|
|
||
|
|
Rapid Advancement After the First Degree A
question was asked as to whether we are conscious at
all levels of what we are learning here. Richard answered that we are
conscious only on the physical level of what we are learning, and very often we don’t see the pattern of it. Looking back on our
learning experiences, we may be able to perceive that we have followed a
certain path, but there is no way to see where that path is going until we
become First Degree. The First Degree of advancement is by far the hardest
one to achieve. The doubts which seem to plague most of us on the path to
First Degree are lifted when we become Brothers, but until these doubts are
removed, enabling us to pursue a single-pointed purpose, our energies are
scattered and our decisions based on conjecture. It takes two or three
thousand incarnations to reach First Degree, but after having once achieved
it, it may take even less than ten incarnations to become a Master. When we
reach First Degree, we gain access to many avenues for advancement
which we were unable to use before. A Brother has the great advantage
of being clairvoyant; so he can see and deal directly with his teachers and
have confidence that the information he receives is reliable. It is easy for
a Brother to discern a false teacher by his dark aura. When you have reached
First Degree Richard said, “You don’t pursue any more blind alleys. You are
moving definitely forward and the curve of advancement rises rapidly. You
grow to the point where many Egos acquire the fourth, fifth and sixth degree
in the same lifetime. This shows the degree of rapidity afforded by one’s
expansion of knowledge, learning how to learn, and the contacts you are
dealing with. And, naturally, the higher you progress, the higher teachers
you are able to perceive and understand.” Most of us go through our lives
rather blindly, but we seem to fall into opportunities
which make us grow in the long run. Even though our learning
situations seem to be very troublesome and tiresome while we are going
through them, they are strengthening us and teaching us. What seem like
calamities in our lives are not disadvantageous at all
if we manage to solve them. Richard
used the story of Joseph to illustrate this point. Joseph was the favorite
son of his father, Jacob, who made him a gift of the “coat of many colors” of
Biblical fame. His jealous brothers sold him into slavery in |
|
|
|
|
|
