Diminishing Abilities

Children are soon taught in school to place entirely too much dependence upon their physical senses and upon the marvels of their brains. Infants who are just starting school are soon made to realize that their success in life and their prospects of reaching fame and wealth depend upon the development of their brains; all they hear about humans as a successful being is the importance of brain development. They come to think of people as being only brain and body. They hear such foolish statements referring to the importance of the five physical senses as "seeing is believing " and similar remarks. Likewise they have discovered during  their early childhood that whatever they have mentioned to described something which their inner sixth sense has revealed to them, they have been laughed at or ridiculed until they begin to think that perhaps only their imagination has been working or that they are peculiar in some way, and they do not want to be considered unusual.

Every child in the early years has a tendency to see lights and moving objects in a dark room, or even in a well-lighted room. At first these things seems to be perfectly natural to the child and they do not realize that they seeing something that adults do not see. Nevertheless, as children begin to speak of some of these things and describe things that they see or hear, they find that adults disagree with them or imagine these things. At first this a shock to the child. Consequently they decide to keep these things to themselves and say no more about them. Then , when school education begins, they do not hear other children speaking of these things( probably for the same reason that he or she does bot speak of them)but hears the teacher agree with what the parents have said about such things being unreal and imaginary. Children gradually develop the idea that they are seeing and hearing things in their imagination that no other child or living being has seen. This makes them believe either that they are mentally peculiar or in some way different and that they had better ignore such things in the future and become normal like all other people. From that time on the psychic faculty in a child is slowly reduced to a minimum.


In adults we find that personal vanity is regard to thinking is one of the great obstacle to the development of psychic senses. People are told all through their schooling to look upon brain development as the highest cultural asset, and they are made to understand that the person who uses their brain the most and who does the most thinking of an analytical nature, and who is the most careful and conservative in their reasoning, is the one who will have the the greatest success in life. It is pointed out by every teacher, by every book, by every system of modern guidance, that as people develops their brain and use it to the exclusion of every other means of intelligence, so will they become a dynamic power in the future and they soon learn that each man and woman should consider his or her own brain as the greatest asset in the world. I cannot help thinking at this moment of the foolish notion the Chinese people once had: namely , that the smallest foot was the most attractive feature that a woman could have. Therefore, they bound the feet and disfigured them, hoping this would attract admiration and attention.


Though strange to us, it is, after all, no more peculiar than the idea that people's brain are the most valuable asset they have and that it should be given a dominant place in all thinking. This sort of idea is what make millions of people believe that if they sit down and reason out something or analyse something, thereby arriving at an objective decision, their decision is superior and, therefore, the only safe guide in life. You can hear great men and women say, when talking to one another, that they are going to do this thing or that thing because the have " analysed it carefully and arrived at a very definite conclusion". According to them such a conclusion should be accepted by everyone else without question.


A problem in connection with business men and women in all walks of life is their reluctance to take anyone else's opinion or advice. People of this kind feel that their reasoning is superior. This is because they have probably tried to build up what the call will-power and thinking power. Generally they read a great deal in order to be familiar with a great many laws and principles of life, they read a great deal about travels, expeditions, history and so forth. Then, when they are face to face with a problem or a particular subject, they sit down and begin to think it over. They view the problem from every angel and allow their personal opinions and beliefs to speak out loud to them. Finally they come to some conclusion and no one in the world could change their opinion. They say to themselves that with their fine education and with their fine brain development they are capable of reaching a conclusion as perfectly sound as the conclusion of anybody else. It is as difficult to try to change the opinion of one these people as to try to move the mountain. These people will say to themselves when they are alone" my brain is clear, it is a good thinking brain; i know how to use it to think, therefore i do not see why i could decide about a matter or come to the conclusion about something without consulting anyone else."


Now when such people get a hunch or an impression, an urge or a message from the still small voice within, they ignore it. I have heard businessman say frankly, "Something inside seems to tell me that i should not make this investment but i have though it over carefully, using my analytical  brain to examine it , and have come to a conclusion. Since i cannot see why my reasoning should be wrong, i am going to follow my reason." This is typical of the vanity of men and women who place their brain faculties above their spiritual or psychic faculties. Why people do not discover more quickly than they do that they are often in error with thinking is a perplexing problem .

VALUE OF INTUITION :

When the great stock market crash occurred in the United States in October 1929, thousand, if not millions, of men and women discovered that their analystical thinking had been wrong. Perhaps a thousand more discovered that they would have been better off, had they listened to the hunch or voice that tried to urge them to do differently.Nevertheless, how many learned a lesson through that experience ? Perhaps most of the thousands who realized they should have listened to the small voice within forgot all about the experience in a few months and turned about and made some more investments, based upon their magnificent , vain thinking and analysis, only to learn that again they had made a mistake. The whole depression that lasted from 1929 to 1932 was a result of the constant dependence that many thousands of people put upon their objective, analytical reasoning.

Although this small voice has many names and many ways of manifesting itself, i shall not deal with these manifestations at present but with the source of knowledge which this small voice seems to have. Granting that the small voice of intuition does give us valuable hints at times, the natural question is, "where does this knowledge come from?''

Through analysis of the intuitive or inspiration faculty of the small voice within us, we find it must be a part of the Universal Consciousness dwelling within us. This Universal Consciousness we can call Cosmic Consciousness, psychic consciousness, inspiration or anything we please,but it is very evident that the source of its knowledge is outside our objective brain faculties. We can see that analytical reasoning has its source of knowledge inside our brain faculties, while the still, small voice has its source of knowledge outside those brain faculties.

Here at once we see that there are two sources of knowledge entirely different and from different sources which are, therefore, in constant contest of supremacy.


As we develop this inner faculty of intuition and learn to listen to it and be guided by it, we sense gradually how it obtains it information . Through these experiences we have learned that the source of this psychic knowledge is the Universal Mind. This lead us to the next important study, namely, that which constitutes the Universal Mind. Before going into that subject, which is a very deep and interesting one, i want to stop long enough to outline a simple way in which you can begin right now to strengthen and increase the functioning of that psychic voice or knowledge before it is too late and before it becomes inactive within you. Fortunately for us, we have some very excellent advice in the regard given to us by the great Masters of the past. Each of them, after long experience and investigation, discovered the same fact, that the only way to quicken, awaken and strengthen the action of the inner voice was by turning outward thoughts inward.

Cosmic Consciousness

What is Cosmic Consciousness? This matter is dealt with at length at certain stage in mystic teachings, and is also touched upon repeated from that point on. However. it such a crucially important matter that there can be no harm in discussing it in this blog, regardless of the degree of spiritual evolution reached by the reader.

Cosmic Consciousness is a condition of attuned consciousness wherein the inner, psychic consciousness of the individual is so attuned and in harmony with the universal Mind, the" Consciousness of God" if you will, that one feels one is intimately a part of it. With Cosmic Consciousness comes the ability to see the "essence" of things or at least to perceive a deeper aspect of everything that exists. The initiate sees with the "all seeing eye" and hears with the "omnipotent ear" of God. One feels with the Divine Consciousness of God and senses everything, everywhere to some degree. The more complete the degree of attainment of Cosmic Consciousness, the more thorough, complete and all inclusive are the contacts with this Universal Consciousness.

Of Course there is no question that any human being or for that matter, any living creature could fully experience the" Mind of God". Nevertheless, it is possible to experience a sudden afflatus of the soul which appears overwhelmingly as though one had left the confines of one's normal human existence and entered the mind and even the sensory experience of something so great and all-inclusive that for want of a better description, it can be called God. There is no use quibbling about semantics; the experience is clearly and definitely one of a distinct entry into one's life of the most Holy and intimate of forces in the universe, something that no person could describe in terms other than "my God."


When in the state of high attunement with the Mind of God, everything takes on meaning. There is a bright, sharp, crystal-clear purpose, system and order to all that one surveys. Even things that formerly appeared to be disordered are seen as filled to the brim with meaning, subtlety, beauty and hidden order that entirely overwhelms one. Everything seems alive and even inanimate things like stones, the random distribution of rocks in a stream or peeling paint surfaces on dirty old warehouse, suddenly seem to be breathing and vibrating with a form of higher life and purpose that can hardly be spoke of.


The initial experience can last anything from a few seconds to several minutes, and then it recedes, leaving the initiate to savor the moment and grasp in memory, intellectually, emotionally and even physically, as much of the  experience as possible. The most important aspect of the experience to remember is the emotional and bodily reaction, for by deliberately attempting to induce that emotional and physical reaction, Cosmic Consciousness can be invited to enter the initiate's life again and again, until the experience can be had literally for the asking. The summoning of Cosmic Consciousness is in itself a deeply personal technique which every mystic needs eventually to learn. Precisely how the initiate goes about it, next, but it does involve moving one's full concentrated awareness into a specific inner posture which is so configured as to allow the initiate's awareness to soar far beyond the confines of human existence, into the most Divine realm imaginable.

In simplistic terms, the initiates begins to think as God thinks(if indeed such a phrase has any meaning )...., to understand as God understands..., to comprehend, analyse and accept in the same impartial, kindly, tolerant and constructive manner that God understands and accepts everything. It does away with racial distinctions, national boundaries, creeds and doctrinal limitations. It keeps the thought of the brain and outer consciousness from being earthbound, and encourage an upward and onward viewpoint of life. It causes the mind to be inspired with beautiful thoughts that may express themselves in magnificent phrases of philosophy, or in kindly word spoken to the unfortunate. It brings a joy of divine living into the heart to such an extent that the lips want to smile and the eyes greet with happiness every living thing, especially other human beings.

Cosmic Consciousness brings music to the mind from the so-called "music of the sphere" and leads to the desire to paint beautiful pictures, compose beautiful music, carve beautiful statuary, say kind words to those in need, help whoever needs it, and pour blessing upon blessing upon the world. It brings a healing power into the body that is creative and constructive, both for the initiate and others within karmic proximity. It fortifies the body and consciousness against the intrusion of illness of any sort,and the will of the Cosmic Mind is allowed to manifest in every aspect of daily living... eating, drinking, sleeping, exercise and work.

