Version: October 10, 2004
Again and again we cry out to a power we call God, All That Is, Allah, Christ, Goddess, Jehovah, and many other names for help in meeting the increasing stress of life in the late 1990s. Everywhere we look, there are books, movies, TV programs, video tapes, magazines, gurus, leaders, radio programs, schools, courses; the list is nearly endless, all seeming to promise us relief, reassurance, instant unfoldment, fame, fortune, and at-one-ment with a Higher Power.
We sometimes forget that all we ever needed in any direction we have always possessed in full measure. Truly is it said, "The Kingdom of God is within." We have only to get still, so still that the Peace that Passes Understanding permeates our being. Then, in that place of Peace, we only need to ask for help, not in terms of a multiple choice list for God, but rather that the Divine Purpose be served. Our help will come, quietly, with all the elements that we need for our highest unfoldment. Our responsibility is to ask for help, to give thanks each day for the blessings and the trials of that day, to listen with inner ears to the answers, and to feel with our hearts the Love that pours into our beings without ceasing. We can then meet our lives' challenges through our own persistent, incessant, determined faith, courage, and joy, knowing that the Light will come.
As we come to this point, little by little as a flower slowly unfolds its petals, we will come into our Divine heritage of fully knowing that we are all one being in God, of God, that all things, all creatures, are in us and we in them. May we all walk together in Love, Light, Joy, and Peace on the Path toward Divine Peace.
- Eleanor L. Shumway
Guardian in Chief
Each new form of life is hopefully a greater manifestation of the timeless perfection that is the ever-existing Mind of God. It endows the various kingdoms of its nature with renewed impulse toward its own perfection.
Every basic religion of this humanity has from its opening cycle symbolized this divine guidance by the descent of its avatars, angels, messiahs to the level of their younger brothers and sister, our humanity, to endow them with the light and power needed to bring them closer to the Godhead. Each day's labor by each man or woman is made possible only through the daily labor of all who have gone before them on their evolutionary path; the building toward a better life or the destruction of it, the incorporation of the Golden Rule on the material plane of existence or the rejection of it. The Golden Rule has ever been the first law or truth or principle of every Avatar.
Every Great Leader comes to humanity when we need Him most, when our hearts are sorest pressed, our vision the dimmest, our pain the greatest, during the symbolic severity of the winter. Year after year, age after age, wondrous Messengers from God have come from Their celestial heights of evolution to us in the long dark winter of our defiant abuse of Their Golden Rule. They show us how to transmute and redeem that very discontent itself, by endurance, sympathy, courage, into self-responsibility. Our separateness becomes unity, our war becomes peace, our earth becomes heaven. Transcendent glory is resurrected in the springtime growth of consciousness reborn in the light of the new spiritual sun. When our consciousness of change has become aware of its newly won greater bond with all life and with God, we sing with all Nature of the glory of God's Messengers.
- Harold E. Forgostein
-- Linda A. Rollison
You give silence when others speak. You give ear to what they have to say. You recognize it as common courtesy in daily living. It is a proof of womanliness, of manly culture. It is means of attainment respected by man toward his fellow man, recognized by the Gods as mark of status in spiritual evolution. You give ear to the passer-by who stops you on the way with a word of warning or would make inquiry of you. You listen with interested ear to the guest who relates his experiences of varied nature and character. You are intent with him who would present a business matter of importance. You register outbreaks of meaningless, worthless babble that weary you throughout, because you would refrain from appearing rude. You are held in close attention with outpourings of vicious slander, vile refutations, because your ears enjoy the sound, mayhap.
You hearken at rare intervals to fine and refining music, when you have had enough of that which would drag you in the dust to grovel in the mud and mire of life. You hearken! For one short moment your personal self is stilled. In the hush that falls upon you, the ear of your soul is thrilled by the sweet sounds that fall upon it. The lower mind at rest an instant, you are lifted up and above the sordidness of mud and clay. Have you ever thought what occurs in that short pause? Have you ever dwelt upon the changes that take place in that brief spell? Do you know, has the realization never come to you that it is in those infrequent, breath-held seconds that life evolves inward and upward, is lifted out of its heavy waves of darkness to greater and larger opportunities? Do you believe that those silent pauses, however short, contain within themselves enough power and potency to create or destroy worlds, to redeem or to curse mankind, according as applied, for they are the stations, as it were, for man's opportunity to become one with the whole? Does it mean anything to you that in your brief listening to the Holy Sounds, by the uplift you receive, by the aspiration that sweeps through you when the Holy Hush falls upon your spirit, you have power within yourselves to lift up all created things into truer, clearer living? In those quick passing, far-separated moments the individual soul evolves more rapidly, progresses faster than it does in years or incarnations of experiences with exterior physical, intellectual forces.
