CONTENTS
For August and
September, 1956
A
TIME OF DECISION .................................................................................................... 2
UNDERSTANDING ........................................................................................................ 3
TEEN-AGE PAGE ........................................................................................................... 3
What Is RIGHT with Teen-Agers ? .............................................................................................................. 4
Rules for Teen-Age Drivers ........................................................................... 5
POET'S CORNER .......................................................................................................... 6
FANTASY AND FACT .................................................................................................... 6
WORLD MARCHING TOWARD THE MILLENNIUM ............................................... 7
WHO KNOWS DEPARTMENT .................................................................................... 9
STEPS TO THE STARS ................................................................................................ 10
OUT OF MY MIND ........................................................................................................... 16
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ......................................................................................... 18
BULLETIN BOARD ........................................................................................................ 18
THE STAFF
EDITOR ................................................................................................... DANIEL
W. FRY
circulating manage .............................................................. evelyn
nicolais
corresponding secretary ....................................................... rhoda
mills
Art work by ................................................................................. ralph
huffman
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UNDERSTANDING
VOL. 1 AUGUST AND
SEPTEMBER No. 8-9
With the Democratic and Republican National Conventions
furnishing headlines for newspapers throughout the country, the people of the United
States are again reminded that they are face to face with the serious task of
choosing a group of leaders to pilot and manage our Ship of State through the
next four years.
By some, this task of choosing leaders is approached in a
spirit of levity. Others, (far too many others) approach it in a spirit of
belligerence. Neither attitude is conducive of success in picking the
individual best suited for the position. We must remember that the Presidency
of the United States is not a prize to be bestowed upon the actor who puts on
the best show, nor upon the pugilist who wages the best fight. If we were
choosing a man to pilot an airplane which was to carry us on a long and
dangerous flight into an unknown region, we would be foolish to allow ourselves
to be unduly influenced by the personality of the applicant. If we were wise,
we would realize that personality is not necessarily a reflection of character.
Our chief concern would be the character of the applicant and his ability to
pilot.
In the coming months, as the time of decision draws near,
we will be engulfed in a flood of oratory and exhortation praising this man and
denouncing that one. We will hear again the glowing promises which have been
made in every political campaign since our elective system was established, and
which have seldom been remembered afterwards. We will find that the truly vital
issues are seldom aired, but we will be belabored with endless arguments on
corollary subjects of comparatively little importance.
The coming national election may well prove to be the most
important choice which the people of this country, or of any country, have ever
been called upon to make. It would be well, therefore, if we could establish
firmly in our minds certain fundamental facts as guides to our choice. First:
the political party to which the candidate belongs is, at best, of only
secondary importance. We have enjoyed prosperity, and have suffered economic
depressions under each of the two political parties now vying for power. We
have been forced into war, and have found the way to peace under each. The
argument that the coming into power of one party or the other would pose a
serious threat to our national welfare is a baseless one as history has proven
upon many occasions.
1
Second: we should be slow to accept a candidate whose
principal arguments are based on destructive criticism, remembering the classic
advice given by a famous barrister to his law student, "If the law is on
your side, talk the law. If justice is on your side, talk justice. But if
neither law nor justice are on your side, your best course is to lambaste the
opposition."
Third: we must remember that the man whom we choose as our
chief executive today has a more difficult task and a greater responsibility
than has been placed upon any of our leaders in the past. The United States
government has, regardless of its own desires, been forced into a position of
world leadership. The decisions and policies of our government are reflected in
the attitude and the actions of every government on earth whether satellite or
free.
Upon our president and his advisers will devolve the task
of finding the path to peace. If it is to be a true peace, it must be one which
recognizes the freedom and dignity of the individual. This is a tremendous task
but one which must be accomplished. There is no alternative. If our
leaders fail to find the way to peace, no other qualities which they may have
had will be of any significance to our descendants, if there should be any.
* * *
Everyone is called upon to adjust himself to certain
persons and situations, for there are many differences of viewpoint, of
aspiration, of taste, of disposition. In our home, at our work, wherever we may
find ourself, we can adjust our self happily to our world. The secret of such
adjustment is to learn to look beyond the things that seem difficult to approve
of or understand to the good that is surely present.
When we approach an experience with love and understanding
we move through it poised and content, we contribute something substantial and
helpful to it, and we gain understanding and wisdom from it.
The practice of looking for something good in every person
and in every situation creates a flexibility of mind and openness of heart that
enables us to make adjustments without resistance or struggle; that inspires us
to minimize the failings or shortcomings of others; that helps us to keep faith
in the divine idea that underlies all.
-DAILY WORD
2
Calling all Teen-Agers! This is your page, so let's hear
from you. We want your opinion on all of the problems which are facing the
world today, also on subjects which might be considered "out of this
world."
The following article contains excerpts from, "What
is Right with Teen Agers?" by Ralph Rhea. It appeared in the July, 1956,
issue of "YOU," a Unity Publication.
