Rosicrucian Writings Online


Solving Personal Problems

By Arthur B. Bell
 
[From The Mystic Triangle October 1928]
  
 
In reviewing some of the vast amount of correspondence directed to headquarters from every section of the North American Jurisdiction, some rather surprising facts are disclosed. The letters I refer to are those from our members relating to their trials, problems and difficulties. In a general way they are quite similar in nature, and appear as being attributable largely to a very few specific causes which the members have failed to discern, due no doubt, to the fact that the problems themselves were too close and too real for the individual member to get just the right focus, and, thereby, set about the business of solving the difficulties alone.
 
Now of course we all know that one of the great functions of the organization is to render every service possible to the brothers and sisters of the Order, and that is exactly what it is doing through the medium of its series of weekly lectures, and the articles contained in the Mystic Triangle. In the Lectures which we receive, progressively, there is given every Law and Principle which is necessary or essential to the solution of life's problems. As you advance in the work you will discover that all of the fundamentals of these Laws and Principles are contained in the first three grades. Therefore I cannot impress upon you too strongly the necessity for serious study and concentration upon these three grades. Examine these Laws carefully, and through repeated application to your problems you will find that they will not only yield up the solution, but prepare you for the very advancement and proficiency you so earnestly desire.
 
We can all agree upon one point and that is that we joined AMORC for the purpose of attaining understanding, illumination, Mastership. Let us examine the matter carefully and see what it means. What is it we are going to Master? How are we going to do it? What are we going to do with Mastership when attained? If you will refer to the Rosicrucian Dictionary, on page 168 of the Rosicrucian Manual, you will there find a most comprehensive explanation of "Master". In this article I shall endeavor to give you a further understanding of this matter which may, and should be, considered as rather preliminary to the definition as given in the Manual, because the use of the word is being applied in a somewhat different way as it is related to this article.
 
First, let me draw your attention to a condition which arises time and again in the experience of a fairly large percentage of our members as they advance into the higher grades. It is this: In their anxiety to advance from one grade to another in the hope that at some particular point, some marvelous, astounding and mysterious revelation will be made which will instantly fit them for the coveted degree of Mastership, they have passed too lightly and too carelessly the simple, easily understood statements and Principles given in the lower grades, having failed to make serious test and application, presumably because they are so apparently simple. Thus it is that when the more important experiments are reached, such members, because of this, are obliged to return again to the more careful study and application of the first, second and third grade Laws, which are the foundation of all of the work.
 
Many of our members can testify to the correctness of this statement. Therefore, it is highly important to you, if you do not wish to be delayed in your later progress, that you sincerely apply the Laws and Principles now to whatever problems you may have, that you may strengthen your belief in, and understanding of, the Truths given. Bear in mind that the Laws and Principles given to you will seldom work the first time applied merely because you are not familiar with them, and have previously had no active or certain understanding of them, but repeated experiments must bring results and final ATTAINMENT. Each Lecture unfolds to you greater knowledge, but the power to use this knowledge comes to the seeker only when he strives sincerely to make application of this knowledge.
 
This brings us back to the first question, "What is it we are going to Master?" The answer is clear. We are going to Master each Lecture, each grade and all that each contains, through APPLICATION of the Laws and Principles to our own lives, our thinking, our problems, our health and make our TEMPLE (body) a fit dwelling place for the Master within.
 
Is this not the ideal we seek and the goal we would attain? Do you not find as you proceed with sincerity of purpose and gratitude for the illumination which you as a student are privileged to receive, that you are becoming more humble, kindly and considerate of all mankind? If your state of mind is otherwise, truly you are missing much of the progress toward Mastership which is available to the seeker in every grade.
 
Do you remember the passage in the Bible which reads: "Faith without Works is dead." Does this not mean that if we have Faith only without actual, tangible APPLICATION of it, that no activity, result or advantage will result? Therefore, apply what you have learned again and again to your problems. The results will astonish you if done in sincerity and freed from selfishness.
 
