AMORC Degree 11 (71-93).pdf

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The Rosicrucian Order

MASTER MONOGRAPH

I L L U M I N A T I S E C T I O N

This monograph always remains the property of the

Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. It is not

purchased by, but loaned to. the receiving member.

Degree 11 M o n o g r a p h 71 9 7 8 ■van ilft. <fb £ < c * o > naai’^ruriij R E G I 5 T R A O O E N L A O F t C t N A D E P A T E N T E S D E E . U . A . tM P R E S O EN E .U .A . Degree

11

M o n o g r a p h 71

The matter contained herein is oHclnlly Issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered In the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies or officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts’* as authorized by the Impenuor of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in countries throughout the world.) All mattery herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and arc Imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of tne Statutes of this Order.

A. M. O. R. C. Is the only organization authorized to use the Reg istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

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THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion

V V V

It is through purging of sin rather than the damming up of weaknesses that one is liberated from materialism and gains spiritual heights. The purification of the soul of desires was the admonition of Plotinus, the Alexandrian philosopher of the third century after Christ.

We should be right in saying that the soul becomes ill-favored

through mingling and mixing with the body and through

inclination toward it, and toward matter. And this is ugliness in a

soul: not to be pure and unalloyed, as it is bad for gold to be mixed

with soil, which if removed leaves the gold beautiful, purged of other

substances, being left in its purity. In the same manner the soul

purified of desires which it has because of the body with which it has

come into too close association, being freed from other passions and

purified of those which it has because of its embodiment, remaining

in its purity, puts away all the baseness derived from its other

nature.

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Temple Section A M O R C The Rosicrucian Order

E L E V E N T H D E G R E E N U M B E R S E V E N T Y - O N E P A G E O N E

Beloved Members, Greetings!

Continuing our study of the ancient writings described in the monograph of last week, there are a few more points that I would

like to give you this week. I think they are appropriate at just

this universal period when with so much restlessness throughout the world we are all trying to think of peace and harmony along with human good will.

The next subject pertains to visions produced by the hymns that are sung silently or inwardly; in other words, through commu nion or prayers between the outer self and the inner self or b e 

tween the outer self and the Cosmic or God. The first point under

this subject implores us not to create false visions through the use of ornamentations in our language, nor by parades of artificial

phrases nor elegance of words. It is distinctly stated that "God

loves the simple unadorned beauty of thought." It says that a

hymn or prayer to God or to the Cosmic should be simple so that it

is godlike. Any fire or fervor that may be needed in such a hymn

or prayer should be a fire or fervor within our souls and not in the words that are used.

GOD LOVES The more simple the thought, the more true to our simple- SIMPLICITY ness of soul expression, the more correctly will our

prayers and hymns create visions before us that are like

cosmic or heavenly visions. In other words, if we are praying to

God or speaking to or about any of the great Masters, we want to

visualize and have a vision of them before us. Our vision should

be simple and not ornamental, and in order that these visions may be simple and true, our words and thoughts must be simple and almost childlike in their pristine purity of thought.

This reminds us of what Jesus said. As one of the great

Masters, knowing all of these great laws so well and attempting to teach them to his disciples, he reminded them that unless one b e  came like a child one could not enter into the kingdom of heaven. You will remember that this created a very strange reaction in the minds of his disciples and they asked whether Jesus meant that one would have to be born again in order to get into the kingdom of heaven and thereby become a little child before daring to approach

the kingdom. Jesus, of course, did not mean that they were to

become like children in a physical or earthly sense but in a mental

and spiritual sense. This remark is also a condemnation of all of

our elaborate earthly education that tends to make all of our

thinking very complex and very elaborate instead of simple. We

also understand why many of the great Masters in the past have chosen to live as monks or anchorites, or as we say in the present day, go back to the simple life by living out in the open and away from advanced and complex

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civili-Temple Section A M O R C The Rosicrucian Order

ELEVENTH DEG REE NUM BER SEVENTY-ONE PAGE TWO

zation so that we can attune to nature and come closer to God and the simple things of life.

All of our speculations about the Cosmic and the Masters and the soul's relationship to the universe, as well as our prayers and all of our contemplations of life's mysteries, should be along lines of simple thought, for it is in the simple truths and in the simple facts that the great mysteries of life are found.

Then the next subject brings us to the law of morals. The

very first statement made under this subject is certainly one of

astonishing truths and yet undeniable experience. The statement

is, "The body is the root of evil just as intellect is the root of v i r t u e . "

You may change the word body to flesh or physical existence

and you have the same thought. Or you may change intellect into

Divine Mind or Cosmic Consciousness and have the same thought. Certainly, the body, made of flesh and earthly things, is the root of evil, for all suffering, pain, evil, all sin must be in this physical part of man and all virtue must eventually reside in and be to the credit of the divine, mental, intellectual part of man. The physical body can never be virtuous because it is born of sin in a physical/ earthly sense and its virtue would be of no avail since the body must be cast aside at transition and take on cor ruption, while the spiritual part of man continues to exist.

