Each year, the President of the United States prepares an address to the Congress and to the people of this country, concerning the then existing state of the nation. These addresses usually consist principally of a general recognition of the more urgent problems currently afflicting the country, together with a few tentative solutions of those problems. If such an address were to be prepared today, the first problem would almost certainly relate to the simple fact that, during the past few years, the confidence of the American people in the "American Way," has reached an all time low. Nothing seems to go as it should any more, and the basic confidence of the American people in the ultimate triumph of good over evil, has been shaken as never before.

If we were to look into the mind of the average citizen today, this is a sample of what we would see going on there.

1. We have just lost the first war in our nation's history. We lost it to a tiny, fifth rate country, over which we had absolute aerial and naval control, and a seven to one advantage in combat troops. How could we have become so utterly impotent militarily? Must we now sit back and see all of Southeast Asia fall, like ripe fruit, into the Communist's hands?

2. Our nation's economy is in the death grip of galloping inflation which has been spurred on and accelerated by each of the Administration’s 'Phases' ostensibly designed to throttle it. If the Phases continue,

2 UNDERSTANDING

they will eventually 'phase out' our economy entirely. Why?

3. The Watergate Committee's continued dredging in the political cesspool, is making it plain that no political or military agency can be trusted to tell the truth to their employers, the American people, if there is any possible way to avoid doing so. Why?

Complete answers to all of these questions would, of course, require more space than is available in this publication, but perhaps a little of the light of understanding can be shed upon them.

In the first place, we did not exactly lose the Vietnam war, although we certainly did not win it either! The fact is that we have never permitted ourselves to win any war since the horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki burned itself into our National Conscience.

Although there were many individual and local cases of needless brutality and viciousness, as there are in every war, our portion of the Vietnam conflict was, for years, conducted under a set of ground rules which forbade our troops to do anything calculated to impair, seriously, either the will or the ability of the enemy to continue fighting. If North Vietnam had been bombed the way Berlin, Hamburg and other German cities were, with saturation drops of incendiaries over the en-tire cities, killing tens of thousands and leaving hundreds of thousands without food, water or shelter, North Vietnam would have ceased to exist as a nation in about three months, (and the United States would have taken upon itself a burden of guilt which it could not have lived down in three generations!).

Because of world opinion, if not our own national conscience, it is no longer feasible to commit the acts of utter brutality and inhumanity necessary to win a war. Since we dare not win them, and we cannot afford to lose them, it seems only logical that we should stay out of them entirely!

In our once creeping but now galloping inflation, everyone is worrying about the rapid increase in the cost of goods and services, when the actual problem is the rapid decrease in the value of the dollar, (or any other of the world currencies).

For several decades, our unions and other bargaining agencies have constantly insisted that we must do less and less for each dollar, yet we cannot seem to understand why the dollar now does less and less for us!

For those who are worried about the honesty and productivity of government, we have a simple suggestion. Most honest merchants offer to return the customer's money if he is not satisfied with what he has received for it. If the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and all other taxing agencies would adopt the same policy, there would be the greatest and fastest improvement in government that has ever been seen!

OCTOBER 1973 3

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS

Nobody was really sure where it started. It just seemed to be happening all over at once. In Germantown, Pa., Mrs. Morse delivered her ultimatum to her two sons.

"Boys-I've spent about $30.00 on that Hi-Fi and it's still no good-You'll have to work it by hand and that's that."

And so it began-maybe it wasn't in Pa., maybe it was in Tampa, Florida early one summer morning. Ethel Simons decided to whip some cream for a strawberry shortcake. She started to hand whip the heavy cream while watching the children at play. Her motions were so automatic that when she remembered to look down at the cream-there was butter. She couldn't exactly explain the satisfaction in having whipped butter when she actually wanted whipped cream.

In Topeka, Kansas, Mr. MacDonald kicked his electric mower for the last time. This was it! Mr. MacDonald walked over to the old-fashioned lawn mower in the rear of the garage and with a sigh steered it outside. He started on the outside of the lawn and mowed in straight lines. About an hour later, he stopped on the inside of his lawn and surveyed his work with satisfaction. He was sweating but it felt good. My, but it sure felt good.

In Lake Mahopac, N. Y., Mrs. Jones was waxing the floor of her summer cottage. She had forgotten to bring her buffing machine and she started to polish the floor with a piece of flannel making big circular movements with her arms. "My-this exercise was really something"-she could feel it in her waist and shoulders and the muscles of her thighs strained with each movement. She could see the shine in the floor getting brighter with each sweeping movement of her arm. She didn't remember being satisfied with physical work in a long time. Soon, it was lunch time and she felt she had earned the lunch she usually begrudged herself.

Joe Egerton ran his hand over the top of the table he had stained yesterday. He reached for the sander, plugged it in, turned it on, and nothing happened. Then, he remembered-it was broken and not worth fixing. "Oh, well, I'll have to sand this by hand like I did when I first went into business." He wet the fine sandpaper and his hands fell into their old familiar motion. There was something in that expression "hand-rubbed." There was a difference.

