V.O.K.

E-Newsletter
It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.
- Rainer Maria Rilke

Spring 2012

+ Words from the Beloved

Guru
My children, please UPBEAT, UPBEAT, UPBEAT by prolonged meditation on the third eye and or the heart. If you do not reach at least 2 to 3 hours per day at the third eye, then you don't love the Order. Do the presence of God technique as much as you can. Bombard your chakras thru deep breathing. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. Utter the universal sound as many times as you could: Aum, aum, aum

+ Lemon Tree Song A Mystical Dissection:

An Untold Story
- Imperator
"Lemon tree, very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat."
Sung by Peter, Paul and Mary Lyrics by Wil Holt Video prepared by Soror Gayle Albano
(http://www.rosecrossohgrc.com/lemon_tree.avi)

Every time you encounter a lemon tree, you will find it so easy to emote J-VPL-K. There is something mystical about the lemon tree. The more on

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"All you have shall some day be given; Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors."
- Kahlil Gibran

(Lemon Tree from Page 1) song Lemon Tree, as popularized by Peter, Paul and Mary, narrates a sad tale. For me, there is a component of mental poisoning in its lyrics. And I find myself obliged to complete the story, unearth the mystery and divulge the hidden mystical truth or mystery of the lovely lemon tree. When I was just a lad of ten, my father said to me, "Come here and take a lesson from the lovely lemon tree." "Don't put your faith in love, my boy," my father said to me, "I fear you'll find that love is like the lovely lemon tree." The boy grew up fearing love as a result of this mental conditioning. And so the song continues One day beneath the lemon tree, my love and I did lie A girl so sweet that when she smiled the stars rose in the sky. We passed that summer lost in love beneath the lemon tree. The music of her laughter hid my father's words from me.

Mystics know that you achieve what you perceive. The boy grew up carrying the luggage fear in putting his faith in love. One day she left without a word. She took away the sun, And in the dark she left behind, I knew what she had done. She'd left me for another; its a common tale but true. A sadder man but wiser now, I sing these words to you. Allow me then to continue the untold story. The girl in the story frequently stays under the shade of the lemon tree, meditating for so many hours. Her aura was so big and anybody would be attracted to her. One day this man passed by and was so mesmerized that he fell in love with her. She continued to meditate, and meditate and meditate under the lemon tree. Until one day, she was initiated. She was enlightened the old self was gone. The song must have had a happy ending instead. Our Beloved Order may be

likened to this lovely lemon tree it is a giving tree. It gives more than we can receive. The lemon tree blossoms, even before the numerous fruits are harvested. The fruits are open to anybody interested to have them. Its structure makes the fruits easy to pick and the branches carry more fruits than they could hold. The numerous fruits are too heavy for the twigs and branches. The owner is even pleading for me to harvest as much as I could to lessen the burden of the tree. So many are benefiting from this lemon tree. In reality, the fruit is not impossible to eat its very invigorating to drink, the marmalade is so delicious, and it can be used in many recipes. Like the lemon tree, our Order is readily available and open to everyone. Availing of the membership entails numerous benefits. There are many flowers enriched with proven techniques. It is not impossible to meditate, as everyone will be guided. But sadly, just like the

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lemon tree, only few avail of its fruits. Definitely, the lemon tree is a giving tree the fruits are much enriched with Vitamin C. The hidden connotation is that this vitamin C from the lemon tree denotes CHARITY. Non-stop flowering and giving, and giving, year. My wish is for every member to be like these giving trees and exude vitamin Charity. If you love our Beloved Order, then you are comparable to the giving trees. It is always a blessing to be able to give rather than being in need. Therefore, be thankful for all the chances you are given to support our Order. When I sing this song I now change the lyrics to: And the fruit of the lemon is so heavenly to drink. Now, I always put faith in love and would always remember the lessons hidden in this song. A charitable tree is always protected by its owner. If a tree bears numerous fruits, no one would ever think to cut it. Always be charitable and for sure, you would also always be protected. Let us toss and drink lemonade to that!

