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Part two of The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception is a wonder. It is magnificent in the magnitude and majesty of its scope, and the depth of its meaning. It is engaging in the intricacy and detail of describing spirals, within spirals, within spirals. It is amazing when one considers that, with all of its depth and intricacy, it is merely a skeleton of a reality far more dense in form, and meaning.
There is a peculiarity about wonder and amazement. In such a state one is apt to dwell in awe, as if the experience of the emotion were sufficient in itself. If you do that, you neglect to ask the fundamental questions, the whys and hows, of the quest that brought you to read the Cosmo-Conception to begin with. You can feel that you don’t need anything more. Contentment. As Rosicrucian aspirants we are warned about the dangers of contentment. For example, Max Heindel tells us there is no standing still in evolution. Either one is progressing or regressing. Standing still in a continuously progressing flow is regressing. In Greek mythology, Theseus, on his way to becoming a hero (an Initiate), sat in the chair of contentment in Tartarus when invited to do so by Hades, the lord of the land of the dead. He was immediately stuck. He would have remained stuck for ages had not the true hero, Heracles, pulled him out of the chair.
Christian Mysticism is an active way of life. It is to be lived, not merely studied. If we merely accept the content of the Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception and leave it at that, we are no better off than the people who accept the creed of their belief and have that as their religion for life, without question. Not only is the life of spiritual aspiration active, there is a sense of urgency about it. This chemical world, which is so important to awakening consciousness, will not be here for long. There is urgency in relieving the unnecessary suffering of so many in this world. We want to help as many as we can to awaken while we can. There is personal urgency in that we don’t want to continue to do the hurtful things we have been doing for so long. Who hasn’t harshly criticized a friend, for example? We even need to approach philosophical questions with a sense of urgency. It makes it easier to find answers if we really want to know, if it is important to us. “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth.”
Why are there all of these spirals within spirals within spirals?
Sometimes the best answers are simple. This seems to be one of those times. The simple answer lies in the fact that spirit has unlimited potential character facets. Thus, in evolution, the more different conditions the spirit can be brought to experience, the more character facets it can develop to the glory of God. There are conditions about evolutionary conditions. In our evolutionary creation there is a cosmological order in which the conditions are presented, so they can best fulfill divine intent. In the Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception the cosmological order is both simple and far-fetched. Intellectual understanding of how it works, sometimes seems vague and distant; although music seems to be a good way to get the feel of it. In music, one set of thoughts and feelings in a chord, resolves into another chord of thoughts and feelings, and it feels intuitively right to our understanding. We get it.
There are other limitations about evolutionary conditions, such as one must experience a condition thoroughly enough to develop and awaken a character facet. Often this means sufficient duration, experiencing something long enough for it to take effect, for it to sink in. In evolutionary time that can be a considerable duration, millions of years, if years are even a viable unit of measurement. Some things can come in a moment, in a lifetime, or many lifetimes.
If you drive an auto across the United States, you can get a sense of the interplay of conditions and consciousness. Driving through the flat and seemingly endless Great Plains, you can get a sense of the character development of the sodbusters. In this way, you can see this with river people or mountain men and other environments, and their effect on character development. These are examples of external environmental conditions. One can also see the effect of inner conditions on character. A life lived in fear can have devastating effects on character development.
When we come to more inward and psycho-spiritual conditions, another factor comes into play. In inner things we are more active participants. We are creative free agents. We do change the outer physical environment, but not as much and as immediately as we change our inner environment. It doesn’t take long to produce an environment of fear with an attitude of anger. Our thoughts and emotions are our creations. We cannot change the mountains, but we can change how we think about them. Thoughts and emotions are our responsibilities. They are our duties and our creative privileges.
We have found something precious in the Rosicrucian philosophy and are filled with the blessings of the spirit, if we accept them. “That my joy may be full in you.” We want to share these blessings but we don’t want to be preachy or proselytizing. We want to give our best.
The best way of sharing is to be found in the way we live our lives. If our lives are true to spiritual values, those values will shine through. Others will see them and respond. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.” Our lives are a general statement, within them are the particulars. Each of us has particular talents, callings and interests through which he or she can share. We want to do that well. Max Heindel, when corresponding with students and Probationers, repeatedly reminded them of the importance of efficiency. We have only so much time and energy available to us, we want to use it efficiently to get the most out of it.
