SELF-DECEPTION

—

LESSON 191

The man who chooses from a statement of facts, or the expressed

opinions of another man only those features of the same which will

minister to his own vanity or otherwise favorably affect his personal

opinion of himself, and rejects in toto those which are to his discredit,

will inevitably fail of success in all the great purposes of life. Even the

harshest honest critic can scarcely fail to estimate more fairly the

motives and effects of a man's act than can the man himself.

Exactly as the reliable art critic must stand away from the picture,

the musical instrument, the voice, the piece of sculpture, in order to

form a fair estimate of the value of the work of the artist, so the honest

critic of his own acts or those of another human being must stand

away from the point of action. He cannot come too close in sympathy

or affection for others without becoming more or less identified with

the personal opinions of those others. His estimate of the motives and

effects of an act indulged in by those others, whatever its nature, will

be more or less modified. Distance is essential to impartial judgment ;

so the man who would conquer his own limitations and win a victory

over inhibiting conditions must be temperate minded enough to weigh

carefully the expressed opinions of others regarding his acts, however

invidious those opinions may appear to be. [TT 476]

How can any man protect himself from the wiles of the female

who reduces herself to a seeming nonentity in his company, pouts and

weeps over the cruelty of other men and women, while her tongue

carries the sting of a viper when out of his presence, if he has

overvalued his own power of discrimination and so cannot accept the

estimate other men place on the character of the woman ?

How can a woman protect herself from the vile machinations of

the man who, to gain his own ends, pretends to credit her with all the

virtues, graces and attributes of a goddess, if she has allowed herself

to be convinced that she possesses all those attributes and is therefore

a sorely misunderstood martyr to the false opinions of others, when in

fact those others may be endeavoring to protect her by their honest

criticism of her weakness and gullibility ?

How can a nation protect itself if its people will not heed the

warning, given by a friendly power in relation to the approach of a

dangerous enemy : and refuse to do so for the reason that in their self

sufficiency they cannot conceive of the necessity for armament and

defensive maneuvers ?

There are all degrees of self-deception between the extremes I

have mentioned, and some one of these degrees fits every man and

woman in the world. The closer one clings to his own individual

degree of self-deception, however slight it may be, the surer will it

lead him into pitfalls from which it may take him many incarnations to

extricate himself. The more conceited, the vainer the possessor of the

particular aspect of self-deception he has cultivated, the more

persistently and emphatically will he deny the existence of such

weakness in his character.

You may say, "If that be true, how then is one to become

enlightened ? how overcome such a limiting defect ?" It will not be an

easy task. It has been built up into a monstrosity by the "little things",

the minutiae of over-appreciation, through many lives, and, as is the

case with other personal defects, it must be torn down and removed by

steady, persistent effort. It is the most subtle, the deepest seated

characteristic of human nature, and the heart will bleed when it is

removed. But if it is the greatest hindrance to all power and

development, the soul, the observer of all the fluctuating phenomena

of life, should be ready and willing to bear the testing force.

So, however deeply it may sink into the consciousness, whatever

the hurt to pride, self-esteem or reputation, take the blow straight

between the eyes, whether it comes from friend or enemy, if it be in

the form of a personal criticism, and set yourself to find out what it is

in you that has been hurt, and to what extent you deserve the criticism.

[TT 477]

You will never convince your friend that he has been unjust, by

argument, or your enemy that he has been wrong, by a return blow.

There will be but one way to do either, that is, to rid your aura of the

rubbish, whatever degree of that rubbish you may have fostered, and

so become in fact the conqueror over the elementary force which now

rules mankind, instead of its protector as you now are.

...

"HIS LINE HATH GONE OUT"

—

LESSON 192

Only by means of the "line of God", the straight, true line, can be

constructed the outline of a perfect form and that form be made

permanent.

Every physical form or material object was originally built on the

perfect pattern form existing on etheric planes. To whatever degree

man has cultivated the attributes of God within himself, to that degree

can he reconstruct any corresponding line that has been broken down

or distorted in the outline of a physical body or an organ of a physical

body, and unless such lines can be reconstructed on the perfect lines

of the pattern form, it matters not what appearances or sensation may

promise, a diseased organ or body cannot be perfectly and

permanently made whole. The fact that mathematical and geometrical

laves could be applicable in any sense to the healing of a diseased

organ would not occur to the average man, yet an Initiate of the White

Lodge would apply those laves, to whatever degree was necessary, in

the healing of a diseased organ, providing karmic lave permitted him

to undertake such healing at all.

The perfect pattern, the first reflection of z form, is indestructible.

It is this form of which we find a record in Genesis. God made man in

His own image. It is the outline of the body of the soul. But the second

reflection of that form existing on one of the lower mental planes is

subject to change, and as the physical body is a more dense reflection

of the mental pattern, the fines, curves and angles of the physical form

must follow the fines, curves and angles of the mental pattern.

