There is no more benumbing or advancement-retarding emotion than fear. Yet, how many people recognize the most common cause of this stultifying passion? The greatest cause is fear of the unknown. Many fear change because they cannot know for certain what change will bring. To paraphrase Shakespeare, we would rather cling to those evils we know than flee to others we know not of.

We are frequently afraid that new circumstances will be worse than those we have come to accept. Actually, the only time this would not be a concern would be if our present life were so miserable that we could not envision a worse state. Of such conditions are revolutions formed. However, even here it is amazing what great indignities can be suffered before the fear of change is overcome.

Analysis of human nature shows these reactions to be wholly understandable. It takes considerable time and energy to adapt to a new set of circumstances. It takes time until we, once again, feel in charge. If we are forced to change, we frequently become anxious or fearful that we will not be able to adapt as fast as necessary to the new circumstances and thereby lose the respect of - and our power to - those who can. But, without this change, neither we nor the world can advance.

The very word progress means to go forward. When we move forward, the past is left behind. To move forward constitutes change. Just as we move from one house to another as we climb the scale of material success, so must we move from one environment to another as we progress spiritually.

Replacing the Old with the New

If we are wise, we willingly give up the old because the new is better, but it usually is not wise to dispose of all we have accumulated as we move on. Rather, we should look over our goods and separate those that will harmonize with the new environment and discard the rest.

So should it be with our spiritual progress. Nothing of real value need be left behind, only those concepts and feelings that are not in keeping with our new position and objectives. As the Nazarene taught, "Neither do men put new wine into old bottles."

To walk bravely into the future takes not only courage but caution and wisdom as well. "Never give up the old for the new until you are sure the new is better" was the advice of an honored Initiate. Or as another sage said, "There is only one greater fool than the man who says, ‘This is old, therefore it is good,' and that is the man who says, ‘This is new, therefore it is better.

Certain levels of quality and appropriateness should be used in judging all things. If the new cannot surpass the old, then the old should be retained. But always remember that the force of momentum is almost always with the new. Even in Nature the force of evolution is always forward to the new and better. Very few forms are allowed to remain the same.

Many of us fear the technological advances that have been made in the last century. Such fears are frequently based on our own concern that we will not be able to keep up with such advancements. There is really little cause for this fear. The most advanced of technologies are of little value if they cannot be taught to the average office secretary. Therefore, the goal of all such advances is to have them as accessible as possible.

So is it in the spiritual. Many students become fearful as they move closer to their goal. Even in the spiritual the fear of the unknown is active. Fear is much less justified in the spiritual than in the material world. Although the Forces Above do, indeed, have some very high-tech lessons to teach us, they do it in such a way that we are always guided and protected each step of the way.

We must be careful to be honest in our evaluation that we do not condemn a technology simply because, not being able to understand it, we inwardly fear it. In such an instance our tendency, in self-defense, would be to downgrade what we personally fear and to exalt that with which we are more familiar. History demonstrates that all such efforts are essentially futile. Many efforts have been made to hold back the future, but none has been successful.

The Bavarian Pure Beer Law of 1516 provides an example of this concept. In order to prevent adulteration of that state's favorite beverage, the Bavarian legislature of that era passed a law which listed in clear, unambiguous language the only ingredients that could be used in beer made or imported into Germany. To this day this law id enforced. Almost all other breweries in the world now add various chemicals to "improve" the beer, but the Germans remain steadfast.

One of Bavaria's largest breweries recently decided that to increase their world market they would ignore this medieval law and begin brewing their as it is done in other countries. Once word of this plan leaked out, the uproar of the people was tumultuous. Objections were so intense that not only were plans to fly in the face of this law dropped, but the head of the large brewery went on television and publicly signed a pledge that the company would obey the law now and for all time to come. Such is the power of an aroused population.

Notice even here, however, the old was retained only because it was the will of the people and in this case undoubtedly to their benefit. To attempt to change the natural for the sake of change alone is neither progress nor advancement. In fact, it can be true retrogression. The proper art of advancement is to evaluate all things and hold to that which is the best.

