Amorc Degree 11 (94-113)

The Rosicrucian Order

MASTER MONOGRAPH IL L U M IN A T I S E C T IO N

This monograph always remains the property of the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. It is not purchased by, but loaned to, the receiving member.

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Degree 11 Monograph

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•>1.50 * £ 0 IS T E fte 8 THROUGHOUT ThC WO* 1 0 ) M i* T tO I* U .*.*.

The m atter contained herein is officially issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies of officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts" as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in countries throughout the world.) All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and snail remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive Information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of tne Statutes of this Order. A. M. O. R. C. is the only organization authorized to use the Reg istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V V V *1 In this monograph we have considered many references occurring down through the ages to the efficacy of the spoken Word, its traditional relations to cosmology or the creation of the world. Below we \ quote from the Sepher Yezirah (the Book of Creation) of the Kabala, which again shows the belief in the relationship of the divine power to the spoken Word which objectifies it. The spirit of the living God, praised and glorified be the name of Him who lives to all eternity. The articulate word of creative power, the spirit and the word are what we call the holy spirit. -S E P H E R YEZIRAH

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Beloved Members, Greetings! In connection efficacy of speech physical nature of we give thought to

with our study of mantras and vowels and the and its effect upon the psychic, emotional, and man and his environment, it is appropriate that the very ancient tradition of the Lost Word.

The doctrine of the Lost Word exists as an arcanum in the lit urgies of many of our religions today and in the rites of a number of secret and philosophical societies which are still extant. Each has its respective theological or philosophical explanation of this persistent idea. On the other hand, they are all related to a fundamental concept rooted deeply in the earliest beliefs of man. A majority of these explanations of the Lost Word are based upon the Biblical phrase: "In the beginning was_£he Word, and the Vôrd was with God, and the Wc5rd-âS__Go?Trri [John lTl) . CosmoTogically, this means that the ^rS~d.LioiT~ fff the universe was accomp,l^shad_by a vocative idea— a~thought expres¥e3~~as a word^ IrT this manner, God ari3 the Word are made syrionymous^ God, or Mind, as creative reason, is made to manifest only with the issuance of a Word. Consequently, the creative power of God is given force only when it is spoken. The fCrce of God i"s~made his voice, or an intonatioru It iS'Tiot sufficient, according to this concept, that God should only exist for the universe and things to come forth from His nature, but it is also necessary that the active cause of His being, the law or decision of His Mind, be manifest as an utterance. THE WORD THE SYNTHESIS

It is a matter of observation among men that all natural things have a law unto themselves. That is, there is some particular cause upon which they depend, and such things and laws are myriad. Therefore, it is the presumption among men that the Word which was first uttered must have been the synthesis of all cosmic and natural laws. The Word in this sense did not fashion the elements of the universe out of other substances. It was not a divine agent or force which acted upon an indeterminate substance, as, for example, clay, but rather all things from planets to specks of sand were inchoate elements of the W o r d . The Word is thus conceived as a vibratory, undulating energy in which the basic essence of all things exist. For analogy, we may compare it to a single sound which could include all octaves and pitches simultaneously. Consequently, each individual sound which the ear might discern would depend for its exist ence upon the original cause, the single united sound. As each color is a component part of white light, so all creation is of the composite law embraced by the Word.

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Consequently, such a Word is endowed with the importance of being the key to the universe. He who could know and intone it would have mastery of all creation. In line with such reasoning is the connotation that the law of creation or Locfos, once made vocative as the Word, never ceased to exist, never died out or diminished. Upon its continuous trem ors or vibratory nature, all things have their causal dependence. Just as the light of an electric lamp is, in effect, dependent upon its constant cause, the flow of electricity to the heated filament within the lamp, so all manifestations are said to owe their exis tence to the continuous reverberations of the Word throughout the universe. The vibratory nature of each thing thus fits into a gigantic scale or keyboard. Each reality has some relationship to a note or a combination of them, which is an integral part of the Word. Thus, certain vowels could contain, within their combination, the creative. complete scale of cosmic energy, according to this concept. THE WORD W AS LOST

It is expounded by most of the philosophical and religious organizations which preserve the tradition of the Word that at one time man possessed, as a divine and rightful heritage, knowledge of it which gave him a true mastery of his domain, the Earth. How man became dispossessed of such a great treasure or lost the Word is a tradition for which different groups offer various and divergent explanations. Each, likewise, in its own way, believes man may redeem himself and recover the Lost Word, or at least certain efficacious syllables of it.

This, it is generally conceded, can be accomplished through a synthesis of exoteric and esoteric knowledge, namely, through the study of the basic sciences and the worship of God, or communion with the Absolute. In fact, there are perpetuated today, in rites and sacred ceremonies, certain syllables or vowels which are said to be of the Lost Word and, when intoned, do produce amazing crea tive and beneficial powers and manifestations. Other mystics declare that the complete Lost Word is ineffable by man, that he would never be able to utter it even if he came to know its con tent, but that he can pronounce certain of its syllables from which he may acquire tremendous personal power. We have said that this belief had its provenance in the early thought of man. It will contribute to our understanding of this mystery, which has become a respected doctrine, to review its history. According to ancient liturgical text, the Sumerian vocable for word is 'Inim,' pronounced "enem." From this word the Sumerians developed the concept of

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incantation. To the Sumerians, incantation was the formal words of the magician or priest. In fact, the Sumerian for incantation is "inim-inim-ma," which is a duplication of "Inim. To the Sumerian, Inim or word meant to "utter a decision." The ancient Semites regarded a formally spoken word contain ing the force of a command or a promise as a very definite or real thing, that is, an entity the same as a substance of some kind. Therefore, from the words of a deity, priest, or human under formal circumstances there issued a magical and terrible power. The formally spoken words of the great gods were apotheosized by the Sumerians; that is, they were regarded as a divine entity equivalent to the god. Because of its conformity to this concept, let us recall our previous Biblical quotation in part, " . . . and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Before 2900 B.C., we find the in scription, "Enem-Ma-Ni-Zid," Literally translated, "His word is true.” Likewise, in pre-Sargonic times, about 28 00 B.C., and on a temple record of Lugalanda is the phrase "Enem-Dug-Dug-Ga-Ni An-Dub," or: "The word which he spoke shakes the heavens. The word which beneath causes the earth to tremble." Here we see the first conception of the dynamic power of the Divine Word expressed nearly 5000 years ago. A further development of the Sumerians was the identifying of the Word of the god Enlil with his spirit. The Word of the god was made as an attribute of his all-embracing nature, moving forth from him into the chaotic world. For example, another Sumerian liturgy reads: "The utterance of thy mouth is a beneficent wind, the breath of life of the lands." Again, by this we are reminded of the Old Testament, for in the Book of Genesis 1:2, we find, "Aryi ;the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Following this we ~^re told~tKar~~Godr-spo^cgT >T ^ E ~ T h e r e ~ b e ~ H g h t ." To the Sumerians, the breath of God was a warm flood of light. The in fluence of the religions of the Sumerians and Babylonians upon their Hebrew captives is quite apparent in the books of the Old Testament. The Sumerians and Babylonians invariably regarded w ^ gr as the first principle, the primordial substance from which all things came. Water to them was not a creative force, but rather the first element out of which other substances developed or evolved. Since, therefore, all things came from water, it was deduced that reason or wisdom dwelt within it. The word which the Sumerians conferred upon this creative principle of water was Mummu. The Greek historian

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Damascius said this word meant "creative reason"— the wisdom which created all things. In the Book of Genesis we find another paral lel^ to _this. That— is ,_tiiajt vfater was the f irs~€ 'ITuErstance over which" . . ^ the Spirit o f .God^moved-.~~ r .w T h i s doctrine ~of- water asTihe first substance found its way into an early school of phi losophy of ancient Greece. Thales of Miletus apparently borrowed it from the Babylonians. Anaximander and Anaximenes apparently influenced by their con tact with the Hebrew scholars and their traditions, and so they resorted to syncretism as well. They declared that the cosmic substance was itself reasoruvyisdom,. harmony; or Nous. This, we see, corresponds to ^heBabylorTian Logos, 'or Mummu, the creative reason which is immanent in watejr. Heraclitus, of 500 B .t ~ , who expounded a doctrine of evolution and relativity, that of all mat ter "becoming" through a process of development from fire to air and return, held that the only reality was the law of becoming, a cosmic law— the Word. WORD R EP LA C ED BY LOGOS

A transition gradually occurred, in which the Word, as a divine utterance, was to be replaced by the Logos (law). This Logos was the will of God, expressed as an immutable and active law in the universe. The ancient Stoics held that the divine principle or first cause was pneuma, the breath of God which permeated all things. This breath manifested as a series of creative laws in matter. It became the physical laws which science knows and studies. In man, this breath or Logos became a lesser spirit and moved him as a soul. Philo, a Jewish eclectic philosopher, at the beginning of the Christian era, developed the Logos concept into a most important central doctrine of a philosophy which found its way into the theologocal dogmas of some of our present prominent religions. To Philo, the Logos was, on the one hand, the Divine Wisdom, the pro ducing rational power of the Supreme Being. In other words, the Logos was the Mind of God. On the other hand, the Logos was not the absolute nature of God— it was not the substance of the deity. It was rather an at tribute of His nature. It was reason coming forth fromîm_as^ an emanation. It was held to be the "uttered reason." Thus, from EHTs- w e f i n d that again the Logos talcei on the significance of the Word, namely, the expressed will or "utterance" of God. The Logos or Word was held by Philo to dwell within the world. God was not immanent in the world. He transcended it, but the Logos, his Word, descended into the sentient world as a mediator between God and man.

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For a summation of this topic, we may say that most men have believed that a desire or wish has no efficacy unless it is made vocative. They conceive that a thought in itself is not sufficient unless it is accompanied by some active agent like the spoken word. Therefore, to the natural cosmic forces, the physical laws of the universe, he attributes a once-uttered Word as their source, which continues to reverberate throughout the universe and which he can no longer, at least in its entirety, apprehend. In our next monograph we will see how rituals transform words, phrases, sounds, music, and gestures so as to make a whole symbolic act. In fact, we will have a ritual for you to perform so as to illustrate these principles. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

The Weekly Application

Whatsoever thou reaoluest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish.—UNTO THEE I GRANT

Still on the subject of words as symbols, the super word of all times seems to be the Lost Word, or the Creative Word that went forth at the beginning. Since words are symbols, then we can safely say that the Lost Word is also the super symbol of all times. Right off, then, we can stop trying to read any magical power into the symbol itself, but rather search for its form and meaning. Perhaps if we use the word creation as our word and symbol, rather than just saying the word, it will be easier to find form and meaning. Since there never has been a beginning either, we can dispense with that as a starting point. Creation is a vibrating-inass of some form of primary element, the prim a t m ateria of the alchemists. It is imbued with mjraLand force that m a b of it a I cSfisciousTvital entity. Its meaning is in its prime directive, to he. Thi« aimplp I 'statement o fc o s m o lo g jT w ill give you much food for thought as you contemplate / If'uT your quiet houri~frbm m)w tiHTh^ Tiext leigpn.

Summary of This Monograph V V V

Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete monograph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory.

5{ A majority of the explanations of the Lost Word are based on the Biblical phrase, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) U Cosmologically the above Biblical phrase means that the creation of the universe was accomplished by a vocative idea, a thought expressed as a Word. 5J Tradition held that the law of creation, or Logos, once made vocative as the Word, never ceased to exist, never died out or diminished. 51Tradition contends that at one time man possessed as a divine heritage knowledge of the full power of the Lost Word. 5| The ancient Sumerians identified the Word of the god Enlil with his spirit. The ancient Stoics held that the divine principle and first cause w aspneuma, the breath of God which permeated all things.

I

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Degree 11 Monograph

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Degree 11

Monograph

95

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279

R EG ISTER ED IN U.S. P A T F N r O F F IC E r*LSO RCGfSTEREO THROUGHOUT THE IVOALQ) P«it»TCO (N U.S.*.

The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered In the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies o f officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams. iUustraUona. and charts" as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in countries throughout the world.) All m atters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of. the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and snail remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, the Statutes authorized of this Order. A. M. O.and R. C.is aisviolation the onlyoforganization to use the Reg istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

Si

THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V V V Cfl In this monograph there is a discussion of rituals and their significance. Many persons have a prejudice toward rituals only because they do not understand them. Yet, each day those persons per form some rituals without a realization that they are doing so. Below, as a concurrence to the subject of this monograph, we quote from a treatise by A. Z. Idelsohn, Professor of the Faculty of Hebrew Union College. Every religion has ceremonies. Indeed there can be no creed without its forms, because a faith manifests itself through prayer and action, both of which gradually crystalize into rites, genuinely expressive of a certain group’s thoughts, dreams, manner of life, and history. The time of worship and the place of worship become established. The manner of voicing and symbolizing ideas, takes definite shape. In the course of time, certain determining events in the life of the adherents of a religion, find permanent place in the religious calendar. Thus ceremonies deal at once with the profoundest ideals and the minutest habits of daily life. Only those people can appreciate them who understand the thought, the belief, the hope, or the incident for which they stand. They can be “lifeless” and “meaningless” only to those who see them with eyes but not with heart or head. - A . Z. ID E L SO H N , 1882 -1 9 3 8

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Beloved Members, Greetings! Mystical rituals combine symbolic acts, objects, words, sounds, and people in order that the initiate may have an emotional and psychic experience, to instruct him, and to assist him in real izing and expressing his inner self. There are many kinds of ritual. Meetings are opened with a ritual. Saluting the flag or saying grace are brief rituals. A mystical ritual differs from other kinds in that it is performed to assist the individual to achieve mystical development and union. ROSICRUCIAN RITUAL

When a ritual is performed in a Rosicrucian Tempie, Lodge, or home Sanctum, it is carried out in a sacred place. The first symbolic act then is to go from the mundane world into a symbolic cosmic world. The appointments such as the stations of the Temple, the Shekinah, or the altar in the Sanctum, the candles, cross, and the like are all symbolic and contribute to the meaning of the ritual. In the ritual of a Temple or Lodge, the ritual team is also symbolic. The Master, the Chaplain, the Matre, and the Colombe are all symbols and as such are an integral part of the ritual. The actions of the initiate as well as the ritual officers are part of the symbolism of the ritual. The Sign of the Cross, the symbolic Salutations to the East in the Convocation ritual, the perambulations in the initiations which you have performed in your Sanctum are part of the meaning conveyed by the ritual. Sounds such as gongs and music are symbolic also. The music serves to assist the members in a Convocation to become passive and achieve attunement. The gong lets them know when they should enter the Temple or when they should stand up. At the same time these sounds become symbolic of the Temple and its ritual and of Attune ment . It is the words, however, which set forth the meaning of the symbols and the ritual itself. The words of the Guardian, the Chaplain, and the Master, for instance, direct the thoughts of the members in the symbolic meaning of the Convocation. The Guardian not only lets the members know When they may enter the Temple, but he points out that it is a sacred Temple. The Chaplain's speech sets forth the metaphysical or philosophical basis of the ritual. The Master in his speech before the meditation period says that the Temple is sacred because of the thought and conduct of the members. The words of the ritual are symbolic, and they are, by their'nature and function', mantras. They act in the mind as mantras.

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A HIGH POINT OR CLIM AX

A mystical ritual, like the plot of a novel or drama, has a high point or climax. In the Con vocation this is the discourse delivered by the Master. In your Sanctum it is the monograph which is studied, some inspirational passage read, or it is simply a period of meditation, an exercise performed, or assistance given metaphysically. In the Convocation in the Temple or Lodge this is preceded by intonation of vowel sounds and a meditation period to prepare the members. The vowel sounds help in attuning the facets of the individual him self with the members in the Temple and with the Cosmic. The purposes of the ritual are four: 1) to achieve Attunement, 2) instruction or knowledge imparted to the initiate or member, 3) direction or influence of the attitudes, emotions, or inner self, 4) awareness or realization of this inner self and selfexpression. All of these are accomplished to some extent in mysti cal ritual; how much and how well depends on the ritual, on the quality of its performance, and on the individuals participating in it. Each initiation ritual, whether received in the monographs or performed in a Lodge or Temple, is designed to be a step in the student's progress. Each is, therefore, designed and carried out differently. Taken as a series or a unit, the rituals symbolize the steps in the student's development. A ritual is thus a unified series of acts using symbolic objects, gestures, words, people, etc., to accomplish attunement, instruction, direction or influence, and self-realization and ex pression. The initiate performs a series of acts, but they are a unified series. They may be very simple, but they must be care fully designed to lead the student naturally through the ritual and produce the psychological and psychic effects desired. The words of the ritual express the philosophy, attitudes, and instruction desired. They help bring about the attunement, instruc tion, etc. All language consists of signs and symbols, but the language of a mystical ritual has, by nature, a specialized meaning and function. Such a ritual is an outward representation of an inward process, and it helps that inner process to function. It is a projection or objectification of the inner psychic self and its development, and it directs that development. When a ritual becomes automatic or ceases to have meaning, then it is functioning as a system of signs rather than symbols. It has degenerated from symbol to sign. It may become static; that is, it no longer functions to develop the inner self. It may be only a signal for emotional reactions. Finally, it may become or be taken literally instead of symbolically. if saluting the Shekinah has become a signal for a pleasura ble reaction, then it has degenerated, and it must be

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meditated upon in order to make it once more a vital symbol. The words are the key or essence of the ritual, but they may become useless if performed improperly. Any of the rituals or initiations may be performed again with this analysis in mind, and they will be more meaningful to you now than before. The simple ritual below will also help you in under standing the nature and function of ritual and particularly of the mantras used in rituals. It is suggested that you read it over before carrying it out so that you will have prepared the items needed. FROM THE PRO FANE TO THE SA C R ED

Remember too that when you enter a Temple, a Lodge, or your Sanctum you are going from the outside, profane world into the inner, sacred or cosmic world. The Temple or Sanctum is a sacred micro cosm symbolic of the macrocosm. By simply stepping into it, you go from the profane to the sacred. But it is sacred, as the Convoca tion ritual says, because of your thought and conduct; it is only as sacred as you make it. RITUAL

First light two candles and, if you wish, some incense. Keep in mind as you do this the symbolic meaning of the lighted candles and the incense. Before you return to your seat make the Sign of the Cross and say Cromaat as you have been instructed. When you are seated and comfortable, intone three vowel sounds, doing each three times. These should be of your own choos ing and may be changed when you perform the ritual again to suit your own desires and the effects you want. Be passive and receptive for a short while, and then meditate on the words of this mantra: "I feel the Peace and Harmony of the Cosmic in my being." Then speak the mantra softly and slowly three times. Now listen to some beautiful music, perhaps play a Rosicrucian phonograph recording; next, read something enlightening, or medi tate on a work of art or a mystical symbol. If you feel so in clined, write, draw, or play some musical instrument yourself. You may study or review a monograph, if you wish. For a short time meditate on what you have just ex perienced.

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CONCLUSION Now extinguish the candles and repeat: "I will feel the Peace and Harmony of the Cosmic in the hours and days to come." Again make the sign of the Cross and close your Convocation.

V V V Most religious and traditional esoteric ceremonies have their foundation, in part at least, in the phenomena of nature. The basic element of religion is subjective. It is a gradually evolved idealism that stems from man's psychic nature. These psychic in clinations find their form of expression in the things of man's world. The human being seeks some object or condition that will symbolize or represent those innate feelings which he has. Since these subconscious impulses are vague— that is, not associated with any particular objective experience— man is inclined to think of them as being supernatural. This phenomenon will be pursued in our next monograph. Now let us analyze the ritual. We have used a Sanctum and its appointments including candles and incense. Perhaps you have on your Sanctum altar a symbolic cross. These symbolic objects are an integral part of the ritual, and their meaning emphasizes the mystical nature of the ritual. We have used a symbolic gesture, the Sign of the Cross. You as the member or initiate are symbolic, but you are also the sym bolic Master. You perform both roles in the ritual. Simple as the ritual is, it has a plot and a climax— the music, reading, or whatever you did for that part of the ritual. The steps before that point lead up to it, and those which come after it resolve the plot, so to speak. The words used in the ritual present the essential meaning and purposes of the whole. Note that these include not only the two sentences concerning peace and harmony, but the Cromaat and the vowel sounds. All of these parts of the ritual have both a practical func tion as well as a symbolic mystical meaning. They serve to bring the individual into the Sanctum and be seated, and also to close the period and leave the Sanctum. They impart instruction or are objective and subjective aids in attunement. The prac tical and symbolic are both necessary. It is important to understand too that the mantras are not just affirmations which will automatically attain

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They must be understood and meditated upon so the desired results, that they function as true symbols. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

The Weekly Application Whatsoever thou resolvest to do. do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish.—UNTO THEE I GRANT

The use of ritual is well-explained in this monograph. An interesting exercise for you is to prepare a ritual of your own. We all create little rituals from time to time, and it should not be too difficult for you to come up with one that can be directly applied to something you want accomplished. Follow the four purposes listed in the lesson, and try to have your ritual fulfill these points. Make the ritual fit your life, and in the end, make the affirmation that “it is done!” Instead of simply visualizing what you want accomplished, add a little ritual to it. Say, for example, that you have a lot of chores facing you on a weekend. You could just visualize yourself taking care of all of them, efficiently, and with the least amount of care, or you could prepare your weekend with little notes posted here and there, like STEP 1, STEP 2, and so on, and with the conclusion of each step, you could burn the note, and say “it is done!” It would make your chores more interesting, and also none would be missed or overlooked.



51 Rituals combine symbolic acts, objects, words, sounds, and people in order that the initiate may have an emotional and psychic experience, to instruct him, and to realize and express his inner self. 51 There are many kinds of rituals as saluting the flag, saying grace, performing funeral and wedding ceremonies, etc. 51 In the ritual of a Temple or Lodge, the ritual team is also symbolic. 51 The sounds such as gongs and music are also symbolic. 51 It is the words which set forth the meaning of the symbols and ritual itself. 51 A mystical ritual, like the plot of a novel or drama, has a high point or climax. 11 The vowel sounds help in attuning the facets of the individual himself with the members in the Temple and with the Cosmic.

This m o n o g ra p h Is no t subject to sale o r p u rc h a se b y a n yo n e . p u rc h a se

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THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V V V This monograph refers to the Orient (the East) and the part it and the Sun have played in cere monies and temple arrangements since ancient times. Below we quote from the Upanishads, ancient Vedic literature, showing the veneration of the Sun, and its powers centuries ago. This translation is by the eminent philologist, F. Max Muller. The sun is indeed the honey of the Deuas. The heaven is the crossbeam (from which) the sky (hangs as) a hive, and the bright vapours are the eggs of the bees. The eastern rays of the sun are the honey-cells in front. The Rik verses are the bees, the Rig-veda (sacrifice) is the flower, the water (of the sacrificial libations) is the nectar (of the flower). Those very Rik verses then (as bees) brooded over the Rig-veda sacrifice (the flower); and from it, thus brooded on, sprang as its (nectar) essence, fame, glory of countenance, vigour, strength, and health. That (essence) flowed forth and went towards the sun. And that forms what we call the red (rohita) light of the rising sun. -U P A N IS H A D S

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Beloved Members, Greetings! To the primitive mind there is much in nature which, because it seems inexplicable, appears to be of supernatural origin. Con sequently, it seems appropriate to this mind to relate such phenom ena to one's emotional and psychic nature. The natural elements, the seasons, the Sun, the Moon, the stars and the heavens, even the Earth itself, become symbolic of the religious concepts. They pro vide a means of dramatizing, that is, teaching a graphic lesson, by which to explain the subconscious experiences underlying man's moral self. With man's increased intelligence and philosophical insight, the elements and forces of nature were not always considered as directly related to his subconscious impressions. They were, how ever, conceived as an esoteric language, as a kind of symbolism by which the immanent impulses and spiritual life were to be ex plained. The most impressive of all natural phenomena has been the sunrise. With the coming of the Sun, the darkness of night which holds terrors to the primitive mind was dispelled. Man's vision was returned to him. The world and its beauty took form in the rays of the Sun. In the temperate zone the chill of the night air gave way to the caressing warmth of the Sun. The golden majesty of the orb, as it seemed to slowly float across the heavens, tran scended man's power. In no way could he affect its course. All of these things deeply impressed him. Notwithstanding the omnipotence of the Sun, it was realized by almost all people of every age as a beneficent power. Its efficacy in sustaining life was soon discovered by the primitive minds which lived so inti mately with nature. As a consequence, the Sun was apotheosized and venerated as a god. It is not difficult to understand why the heavens were quartered into the cardinal points of east, west, north, and south. These quarters have relation to the rising and setting of the Sun and to the seasons of the year. The word east is of Aryan root and, significantly enough means "shine or burn." West is also of Aryan origin, being the Aryan word for "dwell." This was very likely associated with the abiding place of the Sun at night. Etymologically, the word south means "sunned." This meaning is perhaps based on the Sun's greater potency when it follows the southern course in the Northern hemi sphere. The origin of the word north is, however, not known with certainty.

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ATTRACTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS

An example of early primitive orientation of structures to the Sun is Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plain of England. It consists of huge monoliths erected in a vast circle with one row on an eastwest axis. It has been surmised that the early people who erected this structure used it for religious ceremonies. At certain times of the year, the position of the Sun on the horizon at sunrise is in the center of the east end of what was the great row of mono liths. Thus priests, candidates, or supplicants could stand at the west end of the row and make a salutation to the Sun as it rose above the horizon. In the earliest burials in Egypt, the body is said to have been laid on the left side, lying north and south, with the face turned toward the east, according to Maspero, noted French Egyptologist. Most of these burials were, of course, of protoEgyptians, that is, prehistoric, and before embalming was in gen eral use. Budge, however, says that prehistoric Egyptian bodies of the deceased were laid on the left side, limbs bent and with the face generally toward the south. These observations indicate that early burials did take into consideration orientation according to the points of the compass. The pyramids of Egypt generally have one side facing to the north, relates Petrie. One side of the Great Pyramid of Gizeh is 4' west of north. This difference, it has been surmised, is pro bably due to the movement of the pole rather than any error in cal culation on the part of the builders. The six remaining pyramids in the vicinity of Gizeh have a north entrance passage. This entrance leads to an inclined passageway down the center. This is no mere coincidence. Such a northern passageway, with an opening at the apex of the pyramid, would have given the Egyptians an ex cellent view of what was then the polestar. As one archeologist admits, it is "a circumstance which can hardly be supposed to have been unintentional."

It is of more than passing interest to note that the pyramids stood on the west of any temple that was adjacent to them. This orientation is perhaps due to the significance attached to the west by the Egyptian— "the blessed West, the Land of the Souls." The ireligious significance of the cardinal points of the compass perlikaps also influenced the orientation of the Great Sphinx. The llkncient Egyptians called the Sphinx Hor-em-Kher which means "Horps on the Horizon," or, in other words, the Sun in the act of ri^Tncr. Horus had many virtues, but he was primarily the god~~oT^sunris^V^ Therefore, the Sphinx was erected so that it "gazed eastward— not, however, to just look across desert wastes or irrigated lands, but to peer into an ethereal world of sublime sacredotal import to the ancient Egyptians.

