CHAPTER V. LIFE AND DEATH

_Invisible Helpers and Mediums._

There are two classes of people in the world. In one class the vital and

dense bodies are so firmly cemented that the ethers cannot be extracted

under any circumstances but remain with the dense body at all times and

under all conditions from birth to death. Those people are insensible to

any supersensuous sights or sounds. They are therefore usually exceedingly

sceptic, and believe nothing exists but what _they_ can see.

There is another class of people in whom the connection between the dense

and the vital bodies is more or less loose, so that the ether of their

vital bodies vibrates at a higher rate than in the first class mentioned.

These people are therefore more or less sensitive to the spiritual world.

This class of sensitives may again be divided. Some are weak characters,

dominated by the will of others in a _negative_ manner, as mediums, who

are the prey of disembodied spirits desirous of obtaining a physical body

when they have lost their own by death.

The other class of sensitives are strong _positive_ characters, who act

only from within, according to their own will. They may develop into

trained clairvoyants, and be their own masters instead of slaves of a

disembodied spirit. In some sensitives of both classes it is possible to

extract part of the ether which forms the vital body. When a disembodied

spirit obtains a subject of that nature, it develops the sensitive as _a

materializing medium_. The man who is capable of extracting his own vital

body by an act of will, becomes a citizen of two worlds, independent and

free. Such are usually known as _Invisible Helpers_. There are certain

other abnormal conditions where the vital body and the dense body are

separated totally or in part, for instance if we place our limb in an

uncomfortable position so that circulation of the blood ceases. Then we

may see the etheric limb hanging down below the visible limb as a

stocking. When we restore circulation and the etheric limb seeks to enter

into place, an intense prickly sensation is felt, due to the fact that the

little streams of force, which radiate all through the ether, seek to

permeate the molecules of the limb and stir them into renewed vibration.

When a person is drowning, the vital body also separates from the dense

vehicle and the intense prickly pain incident to resuscitation is also due

to the cause mentioned.

While we are awake and going about our work in the Physical World, the

desire body and mind both permeate the dense and the vital bodies, and

there is a constant war between the desire nature and the vital body. The

vital body is continually engaged in building up the human organism, while

the impulses of the desire body tend to tire and to break down tissue.

Gradually, in the course of the day, the vital body loses ground before

the onslaughts of the desire body, poisons of decay slowly accumulate and

the flow of vital fluid becomes more and more sluggish, until at length it

is incapable of moving the muscles. The body then feels heavy and drowsy.

At last the vital body collapses, as it were, the little streams of force

which permeate each atom seem to shrivel up, and the Ego is forced to

abandon its body to the restorative powers of sleep.

When a building has become dilapidated and is to be _restored_ and put in

thorough repair, the tenants must move out to let the workmen have a free

field. So also when the building of a spirit has become unfit for further

use, it must withdraw therefrom. As the desire body caused the damage, it

is a logical conclusion that that also must be removed. Every night when

our body has become tired, the higher vehicles are withdrawn, only the

dense and vital bodies are left upon the bed.

Then the process of restoration commences and lasts for a longer or a

shorter time according to circumstances.

At times however, the grip of the desire body upon our denser vehicles is

so strong that it refuses to let go. When it has become so interested in

the proceedings of the day, it continues to ruminate over them after the

collapse of the physical body, and is perhaps only half extracted from

that vehicle. Then it may transmit sights and sounds of the desire world

to the brain. But as the connections are necessarily askew under such

conditions, the most confused dreams result. Furthermore, as the desire

body compels motion, the body is very apt to toss about when the desire

body is not fully extracted, hence the restless sleep which usually

accompanies dreams of a confused nature.

There are times of course when dreams are prophetic and come true, but

such dreams result only _after_ complete extraction of the desire body,

under circumstances where the spirit has seen some danger perhaps, which

may befall, and then impresses the fact upon the brain _at the moment of

awakening_.

It also happens that the spirit goes upon a soul flight and omits to

perform its part of the work of restoration, then the body will not be fit

to re-enter in the morning, so it sleeps on. The spirit may thus roam

afield for a number of days, or even weeks, before it again enters its

physical body and assumes the normal routine of alternating waking and

sleep. This condition is called _trance_, and the spirit may remember upon

its return what it has seen and heard in the super-physical realm, or it

may have forgotten, according to the stage of its development and the

depth of the trance condition. When the trance is very light, the spirit

is usually present in the room where its body lies all the time, and upon

its return to the body it will be able to recount to relatives all they

said and did while its body lay unconscious. Where the trance is deeper,

the returning spirit will usually be unconscious of what happened around

its body, but may recount experiences from the invisible world.

A few years ago a little girl by the name of Florence Bennett in Kankakee,

Illinois, fell into such a trance. She returned to the body every few

days, but stayed within only a few hours each time, and the whole trance

lasted three weeks, more or less. During the returns to her body she told

relatives that in her absence she seemed to be in a place inhabited by all

the people who died. But she stated that none of them spoke about dying

and no one among them seemed to realize that they were dead. Among those

she had seen was a locomotive engineer who had been accidentally killed.

His body was mangled in the accident which caused death. The little girl

perceived him there walking about minus arms, and with lesions upon his

head, all of which is in line with facts usually seen by mystic

investigators. Persons who have been hurt in accidents go about thus,

until they learn that a mere wish to have their body made whole will

supply a new arm or limb, for desire stuff is most quickly and readily

molded by thought.

_Death._

After a longer or shorter time there comes in each life a point where the

experiences which a spirit can gain from its present environment have been

exhausted, and life terminates in death.

Death may be sudden and seemingly unexpected, as for instance by

earthquake, upon the battle-field, or by accident, as we call it, but in

reality, death is never accidental or unforeseen by Higher Powers. Not a

sparrow falls to the ground without divine Will. There are along life’s

path partings of the way, as it were; on one side the main line of life

continues onward, the other path leads into what we might call a blind

alley. If the man takes that path, it soon ends in death. We are here in

life for the sake of gaining experience and each life has a certain

harvest to reap. If we order our life in such a manner that we gain the

knowledge it is intended we should acquire, we continue in life, and

opportunities of different kinds constantly come our way. But if we

neglect them, and the life goes into paths which are not congruous to our

individual development it would be a waste of time to let us stay in such

environment. Therefore the Great and Wise Beings, Who are behind the scene

of evolution, terminate our life, that we may have a fresh start in a

different sphere of influence. The law of conservation of energy is not

confined to the Physical World, but operates in the spiritual realms also.

There is nothing in life that has not its purpose. We do wrong to rail

against circumstances, no matter how disagreeable, we should rather

endeavor to learn the lessons which are contained therein, that we may

live a long and useful life. Some one may object, and say: You are

inconsistent in your teachings. You say there is really no death, that we

go into a brighter existence, and that we have to learn other lessons

there in a different sphere of usefulness! Why then aim to live a long

life here?

It is very true that we make these claims, and they are perfectly

consistent with the other assertions just mentioned, but there are lessons

to be learned _here_ which cannot be learned in the other worlds, and we

have to bring up this physical body through the useless years of

childhood, through hot and impulsive youth, to the ripeness of manhood or

womanhood, before it becomes of true spiritual use. The longer we live

after maturity has been attained, when we have commenced to look upon the

serious side of life and started to truly learn lessons which make for

soulgrowth, the more experience we shall gather and the richer our harvest

will be. Then, in a later existence, we shall be so much more advanced,

and capable of taking up tasks that would be impossible with less length

of life and breadth of activity. Besides, it is hard to die for the man in

the prime of life with a wife and growing family whom he loves; with

ambitions of greatness unfulfilled; with hosts of friends about him, and

with interests all centered upon the material plane of existence. It is

sad for the woman whose heart is bound up in home and the little ones she

has reared, to leave them, perhaps without anyone to care for them; to

know that they have to fight their way alone through the early years when

her tender care is needed, and perhaps to see those little ones abused,

and she unable to lift a hand, though her heart may bleed as freely as it

would in earth life. All these things are sad, and _they bind the spirit

to earth_ for a much longer time than ordinarily, they hinder it from

reaping the experiences it should reap upon the other side of death, and

they make it desirable along with other reasons already mentioned to live

a long life before passing onwards.

The difference between those who pass out at a ripe old age, and one who

leaves this earth in the prime of life, may be illustrated by the manner

in which the seed clings to a fruit in an unripe state. A great deal of

force is necessary to tear the stone from a green peach; it has such a

tenacious hold upon the fruit that shreds of pulp adhere to it when

forcibly removed, so also the spirit clings to the flesh in middle life

and a certain part of its material interest remain and bind it to earth

after death. On the other hand, when a life has been lived to the full,

when the spirit has had time to realize its ambitions or to find out their

futility, when the duties of life have been performed and satisfaction

rests upon the brow of an aged man or woman; or when the life has been

misspent and the pangs of conscience have worked upon the man and shown

him his mistakes; when, in fact, the spirit has learned the lessons of

life, as it must have to come to old age; then it may be likened to the

seed of the ripe fruit which falls out clean, without a vestige of flesh

clinging thereto, at the moment the encasing pulp is opened. Therefore we

say, as before, that though there is a brighter existence in store for

those who have lived well, it is nevertheless best to live a long life and

to live it to the fullest extent possible.

We also maintain, that no matter what may be the circumstances of a man’s

death, it is not accidental; it has either been brought about by his own

neglect to embrace opportunities of growth, or else life has been lived to

the ultimate possible. There is one exception to that rule, and that is

due to man’s exercise of his divine prerogative of interference. If we

lived according to schedule, if we all assimilated the experiences

designed for our growth by the Creative Powers, we should live to the

ultimate length, but _we ourselves_ usually shorten our lives by not

taking advantage of opportunities, and it also happens that _other men_

may shorten our lives and cut them off as suddenly as the so-called

accident whereby the divine rulers terminate our life here. In other

words, murder, or fatal accidents brought about _by human __

carelessness_, are in reality the only termination to life not planned by

invisible leaders of humanity. No one is ever compelled to do murder or

other evil, or there could not come to them a just retribution for their

acts. The Christ said that evil must come but _woe unto him by whom it

cometh_, and to harmonize that with the law of divine justice: “as a man

soweth, so shall he also reap,” _there must at least be absolute free will

in respect to evil acts_.

There are also cases where a person lives such a full and good life of

such vast benefit to humanity and to himself, that his days are lengthened

beyond the ultimate, as they are shortened by neglect, but such cases are

of course too few to allow of their being dwelt upon at length.

Where death is not sudden as in the case of accidents, but occurs at home

after an illness, quietly and peacefully, dying persons usually experience

a falling upon them as of a pall of great darkness shortly before

termination of life. Many pass out from the body under that condition, and

do not see the light again until they have entered the super-physical

realms. There are many other cases however, where the darkness lifts

before the final release from the body. Then the dying person views both

worlds at once, and is cognizant of the presence of both dead and living

friends. Under such circumstances it very often happens that a mother sees

some of her children who have gone before, and she will exclaim joyously:

Oh, there is Johnny standing at the foot of my bed; my but hasn’t he

grown! The living relatives may feel shocked and uneasy, thinking the

mother suffering from hallucinations, while in reality she is more

clear-sighted than they; she perceives those who have passed beyond the

veil who have come to greet and help her to make herself at home in the

new world she is entering.

