Rosicrucian Digest, March 1943

8/12/2019 Rosicrucian Digest, March 1943

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PANDIGEST

March, 194325' per copy

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T H E L A W S O F H A R M O N Y

"A s above, so below is not only a philosophical adage to Rosicrucians, but a demonstrable fact. In the RosicrucianPhysics laboratory above, members of the AM OR C staff are shown experimenting with the vibrations of voice. Th eoscillograp h, the instrument in the foreground, shows the voice patterns. Dem onstration s with sounds of var ying fre-quencies reveal the effect of attunement or resonance. Also shown are the effects of disturbing waves when vibrationsof unlike nature clash. By this physical means, mental and Cosmic principles are easily illustrated. Studen ts at theRose-Croix University, Rosicrucian Park, witness such demonstrations.

(Courtesy of the Rosicrucian Digest.)


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l 'H E N C E came the knowledge and power thatgave the ancients such complete mastery? In

countless wa ys they were forty centuries ahead of theirtime. Their understanding of basic truths, so long ago,still baffles modern m e n o f science. Were their secretteachings lost? Destroyed? Suppressed?

Advanced thinkers know that truth cannot change, thattrue know ledge is never really lost. Lon g before the dawnof our so-called civilization, the w isest o f the w ise foundw ays to m eet and study their priceless knowledge.Secret brotherhoods were formed to perpetuate theirmarv elous w ork. . . . And out of such early origin theregrew what is now the Rosicrucians, known throughoutthe world as AMORC.

PRIVATELY SEALED BOOK. . . FREEEarnest men and women are invitedto send for a free copy o f the privatelysealed b ook , "T h e M astery o f Li fe . I ttells the interesting particulars about theRosicrucians and how any one willing tostudy as little as one hour a week, at hom e,may qualify to apply for the means ofacquiring the fascinating and enlighteningRosicrucian teachings. Use the couponand obtain your complimentary copy.

H ow di d the A ncients l earn L i fes great secret s? Am azing W as T heir Kn ow ledge of Life and of Nature's Laws

Slowly down the corridors of time th e R osicrucians haveadded students in every county, in every state and inevery land. W he reve r there are men and women who arenot content to m erely exist from day to day whereverthe re are hum ans imbued with the sound belief that manwas gifted with a mind for use, for understanding, forthinking there you will find R osicucians. Th ey belongto ev ery race and every creed, rich and poor alike.

R o s i c r u c i a n sS a n J o s e ( A M O R C ) C a lifo rn ia

T h e R o s i c r u c i a n s A r e N o t A R e l i g i o u s O r g a n i z a t i o n ---------------------------------------U S E TH IS G IF T C O U P O N ----------------------------------,

Scribe S. P. C. j J T he Rosic rucians ( A M O R C ) jI San Jos e, California

Please send me free copy o f privately sealed book, "T he Mastery jI o f Life," which I shall read as directed.

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ROSICRUCIAN DIGESTC O V E R S T H E W O R L D

T H E O F F I C I A L I N T E R N A T I O N A L R O S I C R U C I A N M A G A -

Z I N E O F T H E W O R L D W I D E R O S I C R U C I A N O R D E R

M AR CH , 1943

The Laws of Harmony (Frontispiece)

Thought of the Month: Can the Dead Communicate?

Mental Therapeutics ..........................................................

W h at Value Has Tradition? ................................

The Transmutation of Gold

Ca th ed ra l C o n ta c ts ......................................................... .

The Rosicrucian New Year

Mystical Patriotism Reincarnation Its Possibility

Christianity on Review ............. ............ .............................

Rosicrucian Psychology

The Strange Pendulum Theory of Diagnosis

W ou ld Yo u C h an g e? ..................................................Sanctum Musings: The Key to Cosmic ConsciousnessA Visitor From Space (Illustration)...

Subscription to the Rosicrucian Digest, Three Dollars per year. Singlecopies twenty five cents.

Entered as Second Class M atter at the Post Office at San Jose, C ali-fornia, un der Sec tion 1103 of the U. S. Postal Ac t of Oc t. 3, 1917.

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Statements made in this publication are not the official expressions ofthe organization or its officers unless stated to be official communications.

Published Monthly by the Supreme Council of

T HE R O S I C R U C I A N O R D ER A M O R C R O S I C R U C I A N PA RK S A N J O S E , C A L I F O R N I A


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T H E

THOUGHT OF THE MONTH

CAN THE DEAD COMMUNICATE?

B y T H E I M P E R ATO R

M M O R T A L IT Yhas been the eternal hope and belief of most men.They have incorporated i t as adoctrine in theirl i terature, l i turgies, and sacredwritings for thousands o f yea r s .Notw i th s t and ing this apparent conviction of immor

tality, men have sought its confirmationfrom such relative authorities as shamans, magicians, clairvoyants, priests, and

philosophers.Because a belief in immortality haspersisted for great periods of time, andcontinues to do so, is no reason for itsbeing accepted. Such persistence does just ify an inquiry into the cause of thisold conception. If immortality had some

posit iv e, perceptual quality, then evensuch a consideration of the subject asthis could possibly serve no purpose.The fact remains that there is no com-mon. definite reality which in and by itself indubitably proves the conceptionof immortality. Th is is quite apparent,

first, in that millions of adherents of thedoctrine are not in agreement with whatthey accept as evidence of it. Second,to many other millions of persons, it is

T h e just a belief, a faith in a religious orRncirrurirtn philosophical principle. Th ese latter perry . sons do not even pretend to any em-

pirical knowledge of a life after death. M arch por analogy, we may not agree on the1 9 4 3 nature of the sun. its inherent substance.

which is still a matter of scientific speculation, but we will concur that the sunhas certain positive qualities to us allalike, such as shape, apparent change ofposition, and its effects of light and heat.On the other hand, where immortalityis concerned, there is no reality or phenomenon which can be object ively singled out as proof of it. and which willalso be universally accepted by all men.

If we lay aside our traditional conceptions for the moment, we find thatthe idea of immortality most probablyhad its birth in the apparent dual natureof mans being. Th e earliest, and perhaps the most elementary religion wasanimism. It reveals that primitive man

was of the opinion that his body wasinhabited by some e t h e r e a l p o w e r . Moreover, this power was not thoughtto be like a mere physical or mechanicalforce which gives the body and its partsmotion. Rather .it was held to be an invisible entity; in other words, an intangible body, an airy, vaporous, substance residing within the physical body.This perhaps was due to the primitiveminds attributing all of the mental andpsychological functionings, such as reasoning, intuition, dreaming, and recollection to this something within, in con

tradistinction to the ordinary bodilyfunctions.It was also a simple observation that

with the cessation of breathing, the individual was no longer capable of thosefunctions attributed to the 'spirit', thisbeing within. O f course, the physicalbody was also no longer capable of itstraits, such as locomotion, but the mostnoticeable absences were those functions


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held to be of the 'spirit' . Con sequen tly, that is why the breath so early came tobe associated with the soul, spirit, orethereal nature of man. T h e Assyriansassigned to soul the word Napistuo, which likewise meant breath, and 'life'.Further, pneum a, a Greek word meaning air, and frequently used to meanbreath', was used by some of the ancient philosophers as a synonym forsoul.

Our primitive ancestors were also veryconscious of numerous striking changesoccurring at death, in addition to thecessation of those fuctions attributed tothe spirit'. It was not only uninspiring,but fe a r fu l for them to perceive the disintegration of the physical body. Th atthis body, insofar as its recognizable ornormal form was concerned, ceased to

be not long after death, was not a matter of speculation to them, but an all tooobvious fact. Since, however, the spiritor soul was identified with the breath, and it in turn with the air, and further,since it was impossible to discern whether death affected the soul, it was assumed to leave the body intact. Its departure was believed to occur principallyfrom the mouth or nostrils.

The Nature of Soul

W h at was this intact soul? O f whatdid it consist? W as it merely an indeterminate substance, or did it actuallyretain those qualities which had beenattributed to it while it resided in thebody? T he preponderance of conclusions of almost all religions and philosophies admitting of soul, conceive itas more than some spiritual or divineactuating force. In other words, as arule, soul was distinguished from life

fo rce. Frequently, life is held to be anattribute of the soul entering the bodyconcomitantly, or the one immediatelyfollowing the other. Soul, however, is

assumed to be a divine archetype ofthe person; that is, at death it retainsits identity, the influence of its association with the body. Consequently, fromthis point of view, a soul has a self-consciousness, an awareness of the pattern it received by being resident in abody. Th ere fore , we find that the generally accepted opinion is that the soulis not merely a surviving essence, but asurviving kind of consciousness.

It is a happy belief that the inner person, or ego, continues after death. Thereason for this belief, as he has shown,is that the nature of ego has been forcenturies associated with soul. Organicpsychology, however, has persistentlyrefuted this conception by endeavoringto show that many previously acceptedsoul functions are purely organic inorigin. Th e more this is done, the morethe soul would seem to become just alife-force, entirely without personalityuntil it animates a body. If it could everbe established that all that survivesdeath is but the elements of the bodyand that mysterious something whichanimates it, and that all else is merelythe result of the coming together ofthese two, the doctrine of immortalitywould lose its strong appeal to mankind.