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Every temple in Egypt is directed toward the point on the horizon where the Sun or the particular star to which the temple is consecrated will rise or set. This rising or setting is related to a "particular ceremonial day." A particular star was first observed, then the temple was constructed according to such orien tation. If the entrance of the temple faces due east or west— that is, on an east-west axis— it is called a Sun temple. It derives its name from the fact that at some time during the year it faced directly either the sunrise or sunset. The temple Sebak-Ra, at Ombos, points toward the setting of Arcturus which the Egyptians symbolized as the crocodile. That this orientation of temples was very important to these ancients is indicated by the bas-relief in the Temple of Dendera which depicts the king stretching a cord for foundations and with eyes set upon what appears to be the Great Bear. It has been pointed out that this exact orientation of the ancient Egyptian temples with the stars would provide us today with a kind of telescope. It would tell us of the heliacal rising (on the horizon at sunrise) of stars in that remote time. The natural shifting of the Earth's pole, in relation to the celestial one, would cause such stars not to be seen in the same position at pre sent. The halls of the great temples, during the period of their use, were dark, especially at the end opposite the entrance. Each of the dividing or transverse halls had a central doorway directly on the axis of the main hall. Thus "a priest standing in the dark at the farthest end, looking through the long series of doorways, would have a good view of a star at heliacal rising, that is, rising a little before sunrise." Such an occurrence would have been perhaps interpreted as a propitious one for sacrifice or other important sacredotal events. LIGHT AND LIFE

The Egyptians, during the height of the priesthood at Heliopolis and subsequently during the 18th Dynasty, had the Sun, whom they called Ra, occupy a most pro minent place in their religion. Ra rose in the east. The East was the place of glory or rebirth of light other than physical light. Ra was thought to pass into the world of death and darkness in the west, thence to travel through that realm to be reborn in the east at sunrise. That which portrayed death was related to the west and that representing life, the soul and divinity, was always directed to the east. The private tombs in Egypt generally have their entrance to the east, directed to Ra— never in the west. This orientation according to the quarters of the heavens is not confined to Egypt. Some African tribes

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have their homes face the east. Sometimes their explanation is that they face east so as not to offend a deity whose spirit is associated with the east and the rising Sun. Many American Indians place their encampment so that its entrance is toward the east. The Omaha tribe is especially particular about this arrangement of its encampment during its ceremonies. The mystical meaning the American Indians have conferred upon the phenomena of nature is most illuminating and is an extensive study in itself. In the state of Manipur, India, the tribe known as the Naga have, as a rule, their houses facing the west. They state that the west is the direction taken by the spirits of the dead, which was also believed by the ancient Egyptians. In fact, the great Egyptian funeral processions were from east to west. The large mortuary temples are almost all to be found on the west side of the Nile. The so-called Valley of the Kings and Queens and the tombs of the nobles are west of the Nile across from Thebes, ancient capital of Egypt. The Babylonian temples had their corners oriented accordina to the points of the compass. However, they almost all had en trances on each side. In India, also, the Buddhists orient their temples so that they face east with the entrance in that point also. With the Greeks there appears to be a syncretic influence in the orientation of their temples. In other words, the impact of the Egyptian custom made itself strongly felt upon the Greeks. The Greek cella, the enclosed area of the temple, had a door in the east side. The cella or inner sanctuary contained the image of the deity. The image always faced east. In these temples of the gods, the image was so oriented that "it would catch the first rays of the morning Sun." This would, of course, not occur each day but on those ceremonial days for which the temple had originally been oriented to the exact position of the Sun on the horizon. In tem ples consecrated to heroes, the reverse practice was followed. The temples were erected to face the west. It is odd to note that the Romans gave no evidence of this symbolic orientation. At least the direction of their temples is not sufficiently consistant to draw any such conclusion from them. It appears that the early Christian church took cognizance of the age-old orientation of sacred edifices. There is an interest ing comment to the effect that Pope Leo of the 5th century com plained that the people turned to salute the rising Sun as it shone through the east door of St. Peter's. It is stated that this is the cause of one of the reversals of the churches to the present aspect, with the door to the

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west so that the worshippers face the east end of the edifice in stead. Many Christian churches are constructed on the east-west axis today if circumstances permit. In our next monograph we shall consider further a most inter esting element of Temple arrangement— the East, or Orient, as it has long been called. This subject has a fascinating arcanum dat ing back into remote antiquity which we shall summarize. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

The Weekly Application Whatsoever thou reaolvest to do, do it quickiy. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish.—UNTO THEE I GRANT

A discussion of the Earth’s cardinal directions, and m an’s adaptation to them, brings us back to the possible effect of alignments with these directions in our daily lives. In earlier monographs, you were asked to change your sleeping direction occasionally to see if one direction was more conducive to sleep than another. If you have not done this for a while, you might try it again. There is no given direction that is best for everyone alike. It depends on your personal bodily chemistry. A north-south alignment, for example, has the lines of magnetic force from the poles running the length of your body. On an east-west alignment, they would cross your body at right angles. Somewhere in between might even be best for you, since either extreme may cause some discomfort. It is an interesting experiment, and if you have difficulty sleeping, one well worth trying.

Summary of This Monograph V V V Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete monograph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory.

11 The Sun to peoples of almost every period of history was apotheosized and venerated as a god. 1! The word east is of Aryan root and significantly enough means shine or burn. H In the earliest burials in Egypt, the body of the deceased was laid on the left side, lying north and south, with the face turned toward the east. 11 The Great Sphinx of Egypt was erected so that it gazed eastward to peer through an ethereal world of sublime sacerdotal import to the ancient Egyptians. 11 The private tombs of ancient Egypt generally have their entrance to the east directed to RA (the Sun)—never to the west.

T H E IN S T IT U T IO N B E H IN D T H E R O S IC R U C I A N

O R G A N IZ A T IO N

Son Jo se, C a lifo rn ia, U. S. A. Rosicrucian Park

"C o n se cra te d to truth and dedicated to every Rosicrucian" T his m o n o g ra p h is not subject to sole or p u rch ase b y an yo n e . pu rc h a se

m ay

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THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V V V *1 Upon the influx of Cosmic Consciousness, Jacob Boehme, a humble cobbler, received such divine knowledge that he was visited from afar by noblemen and scholars, who took seriously his opinions and visions. He was invited even to courts and universities. This source of knowledge he thus explains:

I was not versed in literature, nor in the arts that belong to this world, nor have I desired to learn the sciences. But from boyhood I have striven for salvation of my soul, taking thought how I might come into the kingdom of heaven. Even within myself I found powerful opposition to this intent, in the desires of the flesh, and I had to undertake a mighty battle against my own corrupted nature and the serpent’s seed in me. I resolved with God’s aid to overcome and destroy that evil, and to enter into the love of God__ I resolved, moreover, to regard my inherited form as dead in me, so that the Spirit of God would make a new form within me, to the end that I might conduct my life through Him and in Him. I said to myself that I would will nothing except that which I knew to be His will. He would thus be both my will and my doing. This I could not wholly accomplish, but I persevered and fought a fierce battle against m yself. . . . Finally the portals of the deep broke open, I attained to the very centre of being, and a wonderful light arose within my soul. It was a light wholly foreign to the man I had been. Therein I first apprehended the true nature of God and of man, and of the relationship existing between them, a thing which I had never before understood. -J A C O B BOEHM E, 1575-1624


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Beloved Members, Greetings! The term The East has inherent within it a wealth of mystical meaning associated with the eastern point of the compass. It gen erally portrays, in occultism and mysticism, the point whence illumination or divine wisdom emanates. It represents, as well, the traditional, oriental source of wisdom and the beginning of the search by man in the Orient for truth and for personal evolvement. It further represents a fixed point in a lodge or temple for ado ration or worship, indicative of the point where the consciousness of God descends to contact that of man. The Brahman today still turns east for prayer at sunrise. The supplicant in the ancient mystery schools usually faced the Sun or the east when taking solemn oaths and in offering prayers. In the interrogation in the Third Degree of Freemasonry, there is the expression of "coming from the east," and "going to the west." These have a mystical meaning. Mirandola, in his Kabbalistic Conclusions, said: "Every good soul is a new soul from the east." Thomas Vaughan (Eugenius Philalethes) defined "the east" as being Chokmah, that is, wisdom, the second Sephira which the Kabbalists style the supernatural east. According to the Didascalia, the Greek Apostolic Constitutions, prayer is offered with the face turned to the east "because God ascended to the heaven of heavens to the east and because paradise is situated in the east." (Apost. Const, ii.57) C. R. C. (Christian Rosenkreuz), often referred to as the traditional founder of the Rosicrucian Order, but actually the sym bolic title of a Rosicrucian Master, was said to have brought the wisdom "from the east" and then to have "come to the west." In almost all the mystery schools— as in Rosicrucian Temples and Lodges today— the candidate, during some part of his initiation ceremony, was obliged to perambulate about the Temple. This con sisted of a progression from one point of the Temple to another. Each point or station in the Temple corresponded to a cardinal point of the compass. These stations had an allegorical relation ship to the quarters of the heavens. Thus the Temple became in fact a small world or Earth itself and the journey symbolic of the journey through life. In the Rosicrucian Manual, we find the following: "Our Lodges also represent the surface of the Earth, with four cardinal points or horizons— East, South, West, and North, with earth, fire, and water beneath our feet, and air and 'Nous' overhead, beyond which are the 'stars and sky'— the immaterial world." The Manual, referring to the symbolic East of the Rosicrucian Lodge, says: "In the East is the new life

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begun. From the East comes forth the Glory of God, 'which is of God.1 Therefore, in our Lodges, the East is the point in which all Fratres and Sorores seek that Dawn of Illumination and Divine Resurrection, from the 'dismal darkness of the North,' that will make them free from superstitions of darkness (ignorance), and the fears of night (evil)." THE SEAR CH FOR WISDOM

How much alike or different from that of other men were the lives of the great mystics? Da Vinci, the great artist, was looked upon by many as a great authority on Rosicrucian subjects during the years that he was active with the organization and was carrying on his labratory ex periments and writing his manuscripts. Despite the fact that Da Vinci was unusually developed as an artist and was a great mas ter in depicting the spiritual side of any subject or person he painted, his laboratory experiments were almost wholly of a mate rialistic or scientific nature, so that he was an authority in a different direction than was the mystic Von Eckartshausen. It is strange to think that a man like Da Vinci who could paint such a subtle, spiritual, mystical expression as that shown in Mona Lisa, and who could paint the world's greatest interpretation of the in cident of the Lord *s Last Supper, which is undoubtedly one of the greatest spiritual masterpieces in the world, could turn in the opposite direction and so precisely and enthusiastically delve into the materialistic sciences and achieve success and fame. Even today, science recognizes Da Vinci as being a very care ful and exact investigator in the scientific field. His contribu tions to aviation, for instance, in his study of the flight of birds and the outline of how man might build something to imitate the flight of birds, is recognized as the first great step taken toward the building of the modern airplane. In hundreds of other ways Da Vinci proved that he had a dual consciousness or dual abil ity that manifested in many directions. Von Eckartshausen, on the other hand, was greatly interested in scientific matters but achieved his greatest fame in the spiritual field. When we analyze this dual nature of these two persons and sup plement it with a similar analysis of many hundreds of other mys tics, we are forced to recognize the strange operations of Cosmic Consciousness in these individuals. Even if we were able to trace Da Vinci's life backward to his youth and find that as a young man he was both spiritually artistic and materialistically scientific in his nature, we would still say that this combination was due to Cosmic Illumination and if the illumination did not come to him in his youth it came to him in a previous incarnation. Cosmic Consciousness or Cosmic Illumination, as it also is called, is that rare and unusual development in

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human beings that comes to them as a result of their inner, as well as outer, development of all the faculties that God has given to mankind. A great many persons think that Cosmic Consciousness or Illumination leads directly and almost exclusively to manifesta tions of a deep spiritual nature. If this were so it would not have resulted in the great benefits to mankind that we can note all through the advancement of civilization. While we may properly concede the fact that spiritual illumination and the living of a life of spiritual exaltation would contribute very greatly to the advancement of civilization, we must also admit that, if we elimi nate from our program of life the progress of scientific knowledge and achievement, civilization would advance very slowly. We can understand that in the spiritual realm, or in the life after tran sition, the cosmic development requires very little assistance, if any at all, from the scientific realm, but we recognize that while we are still living here on the earth plane our spiritual develop ment is greatly assisted, and the progress of civilization in all other ways is also greatly promoted by scientific investigation and mastership. We, as Rosicrucians and mystics, should be the last to draw any line between scientific knowledge and spiritual knowledge. A great distinction between science and religion was attempted some years ago when the orthodox of the various religions believed that the rapid development of scientific knowledge threatened the integ rity of religious postulations. But the public soon learned what the mystic and the Rosicrucian always knew: namely, that whenever any religious or theological postulation was upset by or disturbed by a scientific discovery, the religious or theological postula tion was probably at fault. We know that truth is truth, and fact is fact, and all truths and all facts are related. There cannot be such a thing as a religious truth or spiritual truth being the opposite in fact to a scientific truth. Since the scientific truth is usually demonstrable and is generally impressive through its inherent evidence, it is only natural that the thinking mind of the average person would accept the scientific truth in preference to a theological statement, since both theological and religious state ments of the past have been based upon theory, belief, and faith. Science as a materialistic study has done much to contribute evi dence of a substantial nature in support of most of the spiritual and religious truths, and we, as Rosicrucians, can say with safety that science and religion are one, and joined, and should support one another without any trouble on the part of any thinking person. If Cosmic Illumination or the influx of Cosmic Consciouness into the highly developed being of a person brings great wisdom, great knowledge, and the influx of divine revela tion, it should bring to the consciousness of the person not only truths of a spiritual nature but truths of a

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scientific nature, and such a person should find himself inclined to study and investigate the truths of both the spiritual and the material worlds. It is not to be wondered a t , therefore, that in every instance in history where we find a great person divinely illuminated by the incoming of Cosmic Consciousness we find him capable and efficient in both the spiritual and the scientific worlds. Even when we take the lives of such persons and study their writings and lessons and discourses and thinking, we find that the spiritual side of themselves is easily subdivided. Not only does the spiritual development and awakening in them bring to light great truths regarding the spiritual world and the spiritual laws, but the related laws of harmony, music, art, color, form, and pro portion, and the principles of the fine arts generally are awakened and developed at a rapid pace, so that these persons are broadly spiritual, with their understanding not limited exclusively to religious or theological thoughts, but including what we call the fine arts or spiritual arts of men. Likewise, we find that the materialistic tendencies of such persons in their investigation of material laws are broad enough to include a great many of the sciences. In other words, the Cosmic Consciousness does not seem to limit itself to certain channels and make of these persons just good chemists, or good engineers, or good musicians, or good sculp tors, but it takes in all of the great arts, such as writing, sculpting, and painting. There are also other methods for expres sing the human emotions, such as the casting of metals and the use of steel tools in engraving. We should not be surprised that Cosmic Illumination should be broad and very useful and complete. We should not be surprised that a person so illuminated should be able to write a beautiful manuscript expounding great spiritual truths, and at the same time invent ways and means of studying the divine laws that manifest themselves in the formation of snow crystals into exquisite patterns; nor should we be surprised to find a man like Da Vinci writing fluently on spiritual subjects, painting beautiful pictures which reveal divine principles, and at the same time analyzing and describing the scientific laws used by birds in their flight. So we are now going to deal with the subject of Cosmic Con sciousness and try to quicken this great blessing in the life of each one who has reached this point in this Degree. Beginning with the next lesson— I am going to tell you more about how to place yourself in attunement with the heavens above at the regular hours of the Celestial Sanctum periods and at other times. The object of these lessons now will be to utilize all of the exercises and all of the development and the degrees of regeneration that have come to you in the past months, to

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bring into manifestation whatever personal qualifications you have to prepare you for Cosmic Illumination. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph

V V V Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete monograph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. ^ The Brahman of India still turns east for prayer at sunrise. H The Rosicrucian Manual states, “From the East comes forth the glory of God, ‘which is of God.’ ” 51 Cosmic Consciousness, or Illumination, is that unusual development that results from the development of all the inner as well as outer faculties of man, and it is not exclusively spiritual. 1} The influx of Cosmic Consciousness is not limited to certain channels. It brings great wisdom not only of a spiritual nature but scientific as well. This is illustrated in the life and works of such great men as Da Vinci and Von Eckhartshausen. U It is not possible for spiritual truth to be the opposite in fact to scientific truth. 11 Although scientific discoveries at times have not been in accord with certain theological postulations, invariably the latter have been proved to be in error, for science and religion are one.

The Weekly Application Whatsoever thou resolvest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning m ay accomplish .—UNTO THEE I GRANT

The Rosicrucians always make a big point of equalizing materialism with spirituality. Both are part of the Cosmic, and both play a part in our overall development. The reason that materialism has often been played down by spiritual leaders of the past was that man was so immersed in it that he neglected his spiritual side. This is still true in many instances today. However, it is just as important not to neglect the material side. We should strive for a balance in our attention to these qualities. Look at your own life and see if you are dividing your attention more or less equally between material and spiritual affairs. By spiritual here, we are not referring to a religious practice of any kind, but rather to your behavior, feelings, care for the life around you, in addition to any direct cosmic contacts through meditation or prayer. If you tend to give more attention to one than the other, try to approach more of a balance by purposefully diverting part of your attention to the side of you that has been neglected in some respect.


O R G A N I Z A T IO N

San Jose, California, U. S. A. Rosicrucian Park

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The matter contained herein Is officially issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the “printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies o f officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies. diagrams, illustrations, and charts'* as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in couniries throughout the world.) All m atters herein contained are strictly confidential to lthe member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and snail remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and Is a violation of tne Statutes of this Order, A. M. O. R. C. is the only organization authorized to use the Reg istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

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THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V V V *1 Cosmic Illumination gives one the knowledge of all things, for its source is God’s own consciousness. Plotinus speaks of this consciousness as emanating from the “ineffable One.” There is a raying out of all orders of existence, an external emanation from the ineffable One. There is again a returning impulse, drawing all upwards and inwards towards the centre from whence all came. Love, as Plato in the “Banquet” beautifully says, is child of poverty and plenty. In the amorous quest of the soul after the good lies the painful sense of fall and deprivation. But that love is blessing, is salvation, is our guardian genius; without it the centrifugal law would overpower us, and sweep our souls out far from their source toward the cold extremities of the material and the manifold. The wise man recognizes the idea of the good within him. This he develops by withdrawal into the holy place of his own soul. He who does not understand how the soul contains the beautiful within itself, seeks to realize beauty without by laborious production. His aim should rather be to concentrate and simplify, and so to expand his being; instead of going out into the manifold, to forsake it for the One, and so to float upwards towards the divine fount of being whose stream flows within him. -P L O T IN U S , 2 0 5 -2 7 0 A.D.

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Beloved Members, Greetings! Much has been written in the past and even more within recent years regarding "Cosmic Consciousness." It is probably the most misunderstood of all the popular features of modern mysticism or psychic processes of spiritual development. Once again we find that an old subject of profound depths has been vulgarized by modern writers who know nothing whatever about the subject. I think that we could easily take a score or more of the ancient sacred principles of mystical teachings and show that each has been made too common, too popular, and really vulgar in the popular mind through modern writings by authors who never took any pains or trouble to study thoroughly what they were writing about. Look how reincarnation has become a much abused, much misunderstood, and really ridiculed ideal or cosmic law. Then look at the subject of karma, or the law of compensation. Consider also the subjects Cosmic Mind, mastership, and the subject of the invisible Masters. All of these and many more have been written about in recent years in such manner that one would think that the authors had merely taken the title from some ancient manuscript without reading it and then had written what they thought was a fitting explanation of the title. MISLEADING TERMINOLOGY

In the first place, we feel today that the term Cosmic Consciousness is not an appropriate term. Translated into English as it is, it is not a true interpretation of the ancient title. We say that consciousness is in every human being and that it is a divine essence. We say that everything that is divine comes from the Cosmic. Therefore, the consciousness in every living being, and even in plant life, would be "Cosmic Consciousness." But when we refer in our high teachings to Cosmic Consciousness we are referring to something quite differ ent from the general or regular consciousness that is in all beings and, therefore, to a specially developed and specially refined con sciousness that is different from the ordinary consciousness that resides in all living things.

So that you may understand the problem better, we should ex plain that the word cosmic may mean something divine, but it also means more than that. We may say that the soul with its conscious ness is a cosmic thing, having Cosmic Consciousness and Cosmic Es sence. But that is not just exactly right. The spiritual world is not necessarily the cosmic world. There must be made a slight dif ference between these two if we are going to understand the real nature of true Cosmic Consciousness. The word cosmos from which the word cosmic comes, means not only universal but means the highest, infinite, spiritual, invisible, intellectual plan that governs the universe. Cosmology is the study of universal laws, or

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the laws and principles of the universe, or those laws and princi ples which guide and control the universe. Cosmology is not the study of the planets, the stars, the Milky Way, and the nebulae that exist in the space of the universe. The study of these physi cal things, including the study of the Earth and its shape, the Moon and its movement, and the Sun and its movement, constitutes the study of astronomy. The subject of cosmology deals with the study of the laws and principles that brought these planets and stars, the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun into existence and main tained them in their superb mechanical and mathematical progress. It also includes the laws and principles that create life on these planets and create light, power, energy, and the other manifesta tions of the intelligence that guides and controls these things. In other words, cosmology is the study of the supreme, infinite laws governing the universe and all that is in it. The cosmos, therefore, is the plane of consciousness upon which this supreme, infinite intelligence exists and from which emanates the influence of the cosmic laws. If you would like to diagram this so as to register it and focus it upon your mind, let me suggest that you take a blank sheet of paper and in the center of it put a dot. Let us say that this dot represents God or God's consciousness, the source of all life, all light, all power--everything. Let us say that around this dot you draw a circle about a 1.3 cm (half-inch) distant. Within this circle you would have the cosmic plane or cosmic realm in which are established and maintained the supreme intelligence, consciousness, laws, and principles of the universe. If you draw another circle outside this first one and make this second circle about 5cm (two inches) away from the first one you will have a large circle and between it and the first circle you will have the spiritual world with all of the manifestations of cosmic law. In this outer sp a c e between the two circles will be all of the planets and all of the things that are manifested in the heavens and in the ether around us. If now a third circle is drawn about 5 cm (two inches) away from the second one, you will have a very large circle and between this last circle and the next inside you will have the earth plane with all of the earthly manifestations and earthly consciousness, material laws, and material manifestations. The cosmic laws and cosmic intelligence of the cosmic plane guide and direct all of the highest functionings in the universe whereas the earthly consciousness guides and directs all of the lower forms of consciousness in mineral and plant life. The spiri tual consciousness from the spiritual plane is that which is within our human bodies and constitutes our psychic or divine essence and the divine consciousness united with the earthly consciousness in our bodies. At transition

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the earthly consciousness is disorganized and becomes separated into various forms of earthly consciousness as the body is reduced to ashes or to primitive earthly form; whereas the spiritual con sciousness within the body remains organized and returns to the spiritual plane. If there be a degree of Cosmic Consciousness, in the body this will return to the cosmic plane and is, in fact, never completely separated from the cosmic plane because Cosmic Consciousness, while resident in the human earthly living body, is always connected by a silver cord, or golden cord as some call it, with the cosmic realm. The average person we meet has a combination of only earthly and spiritual consciousness. The soul-personality in such persons has a small or large degree of spiritual consciousness according to how much thought and meditation, concentration, study, and sacred development these persons have. Those persons who are living a coarse, vulgar, ignorant, wilfully evil life, or a very undeveloped life, have a consciousness that is almost wholly of the earth plane. Those persons who have made only a little progress in the way of mystical or spiritual development have not quite so much of the earthly consciousness and a larger amount of the spiritual. TRIPLE FORM OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Only a few persons— perhaps one in a hundred thousand— have any degree of Cosmic Conscious ness added to both their spiritual and earthly consciousness. Such persons, therefore, have a triple form of con sciousness, the earthly, the spiritual, and the Cosmic. Undoubt edly, in such cases, the spiritual consciousness is the larger be cause it is the most universal and the most abundant.

A great amount of Cosmic Consciousness cannot be attained in one incarnation. Even those who have a very large amount of Cosmic Consciousness and who are really great Masters erf cosmic law have more of the spiritual consciousness. They really see little of the earthly things and give little thought to the earthly things. Al most all such persons live in convents or monasteries, or in caves or grottos high up in the hills, or down in the low valleys, or in unpopulated places. They retire from the world because earthly things have little appeal to them and they are gradually elimi~ nating most of their earthly consciousness. Such persons function so little on the Earth plane that their eating is greatly reduced, for they need very little to keep the body nourished. They have none of the earthly luxuries, for such things are disdained by them. They make very few earthly contacts with persons because they can make spiritual or cosmic contacts much more easily and in a truer sense. Even their five objective faculties begin to become dormant. Very often their sense of hearing be comes very poor, and I have met one or two who have not heard a human voice in so long a time that they hardly recognized the sounds of words spoken to them. Their eye-

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sight becomes poor for they do not try to see beyond their immedi ate environment and have no need for keen physical observation. The same is true with the senses of feeling, smelling, and tasting. These persons are developing into Invisible Masters for the next incarnation. They are few, and seldom met by the average developed student except in a cosmic way or on the spiritual plane. On the other hand, there are those who are eliminating only part of their earthly consciousness. They are conquering the tastes and desires of the flesh and are conquering the pleasures of earthly life one by one. They do not eliminate human contact, they do not eliminate human effort and industry, and may labor daily at human affairs, but most of their thinking and most of their living is done in meditation on either the spiritual or cosmic plane. It is only natural for us to realize that those who are grad ually eliminating much of the earthly consciousness also gradually eliminate all cause of disease and lengthen their time of life here on Earth. As the earthly consciousness is eliminated from the body the earthly laws of corruptibility and mortality are eliminated also. In other words, the effect of these earthly laws becomes less and less. Such persons, for instance, are not subject to the average illnesses, pains, and aches of the human flesh, nor or they subject to so many of the earthly limitations. The highly devel oped cosmic person who has eliminated nearly all of his earthly consciousness can walk through fire or walk on glass or other pain ful things without sensing pain or any injury to the body. The one who has the highest degree of Cosmic Consciousness and a great deal of spiritual consciousness and hardly any of the earthly conscious ness can also have his body pass through matter or walk upon water or float through space much like the demonstrations made by Jesus. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER



11 There are three planes of consciousness: (1) The earthly consciousness guides and directs all of the lowest forms of consciousness in mineral and plant life. (2) The spiritual consciousness is that Divine Consciousness united with our earthly consciousness in our bodies. At transition it returns to the spiritual plane. (3) The Cosmic Consciousness, never completely separated from the cosmic plane, brings the wisdom of God’s consciousness into the human body. At transition, the Cosmic Consciousness returns to the cosmic plane.

V V V

The Weekly Application Whatsoever thou resolvest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish .—UNTO THEE I GRANT

Cosmic Consciousness is one of the supreme goals of the developing initiate. That magnificent state of consciousness is a total awareness, not necessarily of everything, but of any given situation at hand. There is probably little doubt that you have experienced Cosmic Consciousness at some time in your life, even though for a moment, or that you will experience it in the immediate future. What happens when we grow in mystical stature is that these periods of total awareness come more frequently, and last longer, but the experience is the same. There is no better or worse sense of Cosmic Consciousness. Cosmic Consciousness is a true sense of being all-knowing, of seeing a situation from a cosmic point of view. If you have not yet experienced that exalted state, wait and watch for it. You will have no problem in recognizing it, and you will have a glimpse of it soon. The information and sense of completion you receive at that time are memorable, and will stay with you for a long time.

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This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V

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IJ Most today are familiar with Cosmic Conscious ness as a term but are at a loss to adequately explain it. Because its presence in any individual’s experience is so varied, it is often difficult to define, i Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke has perhaps written more clearly than others of this state to which man aspires as the next higher stage of his unfolding consciousness. The excerpt below is from his classic work, Cosmic Consciousness. Within the plane of Cosmic Consciousness one man shall be a god while another shall not be, to casual observation, lifted so very much above ordinary humanity, however much his inward life may be exalted, strengthened and purified by the new sense. But, as the Self Conscious man (however degraded) is in fact almost infinitely above the animal with merely simple consciousness, so any man permanently endowed with the Cosmic Sense would be almost infinitely higher and nobler than any man who is Self Conscious merely. And not only so, but the man who has had the Cosmic Sense for even a few moments only will probably never again descend to the spiritual level of the merely self conscious man, but twenty, thirty or forty years afterwards he will still feel within him the purifying, strengthening and exalting effect of that divine illumination, and many of those about him will recognize that his spiritual stature is above that of the average man. - D R . R IC H A R D M A U R IC E B U C K E , 1 8 3 7 -1 9 0 2

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Beloved Members, Greetings! Cosmic Illumination is different from spiritual illumination. Spiritual illumination gives a person an insight into the things that are existing in the spiritual world and in the spiritual con sciousness of other human beings. It gives a refinement and a spiritual attunement to the human consciousness. Cosmic Illumina tion, on the other hand, brings the wisdom of God's own conscious ness into the human body. It makes the person a prophet of the future as well as making him familiar with all that has transpired in the past, for he has then in his consciousness the consciousness of all time, all the knowledge of all time and of all people and of all things. He knows art, music, history, language, and all of the true things of life. DIFFICULTY OF EXPRESSION

There is only one difficulty experienced by such a person and I will talk about this difficulty sometime in the future, but briefly that diffi culty is this: having a knowledge of all art, all music, all facts, all languages, all history— everything— there is still the problem of translating these things into earthly expression. The cosmically inspired artist sees beautiful pictures which remain with him and enable him to project them onto canvas or watercolor paper or into some other form of art such as architecture and designing, but he still must struggle with the ability of translating the cosmic pictures into a material form in accordance with material laws. The same is true with music and with language or other things that are revealed to the consciousness by the Cosmic. The one receiving this great knowledge understands all of it perfectly, but to trans fer these things to the mind or consciousness of another person requires translating them from Cosmic Consciousness to an outer, earthly consciousness for earthly manifestation. This is where the difficulty arises. For this reason Cosmic Consciousness makes of each person who experiences it a great master in his understanding and in his abil ity to live a life that is beautiful and sweet and powerful to him self, but it makes it very difficult for him to pass this knowledge on or to give this power, or any part of it, to someone else. Cosmic Consciousness is constantly developing, however, to in spire each one who has it with the urge to express some of it in some form of other. Perhaps the most appropriate and frequent mode of expression has been through poetry of the writing of magnificent prose. We have many such illustrations of Cosmic Consciousness in history such as that of the one who wrote the Shakespeare plays, sonnets, and historical dramas. The language, the style, the vast field of knowledge and everything about those writings proves Cosmic Illumination. Others are occasionally inspired to express this cosmic inspiration through paint ing or music.

