful. Plan now to make your
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V
V V
WHY DOES MAN REJECT WISDOM?
Dear Fratres and Sorores:
Transition Is Inevitable
These comments are based upon a question
incorporating the title. The question was
asked, Is transition inevitable? I believe
that one of the most profound impressions
made upon my consciousness when I first
associated with the Rosicrucian Order many
years ago was an article written by the Imperator at that time, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis.
This article, incidentally, has now been
published for members in a booklet form
The Rosicrucian Forum s Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
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Universal Ethics
The prevalent and widespread corruption
in government and in society generally is
reminiscent of similar conditions in past
centuries. It has reached such alarming proportions that it has been suggested that a code
of ethics be adopted for intragovemmental
relations in the United States. The purpose
of a code of ethics is to equalize the evaluation of certain human conduct. It does not
intend to restrict initiative and the exercise
of individual intelligence. It proposes to
show that particular activities cannot be permitted when their effects, though advantageous to one man or a group of men, may be
harmful to others.
There is a distinction between an ethical
provision and a legal prohibition. The state
may establish a law which declares it illegal
for certain acts to be performed. It is, of
course, assumed in a democracy that such a
law was enacted for the benefit of society.
However, in the strictest sense many laws
do not have a foundation on ethical princi
pies. They may, for example, be enacted for
economic, political, or hygienic reasons. A
primary principie of ethics is that the con
duct of an individual be such that he does
not take unfair advantage of others. Philosophically, the effect of an ethical code is to
so govern human conduct that individuis
are given equal opportunity to exercise and
to preserve their rights and powers. Perhaps
a simple summation of the practical aspects
of ethics is to refer to it as an attempt at
justice in human relations.
Commonly, ethics is thought of as being
quite independent of moris. The latter are
the guiding principies by which a human
being seeks to conform to a spiritual idealism.
Moris are either inherited as a religious
Attending A Church
Because Rosicrucian work often touches
those areas of study involved in religious
disciplines, it is common for members to ask
us questions relating to their particular
faith. Many, however, feel that their Rosi
crucian work substitutes for a religious
affiliation. Others wonder whether or not
they can be loyal to both. Many ask outright if they should or should not go to
church.
It really is not our place to advise on the
correctness or incorrectness of this activity
on the part of our members. Whether or not
they go to church is principally their con
cern. We realize that a religious attitude, or
faith, can be nurtured and cultivated apart
from a church. Moris and ethics can be
taught in a frame of reference other than a
church. Certainly, an inquiry into the true
Is Evil An Actuality?
A Frater in England, addressing our Fo
rum, states: It is sometimes said that evil is
merely the absence of good in the sense that
darkness is the absence of light. But it would
appear from statements in certain Rosicru
cian literature that evil is more than the mere
absence of good, that it is a definite forc
that consciously and deliberately works in
opposition to Light, Life, and Love.
To arrive at a conception of evil, one first
must have a positive good. In other words,
what is evil must be the contra state of that
which is conceived as good. There are really
no universal goods, that is, systems of be
havior, moral or ethical, which all mankind
accepts alike. Consequently, there are few,
if any, acts which are universally accepted as
Ormazd was the good principie and represented light. Ormazd was opposed by Ahriman , the principie of darkness and evil. This
A Souls Journey
Here, abbreviated, is the report of a mem
ber in Zaria, Nigeria. After an initiation
ceremony, he sensed that something (cali
it my dual self ) pulled out of his material
body and was making rapidly toward the
clouds. He realized that his material body
was still lying on the couch. During this
wonderful experience, he could not tell how
far he had traveled, comparatively speaking.
One thing which carne to his mind was that
he was approaching the Cosmic Mind. After
Valu of Confession
A frater, addressing our Forum, states, I
would like to know something more about the
subject of confession in relation to religious
practice. I know this subject has been previously discussed by this Forum. I am
particularly interested in the basic principies
of confession, why it has been made a part
of religious systems. Confession seems even
more significant today in light of the fact
that psychoanalysis uses what certainly is
a method of it.
Confession can be either oral or written.