Eventually it leads the initiate into association with others who are also at that level of development, and work of highly important and spiritual nature is begun. Contemplation and meditation is ordered, methodical, disciplined and profoundly deep. Happiness and sheer joy are the initiate's frequent companions in every endeavor. The "still small voice within" speaks clearly and unambiguously of everything the initiate still has to learn, and instruction of the most spiritual sort begins.

Wonderful friendships are formed, and there is a contented,cheery outlook on life as the initiate calmly and deliberately assists others and him or herself to succeed in tasks that ordinary mortals would not even consider getting involved with. An experience of Cosmic Consciousness, even very briefly, makes us love human beings as never before. It makes every person a brother or sister for us, and brings us closer than ever to the God of our understanding, which is frequently experienced as an all loving, all wise Father, we see the good in all things, even in what we would normally consider as "evil."

All this comes from repeated exposure to Cosmic Consciousness. Gradually, step be step,degree be degree, as this Consciousness is awakened in us and can be called upon with greater and greater ease, we begin to truly master our lives.

The Final step is what mystics call Illumination, the final step of merging permanently the consciousness of the initiate with Cosmic Consciousness. From this vantage point, there is no stepping back, and no further need to incarnate in this world.

The experience of Cosmic Consciousness is something so definite, so positive, so different and real that it is unmistakable. Anyone experiencing it will know without a shadow of a doubt what they have just gone through. In religious traditions, such individuals often go on to be venerated as holy men and women and saints, even though they themselves seek no veneration, and in some cases are even persecuted as heretics and deviants. Cosmic conscious is so powerful and clear and yet so intangible, immaterial and unconfined that it is difficult to describe or to bring into the lives of those who are not ready for it.

For true aspirants of the mystic way however, it is the highest and most sought after treasure, the summum bonum of all spiritual seeking, that most precious of all treasure there is, the philosopher's stone.

Four Stages of Spiritual Evolution

Whether they are aware of it of not, human being evolve from ignorance to knowledge, or, as Platinus describe it, from non-being to Being. But this evolution, begun eons ago in time and everywhere in space, can occur only in gradual stages, each of which corresponds to a different approach to the same Universal Truth. Thus, humans are initially beings of belief for many incarnations. Progressively, they open up to intelligence and become "beings of learning". Continuing their inner development, they attain a higher state and become identified with beings of knowledge'. Finally, after successive incarnations, and in the final stage of their earthly experience, they appear as" beings of wisdom". Then, and only then, do they participate in the intelligence of Being and manifest its attributes in each of their thoughts, words and actions. Having attained this state of spiritual elevation, they can be considered as half human, half god, because they are truly Agent of Divinity. such is the cosmic destiny of incarnated human beings.

What are beings of belief? Individuals at this level of understanding are not the authors of their ideas and they lack personality, for they are young souls on the evolutionary path. They limit themselves to thinking as they were taught and are not aware of such limitations. Their lives are based, for the most part, on principles and dogmas inculcated in them during infancy. Without ever questioning such principles and dogmas, they use them, on the contrary, to argue in favor of their own opinions and to convince those who do not share them. Thus, what they believe constitutes not only their truth, but also the truth they would want to impose on others. Beings of belief thus carry within themselves the seeds of intolerance, even fanaticism, because they deny all creeds which are not in keeping with their, in both the social and religious field. Even worse, they fight against these, sometimes even in the name of God. Although this state is prejudicial to the collective well-being, it is a natural stage in the individual process of human evolution. It will continue as long as the belief of human beings differ from Divine Truth.


Beings of learning are superior to beings of belief, in that they make a personal effort to understand what is still unknown to them. it is true that they effort to understand what is still unknown to them. it is true that they continue to be influenced by creeds inculcated in them, but they feel the need to verify for themselves their validity and do not hesitate to challenge them if they have the slightest doubt. It is often difficult to challenge their creeds since they need to transcend their prejudices and accept the idea that they might have been mistaken, perhaps throughout their life. However. knowing that one has been mistaken is in itself proof of intelligence and inner awakening, for it means that one has understood that there exists a truth other than the one in which we have believed. It is the search of this other truth which urges beings of learning to learn more about themselves and about the mysteries surrounding them, until they have the profound conviction that true knowledge is found neither in books nor in the words of the learned. Thereupon, by being freed from themselves and from their old belief and impelled by the will to elevate themselves, they can finally be born to knowledge.

But what are beings of knowledge? They are the one who are convinced of the existence of God and who study the mysteries inaccessible to non-initiates. what they seek to know are not the things of the world, for these are transitory and secondary compared to what is eternal and essential. Rather, beings of knowledge are interested in the laws which govern the Spiritual Kingdom and all that contributes to the evolution of the human soul. Seeking such transcendental knowledge, they aspire with all their being to receive the initiation which will enlighten their mind with Divine Light. Having been initiated by their own inner Master, they measure the poverty of their old belief and the limits of all the things they have worked so hard to learn. They also understand that what they still do not grasp. But this feeling of ignorance does not overwhelm their soul, for it rejoices in having finally inspired in them the desire to become wise. It knows that the fulfillment of this desire will make them beings of wisdom.

Verily, few are beings of wisdom, for wisdom is the mastery of knowledge. To be wise is therefore to apply one's knowledge, to know perfectly what we know, and to know that what we believe complies with the one and only Truth. Only the master combine these conditions and posses the wisdom of the wise. Nonetheless the perfection of these beings of light, although absolute compared to the state of consciousness of being of belief, is relative in comparison to Divine Perfection. Thus, although having received the illumination to which all mystic aspire, they continue a form of evolution based on laws inaccessible to the intelligence of incarnated beings. Certainly, they have been freed from the cycle of reincarnation and have gained the mastery of life, because they have permanently sublimated their ego and are no longer subject to the imperfection inherent to ordinary mortals. However, they must still progress on the path of Reintegration and draw nearer to God, until the final moment when they become one with god forever.

On the spiritual plane, beings of belief are ignorant , for they do not attempt to know on their own the meaning of their destiny and are far from true spirituality, their concept of God is often primitive and their manner of worship is always tinged with superstition. As the name indicates, beings of learning are learned. But they have not awakened to spirituality and do not let their heart speak; and does not inspire them with noble feelings. For their part, being of knowledge are philosophers who, through the love of wisdom, aspire with all their soul to acquire the knowledge of life. The search for Absolute Truth has become for them a vital need and constitutes the sole aim of their existence. Finally, beings of wisdom are precisely those who have found this Absolute Truth. As such, they are theosophers in that they possess Divine Wisdom which the Greek philosopher called " Theosophy ". Therefore, as perpetuated in mystic tradition, is the ultimate aim of the human quest and constitutes the summum bonum of cosmic initiation.

THE THIRD EYE

QUESTION: When the third eye develops, does it do so physically? if an autopsy were performed on a person with a developed third eye, would it look different from an undeveloped one ? Exactly what is the function of the third eye? How does it aid us in our psychic development ?

The origin of the legend of a third eye is probably related to two every special glands inside the brain: the pituitary gland, located just about the bridge of the nose between the eyes and about 3cm inside the brain..., and the pineal gland, located behind the third ventricle of the brain, literally in the centre of the head. Of the two, the "third eye" manifests to us visually through the pituitary. In other words it is the pituitary  that converts the signals into frequencies that the visual part of the brain can interpret as sight. The greatest power of the "third eye" however, emanates from the pineal gland and manifests through all five physical senses and not sight alone.

The pineal gland was called the "seat of the soul" by the 17th  Century French philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes, for it really is the premier area of our being through which we communicate with the soul. The pituitary gland, and indeed all other glands, are in a sense "subordinate" to the pineal gland in that it has a narrower band of operation (sight only), but it is no less important. The pituitary is the true original "third eye" as it operates or superimpose its activity exclusively through of the sense of sigh, whereas the pineal operates through all our sense and uses the pituitary as an overlay for its operations in the area of sight. The rest of this article will therefore be devoted to the pineal gland, as it truly is the controller of all glands..., the master gland ..., the 'seat of the soul", even though it is strictly not the "the third eye' itself. As the controller behind the scenes of all our psychic experiences it is therefore central to any discussion of the third eye.

There are specific physical functions associated with all glands, and although they are not fully understood, they are crucial to our physical and especially our mental wellbeing. The very manner in which we behave, indeed the very thoughts we harbour are intimately linked to the secretions of our glands. As legend has it, the pituitary gland once caused a cyclopic protrusion on the forehead, giving a superior faculty of perception to its possessor, and a relative of the pituitary gland still exists as an eyelike structure in certain reptiles.


The pineal gland takes its name from its pine cone shape. In Rosicrucian ontology , the pineal gland serves as a sense organ allowing the perception of vibratory frequencies far removed from the frequencies we perceive with our normal five objective sense faculties. Not only does it manifest to us through our normal five sense faculties, so to speak overlaying its perceptions over those faculties, it can also be seen as a completely separate sense altogether, a sort of sixth sense completely different and a whole lot more subtle that our other five receptor senses. As a sense faculty, the pineal is much more than just an extension of normal sight, or hearing, or smelling, etc. The whole experience of life is enhanced and somehow given a additional quality as these different cluster of energy are interpreted by our five senses in ways not normally experienced. Furthermore, it brings new concepts into our consciousness, answers old questions, channel inspiration from the Cosmic mind, and inspires us with creativity and other mental phenomena. "Seat of the soul' truly is a perfect label for this crucial gland.

At one time in history, the third eye may well have been more highly developed than at present. It may have been physically larger, more intricately constructed, and operated far more efficiently than it does today. The reason for its deterioration over the millennia is open to speculation, but with the rise of the human intellect, its primary function of protecting the individual from harm may, through its ability to perceive things happening outside of the normal "physical' senses receptors, have lessened , causing a slow atrophying of the gland. Another, less likely, reason could have been a voluntary disassociation with this faculty, a deliberate rejection of its capabilities far in our prehistoric past.

The pineal gland has a crucial physical purpose to play in the body as it secretes certain hormones which regulate our behaviour and perception of events. In a very literal sense, it is responsible for the moods we have. It causes us to feel the way we feel about things, and causes us to make the decisions we make. Of course this is not to say that it such a controller of our affairs that we have no free will, but we use it subconsciously in fundamentally important ways to give ourselves  the feeling and thoughts necessary to accomplish what we wish to accomplish in life. So much for the physical and mental functions and influences of the pineal; the psychic influences are also a relatively new discovery. With our present state of knowledge about the non-physical purpose of the pineal gland, its most useful non-biological function lies in its ability to coax out outer awareness, the awareness of the outer personality, to an ever great awareness of the Universal Mind.