The average man is quite well awarethat se l f is more than his corporeal being. He knows that he is also the aggregate of his states of consciousness, hisawareness of his surroundings, his reactions to them, his emotions, desires,thoughts, and ideals. Divest him ofthese and he is like the chair he sitsuponan entity having no awareness ofits existence. M an s affection for thedoctrine of immortality is because hewants the conscious being, the personality, the se l f to survive. Therefore, the cherished belief in immortality is a belief in the continuation o f p er-sonality after death, as a sort of soul-consciousness.

Though death, by its phenomenon,very strongly supports the idea ofchange and separation of certain qualities of the nature of man, and also suggests that the invisible attributes survive, the problem of proving that theycontinue to exist as we knew them, ismore difficult. In other words, it is onething to assume that that which makesman a living, conscious being, survives

death, but it is still another to presentplausible explanations or demonstrations that it con tinues to function as itdid in the body. Since the immortal nature of man is presumed to have a self-consciousness, it is only one step furtherin such a chain of reasoning to conceiveit as a disembodied intelligence. As weknow it in our mortal existence, self-consciousness is always accompanied bythe ability to evaluate the differences be-


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tween self and that which is external toit. In fact, we are convinced that we are. only because we can perceive thingsand conditions which are not as intimateto our nature as that which we call self.It is cogent that if all we perceived were

just the intimate impulses of our being

or self, lacking any comparison there-for, we would not realize it as such. So,with consciousness are included thosequali t ies or s tates we think of asintelligence.

If the immortal nature of man possesses intelligence, should it not be capableof those acts which are common to ourmortal intelligence? Should it not beable to formulate ideas, to have preferences, to execute its wishes, that is, todisplay will, and to communicate ormake known the objects of its intelli

gence. If the soul, or the immortal element of mans nature cannot do thesethings, then it is not an intelligence . Ifit is not an intelligence, it is not self-conscious; if it is not self-conscious,then man has no continuity of personality, and there is no survival of self afterdeath. The crux o f the whole question,then, is whether it can be proved thatsuch intelligences exist.

Methods of Communication

The next hypothesis is that such departed intelligences would possess the

desire to com m u nic ate with mortalminds, especially loved ones, just as theydid on the earth plane. This hypothesisis founded upon the premise that intelligence. generally speaking, conforms toa certain pa tte rn . W ha t would bethought to be a display of intelligenceby a mortal would likewise occur withan immortal, or, namely, with the soul-personality. If it were thought that departed intelligences would function entirely unlike minds here on earth, thenthere could be no hope upon the partof any individual of being certain

whether contact had been made withthe deceased.

In ancient times, where communica-T h e tion with the dead was thought possible,Ros'tcruc'tan suc - intelligence was invariably believedr\ . to make use of physical agencies for its

expression. Th us , the living were ex M arch pected to hear, with their normal sense1943 of hearing, the voice of the departed

spirit. Further, the departed intelligence, it was believed, would communicate by inscribing a message by somephysical means. In fact, as early as theHia Dynasty in China, about 2000 B. C.,very definite methods were establishedfor communing with the dead. One

method was Divination. This consistedof the use of a planchette, a kind ofouija board made of a bent twig fastened to a cross piece, which rested on theopen palms of a young girl who represented the departed. The device wasused to trace characters upon a tabletcovered with sand, and by this meanscommunications, or 'messages were supposed to be transmitted by the spirits ofthe dead. The y were interpreted by thegirl or someone else acting as an interlocutor.

W ith the d eve lopm ent o f science,greater inquiry into such claimed material or physical proof of an immaterial intelligence was made. It was, of course,found that the great majority of suchmethods and their results were fraudulent, and depended upon an unquestioning faith on the part of the practitioner.In some singular instances, the phenomenon was neither proved false, norcould it be thoroughly explained. Re ason, however, brought up the questionas to whether an intelligence, incorporated in an immaterial substance such as

soul was thought to be, could exercise aphysical faculty such as speech, or apower to cause material manifestation.

Up to a comparatively few years ago,there was no scientific evidence that human intelligence could be transmittedwithout some physical means on earth.W ith the rapid spread of the belief inmental telepathy, in the latter part ofthe Eighteenth Century and the earlydecades of the Nineteenth Century, itwas realized that mortals may have apeculiar hypersensitivity that goes be-vond the limits of the physical senses.W ith the exception of orthodox scienceat that time, all sincere students of theproblem held that if two mortal mindscan communicate without physicalmeans, in all probability the same intelligence, if it survived death, could do sowithout any material agency. In otherwords, if the consciousness can be pro jec ted from one mind to another, espec-


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ially where concerted effort for attune-ment is made between the living parties,then this communication should be possible between a deceased intelligenceand a mind on earth.

This view of the matter resulted insuch inquiries or investigations knownas p sy ch ic a l research . The investigatorsare not concerned with the physicalphenomenon, that is, so-called lightsthat may appear, materializations, andectoplasm, which are common displaysof spiritism seances. Ra ther, they aremore concerned with direct evidence ofthe transmission o f intelligence. Theycarefully weigh what the medium or theone attempting the communication withthe departed relates as a message to determine whether the transmitted ideas,

thoughts, or personalitv traits will provecommunication of intelligence.

Are Mediums Necessary?

The next consideration is the psychological state of the medium or the livingperson who attempts the communicationand who may appear to be successful.W h at is she thinking of when she enters the trance-like state? How doesshe accomplish her attunementif shedoes? W hic h of her objective facultiesat the time may be dormant? W h atother faculties have been quickened?W h at evidences are there of an abnormality of any kind? In other words, isthere a unique procedure by which suchcommunications can be brought aboutby anyone, or is this h u p e r a e s t h e s i a peculiar to certain individuals only? Thefact that certain mediums, or those whopractice communications with the departed, whether privately or professionally, almost always employ certain devices, such as crystal balls, trumpets,drums, ouija boards, etc., means but onething to the intelligent investigator. If

the person doing so is not a fraud, itdiscloses that he or she is using thesethings merely to help induce the necessary personal psychic state. Such appurtenances would have nothing to dowith establishing a bond with any departed intelligence.

William James, Dean of the psychologists of this era, admitted after carefulinquiry that certain practices of communication with the dead gave excellent

evidence of the poss ib le existence of disembodied intelligences. H o w ev er , hewas not inclined to hold that they wereactually departed personalities, but thatpossibly some persons by some meanscould draw from a "Cosmic reservoir"

of intelligence.Have All Souls A Personality?

There is also a matter of philosophicalspeculation that must not be overlookedin connection with this subject. Is it thesouls residence in the body and its acquisition of a personality while therewhich makes it possible for it to communicate with mortals after death? Simply put, is it the intelligence of the soulwhich communicates with mortals, or isit the se l f , the personality, as an attribute of the soul? If a soul has intelligence without acquiring a personality,as many religions contend, then if communication with life beyond is possible,men should likewise have frequent at-tunements with these pristine soul intelligences who are without personality.If, however, soul is an integrated imper-sonal mind, a Cosmic order which pervades all, it would seek no contact withmortals. Humans would be of it. Itwould exist within them and by following the necessity of their own nature;that is, by conforming to their intuitive

inclinations, to the impulses of self, theywould, it would seem, be in communionwith the Absolute, the Un iversal Soul.

No confusion or complexities are encountered when we think of immortalityin the sense of a continuation or survival of that intelligence which gives uslife and consciousness. Ev ery new birthof a human is evidence of that kind ofimmortality, and of its existence as anintelligence everywhere. W he n, however, we seek the continuation of the

p erson a l intelligence of the mortal, the

survival of the particular expression ofthe Cosmic Intelligence observed in aliving being, we then confront complexities. W e must learn how a human intelligence, a personality, if you will, superimposes itself upon an all-pervadingCosmic Mind, to continue there, aswould the sounds from a musical instrument linger on indefinitely when the instrument ceased to be.


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T h e Rosicrucian D igest M a r ch 1943

M ent a l Therapeut i cs B y D r . A . W . P o t t s , D. C .

