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Age of Innovations

Please check out this Blog on the new world: [link]

The Aquarian Age will see the blending of religion and science to such a degree that a religious science and a scientific religion will be formed--each respecting and learning from the findings of the other--which will promote health, happiness, and enjoyment of life.

"The Age of Freedom, Technology (especially electricity), and the Water Bearer"
There is an expectation that the Aquarian age will usher in a period of group consciousness. Marcia Moore and Mark Douglas claim that the lighting up of the earth artificially by electricity is a sign of the Age of Aquarius. Furthermore they see the appearance of dictators, self expression and the rising influence of the entertainment industry are linked to the Aquarian age by its opposite sign Leo.

Popular culture In popular culture, the expression "Age of Aquarius" usually refers to the heyday of the hippie and New Age movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The 1967 successful musical Hair, with its opening song "Aquarius" and the memorable line "This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius", brought the Aquarian Age concept to the attention of a huge worldwide audience. This New Age phenomenon is seen by some astrologers to be marked by the conjunction of the planet Uranus, ruler of the sign Aquarius, and the coming age, with Pluto, ruler of the masses, bringing radical change, in the 1960s. However, as the song relates, it is only considered by astrologers as the "dawning" or "cusp" of the Age, with the full strength of the Age not occurring until some time in the future.

Traits of Aquarius such as being 'humanitarian' but at the same time 'unemotional' may indicate to the emergence of active intergovernmental organisations and global solidarity movements. Alternatively, it may indicate individual spiritual awakening en masse, which although is not organized, spontaneously forms a worldwide 'humanitarian' yet 'unemotional' era of spiritual clarity and spontaneous friendship.

Every human being bears a higher man within himself besides what we may call the work-a-day man. This higher man remains hidden until he is awakened. And each human being can himself alone awaken this higher being within himself." --Rudolf Steiner

Once we have been awakened to the realization of our own self-worth, we can no longer be put down or subjugated by others. No longer are we willing to play the role of pawn, or slave, or doormat.

Once we have been awakened to our own ability to think and make decisions and realize that we can make just as good decisions as anyone else, then no longer will we be happy when others make decisions for us. We want to be free to decide what we will think, what we will believe, where we will go, and what we will say and do.

Once we realize our own potential, we want to be free to develop this potential. We want to be free to try new things which we [and perhaps others] have never tried before, even if this involves taking risks, sometimes making mistakes, and sometimes failing and starting over again.

Because we must live on the Earth with other people, it is logical that we must treat others as we would like others to treat us. As we want others to respect us, we must respect others. We must keep in mind that everyone is a child of God and has value and potential. As we want freedom to make our own decisions, we must likewise allow others to run their own lives. As we want to be free to try new things, we must allow others to do likewise.

I. The Aquarian View of Self

The Aquarian influence stimulates self-awareness. It can lead us to say such things as, "I am a child of God"; "I have value and potential"; "I can do anything if I work at it long enough and hard enough"; and "I can think for myself and make decisions."

Once we have been awakened to the realization of our own self-worth, we can no longer be put down or subjugated by others. No longer are we willing to play the role of pawn, or slave, or doormat.

Once we have been awakened to our own ability to think and make decisions and realize that we can make just as good decisions as anyone else, then no longer will we be happy when others make decisions for us. We want to be free to decide what we will think, what we will believe, where we will go, and what we will say and do.

Once we realize our own potential, we want to be free to develop this potential. We want to be free to try new things which we [and perhaps others] have never tried before, even if this involves taking risks, sometimes making mistakes, and sometimes failing and starting over again.

Because we must live on the Earth with other people, it is logical that we must treat others as we would like others to treat us. As we want others to respect us, we must respect others. We must keep in mind that everyone is a child of God and has value and potential. As we want freedom to make our own decisions, we must likewise allow others to run their own lives. As we want to be free to try new things, we must allow others to do likewise.

II. Laws Versus Freedom

The creation of laws for the governing of people is a Piscean concept. Individual freedom is the Aquarian ideal. As we make the transition from the Piscean to the Aquarian Age, we need to consider the role of laws in society and to give serious thought as to the degree to which we are ready to get along without laws.

Laws may save people the trouble of thinking. Perhaps this is why people consult books on rules of etiquette in order to learn how to give a wedding reception or a baby shower, or to determine what to do at a funeral. Saving people from thinking may, however, be equivalent to stagnating their intellectual growth. Just as a person's muscles and bones would deteriorate if their body were encased in a plaster cast, so also will a person's creative, reasoning, and problem-solving powers deteriorate if their actions are bounded on all sides by laws.

Another problem with laws is that they are set up to govern certain situations, and if the situations change, the laws may no longer be suitable. This is illustrated in the story of Epaminandas.

One day Epaminandas was sent to the market to buy butter. The day was very hot and on the way home the butter melted. When he got home his mother said, "When you bring butter from the market you should wrap it in cool leaves, and when you pass the stream on the way, dunk it in the stream to cool it."

The next week his mother sent him to market to get a puppy dog. He bought the puppy dog, wrapped it in leaves, and when he got to the stream, he dunked it in the stream and almost drowned it. When he got home his mother said, "That is no way to treat a puppy dog. You should tie a string around its neck and lead it home."

The next week she sent him to market to get a loaf of bread. Epaminandas bought the loaf of bread, tied a string around it, and dragged it home.

If a child is taught only laws, and not how to think for himself, what will he do when he grows up and encounters an ever-changing world which contains situations and problems which his parents and teachers never dreamed of?

If one person commands six hundred people, and that one makes a mistake, then the mistake is repeated six hundred times. If each person thinks for himself, at least each mistake is done only once.

Laws can give direction to the ignorant. If a child does not understand the dangers of a hot stove, it can be given the law, "Don't touch," to keep it from burning itself. If, however, the ignorance is removed, the law is no longer needed. Once the child understands what excessive heat can do to human flesh, commands are no longer needed to keep it away from a hot stove. In the Aquarian Age, people will be expected to develop the Light within so that they will not need laws to guide them.

