Filename: RC4001.TXT

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                ROSICRUCIAN CHRISTIANITY PHILOSOPHY COURSE:   

                             LESSON NUMBER 1:    

                    THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS:   

                              INTRODUCTION:    

    The universe is God's great training school. In our particular part
of this vast school we are now witnessing momentous happenings and
changes which are causing an increased demand for a better understand-
ing of the reasons for existence. "What does it all mean?" we may ask,
and "What does it mean to me?"
    The key to progress may be summed up in the ancient adage: "Man
know thyself." The first step in understanding ourselves and our rela-
tion to the cosmic forces affecting the visible manifestations taking place
about us is to understand something of the Worlds in which we live,
since the laws operating throughout the Cosmos inevitably affect
individual, personal lives.
    To the majority of people there is but one World, the dense physical
globe on which we live; the superphysical worlds are not visible to the
average individual because he has not yet developed the higher and finer
senses which are necessary to contact them. These higher Worlds are the
worlds of cause, and a study of The Rosicrucian Fellowship lessons will
enable the student to account satisfactorily for the visible manifestation
seen in the physical world, as well as to regulate the life so that more
harmony and fullness will be expressed on all planes.

    The answers to the questions in this course are found in files
RC1051.TXT through RC1066.TXT.

                    GENERAL INFORMATION AND QUESTIONS:   

1] THE SEVEN WORLDS:

   In the Rosicrucian Teachings the universe is divided into seven
different worlds or states of matter.

    QUESTION: Name these seven worlds.

2] THE SEVEN SUBDIVISIONS:

    Each World is divided into 7 regions or subdivisions of matter.
These divisions are not arbitrary but necessary because the substance of
each of them is amenable to laws which are practically inoperative in the
others. For instance, in the Physical World matter gravitates, con-
tracts and expands. In the Desire World there is neither heat nor cold,

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distance nor time. The material of these Worlds also varies in density;
that of the Physical World being the densest of the seven.

    QUESTION: Describe the difference in the substance of the Desire
and Physical Worlds.

3] THE TWO GENERAL CLASSIFICATIONS:

    In the Physical World these 7 subdivisions are grouped under two
classifications or regions.

    QUESTION: Name these two classifications, designating which of the 7
subdivisions are included in each.

4] THE CHEMICAL ETHER:

    The Chemical Ether has two poles and is both positive and negative 
in its manifestation.

    QUESTION: What is the function of each pole?

5] THE LIFE ETHER:

    The Life Ether also has a positive and negative pole, and operates
partially in the plant kingdom and fully in animal and man.

    QUESTION: What is the function of the forces which work along the
positive and negative poles of the Life Ether?

6] THE LIGHT ETHER:

    In winter when the Light Ether is not charged with sufficient sun-
light the sap of the plant ceases to flow. This ether is responsible for
the color found in all the kingdoms of nature.

    QUESTION: What is the function of the forces which work along
the positive and negative poles of this ether? 

7] THE REFLECTING ETHER:

    Everything that has ever happened has left a picture in the Reflect-
ing Ether. All thoughts and acts are recorded here, and the trained
seer may read their story. This ether is also the medium through which
thought makes an impression upon the human brain.

    QUESTION: Why is this ether called "reflecting"?

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                           LESSON NUMBER 2:   

                           THE DESIRE WORLD:    

1] NATURE OF THE DESIRE WORLD:

    The Desire World, with its innumerable inhabitants, permeates the
Physical World, and though invisible is everywhere present; it also
extends out into space for a considerable distance.
    Please keep in mind that the worlds other than the dense physical
one are not worlds of form but are of an ethereal nature interpenetrating
one another and also the dense world as a fog penetrates our atmosphere.
The Desire World is composed of a more rarefied substance than that
of the Physical. It is the realm of desires, therefore it is spoken of as
the Desire World. Like the Physical World, the Desire World is divided
into seven divisions or regions.

    QUESTION: Name these seven regions.

2] FORCES OPERATIVE IN THE DESIRE WORLD:

    To arrive at a correct understanding of the Desire World it is neces-
ary to realize that it is the world of feelings, desires, and emotions. These
are all under the domination of two great forces, which act in a different
way in the three denser regions of the Desire World from that in which
they act in the three finer or upper regions.

    QUESTION: Name the two great forces that hold sway in the Desire
World.

3] MANNER OF OPERATION OF THE TWIN FORCES:

    The tendency of every form in the Desire World is to attract to
itself all it can of a like nature and grow thereby.

    QUESTION: Explain the maxim: "A lie is both murder and suicide
in the Desire World."

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4] THE PRINCIPLE OF EMPHASIZING THE GOOD:

    Anything happening in the Physical World is reflected in all the
other realms of nature and builds its appropriate form in the Desire
World.

    QUESTION: Explain why the occultist always seeks for the good in
so-called evil.

5] PURGATORY:

    Purgatory consists of the 3 lower regions of the Desire World,
and is the first region the Spirit enters after leaving the physical body at
death. In order that we may enjoy the First Heaven that follows, it is
necessary that we be purified or purged of evil; thus the necessity of
Purgatory.

    QUESTION: Name and state the function of each of the 3 Regions
composing Purgatory.

