Science of Man Quarterly
Autumn 2008
Dear Brothers in Christ,
I remember so clearly the moment, the effect, 37 years ago, of reading a sentence from the Order’s Tree of Life lessons: “The Son (Sun) is the visible manifestation of the Christos.” It opened the doors to a deeper understanding that every living thing in its most basic design and function is a transformer of energy. Whether a flower or a tree, a fish or a fowl, a man or a beast: our most basic purpose and function here on earth is to receive and accept the Creator’s supply of energy, and use it in a way that furthers the generation of more Life. “You shall know them by their fruits”.
All the plants and animals are in perfect attunement with this process and fulfill the Creator’s pattern. How ironic it is that we humans have gotten the process of energy utilization so out of balance and accord.
Humans found that they could overcome some of the inconsistencies in the natural power supply by finding and using fossil fuels. So man takes this wonderful gift of stored-up ancient sunlight to produce far more abundance than he actually needs.
We are at a crossroads now, beginning to understand how our overuse of fossil energy has created an unbalanced and unsustainable way. As Father Paul could put it so simply: “Adjust or pass!”
The sun gives earth many more times the amount of energy we could use, every day. Mankind now has the resources and technological keys to harness and move into a more direct relationship with the power of the sun. How quickly can mankind move in this direction? The slower we adjust, the more painful the transition. It will be a spiritual awakening that moves us to work together and use our resources to harness solar energy. A collective realization that the Son (Sun) is our true source, and that we must connect with it and share it in a way that brings us into balance with earth’s natural and spiritual potential.
A happy Solar Equinox to all,
Rev. Mark
Sermon given in 1971 through Father Paul: To a Brother in the Service of God
To a brother in the service of God, the Rev. _______He wrote me concerning their new movement…what they call charismatic branch of their church…This Order [HOOM ]is not interested in a church, but the truth as it is and has been always…
This Order is dedicated and has received our Lord as Master of its Order and has accepted that there is but one way, and that is the way of the New Testament and our Master’s word. There may be many schools of a different nature, but basically, they are all fundamentally at the very foundation, teaching the same few basic, principled truths, which the Father in heaven which created this solar system handed down unto us. And in the finality, we only seek to bring the truth which has been the worship of the Christ, the First-born Son of the Father, unto this world. That it may be truly added by all of us here, and by all of us in this world, into the doctrine and the teachings of all churches. And that the truth and the law and the mysteries may be revealed and may be taught to all men. We have no ambition to build churches. We have no ambition to destroy churches or teachings. Our only ambition, our only striving is to teach those whom are teaching that they may fully give unto the youth of the world and anyone else who is seeking the teachings of this New Testament, and the teachings which have gone before it that support it, the true worship of the Christos and the Father in heaven through our Lord Jesus Christ.
For somehow or other, man, through these hundreds of years since our Lord was here as the great Messiah…now Lord of this earth, and so close that his very breath is our breath, his very life is our life…somehow man has always sought to have his way, either in the material world or in the spiritual world in one way or another. And somehow, as in the ancient Hebrew rituals of the sacrificing of the fatted calf, man has not understood. For it is not until we are able as a body of dedicated brothers and priests, able to make that same sacrifice that was in the Jewish temple, the fatted calf…the over-filled mind. Until we have put our mind upon the altar, until we have laid down our whole being, can we listen to the voice of the Almighty God, and our Lord Jesus Christ from within our holy temples, which have been prepared for Him.
I am not a professional theologian, so to speak. And I claim no degrees in that particular aspect of theology. I am a Doctor of Divinity, rightfully earned. But I know and I have been shown one particular thing. And it is supported by our Lord Jesus and His words. And I have often thought of it as I have read the lengthy works supporting some particular little passage or phrase of our Lord’s teaching. I have understood their writings. I am very appreciative of the great number of hours and the great effort that they have made in order to get to the point where they could read and understand the many languages, and the hours of dedication in giving these interpretations. I do not belittle them, nor do I belittle any man who acclaims or does assume the robe or the way of the ministry in any form or any church.