In Seattle, Washington, a grey-haired man sighed as he turned away from his son's snow blower. His son was in Viet Nam and he was the only one who knew how to operate that snow blower. Well-the shovel it was! Somehow-a half an hour later-the snow wasn't surprised as it

4 UNDERSTANDING

fell on the grey head of Ed's father where he had fallen after only fifteen minutes of shoveling. Evelyn McHugh lay quietly too after climbing five floors to her apartment because the elevator had broken down. She had climbed her last stair.

However, in Flint, Michigan, Mrs. Dodge was feeling nostalgic after her stove broke down. She remembered the odor of fresh biscuits baking in the old coal stove. The stove had to be started at five in the morning so that breakfast would be ready in time, but the aroma of baking powder biscuits was compensation enough for the early hour.

And so it went all over the country-some things were good and some were bad. It was a 24-hour mechanical failure-every machine that was run by a motor ceased to function-not all at once but gradually - before people were actually aware of it. And so for 24 hours-before pandemonium could set in-people tried to make do-they went back to using their hands and the old techniques of cleaning, washing, polishing, painting, and cooking.

The next day everything was as usual and they never found the reason why for twenty-four hours everything had ceased to function. Maybe God had decided to set everyone back in time a little-maybe the slowed down pace would help curb the quick temper the country had developed. Even for a day! Maybe the people would remember their day behind the plow, behind the scrubbing board, in front of the coal stove, and behind the hand mower-if only a little patience and a lot of understanding and love would remain behind after their day of labor-then the day of work would not have been in vain!

MlRIAM MATZ

(First Serial Rights Only)

THE AREA OF MUTUAL AGREEMENT

This is the fourth of the prize winning essays submitted in our recent contest for proposals to be considered by an international Congress "to determine the areas of mutual agreement in the social sciences." It was written by Juliana Lewis of El Paso, Texas.

1. Resolved: That the right of all races to remain in a country under equal protection of its laws is preferable to confiscation of property, collection of an "education tax," expulsion and genocide.

2. Resolved: That regulated and controlled drug production, strictly for medicinal purposes, is to be desired over free-enterprise narcotics production and commerce.

3. Resolved: That instantaneous return of hijacked planes and ransom money and the hijackers is preferable to harboring of those who commit such international crimes.

4. Resolved: That some form of international regulation of world food production is preferable to destroying surpluses or paying farmers not to produce.

OCTOBER 1973 5

5. Resolved: That off-shore fishing and oil rights regulation and standardization is preferable to treaties by nations.

6. Resolved: That it is preferable to take the prestige out of violence and confer it instead upon the man who thinks a little less about him-self and a little more about his neighbor.

7. Resolved: That it is better to place more importance on how a man does his job than on his color and creed.

8. Resolved: That world regulation of over-flights, rocket flights, moon landings, and atomic experimentation is preferable to national regulation.

9. Resolved: That it is more intelligent to understand that one cannot resort to brutality toward an "enemy" without diminishing his own humanity.

10. Resolved: That international cooperation toward cutting down on noise pollution is preferable to a continuously increasing decibel count.

11. Resolved: That it is preferable that each man begin with himself in outlawing lawlessness because in the degree to which he outlaws it from his own thinking, he helps rule it out in the nation and the world.

12. Resolved: That world abolition of tobacco crops and switching to food crops is to be desired over encouragement to tobacco farmers.

13. Resolved: That international regulation of the sale and consumption of alcohol, requiring it to be served with food, is preferable to free access to liquor.

14. Resolved: That it is preferable that a person prove or disprove an argument within a system logically before criticizing the system that produced the conclusion.

15. Resolved: That international cooperation toward policing up the universe is preferable to the discontent created by dirtied-up seas, skies, and land.

16. Resolved: That it is preferable that the world find ways to relate to what is already the same in all of us, that is, our common humanity, as it is more considerable than that which divides us.

17. Resolved: That world prohibition of germ warfare is preferable to the senseless killing of innocent men, women, and children.

18. Resolved: That it is more desirable that International Olympic Competition return to the original purpose for which it was intended, that is, to increase friendship among nations rather than to reflect and deepen nationalistic and other animosities.

19. Resolved: That international planned parenthood is preferable to an unrestrained upsurge in the number of people to inhabit the earth.

20. Resolved: That, in order for our heroes to be among the living, it is preferable that honor be a word applied more to scholarship, statesmanship

6 UNDERSTANDING

and world citizenship than to deeds of war.

21. Resolved: That it is preferable for the teachers of the world to emphasize human responsibility and appreciation of the curricula in order to instill in youth a greater respect for God's and man's master-pieces.

22. Resolved: That it is preferable for the world's teachers to emphasize a more appropriate balance between mental and physical education at all age levels.