Each human being is an individual, separate and apart from all others, and

as experiences in the life of each differ from those of all others in the

interval from the cradle to the grave, so we may also reasonably infer

that the experiences of each spirit vary from those of every other spirit

when it passes through the gates of birth and death. We print what

purports to be a _spirit message_ communicated by the late Professor James

of Harvard at the Boston spirit temple, and in which he describes

sensations which he felt when passing through the gate of death. We do not

vouch for its authenticity as we have not investigated the matter

personally.

Professor James had promised to communicate after death with his friends

in this life, and the whole world of psychic research was and still is on

watch for a word from him. Several mediums have claimed that Professor

James has communicated through them, but the most remarkable are those

given through the Boston spirit temple as follows:

“And this is death, only to fall asleep, only to awaken in the

morning and to know that all is well. I am not dead, only arisen.

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“I only know that I experienced a great shock through my entire

system, as if some mighty bond had been rent asunder. For a moment

I was dazed and lost consciousness. When I awakened I found myself

standing beside the old body which had served me faithfully and

well. To say that I was surprised would only inadequately express

the sensation that thrilled my very being, and I realized that

some wonderful change had taken place. Suddenly I became conscious

that my body was surrounded by many of my friends, and an

uncontrollable desire took possession of me to speak and touch

them that they might know that I still lived. Drawing a little

nearer to that which was so like and yet unlike myself, I

stretched forth my hand and touched them, but they heeded me not.”

-------------------------------------

“Then it was that the full significance of the great change that

had taken place flashed upon my newly awakened senses; then it was

that I realized that an impenetrable barrier separated me from my

loved ones on earth, and that this great change which had taken

place was indeed death. A sense of weariness and longing for rest

took possession of me. I seemed to be transported through space,

and I lost consciousness, to awaken in a land so different and yet

so similar to the one which I had lately left. It was not possible

for me to describe my sensations when I again regained

consciousness and realized that, though dead, I was still alive.

“When I first became conscious of my new environment I was resting

in a beautiful grove, and was realizing as never before what it

was to be at peace with myself and all the world.”

-------------------------------------

“I know that only with the greatest difficulty shall I be enabled

to express to you my sensations when I fully realized that I had

awakened to a new life. All was still, no sound broke the silence.

Darkness had surrounded me. In fact, I seemed to be enveloped in a

heavy mist, beyond which my gaze could not penetrate. Soon in the

distance I discerned a faint glimmer of light, which slowly

approached me, and then, to my wonder and joy, I beheld the face

of her who had been my guiding star in the early days of my earth

life.”

One of the saddest sights witnessed by the seer at a death-bed is the

tortures to which we often subject our dying friends on account of

ignorance of how to care for them in that condition. We have a science of

birth; obstetricians who have been trained for years in their profession

and have developed a wonderful skill, assist the little stranger into this

world. We have also trained nurses attendant upon mother and child, the

ingenuity of brilliant minds is focused upon the problem of how to make

maternity easier, neither pains nor money are spared in these beneficent

efforts for one whom we have never seen, but when the friend of a

lifetime, the man who has served his kind well and nobly in profession,

state, or church, is to leave the scene of his labors for a new field of

activity, when the woman—who has labored to no less good purpose in

bringing up a family to take its part in the world’s work—has to leave

that home and family, when one whom we have loved all our lives is about

to bid us the final farewell, we stand by utterly at a loss how to help;

perhaps we even do the very things most detrimental to the comfort and

welfare of the departing one.

Probably there is no form of torture more commonly inflicted upon the

dying than that which is caused by administering stimulants. Such potions

have the effect of drawing a departing spirit into its body with the force

of a catapult, to remain and to suffer for sometime longer. Investigators

of conditions beyond have heard many complaints of such treatment. When it

is seen that death must inevitably ensue, let not selfish desire to keep a

departing spirit a little longer prompt us to inflict such tortures upon

it. The death chamber should be a place of the utmost quiet, a place of

peace and of prayer, for at that time, and _for three and one-half days

after the last breath_, the spirit is passing through a Gethsemane and

needs all the assistance that can be given. The value of the life that has

just been passed depends greatly upon conditions which then prevail about

the body; yes even the conditions of its future life are influenced by our

attitude during that time, so that if ever we were our brother’s keeper in

life, we are a thousand times more so at death.

Post-mortem examinations, embalming and cremation during the period

mentioned, not only disturb the passing spirit mentally, but are

productive of a certain amount of pain, for there is still a slight

connection with the discarded vehicle. If sanitary laws require us to

prevent decomposition while thus keeping the body for cremation, it may be

packed in ice till the three and one-half days have passed. After that

time the spirit will not suffer, no matter what happens to the body.

_The Panorama of a Past Life._

No matter how long we may keep the spirit from passing out however, at

last there will come a time when no stimulant can hold it and the last

breath is drawn. Then the silver cord, of which the Bible speaks, and

which holds the higher and the lower vehicles together, snaps in the heart

and causes that organ to stop. That rupture releases the vital body, and

that with the desire body and mind float above the visible body for from

one to three and one-half days while the spirit is engaged in reviewing

the past life, an exceedingly important part of its post-mortem

experience. Upon that review depends its whole existence from death to a

new birth.

The question may arise in the student’s mind: How can we review our past

life from the cradle to the grave when we do not even remember what we did

a month ago, and to form a proper basis for our future life, this record

ought to be very accurate, but even the best memory is faulty? When we

understand the difference between the conscious and sub-conscious memory

and the manner in which the latter operates, the difficulty vanishes. This

difference and the manner in which the sub-conscious memory keeps an

accurate record of our life experiences may be best understood by an

illustration, as follows: When we go into a field and view the surrounding

landscape, vibrations in the ether carry to us a picture of everything

within the range of our vision. It is as sad as it is true however, that

“we have eyes and see not,” as the Savior said. These vibrations impinge

upon the retina of our eyes, even to the very smallest details, but they

usually do not penetrate to our consciousness, and therefore are not

remembered. Even the most powerful impressions fade in course of time so

that we cannot call them back at will when they are stored in our

conscious memory.

When a photographer goes afield _with his camera_ the results which he

obtains are different. The ether vibrations emanating from all things upon

which his camera is focused, transmit to the sensitive plate an impression

of the landscape true to the minutest detail, and, mark this well, this

true and accurate picture is in no wise dependent upon whether the

photographer is observant or not. It will remain upon the plate and may be

reproduced under proper conditions. Such is the subconscious memory, and

it is generated automatically by each of us during every moment of time,

independently of our volition, in the following manner.

From the first breath which we draw after birth to our last dying gasp, we

inspire air which is charged with pictures of our surroundings, and the

same ether which carries that picture to the retina of our eye, is inhaled

into our lungs where it enters the blood. Thus it reaches the heart in due

time. In the left ventricle of that organ, near the apex, there is one

little atom which is particularly sensitized, and which remains in the

body all through life. It differs in this respect from all other atoms

which come and go, for it is the particular property of God, and of a

certain spirit. This atom may be called the book of the Recording Angel,

for as the blood passes through the heart, cycle after cycle, the pictures

of our good and evil acts are inscribed thereon to the minutest detail.

This record may be called the sub-conscious memory. It forms the basis of

our future life when reproduced as a panorama just subsequent to death. By

removal of the seed atom—which corresponds to the sensitized plate in a

camera,—the reflecting ether of the vital body serves as a focus, and as

the life unrolls slowly backwards from death to birth the pictures thereof

are etched into the desire body which will be our vehicle during our

sojourn in purgatory and the first heaven where evil is eradicated and

good assimilated, so that in a future life the former may serve as

_conscience_ to withhold the man from repeating mistakes of the past, and

the latter will spur us to greater good.

A phenomenon similar to the panorama of life usually takes place when a

person is drowning. People who have been resuscitated speak of having seen

their whole life _in a flash_. That is because under such conditions the

vital body also leaves the dense body. Of course there is no rupture of

the silver cord, or life could not be restored. Unconsciousness follows

quickly in drowning, while in the usual post-mortem review the

consciousness continues until the vital body collapses in the same manner

that it does when we go to sleep. Then consciousness ceases for a while

and the panorama is terminated. Therefore also the time occupied by the

panorama varies with different persons, according to whether the vital

body was strong and healthy, or had become thin and emaciated by

protracted illness. The longer the time spent in review, and the more

quiet and peaceful the surroundings, the deeper will be the etching which

is made in the desire body. As already said, that has a most important and

far reaching effect, for then the sufferings which the spirit will realize

in purgatory on account of bad habits and misdeeds will be much more keen

than if there is only a slight impression, and in a future life the still

small voice of conscience will warn so much more insistently against

mistakes which caused sufferings in the past.

When conditions are such at the time of death that the spirit is disturbed

by outside conditions, for instance the din and turmoil of a battle, the

harrowing conditions of an accident or the hysterical wailings of

relatives, the distraction prevents it from realizing an appropriate depth

in the etching upon the desire body. Consequently its post-mortem

existence becomes vague and insipid, the spirit does not harvest fruits of

experience as it should have done had it passed out of the body in peace

and under normal conditions. It would therefore lack incentive to good in

a future life, and miss the warning against evil which a deep etching of

the panorama of life would have given. Thus its growth would be retarded

in a very marked degree, but the beneficent powers in charge of evolution

take certain steps to compensate for our ignorant treatment of the dying

and other untoward circumstances mentioned. What these steps are, we shall

discuss when considering the life of children in heaven, for the present

let it be sufficient to say that in God’s kingdom every evil is always

transmuted to a greater good though the process may not be at once

apparent.

_Purgatory._

During life the collapse of the vital body at night terminates our view of

the world about us, and causes us to lose ourselves in unconsciousness of

sleep. When the vital body collapses just subsequent to death, and the

panorama of life is terminated, we also lose consciousness for a time

which varies according to the individual. A darkness seems to fall upon

the spirit, then after a while it wakes up and begins dimly to perceive

the light of the other world, but is only gradually accustomed to the

altered conditions. It is an experience similar to that which we have when

coming out of a darkened room into sunlight, which blinds us by its

brilliancy, until the pupils of our eyes have contracted so that they

admit a quantity of light bearable to our organism.

If under such a condition we turn momentarily from the bright sunlight and

look back into the darkened room, objects there will be much more plain to

our vision than things outside which are illumined by the powerful rays of

the sun. So it is also with the spirit, when it has first been released

from the body it perceives sights, scenes and sounds of the material

world, which it has just left, much more readily than it observes the

sights of the world it is entering. Wordsworth in his Ode to Immortality

noted a similar condition in the case of new-born children, who are all

clairvoyant and much more awake to the spiritual world than to this

present plane of existence. Some lose the spiritual sight very early,

others retain it for a number of years and a few keep it all through life,

but as the birth of a child is a death in the spiritual world and it

retains the spiritual sight for a time, so also death here is a birth upon

the spiritual plane, and the newly dead retain a consciousness of this

world for some time subsequent to demise.

