In the beginning of his search for knowledge and wisdom, the seeker will not be able to at one find that something tangible which he feels exists and for which his Soul hungers. Being as yet unconscious of his Soul. He thinks only of himself. He is unaware that there are a number of separate beings within himself: 1st, his personality - the person composed of body and mind; and, 2nd, deep down within himself the subconscious striving to become conscious. This subconscious, brought into consciousness, is the Soul.

It is the activity of the Soul self that causes dissatisfaction and urges the quest for something he does not now possess, and which, in fact, he cannot as yet define. He simply is aware of the fact that he is no longer satisfied with what he knows, with what he has, with what he is, and that this inner dissatisfaction is urging him to find that which is missing, and which must be found, if he is to be satisfied.

If you try to interest this seeker in religion, he will turn aside with displeasure. He has had an "overdose" of what he believes to be religion. He is searching for knowledge, and understanding of the unknown; the intangible, if you wish; that "something" which will satisfy his inner longing. He is unaware that the only religion he has known is form; that the existence of the spirit is wholly unknown to him.

Mention philosophy to this seeker and he is equally uninterested. He does no know that the philosophy we are thinking of is something different from the material science taught in and accepted as philosophy by the schools. What we have in mind is that philosophy which is the basis of true spiritual science; the foundation upon which the spiritual edifice alone can be erected.

This seeker must come into a realization that both religion and philosophy are essential bo him in his search if he is to attain his goal. Philosophy is the science of life; the basis upon which the spiritual structure must be erected. Religion is the spirit of that philosophy and indicates the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Some feel they want religion, but of a different nature than they have known. Others believe that religion is dead and that philosophy will fill their requirements. Still others think that both religion and philosophy are dead and that science may hold the solution to their problem. All of these seekers must awaken to the truth that there is but one thing that is potent to satisfy the inner longing: that one thing is a knowledge of the philosophy and science and the power of the mind when applied to the development of the Soul so that it will be brought into Consciousness.

True knowledge is possible only to the awakened mind. True religion is in the Heart. There must be an awakening of the mind before there can be religion in the heart. The awakened mind and the spirit of God (religion) in the heart compose the science of the eternal; it is the Science of the Soul.

In his search for something to satisfy his longing, the seeker has but one incentive - his desire. Once he fully realizes what that desire is, and if this desire is in harmony with the Soul's emotions; if it is good, therefore ennobling and exalting; it will be only a matter of effort and time until there is fulfillment.

There are many religious doctrines, many philosophies, many creeds and cults; a religion or a philosophy, a cult or a clique for everyone but for the one seeking the truth, not as he would like it to be, but as it actually is. This truth can only be found by an inner growth, by soulual development, by the illumination of the inner self. Creeds and philosophies have no power in themselves to bring this about. A lofty desire and a practice based on sound principles is necessary. It is a life lived; it is something that becomes a part of "He who seeks"; the seeker ultimately manifesting the thing he desired, sought and labored for. He then has become.

In the study of cults, creeds, science so-called, and the various doctrines current, the seeker often wanders from one to the other, accepting one theory today only to discard it for another on the morrow, always to the loss of a part of the faith still left him. The true and earnest seeker must be unbiased in his conclusions. His search is not for form or personality but for the truth itself; a truth never to be found in externals, but one that may be demonstrated by spiritual activity. It must be esoteric in its nature with a material basis; a practice rather than an inculcation and agreeable to an inner conviction. A system of life based on a sound doctrine of practice.

Trugh itself is not bo be found in externals, but only within the heart, as a result of spiritual development which brings about a soul consciousness.

The seeker after truth is very much like the miner seeking after gold. All the knowledge of mining in the world will not reveal to gold to him, but if he will apply this knowledge he will recognize the place where gold is likely to be found, and if he will then apply himself and remove all that hides the gold, he is liable to unearth and find it. The truth is hidden deep down in the inner physical, mortal, material self. This is the dirt or debris hiding the gold (the spiritual truths) and this must be removed by the efforts to free the person, the self, from the carnal passions before the gold (the Soul) can stand revealed.

No seeker can attain to truth and wisdom who is governed by bigotry and a conceited idea of what may be truth. He must be possessed of an idea; a desire based on a spiritual feeling in the heart; then proceed to so think, feel and live (act and make every necessary effort) to bring the desire into manifestation; to become that which he visions within himself.

The student is much like a dealer in jewels who is in possession of a diamond in the rough. He appreciates its worth and is fully cognizant of the fact that it is truly valuable only after it has been laboriously cut and polished. If th is willing to perform the necessary labor he shortly will possess a jewel both desirable and brilliant; one scintillating with light and color.

