AMORC Degree 11 (114-136).pdf

The Rosicrucian Order

MASTER MONOGRAPH IL L U M IN A T I S E C T IO N This monograph always remains the property of the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. I t is not purchased by, but loaned to, the receiving member.

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Monograph 114

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An / of the organs of the body, but it does mean practically everyy y thing else, and this requires practice and a gradual developV ment of the process.

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORC

The Rosicrucian Order

NUMBER ONE H UNDR ED FOURTEEN

PAGE FOUR

When we come, therefore, to Cosmic Consciousness and the development of perfect contact with the Cosmic Mind it requires a complete attunement of objective and subjective functionings. We must become like one whose consciousness has been suspended. We must not even be aware of the tightness of our clothing against our bodies. We must not be con­ scious of the time of day or our environment in any sense. We must not be conscious of time or any condition. We really must not be con­ scious of ourselves, and must not think of our own personal relationship to the "tFTings we are thinking about, but become merely a part of the consciousness of the things we are thinking about. In other words, we must put our entire consciousness into the thought as though the thought itself composed our consciousness. If we are attuning with the Cosmic we must then become a part of the Cosmic and have no consciousness of earthly association or contact for the time being. I therefore recommend that during the week you continue this concentration upon sounds of music or upon anything else that you may find that will make as good a point for focalizing your attention. I cannot, at the present time, think of anything that is as fine as music. If you have a beautiful picture of some kind in your home, especially a landscape painting, you may substitute this for music and try to concentrate on it so that you lose yourself in the picture and become a part of the picture. In this case you will be using your eyes instead of your ears as a means of concentration. Try to note every little detail of the picture, as for instance, the color and nature of the sky. Is it a soft sky suggesting a mild day, cloudless, warm, clear and cheerful, or is it cloudy and perhaps cold with the wind blowing? If there are trees try to analyze the type of trees, the species, the time of the year, according to the coloring of the leaves, and the age of the trees. If there are houses, fences, roads, flowers, or other details try to put yourself right into the picture and stand up close to these things and study them. Get in among the flowers and see if you can tell what kind of flowers they are. Get close to the house. Stand in the doorway if you can. What kind of material covers the house? How are the windows formed? Lose yourself in the picture as though it were a stage set­ ting and you were on the stage looking at the minute details that the artist has placed there. If you can feel the atmosphere the artist has created, then you are in perfect concentration. Practice this during the coming week. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V

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

Real concentration calls for the exercise of a number of faculties within us. In order to concentrate perfectly upon any thought, every aspect of your conscious­ ness must be centered toward one point. All external impressions and all internal functionings, as far as possible, must be eliminated. It requires complete attunement of objective and subjective functioning to attain the development of perfect contact with the Cosmic mind. W e must put our entire con­ sciousness into the thought as though the thought itself composed our consciousness. During the week, continue the concentration upon sounds of music. A beautiful paint­ ing may be substituted, stressing the sense of sight instead of hearing.

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MASTER MONOGRAPH IL L U M IN A T I S E C T IO N This monograph alw ays remains the property of the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. I t is not purchased by, but loaned to, the receiving member.

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

THE CONCURRENCE This W eek’ s Consideration o f a Famous Opinion V

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*1 Through correct creative visualization, we are able to become more spiritually developed, opening the way to Cosmic illumination. This, Cornelius Agrippa tells us, is accomplished only by freeing ourselves of our animal in' stincts and rising.'up to a state of true spirituality:

If we desire to become spiritually developed, we must try to find out how we can free ourselves of our animal instincts and desires and become rid of our sensuality and passions, and we must, furthermore, attempt to rise up to a state of true spirituality. Without accomplishing these two proposi' tions we will never rise up to that state which is necessary to obtain magic powers, which result from the spiritual elevation and dignity of man. We should therefore attempt to remove all external impediments which are in the way of our spiritual development and live in a state of purity. Our thoughts should be continually directed inwardly and within ourselves; for within ourselves is the element of consciousness, knowledge, and power. Nothing hinders us to develop and exercise our own powers, except our misconceptions, imaginations, and external desires. Therefore the divine influences will only come to him who liberates his soul of all such hin* drances, carnal desires, prejudices and hallucinations. Such a process of development and unfolding is not accomplished at once, but requires time and patience; . . —CORNELIUS AGRIPPA, 1486 (7 )4 5 3 5

Temple Section

AMORC

ELEVENTH DEGREE

NUM BER 115

The Rosicrucian Order

PAGE ONE

Beloved Members, Greetings I I hope that the exercises which you have been doing, or should have been doing, during the past week have been not only beneficial but interesting to you. To check up on the instructions I have been giving recently I have been following the exercises myself very carefully, attempting to do them as though for the first time, and noting not so much the results— for in my case the re­ sults would not stand out as definitely as with those who were do­ ing these exercises for the first time— but trying to sense the intellectual interest that I found in them when I first did them, and which I find each time I repeat them. It is so easy to think that these exercises are simple and unimportant, and are merely given to you to test once and thereafter consider as mere intellec­ tual subjects— but those who have been following them carefully frankly tell me that the benefits are quite definite. Our forms of mental action, which I will call mentalism, are so complicated and yet so simple in real fundamentals that we do not become as famil­ iar with them as we should. One of the earliest studies in universities and colleges in connection with psychology was that of the mental routine involved in the ordinary operation of the old horse-drawn streetcar. We have referred to that in previous monographs. The horse hears the conductor ring the bell once for the car to stop, and automatically stops while the driver on the front platform almost automatically pulls on the reins of the horse and puts on the brake, and the passenger gets out, and then the conductor rings the bell the second time, and the horse hears it, and so does the driver, etc. To trace the whole mental action from the time the passenger seated inside of the car raises his hand, indicating he wants to get out, and the conductor sees the signal, and then gives one that the horse and driver hear, etc., used to involve practically half a course in psychology. However, today such courses utilize more modern illustrations of these processes. What is far more interesting is what occurs when you and I sit down with a pencil, or pen and ink, and try to write. The mind first has to conceive a thought, and then automatically put it into words, and as we think of words the mind automatically affects the muscles through the nervous system, causing the fingers to move the pencil in certain ways so as to produce certain kinds of marks on the paper. These marks in turn form themselves into symbols or sounds if spoken or read and convey to the human mind again the thoughts originally held by the first person before he wrote them. Here I am in my Sanctum dictating this monograph to you. I think of the thoughts which I wish to express in connection with manuscript notes I have before me, and as I formulate the thoughts in my mind, my tongue responds

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

A MO R C

NUM BER 1 15

The Rosicrucian Order

P A G E TWO

with other muscles in producing the sounds. My secretary hears the sounds, and without any attempt on her part to realize the signifi­ cance of the words, the sounds are automatically transmuted by the brain into nerve impulses, and her fingers move to write steno­ graphic symbols on the pages of the book. When back in her own office again she reads these symbols, and automatically the mind translates the symbols into thoughts formed of certain letters and words, and without stopping to think of the process at all, these words and letters are transmuted into nerve energy which causes her fingers to strike the right keys on the keyboard, and once again the thoughts are expressed in different symbols from those in her stenographic book, and are now in letters and words of the English language in typewritten form. You read these symbols, letters, and words, and through the impression of your eyesight, thoughts are created in your mind, and these thoughts are translated into your consciousness and visualized as living things. When I spoke a moment ago of my secretary typing on the typewriter you could not help visualizing for a fraction of a second her fingers typing on a typewriter keyboard. As I spoke of her writing in shorthand in the book you could not help visualizing the peculiar marks of shorthand written on the pages of her book. Every thought creates a picture which we unconsciously visual­ ize for a fraction of a second. The only exception to this rule is with those persons who are less educated. The word typewriter and stenographer typing at a typewriter would not create a picture in the mind of a person who had never seen a typewriter, or anyone working at one. To him the phrase typing at a typewriter would mean nothing because he could not visualize the thoughts. Those thoughts which we cannot create in our minds from visualization or from association of ideas are lost to us. If the man in the above example had seen a piano keyboard, and a player at the piano, and I told him that typing at a typewriter was like playing on a piano keyboard, he would then visualize the piano keyboard, but it would not help him to visualize a typewriter as it really is. Very often thoughts create in our mind analogies, or similarities, or bring together the association of ideas, and thereby create another new or different picture which may or may not be true. Very often a phrase or a word in something we read seems new to us, and if we concentrate on it for a moment some similar idea is created in our minds as a possible interpretation wherein lies a source of error in our understanding. Many other thoughts are passed over, and unrealized by any form of visual conception in the mind. In this way we lose the meaning, the beauty, the significance, or the importance

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEG REE

A MORC

NUM BER 115

The Rosicrucian Order

PAGE THREE

of something that we are reading. All of our monographs are worded with the idea constantly in mind of enabling you to visualize the ideas by comparison with the simplest, the most attractive and dependable ideas that are familiar to most people. This is why it is easy for you to understand and memorize the important points in our lessons. Concentrating upon music, as given in last week's monograph, enables you to visualize the instruments and the melodies while the music is being played. This week I would like to have each one of you spend at least fifteen minutes each day in sitting down, or standing somewhere and concentrating upon some view that is before you. If you can stand in some building and look out over a land­ scape, please do so once or twice during the week for about fifteen minutes each time. If you can stand in the door of your home and look up and down the street, studying and viewing everything that is in sight, do it some day for about ten or fifteen minutes. If you can go to some different vantage point each day, and, without attracting attention, just sit and concentrate upon the view in front of you, please do it. First of all, try to see everything that is in the picture before you. "Make believe" that you are called upon to go to some studio and paint a picture of the scene you are looking at. Assume that you dare not make any sketches or photographs, but have to paint the picture from memory, and that your reward will be in ac­ cordance with how many of the actual details you get into your picture. Try to note the shape and style of the buildings in front of you. Pick out one of the buildings and study how many windows there are in it, where the door is located, whether there are any ornaments, whether there are any trees, fences, or border lines around it. Try to make the picture of that building so fixed in your mind that you could go back to your home or your room and tell anyone who could paint just what to put into every part of the picture. After you have done this for a time, lift your eyes heaven­ ward and try to study the stars and see how many there are and how they are located and related to each other. Let your eyes concen­ trate upon one group and analyze how they are posited in their re­ lationship to each other. After some days of this begin to turn your concentration in­ wardly again and see if you cannot find a form of consciousness or an aura of consciousness within your body which you can analyze. Concentrate upon your lungs or your heart and explore it with your inner eye. All of this practice for the week will help you to develop a broadening of consciousness which I want to talk about in the next monograph, and which will be the first step toward contacting certain

Temple Section-------------------------------A M O R C ---------------------------- — The Rosicrucian Order

ELEVENTH DEGREE

NUM BER 1 1 5

PAGE FOUR

planes of Cosmic Consciousness. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V

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V

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

51

Every thought creates a picture which we unconsciously visualize for a fraction of a second.

Those thoughts which we cannot create in our mind from visualization

or association of ideas are lost to us. 51

All our monographs are worded with the thought constantly in mind of enabling you to visualize the ideas by comparison with the most simple, attractive, and dependable ideas that are familiar to most people.

51

This week spend fifteen minutes each day concentrating upon some view. Imagine you are to paint each detail from memory. Study the stars and their relationship to each other. Then turn your consciousness inwardly and see if you cannot find a form of consciousness within your body that you can analyze.

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

The object of concentration of course is to focus attention on a single subject or objective. The focusing of attention is a powerful tool, for it allows you to hold in your mind’s eye only what you want to hold. Think about this for a moment. If you could have in your mind only what you wanted to have in your mind, you would not only be able to accomplish great things, but you could also eliminate all of the negative and disturbing thoughts th at cloud your mind through the day. In other words, a mind that is focused on one thing exclusively cannot entertain any other thoughts. Thus concentration is not only something to use occasionally for a special purpose, but can be used continuously to bring about continuing desired states of mind.

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The Rosicrucian Order

MASTER MONOGRAPH ILLUMINATI SECTION This monograph always rem ains the property of the Supreme G rand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. I t is not purchased by, b u t loaned to, the receiving member.

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RE G I S T E R E D IN U . S . P A T E N T O T P I C E ( A LSO R E G IST E R E D TH RO U G H O U T T H E WORLD ) P R I N T E O IN U . S . A.

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Uy pr inc po__________„ .______ , studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts" as authorized by the Im perator o f A. M. O. R. C. (T h e above emblem and name o f the Order are also registered in countries throughout the world.) All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of. the legal title, and the right o f possession to this monograph is and snail shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and It shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used fo r the sole and exclusive information o f the receiving member and not otherwise. Any Other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights o f the member, and is a violation of the Statutes o f this Order. A. M. O. R. C. is the only organization authorized to use the R eg­ istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

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

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I t is th e aim o f the members of this organization to develop those faculties w hich will enable them to become leaders in the nex t cycle of hum an developm ent. Such faculties are referred to by the Chinese philosopher

Kwang'Tse:

should li\e to hear about (the government of) the spirit'li\e men,' ( continued Tuan Fung once more). ‘I

The reply was, 'Men of the highest spirit'li^e qualities mount up on the light, and ( the limitations of) the body vanish. This we call being bright and ethereal. They carry out to the utmost the powers with which they are endowed, and have not a single attribute unexhausted. Their joy is that of heaven and earth, and all embarrassments of affairs melt away and dis' appear; all things return to their proper nature:—and this is what is called ( the state of) chaotic obscurity.' — K W A N G 'T S E , F O U R T H C E N T U R Y B. C .

Temple Section-

ELEVENTH DEGREE

■AMORC

N U M B E R O N E H U N D R E D SIXTEEN

■The Rosicrucian Order

PAGE O N E

Beloved Members, Greetings! Has the devil ceased to exist? Can we truly say that there is no devil and that the idea of a devil is only an imagined product of the mind? Throughout all the ages, and among even the most primitive be­ ings, a character has been used to symbolize the dark, destructive forces of the universe. In all of our mystical rituals we have a similar character called the Tempter at the Threshold. It is the devil's business to tempt all of us into evil and it is the tempter's business to tempt us to do things that will bring us into evil. Just as our organization has to battle against the maliciousness of the dark forces, so every individual has to deal with these things throughout life. In a great many human beings the baser or lower in­ stincts of human nature constitute the real devil within. This is far worse than a devil on the outside who is trying to tempt. Sometimes those who are fighting the hardest through education and cultural living to try to maintain a good spiritual attitude in the world are pulled down off the high pedestal by the baser instincts within. They are tempted into the lowest habits and the lowest in­ dulgences and in this way give satisfaction to the flesh and those instincts that are so primitive that they belong to the savage beast. Such persons should be pitied instead of censured and punished. Many criminals suffer in this way when really at heart they do not want to be criminals or evildoers. We notice how the instinct of devilment or evil often manifests itself in little children. No matter how often they are scolded or corrected, or how hard they try to be good, they will look at some­ thing that attracts their attention and instantly some evil instinct in them tempts them to do something they should not do. They will steal things, break things, throw things, or do things that cause trouble and do it with real maliciousness solely because of this little devil within. It has been this feature of human nature that mankind has tried to overcome. The most fortunate thing about it all is that the average human being seeks constantly to improve himself, and all human beings seek at some time to improve themselves. If it were not for this progressive, constructive, uplifting tendency that comes into the heart of all beings at some time of each day, week, and month, civilization would not have made the great progress it has made. Those who are on the mystical path have a double battle to fight. They are not only trying to overcome the evil instincts that every human being is trying to overcome, but they are trying at the same time to redevelop certain instincts and functions that have become dormant within them. In other words, they are reaching higher and with a greater determination than the average human being. The thing that helps most of these students is system

