CHAPTER XIX.

SOUL-POWERS AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS.

There is no limit to man's powers. That which
seems a limit disappears or becomes an assistance in
the reversal of the thought concerning it.

Let me explain. Mental perception, intuition, or
sight of the mind, is in the centre of the intellect ;
but it ordinarily is a dark sun, which becomes lumi-
nous by effort, as I have already set forth. Magnet-
ism is a short road to lucidity, but the powers conferred
are weak compared to those which come through
effort.

Magnetization is effected through passivity, and
the vacating of thought and will. But it alternates,
i. e.y depends upon conditions which vary, and are
sometimes favorable and sometimes unfavorable ; and
consequently, it is subject to spells — comes and
goes, and leads everywhere and anywhere. It is
good enough so far as it goes, but it does not go
deep enough or far enough.

The magnetic sleep is not at all dependent upon
purity nor will-power. The luminosity I teach is not
a sleep necessarily ; it is a blindness, or a cutting off
of externals — a separation of the selfhood from out-

268 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

ward influences by the sinking in or absorption of
the voluntary powers, or the growth of the involun-
tary to the voluntary, so that they become one.
Mesmeric sleep is the first phase of it.

Illumination, when once reached through and by
effort of will, is always available. It makes and pre-
serves uniform conditions ; hence it has no " fits or
starts/' and makes no failures. When perfect it
cannot be lost, for it is death-proof, and its possessor
is no subject of any power in existence. He is an
immortal being, having divine powers.

There are many grades of powers, but I will first
speak of sight : first, natural sight ; second, clairvoy-
ance ; third, soul-sight.

Clairvoyance has several degrees, while natural
sight has only one. The first degree of clairvoyance
is similar to natural sight : i. e., it sees only objects,
such as reading blindfolded ; seeing objects at a dis-
tance ; seeing through matter, etc. It grows by
practice, and its powers increase as the lucidity of
the brain increases.

But lucidity is simply dependent upon the purity
of the spirit. Purity focalizes the spirit, but magneti-
zation is a result of a mixture of spirits ; hence it is
what I have defined as impurity or an adulteration.
It is exalting, as an intoxication ; hence its effects
are fleeting and ephemeral in proportion to the im-
purities involved.

By impurities, I do not mean immoralities at all.
Impurity is in the mixture and appropriation of differ-

SOUL-POWERS AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 269

ent auras, substances, magnetisms, etc. Magnetic
subjects go into the condition and come out of it
through the influence of an operator ; sometimes in
the form, but often out of it. In either case they
are subject to the will of another, and the lucidity or
exaltation of powers is a result of the union of spirits
both in the form and out, which disappears when the
subject is out of the condition. But the effects do not
disappear so readily. Often the subjects are a prey
to vampires both in the form and out, under whose
infernal "sucking" the life is slowly but surely sapped.

This is the case with more people — especially
women — than many imagine. There is a conscious
and an unconscious vampirism. All mediums are
not, however, subject to this curse. Space will not
allow me to dwell upon this important subject, farther
than to add that mediumship is not confined to the
ranks of spiritualism. Nine-tenths of all the crimes
committed are due to vampirism. A vampire is not
necessarily a disembodied spirit ; we are just as much
spirits now as we will ever be, and all the power that
any spirit may have we can have, if we only know
how to develop and use it. For that which is not in
us cannot exist long as ours.

Clairvoyance is a mental power, and as the mind
becomes more and more luminous by practice and
focalization of the spirit, " spiritual gifts " are joined
to it, as fruit is joined to a blossom. It is not my
object to specify and define these gifts further than
is necessary to elucidate my subject.

270 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

Vampirism is one spirit preying upon another. It
differs from obsession in degree only. Clairvoyance
becomes deeper and deeper by practice, until it enters
somewhat into the penetralia of things, in which its
subject becomes alive to influences — aches, pains,
physical and mental states, aspirations, loves, long-
ings, etc. It is now becoming near to another power,
viz., the perception of spirit forms, faces, and the
hearing of voices, or clairaudience. This is, of course,
a higher power than mere sight of objects.

Spirit pours out in look and gesture, but in speech
more than in any other manner. In fact, speech is
the highest expression of spirit, and it is more suscep-
tible to culture than looks or gestures, and leads to
greater depths of being ; and is moreover, more
reliable, because it does not lead to that idolatry
which the sight of beauty and grandeur always does.
The beholding of spiritual beings by clairvoyants has
led many into the erroneous idea that they have
beheld God, the ineffable One, when, in fact, such
sight may be a conjuration of the will of some strong
operator. Phantoms seldom speak ; to be reliable,
all the psychic senses should go together.