* * *
By Ralph Rhea
Hi, Teen-Agers!
I'd like to set these words down on paper just as though
we were having a little talk. I mean to be informal even though these words say
something I feel deeply in my heart.
Much is said these days about what is wrong with
teen-agers. I would like to talk about some of the things that are right with
them.
You probably get a little weary at times, perhaps greatly
so, of being referred to as a peculiar breed of humanity simply because you
happened to have turned thirteen and are not yet twenty. This you will have to
learn to accept philosophically. When any minority group is thought of
separately from the rest of the population that group is referred to often as
though every member of the group had the same personality. Because some members
of the group are guilty of something, all in the group are looked on as being
guilty. You and I know this is not true, of course.
I know many teen-agers quite well. Most of them are fine
persons, and many are a personal inspiration to me.
Not long ago a group of high school students were gathered
around the Ping-pong table in our rumpus room. I did not intend to eavesdrop
but I could not help hearing some of the conversation. One of the girls said, "My
parents are old fogies. They don't understand. Their ideas are all out of
date."
Instantly one of the boys took it up. "I don't
know," he said, "I like your parents, and they seem pretty 'hep' to
me. Maybe you should listen to them more than you do."
Then the conversation turned to an "odd ball"
who recently had been paroled after he was convicted of vandalism. None of them
condoned the act nor did anyone consider it funny. Do you know what those teen-agers
3
mostly were concerned with? They were concerned with the
approach that could be made to get this young fellow to change his ways!
It would be a good thing if more of the older adults would
discuss this kind of problem from such a constructive viewpoint.
Having talked with many high school teachers and
principals as well as with many parents, I would like to sum up those
conversations and tell you what we believe about you teen-agers.
We believe that you have problems to meet. Some of these
problems are similar and some are quite dissimilar from those that we had to
meet in our own generation. We believe that the easy accessibility of alcoholic
beverages, high-speed automobiles, the wide-spread dissemination of sex
information divorced from high moral standards, and a laxity in the principles
of some of the older adults have created for you serious problems in your
lives.
We believe that the way most of you are meeting these
problems is heartening and admirable.
We believe you want a good life, that you plan seriously
to obtain a good education to build a satisfying career, and to fulfill your
place in the community as a good citizen.
We believe that you do not approve of the obnoxious or
criminal acts' of the few misguided young people who commit them any more than
we who are older approve of them.
We believe that you face a strong urge to be popular and
that this urge sometimes takes the wrong trend. We believe it may seem to you
that in order to be one of the "Mister Bigs" in the school you must
have a "customized job" with the "nose shaved" and
"duals" and a forward torque that will "lay a good strip
anytime, any place."
Again, we believe that you are meeting this problem with
good sense and admirable restraint, and developing a sense of real values. In
every high school there exists a great admiration for the outstanding scholars
and leaders of the student body. I recently attended a meeting for the purpose
of taking some new members into the National Honor Society. It was most
reassuring to see the attitudes of the students at large, and to observe the
great admiration for these outstanding scholars.
All this is not flattery; it is the truth. We love you,
Miss and Mr. Teenager! we believe in you. As parents and teachers our hearts
are filled with the desire to help.
Let me make a request in closing. Take us into your
confidence. Let us
4
know how you think and feel. If there are things you
believe are unjust, talk about them. If we do not seem to understand, have
patience. Give us a little time, and then talk about them some more.
* * *
1. Make sure that your automobile is in good condition.
2. Watch for school children and grownups.
3. Keep your mind on driving and not on your passengers.
4. Stay within the speed limit. Keep good control of your
car at all time.
-THE MANUAL CRAFTSMAN
Manual High and Vocational School.
Kansas City, Missouri.
* * *
A Ham's Soliloquy
(Apologies to Bill Shakespeare)
To rise, or not to rise, that is the question.
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind, to cast off
The unseemly shackles of Morpheus, or to sink
Quietly back into the consoling arms of Lethe.
To dawdle comfortably along the path of the least
resistance,
Or to struggle desperately for minute and questionable
accomplishments.
Life is not for ease and comfort, for the ultimate of
ease and
Comfort is death.
It matters little whether the goal is attained,
It is the struggle that is the essence of life.
By our daily toil, therefore, we justify our own
existence,
And- make our tiny, unnoticed marks upon the endless
scroll of history.
by Dan Fry
5
By F. P. Stone, Editor of the Australian Saucer Record
One is not long associated with the study of UFO
literature, or the work of research into the phenomena, without coming upon
these strange and fantastic reports of spacecraft beings and their behavior. In
this category are those accounts of green men, little men, very weird
disappearing men, and many other such stories.
