between the lines (1942)

7/30/2019 Between the Lines (1942)

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BETWEEN

THE

LINES

ROSICRUCIAN ORDER A M 4> R C

SAN JOSE. CALIFORNIA



Life and Eternity

Copyrlghted by

Supremo Grand Lodge

of AMORC

March, 1943

Life is existence. Th is existen re is bounded by afuture eternity toward which all of us move, and the

unknow n from whence we carne. Between these two

lines— the eter nity of the future and the one of the

past— are the few brief years which we claim as our

own. Into this short span we must crowd our hopes,

love, am bition, and achievem ents. Pow er, wealth,

wisdom, and understanding are not the gifts of life,

for life has onlv two things to offer vou or anv manor woman. Th e first is CO NSC JOU SNE SS, the fac-

ultv of knowing that you are YOTJ. and the serond

is TTTE MTGHTY LAWS AND RESOURCES OF

N A TU RE . The se two can make all the others possi-

ble. Thev are instruments with which we can probe

beneath the surface and reveal the treasures of hap-

piness and affluence which most men and women

trample benpath their feet as they stnmhle through

the years, their eyes fastened upon a blind future.

As for consciousness, everv human has it, but mostof thern dissipate it in self-pity, false appraisal of

their imp ortance, and id le wishes that a fortúnatecombination of circumstances will suddenly bringthem ease, freedom from strife, and the power ofwisdom they envy in others. Also, all hu m anity hasthe equal right to direct the forces and hidden pow-

ers of natúre, but most of us lack the

patience and initiative to take time from

the fleeting pleasures of the day to seek

in these mysteries the lasting content-

ment and abundance which they conceal.

Opportunities are made, not found.

The fisherman who made a successful

haul did so because he put himself where

fish were apt to be, and prepared himselffor a probable eventu ality. No phy sician

L I F E

E NV l RO NME NT

A T T A I N ME NT



ever attained success in his profession by excludinghimself from humanity and its ailments. No prospector ever found rich veins of ore by sailing tne sevenseas. No ma n or woman ever found the real joys ofliving by drifting with the tide of the times. Lifecan be your successive steps toward the highestideáis you can imagine, each one rich in beautifulexperiences and the fullness of living, or it can be ahideous memory, punctuated with the recollectionof false starts and disillusionment. Rem em ber, life

owes you no thing; you are indebted to it for theopportunity it has given you.

Self-Examination

Th ere is nothing like a pointed question— if we

attempt to answ er it fairly, even to ourselves— for

compelling thought, causing reflection and self-

analysis. Th erefo re, throughout this booklet, there

will appear questions which you should, without

hesitation, be able to answer to your own inner sat-

isfaction. If you a re not certain of your answers, if

they do not bring that immediate intuitive response,

that feeling that you are right, it reveáis that your

personal philosophy of life is not as stable as it should

be; that inwardly you have not come to a conclusión

regarding some of life’s greatest problems, problems

which affect you and every hum an being. It is the

purpose of the Rosicrucian teachings to help men

and women establish a sound philosophy of living

that can and will bring them the greatest good in

life.

Q U E S T I O N O N E : By wJtat do you measure happi- ness?

Do You Make Your World

or

Does the World Make You?

Env ironm ent teaches us a great lesson. It reveáis

that there are two courses for us to follow in life.

One is negativ e, limited, even dangerous; the other

positive, unlimited, masterful. W e can either be

acted upon, which is the negative course, or do the

actin g, wrhich is the positive one. T he blades of grassin your lawn are examples of things which are acted

upon. Th ey have no choice of surroundings. Th ey

cannot avoid the sun’s scorching rays or the chilling

frosts, or seek the cooling waters of a nearby stream.

They are reared in an environment in which they

have no choice, and over which they have no con

trol. Th ey are at the m ercy of the elements, and if

they flourish there is no assurance that a changing

fate may not the next day or month rob them of the

strength it gave them. An y gardener or nursery m an

would hesitate to predict the eventual fate of a lawn

exposed to the changing moods of the elements without the guiding intelligence of man .