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Before we begin to analyze the great instances of Cosmic Con sciousness, it seems advisable to lay a foundation for a proper analysis. Seeking for manifestations of Cosmic Consciousness or Cosmic Illumination in the lives of eminent persons of the past is very much like looking for the unknown element in a chemical pro blem. In this case we have a name for the thing we are seeking, and we have a fairly good idea of what it is, but its manner of manifestation in the lives of human beings is so varied and so com plex that we cannot put it into one category and label it as a standardization or manifestation. DEFINITION DIFFICULT

In the earliest stages, Cosmic Illumination was considered by thinking men and women as a form of divine obsession that seized upon a highly religious or de vout person and changed that being into a saint or a superbeing. Nearly everything that this person did was looked upon as being different from the same thing done by other persons. In other words, if one of our great religious leaders was believed to have been divinely inspired and illuminated, he became a saint in the eyes of others. From that moment on, the food he ate was looked upon as being different food; the clothing he wore was considered to be filled with some power from his vibrations that would heal other persons. The ground he walked upon became holy ground; the home he lived in became a temple and a shrine. His utterances were never taken at their face value; even if he merely said "Good morning" to someone as he passed by. His every thought and word was considered unusual and associated with a higher meaning as though he spoke only in parables. If he asked for a drink of water, none thought to offer him the ordinary water from the well, for they thought he was asking for something of a spiritual nature and using allegorical terms. If he had any children, they were supposed to be secondary gods of some kind. To take the ancient records, therefore, and attempt to find in what way a particular person manifested Cosmic Illumination is very difficult. One cannot tell whether it manifested in a healing power, in the ability to prophesy, in the ability to expound teach ings, or to write and think. The problem is further complicated because those who did not believe in divine inspiration looked up on the great work of such wonderful characters as being the work of the devil. Many of these eminent persons were condemned by the multitude as being fanatics, insane, and imbecilic, while the minority considered them saints. In numerous cases both the minor ity and the majority were wrong, for while a particular man was intelligent, learned, and wise in many ways, and did many good things, often he was not cosmically illuminated in the true sense and was not, therefore, the saint that he was thought to be. On the other hand, he was not the insane or fanatical person as considered by the majority.

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Akhnaton, fourteen centuries before Christ, is a typical ex ample of what I mean. Even many of the present-day writers on the history of Egypt call Akhnaton the insane king. Many other histor ical writers have very carefully and positively expressed the opin ion that this young king was imbecilic, or at least insane. They have gone so far as to say that the strange shape of his head, seen on a few of the earliest sculptures of him in Egypt, would indicate that his insanity was due to epilepsy and that he probably had fanatical dreams and obsessions natural to those who suffer from epilepsy. Now, there is no reason for the assumption of insanity in the case of Akhnaton because even the most extreme things he did — such as refusing to go to war and insisting upon peace even while his enemies were attacking him--would not indicate insanity. Paci fists today take the same attitude. It is true that two of the earliest statues of Akhnaton gave him a peculiarly shaped head, but this was due to the fact that Akhnaton was changing the art and sculpture of Egypt. In the tran sition stage for a few years the artists found it difficult to make front views of persons and turn the head around without giving it an odd shape. Later sculptures of Akhnaton just before he passed through transition, and all of the later paintings of him, do not give him any peculiar shape of head. His beautiful writings and the many wonderful constructive things he did in Egypt would prove that he was not insane. Whether he occasionally had epileptic fits or not is not indicated in any history of Egypt as found among the Egyptian writings, and is only an opinion of modernists who cannot understand the marvelous things Akhnaton did. Even Jesus was condemned as being insane, and so were Moses and all of the great leaders. On the other hand, we must be care ful about that word insane, for the way some of the Eastern peoples used it and the meaning of that word in their language is not iden tical with our meaning of the word insanity today. In many of the Eastern languages the equivalent for the word insanity is a word which means mentally distinctive or mentally different from the_ average person-; and it was often use~d as a term of complimentary praTie for tKe~~mentality of those who were great geniuses^ Tn ’ fact^ £Trey llSea tne word to Inean the equivalent of genius-, and the translators oT~some ot tne Eastern languages have changed the word into insane in the English language. DIVERSE GIFTS

The truth is that Cosmic Illumination may manifest itself in one person through the expression of music, and only through music. Another may be gifted in speaking, and only in speaking. Another may be talented in the ability to write, and have a very large vocabulary— such as the writer of the Shakespeare plays, who is recognized to have had the largest vocabulary of any writer known to man. In

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many cases illumination has manifested in the ability to invent or create in an architectural sense, while with others the ability has been given to discover crime or to analyze legal tangles or to solve political and state problems. Sometimes the illumination manifests as a great healing power. In fact, there are so many ways it may become manifest that we find it as diversified as the interests of human nature itself. For the next few monographs, I am going to present discourses and answers to questions on the subjects of Cosmic Consciousness, Cosmic Illumination and Attunement given by our esteemed former Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis. The answers were originally given by Dr. Lewis to questions which were submitted to him on these sub jects by fratres and sorores. They are written in his inimitable personal style and are extremely informative and directly related to your studies in this Degree. There will also be included answers by the present Imperator upon the same subjects. You will find that the information con veyed is thorough and the result of years of study upon the sub jects. I know that this will help each of you find in your own life just how Cosmic Illumination is beginning to manifest. We suggest that for the present it will be well for you to meditate upon the diagram I gave you last week of the dot in the center of a number of circles. Try to discover how much of your earthly consciousness you have eliminated since you became a member of the Rosy Cross Brotherhood and especially since you passed from the Ninth Degree into the higher Degrees. Undoubtedly you will make some interesting discoveries. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER


Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete monograph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. H f 11 11

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Spiritual illumination gives a person insight into the spiritual world and spiritual consciousness of other human beings. Cosmic Illumination gives a person knowledge of all things, past, present, and future, for its source is God’s own consciousness, Although one may possess Cosmic Illumination, he may find difficulty in translating it to an earthly manifestation. Cosmic Consciousness inspires each who has it to express it in some form. Many great works of literature, art, music, and architecture have resulted therefrom. It is difficult to find unbiased records of persons who in the past have manifested Cosmic Illumination. Either they have been thought to be possessed of evil spirits, and so insane, or they have been considered superhuman saints. Present-day writers disagree about the historical facts of the life of Akhnaton of Egypt. Because of a changing form of art, his head was peculiarly shaped in many statues, which led to the absurd hypothesis that he was insane. His only extreme action was his refusal to go to war. His beautiful writings and constructive accomplishments in Egypt prove that he w as not insane. Many other great leaders, including Jesus and Moses, were also thought by some to be insane. Cosmic Illumination may manifest itself in many various channels. Art, music, literature, healing power, inventions, and engineering are a few of these channels. The next few monographs will discuss the questions that have arisen in regard to Cosmic Illumination. They will present answers from the experience of Dr. H. Spencer Lewis as w ell as from that o f the present Imperator.

V V V

The Weekly Application Whatsoever thou resolveat to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish.—UNTO THEE I GRANT

There ia really no difference in the process of Attunement when reaching for Cosmic Consciousness or when reaching for just a higher state of consciousness. The sensation, when successful, however, is much different, and you will know the difference. In your exercises, you will find that ordinary attunement with the higher self is a first step to attaining Cosmic Consciousness. It is like climbing a ladder to achieve a goal, or like starting out in low gear when accelerating your car. Thus, in your attunement exercises, if you want to go all the way to Cosmic Consciousness, have that in mind. First, simply get in tune with the higher self and with the cosmic forces around you, keeping in mind that you are seeking for that ultimate Attunement that gives you a oneness with the Cosmic Mind. Have your question in mind, the thing on which you need expanded awareness, and wait. If your purpose is sincere, and your question a true need, the moment of illumination may not be far away. Generally, if the answer can come from the inner self, there would be no need for higher Attunement, and nothing further will happen. In that case, you have no further immediate need either, and you can defer your attempt to another time and another situation.

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R E G tS T E r tE O IN U .S. P A T E N T O F F I C E M ISO RCCtSTCReO THROUGHOUT Tuc WOftlOt M m TlO in

The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies of officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts" as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in countries throughout the world.) All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of. the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and Is a violation of the Statutes of this Order. A. M. O. R. C. is the only organization authorized to use the Reg istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V V V From the words of the disciples of Jesus the Christ, we learn of his great moral elevation and state of perfection which is observed in those who have attained Cosmic Consciousness. The following prayer of the Apostle John, from the Coptic Apocrypha, shows the influence Jesus had upon his followers: Then John prayed thus saying, ‘Thou it was Who didst open my heart three times in the same year, and Thou didst graciously bestow upon me other eyes, which did not make themselves visible . . . . Thou it was Who didst deliver me from a fleeting phantasy, and didst keep me for the life which endureth for ever. Thou it was Who didst make me to become a stranger to the madness of evil which ariseth in the flesh, and didst make me to be remote from the death which is bitter. Thou it was Who didst deliver me from the second death, that is to say, the Gehenna of fire, and didst make me to stand up, being a pure m an___And now I have found Thee. And I have fulfilled the stewardship which Thou didst commit to me; make me therefore worthy to enjoy rest in Thy holy repose. Do Thou bestow upon me graciously the perfection which is in Thee, that is to say, the sinlessness and the salvation, which cannot be described . . . . Grant Thou unto me the power to walk, and strengthen me so that I may complete my course without suffering and without trouble. I come unto Thee, my Lord, that I may receive the good things of those who live in holiness.’ - S A I N T JO H N TH E E V A N G E L IS T , First Century

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Beloved Members, Greetings! This is the first of a series of discourses and answers to questions on the subject of Cosmic Consciousness and Cosmic Illu mination by our beloved former Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis. *

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Let us spend a few minutes today in consideration of the mar velous benefits that come from Cosmic Attunement. Sometimes mem bers who are new on the Path become disheartened when they are just learning to understand the principles and laws of the spiritual nature of man. Every obstacle that arises in their lives consti tutes a problem which they seem fearful about overcoming and they tend to magnify the importance of it and seek help of some specific nature. PER SO N AL How 1 wish 1 could talk to these members for just a few PROBLEM S minutes and point out to them the futility of specializa tion when it comes to any consideration of their personal problems. One man seeks to change his position, or may be out of employment and is now face to face with his own desire to have a different or better occupation. He looks upon his problem as being a specific, separate, independent thing that is in no way related to his general life affairs. Another person finds a physical con dition of some kind and this he magnifies into an entity disasso ciated from all other affairs in his life. And so I might go on and enumerate a thousand kinds of personal problems that constitute obstacles to peace and happiness, health and prosperity, in the lives of different persons. The one who is ill feels that he needs the assistance of a specialist on health. This is because he has made his problem a specialty. The one who is puzzled about a problem in business believes that he needs the help of some business expert because he has made a speciality out of his little problem. And so we might go on and say that the problems found in a thousand different letters are viewed as a thousand separate specialties or distinct situations so unassociated with any other problems in life that they must be solved through a specialist's advice and attention. Now the truth of the matter is that Cosmic Attunement would help all these persons solve their problems, because the Cosmic is all inclusive. Viewed from the cosmic point of view, these one thousand problems are merely different phases of one and the same problem. Cosmically speaking, there is no difference ketween a condition of the body that is classified as yM / ill-health and a wrong condition of the social, business, \ / or financial world. Any situation that is an obstacle to V peace and happiness is merely a problem, and no different from any other so far as the Cosmic is concerned.

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The great lesson for the new student on the Path to learn is that by developing the Christ Conciousness within and by attuning with cosmic principles the entire being of the person, as well as his worldly contacts and all of his personal problems, are lifted up into a spiritual completeness that places them beyond any earthly category and breaks down all of the classifications and distinctions with which man has surrounded himself. The new student should learn that by taking his problems to the Cosmic, not on their earthly details and with their special names and titles, classifications, and limitations, but in their broader sense as mere obstacles to happiness and power, he will easily find help and cosmic inspiration in the form of practical guidance. R EA L C A U S E OF PROBLEM S

In the first place, we have found in thousands of cases in which our members have been helped that the real cause back of their problems is not in the little details that they present in their letters but in their lack of spiritual and Cosmic Attunement. Take, for instance, the prob lem of the member who appeals to us because his health at the moment is below par or abnormal in some way. He writes of the symptoms and outer manifestations. He very likely mentions the name of the disease by which the doctor has classified it. He may even go so far as to name the specific remedies that his doctor has recommended. All of this means nothing to us, and it should mean nothing to him. By whatever name his physical condition may be designated in medical science and by whatever symptoms he may ana lyze his condition to localize or classify it, the one outstanding fact remains that his whole being is out of attunement with the Cosmic. Complete Cosmic Attunement would immediately eliminate the cause and, therefore, eliminate the manifestation of disharmony, and no further consideration would need be given to symptoms or terminology. Take also the man who is concerned about his business occupa tion because it is unprofitable or changeable, or undesirable, or something else. We need not be concerned with who his employers are, or who they were, or what his occupation was, or the salary he received, or any of these details, for if the man is improperly employed, or unhappily situated, or out of employment entirely, the real cause is due to his being out of Cosmic Attunement. Take the soror who writes of every cross word that has been spoken, or every problem concerning the care of her children and home. If her home life is not peaceful, beautiful, and happy, it is because she, at least, if not the others in the home, is out of Cosmic Attunement.


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ATTUNEM ENT FIRST S TEP

In taking care of these problems, our first effort always is to bring the person back into spiritual attunement with the Cosmic. We cannot do anything for them until that is done, and we know that, in most cases, the moment we begin to attune these persons with the Cosmic and bring the Cosmic into attunement with them, a change begins to take place in their problems. From then on matters move rapidly and we find that their desires become fulfilled, conditions change, and all of the outer manifestations are gradually modified. But why should it be necessary for us to do this for the stu dent when he is more capable of doing it for himself than anyone else? I know that it is because these students either do not know what to do, or because the common trait in human nature is to place faith in someone else and rely upon external help. I suppose we can never completely eliminate the old trait in human nature of relying upon some superior person or group of persons, or some specialist or expert to do for us what we could do for ourselves; that is, we cannot eliminate it until we learn to have faith in our own abilities and powers. With the student just starting on the Path, it is at first rather difficult to help him master his own conditions through the use of his own powers, and that is why he so generally leans upon the organization or upon the higher members and officers. But we must be mindful of the laws and principles involved and remember that continuing to do for these new members, and continuing to help them without pointing out how they could do the same thing them selves, will tend to increase their dependability upon others and fail to teach them the lessons they should learn. Let us, there fore, make it a practice not to help these members without at the same time pointing out to them how they can do the same things that we do and do them more efficiently. There is in each of us the Christ Consciousness and it only needs awakening in order to serve us well. We must make ourselves at one with this Christ Consciousness and become spiritualized in every sense if we want to keep in good health, prosperity and happiness. Each member must learn how to spend some little time each day, even if it is only five minutes, in turning his thoughts inwardly to the heights of transcendental attunement. By forget ting all wordly things, even the wordly personality, and eliminat ing the outer self, the outer name, the outer environment, and all of the outer contacts— becoming just pure spirit of infinite good, love, happiness, wisdom and power— the whole being of the person is bathed in sublime power that purges the life for the time being of all problems and gives the soul and character strength to meet any obstacle. At the same time, all the weaknesses of the flesh and all conditions that are annoy ing or troublesome are eliminated.

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Silent meditation of this kind is the greatest asset that any one can have in his life, for it is the privilege to become one with God and with the God Consciousness. The spirit of Christ in the Cosmic has been given to man as the greatest benediction of the Divine Mind. The members who learn to use this, and go into the silence at least one period a day, will find that not only are many of their problems solved, but other problems are often prevented from coming into their lives. Where goodness, love and cosmic peace abide, there can be no sorrow, grief, nor pain, and no unhap piness . Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER


H No matter what their specialized nature, all problems are essentially the same. U Lack of proper Cosmic Attunement is the real cause of every difficulty. f Whatever the nature of the problem, the first step toward its solution is Cosmic Attunement. 1f The student can more successfully accomplish Attunement for himself than through another’s help. If Meditation for awakening the Christ Consciousness should be a regular daily practice. V V V


The importance of frequent periods of silence cannot be over-emphasized. Once a day, as suggested by Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, should be a minimum goal for every student. The period need not be long, but it should be for at least five minutes, and for up to a half hour when possible. This should be a time when your mind is completely at rest—when you just leave everything behind, and keep everything out of consciousness. The consciousness, like the body, needs such complete rest in order to maintain its health and vitality. It is even more refreshing than a physical break, for actually the body rests part of each day during sleep, whereas the consciousness rarely has an opportunity to do so. Start this today, or tomorrow. Wherever you can be alone, completely unbothered for that short period of time, just sit, or lie back and erase all thoughts from your mind. Just think of peace, blessed peace. Let a smile come to your face, and relax. You will be amazed at the results.

This m o n o g ra p h is not subje ct to sale or p urchase b y a nyon e . purc h ase

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the problem by the simplicity of his question would be unfair, inasmuch as millions of dollars or years of life interests tnight be involved in or depend upon that simple question. On the other hand, to judge that the inquirer did not have a great degree of business development or training because of the childlike question he asked would be unfair also, for the person might be involved in great business problems and yet have this one simple matter at hand for the moment which took precedence above everything else. As I have just explained, it is customary for Cosmic Illumina tion or cosmic contact to come about in unexpected ways and at unexpected times. Of course, we may safely say that all such con tacts may be made when we are more or less relaxed and receptive, but they may come while we are seemingly busily occupied in think ing or doing other things and when we are not really trying to make any contact. Certainly cosmic contact and Cosmic Illumination come to us only when we need it, and not as a mere demonstration of what the Cosmic can do. It is a serious matter with the Cosmic and we must be involved in some important problem or be in some critical stage of development to have the Cosmic manifest itself by illumin ating our mind and consciousness with its wisdom and power. On the other hand, we may contact the Celestial Sanctum when ever we wish in regard to any matter that is of interest to us. While it is still a cosmic contact, it is a contact of a limited nature and, therefore, more easily and simply made than the general contact with the entire consciousness of the Cosmic. These are the principal differences between the two forms of contact and I hope it will help all our members to understand the distinction. *

*

*

Again, one of our members asks what is^ Cosmic Consciousness, and we answer as follows: ATTUNED CONSCIOUSNESS

Cosmic Consciousness is a condition of attuned consciousness wherein the inner, psychic consciousness of the individual is so attuned to, and in harmony with, the Universal Consciousness, the Universal Mind, and the Con sciousness of God, that he feels he is a part of it. He sees with the All-Seeing Eye and hears with the omnipotent ear of God. He feels with the Divine Consciousness, and senses everything, every where, to some degree. The more complete and all-enveloping the degrees of Cosmic Consciousness, the more sincere and more complete are the contacts with the Universal Consciousness. In the beginning, it causes one to think as God thinks, to understand as God understands, to comprehend and analyze and accept in the same impartial, kindly, tolerant, constructive manner that God understands and

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accepts everything. It does away with racial distinctions, national boundaries, creed and doctrinal limitations. It keeps the thoughts of the mind and outer consciousness from being earthbound and encourages an upward and onward viewpoint of life. It causes the mind and brain to be inspired with beautiful thoughts that may express themselves in magnificent phrases of philosophy, or in kindly words spoken to the unfortunate. It brings joy of divine living into the heart to such an extent that the lips want to smile and the eyes greet with happi ness every human being. It brings to mind the music of the spheres, and leads to the desire to paint beautiful pictures, com pose beautiful melodies, carve beautiful statuary. It brings a healing power into the body that is creative and constructive. The consciousness and body of man are fortified against the intrusion of disease when the body of man are fortified against the intrusion the Cosmic Mind are carried out in regard to eating, drinking, sleeping, exercise, and work. It leads the footsteps of the indi vidual into association with like-minded persons and away from all things that are sordid, away from all companionship that is sinful, or incompatable with the progress of divine principles. It leads to prayer and meditation and to an understanding of the sorrow of the world, while at the same time it brings happiness and joy that transcends all the ordinary pleasures of life. It strengthens the still small voice within to speak more definitely when it can guide and lead us. It results in wonderful friend ships, a contented mind, a cheery life of helping others and being successful in all we undertake, or of being satisfied with our mis sion in life until we have completed the work that is best for us to do at the present time. It makes us love other human beings as ourselves, and brings us closer to God as the Father of all. We see the good in all things and negate the evil. All this comes about from Cosmic Consciousness gradually, step by step, degree by degree, as this consciousness is awakened and enlivened in us. It is not something that comes to us overnight, but through unfoldment, development and application to studies and practices that will help us to understand it and fan it into a greater flame. It is something so definite, so positive, so real that it is unmistakable after it has had time to manifest all its beauty and strength in us, and yet it is so intangible and immater ial, so unconfined, that it is difficult to describe or bring into the lives of those who are not ready for it, deserving of it, or willing to strive for it. In considering Cosmic Consciousness, I cannot attempt to cover the subject completely, but rather convey the impression of the tremendous scope of this subject and point out segments of it that may stimulate your thinking.

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The subject is too great for the consideration of any one intel lect; it cannot be confined to the interpretation of one individual or one group of individuals; it cannot even be confined to expres sion in words. Nevertheless, it is a subject which we must con sider and, in the light of our understanding, we are better able to prepare the path which will constitute the way toward the ultimate aims of our existence. A FORM AL DEFINITION

It is important that we consider Cosmic Consciousness from the standpoint of definition, not because it can be limited to definition, but because it gives us a basis upon which to establish our considerations. Probably that which most nearly approaches a formal definition is given by Dr. Richard M. Bucke in his book entitled "Cosmic Consciousness." Among his writings the following is significant: "The prime charac teristic of Cosmic Consciousness is, as its name implies, a con sciousness of the cosmos, that is, of the life and order of the universe. Along with the consciousness of the cosmos there o c c u r s an intellectual enlightenment or illumination which alone would place the individual on a new plane of existence— would make him almost a member of a new species. To this is added a state of moral exaltation, an indescribable feeling of elevation, elation and joyousness, and a quickening of the moral sense, which is fully as striking and more important both to the individual and to the race than is the enhanced intellectual power. With these come what may be called a sense of immortality, a consciousness of eternal life, not a conviction that he shall have this, but the conscious ness that he has it already." Carefully consider these comments. We see that Cosmic Consciousness is a power that transforms the individual. Dr. Bucke compares Cosmic Consciousness to lower forms of consciousness which he terms first that of simple con sciousness possessed by any living creature and second, selfconsciousness, which is possessed by the human being to distinguish it from the consciousness possessed by other animals. Cosmic Con sciousness is something in advance of either of these states of consciousness, as stated in the definition; it is an added state, a condition which goes beyond that which we can consider in the sense of our objective realization. We might say that consciousness itself is a composite of what we perceive through our senses and what we know from our intuitive faculties; the latter includes what may be known to us from the previous experiences of the soul. Added to this, our consciousness includes awareness of self: The ability to realize that "I am" is made possible by consciousness. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

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The Kingdom of Heaven, alluded to in this week’s Concurrence, is often likened to the state of Cosmic Consciousness. In that state, one is said to have entered the Kingdom of Heaven, where all things are made known, and revealed in all their splendor. The Kingdom of Heaven is thus an allegorical term which helps us to better visualize the state or condition of Cosmic Consciousness. Since there will be many exercises along the way to prepare you for this, you might, for this week, visualize the condition of Cosmic Consciousness as a place, as a great kingdom in which reside all of the masters, and all of the knowledge of past and future, a great storehouse of learning and informa tion. While you are meditating, think of yourself as crossing an ocean and approaching a new land, shimmering in the Sun, verdant, fresh, and inviting. As you approach the shore, you know within that you are about to discover a vast new kingdom, the riches of which surpass all understanding, a land in which there is only harmony and peace, where the horizons echo the joy of living, and where questions and problems have their final resolution.

Summary of This Monograph V V V Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential state ments which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete monograph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. C o n ta c ts w ith th e C e le stia l S an ctu m a re g e n e ra lly p re a rra n g e d , a n d p e rta in to th e a c tiv itie s o f th e S an ctu m a n d n o t to u n iv e rs a l a c tiv itie s. 5f C osm ic Illu m in a tio n m ay com e a t a n y tim e , a n y w h e re , u n a n n o u n c e d , a n d seem in g ly u n s o lic ite d a n d u n so u g h t. T h e d e v e lo p m e n t o f C osm ic C o n sc io u sn e ss p ro c e e d s n a tu ra lly a n d g ra d u a lly w ith in th e b e in g o f e v e ry s tu d e n t a n d a d e p t o f m y stic a l a n d m e ta p h y sic a l p rin c ip le s. C osm ic C o n sc io u sn e ss Is a c o n d itio n o f a ttu n e d c o n sc io u sn e ss w h e re in th e in d iv id u a l fe e ls h im s e lf to be in h a rm o n y w ith , a n d a p a r t o f th e U n iv e rs a l M ind. ^1 D r. R ic h a rd M. B ucke in h is “ C osm ic C o n sc io u sn e ss” w rite s : “ T h e p rim e c h a r a c te r istic o f C osm ic C o n scio u sn e ss is, a s its n a m e im p lie s, a c o n sc io u sn e ss o f th e co sm o s, th a t is, o f th e life a n d o rd e r o f th e u n iv e rs e .” S im p le c o n sc io u sn e ss is p o sse sse d by a ll liv in g c re a tu re s . S e lf-c o n sc io u sn e ss is p o sse sse d by m a n . C osm ic C o n sc io u sn e ss, by th e ab o v e d e fin itio n , is a s ta te b ey o n d th e f irs t tw o .




"C o n se crate d to truth and dedicated to every Rosicrucian" This m o n o g ra p h is n o t sub je ct to sale o r p u rc h a se b y a n yo n e . p u rc h ase

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the

seller a n d


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civil liability.

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II

THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V V V •ff At the death of Mohammed, the Apostle of God, his utterances were collected from palm leaves, skins, the shoulder blades of sheep—and the hearts of men—upon which they were written, into one text, the Koran. The following are selections from this inspired book: In the Name of the Merciful and Compassionate God! ... Your God is one God, there is no God but Him, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, and in the ship that runneth in the sea with that which is profitable to man, and in the rain which God sendeth down from heaven to quicken the dead earth, and in the shifting of the winds, and in the clouds that are pressed into service betwixt heaven and earth, are signs to men of understanding. Yet there are some amongst mankind who take to them idols along with God, and love them with the love due to God. O that they could see that power is altogether God’s! In the Name of the Merciful and Compassionate God! Righteousness is not that ye turn your faces towards the East or towards the West, but righteousness is to believe in God, and the Last Day, and the Angels and the Book, and the prophets; and to give of your wealth for love of God to kindred, to orphans, to the needy and to the son of the road, to beggars and those in captivity; and to be steadfast in prayer; and to be faithful to your covenant when ye have made a covenant; and patient in poverty and distress and in time of violence; these are they who are true, and these are they who fear the Lord! -M OHAM M ED, 570-632

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Beloved Members, Greetings! We might state that consciousness, as including the perception of the objective senses together with the intuitive abilities and the awareness of self, is a distinct possession of the human being. It sets him aside from other living things because the type of con sciousness he enjoys makes possible not only objective reason but also the possibility of mentally utilizing both physical and psy chic phenomena which he preceives through his senses and the extra sensory perception of his subconscious mind. To consider Cosmic Consciousness, then, we must consider first of all the limitations of our objective consciousness and the ordi nary conception of our awareness of self. This state of conscious ness functions primarily in reference to the physical world. It functions, and gives us c o n s c i o u s n e s s . Imagine, if you will, your consciousness being aware not only of that which you perceive in this room, but also reaching out beyond this room and its physical limitations. Imagine its being a part of the Cosmic itself, and thereby being all-inclusive instead of definitely limited. This thought impresses itself upon us, indicating that Cosmic Conscious ness is first of all something that exists beyond the limits of what we ordinarily perceive. In other words, it is the expanding of an ability to perceive, not by the usually accepted way but by the cooperation of a greater force. EXPANSION OF ABILITY

We expand our ability to hear a sound at a distance by means of the telephone or radio, but no material aid will expand the range of our senses to the point where we can conceive of the cosmic scheme of things or know the under lying laws operating in all things. Nor can physical instruments bring to our perception a thing of a nonphysical nature. Just as in Order to explore the heavens a particular material instrument which we call a telescope is necessary, so it is that if we are going to explore the nature of things which are not physical, a certain mental or psychic instrument is necessary. Cosmic Con sciousness is that instrument. Cosmic Consciousness, according to this comparison, is to the perception of the soul what a telescope is to the eye. The eye can see without the telescope. Consciousness can be an attribute of the soul without Cosmic Consciousness. Exactly as the telescope extends or expands the field of vision, so the realization of the power that lies outside of our objective realization— Cosmic Con sciousness— extends our ability to perceive far beyond the limita tions of what we usually consider the range of our con scious perception. Let us not misunderstand the expansion of this state to the point where we would, to use a common expression, live in the clouds. Let us realize that those who have attained Cosmic Consciousness have also been human beings.

