Assimilation of the fruits of each past life takes place before the spirit descends to rebirth, and

consequently the character generated is fully formed and readily expressed in the subtle, mobile

mind-stuff of the Region of Concrete Thought, where the archetype of the coming dense body is

built. If the spirit seeking rebirth loved music, it will seek to build a perfect ear with the semi-circular

canals accurately placed and the ampullae very thin and sensitive to vibration; it will seek to form

 long and slender fingers wherewith to execute the heavenly chords caught by the ear. But if it

detested music, if in the past life it endeavored to close its ears to sounds of gladness or the sob

of sorrow the desire to shut itself away from others thus formed would cause it to neglect the ear

when building the archetype, and as a consequence this organ would be defective in a degree

commensurate with the neglect caused by the character of the previous existence.

   Similarly with the other senses; who drinks from a fount of

knowledge and endeavors to share his knowledge

with his neighbor, lays the foundation for powers of oratory in a future life, because the desire to

communicate knowledge would cause him to pay particular attention to the formation and strength

 of the vocal organ when he is building the archetype of his coming body. Those who, on the

other hand, endeavor to gain access to the mysteries of life for the sake of curiosity or to gratify

their own pride of intellect, neglect to build an adequate organ of expression and are therefore

 found to have weak voices or impediments in speech. In this way it is brought home to them that

 expression is a valuable asset. Although the brain of one thus afflicted may not sense the

 lesson, the spirit learns that we are strictly accountable for the use we make of our talents,

and we must pay the penalty sometime, somewhere, if we neglect to speak the word of Life to

light our brothers or sisters upon the path, when well qualified by knowledge to do so.

   Regarding lack of vision or disabilities of the organ of sight it has long been known among

 researchers that it is the effect of extreme cruelty in a past life. Recent investigations have

developed the further information that much of the eye trouble now prevalent among people is

due to the fact that OUR EYES ARE CHANGING; they are, in fact, becoming responsive to a

 higher octave of vision than before, because the ether surrounding the earth is becoming

more dense and the air is growing more rare. This is particularly true in certain parts of the

 world, southern California among others. It is noteworthy in this connection that the Aurora

 Borealis is becoming more frequent and more powerful in its effects upon the earth. In the

 early years of the Christian Era this phenomenon was almost unknown, but in the course

of time as the Christ wave which descends into the earth during part of the year, infuses

 more and more of its own life into the dead, earthly lump, the ETHERIC VITAL RAYS become

visible at intervals. Later they became more and more numerous and are now commencin

g to interfere with our electrical activities, particularly with telegraphy, which service is

 sometimes completely demoralized by these radiating streamers.

   It is also noteworthy that the disturbances are confined to wires going east and west.

If you will refer to pages eighty-five and eighty-six in THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION,

you will see it stated there that rays or lines of force from the plant group spirits radiate in all

 directions from the center of the earth towards the periphery and then outwards, passing

 through the roots of plants or trees, then upward toward the top of same.

   The currents of the animal group spirits, on the other hand, encircle the earth. The comparatively

weak and invisible currents generated by the group spirits of the plants, and the very strong

powerful rays of force generated by the Christ Spirit now becoming visible as the Aurora Borealis,

 have hitherto been of about the same nature as static electricity, while the currents generated by

 the animal group spirits and which encircle the earth may be likened to dynamic electricity

which gave the earth its power of motion in by-gone ages. Now, however, the Christ currents are

becoming more and more forceful and their static electricity is being liberated. The etheric impulse

which they give will inaugurate a new era, and the sense organs now possessed by mankind must

accommodate themselves to this change. Instead of the etheric rays which emanate from an object

bringing a reflected image to the retina of our eye, the so-called "blind spot" will be sensitized and

 we shall look out through the eye and see directly the thing itself instead of the image upon our

retina. Then we shall not only see the surface of the thing we observe, but we shall be able to see

through and through it as those who have cultivated the etheric vision do now.

   As time goes on and the Christ by His beneficent ministrations attracts more and more of the

interplanetary ether to the earth, thus making its vital body more luminous, we shall be walking

 in a sea of light, and when we learn to forsake our ways of selfishness and egotism through the

 constant contact with these beneficent Christ vibrations, we also shall become luminous. Then

the eye as it is now constituted would not be of service to us, therefore it is now beginning to

change and we are experiencing the discomfort incident to all reconstruction. It may be said

further with reference to the Aurora and its effects upon us, that these rays are radiated through

every part of the earth, which is the body of Christ, from the center to the periphery, but in the

 inhabited parts of the world these rays are absorbed by humanity as the rays of the plant group

spirits are absorbed by the flower. These rays constitute the "inner urge" which is slowly but

surely impelling mankind to adopt an attitude of altruism. They are the impregnating rays

which fructify the soul, so that eventually the immaculate conception will take place and the

 Christ will be born within each of us. When we have all thus become perfectly impregnated,

 the Christ light will begin to radiate from us. Then we shall walk in the Light as He is in the

 Light, and we shall all have Fellowship, one with another.

   Just a few words concerning collective destiny will end these lessons:

   Besides the individual destiny generated by ourselves in each life, there is also a collective

destiny which we incur by the fact that we are members of a community or a nation. It is well

 known that communities sometimes act as a whole, either for good or for evil, and it is only

reasonable that these collective actions should also have a collective effect in future lives

upon the members of that community or nation which takes part in them. And it is found that

when these acts are evil the debt thus contracted is generally liquidated in the course of

accidents, so called, on a large scale. It has been taught as a matter of fact that there are

no accidents save where man, who has the divine prerogative of initiating new causes, breaks

 into other lives and thereby causes a change in their affairs, or when by carelessness

he takes the life of a fellow-being. The latter is an accident in many cases. But such great

 cataclysms as that which we witnessed in Sicily, and such as the San Francisco earthquake,

the great European War, etc., are not accidents, but are causative acts of the community

 involved or the result of such acts in past lives. Knowing what we do of the working of the

 laws of infant mortality, we can readily realize, for instance, that as so many hundreds of

thousands of victims of the Great War have passed out upon the battle field where it is

 absolutely impossible for them to etch in the panorama of their past life, it will be necessary

 for them to pass out in the next existence during childhood, and how can this wholesale

 death come to the infants of a future age save through some epidemic or some cataclysm

 which will sweep the earth? On that hypothesis we may see in the Sicilian earthquake, San

 Francisco's destruction, the famines in Ireland and India, and similar national catastrophes,

 the workings of destiny from the past, bringing to each nation the

 fruits of its past lives and actions as a community.

   What has been said in the foregoing pages is a very slight hint of how we make and unmake

destiny. Please remember that the few hundred cases investigated do not give an adequate

 basis for a general idea of the scope of the Law, and the student is bound to find incongruities

 in individual cases regarding what has been said. Questions will undoubtedly present

 themselves regarding this, that, or the other specific case, and while it is easy enough

to investigate single cases and state what causes in one life produced certain effects in

 another life of one person, it is very different when we come to tabulate them and endeavor

to form a general law, as we have tried to do in the present work. To perform this task

 in a perfect manner would require superhuman knowledge and wisdom, and the present

 attempt may perhaps be characterized as a case of a fool rushing in where angels might

well fear to tread. Personally, the writer has gained much more knowledge than he has been

 able to communicate, but he hopes nevertheless that what has been said may be

of some little use to the student as hints concerning the great mystery of life.

   May these studies in the Web of Destiny generate in each student a keener desire to

live day by day in such a manner that there shall be more peace on earth and good will among men.