Serie A brev nr 28

Magazine Overview

This issue of Brevcirkeln, identified as Series A, Letter No. 28, is a spiritual and philosophical treatise authored by Anna-Lisa Helle. The cover prominently features the headline "GUDS RIKE - SANNINGENS RIKE" (God's Kingdom - Kingdom of Truth), accompanied by a biblical quote from Matthew 16:26: "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul?"

The Crisis of Modern Humanity

The article begins by describing the immense psychological pressure modern humans face, leading to inner tension, rootlessness, dissatisfaction, and a constant search for meaning. This is linked to a rise in neuroses, suicides, and crime, with hospitals and prisons being overcrowded. The author notes the paradox of a welfare society with few happy people, suggesting that a divided house cannot stand and something new must emerge.

The root cause of this widespread suffering is identified as "mental splitting" – divisions within marriages, between peoples and nations, and within the church. The church, it is argued, has failed to provide a spiritual home for modern humanity, becoming a vessel feared to be broken rather than cherished for its content.

Critique of Religious Doctrine

The text criticizes the confused mixture of Judaism, Heathenism, and Paulinism found in modern churches, often mixed with personal interpretations of master teachings. It questions the logic of a doctrine that simultaneously promotes the dualistic principle of God versus Devil and the principle of unity in Christ's love. The author points out the difficulty in reconciling the concept of a loving God with the existence of suffering in the world, and the inconsistency of preaching a merciful God while also describing a wrathful, judgmental deity.

Specifically, the article lists five points of contention regarding the church's portrayal of God:
1. God is presented as both good and merciful, and cruel and bloodthirsty.
2. Christ is presented as a "gift and an offering, pleasing to God," despite Christ himself distancing himself from the old pagan sacrificial practices.
3. Those who do not believe in Jesus are condemned to eternal torment and damnation, regardless of whether they had the opportunity to hear his message.
4. Baptism is presented as a universal requirement, regardless of spiritual development.
5. God is depicted as being appeased by prayers to change eternal laws, and looking down with favor on those born with original sin, which makes it impossible for them to overcome sin on their own.

The author suggests that these conflicting ideas make it impossible for many to grasp the spiritual principle of God, the World Soul, or higher consciousness, leading some to become atheists. This lack of a coherent life philosophy results in a difficulty for modern humans to believe in themselves, their fellow humans, ideals, or norms.

The Materialistic Worldview and its Consequences

Replaced by religion, the materialistic worldview posits that only the movement of atoms is real, devaluing human actions and blurring the lines between good and evil, beauty and ugliness. This leads to the death of ethics, morality, and art, as only technique remains when the spirit is dead. The article cites the example of art critics praising a chimpanzee's paintings as a sign of this decline.

When science could not weigh or measure immortality, it was removed from consideration. Humans, feeling freed from duty and responsibility, sought happiness by indulging their drives and impulses. However, this did not lead to the expected happiness. The removal of belief in another world created a void, and the freedom gained felt worthless. This void is filled with an overwhelming sense of anxiety, a defining characteristic of modern humanity, which fears old age, loneliness, death, and a life without meaning.

The Emergence of a New Era

This pervasive anxiety, leading to nervous breakdowns, is seen as a potential catalyst for a new life philosophy. The article suggests that modern humans are beginning to realize that spiritual harmony is the prerequisite for happiness. Signs point towards a new era where this harmony is becoming a living reality.

Christ's message to his first disciples was one of "beauty, joy, health, strength, and peace," offering hope for a better world. His teachings were simple and unpretentious, freeing people from negative emotions like envy, malice, intolerance, and hatred. He conveyed esoteric truths about life and death through simple parables, emphasizing that God is love. The challenge lies in whether people can accept this truth, not just as scripture, but as a living reality.

Understanding God and Reality

The text asserts that it is possible and necessary to understand the spiritual principle. When the Master speaks of making disciples "fishers of men," he refers to future generations who will develop in the hidden realm to emerge in the spiritual spring of a new life. The author presents this as the leadership of a new age, whose truths must be accepted to avoid impending doom.

The dualistic religious worldview, with its opposing concepts of God and the world, leads to constant conflict. Materialism, in its attempt to solve this, denies the spiritual world. To understand God as love, one must be free of presuppositions and recognize the subjectivity of the mind. Everyone lives in their own world, perceiving things differently, like looking through "colored glasses."

The Subjectivity of Perception and Spiritual Development

The difference in human perception and development levels is evident when people interpret art. A simple person sees formlessness, while an artist perceives idea combinations linked to a world of ideas. These three levels of perception represent stages of spirituality, with higher stages offering greater satisfaction and freedom from the ego.

The modern notion that all humans are equal is challenged, pointing to physical differences. However, the inherent worth of every human being is considered self-evident. The perception of matter and spirit is entirely dependent on one's psychological state. The more spirit one perceives, the less matter, and vice versa. This is linked to the Beatitude: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Material perception is seen as a limitation, a mental blindness.

