SINCE we are Gods-in-the-making, possessing in potentiality all the powers of our Creator, every facet of the Spirit has to be developed until "perfection" is reached. It is stated in the Cosmo-Conception that, "The purpose of evolution is to make them (the Virgin Spirits) fully conscious and able to master the matter of all the Worlds. …We can attain such perfection and full consciousness only if we learn to meet each circumstance and crisis con­fronting us with the determination and ability to master it. In order to achieve eventual God-hood, we must first develop resourcefulness so well that, no matter what in the way of the unexpected or even calamitous occurs, we will not let it get the better of us, but, instead, turn it to good advantage both for ourselves and, more important, for others.

 

Often enough in daily life we are likely to be faced with situations which, if we let them, ,could leave us discour­aged, confused, overwhelmed, or de­feated. The easiest way of dealing with such situations often ,seems to be that of passivity - shrug our shoulders, say "what's the use," and give up and do nothing, spend our time being dejected and frustrated, or attempt nothing be­cause, thinking that we are alone, we feel that we do not have the strength or ability to change the situation.

 

Why are many people so prone to pursue this defeatist line of thought? They so readily forget Epigenesis - if they ever considered it - and it does not seem to occur to them that, no mat­ter how overwhelmingly crushing a situation may appear, it lies within their power often to alter it, and always to make the best of it in a positive way. The lower can be overcome with the higher, evil can be transformed with good, and "what is" is not always a important as "what will be." We should not lose sight of the fact that we are instruments of change and we can affect circumstances for good or ill as much as we can be affected by them. If we sit around passively lamenting our fate, or even accepting undesirable circumstances as being unavoidable because they result from "God's will" or "destiny," we will be overwhelmed and crushed by unfavorable events which we often could, with surprising ease, turn to our advantage. And eventually we will find that the more experience we have in doing this very thing, the simpler it will become to deal with "destiny" and the fewer confrontations will be "overwhelming."

 

We are destined after many millennia to become divine creative intelligences, but how do we expect ever to make even infinitesimal progress in that direction if we do not begin to "use our heads"? Situations that appear to confound or crush us should be regarded as challenges. Resourcefulness and the power of Epigenesis will not develop if not exercised, and there is no better exercise ground for them than those very "unchangeable" circumstances which threaten to upset our peace of mind, our plans, and even our very lives.

 

Not that we will be free from mistakes when we attempt to be resourceful we will not. But we learn from mistakes, often more than when our plans and projects go smoothly. And not that we will always be able to alter a given situation to our liking - again, we will not. Karma cannot be disregarded, and there are certain lessons and experiences due us because of our past actions which are unavoidable. Yet the knowledge that this is so is not an excuse to stop trying.

 

To begin with, we do not know in advance which experiences must be undergone, and the very act of trying to change something that is repugnant or a hindrance to us may be the very experience from which it is intended that we benefit. There is no need to fear, or rationalize, that by attempting to counter an existing circumstance we are flying in the face of fate, or, conversely, that there is no point in trying to alter an unpleasant situation because we are destined to be confounded with it and reap the consequences. We can be very sure that the Higher Beings helping us on our evolutionary path will see to it that those experiences which must be "inevitable" will remain inevitable no matter how we endeavor to escape. As for the rest, the circumstances of our lives are ours to alter, modify, and dis­pose of, hopefully for our own good and that of our fellow men.

 

We owe resourcefulness to others as to ourselves. Circumstances and situa­tions which overwhelm us - even those which seem personal and individualized, tailored for us alone - are not much different in essence from those affecting others. Whatever we accomplish in the way of alleviating our own burdens and redirecting adverse events into favor­able channels can naturally act as a precedent. Someone else can emulate it, in similar or modified form, to his own advantage. With emulation, repetition, and refinement, a good, workable for­mula or plan of action can in time be­come perfected, enlarged upon, and a useful tool for many. No progress, great or small, has ever taken place without resourcefulness and the initiative to do something. Where would we be today if inventors, statesmen, professional men, and even the "ordinary people" of the past had shrugged their shoulders and submitted passively to adversity or to the afflictions of "fate".