The deepest clairvoyance is that where objects,
both material and spiritual, are passed by as of no
account, and the ineffable glories of soul-realm
glimpsed in feeling. This is a sense of spirit, as fire
only, and not as objects. This fire or spirit finds a
voice suited to the ear of him who will listen.

Zoroaster said : " When you see the fire, listen

SOUL-POWERS AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 27 1

to the voice of the fire ! " It was in view of this
truth that Moses enacted laws against the communi-
cating with spirits ; and in order to preserve purity
in the mediums (or priests), tried to confine it to the
tribe of Levi. It was for this purpose (purity) that
celibacy was enjoined by Buddha.

Beyond this mundane sphere — beyond the realm of
spiritual things — are infinite knowledge and power.
And he who is able to pierce through the shadow
which things cast, senses the glories of the spirit-
worlds. But this is all. Forms do not appear from
beyond "the abode of the gods ; " but he who can
visit the highest abode may sense the echoes of busy
feet, and the whisperings of incomprehensible and
unutterable things. This power I call soul-sight ;
intuition ; but it is not a sight of things, but a sense
of the fire of principles. This power is within all
spiritual powers. As the soul is the inmost of the
man, so is soul-sense the inmost of intuition.

Clairvoyance, psychometry, and clairaudience, are
all developed by contact, or the coming en rapport
with objects. Their field of operations is in the spirit
of things ; but soul-sense is developed by holding the
spirit aloof from other things, spirits, etc., and the
losing sight of all distinctions or differences of things.
It is the distinctness of things which scatters the
spirit and confuses thought and mind. We know
nothing, because there are so many things to learn.
We think not clearly because we see so much.

He who seeks the absolute loses sight of the differ-

272 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

ences of things, and passing inward, reaches the spirit
thereof ; but instead of entering en rapport therewith,
passes deeper still beyond all distinctions and differ-
ences to the oneness of being — in fact, to the
supernatural of his own being. " He that hath a
mind to think, let him think ; " for, indeed, it is
thought which leads to hearing of the Word.

He who passes in thought through and beyond
things, hears "the Word of God." For God dwells
in the inmost recesses of all being, hidden away from
all mortal sight ; hence the necessity of destroying
the differences of things in the mind. The differ-
ences among men constitute hell. How easily we are
all brothers when we forget our differences. They
make enemies of us — enemies to each other and to
God. How harmonious we would be if there were
no distinctions. Of a truth, this is the road to
God.

The man who fixes not his attention upon differ-
ences of race, sex, conditions, opinions, names, etc.,
is a great-souled man, and looks with indifference
upon the small things which agitate and disturb
mankind. He can lay claim to kinship with God,
who loves all alike. Aye, and he holds sweet con-
verse with God in the depths of his own all-knowing

INTUITIVE SOUL !

This is the source of all inspiration. God finds
voice in the soul, and intuition is but the faint echoes
thereof, as it vibrates along the dark and noisome
crypts of being. Alas ! for him who " hath no ears

SOUL-POWERS AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 273

to hear ; " nor " eyes to see " — his darkness must be
intense indeed.

Let him who would reach the regal powers of the
soul sit in circles. For in the mingling of magnet-
isms is an intense and fierce combustion or war of
spirits produced, in which conflagration, great and
rapid changes take place ; during which the soul
begins to make motions as of a thing coming to life ;
it is drawing itself together into shape, leaving the
atoms of the body. Motions are usually felt at first
in the hands, which vibrate as when in contact with
a magnetic battery ; this sensation extends in time
to every part of the body in some persons ; in others,
it is limited to the hands, arms or head ; it deepens in
intensity till the nerves begin to twitch and jerk.

When you have reached this point, there are two
roads open for you. If you wish mediumship with
any of its multitudinous phases, with a band of
helpers and a guide, just sit passive and " let it jerk ; "
don't expect or be anxious for anything, but let your-
self alone, fully resigned to accept whatever may
come without doubt or criticism. Think of nothing
as nearly as possible, and above all resist no impulse
of thought, word or action. " Follow your impulses "
is the law of mediumship.