23. Resolved: That it is preferable to expend world resources to re-search other planets rather than to continue to deplete this planet with less hope for the future.

24. Resolved: That it is preferable to do world research in the infinite and infinitesimal than to continue our attention to the interval between.

25. Resolved: That it is better to accomplish worldly aims through self-control and compliance with the rules of morality than to cheat or give up truth.

A LITTLE GIRL

The birds, squirrels and lizards are attracted by the certain some-thing (aura? sparkle? flame?) of the little girl named I-can't-tell-you, who right now is sitting in her blue-jeans on the low stone fence between the wildflowers and the vegetables, gazing with eager eyes at the rocks, grass, trees, mud, stumps, bushes and fallen logs that stretch, roll, lie, and stand, here-and-there, beyond and around her. The world waiting for the now-and-then squish of her tennis shoes, tip-toed or flat-footed. (Tip-toed among the flowers and vegetables, flat-footed elsewhere.)

She's hardly aware of the power she possesses, of the translucent flames that dash around her, deflecting the gloom-rays; hardly aware that most girls in the world would gladly have it, more than their rubies or jade or tea-sets or dolls. And she wonders why the birds, squirrels and lizards are so near, and watching her. A happy girl, she's growing older, and so far no one's told her about the aura that surrounds her.

FRANKLIN SCHULANER

♦ ♦ ♦

Yesterday - We judged others

Today - Others judge us

Tomorrow - We judge ourselves

(From "Logos")

OCTOBER 1973 7

EXAMINE ALL THINGS: RITUAL MAGIC

Although we no longer burn witches at the stake, still there is considerable misunderstanding concerning what is considered as "the oldest known religion." Thus, we extract from the Gnostica News of May 21, 1973 the following concepts concerning "ritual magic" to expand your understanding of a philosophy which is currently being revived.

"A Lesson in Ritual Magic: Portal to the Gods" was written by J. B. Johnson, whom we quote.

Ritual is one of the richest means to awaken long-lost memories of the old Gods and their treasures ... But what is ritual? We can say simply that ritual is ceremony, a formulated pattern employing color, creativity, drama, music, imagery and symbol for the purpose of awakening within ourselves the presence of the Mysterious and Divine, that element which has the power to change and lead our lives into useful channels. We speak here of spiritual alchemy, the sub-lime transformation that overtakes the magician when through his art he discovers the Self of the immortal.

The purpose of true magic is not to bend to our will the minds and bodies of other human beings nor to employ 'elementals' existing on other planes of consciousness for this self-same and defeating end. Rather it is to discover our real selves, using every available and acceptable means at hand. When we make this discovery, we begin to see and to understand our relationship between the Creator and Created. He who attains this comprehension knows where he is going in life and conducts himself accordingly.

This enlightened person exudes love and happiness because he or she is pleasurably at one with the earth and the cosmos and is mentally and physically fulfilled. This person doesn't need to manipulate the minds of others, He al-ready possesses that which can and does make him happy.

Then, J. B. Johnson divides ritual magic into six states, the first of which is "CONSECRATION OF THE MAGICAL CIRCLE." This creates on the physical plane a miniature universe of microcosm, the en-compassing ring provides the magician standing within it with a psychic barrier to ward off the attacks of "demons," those elements lying concealed and barely repressed beneath the thin veneer of civilization. In reality, the demons are our alter egos, those atavistic, virulently aggressive instincts dwelling in what psychologists describe as the "shadow land" of the mind, those skeletons in our mental closets which we try to hide from ourselves.

But the magic circle evokes an even deeper psychological significance than mere protection. Since the dawn of mankind the circular form has conveyed a sense of mental well-being and spiritual wholeness, hence its long use in religious ceremony, art and architecture.

The magician, operating in a ritual circle "creates order out of confusion

8 UNDERSTANDING

and in partnership with the Divine Mysterium - present at the center of the circle-he reaches into the innermost depths of his being to ascertain the secrets of life. With these revelations he becomes the master of his soul as well as his fate."

The Circle, its size depending on the number of participants, is consecrated, blessed by the Higher Realm of Spirit, by the magician walking around its limits, usually wafting a censor of smoking incense in all directions. The paraphernalia "is designed to exalt the senses so that the channels of the collective unconscious, to the supernal, may be opened to allow an exchange to occur between the magician and the Unknown."

In THE PREFACE OR PREAMBLE, the second stage of the ritual, the magician, through sensory stimuli-the altar, magical tools, costume, lighting effects, theatrical movement and power of spoken words-be-gins unconsciously to excite his senses, inflaming the emotions, building up to the crucial moment when the God or Goddess is evoked.

In the next stage-CALLING FORTH OF THE HIGHER ELEMENT-occult forces are activated that "begin to unlock secret doors, leading to the mind's inner chambers. Slowly, dramatically, feeling literally the crackling electric force behind every word of the part he speaks, the magician, chalice in hand and arms upraised, calls forth the Higher Being."