N dealing with thehuman body andi ts p a t h o l o g i c a ld i s tu rbances i tmight be w ell toapproach the sub ject from not onlythe physical butthe psychic angle,for dis-ease is notonly physical. Infac t d i s - ea se i sborn first in thepsychic or fourth

dimensional plane and from there trans

mitted to the material or physical plane.This is a demonstrable fact supportedby many authorities, both in the Medical and Chiropractic fields. As a manthinketh, so is he is a truism. If anindividual customarily thinks animalthoughts, then his actions will reflectthese thoughts and he will be animalisticin his tendencies. An individual willunconsciously attract individuals to himwho are compatable with his thoughts,likes, dislikes and actions. Is it not logical then to state that if an individual hastendencies and thoughts that are patho

logical to the highest of the bodys functions then the condition of disease willovercome the body? Disease is nothingmore nor less than a condition of inharmony in the subconscious mind of manwhich reflects to the physical in thesame manner as high frequency electricity causes a self induced current tobe attracted to a coil and light which istuned to the same frequency as the

mother force of current. Th is is the lawwhereby our radio transmitters function.It can be broken down into a simple yetseemingly complex law of nature, theLaw of Manifestation. This can be explained as follows: One force actingupon another force will give a point ofmanifestation. Converting this law tothe condition of disease it would workout as follows. The discordant thoughtsof the mind, being the first force, actsupon the subconscious, or psychic bodyof man, through the Endocrine Chain ofglands, this being the second force. Themanifestation therefore will be on the

physical and will show upon the bodyas a pathological condition. In treatinga disease it is logical to treat first themind, which can be reached through thepsychic force in man, changing the vibratory rate of the Endocrine glands sothe same law can work to clear up thecondition manifested. It is a well knownfact that in the use of accepted forms oftherapeutics we can progress only asfast as the patients attitude will allow.

All materials in nature are welded together by the fundamental laws of adhesion and cohesion. Man , an intricate

grouping of cells into a complete unit,is a complex manifestation of the workings of these natural laws as is manifestation of the mineral called gold. Thevarious types of similarly differentiatedcells that are the histological components of the various organs and systemswhich compose man are welded together by a force which we can call vibration. This force holds each individual


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cell by attraction to its like group ofcells which are, in turn, held to otherportions which make up a system or anorgan. Th ese , again, are held togetherby vibratory force until man is a complete individual. All of these organs,

systems, and cells have a definite rateof vibration and all combined groups ofvibrations, making man a separate entity, are in harmony with each other.Each group has a definite set rate ofvibration and any time this rate is disturbed, whereby it deviates from itsfundamental rate, we have a change inpotentiality of the fundamental vibratory wave with a corresponding changein the fundamental wave of all cells, organs, and systems that are harmonicsof this fundamental vibratory wave.Whenever such a condition takes placewithin the body it disturbs the harmonyof the body. If this conditions remainsfor any length of time it will cause apathological condition to arise. Thiscondition can be brought about in onlyone way, which is, by some influence tobombard the psychic body of man as aradio transmitter bombards the ether ata fundamental vibratory rate. W hen thepsychic body of man "tunes in to thisrate he will get the same reaction aswhen we tune our radio receiving set tothe fundamental vibratory rate of thetransmitter at the station we wish tolisten to. Man is continually beingbombarded by a complexity of these vibratory rates, but he has a certain defense mechanism within his body whichtunes out the harmful rates and tunesin the beneficial rates. This defensemechanism within the body is the complete Endocrine chain of glands. Eachset of glands functions to tune in andcontrol certain vibratory rates yet allmust work in the closest harmony withthe others. W h en through faulty diet orwrong thinking, this condition of har

mony is disturbed, then, and then only,can the bombardment of harmful vibratory rates affect the psychic side of manand eventually the physical body.

The vibratory rates of the variousorgans can be measured as minute electrical charges which will register on avery sensitive galvanometer. Because ofthis fact it is logical to state that as theycan be measured by electrical means,they can also be affected by electrical

means. As electricity is a manifestationof vibratory force, and a manifestationonly, why would it not be logical to assume that other manifestations of vibratory force could be utilized which wouldalso affect the body structures through

the psychic body of man or if preferred,through Innate Intelligence, which isanother name for the psychic body ofman. Radion ic and Electron ic diagnostic and therapeutic instruments use thisvibratory rate as a basis and workinghypothesis for the transmission of vibrations of a known rate to the organsor tissues of the body which are influenced by such rates. T he fundamentaldifference between Radionic and Electronic is that Electronics feed a determined and set rate to the physical sideof man in somewhat the same manneras a short-wave diathermy sends energyand heat to the body. T he primary difference being that the diathermy ismaintained at a set wave length in theregion of six to fourteen meters, whileelectronic vibrations are ultra-ultra shortor considerably below one meter inlength. Th is, perhaps, would tend toaffect the body functions adversely if anerror had been made in diagnosis. TheRadionic instrument works on the fourthdimensional plane or on the psychicbody instead of the physical body. Byworking on the fourth dimensional planethe instrument picks up the inharmonious vibrations being cast from the bodyor radiating from the body as an aura,increases their intensity or amplifiesthem and sends them back to the bodyout of phase to affect a cure of theinharmonious vibrations. Th e law usedis a simple law of electrical energywherein by changing or reversing thephase of an electrical force, it will manifest or culminate inversly to its originalpotential. If you were to take a positive charge of electrical current and re

verse its phase, whereby it would be outof phase, it will react as a negativeforce. T o maintain complete harmonywithin the body we must have a balancebetween the polarities of the individualcells, organs, and systems within thebody. W e receive the positive polarityof vibrations through our respiratorysystem and the negative polarity of vibrations from the food we assimilate.This affects the physical side of man


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T h e Rosicrucian Digest M a r ch 1 9 4 3

and is a result only. The causative factor is much more complex, and as weare striving to affect a cure for a pathological condition we must understandand be able to treat the true cause ofthe dis-eased condition. T o do this wemust normalize the differences in polarity and bring them into balance. Herethen the emotional side of man comesinto play. As it is a well known factthat emotional disturbances create aninharmonious effect on our digestive apparatus we should be able to carry thattruism further and state that any adverse action or thought by ourselves orpersons near us can upset the balanceof polarity. A healthy, robust, sympathetic individual will create a healthy,robust, sympathetic urge or emotion inan individual who is ailing or depressed.A depressed melancholic individual creates a depressed melancholic atmosphere around him and affects those whomay come into contact with him. Th iswould tend to prove that our thoughtsaffect others. Thoughts are things. Theyare substantial, concrete forces whichcan affect substantial, concrete forms asthey are manifestations of the sameforce, only one is third dimensional, orphysical; while the other is fourth dimensional, or psychic. As we have thetwo manifestations of the same forcethey are interchangeable and inter

reactionary. W e also have two polarities for each manifestation of each force.By breaking this down further and further we eventually reach the two polarities of the true causative forcethe vibratory rate of life itself. W e can suspect this rate but cannot comprehend itas it is as complex as man and natureand is the motivative force of the universe. W e can reach out and grasp orutilize only the physical or we can gainthe knowledge and open the door to theuse of some of the higher rates therebyutilizing the psychic or affect the physi

cal. By so doing we are getting at, andtreating, the cause not the effect. Th iswill give us a permanent cure instead ofa temporary relief to man's inharmonywithin himself.

Any individual who has the properattitude of mind can develop and utilizethe little known functions of the Endocrine glands to a very high degree. Eachgland is a regulatory and stimulative

center for a definite function in a definite portion of the body. All of theseglands are also inter-reactionary andmust work in harmony with the others.Through the stimulation of certain ofthese glands we can increase or decrease our blood pressure, increase orslow our circulation wherein we are ableto remove congestion and arrest inflammation in the body. W e can increase theblood count which is valuable in casesof anemia. W e can cause a peristalticwave in the intestines. Through properapplication of certain principles we canretard and arrest hemorrhage. Thesestatements may sound strange and farfetched to some individuals as they willstate that there is no scientific basis forsuch statements. There are many thingsthat baffle so-called science, primarilybecause they do not approach the sub je ct with an unbiased mind, and becausethey do not have the initiative and faithto give these principles a fair trial.There are many who use these principles unconsciously and obtain remarkable results. If used consciously onewill know the results, for when we haveunleashed these forces they cannot be"called back but must complete theircycle. Whenever we use Reflex T he rapy, whereby we work on the sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous systems, we are using the principles herein

mentioned. If these techniques such asthe Damon Technique, the RileyTechnique and others, were carriedone step farther or had one more pointadded, the result would be more accurate and much quicker. Knowing that wecan affect our own body, we will carrythis further and must admit that we canaffect another personss body by directcontact with it. W e do this in reflextherapy. W e can also obtain the someresult by fourth dimensional contactwith an individual or by thought vibrations only. Thi s takes quite a bit more

preparation than the direct contactmethod, or seemingly so, but actually itis much faster and more potent in itsresults when done properly. It is notnecessary to work on the nervous system with the application of the hands,nor by thought only. W e can utilizelight vibrations provided we can obtaintrue colors of definitely known vibratory

(Conc luded on P age 66 )

r w>]


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W h at Va l u e H a s Tr a d i t i o n ? B y F r a t e r H . F . S y n d e r g a a r d , M . D .

H A T o f tradition?