As a superior sense faculty, it permits us to perceive impression of a do-called "psychic" nature, gaining us admission to the thoughts and mental states of other human and non-human creatures, as well as states of consciousness completely alien to human life. Attunement with the Cosmic Mind through the pineal gland is far its most important mystical function, and some mystic orders in particular are encourage to work diligently and steadily with it. In practice, the pineal translates the faintly discernible energies of the "psychic realm" into understandable imagery and perceivable thoughts, all in terms of our five normal sense faculties .

This is much the same as the function performed by our objective sense organs, such as the eyes or ears, that transform physical frequencies into the sight and sounds of our everyday experience. The key to any perception is not the perception itself, but the manner in which the various energies are grouped or "clustered " in ways that our normal five senses can perceive and apply meaning to . If the energies involved could not be clustered in the way, if it were not possible for the pineal to enhance some frequencies and dampen down others in order to accomplish clusterings that are familiar to our five senses, we would perceive nothing of consequences.

Development of the pineal gland does not necessarily mean development of its physical size, and no amount of "development' or wishing can affect its physical structure in a single lifetime. Initial development simply uses the existing, already highly refined structure as best as possible, but generations of targeted development will undoubtedly lead to human beings with more physically developed pineal glands in due course. That is however far beyond our scope in the present. We have a tool of already great sophistication and merely need to put it to good sue. As an analogy, we have a perfectly good instrument in the piano and can become experts in its use but a piano will never have the versatility of an electronic piano that can mimic anything from a great cathedral organ to the chirping of crickets. Nevertheless, is it not still worth our while learning to play an ordinary piano ? It most certainly is !

Do Stars Influence Us?

The ancient Babylonians and Chaldeans believed there was a universal correspondence between celestial phenomena such as the visible plants, the fixed stars, the moon and sun, and  the earth itself, and human worldly events. The visible planets in particular were wrapped in mythology, usually seen as heroic beings and gods, each having a particular realm of influence.And quite understandably, ancient people believed there was a direct relationship between these celestial bodies and the human realm. What people did on a daily basis was influenced by what happened in the skies.

     Whatever occurred in the heaven was bound to have consequences in earth. The principle of correspondence ensured that whatever occurred as deeds or even as thoughts upon the part of the celestial power resulted in corresponding responses in human affairs. This constituted a theory of transference of the imagined powers, habits and acts from the celestial beings and planets, to mortals themselves .


      Among these ancient people, much of what is know as natural phenomena was considered to be of teleological origin, that is, as having a mind-cause. The phenomena were not thought of as functions of impersonal natural law, but rather as the conscious acts of personalities associated with the planets, the sun , the moon and the occasional comet. In ancient astrology therefore, these celestial bodies intentionally influence human beings to do their bidding.


    This concept of teleological influence gradually changed so that the celestial influence was thought to be wholly naturalistic, with each planet have certain inherent qualities which could be either modified or intensified when the planet was brought into a conjunction or certain relationship with others. These influences were less capricious than in the past, and in the human realm, system and order reigned for as long as the now predicable celestial powers were obeyed.

     The principle of correspondence remained and as human lives were related to the apparent movement of the planets, depending upon the prevailing influence of the planets under which they were born, people were consequently affected in their earthly affairs by this celestial interrelationship .


ASTROLOGY

For millennia, the most learned among philosophers, naturalist , temple scribes and priests devoted their lives to the study of astrology, placing  their entire faith in the art of reading the stars. Clearly they discovered something deeply satisfying in their investigation, and in some cases developed highly accurate methods of character analysis based upon the birth date and time of the individuals they dealt with. We have no objective means of gauging the accuracy of their methods, but what is certain is that their  activities and preoccupations with linking events in the skies with events on earth, were viewed with respect by most people.

     An almost insuperable fatalism developed over the millennia, to the extent that people came to deny their own judgements and conclusions in yielding to the expounding influences of the movements of the planets. Even today, especially in extreme cases, if the aspect of the stars are not favourable, some people will avoid undertaking a venture no matter what that circumstances or what their own reason dictates. This is not a criticism, for their faith in the predictions given by astrology could easily be self-fulfiling prophecies which definitely should in that case not be ignored. But in extreme cases, such people are submitting their intellects and wills to a conceived naturalistic power which exercise complete control over every department of their lives, down to the tiniest of daily trivia. Most modern astrologers insist however that the planets incline things to happen in certain ways but do not necessary compel them to. In other word, they acknowledge that in most circumstances, we have power to overcome the planetary forces that form the basis of the art of astrology.

   Astrology is one of the oldest consistent belief in the history of humanity. How factual are its doctrines? Is it merely an age-old superstition, the shadow of an era of greater credulity ? the ancient Sumerians are generally recognised as the first astronomers. They studied the apparent movement of the visible planets,the moon and the son, and assigned various natural phenomena to them. They saw how the sun rose and set each day with precision, changing over 365 days in never ending cycles. They worked out the exact period of the lunar month and notice how various aspect of human, animals and plant life was affected by the moon's cyclical motion. Some plants seemed to speed up and slow down in their orbits, and explanations were undoubtedly given for this in mythological terms.

     They noted the different position of the stars at various times of the year and observer the helical or strange rising of various fixed stars at dawn and at periodic intervals. They studied the phases of the moon and began speculate on the relationship of these phases to the tides and to functions common to reproduction. Since these physical forces and conditions affected the seasons, it was presumed they must influence all life.

      With the celestial bodies undoubtedly being connected with the seasons, and the seasons in turn being the most dominant physical influence on life on earth, it is no wonder then that charting and applying meaning to the motions of the celestial bodies, including the occasional comet or supernova, was such an important and respected art. Thanks to the record they inscribed on clay tablets, we have today a reasonable understanding of the astrological beliefs of the ancient of the so-called "fertile crescent " which encompasses modern day Iraq and Syria.

HIDDEN INFLUENCES ?

Since the sun and moon can cause such huge phenomena as the ocean's tides, it stands to reason that they could also in subtle ways affect the human nervous systems too. Because of their gravitational pull. do they in any way retard or stimulate the flow of nervous energy? Or the two, the moon is by far the most dominant when causing tides. Does the moon alter, even minutely , they transmission of information along neural pathway?  If the moon's phases, not necessary its gravitic influences, but its reflection of sunlight, have some effect on plant life, then it almost certainly influences cycles of biological activity in humans too.

   Minute periodic changes in our neural constitution , caused by the phases of the moon, have already been proven to affect our glandular functions at different times of the lunar month. The lunar cycle are of course competing  with other biological cycles, most of them more dominant than that lunar cycle; but the human body seems to have an extremely fine-tuned sensitivity specifically to the lunar cycle, and through all the clutter and noise of other biological cycles in the body, the moon still has its noticeable effect. And if the moon can have such powerful effect on us, it is conceivable that humans, as well as other life forms on earth have evolved similar critical sensitivities to the movements and alignments of the planets as well.

    It is no longer an old wives'tale that the phase of the moon have an effect on the growth of plants, and indeed on the biological activity in all living things. But the extent of the effect, and specifically the effect of the planets, is the central issue behind astrology as an interpretive and therefore subjective art, and astronomy and biology as objective sciences.This is not to say that astrology is entirely wrong simply because it relies to a large extent on subjective interpretation, for there have been many historical astrologers who were not only accurate in their long-range predictions, but were also successful in their diagnoses of current events, and were even successful healers.

    No intelligent person doubts that there are at the very least gravitational influence exerted upon the earth by the planets, the moon and the sun. Science concerns itself with provable facts and repeatable experiments, and there can be no  arguments against the objective findings of scientific  enquiry. However, an intuitive art like astrology, although relying to an extent on the science of astronomy, relies also on intuition and on the undoubted human ability to partially see what broad trends are in current motion and therefore what events are likely to happen in the future. That astrology can drill down from the generality of long-range predictions to daily predictions of minutes details and exactness is however , perhaps a step too far.


     And even if we believe in astrology's long-term influences, can we seriously believe that people, based purely on the time of year they are born, are fated to fall into various rough classes of individual such as aggressive, competitive, harmful, etc..,or philosophical, accommodating or even mystical? That is one thing science cannot answer, though i must say that from personal experience, i have not the slightest doubt that people born in the 12 houses of this year, do indeed exhibit 12 broadly different personality types. This may sound stupid, coming as it does from a person who adores the rigour of scientific enquiry, but what can i do but state honestly and from the heart, i have seen this work time after time with great exactitude, and i am as as puzzled today as to why this should be, as i was twenty years ago when i first began my enquiry into astrology .

   To conclude: I believe in science, i believe in the supremacy of objective observation, i believe in the conclusion derived from serious scientific enquiry , and have full confidence in their conclusion. But i also have an irrational belief...., one i cannot explain, but hold to firmly on the basis of a lifetime of observation. The predictions of astrology are for me not the type that tell you what you are likely to encounter each day, but the type that paints in rough strokes what sort of person you are, what sort of things you are likely to achieve in life, and what dangers you likely to encounter.

     There is i believe a happy medium between the rigorous honesty of science and the intuitive, interpretive art of astrology. Science cannot be argued against, for it speaks the universal truth. But equally i can say that science cannot argue against the intuitive conclusion of experienced astrologers either, for no rational enquiry has yet discovered the precise nature and mechanism of the operation of the intuitive faculty in the human being, a faculty that has existed always, and served us well in our struggle to survive .

DO ANIMALS HAVE SOULS?

QUESTION: There must be a point where the sort of awareness of self which seems to separate human beings from the vast majority of other animals, breaks through. If a line is drawn between simple consciousness and self-consciousness, there must be some creatures who are approaching that line, domestic animals chiefly and surely a few who have passed the line. How far down the line of evolution does reincarnation manifest?


Over the course of history, societies have at times believed that animals posses individual souls and at other times that they have no soul. Ancient Egypt had several religious cults espousing that belief that animals(or at least some of them) not only had individual souls, but repeatedly reincarnated into the world as well. In some parts of the world, animals are still worshiped as sacred entities and are thought to have souls. So for example, in some temple courtyards in Nepal and India, monkeys are revered as sacred animals and thought to have an inherent divinity exceeding that of the average human.