The Nature of Matter and Spirit

Matter and spirit are inversely related. When one increases, the other decreases. The existing world is perceived in varying degrees of obscurity. Seeing a situation "materially" means seeing it as impure or mixed. Seeing it "spiritually" means seeing it in its entirety, pure and complete. Truth is the unadulterated presentation of reality, freed from "incorrectness."

The Symbolism of the Earth and Space

Using a metaphor from Russian engineer P.D. Ouspensky, the text illustrates the concept of matter and spirit. The Earth represents matter, floating in an infinite space representing the absolute cause, Spirit, or God. Everything comes from this space as rays, but is refracted by matter or "fog." The atmosphere refracts rays with little distortion, while the Earth's mass causes stronger refraction and limitation. Rays from above (the "heavenly world") are perceived as spiritual things, but are limited by matter. Powers from below ("darkness") are ideas or rays from God seen through "thick fog" or the compact material mass.

Everything from the higher consciousness is holy and perfect, but is perceived as limited and incomplete. The real problem is not escaping suffering but purifying it by turning from the visible to the invisible. Psychological processes like sublimation are key. "Salvation" is a change of mind, a transformation of consciousness.

The Problem of Evil

Spiritual impulses are perceived as material drives and lusts, pulling towards the earth, matter, and death. This is the problem of evil. The author defines evil as a lack of understanding of the good, a negation. It is a perversion of the concept of God, a lie. Since God is truth, the opposite is a lie, which paradoxically contains a truth, as only truth exists.

Light and Darkness, Love and Hate

To understand that only love and truth exist, the analogy of light and darkness is used. Dimming a light source gradually leads to a point where the room is considered dark. Darkness is not an opposite substance but a lesser degree of light, or the absence of light. Similarly, concepts like ignorance, weakness, order, and chaos are relative.

Love is the driving force behind human actions, even in its basest forms (greed, addiction). Absolute lovelessness would mean indifference, stagnation, and death. Christ's example of absolute love, achieved by transcending the ego, is presented as the ultimate truth.

Hate is not indifference but an interest, often a self-assertion driven by love for one's own ego. The persecution of those with different beliefs stems from a conviction of being right and a desire to impose that view, sometimes through violence.

The Mental Nature of Reality

Since reality is mental, all evil is mental and psychological. It can only be overcome through the development of the psyche. While physical methods were once used, they only temporarily suppress problems rooted in the ego's perception of itself as separate from the world.

The true enemy is the ego. Thoughts of evil create suffering. The realization that evil is merely the manifestation of the power of good, and the understanding of Christ's warning against causing offense, are crucial.

The World Formula

F.L. Rawson's "World Formula" is presented: There is only Spirit, God, and the spiritual world, which is a permanent existence of harmony and beauty. Matter is a temporary, dissolving "fog" that limits this spiritual world. The process of matter dissolving is the "dissolution of the fog," or salvation. All external circumstances are expressions of the inner state. Realizing the laws of good leads to peace, harmony, joy, and creativity.

Inner vs. Outer Reality

Life is governed by thought-laws, often operating unconsciously. Nothing is truly created anew; rather, it is the unfolding of the fourth dimension. The inner world is inherently good and perfect. The limitations of our current development stage prevent us from perceiving this truth directly, seeing it only as if in a "mirror."

The Path to Truth

The solution to all problems, personal and societal, lies in changing oneself – advancing towards truth. The other world that believers dream of is here, obscured by the "fog." To achieve "God's Kingdom," this fog must lift. This is marked by higher spiritual development, characterized by foresight, understanding, compassion, and divine knowledge – the signs of a true spiritual leader.

Our lives are shaped by our thoughts. Each person is the architect of their own destiny. The path to spiritual development involves right thinking, a change of mind, and the inner growth that leads to the realization of "God's Kingdom, which is within you."

Stages of Understanding and Experience

This truth can be conveyed through various means, but it is only realized when experienced. Three stages are necessary: understanding, experience, and empathy. When these occur simultaneously, it is a revelation. Empathy is the highest capacity, allowing one to become one with the universe.

Plotinus, an ancient philosopher, described three grades of knowledge: meaning, science (logic), and illumination (intuition). Intuition is the highest faculty.

Spiritual knowledge is not a worldly ceremony but an inner process. It is often preceded by a period of suffering that humbles the individual, making them receptive. When the solution to a problem is found, initiation occurs, and the person is "born again," their inner light illuminating the path.

Conclusion

Each person receives and expresses divine power according to their level of development. The realization of God's Kingdom depends on the individual's willingness to grow and experience it. The issue concludes with a copyright notice for A-L Helle.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are the spiritual crisis of modern humanity, the limitations of materialism and dualistic religious doctrines, the importance of subjective perception, and the path to spiritual enlightenment through inner transformation and the realization of God as love and truth. The editorial stance is critical of conventional religious and materialistic viewpoints, advocating for a personal, experiential approach to spirituality and a belief in an inherent goodness of the inner world, obscured by mental limitations and external distractions.