Filename: RC5008.TXT




                              SEX EDUCATION 

 
QUESTION: There seems to be valid arguments for sex education in the 
schools, and it appears that more and more of our schools are including such 
instruction in their courses of study. Is this advisable? 
 
ANSWER: This question is hardly answerable with an arbitrary "yes" or "no". 
The problem of sex education, dealing as it does with such a fundamental 
(and inadequately understood) part of the complex human nature, involves 
many factors which should be considered if it is to be satisfactorily 
solved. However, we would say, in partial answer to this question, that, in 
our opinion, WHERE the instruction takes place is of much lesser import- 
ance than the nature of the information given and the manner in which it is 
imparted. 

  There is probably no other subject about which humanity in general needs 
to be accurately informed and educated. Until people learn that the creative 
function is not only a primary biological urge, but is also sacred--a phase 
of the Holy Spirit--and that we are destined to transmute the whole of the 
creative energy into mental and spiritual channels, they can hardly realize 
how serious an error (and how productive of future suffering) is the all- 
too-prevalent casual and deplorable attitude toward marriage and sex--as tra- 
gically evidenced in many of our movies, radio and television programs, 
newspapers, books, and magazines, as well as in the conduct of too numerous 
adults and adolescents. 

  First of all, there should be proper parent education. There is no greater 
career than that of parent and homemaker, and the sooner we give this fact 
due consdieration in arranging the courses of instruction given in our 
high school, colleges, and universities, the sooner will we get at the root 
of youth delinquency, sex crimes, etc. Fortunately, there is an increasing 
recognition of this need, and many of our schools are offering helpful 
courses dealing with marriage, parenthood, and home-making. 

  However, to approach the subject of sex education from the purely 
biological angle in these courses is not sufficient. Both parents and 
children should be taught that they are divine, made in the spiritual image 
of their Creator, God, and that the creative force within them is also of 
divine origin. Since children learn chiefly by imitation, it is obvious that 
they must have desirable examples set for them if they are to be encouraged 
to heed the spiritual urge of the higher self and live the moral life. 

  Parents who are properly informed concerning the true nature and function 
of the creative energy (students of the occult) are in a position to answer 
in a reverent way the natural questions a child asks. Unfortunately, many 
parents are not equipped with either the necessary information or the proper 
attitude, and in such cases it is obviously much better for the child to get 
wholesome instruction and imbued with a reverent attitude, a child is 
fortified to handle the temptations of puberty and later life with 
understanding and the aspiration to follow high moral standards. It is the 
duty of all parents to see that their children are given this life 
preparation, and they themselves can become better prepared for parental 
duties by studying such teachings as the following: 

  "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 
hermaphrodites who have this, as we think 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 
constituted 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 on the Earth in those days; the other that the patriarchs 
lived for centuries; and these two characteristics, great growth and 
longevity, are possessed by many plants today. The great size of trees and 
the length of their life is wonderful; they live centuries where man lives 
only a few score years. 

  "It is well known 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 plant so 
that the strength may go partly into growth instead of the blossom. Thus BY 
KEEPING THE SEED WITHIN ITSELF it attains the strength required for growth 
and longevity. 

  "That the creative essence in the seed is a spiritual substance is evi- 
dent when we compare the dauntlessness and impatience at restraint of the 
stallion 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 fruits of the spirit which make 
for 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 hermaphrodites 
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 regenera- 
tion. 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 our attitude in each and every single phase of 
life among our fellow men; 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 according to a satisfactory purpose; all of this depends upon the way 
we use the vital force. 

  "It is the Lucferian taint of passion which has brought sorrow, sin, and 
suffering into the world. When the creative power is used for sense gratifi- 
cation, whether in solitary or associated vice, with or without legal mar- 
riage, that is the sin which cannot be forgiven; it must be expiated. 
Humanity as a whole is now suffering for that sin. The debilitated bodies, 
the sickness that we see around us has been caused by centuries of abuse, 
and until we learn to subdue our passions there can be no true health among 
the human race. 

  "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." 

  "It is our earnest conviction that the less we read and think about sex 
the purer we shall be mentally, and also less liable to danger of morbid ha- 
bits. These are often formed by over-study of the sex question, and persons 
having a tendency in that direction should be discouraged in attempts to 
discuss the matter at all. The effects of continued transgression (mis-use of 
the creative force) are with us today; as a matter of actual fact, abuse of 
sex is in the most literal sense the primal source of sorrow, disease, and 
degeneracy under which the world is groaning." 

