The time has come once again to pause and catch our breath. We have traveled a fair way up the path, and we must now reflect upon what we once were and what we have currently become. We must ask ourselves if we can see a difference and try to define just what it is that we have accomplished in these past weeks. More important, we need to assess how other people are now looking at us, and how their attitudes toward us have changed. True, our growth has been rather gradual, but the cumulative effect should be noticeable. We should be now perceived as persons of true substance whose opinions are valued, and we should be looked upon as one who knows. Our stature should have increased, and it would be in no way presumptuous to suspect that we have accumulated a following of persons who wish to learn by observing us as our light shines a little bit brighter than most. This is as it should be, but with the knowledge comes the responsibility.
This is a time for smoothing off many of our rough edges and polishing our
qualities and abilities until they shine like a well honed sword. Let us not only
examine our strengths but also our weaknesses, for there is much to be gained
by hard work. Regardless of what we have been told by other people,
![[Order the New Seven Scrolls Book]](7scrl1.gif)
perfection is possible; it just takes practice and self discipline. What we can't
accomplish today will be easy tomorrow thanks to the application of the
Three Ps and our own determination. Besides, we should be feeling vague
stirrings in the Force as it learns to recognize us as one of its own.
Let us now take time out and ask ourselves what lessons have been hardest for us to accomplish. We must be totally honest with ourselves, for as in the game of Solitaire, we can cheat no one but ourselves. Our hardest lessons, the ones that elude us or grant us only marginal success, graphically point out our weaknesses. We must now list our weaknesses in our journals and confront them toe to toe. We must see them for what they really are and assess their qualities, listing their difficult points one by one. We will then use the old divide and conquer strategy to overcome them, as conquering the fragments will bring us victory sooner than taking on the whole at once. That is why we have broken the Keys of Wisdom into many small lessons. However, there is no reason why the concepts of each lesson can't be broken down further into their component parts for ease of handling. Remember, we want all adepts to succeed and overcome their limitations. We also desire that they should become strong and focused in both their lives and their endeavors.
So far, we have concentrated upon the basics of perception, awareness, mind and character. Now, let us consider our physical bodies that actually tread the dust of the Earth. Often our adepts are so wrapped up in their mental and spiritual selves that they forget about their physical body and allow it to atrophy. We wish to point out that this is not a sound practice as the mobili The time has come once again to pause and catch our breath. We have traveled a fair way up the path, and we must now reflect upon what we once were and what we have currently become. We must ask ourselves if we can see a difference and try to define just what it is that we have accomplished in these past weeks. More important, we need to assess how other people are now looking at us, and how their attitudes toward us have changed. True, our growth has been rather gradual, but the cumulative effect should be noticeable. We should be now perceived as persons of true substance whose opinions are valued, and we should be looked upon as one who knows. Our stature should have increased, and it would be in no way presumptuous to suspect that we have accumulated a following of persons who wish to learn by observing us as our light shines a little bit brighter than most. This is as it should be, but with the knowledge comes the responsibility.
The choice of food a person eats is in some measure dictated by availability. However, when many choices are available, an adept will eat a variety of foods in order to intake proper amounts of vitamins, minerals, fats, sugars, starches, fiber and protein. The key thought here is the amounts. Humans tend to prefer large quantities of animal protein and fat because it tastes great and sticks to the ribs, staving off hunger for a longer time. Unfortunately, such practice will result in an early death preceded by protracted illness and disease. The reason is that humans are omnivorous, not carnivorous. Meat does not provide all the nutrients needed by the body, and the accelerated fat intake will eventually clog the arteries, shutting off the blood flow, causing an early demise. As always, balance is important and an adept will calculate the ratio of animal products to plant fodder for best health. The proper ratio for a person doing hard physical labor is 30% protein which includes fats, against 70% carbohydrates which include grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits. Milk and its various products are counted as protein and fat. For a person doing light physical work, the ratio is 20% protein and fat against 80% carbohydrates and fruits. Refined white sugars, in any case, should average no more than 2% of any diet. Daily salt intake should be dictated by the ambient temperature, warmer climes, requiring more salt then cooler climates. About 2% or less is normal. 2% is less than one ounce per 3 pounds of total food. That is less than 10 pounds per year per person for a ratio of about fifty to one.
