Physiology and Correspondence

AS there is a strict correspondence between the inner and the outer, between
functions exercising on one plane and functions exercising on other planes, the
physiology of man may be used as an index to occult processes, and to the nature of
functions exercised by man on other than physical planes. By the application of this
law of correspondence we shall acquire a clearer conception, I believe, of certain
principles that are of vital importance to the welfare of man.

If we are to know anything about that which remains occult we must study
correspondences. That which cannot be perceived, which has no recognizable form,
can only be recognized by its formative action. The form presented by any object or
entity necessarily represents the sum total of the various energies that converge in it;
that is, the form is the expression of the internal attributes, and there must be a strict
correspondence between the internal attributes and the form. Thus, if we find certain
qualities expressed in the form, we are warranted in concluding they are the
manifestation of similar internal attributes, or they exist without an adequate internal
cause. If the latter be possible, the nature of the real is forever a closed book, and there
can be no science of occultism. As the occult can only be recognized through its
influence upon form, the correspondence of the form to the energies it expresses is
the only measure we possess for gauging occult forces.

The occult is that which is hidden, and it can only be apprehended by comparing it
with that which is revealed. A form is always the expression of a formative principle.
The outward is ever the manifestation of the inward. The visible results from the
action of the invisible. The science of occultism, consequently, is based upon the fact
that there is a strict correspondence between the inner and the outer, the below and
the above, the effect and the cause; in other words, that the visible and known
constitutes the proportional measure of the invisible and unknown.

When, therefore, we are brought in contact with such loose thinking as the assertion
that a certain individual is really a man incarnated in a woman’s body and that
another individual is a woman incarnated in a man’s body, we should cite the law of
correspondences. Insomuch as the body and the actions are masculine, they must be
the expression of masculine forces. In as much as the body and actions are feminine,
they are the expression of a feminine nature. If female forces can express as a
masculine form, or if masculine forces can express as a feminine form, we are
warranted in asserting also that heat can express as cold, and that light can express as
darkness. Logical thinking requires that there shall be an adequate and proportional
cause for every observed effect.

The Soul Always Functions
Through a Form

–Now on the physical plane man has a body through which he functions. Likewise,
on whatever plane of existence man may express in the future he must possess a
body. The absence of form is nothingness. And as nothingness lacks expression,
every existing thing must have a form. The soul of man, therefore, if it persists, must
manifest through a form or body. But the body through which it manifests need not be
material; it may be composed of substance of any plane or existence. It is composed
of the substance of the plane on which the soul at the time manifests.

Man while still occupying a physical body is not confined in his expression
exclusively to the physical plane. He manifests strongly in the electromagnetic
Boundary-Line region, the astral plane is the scene of most of his unconscious
activity, and in the expression of his nobler sentiments and higher ideals he also
manifests upon the spiritual plane. Under normal circumstances man possesses not
only a physical body, an electromagnetic body, and an astral body, but also at least
the rudiments of a spiritual form.

These various bodies are replicas of each other insofar as the planes to which they
belong permit. The physical body belongs to a plane of existence where velocities are
so low that things have the properties which we call material. The electromagnetic
body belongs to a velocity of existence where material properties give way to the
peculiar ones found in light and other electromagnetic phenomena. At this velocity,
for instance, time stands still. The astral body belongs to a realm of still higher
velocities in which space, time and gravitation as we know them no longer obtain, but
give way to still other properties; these are explained in considerable detail in Course
4, Ancient Masonry and Course 9, Mental Alchemy. The spiritual body, furthermore,
is a body on a plane where still higher velocities, and still more unbelievable
properties obtain.

Yet aside from such differences as relate to the inherent qualities of the planes on
which they manifest, every organ and function in the physical body is also present in
the electromagnetic body, the astral body, and the spiritual body. The conditions of
the spiritual plane, however, do not permit the various organs to be present in their
grosser form. We should not think of the spiritual body as possessing a heart, a
stomach and kidneys modeled in their shape after these organs of the physical body.
But the spiritual body does have organs that perform on the spiritual plane
corresponding functions. Due allowance being made for the difference in plane,
there is a strict correspondence between the organs and functions of the physical
body and the organs and functions of the spiritual body. Let us consider, however,
those which exist between the physical body and the astral form.