But if you choose the soul road, you must now
brace yourself for an effort ; that effort is resist-
ance — resist all impulses and all motions of the
nerves and muscles ; instead of passivity, grasp your-
self as with your hands, holding fast in your mind or

274 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

imagination with the same tension of the nerves as
if you were holding something, but without any mus-
cular contraction — this while sitting in the circle.

To become spiritual, cultivate mind, for this is the
door which must, indeed, open before you can walk
out into the realms of p<rwer. To cultivate mind,
increase the activity of the nervous system and its
source — the brain. Draw the blood to the brain,
by deep breathing and the fixing of the thought upon
the object in view. N Magnetize yourself one hour
every evening by taking hold of the left thumb with
the right thumb and forefinger, and pressing gently,
enough to keep the attention fixed upon it, and think
of one thing, say some word — your own name, if
nothing else — saying it over and over to yourself
constantly. In a short time your object will become
fixed and constant in your thoughts, and the soul will
begin its work. But remember that each effort you
make upward will be followed by a revulsion down-
ward, and you will find yourself becoming amorous/
Resist this impulse, as all impulses. In the course of
time, you will see clouds, flashes of light, and faces
or forms will peer out of the gloom at you, or form in
the clouds.

Pay no attention to these things, but keep right on
with your exercise. There are many more methods
which I am not at liberty to disclose. Things of a
physical nature assist the physical inasmuch as physi-
cal nature yields most readily to such things as are
like itself, or one degree removed therefrom. To

SOUL-POWERS AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 2?$

illustrate : a brute yields to the force of a club, but
when he is trained a word controls him. So with
mankind : some need kings, and soldiers with bayo-
nets, to keep them within humanity's realm ; others
stay there naturally, for they understand its unspoken
and unwritten laws. For^abes, milk and baby-talk ;
for children, play-houses and stories ; for youth, the
dance and the opera ; for middle age, the rush and
rattle, the clash and commotion of business ; for
mature man, thought, reason, spiritual things. These
are nature's methods of culture.

Nature cannot be forced out of one mood into an-
other. Ask yourself, " Where does my love lead
me ? " and nature or your own soul will tell you
truly. If you long to become spiritual, begin at
once, and that gradually. " Nature allows none to
overleap her barriers ; they must be beaten down!'
Don't ask God to teach you, but learn of such as are
in harmony with you, even if it be the devil.

The basis of all understanding is mutual sympathy
existing between the teacher and the student — the
actor and the audience. To the material in thought,
desire and action, are the matter-of-fact in nature
adapted. They are like it, and hence the spiritual
is too far removed from them to be their direct
teachers ; such need physical training, and to them
are physical means necessary. Hence, to such (and
in fact, all men are of this class more or less), in
addition to deep breathing, the bath, in cold, magnetic
water ; a complete and radical change in the diet ;

2?6 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

rest instead of exercise ; thought instead of talk ;
tears instead of laughter ; darkness instead of light ;
emotion instead of motion — these and more are
necessary to train the physical before the spiritual

s can come forth.

^ Spirit is formless, and yet not altogether so.
There is a form within these bodies of ours, which is
spirit, and yet it hath no form until detached, as it
were, from the flesh. All development is a loosening
of the spirit from the flesh and the loves thereof ;
and this loosening is the embryotic organization of
the spiritual body carried on and fully perfected.

\ Resist muscular and nervous motion with all your
power of will. Keep calm. Never allow any cir-
cumstance to agitate or disturb you ; for here in the
degree of motion it is Jhat demons and evil-disposed
spirits take advantage of your sensitive and expansive
condition, and enter in — first, the nervous system,
and secondly, the mind, and control you to your de-
struction.

Music sets you on fire, and you want to dance,
sing or shout: keep silent — " silence is strength/'
Never debate ! But let the one object be to keep
calm, self-possessed and cool. This is the beginning
of self-control and power. It is concentration.
Think, meditate, read and study — but keep silent.
Remember there are beings around you who come in
connection with you through words, sounds, motions,
etc., who, without them, remain ignorant of your
object and condition. There are demons and spirits

SOUL-POWERS AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 277

who cannot read the mind, but who can hear and
see.

It is when thrown off our guard, and carried
away by strange sensations, thoughts, impulses, mo-
tions and emotions, that we are seized upon by the
above or below, and carried away from ourselves, as it
were, from our equipoise or balance — self -conscious-
ness dethroned : and we rise or fall according to pre-
disposition. The falling into acts silly and criminal,
or less than those of the normal state, is termed
" obsession ; " but this, like most names, is an effort
to explain that which we do not understand, an
assumption of knowledge, an excuse we make to
ourselves for our ignorance, a distinction made, a
difference visible in extremes, as good and evil, which
flow into one another as one ; but to us, and for us,
obsession is as real as the evil, and must be avoided.