Another problem with laws is that laws can produce right action, but they cannot generate right feeling. A manager in a store can require his employees to say polite things to the customers, but he cannot make the employees put love and meaning into their words. Laws can require people to fulfill contracts, but they cannot make people put devotion into their work. Laws can make people behave properly in situations in which they think they may get caught and punished, but they cannot make people feel responsible for their own actions. Laws can keep people from stealing from one another and may even force them to give to one another [through taxation and welfare programs], but laws cannot force people to love, respect, and care about one another. In fact, laws may hinder the development of right feeling. If we have our attention focused on obeying laws, we may not let our hearts lead the way. If a law forces us to contribute to some worthy cause, the heart may not bother developing any true concern or sympathy for the cause. J. Krishnamurti wrote [in "The First and Last Freedom," p. 92]: "A mind that conforms to any pattern of authority, inward or outward, cannot be sensitive."

A baby cannot learn to walk if it is kept tied in bed due to fear that it might fall down. If the baby is to learn to walk it must practice, and practice will involve many stumbling efforts and many falls. In the Aquarian Age, all will be expected to develop the Light within to guide their own lives. People can only learn to guide their lives if they are free to make their own choices and if they can see the consequences of their choices, and thence learn from their experiences. People, given freedom, may make mistakes. But this is the only way to learn how to exercise choice and to grow. Only as the people within a society grow will the society as a whole grow.

III. Creativity

Radiations from Aquarius stimulate creativity. We will be able to respond to these radiations most effectively if we make a conscious effort to do so. Let us, therefore, give some attention to the attitudes and techniques which facilitate creativity.

The creative person judges his creations by his own standards, not by what others think. He is guided by his inner vision, not by external praise or criticism.

The creative person has the courage to be different and to try something new. As long as someone feels that he has to think and act like everyone else, he will not be creative. As long as one is afraid to do anything different because someone might laugh at him, he will not be creative. The creative person generally has a sense of humor and enjoys putting ideas together in unusual and playful ways and often will laugh along with others at the novelty of his creations.

The creative person views common things from new perspectives, asks questions that others would not think of asking, and then seeks answers. He clears old ideas out from his mind and looks at the world with the eyes of a child. He lets himself forget that he has been told that shoes chould be put on the feet and starts wondering what would happen if he put on the feet and starts wondering what would happen if he put them on his hands. He lets himself forget that when you write, the pen should move and the paper moved. He is not satisfied with the statement learned in school that, "It is gravity which pulls things toward the Earth," and he starts wondering what gravity is and how the pulling is really accomplished. He has seen clothes hung out to dry many times, but he can still look at them with wonder and ask how the water manages to jump off the clothes.

The creative person can imagine something he has not seen or which he has only partially seen. He can imagine how the room would look if the furniture were rearranged, or how a new tool could make a job easier to do, or what chain of events could have produced some observed end results.

The creative person is flexible in his thinking. He is willing to change his thinking as the situations change. He is willing to consider many different solutions to a given problem. When one proposed solution is shown not to work, he is willing to try some other.

IV. Universal friendship

The spiritual radiations from Aquarius promote individual, scientific invention, and the desire to understand peoples whose backgrounds are diversely different from one's own. As people learn to respond to the Aquarian radiations and develop their ability to exercise their own initiative and to make decisions for themselves, they will break away from the guidance of National Spirits. [Each nation on Earth, with the exception of the United States, is assigned an archangel who guides the people of that nation in the development of language, customs, and religion, and who fosters patriotism and a feeling of unity among the people of the nation. Such an archangel is called a National Spirit. See Max Heindel, "The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception," pp. 352-360.] The National Spirits will no longer be able to lead the citizens of a nation to act as one body, as each citizen will decide for himself what is right and what is wrong.

As the Aquarian radiations promote scientific invention, communication between peoples will be facilitated. Already, telephones, radios, televisions, and satellites make it almost as easy to talk to, to see, and to hear people on the other side of the Earth as the neighbor next door; automobiles, buses, trains, and airplanes make it possible to travel to any place on Earth within a few hours.

As the Aquarian radiations promote the desire to understand peoples of diversely different backgrounds, people will learn to open their minds up so that they can comprehend how others think and feel. When people know how the members of another nation think and feel, sympathies will be aroused and the sufferings of any will be felt by all. Then Universal Friendship will be ushered in, and all of humanity will be able to unite in one Brotherhood. Then all will be able to sya, along with Thomas Paine, "My country is the world, and my religion is to do good."

If we wish to help the world move toward the Aquarian Age, then we will do what we can to promote Universal Friendship. What specific actions can we take? First of all, we can learn about people of other nationalities. We can try to understand their needs, their hopes and fears, what they consider important, and what they like or dislike. Radio and television, newspapers, books, and movies can be sources of information. Traveling can give first-hand information. Learning the languages of other peoples also can aid us in seeing things from their point of view an in establishing bonds of sympathy.

Secondly, we can learn to view world problems from a universal point of view. When international trade is being considered, we should not concern ourselves with the question, "What will be most advantageous to our country?" but rather should seek to find what will be of most benefit to the world as a whole. When international disputes are being considered, the question should not be, "What is just and right in this case?"

Thirdly, when disasters occur in various parts of the world, other nations can lend a hand to help rebuild the lives of the victims. When any peoples are suffering for any reason, others can help the sufferers to get back on the road to well-being and prosperity.

Fourthly, we can avoid mentioning or recognizing differences in race or nationality. When dealing with people, we should strive to ignore their exteriors [body structures, clothes, customs, languages] and to focus our attention on their divine essences hidden within, which belong to no race or nation.

V. Etheric vision

The matter of the physical world exists in seven states, which are given the following names: solids, liquid, gas, chemical ether, life ether, light ether, and reflecting ether. The matter takes on an increasing rate of vibration as it goes from one state to another. The particles of matter in the solid have the lowest rate of vibration. If a solid is heated, energy is given to the molecules, which speeds up their rate of vibration, which makes them break the solid bonds, and the solid turns into a liquid. If a liquid is heated, the molecules speed up their rate of vibration and gain enough energy to jump out of the liquid and fly around freely, thus forming a gas. Likewise, the rates of vibration of gaseous molecules can be increased so that they can be broken into atoms and then into elementary particles [protons, neutrons, electrons, photons, mesons, gravitons, et cetera]. The matter then is in the chemical ether state. Further increases in rates of vibration will take the matter into the life ether, light ether, and reflecting ether states.

