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THE PRISONER OF SAN JOSE: HOW I ESCAPED FROM ROSICRUCIAN MIND CONTROL

NINE: Second Initiation: Atrium

AMORC introduces this initiation by reminding the neophyte he is about to enter through the door to the second room in the atrium. After the third room, initiates will be able to enter the symbolic temple of the rosae crucis.

I thought, at this point, how by arriving at this initiation, I was getting closer to obtaining my financial freedom to help my mother and sisters. I was, at this point, under a misapprehension about my step forward. Instead, it was just another step in the long process of losing my freedom of choice. My illusion of advancement culminated in fatal decisions that removed me as an active agent in supporting my family. Worse, owing to this loss of judgment, I failed to be there for my mother when she needed me in her final days.

In the second initiation, AMORC commands you to make room for tranquil time and collect the materials you need for this initiation, including a table, mirror, and candle.

AMORC further claims that the purpose of this initiation is to purify all thoughts that keep you from living in perfect harmony with the "God of your heart and of your understanding."

The Concept of the Egregore

In the initiation, AMORC makes the claim that their order is empowered by an egregore, or group consciousness, consisting of both incarnated beings and non-incarnate spiritual masters. The sincere members, who study and practice the teachings of the monographs, receive a spiritual energy or influx from the egregore, which provides the student with regenerative energy and a sense of direction.

Instruction

The neophyte is asked to sit and contemplate the burning incense for a moment. AMORC repeats its claim that while meditating, the masters of the rosy cross provide the member with an influx of spiritual energy. AMORC tells its members to make good use of it, not only for themselves but for the sake of others.

Gradually the inspiration of the invisible masters will show you how to use the energy of your body to treat others and yourself when you or they are sick.

After making a sign of supplication before closing this session, the candles are then ceremoniously extinguished and the sanctum broken down. The neophyte is asked to write a report of this initiation and send it to headquarters.

Atrium 2, Monograph 1

Section Neophyte

AMORC quotes Giordano Bruno on the introductory page of this monograph. The quotation is a kind of hymn to the universe and the omnipresence of the divine consciousness.

The monograph goes onto to promise the neophyte that he will soon have a more precise idea about the idea behind the teachings. It would be wonderful if this claim were true, that now the neophyte would be able to quickly assess the value of the teachings and the true goals of the Rosicrucians. But, by this point, the direction of the teachings and the monographs that embody them is still largely unknown, and I, who have been through them for twenty-four years, can verify the ambiguity of this statement. The neophyte has not moved into an area where he is now finally able to grasp the true goals of the teachings. In many ways, the intent of the monographs will remain enigmatic to the end.

Yes, students will study things such as "practical magic," "out-of-body travel," and "reincarnation," performing various spiritual practices in a setting deeply connected to AMORC's version of Rosicrucian practices and authority. In my opinion, many of these practices trigger a hypnotic state, rather than the meditative state suggested by the teachings.

And even if we ignore, for the moment, the hypothesis of the willful design of creating a state of trance, in my opinion, these practices can and often would trigger a hypnotic state if the subject is not truly knowledgeable about using meditation to increase wakefulness instead of deepening a state of trance. Furthermore, the subject's vulnerability to such a state would be greatly enhanced if he bought into the infallibility of the authority of the institution behind his spiritual practices.

Many people would argue that a hypnotic state is different than a meditative state, and it has long been known that a state of hypnosis can produce positive hallucinations and create behavioral-oriented suggestions that can affect behavior outside of the hypnotic trance. We are speaking here of "posthypnotic suggestions."

There are some scientific studies that attempt to discern the difference between the meditative state and the hypnotic state. Some studies conclude that the difference lies more in the intention of the practitioner, rather than in the practice itself. One argument is that when you talk about meditation and embark upon a study comparing it to hypnotism, you are really only talking about one technique of meditation, and there are many.

So a study that addresses, say, an altered state induced by using devotional mantras and compares it to a state of hypnotic trance might have different consequences than a study that examines a meditative practice like Zazen, focused on clearing the mind of thought, and compares it to an hypnotically induced state of consciousness.

In my opinion, whatever scientific differences might show up, the state induced by AMORC that I experienced, particularly in my home sanctum, had all the earmarks of hypnosis.

After making claims to supreme authority, AMORC has the member study the monograph's claims and teachings after progressing from a state of deep relaxation induced by watching candles, burning incense, and chanting, to the practice of visualization for the purpose of changing the colors of a candle, experiencing the presence of cosmic masters during teaching and initiation, and seeking the manifestation of heartfelt goals.

AMORC makes many non provable and self-magnifying claims about the role of Rosicrucians and their divine purpose in the universe during this ongoing experience that I have called the deepening. In my experience, this indoctrination does not have the effect of bringing the member into a heightened state of clarity, as meditation is supposed to do, but into a heightened state of suggestibility.