It can be a brief spontaneous recital or an
elabrate analytical declaration made to a
single individual or to a group; or it can
constitute a general avowal not particularly
directed toward any human. Why does the
individual voluntarily confess? What is the
motive behind it? A confession is prompted
by a psychological aggravation, the result
of a mental conflict. Knowledge which the
individual has conceming his own relation
ships, his conduct, or the conduct of others
is experienced as being in conflict with his
own moral sense. The subject of the con
fession is, therefore, foreign to the psychic
self of the individual. It tends to produce
anxiety and mental distress by its contrary
nature. Relief appears only to be had by a
confession, by an avowal of sin.
From this it can be seen that the motivating factor of confession is the individuals
conception of sin. Unless the individual is
conscious that he has violated his accepted
religious, moral, or social creed, he has
nothing to confess. The wrong or evil con
duct must be a personal conviction. It
must be an intentional abuse of what the
Rosicrucian Metamorphosis
A soror from New York asks for the
Rosicrucian interpretation of metamorphosis
and whether it is wrong to practice this form
of art.
The dictionary gives several definitions of
the term, the first relating it to magic or
the supernatural. For many years, this was
the association people generally had with the
word. They envisaged a human being
turned into a werewolf or a cat transformed
into a beautiful princess.
Biologically, however, metamorphosis re
lates to the natural transformation of certain
species during their growth period, such as
that of the tadpole to the frog or the Cater
pillar to the butterfly. Gradually, the term
has come to mean a complete change in
the inherent structure of a person or object.
It is now common to say that a city underwent a complete metamorphosis over a
period of years or that a person in whom
great changes of personality and character
are noted has undergone a complete meta
morphosis.
It is in the latter usage of the term that
Rosicrucians seek out and accomplish meta
morphosis. We do not think of it in any
magical sense but as a result of the use and
application of certain cosmic principies in
the life of the individual.
And it is true that by and large Rosi
crucians do practice the art of metamor
phosis in this way. They develop their
intuitive sense and bring into the very
substance of their beings a noticeable change.
Their auras are affected by their concentrated thoughts and respond to their new
approach to life. Through Rosicrucian study
a new pattem of vibratory energy emerges,
and thus a new personality is born.
Many thousands of members have testified to this change in their livesa change
recognized and reported by their families
and friends. It is one of the notable results
of Rosicrucian membership.
Rosicrucian metamorphosis is accomplished through one of the most fascinating
programs of study and initiation ever con-
W hy Kneel?
A soror of England, addressing our Forum
and referring to a book which she has read,
quotes from it as follows: The physical,
etheric centers become by the very act of
kneeling (that is, genuflection) attuned to
certain currents encircling the earth and
ever available to those who desire help from
the unseen. By associating prayer with kneel
ing, man is not only aided but to a certain
extent guarded from pernicious influences
likely to dominate him in any other position
that the body can assume.
Then the soror asks our Forum: In view
of the Rosicrucian Orders teachings that
man need not kneel but can stand upright
before his Creator, which view appeals tremendously to me personally, I am wondering about this different standpoint.
As Rosicrucians, we do not believe that
by kneeling we are any the more subject to
Suelden Illumination
We have a letter from a Soror, the contents of which forms the basis of an interesting Forum discussion. The letter, in part,
says: I had a wonderful experience about
two months ago, the first of its kind which
I have been longing to have. Since this ex
perience, I have had several others. It
seemed as if I were swished away suddenly,
and when I awakened some two hours
afterward I knew I had had a psychic ex
perience. The importance of this communication is in the first line quoted above. The
Soror had longed for years for certain experiences of a psychic nature constituting
Cosmic Illumination. Then, suddenly, it
occurred. Since that time, she has had
other such experiences.
MuAtical 9Uu*HMxU04t
" ESSAYS OF A MOVERN MYSTIC"
By
D r.
H.
S p e n c e r L e w is
Free Will
About Healing
Reincarnation
Psychic Centers
Psychic Faculties of
Children
8. Prenatal Influences
13 .
14 .
15 .
16 .
17 .
2 1. Do Animis Have
Souls?
22. Cremation
23. Transition
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V V
LOYALTY, THE GOLDEN INGREDIENT
Dear Fratres and Sorores:
personal vales that he recognizes and accepts. Then when they are discovered in
another person or in some immaterial re
lationship or abstract thing, there is an
immediate affinity with them. Loyalty is a
defensive, a protective, and a sacrificing
attribute. One is loyal because he wants to
sustain and preserve that which to him
seems right or good. This good does not
necessarily have to correspond to a moral
good, however. There is an od adage about
loyalty among thieves. Such persons, re
gardless of societys moral standards which
they have violated, have found in each
other a quality which they respect. Consesequently, their reaction is the support of
this element and is manifested as loyalty.
