Version: October 10, 2004
To each and every one of you the Christ speaks today. Before each and all of you He stands, face to face. Beside and among you one and all He walks daily, hourly, looks toward you with entreaty infinite for recognition, companionship, understanding, sympathy and love. With hands outstretched He extends to you the priceless gems of truth and wisdom, of opportunity and power -- Truth, the Christ, the glad Sun of Righteousness, does not precipitate Himself; is not spectacular, loud, sudden, bombastic. He walks in the silences, dwells within, breathes, lives, loves, gladdens, brightens, purifies, strengthens, lifts, around and about, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, each second and interval of time, steadily calling you into Itself, yourself, Self of the King, from whom all shadows have disappeared, and in whom there is naught but beauty and holiness.
THE EDITORIAL MIRROR
In this issue, we are paying tribute to the co-founder of the Temple of the People, and second Guardian in Chief, William H. Dower. His birthday was March 22, 1866. Dr. Dower's writings and leadership stand as a beacon for all students. His clarity and his devotion to the deepest principles of Truth are an inspiration and help for all of us as we assume the task of self-responsible discipleship.
At this time of year, what could be a better keynote for the Easter season and vernal equinox than his Editorial Mirror of March 1928.
-- Eleanor L. Shumway
Guardian in Chief
The Easter season naturally should bring our consciousness to a consideration of the inner spiritual meaning of this sacred festival, which is essentially symbolic of a great fundamental truth. In general terms, this fundamental truth means the resurrection of life from lower to higher forms of expression, whether it take place from the standpoint of the germination of a seed in the ground or the bringing to consciousness in a human of the Divine Inner Self.
In other words, this inner Divine Self is locked up in lower forms of expression -- that is, some lower grade of matter -- and finally, as a result of the processes of inner pressure and outer favorable conditions, that outer hard, dense grade of matter softens, so to speak; is mellowed and transmuted, and the radiant Inner Self shines forth. In outer nature we have a myriad illustrations of this. The hard, closed bud of the rose, for instance, cannot open until it has absorbed enough heat and light from the sun, vitalizing elements from the air, and moisture from its roots; and then in a short time the bud unfolds, and the soul of the rose finds expression in terms of fragrance, beauty, and color.
In every bit of matter, however dense or hard, there is locked up a portion of the Divine Life, an Angel or a God, and when the hour strikes the hard stone is rolled away, and the Angel comes forth. That hard, dense stone represents selfishness and limitations, which alone inhibit and lock the Higher Self or Christos in its tomb of matter. With our spiritual evolution, transmutation is going on at the same time. The heavy dross of lower desires and passions is being alchemically transmuted into the precious gold of spiritual life. And this applies to every organism in manifestation, from the tiniest insect or infusoria to the most godlike entities in the highest heavens.
Resurrection in either major or minor degree is taking place in and around us every minute and second of time. There are certain cycles or periods, however, when the manifestation is more in evidence, as in the vernal season of the year. But with human beings there is likewise a vernal and an autumnal period. These represent the two extremes of coming forth and going in, and are likewise processes of initiation. Every form, whether physical, mental, or emotional, must be broken up, dissociated in order to build a higher and truer form more in accord with natural and divine law.
Every student of life should strive to become aware of the resurrectional processes taking place in one's self. These processes are always preceded by adverse conditions, trials, temptations, strains and stresses, and make necessary sacrifices, great or small, as the case may be. In other words, in some degree one may be crucified and die -- that is, change -- before the Holy Spirit can be resurrected in the temple within one's heart and consciousness.
The above will give perhaps some idea of the basic law back of the idea and symbol of Easter. That great change, or death, is over, and the Christ, the spirit, or the soul, or the new consciousness is born and comes forth from the tomb of darkness, radiant with life, light, and power.
-- W. H. Dower
William H. Dower was born in Syracuse New York, on March 22, 1866. His parents were of American, Dutch, and French descent. The name Dauer was changed to Dower for several reasons. He attended the public schools in Syracuse, and during his early school days, wrote the following poem in a fourth grade music reader. Above the poem is written "Willie Dower Esquire, 05 Grape Street, New York. Putnam School."
If anyone doth this book steal,
A time will come when I will deal,
And slip off a banana peel and
When he is down and doth cry for help,
Then up jumps I and takes his scalp."
As you have heard, he started his literary career early in life.
His early religious training was through the Episcopalian church and Sunday School. He felt, however, that religion was a deeper and more profound reality of life than creeds. He worked this system out for himself. Intermittently he kept a diary in 1886 and l887, and on January 1, 1887, he wrote in his diary, showing youth, eagerness and vitality, and also a philosophical mind. "Time waits for no one. What truth is more potent than that? Another year gone. It seems but a day."