But as I read their works and listen to their discourses, I am so convinced that the Master Jesus Christ, our Lord of this earth, was so right when he said, “Unless ye be as little children, ye shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” For unto this work, it cannot be of yourself…There are many things in this day that are attracting the young people in their search for good…to satisfy that appetite that comes from within. And it can only be supplied through the true and the truths of our Lord Jesus. Not something interpreted, but the reality.
And you know, it is an interesting thing. When we study back through the annals of history, we find that Christians existed long before our Lord and Master came here. But he sure had a big job to straighten things out in the formal church and dogmatic teaching. For Christ was worshipped thousands of years before our Lord came. And He’ll be worshipped thousands of years from now, and has been worshipped thousands of years before. Why cannot we appreciate as Christians, the very word which we annex and take as the title of our sect…catholic, not Roman, not Russian Orthodox, but just catholic. Catholic in the way of the universal teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. Is not this sufficient, with all of the realities which back it up? With the practices of thousands of years prior to his coming, in the ancient wisdom teachings which explained the mysteries? And did he not tell us that in those days…in these days which we are now going through, that the mysteries would be revealed?
Rev._____, and I wanted to say Brother _______, I see you searching, and I see every brother of the Order of ___, searching for the great truth. But it is not in Pentecostal or speaking of tongues. It is not in the analysis of the truth. It is not in one part of the Word of God. It is in the whole word brought forth in all its beauty and reality. And I say to those whom are seeking to bring the Spirit into its reality…into manifestation, as the old Pentecostal and the old Free Methodist used to do…and I know these and understand these religions because I was brought up in a Free Methodist home; and I have been taught by some of your theologians as a Roman Catholic; and I have worshipped at the Temple of Giza; and I have walked the water and the fire, and I know from which I speak, and I speak the word of our Lord Jesus. Come back to the teachings of the Testament as they are, and seek to know and to acquire the Light. And look within thyself and accept and find thine own being. And when thy mind is still…and thy mind has been placed upon the altar of God Almighty, …through our Lord Jesus Christ, then will you hear his true voice, then will you hear the true Word, and then the Spirit will motivate the realities of creation unto you, and there will be no mysteries.
For there is a pitfall in the Pentecostal approach, when the ego goes on its demonstration. “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven within you, and all of these things shall be added unto you.”
This I give to you as my answer to your letter. Come, brothers, let us follow the teachings which you have declared as your motto of that order..Let him speak through you. And may God bless you throughout the world. AMEN.
Pondering the Vows: Purity
“No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, either under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.
The Light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.
Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.
If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.” –Luke 11:33-36
“People don’t realize what the vow of purity really is. Purity is a case of getting your mind stripped down of all the cockeyed ideas that you have and your mind slowed down to where you hardly think at all. And then you can get to the place where you can begin to understand Jesus, because then you can listen to him and feel his presence. And then you can really begin to understand what love is, because you will know what it is.
Purity here does not mean being celibate, purity is not being a loner, and it is not being “holier-than-thou.” Purity is giving to the other person the unadulterated, unopinionated reality of what Jesus Christ told us and gave to us. Now, no church, no organization, no matter who they are, that has changed one dot of Jesus’ teaching has any purity. They can’t, because when you change Jesus’ teaching or the laws of creation it won’t work. You cannot exemplify this facet of reality when you put your opinion in, because when you put your opinion in, it then becomes yours, not Jesus’ teaching. And when it is yours, it is no longer the Master’s, and it is no longer the unadulterated truth. It is not pure.”
-Father Paul
“What is our experience when we start to dismantle the false self and refuse to act out of our emotional programs? God seems to come closer. Since God is always preset, it might be better to say he turns up the voltage in our interior world. A room that is well appointed and cleaned every day looks pretty clean. We are happy to sit in it. If, however, fifty ten-thousand-watt bulbs are turned on and the floor is put under a magnifying glass, the whole room would be crawling with little creatures. We would leave as fast as possible.