We may think of such belief as originating with superstitious, primitive cults, but is there any justification in believing that any living thing is devoid of a soul that migrates from one incarnation to the next over aeons of time? Is it really possible that a thinking, or at least consciously aware, creature can have consciousness one moment and the next moment have it snuffed out from all eternity?Nature does things in the most economical and practical ways possible..., always! The question then arises: If the consciousness of sentient being is so difficult to create ( and it surely is ), would nature simple dispose of that consciousness for all time at transition simply because the processes of life generation are so well oiled and functioning so well in the universe that losing one unit of consciousness here or there would make little difference in the overall scheme of things?

The concept of an animal being able to exist in the world but not possess an individual soul seems to the mystic as being rather odd. It stems primarily from the Judaeo-Christian-Islamic stream of religious beliefs. This so called "Abrahamic " tradition speaks of an original and unique creation of humanity some time in the distant past by an anthropomorphic God who bestowed a uniquely purposed divine essence and individual souls on human beings alone, leaving out all other living creatures .....indeed making all other creatures subservient to the human species, and leaving these poor creatures at the whim and fancy of human beings, no matter how cruel. The holy writings of the Abrahamic tradition are used as sources of irrefutable reference by Jews, Christians and Muslims, not to be questioned and to be adhered to literally and often with blind faith.Historically though, all these writings, from a rational standpoint, must have been compiled by human minds..., admittedly some of them deeply inspired in a spiritual sense, but nevertheless still ordinary, fillible, human minds. For them, they have their "holy scriptures," they are the "word of God" and are therefore beyond reproach. In the cold light of rational thought and analysis, they are human created concepts, highly syncretic in nature, sometimes compassionate and spiritual, but at other times sometimes brutal and barbaric, and being derived from many sources. So if we accept their holy scriptures as infallible and absolutely true, then there is no further discourse possible upon the subject of souls in animals and their reincarnation. However, if we look at the matter free of any theological or doctrinal bondage, then the question is open to an interesting consideration.

Taking the principle one by one,we must first acknowledge that human beings are first and foremost animals..., highly evolved animals to be sure, yet still sharing many traits with other animals. It is said that we share over 95% of our genes with chimpanzees and even more so with Orangutans. looking at the primates as the frolic and play in their natural habitat, one cannot help but be deeply moved by the many similarities we see between then and human children for example. Or look at the devotion that a bitch shows towards its litter of pups and we see a kindness and gentleness that sure can only come from the spiritual realms. If you have ever owned a bird such as an African Grey parrot, you will know that such birds live to over 50 years, have distinct personalities and are capable of almost superhuman affection. Surely such traits cannot exist in creatures with no link at all with soul? Surely such creatures are the same as us in possessing individual souls, but expressing their soul personalities in different ways from us?


The second principle involves the theory of existence. How does consciousness arise? In mystic ontology, it is a result of the union of two complimentary though relatively opposite principle or energies, both arising from a supreme actuality called Nous,or as it has also been called the Monad. The two principle are called Soul, which is the repository of information, purpose and meaning, and spirit, which is the basic "center wave " upon which Soul modulates that information, purpose and meaning, thereby resulting in the manifestation of living sentient being.

The third principle relates to the degree of consciousness of the sentient being whether a human being, a dog, cat, parrot, dolphin or mouse. All living creatures have at the very least, an awareness or consciousness of some sort. In the vast majority of case, that consciousness does not extend beyond simple awareness of pleasure or pain, and it is natural that the creatures involved will always gravitate towards experience of pleasure and move away from experiences of pain.

Beyond that, there is a small minority of living things that have sense organs such as sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, as well as other senses not possessed by humans such as the Ampulse of Lorenzini possessed by all sharks which gave them the ability to sense the electromagnetic disturbances given off by the muscular activity of other living creatures. This minority of creatures(numbering many billions, yet still very much in the minority) are akin to human in so for as they can interact with the world "out there" much as we do through well developed sense organs.

Then there is a much, much smaller fraction of living creatures on each that posses what is call self awareness, namely awareness of identity and of a difference between them and all other things. All the usual creatures we know, ranging from mice to elephants and sea-lions to whales, have this awareness of their identity.And then is the extremely tiny fraction of those creatures that have awareness of the fact that they have consciousness and are able to think about their own mental processes. This last category may only include human beings, but it is likely that some forms of self awareness also exists in the higher primates such as gorillas , chimpanzees and orangutans , and maybe even in dogs.

This is speculative though and so fat there is no proof either way. All we do know with certainty however, is that humans do posses this level of consciousness, and it is precisely because the dominant and by far the most successful species on earth.

With all there different life forms, consciousness emerges in essentially the same manner, namely with the union of two principle or force..., Soul and Spirit. And in every case, the controlling force or principle of Soul is individualized as a unique soul. Does a dog therefore have a soul? you bet it does! Does your pet parrot have soul? Of course it does! And furthermore, your soul interacts with the souls of non-human creatures all around you every day. The beauty of a bird twittering in the trees, the barking of a dog three blocks away, the yawn of a cat as it stares at you with adoring eyes..., these are all souls, individual soul that are karmically tied to your soul, and assist you in your evolution just as you assist them in theirs.

Will they evolve to higher and higher level consciousness, one day maybe even reaching the awareness of the human mind? Most likely they will, but not in the time scale that humans can understand, and most likely not incarnated in the same world we will inhabit as we go from life to life in our own process of evolution.

The sanctity of these hundreds or thousands of soul that we are so privileged to know, that wander through life with us, sharing its fortunes and misfortunes..., permeates and instructs us from deep within, far below the level of objective awareness, and help to make us the self-aware, spiritual beings we are.

What would the world be like without these furry, fluffy, slithery friends, all of which have individual soul ties for time to our souls? Sad to say, at the rate we are destroying our planet at the moment, even in our lifetimes, we may yet find the sad answer to that question .

NOUS, SOUL AND SPIRIT

For an atheist, the material world, as it appears to him or her, is the only reality there is; and there is a presumed assumption that the personal reality of one person is the same as that of all others. For a mystic, the material manifestation of the world is only one among millions of slightly different personal realities of much deeper realities, each of which ultimately have but a single "non-material"actuality .


My philosophy is fundamentally mystical in nature and states that the old platonic concept of Nous is the most fundamental of all manifestation of the universe. Nous is the actuality that precedes the manifestation of the universe, and is also what will continue to exist after the universe has ceased to exist. Nous express itself in two different forms or polarities. One is called spirit, ,loosely also referred to as or "Spirit energy," and is both the force fields and the clusters of forces that underlie all expression of mater and energy. The other phase of Nous known to living things is called Soul or the Vital Life Force, loosely also referred as Soul energy, and is the source of the individual soul that each human being possesses.

My philosophy and mysticism in general therefore go deeper than the purely atheistic concept of reality. It does not claim that Vital Life Force or Soul in the ultimate reality. Nor does it claim that Spirit, whether condensed as matter or manifesting as energy, is the ultimate reality. In mystical terminology, the ultimate reality is the Cosmic itself and Nous is the highest manifestation that anything in the universe can ever know. Mind is an expression of Vital Life Force and matter is an expression of Spirit, but both are manifestation of a much deeper actuality called Nous.

To the materialist, the self exist only as long as the physical body exists. For the mystic however, the self, or more precisely some aspects of the inner self associated with the individual soul, survives life on earth. When the body dies, some individual repository of information and experience continues, existing with a form of consciousness we cannot understand. The physical body renews itself constantly throughout life. Most of its cell have relatively short-life-spans, and others, such as in the brain, live for decades. But all cells ultimately die and their absence triggers cells of their own kind to generate new ones. But there is something linked to yet quite apart from the physical body. It is the ultimate repository of our memories and record of experience. What it is, probably very few can accurately tell, but whatever it is, it contains our complete karmic history and ensures that we will compensate for our former actions in the best way possible to learn from our mistakes.

Something has been with us from birth...., a continuous entity that is not part of the material body, yet intimately tied to it. The physical body is a temporary vehicle for the expression of the soul, a soul that predates the existence of the physical body and will go on after the physical body has ceased to exist. The Inner Self then, as a manifestation of the soul, has continuity. It comes from the source of life and eventually returns to it. In the meantime it is incarnated into various physical vehicles that are in a constant state of change. A part of the experience of the soul is to manifest through the medium of those material changes.

LOVE

Love has probably been written about more than any other word in any language. It is represented as the best solution to almost all problems and since it is as old as the human species itself, a considerable amount of experience has been gathered about it. Although one aspect of it has been irrevocably bound to the to the perpetuation of the species, its complete function and potential power seem to remain little understood. It is for this reason that i dare to add yet another commentary on love. I do not expect to add anything new, for there is nothing new, for there is nothing new on the subject, but i hope at least to focus attention on certain aspects of the subject with the aim that perhaps i can increase awareness of it within us.

Undoubtedly, the most understood or, rather, most recognized aspect of love is that which is expressed in the magnetic physical attraction between  two people. This mysterious attraction has been made intense in nature as an ardent appetite for the purpose of assuring the uniting of the two polarities for reproduction, regardless of any distraction or discouragements. For this, as with food, water and air, nature has deliberately made us aggressive and self-preserving. So many tragic situations today are the result of the willful or ignorant attitude that this aspect, sex, is the total sum and substance of love. It is a vital and important part of love but it alone cannot bring the world to peace, happiness and universal brotherhood. What then is missing?

Despite the vast accumulation of literature on the subject, love is usually describe as sacrificial, as in mother's love, as unquenchable fire, or even as an incurable disease. Much is written to show that under the spell of love, one sets aside all reason. Although these are all expressions of the effects of the various aspects of love, it is more difficult to find a comprehensive definition of love. It is generally agreed that love is an emotion, just as hate is an emotion. An emotion is a strong surge of feeling marked by an impulse toward outward expression; letting oneself go in the direction of a certain  impulse or attitude. The most important aspect of love is that it is outgoing. Love primarily seeks to give, not receive.