As a boy and later, he was very much interested in electricity and did a great deal of experimenting in his home. On January 10, 1887 he gave a lecture on electricity before a student club and this is what he wrote about it: "I felt almost satisfied with my effort; not quite." Again later the diary speaks, "It behooves us to have care in order that we fulfill life's requirements. What can be more dreadful than to look back in old age at a wasted ill-spent life? Every minute is precious. When it is beyond recall, `let not the golden moments, like the sunshine, pass us by' is a most beautiful sentiment. If practically applied in our life, what wonders would we not accomplish. Taking a retrospective view of my own experiences during the last year. Mistakes I have made. Some errors also have I rectified. I feel now as though I were on the right road to success in what I desire more than I have since about seven years ago. There are other things I must also do that are primarily important to his attainment. This I must do, and soon with the spirit giving assistance of the Divine Author of all good." In March of the same year he wrote, "My birthday. 21 years today. I really feel as if I were getting old indeed. One year ago today I was looking forward to entering medical college. Today I am looking forward to entering the University. What will time bring forth?"
Again in December 1887, "Another year gone by. I wish to sum up events. Some changes have occurred. I have entered the University and have at last realized my hopes. I will endeavor to make the best of the advantages which I now enjoy, and if nothing occurs to stop my college course I anticipate that the benefits that will flow from it will be indeed great and desirable. Many are the mutations of time, and no man knoweth what proceedeth out of the great unknown. I hope and pray the great cause of all things which has thus far favored me will not desert me, but lift me up to higher altitudes and show his great mercy unto me."
He was able to complete his medical course in Syracuse. After graduating in 1891 he went to New York and took a post-graduate course, and at the same time he met W. Q. Judge and others prominent in the Theosophical Society. He joined that society and in 1892, when he returned to Syracuse, he formed a very active branch of the T. S. Judge appointed him president. Many interesting meetings were held, and the lectures were given publicity in the daily press and attracted much interest. Doctor's office became an informal headquarters for members. One day Mrs. Francia A. LaDue came to the office. She had heard of the Theosophical meetings and felt strongly drawn to Theosophy. She brought with her on that day a book in which she had written down many wonderful inner experiences. She didn't understand them, but Doctor was able to throw much light on them for her. The experiences were profoundly significant, and showed a ripened soul ready for a greater step. She joined the Society, and was a much interested member of it.
In 1898, Dr. Dower and Francia LaDue founded the Temple of the People under the guidance of Master Hilarion, in Syracuse, New York.
By 1903, they moved the Temple to Halcyon, California, where Dr. Dower's medical practice centered in the Halcyon Sanitarium, located nearby in Oceano, while the Temple Headquarters functioned from Francia LaDue's home in Halcyon. After her death in 1922, Dr. Dower took over as the Guardian in Chief of the Temple until he passed away on October 9, 1937.
-- Pearl F. Dower
March, 1938
Let us take for our meditation the idea of "Harmony." It is based on coordination of forces. There might be operations in music that some would call inharmonious, and yet that dissonance is a part of the harmony because it is coordinated. Let us bear in mind that harmony does not mean goody-goody actions or conditions. We must take humanity as a whole, and not pick up one detail which might, from a single angle, be called inharmonious.
Nature illustrates that. She does not hesitate to throw up a mountain or throw down a mountain. Looked at from one angle it may be a discord, but from another angle it is a bit of harmony.
Let us make a practical application of it to our daily lives. We must be true to ourselves, strike our own note, be true to the whole and the God within ourselves, true to ourselves and the Higher Self, true to the whole orchestra of humanity, and still strike our own true tone, that tone which is our own real Higher Self. Thus we will manifest throughout life a mentality which is most beautiful and which belongs to our Ray, the Hierarchical Ray which is brought into expression through us. There is not an ugly character in life that could not be brought into beauty, if it would strike its own note.
A story is told of a musician who was passing a church one day and heard singing. He entered the church. But he was a very accomplished musician, and it was painful to him to hear that choir. The singing was very discordant. He was about to leave disappointed when he caught one note. He heard one voice singing true and that one voice kept its tone in spite of the discordance about it, and it soon swung all the voices into harmony, perfect harmony, perfect harmony and perfect tone. That is what I mean.
Another illustration of another character might seem inappropriate. General Grant in one of the battles of the Civil War was sitting at the edge of a wood, smoking his inevitable cigar. Things were going very badly for his side, and aide after aide dashed up to report how badly things were going. He made no comment, sat there imperturbable, calm, poised, confident. After six or seven reports had come in he said to the last one, "Go back and tell General------------, `Never mind what General -------------- is doing to us, Just think of what WE are going to do with him.' " He had his own plan, his own note. He held his ground, and won.
