{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_29855/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_29855","id":"gutenberg_29855","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29855","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Rosicrucians"],"text":"The\n\n                          Rosicrucian Mysteries\n\n                       An Elementary Exposition of\n\n                          Their Secret Teachings\n\n                                    By\n\n                               Max Heindel\n\nAuthor of: The Rosicrucian Cosmo Conception, The Rosicrucian Philosophy in\n  Questions and Answers, The Rosicrucian Interpretation of Christianity,\n                      Rays from the Rose Cross, etc.\n\n                              Third Edition\n\n                          Rosicrucian Fellowship\n\n                          Oceanside, California\n\n                                  London\n\n                     L. N. Fowler, 7 Imperial Arcade\n\n                          Ludgate Circus. E. C.\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nChapter I. The Order of Rosicrucians and the Rosicrucian Fellowship\nChapter II. The Problem of Life and Its Solution\nChapter III. The Visible and the Invisible World\nChapter IV. The Constitution of Man\nChapter V. Life and Death\nMt. Ecclesia\nIndex\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I. THE ORDER OF ROSICRUCIANS AND THE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP\n\n\nOur Message And Mission\n\n_A Sane Mind_\n\n_A Soft Heart_\n\n_A Sound Body_\n\nBefore entering upon an explanation of the teachings of the Rosicrucians,\nit may be well to say a word about them and about the place they hold in\nthe evolution of humanity.\n\nFor reasons to be given later these teachings advocate the dualistic view;\nthey hold that man is a spirit enfolding all the powers of God as the seed\nenfolds the plant, and that these powers are being slowly unfolded by a\nseries of existences in a gradually improving earthy body; also that this\nprocess of development has been performed under the guidance of exalted\nbeings who are yet ordering our steps, though in a decreasing measure, as\nwe gradually acquire intellect and will. These exalted Beings, though\nunseen to the physical eyes, are nevertheless potent factors in all\naffairs of life, and give to the various groups of humanity lessons which\nwill most efficiently promote the growth of their spiritual powers. In\nfact, the earth may be likened to a vast training school in which there\nare pupils of varying age and ability as we find it in one of our own\nschools. There are the savages, living and worshipping under most\nprimitive conditions, seeing in stick or stone a God. Then, as man\nprogresses onwards and upwards in the scale of civilization, we find a\nhigher and higher conception of Deity, which has flowered here in our\nWestern World in the beautiful Christian religion that now furnishes our\nspiritual inspiration and incentive to improve.\n\nThese various religions have been given to each group of humanity by the\nexalted beings whom we know in the Christian religion as the Recording\nAngels, whose wonderful prevision enable them to view the trend of even so\nunstable a quantity as the human mind, and thus they are enabled to\ndetermine what steps are necessary to lead our enfoldment along the lines\ncongruous to the highest universal good.\n\nWhen we study the history of the ancient nations we shall find that at\nabout six hundred years B. C. a great spiritual wave had its inception on\nthe Eastern shores of the Pacific Ocean where the great Confucian Religion\naccelerated the progress of the Chinese nation, then also the Religion of\nthe Buddha commenced to win its millions of adherents in India, and still\nfurther West we have the lofty philosophy of Pythagoras. Each system was\nsuited to the needs of the particular people to whom it was sent. Then\ncame the period of the Sceptics, in Greece, and later, traveling westward\nthe same spiritual wave is manifested as the Christian religion of the\nso-called \u201cDark Ages\u201d when the dogma of a dominant church compelled belief\nfrom the whole of Western Europe.\n\nIt is a law in the universe that a wave of spiritual awakening is always\nfollowed by a period of doubting materialism, each phase is necessary in\norder that the spirit may receive equal development of heart and intellect\nwithout being carried too far in either direction. The Great Beings\naforementioned, Who care for our progress, always take steps to safeguard\nhumanity against that danger, and when they foresaw the wave of\nmaterialism which commenced in the sixteenth century with the birth of our\nmodern Science, they took steps to protect the West as they had formerly\nsafeguarded the East against the Sceptics who were held in check by the\nMystery schools.\n\nIn the thirteenth century there appeared in central Europe a great\nspiritual teacher whose symbolical name was\n\nChristian Rosenkreuz.\nor\nChristian Rose Cross.\n\nwho founded the mysterious Order of the Rosy Cross, concerning which so\nmany speculations have been made and so little has become known to the\nworld at large, for it is the Mystery school of the West and is only open\nto those who have attained the stage of spiritual unfoldment necessary to\nbe initiated in its secrets concerning the Science of Life and Being.\n\nIf we are so far developed that we are able to leave our dense physical\nbody and take a soul flight into interplanetary space we shall find that\nthe ultimate physical atom is spherical in shape like our earth; it is a\nball. When we take a number of balls of even size and group them around\none, it will take just twelve balls to hide a thirteenth within. Thus the\ntwelve visible and the one hidden are numbers revealing a cosmic\nrelationship and as all Mystery Orders are based upon cosmic lines, they\nare composed of twelve members gathered around a thirteenth who is the\ninvisible _head_.\n\nThere are seven colors in the spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue,\nindigo and violet. But between the violet and the red there are still\nother five colors which are invisible to the physical eye but reveal\nthemselves to the spiritual sight. In every Mystery Order there are also\nseven brothers who at times go out into the world and there perform\nwhatever work may be necessary to advance the people among whom they\nserve, but five are never seen outside the temple. They work with and\nteach those alone who have passed through certain stages of spiritual\nunfoldment and are able to visit the temple in their spiritual bodies; a\nfeat taught in the first initiation which usually takes place outside the\ntemple as it is not convenient for all to visit that place physically.\n\nLet not the reader imagine that this initiation makes the pupil a\nRosicrucian, it does not, any more than admission to a High School makes a\nboy a member of the faculty. Nor does he become a Rosicrucian even after\nhaving passed through all the nine degrees of this or any other Mystery\nSchool. The Rosicrucians are Hierophants of the lesser Mysteries, and\nbeyond them there are still schools wherein Greater Mysteries are taught.\nThose who have advanced through the lesser Mysteries and have become\npupils of the Greater Mysteries are called Adepts, but even they have not\nreached the exalted standpoint of the twelve Brothers of the Rosicrucian\nOrder or the Hierophants of any other lesser Mystery School any more than\nthe freshman at college has attained to the knowledge and position of a\nteacher in the High school from which he has just graduated.\n\nA later work will deal with initiation, but we may say here that the door\nof a genuine Mystery School is not unlocked by a golden key, but is only\nopened as a reward for meritorious service to humanity and any one who\nadvertises himself as a Rosicrucian or makes a charge for tuition, by\neither of those acts shows himself to be a charlatan. The true pupil of\nany Mystery School is far too modest to advertise the fact, he will scorn\nall titles or honors from men, he will have no regard for riches save the\nriches of love given to him by those whom it becomes his privilege to help\nand teach.\n\nIn the centuries that have gone by since the Rosicrucian Order was first\nformed they have worked quietly and secretly, aiming to mould the thought\nof Western Europe through the works of Paracelsus, Boehme, Bacon,\nShakespeare, Fludd and others. Each night at midnight when the physical\nactivities of the day are at their lowest ebb, and the spiritual impulse\nat its highest flood tide, they have sent out from their temple\nsoul-stirring vibrations to counteract materialism and to further the\ndevelopment of soul powers. To their activities we owe the gradual\nspiritualization of our once so materialistic science.\n\nWith the commencement of the twentieth century a further step was taken.\nIt was realized that something must be done to make religion scientific as\nwell as to make science religious, in order that they may ultimately\nblend; for at the present time heart and intellect are divorced. The heart\ninstinctively feels the truth of religious teachings concerning such\nwonderful mysteries as the Immaculate Conception (the Mystic Birth), the\nCrucifixion (the Mystic Death), the cleansing blood, the atonement, and\nother doctrines of the Church, which the intellect refuses to believe, as\nthey are incapable of demonstration, and seemingly at war with natural\nlaw. Material advancement may be furthered when intellect is dominant and\nthe longings of the heart unsatisfied, but soul growth will be retarded\nuntil the heart also receives satisfaction.\n\nIn order to give the world a teaching so blended that it will satisfy both\nthe mind and heart, a messenger must be found and instructed. Certain\nunusual qualifications were necessary, and the first one chosen failed to\npass a certain test after several years had been spent to prepare him for\nthe work to be done.\n\nIt is well said that there is a time to sow, and a time to reap, and that\nthere are certain times for all the works of life, and in accordance with\nthis law of periodicity each impulse in spiritual uplift must also be\nundertaken at an appropriate time to be successful. The first and sixth\ndecades of each century are particularly propitious to commence the\npromulgation of new spiritual teachings. Therefore the Rosicrucians were\nmuch concerned at this failure, for only five years were left of the first\ndecade of the twentieth century.\n\nTheir second choice of a messenger fell upon the present writer, though he\nknew it not at the time, and by shaping circumstances about him they made\nit possible for him to begin a period of preparation for the work they\ndesired him to do. Three years later, when he had gone to Germany, also\nbecause of circumstances shaped by the invisible Brotherhood, and was on\nthe verge of despair at the discovery that the light which was the object\nof his quest, was only a jack-o-lantern, the Brothers of the Rosicrucian\nOrder applied the test to see whether he would be a faithful messenger and\ngive the teachings they desired to entrust to him, to the world. And when\nhe had passed the trial they gave him the monumental solution of the\nproblem of existence first published in \u201c_The Rosicrucian Cosmo\nConception_\u201d in November, 1909, more than a year before the expiration of\nthe first decade of the twentieth century. This book marked a new era in\nso-called \u201coccult\u201d literature, and the many editions which have since been\npublished, as well as the thousands of letters which continue to come to\nthe author, are speaking testimonies to the fact that people are finding\nin this teaching a satisfaction they have long sought elsewhere in vain.\n\nThe Rosicrucians teach that all great religions have been given to the\npeople among whom they are found, by Divine Intelligences who designed\neach system of worship to suit the needs of the race or nation to whom it\nwas given. A primitive people cannot respond to a lofty and sublime\nreligion, and _vice versa_. What helps one race would hinder another, and\nin pursuance of the same policy there has been devised a system of\nsoul-unfoldment suited specially to the Western people, who are racially\nand temperamentally unfit to undergo the discipline of the Eastern school,\nwhich was designed for the more backward Hindoos.\n\nTHE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP\n\nFor the purpose of promulgating the Rosicrucian teachings in the Western\nWorld, the Rosicrucian Fellowship was founded in 1909. It is the herald of\nthe Aquarian Age, when the Sun by its precessional passage through the\nconstellation Aquarius will bring out all the intellectual and spiritual\npotencies in man which are symbolized by that sign. As heat from a fire\nwarms all objects within the sphere of its radiations, so also the\nAquarian ray will raise the earth\u2019s vibrations to a pitch we are as yet\nunable to comprehend, though we have demonstrations of the _material_\nworkings of this force in the inventions which have revolutionized life\nwithin the memory of the present generation. We have wondered at the\nX-ray, which sees through the human body, but each one has a sense latent\nwhich when evolved will enable him to see through any number of bodies or\nto any distance. We marvel at the telephone conversations across the\ncontinent of America, but each has within a latent sense of speech and\nhearing that is far more acute; we are surprised at the exploits of ships\nunder sea and in the sky, but we are all capable of passage under water or\nthrough the sky; nay, more, we may pass unscathed through the solid rock\nand the raging fire, if we know how, and lightning itself is slow compared\nto the speed with which we may travel. This sounds like a fairy tale\ntoday, as did Jules Verne\u2019s stories a generation ago, but the Aquarian Age\nwill witness the realization of these dreams, and ever so much more that\nwe still do not even dream of. Such faculties will then be the possessions\nof large numbers of people who will have gradually evolved them as\npreviously the ability to walk, speak, hear, and see, were developed.\n\nTherein lies a great danger, for, obviously, anyone endowed with such\nfaculties may use them to the greatest detriment of the world at large,\nunless restrained by a spirit of unselfishness and an all-embracing\naltruism. Therefore religion is needed today as never before, to foster\nlove and fellow-feeling among humanity so that it may be prepared to use\nthe great gifts in store for it wisely and well. This need of religion is\nspecially felt in a certain class where the ether is more loosely knit to\nthe physical atoms than in the majority, and on that account they are now\nbeginning to sense the Aquarian vibrations.\n\nThis class is again divided in two groups. In one the intellect is\ndominant, and the people in that class therefore seek to grasp the\nspiritual mysteries out of curiosity from the viewpoint of cold reason.\nThey pursue the path of knowledge for the sake of knowledge, considering\nthat an end in itself. The idea that knowledge is of value only when put\nto practical constructive use does not seem to have presented itself to\nthem. This class we may call _occultists_.\n\nThe other group does not care for knowledge, but feels an inner urge\nGod-ward, and pursues the path of devotion to the high ideal set before\nthem in Christ, doing the deeds that He did as far their flesh will\npermit, and this in time results in an interior illumination which brings\nwith it all the knowledge obtained by the other class, and much more. This\nclass we may describe as _mystics_.\n\nCertain dangers confront each of the two groups. If the occultist obtains\nillumination and evolves within himself the latent spiritual faculties, he\nmay use them for the furtherance of his personal objects, to the great\ndetriment of his fellow-men. That is black magic, and the punishment which\nit _automatically_ calls down upon the head of the perpetrator is so awful\nthat it is best to draw the veil over it. The mystic may also err because\nof ignorance, and fall into the meshes of nature\u2019s law, but being actuated\nby love, his mistakes will never be very serious, and as he grows in grace\nthe soundless voice within his heart will speak more distinctly to teach\nhim the way.\n\nThe Rosicrucian Fellowship endeavors to prepare the world in general, and\nthe sensitives of the two groups in particular, for the awakening of the\nlatent powers in man, so that all may be guided safely through the\ndanger-zone and be as well fitted as possible to use these new faculties.\nEffort is made to blend the love without which Paul declared a knowledge\nof all mysteries worthless, with a mystic knowledge rooted and grounded in\nlove, so that the pupils of this school may become _living_ exponents of\nthis blended soul-science of the Western Wisdom School, and gradually\neducate humanity at large in the virtues necessary to make the possession\nof higher powers safe.\n\n_Note_:\u2014\n\n_Pages 19 to 26 inclusive, describing Mt. Ecclesia, have been transferred\nto the back of the book._ (Transcriber\u2019s Note: They are pages 191 through\n200.)\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II. THE PROBLEM OF LIFE AND ITS SOLUTION\n\n\nTHE PROBLEM OF LIFE.\n\nAmong all the vicissitudes of life, which vary in each individual\u2019s\nexperience, there is one event which sooner or later comes to\neveryone\u2014Death! No matter what our station in life, whether the life lived\nhas been a laudable one or the reverse, whether great achievements have\nmarked our path among men, whether health or sickness have been our lot,\nwhether we have been famous and surrounded by a host of admiring friends\nor have wandered unknown through the years of our life, at some time there\ncomes a moment when we stand alone before the portal of death and are\nforced to take the leap into the dark.\n\nThe thought of this leap and of what lies beyond must inevitably force\nitself upon every thinking person. In the years of youth and health, when\nthe bark of our life sails upon seas of prosperity, when all appears\nbeautiful and bright, we may put the thought behind us, but there will\nsurely come a time in the life of every thinking person when the problem\nof life and death forces itself upon his consciousness and refuses to be\nset aside. Neither will it help him to accept the ready made solution of\nanyone else without thought and in blind belief, for this is a basic\nproblem which every one must solve for himself or herself in order to\nobtain satisfaction.\n\nUpon the Eastern edge of the Desert of Sahara there stands the\nworld-famous Sphinx with its inscrutable face turned toward the East, ever\ngreeting the sun as its rising rays herald the newborn day. It was said in\nthe Greek myth that it was the wont of this monster to ask a riddle of\neach traveler. She devoured those who could not answer, but when Oedipus\nsolved the riddle she destroyed herself.\n\nThe riddle which she asked of men was the riddle of life and death, a\nquery which is as relevant today as ever, and which each one must answer\nor be devoured in the jaws of death. But when once a person has found the\nsolution to the problem, it will appear that in reality there is no death,\nthat what appears so, is but a change from one state of _existence_ to\nanother. Thus, for the man who finds the true solution to the riddle of\nlife, the sphinx of death has ceased to exist, and he can lift his voice\nin the triumphant cry \u201cOh death where is thy sting, oh grave where is thy\nvictory.\u201d\n\nVarious theories of life have been advocated to solve this problem of\nlife. We may divide them into two classes, namely _the monistic theory_,\nwhich holds that all the facts of life can be explained by reference to\nthis visible world wherein we live, and _the dualistic theory_, which\nrefers part of the phenomenon of life to another world which is now\ninvisible to us.\n\nRaphael in his famous painting \u201cthe School of Athens\u201d has most aptly\npictured to us the attitude of these two schools of thought. We see upon\nthat marvelous painting a Greek Court such as those wherein philosophers\nwere once wont to congregate. Upon the various steps which lead into the\nbuilding a large number of men are engaged in deep conversation, but in\nthe center at the top of the steps stand two figures, supposedly of Plato\nand Aristotle, one pointing upwards, the other towards the earth, each\nlooking the other in the face, mutely, but with deeply concentrated will.\nEach seeking to convince the other that his attitude is right for each\nbears the conviction in his heart. One holds that he is of the earth\nearthy, that he has come from the dust and that thereto he will return,\nthe other firmly advocates the position that there is a higher something\nwhich has always existed and will continue regardless of whether the body\nwherein it now dwells holds together or not.\n\nThe question who is right is still an open one with the majority of\nmankind. Millions of tons of paper and printer\u2019s ink have been used in\nfutile attempts to settle it by argument, but it will always remain open\nto all who have not solved the riddle themselves, for it is a basic\nproblem, a part of the life experience of every human being to settle that\nquestion, and therefore no one can give us the solution ready made for our\nacceptance. All that can be done by those who have really solved the\nproblem, is to show to others the line along which they have found the\nsolution, and thus direct the inquirer how he also may arrive at a\nconclusion.\n\nThat is the aim of this little book; not to offer a solution to the\nproblem of life to be taken blindly, on faith in the author\u2019s ability of\ninvestigation. The teachings herein set forth are those handed down by the\nGreat Western Mystery School of the Rosicrucian Order and are the result\nof the concurrent testimony of a long line of trained Seers given to the\nauthor and supplemented by his own independent investigation of the realms\ntraversed by the spirit in its cyclic path from the invisible world to\nthis plane of existence and back again.\n\nNevertheless, the student is warned that the writer may have misunderstood\nsome of the teachings and that despite the greatest care he may have taken\na wrong view of that which he believes to have seen in the invisible world\nwhere the possibilities of making a mistake are legion. Here in the world\nwhich we view about us the forms are stable and do not easily change, but\nin the world around us which is perceptible only by the spiritual sight,\nwe may say that there is in reality no form, but that all is life. At\nleast the forms are so changeable that the metamorphosis recounted in\nfairy stories is discounted there to an amazing degree, and therefore we\nhave the surprising revelations of mediums and other untrained\nclairvoyants who, though they may be perfectly honest, are deceived by\nillusions of _form_ which is evanescent, because they are incapable of\nviewing the _life_ that is the permanent basis of that form.\n\nWe must learn to see in this world. The new-born babe has no conception of\ndistance and will reach for things far, far beyond its grasp until it has\nlearned to gauge its capacity. A blind man who acquires the faculty of\nsight, or has it restored by an operation, will at first be inclined to\nclose his eyes when moving from place to place, and declare that it is\neasier to walk by feeling than by sight; that is because he has not\nlearned to use his newly acquired faculty. Similarly the man whose\nspiritual vision has been newly opened requires to be trained, in fact he\nis in much greater need thereof than the babe and the blind man already\nmentioned. Denied that training he would be like a new-born babe placed in\na nursery where the walls are lined with mirrors of different convex and\nconcave curvatures, which would distort its own shape and the forms of its\nattendants. If allowed to grow up in such surroundings and unable to see\nthe real shapes of itself and its nurses it would naturally believe that\nit saw many different and distorted shapes where in reality the mirrors\nwere responsible for the illusion. Were the persons concerned in such an\nexperiment and the child taken out of the illusory surroundings, it would\nbe incapable of recognizing them until the matter had been properly\nexplained. There are similar dangers of illusion to those who have\ndeveloped spiritual sight, until they have been trained to discount the\nrefraction and to view the _life_ which is permanent and stable,\ndisregarding the _form_ which is evanescent and changeable. The danger of\ngetting things out of focus always remains however and is so subtle that\nthe writer feels an imperative duty to warn his readers to take all\nstatements concerning the unseen world with the proverbial grain of salt,\nfor he has no intention to deceive. He is therefore inclined rather to\nmagnify than to minimize his limitations and would advise the student to\naccept nothing from the author\u2019s pen without reasoning it out for himself.\nThus, if he is deceived, he will be self-deceived and the author is\nblameless.\n\n_Three Theories of Life._\n\nOnly three noteworthy theories have been offered as solutions to the\nriddle of existence and in order that the reader may be able to make the\nimportant choice between them, we will state briefly what they are and\ngive some of the arguments which lead us to advocate the doctrine of\nRebirth as the method which favors soul-growth and the ultimate attainment\nof perfection, thus offering the best solution to the problem of life.\n\n1) THE MATERIALISTIC THEORY _teaches that life is but a short journey from\nthe cradle to the grave, that there is no higher intelligence in the\nuniverse than man; that his mind is produced by certain correlations of\nmatter and that therefore death, and dissolution of the body terminate\nexistence._\n\nThere was a day when the arguments of Materialistic philosophers seemed\nconvincing, but as science advances it discovers more and more that there\nis a spiritual side to the universe. That life and consciousness may exist\nwithout being able to give us a sign, has been amply proven in the cases\nwhere a person who was entranced and thought dead for days has suddenly\nawakened and told all that had taken place around the body. Such eminent\nscientists as Sir Oliver Lodge, Camille Flammarion, Lombroso and other men\nof highest intelligence and scientific training, have unequivocally stated\nas the result of their investigations, that the intelligence which we call\nman survives death of the body and lives on in our midst as independently\nof whether we see them or not as light and color exist all about the blind\nman regardless of the fact that he does not perceive them. These\nscientists have reached their conclusion after years of careful\ninvestigation. They have found that the so-called dead can, and under\ncertain circumstances do, communicate with us in such a manner that\nmistake is out of the question. We maintain that their testimony is worth\nmore than the argument of materialism to the contrary, for it is based\nupon years of careful investigation, it is in harmony with such well\nestablished laws as _the law of conservation of matter_ and _the law of\nconservation of energy_. Mind is a form of energy, and immune from\ndestruction as claimed by the materialist. Therefore we disbar the\nmaterialistic theory as unsound, because out of harmony with the laws of\nnature and with well established facts.\n\n2) THE THEORY OF THEOLOGY _claims that just prior to each birth a soul is\ncreated by God and enters into the world where it lives for a time varying\nfrom a few minutes to a few score of years; that at the end of this short\nspan of life it returns through the portal of death to the invisible\nbeyond, where it remains forever in a condition of happiness or misery\naccording to the deeds done in the body during the few years it lived\nhere_.\n\nPlato insisted upon the necessity of a clear definition of terms as a\nbasis of argument and we contend that that is as necessary in discussing\nthe problem of life from the Bible point of view as in arguments from the\nplatonic standpoint. According to the Bible man is a composite being\nconsisting of body, soul and spirit. The two latter are usually taken to\nbe synonymous, but we insist that they are not interchangeable and present\nthe following to support our dictum.\n\nAll things are in a state of vibration. Vibrations from objects in our\nsurroundings are constantly impinging upon us and carry to our senses a\ncognition of the external world. The vibrations in the ether act upon our\neyes so that we see, and vibrations in the air transmit sounds to the ear.\n\nWe also breathe the ether which is charged with pictures of our\nsurroundings and the sounds in our environment, so that by means of the\nbreath we receive at each moment of our life, _internally_ an accurate\npicture of our external surroundings.\n\nThat is a scientific proposition. Science does not explain what becomes of\nthese vibrations however, but according to the Rosicrucian Mystery\nteaching they are transmitted to the blood, and then etched upon a little\natom in the heart as automatically as a moving picture is imprinted upon\nthe sensitized film, and a record of sounds is engraven upon the\nphonographic disc. This breath-record starts with the first breath of the\nnewborn babe and ends only with the last gasp of the dying man, and \u201csoul\u201d\nis a product of the breath. Genesis also shows the connection between\nbreath and soul in the words: \u201cAnd the Lord God formed man of the dust of\nthe ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man\nbecame a living soul\u201d (The same word: _nephesh_, is translated breath and\nsoul in the above quotation.)\n\nIn the post mortem existence the breath-record is disposed of. The good\nacts of life produce feelings of pleasure and the intensity of attraction\nincorporates them into the spirit as soul-power. _Thus the breath-records\nof our good acts are the soul which is saved_, for by the union with the\nspirit they become immortal. As they accumulate life after life, we become\nmore soulful and they are thus also the basis of soulgrowth.\n\nThe record of our evil acts is also derived from our breath in the moments\nwhen they were committed. The pain and suffering they bring cause the\nspirit to expel the breath-record from its being in Purgatory. As that\ncannot exist independently of the life-giving spirit, the breath-record of\nour sins disintegrates upon expurgation, and thus we see that \u201cthe soul\nthat sinneth, it shall die.\u201d The memory of the suffering incidental to\nexpurgation however, remains with the spirit as _conscience_, to deter\nfrom repetition of the same evil in later lives.\n\nThus both our good and evil acts are recorded through the agency of the\nbreath, which is therefore the basis of the soul, but while the\nbreath-record of good acts amalgamates with the spirit and lives on\nforever as an immortal soul, the breath-record of evil deeds is\ndisintegrated; it is the soul that sinneth and dies.\n\nWhile the Bible teaches that immortality of the soul is conditional upon\nwell-doing, it makes no distinction in respect of the spirit. The\nstatement is clear and emphatic that when ... \u201cThe silver cord be loosed\n... then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall\nreturn to God who gave it.\u201d\n\nThus the Bible teaches that the body is made of dust and returns thereto,\nthat a part of the soul generated in the breath is perishable, but that\nthe spirit survives bodily death and persists forever. Therefore a \u201clost\nsoul\u201d in the common acceptance of that term is not a Bible teaching, for\nthe spirit is uncreate and eternal as God Himself, and therefore the\northodox theory cannot be true.\n\n3) THE THEORY OF REBIRTHS _which teaches that each spirit is an integral\npart of God, that it enfolds all divine possibilities as the acorn enfolds\nthe oak; that by means of many existences in an earthy body of gradually\n__ improving texture its latent powers are being slowly unfolded and\nbecome available as dynamic energy; that none can be lost but that all\nwill ultimately attain to perfection and reunion with God, each bringing\nwith it the accumulated experience which is the fruitage of its pilgrimage\nthrough matter._\n\nOr, as we may poetically express it:\n\nWE ARE ETERNAL.\n\n\n    On whistling stormcloud; on Zephyrus wing,\n    The Spirit-choir loud the World-anthems sing\n    Hark! Lis\u2019t to their voice \u201cwe have passed through death\u2019s door\n    There\u2019s no Death; rejoice! life lives evermore.\u201d\n\n    We are, have always been, will ever be.\n    We are a portion of Eternity\n    Older than Creation, a part of One Great Whole,\n    Is each Individual and immortal Soul.\n\n    On Time\u2019s whirring loom our garments we\u2019ve wrought\n    Eternally weave we on network of Thought,\n    Our kin and our country, by Mind brought to birth,\n    Were patterned in heaven ere molded on earth.