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That's what I consider true generosity. You give your all, and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing.
- Simone De Beauvoir

+ Poetry Corner
Persistence
- Soror Mit

I wish to escape from this prison I built. The dull walls patterned in an illusory quilt. Alone in self-created sufferings, Blinded by temporary, worldly musings. Outside, the moon waxed and waned. Yet my shadows keep me chained. Shackles without lock and key, To emancipate, I must comprehend the mystery. I am shackled from head to foot. Movement restricted, all-covered in soot. I unlock one; I find a thousand more to be undone. The candlelight battles the looming night, Steadfast, fighting with all its might. Your Voice seems so distant, But my heart must remain persistent. Your Guiding hand though tough, keeps me steady In this long and weary journey. As Shivas divine dance completes itself, So too shall I master and conquer my Self.

and giving of fruits to the extent that many are wasted. Its charitable aspect is so striking for it is contagious. This lemon tree is planted next to a guava tree, which also does not stop giving and giving and giving fruits. It is also open for anyone interested to pick. In the same token, the owner is also pleading for us to harvest the guava fruits to ease the burden of its twigs and branches. Frater Caloy has a neighbor who owns an orange tree also a giving tree. His neighbor also begs him to harvest some orange fruits to lessen the burden for the tree. Ate Ellen, from my workplace, often brings calamansi fruits harvested from her backyard. She also owns a giving tree which bear fruits 12 months a

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Top left - Alabama lodge First row from L to R: Chris Powell (GM Vajrayana Order), Amun Ankh-El (GM OHGRC), Justin Goodloe (GM KMCE) Second row: Drue Peebles (Past Master, OHGRC), Jori Ricks (Past Master, KMCE), La Darren Rutland (Past Master, Milarespa lodge Vajrayana), Natasha Caldwell (New Master Vajrayana), Raina Johnson (New Master OHGRC), Michael Drake (New Master, KMCE) Bottom left Alabama lodge Newly Installed Masters from L to R: Natasha Caldwell (Vajrayana Order), Raina Johnson (OHGRC) Michael Drake (KMCE) Top right Los Angeles Lodge Pedz Rodulfo (GM KMCE), Caloy Ortega (GM OHGRC), Shatila Gayle Albano (Master Vajrayana), Amihan Tayag (GM Vajrayana Order), Carina Arellano (Master, OHGRC) Bottom right - Los Angeles Lodge Shatila Gayle Albano (Master Vajrayana), Amihan Tayag (GM Vajrayana Order)

Adult or somatic stem cells exist throughout the body after embryonic development and are found inside of different types of tissue. These stem cells - Mahatma Gandhi have been found in tissues such as the brain, bone marrow, blood, blood vessels, skeletal muscles, skin, and the liver. They remain in a quiescent or non-dividing state for years until activated by disease or tissue injury. Adult stem cells can divide or self-renew indefinitely, enabling them to generate a range of cell types from the originating organ or even regenerate the entire original organ. It is generally thought that adult stem cells are limited in their ability to differentiate based on their tissue of origin, but there is some evidence to suggest that they can differentiate to become other cell types.

As a rule, the mind, residing in a body that has become weakened by pampering, is also weak, and where there is no strength of mind there can be no strength of soul.

+ Prolonging the body

- Fra. Pedz
I was reading a news article about stem cell research (Japan scientists coax sperm from stem cells AFP August 5, 2011) and somehow got curious about what stem cells are. Aside from the usual techno-medical jargon, which reminds me of my fearsome Biology class in high school, one thing struck me from my readings. Here is an excerpt from medicalnewstoday.com: Self-renew indefinitely, generate a range of cell types, regenerate entire original organ. And the clincher they remain in a quiescent or non-dividing state for years until activated. These descriptions have connotations that were always in parallel to our mystical studies and have been a foundation for all our exercises and experiments. As Rosicrucian students, we have learned that the body can renew and regenerate every 40 days, and can regenerate in full every 7 years. To many of us, we do not see or feel this process since they all happen slowly and at the cellular level. Also, our daily habits, stress, unhealthy eating and drinking, and our negative thinking, prevents us from the full benefit of this regeneration process. Usually, only after disease or injury do we stop to allow the regeneration and healing to occur, and then off we go again to do the same

