Summer 2016

Grand Councilor’s Message

Greetings from all points of the triangle!

I am writing this message early on a still, cool Sunday morning. The blue jays are talking to one another outside my study and there is a certain unmistakable peace lingering in the aftermath of a midnight rain.

So what is really important, both now and always? Is it the dawn, the stillness, the peace, the smells? It seems that there is something far more primal. Relationships. They abound in nature, have become pronounced in current popular theory and thought as organizations begin to refer to themselves as ecologies and ecosystems; we, like nature, re-cycle our processes, we mimic nature as we compost, plant with lunar cycles, and look for new ways to recycle and reuse just about everything. We mimic and cooperate with those natural cycles and the relationship between their various players and parts.

Amidst all this flurry of remodeling and re-paradigming, it seems important to return our focus to the primal relationship, that of the soul-personality and the Master Within. This is primal, essential and foundational. It is not replaceable by anything else espoused in books, no matter how well written or inspirational a certain volume might be. We extol this relationship in Rosicrucian rituals. We glory in its revelation. We depend on it like the Earth reaches up to the sky through its plants and animals. Without our relationship with the Master Within we are nothing but alone.

So how do we become best friends with this Great Master? Like any relationship, this one relies primarily on trust and that trust must be earned and forged through time. Both gradually and sometimes suddenly, this puts the fears of the outer personality to rest. The Rosicrucian monographs abound in exercises that help to raise our consciousness of that Great Master, but today, please allow me to add one more. Whenever you have a question or challenge that stymies the objective mind, approach its solution in the following way: first, do whatever you do to induce a clear and receptive consciousness, whether it is three deep positive breathes, an intonation of a vowel sound, or the overall exercise. and then ask a question whose answer will solve your problems; ask it in such a way that the answer will be either a yes or a new. For example, “Should I send an email to so and so at this time?” Wait for a simple yes or no. The more I have enjoined this simple practice, the greater the resultant trust, and flow of information, and the more obvious the nature of the Master Within has become, but this attunement takes practice.

When you are early in the forging this relationship between your personality and the Master Within, you may have difficulty accepting a response that is contrary to what you currently held as true. When I first joined the order as a college student, I often thought of a good friend and his wife, Bill and Susan, who lived a block from my daily walk home. At a certain point in my walk, I would ask myself if I should go to visit with them, and occasionally a “no" response would arise. Deciding to make the visit anyway, I would walk the extra block, ascend the stairs to their second floor apartment, and, lo and behold, discover that they were not at home!

With often repeated questions and answers, I began to understand that the Master Within was indeed a storehouse of certitude. I began to feel, more t home with its consciousness, and adjusted, and am still adjusting, still working with the Master to build greater bridges between myself and its wisdom. As our partnership became more apparent, its language and style of communication more lived and felt, the process opened new doors of insight and evolution in patterns both universal and particular to my current state. This relationship, this trust, has been paramount for me. Because the Master Within is always available, conversations with it are constantly possible.

With all best wishes for your most profound peace,

John Fowler, PhD. FRC

Grand Councilor

Colorado Region, AMORC