A Rose and Cross

The Path of the Rose

2011-07-21T03:09:00.000-07:00

As we move through the him drum of life we are faced with obstacles and challenges and one cannot but be drawn to ask - "Why?" It is not unusual for people to often seek answers to these questions in religion, philosophy and many other sources - but always the thirst remains. In fact many experience this quest as something of a curse the more you seek for the answers in all the usual places the more thirsty you become.
Ever being enticed by the sages of old who had a real connection to God, which sadly was not transmitted with their sage words, so with their passing so went the connection. Like a picture a beautiful cool river shown to a person wandering the desert in search of water all it accomplishes is enforcing the emptiness, driving home the fact that what can be found is out there but beyond any ability to find. Some even hold on to this mirage and try to believe it into reality, they read endless books and accounts of the image in the mirage - but sadly in their heart of hearts, they know that they are no closer, yet again the mirage has evaporated. The thirst becomes ever more demanding - for what is within again seek unity with God - or rather we need to find the path to realising that God has been within us all along - after all it would be impossible to convince anyone that there can ever be any separation in spirit other than perception.
In my humble opinion it is the fact that our perception is divorced from reality which keeps the mirage a reality and it is us not God who prevents us from perceiving unity, that fabled end to the Grail quest. In my life the more I learnt of many religions the more I found them to be the same, all pointing in different directions to the same destination. In their zealous development of their dogma, spirituality is often drained from the words and soon all that remains is dogma, carefully extracted is all the golden spirituality - what remains is the husks, the ore devoid of anything of true value - all that remains is ritual and instructions and complexity. God would never make the road back that difficult nor would God not want us to question. The Bible says we should believe like children - maybe children have changed but children learn by experience and questioning - its adults who do as they are told after all that is childlike has been removed by our education system. The question remained for me - what now - it was only per chance that I came across the Rosicrucian approach and it encouraged questions, embraced all religions and truly helped me find my inner peace - not because I was told to believe but because through personal experience I have found to be true. I don't believe that the Rosicrucian path is a worthwhile path - I know it is. And that's worth more to me than being told so or even reading a million books with authors who each for their own reasons repeats the same things over just in different language.
There is only one God, that has never changed nor has the true faith - you just need to find it for yourself.

Personal Mysteries - Port Elizabeth, South Africa

2010-11-12T00:20:00.000-08:00

It is amazing when one looks at one's personal evolution; from the first day you remember until today. It is interesting to sit down and contemplate how your life has changed, how views and beliefs have have transformed themselves and by extension how you see yourself.
In my heart of heart's I realise that I have not so much changed but rather that I have only become more eloquent in expressing my own personal inner truth.
Don't we in those rare moments of silence, recognise the truth about who we really are?
We are all spirit, and God is spirit and spirit has no start or end no beginning nor end. Which truth is expressed in the Bible when God says "I am the Alpha and the Omega" He does not say I was at the beginning and shall be at the end. For God,as for spirit there is no time, distance other than that which we imagine, when we get distracted from our true nature and purpose, while on our temporary sojourn in a material body.
Religion to me is only man's attempt to try to reconcile God's spiritual reality with a mistaken view of who we really are, mistaking our soul as a passenger on our very real material body. It is with respect concerning in my personal view that people cannot recognise this fact. Maybe its because recognising this fact creates problems in that many people may say that then it makes sense that there would be reincarnation.
It is interesting that even in Christianity, reincarnation was accepted. Even Jesus, stated when he asked who people thought he was they recounted that some said he was Elijah etc, it is interesting that Jesus did not correct them concerning reincarnation, which he should have done, had it been a fallacy as he had done with many other topics before, but he did not when it came to reincarnation. But these are my personal thought and no more.

Gnosis

2010-09-06T04:02:00.000-07:00

To be blessed with true gnosis is a sacred gift. It is that true knowledge of God which creates a real and personal relationship between you and God. The biggest step is realising that God has not given a monopoly of Truth to any world religion.

The absolute failure of religion to adequately answer peoples' most important questions is indicative of this chasm between organised religion and God. If you seek God, look withing, for within you will find a compass which is never wrong. It is so that many religions contain profound truths buried under all the dogma, but with gnosis one can overcome the worldly and discern that which is truly Godly.