You have spent a long time with the latter. Have they brought you the satisfaction you desire? Are you still called by them with even greater power than before?
Then go your way. Lose yourself in the noise of the lower self, until you have lost all power to discriminate one sound from another, when maybe some Silent One, passing by in search for opportunity to serve, to give knowledge, evidence and illustration of the Law, shall have mercy upon you, shall bestow Compassion's touch upon you, separate you once again from the conglomerate mass into which you have thrown yourself and where you would be held until a listening ear hears your cry and lifts you on to higher, better planes.
You have given ear, you have been caught in the pandemonium of noise. Would you find release? Would you listen to finer, truer, sweeter ecstasies for a season? Would you partake of the permanence of Life? Then have a moment with me alone. I would speak with you where no other ear can hear, in the Presence of none other but your own Higher, Master-Self. I would whisper clear and soft and true the Word that is living Light unto the Soul, Eternal Music to the Spirit. It rests with you if I may speak the Word which is YOUR OWN TRUE SELF.
Flames of a dying day, how high you soar!
As tho you would devour the sky and more,
Paint on its living panoply the score
Of endless days to come,
When round the eternal sun
We pass, our orbit o'er.
Will human minds ne'er grasp and reach
The mighty lesson that you teach?
As sunset marks but one short day
Upon the Earth's eternal way,
So one brief life's too small a space
Our whole vast destiny to embrace!
- Polly Harris
When I give a talk, I usually start with events and attitudes that existed in the past. This is done for a good reason: people do not like change. We not only do not like it but, in spite of all reason, we are going to hang on to old beliefs and attitudes even when it causes us needless discomfort and downright suffering. Some people even call this condition Holy.
History is not just a long list of dates cataloging which king murdered what brother. If you believe in reincarnation, history is our past experience. Our attitudes then are likely to be our attitudes now, because we do resist change. History is a real part of our present lives, and if we weren't so mule-headed about change, we would find that the world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper, patiently waiting for us to cast off old Karma and get on with the new (even making screwed-up new Karma is better than hanging on to the same old stuff!) So, here we go back to the early 1800s:
About the time the United States finally ousted the British, the French put on their own revolution and did a pretty thorough job of wiping out the ruling nobility of their country. What was the result? Democracy? A new, better world? Not noticeably. The result was starvation, worse brutality, and terrorism. Look at African countries trying to govern themselves after years of colonialism, or look at the Soviet Union today. Somehow revolution seems to play into the hands of the gangster element wherever it occurs.
Let's look at Europe just before the French Revolution. It was much more fragmented than it is now. There were a lot more small kingdoms and principalities, all ruled by so-called nobility, who considered themselves a superior group who were responsible for the lower classes, who were considered to be, more or less, irresponsible children. The nobility ruled by force of arms and terror. If you were lucky, you did not belong to that group. The Karmic load they are carrying is definitely not to be desired. You can find them now in prisons in every country of the world. The peasants lived at a poverty level that we have trouble even imagining, but they did have to sharpen their wits in order to just stay alive. They were the wave of the future. They were us!
The nobility considered that they had reached a high level of civilization, and this was most obvious in the way they conducted warfare. When a major problem between countries arose that the diplomats failed to solve, they went to war. Since the ruling classes of most countries were related to each other by marriage, they were all interested in the outcome so they all went forth to battle. They headed, with their armies, for an area in central Europe known as the Iron Triangle. It was an area with rolling hills, an occasional thicket of trees, and several small streams, but no large rivers. The armies would march forth with the soldiers arrayed in bright uniforms and tall hats, their cavalry prancing along on fine steeds, the artillery trotting in precise formation, accompanied by their fife and drum corps and brass bands. The first army to arrive at the iron triangle occupied as much of the high grounds as its size would allow. The second arrival situated itself as strategically as possible, and latecomers took what was left. It was a wonderful sight; flags flying, bugles blowing, and couriers galloping hither and yon. The various generals would look the situation over and, if their position or numbers looked bad, would scout around and try to pick up allies from other countries.