Another thing many of our members do, and that is they very often complicate their efforts to demonstrate over problems by bringing into them additional factors and ideas which should never be permitted to exist at all. I have in mind now one particular case. The party told of being greatly disturbed over a financial problem, and regardless of the fact that various ways and means had been applied, nothing had come of the work, but rather the problem seemed daily becoming more acute and intensified.
 
A little difficulty[1] brought out the real difficulty. This member had been spending many hours weekly in prayer and meditation, hoping and expecting that the problem would be cared for, and all the while allowing to exist active thoughts of fear and dread of calamitous consequences in event that the conditions were not properly adjusted. This state of mind brought about a lethargy and inactivity which seriously interfered with the duties and service this member should have performed daily. It may be readily seen that this is by no means applying the Law of Supply. It was recommended that the following method be applied: First, every time fear or dread manifested or came into the mind, replace it with thoughts of courage and peace. This is not easy I know, but if persisted in, it can be done. The first few times you try it you find difficulty in holding this constructive thought for more than a fraction of a moment. You must make a deliberate, persistent effort again and again and this will bring its proper reward. Second, each morning when arising, make a firm positive statement or declaration to yourself that you will strive with every ounce of energy you possess to accomplish a certain given thing that day, and then go forth and make a conscientious effort to carry it through. That is all there is to do and if you too will follow this process you must win, providing the thing you wish is right, fair and just. You have become Master over your problem.
 
How are we going to do it? There is but one royal road to Mastership and that is through attainment. The way is not easy, yet had you not aspired to the higher and better things of life and desired above all to reach the very pinnacle of demonstration, you would not have entered upon this work. That which you desire is contained within our Lectures, and those whose purpose is sincere, unselfish, and whose application is diligent must of necessity achieve accordingly. Apply the Laws and Principles to not just one, but all of your affairs, for there is no other open road to Attainment.
 
What will we do with it when attained? Would you not like to be prepared to help others? In doing this we place the Cosmic in our debt and thereby materially help ourselves. This means much, and when you have attained to this point the ways and means will be fully and completely known to you, for there is no knowledge or illumination which our Beloved Imperator has attained which is not given at some stage in our progress.
 
It is well to remember that just as in the time of the Master Jesus, the world is full of struggling souls, groping about in utter darkness, but those who may illumine them are few indeed.
 
AMORC is rendering to humanity an incomparable service and deserves, in fact is entitled to, your earnest, loyal support for its teachings are exact and fully demonstrable, being purged of all inaccuracies and unsound teachings such as are being offered by some whose purpose is neither pure nor noble.
 
Let us now return to the subject referred to in the first paragraph of this article. Most of the letters group themselves into two classes. One is financial, or rather the lack of finances, while the other is sickness. Both[2] are essential to happiness and, therefore, we should have them for it is just and right that we come into the enjoyment of them. If we do not, this is usually sufficient evidence that we are either violating the Laws which govern these conditions, or we are failing to apply them.
 
To those who have health problems, I would say, search your consciousness, analyze it and see what kind of thoughts you are thinking now or were thinking last week, last month or last year. You'll be surprised without question to find somewhere, sometime, you have permitted one or very many negative thoughts to gain entrance into your mind, and have allowed them to become well established. Perhaps it was hatred, bitterness, anger, resentment, fear or others of like negative nature. They took root and grew, becoming an unconscious habit of thought and action. They are now bearing fruit and you are reaping the harvest, yet you may have even forgotten that you placed them in the fertile productive seed-bed of the mind.
 
When we realize that each difficulty we experience is for the purpose of evolving and enlarging our comprehension and understanding, we at once see that when we have solved the riddle it contains, that it is no longer a difficulty but has disappeared. Always replace negative, destructive thoughts with positive, constructive ones and then watch the result. The mastery of each of life's problems brings the seeker nearer and nearer the coveted treasure which the Cosmic is anxious to bestow upon the worthy.
 
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Webmaster's Notes:
 
[1] The word "difficulty" here appears to be a misprint and probably should have read "investigation".
 
[2] The word "Both" was, of course, meant to refer to finances and health.
 

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