PART IV

THE NATURE OP ETHER ATOMS — THE NECESSITY OP POISE
WHEN the Ego is on its way to rebirth through the Region of Concrete Thought, the Desire World, and the Etheric Region, it gathers a certain amount of material from each. The quality of this material is determined by the seed atom, on the prin- ciple that like attracts like. The quantity depends upon the amount of matter required by the archetype built by ourselves in the second heaven. From the quantity of prismatic ether atoms that are appro- priated by a certain spirit, the Recording Angels and their agents build an etheric form which is then placed in the mother's womb and gradually clothed with physical matter which then forms the visible body of the new born child.
Only a small portion of the ether appropriated by a certain Ego is thus used, and the remainder of the child's vital body, or rather the material from which that vehicle will eventually be made, is thus outside
104 THE OCCULT EFFECT OF OUR EMOTIONS
the dense body. For that reason the vital body of a child protrudes much farther beyond the periphery of the dense body than does that of the adult. Dur- ing the period of growth this store of ether atoms is drawn upon to vitalize the accretions within the body until, at the time when the adult age is reached, the vital body protrudes only from one to one and a half inches beyond the periphery of the dense body.
It has been determined by physical science that the atoms in our dense body are constantly changing so that all the material which composes our present ve- hicle at this moment will have disappeared in a few years, but it is common knowledge that scars and other blemishes perpetuate themselves from childhood to old age. The reason for this is that the prismatic ether atoms which compose our vital body remain unchanged from the cradle to the grave. They are always in the same relative position — that is to say, the prismatic ether atoms which vibrate the physical atoms in the toes or in the fingers do not get to the hands, legs, or any other part of the body, but re- main in exactly the same place where they were placed in the beginning. A lesion of the physical atoms in- volves a similar impression on the prismatic ether atoms. The new physical matter molded over them continues to take on shape and texture similar to those which originally obtained.
THE NATURE OF ETHER ATOMS 105
The foregoing remarks apply only to the prismatic ether atoms which correspond to solids and liquids in the physical world, because they assume a certain definite shape which they preserve. But in addition each human being at this stage of evolution has a certain amount of light and reflecting ether, which are the vehicles of sense perception and memory, in- termingled in his vital body. We may say that the light ether corresponds to the gases in our physical world ; perhaps the best description that can be given of the reflecting ether is to call it hyper-etheric. It is a vacuous substance of a bluish color resembling in appearance the blue core of a gas flame. It appears transparent and seems to reveal everything that is within it, but nevertheless it hides all the secrets of nature and humanity. In it is found one record of the Memory of Nature. The light and reflecting ethers are of an exactly opposite nature to that of the stationary prismatic ether atoms. They are vola- tile and migratory. However much or little a man possesses of this material, it is an accretion, a fruit- age, derived from his experiences in life. Inside the body it mingles with the blood stream and when it has grown by service and sacrifice in life's school so that it can no longer be contained within the body, it is seen on the outside as a soul body of gold and blue. Blue shows the highest type of spirituality,
106 THE OCCULT EFFECT OF OUR EMOTIONS
therefore it is smallest in volume and may be com- pared to the blue core of the gas flame, while the golden hue forms the larger part and corresponds to the yellow light which surrounds the core in the gas ring. The blue color does not appear outside the dense body save in the very greatest of saints — only yellow is usually observable there. At death this part of the vital body is etched into the desire body with the life panorama which it contains. The quint- essence of all our life experience is then eventually impressed upon the seed atom as conscience or virtue which urges us to avoid evil and to do good in a coming life. Thus the quality of the seed atom is altered from life to life. The quintessence of good extracted from the migratory part of the vital body in one life determines the quality of the prismatic stationary ether atoms in the next life. The highest in one life becomes the lowest in the next and thus we gradually climb the ladder of evolution towards divinity.
From the foregoing it will be evident that the vital body is a vehicle of habit ; all parents know that dur- ing the first seven years of childhood when this vehicle is in course of gestation that children form one habit after another. Repetition is the keynote of the vital body and habits depend on repetition. It is different with the desire body, the vehicle of feelings and emo-
THE NATURE OF ETHER ATOMS 107
tions which are always changing from moment to moment ; though it has been said that the ether which forms our soul body is in constant motion and mingles with the blood stream, that motion is relatively slow compared to the rapidity of the current of the desire body; we may say that the ether moves like a snail compared with light.