When one awakes in the Desire World after having passed through

aforementioned experiences, the general feeling seems to be one of relief

from a heavy burden, a feeling perhaps akin to that of a diver encased in

a heavy rubber suit, a weighty brass helmet upon his head, leaden soles

under his feet and heavy weights of lead upon his breast and back,

confined in his operations on the bottom of the ocean by a short length of

air tube, and able only to move clumsily with difficulty. When after the

day’s work such a man is hauled to the surface, and divests himself of his

heavy garments and he moves about with the facility we enjoy here, he must

surely experience a feeling of great relief. Something like that is felt

by the spirit when it has been divested of the mortal coil, and is able to

roam all over the globe instead of being confined to the narrow

environment which bound it upon earth.

There is also a feeling of relief for those who have been ill. Sickness,

such as we know it, does not exist there. Neither is it necessary to seek

food and shelter, for in that world there is neither heat nor cold.

Nevertheless, there are many in the purgatorial regions who go to all

bothers of housekeeping, eating and drinking just as we do here. George Du

Maurier in his novel “Peter Ibbetson” gives a very good idea of this

condition in the life lived between the hero and the Countess of Towers.

This novel also illustrates splendidly what has been said of the

sub-conscious memory, for Geo. Du Maurier has somewhere, somehow

discovered an easy method which anyone may apply to do what he calls

“dreaming true.” By taking a certain position in going to sleep, it is

possible, after a little practice, to compel the appearance, in a dream,

of any scene _in our past life_ which we desire to live over again. The

book is well worth reading on that account.

When a fiery nebula has been formed in the sky and commences to revolve, a

little matter in the center where motion is slowest commences to

crystallize. When it has reached a certain density it is caught in the

swirl, and whirled nearer and nearer to the outward extremity of what has,

by that time, become the equator of a revolving globe. Then it is hurled

into space and discarded from the economy of the revolving sun.

This process is not accomplished automatically as scientists would have us

believe,—an assertion which has been proven in _The Rosicrucian Cosmo

Conception_ and other places in our literature. Herbert Spencer also

rejected the nebular theory because it required a First Cause, which he

denied, though unable to form a better hypothesis of the formation of

solar systems,—but it is accomplished through the activity of a Great

Spirit, which we may call God or by any other name we choose. As above, so

below, says the Hermetic axiom. Man, who is a lesser spirit, also gathers

about himself spirit-substance, which crystallizes into matter and becomes

the visible body which the spiritual sight reveals as placed inside an

aura of finer vehicles. The latter are in constant motion. When the dense

body is born as a child it is extremely soft and flexible.

Childhood, youth, maturity and old age are but so many different stages of

crystallization, which goes on until at last a point is reached where the

spirit can no longer move the hardened body and it is thrown out from the

spirit as the planet is expelled from the sun. That is death!—the

commencement of a disrobing process which continues in purgatory. The low

evil passions and desires we cultivated during life have crystallized the

desire stuff in such a manner that that also must be expelled. Thus the

spirit is purged of evil under the same law that a sun is purged of the

matter which later forms a planet. If the life lived has been a reasonably

decent one, the process of purgation will not be very strenuous nor will

the evil desires thus expurgated persist for a long time after having been

freed, but they quickly disintegrate. If, on the other hand, an extremely

vile life has been led, the part of the expurgated desire nature may

persist even to the time when the spirit returns to a new birth for

further experience. It will then be attracted to him and haunt him as a

demon, inciting him to evil deeds which he himself abhors. The story of

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is not a mere fanciful idea of Robert Louis

Stevenson, but is founded upon facts well known to spiritual

investigators. Such cases are extremes of course, but they are

nevertheless possible and we have unfortunately laws which convert such

possibilities to probabilities in the case of a certain class of so-called

criminals. We refer to laws which decree capital punishment as penalty of

murder.

When a man is dangerous he should of course be restrained, but even apart

from the question of the moral right of a community to take the life of

anyone—which we deny—society by its very act of retaliatory murder defeats

the very end it would serve, for if the vicious murderer is restrained

under whatever discipline is necessary in a prison for a number of years

until his natural death, he will have forgotten his bitterness against his

victim and against society, and when he stands as a free spirit in the

Desire World, he may even by prayer have obtained forgiveness and have

become a good Christian. He will then go on his way rejoicing, and will in

the future life seek to help those whom he hurt here.

When society retaliates and puts him to a violent death shortly after he

has committed the crime, he is most likely to feel himself as having been

greatly injured, and not without cause. Then such a character will usually

seek to “get even” as he calls it, he will go about for a long time

inciting others to commit murder and other crimes. Then we have an

epidemic of murders in a community, a condition not infrequent.

The regicide in Servia shocked the Western World by wiping out an entire

royal house in a most shockingly bloody manner, and the Minister of the

Interior was one of the chief conspirators. Later he wrote his memoirs,

and therein he writes that whenever the conspirators had tried to win

anyone as a recruit, they always succeeded when they burned incense. He

did not know why, but simply mentioned it as a curious coincidence. To the

mystic investigator the matter is perfectly clear. We have shown the

necessity of having a vehicle made of the materials of any world wherein

we wish to function. We usually obtain a physical vehicle by going through

the womb, or perhaps in a few special cases from a particularly good

materializing medium, but where it is only necessary to work upon the

brain and influence someone else to act, we need but a vehicle made of

such ether as may be obtained from fumes of many different substances.

Each kind attracts different classes of spirits, and there is no doubt

that the incense burned at meetings where the conspirators were successful

was of a low and sensual order and attracted spirits who had a grudge

against humanity in general and the King of Servia in particular. These

malcontents were unable to injure the King himself, but used a subtle

influence which helped the conspirators in their work. The released

murderer who has a grudge against society on account of his execution, may

enter low gambling saloons where the fumes of liquor and tobacco furnish

ample opportunity for working upon the class of people who congregate in

such places, and the man whose spiritual sight has been developed is often

sadly impressed when he sees the subtle influences to which those who

frequent such places are exposed. It is a fact of course that a man must

be of a low caliber to be influenced by low thoughts, and that it is as

impossible to incite a person of benevolent character to do murder—unless

we put him into a hypnotic sleep—as to make a tuning fork which vibrates

to C sing by striking another attuned to the key of G, but the thoughts of

both living and dead constantly surround us, and no man ever thought out a

high spiritual philosophy under the influence of tobacco fumes or while

imbibing alcoholic stimulants. Were capital punishment, newspaper

notoriety of criminals, the _manufacture_ of liquor and tobacco eliminated

from society, the gun factories would soon cease to advertise and go out

of business along with most of the locksmiths. The police force would

decrease, so would jails and taxes would be correspondingly minimized.

When a person enters purgatory he is exactly the same person as before he

died. He has just the same appetites, likes and dislikes, sympathies and

antipathies, as before. There is one important difference, however,

namely, that _he has no dense body wherewith to gratify his appetites_.

The drunkard craves drink, in fact, far more than he did in this life, but

has no stomach which can contain liquor and cause chemical combustion

necessary to bring about the state of intoxication in which he delights.

He may and does enter saloons, where he interpolates his body into the

body of a physical drunkard, so that he may obtain his desires at second

hand as it were, he will incite his victim to drink more and more. Yet

there is no true satisfaction. He sees the full glass upon the counter but

his spirit hand is unable to lift it. He suffers tortures of Tantalus

until in time he realizes the impossibility of gratifying his base desire.

Then he is free to go on so far as that vice is concerned. He has been

purged from that evil without intervention of an angry deity or a

conventional devil with hell’s flames and pitchfork to administer

punishment, but under the immutable law that as we sow so shall we reap,

he has suffered exactly according to his vice. If his craving for drink

was of a mild nature, he would scarcely miss the liquor which he cannot

there obtain. If his desires were strong and he simply lived for drink, he

would suffer veritable tortures of hell without need of actual flames.

Thus the pain experienced in eradication of his vice would be exactly

commensurate with the energy he had expended upon contracting the habit,

as the force wherewith a falling stone strikes the earth is proportionate

to the energy expended in hurling it upwards into the air.

Yet it is not the aim of God to “get even;” _love_ is higher than _law_

and in His wonderful mercy and solicitude for our welfare He has opened

the way of repentance and reform whereby we may obtain forgiveness of sin,

as taught by the Lord of Love: the Christ. Not indeed contrary to law, for

His laws are immutable, but by application of a higher law, whereby we

accomplish here that which would otherwise be delayed until death had

forced the day of reckoning. The method is as follows:

In our explanation concerning the sub-conscious memory we noted that a

record of every act, thought and word is transmitted by air and ether into

our lungs, thence to the blood, and finally inscribed upon the tablet of

the heart:—a certain little _seedatom_, which is thus the book of

Recording Angels. It was later explained how this panorama of life is

etched into the desire body and forms the basis of retribution after

death. When we have committed a wrong and our conscience accuses us in

consequence, and this accusation is productive of sincere repentance

_accompanied by reform_, the picture of that wrong act will gradually fade

from the record of our life, so that when we pass out at death it will not

stand accusingly against us. We noted that the panorama of life unwinds

backwards just after death. Later, in the purgatorial life it again passes

before the spiritual vision of the man, who then experiences the exact

feeling of those whom he has wronged. He seems to lose his own identity

for the time being, and assumes the condition of his one time victim, he

experiences all the mental and physical suffering himself which he

inflicted upon others. Thus he learns to be merciful instead of cruel, and

to do right instead of wrong in a future life. But if he awakens to a

thorough realization of a wrong previous to his death, then, as said, the

feeling of sorrow for his victim and the restitution or redress which he

gives of his own free will, make the suffering after death unnecessary,

hence—“his sin is forgiven.”

The Rosicrucian Mystery teaching gives a scientific method whereby an

aspirant to higher life may purge himself continually, and thus be able to

entirely avoid existence in purgatory. Each night after retiring the pupil

reviews his life during the past day _in reverse order_. He starts to

visualize as clearly as possible the scene which took place just before

retiring. He then endeavors to impartially view his actions in that scene

examining them to see whether he did right or wrong. If the latter, he

endeavors to _feel and realize as __ vividly as possible_ that wrong. For

instance, if he spoke harshly to someone, and upon later consideration

finds it was not merited, he will endeavor to _feel_ exactly as that one

felt whom he wronged and at the very earliest opportunity to apologize for

the hasty expression. Then he will call up the next scene in backward

succession which may perhaps be the supper table. In respect of that scene

he will examine himself as to whether he ate to live, sparingly and of

foods prepared without suffering to other creatures of God, (such as flesh

foods that cannot be obtained without taking life). If he finds that he

allowed his appetite to run away with him and that he ate gluttonously, he

will endeavor to overcome these habits, for to live a clean life we must

have a clean body and no one can live to his highest possibilities while

making his stomach a graveyard for the decaying corpses of murdered

animals. In this respect there occurs to the writer a little poem by Ella

Wheeler Wilcox:

“I am the voice of the voiceless;

Through me the dumb shall speak,

Till a deaf world’s ear

Shall be made to hear

The wrongs of the wordless weak.

The same force formed the sparrow

That fashioned man the king;

The God of the whole

Gave a spark of soul

To furred and feathered thing.

And I am my brother’s keeper

And I will fight his fight,

And speak the word

For beast and bird

Till the world shall set things right.