\n\n    We have shone in the Jewel and danced on the Wave,\n    We have sparkled in Fire defying the grave;\n    Through shapes everchanging, in size, kind and name\n    Our individual essence still is the same.\n\n    And when we have reached to the highest of all,\n    The gradations of growth our minds shall recall\n    So that link by link we may join them together\n    And trace step by step the way we reached thither.\n\n    Thus in time we shall know, if only we do\n    What lifts, ennobles, is right and true.\n    With kindness to all; with malice to none,\n    That in and through us God\u2019s will may be done.\n\n\nWe venture to make the assertion that there is but one sin: _Ignorance_\nand but one salvation: _Applied Knowledge_. Even the wisest among us know\nbut little of what may be learned, however, and no one has attained to\nperfection, or can attain in one single short life, but we note that\neverywhere in nature slow persistent unfoldment makes for higher and\nhigher development of every thing and we call this process evolution.\n\nOne of the chief characteristics of evolution lies in the fact that it\nmanifests in alternating periods of activity and rest. The busy summer,\nwhen all things upon earth are exerting themselves to bring forth, is\nfollowed by the rest and inactivity of winter. The busy day alternates\nwith the quiet of night. The ebb of the ocean is succeeded by the\nflood-tide. Thus, as all other things move in cycles, the life that\nexpresses itself here upon earth for a few years is not to be thought of\nas ended when death has been reached, but as surely as the sun rises in\nthe morning after having set at night, will the life that was ended by the\ndeath of one body be taken up again in a new vehicle and in a different\nenvironment.\n\nThis earth may in fact be likened to a school to which we return life\nafter life to learn new lessons, as our children go to school day after\nday to increase their knowledge. The child sleeps through the night which\nintervenes between two days at school and the spirit also has its rest\nfrom active life between death and a new birth. There are also different\nclasses in this world-school which correspond to the various grades from\nkindergarten to college. In the lower classes we find spirits who have\ngone to the school of life but a few times, they are savages now, but in\ntime they will become wiser and better than we are, and we ourselves shall\nprogress in future lives to spiritual heights of which we cannot even\nconceive at the present. If we apply ourselves to learn the lessons of\nlife, we shall of course advance much faster in the school of life than if\nwe dilly-dally and idle our time away. This, on the same principle which\ngoverns in one of our own institutions of learning.\n\nWe are not here then, by the caprice of God. He has not placed one in\nclover and another in a desert nor has He given one a healthy body so that\nhe may live at ease from pain and sickness, while He placed another in\npoor circumstances with never a rest from pain. But what we are, we are,\non account of our own diligence or negligence, and what we shall be in the\nfuture depends upon what we will to be and not upon Divine caprice or upon\ninexorable fate. No matter what the circumstances, it lies with us to\nmaster them, or to be mastered, as we will. Sir Edwin Arnold puts the\nteaching most beautifully in his \u201cLight of Asia.\u201d\n\n\n    \u201cThe Books say well, my Brothers! each man\u2019s life\n    The outcome of his former living is;\n    The bygone wrongs bring forth sorrows and woes\n    The bygone right breeds bliss.\n\n    Each has such lordship as the loftiest ones\n    Nay for with powers around, above, below\n    As with all flesh and whatsoever lives\n    _Act_ maketh joy or woe.\n\n    Who toiled a slave may come anew a prince\n    For gentle worthiness and merit won;\n    Who ruled a king may wander earth in rags\n    For things done or undone.\u201d\n\n\nOr, as an unknown poet says:\n\n\n    \u201cOne ship sails East and another sails West\n    With the self same winds that blow.\n    \u2019Tis the set of the sail, and not the gale,\n    Which determines the way they go.\n\n    As the winds of the sea are the ways of fate\n    As we voyage along through life.\n    \u2019Tis the act of the soul, which determines the goal\n    And not the calm or the strife.\u201d\n\n\nWhen we wish to engage someone to undertake a certain mission we choose\nsome one whom we think particularly fitted to fulfill the requirements and\nwe must suppose that a Divine Being would use at least as much common\nsense, and not choose anyone to go his errand who was not fitted therefor.\nSo when we read in the Bible that Samson was foreordained to be the slayer\nof the Philistines and that Jeremiah was predestined to be a prophet, it\nis but logical to suppose that they must have been particularly suited to\nsuch occupation. John the Baptist also, was born to be a herald of the\ncoming Savior and to preach the kingdom of God which is to take the place\nof the kingdom of men.\n\nHad these people had no previous training, how could they have developed\nsuch a fitness to fulfill their various missions, and if they had been\nfitted, how else could they have received their training if not in earlier\nlives?\n\nThe Jews believed in the Doctrine of Rebirth or they would not have asked\nJohn the Baptist if he were Elijah, as recorded in the first chapter of\nJohn. The Apostles of Christ also held the belief as we may see from the\nincident recorded in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew where the Christ\nasked them the question: \u201cWhom do men say that I the Son of Man am?\u201d The\nApostles replied: \u201cSome say that Thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias;\nand others Jeremias or one of the Prophets.\u201d Upon this occasion the Christ\ntacitly assented to the teaching of Rebirth because He did not correct the\ndisciples as would have been His plain duty in His capacity as teacher,\nwhen the pupils entertained a mistaken idea.\n\nBut to Nicodemus He said unequivocally: \u201cExcept a man be born again, he\ncannot see the kingdom of God\u201d and in the eleventh chapter of Matthew, the\nfourteenth verse, He said, speaking of John the Baptist: \u201c_this __ is\nElijah_,\u201d in the seventeenth chapter of Matthew, the twelfth verse, He\nsaid: \u201cElijah has come already and they knew him not, but have done to him\nwhatsoever they listed, ... then the disciples understood that he spoke to\nthem of John the Baptist.\u201d\n\nThus we maintain that the Doctrine of Rebirth offers the only solution to\nthe problem of life which is in harmony with the laws of nature, which\nanswers the ethical requirements of the case and permits us to love God\nwithout blinding our reason to the inequalities of life and the varying\ncircumstances which give to a few the ease and comfort, the health and\nwealth, which are denied to the many.\n\nThe theory of Heredity advanced by Materialists applies only to the\n_form_, for as a carpenter uses material from a certain pile of lumber to\nbuild a house in which he afterwards lives, so does the spirit take the\nsubstance wherewith to build its house from the parents. The carpenter\ncannot build a house of hard wood from spruce lumber and the spirit also\nmust build a body which is like those from which the material was taken,\nbut the theory of Heredity does not apply upon the moral plane, for it is\na notorious fact, that in the rogues galleries of America and Europe there\nis no case where both father and son are represented. Thus the sons of\ncriminals, though they have the tendencies to crime, keep out of the\nclutches of the law. Neither will Heredity hold good upon the plane of the\nintellect, for many cases may be cited where a genius and an idiot spring\nfrom the same stock. The great Cuvier, whose brain was of about the same\nweight, as Daniel Webster\u2019s, and whose intellect was as great, had five\nchildren who all died of paresis, the brother of Alexander the Great was\nan idiot, and thus we hold that another solution must be found to account\nfor the facts of life.\n\nThe law of Rebirth coupled with its companion law, the law of Causation\ndoes that. When we die after one life, we return to earth later, under\ncircumstances determined by the manner in which we lived before. The\ngambler is drawn to pool parlors and race tracks to associate with others\nof like taste, the musician is attracted to the concert halls and music\nstudios, by congenial spirits, and the returning Ego also carries with it\nits likes and dislikes which cause it to seek parents among the class to\nwhich it belongs.\n\nBut then someone will point to cases where we find people of entirely\nopposite tastes living lives of torture, because grouped in the same\nfamily, and forced by circumstances to stay there contrary to their wills.\nBut that does not vitiate the law in the slightest, in each life we\ncontract certain obligations which cannot then be fulfilled. Perhaps we\nhave run away from a duty such as the care of an invalid relative and have\nmet death without coming to a realization of our mistake. That relative\nupon the other hand may have suffered severely from our neglect, and have\nstored up a bitterness against us before death terminates the suffering.\nDeath and the subsequent removal to another environment does not pay our\ndebts in this life, any more than the removal from the city where we now\nlive to another place will pay the debts we have contracted prior to our\nremoval. It is therefore quite possible that the two who have injured each\nother as described, may find themselves members of the same family. Then,\nwhether they remember the past grudge or not, the old enmity will assert\nitself and cause them to hate anew until the consequent discomfort forces\nthem to tolerate each other, and perhaps later they may learn to love\nwhere they hated.\n\nThe question also arises in the mind of inquirers: If we have been here\nbefore why do we not remember? And the answer is, that while most people\nare not aware of how their previous existences were spent, there are\nothers who have a very distinct recollection of previous lives. A friend\nof the writer\u2019s for instance, when living in France, one day started to\nread to her son about a certain city where they were then going upon a\nbicycle tour, and the boy exclaimed: you do not need to tell me about that\nmother. I know that city, I lived there and was killed! He then commenced\nto describe the city and also a certain bridge. Later he took his mother\nto that bridge and showed her the spot where he had met death centuries\nbefore. Another friend travelling in Ireland saw a scene which she\nrecognized and she also described to the party the scene around the bend\nof the road which she had never seen in this life, so it must have been a\nmemory from a previous life. Numerous other instances could be given where\nsuch minor flashes of memory reveal to us glimpses from a past life. The\nverified case in which a little three year old girl in Santa Barbara\ndescribed her life and death has been given in the Rosicrucian Cosmo\nConception. It is perhaps the most conclusive evidence as it hinges on the\nveracity of a child too young to have learned deception.\n\nThis theory of life does not rest upon speculation however, it is one of\nthe first facts of life demonstrated to the pupil of a Mystery school. He\nis taught to watch a child in the act of dying, also, to watch it in the\ninvisible world from day to day, until it comes to a new birth a year or\ntwo later. Then he knows with absolute certainty that we return to earth\nto reap in a future life what we now sow.\n\nThe reason for taking a child to watch in preference to an adult, is, that\nthe child is reborn very quickly, for its short life on earth has borne\nbut few fruits and these are soon assimilated, while the adult who has\nlived a long life, and had much experience remains in the invisible worlds\nfor centuries, so that the pupil could not watch him from death to\nrebirth. The cause of infant mortality will be explained later, here we\nmerely desire to emphasize the fact that it is within the range of\npossibilities of every one without exception to become able to know at\nfirst hand that which is here taught.\n\nThe average interval between two earth-lives is about a thousand years. It\nis determined by the movement of the sun known to astronomers as\n_precession of the equinox_, by which the sun moves through one of the\nsigns of the Zodiac in about 2100 years. During that time the conditions\nupon earth have changed so much that the spirit will find entirely new\nexperiences here, and therefore it returns.\n\nThe Great Leaders of evolution always obtain the maximum benefit from each\ncondition designed by them, and as the experiences in the same social\nconditions are very different in the case of a man from what they are for\na woman, the human spirit takes birth twice during the 2100 years measured\nby the precession of the equinox as already explained, it is born once as\na man and another time as a woman. Such is the rule, but it is subject to\nwhatever modifications may be necessary to facilitate reaping what the\nspirit has sown, as required under the law of Causation which works hand\nin hand with the law of Rebirth. Thus, at times a spirit may be brought to\nbirth long ere the thousand years have expired, in order to fulfill a\ncertain mission, or it may be detained in the invisible worlds after the\ntime when it should have come to birth according to the strict\nrequirements of a blind law. The laws of nature are not that however. They\nare Great Intelligences who always subordinate minor considerations to\nhigher ends, and under their beneficent guidance we are constantly\nprogressing from life to life under conditions exactly suited to each\nindividual, until in time we shall attain to a higher evolution and become\nSupermen.\n\nOliver Wendell Holmes has so beautifully voiced that aspiration and its\nconsummation in the lines:\n\n\n    \u201cBuild thee more stately mansions Oh! my soul,\n    As the swift seasons roll,\n    Leave thy low-vaulted past;\n    Let each new temple, nobler than the last,\n    Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast.\n    Till thou at length art free,\n    Leaving thy outgrown shell by life\u2019s unresting sea.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III. THE VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD\n\n\n_The Chemical Region._\n\nIf one who is capable of consciously using his spiritual body with the\nsame facility that we now use our physical vehicles should glide away from\nthe earth into interplanetary space, the earth and the various other\nplanets of our solar system would appear to him to be composed of three\nkinds of matter, roughly speaking. The densest matter, which is our\nvisible earth, would appear to him as being the center of the ball as the\nyolk is in the center of an egg. Around that nucleus he would observe a\nfiner grade of matter similarly disposed in relation to the central mass,\nas the white of the egg is disposed outside the yolk. Upon a little closer\ninvestigation he would also discover that this second kind of substance\npermeates the solid earth to the very center, even as the blood percolates\nthrough the more solid parts of our flesh. Outside both of these mingling\nlayers of matter he would observe a still finer, third layer corresponding\nto the shell of the egg, except that this third layer is the finest most\nsubtile of the three grades of matter, and that it inter-penetrates both\nof the two inner layers.\n\nAs already said, the central mass, spiritually seen, is our visible world,\ncomposed of solids, liquids and gases. They constitute the earth, its\natmosphere, and also the ether, of which physical science speaks\nhypothetically as permeating the atomic substance of all chemical\nelements. The second layer of matter is called the Desire World and the\noutermost layer is called the World of Thought.\n\nA little reflection upon the subject will make clear that just such a\nconstitution is necessary to account for facts of life as we see them. All\nforms in the world about us are built from chemical substances: solids,\nliquids and gases, but in so far that they do move, these forms obey a\nseparate and distinct impulse, and when this impelling energy leaves, the\nform becomes inert. The steam engine rotates under the impetus of an\ninvisible gas called steam. Before steam filled its cylinder, the engine\nstood still, and when the impelling force is shut off its motion again\nceases. The dynamo rotates under the still more subtile influence of an\nelectric current which may also cause the click of a telegraph instrument\nor the ring of an electric bell, but the dynamo ceases its swift whirl and\nthe persistent ring of the electric bell becomes mute when the invisible\nelectricity is switched off. The form of the bird, the animal and the\nhuman being also cease their motion when the inner force which we call\n_life_ has winged its invisible way.\n\nAll forms are impelled into motion by desire:\u2014the bird and the animal roam\nland and air in their desire to secure food and shelter, or for the\npurpose of breeding, man is also moved by these desires, but has in\naddition other and higher incentives to spur him to effort, among them is\ndesire for rapidity of motion which led him to construct the steam engine\nand other devices that move in obedience to _his_ desire.\n\nIf there were no iron in the mountains man could not build machines. If\nthere were no clay in the soil, the bony structure of the skeleton would\nbe an impossibility, and if there were no Physical World at all, with its\nsolids, liquids and gases, this dense body of ours could never have come\ninto existence. Reasoning along similar lines it must be at once apparent\nthat if there were no Desire World composed of desire-stuff, we should\nhave no way of forming feelings, emotions and desires. A planet composed\nof the materials we perceive with our _physical_ eyes and of no other\nsubstances, might be the home of plants which grow unconsciously, but have\nno desires to cause them to move. The human and animal kingdoms however,\nwould be impossibilities.\n\nFurthermore, there is in the world a vast number of things, from the\nsimplest and most crude instruments, to the most intricate and cunning\ndevices which have been constructed by the hand of man. These reveal the\nfact of man\u2019s thought and ingenuity. Thought must have a source as well as\n_form_ and _feeling_. We saw that it was necessary to have the requisite\nmaterial in order to build a steam engine or a body and we reasoned from\nthe fact that in order to obtain material to express _desire_ there must\nalso be a world composed of desire stuff. Carrying our argument to its\nlogical conclusion, we also hold that unless a World of Thought provides a\nreservoir of mind stuff upon which we may draw, it would be impossible for\nus to think and invent the things which we see in even the lowest\ncivilization.\n\nThus it will be clear that the division of a planet into worlds is not\nbased on fanciful metaphysical speculation, but is logically necessary in\nthe economy of nature. Therefore it must be taken into consideration by\nany one who would study and aim to understand the inner nature of things.\nWhen we see the street cars moving along our streets, it does not explain\nto say that the motor is driven by electricity of so many amperes at so\nmany volts. These names only add to our confusion until we have thoroughly\nstudied the science of electricity and then we shall find that the mystery\ndeepens, for while the street car belongs to the world of _inert form_\nperceptible to our vision, the electric current which moves it is\nindigenous to the realm of _force_, the invisible Desire World, and the\nthought which created and guides it, comes from the still more subtile\nWorld of Thought which is the home world of the human spirit, the Ego.\n\nIt may be objected that this line of argument makes a simple matter\nexceedingly intricate, but a little reflection will soon show the fallacy\nof such a contention. Viewed superficially any of the sciences seem\nextremely simple; anatomically we may divide the body into flesh and bone,\nchemically we may make the simple divisions between solid, liquid and gas,\nbut to thoroughly master the science of anatomy it is necessary to spend\nyears in close application and learn to know all the little nerves, the\nligaments which bind articulations between various parts of the bony\nstructure, to study the several kinds of tissue and their disposition in\nour system where they form the bones, muscles, glands, etc., which in the\naggregate we know as the human body. To properly understand the science of\nchemistry we must study the valence of the atom which determines the power\nof combination of the various elements, together with other niceties, such\nas atomic weight, density, etc. New wonders are constantly opening up to\nthe most experienced chemist, who understands best the immensity of his\nchosen science.\n\nThe youngest lawyer, fresh from law school knows more about the most\nintricate cases, in his own estimation, than the judges upon the Supreme\nCourt bench who spend long hours, weeks and months, seriously deliberating\nover their decisions. But those who, without having studied, think they\nunderstand and are fitted to discourse upon the greatest of all sciences,\nthe science of Life and Being, make a greater mistake. After years of\npatient study, of holy life spent in close application, a man is\noftentimes perplexed at the immensity of the subject he studies. He finds\nit to be so vast in both the direction of the great and small that it\nbaffles description, that language fails, and that the tongue must remain\nmute. Therefore we hold, (and we speak from knowledge gained through years\nof close study and investigation), that the finer distinctions which we\nhave made, and shall make, are not at all arbitrary, but absolutely\nnecessary as are divisions and distinctions made in anatomy or chemistry.\n\nNo form in the physical world has feeling in the true sense of that word.\nIt is the indwelling life which feels, as we may readily see from the fact\nthat a body which responded to the slightest touch while instinct with\nlife, exhibits no sensation whatever even when cut to pieces after the\nlife has fled. Demonstrations have been made by scientists, particularly\nby Professor Bose of Calcutta, to show that there is feeling in dead\nanimal tissue and even in tin and other metal, but we maintain that the\ndiagrams which seem to support his contentions in reality demonstrate only\na response to impacts similar to the rebound of a rubber ball, and that\nmust not be confused with such feelings as _love_, _hate_, _sympathy_ and\n_aversion_. Goethe also, in his novel \u201cElective Affinities,\u201d\n(Wahlverwandtschaft), brings out some beautiful illustrations wherein he\nmakes it seem as if atoms loved and hated, from the fact that some\nelements combine readily while other substances refuse to amalgamate, a\nphenomenon produced by the different rates of speed at which various\nelements vibrate and an unequal inclination of their axes. Only where\nthere is sentient life can there be feelings of pleasure and pain, sorrow\nor joy.\n\n_The Etheric Region._\n\nIn addition to the solids, liquids and gases which compose the _Chemical\nRegion_ of the Physical World there is also a finer grade of matter called\nEther, which permeates the atomic structure of the earth and its\natmosphere substantially as science teaches. Scientists have never seen,\nnor have they weighed, measured or analyzed this substance, but they infer\nthat it must exist in order to account for transmission of light and\nvarious other phenomena. If it were possible for us to live in a room from\nwhich the air had been exhausted we might speak at the top of our voices,\nwe might ring the largest bell or we might even discharge a cannon close\nto our ear and we should hear no sound, for air is the medium which\ntransmits sound vibrations to the tympanum of our ear, and that would be\nlacking. But if an electric light were lighted, we should at once perceive\nits rays; it would illumine the room despite the lack of air. Hence there\nmust be a substance, capable of being set into vibration, between the\nelectric light and our eyes. That medium scientists call ether, but it is\nso subtile that no instrument has been devised whereby it may be measured\nor analyzed and therefore the scientists are without much information\nconcerning it, though forced to postulate its existence.\n\nWe do not seek to belittle the achievements of modern scientists, we have\nthe greatest admiration for them and we entertain high expectations of\nwhat ambitions they may yet realize, but we perceive a limitation in the\nfact, that all discoveries of the past have been made by the invention of\nwonderful instruments applied in a most ingenious manner to solve\nseemingly insoluble and baffling problems. The strength of science lies\nvested in its instruments, for the scientist may say to anyone: Go,\nprocure a number of glasses ground in a certain manner, insert them in a\ntube, direct that tube toward a certain point in the sky where now nothing\nappears to your naked eye. You will then see a beautiful star called\nUranus. If his directions are followed, anyone is _quickly and without\npreparation_, able to demonstrate for himself the truth of the scientist\u2019s\nassertion. But while the instruments of science are its tower of strength\nthey also mark the end of its field of investigation, for it is impossible\nto contact the spirit world with _physical_ instruments, so the research\nof occultists begins where the physical scientist finds his limit and are\ncarried on by _spiritual_ means.\n\nThese investigations are as thorough and as reliable as researches by\nmaterial scientists, but not as easily demonstrable to the general public.\nSpiritual powers lie dormant within every human being, and when awakened,\nthey compensate for both telescope and microscope, they enable their\npossessor to investigate, _instanter_, things beyond the veil of matter,\nbut they are only developed by a patient application and continuance in\nwell doing extended over years, and few are they who have faith to start\nupon the path to attainment or perseverance to go through with the ordeal.\nTherefore the occultist\u2019s assertions are not generally credited.\n\nWe can readily see that long probation must precede attainment, for a\nperson equipped with spiritual sight is able to penetrate walls of houses\nas easily as we walk through the atmosphere, able to read at will the\ninnermost thoughts of those about him; if not actuated by the most pure\nand unselfish motives, he would be a scourge to humanity. Therefore that\npower is safeguarded as we would withhold the dynamite bomb from an\nanarchist and from the well-intentioned but ignorant person, or, as we\nwithhold match and powder barrel from a child.\n\nIn the hands of an experienced engineer the dynamite bomb may be used to\nopen a highway of commerce, and an intelligent farmer may use gunpowder to\ngood account in clearing his field of tree-stumps, but in the hands of an\nill-intentioned criminal or ignorant child an explosive may wreck much\nproperty and end many lives. The force is the same, but used differently,\naccording to the ability or intention of the user, it may produce results\nof a diametrically opposite nature. So it is also with spiritual powers,\nthere is a time-lock upon them, as upon a bank safe, which keeps out all\nuntil they have earned the privilege and the time is ripe for its\nexercise.\n\nAs already said, the ether is physical matter and responsive to the same\nlaws which govern other physical substances upon this plane of existence.\nTherefore it requires but a slight extension of _physical_ sight to see\nether, (which is disposed in four grades of density), the blue haze seen\nin mountain canyons is in fact ether of the kind known to occult\ninvestigators as \u201c_chemical ether_.\u201d Many people who see this ether, are\nunaware that they are possessed of a faculty not enjoyed by all. Others,\nwho have developed spiritual sight are not endowed with etheric vision, a\nfact which seems an anomaly until the subject of clairvoyance is\nthoroughly understood.\n\nThe reason is, that as ether is physical matter, etheric sight depends\nupon the sensitiveness of the optic nerve while spiritual sight is\nacquired by developing latent vibratory powers in two little organs\nsituated in the brain: the Pituitary body and the Pineal gland.\nNearsighted people even, may have etheric vision. Though unable to read\nthe print in a book, they may be able to \u201csee through a wall,\u201d owing to\nthe fact that their optic nerve responds more rapidly to fine than to\ncoarse vibrations.\n\nWhen anyone views an object with etheric sight he sees _through_ that\nobject in a manner similar to the way an x-ray penetrates opaque\nsubstances. If he looks at a sewing machine, he will perceive, first an\nouter casing; then, the works within, and behind both, the casing furthest\naway from him.\n\nIf he has developed the grade of spiritual vision which opens the Desire\nWorld to him and he looks at the same object, he will see it both inside\nand out. If he looks closely, he will perceive every little atom spinning\nupon its axis and no part or particle will be excluded from his\nperception.\n\nBut if his spiritual sight has been developed in such a measure that he is\ncapable of viewing the sewing machine with the vision peculiar to the\nWorld of Thought, he will behold a cavity where he had previously seen the\nform.\n\nThings seen with etheric vision are very much alike in color, they are\nnearly reddish-blue, purple or violet, according to the density of the\nether, but when we view any object with the spiritual sight pertaining to\nthe Desire World, it scintillates and coruscates in a thousand ever\nchanging colors so indescribably beautiful that they can only be compared\nto living fire, and the writer therefore calls this grade of vision _color\nsight_, but when the spiritual vision of the World of Thought is the\nmedium of perception, the seer finds that in addition to still more\nbeautiful colors, there issues from the cavity described a constant flow\nof a certain harmonious _tone_. Thus this world wherein we now consciously\nlive and which we perceive by means of our physical senses is preeminently\nthe world of _form_, the Desire World is particularly the world of _color_\nand the World of Thought is the realm of _tone_.\n\nBecause of the relative proximity or distance of these worlds, a statue, a\n_form_, withstands the ravages of time for millenniums, but the _colors_\nupon a painting fade in far shorter time, for they come from the Desire\nWorld, and _music_ which is native to the World furthest removed from us,\nthe World of Thought, is like a will-o-the-wisp which none may catch or\nhold, it is gone again as soon as it has made its appearance. But there is\nin color and music a compensation for this increasing evanescence.\n\nThe statue is cold and dead as the mineral of which it is composed and has\nattractions for but few though its _form is_ a tangible reality.\n\nThe forms upon a painting are illusory yet they express _life_, on account\nof the _color_ which has come from a region where nothing is inert and\nlifeless. Therefore the painting is enjoyed by many.\n\nMusic is intangible and ephemeral, but it comes from the home world of the\nspirit and though so fleeting it is recognized by the spirit as a\n_soul-speech_ fresh from the celestial realms, an echo from the home\nwhence we are now exiled, and therefore it touches a cord in our being,\nregardless of whether we realize the true cause or not.\n\nThus we see that there are various grades of spiritual sight, each suited\nto the superphysical realm which it opens to our perception: Etheric\nvision, color vision and tonal vision.\n\nThe occult investigator finds that ether is of four kinds, or grades of\ndensity:\n\nThe Chemical Ether,\nThe Life Ether,\nThe Light Ether,\nThe Reflecting Ether.\n\n_The Chemical Ether_ is the avenue of expression for forces promoting\nassimilation, growth and the maintenance of form.\n\n_The Life Ether_ is the vantage ground of forces active in propagation, or\nthe building of new forms.\n\n_The Light Ether_ transmits the motive power of the sun along the various\nnerves of _living_ bodies and makes motion possible.\n\n_The Reflecting Ether_ receives an impression of all that is, lives and\nmoves. It also records each change, in a similar manner as the film upon a\nmoving picture machine. In this record mediums and psychometrists may read\nthe past, upon the same principle as, under proper conditions, moving\npictures are reproduced time and again.\n\nWe have been speaking of ether as an avenue of _forces_, a word which\nconveys no meaning to the average mind, because force is invisible. But to\nan occult investigator the forces are not merely names such as steam,\nelectricity, etc. He finds them to be intelligent beings of varying\ngrades, both sub and superhuman. What we call \u201claws of nature,\u201d are great\nintelligences which guide more elemental beings in accordance with certain\nrules designed to further their evolution.