The student possesses such an uncut jewel; it is his Soul. If he is as willing to use his knowledge in "cutting and polishing" the rough "jewel" as does the jeweler, then soon he will hold within himself something far more precious than all the material jewels in the world. Like the jeweler, he must apply what little knowledge he possesses in "cutting the edges." These "edges" are the carnal desires which possess and control all his actions. Having changed or transmuted these passions into the exalting emotions, he will use these as a "polishing cloth" to make brilliant; i.e., bring into manifestation the Light of the Soul.

No one is able to truthfully say that he does not believe in anything other than the things he can see. He believes in life and in love, though he cannot see these. He may profess that he does not believe in God. By this he means that he does not believe in a God such as the churches and formal religions teach. To replace this teaching he straightway proceeds to create a God of his own and this God will be patterned after his own inner feelings, desires, passions or emotions, and be neither better nor worse that he is himself.

Whatever life a man may lead, however evil he may be in mind and heart, nevertheless he seeks health, greater life, pleasure, harmony and peace, in the best manner he knows how. Though he may be totally evil, he still wants life and all that life can offer. He is not satisfied with the best ready-made philosophy he can find. This in itself is proof that though he disclaims belief in religion and all it represents, he is seeking for something better than he has been able to find. However much he may deny it, he is seeking something different; something his evil acts have not been able to satisfy; that something better he is in search of is in reality truth; the Divine Law, God.

With rare exceptions, the self is predominant in men. It demands constant attention; it commands; "Search for and obtain that which will satisfy me," and the more it receives the less it is satisfied. This is because the self has no real existence; it is like a bottomless pit, and though it is constantly supplied with the things it seeks there is no real satisfaction. This self is symbolical of the mariner cast upon the sea without fresh water. Thirst demands satisfaction and in lieu of fresh water he drinks the water of the sea filled with salt. The more he drinks the thirstier he becomes, until he perishes. It is so with the self. It exists by virtue of the real self or Soul, though it does not recognize the Soul; is unaware of its existence; the moment that Soul leaves the self (the body) death follows. In truth, the call is not from the self; it is from the Soul. The self mistakenly believes the call to be from itself and do what it will, it is never satisfied and cannot be satisfied, until it brings its desires and actions within the Law.

There are two "selves" to satisfy. There is the better, higher or real self. This self is unknown except to the few, nevertheless it makes itself felt, and though hidden deep down beneath the debris of materiality, of personality and of self, at odd moments its influence is so strong that it manifests itself in love, kindness, graciousness, generosity and the other godly emotions. If these kindly emotions were given precedence, they would soon overbalance the material self, but all to quickly, the selfish self drowns out the "voice" of the Soul and it may not again be heard for some time.

There are two selves, yet no man can serve two masters, unless he is wise in the way of the Law and learns to separate the things that belong to Caesar (the body) from the things that belong to God (the Soul). If he does this, then contradictory as it may seem, he actually serves but one Master, because he renders to the self that which naturally belongs to the self and to God the things which divinely belong to God.

Man is a being of flesh and blood, the "dust" made alive, and as such he is obliged under the Law, aye, the Divine Law, to supply the requirements of the material man. There is no evil in this. It is only when he neglects the Divine part of himself and renders unto the body (Caesar) the things that belong to God, that evil is done and God is betrayed.

The true, real, eternal part of man is the Soul. The body has its use as it must serve as a vehicle for the Soul so that the soul may be made conscious and become the Son of god. To this extent the body must be served with the things it needs. It is only when the soul is neglected so that the body may be served more than its due, that evil is done.

The truth, i.e., the Way of Life is never long hidden from those who earnestly seek to gain wisdom and a full knowledge of the Divine Law, so that they may direct it to the welfare of themselves and their fellow men. Wisdom is denied only to those who would profane it by misapplication and misdirection.

"Cast not your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot," was commanded by the Master Teacher. He well know that if he made an attempt to teach the mysteries to the viciously ignorant they would either debase the teachings or destroy those who sought to help them.

The wise, those of kindly heart, in all ages accept the truth wherever found and in whatever form it might appear, whether in the hieroglyphs of the ancients, the astronomy of the Chaldeans, the Halls of Initiation of the Egyptians, or in the glorious philosophy of the Ancients Greeks, greatest of whom was Pythagoras.

In ages past those who so sought recognized the truth that true religion is nothing more than a vital philosophy; a system of thinking, feeling, sensing, desiring and living. In short, a mode of life constantly and consistently followed.

This religion-philosophy had its roots in the earliest philosophical teachings of the Ancients. This ancient phlosophy is the religion of the modern race adapted to their mode of life, but denuded of all the esoteric teachings, and is for that reason, more of less of a dead letter. This has not come about because the wise men of the ages Willed it to be so, but because humanity would not have it otherwise; because men demand that the self, not God be served.