 

It is true that history is full of ex­amples of catastrophes which occurred as a result of misdirected "resource­fulness" or schemes that were brought to fruition without being properly thought through. But again, we learn from mistakes - and the fact that initiative and resourcefulness do at times bring unwanted results argues, not against practicing them at all, but for practicing them with prudence and care. Sometimes it does seem that we are confronted with situations so alarm­ing or objectionable that the desire to do anything, regardless of consequences, to alter them - change for the sake of change - is strong. And sometimes, certainly, it is even necessary to act in haste and employ a stop-gap measure or one of temporary alleviation. But it is just as important to think through a pending change and administer it cauti­ously as it is to administer it at all. All progress is change, but all change cer­tainly is not progress.

 

We learn from the Cosmo that “the life in the second heaven is an exceedingly active one, varied in many different ways. The Ego assimilates the fruits of the last earth life and prepares the environment for a new physical existence. It is not enough to say that the new conditions will be determined by conduct and action in the life just closed. It is required that the fruits of the past be worked into the World which is to be the next scene of activity while the Ego is gaining fresh physical experiences and gathering further fruit. Therefore all the denizens of the Heaven World work upon the models of the Earth, all of which are in the Region of Concrete Thought. They alter the physical features of the Earth, and bring about the gradual changes which vary its appearance, so that on each return to physical life a different environment has been prepared, wherein new experiences may be gained. Climate, flora, and fauna are altered by man under the direction of higher Beings, to be described later. Thus the world is just what we ourselves, individually and collectively, have made it; and it will be what we make it. …. Man's work in the Heaven World is not confined solely to the alternation of the surface of the Earth which is to be the scene of his future struggles in the subjugation of the Physical World. He is also actively engaged in learning how to build a body which shall afford a better means of expression. It is man's destiny to become a Creative Intelligence and he is serving his apprenticeship all the time. During his heaven life he is learning to build all kinds of bodies--the human included.”

 

Therefore, we can easily understand how important it is for us to be resourceful in the physical world, otherwise our life in the second heaven will be unconscious and we will be unable to build up good bodies and environment for our next journey into the matter.

 

Thus it becomes evident that, to be effective, resourcefulness presupposes certain other qualities without which the mere desire to "do something" is of little value. Thoughtfulness - the ability to think a planned step through in all its possible ramifications and re­sults - is one. Education, particularly in this age of constant change, cata­clysmic encounters, and rapid communi­cation and transportation, is another. One cannot easily deal with a situation of any sort if unaware of its origin, context, strength, weakness, and, when applicable, technological or scientific background. How much more profit­able, of course, to know and understand what has come before, how similar pre­vious situations and crises have been dealt with, and what successful and un­successful methods have been employed, and deduce from this background what is likely to work and not work in the present case. Education in this context, of course, refers not merely to the pri­mary and secondary formal training given to children and young people, but to a continuing process of keeping in­formed, of studying, and of reading, throughout our adult lives. Awareness goes hand in hand with education as a third quality needed if we are to be successfully resourceful. If we are aware of what is going on, and what is likely to happen, "circum­stances" are not so apt to take us by surprise or find us unprepared, and we can work ahead of time to stave off or ease undesirable situations, employing prevention rather than cure.

 

A fourth quality necessary to success­ful resourcefulness is that of compassion - that truly spiritual state of mind and emotion without which progress which is to be of ultimate human benefit cannot take place. It is of course easily possible to be resourceful without being compassionate, but whatever reforms, changes, inventions, or other phenomena may be introduced, they can only be accidentally beneficial to mankind, if at all, if those who have brought them about have not been motivated at least to a degree by compassionate considera­tions. The intensity of our feeling for our fellow men, our brotherly love for them, and our ability to put ourselves in their places and understand why and how they react to various stimuli and events, will determine the skill and success of our effort to be resourceful in the face of difficulties. The more we feel for them and the more we are con­cerned with their welfare, the harder we will try - much harder, we will even­tually discover, than when we were en­deavoring to be resourceful only for our own personal and selfish ends.

 

At this point, it is important to remember that if there is soul growth by action, all kind of actions do not contribute to this achievement. This statement will be well understood by studying the higher regions of desire world which are related to soul-light, soul-life and soul-power. Only right actions contribute to soul growth, but destructive actions may destroy all the good even soul if repeated often.

 

We have learned that When the threefold spirit had evolved the threefold body and gained control of it through the focus of Mind, it commenced to evolve the threefold soul by working from within. How much or how little soul a man has depends upon the amount of work the spirit has done in the bodies.

