Filename: RC1104.TXT
Source: "The Web of Destiny" by Max Heindel

[PAGE 3744]

                         PRAYER--A MAGIC INVOCATION:

                  THE NATURE OF AND PREPARATION FOR PRAYER:

   The  subject of prayer is well worth the attention and study of  all  who
aspire spirituality,  and we trust the following hints may help our students
in their efforts in this direction.

   There is only one force in the universe, namely, the Power of God,  which
He  sent forth through space in the form of a Word;  not a single word,  but
the  creative  fiat which by its sound-vibration marshaled the  millions  of
chaotic atoms into the multitudinous shapes and forms from starfish to  star
and microbe to man, which constitute and inhabit the universe.   As the syl-
lables and sounds of this creative Word are being spoken,  one after another
through the ages, species are being created and the older ones evolved,  all
according  to the thought and plan conceived in the Divine Mind ere the  dy-
namic force of creative energy was sent out into the abyss of space.

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   This, then, is the only source of power, and in it we really, truly,  and
literally  live and move and have our being,  just as surely as  the  fishes
live  in the water.   We can no more escape or withdraw ourselves  from  God
than the fish can live and swim on dry land.   It was no mere poetic  senti-
ment  when  the  Psalmist said:   "Whither shall I go from  thy  spirit,  or
whither  shall I flee from thy presence?  If I ascend up into  heaven,  Thou
art there.   If I make my bed in the grave behold Thou art there.  If I take
the  wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,  even
there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me."

   God is Light,  and not even the greatest of modern telescopes which reach
many  millions of miles into space have found the boundaries of light.   But
we know that unless we have eyes wherewith to perceive the light,  and  ears
which register the vibrations of sound,  we walk the earth in eternal  dark-
ness and silence;  similarly,  to perceive the Divine Light which alone  can
illuminate  our  spiritual darkness,  and to hear the voice of  the  silence
which  alone can guide us,  we must cultivate our spiritual eyes  and  ears;
prayer,  true scientific prayer,  is one of the most powerful and effcacious
methods  of finding favor before the face of our Father,  and receiving  the
immersion in spiritual light which alchemically transforms the sinner to the

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saint and places around him the golden wedding garment of Light,  the  lumi-
nous soul body.

                   PREPARATION FOR PRAYER.  ORA ET LABORA:

   But  be not deceived,  prayer alone will not do this.   Unless our  whole
life,  waking and sleeping, is a prayer for illumination and sanctification,
our prayers will never penetrate to the Divine Presence and bring down  upon
us a baptism of His power.  "ORA ET LABORA"--pray and work--is an occult in-
junction which all aspirants must obey or they will meet with but scant suc-
cess.   In this connection an ancient legend of St.  Francis of Assisi  will
bear  repetition because of the light it sheds upon the life on  one  wholly
dedicated to the service of God.

   One day St.  Francis stepped up to a young brother in the monastery  with
the invitation:  "Come, brother, let us go down to the village and preach to
the people."  The young brother addressed responded with alacrity, overjoyed
at the prospect of a walk with the holy father, for he knew what a source of
spiritual upliftment it would be.  And so they walked to the village, up and
down its various streets and lanes,  all the while conversing upon topics of
absorbing  spiritual interest,  and finally turned their steps homeward  to-
wards  the monastery.   Then suddenly it dawned upon the young brother  that
they  had been so absorbed in their own conversation that they had forgotten

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the  object  of  their walk to the village.   Diffidently  he  reminded  St.
Francis  of the omission,  and the latter responded:   "Son,  while we  were
walking  the  village streets the people were watching  us,  they  overheard
snatches  of conversation and noted that we were talking of the love of  God
and His dear Son, our Saviour; they noted our kindly greetings and our words
of cheer and comfort to the afflicted ones we met,  and even our garb  spoke
to them the language and call of religion; so we have preached to them every
moment  of our sojourn among them to must better purpose than if we had  ha-
rangued  them  for hours in the market place."   St.  Francis had  no  other
thought but God and to do good in His name therefore he was well attuned  to
the divine vibration,  and it is no wonder than when he went to his  regular
prayers he was a powerful magnet for the divine Life and Light which  perme-
ated his whole being.