Some persons have what is termed a more
loyal character than others. This is dependent upon the personality and psychological make-up of the individual. Where
individuis are concerned, one must at least
have a sympathetic bond with the other
person or persons before loyalty can be had.
There must be, we repeat, some factor which
engenders this sympathy. If there is nothing
about another which arouses a sympathetic
emotion, affection, or attraction for him,
there can be no loyalty to that individual.
Some individuis are so egocentric that
even kindness shown them evokes no feeling
of gratitude or responsive kindness. All is
accepted for the gratification of self, and
that gratification does not include the acts
of others; consequently, they are incapable
of loyalty.
Often persons display loyalty to a princi
pie which indirectly may also include others.
This loyalty to some cause or system with
which one is in sympathy will then be ex
tended to any or all persons who may seem
to be in accord with it, even though they
are not known personally. Members of a
labor unin who are loyal to the precepts
of their association will, likewise, often be
loyal to the officers of that unin because
they are officers, even though some or all
may be scoundrels.
The Rosicrucian Forum is Published Six Times a Year (every other month) by the Department
of Publication, Suprem e Council of A M O R C , Rosicrucian Park, San Jos, California 95114.
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if prayers are read or utilized that are written by someone else, those should be selected with which we as individuis find a
harmonious relationship that causes our own
state of mind to be placed in a relationship
with the Divine or the Cosmic and produces
a sense of peace and reassurance.
There does not even have to be a time set
aside specifically for prayer and for that
purpose only, although it is most helpful
that such a time be utilized. Prayer can be
snatched from the busy world of today. In
only a few seconds, we can actually enter a
state of prayer when we express thanks for
that which sustains us or ask guidance from
the powers that enter into our inner being.
Life is a part of us. It is the way in which
we are connected to the Cosmic Mind. It is
the channel by which wisdom and know
ledge may reach us. All that we can know
through the inner self must come through
this channel of life. If we are constantly
acknowledging the existence of that inner
self and its relationship to a higher life
within us, we are developing a habitual response to the Cosmic and, thereby, we are in
closer attunement and relationship with the
higher forces of the universe and are thus
able to draw upon them when they are
needed.
The individual who studies philosophy,
religin, metaphysics, mysticism, including
the Rosicrucian teachings, but does not use
prayer and meditation whenever there are a
few moments that can be utilized will never
develop the ability to seek an immediate
response when it is needed. It is living the
life of contemplation, meditation, and prayer
that causes man to be in an environment of
his own making and enables him to draw
upon divine forces for sustenance and direction.
There was a time when many men believedand, of course, there are some who
still dothat only by isolating ourselves from
the affairs of the world, by going into a
monastic type of existence, could we reach
a condition where we would be able consciously to draw upon the divine essence of
the universe whenever we needed it orwished
to use it. No doubt, there are many sound
arguments in favor of monasticism and isolation; but it is nt the only way. Many
saints have lived an active life. We can live
in a complex, modern world and still
quirements, learning to know it, making adjustments in keeping with its criteria. Here
we use the term world as meaning the uni
versal order.
A wrong interpretation of mastery has led
many a student up blind alleys. While he
concentrates all his efforts on trying to
make a chair fly through the air or have
another person bow effortlessly to his will,
he is delaying the day when true mastery
will make such theatricals unimportant and
real accomplishment an everyday event.
Lifethe universemay be looked upon
as a great instrument. It has inherent characteristics, just as a violin, a piano, a carpenters tool, or a camera has parts that are
uniquely and irrevocably the nature of the
instrument. The practitioner of these instruments also attempts to master them, just as
Rosicrucians attempt to master life. By
mastering their instruments, such practitioners do not try to change the intrinsic nature
of those instruments; rather, they employ
themselves in understanding their nature
and potential. First, they are apprentices.
They study the instruments in all their
parts. They begin to apply themselves and
bring forth apprentice-type resultssour
notes, ragged cuts, fuzzy pictures. These are
what their instruments produce.