Harmony is a power quality, something that you can hold. With it you are invincible. The forces of disharmony may bank up against it but are transmuted and changed into harmonies. All life is a process of transmutation. We take the crude elements of God into our bodies and transmute them into something alive. All nature is doing this transmuting work. This is our work as human beings, as entities.
We must transmute and transform the hells of this world, transmuting lead or baser qualities into the higher. In proportion as we are conscious of Nature's plan for raising everything to a higher scale by the forces of her harmonies, we can, by attuning ourselves with those forces, work with them, and they will work with us. We have the Power of the Infinite Good. Infinite Light and energy are behind us. There is nothing we cannot do. Anything we want to do we can do. Anything we want to be we can be, if we sound our note with the Universal Song of Life.
Each one has the power to find that keynote.
The power of Harmony. Let us take that into the Silence.
-- W. H. D.
December, 1915: And this is the Holy Day period and the Christ is where on this war-torn planet? Dwells He in the warring nations and its peoples or in the neutrals in the trenches soaked with spilled life, or in the conditions of the pacifists of the world who cry Peace! Peace! Assuredly if there be any truth in Truth, the Christ of God is where He always has been, with and in the hearts of His creatures in the whitest light of highest aspiration and desire, in the unselfish efforts of any one to help humanity, or in kindly deeds to fellow man, or, yes, in the most unseemly conditions of hate and un-brotherhood; for, looking underneath with the eye of spirit -- even there, as the poet has sung, "even in the mud and scum of things, there always, always something sings." And that something is the Christ, the balancer, the Unifier and Adjuster, the Sword and the Olive Branch interchangeably. Then, if we see hate and war stirred up, we must know that underneath, the great song of evolving life is being sung, the constructive forces of the Christos are at work to evolve a higher order of things, to work out destinies, to pay off old karmic debts, to burn up the rubbish of old and worn-out cycles, that the pure forces of the new cycle may enter uncontaminated by the evil magnetism of the old.
In man, nation or the world, the Christos can only be born in humility, in a manger; and the three wise men from the east, from the place of light, the heart, whose names are Love, Wisdom and Service, are attracted and bring their priceless gifts in token of the Birth of Christly Light that has taken place in the manger, the abode of the lower animal self or soul. And when this Birth has taken place in man, he is a Master of Light. And when it has taken place in the organism of a planet, that planet becomes a sun, self-radiant. And when it shall have taken place in the nations of the earth, we shall have the Golden Age when Love, Wisdom and True Brotherhood shall rule, and not their opposites as now.
Meditate on the Christ in the blade of grass, the tree, the dumb creatures of earth, your other human selves around you, in the suns and constellations and then connect that Christ with the Christ within yourself. And you will know.
-- W. H. D.
There is but one life that thrills through every atom in the universe, and but one humanity constantly striving to utter that life. Each great wave of civilization is a message from heaven to earth, sent through the minds and hearts of humanity, calling it to draw closer to the great divine ideal of the order and government of the White City, the city that "lieth four square" of Revelation. Each and every civilization strikes the keynote of some particular and different aspect of truth -- of the One Reality. All science, all philosophy, all art, music and poetry that the world has ever evolved, is but the "still small Voice" of the one synthetic truth -- the crown of all truth and life -- the Christ, the same in star, molecule or man, seeking ever to utter itself through the human heart and each great evolutionary wave which must always include the force of all preceding waves makes that utterance fuller, more complete, more easily heard -- permits more and more of the glory of the divine ideal to be revealed.
-- W. H. D.
Dr. Dower in front of the Sanitarium, c. 1908
Reprinted from Arroyo Grande Recorder newspaper, June 1927
To the Editor of the Recorder:
Dear Sir:
In last week's issue of your esteemed paper appeared an unsigned communication entitled "Was Christ Initiated?" As I am perhaps causing some fermentation in the mental spheres of some (a hopeful sign), I feel like injecting more of the same light into the question and making the matter as plain as possible on the basis of common sense, which is all that is needed to understand these issues, no matter how abstruse they may appear at first sight. In the lecture I gave some weeks ago, I said, referring to the general fundamental truths on which every true religion has been built, that "Jesus was initiated into this wisdom during His sojourn in Egypt, and He taught and exemplified it in his life. Buddha and other great teachers attained it, and it is possible for every human soul to enter and become identified with this great Light."