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We must never forget that the purpose of life is not at any time to so lower the appreciation for the purpose of the physical body, so as to believe that it should be given no consideration. The fact that we are here in a physical body is evidence of the fact that it is necessary for our present development; therefore, the first step toward the attainment of Cosmic Consciousness must be made in this physical body, and the school of thought which would have us believe that the consideration of the body should be eliminated is not hastening the development of this state of con sciousness, but rather postponing it. It is difficult for many people to be able to make proper use of a small amount of psychic development. They feel they have the right to live in the clouds. They often forget that the require ments of daily life go on whether we are masters or whether we are uninitiated students. He who fails to appreciate the necessity of daily living is doing the very opposite of that which he believes he is accomplishing. It is very true that the physical should not have first consideration, but it is also true that the physical should have very important and careful consideration. What is demanded of the mystic is not that he eliminate consideration of the body but that he learn to make the body serve intelligently the purpose of a suitable housing for the soul. The soul must grow in the environment in which it is placed. The placing was not made casually or without thought, but was definitely made to add to its experience and contribute to its growth by gaining knowledge in that state of existence. FIRST MANIFESTATIONS

One of the first manifestations of Cosmic Consciousness in the human being is the quickening of his intuitive ability. The first spark of Cosmic Con sciousness brings to the human the realization of the tremendous force which exists in the universe, and the realization that his soul is a part of it. This manifestation of intuition is one of the first faculties that the student of the occult must attempt to develop. That is why in the Rosicrucian course of study the first experiments center around this particular faculty. Intuition is the voice of the Cosmic within ourselves. The development of this faculty must be left to the individual, and it is not my purpose here to attempt to suggest methods or procedures other than those already known through your studies for the development of this fac ulty. It is important that I stress the fact that until you have conscientiously attempted to develop this faculty, to perform the exercises which are for the purpose of assisting its growth, you have not begun the proper steps which will lead to the ultimate comprehension and attainment of Cosmic Consciousness. Intuition, the voice of the con science, the hunch, or whatever we wish to call it, is

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what may be technically termed as pertaining to the field of extra sensory perception, that is, the ability to perceive beyond the range of the physical senses. If man were given only the ability of physical sense perception, then ultimate knowledge could easily be attained because all man would need to know is what he actually physically perceives. The why and purpose of things would be of no value or particular interest to him. Since we exist to gain an understanding not only of what is about us, but also of what con stitutes the principles and forces that have brought these things into existence, we must also have psychic perception. The same force that created all with which we must deal in the physical world, created us; therefore, the common unit between us and all other things of a physical nature cannot be conceived in us alone or in the things which we perceive. Neither can the common unit that exists between us as individual living entities of the Creator Himself or the Cosmic be compared with the perception of that which exists in common between these two phases. In addition, beside considering these two planes, physical and immaterial, we find that there is no point where physical manifestation ceases and nonmaterial manifestations begin EXCEPT IN OUR OWN MINDS. Neither in the limitations of our minds nor in the physical world is there a defined boundry between physical and psychic vibrations under lying the manifestations of all things, and we cannot say at which certain vibratory rate a manifestation transforms itself from the physical to the psychic. There exists a projection, or rather a continuation, of manifestation. There is no more difference between the vibration which produces what we refer to as physical, and that which produces psychic manifestation than there is between vibrations which, when reproduced on a very low note of an organ, produce vibrations which we do not know whether we perceive by hearing or feeling. In other words, there is not any one point which can clearly be defined as the limit of the field of manifes tation of one rate of vibration as distinguished from another. LIMITATIONS OF INTERPRETATION

Opinions have brought about limitations of interpretations and have led us to define in our minds that which we consider to be physical and psychic or ordinary and miraculous. In reality there is no line that can be drawn between these conditions except as it exists in our conception of them. We might even go on to say that there is no line that can definitely distinguish between consciousness and Cosmic Consciousness. The first manifestation of Cosmic Conscious ness, that is, intuition, is not a new thing in our being, but a realization of a factor already there. Just as adjustment takes place in the development of our physical bodies when, for example, adolescent bodily changes also affect mental out look, so it is that when through the proper development of our inner selves changes take place in our conception of things, in our ability to perceive differently. It is

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merely a step forward in the perfectly natural gaining of an added ability. In order to surivive as a normal, sane individual and grow into a normal adult, the adolescent must be directed to adapt the changing physical and mental conditions to the life which is before him. So must we, after attaining a glimpse of a greater horizon through the eyes of our psychic being, be directed to maintain our mental and physical equilibrium and, by availing ourselves of the added abilities, adapt ourselves to the conditions which are appar ently new, and at the same time maintain a normal, healthy exist ence . Intuition serves its purpose in our daily life. It can be directed and ""guided into a potent force which will in turn direct us. It is the key to those things which we otherwise could not know. Closely connected with intuition is meditation. Again, I refer you to proper instructions for meditation which are available in your earlier monographs. Let us consider meditation and intui tion in our daily lives as a step toward development of Cosmic Con sciousness. True meditation, that is, the contemplation of those things to which we would direct our consciousness, is frequently considered as the ONLY form of meditation. There is, however, a more active form of meditation which we can carry on practically all the time. I think possibly one of the outstanding proponents of this theory of meditation was Count Hermann Keyserling who stated: "For me personally, meditation has acquired in the course of years a new meaning. Facing reality in a positive way, and without evading it, is for my active temperament a form of medita tion. If I do not shrink from the difficulties of life, but con template them, then I consider I have done my kind of meditation. Learning through direct experience, through pain and suffering what your innermost attitude is when facing reality, is the best form of spiritual exercise." Here we see meditation as an active positive force for the improvement of our daily living. Intuition when properly developed can be the key which will produce the "hunch" or, in other words, will be the point of departure for our acts, while the results of proper meditation upon this point will indicate a way to find the path. It is necessary to stress that the full importance, the com plete realization of the truth of these last few statements, is in itself an important step in the development of Cosmic Conscious ness. The lack of complete realization is frequently a thing which witholds the ability to develop further because until we can have a realization of what consti tutes some of the fundamental steps of our progress, we are not in a position to advance. Therefore, I wish to

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emphasize that it is necessary for us to realize these few impor tant adaptations, to understand fully that only by the expanding of consciousness itself can Cosmic Consciousness be obtained, which in turn means that only by utilizing the factors which are at our com mand can we thus reach out and begin to utilize other factors which now lie outside the field of our existence. Proper consideration and use of meditation, along with the development of our intuitive abilities and faculties, will make it possible for us to meet the stress of everyday life. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

The Weekly Application Whatsoever thou resolvest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish.—UNTO THEE I GRANT

Distance or time is not a factor in reaching the state of Cosmic Consciousness. Unlike the use of a telescope or amplifier to bring sights and sounds nearer to us, we do not literally have to reach out to bring Cosmic Consciousness to us. It is well within our grasp, and we only have to prepare ourselves for that perfect state of receptivity in which the usual state of mental clutter is dissolved or put aside for the moment. We must purify our state of consciousness and by that act of purification, we will be one with the Cosmic. The purification of our state of consciousness needs preparation. It must include the cleansing of our bodies; certain resolves on our part to either do acts of behavior that are beneficial, or to undo those that are not beneficial to us. It must include the cleansing of the mind, to rid our thoughts of all intolerance, envy, greed, jealousy, avarice, and fear. We can often do this by reciting affirmations that are positive and pure.



1f As the physical faculties are expanded by means of a physical instrument, so the mental faculties are extended through the instrument of Cosmic Consciousness. It is to the perception of the soul what the telescope is to the eye. U One of the first manifestations of Cosmic Consciousness in the human being is the quickening of his intuitive ability. H Closely connected with intuition is meditation. Intuition properly developed will produce the “hunch,” and proper meditation on this hunch will indicate the way to go.

This m o n o g ra p h is not subject to sole or purc h ase b y a n yone . purc h ase

m ay

m ake

the seller a n d


A sale or

civil liability.

THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V V V

^ The Cosmic Sense which Bacon received from illumination produced the Sonnets and plays of Shakespeare. The following is “Sonnet LIII;” in it he describes the Cosmic Consciousness: What is your substance, whereof are you made, That millions of strange shadows on you tend? Since every one, hath every one, one shade, And you, but one, can every shadow lend. Describe Adonis, and the counterfeit Is poorly imitated after you; On Helen’s cheek all art of beauty set, And you in Grecian tires are painted new: Speak of the spring, and foison of the year; The one doth shadow of your beauty show, The other as your bounty doth appear; And you in every blessed shape we know. In all external grace you have some part, But you like none, none you, for constant heart. -F R A N C IS BACO N, 1561 -1 6 2 6

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Beloved Members, Greetings! A soror recently asked: "Does Cosmic Consciousness, or Cosmic Illumination, raise the level of intelligence?" This is rather an all-inclusive question. As I understand it, the soror desires to know whether, when one experiences Cosmic Illumination, or an influx of Cosmic Consciousness, that illumination elevates the level of native intelligence, thus making the individual more saga cious in all phases of his mental life. THE COSMIC NOT A P L A C E

First, what is Cosmic Consciousness? Our monographs in the later Degrees are replete with explanations, and, further, numerous books during the last several decades have had chapters or sections written on the subject by many individuals who are worthy of the appellation of mystic and philosopher. For the purpose of this question, however, we can say that Cosmic Consciousness is first what the very term itself implies— the consciousness of the great Cosmic. As Rosicrucians, we declare that the Cosmic is not a place, condition, or a state existing somewhere outside of ourselves in space, like the old the ological conception of heaven as a place with golden streets and pearly gates, but rather that it is the orderly manifestation and working of the Divine Mind. It is the unlimited intelligence of God, as orderly law, which as the primary cause of all permeates the entire universe. Cosmic Consciousness, it follows, is the Divine Intelligence, the self-realizing and comprehending power and initial cause of all things, that is, God Consciousness. The Cosmic, we must understand from the outstart, embraces all things animate and inanimate. The Cosmic is not confined just to realms of the spiritual. The laws of matter that create the things of our natural world which we see, hear, and feel--they, too, are of the Cosmic. They most certainly are not a man-made creation or execution. So the Cosmic embraces things of the macrocosmic world and of the microcosmic world. In man, the laws of the Cosmic are dual in manifestation: the negative aspect being spirit— that primary substance of which the physical elements of man's mortal body are composed; and the positive polar ity which is the Vital Life Force— the Soul, the Divine Conscious ness. We must accept this intelligence of the Cosmic as being pre fect, that is, complete and not possible of error. We cannot con ceive of anything beyond it by which it can be measured, nor can we think of it as aspiring to a state of perfection, because then that which it aspired to would transcend it and be more per fect. Therefore, this Cosmic Intelligence, or Conscious ness, is omniscient. Its natural order of function is to maintain a harmony of all of its attributes, the multitude of its modes and aspects. It stands to reason that if man

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could at least periodically commune with this intelligence within himself and retain the experience of the contiguity of his con sciousness to the Cosmic Consciousness, he would avoid a number of mistakes he makes, which are entirely the result of his sole depen dence upon his limited mortal experiences and objective knowledge. Man's objective intelligence, dependent upon his faculty of reason and powers of perception, is far from infallible, and each of us is constantly aware of errors in thinking and of poor judgment, whether he wishes to admit it or not. The subconscious, that unadulterated and unrestricted intel ligence of the Cosmic which pervades every cell of our living body, performs its duties faithfully. It hardly seems necessary to relate here how all of the involuntary actions of our body, those actions over which we have little or absolutely no control, con tinue without the exertion of our reason or judgment, all being instead the result of this Cosmic Intelligence. The heart and many of the organs function without our direction and volition. The cells divide and combine and course through the blood stream to their many proper destinations, all without a thought or plan, or any help from our objective selves. The aggregate of this con sciousness, the total consciousness of all of the cells and parts of our body, constitutes what we say is the psychic body of our being, and this psychic body is not affected by physical environ ment, by our education, or by our social standing. INNER CONSCIOUSNESS THE S A M E

This inner consciousness, or intelligence, is the same in an aborigine living in some primi tive land as in a great teacher or philosopher of one of the highly "civilized" countries of the world. It cannot be increased or decreased in the individual by anything he may do. If it could, then it would imply that it rests with man and is within the jurisdiction and power of man to evolve or devolve that which is divine, and consequently perfect. It would further follow, then, that man is the true God and this, we know all too well, is not so. This Cosmic Intelligence can and does exert an influence, how ever, on our objective thinking and what we often commonly call our native intelligence. Here it is necessary perhaps to make quite clear that there is a great distinction between education and natural objective intelligence. A man may have a good brain, excellent nervous system, he may be very sensitive to his external world, and respond to the things he objectively perceives quite rapidly, and yet he may be illiterate. On the other hand, one ____ may store in his memory a great accumulation of external experiences, facts read, or heard, or seen, and yet he may not be intelligent, though he may be able to recall and recite the facts he has learned, parrot-like. Intelli gence is displayed in the unique correlation of the

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experiences we have had as creative ideas, and the adroit adapta tion to any circumstances and experiences. We all, each of us, know too well that sometimes during the course of our lives we are confronted with some situation that we must meet uniquely, and must depend upon our own intelligence when we cannot recall advice or information which we may have read in some book, text, or otherwise, or when we can't turn to some page, or paragraph, for help. Native intelligence is also seen in the ability instantaneously to appraise unprecedented conditions for their true worth. Education is, however, essential. In the first place, it pro vides native intelligence with many useful tools and materials necessary to use; it gives native intelligence, therefore, a dis tinct advantage. Education further stimulates this intelligence, but it cannot add to it. Cosmic Consciousness, or the infusion of our objective minds with the consciousness of the Cosmic, does not add to this brain intelligence. It does, however, provide illumin ating ideas, complete plans and methods which make the individual brilliant in his accomplishments. The intuitive flashes which per sons frequently experience are sometimes adjudged, erroneously, as experiences of Cosmic Consciousness, or Cosmic Illumination. They are, however, but brief commands from the Cosmic Intelligence breaking throught the wall of our ordinary, self-centered objective reasoning and thinking. They compel us for our own good and wel fare, if we heed them, to take advantage of a circumstance or to avoid doing something which may be detrimental. Sometimes, with all of the energy that our egotistical voli tion can exert, we plunge into mundane affairs, and just before the final act that would result in some form of injury, we may, per haps, have a "hunch" not to proceed further. These hunches are rather frequent for all of us, unless we have formed the detri mental habit of suppressing them to show our independence of all influences except those of our objective reasoning minds. If we heed such a hunch, however, we stop, and are saved from misfortune. These hunches, or intuitive flashes are very incomplete. They are more like a cry in the dark, compelling us to stop or go ahead. They are not necessarily inspiring or enlightening, and never informative. It is not uncommon for us to hear a person say: "I had a hunch to go ahead with it; I don't know why; it was just the urge to do so; I can't even explain it to myself." In fact, the objective mind has not sought these intuitive flashes or hunches. In most cases, the objective mind has not reached into the inner self and involked them. Instead, they have pene trated the objective mind, motivated only by the cosmic principle protecting us. Because of our human obstinacy and extreme confidence in our objective selves, it is

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really fortunate that these intuitive flashes are able to penetrate sufficiently and intensely enough to make an impression upon us and to retard or accellerate our will. CO M PLETE WISDOM

On the other hand, a true experience of Cosmic Consciousness is much more thorough and consequently more beneficial, but also more difficult to attain. The objective mind, or consciousness, resorts to introversion to bring it about, instead of searching the universe outside and around our selves for some external fact or aid. The consciousness is turned inward, and through this method experiences the complete wisdom of the Divine Mind or Cosmic Consciousness, even if but momentarily. When this state of Cosmic Consciousness, or Illumination, is attained by one, his objective mind is not only brought in contact with this Divine Consciousness resident within his own being, but at the same time is brought into harmony with the Absolute, the complete mind, the primary cause of all, which is ubiquitous; for, we must realize that the Divine Intelligence within us is not iso lated in certain individuals or certain groups, but exists every where. It is not a broken-off segment of the whole which we pos sess; it is instead a continuous flow of consciousness throughout all beings in the entire universe. The Cosmic Consciousness, the consciousness of law and order of the Divine Mind/ is the only substance in the universe. All things are in that substance— they are modes of it. For the moment of that Cosmic Illumination, we are, therefore, in a state of con cord with all things everywhere. The result of such an experience is not like that of an intuitive flash. It is not a mere command, but the revelation of a perfect plan which causes us to realize an ideal which we know at the time is for us, and that we should attain. It is not like visualizing a distant light in darkness, towards which we must grope and stumble, take many false steps, and perhaps hurt ourselves in many ways before we reach it. Rather it is like the castles we have seen as children in a story book— beau tiful, appealing, situated on a rocky eminence. We seem to know that if we reach them we will find in them many great treasures. We see more than the goal; we are also shown the path that leads to it. We see leading from ourselves to that goal a winding road with well marked, plainly visible signposts. The person who is so fortunate as to perfect the technique of attaining Cosmic Consciousness, which, for various reasons, all do not, can fairly frequently make cosmic contacts. Because of that he is often adjudged by others in life, with whom he associates and who do not understand what he has accomplished, as being a success, or as being fortunate. Actually his objective intelligence has not been particularly developed; rather he has the ability, through Cosmic Consciousness, to take his problems to an infalli ble source of help. This makes him appear as a genius to others, who do not understand. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER



11 The term Cosmic Consciousness implies consciousness of the great Cosmic, which is not a place but an orderly manifestation of the Divine Mind. H The Cosmic embraces all things, animate and inanimate. In man, its mani festations are dual: negative Spirit and positive Vital Life Force. 11 Man's objective consciousness is fallible but Cosmic Intelligence is incapable of error. 11 This inner consciousness, or intelligence, is the same in all men. It influences our native intelligence. Education may improve native intelligence but cannot increase or decrease the inner consciousness. H Cosmic Consciousness does not develop native intelligence but works through it in such a way as to heighten its usefulness.

V V V

The Weekly Application Whatsoever thou resolvest to do. do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning m ay accomplish .—UNTO THEE I GRANT

What do we expect of Cosmic Consciousness? Sometimes our expectations are not realistic, and they cloud the happening when it actually occurs. We may already have had instances of Cosmic Consciousness, but simply were not aware of it because it was not what we expected. Cosmic Con sciousness is not ordinarily accompanied by a great flash or any fanfare at all, for that matter. It does not ordinarily bestow upon you new abilities for which you have had no previous training or preparation. It does not ordinarily make a literary genius out of an unschooled person. None of these dramatic, outward signs are part of Cosmic Consciousness. It is, rather, a quiet revelation of some great law or principle that helps you to better understand, better resolve a situation close at hand in which you are involved. It is a thought that comes to you while mulling over a problem in your mind, a thought that all of a sudden clears up everything about that problem. When thus awaiting this grand experience, do not think so much of great changes in your life as you would to be waiting for some answer to, or illumination on an element of your present state. It is not so much a process for change as it is a process of greater awareness.




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The matter contained herein is officially Issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of sertations. scientific illustrations, postulations, and philosophic— studies, diagrams, charts” as----authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in countries throughout the world.) All m atters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and snail remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R.herein C. andareit loaned shall beto returned uponsole its and request. The contents be used toforIt the exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does. Ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and » a violation of the Statutes of this Order. A. M. O. R. C.andIs symbols, the only and organization authorized use the Reg istered name the Imperator has soleto right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V V V The prayers of the truly great are ever indicative of humility and genuine desire for spiritual unfoldment, and we are continually inspired by them. While it is quite likely you are familiar with Socrates’ Prayer, we feel sure that you will enjoy reading it once again.

Beloved Pan, and all ye other gods who haunt this place, give me beauty in the inward soul; and may the outward and inward man be at one. May I reckon the wise to be the wealthy, and may I have such a quantity of gold as a temperate man and he only can bear and carry.—Anything more? The prayer, I think, is enough for me. -SO C R A T E S, 469-399 B.C.

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Beloved Members, Greetings! We present in this week's monograph an answer by our Imperator to a question concerning our relationship to the Cosmic Mind. A frater asks: "Shall I put my problems, as they arise, to the Cosmic Mind and forget them, or is it advisable that I tell the Cosmic what to do for me?" In his question, the frater has entirely missed the middle course. Instead, he wishes us to confirm one extreme or the other. In fact, neither of the methods he is considering is proper, with out a great deal of qualification. When we make the necessary qualifications, we find we have an entirely different procedure, and this is what we shall consider. First, we must answer for ourselves: What is our conception of the application of Cosmic power? Is it servile, like one who understands his duties and is obliged to perform them without ques tion as to their merit or their effect upon others, or do we con ceive the Cosmic as a sort of genie who makes an appearance upon our command, as described in the tales of the Arabian Nights, and fulfills our slightest wish? Or again, do we think of the Cosmic as an omniscience with which we may commune for enlightenment in hours of personal darkness or confusion? COSMIC IMPARTIAL

The Cosmic is an attribute of God. It is the orderly manifestation and extension of His intelligence. If God is Mind, and not a mechanistic force, then that denotes a divine intelligence which pervades all, since God must of necessity be everywhere, or He would not be supreme. This intelli gence accounts for all phenomena— those of the microcosmic and those of the macrocosmic worlds. The realities of the universe are the movement and force of this Mind of God. It follows as a corol lary that all things are of the order and nature of this Divine Mind. Consequently, the Cosmic is the orderly manifestation of the intelligence of God, which we commonly designate as spiritual and natural laws. Being of God, these laws must be impersonal in their application to the affairs of men. It would be inconceivable that these laws would favor one individual, group, or class of humans in preference to another. It is more consistent with our inherent feeling of divine justice that these laws can be invoked by any human under proper circumstances. Summarily, then, all men stand before the Cosmic alike infofar as being human is concerned. If one man or woman were to be helped merely by virtue of the fact that he or she was a human, all would need to be. If one individu al's life were to be constantly guided, directed and freed from obstacles and suffering, and made extremely happy

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because he wished it, every human who desired likewise would ex perience the same earthly Utopia, since almost every human wants this liberation from earthly trials and tribulations. The fact that very few attain it denotes that the Cosmic is not assuming the task of living for man. If the responsibility for human well-being or happiness were vested entirely in the Cosmic, man would not need to possess many of his propensities. He would not need moral discernment and such notions as right and wrong, good and bad, just and unjust. There could be but one state of existence for him. However, man is able to get himself in and out of difficulty, and he is permitted to do so. He may submit to or master adversity, and that should be sufficient proof to the average intelligent person that the vicis situdes of life are largely his own doing. This being so, we have no right to expect the Cosmic to assume our problems entirely for us as we encounter them. PROBLEM OF EM PLOYM ENT

Suppose, for example, ours is a problem of employment. Perhaps on very little notice, we have been suddenly dismissed from a much needed position. Our financial resources are low, and our obligations many. It follows that it is imperative that we find other employment quickly, and there are two ways in which we may go about it. We may elect to visit daily every employment agency of which we have knowledge. We may, in addition, make a study of the city directory to deter mine what business might use our particular services, and canvass each one. We might also answer personally or by letter each "help wanted" advertisement in the daily press, whether or not we were experienced in the line of work, if we thought we could possibly qualify. In other words, we could be diligent in exerting every effort to obtain employment. Then again, we might try the method of making no other person al effort than resorting to the Cosmic. We might merely petition it, in a vocative or silent manner, to locate remunerative employ ment for us. In the light of the foregoing explanations, do we have any right to expect that in the latter instance we should have Cosmic assistance? Why should the Cosmic assume our tasks and obligations, especially when we are obviously indolent? It is a Cosmic decree that man use will and reason by which to direct the affairs of his life. Most certainly the Cosmic will not mitigate its own order to satisfy the improper appeal of man. Conversely, by this latter method man is asking the Cosmic to make ineffective the powers divinity has conferred upon him. It is this misunderstanding of what the Cosmic will do for man that causes many people eventually to lose faith in Cosmic efficacy. Often we hear people say, "I

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turned my problems over to the Cosmic, and I have had no indica tion, after a long wait, of any improvement in my affairs. Conse quently, I do not believe that we can expect Cosmic help." We must not believe that the Cosmic will do for us what we are often quite capable of doing for ourselves if we use our initiative. Some may reply to this by saying, "Suppose we do not know what to do for ourselves? then what must we do?" Such is a different circum stance. One who is blind is incapable of locating a lost article, but one who can see and makes no search for it is not entitled to help. It is quite different to ask for light that you may make a personal search for something than it is to ask another to do it for you when you can see perfectly well to do it yourself. PROPER PETITION

When we sincerely want to solve our personal problems and are willing to expend mental and physical effort to do so, but lack the knowledge of how to proceed, it is then proper to petition the Cosmic. Our petition should run some thing like this: "Cosmic Mind and God of my Heart, this is my t problem (briefly explain it.) I, in good faith and before my con science, believe I am entitled to what I seek, and that I am not injuring or depriving another of what is his just due. I therefore beseech thee to illumine my consciousness with the idea or concept which will constitute the way by which I may attain my desires if they are proper." By this procedure you have turned to the Cosmic, not as a master to a servant or as an employer to an employee, but as a humble human seeking advice from a benevolent intelligence. You are not negating your own powers, but instead asking that you be shown how best to use them. The one who resorts to the practice of shifting his problems to the Cosmic, without first making a personal effort toward the solution, is adopting a negative atti tude which will eventually leave him sadly disappointed. Conversely, man must not be too presumptuous and attempt to instruct or command the Cosmic to perform or materialize something for him. Man must not consider himself a modern Aladdin who can rub a lamp and have his wishes fulfilled by the Cosmic. Often we may in our finite, limited, and frequently selfish consciousness honestly believe that what we want or think we need should rightly be ours, or that it will be of the utmost benefit to us. We cannot always see the consequence of what we may be asking for. Actually our lack of knowledge of Cosmic principles may cause us to ask in advertently for something which is in violation of what is Cosmically right or just. The Cosmic, on the other hand, in its in finite wisdom and justice, will not permit us, especially when we are innocent of any wrongdoing, to jeopardize our lives seriously by fulfilling such a request. To demand that the Cosmic comply with our wishes is wrong, then, for two apparent reasons: First, we may be asking for something to be brought about that is detrimental to our good; second, man must in his relations with the Cosmic admit his humble

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station and not be vain enough to dictate demands. Consequently, one does not tell the Cosmic what to do. One prays that his prob lem ..and his humble petition are worthy of Cosmic consideration and that he be directed and guided to meet his own requirements. I know a young man, a Rosicrucian, intelligent, a diligent worker, and a good student, who has often demonstrated these prin ciples to himself. He is an accountant and office manager. At times, due to prevailing economic conditions, he has had to sacri fice his position because his firm consolidated with another or discontinued branch offices and economized. When he found himself out of employment, his procedure would be as follows: First, he would analyze himself, trying to be as impersonal as possible— in other words, look upon himself as he would upon a stranger or per haps some clerk or office worker whom he himself would be employ ing. He would ask himself what were his real qualifications, what he had to sell or offer to someone in exchange for the compensation he wanted or expected. Then he would evluate these services after he had listed them, either on paper or in his mind. Were they the best of their kind? Could he do as well in his trade or profession as anyone else who had the same experience? He would then ask him self, had he tried to improve his qualifications or had he been satisfied just to get by, namely, command the utmost for his serv ices and give in return just what was necessary to hold the posi tion? When he conscientiously felt he had something to offer, and that what he had to offer was honestly worth a certain salary, for his employer as well as himself, then he would proceed to seek the places where he could best offer his wares— his ability and his ex perience. Usually about the same time— and it happened in two or three instances— he would petition the Cosmic personally himself, and also through the Council of Solace, to help him. The results he obtained in going about seeking employment in this manner were quite startling. E X A M P LE OF S U C C E S S

In the recent instance, not more than seventy-two hours after adopting such a method as this, and after petitioning the Cosmic and the Council of Solace, he was on his way to call upon the manager of a concern where he thought he might secure employment. He was suddenly im pressed with the feeling that his wife at home was seeking to get in touch with him. He was quite a distance from home, and felt that if he were to return, he might be too late for an interview with the prospective employer. However, the impression persisted, and he hurried home. Upon his arrival, his wife informed him that she had been endeavoring to locate him because his former employer had called for him to come immediately to see him. He did, and was put in touch with another

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concern where he received the branch management at a splendid salary. Every problem might not always work out as satisfactorily as in this c a s e , but there are so many similar instances of success that have come to our attention, where the parties intelligently sought employment and intelligently asked for Cosmic aid, that it behooves us, therefore, to give every consideration to these prin ciples . Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

The Weekly Application Whatsoever thou resolvest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish.—UNTO THEE I GRANT

The example given in this monograph, of the man who interrupted an impor tant appointment because of an urge to return home, is something that often happens in our lives. We hesitate to turn around, hesitate to change our line of thinking, hesitate to interrupt a decision we have made. This is inertia, a law of our physical and psychic natures that is expressed, as: a body at rest will tend to stay at rest unless acted upon by some outside agency; or, a body in motion will tend to stay in motion unless acted upon by some outside agency. Thus, we see the law behind action. However, i f we are to be masters, in control of our destinies, then we must learn to act against inertia when we have good reason to do so. We must fight against the tendency to keep going just because it is easier that way, and make the effort to steer ourselves into new channels of thought and action. We pass up many an opportunity simply because once we are moving in one direction we dislike stopping, interrupting, or turning around. Watch for an example of this in your life over the next few weeks. It is almost certain to happen, since it is such a common occurrence. Be watchful for oppor tunities, or hunches, to turn around, or interrupt a line of thought or action, and be ready, if the urge is there, to stop, turn around, and take advantage of that urge. out

Summary of This Monograph V V V Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete monograph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. 1f It is not any more correct to turn our problems over to the Cosmic and forget them than it is to outline to the Cosmic the ways in which help must come. 11 We must first decide what our conception of the application of cosmic power is. U The laws of God are impersonal and impartial, favoring no particular individual or group. In every circumstance, then, one can expect only that which in justice anyone might receive. f Whatever the problem, the individual must do for himself everything he can. He must not expect the Cosmic to do for him what he can do for himself.

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The m atter contained herein Is officially Issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the “printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies of officially prescribed andphilosophical copyrighteddiscourses, monographs, dis sertations. scientific postulations, academic studies, diagrams, Illustrations, and charts’* as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Oraer are also registered in countries throughout the world.) All m atters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of. the legal title, and the rijpht of possession to this monograph is and snail remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R.herein C. andareit loaned shall beto returned uponsole its and request. The contents be used toforit the exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, tne Statutes authorized of this Order. A. M. O.and R. C.is aisviolation the onlyoforganization to use the Reg istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

I

THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V V V 1f In the words of Jacob Boehme we have two different expositions of the generating of the second (Cosmic Conscious) self in the first (self-conscious) self:

N o w the will cannot endure the attracting and impregnation, for it would be free, and yet cannot, because it is desirous; and feeling it cannot be free, it entereth with the attracting into itself, and taketh (or conceiueth) in itself another will, w hich is to go out from the darkness into itself, and that other conceived will is the eternal mind, a n d entereth into itself as a su d d en fla s h (of lig h t n in g ) a nd dissipateth the darkness, and goeth forth into itself, and dwelleth in itself, and maketh to itself another (or second) principle of another quality (source or condition), for the sting of the stirring remaineth in the darkness . The first eternal will is God the Father and it is to generate H is So n — viz., H is Word— not out of anything else, but out of Himself; and we have already informed you about the essences, which are generated in the will, and also how the will in the essences is set in darkness, and how the darkness (in the wheel of the anxiety) is broken asunder by the flash of fire, and how the will cometh to be in four forms, whereas in the original all four are but one, but in the flash of fire appear in four fo rm s . . . . Whereby we have given you to understand that the first will shineth in the flash of the fire a nd is c o n su m in g by reason of the anxious sharpness, where the w ill continueth in the sharpness, and comprehendeth the other will in itself (understand in the centre of the sharpness), which is to go out from the sharpness, a n d to dw ell in itself in the eternal liberty without pain or source .

- J A C O B BO EH M E, 1 5 7 5 - 1 6 2 4

Temple Section----------------------------------A M O R C -----------------------------------T he Rosicrucian Order ELEV EN TH D EG R E E

N UM BER O NE H U N D R E D FIV E

PA G E O NE

Beloved Members, Greetings! This week a Supreme Officer makes a contribution to our understand ing of Cosmic Consciousness by explaining how it may be acquired. ♦

*

*

A question which I think is in the minds of many people was ex pressed recently in a letter from a frater who asked whether a great many problems in the world today and their solution were not dependent upon the acquisition of additional insight into the laws of the Uni verse and the mysteries of life. There is no doubt that if every human being had developed his full potentialities, we would not be engaged in wars. In other words, whether they are the fault of individuals or the fault of nations, troubles are the results of maladjustments; they are the means by which we learn lessons to compensate for error. PERFECTION INCONCEIVABLE

If we all had Cosmic Consciousness to the highest de8ree> etror would probably be completely eliminated, and consequently there would be no penalty for error. Such a perfect world is inconceivable— a world in which every human being had advanced to a state of Cosmic Consciousness where his whole life and activities would be completely in attunement and in harmony with God and the laws of the Universe. Such would be Utopia, and although phi losophers and writers dream of an ideal state or an ideal group exist ence, the dream has frequently been established upon the wrong premise. As any Rosicrucian can see, such an ideal condition must begin with the individual. We cannot understand what kind of existence or what motives and incentives there would be for living and advancing any further if we had all reached a state of absolute Cosmic Consciousness and perfection. Surely such a state will exist at some future time, and no doubt when we reach it we will find more noble enterprises and activities for our abilities. There will be greater fields of accomplishment before us. There will be necessities toward which we must strive, although in all probability much error will be eliminated; that is, man will be able to function on a higher plane and his adjustments, in turn, will be more noble. We must consider Cosmic Consciousness as a process in our partic ular, state of development rather than an accepted thing in itself. Terminology adopted to describe development of any kind is purely arbitrary. For example, we might say that you, I and every normal human being in the world today possesses self-consciousness; that is, the consciousness which makes us able to put together the sen sations which we receive through our perceptive apparatus. I look out of the window of my office and see a number of things. I can combine what I see with what I hear, the way I feel, with

Temple Section E L E V EN TH D EG R EE

AMORC N U M BE R O N E H U N D R E D FIV E

The Rosicrucian Order PA G E TWO

past experience, with my ability to reason, and as a result gain a comprehensive picture of the view out of the window. I can place it as a certain scene and manifestation of certain laws of nature. I can realize it is a place I have seen before and that there is nothing unusual there insofar as I judge by my experience. In other words, our self-consciousness makes it possible for us to connect our experience in the form of reason and judgment with what we perceive at the moment, and to live intelligently in accord with the demands about us, social, moral and otherwise. Within our consciousness we construct our ideals, purposes and aspirations. Therefore, we might say that our self-consciousness is a cross section of what we really are at any one particu lar time. The question might be asked as to where consciousness leaves off and Cosmic Consciousness begins. Here we have the illustration of the fact that it is a matter of real terminology. Just as there can be no dividing line between night and day— a point where day ceases and night begins— or between natural and supernatural, or between any other two established phenomena, so it is that consciousness, self-consciousness, Cosmic Consciousness or any other term that we use is only an arbitrary statement of our conception of a thing or of a state of mind. CO N SCIO U SN ESS Consciousness is a condition rather than a static arbiA CONDITION trarily established point. Man can constantly raise his conscious level from birth through adult development; that is, as we gain understanding and new conceptions we are expanding our consciousness. To the fullest extent that we use our abilities we are further extending our consciousness, and the more completely we come into accord with the laws of the Universe and with the laws of nature and God, the nearer we approach to a point which might be called a state of perfect or complete Cosmic Consciousness. In reality we all have Cosmic Consciousness. It is not a question of the acquisition of Cosmic Consciousness but of the development of it. All members of this organization have acquired a certain degree of Cos mic Consciousness or they would not be in the organization. It is their realization that they are developing that causes them to go ahead and to study. Naturally, the desire of every sincere student is to know how to continue this development and how to make it more complete in the least possible time and by the best methods. As pointed out in some of the lower degree teachings of the Order, occasionally the least method is the best. That is why the Rosicrucian teachings considered as a whole are made for the development of Cosmic Consciousness. The degree of Cosmic Consciousness that any individual has at any particular time depends to a certain extent upon his advance ment in the teachings, but primarily upon his use and appli cation of the principles involved in the instruction he has received. In other words, the teachings themselves do not create a certain degree of Cosmic Consciousness within us.

Temple Section ELEV EN TH D E G R E E

AMORC N UM BER O NE H U N D R E D FIV E

The Rosicrucian Order PA G E TH R EE

They provide the necessary information by which we can be constantly developing and increasing the condition of Cosmic Consciousness within. Many sincere students question why it is that the conscientious member cannot be told more specifically how he can develop a state of Cosmic Consciousness; why he cannot be told how to do it as he can be told how to perform any other act of daily life and, then by practicing, improve and develop his technique. The reason can be illustrated better than it can be explained, but first bear in mind that it is impossible for a human being to understand a condition of which he has had no realization either through understanding or experience. In other words, we cannot conceive of a condition or a state that is beyond our knowledge and experience. If you visualize, for example, what the planet Mars would look like if you were suddenly placed upon it, your whole conception would be based upon past experience. While you could imagine conditions very different in organization and arrangement from what you are familiar with on this earth, you still would imagine nothing completely new. Artists have attempted to paint pictures of imaginary scenes on another planet, but if you analyze such a picture, you will find the elements are com posed of conditions and things with which we are familiar here, even though in another form. A higher degree of Cosmic Consciousness than you now possess is something of which you have no knowledge and have not experienced. Therefore, if anyone tells you that he can explain a process to reach that state, he is in error and either trying to deceive you or is mis informed himself. Try this experiment: As you read this article, stop for a moment and think of something you were doing six or twelve hours previously. Think of some event that took place in the past twelve hours that stands out vividly in your memory. Give your whole attention to that incident for a period of thirty seconds or a minute. After you have thought of it to the point where you almost feel you are reliving it, readjust your thinking. Eliminate from your mind the use of all words and visualization. In other words, without using words in your thinking or visualizing, try again to think of the same incident. You will find that you cannot do it; you will find that your memory is built up primarily of visual images and words. We translate practical ly all our experiences into terms of our vocabulary. S U B V O C A L ®ne m°dern psychologist defines thinking as the process of TALKIN G subvocal talking. To a certain extent this definition is quite accurate. When you think, it is usually no more than a process of talking to yourself. The reason you cannot clearly recall an incident from memory without words or imagery is because you cannot conceive of an incident except in terms of your experience. If you cannot reconstruct in consciousness an incident with which you are familiar without utilizing the products of your knowledge and experience, how could you reconstruct in con sciousness a condition concerning which you know nothing through

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N U M BER O NE H U N D R E D FIV E

PA G E FO U R

either knowledge or experience? For this reason, the states of develop ment of Cosmic Consciousness must be acquired by the individual. It is equally clear that the interpretation of psychic experience and psychic phenomena cannot be done secondhand. Psychic experience be comes understandable to you alone because the product of the experience is in terms of your own understanding, not in terms of another’s. We can illustrate this by the following example: Imagine that three in dividuals— a musician, a painter and an engineer— have an identical psychic experience. They have a vision which is inspirational and brings into their beings the ideals of good and beauty. Being creative, they seek to put something of the experience into What form would the interpretation of this psychic ex perience take in these individuals? Would not each convert it into terms of his objective training and understanding? Would not the musi cian find inspiration for a magnificent piece of music; the artist in corporate the vision into a painting; and the engineer express it in some structural achievement? If you could see the result of each one’s work, you might say that each was truly inspired. However, beyond that you could not trace in any way the source of these three manifestations as being identical.

m anifestation.

The psychic experience which you have will be transformed into ob jective manifestation on the basis of your own understanding and ability. No one can interpret that experience for you because you alone are obli gated to interpret it into purposeful existence in the world to serve others who are seeking for further development. Therefore, the acqui sition of Cosmic Consciousness is not an event— it is a process. The best we can do is to work to achieve the continuation of the process itself. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V V V Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the es sential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the com plete monograph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. H If all human beings were possessed of complete Cosmic Consciousness, error would be eliminated and Utopia would exist. Such perfection is incon ceivable to present-day man. H Cosmic Consciousness is a process of development rather than an accepted thing in itself. There is no exact point where it may be said that ordinary consciousness leaves off and Cosmic Consciousness begins. The degree of Cosmic Consciousness possessed by an individual depends primarily upon his use and application of the principles involved in the in struction received. f Cosmic Consciousness cannot be bestowed upon anyone by another. Each individual must acquire it for himself.

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Monograph 106

R E S I S T E N C O IN U . S . P A T E N T O F F IC E ( A L SO R E G IS T E R E D TH RO U GH O U T T H E W O RLD ) P R IN T E D IN U . S . A .

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The matter contained heroin is officially Issued through the Su preme Council of tiie A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem abuve. which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies of officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams. Illustrations, and charts" as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered In countries throughout the world.) All mutters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member recpiving. and are Imparted only as an Incident lo membership. The ownership of. the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and snail remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M.O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon Its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does. Ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of the Statutes of tills Order. A. M. O. R. C. is the only organization authorized to use the Reg istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them lo other allied organizations or movements.

I

THE CONCURRENCE

This W eek’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V

V

V

The following extracts from the writings of Jacob Boehme described Cosmic Consciousness from the Bud' dhistic point of view of Nirvana:

Scholar.—W hat is the virtue, power,

height and greatness of love?

M aster.— Its virtue is that nothing (whence all things proceed), and its power is (in and) through all things, its height is as high as God and its greatness is greater than God; whosoever findeth it findeth nothing, and all things. Scholar.— Loving master, pray tell me how I may understand this. Master.— That 1 said its virtue is that nothing, thou mayest understand thus: When thou art gone forth wholly from the creature, and art become nothing to all that is nature and creature, then thou art in that eternal one, which is God himself, and then thou shalt perceive and feel the highest virtue of love. . . . Also, that I said whosoever findeth it findeth nothing and all things; that is true, for he findeth a supernatural, supersensual abyss, having no ground, where there is no place to dwell in; and he findeth also nothing that is li\e it, and therefore it may be compared to nothing, for it is deeper than anything, and is as nothing to all things, and it is that only good, which a man cannot express or utter what it is. If thou findest it, thou comest into that ground from whence all things are proceeded, and wherein they subsist, and thou art in it a \ing over all the wor\s of God.

—JACOB BOEHME, 1575*1624

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NUMBER ONE HUNDRED AND NINE


PAGE ONE

To the Members of the Esoterio Hierarchy, Greetings! In the matter of making our psychic contacts more successful, it is important to remember that when one attunes himself with a person or place, he, likewise, becomes attuned immediately with the whole of the Cosmic itself. When you relax to concentrate and attune yourself psychically with a person or place, it is through the use of the power and the consciousness of the Cosmic that you do it. Therefore, your consciousness and the Cosmic Consciousness are attuned and balanced during such a period just as though these two forms of consciousness were one. This may explain why so many of the early experiments in Cosmic attunement do not turn out to be of the exact nature that the student anticipates. The student often feels that whenever he endeavors to attune with some person or place, his consciousness should Jump di rectly from his body to a contact with the person or place he has in mind with no other attunement taking place. This is not, how ever, the correct view of the process. It is not at all like a long distance telephone connection between California and New York where nothing between the two extreme ends of the connection is heard, seen, or felt. It is, in fact, quite otherwise: When you are endeavoring to attune with a definite place or person, regardless of how near or far that person or place may be, your consciousness becomes at the same time attuned with the Cosmic Consciousness oompletely and thoroughly. By that attunement, you are made sensitive to the whole of the Cosmio and to every point connected with it as you are to the place you are specifically trying to reach. In other words, the moment you attune yourself with the Cosmio, the whole of the Cosmio Consciousness is open to your consciousness. The person and place you want to reach represent only one of the persons and only one of the places that are open to you during the attunement. It is to be expected, therefore, that in the early experi ments the inexperienced student may become lost in this Cosmio Con sciousness, may altogether fail to reach the person or place he had in mind, and may wander around in great Cosmic space for the whole of his period of attunement. He may make contacts of various kinds, see vi sions and interesting sights but never once be sure whether or not he has made the contact he intended. It may often have been your experience that, the moment you attune with the Cosmic, you find your mind and consciousness filled with vi sions, thoughts, pictures, or ideas of places and persons other than the ones you had in mind when you started. This is, in a degree, like going up in a balloon in order to reaoh a distant city where you want to make a Cosmio contact. In-

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•The Rosicrucian Order

PAGE TW O

stead of the balloon's going straight up and then crossing the dis tance between you and your desired destination, it rises higher and higher until all orientation with the earth is lost. You find yourself in the center of unlimited Cosmic space with millions of impressions and ideas, pictures, visions, and personali ties. You become so intrigued by these things that when you do remem ber the purpose of your flight and are ready to go to the place in tended to make the definite contact you had in mind, you find the mass of impressions has blotted out the specific place you wanted to reach* The experience is a common one ; that is why so many students of the Cosmic principles think their experiments and tests are failures. Having entered upon their attunement, they begin to analyze and puzzle over the myriad impressions they are receiving. Thus, they bring themselves out of a relaxed meditative state back into an active, ob jective state. It might be better, if you want to get the most bene fit from your periods of relaxation and meditation, to take advantage of these periods of Cosmic attunement and absorb as many of the Cosmic impressions and ideas as you can even though you never complete your contact with the person or place you had in mind. Being attuned with the Cosmic is like being attuned with the voice or the spirit of truth. It is world-wide, universal, and un limited; therefore in a broad sense, Cosmic attunement may be looked upon as a great blessing and a great benediction. Gradually your ex periences with the Cosmic will teach you how to continue through all the allurements of Cosmic space to the person whom you want to reach. If the person or place you want to reach is well known, so well, in fact, that you might easily close your eyes and visualize it clearly, then you will find yourself less likely to be diverted or lost in Cosmic space. It, nevertheless, remains true that there are advantages to both methods. When you want perfect relaxation and an inspirational tonic to the system, all you have to do is to attune yourself with the Cos mic, having in mind a large number of places that you would like to visit and a large number of persons whom you would like to contact. In this way you have an opportunity of getting really important mes sages or ideas. Many of these impressions may be prophetic and give you an idea of what is occurring in some distant place, or what will occur. Others may reveal to you the significance of things that hap pened yesterday or today. All these will be lost if you become ana lytical and wonder why there is such a diversity of impressions when you had in mind Just one or two. The whole experience is somewhat similar to one's going into the open-shelf room of a large public library. The walls are lined with books on all subjects— scientific, historical,

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-The Rosicrucian Order

PAGE THREE

mystical. You may have gone for something on a specific subject such as reincarnation, a few facts about French history* or something on mural decoration; but after looking at two or three books you find yourself tempted by other alluring titles. Everything about those titles, the books themselves and the il lustrations in them, seems to invite you. If you have had such an ex perience or if you have attempted research projects, you will realize how easily one's attention is diverted. You may have entered the li brary with the best of intentions and a genuine desire for information of a particular kind; yet after an hour or two, you may discover that the original object has slipped out of mind and been forgotten due to your interest's having been carried in another direction. Entering the Cosmio is like that. It is a vast domain. It is deep and broad, rich and inviting. It is filled with everything to catch our interest. Impressions, thoughts, visions not only of today and tomorrow but also of yesterday, last week, a month ago, come in a dazzling array before the consciousness of the one attuned. It is always necessary in the Cosmic realm simply to break or push your way through its vast offerings to the direct point you have in mind Just as in a library you would push past all the tempting shelves to the one containing the book you want where you may have at your finger tips the special information that you need. Every contact with the Cosmic, though, is inspiring and benefi cial to the health, no matter what other purpose you may have in mind. Even if you do not immediately make the contact you set out to make, your whole body and mind will still vibrate in harmony with the Cos mic rhythm and your consciousness and the Cosmic Consciousness for the time being be identical. As a result, there will sweep through your very being a spiritual force, power and wisdom that will cause you to understand everything and know everything in a matter of minutes. It does, therefore, take skill to interpret your position and your relationship to the Cosmic after you have once made the attune ment. Centering your thoughts on one person, on one group, or on one location, and keeping that in the front of your consciousness all the time you are in Cosmic attunement, will enable you to reach those per sons or that place and not be led astray by other things. Nevertheless, it is still an excellent practice when you really have no need to reach anyone to sit down during the afternoon for a few minutes and allow your consciousness to reach up and blend with the Cosmic Consciousness. Ten minutes of this condition of being lost mentally in the big open space of Cosmio Consciousness is equivalent to hours and weeks of rest and recreation so far as the good effect upon the health, and especially upon the nervous systems, is concerned.

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AMORC

■The Rosicrucian Order


PAGE FOUR

During the week try this general oontaot with the Cosmio as well as some special contacts with places or points that you wish to reaoh. In the future, too, watch for the issues of the Rosiorucian Digest containing the special notice for members of the Hierarchy, and keep the appointment for the hour and evening stated there. You will be pleased to discover that on such oooasions, making oontaot with per sons or places will be easy and simple. May Peace Profound abide with each of you. Fraternally YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V V V Below is a sum m ary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete mono graph. try to recall as m any as you can of the im portant points you read. Then read this sum m ary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this sum m ary during the enduing week to refresh your memory.

A monition is an intuitive question and answer appearing in the consciousness simul taneously. The question with its answer comes unsumnioned and may be quite apart from one’s own occupation or field of experience. Usually, the individual does nothing about the information, for he cannot use it himself and hesitates to offer it to those who might make use of it lest he be con sidered presumptuous. The monition is an example of the Cosmic law of service in action. Its information should, therefore, be regarded as purposeful. If after several days no one contacts the individual receiving it, he should make an effort to place the information with someone who can make use of it. {J To ready oneself for participation in the carrying out of the Cosmic law of service, the following may be used nightly just before falling asleep: “I offer myself to the Cosmic in accordance with the law of service. May my powers of mind, the attri butes of my being, be used where they may best serve.”

I

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The matter contained herein is officially Issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered..................— in the United States Patent Office for purpose of J engraved, typewritten, andthephotographic and copyrighted monographs, disific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies diagrams, illustrations, and charts” as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in countries throughout the world.) All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an Incident to membership. The ownership of. the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does. Ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of the Statutes of this Order. A. M. O. R. C. is the only organization authorized to use the Reg istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

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THE CONCURRENCE This Week’ s Consideration of a Famous Opinion

V V V

•J Truth cannot be sold, nor can it be given away. It comes only from within, and is expressed in terms of in' dividual experience. Many years ago, this was stated somewhat similarly by William Law in his Liberal and Mystical 'Writing.

t It is therefore a vain and fruitless inquiry to be asking beforehand for the knowledge of any unpossessed matters; for knowledge can only be yours as sickness and health is yours, not conveyed into you by a hearsay notion, but by the fruit of your oum perception and sensibility of that which you are, and that which you have in yourself.

—WILLIAM LAW, 16864761

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

A MO R C

NUMBER 107


PAGE ONE

Beloved Members, Greetings! We now discontinue our analysis of the nature of Cosmic Con sciousness by Dr. Lewis and our present Imperator. But we shall summarize some important points related to what we have recently studied. First, we shall refer to what has been called the Sacred Casket in the ancient Rosicrucian writings. It is intimated that this was found in the tomb along with the "body" of Christian Rosenkreuz. Whether we look upon that casket as mythical or mystical, actual or theoretical, the fact remains that within this ethereal thing was contained the great secret of the Rosicrucians. I often wonder how many of our members have discerned what the great secret of the Rosicrucians really is. I know it took me a long time to find the secret; it took many years before I become convinced that there was any secret even to hunt for. Naturally there is no defi nite reference to it in any of the Rosicrucian teachings or, in other words, no description of it and no explanation. A secret would no longer remain a mystery or a secret if it were once explained. It is, however, very definite and is like the pure gold that the prospector seeks in the mountainside or in the soil that is washing along the banks of a river. It is so inter mingled with other minerals, so to speak, or other elements and jewels of value, that it has to be carefully sought for and care fully separated from all that hides it. Do not be discouraged if you have not anticipated it or even suspected that it exists, let alone- f 1 nd ing it, for if you do not make the discovery of Eh is cfreat secret m this incarnation, you will" in another. TTPie* great and important fact is that each~Hour~you Tiave iived,' ancl each 1es'ScmrôTi^raê~ studleHy has brought you closer ^ a M cleser to the secrfet. ft is something"that"will not ~be~revealed t6~yott~uhti1 the Cosmic intends it to be revealed and no one else can reveal it to~~— It must be yoir;-- Itîs-like— a gr'6at",— fundamental divine truth. born in you and created in you as something new. --------We often hear it said that the Rosicrucians are "selling truths," and therefore they are commercializing great spiritual wisdom. Truth can no more be sold or given to anyone else than can life itself. A divine truth, a real truth, is something that grows from a little mental thought-seed; it is inspired by intuition or by something you read or study, and finds fertile soil in your own being and grows there. Each such truth is a new thing to you and grows anew in your being or in your consciousness. After it has matured sufficiently to reveal itself to you and to receive your recognition to such an extent

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that you can sense it and call it a truth, it is then your truth of universal origin and divine decree and it belongs to you and you cannot pass it on to another, and most certainly you cannot buy it or pay for it. Any attempt on your part to reveal that great truth, or any group of truths, to another person would result in nothing more than a wordy explanation you might pass on to someone that would start him thinking, and thereby prepare the soil in his consciousness for the divine seed of truth that the Cosmic will plant there. All that we have hoped to do with any and all of our lessons from the earliest Degrees to the highest is to prepare the soil of your consciousness for the planting of the seeds. Any truths that you may be able to recognize now after your years of study with us are truths that have been born in your own consciousness and not given to you by us or sold by us. A truth revealed to you by some one else is merely a statement, merely a dogmatic or a pragmatic idea. Until you take that idea and nurse it, and until it grows into a blossoming and fruitful thing that is an entity by itself in your consciousness, it is not a truth. So you see that there is no such thing as the possibility of an individual or an organization either giving away or selling sacred truths. The lessons that you have just finished regarding the subject of Cosmic Consciousness have been filled with thoughts that may easily grow into truths. We have been scattering seeds of divine wisdom into your consciousness through these recent monographs and only through your meditation, concentration, contemplation, and analytical thinking can they become to you what they are to others. I hope that each of you has discerned through these recent studies that the coming of Cosmic Consciousness is like the change that takes place in young men and young women at, let us say, the tenth to the thirteenth years of their life. Aside from the sex changes that occur then, there are other psychological and mental changes that take place accompanied by certain spiritual changes. But these changes are so gradual that it is difficult to tell when they begin and when they end. We know that they have occurred by the results which they produce. We know when young men and women have passed through this period of change by the outer and inner manifestations, especially by the effects that the change leaves in the mental and spiritual attitude of the person. An attempt to say, however, that Cosmic Consciousness will come only at a certain period in each person's life— as we say of puberty, or other changes of a physical nature— is incor rect. Cosmic Consciousness may come to a person less than twenty years of age, or it may come, as it does to a great many, after eighty years of age. It is not uncommon for

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it to come to persons who are between fifty and sixty-fivg_.._ Not only must the body be more or lesg healthy before Cosmic Conscious.riess will develop but there must be a certain_number of years spent in-preparation of thought, meditation, and worthiness before the development of Cosmic Consciousness even begins. The preparation need not always be through an organization such as ours, but there most certainly must be a definite prepara tion. It cannot be slipshod and indifferent, achieved merely by reading books or taking a short course of personal instruction under some self-appointed teacher. That it can come without any connection with an organization such as ours is proved, but never theless there is systematic preparation, and that systematic prepa ration can be secured anywhere— out on the hilltop, or in temples and synagogues, schools, churches, or the private Sanctum of one's home. Whether we take the life of John the Baptist, of St. Paul or St. Joîn7or others, we fTn~d these^ great men spent much time. in prayefT meditation, and contemplation, and weTjEXnd that their 1 ives were"systematizecT. No doubt têiY“Tiburs and periods of reading, ” study, and contemplation were disciplined over a definite~length of time'before Cosmic Consciousness came to them. We know that it was so with Boehme, the old cobbler, and_with many others. It is notable that all of the men whose lives are mentioned in the history of mysticism, and who were undoubtedly illuminated and benefited by Cosmic Consciousness, were anything but weaklings in a physical sense. Some of them who lived in our own lifetime we knew to be strong, hale, healthy, happy, cheerful being totally unlike anything in the way of spiritual ascetics. This will give you another illustration of how the Rosicrucian Order with its international and worldwide accumulation of valued teachings can adjust and segregate, separate, and classify, the laws and principles and then reissue them so that in the light of united understanding, and in the light of localized conditions, each student will benefit by those principles which are the most KSlptui to him. JTOU nan imagine n'ow far the Rosicrucian teachings wo\IXd_“satisfy the people of the world today if our Order were to adhere to the extremist ideas that are so prevalent in some areas. We have taken the best of the teachings in each of the countries_in €fie~"years that Tiave passed . and after testing and proving their wbrthTnesg We~1niow bring forth from the ~archives of t)ie Order a properly' balanc~ed system of instruction that Is free from superstition ^ m d “false ideas and~^so~Tunaamentally true that people throughout the WOTTcTcarT apply it and use it with benefit. As to the great secret contained in the Rosicrucian I work, this is something that will come with the gradual 1 awakening consciousness of each member who is worthy.

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A MO R C

NUMBER 107

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to my mind, nearly all of those who are in this higher Degree of study are properly prepared, and there must be some degree of Cbsiriic Consciousness already developing within each one. That means that some part of the great secret is about ready to reveal itself- and-I shalT^not be Surprised to hear within the coming months that "each of you is beginning to sense some great InySterious power and force which is a manifestation of the secret.

I may say in passing that the great secret of the Rosicrucia includes-atfeunement with a forcev or power that~ acts' lir many miracujious ways,.__ It_s_eems £6-he_a protecting influence that keeps perIsons^ from_becoming injnrp.d ly or otherwise and helps to keep them well_and_healthy up to the time when the ultimate break down o f the body is necessary; and it seems'to come to their service to prevent meddlesome friends and malicious enemies from accomplishing their desires. It also seem s to carry with it the ability to protect- ancTT5rihg about the fulfillment of plans and to create things and have- them occur^when and where- desired. I can not be jnore definit e~~than this, beeause I may not be, but I am sure that’ you wilT all sense s omethin gof what I mean very soon. In our next monograph we will enter into a very extensive and interesting, as well as practical analysis of the effect of Cosmic Consciousness and Cosmic Illumination so that each of us may ana lyze his own present state of development and see how far he has been benefited by the early stages of Cosmic Consciousness, and then watch for the development of further stages. The lessons recently sent you, analyzing the mental and spir itual effects of Cosmic Consciousness, have only touched upon one phase of the results that come from Cosmic Illumination and Cosmic contact. If the effects of such Cosmic development within us were only to inspire us and to urge us to write and express idealistic thoughts and live a more idealistic life in a spiritual or ethical, as well as moral sense, it might be said that Cosmic Consciousness was something that was of value only to the ascetic, the monk, the clergyman, or the person who could devote all of his life to spir itual work. The truth, however, is that this is not the case. Therefore, I shall take the time to go into each and every point of the subject in a manner in which it has probably never been dealt with before. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER


Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete mono graph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. Truth cannot be sold. It is planted as a mental thought-seed, is inspired by intuition, and finds fertile soil in your own being and grows there. The coming of Cosmic Consciousness might be compared to the physical changes at adolescence. The change manifests outwardly and inwardly. The health is better; the energy is greater. CJ There is required a certain period of systematic preparation of thought, meditation and worthiness before Cosmic Consciousness begins. The age of the manifestation of Cosmic Consciousness varies greatly. CJ The great secret of the Rosicrucians includes attunement with a force that works in miraculous way*.

The Weekly Application

Whatsoever thou reaoluest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish.—UNTO THEE I GRANT

It has been apparent over the years that Rosicrucians have been blessed with the manifestation of a force outside themselves. Their attunement with cosmic principles has enabled them to see ahead, to plan, to tap energies beyond their>gwn all to the emTthat-ihay avoHfrrnanynoftKe mishaps and traps that others 1511Into. You •can flKd hi youi own lile that much ot your freedom from worry or concern is due to the tact that you have taken steps to prevent things that would have brought such misery about. You are allowing cosmic forces to flow through you, to help guide you along paths that are harmonious and worry-free. Perhaps it is notjiiways easy to recolteet how this has occurred over th«Tpaat~8everST~ysars,"bul if your fife is on an even keel, and if you are enjoying the fiiltftess of life, then you can be certffin that the force was working through you; protecting, advising, guiding', and building for an even greater tomorrow. In your meditations this week, think of the force acting through ygO~and~try'to~be aware of itapresencerespecaairy in those momenta ?arh day when you are conscious of theHbeneficence of life in your personaTorbuBinesa affairs.

This m o n o g ra p h is not subject to sale or p urchase by an yo ne . purc h ase

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Monograph

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108

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The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the • printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies o f officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts” as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in countries throughout the world.) All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of. the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso lacto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of tne Statutes of this Order. A. M. 0. R. C. is the only organization authorized to use the Reg istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

I

THE CONCURRENCE This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion

V V V 51 There are tw o form s of consciousness in the body. Concerning the difference between corporeal and incorporeal things, Porphyry, the N eoplatonist of the third century, says:

The Incorporeal governs the Corporeal, and is, therefore, pres ent everywhere, although not as space, but in power. The corporeal existence of things cannyt hinder the Incorporeal from being pres ent to such things as it desires to enter into relation with. The Soul has therefore the power to extend her activity to any locality she may desire. She is a power which has no limits, and each part of her, being independent o f special conditions, can be present every where, provided she is pure and unadulterated with matter. Things do not act upon each other merely by the contact of their corporeal forms, but also at a distance, provided they have a soul, because the higher elements o f the soul are everywhere, and cannot be enclosed in a body, like an animal in a cage, or a liquid in a bottle. The universal soul, being essentially one and identical with the infinite supreme Spirit, may, by the infinite power o f the latter, discover or produce everything, and an individual soul may do the same thing if she is purified and free from the body. -M ALCHUS PORPHYRY, 233-304(?)

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AMORC

ELEVENTH DEGREE

NUMBER 108


PAGE ONE

Beloved Members, Greetings 1 On the question of Cosmic Consciousness, we must have one fun damental understanding about its meaning. Here we are, face to face once more with the problem of terminology. What words are there in the English language that can describe most of the things we deal with in these higher lessons? In fact, what words are there in the English language that can describe any of the great principles that the highly advanced or advancing student of the Path deals with in his work of attaining mastership and perfection of life? Either we have to use commonplace words and give them a special meaning, or we have to borrow foreign words that have some special meaning. Very often the words we use have two or three meanings and the tendency on the part of the student is to give such words the commonplace meaning and to overlook the really high meaning that is intended. Now, when we speak of Cosmic Consciousness we do not mean con sciousness in the ordinary sense and we do not mean Cosmic in the ordinary sense. We have said in the earlier lessons that there are two forms of consciousness in the human body. One is the con sciousness of the objective mind, which is really more or less intellectual rather than anything else. We speak of this outer, objective consciousness as something that comes and goes about in our bodies like the blood or is as vague and indefinite at times as so-called memory. We say that when a person faints he loses con sciousness and, of course, we mean the purely objective mind's consciousness. We say that a person is conscious of music that is being played or unconscious of a noise on the street and we really mean that he is aware or unaware of certain sounds or conditions. And this awareness is not really consciousness but a matter of recognition or intellection. On the other hand, we speak of the other form of consciousness that is divine and is in every part of the human body, and which does not leave the body when we faint or are under the influence of ether or drugs or liquor. We distinctly state in the lower mono graphs that if a person is injured by a blow on the head he becomes objectively unconscious but his subconscious or Divine Conscious ness remains intact and carries on the work of the various organs of the body just as though nothing had happened, except that this subconscious consciousness immediately begins to work a little harder to try to establish a normal condition in the body and over come the effects of the accident. We further state in the mono graphs that this Divine Consciousness is a part of the creative forces and powers of the universe resident in every cell \ 7 tîe body* We saY that there is some of this higher Vyr/ consciousness in each cell of the blood, each cell of the \ / tissue, each cell of the bone and even in each little cell V that composes the roots of the hair.

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We have also pointed out that these cells, of which there are hundreds of kinds in the body, come under a number of distinct classifications; and that each class of cells is like a distinct race of man or species of animal life or vegetable life. Each of these different cells will reproduce and attract only cells of its own kind. We have called attention, in one of our monographs, to the remarkable manifestation of the laws of cell life in what is known as a cyst. This is an abnormal or strange growth that starts somewhere in the body by a few misplaced cells getting in between some tissues and forming a little habitation or lodging place of a permanent nature. These few cells, like all the cells in the body, try to build up a community composed of all the classifications of cells so that they will be a combination forming a unit. So the few cells that start a cyst will first attract a few more cells of their own kind and then begin to attract other cells that are nec essary to build a perfect unit. Therefore, they will attract some cells of bone life, some cells of hair, some cells of teeth, some cells of tissue, muscle, blood, etc. These different cells begin to multiply in their own image and soon we have a large growth which, when eventually taken out of the body, contains living hair, pieces of living bone, a perfect tooth or part of a tooth and other distinct parts of the human body. A tooth cell will always produce a tooth cell whether the cell is functioning in between the tissues of the abdomen or up in the gums where it belongs. Hair cells will produce hairs whether they are lodged in the abdomen or in the sides of the body or in the scalp or in the surface of the skin, and so it is with each of them. The reason for this is that each cell has in it not only the creative power of the great Cosmic Consciousness but it has a part of the intelligence or wisdom that is necessary for it to carry on its distinct and independent functioning. If it were not for the fact that blood cells would always remain blood cells and would never change to bone cells or hair cells, we would not have the wonderful circulating energy that keeps our bodies alive. Blood cells have to contact hair cells and bone cells every hour of the day in order to nourish these other cells, but if the blood cells were of a nature that is changeable they might come in contact with bone cells and become bone cells and no longer function as blood cells. Each cell knows only its own particular work and is like a one-track human— such as we often meet— who sticks steadfastly to one thing, right or wrong, whether the outcome will be good or bad, successful or not Now this Divine Consciousness (psychic consciousness or Cosmic Consciousness) that is in all of these cells is a part of the so-called Universal Consciousness of God. It is the divine part of us regulating and controlling and


AMO R C

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creating the care and upbuilding of the body. It is also due to this consciousness distributed throughout the body in the cells that we are able to function so uniformly, so consistently, and with such united harmony while we are asleep or unconscious objec tively. The development of Cosmic Consciousness or the coming of Cosmic Consciousness therefore means an awakening, a quickening, and a strengthening of this Divine Consciousness in all of the cells of the body. Now it must be understood that not all of these cells of the body are devoted merely to the manufacture and crea tion of the material parts of the body. There are cells that must create and build nerve energy. There are cells that must create and build the thinking power of the human body. There are cells that must create and maintain the energy which is used not only in thinking but in radiating thoughts, or in transmitting thoughts, or in having our thoughts extend beyond ourselves. There are other cells that are devoted to the maintenance of the aura that radiates from the human body, and there are other cells that produce vibra tory energy which is used when we give treatments and which radi ates from the fingertips or palms of the hands. In building up and developing Cosmic Consciousness, we in crease the influx of universal, creative Cosmic power in all of these divine or divinely-conscious cells of the human body. The result, therefore, of this increased Cosmic Consciousness is three fold: First it has its effect upon the material part of the body, and second it has its effect upon the so-called psychic or divine ly-conscious part of the body. This means that the development of such higher consciousness within us will affect us in a material physical sense and in a mental and psychic sense. There is one other effect that is the one which is generally referred to in all Oriental literature and which seems to be the only effect to which most mystics and most Oriental writers have given any considera tion. The third effect is that by the development of more of the divine Cosmic Consciousness within us we become more perfectly at tuned with the Cosmic Consciousness or Universal Consciousness and our lives become, in a spiritual sense, more harmonious with the higher laws and higher consciousness of the universe. Now you will understand why some mystical societies devoted so much time and thought to forms of concentration and forms of physi cal sacrifice and punishment in the belief that by developing Cosmic Consciousness and the increasing harmony with the universe they would become more spiritual. They quite evidently did notice that as their spirituality developed their physical bodies improved and they became stronger and healthier. But for some strange superstitious belief or reason they felt that the development of the physical body, or the strengthening of the physical body, was attracting too much of the Cosmic

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power and not letting all of it go into spiritual development. It was the spiritual development that they wanted and which they believed was the only thing to have in order to live properly. In order to overcome the effects of the physical development and improved health they purposely and wilfully tortured their physical bodies and refrained from eating, walking, exercising, or doing anything that would help improve the physical body. They purposely starved themselves till they were as thin as skeletons. They pur posely put themselves into horrible positions and tied themselves fast in these positions for years so that their physical bodies would become not only emaciated from lack of exercise but horribly distorted in form. This same idea is still prevalent among a few sects in various parts of the world. If it had been true that Cosmic Consciousness and the develop ment of it in the human body nourished and strengthened and de veloped only the spiritual part of man there would have been no need for these systems of physical torture and physical restraint. On the other hand, it was, and still is, absolutely ridiculous to think that the development of a healthy physical body is a detri ment to spiritual development. We cannot find in any of the sane and rational writings of the Great Masters— and certainly not in the life of Jesus who is acknowledged to have been at least one of the world's Great Masters— an indication that their spiritual de velopment was accompanied by any lack in physical development or in physical health. Whether or not Jesus worked much as a carpenter, the fact remains that in his spare time he did manual labor, for there are too many references to this, even by those who persecuted him as a religious fanatic, for us to believe that he sat around all day in his spare time and did nothing of a physical nature. The great amount of walking he did during his missionary life, and his well-formed body, and the fact that he was able to carry the material, wooden cross for any distance at all while on the way to crucifixion, indicate that he was not of the weak, emaciated, phys ical type that is exhibited by fakirs today. So we find from our more modern experiences, and by a review of the ancient experiences of dependable, logical, reasonable, thinking men and women, that with the coming of Cosmic Conscious ness there is a coming also of both spiritual and physical develop ment. The physical development can be divided into several forms as we will analyze them in the next few monographs, and the spirit ual development likewise is divided into a number of forms and classes of manifestation, as we shall see. We are going to take these different forms of manifestation of the development and analyze them carefully to see what effects they produce and how we are progressing in accordance with them. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V

V V

Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete mono graph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. 51 There are two forms of consciousness in the human body: (1) the consciousness of the objective mind; and, (2) the divine consciousness which is in every cell of the body. 5j Each cell has the creative power of the Cosmic Consciousness, and the intelligence necessary to carry on its independent functioning. 5J The divine consciousness, or Cosmic Consciousness, in every cell is a part of the so-called universal consciousness of God. 5| The development of the Cosmic Consciousness means the awakening of this divine con sciousness in all cells of the body. 51 The result of increased Cosmic Consciousness is threefold: (1) It is beneficial to the material body. (2) Affects the divinely conscious part of the body. (3) It brings a greater degree of attunement with the higher consciousness of the universe.

The Weekly Application Whatsoever thou resoluest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish .—UNTO THEE I GRANT

You will note that we are again emphasizing the importance of the body in out overall development. It is one thing to watch diet and exercise, and perhaps exercise restraint on physical indulgences, but it is quite another thing to deny the body reasonable sustenance and care. When the body is properly cared for, as the monograph implies, it will be an aid to attaining Cosmic Consciousness. Imagine how much energy is taken from your efforts to attain Cosmic Consciousness if your body is demanding it for its welfare. A body that is not properly fed, or that is made to hurt and suffer, will draw from your total energy reserve in order to find balance. It inhibits the flow of force, and your ability to attune to it, whereas the healthy body will lend of its reserves to your efforts to attain Cosmic Consciousness. The next time you have an ache or pain, see how it distracts from your concentration, how it cries oat for your attention. Then notice the difference when your body is in balance, and there are no aches or pains to distract. You will see that the state of the body is very important to the state of the imind, and, of course, this is true the other way around too.

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Monograph

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109

109

lotfarfiruri# R E G I S T E R E D IN U . S . P A T E N T O F F IC E I A L SO R E G IS T E R E D TH RO U GH O U T TH E W O RLD I P R IN T E D IN U . S . A .

The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies of officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts" as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in countries throughout the world.) All m atters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of. the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and shall remain In the Supreme Grand L>odge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of tne Statutes of this Order. A. M. O. R. C. Is the only organization authorized to use the Reg istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.


V V V •J That universal consciousness which permeates each cell of the body making for greater physical and spiritual harmony is spoken of in the following excerpt from the Kashf AbMahjub, the Sufi work written by Ali A1 Hujwiri, mystic of the eleventh century.

God divided the one substance of His love and bestows a particle thereof, as a peculiar gift, upon efvery one of His friends in proportion to their enravishment with Him: then He lets down upon that particle the shrouds of humanity and nature and temperament and spirit, in order that by its powerful wording it may transmute to its own quality all the particles that are attached to it, until the lover’s clay is wholly converted into love, and all his actions and loo\s become so many indispensable conditiom of love. This state is named ‘union ali\e by those who regard the inward meaning and those who regard the outward expression.

—ALI AL HU JW IRI, d. 1063

AMOR C

Temple SectionELEVENTH DEGREE

NUMBER ONE HUNDRED NINE

•The Rosicrucian Order PAGE ONE

Beloved Members, Greetings! In my last talk with you I described the nature and effect of the Cosmic Consciousness in the various cells that compose the human body. It might be interesting to know just how many cells could be found in the average human body and what their particular purpose is, and what they produce, but I am not going to take your time with any such long list of facts. Those of you who may be interested in this matter will hunt up the subject in some encyclopedia and fathom it to its very depths, but I imagine that most of you will not bother doing this for after it is all done it proves not to be the most interesting of sub jects. I doubt also whether anyone has ever compiled a complete list of such cells for no two human beings would be exactly alike in this regard. Nor do we have the same number of cells all the time. A great many cells in the human body are there for the purpose of destroying destructive or contagious or infectious germs. The more nearly perfect our health the more of these fighting warriors in the cell life will be found in our bodies; and the more sickly we are or the weaker we are at any time in our lives, the more numerous will be the contagious and destructive cells and the less numerous the fighters, because unless the fighters had been overcome and reduced in number there could not be any contagious cells or germs actively working in our bodies. Take the tonsils, for instance. Their purpose is to exude a very delicate liquid into the throat and this liquid is full of fighting cells of various kinds whose purpose it is to cleanse or change or destroy the infectious germs that come down into the throat and are on their way to enter the body. I do not know how many cells would be in a perfectly normal pair of tonsils, but there must be a great many and science has not investigated this mat ter as completely as it might have done and no two persons are identi cal in this regard. You must remember that in the water we drink and in the food we eat, and the air we breathe, all of which passes down part way into the throat, there are thousands of germs or cells of life that might become infectious or dangerous to our health, and nature tries to pre vent their destructive activities by robbing them of their power right in the throat before they enter the system. Incidentally, this will indicate to you how ridiculous it is to say that the tonsils can be removed from the throat of a child or adult "without in any way im pairing or injuring the health and normal standard of the person." You cannot remove any part of the physical body without lowering the body’s high standard of normality. All of the many cells in the human body have distinctive functions, as I said in the last little talk. They are like the employees in a great factory. There are some whose work is more or less monotonous. They do the same thing over hour


AMORC NUMBER ONE HUNDRED NINE

-The Rosicrucian Order PAGE TW O

after hour and day after day with very little thinking, because the functioning is purely automatic. Just as two employees here in our business sit at a large desk and do nothing all day long but pick up letter after letter or post card after post card from a basket and copy the names on them onto index cards to be placed in our files, so certain cells in the body do certain things all day long. No matter what letters, or how many, or from whom, are placed in the basket on the desk of these two girls, all they know they are to do is to take each letter in turn, find the name and address at the bottom, and write it on a card and send those cards to the Index Department. It makes no difference to them whether the name is that of a wealthy person or a poor person, a politician, the President of the United States, a famous person, or an unknown person. They never question whether the person is black or white, young or old, a Christian, a Jew, a Moslem, or a Buddhist. It is not their business to ask about the natures of the persons who wrote the letters nor do any investi gating or anything of the kind. Each of the letters in their basket has been read and examined by somebody and passed on to them, and their business is simply to copy the names for the files for future reference so that the large and cumbersome letters can be burned in the incinerator. In this same way most cells in the human body function. Not one of these cells is given any arbitrary, personal, discretionary power. The consciousness in it is of one definite nature, knowing just one functioning at any time and in all circumstances. That consciousness in each cell constitutes its intelligence. That intelligence can be in creased where it will work more rapidly, and therefore, more effi ciently and more in harmony with the other cells, but it cannot change its fundamental nature. The intelligence in a hair cell, by which it produces the root of a hair, can never be so modified or changed that it will produce the elements of a fingernail or of a bone, or of tis sue, or of the outer cuticle of the skin, or of blood, or lymph, or pancreas, or of any of the other scores of distinct cells. Cells can become sluggish in their action just as human beings who are well trained in certain functions can become sluggish. The other night I was watching some motion pictures of welltrained racing dogs that from birth have been trained to chase a me chanical rabbit on a racing field. Those dogs were born with the in stinct, or with the consciousness, of chasing and racing. This funda mental instinct of chasing a rabbit and not allowing any other dog to beat it in the race is so deeply instilled in the consciousness that it is said that twenty or more of these racing dogs will get along together in a kennel or anywhere else so long as they are not racing after a rabbit, or any other small animal; but the moment they begin racing they become enemies to each otheV and any one of them will attack and kill another dog that is beating him in the race, and they have to be carefully guarded to see that their jealousy does not turn into maliciousness and violent hatred.


AMORCNUMBER ONE HUNDRED NINE

•The Rosicrucian Order PAGE THREE

Furthermore, these dogs have only to be released from the leashes for them to instantly start running. They know nothing else in life but to chase and to race, but unless they are kept in practice and well trained they become sluggish. The great trainers of these dogs don't attempt to add anything more to the intelligence and conscious ness of these dogs. They do not attempt to train them to do many things or different things but they train them to do the one thing well. In other words, since these dogs were born as potential racers that instinct is carefully and gradually developed to a high degree, so that the instinct is more efficient and the results much higher and better. The same is true in regard to the cells of our body. Each may carry on its functioning true to form, and each may produce and do nothing more than it was intended to do, but it may do this work sluggishly, slowly, and more or less imperfectly. This condition is due to objective conditions in the body concerning which I will speak later. I merely wish to say here that although each cell has the divine consciousness and intelligence in it to do its work, and under normal conditions would do its work efficiently and without any special training, the fact remains that each cell has to contend with the physical body around it, and with the objective intelligence in the human body which often interferes with the cells doing their work perfectly. There is another analogy that I think will help you to understand the situation. Anyone who has seen a classroom of pupils, or an in stitution of employees, knows that no matter how well you may train half of them and have these properly experienced and ready to do their work efficiently, if the other half of the pupils or employees are sluggish or slow in their actions, the entire class or group of pupils and employees cannot work together harmoniously. Every schoolteacher knows that the high morale and the high degree of responsiveness of a class is often held back, or lowered in percentage by the actions of a half-dozen sluggish members. In business institutions this element of sluggishness stands out even more seriously and definitely than in the classroom. In any large business institution, as our own, for instance, every department and each employee depends upon the work of the others around him for cooperation. The Correspondence Department, which answers all the mail, is highly trained, efficient and large enough to take care of each day's mail as it comes in. It sees that it is answered each day. But this cannot be done efficiently unless the departments that first receive the mail keep up with their work of opening and distributing it to the Correspondence Department. If the department which receives the mail, and sorts it into classifications, gets several days behind, then


AMORCNUMBER ONE HUNDRED NINE

•The Rosicrucian Order PAGE FOUR

the Correspondence Department will be late in its replies and the Ad justment Department will be late in answering complaints, making ad justments and mailing out special matters requested by the members. The Recording Department will be several days late in recording the members* dues, and everything will be thrown out of its schedule and routine operation because of a few who are sluggish somewhere along the line. So we see that when we are dealing with the multiple number of cells in the human body we are dealing with a multiple number of enti ties and we have two important things to keep in mind: first, the in dividual activities and efficiency; and second, the collective effi ciency and combined cooperation. When we speak of the development of Cosmic Consciousness we are speaking of a dual condition in the human body. We are speaking first of the quickening and awakening of the individual consciousness in each cell so that each cell will be work ing at 100 per cent efficiency in its definite functioning; and second, we are speaking of collective cooperation and united functioning on the part of all the cells, thus producing a high degree of combined Cosmic Consciousness in the human body. Now such development is bound to produce results in many direc tions. Perhaps the very first indication of such harmonious, cooper ative, efficient functioning of the divine consciousness in our bodies is an improvement in health. Hardly any of us dare say what constitutes perfect, normal health for mankind, and it is even harder to attempt to say what constitutes perfect, normal health for any individual. We cannot say that the absence of any sensation of pain, or the absence of any indication of disease, or the absence of any outer abnormality would constitute per fect health. There are many hundreds of people in the United States, for instance, who suddenly pass through transition each year without any apparent reason for doing so. Many of these persons have been considered perfectly healthy and the average physician would have found nothing wrong with them in a general examination. A great many of these persons have their lives ended suddenly through so-called heart disease. There can be conditions about the heart that are difficult to diagnose or sense until the crucial moment is reached. The heart particularly is an organ that does not necessarily have pains in it to indicate when it is abnormal. There are many very serious conditions that can exist in the heart without ever causing the slightest pain or inconvenience until the fatal moment comes. The lungs, on the other hand, constitute a pair of organs that are the most flexible of any in the human body for they can be very far below par, very weakened, and in fact, greatly dis eased without greatly affecting the general health and without causing any outer signs or inconveniences. It is wonderful to


AMOR C NUMBER ONE HUNDRED NINE

•The Rosicrucian Order PAGE FIVE

think how life can be maintained in the human body even when only a part of each of the lungs can still function. Persons who have suf fered from tuberculosis in one lung and have had that one lung so near ly destroyed that it could not function at all, have continued to live apparently in normal health and carry on good work without any pain or inconvenience with the use of only one lung. There are perhaps very few human beings in the world today whose kidneys and bladder are in absolutely perfect health or a perfectly normal condition. There are very few whose spleens are perfectly nor mal— and goodness knows there are very few whose various glands are up to normal. Yet such persons may never have had a day of illness in bed and never had to have a physician examine them, nor have they found it necessary to take a spoonful of medicine or a single pill or tablet. It must be apparent to you, then, that if ill-health is so vague a thing that it is hard to determine, so perfect health must be more or less indefinite and hard to determine. It is very much like the matter of insanity. The greatest experts in the world have not been able to determine where sanity leaves off and insanity begins, and no scientist would attempt to say that any human being is one hundred per cent sane— and certainly no one could say that any person is one hun dred per. cent insane. If therefore we are in some degree of ill-health and do not know it and have no manifestation from it, and we feel as though we were in perfect health, how then can we tell when this ill-health is improved and corrected? In other words, if there is a possibility of each one of us having a certain percentage of abnormality in our human bodies or a certain percentage of weakness or ill-health without being aware of it, how are we going to tell when such abnormalities or weaknesses are overcome and improved? If you or I feel today that we are in per fect health and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with us and that we feel as well as we ever could feel, how then would we know if some great change actually took place within us and remedied something that had been wrong for a long time? We couldn't feel better than in perfect health; we couldn't sense an improvement if we already felt we were in excellent condition; and we couldn't have more peace than we have when we feel in perfect con dition. This explains why a great many who begin to have the benefits of Cosmic development within them sense so little change in their health. The average person who reaches the point on the Path where Cosmic Consciousness begins to function in him is a person who is more or less in good physical condition. Such persons usually are seventy-five per cent well or else they would not continue with the studies. A person who is half well and half sickly all the time or only fifty per cent well, will have so many


AMORC-


NUMBER ONE HUNDRED NINE

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bad days, or despondent days, or discouraged days, from slight illhealth that he will not stick to his studies or give sufficient time to them. When you find a student who is studying steadfastly on the Path and making advancement in the studies year after year, you usually find a person who is actually and seemingly in pretty good health. As Cos mic Consciousness develops in him there will be a great change taking place, but he will not know of this because he has not been sufficient ly ill to realize that there were any weaknesses to correct or any con ditions to overcome. This is why so many new students or old students on the Path will become discouraged in time because they have no one as a companion or friend who can help them to analyze themselves and see if any great change or progress has been made. This is all of the subject for this week, for I think I have given you a great deal to think about. By reading this lecture carefully a second time, and thinking about your own condition and progress you will find much to meditate upon and much to discover, and next week we will take up another phase of this Cosmic Consciousness. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V V V Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete mono graph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. All the cells in our bodies have distinctive functioning. The consciousness in each cell constitutes its intelligence. This intelligence can be increased to where it will work more efficiently and more in harmony with the other cells. Q Although each cell has divine consciousness functioning within, it must contend with the physical body around it and the objective intelligence in the human body which often interferes with the cells doing their work perfectly. In considering the multiple number of cells in the human body, we must keep in mind: first, the individual activities and efficiency; and second, the combined efficiency and cooperation. The first indication of harmonious functioning of the divine consciousness in our bodies is in an improvement in health.

T H E IN S T IT U T IO N B E H IN D T H E R O S IC R U C I A N O R G A N IZ A T I O N San Jose, C alifornia, U. S. A. Rosicrucian Parle

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The matter contained herein la officially Issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered In the United States Patent Office tor the purpose of protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies of officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis sertations. scientific postulations. philosophicaJ discourses, academic studies. diagrams, illustrations, and charts” as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered In countries throughout the world.) All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are Imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and snail remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive Information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of tne Statutes of this Order. A. M. O. R. C. is the only organization authorized to use the Reg istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

X

THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V

V

V

•I As our inner consciousness becomes more closely attuned with the higher consciousness of universal life, our thoughts are lifted up, our desires become less material, and our powers become infinitely increased. This universal knowledge is expressed by the great philosopher of the fourth century, Iamblichus: If the soul rises up to the gods, she becomes god-like and able to know the above and the below; she then obtains the power to heal diseases, to make useful inventions, to institute wise laws. Man has no intuitive power of his own; his intuition is the result of the connection existing between his soul and the Divine Spirit; the stronger this union grows, the greater will be his intuition or spiritual knowledge. Not all the perceptions of the soul are of a divine character; there are also many images which are the products of the lower activity of the soul in her mixture with material elements. Divine Nature, being the eternal fountain of Life, produces no deceptive images; but if her activity is perverted, such deceptive images may appear. If the mind of man is illumined by the Divine Light, the ethereal vehicle of his soul becomes filled with light and shining. -IA M B L IC H U S , A .D . 283(?)-333(?)