In the course of evolution, man developed the ability to see solids and liquids. Visible light rays [which are rays of chemical ether] reflect off of objects, enter the eye, and form an image inside the eye in the retina.

With the approach of the Aquarian Age, the atmosphere of the Earth is changing. Christ, by his beneficent ministrations, is attracting more and more of the interplanetary ether to the Earth so that the ether surrounding the Earth is becoming more dense and also more luminous. Our eyes are correspondingly being changed to accommodate these new conditions. The so-called "blind spot" in the eye will be sensitized, and we will look out through the eye and see directly the thing itself instead of the image upon our retina. A higher rate of vibration will be perceived than before, and the etheric realm will become visible. This opening up of etheric vision will bring about a number of changes in what people think and do.

1] Etheric sight is similar to the X-ray in that it enables its possessor to see through all objects, but it is much more powerful and renders everything as transparent as glass. When people have etheric vision, they will not be able to hide anything behind a wall. Nor will people be able to keep secret their past actions, because in the reflecting ether are stored pictures of all recent events on Earth, which can be read by anyone who has etheric vision.

This inability to hide anything may act as a deterrent to crime. It will also require people to develop the inner strength to let others see them as they really are [without any "fronts" or "masks"] and to develop the sympathy to accept others as they really are [whatever their weaknesses.]

2] Etheric sight will permit people to see the inner workings of their own or others' bodies, so that it will be easy to see a morbid growth, a dislocation, or a pathological condition of the body. Thus, diagnosis of disease will be greatly facilitated.

3] In addition to a dense physical body, composed of solids, liquids, and gases], everyone has a vital body composed of ether. With etheric vision, people will gain the ability to see vital bodies.

People will be able to see that in order to function the vital body needs nourishment, and that uncooked fruits and vegetables and milk contain vital fluid [chemical and life ethers] that helps nourish the vital body, whereas cooked foods contain little vital fluid.

People will be able to see how vital fluid from the Sun enters the human body by way of the spleen, courses along the nerves of the body, and then passes outward through the pores of the body, carrying with it poisons and preventing with its outrushing current the entrance of microbes from the outside. People will be able to see when the flow of vital fluid is hindered [by poisons in the body or by psychological states] and thus will be able to work to remove the hindrances.

People will be able to see that sleep is one means of getting the vital body repaired and cleared out. Another method is by means of bathing. Water absorbs vital fluid, so that during bathing old, impure vital fluid is removed, which can then be replaced by clean vital fluid. People will be able to see that a healer, by laying damp hands on a patient, can draw out impure vital fluid from the patient. The healer can, by an act of will, not let this impure fluid travel up his arms any farther than his elbows and then can wash his hands in running water to get rid of it.

People will be able to see that sick people can absorb vital fluid from the people around them and may use this fact for helping the sick people, although precautions may need to be taken that the ones providing the vital fluid spend enough time away from the sick people to replenish their own supply of vital fluid.

Being able to see the vital fluid will facilitate people's learning how to direct its flow using thought power. Being able to direct the flow of vital fluid will facilitate healing.

4] When people have etheric vision they will be able to see the state of evolution of their vital bodies, and will be able to see directly how various thoughts, feelings, and actions promote or hinder the growth of the vital body [just as now we can study how various things affect the beauty and skill of the dense physical body.] People may then pay more attention to soul development.

5] When people have etheric vision, they will be able to see the physically dead. People will be able to see that when the heart stops beating the vital body leaves the dense body. As the dense body decays, the chemical and life ether parts of the vital body decay. If the dense body is cremated, the chemical and life ether parts break up at the time of cremation. [Cremation should not be done during the first three-and-one-half days after the heart stops beating.

The light and reflecting ether parts of the vital body are retained, however, for a longer time. Thus, when etheric sight has been developed, the physically dead will be visible to the living and able to communicate with them for some time subsequent to death. Then death will no longer be as fearful [for those dying] or as mournful [for those left on Earth] as it was when the dead could not be seen by the living.

6] When people gain etheric vision, they will be able to see the myriads of beings who inhabit the Etheric Region. Nature spirits [gnomes, elves, fairies, undines, sylphs, and salamanders] and the angels will become visible. Because the nature spirits are lower in the evolutionary chain than humans, if humans command them they must obey. Thus, humans may get nature spirits to serve them. Angels are above humans in the evolutionary chain and are not to be commanded by humans, but communication may be set up and cooperation on some things may be achieved. Angels work to facilitate the propagation and growth of plants, animals, and humans on Earth. Thus, farmers and others who breed and care for plants and animals might find communication with the angels beneficial.

VI. Aquarian Conflict Resolution

In the Piscean Age, people lived under the rulership of various dictators [kings, priests, et cetera] who laid down laws and proclaimed what was true and right. Because everyone within a given society followed one dictator, there was little internal conflict. If two people within the society did have disagreement, they could go to the dictator, and he would say who was right and who was wrong and what needed to be done to resolve the conflict. Thus things proceeded peacefully and harmoniously.

In the Aquarian Age, there will be no one head who will make all the decisions and do all the thinking. Instead, everyone will do his own thinking. When many people, starting with different perspectives and exercising their creativity in different ways, are all independently generating opinions, a wide variety of opinions will arise, and some of these opinions may be in conflict with one another. The big problem that then arises is to find how to resolve these conflicts. There is no one authority to go to who provides the people with a definitive resolution of their conflicts. Somehow, they must work together to resolve the conflicts themselves.

The Aquarian Age is an age of reason. Thus, reason will be put to use in conflict resolution. Let us take a rational look at the causes and cures of conflicts.

People have needs and desires for physical necessities [food, clothing, shelter], safety, companionship, esteem and self-actualization [independent creativity, attainment of personal goals]. If the needs and desires of one person overlap those of another, then there is conflict.

One situation in which needs and desires will overlap is when there is overpopulation: too many people and not enough food, clothing, and shelter. The remedy for this type of conflict is to decrease the number of people within a given region and/or work to increase the amount of food, clothing, and shelter available.

Another situation in which conflicts occur is when one person oversteps his rightful needs and desires and thus infringes on the needs and desires of others. This occurs when one person steals from another; when one threatens or hurts another without cause; when one tries to force his presence or his ideas on another; when one tries to get ahead of another; or when one tries to dominate another. When this type of conflict occurs, people need to be led to the point where they can see things from the other person's point of view, so that they can recognize that everyone has needs and desires and that if people are to live harmoniously together, one cannot fulfill his needs and desires at the expense of another.