The mass accept and believe in only that which they can see and feel; that which is sufficiently material to be of benefit or profit to themselves. They demand a material interpretation and application of the religion or philosophy they accept.

Strange as it may seem, if they were faithful in the application of the tenets of such a religion and lived accordingly, it would not be many days before they would become aware that such a life is in reality a becoming; and the religion or philosophy teaching it, though almost wholly material, would lead them into the mysteries of the true religion and they would become new, enlightened beings. As it is, they do not live even that which they profess to believe, even though it is but the shred of real religion, but use it as a cloak to cover the skeleton within, much as the mythical wolf puts on sheep's clothing to serve his evil purpose.

Those who accept philosophical or religious inculcations as a basis of life and live accordingly, soon become that religion personified and manifest that new life in their everyday affairs. These as yet have not attained to spiritualization, but if they continue faithful, the mind will reach the heart and ultimately the heart will awaken, and bring into manifestation, the Soul, and man will have become a new, and enlightened being.

The humanity of the entire world is sorely in heed of such a philosophical-religious inculcation, and it is system of culture and guidance that the enlightened man seeks in his efforts to build his Soul and bring it into the consciousness of being - Christisis. It is the inner temple of the self where alone God can be truly worshipped, not by mere words of prayer or praise, but by actually living in full accordance to the Divine Law.

We are not capable of seeing the life forces in action in any living thing, whether this be in plant or animal, but we know that this life force exists, otherwise there would be no activity. It is the same with the forces we recognize as spiritual. We are unable to see the Divine Spark, but we are made aware of its existence when it is manifested as kindliness, love, forgiveness, generosity and in other godly emotions.

As progress is made by the seeker in the development of the Soul and in bringing the Divine Spark into consciousness, we become aware of its individualization and we know what the Master Teacher had in mind when he spoke of the son of man becoming the Son of God, and like unto himself.

The foolish man is he who blinds himself by believing only in outer or material manifestations. Of him it may be said: "There are none so blind as those who will not see." Equally foolish are those who fail to recognize truth when found, even though it be perverted, twisted, warped or misapplied, and who judge by appearances rather than by results.

The true seeker, the real student, accepts truth wherever found and willingly gives credit where credit belongs. From the Initiates of old Egypt via Judea, was received the religion and philosophy as now accepted by the western world, though since denuded of its wisdom teachings, and esoteric science, because the western mind did not care to accept the spirit which is the heart of true religion.

Centuries ago the Nazarene recognized that even the letter was no longer acceptable to any but the very few, and he sought to vitalize the mystery teachings by infusing new life into them and at the same time simplifying them so that all might understand. The Gnostic Christos he called the son of man became the Son of God, and this attainment signified the finding of the "Kingdom of God which is within you."

Comparatively few who heard the Nazarene accepted other than the letter of his sayings, but sought a material kingdom. Fewer still made an effort to attain Sonship or to win the state of the "kingdom of heaven" for themselves by a self-revelation of the "mysteries" that lead to the "kingdom of heaven." In this new age we will know this perfected inner life as the Christification of the Soul; the personification of the Soul as the Christisis.

To mislead the mass it has been and still is taught that the Egyptians worshipped idols, and all but the few have accepted this as the truth.

The student in search of the ultimate must not be mislead, but recognize the fact that during the entire Christian dispensation the multitude has been equally guilty of worshipping idols in that they believed, and worshipped as they believed, that the person of the Nazarene whom thy knew as Jesus, would save them by freely forgiving them their manifold sins, whether they were worthy or not; whether or not they made restitution. The Egyptians who saw their savior in Osiris and worshipped him accordingly, were no more guilty than the multitudes of many nations who, since the time of the Nazarene, in like manner worshipped Jesus. Neither the knowing (wise and enlightened) Egyptians, nor the "Christians," for a moment believed that faith in, and worship of Osiris or Jesus, would free them from their iniquities, not bring the Soul into Consciousness, and therefore that attainment of Sonship. On the contrary, they were fully aware that only as they made the Divine Law their rule of life; lived accordingly, and made deliberate effort to become Christos-like, would they be able to comprehend the "mysteries" of the kingdom of heaven and attain to that state.

The spoken word has never been potent to convey spiritual sense. Because of this shortcoming the ancients symbolized their ideas, feelings and realities. This can readily be illustrated. Take as an object as common an animal as a cow; the source of vital food for much of the human race. However well versed we may be in the use of word picturing, few who have never seen a cow would recognized one after listening to a word description, but draw a picture of a cow; symbolized it in a drawing, and very few would fail to recognize a cow immediately upon seeing one, yet on one would accuse them of idol worship merely because of such immediate recognition.