Temple Section-

EL EVENTH DEGREE

■AMORC

N U M B E R O N E H U N D R E D SIXTEEN

■The Rosicrucian Order

PAGE T W O

and order. The mystic who belongs to a fraternity or organization such as ours is like a person who is attempting to study music. You know that the person who has music in his heart and soul and wants to become a musician will gradually develop the ability to play if he has a piano or some instrument that he can use, even though he never has any teacher or any practical instruction. You also know that the person who wants to learn music and can have regular instruction and practical help from an experienced person makes greater progress and becomes a better musician. Now, the idea of such cooperation and systematic instruction is not for the purely intellectual understanding that will come from the lessons but to impress upon you what is to be gained from the practice and application of the principles. Even the student of music who has the most expert teacher will not make as much progress if he does not practice between the lessons as the one who does practice. Merely having a teacher play for him and tell him what he should play and give him the music to read will not make him as good a musician as would practice. On the other hand, the student who has no teacher and is teaching himself soon finds that the thing he needs the most is practice, and through practice alone and without guidance he will make better progress than the student who has a teacher but does not practice. That is why we revert constantly to certain exercises in our work. We must develop certain faculties along with our intellectual understanding of the laws and principles. We must gradually anni­ hilate the evil instincts within us and destroy the tempter that makes us still remnants of ancient civilization. I do not suppose that you ever thought of it, but you must realize that the instinct to want to seize anything that we see and like, regardless of who owns it, is a perfectly normal and natural instinct of primitive civilization. If you or I were left abandoned on an island all by ourselves and had to make the best of it, we would be perfectly ethical and perfectly proper in our conduct if we went about the unknown island and seized anything and everything that would be of material benefit to us. Any­ thing that would contribute to our safety, our food, our comfort, would be ours by merely taking it. That is a primitive instinct and a primitive right. We know, however, that among civilized people such a right no longer exists, and that there are rules, regulations, system and order in regard to such matters, and we must proceed to destroy that instinct of seizure so that it will not express itself. The same is true of many other instincts that were perfectly proper in the ancient days, and in the modes of ancient civilizations. You and I, and many more of us, are attempting not only to meet the present-day civilization, customs, and habits but we are attempting to lift ourselves beyond the average. I feel sure that each one of you at the present time is more spirit-

Temple Section-

ELEVENTH DEGREE

A M O R C

■The Rosicrucian Order

N U M B E R O N E H U N D R E D SIXTEEN

PAGE THREE

ually developed, more intellectually comprehensive, and more truly prepared to guide and properly direct your life than the average human. But that is not sufficient. No one of us would think of call­ ing ourselves perfectly developed in any sense. I am sure that there are millions of facts about myself and the universe and the people who live in it that I want to know and become familiar with. There are some talents within me that I still want to develop. There are some faculties in each of us that we want to bring to greater development and greater improvement. And we, each of us, hope to be able to use and develop some faculties that others do not have, not merely to become superbeings— for we do not have superiority complexes— but we want to be of the next race and of the next cycle of human development so that we can lead others and guide and help them. We know that the present-day cycle of human beings is not perfect and is far from what the human race will gradually develop into. We know that a hundred years from now there will be a generation of human beings born that will be greatly improved in customs and habits over any who are living today. We want to reach as near to that stage now as possible so that when we come here again in another incarnation, or when we live another fifty years in the present one we will have at­ tained a degree of development that will be a power to ourselves and to others. For this reason we are going to start now a series of "superman" experiments and exercises that will apply a great many of our past lessons and exercises to a very practical purpose. In preparation for this I would like to have you read this lesson over again and meditate upon it during the week, using any exercises that you may choose to add so that your mind will be appreciative of the new exercises begin­ ning with next week and of the turning point we are now making in this Degree of study. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V

V

V

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

^1 In a great many human beings the baser instincts of human nature constitute the real devil within. This is worse than a devil on the outside who is trying to tempt. W e must gradually annihilate the evil instincts within us and the tempter without. T he average human being seeks constantly to improve himself. (f Those who are on the mystical path have a double battle to fight: overcoming evil, and at the same time, trying to redevelop certain instincts and functions which are dormant within. System and order help most of these students. (]j Exercises are used in our work to develop certain faculties along with our under­ standing o f the laws and principles. W e want to bring a greater development o f faculties which will enable us to become leaders in the next cycle of human development.

THE IN S TITU T IO N BEHIND THE ROSICR U CIA N O R G A N IZ A T IO N S a n J o s e , C a l i f o r n i a , U. S. A. R o sicru cian Park

"Consecrated to truth and dedicated to every Rosicrucian" T his m o n o g r a p h is n o t s u b je c t t o s a le o r p u r c h a s e b y o n y o n e . p u rch ase

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

V

V

9 The exercise given in this monograph is for the pur' pose of developing the “veil of invisibility.” In the fol' lowing extract, the Taoist philosopher, Lu Yen, of the eighth century after Christ, describes the results of a similar experience:

timesthefollowingcanbeexperienced:assoonasoneisquiet,the Lightoftheeyesbeginstoblazeup,sothateverythingbeforeonebecomes quitebrightasifonewerem acloud.Ifoneopensone'seyesandsee\s thebody,itisnot to befoundanymore.Thisiscalled:Intheempty chamberitgrowslight.Insideandoutside,everythingisequallylight. Thatisaveryfavorablesign.Or,whenonesitsinmeditation,thefleshly bodybecomesquiteshininglil{esil\orjade.Itseemsdifficulttoremain sitting;onefeelsasifdrawnupward. Thisiscatted:Thespiritreturns andpushesagainstHeaven.Intime,onecanexperienceitinsuchaway thatonereallyfloatsupward. At

—LU YEN, b. 755 A. D.

AMORC

Temple Section

E L E V E N T H DEGREE

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N U M B E R O N E H U N D R E D SE V E N T E E N

PAGE O N E

Beloved Members, Greetings! As stated last week, we are going to begin a series of experi­ ments in connection with this Eleventh Degree which constitute the highest esoteric exercises known to the Rosicrucians. I may as well be frank with you and say that these exercises will lead to the next Degree of study, for in the Twelfth a high degree of esoteric ecstasy is to be attained. Therefore, we will have a series of brief lessons for the next eight or ten weeks, or possibly longer, each containing a very defi­ nite exercise and brief explanation. I know that the members will not judge the importance or significance of the weekly communication by either its length or the outer aspect of the lesson. Nearly all the members of this Degree have expressed their opinion in this regard many times in their communications to me, and I know that most of them feel that the very fact that they are in contact with the organization and with the work that I am doing in these higher Degrees is suffi­ cient to maintain and extend the development they are passing through. In the monographs of the Ninth Degree, we had an explanation of the principle of forming a cloud around various objects, forming it in the room so that it would be visible. Also, we had an exercise for the establishment of a circle around the student as a sort of pro­ tective condition. Now we are to take a step further and devote our first week of the new exercises to the forming of an etheric veil around ourselves. Perhaps it is well to make a few historic refer­ ences to what this means so that you will understand the principles involved. The most notable example of this is recorded in the Oriental writings regarding the life and work of Jesus. It is said in these writings that Jesus often upon occasion made himself suddenly invisi­ ble. This in itself was not stated as though it were an unusual thing or a miraculous thing, nor is it cited as an example of his great abilities, because all through the ancient records of the work of the great Masters the same manifestation is noted in a purely casual way. If one will read even the Old Testament of the Christian Bible one will find many citations which would plainly indicate that a similar manifestation had occurred in the lives of a great many persons who had been illuminated or spiritually and divinely prepared. In every report that comes to us from the Great White Brotherhood in Tibet or from the worldly contacts with the Great Masters of the Great White Lodge or the Masters of the Far East, we read that these Masters often make a similar manifestation of invisibility. Madame Blavatsky in her writings referred to the fact that this was one of the first surprising manifestations she ever witnessed; and, of course, she never stated whether she learned the secret of it or ever performed such a manifestation herself, but she was very

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PAGE T W O

familiar with it and gradually came to realize that it was not one of the most outstanding manifestations that these Masters could make. Judging purely from the onlooker's point of view, it seemed that the manifestation merely consisted of shrouding oneself with a con­ dition that resulted in invisibility of the physical form. In other words, to the onlooker the Master merely disappeared without seeming to go up or down or sideways in any motion. But from the point of view of the person concerned in the manifestation a great deal more takes place than mere invisibility. The person who is performing the mani­ festation knows that he is merely veiled from the one who is watching. He knows that he does not actually disappear from existence or from any material form, and that in a little while he will become visible again without any great change being apparent. However, during the period of invisibility or while surrounded by the veil of invisibility, he is able to do many things and perform many miracles and is in a highly spiritual state. This is the important matter to the one who is performing the manifestation. In other words, while the veil of invisibility is surrounding the demonstrator, he has extraordinary powers that can be developed and used, and this gives him abilities which he does not have at other times. This is the phase in which we will be interested during these experiments. I want to state also at this time that while I have arbitrarily adopted the phrase or term veil of invisibility many of these ancient manuscripts, if not all of them, refer to this veil as the veil of obscurity and often use the abbreviation V. 0. However, since the term veil of obscurity is also used in connection with the exercises and meditations preliminary to the regeneration period as outlined in some of our previous lessons of the Tenth and Eleventh Degrees, I have thought it better to use the term veil of invisibility in con­ nection with these experiments so that we may separate them from the former exercises and experiences, but we may sometimes quote some of the ancient manuscripts in which the veil of obscurity is referred to, or the initials V. 0. referred to as a manifestation, and I want you to be prepared to understand what the reference means. As intimated above, the veil of obscurity is not a condition that affects either the mental or physical nature of the person performing it. It is something external to the body and is much like hanging a heavy, although invisible, opaque curtain around one at about a dis­ tance of two or three feet from the body and as though one stood in the center of this enclosed space absolutely free from any contact with the veil and yet shut out of sight from all worldly view and at the same time prevented from seeing any of the world beyond the veil for the time being As you probably noted when you were making the experi­ ments with the cloud in your sanctum in the earlier mono-

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORC

The Rosicrucian Order

N U M B E R O N E H U N D R E D SEVENTEEN

PAGE THREE

graphs, a mist can be formed that will assume the neutral tints and colors of the environment so that the cloud is almost invisible and does not appear like a white smoke screen, or a black cloud, or smoke, or anything of that kind. What really takes place in the case of the veil of invisibility is that a vibratory condition affects the ether around one so that the light rays, which means the sight rays, are so broken up that refraction and reflection of light and the transmission of light is interrupted. It was difficult for Rosicrucians who were scientifically analytical to understand how such a veil could be formed out of nothing and made invisible and still opaque until science in its various laboratories of industry and experimentation discovered that light rays could be deflected or bent at curves and angles and that refracted or reflected light was necessary for us to be able to see. One of the simple experiments in this regard is the fact that a sunbeam shining in the window of your home and causing a bright spot of sunlight on the floor is invisible unless there is reflection and refraction of the light. In other words, you would see the reflection on the floor and you would see the sun on the window where the beams of light were striking the windows, but between the window and floor the long beams of sun­ light that are usually seen would not be seen at all if there were perfectly clear and clean air in the room; that is, if there were an absence of the ordinary amount of so-called dust or elements and par­ ticles of matter that reflect and deflect light and cause a certain amount of diffused reflection. Science found that by taking a large wooden box two or three feet wide and eight or ten feet long, and forming one side of it of glass, and using a vacuum to suck out all of the dust and dirt inside, and keeping it sealed, that by having a little window of glass in one end through which a sunbeam was permitted to enter, it would be seen through the glass side of the box that the sunbeam was invisible ex­ cept where it formed a patch on the floor of the box. By opening the lid of the box and letting ordinary air in again, or blowing some light particles of dust into the box, the sunbeam would gradually become visible. Other experiments have shown that by the use of high-frequency electric currents or stressed magnetic conditions, the atmosphere and the particles of electrons which are in the atmosphere can be so af­ fected that light will not make itself manifest. These experiments enabled the mystics of some years ago to understand the nature of the veil of invisibility. Of course, those Rosicrucians who have worked in the experimental laboratories of the Order in various countries and conducted experiments like those which we have conducted in our \ & \ / laboratory understood these principles, but the average student learned that the fact was a fact only through testing the prinV ciples in the purely mystical way in which you will test them.

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

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The Rosicrucian Order

N U M B E R O N E H U N D R E D SEVENTEEN

PAGE F O U R

Therefore, we see that the veil of invisibility is not "some­ thing" but "nothing" that is established around one's body. In other words nothing is added to the condition around one in this experiment but rather something is taken away which seems to make it impossible for the light rays to pass from our bodies to the eyes of persons who are looking at us and, therefore, the impression of sight is not car­ ried and the persons trying to see us do not see us clearly, and in most cases do not see us at all, according to how perfectly we conduct the experiment. Now we would not take the time to have a series of experiments the purpose of which was merely to make ourselves invisible. One test of this would be sufficient to demonstrate the law. What we are going to do is to work with the other sublime conditions that can be created after the veil of invisibility has been placed around us. In this condition of perfect electrical and magnetic separation from our en­ vironment we sense a freedom of vitality, mental and spiritual ex­ pansion and extension that makes many marvelous things possible. The first step, therefore, in making this series of experiments is for the student to select a time when he can be alone and quiet and undisturbed for fifteen or twenty minutes, and can sit down in a soft­ ly lighted room (not a completely dark room) and become relaxed and meditative. The mental attitude should be one of drawing within one­ self and of eliminating all of one's worldly surroundings by ignoring them and adopting the attitude of separation. One should proceed men­ tally as though one were about to enter one of the cells in some monastery, in which the monks would closet themselves for study and meditation. One should feel that one is about to enter one of these little rooms and close the door and instantly become a recluse, separated and apart from all worldly contact. After sitting down with this attitude, and feeling that one is materially alone and separated, the next step is to proceed to visual­ ize an enclosure around one as though a curtain hanging from the ceil­ ing in circular form surrounded one at about a distance of three or four feet from the body in each direction. If you can imagine that a circular curtain pole is hanging from the ceiling, and from this cur­ tain pole a dark opaque curtain is hanging in soft folds, and en­ tirely surrounding you at a distance of about three feet from your body with you sitting in the middle of it, you will have some idea of what I mean by a circular enclosure. But you are not to try to create a fictitious or semimaterialistic sort of curtain. I merely speak of such a curtain in order to give you an idea of the size of space of the enclosure and not of its nature. Having visualized a circular enclosure or circular space around you, your next and third step is to think of this cir­ cular enclosure becoming a magnetic field around you with the

Temple Section

E L E V E N T H DEGREE

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The Rosicrucian Order

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radiations from your body disrupting the atmosphere in every direction for about three feet and thus making the atmosphere of such a magnetic or electronic nature that sight waves and light waves will not pass through the magnetic condition. Determining with your will power that this condition shall exist, and concentrating upon it— even with your eyes closed— for about five minutes should gradually produce such a condition that if you open your eyes and look toward some objects in the room you will find that they are becoming vague and indefinite. I want to warn you right here of one point. If you have pro­ ceeded with your eyes closed during the concentration part of the ex­ periment and then open your eyes you may for a moment see things as clearly in your room as you did before you began concentrating, but if you will continue with your eyes open looking casually toward one part of the room while continuing to concentrate upon the creation of the magnetic condition, you will notice that the things in the part of the room toward which you are facing are becoming a little more indefi­ nite. It appears from my own experiences, and those of a few others who have been practicing these experiments with me in advance of the lessons so that I would be able to anticipate problems that will arise in your case, that the person who is within the enclosed space is often able to see very faintly some of the objects near him, or some­ times some of the distant ones, even though those on the outside of the veil are unable to see the person within. In other words, it does not always follow that the person in the center of the enclosed space is unable to see anything beyond the veil, for the veil appears to be slightly transparent to the person in the center but is completely opaque to those on the outside. There are various scientific reasons for this such as the fact that the greater amount of light on the outside of the veil will permit the person in­ side to see objects while the lesser amount of light within the small enclosure will prevent persons on the outside from seeing anything. Therefore, you must not judge the complete success of your experiment by the amount of invisibility that you develop. If you find that the objects around you are becoming slightly darker in shade and color or slightly less visible or slightly less definite in form or detail, you can be sure that you are having great success with the first step. I am not going to give you any further details at this time because each and every detail requires careful practice and careful explanation, and this would lead into many pages of matter that are beyond the first step. day.

Try this experiment for about fifteen minutes once or twice a Certainly try it once every day during the coming week. After having been seated in concentration upon this invisible stressed magnetic condition around you for about fifteen minutes you may discontinue if you wish— or make it a little longer in time if you wish— and then go about your regu-

Temple Section

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The Rosicrucian Order

AMORC

N U M B E R O N E H U N D R E D SEVENTEEN

P A G E SIX

lar affairs. I would suggest that you do not sit down to try this experiment facing a bright window, a bright lamp, or any bright source of light because this will penetrate the condition so much it will deceive you as to the extent of your success in the experiment and perhaps interfere with the perfect concentration. On the other hand, do not try it in an absolutely dark room, for then you will not be able to tell at all whether you are making any progress. May I ask at this time that not one of you makes any reference to any member regarding this experiment. If you get into any discussion with members at any time regarding the cloud experiment in the Degrees below the Tenth it will be well for you to let the others tell you about their experiences and you tell them of yours in connection with the cloud, for you may discover some interesting facts from their ex­ periences ; but do not let them know that there is a still higher form of this work with the atmosphere for we wish to keep it a secret be­ cause of the nature of the experiments that are to follow with it. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V

V

V

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

Jesus often upon occasions made himself invisible. Similar manifestations have oc­ curred in the lives of a great many persons divinely prepared. (J This manifestation consisted of shrouding oneself with a condition that resulted in invisibility of the physical form; during this period one is in a highly spiritual state and has extraordinary powers. Q Ancient manuscripts refer to this manifestation as the “V .O .” or the “veil of obscur­ ity” ; however, in these monographs the term veil of invisibility has been adopted. (J In the veil of invisibility, a vibratory condition affects the ether around us so that the transmission of light is interrupted, making our bodies invisible to others. 4J In this condition of perfect electric and magnetic separation from our environment, we sense a freedom of vitality, a mental and spiritual expansion and extension which makes many marvelous things possible. (J In this exercise you will be able to judge the complete success by the amount of in* visibility you develop.