The Mystical Path

2010-07-20T01:01:00.000-07:00

I find it perplexing that people do not take the time and effort to use language correctly. If one looks at the true meaning of the word mysticism as applied by the Rosicrucians as a group, one finds a glaring gap between that meaning and that ascribed to mysticism by the broader public.

This chasm is made even greater by the statements made by fundamentalist religionists when condemning everything and anything to the an act of the devil which does not strictly confirm to their extremely narrow personal world view interpretation. the fact is that mysticism seeks to establish a closer union between the practitioner and the Divine. This is not for purposes of telling the future etc.

This is a sacred and noble path, who is trod daily by many who seek a close and personal relationship with God. It was once stated that God does not need priest or professors telling Him what to think or do. If it is so that God is our father (Our Father who art in Heaven) then we can approach God directly without intermediary. It is so that the group dynamic is important in any endeavour for it supplies support but that is the sum total of its use.

The belief that there is a correct and incorrect path is incorrect, in my personal belief and experience, everyone comes to God by various paths, but everyone comes to God eventually.

As God is all powerful and all knowing, it would be folly to suggest that he did not build into each of us within our soul a spark which which knows its way back or rather recognises that we have never been apart from God. The mystical path in my view is rather a process of remembering. It is a path which makes sense of a world that no longer has any sense of itself. It is in mystical interpretation that the mistakes of literal interpretation is corrected and where spiritual matter can be interpreted for what they are.

To choose the mystical path is to choose to follow your natural in born path home to God.

What is a Mystic - Port Elizabeth, South Africa

2010-06-07T03:08:00.000-07:00

It is often said that mystics are strange and at best very suspect bunch of weirdos. This is no so, but naturally there are nuts everywhere and unfortunately for mystics, we do tend to attract nuts.

What is a "mystic":

"Mysticism (from the Greek μυστικός, mystikos, an initiate of a mystery religion)^[1] is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Mysticism usually centers on a practice or practices intended to nurture those experiences or awareness." It the definition given in a Wikipaedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysticism)

It could also be said:

"In a very real sense, because mysticism concerns the essence of life, it is audacious to even try and define it. Words are insufficient, often in the way of understanding. That to which the word "mysticism" refers, is a quality of presence that is quite literally beyond and before any words. Still, and like others, I feel compelled to try and come as close as I can to pointing toward something that speaks of our original nature. I beg pardon in advance for the terrible insufficiency of language and the limits of my own mere glimpses into these realms of an endless sacred mystery. Still, let me try.

A mystic is one who, above all else in life, desires to know, not in the intellectual sense of knowing, the deepest Truth of existence. A mystic is one who senses more to life than making a living or being of service in the world although these things are both necessary and good. The mystic, however, is looking beyond an exclusive or preoccupied focus on these survival or self-actualization to something more. He is looking to discover the deepest truth of our being as incarnate souls; to understand our greatest potential as reflections of God; to realize our wholeness within the ground of all. The primary interest in life for the mystic is to discover truth, to know God, to see into mans whole nature. The mystic sees all of life as an abundant opportunity to discover, realize, and express the Divine.

Mysticism springs from an insatiable curiosity for understanding the essential questions of life: matters of God, creation, the infinite and the human potential for knowing truth. The mystic is in reality the ultimate scientist who, looking beyond the apparent or obvious in all matters, asks, "Is this that I am seeing reality or the illusions that stem from fear?" "What existed before this sense of reality?" "What existed before my mental constructs, my beliefs, my self identity?" "Who is this that observes and is self-reflecting?" "What is at life's very source?" (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/mystic-mysticism-life-existence-discover-realize-express-divine.html)

Essentially, Mysticism is seeking integration with the Divine, so that one may know God.

As part of this process it helps to fully develop one's God given talents, which may seem fantastical to some but these are not developed for egotistic reasons, rather as part of a greater mission, a much greater goal.

Mystics have come from all faiths and religions, but they all share many points in common.

But more of that in a later post.

Why travel the path of the Rosicrucians

2010-06-03T07:03:00.000-07:00

I am a member of AMORC (the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis). There is no question that the value that I derive from the Order neither comes from any belief in its origin, nor its name or any illusions of grandeur which may flow flow from such an association.

AMORC has a well structured development system which follows a graded initiation system. This is vital to ensure that a person develops slowly and correctly on all levels. There are some who criticise the Order, but these same individuals and groups find just cause to justify their judgement and criticism of everything which is not exactly a carbon copy of their beliefs.