It is so firmly incorporated in ourbody politic, in oursocial and religiouspract ices that i tcon f ron t s u s a tevery turn. It isthe rabble rousingfo rens i c o f t hespellbinder; i t isthe appeal of thereformer ; it is theemotional rendez

vous of the revivalist. It is a crutch to

the ego who leans heavily upon it forprestige and courage. It is the hair raising retreat of the superstitious. It buriesthe past in a halo of sanctified mystery.It shackles the present to outmoded systems of thought and ethics. Og re-like itrises to sca re the timid. It blocks progress as it blocks traffic. It is the rockwall that keeps the potential boulevard,that would make easy access to thepinnacle of our progress and enlightenment, the cowpath of primitive perspective trailing off into hazy indefinite obscurity. It would say to posterity:

"Stand in the footsteps of precedent.Thus tradition is anchored, sustainedand defied. Once initiative commandsus to advance in the "path progress isimplied and tradition must either become incorporated in and dedicated toprogress or it must be abandoned, andrevered as having attained its purposein its time but never worshipped as theculmination of that purpose.

Even the best of that which tradition

has to offer and upon which we havebuilt much which is good, if it wouldkeep its vitality for potential good, mustbe subject to the law of progress or disintegrate to be again appropriated bythe ever rising structure of enlightenment. Much of what we today worshipas tradition has gone the way of eternalprogress and again evolved in new advancements upon reinforced and newfoundations and they are left with butthe fantasies of memory to adorn ourshrines, who worship tradition. Oneneeds but to look at the body to recog

nize that to stand still is impossible.W h y then should we insist on anchoring to tradition. No matter in whatfondness one may hold the cherubicbaby countenance, one would never haveretained it for present usages. But it hasbeen used as a point from which to buildthe present stature and developmentand whatever its present defects, itmarks a definite advancement as evidence by its evolved capacities.

W h a t applies to oneself applies topersons, things and events, in the worldin which one lives. Mem ory is cons tant

ly recalling men and their opinions fromthe past to advance them as standardsfor the present. In their day they pioneered the evolution of thought whichmanifested in ac co m p lish m en ts thatwere meritorious, even revolutionary.Viewed in retrospect, however, theywould hardly be accepted as patternsfor todays standards, evolved throughtravails of experimentation and the ad


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vancements that have been made inevery phase of life. Y et it is insisted bysome that tradition should hold precedence and that to envision and to buildbeyond it is sacrilege. If men who wererevered as oracles of wisdom and foresight in their time were today reincarnated to find their monumental works atthe time of their transition no furtheradvanced, with evolvement stopped attheir passing, they would be fully justified in thinking us dullards and laggardshaving refused to increase these talentsfrom the time when they passed to theliving the responsibility for advancement with the charge to carry on. Th isattitude en-mass degenerates into thestalling of progress and portends thestatic quality and inertia of the succeeding era.

Always at the point of perfection.Truth and anything that incorporatesTruth, is eternally unfinished businessso far as it concerns man. There yet remains its deeper potential to be discov

ered in ever new unfoldment, by the inquiring mind. As man evolves and hisvision becomes more penetrating, newsegments are revealed and new vistasare op ene d to his com pre hen sion .Though it is enthroned in our being weseek its ramifications in all the mysteries of life. No man and no institutionhas ever possessed all the truth and always there will be as much to seek foras has been apprehended. Our SupremeSecretary in his article on Rosicrucianheritage states the case tersely in thesewords: . . . . progress is based upon theutilization of the accumulated knowledge and experience of those who havegone before us, but to accept thatknowledge without question or not totry again the experiments which confirm the knowledge, is to resort to astatic form of society in which no onewould ever become greater or betterequipped to meet his environment thanthe standard set by those who preceed-ed us.

WHA T OF TOMORROW?Today's events constantly turn our minds to the future, and everyone asks himself or

herself in making any plans W ha t of Tomorrow?An attractive interesting booklet by this title has been prepared to present in popular

form the answer to this question, and show the general trends of the events which are tofollow the immediate present.

A limited number of these copis are still available. Request copies for yourself andyour friends, as many as you can use.

Address your request to the Extension Department. Rosicrucian Park, San Jose, California. This booklet is free.

T h e Ros ic ruc ian D i gest M a r ch 1 9 4 3

DO YOU NEED ENCOURAGEMENT?Do y ou feel that there is considerable opposition to your study? T ha t events and cir

cumstances seem to conspire aga inst your finding the right time? Are you w aiting foreverything to be ideal before you begin? There are occasional circumstances which reallypreven t study but most times we originate excuses, as escapes from the obligation ofsettling down and acquiring the knowledge we should have . T he m an or woman w ho wants to study will take the time for it under almost any cond itions. F or exam ple, readthe following excerpts from a letter by a man who is risking his life daily in the wareffort, and yet even under such hazards finds time for study:

"It feels good to be back in the old city, after roving on the northern Atlantic forabout ten weeks. Ye s. w e were so far north one would think it was an expeditionto the North Pole. W e were in the Arc tic Ocean . Our ship carryin g its load of menand other things and now we are back in the safety of A merica, for which I feelinfinitely thankful.

"I find a good number of lectures awaiting to be studied, which is very nice. Duringmy wanderings in the sub-infested seas, my attunement and the use of formulas forprotection worked wonders. Therefore, I believe that my technique in their use wasimproved greatly. In addition, I had a copy of the work s of Pla to to study, so itseems that even there my time was used to adv antage. L. M. R.


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T h e Tr a n sm u t a t i o n o f G o l d S O M E C O M M E N T S O N T H E A C H I E V E M E N T S O F

R O S I C R U C I A N S , P A S T A N D P R E S E N T

By D r . H . S p e n c e r L e w is , F. R . C .(From the Rosicrucian Digest , February, 1930)

M a n y o f t h e a r t i c le s w r i t t e n b y o u r l a t e I m p e r a t o r , D r. H . S p e n c e r L e w i s , a re a s d e a t h l e s sa s t i m e . T h a t i 3, t h e y a r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h o s e l a w s a n d p r i n c i p l e s o f li f e a n d l i v i n g w h i c ha r e e t e r n a l , a n d t h u s n e v e r l os e t h e i r e ff ic a c y o r t h e i r i m p o r t , a n d a r e a s h e l p f u l a n d a s i n s p i ri n g w h e n r e a d t o d a y a s t h e y w e r e w h e n t h e y w e r e w r i t t e n fi ve , t e n . fi ft e e n , t w e n t y o r m o r ey e a r s a g o . a n d l ik e w i s e w il l c o n t i n u e t o b e a s h e l p f u l a n d a s i n s t r u c t iv e i n t h e f u t u r e . F o r t h i sr e a s o n , a n d f o r t h e r e as o n t h a t t h o u s a n d s o f r e a d e r s o f t h e R o s i c r u c i a n D i g e s t " h a v e n o t re a dm a n y o f t h e e a r l i e r a r ti c l e s o f o u r l a te I m p e r a t o r , w e a r e g o i n g t o a d o p t t h e e d i t o r i a l p o l i cy o f p u b li s h in g in th e "R o s ic ru c ia n D ig e s t" e a c h m o n th o n e o f h is o u ts ta n d in g a r ti c le s so th a t h ist h o u g h t s w i l l c o n t i n u e to r e s i d e w i t h i n t h e p a g e s o f t h i s p u b l i c a t io n .

tific magazine entitled The Philosophers Ston e. It is seemingly an editorial comment and presumably writtenby the master scientific mind of thepublication. As one will note from thecomments to be made ,the writer of thecriticism does not even know what ismeant by The Philosophers Stonefor he associates it with the work oftransmutation of metal and the realphilosophers stone of the alchemistshad nothing to do with the transmutation of metals but with another andhigher form of transmutation which waspart of the secret work of the Rosicrucians. The editor seems to think that the

philosophers stone of the alchemistswas an actual stone of some kind orsubstance of a stony nature whichwould convert base metals into gold.Continuing the editor says:

Since his time many men have attempted to make gold by chemical processes. T h e latest name on the list isthat of M. Jollivet-Castelot, presidentof the Alchemist Society of France, whoannounces that he has found a process

V E R Y now andthen some extraordinarily learnedscientist attemptsto convince similarminded me m be rsof his pro fess io nthat he is a verysupe r io r pe r sonby indulging in adiatribe directedagainst the scientific minds of theday, and nothing

delights his peculiar mentality so muchas to find an opportunity to criticize and

ridicule an alchemist. W h en the alchemist appears to be a Rosicrucian, itis a more serious thing because we realize then how little the learned scientistknows about the history of alchemy andthe contributions that Rosicrucian alchemists have made to the modern science of chemistry and in fact to all ofthe branches of science.

The foregoing remarks are calledforth by an article appearing in a scien


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of manufacturing gold in the laboratory.Many savants, he says, have endorsedhis process, which he desires to haveinvestigated officially.

Here the editor quotes a brief outlineof the process used by Castelot showingthat he had been able to transmute gold

estimated to weigh ten milligrams usingsome tin as the base metal.Continuing the editor says: But it is

claimed that if a successful commercialprocess for the manufacture of gold werediscovered, it would wreck our entirefinancial fabric. Gold would immediately be eliminated as the basis of money,but the public need have no fear. W epublished the Frenchmans announcements merely to illustrate how the alchemists are still at their old game.They fooled nobody quite so completelyas they fooled themselves. No more will

be heard of Jollivet-Castelots process,in all probability, unless it is an announcement that somebody has organized a company for the industrial manufacture of gold and is selling stock tothose, one of whom is born every minute. W he n a successful way to manufacture gold is discovered, the chemistswill be the first to know about it. W ewill not have to obtain our informationfrom the alchemists.