\n\nIn the Middle Ages, when many people were still endowed with a remnant of\n_negative_ clairvoyance, they spoke of Gnomes and Elves or Fairies, which\nroamed about the mountains and forests. These were the _earth_ spirits.\nThey also told of the Undine or _water_-sprite, which inhabited rivers and\nstreams, of Sylphs which were said to dwell in the mists above moat and\nmoor, as air spirits, but not much was said of the Salamanders, as they\nare, fire spirits, and therefore not so easily detected, or so readily\naccessible to the majority of people.\n\nThe old folk stories are now regarded as superstitions, but as a matter of\nfact, one endowed with etheric vision may yet perceive the little gnomes\nbuilding green chlorophyll into the leaves of plants and giving to flowers\nthe multiplicity of delicate tints which delight our eyes.\n\nScientists have attempted time and again to offer an adequate explanation\nof the phenomenon of wind and storm but have failed signally, nor can they\nsucceed while they seek a mechanical solution to what is really a\nmanifestation of life. Could they see the hosts of sylphs winging their\nway hither and thither, they would _know_ who and what is responsible for\nthe fickleness of the wind; could they watch a storm at sea from the\netheric view-point they would perceive that the saying \u201cthe war of the\nelements\u201d is not an empty phrase, for the heaving sea is truly then a\nbattlefield of sylphs and undines and the howling tempest is the war cry\nof spirits in the air.\n\nAlso the salamanders are found everywhere and no fire is lighted without\ntheir help, but they are mostly active underground. They are responsible\nfor explosions and volcanic eruptions.\n\nThe classes of beings which we have mentioned are still sub-human, but\nwill all at some time reach a stage in evolution corresponding to the\nhuman, though under different circumstances from those under which we\nevolve. But at present the wonderful intelligences we speak of as the laws\nof nature, marshall the armies of less evolved entities mentioned.\n\nTo arrive at a better understanding of what these various beings are, and\ntheir relation to us, we may take an illustration: Let us suppose that a\nmechanic is making an engine, and meanwhile a dog is watching him. It\n_sees_ the man at his labor, and how he uses various tools to shape his\nmaterials, also how, from the crude iron, steel, brass and other metals\nthe engine slowly takes shape. The dog is a being from a lower evolution\nand does not comprehend the purpose of the mechanic but it _sees_ both the\nworkman, his labor and the result thereof, which manifests as an engine.\n\nLet us now suppose that the dog were able to see the materials which\nslowly change their shape, assemble and become an engine but that it is\nunable to perceive the workman and to see the work he does. The dog would\nthen be in the same relation to the mechanic as we are to the great\nintelligences we call laws of nature, and their assistants, the nature\nspirits, for we behold the manifestations of their work as _force_ moving\nmatter in various ways but always under immutable conditions.\n\nIn the ether we may also observe the angels, whose densest body is made of\nthat material, as our dense body is formed of gases, liquids and solids.\nThese beings are one step beyond the human stage, as we are a degree in\nadvance of the animal evolution. We have never been animals like our\npresent fauna, however, but at a previous stage in the development of our\nplanet we had an animal-like constitution. Then the angels were human,\nthough they have never possessed a dense body such as ours, nor ever\nfunctioned in any material denser than ether. At some time, in a future\ncondition, the earth will again become ethereal. Then man will be _like_\nthe angels. Therefore the Bible tells us that man was made _a little\nwhile_ lower than the angels (Paul\u2019s letter to the Hebrews, second\nchapter, seventh verse; _see marginal reading_.)\n\nAs ether is the avenue of vital, creative forces, and as angels are such\nexpert builders of ether, we may readily understand that they are\neminently fitted to be warders of the propagative forces in plant, animal\nand man. All through the Bible we find them thus engaged: Two _angels_\ncame to Abraham and announced the birth of Isaac, they _promised_ a child\nto the man who had obeyed God. Later _these same angels_ destroyed Sodom\nfor _abuse of the creative force_. _Angels_ foretold _to the parents_ of\nSamuel and Samson, the birth of these giants of brain and brawn. To\nElizabeth came the _angel_ (not archangel) Gabriel and announced the birth\nof John, later he appeared also to Mary with the message that she was\nchosen to bear Jesus.\n\n_The Desire World._\n\nWhen spiritual sight is developed so that it becomes possible to behold\nthe Desire World, many wonders confront the newcomer, for conditions are\nso widely different from what they are here, that a description must sound\nquite as incredible as a fairy tale to anyone who has not himself seen\nthem. Many cannot even believe that such a world exists, and that other\npeople can see that which is invisible to them, yet some people are blind\nto the beauties of this world which we see. A man who was born blind, may\nsay to us: I know that this world exists, I can hear, I can smell, I can\ntaste and above all I can feel but when you speak of light and of color,\nthey are nonexistent to me. You say that you _see_ these things, I cannot\nbelieve it for I cannot _see_ myself. You say that light and color are all\nabout me, but none of the senses at my command reveal them to me and I do\nnot believe that the sense you call _sight_ exists. I think you suffer\nfrom hallucinations. We might sympathize very sincerely with the poor man\nwho is thus afflicted, but his scepticism, reasonings and objections and\nsneers notwithstanding we would be obliged to maintain that we perceive\nlight and color.\n\nThe man whose spiritual sight has been awakened is in a similar position\nwith respect to those who do not perceive the Desire World of which he\nspeaks. If the blind man acquires the faculty of sight by an operation,\nhis eyes are opened and he will be compelled to assert the existence of\nlight and color which he formerly denied, and when spiritual sight is\nacquired by anyone, he also perceives for himself the facts related by\nothers. Neither is it an argument against the existence of spiritual\nrealms that seers are at variance in their descriptions of conditions in\nthe invisible world. We need but to look into books on travel, and compare\nstories brought home by explorers of China, India or Africa and we shall\nfind them differing widely and often contradictory, because each traveler\nsaw things from his own standpoint, under other conditions than those met\nby his brother authors, and we maintain that the man who has read most\nwidely these varying tales concerning a certain Country _and wrestled with\nthe contradictions of narrators_, will have a more comprehensive idea of\nthe country or people of whom he has read, than the man who has only read\none story assented to by all the authors. Similarly, the varying stories\nof visitors to the Desire World are of value, because giving a fuller\nview, and more rounded, than if all had seen things from the same angle.\n\nIn this world matter and force are widely different. The chief\ncharacteristic of matter here is _inertia_: the tendency to remain at rest\nuntil acted upon by a force which sets it in motion. In the Desire World,\non the contrary, force and matter are almost indistinguishable one from\nthe other. We might almost describe desire-stuff as force-matter, for it\nis in incessant motion, responsive to the slightest _feeling_ of a vast\nmultitude of beings which populate this wonderful world in nature. We\noften speak of the \u201cteeming millions\u201d of China and India, even of our vast\ncities, London, New York, Paris or Chicago, we consider them overcrowded\nin the extreme, yet even the densest population of any spot upon earth is\nsparsely inhabited compared with the crowded conditions of the Desire\nWorld. No inconvenience is felt by any of the denizens of that realm,\nhowever, for, while in this world two things cannot occupy the same space\nat the same time, it is different there. A number of people and things may\nexist _in the same place at the same time_ and be engaged in most diverse\nactivities, regardless of what others are doing, such is the wonderful\nelasticity of desire stuff. As an illustration we may mention a case where\nthe writer while attending religious service, plainly perceived at the\naltar certain beings interested in furthering that service and working to\nachieve that end. At the same time there drifted through the room and the\naltar, a table at which four persons were engaged in playing cards. They\nwere as oblivious to the existence of the beings engaged in furthering our\nreligious service, as though these did not exist.\n\nThe Desire World is the abode of those who have died, for some time\nsubsequent to that event, and we may mention in the above connection that\nthe so-called \u201cdead\u201d very often stay for a long while among their still\nliving friends. Unseen by their relatives they go about the familiar\nrooms. At first they are often unaware of the condition mentioned: \u201cthat\ntwo persons may be in the same place at the same time,\u201d and when they seat\nthemselves in a chair or at the table, a living relative may take the\nsupposedly vacant seat. The man we mistakenly call dead will at first\nhurry out of his seat to escape being sat upon, but he soon learns that\nbeing sat upon does not hurt him in his altered condition, and that he may\nremain in his chair regardless of the fact that his living relative is\nalso sitting there.\n\nIn the lower regions of the Desire World the whole body of each being may\nbe seen, but in the highest regions only the head seems to remain.\nRaphael, who like many other people in the middle ages was gifted with a\nso-called _second sight_, pictured that condition for us in his Sistine\nMadonna, now in the Dresden Art Gallery, where Madonna and the\nChrist-child are represented as floating in a golden atmosphere and\nsurrounded by a host of genie-heads: conditions which the occult\ninvestigator knows to be in harmony with actual facts.\n\nAmong the entities who are, so to speak, \u201c_native_\u201d to that realm of\nnature, none are perhaps better known to the Christian world than the\nArchangels. These exalted Beings were human at a time in the earth\u2019s\nhistory when we were yet plant-like. Since then we have advanced two\nsteps: through the animal and to the human stage of development. The\npresent Archangels have also made two steps in progression; one, in which\nthey were similar to what the angels are now, and another step which made\nthem what we call Archangels.\n\nTheir densest body, though differing from ours in shape, and made of\ndesire stuff, is used by them as a vehicle of consciousness in the same\nmanner that we use our body. They are expert manipulators of forces in the\nDesire World, and these forces, as we shall see, move all the world to\naction. Therefore the Archangels work with humanity _industrially_ and\n_politically_ as arbitrators of the destiny of peoples and nations. The\nAngels may be said to be _family_-spirits whose mission is to unite a few\nspirits as members of a family, and cement them with ties of blood and\nlove of kin, while the Archangels may be called race and national spirits,\nas they unite whole nations by patriotism or love of home and country.\nThey are responsible for the rise and fall of nations, they give war or\npeace, victory or defeat as it serves the best interests of the people\nthey rule. This we may see, for instance, from the book of Daniel, where\nthe Archangel Michael (not to be confounded with the Michael, who is\nambassador from the sun to the earth), is called the prince of the\nchildren of Israel. Another Archangel tells Daniel, (in the tenth chapter)\nthat he intends to fight the prince of Persia by means of the Greeks.\n\nThere are varying grades of intelligence among human beings, some are\nqualified to hold high and lofty positions entirely beyond the ability of\nothers. So it is also among higher beings, not all Archangels are fitted\nto govern a nation and rule the destiny of a race, people or tribe, some\nare not fitted to rule human beings at all, but as the animals also have a\ndesire nature these lower grades of Archangels govern the animals as\ngroup-spirits and evolve to higher capacity thereby.\n\nThe work of the race spirits is readily observable in the people it\ngoverns. The lower in the scale of evolution the people, the more they\nshow a certain racial likeness. That is due to the work of the race\nspirit. One national spirit is responsible for the swarthy complexion\ncommon to Italians, for instance, while another causes the Scandinavians\nto be blond. In the more advanced types of humanity there is a wider\ndivergence from the common type, due to the individualized Ego, which thus\nexpresses in form and feature its own particular idiosyncrasies. Among the\nlower types of humanity such as Mongolians, native African Negroes and\nSouth Sea Islanders, the resemblance of individuals in each tribe makes it\nalmost impossible for civilized Westerners to distinguish between them.\nAmong animals, where the separate spirit is not individualized and\nself-conscious, the resemblance is not only much more marked physically\nbut extends even to traits and characteristics. We may write the biography\nof a man, for the experiences of each varies from that of others and his\nacts are different, but we cannot write the biography of an animal for\nmembers of each tribe all act alike under similar circumstances. If we\ndesire to know the facts about Edward VII, it would profit us nothing to\nstudy the life of the Prince-Consort, his father, or of George V, his son,\nas both would be entirely different from Edward. In order to find out what\nmanner of man he was, we must study his own individual life. If, on the\nother hand, we wish to know the characteristics of beavers, we may observe\nany individual of the tribe, and when we have studied its idiosyncrasies,\nwe shall know the traits of the whole tribe of beavers. What we call\n\u201cinstinct,\u201d is in reality the dictates of group-spirits which govern\nseparate individuals of its tribe telepathically, as it were.\n\nThe ancient Egyptians knew of these animal group spirits and sketched many\nof them, in a crude way, upon their temples and tombs. Such figures with a\nhuman body and an animal head actually live in the desire world. They may\nbe spoken to, and will be found much more intelligent than the average\nhuman being.\n\nThat statement brings up another peculiarity of conditions in the Desire\nWorld in respect of language. Here in this World human speech is so\ndiversified that there are countries where people who live only a few\nmiles apart speak a dialect so different that they understand each other\nwith great difficulty, and each nation has its own language that varies\naltogether from the speech of other peoples.\n\nIn the lower Regions of the Desire World, there is the same diversity of\ntongues as on earth, and the so-called \u201cdead\u201d of one nation find it\nimpossible to converse with those who lived in another country. Hence\nlinguistic accomplishments are of great value to the \u201cInvisible Helpers\u201d,\nof whom we shall hear later, as their sphere of usefulness is enormously\nextended by that ability.\n\nEven apart from difference of language our mode of speech is exceedingly\nproductive of misunderstandings. The same words often convey most opposite\nideas to different minds. If we speak of a \u201cbody of water\u201d, one person may\nthink we mean a lake of small dimensions, the thoughts of another may be\ndirected to the great American Lakes and a third person\u2019s thoughts may be\nturned towards the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans. If we speak of a \u201clight\u201d,\none may think of a gas-light, another of an electric Arc-lamp, or if we\nsay \u201cred\u201d, one person may think we mean a delicate shade of pink and\nanother gets the idea of crimson. The misunderstandings of what words mean\ngoes even farther, as illustrated in the following.\n\nThe writer once opened a reading room in a large city where he lectured,\nand invited his audience to make use thereof. Among those who availed\nthemselves of the opportunity was a gentleman who had for many years been\na veritable \u201cmetaphysical tramp,\u201d roaming from lecture to lecture, hearing\nthe teachings of everybody and practicing nothing. Like the Athenians on\nMars\u2019 Hill, he was always looking for something \u201cnew,\u201d particularly in the\nline of phenomena, and his mind was in that seething chaotic state which\nis one of the most prominent symptoms of \u201cmental indigestion.\u201d\n\nHaving attended a number of our lectures he knew from the program that:\n\u201cThe lecturer does not give readings, or cast horoscopes _for pay_.\u201d But\nseeing on the door of the newly opened reading room, the legend: \u201cFree\nReading Room,\u201d his erratic mind at once jumped to the conclusion that\nalthough we were opposed to telling fortunes for pay, we were now going to\ngive free readings of the future in the Free Reading Room. He was much\ndisappointed that we did not intend to tell fortunes, either gratis or for\na consideration, and we changed our sign to \u201cFree Library\u201d in order to\nobviate a repetition of the error.\n\nIn the higher Regions of the Desire World the confusion of tongues gives\nplace to a universal mode of expression which absolutely prevents\nmisunderstandings of our meaning. There each of our thoughts takes a\ndefinite form and color perceptible to all, and this thought-symbol emits\na certain tone, which is not a word, but it conveys our meaning to the one\nwe address no matter what language he spoke on earth.\n\nTo arrive at an understanding of how such a universal language becomes\npossible and is at once comprehended by all, without preparation, we may\ntake as an illustration the manner in which a musician reads music. A\nGerman or a Polish composer may write an opera. Each has his own peculiar\nterminology and expresses it in his own language. When that opera is to be\nplayed by an Italian band master, or by a Spanish or American musician, it\nneed not be translated, the notes and symbols upon the page are a\nuniversally understood language of symbols which is intelligible to\nmusicians of no matter what nationality. Similarly with figures, the\nGerman counts: ein, zwei, drei; the Frenchman says: un, deux, trois, and\nin English we use the words: one, two, three, but the figures: 1, 2, 3,\nthough differently spoken, are intelligible to all and mean the same.\nThere is no possibility of misunderstanding in the cases of either music\nor figures. Thus it is also with the universal language peculiar to the\nhigher Regions of the Desire World and the still more subtile realms in\nnature, it is intelligible to all, an exact mode of expression.\n\nReturning to our description of the entities commonly met with in the\nlower Desire World, we may note that other systems of religion than the\nEgyptian, already mentioned, have spoken of various classes of beings\nnative to these realms. The Zoroastrian Religion, for instance, mentions\n_Seven Ameshaspends_ and the Izzards as having dominion over certain days\nin the month and certain months in the year. The Christian religion speaks\nof Seven Spirits before the Throne, which are the same beings the Persians\ncalled Ameshaspends. Each of them rules over two months in the year while\nthe seventh: Michael, the highest, is their leader, for he is ambassador\nfrom the sun to the earth, the others are ambassadors from the planets.\nThe Catholic religion with its abundant occult information takes most\nnotice of these \u201c_star-angels_\u201d and knows considerable about their\ninfluence upon the affairs of the earth.\n\nThe Ameshaspends, however, do not inhabit the lower Regions of the Desire\nWorld but influence the Izzards. According to the old Persian legend these\nbeings are divisible into one group of twenty-eight classes, and another\ngroup of three classes. Each of these classes has dominion over, or takes\nthe lead of all the other classes on one certain day of the month. They\nregulate the weather conditions on that day and work with animal and man\nin particular. At least the twenty-eight classes do that, the other group\nof three classes has nothing to do with animals, because they have only\ntwenty-eight pair of spinal nerves, while human beings have thirty-one.\nThus animals are attuned to the lunar month of twenty-eight days, while\nman is correlated to the solar month of thirty or thirty-one days. The\nancient Persians were astronomers but not physiologists, they had no means\nof knowing the different nervous constitution of animal and man, but they\nsaw clairvoyantly these superphysical beings, they noted and recorded\ntheir work with animal and men and our own anatomical investigations may\nshow us the reason for these divisions of the classes of Izzards recorded\nin that ancient system of philosophy.\n\nStill another class of beings should be mentioned: those who have entered\nthe Desire World through the gate of death and are now hidden from our\nphysical vision. These so-called \u201cdead\u201d are in fact much more alive than\nany of us, who are tied to a dense body and subject to all its\nlimitations, who are forced to slowly drag this clog along with us at the\nrate of a few miles an hour, who must expend such an enormous amount of\nenergy upon propelling that vehicle that we are easily and quickly tired,\neven when in the best of health and who are often confined to a bed,\nsometimes for years, by the indisposition of this heavy mortal coil. But\nwhen that is once shed and the freed spirit can again function in its\nspiritual body, sickness is an unknown condition and distance is\nannihilated, or at least practically so, for though it was necessary for\nthe Savior to liken the freed spirit to the wind which blows where it\nlisteth, that simile gives but a poor description of what actually takes\nplace in soul flights. Time is nonexistent there, as we shall presently\nexplain, so the writer has never been able to time himself, but has on\nseveral occasions timed others when he was in the physical body and they\nspeeding through space upon a certain errand. Distances such as from the\nPacific Coast to Europe, the delivery of a short message there and the\nreturn to the body has been accomplished in slightly less than one minute.\nTherefore our assertion, that those whom we call dead are in reality much\nmore alive than we, is well founded in facts.\n\nWe spoke of the dense body in which we now live, as a \u201cclog\u201d and a\n\u201cfetter.\u201d It must not be inferred, however, that we sympathize with the\nattitude of certain people who, when they have learned with what ease\nsoul-flights are accomplished, go about bemoaning the fact that they are\nnow imprisoned. They are constantly thinking of, and longing for, the day\nwhen they shall be able to leave this mortal coil behind and fly away in\ntheir spiritual body. Such an attitude of mind is decidedly mistaken, the\ngreat and wise beings who are invisible leaders of our evolution have not\nplaced us here to no purpose. Valuable lessons are to be learned in this\nvisible world wherein we dwell, that cannot be learned in any other realm\nof nature, and the very conditions of density and inertia whereof such\npeople complain, are factors which make it possible to acquire the\nknowledge this world is designed to give. This fact was so amply\nillustrated in a recent experience of the writer:\u2014A friend had been\nstudying occultism for a number of years but had not studied astrology.\n\nLast year she became aroused to the importance of this branch of study as\na key to self knowledge and a means of understanding the natures of\nothers, also of developing the compassion for their errors, so necessary\nin the cultivation of love of one\u2019s neighbor. Love of our neighbor the\nSavior enjoined upon us as the Supreme Commandment which is the\nfulfillment of all laws, and as Astrology teaches us to _bear_ and\n_forbear_, it helps as nothing else can in the development of the supreme\nvirtue. She therefore joined one of the classes started in Los Angeles by\nthe writer, but a sudden illness quickly ended in death and thus\nterminated her study of the subject in the physical body, ere it was well\nbegun.\n\nUpon one of many occasions when she visited the writer subsequent to her\nrelease from the body, she deplored the fact that it seemed so difficult\nto make headway in her study of astrology. The writer advised continued\nattendance at the classes, and suggested that she could surely get someone\n\u201con the other side\u201d to help her study.\n\nAt this she exclaimed impatiently: \u201cOh yes! of course I attend the\nclasses, I have done so right along; I have also found a friend who helps\nme here. But you cannot imagine how difficult it is to concentrate here\nupon mathematical calculations and the judgment of a horoscope or in fact\nupon any subject here, where every little thought-current takes you miles\naway from your study. I used to think it difficult to concentrate when I\nhad a physical body, but it is not a circumstance to the obstacles which\nface the student here.\u201d\n\nThe physical body was an anchor to her, and it is that to all of us. Being\ndense, it is also to a great extent impervious to disturbing influences\nfrom which the more subtle spiritual bodies do not shield us. It enables\nus to bring our ideas to a logical conclusion with far less effort at\nconcentration than is necessary in that realm where all is in such\nincessant and turbulent motion. Thus we are gradually developing the\nfaculty of holding our thoughts to a center by existence in this world,\nand we should value our opportunities here, rather than deplore the\nlimitations which help in one direction more than they fetter in another.\nIn fact, we should never deplore any condition, each has its lesson. If we\ntry to learn what that lesson is and to assimilate the experience which\nmay be extracted therefrom, we are wiser than those who waste time in vain\nregrets.\n\nWe said there is no time in the Desire World, and the reader will readily\nunderstand that such must be the case from the fact, already mentioned,\nthat nothing there is opaque.\n\nIn this world the rotation of the opaque earth upon its axis is\nresponsible for the alternating conditions of day and night. We call it\nDay\u2014when the spot where we live is turned towards the sun and its rays\nillumine our environment, but when our home is turned away from the sun\nand its rays obstructed by the opaque earth we term the resulting\ndarkness: Night. The passage of the earth in its orbit around the sun\nproduces the seasons and the year, which are our divisions of time. But in\nthe Desire World where all is light there is but one long day. The spirit\nis not there fettered by a heavy physical body, so it does not need sleep\nand existence is unbroken. Spiritual substances are not subject to\ncontraction and expansion such as arise here from heat and cold, hence\nsummer and winter are also non-existent. Thus there is nothing to\ndifferentiate one moment from another in respect of the conditions of\nlight and darkness, summer and winter, which mark time for us. Therefore,\nwhile the so-called \u201cdead\u201d may have a very accurate memory of time as\nregards the life they lived here in the body, they are usually unable to\ntell anything about the chronological relation of events which have\nhappened to them in the Desire World, and it is a very common thing to\nfind that they do not even know how many years have elapsed since they\npassed out from this plane of existence. Only students of the Stellar\nScience are able to calculate the passage of time after their demise.\n\nWhen the occult investigator wishes to study an event in the past history\nof man, he may most readily call up the picture from _the memory of\nnature_, but if he desires to fix the time of the incident, he will be\nobliged to count backwards by the motion of the heavenly bodies. For that\npurpose he generally uses the measure provided by the sun\u2019s precession:\nEach year the sun crosses the earth\u2019s equator about the twenty-first of\nMarch. Then day and night are of even length, therefore this is called the\nVernal equinox. But on account of a certain wabbling motion of the earth\u2019s\naxis, the sun does not cross over at the same place in the Zodiac, it\nreaches the equator a little too early, it _precedes_, year by year it\nmoves _backwards_ a little. At the time of the birth of Christ, for\ninstance, the Vernal Equinox was in about seven degrees of the Zodiacal\nsign Aries. During the two thousand years which intervene between that\nevent and the present time, the sun has moved _backwards_ about\ntwenty-seven degrees, so that it is now in about ten degrees of the sign\nPisces. It moves around the whole circle of the Zodiac in about 25,868\nyears. The occult investigator may therefore count back the number of\nsigns, or whole circles, which the sun has _preceded_ between the present\nday and the time of the event he is investigating. Thus he has by the use\nof the heavenly time keepers a very approximately correct measure of time\neven though he is in the Desire World and that is another reason for\nstudying the Stellar Science.\n\n_The World of Thought._\n\nWhen we have attained the spiritual development necessary to consciously\nenter the World of Thought and leave the Desire World, which is the realm\nof light and color, we pass through a condition which the occult\ninvestigator calls The Great Silence.\n\nAs previously stated, the higher Regions of the Desire World exhibit the\nmarked peculiarity of blending form and sound, but when one passes through\nthe Great Silence, all the world seems to disappear and the spirit has the\nfeeling of floating in an ocean of intense light, utterly alone, yet\nabsolutely fearless, since unimbued with a sense of its form or sound, nor\npast or future, but all is one eternal NOW. There seems to be neither\npleasure nor pain and yet there is no absence of feeling but it all seems\nto center in the one idea:\u2014\u201c_I am_\u201d! The human Ego stands face to face\nwith itself as it were, and for the time being all else is shut out. This\nis the experience of anyone who passes that breach between the Desire\nWorld and the World of Thought, whether involuntarily, in the course of an\nordinary cyclic pilgrimage of the soul, which we shall later elucidate\nwhen speaking of the post-mortem existence, or by an act of the will, as\nin the case of the trained occult investigator, all have the same\nexperience in transition.\n\n                  -------------------------------------\n\nThere are two main divisions in the Physical World: the Chemical Region\nand the Etheric Region. The World of Thought also has two great\nsubdivisions: The Region of concrete Thought and the Region of abstract\nThought.\n\nAs we specialize the material of the Physical World and shape into a dense\nbody, and as we form the force-matter of the Desire World into a desire\nbody, so do we appropriate a certain amount of mindstuff from the Region\nof concrete Thought; but we, as spirits, clothe ourselves in\nspirit-substance from the Region of abstract Thought and thereby we become\nindividual, separate Egos.\n\n_The Region of Concrete Thought._\n\nThe Region of concrete Thought is neither shadowy nor illusory. It is the\nacme of reality and this world which we mistakenly regard as the only\nverity, is but an evanescent replica of that Region.\n\nA little reflection will show the reasonableness of this statement and\nprove our contention that all we see here is really crystallized thought.\nOur houses, our machinery, our chairs and tables, all that has been made\nby the hand of man is the embodiment of a thought. As the juices in the\nsoft body of the snail gradually crystallize into the hard and flinty\nshell which it carries upon its back and which hides it, so everything\nused in our civilization is a concretion of invisible, intangible\nmind-stuff. The thought of James Watt in time congealed into a steam\nengine and revolutionized the world. Edison\u2019s thought was condensed into\nan electric generator which has turned night to day, and had it not been\nfor the thought of Morse and Marconi, the telegraph would not have\nannihilated distance as it does today. An earthquake may wreck a city and\ndemolish the lighting plant and telegraph station, but the thoughts of\nWatt, Edison and Morse remain, and upon the basis of their indestructible\nideas new machinery may be constructed and operations resumed. Thus\nthoughts are more permanent than things.