It is strange that the truth concerning symbolization in religious inculcations should have been so universally misunderstood. It is just as sensible and as reasonable to say that we worship the cow because we recognize in it a source of life, as to claim that we worship the sun because we recognize in it the source of all life on earth. We know that the sun is the heat giver, and that without heat there can be no life, and that life did not exist on earth before there was light, and no light before the sun existed to flood the earth with its light.

If we are unbiased in our recognition of truth as it is and not as we would have it be, we then will be willing to admit that all philosophies of life, all ideas of religious worship, were primarily derived from what was erroneously thought to be a worship of the sun. this worship was a natural one. The sun is the giver of heat, therefore of life, became the symbolization of God, His insignia of existence, and enlightened men looked upon the sun in the same spirit as true Christians now look upon the Cross. Behind the symbolism is the reality. This is the Creator, the Father of all being; he who works and manifests through his creation.

All men worship something because they hunger and seek for more of the forces that sustain the universe and the life in it. The ancients did not worship the sun itself, but accepted it as the symbol of the source of life, as the giver of all good, and as the source of the birth of life in man.

This knowledge accepted by the student as truth, is not in itself sufficient; it is not applicable in the Great Work of bringing the Soul, the inner source of spiritual life, into Consciousness. To bring this about it is most essential that we teach man how to seek within himself for the sun (the Soul) of his existence; he must be taught the Way whereby he may awaken that sun which is now in darkness because it is hidden by the debris of the ages, and bring it into life of self-Consciousness. Unless we are able to do this and start him in the Way of life, he will be no more than a believer, and belief or faith, however sublime, without works, is dead. It lacks the potency to arouse to life that which is also dead in sleep and must remain so until conscious, deliberate, sustained effort is made to arouse the Divine Spark and develop it into a luminous sun to enlighten - flood with Light - the entire being, so that through this effort the son of man will in truth and fact become the Son of god; the one Arisen from the tomb of the self.

What seek ye? Is it more of life? Is it success in life? Is it the enlightenment of the soul by what we know as religion? These are questions the seeker after truth must answer from his inmost heart.

We are capable of giving life because we are the creators of beings like ourselves. We sustain life by supplying that which is the basis of life. We crave life, we thirst for it, we strive for it. This is the Law, but there is an addition to that Law; it is that in striving for more of physical life we shall also, and at the same time, seek for the source of that life which is eternal. We are commanded to search for and awaken the sleeping Christos within ourselves; a spiritual self much greater than our mortal self. Unless we do this we have failed in life and we have betrayed the Christos, i.e., the Christ who is the Son of God; we are another Judas selling God for selfish purposes.

This Christos must be awakened and become a dynamic force in the personal self, thus individualizing that person. This Christos the Egyptians named Osiris; those who followed the Nazarene called it the Christ; future generations who believe in the dual nature of God; the Father (Jehovah) and Mother (Mary) principles; will know it as Christisis, the savior of the Manistic dispensation; he who, lowly born in the manger or tomb of flesh, once awakened, becomes the Conscious Soul; the individualization of the personality, the Son of God.

Wisdom, science, philosophy and religion must have as their aim, their sole aim, the work of bringing the sleeping Soul into full Consciousness. The Soul is the fountain of all life within the lttle world we know as man, as is the sun the fountain of life of the universe. Unless the person, the self, the personality is changed, transmuted and individualized, life, in so far as that person is concerned, has been a failure and it were better, quoting the Nazarene, "that that person had not been born."

Man, as already mentioned, has a double duty; one to the personality, the self, the little man; the other duty is to his greater self, the inner, real man. In his efforts to make wise use of his "talents," his capabilities, in working to achieve greater material success so that he may be of more help to his fellow men, to "these the least of my brethren," in seeking and finding peace of mind, i.e., the "Mysteries of the kingdom of heaven," all these things must receive consideration. We must not for a moment forget that the identical laws which work for true success in any chosen field, will also establish greater health and strength, and lead to that peace of mind which is happiness, and, that which is of greater importance, will ultimately open the door to that inner kingdom where the Soul is supreme.

The part the mind must play in the Great Work is not to be ignored. Without the help of the mind no part of the work can be a success. The mind is the awakener, it is the builder and the enlightener. It is mind that reasons; reason that separates the good from the bad, the desirable from the undesirable, the constructive from the destructive, and if wisdom guides, the mind will reject all that is undesirable and temporal for that which, though it does not bring immediate results and benefits, works toward the building of the eternal structure, that "temple not made with hands." True success is of the Soul, made possible by the help of the mind.
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