Some people may overstep their rightful needs and desires but may know of no other way to fulfill their own needs and desires. It may be useless to tell a starving man that it is not right to steal. In such cases, the only way to overcome the problem may be to help the person in need find a way to fulfill his needs. Give the starving man some food and a job, and he may not steal any more. If a person feels a need to be listened to and is annoying everyone with his talking, the problem may not be resolved by telling him to "shut up." Rather, someone may need to listen to the talker until his need to be heard has been fulfilled. If a person feels a need for esteem and consequently goes around bragging, the problem is not solved by telling the bragger that he hasn't done half the things which he claims to have done. Rather, the problem may be resolved if the bragger's need for esteem is fulfilled by giving him sufficient praise so that he begins to feel appreciated.

Sometimes the needs and desires of two people may be in conflict because one is overstepping his rights, but the one who is being imposed upon may avoid conflict simply by releasing some of his own desires. This is an especially useful technique in trivial matters that aren't worth fighting over. It may also be done when one person loves another and is willing to take burdens upon himself in order to make things easier for the other. It is dangerous to do this, however, unless one really releases one's own desires. Otherwise, inner tensions may be built up. John Powell notes in "Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am?," p. 64, "[If something you do bothers me], I may be tempted to believe that it would be better not to mention it. Our relationship will be more peaceful....So I keep it inside myself, and each time you do your thing my stomach keeps score ...2...3...4 ...5...6...7...8...until one day you do the same thing that you have always done and all hell breaks loose. All the while you were annoying me, I was keeping it inside and somewhere, secretly, learning to hate you. My good thoughts were turning to gall. When it finally erupted in one great emotional avalanche, you didn't understand. You thought that this kind of reaction was totally uncalled for."

Some people have conflicting needs and desires within themselves. They simultaneously want two things that cannot be had at the same time. They may want both to go out and stay at home. They may want both to eat lots of food and to stay slim. They may wany both to get their work done and to play. Such people tend to be in conflict with all their associates because anything anyone does for them is in some way wrong. Such conflicts can only be resolved by helping the person to recognize that he cannot have his cake and eat it too and by encouraging him to clarify for himself his goals and what he needs to do to attain these goals.

Another situation in which conflicts occur is when people think that their needs and desires conflict due to misunderstandings. Note that the needs and desires are not in actual conflict, so that removal of the misunderstanding removes the conflict. Misunderstandings can be removed by communication. The communication needs to be continous, frank, and two-way. Both sides need to listen to one another without prejudice so that resonance can occur and produce sympathy and understanding between the parties. Each party needs to be able to see the other party's point of view. People need to learn to see the thought behind the words used to express the thought, so that two people with the same thought do not continue to argue over words.

Many people are in conflict, not because there is any current overlapping of needs or desires, but because there was some past overlapping, and they hold on to the memory of the past. Such conflicts would readily disappear and cease to plague people if they would just let go of their memories of wrong and forgive their debtors. Some people do not want to forgive their debtors because they feel that justice has not beem carried out. Man, however, is a poor judge of justice, because, although he may have seen certain incidents, he is not able to see the complete picture with all the various debits and credits involved [some of which may have occurred in previous lifetimes on Earth.] Thus, man might better leave justice to the hands of God. Saint Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans [12:19], "Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, `Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'"

Conflicts, if they are to be resolved, must be approached with the right attitude. It is important to realisze that people can disagree and still be friends. Disagreements should be kept at the intellectual level and not allowed to degenerate into emotional attacks of one person on another. Calling names never settled a disagreement. But it may be possible to settle a disagreement if each side calmly tells the other side its reasons for its beliefs. If one side sees what they consider to be an error in the reasoning of the other side, they may gently point out what they think is wrong and why. If the other side accepts the correction, then they can modify their opinion. If they see an error in the first side's reasoning, they can gently give a rebuttal. During such a discussion it is highly important that both sides listen to what the other side is saying, remain open to new ideas, and remain flexible and capable of changing if some opinion is shown to be unsupportable.

Also, when trying to resolve conflicts, people should try to view the overall situation and try to determine what will be best for everyone involved, not just look at how they can gain the greatest advantage for themselves. Principles of justice should be applied uniformly to all involved, not just to some and not to others. The human rights of all should be respected.

VII. Justice In The Aquarian Age

The Aquarian Age is an age of individual freedom and responsibility. The Aquarian Age government will not make laws that try to control the individual lives of people. Thus, there will be nothing in this category of laws in need of enforcing.

If people are trained in resonance [so that they can understand and sympathize with other people] and in logic, then they need only one law to govern their interpersonal relations, namely, "Do unto other as you would have them do unto you." In the Aquarian Age, people will recognize that just as they do not want anyone else interfering with their personal freedom, so also they must not interfere with anyone else's personal freedom. People will recognize that just as they do not want others stealing their possessions, injuring them or dominating their lives, so also they must not steal from others, or injure or dominate others. When conflicts between people do arise, the people themselves should get together, discuss their differences, try to learn to understand the other's point of view, and look at the situation objectively, so that they can themselves arrive at a mutually satisfactory solution to their problems.

If some members of the society do persist in interfering with other people's freedoms, and if negotiations between the people involved do not resolve the problem, then the government may be forced to arrest the accused, carry on a trial, and [if guilt is proven] detain the criminal. In trials, the reconstruction of what happened will be facilitated by the development of etheric vision, which will enable people to read the records of the past which are stored in the reflecting ether. [See Max Heindel, "The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception," pp. 37-38.] Socratic questioning may be used to lead one who has been convicted to feel the hurt he caused others, to recognize the consequences of his actions, and to recognize what led him to commit the crime and what alternative ways he could have used to handle the situation. The convict may also be led to decide what he can do in order to make restitution for his criminal actions and then be encouraged to carry out the restitutions.

People commit crimes because their selfish desires [greed, anger, lust, desire for excitement, et cetera] are in control. If through Socratic questioning they can be induced to look at situations intellectually, and to consider the feelings and rights of others and consequences of actions, then their minds and Egos can gain control of their lives, and crime will no longer be attractive.

<3 End of the Aquarian Age.