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

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

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MASTER MONOGRAPH IL L U M IN A T I S E C T IO N This monograph always remains the property of the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. I t is not purchased by, but loaned to, the receiving member.

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

THE C O N C U R R EN C E This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V

V

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^ In a series of three articles entitled, “T he Science and Mysticism of Color,” appearing in the of December, 1943, January and February, 1944, the present Imperator, Ralph M . Lewis, made a valuable contribution to general knowledge on the matter of color. Those possessing such copies of the will be interested in reread' ing what he had to say. Below is a short excerpt from the concluding article.

Rosicrucian

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Eachhumanbody,eventhoughitisanaggregateofmanyradiations andvibrationsofenergiesoftheCosmic,hasitsownspecificfrequency orvibration. Justaseachtuningfor\hasanaturalvibratoryrate;that is,arateofvibrationtowhichitrespondsparticularlyandwhichconsti' tutesitspitch,sohasthebody. Thisparticularvibratoryrate,whichwe eachhave,correspondstosomehue of color inthevastspectrumof colors.... Thattherearesuchcolorswhichcorrespondtothevibratoryrateof ourbeingisadiscoverytheindividualma\eshim self b y th e effectswhich thespecifichueofcolorhasuponhim. When heisinitspresence,he findsitverybeneficial,soothing,quieting,andrejuvenating.. . . A c olormightseemtoharmonizewiththecoloringofourhairand eyes,morewithourobjectiveappearancethananother,andyetanother colormaybepreferredbecauseofitssalutaryeffectuponourinnerself. When youselectacolororhuethatharmonizeswithyourinnerselfin thismanner,youarereallyfittingyourselfintothegreatCosmicspectrum, inthesamemannerthatthebandsinthespectrumoflightareallin properorderandrelationship,makingforanharmoniouswholewhich manifestsaspersonalsatisfactionandimperturbability. R A LPH M . L E W IS, F.R .C . Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order, A M O R C

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORC

The Rosicrucian Order

NUMBER ONE HUNDRED NINETEEN

PAGE ONE

Respected Members, Greetings! Of course, it is too early for me to know much about the results that you or others may have obtained through last week's experiment, because I find even from those living close to me that the first few days produced only a sensation of calmness with a slight sensation of invigoration. I know that as the week ends there will be a very definite tonic feeling and a sense of increased vitality, but even this is not the fullest expression of the exercise, for the real effect will come during the week follow­ ing in each case and there will be a cumulative effect from the various exercises given each week. There is one point in connection with these color exercises that I overlooked mentioning last week, but it is not too late to speak of it now, and that is that the color yellow should be used least of all. If you have selected yellow as the first color for your exercise, do not use it again for many weeks; but if you have not yet used yellow and wish to use it this coming week, keep in mind that while all the other colors or shades of color which you may select may be used alternately and each one as frequently as the other, the color yellow— that is, the brilliant, bright, pure yellow— should not be used except after eight or ten weeks. In other words, all the other colors should be used for eight or ten weeks before the color yellow is repeated in these or any future exercises. If you select a shade of color that is a light green with much yellow in it, then it may be used as frequently as other colors; or if you select an orange with a large amount of yellow in it, you may use it frequently. So long as the yellow is modified with some other color, it may be used frequently but pure yellow in its unmodified form as a primary color should not be used more often than every eight or ten weeks. I repeat this because it is important. It is important because yellow is the only color that does not add to the vitality. It does not deplete or take away from the vitality in any sense, but it has no effect upon the vitality and very little effect upon the psychic development. It does have some minor effects upon some glands, and that is why we do not eliminate it altogether. Now, during the coming week you may try a second color if you wish or stick to the first color you have used, repeating this same color for the coming week (unless it was yellow, in which case select a new color.) I know that I suggested in my talk to you last week that you should change the color every few days if you wished. I really think it would be better to stick to one color for an entire week for the coming few weeks until your system has been pretty well toned and tuned with these colors; then you may change them more rapidly than once a week.

A M O RC

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

The Rosicrucian Order

N U M B E R O N E H U N D R E D NINETEEN

I promised you some I find that explanations principles, as well as a so I shall touch upon an

PAGE TWO

explanation regarding these exercises and will involve a great many fundamental great many new and interesting ones, and important one each week.

Each of us as a vibrating unit of matter in this universal cell of existence has a natural color value which is our individual color, just as each of us has a definite musical note and a def­ inite polarity of vibration. Every unit of matter throughout the universe, whether it is a unit of mercury or a unit of gold, silver, copper, tin, iron, salt or what not, has its distinctive color. It is true that all of the mineral elements, and, in fact, all of the elements of nature in the universe, give off various colors which constitute their individual spectrums; nevertheless, there is one part of the spectrum of color which is most definite for each element and this is known as the distinct color, or shade of color, of that piece of matter. This is not a mystical idea but one which science has verified, and the fact that every element of matter does have a distinct and outstanding line of color in the general spectrum has enabled science to locate or discover many minerals that were missing from the periodic table of earthly elements. Every plant has its distinct color which results from the vibrations of the plant. It is difficult for an individual to discover which is his color except from experience. All of us sooner or later learn the color, or precise shade of color, which is not only most attractive to us but most pleasing, satisfying, and helpful. Many women have discovered that a certain shade of color is best for their clothing because it makes them feel more vital, soothes their nerves, gives added contentment and in many other ways is most appropriate for them. Of course, they have to seek for modifications or even opposites of this color because they cannot wear one color contin­ uously. Also many women and men have found that there is one color, or shade of color, that is quite displeasing. It is commonly known that brown is quite displeasing to some; whereas it is a pleasing color for others. There are many psychological reasons for this, into which we will not enter at the present time. The same is true of musical notes for each individual and of certain other universal conditions and elements of vibrations. Now the object of the present color exercises is not merely to assist you in discovering what is your most pleasing and satisfying color, for I think that there are many more simple ways to discover this. These exercises are for the purpose of building up the vibratory rates of many parts of the body which can function properly only when they are attuned with the various rates of vibrations that affect our

Temple Section

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The Rosicrucian Order

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N U M B E R O N E H U N D R E D NINETEEN

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bodies generally. The whole physical body of man is in rhythm and vibration. Unless every cell in the body is vibrating properly and in harmony with others, there will be illness; and unless the entire body as one cell is vibrating harmoniously with the univer­ sal vibrations, there will be illness. Each color of the spectrum, except yellow, has a vitalizing effect upon the entire body. Yellow has an effect upon only a few glands of minor importance but, nevertheless, necessary to the general scheme. For the following week either continue the same color that you used last week for the same exercise, repeating it identically as you used it during the past week; or, if you have felt very def­ inite effects from that color, you may change to another color for the coming week. But I would strongly urge that you pick one of the colors you used last week and repeat it in your exercises this week so that we may start this work with a good development of the effects at the very beginning. In other words, follow the same exercises as outlined on the several pages of Monograph 118. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

The Weekly Application Whatsoever thou resolvest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the m orning m ay accom plish.—UNTO T H E E I G RA N T

While you have been practicing with different colors to see which was most suitable for you insofar as providing a sense of peace or well-being is concerned, it would now be useful to practice with finding the color th at is least suited to you; one th a t causes you a degree of irritation or displeasure. Then as a matter of common sense, try to avoid involvement with th at color. Don’t wear it. Don’t think about it. Keep it out of your immediate environment. Such elimination of a negative element in your life can have as much good effect for your general well-being as can the presence of one of your more pleasing colors.

Sum m ary of T his M onograph V

V

V

Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete mono­ graph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. The color yellow should not be chosen for these exercises oftener than every eight or ten weeks. This is because yellow, beyond stimulating a few glands, has very little effect upon psychic development. Every unit of matter whether a unit of mercury, silver, copper, iron, salt, or what­ not, has its individual and distinctive color. Each individual, too, has a color with which more than with all others he has an affinity. Conversely, each has a color which more than all others excites his dis­ pleasure. fj The purpose of these exercises, however, is to build up the vibratory rates in dif­ ferent parts of the body in order that proper attunement can be made with the various vibrations which affect the body generally. This can best be done when the whole physical body is in rhythm and attuned not only with its own cell structure but with that of the universe as well.

,

THE INSTITUTIO N BEHIND THE R O SICR U CIA N O R G A N IZ A T IO N Son J o s e , C a l i f o r n i a , U. S. A. Rosicru cian Park

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studies. aiagrama. uiuairauuna, ana cimns as aumunAcu vy Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (Th e above emblem and name of the Order are also registered In countries throughout the world.) All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and snail remain In the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The co n te n ts herein are lo&ned to be used lo r th e sale and exclusive Information o f the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and Is a violation o f the Statutes o f this Order. A. M. O. R. C. is the only organization authorized to use the R eg­ istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use o f them to other allied organizations or movements.

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

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•J Three-quarters of a century have passed since Edwin D. Babbitt wrote The Principles of Light and Color. Yet the student still finds this remarkable work an important reference source, as well as an inspiration. The Rosicru' cian student particularly appreciates the author’s unshake' able conviction of universal law and order and his understanding of the harmonic interrelation of mind and nature. Although strides have been taken in the field of color and spectroscopy (and these modem researches are included elsewhere in our teachings), the following excerpt from this work remains largely true.

Spectrum analysis and the \nowledge of color'potencies if crystallized into a science, would become among the most wonderful studies of the day. During these thousands of years all substances have been proclaiming their leading qualities to man by means of their colors, and it is now quite time that he should open his eyes and see what they are. Spectroscopy, for all its remarkable revelations, is still young, and many of its facts have been thrown up pellnnell, li\e piles of stones, beautiful stones it may be, but yet unsystematized. —EDWIN D. BABBITT, 18284905

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NUMBER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY

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lated in our consciousness without actual origin. In other words we cannot psychically create a taste in our mouths as easily as we can psychically create colors, nor can we as easily create psychic sounds in our ears as we can create colors. All of you know that if you close your eyes and press the finger tips on the eyelids, you will soon see colors passing in front of the eyeballs— even while the eyes are closed. Where do these colors come from? We cannot imitate taste, hearing, feeling, or smelling in such a manner; but we can have beautiful colors passing through the eyes and through the color con­ sciousness while the eyelids are tightly closed. This proves that the color sensation of consciousness is not dependent upon the open eye. Therefore, color consciousness must have something to do with psychic consciousness. This is the way the Rosicrucian mystics would analyze the subject. Science has only partially analyzed it, and the matter is still a mystery. Aristotle was the first of the great philosophers to say that he believed there was some relationship between color and sound. Newton and other scientists and philosophers took up the idea and speculated upon it but were unable to come to any decision or make any demonstra­ tions. Aristotle believed that colors in our consciousness created a sensation of sounds or that sounds passing through the ears and reach­ ing the color consciousness produced colors. Other philosophers came to the conclusion that when we heard sounds we also felt colors and that when we felt colors we heard sounds; therefore, sound could have a very important effect upon our psychic consciousness because of the color effects. Other mystics claimed that when we heard music, for instance, we were not affected by the tones of the music but by the colors set up in our color consciousness or our psychic consciousness by the combination of notes. They claimed that a harmonious chord of music that seemed to please us was not due to the combination of musi­ cal notes but to the combination of colors which these notes aroused in our psychic consciousness. You see, therefore, that we are dealing with a very interesting and mysterious subject. If it is true, as many of our other exercises and experiments indicate, that each of us has a musical note that is our own individual note, to which we naturally respond whenever we hear it, then we must also have a special color which pleases us and to which we respond. Because the musical note of our individuality has an equivalent color, it may be the tone of the color that pleases us rather than the tone of the musical note. You know in all of our early monographs we were taught that every material thing has its musical note and that if a note inharmonious to it is played, the thing will break. A glass bowl has its own distinct note and if we play a cello or violin note directly harmonious or inhar­ monious to it, we can cause the glass to give forth its note or to become shattered. A piece of wood, a piece of tin, any metal, or even a piece of cloth must have a note of its own.

Temple Section

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The Rosicrucian Order

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NUMBER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY

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Now, what is it that causes the glass to break or a wooden sounding board to give forth a tone when certain other notes are played? Is it actual vibrations of sound or vibrations of color that the sound pro­ duces? This is another one of the mysteries to be solved. We are going to learn through the exercises now coming to us in this part of the Eleventh Degree that all through our lives we are seriously af­ fected by colors and that colors have an important part in the de­ velopment of our psychic faculties. This is why you are given the exercises dealing with color at the present time. Quite a few who are studying these present monographs have writ­ ten to me urging that a little more time be given to one exercise in­ stead of having a new one each week, because they find that it takes more than a week successfully to develop the right color in the mag­ netic field surrounding them and they do not want to take up a second color until they have developed the brilliancy of the first to the highest possible degree. I think this is good advice because, after all, the success of the present experiments depends upon the success each of us has in developing these colors; and the better we do it, the more successful will we be in the psychic development that will follow these color exercises. Therefore, for the coming week, con­ tinue the same experiment outlined in Monograph 118. In addition, no­ tice the effects of color in your home life and in the conditions and natural environment outside of you around your home. Try to notice which colors in the rooms you live in please you most and which colors of clothing make you feel more peaceful, more contented, or more magnetic. Having done this and analyzed your color consciousness during the week, you will be ready for other statements of an interest­ ing nature next week. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

AMORC

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E L E V E N T H DEGREE

NUMBER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY

The Rosicrucian Order

PAGE O N E

Beloved Members, Greetings! In one of the previous monographs, I promised a few more details regarding the present exercises and their relation to psychic matters. Vile are starting to deal with color in this connection and we are, therefore, stepping into a field of study and investigation, as well as a series of experiments and exercises, rather new to most of our members and undoubtedly interesting. We have not said much about colors and their psychic effects in the lower Degrees of our work simply because the subject is too vast and too important to be intro­ duced until after certain other phases of development have been attained. There is more mystery surrounding the nature of color, its cause, and its effect on human life and throughout the world than any other manifestation of natural law. Outside the nature of the Vital Life Force itself, color is unquestionably the most mystifying, intriguing, and important of all of the manifestations of the vibrations of nous. Taking all of our five faculties of the brain, or the five senses — seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling— you will have to admit that the sense of seeing is the most important. Even though a person has no sensation of feeling, he is not paralyzed inwardly and can continue to live and enjoy a great amount of life's benefits. Those who cannot hear, taste, or smell are not nearly so handicapped as the person who cannot see. After all, we live in a world of pic­ tures and know more of life through pictures than through other things. Our whole consciousness is made up of realizations and realiza­ tions are always transformed into mental pictures. If I start de­ scribing a book, or a flower, or a scientific instrument, you cannot help forming a mental picture. If I say to you that among the Christ­ mas gifts I received from China, there was one that consisted of a silk panel, yellow in color, about eighteen inches wide and thirty-six inches long with an embroidered emblem of Chinese writing in the center of it, done in green and blue, you will begin to form a mental picture of the thing and you will Judge it by the picture formed rather than by my actual words. For instance, when I say that the silk panel was yellow in color, your mental picture will make that yellow of a certain shade or tone that may not be exactly like the piece of silk, but it will be the color that you will use in judging what I am describing. All our realizations in life are based either upon things we actually see or pictures we form in our minds. Thus, we have two forms of seeing, the psychic process whereby we see imagi­ nary things, that we have mentally formed in our minds, and actual pictures which have been thrown on the retina by the lens of the eye. A person who is physically blind can no longer see the actual pictures of life, but he can continue to visualize and create mental pictures which he sees. If there were no

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NUMBER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY

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possibility of psychic seeing and the eyes were blind also, man would certainly be in a lost world and would seem to be without any realiza­ tion of life. Science has proved in many ways that physical seeing is due to vibrations of light and color. We know in photography that the dif­ ference between a brilliant picture inside the camera and a dull pic­ ture is one of brilliancy of light. We know that light-waves must pass through the lens of the camera to the film in order to make a picture, and we know by various other tests that light-waves must pass through the lens of the eye to the retina in order to give us any picture of our surroundings or of any object. When we come to study light-waves, we find that they are waves of color, and without the color in light there would be no light. Sunlight contains all of the colors known to man through the sense of sight. Not only by the prisms breaking the sunbeam into a beautiful rainbow of all colors but also in many other ways it is proved that sunlight contains all of the colors. An electric light, even though it appears white, does not contain all the colors that sunlight contains; and, of course, a yel­ lowish electric light, a candle, or any other form of light, does not contain all of the brilliancy of the colors found in sunlight. There is a mystery hidden in all of this, one which has not been completely solved, and we hope that some day the Rosicrucians will be the ones to solve it as they have solved so many others. Why is it that a beam of white sunlight contains so many colors and blends of colors and yet our eyes do not see those colors unless a prism sepa­ rates them? What causes the difference in color? We have one answer to this question, for we know that the difference in color is due to difference in vibrations— but what causes the difference in vibra­ tions? This is another part of the mystery. But perhaps the greatest mystery of all is in regard to the effect of color on our conscious­ ness. There are many mystics who claim that we feel colors as well as see them. And there are some philosophers who have said that there is a relationship between our sense of color and our sense of hearing and feeling. In other words, it appears that our consciousness of color is a complex consciousness, associated in some way with our conscious­ ness of sound and feeling. Taste and smell are not quickened with color so far as we have been able to find, but the consciousness of sound does seem to be closely related to our consciousness of seeing color, and the consciousness of color seems to be related very closely to our consciousness of sound. In speculating on the mystery the Rosicrucian soon discovers that this may be the key to many mysteries of life: If color and color consciousness are related in some way to sound, then there must be a psychic connection between sound and sight. Color consciousness may be entirely a psychic condition, for color is the only one of all of our sensations that can be stimu-

Summary of This Monograph V

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

Color, its nature, its cause and effect, is one of the most important and intriguing manifestations of nous. 4} The consciousness is made up of realizations which are always in the form of pic* tures. These realizations are based either upon things we actually see or upon pic­ tures of things we form in our minds. W e have two forms of seeing: through the actual physical eye and through a psy­ chic process of the mind. That we see at all, of course, is due to the vibrations of light and color. 9

Refraction of light by means of a prism reveals it to be made up of colors which are invisible to the eye. The difference in color we know to be due to the difference in vibration, but we yet do not know what causes the difference in vibration.