Blame the instruments? Easy enough to
do. Its done often enough by countless
persons, by people you know. Sit in on a
friends show of slides. Throughout, you may
hear excuses from a practitioner who has
not yet mastered his instrument. How about
the musician who missed a note because of
poor light or the carpenter who made a
rough cut because of a dull saw? They may
be legitmate excuses, but the instruments,
nevertheless, were not used to their full
potential.
From apprenticeship to mastership is a
long hard road. To acquire perfection in the
use of an instrument takes countless hours
of practice and exercise. And the burden of
learning and accomplishing falls wholly on
the practitioner. The instrument stands there
tomorrow just as it stands todaystolid, immovable, impersonal, oblivious to a practitioners efforts to master it. It will also get
out of tune, dull, or dirty. And this, too, is
left for man to adjust, fix, or clean. The
mastery of the instrument is clearly mans
initiative. The instrument offers nothing but
W hy A Rosicrucian Museum?
What is the relationship between the purposes and functions of the Rosicrucian Order,
AMORC, and an Egyptian Museum? In
other words, why does AMORC conduct such
an activity as a museum? There are several
reasons which we believe are not only justifiable but also essential to the welfare of
AMORC.
First, it must be understood that having a
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum is not a commercial venture. It is a nonrevenue producing activity. There is no fee or admission
charge for either the visiting Rosicrucians or
the thousands of the public, including school
and college groups, who annually view its
exhibits.
As every Rosicrucian knows, the history
of AMORC is divided into two categories:
the traditional and chronological. The former
concerns the early beginnings of the mystery
schools of Egypt, which were the first assemblies of men and women to inquire
seriously into the universe around them and
to probe into their own natures. Though
the word Rosicrucian was not known then,
at least many of the symbols and even some
of the rites, and especially the spirit of in
quiry of the Rosicrucian Order today, had
its inception in those beginnings, which later
spread to Greece, Rome, and elsewhere in
Europe.
The chronological history, the written
aspect of the Order, goes back to the very
earliest period of printing and, before that,
to the handwritten manuscripts. Some of
these were at first recondite, and later there
were published references in the works to
the Brethren of the Rosy Cross. The
chronological records outside of the archives
of the Order itself are somewhat confused,
showing various times for its inception. This
Rosicrucian Techniques
1. Assumption
Assumption is a concept based upon the
process of assuming ourselves to be functioning as a different entity from what we in
reality are. To practice assumption is to assimilate the experience and to a degree the
consciousness of another. In much religious
literature, there has been a great deal of
mystery surrounding this concept.
Many religious leaders have practiced
assumption in order to speed the under
standing of their message to the minds of
others. In the tradition of most of the worlds
best known religions, there are references to
the assumption by avatars, or masters, of the
lives and consciousness of those who heard
their message. Thus they were able to use
the channels existent about them for the
perfection of their message.
Surely, an individual as intelligent and as
evolved and with the access to wisdom as
Buddha, Jess, or Mohammedor which
many of the great philosophers and masters
hadcould not have conceived of his message
being grasped in its entirety within the lifetime he had to share with his followers.
Those who followed the teachings of such a
master could learn only of the periphery of
his ideas.
In a sense, therefore, these masters had
to attempt a forced system of teaching,
bringing to the minds of their followers their
ideas in such quantity and with such forc
that it would make an impression that would
reverberate through the centuries after they
no longer existed as physical living beings.
2. Projection
Projection is a process of the extensin of
consciousness. The Rosicrucian philosophy
holds as a fundamental principie that time
and space are purely physical conditions.
They are in a sense limitations of the physi
cal mind. Time is in reality no more than
the duration of consciousness. Space is no
more than a gap in our ability to perceive.
Therefore, consciousness transcends the
limits of time and space.
Consciousness is a continual process of
conception within the mind. The mind of
man is also the instrument of recall and
creation. That consciousness should be
limited to the physical brain of an individual
is purely an assumption that has grown out
of a materialistic philosophy. Consciousness
does not necessarily exist in my brain. The
brain serves as a mdium for its expression;
but consciousness is in every cell of my body,
and it can expand into my aura and even
beyond that into the area about me.
When we speak of projection, we are
concerned with this expansin of conscious
ness. Projection is the ability of conscious
ness to take over in areas removed from us
in what we ordinarily consider the realm of
time and space. When I project, I become
conscious more acutely of a situation that
may lie beyond the physical limitations of
my being.
