Posted on by Kyle Roques

The Divine Power

Nearly all the sacred books of the world can be traced in anatomical analogy. This is most evident in their creation myths.

Proceeding from this assumption of the first theologians that man is actually fashioned in the image of God, the initiated minds of past ages erected the stupendous structure of theology on the foundation of the human body. The religious world of today is almost totally ignorant of the fact that the science of biology is the fountainhead of its doctrines and tenants. Many of the codes and laws believed by modern divines to have been direct revelations from Divinity are in reality the fruitage of ages of patient delving into the intricacies of the human constitution and the infinite wonder is revealed by such a study.

Christianity itself may be cited as an example.

The entire New Testament is in fact an ingenuously concealed exposition of the secret processes of human regeneration. The characters so long considered as historical men and women are really the personification of certain processes which take place in the human body when man begins the task of consciously liberating himself from the bondage of ignorance and death.

Manly P. Hall
Posted on by Kyle Roques

Freemasonry’s Priceless Heritage

The sanctum sanctorum of Freemasonry is ornamented with the gnostic jewels of a thousand ages; its rituals ring with the divinely inspired words of seers and sages. A hundred religions have brought their gifts of wisdom to its altar; arts and sciences unnumbered have contributed to its symbolism. Freemasonry is a world-wide university, teaching the liberal arts and sciences of of the soul to all who will hearken to its words. It’s chairs are seats of learning and its pillars uphold an arch of universal education.

The philosophic power of Freemasonry lies in its symbols – it’s priceless heritage from the Mystery schools of antiquity. In a letter to Robert Freke Gould, Albert Pike writes:

“In it’s symbolism, which and it’s spirit of brotherhood are its essence, Freemasonry is more ancient than any of the world’s living religions. …”

Though Zoroaster, Hermes, Pythagoras, Plato. and Aristotle are now but dim memories in a world once rocked by the transcendency of their intellectual genius, still in the mystic temple of Freemasonry these god-men live again in their words and symbols; and the candidate, passing through the initiations, feels himself face-to-face with these illumined heirphants of days long past.

Manly P. Hall
Posted on by Kyle Roques

Heaven of the Wise, A Divine Science

Materialism is a comparatively modern invention of the human mind. Materialism not only ignores but actually denies the metaphysical factor in thought and action.

Man has exiled himself from the empire of Space and is satisfied to live without wisdom and die without hope. One of the primary functions of metaphysics is to incline the human reason towards an intelligent consideration of man’s place in divine plan. Metaphysics seeks to establish a closer harmony between divine will and human action.

Metaphysics does not infer blind faith, or the unquestioned worship of unknown gods, but rather seeks to establish a rational sympathy between heaven and earth, a conscious and intelligent cooperation between man and the laws that govern him.

A philosophical definition of heaven, as distinct from the modern theology’s concept, may result in a better understanding of spiritual factors. Theologies, blinded by their jot and title creeds, have come to regard heaven as a place, distant and formal, populated by a spiritual genus, and ruled over by a capricious anthropomorphic deity. This celestial despotism exists nowhere except in the imagination of the unenlightened.

The heaven of the wise is Space itself – an immeasurable empire extending throughout the uttermost extremities of Being. It is the empire of universal life, established upon the immovable foundations of existence. It is populated by a myriad of principals – luminous energies, as the ancient called them; gods, as it were known to the pagans.

Heaven is the empire of truth and fact. He who abides and truth and according to fact, abides in the celestial world. He who lives in his opinions and conceits, is exiled to the outer darkness.

Hermes said the law of analogy was the priceless key to divine mysteries. With the aid of this law the ancient philosophers explored the heavenly world, creating a divine science which they preserved in their temples, imparting its elements only to those whom they regarded as worthy of so noble a learning.

Manly P. Hall
Posted on by Kyle Roques

First Principles of Philosophy

I want you to look upon philosophy not as an abstract and difficult word, suggesting arduous labor, but as a simple and friendly term standing for all that is good and all that is real in knowledge.

I want you to make philosophy the great work of your life.

I want you to think of it as the greatest building power in society.

The mastery of philosophy is the supreme accomplishment of which man is capable and the living of philosophy is the most noble of all arts.

In the process of perfecting its disciples, philosophy make use of every known form of knowledge and he who perfects himself in its principles becomes truly divine.

As religion, philosophy leads to the knowledge of God.

