Those who are long-time readers of Understanding Magazine, will know that we are not in the habit of making dire predictions for the future. Our policy has always been to look for the silver lining in every cloud, and to be as optimistic in every outlook as the facts could possibly justify. Nevertheless, our use of the 'Understanding' on our banner, requires that we present to our readers those facts which are clearly discernible, whether or not they may be pleasant to contemplate. The duty becomes especially pressing when those facts may assist some of our readers in their understanding of present conditions, and in preparing for any eventuality.

The economy of the United States, and of the world as a whole, is entering one of the most dangerous periods it has ever experienced. For the first time in history, economic "experts" and political leaders are being forced to admit that they simply don't know what to do next! The "rule of thumb" methods, by which they have long controlled the delicate balance between supply and demand, are no longer valid. The statement of Federal Reserve Board Chairman, Arthur Burns, that "The rules of economics are not working quite the way they used to," is now being echoed from every side. Each economic and political leader has his own pet theory concerning a solution to our economic problems. Unfortunately, however, 50% of those theories flatly contradict the other 50%. All of them have been tried, in one form or another, without

2 UNDERSTANDING

having had any noticeable effect on the situation.

The all-time high of the prime interest rate, and the tremendous drop in the Stock Market, are events which could readily have been predicted several years ago by any reasonably intelligent high-school economics student, yet they seem to surprise and bewilder the "experts" whose position is similar to that of the fabled computer in the Department of Forestry, which is crammed with a million assumed facts concerning forestry, but which has never seen a tree! Our economic experts know all about finance, but have forgotten, or perhaps never bothered to learn what money is, what really controls its value insofar as the public is concerned. They seem unable to comprehend that it is the value the public places upon money that determines its purchasing power, and that no amount of legislation, jawboning, or strangulation of the money supply can materially alter that value.

The fact remains that all of the major currencies of the world today are counterfeit, in that they have no tangible or intrinsic value. Even the coins are counterfeit, being made of base metals whose intrinsic value is only a small fraction of their face value. (In the past, men who made such coins were condemned to death, and in some countries, were boiled in oil. Now they are paid handsome. salaries, and offered positions in government.)

The reason that U.S. pennies are hoarded as fast as they are minted is simply that they are the only U.S. coin whose intrinsic value approaches its face value. When the value of its metal exceeds its face value, which is expected to occur some time next year, copper pennies will, of course, disappear entirely from circulation. (An aluminum and a reduced copper content penny have been proposed, but the purchasing power of such a coin would become so vanishingly small there would be no point in minting them.) The U.S. nickel, being rather massive in proportion to its face value, would be next to go, and so on.

This article is not intended to predict the total demise of world currencies, but we must face the fact that it could happen, and that it almost certainly will happen unless some strong action is taken to stabilize money at its foundation, by giving it some kind of intrinsic significance, rather than merely attempting to manipulate its tottering upper stories.

Unfortunately, no such steps have yet been taken, nor are they even being contemplated by any of our present economic leaders or political officials.

While we will continue to hope, and to pray, that we may prove to be wrong, and that our economy will, somehow, manage to muddle through, even after its foundation has crumbled and turned to dust, we must, as reasonably logical individuals, begin to prepare for any eventuality.

NOVEMBER 1974 3

THE HOLY MOUNTAIN

SRI PADA (Adam's Peak) seen from across the valley, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) April 1973

South of India is the tropical island of Ceylon or, as it's now known, Sri Lanka. Rising out of its tea plantations is a mile-high mountain the West calls Adam's Peak, but to the natives it is Sri Pada. Throughout history a strange splotch on the topmost rock has attracted spiritual attention. To the Arabs it was the footprint of Adam, to the Chinese that of the first man, eastern Christians thought it to be St. Francis Xavier's, but the natives believe it was left by Buddha. At certain times of the year climbs are made to the summit, and recently I joined such a pilgrimage.

We began at dusk, several hundred Buddhists in small groups with a few Westerners sprinkled in. The people believe every ascent increases one's spiritual merit and so you see old men and women barely able to walk but singing with joy as they toil upwards. It is sights such as these that tell you of the strength and achievements of another's spiritual values.