I started my studies with AMORC no being under any misconception. I wanted to see visible and real changes in me as a person or I decided I would terminate my membership. Today I am a very happy and committed member of the Order and have even joined the TMO which is a Order under the sponsorship of AMORC.

Would I recommend that someone join this Order. I cannot. the simple reason is that although I have benefited greatly from this Order, that I cannot judge its worth to someone else. What I can say is that the Order has been very supportive. Their subs are very reasonable when viewed in the light of the quality of their written courses and their infrastructure. It is without any doubt, that I recommend this Order, for anyone seeking to develop themselves on all levels.

Meditation (Port Elizabeth, South Africa)

2010-06-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

It is wonderful to hear that more and more people are starting to see the benefits of meditation in their personal lives. It is so powerful to experience something personally instead of just reading about something or being told to believe something. This is what makes meditation so powerful. It is commonly known that most famous religious figures who were visionary where in fact mystics. It is this ability to transcend creed and denomination that gave their wisdom a boundless appeal because the soul knows no creed, it only longs for God

Meditation, Muggles and Magic

2010-03-12T14:51:00.000-08:00

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishale from magic
Arthur C Clarke"

It is so that some people look at Rosicrucian teachings with fear. They do not understand how ordinary people can do the things attributed to members of the Order.

Is this magic or silly muggles?

Neither I believe; every person evaluates the world and how he or she perceives it to be. Mankind has lost its perception of the place we should hold in order of things. We no longer understand the spiritual truths because we have forgotten that spiritual truths need to be perceived spiritually but practiced as well.

The spiritual abilities the Order helps develop are natural to mankind, after all these gifts have been give to men to use to aspire to higher levels. It is my humble view that literalistic dogma and fanaticism will not get us closer to God instead it veils God from us behind a curtain of errors, eventually becomes so intricately woven on he loom of the mind guided by the ego; that eventually it actually begins resemble something of beauty. Given that our personal view of God is obscured by this curtain it is not surprising that we mistake the errors for the Truth.

Thus for those who seek out the Truth and develop their innate abilities, their actions and practices may seem like magic, but in fact its spiritual science.

Meditation

2010-03-11T00:03:00.000-08:00

In meditation we unlock our inner self, the true self the essence of who we are. The aforegoing sentence is mere words until one has experienced this for yourself. It is only through personal experience that one can start to find the way home so to speak. It is often said that the Freemasonic allegory of Solomon's Temple is a teaching pointing towards re-establishing the contact with our inner wisdom and our connection to God. Whether this is so or not is not important in the greater scheme of things. When you or I desire to cultivate a personal relationship with God (as we may each in our own way define God) or whether we are seeking to tap into our inner wisdom; we need to re-establish that link. It is through meditation that we find that missing link. Our quest is made easier if we are to tap into a systematic, graduated initiatic system which guides one along this path and ensuring that you are completely ready for that moment that connection is made again.

Port Elizabeth, South Africa and the Rosicrucian student

2010-03-10T00:44:00.000-08:00

When I made the life altering choice to join the Rosicrucian Order (AMORC) it was admittedly with some concern. There are so many different systems out there that one often gets quite confused, they all offer to yield great results but often appear disjointed and cut off from other systems. This was my main concern when I became a member.

It transpired that AMORC was a very well structured system of learning and development, which took into account that not everone started at the same point with the same knowledge. This was a huge advantage because from the outset it became very clear that AMORC favoured a system which did not see science and spirituality as war but rather in complementary peace.

The core element of the system is a very well set out system of weekly lessons which one studies at home along with excercises. This truly combines academic learning while one develops one's other abilities.

The other key element is that AMORC puts one's other abilities into the correct context and what they should be used for. In essence my walk as a student of the Rosicrucian path has been am amazing experience which I am glad to be experiencing. If you have the right motives and are committed this is a special path and one worth walking.

The other fact is that as one progresses so one sees actual results. AMORC does not ask you to believe anything it teaches it merely tells you of a principle and then leaves it up to you to personally test the statements veracity. The system is thus experiencial which helped with my questioning nature. The range of the topics taught are vast and naturally you can continue your study into any topic further, but a good basis has been established and that is core to grounding your further development.