\n\nThe sensitive ear of the musician detects a certain musical note in every\ncity which is different from that of another city. He hears in each little\nbrook a new melody, and to him the sound of wind in the treetops of\ndifferent forests give a varying sound. In the Desire World we noted the\nexistence of forms similar to the shapes of things here, also that\nseemingly _sound proceeds from form_, but in the Region of concrete\nThought it is different, for while each form occupies and obscures a\ncertain space here, form is nonexistent when viewed from the standpoint of\nthe Region of concrete Thought. Where the form was, a transparent, vacuous\nspace is observable. _From that empty void comes a sound_ which is the\n\u201ckeynote\u201d that _creates_ and maintains the _form_ whence it _appears_ to\ncome, as the almost invisible core of a gas-flame is the source of the\nlight we perceive.\n\nSound from a vacuum cannot be heard in the Physical World, but the harmony\nwhich proceeds from the vacuous cavity of a celestial _archetype_ is \u201cthe\nvoice of the silence,\u201d and it becomes audible when all earthly sounds have\nceased. Elijah heard it not while the storm was raging; nor was it in\nevidence during the turbulence of the earthquake, nor in the crackling and\nroaring fire, but when the destructive and inharmonious sounds of this\nworld had melted into silence, \u201cthe still small voice\u201d issued its commands\nto save Elijah\u2019s life.\n\nThat \u201ckeynote\u201d is a direct manifestation of the Higher Self which uses it\nto impress and govern the Personality it has created. But alas, part of\nits life has been infused into the material side of its being, which has\nthus obtained a certain will of its own and only too often are the two\nsides of our nature at war.\n\nAt last there comes a time when the spirit is too weary to strive with the\nrecalcitrant flesh, when \u201cthe voice of the silence\u201d ceases.\n\nThe earthly nourishment we may seek to give, will not avail to sustain a\nform when this harmonious sound, this \u201cword from heaven\u201d no longer\nreverberates through the empty void of the celestial archetype, for \u201cman\nlives not by bread alone,\u201d but by the WORD, and the last sound-vibration\nof the \u201ckeynote\u201d is the death-knell of the physical body.\n\nIn this world we are compelled to investigate and to study a thing before\nwe know about it, and although the facilities for gaining information are\nin some respects much greater in the Desire World, a certain amount of\ninvestigation is necessary nevertheless to acquire knowledge. In the World\nof Thought, on the contrary, it is different. When we wish to know about\nany certain thing there, and we turn our attention thereto, then that\nthing speaks to us, as it were. The sound it emits at once gives us a most\nluminous comprehension of every phase of its nature. We attain to a\nrealization of its past history; the whole story of its unfoldment is laid\nbare and we seem to have lived through all of those experiences together\nwith the thing we are investigating.\n\nWere it not for one enormous difficulty, the story thus obtained would be\nexceedingly valuable. But all this information, this life-picture, flows\nin upon us with an enormous rapidity in a moment, in the twinkling of an\neye, so that it has neither beginning nor end, for, as said, in the World\nof Thought, all is one great NOW, Time does not exist.\n\nTherefore, when we want to use the archetypal information in the Physical\nWorld, we must disentangle and arrange it in chronological order with\nbeginning and ending before it becomes intelligible to beings living in a\nrealm where Time is a prime factor. That rearrangement is a most difficult\ntask as all words are coined with relation to the three dimensions of\nspace and the evanescent unit of time, the fleeting moment, hence much of\nthat information remains unavailable.\n\nAmong the denizens of this Region of concrete Thought we may note\nparticularly two classes. One is called the powers of darkness by Paul and\nthe mystic investigator of the Western World knows them as Lords of Mind.\nThey were human at the time when the earth was in a condition of darkness\nsuch as worlds in the making go through before they become luminous and\nreach the firemist-stage. At that time we were in our mineral evolution.\nThat is to say: The Human Spirit which has now awakened was encrusted in\nthe ball of mindstuff, which was then the earth. At that time the present\nHuman Spirits were as much asleep as is the life which ensouls our\nminerals of today, and as we are working with the mineral chemical\nconstituents of the earth, molding them into houses, railways,\nsteam-boats, chairs, etc, etc., so those beings, who are now Lords of\nMind, worked with us when we were mineral-like. They have since advanced\nthree steps, through stages similar to that of the Angels and Archangels,\nbefore they attained their present position and became creative\nintelligences. They are expert builders of mind stuff, as we are builders\nof the present mineral substances and therefore they have given us\nnecessary help to acquire a mind which is the highest development of the\nhuman being.\n\nAccording to the foregoing explanation it seems to be an anomaly when Paul\nspeaks of them as evil and exhorts us to withstand them. The difficulty\ndisappears, however, when we understand that good and evil are but\nrelative qualities. An illustration will make the point clear:\u2014Let us\nsuppose that an expert organ builder has constructed a wonderful organ, a\nmasterpiece. Then he has followed his vocation in the proper manner, and\nis therefore to be commended for the good which he has done. But if he is\nnot satisfied to leave well enough alone, if he refuses to give up his\nproduct to the musician who understands how to play upon the instrument;\nif he intrudes his presence into the concert hall, he is out of place and\nto be censured as evil. Similarly the Lords of Mind did the greatest\npossible service to humanity when they helped us to acquire our mind, but\nmany subtle thought influences come from them, and are to be resisted, as\nPaul very properly emphasizes.\n\nThe other class of beings which must be mentioned are called Archetypal\nForces by the Western School of occultism. They direct the energies of the\ncreative Archetypes native to this realm. They are a composite class of\nbeings of many different grades of intelligences, and there is one stage\nin the cyclic journey of the Human Spirit when that also labors in, and is\npart of, that great host of beings. For the Human Spirit is also destined\nto become a great creative intelligence at some future time, and if there\nwere no school wherein it could gradually learn to create, it would not be\nable to advance, for nothing in nature is done suddenly. An acorn planted\nin the soil does not become a majestic oak over night, but many years of\nslow, persistent growth are required before it attains to the stature of a\ngiant of the forest. A man does not become an Angel by the mere fact of\ndying and entering a new world any more than an animal advances to be a\nman by the same process. But in time all that lives, mounts the ladder of\nBeing from the clod to the God. There is no limitation possible to the\nspirit, and so at various stages in its unfoldment the Human Spirit works\nwith the other nature forces, according to the stage of intelligence which\nit has attained. It creates, changes and remodels the earth upon which it\nis to live. Thus, under the great law of cause and effect, which we\nobserve in every realm of nature, it reaps upon earth what it has sown in\nheaven, and vice versa. It grows slowly but persistently and advances\ncontinually.\n\n_The Region of Abstract Thought._\n\nVarious religious systems have been given to humanity at different times,\neach suited to meet the spiritual needs of the people among whom it was\npromulgated, and, coming from the same divine source:\u2014God, all religions\nexhibit similar fundamentals or first principles.\n\nAll systems teach that there was a time when _darkness_ reigned supreme.\nEverything which we now perceive was then non-existent. Earth, sky and the\nheavenly bodies were uncreate, so were the multitudinous forms which live\nand move upon the various planets.\u2014All, all, was yet in a fluidic\ncondition and the Universal Spirit brooded _quiescent_ in limitless Space\nas the One Existence.\n\nThe Greeks called that condition of homogeneity _Chaos_, and the state of\norderly segregation which we now see; the marching orbs which illumine the\nvaulted canopy of heaven, the stately procession of planets around a\ncentral light, the majestic sun; the unbroken sequence of the seasons and\nthe unvarying alternation of tidal ebb and flow;\u2014all this aggregate of\nsystematic order, was called _Cosmos_, and was supposed to have proceeded\nfrom Chaos.\n\nThe Christian Mystic obtains a deeper comprehension when he opens his\nBible and ponders the first five verses of that brightest gem of all\nspiritual lore: the Gospel of St. John.\n\nAs he reverently opens his aspiring heart to acquire understanding of\nthose sublime mystical teachings he transcends the form-side of nature,\ncomprising various realms of which we have been speaking, and finds\nhimself \u201cin the spirit,\u201d as did the prophets in olden times. He is then in\nthe Region of abstract Thought and sees the eternal verities which also\nPaul beheld in this, the third, heaven.\n\nFor those among us who are unable to obtain knowledge save by reasoning\nupon the matter, however, it will be necessary to examine the fundamental\nmeaning of words used by St. John to clothe his wonderful teaching, which\nwas originally given in the Greek language, a much simpler matter than is\ncommonly supposed, for Greek words have been freely introduced into our\nmodern languages, particularly in scientific terms, and we shall show how\nthis ancient teaching is supported by the latest discoveries of modern\nscience.\n\nThe opening verse of the gospel of St. John is as follows: \u201cIn the\n_beginning_ was the _Word_, and the _Word_ was with _God_, and the _Word_\nwas _God_.\u201d We will examine the words: \u201cbeginning,\u201d \u201cWord\u201d and \u201cGod.\u201d We\nmay also note that in the Greek version the concluding sentence reads:\n\u201cand God was the Word,\u201d a difference which makes a great distinction.\n\nIt is an axiomatic truth that \u201cout of nothing, nothing comes,\u201d and it has\noften been asserted by scoffers that the Bible teaches generation \u201cfrom\nnothing.\u201d We readily agree that _translations_ into the modern languages\npromulgate this erroneous doctrine, but we have shown in _The Rosicrucian\nCosmo Conception_ (chapter on \u201cthe Occult Analysis of Genesis\u201d), that the\nHebrew text speaks of an _ever-existing essence_, as the basis whence all\nforms, the earth and the heavenly lights included, were first created, and\nJohn also gives the same teaching.\n\nThe Greek word _arche_, in the opening sentence of the gospel of St. John\nhas been translated _the beginning_, and it may be said to have that\nmeaning, but it also has other valid interpretations, vastly more\nsignificant of the idea John wished to convey. It means:\u2014an elementary\ncondition,\u2014a chief source,\u2014a first principle,\u2014primordial matter.\n\nThere was a time when science insisted that the elements were immutable,\nthat is to say, that an atom of iron had been an atom of iron since the\nearth was formed and would so remain to the end of time. The Alchemists\nwere sneered at as fanciful dreamers or madmen, but since Professor J. J.\nThomson\u2019s discovery of the electron, the atomic theory of matter, is no\nlonger tenable. The principle of radio-activity has later vindicated the\nAlchemists. Science and the Bible agree in teaching, that all that is, has\nbeen formed from one homogeneous substance.\n\nIt is that basic principle which John called _arche_:\u2014primordial\nmatter,\u2014and the dictionary defines Archeology as: \u201cthe science of the\norigin (_arche_) of things.\u201d Masons style God the \u201cGrand Architect,\u201d for\nthe Greek word tektos means builder, and God is the Chief Builder\n(_tektos_) of _arche_: the primordial virgin matter which is also the\nchief source of all things.\n\nThus we see that when the opening sentence of St. John\u2019s gospel is\nproperly translated, our Christian Religion teaches that once a virgin\nsubstance enfolded the divine Thinker:\u2014God.\n\nThat is the identical condition which the earlier Greeks called Chaos. A\nlittle thought will make it evident that we are not arbitrary in finding\nfault with the translation of the gospel, for it is self-evident that a\nword cannot be the beginning, a thought must precede the word, and a\nthinker must originate thought before it can be expressed as a word.\n\nWhen properly translated the teaching of John fully embodies that idea,\nfor the Greek term _logos_ means both the reasonable thought,\u2014(we also say\nLogic),\u2014and the word which expresses this (logical) thought.\n\n\n    1) _In the primordial substance was thought, and the thought was\n    with God And God was the word_,\n\n    2) THAT, [The Word], _also was with God in the primal state_.\n\n\nLater the divine WORD; the Creative Fiat, reverberates through space and\nsegregates the homogeneous virgin substance into separate forms.\n\n\n    3) _Every thing has come into existence because of that prime\n    fact_, [The Word of God], _and no thing exists apart from that\n    fact._\n\n    4) _In that was Life._\n\n\nIn the alphabet we have a few elementary sounds from which words may be\nconstructed. They are basic elements of expression, as bricks, iron and\nlumber are raw materials of architecture, or as a few notes are component\nparts of music.\n\nBut a heap of bricks, iron and lumber, is not a house, neither is a\njumbled mass of notes music, nor can we call a haphazard arrangement of\nalphabetical sounds a word.\n\nThese raw materials are prime necessities in construction of architecture,\nmusic, literature or poetry, but the contour of the finished product and\nthe purpose it will serve depends upon the arrangement of the raw\nmaterials, which is subject to the constructor\u2019s design. Building\nmaterials may be formed to prison or palace; notes may be arranged as\nfanfare or funeral dirge; words may be indited to inspire passion or\npeace, all according to the will of the designer. So also the majestic\nrhythm of the Word of God has wrought the primal substance: _arche_, into\nthe multitudinous forms which comprise the phenomenal world, according to\nHis will.\n\nDid the reader ever stop to consider the wonderful power of a human word.\nComing to us in the sweet accents of love, it may lure us from paths of\nrectitude to shameful ignominy and wreck our life with sorrow and remorse,\nor it may spur us on in noblest efforts to acquire glory and honor, here\nor hereafter. According to the inflection of the voice a word may strike\nterror into the bravest heart or lull a timid child to peaceful slumber.\nThe word of an agitator may rouse the passions of a mob and impel it to\nawful bloodshed, as in the French Revolution, where dictatorial mandates\nof mob-rule killed and exiled at pleasure, or, the strain of \u201cHome, Sweet\nHome\u201d may cement the setting of a family-circle beyond possibility of\nrupture.\n\nRight words are true and therefore free, they are never bound or fettered\nby time or space, they go to the farthest corners of the earth, and when\nthe lips that spoke them first have long since mouldered in the grave,\nother voices take up with unwearying enthusiasm their message of life and\nlove, as for instance the mystical \u201cCome unto me\u201d which has sounded from\nunnumbered tongues and brought oceans of balm to troubled hearts.\n\nWords of Peace have been victorious, where war would have meant defeat,\nand no talent is more to be desired than ability to always say the right\nword at the auspicious time.\n\nConsidering thus the immense power and potency of the human word, we may\nperhaps dimly apprehend the potential magnitude of the Word of God, the\nCreative Fiat, when as a mighty dynamic force it first reverberated\nthrough space and commenced to form primordial matter into worlds, as\nsound from a violin bow moulds sand into geometrical figures. Moreover,\n_the Word of God still sounds_ to sustain the marching orbs and impel them\nonwards in their circle paths, the Creative Word continues to produce\nforms of gradually increasing efficiency, as media expressing life and\nconsciousness. The harmonious enunciation of consecutive syllables in the\nDivine Creative Word mark successive stages in evolution of the world and\nman. When the last syllable has been spoken and the complete word has\nsounded, we shall have reached perfection as human beings. Then Time will\nbe at an end, and with the last vibration of the Word of God, the worlds\nwill be resolved into their original elements. Our life will then be \u201chid\nwith Christ in God,\u201d till the Cosmic Night:\u2014Chaos,\u2014is over, and we wake to\ndo \u201cgreater things\u201d in a \u201cnew heaven and a new earth.\u201d\n\nAccording to the general idea Chaos and Cosmos are superlative antitheses\nof each other. Chaos being regarded as a past condition of confusion and\ndisorder which has long since been entirely superseded by cosmic order\nwhich now prevails.\n\nAs a matter of fact, Chaos is the seed-ground of Cosmos, the basis of all\nprogress, for thence come all IDEAS which later materialize as Railways,\nSteamboats, Telephones, etc.\n\nWe speak of \u201cthoughts as being conceived by the mind,\u201d but as both father\nand mother are necessary in the generation of a child, so also there must\nbe both _idea_ and _mind_ before a _thought_ can be conceived. As semen\ngerminated in the positive male organ is projected into the negative\nuterus at conception, so ideas are generated by a positive Human Ego in\nthe spirit-substance of the Region of abstract Thought. This idea is\nprojected upon the receptive mind, and a conception takes place. Then, as\nthe spermatozoic nucleus draws upon the maternal body for material to\nshape a body appropriate to its individual expression, so does each idea\nclothe itself in a peculiar form of mindstuff. It is then a thought, as\nvisible to the inner vision of composite man, as a child is to its parent.\n\nThus we see that ideas are embryonic thoughts, nuclei of spirit-substance\nfrom the Region of abstract Thought. Improperly conceived in a diseased\nmind they become vagaries and delusions, but when gestated in a sound mind\nand formed into rational thoughts they are the basis of all material,\nmoral and mental progress, and the closer our touch with Chaos, the better\nwill be our Cosmos, for in that realm of abstract realities truth is not\nobscured by matter, it is self-evident.\n\nPilate was asked \u201cwhat is Truth,\u201d but no answer is recorded. We are\nincapable of cognizing truth in the abstract while we live in the\nphenomenal world, for the inherent nature of matter is illusion and\ndelusion, and we are constantly making allowances and corrections whether\nwe are conscious of the fact or not. The sunbeam which proceeds for 90\nmillions of miles in a straight line, is refracted or bent as soon as it\nstrikes our dense atmosphere, and according to the angle of its\nrefraction, it _appears_ to have one color or another. The straightest\nstick appears crooked when partly immersed in water, and the truths which\nare so self-evident in the Higher worlds are likewise obscured, refracted\nor twisted out of all semblance under the illusory conditions of this\nmaterial world.\n\n\u201cThe truth shall set you free,\u201d said Christ, and the more we turn our\naspirations from material acquisitiveness and seek to lay up treasure\nabove, the more we aim to rise, the oftener we \u201cget in the spirit,\u201d the\nmore readily we \u201cshall know truth\u201d and reach liberation from the fetter of\nflesh which binds us to a limited environment, and attain to a sphere of\ngreater usefulness.\n\nStudy of philosophy and science has a tendency to further perception of\ntruth, and as science has progressed it has gradually receded from its\nerstwhile crude materialism. The day is not far off when it will be more\nreverently religious than the church itself. Mathematics is said to be\n\u201cdry,\u201d for it doesn\u2019t stir the emotions. When it is taught that \u201cthe sum\nof the angles of a triangle is 180 degrees,\u201d the dictum is at once\naccepted, because its truth is self-evident and no feeling is involved in\nthe matter. But when a doctrine such as the Immaculate Conception is\npromulgated and our emotions are stirred, bloody war, or heated argument,\nmay result, and still leave the matter in doubt. Pythagoras demanded that\nhis pupils study mathematics, because he knew the elevating effect of\nraising their minds above the sphere of feeling, where it is subject to\ndelusion, and elevating it towards the Region of abstract Thought which is\nthe prime reality.\n\nIn this place we are dealing with worlds in particular, and will therefore\ndefer comment upon the remainder of the first 5 verses of St. John\u2019s\ngospel:\n\n\n    \u201c_And Life became Light in man,_\n    5) _and Light shines in Darkness._\u201d\n\n\nWe have now seen that the earth is composed of three worlds which\ninterpenetrate one another so that it is perfectly true when Christ said\nthat \u201cheaven is within you\u201d or, the translation should rather have been\n_among you_. We have also seen that of these three realms two are\nsubdivided. It has also been explained that each division serves a great\npurpose in the unfoldment of various forms of life which dwell in each of\nthese worlds, and we may note in conclusion, that the lower regions of the\nDesire World constitute what the Catholic religion calls _Purgatory_, a\nplace where the evil of a past life is transmuted to good, usable by the\nspirit as conscience in later lives. The higher regions of the Desire\nWorld are the _first Heaven_ where all the good a man has done is\nassimilated by the spirit as _soul_ power. The Region of concrete Thought\nis the _second Heaven_, where, as already said, the spirit prepares its\nfuture environment on earth, and the Region of abstract Thought is the\n_third Heaven_, but as Paul said, it is scarcely lawful to speak about\nthat.\n\nSome will ask: is there then no hell?\u2014No! _The mercy of God_ tends as\ngreatly towards the principle of GOOD as \u201c_the inhumanity of man_\u201d towards\ncruelty, so that he would consign his brother men to flames of hell during\neternity for the puerile mistakes committed during a few years, or perhaps\nfor a slight difference in belief. The writer has heard of a minister who\nwished to impress his \u201cflock\u201d with the reality of an eternity of hell\nflames, and to demonstrate the fallacy of a heretical notion entertained\nby some of his parishioners that when sinners come to hell they burn to\nashes and that is the end.\n\nHe took with him an alcohol lamp and some asbestos into the pulpit and\ntold his audience that God would turn their souls into a substance\nresembling asbestos. He showed them that though the asbestos were heated\nred hot it did not decompose into ashes. Fortunately the day of the hell\npreacher has gone by, and if we believe the Bible which says that \u201cin God\nwe live and move and have our being,\u201d we can readily understand that _a\nlost soul would be an impossibility_, for were one single soul lost, then\nlogically a part of God Himself would be lost. No matter what our color,\nour race or our creed, we are all equally the children of God and in our\nvarious ways we shall obtain satisfaction. Let us therefore rather look to\nChrist and forget Creed.\n\n\n    _Creed or Christ?_\n\n    No man loves God who hates his kind,\n      Who tramples on his Brother\u2019s heart and soul.\n    Who seeks to shackle, cloud or fog the mind\n      By fears of Hell has not perceived our goal.\n\n    God-sent are all religions blest;\n      And Christ, the Way, the Truth and Life,\n    To give the heavy-laden rest,\n      And peace from Sorrow, Sin and Strife.\n\n    At his request the Universal Spirit came\n      _To all the churches_, not to one alone.\n    On Pentecostal morn a tongue of flame\n      Round _each_ apostle as a halo shone.\n\n    Since then, as vultures ravenous with greed,\n      We oft have battled for an empty name,\n    And sought by Dogma, Edict, Creed,\n      To send each other to the flame.\n\n    Is Christ then divided? Was Cephas or Paul\n      Nailed to the deathly tree?\n    If not\u2014then why these divisions at all?\n      Christ\u2019s love doth embrace you and me.\n\n    His pure sweet love is not confined\n      By creeds which segregate and raise a wall;\n    His love enfolds, embraces _Humankind_\n      No matter what ourselves or Him we call.\n\n    Then why not take Him at His word?\n      Why hold to creeds which tear apart?\n    But one thing matters, be it heard,\n      That brother-love fill every heart.\n\n    There is but one thing that the world has need to know;\n      There is but one balm for all our human woe\n    There is but one way that leads to heaven above;\n      That way is human sympathy and love.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV. THE CONSTITUTION OF MAN\n\n\nOur chapter head, \u201cthe constitution of man,\u201d may surprise a reader who has\nnot previously studied the Mystery teachings, or he may imagine that we\nintend to give an anatomical dissertation, but such is not our intention.\nWe have spoken of the earth upon which we live as being composed of\nseveral invisible realms in addition to the world we perceive by means of\nour senses. We have also spoken of man as being correlated to these\nvarious divisions in nature, and a little thought upon the subject will\nquickly convince us that in order to function upon the various planes of\nexistence described, it is necessary that a man should have a body\ncomposed of their substance, or at least have specialized for his own use,\nsome of the material of each of these worlds.\n\nWe have said that finer matter, called desire stuff and mind stuff,\npermeates our atmosphere and the solid earth, even as blood percolates\nthrough all parts of our flesh. But that is not a sufficient explanation\nto account for all facts of life. If that were all, then minerals, which\nare interpenetrated by the world of thought and the world of desire, would\nhave thoughts and desires as well as man. This is not the case, so\nsomething more than mere interpenetration must be requisite to acquire the\nfaculties of thought and feeling.\n\nWe know that in order to function in this world, to live as a physical\nbeing among other like beings, we must have a physical body all our own,\nbuilt of the chemical constituents of this visible world. When we lose it\nat death, it profits us nothing that the world is full of just the very\nchemicals needed to build such a body. We cannot then specialize them, and\ntherefore we are invisible to all others. Similarly, if we did not possess\na special body made of ether, we should be unable to grow and to\npropagate. That is the case with the mineral. Had we no separate\nindividual desire body, we should be unable to feel desires and emotions,\nthere would be no incentive to move from one place to another. We should\nthen be stationary as plants, and did we not possess a mind, we should be\nincapable of thought, and act upon impulse and instinct as animals.\n\nSome one may of course object to this last statement, and contend that\nanimals do think. So far as our domesticated animals are concerned that is\npartially true, but it is not quite in the same way that we think and\nreason. The difference may perhaps best be understood if we take an\nillustration from the electrical field. When an electric current _of high\nvoltage_ is passed through a coiled copper wire, and another wire is\nplaced in the center of the coils, that wire will become charged with\nelectricity _of a lower voltage_. So also the animal, when brought within\nthe sphere of human thoughts, evolves a mental activity of a lower order.\n\nPaul, in his writings, also mentions _the natural body_ and the _spiritual\nbody_ while the man himself is a spirit inhabiting those vehicles. We will\nbriefly note the constitution of the various bodies of man invisible to\nthe physical sight but as objective to spiritual sight as the dense body\nto ordinary vision.\n\n_The Vital Body._\n\nThat body of ours which is composed of ether is called the \u201c_vital body_\u201d\nin Western Mystery Schools, for, as we have already seen, ether is the\navenue of ingress for vital force from the sun and the field of agencies\nin nature which promote such vital activities as assimilation, growth and\npropagation.\n\nThis vehicle is an exact counterpart of our visible body, molecule for\nmolecule, and organ for organ, with one exception, which we shall note\nlater. But it is slightly larger, extending about one and one-half inches\nbeyond the periphery of our dense vehicle.\n\nThe spleen is the entrance gate of forces which vitalize the body. In the\netheric counterpart of that organ solar energy is transmuted to vital\nfluid of a pale rose color. From thence it spreads all over the nervous\nsystem, and after having been used in the body it radiates in streams,\nmuch as bristles protrude from a porcupine.\n\nThe rays of the sun are transmitted either directly, or reflected by way\nof the planets and the moon. The rays directly from the sun give spiritual\nillumination, the rays received by way of the planets produce\nintelligence, morality, and soul growth, but the rays reflected by way of\nthe moon make for physical growth, as seen in the case of plants which\ngrow differently when planted in the light of the moon from what is the\ncase when they are planted when the moon is dark. There is also a\ndifference in plants sown when the moon is in barren and fruitful signs of\nthe Zodiac.\n\nThe solar ray is absorbed by the human spirit which has its seat in the\ncenter of the forehead, the stellar ray is absorbed by the brain and\nspinal cord, and the lunar ray enters our system through the spleen.\n\nThe solar, stellar and lunar rays are three-colored, and in the lunar ray\nwhich supplies our vital force, the blue beam is the life of The Father,\nwhich causes germination, the yellow beam is the life of The Son, which is\nthe active principle in nutrition and growth, and the red beam is the life\nof the Holy Spirit, which stimulates to action, dissipating the energy\nstored by the yellow force. This principle is particularly active in\ngeneration.\n\nThe various kingdoms absorb this life-force differently, according to\ntheir constitution. Animals have only 28 pairs of spinal nerves. They are\nkeyed to the lunar month of 28 days and therefore dependent upon a\nGroupspirit for an infusion of stellar rays necessary to produce\nconsciousness. They are altogether incapable of absorbing the direct ray\nof the sun.\n\nMan is in a transition stage, he has 31 pairs of spinal nerves which keys\nhim to the solar month, but the nerves in the so-called\ncauda-equina\u2014literally horse-tail\u2014, at the end of our spinal cord, are\nstill too undeveloped to act as avenues for the spiritual ray of the sun.\nIn proportion as we draw our creative force upward by spiritual thought we\ndevelop these nerves and awaken dormant faculties of the spirit. But it is\ndangerous to attempt that development except under guidance of a qualified\nteacher, and the reader is earnestly warned not to use any method\npublished in books, or sold, for their practice usually leads to dementia.\nThe safe method is never sold for money or any earthly consideration\nhowever large or small; it is always freely given as a reward of merit.\n\u201cAsk and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be\nopened\u201d, said the Christ. If our life is a prayer for illumination, the\nsearch will not be uncertain, nor the knock without response.\n\nWhen solar energy has been transmuted in the spleen it traverses the whole\nnervous system of the body glowing with a most beautiful color of a\ndelicate rosy hue. It answers the same purpose as electricity in a\ntelegraph system. We may string wires between cities, erect telegraph\nstations, install receivers and transmitters. We may even have operators\nready at the keys, but until electric fluid is turned into our wires, the\ntelegraph keys will refuse to click. So also in the body, the human spirit\nis operator, and from the central station of the brain, nerves ramify, go\nthrough the whole body to all the different muscles. When this vitalizing\nfluid of which we are speaking traverses the nervous system, the Ego may\nsend his commands to the muscles and cause them to move but if the vital\nfluid for any reason does not flow into a certain part of the body such as\nan arm or a limb, then the spirit is powerless to move that part of the\nbody and we say that it is paralyzed.