The physical body is composed of protoplasm and its secretions. And in a similar
manner, the astral body is composed of psychoplasm, this being the term used to
designate inner-plane substance organized by thought and feeling into a definite
composition suitable for inclusion in the astral form. Psychoplasm is organized of
thought elements even as protoplasm is organized from the elements of matter.

The protoplasm of the physical body is organized further into definite cells, and these
cells of various kinds go to build up the organs and structures of the material form.
Certain types of cells build up the nervous system, other types of cells form the
muscular system, still others contribute themselves to the osseous system. Some
cells unite to do the work of the heart, some to perform the work of the stomach, and
still others form the protective covering called the skin. And in a corresponding
manner the ten families of thought-elements which each are ruled by one of the
planets unite in various combinations to produce the different types of thought-cells
within the astral body, and these are organized not merely to perform functions
relative to each of the twelve departments of life, but in those associations with each
other which enable them to do the work indicated by the aspects of the individual’s
astrological chart.

The oldest of all desires is the desire to survive and be something. This most powerful
desire, that for significance, as explained in Chapter 5, Course 5, Esoteric
Psychology, expresses as a positive and a negative, as the reproductive desire and the
nutritive desire. Fundamental desires of all living things–plants, animals and
men–are food hunger and sex hunger. These hungers being of such great
importance upon the physical plane, we may well inquire as to their existence upon
the inner planes of life. The functions of physical life by which these two basic
yearnings are satisfied must, by the law of correspondence, represent all-important
functions in the life of spiritual man.

Food Hunger

–We are aware that the body is unable to survive unless it is supplied with food.
Action of any kind consumes energy, and this energy must be replenished if action is
to continue. Food in its various forms constitutes the energy supply that permits the
continuation of activity. This activity may be that of internal changes, or that of
movements of the body or of its organs; but wherever life expresses there is
movement of some kind that consumes energy. All forms of life, therefore, must
have food. Bacteria have various sources of food. The chief food supply of plants is
the carbon of the atmosphere. The food supply of animals consists of plants, or other
animals, of water, and of the oxygen of the air. Nothing upon the earth lives without
food; nor have we any reason to suppose that on the spiritual plane, or even on higher
planes, life without food is possible.

Of course, the nature of the food changes with the plane of activity, just as the nature
of the food for various forms of life is different. To sustain the electromagnetic form
and afford energy for objective thought, as explained in detail in Chapter 9, Course 5,
Esoteric Psychology, man acquires in his food protein molecules which contain the
high-frequency energy of the lightning which fixed the nitrogen which plant life took
from the soil. And to feed the upper-octave electromagnetic Boundary-Line energies
required for direction and proper control of inner-plane activities, the electrical
energies of the nervous system must be released in unusual volume and
high-frequency, as explained in full detail in 5th Award NOT SOLD Manuscript,
Breathing to Acquire Adequate Electrification.

In order that it may survive and continue active, not only the electromagnetic body
but also the astral form must be supplied with energy. This is the law on all planes;
that whatever energy is used must have a source of supply. And while planetary
radiations afford a certain amount of the energy used by the thought-cells and
thought structures of the astral body, and during physical life the astral counterpart of
the food partaken of and assimilated affords some, the thoughts of the individual
provide by far the most important supply. Or to express it still another way, the most
valuable food supply of the astral body, not merely of man but of all other life forms,
is that derived from experience.

Every experience contributes energy to the astral form. States of consciousness
cause the astral body to extract nourishment from the astral region surrounding it,
much as sunlight causes a green leaf to extract nourishment from the atmosphere.
The light of the sun is responsible for plant nourishment, and the light of
consciousness is responsible for the nourishment of the astral body. Whenever there
is a ray of consciousness, whenever there is a mood, a feeling, a thought, or an
aspiration, the astral body receives nourishment.

This food of the astral body may be wholesome, or it may be the reverse. If the factors
composing it are associated with the feeling of pleasure they form constructive
compounds in the astral body. These in turn work to attract fortunate events into the
life. If the factors partaken of are associated with the feeling of displeasure or pain,
they form destructive compounds. In this case they work from the inner plane to
attract unfortunate events into the life. Course 9, Mental Alchemy, is largely devoted
to explaining about such astral foods, and how to select those which when
assimilated will enable the individual to have the kind of life and destiny he desires.