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We are also taught about the generative energies that circulate within our bodies, both physical and psychic. We are taught how to conserve and how to create these generative elixirs within ourselves towards immortality! What if on the physical aspect of our bodies, these techniques trigger our stem cells to start the regeneration process? That is not impossible, since these cells are in our blood, our liver, our brain, our skin, our skeletal bodies they are all over us. Think about pore breathing, what does it do to these quiescent cells when we practice pore breathing? How about the pentagram exercise, would the energies coursing through our psychic channels trigger these like lightning bolts jumpstarting our regenerative mechanisms? I suggest that all of you fraters and sorors do your own reading and research and see how the technologies of today most often have bearings to our practice we just have to think deep to analyze and inquire. In fact, there is no separating them much like the dual nature of our bodies. To understand the teachings require a sharp inquiring mind! In fact, to attain Cosmic Consciousness requires an extremely healthy mind and superhealthy body the Cosmic flow is quick and at the same time subtle, to attune to it requires the same quickness and subtleness. The objective mind is too slow to grasp it, only a when the objective mind is stopped can we unleash the power of our true selves and be in sync with the Cosmic flow. I know there will be many questions, one of which is Why prolong this life, when we have many more cycles to come? I would think it would be proper to ask ourselves, Are we sure? Are we guaranteed this? I would rather approach this as this one life to make the most out of

Spring 2012 Issue | Date

it and to prolong it for learning and service. Another question is Why prolong life? Why are we scared of death? The fear of death is probably the fear of the unknown. And who is fearing what? Is it the body? Or is it the other

(Prolonging on page 4)

behavior and activities that caused the injury in the first place. Self-renew indefinitely does not this translate to immortality? If this research proves to be true, our bodies are immortal, unless it is damaged by accident or disease beyond the bodys ability to repair itself. If we push this concept further, all living things are immortal, since they are built from the same basic stems cells as human bodies. Of course, immortality without population control will be a greater problem, so is the reckless exploitation of natural resources for greed and egotistic reason. For example, amassing wealth with no benefit to others. Immortality and the current human situation will not work! I was driving down one of the busy freeways of Los Angeles and I cannot help notice the sheer number of automobiles of all sizes, shapes and types on both sides of the road. A question popped in my mind, What are we humans doing? We are burning resources for the sake of our egos and worse, for the sake of what we perceive as our image. Our perception of ourselves has now been transformed into what we own, what we have, the numbers in our bank accounts, etc. We have gone down the path of futility where we look for ourselves outside of ourselves. But this will be on another discourse for another time. Going back to the phrase, they remain in a quiescent or nondividing state for years until activated is there a way to activate this regeneration process without disease or injury acting as catalysts? As Rosicrucian students we have been taught to do this pore breathing, the pentagram, exercise, charging the water we drink, absorbing the suns transforming energy, etc.

Points for meditation:

Am I the body?
thing that dies when the body dies the Ego? The pain of transition is what I myself fear the most. But in my periods of clarity, I see that death is just part of the flow of the Cosmic, just as birth is. Many humans, due to their religious upbringing, or where they settled in their spiritual practices, have accepted that this life is to prepare for the afterlife. What afterlife is, I can only guess or I may have some concepts about it just like all of you. But I know Life and each of us knows Life! We are living and breathing Life every minute, every second that is enough for now. Let us conscientiously practice, regenerate and activate our physical and psychic bodies. It is our vehicle to Illumination. Let us make the most, learn, practice and serve in this one existence we are experiencing together.