Hypnotism relates to the unethical mind control practices of destructive cults in a variety of ways. In many cults which claim to be religious, what is often called "meditation" is no more than a process by which the cult members enter a trance, during which time they may receive suggestions which make them more receptive to following the cult's doctrine. Nonreligious cults use other forms of group or individual induction. In addition, being in a trance is usually a pleasant, relaxing experience, so that people wish to reenter the trance as often as possible. Most importantly, it has been clinically established by psychological researchers that people's critical faculties are diminished in the trance state. One is less able to evaluate information received in a trance than when in a normal state of consciousness. [1]

A lot has to do with the intentions of the subject. In hypnosis, the subject, if aware and consenting to the process, is looking for a kind of sleep state, a trance state. In meditation, he is trying to wake up, to achieve a higher state of consciousness. Some say that both states of mind are connected with some kind of link to the subconscious, but from a different perspective.

Impact on My Life

In 1983 when I got the room at the house of Yves, I bought a mirror -- required for the AMORC exercises -- instead of a spray for the mosquitoes in my apartment.

In the beginning of the first monograph of Atrium 2, there is a letter signed by Christian Bernard, imperator. The monograph goes on to indicate that AMORC knows better than theologians, philosophers, and scientists about the science of life -- and has had this special knowledge for centuries.

This monograph expresses AMORC's view on life and its origin. It discusses how the Big Bang and the theory of spontaneous generation theory are wrong. Then it suggests that the veracity of the Rosicrucians' claims is somewhat indicated by scientists' inability to prove their materialistic approach to the creation of life.

AMORC concludes this monograph by urging members, /100 not hesitate to read and reread this monograph and to renew the experience that was 'proposed' during the last few weeks." In my case, I have reread these monographs and repeated their exercises at least twenty times.

Here also AMORC mentions the name of H. Spencer Lewis for the first time.

Atrium 2, Monograph 2

This monograph makes clear the Rosicrucian position on abortion, declaring that life begins when the newborn takes its first breath. Implicit in this statement is the idea that life does not exist before the first breath, a position I take objection to for a variety of reasons.

Function of Blood

The information about blood in this monograph can be learned in any class for pre-nursing or health-related fields. The discussion has a slight Rosicrucian twist. Also in this monograph, we are told that Dr. William Harvey (1578-1657), who discovered that blood circulates in blood vessels, was a Rosicrucian.

Atrium 2, Monograph 3

This monograph claims that the slow pace of the lessons is deliberate. AMORC doesn't just want you to read or skim through its teachings. It wants you to contemplate or meditate on them.

AMORC claims that its advanced initiates will be shown special Rosicrucian healing techniques. This should not be unexpected: AMORC claims to have a lock on every type of human knowledge. Coupled with its claims about producing conditions that will result in financial wellness, the member is encouraged to be patient, postponing the dedicated actions necessary to seek proper medical or health advice or to work gainfully and seriously toward legitimate financial goals.

Atrium 2, Monograph 4

In this monograph, AMORC asserts that all sickness is a shortage of positive or negative vibration. Many members, including myself, will eventually come to believe that AMORC has a comprehensive monopoly on the understanding of the true cause of human illness.

AMORC sounds fairly reasonable on the value of proper nutrition. AMORC mentions that many books are written on the subject of proper nutrition -- but unfortunately claims that most of them contradict each other. This is one more way of casting doubt on everything new members ever learned before joining AMORC. AMORC concludes by stating that the diet one chooses is his personal business.

Atrium 2, Monograph 5

In this monograph, AMORC continues its discussion of health. It speaks extensively about how one can easily become overworked. With time, overwork can become a form of self-abuse. The monograph counsels the reader that when he is overworked mentally and physically, it is necessary to take a rest. AMORC thus lays the groundwork for members to blame themselves if the results of overwork overtake them.

AMORC gives a list of conditions that people can develop as a result of improper sleep and rest. They include loss of appetite, insomnia, a sense of noticeable irritation at minor or moderate frustrations, depression, even heart attack or stroke. This much is all true. But it is also true that the manipulative techniques of AMORC will invariably lead to lack of sleep and excessive stress, thereby creating exactly the conditions listed above.

Do the writers of these monographs know this? Is this written to shield them from accusations when members' lives fall apart, partially owing to the time constraints and pressures these monograph responsibilities build into their lives? Do they think that by warning readers about the dangers of lack of sleep and its symptoms, the members will blame anything else in their life than AMORC for their inability to work well, the problems they have with relationships, or the accidents they might have -- all owing to a lack of rest?

AMORC then tells its members how to prepare themselves for sleep. The goal is to go to sleep in a meditative state. This is accomplished by the member initially lying on his back, face up, with his hands on the solar plexus. Now, even in their sleep, members can do Rosicrucian exercises. And to make sure the process is successful, AMORC asks members to review Liber 777, to help them get to the celestial sanctum. You worked all day; now you can work all night!