Millions of humans are like the simple blades of

grass. Hu m anity springs up in every córner of the

earth and every extreme of environment. Men strug-

gle with existence in the blistering sun of the tropícs,

the paralyzing coid of the arctics, in dark, murky

swamplands, on top of mountains and on the rollingplains. Bu t it is to be deplored tha t most

of them permit themselves to be acted

upon by their environment, and they

consequently bear its mark. It not only

affects their physique and the color and

texture of their skin, eyes, and hair, buteven their thinking and mode of living.

As the eminent writer, John Hodgdon

Bradley, said: “The fabric of human life

has been woven on earthly looms.” In

ENVIRONMENT

A T T A I N M E N T



other words, men and women too easily let earth, to

which we are rooted, fashion their future.

M an y are successful only because their surround-

ings, like a rich soil alive with potential gestation,

bear fruit without their efforts. But unfo rtunate are

the many who are planted in a sterile environment

which, like a poor soil wanting in fertility, brings

forth an everyday monotonous existence, lacking in

the beauty and splendor of a radiantly happy life.

Humans that are left to the mercy of environment

bring about strange effects in society and civilization.To again quote Mr. Bradley: “The works and

thought of the Montanan are not those of the Mis-

sissippian. T h eir outlooks on life are differen t, large-

ly because nature has given metáis to the one and

denied them to the other.” But men and women

need not be denied by nature because of where they

were born, for they can bring into their province the

things they need and desire, or wish to comprehend.

You can shake off the shackles of oíd habits, the

association and influence of people around you with

limited minds, biased opinions, and outworn ideas.

Therefore, why push against a stone wall? W hy try

to change clay into marble? You can, if you but

know the simple secret, take your present environ

ment and make it produce rich returns, for every-

thing has its purpose when you learn the Cosmic

plan.

U N E M P L O Y M E N T — of M a n o r M ind ?

Soon the world will be facing ajrain a great economic and socialcrisis. W hy? Becau se there will have been too much concernover the employment of man and too little concern over the employment of his mind. Wha t will the thousands who will be inline in front oí the gates of milis, factorie», and doors of largecorporations, be waiting for? Fo r employment? Yes, eventually.But first they are dependent upon some individual or group ofindividuáis employing their minds, their inner Creative faculties,to set into motion the business, the demands, which will givethese thou sands work. Man must employ his mind before he canemploy his hands or his trade. Eve ry act worth while is precededby thought and the exercise oí the mental faculties. Thousandstomorrow, if they learn to employ the innate faculties of theirminds, will not nnd thei r hands or feet ldle. They will not besubject to the whims and fancies of those few who do think,plan, and control the destiny oí our present civilization.

Q U E S T I O N T W O : Just what do you re al ly thinkis the purpose of lije, and are you living accordingto that purpose?

A Straight Line

Is the Shortest Path

Between Two PointsThe first practical step forward toward attainment

is the estabíishme nt of an ideal. It mu st be a soundideal; one that is in accord with reason and the lawof nature. An ideal which violates common sense,or the laws of nature, or the decency of society, isfalse, and the road one travels to reach it is filled

with the inevitable pitfalls of disgrace, misfortune,and disillusionment. Th e man or wom an whose ideal

is to live for today, to take life as it comes, finds life

slowly becom ing drab, dull, sordid; for the lack of

change becomes aggravating. Th e newness of living

wears off after youth has waned. Life’s commonplace

functions which were at first thrilling surprises be-

come routine ma nners of living. Th e mind of man

must create new worlds to be conquered, new fields

of hum an endeavor to explore. Th e first fundam en

tal joy of life is expectancy, and the highest is reali-

zation. Th ere is nothing that pleases like building

mental pictures and finally realizing them as reali-

ties, dreams that have come true through your own

efforts. Th ere is nothing that brings as much happi-

ness to the soul of a man or woman as the satisfac-

tion of looking upon his own handiwork well done,

whether it be a painting, a successful business ven-

ture, the solution of a vexing personal problem, the

security of his family or future, or the molding of a

child into a noble charac ter. W hen the mind has

established its ideal, that ideal draws us forward like

a magnet. Eac h day that we approach it brings us

added pleasure; but the line to tha t ideal must be

straight, and the straight line between

you and your fondest hopes and desiresis knowledge.