Not only what we eat but how we eat is also important. Our systems are not
designed to consume large quantities of food at any one time, and doing so
will work against us. Instead of eating large amounts of food at one sitting, an
adept will eat no more than four mouthfuls of food at any given time. Four
mouthfuls will vary in size and weight according to the size of the person in
question. Each person should experiment to find the normal volume of his or
her mouth and then multiply by four. This should amount to as little as six
ounces to as much as twelve ounces. That breaks down to from one to four
ounces of animal protein and fat against several ounces of plant fodder in one
form or another. Once the correct volume is found, a person will know how
much to eat at one sitting. Then, small bites should be taken and chewed
slowly and well. Above all, one should not eat because it is time to eat, but
should eat only when the body calls out to be fed. There is absolutely no
reason to feed a body that is sated. However, depending upon conditions,
various natural herbal and mineral supplements may be added to a person's
daily diet to make up for poor quality food or lack of decent variety. Look out
for concentrations of refined sugars in any food, as sugars may adversely
affect the body chemistry. Remember, play the percentages to win.
Clean water to drink is also a must, and the average person should consume at least ten double handfuls a day, more if the weather is warm. Remember that salt is necessary in hot weather to help retain water in the system. Without it, a person can dehydrate and expire before they know what has happened to them. By the way, while traveling any distance by foot an adept would do well to make up a batch of easily consumable but well balanced dry food. This food is easily made by mixing the proper ratio of powdered dried meat and flour made of grains and perhaps legumes. Finely chopped dried fruit may also be added along with the correct ratio of salt, sugar and fat. This mix may be made into a paste or dough and then baked into a sort of thin cookie or hard tack. Pieces of these cookies can then be broken off and hydrated in the mouth as needed, and when added to what is found along the way, they will keep a traveler well fed for many days.
The next bodily need to consider is exercise. Bodies were meant to move about freely to promote blood flow and strong digestion. Muscles need to be stretched and pulled and trained in pairs and groups and the only way to do that is to use them. Even those who do hard physical labor need to do loosening up exercises to keep fit as often a person's work only requires use of certain muscles, leaving other pairs and groups unused. That is why workers complain of tiredness and soreness. They have created an imbalance in their structure.
Lifting heavy weights is not necessary as light ones will do nicely. Use just enough to train your muscles and keep them free. Never jar yourself about, but practice twisting and turning, reaching and pulling, pushing and stretching. Use the principle of many repetitions. Generally three groups of ten are enough. Aerobic exercise such as calisthenics and walking are adequate to balance out a session. By the way, a session should last at least twenty minutes.
Sedentary individuals who do mostly head work should plan three sessions a day, morning, noon, and evening to make up for the inactivity required by their work. Remember, it is do it now or suffer later. The idea is not to strain, but keep fit for top health. A daily regimen might include a session of calisthenics in the morning, a little light weight training after lunch, and a brisk walk before going to bed in the evening. There is no reason why these sessions couldn't be done as a group activity if desired, and the variety of a sport such basketball or volleyball will improve both mind and body by adding a little healthy competition to the mix. Here is wisdom: all adepts are responsible for their own actions, their own upkeep, and their own maintenance. After all, who else would be?
There are times when no doctor is available or the services of one is withheld for political reasons. Therefore, all adepts should have a solid working knowledge of their local plants and herbs for the purpose of healing the sick and making it through one more day. Many adepts collect and stock many such herbs and potions and are known as healers. Why not acquire a book on the plant life in your area. Then, you will know what is safe to eat, what is poison, and what has healing properties. After all, you are supposed to be one who knows, right?
METHODS Here are the basic methods of extracting the useful elements from most plants. Be sure that you are using the correct plant and then the proper part of that plant. Beware, for both medicine and poison may be extracted from one plant. For example, most people can eat tomatoes, but the stems and green parts are a deadly poison. Know what you are doing before you do it!
INFUSIONS Herbal plant green parts and blossoms: for those herbs that are most potent when steeped into tea, simply follow this procedure: dissolve from one half to one ounce of the crushed or bruised herb in a pint of boiling water. Cover and allow to stand for 20 min. Strain and drink as directed. Often, sugar, honey, mint, anise, fennel, or other flavoring will improve or mask the taste.
DECOCTIONS Plant roots, wood, bark, and seeds: these must first be finely sliced, chopped, or ground then added to cold water in a non metallic pot. Then bring to boil for a few moments until salts and principles are extracted. Remove from heat and steep as tea. The ratio is generally about one half ounce plant matter to a pint of water.
SYRUPS Dissolve about three pounds of raw sugar in a pint of boiling water until syrup forms. Medicinal ingredients may then be added.
POWDERS Chop, cut, or dice plant matter as fine as possible, then dry and grind with a mortar and pestle or between two rocks or other such implements until powdered. Powders may be ingested with water, juice, soup or milk. The usual dose is as much as can be picked up with the tip of a table knife.