The strict meaning of the word "initiate" is from the Latin and means to go into, to become one with. Therefore the man Jesus was initiated, entered into, became one with, the wisdom of Christ or of God, in general terms. It does not matter a picayune whether this process took place in Egypt or Jerusalem; whether sages, wise men, helped Jesus the man in this process of entering into conscious relation with the Father in Heaven or whether Jesus was able to accomplish this alone without outside aid. It was initiation just the same, an entering into another and higher state of being. A worm is initiated, enters into the higher consciousness and power of a butterfly. A race of savages by the action of evolving forces is initiated, enters into a highly civilized race. A plant by the initiation of growth produces a glorious flower. In other words, initiation in its vital sense is an orderly process of natural or divine law whereby one form of life may become identified with a higher order of life and consciousness.
The records show that Jesus went into Egypt, and the evidence points that while there He was initiated into, became identified with that Great Deific, Omnific, Universal principle of Love, Life and Light, which in Christian theology is referred to as the Christ. I did not say that Christ was initiated: The Christ or Christos is the Master of Masters, and is the Great Initiator of All Life. Ammon-Ra, a Deific being of the old Egyptian religion, held exactly the same attributes and powers that the Christos does in the Christian system. They are one and the same in reality. The difference in name does not change the fact.
I think all Christians accept the statement that Jesus grew into Divine Wisdom and Godly Knowledge and Powers. This I have shown was by a process of growth or initiation.
Now what is Theosophy? I have been trying to find out for twenty years. I never met any one who knew, or could tell. I can, however, tell some things it is not. It is not a religion, it is not a church, it is not a creed or system of beliefs or doctrines of any kind. Then what under the heavens is it? some may exclaim. Theosophy is a word, a name, the meaning of which includes the truth in all the sacred books and bibles written or unwritten, that the world has ever seen or ever will see. No truth can be outside of Theosophy, for the word means Divine Wisdom. Such is the literal meaning of the word. It is made up of two Greek words: Theos, God; and Sophia, Wisdom. Therefore, how can books or mortals know, tell or impart Divine Wisdom? One must be it to know. "Those who know it tell it not, those who tell it know it not."
So when the learned writer in the communication of last week made the facetious reference to Jesus preferring an Egyptian cat to Divine Wisdom, which is Theosophy, he was mercifully unaware of the blasphemy he had perpetrated. Truly, Mr. Editor, hath it been said that "fools rush in where angels fear to tread." No personality is meant by this, but would-be critics should be sure of their ground before they attempt to belittle universal truths and principles. The undersigned never heard of the Book of the Holy Twelve, and it is not included among the many books which in this day make up the literature which has grown up around the term "Theosophy." And if it were, it would not matter, for students of Theosophy do not accept any books or any personal opinion as their authority.
True students of Divine Wisdom look for truth in every Bible of the world, and not only in the printed volumes but in the great word expressed in nature around us, in life everywhere, knowing that truth is everywhere for the open mind, for the tolerant, the unbiased, the unselfish seeker, and that in proportion as he searches for hidden causes in the hearts of people and things, and is animated by the feeling of true Brotherhood without distinctions, the Christ will utter Itself more and more through him. Therefore, students of Theosophy can only interpret Divine Wisdom according to the degree of light they have attained.
From what the undersigned has written, it might appear that he was seeking to defend Theosophy, but he is not. Theosophy, Divine Wisdom needs no defense. It is quite able to take care of itself. Like other seekers for truth and light, the writer might be classed as a Christian with leanings toward the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Catholics, the Baptists, the Episcopalians, etc., or as a Buddhist, a Platonist, a Sun Worshiper, a Christian Scientist, Theosophist, Socialist, etc., in the same way that he believes in and is willing to accept all the truths that any of these sects and cults may contain.
Much more could be said, Mr. Editor, for the supply of ammunition is inexhaustible, but what's the sense of using a cannon to kill a fly? If we would only obey the wise precept of the immortal Lincoln, the progress of humanity would be more rapid, for he laid down the golden rule of conduct to be: "Liberal in things doubtful, tolerant in things uncertain, and in all things charitable."
-- William H. Dower, M. D.
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Occultism, as a Science of life-forces, gives a key to the art of right living in accord with the Divine and Natural plan of evolution. That the Lessons of this book may be a practical help to all who read these pages is the earnest hope of the writer.
To emphasize important points, if possible with mantramistic effect, some words and sentences have been purposefully put in style and printed form designed to vitalize the mental impression of the reader.
Arcane truths are never acquired by thinking along lines of established precedent. Striking out boldly from the much trodden paths of accepted beliefs, the earnest student must blaze new trails in the Wonderland of Universal Nature, spiritual and material, always relating, however, each newly discovered truth to the Unity of the All in One and the One in ALL.