When I first researched AMORC before joining I came across a number of criticisms like the fact that it is a corespondence driven learning system. It is correspondence driven because of the vast areas over which students are dispersed. It ensures that the same information is communicated to all members in a uniform manner and I personally find the cost to be well worth it and completely justified if one looks at the qaulity of the material. The one also comes across the usual criticism from completing Orders which also follow Rosicrucian teachings, these criticisms are common when it comes to the fact that AMORC is seen as the biggest Rosicrucian Order with members all over the world. Possibly the later critics should be reminded not to criticise another's chosen path; if your path is better people will naturally gravitate towards it.

In general my experinec of my membership of the Rosicrucian Order AMORC has been fulfilling and enlightening beyond my wildest dreams.

Rainy Thoughts

2010-02-25T06:07:00.000-08:00

As rain falls gently against my office windows and the wind blows a gentle gale, I am reminded of Nature's beauty and awe which surrounds us all but which we hardly notice unless it affects our little individual lives.

Instead we watch it on tv with varying degrees of connection, like some strange special effects movie with real undertones. How often we forget that in other parts of the world our crisis is still paradise to others.

I sometimes find that we label ourselves and then if the outside circumstances don't fit that label then we experience discomfort. If one looks at the Budha's teachings he said that attachments cause suffering. I think the ego is a strange thing and very clever at masking its actions. That being said I have found that through all the tough times and the trying times I have always had refuge in that still quiet space within. After joining the Order, the structure lessons and the experiencial study methods and excercises really went a long way to restore peace to me from within. I will always be a seeker but I no longer wander without direction.

Meditation, Meditation, Meditation - Port Elizabeth, South Africa

2010-02-17T23:07:00.000-08:00

In my experience the Rosicrucian Order (AMORC) sees meditation as being a core part of developing as a whole and integrated person. So often people speak of being spiritual, but do not practice meditation. Meditation is an amazing experience at so many levels. It has proven health benefits,its great for fighting depression, but most of all it builds a truly spiritual person who eventually gets to know God (however he or she may define God). This integrated approach is the only way that I am aware that one can proceed in a systematic and purposeful way to advance on all levels. Meditation is a life a program which stabilises your life on so many levels. It is defined by you so its perfectly safe. When I started I drifted through many techniques and somehow never quite found a technique which worked well for me. When I joined AMORC I found that their system uses excercises from many schools of meditation, but because the teaching is done slowly and in levels you gradually develop, which I must say is amazing. AMORC is not a religion, it is an Order, but I have found that my relationship with God has benefitted greatly through my membership of AMORC. I do not define myself by the measures and the beliefs of others; I make up my own mind and I do not allow others to dictate to me my relationship with God. So if you want to know if meditation is good, no its wonderful. I personally recommend the techniques taught by AMORC.

The Rosicrucian Mind

2010-02-17T22:53:00.000-08:00

They say the mind is a dangerous thing, hence some say thoughts and ideas can be dangerous too. Minds can create conflict, hurt and even actual war. The mind is part of who we are, so we can let it run on instinct, as most of the planet does or we can start to train it; as part of a co-ordindated mastery of ourselves. This has always been a concern to me because even if we choose to call ourselves spiritual people we need to be balance mastery of our spriritual side is useless unless it includes mastery of ourselves. Most associations you join either one or the other; AMORC stresses balance. I found their pamphlet Mastery of Life, very informative and a great introduction into one of the truly great Orders in existance today.Let me be quite honest, we are all human, our earthly associations of whatever nature are not perfect either,but there are a few which encourage integration of self and I have found AMORC to be one of these.

Mystic me and God

2010-02-12T04:13:00.001-08:00

Today I have been thinking a lot about God and our conception of God. Let me state from the start that I believe in God. I believe God is all around us, in everything, binding all creation together and then some. In essence I cannot label myself, nor would I want to, my relationship with God is personal and if some people think it’s a delusional relationship, well so be it.
But is my reality, it's my world; I make the rules that the way it is, no arguments. I keep the borders of my belief system very well patrolled, I don't allow anyone over into my side because some people cannot help themselves but try and force their personal beliefs on you and try to make them your beliefs; thereby validating the correctness of the beliefs. So as you guessed by now, I question everything; in other worlds I believe like a child and just like a child my beliefs are true for me and that is that. There is a freedom there without restrictive bounds.
I am a mystic in my spiritual practices, I don't feel any need for intervening agencies between myself and God; being mystic and open minded means I don't see problems with most sacred texts, it’s the principles which are important. It is my humble personal view that without any doubt the world's problems; when it comes to religion, are caused when one person or a conglomerate of peoples with similar personal beliefs; try to carbon copy everyone else; even if it means the convincing does not stop at reason and leaves someone black and blue or dead.
What a wonderful world it would be if everyone could only expressed their own views to themselves. But that is probably too great a jump.
Question everything, even if it seems self evident. Don't just fall for clever arguments, trust that inner voice deep within you and have faith. And whatever you do don't rely on others to dictate your relationship with God, who you are, and how you feel about issues. Be yourself, don't believe that just because others believe something, it's right for you; after all the great religious figures of many world religions, all went against the grain at the time and did it their way.
Its time that you got to "Know thyself"