Love assumes an attitude of inner contentment, peace and stability, and it seeks to share that attitude with others outside of self. It is as though love conceives within a surplus of positive charge that it seeks to share with all others whom it conceive as short of positive charge and therefore negative. From this viewpoint, love is an equalizer. Compatible with all natural law, love seeks not only equalization but also rest or tranquility. Oddly enough, the eternal law of change is part of this natural flow toward tranquility and stability. This state of rest is the potential goal of nature and left to itself, all things work toward that goal. It is unenlightened people who so often work against this natural state, thereby creating their own difficulties and discomforts.

Strange as it may seem, we can love others only if we first love ourselves; this is how i recognize love. Then the "golden rule" comes into play. We love others as we would have them love us. We identify with others;we love them as we love ourselves. When we strive conscientiously to improve and refine ourselves, according to the highest ethical and moral standards to exemplify the best ideals to which we subscribe, we should love ourselves, for we are all that we love most. This should not be confused with egotism or self-promotion.

Egotism describe those who are filled with inflated vanity and conceit. They overestimate their abilities, qualities and worth while taking undue pride in their possessions or attributes. Egotists do not give, they take! They do not love others, for they identify themselves in others. They believe others cannot be compared with themselves for they are superior to all others. Their love for themselves is not that of self esteem or self-respect. Theirs is rather self-glorification, or narcissism . Those who promote self or are egotistical, conceive of themselves as apart from the remainder of humanity. They have no understanding of the unity of humanity, the common sharing of Soul and the state of attunement that exist potentially between each of us. And so they are insensitive to the feelings of others. They are unable to identify themselves with others. They feel no emotional response when they find their neighbor either suffering or sorrowing .

On the other hand, when you love others you love yourself, you identify with all of the joys and sorrows you behold in them. When you know that someone is suffering, you are moved to sympathy and sometimes even to suffering; for what you witness in another, you feel in yourself. When those about you experience happiness and joy, you are happy, for you are sharing their happiness. You become happy for them. There is no selfishness in love. When we love, we wish to share all that we have or are, for we seek on advantage over those we love. What we have is theirs for we are they in a mystical sense.

Until we can understand the mystical unity of humanity, love may be difficult for us to express. Without it, we tend to be possessive and jealous. Jealousy reveals a complete absence of love. It  conceives all persons and  things as separate entities and what is worse, it seeks to control or possess that which it knows and wants. It is utter selfishness to feel jealousy, for then we want whatever others have but we will not share anything that we have. Jealousy over another persons is worse, for then we not only refuse to share with others what we like about the person every freedom and seek to own them. This is the epitome of selfishness. Jealousy should never be acceptable as evidence of love; jealousy and love are not compatible.

From a mystical viewpoint, we seek to give and to spread love wherever we go and to whomever we meet. We accept others as we find them, respecting and admiring those who may have more, do more, or are more than ourselves, and overlooking the shortcomings of those who may have less, do less and are less than us. With self-respect, as well as respect for that mystical part of us which is in our neighbor, we must strive never to be vindictive in our human relations.By learning to control our emotions, we can practice patience, tolerance and sympathetic understanding even in our occasionally necessary negative relationships.

If we would like to experience continual peace and happiness, if we would like the world and our peers to be in accordance with our highest ideals, if we would like the world to be a Mystic or enlightened world, let us think love, practice love and give love .

INSIGHT AND INTUITION

Metaphysics involves a method of linking the everyday world of body and brain to a reality that exist beyond the physical world, and therefore beyond physics. While metaphysics fundamentally concerns the finite, it also tries to reach an approximate understanding of the infinite. And this can only realistically be achieved by linking up with mysticism. Metaphysics looks without.Mysticism looks within. It concerns the soul, the mind, the inner self, and the eternal. It sees reality in much the same way that Plato taught, as an ideal that transcend all physical manifestation.


We habitually go through life viewing the universe from the inside. We are constantly looking out at our realisation of that environment. until we learn to reverse that process, we will continue struggling through one incarnation after another. The channel to knowledge, to true experience, to realization of our place in the universe, lies within. To comprehend mysticism and the mystical experience, we must realize that mysticism is related to functions that are separate from our day to day activities. Probably the nearest parallel to the mystical experience with anything in the physical world is the aesthetic experience.


For more years i walked back and forth to work every day. As i walked home in the evening,particularly in the late autumn, winter and early spring, i would almost always, face a sunset. We had some gorgeous sunset, particularly in the days before smog was eliminated. Each time i saw one of these beautiful sunsets, it was like a new experience. I would wonder "can there be another sunset more beautiful than this?" and there always was!


As the old saying goes: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." We realize only a portion of what we experience, never all of it. Our realization is always far less than the actual experience itself. This is a progressive condition that continues until the time comes when we reach the point where we can comprehend the idea itself, to which Plato referred. The comprehension of the ideas that lie behind manifestations is the equivalent of mastership which is the eventual realization of complete Cosmic Consciousness.

Our experience of beauty is usually related to an emotional as well as a rational experience.

We becomes emotionally involved every time we perceive beauty. It usually comes suddenly, rather like a surprise that we are not particularly seeking. It overwhelms our consciousness and cause us to momentarily realize that there is more to existence than the physical world.

The mystical experience is very much like the experience of perceiving beauty. When we have a mystical insight, it is if a veil is lifted and we see or comprehend a fact or experience. The veil is dropped so quickly that the experience is over before we realize it. Only those who have gained a degree of mastery in this area, and are alert enough to seize the moment, are able to hold onto and preserve that experience over a period of physical time. Such ability comes through practice, as well as acknowledgement and realization of the transitory conditions that exist in an experience like this. It is solely because most of our time is directed in the exact opposite direction, that we just do not have patience to build up the necessary experience to be able to hold onto and grasp the intuitive and mystical impressions that comes to us- constantly - if we could but hold onto them long enough to become objectively conscious of them.

There is one common factor in the mystical experience. Those who have had even the slightest of mystical experiences realize that there is always a nostalgic feeling about it, a feeling that one was once upon a time more familiar with, more in touch with. One feels very sad at having to come back to the physical , everyday world again. But the reason for this nostalgia is that we are reaching the reality that metaphysicians speak of we are contacting the source, a part of the Absolute, the I, which is the way to absolute mastery of life.

THE WAY OF THE HEART

I know a simple man who has never read a book and who, nevertheless, can solve the trickiest problems of science better than famous scientists. There are humble people without academic qualifications and medical experience to whom heaven is so accessible that the sick are healed at their request and the wicked feel their hearts melting in loving kindness at their contact.

 Joan of Arc had never read a treatise on strategy nor seen a battlefield but she defeated at her first attempt the greatest tacticians of her time! How could this be? It is quite simple because she surrendered completely to the Divine Will and did not question the invisible as would have done an adept of the intellectual plane. Should one the wonder at the puzzled way in which critics look at these creatures who are animated by the "living light of the father" and generally know as quietists or mystics? The (the adept of the intellectual plane ) cannot understand them because they attempt to measure universe faculties with the limited capacities of their brains. Because he cannot understand him, the critic insults the mystic and holds him in contempt whilst the mystic prays for his tormentor and carries on with his labor of love .

 The path of spiritual development is simple and straight forward: "Live always for others and never for self". Do unto others as you would be done by at all levels": Don't ever speak or think evil of the absent": Do what is hard before doing what you like":... these are some of the formulas of the mystic way which leads to humility and prayer.

 There is a form of physical purification dear to the heart of the adept of the intellectual plane: it is vegetarianism which lessens the attraction of the physical. But this purification means nothing however, if when purging the body of animal influence, we do not purge the astral body of selfishness and the spirit of the influence of vanity; ...a hunderd fold more harmful than the impulsions born from eating meat. When a man thinks he knows something and places himself on a par with the Gods, working to achieve his personal salvation and withdrawing into an ivory tower in order to purify himself, why should he be given anything? He thinks he has what he needs and he looks upon himself as a pure and all knowing person. But when a man is simple and aware of his weakness, and knows that his will is of little importance if it does not conform with the actions of the Celestial Father; when he is not preoccupied with his personal purify nor with his needs but with the suffering of others, then heaven recognize him as one of its "little children" and Christ ask that he be led to him.

 A mother who has worked a lifetime to bring up not only her children but also those of people poorer than herself is greater before the Eternal than the pedantic theologist and the so-called adept so proud of his purity. This is an instinctive truth which strikes people without any need for demonstration because it is a truth that applies to all levels.


 Therefore, let the student aim at simplicity rather than at pedantry and let him beware of men who give themselves as perfect because "he falls the hardest who falls from a great height!"


 The mystic way requires thus unceasing help at all stages of evolution and of perception. On the physical plane, help from friends and masters teaching through example; on the astral plane, help from thoughts of devotion and of charity illumination the path and enabling one to bear the trials through peace of the heart; lastly, on the spiritual plane, help from the Guardian spirits strengthened by feelings of pity towards all sinners and of indulgence towards all human weaknesses as well as praying for all of the wilful blind and for all enemies. Then it is, that the terrestrial shadow disappears slowly, that the veil is lifted for a moment and that the Divine feeling of knowing one's prayers are heard fills the heart with courage and love.


 Having reached that point, the mystic cannot understand the need for so called learned societies, even for those devoted to occultism, nor for books so numerous, needed to explain things so simple. He is wary of societies and books and withdraws more and more into communion with the forsaken and the plagued. He acts and reads no more, he prays , he forgives and has no longer time for judging and criticizing.


 He seeks for the "magic word" the mystic uses to cure at will the most malignant illnesses, for the for of hypnosis which would allow him to influence the mind of others in such a way, even at a remote distance, and for the selfish purpose that is behind it all. And as the intellectual does not find in books an answer to these questions, and as he needs an explanation to regain his peace of mins, he gravely tells himself or the circle of his admires: "possession!" or a mystic or simple suggestion!... and all is said. The intellectual thus become a little more vain and the mystic, a little more humble.

 And while studying, reading and time are necessary to progress on the the intellectual plane, none of that is needed to progress on the mystic path. it can be covered nearly to the end and in one hour of terrestrial times as did Swedenborg on the first day of his vision and as did Jacob Boehme, or it may take 19 years even before its entrance is discovered as was the case with Willermoz and with many occultists. The reason is that the gate to this way is not opened by the seeker but by his invisible guides and by the stress of his spiritual being.