Now the exercise instructions said to assume your preferred position when you were about to fall asleep. In my case, going through all these postures, while attempting to assume a meditative state, became such a consuming process that it actually induced stress. In fact, I became so preoccupied with complying with the exact requirements of the exercise that falling asleep gradually became a far-away goal.

These exercises marked the beginning of a long period of insomnia, which lasted until 2005, when I left AMORC. Until that time, I had never attributed my insomnia to these cumbersome Rosicrucian pre-sleep exercises. Why did it take me so long to think of this as a probable cause? It is hard for someone outside of a cult to realize the power of the claim of sacred infallibility on a cult believer. Everything they recommend has been tested for centuries -- so why should I imagine that it wouldn't work for me?

Practical Application

In this practical application, the door is opened to explain the failure of AMORC's sleeping techniques. In my case, as well as for all members who respectfully attempt to practice the exercises, sleep will become a rare commodity.

Owing to these claims, if I fell asleep when tired while practicing or reading the Rosicrucian monographs, I thought of this sleep as a special type of sleep. My interpretation of the AMORC teachings led me to believe that, when sleep occurred in this instance, I would go to the celestial sanctum and be recharged. Therefore, I did not have to worry about lack of sleep.

Atrium 2, Monograph 6

AMORC affirms that science is just catching up with its discoveries of the effects of thought on health. Why are there so many diverse subjects in the AMORC monographs? Why does AMORC claim that every single source of knowledge carne from a Rosicrucian? Or perhaps one could ask: what is the consequence of AMORC reaching out into every corner of one's life?

The answer: when one attempts to deprogram oneself, every element of life that AMORC has touched in its voluminous, all-encompassing monographs can trigger the cult personality. And the cult personality will keep you from leaving.

For example, AMORC is not content just to show the value of deep breathing. It attempts to bring the member to believe that deep breathing was "invented by a Rosicrucian." Burning incense, sleeping on your back, singing vowel sounds, chewing your food properly ... all of these and more involve private facets of your life that are ultimately branded with the AMORC signature. You learn how to eat, breathe, and sleep in the Rosicrucian way ... and the list of Rosicrucians inroads in your life goes on until it reaches every corner of your life and changes your understanding of even the simplest processes of living.

As to the pedigree of some of their practices, AMORC never mentions that the sound om, which they chant, is a common practice in Hindu yoga. Om means "perfection" in Sanskrit.

In this monograph from the second atrium, the reader will study the autonomic or sympathetic nervous system.

Practical Application

In order to balance one's energies, when facing emotional discomfort, AMORC proposes a certain exercise in breathing.

When feeling emotionally challenged by anger, anxiety, sadness, or other types of negativity, AMORC proposes that the neophyte find an open window and then take a deep breath, then exhale through the mouth. As the neophyte does this, he should imagine that all his negativity is leaving is body and he is being purified, totally, by his closeness to the Cosmic.

Now, going to the window to take deep breath seems like a fairly innocent action. Yet it is one more step toward the hyperventilation that will be a tool of mind control in the life of a Rosicrucian.

Margaret Singer speaks about how physicians explained to her how hyperventilation, or over-breathing, can produce a variety of unpleasant effects by producing a drop in carbon dioxide in the blood, making the blood become more alkaline. As she says:

Cults, quacks and manipulators have become aware of the predictable outcomes of hyperventilation -- the giddiness, the out-of-control feeling, the possible loss of consciousness, the tingling and the clenching of fingers and toes. Similarly, they have recognized the impact of immediately reframing the experience. By consciously reframing, or relabeling, the effects, thus confounding individuals' gut-level reactions that something unpleasant has happened, leaders turn a frightening state into a supposedly positive one, telling neophytes, for example, that they are 'becoming blessed out ... getting or receiving the spirit ... on the path. [2]

After the breathing exercise, the neophyte is enjoined to concentrate on a pleasant piece of music, read something inspirational, go on a walk, etc. AMORC claims that such practices will force you to master your thoughts and your emotions.

Unfortunately, this has not been my experience, since the main source of my negativity in the first place was AMORC. And it does seem a bit ironic to use a Rosicrucian exercise to get rid of an AMORC-generated negative emotion. But, since the neophyte is already at least partially a believer in the organization, you tend to use these exercises to suppress your doubts.

Perhaps the most widely used and effective way to control cult members' thoughts is thought-stopping rituals. Members are taught to use thought-stopping on themselves. They are told it will help them grow or be more effective. Whenever a cult member begins to experience a "bad" thought, he uses thought-stopping to drown out the "negativity" and center himself, thus learning how to shut out anything that threatens his reality.