The spiritual body, the body that the soul after it leaves the astral plane must function
in if it is to survive, also must have its food. The laws of nature are not transcended on
the spiritual plane. Movement and accomplishment on the spiritual plane consume
energy, and this energy must be derived from some previously existing source. If
man is to have a spiritual body in which to function on the spiritual plane, he must
supply it with the food necessary to its growth; and if the spiritual body, once grown,
is to continue active, more food must be supplied to it. Life on any plane of existence
implies the capture, storage and expenditure of energy. The source of this energy is
called food. To grow to maturity and perform its functions the spiritual body must be
supplied with spiritual food.

The food of the spiritual body is provided by certain grades of thought that combine
to produce high vibratory rates, and by certain moods and emotional states that in
themselves are of exceptionally high-frequency vibratory rates. Course 3, Spiritual
Alchemy, is devoted to explaining how to develop thought-food of the quality
necessary to build a vigorous spiritual form, but it will not be out of place here to
indicate the general principle involved.

The spiritual body is the substance of a different plane than the astral; or to state it
differently, its velocities belong to a different phase of existence. To illustrate: A bar
of iron normally has those velocities which we associate with physical substance.
But suppose we heat it. The molecules increase their vibrations and communicate
their energy to surrounding molecules, so that whatever touches the bar also becomes
hot. This heat energy of the bar, while it may be used as a source of power to perform
work on the physical plane, does not affect appreciably energies which have a
velocity which gives them other than physical properties.

But if the bar is heated to high enough temperature, if its molecular and therefore
physical vibrations become of sufficient frequency, they impart energy to the
Boundary-Line region. The bar becomes red hot and electromagnetic energies called
radiant heat and light come into existence which have a velocity greater than things
of the physical world, and possess properties which physical things do not. At the
velocity of these electromagnetic energies particles gain tremendously in mass,
shrink amazingly in length in the direction of their travel, and time stands still.

Even as the cold bar fails thus to affect electromagnetic Boundary-Line energies, so
the ordinary energies of the astral body and of animal-like thinking fail to generate
velocities sufficiently high to affect the spiritual body, or to afford it nourishment. It
is only thoughts in special combinations, and especially those with vibratory rates
entirely above self-interest, that furnish the energy which enables the spiritual body
to indraw spiritual substance. This energy derived from the motive, Contribute Your
Utmost to Universal Welfare, builds a complex and highly organized spiritual form.

Sex Hunger

–Now let us turn from food hunger to sex hunger as the other pole of the one
irrepressible biological urge for significance: As man’s stronger emotions are more
commonly associated with the expression of his love life, it is obvious that this love
life, in its various manifestations, constitutes one of the most important supplies of
food for the astral body. The astral food thus derived may be intensely harmonious
and act powerfully in the construction of beneficial compounds, or it may be
disastrously discordant and thus act powerfully in the construction of
misfortune-attracting compounds. Furthermore, as the quality of love’s expression
varies from gross bestiality up to ineffable sublimity, the quality of the astral food
derived from expression of the love nature may be anything from fetid corruption to
spiritual ambrosia. It is thus possible to elevate love to a plane of expression that is
entirely above the physical; the expression being spiritual, and consequently
furnishing strength and nutriment directly to the spiritual body. But as this phase of
the love life is discussed in detail in Course 4, Ancient Masonry, we will here take up
another phase, which considers union, not from the standpoint of the emotional
energies, but from the standpoint of energy exchange.

Sexual union throughout nature’s various life forms is not merely for the purpose of
reproduction. In fact, reproduction seems to be a secondary object. Reproduction
takes place in innumerable life-forms without sexual union. The aphis, insects which
are so great a nuisance to plant growers, reproduce independent of sexual union.
There are plants that reproduce without union of male and female parts, in addition to
those that reproduce by means of runners, those that stool out, and those that grow
from shoots, cuttings, and tubers. The object of sexual union is not to make
reproduction possible, but through an exchange of qualities to give the offspring, if
offspring is the result, attributes not possessed by one of the parents independent of
the other.