Meditation is the key

2010-02-09T23:55:00.000-08:00

Although I came from a very conservative background, I took very easily to the consept of meditation. I say concept because meditation can be tricky to master, but it is really jsut finding the right method. I tried so many until eventually I started getting positive results. The strange thing was that meditation positively affects so many areas of your life. Its even been on time magazine.

The fact is its relatively easy and well worth your investment in time and effort. Fundamentally, meditation is not franchised by any group or belief system. The styles of meditation do vary in their method though. I personally found that the methods used by AMORC are an excellent fushion of the various methods and are very well suited to the "Western" mind.

So if you are look at changing your life or more importantly your outlook on the world... this would be a good start. No matter who you are meditation is wonderful...

Want to know more about the Order - here's how

2010-02-07T23:34:00.000-08:00

First have a look at the international sites:

Then its best you chat to a local rosicrucian, please e-mail

Contact mail

If we cannot help you, we can surely pass you on to someone who can, after all we are all here to help each other along our own individual paths.

Once you are convinced that you want to join the Order, you submit your membership application, pay your subs and thats it ... you are a member.

To really be part of the Order is neither money nor the passing of time from joining, its earned by hard personal work on yourself, but its a great journey of discovery to "Know thyself"

Great Studies

2010-02-07T23:20:00.000-08:00

I personally love learning, which transaltes into wisdom. It was once said that wisdom is knowledge which has been been fired in the fires of experience. This is what I have learnt as a member of AMORC. The Order does not want you to accept anything, you must experience things for yourself and then only after you have proven the principles to yourself through the excercises.

As students we study meditation and so many other wonderful topics and the excersises are wonderful.

If you are looking for something to change your life, maybe you should consider joining this wonderful Order.

In Port Elizabeth, South Africa with have a group of people who are more than willing to help you.

Why I chose AMORC?

2010-02-07T23:14:00.000-08:00

I started looking for something many years before comming to join a Rosicrucian Order.

I was born into a family with certain beliefs, which they had got from their parents etc. I personally believe that one should always question one's own beliefs because these change as you experience life and you change almost imperceptibly from within.

After all the Bible clearly states that you must believe like a child, but children don't just believe they question, because we learn through questions, slavish adherence to dogmatic beliefs only hold back our advancement.

So from constantly studying my sacred text, I found that with study came question which would not abate; questions which religious figures could not or would not answer. So I started looking not for a new religion, but rather for a new philosophy which embrassed tolerance, love and all the practical gifts of the Spirit. After finding a wonderful world beyond my mental contruct at the time, I went about like a child in a candy store.

There was wonederful things, previously forbidden, like meditation (practice by so many Church fathers - not relegated to another "pagan practice" and the funny thing is it really is wonderful. I learnt about so many things and the more I learnt and experinced the more things appearred. But how does one find a structured philosophy which recognises all others? the answer came in the form of joining the Rosicrucians and what a wonderful experience it has proven to be.

I joined AMORC and it has proven to be a great decision. The lessons are given in written form as the Order is spread throughout the world (divided in Grand Lodges - area based). I found this method of teaching refreshing and it does not take long before one learns so many wonderful lessons which we need as humans.

Meditation is core to this order, as it should be to every person; apart from the scientifically proven health benefits (physically and emotionally); meditation is in my experince is that still quiet place where we meet God, however we might personally define God.

I also find the other members to be helpful, open minded, accepting and truly wonderful people. So in my daily life I meditate regularly, I follow the excercises given in my written leassons and it has transformed my life. I still practice my religion, although I share a link to God others only wish to have.

We should approach God as his children, not as slaves. My association with the Order has empowered me personally in so many way that I cannot believe that I did not find this path earlier. Its great so join if you are genuinely interested. I live in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.