\n\nWhen we are in health, we specialize solar energy in such great quantities\nthat we cannot use it all in the body and therefore it radiates through\nthe pores of our skin in straight streams and serves a similar purpose as\nan exhaust fan. That machine drives the foul air out of a room or building\nand keeps the atmosphere within pure and sweet. The excessive vital force\nwhich radiates from the body drives out poisonous gases, deleterious\nmicrobes and effete matter thus tending to preserve a healthy condition.\nIt also prevents armies of disease germs, which swarm about in the\natmosphere, from entering; upon the same principle that a fly cannot wing\nits way into a building through the exhaust fan. Thus it serves a most\nbeneficent purpose even after it has been utilized in our body and is\nreturning to the free state.\n\nIt is a curious and most astounding sight when one first observes how,\nfrom exposed parts of the body such as hands and face, there suddenly\ncommences to flow a stream of stars, cubes, pyramids and a variety of\nother geometrical forms. The writer has more than once rubbed his eyes\nwhen he first perceived the phenomenon, for it seemed that he must be\nsuffering from hallucinations. The forms observed are chemical atoms\nhowever, which have served their purpose in the body and are expelled\nthrough the pores.\n\nWhen one has eaten a meal, vital fluid is consumed by the body in great\nquantities, for it is the cement whereby nature\u2019s forces build our food\ninto the body. Therefore the radiations are weakest during the period of\ndigestion. If the meal has been heavy, the outflow is very perceptibly\ndiminished, and does not then cleanse our body as thoroughly as when the\nfood has been digested, nor is it as potent in keeping out inimical germs.\nTherefore one is most liable to catch cold or other disease by overeating,\na fault which should be avoided by all who wish to keep in good health.\n\nDuring ill health the vital body specializes but little solar energy.\nThen, for a time, the visible body seems to feed upon the vital body as it\nwere, so that the vehicle becomes more transparent and attenuated at the\nsame rate as the visible body exhibits a state of emaciation. The\ncleansing odic radiations are almost entirely absent during sickness,\ntherefore complications set in so easily.\n\nThough science has not directly observed this vital body of man, it has\nupon several occasions postulated the existence of such a vehicle as\nnecessary to account for facts in life and the radiations have been\nobserved by a number of scientists at different times and under varying\nconditions. Blondlot and Charpentier have called them N-rays after the\ncity of Nantes where the radiations were observed by these scientists,\nothers have named them \u201cThe Odic fluid\u201d. Scientific investigators who have\nconducted researches into psychic phenomena have even photographed it when\nit has been extracted through the spleen by materializing spirits. Dr.\nHotz for instance obtained two photographs of a materialization through\nthe German medium, Minna-Demmler. On one a cloud of ether is seen oozing\nout through the left side of the medium, shapeless and without form. The\nsecond picture, taken a few moments later, shows the materialized spirit\nstanding at the medium\u2019s side. Other photographs obtained by scientists\nfrom the Italian medium Eusapio Palladino show a luminous cloud\nover-hanging her left side.\n\nWe said in the beginning of this description that the vital body is an\nexact counterpart of the dense body with one exception: it is of the\nopposite sex or perhaps we should rather say polarity. As the vital body\nnourishes the dense vehicle, we may readily understand that blood is its\nhighest visible expression, and also that a positively polarized vital\nbody would generate more blood than a negative one. Woman who is\nphysically negative has a positive vital body, hence she generates a\nsurplus of blood which is relieved by the periodical flow. She is also\nmore prone to tears, which are white bleeding, than man, whose negative\nvital body does not generate more blood than he can comfortably take care\nof. Therefore it is not necessary for him to have the outlets which\nrelieve excess of blood in woman.\n\n_The Desire Body._\n\nIn addition to the visible body and the vital body we also have a body\nmade of desire stuff from which we form our feelings and emotions. This\nvehicle also impels us to seek sense gratification. But while the two\ninstruments of which we have already spoken, are well organized, the\ndesire body appears to spiritual sight as an ovoid cloud extending from\nsixteen to twenty inches beyond the physical body. It is above the head\nand below the feet so that our dense body sits in the center of this\negg-shaped cloud as the yolk is in the center of an egg.\n\nThe reason for the rudimentary state of this vehicle is, that it has been\nadded to the human constitution more recently than the bodies previously\nmentioned. Evolution of form may be likened to the manner in which the\njuices in the snail first condense into flesh and later become a hard\nshell. When our present visible body first germinated in the spirit, it\nwas a thought-form, but gradually it has become denser and more concrete\nuntil it is now a chemical crystallization. The vital body was next\nemanated by the spirit as a thought-form and is in the third stage of\nconcretion which is etheric. The desire body is a still later acquisition.\nThat also was a thought form at its inception, but has now condensed to\ndesire stuff, and the mind, which we have only recently received, is still\nbut a mere cloudy thought form.\n\nArms and limbs, ears and eyes are not necessary to use the desire body,\nfor it can glide through space more swiftly than wind without such means\nof locomotion as we require in this visible world.\n\nWhen viewed by spiritual sight, it appears that there are in this desire\nbody a number of whirling vortices. We have already explained that it is a\ncharacteristic of desire stuff to be in constant motion, and from the main\nvortex in the region of the liver there is a constant outwelling flow\nwhich radiates towards the periphery of this egg-shaped body and returns\nto the center through a number of other vortices. The desire body exhibits\nall the colors and shades which we know and a vast number of others which\nare indescribable in earthly language. Those colors vary in every person\naccording to his characteristics and temperament and they also vary from\nmoment to moment as passing moods, fancies or emotions are experienced by\nhim. There is however in each one a certain basic color dependent upon the\nruling star at the moment of his birth. The man in whose horoscope Mars is\npeculiarly strong usually has a crimson tint in his aura, where Jupiter is\nthe strongest planet the prevailing tint seems to be a bluish tone, and so\non with the other planets.\n\nThere was a time in the earth\u2019s past history when incrustation was not yet\ncomplete, and human beings of that time lived upon islands here and there,\namid boiling seas. They had not yet evolved eyes or ears, but a little\norgan: the pineal gland, which anatomists have called _the third eye_,\nprotruded through the back of the head and was a _localised organ of\nfeeling_, which warned the man when he came too near a volcanic crater and\nthus enabled him to escape destruction. Since then the cerebral\nhemispheres have covered the pineal gland, and instead of a single organ\nof feeling, the whole body inside and out is sensitive to impacts, which\nof course is a much higher state of development.\n\nIn the desire body every particle is sensitive to vibrations similar to\nthose which we call sight, sounds and feelings and every particle is in\nincessant motion rapidly swirling about so that in the same instant it may\nbe at the top and bottom of the desire body and impart at all points to\nall the other particles a sensation of that which it has experienced thus\nevery particle of desire stuff in this vehicle of ours will instantly feel\nany sensation experienced by any single particle. Therefore the desire\nbody is of an exceedingly sensitive nature, capable of most intense\nfeelings and emotions.\n\n_The Mind._\n\nThis is the latest acquisition of the human spirit, and in most people who\nhave not yet accustomed themselves to orderly, consecutive thought, it is\na mere inchoate cloud disposed particularly in the region of the head.\nWhen looking at a person clairvoyantly there appears to be an empty space\nin the center of the forehead just above and between the eyebrows. It\nlooks like the blue part of a gas flame. That is mind stuff which veils\nthe human spirit, or Ego, and the writer has been told that not even the\nmost gifted seer can penetrate that veil which is said to have been spoken\nof in ancient Egypt as \u201c_the veil of Isis_\u201d which none may lift and live,\nfor behind that veil is the Holy of Holies, the temple of our body, where\nthe spirit is to be left secure from all intrusion.\n\nTo those who have not previously studied the deeper philosophies the\nquestion may occur: But why all these divisions; even the Bible speaks\nonly of soul and body, for most people believe soul and spirit to be\nsynonymous terms. We can only answer that this division is not arbitrary\nbut necessary, and founded upon facts in nature. Neither is it correct to\nregard the soul and the spirit as synonymous. Paul himself speaks of _the\nnatural body_ which is composed of physical substances: solids, liquids,\ngases and ethers; he mentions _a spiritual body_, which is the vehicle of\nthe spirit composed of the mind and desire body, and _the spirit itself_,\nwhich is called Ego in Latin or \u201cI\u201d in English.\n\nThat term \u201cI\u201d is an appelation which can only be made by the human spirit\nof itself. We may all call a dog, dog; or we may call a table, table, and\nany one else may apply the same name to the dog and to the table, but only\na human being can be called \u201cI\u201d and only he himself can apply that most\nexclusive of all words, I, for this is the badge of self-consciousness,\nthe recognition by the human spirit of _itself_ as an entity, separate and\napart from all others.\n\nThus we see that the constitution of man is more complex than appears upon\nthe surface, and we will now proceed to note the effect upon this\nmultiplex being of various conditions of life.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V. LIFE AND DEATH\n\n\n_Invisible Helpers and Mediums._\n\nThere are two classes of people in the world. In one class the vital and\ndense bodies are so firmly cemented that the ethers cannot be extracted\nunder any circumstances but remain with the dense body at all times and\nunder all conditions from birth to death. Those people are insensible to\nany supersensuous sights or sounds. They are therefore usually exceedingly\nsceptic, and believe nothing exists but what _they_ can see.\n\nThere is another class of people in whom the connection between the dense\nand the vital bodies is more or less loose, so that the ether of their\nvital bodies vibrates at a higher rate than in the first class mentioned.\nThese people are therefore more or less sensitive to the spiritual world.\n\nThis class of sensitives may again be divided. Some are weak characters,\ndominated by the will of others in a _negative_ manner, as mediums, who\nare the prey of disembodied spirits desirous of obtaining a physical body\nwhen they have lost their own by death.\n\nThe other class of sensitives are strong _positive_ characters, who act\nonly from within, according to their own will. They may develop into\ntrained clairvoyants, and be their own masters instead of slaves of a\ndisembodied spirit. In some sensitives of both classes it is possible to\nextract part of the ether which forms the vital body. When a disembodied\nspirit obtains a subject of that nature, it develops the sensitive as _a\nmaterializing medium_. The man who is capable of extracting his own vital\nbody by an act of will, becomes a citizen of two worlds, independent and\nfree. Such are usually known as _Invisible Helpers_. There are certain\nother abnormal conditions where the vital body and the dense body are\nseparated totally or in part, for instance if we place our limb in an\nuncomfortable position so that circulation of the blood ceases. Then we\nmay see the etheric limb hanging down below the visible limb as a\nstocking. When we restore circulation and the etheric limb seeks to enter\ninto place, an intense prickly sensation is felt, due to the fact that the\nlittle streams of force, which radiate all through the ether, seek to\npermeate the molecules of the limb and stir them into renewed vibration.\nWhen a person is drowning, the vital body also separates from the dense\nvehicle and the intense prickly pain incident to resuscitation is also due\nto the cause mentioned.\n\nWhile we are awake and going about our work in the Physical World, the\ndesire body and mind both permeate the dense and the vital bodies, and\nthere is a constant war between the desire nature and the vital body. The\nvital body is continually engaged in building up the human organism, while\nthe impulses of the desire body tend to tire and to break down tissue.\nGradually, in the course of the day, the vital body loses ground before\nthe onslaughts of the desire body, poisons of decay slowly accumulate and\nthe flow of vital fluid becomes more and more sluggish, until at length it\nis incapable of moving the muscles. The body then feels heavy and drowsy.\nAt last the vital body collapses, as it were, the little streams of force\nwhich permeate each atom seem to shrivel up, and the Ego is forced to\nabandon its body to the restorative powers of sleep.\n\nWhen a building has become dilapidated and is to be _restored_ and put in\nthorough repair, the tenants must move out to let the workmen have a free\nfield. So also when the building of a spirit has become unfit for further\nuse, it must withdraw therefrom. As the desire body caused the damage, it\nis a logical conclusion that that also must be removed. Every night when\nour body has become tired, the higher vehicles are withdrawn, only the\ndense and vital bodies are left upon the bed.\n\nThen the process of restoration commences and lasts for a longer or a\nshorter time according to circumstances.\n\nAt times however, the grip of the desire body upon our denser vehicles is\nso strong that it refuses to let go. When it has become so interested in\nthe proceedings of the day, it continues to ruminate over them after the\ncollapse of the physical body, and is perhaps only half extracted from\nthat vehicle. Then it may transmit sights and sounds of the desire world\nto the brain. But as the connections are necessarily askew under such\nconditions, the most confused dreams result. Furthermore, as the desire\nbody compels motion, the body is very apt to toss about when the desire\nbody is not fully extracted, hence the restless sleep which usually\naccompanies dreams of a confused nature.\n\nThere are times of course when dreams are prophetic and come true, but\nsuch dreams result only _after_ complete extraction of the desire body,\nunder circumstances where the spirit has seen some danger perhaps, which\nmay befall, and then impresses the fact upon the brain _at the moment of\nawakening_.\n\nIt also happens that the spirit goes upon a soul flight and omits to\nperform its part of the work of restoration, then the body will not be fit\nto re-enter in the morning, so it sleeps on. The spirit may thus roam\nafield for a number of days, or even weeks, before it again enters its\nphysical body and assumes the normal routine of alternating waking and\nsleep. This condition is called _trance_, and the spirit may remember upon\nits return what it has seen and heard in the super-physical realm, or it\nmay have forgotten, according to the stage of its development and the\ndepth of the trance condition. When the trance is very light, the spirit\nis usually present in the room where its body lies all the time, and upon\nits return to the body it will be able to recount to relatives all they\nsaid and did while its body lay unconscious. Where the trance is deeper,\nthe returning spirit will usually be unconscious of what happened around\nits body, but may recount experiences from the invisible world.\n\nA few years ago a little girl by the name of Florence Bennett in Kankakee,\nIllinois, fell into such a trance. She returned to the body every few\ndays, but stayed within only a few hours each time, and the whole trance\nlasted three weeks, more or less. During the returns to her body she told\nrelatives that in her absence she seemed to be in a place inhabited by all\nthe people who died. But she stated that none of them spoke about dying\nand no one among them seemed to realize that they were dead. Among those\nshe had seen was a locomotive engineer who had been accidentally killed.\nHis body was mangled in the accident which caused death. The little girl\nperceived him there walking about minus arms, and with lesions upon his\nhead, all of which is in line with facts usually seen by mystic\ninvestigators. Persons who have been hurt in accidents go about thus,\nuntil they learn that a mere wish to have their body made whole will\nsupply a new arm or limb, for desire stuff is most quickly and readily\nmolded by thought.\n\n_Death._\n\nAfter a longer or shorter time there comes in each life a point where the\nexperiences which a spirit can gain from its present environment have been\nexhausted, and life terminates in death.\n\nDeath may be sudden and seemingly unexpected, as for instance by\nearthquake, upon the battle-field, or by accident, as we call it, but in\nreality, death is never accidental or unforeseen by Higher Powers. Not a\nsparrow falls to the ground without divine Will. There are along life\u2019s\npath partings of the way, as it were; on one side the main line of life\ncontinues onward, the other path leads into what we might call a blind\nalley. If the man takes that path, it soon ends in death. We are here in\nlife for the sake of gaining experience and each life has a certain\nharvest to reap. If we order our life in such a manner that we gain the\nknowledge it is intended we should acquire, we continue in life, and\nopportunities of different kinds constantly come our way. But if we\nneglect them, and the life goes into paths which are not congruous to our\nindividual development it would be a waste of time to let us stay in such\nenvironment. Therefore the Great and Wise Beings, Who are behind the scene\nof evolution, terminate our life, that we may have a fresh start in a\ndifferent sphere of influence. The law of conservation of energy is not\nconfined to the Physical World, but operates in the spiritual realms also.\nThere is nothing in life that has not its purpose. We do wrong to rail\nagainst circumstances, no matter how disagreeable, we should rather\nendeavor to learn the lessons which are contained therein, that we may\nlive a long and useful life. Some one may object, and say: You are\ninconsistent in your teachings. You say there is really no death, that we\ngo into a brighter existence, and that we have to learn other lessons\nthere in a different sphere of usefulness! Why then aim to live a long\nlife here?\n\nIt is very true that we make these claims, and they are perfectly\nconsistent with the other assertions just mentioned, but there are lessons\nto be learned _here_ which cannot be learned in the other worlds, and we\nhave to bring up this physical body through the useless years of\nchildhood, through hot and impulsive youth, to the ripeness of manhood or\nwomanhood, before it becomes of true spiritual use. The longer we live\nafter maturity has been attained, when we have commenced to look upon the\nserious side of life and started to truly learn lessons which make for\nsoulgrowth, the more experience we shall gather and the richer our harvest\nwill be. Then, in a later existence, we shall be so much more advanced,\nand capable of taking up tasks that would be impossible with less length\nof life and breadth of activity. Besides, it is hard to die for the man in\nthe prime of life with a wife and growing family whom he loves; with\nambitions of greatness unfulfilled; with hosts of friends about him, and\nwith interests all centered upon the material plane of existence. It is\nsad for the woman whose heart is bound up in home and the little ones she\nhas reared, to leave them, perhaps without anyone to care for them; to\nknow that they have to fight their way alone through the early years when\nher tender care is needed, and perhaps to see those little ones abused,\nand she unable to lift a hand, though her heart may bleed as freely as it\nwould in earth life. All these things are sad, and _they bind the spirit\nto earth_ for a much longer time than ordinarily, they hinder it from\nreaping the experiences it should reap upon the other side of death, and\nthey make it desirable along with other reasons already mentioned to live\na long life before passing onwards.\n\nThe difference between those who pass out at a ripe old age, and one who\nleaves this earth in the prime of life, may be illustrated by the manner\nin which the seed clings to a fruit in an unripe state. A great deal of\nforce is necessary to tear the stone from a green peach; it has such a\ntenacious hold upon the fruit that shreds of pulp adhere to it when\nforcibly removed, so also the spirit clings to the flesh in middle life\nand a certain part of its material interest remain and bind it to earth\nafter death. On the other hand, when a life has been lived to the full,\nwhen the spirit has had time to realize its ambitions or to find out their\nfutility, when the duties of life have been performed and satisfaction\nrests upon the brow of an aged man or woman; or when the life has been\nmisspent and the pangs of conscience have worked upon the man and shown\nhim his mistakes; when, in fact, the spirit has learned the lessons of\nlife, as it must have to come to old age; then it may be likened to the\nseed of the ripe fruit which falls out clean, without a vestige of flesh\nclinging thereto, at the moment the encasing pulp is opened. Therefore we\nsay, as before, that though there is a brighter existence in store for\nthose who have lived well, it is nevertheless best to live a long life and\nto live it to the fullest extent possible.\n\nWe also maintain, that no matter what may be the circumstances of a man\u2019s\ndeath, it is not accidental; it has either been brought about by his own\nneglect to embrace opportunities of growth, or else life has been lived to\nthe ultimate possible. There is one exception to that rule, and that is\ndue to man\u2019s exercise of his divine prerogative of interference. If we\nlived according to schedule, if we all assimilated the experiences\ndesigned for our growth by the Creative Powers, we should live to the\nultimate length, but _we ourselves_ usually shorten our lives by not\ntaking advantage of opportunities, and it also happens that _other men_\nmay shorten our lives and cut them off as suddenly as the so-called\naccident whereby the divine rulers terminate our life here. In other\nwords, murder, or fatal accidents brought about _by human __\ncarelessness_, are in reality the only termination to life not planned by\ninvisible leaders of humanity. No one is ever compelled to do murder or\nother evil, or there could not come to them a just retribution for their\nacts. The Christ said that evil must come but _woe unto him by whom it\ncometh_, and to harmonize that with the law of divine justice: \u201cas a man\nsoweth, so shall he also reap,\u201d _there must at least be absolute free will\nin respect to evil acts_.\n\nThere are also cases where a person lives such a full and good life of\nsuch vast benefit to humanity and to himself, that his days are lengthened\nbeyond the ultimate, as they are shortened by neglect, but such cases are\nof course too few to allow of their being dwelt upon at length.\n\nWhere death is not sudden as in the case of accidents, but occurs at home\nafter an illness, quietly and peacefully, dying persons usually experience\na falling upon them as of a pall of great darkness shortly before\ntermination of life. Many pass out from the body under that condition, and\ndo not see the light again until they have entered the super-physical\nrealms. There are many other cases however, where the darkness lifts\nbefore the final release from the body. Then the dying person views both\nworlds at once, and is cognizant of the presence of both dead and living\nfriends. Under such circumstances it very often happens that a mother sees\nsome of her children who have gone before, and she will exclaim joyously:\nOh, there is Johnny standing at the foot of my bed; my but hasn\u2019t he\ngrown! The living relatives may feel shocked and uneasy, thinking the\nmother suffering from hallucinations, while in reality she is more\nclear-sighted than they; she perceives those who have passed beyond the\nveil who have come to greet and help her to make herself at home in the\nnew world she is entering.\n\nEach human being is an individual, separate and apart from all others, and\nas experiences in the life of each differ from those of all others in the\ninterval from the cradle to the grave, so we may also reasonably infer\nthat the experiences of each spirit vary from those of every other spirit\nwhen it passes through the gates of birth and death. We print what\npurports to be a _spirit message_ communicated by the late Professor James\nof Harvard at the Boston spirit temple, and in which he describes\nsensations which he felt when passing through the gate of death. We do not\nvouch for its authenticity as we have not investigated the matter\npersonally.\n\nProfessor James had promised to communicate after death with his friends\nin this life, and the whole world of psychic research was and still is on\nwatch for a word from him. Several mediums have claimed that Professor\nJames has communicated through them, but the most remarkable are those\ngiven through the Boston spirit temple as follows:\n\n\n    \u201cAnd this is death, only to fall asleep, only to awaken in the\n    morning and to know that all is well. I am not dead, only arisen.\n\n                  -------------------------------------\n\n    \u201cI only know that I experienced a great shock through my entire\n    system, as if some mighty bond had been rent asunder. For a moment\n    I was dazed and lost consciousness. When I awakened I found myself\n    standing beside the old body which had served me faithfully and\n    well. To say that I was surprised would only inadequately express\n    the sensation that thrilled my very being, and I realized that\n    some wonderful change had taken place. Suddenly I became conscious\n    that my body was surrounded by many of my friends, and an\n    uncontrollable desire took possession of me to speak and touch\n    them that they might know that I still lived. Drawing a little\n    nearer to that which was so like and yet unlike myself, I\n    stretched forth my hand and touched them, but they heeded me not.\u201d\n\n                  -------------------------------------\n\n    \u201cThen it was that the full significance of the great change that\n    had taken place flashed upon my newly awakened senses; then it was\n    that I realized that an impenetrable barrier separated me from my\n    loved ones on earth, and that this great change which had taken\n    place was indeed death. A sense of weariness and longing for rest\n    took possession of me. I seemed to be transported through space,\n    and I lost consciousness, to awaken in a land so different and yet\n    so similar to the one which I had lately left. It was not possible\n    for me to describe my sensations when I again regained\n    consciousness and realized that, though dead, I was still alive.\n\n    \u201cWhen I first became conscious of my new environment I was resting\n    in a beautiful grove, and was realizing as never before what it\n    was to be at peace with myself and all the world.\u201d\n\n                  -------------------------------------\n\n    \u201cI know that only with the greatest difficulty shall I be enabled\n    to express to you my sensations when I fully realized that I had\n    awakened to a new life. All was still, no sound broke the silence.\n    Darkness had surrounded me. In fact, I seemed to be enveloped in a\n    heavy mist, beyond which my gaze could not penetrate. Soon in the\n    distance I discerned a faint glimmer of light, which slowly\n    approached me, and then, to my wonder and joy, I beheld the face\n    of her who had been my guiding star in the early days of my earth\n    life.\u201d\n\n\nOne of the saddest sights witnessed by the seer at a death-bed is the\ntortures to which we often subject our dying friends on account of\nignorance of how to care for them in that condition. We have a science of\nbirth; obstetricians who have been trained for years in their profession\nand have developed a wonderful skill, assist the little stranger into this\nworld. We have also trained nurses attendant upon mother and child, the\ningenuity of brilliant minds is focused upon the problem of how to make\nmaternity easier, neither pains nor money are spared in these beneficent\nefforts for one whom we have never seen, but when the friend of a\nlifetime, the man who has served his kind well and nobly in profession,\nstate, or church, is to leave the scene of his labors for a new field of\nactivity, when the woman\u2014who has labored to no less good purpose in\nbringing up a family to take its part in the world\u2019s work\u2014has to leave\nthat home and family, when one whom we have loved all our lives is about\nto bid us the final farewell, we stand by utterly at a loss how to help;\nperhaps we even do the very things most detrimental to the comfort and\nwelfare of the departing one.\n\nProbably there is no form of torture more commonly inflicted upon the\ndying than that which is caused by administering stimulants. Such potions\nhave the effect of drawing a departing spirit into its body with the force\nof a catapult, to remain and to suffer for sometime longer. Investigators\nof conditions beyond have heard many complaints of such treatment. When it\nis seen that death must inevitably ensue, let not selfish desire to keep a\ndeparting spirit a little longer prompt us to inflict such tortures upon\nit. The death chamber should be a place of the utmost quiet, a place of\npeace and of prayer, for at that time, and _for three and one-half days\nafter the last breath_, the spirit is passing through a Gethsemane and\nneeds all the assistance that can be given. The value of the life that has\njust been passed depends greatly upon conditions which then prevail about\nthe body; yes even the conditions of its future life are influenced by our\nattitude during that time, so that if ever we were our brother\u2019s keeper in\nlife, we are a thousand times more so at death.\n\nPost-mortem examinations, embalming and cremation during the period\nmentioned, not only disturb the passing spirit mentally, but are\nproductive of a certain amount of pain, for there is still a slight\nconnection with the discarded vehicle. If sanitary laws require us to\nprevent decomposition while thus keeping the body for cremation, it may be\npacked in ice till the three and one-half days have passed. After that\ntime the spirit will not suffer, no matter what happens to the body.\n\n_The Panorama of a Past Life._\n\nNo matter how long we may keep the spirit from passing out however, at\nlast there will come a time when no stimulant can hold it and the last\nbreath is drawn. Then the silver cord, of which the Bible speaks, and\nwhich holds the higher and the lower vehicles together, snaps in the heart\nand causes that organ to stop. That rupture releases the vital body, and\nthat with the desire body and mind float above the visible body for from\none to three and one-half days while the spirit is engaged in reviewing\nthe past life, an exceedingly important part of its post-mortem\nexperience. Upon that review depends its whole existence from death to a\nnew birth.\n\nThe question may arise in the student\u2019s mind: How can we review our past\nlife from the cradle to the grave when we do not even remember what we did\na month ago, and to form a proper basis for our future life, this record\nought to be very accurate, but even the best memory is faulty? When we\nunderstand the difference between the conscious and sub-conscious memory\nand the manner in which the latter operates, the difficulty vanishes. This\ndifference and the manner in which the sub-conscious memory keeps an\naccurate record of our life experiences may be best understood by an\nillustration, as follows: When we go into a field and view the surrounding\nlandscape, vibrations in the ether carry to us a picture of everything\nwithin the range of our vision. It is as sad as it is true however, that\n\u201cwe have eyes and see not,\u201d as the Savior said. These vibrations impinge\nupon the retina of our eyes, even to the very smallest details, but they\nusually do not penetrate to our consciousness, and therefore are not\nremembered. Even the most powerful impressions fade in course of time so\nthat we cannot call them back at will when they are stored in our\nconscious memory.