Some of the protozoa, low forms of animal life, reproduce themselves repeatedly
without union with another protozoan. But unless they unite with another protozoan
after a certain length of time they die. If they do find and mate with another, they
continue to reproduce by subdivision, and do not die. Union is not necessary for
reproduction, but it is necessary for continued life.

In the sexual union of these low forms of animal life there is a complete fusion of
protoplasm and chromosomes. When they separate it is believed that each has
exchanged some of its substance for some of the substance of the other. Both are
different in composition than before, and both have new vitality. When they
subdivide in the production of offspring, the offspring may partake, not merely of the
qualities of one, but of the qualities of both.

In all reproductive cells, either of plants or animals, there are minute filaments, called
chromosomes. The number of chromosomes in the reproductive cell is constant for
each species of animal. These chromosomes, with genes strung along them like
beads, are the physical carriers of hereditary traits. Half the chromosomes of the
fertilized cell are furnished by the male, and half by the female. The plant or animal,
then, that grows from a fertilized seed, may contain the potentialities of the ancestors
on both sides of the family. Only a portion of these potentialities express, however, in
any individual. The laws governing this are set forth in Chapter 4, Course 17, Cosmic
Alchemy. Here it is sufficient to say in this connection that because the offspring
contains genes from both parents it may differ widely from either parent through the
combination of these hereditary factors. This gives rise to variation and makes
evolution possible.

The union of male and female entities is for the purpose of exchanging qualities. But
we need not confine our observations entirely to the physical plane. Instead of
directing our attention to plants and lower animals, let us consider human relations,
not merely physical relations, but all those relations involving electromagnetic
exchange.

When we clasp the hand of another in token of welcome or friendship there usually
passes from the body of each to the other electrical energy. Each has partaken of
energy that previously belonged to the other. In such casual relations no great
quantities of energy are exchanged. But in the more intimate relations of life there
may be such a complete exchange of electromagnetic energy through the blending of
the electromagnetic bodies that each noticeably partakes of the characteristics of the
other. It is a common observation that people who live long together grow to look
alike and act alike. The exchange of energies is so complete that each loses part of his
individuality in the other.

Such exchanges of electrical energies either in marriage or in less intimate
association may be very beneficial, or it may be very harmful, depending upon the
natural harmony between the individuals, and upon the quality of energy exchanged.
But for a proper balance of the electromagnetic forces some contact with the opposite
sex seems essential. Men who go to far regions where they see no women for a long
time, and both men and women who are confined where they do not meet the
opposite sex, exhibit a strange irritability. But there may be an unconscious exchange
of electromagnetic energies, and marked benefit therefrom, without close physical
contact. Merely to be in the same room with others, or to engage in conversation with
them, offers opportunities for sufficient exchange to overcome magnetic tensions
and to re-establish nervous balance.

Whenever people meet there is likewise an exchange of astral energies. Thoughts
originating in different minds may fuse and blend to form an entirely new idea.
Among people closely associated, particularly in the marriage relation, there is also a
very complete exchange of astral energies, each influencing the thoughts and
feelings of the other. Unconsciously, by their thoughts, people continually give
mental treatments to their acquaintances. If they think and express kind thoughts
concerning an acquaintance, these energies tend to enter the astral body of the
acquaintance as constructive elements. If the thoughts are critical and abusive they
tend to enter the astral body as destructive elements. In associating with one another,
in exchanging ideas, in thinking about each other although far separated on the
physical plane, we are exchanging astral energies. Through these exchanges of astral
energies we are not what we were before.

We receive mental elements, both pernicious and beneficial, from others, and they
receive from us. When we are no longer capable of both giving and receiving ideas,
of exchanging mental energies, we are mentally dead. When we can no longer learn
from others we have ceased to progress. It is only through mental exchanges that the
mind is rejuvenated, only through the exchange of astral energies that mental vigor is
maintained. If our minds are to remain young we must find opportunity periodically
for association that will permit a complete exchange of ideas.

Union On the Spiritual Plane

–Better to understand this function of union, especially as applied to the spiritual
plane, it now seems advisable to trace the steps by which sperm and germ enter into
union for the purpose of producing a new individual. As we are discussing human life
and its possibilities, although the process is very much the same in all plants and
animals, it seems better for the purpose of drawing close correspondences to use as
example the human seed.

