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After the Spirit has chosen its next earth life, it is necessary that material be gathered for the new bodies.
(You are welcome to e-mail your answers and/or comments to us. Please be sure to include the course name and Independent Study Module number in your e-mail to us. Or, you are also welcome to use the answer form below. You will find the answers to the questions below in the next Core Concepts Independent Study Module.)
What determines the kind of material gathered for the new bodies? (The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception)
The descent of the Ego toward physical rebirth resembles the donning of several pairs of gloves of increasing thickness. Material for each body is attracted from its corresponding world or region.
Describe briefly the descent of the Ego toward physical rebirth. (The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception)
It is important to remember that the returning Ego incorporates in its vital body the quintessence of its former vital bodies and in addition to this also does a little original work. This is done so that in the coming life there may be some room for original and individual expression, not predetermined by past action.
What is epigenesis? (The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception)
In the period immediately following birth the different vehicles are all present, but none of their positive faculties are active.
Describe the faculties of the child during early years. (The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception)
As the dense body is slowly prepared for the separate, individual life within the protecting cover of the womb, so the other bodies are gradually born and nurtured into activity.
At what ages are the vital body, the desire body, and the mind born? (The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception)
The blood is the highest expression of the vital body, and is the means by which the Ego guides and controls its dense instrument. At the age of 14 years the blood is made, and entirely dominated, by the Ego.
What is the relation between the blood and the Ego? (The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception)
In the present phase of human development man goes through certain principal stages in each life cycle, from one birth to the next.
What are these stages? (See Diagram 5,"A Human Life-Cycle" The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception)
Complete The Rosicrucian Mysteries Study Guide, Section 5
Complete Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception Study Guide, Section 3
1. At death the rupture of the dense seed atom causes the heart to stop, and the vital body, the desire body, and the mind leave the dense body with a spiral movement, taking with them the forces of the dense seed atom.
2. The dying should be kept in an undisturbed condition so that the panoramic record being seen by the Ego may be clearly imprinted on the desire body and a thorough purgatorial experience thus assured.
3. In purgatory every incident of the preceding life is lived over again in reverse order. When a point is reached where a man injured someone, he himself feels the pain as the injured person felt it; but his suffering is much keener, as he has no dense body to dull the pain. He experiences all the sorrow and suffering he has caused others. He learns how painful is the hurt and how difficult it is to bear the sorrow he has caused. Life in purgatory of the average person is about one-third as long as his previous Earth life.
4. In the Borderland are found people who were honest and upright, who wronged no one, but who were so deeply immersed in business that they thought nothing of the higher life. These people are very difficult to help and are in the deepest despair, often suffering much longer than anyone else.
5. In the First Heaven the good acts of life are the basis of experience. When we come to scenes where we helped others we realize anew all the joy of helping which was ours at the time, and in addition we feel all the gratitude poured out to us by the recipient of our help. When we come to scenes where we are helped by others, we feel again all the gratitude that we then felt toward our benefactor.
6. When the change is made from the First Heaven to the second, man has a feeling of standing utterly alone, yet unafraid, and his being is filled with a wonderful peace. This is called the great silence. Then comes the awakening, and the Ego is taught by Teachers from the higher Creative Hierarchies to build a body which shall afford a better means of expression. He prepares the earthly conditions for a new physical existence, and by means of harmonious sound vibration builds into the threefold spirit the quintessence of the threefold body, thus assimilating all the fruits of his last Earth life.
7. The purpose of rebirth is experience.
"Resonance" is a term used to describe what happens when one system sends out some waves that travel to another system and start the second system to vibrating. For resonance to occur, the two systems must have the same natural frequency of vibration. In this manner, one vibrating tuning fork can send out waves that can cause another similar tuning fork to start vibrating. A radio station can send out waves that can cause a radio to respond if the radio is tuned to the same frequency as the station.
People also radiate waves. When a thought is constructed it causes mental, emotional, and etheric waves to radiate outward from the person who created it. If these waves are clear and steady, and if someone is able to attune himself to them and resonate to them, then the receiver will become aware of the thoughts and feelings of the sender. At the emotional level, resonance produces sympathy in the receiver. At the intellectual level, resonance produces understanding in the receiver.