The next point under this subject is truly a very wonderful

metaphysical law to contemplate. It is stated thus: "Our body is

a part of generation, or the sphere of time and sense."

The mere fact that all parts of the physical body are cha ng ing in accordance with the universal laws of nature brings the physical part of man completely under the dominion of the senses

and of the physical limitations of time and space. These limita

tions are unreal from a metaphysical point of view and are essen

tially the field of sin. Through our senses and through our false

conception of time and space, sin is able to find power to m a n i  fest and at the same time we are able to find alibis for our sinfulness.

The next point under this subject is also worthy of long

speculation because it embraces a marvelous metaphysical law. R e 

duced to a few words the statement is to the effect that since the body of man is prone to sin or can enter into sin so easily w i t h 

out knowing of its sinfulness, we are always— as spiritual

beings in physical bod ies— in the presence of sin. Now

this means that one half or one part of us at least has a tendency toward sinfulness while another part of us has

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ELEVENTH D EG REE NUMBER SEVENTY-ONE PAGE THREE

ancient philosophers attempted to teach the idea of restraining

the sins of the body. This was the ancient philosophy of repres

sion. Here we are taught in this wonderful writing that restrain

ing or repressing is merely damming up weaknesses of the physical

body without removing them. The ancient analogy of damming up a

stream or restraining and repressing the flow of a stream is used very aptly here in these writings, for we know from all experience that unless there is some outlet to such a reservoir of restrained or dammed-up power there will come a breaking point when there will be an avalanche and all that has been suppressed or repressed will overtake the forces of repression and be victorious to the

most bitter end. Likewise, attempting to repress or restrain the

sins of the physical body is not purging the being, in a metap h y s  ical sense at least, for the sins are still present and are p r oba bly gathering power or strength to overcome the spirit at any time. This writing tells us that it is better for us to reject or eject all the weaknesses and purge them from the physical body rather than restrain them.

This brings us, of course, to an analysis of what constitutes

sin and why man is prone to yield to sin. It is absolutely true

that sin loses its power to attract us as soon as the fascination

of sin is overcome. Some years ago in writing one of our Rosi 

crucian pamphlets I attempted to paraphrase this very ancient

Rosicrucian thought in a modern way. I heard so much being p u b 

lished in those days about "Truth will make you free" that I could not help feeling how untrue that statement was when taken by it

self. You may have all the truth in the world presented to you in

book form or lesson form, but the mere knowing of that truth is not apt to make one free from all of the weaknesses and sins and

other conditions of life. Something more than knowing the truth

or having the truth at hand is necessary and so I added to the phrase and wrote this little proverb, "The truth will make you

free when untruth has lost its power to fascinate." I remember

that I was often criticized by others for this statement and yet it is true and I come across its equivalent many times in the ancient writings.

SIN AND ITS Sin of any kind has the power to attract us through

FASCINATION its fascination. Once that fascination is eliminated,

appeased, satisfied or overcome we no longer need fear sin, even if we are in the presence of it or it is surrounding us. We notice some young people who are not easily overcome by tempta tion because many forms of temptation seem to make no appeal to

them. We know that it is dangerous to put some types of young men

in a bank as cashiers to handle large sums of money, b e  cause money of and by itself is a form of sinful power, or can be used as such, and is ever a temptation to the one who is fascinated by the glamor of betting or taking

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ELEVENTH DEG REE NUMBER SEVENTY-ONE PAGE FOUR

would be tempted by the handling of large sums of money in a m a n 

ner that other young men would not be tempted. The young man who

cares nothing about gambling, who sees in money only a medium for doing something worthwhile, and realizes that it must be good money to be of any value to him, is in no wise tempted by the handling of large sums of money that do not belong to him; he may be surrounded day after day by large sums of money without the slightest temptation affecting him.

The same is true of many other forms of sin. Repressing our

sinful natures without eliminating the fascination of sin is in no

wise purging ourselves. Undoubtedly, knowledge, study, and cul

tural development eliminate more of the temptations of sin than

any other factors in life. Persons who become deeply interested

in certain subjects of study, or in certain hobbies of an intellec tual nature, are less apt,to be fascinated by any of the more sor

did or commonplace sins of life. As they develop spiritually and

mentally they do not repress their tendencies toward sin but purge themselves of the tendencies until sins have no fascination or

attraction for them. So we may contemplate long and studiously on

this matter of repression and suppression and bear in mind that by locking up our sinful tendencies and hiding them within us, instead of purging them from the system, we are creating something that is

equivalent to one major sin which includes all the minor ones. We

are defiling the soul and spirit by holding these sinful things in

repression in us. We will understand, therefore, the closing

statement on this subject of the ancient writings where the Oracle says, "Defile not the spirit through that which is hidden within."