Let us remind our readers of the factthat M. Castelot is not only presidentof the Alchemist Society of France,

which is a very old and reputable organization, but an officer of the Rosicrucian Order in France, and honorarymember of AM O RC in America. W emust also remind our readers of the factthat this man is not only an alchemistbut a chemist, if we are to make the distinction in process and methods of experimentation, which the scientific worldof today wishes to make, and, therefore,should be given as much credence andrecognition in the scientific world as inthe alchemist world. And this is nothis first announcement regarding the results of his experiments in transmutation; he has labored in a very wonderfully equipped alchemist laboratory for

T h e many years and made his first success-Rosicruc ian ^ demonstration Years ag under test

conditions and received the recognitionLfigest for wor]c Qf the entire world. In the

M arch July, 1926, edition of this magazine, we1 9 4 3 published a very large picture of Broth

er Castelot in his laboratory at Douai,France, which picture also appears inthe "Rosicrucian Manual, and likewisea photograph of a vial containing thetransmuted gold. Two months previously, we had announced in our magazinethe success of his transmutation experi

ments and had taken extracts from the1926 winter quarterly of the Rose-Croixmagazine published in France. A verycomplete outline of a process was givenin our July issue referred to, and ourgood brother has continued to improvethe process since then and has neverhad any thought of forming a stockcompany or selling shares of stock, asthe scientific editor insinuates, in fact,every alchemist, who has ever experimented with transmutation, as have weof A M O RC in America, has freely admitted that the cost in time, chemicals,

equipment, and labor involved in making even a few milligrams of gold is sotremendous that the manufacture ofgold as a commercial process or commercial product is not only out of thequestion but a very silly contemplation.If it costs approximately one thousandtimes the value of a gram of gold tomake it, how could such gold be soldand how could a company be organizedor formed to manufacture it, and inwhat way would the making of suchgold affect the basic value of gold andwreck the gold standard of the world?

Rosicrucians and alchemists are notthe only ones who have transmuted goldin recent years. T h e process has beentested by our governments and by otherforeign governments, especially in Germany and similar tests have been madein the metallurgical department of thevarious universi t ies throughout theworld. Eac h of these has learned thatthe cost involved is tremendous andthat the only benefit to be gained fromsuch experiments is to test and provethe fundamental laws of vibrations asinvolved in natures process of makinggold in the body of the earth. Our Rosicrucian records are filled with the examples of Rosicrucian alchemists whohave devoted their entire lives to laboring with the transmutation process andlaws until at last they achieved the making of one microscopic piece of gold,and then in their old age, worn out andsuffering from privation and want, have

f *4]


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rested and gone to spiritual sleep withthe satisfaction of having achieved intheir own laboratory the grand demonstration of nature's laws. To them, therenever was any idea or conceivable method of manufacturing gold in any commercia l degree , and cer ta in ly theywould not have parted with the littlepiece of gold they made for any price,but that they contributed to the archivesof the Order. It is in this way the hundreds of modern scientific discoveries inchemistry or in processes involving somedegree of chemistry have been contributed to our worldly benefit by theunselfish labors of those who had ahigher ideal to work for than the makingof money.

The editor of the scientific magazinemost certainly knows all of this, andwhen he says that these men have fooled nobody quite so completely as themselves, he was not revealing his ignorance of facts but his willful attempt toderide and ridicule the great brotherhood of workers who have given theworld so many wonderful revelations ofnature's processes.

In our last issue (January 1930),there appeared an article dealing withthe scientific achievements of that famous mystic, Leonardo da Vinci, whowas also famous as a painter, a musician, and an unquestioned and univer

sally recognized scientist. W e knowfrom the manuscripts this man left andwhich are only now being translated because of his request that the informationin them be held until certain years afterhis transition, that in his day he waslooked upon by the so-called austereand conservative scientists as a foolishdabbler in things that were none of hisbusiness and as a dreamer, a visionary,a mystic, a Rosicrucian of theoreticalideas, and a painter who should haveheld fast to his brushes and left scientific matters alone. The editor who wrotethe foregoing diatribe against BrotherCastelot would have sharpened his penand dipped it in vitriolic ink if he hadlived in da V in cis day. Y et at the present time, we find in the encyclopediasand in the records of the austere scientific bodies the belated recognition of daVinci as a real scientist who accomplished more in his secret private al-chemistic labors than any other scientist

that ever lived for he is now freely admitted to be one of the worlds greatestscientists, if not the greatest of all. Andwhat da Vinci contributed to the variousbranches of science were fundamentaldiscoveries of world-wide importance,and present day science has based andis still continuing to base most of itsevolved successes on the sound, rational, true principles worked out and revealed by da Vinci.

The science of astronomy owes all ofits fundamental principles, all of the enthusiasm, profound interest, and exacting demands and facts to the unselfishlabors of the mystics and astrologers ofthe secret brotherhoods of the past.Chemistry by its very symbols, whichit still uses to denote the nature of thechemical element it uses pays tribute tothe fact that it was the mystics and thealchemists who laid the foundation fortheir present day science and gave themthe laws and principles, mathematics,and other tools, which they still use.The science of physiology owes to suchmen as da Vinci and others of the mystic brotherhood the fundamental factswhich made possible the evolved scienceof physiology of today. W he n we stopand consider the revelations that weremade in the marvelous manuscripts ofsuch men as Roger Bacon, the old friarand monk who was a devout Rosicru

cian and an alchemist, we realize that itis from the labors and deep studies ofthese Rosicrucians that have come thescientific achievements of this day. It iseasy now for the modern scientist totake the formulas, pocesses, laws andprinciples of the mystic of the past wholabored in incomplete and inexpensivelaboratories, equipped with the mostcrude and homely of ut e n s ils , anddenied the assistance of marts wherematerials and supplies could be easilypurchased, and unaided by the thousands of book and manuscripts contrib

uted by hundreds who preceded them insuch work, and with this mass of information and with every modern facilityappropriation of funds and utmost convenience, build up, revise, and reclothethe ancient discoveries and present themin a newer form for newer and moremodern application.

W e realize then why the last words(Concluded on Pag e 74)


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T h eRos i c ruc i anDiges t

M a rch1 9 4 3

The "Cathedral of the Soul is a Cosmic meeting place for all minds of the

most highly developed and spiritually advanced members and workers of theRosicrucian F raternity. It is a focal point of Cosmic radiations and thoughtwaves from which radiate vibrations of health, peace, happiness, and innerawakening. Va rious periods of the day are set aside when many thousandsof minds are attuned with the Cathedral of the Soul, and others attuning withthe Cath edral at the time will rece ive the benefit of the vibrations. Th os e whoare not members of the organization may share in the unusual benefits as wellas those who are members. Th e book called "Libe r 777 describes the periodsfor various contacts with the Cathedral. Copies will be sent to persons whoare not members if they address their requests for this book to Friar S. P. C.,care of AM O R C Temp le, San Jose, California, enclosing three cents in postagestamps. (Please state whether member or notthis is important.)

T H E IN F L U E N C E O F S P R IN G

H IS month marksthe beg innin g ofthe season of theyea r wh ich hasbeen looked uponfor ages as the beginning of a newperiod. Not onlyis the beginningof Spring a beginning of one of thefour seasonal cycles, but due toth e co n t r a s t o f

Spring to the W in te r months this periodof the year has been in many cases considered the beginning of the outstanding cycles of the seasons.

Possibly the reason that the ancientsregarded this season as the true begin

ning of a new year has been due to theobvious evidences of this particular cycle. In all nature we see evidences ofnew life; we see that regardless of thefact that to all appearances much lifehas been apparently dormant, both inthe plant and animal kingdoms, thechange which now takes place is a reminder of the power of the life forcesin the universe over the power of merephysical existence. A tree withoutleaves, a plant which has died down oran animal in hibernation evidences suchphysical characteristics as those whichwe ordinarily associate with death orcomplete lifelessness, and yet, as thisearth moves among the other heavenlybodies and one hemisphere and then theother swings to a favored position fromthe sun's rays, we see a quickening of


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life as if some power or rorce seems tosuddenly infuse this otherwise apparently lifeless matter and cause to existthose m an ife sta tio n s of living thingswhich have puzzled the thinking of Mansince the beginning of time.