Thus the pupil will continue to review each scene _in reverse order_ from

night till morning, and to _feel really sorry_ for whatever he has done

amiss. He will not neglect to _feel glad_ either when he comes to a scene

where he has done well, and _the more intensely he can feel, the more

thoroughly he will eradicate the record upon the tablet of the heart and

sharpen his conscience_, so that as time goes on from year to year, he

will find less cause for blame and enhance his soul power enormously. Thus

he will grow in a measure impossible by any less systematic method, and

there will be no necessity for his stay in purgatory after death.

This evening exercise and another, for the morning, if persistently

performed day by day, will in time awaken the spiritual vision as they

improve life. This matter has, however, been so thoroughly treated in

number 11 of the lecture series: “_Spiritual Sight and Insight; its safe

culture and control_,” that it is unnecessary to dwell upon the matter

further in this place.

_The First Heaven._

In the first heaven, which is located in the higher regions of the Desire

World, the panorama of life again unrolls and reveals every scene where we

aimed to help or benefit others. They were not felt at the time the spirit

was in the lower regions, for higher desires cannot express themselves in

the coarse matter composing the lower regions of the Desire World, but

when the spirit ascends to the first heaven it reaps from each scene all

the good which it expressed in life. It will feel the gratitude poured out

by those whom it helped; if it comes to a scene where itself received a

favor from others _and was grateful_, it will experience the gratitude

anew. The sum of all these feelings is there amalgamated into the spirit

to serve in a future life as incentives to good.

Thus, the soul is purged from evil in purgatory, and strengthened in good

in the first heaven. In one region the extract of sufferings become

_conscience_ to deter us from doing wrong, in the other region the

quintessence of good is transmuted to _benevolence_ and altruism which are

the basis of all true progress. Moreover, purgatory is far from being a

place of _punishment_, it is perhaps the most beneficent realm in nature,

for _because of purgation we are born innocent_ life after life. The

tendencies to commit the same evil for which we suffered remain with us

and temptations to commit the same wrongs will be placed in our path until

we have consciously overcome the evil here; temptation is not sin,

however, the sin is in yielding.

Among the inhabitants of the invisible world there is one class which

lives a particularly painful life, sometimes for a great many years,

namely, the suicide who tried to play truant from the school of life. Yet

it is not an angry God or a malevolent devil who administers punishment,

but an immutable law which proportions the sufferings differently to each

individual suicide.

We learned previously, when considering the World of Thought, that each

form in this visible world has its archetype there,—a vibrating hollow

mold which emits a certain harmonious sound; that sound attracts and forms

physical matter into the shape we behold, much in the same manner as when

we place a little sand upon a glass plate and rub the edge with a violin

bow, the sand is shaped into different geometrical figures which change as

the sound changes.

The little atom in the heart is the sample and the center around which the

atoms in our body gather. When that is removed at death, the center is

lacking, and although the archetype keeps on vibrating until the limit of

the life has been reached—as also previously explained,—no matter can be

drawn into the hollow shape of the archetype and therefore the suicide

feels a dreadful gnawing pain as if he were hollowed out, a torture which

can only be likened to the pangs of hunger. In his case, the intense

suffering will continue for exactly as many years as he should have lived

in the body. At the expiration of that time, the archetype collapses as it

does when death comes naturally. Then the pain of the suicide ceases, and

he commences his period of purgation as do those who die a natural death.

But the memory of sufferings experienced in consequence of the act of

suicide will remain with him in future lives and deter him from a similar

mistake.

In the first heaven there is a class who have not had any purgatorial

existence and who lead a particularly joyous life: the children. Our homes

may be saddened almost beyond endurance when the little flower is broken

and the sunshine it brought has gone. But could we see the beautiful

existence which these little ones lead, and did we understand the great

benefits which accrue to a child from its limited stay there, our sorrow

would be at least ameliorated in a great measure, and the wound upon our

heart would heal more quickly. Besides, as nothing else in the world

happens without a cause, so there is also a much deeper cause for infant

mortality than we are usually aware of, and as we awake to the facts of

the case, we shall be able to avoid in future the sorrow incident to loss

of our little ones.

To understand the case properly we must revert to the experiences of the

dying in the death hour. We remember that the panorama of the past life is

etched upon the desire body during a period varying from a few hours to

three and one-half days, just subsequent to demise. We recall also, that

upon the depth of this etching depends the clearness of the picture, and

that the more vivid this panorama of life, the more intensely will the

spirit suffer in purgatory and feel the joys of heaven; also, that the

greater the suffering in purgatory the stronger the conscience in the next

life.

It was explained how the horrors of death upon the battlefield, in an

accident or other untoward circumstances would prevent the spirit from

giving all its attention to the panorama of life with the result that

there would be a light etching in the desire body, followed by a vague and

insipid existence in purgatory and the first heaven. It was also stated

that hysterical lamentations in the death chamber would produce the same

effect.

A spirit which had thus escaped suffering proportionate to its misdeeds,

and which had not experienced the pleasure commensurate with the good it

had done, would not in a future life have as well developed a conscience

as it ought to have, nor would it be as benevolent as it ought to be, and

therefore the life, terminated under conditions over which the spirit had

no control, would be partly wasted. The Great Leaders of humanity

therefore take steps to counteract such a calamity and prevent an

injustice. The spirit is brought to birth, caused to die in childhood, it

re-enters the Desire World and in the first heaven it is taught the

lessons of which it was deprived previously.

As the first heaven is located in the Desire World,—which is the realm of

light and color,—where matter is shaped most readily by thought, the

little ones are given wonderful toys impossible of construction here. They

are taught to play with _colors which work upon their moral character_ in

exactly the manner each child requires. Anyone who is at all sensitive is

affected by the color of his clothing and surroundings. Some colors have a

depressing effect, while others inspire us with energy, and others again

soothe and comfort us. In the Desire World the effect of colors is much

more intense, they are much more potent factors of good and evil there

than here, and in this color play, the child imbibes unconsciously the

qualities which it did not acquire on account of accident or lamentations

of relatives. Often it also falls to the lot of such relatives to care for

a child in the invisible world, or perhaps to give it birth and see it

die. Thus they receive just retribution for the wrong committed. As wars

cease, and man learns to be more careful of life, and also how to care for

the dying, infant mortality, which now is so appalling, will decrease.

_The Second Heaven._

When both the good and evil of a life has been extracted, the spirit

discards its desire body and ascends to the second heaven. The desire body

then commences to disintegrate as the physical body and the vital body

have done, but it is a peculiarity of desire stuff, that once it has been

formed and inspired with life, it persists for a considerable time. Even

after that life has fled it lives a semi-conscious, independent life.

Sometimes it is drawn by magnetic attraction to relatives of the spirit

whose clothing it was, and at spiritualistic seances these _shells_

generally impersonate the departed spirit and deceive its relatives. As

the panorama of the past life is etched into the shells they have a memory

of incidents in connection with these relatives, which facilitates the

deception. But as the intelligence has fled, they are of course unable to

give any true counsel, and that accounts for the inane, goody-goody

nonsense of which these things deliver themselves.

When passing from the first to the second heaven, the spirit experiences

the condition known and described previously as “The Great Silence,” where

it stands utterly alone conscious only of its divinity. When that silence

is broken there floats in upon the spirit celestial harmonies of _the

world of tone_ where the second heaven is located. It seems then to lave

in an ocean of sound and to experience a joy beyond all description and

words, as it nears its heavenly home—for this is the first of the truly

spiritual realms from which the spirit has been exiled during its earth

life and the subsequent post-mortem existence. In the Desire World its

work was _corrective_, but in the World of Thought the human spirit

becomes one with the nature forces and its _creative_ activity begins.

Under the law of causation we reap exactly what we sow, and it would be

wrong to place one spirit in an environment where there is a scarcity of

the necessities of life, where a scorching sun burns the crop and millions

die from famine, or where the raging flood sweeps away primitive

habitations not built to withstand its ravages, and to bring another

spirit to birth in a land of plenty, with a fertile soil which yields a

maximum of increase with a minimum of labor, where the earth is rich in

minerals that may be used in industry to facilitate transportation of

products of the soil from one point to another. If we were thus placed

without action or acquiescence upon our part, there would be no justice,

but as our post-mortem existence in purgatory and the first heaven is

based upon our moral attitude in this life so our activities in the second

heaven are determined by our mental aspirations and they produce our

future physical environment, for in the second heaven, the spirit becomes

part of the nature forces which work upon the earth and change its

climate, flora and fauna. A spirit of an indolent nature, who indulges in

day dreams and metaphysical speculations _here_, is not transformed by

death respecting its mental attitude any more than regarding its moral

propensities. It will dream away time in heaven, glorying in its sights

and sounds. Thus it will neglect to work upon its future country and

return to a barren and arid land. Spirits, on the other hand, whose

material aspirations lead them to desire so-called solid comforts of

hearth and home, who aim to promote great industries and whose mind is

concerned in trade and commerce, will build in heaven a land that will

suit their purpose: fertile, immineralized, with navigable rivers and

sheltered harbors. They will return in time to enjoy upon earth the fruits

of their labors in the second heaven, as they reap the result of their

life upon earth in purgatory and the first heaven.

_The Third Heaven._

In the third heaven most people have very little consciousness for reasons

explained in connection with the Region of Abstract Thought, for there the

third heaven is located. It is therefore more of a place of waiting where

the spirit rests between the time when its labors in the second heaven

have been completed and the time when it again experiences the desire for

rebirth. But from this realm inventors bring down their original ideas;

there the philanthropist obtains the clearest vision of how to realize his

utopian dreams and the spiritual aspirations of the saintly minded are

given renewed impetus.

In time the desires of the spirit for further experiences draws it back to

rebirth, and the Great Celestial Beings who are known in the Christian

Religion as Recording Angels, assist the spirit to come to birth in the

place best suited to give it the experience necessary to further unfold

its powers and possibilities.

We have all been here many times and in different families, we have had

relations of varying nature with many different people and usually there

are several families among whom we may seek re-embodiment to work out our

self-generated destiny and reap what we have sown in former life. If there

are no special reasons why we should take birth in any particular family

among certain friends or foes, the spirit is allowed to choose its own

place of birth. Thus it may be said that most of us are in our present

places by our own prenatal choice.

In order to assist us in making that choice the Recording Angels call up

before the spirit’s vision a panorama in general outlines of each of the

offered lives. This panorama will show what part of our past debts we are

to pay, and what fruits we may be expected to reap in the coming life.

The spirit is left free to choose between the several lives offered. But

once a choice has been made no evasion is possible during life. We have

free will with regard to the future, but the past “_mature_” destiny we

cannot escape, as shown by the incident recorded in _The Rosicrucian Cosmo

Conception_, where the writer warned a well known Los Angeles lecturer

that if he left his home upon a certain day, he would be injured by a

conveyance, in head, neck, breast and shoulders. The gentleman believed

and intended to heed our warning. Nevertheless he went to Sierra Madre to

lecture upon the fateful day. He was injured in the places stated by a

collision and later explained: “I thought the twenty-eighth was the

twenty-ninth.”