Since I commenced writing this book, this subject
was forced upon my attention by a series of articles
in some one of the spiritual papers ; I cared nothing
for the differences of opinion in regard to obsession ;
but feeling the necessity of progress in the avoid-
ance of evil, by some persons at least, I sought for a
sure, safe and certain preventive of it ; I pondered
several days upon this subject with no satisfactory
result. One night, alone in my tent, a wave of lone-
liness and sadness swept over me. This had no visi-
ble or mundane cause — my health was excellent,
business was good, money was plenty (for I had "a
dime in my pocket/' which is enough as long as it

278 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

lasts), but nevertheless I was low-spirited, and could
neither think nor write, so throwing down my pen I
paced up and down until wearied, and threw myself
upon my bed to sleep. My mind became tranquil as
my body became at rest, and this idea of obsession
came over me as a problem unsolved. To solve it, I
knew of only two ways. One was to come en rapport
with the spirit of obsession, and hence become obsessed
myself in order to know all about it by experience ;
the other was by inspiration.

The first was repugnant to all my thoughts and
feelings. Under all circumstances I wish to be my-
self — and only that ; so I turned aside and repelled
the spirit by the thoughts of my own individual self-
hood, and the determination to be only myself. There
are lights, clouds, flashes, faces and forms here at this
condition of the mind ; but, in following my thought,
I passed them by as of no account. Laughing faces,
hideous faces, and monstrous forms looked out of the
light at me, and as I passed by, mocked and scowled.
Gradually the lights paled, the faces grew dim and
finally disappeared, leaving me in intense and opaque
darkness. Pulsating, throbbing, vibrating with strange
and weird sensations, I glided along down the corri-
dors of the soul as one falling, and slowly, oh ! so
slowly, losing myself. All at once, from out the dark-
ness, and close to me, a voice low and soft sounded
in my ear : " To avoid obsession, keep the body posi-
tive and the mind negative." The voice came so
suddenly, and was so close to me, that I was startled

SOUL-POWERS AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 279

and driven back to myself. There I lay vibrating
throughout with ecstatic emotions, altogether out of
the ordinary nature of things, with the words en-
graved in letters of fire upon my consciousness. To
me this was a new idea ; it was a revelation of a won-
derful truth, and I cast about for the logic of it,
which is this :

Ordinarily the body is negative, and hence receptive
to impressions — physical, atmospherical, and spirit-
ual. The first effect of magnetism is to increase this
negative state of the body ; hence, it becomes very
impressible and very liable to take on the conditions
of others, both in the mundane and the spiritual.
The will is the cause of all posit iveness of mind, body
and spirit. By its force it is repulsive, and holds at
a distance things foreign and injurious. Now, in pas-
sivity, the will relaxes the tension of the nerves, and
they are unstrung ; in which state, spirits both good
and evil can enter into the inactive sphere of the
spirit, and thus get a lodgement from which to con-
trol, in time, the mind, and subjugate the will.

Now, if by any process the body is kept posi-
tive, the spirit becomes likewise positive ; hence, no
spirits but those of a negative character will be at-
tracted. Remember, it is only positive spirits that
seize upon and obsess mortals. They are the repul-
sive and the deficient — the empty of sympathy and
all elements of greatness. The law is for the posi-
tive to enter into and control the negative, i.e., to
beget therein their own devilishness. In rendering

280 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

the mind negative by constantly keeping down its
excitabilities, it is elevated by the motive or object in
view ; and as mind can only be acted upon by mind,
and is not a receptacle of anything but ideas, minds of
a high order, such as have ideas to give, are attracted
and instill their ideas or thoughts of a positive nature
into the negative mind ; thus leading the mind upward
without disturbing the will in the least. Indeed, such
spirits increase the individuality by assisting instead
of controlling. Negative spirits never do harm.

It only remains for me to explain how the body
can be rendered positive, and the mind negative. The
tranquil, peaceful, inoffensive mind is negative. This
idea of controlling mind instead of nerves and mus-
cles, engages the entire attention and will ; for the
mind is not rendered tranquil save by constant watch-
fulness, and the keeping down of those passions which
disturb, agitate, and thus cause filth to rise up as
impurities of the blood and spirit. The will thus
engaged in rendering the mind negative or tranquil,
renders the body positive at the same time, because
two negatives cannot exist together, neither can two
positives.