   We who are engaged in the so-called secular work of the world and  forced
to do things that seem sordid,  often feel that we are hampered and hindered
on that account, but if we "do all things as unto the Lord"  and are "faith-
ful over a few things,"  we shall find that in time opportunities will  come
of which we do not dream.  As the magnetic needle temporarily deflected from
the North  by  outside pressure instantly and EAGERLY returns to its natural

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position  when the pressure is removed, so we must cultivate  that  yearning
for  our Father which will instantly turn our thoughts to Him when our  work
in the world is done for the day and we are free to follow our own bent.  We
must cultivate a feeling similar to that which ensouls young lovers when af-
ter  an  absence they fly into each others arms in an  ecstasy  of  delight.
This is an absolutely essential preparation for prayer, and if we fly to our
Father  in that manner,  the Light of His presence and the sweetness of  His
voice will teach and cheer us beyond our fondest hopes.

                             THE PLACE OF PRAYER:

   The next point requiring consideration is the place of prayer; this is of
very  vital importance for a reason not generally known even among  students
of occultism;  it is this.  Every prayer, spoken or unspoken,  every song of
praise,  and every reading of parts of the scriptures which teach or exhort,
if  done  by a PROPERLY PREPARED READER WHO LOVES AND LIVES WHAT  HE  READS,
BRINGS  DOWN UPON BOTH THE WORSHIPER AND THE PLACE OF WORSHIP AN  OUTPOURING
OF  SPIRIT.   This in time an invisible church is built around the  physical
structure  which in the case of a devout congregation becomes  so  beautiful
that  it transcends all imagination and defies description.   Manson in  the
"Servant in the House" gives us only the faintest glimpse of what it is like

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when he tells the old Bishop:

   "I  am afraid you may not consider it an altogether substantial  concern.
It  has to be seen in a certain way under certain conditions.   Some  people
never see it at all.   You must understand,  this is no dead pile of  stones
and  unmeaning timber,  it is a LIVING THING.   When you enter it  you  hear
sound,  a sound as of some mighty poem chanted.   Listen long enough and you
will learn that it is made up of the beating of human hearts,  of the  name-
less music of men's souls; that is, if you have ears.  If you have eyes, you
will presently see the church itself,  a looming mystery of many shapes  and
shadow  leaping sheer from floor to dome,  the work of no ordinary  builder.
Its pillars go up like the brawny trunks of heroes; the sweet human flesh of
men and women is moulded about its bulwarks, strong impregnable.   The faces
of little children laugh out from every corner stone; the terrible spans and
arches  of it are the joined hands of comrades,  and UP IN THE  HEIGHTS  AND
SPACES  ARE  INSCRIBED  THE NUMBERLESS MUSINGS OF ALL THE  DREAMERS  IN  THE
WORLD.   It is yet building,  building, and built upon.   Sometimes the work
goes forward in deep darkness--sometimes in blinding light--now beneath  the
burden of unutterable anguish,  now to the tune of great laughter and heroic
shoutings like the cry of thunder.  Sometimes in the night time one may hear

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the tiny hammerings of comrades at work in the dome,  the comrades that have
climbed ahead."

   But this invisible edifice is not merely lovelier than a fair palace in a
poet's  dream;  it is as Manson says,  A LIVING THING,  vibrant with  divine
power  of  immense aid to the worshiper, for it helps him in  adjusting  the
tangled  vibrations  of the world which permeate his aura when he  enters  a
true "House of God" and to get into the proper attitude of prayer.   Then it
helps  him to lift himself in aspiration tot he throne of divine grace,  and
to  offer there his praise and adoration which call forth from the Father  a
new outpouring of the spirit in the loving response, "THIS IS MY BELOVED SON
IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED."

   Such  a place of worship is essential to spiritual growth  by  scientific
prayer,  and those who are fortunate enough to have access to such a  temple
should always OCCUPY THE SAME PLACE IN IT,  for that becomes permeated  with
THEIR  individual vibrations and they fit into that environment more  easily
than anywhere else; consequently they get better results there.

   But  such places are scarce,  for a REAL sanctuary is required in  scien-
tific prayer.   No gossip or profane conversation may take place in or  near
it  for that spoils the vibrations;  voices must be hushed and the  attitude
reverent; each must bear in mind that he stands upon holy ground and act ac-
cordingly,  Therefore no place open to the general public will answer.

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   Furthermore,  the  power of prayer increases enormously with  each  addi-
tional  worshiper.--The increase may be compared to geometrical  progression
if the worshipers are properly attuned and trained in COLLECTIVE prayer; the
very opposite may result if they are not.