As only a Master could intelligently visualize the outlines of the

perfect pattern and also perceive similar outlines of the mental pattern,

only such an one could be absolutely sure of the position and

condition of the broken down or distorted portion of an outline, and so

feel assured he was not working further injury to the organ in

attempting the reconstruction of that portion of the outline. [TT 478]

Even as the White Magician would have the power to reconstruct

such fines, so the Black Magician would have not only the power to

build, but would more often use that power temporarily to break down

or distort those fines, thus bringing about conditions which would

make possible the development of disease germs within the physical

organ which corresponds to and which is in fact the basic material

form of that organ. But as all evil is impermanent and illusory, he

would not have power to render such conditions permanent. There

must inevitably come a time in one incarnation or another when the

true pattern would reflect a perfect pattern again on the mental plane.

The effects of the evil would have been counteracted.

The power to change or distort what were once perfect fines exists

to a less degree in every human ego, but without deliberate intent and

power of will such changes are very fluctuating, and especially in so

far as their effect on others is concerned ; but they may last

indefinitely or during the life . cycle of the personality, if destructive

thought forces are turned in such a direction to any great degree.

You have all doubtless met many persons who had what is

commonly termed "a true eye", that is, persons who had the power of

perfectly visioning or marking a straight fine, or of estimating the

degree of curve or angle of any visible form at a casual glance.

Without knowing it such persons may have something more than "a

true eye." Metaphysically speaking, they possess the "measuring rod

of God." That rod is one aspect of the attribute of truth. God cannot be

false in any respect, and the nearer man approaches Godliness, that is,

develops the attributes of God, the truer he will be in all respects.

However, a man may be true to some one ideal or principle and false

to another. He may have developed perfect vision, physical and

mental and even spiritual vision, and therefore be able to perceive the

true intuitively, whether it be a perfectly proportioned geometrical

figure or a true concept of a mental problem, and still be utterly false

in all the common relations of life. Therefore he would have

developed only one aspect of the attribute of truth.

Every aspect of the attribute of truth is developed in the Godman,

the Master of high degree. Therefore, the "measuring rod of God" is

his to use at will. He knows that every fine, curve or angle of the

various organs and divisions of the human body is built by exact

measurements, and he knows the units of such measurements. If a

certain part of the outline of an organ is displaced or distorted, he

would know exactly the number of units of bone or tissue substance

he must change to bring that part of the outline back to its original

state of perfection. And it is right here that a miracle may occur, so far

as a miracle is possible, for no possible exterior means could change

that outline back exactly to its original form. The Initiate must unite

the constituent elements of those units, must actually create the

substance he uses to reform or replace the broken outline and must do

this on the plane of the second reflection and therefore by means of

Kriyashakti and mental power.

If an extraneous object enters an organ of a physical body through

all the layers of cuticle and embeds itself in the flesh, the outline is

indented or changed, however minute the wound thus made may be.

Nothing in the fine of surgery or other extraneous means can render

that outline exactly perfect again. Wherever the cuticle is scarified the

outline is broken or distorted, and a similar outline in the mental or

astral body bears the same semblance. If the latter can be changed

back to the original perfect outline the corresponding physical outline

will regain its former appearance. Consequently, it is on that mental or

astral counterpart that the said Master must perform his operation if a

diseased organ is to be perfectly healed without leaving any exterior

sign of the process. The ability to perform such a seeming miracle is

due first to his development of the power of Will, secondarily to his

knowledge of the constituents of the substance we are agreed to call

mind stuff, and thirdly to his knowledge of higher mathematics and

geometry, and this gives one a clue to the Master's insistence on the

importance of these sciences.

...

WHY WASTE IS AN EVIL

—

LESSON 193

Among the commandments given by Jehovah to the Hebrews is

the following : "Thou shalt not kill." This is supposed to apply to the

murder of man by man, but the far reaching consequences of the

taking of life in other forms are very lightly considered, if at all, by the

majority of the people of the earth. The fact that every molecule of

matter is a conscious life on the path of evolution makes the taking of

the lives of even the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms a matter

for consideration, but if those lives are sacrificed to furnish sustenance

for higher forms of life the lesser lives receive an impulse toward

growth as a result of their close contact and association with other

hierarchies of lesser lives which have already been raised into other

kingdoms of nature . the lives which have become the basic substance

of blond and tissue as a result of their forced sacrifice. Just [TT 480]

so far as those lesser lives are sacrificed necessarily for the growth and

development of man, as well as for that of the lesser lives, the karma

for such action is overcome. The interdependence of both forms of life

is established by Divine Law. But when man willfully kills and wastes

such lives through his own carelessness, cruelty and selfishness, in

whatever form they come inter his hands, he is committing the sin

which may be designated . murder.

It is no wonder that so many homely household proverbs in all

languages have grown out of the ides of waste, for while the severe

lesson taught by waste is very apt to come home to the waster with

crushing effect at some time of life, the soul itself cries out in warning

to every sensitive person when brought to face waste in any form, and

the mind viii shrink from committing such waste unless is still too

undeveloped to sense the cry, or has crushed of his soul so long he is

no more moved to action. He is not apt to realize that, by the wasting

of fond material which would have sustained life he is compelled to

take, or induce others to take by purchasing their products, countless

other lives which might. have been left to growth, he is thus

responsible for the commission of that crime against Divine Law. It is

useless to say he is not responsible for the taking of those extra lives,

and that the materials would lie on the market unused if he did not

purchase them, for that is not true.