It is not easy for us to separate naturefrom God Himself because we see themanifestation of the Creator so closelyindicated in all things about us. W e seethat in the Cosmic scheme there is purpose in that all functioning which is renewed in this season of the year beginsa cycle of activity which causes theactual purposes of life in these plantsand animals to gradually reach a pointof culmination. W e, as human beings,separated as we are from close association with the fundamental forces of na

ture and the universe, rarely experienceany particular sensations related to thisnew cycle of the year. W hi le we jokingly point out the fact that we are suffering from Spring fev er" as the warmdays begin to make us long for rest andrelaxation, the fact of the matter is thatonly those closely attuned to these forcesof nature are really aware of what istaking place. Great mystics have beenmore susceptible to the influences ofthese Cosmic impulses. Mystical poetsand musicians have been inspired at thisseason of the year and have sometimesproduced some of their notable works.St. Francis found joy in the return ofthe birds and of the evidences of anylife and its symbolism as he interpretedas evidence of the resurrection and ofM an s eventual glory. Studen ts of nature and those closely related to itspulsing life have always felt a thrillclosely associated with ecstasy at thebeginning of Spring. John Burroughs, John Muir and Gilb er t W h it e found inthis season the beginning, not only ofnew life fo rces within their environment,but a stimulation towards the better useof their a b il iti e s in the weeks andmonths to come.

W e frequently hear that mankind today stands at a threshold between the

possibility of the loss of much he hasgained and come to call his modern civilization and the eventual overcoming ofthe forces fighting against these, hisaims and ideals, and it is well that thisyear of all years we pause to remindourselves that the beginning of this season can also be a beginning of a newlife cycle not only in nature but in us.At every moment of our lives we standat a threshold; a threshold which marksthe present momentthat almost unattainable time that exists between thepast and the future. Our plans for thispresent moment are now affected by circumstances over which we have no control, but Man is and always will be anindividual. He has his own ability whichhe can call into use and make life better

and more in accord with these forces hesees manifesting in nature about him.If Man is to live happily in his environment it is well known that he must become adapted to this environment, andthe closer he observes and realizes thechanges in that environment the easierit becomes for him to take advantage ofthose same invisible and mysteriousforces in himself. The same radiationswhich caused the bud on the tree toswell and bloom radiates throughout theuniverse and can cause in the human being the growth of mind and body. Th erealization of our part in the Cosmicscheme is the first step toward the betterunderstanding of our environment andtoward a proper attunement with thoseforces which remain to our senses undefined and invisible. W e offer to thosewho wish to relax from their daily dutiesand demands and give a moments reflection to their place in the scheme ofthings, the facilities of the Cathedral ofthe Soul, so established that all mayenter regardless of their physical environment. The procedures and purposes of this institution are given in abooklet entitled Liber 777 which willbe sent without obligation to anyoneupon request.

V V V

B U Y U . S . S A V I N G S B O N D S A N D S T A M P S


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T h eRosicruc ianDiges t

M a rch1 9 4 3

T h e Rosi cruci an New Y ea r IM P E R A T O R P R O C L A IM S S U N D A Y, M A R C H 21st

B E G IN N I N G O F T R A D I T IO N A L N E W Y E A R

T W A S Pope whosaid, The properstudy of mankindis man. As soonas we realize andaccep t t he f ac tthat man is a synthesis of all nature, we have taken the first actual s tep toward a ttaining that illusive ideal, happi-n e s s . Man has

ever been reluctant to identify the othermanifestations of nature as processessimilar to those existing in his own being. It has been a fond, but false pridewhich has caused man to set himselfapart from other living things. He hassought to disparage any idea that thereis a brotherhood of functioning and oforganisms between all living things andhimself. Even otherwise great thinkershave made this common error. ReneDescartes endeavored to show that thelife of animals can be explained without

reference to intelligence. He thoughtthat the attributing of mind to animalswas a great mistake; in fact, Thegreatest of all of the prejudices we haveretained from infancy is that of believing that brutes think.

It was not sufficient to men thatthey hold the exalted place of a superioranimal, a reward won by competitionwith all forms of life for eons of time.It was likewise a cherished belief that

they had been ordained for such mastery. Consequently, to their limited conception, it was derogatoryif not revoltingthat there could be in thingsthat creep, crawl, and fly, and even inthe grass they crushed beneath theirfeet, a fraternity of elements, organs,and systems. Thus man sought in speculation to account for himself, and todream of the causes of his ways, whenall about him were continually happening object lessons that could have revealed to him the truth.

Only in comparatively recent times,as the history of man runs, have mencreated out of the forces of nature andthe elements at their command usefuldevices which mirror the mechanism oftheir own beingsproving this relationship. Fo r example, the lens and functioning of the camera and the human e y e ; the diaphragm of the telephone andradio receiver and the human ear; electrical transformers and the gan gli a o f the Spinal nervous system; c h e m i c a ltransformation and the blood s t ream; thermostatic devices and the t empera-

ture control of the body. Consequently,both within us and without, must weturn to understand the mysteries of ourbeing. W e may be a product solely ofthis planet, but we are not thoroughlyand wholly a unique manifestation ofnature. A man who finds no joy in thestudy of nature will always remain ignorant of himself. Notw ithstanding thefact that most of hu m an ity h as nocuriosity to look beneath the cover of


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things, but is content to leave such toscientists, philosophers, and mystics,whom it looks upon as professional investigators, some men and women havefor centuries tried to adapt their livingto an interpretation of nature. In doing

so, they have found untold pleasures.To King Solomon is credited the

words, To everything there is a season,and a time to every purpose under theheavens; a time to be born, and a timeto die; a time to plant, and a time topluck up that which is plan ted. If men,therefore, in their finite reasoning seemto find it advantageous to begin or toend something, or to make a change,certainly their must be even greater justif ication or purpose for the changesin nature. Furthe r, if, as the sagaciousknow, the laws that govern the distantnebulae millions of light years away,likewise influence the very existence ofman, then it behooves the human to tryto relate his affairs to these cycles andperiods of nature.

For centuries, in most of the countriesof the Orient, millions of people came toaccept the spring season as a time forthe natural beginning of a new year. Inthe new verdant growth, the blossoming,the budding, in the awakening of naturewas seen a true sign of rejuvenation, ofa beginning a rebirth. W h y should

not the course of human events be measured not by arbitrary dates, not by theturning of the leaves of a calendar, butby such periods of activity and passivitywhich nature herself has established?

Today in the Northern Hemispherethe New Year begins when all about usin nature are signs of dormancy, of inactivity. Ac tual ly it is unnatural to lookupon that period as the beginning of acycle. Th e Rosicrucians, however, as a

sacred rite, for centuries have commemorated the ancient Oriental New Yearwhich begins on or about March 21st,or when the sun on its celestial journeyenters the sign of Aries. It is an astronomical phenomenon commonly known

as the Vernal Equinox. Th is occasionis one for celebration in all of the Rosi-crucian temples throughout the worldwhere peace prevails. On such occasionsthe ceremony consists of extolling ancient rites, and concludes with a symbolical, mystical feast relating man's being to the elements of nature. All Rosi-crucian members are urged to attendsuch a ceremony at the nearest AMORClodge or chapter, whether or not theyare members of that body. Th ey arecordially invited as guests without anyobligation.

For the thousands of members whodo not live adjacent to a RosicrucianTemple, a Sanctum Ritual, which makespossible a simple, inspiring ceremony,and which can be performed in the privacy of the home, will be sent them,upon request, for a very small mailingcharge of ten cents. The performance ofthis fascinating sanctum ceremony, orattendance at one of the beautiful Rosicrucian Temple New Years convocations has also a very practical value.Many Rosicrucian students have expressed how they have been help to reorient themselves; tha t is, to bring to anatural conclusion certain of their affairsand to start others after participating insuch a ceremony. Furthe r, they havefound in it a psychological stimulus andsatisfaction ; in other words, encouragement in being able to develop their mundane, their every-day plans and interestsin tempo with the growth and development of natures manifestations following her Spring awakening.

ROSICRUCIAN NEW YEAR CEREMONY IN TORONTO

All Rosicrucian members in Toronto and vicinity are invited by the Toronto Chapter

of A M O R C to be present at the annual New Y ea r observance and installation of officers

to be held at the Chapter quarters, 10 Lansdowne Avenue, on Sunday, March 21 at

7:00 p.m . All members in this vicinity should avail themselves of the opportunity to

participate in this ceremony.


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M yst i cal Patr i o t i sm By W i l l i a m V. W h i t t i n g t o n , F. R. C.

AM ORC Grand CouncilorSouth Atlantic States

TheRos ic ruc i anDiges t

M arch1 9 4 3

N times like thesethe people of a nat ion learn againw h a t i t m e a n sto be a pa t r io t .W he n all effort isd i r ec t ed towardthe winning of agreat war in whichthe future of ourselves and of ourc o u n t r y i s a tstake, patriotismbecomes a primarymotivation.

Pa tr io ti sm is a powerful force aforce by which divergent and even discordant elements within a nation maybe unified for the achievement of a common aim. T h e common aim at this time,as commonly understood, is the winningof the war. The only alternative is defeat and slavery.

The mystic patriot will see beyondthe present war to the day when hu

manity will be guided by a higher patriotisma universal patriotism; to a daywhen all peoples are unified for the common aim of living together in peace andin understanding.