He who would know the origin and destiny of things; who would win the power to measure in his consciousness the infinitely great by the infinitely small, the infinitely small by the infinitely great; who would know the basic principles of his relations, spiritually and materially, to the Cosmic Whole and to all his other selves and parts, mineral, vegetable, animal, human and superhuman; who would know the Law of his interdependence with all life; such a one is a seeker after Occult Knowledge -- and for all such, these Lessons are intended.
THE MEANING OF OCCULTISM
By Occultism is meant a knowledge of the finer forces of Nature. The finer forces of nature are those not generally perceptible to the outer Five Senses of man. But there is no sharp line between the inner, finer forces, and the outer, grosser forces. Likewise between the outer material senses and the inner spiritual senses. These merge gradually one into the other.
The outer material forces manifest when outer conditions are made for that purpose. The inner spiritual forces manifest when inner astral or spiritual conditions are made on inner planes. The outer, however, is dependent on the inner as the Material Universe is dependent on the Spiritual Universe. The outer is a reflection of the inner.
Steam, Electricity, Magnetism, Chemical Action, Gravitation, Light and Sound are outer, perceptible forces based on inner causes.
Thought, Will, Desire, Love, Vital Magnetism and so on, are occult forces, not perceptible to the five senses save by their effects. As with the man, so with the Universe as a whole. The Infinite is mirrored in the Finite.
What we call matter is materialized or crystallized spiritual substance -- that is, the one primordial eternal substance in a lower rate of vibration. Likewise, there is but one Force. The higher differentiations of this one force are the finer occult forces of life, simply having a high rate of vibration in spiritual substance. The exterior forces are lower rates of vibration in the same substance. There is no such things as vibration in itself: Something must vibrate.
In gross matter, occult forces and potencies reside which are unlocked as proper conditions are made. These powers may manifest on one plane or another. Gold, silver, lead, iron are material substances, in mass, not having any occult properties. But as we delve and uncover the soul of these metals, we meet and know the occult finer forces inherent in them. In mass substance they correspond to the Physical Body. In their molecular nature they correspond to the Astral Body. In their ATOMIC NATURE to the Spiritual Body. More and more wonderful are the forces liberated as we approach the atomic nature of matter, from the lowest Inorganic to the highest Organic.
In the ultimate, the organic and inorganic are one. The atoms of both are composed of pure ELECTRICITY, or LIGHT, or GOD, call it what name you will. Science calls the units composing this Deific substance Electrons. A certain number of Electrons grouped together will form the metallic elementals, the occult basis of a metal as gold; another number of silver, iron, oxygen, hydrogen, etc. The Cosmos is built by Number dividing Time in perfect MEASURE. This is the Song of Life and Being.
As above, so below; as within, so without; as in the beginning, so at the end.
The human body as a mass of cells does not manifest any occult properties. It is simply organic matter. But the cells make man more than the rocks which are non-cellular. The cells are lives. Within the cells are molecules. This is the lower astral man. Within the molecules are atoms. This is the spiritual man. Within the atoms is God -- Light -- the Ultimate. Within the Ultimate we are one with all creatures, mineral, vegetable, men, or Gods. There is but one God, but one Life, but one Ultimate, and we are THAT.
In THAT reside all Sound, Number, Color, and Form -- Eternal and Infinite. Creation is the utterance of these Forces in infinite variety, combination, quality and form, from rush light to blazing suns, from infusoria to God.
This lesson is designed to show the fundamental and identical basis of matter and spirit and all life in the one life, however diverse the multitudinous manifestations of the same may be in time and space. By analogy, it therefore also shows the occult and scientific basis of the Brotherhood of Man and all creatures as one in the Eternal Father-Mother-Brotherhood of God.
SOUL
Soul is the Perpetuating Principle of life. It is the intermediary between matter and spirit. But for soul, matter would be chaos, and spirit would be spiritless -- like steam unconfined. Soul uses spirit and matter for the highest constructive evolutionary purposes.
Can we prove the existence of soul? Let us try. It is self-evident that there is a perpetuating principle in nature. This principle is soul because it is a force that ensouls, involves, uses matter and forms, and through the same builds and constructs other forms of the same or similar character. The forms themselves like a machine may go to pieces, but the soul energy remains the same and repeats itself through any similar seed or matrix conserved. This irresistible motion to repeat itself indefinitely and infinitely is the symbol of the Eternal Law which makes soul immortal or through which it finally wins conscious immortality. Therefore, generally speaking, we may regard soul as a Universal All Pervading Element -- one of the eternal Triad of Substance, Soul and Spirit.