Description
Age of Innovations

Please check out this Blog on the new world: [link]

The Aquarian Age will see the blending of religion and science to such a degree that a religious science and a scientific religion will be formed--each respecting and learning from the findings of the other--which will promote health, happiness, and enjoyment of life.

"The Age of Freedom, Technology (especially electricity), and the Water Bearer"
There is an expectation that the Aquarian age will usher in a period of group consciousness. Marcia Moore and Mark Douglas claim that the lighting up of the earth artificially by electricity is a sign of the Age of Aquarius. Furthermore they see the appearance of dictators, self expression and the rising influence of the entertainment industry are linked to the Aquarian age by its opposite sign Leo.

Popular culture In popular culture, the expression "Age of Aquarius" usually refers to the heyday of the hippie and New Age movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The 1967 successful musical Hair, with its opening song "Aquarius" and the memorable line "This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius", brought the Aquarian Age concept to the attention of a huge worldwide audience. This New Age phenomenon is seen by some astrologers to be marked by the conjunction of the planet Uranus, ruler of the sign Aquarius, and the coming age, with Pluto, ruler of the masses, bringing radical change, in the 1960s. However, as the song relates, it is only considered by astrologers as the "dawning" or "cusp" of the Age, with the full strength of the Age not occurring until some time in the future.

Traits of Aquarius such as being 'humanitarian' but at the same time 'unemotional' may indicate to the emergence of active intergovernmental organisations and global solidarity movements. Alternatively, it may indicate individual spiritual awakening en masse, which although is not organized, spontaneously forms a worldwide 'humanitarian' yet 'unemotional' era of spiritual clarity and spontaneous friendship.

Every human being bears a higher man within himself besides what we may call the work-a-day man. This higher man remains hidden until he is awakened. And each human being can himself alone awaken this higher being within himself." --Rudolf Steiner

Once we have been awakened to the realization of our own self-worth, we can no longer be put down or subjugated by others. No longer are we willing to play the role of pawn, or slave, or doormat.

Once we have been awakened to our own ability to think and make decisions and realize that we can make just as good decisions as anyone else, then no longer will we be happy when others make decisions for us. We want to be free to decide what we will think, what we will believe, where we will go, and what we will say and do.

Once we realize our own potential, we want to be free to develop this potential. We want to be free to try new things which we [and perhaps others] have never tried before, even if this involves taking risks, sometimes making mistakes, and sometimes failing and starting over again.

Because we must live on the Earth with other people, it is logical that we must treat others as we would like others to treat us. As we want others to respect us, we must respect others. We must keep in mind that everyone is a child of God and has value and potential. As we want freedom to make our own decisions, we must likewise allow others to run their own lives. As we want to be free to try new things, we must allow others to do likewise.

I. The Aquarian View of Self

The Aquarian influence stimulates self-awareness. It can lead us to say such things as, "I am a child of God"; "I have value and potential"; "I can do anything if I work at it long enough and hard enough"; and "I can think for myself and make decisions."

Once we have been awakened to the realization of our own self-worth, we can no longer be put down or subjugated by others. No longer are we willing to play the role of pawn, or slave, or doormat.

Once we have been awakened to our own ability to think and make decisions and realize that we can make just as good decisions as anyone else, then no longer will we be happy when others make decisions for us. We want to be free to decide what we will think, what we will believe, where we will go, and what we will say and do.

Once we realize our own potential, we want to be free to develop this potential. We want to be free to try new things which we [and perhaps others] have never tried before, even if this involves taking risks, sometimes making mistakes, and sometimes failing and starting over again.

Because we must live on the Earth with other people, it is logical that we must treat others as we would like others to treat us. As we want others to respect us, we must respect others. We must keep in mind that everyone is a child of God and has value and potential. As we want freedom to make our own decisions, we must likewise allow others to run their own lives. As we want to be free to try new things, we must allow others to do likewise.

II. Laws Versus Freedom

The creation of laws for the governing of people is a Piscean concept. Individual freedom is the Aquarian ideal. As we make the transition from the Piscean to the Aquarian Age, we need to consider the role of laws in society and to give serious thought as to the degree to which we are ready to get along without laws.

Laws may save people the trouble of thinking. Perhaps this is why people consult books on rules of etiquette in order to learn how to give a wedding reception or a baby shower, or to determine what to do at a funeral. Saving people from thinking may, however, be equivalent to stagnating their intellectual growth. Just as a person's muscles and bones would deteriorate if their body were encased in a plaster cast, so also will a person's creative, reasoning, and problem-solving powers deteriorate if their actions are bounded on all sides by laws.

Another problem with laws is that they are set up to govern certain situations, and if the situations change, the laws may no longer be suitable. This is illustrated in the story of Epaminandas.

One day Epaminandas was sent to the market to buy butter. The day was very hot and on the way home the butter melted. When he got home his mother said, "When you bring butter from the market you should wrap it in cool leaves, and when you pass the stream on the way, dunk it in the stream to cool it."

The next week his mother sent him to market to get a puppy dog. He bought the puppy dog, wrapped it in leaves, and when he got to the stream, he dunked it in the stream and almost drowned it. When he got home his mother said, "That is no way to treat a puppy dog. You should tie a string around its neck and lead it home."

The next week she sent him to market to get a loaf of bread. Epaminandas bought the loaf of bread, tied a string around it, and dragged it home.

If a child is taught only laws, and not how to think for himself, what will he do when he grows up and encounters an ever-changing world which contains situations and problems which his parents and teachers never dreamed of?

If one person commands six hundred people, and that one makes a mistake, then the mistake is repeated six hundred times. If each person thinks for himself, at least each mistake is done only once.

Laws can give direction to the ignorant. If a child does not understand the dangers of a hot stove, it can be given the law, "Don't touch," to keep it from burning itself. If, however, the ignorance is removed, the law is no longer needed. Once the child understands what excessive heat can do to human flesh, commands are no longer needed to keep it away from a hot stove. In the Aquarian Age, people will be expected to develop the Light within so that they will not need laws to guide them.