At first the logical mind does the natural thing in
casting aside such "rubbish" as unworthy of consideration. Without
specifying any particular case as being more fantastic than others and not
worth consideration, one is compelled by weight of evidence at times to study
them in the light of possibilities, even if they are improbable to the human
mind. And it is here that the whole key of the researcher's work lies; for we
are naturally prone to measure everything upon the scale of our own human
conceptions, rather than realize that we are literally dealing with things
"out of this world" and which therefore in some cases are not
necessarily human as we know it.
Let us then before we cast aside such cases, stop and
consider some of them at least.
Take the cases of the men three or four feet high. Surely
this is one of the most reasonable of the reports for it is not beyond our own
human standard. We have men of the Pygmy tribes, and the Masai, both extremes
in stature, in one continent alone on this earth. Why not on other planets?
Then there are the reports of hairy, animal-like
creatures. Do we not use animals here on earth, to do laborious work for us? It
is to be noted that in such reports the creatures were doing manual labor;
therefore is it not reasonable to suppose that they could have been trained by
the intelligentsia of the saucers to do such work while they remained as
the scientific crew? It must be added that these reports have been given by
many reliable witnesses.
From these we go to the definitely weird and fantastic
reports. Space does not permit us to probe into these here; but one cannot with
a wave of the hand dismiss them all entirely. One should file them ready for
further investigation as more evidence arrives. Possibilities of alien forms of
life have not passed the mind of the great scientist, Professor Oberth, who
prefers to believe that a form of life dissimilar to ours is more likely than
that of homo sapiens to exist on other planets. He himself is a declared
believer in the UFO as being extra-terrestrial.
6
While we as a society prefer to take the opposite view as
most possible In general, we cannot afford to ignore any case and therefore
must await with patience future revelation of knowledge. Because the evidence,
in those cases and others, at times appears to be beyond our ken, we would be
foolish indeed to cast any evidence completely aside as impossible. We must
remember that the Great Architect in His Grand Design of the Universe may have
many designs and patterns beyond our greatest imagination. So often the things
which are impossible with man are possible with God, and it would be well to
take this axiom as a guide and yardstick: "The supernatural is the natural
not fully understood."
Reprinted from Vol. 2, No. 1, Australian Saucer Record
* * *
By M. K. Spencer
When we survey the history of the world from ancient times
to the present age of Atomic and Hydrogen bombs, we feel certain that, in spite
of occasional setbacks, it is a history of progress, materially, morally,
mentally and spiritually. Aristotle considered woman as a chattel and slavery
as a natural institution. Each generation has witnessed remarkable progress and
the backward countries of the world are steadily advancing. The age of
imperialism and colonialism is fast ending. It was a unique event in the
history of the world when Great Britain, most peacefully and amicably, withdrew
its political sovereignty over India and allowed its people full rights of self
government.
The war that has been threatening to cover the whole world
for many months past will not take place, for the very weapons which man has
invented for the destruction of his brother man can also cause his own
destruction. Man has come to realize that his own happiness, peace and
prosperity lie in the happiness, peace and prosperity of his neighbor. Man's
consciousness of the Sovereign Spirit working in life has made man aware how
puny he is, and that the only way to be happy is by following God's Law of Love
and Harmony, which must be the rule for the coming millennium.
7
We are marching towards that millennium. The Spirit is
emerging triumphant. The West and East have at last begun to understand each
other and the various ideologies are melting into one comprehensive
understanding that the world's peoples must unite and men must march, joyfully
and peacefully, hand in hand, towards one common goal of One World Government
and Oneness of Religion.
269, R. A. Lines, Karachi, Pakistan. Reprinted from
"The Voice."
* * *
I hold the unconquerable belief that science and peace
will triumph over ignorance and war, that nations will come together not to
destroy but to construct and that the future belongs to those who accomplish
most for humanity.
-LOUIS PASTEUR
* * *
It is my intense conviction that our decision, born of
necessity to build the hydrogen bomb must be accompanied by the immediate
initiation of a moral crusade for peace having a far greater potential effect
than any physical weapon, even chunks of the sun.
-BRIAN MCMAHON
Tolerance is the positive and cordial effort to understand
another's beliefs, practices and habits without necessarily sharing or
accepting them.
-JOSHUA LOTH LIEBMAN
There are no warlike people - just warlike leaders.
-RALPH J. BUNCHE
* * *
Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be
understood.
-MARIE CURIE
* * *
Bigotry and intolerance are always the inevitable marks of
ignorance, while the first fruits of education are sympathy and understanding.
It may make you indifferent to what you believe, but it will never make you
indifferent to how you live.
-REV. JOSEPH R. SIZOO
It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the
former lives on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter lies in the
depth where few are willing to search for it.
-GOETHE
8
Will Monsters Appear in Our Times?
Some believe that the past thirty years of Science Fiction
have prepared people for the coming of space craft and space travel, and that
higher intelligence planned it that way. Now that sightings of extraterrestrial
visitors have become news, a disturbing question arises in the mind. Will the
malevolent beings and horrors depicted in science fiction also materialize -
giant ants, or reptiles, or perhaps "tenuous monsters from the Id" or
some other menace from earth, sea or sky?
