Rosicrucian Society ™

As already said, the central mass, spiritually seen, is our visible world, composed of solids, liquids and gases. They constitute the earth, its atmosphere, and also the ether, of which physical science speaks hypothetically as permeating the atomic substance of all chemical elements. The second layer of matter is called the Desire World and the outermost layer is called the World of Thought.

A little reflection upon the subject will make clear that just such a constitution is necessary to account for facts of life as we see them. All forms in the world about us are built from chemical substances: solids, liquids and gases, but in so far that they do move, these forms obey a separate and distinct impulse, and when this impelling energy leaves, the form becomes inert. The steam[pg 056]engine rotates under the impetus of an invisible gas called steam. Before steam filled its cylinder, the engine stood still, and when the impelling force is shut off its motion again ceases. The dynamo rotates under the still more subtile influence of an electric current which may also cause the click of a telegraph instrument or the ring of an electric bell, but the dynamo ceases its swift whirl and the persistent ring of the electric bell becomes mute when the invisible electricity is switched off. The form of the bird, the animal and the human being also cease their motion when the inner force which we call life has winged its invisible way.

All forms are impelled into motion by desire:—the bird and the animal roam land and air in their desire to secure food and shelter, or for the purpose of breeding, man is also moved by these desires, but has in addition other and higher incentives to spur him to effort, among them is desire for rapidity of motion which led him to construct the steam engine and other devices that move in obedience to his desire.

If there were no iron in the mountains man could not build machines. If there were no clay in the soil, the bony structure of the[pg 057]skeleton would be an impossibility, and if there were no Physical World at all, with its solids, liquids and gases, this dense body of ours could never have come into existence. Reasoning along similar lines it must be at once apparent that if there were no Desire World composed of desire-stuff, we should have no way of forming feelings, emotions and desires. A planet composed of the materials we perceive with our physical eyes and of no other substances, might be the home of plants which grow unconsciously, but have no desires to cause them to move. The human and animal kingdoms however, would be impossibilities.