   Perhaps an illustration may make the principle clear.   Suppose a  number
of musicians who have never played with others and who perhaps are not  very
proficient in the use of their instruments, were brought together and set to
play  in concert;  it needs no very keen imaginations to realize that  their
first attempts would be marked by much discord,  and were an amateur allowed
to play with them, or even with a finished orchestra,  no matter how earnest
and how intense his desire, he would inevitably spoil their music.   Similar
scientific  conditions  govern  collective prayer;  to  be  effcacious  par-
ticipants must be equally well prepared as elucidated under a previous head-
ing;  THEY MUST BE ATTUNED UNDER HARMONIOUS HOROSCOPIC INFLUENCES.   When  a
malefic  in one nativity is on the ascendant of another,  those  two  cannot
profit by praying together;  they may rule their stars and live in peace  if
they  are developed souls,  but they lack the basic harmony which  is  abso-
lutely essential in collective prayer.  Initiation removes this barrier  but
nothing else can.

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             THE WINGS AND THE POWER; THE INVOCATION; THE CLIMAX:

   It  was made clear in Part I that there are certain occult reasons  which
make COLLECTIVE prayer inadvisable except under special conditions.

   It was knowledge of these difficulties which prompted the Christ to  warn
his  disciples not to say their prayers before men and to advise  them  that
when they wanted to pray to enter into their CLOSET.   We cannot each have a
large beautiful edifice for our devotions,  not do we require it;  too often
prompt and display are apt to turn our hearts from God.   But most of us can
set a small portion of our room aside for devotion, curtain it off or with a
screen separate it from the rest of the apartment,  or we can take a  closet
(literally)  and  make it into a sanctuary.   The nature of  the  encircling
walls  matters not it is THE APARTNESS AND THE INVISIBLE HOUSE OF GOD  which
we  build our prayers,  and the divine downpouring which we receive  in  re-
sponse  from  our Father that are important.  A picture of Christ and a Rose

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Cross  may  be hung upon the wall if desired,  but are not  essential.   The
All-Seeing  Eye is preferred by some very successful occultists of  our  ac-
quaintance as a symbol of the Father.  But we remember the words of  Christ,
"The  Father  and  I are one;"  so though we have no  authentic  picture  of
Christ, we prefer to use such as we have, for we know that thoughts will not
go  astray on account of lack of authenticity.   Christ is the Lord of  this
era;  later,  of course, the Father takes charge, but now Christ is mediator
for the masses.

   We need scarcely say that no matter how large of small, the whole room or
apartment of the successful aspirant is permeated by an atmosphere if  holi-
ness,  for  all the thoughts which he can legitimately have apart  from  the
faithful  performance of his worldly duties are of the heavenly Father,  but
the  corner of closet set apart as a sanctuary soon becomes filled with  SU-
PERLATIVELY  SPIRITUAL VIBRATIONS;  therefore any aspirant who  contemplates
following the scientific method of prayer should first seek to secure A PER-
MANENT PLACE OF RESIDENCE, for if he moves about from place to place he will
suffer a distinct loss every time and have to begin to build anew.   The in-
visible temple which he built and left disintegrates by degrees when worship
ceases.

[PAGE 3754]

                           THE WINGS AND THE POWER:

   It is a mystic maxim that "all spiritual development begins with the  vi-
tal body."   This is next in density to our dense body, its key-note is REP-
ETITION, and it is the vehicle of habits, hence somewhat difficult to change
or  influence,  but once a change has been effected and a habit acquired  by
repetition,  its  performance becomes automatic to a certain  extent.   This
characteristic is both good and bad in respect to prayer, for the impression
registered in the ethers of this vehicle will impel the aspirant to faithful
performance of his devotions AT STATED TIMES,  even though he may have  lost
interest in the exercise and his prayers are mere forms.  If it were not for
this habit forming tendency of the vital body, aspirants would wake up their
danger as soon as the real love began to wane,  and it would then be  easier
to  retrieve the loss and keep on the Path.   Therefore the aspirant  should
carefully examine himself from time to time to see if he still has WINGS and
POWER wherewith swiftly and surely to life himself to his Father in  Heaven.
The wings are two in number;  LOVE AND ASPIRATION are their names,  and  the
irresistible power which propels them is INTENSE EARNESTNESS.  Without these
and an intelligent understanding to direct the INVOCATION,  prayer is only a
babble;  properly  performed it is the most powerful method of  soul  growth
known.