The way up is strung with electric lights and there are steps underfoot-4200 of them. As we go up through the mist the lights seem hazy, the mountain's outline huge-filling the Universe. After awhile the fog lifts and then, with a few lights across the valley and overhead a string of bulbs that gets lost among the stars, you stand on a dark step and

4 UNDERSTANDING

feel as though outside your body, floating between earth and heaven. After awhile we stop in a rest house halfway up. The people do not speak much English, but they welcome me, give out nuts to roast and bid me sleep on a mat among them. Now, after months in Asia I feel for the first time at peace with those around me. I've had hospitality before, but this is different, more sincere, deeper from the heart and perhaps I can remember this and someday pass it on to my guests.

After a few hours we start up again, and before dawn we are at the summit. There's a monastery there, and people are touching the sacred footprint, which is covered with jewels. One family of tourists is taking pictures and I wonder how they can profane this place with light meter and flash. The tourists seem odd, for after living among the natives for weeks these foreigners appear so white and pale, and it takes me a moment to realize that I too look like them, and suddenly that doesn't matter anymore.

Now the sun is coming over the valley and the mountain, being a perfect cone sitting on the equator, sends out a shadow and if the weather is clear you can see it, first as a purple mass in the sky, than as a black pyramid standing against the green of the far hills. The day is clear and we do see it! The people are shouting and gongs are ringing! We are part of it all, and with God!

-RICHARD WEIL

IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE ...

The Biblical words attributed to Jesus, "in my Father's house there are many rooms," has a deeper meaning than simply the spirit realms or planets we may migrate to after our tour on earth is done. Although Jesus undoubtedly was referring to a definite, forthcoming place of existence where he was to "prepare a place ... so that where I am you may be also," there is another lesson we can learn from these words. Let us examine this "House" in a different light. Notice the qualities of mind-expansion and humility contained in this simple phrase if we search deeply.

Imagine the Father's House in the shape of a pyramid. Of course we know that God-Spirit is infinite, having no form, but for the purpose of this lesson, let us just imagine this Great House in the shape of a pyramid. Picture it mentally. Imagine this pyramid as encompassing the whole of the universe. Imagine, also, that within this vast structure are one billion floors, with one billion rooms on the bottom floor, gradually decreasing in number as the pyramid rises to only one room at the top.

In each of the myriad rooms in this House are one billion suns, and

NOVEMBER 1974 5

around each of these suns revolve planets. And in one of the many small rooms located at the bottom of this universal pyramid, out of those one billion glittering suns, let us choose one. One pinpoint of light out of the billion lights in that one, little room, and that is the sun around which the planet Earth revolves.

As the Earth and other planets revolve around our sun, so does our solar system as a whole revolve around a greater body of light, which, in turn, moves accordingly, directed by Universal Intelligence, all in orderly fashion and in a definite pattern.

Since everything in the universe is in constant movement, our sun and surrounding planets, over countless millions of years, are moving from one room in the Father's House to another. As the people of Earth now begin to sense the coming Dawn of Civilization, we will soon be catching up to the rest of our solar system, and all will move forward into another room of the Father's House.

Remember that the room in which we now find ourselves is on the bottom floor of this great pyramid. It is a long, adventurous climb to the top. Our planetary group, as well as all others, must enter and pass through each of the one billion rooms on the bottom floor before ascending to the second floor, and so on. This is an everlasting process, since new galaxies are constantly being formed. And, as a galaxy, over countless aeons, begins to disintegrate and return to the cosmic dust from which it was formed, people living in that galaxy will undoubtedly migrate to other galaxies, thus entering a new room in the Father's House.

At the top of this Universal Pyramid there is but one room. What will we find in this room? Will we find the "EYE" or "I" of the Father? Will those who enter this room be the knowers of the Great Spirit? Or will we find within this room a door, and opening that door, will we find that this great pyramid we have climbed over billions and billions of aeons, is but a child's first step in the infinite quest for Truth?

This imaginary pyramid is also a great help in understanding our own personal "house." Remember, each individual drop of water in the ocean has all the properties of the ocean itself.

At the beginning of our existence as a conscious, reasoning being, we enter the first room at the base of our own mental pyramid. As we pass through experience after experience, learning from our mistakes, we progress from one room to another. When we have learned the lessons each room on the bottom floor has to teach us, we will find a stairway leading up to the second floor, into a higher realm of consciousness. As we completely master each floor, we are automatically guided to the next higher level, there being fewer rooms on each succeeding floor.

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When we reach that one, single room at the top of the pyramid, we will find we have successfully completed only a small fraction of our eternal development and growth. A door will open and we will find new pyramids to climb and worlds to explore.