Once positions were established, alliances concluded, and all the threatening posturing finished, the generals would sit down with a glass of wine and determine who had won, what territories would be ceded to whom, and what indemnities would be paid. Then they packed up and went home! All very civilized, they thought. The reality was a little different. The soldiers, in all their finery were, for the most part, hungry young peasants, poorly trained for real fighting, but good at marching in formation and obeying their Lord. The artillery was outdated and, when they headed for the Iron Triangle, speed was essential if they were to occupy a strategic position. To accomplish this, they took along a minimum of equipment and left behind such useless things as ammunition and food. Most of the cannonballs were made of wood - good for barbecuing but not for shooting. The cavalry was well equipped since they were made up of nobles. They were very good at running down unarmed peasants or unruly mobs, but avoided fighting enemy cavalry if they could.
You would think that bloodless battles would be humane. Not so. Sanitation was unknown, so sickness and disease were rampant. If an army of ten thousand went forth, perhaps seven thousand would return. Inoculation against disease consisted of dying young if your system couldn't build up the necessary antibodies. Being hungry all the time didn't help. The land making up the Iron Triangle was farmed, of course, and most wars were scheduled for the fall months after all the crops were in and safely delivered to the Lords.
What about the peasants who did the farming? They tried to hide away enough food to last until the following year and foragers tried to find it. Considering that the armies were made up of conscripted young peasants, the farmers lost out and starved most of the time.
During the revolution, the practice of guillotining the nobility resulted in removing the officers that trained and ran the armed forces. This was overcome by putting good, safe revolutionaries in charge. The money appropriated for the army followed the same route that all good gangsters use: skim some off the top for me, hire relatives so they can skim some more, buy inferior material and food, and don't worry if a few favorites get most of that.
The countries surrounding France, observing all this, licked their chops and looked for a pretext to take France down a peg or two, and maybe make some money on the side.
Now the stage was set for Napoleon, the so-called military genius, to enter.
He had gone through a couple of military academies and always acquitted himself well in handling his troops. He was also considered to be politically safe and ended up as head of one of France's armies. Consequently, he was sent to fight the good fight at the Iron Triangle.
Unknown to anyone, Napoleon had put in quite a bit of time pondering the art of war and how to improve it. He finally came up with an earthshaking idea which, for the times in Europe, was new: War is killing people and breaking things. He also had the bad habit of always being late, keeping other people waiting. So, all the other countries took off for the Iron Triangle, grabbed all of the high ground and smugly waited for Napoleon to show up, which he did - late, of course. In great disarray, first came the artillery galloping along looking more like a mob than an army. They stopped down in the valley surrounded by enemy troops, unhooked their horses and led them away while the rest of Napoleon's troops came straggling along, dragging their muskets in the mud. Then, Napoleon rode up, looked around at the enemy, and roared out the order to fire. All Hell broke loose as the artillery fired volley after volley in every direction. Since the enemy was massed solidly all around them, they didn't even have to aim. They just loaded up, shut their eyes, and fired away. Among enemy ranks, total pandemonium ruled. There were a lot of dead and wounded, of course, but that was nothing compared to the total panic and disorganization that ensued. The horses panicked and bolted in all directions, closely followed by the men and officers. It ended with Napoleon in full control, and the remnants of the armies were in headlong flight. Napoleon deposed the heads, his relatives, of course.
Other countries vilified him as an inhuman monster, a reincarnation of Attila the Hun, but over many years time, the same pattern went on. A country would rebel against his rule, he would send in an army to put down the rebellion, and he would succeed because, while his opponent fielded what they called "a reformed army," what they really did was issue taller hats and tell the troops how savage they were. In fact, they pretty much used the same tactics as U. S. auto makers use when faced with the challenge of better made foreign cars. It didn't work then either.
While Napoleon had the opportunity to change the political structure of Europe, he did not do it. He declared himself Emperor and installed a new nobility throughout Europe. That one thing was the dividing line between the American and French revolutions. France could have gone ahead democratically, but chose to stay with the old ways. You say it was Napoleon, not the people? Not so. The people supported him enthusiastically. If you were alive then, you probably did too.
This was still the time when authority ruled with an iron hand. Their power was the power of the sword and you knuckled under or else. Those military men at the Iron Triangle imposed their terms based on threats of force and worked hand and glove with the church, who ruled the spiritual world by burning heretics at the stake. No threats there, they just did it. All of this happened after 1700 years of Christianity.