To those who know of the detailed correspondence of
physical things with spiritual or intellectual things, more specifically as
explained -by that great savant and seer, Swedenborg (1688-1772), it is an
alarming fact that the monsters, or their spirit counterpart, are already here.
These dragons are of a very definite and identifiable sort, and the field of
the earth has become so poisoned that the planet is in danger. The symbolic
forms appear in the horror movies, King Kong, Godzilla the Beast from 20,000
Fathoms, and so on.
These gargantuan creatures far surpass in size and
destructiveness the early fictitious monsters like the beast in Poe's
"Murders in the Rue Morgue" or the degenerate villain of Stevenson's
"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," which strangled women and crushed children
underfoot. King Kong climbs buildings, fishes people out of windows. Godzilla
stomps on cities, tears up railroad trains, burns with a death ray. These
bogeys defy army and navy might, and swat jet planes out of the sky. While Poe
and Stevenson obviously intended to symbolize unregenerate human nature
unloosed, our modern movies plainly are presenting not one man's perversions,
but society's wrongdoing. Whole nations go wrong, as Germany, Italy and Japan
did, following mangods and wreaking destruction. Such inverted nationalism is
only one sort of monster that menaces the planet. We Americans fondly believe
that our country would never be overrun by false nationalism, although a mad
unreasoning program of storing atomic bombs has been started.
When the reviving Nazis warn foreign troops to leave
"the holy soil of Germany," they are mixing religion with patriotism.
When a Los Angeles
9
newspaper, debating whether or not to end hydrogen bomb
tests for the safety of mankind, declares that, "of course the over-riding
consideration is the safety of the United States,' the editor is mixed up
similarly. Such thinking mixes three levels of value: self interest, the cause
of mankind and the love of God. The "isms" that result are spiritual
monstrosities which can crush one man or a nation spiritually and, in the long
run, physically.
In the Bible, the first command is to love God. The second
is to love thy neighbor. A man can be trusted to look out for his self
interest, so no third command is needed for this. Again we refer to Swedenborg,
who says the love of God should be as the head, the love of the neighbor (including
city, state and flag) as the body, and self interest as the feet. The lower
must serve the higher. When inversion becomes a habit, watch out for King Kong!
If a whole nation goes flag crazy, race crazy or is given to emperor worship,
catastrophe cannot be averted. The monsters then crush the intellectual cities
that house reason, they tear down the spiritual buildings that are the homes of
the decent kindly human impulses. They tear up the moral railroad tracks that
hold the nation together morally, and do the other things whose physical
symbols make such a gruesome spectacle on the movie screen. After spiritual
devastation, a nation cannot avoid physical destruction, especially in an
Atomic Age.
The detailed correspondence is not so hard to grasp. The
word "King" suggests that the evil represented is the love and habit
of ruling over others, which is the life of militarism, or any totalitarianism,
for that matter. The monster's thick hide stands for imperviousness to public
criticism or pangs of conscience. The peanut sized brain speaks for itself. The
huge voice might symbolize the primitive claim to general power, whether in a
religious, political or commercial field. The defending army could mean man's
moral reserves in action; the navy, his knowledge at work to repel the
"ism;" the air force, his religious resources in operation. Whether
man or nation, he or they must overcome the monster.
Will actual physical dragons appear on earth to symbolize
these spirit counterparts that threaten mankind today? If they do, will the
space people help us defend the planet's surface? Or will they leave it to us
to act together, all nations, in a common cause? Who knows?
-BY BILL RAWLINSON
10
In his examination of the natural laws or facts of the
Universe, man is greatly handicapped by the fact that insofar as time is
concerned, he has never progressed beyond a unidimensional perception. Those
who are familiar with the analogies used to explain some portions of the theory
of relativity, will recall that in attempting to achieve a concept of a four
dimensional continuum, the reader is asked first to imagine a man who is
conscious of only one dimension in space. His entire universe consists of a
single line. If a dot were placed on the line in front of him, and one behind,
he would be completely imprisoned, since he would not be able to conceive of
going over or around them. As his intelligence and consciousness developed, he
would eventually become aware of a second dimension, and to imprison him then,
it would be necessary to enclose him in a circle. With further development, he
would become aware of a third dimension in which a sphere would be a prison,
and so on.
We are now conscious of three dimensions of space, and
have done considerable mathematical reasoning in regard to a fourth.
Unfortunately, insofar as time is concerned, our consciousness has never
progressed beyond the first dimension. We are confined to a single line in
time. We have no concept of lateral motion, nor can we even turn around upon
that line. We can only go forward. Many of the difficulties which we encounter
in our attempt to understand the operation of the natural laws arise because of
our severely restricted concept of the nature of time.