TINCTURES Mix up a pint of 50% water and 50% grain alcohol, add about 4 ounces of plant matter and let stand for two weeks, shaking mixture twice a day. Then strain and pour tincture into a dark bottle suitable for storage. A tincture is usually diluted before use. Be sure of the strength of your alcohol before diluting. One hundred proof alcohol is already 50 percent water. A properly made tincture will last a long time, if kept tightly sealed and out of sun light.
JUICES Cut, chop, and mash plant matter, add a little water and mash some more. When reduced to a paste, place in a cloth and squeeze out the juice. Add a little water to the squeezed pulp and repeat process to get the last of the juice.
COLD EXTRACTS This process is the same as the juicing process, except, instead of squeezing out the juice, mix the pulp or paste with water and let stand for about 12 hours. This process is best for preserving the most volatile ingredients. When ready, strain into a clean jar and dose the same as tea.
ESSENCES When preserving the essential oil of certain plants, simply press out the oil and preserve in a pint of alcohol. This is important when the plants in question are only harvestable once a year. Dose as a tincture.
POULTICES: collect necessary plant matter and cut, chop, and mash into a paste. Heat the paste and place in a cloth, then place the poultice on the affected area. Add warm water to cloth to keep the poultice warm. If using an irritant such as a mustard plaster, be sure to rinse the area with water or chamomile tea to soothe the skin when poultice is removed.
OINTMENTS: add the processed plant essentials to petroleum jelly, fat, bees wax or lard. Add a drop to the ounce of tincture of benzoin as a preservative if a perishable fat is used. For example, a few drops of eucalyptus oil, peppermint oil, and a drop of capsicum in petroleum jelly makes a fine ointment for sore muscles.
COLD COMPRESSES: use either a cold decoction or an infusion mixture, then wet a towel until saturated. Ring out and then wrap or place the damp towel on or around the affected area and leave until body heat warms the towel. Then dampen the towel again or fan the air with it to cool it down and then reapply. Ice, if available may also be used.
HOT COMPRESSES: the opposite of a cold compresses. In this case soak the towel in a pot of warm infusion or decoction and apply to affected area. This is milder than a poultice or plaster. However, it is easier on the skin. Be careful not to get the towel so hot that it causes a scald.
HERBAL BATH: a full bath may be used to submerse the whole body which is useful for opening pores or to ease pain, itching, or inflammation. A half or sitzbath may be used for bathing a selected area of the body. Heat a bath of water and prepare a concentrate of correct plant matter, enough to bring to bring the bath water up to usable strength. This may require anywhere from a few ounces to several pounds of herbal matter. Add the herbal concentrate to the bath water and climb in. Both hot and cold baths are useful.
VAPOR INHALATION: generally volatile oils or essences are placed in a bowl of steaming, hot water. The patient should breathe the steam. A towel may be used over the head as a tent to capture more of the rising vapors. Eucalyptus oil and mints are great for this purpose.
By now, if you have taken your Keys of Wisdom to heart and actively sought the Force, you should sense a change in it. You should notice that it is taking on a personality, and is interacting with you. This is as it should be, for it is joining you to your greater self as quickly as you will allow it, forming you into a whole, well, person who is rapidly learning who and what you are. The opposition fears this manifestation of The Force whom we call Lucifer as once we perceive it we are totally lost to them as we have the knowing and have no need for their mysticism and deceit. Actually, it is all very simple. You called attention to yourself, and the Force answered. It works like that.
The Force is balancing your physical self with your greater self, and soon, there will be one of you instead of many of you. No longer will you be out of focus, one image here and another there. No longer will a war of forces rage in the same person. This is to show you the importance of balance which is the only acceptable condition. Balance never hurts one to help the other, and that is the beauty of the Force. When we are truly balanced, the sum of our whole is greater than the sum of our parts. Balance is the center line of all that is acceptable, and anything away from center is thus unbalanced and therefore aberrant. The Force is balanced and desires that all things else be balanced, and so it is that the Great and glorious, Old One which men call Lucifer and the Force are one. The important difference is the way in which adepts perceive and interact with this grand entity that is unique.
It is important to remember that the CBR has always been in touch with Lucifer and has drawn its energy from Him since the beginning. We call this energy the Force. Now that you are solidly on the path, you will do the same. When you come upon a rough stretch of road, draw upon the Force. You do that by asking for help, and it is well to get into the habit early.