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                          THE POSITION OF THE BODY:

   The position of the body matters little in SOLITARY PRAYER;  that is best
which is most conducive to concentration of purpose; but in COLLECTIVE pray-
ing it is the practice of accomplished occultists to stand with bowed  heads
and hands folded in a peculiar manner.   This makes a magnetic circuit which
unites  them  spiritually from the very commencement of the  exercises.   In
communities  not  so advanced,  the singing of a hymn so standing  has  been
found of great benefit, PROVIDED ALL TAKE PART.

                               THE INVOCATION:

   Prayer  is  a word which has been so abused that it really does  not  de-
scribe the spiritual exercise to which we have reference.   As already  said
when  we go to our sanctuary we must go as the lover who hastens to his  be-
loved,  our spirit must fly ahead of our slow-moving body in eager anticipa-
tion  of  the delights in store for us, and we must forget all else  in  the
thoughts  of adoration which fill us on the way.   This ids literally  true;
the  feeling required for success resembles nothing in the world so much  as
that  which draws the lover to his beloved;  it is even more ardent and  in-
tense.  "As the hind panteth for the water brook, so thirsteth my soul after
Thee,"  is  an  actual  experience of the true lover of God.  If we have not
 
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this spirit, it can be cultivated by prayer, and one of the most constant of
the legitimate prayers for self should be, "O God, increase my love for Thee
so  that  I may serve Thee better from day to day."   "Let the words  of  my
mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord,  My
strength and my Redeemer."

   Invocations for temporal things are black magic; we have the promise "See
ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall
be  added unto you."   The Christ indicated the limit in The  Lord's  Prayer
when  He taught His disciples to say:  "Give us this day our  daily  bread."
Whether for ourselves or others we must beware of going father in scientific
invocation.   But even in praying for spiritual blessings we  should  beware
lest a selfishness develop and destroy out soul growth.  All the saints tes-
tify  to the days of darkness when the divine Lover hides His face  and  the
consequent depression.   Then it depends upon the nature and the strength of
our  affection:   Do we love God for Himself, or do we love Him for the  de-
lights  we experience in the sweet communion with Him?   If the latter,  our
affection  is essentially as selfish as the feelings of the multitude  which
followed  Him  because  He had fed them, and now as then it is necessary for

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Him to hide from us in such cases, a mark of His tender love and  solicitude
which should bring us to our knees in shame and remorse.  Happy are we if we
right  the  defect  in our characters and learn the  lesson  of  unfaltering
faithfulness  from  the magnetic needle,  which points to the  pole  without
wavering despite rain or storm clouds that hide its beloved star.

   It has been said that we must not pray for temporal things,  and that  we
ought to be careful even in our prayers for spiritual gifts; it is therefore
a  legitimate question:   What then shall be the burden of  our  invocation?
And the answer is,  generally, PRAISE AND ADORATION.   We must get away from
the  idea that every time we approach our Father in Heaven we must  ask  for
something.   Would  it not annoy us if our children were always  asking  for
something from us?   We cannot of course imagine our Father in Heaven  being
annoyed  at our importunities,  but neither can we expect Him to grant  what
would often do us harm.   On the other hand,  when we offer thanksgiving and
praise we put ourselves in a favorable position to the law of attraction,  a
receptive state where we may receive a new downpouring of the Spirit of Love
and Light, and which thus brings us nearer to our adored ideal.

                              THE FINAL CLIMAX:

   Nor  is  it  necessary  that  the  audible of inaudible invocation should

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continue  during the whole time of prayer.  When upon the wings of Love  and
Aspiration, propelled by the intensity of our earnestness, we have soared to
the Throne of our Father,  there may come a time of sweet but silent commun-
ion  more delightful than any other state or stage;  it is analogous to  the
contentment of lovers who may sit for hours in unbroken silence, too full of
love for utterance, a state which far transcends the stage where they depend
upon speech for entertainment.   So it is also in the final climax when  the
soul RESTS in God,  all desires satisfied by that feeling of at-one-ment ex-
pressed in the words of Christ, "My Father and I are One."  When that climax
has been reached the soul has tasted the quintessence of joy,  and no matter
how  sordid  the world may seem or what dark fate it may have to  face,  the
love of God which passeth all understanding is a panacea for all.

