A New Cycle Begins!

This past weekend, the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret followed by Simchat Torah, marks the end of our Torah reading cycle for the year! Unfortunately, on Saturday, Israel experienced a terrible surprise terrorist attack amidst their celebrating. We have not seen anything quite like this since the surprise terrorist attack on Yom Kippur 50 years ago! There's a lot more to this situation then is being discussed on the mainstream news but I won't go into all that right now! Unfortunately my friend of the family's brother’s daughter's son Aryeh was just killed in combat. May he rest in peace! Very sad! Let's hope this doesn't lead into World War 3 as my mentor suggests... However... this article is not going to be about the war... Perhaps an article on that topic will come soon? I don't know...

However... Once again we are back to reading Parshah Bereshit (In The Beginning). I am proud to say that this past year has been the first full year of Torah study for me. It has been a great blessing. I have learned and absorbed a great deal of wonderful knowledge. Now it is time for me to expand!

I have just completed a ten day parasite cleanse so I'm all clear and ready for the next chapter of my spiritual evolution. I plan to continue studying Torah, but more importantly- Living Torah! As a wise man once said, "To know, but not to do, is not to know." In an effort to expand my Torah studies I have purchased a new Torah commentary book on amazon called "Sapphire from the Land of Israel: A New Light on the Weekly Torah Portion From the Writings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook" by Rabbi Chanan Morrison. This book has great reviews! I look forward to reading a new chapter every Shabbat for the next year and becoming more enlightened in Torah!

Now I have to admit that my wonderful spiritual mentors have been doing their very best to break me away from Judaism and my observances of Shabbat and the Jewish Holidays. I find this ironic because one of these mentors is responsible for bringing Judaism back into my life. So be it! But I get what they're all saying. Judaism has brought me this far...but there are still more doors waiting to be opened. There are esoteric secrets awaiting my conscious awareness and acknowledgement. As my one mentor recently advised me... If I want to learn the real secrets in this lifetime than I must join the Rosicrucian Order.

The interesting thing about this is... I actually joined the Rosicrucian Order (AMORC) many years ago! But I wasn't in the right state of mind to really focus, absorb and practice the lessons that were being mailed to me. Yes, mailed lol! I don't think they had an online portal available back then to download the lessons. I'm not sure. It was quite a while ago! So, after months of reading but not practicing the Rosicrucian lessons, I finally decided to end my membership because I just couldn't keep up with the lessons. Nowadays my life and my overall energy is much more balanced. I am now in a much better position to allocate time for my spiritual endeavors. I am much more organized and focused. I am ready now! And so I took the initiative once again and joined the Rosicrucian Order (AMORC). FYI AMORC stands for Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis.

The Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, is a philosophical and initiatic tradition. As students progress in their studies, they are initiated into the next level or degree. Rosicrucians are men and women around the world who study the laws of nature in order to live in harmony with them. Individuals study the Rosicrucian lessons in the privacy of their own homes on subjects such as the nature of the soul, developing intuition, classical Greek philosophy, spiritual alchemy, energy centers in the body, and self-healing techniques. The Rosicrucian tradition encourages each student to discover the wisdom, compassion, strength, and peace that already reside within each of us.

I've been told that it takes 1 year of training to be initiated into the first degree. My mentor says that the best way to describe Rosicrucianism is the scene in the movie "The Matrix" with the kid bending the spoon. He says that this order helps you to become an alchemist, a magician, the true adept, the super being, clairvoyant, psychic and powerful. My mentor told me a story about his friend (our mentor) who visited with a high ranking Rosicrucian. He saw a cupcake on the table and reached to grab it but his hand went right through the cupcake. The cupcake wasn't there. The high ranking Rosicrucian started laughing. He created the image of a cupcake with his mind. His mind was so powerful that my mentor saw the cupcake! My mentor also visited a private tomb on a Rosicrucian trip where he saw the Body of Yeshua. It was glowing green. Yeshua was supposedly a Rosicrucian,... a man who learned all the secrets... the real Jesus! My mentor says that the real Jesus "Yeshua" was an assassin! lol But if everyone knew this they probably wouldn't want to pray to him! lol

So in case you're wondering, No, the Rosicrucian Order is not a religion and does not require a specific code of belief or conduct. The cross in the picture above doesn't represent the Christian religion or Jesus Christ. The Rose Cross symbol predates Christianity. The cross symbolically represents the human body and the rose represents the individual’s unfolding consciousness. Together, the rose and cross represent the experiences and challenges of a thoughtful life well lived.