-- Linda A. Rollison
But, remember, armed authority, even when it is a small minority, can impose its own terms on everyone and make it stick unless the general population wrests authority from them and strikes out on a new road. Why don't they do it more often? The paramount reason is that it is not easy to change. Some people resist change because of threats of retaliation. The ones that are difficult for me to understand are those who want someone above them, who want to be told what to do; who even want to be locked into utter poverty and misery. Life after life, we put up with it rather than face the unknowns that freedom might bring. Think for ourselves? Heaven forbid!
Let us consider a new age where the emphasis is on self-responsibility instead of unthinking obedience. There are other ways, you know. At present, the art of negotiation is adversarial: hold your cards close to your vest and demolish the opposition if you can. Why not try a different way? Lay all the cards on the table and work out a solution that is beneficial to all parties concerned. The practice of charging all the traffic will bear is based on knowing that people are so ignorant, they will pay because they don't know any different. Why not accept responsibility for ourselves and educate ourselves in basic economics so that we do know the difference? No one who understands the basics would ever pay the interest charges on a credit card. When you consider the load of credit card debt that teachers carry, you know certainly you are not going to learn this in school. We have to learn these things ourselves.
It seems as if Christianity hasn't done much good when you consider the brutality and killing that still goes on, but consider our civilization today: the highways, communication, transportation, freedom from a vicious clergy, labor unions, freedom from slavery except where it is practically self-imposed. All of this and more are based on a civilization based on Christ's teachings. It would not have been possible before Him. When you think about it, we must have done something right.
Now comes the Temple part of all this. The two-thousand year cycle of Christianity is not yet coming to a close. In about 150 years we move into the Aquarian age, which will be two thousand years of God only knows what. I know a lot of you consider we are in the Aquarian age now. The data I am using is astronomical. In 150 years or so, we do enter that area of the heavens labeled Aquarius. Right now we are still, astronomically speaking, in Pisces.
It seems to me that Reincarnation and Karma cannot work properly unless we accept self-responsibility along with them - responsibility for ourselves and our brothers. To bring this about, authoritarianism is going to take a beating. Considering the Laws of Action and Reaction, it is not going to be a pretty sight. But a couple of thousand years down the line we will probably be able to say, "We must have done something right," again, in spite of a lot of unfairness and wrong-headedness. If we expect perfection at the end of a short two-thousand-year cycle, what would there be to learn when the same cycle rolls around 25,000 years from now?
Of course, we don't know what will happen in the Aquarian Age, but we can guess at what might happen. What if we ended up with a society based on fun instead of obedience? I remember taking German from a teacher who was also head of the music department. Along with the usual boring grammar and memorizing of vocabulary, she taught us to sing German songs. That part of the course was fun. Over the years, the only German I remember are the words of German songs. People used to go to church to sing, they endured the sermons but the singing was an outlet for the frustrations of the week and it was fun. They incidentally learned the words to the Hymns, all of which expounded simple Christian messages. The words to the songs lingered in their memories long after the sermons were forgotten. I'm sure that work and learning can be changed from drudgery to fun. Just think how angry authority figures would be if people wouldn't knuckle under and obey because it wasn't fun anymore. The Romans threw early Christians to the lions. I wonder how authority would retaliate in the Aquarian age? I'm sure there are other possibilities but I kind of like that one.
There is another point I would like to make: Neptune has now moved into Aquarius and except for a few months this fall, will stay there for fourteen years. We have just finished fourteen years of Capricorn and are moving into an era that will be different. How different, I don't know. I do know that every time I try to predict the future, I end up with egg all over my face. However, it could serve as a preview in a minor way of what could happen when we enter Aquarius for the long term. It might even give a clue to the direction the Temple should be heading.
This talk started with history in general, then went to Napoleon, and then slid off into future cycles. It may not seem to tie together very well, but there is an underlying theme: authority and the abuses of it in the past and present and what changes might take place if we learn to accept responsibility for ourselves. It cannot be authority imposed from above. To just sit back and obey won't work anymore. It all comes to nothing unless the average person learns self-responsibility and accepts it. The Romans invaded England and enforced a four hundred year peace. When they left, the people reverted to the barbarism that existed before the Romans came. They had obeyed, but they hadn't learned.