The radiations from Aquarius stimulate the development of resonance in people. If we would hasten the progress of the world toward the Aquarian Age, we may consciously attempt to improve our ability to resonate with others. In order to achieve resonance, the receiver must be able to attune himself to the sender. If the receiver has his own opinions as to what the sender ought to be thinking or feeling, or if the receiver has prejudices as to what the sender could think or feel, then the receiver will attune his mind to his own preconceived ideas, and resonance will not occur. If the receiver is to attune himself to the sender, he must clear his mind of his own thoughts and be open to receiving whatever thoughts the sender radiates. Thoughts of separativeness (superiority, pride, annoyance, anger) also tend to hinder resonance. On the other hand, love aids resonance. With practice, we can learn to resonate to a broader and broader range of types of people.
Resonance can also be extended to animals, plants, and things. In time, we will learn to sympathize with animals, and to see things from their point of view, and to attune ourselves to the inner being of plants, and understand the life within them, and to comprehend even the mineral and constructions made from the mineral kingdom materials. Works of art (stories, drawings paintings, sculptures, and musical compositions) all have built into them the feelings and thoughts of their creators and can only be properly appreciated if the observer can attune himself to the creation and allow its built-in feelings and thoughts to resonate within his own soul.
In the Aquarian Age, people are supposed to become self-directing. To become self-directing, people need the Light within. To gain the Light within, people need to be able to attune themselves to and resonate with other people and the world around them and with the Cosmic Consciousness (God). When people resonate with others, they sympathize with others and understand others and thence can resolve conflicts with others. When people resonate with the world around them, they can learn to live in harmony with it. When people can resonate with the Cosmic Consciousness, they can understand the Divine Law and Plan and can understand what they need to do to move forward in the scheme of evolution.
— Besant, Annie. Thought Power. Wheaton, Illinois: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1973.
The spiritual radiations from Aquarius promote individual, scientific invention, and the desire to understand peoples whose backgrounds are diversely different from one's own. As people learn to respond to the Aquarian radiations and develop their ability to exercise their own initiative and to make decisions for themselves, they will break away from the guidance of National Spirits. (Each nation on Earth, with the exception of the United States, is assigned an archangel who guides the people of that nation in the development of language, customs, and religion, and who fosters patriotism and a feeling of unity among the people of the nation. Such an archangel is called a National Spirit. See Max Heindel, The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception.) The National Spirits will no longer be able to lead the citizens of a nation to act as one body, as each citizen will decide for himself what is right and what is wrong.
As the Aquarian radiations promote scientific invention, communication between peoples will be facilitated. Already, telephones, radios, televisions, and satellites make it almost as easy to talk to, to see, and to hear people on the other side of the Earth as the neighbor next door; automobiles, buses, trains, and airplanes make it possible to travel to any place on Earth within a few hours.
As the Aquarian radiations promote the desire to understand peoples of diversely different backgrounds, people will learn to open their minds up so that they can comprehend how others think and feel. When people know how the members of another nation think and feel, sympathies will be aroused and the sufferings of any will be felt by all. Then Universal Friendship will be ushered in, and all of humanity will be able to unite in one Brotherhood. Then all will be able to say, along with Thomas Paine, "My country is the world, and my religion is to do good."
If we wish to help the world move toward the Aquarian Age, then we will do what we can to promote Universal Friendship. What specific actions can we take? First of all, we can learn about people of other nationalities. We can try to understand their needs, their hopes and fears, what they consider important, and what they like or dislike. Radio and television, newspapers, books, and movies can be sources of information. Traveling can give first-hand information. Learning the languages of other peoples also can aid us in seeing things from their point of view an in establishing bonds of sympathy.
Secondly, we can learn to view world problems from a universal point of view. When international trade is being considered, we should not concern ourselves with the question, "What will be most advantageous to our country?" but rather should seek to find what will be of most benefit to the world as a whole. When international disputes are being considered, the question should not be, "What is just and right in this case?"
Thirdly, when disasters occur in various parts of the world, other nations can lend a hand to help rebuild the lives of the victims. When any peoples are suffering for any reason, others can help the sufferers to get back on the road to well-being and prosperity.
Fourthly, we can avoid mentioning or recognizing differences in race or nationality. When dealing with people, we should strive to ignore their exteriors [body structures, clothes, customs, languages] and to focus our attention on their divine essences hidden within, which belong to no race or nation.
— Heindel, Max. The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception.