  "The power of passion to degenerate those who indulge in it is illustrated 
in the case of the apes, which have been held back and have degenerated in- 
to animal-like forms because of their action in abusing the creative force. 
Let us therefore continue steadfastly upon the path of purity. If we are 
tempted at any time by unclean thoughts, let us at once turn our minds 
to another subject far removed from sensuality. Above all, let us respect 
the laws of our country which require the ceremonial of marriage prior to un- 
ion; for though the words of the marriage ceremony do not mate people, it 
is, nevertheless, meet that we should not offend the common decencies by liv- 
ing together without wedlock. Those above the law render perfect obedience 
as Christ did, for when we comply with all laws without rebellion because it 
is right to do so, then we have risen above the law and are no longer in 
bondage." 
 
TRANSMUTATION: 
 
  Instead of seeking physical gratification when conscious of the surging 
impulses of the lower nature, if the individual will focus his or her 
thoughts and imagination upon something he or she desires to create--a poem, 
an invention, a picture, a musical composition, or some material 
demonstration such as a home or a new business venture--he or she will find 
that a double purpose is served. The objective demonstration will be 
accelerated and the process of transmutation or regeneration within his or 
her body will, at the same time, be noticeably stimulated. Physical exercise 
alone is also of help, but when accompanied by creative thoughts is more 
effective. 

  Meditation upon high and inspiring subjects has power literally to trans- 
form forces impregnating the sexual fluids, for these fluids are really 
carriers of etheric force, the true creative agent. An inspiring poem or 
passage from the scriptures can be the channel for immediate direction of the 
thoughts and creative power into uplifting currents. By consciously di- 
recting pure love currents from the heart into the creative centers of the 
brain, sexual activity may be transmuted into activities of mind and spirit, 
with a corresponding birth upon the mental and spiritual plane. 

  Every cell of the body is, or can be made, subject to absolute control of 
the Ego by means of the mind. It is possible to raise the body above the 
forces of physical passion and to center one's whole being in the currents 
of spirit. Patient persistence always succeeds, and the rewards are exceed- 
ingly gratifying: permanently better physical health, increased mental pow- 
er, purer desires, unfoldment of the innate spiritual faculties latent in e- 
very human being. 

  The sex-pervert, or sex-maniac, is a proof of the correctness of the 
contention of occultists that one part of the sex-force builds the brain. He 
becomes an idiot because of drawing and sending out, not only the negative 
or positive part of the sex force (according to whether male or female) 
which is normally to be used through the sex-organ for propagation, but in 
addition to that, some of the force which should build up the brain, 
enabling it to produce thought--hence the mental deficiency. 

  On the other hand, if the person is given to spiritual thought, the 
tendency to use the sex force for propagation is slight, and whatever part 
of it is not used in that way may be transmuted into spiritual force. 

  The Holy Spirit is the creative energy in Nature, and the sex energy is 
its reflection in man. Misuse or abuse of that power is the sin that is not 
forgiven, but must be expiated in impaired efficiency of the vehicle, in 
order thoroughly to teach us the sanctity of the creative force. 












 
                            TO THOSE WHO MOURN 

 
  "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4) 
 
  These words of the great comforter who visited the Earth two thousand 
years ago are brought to the minds of all during the Easter feast which 
brings joy to millions, for humanity is now awakening more and more to its 
true import. 

  Easter, which at one time was celebrated by the few Christians, is no 
longer only a Christian festival. It is no longer reserved for those who 
accept the sacramental bread and wine from the hands of their minister. It 
has now become a great day of rejoicing by peoples of all nations, and 
followers of all religions, as well as those who never see the inside of a 
church. 

  It has become a custom for people in rural districts as well as in cities 
to select a hill upon which they plant a cross and on the glad Easter day to 
meet in fellowship; worship as a community, regardless of race, creed, or co- 
lor; and in the name of the greatest Spirit that has ever inhabited a physi- 
cal body to worship the Universal Spirit, offering up praise and thnaks for 
the life and the light which were His part of the great scheme of God. This 
universal spirit of joy is expressed on a day which in memory brings to us the 
picture of a man nailed upon a cross. It pictures to humanity a face drawn in 
pain, a human body suffering in the agony of death. Why should all mankind 
rejoice on a day which is connected in memory with that act of brutality of 
two thousand years ago? 