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W e do know, nevertheless, that light and color have an effect upon our consciousness. Some mystics claim that we feel colors as well as see them. Others state that there is a relationship between our sense of color and our senses of hearing and feeling. This suggests that our color consciousness may be entirely a psychic condition. Color consciousness then is an important field for investigation, and these exercises and experiments have an important bearing on the development of the psychic faculties.

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

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

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f l In a series of three articles entitled, ‘T h e Science and Mysticism of Color," appearing in the Rosicrucian Digest of December, 1943, January and February, 1944, . the present Imperator, Ralph M . Lewis, made a valuable contribution to general knowledge on the matter of color. Those possessing such copies of the will be interested in reread' what he had to say. Below is a short excerpt from the concluding article.

Digest

Each human body, even though it is an aggregate of many radiations and vibrations of energies of the Cosmic, has its own specific frequency or vibration . Just as each tuning fo r\ has a natural vibratory rate; that is, a rate of vibration to which it responds particularly and which consti' tutes its pitch, so has the body. This particular vibratory rate, which we each have, corresponds to some hue of color in the vast spectrum of colors. . . . T h at there are such colors which correspond to the vibratory rate of our being is a discovery the individual ma\es himself by the effects which the specific hue of color has upon him. W hen he is in its presence, he finds it very beneficial, soothing, quieting, and rejuvenating. . . . A color might seem to harmonize with the coloring of our hair and

eyes, more with our objective appearance than another, and yet another color may be preferred because of its salutary effect upon our inner self. W hen you select a color or hue that harmonizes with your inner self in this manner, you are really fitting yourself into the great Cosmic spectrum, in the same manner that the bands in the spectrum of light are all in proper order and relationship, making for an harmonious whole which manifests as personal satisfaction and imperturbability. R A L P H M . L E W IS , F .R .C . Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order, A M O R C

AMORC

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E L E V E N T H DEGREE

N U M B E R O N E H U N D R E D NINETEEN

The Rosicrucian Order

PAGE O N E

Beloved Members, Greetings! Of course, it is too early for me to know much about the results that you or others may have obtained through last week's experiment, because I find even from those living close to me that the first few days produced only a sensation of calmness with a slight sensation of invigoration. I know that as the week ends there will be a very defi­ nite tonic feeling and a sense of increased vitality, but even this is not the fullest expression of the exercise, for the real effect will come during the week following in each case and there will be a cumu­ lative effect from the various exercises given each week. There is one point in connection with these color exercises that I overlooked mentioning last week, but it is not too late to speak of it now, and that is that the color yellow should be used least of all. If you have selected yellow as the first color for your exercise, do not use it again for many weeks ; but if you have not yet used yellow and wish to use it this coming week, keep in mind that while all the other colors or shades of color which you may select may be used alternately and each one as frequently as the other, the color yellow— that is, the brilliant, bright, pure yellow— should not be used except after eight or ten weeks. In other words, all the other colors should be used for eight or ten weeks before the color yellow is repeated in these or any future exercises. If you select a shade of color that is a light green with much yellow in it, then it may be used as frequently as other colors; or if you select an orange with a large amount of yellow in it, you may use it frequently. So long as the yellow is modified with some other color, it may be used frequent­ ly but pure yellow in its unmodified form as a primary color should not be used more often than every eight or ten weeks. I repeat this because it is important. It is important because yellow is the only color that does not add to the vitality. It does not deplete or take away from the vitality in any sense, but it has no effect upon the vitality and very little effect upon the psychic development. It does have some minor effects upon some glands, and that is why we do not eliminate it altogether. Now, during the coming week you may try a second color if you wish or stick to the first color you have used, repeating this same color for the coming week (unless it was yellow, in which case select a new color). I know that I suggested in my talk to you last week that you should change the color every few days if you wished. I really think it would be better to stick to one color for an entire week for the coming few weeks until your system has been pretty well toned and tuned with these colors; then you may change them more rapidly than once a week. I promised you some explanation regarding these exercises and I find that explanations will involve a great many funda-

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N U M B E R O N E H U N D R E D NINETEEN

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PAGE T W O

mental principles, as well as a great many new and interesting ones, and so I shall touch upon an important one each week. Each of us as a vibrating unit of matter in this universal cell of existence has a natural color value which is our individual color, just as each of us has a definite musical note and a definite polarity of vibration. Every unit of matter throughout the universe, whether it is a unit of mercury or a unit of gold, silver, copper, tin, iron, salt or what-not, has its distinctive color. It is true that all of the mineral elements, and, in fact, all of the elements of nature in the universe, give off various colors which constitute their indi­ vidual spectrums ; nevertheless, there is one part of the spectrum of color which is most definite for each element and this is known as the distinct color, or shade of color, of that piece of matter. This is not a mystical idea but one which science has verified, and the fact that every element of matter does have a distinct and outstanding line of color in the general spectrum has enabled science to locate or discover many minerals that were missing from the periodic table of earthly elements. Every plant has its distinct color which results from the vibrations of the plant. It is difficult for an individual to discover which is his color except from experience. All of us sooner or later learn the color, or precise shade of color, which is not only most attractive to us but most pleasing, satisfying, and helpful. Every woman has discovered that a certain shade of color is best for her clothing because it makes her feel more vital, soothes her nerves, gives added contentment and in many other ways is most appropriate for her. Of course, she has to seek for modifications or even opposites of this color because she cannot wear one color continuously. Also all women, and many men, have found that there is one color, or shade of color, that is quite displeasing. It is commonly known that brown is quite displeasing to people of the white race; whereas it is a pleasing color for the average person of the so-called colored or black race. This is not due to any similarity between the com­ plexion and the color, for there are other dark-skinned races which do not enjoy wearing brown. The colored persons of the Southern States of America who were born in such states and who are descendants of the African races are quite attuned to brown; whereas this same color in almost any of its darker shades is disturbing to the average white person. There are many psychological reasons for this, into which we will not enter at the present time. The same is true of musical notes for each individual and of certain other universal con­ ditions and elements of vibrations. Now the object of the present color exercises is not merely to assist you in discovering what is your most pleasing and satisfying color, for I think that there are many more

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The Rosicrucian Order

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NUMBER ONE HUNDRED NINETEEN

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simple ways to discover this. These exercises are for the purpose of building up the vibratory rates of many parts of the body which can function properly only when they are attuned with the various rates of vibrations that affect our bodies generally. The whole physical body of man is in rhythm and vibration. Unless every cell in the body is vibrating properly and in harmony with others, there will be illness; and unless the entire body as one cell is vibrating harmoniously with the universal vibrations, there will be illness. Each color of the spectrum, except yellow, has a vitalizing effect upon the entire body. Yellow has an effect upon only a few glands of minor importance but, nevertheless, necessary to the general scheme. For the following week either continue the same color that you used last week for the same exercise, repeating it identically as you used it during the past week; or, if you have felt very definite effects from that color, you may change to another color for the com­ ing week. But I would strongly urge that you pick one of the colors you used last week and repeat it in your exercises this week so that we may start this work with a good development of the effects at the very beginning. In other words, follow the same exercises as outlined on the several pages of Monograph 118. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

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Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete mono­ graph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. 4J The color yellow should not be chosen for these exercises oftener than every eight or ten weeks. This is because yellow, beyond stimulating a few glands, has very little effect upon psychic development. Every unit of matter whether a unit of mercury, silver, copper, iron, salt, or what­ not, has its individual and distinctive color. Each individual, too, has a color with which more than with all others he has an affinity. Conversely, each has a color which more than all others excites his dis­ pleasure. (][ The purpose of these exercises, however, is to build up the vibratory rates in dif­ ferent parts of the body in order that proper attunement can be made with the various vibrations which affect the body generally. This can best be done when the whole physical body is in rhythm and attuned not only with its own cell structure but with that of the universe as well.

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THE CONCURRENCE This W eek’ s Consideration o f a Famous Opinion V

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One of the most important works in the nineteenth century on the subject of light and color was that of Edwin D. Babbitt, published in 1878. Babbitt was many things, as his book discloses, among them mystic and scientist. The Principles of Light and Color from which the following excerpt was drawn, won its author wide recognition.

In 1672, Isaac Newton published his theory that the ordinary white light of the sun consists of different colors possessing different degrees of re' fTangibility. Still earlier, however, in 1611, Antonio de Dominis had used the following words: ‘Colors arise out of light: of this I have no doubt; nay, they are only light itself.’ Isaac T^ewton adopted the sevenfold division of colors as seen in the rainbow and still more distinctly in the solar spectrum, namely the red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. . . . There is no harm in dividing the colors into seven divisions on the l^lew' tonian plan. In fact it is rather a good division and harmonizes with the seven notes of the musical scale, C, D, E, F, G, A, B; C answering to red, D to orange, etc. As C is at the bottom of the musical scale and made with the coarsest waves of air, so is red at the bottom of the Chromatic scale and made with the coarsest waves of luminous ether. . . . When one musical octave is finished another commences and progresses with just twice as many vibrations as were used in the first octave; and so the same notes are repeated on a finer scale. In the same way when the scale of colors visible to the ordinary eye is completed in the violet, another octave of finer invisible colors, with just twice as many vibrations, will com' mence and progress on precisely the same law. —EDWIN D. BABBITT, 1828-1905

AMORC

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

The Rosicrucian Order

NUMBER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE

PAGE ONE

B eloved Members, G re e tin g s ! Continuing our talk about color sensations and color conscious­ ness, I want to say that several years ago I spent much time building a color organ. In general, a color organ is a large organ with regu­ lar keys and producing regular tones as does any other organ, but with an electrical arrangement in connection with it so that each note pro­ duces on a large satin screen the color assigned to that note. In this scale of colors, the note C produces red; D produces orange; E, yel­ low; F, a yellowish green; G, green; A, blue; and B, a violet running toward the ultraviolet which blends toward the beginning of the note C with "ultra-red" again. The sharps and flats between rep­ resent shades of color, modifying the notes on either side. When these notes are played on the organ, the vibrations of the music are correlated with the vibrations of color, and the colors are seen in beautiful brilliancy on the screen. Music is not only given forth in sounds, but also painted on the screen as a picture of chang­ ing colors; and the eye receives impressions along with the ear. The spectator, listening to a color organ, receives dual impressions of sound and color which blend in his consciousness and give him an in­ terpretation of the music not obtainable from either sound or color alone. Great musicians composed with certain themes in minds Wind blowing through trees, rippling water, chirping birds, and so forth. As they composed, they formed mental pictures of what they were trying to interpret. These pictures, of course, were in color and so the composers naturally selected notes that gave them color impressions like those already in their minds. With the color organ, when the music is played, we see on the screen, in color, pictures which the composer had in mind when compos­ ing it. The effect on the spectator is a complete interpretation of the music through both color and sound. The color organ built here at Rosicrucian Park after several years* planning and work was the largest and most modern of fourteen or fifteen models made by scientists and musicians in the past two hundred years. A small model had been built in 1916 for use in our New York temple and it was so successful that others copied it, and later one of similar nature was shown in Car­ negie Hall. In all the models not made by us, musicians, not under­ standing the laws of vibrations as we have them in our lessons, did not get the right shades of color for each n o t e ; so the effect upon the psychic consciousness of persons in the audience was partly lost. On January 4, 1933, this organ had its premier demonstration in the Francis Bacon Auditorium before four or five hundred invited musicians, artists, scientists, and newspaper men. In this demonstration we tested the human voice, too, revealing that it as well as any musical instrument can pro­ duce colors. We were fortunate in securing the assistance of

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A M0 RC

The Rosicrucian Order

NUMBER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE

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one of our members, Madam Beatrice Bowman, Coloratura soprano, former­ ly of the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York and of the Boston Opera Company. Madam Bowman was one of the first to be called a coloratura soprano because of the color values of her voice. She was one of the foremost concert singers of the American stage, and a hun­ dred or more operatic and concert singers both in America and abroad were her pupils. In her teaching, she laid great stress upon tone value of each note and her singing— and that of her pupil, Miss Emily Hardy, who also sang with our color organ— revealed a roundness, full­ ness, and a vibration of distinction. When Madam Bowman and Miss Hardy sang before the color organ, one could see plainly the effect of the color value of each note. Not only did the organ note produce a color on the screen but the color value of the human note vibrated in greater brilliancy across the background of the same color produced by the organ note. If the human note were a few vibrations higher or lower than the organ note, there would be a slight distinction in the vibratory effect on the screen. Even the overtones of Madam Bowman's voice would produce a harmonious color that would move across the screen in vibrations like ripples upon a smooth body of water. This was the first time in the history of music that the human voice was registered in color, pitch and tone and so scientifically measured. Everyone in the audience soon became aware that the pictures were affecting the psychic consciousness in a manner never experienced before, and that there was a definite relationship in consciousness between color and sound. You know that some music causes a saddening emotion to arise in the consciousness or a depressing, unhappy state. You know that other music causes Joy and still other causes invigoration, acceleration and strength. The difference between one of the famous funeral marches and one of Sousa's military marches is not only the sound of the music but the colors produced by the sounds, for deaf persons, who could not hear the music, could tell the difference between the funeral march and Sousa's and could feel the sadness or the exhilaration. This indi­ cates that colors do affect our psychic consciousness and create emotions and impressions ; and it is our intention later to experiment with colors to prove that effective treatment of various diseases can be given by playing certain notes accompanied by their proper colors. The audience sitting in the completely darkened auditorium, one moment bathed in brilliant violet and the next moment bathed with the brilliant colors of yellows, blues or reds or their combinations was affected not only emotionally but also psychically. You have already learned that each ganglion of the sympathetic nervous system has a nerve and a music note. A color organ could be used to prove that the nerve and music note are related to the

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORC

The Rosicrucian Order

NUMBER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE

PAGE THREE

color note and through the exhilaration of these nerve and music note centers of the sympathetic system, certain reactions could be set up in the psychic consciousness of the body that would cure disease and correct abnormal functioning. Philosophers and scientists have become interested in musical therapy— the correcting of mental and emotional conditions by music. In recent years, there have been many attempts to prove that color therapy is feasible and that certain colored lights thrown upon the body can correct abnormal conditions. Both color and musical therapy have proved their value in many ways and a combination— color and music at the same time— would be extremely beneficial for many forms of emotional, psychic, mental, and physical conditions. It has often been said by critics who know nothing of the Rosi­ crucian Order that Rosicrucians are mere dreamers, hoping to find an easy way of making gold, and dealing only with ethereal, mystical principles and astral explorations that serve no practical purpose. Yet the truth is that in every scientific and practical improvement of civilization Rosicrucians have been among the foremost. My sole pur­ pose in making this color organ, was simply to show that the Rosicru­ cians can deal with scientific principles and that they had in their teachings sufficient knowledge to demonstrate nature's great laws. I am not going to rehearse the achievements of Rosicrucians in medicine, astronomy, surgery, physics, and chemistry, but I do want you to realize that in the musical field they have been foremost as well. Not only was Chopin a Rosicrucian, as were many of the other masters, but today throughout Europe some of the foremost musicians are active members of the Order— Debussy, for instance, whose colorful and magnetic handling of music astonished everyone. Then there is H. Maurice Jacquet, Count de Masserini, a member of the Royal House of Savoy, who is not only an eminent composer but one of the greatest orchestra leaders of Europe. When the music masters of the whole of Europe sought a man to lead the combined orchestras at the Great Wagnerian celebration some years ago, they selected Jacquet and he led the largest orchestra ever brought together in any part of the world. Jacquet is an enthusiast about the mystical principles of music, and in his opera he has added many of our principles. The early Rosicrucians in Pennsylvania made great strides in musical accomplishment, for it was in their laboratory that the first organ ever built in America was constructed along lines which made possible the present-day pipe organ. They also invented a method of singing choir music, acknowledged as being an important innovation. And we have to our credit the color organ, constructed to il­ lustrate principles of light and to reveal the color values of the human voice as well as those of any musical instrument. These facts should make it clear that Rosicrucians are Just

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORC

The Rosicrucian Order

NUMBER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE

PAGE FOUR

as eager to understand the scientific principles of the Universe as they are to understand the mystical ones. Next week 1 shall continue our talk about color especially as it relates to these experiments. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Note:

This monograph was written by Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, former Irnperator.