Different groups use different thought-stopping techniques: concentrated praying, chanting aloud or silently, meditation, "speaking in tongues," singing, or humming. These actions, many of them ordinarily useful and valuable, are perverted in destructive cults. They become quite mechanical because the person is programmed to activate them at the first sign of doubt, anxiety, or uncertainty. In a matter of weeks the technique becomes ingrained. It becomes so automatic, in fact, that the person is usually not even aware that he had just had a "bad" thought. He is only aware that he is chanting or ritualizing all of a sudden. But using thought-stopping, members think they are growing when in reality they are just making themselves into addicts. After leaving a cult that employs extensive thought-stopping techniques, a person goes through a difficult withdrawal process before he can overcome the addiction. [3]

Atrium 2, Monograph 7

Given that by this point in the Rosicrucian study, you fully believe that the contents of these monographs are your only gate to God, you will surely read the whole thing, tired or not. Fear is the fuel that is pushing you to read the monographs and practice everything in them. In my case fear forces me to write large portion of the monographs (sometimes the entire monographs) in my notebooks or diaries for the purpose of reviewing them on bus, subway and other public transportation

AMORC encourages its students to study the monographs when they are tired. AMORC claims that when you are tired, you will fall asleep while reading these monographs. But that's all right, because in that state, you will be more receptive to AMORC spiritual knowledge. The truth is that then you will be more suggestible. The hypnogogic state, which is the state right at the border of sleep, heightens suggestibility and makes you a better candidate for mind control.

In this monograph, AMORC discourses about Franz Anton Mesmer, founder of the theory of animal magnetism, which some scientists have seen as a prelude to modern hypnosis. The monograph emphasizes how the Mesmer theory was criticized by the scientific world of its time. In Mesmer's case, animal magnetism was never truly accepted by modern science, but it did lead to some knowledge of the possibilities for the study of the trance state. Mesmer's experiments verified the existence of this special state of consciousness.

Mesmer's theory of animal magnetism, which is based on the idea of a strange, fluidic substance passing between the mesmerist and the patient, is quite different from the theory of modern hypnosis that is based on the suggestibility of the mind. The mesmerist used passes, certain gestures intended to arouse and transmit the subtle fluid; the modern hypnotist uses words to invoke various levels of hypnosis, which is controlled by words and suggestion.

Although there are new theories based on ever-refined understanding of the energy dynamics of the mind, the concept of animal magnetism has never been officially accepted by modern science. In the battle for ideas, the idea that hypnotic states were caused by suggestion, as opposed to some psychic fluid, won hands-down for the science of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Experiments

The neophyte is asked to sit up straight, keeping his feet flat on the floor. Then put his hands on his knees, eyes closed. Then he should breathe in, holding his breath as long as possible, as he focuses on an individual body part, starting from the feet, including heels and toes, proceeding upward toward the head, including arms, hands, fingers. This includes the bones, ligaments, tendons, arteries, and veins ... every minute component of your body. The intent is to experience the vital energy of the parts and organs of the body, feeling the heartbeat, the blood, the lungs, and the breath.

By the time the neophyte covers every part of the body, he will surely be completely tired of breathing this way. In my case, I spent as much as ten to twelve hours a day breathing, until I succeeded in this exercise. All my extra hours of waiting in my taxi for business in the airport were spent breathing and doing Rosicrucian experiments.

In this section, AMORC states that even though Doctor Mesmer was not a member of AMORC, he was in close contact with the Rosicrucian brothers.

Atrium 2, Monograph 8

This monograph develops the idea that the Rosicrucian method of deep breathing, the mystical art of respiration, can be important in assisting you to maintain and improve your health.

AMORC further develops the experiment from the previous monograph. Focus on every single part of the body from head to toe, including every major muscle group, while doing deep breathing.

AMORC specifically emphasizes how the practice of this exercise will give members the power to accomplish things that some people consider miracles. According to AMORC, such exercises will help members develop their psychic faculties to such a degree that they will be able to see events occurring far away from their physical bodies.

This tempting promise of superhuman occult power is one of several fuels that push members to discard their reason and their doubts when it comes to retaining their memberships. Coupled with its claim of infallibility, the promise of opening the third eye -- a window to the many-faceted world of the miraculous -- is a strong enticement for accelerating Rosicrucian interests in AMORC promises and in the content of these monographs.

If I had not been blindfolded by my hopes and my dreams, I would have spotted innumerable signals of AMORC's actual fallibility, but I chose to ignore them all. For example, in 1986, five years after I had begun the Rosicrucian teaching, I found myself homeless in a park in Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, Florida. I went to a park office's bathroom to wash my hands to prepare to contact the celestial sanctum.

While I sat on a bench sending peace and love to humanity to save the world, a homeless couple -- a man and presumably his girlfriend -- attempted to rob me of my bag, containing all my personal items. I had to show the young lady that I did not have anything of value in my bag. I only had my toothbrush, toothpaste, and one pair of underwear.

After that incident, I had to ask how these teachings were actually helping me. It just didn't seem like I was under such amazing divine protection. Even though I hadn't been hurt or killed, I was homeless, and I had been robbed. Let's say that if this was some kind of protection, I had inadvertently bought a second-class policy. And I still felt powerless to break away from AMORC.