  Man, in his lack of knowledge, his vague understanding of the justice of a 
loving Father, has made the grave a darkened sepulcher, a thing to be 
dreaded, and an end to all his aspirations and his ambitions. For ages he 
has feared this ending of physical existence and has made of it a time of 
intense mourning, a period filled with tears. BUT, this great Spirit who had 
power over life and death permitted Himself to be crucified; He came to the 
Earth for that great purpose. But the question may be raised: If we claim 
that Jesus the Christ had power over His life, then why did he permit the 
great indignities and cruelties which were perpetrated upon Him and why did 
He not save Himself from this undignified and cruel death? In the parable of 
the sheepfold in John 10, Jesus tells His hearers, "I am the good shepherd: 
the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Therefore doth my Father 
love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man tak- 
eth it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, 
and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my 
Father." We find another statement given by the Christ after the 
crucifixion, after He had suffered death on the  cross--when He had come 
back from the spiritual world to commune with His disciples. In the twenty-
eighth chapter of Matthew, the eighteenth verse, He again claims the same 
power. "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto 
me in heaven and in Earth." 

  The Christ came to Earth to teach mankind a particular lesson; and if He 
was destined to become the Savior of mankind, then the greatest lesson which 
He could have taught man was that of faith; faith in his God and faith in a 
life after death. By His very death Christ Jesus must bring to man faith, 
and the belief in a LIFE AFTER DEATH. He preached immortality, and to further 
impress this fact upon humanity, He must go through the throes of death in 
order to return to life and bring to man proof of an afterdeath life. To ac- 
complish this He appeared to His beloved disciples in His spiritual body. In 
I Corinthians, 15:6, Paul says, "After that, he was seen of above five 
hundred brethren at once: of whom the greater part remain unto this present, 
but some are fallen asleep." He walked and talked to them so that they might 
believe that what He had preached, the immortality of the soul, was a fact 
and that after man has laid aside his physical body, he still lives in a 
finer and more ethereal body. 

  Paul also brings man much hope in a life after death in the fifth chapter 
of II Corinthians, verses 1, 2: "For we know that if our earthly house of 
this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made 
with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring 
to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven." In the fifteenth 
chapter of I Corinthians, Paul again preaches to those who have no faith in 
the life after death. This wonderful chapter is used by the majority of 
ministers to bring comfort and faith to those who have been bereaved by the 
loss of their loved ones. "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a 
spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." 

  During the old dispensation and all through the Old Testament, man had 
very little hope in a life after death; to him the grave ended all. We find 
such discouragement when we read the ninth chapter of Ecclesiastes, the 
fifth verse, where the statement is made, "For the living know that they 
shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a 
reward; for the memory of them is forgotten."
 
  The Rosicrucian Teachings claim that man is an immortal Spirit, made in 
the image of God, for are we not told in the 26th verse of the first chapter 
of Genesis that God said, "Let us make man in our image?" Now if God is 
Spirit and man is made in His image, can we longer deny that man cannot die, 
or that if he did that a part of God would die? Can one imagine a great 
Spirit which would create a being like man in His own image and then permit 
him to die? Could such a being himself become a creator as God had destined 
him to do if one Earth life were all, and if, when man had lived his three 
score and ten years, he should pass out of existence with no further chance 
to become as his Father in heaven, perfect? If he but stops to reason this 
thing out he cannot but be convinced that man, too, must go on evolving, 
learning, in order to become all wise as his Father in heaven is wise, and 
that this cannot be accomplished in the few years of one short life. To 
learn these lessons on the Earth over which God gave man dominion, he must 
return again and again, and in each embodiment he must take up his cross of 
matter (his physical body). 

  It is through the physical vehicle that man must learn to become a creator 
like unto his Father in heaven; it is the toll which he uses in his efforts 
to master the numerous lessons of life so that he can be recognized by his Fa- 
ther in heaven as a son. This tool (the physical body) becomes tired, wears 
out; and it is necessary that the Spirit be given a time to assimilate and 
digest all the experience gained on Earth. Therefore, God has arranged that 
the Spirit step out of this worn-out old robe and function in its spiritual 
body. 