   As much of the desire body as has been worked upon by the Ego is transmuted into the emotional soul, and is ultimately assimilated by the human spirit, the special vehicle of which is the desire body.

   As much of the vital body as has been worked upon by the life spirit, becomes the Intellectual soul, and it builds the life spirit, because that aspect of the threefold spirit has its counterpart in the vital body.

   As much of the dense body as has been worked upon by the Divine Spirit is called the Conscious soul, and is ultimately merged in the Divine Spirit, because the dense body is its material emanation.

   The Conscious soul grows by action, external impacts, and experience.

   The Emotional soul grows by the feelings and emotions generated by actions and experiences.

 

   The Intellectual soul, as mediator between the other two, grows by the exercise of memory, by which it links together past and present experiences and the feelings engendered thereby, thus creating "sympathy" and "antipathy," which could not exist apart from memory, because the feelings resulting from experience alone would be evanescent.

 

In the in the web of destiny Max Heindel says that the threefold spirit has projected a threefold body and that the purpose of evolution is the extraction of the threefold soul from his threefold body and the amalgamation thereof with the threefold spirit. Now mark this point for this is the important crux of the whole matter, a very valuable and important piece of information which will help the student to a more definite understanding of the subject than has hitherto been given: Much is said in occult literature about "THE PATH"; but though to the initiated who already know, the statements of what it is and where it is are plentiful, this information has never before been given to the exoteric student. Paul tells us that to be carnally MINDED is death, but to be spiritual MINDED is life and peace. This is the exact truth, for the MIND, WHICH IS THE LINK BETWEEN THE SPIRIT AND THE BODY, IS THE PATH OR BRIDGE, THE ONLY MEANS OF TRANSMISSION OF SOUL TO SPIRIT. So long as man is carnally minded and turns his attention to worldly successes, cherishing as his motto proverb, "Let us eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die," all his activities are centered in the lower part of his being, the personality, and he lives and dies like the animals, unconscious of the magnetic drawings of the spirit.

 

And the question, how do we hope to be resourceful and get soul growth with a mind completely turned to lower satisfactions ?

In addition, in our endeavors to be creative and resourceful, we should re­main aware of the importance of infor­mation available to us from the study of astrology. As every Rosicrucian Fellowship student knows, of course, the more spiritually advanced an individual is, the more he is able to "rule his stars." The majority of mankind, how­ever, are still very strongly influenced by the configurations of the planets, and those of us who endeavor to work with and help them, or who try to modify existing conditions and institute new ones for their benefit, would do well to be guided by astrological considera­tions. This does not mean, as some "fanatic" astrologers are wont to do, to consult the chart for every minor step in the day's activities. But in the implementation of major projects and changes, anal in the solution of par­ticularly difficult problems, a knowledge of astrology - of which aspects will be helpful and which will hinder - is im­portant to the type of project envisioned and to the timing and methods used. Finally, and most important, is the value of prayer as an aid to our own resourcefulness. We must remember that we are not alone, no matter how isolated we may feel, and whatever we think we are accomplishing by ourselves can be augmented many times over by the spiritual assistance which will be ours if we only ask for it.

 

No matter how dismal or hopeless a situation may appear, sincere requests for divine guidance in the solution of the problem will bring help - often in unexpected ways - and we will suddenly find our­selves far more resourceful and creative in that "hopeless" situation than we could ever have imagined. If we are sincerely interested in using resource­fulness to good purpose and in institut­ing beneficial changes and reform, we can also accomplish much in the way of solving our problems when out of the physical body at night. Frequently when we think over a problem before going to sleep and ask that we may have help in solving it, we will awaken in the morning to find that a solution has presented itself, and a method or step which has eluded us in the past will suddenly appear clearly and logically.

 

Let us, then, strive to improve our ability to dominate circumstances rather than letting them dominate us. Let us be continually on the alert to better con­ditions facing us and our fellow men. Let us, with persistence and practice, endeavor to develop our powers of re­sourcefulness so well that nothing which comes our way can deter or defeat us even momentarily on our evolutionary journey "onward and upward."

 

Fox Ngandu

 

02/22/2004

 

Fox Ngandu is an employee at Mount Ecclesia.  He is from the Congo and his first language is French. He gave this talk in the Chapel on February 22, 2004.