Time has often been referred to as the `fourth dimension'
by those who attempt to explain our present concept of relativity. It is
usually pointed out that, since all known bodies of matter in the Universe are
constantly in motion with respect to each other, if we wish to describe the position
of any body, it is necessary to give a point in time as well as a spatial
relationship to any other body or bodies. There is, however, a more convincing
method of demonstrating that time is a dimension, although we believe it would
be more precise to consider it as the first dimension rather than the fourth
since it is the one dimension in which all motion must take place. We are at
the present, conscious of three dimensions of space, and we know that motion
can take place in any one of the three, but whichever dimension of space is
involved,
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the motion must also take place in time. Our term for the
rate of motion is the word velocity, which is defined as being the degree of
change in location per unit of time. If an object has a velocity of 1000 feet
per second, with respect to our point of observation, we will see that in one
thousandth of a second the object will have moved one foot. In one millionth of
a second it will have moved only one thousandth of a foot, and so on. We can
easily see that if the time becomes zero the motion must also become zero.
The science of photography has reached a state of
development which permits us to take photographs with very short exposure
times. By the stroboscopic method of photography, which is now being superceded
by an even faster method, we were able to take several hundred thousand
consecutive pictures in one second. In these pictures even the fastest
projectile seems frozen into immobility. We have taken pictures of a rifle
bullet penetrating an ordinary electric light bulb, in which three complete and
consecutive pictures have been made between the time the bullet first touched
the bulb and the time that the first crack appeared in the glass. In these
pictures, the bullet appears to be completely motionless. Of course the taking
of the picture actually did involve a very small elapse of time, and so a very
small amount of motion did occur during its taking, but it again illustrates
the fact that no motion which we can perceive, can take place except within
that dimension of time of which we are conscious.
Having pointed out the limitations of our consciousness
concerning this factor which we call time, let us now go back and examine it as
best we can, with that degree of consciousness and understanding which we have.
We will again attempt to choose the simplest possible
definition. We defined space as `that which separates bodies of matter,' so we
will define time as `that which separates events.' (If there is no discerning
separation in this respect, the events are said to be simultaneous.) Of course
we immediately hear the objection that events may be separated by space as well
as time, or that they may be separated by space without being separated by
time. This statement, while usually considered to be true, yet forms a
stumbling block which has precipitated many a philosopher into the quagmire of
misunderstanding and paradox. The difficulty arises in our attempt to define
the term simultaneous. If two events are separated by space, how shall we
determine whether or not they are separated by time? The observer cannot be
present at the site of both events, and so must observe one or both of them
through the separation of space, and therefore through the curvature of natural
law which the separation represents. In referring to this problem
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in the introduction to his first book on relativity, Dr.
Einstein pointed out that since our only contact with the world about us is
through our senses, and since all of the knowledge which we have concerning the
universe has come to us through them, if we are to formulate mathematical rules
based upon our observations, we must begin with the postulate that the things
which our senses tell us, are true. If we should observe, through a large
telescope, the creation of a nova in a remote galaxy, and at the same time
observe the eruption of a volcano upon our own earth, we must assume, for the
purpose of our mathematics, that the two events are simultaneous. This is a
postulate which is difficult to accept because the faculty which we call reason
immediately interposes the objection that a separation in space involves an
elapse of time between the event and our perception of it. However, Dr.
Einstein points out that if we allow our reason to modify our observations, we
will be evolving a concept whose value is based only upon the validity of our
reason, rather than upon the accuracy of our observations. We must postulate
that events which are observed simultaneously, occur simultaneously insofar as
that observer is concerned, and that, therefore, the simultaneity of events is
a condition which depends entirely upon the position of the observer with
respect to those events.
If we examine this concept carefully, we find that time
follows the same curve of natural law which is apparent in the operation of all
the basic factors of nature, and again the radius of that curvature is measured
by the quantity C. A simple analogy may serve to make this statement more
readily understood. Suppose we were to start today to build a space ship. We
will postulate that the ship will require one year of our time to build, and
that when completed, it will be capable of infinite acceleration. We will
assume that a continuous supply of energy is available from an outside source,
and that the craft will continue to accelerate so long as this energy acts upon
it. During the year which we spend in building the craft, light is being
reflected from us into space, so that an observer with a telescope stationed at
some other point in space could follow the course of its construction. When we
have completed the construction of our craft we will enter it and take off for
a destination which we will assume to be a planet orbiting about Alpha or Proxima
Centauri, our next nearest suns, about four light years distant. We have a
telescope of unlimited power in the rear of the craft pointed toward the earth
which we are leaving, and another telescope at the front focused upon the
planet which is our destination. We will set the field strength for a constant acceleration,
and seat ourselves at our telescopes to observe the result. After
13
we have risen a few miles from the surface, we will, for
the purpose of furnishing an additional reference point, eject from the craft
and its field, a cannon ball or other sphere of metal which has been specially
painted so that it can readily be observed from any distance with the aid of
our unlimited telescopes. Since we had not yet reached escape velocity when the
ball was ejected, we will observe that it soon begins to fall back to earth.