I think that I have given you enough to think about for this

week while certain other conditions are taking place within you. I am purposely trying to give the inner self of each of you suffi cient time for certain changes which I know will take place, b e  cause they must take place at this period of your progress in the planes of Cosmic Consciousness prior to another advancement that is not far away.

You may make of these short talks of mine very lengthy lessons worthy of weeks of study or many hours of study, or you may look

upon them as short and inconsequential— as you choose. In either

case the result and effect upon you, and within you, will be p r e 

cisely what you have decided upon. I shall regret it if any one

of you takes these present monographs too lightly, because accord ing to my estimation and personal desires the results which you should have are close at hand.

Fraternally,

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Summary of This Monograph

V V V

Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete monograph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory.

5} Prayers to God should be simple. It is in simple truths that the mysteries of life are found.

11 “The body is the root of evil just as intellect is the root of virtue.” H “Our body is a part of generation, or the sphere of time and sense.” Physical

limitations are unreal from a metaphysical point of view.

H The physical body is always in the presence of sin. Repression is merely the damming up of weaknesses of the physical body without removing them. 11 As soon as the fascination of sin is overcome, sin loses its power to attract. H “Truth w ill make you free when untruth has lost its power to fascinate.” 11 “ Defile not the spirit through that which is hidden (suppressed) w ithin.” H Certain changes must take place at this period of progress in the planes of

Cosmic Consciousness; they are necessary to further advancement.

The Weekly Application

Whatsoever thou resolvest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the

evening what the morning may accomplish.—UNTO THEE I GRANT

The repressing of certain desires is a common aspect of human behavior. These are not necessarily bad or harmful desires, but desires that we fear to expose because of feelings of insecurity or false pride. Yet they are things that we really would like to do. When we repress them, we do not eliminate them from our system. They stay buried, eating away at us from within, subconsciously, affecting much of what we think or do. Rather than repress these desires, we should try to provide escape valves for them. Bring them out into the open where they can be examined, tried, and tested. If they are harmful, then instead of burying them again, you can eliminate them by simply recognizing their real harmful potential, and cast them away.

Examine one of your latent desires, one that you have never brought out into the open. Bring it into consciousness. Let it happen, even if on a limited basis. Then watch its effect in your life, or in the lives of others. Now you can judge whether it should be eliminated because it brought no joy, or should be pursued because of the happiness it brings you.

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This m o n o g ra p h is not sub ject t o sale or p u rc h a se b y a n y o n e . A sale or p u rc h a s e m a y m ake the seller a n d p u rc h a s e r subject to civil liability.

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This monograph always remains the property of the

Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. It is not

purchased by, but loaned to, the receiving member.

"cP-o 0 Degree

11

M onograph 72 <n> < c # § c > f A I 'o£ar@!ruri£ Degree

11

Monograph 72 9 7 8 R E G IS T E R E D IN U .S . U T E ’ IT O F F IC E _{( A L * 0 R E G IS T E R ! O T H R O U G H O U T} T H E w o k l o) P R IN T E D IN U . 5 . A .

The matter contained herein Is officially issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies or officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts" as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem arid name of the Order are also registered In countries throughout the world.) All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and It shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive Information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of tne Statutes of this Order.

A. M. O. R. C. is the only organization authorized to use the Reg istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

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This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion

V V V

<■ ~ Rational thinking cannot serve man well in the

I L A full understanding of God. It is only through

l / \ T comP^ete absorption or at-one-ness with the

I

(

consciousness of God that He may be comprehended, <

fpJHH The following experience by Angelus Silesius,

f pseudonym for a Roman Catholic monk of the seventeenth century,

describes this absorption into the deity:

THE CONCURRENCE

God in my nature is involved,

As I in the divine;

I help to make his being up,

much as he does mine.

i4s

much as I to God owes God to me

His blissfulness and self-sufficiency.

I am as rich as God

,

no grain of dust

That is not mine too,—share with me he must.

More than his love unto himself,

God’s love to me hath been;

If more than self I too love him,

We twain are quits, I ween.