AMORC now explains the technique of respiration. AMORC states that even science recognizes that restful relaxation that can come as a result of proper deep breathing. AMORC defines positive breathing as a method of breathing in which the inhalation is held for a very long time, as long as possible, followed by an exhalation.

AMORC tells its students that from a physiological point of view, positive respiration is very efficacious if they are very tired and need to regenerate themselves physically and mentally. AMORC advises its students to practice positive respiration in the morning, while waking up, because positive respiration reinforces people's strength and will put them in a better disposition to begin their day.

When I was pushed to the limit, without food or sleep, positive breathing became the only resource available for me. I practiced it to give me physical strength because I had no means to buy food.

AMORC describes the importance of negative respiration claiming that it is as important as positive respiration. This is exactly why I was busy deep breathing day and night, even in my sleep.

Experiment

The exercise that follows uses "negative breathing," a technique that is the opposite of "positive breathing." In positive breathing, you inhale and hold the breath for as long as possible; in negative breathing, you exhale, attempting to not inhale for as long as possible.

Holding the right thumb between thumb and index of the left hand, the neophyte is asked to practice negative breathing and observe the effect on the right arm. The neophyte is warned to make sure to practice this exercise for two or three minutes.

I believe this experiment places the student into in a semi-hypnotic state. If the student practices this and does not observe the predicted effect, he will practice it more, thinking it is his own fault that he had not succeeded. Finally, he will be trapped into the ever-breathing cycle.

AMORC asks the student to review attentively all he has learned so far about deep breathing, and to practice the experiment related to deep breathing until the next session.

AMORC asks us to practice negative breathing when in bed. AMORC claims that this will help with insomnia.

Atrium 2, Monograph 9

In the introductory page of this monograph, AMORC talks about the special knowledge that will be transmitted to teach members how to heal themselves and others.

Also, in this introductory page, AMORC claims that the origin of these special treatments lay in Ancient Egypt, where the Rosicrucian organization originated.

This neophyte section will be used to introduce the self-healing treatments of the Rosicrucian therapeutic method. Later on, in the more advanced degree, students will receive Rosicrucian treatment methods that can be applied to others. The information regarding the treatment of others is saved for the sixth temple degrees.

On a personal note, I suffered from a stomach ulcer for more than twelve years. When I reached these monographs, I hoped this would finally provide me with the treatment I needed. Having been studying the Rosicrucian monographs day and night, I had little time left to work and therefore could not afford any medical treatment. I forced myself to read and reread the pages of the monographs, and yet I never found a treatment for my sickness.

In fact, I never even knew I had an ulcer, because I was never properly examined. In 1991, finally, while in college, I used some of my student loan money to find a doctor, who diagnosed me with an ulcer.

Invariably, AMORC finds a way to compare the medical science to Rosicrucian science. Of course, Rosicrucian science is superior to modern medical science.

According to the Rosicrucian theory, all sickness can be healed with positive or negative vibration. This reminds me of an incident that happened in 1993. I was in my senior year in college and found myself constantly sneezing. Seeking to rectify the cause of my sneezing, I looked carefully at my diet and decided that at least I was eating properly. So I decided to apply Rosicrucian processes for self-healing, practicing positive and negative breathing all day and all night. Unfortunately, this had little effect on my sneezing. I questioned my precise approach, not daring to question the validity of the Rosicrucian methods.

One day I was on campus talking to my friends, Remi and Emilia. Emilia was a math major heading to medical school next year. As I began sneezing again, this time in their presence, Emilia asked me why I was sneezing so much. I began to explain my Rosicrucian spin on why I was sneezing. But Emilia didn't want to hear any of this nonsense. She told me to go to Walgreen's and buy an over-the-counter sinus medication. That was the first time that I became conscious that I might have a sinus problem. I bought the medication and became much better.

Practical Application of This Monograph

AMORC explains that the practice of deep breathing -- whether positive, negative, or neutral -- is important, and that each of these breathing styles needs serious attention.

AMORC gives a word of advice on not holding your breath to the point of discomfort. AMORC even explains that different people have different abilities as to how long they can hold air in their stomach during breathing.

All this is very reasonably put. Still, at the end of the section, AMORC states that it is possible for anyone to develop his or her ability to retain more air.

By stating this, without exactly contradicting their former admonitions about the dangers of excessively withholding breath, AMORC does open the arena for more experimentation, for more pushing of the envelope by an enthusiastic adept. In short, this last statement could dilute the value of their former admonition. In my opinion, AMORC always keeps the door open for endless study and endless practice of the monograph material. This excessive practice is often triggered by the failure of the member to realize the intended results of their practice. The solution? Like the little engine that could, the serious adept will try harder.

Atrium 2, Monograph 10

AMORC classifies illnesses into two categories: illnesses with a fever and illnesses without a fever. As this classification leads to a choice of treatment, when a member experiences an illness, he must first check to see whether he has a fever.