So we see how a few words spoken nearly two thousand years ago, recorded on paper and read by individuals today, can give such meaning-ful guidance and direction to our lives. People will always be influenced by words like these because they are eternal. It shows the living force of the Word when spoken or written with Divine Power and Love.

-BRIAN BAKER

THANKFULNESS IS A WAY OF LIFE

How in this noisy, poisoned, polluted and corrupt country can we reach back within ourselves to find a feeling of sincere gratitude for all the blessings, all the wonderfully good things which we have received this past year? How can we at this time of terrible turmoil attune our hearts to the Creator of all that there is in this Universe and whisper, "Thank You," and really mean it? We have .been humiliated before all the world this past year as an immoral people with a morally corrupt government. What is there in that to be thankful for?

Plenty! Never have we who belong to Understanding Incorporated had a greater opportunity to translate thankfulness into constructive action to correct such conditions. Never have we had such an opportunity for dynamic prayer on behalf of those who do not yet understand their relationship to Him. Our expression of thanksgiving this year must be different from that of our forefathers who gathered together on a day of quiet and peace to express in prayer their gratitude that the harvest was sufficient for the coming winter. It is a different world today and that kind of thanksgiving has passed into oblivion with the covered wagon and ox team. Action is the way of expression now.

Now we must roll up our sleeves and say to our Maker by way of labor in His Workshop of planet Earth that we are indeed grateful to be worthy of the opportunity to serve Him by bringing His Kingdom into manifestation. We have the opportunity to bring back purity to our air and earth and water; to bring back decency and morality in our government. We must find and elect Spiritually-attuned men and women to run our government and restore peace and prosperity to this beautiful, beautiful land on this lovely planet Earth. If necessary we must become those men and women to sacrifice our personal lives for the sake of public service to such an end. We can make that kind of action-prayer this year to express our Thanks to Him who gave us Life itself, His own Life, His own Power; His very own Love.

NOVEMBER 1974 7

Now is the hour. Pray, meditate, work as you've never worked before to restore all that is good and give thanks for such an overwhelming opportunity!

-FLORENCE DURKEE

THE CHALLENGE OF WASTE

The Houston Post of Texas, last February, reported upon the problems of New York City as to waste disposal and upon the possibilities of re-covering valuable resources through recycling. This problem concerns some 30,000 tons of solid waste daily!

For the past two years, Dr. Helmut W. Schultz at Columbia University, has been searching for the best and most economical way to recover useful resources from solid wastes. His studies have successfully tested refuse changes into animal feed, chemicals and garden fertilizers, as well as of the recycling of paper, fiber, scrap iron, aluminum and glass. However, these methods are not yet economically feasible.

Dr. Schultz reports: "The most promising of the advanced technological options is the oxygen refuse converter. It produces a pollution-free fuel gas that could supply 20 percent of the electric power requirements of the city. The residue is a hard, glassy grit that could be used for road construction or made into building blocks."

Schultz, 61 and blind, began his research into finding proper and per-haps profitable uses for solid waste under a National Science Foundation grant. He selected his students with care and tailored the work to the requirements of New York City.

After an appraisal of every technological process available, the group selected the oxygen converter, the Purox, developed by John Anderson of Union Carbide. "It uses the heat value of the waste to decompose complex organic substances into simpler substances ... with no smoke emission."

Debris, as from building sites, will go into land fills whose life is extended by decades, once other refuse is converted to different uses.

An integrated disposal system for the city, including sizing and siting of the refuse converters, is essential in order to make the huge problem of collection less costly. Presently, it costs $42 a ton to collect, $15 a ton to incinerate, and $4 a ton as land fill. The estimated net cost of using the converter is $3 a ton.

A million dollar pilot plant to process 200 tons of waste daily is being constructed now. Already 28 cities have made inquiries, having similar problems and needs.

With such promising studies on reconversion and recycling perhaps we need not be buried under mounts of waste after all.

8 UNDERSTANDING

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

Joys That Know No End

There are passing events which bring momentary happiness, like relishing a tasty and attractive meal or feeling the clean crispness of white sheets after a long period of camping. There are also joys that know no end; joys that increase in worth with the years.