Both the ovule and the spermatazoon before they are capable of entering into union
which forms the nucleus of a new human body must undergo quite a complicated
preliminary process. These changes by which they are ripened for a final fusion into a
single organism are called maturation. Maturation of the seed is marked by three
chief stages: In the first stage the seed is of full size, but not yet capable of permanent
union with another cell of the opposite sex. From this stage it arrives at the second
and third stages by two successive cell divisions that differ somewhat from ordinary
cell division.

Now in the cells of each species of animal there is a characteristic number of
filaments called chromosomes. These chromosomes, as I have already mentioned,
are the physical carriers of heredity, and the typical number for the tissue cells of man
is forty-eight. But in the ripening of the seed, just previous to the first cell division,
there is a pairing of the chromosomes, it being believed that one of each pair, that thus
fuse to become one, was originally paternal in origin, and the other was maternal in
origin. By the marriage of the chromosomes they are reduced in number to
twenty-four. The fusion of paternal and maternal chromosomes corresponds to the
fusion of selfish and unselfish desires in man under the influence of true wisdom.

Following this internal reduction occurs the first of the two processes of cell division.
In the case of the ovule, one of the two ovules thus produced, each containing
twenty-four chromosomes, is of less size than the other. It is called the first polar
body, and is cast off as of no further value. So also man in the development of his soul
learns to free himself from the physical body and function consciously in the astral
form. The extrusion of the first polar body, then, corresponds to the elimination of
bondage to the physical plane.

The first polar body, after being cast aside, may again divide in the formation of two
cells, both of which later disintegrate. Thus in leaving his physical body to travel in
the astral, or in leaving it at death, man must also abandon his electromagnetic body,
which is closely associated with the physical form. Both the electromagnetic body
and the physical body are left behind when the soul functions consciously on the
astral plane.

In the third state of ripening, cell division again takes place, with an equal splitting of
the chromosomes, so that in each resulting cell there are twenty-four chromosomes.
In this division, likewise, one portion is much smaller in size than the other. It is
known as the second polar body, and is cast off to disintegrate. This extrusion of the
second polar body corresponds to man freeing himself from his astral body as well as
from the physical form. It corresponds to his state when he is able to function
consciously in his spiritual form.

Until these two polar bodies are cast off the egg is not ripe, and is unprepared for
fertile union. And so long as man is chained by his physical senses and subject to
astral intoxication he will attempt in vain to find his true spiritual mate. The union of
twin souls, the marriage of the Lamb, is a spiritual union, successfully accomplished
only after both have ripened to spiritual maturity.

The chromosomes of the seed may be compared to the various desires that determine
the character of a man and give direction to his activities. Before he undertakes
spiritual training these desires are rather equally divided between those purely selfish
and those more or less unselfish. But as soon as he perceives the truth, that his own
advancement and welfare are bound up with the advancement and welfare of all
others, that so-called unselfish actions are those from which ultimately he receives
greatest benefit, and that all so-called selfish actions always ultimately are
detrimental to his welfare, these two sets of desires, the selfish and the unselfish, like
the maternal and paternal chromosomes of the maturing seed, amalgamate. Selfish
and unselfish desires unite in the formation of desires based upon the motive,
Contribute Your Utmost to Universal Welfare.

After physical death man functions in his astral body, leaving the physical form
behind. When traveling in the astral, while still possessing a physical body, he also
leaves the physical form behind. To function on the spiritual plane he must not only
discard the physical body and the electromagnetic body–corresponding to the first
polar body which when cast off again divides–but he must leave his astral
body–corresponding to the second polar body–also behind. At the second death
man permanently loses his astral form, and henceforth must function in a spiritual
body.

Now in order for the seed to grow into human form it is absolutely essential not only
that there shall be a reduction of the chromosomes by fusion, and the two successive
stages of cell division described, but that the female seed must meet and fuse into a
single form with a male seed. Without the permanent blending in a single form of
ovum and spermatazoon the seed never grows into a child. Likewise, according to the
Ancient Hermetic Teachings, the angelic form is only developed from the permanent
fusion of a male and a female soul.