As stated in the new members manual and on the FAQ's page, "Becoming a Rosicrucian student does not in any way require you to leave your religion, join a religion, or change your religious beliefs. Rosicrucian students come from every religious denomination, and through our teachings, many find a greater appreciation of the mystical principles underlying their individual religious and philosophical beliefs. Those who do not belong to any particular religion often discover a sense of connection with a higher intelligence that was missing in their lives before. The Rosicrucian path incorporates both metaphysics and mysticism. Metaphysics is that which falls beyond the five physical senses; for example, intuition, visualization, and healing techniques. Mysticism is simply the process by which you may eventually experience direct, conscious union with the Absolute, Divine Mind, Universal Intelligence, or what some Rosicrucian students call the God of their Hearts. This is not done by adhering to specific tenets or beliefs, but by learning and applying natural laws, which over time, allow you to experience Divine or Cosmic Consciousness."

Within my first lesson the Rosicrucian order goes on to state that "a religion does not devote itself to the study of life. Rather, it is intent upon perpetuating dogmas that were established by one or more individuals. When these dogmas truly reflect the universal good, the behaviors dictated by the religion in question are valuable. When the contrary is true, they may oppose a person's physical and spiritual integrity. We cannot deny that religions, on the whole, have their origin in the revelations received by an individual through harmonizing with Divine Wisdom. However, they do not teach the method to follow so that their students may achieve this harmonization on their own. In other words, the mystical course which the Messiah or the Prophet of a religion followed to reach such illumination is not explained to the faithful. Rather, they are expected to believe what they are told about the life of this Messiah or Prophet. Mysticism, on the other hand, seeks to promote the inner awakening of each individual and to provide the spiritual means of harmonizing directly with Cosmic Consciousness. In other words, its purpose is to allow men and women to have a personal experience of the Divine without having to resort to a particular creed and without using any priesthood as an intermediary. That is why we feel that religions have an obvious usefulness, and yet they essentially constitute ways of belief, whereas a traditional Order such as AMORC is a Path to Knowledge."

Speaking of religion, I found myself especially drawn to an article in the Rosicrucian member's forum about neuroscience and spirituality. According to this article, the way we perceive and envision G-D has an effect on our brain and our personality. People who perceive G-D as a authoritarian or punishing G-D activate the limbic system of the brain, a less evolved part, that causes anger, fear and hatred. On the other hand, those who perceive G-D as a benevolent loving G-D activate the prefrontal cortex, which is a higher functioning area of the brain. The thought of a kind loving G-D also stimulates the anterior cingulate cortex which helps suppress impulses of fear and anger and evokes empathy towards others experiencing pain and suffering. Overall, the perception of a loving benevolent G-D has a much greater likelihood of improving ones overall happiness and connection with others. Also, contemplative forms of meditation decreases the activity in the parietal lobes which creates a feeling of oneness with G-D. Increased activity in the parietal lobes causes a feeling of disconnection and separation from G-D. This article goes on to state that according to neuroscience, spirituality and performing spiritual rituals may have actually been a guiding force in human evolution. Fascinating!

So there you have it... I am officially a Rosicrucian!...Again!

Jennie H is a Reiki Master Energy Healer, Co-Founder of Self Saviorz Society California Non-Profit 501(c)(3), Poet, Author and Entertainer with goals to help raise the vibration and consciousness of humanity!