Aquarius is an air constellation; thus, the Aquarian Age will be characterized by intellectual development. In the Aquarian Age, people will want reasons for their beliefs and will want, as much as possible, to acquire knowledge first-hand for themselves.
The starting point for acquiring first-hand knowledge involves making observations. If truth is to be found, the observations need to be accurate. Things need to be seen clearly and heard accurately. Personal feelings must not influence observations. People must not confuse what they see or hear with what they think they ought to see or hear or with what they would like to see or hear.
If truth is to be found, observations also need to be as complete as possible. With the coming of the Aquarian Age, people will extend the range and type of observations which they are able to make. People will use their creativity to invent machines that can detect waves whose frequency makes them beyond the range of human vision or hearing, that can see things which are too small or too far away to be seen by human vision, and that can help humans to get information from places that they would not otherwise be able to reach. People will also extend the sensitivity of their own bodies to the vibrations around them, so that they will be able to see etheric vibrations and to detect other more subtle vibrations. Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, which has rule over etheric vibrations. Max Heindel notes (Teachings of an Initiate):
When the Sun enters Aquarius by precession, the rest of the moisture will be eliminated [from the air] and visual vibrations, which are most easily transmitted by a dry etheric atmosphere, will become more intense; thus conditions will be particularly conducive to production of the slight extension of our present sight necessary to open our eyes to the etheric region.....The etheric sight is similar to the X-ray in that it enables its possessor to see right through all objects, but it is much more powerful and renders everything as transparent as glass.
As people increase their ability to resonate, they will also better be able to know other people's feelings and thoughts.
The Aquarian Age will be an age of reason. Thus, people in the Aquarian Age will not be satisfied with leaving their observations as a set of unrelated, meaningless facts. People will seek to give order to their observations, to find patterns in their observations, and to draw conclusions from their observations. People will use logical thinking to determine cause-effect relations.
The above indicates that science will expand and grow in the Aquarian Age. Religion also will undergo changes. People will no longer be satisfied with a religion based on a set of beliefs that is supposed to be accepted on faith, without question. They will want reasons for their beliefs and will want to be able to see how everything fits into a single logical structure. People will want logical explanations as to where they have come from, why they are here now, and why some suffer much and others very little. Max Heindel states, Nothing that is not logical can exist in the universe and...logic is the surest guide in all the Worlds." (The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception) In the Aquarian Age, each person will develop love within his heart, which will give him a truer source of guidance than rules did. The Piscean idea was that divine revelation could come only to a few. The Aquarian attitude is that all alike can awaken the Light within.
— Fox, Emmet. The Zodiac and the Bible. New York: Harper and Row, 1961
— Heindel, Max. The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception.
— Heindel, Max. Teachings of an Initiate.
And amazement seized them all, and they were filled with awe, saying, "We have seen strange things today."
— Luke 5:26
The matter of the physical world exists in seven states, which are given the following names: solids, liquid, gas, chemical ether, life ether, light ether, and reflecting ether. The matter takes on an increasing rate of vibration as it goes from one state to another. The particles of matter in the solid have the lowest rate of vibration. If a solid is heated, energy is given to the molecules, which speeds up their rate of vibration, which makes them break the solid bonds, and the solid turns into a liquid. If a liquid is heated, the molecules speed up their rate of vibration and gain enough energy to jump out of the liquid and fly around freely, thus forming a gas. Likewise, the rates of vibration of gaseous molecules can be increased so that they can be broken into atoms and then into elementary particles (protons, neutrons, electrons, photons, mesons, gravitons, et cetera). The matter then is in the chemical ether state. Further increases in rates of vibration will take the matter into the life ether, light ether, and reflecting ether states.
In the course of evolution, man developed the ability to see solids and liquids. Visible light rays [which are rays of chemical ether] reflect off of objects, enter the eye, and form an image inside the eye in the retina.
With the approach of the Aquarian Age, the atmosphere of the Earth is changing. Christ, by his beneficent ministrations, is attracting more and more of the interplanetary ether to the Earth so that the ether surrounding the Earth is becoming more dense and also more luminous. Our eyes are correspondingly being changed to accommodate these new conditions. The so-called "blind spot" in the eye will be sensitized, and we will look out through the eye and see directly the thing itself instead of the image upon our retina. A higher rate of vibration will be perceived than before, and the etheric realm will become visible. This opening up of etheric vision will bring about a number of changes in what people think and do.