   It should be said however,  that that final climax is only attainable  IN
ALL ITS FULLNESS at rare intervals.  It pre-supposes not only the  intensity
of purpose to soar to the divine, but a reserve fund to remain posed in that
position, which most of us have not always at hand.  It is a well known fact
that nothing worth while comes without effort.   What man had done,  man can
do,  and if we start to cultivate the power of invocation along  the  scien-
tific lines here laid down, we shall in time reap results of which we little
dream.

   And may our Father in Heaven bless our every effort.

[PAGE 3759]

PRACTICAL METHODS OF ACHIEVING SUCCESS BASED UPON CONSERVATION OF SEX FORCE:

   It  is just impossible to attain true and lasting success with living  in
harmony with the laws of life,  as it is for a criminal to live at peace  in
the community whose laws he breaks.   Just as he is eventually punished  be-
cause of his predatory habits, and incarcerated and restrained,  so also na-
ture punishes, incarcerates, and restrains us when we break her laws.   This
restraint is called disease and is an enemy of happiness, for one, no matter
what wealth he may have or what position he may occupy in the world,  can be
very  happy when he is in ill health bodily.   Thus it will be seen that one
of the vital requirements for the man and woman who desires a full  realiza-
tion  of happiness and success in life is health,  including  strength,  for
only  in the measure that we are supplied with bubbling-over health  can  we
feel  sufficiently optimistic,  cheerful and vigorous to attain the  success
which we are seeking.

[PAGE 3760]

   The Bible tells us that death and disease cam into the world through eat-
ing  of the "tree of knowledge,"  and though from the materialist  point  of
view this may sound silly,  let us not dismiss the story without looking  at
it a little closer.  We shall find that it is perfectly in harmony with sci-
entific  facts as shown in the world today.   Consider first the meaning  of
the tree of knowledge as illustrated by the later remarks:   "Adam KNEW  his
wife and she bore Abel;"  "Adam KNEW his wife and she bore Seth;" and Mary's
words  to the angel,  "How shall I conceive seeing I KNOW not a man?"   From
these and many similar remarks it is evident that the tree of knowledge  was
a  symbolical  expression of the generative act.   Mankind is thus,  as  the
Bible says,  conceived in sin and therefore subject to death,  and from this
there would seem no escape.

   We would,  however,  do well to remember that evolution is a fact in  na-
ture;  that man as he is today is the result of a long past,  and that  this
present  state is not the final attainment of a standard of perfection,  but
that  there are greater heights ahead of us.  We are in a state of EVER  BE-
COMING; there is no halting nor resting upon the path, which is as limitless
as the age of the spirit.   Moreover,  as what we are today is the result of
what  we  were  yesterday,  so also it depends upon how we use our faculties

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today whether we shall be one thing or another tomorrow.   Let us then exam-
ine the past,  so that by learning what we have been, we may gain an inkling
of what we are to be.

   According to the Bible,  mankind was male-female before it was  separated
into two distinct sexes as man and woman.   We still have with us hermaphro-
dites  who have this,  as we thing today,  abnormal formation to  prove  the
truth of this Biblical assertion;  and physiologically the opposite organ of
either  sex is latent in all.   During the period when man was thus  consti-
tuted  fertilization  must have occurred within himself;  nor  is  this  any
stranger than that many plants are so fertilized today.

   Let  us now see from the Bible what was the effect of  self-fertilization
in the early days.   There are two prime facts that stand out:   One is that
THERE WERE GIANTS IN THE EARTH IN THOSE DAYS;  the other that THE PATRIARCHS
LIVED FOR CENTURIES; and these two characteristics, great growth and longev-
ity, are possessed by many plants of today.  The great size of trees and the
length of their life are wonderful,  the live centuries where man lives only
a  few  score years.   Then the question comes,  what is the reason  of  the
evanescence of human life, and what is the remedy?  Let us first take up the

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question of the reason, and the remedy will later be apparent.

   It  is  well  know to horticulturists that plants are  stunted  in  their
growth when they bloom too prolifically.  A rose may bloom to such an extent
that it dies; therefore the wise gardener prunes the buds from the plants so
that  the  strength may go partly into growth instead of blossom.   Thus  BY
KEEPING  THE SEED WITHIN ITSELF it attains the strength required for  growth
and longevity.   This was the secret of the great size and long life of  the
earliest races,  as it is the secret of the size and longevity of the plants
today.