We are so familiar with the situation im
mediately about us that projection seems to
be a very strange phenomenon when it is
first presented to us. Possibly, our first ex
periments with projection should be limited
to nearby places; that is, to the next room
or to a place with which we are very fa
miliar and which is near by. Such experi
ments help to break down the illusion of
space and time to which we are slaves under
so many other circumstances.
Projection is not a process by which we
satisfy curiosity. Even if we attain a degree
of perfection in the process of projection, it
is not necessarily for the purpose of eavesdropping on someone else. We cannot enter
the privacy of anothers consciousness re
gardless of how perfect our ability to project
may be. In a sense, we can only go where
we are permitted to go. We can only expand
our consciousness into areas where it will
find harmony and attunement with itself;
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Another example is the attempt by mimetic magic to produce rain. A hole is dug
in the ground and then water is slowly
poured into it to simlate rainfall. The very
early Greeks, and peoples of contemporary
cultures, performed orgiastic fertility rites in
fields. They thought that by such a symbolic
means it would be suggested to nature that
she should be fruitful and produce abundant
crops.
Witch doctors, or shamans, of Africa and
South America are known to make effigies
of their enemies. These are sculptures made
out of beeswax, mud, and the human hair
of the victim, if possible. The effigy is then
pierced with a needle in the regin in which
it is desired that pain, or death, shall be inflicted upon the enemy. This, again, is contagious magic and symbolic magic combined.
The effigy has been made to resemble the
enemy. Like produces like by similarity;
by piercing the effigy with a needle, the
effect should be the same as if he were
personally stabbed. Also, if the actual hair
or blood is used in making the effigy, then
objects once related retained their connection. In other words, there is then a
bond between the hair on the effigy and the
one from whom it was taken. What is done
to the effigy, therefore, would likewise affect
the victim.
In modern witchcraft, these primitive
notions prevail. Especially is symbolic or
mimetic magic employed. For the moment,
let us try to follow such rudimentary reason
ing. First, the individual must believe that
there are bsolute opposites and not merely
relative ones. Evil cannot be thought of in
just the relative sense by these witches, as
they proclaim themselves. In other words,
evil is not considered just a difference or
deviation from good, but rather it is thought
to have a positive but contranature of its
own.
There is, then, a duality of forces ubiquitous in nature. One is the good, the benef-
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W hat Is Luck?
A frater of Nigeria, now addressing our
Forum, says, I have a question about which
I should like the comments of the Forum.
It is about what is called bad luck. Can it
be said that all bad luck (or all good luck)
is the effect of karma? In fact, just what is
luck? Further, is there actually any such
thing as an accident?
We offer the definition that luck is a combination of circumstances which may either
affect an individual beneficially or adversely, whose actual causes are unknown to him
and which he assumes to be the result of a
supematural power. A psychological factor
amounting to superstition enters into the
belief in luck. Since the circumstances which
account for luck are not understood by the
individual, he is inclined to believe that
there is a supernatural element involved,
that luck consists of certain powers or forces
inherent in nature or in things which are in
some manner invoked to bring about the re
sults which are experienced. These forces, it
is believed, function independently from or
dinary natural phenomena and affect an in
dividual because of certain of his acts or
because of other causes which motvate them.
The believer in luck, then, whether he real
izes it or not, is likewise a believer in magic.
Denial of Self
In an age where Victorian ideas are being
discarded in about every line of thought,
what of the very basis of our moral fibre
the virtuous life? Will such concepts as
humility, loyalty, charity, selflessness, and
generosity be labeled outdated as well?
Are these virtues irrevocable? Are they part
and parcel of the fabric of creation? Or are
they, as other thoughts, the conceptions of
mortal man, conceived and employed to serve
his needs alone and with no basis in fact
for their appearance on civilizations scheme?
One such time-honored virtue is self-denial,
or selflessness. Since the beginning of written
history, at least, man has been exhorted to
deny himself. Accounts of the lives of the
avatars give example after example of their
practice of this principie, and from their ex
ample men carry the practice into succeeding
centuries.
A virtue, to be valid, has to have practical
application. It must work in the lives of the
people who are concemed with it. Thus, self
lessness, or self-denial, must be of benefit to
man in his adjustment to life if it is to be a
true virtue. It must aid him in his efforts to
live in harmony with the Cosmic; otherwise,
it is not truly a virtue.