Another problem with laws is that laws can produce right action, but they cannot generate right feeling. A manager in a store can require his employees to say polite things to the customers, but he cannot make the employees put love and meaning into their words. Laws can require people to fulfill contracts, but they cannot make people put devotion into their work. Laws can make people behave properly in situations in which they think they may get caught and punished, but they cannot make people feel responsible for their own actions. Laws can keep people from stealing from one another and may even force them to give to one another [through taxation and welfare programs], but laws cannot force people to love, respect, and care about one another. In fact, laws may hinder the development of right feeling. If we have our attention focused on obeying laws, we may not let our hearts lead the way. If a law forces us to contribute to some worthy cause, the heart may not bother developing any true concern or sympathy for the cause. J. Krishnamurti wrote [in "The First and Last Freedom," p. 92]: "A mind that conforms to any pattern of authority, inward or outward, cannot be sensitive."

A baby cannot learn to walk if it is kept tied in bed due to fear that it might fall down. If the baby is to learn to walk it must practice, and practice will involve many stumbling efforts and many falls. In the Aquarian Age, all will be expected to develop the Light within to guide their own lives. People can only learn to guide their lives if they are free to make their own choices and if they can see the consequences of their choices, and thence learn from their experiences. People, given freedom, may make mistakes. But this is the only way to learn how to exercise choice and to grow. Only as the people within a society grow will the society as a whole grow.

III. Creativity

Radiations from Aquarius stimulate creativity. We will be able to respond to these radiations most effectively if we make a conscious effort to do so. Let us, therefore, give some attention to the attitudes and techniques which facilitate creativity.

The creative person judges his creations by his own standards, not by what others think. He is guided by his inner vision, not by external praise or criticism.

The creative person has the courage to be different and to try something new. As long as someone feels that he has to think and act like everyone else, he will not be creative. As long as one is afraid to do anything different because someone might laugh at him, he will not be creative. The creative person generally has a sense of humor and enjoys putting ideas together in unusual and playful ways and often will laugh along with others at the novelty of his creations.

The creative person views common things from new perspectives, asks questions that others would not think of asking, and then seeks answers. He clears old ideas out from his mind and looks at the world with the eyes of a child. He lets himself forget that he has been told that shoes chould be put on the feet and starts wondering what would happen if he put on the feet and starts wondering what would happen if he put them on his hands. He lets himself forget that when you write, the pen should move and the paper moved. He is not satisfied with the statement learned in school that, "It is gravity which pulls things toward the Earth," and he starts wondering what gravity is and how the pulling is really accomplished. He has seen clothes hung out to dry many times, but he can still look at them with wonder and ask how the water manages to jump off the clothes.

The creative person can imagine something he has not seen or which he has only partially seen. He can imagine how the room would look if the furniture were rearranged, or how a new tool could make a job easier to do, or what chain of events could have produced some observed end results.

The creative person is flexible in his thinking. He is willing to change his thinking as the situations change. He is willing to consider many different solutions to a given problem. When one proposed solution is shown not to work, he is willing to try some other.

IV. Universal friendship

The spiritual radiations from Aquarius promote individual, scientific invention, and the desire to understand peoples whose backgrounds are diversely different from one's own. As people learn to respond to the Aquarian radiations and develop their ability to exercise their own initiative and to make decisions for themselves, they will break away from the guidance of National Spirits. [Each nation on Earth, with the exception of the United States, is assigned an archangel who guides the people of that nation in the development of language, customs, and religion, and who fosters patriotism and a feeling of unity among the people of the nation. Such an archangel is called a National Spirit. See Max Heindel, "The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception," pp. 352-360.] The National Spirits will no longer be able to lead the citizens of a nation to act as one body, as each citizen will decide for himself what is right and what is wrong.

As the Aquarian radiations promote scientific invention, communication between peoples will be facilitated. Already, telephones, radios, televisions, and satellites make it almost as easy to talk to, to see, and to hear people on the other side of the Earth as the neighbor next door; automobiles, buses, trains, and airplanes make it possible to travel to any place on Earth within a few hours.

As the Aquarian radiations promote the desire to understand peoples of diversely different backgrounds, people will learn to open their minds up so that they can comprehend how others think and feel. When people know how the members of another nation think and feel, sympathies will be aroused and the sufferings of any will be felt by all. Then Universal Friendship will be ushered in, and all of humanity will be able to unite in one Brotherhood. Then all will be able to sya, along with Thomas Paine, "My country is the world, and my religion is to do good."

If we wish to help the world move toward the Aquarian Age, then we will do what we can to promote Universal Friendship. What specific actions can we take? First of all, we can learn about people of other nationalities. We can try to understand their needs, their hopes and fears, what they consider important, and what they like or dislike. Radio and television, newspapers, books, and movies can be sources of information. Traveling can give first-hand information. Learning the languages of other peoples also can aid us in seeing things from their point of view an in establishing bonds of sympathy.

Secondly, we can learn to view world problems from a universal point of view. When international trade is being considered, we should not concern ourselves with the question, "What will be most advantageous to our country?" but rather should seek to find what will be of most benefit to the world as a whole. When international disputes are being considered, the question should not be, "What is just and right in this case?"

Thirdly, when disasters occur in various parts of the world, other nations can lend a hand to help rebuild the lives of the victims. When any peoples are suffering for any reason, others can help the sufferers to get back on the road to well-being and prosperity.

Fourthly, we can avoid mentioning or recognizing differences in race or nationality. When dealing with people, we should strive to ignore their exteriors [body structures, clothes, customs, languages] and to focus our attention on their divine essences hidden within, which belong to no race or nation.

V. Etheric vision

The matter of the physical world exists in seven states, which are given the following names: solids, liquid, gas, chemical ether, life ether, light ether, and reflecting ether. The matter takes on an increasing rate of vibration as it goes from one state to another. The particles of matter in the solid have the lowest rate of vibration. If a solid is heated, energy is given to the molecules, which speeds up their rate of vibration, which makes them break the solid bonds, and the solid turns into a liquid. If a liquid is heated, the molecules speed up their rate of vibration and gain enough energy to jump out of the liquid and fly around freely, thus forming a gas. Likewise, the rates of vibration of gaseous molecules can be increased so that they can be broken into atoms and then into elementary particles [protons, neutrons, electrons, photons, mesons, gravitons, et cetera]. The matter then is in the chemical ether state. Further increases in rates of vibration will take the matter into the life ether, light ether, and reflecting ether states.