- A N G E L U S S IL E S IU S (Jo h a n n e s Scheffler), 1624-1677

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E L E V E N T H D E G R E E N U M B E R S E V E N T Y - T W O P A G E O N E

In our further study of the writings of the Oracle we next come to the subject of some of the soul's abilities and functions. Under this point the first thing we note is that there is consid

erable reference to the soul's intellect. We understand by this

that the wisdom of the soul is something which is constantly un

folding. We understand that the soul has as its foundation of

intellect the knowledge and consciousness of all truth inherited

from the consciousness of God. To this are added the lessons and

experiences of the soul personality here on earth. During the

periods between incarnations, the personality accumulates addi tional inspiration and interpretation of the great truths and is therefore prepared for new lessons and new experiences at the time

of its rebirth. However, emphasis is given here in the writings

of the Oracle to the fact that the intellect of the soul is the very essence of the soul, for it is life itself and is the creative

power of God extended through all space in the form of soul. The

Oracle refers to this essence as the superintellectuality of the s o u l .

THE ESSENCE Continuing this same thought, the next subject taken OF THE SOUL up by the Oracle is regarding God as the source of

this superintellectual essence. Here the Oracle says

that man's rational thinking and logical reasoning cannot serve

him-very well in comprehending either God or His essence. The

Oracle says that this is where men have failed in the past and al

ways will fail in the future in trying to comprehend God. The

fact that there are no analogies possible makes it even more di f

ficult. You know how difficult it would be to describe a round

object like a ball to a person who had never seen any round object

and who now could not see one. You realize also how difficult it

would be to describe to somebody in the tropics what ice looks

like or what its nature is. You may also realize how difficult it

would be to describe to a person who is color-blind what the color red looks like to us.

The only way in which we can describe things that cannot be seen or which are not present to be seen is by analogy or by com

parison with other things that have been seen. God cannot be com

pared to anything that we have ever seen or known, for such

comparisons are impossible and inadequate. In one sense we might

say that God is everything that everything else is not; or, in other words, the very opposite of all the material things in the

universe. This, however, would only give us a negative picture or

conception of God and not a positive one. The Oracle

says, therefore, that we must have a superrational sense

in order to understand God. The only way that this is

possible is by coming into contact with the consciousness of God and developing one's consciousness to a point

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ELEVENTH D EG REE NUMBER SEVENTY-TWO PAGE TWO

where it will be co-equal with the consciousness of God and there fore cause us to feel the attunement or at-one-ness with God.

The exact words of the Oracle will give you an idea of the language used by the Oracle: "You cannot grasp this comprehension of God by laying hold of it according to a certain measure of form and knowledge, for though such simple intellections may exist they lack the unitary simplicity of the intelligible, and verge into the intellect's secondary conditions, considering intelligible things from the standpoint of manifoldness."

Because of the difficulty in understanding the involved phras ing at first reading, I am rewording the important paragraphs of this Oracle and putting the thoughts into my own language and into

simpler form. There is another paragraph in this same section of

the Oracle's writings that is simpler and more direct and which I

think helps us to understand the whole matter very easily. It is

expressed this way: "For as no object of knowledge can be known through or by an inferior kind of knowledge, neither can something superintellectual be grasped through intellect."

In other words, we could not hope to describe a magnificent painting by using the terms and language of the slums or individ

uals of the outcast sections of a city. You could not describe

the beautiful thoughts of a Shakespearean passage by using the

slang and vernacular of the present day. You cannot, therefore,

hope to describe and picture that which is superintellectual or above the intellectual by using the commonplace ideas of intellect.

We must remember that in trying to express our ideas, or a comprehension we have in mind, we are limited by thoughts of it. These thoughts of a thing are like photographic impressions of a

thing. They are never as clear and true and beautiful as the

original. If I look at a beautiful painting and study it and reg

ister it on my mind, I will have a thought picture of it, and that thought picture will never be as clear and distinct as the origi

nal. Now, if I wish to transfer that thought picture from my mind

to your mind by the use of words I find that my thought picture is going to be limited by words, and that these words are like

tools in the hands of a carpenter or an artist. The goodness and

excellency of the work done will depend upon the tools used, and in the same way the beauty and perfection of the thought I wish to transfer from my mind to your mind will be limited by the words

I use. If I must stick to the use of commonplace vernacular

phrases and words, I will not be able to rise very high in the

creation of a picture in your mind. In trying to describe

something that is above the material or the earthly or intellectual, I am limited by words, by the tools I have to use in expressing my ideas.

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ELEVENTH DEG REE NUMBER SEVENTY-TWO PAGE THREE

Furthermore, each one for himself must discover the nature of the superworld and of God, and that is w hy the ancient Rosicrucians

always address their prayers to "God of our Hearts." In other

words, they prayed to the God they could conceive of and understand and not to the conception that someone else had of God, or which someone else had painted or carved from stone.

EFFORT I think that right here is the point where the members of

COUNTS this Degree can make a great step forward in their ad

vancement through the planes of Cosmic Consciousness. It

has always been said by the great Masters that every effort toward

a noble end lifts us higher in the scheme of things. Even the more

or less modern evolutionists in their somewhat materialistic ten dencies admit that it has been man's constant struggle to reach a higher goal that has resulted in lifting him a little higher in a

moral, spiritual, and intellectual sense. We cannot make the

slightest effort toward a higher goal without accomplishing some good even though we fail utterly in the attempt to reach the point

we have set. Eventually the continued trials will bring us suc

cess, for we will gradually rise and rise until reaching the goal we have set becomes an easy thing.