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

A color organ is one especially equipped with an electrical arrangement capable of producing on a screen colors whose vibrations are correlated with the vibrations of the musical notes played. €| Listening to a color organ one receives audible and visible impressions simultaneous­ ly and interprets the music by both sound and color. CJ The color organ constructed by Dr. H . Spencer Lewis was demonstrated before a select group of artists, musicians, and newsmen in Francis Bacon Auditorium in Rosi­ crucian Park, January 4, 1933. It has since been dismantled. CJ It was built to demonstrate the laws of nature relating to sound and color. It sug­ gested later experiments in the field of both musical and color therapy.

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The matter contained herein la officially Issued through the Su­ preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies o f officially proscribed and copyrighted monographs, dis­ sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies d iagram s, illustrations, and charts” as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in countries throughout the w orld.) All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an Incidpnt to membership. The ownership of. the legal title, and the right o f possession to this monograph is and snail remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. 0. R. C. and it shall be re tu rn e d to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the stile and exclusive information o f the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation o f tne Statutes o f this Order. A. M. O. R. C. is the only organization authorized to use the Reg­ istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant th e use o l them to o th e r aiiied org an izatio n s o r m ovem ents.

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

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•fl Without minimizing in any way the necessity for regard to laws of health, it is well to remember always the importance of one’s own mental attitude. Dr. Stanley K. Clark, F.R.C., whose remarks on the power of thought appear below, is a member of the Order’s Research Council.

Thethoughtsandtheemotionsmayhaveadeleteriouseffecton thedigestioninthehigh,aswellasinthelow,theexaltedaswellas inthehumble,therichaswellasinthepoor,thelearnedaswellas intheignorant,theoccupiedaswellasintheidle.Thereisnoclass, strata,cast,ordivisionofmankindwhomayescapetheinevitable sequenceofdistressingsymptoms,oncehehasopenedtheportals ofhismindandsoulandhasallowedfreeentreetothoughtsof anxiety,worry,doubt,andfear.Astrulyandassurelyasdowrong thoughtsandwrongemotionsproduceindigestionandeverysortof abdominalandgastrointestinaldistress,sosurelyandtrulydo goodthoughtsandrightemotionsbringhealth,happiness,and PeaceProfound. - S T A N L E Y K . C L A R K , M .D . A u th o r o f . . .

WhattoEat And When

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORC

The Rosicrucian Order

N U M B E R ONE H U N D R E D TWENTY-TWO

PAGE ONE

Beloved Members, Greetings 1 In earlier Degrees, emphasis was put upon the use of certain vowel sounds, and throughout the lessons generally we have spoken of and given exercises embracing the use of vowel sounds for treat­ ment purposes, the development of psychic centers and other spirit­ ual or psychic conditions. It probably did not occur to most of our members that these vowel sounds have an effect on the psychic and subconscious self not only through the vibrations of sound but also through the color of the note or tone of these vowels. All of this should arouse in you a keen interest in the exper­ iments that you are now conducting, for in surrounding yourself with a certain color, you are attuning yourself with that color and are deriving benefit from it. In the exercises of pronouncing vowel sounds given throughout the various lessons, the person who practiced these was really creating a change of color in his aura. Other scientific arrange­ ments whereby the human aura can be easily seen demonstrate that pronouncing a vowel sound or holding a vowel sound for a few seconds causes the aura to vibrate and extend its width. This proves that we can develop and strengthen the vibrations of the aura through the use of the vowel sounds; and as we increase and strengthen the aura we increase and strengthen the vitality of the human body, making it stronger and better equipped to fight disease and maintain perfect health. In the exercises of this Degree you are using various methods for the production of the vibrations of color even though the colors are faint and cannot be easily seen. The lowest note of the piano vibrates at 16 vibrations per second. About 14 or possibly 12 vibrations a second are the lowest we can hear. Below that number sound is inaudible. The same is true regarding vibrations that come from the upper part of the piano keyboard. Beyond a certain point they are so rapid that the ear cannot hear them as sound; but those vibrations are producing sounds nevertheless. Although the average human ear cannot hear them, various animals and especially insects, can hear them. Animals hear many sounds that we do not hear either because they are too low or too high. The same is true of colors, for we have the ultraviolet and infrared which are invisible to us. The X ray as a light is not visible to the eye except when it penetrates something and reveals shadows. There are many lights or colors around us all the time that we do not see; nevertheless, we are affected by them. The vibrations affected by the mind in the human aura and in the electronic conditions around us in a room are of such a high rate that we do not see their color nor do we hear their sound very easily. We have to develop the psychic

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

A M O RC

The Rosicrucian Order

N U M B E R ONE H U N D R E D TWENTY-TWO

PAGE TWO

sight and psychic hearing in order to see them or hear them; but whether or not we see them or hear them, their effect upon the sym­ pathetic, psychic, nervous system of the human body is very definite, in fact, far more definite than the rates of vibrations of color or sound which we can easily see or hear. The vibrations of the psychic self within and of the mind powers in the human body are high because they are part of the soul keyboard and such vibrations affect the psychic nature when we least suspect it. The Sun spectrum which is often shown in labora­ tories— like a rainbow running from red to violet— is only part of the whole spectrum of the Sun because the Sun produces other colors beyond the violet or beyond the red which our eyes cannot see. These infrared and ultraviolet colors are the ones which affect the psychic system, the health, the nervous system, and the inner self far more than the colors that are easily seen. That is why bathing in the Sun, taking sun baths and having plenty of sunlight is so important to good health; and that is why flowers and everything that grows must have a certain amount of sunlight. In the exercises that you are now doing, you are dealing with these high vibrations, and although they are not visible or audi­ ble, they will have certain effect upon you. Have this in mind during your concentration period, and notice the effect upon your health and your nervous system throughout the day. In practicing these exercises, you will find that you are gradually affecting your diet. You will notice that certain foods will appeal to you more strongly than at other times and gradually you will notice that you care less about meat. You will not discontinue it, but you will probably eat less of it and notice that beef, especially rare roasts and beefsteak, is not so tasty as it has been. If you have been on a vegetable diet, you will find certain vegetables and fruits will have a greater appeal. Fruits with acids, such as oranges, lemons, grapefruit, and pineapple will appeal to you. If you have not been taking into your system much lemon juice, I suggest that several times a day you drink a little. Take a lemon in the morning and squeeze its juice into a glass and then fill the glass about one third with cold water and stir the water and juice well and then drink a few swallows. Do the same thing during the middle of the day and again at night. Inasmuch as fruit or fruit juice which has been allowed to stand loses its greatest value, make the liquid fresh each time. Do not sweeten it in any manner, for that will neutralize the effect. In addition to this, grapefruit or a piece of orange along with other vegetables or fruits will be very helpful. Naturally you will reduce the amount of starchy foods, such as potatoes and white bread, unless you are undernourished and wish to gain, when a little of these

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORC

The Rosicrucian Order

N U M B E R ONE H U N D R E D TWENTY-TWO

PAGE THREE

starchy foods should be taken into the system. White bread should be avoided if you can eat whole-wheat bread, for the pure white bread is not so nourishing as it should be and makes for difficul­ ties and problems in the digestive system. By noticing your inclination toward foods and the change in your desires, and by following these exercises carefully, you will be taking the great­ est step in protecting yourself against disease and the breakdown of the system. During the course of this Eleventh Degree study there have been several mild epidemics throughout the country, but we have found that members who have followed this course of study and prac­ ticed the exercises, have so built up their health and made them­ selves immune that not one of them has been seriously affected, and only a few of them have suffered from colds, because of neglect or violations of some natural health law. The mere fact that one knows about disease, its prevention and cure, does not make him immune to such things, and because one has health does not mean that a reaction will not follow a violation of a natural law. Living normally and naturally, our members need have no fear of diseases due to so-called germs. Our records show a greater degree of healthiness among higher members than will be found in the average classification of persons. A little time and thought, given to each of the principles contained in these mono­ graphs, will mean better health and stronger resistance to disease. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

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

The effect of color and sound on the health of the body cannot be over­ emphasized. Since health is a matter of harmony in the vibrations of the aura and the body, it stands to reason that other physical vibrations which are harmonious to us will help to bring the aura and the body back into harmony if we have been ill. This principle is illustrated by the use of two tuning forks in the same key. When one is struck, the second one will begin vibrating in sympathetic attunement with it. Thus, harmonious music and harmonious colors, brought into close proximity to the body, will soon have the body and aura vibrating in sympathetic attunement with them. Under very ill conditions, it would probably take more than sympathetic attunement to restore harmony to the body, but it would nevertheless add greatly to the healing process. It is easy to see, however, what a significant preventive measure such action would provide during periods of normal health.

Summary of This Monograph V

V

V

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

11 Although earlier Degree experiments with vowel sounds emphasized only their value for treatment purposes, it is nonetheless true that vibrations o f sound and color affect greatly the psychic and subconscious self. U The exercises with vowel sounds have been creating a change in the color o f the aura o f the member who has been conscientiously practicing them. ^ The exercises now given aim at attuning the member with the higher vibra­ tions o f the psychic self in ways that w ill have definite bearing not only upon his health and dietary habits but also upon his mental and spiritual outlook and progress. H Knowing about disease w ill not make one immune to it any more than having health w ill safeguard one against violation of natural laws. A few simple rules, however, followed regularly w ill be beneficial.

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-SV Th e matter contained herein is officially Issued through the Su­ preme Council o f the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered In the United States Patent Office fo r the purpose of protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies o f officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis­ sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts" as authorized by the Irnperator of A. M. O. R. C. (Th e above emblem and name o f the Order are also registered in countries throughout the w orld.) All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member and are an incidenta/to nAooAccinn membership. The receiving, iu iu u r e iimparted i u j m r i c u only aas s / couragement as he was able to those seeking an under standing of a true method and technique of mysticism. The book from which we quote sets forth magic in a way acceptable to the careful and thoughtful stu' dent. The paragraph here may serve to indicate the value and results of the exercises with which we are now concerning ourselves.

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The /ng/iest desire any reasonable man can cherish and the highest right he inay possibly claim, is to become perfect. To know everything, to love all and he known and be loved by all, to possess and command everything that exists, such is a condition of being that, to a certain extent, may be felt intuitively, but whose possibility cannot be grasped by the intellect of mor' tal man. A foretaste of such a blissful condition may be experienced by a person who—even for a short period of time—is perfectly happy. He who is not oppressed by sorrow, not excited by selfish desires, arid who is con' scious of his own strength and liberty, may feel as if he were the master of worlds and the \ing of creation; and, in fact, during such moments he is their ruler, as far as he himself is concerned, although his subjects may not seem to be aware of his existence. —FRANZ HARTM ANN, 18394912

Temple Section

ELE V E N T H D E G R E E

AMORC

N U M BER 128

The Rosicrucian Order

PA G E ONE

Beloved Members, Greetings! The next interesting step in our study of esoteric formulas brings us to the esoteric features found in the Jewish and Chris­ tian religions. I wish that we had some general term that would include the esoteric principles of these two religions instead of mentioning them as separate religions, for except for the unique­ ness of Jesus' birth and his special Messiahship, there is much that is identical, especially in an esoteric sense, in both reli­ gions . The esoteric fundamentals of all religions consist of the relationship of fire, air, and water to the actions, development, growth, understanding, purification, and progress of the human soul-personality. No matter where we trace the earliest of our esoteric principles, we find them related to fire, air, and water, or to fire, air, earth, and water according to whether the funda­ mentals formed a trinity or the more ancient cube or square. We are going to deal with these esoteric principles in the monographs and exercises of the next few weeks; so I want to outline briefly the application of the esoteric principles to the exercises you have already had. You may, then, comprehend spiritually, at least, their relationship. Therefore, before we enter into an examination of the reli­ gious ideas associated with water and its purging power, fire, and its ability to lift the spirit to a higher plane, and air with its ability to bring the Holy Spirit into the human body, let us con­ tinue our exercises with a slight modification. A great many have given little thought to the wonderful word that was started in the Fourth Degree and gradually revealed in later ones. Undoubtedly, a great many have used that word at various times, especially in important emergencies, and I doubt if they ever thought it might come up again in som e l e s s o n a s an important subject; but this week the formula consists of one word and the word is Mathrem. Follow the exercise given for expanding the c o n s c i o u s n e s s ; but each time you are in meditation and alone and quiet, speak the word Mathrem at least three times. Speak as softly as possible, but pronounce the word with its vowel sounds clear. In other words, following the exercise of last week, you should hold this state of expanding consciousness for about two or three minutes and then slowly repeat the word Mathrem, three times. Pronounce this word as though it were written Mahth-raim. Say the two halves or two syllables slowly, carefully, and deliberately. This word will attune you with a great many new and interesting conditions that will remain with you for quite

Temple Section

ELEVEN TH D EG REE

The Rosicrucian Order

AMORC

N U M BER 128

PA G E TWO

a while after each test of the formula. This exercise is not to be taken lightly; however, it should be indulged in only three times a day: early in the morning upon arising, at noon right after eat­ ing, and again at night. Now, after practicing the exercise of expanding the conscious­ ness and sitting in a relaxed condition, do as follows: continue to sit in a relaxed condition and, having pronounced the word Mathrem three times very slowly, think of yourself as beinq surrounded by water as though you are b'tanding on a small stone or rock like a little island in the center of a great lake or sea of water, with the_water in little waves coming right up to your feet. There you s€and sate and sound upon 5~~strong dependable foundation with water around you, unable""to step forward or backward or sideways or in any direction because of it. Think of the stone on which you are standing as being just big enough tor your two reet, ancT"that dfc> fai?—ers-'yrvn ^ d_ s p p there is water" Think, then, that air is"'Surrounding you. In addition to the air and water, think that above your head, in the sk^T~~there are great flames of fire shooting crosswise and downwafd~~€oward~~you until you feel the heat on your~ nead'artd Should£tin Do not think, o f t h e flames as even touching you, and do not feel uncomfortable or have any sense of being hurt, or injured in any way. Visualize the heat as the strong heat of a summer Sun. Think of yourseTF""wiLh~~as little~datdil regarding your clothing as possible but think of you, the e go, and its body standing in the center of water surrounded by air and above all the heat of almost invisible flames. The source of the flames is not important except that it is of a heavenly natureT The source of the air and its purpose should not be analyzed at the present time nor should you question about the water. Tfoink that you are in the m idst of this sea—e-f—wa^e-TL_and air and flames for some definite purpose and that three minutes of visualizing such a condition will bring you m contact with the three points of an~~esoteric formula. If this is done twice a day, morning and evening, for about five minutes after you have said the word Mathrem three times, you w ill find it to have a v e r y electrifying or magnetic effect upon tKe~psychic self. It will not affect the physical body no?—pr oduce material manirestations, but it will affect the psychic centers. After^the third or fourth day, you should feel a sense of harmonious rjglat ion ship that you may not have experienced before. After the thircToi^fouftn m g n t ”, you should-Begin- to have psychic experi­ ences that will lead to explanations that have not as yet been touched on. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

The Weekly Application Wkatsueuer thou resoluest to da, do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish .—UNTO THEE I GRANT Continuing with last week’s admonition to see to the comfort of your body before practicing any mystical exercise, let us apply that particularly to the exercise given in this monograph. Before intoning the word Mathrem, try to eliminate all possible physical deterrents from your relaxed state. Take care of your hunger, or thirst. If you’re tired, take a nap, or rest up before meditating. Be comfortably dressed. Use a comfortable chair, couch, or other reclining surface. Feel clean, both inside and outside. Be private.