I am aware it is a reversal of nature's methods, but
he who would rise up to power must rise in the mind,
or not at all. God dwells in all things alike, but those
who seek him cannot find him so readily in some
things or conditions as in others. Remember what
I have previously said about diet. Don't be in a
hurry, for all things grow slowly.

SOUL-POWERS AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 28 1

Weakness is only an argument in favor of strength,
and the small measure of the spirit meted out to us
here only indicates the vastness of its extent and
power. The impossibilities of our infirmities indicate
the possibilities of those who are firm. Then doubt
not, waver not, but keep steadily, coolly on, up the
mountains of difficulty. Each one you surmount only
reveals more clearly to you the possibilities of your
nature. The value of things is in their use. Spiritual
gifts are of use just now, in the "a-b-c" of man's
growth — in the awakening of man's dull senses to
the recognition of a future existence and its nature ;
but when such becomes universal, as it must in time,
what will be their use ?

The world has been as far advanced in spiritual
things in the long ago as now — and probably much
further ; but what use was it to them ? They had
their oracles and their temples, and gods and guides
without number ; but all this did not prevent retro-
gression.

The ground must now all be traveled over again.
Again must the priesthood be organized, the temples
built, the altars reared, and the fires lighted ; and
for what is all this ? Oh, the patience of the Infinite !
In vain are the choicest gifts of heaven showered
upon unthankful and unthinking man ! They are all
prostituted to devilish ends and aims. The choicest
oracles of the olden time led opposing armies to the
slaughter of each other. The prophets of the Lord
anointed kings and watched over the welfare of one
nation to the detriment of another.

282 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

Gifts were all prostituted to the attainment of ma-
terial wealth, grandeur, glory and fame. All powers
were bent and warped to the creation and perpetua-
tion of monstrous distinctions among men, by reason
of which war and outrage are the rule, and peace and
harmony very rare exceptions. Where now are they ?
A slow, lingering decay — an awful disease of the
very vitals, or the violent conflagration of their own
passions hath swept them away. The wand of a
magician hath waved across the sky and they are not !
But they have left the diseases which they created
behind them in the ruins of their former glory and
worship. Their spirituality is only a ruin.

In vain do men teach and preach ; the world goes
on in the old beaten track, and religion follows the
lead. In vain did the lowly Jesus heal the sick and
teach the ignorant. In vain did he cry from the
mountains and temples, of a rare good life here, free .
from disease and death. The Jews heard him not —
and now — even now — with all our boasted progress
and civilization the word of a God is prostituted to
mean something he never intended. " If ye believe
ye shall not die," is enunciated in words which can
have no other meaning.

If he had meant what is now preached as the gos-
pel, it was as easy to have said " He that believeth
shall not go to hell" as to have said what he did.
His teachings from beginning to end show his mission
to have been to teach mankind how to live humane
lives so as to be healthy and happy. His healing of

SOUL-POWERS AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 283

the sick shows that the gospel was that of physical
health and the salvation from disease. His raising
of the dead, and his own resurrection, show further
that death was a thing to be overcome by living a true
life. " And these signs shall follow those that be-
lieve,,, etc. (See Luke xvi. 17, 18.) In another
place he says, " Greater works than these shall ye
do, because I go to the Father."

Of what avail are spiritual gifts if their utmost
power is simply to demonstrate another life without
joining this life thereto as one ? It must be evident
to every thoughtful person that the object of these
manifestations is the elevation of the race. And
wherein can this be effected, save in the power to
enjoy ? Where does this power reside, save in health ?
In vain did Jesus heal the sick if he did not teach the
way to continued health ! In vain did he raise the
dead if he did not show the way to remain alive ! If
they die not in the spirit-world, what need of death
here ?

All the revelations heretofore given have been of
an immortal life in some other state of existence.
But I tell you of an immortality of this life. I
believe Jesus taught the way of its attainment, but it
was not understood. I may not be able to point the
whole road, but what I have said already must con-
tain the principles of it in part. Man creates himself
and all the essentials of his being — his health, happi-
ness, heavens and hells. But hell comes from mis-
directed effort and heaven from well-directed effort.