Trying to reach up to a consciousness of God that is equal to the consciousness itself, so that we may understand God the better, is sure to result in lifting our own consciousness and our own moral and ethical standards a little higher and this will result in placing us in the next highest plane of Cosmic Consciousness.

Spending the coming week, therefore, in meditation and contem plation of God in the spare moments of each day is sure to result not only in making God a little more understandable but in raising the spirit of consciousness within you and in raising you gradually toward the next plane of Cosmic Consciousness.

I urge you to do this very thing throughout the next few

weeks, but especially during the next seven or eight days, because I am more than anxious that the members of this class should reach

a point a little higher very shortly. Therefore, give as much

thought and time as you can this coming week to a contemplation of the superconsciousness and nature of God, and try to comprehend it

through attunement. You will find that this attunement harmonizes

you with the Divine Consciousness in a unique way. Fraternally,

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The Weekly Application

Whatsoever thou resolvest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the

evening what the morning may accomplish.—UNTO THEE I GRANT

In this monograph we again take up the subject of communication. You have probably found recent exercises in this respect very interesting. During the following week, wait for something to happen that brings a special emotional response from you; something that makes you smile, or something that makes you very happy or pleased. Then try to relate this emotional experience to others. See if it will make them smile, or make them happy. See if you can arouse the same emotional response in others that the experience aroused in you. You will probably start out with phrases such as: “It’s hard to describe, but . . or, “I don’t know if I can actually tell you how beautiful this.. and so on.

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Summary of This Monograph

V V V

11 The wisdom of the soul is constantly unfolding.

D The soul has as its foundation the intellect, knowledge, and consciousness of all the truth inherited from the consciousness of God; to this are added the lessons and experiences of life of the soul personality on earth. U Between incarnations, the soul personality is further prepared for new

experiences at rebirth.

f Man's rational thinking cannot serve him well in comprehending God. 11 The intellect of the soul is the very essence of the soul.

11 In order to comprehend God, the consciousness within must be developed to the point of at-one-ness with the consciousness of God.

H “As no object of knowledge can be known through or by an inferior kind of knowledge, neither can something superintellectual be grasped through the intellect.”

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THE INSTITUTION BEHIND THE R O S IC R U C IA N O R G A N IZ A T IO N

San Jose, California, U. S. A. Rosicrucian Park

"C o n se c ra t e d to truth and dedicated to every Rosicrucian" This m o n o g ra p h is not subject to sale or p u rc h a se b y an y o n e . A sale or p u rc h a s e m a y m ake the seller a n d p u rc h a s e r sub ject to civil liability.

-v

i*

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a

*

This monograph always remains the property of the

Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. It is not

purchased by, but loaned to, the receiving member.

Degree

11

M onograph 73 <fb O u

lofliar@ruris;

Degree

11

M onograph 73 R EG IS TE R E D IN U .S . P A T E N T o r F I C E I A L S O R E G IS T E R E D T H R O U G H O U T T H E W O R L D ) P R IN T E D IN U» S A.

The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office tor the purpose of

protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies o f officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts" as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered In countries throughout the world.) All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and arc imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and snail remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of the Statutes of this Order.

t

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THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion

V V V

•I The regenerative process which results from the evolving of the consciousness toward Cosmic Consciousness, with its awakening of certain mental faculties and the beneficial physical effect, is described by St. Isaac of Syria, of the sixth century after Christ.

Hear now, how man becomes refined, acquires spirituality, and

becomes like the invisible forces

. . . .

When the vision soars above

things earthly, and above all troubles over earthly doings, and

begins to experience revelations concerning that which is within,

hidden from sight

,

and when it will turn its gaze upward, and

experiences faith in the guidance of future ages, and the ardent

desire for promised things, when it will search for hidden

mysteries, then faith itself consumes this knowledge and so

transforms and regenerates it that it becomes entirely spiritual.

Then may the vision soar on pinions into regions incorporeal, may

touch the depths of an inaccessible sea, participating in the mind

Divine, and the miraculous acts of guidance in the hearts of

thinking and feeling beings

,

discovering spiritual mysteries which

become then comprehensible by the refined and simple mind. Then

the inner senses are awakened to spirituality after the manner that

they will be in the life immortal and incorruptible, for even here this

redemption of the mind is a true symbol of the general redemption.