Summary of This Monograph V

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Although the Jewish and Christian religions are spoken of separately, there is much which they have in common. Thus the teachings of Jesus were not too different from those of the Jews, the fundamentals of which can be found in earlier Oriental ones. The esoteric fundamentals of all religions are concerned with the elements fire, air, earth, and water, and their relationships to each other. The week’s experiment adds the Fourth Degree word to our now-familiar exercise. The pronunciation of this word aids in the attunement and expansion of conscious­ ness. The exercise is further varied by visualizing oneself completely surrounded by the elements water, air, and fire as three points of an esoteric triangle.

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MASTER MONOGRAPH IL L U M IN A T I S E C T IO N This monograph always rem ains the property of the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. I t is not purchased by, but loaned to, the receiving member.

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Degree

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

THE CONCURRENCE This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V V V Scarcely a year passes without some new and modernized version of the Scriptures appearing. Undoubtedly, the student of these monographs will begin to read anew and with more understanding the Bible narratives of Jesus and his ministry. Below is an excerpt from the King Jam es Version dealing with a significant bit of esoteric teaching.

Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the w ay? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my F ather also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he th at hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the F ath er? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father th at dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. — J O H N 14: 5-11

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORC

NUM BER 1 29

The Rosicrucian Order

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Beloved Members, Greetings! I think it important at this point to call your attention to a statement of an esoteric law. It was not until Jesus the Christ used the phrase that the world came to be familiar with it; yet we find it in mystical writings antedating Christianity. I refer to the statement, "I Am The Way!" Most clergymen give it little emphasis; yet it is most important. Perhaps this is so because the explanation would involve esoteric principles and mystical laws, with which many clergymen are unfamiliar, and with which they hesi­ tate to deal. I dare say that if the esoteric principle and law back of the phrase "I Am The Way" were fully explained in each Christian church once a year, it would eventually lead to many changes in the ritualism and preaching. To deal with it under­ standing^ would force clergymen out of creed-bound positions into the field of universal esotericism. Priests of the Roman Catholic Church are more familiar with the esoteric principles involved and do not refer to them in sermons because much of the church ritualism explains them; so the devout Catholic who follows the mystical principles of his church has some understanding of the law involved in the statement, "I Am The Way." To students of mysticism, however, the phrase is a key to mag­ nificent tabernacles of spiritual worship and unfoldment. In the first place, the four words are rich in significance of and by themselves; therefore, let us analyze what Jesus and the avatars who preceded him meant by this or similar phrases. Jesus certainly did not refer to the outer, worldly, physical individual, nor to his personal being by the word I_. This should be considered in connection with the second word, namely, "T A m ." Let us add an exclamation mark, making the statement a positive affirmation, and we bring out a part of the original meaning. There are two ways of reading it, with the emphasis on the 1^ and with the emphasis on the am. In the first, the sentence is an affirmation of the existence of the I, the ego, or the self. It is an affirmation of egoism, of individuality, of distinction and being, of separateness. In that sense, it is equivalent to saying, "I am, you are, all others are, we all are, in existence," or "While each of you are, I also am." I t establishes each one as a s e p a r a t e and inrlpperi^pnt- being. It carries the idea that^each_jis cnnsri ou s-r your Haily meditation. Some theologians and religious students of the Orient long ago gave up their search for the truth regarding the Christ mystery. As long as the world lasts, that mystery will never be solved by the type of mind that would solve it by cold, analytical reasoning. To such a mind, the mystery deepens as time passes, and the real secret of the Christ's visit to Earth will never be known. The^ Christj, himself, made this plain when he said that many would look upon him and see him not, and few would know him as he~was\In~~the first- place, the average student, of the life of^Jesus, attempting to discover the secret of the Christhood, fails to comprehend a duality of character and divinity in principle in the life of Jesus that needs careful study. Despite the fact that the Wise Men knew in advance that Jesus was to become a great messenger, from the time he was born until he was baptized in the River Jordan by John, Jesus was a human being without any special divinity.

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The Christhood came to him at the time the dove descended upon him, when the Great Light enveloped him in the River Jordan., Here we have a mystery that is as profound as any in all the world. The descent of the dove and the influx of the Holy Ghost at that time is symbolized in Rosicrucian illustrations by the descending dove above the sacred cup filled with a heart and a superimposed cross. This emblem appears on some of our literature, especially on the book Liber 777 dealing with the Celestial Sanctum. From that moment of the dove's descent at Jesus' baptism in the River Jordan, we have a duality that is not properly dealt with in Christian teachings, except possibly in those of the Roman Catholic Church. From that event on, Jesus as a man remained human, but the Christ Consciousness associated itself with his physical body. The Christ Consciousness was not imprisoned within the body of JesuS7-'~1TtrlW3'~aTX~the freedom ot an independent spiritualr'BeTng^ and often separated itself from the physical body and" dwelt apart from it tor days and weeks at a t i m e . It^ was just as easy for ~tHe~Chrl.St body- to separate itself from the physical laocly ot Jesus and go tortn among the people, into closed rooms ^ n d secret meetings, or^o^pp^T~igporr~the mountaintops .~or~~3n the waters" ot the sea as it was tor the physical body of Jesus to do things and go about on the highways. You were told last week how you should create an oval space of light around your body. Now, you are to add to that condition the following: While sitting relaxed in this oval of space, think of yourself as revolving— whirling rapidly in space and ascending in spiral fo-rnTT Visualize a spiral spring formed of one circle within another, each smallery torming a circular cone. Think of yourseTT inside that oval space, revolving and moving upward in spiral fashion witn the light still surrounding you. Think of youTself going upward into space, rp q a r m p s s _ n r the ceiling or anytHXng~glse above y ou. Concentrate in this manner for five minutes each morning and evening, and before the end of the week you will begin to sense certain principles that will be explained later. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

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

When speaking of Jesus as a “redeemer,” you can undoubtedly see now where the terms “savior,” “redeemer,” or “helper” all lead. They all point to the Way. They are saying that salvation, redemption, or help from the Cosmic are all dependent upon following the Way that Jesus demonstrated. When he says “I am your salvation,” or “I am your redeemer,” he is saving the same thing that he says when uttering “I am the Wav.” It’s as though you were lost in a forest, and a guide appeared who said, “I am your salvation. Follow me and you will be sayidTTTyoiT followed him, took every step and direction just as he tooITiKem, yoiTwOuld soon be free and clear .B ut if you had simply Jtold him that yon believed 'he was your savior^ b u talso said vou were too lazy, too tired, or too frightened to actually folIowTiim out, where would you be. This is what happens witlTso many of olIFbeli^ alidc^viclions today. Weare either too^tireJoFtoo frigHtenecT to follow throughonthem, and thug we are no closer to salvation from ouFpresenT state than we were before.

Summary of This M onograph V

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

H The esoteric side of the Rosicrucian teachings, in spite of its being the most difficult to expound, is the most im portant. Its difficulty is now here greater than when dealing with Jesus as the Christ. Jesus has been presented in the Bible as partly hum an and p artly divine; yet the case w as much different: H The Jew s sought to claim him as the descendant of a g reat Jew , and so such things, draw n from Je w ish records, a re w ritten o f him by C h ristian w riters. 11 Mystics, on the other hand, had looked for the coming of an Invisible Master, wholly apart from a human personality. The two diVferse and seemingly contradictory viewpoints w ere fused into one to the confusion of many ever since. H The C hristian fathers w rote as though Jesus w ere God in a human form, and some mystics continued to w rite as though Jesus had never had a human side. It was all because the separation of the man Jesus from the Divine C hrist Consciousness which for a time enveloped him w as not made clear. f According to esoteric teaching, the Christ th at was to come w as to be the r esult of many incarnations of spiritual development. His final mani­ fe s ta tion w as to be the re s u lt of th e dpvplopmpnt. o f th e sp iritu a l consciousness in th e world, for the C hrist was to personify th at spiritual development and bring it to manifestation on the E a rth . H The mystery of the Christ is one th a t can never be solved by pure logic and analytical reasoning alone. U The approach to understanding, however, lies in examining the nature of the duality of the man Jesus and Jesus the Christ. H Christhood, or the Christ Consciousness, came to Jesus the man at the time of his baptism in the River Jo rd an like the descent of a dove.

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A M

R C

The Rosicrucian Order

MASTER MONOGRAPH IL L U M IN A T I S E C T IO N This monograph always remains the property of the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. I t is not purchased by, but loaned to, the receiving member.

Degree 11

Monograph 131

Degree

11

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Monograph 131

1179

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

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*1 In spite of the fact th a t m any may be already fa m ilia r w ith The M ystical Life of J e su s, by Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, the following account of Jesus’ baptism is worthy of constant rereading. T here is power, b eau ty , and sim p licity in h is retelling of this highly significant mystical event.

So Jesus entered the water and immersed His body in it, while John stood be ready to give Him humble benediction. As Jesus rose erectly in the water, and before John could speak, a great light came down from the heavens and surrounded Jesus and remained w ith Him as a m ag n ificen t, b lin d in g a u ra of iridescent ill­ umination. John stepped back, more in fear of the brillancy of the light than through astonishment, and the multitudes stood aghast, speechless, and spellbound by the sight before their eyes. Then from out of the heavens there descended a great, white , luminous dove, as bright as molten silver, and as magnificent as the spiritual light which surrounded the body of Christ. The dove lighted upon the shoulder of Jesus, and while all stood silent and motionless, a voice came from the center of their attention, melodious but resounding like a trumpet call, proclaiming: ‘This is my beloved SonV John knew, as did the other Essenes who were assembled there, that the Holy Ghost had descended upon Jesus as it had descended upon Mary, and had created in Him a new being—the Divine being of Christhood and Sonship with God—as it had created in Mary a new being and a Sonship of God. - T H E M Y S T IC A L L IF E OF JESUS Dr. H. Spencer L ew is, 1883-1939 Late Im perator o f AM O RC

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Beloved Members, Greetings 1 If we analyze the ministry of Jesus, we find that his work was dual in nature. As a man, we find him mingling with men and women, teaching, lecturing, preaching, and carrying on the work of a master, leader, and teacher. This was the human side of his work and nature. There are other occasions, however, where we find he performed miracles ang^pP6ar‘6d~suddeniy~Tn groups and places~~far from~wherj3HTs~~pfiy5lcal T5o5y~~had been s ^ n.__ This indicates a side of^his life wholly separate from the human side. There are occasions when Jesus and the Christ were united for a few moments, the two in one; then suddenly they separated and became two, the human and the divine. One was an occasion when Jesus came to one of the wells near Samaria at which a woman was drawing water. The scene would be little changed today: These wells were usually in shady places, and the water being cool, it was a refreshing moment in the daily life. Here Jesus found the woman and being tired, weary, and thirsty, he said, "I am thirsty and would like to have a drink." She looked up in surprise and asked how it was that he, a Jew, would stoop to speak to a Samaritan woman. Surprising as it was to her, it meant nothing to Jesus who had no distinction in his heart regarding persons of any nationality. He answered her casually, and then she said to him, "Why did you come here to get a drink and bring no cup?" That seemed to strike her as peculiar. Then he began to preach as he had preached on so many occa­ sions in parables. There was, he said, another kind of thirst besides the physical, and that to those having it, he offered a drink that was living water which would give eternal life. This sort of symbolism puzzled the woman just as many people in his country were puzzled by his parables. However, she gave him the drink of water, and he drank it with all the appreciation and satisfaction that a human body can express when it is tired and thirsty. Then the woman took up the strange thought of his parable and made a comment about a great Messiah who was coming and for whom she and all the people of that country, were waiting. This great Messiah, said she, would explain all of the mysteries of life. The woman did not know to whom she was talking, but she did realize she was talking to a human being who was educated, and who might understand what she meant. And, of course, as a teacher, Jesus did understand. Because of her understanding and evident hope, his greater illumination immediately separated the physical

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Jesus from the Divine Christ, and the Divine Christ then spoke to the woman and said, "The one to whom you are now speaking is the one you are looking for." He intimated that he was the one who could give her the keys to the mysteries of life, and the drink of eternal waters. Here we have the Divine Being manifesting immediately after the human being had made itself manifest. First we have the human being— tired, weary, thirsty, and asking for a physical drink— and then, sud­ denly, we have the Divine Being rising above physical needs and speaking of the beautiful waters of life, and the thirst of the soul. We find such duality of expression manifested through all the latter part of the life of Jesus. In the books of the four apostles, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we read the story about two different beings— the human being of Jesus, and the Divine Being of the Christ. We must keep that in mind? otherwise, we not only lose the beautiful symbolism of the mysteries, but we lose the beautiful esoteric lessons. In some of the early Christian religions, we find this symbolism very clearly outlined just as in the Roman Catholic Church we find so much that appears a mystery to those who do not analyze it. For instance, the eating of the wafer represents the body of the Christ, not the body of Jesus; and the drinking of the wine represents the blood of the Christ, not the blood of Jesus. In the crucifixion and burial, and again in the resurrection and ascension, we have the mystery of the Christhood brought to the highest degree of esoteric revela­ tion. Such matters inevitably raise questions, and so far as the members of this Degree are concerned, the first would probably be: "Are the present considerations leading us to an acceptance of Christian doctrines?" I trust the statements in the past two or three monographs have revealed the fact that there is a distinct difference between the study of Christ, Christ's teachings, the Christ mystery, and the study of Christian religion. It is a fact that the modern Christian Church does not give a true picture of the life of Jesus, the Christ Consciousness, or the pure Christ. The very history of the Christian Church written by acknowledged and undisputed leaders shows it to be an evolving institution. A church formed on the pure ideals and original principles of Jesus would have been a strange institution even a thousand years ago. Jesus believed in preaching in the open, and he seems never to have haa a single .. -— thdggfit regarding the establishment and setting apart of \ / buildings tcT~be known as ~cHurches or temples in which tTie VotfsV truth about God and God's laws should be confinec^ In Tils V / practice and t e a c h i n g ^ w as peculiarly~free~fi?om fituv alism. True, he did acknowledge, endorse, and induTge~ln

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a few ceremonies, but they were so very brief and typical of the simple illustration of law, that you could hardly call them rituals. Furthermore, he believed in personal preaching, personal contact, personal services " Taking just these few points and comparing them with church practice as it has gradually evolved since the sixth and seventh centuries, you can plainly see that the Christian Church has wandered far frbm the early principles taught and used by Jesus. It has ~aXmost~~succeeded in rivaling the oriental religions in building temples, cathedrals, and places of worship that are costly", elaborate, filled with art, precious stones, and rare j e w e l s . I n ____ itself, that is a great modification of what Jesus illustrated. Religion as practiced by most of its followers today is filled with ritualism. If we include all Christian denominations, we see at once that many of the Christians throughout the world worship in elaborate churches with studied forms of ritualism and ceremony. Even in praying, the very simple and nonritualistic prayer Jesus taught is now surrounded by ritualism and ceremony. Christian preachments are confined almost exclusively to enclosed places, and Christian people have accepted as true this belief that a holy ceremony must be enclosed, even when services are held in camps, summer resorts, or in the so-called open country. There is no account of Jesus' using even a canopy to protect himself or his hearers from the Sun or the weather. From these few points alone, we can see the great divergence that has been made. The Church should keep pace with the evolving consciousness of the people it serves. It does not follow, how­ ever, that a study of Christ and the Christ mysteries will lead to a promulgation of the modern Christian Church ideas, or modern Christian religion. As Rosicrucians, we are not developing the Christian religion any more than any other; nor are we seeking to bring all highly developed Rosicrucians into the fold of Christian­ ity. Those of our members who are Christians will b e encouraged and strengthened in their personal religious convictions7“b u t n o n Christians, as wellj especially those who acknowledge the ex 1 stence of a universal God and Father- of all, will also find strength in their" religious convictions in the correct understanding of the The Christ Consciousness was not made incarnate upon this Earth "for tTie~ purpose of saving,' redeeming, or~gurdXng~correctly only those who belonged to~ ecclesiastical nr~t'h^bl,Hgl cal n r g arTizations. The revelations which~Christ brought constituted truths for universal adoption and application. There have b e eh~~man5Thundreds ~o£ thousands of Eastern people~who77 could and did take from the Christ t e a c h i ngs truth? which they made fundamentals in their lives, and yet did not

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join the Christian organization. There are many Christians in America, and in all parts of the world, who have read the teachings of Buddha and found in them truths which they have taken as guides in life, and yet they have not become members of any Buddhist church or organization. There are persons who accept certain prin­ ciples of Christian Science and practice them daily without ever thinking of becoming members of the Christian Science Church. Universal truths, then, are in nowise sectarian or religious as far as~~c^reed nr -dngma are connprnp.dT Even a pagan, knowing notliing~~c>f a universal God, and never having heard ot Jesus, may speak^universal truths— All of usT mav adopt and_use His truth and yet find in it not the slightest association with any religion dr church. ~ ------ ------- — — Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V

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

H It must not be thought th at the present discussions are in any way tending to en co u rag e or prom ote th e acceptance o f the C h ristia n relig io n . Universal truths—and the C hrist mystery is one—are w ithout religious or sectarian propensities. The Rosicrucian Order is committed to furthering universal knowledge, not to the promulgating of any particular creed or religious dogma. f Jesus spoke to the people mostly in parables. Religion, as practiced by most of its followers today, is filled with ritualism. f U niversal truth, then, are in nowise sectarian or religious as far as creed or dogma are concerned.