As we continue to accelerate, we will observe that the
kinetic energy differential which we are producing between ourselves and our
points of observation is producing exactly the effect upon time which is
predicted by our postulate of the curvature of natural law. Since the distance
or degree of separation between ourselves and the earth is increasing with
time, the energy differential is negative, which means that the natural laws at
the observed point will be displaced towards the base or zero line of the sine
curve, insofar as our observations are concerned. If we reach a velocity equal
to one half that of light, and then observe a clock on earth through our
telescope, we will see that in ten hours of our time, only five hours have been
recorded by the earth clock. If we observe the test sphere which we ejected
during our take off, (assuming that it has not yet reached the ground) we will
see that it is not falling at the rate predicted by our laws of gravitation,
but at a rate only half as great. We will also observe that the sphere is not
accelerating at the rate predicted by our laws, nor even at half that rate.
Since we ourselves are still accelerating, the observed acceleration of the
sphere is diminished by a factor which is proportionate to ours. We must
remember that we can only observe events through the light which is emitted or
reflected by the objects concerned with those events, and if we ourselves have
a motion equal to one half that velocity in the direction in which the light is
moving, then a column or sequence of light impulses which were emitted from the
earth during a five hour period, would require ten hours to pass our point of
observation.
When the velocity of our craft reaches that of light with
respect to the earth, there will be a negative energy differential, equal to
the quantity C, existing between us and our point of observation. We will
observe that all natural laws upon the earth have reached zero value with
respect to us. All motion and all changes have ceased. If we observe our test
sphere we will see that gravity is no longer acting upon it, since it has
ceased to fall. All laws of motion are in abeyance and the factor which we call
time has ceased to have any significance.
To make these observations, of course, we would require
one of the new
14
telescopes which operates on the retention of vision
principle, where the last image to arrive remains upon the viewing screen until
a new light image arrives to change it. When we reach the velocity C, no new
light will arrive, hence the picture will not change until we change our
velocity.
Since we postulated at the beginning of this analogy that
our craft was capable of unlimited acceleration, and since the postulated force
continues to act, our velocity will continue to increase and we will have
between our selves and the earth, a rate of increase in the degree of
separation which is greater than that specified by the quantity C. We can do
this from our point of reference although, as will be explained later, we
cannot do it from the point of view of an observer upon the earth. When we have
passed through the velocity C, a startling change occurs in our observations.
We no longer observe the earth from the telescope at the rear of the craft. The
earth now appears in the telescope at the front, and we are no longer leaving
the earth. We are now approaching it. We will see a craft which is identical to
ours, and which is indeed our own craft, detach itself from us and move back
toward earth ahead of us at a rate which is proportionate to our excess over
the velocity C. If we observe the earth, we discover that all natural laws are
operating in reverse. If we observe the test sphere we will see that it is now
falling away from the earth rather than towards it. Gravity between the
earth and the sphere has become negative with respect to our point of
reference as have all the natural laws. We observe this through the forward
telescope rather than that at the rear, because we are now overtaking the light
which had passed us before we had reached the velocity C, and since we are
overtaking it, we encounter first that light which passed us last. All events
occur in reverse, just as would the scenes in a motion picture film which is
being run backwards.
If we complete our journey to the planet which is our
destination, at an average velocity equal to 4 times C, we will arrive with an
elapsed time of one year as measured by the clocks on our own craft. During the
journey, however, we will observe the elapse of five years of time upon the
planet which we are approaching, and the elapse of three years of negative time
upon the earth which we are leaving. In other words we will arrive at our
destination three years before we left the earth. If immediately upon our
arrival we seat ourselves at a telescope of sufficient power to observe the
earth at close range, we will see ourselves going about the daily tasks which
we performed two years before we began to build the space craft in which we made
the journey. If we then focus the telescope upon the proper point in
15
space we will see ourselves in our space craft, flying
backwards toward the earth.
We are now in a position from which we can observe the
sine curve nature of all natural law, and to measure precisely the radius of
the curvature. If we observe the earth, we see that time there is positive.
That is: it is moving in the direction which we consider normal. Since there is
no significant energy differential, the time rate is essentially the
same, but because of the degree of spatial separation there will be a
displacement along the time curve between the observer and the point which he
is observing. According to our theory of the curvature of natural law, this
displacement should be equal to D divided by C, where D is the distance and C
is our basic factor. In the case of our present observation the distance is
equal to 4:C:Years, which if divided by C will equal 4 years, which is
precisely the degree of displacement which we observe. If we now turn our
attention to the space craft, we find that we are observing it through an
energy differential which exceeds the quantity C and therefore the craft is
within the negative portion of the curve, and all natural laws will be
operating in reverse at that point. We are now in a unique position, in that we
now can, from a single point in time or at least from a single point in the
only dimension of time of which we are conscious, observe ourselves occupying
three rather widely separated positions in space. First: our position at the
telescope as the observer, at this point time is positive; second, our position
on the surface of the earth. Here time is also positive but has a negative
displacement upon the time curve which is equal to four years. Third, our
position in the space craft: here time is negative, as demonstrated by the fact
that we observe it flying backwards toward the earth, and all actions taking
place within it occur in reverse order. This is, of course, due to the fact
that the craft had a velocity greater than that of C and so was constantly
leaving behind the light which was emitted or reflected from it. As we observe
the craft from our new reference point, the last light which it emitted arrives
first.