  When this occurs, man, with his limited vision, grieves over this change; 
to him it appears as a final parting from a loved one when this worn-out 
garment disintegrates and the loved one is permitted to function in a finer 
and a more ethereal robe, or body, one in which the individual is not 
limited by distance, nor can physical matter obstruct him in his progress. 
This is the spiritual body of which Paul tells us in II Corinthians, a 
building not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. In this vehicle our 
loved ones can visit us, and while we in our blindness may not have the 
spiritual eyes with which we can see them, yet they are none the less very 
near to us. They are still interested in our welfare, and when we need them 
they do not fail us; they encourage and help us more often than we realize, 
though by our very grief we may hinder their progress in this new life to 
which they have been called. 

  When a man enters into a sound sleep and his physical body is inert on the 
bed then he is awake and active in the realm of the spirit. He is no longer 
hampered by a physical body. However, he is tied to this vehicle by the sil- 
ver cord which leads him back again to his body upon awakening. During the 
unconsciousness of sleep he is in the land of the living dead and if he will 
he can communicate with his loved ones who are ever near him. 

  The Rosicrucian Fellowship student has this assurance of his nearness to 
those who have passed over in what is commonly termed death and does not 
grieve as do others who have no hope. He knows that his loved ones have not 
gone away, but, a John McCreery says in his poem, "There Are No Dead"-- 
 
They are not dead. They have but passed 
Beyond the mists that blind us here 
Into the new and larger life 
Of that serener sphere. 
 
  The actual knowledge acquired by the students of these advanced teachings 
has removed the sting of death, and they know that those who have laid a- 
side their mortal bodies are not dead but are now enjoying the freedom of 
life in the spiritual worlds. They are convinced that God did not build the 
house of man's soul, and inpsire the human Spirit with faith and love, to 
pull it down in death, to destroy His own handiwork. Man is God's master- 
piece, and as such this spark of divinity made in His image cannot die, else 
a part of God were destroyed. 

  The Christ willingly came to the Earth to be encased in a physical body, 
knowing that the result would be to bring hope and faith to mankind. He must 
die and rise again, thus proving to man that death is only a physical 
manifestation, a freeing of a divine Spirit. He came to a humanity blinded 
with the fear of the grave, to whom the grave was an abyss where the Spirit 
was swallowed up and lost. He found death the king of terrors, and knew that 
only He could restore man's faith in an immortal life and give him the 
assurance of being a glorified Spirit. He left these comforting words which 
should bring solace and faith to all who believe in Him: 
 
  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In 
my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told 
you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive 
you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:1-3) 
 















             THE ROSICRUCIAN METHOD OF CARING FOR THE DEAD 
 

  During life in the physical world, the human Ego works through its four 
vehicles: namely, the physical, vital, desire, and mental bodies, all of 
which are connected to one another by the silver cord. At night the Ego 
withdraws into the inner worlds taking with it the physical body, together 
with the vital body, lying on the bed. The Ego first brings about harmonious 
rhythm of the mind and desire bodies. These bodies work upon the vital body; 
the vital body then commences to restore the tired and worn out physical 
atoms to health and vitality. 

  This restoration can only be done during the time the desire body and mind 
are removed, for it is their activities which use up the physical energy 
during the day, and in order that the vital body may be freed to rebuild 
this exhausted physical vehicle, the Ego and the two higher vehicles (the 
desire and mental bodies) separate from the two lower vehicles, but remain 
tied by the silver cord. At death, when the physical body can no longer hold 
on to its higher vehicles, when disintegration must ensue, the Ego is forced 
to vacate its house, made of clay, which it has built and used for an 
allotted length of time, and in which it has learned many helpful and soul-
building lessons. It has now reached a period on the path of evolution where 
the Ego must take time for the assimilation of the lessons which were 
learned while functioning in the world of matter. Death is to the soul what 
sleep is to the physical body: a time of rest and recuperation so that the 
spirit may draw from these experiences greater soul power. 