God responds to our generosity as if saying, ‘This person is serious about the spiritual journey. Let’s go to work and clean out the junk’ God turns up the voltage and, as a consequence, our inner world begins to crawl, so to speak; the damage that our emotional programs for happiness are doing to us and to our relationships becomes apparent. From this perspective our good deeds look like piles of dirty dishrags…” Thomas Keating in Invitation to Love
“Just as, brethren, a dark blue lotus or a white lotus, born in the water, comes to full growth in the water, rises to the surface and stands unspotted by the water, even so, brethren, the Buddha, having come to full growth in the world, passing beyond the world, abides unspotted by the world.” - Gautama Buddha
“Life of my life, I shall ever try to keep my body pure, knowing that thy living touch is upon my limbs .I shall ever try to keep all untruths out from my thoughts, knowing that you art that truth which has kindled the light of reason in my mind.
I shall ever try to drive all evils away from my heart and keep my love in flower, knowing that thou hast thy seat in the inmost shrine of my heart.
And it shall be my endeavour to reveal thee in my actions, knowing it is thy power gives me strength to act”.
-Tagore
The Holy Grail by George M. Brewer
(A Whitsuntide* Mystery of the Quest of the Soul)
Rector: From these ceremonies there emerge the symbols of imperishable faith. The Grail and the Spear are inseparable symbols of life. Many have pondered over this mystery in which the seen is but a reflection of the unseen.
The story of the Grail is saturated with romance, but the romance has been born of ritual. Behind the visible Grail there lies, for those who seek, the hidden Grail. It is of this inner, this hidden, church of the Holy Grail, that I would have you know. Thus there shall be established within you that intimate union, by which may be realized the mystic vision of the poet in that throbbing verse: “And down the long beam stole the Holy Grail; Rose-red with beatings on it…”
Guardian Spirit: The Guardian Spirit of the Holy Grail here stands before you now, the tale to tell of how that vessel guarded was by three devoted keepers, chosen from on High.
Josepth of Arimathea was the first. His brother Brons the next, the Fisher King; mysterious symbol of the Cosmos, who came with two other kings from out the east to greet the new-born babe in Bethlehem. Five hundred years lived Brons, ‘til Arthur’s day, when Percivale, his nephew, pure of heart succeeded to the charge, became the king, the keeper of the cup, the mystic head of that great hidden church behind the veil
Give ear to Joseph, who, throughout the night hath knelt in prayer before the empty tomb where he hath placed the spear and the holy cup, sweet memories of the Master whom he served.
Joseph: He (Jesus) stood awaiting sentence, as a King. “The Cup,” He said, “I leave it in thy charge; To Pilate look ye for it, and take heed to guard it, and appeal to it in need.” And then, with bended head, He spake those words, sweet, precious, holy words, that I to Brons must speak, so that the cup its sustenance may give to all true servants of the faith.
From Pilate I received the sacred cup, ere yet the Lord was nailed on the cross. With darkened mind I followed what befell-The crown of thorns, the scepter, and the robe…and he, our heavenly Master in their midst, unmoved, untouched, his aspect all serene.
Woman: Hath aught been heard of Brons, the Fisher King: ‘Tis certain that the Lord to him hath given some inner vision of the things to come.
Joseph: Ye speak aright, but for my brother Brons no fear have I. Filled with a mystic power sent from on high, he wandereth o’er the earth…
Caiaphas: This is the cup which Joseph guardeth in his house. He hath laid it in a rich chest, before which burn two tapers, day and night..
Nicodemus: No—but of Joseph be ye well assured that, though he lie in darkened prison cell, the cup will nourish and supply his need, for so the Lord hath spoken, so decreed.
Joseph: Now may the penetrating rays of this The Cup, made sacred by His precious blood, fill with vibrations rare, thy weakened frame, attuning thee to planes that lie beyond.
O Brons, now hear the message of the Lord, spoken to me in prison cell alone. In majesty He stood, the risen Christ; placing his hands upon my brow, he said; “Arise, First Bishop of the Hidden Church; Ordained art thou as Keeper of the cup. Brons shall succeed thee, and to him be given deep secrets of the Holy sanctuary by which to carry on that hierarchy founded of old before the countless worlds were set in motion, or the stars were fixed within their courses.” Then to me He spoke those words of hidden meaning, which to thee I must impart—to thee, our aged king the chosen servant of the Lord above the future keeper of the sacred cup.