6] THE BORDERLAND:

    The 4th region of the Desire World is the Region of Feeling. From
it comes the feeling concerning the forms, and upon the feeling engen-
dered by them depends the life which they have for us and also their
effect upon us.

    QUESTION: What is the function of Interest and Indifference?

7] THE FIRST HEAVEN:

    The three higher divisions of the Desire World constitute what is
known as the First Heaven.

    QUESTION: What qualities are expressed through the higher regions of
the Desire World?

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                            LESSON NO. 3:    

                       THE WORLD OF THOUGHT:   

1] NATURE OF THE THOUGHT WORLD:

    The World of Thought is the highest world in which the human
Ego functions while still bound to earthly existence. Through thought
and the application of will, man will ultimately rule his destiny. Noth-
ing can manifest unless it first exists in thought. The material of this
world is often referred to as mind substance or mind stuff.

    QUESTION: What are the two main regions of the World of Thought?

2] THOUGHT FORCE:

    Thought force is the most powerful means of obtaining knowledge.
If it is properly concentrated upon a subject, it will burn its way
through any obstacle and solve any problem. If sufficient thought
force is brought to bear, there is nothing beyond the power of human
comprehension. So long as we scatter it, little can be accomplished.
Thought existed before the brain. It built and is still building the
brain for its expression. The four lower divisions of the World of
Thought are known as the Region of Concrete Thought, and constitute
what is termed the Second Heaven.

    QUESTION: Name these four regions.

3] THE ARCHETYPE:

    In the Region of Concrete Thought, before birth, the Ego, with the
help of the Creative Hierarchies, particularly the Lords of Mind, forms
the archetype of its future dense body, which is really a thought
form--a living vibrating mold. The creative archetypes fashion the

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forms of the Physical World in their own likeness, each archetype giv-
ing part of itself to build the required form.

    QUESTION: What archetypes are found in the four divisions of the
region of Concrete Thought?

4] THOUGHT FORMS:

    The Region of Abstract Thought consists of the finest thought
substance of the World of Thought. The ideas germinated in the Region
of Abstract Thought clothe themselves as thought forms in the mind
stuff substance of the Region of Concrete Thought. The three upper
divisions of the World of Thought are known as the Region of Abstract
Thought, and constitute the Third Heaven.

    QUESTION: What germinal ideas are found in these three regions?

5] MATTER A REFLECTION OF SPIRIT:

    The Region of Archetypal Forces is the most important in the
5 Worlds wherein man's entire evolution is carried on. From this
Region Spirit works on matter in a formative way, the forms in the lower
world being reflections of the spirit in the higher worlds.

    QUESTION: In what Region are Abstract Thought, World of Life
Spirit, and World of Divine Spirit reflected?

6] RELATION OF THE WORLDS:

    We must carefully keep in mind that the Worlds are not placed one
above another, but interpenetrate.

    QUESTION: In a few words describe the relation of the Physical,
Desire, and Thought Worlds to each other.

7] CORRELATION OF THE EARTH TO OTHER PLANETS AND OTHER SOLAR
   SYSTEMS:

    In order to travel to other spheres we must use a vehicle correlated
to the material of that sphere.

    QUESTION: (a) Through what world are we correlated to the other
planets of our solar system?
    (b) Through what world are we correlated to other solar systems?

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                           LESSON NUMBER 4:   

                          THE FOUR KINGDOMS:   

1] DIFFERENCES IN THE KINGDOMS:

    The three worlds of our planet, Physical, Desire, and World of 
Thought, are at present the field of evolution for a number of different
kingdoms of life at various stages of development. Only four of these
concern us at present, namely, the mineral, plant, animal, and human
kingdoms. These four kingdoms are related to the three worlds in
different ways, but the dense bodies of all kingdoms are composed of
the same chemical substance--solids, liquids, and gases.

    QUESTION: (a) Briefly compare man with the mineral, the plant,
and the animal.
    (b) What is necessary in order to function in any world?

2] THE BASIS OF GROWTH:

    Science has demonstrated the fact that no two atoms touch each
other. Each is enclosed in an envelope of ether. Plants, animals, and
man all have individual vital bodies, hence are capable of growth. The
mineral, having no separate vital body, does not grow.

    QUESTION: State the difference in the relation to the Etheric Re-
gion of plant, animal, and man.

3] THE VITAL BODY:

    The vital body of plant, animal, and man extends beyond the
periphery of the dense body as the Etheric Region, which is the vital
body of a planet, extends beyond its dense part.

    QUESTION: Describe briefly the vital body of man.

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4] RELATION OF DENSE AND VITAL BODIES:

    The vital body contains millions of points which enter into the
hollow centers of the dense atoms, imbuing them vital force.

    QUESTION: The dense body is an exact copy of the vital body, with
one exception. What is that exception?

5] SEPARATION OF VITAL AND DENSE BODIES:

    When a person is drowning, freezing, or falling from a height, the
vital body leaves the dense body, the atoms of which become tempo-
rarily inert. When anesthetics are used the vital body is partially
driven out. This same phenomena may be observed in the case of a
materializing medium.

    QUESTION: Describe the effects of separating the vital from the dense
body.