To hold stubbornly to the old because we fear our own ability to adapt to the new, however, is to appear old-fashioned and even foolish. Even though we may develop a multitude of reasons for not keeping up with the times, in the end we fool no one but ourselves. Our true fears and concerns are as obvious as our protestations to the contrary are numerous.

The Accepting of a New Idea

All true movers and shakers are always ready to investigate new technologies so they can use them to accomplish what they need to do. Technologies are but tools. You never know when you are going to need a proper tool that is available only in this way. Man was given a mind so that he would be able to create such things. The wise man examines all to find the good and to use that good for his own constructive and exalted purposes.

In truth, we have little to fear from the new technologies as long as we are not required to understand how they work. To take advantage of their qualities and time-saving abilities we need only be adventuresome enough to use them. Always remember, no technology is worthwhile until it can use it. The business computer, for example, would be little more than an expensive paperweight if its attributes could not be exploited by the office secretary.

Perhaps no other single piece of human technology so uses the vast panorama of scientific expertise as the common automobile, and few are the adult individuals in modern society who have not mastered the art of using this convenience. The modern office computer is, technically, child's play compared to the car, yet computer phobia is rampant due mainly to lack of exposure to and understanding of the machine. This fear, or course, does not exist in the younger generation. To them, the computer is as common and accessible as the automobile is to the older generation. Therefore, those who would communicate with the coming generations must keep up with the technologies that are an important part of their lives. To fail in this is to fail our own children.

Frustration of Understanding

Unfortunately, even though it is inevitable, change often produces frustration and anxiety. This effect can be softened if we understand that all change must take place in an unchangeable framework. The basic Laws of the Universe cannot change because they are the only Laws that are able to bring order out of chaos. These immutable Laws are always with us and as we work in harmony with them we can establish an unmovable and unchangeable foundation for our life.

These Laws - such as "As ye sow, so shall ye reap"; "With what measure ye mete, so shall it be measured to you again"; "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"; "Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you" - do not, cannot change. Therefore, they provide a foundation for our lives and can be counted on as a guide to evaluate all we encounter in the world of technological and material change.

There have been, and still are, those groups who seemingly mistake these two, the changeable and the unchangeable, and attempt to make the changeable unchangeable. It is as if they feel that the only way to preserve the unchangeable is to prevent change in the changeable. They attempt to stop time by freezing a period of history in their dress, manners, and work patterns. In general, their intentions are good and their life-style commendable, but whether they can keep the younger generation forever separated from the allurements of the world is debatable.

Under the universal Law, not only is man allowed to implement change, but he is compelled to do so if he is to survive. Inasmuch as all Nature is constantly evolving, man must also do so to keep up with existence as we know it. The keynote of God's World is "Be ye ever more perfect." The Universe is not yet finished; in fact, it is just beginning. We all have a most important part to play in its development.

The incentive and motivation for constant advancement is deeply ingrained into the human Soul. Life can have no real meaning unless we attempt to make today more productive and prolific than yesterday.

Admittedly, not all our projects are going to be successful and good, but unless we keep TRYING there can never be any that succeed. As one sage said, "To have some good ideas, you first must have a lot of ideas."

The Divine Drive

Our Creator has placed within us an unquenchable fire to impel us ever forward. This compulsion will not let us rest on our laurels as long as we have breath to inhale the source of this fire from the ether. As humans we will always attempt to do something faster, higher, lower, or better than our forebears did in the past. The cause of this is the permanent fever God placed in us to fulfill His purposes. It is useless to fight this fever unless we are willing to be cast aside like yesterday's newspaper. The Nazarene, it would seem, was aware of this fire when He stated, "Greater things than I have done, shall ye do."

We live in a world of Divine Laws and an exact order dictated by these Laws. Fundamental and unchangeable, they are the only Laws and order that are capable of permanently sustaining the organization necessary for existence as we know it.

One part of this Universal Order is a constant change in the material manifestation of the Universe governed by these Laws. Only by this change in the physical world can these Laws work for the ultimate perfection dictated by the Creator Himself.
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