Archangel Gabriel: List to the Lord’s commands, for He hath said that ye, his faithful ones must now depart upon a journey long and wearisome; bearing the sacred cup and holy spear to the fair and distant isle of Avalon. Depart forthwith, and pay no more regard to those who bar your path, but trust in God. The cup which is called is the Holy Grail shall be your food and drink as on ye go, protected from all evils on your way by this, the sword of Gabriel from on high.
Guardian Spirit: So forth upon that journey with the Grail these followers of Joseph went their way. Full forty moons have floated o’er the skies when now they land on that fair distant isle of Britain, where, among the druids of old ye now shall see them, faithful to their trust.
Joseph: My brother has traveled to many distant parts. No stranger is he in Avalon. He moves bout the earth as Fisher King.
Forest God: He comes, the blessed Bran**—the messenger OHU, our mighty God…His name is Bran, and he is Blessed. Hail, O keeper of the cup of Keridwen, the cauldron of the five trees. Welcome once again to this land.
Brons: A wonder for the ages to reveal. (to the forest god, indicating the Grail) Behold the precious cup—erst known to thee and to the dwellers on this ancient isle as bowl of plenty, cauldron ever-filled. ‘Tis now the Holy Grail, the sacred cup used by our Lord, who, on that last sad night, in upper room amid the chosen few raised high the cup, and offered there his blood as full oblation and as sacrifice.
Forest God: Holy art thou, O Bran, most blessed, and holy is this Cup. Once more will it supply our need as in the ancient time.
Joseph: that ye might share that wondrous Light we come to this fair distant isle of Avalon. Our heavenly Father wills that we remain; the Grail is our protection in our need.
Druid: The Holy Grail, and this the sacred spear in Britain shall remain, far from the sight of all who lack the mystic faith. Come now unto our king, a man of wisdom. He will grant you land, here, on this sacred isle of Avalon ye now may build a shrine, wherein to place these hallows of your faith.
Joseph: Upon this altar, place the Holy Grail. And on this hallowed spot, the sacred spear. This is our mission to this blessed isle begun. Now let us lift our hearts in prayer.
(To be continued)
*Whitsuntide: Pentecost week
** Bran, deific king of the Island of Britain, is often identified with King Arthur
The Grail which everyone seeks so ardently is the sacrifice of the flesh to the Higher Being. The only way the glory of the Grail becomes evident is through total giving up of all that is base or selfish in oneself. It is the seeking to become as Jesus, Christed. It is asking to be crucified as the means to that end.
Every knight who sets forth on a quest is guided by the Spirit to do all manly and valorous deeds, each a test of his own virtues or qualities of character. He is asked to deny himself comforts and pleasures for the pure and single line of service to Christ. When he achieves that, he has the Grail. That is it.
They set out thinking to find a lovely treasure which their senses, perhaps, may enjoy, or which can be used to heal. It does heal, but only because all causes of pain are stripped away through the supreme sacrifice, the death of the animal in the man.
what follows the finding of the Grail, or the vision of it?
Perhaps few people would seek the Grail, if they knew what it entailed. Yet, fortunately, the glamour of the goal and the prize keeps them going through hardship after hardship, and the goal is worth it—is, in fact, a necessary part of the attainment of spiritual upliftment and the salvation, not only of one’s own soul, but the many along the way.
That’s why there’s no more need of the Round Table after the knights all go on quest, because they’re on the road to spiritual attainment, and having found it no longer need the trappings of the earthly kingdom.
The seeking of the Grail is the seeking of the purity and strength to sacrifice all, to give one’s all, to overcome the beast within himself, and to vanquish all his fears along the way.
It’s the same simple things Jesus did and taught, but is achieved in an inner way. The true knights of the Grail walk this earth in human form, those into whose charge it has been given. They are not known except to those close to the end of the journey, and then they begin to drop hints and stand by to offer support and sustenance to help the seeker through the crucial situation. “Crucial” may be said to refer to the cross upon which he was crucified.
-Rev. Mother Ruth Blighton
. Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever widening thought and action;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake!
-Rabindranath Tagore