The fourth stage-DESCENT INTO THE CIRCLE OF THE SUPERIOR BEING-is the ceremony's supreme moment. "An almost unbearable intensity binds the circle, raising already tortured emotions to new and feverish pitches of expectation" . . . Suddenly, the Being is in the ring-seen, felt or heard by the magician who is aware "that a psychic exchange of tremendous vitality, transcending all things mortal and earthly is pulsating between himself and the invoked."

The goal of the ritual-THE MAGICAL WORKING-now takes place. The magician "begins to feel his mind elevated to loftier realms. He is dramatically rejuvenated, physically, mentally and spiritually .... At this point he may achieve "astral vision," actually experiencing the wonderful marvels, curiosities and oddities of the Other World, the collective unconscious, or he may plunge deep into the mind's dark pools, seeking in its occult waters, the golden splendor of the Self, the God Within."

As the other-worlding energies begin to wane, the CLOSING OF THE RITUAL occurs. "To continue is to invite extreme mental exhaustion and in its wake, physical wreckage ... the Being is thanked in magical and poetic language ...... Then follows a simple banishing rite to exorcise any negative influences that may have become attached to the

OCTOBER 1973 9

ritual vehicle.

. . . "The magic is a conditioning process designed to lead the individual to self-discovery and through this revelation to the LIGHT, the light being the key to mortal existence."

Immediately following the ritual, the magician records in his spiritual diary the details of the experience and his reactions to its various aspects. He analyzes the reactions, probes the contents of symbols that surfaced, to arrive, if possible at the hidden meanings. "At no time does he dispense with the services of his critical reasoning faculties. To do so is to invite mental decay."

There is much more to the article, which our space limitations preclude using, so we encourage all those interested to write, enclosing 50c, to Gnostica News, P. 0. Box 3383, St. Paul, Minn. 55165.

UFOs INTERNATIONAL

A Canadian Report

(TORONTO STAR, Ontario, Canada, Nov. 29, 1972)

An unidentified flying object was reported between 5:30 and 6:30 A.M. today by three Glendon College students.

"It was a white ball, with an orange light on top. It hovered for about 10 minutes, then took off much faster than a plane," said Paul Smith. "Then it returned and stayed about 20 minutes."

Smith, Mark St. Louis and Roland Isaacs were skating in the valley beside the college when they spotted the object to the southeast, approximately over Scarborough Bluffs, they said.

UFO-Sighting in Nastola

(From VIMANA, Helsinki, Finland, No. 2,1972 - Finnish UFO Quarterly)

Mirjam Loise, a teacher, tells the following:

On November 10, 1970, I had an experience which altered my attitude to life. When walking with my dog I saw a huge, shining object in the sky. It was like a big moon emerging yellowish light. Its surface was even. It was moving slowly. In order to get witnesses for this event I went to Mr. Virtanen, a well-known weather prophet. I also fetched my son. Together we saw the light object which was now like a huge, bright cloud. Then the cloud lost height, lost some of its light and moved slowly out of sight. We were watching it for about 45 minutes. After this happened I have got really interested in everything concerning UFOs.

Mrs. Virtanen who watched the sight together with her husband tells: The object turned in a circle. It was looking for a place. It was like a round object with clear limits. It had a separate bottom which rose up to the middle.

10 UNDERSTANDING

The color could not be discerned, but it was bright. After a while the object moved away making a few movements. It was going in a circle and we were thinking that the motor might have gone wrong and that it was going to descend. A bright light was emerging from it. The light was so bright that it hurt the eyes. In the light there were several colors. There must have been a great heat in the object to give rise to such a strong light.

South African Landing Confirmed

(NATAL DAILY NEWS, South Africa, May 12, 1973)

PORT ELIZABETH: A UFO detector machine has confirmed the re-ported landing of an unidentified flying object in Queenstown. The machine, owned by a resident, Mr. J. J. Gerber, gave a positive result during tests conducted this week.

About two weeks ago Mr. and Mrs. Derk Kruger, of Berry Street, awoke during the night to hear a droning sound outside their bedroom window. An eerie half light shone into their room. The next day Mrs. Kruger found "pad marks" on the front lawn. They were convinced that a UFO had landed on their lawn during the night.

This week several Queenstown residents, who have studied UFO sightings and landings, visited the Kruger's home. Mr. Gerber took his UFO detector-a machine imported from Switzerland-and placed it over one of the pad marks.

The machine recorded a negative magnetic field result. But the test for gamma rays proved positive-the first time the machine has given a positive result.

According to Mr. Gerber, there is now no doubt that a UFO landed on the Kruger's front lawn.

Investigators also found a scorch mark on a black brick porch pillar close to where the UFO landed. According to Mr. Gerber, the pad marks and the scorch mark were typical of those found at other landing sites.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

(San Francisco, Ca. EXAMINER & CHRONICLE, Jan. 14, 1973, Don Branning)

Which one of these four attitudes toward life comes closest to yours?