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

The simplicity of Jesus’presentation is worth taking not of. It is true that he shunned formal meeting places, and that his major sermons were held under the open skies of the country. Part of this was due to the warm climate ofthat environment, for surely Jesus would have used shelter in inclement weather, but essentially the choice of places emphasized simplicity. Most attempts to build grandiose structures for worship are to please a personal God. In this we cannot fault man’s motives. Grand structures also help some people to have the proper reverence and awe forthe deity. But they are not necessary. No building or no symbolic accoutrements are necessary for worship. They may help a person irTacKIevihg a state of mind conducive to worship or meditation, and in thal sense tHey”achieve a useful purpose, but they are not necessary. You may read "your monographs or practice certain exercises with all the efficacy expected of such instruction in the quiet pryour bedroom, in apublic park,in a private corner, or anywhere that you are able to be at peaee witfiryourselffor a short time. Feel freetoexperiment with such different places in addition to the regular use of your Sanctum^

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THE CONCURRENCE This W e e k ’s Consideration o f a Fam ous O pinion

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Origenes, better known as Origen, was one of the early Christian writers. He was bom in Egypt, visited Italy and Greece, taught in Palestine. Perhaps his most famous work was that called only fragments of which remain. This consisted of six versions of the Old Testament, arranged in parallel columns. The excerpt given here is from his De and deals with fundamental doctrines.

Hexapla,

Principiis

Since, then, weseein Himsomethings so humanthat they appear to differinno respect fromthecommon frailty of mortals, andsome things so divine that they canappropriately belong tonothing else than to the primal andineffablenatureofDeity, thenarrowness ofhumanunderstand' ingcanfindnooutlet; but, overcomewiththeamazement ofamightyad' miration, \nows not whither to withdraw, or what to ta\e hold of, or whithertoturn. If itthin\ ofaGod, itseesamortal; ifit thin\ ofaman, itbeholdsHimreturningfromthegrave, afteroverthrowingtheempireof death, ladenwithits spoils. And thereforethespectacleis tobecontem' platedwithall fear andreverence, that thetruthof bothnatures may be clearlyshowntoexistinoneandthesameBeing; sothatnothingunworthy orunbecomingmaybeperceivedinthatdivineandineffablesubstance, nor yetthosethings whichweredonebesupposedtobetheillusions ofimagi' naryappearances. Toutterthesethingsinhumanears,andtoexplainthem in words, far surpasses thepowers either of our ran\, or of our intellect andlanguage. —ORIGEN, 1 8 6 (? M ?)2 5 4 A.D.

■AMORC

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Beloved Members, Greetings! Before continuing our discussion of esoteric doctrine, it seems necessary to answer another question which has arisen in the minds of some members. It is this: "Are we to understand from the trend of the present lessons that the goal of our studies and our ambition in life should be to live lives of ascetics? Are we being led into the position where we must believe that a life of spirituality is all that is necessary for happiness, or will the work take us into more practi­ cal fields? In other words, after our years of study with AMORC, is the ultimate result only to be that we are to become followers of a definite religious creed and live lives of religious purity? If so, could we not have saved time by Joining an orthodox church and follow­ ing its principles?" Such a question is understandable. It is natural to wonder whether the claims and benefits of the Rosicrucian Order can be ful­ filled only by bringing students to the portals of an invisible church where they must live a life of purely religious concepts. Commendable as this in itself would be, it is not the aim of the Rosicrucian work at all. Ninety per cent of those affiliated with churches are still seeking some form of spiritual development, understanding, unfoldment, and attunement. If the Rosicrucian teachings were to bring them such, then they would have accomplished a good work. However, that is not what the Order is trying to do. pie Order seeks to evolve its members into well-rounded, welltrain6d, we 11-developed, and weII-atTuned human beings.- It gives them th&T~®ducation_which is neglected in’other schools of life; thereby insuring a "Better 'understanding and a better control of their individuaimvesT If this gradually leads to an impersonal religion unasseciatSd'wTth any special church, then it will be a good work well done. After all, a truly attuned and spiritually developed life is n ot a purely religious one, but a happy, prosperous, and contented one. This does^iot mean that religion should be the goal of every ambition, or even the last great ambition of every human being. Nor would becoming religiously inclined and attuned automatically solve life's problems and bring happiness, prosperity, contentment, and peace. Nevertheless, reaching a high degree of development and understanding such as is brought libout~Tjy our lessons will bring wisdom and knowledge as well ag splrituai arnmeffignt, and thus T Ife itself w ill take “on a new form with new~Troad and universal study of the Christ idea independent of Jesus. The moment we begin such a study and investigation, all the records of the world seem suddenly to reveal hidden meanings and principles. Hitherto vague and incomprehensible writings in ancient mystical liter­ ature become tinted with purple light as though the paper or pages we are reading from, in our historical search, had become bathed in a great light and were telling us for the first time the outstanding idea which they had been unable to convey to us before. What is this great mystery that they now reveal? It, Is that the idea of~ Christhood and. the IShristos was oonoeived J >v the spiritual^mihds of men many ages ----- ----------------------------before jesus~“was born. Going back through the ancient records and sacred writings of many peoples, including the Hebrews, and going far behind the origin of the Hebrew race, into antiquity, we find the golden thread of hope in the-' minds of people, and we find this golden thread is the expectation of the coming to earth, in some form, of the Christ Consciousness. You must separate this expectation from that other great expectation cen­ tered in the hearts of the Jewish pedpl.e— -the^iope of a great Messiah. That hope was entirely separate and independent _pf^the more inexpres­ sible one that the Christ Consciousness of the universe would reveal itself in some way lif the hearts and minds of men._ The coming of the Me^siah was looked upon as the coming of a great teacher, a great ’ spiritual leader born of the flesh, made flesh, and transmited~Ihto spiritual sublimity. That great Messiah was to be the Saviour of men through his own divine power, and origin. The Jews alone looked for suoh a leader and expected him to be of the House of David. The mystics outside the Jewish race, however, who represented all of the reTigions of the world,"did not look for the Christ Consciousness to come in the form of a human being, a superbeing, or from any particular race or creed. T h e y (ixpeoted_.tT)Ts~ r.hri n C o n s g jfrusfieas,~n&llerfl:tlftf Christos, to rise from^ifieThearts and minds of the people of every country; and, by thus becoming manifest, it was to bring a spiritual change in the make-up i or mankInd.aceompanied by revelations of spiritual truths. Therefore, we are able to trace in all ancient writings a general tendency on the part of mystics and spiritually

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minded persons to lift their consciousness upward in prayer or medi­ tation, and through rituals, songs, and forms of personal sacrifice so that they might become attuned with this invisible, unnamed, and un­ known Christ Consciousness. Long before the_Christ or Christos was conceived in the mind of man, THer? was this conception of a special, illuminated Consciousness that would focus its power into the con­ sciousness of~mah aiid 'become man's individual redeemer and guide. The miracle of suchja consciousness or Divine Mind becoming incarnated-!*! flesh did not~dawn u p on the minds of the early mystics; even at the tlHe‘"o?"the birth of Jesus there were thousands of such expectant mystics who could not conceive of such a miracle as "the Word" or "the Logos* 156ing made flesh. Probably there were as many doubters as there were believers at that time; yet all did expeot some manifestations of the Christ Consciousness. So today in studying the teachings of the Christ and in attuning ourselves tirith the Christ Consciousness which has again returned to the consciousness of God, we are not studying the doctrines of modern Christianity or of the Christian church, but the doctrines and teach­ ings that God revealed to man through the channel called the Christ__ Consciousness. Another important point to meditate upon is the fact that fo£ cen­ turies before the coming of Jesus the Christ* every religion offered t^> the world a leader, teacher, master, who was proclaimed by each religion to be the greatest in spiritual thought. But Jesus, coming as he did into a world of greaXJLeaders at a time when religious thought was divided, seems to have come with a unique power^ and a unique mes­ s a g e ^ I t is more thaiT strange that of all who preceded him, or were born at about the same time, none possessed that which he manifested after he was baptized in the River Jordan. There was something about the Christhood manifest in Jesus, the man, that had never been mani­ fest ecTfcyany of the other great leaders of the past. There was some­ thing in his ministry^ message, doctrine, a n d teaching so far superior to anything before lieard of that it waa impossible for him not to attract the attention of the devout and properly trained mystics and cause tHenTTo realize his true spiritual origin. While orthodox Jews doubted he was the Messiah that had been an­ ticipated (and in this they were perfectly right), and while average Jews found it impossible to accept Jesus as a living example of what they had looked forward t o ; nevertheless mystics of all the Oriental lands recognized and accepted him. TRey were concerned not with whether Th«T man Jesus as the Christ was the true Christhood made in­ carnate or not, but were concerned with the great miracle that had ------ 7 been performed by God in thus turning a law, or a part of His Divine Consciousness, into flesh. In other words, while a V y large portlon of the populace of Palflflt.lrie Anri lsoma other countries were quibbling over the truthfulness of the claims

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that_Jesua tha_-Chrlst. after his baptism, was truly the special mes­ senger^ of God, or the Son of God made manifest in flesh, the mystics w&re not quibbling over this point, which was easily solved by studying^the_teachings of the Christ arid watchingTilsnBtracl6 s~aridthe ac~ tiOris'~ofhis life. They were trying to study and analyze the greatest myster'yb? the world: namely, that of the consciousness of God being made incarnate in a human form. They knew weH~eno'ugh ancTbythousands of"continuous demonstrations that Jesus, the man, after his baptism, was the consciousness of G n d w a Iking upon the suffac^'of ~tHeTearth" in human form^ They did not doubt for one moment the genuineness of this miracle, but the mystery of it was something that held them spell­ bound, and I may safely say here in this little talk to you that it is still one of the great mysteries that occupies the thought of serious minds even to this day. We might have expected the Christian church to solve this mystery for us, after 1900 years of activity, preachment, analysis and study; yet less is revealed and perhaps less actually known about the mystery of the incarnation of Christ today than was known by the disciples who studied with him. You will realize now that it is immaterial whether Jesus was of gentile or Jewish extraction, of the House of David, or of the races of Persia, India, Egypt, or elsewhere. If_||the Word" and the law of the Christos were to be made incarnate in human flesh, ana a pnysical body~£orn, reared, and prepared for the eventual influx of the Chrl~sthood, it made little ^difference what race or nat i onalit y w a s rBpresertted by the^physical body of the one selected. This selected and chosen babe grew to adulthood and was properly prepared, and mystically_and spiritually c1 eansed an d madeTTBafly forthe coming of the Christhood at the time of-theL_sp©cial baptisnTin the River Jordan. There everything was _changed as in the twinkling of an eye, Just as everything is changed at the moment of earthly transition. At thatTmoment when the do v e riftfiCRnrifiri u p on Jesus~a3 he stood in the waters- of theTjordan after having been bathed in the auraTof JohnT~who had been selected as the master teacher and channel for the purging oT thertSodv of Jesus, the b ody then was made a clean and ready vessel for thejhagnificent contents whigh_were poured from the heavens as rronr— a great sublime source, and we no longer had Jesus the man, Jesus^the gentile, or Jesus the J e w , or Jesus the descendant~oFXbrafignrima^lrar House^ oT D a v i d . or Jesus the~human being, or Jesus of virgihTyirth, or~~Jesus the child of Joseph and Marv— we had lust' THK CHRTSTv-----From that moment on, the physical side of the Christ was unimpor­ tant. That his physical body was wholesome and clean was assured by his early preparation, and then by the cleansing proc­ ess that took place Just before the baptism. The presence of the Christhood in that b ody would keep it clef&T h o l y r and

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unoimtaninated._during the few years in which the Christhood was to oc­ cupy that physical body^ It would see to it that no disease, no harm, nq~lnjtBry~wottia'come to the least cell of that physical body. Jesus, the material man, may have been a descendant of the House of David, or of the gentiles; but disputed as that point is, it is not to be disputed that Jesus the Christ was a descendant of God, and that the Christ was a God 'consciousness in man on eartlu That- is all-Impor t a n t ; ancTall that is necessary or worthy of consideration. As students of mystical and spiritual principles, w e are seeking to~contact that same Christ Consciousness and to forget that the physical'* bofiy-witn whioh it was associated~for a while"was of any partiiratar --------- ------ rape or nationality. Wine of rare vintage may be looked upon as vitalizing and bene­ ficial, yet no one concerns himself with the origin of the flask con­ taining it. It may be of Persian, Egyptian, Syrian, or some other origin; still it is the wine that is essential, not that which con­ tains it. I am using the symbolism of the wine because Jesus himself used it, for the luice of the grape is like the vitalizing power of Cosmic things produced on the earth. That is why grape Juice, corn, and~sHit are used iiPtEe symboTTclPeasts by mystics. That is"wEy,~Tc>o, that- the juice of tfie~grap3 is used in church sacraments to symbolize the 'blood of Jesus. ~ -------------------I have given you in this lesson some wonderful and beautiful eso­ teric principles upon which to meditate this week. These are the most sublime esoteric mysteries known to man. The understanding of these mysteries lies in the consciousness of each humaribeing as lt^lifts it­ self Up and attunes itsellLwith the Christ Consciousness. T h e C hrlst ConscTousness is no longer confined To^ the consciousness of God, but is a universaT"con scioushessV~easily reached and sensed by everyone who purges himself spiritually, prepares himself mentally^ and lifts himself up divinely to attunement with it. A t some point in your own esoteric development and spiritual progress, y o u ^ t o o , will be r e a d y f o r t h e _ baptism in the Siver Jordan, fcnd that baptism will occur a s a great sacred event inyour^life. You need not journey to any physical River Jordan, nor go u p on any physical mountaintop to have this baptism and to have the influx of Christ Consciousness, for it~can~come to y ou in your sanctum wherever that may be, and whenever you are ready. It will changtT you and change y our body, and It will bring~iiTthe twinkling oT^an eve the great regeneration and the great- power- that the Christ promised to all men as tHe~reward for following~his fundamental teachings. ' ~------ — Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V

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

T he Rosicrucian Order seeks to aid its members in becoming well-rounded, welltrained, well-developed, and well-attuned human beings. It seeks to give that kind of education which is neglected in other schools of life. This monograph poses the question: “Just when did the idea of the Christ Con­ sciousness and the Christhood originate?” In order to arrive at the correct answer, it is necessary to disassociate it from the origin of the Christian church and consider it as a universal idea. ( f In the light of Biblical passages mystically examined, the conclusion is inescapable that the idea of a Christ Principle or Christ existed in the minds of men ages before the birth of Jesus. Once this fact is accepted, it is not only easier to understand the ancient writings, but also to differentiate between the various viewpoints held by the Jews and those held by the mystics. It, then, becomes possible, too, to see that it is not the ma­ terial history of the man Jesus that is important, but rather the nature of the Christ Consciousness which he embodied.