In Rosicrucian therapy, someone who has a fever, no matter what the cause of the illness, is evincing a need for negative energy. In this case, you need to use a negative breathing treatment. If the illness comes without a fever, default to a positive treatment.

When I first read these instructions, I was delighted to find such a direct and simple method for treating any illness.

For ten years before I found AMORC, I had suffered a stomachache almost every single day. When I came across the" great treatment method," I couldn't wait to try to apply it to my daily agony. Since my stomach symptoms were never accompanied by fever, I concluded that, in accord with the Rosicrucian theory, my treatment required positive energy.

Having bought into the AMORC claims that their knowledge had been tested and retested since time immemorial, I plunged in without any serious doubts. But as I applied the positive energy treatment, the pain never stopped.

Having put all of my faith in AMORC, I tortured myself to figure out what I was doing wrong. With time, I became a complete robot, doing positive energy treatments day and night, seven days a week. Of course, the pain never stopped until I changed course after 1990 and allowed myself to be diagnosed by a doctor in Queens hospital. There, I learned that I had failed to breathe my stomach ulcer away.

Again, the AMORC monograph repeats the importance of washing your hands and drinking one glass of fresh water before applying any Rosicrucian treatment. Now what could be more harmless than drinking a glass of water and washing your hands? Nothing-unless the ritual is part of a hypnotic trigger to induce a state of personality dissociation.

How does this work?

One must remember that the object of cult leadership is to create compliance from its members. Sometimes, the purpose of this is simply financial; sometimes it is for the sake of acquiring political or social power; sometimes it is for using the members as a work force to carry out objectives of value to the leadership, as a kind of cheap human resource asset.

The most powerful product of a cult is a properly conditioned membership. This is accomplished by transforming members' personalities over a period of time into a useful vehicle for the cult to carry out its mission.

The destruction of a reasonably healthy personality and the substitution of a new personality is quite a feat, particularly if you are not in a communist prison in the 1950s but in the so-called free world in the 1970s or later. But, yes, it can be done.

It first takes some kind of a hook to get the person interested in joining the organization, often appealing to his self-interest but sometimes to his altruistic or spiritual impulses to serve God, country, or fellow man. Oftentimes, there is some legitimate reason for a prospective member to buy into what he is presented with. Perhaps he or she is tempted by involvement with highly a visible charity that is being served by other members, perhaps simply a community that seems charming and welcoming to the member.

But, then, at some point, the prospective member is typically served up something fantastic, something special to give him a decisive reason to join the group. This could be the acceptance of the group leader as a historic, messianic figure, or perceiving the group as mankind's one hope against the bad guys, be they demons or political enemies. Or it could be a concept of salvation from the impurity of their own character, their sexuality, or a lackluster commitment to helping humanity. There is, in this offer of membership, quite often a dogma they will need to accept.

To prepare the prospective member for this offer, the cult recruiters must enhance the prospect's suggestibility. To do this, they must break him down physically and emotionally -- fatigue him by overwork, weaken his mind and body by literally depriving him of good or healthy nutrition, draining him emotionally by cutting his life off from the support of friends and family.

While this is going on, the cult is basically trying to brand his consciousness with a group identity. They may give him a special name or title; they may have him participate in group rituals, including chanting, singing, game playing or dancing; they may have him use special handshakes.

AMORC uses a very large variety of "branding" implements, including the passwords, secret handshakes and symbols, special titles and degrees, etc., that most fraternal lodges use. But, they also combine these with chanting, visualization techniques, and breathing -- even sleep postures -- creating an all-embracing shadow extending to even the tiniest corner of one's life.

Perhaps, under more honest circumstances, some of these ritualistic and bonding elements could be a good thing. There could be a case made for a type of religious organization utilizing these elements for the members to bond together in a sincere quest to find or worship God. But, in this case, based on my twenty-four years of experience, I believe that AMORC uses these so-called spiritual or metaphysical practices, such as breathing, visualization, and chanting, in a specific context that leads to the induction of a hypnotic state in their members. This, coupled with the claim of infallibility and historical authenticity, produces an agentless form of hypnosis, hypnosis without the hypnotist, a kind of amalgam of self-hypnosis and hypnosis by an outside agent.

The drinking of the glass of water and the washing of the hands, in this context, prior to, say, a specific treatment, can be a device used to begin the induction of a highly suggestible state of mind. All these elements constantly function together to manipulate and change human character so it can be manipulated. The claim of healing is very powerful but with an indefinite timetable for success, as we have said, the moment of verification of its usefulness can be months or years away.

Atrium 2, Monograph 11

In this monograph, the neophyte again begins a treatment by washing his hands and drinking a glass of water. Again, basic activities in life will become a trigger that will help release the cult personality, making obtaining the freedom of the mind an almost impossible task. The ritual of washing the hands and drinking the water is a call to compliance, an invocation of the cult personality to the bidding of its master.