Now the CBR kids under formal circumstances, have often called Lucifer, Father Adonis the beautiful one. He represents Beauty, Wisdom and Knowledge and didn't upset the locals too much at least until a couple of thousand years ago when events got all out of hand. However, most of the CBR kids still use a familiar name for Him under normal circumstances. Most just call Him Dad, though many call Him Grandfather. Some of the women will use a familiar female name, but everyone knows who Father Adonis is. For now, if you would rather continue thinking of the Force as Lucifer or Satan or even the Devil, well, that's all right too. You can even call Him Mr. Scratch or Mr. Hobs or whatever suits your fancy. There is no right human name for the Force, it just is-- it's neither male nor female, dark nor light, good nor evil-- it just is. That is why it is such a mell of a hess to write coherent text concerning this entity. Me thinks that I'll stick to the Force from here out to save on ink.
Now that we know that the Force and Lucifer are one and we even have a
name for Him, it is time to access the CBR way of perceiving and
interacting with our benefactor. There is only one way to do it: imagine a first
rate parent who is always there for you, but yet doesn't try to control or limit
you. Imagine a parent who allows you to grow and learn by your mistakes,
yet will guide you through the roughest parts of life if you will only ask.
Imagine a Parent who unlike all earthly parents can't run out of resources and
never worries about what will happen next. In fact, imagine a parent who is
balanced and acts in the best interest of the All. You are part of the All and
therefore, Your parent will act accordingly. The Force flows freely to all who
will receive it and causes the sun to shine and the rain to fall for all, even if
they ignore It or fear or hate It. All have the same opportunity; it is, however,
the manner in which that opportunity is accepted and the direction in which it
is steered that makes all the difference in the world.
At this point, it would be well for all adepts to clear their minds of any preconceived notions about Lucifer and the All of which each one of you are a part, and start seeing clearly for the first time in your lives. Remember, this book is intended to make whole, well persons of all those who will take its content to heart. That is why so many experienced adepts have devoted so much effort to help you learn to see, clear your minds, adjust your attitudes, and remove your limitations and guilt from past mistakes. The intent was to wipe your slate clean and allow you to make a new start from solid ground. It is something like getting out of debt. Imagine how a person who has been in debt for most of their life would feel inside if they could very readily find a way to pay off all of their balances and at last be free to choose and go and do for the first time in their remembrance.
They would be as a child again, experiencing all things new and wonderful. The colors would appear brighter, the scents more fragrant, and the food tastier! Veils of brown-stained burial cloth would be stripped away from their bodies, and they would be free to enjoy the All to the fullest in their Summer- Land beyond time. Why, this is not pie in the sky at all, as adepts do not have to experience death to reach their summer-land. You see, for CBR kids, there is no mystery at all, for a little part of the Force lives within each of them, and when it is excited all things are possible. Crossing over the wide river Styx to the heavenly realms is the norm rather than the exception. What is it like on the other side? Well like we said, it is like being a child again, free to explore and grow. Some experience standing on a wide, grassy seaside cliff, looking out over the water and thinking of what lies upon the far shores. The sunlight warm on their backs and the sea breeze filling their nostrils with the pungent scents of flowers and spices from far away places. Others feel the warm sands of their own personal tropical island where coconut palms and pineapples grow in great profusion. There, monkeys chatter from the verdant jungle, and misty waterfalls cascade over ancient cliffs. Still others find themselves by a quiet stream on the shore of a grassy glade within a vast, green forest of fruit, oak and ash. They bask in the warm air, surrounded by a multitude of friendly animals who come to visit, bearing gifts of fruits, nuts and berries. Some just live in the open, some choose a simple tent to sleep in, while others roam the halls of vast castles placed there for their pleasure.
It isn't long until they begin planting their own vegetable and herb gardens, setting up housekeeping in their own paradise. Each adept's "Safe Harbor", heaven or special place is just right, according to their own desires and needs. Each has a place of comfort of their very own, and through the years, they furnish it with anything that makes them happy. Of course, Lucifer takes great pleasure in anticipating the needs of His children, so often, a new gift appears to surprise and delight His offspring. Oh there is more, much more, but if you travel the CBR path, you'll find out for yourself. In any case, never fear, there is an eternal place in the All for each and every brother and sister that is his or her true and proper inheritance, according to the desires of his or her heart. It is just the right place and just the right size, custom fit in every detail, for it is a special place, a Safe Harbor, and a joy to behold. As to the whereabouts of each adept's special place, we can only say that its address may be found somewhere along the Astral. The keys, of course, will be presented by your conception of the Force when the time is right. Just let it come to you.