Before the dawn of creation, these three were One -- whole and indivisible -- like water holding in solution various elements; and the high plane of the One, where this indivisible Unity is, still obtains. With manifestation, which means creation, separation, differentiation, there occurs by the addition and impulse of the creative energy a precipitation of basic elements in this Universal Solution and the various planes come into manifestation with their worlds and creatures. Just as in a chemical solution of any substance or substances, there comes a point of oversaturation when a part of the substances held in solution precipitate as crystals to the bottom of the tube or vessels. These precipitated crystals are the analog of Souls precipitated Out of the Bosom of the Infinite Father-Mother Waters of Life -- of the Great Deep. Note these crystals -- souls -- are still in their primal element, but differentiated -- they are no longer dissolved in this primal universal element. They are now individualized souls incarnated in form -- of crystals; the exact correspondence of the human soul.
Each crystal or soul has relations on its plane and acts and interacts with other crystals of its own or other kind -- capable of reabsorption into the primal waters -- some time. Body and soul are for the time being, however, no longer held in the Solution of Universal Spirit; but the incarnated soul of the crystal of the human at once begins to build a Temple of Divine self-consciousness because of the overwhelming infinite power of the Spirit around and in it. It would be that Spirit in form -- an impossibility -- but hence the insatiate activity and ambition to grow, to become, to enlarge, to attain and to be Omnipotence Itself -- desire working through every center, animate and inanimate, in the cosmos. Higher and higher forms are thus built with increasing power for expressing the Spirit of the Infinite.
From Primordial Sound -- the Word -- were precipitated, by harmonious combinations, souls of Color. From Color, the souls of the metallic elementals, and the metallic elementals precipitated the material elements of chemistry of which worlds are composed. In time, urged on by infinite spiritual impulse, certain combinations of these took place and the first organic vegetable cell was formed; then evolution took a great bound. The vegetable cell has the wondrous power in the presence of sunlight -- symbol of the spirit -- of converting minerals or inorganic matter into organic matter, thus paving the way for the animal cell which finally appeared, and so on in more and more complex combinations until man was evolved -- a soul crystallized out of Spirit, incarnated in metallic and gaseous elementals and awaiting the time of a perfect balancing of these diverse elements in himself when he will be reabsorbed or perhaps be identified in intimate and perfect alchemical relation again with Universal Consciousness -- the Three in One.
Dr. Dower, c. 1890
Humanity is like a tree, with great world-encircling roots sending up a shoot, now here, now there, to the surface, and which in the course of time develop and bloom, bringing forth finally on its wide-spreading branches its fruit of human achievement in science, art, philosophy, religion or social progress. Each great season or cycle brings forth its particular kind of fruit, and what is possible of attainment in one cycle may not be possible in another. The inner potencies of the great Tree of Life cannot blossom in winter. The sap must go to the root at intervals to gain strength and volume to well up when once again the great sun-force of love calls it forth to vivify the barren branches.
Nature has periods of sleep and waking, of contraction and expansion, due to the great Heart of all Being, the Central Spiritual Sun, alternately sending forth and receiving back the cosmical currents of life and love which sustain and nourish the whole universe. These currents ramify through all space by means of the great arterial channels and vital plexi formed by constellations, solar systems, stars and planets, and the lines of force from the same, all of which constitute the circulation of the vital fluids and forces in the Heavenly Man. The sun is the heart of the solar system of which our earth is a member. This sun heart is said to beat once in eleven years, thus sending to all the planets of his system, his vital force. Then comes the return wave. It is the same with the expansion and contraction of the heart and lungs of man, the outbreathing and inbreathing of life perpetually going on in every manifested life center or form. This is the cause of all cyclic evolutionary movements in nature, and explains why history, natural or human, constantly "repeats itself." The law applies everywhere and to everything.
The great tides of civilization ebb and flow like the tides of the ocean, each wave always going in a definite direction. The saying, "Westward the course of Empire takes its way," has as its basis a very occult though natural truth. The earth revolves on its axis from west to east, and this motion, in connection with the actual motion of the sun, sets up definite life currents that flow in opposite directions. That is, the positive currents flow from east to west, and the negative from west to east around the earth. Civilization makes for the positive pole of being, and so advances along the lines of least resistance, borne on the waves of positive currents from east to west. Corresponding currents are found in the human organism, which flow from the spinal cord around the body in opposite directions. Those currents that flow to the right are positive; those that flow to the left are negative. The same qualities obtain with the pairs of motor and sensory nerves that go in opposite directions, emanating from each side of the cord. In the progress of civilization, oceans are leaped across and continents spanned until the great circuit around the earth is completed and a higher spiral begun.