 There is therefore nothing easier and nothing harder than to follow this path. It is open to all men of goodwill and no other man is worthy of it. The doorway is so low that only little children can enter. As those who come to that door are often tall and proud men who think it is below their dignity to become small, the entrance remains for a long time invisible to them.

TO THE CHILDREN OF LIGHT

If pride, jealousy, and selfishness are the major weaknesses causing enmity between humans, other weaknesses set individuals against themselves and are just as detrimental to harmony which should be maintained within ourselves and manifested in our surroundings. such are hypocrisy, ingratitude, and disloyalty. As you have chosen to follow the Royal Path of Light, may God preserve you always from these faults which inevitably prolong the time spent wandering in the Forest of Errors. Truly beware of paths which oppose Virtue, for they will draw you away from the ideal path that you should take to know the Truth which frees the soul from the chains of illusion, mistress of the senses and of the wildest desires of the ego. Verily, happy are those mortals whose aim in their earthly life is to lead a virtuous life, because they will experience on the three levels of their threefold being what Socrates, our Venerated Master, exemplified .


 But mystics do not need to inquire about the virtuous life because human beings, by nature, are virtuous and perfect. As you know, mystics or children of the light simply need to free themselves from the inability to manifest their inner wealth. When successful, they will understand that the word "poverty" makes no sense when applied to Soul, for it is the most precious and purest of treasure. Expressed in humanity, it is the most precious and purest of treasures. Expressed in humanity, it is the jewel of Adam Kadmon, the emerald of Lucifer, the ruby of the Hermetic Tablet, the urna of the Buddha, the Holy Grail of the Christ Jesus, the al-jawhar alfrad of Mohammed. Verily, it constitutes the Philosophical Stone revealed by the greatest alchemists in their practice of the Great art, for the existence of human beings has no other aim than to bring forth the Divine Light imprisoned in the flesh. Dedicate your life to the Supreme Transmutation, so that your soul personality, through the fire of the Holy Ghost and with the earthly realm as its crucible, passes on to you its own illumination and makes you the reflection of the Greatest Light.


 Never be hypocritical in your acts, words,or thoughts. Hypocrisy always acts in self-interest or through weakness, and in all cases, it takes advantage of the trusting person and uses his or her goodness or gullibility to make use of worldly pleasure. Never agree with others if you do not think as they do, for by so doing you will not only be making a mistake, but you will become as equally guilty of the faults they are committing, comforted by a sense of self-satisfaction. For flattery is the servant of hypocrisy, and the gods know to what extent it serves the ends of the person using it to rob others of what is best in them. Hypocrites lie, invent, calculate, and are silent when they should speak, speak when they should be silent,and think of everything except the happiness of the person who is listening to them. Their entire lives are modeled on the voice of reason, for they do not remember what the path of the heart is, the path they should have followed.


 People who detest hypocrisy can give proper dimension to friendship, for true friendship is frank and sincere, both qualities being based on the desire and the need to do good, at the risk of losing the friendship which they strive to serve. Have you ever noticed that it is more difficult to say "no" to a friend than to say "yes"? To flatter the ego of the person ever so ready to listen to us is the easiest thing to do, but people who act this way will sooner or later experience the torment of those souls who have used others to better serve themselves. Be true to your friends and whenever they are in need, do to them as you would want them to do to you if you were in need. Be neither complacent nor uncompromising toward them, for complacency and intransigence are two extremes which produce the same destructive effects. Rather, listen to those who have given you their friendship and remember that this friendship, when sealed in the name of the Supreme Good, brings as much to the one who loves as to the one being loved. Also, do not give unsought advice, because it is useless to try forcing a locked door.


 Never forget a good deed done to you and be sufficiently honest to consider it more important than all that,in your opinion, you have not received. Ingratitude, in the eyes of God, is more reprehensible than many crimes considered as lowly by people. The mere fact of having accepted, on some occasion, what another has willingly given you, whether it be time, a smile, or some material object, leave you forever indebted for the gift provided. If all who have received it, ingratitude would be banished from the earth, because all human beings have at least some reason to be grateful always act, on one day or another, in one life or another, against the person from whom they have received something. What excuse can they then invoke to justify their lack of gratitude, or even worse, their desire to hurt the person who has been their benefactor? Once again, it is pride and jealousy which incite human beings to forget what has been done for them. Self-blinded, they end up forgetting their own past. From thereon begins for them the dizziest fall ever, the one which precipitates the soul into the dark abyss of those who rebel against their own history. Always remember that memory is the safeguard of humanity and that many civilization have perished in the flames of forgetfulness. For, if ingratitude sets one human against another, it also set one nation against another, and even entire nations against God!


 But hypocrisy and ingratitude are even more harmful when they feed the vilest disloyalty. Human beings have always made promises, taken on commitments, and sworn oaths. When doing so, many were sincere in their hearts and minds. But time, depending on how it is used, strengthens such bonds or destroys them. That is why many people, even those having pledge loyalty to an ideal or to the one incarnation this ideal, have been unfaithful to their promises, commitments, or oaths. Finally, and this is most serious, they have turned against the cause they served with loyalty. People are always free to abandon the path they have followed in the past, because they are the masters of their destinies. But to abandon does not mean to disown, and even less to fight against what had once been defended in the name of what we had thought was good. Honorable people do not lie to themselves. In their innermost self, they know that tomorrow may be quite different from today and that today is midway between yesterday and tomorrow, but they also know that law of evolution prohibits them from destroying what the have helped to build. If one day you feel that you no longer agree with the ideals of the past, or that you no longer love a friend who was once so dear to you, above all, do not join the ranks of those who serve perjury and disloyalty. Rather, quietly withdraw and continue on your way toward new horizons, ever respecting those who have given you strength. Undoubtedly, were you to be disloyal to them, you would greatly weaken yourself .

Children of the Greater Light

There are many people who, under an apparent display of humility,harbor the most immoderate pride. Every day we mix with them, and every day they speak emphatically about humility. Without truly realizing it, they struggle against their own nature, concealing with their words and deeds a thirst for honors, a desire for power, and a conviction of being superior to others. But as soon as their guard is let down, as soon as their desire to noticed weaken, as soon as their true personality is revealed by unexpected circumstances, they then shed their mask, and the pride it conceals comes to light in all their world and actions. But prouder yet is the person who blames or judge them, for many who see wrong in others are among those who commit it, have committed it, or will commit. In this matter more than any other, may each of you remember that we will be judge to the same degree as we judge others.


 To be humble in spirit and practice does not involve pointing a finger at those who show pride, for that is useless. Rather, as children of the greater light we should shun the temptation to yield to the most negative impulse of our own ego. In the final analysis, people who do not feign humility are the ones who take the time to analyse themselves and to recognize, before the mirror of their conscience, that there is still a lot to do and to learn to avoid resembling the very individuals they would be tempted to condemn. Recognizing their own imperfections, they understand and accept the fact that others are also imperfect. People who assume the right to judge others give evidence of their own pride because in so doing, they consider themselves superior to the individual they judge and invest themselves with the power to think so and to say so. Only the wise ones have the right to impart a permanent character to their judgement, for they themselves live in permanence and have acquired true humility. Yet, the wise ones, far removed from the folly of simple mortals, forgot long ago what the term "judgement' means. They observe, listen, feel, and have compassion for the suffering that human beings impose upon themselves because of their ignorance and their need to dominate.


 The ego is a distinctive feature of human individuality, and as long as Soul manifests through the physical body, it can only act through the soul personality which it forms with the body. It is therefore useless to fight the ego in the hope of gaining and manifesting humility of heart. We must instead love the ego as it is and learn to master and sublimate it, so that it may become the purest reflection of the spark which animates our being and without which we cannot evolve on the earthly plane. We humans must not act against our own nature, because if we do, we will lose our life in the attempt of running counter to our nature. Rather, let us reflect on the cause of our weakness, and without ever becoming discourage, let us try to gain the strength which we lack and whose source is found in the deepest recesses of the soul personality. Let us also realize that the ego is neither inherently good or bad. It is only what we allow it to become. Each of us is therefore responsible for what happens to us. Who would blame the bowl for being badly made? Only the potter is to blame, for it is he who worked the clay and shaped it as he pleased .


 If pride is the negative expression of the ego,ambition can be considered its positive counterpart, for ambition, when made to serve the purest ideals, is the driving force of positive action and the medium of evolution itself. It is natural and proper for us to be happy in what we do, and especially in what we do well. If this were not the case, we would have no pleasure in doing things and would yield to extreme passivity, the source of vices, trials, and suffering. Those, therefore, who feel no joy when contemplating the fruits of their labor are indeed deeply mistaken, since it is the joy of the work accomplished or of the service rendered which motivate us to perform good deeds and to perform them well. Natural, joyous ambition is therefore an ally of choice in human life. Yet it is difficult to mast, since people who do not understand these laws irresistibly slip from ambition to pride, thus causing their won downfall and falling prey to all the weaknesses inherent to the ego.


 Jealousy is the companion of pride, or more exactly, its child; for people who are imbued with self look upon their brothers and sisters with contempt, while feigning an interest in their problems and circumstances. People who entertain the conviction of being superior to others cannot accept being their inferior or letting others think so. Proud individuals seek the light that will best emphasize the physical, moral, intellectual, or spiritual superiority which they, and only they, imagine themselves to have. That is why any individual who comes between this light and those who are supposed to contemplate it is seen as a rival or, worse still, as an enemy. People who revel in pride, wanting to be the best known, the most appreciated, and often for qualities they do not possess, cannot tolerate the virtues of others. Consequently, they become jealous of the success and happiness of all who cross their path. And this jealousy makes them even more proud, because their desire to be known is fed by the most extreme bad faith and make them conceited before those who are much better than they are. When this happens, other people discover them for what they truly are.


 We the children of the light must beware of selfishness, for it destroys the Light. Human beings, by their nature, want to relate everything to themselves and tend to behave as though they are the center of the world, whereas they are only one of the countless points which constitute the circle of the world. The non-mastery of negative aspect of the ego is the source of egoism; and egoism, when it ignores the desires and needs of others, manifests itself in the most destructive selfishness. The only way to avoid the trappings of pride and selfishness is to realize once and for all that what makes the greatness of human beings is not the greatness which they claim before their brothers and sisters. Let them think of themselves rather as but one of billions of grains of sand making up the most beautiful beach. The infinite understands that each of these grains plays an identical role. It does not measure their value according to the size, for even the largest grain of sand could be swept from the beach and really, what difference would it make to the beach? Therefore, let each of us learn to regularly lift our gaze towards the infinite and try to understand that the more we make ourselves small in the eyes of human beings, the more the Very High will grant us the blessings reserved for Greatest .