  At death, the Ego leaves the physical body by way of the parietal-
occipital sutures, but instead of the vital body remaining with the physical 
body as is the case during sleep, it also leaves the physical body, together 
with the desire and mental bodies, for the spirit's work in the physical 
body is finished for this Earth life. The vital body has now a different 
work to do; it is no longer called upon to keep the physical atoms in 
health. 

  At death, the vital, desire, and mental bodies are seen to leave the 
physical body through the head. The spirit, which is leaving its earthly 
prison house to decay, takes with it its most cherished belonging, the seed 
atom, the only part of the physical which cannot die and which it brings 
back with it at each Earth life. During Earth life, there is a tiny atom in 
the apex of the left ventricle of the heart which is called the permanent 
seed atom. This seed atom of the physical vehicle has been used as a nucleus 
for a physical body ever since the spirit possessed a physical vehicle. When 
we speak of a permanent seed atom, we do not mean that the physical atom is 
used, but the forces which flow through it. These forces remain with the Ego 
through rebirth after rebirth, or until this particular spirit has finished 
its evolution in the physical world. Then these forces will be transferred 
to the seed atom of the vital body which will become the permanent seed atom 
of the next period. 

  Going back to our discussion of the Ego as it leaves its physical body at 
what is termed death, we find that the spirit is passing through a very 
vital and extremely important period. Friends and relatives should be most 
careful that their loved one is left free from excitement, grief, and 
disturbances of any kind: the body should not be mutilated and embalming 
fluids should not be used until 84 hours after the spirit has ceased 
functioning in the body. The reason for this is as follows: 

  At death there is a rupturing of the silver cord which the Bible speaks of 
in the 12th chapter of Ecclesiastes. This cord holds the higher and lower 
vehicles together and, at death, the rupture takes place in the heart, which 
causes this organ to cease beating. When this occurs, the Ego with its 
three bodies, namely, the vital, desire, and mental bodies, is seen by the 
clairvoyant floating above the head of the physical body for three and one- 
half days. During this period, the spirit is engaged in reviewing the scenes 
of its past life which have been impressed on the permanent seed atom in the 
heart. These impressions have been left on this seed atom by the blood. We 
are also taught from the Bible that the spirit is in the blood. The blood is 
the direct vehicle of the spirit. 

  The heart and lungs are the only organs through which all the blood in 
man's body passes in every cycle and the heart is the stronghold of the hu- 
man Ego. As the blood courses through the heart, the scenes of every passing 
moment are carried in the blood and engraved on the tiny seed atom. This seed 
atom is also impregnated with the experiences of all past lives, and from it 
many impressions come to man. These teach him the difference between good 
and evil, and thus they become his conscience. 

  Now the reason we hold it is necessary that quuietness reign in the house 
of death is as follows: The vital body is the vehicle used immediately after 
death to transfer the impressions of the seed atom in the heart to the seed 
atom of the desire body. During this work the silver cord is ruptured, but 
not broken. The Ego is still conscious of its vehicles, feeling and suffering 
to some extent, when the body is mutilated. When the spirit is disturbed dur- 
ing the transfer, the impressions are dimly etched, and the spirit in return- 
ing to rebirth in the next embodiment does not bring with it as keen a sense 
of conscience as it would have done if the etching had been clearcut, because 
in the Desire World it was not able to feel remorse for wrong doings nor joy 
over good actions as keenly as it would have if it had not been disturbed. 

  When the panorama has been fully etched into the desire body, the silver 
cord breaks and the Ego is free of its earthly house. The body should then 
be cremated since cremation frees the spirit quickly. It also offers a more 
sanitary method of body disposal. 

  Let us hope that humanity will soon be awake to the proper care of its 
dead, and that we will have a science of death as well as a science of 
birth. It is important that the person who is aware of the damage ensuing 
from improper handling of the body in the event of death should have in 
writing the intsructions he or she desires to have carried out for him- or 
herself. 

  A form is available, explaining the Rosicrucian methods for the care of 
the body immediately following death. It gives the procedure which the 
follower of the Western Wisdom Teachings accepts as necessary for the proper 
transition to the afterlife. 















 
                         GRANDPA RABBIT IN PARADISE 

 
    One lovely evening, when the briar roses were in full bloom and the 
carrot patch was bristling with fat, saucy carrots, Grandfather Rabbit, with 
a smile on his whiskers, slipped into deep, peaceful sleep. And, because he 
was a very old rabbit, he did not wake up again in this world. 