If we continue to observe for several years, we will
eventually see ourselves build the craft and take off into space. At the same
time we can see ourselves in the same craft hurtling backward through space
toward the inevitable meeting point where the past and the future join to
become the present. Since we are observing ourselves simultaneously occupying
three different positions in space, we can readily see that we are forced to a
concept of time which includes more than one dimension. If we continue to
observe the two craft, we will see that the one which is moving away from us is
constantly
16
slowing down, while the one coming toward us from the
earth is accelerating. At the instant in which the velocity of the receding
craft reaches zero, the approaching craft will reach it, coincide with it, and
both craft will disappear completely from our view. Our lateral excursion into
time has completed its curve and we have returned to the starting point in our uni-dimensional
concept.
There is only one thing left to do. We immediately leap
into our space craft and begin our return journey to earth. As before, we
achieve an average velocity equal to 4C. We land our craft near the observatory
of an astronomer who is a friend of ours, and rush in to tell him of our
return, we find him seated at his telescope observing our landing upon the
planet which we had set out to visit. When we inform him that we achieved an
average velocity of 4C, his reply is that this is impossible since the laws of
relativity clearly state that no object can achieve a velocity in excess of C
(with respect to a given reference point). He will also point out that he has
been observing us constantly since our take off from the earth and that only
now, today, five years later, were we observed to have reached our destination.
Since the journey required five years of earth time, our average velocity was
only four fifths that of light.
According to the primary postulate of relativity, that for
mathematical purposes we must accept the results of our observations as valid,
the astronomer is perfectly correct in his statement that we did not. and could
not have exceeded the velocity C. The mere fact that we may have returned, be
seated at his side, and may perhaps be assisting him in his work, does not in
any way affect the validity of his observations nor the mathematics of
relativity which he applies thereto. He can only state that our arrival upon
the distant planet, and the moment of our return to earth were in fact
simultaneous.
We can see that, even if our energy level had been so
close to infinite that the outward trip had required only one second, if during
the one second trip we had emitted enough light to make observation possible,
the astronomer upon the earth would note that the trip required four years and
one second, and so would have undeniable proof of the mathematics which
postulate that only with infinite energy may the velocity C be achieved.
17
By Idabel Overlease
A reprint from the El Monte, California,
Press, May 24, 1956
Having recently researched a show on FLYING SAUCERS for my
weekly T.V. program, ASSIGNMENT AMERICA, I now feel that I can make an
authoritative statement: either there ARE space-craft from other planets, or
there are NOT!
I talked with honest, responsible men such as a high
school teacher, a Doctor of Optometry, and an engineer, all of whom swore they
had seen flying saucers, and talked with people from outer space. We checked
with the heads of the U.S. Air Force and they said, "NONSENSE! These are
dead planets, and there can be no life under such atmospheric conditions."
And being the kind of gal who believes practically everything I have concluded
that there are flying saucers and that they are all nonsense!
Now the only thing that remains is to try and figure out
what the space people think about US! And I can see the goggle-eyed space man
now . . . as he hurries home to his family on another planet after a trip to
earth. He tosses his space helmet to little Nixxe to play with and says to his
wife:
"Guess where I been?" She says, "Don't give
me that routine about flying to EARTH again . . . why don't you tell me you
have been working overtime, like OTHER space husbands?"
"I tell you, I HAVE been there," he insists,
"and THIS you will never believe."
"You are SO right!" she replies, flipping her
ears around so's not to miss anything, "but go ahead."
"Well," says the space-man, "on earth they
have periods of light and dark. guess what everybody does?"
"Play blind-man's bluff?"
"No-o."
"Listen to political speeches on whatever antiquated
system of communications they are using??"
"No. So why don't you give up?"
"So tell me, already."
Then the spaceman tries to get control of himself, and
says, "When it gets dark on earth, EVERYBODY . . . but everybody . . .
falls prone on their posteriors, and loses consciousness until it gets light
again! Can you BELIEVE IT?"
His wife comes close and sniffs his breath. "Be
quiet!" she hisses, "you want the neighbors to think you're a
crackpot? You know what the heads of
18
SMOG!"
the INTERPLANETARY PATROL FORCE have said!"
He cowers and says, "What?"
"They say it's all NONSENSE. And that there can be no
life on earth because no one could live under the atmospheric conditions of ALL
THAT SELAH !
Vancouver Area Flying Saucer Club
Vancouver, B. C.