In the course of evolution, man developed the ability to see solids and liquids. Visible light rays [which are rays of chemical ether] reflect off of objects, enter the eye, and form an image inside the eye in the retina.

With the approach of the Aquarian Age, the atmosphere of the Earth is changing. Christ, by his beneficent ministrations, is attracting more and more of the interplanetary ether to the Earth so that the ether surrounding the Earth is becoming more dense and also more luminous. Our eyes are correspondingly being changed to accommodate these new conditions. The so-called "blind spot" in the eye will be sensitized, and we will look out through the eye and see directly the thing itself instead of the image upon our retina. A higher rate of vibration will be perceived than before, and the etheric realm will become visible. This opening up of etheric vision will bring about a number of changes in what people think and do.

1] Etheric sight is similar to the X-ray in that it enables its possessor to see through all objects, but it is much more powerful and renders everything as transparent as glass. When people have etheric vision, they will not be able to hide anything behind a wall. Nor will people be able to keep secret their past actions, because in the reflecting ether are stored pictures of all recent events on Earth, which can be read by anyone who has etheric vision.

This inability to hide anything may act as a deterrent to crime. It will also require people to develop the inner strength to let others see them as they really are [without any "fronts" or "masks"] and to develop the sympathy to accept others as they really are [whatever their weaknesses.]

2] Etheric sight will permit people to see the inner workings of their own or others' bodies, so that it will be easy to see a morbid growth, a dislocation, or a pathological condition of the body. Thus, diagnosis of disease will be greatly facilitated.

3] In addition to a dense physical body, composed of solids, liquids, and gases], everyone has a vital body composed of ether. With etheric vision, people will gain the ability to see vital bodies.

People will be able to see that in order to function the vital body needs nourishment, and that uncooked fruits and vegetables and milk contain vital fluid [chemical and life ethers] that helps nourish the vital body, whereas cooked foods contain little vital fluid.

People will be able to see how vital fluid from the Sun enters the human body by way of the spleen, courses along the nerves of the body, and then passes outward through the pores of the body, carrying with it poisons and preventing with its outrushing current the entrance of microbes from the outside. People will be able to see when the flow of vital fluid is hindered [by poisons in the body or by psychological states] and thus will be able to work to remove the hindrances.

People will be able to see that sleep is one means of getting the vital body repaired and cleared out. Another method is by means of bathing. Water absorbs vital fluid, so that during bathing old, impure vital fluid is removed, which can then be replaced by clean vital fluid. People will be able to see that a healer, by laying damp hands on a patient, can draw out impure vital fluid from the patient. The healer can, by an act of will, not let this impure fluid travel up his arms any farther than his elbows and then can wash his hands in running water to get rid of it.

People will be able to see that sick people can absorb vital fluid from the people around them and may use this fact for helping the sick people, although precautions may need to be taken that the ones providing the vital fluid spend enough time away from the sick people to replenish their own supply of vital fluid.

Being able to see the vital fluid will facilitate people's learning how to direct its flow using thought power. Being able to direct the flow of vital fluid will facilitate healing.

4] When people have etheric vision they will be able to see the state of evolution of their vital bodies, and will be able to see directly how various thoughts, feelings, and actions promote or hinder the growth of the vital body [just as now we can study how various things affect the beauty and skill of the dense physical body.] People may then pay more attention to soul development.

5] When people have etheric vision, they will be able to see the physically dead. People will be able to see that when the heart stops beating the vital body leaves the dense body. As the dense body decays, the chemical and life ether parts of the vital body decay. If the dense body is cremated, the chemical and life ether parts break up at the time of cremation. [Cremation should not be done during the first three-and-one-half days after the heart stops beating.

The light and reflecting ether parts of the vital body are retained, however, for a longer time. Thus, when etheric sight has been developed, the physically dead will be visible to the living and able to communicate with them for some time subsequent to death. Then death will no longer be as fearful [for those dying] or as mournful [for those left on Earth] as it was when the dead could not be seen by the living.

6] When people gain etheric vision, they will be able to see the myriads of beings who inhabit the Etheric Region. Nature spirits [gnomes, elves, fairies, undines, sylphs, and salamanders] and the angels will become visible. Because the nature spirits are lower in the evolutionary chain than humans, if humans command them they must obey. Thus, humans may get nature spirits to serve them. Angels are above humans in the evolutionary chain and are not to be commanded by humans, but communication may be set up and cooperation on some things may be achieved. Angels work to facilitate the propagation and growth of plants, animals, and humans on Earth. Thus, farmers and others who breed and care for plants and animals might find communication with the angels beneficial.

VI. Aquarian Conflict Resolution

In the Piscean Age, people lived under the rulership of various dictators [kings, priests, et cetera] who laid down laws and proclaimed what was true and right. Because everyone within a given society followed one dictator, there was little internal conflict. If two people within the society did have disagreement, they could go to the dictator, and he would say who was right and who was wrong and what needed to be done to resolve the conflict. Thus things proceeded peacefully and harmoniously.

In the Aquarian Age, there will be no one head who will make all the decisions and do all the thinking. Instead, everyone will do his own thinking. When many people, starting with different perspectives and exercising their creativity in different ways, are all independently generating opinions, a wide variety of opinions will arise, and some of these opinions may be in conflict with one another. The big problem that then arises is to find how to resolve these conflicts. There is no one authority to go to who provides the people with a definitive resolution of their conflicts. Somehow, they must work together to resolve the conflicts themselves.

The Aquarian Age is an age of reason. Thus, reason will be put to use in conflict resolution. Let us take a rational look at the causes and cures of conflicts.

People have needs and desires for physical necessities [food, clothing, shelter], safety, companionship, esteem and self-actualization [independent creativity, attainment of personal goals]. If the needs and desires of one person overlap those of another, then there is conflict.

One situation in which needs and desires will overlap is when there is overpopulation: too many people and not enough food, clothing, and shelter. The remedy for this type of conflict is to decrease the number of people within a given region and/or work to increase the amount of food, clothing, and shelter available.

Another situation in which conflicts occur is when one person oversteps his rightful needs and desires and thus infringes on the needs and desires of others. This occurs when one person steals from another; when one threatens or hurts another without cause; when one tries to force his presence or his ideas on another; when one tries to get ahead of another; or when one tries to dominate another. When this type of conflict occurs, people need to be led to the point where they can see things from the other person's point of view, so that they can recognize that everyone has needs and desires and that if people are to live harmoniously together, one cannot fulfill his needs and desires at the expense of another.