\n\nWhen a photographer goes afield _with his camera_ the results which he\nobtains are different. The ether vibrations emanating from all things upon\nwhich his camera is focused, transmit to the sensitive plate an impression\nof the landscape true to the minutest detail, and, mark this well, this\ntrue and accurate picture is in no wise dependent upon whether the\nphotographer is observant or not. It will remain upon the plate and may be\nreproduced under proper conditions. Such is the subconscious memory, and\nit is generated automatically by each of us during every moment of time,\nindependently of our volition, in the following manner.\n\nFrom the first breath which we draw after birth to our last dying gasp, we\ninspire air which is charged with pictures of our surroundings, and the\nsame ether which carries that picture to the retina of our eye, is inhaled\ninto our lungs where it enters the blood. Thus it reaches the heart in due\ntime. In the left ventricle of that organ, near the apex, there is one\nlittle atom which is particularly sensitized, and which remains in the\nbody all through life. It differs in this respect from all other atoms\nwhich come and go, for it is the particular property of God, and of a\ncertain spirit. This atom may be called the book of the Recording Angel,\nfor as the blood passes through the heart, cycle after cycle, the pictures\nof our good and evil acts are inscribed thereon to the minutest detail.\nThis record may be called the sub-conscious memory. It forms the basis of\nour future life when reproduced as a panorama just subsequent to death. By\nremoval of the seed atom\u2014which corresponds to the sensitized plate in a\ncamera,\u2014the reflecting ether of the vital body serves as a focus, and as\nthe life unrolls slowly backwards from death to birth the pictures thereof\nare etched into the desire body which will be our vehicle during our\nsojourn in purgatory and the first heaven where evil is eradicated and\ngood assimilated, so that in a future life the former may serve as\n_conscience_ to withhold the man from repeating mistakes of the past, and\nthe latter will spur us to greater good.\n\nA phenomenon similar to the panorama of life usually takes place when a\nperson is drowning. People who have been resuscitated speak of having seen\ntheir whole life _in a flash_. That is because under such conditions the\nvital body also leaves the dense body. Of course there is no rupture of\nthe silver cord, or life could not be restored. Unconsciousness follows\nquickly in drowning, while in the usual post-mortem review the\nconsciousness continues until the vital body collapses in the same manner\nthat it does when we go to sleep. Then consciousness ceases for a while\nand the panorama is terminated. Therefore also the time occupied by the\npanorama varies with different persons, according to whether the vital\nbody was strong and healthy, or had become thin and emaciated by\nprotracted illness. The longer the time spent in review, and the more\nquiet and peaceful the surroundings, the deeper will be the etching which\nis made in the desire body. As already said, that has a most important and\nfar reaching effect, for then the sufferings which the spirit will realize\nin purgatory on account of bad habits and misdeeds will be much more keen\nthan if there is only a slight impression, and in a future life the still\nsmall voice of conscience will warn so much more insistently against\nmistakes which caused sufferings in the past.\n\nWhen conditions are such at the time of death that the spirit is disturbed\nby outside conditions, for instance the din and turmoil of a battle, the\nharrowing conditions of an accident or the hysterical wailings of\nrelatives, the distraction prevents it from realizing an appropriate depth\nin the etching upon the desire body. Consequently its post-mortem\nexistence becomes vague and insipid, the spirit does not harvest fruits of\nexperience as it should have done had it passed out of the body in peace\nand under normal conditions. It would therefore lack incentive to good in\na future life, and miss the warning against evil which a deep etching of\nthe panorama of life would have given. Thus its growth would be retarded\nin a very marked degree, but the beneficent powers in charge of evolution\ntake certain steps to compensate for our ignorant treatment of the dying\nand other untoward circumstances mentioned. What these steps are, we shall\ndiscuss when considering the life of children in heaven, for the present\nlet it be sufficient to say that in God\u2019s kingdom every evil is always\ntransmuted to a greater good though the process may not be at once\napparent.\n\n_Purgatory._\n\nDuring life the collapse of the vital body at night terminates our view of\nthe world about us, and causes us to lose ourselves in unconsciousness of\nsleep. When the vital body collapses just subsequent to death, and the\npanorama of life is terminated, we also lose consciousness for a time\nwhich varies according to the individual. A darkness seems to fall upon\nthe spirit, then after a while it wakes up and begins dimly to perceive\nthe light of the other world, but is only gradually accustomed to the\naltered conditions. It is an experience similar to that which we have when\ncoming out of a darkened room into sunlight, which blinds us by its\nbrilliancy, until the pupils of our eyes have contracted so that they\nadmit a quantity of light bearable to our organism.\n\nIf under such a condition we turn momentarily from the bright sunlight and\nlook back into the darkened room, objects there will be much more plain to\nour vision than things outside which are illumined by the powerful rays of\nthe sun. So it is also with the spirit, when it has first been released\nfrom the body it perceives sights, scenes and sounds of the material\nworld, which it has just left, much more readily than it observes the\nsights of the world it is entering. Wordsworth in his Ode to Immortality\nnoted a similar condition in the case of new-born children, who are all\nclairvoyant and much more awake to the spiritual world than to this\npresent plane of existence. Some lose the spiritual sight very early,\nothers retain it for a number of years and a few keep it all through life,\nbut as the birth of a child is a death in the spiritual world and it\nretains the spiritual sight for a time, so also death here is a birth upon\nthe spiritual plane, and the newly dead retain a consciousness of this\nworld for some time subsequent to demise.\n\nWhen one awakes in the Desire World after having passed through\naforementioned experiences, the general feeling seems to be one of relief\nfrom a heavy burden, a feeling perhaps akin to that of a diver encased in\na heavy rubber suit, a weighty brass helmet upon his head, leaden soles\nunder his feet and heavy weights of lead upon his breast and back,\nconfined in his operations on the bottom of the ocean by a short length of\nair tube, and able only to move clumsily with difficulty. When after the\nday\u2019s work such a man is hauled to the surface, and divests himself of his\nheavy garments and he moves about with the facility we enjoy here, he must\nsurely experience a feeling of great relief. Something like that is felt\nby the spirit when it has been divested of the mortal coil, and is able to\nroam all over the globe instead of being confined to the narrow\nenvironment which bound it upon earth.\n\nThere is also a feeling of relief for those who have been ill. Sickness,\nsuch as we know it, does not exist there. Neither is it necessary to seek\nfood and shelter, for in that world there is neither heat nor cold.\nNevertheless, there are many in the purgatorial regions who go to all\nbothers of housekeeping, eating and drinking just as we do here. George Du\nMaurier in his novel \u201cPeter Ibbetson\u201d gives a very good idea of this\ncondition in the life lived between the hero and the Countess of Towers.\nThis novel also illustrates splendidly what has been said of the\nsub-conscious memory, for Geo. Du Maurier has somewhere, somehow\ndiscovered an easy method which anyone may apply to do what he calls\n\u201cdreaming true.\u201d By taking a certain position in going to sleep, it is\npossible, after a little practice, to compel the appearance, in a dream,\nof any scene _in our past life_ which we desire to live over again. The\nbook is well worth reading on that account.\n\nWhen a fiery nebula has been formed in the sky and commences to revolve, a\nlittle matter in the center where motion is slowest commences to\ncrystallize. When it has reached a certain density it is caught in the\nswirl, and whirled nearer and nearer to the outward extremity of what has,\nby that time, become the equator of a revolving globe. Then it is hurled\ninto space and discarded from the economy of the revolving sun.\n\nThis process is not accomplished automatically as scientists would have us\nbelieve,\u2014an assertion which has been proven in _The Rosicrucian Cosmo\nConception_ and other places in our literature. Herbert Spencer also\nrejected the nebular theory because it required a First Cause, which he\ndenied, though unable to form a better hypothesis of the formation of\nsolar systems,\u2014but it is accomplished through the activity of a Great\nSpirit, which we may call God or by any other name we choose. As above, so\nbelow, says the Hermetic axiom. Man, who is a lesser spirit, also gathers\nabout himself spirit-substance, which crystallizes into matter and becomes\nthe visible body which the spiritual sight reveals as placed inside an\naura of finer vehicles. The latter are in constant motion. When the dense\nbody is born as a child it is extremely soft and flexible.\n\nChildhood, youth, maturity and old age are but so many different stages of\ncrystallization, which goes on until at last a point is reached where the\nspirit can no longer move the hardened body and it is thrown out from the\nspirit as the planet is expelled from the sun. That is death!\u2014the\ncommencement of a disrobing process which continues in purgatory. The low\nevil passions and desires we cultivated during life have crystallized the\ndesire stuff in such a manner that that also must be expelled. Thus the\nspirit is purged of evil under the same law that a sun is purged of the\nmatter which later forms a planet. If the life lived has been a reasonably\ndecent one, the process of purgation will not be very strenuous nor will\nthe evil desires thus expurgated persist for a long time after having been\nfreed, but they quickly disintegrate. If, on the other hand, an extremely\nvile life has been led, the part of the expurgated desire nature may\npersist even to the time when the spirit returns to a new birth for\nfurther experience. It will then be attracted to him and haunt him as a\ndemon, inciting him to evil deeds which he himself abhors. The story of\nDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is not a mere fanciful idea of Robert Louis\nStevenson, but is founded upon facts well known to spiritual\ninvestigators. Such cases are extremes of course, but they are\nnevertheless possible and we have unfortunately laws which convert such\npossibilities to probabilities in the case of a certain class of so-called\ncriminals. We refer to laws which decree capital punishment as penalty of\nmurder.\n\nWhen a man is dangerous he should of course be restrained, but even apart\nfrom the question of the moral right of a community to take the life of\nanyone\u2014which we deny\u2014society by its very act of retaliatory murder defeats\nthe very end it would serve, for if the vicious murderer is restrained\nunder whatever discipline is necessary in a prison for a number of years\nuntil his natural death, he will have forgotten his bitterness against his\nvictim and against society, and when he stands as a free spirit in the\nDesire World, he may even by prayer have obtained forgiveness and have\nbecome a good Christian. He will then go on his way rejoicing, and will in\nthe future life seek to help those whom he hurt here.\n\nWhen society retaliates and puts him to a violent death shortly after he\nhas committed the crime, he is most likely to feel himself as having been\ngreatly injured, and not without cause. Then such a character will usually\nseek to \u201cget even\u201d as he calls it, he will go about for a long time\ninciting others to commit murder and other crimes. Then we have an\nepidemic of murders in a community, a condition not infrequent.\n\nThe regicide in Servia shocked the Western World by wiping out an entire\nroyal house in a most shockingly bloody manner, and the Minister of the\nInterior was one of the chief conspirators. Later he wrote his memoirs,\nand therein he writes that whenever the conspirators had tried to win\nanyone as a recruit, they always succeeded when they burned incense. He\ndid not know why, but simply mentioned it as a curious coincidence. To the\nmystic investigator the matter is perfectly clear. We have shown the\nnecessity of having a vehicle made of the materials of any world wherein\nwe wish to function. We usually obtain a physical vehicle by going through\nthe womb, or perhaps in a few special cases from a particularly good\nmaterializing medium, but where it is only necessary to work upon the\nbrain and influence someone else to act, we need but a vehicle made of\nsuch ether as may be obtained from fumes of many different substances.\nEach kind attracts different classes of spirits, and there is no doubt\nthat the incense burned at meetings where the conspirators were successful\nwas of a low and sensual order and attracted spirits who had a grudge\nagainst humanity in general and the King of Servia in particular. These\nmalcontents were unable to injure the King himself, but used a subtle\ninfluence which helped the conspirators in their work. The released\nmurderer who has a grudge against society on account of his execution, may\nenter low gambling saloons where the fumes of liquor and tobacco furnish\nample opportunity for working upon the class of people who congregate in\nsuch places, and the man whose spiritual sight has been developed is often\nsadly impressed when he sees the subtle influences to which those who\nfrequent such places are exposed. It is a fact of course that a man must\nbe of a low caliber to be influenced by low thoughts, and that it is as\nimpossible to incite a person of benevolent character to do murder\u2014unless\nwe put him into a hypnotic sleep\u2014as to make a tuning fork which vibrates\nto C sing by striking another attuned to the key of G, but the thoughts of\nboth living and dead constantly surround us, and no man ever thought out a\nhigh spiritual philosophy under the influence of tobacco fumes or while\nimbibing alcoholic stimulants. Were capital punishment, newspaper\nnotoriety of criminals, the _manufacture_ of liquor and tobacco eliminated\nfrom society, the gun factories would soon cease to advertise and go out\nof business along with most of the locksmiths. The police force would\ndecrease, so would jails and taxes would be correspondingly minimized.\n\nWhen a person enters purgatory he is exactly the same person as before he\ndied. He has just the same appetites, likes and dislikes, sympathies and\nantipathies, as before. There is one important difference, however,\nnamely, that _he has no dense body wherewith to gratify his appetites_.\nThe drunkard craves drink, in fact, far more than he did in this life, but\nhas no stomach which can contain liquor and cause chemical combustion\nnecessary to bring about the state of intoxication in which he delights.\nHe may and does enter saloons, where he interpolates his body into the\nbody of a physical drunkard, so that he may obtain his desires at second\nhand as it were, he will incite his victim to drink more and more. Yet\nthere is no true satisfaction. He sees the full glass upon the counter but\nhis spirit hand is unable to lift it. He suffers tortures of Tantalus\nuntil in time he realizes the impossibility of gratifying his base desire.\nThen he is free to go on so far as that vice is concerned. He has been\npurged from that evil without intervention of an angry deity or a\nconventional devil with hell\u2019s flames and pitchfork to administer\npunishment, but under the immutable law that as we sow so shall we reap,\nhe has suffered exactly according to his vice. If his craving for drink\nwas of a mild nature, he would scarcely miss the liquor which he cannot\nthere obtain. If his desires were strong and he simply lived for drink, he\nwould suffer veritable tortures of hell without need of actual flames.\nThus the pain experienced in eradication of his vice would be exactly\ncommensurate with the energy he had expended upon contracting the habit,\nas the force wherewith a falling stone strikes the earth is proportionate\nto the energy expended in hurling it upwards into the air.\n\nYet it is not the aim of God to \u201cget even;\u201d _love_ is higher than _law_\nand in His wonderful mercy and solicitude for our welfare He has opened\nthe way of repentance and reform whereby we may obtain forgiveness of sin,\nas taught by the Lord of Love: the Christ. Not indeed contrary to law, for\nHis laws are immutable, but by application of a higher law, whereby we\naccomplish here that which would otherwise be delayed until death had\nforced the day of reckoning. The method is as follows:\n\nIn our explanation concerning the sub-conscious memory we noted that a\nrecord of every act, thought and word is transmitted by air and ether into\nour lungs, thence to the blood, and finally inscribed upon the tablet of\nthe heart:\u2014a certain little _seedatom_, which is thus the book of\nRecording Angels. It was later explained how this panorama of life is\netched into the desire body and forms the basis of retribution after\ndeath. When we have committed a wrong and our conscience accuses us in\nconsequence, and this accusation is productive of sincere repentance\n_accompanied by reform_, the picture of that wrong act will gradually fade\nfrom the record of our life, so that when we pass out at death it will not\nstand accusingly against us. We noted that the panorama of life unwinds\nbackwards just after death. Later, in the purgatorial life it again passes\nbefore the spiritual vision of the man, who then experiences the exact\nfeeling of those whom he has wronged. He seems to lose his own identity\nfor the time being, and assumes the condition of his one time victim, he\nexperiences all the mental and physical suffering himself which he\ninflicted upon others. Thus he learns to be merciful instead of cruel, and\nto do right instead of wrong in a future life. But if he awakens to a\nthorough realization of a wrong previous to his death, then, as said, the\nfeeling of sorrow for his victim and the restitution or redress which he\ngives of his own free will, make the suffering after death unnecessary,\nhence\u2014\u201chis sin is forgiven.\u201d\n\nThe Rosicrucian Mystery teaching gives a scientific method whereby an\naspirant to higher life may purge himself continually, and thus be able to\nentirely avoid existence in purgatory. Each night after retiring the pupil\nreviews his life during the past day _in reverse order_. He starts to\nvisualize as clearly as possible the scene which took place just before\nretiring. He then endeavors to impartially view his actions in that scene\nexamining them to see whether he did right or wrong. If the latter, he\nendeavors to _feel and realize as __ vividly as possible_ that wrong. For\ninstance, if he spoke harshly to someone, and upon later consideration\nfinds it was not merited, he will endeavor to _feel_ exactly as that one\nfelt whom he wronged and at the very earliest opportunity to apologize for\nthe hasty expression. Then he will call up the next scene in backward\nsuccession which may perhaps be the supper table. In respect of that scene\nhe will examine himself as to whether he ate to live, sparingly and of\nfoods prepared without suffering to other creatures of God, (such as flesh\nfoods that cannot be obtained without taking life). If he finds that he\nallowed his appetite to run away with him and that he ate gluttonously, he\nwill endeavor to overcome these habits, for to live a clean life we must\nhave a clean body and no one can live to his highest possibilities while\nmaking his stomach a graveyard for the decaying corpses of murdered\nanimals. In this respect there occurs to the writer a little poem by Ella\nWheeler Wilcox:\n\n\n    \u201cI am the voice of the voiceless;\n      Through me the dumb shall speak,\n    Till a deaf world\u2019s ear\n      Shall be made to hear\n        The wrongs of the wordless weak.\n\n    The same force formed the sparrow\n      That fashioned man the king;\n    The God of the whole\n    Gave a spark of soul\n        To furred and feathered thing.\n\n    And I am my brother\u2019s keeper\n      And I will fight his fight,\n    And speak the word\n    For beast and bird\n        Till the world shall set things right.\n\n\nThus the pupil will continue to review each scene _in reverse order_ from\nnight till morning, and to _feel really sorry_ for whatever he has done\namiss. He will not neglect to _feel glad_ either when he comes to a scene\nwhere he has done well, and _the more intensely he can feel, the more\nthoroughly he will eradicate the record upon the tablet of the heart and\nsharpen his conscience_, so that as time goes on from year to year, he\nwill find less cause for blame and enhance his soul power enormously. Thus\nhe will grow in a measure impossible by any less systematic method, and\nthere will be no necessity for his stay in purgatory after death.\n\nThis evening exercise and another, for the morning, if persistently\nperformed day by day, will in time awaken the spiritual vision as they\nimprove life. This matter has, however, been so thoroughly treated in\nnumber 11 of the lecture series: \u201c_Spiritual Sight and Insight; its safe\nculture and control_,\u201d that it is unnecessary to dwell upon the matter\nfurther in this place.\n\n_The First Heaven._\n\nIn the first heaven, which is located in the higher regions of the Desire\nWorld, the panorama of life again unrolls and reveals every scene where we\naimed to help or benefit others. They were not felt at the time the spirit\nwas in the lower regions, for higher desires cannot express themselves in\nthe coarse matter composing the lower regions of the Desire World, but\nwhen the spirit ascends to the first heaven it reaps from each scene all\nthe good which it expressed in life. It will feel the gratitude poured out\nby those whom it helped; if it comes to a scene where itself received a\nfavor from others _and was grateful_, it will experience the gratitude\nanew. The sum of all these feelings is there amalgamated into the spirit\nto serve in a future life as incentives to good.\n\nThus, the soul is purged from evil in purgatory, and strengthened in good\nin the first heaven. In one region the extract of sufferings become\n_conscience_ to deter us from doing wrong, in the other region the\nquintessence of good is transmuted to _benevolence_ and altruism which are\nthe basis of all true progress. Moreover, purgatory is far from being a\nplace of _punishment_, it is perhaps the most beneficent realm in nature,\nfor _because of purgation we are born innocent_ life after life. The\ntendencies to commit the same evil for which we suffered remain with us\nand temptations to commit the same wrongs will be placed in our path until\nwe have consciously overcome the evil here; temptation is not sin,\nhowever, the sin is in yielding.\n\nAmong the inhabitants of the invisible world there is one class which\nlives a particularly painful life, sometimes for a great many years,\nnamely, the suicide who tried to play truant from the school of life. Yet\nit is not an angry God or a malevolent devil who administers punishment,\nbut an immutable law which proportions the sufferings differently to each\nindividual suicide.\n\nWe learned previously, when considering the World of Thought, that each\nform in this visible world has its archetype there,\u2014a vibrating hollow\nmold which emits a certain harmonious sound; that sound attracts and forms\nphysical matter into the shape we behold, much in the same manner as when\nwe place a little sand upon a glass plate and rub the edge with a violin\nbow, the sand is shaped into different geometrical figures which change as\nthe sound changes.\n\nThe little atom in the heart is the sample and the center around which the\natoms in our body gather. When that is removed at death, the center is\nlacking, and although the archetype keeps on vibrating until the limit of\nthe life has been reached\u2014as also previously explained,\u2014no matter can be\ndrawn into the hollow shape of the archetype and therefore the suicide\nfeels a dreadful gnawing pain as if he were hollowed out, a torture which\ncan only be likened to the pangs of hunger. In his case, the intense\nsuffering will continue for exactly as many years as he should have lived\nin the body. At the expiration of that time, the archetype collapses as it\ndoes when death comes naturally. Then the pain of the suicide ceases, and\nhe commences his period of purgation as do those who die a natural death.\nBut the memory of sufferings experienced in consequence of the act of\nsuicide will remain with him in future lives and deter him from a similar\nmistake.\n\nIn the first heaven there is a class who have not had any purgatorial\nexistence and who lead a particularly joyous life: the children. Our homes\nmay be saddened almost beyond endurance when the little flower is broken\nand the sunshine it brought has gone. But could we see the beautiful\nexistence which these little ones lead, and did we understand the great\nbenefits which accrue to a child from its limited stay there, our sorrow\nwould be at least ameliorated in a great measure, and the wound upon our\nheart would heal more quickly. Besides, as nothing else in the world\nhappens without a cause, so there is also a much deeper cause for infant\nmortality than we are usually aware of, and as we awake to the facts of\nthe case, we shall be able to avoid in future the sorrow incident to loss\nof our little ones.\n\nTo understand the case properly we must revert to the experiences of the\ndying in the death hour. We remember that the panorama of the past life is\netched upon the desire body during a period varying from a few hours to\nthree and one-half days, just subsequent to demise. We recall also, that\nupon the depth of this etching depends the clearness of the picture, and\nthat the more vivid this panorama of life, the more intensely will the\nspirit suffer in purgatory and feel the joys of heaven; also, that the\ngreater the suffering in purgatory the stronger the conscience in the next\nlife.\n\nIt was explained how the horrors of death upon the battlefield, in an\naccident or other untoward circumstances would prevent the spirit from\ngiving all its attention to the panorama of life with the result that\nthere would be a light etching in the desire body, followed by a vague and\ninsipid existence in purgatory and the first heaven. It was also stated\nthat hysterical lamentations in the death chamber would produce the same\neffect.\n\nA spirit which had thus escaped suffering proportionate to its misdeeds,\nand which had not experienced the pleasure commensurate with the good it\nhad done, would not in a future life have as well developed a conscience\nas it ought to have, nor would it be as benevolent as it ought to be, and\ntherefore the life, terminated under conditions over which the spirit had\nno control, would be partly wasted. The Great Leaders of humanity\ntherefore take steps to counteract such a calamity and prevent an\ninjustice. The spirit is brought to birth, caused to die in childhood, it\nre-enters the Desire World and in the first heaven it is taught the\nlessons of which it was deprived previously.\n\nAs the first heaven is located in the Desire World,\u2014which is the realm of\nlight and color,\u2014where matter is shaped most readily by thought, the\nlittle ones are given wonderful toys impossible of construction here. They\nare taught to play with _colors which work upon their moral character_ in\nexactly the manner each child requires. Anyone who is at all sensitive is\naffected by the color of his clothing and surroundings. Some colors have a\ndepressing effect, while others inspire us with energy, and others again\nsoothe and comfort us. In the Desire World the effect of colors is much\nmore intense, they are much more potent factors of good and evil there\nthan here, and in this color play, the child imbibes unconsciously the\nqualities which it did not acquire on account of accident or lamentations\nof relatives. Often it also falls to the lot of such relatives to care for\na child in the invisible world, or perhaps to give it birth and see it\ndie. Thus they receive just retribution for the wrong committed. As wars\ncease, and man learns to be more careful of life, and also how to care for\nthe dying, infant mortality, which now is so appalling, will decrease.\n\n_The Second Heaven._\n\nWhen both the good and evil of a life has been extracted, the spirit\ndiscards its desire body and ascends to the second heaven. The desire body\nthen commences to disintegrate as the physical body and the vital body\nhave done, but it is a peculiarity of desire stuff, that once it has been\nformed and inspired with life, it persists for a considerable time. Even\nafter that life has fled it lives a semi-conscious, independent life.\nSometimes it is drawn by magnetic attraction to relatives of the spirit\nwhose clothing it was, and at spiritualistic seances these _shells_\ngenerally impersonate the departed spirit and deceive its relatives. As\nthe panorama of the past life is etched into the shells they have a memory\nof incidents in connection with these relatives, which facilitates the\ndeception. But as the intelligence has fled, they are of course unable to\ngive any true counsel, and that accounts for the inane, goody-goody\nnonsense of which these things deliver themselves.\n\nWhen passing from the first to the second heaven, the spirit experiences\nthe condition known and described previously as \u201cThe Great Silence,\u201d where\nit stands utterly alone conscious only of its divinity. When that silence\nis broken there floats in upon the spirit celestial harmonies of _the\nworld of tone_ where the second heaven is located. It seems then to lave\nin an ocean of sound and to experience a joy beyond all description and\nwords, as it nears its heavenly home\u2014for this is the first of the truly\nspiritual realms from which the spirit has been exiled during its earth\nlife and the subsequent post-mortem existence. In the Desire World its\nwork was _corrective_, but in the World of Thought the human spirit\nbecomes one with the nature forces and its _creative_ activity begins.\n\nUnder the law of causation we reap exactly what we sow, and it would be\nwrong to place one spirit in an environment where there is a scarcity of\nthe necessities of life, where a scorching sun burns the crop and millions\ndie from famine, or where the raging flood sweeps away primitive\nhabitations not built to withstand its ravages, and to bring another\nspirit to birth in a land of plenty, with a fertile soil which yields a\nmaximum of increase with a minimum of labor, where the earth is rich in\nminerals that may be used in industry to facilitate transportation of\nproducts of the soil from one point to another. If we were thus placed\nwithout action or acquiescence upon our part, there would be no justice,\nbut as our post-mortem existence in purgatory and the first heaven is\nbased upon our moral attitude in this life so our activities in the second\nheaven are determined by our mental aspirations and they produce our\nfuture physical environment, for in the second heaven, the spirit becomes\npart of the nature forces which work upon the earth and change its\nclimate, flora and fauna. A spirit of an indolent nature, who indulges in\nday dreams and metaphysical speculations _here_, is not transformed by\ndeath respecting its mental attitude any more than regarding its moral\npropensities. It will dream away time in heaven, glorying in its sights\nand sounds. Thus it will neglect to work upon its future country and\nreturn to a barren and arid land. Spirits, on the other hand, whose\nmaterial aspirations lead them to desire so-called solid comforts of\nhearth and home, who aim to promote great industries and whose mind is\nconcerned in trade and commerce, will build in heaven a land that will\nsuit their purpose: fertile, immineralized, with navigable rivers and\nsheltered harbors. They will return in time to enjoy upon earth the fruits\nof their labors in the second heaven, as they reap the result of their\nlife upon earth in purgatory and the first heaven.