Fated: You believe that the principal explanation for life is in some force or energy beyond your control-God, fate, astrology or whatever? Because man has no control over his fate, you are somewhat resistant to change. A straight religious view would be that if everybody is brought to Christ, then Christ will make it right.

Horatio Alger: You see yourself as primarily or exclusively in control of your destiny. The world is made up, to you, of people making good or bad choices of their freedom to control their own destinies.

OCTOBER 1973 11

You tend to be somewhat blind to deterministic social forces. You tend to be unreceptive to programs, government or otherwise, which would seem to endanger the individual's freedom to control his own destiny.

Scientific: You believe that life is determined by agents-social, biological forces-beyond man; but that all the agents are not necessarily beyond the control of man.

Because you are sensitive to the idea that the individual is the product of social and psychological forces, you believe in change. You are better at saying what is wrong than what is right, and the danger in your way of thinking is that you are of a scientific elite that might wish to impose its thinking on others.

New Consciousness: You have had exposure to the other attitudes and found them wanting in some respect. You are searching for new ways to understand reality. Science does not answer the value questions of life.

Because its form and character are still taking shape, your way of thinking is somewhat enigmatic. You have a deep concern with the relationships between people, and you are very sensitive to what is going on in the world.

These classifications of human consciousness were presented by Dr. Charles Glock, Dept. of Sociology, University of California at Berkeley, at the 59th Annual Lutheran Educational Conference. Dr. Glock's re-search will attempt to arrive at some insights into the ways in which people comprehend the world in which they live.

A breakdown of people, interviewed thus far, indicates 35% are "fated," 38% "Horatio Alger," 17% "scientific" and 2% "new consciousness." The remaining percentage Glock could not classify.

Glock said he thinks that the way the world is going will be in the direction of scientific and new consciousness. And, that since the organized church is made up of fated and Horatio Alger types, he indicated, it might be well for the church to start working something out with the others.

GLADYS C. METZ

♦ ♦ ♦

From in myself, may the desire well forth to give to others-blessing instead of judgment-tenderness instead of harshness-love instead of bitterness

EON in Prayerettes

Eliminate fear from your life. Remember the oriental proverb, "The plague killed 5,000; 50,000 died of fear."

12 UNDERSTANDING

UFOs Are For Real

(St. Louis (Mo.) Globe Democrat, June 16, 1973, by Charles J. Oswald)

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO.-Those mysterious lights seen almost nightly over the Ozark Mountains near Piedmont, Mo., exist and may emit strange radio signals, say a team of scientists who have completed a two week investigation of the unidentified flying objects.

A scientific team from Southeast Missouri State University here say they watched and photographed the weird orange balls of light on several occasions, as they darted across the sky at speeds estimated as high as 1,200 miles per hour.

Though yet unable to give an explanation for the UFOs, the team concluded the lights are real, vary in intensity and at times appear to exhibit almost intelligent control as they glide silently across the sky.

The team headed by Dr. Harley D. Rutledge, Chairman of the University's Physics Department, used sophisticated electronic equipment, powerful reflector telescopes, cameras loaded with infra-red film and Geiger counters in their quest for more information about the mysterious lights.

Senior investigators taking part in the study, financed by the Globe Democrat, included Prof. Milton W. Ueleke and Dr. Sidney E. Hodges, both of the University's physics department, and Dr. James Sage, of the industrial and technical education department.

Using trained observers linked by short wave radio and stationed in a triangular pattern, where the lights were most frequently reported, Rutledge kept a written log on his observations ....

Using trigonometry and a computer, the team hopes to chart the flight paths the UFOs followed. The scientists refuse to theorize on the nature and origin of the lights, saying not enough scientific data is avail-able yet to draw conclusions. The team has seen the lights, now they must analyze the data and look for possible answers to the puzzling Piedmont UFOs.

Though not discounting any possibility, Rutledge said he does not believe the lights are conventional aircraft, satellites, weather balloons, marsh gas nor plasma balls, as theorized by some other scientists who have studied the phenomena.

OCTOBER 1973 13

Sighting at Hannibal, Missouri

(Quincy HERALD WHIG, June 29, 1973)

HANNIBAL, MO.-Members of the Hannibal and Monroe City police departments reported sighting an unidentified flying object (UFO) early Friday morning.

Hannibal police detective, Kenneth Caldwell, said he observed a large slow-moving object, with a line of lights on it, and a blue light at the end, traveling southeast across the sky at 3:30 A.M. Although he could not make out the shape of the object in the dark, he said it appeared to be above the clouds and larger than an aircraft.

Caldwell notified Officer Larry Brothers at the Hannibal police station desk, who stepped outside and also saw the object. Brothers then contacted Monroe City police officer, Ona Beetle, by radio. Beetle sighted the UFO and then radioed the Hannibal station that the object appeared to be on its way back. About 10 minutes later Hannibal officers again observed the object.