The lave of supply and demand would take care of all such

matters if man would permit, and would live close enough to nature to

allow the lave to function for him ; but he has defied all these laves

and created unnatural conditions to which he is now bound.

The unity of life and the interaction and interdependence of all

lives is beyond the realization of the average man. When the life blond

or life essence has been freed, in the killing of animals, or gathering of

grain or other forms of plant life, and the foodstuffs so secured are

prepared by fire or other means into palatable fond, it is generally

believed that life is ended for the animal or plant. The fact that

elemental lives have been freed, and different hierarchies of these

elemental lives have been welded together by fire, causes the natural,

result, i. e., revolt of the fiery lives, and it is their action on the body

and mentality of man which brings about the karmic action of disease,

or mat' be instrumental in bringing about poverty and want, which are

the sequel to the waste,

The laves above referred to are as applicable to the willful waste

of spiritual and mental forces, as to more concentrated matter. Man is

as responsible for the waste of the higher forms of elemental life as for

the lover. It is said that man must give an account of every idle word .

then why must he not account for every other waste ?

Take this lesson to heart, study it in all its bearings and see if you

cannot discern the logic and justice of my deductions.

...

AS A GRAIN OF MUSTARD SEED

—

LESSON 194

One of the greatest hindrances to understanding the purpose and

accomplishing the given result of directions imparted to his disciples

by an Initiate of the White Lodge lies in the efforts made by the

disciples to confuse the issue and refuse to believe that the simple

natural form in which it is given does not hide some abstruse problem

which requires divine wisdom to solve.

No statement made by Jesus of Nazareth to His disciples or to the

multitude conveyed a deeper truth or one couched in more simple

language than did that which runs as follows : "If ye have faith as a

grain of mustard seed ye shall say to this mountain, remove hence to

yonder place and it shall remove." Yet that statement has been made

the base of tomes of literature of various kinds. It is used as the

fundamental tenet of any number of faith cures, as it well might be if

it were accepted as it vas given . a simple statement of fact. Faith is a

mighty engine, and like other engines it requires a definite form of

power, a well qualified engineer and a given purpose if anything is to

be accomplished by its use. But it is something more than an engine ;

it is a superhuman instrument which has grown by accretion, and

according to the laves which govern its plane of existence.

You will note, Jesus said "faith as a grain of mustard seed." The

word as holds the clue to whatever mystery mat' be accredited to the

statement. In order to grow ; a mustard seed is planted in the earth, i.

e., in darkness, coldness, shut away from its kind, atone, there to lie

until the natural laves which govern growth, the application of

moisture, heat and the nourishment of mother earth have brought it to

germination, burst its shell and shot it up into another plane of

existence, that is, into the light and life of the sun and air.

Yet, in the application of Faith the average believer in its power

would seek for a full grown entity whose power of accomplishment

vas phenomenal, in that mere belief in its existence vas sufficient to

accomplish miracles, despite the fact that this believer mat' dent' the

[TT 482] possibility of miracles, and rightly so, as there are no

miracles, this very matter of Faith being a proof of the truth of that

statement. The faith by means of which great deeds are done by man

must develop and grow under circumstances that exactly correspond

to the growth of the mustard seed. It is rot a ready made tool for use at

any moment and by anyone. It is "as a seed" in the soul of man and

must develop under conditions analogous to those of the mustard seed.

As the seed develops in the darkness and coldness and loneliness of

earthly life, and grows by the light of the Central Sun it becomes like

unto the mighty engine to which I have referred ; but then that engine

must be operated according to the laws of the plane it has entered. The

nucleus of the seed of the mustard will rot permit that seed to expand

into an oak tree ; it will only grow mustard ; neither will the nucleus

of Faith develop any other attribute or thing ; it will always be just

Faith, one of the mighty engines by which the Christs build worlds

and men, and destroy them as forms.

What the average person means to convey in his use of the word

Faith is merely a certain degree of belief in the power of a divine

being. What the advanced occultist means by his use of the same word

is a universally diffused form of force or energy which in one sense

might correspond to the action of electrical energy, a form of energy

or substance which is one of the constituents of every atom or

molecule of physical substance, and therefore like every other

constituent of matter is capable of growth, extension, expression and

final disintegration and dissolution. The Faith which the high Initiate

has developed in himself is closely akin to the energy of Will.

...

THE JUNCTION

—

LESSON 195

It is rot difficult for the normal human being to perceive the

outlines, the uses, the possibilities of a finished product, but it is

indeed difficult to perceive the design and purpose of an uncompleted

object by means of any one section atone, yet the occultist is

frequently called upon to do so. When the average person attempts to

formulate some idea concerning the physical plane his mind naturally

turns to visible objective forms of his own little world. It does rot

occur to him that there is an actual state of matter, a universe in itself,

just below and another just above the physical plane, wherein are

constantly occurring [TT 483] all the changes which make his world

what it appears to be to his senses. These intermediate planes or states

of matter are rot those to which the term "astral" has been somewhat

promiscuously applied, but are exactly what the term "intermediate"