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ELEVENTH DEG REE NUMBER SEVENTY-THREE PAGE ONE

During the past two weeks quite a few letters have been received from the members of this Degree asking a number of que s  tions, and I think it would be well for us to pause awhile in our studies and give attention to these questions, because they deal with matters that are probably vital to each member of this Degree. The first question asked by a great many is: "Are the regenerative processes now going on limited solely to the spiritual, psychic, or mystical part of our bodies?"

In answer, I want to emphasize again what was stated in some of the recent monographs; namely, that the regenerative processes now going on within the members of this Degree affect the physical

part of the being as well as the spiritual or psychic. This does

not mean, of course, that the entire body will be made over in the twinkling of an eye, but rather that all of the cells of the body will be quickened and awakened with a new form of consciousness that gradually will strengthen them and cause them to be as vi brant with health and vitality as they were during the period of

youth. The effect of this will be seen in the increased c onstitu

tional health rather than in any other way, and it may not manifest except under very trying conditions, or during a period of pr o  longed illness, or in the case of accidents which constitute a

drain upon the vitality and strength of the body. On the other

hand, this condition itself will prevent all of the ordinary and commonplace illnesses, and will retard the regular and natural progress of deterioration in the physical body which usually sets in after the fortieth or fiftieth year.

LET-DOWN In other words, as a person approaches the fortieth to

DELAYED fiftieth years he has reached mid-life, and from then

on the breaking-down processes in the physical body are

more rapid than the building-up processes. If this were not so,

old age would never be reached and transition would probably never

come about in a great many cases. Now the regenerative process

started by these experiments, and the whole system given to you in these higher Degrees, will delay the natural oncoming of the

breaking-down processes and will probably hold them back until the

sixtieth, seventieth, or seventy-fifth year. If the breaking-down

processes have already begun they will be delayed until later in life, say at the sixtieth year instead of the fortieth or fiftieth year which means that the breaking-down processes will take a longer time gradually to carry out their work, and the person will live to a much older age than the normal or average age.

However, aside from the purely physical or chemical effect upon the body by this regenerative process, it also gives a greater brilliancy to the mind and a more active functioning to all of the mental faculties so that

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ELEVENTH D EG REE NUMBER SEVENTY-THREE PAGE TWO

the person feels younger and is able to act like a much younger person than his actual years would indicate.

Another effect is to ward off the undesirable and unnatural

diseases to which the human flesh is generally subjected. Of

course, as we get older and the natural processes of deterioration set in, various organs of the body will develop weaknesses ahead of the others and certain parts of the entire system will seem to

give out while others are still good. And no two persons will

break down in exactly the same way, because much will depend upon which organs have been overstrained or overused during the days of

greatest activity. Such gradual breaking down, however, does not

constitute real disease and does not always mean discomfort, suf

fering, or pain. But such diseases as contagious ones or highly

destructive ones, such as cancer, tuberculosis, and similar pro c  esses will not develop in the body that is regenerated or going through the regenerative period.

The next question that has been asked by a great many is one that is very vague and general, but nevertheless very interesting. It is this: "What are we leading to or approaching and what will come after the Eleventh Degree?"

This is a difficult question to answer because it depends a

great deal upon the individual. The most that we as an organiza

tion can do— or that any one of us as a teacher or guide can do— is to lead the individual member through the Tenth and Eleventh Degrees and through the regenerative processes to the dawn of a

new day. What that day may hold for each individual is something

that none of us can tell. I am not even sure that what that great

day holds for us is cosmically decreed long in advance. I am

quite sure that it is not predestined. I think it is the result

of how we develop and evolve during the present days and months until we approach that new day and the Cosmic finds us strong in some things and weak in other things and properly qualified to carry on some special activity or work or something of the kind.

What we would call the Twelfth Degree begins at the end of the Eleventh, but it is really not a Degree but a school or circle of those who are entitled to the Twelfth Degree and are, therefore,

called Illuminated O n e s . They, too, of course, maintain strict

silence regarding what Degree of study they are in or what grade

of development. They simply say they are Ninth Degree members,

but among themselves or in secret communications they refer to the

"highest and last Degree." From time to time these members meet

with the Imperator ps y c h i c a l l y , or call on him psychi c a l l y . But in regard to the Twelfth Degree m o n o g r a p h s , we can say nothing at this time.

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ELEVENTH D EG REE NUMBER SEVENTY-THREE PAGE THREE

The instructions that you have been receiving of late dealing with the revelation about the planes of Cosmic Consciousness have undoubtedly made it easier for you to step a little higher in your development of consciousness, and I fully believe that most of you are ready to be entering a new plane of Cosmic Consciousness very

quickly. I think that by the time we are ready for our next step

in the next monograph I will be able to tell you more about this. In the meantime, just go over the most essential points given in the last few monographs and hold yourself each night and morning, upon arising and then again upon retiring, as ready for any change or new phase of development that may take place while you are asleep or while you are awake.