T h ii m o n o g r a p h is n o t s u b je c t t o s a le o r p u r c h a s e b y a n y o n e . p u rch ase

m ay

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Degree

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Monograph 133

inafar^ruri^

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

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

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-liP t , w i p k 1 i n g nf an gyJ£ejjhould regard Jesu s’ ministry in the same way, realizing th at he was not teaching altogether new knowledge, but also that which had been accepted as truth long before his time. _ 5 There are three sources from which Jesu s’ knowledge came: (1) his stydy of older religions and the mystical writings of earjier Masters; (2) divine inspiration and Cosmic-revelatign; and (3) his own experience as a teacher. 1f Jesus* pre p a ration was thorough and required single-pointed interest ajid constant pracTiee. At every turn, ~it~ Jemanded proof of h i s ahflitv to interpret rightly Cosmic intention. 11 The m atter of grace is an essential esoteric principle, im portant to the development of everjustudentnt is recommended that study and mediTation be given to it during the coming week. —

The Weekly Application W hatsoever thou resolrest to do. do it quickly. Defer not till the erenin# what the m orning m ay accomplish .—UN TO T H EK I GRA NT The a l l e g o r i c a l story of God incarnating in human form through the person of Jesus must seem to the Rosicrucian student as a way of saying that th^higher elementsof Cosmic ConsciQUsness were_ •fljade manifest through Jesus. We know that God, or the Cosfllic^incarnated through all life forms, and that we are all children of God. We only di fferTrT the degree to which we are able to express that /Tilgher consciousness which we know as CosmTc Consciousness. Jesus made a point of saying thaj. we were all children of God, a ncTthat we could possibly manifest the greater consciousness as he did. Thls^possibilit^isjvell to keep in mind during the week. It points up the responsibility we have as children of God, teTbe upright and fair in all our dealings with each other, ancfto cultivate our_ natural environment to the greater glory of our Cosmic heritage.

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The Rosicrudan Order

MASTER MONOGRAPH ILLUMINATI SECTION This monograph always remains the property of the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. I t is not purchased by, but loaned to, the receiving member.

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Degree 11

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Degree 11 Monograph 134

Monograph 134

lotfaefxuri# R E G I S T E R E D IN U . S . P A T E N T O F F I C E < A LSO R E G I S T E R E D T H R O U G H O U T t h e WORLD ) P R I N T E O I N U . t. A .

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T h e matter contained herein Is officially issued through the Su­ preme Council o f the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States 1’atent Office for the purpose of protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies o f officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis­ sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts" as authorized by the Irnperator of A. M. O. R. C. (T h e above emblem and name of the Order are also registered In countries throughout the world.) All matters herein contained are stric tly confidential to Ibe m em ber receiving, and are imparted only as an incident lo membership. The ownership of. the legal title, and the right o f possession to this monograph is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lod ge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used fo r the sole and exclusive information o f the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights o f the member, and is a violation o f tne Statutes o f this Order. A. M. O. R. C. is the only organization authorized to use the R eg­ istered name and symbols, and the Irnperator has sole right to grant the use o f them to other allied organizations or movements.

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*1 The doctrine of grace is truly a mystical one, and Scriptures other than the Christian teach it. Sometimes, however, usage rubs words bare of their real meaning by making them too familiar. In such a case, a fresh state' ment is oftentimes enlightening. The one chosen is from the Chinese philosopher and mystic, Lao-Tze. His teaching called Taoism is embodied principally in the work Tao'Te King.

Possessing grace without striving or boasting, is really to have it. Calling attention to even a measure which you thin\ you have is sheerest pretense and certain proof that you have it not. —LAOTZE in Tao'Te King, 6th Century B. C.

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Beloved Members, Greetings! Let us this week give some thought to the esoteric principle of grace of which we spoke in the preceding monograph. Grace, of course, is an English word; yet it has its equivalent in every language, and the Latin roots are similar. The combination of the letters G and R at the beginning of the word are significant, for G represents the sound and principle of esoteric subtlety and R represents the royal power of God. Therefore, without consulting a dictionary as to the possible meaning of grace, we see that it is something that has to do with a subtle form of royal or divine power. For this week's development of the esoteric side of our work, we shall examine the quality and influence of grace. To show that the so-called Christian Bible is not devoid of esoteric principles which could be taught in our churches and Sunday schools, I shall use the Bible rather than quote from other ancient sacred writings. There are two advantages in this: First, the Christian Bible is available to almost all our members; second, it will help us to realize how many ancient esoteric teachings have been brought down to us in this socalled Christian Bible. Let us first see what the Disciples had to say about grace: If we turn to John 1:16,17, we learn that grace is of Cosmic and divine origin, and is in accordance with law. In these two verses, John intimates that while material laws were given or interpreted by Moses and handed down through his instrumentality, grace and truth are of a divine nature, obtained only through the instrumentality of Jesus the Christ— or the Christ consciousness in Jesus. If we now turn to Luke 2:40, we find that even in the growing child, not yet appointed as special messenger of God or baptized with the Holy Ghost, this subtle divine power of grace is present. We are told that as a child Jesus grew and became strong in body and spirit and filled with wis­ dom, and the grace of God was upon or in him. This makes it evident that grace is something aside from divine authority, or divine power of an extraordinary nature that comes only to an adult or to one ap­ pointed from on high as an avatar. Now let us see what Peter had to say. In I Peter 4:10, we find another interesting point: Peter is exhorting the people to cease their sins and to follow the spiritual life. He is telling them to be charitable, wise, tolerant and good; and then he mentions the additional obligation to serve others, to spread the light and carry on missionary work— not as specially appointed beings but as God's children carrying out the desires of the divine Father. He reminds them that every human being has had blessings and gifts from heaven which rest upon them as obligations for which they must make compensation. He speaks of blessings

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as gifts from God, and in the tenth verse says: "As every man hath re­ ceived the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.■ In other words, if you have received a gift, no matter what, you must pass it along by doing something of like nature for someone else and so prove yourself a steward of the grace of God. This means prov­ ing oneself not only a beneficiary of grace but also one able to use it as an instrument in continuing the good God wishes us to do. Thus, grace is a benediction, a blessing, a beneficent gift bestowed upon us. Here it is probably necessary to remind you that grace is not something to be demanded as a rightful heritage. Some argue that since life is universal, the life within our bodies is a universal gift or condition and so we are entitled to it without the necessity of being thankful to anyone. In the same way, people argue about liberty and claim it to be something justly theirs and the right of every living person. Grace, however, is not one of the things that we can look upon as a rightful heritage which we can demand whether we deserve it or not. It is rather something that we must deserve and become worthy of. This makes it all the more valuable and when we have it, we are actually under the benediction of God and the Cosmic. In the book of Acts, 4:33, we find that the Disciples assembled around Jesus at his resurrection were given special power by him as his last great gift to them. Other records plainly indicate that Jesus gave his Disciples the power to perform miracles and to do won­ derful things which up to that time he had reserved for himself. Since he was soon to abandon his public ministry and disappear from public sight, he felt it proper at his resurrection to transfer this special divine power to them equally. Notice in this thirty-third verse that in addition to the power which Jesus gave his Apostles at this time, "great grace was upon them all." In addition to the power, there was the "great grace." Here are two separate powers, one that we can easily understand, and one so subtle that we must still search for its meaning to discover how to bring it into our own lives. In the fourteenth chapter of the book of Acts, after Jesus' resurrection and public disappearance, the Apostles went about their assigned tasks, expressing holy words, carrying out the divine ministry, and speaking boldly of what they had seen and learned; in addition, they "gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands." Here we have an intimation that grace may be symbolized by a word, a sign, or a phrase that would reveal who possessed it and at the same time reveal the law back of it. Certainly, we are discovering that grace is a very esoteric and mystical principle and not one to be easily passed over in our study

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of the sacred writings. Going on to Acts 20:24, we are told that the grace we seek is a gift of God and that there is a gospel or doctrine connected with it which makes it and the results of it understandable. Now that we know that grace is of God, that Jesus as a child received it and gave it to others, and that the Apostles could pass it on, let us discover what its effects are. In the first chapter of II Corinthians, Paul, the Apostle, says many symbolic, esoteric things. He had passed through a great many trials and tribulations, even facing transition, and had learned to overcome these obstacles through grace and the other powers associated with i t ; so he encour­ aged the depressed and despondent by assuring them of a way to over­ come the seemingly great obstacles of life. He tells of the troubles which came upon him in Asia where he was depressed, annoyed, punished, and tortured, and where even the sentence of death was passed upon him. He says he soon found he could not trust either himself or those who represented ungodly or unrighteous schools of help. In the twelfth verse he says that the voice of conscience within spoke to him and allowed him to communicate with the minds of others; but that this was not done through any wisdom of the flesh or development of mind but through the grace of God. Here we begin to see that grace established some form of attunement between the individual and God whereby man might converse with God or might sense the divine mind in others and converse with them without using the tongue or any of the processes of the brain. This gives us the clue we have been seeking: We see now that grace is but another term for Cosmic Consciousness— except that it is not that form which is dependent upon mental development or mental awakening. It is dependent upon attunement with God. It is really a form of spiritual oneness with God and God only. This constitutes the grace that the Masters of the past spoke about while students sat humbly at their feet or at distant points hearing the words of sacred instruction. Turning now to the second epistle of John, which consists of only one short chapter, we find John, in the third verse, writing an exhortation to be persistent and to persevere— to persevere for the sake of truth. This truth dwells in us and we shall become conscious of it through persistent and patient effort and shall become wise and learned. He tells his followers that he wishes to make them happy for their faithful adoration; so he makes a benediction and wishes that grace will come upon all of them. It is a very beautiful verse and one which every Rosicrucian might use when anyone does a kindly deed or carries out the wishes of God. Let me quote it: "Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth, and love."

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Continuing our study from a slightly different angle, we discover that most primitive religious rites included the idea of developing the grace of God. In order to understand this idea from the viewpoint of the ancient mystics, we must lay aside any consideration of diverg­ ing opinion as to who and what God is. Even though we think we know and worship the real God, the time may come when people will have an even better conception of Him, and will smile at the conception we have now. They may even think our present conception quite primitive and pagan. We conceive and think of God in the light of our under­ standing. This is all the ancients did. Their idea may have been crude and surrounded with misconceptions; however, their idea of God included the great essentials. To them, God was the supreme being. He was omnipotent in every conceivable sense. They even went so far as to think of Him as being larger in stature, larger in mentality, larger in voice, possessing all the powers of the universe. He was God of the Winds, God of the Sun, God of the Water, God of the Air; in fact, God of everything, for He supplanted the score or more gods that had been previously assigned to all of the elements and conditions of the universe. To them, God was also omnipresent; in everything and everywhere. The slightest whispering produced by the wind; the rip­ ples on the surface of the water contained His presence. Every altar in home or temple, every casket, every fountain, every shrine, con­ tained the presence of God. In many ways, the ancients had an even greater appreciation of the presence of God than we have today. In many of our present-day churches, prayers petition God to come down into the congregation and be present in the edifice— as though God had not been present since the previous Sunday or Wednesday evening. Many other prayers ask God to visit a certain locality, or come into a certain place, as though He were not already there. To the ancients, such an idea would have seemed peculiar. They not only looked upon God as being constantly and continuously present in every holy temple, shrine, and sacred place, but as being present wherever living things, living creatures, were to be found. He was therefore always present night and day in every home where there were living persons who recognized Him or paid adoration to Him. Certainly, He was continuously present in the great temples, and never had to be asked or petitioned to be present on special occasions. The Jewish religion took this idea from the Orient and built in every synagogue a holy altar which represented the eternal and con­ tinuous presence of God in the place. Therefore, a worshipper at any time of the day or night, whether a service was being conducted or not, could be sure of finding the presence of God at the altar. Going there or standing near would bring one closer to some form of attunement with God So, even though the pagans and ancient peoples had strange ideas about the appearance of God and believed many peculiar

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things about Him— such as that He was extremely Jealous and filled with wrath, easily angered by sinful acts, ready to smite people with pesti­ lence and famine or catastrophe in order to make them obey His wil l ; still the God they conceived was as perfect as was their light. We un­ derstand, therefore, how they attributed to this God of theirs a be­ nevolent and kindly side. With all His anger, Jealousy, and wrath, they believed He also had a great amount of love, an encompassing kind­ ness, and a most friendly feeling for those who obeyed Him. It was the desire, therefore, of the most religious and devout to win the friendship and the love of God by living properly, obeying His laws, find fearing Him. In order to win His friendship and love, and thus be sure of being blessed with favors, it was necessary to find grace with God. Once more, we may smile at the methods that some adopted to find this grace; but after all, they did not do many things that were greatly different from what the churches advise us to do today. Thousands of ancient mystics believed that by abandoning their worldly standing, heritage, and possessions they would more quickly find this grace. Taking Buddha as an example, we know that he was not the only one born of royal blood and princely standing who abandoned his palace, titles, elegant clothing, and worldly things, to put on poor garments and go forth as a beggar into the world to preach a re­ ligious doctrine. Some of the greatest rulers known to history sacri­ ficed half, if not all, of their worldly power at times to find grace with God. Some believed that by living apart from worldly people and temptations, in caves, grottos, on the mountaintops, or in uninhabited valleys, they would develop greater spirituality and thus attain grace. In this belief, we find the origin of the anchorite. Others believed that by separating themselves from the world and living with those who felt as they did, devoting their time to study and medita­ tion on spiritual subjects and to humanitarian work for others, they would find grace. This was the origin of monastic organizations and monasteries. Still others believed that by persecuting their physical bodies, neglecting them, and thus making the world and its temptations less interesting, they would increase the spiritual side of their na­ tures and obtain grace. This was the origin of Oriental systems of self-punishment still existing in India and other countries. Some of the most uneducated and illiterate of the pagans believed that by burning sacrifices to God they would obtain grace. This custom was partly adopted by the Jewish people and is still existent as a reli­ gious rite in many countries. Others thought that building temples with spires, pointing to the heavens in which long and glorious prayers could be offered, and in which they could achieve spiritual separation from the world, would help to bring grace, and this was the origin of the many unique build­ ings of magnificent height and wonderful spires. The ideas held by the ancients were many, greater than many book lengths. There were those who believed that God was

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confined to special forms and places; that He existed in certain stones or metals, and that these carried on the person or hung around the neck would bring grace. This was the beginning of belief in amulets and lucky oharms. There were others who believed that the spirit of God resided in certain animals. Such animals were carefully protected and faithfully watched, not as God but as representatives of God, and the idea is still held in some Oriental countries where certain animals are greatly respected. Then came the sex idea based upon ignorance 0/ such matters. They believed that since life in all its visible methods of re­ production seemed associated with the sex organs, God's power resided solely in them and so grew a system of sex worship, which without any element of perversion, still was erroneous and led to many misconcep­ tions of God and life generally. The outstanding fact is that through the Dark Ages and the Middle Ages as well, man sought to find grace with God by winning His favor; and it is to be noted that the one fundamental idea for finding grace was that of attuning oneself with God through proper living and through obeying His laws. Up to the time that Moses came to his people with tablets of stone upon which certain comments were definitely written, people of the world had no definitely prescribed and worded laws as being the laws of God. They based all of their understanding of God's laws upon occurrences in life which they observed. A child does not have to study a medical book to know that cutting his finger with a knife pro­ duces pain, injury, loss of blood, and some inconvenience in the use of the finger. In the same way as a child observed the law of pro­ tecting the finger to save pain, these ancients observed that by not doing certain things they were happier, in better health, and found a certain peace and spiritual power that they would not have had other­ wise. Consequently, they worked out a code that seemed to them to represent the fundamental laws of God. These laws we are going to study and analyze in connection with earning, deserving, and attaining the grace of God. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V

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V

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

^1 T o the ancients, God was the supreme being in the world, and though their ideas may seem strange to us, we should remember that our ideas may seem just as strange to the people of the future. T hey believed that to win God’s friendship and love, it was necessary to find grace with God; and their methods of achieving grace are not greatly different from those advised by churches today. The methods for achieving grace included carrying certain stones or metals, amulets, and lucky charms; self-denial of worldly belongings; devoting life to humanitarian deeds; living apart from others in monasteries or caves; and the burning of sacrifices to God. Throughout the Dark Ages and the Middle Ages, man sought to find grace by win­ ning G od’s favor, and the one fundamental idea for finding it was through attuning himself with God through proper living and obeying H is laws. In the following Books of the Christian Bible, we learn that grace is of God and that it was handed down through Jesus (John 1:16, 17 and Luke 2 :4 0 ); that it is a bene­ diction (I Peter 4 : 1 0 ), and that the Apostles were given the power to pass it on (A cts 4:33; 14:3; 2 0 : 2 4 ). ^

In the first chapter of II Corinthians, we are told of Paul’s trials and how they were overcome by the use o f grace. As Paul uses the word, it is another term for Cosmic Consciousness and is dependent upon attunement with God. T he student should analyze what he thinks the fundamental laws of God are that will bring approval of God and bring him grace. H e should list them and keep the list with this monograph.

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The Rosicrucian Order

MASTER MONOGRAPH I L L U M I N A T I S E C T IO N This monograph alw ays remains the property of the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. I t is not purchased by, b u t loaned to, the receiving member.

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