If this is true, then self-denial, or selfless
ness, for its own sake, is not an essential or
desirable pattern of behavior. or should we
say it is valid as a sign of obeisance or indulgence to a higher power.
Self-denial is often associated with reli
gious rites, for in religin man sought to enforce the rules which he thought necessary
for the preservation of the individual and
society. Since the interests of self must to
some extent be subordinated to the interests
of society in order that society be preserved,
Necessary Evil?
A frater from a country in Central
America calis our attention to an oft-spoken
phrase: . . . a necessary evil. He asks:
Since so many people believe in the idea
that there are necessary evils, and since
the Rosicrucians propose that a negative
forc is part of the cosmic nature, is it really
true that evil is a necessary part of life
something that will always be with us?
Evil, in the sense of a malevolent forc
acting against man, is neither necessary or
destined for mans posterity. The negative
forc of which Rosicrucians speak is not
necessarily evil, or bad. It is rather a phase
of the action of life forc as it races from
one pole to another. It is now positive, then
negative; now active, then passive. Positive
and negative phases are characteristic of life
forc; characteristics which are responsible
for motion and activity; characteristics which
create states of balance or imbalance; charac
teristics which make for harmony or inharmony.
The Imperator has explained negative as
being that which is less in comparison to
something that is more. In this sense, the
terms are relative. For example, a full quart
bottle of milk is positive in comparison to a
half-filled bottle.
Negativeness, therefore, is destined to be
always with us. There will always be opposite poles. The twain shall never meet.
The action of life forc itself exeludes any
possibility of things being different in this
respect. Any other arrangement would spell
imbalance, and this the universe does not
W hy Transition?
A soror has written concerning the tran
sition of a loved one and, like so many
persons, asked the etemal question, Why ?
We realize that there are always deep
questions when we experience the loss of a
loved one; and even though there may be
an understandable answer in the cosmic
scheme, it is no less a tragedy in the lives
of those of us who experience the loss. An
answer to the question does not make it
easier.
We can see in the laws of the universe
around us that nature is both positive and
negative; both active and passive; both violent and calm. This is the way of the Cosmic,
and this inherent structure is evident in
all aspects of its manifestations. This is
the over-all reason for destruction. We can
probably say that every human being has
these potential characteristics within him; a
pressure point, so to speak, which vares with
the individual and, depending on the momentary circumstances, can manifest in
varying degreesalmost without prediction,
intent, or reason.
Emotional pressure points in people are
like physical pressures; they arise from a
multitude of causes, causes which are often
difficult to isolate.
This, in part, is the way of the Cosmic;
and in its etemal motion and progress, the
cycle of creation and destruction goes on.B
INDEX OF VOLUM E XXXVI (Comprising the entire Six lssues of the 36th Year)
NOTE-The small letters after the page numbers refer to position on page: a, upper half of first column; b, lower half
of first column; c, upper half of second column; d, lower half of second column. Titles of articles are italicized.
Sepher Yetzirah, or Book of Creation, 42b
A
Symbolic Prophecy of the Great Pyramid,
Ability to Transcend Physical Limitation, 110c