That, some may declare, is a utopiandream. And yet, we know that the timeis fast approaching when a remarkableinflux of spiritual understanding andcosmic inspiration will bring about vastchangesa veritable revolutionin the

thinking, the conduct, the ways of living, of peoples over all the world.

The great tragedy of mankind hasbeen that his spiritual understandinghas not kept pace with his material advancement and his inventive genius.

Let us hope that the crucible of war this grea test of all w ars will serveto persuade the great majority of mankind of the futility of hate and the emptiness of material conquest. I believethat it will largely serve that purposealthough we must realize that a long,hard period of readjustment and reconstruction must follow in the wakeof a struggle so tremendous and all-consuming.

The mystic and the student of metaphysics have an important part to playin times like these. Thei r patriotism isnot the emotional, unreasoning kind, butis founded upon a knowledge and understanding of the Cosmic Law of Compensationcause and effect, action andreaction leading humanity, throughpainful stages, to a better world.

They (the mystic and student ofmetaphysics) will, as any true patriot,serve their country to the best of theirabilitywhether it be at home or withthe armed forces in the fighting arenas.Knowing it is only in the atmosphere ofliberty of thought and conscience thatthe creative spiritual faculties of mankind may truly develop, they will serveas best they can to bring about, first, the


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defeat of the powers of darkness thatwould enslave humanity under the yokeof unbridled dictatorship, and second,the re-establishment of faith, hope andcharity among their fellowmen.

One of the greatest of all mystic patriots was Benjamin Franklin, who wascalled by his contemporaries the keystone of the American arch of freedom.In closing my remarks, I shall give youtwo brief quotations from the writingsof Franklin.

When Franklin was sixteen years ofage he wrote, under the name of SilenceGogood, the following:

I am . . . a mortal enemy of arbitrarygovernment and unlimited power . . .I now take up a resolution to do for thefuture all that lies in my way for the

service of my countrymen.Near the end of his days, while thewar of liberation was still in progress,Franklin wrote:

Soon I must quit the scene, but youmay live to see our country flourish, asit will amazingly and rapidly after thewar is over, like a field of young Indiancorn. . . . The eyes of all Christendomare upon us, and our honor as a peopleis become a matter of the utmost consequence to be taken care of. If we giveup our rights in this contest, a centuryto come will not restore us to the opinionof the world. . . . Present inconveniencesare, therefore, to be borne with fortitude, and better times expected.

It has occurred to me that I might attempt to explain, in part, what I had inmind in making the statement that vastchanges in the thinking, conduct, andways of living of peoples over all theworld will be brought about by a remarkable influx of spiritual understanding and Cosmic inspiration.

The subject is far too broad to be explained fully at this time. However, wemay give attention to one of the important factors: scientific discovery andinvention.

O f all the great inventions of the pastthree thousand years which have contributed to a rapid advancement of mankind in supermundane understandingthat is, in a comprehension of things ofthe spiritthe majority of those inventions have been developed within thepast fifty years.

Let us name but a few of the discoveries and inventions of the past fiftyyears which are part of a Cosmic designto raise the thought and consciousnessof mankind to planes above the mundane: the X -ra y, radio-activity, the

electronic characteristics of the atoms,the discovery of radium, the development of radio transmission and reception, television, the quantum theory, thetheory of relativity, cosmic rays, the motion picture, the aeroplane, and others.

Observe the Cosmic pattern wovenwithin the lifetimes of the majority ofpersons now living.

It is now generally accepted that thematerial universe is a whirling, but orderly, arrangement of electronic energy spirit energy. Th e electronic concep

tion of the universe is exploding old beliefs and ideas concerning man and hisrelation to the universe. The realizationof the spirit naturethe etheric natureof matter has placed the conceptionof stomic solidity.

A revolution in mans thinking has,indeed, been in progress during the pastfifty yearsa revolution greater thanthe most radical would have dared predict a hundred years ago.

W ith the expanding horizon of mansunderstanding of the subtle forces of theuniverse, man has transformed the worldabout him'using his inventive geniusto make the etheric forces work for him.As a result we have seen the development in a half century of many inventions which, even though a large part ofmankind may not yet be fully aware ofit, bring us very much closer to God, inso far as our consciousness of God isconcerned.

When we appreciate, from an esoteric viewpoint, the significance of allthese things as a part of the Cosmicpatterndoing away with man's archaicconceptions of time, space and substancewe thrill with the expectation that weare at the threshold of still greaterthingsof a new world.

But, alas, there are many who refuseto see the light. Man kind is learning theCosmic lessons the hard way. Becausethe spiritual understanding of mankindhas not moved at a pace equal to hismaterial advancement, we find the worldin a state of confusion and turmoil.


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The signs are promising, however,that the time is at hand for the development of that spiritual unity which willbind humanity, not as slaves to the material, but as a channel for the true expression of Cosmic, Divine principles.

If, as is true, the discoveries and inventions of the past fifty years havecontributed to a greater revolution inmans attitude toward the universe thanthe discoveries and inventions of the

preceding thousand to three thousandyears, why should we not expect that inthe next fifty to one hundred years therewill be discoveries and inventions thatwill overshadow anything yet conceivedand bring us even closer to a consciousness of Godthe Prime Cause of theuniverse?

Changes in the thinking, conduct andways of living of mankind will follow asa natura] consequence.

R ei ncarna t i onI t s Possi bi l i t y B y F r a t e r L e r o y L . B e a c h

ANY persons, whoare familiar withthe subject of Reincarnation onlya s a b e l i e f o f"backward Orientals to be smiled

at, are apparentlyunaware that Reincarnation is themost logical answer to what occurs after death.

I f we assumethat that which has the power to thinkis a thing in itself, then there must follow the syllogism:

That which thinks is;I think;Therefore I Am.From this conclusion, I assume by

logic that I AM . I may eliminate mybody as an illusion, having no actualityat all, but that part of me which thinks,is a reliable entity because I know thatI AM.

W e have learned by exhaustive teststhat no matter can be created or destroyed. Are we to assume nature to"walk on one leg and say that mind

can be destroyed? Perhaps, if mindwere material brains alone, then it mostprobably would be destroyed as a thinking machine at death, as a motorwould cease to exist when it was disassembled.

Nevertheless, to quote Descartes, Ithink, therefore I am.

There have been six thousand yearsof man on earth according to Biblescriptures, and countless more thousands if we are to bestow any credulityon geological evidence. M y own present life span forms a miserably insignificant part of this great parade of time.

Since I ex is t N O W , a t thi s very moment, in this consciousness, at this t iny period, when the odd s are thousands to one tha t I should have ex is ted a t some previous or future time, then it fo llow s th at, by odds of thousands to one, I have always existed.

If I have always existed, i t is most unreasonable to assume that I shal l at any time cease to exist. If thousands to one odds is not good logic, then there is no logic.

Hence, the doctrine of Reincarnation If it shall be reduced to a doctrinebecomes very real to a reasoning mind.


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Christi anit y on Revi ew B y R a lp h M . L e w i s, F. R . C .

I m p e r a t o r A M O R C

P A R T I I

E T us understand j u s t w h a t t h i st r a n s f u s i o n o fNeo-platonism into the pure bloodstream of Christianity amo unt edto , tha t i s whateffect it had uponit. Plotinus, of 269A. D., is recognized as the chief exp o n e n t o f N e op la ton i sm. Neo

platonism is, in fact, a religious philosophy. T hat is, it embodies the aspects ofboth. It is conscious of the duality ofthe moral conflict within mans nature;the struggle which man continually experiences between two definite influencesthe power of evil and the power ofgood. Centuries before Neo-platonism,the early Zoroastrians, had recognizedthis same conflict, and they deified thegood forces in mans nature and in the

universe, in a being whom they referredto as Ovmuzd, the God of Light. Bycontrast, to them, the Demon of Darkness was Ahrim an. T he Neoplatonistsenlarged on this borrowed idea.

The physical body of man, being corporeal, possessed of passions and desires, and being transient, was evil. Ittherefore, was in contrast to the soul,which was conceived as the only g ood within mans nature. God. however, was

an absolute being, perfect and indefinable. Further, He was ineffable. Th erewere no words which could adequatelydescribe God. According to the Neoplatonists, God was unknowable. It wasimpossible for man, with his finite mindand consciousness, to have a conceptionof God which would be adequate, forman to attempt to know God would be,in fact, to limit God, to bring Him downto a sphere commensurate with the intelligence of a mortal. Further, to endeavor to put God into words or terms,and to define Him, would be to desecrate God. According then, to the Neoplatonists, we attain to God not bythinking of Him or defining Him, butrather by not endeavoring to know Himat all and permitting ourselves merelyto be enveloped in His spirit, to be absorbed into His nature. God, therefore,becomes to man a state of ecstasy, asublime feelin g a supreme emotion. Inother words He is attained througha process of mystic contemplation ormeditation.

Also to the Neo-platonists, God wasthe only real, the only definitely posit iv e reality in the universe. M en s bodies,the world, material things in fact, wereby contrast to God, negative. Th at is,they were not unreal, but less real. Thewhole Cosmos consisted of a hierarchalorder, with God as the apex of a pyramid, being the most real, the most positive, and from the apex downward to


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the base, things become less real, lesspositive.

