Greetings, Fratres, Sorores and Friends of AMORC!

Our Rocky Mountain Pacific Northwest Region continues a slow growth, adding a net of about 2 new members a month. We also see some new members at affiliated body meetings, and some non-members attending in-person public meetings. And a few members have expressed interest in restarting an affiliated body in Seattle. We would love to see more attendance at affiliated bodies, especially visitors who return and become regular attendees. If you have never attended an affiliated body, or if you have not returned in a while, perhaps we can offer better programs and service to you. Please send me an email at ColoGC777@gmail.com if you would like to share your thoughts on making our affiliated bodies more engaging. Your responses are confidential, and will help make our affiliated bodies better.

Similarly, do you ever find yourself thinking “I wish I were a better Rosicrucian”? Many Rosicrucians feel this way at times. What can we do to become better Rosicrucians? Maybe you are behind in your lessons. Maybe you catch yourself thinking or saying something unfair or unkind, but just a little too late to stop yourself. Perhaps you bristle a little bit when somebody voices an opinion that differs from your own. Or maybe you find yourself wondering just how unenlightened a person is when you realize that their views on public policy or economics or justice differ from yours. Or you have the classic “angry response” while driving in traffic. If any of this happens, and then on later reflection you realize that you have not expressed the best of Rosicrucian ideals in your daily life, be kind to your self and resolve to do better. After all, the Rosicrucian code of life states: “Never pretend you are a Rose-Croix, but say you are a perfecting Rosicrucian.” In other words, we all are on the Path to becoming better Rosicrucians.

It is too easy to allow behaviors to become habitual instead of deliberate. Our lessons specifically point out that it takes great mindfulness to elevate a situation to conscious awareness before reacting. But if you do this you can break those habits which do not serve your growth, and react deliberately with a response more attuned to your ideals as a Rosicrucian. Small steps can perhaps make the goal less daunting. This week, pick up your next lesson and absorb it, or review a past lesson that contains an exercise may have been difficult for you and try it again. Place a copy of the Rosicrucian Code of Life in a conspicuous place and try to focus on a single point each day. Read the Creed of Peace each morning and endeavor to become more aware of your “warlike” behaviors as they occur. Read the Contribution to Peace every morning and resolve to apply one principle in your interactions with others or the world around you. Consider how our thoughts project into the Cosmic and then manifest into the world, then focus for a few minutes each day on manifesting small positive things instead of the negative. There are many ways to become better Rosicrucians, and taken in small steps we may realize greater success than we imagine is possible! 

Sincerely and Fraternally,

Bill Hallett

Grand Councilor, Rocky Mountain Pacific Northwest Region AMORC

oregon@amorc.rosicrucian.org (Pacific Northwest affiliated bodies)

colorado@amorc.rosicrucian.org (Rocky Mountain affiliated bodies)

ColoGC777@gmail.com (Grand Councilor's email)

Just to be aware of the changes in the air temperatures, the humidity, the stir of the wind, the sounds of birds and insects, they are all changing along with the season. Hear them, notice them, feel them. Let their frequencies resonate within you. This is what it means to be alive.

Beloved Fraters and Sorors,

As we move into the later part of the year, we are not slowing down. Both the Rocky Mountain Region of AMORC and its affiliated bodies (Pikes Peak Atrium and Mountain Rose Pronaos) are seeing growth and are moving forward. We are excited to see new faces and new friends at our affiliated body events. MRP has seen enough new faces to offer another New Member Initiation ceremony on Sunday, October 15, 2023. This will be the second one this year. We look forward to meeting new sorors and fraters. If you have attended a Pronaos initiation ceremony before, please join us as a witness, and a reminder of what a Rosicrucian affiliated body is.

We look forward to a couple of new developments, including an Open Convocation on the 3rd Sunday of November. Family and friends who may be interested can be invited by a member to attend this special convocation that is open to non-members. We also anticipate a new Festival of Lights ceremony that will be open to non-members, as have been the Peace Meditation and the Memorial Ceremonies.

This is a good time to reflect on what it means to each of us to be a member of AMORC. Grand Master Julie Scott asked us the question: “What do you value most about your AMORC membership and how could it be more impactful?”

I would love to hear what you have to say.

Sincerely and Fraternally,

Ed Hanson, CO Regional Monitor and Mountain Rose Pronaos Master

"As mystics we do everything that we can to cultivate and maintain four primary virtues, and thus warrant being called a mystic: understanding, service, compassion, and love. These virtues all flow into one another, and end up merging into a perfect unity and forming one entity, thus moving us closer to the “Rose-Croix” state...Willpower, perseverance, and trust are three further virtues that need to be manifested." -- Christian Bernard

This is a shortened quote of Christian Bernard but important to remember what ideals we should be carrying out in our daily lives. These 7 principles remind us to work towards our goals and provide things for others. However, we can give all of these principles to ourselves as well. We can help others along the mystical path, but it sometimes helps to know the path first before going back to help others. I hope these principles and virtues are manifested in your daily lives.