Dr. H. S. Lewis, 124d, 125a, 126a
Abstract Idealism Transcends
Unto Thee I Grant, 54a, 77b, lOOd
Objective Gratification, 79b
Buddha, Christ, Mohammed vs. Forms of Religin, 4d
Acceptance of Belief Stops Creativity, 105d
Accomplish, Desire To, 39c
c
Actualize Realization: Recall, 36b
Can A Mystic Be Masterful? 70b-71c
Agitation of Nervous and Digestive Systems, 17b
Carneades, Successor of Pyrrho, lla-b
Akashic RecordsWhat They Are, 37c-38b
Catholic Church and Ecumenical Council, 21d
AMORC Attacked by Romn Catholic
Catholicism vs. Rosicrucianism, brochure, 23d
Publications, 22b-23c
Causes and Effects, Impersonal, 33a, b
AMORC, Children in, 34a-35a
CharacterOur Point of ViewMemory, 31c
AMORC-Numbers and Resources Small, 23b
Children in AMORC, 34a-35a
AMORC Studies Hasten Final Perfection, 94d
Choice To Be Made for Career, 38a
AMORCs Beliefs, 17c-d, 84b-c
Choosing, A Time for, 11le-112a
A New Spiritual Age, 68d-70b
Christ Consciousness, Persons Have, 70a
Apply Creative Thinking, 30d, 40a
Christ Consciousness, The Significance of, 139c-140c
Apprenticeship to Mastership, 102b
ChristianityFrom Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Gnosticism,
Are Family Ties Maintained? 77b-78c
Doctrines of Mystery Schools, 29d-30c
Are the Pyramid Prophecies Infallible? 124c-126d
Christianity Is A Spent Forc, 4b-c, 5b
Arguments Are To Arrive at Truth, 107c
Christianity? Is Pantheism Contrary to, 29b-30c
Arranging Pictures on A WallRitual, 27c
Church, Attending A, 83d-84d
Arts, Sciences, Philosophies, Humanly Devised, 45a
Churchill, Winston, Quote From Writings, 43a-b
Asceticism, Self-Mortification, Denial Unnecessary, 95d
Civilizations Stand Upon Preceding Ones, 112d
A SouVs Journey, 87b-88a
CodeReligious, Moral, Ethical, 88c
Aspiring, The, Are Responsible, 114d
Cognition: Perception and Conception, 118a-c
Association, Reflection, Projection of Events, 53d
Coincidence, Superstition, Imagination, 5c
Assumption, Rosicrucian Technique, 114a-d
Communion With Supreme Being, 100a
Atheist Really Says, 128d-129a
Compendium of Questions and Answers, 59d-61c
Atheist? What Is An, 55c-56d
Compensation, Law of Cause and Effect, 138c
Attainment Is by Effort and Sacrifice, 47b-c
Comprehension vs. Mastery of Science or Art, 93d
Attending A Church, 83d-84d
Confession,
Valu of, 88a-91a
Attraction PotentialValence, 78a, b
Conflict Between Science and Rationalism, 103d
Auras and Malevolent Thoughts, 17a
ConsciousnessContinual Process Within the Mind, 115a
Automation and Our Lives, 63b-64b
Consciousness, Group, 119c
Automobile, A Status Symbol, 51b
Consciousness of Self Limited, 68b-c
Availability of Mystic and Occult Knowledge, 136b-137c
Consciousness, The Survival of, 18c-20b
Avenue to Awareness of God and Cosmic, 101c
Contemplaron of Seeker Arouses Intuitive Processes, 45c
Awaken and Develop Psychic Powers, 108d
Contribution to Welfare of World, 52d-53a
Awareness of Our Limitations, 109d-lllc
Controversy, The Great, 128a-129a
Convocations, Reserved for Adults, 3.4d
B
Cooperate With Cosmic Laws, 43d-44b
Backsliding Through Incamations, 8b-9b
Copernicus, Astronomer, Sun the Center, 2c-d
Balance and Harmony, 42d, 43a
Coptic Writer, Great, Masoudi, 126a
Balance Between Elements of Society, 54c
Cosmic Consciousness, 61b-c
Balance, Harmony and, 126d-128a
Cosmic Mind, Approaching It, 87b
Basis of Social and Moral Standards, 57b-58b
Council and... ? Ecumenical, 21d-23d
BehaviorAdjudged Righteous, 67b, d
Council of Trent, Confession, 90a
Behavior Pattem, Mental Outlook, Composites, 31d
Courses Through Mail, 22d
Being is EnergyR + C Hypothesis, 60b
Creation, Biblical Account, 2a-b
Being, Nature of, 84a, c
Creative Process and Recall, 64d-65a
Being vs. Non-Being, 56c
Creative Thinker} The, 38d-40d