   That the creative essence in the seed is a spiritual substance is evident
when  we compare the dauntlessness and impatience at restraint of the  stal-
lion or the bull, with the docility of the steer and the gelding.  Moreover,
we  know that the confirmed libertine and the degenerate become sterile  and
emaciated.  When these facts have sunk into our consciousness it will not be
difficult to conceive of the truth of the Bible assertion that the fruit  of
the  flesh,  which brings us under the law of sin and death,  is  first  and
foremost  fornication,  whereas  the  fruit  of  the  spirit  which make for

[PAGE 3763]

immortality,  as  shown  in  the  same book,  are  said  to  be  principally
continence and chastity.

   Consider  also the child and how the creative force USED WITHIN  AND  FOR
THE  CHILD ITSELF causes an enormous growth during the early years,  but  at
the age of puberty the birth of passion commences to check growth; the vital
force  then produces seed in order to find growth and expression  elsewhere,
and thenceforth growth is stunted.   If we continued to grow during life  as
we grow during childhood,  we should be giants as were the divine hermaphro-
dites of long ago.

   The  spiritual force generated from the time of puberty and  all  through
life may be used for three purposes,  GENERATION,  DEGENERATION,  OR  REGEN-
ERATION.   It depends upon ourselves which of the three methods  we  choose;
but  the choice that we make will have an important bearing upon  our  whole
life, for the use of this force is not confined in its effect to the time or
occasion upon which it is thus used.   IT OVERSHADOWS EVERY SINGLE MOMENT OF
OUR EXISTENCE,  and determines among our fellow men; how we meet the various
trial  of life;  whether we are able to grasp our opportunities or let  them
slip  by;  whether  we  are  healthy  or  sick; and whether we live our life

[PAGE 3764]

according to a satisfactory purpose; all of this depends upon the way we use
the vital force.   That is the very spring of all our existence,  the elixir
of life.

   The part of the creative force which is legitimately sacrificed upon  the
altar  of fatherhood and motherhood is so small that it may be entirely  ne-
glected for the purpose of the present considerations.   There is no  reason
whatever from a physical or spiritual standpoint why celibacy should be  in-
sisted upon in any religious order,  neither is this at all in harmony  with
the Bible.  The mere suppression of sexual attraction is not a virtue in it-
self;  in fact it may be a very serious vice,  for there is no question that
many millions,  fall into the most unspeakable vices on that account.   Even
if  they  abstain from the sexual act, their thoughts are of such  a  nature
that  they make themselves whited sepulchres,  horrible within  though  out-
wardly seeming pure and white.   Paul himself,  thought not in the condition
mentioned,  said:  "It is better to parry than to burn;" and the natural ex-
pression is far to be preferred to such an  inward state as above described.

[PAGE 3765]

   While  there are very few who will defend abuse of the  generative  func-
tion,  many people who follow spiritual percepts in other things still  have
the feeling than frequent indulgence of the desire for sexual pleasure works
no harm;  some even have the idea that it is as necessary as the exercise of
any  other organic function.   This is wrong for two reasons:   First,  each
creative  act requires a certain amount of force which burns up tissue  that
must be replenished by an extra amount of food.   This strengthens and  aug-
ments the Chemical Ether.   Secondly as the propagative force works  through
the Life Ether,  this constituent of the vital body by sending the  creative
force downwards for gratification of our desire for pleasure;  and their in-
terlocking grip upon the two higher ethers which form the soul-body  becomes
tighter  and  more  powerful  as time goes on.   As  the  evolution  of  our
soul-powers and the faculty of traveling in our finer vehicles depends  upon
the cleavage between the lower ethers and the soul-body,  it is evident that
we frustrate the object we have in view and retard development by indulgence
of the lower nature.

   If  we turn again to the garden we may obtain a striking illustration  of
the result of following the apostle's advice  to  "keep the seed within," by
considering  the  qualities of the seedless varieties  of  fruit.   Seedless
fruits  are larger and better flavored than those which have seeds,  because
in them all the sap is used for the single purpose of making the fruit deli-
cious and succulent.  Similarly, if instead of wasting our substance we live
chastely  and  send the creative force upward for regeneration,  we  thereby
etherealize  and  refine  our  physical bodies at  the  same  time  that  we
strengthen our soul bodies.   In this manner WE MAY MATERIALLY LENGTHEN LIFE
and  so increase our opportunities for soul growth and advancement upon  the
Path in a very marked degree.

   When  we  realize that success does not consist in  the  accumulation  of
wealth but in soul growth,  it will be evident that continence is an  impor-
tant factor in the attainment of success in life.

Continued with file "RC1105.TXT"

End of File

