105 lines
6.6 KiB
Plaintext
105 lines
6.6 KiB
Plaintext
MAX HEINDEL'S MESSAGE:
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Preparation for Initiation
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This evening we will take the Magnetic Needle as our subject of
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meditation, for it has a lesson of supreme importance in our spiritual
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career, a lesson which it behooves every faithful follower of the Mystic
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Light to take earnestly and prayerfully to heart.
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The Magnetic Needle is made of metal which has an inherent affinity for
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the lodestone, namely, steel. Other metals are but indifferently affected,
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if at all. But when steel has once been touched with the lodestone, its
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whole nature is changed. It has become alive, as it were, imbued with a new
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force which we might describe as a constant yearning after the lodestone
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which once kissed it. Needles made of other metals, and unmagnetized steel,
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may be put upon a pivot, and they will stand in any balanced position
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wherever they are placed. They are passive to whatever force is applied to
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them from without. But the Needle which has been touched by the lodestone
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resists, and no matter how often or how severely we push it away from the
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magnetic position, as soon as the force exerted against it is removed, it
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will instantly revert and point toward the magnetic pole.
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A similar phenomenon is seen in the life of the Christian; once he has
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felt, thoroughly felt in his being, the love of the Father, he is a changed
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man.
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The worldly forces from without may be exerted in various ways to divert
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his interest and attention, but every particle of his being yearns for God
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and is always turning in that direction unaffected by the world of drifting,
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listless men. Whatever else he may do in the world, (because it is
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absolutely necessary to take the proper part in the world's work), will be
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done because it is right and dutiful to do so, but with his whole being he
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yearns towards the Father, whose Love, whose Being, and whose Force has
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drawn his soul. To him "But on Thing is Needful": His Father's Love, and his
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every effort is directed to win His Approval.
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When we turn from the earth to heaven; we find almost identical
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conditions there. Everywhere through the great firmament millions and
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billions of miles, yea, infinite space, is filled with marching orbs that
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move with a velocity which beggars comprehension by the human mind. At the
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time when we entered the pro-Ecclesia, the stars were in a certain position.
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But during every moment since we have been here, they have changed and they
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are now changing with every tick of the clock <20> all but one. Among all these
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countless stars moving at such an enormous speed, there is one that is
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changeless, one that always occupies the same position: "The North Star." No
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matter what time during the day or night, during summer or winter, from
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birth to death, we look up into the heavens, that star will be found always
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in the same place. Whenever it is visible to our eyes or by the help of a
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telescope at any time, it will always be found to occupy the position which
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we speak of as "North."
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Now mark the phenomenon of the changeless needle, always pointing
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towards the changeless star, and consider the connection between them and
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the lesson there is for us in this phenomenon. The magnetic needle is not a
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fair-weather follower. It does not matter whether it rains or shines,
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whether it is calm or stormy, whether there are fogs or clouds; under all
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circumstances the magnetic needle points with unvarying fidelity towards the
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North Star, and upon this great fact the mariner stakes the property and
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life of himself, his crew and his passengers. Though the sleet and the rain,
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snow or hail may beat in his face, almost blinding him and making it
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impossible for him to see the front of his ship, yet so long as he can see
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that faithful needle he knows that he is on the right course, he knows that
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it will never swerve, that even though the ship should founder and find a
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watery grave at the bottom of the sea, that faithful needle will still
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remain in the same position, pointing to the changeless star until the very
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last atom of its being has been disintegrated by corrosion. Therefore he
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trusts implicitly to this faithful guide as he "lays him down in peace to
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sleep rocked in the cradle of the deep."
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There is, in the unswerving devotion symbolized by this magnetic needle,
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one of the greatest and most wonderful lessons for those who have seen the
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mystic light and who aspire to the privilege of guiding others who have not
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yet found the path. Let us realize that to do this, the first, foremost, and
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the greatest prerequisite is: that we shall ourselves have become firmly
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grounded and rooted so that we are not disturbed by worldly changes going on
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about us.
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Whether the clouds of doubt, scepticism, or persecution be cast about us
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by others, or whether they seek to ensnare us in blinding fogs of other
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doctrines, it behooves us to hold fast to that which is good. Yea, even
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though life were the price we have to pay, we must imitate that faithful
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needle. As the ship founders and settles to its watery grave, we must
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continue to point to the one goal of all, "Our Father in Heaven," never
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swerving to the right or to the left, no matter what may come. As the
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needle, that has once been touched by the lodestone, is impregnated with a
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yearning after the changeless star, a yearning which does not cease, even
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though it finds a watery grave, a yearning which lasts until the last atom
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of its being has been disolved by the action of the elements, so also must
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we, if we are really truly yearning to be competent guides to others,
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continue with unswerving devotion on the path which we have chosen, looking
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neither to the right or the left but fastening our eyes upon the changeles
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star ahead "Our Father in Heaven" in whom there is no change neither
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turning. For as the slightest deviation upon the part of the magnetic needle
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in the compass would be sufficient to dash the mariner upon the shoals or
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rocks of a dangerous shore, wrecking both ship and lives, so also, if we
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swerve from the path we have once chosen, we become stumbling blocks to
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others who are looking to us for guidance and example, and their lives are
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on our heads.
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"To whom much has been given, from him much will be required." We have
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received much from the teachings of the Elder Brothers. The mystic light has
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beckoned us on, and may we realize the great responsibility we have, by our
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example and our lives, to faithfully guide those seekers with whom we come
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in contact, to the haven of rest and refuge.
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