284 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

Things superior descend as a revelation in answer
to a demand, which revelation is an idea — this is
enlightenment. No matter how, or in what manner an
idea comes, if it is of a superior character, it is of the
light. Hence it is enlightening, and leads upwards.
Man must first have an idea of what he wants before
he can create conditions superior to things that now
are.

The demand always precedes the supply. Is there
a demand for a continuous and happy life here on this
globe ? Is there a demand for power to create forms
of matter for use by effort of will, without the toil
and demoniac scramble after the necessaries of life?
There will be a demand when man is satisfied of its
possibility. Then multiply the mediums ! The spirit-
world is drawing near. Soon, spiritual beings will
walk among us as men — will heal the sick, cast out
devils, multiply bread for the hungry, and gold for
the greedy, till it shall lose its value, and man turns
his attention to the attainment of spiritual powers
and gifts.

The demand for self-government and peace has
already gone up to the Gods, and the answer is
coming. The bomb which carried Alexander of
Russia into hell, or out of it, was God-sent, in answer
to the prayer of many an earnest soul. A full and
complete answer is at hand, when the world shall be
free, and every man shall be his own king, priest,
bishop, pope, and God ! All hail to the mediums
and to spiritual gifts of all grades and kinds ! For

SOUL-POWERS AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 285

here is freedom. Let gifts be no longer prostituted
by individual ambition, nor to the building of thrones
or national glory ! Let the universal anthem be,

" PEACE ON EARTH, GOOD-WILL TO MEN ! "

Let us work mentally and spiritually, so that the
new temple shall not be made with hands of material
substance, but a temple in these bodies — a divine
body, wherein God shall be conscious to each one of
us. Let us rear altars in our own hearts — altars of
love-worship, needing no typical sacrifices of the
blood of animals or of men. Let us light the fires of
the spirit thereon, which are unquenchable and
eternal.

Man's desires for immortality have been mis-
directed, inasmuch as his revelations have been of a
future life, and not of this. The time has come when
revelations must be made of this life and its possibili-
ties — of the present, and not of the future. The
perfect life of to-day admits no doubt nor fear of to-
morrow. A perfect life here is as fully and com-
pletely immortal as any life in any world. The idea
of living for the future is a false light ; it is a mate-
rial light of " Lucifer, Son of the morning/ ' Happi-
ness is not of to-morrow, nor of any future time or
world. It is to-day or not at all. All life is of to-
day, and the present. The future never comes.

Salvation is from disease. If you die of disease,
you wake up on the other side diseased ; you have to
be cured there before you have fullness of life. The
same knowledge that saves you there will save you

286 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

here. Then why not have that knowledge ? The
self-same power that feeds the angels in heaven will
feed you here, if it is yours. Then why not open
your soul to its reception ? Heaven is in no partic-
ular place. It is within you if you want it there,
with all its angels and powers — aye ! and its im-
mortal life, also.

" In union there is strength." " Again, I say unto
you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touch-
ing anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father which is in Heaven." (Matthew
xviii. 9.)

This agreement spoken of here is not merely of
the mind — it is a union or oneness of spirit, wherein
power is multiplied in an unknown ratio. The spirit
of one is not as another — they differ in quality,
hence there is no agreement : even where minds
agree, the spirits do not. Hence the possibility of
the truth of the above is in the agreement. Agree-
ment is the kingdom of power. The union of two is
of higher quality than one alone ; and the more spirits
there are in the union the greater is the power. But
the difficulty deepens when it is made known that
two male spirits cannot agree. Agreement is of the
male and female. Herein Divinity appears, and power
to accomplish all things is manifest. But union of
spirit is preceded by mental agreement.

Now, the demand for immortal power and life on
this earth must first be a mental agreement, which, in
its perfection and harmony, will give birth to union

SOUL-POWERS AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 287

or agreement of spirit touching that thing. But look
you ! Woman is not free ! Alas for the dawn of
light ! Woman a slave ! Prostituted by man's self-
ishness and lust ! How can the prayers of such a
monster be answered? " Verily, I say unto you,"
"the prayer of the wicked availeth nothing/'

Little can be effected without freedom. But let us
do what we can in the union of minds. Spirit works
by methods beyond the mind ; hence its laws cannot
be comprehended by the mind. "The kingdom of
heaven cometh not by observation," i.e.y not through
laws of mentality. Spirits are unable to explain the
law of manifestation. I believe material is evolved
from the medium, and combined with subtle elements
in the atmosphere by the effort of the will of some
powerful spirit, or by the union of several, into
flowers, apparitions, spirit-forms, clothing, etc., etc.,
and that it will yet be demonstrated that materialized
spirits are evolved from the medium.