Thousands, yes, millions, have failed

to reach their goals, to attain their ideáis

in life, because of detours, wrong starts,

mistakes, costly errors. Others have final

ly reached tlieir goals too late in life

to en joy them, all due to un necessary

delays.

A T T A I N M E N T



Look back over your life today. If you were to

live it again would you do many of the things you

have done? Ce rtainly not. Th en wh y wait un til to-

morrow arrives to reveal to you the mistakes that

you are ma king today? You can be directed. You

can be shown how to avoid these things that would

hinder you. You c an be told how to overcome your

limitations and handicaps which you endure with

patience now, but which you will later in life look

back upon as lost years.

Do You Face These Problems?

Have you a faulty memory? Are some of the

iinest experiences of your life lost to you forever

behind the closed doors of forgetfu lness? Th e im-

provement of memory is a simple process, but it

might as well be complex if you do not know it.

How long will you deny yourself that knowledge?

Do habits rob you of your initiative and ambition?

Are you forever promising yourself to stop that or

begin this, and yet seem to lack the necessary will

to enforce your wishes? Are you sub ject to the dictatorial iníluence and domination of others, held

down by the arrogance and self-interest of those

around you? The se conditions of life can be over

come, no matter who you are or where you are.

You ca n think, read, and write— these are the simple

requiremen ts. You have them ; therefore, let the

Rosicrucians teach you how to adapt them to your

life and its problems as they have taught thousands

of others for years, decades, centuries.

Q U E S T I O N T H R E E : Do you actually know what your latent talents or slumbering aoilities are?

Q U E S T I O N F O U R : Do you act only according to suggestions made by those around you, and do you let the affairs of the day suggest the things you should do?

Q U E S T I O N F I V E : Do you know how to awaken the Creative forces of your mind, to arouse the dor- mant intuitive ideas within you which can make you independent of suggestions from others?

The Unknown You

You have often heard of the inner radiations ofself, the slumbering being within, the subconsciousmind, and a host of other terms implying and de-claring that man possesses an inner intelligence thatis capable of great attainment if he but knows howto direct it. Perhaps you have hesitated in furtherinvestigatáng these matters, for want of some con-fírmation that such an intelligence or power reallydoes exist. Of course, the best con firm ation is self-proof, but undoubtedly you sought verification fromsome other source first. A discussion of the subjectwith a friend or acquaintance would perhaps elicitthe u sual, “pooh-pooh, nothing to it,” though actu allyyour friend or acquaintance may have known lessabout the subject than yourself. These remarks m ayhave discouraged you, made you somewhat self-conscious when you attempted any further investi-gation. But the masses have alway s ridiculed anddecried the unusual, the new. T he y stoned Galileo,imprisoned Columbus, laughed at Marconi, ridiculedthe W righ t brothers, would not listen to Bell’s experimental telephone, and were going to lynch a

professor because he dared to discuss the topic ofevolution.

For centuries the Rosicrucians and other schools

of advanced thought have had to extend information

regarding the mysteries of life cautiously, even as

they do today, because people do not want to believe.

They do not wish to be stirred from their lethargy.

But now it is an indisputable scientific fact that

there is an inner intelligence which is capable of

miracles in the affairs of humans if they learn its

use. Eve n the m ost conservative scientists in ortho-

dox laboratories have proven that a hidden power

of mind exists. Read what Dr. Carrel, while with

the Rockefeller Institute of Science, stated:

"Knowledge of the external world may come to man throughother channels than sense organs. It is certain that thought

may be transmitted from one individual to another,even if they are separated by long distance. Thesefacts whicn belong to the new Science of meta-physics must be accepted as they are. They con-stitute a part of the reality. They express a rareand almost unknown aspect of ourselves. They arepossibly responsible for the uncanny mental acute-ness observed in certain individuáis.