- Robert Stenquist
Gather up in one bouquet, as you would gather roses rare, the loves of all the creatures of all worlds, of man, of woman, of animal, of plant, of whirling planet, sun and nebulae - the loves that rise as perfumes to the skies. Add to these all shades, and combinations of all shades that Light has flashed to color. Then bind them with the force of every note and tone which ever gushed from the throats of humanity, bird and beast in song and praise - the chords of that sweet song the morning stars have sung since dawn of life, the rustle of the winds, the moaning of the waves; and if you have no name for such a marvel, you may call it God. Then, if you can see and know the spirit of those loves, those rays of color, perfumes, notes, and chords, and feel that spirit fold you close when one short day of time is closed as, at the setting of the sun, the mother folds her little one and hushes it to sleep and only lays herself to rest when the great Bird of Life has folded close its wings, then and only then, shall you, the offspring of that God, feel and know the peace of God.
These selections from past Artisans are chosen for their insight into the people that gave so richly of their spirit in building the Temple. The first was written by Roberta Shumway to her unborn grandchild in August, 1970.
Dear Expected Grandchild,
I have drawn close to you while knitting a baby blanket in honor of your arrival. As I knit I contemplate the world into which you will be born. My human heart could be apprehensive with premonitions of conditions that are developing in humanity today, if judgment were to be made on outer conditions alone. Yet my soul thrills at the opportunities for spiritual growth that will be yours at this period of humanity's unfoldment. By the time you reach your spiritual maturity for this incarnation, it may be assumed that there will be a leveling off from the impact of tremendous changes taking place now.
Some of these changes are not necessarily progress. Some seem to be going nowhere. But a growing, unfolding consciousness of mankind is seeking newer and better forms through which to function. Hopefully, as we collectively blunder and stumble through these changes, a better understanding of the Divine Plan or Purpose will emerge and some spiritual discrimination will surface to show the way to stability and continuity in the affairs of man.
You will be a part of the responsibility to help stabilize conditions of humanity. It is to be hoped that you will learn young enough that all stability must start within yourself. You bring to your job all your strengths and all your weaknesses garnered through many lifetimes. Your effort will be to stabilize and synthesize these forces within yourself so you may become an effective instrument for channeling the constructive building forces of life to your fellow man.
As an incarnating soul, you have all the characteristic qualities, attributes, and powers that are symbolized by such abstract terms as the twelve houses of the Zodiac, the twelve cosmic divisions, the twelve grand divisions of the great Temples, of the Pyramids and of your own body. The Temple Teachings here in Halcyon have helped us to break down these abstractions into terms that we can more easily understand and work with more meaningfully. The twelve forces or principles are called: Love, Will, Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith, Hope, Truth, Justice, Loyalty, Honesty, Service, and Obedience.
You will be relating and interrelating, acting and reacting to these forces all of your life. To the extent that you build these qualities into the fabric of your life will these, in turn, pour inner strength to you.
As a soul you have chosen to come in at this point in humanity's evolution. Through your spiritual maturing you will find your point of responsibility toward the advancement of the Brotherhood of Man.
And so, dear grandchild so close to incarnation, may the protective forces of Light overshadow you and your soul endeavors, as I hope this blanket will give protection and comfort to your infant body when you make your advent in the very near future.
With deepest love from your grandmother.
During the Convention of 1918, John Varian gave a short paper titled Convention Memories. In his very poetic prose he speaks about the fact that the Temple group has not always been harmonious, that there have been periods of trial and testing. These trials and tests are not imposed by outside forces as part of the "course of study" that we go through, as we did in school. Testing forces serve a very important function in developing the strength and endurance we need to continue on the Path. John said:
I am remembering back to the day of the first meeting [of the first Convention]. Ignorant we were of each other, and very dimly knowing why we came. Forces were passing into and through us searching our powers. It was the initiation of vague yearning - ignorance was upon us, and a prophecy of difficult days. Great dreams were there of harmony and light, with deep misunderstandings latent behind.
Cycling the years fast drifting onward, we met and met and met, and many faces changed or disappeared and new ones there to fill their places; a few were constant to the yearning and the dream. Misunderstanding sat with us year after year, a smoldering fire. Blindly we held together; fiercely we broke away; a few were caught by the Power and the Dream and were not swept away.
Steadfastness sat with them. Set purpose became their friend and the years hastened onward.