I sincerely thank all of the members who have written in

about this Degree and who so enthusiastically have endorsed the

teachings and benefits derived from these monographs. I wish I

could come in contact personally with each and every one in this

Degree, but that is an impossibility at the present time. Review

ing any part of the monographs of the past two months will help in what is taking place right now, and this is more important than trying to give you some new matter or leading you along too rap idly into the fields of speculation, since you are so close to the borderline where you will spread out your wings and broaden your vision and see much differently from what you have been seeing for a long time.

Fraternally,

YOUR CLASS MASTER

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The Weekly Application

Whatsoever thou resolvest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the

evening what the morning may accomplish— UNTO THEE I GRANT

On the question of health, we should reflect on what was said in earlier Degrees regarding the importance of positive thinking. As a person thinks, so is he. Since each cell is imbued with our consciousness, each cell is affected by what we think. Our negative thoughts, our feelings of failure or despair are immediately transferred to every cell of our bodies. Under such conditions, the cells are in no position to work harmoniously with each other, nor to vivaciously carry on their work of maintaining or rebuilding the body. They are as depressed and ineffective as you are. Keeping this in mind, watch your thoughts during the next week. Think of their effect on your body cells, and act accordingly.

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Summary of This Monograph

V V V

H The regeneration process has not only a beneficial physical effect but it also gives more active functioning to all of the mental faculties.

f The most that this organization can do is to lead its members through the regenerative processes to the dawn of a new day.

1f Our evolution depends upon our self-application. How we evolve during the present days until the approach of the new day determines our ability to carry on some special activity.

11 Beyond the Eleventh Degree, the members of the next Degree are called

Illuminated Ones.

H Upon arising and retiring, be receptive to any new phase of development that may take place either while you are asleep or awake.

(24)

"C o n se cra te d to truth and dedicated to every Rosicrucian" T his m o n o g ra p h is not subject to sale or p u rc h ase b y an yo n e . A sale or

(25)

The Rosicrucian Order

MASTER MONOGRAPH

I L L U M I N A T I S E C T I O N

This monograph always remains the property of the

Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. It is not

purchased by, but loaned to, the receiving member.

Degree

11

M onograph 74 1078

lotfaefiruri#

RECtST ERED IN U.S. PATENT OfFICE •*M.SO THROUGHOUT The VHOBLOI

PRinTCO <N U.S.*

Degree

11

M onograph 74

The matter contained herein Is officially issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies of officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis sertations, scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts” as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in countries throughout the world.) All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and snail remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does. Ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and Is a violation of the Statutes of this Order.

(26)

THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion

V V V

The strengthening of certain psychic centers stimulates psychic, visual, and auditory functioning, such as described by Henry David Thoreau, an American author of the nineteenth century, in his experience of illumination:

7

hearing get who had but ears.

And sight who had but eyes before,

I moments live who lived but years,

And truth discern who knew but learning’s lore.

I hear beyond the range of sound,

I see beyond the range of sight,

New earths, and skies and seas around,

And in my day the sun doth pale his light.

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ELEVENTH DEG REE NUMBER SEVENTY-FOUR PAGE ONE

This week we are going to begin a series of a few experiments

that in ancient times were called the cosmic tests. It is presumed

that at this stage of your development each one of you has passed sufficiently out of the Obscure Night and into the dawn of the new day to have a certain degree of regeneration and rebirth working

through your entire system. If this is true, then one of the first

manifestations of this would be in connection with a change taking place in the psychic centers of your body and consciousness.

Therefore, certain tests were given to the high students at this stage of their development, s'o they might test themselves and make reports.

Incidentally, these tests should show also whether we are get ting ready to pass to another plane of Cosmic Consciousness.

We will take one test each week from now on for a time and use

it throughout the week, and then pass on to another. These tests

will be very simple, and there should be no difficulty in connec tion with either the understanding of them or the use of them.

THIRD EYE The test for this week is that of the so-called second

ACTIVITY sight. We are coming back to the subject of the third

eye, which was highly developed among the Lemurians and the early Atlanteans, but which has gradually become dormant

through our modern races of mankind. However, there is a remnant

of this eye still to be found in the human body. This remnant of

the third eye, as we have explained in previous monographs in the lower Degrees, is a small organ in the center of the head, which is quite large in proportion to the head before birth; but after birth the rest of the body continues to grow and enlarge while this

small psychic organ remains the same size. By the time adulthood

is reached, the little organ is very small in comparison with the size of the head, and from about the fortieth or fiftieth year on ward, this organ will gradually disappear if there has been no use

made of it. It is seldom, however, that any thinking or really

intelligent man or woman reaches the age of fifty without having occasionally had the third eye functioning; therefore, this organ does not become atrophied.