AMORC N U M B E R 110


Beloved Members, Greetings! Continuing on with our discussion of health standards, the lungs constitute a pair of organs that are the most flexible of any in the human body for they can be very far below par, very weakened, and in fact, greatly diseased without greatly affecting the general health and without causing any outer signs or inconven iences. It is wonderful to think how life can be maintained in the human body even when only a part of each of the lungs can still function. Persons who have suffered from tuberculosis in one lung and have had that one lung so nearly destroyed that it could not function at all, have continued to live apparently in normal health and carry on good work without any pain or inconvenience with the use of only one lung. There are perhaps very few human beings in the world today whose kidneys and bladder are in absolutely perfect health or a perfectly normal condition. There are very few whose spleens are perfectly normal--and goodness knows there are very few whose various glands are up to normal. Yet such persons may never have had a day of illness in bed and never had to have a physician examine them, nor have they found it necessary to take a spoonful of medicine or a single pill or tablet. It must be apparent to you, then, that if ill-health is so vague a thing that it is hard to determine, so perfect health must be more or less indefinite and hard to determine. It is very much like the matter of insanity. The greatest experts in the world have not been able to determine where sanity leaves off and insan ity begins, and no scientist would attempt to say that any human being is one hundred percent sane— and certainly no one could say that any person is one hundred percent insane. If therefore we are in some degree of ill-health and do not know it and have no manifestation from it, and we feel as though we were in perfect health, how then can we tell when this ill-health is improved and corrected? In other words, if there is a possibil ity of each one of us having a certain percentage of abnormality in our human bodies or a certain percentage of weakness or ill-health without being aware of it, how are we going to tell when such abnormalities or weaknesses are overcome and improved? If you or I feel today that we are in perfect health and that there is abso lutely nothing wrong with us and that we feel as well as we ever could feel, how then would we know if some great change actually took place within us and remedied something that had been wrong for a long time? We couldn't feel better than in perfect health; we couldn't sense an improvement if we already felt we were in excellent condition; and we couldn't have more peace

Temple Section

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than we have when we feel in perfect condition. This explains why a great many who begin to have the benefits of cosmic development within them sense so little change in their health. The average person who reaches the point on the Path where Cosmic Consciousness begins to function in him is a person who is more or less in good physical condition. Such persons usually are seventy-five percent well or else they would not continue with the studies. A person who is half well and half sickly all the time or only fifty pecent well, will have so many bad days, or despondent days, or discour aged days, from slight ill-health that he will not stick to his studies or give sufficient time to them. When you find a student who is studying steadfastly on the Path and making advancement in the studies year after year, you usually find a person who is actually and seemingly in pretty good health. As Cosmic Consciousness develops in him there will be a great change taking place, but he will not know of this because he has not been sufficiently ill to realize that there were any weak nesses to correct or any conditions to overcome. This is why so many new students or old students on the Path will become discour aged in time because they have no one as a companion or friend who can help them to analyze themselves and see if any great change or progress has been made. The next phase of our development through Cosmic Attunement is the result of the cumulative effect upon the cell consciousness of the entire body. As we develop inwardly in consciousness and become more closely attuned with the higher consciousness of uni versal life our thoughts are literally and figuratively lifted upward. When one has traveled around the world, and has noted the various ways in which groups of humanity live, one cannot help feeling that these various good, bad, and indifferent conditions of life are, after all, only a reflection of the consciousness within the people. Those who are quite satisfied to live in sordid environments in the midst of filth, sickness, poverty, and unat tractiveness have most certainly little or no development of Cosmic Consciousness within them. We see what has happened with the mystic in every land, and with the adept who has started upon the Path toward Cosmic Attunement. That path is just as definitely cut out in the road maps of the world as is an automobile highway that has been carefully engineered and planned and constructed under government supervision. The path of development, like the auto mobile highway, leads to the shortest, and nearest, and the safest goal of our desires. The adept who has felt the urge to step upon the path of development soon finds that he has unconsciously been moving in a direction that is entirely different from the path being taken by those around him. He finds his foot steps leading him away from the things that were

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satisfying in life, and the things which seemed to be perfectly natural. He seeks first of all separation, isolation, and silence. He wants to be apart with himself, and away from the multitude. He wants to be, at times, where he can feel that he is alone, except with the ever-consciousness of a Divine Presence. He wants to get away from the noise, hustle, and bustle of the routine things of life. It is not that he wants to shirk his duties or his obliga tions, or to ignore the work he has at hand, but because he feels that he can better accomplish his mission in life if he is inde pendent, and free, and above the limitations that have previously enslaved him. In all lands and in all times the student on the Path has sought the solitude of the mountains or the valleys, the seashore, or the woods. In selecting a place that is appropriate for his periods of meditation and silent contemplation he has unconsciously sought a cleaner, a more wholesome, a more ennobling and inspiring environment. Before he started upon the Path it may well be that the average adept has believed that an improvement in his earthly environment would consist only of an improvement in a material sense. He may have felt that a more magnificent home, more magnif icent gardens, more luxurious comforts and conveniences would con stitute a real improvement in his earthly situation. After he has placed his foot on the real path of cosmic devel opment he finds that his steps are leading him not to greater and more costly material things and conveniences, but really away from them into the more primitive, more natural, less costly and more wholesome places. He finds that the trees and shrubbery of an isolated mountainside become the most beautiful gardens and groves of any admired palace that he has ever seen. He finds that the hard rock on a mountainside overlooking a large valley is superior to any throne in any palace raised high upon an impressive dais. He finds that the most simple garment is more beautiful upon him and more satisfying to his personal vibrations than the most elab orate gown or costume of any court. In this way, therefore, he seeks the more simple and yet the more beautiful things of life. When he is forced to return at periods to the former sordid envi ronment and unwholesome conditions in which he lived he seeks to change them. That which he failed to observe in the past and which contributed to the sordidness now stands out as a dominant factor in his restlessness, and so he seeks means to overcome the undesir able things around him. A reflection of all this soon manifests in the desire to keep the body washed and clean by frequent ablutions. He seeks to ----- n clothe himself not with more costly, but with more simple an<^ c^-ean materials. His desire for elaborate menus which yVy may have been the goal of his ambition before he started \J on the Path is now changed, and a desire for the simplest of foods, yet wholesome and clean, is manifest.




PAGE FOUR

In his language he seeks to eliminate all that is profane, and all that is harmful and incompatible. Not only are the unpleasant words of the language of his associates eliminated, not only do profanity and vulgarity appear distasteful to him, but those words which reflect unkind thoughts or constitute critical comments or seem to pass judgment upon others are one by one eliminated from his speech. In matters of judgment and estimation he seeks to be fair and just, kind and tolerant. He prefers to praise rather than to condemn. He becomes unconsciously mindful of a great law; namely, that before the lips can speak words of prayer in the presence of the great Masters, the lips must lose their ability to say any unkind thing in the presence of anyone, anywhere. In a moral sense his code of life also begins to change. He remains free of man-made creeds and dogmas, but at the same time is willing to patronize anything that is helping others to find the Path. Those things which amused him and held his interest appear now to be futile and a waste of time. While he can admire classi cal music played upon an organ in a somber cathedral, he knows he can go out into the valleys or mountaintops and hear similar Divine music as the music of the spheres. His reading and study, all his hours of mental exercise, are arranged to contribute to his spirit ual, as well as to his mental and physical needs. In this way the adept on the Path manifests a great change that is taking place within him through Cosmic Attunement. It will be well for each one of you to spend some hours in contemplation of this great change that manifests itself in this manner, and see how much of a change has taken place in your life since you came upon the path of development, and then you will come to realize what Cosmic Attunement and development is gradually doing for you. In this way you will determine the extent of your progress, and at the same time you will quicken and strengthen the inner desires for more and more of this changed way of living. There is also the comforting knowledge that thousands upon thousands of others are walking with you along such a path and doing the very things that you are doing, and thereby making the Path a friendly one peopled with companions who are sympathetic in their understanding, and who are ready to share with you the greater blessings of this higher life. This is quite often experienced by the adept who in the past had to journey so greatly alone, and for this reason the associa tion of organization in the work of development is a very impor tant factor. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V V V Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete monograph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. As we develop inwardly in consciousness and become more closely attuned with the higher consciousness of universal life, our thoughts are literally and figuratively lifted upward. The path of development of Cosmic Consciousness leads to the nearest and safest goal of our desires. As the adept progresses along the Path, he finds his desires turning from material things to more spiritual things. 51 By practicing Cosmic Attunement, the adept soon observes a great change in his code of life. Note the change that has taken place in your own life since you came upon the path of development.

The Weekly Application Whatsoever thou resolvest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish.—UNTO THEE I GRANT If there were any message that would be most suitable to leave this class with, it is the message of simplicity. What a fitting climax to over two years of intensive study in the approach to Cosmic Consciousness. If there is anything that we should have realized about Cosmic Consciousness, it is that simplicity is the true order of life. The more aware we become, the more simple is our approach to life. We see less necessity for elaborate trimmings, those bits of adornment that we hide behind, as though our real selves were not worthy of exposure. With Cosmic Consciousness, we become more self-assured, and do that which is most comfortable and pleasing to ourselves. We so often get caught up in the demands of social events, or in the traditional trappings of our environment, that with just ordinary consciousness, we get little opportunity to see how easy it is to change all that, if we only wanted to. It often takes only one brave soul to challenge conventions. Would you like to go to dinners or parties in the comfort of your casual clothes? Would you like to leave parties when you want to—or not accept invitations to functions that you really do not enjoy? How many things are you doing because you “have” to do them? Regard less of your present station in life, seek for that which will bring you most happiness within your realm. You will find that you will lose little in the way of status, acceptance, or wealth, but that in effect you will be setting the pace for others in leading a life where cleanliness, moderation, and simplicity are the order of the day.

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V V V

The vitality and consciousness that surge through the healthy body are a part of the Divine Essence radiating from the Central Source of all power. Hierocles, the Neoplatonic philosopher, speaks of this Divine Essence as the Life Principle in the following words:

The intelligent soul-substance received from the Demiurgos (Logos) an inseparable immaterial body, and entered thus into being. She is, therefore, neither corporeal nor incorporeal, but comparable to the sun and the stars, which are the product of an immaterial substance. This soul-body, which human beings as well as “spirits”possess, is of a shining nature. The vehicle of the soul is contained within the material body of man; it breathes Life into the lifeless and soulless physical organism, and contains the harmony of the latter. The Life Principle of man is the inner being which produces the activity of Life in the organism. The inner man consists of an intelligent substance and an immaterial (transcendentally material) body. The visible material form is the production and image of the interior man. The external form consists of the animal, unintellectual, gross-material body. By the process of purification of the gross-material and ethereal bodies, a separation of living substance and dead matter is effected, and thus man may render himself capable of having intercourse with pure spirits. « -H IE R O C L E S , fl. ? 430 A.D.

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NUMBER ONE HUNDRED ELEVEN

PAGE ONE

Respected Members, Greetings! In the early Degrees of our studies much was said about Nous and its power to vitalize the blood through breathing. In various parts of our studies much has been said about the physiological, as well as psychological, effects of breathing. After all, breathing can be explained from either the chemical or physiological point of view or from a spiritual and psychic point of view. We have called attention to the fact that to emphasize the chemical nature of breathing or in other words, to view it solely from the materi alistic point of view, is as grave an error as to view it purely from the spiritual side and ignore the chemical. The Yoga systems of breathing give great emphasis to the spiritual effects. Those who outlined those early systems of breathing for the people of India and other nearby Eastern coun tries were wise enough to understand, however, that'deep breathing and proper breathing had a considerable effect upon the chemical composition of the body and upon the health. They were also wise enough not to give any emphasis to this point but to speak only of the spiritual effects of long breathing exercises, accompanied with a considerable amount of spiritual meditation. We may judge, from what is said in the Yoga systems, that the majority of those per sons who took up such a system of study were more interested in some form of rapid spiritual development than in the improvement of health. Looking at their living conditions from our modern point of view it would seem to us that the very opposite should have been true and that they should have given far more thought to hygiene, sanitation, and health, than to their spiritual natures. However, very generally throughout the Orient man seemed to appease his dissatisfaction with life by trying to raise himself up spiritually and ignore the physical. The poorer the country and the worse the health and sanitary conditions, the more these people gave thought to spiritual superiority and attempted to rise above their sordid conditions by ignoring them. In the midst of their squalor, disease, famines, pestilence, and other terrible condi tions they would take themselves apart to the mountaintops or valleys, or even to damp and unhealthful caves, and sit for hours in spiritual meditation accompanied by breathing exercises that they believed were solely for the purpose of helping them attain great spiritual development. With such desires on the part of many millions it must have been evident to those in charge of the mystery temples that unless these persons also did something to help their health they would pass through transition so rapidly and so quickly that they would never attain any spiritual devel opment. For this reason the subtle method was adopted of making the Yoga system of spiritual development include

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breathing of such a nature that whether the seeker for spiritual development desired it or not he was bound to improve his health. Certainly the method of having him separate himself from his sordid conditions and go out into the open country or on rooftops or elsewhere where he was not surrounded by contaminated air, and breathe deeply of whatever fresh air there was to be found, was bound to improve his physical condition. The mental meditation and the spiritual concentration helped him spiritually and, of course, improved his health enabling him to improve spiritually also, but I have no doubt from what I discerned of the Oriental breathing systems that seventy-five percent of the good that was derived from these systems was beneficial to the health instead of the spiritual side. To take such systems as these ancient ones and try to adapt them to our present-day Western world civilization is absolutely absurd. There is a great difference, for instance, between bathing the hands and the feet symbolically as a part of a ritual before entering a spiritual sanctum for meditation as we would do it here in the Western world today and the enforced bathing of the hands and body three times a day on the part of many of these people. In their case such ritualistic bathing was perhaps the only bathing that the body received, and if the ritual of their system had not called for such bathing some of them would not have bathed at all. BATHING

In traveling through their countries today one can still see the effect of this ritualistic bathing where they take the minumum amount of water and do the minimum amount of bath ing symbolically, and other members of the family, or associates who are not following the ritual, do hardly any bathing at all. If we here in the Western world attempted to give the emphasis to such ritualistic bathing that these people give to it our Western world people would object on the basis that if a body is clean it cannot be improved by any ritualistic ablutions and that aside from the purely symbolical element of washing the hands and feet there would be no virtue in rising from the morning tub and standing before a pool and once again washing the hands and feet that were already clean. Now looking at the whole matter from the spiritual and Cosmic point of view we know very well that there is more to breathing than the purely chemical. There is not as much spiritual effect to it as the students of the Yoga system were led to believe, but, on the other hand, there is more than the little that is attributed to it by the Western people. As the source of vitality in the blood cells and the resulting source of vital consciousness to the entire body comes from breathing Nous throughout the lungs, then we

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must gather that the vitality and consciousness that surge through a healthy body are a part of the divine essence that radiates from the central source of all power. We are frankly told by medical science and by chemistry that if we breathe contaminated air or poisonous air into our lungs we do several things: We not only devitalize the blood but we affect the consciousness of the body in its individual cells and in its collective form of cell conscious ness. Second, we cause the mind and brain to become disorganized in their functionings and we bring about a lack of coordination between the brain and the mental activities of the human body. A form of temporary insanity due to a form of temporary paralysis and lack of coordination in the mental and autonomic nervous system is one of the early stages of poisonous breathing. Much was learned in this regard during World War I when poison gases were introduced for the first time in a scientific manner. There were many forms of poisons used to contaminate the air for different purposes. Despite what many people think, the average poison gas was not intended to destroy life but merely to make the living individual incapable of functioning properly for the time being. The high value placed upon so-called war prisoners that were exchanged between the armies made it necessary to pre serve life more often than destroy it. A live prisoner, even though he were unconscious at the time, was of far more value than a dead prisoner. Therefore, the objective of every army during the war was to capture as many prisoners of the opposing army as possible while still alive rather than to destroy them. For this reason poison gases of various kinds were used which would temporarily incapaci tate those affected by them. Some merely affected the eyesight so as to blind or torment the eyes to such an extent that to receive relief from the excruciating pain and agony the soldiers would voluntarily give themselves up and become prisoners of the opposite army in order to secure relief. Sometimes whole companies of the opposing army affected by the gas would raise a flag and offer themselves as prisoners. On the other hand, there were other forms of gas that would have a slow and definite effect upon the mentality and the coordi nation of mental faculties. This would bring about a form of unbalanced mentality bordering upon what the average person would call insanity. The persons thus affected were incapable of follow ing instructions and would feel so weak and so lost in their mental capabilities that they could be easily captured and taken prison ers. Sometimes the effect of these gases was very slow and lasting, and the unfortunate thing about it is that, after many years had passed, there were thousands of men trying to go about their daily efforts and trying to support themselves and others, who were mentally incapable

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because of the lasting effects of the poison gas. They were really living dead men inasmuch as from a purely physical and chemical point of view they were about seventy-five percent normal, but from a mental point of view, they were less than ten percent normal. Now, if the air in great open spaces such as battlefields or in trenches and hospitals can be affected so easily that within a few minutes the breathing of the individual in such places will so affect the entire consciousness and the psychological and mental functionings of the individual that he will become abnormal, you may understand the importance of proper breathing of proper air. There is nothing so vitalizing in the whole universe as the element of Nous that constitutes an important part of the atmosphere. Nous itself is not a form of chemical but a form of energy and in any analysis it is impossible to reduce it to a chemical formula, and from a purely electrical point of view it is almost impossible except with some very special equipment to measure or detect the energy that constitutes the Vital Life Force. Nevertheless, the energy exists and it is one of the big prob lems that science has to solve. This energy is of a divine nature and of such a high rate of vibration that it is above and beyond anything of the ordinary electrical nature and it is, of course, above and beyond anything of a chemical nature. Its rates of vibrations are so near to those of Divine Consciousness that unquestionably the Divine Consciousness is absorbed into the human system at the same time that the Nous of the atmosphere is taken in through breathing. We find, therefore, that in breathing man is attuning himself, or chemically and physiologically harmonizing himself, with Divine Consciousness, and each deep breath helps to develop the Divine Consciousness in each cell of the blood and therefore in each cell of the physiological system. For this reason breathing has a very important relationship to Cosmic Con sciousness and the development of Cosmic Consciousness has an important bearing, therefore, upon the development of the mind, the brain, and the body. The more closely we are mentally and psychically attuned with the Cosmic, the more of the Divine Consciousness will enter our systems when we breathe deeply and with concentration and medita tion. The ancients who studied the Yoga system believed that breathing exercises accompanied by meditation would bring them spiritual development. Some of the modern exponents of this system have no idea about the necessity of being properly harmonized and properly attuned with the Cosmic before beginning such exercises, and therein lies the great error of their method. We may take a young child or young man or woman from high school and teach him to breathe deeply, using even the complex and very extreme breathing exercises of the Yoga system, and we may teach him— or her— to meditate upon some

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spiritual thought during each period of breathing, but no matter how perfectly these young people may follow these instructions, unless they have had some preliminary instruction and guidance and help that can lift their own consciousness up to some high degree of Cosmic Attunement before beginning such exercises, they will not receive from breathing and meditation the Cosmic benefits that they anticipate. The whole object of a system or course of instruction in mysticism and psychic development is to bring about a gradual Attunement with the Cosmic so that our breathing and concentration and meditation and the other exercises will bring us the highest degree of benefit. Breathing alone or meditating alone, or the two in combination are not sufficient. GOOD HEALTH

Another effect of Cosmic Attunement is in connec tion with the health. The higher we lift our con sciousness, the higher the breathing contacts develop our Cosmic relationship. Health is as much dependent upon the divine energy of Nous being thoroughly infused in the human body as it is depend ent upon anything else. Proper eating, proper sleeping, and the proper ways of living generally are not sufficient. There is such a magnificent difference between a person living normally, and in just normal "good health," and the person whose health is so abun dantly good and so recreative, magnetic, and effulgently radiant, that the two forms of health cannot really be compared. The one who is just in normal health has little or no reserve, or if there is any constitutional reserve it is easily and quickly wiped out by a short period of illness. Such persons seldom survive an illness or survive an operation or emergency onslaught on the system with out a great struggle and a long and tedious application for the assistance of Cosmic help. The persons, on the other hand, who are radiant and abundantly healthy have enormous reserve power and a great storehouse of recreative energy. Even when operations are performed upon their bodies and such abnormal destruction of living tissues is indulged in, the healing goes on very rapidly and the high potentiality of the blood brings about a rapid recovery. Such persons, too, are enabled to do a great deal of healing because of their own abundant supply of healing power and the fact that it radiates freely as an overflow of energy from their hands and even from the thoughts they send forth. Thus the development of Cosmic Consciousness is not wholly and purely a mystical thing, unless, as Rosicrucians, we include all of the divine principles as being mystical. From our point of view, the laws of mysticism apply to everything in life, but from the Eastern point of view mysticism applies particu larly to those extreme spiritual conditions which are entirely separate from the physical existence. Therefore one may say that the Eastern point of view is sometimes a

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fanatical one and we should not be surprised to find that much of their mysticism tends toward fanatical practices and that those who claim the utmost of mystical development are usually poor in physical health and with bodies rapidly wasting away. Taking all of this into consideration we see that Cosmic Attunement may be going on within our systems and building up a great storehouse of health and energy that does not readily mani fest itself except when there is a need for it to do so. In the person who needs such additional health, the benefits will come about slowly and gradually without making pretentious manifesta tions and the person may not know or may not realize for a long time just what wonderful effects of Cosmic development are taking place within. However, because there always comes a time in the life of each person when this will become manifest, I have given this time to an explanation of the physiological side of the Cosmic development. Next week we shall take up another phase of this important subject. * Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

The Weekly Application Whatsoever thou resolvest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish.—UNTO THEE / GRANT

Cosmic Consciousness is a state of exalted consciousness that any of us might experience, if only for a moment. The perfect attunement that leads to this may happen accidentally at first, or when we least expect it. It may flash by as a result of our early experiments with attunement. When we have the experience, we have that momentary sense of at-one-ness with the ALL. For a moment, we feel as though we ARE the Cosmic, and not just one of its manifestations. As we develop, the Cosmic Consciousness experience does not change in its quality or essence. What changes is our ability to reach that experience more readily, and to prolong it beyond just a momentary flash. This is what we as Rosicrucians are seeking. During the coming week, prepare yourself as you would for a normal attune ment with the Inner Self. When comfortable, and either in silence or in an atmo sphere of inspiring, harmonic music, let your thoughts soar, with the petition on your lips to be at one with the Cosmic, completely devoid of a sense of Self, no longer a limited entity of the Cosmic, but the Cosmic itself. Your mind, your being, will be the Cosmic Being, the Cosmic Mind. Once you achieve this per fect communion, you will find it easier to reach it again and again. You will also find it a perfect source of information and inspiration.


Ifl Breathing can be explained either from the physiological or the spiritual point of view. CJ The Yoga systems of breathing give emphasis to the spiritual effects, paying little attention to the physical effects. I]J It is unwise to try to adapt such ancient systems to our present-day Western civilization. <]J The source of vitality in the blood cells comes from breathing Nous. The vitality and consciousness that surge through the healthy body are a part of the divine essence radiating from the central source of all power. I]J Each breath helps to develop the Divine Consciousness in each cell of the blood; therefore, breathing has an important relationship to Cosmic Consciousness, and the Cosmic Consciousness has an important bearing upon the mind, the brain, and the body. CJ The more closely we are mentally and psychically attuned with the Cosmic, the more the Divine Consciousness will enter our systems when we breathe deeply and with concentration.

To the Brethren of the Eleventh Degree, Under the Auspices of the Rose-Croix, Salutem Punctis Trianguli! Respected Member: Even though our Order enjoys a large membership throughout the world, we know that you join with the Imperator in realizing that the total membership can be increased to an even greater extent. This expansion can be brought about by the wholehearted efforts of every member, and especially those in this Degree. There are many in this world of turmoil who are looking for the consolation to be found in the Rosicrucian teachings, and they know not where to seek. Will you not join with us in helping to extend the light of mystical knowledge, so that others may benefit as you have? It is human nature to crusade valiantly for a worthy cause. Perhaps you have noticed how the members of various churches carry on strenuous campaigns for what they feel is a just and righteous cause. Though ours is not a religious organization, it is certainly a spiritual cause. A strong crusade by our members can help to make our Order greater and its work even more far-reaching. This is a fraternal service in which you and every member can participate. Although you have undoubtedly served the Order in the past by bringing into it one or more new members, we will appreciate it if you can find it convenient to renew your efforts in this regard. Help others to be benefited by mystical knowledge as you have been benefited. Let your friends know of the Order and what its teachings can do for them. Always carry leaflets and booklets for distribution; and be sure that application blanks are on your person at all times. Write to the Grand Lodge for a new supply of these. Be ever mindful that it is the duty of every Rosicrucian to help restore the light of truth and knowledge to a darkened world. This can be done only by helping others to find the light. Thus you will render a threefold service-to the new member, to the Order, and to yourself. With all good wishes for Peace Profound, Sincerely and fraternally,

T-ll-110 K-273 491

Grand Master


O R G A N IZ A T I O N


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The matter contained herein Is officially Issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies of officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts” as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered In countries throughout the world.) All m atters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and snail remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate ali rights of the member, Ts aisviolation tne Statutes authorized of this Order. A. M. O.and R. C. the onlyoforganization to use the Reg istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.


V V V Q The vitality and consciousness that surge through the healthy body are a part of the divine essence radiating K ” from the central source of all power. Hierodes, the Neo' platonic philosopher, speaks of this divine essence as the f" Life Principle in the following words:

The intelligent soul'substance received from the Demiurgos (Logos) an inseparable immaterial body, and entered thus into being. She is, therefore, neither corporeal nor incorporeal, but comparable to the sun and the stars, which are the product of an immaterial substance. This soubbody, which human beings as well as “spirits” possess, is of a shining nature. The vehicle of the soul is contained within the material body of man; it breathes Life into the lifeless and soulless physical organism, and contains the hat' mony of the latter. The Life Principle of man is the inner being which pro' duces the activity of Life in the organism. The inner man consists of an intelligent substance and an immaterial (transcendentally material) body. The visible material form is the production and image of the interior man. The external form consists of the animal, unintellectual, gross'material body. By the process of purification of the gross'material and ethereal bodies, a separation of living substance and dead matter is effected, and thus man may render himself capable of having intercourse with pure spirits. —HIEROCLES, 430(?) A.D.


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Beloved Members, Greetings! In the early Degrees of our studies much was said about nous and its power to vitalize the blood through breathing. In various parts of our studies much has been said about the physiological, as well as psychological, effects of breathing. After all, breathing can be explained from either the chemical or physiological point of view or from a spiritual and psychic point of view. We have called attention to the fact that to emphasize the chemical nature of breathing or in other words, to view it solely from the materialistic point of view, is as grave an error as to view it purely from the spiritual side and ignore the chemical. The Yoga systems of breathing give great emphasis to the spirit ual effects. Those who outlined those early systems of breathing for the people of India and other nearby Oriental countries were wise enough to understand, however, that deep breathing and proper breath ing had a considerable effect upon the chemical composition of the body and upon the health. They were also wise enough not to give any emphasis to this point but to speak only of the spiritual effects of long breathing exercises, accompanied with a considerable amount of spiritual meditation. We may Judge, from what is said in the Yoga systems, that the majority of those persons who took up such a system of study were more interested in some form of rapid spiritual develop ment than in the improvement of health. Looking at their living con ditions from our modern point of view it would seem to us that the very opposite should have been true and that they should have given far more thought to hygiene, sanitation, and health, than to their spiritual natures. However, very generally throughout the Orient man seemed to appease his dissatisfaction with life by trying to raise himself up spiritually and ignore the physical. The poorer the country and the worse the health and sanitary conditions, the more these people gave thought to spiritual superiority and attempted to rise above their sordid conditions by ignoring them. In the midst of their squalor, disease, famines, pestilence, and other terrible conditions they would take themselves apart to the mountaintops or valleys, or even to damp and unhealthful caves, and sit for hours in spiritual medi tation accompanied by breathing exercises that they believed were solely for the purpose of helping them attain great spiritual de velopment. With such desires on the part of many millions it must have been evident to those in charge of the mystery temples that unless these persons also did something to help their health they would pass through transition so rapidly and so quickly that they would never attain any spiritual development. For this reason the subtle method was adopted of making the Yoga system of


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spiritual development include breathing of such a nature that whether the seeker for spiritual development desired it or not he was bound to improve his health. Certainly the method of having him separate himself from his sordid conditions and go out into the open country or on roof tops or elsewhere where he was not surrounded by contaminated air, and breathe deeply of whatever fresh air there was to be found, was bound to improve his physical condition. The mental meditation and the spirit ual concentration helped him spiritually and, of course, improved his health enabling him to improve spiritually also, but I have no doubt from what I discerned of the Oriental breathing systems that seventyfive percent of the good that was derived from these systems was bene ficial to the health instead of the spiritual side. To take such systems as these ancient ones and try to adapt them to our present-day Western world civilization is absolutely absurd. There is a great difference, for instance, between bathing the hands and the feet symbolically as a part of a ritual before entering a spiritual sanctum for meditation as we would do it here in the Western world today and the enforced bathing of the hands and body three times a day on the part of many of these Orientals. In their case such ritualistic bathing was perhaps the only bathing that the body re ceived, and if the ritual of their system had not called for such bathing some of them would not have bathed at all. In traveling through their countries today one can still see the effect of this ritualistic bathing where they take the minimum amount of water and do the minimum amount of bathing symbolically, and other members of the family, or associates who are not following the ritual, do hardly any bathing at all. If we here in the Western world at tempted to give the emphasis to such ritualistic bathing that the Orientals give to it our Western world people would object on the basis that if a body is clean it cannot be improved by any ritualistic ablutions and that aside from the purely symbolical element of wash ing the hands and feet there would be no virtue in rising from the morning tub and standing before a pool and once again washing the hands and feet that were already clean. Now looking at the whole matter from the spiritual and Cosmic point of view we know very well that there is more to breathing than the purely chemical. There is not as much spiritual effect to it as the students of the Yoga system were led to believe, but, on the other hand, there is more than the little that is attributed to it by the unthinking Western people. As the source of vitality in the blood cells and the re sulting source of vital consciousness to the entire body comes from breathing nous throughout the lungs, then we must gather

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that the vitality and consciousness that surge through a healthy body are a part of the divine essence that radiates from the central source of all power. We are frankly told by medical science and by chemistry that if we breathe contaminated air or poisonous air into our lungs we do several things: We not only devitalize the blood but we affect the consciousness of the body in its individual cells and in its col lective form of cell consciousness. Second, we cause the mind and brain to become disorganized in their functionings and we bring about a lack of coordination between the brain and the mental activities of the human body. A form of temporary insanity due to a form of temporary paralysis and lack of coordination in the mental and sympathetic nervous system is one of the early stages of poisonous breathing. Much was learned in this regard during World War I when poison gases were introduced for the first time in a scientific manner. There were many forms of poisons used to contaminate the air for different purposes. Despite what many people think, the average poison gas was not intended to destroy life but merely to make the living individual incapable of functioning properly for the time be ing. The high value placed upon so-called war prisoners that were ex changed between the armies made it necessary to preserve life more often than destroy it. A live prisoner, even though he were uncon scious at the time, was of far more value than a dead prisoner. Therefore, the objective of every army during the war was to cap ture as many prisoners of the opposing army as possible while still alive rather than to destroy them. For this reason poison gases of various kinds were used which would temporarily incapacitate those affected by them. Some merely affected the eyesight so as to blind or torment the eyes to such an extent that to receive relief from the excruciating pain and agony the soldiers would voluntarily give them selves up and become prisoners of the opposite army in order to secure relief. Sometimes whole companies of the opposing army affected by the gas would raise a flag and offer themselves as prisoners. On the other hand, there were other forms of gas that would have a slow and definite effect upon the mentality and the coordination of mental faculties. This would bring about a form of unbalanced men tality bordering upon what the average person would call insanity. The persons thus affected were incapable of following instructions and would feel so weak and so lost in their mental capabilities that they could be easily captured and taken prisoners. Sometimes the effect of these gases was very slow and lasting, and the unfortunate thing about it is that, after many years had passed, there were thou sands of men trying to go about their daily efforts and trying to support themselves and others, who were mentally incapable because of the lasting effects of the poison gas. They were really living dead men inasmuch as from a purely physi cal and chemical point of view they were about seventy-five