implies. It is within these planes that occurs all the vibratory action

which changes the substance of one form into that of another, and

these changes occur under the direction of definite laws which pertain

to those atone and are completely under the direction of the Divine

Builders of Form. There is a certain correspondence between the

under and overtones of music and the intermediate planes, as there

also is between Life and Death, and between Fire and Flame, etc. To

the psychic and the dreamer the phenomena of the intermediate planes

are observable by means of the psychic senses, but neither one is able

to bring back to the waking senses the consciousness of the processes

of change, or of the laws which govern the same. He mat' perceive the

almost immediate change in one form or another ; for instance, a well

known face mat' change form and features ; the watt of a building mat'

crumble and reform on different lines, labyrinthine paths mat' lead

into or cross each other without visible cause, whole cities change into

other cities while there would appear to be no purpose to be served, no

object to be gained by such changes. But if the physical or astral eyes

might pierce those planes where the changes were instigated and

carried out, and the human Ego could guide the elemental forces

producing such changes, the process of changing an undesirable

quality, characteristic or feature into more acceptable form would be

much easier than is possible by the slower methods of undirected

nature.

A junction is a point where two or more lines meet, and the term

seems peculiarly apt in referring to an intermediate plane.

The idea of a 4th dimension of space is commonly accepted, but

that there mat' be a 5th, a 6th, and a 7th dimension of space is rot so

well understood, nor is the fact that these dimensions are in fact

junctions between definite states or planes of substance wherein is

accomplished the evolution of the human soul.

The 4th dimension of space, the "withinness" of matter, as it is

sometimes termed, and the first intermediate plane beyond the

physical are identical. The instability of matter is a well recognized

fact, but that there is a definite point or place wherein the impulse to

change form-to pass from one state of vibration into another is given

and the change accomplished, is rot of common knowledge. The

changes which appear on the physical plane take place in the cells of

the objective form, and eventually appear in some modification of that

form. The changes which take place in the substance of the Astral and

Mental bodies first occur in the molecule and atom ; but it must be

remembered [TT 484] that the changes are instigated and produced on

the intermediate planes between the full planes upon which substance

is stabilized to a much greater degree.

To the physical eye such changes as occur in outer forms appear

to be somewhat dependent on time ; but time is not a factor in the

production of such changes on interior planes. It is on the intermediate

planes that the Initiates, the great Masters, accomplish their seeming

miracles, and whether consciously or the reverse it is on these planes

that the human Ego must work to change any part of his nature. If

physical man desires to make such changes more rapidly and

intelligently than they are being made by nature he must strive to

identify the lower mind with the Higher Mind in order that he may be

able to observe the action of controlling laves of substance on all

interior planes, for those laves differ greatly from the laves which

govern matter of lower rates of vibration,

Every quality or characteristic in the nature of man has taken a

definite form in the individual aura, and is subject to change. As

before said, changes may be made by man, but in order to make them

man must understand somewhat of the nuances of form and of the

significance and subtleties of curve and angle, line and square deep

mysteries which only the Higher Self can solve. This is one more to

gain the needed identification with the Higher Self.

Every conscious effort he makes takes him another step toward

that end, and the step which brings him to a realization of the

aforementioned intermediate planes or junctions on which the real

work of changing farm takes place is a most important step.

...

SELF-RESPONSIBILITY

—

LESSON 196

In a previous communication to Templars, on the subject of self-

responsibility, I stated in effect that a single individual might defer the

advent of an Avatar for a definite length of time. Many Templars have

looked askance at this statement, others have refused even tentatively

to accept it, owing largely to the fact that they are not capable of fully

accepting the philosophical viewpoint of the Initiates on the subject of

Centralization . centralization of power, of energy, of force, of every

constituent of gross matter, and of the geometrical lines of influence

which guide, attract and crystallize, and finally solidify and

disintegrate the minor crystallized. divisions of every ion, atom,

molecule and cell which is responsive to one or the other of the seven

major tones or keys which control the said fines of influence, and

which therefore are primarily responsible for the raising and lowering

of the vibratory pulse of all matter in manifestation on the physical

plane throughout a manvantara.

It requires a strong analytical and mathematical turn of mind to

divide and subdivide and remold into a definite mental form, possible

of expression by words, all the various aspects of Centralization ; and

unless one has the power of raising the personal consciousness to a

state corresponding to one or all the fines of influence of the seven

keys aforementioned, it is difficult to grasp the subject in its entirety.

It depends upon the ability to do this how far it is possible to grasp the

deep truth I endeavored to express in the words of the message

referred to in the beginning of this communication, and it depends

upon how far even the average human being can identify his

consciousness with the central cell of each form of differentiated

substance within the fine of influence where evolutionary lave has

placed him, how near he can approach the state of evolution

commonly referred to as adeptship.

If the central cell . the mind and soul . of a human being within

the same fine of influence as that which enfolds the individual Ego of

one who has reached adeptship (and who therefore may possibly

fulfill the duties of an Avatar to all within that fine of influence) shall

set his will and mind against the outer expression of that particular

Avatar, he can set in motion elemental forces which might greatly

hinder the appearance of the latter for a limited time. Such an

individual might not even be conscious of the effect of his fine of

action, as a child on the physical plane might easily and innocently set

fine to a valuable building by some careless act, or as an evil minded

person might willfully and deliberately commit a similar crime ; it

would be the action of the fire itself which would destroy or injure the

building ; neither child nor man could be classed as the effect,

although one or the other might be the cause of the fire.