The great civilizations of the past have left indelible marks and monuments, which, like the blazing ax in the forest, make the path or swath cut out by the great tread of progress easily traceable. From the records left, we can plainly observe that each cycle of civilization has had its own peculiar and distinctive flavor; that one wave would bear on its crest a philosophical expression of life, another an artistic, another a scientific, and so on. China, Chaldea, Egypt, India, Greece, Rome and America, all hold records which mark the cyclic ebb and flow of the world's great evolutionary waves.
The basic principle of Brotherhood is revealed in the universally acting Law of the interdependence of all forces, lives, atoms and worlds. This great law is absolute and fixed, and its operations extend throughout, and have their correspondences on, all the planes of being. Analogy and illustration may more clearly indicate the workings of this great nature principle.
"As above, so below" is an ancient axiom. Man is a microcosm, a little universe in himself, and has actually or potentially represented in him all the forces of nature. He is a drop in the great ocean of life, and the drop must always contain within it the same elements as the ocean of which it is a part. The physical body is a cooperative commonwealth in itself. It is made up of millions of cells which, united, form the physical vehicle of man. Each cell is an individual center of consciousness; has its own particular cycle, performs its appointed functions, then yields its place to its successor cell. The consciousness of the physical body is the collective consciousness of all its cells. The consciousness of the universe is the collective consciousness of every life, atom, or world in that universe.
As each lesser cell or molecule of the body lives, moves and has its being in the substance composing that body, so do we live, move and have our being in a Greater Entity, which in our present state of unfoldment, we are no more able to sense or know than are the cells of our bodies able to sense and know us. Some would call that Greater Entity God, but the name does not matter. The body in its entirety would be the God or Higher Self of each individual cell composing it.
Dr. Dower in Halcyon, c. 1905
In the valleys where the murmuring waters flow.
In the valleys where the grains and grasses grow.
Life gleams with prismed brightness,
Flashing from high peaks of whiteness.
In the valleys, in the valleys, far below.
In the valleys where the shadows come and go.
In the valleys of the shinning after-glow.
From the mountain-top all glistening,
With the myriad lives all listening.
In the valleys, in the valleys, far below.
In the valleys where the tribes of men shall blend
In the valleys where all mortal things must end;
From the soul-kissed peaks of snow,
Life incarnates here below,
In the valleys of the time of long ago.
In the valleys where all life is plain and low,
In the valleys where all creatures reap and sow,
To the stars those crags are cresting,
Yet that mountain base is resting,
In the valleys where the shadows come and go.
In the valleys where the murmuring waters flow.
In the valleys of the mellow twilight glow.
On the peaks God's Presence glistens,
While to the song of Life He listens,
In the valleys, In the valleys, far below.
-- Dr. William H. Dower
LIGHT AND WISDOM
Through the senses, man contacts the different grades of universal substance, material and spiritual. By the material senses, the material world, by the spiritual senses the spiritual world; therefore by contact of the polarities, the "pairs of opposites" he senses pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat, all of which imparts what is called experience. By experience, he arrives at knowledge; by knowledge he wins the power to discriminate between good and evil -- and enters into the light of Wisdom. Or to strike another key -- in the beginning the evolving pilgrim soul possesses the innocence of ignorance, at the end by traveling the Path -- which is himself -- and by contacting its shine and shadows, he evolves through the Gateway of Experience to the innocence of Wisdom -- with conscious identification with the Highest Good, which is another name for God.
THE GEOMETRY OF THE SOUL
Man is made in the image of God. Therefore, as the drop of water from the ocean contains in itself all the elements, forces and potencies of that ocean, so man includes in his being, actual or latent, all the planes. forces, powers, and possibilities of a God. Truly has it been said by the sages of old -- "Man, know thyself, and thou shalt know God." And we know God by traveling the path that leads to Him -- which Path, as said, is ourselves. Traveling that Path means to contact consciously every point, line, surface, and dimension on all the planes of being, from the lowest material to the highest spiritual -- with coincident realization of all corresponding qualities and forces in light or shadow -- positive or negative.
As we may know the phenomenal world -- the physical -- by means of a physical body, so may we know the mental, astral and spiritual or noumenal -- real -- world by means of corresponding bodies or principles. Hence, the wonderful possibility of sometime making the complete correlation between all the planes of our being and some time while in the physical body of consciously knowing. sensing and realizing the cosmic planes to the very highest -- a divine possibility because the corresponding planes are in us or, to put it more truly, are us.