When the spirit has made its choice, it descends into the second heaven

where it is instructed by the Angels and Archangels how to build an

archetype of the body which it will later inhabit upon earth. Also here we

note the operation of the great law of justice which decrees that we reap

what we sow. If our tastes are coarse and sensual, we shall build an

archetype which will express these qualities; if we are refined and of

aesthetic taste, we shall build an archetype correspondingly refined, but

no one can obtain a better body than he can build. Then, as the architect

who builds a house in which he afterwards lives, will suffer discomfort if

he neglects to properly ventilate it, so also the spirit feels disease in

a poorly constructed body, and as the architect learns to avoid mistakes

and remedy the short-comings of one house when building another, so also

the spirit which suffers from defects in its body, learns in time to build

better and better vehicles.

In the Region of Concrete Thought, the spirit also draws to itself

materials for a new mind. As a magnet draws iron filings but leaves other

substances alone, so also each spirit draws only the kind of mind-stuff

which it used in its former life, plus that which it has learned to use in

its present post-mortem state. Then it descends into the Desire World

where it gathers material for a new desire body such as will express

appropriately its moral characteristics, and later it attracts a certain

amount of ether which is built into the mold of the archetype constructed

in the second heaven and acts as cement between the solids, liquids and

gaseous material from the bodies of parents which forms the dense physical

body of a child, and in due time the latter is brought to birth.

_Birth and Child Life._

It must not be imagined, however, that when the little body of a child has

been born, the process of birth is completed. The dense physical body has

had the longest evolution, and as a shoemaker who has worked at his trade

for a number of years is more expert than an apprentice and can make

better shoes and _quicker_, so also the spirit which has built many

physical bodies produces them quickly, but the vital body is a later

acquisition of the human being. Therefore we are not so expert in building

that vehicle. Consequently it takes longer to construct that from the

materials not used up in making the lining of the archetype, and the vital

body is not born until the seventh year. Then the period of rapid growth

commences. The desire body is a still later addition of composite man, and

is not brought to birth until the fourteenth year when the desire nature

expresses itself most strongly during so-called “hot” youth, and the mind,

which makes man man, does not come to birth until the twenty-first year.

In law that age is recognized as the earliest time he is fitted to

exercise a franchise.

This knowledge is of the utmost importance to parents, as a proper

understanding of the development which should take place in each of the

septenary epochs enables the educator to work intelligently with nature

and thus fulfill more thoroughly the trust of a parent than those who are

ignorant of the Rosicrucian Mystery Teaching. We shall therefore devote

the remaining pages to an elucidation of this matter and of the importance

of the knowledge of astrology upon the part of the parent.

_The Mystery of Light, Color and Consciousness._

“God is Light,” says the Bible, and we are unable to conceive of a grander

simile of His Omnipresence, or the mode of His manifestation. Even the

greatest telescopes have failed to reach the boundaries of light, though

they reveal to us stars millions of miles from the earth, and we may well

ask ourselves, as did the Psalmist of old: Whither shall I flee from Thy

Presence? If I ascend into heaven Thou art there, If I make my bed in the

grave (the Hebrew word _sheol_ means _grave_ and not hell), Thou art

there, If I take the wings of morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of

the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me.

When, in the dawn of Being, _God the Father_ enunciated _The Word_, and

_The Holy Spirit_ moved upon the sea of homogeneous _Virgin Matter_,

primeval _Darkness_ was turned to _Light_. That is therefore the prime

manifestation of Deity, and a study of the principles of Light will reveal

to the mystic intuition a wonderful source of spiritual inspiration. As it

would take us too far afield from our subject we shall not enter into an

elucidation of that theme here, except so far as to give an elementary

idea of how divine Life energizes the human frame and stimulates to

action.

Truly, God is ONE and undivided, He enfolds within His Being all that is,

as the white light embraces all colors. But He appears three-fold in

manifestation, as the white light is refracted in three primary colors:

Blue, Yellow and Red. Wherever we see these colors they are emblematical

of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three primary rays of divine

Life are diffused or radiated through the sun and produce _Life_,

_Consciousness_ and _Form_ upon each of the seven light-bearers, the

planets, which are called “the Seven Spirits before the Throne.” Their

names are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. Bode’s

law proves that Neptune does not belong to our solar system and the reader

is referred to “Simplified Scientific Astrology” by the present writer,

for mathematical demonstration of this contention.

Each of the seven planets receives the light of the sun in a different

measure, according to its proximity to the central orb and the

constitution of its atmosphere, and the beings upon each, according to

their stage of development, have affinity for some of the solar rays. They

absorb the color or colors congruous to them, and reflect the remainder

upon the other planets. This reflected ray bears with it an impulse of the

nature of the beings with which it has been in contact.

Thus the divine Light and Life comes to each planet, either directly from

the sun, or reflected from its six sister planets, and as the summer

breeze which has been wafted over blooming fields carries upon its silent

invisible wings the blended fragrance of a multitude of flowers, so also

the subtle influences from the garden of God bring to us the commingled

impulses of all the Spirits and in that varicolored light we live and move

and have our being.

The rays which come directly from the sun are productive of spiritual

illumination, the reflected rays from other planets make for added

consciousness and moral development and the rays reflected by way of the

moon give physical growth.

But as each planet can only absorb a certain quantity of one or more

colors according to the general stage of evolution there, so each being

upon earth: mineral, plant, animal and man can only absorb and thrive upon

a certain quantity of the various rays projected upon the earth. The

remainder do not affect it or produce sensation, any more than the blind

are conscious of light and color which exist everywhere around them.

Therefore each being is differently affected by the stellar rays and the

science of Astrology a fundamental truth in nature, of enormous benefit in

the attainment of spiritual growth.

From a horoscopic figure in mystic script we may learn our own strength

and weakness, with the path best suited to our development, or we may see

the tendencies of those friends who come to us as children, and what

traits are dormant in them. Thus we shall know clearly how to discharge

our duty as parents, by repressing evil before it comes to birth and

fostering good, so that it may bring forth most abundantly the spiritual

potencies of the soul committed to our care.

As we have already said, man returns to earth to reap that which he has

sown in previous lives and to sow anew the seeds which make for future

experience. The stars are the heavenly time keepers which measure the

year, the moon indicates the month when time will be propitious to harvest

or to sow.

The child is a mystery to us all, we can only know its propensities as

they slowly develop into characteristics, but it is usually too late to

check when evil habits have been formed and the youth is upon the downward

grade. A horoscope cast for the time of birth in a scientific manner shows

the tendencies to good or evil in the child, and if a parent will take

time and trouble necessary to study the science of the stars, he or she

may do the child intrusted to his or her care an inestimable service by

fostering tendencies to good and repressing the evil bent of a child ere

it has crystallized into habit. Do not imagine that a superior

mathematical knowledge is necessary to erect a horoscope. Many construct a

horoscope in such an involved manner, so “fearfully and wonderfully made”

that it is unreadable to themselves or others, while a simple figure easy

of reading may be constructed by anyone who knows how to add and subtract.

This method has been thoroughly elucidated in Simplified Scientific

Astrology which is a complete text book, though small and inexpensive, and

parents who have the welfare of their children thoroughly at heart should

endeavor to learn for themselves, for even though their ability may not

compare with that of a professional astrologer, their intimate knowledge

of the child and their deep interest will more than compensate for such

lack and enable them to see most deeply into the child’s character by

means of its horoscope.

_Education of Children._

Respecting the birth of the various vehicles and the influence which that

has upon life, we may say that during the time from birth to the seventh

year the lines of growth of the physical body are determined, and as it

has been noted that sound is builder both in the great and small, we may

well imagine that rhythm must have an enormous influence upon the growing

and sensitive little child’s organism. The apostle John in the first

chapter of his gospel expresses this idea mystically in the beautiful

words: “In the beginning was the WORD ... and without it was not anything

made that was made ... and the word became flesh;” the word is a rhythmic

sound, which issued from the Creator, reverberated through the universe

and marshaled countless millions of atoms into the multiplex variety of

shapes and forms which we see about us. The mountain, the mayflower, the

mouse and the man are all embodiments of that great Cosmic Word which is

still sounding through the universe and which is still building and ever

building though unheard by our insensitive ears. But though we do not hear

that wonderful celestial sound, we may work upon the little child’s body

by terrestrial music, and though the nursery rhymes are without sense,

they are nevertheless bearers of a wonderful rhythm, and the more a child

is taught to say, sing and repeat them, to dance and to march to them, the

more music is incorporated into a child’s daily life, the stronger and

healthier will be its body in future years.

There are two mottoes which apply during this period, one to the child and

the other to the parent: _Example_ and _Imitation_. No creature under

heaven is more imitative than a little child, and its conduct in after

years will depend largely upon the example set by its parents during its

early life. It is no use to tell the child “not to mind,” it has no mind

wherewith to discriminate, but follows its natural tendency, as water

flows down a hill, when it imitates. Therefore it behooves every parent to

remember from morning till night that watchful eyes are upon him all the

time waiting but for him to act in order to follow his example.

It is of the utmost importance that the child’s clothing should be very

loose, particularly the clothing of little boys, as chafing garments often

produce vices which follow a man through life.

If anyone should attempt to forcibly extract a babe from the protecting

womb of its mother, the outrage would result in death, because the babe

has not yet arrived at a maturity sufficient to endure impacts of the

Physical World. In the three septenary periods which follow birth, the

invisible vehicles are still in the womb of mother nature. If we teach a

child of tender years to memorize, or to think, or if we arouse its

feelings and emotions, we are in fact opening the protecting womb of

nature and the results are equally as disastrous in other respects as a

forced premature birth. Child prodigies usually become men and women of

less than ordinary intelligence. We should not hinder the child from

learning or thinking of _his own volition_, but we should not goad them on

as parents often do to nourish their own pride.

When the vital body is born at the age of seven a period of growth begins

and a new motto, or relation rather, is established between parent and

child. This may be expressed in the two words _Authority_ and

_Discipleship_. In this period the child is taught certain lessons which

it takes upon faith in the authority of its teachers, whether at home or

at school, and as memory is a faculty of the vital body it can now

memorize what is learned. It is therefore eminently teachable;

particularly because it is unbiased by pre-conceived opinions which

prevent most of us from accepting new views. At the end of this second

period: from about twelve to fourteen, the vital body has been so far

developed that puberty is reached. At the age of fourteen we have the

birth of the desire body, which marks the commencement of self-assertion.

In earlier years the child regards itself more as belonging to a family

and subordinate to the wishes of its parents than after the fourteenth

year. The reason is this: In the throat of the fœtus and the young child

there is a gland called the thymus gland, which is largest before birth,

then gradually diminishes through the years of childhood and finally

disappears at ages which vary according to the characteristics of the

child. Anatomists have been puzzled as to the function of this organ and

have not yet come to any settled conclusion, but it has been suggested

that before development of the red marrow bones, the child is not able to

manufacture its own blood, and that therefore the thymus gland contains an

essence, supplied by the parents, upon which the child may draw during

infancy and childhood, till able to manufacture its own blood. That theory

is approximately true, and as the family blood flows in the child, it

looks upon itself as part of the family and not as an Ego. But the moment

it commences to manufacture its own blood, the Ego asserts itself, it is

no longer Papa’s girl or Mamma’s boy, it has an “I”-dentity of its own.

Then comes the critical age when parents reap what they have sown. The

mind has not yet been born, nothing holds the desire nature in check, and

much, very much, depends upon how the child has been taught in earlier

years and what example the parents have set. At this point in life

self-assertion, the feeling “_I am myself_”, is stronger than at any other

time and therefore authority should give place to _Advice_; the parent

should practice the utmost tolerance, for at no time in life is a human

being as much in need of sympathy as during the seven years from fourteen

to twenty-one when the desire nature is rampant and unchecked.

It is a crime to inflict corporal punishment upon a child at any age.

Might is never right, and as the stronger, parents should always have

compassion for the weaker. But there is one feature of corporal punishment

which makes it particularly dangerous to apply it to the youth: namely,

that it wakens the passional nature which is already perhaps beyond the

control of a growing boy.

If we whip a dog, we shall soon break its spirit and transform it into a

cringing cur, and it is deplorable that some parents seem to regard it as

their mission in life to break the spirit of their children with the rule

of the rod. If there is one universal lack among the human race which is

more apparent than any other, it is lack of will, and as parents we may

remedy the evil in a large measure by guiding the wills of our children

along such lines as dictated by our own more mature reason, so that we

help them to grow a backbone instead of a wishbone with which

unfortunately most of us are afflicted. Therefore, never whip a child;

when punishment is necessary, correct by withholding favors or withdrawing

privileges.

At the twenty-first year the birth of the mind transforms the youth into a

man or a woman fully equipped to commence his own life in the school of

experience.

Thus we have followed the human spirit around a life cycle from death to

birth and maturity, we have seen how immutable law governs his every step

and how he is ever encompassed by the loving care of the Great and

Glorious Beings who are the ministers of God. The method of his future

development will be explained in a later work which will deal with “The

Christian Mystic Initiation.”

MT. ECCLESIA

(Transcriber’s Note: This chapter is the series of pages which, earlier,

the author said “had been transferred” to the back of the book.)

A DESCRIPTION OF THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP

Work in the physical world requires physical means of accomplishment;

therefore a tract of land was bought in 1911 in the town of Oceanside,

ninety miles south of Los Angeles, California. _Southern California was

selected because of the abundance of ether in the atmosphere there, and

this spot was found to be particularly favored in that respect._

On this commanding site having a wide view of the great Pacific Ocean, of

snow capped mountains and smiling valleys, we began to establish our

headquarters in the latter part of 1911. Soon after this we erected a

sanctuary, the Pro-Ecclesia, where the Rosicrucian Temple Service is held

at appropriate times. The Rose Cross Healing Circle holds its meetings

there to help sufferers, and it is the place appointed for the united

morning and evening devotions of the workers. In the latter half of 1920

we built an Ecclesia, which is designed to be a Temple of Healing. The

building, a beautiful domed structure, is of steel and reinforced

concrete. It is twelve sided in shape, corresponding to the twelve signs

of the zodiac. At the present writing, January, 1921, the final work upon

it is just being completed. The esoteric work of the Fellowship will be

carried on here.

We have also built a two-story Administration Building to house the

general office, the book department, the correspondence school in

Christian Mysticism which links Headquarters with students all over the

world, and the editorial offices of our monthly publications, notably the

“_Rosicrucian Fellowship Magazine—Rays from the Rose Cross_.” We have also

an astrological department which conducts a correspondence school. Its

offices are located on the second floor.

The whole first floor is occupied by a modern printing plant and book

bindery required to furnish the immense amount of literature needed in

this work. In the book department we publish all the standard works and

text books of the Rosicrucian Philosophy written by Max Heindel. We are

now in process of publishing in book form his former lessons to students.

In October, 1920, a Training School was established for the preparation of

candidates for the lecture field. It is our intention to thereby maintain

a Lecture Bureau, from which we will send our lecturers throughout the

country to disseminate the teachings and carry the message of our

philosophy to the people to a greater extent than has before been

possible.

A Dining Hall with seating capacity for over one hundred people affords

ample accommodation for workers, students, and patients. The scientific

meatless diet served there preserves or restores health, as required in

each case. Furthermore, it improves the vitality and mentality in an

astonishing degree. A large dormitory, and a number of cottages and tents

provide living quarters for all.

By the liberal use of water and the expenditure of much labor, Mount

Ecclesia is gradually being transformed into a luxuriant tropical park.

There is a deep spiritual purpose in this attempt to make the visible

centre of the new world movement beautiful, for it fosters in the workers

a poise and peace which are absolutely essential to the proper performance

of their work. Without that they cannot escape being disturbed by the

flood of sorrow and trouble which flows into Headquarters from members all

over the world; without that they cannot continue to put heart into the

letters of help, hope and cheer which continually go out to souls who are

groaning under the burden of sickness, but by bathing their souls in the

beauty of the surroundings, whether consciously or not, they gain in

strength and grow in grace, they become better and better fitted for the

Great Work in the Master’s Vineyard.

In order to aid those who feel the upward urge, to prepare intelligently

and reverently for the unfoldment of their inner latent spiritual powers,

the Rosicrucian Fellowship maintains two correspondence courses which

furnish instruction to students all over the world. One deals with

_Astrology_, the other with _Christian Mysticism_.

The Astrology to which we refer is not to be confounded with

fortune-telling; it is a phase of the Mystic Religion, as sublime as the

stars with which it deals, and to the Mystic they are not dead bodies

moving in space in obedience to so-called blind natural law, but they are

the embodiments of “_The Seven Spirits before the Throne_,” mighty

Star-Angels who use their benevolent influences to guide other less

exalted beings, humanity included, upon the path of evolution.

There is a side of the moon which we never see, but that hidden half is as

potent a factor in creating the ebb and flow, as the part of the moon

which is visible. Similarly, there is an invisible part of man which

exerts a powerful influence in life, and as the tides are measured by the

motion of sun and moon, so also the eventualities of existence are

measured by the circling stars, which may therefore be called “the Clock

of Destiny,” and knowledge of their import is an immense power, for to the

competent Astrologer a horoscope reveals every secret of life.

Thus, when you have given an astrologer the data of your birth, you have

given him the key to your innermost soul, and there is no secret that he

may not ferret out. This knowledge may be used for good or ill, to help or

hurt, according to the nature of the man. Only a friend should be trusted

with this key to your soul, and it should never be given to anyone base

enough to prostitute a spiritual science for material gain.

To the medical man Astrology is invaluable in diagnosing diseases and

prescribing a remedy, for it reveals the hidden cause of all ailments, in

a manner that has often perplexed the skeptic and dumbfounded the scoffer.

The opinion of thousands is of great value, but it does not prove

anything, for thousands may hold an opposite view; occasionally a single

man may be right and the rest of the world wrong, as when Galileo

maintained that the earth moves. Today the whole world has been converted

to the opinion for which he suffered torture, and we assert that, _as man

is a composite being, cures are successful only in proportion as they

remedy defects on the physical, moral and mental planes of Being_. We also

maintain that results may be obtained more easily at certain times when

stellar rays are propitious to healing of a particular disease, or by

treatment with remedies previously prepared under auspicious conditions.

If you are a parent the horoscope will aid you to detect the evil latent

in your child and teach you how to apply the ounce of prevention. It will

show you the good points also, that you may make a better man or woman of

the soul entrusted to your care. It will reveal systemic weakness and

enable you to guard the health of your child; it will show what talents

are there, and how the life may be lived to a maximum of usefulness.

Therefore, the message of the marching orbs is so important that you

cannot afford to remain ignorant thereof.

In order to aid those who are willing to help themselves we maintain a

Correspondence Class in Astrology, but make no mistake, we do not teach

fortune-telling; if that is what you are looking for, we have nothing for

you.

OUR LESSONS ARE SERMONS

They embody the highest moral and spiritual principles, together with the

loftiest system of ethics, for Astrology is, to us, a phase of religion;

we never look at a horoscope without feeling that we are in a holy

presence, face to face with an immortal soul, and our attitude is one of

prayer for light to guide that soul aright.

WE DO NOT CAST HOROSCOPES

Despite all we can say, many people write enclosing money for horoscopes,

forcing us to spend valuable time writing letters of refusal and giving us

the trouble of returning their money. Please do not thus annoy us; it will

avail you nothing.

THE COURSE IN CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM

_Christ_ taught the multitude in _parables_, but explained the _mysteries_

to His disciples. _Paul gave milk_ to the babes, but _meat_ to the strong.

Max Heindel, the founder and leader of the Rosicrucian Fellowship,

endeavored to follow in their steps and give to interested and devoted

students a _deeper teaching_ than that promulgated in public.

For that purpose we conduct a correspondence course in _Christian

Mysticism_. The General Secretary may admit applicants to the preliminary

course, but _advancement_ in the deeper degrees depends upon merit. It is

for those alone who have been _tried_, and found true.

HOW TO APPLY FOR ADMISSION

Anyone who is not engaged in fortune-telling or similar methods of

commercializing spiritual knowledge will, upon request, receive an

application blank from the General Secretary, Rosicrucian Fellowship. When

this blank is returned properly filled, he may admit the applicant to

instruction in either or both correspondence courses.

THE COST OF THE COURSE

There are no fixed fees; no esoteric instruction is ever put in the

balance against coin. At the same time, it cannot be given “_free_,” “_for

nothing_,” for those who work to promulgate it must have the necessities

of life. Type, paper, machinery and postage also cost money, and _unless

you pay your part someone else must pay for you_.

There are a few who cannot contribute, and who need these teachings as

much or more than those who may take comfort from financial ease or

affluence. If they make their condition known, they will receive as much

attention as the largest contributors, but others are expected to

contribute for their own good as well as for the good of the work.

Remember, _a closed hand that does not give cannot receive_.

INDEX

Abstract Thought, _see_ Thought, World of, Region of Abstract Thought.

Action, incentive to, 158.

Adepts, pupils of schools of the Greater Mysteries, 10.

Air, charged with pictures of surroundings, 37, 155.

Alchemy, proved by radio-activity, 108.

Alcohol, results of using, 166.

Ambassador from sun, 87.

Ameshaspends, Seven Spirits before the Throne, 87.

Angels, densest body of, composed of ether, 73;

expert builders in ether, 74;

family spirits, 80;

guardians of propagative force, 74;

instruct ego in building archetype, 184;

one step beyond human stage, 73.

Angels, Recording, _see_ Recording angels.

Animals, dependent upon group spirit for infusion of stellar rays, 124;

keyed to lunar month, 124;

thought processes of, 122.

Aquarian Age, intellect of, 15.

Archangels, densest vehicle of, 79;

instruct ego in building archetype, 184;

less evolved become group spirits, 81;

native of Desire World, 79;

race and national spirits, 80;

various grades of, 80;

work with humanity politically and industrially, 80.

Arche, primordial matter of, 108.

Archetypal forces direct archetypes, 103.

Archetype, duration of, 175;

vibratory mold, 175.

Assimilation, through ether, 123.

Astrology, estimation of time by, in Desire World, 94;

value of, 190.

Atom, physical, spherical shape of, 9.

Atom, seed, _see_ Seed atom.

Atoms, chemical, expelled through skin, 127.