It might be the use of the stored up power in the man and his

position within the fine of influence that would make possible such

temporary inhibition as I have mentioned in the case of an Avatar, but

it would be the character of the energy set free by his acts that would

be the determining factor in such inhibition ; and the stored up power

which made possible his action would necessarily be the fruits of

previous efforts at gaining control of the centralized forces of some

one or more forms of substance. That central point or spark in every

cell [TT 486] or division of mental or physical substance is the point

of connection between spirit and matter. It is the individual

consciousness of that cell or division, and the greater man's

recognition and control of the central cell of any form of substance

beneath that which constitutes his own vehicle of expression, the more

potent for good or ill are the effects of his acts.

If I were to tell you that barely seven people, four men and three

women, were the points of precipitation, the avenues through which

the powers of disintegration, slaughter and destruction were

preeminently active at this era . one in each of the seven major

divisions of the earth . and that not all of them were perfectly

conscious of the measure of their use, you might feel justified in

disputing my statement, yet it is true. All other exterior influences at

work to create the present conditions in all the great nations of the

world are secondary, although many of them are aware of their being

used for such purposes.

When any great issue comes up which affects the world as a

whole to a supernormal degree it has been precipitated by two

centralized powers or individuals, one on either side of the problem

presented ; one is positive to the other's negative. Every secondary

power or individual who consciously or unconsciously thwarts the

action of the law which provides for a true and just solution of the

problem, retards the action of that law.

The fact that such a great issue has arisen is a very sure indication

that the evolutionary forces have forced the issue, whatever may seem

to be the contributory causes. Even the crude laws of combat between

man and man have a large measure of divine initiative behind them ;

the third person who steps in between the combatants, or who

endeavors to trip or throw or over-encourage one or the other by overt

acts, is the real enemy to both.

When the great issue has been settled the secondary or

contributory causes may precipitate other issues, but they would not

be of like import. Here again I revert to the primary cause of this

communication, namely, the necessity for e better understanding of

the laws of Centralization, and of personal responsibility, by students

of life who are striving for the apples of wisdom, the fruit of

knowledge, for they are the fundamental laws of all progress.

...

THE AVATAR

—

LESSON 197

The great test of the degree of development a human soul has

reached in this Messianic Cycle will be whether it is a matter of vital

[TT 487] importance as to what form . or even whether there be any

visible form . the coming Avatar of the human race will choose in

which to perform his mission to man.

Unless a man has evolved to the degree where it will have

possible for him to interiorly recognize the presence of the contact is

made within the Auric Sphere of the earth, he might be as easily

deceived, as many men are now deceived, by the claims of those who

declare themselves to be Avatars of the present age, soul of a man is

evolved to the degree referred to, it will be a matter of indifference to

him personally whether that Avatar will appear in a physical body or

not, for he will know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that the long

sought is at hand when He comes, as surely as one would be conscious

of an electric shock, even if there were no dynamo or battery in sight,

when one received that shock.

In the process of development, one would have created within

himself a psychic center of action within which a response would be

aroused by the mental stimulus of another who was attuned to the

same key.

Perfect devotion to, and inter-communication with, the Christos,

would attune the consciousness to the key-note of the Christos, and

every Avatar of the Christ strikes the same key, to use a homely

illustration.

If you are a sensitive, the presence of a beloved one in your

immediate vicinity is known to you at once. You have no need to

argue the question with yourself, or to turn about to face the physical

form of that loved one. Then how much greater would be the magnetic

attraction of the vehicle of the Christos to whom your soul was drawn.

There is always a measure of doubt, or unbelief, if man must see

with his outer eyes before he can recognize the Truth.

...

THE NUMBER SEVEN

—

LESSON 198

Though it tax your belief to the breaking point, I must repeat

again, and yet again if necessary, a statement made to the original

group of seven disciples called together by the Initiates of the White

Lodge in the year 1898 to form the nucleus of a future organization.

[TT 488] This statement was in effect that the seven said Initiates had

labored diligently for centuries to secure seven highly organized

psychically sensitive disciples in incarnation at one tune, who would

remain faithful and obedient during the necessary period of their

chelaship, in order that they might gain the knowledge and power

which would enable them to work in collaboration with the Initiates

for the further enlightenment of the more intelligent people of the

world, in ways absolutely necessary for growth on interior lines of

life. As I then told the selected seven who formed that first group, it

remained to be seen how far success would crown the efforts of the

units of the group. As the natural span of life for the humanity of the

present races of the earth does not allow for more than 50 years at

most, in which man in his prime is capable of strenuous, long

protracted mental and physical exertion, it tan be readily perceived

that many vacancies must have occurred in groups previously formed,

before their units were fitted for the work to be accomplished ; and t

as part of the necessary training leads to the prolongation of life, the

failure or death of even one, at a critical point in training, would leave

the group incomplete and valueless as a group, unless the vacancy

could be filled at once.

It is now tune that some of the information given to the first

mentioned group should be somewhat extended, for there should be

those among the students of life who would be fitted for any vacancy

which might occur in such a group.