Compartmentalization

After a long comment on the value of Rosicrucian therapy, AMORC makes a statement that has a chilling affect on their members' ability to verify their claims of therapeutic healing. Here, AMORC reminds members that these therapeutic teachings are confidential. That confidentiality, of course, extends to all non-Rosicrucian members, so theoretically if you wanted to validate the truth of these practices, you cannot do so.

Later on, AMORC members will also be enjoined against discussing the therapy with Rosicrucian members of lower degrees. This practice is known in government and spycraft circles as compartmentalization. Compartmentalization is the phenomenon of preventing individuals in an organization from communicating with each other, putting them into discrete compartments with specific communication protocols. In a compartment, you are allowed to know and do certain things, some of which may be communicated to other groups in the organization and some of which are absolutely private (except that, in most cases, contact with specific outside leadership is permitted).

This is often true in government, where striated clearances separate one person from the next. Recently, the American public has also been made painfully aware of how terrorist cells operate, keeping a majority of the participants in a terrorist organization unaware of the operating of a single cell.

Fraternal organizations, owing to their oaths of secrecy, often operate with compartmentalized protocols. In the case of AMORC, AMORC separates its members into different levels of initiation, telling them to keep their initiatory content to themselves.

As usual the neophyte is asked to close this monograph with the closing ritual of AMORC. The monograph says that more about Rosicrucian treatment will be revealed in the sixth temple degree.

With my strong incentives to obtain the rewards that AMORC promised, I eventually did get to the sixth degree and beyond. Still, the pain in my stomach did not diminish.

Atrium 2, Monograph 12

AMORC points out that Rosicrucians have known for centuries about the existence of a magnetic field surrounding the human body, commonly called the aura. Again, AMORC compares the superior Rosicrucian science to the inferior official science of humanity, highlighting the value of their own ancient knowledge.

Later, the neophyte is instructed on how to actually experience the aura. He is asked to take out a bottle of water that he had been asked to prepare last time. Then he must:

1. Turn off all other lights.

2. Light two candles.

3. Place his hands around the bottle at a distance of 1/2 centimeter from the edge, without touching it.

4. Breathe positively with his eyes closed. The neophyte must try to feel the life force animating the muscles, tissues, and bone cells of his body.

After this period of concentration and deep positive respiration, the neophyte may feel a tingling in his hands. He must then open his eyes slowly and observe the space between his hands and the bottle of water. If there is a color, the neophyte should note it and write it down.

AMORC now states that they are going to explain psychic vision and how to develop it. Again, they reiterate the necessity of repeating the aura experiment and noting it in one's diary.

Practical Application

AMORC tells its readers that the aura experiment will support a specific mystical practice, which it counsels its members to develop. To be effective, the exercise must be practiced regularly. The ideal times to do it are in the morning after waking up, after lunch, or between meals.

AMORC then counsels the member to drink the water after performing the exercise, claiming that this will revitalize the member -- even more so if one drinks it after having completed intensive physical activities.

So, when I was exhausted from lack of food and sleep, I practiced this exercise more to get the strength I needed, which I lacked because I did not have the money to buy food. As a part of this fantasy, I began to speculate that I had become poor as a result of the divine action of the Cosmic, which intended to use me as an example to show that people can bypass food altogether and live on cosmic power.

Atrium 2, Monograph 13

The Third Eye

AMORC starts this monograph with an acceptable scientific explanation of the faculties of the eyes. It mentions, at length, the purported ability of certain animals, temporarily or permanently deprived of sight, to be able to navigate as though they could actually see. An example of this might be a bat, using a type of animal radar to navigate. But the implication in the monograph is that such animals use a kind of psychic vision.

Thereafter, AMORC starts talking about "psychic vision" in humans and expounds on the "third eye." It presents both a mythical and factual portrait of the third eye, including a discussion of the pituitary and pineal glands and how they might contribute to the functioning of psychic vision.

Atrium 2, Monograph 14

Page 1: Vowel Sounds

In this monograph, AMORC describes the importance and use of vowel sounds in their spiritual work. In most dictionaries, a vowel is defined something like the Merriam-Webster definition, namely,

one of a class of speech sounds in the articulation of which the oral part of the breath channel is not blocked and is not constricted enough to cause audible friction

In other words, a vowel sound, generally classed as a, e, i, o, and u, is a sound made without teeth, tongue, or lips -- open sounds.

But in its discussion of its sacred vowel sounds, AMORC ignores this definition, including sounds like om, ra, and ma, which contain consonants -- sounds made with teeth, tongue, and lips, the polar opposite of vowel sounds.

Ignoring this common definition of a vowel sound, these sacred sounds are used as a form of chanting in lodge convocations and in the private sanctum. The monograph gives an admonition not to practice them too much. This contradicts the way they are constantly introduced in the exercises, where, by their own decree in the monographs, AMORC asks the members to practice these vowel sounds constantly.