THE GOAL OF LIGHT
But we must make this divine correlation ourselves. No man, no Master, no God can give us this divine status. On the great foundation stones of Love, Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty is the true Temple, Cosmic or Human, being built. In building on those foundations we win our Crown of spiritual power in the Universal Lodge of Life. And the radiant jewels of eternal truth gemmed in the Diadem of the Soul are the perfected qualities evolved by strong search, sacrifice and effort, life after life, in the cause of truth and the service of Humanity which means service to our Higher, Greater and Larger Self -- the Christos.
Because of a fundamental moral and spiritual Unity with the All, this identification with the interests of All gives final conscious immortality in the Universal I.
Search for hidden causes in the hearts of people and things. Stand on your own mental and soul feet and realize that no other can grow for you, no other can live for you, no other can eat for you. Try to realize unity with God -- the Omnific principle of Life and Love -- NOW. No need to wait until this body is dust. If we have spiritual or material wealth and do not know it -- of what use? To get acquainted with our real selves -- the God within -- and which we are in reality, is, and should be the divine purpose of life, and to that end all else should be subordinated. And when we do realize it -- then we shall know what to do next -- how to help the other fragments of our Greater Self to realize it -- to point out as far as the Great Law will permit the true Path that "winds uphill all the way" -- at the end of which is the Goal of Light and Life Eternal.
Such is the mission of The Temple and all true members thereof.
-- W. H. D.
Comings and goings: Linda Rollison visited her son Damian, daughter-in-law, Juel, and granddaughter Zoe for 10 days in Virginia; Eleanor Shumway headed south to Torrance to visit niece Heather and family; Annie and Will Dunbar returned from a three-week trip to Portland, Oregon, bringing Will's parents back for two weeks in the California sunshine. Joe and Joan Dunbar are in from Buffalo, New York. Zina Colendich went to Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah during the Olympics. She managed to see many of the events as well as work with her brother Nils in Park City. Barbara Ricardo continues to spend one day a week taking care of her two-year-old granddaughter, Amanda, in Atascadero, and soon brother Cameron will join the family. Kaety Rollison returned from several weeks in Virginia and is back at college. Kaety recently visited friends in Phoenix where she heard the public performance of a song she has written.
Other visitors here include Catherine Greer from Riverside; Debra Rowlands from Tracy; Alex and Svetlana Kravtsov and family from the Bay Area; Walter Karshat from San Diego; Thorkild Grosboll and Dorret Moller from Denmark; and Elena Lumen from Santa Cruz.
Our community has been fortunate to receive grant money to purchase a large chipper to be used in our ongoing effort to reduce harmful particulate matter in the air due to burning of green waste. With so many shrubs and trees here, this has been an issue for the community for the past several years. All chips will be returned to the soil, thereby enhancing the soil and discouraging weed growth.
Spring is coming gently to our open spaces and gardens. Birds are returning and chattering about the winter's journeys, hens are sitting on eggs, wild flowers are beginning to bloom, and everyone is cleaning out closets, cupboards, and gardens. Linda's house has been painted and we are thinking about tackling the Library next! Such is the energy Spring brings to us.
Temple groups: There are groups in New York City and London, England, as well as several in locations in Germany. Anyone wishing more information about these groups can call the Temple offices in Halcyon.
William Quan Judge Library serves Temple members, residents of Halcyon, and friends with an interest in Theosophy or who are doing research involving some of our special collections. Our library is staffed by volunteers; hours are Mondays, 9-11 a.m. and 6-8 p.m., and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Other hours are by appointment through the Temple office.
The University Center Gallery is open by appointment. Please call the Temple office at (805) 489-2822 for information. This year the exhibition consists of paintings by Harold E. Forgostein, fourth Guardian in Chief of the Temple. This exhibit, "The Refreshing Green of Nature," features both watercolors and oils depicting Harold's deep insights into the the world of nature about us. Also on display are many interesting articles and artifacts accumulated through Temple history.
The Temple Healing Service is held at 12:00 noon each day in the Temple. All are welcome to attend. A Meditation Meeting is held in the Temple on Sunday evening from 7 to 7:30.
Study Classes under the auspices of Temple Officers and various Temple Orders are held regularly in the University Center on Tuesdays and Fridays at 5:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Sunday Services are held at 10:30 a.m. in the Temple. The Feast of Fulfillment (the Communion Service of the Temple) is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month. The last Sunday of each month is a prayer and meditation meeting. Other Sundays are speakers' meetings. The public is cordially invited to all services.
Speakers in the Sunday services were: January 13, Eleanor L. Shumway, New Year's Resolutions -- Again!; January 20, Istvan Balogh, Unity; February 10, George Colendich, Creeds Disappear; February 17, Eleanor L. Shumway, The Feast of Fulfillment.
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