\n\n_The Third Heaven._\n\nIn the third heaven most people have very little consciousness for reasons\nexplained in connection with the Region of Abstract Thought, for there the\nthird heaven is located. It is therefore more of a place of waiting where\nthe spirit rests between the time when its labors in the second heaven\nhave been completed and the time when it again experiences the desire for\nrebirth. But from this realm inventors bring down their original ideas;\nthere the philanthropist obtains the clearest vision of how to realize his\nutopian dreams and the spiritual aspirations of the saintly minded are\ngiven renewed impetus.\n\nIn time the desires of the spirit for further experiences draws it back to\nrebirth, and the Great Celestial Beings who are known in the Christian\nReligion as Recording Angels, assist the spirit to come to birth in the\nplace best suited to give it the experience necessary to further unfold\nits powers and possibilities.\n\nWe have all been here many times and in different families, we have had\nrelations of varying nature with many different people and usually there\nare several families among whom we may seek re-embodiment to work out our\nself-generated destiny and reap what we have sown in former life. If there\nare no special reasons why we should take birth in any particular family\namong certain friends or foes, the spirit is allowed to choose its own\nplace of birth. Thus it may be said that most of us are in our present\nplaces by our own prenatal choice.\n\nIn order to assist us in making that choice the Recording Angels call up\nbefore the spirit\u2019s vision a panorama in general outlines of each of the\noffered lives. This panorama will show what part of our past debts we are\nto pay, and what fruits we may be expected to reap in the coming life.\n\nThe spirit is left free to choose between the several lives offered. But\nonce a choice has been made no evasion is possible during life. We have\nfree will with regard to the future, but the past \u201c_mature_\u201d destiny we\ncannot escape, as shown by the incident recorded in _The Rosicrucian Cosmo\nConception_, where the writer warned a well known Los Angeles lecturer\nthat if he left his home upon a certain day, he would be injured by a\nconveyance, in head, neck, breast and shoulders. The gentleman believed\nand intended to heed our warning. Nevertheless he went to Sierra Madre to\nlecture upon the fateful day. He was injured in the places stated by a\ncollision and later explained: \u201cI thought the twenty-eighth was the\ntwenty-ninth.\u201d\n\nWhen the spirit has made its choice, it descends into the second heaven\nwhere it is instructed by the Angels and Archangels how to build an\narchetype of the body which it will later inhabit upon earth. Also here we\nnote the operation of the great law of justice which decrees that we reap\nwhat we sow. If our tastes are coarse and sensual, we shall build an\narchetype which will express these qualities; if we are refined and of\naesthetic taste, we shall build an archetype correspondingly refined, but\nno one can obtain a better body than he can build. Then, as the architect\nwho builds a house in which he afterwards lives, will suffer discomfort if\nhe neglects to properly ventilate it, so also the spirit feels disease in\na poorly constructed body, and as the architect learns to avoid mistakes\nand remedy the short-comings of one house when building another, so also\nthe spirit which suffers from defects in its body, learns in time to build\nbetter and better vehicles.\n\nIn the Region of Concrete Thought, the spirit also draws to itself\nmaterials for a new mind. As a magnet draws iron filings but leaves other\nsubstances alone, so also each spirit draws only the kind of mind-stuff\nwhich it used in its former life, plus that which it has learned to use in\nits present post-mortem state. Then it descends into the Desire World\nwhere it gathers material for a new desire body such as will express\nappropriately its moral characteristics, and later it attracts a certain\namount of ether which is built into the mold of the archetype constructed\nin the second heaven and acts as cement between the solids, liquids and\ngaseous material from the bodies of parents which forms the dense physical\nbody of a child, and in due time the latter is brought to birth.\n\n_Birth and Child Life._\n\nIt must not be imagined, however, that when the little body of a child has\nbeen born, the process of birth is completed. The dense physical body has\nhad the longest evolution, and as a shoemaker who has worked at his trade\nfor a number of years is more expert than an apprentice and can make\nbetter shoes and _quicker_, so also the spirit which has built many\nphysical bodies produces them quickly, but the vital body is a later\nacquisition of the human being. Therefore we are not so expert in building\nthat vehicle. Consequently it takes longer to construct that from the\nmaterials not used up in making the lining of the archetype, and the vital\nbody is not born until the seventh year. Then the period of rapid growth\ncommences. The desire body is a still later addition of composite man, and\nis not brought to birth until the fourteenth year when the desire nature\nexpresses itself most strongly during so-called \u201chot\u201d youth, and the mind,\nwhich makes man man, does not come to birth until the twenty-first year.\nIn law that age is recognized as the earliest time he is fitted to\nexercise a franchise.\n\nThis knowledge is of the utmost importance to parents, as a proper\nunderstanding of the development which should take place in each of the\nseptenary epochs enables the educator to work intelligently with nature\nand thus fulfill more thoroughly the trust of a parent than those who are\nignorant of the Rosicrucian Mystery Teaching. We shall therefore devote\nthe remaining pages to an elucidation of this matter and of the importance\nof the knowledge of astrology upon the part of the parent.\n\n_The Mystery of Light, Color and Consciousness._\n\n\u201cGod is Light,\u201d says the Bible, and we are unable to conceive of a grander\nsimile of His Omnipresence, or the mode of His manifestation. Even the\ngreatest telescopes have failed to reach the boundaries of light, though\nthey reveal to us stars millions of miles from the earth, and we may well\nask ourselves, as did the Psalmist of old: Whither shall I flee from Thy\nPresence? If I ascend into heaven Thou art there, If I make my bed in the\ngrave (the Hebrew word _sheol_ means _grave_ and not hell), Thou art\nthere, If I take the wings of morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of\nthe sea, even there shall thy hand lead me.\n\nWhen, in the dawn of Being, _God the Father_ enunciated _The Word_, and\n_The Holy Spirit_ moved upon the sea of homogeneous _Virgin Matter_,\nprimeval _Darkness_ was turned to _Light_. That is therefore the prime\nmanifestation of Deity, and a study of the principles of Light will reveal\nto the mystic intuition a wonderful source of spiritual inspiration. As it\nwould take us too far afield from our subject we shall not enter into an\nelucidation of that theme here, except so far as to give an elementary\nidea of how divine Life energizes the human frame and stimulates to\naction.\n\nTruly, God is ONE and undivided, He enfolds within His Being all that is,\nas the white light embraces all colors. But He appears three-fold in\nmanifestation, as the white light is refracted in three primary colors:\nBlue, Yellow and Red. Wherever we see these colors they are emblematical\nof the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three primary rays of divine\nLife are diffused or radiated through the sun and produce _Life_,\n_Consciousness_ and _Form_ upon each of the seven light-bearers, the\nplanets, which are called \u201cthe Seven Spirits before the Throne.\u201d Their\nnames are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. Bode\u2019s\nlaw proves that Neptune does not belong to our solar system and the reader\nis referred to \u201cSimplified Scientific Astrology\u201d by the present writer,\nfor mathematical demonstration of this contention.\n\nEach of the seven planets receives the light of the sun in a different\nmeasure, according to its proximity to the central orb and the\nconstitution of its atmosphere, and the beings upon each, according to\ntheir stage of development, have affinity for some of the solar rays. They\nabsorb the color or colors congruous to them, and reflect the remainder\nupon the other planets. This reflected ray bears with it an impulse of the\nnature of the beings with which it has been in contact.\n\nThus the divine Light and Life comes to each planet, either directly from\nthe sun, or reflected from its six sister planets, and as the summer\nbreeze which has been wafted over blooming fields carries upon its silent\ninvisible wings the blended fragrance of a multitude of flowers, so also\nthe subtle influences from the garden of God bring to us the commingled\nimpulses of all the Spirits and in that varicolored light we live and move\nand have our being.\n\nThe rays which come directly from the sun are productive of spiritual\nillumination, the reflected rays from other planets make for added\nconsciousness and moral development and the rays reflected by way of the\nmoon give physical growth.\n\nBut as each planet can only absorb a certain quantity of one or more\ncolors according to the general stage of evolution there, so each being\nupon earth: mineral, plant, animal and man can only absorb and thrive upon\na certain quantity of the various rays projected upon the earth. The\nremainder do not affect it or produce sensation, any more than the blind\nare conscious of light and color which exist everywhere around them.\nTherefore each being is differently affected by the stellar rays and the\nscience of Astrology a fundamental truth in nature, of enormous benefit in\nthe attainment of spiritual growth.\n\nFrom a horoscopic figure in mystic script we may learn our own strength\nand weakness, with the path best suited to our development, or we may see\nthe tendencies of those friends who come to us as children, and what\ntraits are dormant in them. Thus we shall know clearly how to discharge\nour duty as parents, by repressing evil before it comes to birth and\nfostering good, so that it may bring forth most abundantly the spiritual\npotencies of the soul committed to our care.\n\nAs we have already said, man returns to earth to reap that which he has\nsown in previous lives and to sow anew the seeds which make for future\nexperience. The stars are the heavenly time keepers which measure the\nyear, the moon indicates the month when time will be propitious to harvest\nor to sow.\n\nThe child is a mystery to us all, we can only know its propensities as\nthey slowly develop into characteristics, but it is usually too late to\ncheck when evil habits have been formed and the youth is upon the downward\ngrade. A horoscope cast for the time of birth in a scientific manner shows\nthe tendencies to good or evil in the child, and if a parent will take\ntime and trouble necessary to study the science of the stars, he or she\nmay do the child intrusted to his or her care an inestimable service by\nfostering tendencies to good and repressing the evil bent of a child ere\nit has crystallized into habit. Do not imagine that a superior\nmathematical knowledge is necessary to erect a horoscope. Many construct a\nhoroscope in such an involved manner, so \u201cfearfully and wonderfully made\u201d\nthat it is unreadable to themselves or others, while a simple figure easy\nof reading may be constructed by anyone who knows how to add and subtract.\nThis method has been thoroughly elucidated in Simplified Scientific\nAstrology which is a complete text book, though small and inexpensive, and\nparents who have the welfare of their children thoroughly at heart should\nendeavor to learn for themselves, for even though their ability may not\ncompare with that of a professional astrologer, their intimate knowledge\nof the child and their deep interest will more than compensate for such\nlack and enable them to see most deeply into the child\u2019s character by\nmeans of its horoscope.\n\n_Education of Children._\n\nRespecting the birth of the various vehicles and the influence which that\nhas upon life, we may say that during the time from birth to the seventh\nyear the lines of growth of the physical body are determined, and as it\nhas been noted that sound is builder both in the great and small, we may\nwell imagine that rhythm must have an enormous influence upon the growing\nand sensitive little child\u2019s organism. The apostle John in the first\nchapter of his gospel expresses this idea mystically in the beautiful\nwords: \u201cIn the beginning was the WORD ... and without it was not anything\nmade that was made ... and the word became flesh;\u201d the word is a rhythmic\nsound, which issued from the Creator, reverberated through the universe\nand marshaled countless millions of atoms into the multiplex variety of\nshapes and forms which we see about us. The mountain, the mayflower, the\nmouse and the man are all embodiments of that great Cosmic Word which is\nstill sounding through the universe and which is still building and ever\nbuilding though unheard by our insensitive ears. But though we do not hear\nthat wonderful celestial sound, we may work upon the little child\u2019s body\nby terrestrial music, and though the nursery rhymes are without sense,\nthey are nevertheless bearers of a wonderful rhythm, and the more a child\nis taught to say, sing and repeat them, to dance and to march to them, the\nmore music is incorporated into a child\u2019s daily life, the stronger and\nhealthier will be its body in future years.\n\nThere are two mottoes which apply during this period, one to the child and\nthe other to the parent: _Example_ and _Imitation_. No creature under\nheaven is more imitative than a little child, and its conduct in after\nyears will depend largely upon the example set by its parents during its\nearly life. It is no use to tell the child \u201cnot to mind,\u201d it has no mind\nwherewith to discriminate, but follows its natural tendency, as water\nflows down a hill, when it imitates. Therefore it behooves every parent to\nremember from morning till night that watchful eyes are upon him all the\ntime waiting but for him to act in order to follow his example.\n\nIt is of the utmost importance that the child\u2019s clothing should be very\nloose, particularly the clothing of little boys, as chafing garments often\nproduce vices which follow a man through life.\n\nIf anyone should attempt to forcibly extract a babe from the protecting\nwomb of its mother, the outrage would result in death, because the babe\nhas not yet arrived at a maturity sufficient to endure impacts of the\nPhysical World. In the three septenary periods which follow birth, the\ninvisible vehicles are still in the womb of mother nature. If we teach a\nchild of tender years to memorize, or to think, or if we arouse its\nfeelings and emotions, we are in fact opening the protecting womb of\nnature and the results are equally as disastrous in other respects as a\nforced premature birth. Child prodigies usually become men and women of\nless than ordinary intelligence. We should not hinder the child from\nlearning or thinking of _his own volition_, but we should not goad them on\nas parents often do to nourish their own pride.\n\nWhen the vital body is born at the age of seven a period of growth begins\nand a new motto, or relation rather, is established between parent and\nchild. This may be expressed in the two words _Authority_ and\n_Discipleship_. In this period the child is taught certain lessons which\nit takes upon faith in the authority of its teachers, whether at home or\nat school, and as memory is a faculty of the vital body it can now\nmemorize what is learned. It is therefore eminently teachable;\nparticularly because it is unbiased by pre-conceived opinions which\nprevent most of us from accepting new views. At the end of this second\nperiod: from about twelve to fourteen, the vital body has been so far\ndeveloped that puberty is reached. At the age of fourteen we have the\nbirth of the desire body, which marks the commencement of self-assertion.\nIn earlier years the child regards itself more as belonging to a family\nand subordinate to the wishes of its parents than after the fourteenth\nyear. The reason is this: In the throat of the f\u0153tus and the young child\nthere is a gland called the thymus gland, which is largest before birth,\nthen gradually diminishes through the years of childhood and finally\ndisappears at ages which vary according to the characteristics of the\nchild. Anatomists have been puzzled as to the function of this organ and\nhave not yet come to any settled conclusion, but it has been suggested\nthat before development of the red marrow bones, the child is not able to\nmanufacture its own blood, and that therefore the thymus gland contains an\nessence, supplied by the parents, upon which the child may draw during\ninfancy and childhood, till able to manufacture its own blood. That theory\nis approximately true, and as the family blood flows in the child, it\nlooks upon itself as part of the family and not as an Ego. But the moment\nit commences to manufacture its own blood, the Ego asserts itself, it is\nno longer Papa\u2019s girl or Mamma\u2019s boy, it has an \u201cI\u201d-dentity of its own.\nThen comes the critical age when parents reap what they have sown. The\nmind has not yet been born, nothing holds the desire nature in check, and\nmuch, very much, depends upon how the child has been taught in earlier\nyears and what example the parents have set. At this point in life\nself-assertion, the feeling \u201c_I am myself_\u201d, is stronger than at any other\ntime and therefore authority should give place to _Advice_; the parent\nshould practice the utmost tolerance, for at no time in life is a human\nbeing as much in need of sympathy as during the seven years from fourteen\nto twenty-one when the desire nature is rampant and unchecked.\n\nIt is a crime to inflict corporal punishment upon a child at any age.\nMight is never right, and as the stronger, parents should always have\ncompassion for the weaker. But there is one feature of corporal punishment\nwhich makes it particularly dangerous to apply it to the youth: namely,\nthat it wakens the passional nature which is already perhaps beyond the\ncontrol of a growing boy.\n\nIf we whip a dog, we shall soon break its spirit and transform it into a\ncringing cur, and it is deplorable that some parents seem to regard it as\ntheir mission in life to break the spirit of their children with the rule\nof the rod. If there is one universal lack among the human race which is\nmore apparent than any other, it is lack of will, and as parents we may\nremedy the evil in a large measure by guiding the wills of our children\nalong such lines as dictated by our own more mature reason, so that we\nhelp them to grow a backbone instead of a wishbone with which\nunfortunately most of us are afflicted. Therefore, never whip a child;\nwhen punishment is necessary, correct by withholding favors or withdrawing\nprivileges.\n\nAt the twenty-first year the birth of the mind transforms the youth into a\nman or a woman fully equipped to commence his own life in the school of\nexperience.\n\nThus we have followed the human spirit around a life cycle from death to\nbirth and maturity, we have seen how immutable law governs his every step\nand how he is ever encompassed by the loving care of the Great and\nGlorious Beings who are the ministers of God. The method of his future\ndevelopment will be explained in a later work which will deal with \u201cThe\nChristian Mystic Initiation.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nMT. ECCLESIA\n\n\n(Transcriber\u2019s Note: This chapter is the series of pages which, earlier,\nthe author said \u201chad been transferred\u201d to the back of the book.)\n\nA DESCRIPTION OF THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP\n\nWork in the physical world requires physical means of accomplishment;\ntherefore a tract of land was bought in 1911 in the town of Oceanside,\nninety miles south of Los Angeles, California. _Southern California was\nselected because of the abundance of ether in the atmosphere there, and\nthis spot was found to be particularly favored in that respect._\n\nOn this commanding site having a wide view of the great Pacific Ocean, of\nsnow capped mountains and smiling valleys, we began to establish our\nheadquarters in the latter part of 1911. Soon after this we erected a\nsanctuary, the Pro-Ecclesia, where the Rosicrucian Temple Service is held\nat appropriate times. The Rose Cross Healing Circle holds its meetings\nthere to help sufferers, and it is the place appointed for the united\nmorning and evening devotions of the workers. In the latter half of 1920\nwe built an Ecclesia, which is designed to be a Temple of Healing. The\nbuilding, a beautiful domed structure, is of steel and reinforced\nconcrete. It is twelve sided in shape, corresponding to the twelve signs\nof the zodiac. At the present writing, January, 1921, the final work upon\nit is just being completed. The esoteric work of the Fellowship will be\ncarried on here.\n\nWe have also built a two-story Administration Building to house the\ngeneral office, the book department, the correspondence school in\nChristian Mysticism which links Headquarters with students all over the\nworld, and the editorial offices of our monthly publications, notably the\n\u201c_Rosicrucian Fellowship Magazine\u2014Rays from the Rose Cross_.\u201d We have also\nan astrological department which conducts a correspondence school. Its\noffices are located on the second floor.\n\nThe whole first floor is occupied by a modern printing plant and book\nbindery required to furnish the immense amount of literature needed in\nthis work. In the book department we publish all the standard works and\ntext books of the Rosicrucian Philosophy written by Max Heindel. We are\nnow in process of publishing in book form his former lessons to students.\n\nIn October, 1920, a Training School was established for the preparation of\ncandidates for the lecture field. It is our intention to thereby maintain\na Lecture Bureau, from which we will send our lecturers throughout the\ncountry to disseminate the teachings and carry the message of our\nphilosophy to the people to a greater extent than has before been\npossible.\n\nA Dining Hall with seating capacity for over one hundred people affords\nample accommodation for workers, students, and patients. The scientific\nmeatless diet served there preserves or restores health, as required in\neach case. Furthermore, it improves the vitality and mentality in an\nastonishing degree. A large dormitory, and a number of cottages and tents\nprovide living quarters for all.\n\nBy the liberal use of water and the expenditure of much labor, Mount\nEcclesia is gradually being transformed into a luxuriant tropical park.\nThere is a deep spiritual purpose in this attempt to make the visible\ncentre of the new world movement beautiful, for it fosters in the workers\na poise and peace which are absolutely essential to the proper performance\nof their work. Without that they cannot escape being disturbed by the\nflood of sorrow and trouble which flows into Headquarters from members all\nover the world; without that they cannot continue to put heart into the\nletters of help, hope and cheer which continually go out to souls who are\ngroaning under the burden of sickness, but by bathing their souls in the\nbeauty of the surroundings, whether consciously or not, they gain in\nstrength and grow in grace, they become better and better fitted for the\nGreat Work in the Master\u2019s Vineyard.\n\nIn order to aid those who feel the upward urge, to prepare intelligently\nand reverently for the unfoldment of their inner latent spiritual powers,\nthe Rosicrucian Fellowship maintains two correspondence courses which\nfurnish instruction to students all over the world. One deals with\n_Astrology_, the other with _Christian Mysticism_.\n\nThe Astrology to which we refer is not to be confounded with\nfortune-telling; it is a phase of the Mystic Religion, as sublime as the\nstars with which it deals, and to the Mystic they are not dead bodies\nmoving in space in obedience to so-called blind natural law, but they are\nthe embodiments of \u201c_The Seven Spirits before the Throne_,\u201d mighty\nStar-Angels who use their benevolent influences to guide other less\nexalted beings, humanity included, upon the path of evolution.\n\nThere is a side of the moon which we never see, but that hidden half is as\npotent a factor in creating the ebb and flow, as the part of the moon\nwhich is visible. Similarly, there is an invisible part of man which\nexerts a powerful influence in life, and as the tides are measured by the\nmotion of sun and moon, so also the eventualities of existence are\nmeasured by the circling stars, which may therefore be called \u201cthe Clock\nof Destiny,\u201d and knowledge of their import is an immense power, for to the\ncompetent Astrologer a horoscope reveals every secret of life.\n\nThus, when you have given an astrologer the data of your birth, you have\ngiven him the key to your innermost soul, and there is no secret that he\nmay not ferret out. This knowledge may be used for good or ill, to help or\nhurt, according to the nature of the man. Only a friend should be trusted\nwith this key to your soul, and it should never be given to anyone base\nenough to prostitute a spiritual science for material gain.\n\nTo the medical man Astrology is invaluable in diagnosing diseases and\nprescribing a remedy, for it reveals the hidden cause of all ailments, in\na manner that has often perplexed the skeptic and dumbfounded the scoffer.\n\nThe opinion of thousands is of great value, but it does not prove\nanything, for thousands may hold an opposite view; occasionally a single\nman may be right and the rest of the world wrong, as when Galileo\nmaintained that the earth moves. Today the whole world has been converted\nto the opinion for which he suffered torture, and we assert that, _as man\nis a composite being, cures are successful only in proportion as they\nremedy defects on the physical, moral and mental planes of Being_. We also\nmaintain that results may be obtained more easily at certain times when\nstellar rays are propitious to healing of a particular disease, or by\ntreatment with remedies previously prepared under auspicious conditions.\n\nIf you are a parent the horoscope will aid you to detect the evil latent\nin your child and teach you how to apply the ounce of prevention. It will\nshow you the good points also, that you may make a better man or woman of\nthe soul entrusted to your care. It will reveal systemic weakness and\nenable you to guard the health of your child; it will show what talents\nare there, and how the life may be lived to a maximum of usefulness.\nTherefore, the message of the marching orbs is so important that you\ncannot afford to remain ignorant thereof.\n\nIn order to aid those who are willing to help themselves we maintain a\nCorrespondence Class in Astrology, but make no mistake, we do not teach\nfortune-telling; if that is what you are looking for, we have nothing for\nyou.\n\nOUR LESSONS ARE SERMONS\n\nThey embody the highest moral and spiritual principles, together with the\nloftiest system of ethics, for Astrology is, to us, a phase of religion;\nwe never look at a horoscope without feeling that we are in a holy\npresence, face to face with an immortal soul, and our attitude is one of\nprayer for light to guide that soul aright.\n\nWE DO NOT CAST HOROSCOPES\n\nDespite all we can say, many people write enclosing money for horoscopes,\nforcing us to spend valuable time writing letters of refusal and giving us\nthe trouble of returning their money. Please do not thus annoy us; it will\navail you nothing.\n\nTHE COURSE IN CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM\n\n_Christ_ taught the multitude in _parables_, but explained the _mysteries_\nto His disciples. _Paul gave milk_ to the babes, but _meat_ to the strong.\n\nMax Heindel, the founder and leader of the Rosicrucian Fellowship,\nendeavored to follow in their steps and give to interested and devoted\nstudents a _deeper teaching_ than that promulgated in public.\n\nFor that purpose we conduct a correspondence course in _Christian\nMysticism_. The General Secretary may admit applicants to the preliminary\ncourse, but _advancement_ in the deeper degrees depends upon merit. It is\nfor those alone who have been _tried_, and found true.\n\nHOW TO APPLY FOR ADMISSION\n\nAnyone who is not engaged in fortune-telling or similar methods of\ncommercializing spiritual knowledge will, upon request, receive an\napplication blank from the General Secretary, Rosicrucian Fellowship. When\nthis blank is returned properly filled, he may admit the applicant to\ninstruction in either or both correspondence courses.\n\nTHE COST OF THE COURSE\n\nThere are no fixed fees; no esoteric instruction is ever put in the\nbalance against coin. At the same time, it cannot be given \u201c_free_,\u201d \u201c_for\nnothing_,\u201d for those who work to promulgate it must have the necessities\nof life. Type, paper, machinery and postage also cost money, and _unless\nyou pay your part someone else must pay for you_.\n\nThere are a few who cannot contribute, and who need these teachings as\nmuch or more than those who may take comfort from financial ease or\naffluence. If they make their condition known, they will receive as much\nattention as the largest contributors, but others are expected to\ncontribute for their own good as well as for the good of the work.\nRemember, _a closed hand that does not give cannot receive_.\n\n\n\n\n\nINDEX\n\n\nAbstract Thought, _see_ Thought, World of, Region of Abstract Thought.\n\nAction, incentive to, 158.\n\nAdepts, pupils of schools of the Greater Mysteries, 10.\n\nAir, charged with pictures of surroundings, 37, 155.\n\nAlchemy, proved by radio-activity, 108.\n\nAlcohol, results of using, 166.\n\nAmbassador from sun, 87.\n\nAmeshaspends, Seven Spirits before the Throne, 87.\n\nAngels, densest body of, composed of ether, 73;\n  expert builders in ether, 74;\n  family spirits, 80;\n  guardians of propagative force, 74;\n  instruct ego in building archetype, 184;\n  one step beyond human stage, 73.\n\nAngels, Recording, _see_ Recording angels.\n\nAnimals, dependent upon group spirit for infusion of stellar rays, 124;\n  keyed to lunar month, 124;\n  thought processes of, 122.\n\nAquarian Age, intellect of, 15.\n\nArchangels, densest vehicle of, 79;\n  instruct ego in building archetype, 184;\n  less evolved become group spirits, 81;\n  native of Desire World, 79;\n  race and national spirits, 80;\n  various grades of, 80;\n  work with humanity politically and industrially, 80.\n\nArche, primordial matter of, 108.\n\nArchetypal forces direct archetypes, 103.\n\nArchetype, duration of, 175;\n  vibratory mold, 175.\n\nAssimilation, through ether, 123.\n\nAstrology, estimation of time by, in Desire World, 94;\n  value of, 190.\n\nAtom, physical, spherical shape of, 9.\n\nAtom, seed, _see_ Seed atom.\n\nAtoms, chemical, expelled through skin, 127.\n\nAttitude, mental, results of, 181.\n\nBenevolence, acquired in First Heaven, 174.\n\nBennett, Florence, trance of, 141.\n\nBlack magic, punishment of, 17.\n\nBlood, charged with pictures of surroundings, 155;\n  relation of, to vital body, 129.\n\nBlue, in stellar ray, life of the Father, 124, 188.\n\nBode\u2019s law and Neptune, 189.\n\nBody, dense, _see_ Dense body.\n  desire, _see_ Desire body.\n  vital, _see_ Vital body.\n\nBrain, absorption of stellar rays through, 124.\n\nBreath, record of, 37, 38.\n\nCapital punishment, menace of, 164.\n\nCarelessness, power of, to shorten life, 147.\n\nCausation, law of, attraction of like to like, 48;\n  determines environment, 48, 180;\n  flexibility of law of, 52.\n\nChaos, (Cosmic night) seed ground of Cosmos, 112;\n  state of orderly segregation, 105.\n\nChemical atoms, expelled through skin, 127.\n\nChemical ether, assimilation and growth by, 69;\n  seen as blue haze, 65.\n\nChild, post-mortem experiences of, easily investigated, 51;\n  prodigies, 195.\n\nChildren, clairvoyance of, 160;\n  danger of mental forcing, 195;\n  discipline of, 195;\n  individual blood developed in, 196;\n  imitativeness of, 194;\n  proper clothing of, 194;\n  life of, in First Heaven, 176;\n  understanding of, through astrology, 192.\n\nChrist, higher laws taught by, 169;\n  rebirth taught by, 46.\n\nChristianity, the flowering of previous religions, 6.\n\nClairvoyance of children, 160;\n  of the dying, 148;\n  varieties of, 136.\n\nClairvoyants, separation of vital body of, 137.\n\nClairvoyants, trained, positive powers of, 137.\n\nColors, emotional effect produced by, 178.\n\nColors, primary, symbolize God, 188.\n\nCommunity affected by executions, 165.\n\nConcentration in Desire World, 91.\n\nConcrete Thought, _see_ Thought, World of, Region of Concrete Thought.\n\nConditions of life related to past action, 43.\n\nConscience, assimilated pictures of past experience, 38, 156.\n\nConsequence, law of, _see_ Causation, law of.\n\nConservation, law of, and survival of spirit, 35.\n\nCord, Silver, _see_ Silver Cord.