Attitude, mental, results of, 181.

Benevolence, acquired in First Heaven, 174.

Bennett, Florence, trance of, 141.

Black magic, punishment of, 17.

Blood, charged with pictures of surroundings, 155;

relation of, to vital body, 129.

Blue, in stellar ray, life of the Father, 124, 188.

Bode’s law and Neptune, 189.

Body, dense, _see_ Dense body.

desire, _see_ Desire body.

vital, _see_ Vital body.

Brain, absorption of stellar rays through, 124.

Breath, record of, 37, 38.

Capital punishment, menace of, 164.

Carelessness, power of, to shorten life, 147.

Causation, law of, attraction of like to like, 48;

determines environment, 48, 180;

flexibility of law of, 52.

Chaos, (Cosmic night) seed ground of Cosmos, 112;

state of orderly segregation, 105.

Chemical atoms, expelled through skin, 127.

Chemical ether, assimilation and growth by, 69;

seen as blue haze, 65.

Child, post-mortem experiences of, easily investigated, 51;

prodigies, 195.

Children, clairvoyance of, 160;

danger of mental forcing, 195;

discipline of, 195;

individual blood developed in, 196;

imitativeness of, 194;

proper clothing of, 194;

life of, in First Heaven, 176;

understanding of, through astrology, 192.

Christ, higher laws taught by, 169;

rebirth taught by, 46.

Christianity, the flowering of previous religions, 6.

Clairvoyance of children, 160;

of the dying, 148;

varieties of, 136.

Clairvoyants, separation of vital body of, 137.

Clairvoyants, trained, positive powers of, 137.

Colors, emotional effect produced by, 178.

Colors, primary, symbolize God, 188.

Community affected by executions, 165.

Concentration in Desire World, 91.

Concrete Thought, _see_ Thought, World of, Region of Concrete Thought.

Conditions of life related to past action, 43.

Conscience, assimilated pictures of past experience, 38, 156.

Consequence, law of, _see_ Causation, law of.

Conservation, law of, and survival of spirit, 35.

Cord, Silver, _see_ Silver Cord.

Corporal punishment, inadvisability of, 197.

Cosmic night, _see_ Chaos.

Cosmos, aggregate of systematic order, 105.

Countries, egos work upon, 180.

Creation of Cosmos, 188.

Creative force, develops spinal nerves, 125.

Creative Hierarchies, aid humanity, 6;

guide man’s evolution, 5, 52;

safeguard man from materialism, 8.

Criminals, care of, 164;

execution of, a menace, 164.

Crucifixion, the Mystic Death, 12.

Crystallization in man’s evolution, 163.

Dead, care of, 152;

inhabit Desire World, 88;

intense activity of, 89.

Death, disrobing process of ego, 163;

foreseen by higher powers, 142;

peaceful, helpfulness of, 147;

premature, ill effects of, 145;

problem of, 27;

provides fresh start, 143.

Debts, binding nature of, 49.

Demmler, Minna, materializations by, 129.

Dense body, chemical constituents of, 57;

crystallized spirit substance, 162;

disease of, due to imperfect archetype, 185;

energized by divine life, 188;

improves as spirit progresses, 5;

quality of, dependent upon ego, 184;

most evolved of man’s vehicles, 186.

Desire, created and guided by thought, 58;

forms impelled into action by, 56.

Desire body, basic individual color of, 132;

born at fourteenth year, 186;

capable of sense perception, 133;

cause dreams, 139;

circulation in currents, 133;

colors of, 132;

destructive action of, 138;

extends beyond dense body, 130;

gives ability to experience desire and emotion 121, 130, 133;

impels motion, 56, 139;

impels to sense gratification, 130;

main vortex, in the liver, 131;

rapid locomotion of, 131;

recent acquisition of, 130;

shape of, ovoid, 130;

shell of, persists after death, 163, 179;

vortices of, 131;

war of, with vital body, 138;

withdrawal of, in sleep, 138.

Desire stuff, constant motion of, 77, 131;

elasticity of, 77;

force combined with matter, 77;

modeled by thought, 142;

permeates atmosphere, 120;

persistence of, 179;

responsiveness to feeling, 77.

Desire World, archangels native to, 79;

dead remain in, varying lengths of time, 78;

difficulty of concentration in, 91;

diversity of tongues in, 83;

effect of colors in, 178;

ego’s corrective work in, 168-170;

estimation of time in, 93;

existence of, makes man’s desires possible, 57;

force and matter closely related in, 77;

form blends into sound in, 95;

head only perceptible in some regions of, 79;

large population of, 77;

seasons non-existent in, 93;

second vehicle of earth, 55;

time non-existent in, 92;

universal mode of expression in, 85;

vision pertaining to, 66;

world of color, 68.

Earth composed of three interpenetrating worlds, 55, 116;

structure of dense body, obtained from, 57;

training school of, 6, 43;

worked upon, by the disembodied, 104.

Earth lives, intervals between, 52.

Earth spirits, fairies and elves, 70.

Eastern Wisdom, unsuited to Western peoples, 14.

Ego, _see_ Spirit, threefold.

Egyptians painted group spirits, 82.

Electron, discovery of, 107.

Elves, spirits of mountains, 70.

Emotions, relation of, to desire body, 186.

Enmity overcome by its own discomforts, 49.

Environment, suffering caused by, 49.

Ether, avenue for solar forces, 70, 74, 123;

nature of, 62;

permeates atomic structure of dense matter, 62.

Ether, chemical, _see_ Chemical ether.

Ether, life, _see_ Life ether.

Ether light, _see_ Light ether.

Ether, reflecting _see_ Reflecting ether.

Etheric sight, distinguished from spiritual, 66;

extension of physical, 65;

penetrates opaque substances, 66;

shows all objects same color, 67.

Ethers, separation of, 136.

Ever-existing essence, 107.

Evil and good acts recorded by breath, 38;

destruction of, 39;

transmutation of, to good, 158.

Evolution, from life to life, 53;

manifests in rest and activity, 42;

of vehicles, manner of, 185;

persistent unfoldment in, 42.

Fairies, spirits of the mountains, 70.

Fate, ripe, unavoidability of, 184.

Faults, correction of, 169.

Feeling, right, increases conscience, 172.

First cause, necessity for, 162.

First hand knowledge, possible to all, 52.

First Heaven, good of past life reaped in, 173;

good strengthened in, 174;

panorama of life in, 173;

upper regions of Desire World, 173.

Fluid, vital, cessation of flow of, 138.

Forgiveness of sin, 164, 169.

Form, archetypes of, 175;

incapable of feeling, 60.

Forms, impelled into action by desire, 56.

Forms, physical, built from chemical substance, 55.

Free will, existence of, 147;

pertaining to future, 184.

Generation caused by red ray of Holy Spirit, 124.

Germination caused by blue ray of Father, 124.

Gnomes, earth spirits, 70.

God, immanence of, 187.

Good amalgamates with spirit, 39;

and evil acts recorded by breath, 38.

Great Silence between Desire World and World of Thought, 95, 180;

may be entered by acts of will, 96.

Group spirit, brings stellar influence to animals, 124;

less evolved archangels, 81;

painted by Egyptians, 82.

Growth, physical, carried on through ether, 123;

caused by yellow rays of Son, 124;

relation of, to moon, 124;

relation of, to vital body, 186.

Growth, spiritual, must be slow, 103.

Heaven, among you, 116.

Heaven, First, _see_ First Heaven.

Heaven, Second, _see_ Second Heaven.

Heaven, Third, _see_ Third Heaven.

Hell, existence of, impossible, 117.

Helpers, Invisible, _see_ Invisible Helpers.

Heredity, of the physical only, 47.

Hierarchies, Creative, _see_ Creative Hierarchies.

Higher Self dominates lower by keynote, 99.

Higher senses of man, 16.

Higher vehicles, permeability of, 138;

withdrawal of, in sleep, 138.

Holy of Holies, temple of our bodies, 134.

Hotz, Dr., spirit photographs taken by, 129.

Humanity, two classes of, 136.

I, badge of self-consciousness, 135.

Ideas clothe themselves in mind stuff, 113;

embryonic thoughts, 113;

generated by ego in Region of Abstract Thought, 113;

originate in chaos, 112.

Ignorance, man’s one sin, 42.

Illumination, induced by solar rays, 123.

Immaculate conception, the Mystic Birth, 12.

Immortality of spirit, 39.

Incense, evil effects of, 165.

Incentive, induced by etchings of life panorama, 158.

Individual auric color, dependent upon ruling planet, 132.

Infant mortality, causes of, 176-179.

Intelligence induced by planetary rays, 123.

Interval between earth lives, 52.

Invisible Helpers, faculties of, 137;

linguistic abilities, valuable to, 83.

Izzards, 87.

James, Professor William, reputed communication from, 149-151.

Jehovah, _see_ Holy Spirit.

John, Gospel of, spiritual significance of, 105.

Jupiter, auric color of, 132.

Karma, _see_ Causation, law of.

Keynote, creates and maintains form, 98;

manifestation of Higher Self, 99;

stopping of, terminates life, 100;

Voice of Silence, 99.

Knowledge, the only salvation, 42.

Laws of nature, living intelligences, 53.

Life, dualistic theory of, 29;

lengthened by good deeds, 147;

long, value of, 144, 146;

monistic theory of, 29;

object of, gaining of experience, 142;

shortened by neglected opportunities, 146.

Life ether, propagation accomplished through medium of, 69.

Life panorama, backward unfoldment of, 156;

duration of, 153;

importance of, 153, 158;

insufficient, causes infant mortality, 177;

sub-conscious memory, basis of, 154;

terminated by collapse of vital body, 157.

Light, relation of, to creation, 188.

Light ether, motion due to, 69;

transmits solar force, 69.

Likes and dislikes determine environment, 48.

Liver, main vortex of desire body, 131.

Logos, Reasonable Thought, 109.

Love, higher than law, 168;

supreme commandment, 90.

Lunar ray enters body through spleen, 124.;

induces physical growth, 123, 190.;

three-fold constitution of, 124..

Magic, black, punishment of, 17.

Man, born innocent of sin, 174;

composite being of body, soul, spirit, 36;

desires of, impel to action, 56;

gathers spiritual substance, 162;

Great Beings safeguard, 198;

has evolved from lower forms, 73;

higher vehicles of, 120;

keyed to solar month, 125;

made a little lower than angels, 73;

spinal nerves of undeveloped, 125;

spiritual faculties of, 15.

Mars, auric color of, 132.

Materialism and spirituality, necessity of, 7.

Materialistic theory of life, 34-36.

Materialization through incense, 165;

through mediums, 129.

Mathematics, benefit derived from study of, 115.

Matter, illusory nature of, 114.

Mediums and negative clairvoyance, 137;

read in reflecting ether, 70.

Memory of Nature, events recorded in, 94.

Memory of past lives, 50.

Memory, sub-conscious, _see_ Sub-conscious memory.

Metamorphosis in higher worlds, 32.

Michael, ambassador from sun to earth, 87.

Michael, archangel, guardian of Jews, 80.

Mind, born at twenty-first year, 186, 198;

cloudy thought form , 131, 133;

material for, acquired in Region of Concrete Thought, 185;

recent acquisition of, 131.