1) Etheric sight is similar to the X-ray in that it enables its possessor to see through all objects, but it is much more powerful and renders everything as transparent as glass. When people have etheric vision, they will not be able to hide anything behind a wall. Nor will people be able to keep secret their past actions, because in the reflecting ether are stored pictures of all recent events on Earth, which can be read by anyone who has etheric vision.
This inability to hide anything may act as a deterrent to crime. It will also require people to develop the inner strength to let others see them as they really are (without any "fronts" or "masks") and to develop the sympathy to accept others as they really are (whatever their weaknesses.)
2) Etheric sight will permit people to see the inner workings of their own or others' bodies, so that it will be easy to see a morbid growth, a dislocation, or a pathological condition of the body. Thus, diagnosis of disease will be greatly facilitated.
3) In addition to a dense physical body, composed of solids, liquids, and gases, everyone has a vital body composed of ether. With etheric vision, people will gain the ability to see vital bodies.
People will be able to see that in order to function the vital body needs nourishment, and that uncooked fruits and vegetables and milk contain vital fluid [chemical and life ethers] that helps nourish the vital body, whereas cooked foods contain little vital fluid.
People will be able to see how vital fluid from the Sun enters the human body by way of the spleen, courses along the nerves of the body, and then passes outward through the pores of the body, carrying with it poisons and preventing with its outrushing current the entrance of microbes from the outside. People will be able to see when the flow of vital fluid is hindered (by poisons in the body or by psychological states) and thus will be able to work to remove the hindrances.
People will be able to see that sleep is one means of getting the vital body repaired and cleared out. Another method is by means of bathing. Water absorbs vital fluid, so that during bathing old, impure vital fluid is removed, which can then be replaced by clean vital fluid. People will be able to see that a healer, by laying damp hands on a patient, can draw out impure vital fluid from the patient. The healer can, by an act of will, not let this impure fluid travel up his arms any farther than his elbows and then can wash his hands in running water to get rid of it.
People will be able to see that sick people can absorb vital fluid from the people around them and may use this fact for helping the sick people, although precautions may need to be taken that the ones providing the vital fluid spend enough time away from the sick people to replenish their own supply of vital fluid.
Being able to see the vital fluid will facilitate people's learning how to direct its flow using thought power. Being able to direct the flow of vital fluid will facilitate healing.
4) When people have etheric vision they will be able to see the state of evolution of their vital (etheric) bodies, and will be able to see directly how various thoughts, feelings, and actions promote or hinder the growth of the vital body (just as now we can study how various things affect the beauty and skill of the dense physical body.) People may then pay more attention to soul development.
5) When people have etheric vision, they will be able to see the physically dead. People will be able to see that when the heart stops beating the vital body leaves the dense body. As the dense body decays, the chemical and life ether parts of the vital body decay. If the dense body is cremated, the chemical and life ether parts break up at the time of cremation. (Cremation should not be done during the first three-and-one-half days after the heart stops beating. See Max Heindel, The Rosicrucian Christianity Lectures)
The light and reflecting ether parts of the vital body are retained, however, for a longer time. Thus, when etheric sight has been developed, the physically dead will be visible to the living and able to communicate with them for some time subsequent to death. Then death will no longer be as fearful [for those dying] or as mournful [for those left on Earth] as it was when the dead could not be seen by the living.
6) When people gain etheric vision, they will be able to see the myriads of beings who inhabit the Etheric Region. Nature spirits (gnomes, elves, fairies, undines, sylphs, and salamanders) and the angels will become visible. Because the nature spirits are lower in the evolutionary chain than humans, if humans command them they must obey. Thus, humans may get nature spirits to serve them. Angels are above humans in the evolutionary chain and are not to be commanded by humans, but communication may be set up and cooperation on some things may be achieved. Angels work to facilitate the propagation and growth of plants, animals, and humans on Earth. Thus, farmers and others who breed and care for plants and animals might find communication with the angels beneficial.
— Heindel, Max. Occult Principles of Health and Healing.
— Heindel, Max. Questions and Answers. Volume 2.
— Heindel, Max. Teachings of an Initiate.
— Heindel, Max. The Rosicrucian Christianity Lectures,
— Heindel, Max. The Rosicrucian Mysteries,
— Heindel, Max. Web of Destiny.
Supplemental Material Reference: The Aquarian Age, Elsa M. Glover, PhD
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