KARMA: THE LAW OF COMPENSATION

We do not need to ask whether or not Karma exists in our life any more than we need to know if life itself exists.Whether or not we are consciously aware of Karma, it is a part of life and is within us. Karma is the term used by Rosicrucians and mystics of many traditions to mean the operation of the law of compensation. The word karma comes from the Sanskrit root "krm" and literally translated means "action". We act, either physical or through our thoughts, and receive in return the results of our actions.Our acts so to speak "press" against the collective consciousness of the universe, and this consciousness presses back" upon the reality of our life experience. On the physical plane, the law of compensation is expressed in the form of Isaac Newton's third law of motion: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. "And on the mental, emotional and psychic plane we can express it in the words of the master Jesus: "Do to others as you would have them do to you."

 In any form of energy utilization we see a good example of this principle. If i move the switch on the wall at the entrance to my office, the overhead lights come on immediately. This id because the cause, namely, the moving of the switch, brought about the closing of an electrical circuit and thereby mandate the manifestation of electricity in the form light. If the electrical circuit were connected to a motor, the motor would move. When petrol of diesel is placed in the tank of a car, the energy is the fuel is combusted and thereby converted into rotary energy which eventually manifests as the movement of the car. Unfortunately we do not fully understand the principle of physics that lie behind or manifest in the functioning of the law or laws of cause and effect, and even under primitive conditions, people have recognized to some extent the fact that such laws exist. Primitive people's interpretation was not always correct, but the realization of the law was nevertheless still present to a degree.


 Almost every superstition that exists in the world is due to human misinterpretation of the laws of cause and effect.Probably every superstition with which we may be familiar and which we, as a modern society,do not accept as fact any more, is based upon this principle. For example, it is considered unlucky to walk under a ladder leaning against a building. Maybe someone walked under a ladder at some time in the past and had an unfortunate experience immediately afterwards. Actually, there was no relationship between walking under the ladder and the event that followed, but the sequence of events was misinterpreted by the individual as a manifestation of the law of cause and effect. In other word,the found disagreeable, was interpreted as being the result of a cause that appeared to the individual to be walking under the ladder. All superstitions are based upon this same principle .


 The universal law that every condition that exists has something that start it to exist or causes it to manifest is misinterpreted. People do not know or have not yet attained a degree of intelligence and experience where they can take every isolated event and relate it to its true cause. Not long ago i was sitting at my desk when i suddenly developed the symptoms of an ordinary head cold or allergy. I had never had such symptoms developed so suddenly and so quickly. Now, obviously, that change in my physical condition was due to some circumstance or substance with which i had been in contact and resulted in the allergy symptoms that developed suddenly while i was least expecting them. I tried to relate the symptoms to the cause by a reviewing my behavior and experience of the past hours and days. Had i been exposed to a viral infection from someone? Was there something in the air, perhaps pollen, dust or some other foreign substance to which i was allergic or to which i was not accustomed? Was it due to a malfunctioning of the heating system that caused a radical change in temperature to which i was sensitive? I thought about all the possibilities but could arrive at no satisfactory answer.


 Now, if i had performed some act immediately before, such as looking over my right shoulder, breaking a mirror, or dropping some object, i might have gone the way of superstition and said that the allergy was caused by one of those acts. Thereby relating my physical condition to the breaking of a mirror or looking out of the window over my left shoulder, or dropping an object. If i made such an interpretation, it would be pure superstition. Sometimes we resort to superstition as an excuse, although we do not like to call it by such terminology. It is our acknowledgement of our inability to expand the cause of circumstances that we would like to explain, coupled with our desire to find and immediate cause-effed relationship so that we will have an understanding of every situation that exists in our experience.


 Defining Karma as "the law of compensation in action", throughout our lives events are occurring , and for some of them, we know what their causes are, i.e. we know what precipitated them. For example, if i picked up a razor blade without being careful, i would cut my finger. The fact that i picked up the razor blade carelessly and the razor blase was sharp would be the cause of the cut. There is no mystery is such a circumstance.The cause-effect relationship is very clear. But when we have a sudden influx or "good luck" and gain something that we might want, good health, or on the other hand, suffers poor health, an accident or other disaster, usually we cannot immediately relate such events to the cause. The cause is buried deeply in the background of either our present life or a past one. But we can be sure of one thing, the operation of the law of cause and effect, is an immutable law of the cosmic, and cannot be by passed. Therefore, we can be certain that for every one of our experiences there is a cause, or more likely, a series or many causes. To accept our experience as result of causes, some of which we know and some of which we do not know, is to help us in our general evolution. When events occur that are outstanding in their seriousness and impact upon our consciousness and environment, and we cannot relate them to a cause, we are naturally perplexed and confused, particularly if these experience are unfortunate, unfavorable or uncomfortable. We have a tendency to exaggerate the experiences that are not favorable and sometimes we pass by, without proper thanks or realization, the good things in life. We realize that every event in our lives to a cause, we know through logical reasoning, that such causes must exist. Manifestations of Karma in our lives are always due to cause that have their roots in past experience either of this life or another .


 Karma is neither good nor bad. All karma is a part of experience. We should constantly be thankful for the existence of karma though, and through the understanding that we have of the law of compensation, we should acknowledge with thanks every experience, whether that experience comfortable, uncomfortable, pleasant or unpleasant, whatever the experience is, it is part of the overall evolvement of our own selves;the rounding out of our experience through the fact that we are experiencing karma and reaping the results or the effects of the cause previously shown.


 Pleasant experience should be accepted with gratitude and the realization that the positive forces of the cosmic are expressing through us .Unpleasant experiences should also be accepted with gratitude and with the realization that as we experience them, despite being unpleasant to us, we are compensating for cause that are deep within us and that eventually must have an expression which, when over, proves the debt has been paid. At the same time, we should let every experience in life cause us to pause and think: Are we living at this moment in such a way as to lay the groundwork that will be causes of effects that will be of maximum benefit and, we hope, of pleasant experience to us in the future ?

Reincarnation

Reincarnation is one topic which has been covered in many books by many authors over and over again. For me to bring it up again , there is a reason for it, for within some mystic groups resides a corpus of teachings which crucially depends on the validity or otherwise of this theory. I deliberately call it a theory as we cannot prove in scientific terms that we have lived in the past ans will,some time in the future, live in environments similar to what is available in our material world. In the western world, the concept of reincarnation has for decades, been an extremely controversial topic,particularly within the spheres of religion, philosophy and mysticism. There are extreme and very strongly held view, and it is this reason mystical orders, despite its official position on the matter, never pushers its opinion too far.


 Thirty or forty year ago, the mere mention of the word reincarnation was bound to raise a great deal of animosity, particularly from people within the great Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition. But,times certainly have changed,and even with this great family of religions, there is now an increasing awareness of the sheer logic and justice involved in a theory such as that of reincarnation, that one finds clerics here and there, openly breaking with the office dogma, and supporting thoughts what would once have regarded as heresy, and which in past centuries brought many devout mystic to be burned at the stake.


 Certainly this is subject of much speculation at present but there is still a great deal of confusion about the true nature of reincarnation, even amongst members of mystical orders.This is primarily due to the sometimes very crude version of the theory as expounded in many popular books. Whereas they serve the purpose of popularizing the concept of reincarnation, they certainly do not do much for enhancing its reputation as a solid and verifiable fact, rather than a mere intellectual theory.


 Mystics of all ages have accepted reincarnation not merely as a religious doctrine, but as an immutable Cosmic law, a matter of fact rather than mere theory,and this acceptance has been and still is bases on the confidence brought about through direct experience and intimate recall of events from past lives. Although the concept of reincarnation has its roots firmly embedded in the great religions of the east, it is nevertheless, not a purely Eastern doctrine.


 For centuries,and possibly many millennia, many in the western world have accepted that we do live repeatedly in different physical bodies in circumstance not too different from one another from one life to the next. This philosophy of life after life in human form on this earth has been experience as a fact rather than a fanciful theory by many past and present day mystics. Without a doubt though, with most people reincarnation is still a belief rather than an inner experience, something that they have intimately experienced as being fact rather than fiction. This has always been the case, for a recall of events from past live is an extremely difficult thing to trigger.


 It is also not necessary the most desirable of things to re-experience events from past lives.To be sure, the first events that anyone experience are almost always something which left a strong emotional and psychic imprint upon ourselves, and invariably such experience were not particularly pleasant at the time and without great spiritual maturity, and would even today be very difficult to deal with, even just as memories.


 Nevertheless, a confident acceptance of reincarnation as at least the most logical of alternative concerning life and what follows it, is the one thing which could break down barriers to what would otherwise be very superfical and purely material lives for millions upon millions of people throughout the world. Nothing reveals to us more of the fallacy of the deeply material from of thinking we are brought up with nowadays than the doctrine of reincarnation. Nothing fits in as well with out innate sense of justice than the notion that we will return to this or some other world similar to it, to answer for absolutely everything that we have thought, said and done, every second of every life we have ever had.


 If we believe in universal justice, then surely we must believe that we will have to compensate for both the good and the bad we have done;and what other way could such compensation be accepted other than through the material realm, and in circumstances much as we know them today. Reincarnation and the law of karma upon which it is based are absolutely fundamental to any true mystical knowledge and development. It is fitting then that we spend some time analyzing a few of the more important points of this belief.


 Reincarnation can be defined as the 'cycle of birth ans rebirth in material reality of the soul personality'. in a sense, it is the process of purification of the ego part of humanity's consciousness, an ongoing transforming of the ego into the essence of Cosmic consciousness. Through the experience of life, the ego evolves into the elevated thoughts of the consciousness of God. This process of transmutation occurs of necessity right here on earth as it is here in the lower realms of awareness that ego has it's greatest expression and hence it's greatest opportunities for change.


 By incarnating into this material environment and by passing through countless series of experience, the ego of the soul personality gradually change, gradually attaining a higher and higher state of awareness which for want of better words we can best describe as God or cosmic consciousness.