The function of this eye is much like psychic seeing. On the

other hand, the impressions that result from its functioning give

a sensation to our consciousness much like that of intuition. In

fact, it is very difficult to tell whether an impression coming from this center to our consciousness was origi nally made through seeing, hearing, feeling, or in some

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ELEVENTH D EG REE NUMBER SEVENTY-FOUR PAGE TWO

this particular organ receives its impressions through a strange

sense of seeing. It can see at great distances and can see through

many opaque objects, but it also seems to be able to see objects formed of vibrations which the normal human eye cannot see at all. It is this third eye that sees the peculiar lights in a room and sees the greatest number of impressions of projections and visions.

The thing for you to do this coming week is: Once or twice a

day, and especially in the evening. just_b efor e retiring and in the morning just b efore arising, either sit or remain lying~ in bed in a -cgfnFortable and relaxed position with your- objective eyes closed

ancf your_ consciousness turned”inwardly to a point just in the cen ter of your forehead and about 5 cm back from the front of your forehead*." ~~Th'ink of there b e ing "In this place an eye^ similar to

the pictures you see of the "all-seeing eye." By concentrating

your j^onsciousness and attention on that eye with your other*e^es closed, you will begin to see objects or symboIs form T n ~ t h 'e~dark,

colored space in front of your closed eyelids. These pictures and

images, if watched very carefully, will evolve ijito symbolical scenes or symbolical messages and pictures that will tell a story of some kind~and depend a great deal upon your concentration to help them develop.

In other words, a mere symbol may first appear in the mind's e^e^ and b.y concentrating upon itT it may form itself _into other symbols, aricT^these evolve into a complete scene or pic

ture. On the other hand, some of the symbols

may~turn into w o r d s . forming a m e s s a g e . At

other times there may be just a symbol or a color of some kind, but back of it there will be the psychic impression of a message without a single word or scene of the message actually appearing in the eye.

By sitting in relaxation for a few minutes each morning and evening— or even jdufihg the .middle of the day “ i f you have an op- portuhity~~t6 T5e alone and quiet— you will encourage this psychic

center to "function. Undoubtedly, y o u r “development has now reached

a point where this center is ready to function, and this is the

purpose of these tests. You will find, after the first few days of

testing, that it will be a good plan to begin your period of con centration with a definite question of some kind in mind and see

what kind of answer you get from it. Do not make your question too

greatly material. It is all right to have the question deal with

your progress or with your plans for the future, or deal with the subject of your present happiness or future am bitions, but do not pin the question down to a certain material, mercenary, financial nature, for this is the

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ELEVENTH D EG REE NUMBER SEVENTY-FOUR PAGE THREE

hardest thing to have answered in an understandable way, and such questions should not be brought into the experiments until later

on. The best subjects to start with as questions are those dealing

with philosophical or mystical problems, then later on take the more practical subjects.

Do not write me a complete report of your experiments along this line until you have completed all the exercises I am going to

give you on this subject. Then you may write me briefly and tell

me about them.

Fraternally,

(30)

The Weekly Application

Whatsoever thou resolvest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the

evening what the morning may accomplish.—UNTO THEE I GRANT

When contemplating your experiments with the third eye, think of the small gland as a receptor organ, which is really what all of our sense faculties are. They receive vibratory impressions from many different sources, and translate them into the sounds, sights, or odors of our sensual world. However, as the eyes or ears are limited to the vibrations of physical light or physical sound, the third eye is literally unlimited in the numbers and kinds of vibrations it can receive and translate into meaningful imagery. It receives thoughts, hunches, and sights and sounds beyond the range of the physical sense organs. With this in mind, proceed again with the exercises given.

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Summary of This Monograph

V V V

11 Through concentration on the “third eye,” pictures and images with possible symbolical messages may result.

U By sitting in relaxation a few minutes, morning and evening, with your consciousness turned inwardly to the place of the third eye, this psychic center will be encouraged to function.

t After the first few days of testing this psychic center, it will prove helpful to begin the periods of concentration with a definite question concerning philosophic or mystical problems.

(32)

"C o n se cra te d to truth and dedicated to every Rosicrucian" This m o n o g ro p h is n o t subject to sale o r p u rc h ase b y a n yo n e . A sole or

(33)

WfcJ

0223

§

This monograph always remains the property of the

Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. It is not

purchased by, but loaned to, the receiving member.

Degree 11 M onograph 75

1078

latfaefSruri# Degree

11

M onograph 75 PM

The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Su preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the “ printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies of officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts" as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in countries throughout the world.) All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and snail remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive Information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of tne Statutes of this Order.

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(34)

THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion

V V V

^ One of the best examples, of more recent times, of the awakening of cosmic perception within persons may be found in the words of the nineteenth century 1 American poet, Walt Whitman: