Overcoming Fear on the Path of Self Mastery - Hugh McCague: transcript

Greetings, everyone. It's great to be with you once again. Thank you for everything you do by way of learning, growing, and serving. Our presentation for today is entitled "Overcoming Fear on the Path of Self-Mastery." In the 1936 issue of the Rosicrucian Digest, there was a very helpful and liberating article by Past Grand Master H. Spencer Lewis entitled "Does Fear Enslave You?" We will follow up on that article and consider ways, known and unknown to us, that fear may be holding us back from growing and enjoying life. Overcoming fear is one of the major ways we mature, find greater meaning and purpose in life, and become fully ourselves.

In this manner, we'll continue to explore Rosicrucian laws and principles and their creative expression and application for the mastery of life, harmonious living, and service. In this regard, there are some images I'd like to share with you of a very special nature. Set before you now is a rather remarkable etching. It's done by the Canadian artist David Blackwood, who was incarnated from 1941 to 2022.

He was born in Wesleyville, Newfoundland, on the far northeastern side of Newfoundland, looking out over towards the great Atlantic Ocean. I know some of you have much experience with oceans, and David, growing up in Newfoundland, was deeply imbued with the culture, the stories, and the mythos of that land. And he depicts things to do with living and dying—or what Rosicrucians would call transition—and the challenges and glories of seafaring in the Atlantic Ocean: fishing, resettlement of communities, and mummers.

In this regard, you'll see here two figures rowing out. You can see the water, if you look closely, coming off the oars. Before them is a huge and spectacular iceberg, one of the awesome beauties of the Atlantic and other oceans. And you'll see up above, in a symbolic way, but also depicting what's below, you'll see the whale, and then there are depictions of light, and then a ship out to the side.

Life in that small community—there had to be a great affinity with the sea, and harmony of land and sea, and great care taken going out to work in harmony with the ocean and the weather systems. In a similar fashion to this one, and in depictions of David's work associated with the whale, another etching is an aquatint. It's a very beautiful work as well, and it inspires us and harmonizes with the other. The first work on the right is entitled "Daybreak, Labrador." The one on the left is "The Loss of the Flora S. Nickerson." You'll see that there's a ship sinking in the background.

There's a hazard always to be working with at sea. And you can see there are persons here escaping, but also depicted down below in the depths are whales. In a way, for David, the depth of the whales is like the depth of our own subconscious. In a way, we'll enter into the subconscious and beyond in our meditation practice. But you see, both things are both fearsome, but also enlightening and uplifting. In a similar fashion, depicting and mythologizing the life of Newfoundland, David would often depict mummers.

Maybe you're familiar with mummers; maybe you've been one. On the right, you'll see the figure there. It's a very intriguing work, and with various symbolism. You'll see over the person's shoulder, out on the water, there's the full moon out there. She's holding a cat, which is part of the symbolism of the work, and it's a very intriguing one. It's a work entitled "Lone Mummer with Cat." It's quite beautiful. Keep in mind, when people travel to a new land and settle there, they'll bring various things to do with their culture, their practices, and their languages—and one of those is being mummers. And in a small community in Newfoundland—I remember as a child with my parents on a ship, and we went from port to port, and there were various deliveries made by the ship—we got to see how people were living in various outports, and some in small communities.

Everyone could know everyone to a certain degree. But in the mummering practices, as suggested by the woman here—she has a veil on—the mummers will go even further, and they'll cover over their faces. They'll even put padding inside of their clothes when they speak and go to visit around the Christmas of the calendar—from Christmas on the Julian calendar, December 25th, to around January 6th. There was a period there where the mummers would go in a community and knock on doors, and they'd ask if there's room for a mummer. And they'd come in and entertain, play the accordion; there may be some dancing—again, traditional dances brought from where the original came from in Britain. And for the persons that take them in, the idea was: guess who this is. These are all people they're very familiar with. But when they speak, the mummers will do it when they breathe in. It's a very eerie sound,

and it's very poignant. In a way, the world has been turned upside down; there's a certain chaos. Many of these traditional folk practices have a powerful mystical and psychic aspect to them. And finally, the persons that have welcomed the mummers into their home are allowed to peel back the mask or the covering of the mummer and see who it is—and see if they were able to guess who it was. And then there's a reuniting with the familiar and the unfamiliar. In this sense, I'll bring all these works together for you.

Why would I show you these in regard to overcoming fear on the path of self-mastery? Each one, in its own special way, is on that theme. I think, for example, of the author Michael Crummey commenting on David Blackwood's work in a very beautiful alchemical distillation as follows, and I quote: "At the heart of David Blackwood's art is a sense of awe— in all meanings of the word. The sheer scope and eerie beauty of the landscape he depicts inspires both wonder and dread in equal measure." We'll see that true throughout our lives: there will be times when we are tested and challenged. There may be certain fears that are common to others, but maybe unique to us in terms of upbringing and suggestions we've taken.

But then, as we grow up and as we evolve, there's the challenge to purify ourselves, to enter into a deeper understanding. And this is suggested by these inspiring works of David Blackwood as an artist who goes down to the depths of his being and brings forward new visions and light, new symbols, and how we connect and harmonize, whether it be through the sea teeming with the whales, the close-knit community working in harmony with the sun and the moon, the waves, and the depths of the ocean.

Let us, with these inspiring conceptions, now in our own way face our own dread and pass beyond it into the... to the Great Physician, the inner self, and align with it to do this. Let us have a period of meditation together, for the Rosicrucians are very practical and wish to give you the direct experience. Mysticism is about direct experience—no intermediaries, no priests, no outer personalities between you and the full reality that you are.

Mysticism is also the art and science of love, which is very beautifully depicted in these works by a person who had grown up in Newfoundland. But also, mysticism is about knowing how to apply all natural and spiritual laws. Rosicrucians refer to that as self-mastery: living in harmony in all senses. This is coming into what's referred to as mystical union: a unified experience of all, no separation, no distinctions. And that imbues and infuses all that we see, do, and express ourselves in.

So I invite you at this time to close your eyes. Let go of the cares of the day. Let us become more fully who we are, for it takes a great deal of energy to be who we are not. And in meditation, we can let go, redirect the energies in more constructive ways for our great healing—that is, making whole—but also so that we can help heal all that we come in contact with. And all that we come in contact with is a part of the great meaning back of life.

I invite you, with your eyes closed, to let go of the cares of the day. We'll turn inward, and we'll come back later to whatever you need to address, renewed, remade, and more competent through the practice of meditation, the central practice of spirituality, the central exercise of the Rosicrucian studies. We study in our home sanctum on a weekly basis and practice this exercise and others.

I invite you to breathe more slowly than usual and deeper than usual—whatever is comfortable. Part of living in harmony, the mastery of life, is the master of the breath. From our first breath in the beginning of our incarnation to our last breath at the close of this incarnation, living fully without fear, being fully ourselves through the breath.

I also invite you, as is comfortable for you as we breathe more slowly and deeply, to extend your exhalation longer than your inhalation. And then the great vagus nerve is stimulated—the great nerve running from the base of the brain down to the gut, a great communication highway, a railroad or channel, messages moving at tremendous rapidity: electromagnetic energy and even subtler forces of the vital life force.

And with each extended exhalation longer than the inhalation, the vagus nerve gets stimulated, and there is a relaxation response. And let us spiritualize that relaxation by sensing with each incoming breath that there's the increased presence of realization and receptivity to the Divine within, the inner self, our true guiding nature in life, our great connection between the finite plane and the infinite plane, where all is known, all is loved.

Continue to enjoy the gentle rhythm of the breath. At any time you find your mind wandering, just lovingly and gently bring it back to the life-giving discipline of the breath— the incoming and the outgoing. Each time we return back to the discipline of the breath, we strengthen ourselves in what psychologists call attentional control.

Generally it is thought from psychological studies that people are, on average, mind-wandering about 50% of the time—half the time. Through the practice of meditation and the attentional control we're building now, you can reduce the amount of mind-wandering so we can stay on task, think more clearly, direct our energies well, and be more fully ourselves.

As we come into increased calmness, we realize a state that is crucial for healing. It quickens the healing process, boosts the immune system, and we are less likely to become ill or diseased; and if we do, there is increased rapidity in recovery through the calmness, the fearlessness that we'll speak more of today. Just continue to enjoy this beautiful process. It's a very simple form of meditation, but never to be underestimated as to its impact.

Soon, purified by this work of breathing, applying the law of purification, the law of duality, the law of unity, and the law of transmutation through further instructions in the teachings of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, we'll continue our meditation by the following practice described in the booklet Liber 777 that I'll give you resources on later.

And further applying the law of purification, I invite you to say with me the following prayer and invocation: "May the divine essence of the Cosmic infuse my being and cleanse me of all impurities of mind and body, that I may enter the Celestial Sanctum and attune in pureness and in worthiness. So mote it be." And I invite you now to sense yourself, visualize yourself rising up from wherever you're situated—your home or your office, whatever building you're in—

rising up over your neighborhood, your local geographic area, whatever form it may take—this village, town, or city, or rural area—and continue to rise up, enjoying the exhilaration of the ascent, letting go of all fear, entering into knowledge and joy, and the great brightness of the light above us. We pass out from our province or state, our great nation or country, our continent, and even our hemisphere, and pass the beautiful blue jewel of the Earth—a wondrous temple, our place of learning and overcoming fear—

rotating about its axis as we look up. As the light builds, we pass the great fireball, the Sun, and the elliptical orbits of the planets, and out from the far reaches of our solar system, past the myriad stars and stellar phenomena—the quasars, the pulsars, the black holes helping balance the universe, the great cosmic web connecting the other stars, galaxies, and nebulae. Sensing the harmony of the spheres, the music of the spheres spoken of since ancient times, and a model for all creation of science and arts back on Earth, let us exit now from the spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy, our local galaxy and home, and continue to rise up higher and higher, faster and faster, way beyond the speed of light as we transcend space and time. Let us continue to apply the law of correspondence: as above, so below. As we go higher and higher up into the cosmos, there's the dual action,

a corresponding action, going deeper and deeper in contact with the Divine within, the master teacher within. Feel the exhilaration of the ascent past other galaxies and stars in awe... awe and wonder of it all as we sense the universe as a whole—what Rosicrucians refer to as the Cosmic.

It's a technical term that means the Universal Intelligence back of the cosmos and all natural and spiritual laws guiding its operation and those within us, the microcosm mirroring the macrocosm. Soon we'll sense the entire universe as rotating about a great cosmic axis spoken of since ancient times, and wonder at its wondrous action.

Everything's coordinated like a great symphony, but on a vast scale. We sense the full range of vibrations on the cosmic keyboard, which Rosicrucians refer to as all the vibrations that bring about the manifestation of reality from the underlying actuality. As you sense the great cosmic axis, continue to speed towards its midpoint, and when you reach there, slow up and dwell and take in this splendid action and beauty all about you in the temple of the Divine Cosmos.

It's vast and suggests the inner vastness, the movement from the finite plane to the infinite plane and outer nature to our inner nature, yet as one unified being ignited and one with the entirety of being in the cosmos. And let us now apply further instructions from the booklet Liber 777. I invite you, while you dwell at the heights of the Celestial Sanctum, this high point of consciousness, to sense and mentally create your personal sacred space. It may be an inspiring temple back on Earth, it may be the awe-inspiring site of the Temple of the Cosmos all around you, or maybe a special place in nature back on Earth: a grove, a seashore, a mountaintop.

Fill in the sights, the sounds, the impressions, the inner spiritual and psychic feeling. You may wish to use inspiring experiences you've had in the past, ones of great love and awareness kindled. The fire grows forth the Divine within even more, to experience our true nature and guide and Great Physician beyond all fear. Continue with your mental creation.

Sense the presence of other seekers at the heights here; the officers of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, may be conducting a sacred convocation. And when you're ready, I invite you to release your visualization or mental creation by saying with me, "If it pleases the Cosmic, it is done. Cosmic love fulfills. So mote it be."

Let your mental creation move through your subconscious into the Cosmic Mind, and dwell in Peace Profound and in stillness and silence. As we continue to commune with the Cosmic and the Divine within at the

heights of the Celestial Sanctum, I invite you to undertake with me another spiritual operation of the work and the divine attunement, which Rosicrucians refer to as worship. Worship is attuning with the Divine within, communing with the Cosmic Mind, and working as a silent council in conjunction with the Council of Solace to send metaphysical aid to all those in need.

In this manner, I invite you now to radiate like a great searchlight from your heart, mind, and being, great rays in all directions to all those who have petitioned the Grand Lodge of the Rosicrucian Order for guidance and healing; and to radiate love and well-being from the depths of your being— love and well-being for all those who have petitioned the affiliate bodies of our Grand Lodge for guidance and healing; and radiate love and well-being.

To all those you know who are in need of guidance and healing. And finally, from the depths of your being, through the action of the Divine within, let us radiate love and well-being to all sentient beings throughout the cosmos who are in need of guidance and healing. Let the rays flow, just like we rose up with great rapidity to the heights of the Celestial Sanctum. Feel them move out like a great searchlight, reaching those in need, filling the cosmos, moving at a tremendous speed, way beyond the speed of light, as we transcend space and time...

enjoying this birthright experience. Soon, I think you'll find you no longer need to use great inner spiritual force. The flow will continue without any conscious effort through the communion with the Divine Within. The flow, we may find, even speeds up, and you'll know you're reaching those in need. And when that happens, just continue to let go, let flow, and let be.

Soon we'll conclude our period of sending metaphysical aid, but know from the depths of our being, as part of our mission in life, that it is the most meaningful way of living. The radiations will continue to all in need, applying the Law of Service, the Law of Cosmic Attunement, and the Law of Humility. We'll continue our meditation at the heights of the Celestial Sanctum as time permits.

In concluding this period of metaphysical aid, I would like you to say with me: "If it pleases the Cosmic, it is done. Cosmic love fulfills. So mote it be." Now let us continue to dwell in the Celestial Sanctum, our personal sacred space, experiencing the most profound form of peace that Rosicrucians refer to as "Peace Profound"—beyond all fear, beyond all superstition, beyond all ignorance; and in all knowledge, all love, and all-embracing adventure.

As we continue our meditation, I invite you to apply both the Law of Cosmic Attunement and the Law of Assumption in a further spiritual operation of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC. Just as we radiate love and well-being—as it continues out from ourselves, channeling the healing forces and awakening the many sentient beings in need—sense your mind expanding out, filling the cosmos, becoming the Cosmic Mind, assuming the Cosmic Mind, experiencing as the Cosmic Mind experiences, realizing as the Cosmic Mind realizes, becoming aware as the Cosmic Mind is aware. Assuming the Cosmic Mind now.

Soon we'll begin our descent from the heights of the Celestial Sanctum. Before we do so, you may wish to invoke the Law of Gratitude, which will intensify the application of the Law of Cosmic Attunement that we've been applying, radiating our thanks to all those who loved us well, and radiating our love, gratitude, and thanks to all those who have taught us well, and radiating our gratitude, love, and thanks to all those who have sacrificed well on our behalf, for their...

the greatest example undertaken through acting on the Divine Within. Let us begin our descent from the heights of the Celestial Sanctum, thankful for this opportunity to be of service... moving at tremendous rapidity past the galaxies and the stars and the cosmic web connecting them, the rogue planets, the asteroids, comets...

and past myriad stars. Take in the great harmony of the spheres. We see in the distance the beautiful spiraling galaxy, the Milky Way galaxy, our home, and let us plunge back in, in the great arm where we dwell, past again the stellar phenomena and the wonder of it all, and the great system and order. See in the distance the great fiery ball, the Sun, the beautiful elliptical orbits of the planets, and the Temple of the Earth, to return back to it—from the hemisphere where we left off, the continent, our great nation or country, province or state, or county, and our local geographic area, or town or village or city, and our neighborhood.

I invite you to say with me a further prayer and invocation to close this period of attunement, assured that attunement with the Cosmic will continue as a way of life. I invite you to say with me now: "May the God of my heart sanctify this attunement with the Celestial Sanctum. So mote it be." Let us continue to descend on the office, or the home, or the building where we left off, and back in the room where we're situated. You may wish to stretch, open your eyes, and feel remade, regenerated, re-energized, and rested...

all the more ready for the work and worship of the Rosicrucian Order; and work and worship is a form of divine attunement, now and always. Thank you, everyone. We'll continue our presentation now.

Now, a fundamental purpose of the Rosicrucian Order has very much to do with our presentation today on overcoming fear on the path of self-mastery, and that purpose is to assist us as students in overcoming fear, superstition, and ignorance. Now, it may be thought, "Well, isn't superstition something of the past?" But in its most essential terms, superstition simply means a false explanation of how some phenomenon arises.

And so, you see, there's much scope for us in humanity as we continue to learn and grow in that regard. And the overcoming of ignorance, in certain senses, is the most fundamental of the three, or what the other two are back of, so that we come into knowledge. Like this in our meditation period, there was an opportunity in the wake of the meditation, or in the meditation period, to have certain insights that percolate up. There's an influx, there's a greater creativity and understanding, and a transformation as we come to, from the depths of our being, the great knowledge and wisdom that's there, clothed and approached, as Rosicrucians say, from the outer mind in its memory. Regarding fear, we could say, "Well, do we always want to overcome it?" It is true that in some situations a fear response is healthy.

One may be walking too close to a cliff's edge, to give a common example, or something, and so forth; or realize some circumstances that are in one's conscience that need to be adjusted and taken account of. That's healthy. But the challenge is when it starts to dominate our life, or starts to come in and operate in ways that it doesn't need to. And that's what we're predominantly addressing today. Now, when we've talked about self-mastery in the title, I mention again that we mean the movement, the evolvement, and the maturation into self-mastery—not about control, but harmony in all senses: the full growing up of ourselves so that we can play the full keys of the great Cosmic Keyboard.

Whatever a situation entails, we'll be able to use the various faculties—the physical, psychic, and spiritual nature—that we're gradually becoming more capable and competent in through the Rosicrucian lessons, through the Rosicrucian exercises, and through our life experiences. Now, we'll particularly consider when a fear response gets unhelpful, as I mentioned, but also when it becomes debilitating. And I know that can be very hard. Now, some situations are often expressed of these types, such as public speaking. You know, one may have a presentation to give the next day and may find it hard to sleep, when the expression goes, "tossing and turning over the night."

One may have a fear of traveling in an airplane, or one may find one is very fearful of driving one's car on faster roads. It could be a myriad of things. The important point is that we may have the idea, "Well, I don't have any fears," but I think one will find that that's more of a statement of lack of self-knowledge than actually the truth; or as we become freed up from fear, our evolvement in wisdom is greatly advanced. Now, in this regard, I will mention certain mystical laws and principles involved, but I know it's important to also address that there have been great advances in psychology in recent years, and it is beginning to realize that mystics

were the great forerunners of psychologists. And it's a beautiful and wonderful thing that some of you are able to bring rich psychological knowledge—being psychologists or similar mental health professionals—and be deeply mystical, because both will greatly reinforce one's understanding of the other, so one comes out of the other. I know there has been a great deal of success with what's referred to as CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy, and there's a lot of scientific evidence for it through randomized controlled trials and related studies, where an individual is helped in identifying challenges and reframing distorted thought patterns and catastrophic thinking associated with feared situations. And also, part of that can be what's called exposure therapy, where one is gradually exposed to what one is fearful of and can learn to embrace it, as Past Imperator H. Spencer

Lewis used to say, for life-giving lessons. Also, there is an increasing realization of something Rosicrucians and mystics have known over the centuries: what is referred to as mindfulness-based practices, just like we did in that period of meditation and experienced that mindfulness, that great inner stillness. You can then come into a more calm, competent, and clearer thinking state of mind. We can see things more for what they are—the molehills that we've made into mountains, as an expression of guilt, are seen more for what they are.

And yeah, something else that's done is realizing what's called applied relaxation and breathing techniques—essentially what we in Rosicrucianism and mystics have been doing over the centuries, again. And then there can be what's referred to as medication support. And Rosicrucians have various healing methods; we applied one of them in the remote healing, or absent healing. But Rosicrucians encourage oneself to get a professionally duly qualified health professional when needed, and sometimes that may entail medication.

But also, as we know, meditation helps create relaxation; and under the guidance of a physician or other health professional, how long the medication is needed or not needed. Also, part of the mystical path is what's going to be increasingly recognized as lifestyle and what's called physiological foundations, where there are various rules or things to do, like our Rosicrucian exercises, regular physical exercise, good sleep—which meditation helps us catch up in rest and helps us to sleep better with good quality—and reducing stimulants like caffeine, all of which directly influence stress hormone regulation and the nervous system.

So by taking care of those good things in our health, we're less prone to stress, worry, and getting unduly fearful. But all these things can work together. And further things that I'll mention now are more of a deep, mystical nature. You may look back on your life and see where were your great achievements or your milestones in your life. And I think you'll find, as part of the upliftment, the great satisfaction there was, there was probably some great relief. There was probably also a fair amount of tension and stress, and even being afraid at times to get the gumption up with the confidence to keep going. But it was greatly worthwhile. This is the same on the mystical path, and in fact, those activities, you can say, are part of the mystical path. To grow and learn, we have to let go of fear. A degree of fearlessness needs to be developed. I'll give you some resources on that concept. One is by Past Grand

Master Raymond Andrea in the book The Mystic Path, speaking about the Mystic Way. And... it seems like fearlessness can be a tall order, and it is for the outer self. But when one draws on the great resources of our true nature and guide, the Divine Within, it becomes more than possible—a living reality. Many things that are impossible to the outer self become possible with it when it works as a co-creator with the Cosmic.

This is fundamental to being a Rosicrucian. Our Rosicrucian lessons and the practice of meditation we did are fundamentally about that. Not only is it experience, but also emotional realization. And when the intellectual and the emotional come together, there can be that initiation, that growing into the attunement, that firsthand experience: "I know what they're talking about, and I'm the living and breathing embodiment of it now, not in a self-aggrandizing term, but in terms of coming to the most meaningful, purposeful, and healing way of life for yourself and others." You know, part of this is also...

realizing that the law of suggestion is used in various ways in our meditation practice and in seeing works of art. Suggestion can be used in a way that enriches us and ennobles us. But in growing up in our life, we may have taken certain suggestions from ourselves and others, and suggestion can become a habit in the subconscious mind—an important part of the teachings. And we want to have our habits be those that are life-giving and constructive, that are harmonious with natural and spiritual laws of our being and creation. We don't want laws in the subconscious that cause us to be tripped up, to be stuck, and to be fearful.

I'm giving you... there are resources—there's a beautiful book by Past Grand Master Edward Lee that I'll give you a reference on later when the resources are pasted in the chat and uploaded. It deals with various aspects of overcoming fear and applying the law of suggestion. We need to replace the old laws with a new law that is much more constructive.

In this way, habits are seen as laws of the subconscious, and we want to set up laws that are not causing us fearful conditions. Indeed, in this there's an old mystical and Rosicrucian adage: "Dare to do, and the strength shall be given unto you." It's one that can be very uplifting when we see something that we need to do in good conscience; as we go forward in that, the Master Within, the Divine Within, will come in and add strength to us.

You see, our life is not so much what is happening to us, but it's our interpretation. Are we taking a fearful interpretation, or are we taking an uplifting, joyous interpretation—that constructive one we need to have? In this way, our imagination is working for us, not against us, being our best ally, not our worst enemy—having laws and habits that are constructive. Traditionally, in the mystical traditions, there is a symbol for this, and that is the dragon slain by the knight. But ultimately, there's a deeper understanding of facing fearful conditions than the slaying of the dragon. We see the great value and compassion for the dragon and its great assistance that it has had in our life with challenges. That maybe is also, in terms of mystical and alchemical ways of thinking...

we can think of overcoming fear and entering into joy and great wisdom through the seven stages of the alchemical process. Particularly, I'll emphasize this point: coming into the crucible of experience. I know for the outer self one may say, "Well, I'd like to get out of difficult situations. I don't want things to be difficult." But when we choose the difficult, we'll find, in good conscience, we'll find that that will lead to our greatest capacity to love, just as the great mystic Hildegard of Bingen admonishes and charges us.

And as we come through that heating-up process of the fear and all the energy that's being used in the fear, and it gets distilled in the insights as to what's causing it, and the new law in the subconscious by applying the law of suggestion—particularly at the time when we go to bed and take it into our sleep through the subconscious part of us, in the lessons—we can become transformed. There's a great transmutation—again, another wonderful alchemical analogy and action.

Similarly, in mystical traditions, in overcoming fear, there are the traditional five stages of mystical development: the Great Awakening, where there's a new idealism instilled, a new sense of, and an increased attunement with, the Cosmic through meditation and other means. But that draws us also into a period known as purgation, or self-discipline. And there, certain fears and old habits have to be released. That idealism that was suggested in the Awakening now needs to be lived out. And we're more acutely aware of what needs to be changed, and more sensitive through meditation and through the Awakening, because it's a very purifying state, and all that is impure needs to be left behind.

But that is fine, because our true nature will always stay with us. Then, after that period of self-discipline, we're ready for illumination, all the more coming into the experience of the Cosmic, all the more able to soak up the Divine Within, live it out, and be a radiant, living embodiment of it—a great example to others and all that we touch. But that is then followed by what's referred to as the Dark Night—or, more poetically, as the Dark Night of the Soul. It's what the great mystic John of the Cross spoke of in his poetry.

But then again, there are even greater fears to face and overcome, and greater and more intense laws in the subconscious to work through. But the Awakening, that strength and confidence that came from the purgation, and also the great uplifting illumination, are all building us up to overcome and see this great period of purgation, the Dark Night of the Soul, for what it is. And then we can ultimately come into the mystical union of full rapport with the Cosmic. And each day, in a miniature way, we go through these five stages, but over our lifetime—and our lifetimes—we go over them in even larger ways. And all part of it is the overcoming of fear to enter into self-mastery, our theme today. In this way, anything unworthy within us will be challenged from within.

Each of us has our own psychology. That's true. We need to accept that and work with it, and realize what formative experiences we've had in our life, and how we need to form new, formative experiences. Mystics have known from time immemorial that traits can be changed. It's just been in the past 30 years that psychology has realized that, but it's part of the transformation of our self. You know, in that regard, there are often many comments that we may make that we think are truthful, but aren't necessarily so.

For example, sometimes when we feel a particular challenge and we shrink back from it, we may say something like, "I'm not good at that," as if that's okay. But actually, it may be, if we look at it more critically, it may be saying, "I am afraid." And we need to realize that, so that if we can take it on, we'll be all the more strengthened and all the more able to play, like the great pianist, all the vibrations of the Cosmic Keyboard. Another thing that may be holding us back in our life—we may say, "Well, I've never done that before," as if then it's okay not to do it. Well, that's not the way we progress in learning in life, and often there's fear back of it. We need to realize that situations where we freeze up, we start to feel overwhelmed, or we become frantic—that's, again, another telltale sign that maybe fear is at work in the laws in the subconscious that need to be changed. We may also say that "I'm not worthy."

In a certain sense, who is worthy? And indeed, none of us are worthy of Rosicrucian recognition in a traditional way. Even the greatest among us is but a child in the studies. But that traditional adage from an older quote on life was to help attune us with the Cosmic. We've got to realize that we shouldn't over-apply this idea of our unworthiness as an excuse for our fear. In a similar way, there may be various things that we need to take time in meditation and in other ways to realize that we're actually being fearful.

One may be fearful of entering into relationships, or may have had a strong and valuable relationship and say, "That just hurt so much, I don't want to go into that again," not realizing that we're letting fear rule our life, and needing more clarity in deciding or not deciding what we do. We even may be fearful of negative feelings in ourselves or others. If we're fearful of negative feelings, we can't really listen to others in depth, because we're always going to try to steer them back to what we interpret to be positive, rather than let them process. And for the deepest way of listening, it's true we need to be constructive and draw on the Cosmic, but we also learn important things from things that we're labeling negative as to why they're happening, and come to the cause to make fundamental change, rather than just trying to mitigate their effects.

In this way, we need to face up to who we are and embrace who we are, and we'll come into the deeper meaning of the traditional adage, "Know thyself." An important part of this is realizing that fear uses up a lot of energy, repression uses up a lot of energy, and anxiety uses a lot of energy. In the period of meditation, when we come into that present moment, we let go, and we get noble thoughts from the Divine Within on how to change, how to set new causes into effect.

And in this way, we can start to change the general trend of our life. It's good to have that larger overview: what is our life course? An important part of this is letting go, balanced with understanding and action. We don't always have to hang tough. In meditation, when we come into the present, and when we have that momentum from meditation, when we're in the present, we take away the fuel of fear; we take away the fuel of anxiety; we take away the fuel of regret.

We're in the present, where we can plan, learn, and analyze all those things much more clearly and more confidently. Soon we'll conclude, but I'll say a few more points. I know we may get discouraged, and fear and conditions may help us in that, and we may even be fearful of succeeding. But rectification is always possible, in this incarnation or in the incarnations to come. We need to ask ourselves continually, sometimes minute by minute, "How am I going to transmute this situation and my understanding?

How am I going to become unstuck, unshackled, fearless, freed up, and have that energy redirected to wisdom, healing, and to joy?" So, by way of conclusion, I'll make a few points. And keep in mind, if you didn't catch everything, that this will be available as a recording in a few days on Rosicrucian TV, and the resources for Rosicrucian TV and the web pages are given in the resources given to you. We've considered overcoming fear on the path of self-mastery.

We followed up on that Rosicrucian Digest article from 1936, "Does Fear Enslave You?" We considered ways, known and unknown, that we need to work on overcoming fear, superstition, and ignorance, which is at the heart of the Rosicrucian tradition. In this way, we wish to become healed, find greater meaning and purpose in life, become fully ourselves, and be all the more capable to have a constructive impact on all we come in contact with, and all who come in contact with us, as one with the One.

Thank you, everyone.