Best wishes for Peace Profound,

Frater Nathan Klotz

Pikes Peak Atrium Group Leader

Dear Sisters and Brothers, Sorores and Fraters,

Our conception of God is an individual thing.  In AMORC we always use the phrase “God of our hearts” because we realize that each person has his or her own idea of what or who God is.  How do our conceptions of God differ, and how does the very name of God change our conceptions?

We use the word “God” to refer to our idea of a being or spirit that created and controls all that is (even that statement is too limiting in describing Divinity).  To some the word “God” is considered a name for Divinity, but to some it is a generic term to refer to a higher power that we really can’t understand or even conceive of.  This raises the question of how does the name we use for “God” affect our concept of God?

Many people, in using the word “God”, think of the anthropomorphic deity, an old man with a white beard, sitting on a throne, governing all that transpires in the universe.  This concept helps many people in making the deity relatable, and more understandable.  They can imagine that He has human traits like jealousy, judgement, and anger along with love and compassion, and they come to an understanding of their relationship with Him that may demand obedience and invokes some fear.  Thus, conceiving God in this manner may give comfort in making us feel we know how God operates but may make us feel fearful in invoking the “rath of God.”

Others choose to go beyond this limiting concept of God.  In doing so they may even alter or ignore the name of the deity altogether.

Jiddu Krishnamurti, a renown spiritual philosopher, rejected all names and labels for God, saying “The word ‘God’ is loaded with centuries of superstition, fear, authority; it has become a very small word.  And when you use that word ‘God’, you have an image in your mind; whither you have been conditioned by Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, or Islam; you have an image.”

The Hebrews have another reason for not using a name for Divinity.  The name of God as revealed to Moses at Mount Sinai as YHVH, was considered too holy and sacred to be uttered by human lips and they substituted other names to be used when referring to Divinity, such as Adonai, Elohim, and El Shaddai. 

If we take the word “God” to be more generic, your conception changes.   As a stand-in, or proxy word for Divinity, understanding can expand beyond the anthropomorphic concept.  It can become more spiritual, more expansive, beyond the limitations of human emotions and motivations.  It can become ethereal, and an essence whose control and mode of action is far beyond our comprehension.  As I like to say, whatever our conception of the Divine, it is so much more.  With this expansion of concept, we find that our reaction to God moves beyond understanding and into awe.    

And so, Sisters and Brothers, don’t let the word “God” be a limiting factor in your spiritual evolution, but let it be a gateway to a concept of eternities and infinities.  Feel the eternal love and stand in awe.   

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

David Schloegel, S.I., F.R.C.

Provincial Master, Traditional Martinist Order

During a recent study session of Martinez de Pasqually’s Treatise on the Reintegration of Beings, we were studying the Universal Tableau. Martinists know that in the Tableau, between the Divine Immensity and the Supercelestial Immensity, reside four classes of spirits: Superior, Major, Inferior and Minor. I posed the question as to why these spirits were necessary; surely God could accomplish whatever business was needed to oversee the Celestial and Terrestrial Immensities. One of my co-students responded, “It’s because they all operate at a different vibratory frequency.”

I owe my classmate a debt of gratitude as this insight fostered - at least for me - an epiphany. It reminded me of an Einstein theory: if an object can be accelerated to the speed of light, then it will achieve infinite mass. In the corollary, then, slowing light would cause it to assume matter. Thus, in order to create the material universe, the Divine vibratory frequency had to be slowed down. God could not do this, because in doing so, the Divine would be transformed to something non-Divine. God needed a “grand architect of the universe” to carry out Divine instruction. Yet, with Divine origins, the universe retains Divine aspects. (Consider the beauty of our planet or the wonders of the Cosmos as proof.) One might consider this a hierarchy of energies, one needed to mirror the full spectrum of the Divine.

This also made me think the further we get from the Divine, the slower our own vibratory frequency becomes. Increasing our frequency gets us closer to the Divine, perhaps what Louis Claude de St. Martin described as “climbing the mountain.” How do we go about increasing our vibratory energy? St. Martin has this to say: “Prayer constitutes the essential nourishment for humanity. In fact, it is thanks to prayer that the soul can reunite with the Divine.”

One final notion: given that we operate on the vibrationally slower material plane, is there any aspect of us that operates at the Divine speed level? I think yes: thought. Thought operates at Divine speed, which is perhaps why prayer is so powerful. Changing our thinking changes our vibration. What are some other practical ways to do this? Hug someone. Pet an animal. Bask in the sunshine. Enjoy a walk. Savor the taste of a good meal. Give grace to someone who is totally undeserving. No human is incapable of this essential task.

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As I write these words in September, I am reminded that they are the last of the newsletter for 2023. In December, we will be holding our annual Ieschouah Ceremony on December 16 at 2:00 in the afternoon at the Highlands Masonic Temple, 3550 Federal Boulevard in Denver. All Martinist members are invited to attend this subline event (and feel the vibratory boost!). I wish all of you a happy Fall and fruitful close to 2023. 

May we all Ever Dwell in the Eternal Light of Divine Wisdom!

Phil Goodwin, Master

Rocky Mountain Atelier of the Traditional Martinist Order