Mind, Lords of, expert builders of mind stuff, 102;

help man to acquire mind, 103;

human during dark stage of earth, 101;

Powers of Darkness, 101;

worked with man in mineral stage, 102.

Mind stuff, permeability of, 120;

veils inner spirit, 134.

Monistic, theory of life, 29.

Moon rays, _see_ Lunar rays.

Morality induced by planetary rays, 123, 190.

Music in Desire World, 68;

soul-speech of World of Thought, 68.

Mystery Orders formed on cosmic lines, 9;

seven world workers in, 9.

N-rays, etheric radiation of, 128.

Nature, laws of, control nature spirits, 72;

Great Intelligences, 70.

Nebulae, fiery formation of, 161.

Nebular theory postulates First Cause, 162.

Negative development, mediumship allied to, 137.

Nephesh, 37.

Neptune outside of our solar system, 189.

Occult orders, _see_ Mystery orders.

Odic fluid, _see_ Solar fluid.

Opportunities, each life contains, 142.

Over-eating, ill-effects of, 128.

Painting, related to Desire World, 68.

Palladino, Eusapio, materializations through, 129.

Panorama of Life, _see_ Life Panorama.

Patriotism, inspired by archangels, 80.

Periodicity, law of, determines time of actions, 13.

Personality governed by keynote, 99.

“Peter Ibbettson,” occult information in, 161.

Physical body, anchor of mind, 92.

Physical embodiment, value of, 90, 143.

Pineal gland, localized organ of feeling, 132;

spiritual sight through development of, 66;

third eye, 132.

Planetary ray, _see_ Stellar ray.

Planetary spirits, color belonging to, 189;

names of, 189.

Planets, absorption of solar rays by, 188.

Post-mortem experiences, usefulness of, 143.

Powers of Darkness, _see_ Mind, Lords of.

Powers, spiritual, difficulty of obtaining, 64;

microscopic and telescopic, 64;

possible to all, 64.

Prayer, forgiveness of sin through, 164.

Precession of equinoxes, measure of time, 94.

Predestination of great leaders, 45, 46.

Primary colors symbolize God, 188.

Probation, long, necessity for, 64.

Propagation carried on through life ether, 123.

Psychometrists read in reflecting ether, 70.

Puberty, cause of, 196.

Pituitary body and clairvoyance, 66.

Punishment, corporal, evils of, 198.

Purgatory, evil habits corrected in, 167;

evil of past lives transmuted in, 116;

experiences in, based on moral attitude of preceding life, 181;

review of life experiences in, 170.

Race likeness caused by race spirits, 81.

Race Spirits, _see_ Archangels.

Rebirth, law of, alternation of sex in, 52;

believed in, by Jews, 46;

Biblical foundation for doctrine of, 46;

explanation of inequalities, 43, 47;

harmonious with nature’s methods, 47;

intervals between, 52;

preparations for, 185;

special talents of individual, evidence of, 46;

specially adapted to ego’s need, 52;

taught by Christ, 46.

Recording angels aid ego in choice of environment, 183;

give race religions, 6, 14;

show ego life panorama, 183.

Red in stellar ray, life of Holy Spirit, 124;

produces form, 188.

Reflecting ether, impressions of universe recorded in, 69;

mediums and psychometrists read in, 70.

Regret, time wasted in, 92.

Reincarnation, _see_ Rebirth.

Religions, all have origin in God, 104.

Repentance, benefits received through, 169.

Restrospection, exercise of, 170-173.

Ripe fate, unavoidability of, 184.

Rose Cross, initiates into science of life and being, 8;

Mystery school of the West, 8;

thirteen Brothers of, 9;

thirteenth member, the invisible head, 9;

works to mould public opinion, 11.

Rosicrucian Fellowship, herald of the Aquarian Age, 15;

purpose and work of, 14-18.

Rosicrucians, hold doctrine of man’s potential divinity, 5;

hierophants of Lesser Mysteries, 10;

influence of, upon writers of modern times, 11;

midnight service of, 11;

object of, to unite religion and science, 12;

work with evolved humanity, 9.

Ruling planet, relation of color of, 132.

Salamanders, fire spirits, 71;

produce volcanic eruptions, 72.

“School of Athens,” painting of, 29.

Science discovers spiritual side of universe, 34;

established proofs of spirit survival, 35;

spiritualized by Rosicrucians, 11.

Sculpture belongs to physical world., 68.

Second Heaven, ego prepares future environment in, 116;

located in Region of Concrete Thought, 116.

Seed atom, basis of sub-conscious memory, 156;

etchings of, 37;

sample and center of other dense atoms, 175;

transmits pictures to desire body, 156.

Sensitives, separation of ethers in vital body of, 136.

Servia, regicides in, 165.

Seven Spirits before the Throne, _see_ Planetary Spirits.

Sex, alternation of, 52.

Shells, discarded desire bodies, 179;

retain life panorama, 179;

spiritualistic impersonations by, 179.

Sight, spiritual, accompanies development of pineal gland and pituitary

body, 66;

varieties of, 67.

Silence, Great, _see_ Great Silence.

Silence, Voice of, _see_ Voice of the Silence.

Silver cord holds higher and lower vehicles together, 153;

snapping of, 153.

Solar fluid, absorption of, by different kingdoms, 124;

aids in digestion, 127;

cleansing power of, 128;

expels disease germs, 127;

muscular movement by means of, 126;

permeates nervous system, 123, 126;

radiates from body, 123;

transformed to rose color, 123, 126.

Solar rays, direct and indirect, 123;

spiritual illumination from, 123;

three-fold constitution of, 124.

Soul, differentiated from spirit, 134;

product of breath, 37.

Soul flights, time non-existent in, 89.

Soul growth induced by planetary rays, 123.

Soul power, assimilated from past action, 116;

developed by good action, 38.

Sound, power of, over matter, 175.

Spinal cord, absorbs stellar ray, 124.

Spencer, Herbert, and nebular hypothesis, 162.

Sphinx, faces east, 28;

riddle of, 28.

Spirit, threefold (ego) abandons vital body in sleep, 138;

absorbs solar ray, 124;

destined to become creative intelligence, 103;

disembodied, relief of, at leaving body, 161;

distinguished from soul, 134;

drawn to rebirth by desire for experience, 182;

earth-bound, condition of, 144;

encrusted in mind stuff, 101;

free will of, 184;

freedom of, in choosing environment, 183;

has seat in forehead, 124;

immortality of, 39;

improvement in vehicles of, 185;

individualization of, in childhood, 196;

instructed in building archetype, 184;

many earth lives of, 183;

no limitations possible for, 104;

sowing and reaping of, 104;

sufferings of, in purgatory, 163;

uncreate and eternal, 39;

various human relations of, 183;

works with archetypes, 103, 180.

Spirits, planetary, _see_ Planetary Spirits.

Spiritual investigations, 63.

Spiritual powers, _see_ Powers, spiritual.

Spiritual sight, _see_ Sight, spiritual.

Spiritual thought, spinal nerves developed by, 125.

Spirituality followed by materialism, 7.

Spleen, entrance for solar forces, 123;

transmutation for solar energy in, 123.

Stellar ray, absorption of, by brain and spinal cord, 124;

animals incapable of absorbing, 124;

induces morality, 123, 190;

threefold nature of, 124.

Stimulants, effects of, upon dying, 152.

Storms caused by nature spirits, 71.

Sub-conscious memory, basis of future life, 156;

consciously utilized, 161;

in seed atom, 155;

retentiveness of, 154.

Suicide, sufferings of, 174.

Sun, movements of, 94.

Superman, evolution of man into, 53.

Survival after death, established by scientists, 35.

Sylphs, spirits of mists, 70.

Tears, white bleeding, 130.

Temptation, repetition of, 174.

Theological theory of life, 36-39.

Third Heaven, few have consciousness in, 182;

in Region of Abstract Thought, 116, 182;

inspiration of philanthropist, 182;

place of awaiting rebirth, 182;

source of inventor’s inspiration, 182.

Thompson, J. J., discovery of electron by, 107.

Thought, objects of physical world, crystallized, 97, 131;

result of union, idea and mind stuff, 113.

Thought, world of, earth’s finest vehicle, 55;

home of spirit, 58;

knowledge gained in, 100;

makes man’s thought possible, 57;

realm of tone, 180;

spirit’s work in, 180;

time non-existent in, 101;

tonal vision pertaining to, 67.

Thought, World of, Region of Abstract Thought, abstract verities of, 106;

Third Heaven in, 116.

Thought, World of, Region of Concrete Thought, acme of reality, 97;

mind built in, 185;

physical world replica of, 97;

Second Heaven, 116.

Thymus Gland, function of, 196.

Time, end of, 112;

relatively non-existent in higher worlds, 92.

Tobacco, fumes of, disembodied work through, 166.

Trance, caused by flight of spirit, 140;

kinds of, 140.

Truth, freedom by, 114;

self-evident in higher worlds, 114.

Undines, spirits of water, 70.

Vehicles, improvements in, 185.

Veil of Isis, 134.

Vibration, external, transferred to blood, 37;

universality of, 36.

Vital body, born at seventh year, 195;

collapse of, in sleep, 138;

composed of ether, 122;

connected with spleen, 123;

disintegration of, stops life panorama, 157;

extends beyond dense vehicle, 123;

in sickness lacks solar rays, 128;

in third stage of evolution, 131;

nourishes dense body, 129;

photographed by scientists, 129;

polarity of, 129;

propagation by, 121;

recuperative work of, 138;

second vehicle acquired by man, 186;

separation of ethers of, 137;

war with desire body, 138;

well organized state of, 130.

Vital Fluid, _see_ Solar fluid.

Voice of the Silence, 99.

Volcanic eruptions produced by salamanders, 72.

Vortices, whirling, of desire body, 131.

War causes infant mortality, 177, 179.

Wave of spirituality inspired great religions, 7.

Whipping children, evil of, 198.

Will, lack of, racial defect, 198.

Wind, changes of, caused by sylphs, 71.

Word, Creative Fiat, 109.

Word, creative, and key-note, 100;

God was, 106;

power of, 110, 193;

still sounds in cosmos, 112.

World, Desire, _see_ Desire World.

World of Thought, _see_ Thought, World of.

World, physical, world of form, 68.

Worlds, higher, difficulty of investigating, 32.

Yellow in stellar ray, life of Son, 124;

produces consciousness, 188.

Zoroastrian religion, deities of, 86.

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THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS

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One of the most complete systems of character delineation and reading the

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THE WEB OF DESTINY

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GLEANINGS OF A MYSTIC

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_The Sacraments of Communion, Baptism, and Marriage._

_The Coming Christ._

_The Coming Age._

_Magic, White and Black._

_Our Invisible Government._

_Practical Precepts for Practical People._

_Sound, Silence, and Soul Growth._

_The Mysterium Magnum of the Rose Cross._

_Stumbling Blocks._

_Why I Am a Rosicrucian._

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HOW SHALL WE KNOW CHRIST AT HIS COMING?

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MYSTERIES OF THE GREAT OPERAS

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Faust, Parsifal, The Ring of the Niebelung, Tannhauser, Lohengrin

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