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percent normal, but from a mental point of view, they were less than ten percent normal. Now, if the air in great open spaces such as battlefields or in trenches and hospitals can be affected so easily that within a few minutes the breathing of the individual in such places will so affect the entire consciousness and the psychological and mental functionings of the individual that he will become abnormal, you may understand the importance of proper breathing of proper air. There is nothing so vitalizing in the whole universe as the element of nous that con stitutes an important part of the atmosphere. Nous itself is not a form of chemical but a form of energy and in any analysis it is im possible to reduce it to a chemical formula, and from a purely elec trical point of view it is almost impossible except with some very special equipment to measure or detect the energy that constitutes the vital life force. Nevertheless, the energy exists and it is one of the big problems that science has to solve. This energy is of a divine nature and of such a high rate of vibration that it is above and beyond anything of the ordinary electrical nature and it is, of course, above and beyond anything of a chemical nature. Its rates of vibrations are so near to those of divine consciousness that unquestionably the divine con sciousness is absorbed into the human system at the same time that the nous of the atmosphere is taken in through breathing. We find, there fore, that in breathing man is attuning himself, or chemically and physiologically harmonizing himself, with divine consciousness, and each deep breath helps to develop the divine consciousness in each cell of the blood and therefore in each cell of the physiological sys tem. For this reason breathing has a very important relationship to Cosmic Consciousness and the development of Cosmic Consciousness has an important bearing, therefore, upon the development of the mind, the brain, and the body. The more closely we are mentally and psychically attuned with the Cosmic, the more of the divine consciousness will enter our systems when we breathe deeply and with concentration and meditation. The ancients who studied the Yoga system believed that breathing exer cises accompanied by meditation would bring them spiritual develop ment. Some of the modern exponents of this system have no idea about the necessity of being properly harmonized and properly attuned with the Cosmic before beginning such exercises, and therein lies the great error of their method. We may take a young child or young man or woman from high school and teach him .to breathe deeply, using even the complex and very extreme breathing exercises of the Yoga system, and we may teach him— or her— to meditate upon some spiritu al thought during each period of breathing, but no matter how perfectly these young people may follow these instruc tions, unless they have had some preliminary instruction and



The Rosicrucian Order PAGE FIVE

guidance and help that can lift their own consciousness up to some high degree of Cosmic attunement before beginning such exercises, they will not receive from breathing and meditation the Cosmic benefits that they anticipate. The whole object of a system or course of instruction in mysti cism and psychic development is to bring about a gradual attunement with the Cosmic so that our breathing and concentration and meditation and the other exercises will bring us the highest degree of benefit. Breathing alone or meditating alone, or the two in combination are not sufficient. Another effect of Cosmic attunement is in connection with the health. The higher we lift our consciousness, the higher the breath ing contacts develop our Cosmic relationship. Health is as much de pendent upon the divine energy of nous being thoroughly infused in the human body as it is dependent upon anything else. Proper eating, proper sleeping, and the proper ways of living generally are not suf ficient. There is such a magnificent difference between a person liv ing normally, and in Just normal "good health," and the person whose health is so abundantly good and so re-creative, magnetic, and effulgently radiant, that the two forms of health cannot really be compared. The one who is just in normal health has little or no re serve, or if there is any constitutional reserve it is easily and quickly wiped out by a short period of illness. Such persons seldom survive an illness or survive an operation or emergency onslaught on the system without a great struggle and a long and tedious application for the assistance of Cosmic help. The persons, on the other hand, who are radiant and abundantly healthy have enormous reserve power and a great storehouse of re-creative energy. Even when operations are performed upon their bodies and such abnormal destruction of living tissues is indulged in, the healing goes on very rapidly and the high potentiality of the blood brings about a rapid recovery. Such persons, too, are enabled to do a great deal of healing because of their own abundant supply of healing power and the fact that it radiates freely as an overflow of energy from their hands and even from the thoughts they send forth. Thus the development of Cosmic Consciousness is not wholly and purely a mystical thing, unless, as Rosicrucians, we include all of the divine principles as being mystical. From our point of view, the laws of mysticism apply to everything in life, but from the Eastern point of view mysticism applies only to those extreme spiritual condi tions which are entirely separate from the physical existence. There fore one may easily say that the Oriental point of view is a fanatical one and we should not be surprised to find that all of their mysticism tends toward fanatical practices and that those who claim the utmost of mystical development are usually poor in Dhvsical health and with bodies rapidly wasting away.




PAGE SIX

Taking all of this into consideration we see that Cosmic attunement may be going on within our systems and building up a great store house of health and energy that does not readily manifest itself ex cept when there is a need for it to do so. In the person who needs such additional health, the benefits will come about slowly and gradu ally without making pretentious manifestations and the person may not know or may not realize for a long time Just what wonderful effects of Cosmic development are taking place within. However, because there always comes a time in the life of each person when this will become manifest, I have given this time to an explanation of the physiologi cal side of the Cosmic development. Next week we shall take up an other phase of this important subject. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V V V Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget After you have carefully read the complete mono graph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. (f Breathing can be explained either from the physiological or the spiritual point of view. 4} The Yoga systems of breathing give emphasis to the spiritual effects, paying little attention to the physical effects. It is unwise to try to adapt such ancient systems to our present-day Western civiliza tion. 4) The source of vitality in the blood cells comes from breathing nous. The vitality and consciousness that surge through the healthy body are a part of the divine essence radiating from the central source of all power. Q Each breath helps to develop the divine consciousness in each cell of the blood; therefore, breathing has an important relationship to Cosmic Consciousness, and the Cosmic Consciousness has an important bearing upon the mind, the brain, and the body. Q The more closely we are mentally and psychically attuned with the Cosmic, the more the divine consciousness will enter our systems when we breathe deeply and with con centration.

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Monograph

11 2 R E G I S T E R E D IN U . S . P A T E N T O F F I C E ( A L S O R E G IS T E R E D TH RO U GH O U T T H E W O RLD > P R IN T E D IN U . S , A .

The m atter contained herein is officially issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the •'printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies of officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis sertations, scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts" as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in countri«3 throughout the world.) All matters herein contained are strictly confideminl to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident lo membership. The ownership of. the legal titlp. and the right of possession to this monograph is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of tne Statutes of this Order. A. M. O. R. C. is the only organization authorized to use the Reg istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

I


V V V Within the storehouse of knowledge there are two kinds of knowledge: the acquired, and the instinctive. Ramakrishna in the following parable has compared these two kinds of knowledge:

There is a fabled species of birds called ‘Homa,’ which live so high in the heavens, and so dearly love those regions, that they never condescend to come down to the earth. Even their eggs, which, when laid in the s1{y, begin to fall down to the earth attracted by gravity, are said to get hatched in the middle of their downward course and give birth to the young ones. The fledglings at once find out that they are falling down, and immediately change their course and begin to fly up towards their home, drawn thither by instinct. Men such as S u \a Deva, Jârada, Jesus,

SamXarakarya,

and

others, are li\e those birds, who even in their boyhood give up all attach' ments to the things of this world and betake themselves to the highest regions of true Knowledge and Divine Light.

—SRI RAM AKRISHNA, 18344886

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Temple SectionE L E V E N T H DEGREE

NUMBER ONE H U N D R E D TWELVE

■The Rosicrucian Order PAGE O N E

Beloved Members, Greetings! Perhaps the most important effect of Cosmic Consciousness de veloping in the human being, aside from its principal spiritual and psychic effects, is that of the direct and indirect benefits to the mind in man— in other words, the mental and intellectual benefits that very gradually build up and which are not easily made manifest except when the occasion necessitates. The wonderful ability of the mind, subconscious and objective, to cooperate and manifest intellectual development was brought home to me very clearly one evening when my youngest son introduced to me a school chum who was unusually expert at the piano. This young man, in his eighteenth year, said that he had been playing the piano ever since he was a child but had never taken a single lesson. He could read a few notes of music as a result of some singing and music les sons given in the public schools, and with this meager knowledge he was able to pick out the melody of any song with one finger after a little difficulty. But he could sit down at the piano at any time after having once heard any of the popular pieces of music, or any semiclassical piece, and play it not only with fascinating and attrac tive variations and modern treatment of time and rhythm, but he was able almost unconsciously to make the chords played by each of his hands correctly harmonize in accordance with musical laws. This made his music very pleasing, and as I carefully analyzed his playing I found that he was somehow conscious of the laws of harmony and was able instinctively and quickly to select the correct harmonic notes for the left hand to accompany any harmonic chord that he played with his right hand. To test this instinct, I sat down at the piano with him and played with my right hand a number of arbitrarily selected chords in various keys. The moment I played a chord with the right hand he would match it with a^ chord with his left hand in the bass of the piano with all of the technically correct harmonics. Now I do not know how many of our members are familiar enough with music to know that there is a field of study in music called harmony, and that those who make a study of it have to work for many months with dry and uninteresting musical problems, laws, and rules before they reach the stage where they can consciously and correctly select the harmonies for any given melody. While there is consider able field for variance of choice and selection in these harmonics, nevertheless, there are certain limiting rules and regulations in the laws of harmony to which the student must conform. Yet, here was a young man who had not even studied the funda mentals of music, harmony, and composition, and yet was able to use all of the rules of harmony and composition from some instinctive knowledge possessed by his subconscious mind. This was not merely a case of "playing by ear," for this young man


AMORC

NUMBER ONE HUNDRED TWELVE

•The Rosicrucian Order PAGE FOUR

You will notice that I have made a distinction in my previous re marks in regard to knowledge and wisdom. From a mystical point of view, knowledge consists of facts and ideas, impressions and realiza tions acquired through study and thinking, and which are stored away in a somewhat classified manner for future use. Wisdom, on the other hand, is essentially experience. It consists generally of knowledge that has been acquired mentally and then applied or practiced, tested, or demonstrated, and is no longer a mere mental concept but a living experience. Rosicrucians are seeking not knowledge but wisdom. The man who reads a great number of travel books may store up a great amount of knowledge about traveling, about people's habits, customs, and conditions in foreign lands. The man who travels, however, and goes through the experience of moving from place to place and actually living among and meeting the people and seeing their habits and cus toms in foreign lands, stores up a wisdom regarding travel that is en tirely different from mere knowledge of travel. We are accustomed to say that we Bknow" a thing when we really mean to say that we believe, or conceive, or understand the ideas about something. To actually know a thing we must experience it ;,we must have that personal contact with the thing in its reality and actuality that constitutes wisdom and not knowledge. This is the sort of wis dom that Rosicrucians seek. Thousands upon thousands of students of universities and colleges will gravely answer a question and state that they know the earth is round. As a matter of fact it is very doubtful if they know any such thing at all. Ninety-nine per cent of them may believe that the earth is round, and when questioned will admit that their belief is based upon what they have read and what they have been told. Even if they have traveled on the high seas it is doubtful if they have ever gone to the trouble to test their belief about the earth's spherical shape and turn their belief either into actual wisdom about it or some doubt about it. The man who says that he knows the earth is round because he has traveled over a large body of water and observed the curvature of the earth has a right to say that he knows the earth is round because of the experience of mov ing over a curved surface. It may be shown to him later that his experience was not what he thought it was, but at least he has the value of experience instead of mere faith based upon somebody else's statement. The mystics have always claimed that by attuning ourselves with the universal mind we gradually come into possession of universal knowledge. Now it would seem from all of the records and writings of the past that this must be true. How else can we account for the vast knowledge that some of these great men of the past seemed to _____ possess? Where did they get this knowledge, or how came this wisdom to develop within them? On the other hand, there are V y those who are not looked upon as being especially developed V in Cosmic Consciousness.

Temple Section-

ELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORC

NUMBER ONE HUNDRED TWELVE

•The Rosicrucian Order

PAGE FIVE

There is the instance of Da Vinci, the famous painter. Now, while he was a Rosicrucian student for a good many years and spent a great deal of time in some of the Rosicrucian laboratories and experi mental places, on the other hand, he had experimented at home and often sat down hurriedly at a desk and rapidly wrote manuscripts con taining knowledge or wisdom that seemed to flow into him and through him without any earthly experiences. Where did he get his fundamental knowledge about the principles of flying so that he was able to out line the real construction of an airplane centuries before the first one was ever made? True, he tells us that before he made his airplane he went out and studied the flights of birds and made many sketches and pictures of them, but it is very evident from his writings that he had many wonderful ideas about flying before he became interested in the flying of birds and he only studied the birds in order to verify some sort of knowledge that was growing within him. The same is true in regard to many of his other scientific inventions and postulations. This knowl edge of scientific laws and principles used to come to him as a sort of inner impression the moment he relaxed, and he was often dumb founded to think that his mind would turn from his art and his music to laws and principles of a purely scientific and materialistic nature. We have in our Rosicrucian records instances of thousands of persons who had learned to awaken and quicken the inner voice and who seemed to be impressed at times with rare bits of scientific or other knowledge that was universal and helpful in many ways. On the other hand, there is what is called the gift of prophecy. Many eminent prophets in the past admitted that the things they spoke came to them as though some voice within them told them the things which they repeated parrot-like and hardly comprehended. Prominent chemists and inventors have also stated that at times of relaxation or while half asleep, as in a light dreamy stage, they would receive from within impressions of facts and an outline of knowl edge that had never come to them through the ordinary objective channels. Very often solutions to great problems have been revealed to them in this way and we find by examining these records that the knowledge that thus arose within them was not always knowledge of the past but knowledge pertaining to the things of the present and even of the future. This is what led so many of the mystics to say from their personal experience that the universal mind not only contained all wisdom of the past and present but of the future and that in the universal mind the future was already written as though it were of the present or past. Many mystics have claimed that through Cosmic contact they have been able to see ahead and see events taking place that would not actually occur on the earth plane for many years. To

Temple SectionE L E V E N T H DEGREE

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these mystics the idea gradually developed that in the universal mind there is no such thing as past, present, and future and that all is in the now. We have the concepts of past, present, and future because in all of our earthly thinking and reasoning we have to take one inci dent at a time and consider it and, therefore, we have become conscious of a condition that we call time or the passing of time. In the universal mind, however, all things can be considered and conceived instantaneously, and the past, the present, and the future are as of the present moment. Perhaps this explains why a great many of the early students of mysticism and the younger students were un able to distinguish when certain events had occurred or would occur. We find evidences in many of the early mystic writings of statements being made as though certain things were occurring at that moment; whereas they did not occur on the earth plane for many years. These untrained and undeveloped students were unable to distinguish when in touch with the universal mind between facts that were in the universal mind now but to be developed in the future and those which were of the past. One thing is certain and that is that as we develop Cosmic Con sciousness within us we are developing a sensibility or sensitiveness to cosmic impressions. It is much like training the ear to listen to certain sounds that we have heretofore not observed. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V V V Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget After you have carefully read the complete mono graph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. The subjective mind may carry over from a previous incarnation a great deal of dormant objective knowledge which may be awakened with the quickening of the subconscious. ( | The subconscious mind is easily affected by the development of Cosmic Consciousness. 4} Within the storehouse of knowledge are two kinds of knowledge: first, the knowledge built up from objective training and experience in a previous incarnation, or early youth; and second, essential wisdom we call instinct. In the average adult the instinctive impulses, for the most part, are disregarded. fl The development of Cosmic Consciousness has a very direct effect upon the inner wisdom and stored-up knowledge. The universal mind contains all wisdom of the past, present, and future.

T H E IN S T IT U T IO N B E H IN D T H E R O S IC R U C I A N O R G A N I Z A T IO N San Jose, Californ ia, U. S. A . Rosicrucian Park

"C o n se crate d to truth and dedicated to every Rosicrucian" This m o n o g ra p h is n ot subject to sale or purc h ase b y an yo n e . p u rc h ase

m ay

m a le

the

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A sale or

civil liability.

t

sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts” as authorized by the Imperator M. O. R. C.in (The abovethroughout emblem and Order are of alsoA.registered countries the name world.)of the All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of. the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and snail remain In the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of tne Statutes of this Order. A. M. O. R. C. is the only organization authorized to use the Reg istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

B


V V V We become hypersensitive to Cosmic impressions through Cosmic development. Rumi, the Sufi poet, speaks of it as the “burning heart kindled by the flame of love” which is necessary to consort with God: A

voice came frorh God to Moses, . . .

I am not purified by their praises, 'Tis they who become pure and shining

thereby.

I regard not the outside and the words, I regard the inside and the state of the heart. I look at the heart if it be humble, Though the words may be the reverse of humble. Because the heart is

substance, and words accidents,

Accidents are only a means, substance is the final cause. How long wilt thou dwell on words and superficialities? A burning heart is what I want; consort with burning/ Kindle in thy heart the flame of love.

—JALALUDDIN RUMI, 1207^1273

Temple Section

A MO RC

ELEVENTH DEGREE

N U M B E R 113


Beloved Members, Greetings I A few years ago I visited one of our fratres in his office and found that he was in charge of the confidential cable equipment of the British Government. In his office there were a number of tele graphic instruments which were inserted in the telegraph and cable lines passing between London, England and Sydney, Australia. These telegraphic instruments were continuously sounding off the messages that were passing through them on their way to Australia. The four or five instruments were all going at the same time, making a clicking-clacking noise which to my ears meant absolutely nothing except a jumble of sounds. All the while our good frater was talk ing to me, however, his ear was concentrated upon each of the in struments and he would often interrupt our conversation by saying that there was a certain message passing over one of the instru ments which was intended for him to notice and copy. I would have to wait a few moments while he sat down at a typewriter and copied the message that was passing along. He could pick out any one of the machines mentally, and concentrate on it to the exclusion of the others, and even while he was talking to me his mind was con scious of, or his ears were selecting, the individual sounds of each machine, and he could even notice when a word was being mis spelled. Then, occasionally he would call my attention to the fact that one of the machines was developing an idiosyncrasy of some kind be cause something was affecting one of the cables under the Pacific Ocean and throwing it out of balance, and he would have to make a certain adjustment in order that the message might go through in the correct manner. His ears were able to detect some little over sound or undersound of the clicking of the dots and dashes which I could not hear, and which the average person could not hear. But his ears and consciousness were trained to notice those little sounds. Musicians are trained to notice overtones and undertones, and to catch not only the pitch and tone but the very timbre of the notes when listening to music, so that they can easily and quickly tell what kind of instrument was producing the sound. I have known musicians who could listen to an orchestra playing over the radio or on some phonograph record and who could distinguish the various notes of each instrument of the orchestra and tell exactly how many violins were playing and how many other instruments. They were able to notice little sounds and distinguishing features of tones that classified the various instruments, while the rest of us could not notice these distinctions at all. And so through cosmic development we become super sensitive or hypersensitive to cosmic impressions but, as I have said previously, we are not always objectively aware of this development of supersensitiveness.

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORC

NUMBER 113


PAGE TWO

Right now, as I am dictating this little talk for you, my psy chic consciousness may be very sensitive to some cosmic impression that is reaching it. Objectively I am not aware of it for I have my mind fixed and concentrated upon the thoughts I am trying to put into this talk. But a half-hour from now or an hour, or maybe a day, week, or month from now, there will come to my outer con sciousness a reaction of anything that may have registered itself upon my inner consciousness at this moment. If I stop for a moment, however, in my dictation and turn my thoughts inwardly to find what the first impression is that I have, I find that my mind in its subconscious state is sensitive of the approach of some vis itor to this building who is going to ask for me. In this case that person is now probably within a few blocks of this building and is on the way here, thinking about me as he approaches this place. He is not wilfully trying to send me a thought but is doing it in an almost subjective manner, probably analyzing what he has to say and doing it as though he were actually in my presence. Be cause of this very subjective state in which he exists at this moment his thoughts are easily attuned with the Cosmic, and by my mind reaching the Cosmic I get his thoughts. If, however, I had not stopped in my dictation for just a fraction of a second to receive this impression his thoughts would have reached my subconscious mind and would have remained there un dercover, so to speak, or in a subbasement or chamber of my mind and not until I was advised that he was in the lobby waiting to see me would I have become conscious that a few moments earlier his thoughts had reached me. Whenever I pause in the dictating of the monograph to think what I should say in the n e x t paragraph, so a s to be sure of cov ering every point, I find that as I turn my mind inwardly to allow the subconscious self to prompt me in what to say, there comes, along with the prompting, a crowd of cosmic impressions which I must shut out. It is as though I opened the doorway of a great si lent chamber to listen to one man and instead of hearing just him I hear hundreds of voices babbling, each on a different subject. But I must focus my attention on the voice of the one person I want to hear and ignore the others. So it is whenever any of us turn our thoughts inwardly; we find we have to use considerable concen tration in order to focalize our attention upon one thing at a time rather than upon the complicated and involved picture that is formed on our psychic consciousness all the time. But if I were able to turn my thoughts inwardly in the proper manner I would not know what my subconscious was acquiring in the way of knowledge or impressions, and not until there was some crying need for this knowledge would I find

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORC

NUMBER 113


PAGE THREE

myself able to force aside all objective and worldly thinking and listen only to the voice from within. Now before I give you any further facts in regard to this mat ter, I would like to have all of you test this idea throughout the week by sitting in contemplation and meditation for a few minutes at a time when you are quiet and at ease and without anticipating anything definite or placing limitations or restrictions around your ability. Just relax and allow the Universal Mind through Cosmic Consciousness to impress you with whatever it is bringing to you at the moment. Many of the impressions that you will receive at such a moment will seem like figments of the imagination, or like impressions solely of your outer consciousness, or like things that are untrue and unreasonable; and you will probably cast them aside and want something of a more definite and logical nature. For example, one night when I had finished doing some work in my Sanctum around 11:30, I thought I would spend another fifteen minutes here in spiritual meditation and send thoughts to some of our members before going home and giving the routine treatments be fore retiring. As I began to attune myself with the Cosmic only o ne thought and one picture began hammering away at my conscious ness and that was "a bone darning needle." It was as though these words were being spoken or whispered from within and yet there was actually no sound but an impression as though I were seeing a picture of the little needle and giving words to my interpretation. However, I made no sense of it, and smiled at such an unusual thought coming to me, for I allowed my objective reasoning to say that I had no interest in darning needles and could not imagine what such a symbol could mean. However, the more I tried to cast out this thought the more it persisted. Finally I went home, and in speaking of it to my wife asked her whether she had been thinking of such a needle or if she knew if my daughter had been hunting for such a needle and had sent the thought to me, but I learned no one in the family had given a thought to such a device for even a moment. The next day, however, in the afternoon I was working in my art room trying to make a little delicate piece of art work for a gift and was face to face with a little burnishing problem that had puzzled me for two or three days earlier in the week and had caused me to abandon for the time the burnishing of the little souvenir. As I sat in front of it this time, however, and looked at the gold border which needed burnishing and tried to analyze what I could use for the burnishing process, there came to my mind again the thought of the bone darning needle. In stantly, then, I realized the possibility that this darn ing needle had some connection with the burnishing



The Rosicrucian Order PAGE FOUR

problem, so at a later period in the afternoon I went to town to buy a few things I required and stopped at a store and asked to see bone darning needles. The very first one that was shown to me had a small ball on the end of the needle that was perfectly round and highly polished. Believing I had sensed a possibility in the use of this ball on the needle I brought it home and, in rubbing the smooth ball rapidly on the gold leaf on the souvenir, I found that it actually heated up and burnished the gold very brilliantly. Now, evidently the Cosmic Mind was in touch with the subcon scious mind of myself the night before and my subconscious mind was still working on the problem of how to burnish the gold, even though for a few days I had forgotten the matter. But the sub conscious mind was still seeking the answer and all I sensed was the answer without realizing what was taking place. This is but an example of a typical manner in which many things come to me and come to many of our members who allow themselves moments of com plete relaxation and Cosmic Attunement. I often imagine that as psychic consciousness within is so much like a motion-picture film passing through the psychic or' subconscious mind, and upon it are recorded— every moment of the day— the impressions that are coming, the psychic mind would have a remarkable record if we could take out that film at the end of twenty-four hours and run it through some sort of projector that would change the impressions on the films into pictures, sounds, ideas, thoughts, etc., for our objective consideration. We would probably be startled and astounded beyond all human conception at the mass of information that has been impressed upon the subcon scious mind. Of course, it is fortunate for us that the minds in man are not so related that everything which makes any impression on the objective mind is recorded on the subconscious mind and everything that is impressed upon the subconscious mind comes through to the objective mind for consideration. If that were the way in which the two minds worked the poor objective mind would soon lose all reason and sanity in attempting to analyze and comprehend the im pressions that would come into it during just one hour of the day. Imagine trying to read a book with the objective mind and to under stand what you are reading while, at the same time, the subcon scious mind is sending into the objective mind all the strange impressions it is receiving. Imagine trying to look at a picture, or think of anything, and having in the background of your mind a mass of flitting impressions, pictures, ideas, thoughts, messages, and other things, most of which are of no in terest or value or importance at the moment, but which would crowd themselves and blot out the things you were trying to think about.

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

A M O RC

NUMBER 113


PAGE FIVE

This reminds us of the fact that memory, as a wonderful store house, is busy every hour of the day storing away only those im pressions and ideas which are important. Our objective recollec tion likewise retains only important things which we concentrate upon for a few moments and want to retain. Can you imagine what it would be if our objective recollection was filled up every twenty-four hours with the retention and permanent impression of everything our eyes saw during the day, everything our ears heard, and everything we thought about or sensed in any way? Such a brain would break down to insanity within twenty-four hours. The psychic impressions that we receive, however, pass right into the psychic consciousness, and the important ones are registered there while the rest just simply dissolve like a picture on the motion-picture screen gradually fades out into nothing. The things that are retained in the psychic memory and store house, and classified and buried, are like old manuscripts and records in the basement of a great library. Many of them lie there upon the shelves until they get mouldy and covered with spiders' webs, while some of them may be used quite frequently and perform some function every day or every week of our lives. All of these psychic impressions are available, however, if we know how to delve into the psychic storehouse or how to relax and let some of the new imcoming impressions pass right on into the objective mind as well as into the subjective. This is one of the important things that must come about through Cosmic attunement and development; and it will come if you follow the instructions that are being given to you from time to time in these monographs in regard to concentrat ing and other exercises. I remember that on my last trip across the Atlantic Ocean, I finally secured permission to sit in the wireless room for a while and listen with an extra pair of phones attached to my head. It was only because of my former connections with wireless and radio many years ago, and through a letter of recommendation by govern ment officials, that I was enabled to have this privilege. I found the etheric conditions existing just as they were many years ago. The very air around the ship out there in the center of the ocean seemed to be jammed with millions of messages going in every direc tion. As the operator turned the dial and widened the expanse of his attunement with the radio band of the ether he included more and more groups of radio messages until fianlly there seemed to be a thousand of them in the air at one time, each of them having a keynote like a different note on a piano. Listening in a general way to this mass of musical tones gave the impression of trying to listen to a thousand musicians, each one picking at the strings of his instrument to tune it. There was neither melody nor rhythm nor anything else to the jumbled mass of sound, but the radio operator is




P A G E SIX

trained to do what I had to do years ago and what I did again on this occasion. He picks out one note, or one instrument by its definite note, and concentrates on that note until he hears only that one and the others all fade softly into the background. By picking out that one he can read it and interpret its dots and dashes into messages. If he hears another note calling his call letters, he instantly focuses his attention on that one note and hears it to the exclusion of the others. If you want to understand just what I mean by picking out one tone and listening to it in this manner, try the experiment with your radio the next time an orchestra is playing. Sit at a dis tance from your instrument and after the orchestra had played a few minutes pick out the one violin that is most, easily selected and concentrate your attention on what that violin plays, and let all the other instruments of the orchestra pass by without your atten tion. After a few minutes pick out one of the cellos, or— if you cannot do that at first— pick out the big bass viol and listen exclusively to its accented bass notes over the many other notes of the various instruments. Then pick out a banjo, a guitar, a saxophone, a flute, or a clarinet. You will soon see what I mean by being able to pick out one impression and let^ the others fade into insignificance. This is excellent concentration practice, and soon you will find that in trying to listen to the cosmic impressions that come to you psy chically you must do the very same thing, namely, pick out one impression or one line of psychic impressions that is coming to you and concentrate upon that one message to the exclusion of others. If you will try this radio practice during the coming week or try it with phonograph records of orchestra selections, or go where an orchestra is playing and listen to it from a distant corner of the room, you will find that this is a very wonderful method for devel oping your ability to concentrate your hearing and your conscious ness upon the process of translation and interpretation. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V V V Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget After you have carefully read the complete mono graph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. Through Cosmic development we become hypersensitive to Cosmic impressions, al though we are not always objectively aware of this development of hypersensitivity. W hen the mind is turned inwardly, there comes a crowd of Cosmic impressions which must be shut out, with the exception of the one you wish to focalize your attention upon. During this week, sit in meditation and allow the universal mind through Cosmic Consciousness to impress you with whatever it will at the moment. 4J The memory is busy every hour of the day storing away only those ideas and impres sions which are important. (f When listening to an orchestra, concentrate upon one instrument at a time. This exercise will help you to select and concentrate upon one psychic impression at a time.


O R G A N I Z A T IO N


"C o n se crate d to truth and dedicated to every Rosicrucian" This m o n o g ra p h it not subject to sale or purchase b y a nyo ne . p u rc h a se

m ay

molte the

seller a n d


civil


Amorc Degree 11 (94-113)

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