The vowel sounds themselves are alleged to come from the archives of a Rosicrucian organization that goes back to Ancient Egypt. AMORC does not mention the use of their commonly used chant, om, and its presence in Hindu spiritual practices -- or, for that matter, somewhat later, in Tibetan Buddhism (om mani padme hum is a common Tibetan Buddhist chant).

By attributing this type of practice to themselves, AMORC creates an aura of unquestionable and unique authority over a great deal that would be a matter of historical controversy and probably deception if the members weren't hypnotized into believing in AMORC'S exclusive creation of their spiritual practices. When people are afraid to question, they become easily enslaved in a monolithic cult world- view.

According to AMORC, there are twelve vowels sounds that are able to produce special, unique effects. These sounds and their effects have long been kept in the ancient Rosicrucian archives. This privileged knowledge was transmitted to me slowly over twenty-plus years of compliance with the Rosicrucian system, producing nothing of any substantial value to my life or survival.

Experiment

Members are requested to perform the following experiment, with the promise of potential physical and psychological benefits.

Important note for this exercise: This exercise requires deep respiration while seated in a meditative position. With time, this position and breathing will become a key "automatic trigger" for creating a mild hypnotic trance. The member soon will be able to attain this state "at the drop of a hat," making him an ideal receptacle for AMORC's suggestions. Members become "a free-for-all suggestible box" for the cult leadership.

In two exercises, members are asked to intone the sounds om and ra ma various times to go into a passive state of silence.

It is my contention that, after doing these exercises, you become sufficiently hypnotized so that your reading of the monographs is accomplished in a profound state of hypnosis. The monographs -- despite their occasional dalliance with members' "freedom to choose" and "liberty to investigate" their contents, offset so often by their contradictory claims of infallibility and Rosicrucian historical supremacy in all areas of knowledge -- now become essentially a set of mandates for the members to follow and obey. The monographs, after a time, become your marching orders.

In this monograph, AMORC claims that the pituitary gland is peculiarly sensitive to the intonation of the vowel sounds ra and ma. The monograph points out that Ra was the sacred name that the ancient Egyptian gave to the sun during the reign of Akhenaton. AMORC credits Akhenaton with being the first grand master of the mystical tradition perpetuated by AMORC.

Seemingly to validate the antiquity and authenticity of the use of the sounds ra and ma, the writer of this monograph adds that ra and ma are found in the Hindu and Zoroastrian traditions. To confirm this statement, the monograph quotes a member of AMORC claimed to be a specialist in the history of Zoroastrianism.

Here is another experiment with the sounds ra and ma. Again, you sit while placing your right hand on your knee, feet on the ground, while intoning the sound ra ma. After intoning this sound, stay silent and, afterwards, write down the effect.

Time-consuming chanting like this will now be integrated into the AMORC daily ritual life.

AMORC allows for chanting in a low voice if social conditions do not permit a loud-voice rehearsal. I believe that the feeling of being at peace and relaxation produced by the sound ra would be a positive thing if it were not done as a prelude for a state of hypnotic suggestibility.

According to AMORC, no matter how one intones the sounds of ra and ma, there will always be a resultant feeling of peace and pleasantness. According to AMORC, no intonation of mystical sounds, created according to the instructions in the monographs, can ever create a feeling of discomfort, a hypnotic or trance state, or anything else unpleasant or immoral.

The above statement contradicts AMORC's own statement in its lodge convocations and rituals. In the convocation ceremony, prior to our group chanting, the matre, one of the officers of the lodge, warns the congregants specifically against doing more chanting than they have been advised to by the leaders in the lodge. They clearly warn the congregants that doing more chanting in order to accelerate their development could actually have an adverse affect.

AMORC asks the neophyte to practice these vowel sounds daily, allotting one day for om and one day for ra ma. He is then asked to perform a series of intonations in the morning and another series at night.

AMORC suggests that doing more of these sounds than requested may enhance one's development, but does not give any warning about the potential harmful effects of overdoing these exercises. Later on, there will be a lot more chanting of these sounds.

We are informed that this is the last monograph of this atrium and told to fill out the exam questions at the end of the monograph. All questions are related to subjects studied during these last months. If there are any difficulties answering these questions, it is because the neophyte did not sufficiently master the subjects of the monographs. In this case, the neophyte is, of course, expected to go back to the related monograph and review it.

People who are hypnotized enter a trancelike state which fundamentally different from normal consciousness. The difference is this: whereas in normal consciousness the attention is focused outwards through the five senses, in a trance one's attention is focused inwards. One is hearing, seeing, and feeling internally. Of course, there are various degrees of trance, ranging from the mild and normal trance of daydreaming to deeper states in which one is much less aware of the outside world and extremely susceptible to suggestions, which may be put into one's mind. [4]

I suggest that, given the hypnotic state of suggestibility subtly imposed on AMORC's constituency at this stage of their development, most members will be absolutely determined to review the monographs when suggested like this. The exam has twenty questions. This will surely force a complete review of these monographs. That explains, in part, why I -- and most members -- keep on going back, reviewing these first two degrees.

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