The heterodox and the orthodox types were there, the sheep and the goats; Misunderstanding sat between fanning her fire; fiery days she gave through many gray, hard years, and many passed outward through the gates and some went in.
There was a day when Discord seemed supreme, a day of little hope, a year of pain.
Hate sat with us and held its head in pride; the few with steadfastness sat closer for the pain.
Comradeship and love were growing into life, back to back they strove through dark dim days; the wind of fate blew hard upon their souls; the earthquakes rocked their homes; they met the hour grim, resolute, though few.
Then came a shock from out the destiny shaking even the pillars of the house; destruction seemed to hover over us; strong steadfast ones lost heart, sad was our state; even between the wise misconception lived, few words were said but twisted in the ear.
We came together in a pall of gloom, suspicion snake-like coiled within our hearts, our faces masked; the steadfast were not close in confidence, the Temple rocked.
We sat together separate and cold, a hungry longing in us for the close warm heart. Sore we were with bitter words, deep wounded, astonished from savage acquisition.
We sat together separate and cold. A hand passed through the room, a breath came in, a light shone on us, a silent Peace was there. We knew again our brother by our side. The opening words were gold - gleams of love, the fiery day had passed into the Peace. Again we knew our comrades staunch and true, their eyes were gleaming friendship and respect. The bitter days were gone from out our souls.
-- Linda A. Rollison
Troubles were many since that day of days when we rebound ourselves in brotherhood.
Years have passed onward full of difference, and Misconception still must have its chair. But each year as we come, we come more close, the Peace is deeper and the Love unfolds; and we pass onward stronger in the day and we pass onward deeper in the night.
I am remembering back the first meeting; ignorant we were of each other, and very dimly knowing why we came.
There has always been a Children's group in the Temple work. Sometimes there are many children, sometimes a few. In 1918, there was only one. But the spirit behind the idea has never been lost. In the February, 1919 Artisan, the children themselves asked questions about reincarnation during a class. As adults we study this subject, sometimes using very complex Sanskrit words and involved ideas to understand the exact process. We forget that children often get right to the core of the problem through their questions. If we can think as a child, with a child-like heart, we can answer their questions in understandable words. In this particular class, this was the result:
1. What is reincarnation?
A. Jackie says it is coming back into the world again. Jim says it is having lived may lives before. Linckie says it is living on when you die.
2. Are those right answers?
A. They are all right if you understand what they mean.
3. What do they mean by coming back into the world; by keeping on living when the body dies, or having lived many times before?
A. They mean the Knower or Thinker comes back. It always lives. The Knower never dies.
4. What is the Knower?
A. The Thinker or Knower is that part of us which makes us do things, which teaches us anything we know about life.
5. Does the Thinker make us walk and eat?
A. It does. We could do nothing with our bodies without the Thinker any more than we could move without being placed in our bodies.
6. If we come back into the world so many times why don't we remember who we were before?
A. Some people think they do know who they were in other lives but that is not important. They never seem to gain much from the knowledge to help them here. If they do really know they talk very little about it but use all their efforts toward mastering present faults and conditions in this life.
7. Do other things besides people incarnate?
A. Yes, it is thought that they do. New life reincarnates in the plants every year. The sap goes down into the roots in the winter and flows into the branches in the spring, and summer brings new buds, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds. When the seeds are planted, an entirely new tree grows.
8. But the plant doesn't die for new leaves and flowers to grow, does it?
A. No, but it reincarnates with new life each year, just as we are filled with new life during sleep and are ready for work and play in the morning.
9. What happens when we die?
A. The same thing happens to us as to the plants, only in a larger way. The body becomes worn out so sleep no longer rests it. It has done all the work it can and a new body has to be formed. A fuller reincarnation has to be made than when it takes its nightly sleep.
10. Are we really alive when we die, and are we all parts of the same life as the animals and plants?
A. Yes, we are often times more alive when our bodies die than when they are moving about. The body often times hinders us from doing the things that are truest and best.
11. Does the worm reincarnate in the butterfly?
A. It does. The butterfly is a beautiful reincarnation. It is the way all incarnations should be. The last incarnation should always be the brightest, most beautiful, noblest, from something lower to something higher.
12. How can the butterfly come from such an ugly thing as the worm and how did we get started in the beginning?
A. The worm is not ugly when you think of it truly. It is fashioned to do a certain work, and its dress or body is formed so it can best accomplish that work. A pair of working clothes are beautiful on a man who is ploughing. He would look ridiculous in a dress suit. Everyone would laugh at him.