As philosophy it leads to the knowledge of self.

And as science it leads to the knowledge and mastery of nature.

In this present age theology leads to confusion. Science, to a hopeless unbelief. Only Philosophy can bring us to “the Golden Time we look for.” Only from philosophy can we derive that enlightened courage with which to face the day. Those who have light within themselves will pass triumphantly through the difficult years which lie ahead.

Manly P. Hall
Posted on by Kyle Roques

Social Degradation

Written in 1951 but is painfully more relevant now. Paragraph 2 perfectly describes social media. Goes to show no matter what tools we have available to us, we humans constantly make the same mistakes.

With conflict the dominant keynote in modern human relationships, the peacemaker is given slight consideration. He may be branded politically as a pacifist or accused of cowardice. We have long held that it is proper to maintain belligerently and aggressively both our principles and our opinions. Failure to do so is diagnosed as a deficiency of character. In spite of this, however, the long memory of the world still honors the men of peace and those kindly sages who courageously lived and died in defense of the right to be kind.

Living as we do in a social system becoming more intense and confused everyday, we are constantly tempted to become involved in the conflicts of those around us. We are expected to take sides, to defend and offend, to argue and debate, and most of all to appear appropriately disturbed. It is a social error to be composed when others are exhausting their resources in pointless agitation. To such contestants, the peacemaker is not blessed, for he reveals a measure of self-control, which is itself disquieting to the uncontrolled.

Peacemaking is not a profession; it is an instinct, and only succeeds when it is sustained by other gentle and kindly traits of character. When calmness pervades the atmosphere, radiating from a relaxed, well poised person, it is a force to be reckoned with, but when it is demanded or required by some moralizer who knows not whereof he speaks, it has no calming influence.

Manly P. Hall
Posted on by Kyle Roques

Indivisible Truth

The miracle is not accomplished by the direct search for health, but by the experience of the inflow of the presence of God. We ask not that our aches and pain shall be taken from us, but that in our hearts we shall know that faith by which all perfect works are possible. There are many weaknesses, but only one strength. There are countless infirmities, but the fact of health is indivisible from the fact of Truth. We cannot accomplish the lesser except through the greater. If we nurtured the root of the tree, we will have many flowers and fruits, but if we attempt to perfect one of the fruits the tree may perish. The cause of health is identical with the cause of peace and security and one cannot be obtained without the other.

Manly P. Hall
Posted on by Kyle Roques

Immaculate Conception

The mystic instinctively recognizes that two mysteries are mingled together in the Christian story. The process of interpretation have confused the patterns, but internally we have certain faculties of discrimination which refuse to accept the confusion. Our spiritual need requires the two fold realization, and this need cannot be denied. There is Jesus, the son of man, and Christ the son of God. We accept the fact that Jesus was Christened, but not that Jesus was Christ. As the folk hero, Jesus is humanity, considered individually or collectively. Christ is the redemptive power of God, the Supreme Being manifesting through and upon the human creation. Christ is the son of heaven, and Jesus the son of earth.

The life of Jesus, like the Mystery rituals of the ancient temples, describes “the perilous journey.” Jesus personifies the eternal neophyte seeking admission at the gates of the spiritual universe.

…the Christian mystic meditates upon Jesus as the mystical personification of his own higher nature. In this sense, Jesus was immaculately conceived. He was born of the virgin – the power of the soul – and he came as the fulfilment of the divine promise.

Manly P. Hall

Posted on by Kyle Roques

Mystic Illumination

Mysticism escapes from the illusion of history. It frees the mind from its most natural inclination, which is to approach events from the outside. The mind seeks to possess facts by accumulating them and storing them away for future reference. Having arranged them chronologically in the filing system of memory, it considers itself to be well-informed. The heart has no time for such classification. It bridges intervals of time and quality by an instinctive appraisal of values. Mysticism in this way accepts history only as a dated record recording eternal verities. The records of nations are long accounts of hates, fears, hopes, dreams, and intense allegiances. All the manifestations of human instincts may be divided and arranged chronologically, the instincts themselves are not susceptible to such organization. Scriptural writings are important because they re state ever-present emergencies. The heart accepts the lesson, but rejects the historical framework. It gathers all doctrines into an eternal now and experiences them as an immediate impact. In this way the old becomes immanent and can be experienced and thereby known in the spirit rather than in the letter

Manly P. Hall