Brothers said local airport radar units reported they had nothing on their screens at the time.

The Mutual UFO Network, based in Quincy, an organization which checks UFO reports is investigating.

(The contributor of the news item remarks: This particular article points out a number of outstanding facts. Was the UFO itself aware that others were watching it with concern? It seems odd that the object traced its pattern back to where it was first observed. If this isn't intelligent control, nothing is!)

Bones of a Cyclops Found in Bulgaria

(August 5, 1973-ST LOUIS POST DISPATCH)

SOFIA, Bulgaria, Aug. 4th (UPI) -'Bulgarian archaeologists have un-earthed the skeleton of a CYCLOPS when excavating near the town of Rizlog in the southwest part of the country, the Bulgarian news-agency BTA said.

A brief report said the skeleton, which was found in a burial place, was five feet, eight inches tall and had only one eye socket in the coronal bone above the nasal cavity. According to Greek mythology, the Cyclops were a race of giants with single eyes in the middle of their foreheads.

BTA said the discovery was made in the ruins of a building of un-known age and specialists were making a thorough study of the remains.'

14 UNDERSTANDING

Lost Continent Found

(DAILY COURIER, Grants Pass, Oregon, July 19, 1973)

CADIZ, Spain (AP)-Scuba divers hunting the legendary continent of Atlantis off Spain's coast say they have found what could be a clue to the lost civilization just 16 miles from shore.

Codirector Maxine Asher of the Ancient Mediterranean Research Association, an expedition of 50 scientists, students and professors, said film shot by two divers was being rushed into processing in the hope of confirming the divers' reports they had spotted "manmade roads and columns" answering Plato's description of Atlantis.

Divers Barry Sears and William Farrell of California reported and photographed their find on the first dive of the expedition Monday. They were about 75 feet down, they said.

Miss Asher, an anthropologist at Pepperdine College in Los Angeles and an Atlantis believer, said the reports sound valid to her.

The American-organized expedition is expected to spend six weeks off Cadiz trying to find the Lost Continent, which, according to Plato, was "beyond the Pillars of Hercules," recognized today as somewhere between Gibraltar and Tangier. The continent supposedly sank beneath the sea 13,000 years ago.

The area where the divers reported seeing the roads and columns was pinpointed in advance by Dr. Egerton Sykes, a British member of the expedition and a publisher of archaeological journals.

The expedition has declined to give the exact location.

She Saw Bigfoot

(DAILY COURIER, Grants Pass, Oregon, June 8, 1973)

EUGENE, Ore. (AP)-A 20-year-old Vida, Ore., woman, Renee Allen, has reported seeing Bigfoot, the legendary mountain beast which supposedly lives in the Northwest and continuously eludes man.

Mrs. Allen told a Lane County sheriff's deputy she saw Bigfoot while hiking near Linton Lake in the high Cascades May 24. She was accompanied only by her 2-year-old daughter when she heard a noise and stopped on a trail, Mrs. Allen told Deputy Ron Tracewell.

She said she watched from about 40 yards away as a creature ran up a hill with tremendous speed and disappeared into the forest.

Mrs. Allen said the creature was in her sight for about 90 seconds. She said it ran on two legs, parting brush with its hands and arms "in a swimmer's breaststroke motion."

The animal's face, hands and feet were very dark brown in color and resembled those of human beings, Mrs Allen said. She said, hair on the

OCTOBER 1973 15

creature's body was four to five inches long.

Castor Plant

(GAL VESTON (Texas) DAILY NEWS, April 3, 1973)

NOGALES, Ariz. (UPI)-A research scientist said Monday a substance taken from wild castor plants found in Southern California has been effective in killing cancer cells in laboratory studies.

Dr. Garth L. Nicolson of the Salk Institute at La Jolla, Calif. said the ability of cancer cells to grow uncontrolled may result from the "unique chemical structures" of the cell surface, which is different from the surface of normal cells.

"Certain plant proteins called lectins . . . can be used to probe the sugar polymers on cell membrane surfaces," Nicolson said. "For example, we have isolated and purified two of these lectins from toxic local wild castor plants found in the marsh regions of San Diego County."

"One of these lectins (called RCA) can kill cancer cells at concentrations at which normal cells are not affected," the scientist said.

Traditional Religious Symbols Ignored

(THE SUN, Springfield, O., Friday, June 29, 1973)

NEU-MORESNET, Belgium-(AP)-An American movement that believes it can spread Christianity without mentioning God, Jesus Christ or any of the old religious vocabulary recently made its debut on the European continent.

The Rev. Frederic Buss was in charge, a 38-year-old Methodist pastor who once worked with the late Martin Luther King Jr.

He organized a two-day "laboratory course" called "living effectively in the new society (LENS)." The scene was a summer resort in the gently rolling green hills along Belgium's border with West Germany, not far from Aachen.

There was no talk of sin or baptism or conversion or salvation, but of "human resurgence."