The Neo-platonists explain this verybeautifully in their doct r ine of emana-tion. God is the central source of all,perfect, real, pure. He emanates throughout all space; but the further these emanations are from their source, like raysfrom the sun, the less real or less perfectthey become. The material world andman are the lowest of all, that is, theyare the most distant emanations fromthe center or from the source of God.Consequently, man has really fa ll en a w a y, according to this theory, from theperfection of God, from his own formerestate.

The only reminder within man of thattrue perfection which is of God, ismans soul. Consequently, by means of

and through the dictates of his soul,man must retrace his steps back to absorption into the nature of God. TheNeo-platonists contend that man is likea child, who, at an early age, has beentorn away from his parents. He nolonger knows them, and is not sure ofhis own identity, and consequently mustrestore himself. Th ese , then, are the essential influences of Neo-platonism uponChristianity.

The Bible, as we know it today, consists first of thirty-nine Books of theOld Testament. These are the canonicalscriptures of Judaism, that is, the oldcanons or laws of the Jews, written centuries before the advent of Christ. Thenthere are the twenty-seven Books of theNew Testament by the Apostles. Thesewere not written until the first centuryaf te r the Crucifixion of Christ. And aswell, there should be included the fourteen Books of the Apocrypha, the forbidden or secret books, which have as justifiable a place in the Bible as thosenow accepted, but which have been arbitrarily expurgated or condemned byecclesiastic councils. T he first copies ofthe Bible, that is, the Books of the OldTestament and the New combined, wereissued under the order of Constantinein 325 A. D. Therefore, we find that thefirst Christian Bible was not put intocirculation until over three centuriesafter Christ.

Except for its historical accounts, ifwe take the Bible literally, we find it tobe very diverse in its statements, con

flicting, and consequently confusing. Tocite one example, in Matthew, FifthChapter, verses 17 to 48, Jesus says thatHe came not to destroy, but rather tofulfill. However, in those verses He actually supersedes six fundamental principles of the Old Testament, Bookswhich had been written centuries beforeHis time.

However, on this occasion let us consider some of the most mystical doc-trines of Christianity, those which preserve its spirit, without regard for thecontroversies of the sects and the creedswith their various interpretations. First,let us inquire into the Christian conception of God. To Christians, God ismonotheistic. That is, He is a singledeity. H e is not a mind or consciousness, but actually, to them, a sovereign

personality, a ruling person . Even moreimportant, also from the strictly mystical point of view, is that God is lookedupon by Christians as a loving Father. If, therefore, He is a Father in His relationship to mankind, then all mortals areHis children. Now the relationship,therefore, between men and their Godfrom his viewpoint, is not just that of aCreator. It is not, for example, like aninventor and his machine, where hisproduct merely represents his idea orhis conceptions, but not his nature.Since mankind are the children of God,they are not only His Creation, but they

p ossess H is nat ure , His same qualities,His same divine essence. The y are ofHim, not merely the result of Him.

Further, according to this Christianconception, God is a king. He presidesover a kingdom, and He must be thesovereign ruler over the lives of men.He must influence their conduct amongthemselves. He should preside in spiritat least over their material affairs andrelations. He must not only exist in anexalted divine state, as He does in otherreligions, but as a governing influence inhuman society as well.

Next, let us inquire into the doctrineof atonement. Mo st all of the early religions, the theocrasies of Greece, thereligious cults o f Egypt even early Judaism, as is apparen t in the Books ofthe Old Testamentconceived God asbeing vengeful, a jealous God, a God ofwrath, one who upon occasion wouldexact penalties from evil-doers and sin-

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ners. In Christianity, a transition occurred. Th e individual must repent. Hemust feel contrite. He must sincerelyand honestly want forgiveness. Mo reimportant, from the mystical point ofview, is that he in turn must grant forgiveness to those who have wronged ortrespassed against him. It is not sufficient for an individual to ask for forgiveness from God, according to thisconception . He must also display thedivine compassion within his own nature by extending forgiveness to hisfellow mortals.

Further, according to this doctrine,God requires conformity to His laws.This is incumbent upon all mortals.W he n one violates a divine law, or, touse the common term, becomes a sinner,he robs God of His glory. T h at is, it isthe nature of God to be perfect andgood, and mans choice of an evil courseputs man in the position of opposing thenature of God, of endeavoring, whetherconsciously or unconsciously, to diminish the glory of God. From the point ofview of this doctrine, there is no punishment which can be imposed upon man,no sacrifices which he can make, nopenalties which can be exacted fromhim, which would satisfy God when hisnature has been opposed. Th ere is onlyone recourse repentance.

Now, also, from the viewpoint of this

doctrine, Jesus, a spiritual and sinlessbeing, a toned for man; namely, by Hislife, by His crucifixion. In other words,He made man conscious of his ownwrongdoing. He made apparent to manthe evil of his nature, and the need torectify it. In other words, Jesus broughtabout an at one ment for man, whichthe word atonement represents. Thisat-one-ment was a state of mans at-tunement with his God. Consequently,atonement is the restoring of man toGod, a harmonizing of his consciousness, his inner self, with his God.

Our next doctrine is incarnation. Jesusis declared the Son of God. T h e importance of this statement is that it impliesthe divine quality and nature of Godhas incarnated within Jesus body as amortal. As a Son of God, however, Heis not the equal of God, even though Hepossesses this divine essence. T he mindof God, to a limited extent as a law, wasimbued in the consciousness of Jesus.

[t

To that extent He became a law, adivine law unto Himself, to accomplishcertain things here on earth as a mission. Th is law of which He became,manifested within him at the time of theHoly Ghost. In other words, when theHoly Ghost descended upon Jesus, thenthat creative ability, that potentiality ofHis accomplishment here on earth, as alaw, occurred.

Now for the mystical conception ofthis doctrine. Man can also receive theLogos, can receive the law of GodsMind, and create and accomplish withina certain sphere here on earth. This divine quality can be incorporated in anymortal, and it is accomplished throughwhat the mystics term the experience ofCosmic Consciousness, which is merelyanother name for the Holy Ghos t. So

long as Cosmic Consciouusness periodically occurs, man is a Logos, that is adivine law, capable of doing what herealizes and experiences during such intervals of Cosmic Consciousness.

Still another important doctrine isthat of g race. Grace, from the Christianpoint of view, is the extension of Godslove. God 's love permeates the entireuniverse. It extends toward all mortalsalike, irrespective of creed, race, age, orsex. Further, this grace or love of Godnever diminishes and is the same for thesinner as it is for the disciple. God

never withdraws this divine love orcompassion for His children, from theChristian point of view. Men may fallout of grace, that is, they may fail toheed it, to recognize it, but it alwaysexists for them. Th is love of God forman exis ts within man's own soul. Hecan experience it only as he lives a lifeof the higher self, and abides by thevoice and dictates of his soul. Consequently, man can restore himself untothe grace of God, this all-pervading loveof God. by adhering to the nature ofHis own soul. It is not sufficient forman to have a knowledge of God, todiscourse upon God, to try to conceiveHis nature, to understand the relationship of God to His world; rather , manmust be possessed of the all-consuminglove of God. He must have that supreme emotion for his God, or he is notat one with Him. Fo r as man loves hisGod, according to the mystical point ofview, God loves Himself, because the

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soul of man by which he experiencessuch a higher love man is of the natureof God.

Perhaps one of the most appealing ofall the doctrines is that of resurrection. In most all religions and in many philosophies, the doctrine of resurrectionis related to still another, known aseschatology. Eschatology is the doctrineof ends, that is, concerning the end oflife, the end of mans body, the end ofhis soul, the end of mortal existence.Most all philosophies taught that therewas some element, some essence, somepart of mans nature which was immor-tal. Usually the soul was so proclaimed.Thus it was contended that after deathor transition, the soul would be resur-rected in a new body. Some of these religions and philosophies thought thisnew body in which the soul was to beresurrected would live again here onearth. Other s believed it would reside,clothed in a new personality, elsewhere,in another world or on other planes.

In Christianity, it was held that men,even as Jesus the Christ, would be resurrected. Th ey would then live in theKingdom of God. Th is does not necessarily mean, as often construed, thatmen would be resurrected to reside inthe same material bodies as they nowpossess. Rath er, the true Christian conception is, resurrection in a spiritual

body, meaning that there will come atime when man will have a new consciousness, a new inner life, a new vision, and he will be illuminated and willrelieve in that sense, like a ray of light,

having existence, and yet having notangible substance.

From the purely mystical conception,resurrection constitutes an awakeningof the consciousness of self , a realization of the inner nature, the dawning ofthe spiritual content of being, and a

subsequent reliving our lives as dictatedand motivated by our divine nature.Such resurrection does not have to comein an after- life; it may come right herein the same physical body, and therefore we can reside, to use the C

Documents

Rosicrucian Digest, March 1943