It is difficult to answer the question "How did we get started?" There are many ideas about it. No one can actually tell. It is too much for us to understand. It was some way through the Knower, but it was through the Knower or Heart of God Himself who has not yet made everything clear to us. It is all right to think about, but it is also well not to try too hard to get the answer, for it unfits us for our daily work, and the Knower will tell us when it is time for us to know.
Like the children, let us trust the Knower within to lead us in ways that help us to realize our highest ideals, all the while using wisdom, love, tolerance and lashings of humor to go as lightly as possible over the bumps on the Path of spiritual aspiration.
- Eleanor L. Shumway
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Throughout all Nature in every department of Life the Fires of Purification and Regeneration are surging, sweeping and cleaning with unerring accuracy until the process is thoroughly completed. These fires either purify or consume. It is a fiery baptism to clear the path for the advent of the Radiant Son whose rays shine on all alike.
As a result, the opposite pole has been aroused to a frenzy against the constructive forces of Love, Light, and Power.
When the housecleaning is over, the dross of the lower nature burned away, when our hearts are purified, when nations, countries and individuals settle their disputes, differences by reasoning, counsel, and mutual understanding, then can the Shining One usher in the New Day, the dawn of Universal Brother/Sisterhood.
- Pearl F. Dower
My Child: "Take heed lest you despise one of these little ones." These words do not apply solely to little children, they apply equally to new ideas or ideals; little, because they are new to the people of a new race; new, because they are not fully grown. A new race is being conceived and born; a new age is opening; change is the order of the day.
Prejudice and pride can work as much injury to the soul as deliberate crime. The one great prize for the humanity of this age to strive for is the gaining of an open mind. Of course it is hard to gain.
Whatever you have gained of good, retain and use, but do not deny the good that some other person has gained. When there is a struggle in your mind between the two, be wise enough to allow experience to guide your course of action.
When an individual permits a personal bias in some one direction to cloud his power of righteous judgment, he jeopardizes his power of correct vision in other directions, and correct vision is dependent upon adherence to the divine fundamental laws of growth. It is not easy for man to understand that two diametrically opposed methods of action may both be right.
- Teachings of the Temple, Vol. 2
-- Linda A. Rollison
The mystery of consciousness is the primal mystery. In consciousness are synthesized all qualities of the phenomenal world manifesting in endless diversity as colors, sounds, forces, elements, metals, electrons, atoms, molecules, minerals, vegetables, animals, humans, gods, and so on.
Consciousness is of two kinds: namely, Absolute Consciousness and relative consciousness. No finite mind can comprehend Absolute Consciousness because it is consciousness without conditions, limitations, or relations of any kind whatsoever. Therefore all we know of consciousness is relative.
Were you to awaken some fine morning and find that the universe had disappeared in the night, that this planet on which you lived had vanished, that the house in which you lived had been dissipated, that the room in which you had gone to sleep was no more, that the bed on which you slept was also gone, that your body also was no more, that even your astral and inner bodies on the plane of form had all likewise disappeared, you would certainly be bewildered, to put it mildly. For, if you were capable of thinking at all (which you would not be), you would no longer have any sense of proportions or relations, for all relativity would have disappeared with the disappearance of the phenomenal world, which is based on relativity or the relations of one thing to another (space), or the sequence of one event to another (time). Thus both space and time would also have disappeared, and you would then be in a state (which is no state) of Absolute Consciousness, which is exactly the same as a state of Absolute Unconsciousness, just as a state of Absolute Motion is the same as a state of Absolute Rest.
We may perhaps, by analogy, get a glimmering or a suggestion of what Absolute Consciousness is if we liken it to the White Synthetic Light. In that White Light all colors have disappeared. That White Light is no color, and yet has in it all color. It has in it absolutely all color because, in the Silence of that White Light, colors are without conditions, limitations, or differentiations.
Relative consciousness is entirely of the phenomenal world, and functions on the four lower planes of being. It is the result of a cognition of relations by the light of Intelligence inhering in substance-matter itself, meaning the matter of all planes. This Light of Intelligence senses itself reflected - mirrored - from plane to plane, and between planes and sub-planes, and this reflection of intelligence is relative consciousness, or consciousness as our finite minds understand the term.