This doctrine, handed down from the remote past, deals with a condition commonly
attained only after the death of the physical body and also after the second death, or
disintegration of the astral body. Before this permanent spiritual union of twin souls
can take place it is absolutely necessary that each shall have developed a well
organized spiritual body. Before this marriage of the Lamb, unselfish and selfish
desires must be wed in true wisdom, there must be freedom from physical
limitations, and freedom from astral enthrallment. It has nothing to do with physical
marriage, and nothing to do with astral fusions. It is the final union, on the boundary
of the sixth and seventh state of the spiritual world, of the spiritual bodies of a male
and a female soul.

The Nine-Point Plan Which Must
Be Followed

–The mere union in the spiritual world of a male and a female soul, however, does
not provide the form and functions of an angel, nor does the mere union of
spermatazoon and ovum insure that a child will be born. No more so than that the
union of inner-plane facts and outer-plane facts, such as are represented by the two
wavy lines which symbolize the sign Aquarius, alone insure there will be the New
Civilization which the humanitarian side of the sign demands of the Aquarian Age.
In each case, if that of which the union is but the start is properly to develop and result
in the promised birth of something more perfect and glorious, development must take
place which follows a definite nine-point plan. And even as in numerals the number
10 starts a new cycle, so the tenth step, of course, is the one of transition which marks
the birth of that which has undergone the nine phases of gestation.

While the nine-point plan and its final result on each level very broadly correspond to
the chain of ten planets, much more detail can be learned from the precise
correspondence of the planet or sign to the sequence number in the plan. This
astrological rulership of the numerals is set forth in Course 6, The Sacred Tarot.

In the Cycle of Necessity the soul undergoes development in nine realms before
becoming the transcendent angel which permits its birth into the celestial realm from
which it started. This is the nine-point plan which to be successful it must follow: I
Celestial, II Spiritual, III Astral, IV Mineral, V Vegetable, VI Animal, VII Human,
VIII Astral, IX Spiritual. With these nine phases of gestation completed,
Self-Conscious immortality has been won and transition may take place in the
perfect angelic form to X Celestial.

In the adjustment of mankind to the Aquarian Age, now at hand, the tenth and final
step is the attainment of a truly enlightened and humanitarian civilization. And to
make this transition properly, humanity must proceed according to the nine-point
plan which follows:

As a cooperative intelligence working for the realization of God’s Great
Evolutionary Plan, the development of the powers and possibilities of his own soul is
of paramount importance to the individual, and of paramount importance to the
whole in proportion as the abilities and characteristics thus developed contribute to
universal welfare. And this character development is influenced and conditioned by
the environmental forces which it contacts not merely on one plane, but on both the
inner and the outer plane.

Both the behavior of the individual and the events which come into his life are
primarily determined by the desires of the thought-cells and thought structures of his
own soul. These thought-cell desires, in turn are determined by the experiences
which have formed them or added to them; experiences with both the inner-plane
environment and the outer-plane environment. Secondarily, the behavior of the
individual and the events which come into his life are determined by planetary or
other inner-plane energies added to the thought-cells of his soul at a given time,
which increase their activity and modify somewhat their desires, and by the facilities
afforded by the outer-plane environment to some actions and events and the
resistance the outer-plane environment offers to others.

Either freedom from want or any one of the other three essential freedoms which
should be present in the outer-plane environment, implies effective use of abilities on
materials, and the avoidance of disaster. Square pegs in round holes, people engaged
in enterprises for which they have no talent, and people engaging in enterprises at
times when failure is sure to result, do not lead to freedom from want. Effectively to
guide character development, and to have freedom from want in ample measure, as
well as to have the other essential freedoms, the 9-point plan states:

FIRST, that men should be familiar with the Facts of Astrology.

A lifelong physical environment of illiteracy, poverty, disease and heartrending toil,
such as vast portions of the world have experienced, is not conducive to developing
the potentialities of the soul. Nor is the acceptance of the doctrines of atheistic
materialism. Under such physical environmental handicaps the individual ignores or
denies the existence of his soul, and is trained to function, whether his intellect is
active or numbed by hardships, only on the self-seeking plane of the brutes.