Sept. 12, 1956
Understanding,
El Monte, Calif.
Dear Mrs. Mills:
I received this morning, 8 copies of Understanding, issues
from April to July - no invoice enclosed, but I presume said copies are 25c
each? I have enclosed $2.00. Trust this is correct. We could sell many more at
our meetings, if you could possibly supply us.
We have nearly 150 members now, and interest is growing.
We have had letters from Calgary, Alberta and Prince George, B.C., from people
who are very interested, and who want to form clubs there. The gentleman in Calgary
is 71 years old. He mailed us a clipping from the Calgary Herald, which
featured, on the front page, the lecture given by Mr. Fry to our club, at the Art
Gallery in June. The gentleman from Prince George, phoned long distance for
information, then drove over 600 miles down through the mountains to Vancouver,
to attend our meeting last night. We have given them information regarding your
books, etc. Trust you may be able to give us confirmation concerning
subscriptions, and inform us if more booklets are available. Our next meeting
will be October 9th. We should like to have some more literature by then, if
possible.
Best wishes for continued success.
Sincerely yours,
(Miss) O. M. BEATON, SECTY.
19
Reports of sightings are coming in from all parts of the
globe and we are expecting even more in the near future. While not carried in
the metropolitan papers, the following is typical of the many reports. This
account was submitted by a subscriber, Mrs. Jack Breithaupt of Grants Pass, Oregon.
It appeared in the Grants Pass newspaper of June 30, 1956.
HIGH FLYING OBJECTS SIGHTED BY FIVE MEN
Five men working at the Spaulding mill at Murphy yesterday
noon reported viewing two sets of what appeared to be high flying saucers
streaking across the sky in a northwesterly direction, according to Archie
Carlin on SE G street, one of the viewers. No evidence of vapor trail, such as
made by jet aircraft, was observed, he said. There were five to six units in
each of two groups which passed about four minutes apart.
* * *
Greetings to new Units of Understanding that have
organized within the last two weeks! The San Mateo, California group is headed
by Celia Barnes of San Mateo. The new Pomona unit is under the leadership of
Natalie horeson of Pomona.
We have received a communication from the Oakland, California
Unit stating that there were about eighty present at their July meeting. Do we
have a Unit that can top this? Let's hear from you. We welcome reports of
progress and other news items from all Units.
The secretary of the Vancouver, British Columbia Flying
Saucer Club writes that they now have 100 members with more joining at every
meeting. They meet on the second Tuesday of each month in a lecture hall of the
Vancouver Art Gallery. Vancouver readers please note.
Understanding has obtained a few copies of the book,
"A Plan for Peace" by Grenville Clark. While the book was written in
1950, and is not now in general circulation, we believe it to be a valuable
text, because it contains an approach to world peace which has been
enthusiastically endorsed by many of the foremost men of this country.
Although the book lists at $1.25, it is being made
available to readers of Understanding at 75 cents per copy as long as our small
supply lasts.
20
BOOKS RECOMMENDED
AS AN APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING
A plan for peace, by grenville clark ................................................. $.75
army of light by florence donovan R.n. .............................................. 1.50
greater saucer conspiracy, by major donal keyhoe ................ 3.50
INTO THIS WORLD AND OUT AGAIN, BY GEORGE VAN TASSEL ................. 1.50
inside the space ships, by george adamski ........................................ 3.50
many mansions, by gina cerminara ........................................................... 3.75
peace, by florence donovan r.n. .............................................................. .50
secret of the saucers, by orfeo angelucci ................................... 3.00
THE CASE FOR THE UFO, BY M.K. JESSUP......................................................
3.50
The venusians, by lee crandall ................................................................ 2.00
TO MEN OF EARTH, BY DANIEL FRY ................................................................... 1.00
UNITY IN THE SPIRIT, BY COMPTESSE DE PIERREFEU ................................. 2.00
UNIVERSE AND DR. EINSTEIN, BY LINCOLN BARNET.....................................
2.75
visitors from space, by eugene drake ................................................ 1.00
WHITE SANDS INCIDENT, BY DANIEL FRY.........................................................
1.50
WISDOM IN PRACTISE, BY VERA STANELY ALDER........................................
2.75
PUBLICATIONS
GOLDEN LIGHT ............................................................................... DONATION
BASIS
SAUCERS.................................................................................... (four
issues) $1.00
TELONIC RESEARCH ................................................................................................ .50
flying saucer review ........................................................................................ .30
LITTLE LISTENING POST ................................................................ (SIX
ISSUES) 2.00
These books may be purchased from Understanding. We pay all
postage.
Residents of California please add 4% Sales Tax.
DOUBLE ISSUE NOTE
Because of the tremendous activity that has taken place in
the last few months, the publication of the magazine Understanding has been so
greatly delayed that we have found it necessary to resort to a two month issue
under one cover. All subscriptions will be extended one month in order that
subscribers may receive twelve issues.