One cause for the secrecy maintained in regard to Numbers by the

Masters of Wisdom is the difficulty encountered by the average

human being in comprehending the nature of the substances which

constitute the first four planes of manifestation. Finite minds are not as

yet capable of cognizing the nature of the finer forces or energies, and

their relationship to number, although their effects are noted under

different names in all the ancient philosophies. It is not until they are

reflected or radiated, i, e., until the Three become the Four and Seven,

that their nature becomes even approximately understood and noted

by the senses of man. This is soon apparent to the inquirer who seeks

to discover by mechanical means the secret which only the key of

touch, i. e., feeling, will unlock.

Science has striven in vain to discover the source and ultimate

nature of Light, Electricity, Heat and Gravity . the Four which

become the Seven by differentiation (the last three are Magnetism,

Chemical affinity and Cohesion). To reach a better understanding of

the main point under discussion . the necessity for a group of seven

human beings . it is well to postulate a Central Spiritual Sun as the

basic source of the above mentioned energies and of all forms of life

in manifestation within the sun and planets of a solar system. The

recipients of the radiations from the Central Sun take the form and

nature of the said energies and it is as various degrees of those

energies that they become evident to the senses of man on this earth.

Somewhat as the spokes of a wheel reach the circumference from

the hub, the seven direct rays or energies pass from the Central Sun to

the center of the objective sun, thence to its circumference, and again

to centers of groups of nebulae, which will become centers of other

planets, and thence to man.

The heart of every human being is an embryonic center of a world

to be, a point of attraction, as it were ; but in order to receive and be

able to respond to the action of the said energies, from the center of

the earth, for instance, they must pass first through the seven most

highly organized and highly evolved Beings upon or within the earth.

These Beings are vehicles for the transmission of attenuated forms or

degrees of the energies referred to. They are sometimes erroneously

termed Gods ; they are in fact Masters of very high degree. In turn

there must be seven lesser beings, end again seven times seven,

through whom in constantly lowering degrees those streams or fines

of energy must pass in order to safely reach and accomplish their

divine mission of growth and development in the masses of less

developed human beings, and thence to the heart Center of every other

living creature. It is by means of the said energies and their

differentiated degrees that all matter in manifestation is created and

maintained, and he who comprehends the exactness of all the laws

governing physical life understands that there tan be no variations in

the enforcement of those laws.

In our postulate I have given you some idea of the methods and

principles involved, but no human intellect tan grasp the reason for the

use of the numbers, Three, Four and Seven throughout every center of

manifested We know their use is the effect of an action of universal

law, and must be satisfied with that knowledge for the present. The

Masters of high degree select such groups from their personal

disciples as are necessary for the furthering of their work. Positions in

groups are not matters of choice by the disciples. If a single vacancy

occurs in a selected group of seven units, by the passing from earth or

the failure of a unit, the perfect interchange of thought and the seven-

fold division of Masters who direct their action is broken. The work of

the Masters far that group is jeopardized if the vacancy cannot be

filled. [TT 490] the privileges of the units of such a group are many,

the responsibility is great.

By means of the intercommunication established between Master

and disciple it is possible for the Master to so instruct the disciple that

he may become a conscious instrument for use in the evolution of

lesser orders of the kingdoms of nature, at the same time that he is

becoming a unit of a center which will ultimately become the nucleus

of a larger organized body, and so aid in enlightening the masses of

humanity. Thus, as it were, on strictly mathematical principles, a

direct fine is established from the Central Spiritual Sun through the

fields of spiritual as well as material life. I say spiritual life, for spirit,

is the guide, the director of all the forms of energy which constitute

life in manifestation. Naturally I tan gave you but little more than

correspondences in such an article as this, but those correspondences

or hints may be of incalculable importance if you will be guided by

intuition in reaching conclusions. However, you must bear in mind

that the energies mentioned are conscious spiritual entities on their

plane of manifestation, and that it is only the effects of their action on

their own plane which appear as forms of energy to the senses of man

on the physical plane.

It is perfectly true that from each solar orb are radiated the

streams of energy which supply life force and power of growth, in

fines of mathematical precision, to each one of the heavenly bodies

belonging to its solar system. In their passing the ether is thrown into

waves.

The more highly a human being may be developed the greater the

possibility of aligning his consciousness with that of the spiritual

Beings who are the vehicles of transmission to and fro from one plane

to another, of the finer forces of nature, and the more surely tan he

attract and use those nature forces.

All other forms of energy in operation within the physical plane

are combinations or differentiations of two or more of the seven

before-mentioned energies. There is a perfect system of interchange

and interaction between the seven streams of energy as they pals from

sun to the various bodies of its solar system and thence to all the

centers of life upon or within those bodies. Full knowledge of this

system is known only to the Masters of Wisdom who have become ;

as it were, perfect dynamos of tremendous power, and as a result of

their control of the nature spirits they are able to direct some measure

of those streams of energy into the channels which tan be used by

them for the benefit of the world at large and so help on the evolution

of the units of that world Those channels are the seven-fold 'groups of

which mention has been made. [TT 491]

HEALTNG

—

LESSON 199

Possibly I may shock or discourage those among my children who

have accepted modern interpretations of a philosophy as old as the

world, and who in their efforts to reconcile two or more irreconcilable

phases of that philosophy have given the mongrel result the title of

new thought ; but I am hoping that deeper consideration and thorough

investigation will better enlighten those who have accepted the view

presented by the original founders of the various present cults.