To have sufficient leisure from incessant toil, and to possess the things properly to
live, while thought is given to the soul, and effort spent in character development, the
9-point plan states:

SECOND, that men should have Freedom from Want.

A haphazard universe moving without purpose gives few assurances that the
individual will not be overwhelmed by disaster. Atheistic materialism, by force of
arms if able to do so, and by cunning suppression of all facts which prove there are
inner-plane forces, or life on any plane but the physical, if force of arms does not give
it world dominance, is determined to compel all men to accept such a purposeless
universe, in which selfish force and brutal shrewdness are extolled as the highest
virtues. But millions of people, past and present, through their own personal
experiences have proven to themselves that there is a Supreme Guiding Intelligence
permeating the universe which, under special conditions, men can contact. And
millions of people, past and present, through their own personal experiences have
proven to themselves that physical death does not end either consciousness or the
progress of personality. And in order that people may thus prove to themselves the
existence of God, and the persistence of life and personality after the dissolution of
the physical, the 9-point plan states:

THIRD, that men should be familiar with the Facts of Extra Sensory Perception.

There is possible either a constructive or a destructive approach to every situation of
life. An approach which is accompanied by the emotion of fear is to that extent
destructive, for fear is an agent of ineffectiveness and the foe of health and happiness.
Even the facts of astrology when viewed from the standpoint of fear may be made
detrimental, and freedom from want in proper measure is repelled by fear. Yet the
attitude of fear is a conditioned state. It arises from considering the possibility or
probability of want, disease, or other disagreeable things, including the cessation of
life. Confidence that disagreeable things will not happen, that dangers can be
surmounted, and that death merely brings a continuation of life on another plane,
assist in conditioning the emotions to resist this most destructive of all attitudes. In
order to promote happiness, usefulness and spirituality, the 9-point plan states:

FOURTH, that men should have Freedom from Fear.

The success with which an individual is able to express his natural aptitudes, to
contribute to the welfare of all, and to develop his own soul depends, in addition to
his familiarity with astrology and ESP and possession of the four freedoms, on the
desires of the thought-cells and thought structures of his own soul. The conditions of
external environment afforded by the four freedoms facilitate soul growth, and
knowledge of astrology and ESP indicate the best course to pursue. But, in spite of
knowledge and environment, both the actions which take place which we call
behavior, and the events which come into the life, are chiefly determined by the way
the thought-cells and thought structures within the soul then feel.

The thought-cells and thought structures have the desires they do, and therefore
influence the behavior and events in the manner they do, because of the feeling
energy and the emotional energy which have been built into them in the past. And the
only way to get them to have different desires, and consequently influence the
behavior in a more beneficial manner, and to work from the inner plane to attract
more favorable events, is to impart to them appropriate feeling and emotion. To do
this intelligently requires the use of deliberately induced emotion. Thus the 9-point
plan states:

FIFTH, that men should be familiar with the Facts of Induced Emotion.

But men will not be permitted to become familiar with the facts of astrology or the
facts of ESP if atheistic materialism is able to gain the intellectual dictatorship over
the people of the world it desires. Nor will it be possible to have either freedom from
want or freedom from fear if such intellectual dictatorship is permitted to suppress
facts relative to economic conditions and political oppression. To gain power
through which to use others for their own selfish and brutal ends, tyrants always have
found it essential to suppress and distort the facts.

But even when they have free access to facts, men also have individual aptitudes
without the expression of which, either in the vocation or the avocation, they are
unable to find happiness and are unable to contribute most to universal welfare.

These creative talents should not be wasted through denying them opportunity for
exercise. Therefore the 9-point plan states:

SIXTH, that men should have Freedom of Expression.

The proper exercise of each of the four freedoms, and the proper employment of the
facts of astrology, the facts of ESP and the facts of induced emotion, that these may
Contribute Their Utmost to Universal Welfare, imply that intelligence must be
applied to formulate an effective plan, and that the energies instead of being
permitted to wander aimlessly from this plan, be directed into its fulfillment. The
energies tend to flow into and develop whatever thought the mind consistently
entertains. Thought ever affords, both on the outer plane and the inner plane, the
pattern of action. Consequently the 9-point plan states:

SEVENTH, that men should be familiar with the Facts of Directed Thinking.