Those individuáis who cry “bunk and bosh” areplacing themselves in the ludicrous position of op-posing the world’s foremost thinkers and eminentscientists. The greatnes s of life. the fulflllment ofyour fondest hopes, depend upon your understand-íng of this innate power and intelligence of selfand of nature. The Rosicru cians have been ration-ally and practically teaching the methods of con-

tacting it to thousands of intelligent men and womenthroughout the world for centuries.



T y j This Experiment

Great minds of the past, and our modern scientists,

have conducted m an)’’ exp erim ents to prove that

man has two nervous systeins. Firs t, the com mo nly

known, spinal nervous system, the cord of which

passes through the vertebr ae of the spine. Second,

there is the sympathetic nervous system. This latter

ha s two trunk Unes. One lies on the right side and

the other on the left of the spine, and parallel withit. It was originally named sympathetic because, in

a very sfrange way, it sympalhetically influences the

actions of the spinal nervous system and the human

bodv and mind. Th is symp athetic nervous system

contains an energy of a very high vibratory nature,

entirely different from the seemingly electrical im

pulses of the ordinary nervous system . It is related

to the psychic functions and faculties of man, his

emotions, instincts, and intuition— or the inner na

ture of man . Th e vibrations of the right trunk are

positive in nature, and those of the left are negative.

These two energies radíate principally from the firstthree fingers of each hand, and can be used to ac-

complish many useful things within and without

our bodies. Th es e energies have been demonstrated

in laboratory tests with a galvanometer. However,

you can simply prove to yourseü that you have such

an infinite pow er and that you can increase it if you

desire. Conduct the following easy expe rimen t for

self-proof.

I N S T R U C T I O N S F O R C O N D U C T I N G T H I SR O S I C R U C I A N E X P E R I M E N T

Place your flve flngers of both hands together, In auch a waythat they po¡nt nway (rom the body. Be aure that the palma of

the hands are separated by about 1*4 ínches (see illustrationNo. 1). Do not press the tips of the flngers too strongly, justflrmly. Rold them this way for three minutes and you will noticethat heat is being generated in the open space between the palma.That will be only ordinary body heat.

Now take a long breath. hoid It for a few seconds. and as youtake this energy Into yimr lurigs. you will find the heat ioereasingbetween the palma so that the flesh o( the palma begms to tingle.

This resiilt is eaused by bringmg the two intenslfled sources ofvibrations of the «ympalhetic nervons e.vstem together—in otherwords, that enetyy which radiates from your flnger tips. andgene ratea heat. Th is same energy can be used by the mind, Justas it is used by nature in your body.

N^xt. take the thumb of the right hand flrmly In the grip ofthe thumb and first two flngers o I the left hand (See lllustra tionNo. 2.) Have the other fingers of the right hand extended, so thatthey do not touch the left hand.

Do not squeeze the thumb. Keep this grip for three minutesthen tak e one long breath and hold It whlle you feel not Just theordinary body warmth, but the positive energy generated in therljjht tnumb, passing to the left thumb. and going up the leftarin.

This klnd of energy is passing from your body—disaipatlngStself hourly. You can Increase it. as tnese experimenta haveproven. The R osi crucian s can teach you how to use II for mentaland physical effi ciency . Thts is bul uae of the many simpledemonstrations of those natural laws which are taught by theRuátcruei&iiá.

Thln psyí -hnlnr lonl exper lmonf mn«t NOT he ronfnned withM Itellef in nn.v <uiprrna(nriil powertt or any lorm of Ruperkti t loa ,nerrnmanry or procOoNttcatloa .

G-S5 lOifi



ROSICRUCIAN ORDER

SAN JOSE, CA LIFOR NIA

T H K R O S I C R U C I A N P R E S S , L T D . , S AN J O S E , C A L I F O R N I A

P R I N T E D IN U . S . A .

between the lines (1942)

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