First of all you must consider the natural tendency of the human

mind avidly to grasp and strive to apply any fact or theory which gives

promise of immediate relief from painful or undesired conditions.

How eagerly they read or listen to the gleanings from any and every

exposition obtainable which appears to confirm their accepted theory,

and reject in part or in toto the gleanings which appear to oppose or

refute a theory founded on the same expositions. This natural trend of

the human mind is so obvious that it does not require a very brilliant

intellect to grasp and use a theory which seems to offer personal

advantage as a base for propaganda, and you may note that the

majority of the "New Thought" teachers have seized upon some

method of healing or of gaining material wealth, and put it forth as the

ultima thule of all endeavor. The very sound or sight of the word

Spiritual is seized by the imagination and generously applied to the

aforementioned methods.

The suffering from what are at the very most temporary forms of

disease, and the deprivations suffered from what are equally

temporary conditions of so-called poverty are far less acute than are

other forms of suffering which the human being is capable of

enduring.

The qualities of patience, courage and endurance, attained in one

life period, might render the sufferer immune to the greater suffering

in other fines ; but this fact is tabooed or scoffingly denied.

In many instances the immutable decrees of the laves of Karma

and Reincarnation are either denied or twisted into a form which

would appear to justify the theory advanced. The illusory plane of

gross matter takes precedence in the minds of those theorists over

what are in very fact the real planes of life, and this despite all their

idealistic descriptions of life after death upon those planes, and their

desirability as a dwelling place ; Were such not the case a vaster

knowledge of those decrees of possible while their present limitations

obtain. That they are right in so far as their conception of the power 'of

thought is concerned, is [TT 492] indisputable, but they are often

wrong in their application of the power, and ignorant of the nature of

the instrument used to accomplish their desired ends. Necessarily their

thoughts are focused on the physical plane to a great degree, and this

prevents the wider sweep of the soul on interior planes of life.

No intelligent mind can deny the fact that certain results are often

accomplished by the application of mental force ; the main point at

issue here is whether such results would be desired by the individual

who is treated by the said methods if he were aware of the ultimate

effects, For instance, if a man is afflicted with a disposition toward

some one form of cruelty, however concealed from others or

discredited by himself, the fact of its existence at this time is the result

of repeated acts of cruelty by himself in former incarnations. Cruelty

is an evil which must eventually be eliminated from the mental sphere

where it has developed to an abnormal degree, and as every mental

inhibition or undesirable quality must be eliminated by means of a

definite process which necessitates its manifestation in gross form . a

lower vibration of matter . that tendency to cruelty may be

materialized in some form of disease. If that disease were eliminated

by means of a higher, a spiritual force, before the Ego had succeeded

in reducing that tendency toward cruelty, a spiritual force would have

been misdirected, the tendency toward evil would remain unchanged,

necessitating an increase of suffering in later life or in future lives.

While the above only illustrates one point of my argument it may

be of interest to you to learn that such a form of cruelty as is the

suppression of sympathy, which is evident in the cases of many

votaries of the old or New Thought, may easily result in one particular

of disease in the body. The inconsistency of many devotees of the

theorists is a bar to belief in their teachings in the case of a logical

mind ; for when they vigorously affirm that spirit (their particular idea

of spirit) is all in all, and by their methods of treatment claim to be

perfectly capable of applying the said treatment for the eliminator all

forms of evil, while subsequently they make exceptions showing that

other, more material means are necessary for treatment in exceptional

cases, it is difficult for them to convince a logician as to the

infallibility of their methods.

The Initiate, Paul, voiced a statement which should be of interest

to that section of New Thought healers who claim to use the power of

Faith alone as a means to the healing of all disease. He said, "Faith

without works is dead." Faith void of obedience to the laves which

govern the plane of action upon which it is applied is truly ineffective.

The works to which Paul referred must be concerned with the matter

or substance of the plane upon which the energy of Faith is acting at

the time being. The universal laves which govern the plane of mind or

soul decree that the substance of mind can only operate within its own

plane . its particular rate of vibration. The governing laves of

substance or matter of lower vibration thon that of Manas . matter of

greater weight and density, cannot allow such matter to enter the

Manasic plane. It would be in defiance of the governing laves of both

planes were it possible to transport a piece of iron ore or of physical

tissue into the substance of the Manasic plane. But a perfect picture of

that iron ore or tissue might be observable by the inner eye upon that

Manasic or Psychic plane, and that picture would be clearly the result

of the action of the rays of the Central Spiritual Sun within the

substance of an intermediate state of substance between the mental or

astral and the physical plane-a state corresponding to a film or

negative in the case of a photograph taken by means of solar light, a

camera and negative plate.

The ignoring or repudiating of the necessity for an intermediate

vehicle to bridge the gulf between spirit and matter constitutes one of

our chief objections to the promulgating of some of the modern

theories founded on so-called spiritual healing. Another objection is

based on the deceit practiced on the ignorant by those who fly to the

medical fraternity for aid in emergencies, and claim all credit if

success has crowned the efforts of the physician or surgeon employed

and repudiate responsibility if the latter are unsuccessful.