"I believe we're delivering the thrust of the Christian message," said Buss.

"We don't use the traditional words and symbols in this course be-cause a conversation in depth on the essence of being human, human in the full, sensitive and aware, is something every man wants to join."

He explained that he wants to reach people who dislike the old symbols, or do not understand them.

16 UNDERSTANDING

He works closely with his wife, Sarah, a professional psychologist. Both belong to the Ecumenical Institute in Chicago, which sponsored the course.

Buss points out that other courses given by the institute do deal with traditional religious material.

The institute has developed the "LENS" course in the United States over the past three years and is now spreading it to other countries as well. Starts have been made in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Britain. This weekend it was held not only in Belgium but in Bombay.

In Neu-Moresnet there were 27 participants of four nationalities, most of them Americans. It was something like a long revival meeting or a short religious retreat. Work began at 7 a.m. and lasted until well after midnight.

Sessions were sprinkled with songs and readings. The songs, led by Wood's powerful baritone, were not quite hymns. They had titles like "A Light Is Now Breaking" and "Free Am I," with words about joy, affirmation, life and death, set to tunes like "Summer Time" and the Washington Post March.

The readings were mostly from a book of Japanese legends.

Saturday night Buss suggested they write an apologue, described as a kind of 20th century myth, "to give meaning to people's lives."

"One such apologue would be the story of the man from Nazareth," he explained in one of his few references to Christianity.

"Or you could take the life Mahatma Gandhi."

Poet’s corner

UFO CASE NUMBER?

A luminous, disc-shaped object

Hovers motionlessly

Over backwood farmhouses,

Miles beyond the city limits.

OCTOBER 1973 17

Its low-pitched hum

Reverberates

Through the nightfallen silence

Of the surrounding forest,

Where stately oak trees listen

With Leafy ears,

And a great horned owl responds

With a ghostly progression of hoots.

Several moments elapse.

Suddenly the spacecraft ascends

Never to suffer the fate

Of being relegated

To the archives of natural explanation.

MICHAEL TORYFTER

THE TREE OF LIFE

One world with many branches ...

Many visions ... many creeds ...

Many voices ask a blessing

For each heart has special needs.

But in every faith, in every prayer

That's raised to God above

There's one hope men hold in common

For a bond of peace and love.

(AUTHOR UNKNOWN)

Book reviews

Revelation, The Divine Fire

(REVELATION, THE DIVINE FIRE by Brad Steiger, Published by Prentice-Hall, J.J., $7.95.)

Brad Steiger has published many articles and books on paranormal subjects. His latest book is a fascinating compilation of numerous inter-views with men and women who claim to be in spiritual communication

18 UNDERSTANDING

with a higher intelligence.

In his Introduction, Mr. Steiger declares, "Scattered throughout ... the world are small groups of sincere men and women who are clustered together in small circles, communicating with various entities, who may or may not be the same source. These groups are independently coming up with a great deal of the same material, the same communications, emphasizing that man may draw strength from Higher intelligence, that man has all the requisite spiritual abilities within his own being, that man is One with all things, that man is approaching a New Age, a period of transition, that other-dimensional entities are present to assist man in leaving the old and in adjusting to the new."

The "Divine Fire" is explained as "The transfer of thought, spirit, and power from an Infinite Intelligence to a finite, human intelligence and is a vital, continuing process which observes no denominational boundaries and employs a spiritual-psychic mechanism that is timeless and universal."

For the past fifteen years this reviewer has been in personal contact with many gifted people who have had inspirational messages concerning the same information that Mr. Steiger includes in his book. How-ever, in recent years, the urgency and frequency of these revelations have increased dramatically. Mr. Steiger's book reveals that many people from all walks of life, of all ages and from differing religious back-grounds, have had similar mystic experiences.

The author compares our present day mystics with the Biblical prophets and apostles. Many of the familiar Bible related miracles are being repeated today, by more and more people throughout this planet, resulting in a complete change of life and personality for the individual involved.

Among the many interesting people that Mr. Steiger interviews are Wilburn Burchette, whose mystically composed record of transcendental meditation was recently reviewed in this magazine, and Wayne S. Aho, our well-known Understanding member, who has had a dramatic revelatory experience.

We highly recommend this anthology for our readership. Besides being interesting and controversial, it is a very exciting and thought-provoking work. Mr. Steiger includes instruction and advice to assist the reader in the development and lighting of their own personal Divine Fire.

FLO BOHNERT, UNIT I

No matter what other people say about us or to us their words can-not hurt us, unless we allow them to do so by accepting them.

Mattie Storm Miller

OCTOBER 1973 19

Bulletin board

Understanding Annual Meeting

All members of Understanding, Inc. are hereby notified that our Annual Business Meeting will be held on the weekend of October 20 and 21, 1973, in Merlin, Oregon.

Your attendance is encouraged to review the past year's efforts and to chart the course for the future.

Notice of your plans to attend would be appreciated.