The points brought out by the foregoing may be summed up as follows:
Desire stuff moves with inconceivable rapidity com- parable only with light.
The two higher ethers also travel with great speed though far slower than desire stuff.
The prismatic ether atoms composing the lower ethers are stationary but have a high rate of vibra- tory motion.
The dense atoms are as motionless as the crystal in the rock.
No matter what people say to us or about us, their words have no intrinsic power to hurt — it is our own mental attitude towards their utterances which de- termines the effect of their words upon us for good or ill. Paul, when facing persecution and slander, testified that "None of these things moved me.'' All who hope to advance spiritually must cultivate equi- poise, for without it the desire body will either run riot or congeal, according to the nature of the emo-
108 THE OCCULT EFFECT OF OUR EMOTIONS
tions generated by intercourse with others, whether worry, anger, or fear. We know that the dense body is our vehicle of action, that the vital body gives it the power to act, that the desire body furnishes tho incentive to action, and that the mind was given as a brake on impulse. We learn from the Cosmo, pp. 89, 90, 91, that thought-forms from within and with- out the body are being continually projected upon the desire body in an endeavor to arouse feeling which will lead to action, and that reason ought to rule the lower nature and leave the higher self scope for ex- pression of its divine proclivities. We also know that habitual thought has power to mold even physical matter, for the nature of the sensualist is plainly dis cernable in his features which are as coarse and gross as the features of the spiritually minded are delicate and fine. The power of thought is still greater in its potency to mold the finer vestures. We have already seen how thoughts of fear and worry congeal the desire body of any one who indulges in that habit, and it is equally certain that by cultivating an op- timistic frame of mind under all circumstances we can attune our desire bodies to any key we wish. After a time, that will become a habit. It must be confessed that it is difficult to hold the desire body down to any definite lines, but it can be done, and the attempt must be made by all who aspire to spiritual advancement.
THE NATURE OF ETHER ATOMS 199
Regarding the effect from the occult standpoint of this polarization, we may learn much from certain customs in so-called secret societies. As you know, such organizations always place at the door a guard who is instructed to deny admittance to anyone not supplied with the proper pass-word and signs, and that works very well so far as the people are con- cerned who function only in their physical body. But the so-called secrets of these organizations are not in any sense secrets to those who are able to enter their places of assembly in their vital bodies. It is otherwise in a true esoteric order such as, for in- stance, the Rosicrucians. No guard is on duty at the door of that Temple when the Mystic Midnight Mass is said each night of the week. The door is wide open to all who have learned to speak the open sesame. But that is not a spoken password ; the initiate who de- sires to attend must know how to attune his soul body to the particular rate of vibration maintained on that night. Furthermore, this vibration differs on the various nights of the week so that those who have learned to attune themselves to the vibration main- tained on Saturday night when the first degree meets are as effectually barred from entering the Temple with those who carry on the work Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc., as any ordinary person.
110 THE OCCULT EFFECT OF OUR EMOTIONS
The cosmic law under which this is done applies also to the control and effect of our thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Paul well said that we are the temple of the living God (our Higher Self). We have also created a subtle aura about us under the guardian- ship of the Divine Hierarchies reigning over the seven planets, Saturn, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus. The Universe, or great world, is mystically called the seven-stringed lyre of Apollo. Our individual organism or microcosm is a replica or image of God, and it behooves us to awaken in ourselves an echo of this music of the spheres. Most of us have learned to respond too much to the sat- urnine vibrations of sorrow, gloom, fear, and worry, which congeal our desire bodies, and it would be to the lasting benefit of all to try to cultivate the spir- itual vibrations of the Sun, filling our lives with op- timism and sunshine which will dispel the saturnine gloom and despondency and prevent such thoughts entering our aura in the future.
The prime necessity of advancement is equipoise. All who aspire ought to adopt Paul's motto, "None of these things move me."
Ill