But no matter how it is done, the power that can
make a flower, or a piece of cloth, can make gold,
fruit, bread, or anything else desired. All that is
requisite are conditions, and knowledge, or faith, or
will, or whatever you feel like calling the power.
These manifestations are in their infancy as yet, for,
although as old as man, they have probably never
been properly understood, or so universally under-
stood by spirits of a high and intelligent order as
now. They are experimenting, and they understand
fully the value of co-operation or harmony. The

288 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

much-talked-of conditions of spiritual manifestations
are nothing more nor less.

Jesus, in view of this principle, selected twelve
Apostles who were as harmonious with him as men
can well be. But the Scriptures are mostly silent in
reference to the important part the women who fol-
lowed him took in the work he did. It is doubtful if
he ever explained this idea, to them ; probably this
is the esoteric part of the Gospel which was never
written. It is reasonable to infer as much, for the
early Christians had everything in common, thus
striving to destroy distinctions and to perfect a union
that should enable them to carry out the intuitions
and work of Jesus. (See Acts iv. 32.) "And the
multitude of them that believed were of one heart
and one soul : neither said any of them that aught of
the things which he possessed was his own ; but they
had all things common:" that is, the writer thought
they were of "one heart and soul" because they tried
to be so.

Why they gradually lost the gifts of the Spirit
must be evident to every reasonable, thoughtful mind.
The agreement or union was lost through the gradual
growth of distinctions and differences : — first, of
mind ; second, of spirit ; and third, of material sub-
stances (property). Had they perfected the union,
instead of proselyting, they would have established
the church upon a "rock," and afterwards the growth
would have been a steady, healthy, upward growth ;
neither would they have wanted for anything, for the

SOUL-POWERS AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS, 289

kingdom of harmony contains all things. "First
seek the kingdom of heaven : then all other things
shall be added unto you."

The power that comes of perfect union or harmony
is wonderful. God dwells in it! " Where two or
three are gathered together in my name " — or in
oneness of heart, mind, soul and spirit — " there am
I in the midst. " The principle is what we need —
the name or the man is nothing ; but for those in-
capable of comprehending a principle, the name is of
vital importance. Do not destroy a man's idols, if he
is incapable of reason.

The spirit, by union, ascends higher than if alone ;
and God descends upon its tide to bless not merely
those who unite, but all the world in which they
move. Alas ! for the angularities and differences
that destroy us. The secret of union is in self-
harmony as a foundation : this is good, but two is
better ; but if the two be male and female, it is best.
Magnetism leads thereto.

It behooves me to add, in this connection, that the
age of wrong and bloodshed is nearly past. The
dawn of a divine government is at hand, wherein
the fundamental principle of government is for the
moral benefit of the person punished and not primarily
for the protection of society. As a tender and kind
father corrects his child for the child's good, and not
to vindicate his power or authority in the least, so will
society deal with its weak members.

Crime will be treated as a disease of the mind, and

2gO THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

hospitals will take the place of jails, penitentiaries
and scaffolds. Instead of physicians, chaplains and
guards, there shall be a few chosen ones who, united
in mind and soul, shall pour the psychological power
of the angel-world upon criminals of all classes, and
they shall be healed ; for under this influence certain
organs of the brain may be rendered inoperative, and
other organs may be called into activity ; thus the
morally weak may be strengthened, and the depraved
shall be made to loathe and despise their depravity ;
this can be done in secret without the criminal's
knowledge.

Who shall lead off in this great moral work ?
Psychometry will reveal the peculiarities of children
and adults, and those needing treatment will be
treated and trained without the rod and the dunce-
cap. There will be no escape for the criminal, for
the mediums will point them out — for their good
primarily, and secondly, for the good of society. The
weak will be known before a manifestation of weak-
ness — or, rather, the commission of crime. The time
will come, and that speedily, when from the Temples
of the Rose Cross such power shall be breathed
out upon the people, so gently, and so peacefully,
that none shall be disposed to do any one a wrong.

The whole people shall join in one grand Psycho-
logical effort to banish disease and death from the
land. Who shall say it will not be done ? Who
will be the first to enroll their names among the
Temple-builders and pioneers of the millennium?

SPIRITUALITY. 29 1