 Who knows what the real purpose of the existence of material reality is ? Indeed, purpose can only apply to consciousness, that is, an awareness of a goal to be attained. And what consciousness are we speaking of ? why, none other than our own, very imperfect awareness of the universe about us. So, if there is a purpose, then it must be one which we can perceive, and that immediately implies that the "purpose of existence" that so many yearn to find, is relative to the mind that conceives it. There are no two identical purpose of existence.Whereas the ultimate and deepest reason for our existence in material reality no doubt will forever remain a mystery to humanity, the effects of our repeated incarnations on earth enable our soul personalities to reach a state whereby in the cosmic realms, in the realms beyond our material reality, we can eventually exist harmoniously with multiple levels of the consciousness of the Creator, and not merely on the level of material reality.Real life begins in the Cosmic realm; kindergarten in here on earth.


 It is through our own effort that we advance in our realization and attunement with Cosmic Consciousness. We can voluntarily speed up or slow down our personal evolution; this is purely a voluntary action. Through ignorance and a simple lack of understanding, by far the majority of people on earth progress extremely slowly.Without doubt we all progress, whether or not we try. The law of Karma ensures that we learn from our successes and from our failures. Gently and ever so slowly and thoroughly, the law guides us to a final inner realization that we are ultimately the creators pf our future. When at last we consciously take full responsibility for our lives and our thoughts and actions, we move immediately into the fast track of inner evolution.


 We can only refine our baser nature here on earth in the environment in which it was born.However, as spiritual beings of profound mystery we go through aeons of experience on the Cosmic plane in realms quite incomprehensible to humanity. Amongst other things, these experiences help us to realise our shortcomings on earth and eventually highlight and place in clear perspective, the problems which impede our progress. Upon realizing this, the soul personality is driven to the only real alternative it has, to return to material reality, to incarnate again on earth.


 We gravitate to this earth much as rain falls to the ground. Life on Earth is truly sacred, for it is the greatest opportunity that we and all species of life on earth can have to evolve. Clearly then, we must make the most of it, and take every opportunity to enhance life wherever we find it; not only our personal lives but even the lives of our feathered and furry fellow travelers in this wonderful world. Every idle and thoughtless moment is a waste of precious life. We have a duty to all creatures on this planet, our temporary home, to make the utmost of the very short span of time we have on earth. Who knows long we stood in the queue for incarnation into material reality? Who knows what great personal sacrifices we had to undergo in order to gain the privilege of incarnation in human form?


 This planet is the world we know intimately; we know it so well, for it is the world that we have incarnated into countless times in the past, the world we love more than any other material reality there is . In this world are creatures, animals and humans we have interacted with in the past, creatures we have loved and have hated with passion,creatures we will interact with again and again till we master our destinies and finally, reach the stage where we are ready to leave material reality for all time. As mystics, many of us have found a path to greater light and are keenly aware of our duty to pass on some of the knowledge we have received. At the end of each sanctum period let us truly feel what great responsibility lies with us ever to be aware of the sacred light with which we are entrusted . Let us also never forget that not only is the light entrusted to us, we have a duty to retransmit it wherever darkness exists.


 We have the ability of truly assisting countless desperately seeking souls to find the way to a more highly developed consciousness. Once the desire for inner evolution has been kindle, everything that the aspiring adept needs is right here within our beloved order. I do not advertise the Order merely to increase membership. I have no wish to dilute the aims and high ideals of the Order by admitting sundry and all simply in order to expand our numbers. I spread the knowledge of the Order's existence and what it has to offer purely to attract those sincerely seeking souls who are at the threshold of realizing their true potential. This is why i have pride in our order and seek at every opportunity to let people know what we are about. Life changes so profoundly, so totally and dramatically for the searching soul who finds a path to illumination. Within the Order we have such a path, a well trodden path which has existed since antiquity and has proven its worth time and time again.


 A deep and sudden realization of oneness with the Cosmic is a most profound and moving experience. Nothing in this beautiful world can even remotely compare with the spiritualised awareness of God within, our master and dearest Friend. Our soul personalities are purges and purified by the trials and tribulations of earthly experiences. It is therefore in our deepest interests to attempt to gain some understanding of the reason for the major events in our present and past circumstance. A clearer understanding of this enables us to cooperate with the law of Karma in gaining that knowledge and experience which each of us needs most to transmute the baser element of our awareness into a higher, more beautiful expression of Divine Consciousness.


 We cannot accomplish the perfecting of our soul personality in one or two short lifetimes on earth. Rather, several varied lives are needed to round out the character and personality. We need the varied experience of life on earth to assist us in purifying ourselves of all hindrance to further evolution. Emotional harmony is acquired by passing through disturbing events, whether pleasant or unpleasant,events which through the subtle and constant application of the law of karma in our lives, help us to understand the countless lessons we have learnt and still need to learn.


 Being aware of past incarnation reveals traits of characters which do not always seem consistent with our life and training in the present incarnation. Quite often, deep within the innermost recesses of our Being, are character traits which reveal aspect of ourselves of which we were never aware. The revelation can be stunning and pleasant, but also sometimes very painful. By perceiving event from past incarnations we can bring these traits back to life where we will again be presented with the opportunities of further developing and eventually perfection our past abilities.


 For, example, you have been a master carpenter, trader, sculptor or tailor in the past, or you may have been something less savoury, lets us say perhaps a buccaneer or a professional thief. Whatever you were, you learned from your experience than and would benefit greatly to have the hindsight of those experience now;provided of course that you have the maturity to accept without undue harshness that you may not have been as good as you previously may have thought. upon deep reflection, these tendencies from past lives will reappear, whether they are good or bad for you and you will need to be ready to deal with them, firmly , unemotionally, and justly.


 If we take a new interest in matters from a past incarnation, and if we do so as mystics filled with compassion and understanding for the faults of all humans, including ourselves, we are presented with golden opportunities to re-develop those hidden abilities which are beneficial to our inner evolution. With maturity and understanding, a mystic can then either accept and further develop such traits,or discard to the garbage heap of history, trait which have hindered our development in the past and are likely to continue doing so in the future. Few mystics upon experiencing events from past incarnation are anything short of deeply grateful and humbled by the privilege of re-experiencing such events, no matter how unpleasant they may be. It is nothing short of astounding at what lies in our past, what depth of being we have in fact already experienced. Fortunately, we have the freedom and the ability to develop our psychic consciousness to the extend necessary to pierce the veil and re-experience events from past incarnations. What tremendous power we have with such knowledge!


 Experiencing past incarnations should, however, never become an obsession. We are, after all, primarily concerned with the problems of this incarnation. Our present incarnation should be the one that interests us most. A careful analysis of our inner tendencies greatly assists us in setting the scene, so to speak, for a successful foray into the past. It is always best to rely on our own inner resource when dealing with past incarnations ans we should never blindly accept what others say in merely a quick fix, an indication of laziness on the part of the believer. We must experience the matter firsthand and nothing else but firsthand experience will do. Our past is in the realm of recall to a certain degree depending upon our inner awareness and psychic development. Let us use it, and use it well to amp our future.


 As already mentioned, we soon realize why the strong impressions left in some of our past incarnations are so disturbing and have such a strong effect on our present lives when we consider that the strongest memories are usually those which were deeply impressed upon us because of the traumatic experience associated with them. When we regress in time, these traumatic experience are likely to be the first that come to the fore. We have to rocognise that most of us were not high potentates, royalty or well-known historical figures. The majority of us probably lived pretty mediocre lives perhaps interspersed with the occasional highlight, but on the whole we might be very disappointed to learn who we were. There is nothing to be disappointed about; that person was after all you, the very same you reading these words, the very same person who has traveled this far on the path to perfection .


 Indeed why, for other than egoistical reasons, should anyone wish to believe that they were some important personage. After all, people who, for one reason or another, were well known,have been very few in number compared to the billions of soul personalities that have existed on earth. Is it not odd, that so many popular authors detailing their experiences in previous lives, were not ordinary people, but almost always people of great worldly importance: pharaohs, emperors, religious leaders, war lords, scientists, literary geniuses, etc.., the list goes on and on. To be sure, virtually none of these authors speak of genuine experiences and their primary purpose for sharing their thoughts, is no higher than to make money through sales of their books .


 Reincarnation is indeed a deeply fascinating subject, but it is only in fairly recent times that the general public has become interested in it on a wide scale. Few of course, are willing to engage in a deep study or investigation of reincarnation as their interest lies only on the surface, only with the dramatic and ego-boosting possibility of having been someone great in the past. Today however, more than ever before, people are sincerely becoming aware that there is more to life than a few mortal years. There is a general trend towards greater acceptance that there is much more to life than what we see on the surface. This will be very helpful to them when the light of a greater life, a much longer and more noble series of lives, is brought to their attention. The personality and character as we now express them, are very much determined by our past lives. although parts of our personality are hidden from view, we can, through inner reflection, become aware of what that past has to reveal to us. Our main concern though,should always be the depth of cosmic awareness that we have thus far attained.


 We are constantly evolving and adding to our attainments. Although we may not be aware of what we have attained at times, we can be sure that it is never lost; forgotten maybe, but always dormant, just waiting for our application and use. We should ask spiritual development in everyday life. The answer is always that we must use our attainments in the most natural way possible, for this is as nature works. When we are faced with a problem, we should endeavour always to meditate briefly upon it first and before we take any definite action. By raising our awareness to a level where we can get knowledge of what is best for us to do, we find that our thoughts are greatly cleared up. The problem diminishes in size and is placed in a broader perspective, one where the true worth of the problem and nay associated action is revealed. At the same time, we raise our consciousness above the often disturbing emotions associated with problems in life.


 Our experience of life on earth is truly a great preparation for what follows. It is here that all cosmic laws and principles are fulfiled and demonstrated.If we can apply ourselves to the teaching of mystical orders . we will surely find that cosmic mind and it host of manifestation in the form of intelligent life both in material reality and out of it, are eager to do our bidding and indeed to assist us to eventually command all nature.Above all, let us remember that our thoughts and actions day to day determine what out future brings. Let us therefore raise our thoughts daily and firmly establish only the very highest ideals in our heart, so that our future lives may reflect the peace, love and harmony of the Cosmic .