\n\nCorporal punishment, inadvisability of, 197.\n\nCosmic night, _see_ Chaos.\n\nCosmos, aggregate of systematic order, 105.\n\nCountries, egos work upon, 180.\n\nCreation of Cosmos, 188.\n\nCreative force, develops spinal nerves, 125.\n\nCreative Hierarchies, aid humanity, 6;\n  guide man\u2019s evolution, 5, 52;\n  safeguard man from materialism, 8.\n\nCriminals, care of, 164;\n  execution of, a menace, 164.\n\nCrucifixion, the Mystic Death, 12.\n\nCrystallization in man\u2019s evolution, 163.\n\nDead, care of, 152;\n  inhabit Desire World, 88;\n  intense activity of, 89.\n\nDeath, disrobing process of ego, 163;\n  foreseen by higher powers, 142;\n  peaceful, helpfulness of, 147;\n  premature, ill effects of, 145;\n  problem of, 27;\n  provides fresh start, 143.\n\nDebts, binding nature of, 49.\n\nDemmler, Minna, materializations by, 129.\n\nDense body, chemical constituents of, 57;\n  crystallized spirit substance, 162;\n  disease of, due to imperfect archetype, 185;\n  energized by divine life, 188;\n  improves as spirit progresses, 5;\n  quality of, dependent upon ego, 184;\n  most evolved of man\u2019s vehicles, 186.\n\nDesire, created and guided by thought, 58;\n  forms impelled into action by, 56.\n\nDesire body, basic individual color of, 132;\n  born at fourteenth year, 186;\n  capable of sense perception, 133;\n  cause dreams, 139;\n  circulation in currents, 133;\n  colors of, 132;\n  destructive action of, 138;\n  extends beyond dense body, 130;\n  gives ability to experience desire and emotion 121, 130, 133;\n  impels motion, 56, 139;\n  impels to sense gratification, 130;\n  main vortex, in the liver, 131;\n  rapid locomotion of, 131;\n  recent acquisition of, 130;\n  shape of, ovoid, 130;\n  shell of, persists after death, 163, 179;\n  vortices of, 131;\n  war of, with vital body, 138;\n  withdrawal of, in sleep, 138.\n\nDesire stuff, constant motion of, 77, 131;\n  elasticity of, 77;\n  force combined with matter, 77;\n  modeled by thought, 142;\n  permeates atmosphere, 120;\n  persistence of, 179;\n  responsiveness to feeling, 77.\n\nDesire World, archangels native to, 79;\n  dead remain in, varying lengths of time, 78;\n  difficulty of concentration in, 91;\n  diversity of tongues in, 83;\n  effect of colors in, 178;\n  ego\u2019s corrective work in, 168-170;\n  estimation of time in, 93;\n  existence of, makes man\u2019s desires possible, 57;\n  force and matter closely related in, 77;\n  form blends into sound in, 95;\n  head only perceptible in some regions of, 79;\n  large population of, 77;\n  seasons non-existent in, 93;\n  second vehicle of earth, 55;\n  time non-existent in, 92;\n  universal mode of expression in, 85;\n  vision pertaining to, 66;\n  world of color, 68.\n\nEarth composed of three interpenetrating worlds, 55, 116;\n  structure of dense body, obtained from, 57;\n  training school of, 6, 43;\n  worked upon, by the disembodied, 104.\n\nEarth lives, intervals between, 52.\n\nEarth spirits, fairies and elves, 70.\n\nEastern Wisdom, unsuited to Western peoples, 14.\n\nEgo, _see_ Spirit, threefold.\n\nEgyptians painted group spirits, 82.\n\nElectron, discovery of, 107.\n\nElves, spirits of mountains, 70.\n\nEmotions, relation of, to desire body, 186.\n\nEnmity overcome by its own discomforts, 49.\n\nEnvironment, suffering caused by, 49.\n\nEther, avenue for solar forces, 70, 74, 123;\n  nature of, 62;\n  permeates atomic structure of dense matter, 62.\n\nEther, chemical, _see_ Chemical ether.\n\nEther, life, _see_ Life ether.\n\nEther light, _see_ Light ether.\n\nEther, reflecting _see_ Reflecting ether.\n\nEtheric sight, distinguished from spiritual, 66;\n  extension of physical, 65;\n  penetrates opaque substances, 66;\n  shows all objects same color, 67.\n\nEthers, separation of, 136.\n\nEver-existing essence, 107.\n\nEvil and good acts recorded by breath, 38;\n  destruction of, 39;\n  transmutation of, to good, 158.\n\nEvolution, from life to life, 53;\n  manifests in rest and activity, 42;\n  of vehicles, manner of, 185;\n  persistent unfoldment in, 42.\n\nFairies, spirits of the mountains, 70.\n\nFate, ripe, unavoidability of, 184.\n\nFaults, correction of, 169.\n\nFeeling, right, increases conscience, 172.\n\nFirst cause, necessity for, 162.\n\nFirst hand knowledge, possible to all, 52.\n\nFirst Heaven, good of past life reaped in, 173;\n  good strengthened in, 174;\n  panorama of life in, 173;\n  upper regions of Desire World, 173.\n\nFluid, vital, cessation of flow of, 138.\n\nForgiveness of sin, 164, 169.\n\nForm, archetypes of, 175;\n  incapable of feeling, 60.\n\nForms, impelled into action by desire, 56.\n\nForms, physical, built from chemical substance, 55.\n\nFree will, existence of, 147;\n  pertaining to future, 184.\n\nGeneration caused by red ray of Holy Spirit, 124.\n\nGermination caused by blue ray of Father, 124.\n\nGnomes, earth spirits, 70.\n\nGod, immanence of, 187.\n\nGood amalgamates with spirit, 39;\n  and evil acts recorded by breath, 38.\n\nGreat Silence between Desire World and World of Thought, 95, 180;\n  may be entered by acts of will, 96.\n\nGroup spirit, brings stellar influence to animals, 124;\n  less evolved archangels, 81;\n  painted by Egyptians, 82.\n\nGrowth, physical, carried on through ether, 123;\n  caused by yellow rays of Son, 124;\n  relation of, to moon, 124;\n  relation of, to vital body, 186.\n\nGrowth, spiritual, must be slow, 103.\n\nHeaven, among you, 116.\n\nHeaven, First, _see_ First Heaven.\n\nHeaven, Second, _see_ Second Heaven.\n\nHeaven, Third, _see_ Third Heaven.\n\nHell, existence of, impossible, 117.\n\nHelpers, Invisible, _see_ Invisible Helpers.\n\nHeredity, of the physical only, 47.\n\nHierarchies, Creative, _see_ Creative Hierarchies.\n\nHigher Self dominates lower by keynote, 99.\n\nHigher senses of man, 16.\n\nHigher vehicles, permeability of, 138;\n  withdrawal of, in sleep, 138.\n\nHoly of Holies, temple of our bodies, 134.\n\nHotz, Dr., spirit photographs taken by, 129.\n\nHumanity, two classes of, 136.\n\nI, badge of self-consciousness, 135.\n\nIdeas clothe themselves in mind stuff, 113;\n  embryonic thoughts, 113;\n  generated by ego in Region of Abstract Thought, 113;\n  originate in chaos, 112.\n\nIgnorance, man\u2019s one sin, 42.\n\nIllumination, induced by solar rays, 123.\n\nImmaculate conception, the Mystic Birth, 12.\n\nImmortality of spirit, 39.\n\nIncense, evil effects of, 165.\n\nIncentive, induced by etchings of life panorama, 158.\n\nIndividual auric color, dependent upon ruling planet, 132.\n\nInfant mortality, causes of, 176-179.\n\nIntelligence induced by planetary rays, 123.\n\nInterval between earth lives, 52.\n\nInvisible Helpers, faculties of, 137;\n  linguistic abilities, valuable to, 83.\n\nIzzards, 87.\n\nJames, Professor William, reputed communication from, 149-151.\n\nJehovah, _see_ Holy Spirit.\n\nJohn, Gospel of, spiritual significance of, 105.\n\nJupiter, auric color of, 132.\n\nKarma, _see_ Causation, law of.\n\nKeynote, creates and maintains form, 98;\n  manifestation of Higher Self, 99;\n  stopping of, terminates life, 100;\n  Voice of Silence, 99.\n\nKnowledge, the only salvation, 42.\n\nLaws of nature, living intelligences, 53.\n\nLife, dualistic theory of, 29;\n  lengthened by good deeds, 147;\n  long, value of, 144, 146;\n  monistic theory of, 29;\n  object of, gaining of experience, 142;\n  shortened by neglected opportunities, 146.\n\nLife ether, propagation accomplished through medium of, 69.\n\nLife panorama, backward unfoldment of, 156;\n  duration of, 153;\n  importance of, 153, 158;\n  insufficient, causes infant mortality, 177;\n  sub-conscious memory, basis of, 154;\n  terminated by collapse of vital body, 157.\n\nLight, relation of, to creation, 188.\n\nLight ether, motion due to, 69;\n  transmits solar force, 69.\n\nLikes and dislikes determine environment, 48.\n\nLiver, main vortex of desire body, 131.\n\nLogos, Reasonable Thought, 109.\n\nLove, higher than law, 168;\n  supreme commandment, 90.\n\nLunar ray enters body through spleen, 124.;\n  induces physical growth, 123, 190.;\n  three-fold constitution of, 124..\n\nMagic, black, punishment of, 17.\n\nMan, born innocent of sin, 174;\n  composite being of body, soul, spirit, 36;\n  desires of, impel to action, 56;\n  gathers spiritual substance, 162;\n  Great Beings safeguard, 198;\n  has evolved from lower forms, 73;\n  higher vehicles of, 120;\n  keyed to solar month, 125;\n  made a little lower than angels, 73;\n  spinal nerves of undeveloped, 125;\n  spiritual faculties of, 15.\n\nMars, auric color of, 132.\n\nMaterialism and spirituality, necessity of, 7.\n\nMaterialistic theory of life, 34-36.\n\nMaterialization through incense, 165;\n  through mediums, 129.\n\nMathematics, benefit derived from study of, 115.\n\nMatter, illusory nature of, 114.\n\nMediums and negative clairvoyance, 137;\n  read in reflecting ether, 70.\n\nMemory of Nature, events recorded in, 94.\n\nMemory of past lives, 50.\n\nMemory, sub-conscious, _see_ Sub-conscious memory.\n\nMetamorphosis in higher worlds, 32.\n\nMichael, ambassador from sun to earth, 87.\n\nMichael, archangel, guardian of Jews, 80.\n\nMind, born at twenty-first year, 186, 198;\n  cloudy thought form , 131, 133;\n  material for, acquired in Region of Concrete Thought, 185;\n  recent acquisition of, 131.\n\nMind, Lords of, expert builders of mind stuff, 102;\n  help man to acquire mind, 103;\n  human during dark stage of earth, 101;\n  Powers of Darkness, 101;\n  worked with man in mineral stage, 102.\n\nMind stuff, permeability of, 120;\n  veils inner spirit, 134.\n\nMonistic, theory of life, 29.\n\nMoon rays, _see_ Lunar rays.\n\nMorality induced by planetary rays, 123, 190.\n\nMusic in Desire World, 68;\n  soul-speech of World of Thought, 68.\n\nMystery Orders formed on cosmic lines, 9;\n  seven world workers in, 9.\n\nN-rays, etheric radiation of, 128.\n\nNature, laws of, control nature spirits, 72;\n  Great Intelligences, 70.\n\nNebulae, fiery formation of, 161.\n\nNebular theory postulates First Cause, 162.\n\nNegative development, mediumship allied to, 137.\n\nNephesh, 37.\n\nNeptune outside of our solar system, 189.\n\nOccult orders, _see_ Mystery orders.\n\nOdic fluid, _see_ Solar fluid.\n\nOpportunities, each life contains, 142.\n\nOver-eating, ill-effects of, 128.\n\nPainting, related to Desire World, 68.\n\nPalladino, Eusapio, materializations through, 129.\n\nPanorama of Life, _see_ Life Panorama.\n\nPatriotism, inspired by archangels, 80.\n\nPeriodicity, law of, determines time of actions, 13.\n\nPersonality governed by keynote, 99.\n\n\u201cPeter Ibbettson,\u201d occult information in, 161.\n\nPhysical body, anchor of mind, 92.\n\nPhysical embodiment, value of, 90, 143.\n\nPineal gland, localized organ of feeling, 132;\n  spiritual sight through development of, 66;\n  third eye, 132.\n\nPlanetary ray, _see_ Stellar ray.\n\nPlanetary spirits, color belonging to, 189;\n  names of, 189.\n\nPlanets, absorption of solar rays by, 188.\n\nPost-mortem experiences, usefulness of, 143.\n\nPowers of Darkness, _see_ Mind, Lords of.\n\nPowers, spiritual, difficulty of obtaining, 64;\n  microscopic and telescopic, 64;\n  possible to all, 64.\n\nPrayer, forgiveness of sin through, 164.\n\nPrecession of equinoxes, measure of time, 94.\n\nPredestination of great leaders, 45, 46.\n\nPrimary colors symbolize God, 188.\n\nProbation, long, necessity for, 64.\n\nPropagation carried on through life ether, 123.\n\nPsychometrists read in reflecting ether, 70.\n\nPuberty, cause of, 196.\n\nPituitary body and clairvoyance, 66.\n\nPunishment, corporal, evils of, 198.\n\nPurgatory, evil habits corrected in, 167;\n  evil of past lives transmuted in, 116;\n  experiences in, based on moral attitude of preceding life, 181;\n  review of life experiences in, 170.\n\nRace likeness caused by race spirits, 81.\n\nRace Spirits, _see_ Archangels.\n\nRebirth, law of, alternation of sex in, 52;\n  believed in, by Jews, 46;\n  Biblical foundation for doctrine of, 46;\n  explanation of inequalities, 43, 47;\n  harmonious with nature\u2019s methods, 47;\n  intervals between, 52;\n  preparations for, 185;\n  special talents of individual, evidence of, 46;\n  specially adapted to ego\u2019s need, 52;\n  taught by Christ, 46.\n\nRecording angels aid ego in choice of environment, 183;\n  give race religions, 6, 14;\n  show ego life panorama, 183.\n\nRed in stellar ray, life of Holy Spirit, 124;\n  produces form, 188.\n\nReflecting ether, impressions of universe recorded in, 69;\n  mediums and psychometrists read in, 70.\n\nRegret, time wasted in, 92.\n\nReincarnation, _see_ Rebirth.\n\nReligions, all have origin in God, 104.\n\nRepentance, benefits received through, 169.\n\nRestrospection, exercise of, 170-173.\n\nRipe fate, unavoidability of, 184.\n\nRose Cross, initiates into science of life and being, 8;\n  Mystery school of the West, 8;\n  thirteen Brothers of, 9;\n  thirteenth member, the invisible head, 9;\n  works to mould public opinion, 11.\n\nRosicrucian Fellowship, herald of the Aquarian Age, 15;\n  purpose and work of, 14-18.\n\nRosicrucians, hold doctrine of man\u2019s potential divinity, 5;\n  hierophants of Lesser Mysteries, 10;\n  influence of, upon writers of modern times, 11;\n  midnight service of, 11;\n  object of, to unite religion and science, 12;\n  work with evolved humanity, 9.\n\nRuling planet, relation of color of, 132.\n\nSalamanders, fire spirits, 71;\n  produce volcanic eruptions, 72.\n\n\u201cSchool of Athens,\u201d painting of, 29.\n\nScience discovers spiritual side of universe, 34;\n  established proofs of spirit survival, 35;\n  spiritualized by Rosicrucians, 11.\n\nSculpture belongs to physical world., 68.\n\nSecond Heaven, ego prepares future environment in, 116;\n  located in Region of Concrete Thought, 116.\n\nSeed atom, basis of sub-conscious memory, 156;\n  etchings of, 37;\n  sample and center of other dense atoms, 175;\n  transmits pictures to desire body, 156.\n\nSensitives, separation of ethers in vital body of, 136.\n\nServia, regicides in, 165.\n\nSeven Spirits before the Throne, _see_ Planetary Spirits.\n\nSex, alternation of, 52.\n\nShells, discarded desire bodies, 179;\n  retain life panorama, 179;\n  spiritualistic impersonations by, 179.\n\nSight, spiritual, accompanies development of pineal gland and pituitary\n            body, 66;\n  varieties of, 67.\n\nSilence, Great, _see_ Great Silence.\n\nSilence, Voice of, _see_ Voice of the Silence.\n\nSilver cord holds higher and lower vehicles together, 153;\n  snapping of, 153.\n\nSolar fluid, absorption of, by different kingdoms, 124;\n  aids in digestion, 127;\n  cleansing power of, 128;\n  expels disease germs, 127;\n  muscular movement by means of, 126;\n  permeates nervous system, 123, 126;\n  radiates from body, 123;\n  transformed to rose color, 123, 126.\n\nSolar rays, direct and indirect, 123;\n  spiritual illumination from, 123;\n  three-fold constitution of, 124.\n\nSoul, differentiated from spirit, 134;\n  product of breath, 37.\n\nSoul flights, time non-existent in, 89.\n\nSoul growth induced by planetary rays, 123.\n\nSoul power, assimilated from past action, 116;\n  developed by good action, 38.\n\nSound, power of, over matter, 175.\n\nSpinal cord, absorbs stellar ray, 124.\n\nSpencer, Herbert, and nebular hypothesis, 162.\n\nSphinx, faces east, 28;\n  riddle of, 28.\n\nSpirit, threefold (ego) abandons vital body in sleep, 138;\n  absorbs solar ray, 124;\n  destined to become creative intelligence, 103;\n  disembodied, relief of, at leaving body, 161;\n  distinguished from soul, 134;\n  drawn to rebirth by desire for experience, 182;\n  earth-bound, condition of, 144;\n  encrusted in mind stuff, 101;\n  free will of, 184;\n  freedom of, in choosing environment, 183;\n  has seat in forehead, 124;\n  immortality of, 39;\n  improvement in vehicles of, 185;\n  individualization of, in childhood, 196;\n  instructed in building archetype, 184;\n  many earth lives of, 183;\n  no limitations possible for, 104;\n  sowing and reaping of, 104;\n  sufferings of, in purgatory, 163;\n  uncreate and eternal, 39;\n  various human relations of, 183;\n  works with archetypes, 103, 180.\n\nSpirits, planetary, _see_ Planetary Spirits.\n\nSpiritual investigations, 63.\n\nSpiritual powers, _see_ Powers, spiritual.\n\nSpiritual sight, _see_ Sight, spiritual.\n\nSpiritual thought, spinal nerves developed by, 125.\n\nSpirituality followed by materialism, 7.\n\nSpleen, entrance for solar forces, 123;\n  transmutation for solar energy in, 123.\n\nStellar ray, absorption of, by brain and spinal cord, 124;\n  animals incapable of absorbing, 124;\n  induces morality, 123, 190;\n  threefold nature of, 124.\n\nStimulants, effects of, upon dying, 152.\n\nStorms caused by nature spirits, 71.\n\nSub-conscious memory, basis of future life, 156;\n  consciously utilized, 161;\n  in seed atom, 155;\n  retentiveness of, 154.\n\nSuicide, sufferings of, 174.\n\nSun, movements of, 94.\n\nSuperman, evolution of man into, 53.\n\nSurvival after death, established by scientists, 35.\n\nSylphs, spirits of mists, 70.\n\nTears, white bleeding, 130.\n\nTemptation, repetition of, 174.\n\nTheological theory of life, 36-39.\n\nThird Heaven, few have consciousness in, 182;\n  in Region of Abstract Thought, 116, 182;\n  inspiration of philanthropist, 182;\n  place of awaiting rebirth, 182;\n  source of inventor\u2019s inspiration, 182.\n\nThompson, J. J., discovery of electron by, 107.\n\nThought, objects of physical world, crystallized, 97, 131;\n  result of union, idea and mind stuff, 113.\n\nThought, world of, earth\u2019s finest vehicle, 55;\n  home of spirit, 58;\n  knowledge gained in, 100;\n  makes man\u2019s thought possible, 57;\n  realm of tone, 180;\n  spirit\u2019s work in, 180;\n  time non-existent in, 101;\n  tonal vision pertaining to, 67.\n\nThought, World of, Region of Abstract Thought, abstract verities of, 106;\n  Third Heaven in, 116.\n\nThought, World of, Region of Concrete Thought, acme of reality, 97;\n  mind built in, 185;\n  physical world replica of, 97;\n  Second Heaven, 116.\n\nThymus Gland, function of, 196.\n\nTime, end of, 112;\n  relatively non-existent in higher worlds, 92.\n\nTobacco, fumes of, disembodied work through, 166.\n\nTrance, caused by flight of spirit, 140;\n  kinds of, 140.\n\nTruth, freedom by, 114;\n  self-evident in higher worlds, 114.\n\nUndines, spirits of water, 70.\n\nVehicles, improvements in, 185.\n\nVeil of Isis, 134.\n\nVibration, external, transferred to blood, 37;\n  universality of, 36.\n\nVital body, born at seventh year, 195;\n  collapse of, in sleep, 138;\n  composed of ether, 122;\n  connected with spleen, 123;\n  disintegration of, stops life panorama, 157;\n  extends beyond dense vehicle, 123;\n  in sickness lacks solar rays, 128;\n  in third stage of evolution, 131;\n  nourishes dense body, 129;\n  photographed by scientists, 129;\n  polarity of, 129;\n  propagation by, 121;\n  recuperative work of, 138;\n  second vehicle acquired by man, 186;\n  separation of ethers of, 137;\n  war with desire body, 138;\n  well organized state of, 130.\n\nVital Fluid, _see_ Solar fluid.\n\nVoice of the Silence, 99.\n\nVolcanic eruptions produced by salamanders, 72.\n\nVortices, whirling, of desire body, 131.\n\nWar causes infant mortality, 177, 179.\n\nWave of spirituality inspired great religions, 7.\n\nWhipping children, evil of, 198.\n\nWill, lack of, racial defect, 198.\n\nWind, changes of, caused by sylphs, 71.\n\nWord, Creative Fiat, 109.\n\nWord, creative, and key-note, 100;\n  God was, 106;\n  power of, 110, 193;\n  still sounds in cosmos, 112.\n\nWorld, Desire, _see_ Desire World.\n\nWorld of Thought, _see_ Thought, World of.\n\nWorld, physical, world of form, 68.\n\nWorlds, higher, difficulty of investigating, 32.\n\nYellow in stellar ray, life of Son, 124;\n  produces consciousness, 188.\n\nZoroastrian religion, deities of, 86.\n\n\n\n\n\nADVERTISEMENTS\n\n\nRays From the Rose Cross\n\n_The American Mystic Monthly_\n\nA Monthly Magazine of Mystic Light devoted to philosophy, occultism,\nmystic masonry, astrology, and healing.\n\n_Those who desire knowledge and guidance along the Path of the Western\nWisdom Teachings will find this magazine a constant aid._\n\nIt expounds and supports occult and mystical philosophy in a most\ninstructive and interesting manner. It carries such special departments\nas:\n\n_Questions and Answers on Mystical Subjects_\n_Editorial Discussion of Current Events_\n_Astrological Readings_\n_Occult Stories_\n\n_One of the foremost magazines of its kind in America._\n\nPrice $2.00 per year in U. S. and Canada.\nOther Countries, $2.25.\n\n_The Rosicrucian Fellowship,_\n_ Mt. Ecclesia_\n_ Oceanside, California._\n\nROSICRUCIAN INTERPRETATION OF CHRISTIANITY\n\nANCIENT TRUTHS IN MODERN DRESS\n\nPrice 10c Each, Postfree\n\nNo. 1. The Riddle of Life and Death.\n\nNo. 2. Where Are the Dead?\n\nNo. 3. Spiritual Sight and the Spiritual Worlds.\n\nNo. 4. Sleep, Dreams, Trance, Hypnotism, Mediumship and Insanity.\n\nNo. 5. Death and Life in Purgatory.\n\nNo. 6. Life and Activity in Heaven.\n\nNo. 7. Birth a Fourfold Event.\n\nNo. 8. The Science of Nutrition, Health and Protracted Youth.\n\nNo. 9. The Astronomical Allegories of the Bible.\n\nNo. 10. Astrology; Its Scope and Limitations.\n\nNo. 11. Spiritual Sight and Insight.\n\nNo. 12. Parsifal.\n\nNo. 13. The Angels as Factors in Evolution.\n\nNo. 14. Lucifer, Tempter or Benefactor?\n\nNo. 15. The Mystery of Golgotha and the Cleansing Blood.\n\nNo. 16. The Star of Bethlehem; A Mystic Fact.\n\nNo. 17. The Mystery of the Holy Grail.\n\nNo. 18. The Lord\u2019s Prayer.\n\nNo. 19. The Coming Force; Vril or What?\n\nNo. 20. Fellowship and the Coming Race.\n\nThese lectures are particularly suitable for beginners. Read\nconsecutively, they give a comprehensive outline of our philosophy.\n\n_THEY FIT THE POCKET_\n\nand allow a busy man to utilize time on cars en route to or from business.\n\n_GIVE ONE TO A FRIEND_\n\nIt is an inexpensive and a helpful gift.\n\n_The Rosicrucian Fellowship,_\n_Mt. Ecclesia_\n_Oceanside, California._\n\nCORRESPONDENCE COURSES\n\nIN\n\nThe Rosicrucian Philosophy and Astrology\n\n(1) _Rosicrucian Philosophy_:\n\nUsing the _Cosmo-Conception_ by Max Heindel as a textbook, this course of\ntwelve lessons points to a logical explanation of the origin, evolution,\nand future development of mankind, and opens the way to a deeper knowledge\nof this great subject. This philosophy seeks to make Christianity a\n_living factor in the world_, and to combine the eternal facts of Science,\nArt, and Religion. This course is open to all those interested.\n\n(2) _Astrology_:\n\nWe want to assist you in _helping yourself and others._ This\ncorrespondence course will teach you the importance of astrology as a\nphase of religion and a Divine Science. The one restriction is that our\npupils may not prostitute the knowledge thus obtained for gain in any way.\nAnyone not engaged in fortune telling or similar methods of\ncommercializing spiritual knowledge may be admitted to this course.\n\nFor admission to these courses address,\n\n(I) Philosophy Secretary.\n\n(II) Astrology Secretary.\n\n_The Rosicrucian Fellowship,_\n_ Mt. Ecclesia_\n_ Oceanside, California._\n\nTHE\n\nROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION\n\nBY MAX HEINDEL\n\n_Eighth Edition With New 70 Page Index_\n\nThis book gives a complete outline of the _Western Wisdom Teaching_ as far\nas it may be made public at the present time. The Rosicrucian Brotherhood\nfrom time to time gives out occult teachings to the public in such a\nmanner that their expression conforms to the intellectual development of\nthe times. This is the latest of their communications.\n\nMax Heindel was the accredited agent of the Rosicrucian Brotherhood,\ncommissioned to give the contents of this book to the world. There is no\nother book that contains so complete an exposition of the factors that\nenter into the creation of the universe and of man and all its statements\nare in keeping with the results of scientific research.\n\nPart I is a treatise on the Visible and the Invisible Worlds, Man and the\nMethod of Evolution, Rebirth and the Law of Cause and Effect.\n\nPart II takes up the scheme of Evolution in general and the Evolution of\nthe Solar System and the Earth in particular.\n\nPart III treats of Christ and His Mission, Future Development of Man and\nInitiation, Esoteric Training and a Safe Method of Acquiring First-hand\nKnowledge.\n\n616 Pages.   Cloth Bound.   $2.00 Postfree.\n_The Rosicrucian Fellowship,_\n_Mt. Ecclesia_\n_Oceanside, California._\n\nTHE MESSAGE OF THE STARS\n\nBY MAX HEINDEL AND AUGUSTA FOSS HEINDEL\n\nOne of the most complete systems of character delineation and reading the\nhoroscope for medical diagnosis yet given to modern astrology.\n\nWith many nontechnical articles to interest the general student of the\noccult, a simple method of\n\n_PROGRESSION AND PREDICTION_,\n\nand a _new index_ for quickly locating desired information, it is indeed a\nclassic in its realm.\n\nIn the section on Medical Astrology the authors have given a system that\nis based on years of practical experience. Thirty-six example horoscopes\nare included, and the subject is dealt with most thoroughly.\n\nYOU NEED THIS BOOK!\n\n708 Pages.   Cloth Bound.   $3.50 Postpaid.\n\n_The Rosicrucian Fellowship,_\n_Mt. Ecclesia_\n_Oceanside, California._\n\nTHE WEB OF DESTINY\n\nHOW MADE AND UNMADE\n\nBY MAX HEINDEL\n\nIncluding\n\n_The Occult Effect of Our Emotions_\n\n_Prayer\u2014A Magic Invocation_\n\n_Practical Methods of Achieving Success_\n\nThis book is based on personal occult investigations by the author, in\nwhich he uncovered many of the inner laws governing man\u2019s hidden springs\nof action.\n\nIt gives information regarding the Dweller on the Threshold, which every\naspirant has to meet, usually at an early stage of his progress into the\nunseen worlds. It treats of the causes of obsession of men and animals. It\ndescribes how we create our environment and some of the causes of disease,\npointing the way to final emancipation.\n\nThe part devoted to the emotions shows the function of desire, the color\neffects of emotion, and the results of worry and remorse.\n\nPrayer is shown here as a magic invocation by which powerful forces may be\nmarshalled. It throws much light on the nature of prayer, pointing out\nthat true prayer is based on scientific principles which will bring\nresults when rightly applied.\n\nWritten in a simple and narrative style, it offers at the same time\nserious instruction and pleasant relaxation.\n\n175 Pages.    Cloth Bound.\n\nFREEMASONRY AND CATHOLICISM\n\nBY MAX HEINDEL\n\nAn Esoteric Treatise on the Underlying Facts regarding these two great\nInstitutions as determined by occult investigation.\n\nIt explains in terms of Mystic Masonry the conflict between the Sons of\nCain and the Sons of Seth, and unravels the allegory dealing with the\nbuilding of Solomon\u2019s Temple, the Queen of Sheba, and the Grand Master,\nHiram Abiff.\n\nIf you are interested in the symbols of Masonry, in knowing the source of\nthese mysteries which have come down to us from past ages, this is the\nbook you want.\n\nOnly a trained Seer could have read the Akashic Records of the past and\ngiven such a clear explanation of their meaning.\n\nIn addition, read what the author says about the famous Philosopher\u2019s\nStone of the Alchemists, the Path of Initiation, and the Coming Age.\n\n_This Book Should Be in Every Mason\u2019s Library._\n\n98 Pages.   Cloth Bound.   $1.00 Postfree.\n\n_The Rosicrucian Fellowship,_\n_ Mt. Ecclesia_\n_ Oceanside, California._\n\nGLEANINGS OF A MYSTIC\n\nBY MAX HEINDEL\n\nThis book is devoted to practical mysticism, bringing out a vast array of\nnew information and fine points never before presented in this form. The\ninformation contained in this book will be of immense value to the student\nand aspirant, enabling them to make swifter progress in both their\nspiritual and material development.\n\nA few chapter headings are appended to give a better idea of the contents:\n\n_Initiation\u2014What It Is and Is Not._\n\n_The Sacraments of Communion, Baptism, and Marriage._\n\n_The Coming Christ._\n\n_The Coming Age._\n\n_Magic, White and Black._\n\n_Our Invisible Government._\n\n_Practical Precepts for Practical People._\n\n_Sound, Silence, and Soul Growth._\n\n_The Mysterium Magnum of the Rose Cross._\n\n_Stumbling Blocks._\n\n_Why I Am a Rosicrucian._\n\n196 Pages.    Cloth Bound.    $2.00 Postpaid.\n\nTHE ROSICRUCIAN PHILOSOPHY\n\n_IN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS_\n\nBY MAX HEINDEL\n\nA book of ready reference upon all mystic matters, which ought to be in\nthe library of every occult student. It comprises the answers to hundreds\nof questions asked of Max Heindel on the lecture platform.\n\nPARTIAL LIST OF SUBJECTS:\n\n_Life after Death._\n\n_Life on Earth._\n\n_The Bible Teachings._\n\n_Spiritualistic Phenomena._\n\n_Clairvoyance._\n\n_Astrology._\n\n_Animals._\n\n176 Pages.    Cloth Bound.    $2.00 Postpaid.\n\n                  -------------------------------------\n\nHOW SHALL WE KNOW CHRIST AT HIS COMING?\n\nBY MAX HEINDEL\n\nThis book tells us that Christ will return in an etheric, not a physical\nbody. Hence mankind must develop the etheric body to the point where they\ncan function in it consciously before Christ will return. Then they will\npossess the inner spiritual perception by which they will be able to\nrecognize Him.\n\nThese matters are fully elucidated in this book.\n\n29 Pages.    Paper Bound.    15c Postfree.\n\n_The Rosicrucian Fellowship,_\n_ Mt. Ecclesia_\n_ Oceanside, California._\n\nIN THE LAND OF THE LIVING DEAD\n\nAN OCCULT STORY\n\nBY PRENTISS TUCKER\n\nAmong the many post-war books, here is one to interest the soldier,\nstudent, and layman alike. Its appeal is general and lasting in that it\nportrays in story form the ever existing conditions on the superphysical\nplanes. It inclines toward that thing called \u201cThe religion of the\ntrenches,\u201d and will help to open the eyes of many a puzzled participant as\nwell as of those who lost friends and relatives in the Great War.\n\nLook at some of the chapter headings:\n\n_A Visit to the Invisible Planes._\n\n_A Sergeant\u2019s Experiences after __\u201c__Passing out.__\u201d_\n\n_A Doughboy\u2019s Ideas on Religion._\n\n_Helping a Slain Soldier to Comfort His Mother._\n\n_A Crisis in Love._\n\n168 Pages.    Cloth Bound.    $1.50 Postpaid.\n\nTHE MYSTICAL INTERPRETATION OF CHRISTMAS\n\nBY MAX HEINDEL\n\nThis treatise covers the Cosmic Significance of Christmas and the annual\nSacrifice of Christ, traces the astrological interpretation up through the\nsimplicity of nature worship, and sketches a glorious outlook for the\ncoming age, which inspires the casual reader to seek more Light.\n\nHere is a book most attractively bound in heavy mottled paper which, aside\nfrom its merit as a simple gift, is most useful in answering inquiries on\nthe occult significance of its subject. The world is beginning to ask the\ngreater meaning of this holy festival; it is well to be informed.\n\nHeavy Paper Binding.\n75 Cents Postpaid.\n\nEARTHBOUND\n\nBY AUGUSTA FOSS HEINDEL\n\nAn addition to our Rosicrucian Christianity Series of twenty lectures.\nThis pamphlet warns against the craze for phenomena, mediumship, and the\nouija board. It cites concrete cases where those who held too closely to\nthings of this earth were thereby held back in their progress after\nleaving the earthy body and passing onward to the unseen realms of being.\nIt points out how this condition may be avoided; also how some prolong\ntheir stay in the Borderland close to the earth.\n\nIt describes the condition of those who are bound to the lower Desire\nWorld after death by sense affiliation, sorrow, or other causes, showing\nclearly their delusions and their activities.\n\n13 pages.    Paper Bound.    Price 10c.\n\nSIMPLIFIED SCIENTIFIC ASTROLOGY\n\nBY MAX HEINDEL\n\n_Fifth Edition._\n\nWITH MAX HEINDEL\u2019S PORTRAIT\n\n198 Pages.    Cloth Bound.   $1.50 Postpaid.\n\nA complete textbook on the art of erecting a horoscope, making the process\nsimple and easy for beginners. It also includes a\n\nPhilosophic Encyclopedia\n\n\u2014and\u2014\n\nTables of Planetary Hours\n\nThe Philosophic Encyclopedia fills a long felt want both of beginners and\nadvanced students for information concerning the underlying reasons for\nastrological dicta. It is a mine of knowledge arranged in such a manner as\nto be instantly accessible.\n\nThe Tables of Planetary Hours enable one to select the most favorable time\nfor beginning new enterprises.\n\nThe unparalleled merits of this book have been amply attested by many\nthousands of enthusiastic students who have bought the first four\neditions.\n\nNo astrological student can afford to be without it.\n\nMYSTERIES OF THE GREAT OPERAS\n\nBY MAX HEINDEL\n\nFaust, Parsifal, The Ring of the Niebelung, Tannhauser, Lohengrin\n\nFolk Lore and its interpretation through music has much to offer to the\ngeneral reader as well as to the musician and occultist. These Myths\nconceal many of the hidden truths which are now being translated from\nsymbol and allegory, and this attractive book is the key to these poetic\ntales of evolution, sacrifice, and unfoldment.\n\n176 Pages.    Cloth Bound.    $2.00 Postpaid.","title":"The Rosicrucian Mysteries: An Elementary Exposition of Their Secret Teachings","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":44709}