The most important thing in the universe is God’s Great Evolutionary Plan. The
conception of this plan depends upon the spiritual and intellectual level of the
individual trying to comprehend it. Also, as physical science and spiritual science
discover new facts any adequate conception of this plan must be enlarged to embrace
them.

To the individual, the most important thing of all is the progress of his own soul. And
soul progression cannot be applied to him from the outside by others, no more than
can intelligence. It requires effort on his own part to live, not as someone else
believes, but according to his own highest conception at the time. It requires the
liberty, as more complete information is gained, to modify the conduct to conform to
this new information. Therefore the 9-point plan states:

EIGHTH, that men should have Freedom of Worship.

Both the progress of his own soul and the unfoldment of God’s Great Evolutionary
Plan depend upon the welfare of the various individuals who make up the conscious
cells embraced within the whole. What affects one individual, in some degree affects
all individuals. The 9-point plan therefore states:

NINTH, that men should adopt as the constant and dominant motives of their lives
that they should contribute their Utmost to Universal Welfare.

The four freedoms set forth in association with the negative, or even, numbers, 2,4,6,
and 8, relate largely to important factors of the outer-plane environment. There is no
assumption that we know all we should about them. In fact, as evolution advances,
we are sure to learn details which will assist us more perfectly to realize these four
freedoms. And we should strive persistently to acquire such knowledge, which, no
doubt, will be made available through the ordinary channels of education.

The four orders of facts set forth in association with the positive, or odd, numbers,
1,3,5, and 7, however, relate largely to important factors of the inner-plane
environment. As information relating to them is mostly lacking through the more
ordinary channels of education, the Brotherhood of Light lessons were written to
make it accessible to all.

Yet these lessons, which are as comprehensive as it is possible to make them at this
day, make no assumption that we know all we should about these four orders of
inner-plane activities. In fact, although we now know the fundamental principles
through which each operates, as times goes on we are sure to gain many new details
which will assist us more perfectly to utilize these four different categories of
inner-plane forces. As this new knowledge is gained it will be included in revised
copies of The Brotherhood of Light lessons. And to hasten acquiring it, The Church
of Light maintains three active research departments: The Brotherhood of Light
Astrological Research Department, the ESP Research Department, and the Control
of Life Research Department.

Even as Aquarius is symbolized by two wavy lines, one above the other, are there
four essential freedoms which relate chiefly to the physical environment, and four
orders of facts which relate chiefly to the inner-plane environment, the utilization of
which are essential. But between the four outer-plane freedoms and the four
inner-plane orders of facts, must ever remain as the central theme the all-inclusive
principle indicated by the Deific number 9, the number of Aquarius: the constant and
dominant motive in men’s lives must be to Contribute Their Utmost to Universal
Welfare. This is the most important factor of all in the Nine-Point Plan for the New
Civilization.

The nine-point plan by which the united spermatazoon and ovum successfully
develop to the point where a healthy child may be born is as follows:

During the first month the two cells that fused into one at conception undergo a
constant geometrical progression of cell division so that within twenty-four hours
there are thousands of cells. This process is accelerated from day to day until by the
fourteenth day there is a distinct embryo, and by the end of the month the embryo is
about one inch in length and the principle organs are discernible.

The second month brings remarkable increase in the size of the head, the tail
becomes less conspicuous, there is rapid growth of the limbs, and the human form is
definitely established.

The third month is marked by establishment of the generative organs; the limbs take
definite shape and the nails form.

In the fourth month the chin, index of determination, begins to be prominent, the sex
becomes well marked, and the embryo begins to show signs of life.
During the fifth month the skin becomes more consistent, and the hair is more
extensively developed than previously.

In the sixth month the eye-lashes and eye-brows make their appearance, and the
sternum becomes well developed.

Then comes the seventh month at the end of which if the child is born it usually lives.
The bones forming the skull become strongly convex, and the central point of each,
from which ossification commences, forms a noticeable prominence.

During the eighth month the most important changes are those relating to nerve force
and the electromagnetic body.

The ninth month brings the final adjustment between the astral body of the child and
the vibrations of the planets. This period is not at an end until the astrological rates
correspond closely, both in trend and in harmony or discord, with the thought-cell
pattern of the unborn child