Belief and Disbelief, The Ease of, 105b-107a
Cruel? Is Nature, 32c-34a
Beliefs, AMORCs, 17c-d
Curiosity of Applicants, 82c
BigotIntolerant, Not Sceptical, 10c
Cycles of History, lid-14b
Birth of the Universe, Theories of, 60a
BodyVehicle for the Soul, 58b
D
Books:
Dangers of Modern Witchcraft, 122a-124c
Absent Healing, Dr. H. S. Lewis, 75c
Death Birth, 18d, 19a
Book of Common Prayer, lOOd
Decalogue in Od Testament, 81a
Book of the Dead, Right, Wrong, Conduct, 89c
Decisin on Hearsay? 86d-87a
Dialogues, Plato, 38b
Decisions, Karma and Our, 138c-139b
Golden Bough, The, Dr. James G. Frazer, 122c
Democracies, Republics, and Mobs, 20d
It Began in Egypt, 113a
Denial of Self, 133a-134b
Mansions of the Soul, Dr. H. S. Lewis, 15b, 31b
Denominations, Religious, Come and Go, 5b
Mental Poisoning, Dr. H. S. Lewis, 16c
Depression, When of Presence or Environment, 17a
Mystics at Prayer, (Introduction), lOOb-d
Destruction of World or Human Society, 69c
Origin of Speeies, The, C. Darwin, 3a-d
Develop Consciousness Toward Higher Degree, 140a
Peace of Mind, Rabbi Liebman, 76c
Developing Intuition, 44b-45d
Self Mastery and Fate with the Cycles of Life,
Direct Consciousness to the Known, 66d
Dr. H. S. Lewis, lid
L
Lacks Material and Physical, llla-b
Law of Cosmic Evolution, 94b-c
Laws of the Universe, Positive, Negative, 140c
Levels of Consciousness, 66a
Lewis, Dr. and R + C Egyptian Museum, 113a-b
Life A Sequence of Happenings, 107b
Life Forc Action One Pole to Another, 137d, 138a
Life Is Connection to Cosmic Mind, 101a
Life Ordained? Is Our, 37c-38c
Life Strives To Be! 15d
Life, The Mastery of, 101c-103d
Life, Valu of, 52b-53b
Limitations, Awareness of Our, 109d-lllc
Light, Life, and Love, 85d
Live A Full Life, Failing To, 66d
Live by Caution, 86c
Live by Spiritual Teachings Peace, 70b
Lives Well Adjusted, Happy, 9b
Logos, Doctrine of, 40d-42b
Logos, Mind, Behind Cosmic Process, Mystical, 42b
Lost Word, The, 92d-93b
Loved One, The, Looks at Death Facetiously, 76b
Love, Knowledge, Understanding Eternal, 32b-c
Loyalty, the Golden Ingredient, 98a-99d
Luck? What Is, 129b-130d
Lustration or Purification, Rite of, 88c, 89b
M
Magazines:
Rosicrucian Digest, 30d
Rosicrucian Forum, 30d
Magic, Black, 16a, d
Magic, Sympathetic, 122c-123b
Man, An Animal Organically, 3d
Man Considered Himself Chosen, 134c, 135a
Man Establishes Vales, 32d, 33c
Manichaeans, 86a
Mankind, Class(es) of, 53d, 54b, 55b
Mans Destiny, 13d
Maris Many Minds, 58d-59d
Man, the Creator of His God, 104b
Man, Thoughts That Destroy, 16a-17c
Man Without Soul? Is, 36c-37b
Marble, Block of, Analogy by Plato, 38b
Masterful? Can A Mystic Be, 70b-71c
Mastership, False Sense of, 50d-51a
Mastery of Life, The, 101c-103d
Mechanists Basis of Life, 36d
Mechanized Menace, The, 50a-52b
Media (News) Many; Be Selective, 62b-c, 63a
Medifocus To Accomplish Peace, 47d
Medtate and Concntrate To Change Existence, 44b
Meditation, 66b-d
Meister Ecchart Revived Writings Logos, 42b
Membership, Getting the Most From, 108a-109d
Memory Between Incarnations, 31b-c
Menace, The Mechanized, 50a-52b
Mental Ability, for Benefit and Unity, 131a
Mentally Creating, Keys to, 130d-133a
Messiah Born? Is A New, 116a-117d
Metamorphosis, Rosicrucian, 91a-d
Mind Converts Environment, 64a
Minds, Maris Many, 58d-59d
Moral Law Related to Conscience, 67b, 68a-b
Moris and Ethics, 83d, 88c
Moris - Inherited or An Interpretation,
78d-79a, c, 80a, 88c
More Questions About Reincarnation, 30c-32c
Motor Car Production Essential, 52b
Museum? Why A Rosicrucian, 112a-114a
Must Mystics Go Into Retreat? 103d-105b
Must Prayer Be Original? lOOa-lOlc
Mystic and Occult Knowledge, Availabilty of, 136b-137c
R O S IC R U C IA N P R E S S , L T D ., S A N J O S E
'^ ^
L.ITH O IN U . S . A .