Spring 2016

Atelier Master’s Message

Greetings, fellow Martinists!

As we begin the second quarter of our new cycle, I wish to express my gratitude toward all of you who attend our Martinist conventicles, many of whom (including myself!) come many miles and from other states to support our Atelier. As I was deliberating on a topic to write about in this, my first Master’s Message of this cycle, I thought about the word, gratitude. Many of you are familiar with the concept of keeping a gratitude journal; I started one ten years ago, although I did not keep it up. Now I read about these journals all the time. Even Oprah Winfrey talks about hers in her magazine! I think about what I would write in my journal frequently, not necessarily every day, but almost. So I went back to my beautifully bound gold and black embroidered little book and began reading what I have been grateful for in the past ten years. These past two years have presented many challenges to both my son and me, so it’s been important to me to refresh my reasons for feeling and experiencing gratitude. I will share some of these thoughts with you.

“I’m grateful for being an American. I read so much about people’s lives in other parts of the world, such as the various countries in Africa, Asia, and eastern Europe. Things we take for granted are beyond imagination to so many of those people. The accessibility of food, heat, clothes, a comfortable bed, clean water both to drink and to bathe in, these are considered necessities and are accepted as givens in at least my area of America. I also have certain freedoms that are easily taken for granted: the right to live where I want to, believe what I want, dress as strange or plain as I desire, say what I think, have whatever career I can develop, go to school to learn what I want, basically embrace anything my heart desires (within the reasonable laws of this land). I also live in a country that has so much in natural resources and space to spread out: I can live like a hermit or gravitate to a city, live in small towns or big metropolises, wherever I want to go, the resources are there. People care in America. We have Adopt-a-Highway programs in all states. Earth Day is now accepted everywhere in America as a basic precept for taking care of our environment. We have laws to protect the air, the water, the earth, the animals, and the plants. They’re not perfect and some people ignore them, but the system really works! I’ve lived outside America and can confidently state that nowhere else do people have the freedom to be whatever they want to be. Gratitude!”

“I’m sitting in the Woodlands park area on a bench in the late afternoon sun. It is quite cool, and there is a slight breeze. I am so grateful for being here at this moment. I’m grateful to be alive, surrounded by living things, by Nature itself. The fallen leaves drift across the bricks where I’m sitting; the few leaves that remain on the trees are rustling in the rise and fall of the breezes. The far-off sound of the wind in the tall pines sounds like rushing water. I am content.”

“I am grateful for the beautiful thoughts that Ed Elton shared with us during his talk ‘Love, the Cosmic Bridge,’ which he gave at the Mystical Weekend. Here are some of those thoughts: ‘Looking into the eye of God, you see your own soul as well as the souls of all mankind and of all creatures. The light is shared by all.’ ‘Any unkind thought about another, no matter how small that thought may be, separates us in some small way from the infinite mind. It blocks the cooperative communication that exists between the inner selves of all souls. It separates us partially from the unity of all being.’”

“Gratitude – how easy it is to forget about it – to remove oneself from the center of the concept and fall into the mundane day-to-day cares without any of the gratitude!”

“Once again I am sitting amidst the pines on a bench in the Woodlands open space. A noble ponderosa pine towers over my head. As I gaze down the path, a magnificent view opens before me – that of towering pines, a meadow beyond the trees, with scrub oak, the snow-covered mountains in the distance, and over all, a brilliant blue sky with fluffy white clouds. Snow covers the meadow and edges my path, yet the breeze is mild and the sun is warm, almost too warm for my light jacket. How could anyone not be grateful for such a time and place as this moment? I would not choose to be anywhere else but here at this moment. I love my life. It is calm and peaceful, I am content. I wish for all beings everywhere to experience this contentment.”

The paragraphs above were taken from my gratitude journal, and I hope to continue adding thoughts of gratitude to my little gold and black book. Right now, I am grateful for so many things: the wonderful group of mystics with whom I share my thoughts during our Atelier conventicles inspire me and give me much needed support; the privilege of having a job that fulfills my career and allows me the funds to meet both the necessities and luxuries of living; a good medical insurance program that is helping me get my health in order; a mild climate to live in; a comfortable home; a loving son; and wonderful supportive friends. These and many more are for what I am grateful.

Finally, I shall close with a quote from Hermes Trismegistus:

“Universe, listen to my voice!

Earth, unfold to my pleas!

Let the mass of waters reveal their mysteries to me!

Trees, fear not and tremble not because of what I say.

I give praise to the Supreme God, the All and the One.

Let the heavens open and the wind be stilled!

Let all of my faculties constantly praise the All and the One!”

May you ever dwell in the Eternal Light of Divine Wisdom!

Judith Stewart, S.I.

Master, Rocky Mountain Atelier

Traditional Martinist Order

Spring 2016

Provincial Master’s Message

Greetings Brothers and Sisters,

My Brothers and Sisters, Fraters and Sorores;

This is a confession and a cautionary note to all mystics. I must tell you of my experience and maybe you will relate to it and learn the lesson before experiencing it yourself.

I have been an administrator for both AMORC and TMO for most of my mystical life. I can remember that when first appointed to the Grand Councilorship my emphasis shifted from personal study and attunement to the welfare of the affiliated bodies and their members – not a good thing for me but a good thing for the members in the area. I lost something in that transition.

Now, I have to say that ever since a significant event in my mystical life I have always been able to make a connection with the Cosmic and feel the presence of Divinity within and around me. That being said, the shift away from personal study did not help this contact.

My mystical life consisted of very little sanctum time. It primarily consisted of the time spent in the Rosicrucian and TMO temples during convocation and conventicles, and a daily routine of a few minutes of meditation associated with a health drink that I took with my wife.

Well, my wife and I stopped taking the health drink and along with this came the dropping of the daily meditation. That was my undoing.

For the last few months I have been at a loss spiritually. I have been listless, directionless, and feeling a huge hole in my life. This morning I awoke with a realization of the reason: my spiritual grounding is dwindling. That cessation of the daily meditation was the last straw that broke my connection with my source.

Does any of this sound familiar to your life? Are you listless? Are you wandering around in a fog looking for a meaning in life? Do you feel cut off from something that will make you whole? If so, maybe you should do what I’m going to do – start spending more time meditating and communing with the Cosmic in my sanctum. Why? Because this contact gives us direction in life – infiltrates our consciousness with an awareness that this physical world is not all there is – connects us with a guiding spirit that encourages and reminds us of the full dimension of life.

I have lived for the last few months, and you may be living, in a limited, meaningless life, devoid of spiritual context. It is time to fix this. Let’s all of us remember to find or make that time to connect with our spiritual source. It’s the only thing that makes life worth living!

May you ever dwell in the Eternal Light of Divine Wisdom!

David Schloegel, F.R.C

Provincial Master

Traditional Martinist Order