6] THE SOURCE OF VITAL FORCE:

    Vital force is to the nervous system what the force of electricity
is to a telegraph system. The Ego, the brain, and the nervous system may
be in seemingly perfect order, but if the vital force is lacking to carry
the message of the Ego through the nerves to the muscles, the dense
body will remain inert.

    QUESTION: What is the source of our vital force and how does it
gain entrance to the dense body?

7] THE VITAL BODY AND HEALTH:

    During health the vital body specializes a superabundance of vital
force, which, after passing through a dense body, radiates in straight
lines in every direction from the periphery thereof.

    QUESTION: How do these radiations counteract disease?

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                           LESSON NUMBER 5:    

                     THE FOUR KINGDOMS (Continued):    

1] SUBSTANCE OF THE DESIRE WORLD:

    We have previously studied the Desire World, which is every-
where about us and whose substance interpenetrates everything.
The animals and man have drawn to themselves a portion of this desire
substance to form a desire body, and it gives them incentive for action
and enables them to feel desire, emotion, and passion. The minerals
and plants do not have an individual desire body; hence they are not
capable of feeling, desire, or emotion.

    QUESTION: What is the function of the desire body?

2] MAN'S DESIRE BODY:

    There are no organs in the desire body as in the dense and vital
bodies. In the distant future man's desire body will become as def-
intiely organized as are the physical abd vital bodies. When that stage
is reached we shall have the power to function in the desire body as we
now do in the dense.

    QUESTION: Describe man's desire body.

3] DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ANIMAL AND MAN:

    While the animal kingdom has not acquired the faculy of thought,
some of the higher domestic animals do think by induction on the same
prinicple that a highly charged wire will induce a weak current in
another wire brought close to it. Animals are not individualized but are
divided into species and all members of the same animal tribe act alike
under similar conditions. Man is individualized, and each individual
is a law unto himself, separate and apart from any other individual
and as different from his fellow man as one species of the animal

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kingdom is from another. Before reaching individualization he was
under a Group Spirit. Later he was placed under the guidance of a
Race Spirit (Archangel), from which he is gradually freeing himself
as he becomes more and more capable of self-government.

    QUESTION: What makes man an individual?

4] THE NATURE OF GROUP SPIRITS:

    While man is an individual and is guided by his own indwelling
spirit which dictates his thoughts and actions, the three lower kingdoms
have group spirits which are variously located in the Higher Worlds.

    QUESTIONS: What is a group-spirit?

5] WISDOM OF THE GROUP SPIRIT:

    Each species of the animal kingdom is ruled by a group spirit. This
is a Being belonging to the Archangelic life wave that works from the
outside, directing the animal's actions by means of the silver cord of the
animal, which is attached to the group spirit.

    QUESTION: Explain the fact that the animal often seems to display
more wisdom than man.

6] RELATION OF THE KINGDOMS TO THE EARTH'S LIFE CURRENTS AS
   SYMBOLIZED BY THE CROSS:

    The relation of plant, animal, and man to the life currents in the
earth's atmosphere are symbolically represented by the Cross. The
mineral kingdom is not represented because it does not possess a vital
body.

    QUESTIONS: Explain the symbology of the Cross in relation to the
three higher kingdoms.

7] REQUISITES FOR THE EXPRESSION OF AN INDIVIDUAL EGO:

    No animal can be made to remain constantly upright, because in
that case the currents of the group spirit could not guide it, and if it
were not sufficiently individualized to endure the spiritual currents
which enter the vertical human spine, it would die.

    QUESTION: What are the three requisites for the expression of an
individual ego?

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                          LESSON NUMBER 6:     

                        MAN AND HIS BODIES:     

                    THE DENSE AND VITAL BODIES:    

1] THE FOUR ETHERS:

    Many may not be aware of the fact that man possesses more bodies
than the dense physical one which is visible to all. The Rosicrucian
Philosophy reveals, however, that the physical body, as important an
instrument as it is, could not exist alone. The dense body is not only
alive but grows and develops, and when death overtakes the physical
body it loses its vitality and life. The something which imparts vitality
and makes growth possible is called the vital (or etheric) body. The vital
body is composed of four ethers.

    QUESTION: Name the four ethers and state the function of each.

2] BUILDING OF THE VITAL BODY:

    When the Ego is on its way to rebirth through the Region of Con-
crete Thought, the Desire World, and the Etheric Region, it gathers a
certain amount of material from each. The quality of this material is
determined by the seed atom, on the principle that likes attracts like.
The quantity depends upon the amount of matter required by the arche-
type which has been built by the incoming Ego in the second heaven.
From the quantity of prismatic ether atoms that are appropriated by any

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certain spirit, the Recording Angels and their agents (the nature spirits
and the so-called dead) build an etheric matrix which is placed in the
mother's womb and determines the form of the visible body of the new-
born child. Only a small portion of the ether appropriated by a certain
Ego is thus used; and the remainder of the child's vital body, or rather
the material from which that vehicle will eventually be made, is thus out-
side the dense body. For that reason the vital body of a child protrudes
much farther beyond the periphery of the dense body than does that of
the adult. This store of ether atoms is drawn upon to vitalize the grow-
ing body until, at the time when the adult age is reached, the vital body
protrudes only from one to one-and-a-half inches beyond the periphery
of the dense body.