    Oh, there was no pain or any sadness. In fact, Poppy, as he was fondly 
called by his little grandchildren, died without even realizing what had 
happened. 

    Of course Poppy had had every intention of waking up the next morning, 
and so he did, but in a place totally unfamiliar to him. Not only that, but 
he felt more fit than he had in years, full of energy and more like a 
butterfly than a rabbit. "My goodness," thought Poppy, as he found himself 
unable to resist great leaps into the air, "how strange it is to feel so 
well, so youthful, at my age. And where am I, anyway? This is definitely not 
my carrot patch." 

    Actually, this place was not at all that great. It was a rather vague 
terrain with neither plants, nor trees, nor anyone at all. "I don't think I 
care for this," mumbled Poppy, and as he thought this thought he began to 
feel an urge to hop in the direction of a distant lane. "This is all very 
strange, but there is a charming lady rabbit up ahead who resembles my dear, 
departed wife, grandmother Rab." 

    Who do you think that was, waiting for Poppy at the end of the lane? It 
was indeed grandmother Rabbit, along with other members of his family who 
had gone before him. Poppy stopped practically in mid-air; unbelievable as 
it was, there they were, ears perked, soft eyes shining, their fur coats far 
more glossy than they had ever been in life. 

    "How happy I am to find you again," beamed grandmother. "See, we are all 
here," as Poppy's own beloved Mama and Father came to his side to bid him 
welcome. 

    Poppy was aghast. His mother read his thoughts. "My baby, you have re- 
turned to us from the Earth. You won't have to go back ever again. You can 
stay here with us." When Poppy could only continue to stare at her in glazed 
surprise, she said to him, "Come with me and you will understand." 

    It wasn't long before they found themselves in a great garden,  where 
beautiful, winged Angel Rabbits danced and played in the rays of the golden 
sun. In the center of the garden was a great hedge of majestic trees, encom- 
passing a large and ornate gate. And there, standing in front of the open- 
ing, was the largest and most lovable rabbit that Poppy ever could imagine. 
Her fur was white as snow, and her delicate pink nose was set between the 
most extraordinary and wise eyes. 

    "Come with me." She gestured for them all to follow her through a mar- 
velous park and in the direction of a kind of cabin which seemed to be float- 
ing in the clouds. 

    "Enter," said the Angel, "and look at your home and into the window 
of your burrow." 

    At this, Poppy cried out in surprise. For there on the bed, as peace- 
ful as could be, was Poppy's body. 

    "But I am here, and I am there! My goodness, I must be dead!" The Angel 
smiled as though she had been through this sort of thing many times. "Yes 
Poppy, your body is dead, but it was old and useless anyway, and you said 
yourself that you've never felt better than right now. What do you think of 
that?" 

    Poppy gazed lovingly at the dear ones whom he had thought to have lost 
forever and who had been found again after all, and he replied, "Beautiful 
Angel, if I am to stay here, it will make me perfectly happy. But what will 
become of my son and my little grandchildren, who are still on Earth? Will I 
never see them again?" 

    "Oh, but you can see them as often as you like, only they cannot see you 
at all. One day they, too, will arrive in Heaven and find you waiting for 
them as your wife and parents and many of your friends were waiting to see 
YOU. You have earned a rest, Poppy, for you were a very good rabbit. You 
were honest, devoted, and full of love and forbearance for everyone. Your 
reward is peace and joy beyond your fondest dreams." 

    Opening another gate, she guided Poppy Rabbit into a place so grand, so 
lovely, that no one can even describe it. More than something beautiful to 
see, it also was an experience of well being and peace which completely sur- 
rounded Poppy and his family. 

    "Oh, thank you, beautiful Angel. Never have I imagined anything so per- 
fect. is this truly Heaven?" he cried. 

    And in answer a voice was heard which said, "Because you never have 
judged anyone, because you brought laughter and song to Earth, and because 
you have always thought of me, your creator, in joy as well as pain, in 
work as well as rest, and because you have learned Earth life's lesson well, 
this time you are here forever. You have well earned eternal happiness." 

    And I can tell you that being eternally happy is what Poppy is, in his 
heavenly home.--Odette Renard



Continued with file "RC5009.TXT"



End of File