In every instance where a genuine cure of an actual (not an

incorrectly diagnosed) disease is made by the application of spiritual

or mental means, it is due to the recognized or unrecognized action of

the third, the intermediate state or entity which to the orthodox mind

bears an idea of the Christ. This intermediate state from one point of

view may correspond to a flux, in which two totally dissimilar states

of substance may be made to unite and thereby become an entirely

different form of substance. This intermediate state is unconsciously

accepted and termed the healing force by many New Thought

advocates, although they are often unaware of its ultimate nature or

the laves which govern it.

It is to be regretted that in some instances the right to study

modem works tin chemistry and other scientific works is denied to

students by their teachers, for it would lead to a better understanding

of the spiritual, mental and physical laves, and only too often this

refusal is based on the fear of losing their adherents, rather thon on the

best good of those concerned.

Far be it from me to deny the power of any attribute of the

Godhead. My objection to the use of the finer forces of Life lies in

what I recognize as the total ignorance of the majority of those

[TT 494] who would so use them, and therefore the frequent misuse

of those forces and the final sad results of such misuse. The man who

would use a very precious stone for the shoveling of earth would be

termed a foot or worse by those who saw him do so when a common

tool vas available. Yet something far more precious is often applied to

such a passing immaterial thing as a slight headache or sore finger

which only requires some slight material aid.

As before said, the inconsistencies, the illogical findings, the

cruelty and indifference toward the suffering of others, by many of

this class should make an intelligent man carefully consider the whole

question of mental or spiritual action in the healing of disease or the

gaining of material values.

...

LIBERTY AND LICENSE

—

LESSON 200

My Children :

I greatly deplore the necessity for adding vital energy to a thought

form rapidly taking shape on the lover manasic plane, as does occur in

even considering the basic ideal of a subject, which is primarily

responsible for bringing a thought form into expression, for the more

vitality a thought form is given the more quickly it may be

materialized and the stronger it may be. While the form in question is

already in material expression in some of the European nations, it will

inevitably eventuate in America also, unless there is a radical change

in the minds of the people in relation to the general interpretation of

the words, personal freedom. This is my justification for bringing the

subject up for your consideration.

As is always the case, the awakening of one pole of force or

matter prefigures the awakening of the opposite pole, and with the

awakening of the positive ideal of Liberty in the minds of a people, its

negative pole, License, becomes the ultima thule of endeavor in that

portion of a race which has not yet evolved to a perception of the ideal

of Liberty which is held in the minds of a more highly developed

portion of the same race.

The one fundamental and all-important base of a true civilization

is the ideal of the family. The purity of a race, the possibility of a

clean genealogy, depends upon the offspring of the union of one man

and one woman, and whatever strikes at this base . this root of

civilization, strikes at the possibility of the continuous existence of the

race. [TT 495] The man or woman who indulges in promiscuous

cohabitation is guilty of a very far-reaching crime against the race to

which he belongs.

Whatever may be the. faults or failings of Orthodoxy in other

respects, its insistence on the sacredness of the marriage tie has been a

most redeeming feature. I am bringing these points up at this time, for

the days are fast coming when one of the results of this world

upheaval which I have termed a religious war, and of the precipitation

of the thought . form previously referred to, will be upon you as it is

now upon Germany and some other nations of this. dark star. The days

when whatever body is in power at the time may advise and even

demand that promiscuous cohabitation shall obtain, using as a 'plea for

the same the supposed need of numerically maintaining the population

of a nation may yet arrive, and I ask you men who have wives and

mothers, sisters and daughters, if you are inclined to countenance the

false ideas of personal liberty in matters of sex now being freely

discussed among many people. How would you feel if you were to see

the bodies of those wives and mothers and sisters and daughters at the

mercy of some of the human beasts of prey who are now actively

supporting the program of the ruling powers of the countries referred

to, the men and women whose minds have been permeated with the

effluvia arising from the ravings of a madman, because they were

either too indolent or too sense . besotted to realize the subtlety and

the dangers of the philosophy presented to them ?

There is a bar sinister on the escutcheon of the soul that can be so

utterly deceived as to make it impossible to interpret the word Liberty

as others would naturally interpret the same word, and so far as you

are spiritually above such a sorely deceived soul, just so far are you

bound to work for the dissemination of the Light of Truth herein

imparted to you wherever you are placed. Especially is it your duty if

you expect to become leaders of men in the future.

If you do not do this, it will be upon you, and upon others like

you, that the onus of such conditions as I have referred to will rest, for

you have had the advantage of over 2000 years of preparation and

instruction on those lines which make for race purity and high

civilization.

You may refuse to believe that here in America, or in England or

France, such conditions would be tolerated, but just calmly consider

the fact that it only requires the addition of comparatively few mote

sympathizers to each one of the many groups already formed ; groups

of men and women who Are even now advocating the repudiation of

the present commonly accepted code of morals and high ideals, to

bring about conditions which would make for unbridled license.

[TT 496]

There is a tremendous responsibility resting on all clean minded

men and women, and there is no time to be lost.