    QUESTION: Why does the vital body of a child protrude farther be-
yond the dense body than that of an adult?

3] RESTORATION DURING SLEEP:

    During the daytime, when the solar fluid is being absorbed by the
dense body in great quantities, the points of the vital body are blown out
or distended as it were by the solar fluid, but as the day advances and
poisons of decay clog the physical body more and more, the vital fluid
flows less rapidly. In the evening there comes a time when the points 
in the vital body do not receive a full supply of the life giving fluid;
they shrivel up and the atoms of the body move more sluggishly in conse-
quence. Thus the Ego feels the body to be heavy, dull and tired. At
last there comes a time when the vital body collapses and the vibrations
of the dense atoms become so slow that the Ego can no longer move the
body. Then we say the body has gone to sleep. During sleep the vital
body rebuilds and restores the dense body through the medium of the
solar energy and the chemical and life ethers. The first and second
ethers work on the dense body to harmonize and revive it while the third
and fourth ethers, which are the vehicles of sense perception and mem-
ory, are taken with the Ego and the sheath of mind into the Desire World.
The healthier one is, the more easily this restoration process is accom-
plished.

    QUESTION: Why is sleep necessary?

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4] ARRANGEMENT OF CHEMICAL AND LIFE ETHER ATOMS:

    The atoms of the chemical and life ethers are shaped like prisms.
During life each prismatic vital atom penetrates a physical atom and
causes it to vibrate. To form a picture of this combination, imagine a
pear-shaped wire basket having walls of spirally curved wire running
obliquely from pole to pole. This is the physical atom; it is shaped
nearly like our earth, and the prismatic vital atom is inserted from the
top, which is the widest and corresponds to the north pole of the earth.
Thus the point of the prism penetrates the physical atom at the nar-
rowest point, which corresponds to the south pole of our earth, and the
whole resembles a top swinging, swaying, and vibrating. In this manner
our body is made alive and capable of motion.

    QUESTION: How is our dense body made alive and capable of motion?

5] NATURE OF LIGHT AND REFLECTING ETHER ATOMS:

    The light and reflecting ethers are of an exactly opposite nature to
that of the stationary prismatic ether atoms. They are volatile and
migratory. However, much or little a man possesses of this material, it
is an accumulation, derived from his finer experiences in life. When it
grows by service and sacrifice in life's school it is seen on the outside
as a soul body of gold and blue.

    QUESTION: Compare the atoms of the higher ethers with those of the two
lower.

6] THE SOUL BODY:

    The part of the vital body formed of the two higher ethers, the
light and reflecting ethers, is what we may term the SOUL BODY; that is
to say, it is more closely linked with the desire body and the mind and
also more amenable to the spirit's tough than are the two lower ethers. 
As the dense body assimilates particles of food and gains flesh, so the two
higher ethers assimilate our good deeds during life and thus grow in

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volume as well. According to our action in this present life we thus in-
crease or decrease that which we brought with us at birth.

    QUESTION: What is the soul body?

7] THE INVISIBLE HELPER:

    Those who have true spirituality have their religion rooted in the
vital body, set and persistent in the path it has once chosen. As new
forms are propagated through the second ether of the vital body, so the
Higher Self, the Chirst within, is formed through this same vehicle of
generation, the vital body, in its higher aspects embodied in the two
upper ethers. But as a child that is born into the world requires nourish-
ment, so also the Christ that is born within is a babe and requires to be
nourished by acts of loving service. As the Christ grows, the two higher
ethers grow in volume and form a luminous cloud around the man or 
woman sufficiently discerning to set his or her face Heavenward. By
the exercise of concentration it becomes possible in time to detach the
two higher ethers, and the man may then step away from his physical
body, leaving it for a time invested and vitalized only by the two lower
ethers. He is then what we call an Invisible Helper, and his work may
be done consciously. Probationers and Disciples, who live a pure life
and are sincere and loyal, also work as Invisible Helpers, through their
work may be done unconsciously, depending upon the degree of their de-
velopment.

    QUESTION: What is an Invisible Helper?

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                            LESSON NUMBER 7:    

                     MAN AND HIS BODIES (Continued):   

                      THE DESIRE BODY AND THE MIND:    

1] THE PURPOSE OF DESIRE:

    Minerals and plants have no motive or incentive to action due to
the absence of a separate desire body, which is the vehicle that expresses
desire and emotion. Man's individual desire body is responsible for
all his actions, good, bad or indifferent; it comes into active manifesta-
tion at about the age of 14 years. Some oriental philosophers instruct
their pupils to kill out desire, but that temper, which is a great menace
when it gains control, becomes a power for much spiritual growth under
proper guidance. We would not for one moment think of taking the
temper out of steel; similarly, the temper of the desire body must not be
killed, but controlled.

    QUESTION: What purpose does the desire body serve?

2] COMPOSITION OF THE DESIRE BODY:

    The desire body of most human beings is composed of material
from all the regions of the Desire World. The feelings of the most primitive
people are almost entirely concerned with the gratification of the

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lowest desires and passions, and we therefore find their bodies composed
of the matter of the lower regions of the Desire World. As man pro-
gresses in the school of life, however, experience teaches him to live
more in harmony with the laws of nature, and his desires become purer
and better. Thus be degrees the material of his desire body undergoes
a corresponding change.