October Understandorama

Mrs. Esther Ellsworth, Coordinator for San Bernardino Unit #71, announces the second UNDERSTANDORAMA for 1973 will be held on Sunday, October 28th at the Griswold Inn, 515 W. Foothill Blvd., Claremont, Calif.

Registration commences at 9:00 a.m., the Program at 10:00 a.m. Donation, $5.00 for the day.

Speakers include: Dr. Daniel W. Fry, Dr. Riley H. Crabb, Rev. Diane Nagorka (of Washington, D.C.), Rev. Henry Nagorka, and Dr. Bernard Jensen. Invocation: Rev. Hirma Hunt; Music, Carolyn Frances; Panel Moderator: George Perkins.

Program details may be had by writing Mrs. Ellsworth, P.O. Box #626, Morongo Valley, Ca., 92256.

Books Received

We accept with thanks and appreciation the books recently sent to Understanding, Inc.

From: Fr. Bhabes Chandra Chauduri-His Name

20 UNDERSTANDING

Holistic Fellowship - Using God's Healing Power by Marquis McDonald

Naturegraph Publishers - The Story As Told by Jalil Mahmoudi

Remembrance Day Period for World Harmony

The UNIVERSAL WORLD HARMONY association of England once again invites the cooperation of all people on a world-wide basis, to pray or meditate during the week of November 8 through 14 to "create a vast dynamo of curative energy" for overcoming the malaise of the times.

Individuals are asked to keep a Two Minutes Silent Vigil-each one lifting heart and mind to That which represents the Highest that they know-invoking compassionate love and understanding help for all in need and distress.

The world needs our participation in this exercise of goodwill and harmony.

Friendship By Mail

From one of our newest Understanding Members, in South Africa, comes this note: "Please send me a list of names of people to correspond with, and place my name on the list. I am a radio mechanic, 22 years old, and work for the South Africa Air Force."

You may write: Bobby Thorsen, P.O. Box S62, Verwoerdburg, Transfall, South Africa.

CLASSIFIED DEPARTMENT

6c per word per insertion; 3 or more insertions same copy, 5c per word.

THE LIFE SOURCE, Its very detail open to view in FUNDAMENTALS OF THOUGHT, by L. Ron Hubbard. Send $3.00 to: Book Store U, Founding Church of Scientology, 1812 19th St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009.

The AQUARIAN ESP HERALD is a national, high-quality, spiritual newspaper with no advertising. Its purposes are to bring synthesis, abolish totalitarianism, spark action to improve the human condition, and to bring in the New Age. Retailers and individuals wishing to spread the Good News regularly may write us at 3859 Valley Creek Road, Newport, Minn. 55055.

EDITING AND TYPESETTING for individuals, publishers, printers, and organizations. Very reasonable rates. Latest IBM computer typeset-ting equipment. Over 20 years experience in publications as Production Supervisor and Senior Editor. Query Wanna Walker, 13880 Highway 66, Ashland, Or. 97520 about your book manuscript, your organization's publication, "job-shop" work.

YEAR BOOKS AVAILABLE

1968-1971

Understanding Magazines for

1968-1969-1970-1971

Are now available in convenient Yearbooks.

Price: $2.00 per volume, plus 25c for handling.

Issues 1958 through 1967 at $1.00 per volume, plus 25c handling.

Understanding, Inc.

P. O. Box 206

Merlin, Ore. 97532

ADVERTISING SPACE AVAILABLE

Advertise Your Books,

Activities, etc.,

in Understanding Magazine

Rates:

$8 per quarter page per month

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One year: $66

These rates are for additional insertions of the same copy. The charge for copy change is $3.00 per quarter page. For other rates, please write. If proof is desired, copy must be submitted one month in advance of publication.

Copy limit, 20 lines to quarter page

COMING

TO MEN OF EARTH

and

THE WHITE SANDS INCIDENT

(Two books in One)

A new printing of Alan's Message to the people of Earth. Additional information from Alan's Viewpoint of his space visitation.

If you have read THE WHITE SANDS INCIDENT this is a MUST for a better understanding of Alan's message and purpose.

Soft Bound $2.00

Hardbound $3.50

MERLIN PUBLISHING COMPANY

P.O. Box #105 Merlin, Ore. 97532

Memberships in Understanding

Understanding, Inc. is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the propagation of a better understanding among all the peoples of the earth so that they may live in harmony and be better prepared psychologically and sociologically for the space age.

Several types of membership are available to those who wish to support our endeavors either with dollars or with time and service, or both.

The Associate Membership is Two Dollars per year; the Contributing Membership, Ten Dollars per year, including the Understanding magazine; Sustaining Membership, Twenty-Five Dollars per year, including subscription; and Life Membership, Five Hundred Dollars, including subscription to Understanding magazine.

Welcome to the Understanding family!

UNDERSTANDING, INC.

P.O. Box 206, Merlin, Oregon 97532.