Golden age is here. God is more manifested in everything. NOW is the best time to be initiated to the higher levels.
- GuruJi

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I am the searing heat of the sand. I am the flame of the heart. I am the engulfing wave. I am the soil regenerated. Rejoice, behold the Light.
- Leaves of Morya

Spring 2012 Issue | Date

+ Respecting Nature
I would like to start this discourse with the Hermetic adage as above, so below. As you know, this means that the microcosm and macrocosm are nothing but reflections of each other. Lewis Thomas once said, I have been trying to think of the earth as a kind of organism, but it is no go. I cannot think of it this way. It is too big, too complex, with too many working parts lacking visible connections. The other night, driving through a hilly, wooded part of southern New England, I wondered about this. If not like an organism, what is it like, what is it most like? Then, satisfactorily for that moment, it came to me: it is most like a single cell. The Earth is just like a cell and man has become its infection. Through the ages man has destroyed ALL that the Cosmic loves and exploited the benefactions of nature, which was given to ALL for free. More people die from polluted water every year than from all forms of violence, including war, the U.N. stated in a report that highlights the need for clean drinking water. When the Cosmic speaks of LOVE, it is DIVINE LOVE that includes LOVING NATURE, which is RESPECTING NATURE. Where will we live if we destroy our home? Man at times is worse than an animal. When you study animals, they never kill without reason. Usually, they only kill for food or when threatened, but man kills for sport. Mans ego tricks him into believing that he owns land. How can you buy or own anything that the Cosmic awarded to ALL. Man even charges for the consumption of water. Next, man might think it is a great idea to charge others for breathing air. For man to expand spiritually, he must meditate and always hold in his heart DIVINE LOVE, which is love for the Comic and all its creations love for ALL. How can man return to the source if he does not ensconce his being with divine love? Just a few months into 2010, and Mother Nature has delivered a slew of costly and deadly natural disasters. From the catastrophic Haiti and Chilean earthquakes, to the U.S. blizzard that descended on Washington, D.C., which was mostly just inconvenient by comparison. Two thousand ten is already above average in terms of natural-disaster casualties. Waters and land polluted, oxygen levels lowering in the oceans

- Fra. I-Em Hotep Ka

and the list goes on. The planet Earth is sick because man is not in tune with nature. Man is like a disease on this planet and Mother Nature uses its white blood cells or natural disasters to rid itself of these viruses and bacteria. If you study ancient history, you will find out that it always repeats itself. When man gets out of hand, nature removes him. So join me on this spiritual revolution to become Homo Spiritus (spiritual man) and leave behind our behavior of carnal man. I would like to end our discourse with a poem that reflects the above content. Whoremongers Man has tried to pimp Earth The place he once respected and called home Now he boastfully calls it his whore Penetrating her womb in search of oil

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(Whoremongers from page 6)
She does not want to be raped anymore Her wind runs from polluted skies Hoping someone hears her cries Soliciting her He even dumps trash on her Greed causing animals to be poached Part of her spirit has been broke But there is hope Nature is our mommy She has spanked man with earthquakes and tsunamis Landslides and floods Man has repaid with his blood Crying for no more tornados And no more hurricanes Now man finally realizes the Earths pain

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+ More words from the Beloved Guru

Attain COLD COMPASSION, WARM WISDOM. Love is the universal rule. Serve, serve, serve humanity. Be protected. Stay in the pineal/pituitary or the heart chakra. The only safe places are your third eye and heart. When you do evil, my radiations bounce back and therefore would not reach you. Remember what Jesus said: "Love God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your soul." Exercise, exercise, exercise. Sweat out your toxins.

+ World Convention Updates

Congratulations to Cagayan De Oro Lodge for the successful hosting of the 2012 Rosicrucian and Vajrayana World Convention. Much gratitude to Frater Virgilio Manuel. We thank you for your warm reception, world class presentations, and very orderly conducting of the convention. Pictures will be available mid-May in the V.O.K. Worlds Photostream on Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/63848506@N07/sets/

+ Call for artwork, articles and poetry

My thrice-called pupil! Through your art, carry My Word, bring joy to the hearts of the world. Hunter, walk in victory. - Leaves of Morya Fellow chelas, we invite you to send your submissions to: intl_rosicrucianorder_ohgrc@yahoo.com 2012. Rosicrucian Order, Order of the Hermetic Gold and Rose+Cross. All right reserved.