Sometimes the way we do things thwarts our intentions. Inefficiency. Our personalities get in our way. Emerson said, “what you are speaks so loudly, I can’t hear what you say.” Sometimes we don’t take into account the beliefs of those with whom we would share and that contributes to inefficiency. Doing so, we generate resistance instead of receptivity. Max Heindel recommended doing good secretly.
Sharing the truth secretly often avoids unnecessary resistance. Efficiency. Some of the problems of today are different from the problems of the time of Max Heindel. There is a large and growing proportion of society which has no cultural background that includes Christ and Christianity. Often such people are suspicious and resistant when they encounter religious language even though they might eagerly accept the values. One should be able to share the truth of Christ and Christianity without religious names and terminology. In doing this, one does not deny Christ, a thing forbidden by Christ in the Gospels. Instead, one glorifies Christ in truth rather than in name. It is the truth that counts and not the wrappings, which can be modified to conform to the truth. The parables in the Gospels are wrappings designed to share truth that could not be received directly because the hearers were not yet ready to receive truth directly. Who of us is? If we were able to, we would all be Initiates.
Christian Mysticism is an open philosophy which we want to share effectively and efficiently. If we cannot share it directly, we must find another way. Arts have proven to be excellent means of sharing. People seek them out for entertainment and will be inwardly affected by them, provided they point to truth, and are not too preachy. Whether on the large or small screen, movies are enormously popular. Certainly not all of us will become filmmakers or playwrights but, if we study how things are shared effectively by them, we can see how modern parables can be produced to share ideas about how we can share Christian Mysticism in our little lives.
Artistic presentations are distillations of life. They are intended to communicate something has been learned in life, in a concentrated form, that speaks to other humans. Brevity is important to hold audience attention. Efficiency. Few will sit through lengthy presentations unless they are compelling. With that in mind, we can briefly share a couple of simple movie scenarios that accurately convey Christian Mystical principles. We remember that they must be accurate, or the truth will be diluted. These examples could be longer, but there is insufficient space for that.
A western movie is a classic genus to begin with. A gang of outlaws are drawn together by greed. Attraction. They hold up a bank. Then they flee to the badlands to hide from the posse that is sure to pursue them. While in hiding two of them conspire and decide that the lookout didn’t do enough to deserve a full share of the loot. Besides, there will be so much more for everyone if they eliminate him, which they do. Repulsion. This action begets another similar action and the gang dwindles and nobody trusts anyone else. In the end only two remain and they kill each other. The posse arrives and retrieves the money without having to fire a shot.
This is a simple scenario which this writer has actually viewed in a theater. It is also an accurate presentation of the principle of attraction and repulsion in the lower desire world during life and in purgatory. Its accuracy hits home. Its simplicity and action hold the viewers’ attention without it being diverted into unnecessary complexities. More complex emotions could be conveyed with more artistry when one is skilled enough to bring that about.
The war movie is another classic genus. In a war movie, action and sacrifice can draw the viewer in. In violent action, especially when the odds are against them, soldiers draw together. Among military people it is a well- known fact that soldiers fight more for each other than for their country, which is too abstract for the situation. Buddy relationships develop. In the heat of the action of battle a soldier is hit and dies in the arms of his buddy. As he dies, he says something like, “Joe you have to live for me and do the things that I cannot.” Joe promises. He goes on to become a hero and, after the war, he lives an exemplary life with a special charisma that influences many for the better. In Christian Mysticism we are taught not to live for ourselves, but rather to do things for the Christ’s sake. Christ is the universal and ultimate buddy. When we do this, we transcend egoism and draw on the power of the Life Spirit. This scenario, again seen by this writer in the movies, demonstrates the power of living for the Christ’s sake without even having to mention his name. As stated, it is perhaps too simple, but the concept can be sophisticated considerably without diluting or distorting the principle. It doesn’t matter if our sharing is simple or complex, or deep or shallow, or sophisticated or commonplace. What matters is that it is true. If it is true, it will have its effect.
It is hard to conceive of a romantic comedy conveying some sublime esoteric truth, but there are other genera that can, both in the movies and in life. We are becoming divine, creative beings. Creativity is not something which will be bestowed on us in the future, it is something we are developing now, if we take the opportunity. From third heaven until the death of the dense physical body in the cycle of rebirth, our lives and everything we do in them are our greatest and most important creations. In the words of our master, “Freely have you received, now freely give,” to which it might be added, “and do so creatively.”
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