    QUESTION: Compare the desire body of a primitive individual with that
of a highly spiritual individual.

3] CENTERS OF PERCEPTION:
    
    The desire body is the principal field of operation for the voluntary
nervous system and muscles, through which all activity takes place. It
has no sense organs, but has centers of perception through which the
clairvoyant contacts and gains knowledge of the desire world. These are
located at the pineal gland, the pituitary body, the larynx, the liver, the
sex organs, and the knees. The seed atom of the desire body is in the
liver, where the great central vortex of desire is located.

    QUESTION: What is the function of the centers of perception in the
desire body?

4] RESULTS OF ACTION OF DESIRE BODY:
  
    The activities of the desire body during waking hours are con-
stantly breaking down the tissue of the dense body. Those who have
given the matter study are familiar with the havoc which an emotional
upset may have on the physical body. Fear, worry, anger, etc., derange
digestion, interfere with the metabolic changes and elimination of
waste, and in short, upset the whole system. The effect upon our spir-
itual well-being is perhaps even more undesirable, no one being able to
make spiritual progress until he has in a measure learned to transmute
his desires and emotions.

    QUESTION: Why is it necessary to master our desire body?

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5] THE NATURE OF THE MIND:

    The mind is now in the first or mineral stage of its evolution. It is
not yet formed into a body, but is a luminous cloud composed of mind
substance which surrounds and interpenetrates the head. It is the
focussing point through which the Ego becomes aware of the material
universe and uses it for the acquisition of knowledge of that realm; the
age of its maturity is 21 years.

    QUESTION: Describe the mind.

6] IMPORTANCE OF THE MIND:
    
    The mind, which is the link between the spirit and the body, is the
path or bridge between the Ego and its vehicles--the only means of
transmission of SOUL TO SPIRIT. And by means of this bridge the Ego at-
tains self consciousness in the Physical World.

    QUESTION: State the special value of the mind.

7] THE DANGERS OF INTELLECT:

    The germ of the mind was given to man in the Atlantean Epoch to
give purpose to action, but as the Ego was exceedingly weak and the
desire nature strong, the nascent mind coalesced with the desire body.
The mind is thus bound up in desire; is enmeshed in the selfish lower
nature, making it difficult for the Spirit to control the body. The
Lucifer Spirits are the instigators of all mental activity, therefore he
who follows the intellectual path of development is subject to all the
temptation relative to the desire body: pride, envy, greed, lust for
power, et cetera.

    QUESTION: What important union is necessary before man can
attain to the highest development?
  
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                           LESSON NUMBER 8:

                       THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION:   

1] RELATION OF MAN TO THE DENSER WORLDS:
  
    We have learned that there are seven worlds or states of matter,
the highest being the World of God. The next highest is the World
of Virgin Spirits, whence we as sparks from the Divine Flame began
our evolutionary pilgrimage through the five denser worlds, namely,
World of Divine Spirit, World of Life Spirit, World of Thought, the
Desire World and the Physical World. The purpose of evolution is
the development of man's latent potentialities into dynamic powers.
    We will now consider how man is related to these five worlds by
means of his various vehicles or bodies, remembering that two of these
worlds, the Physical World and the World of Thought, are divided
into two main divisions, and that man has a vehicle for each of them.

    QUESTION: Name man's four bodies and tell to what world or
region each is correlated.

2] DIVISIONS OF THE SPIRIT:
    
    Man has potentially within himself three great powers, namely,
the Human Spirit, Life Spirit, and Divine Spirit. These are not sep-
arate spirits but are names for different emanations or manifestations
of the one great Spirit of man.

    QUESTION: With what worlds are these three spiritual powers cor-
related?

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3] FORMATION OF IDEAS:

    We, as Egos, function directly in the subtle substance of the Region
of Abstract Thought, which we have specialized within the periphery of
our individual aura. Thence we view the impressions made by the outer
world upon the vital body through the senses, together with the feelings
and emotions generated by them in the desire body, and mirrored in the
mind. From these mental images we form our conclusions.

    QUESTION: How do we form ideas?

4] ACTION OF THE MIND:

    The mind is like the projecting lens of a stereopticon. It projects
the image in one of three directions, according to the will of the thinker,
which ensouls the thought form.

    QUESTION: What are the three directions in which the image may be
projected?

5] KINDS OF MEMORY:

    There are three kinds of memory: the conscious, the subconscious,
and the superconscious.

    QUESTION: Define each of these.

6] ACTIVITIES DURING SLEEP:

    During waking hours the desire body and mind are constantly de-
stroying the dense body by their activities, while the vital body is con-
tinually striving to restore harmony and build up the physical body.
Finally the latter is overcome, it becomes drowsy, and the Ego withdraws
with the higher vehicles, leaving the dense body interpenetrated by the
vital body in the senseless state we call sleep. This is a period of intense
activity during which the poisons resulting from the mental and physical
activities of the day are eliminated.

    QUESTION: Why does sleep not always rest the physical body?

7] THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT:

    During life the threefold Spirit, the Ego, works on and in the
threefold body, to which it is connected by the link of mind. This work
brings the threefold soul, or food of the Spirit, into being.

    QUESTION: Describe the work of the threefold Spirit on the three-
fold body.

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                          LESSON NUMBER 9:    

                 THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION (Continued):    

1] THE SEED ATOMS AND THE SILVER CORD:

    At death the higher vehicles--vital body, desire body, and mind--
are seen to leave the dense body with a spiral movement, but are still
connected with it by a slender, glistening, silvery cord shaped much like
two figure sixes reversed. This cord is composed of ether, desire stuff
and mind stuff, being fastened to the dense seed atom in the heart, to
the seed atom of the vital body in the solar plexus, to the seed atom of
the desire body in the liver, and to the seed atom of the mind in the
frontal sinus at the root of the nose. During life the seed atom of the
dense body is situated in the left ventricle of the heart, near the apex.
At death the forces of this atom rise to the brain by way of the pneumo-
gastric nerve.

    QUESTION: Describe briefly what takes place at death.

2] THE PANORAMA:

    When the silver cord is loosened in the heart a time of vital im-
portance comes to the Ego. The whole of his past life passes before his
sight like a panorama, the events being presented in reverse order. This
record is etched into the desire body, providing the basis for the purga-
torial existence.

    QUESTION: Explain why the dying should be kept in an undisturbed
condition.

[PAGE 21]

3] PURGATORY:

    After death the collapse of the vital body terminates the panorama
and forces the man to withdraw in the Desire World. If the dying
man could leave all his desires behind him, the desire body would very
quickly fall away from him, leaving him free to proceed into the heaven
world, but unfortunately, in most cases his interest and desires bind
him to the Desire World.

    QUESTION: Describe briefly what takes place in Purgatory.

4] THE BORDERLAND:

    The region located between Purgatory and the First Heaven is called
the Borderland, which is neither Heaven nor Hell.

    QUESTION: What type of people are found in the Borderland?

5] THE FIRST HEAVEN:
    
    When the purgatorial existence is over the purified spirit rises into
the First Heaven, which is a place of joy without a single drop of bitter-
ness.

    QUESTION: Describe briefly the Ego's experience in the First Heaven.

6] THE SECOND HEAVEN:

    From the First Heaven man, leaving the desire body behind, eneters
the Second Heaven, clad in the sheath of mind containing the three seed
atoms with the quintessence of the three discarded vehicles.

    QUESTION: Describe briefly the Ego's work in the Second Heaven.

7] THE THIRD HEAVEN:

    Having assimilated the fruits of the last life, the Spirit ascends
into the Third Heaven for a period of rest and strengthening. After a
time there comes a desire for new experiences, and a new birth is con-
templated. Panoramas of the different lives offered are shown by the
Recording Angels and the Ego makes its choice.

    QUESTION: What is the purpose of rebirth?

[PAGE 22]

                          LESSON NUMBER 10:    

               THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION (Continued):   

1] SELECTION OF MATERIAL FOR NEW BODIES:

    After the Spirit has chosen its next earth life, it is necessary that
material be gathered for the new bodies.

    QUESTION: What determines the kind of material gathered for the
new bodies?

2] FORMATION OF THE NEW BODIES:

    The descent of the Ego toward physical rebirth resembles the
donning of several pairs of gloves of increasing thickness. Material for
each body is attracted from its corresponding world or region.

    QUESTION: Describe briefly the descent of the Ego toward physical
rebirth.

3] EPIGENESIS:

    It is important to remember that the returning Ego incorporates in
its vital body the quintessence of its former vital bodies and in addition
to this also does a little original work. This is done so that in the com-

[PAGE 23]

ing life there may be some room for original and individual expression,
not predetermined by past action.

    QUESTION: What is epigenesis?

4] FACULTIES OF THE CHILD:

    In the period immediately following birth the different vehicles are
all present, but none of their positive faculties are active.

    QUESTION: Describe the faculties of the child during early years.

5] BIRTH OF THE HIGHER VEHICLES:

    As the dense body is slowly prepared for the separate, individual
life within the protecting cover of the womb, so the other bodies are
gradually born and nurtured into activity.

    QUESTION: At what ages are the vital body, the desire body, and the
mind born?

6] THE BLOOD THE VEHICLE OF THE EGO:

    The blood is the highest expression of the vital body, and is the
means by which the Ego guides and controls its dense instrument. At
the age of 14 years the blood is made, and entirely dominated, by the Ego.

    QUESTION: What is the relation between the blood and the Ego?

7] THE LIFE CYCLE:

    In the present phase of human development man goes through cer-
tain principal stages in each life cycle, from one birth to the next.

    QUESTION: What are these stages?