Thus everything we see or sense is a reflection of ourselves, or some aspect of ourselves, from one plane or another. When we look into the face of a friend or enemy, an angel or devil, or any one of the myriad units of humanity around us, we are simply cognizing a reflection of ourselves, or some aspect or phase of ourselves, as the same is reflected from various planes or sub-planes back to us, and the same is true of other units who sense our reflection on their own mirrors of mentality.
This brings us back to the basic primal truth that in the ultimate it is Atma, the White Light of Consciousness, which is the Real Knower, which in the final analysis senses and realizes the phenomenal world synthetically - and thus perfectly.
- William H. Dower
Creative joy was apparent on the faces of the many young faces at the annual Easter Egg Coloring Celebration in Hiawatha Lodge on April 11. Colorful dye was applied in beautiful patterns to eggs, shirts, hands, table mats and floor. It all cleaned up easily and the Easter Bunny was grateful for the twenty dozen colored eggs. The next morning he hid them on the Central Home grounds for those same small, and not so small, children to find. After Temple Services honoring the spiritual side of Easter, we all gathered in Hiawatha Lodge for a Potluck Dinner. The whole day was a sunny break from the rain.
The Center grounds with their lavish displays of grasses resulting from heavy winter rains are beginning to dry out and the process of mowing to reduce fire danger in the months ahead has begun. We mow carefully, allowing the wildflowers to seed themselves first.
On May 2, The Temple held the first of several planned Open House exhibits, inviting everyone to tour the Temple, University Center, Hiawatha Lodge and William Quan Judge Library. There are special displays of art work, artifacts, and historical photos that share our history over the past 100 years.
The Halcyon Store and Post Office is still going strong after 90 years of operation. Over the years, many proprietors have left their mark. Beginning with William Kent, the Post Office has been a Temple connection to the whole world. Agnes Varian added a branch of the County Library, so by 1927 a person could purchase a money order, check out a library book, have a slice of cheese cut from the round wheel, and even fill up with gas from the pump out in front - all services rendered by the same obliging, if somewhat breathless clerk! Over the years, Aileen Harrison, Joyce Hedin, Dick Lentz, Maggie Covington, Toni Giliberti, John Stamas, Marti Fast, Barbara Ricardo, and now Susie Clark have all been "Clerk in Charge" of the Post Office. All of these hardy souls have done double duty as well by filling needs of body, mind, and spirit with interesting mixes of food, books, tapes, records, coffee freshly brewed, or coffee beans to take home, and a sympathetic ear to listen to joys and sorrows. Many people have helped in the store, following the lead of the Clerk in Charge, to meet the changing needs of the community and give the operation their own unique flavor.
Hiawatha Lodge was built as a social center for The Temple in 1927 and remodeled in 1977. Over the years the Lodge has served The Temple for dinners on holidays and any other occasion, and for fund-raising rummage sales and bazaars. With its excellent stage, it is a great place for plays, music recitals and other programs. For many years it also proved a wonderful school room for one of the school district's special education classes. Currently, the Adult Day Care service uses the large kitchen-sitting room Monday through Friday to provide support to those in need of supervised day care. The local school district also shares the Lodge three days a week for sewing classes. During this Centennial Year Celebration the Lodge walls are displaying an art show, "Temple Gifts," with artwork from Halcyon artists given to the Temple over the years.
Temple groups: Several Temple members and friends in New York City meet every week to study and discuss the Temple Teachings. There are also groups that meet regularly in London, England, and in several 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.-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 Song of Hiawatha," features 12 of the series of 24 four-by-four-foot oils depicting the life and legends of Hiawatha and the League of Six Nations, along with their working watercolor sketches. The sketches give the viewers a glimpse of the creative process Forgostein experienced as he developed the final compositions for the larger paintings. Also on display are many interesting articles and artifacts accumulated throughout 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. All other Sundays are speakers meetings. The public is cordially invited to all services.
Speakers in the Sunday services were: March 8, Eleanor Shumway: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow; March 15, Bob Stenquist: Authority; March 22, Margaret Thyrring: Dr. Dower's paper on The Lodge and This Planet; April 19, Eleanor Shumway: Voices; May 10, Barbara Ricardo: Our Foundations; May 17, Istvan Balogh: The Temple, America and the World; May 24, Ivan Ulz: Prelude to Faith; June 14, Eleanor Shumway: Pearl Dower's paper on Lodge Agents.
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