Some people may overstep their rightful needs and desires but may know of no other way to fulfill their own needs and desires. It may be useless to tell a starving man that it is not right to steal. In such cases, the only way to overcome the problem may be to help the person in need find a way to fulfill his needs. Give the starving man some food and a job, and he may not steal any more. If a person feels a need to be listened to and is annoying everyone with his talking, the problem may not be resolved by telling him to "shut up." Rather, someone may need to listen to the talker until his need to be heard has been fulfilled. If a person feels a need for esteem and consequently goes around bragging, the problem is not solved by telling the bragger that he hasn't done half the things which he claims to have done. Rather, the problem may be resolved if the bragger's need for esteem is fulfilled by giving him sufficient praise so that he begins to feel appreciated.

Sometimes the needs and desires of two people may be in conflict because one is overstepping his rights, but the one who is being imposed upon may avoid conflict simply by releasing some of his own desires. This is an especially useful technique in trivial matters that aren't worth fighting over. It may also be done when one person loves another and is willing to take burdens upon himself in order to make things easier for the other. It is dangerous to do this, however, unless one really releases one's own desires. Otherwise, inner tensions may be built up. John Powell notes in "Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am?," p. 64, "[If something you do bothers me], I may be tempted to believe that it would be better not to mention it. Our relationship will be more peaceful....So I keep it inside myself, and each time you do your thing my stomach keeps score ...2...3...4 ...5...6...7...8...until one day you do the same thing that you have always done and all hell breaks loose. All the while you were annoying me, I was keeping it inside and somewhere, secretly, learning to hate you. My good thoughts were turning to gall. When it finally erupted in one great emotional avalanche, you didn't understand. You thought that this kind of reaction was totally uncalled for."

Some people have conflicting needs and desires within themselves. They simultaneously want two things that cannot be had at the same time. They may want both to go out and stay at home. They may want both to eat lots of food and to stay slim. They may wany both to get their work done and to play. Such people tend to be in conflict with all their associates because anything anyone does for them is in some way wrong. Such conflicts can only be resolved by helping the person to recognize that he cannot have his cake and eat it too and by encouraging him to clarify for himself his goals and what he needs to do to attain these goals.

Another situation in which conflicts occur is when people think that their needs and desires conflict due to misunderstandings. Note that the needs and desires are not in actual conflict, so that removal of the misunderstanding removes the conflict. Misunderstandings can be removed by communication. The communication needs to be continous, frank, and two-way. Both sides need to listen to one another without prejudice so that resonance can occur and produce sympathy and understanding between the parties. Each party needs to be able to see the other party's point of view. People need to learn to see the thought behind the words used to express the thought, so that two people with the same thought do not continue to argue over words.

Many people are in conflict, not because there is any current overlapping of needs or desires, but because there was some past overlapping, and they hold on to the memory of the past. Such conflicts would readily disappear and cease to plague people if they would just let go of their memories of wrong and forgive their debtors. Some people do not want to forgive their debtors because they feel that justice has not beem carried out. Man, however, is a poor judge of justice, because, although he may have seen certain incidents, he is not able to see the complete picture with all the various debits and credits involved [some of which may have occurred in previous lifetimes on Earth.] Thus, man might better leave justice to the hands of God. Saint Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans [12:19], "Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, `Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'"

Conflicts, if they are to be resolved, must be approached with the right attitude. It is important to realisze that people can disagree and still be friends. Disagreements should be kept at the intellectual level and not allowed to degenerate into emotional attacks of one person on another. Calling names never settled a disagreement. But it may be possible to settle a disagreement if each side calmly tells the other side its reasons for its beliefs. If one side sees what they consider to be an error in the reasoning of the other side, they may gently point out what they think is wrong and why. If the other side accepts the correction, then they can modify their opinion. If they see an error in the first side's reasoning, they can gently give a rebuttal. During such a discussion it is highly important that both sides listen to what the other side is saying, remain open to new ideas, and remain flexible and capable of changing if some opinion is shown to be unsupportable.

Also, when trying to resolve conflicts, people should try to view the overall situation and try to determine what will be best for everyone involved, not just look at how they can gain the greatest advantage for themselves. Principles of justice should be applied uniformly to all involved, not just to some and not to others. The human rights of all should be respected.

VII. Justice In The Aquarian Age

The Aquarian Age is an age of individual freedom and responsibility. The Aquarian Age government will not make laws that try to control the individual lives of people. Thus, there will be nothing in this category of laws in need of enforcing.

If people are trained in resonance [so that they can understand and sympathize with other people] and in logic, then they need only one law to govern their interpersonal relations, namely, "Do unto other as you would have them do unto you." In the Aquarian Age, people will recognize that just as they do not want anyone else interfering with their personal freedom, so also they must not interfere with anyone else's personal freedom. People will recognize that just as they do not want others stealing their possessions, injuring them or dominating their lives, so also they must not steal from others, or injure or dominate others. When conflicts between people do arise, the people themselves should get together, discuss their differences, try to learn to understand the other's point of view, and look at the situation objectively, so that they can themselves arrive at a mutually satisfactory solution to their problems.

If some members of the society do persist in interfering with other people's freedoms, and if negotiations between the people involved do not resolve the problem, then the government may be forced to arrest the accused, carry on a trial, and [if guilt is proven] detain the criminal. In trials, the reconstruction of what happened will be facilitated by the development of etheric vision, which will enable people to read the records of the past which are stored in the reflecting ether. [See Max Heindel, "The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception," pp. 37-38.] Socratic questioning may be used to lead one who has been convicted to feel the hurt he caused others, to recognize the consequences of his actions, and to recognize what led him to commit the crime and what alternative ways he could have used to handle the situation. The convict may also be led to decide what he can do in order to make restitution for his criminal actions and then be encouraged to carry out the restitutions.

People commit crimes because their selfish desires [greed, anger, lust, desire for excitement, et cetera] are in control. If through Socratic questioning they can be induced to look at situations intellectually, and to consider the feelings and rights of others and consequences of actions, then their minds and Egos can gain control of their lives, and crime will no longer be attractive.

<3 End of the Aquarian Age.