[PAGE 24]

                           LESSON NUMBER 11:   

                       REBIRTH AND CONSEQUENCE:   

1] THEORIES REGARDING LIFE AND DEATH:

    Only three theories worthy of note have ever been brought forth to
solve the riddle of life and death. Of these, the doctrine of rebirth is
revealed by careful analysis to be the most sensible and logical.
    As evolution is a process of growth or development which is the
result of the experiences of man, one short span of life is not sufficient
to bring him to a state of perfection where no further experiences are
necessary. It requires many lives to reach this high state of attainment.
Life is in reality a school of experience wherein some have made much
more rapid progress than others, and this fact accounts for the inequal-
ity in people and their various stations in the world.
    The fact that man does not remember his former life is not an argu-
ment against this theory. We are all aware that we can only remember
the principal events in our present life. It is well known that many of
the great thinkers and writers of all ages understood, accepted, and
taught evolution through rebirth. A few examples of the works which
illustrate this are as follows: Wordsworth's "Ode on Intimations of
Immortality"; Goethe's "Faust"; John Masefield's (Poet Laureate of
England) "My Creed"; Rosetti's "I Have Been Here Before";
Oliver Wendell Holmes' "The Chambered Nautilus."

    QUESTION: Give a brief summary of the three main theories brought
forth to solve the riddle of life and death.

2] THE SPIRAL PATH OF EVOLUTION:

    Occult science teaches that all life evolves on a spiral path. Each
loop of the spiral is a cycle. Each cycle merges into the next, as the

[PAGE 25]

loops of the spiral are continuous, each cycle being the improved product
of those preceding it and the creator of those more developed states
which succeed it.

    QUESTION: Give facts to support the idea that the path of evolution
is a spiral.

3] JUSTICE A FACTOR IN THE LAWS OF REBIRTH AND CONSEQUENCE:

    After careful analysis it will be found that the twin laws are entirely
just, as well as logical.

    QUESTION: Explain briefly how these laws satisfy a sense of justice.

4] HEREDITY AND GENIUS:
  
    Without occult science much must be attributed to heredity. The
occultists have demonstrated, however, that heredity applies only to the
physical body and not to the moral or intellectual attainments. These
are acquired in proportion to the use we have made of our opportunities
in previous lives.

    QUESTION: What is genius and how acquired?

5] THE LAWS OF ATTRACTION AND ASSOCIATION:

    During the Ego's earth lives many relations have been established
with various people. These relations were pleasant or otherwise, in-
volving on the one hand mutually profitable associations as friends or
relatives; or on the other hand obligations not liquidated, or injuries
unatoned with the consequent feeling of a strong tie between the injured
and his enemy. An exact adjustment of accounts must eventually be
made.

    QUESTION: Why are we reborn into certain families and environ-
ments?

6] ASTROLOGICAL PHASE OF THE TWIN LAWS:

    The laws of Rebirth and Consequence are connected with the motion
of the cosmic bodies, the Sun, the planets, and the signs of the zodiac.
All move in harmony with these laws, guided in their orbits by their
indwelling spiritual Intelligences--the Planetary Spirits.

    QUESTIONS: Explain briefly how Astrology correlates with the opera-
tion of the Laws of Rebirth and Consequence.

7] WINE AS A FACTOR IN EVOLUTION:

    The great Leaders of humanity take everything into consideration,
the food of man included. This has a great deal to do with his develop-
ment.

    QUESTION: What purpose has the use of alcoholic liquor served in
our evolution?

[PAGE 26]

                           LESSON NUMBER 12:    

                   ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE:    

1] INSTRUMENTS OF THE EGO:

    It is the hall-mark of a good artisan that he is very fastidious as
to the quality and condition of the tools he uses, because he knows that
the work depends as much upon their excellence as upon his skill. The
Ego has several instruments which are its tools, and upon their quality
and condition depends how much or how little it can accomplish in its
work of gathering experience in each life.

    QUESTION: What are the Ego's instruments for acquiring first-hand
knowledge?

2] METHODS OF SPIRITUAL ENDEAVOR:

    The object of spiritual endeavor is the conquering of the lower
nature--union with the Higher Self--but to be efficacious the method
of seeking that union must be appropriate to the stage in evolution of
the aspirant. Eastern methods are unsuitable and dangerous for Western
people.
    The Rosicrucian method of attainment differs from other systems in
one especial particular. It aims, even at the very start, to emancipate
the pupil from dependence upon others, to make him SELF-RELIANT in the
very highest degree, so that he may be able to stand alone under all cir-
cumstances and cope with all conditions. Only one who is thus strongly
poised can help the weak.
    The Rosicrucian Order was started particularly for those who must
satisy the reason before before heeding the voice of the heart. Intellect im-
periously demands a logical explanantion of everything--the world mys-
tery, the questions of life and death. Therefore, the Western Wisdom

[PAGE 27]
         
Teaching purposes first of all to satisfy the aspirant for knowledge that
everything in the universe is reasonable, thus winning over the rebellious
intellect. When he can believe in his heart that which his head has sanc-
tioned, eh can start to live the life of purity and service which will un-
fold his latent spiritual faculties. HIS RATE OF UNFOLDMENT WILL DEPEND
UPON HIS OWN EFFORTS, and his ability to maintain poise and self-control
under trying circumstances will indicate the degree of his spiritual
attainment.

    QUESTION: How does the Rosicrucian method of attainment differ
particularly from others?

