See the first part here Analyzing the Neophyte Section: First Atrium No. 10 – Part 1

“In the meantime, be conscientious and methodical in the application of the experiments in this lesson. You will find that they constitute only a framework for the visualization work you will soon undertake, for you can adapt and vary them for your own convenience.”

One interesting aspect of these monographs is that they will often lay out in clear language the psychological tricks they hope to pull off in the future.

Here, the monograph clearly states that memory-based visualizations can be adjusted and adapted, and that the reader will find this out in due course. The reason behind this explanation is simple, AMORC is framing the ideas that they will implant in the reader’s mind through experimentation and repetition. Had the idea of adjusting a memory been introduced in the middle of a meditation session without prior framing, then the reader may well have displayed some reluctance. By introducing the idea beforehand in transparent and non-threatening language, AMORC ensures that the recruit is familiar and even comfortable with the idea.

“When entering the higher stages of meditation, students express themselves in what is called dynamic silence…in the mystical sense this dynamism means that limitations are impossible. The silence is so unlimited that any phenomena could physically manifest and be realized by the person meditating”

What the Class Master is describing here, is a very real physiological phenomenon caused by the reduction of blood flow to the parietal lobe. This section of the brain is responsible for calculating your body’s boundaries. It tells you that your limbs are separate from the chair and the surrounding space, and that you are not floated at a definite point in space instead of being dispersed across the atmosphere.

A study of eight Buddhist meditation practitioners conducted by Dr. Andrew Newberg of the University of Pennsylvania, found that these individuals showed a marked decrease in blood flow to the parietal lobe during meditation. A further study from the Laurentian University in Canada found that a significant portion of meditators experienced higher rates of hallucination. Amongst other concerns, survey participants complained of seeing floating lights, hearing voices, and even feeling earthquake-like sensations. Others described how regular meditation left them feeling emotionally numb, and that their exercises left them unable to discern the three dimensional nature of their environment.

“How do you know when you are entering the threshold of meditation? You will experience a lessening of awareness of your immediate surroundings”

Again, the monograph explains the specific state that it is attempting to induce.

“Form in mind some symbol or image which will portray the ideal of unselfishness, conscience, and higher motive. People who are meditating should focus on this image…Another thought to keep in mind is that we are not separate entities in the Cosmic. In mysticism, the universal Cosmic Essence is said to exist in every particular and we are all part of such a pattern of particulars”

In the first part of this analysis, I described how a hypnotist builds upon suggestion with symbolism and language to plant certain ideas into the mind of their subject. Now, at first glance it seems that AMORC has simply asked the reader to imagine a symbol that will place them in a state of kindness and empathy which, as far as hypnosis goes, is not a bad outcome.

 However, the Class Master has added a second subtle wrinkle to this thought process. While imagining this symbol will place the recruit in a state of kindness and openness, it will also be associated with this Rosicrucian concept of the Cosmic Essence. The recruit is being guided into losing their sense of reality and they are being led into a world that has been wholly built by AMORC.