3] THE VALUE OF PRAYER:

    The Leaders of humanity instituted prayer as a means of bringing
pure and lofty thought to work on the vital body, and enjoined us to
"pray without ceasing." The spiritual aspirant who is following the
intellectual path particularly needs to cultivate the spirit of worship
and adoration which is necessary for true prayer, and when upon the
wings of love and aspiration, propelled by the intensity of his earnest-
ness, he has soared to the Throne of the Father, there may come a time
of sweet but silent communion more delightful than any other state
or stage.

    QUESTION: Give a brief analysis of the Lord's Prayer, pointing out
the correlation of its parts to the different vehicles.

4] CLAIRVOYANCE:

    What a man sees depends upon the sensitiveness of his eye. Some
people can distinguish objects at a distance which are invisible to other
people. Artists perceive shades of color which ordinary people cannot
distinguish and some people are color blind; there are even those who
cannot see at all--they are blind. The people who can see farthest or
distinguish the most delicate shades of color are more CLAIRVOYANT, or
clearsighted, than the rest.
    Thus, we may understand that a CLAIRVOYANT is a person whose sense
of sight has become so extended that he perceives another world, which
is invisible to most of us, and that he is able to see everything there.
There are two kinds of clairvoyance, or spiritual vision, however: the
positive and the negative. Positive spiritual vision is a definite faculty
as real as physical sight and as necessary to perception of the spiritual

[PAGE 28]

worlds and to true insight into superphysical conditions as physical
sight is indispensible to a comprehensive insight into material things.
It is accomplished by living a life of purity and "loving, self-forgetting
service to others," paying especial attention to the eating of pure food
and to the exercising of the faculties of observation, discrimination, and
devotion to high ideals. Thus the seven currents in the desire body are
developed into powerful vortices, the creative force is raised to the head
where the gap between the pituitary body and pineal gland is bridged,
and the aspirant becomes POSITIVELY clairvoyant, able to see into the
spiritual worlds AT WILL.
    The student should understand, however, that the evolving of vol-
untary clairvoyance is an arduous task, and this faculty, consequently,
is possessed by few, while negative clairvoyance, unfortunately, has
been developed by many who had no high ideals to prevent prostitution
of their faculty for gold. The trained clairvoyant must have given
proof of his utter unselfishness, and HE NEVER EXERCISES HIS FACULTY FOR
PERSONAL GAIN OR TO SATISFY MERE CURIOSITY.

    QUESTION: How is positive clairvoyance attained?

5] SPIRITUAL EXERCISES:
 
    Two specific exercies, retrospection and concentration, are given
by the Rosicrucian School to the aspirant on the path of preparation.
Both lead to the unfoldment of spiritual sight and power, the former
being especially important.

    QUESTION: Give a brief description of the morning and evening
exercises designed especially to aid in developing the latent spiritual
powers inherent in each individual.

6] SPIRITUAL TEACHERS:

    The Bible teaches us very clearly that we should try the spirits and
judge them accordingly. If we do this, we shall never be deceived by
self-styled teachers. The true Teachers, the Elder Brothers, who are
now preparing the conditions of evolution which are to prevail during
the Jupiter Period, have the consciousness pertaining to that Period.
Thus, they naturally and without effort use the external picture speech
by which they, when speaking, project pictures upon the consciousness

[PAGE 29]

of those whom they are addressing, and thereby at once give evidence
of their identity.
    The student shoud realize that no highly evolved teacher could
afford to give his time and energy to the instruction of a single pupil,
when he might just as easily teach a large number. Therefore, anyone
who thinks he is being visited habitually by an Elder Brother as an
"individual teacher" is being deceived. Self-reliance is the cardinal
virtue which aspirants are required to cultivate in the Western Mystery
School. No one is allowed to lean on MASTERS, nor blindly to follow
LEADERS. The Brothers of the Rose Cross aim to emancipate the aspir-
ants who come to them; to educate, to strengthen, and to make them
co-workers. At most, they only ADVISE and SUGGEST when asked for
assistance. The student will save himself from many pitfalls if he will
bear these facts clearly in mind.

    QUESTION: How may we recognize a true spiritual teacher?

[PAGE 30]

7] INITIATION:

    The general idea of initiation is that it is merely a ceremony which
makes one a member of a secret society; that it may be conferred upon
anyone willing to pay a certain price, a sum of money in most cases.
    While this is true of the so-called initiation of fraternal orders and
also in most pseudo-occult orders, it is altogether an erroneous idea
when applied to initiation into various degrees of truly occult Brother-
hoods, such as the Rosicrucian Order.
    Initiation is an INWARD EXPERIENCE, entirely separate and apart from
any ceremonial whatever, and therefore it is an absolute impossibility
for anyone to sell it to anyone else. There is no golden key to spir-
itual attainment; merit alone counts. Initiation can positively never
take place until the requisite inner development has made the aspirant
ready to be shown how to use his acumulated power. Initiation changes
a man's whole life. It gives him a confidence that he never possessed
before. It clothes him with a mantle of authority that can never be
taken from him. No matter what the circumstances in life, it sheds a
light upon his whole being that is simply wonderful. YOU MUST HAVE THE
SOUL POWER REQUISITE FOR INITIATION OR NO ONE CAN INITIATE YOU.

    QUESTION: What is true initiation?

Continued with file "RC4002.TXT"

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