One of the great joys of life is the loyalty of friends. Josiah Royce, America's great philosopher of yesteryear, put loyalty at the very center of his list of key values in life. Certain it is that he who has faith in an other adds strength and stature and permanent satisfaction to the soul. Faith begins where knowledge ceases. So long as we know the reasons for a friend's actions or attitudes we do not trust him; we trust our own evaluation of him. But when we do not see the reasons for a friend's dreams or deeds, when we believe in him in spite of outward appearances just because we know his heart and trust him for himself, then, and not until then, does real loyalty show itself. To be blessed with such loyalty is to be enriched forever with a joy that knows no end.

Another of the great joys of life is understanding. Many of the poets have extolled its worth. And in the scriptures it is set forth as one of the wonderful facts of the future in these words, "then shall I understand fully, even as I have been fully understood." Misinterpretation of goodly motives has always been hard for human beings to bear; and correspondingly, the fellowship of kindred minds and spirits has always been a high and holy joy that knows no end.

A third great joy of life is achievement, most especially joint achievement in the face of almost insurmountable difficulty. The authors of all peoples have celebrated the epic accomplishments of all the ages of man. No victory won is sweeter than that which the corporate achievement of consecrated Christian men and women and young people, united in purpose and filled with a will to work. Whatever the goal that is reached -beautiful buildings, vigorous programs of service, the founding of churches or civic institutions, or the saving of one lost soul-Whatever the goal that is reached it brings joy that knows no end.

There is a peace that passes understanding, which the world neither gives nor takes away; and there are joys which are impervious to all out-ward change because they are blessed of God, eternal in His sight; and everlasting in the blessing which they bring into the lives of God's children.

THERE ARE JOYS THAT KNOW NO END.

-HENRY DAVID GRAY

NOVEMBER 1974 9

UFOs INTERNATIONAL

African Astronomer Reports Bright Object

(Source: Western TVL Record, 9/21/73, as reported in UFO Contact, Denmark, 8/74.)

At 7:45 P.M. on Thursday of this week, Frans de Bruyn of Adamayview, Klerksdorp (Africa) was looking at the night sky (he is a keen amateur astronomer) when he saw a "bright, luminous object moving from east to west at an angle of 30 degrees above the horizon."

Mr. de Bruyn ran in to call his father, who came out immediately. As they watched, the UFO moved upward at an angle of 90 degrees to its original course. "It moved through the clouds which I judged to be at a height of about 3,000 meters."

A similar claim was made by a resident of Roodeport, who said that shortly after he had seen it, the roof was blown off his house.

♦ ♦ ♦

Remarkable Sighting in Japan

(CBA INTERNATIONAL, Special Report, December 1973-Yokohama, Japan)

Some 5-10 pale white objects, almost translucent, appeared over Toyama City, facing the Japan Sea, for nearly three hours, from 8:30 P.M. on August 24th, 1973. The objects were at first circling slowly, flying side by side in a long and slender stick-shaped form, or being broadened, or making a round formation flight, but they suddenly got up speed and disappeared somewhere in a straight line. While they were repeatedly doing the same, they suddenly stopped in the air, which caused a sensation for a while, the Kita Nihon Shimbu, a local paper reported.

The objects were approximately 1,000 to 2,000 m. high, and more than 300 people were baffled to watch the sky for a long time. Even a passing taxi driver stopped his car to look up at the objects. The size of the objects was approximately more than a crescent each ...

The next day, the local paper, published a photograph of the mysterious objects, taken by cameraman M. Omokata at about 10:30 P.M. Meanwhile, much information similar to this was rushed to the Toyama Astronomical Observatory for a few days. The paper said that the evidence was examined as to whether or not it was the American Skylab coming near recently, but the time was different from that of the Sky-lab, so the objects still remain unknown.

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When all men will frankly perceive their common dependence - an understanding will emerge that will transcend the barriers of time and space, creed and race.

♦ ♦ ♦

10 UNDERSTANDING

CONSIDER THE CONCEPT

Nanak, the 16th century reformer and peacemaker of India, went to preach a sermon on God's universality in front of the Kaaba, the sacred stone of the Muhammadans. Afterwards, unknowing of Muhammadan etiquette, he went to sleep with his feet toward the Kaaba. He was rudely awakened by an Arab priest who said "Who is this sleeping infidel? Why hast thou turned thy feet toward God?" To which Nanak re-plied, "Turn my feet in the direction in which God is not."

History ends here, but legend continues that the priest took Nanak's feet and pulled them around to the proper position, whereupon the sacred Kaaba temple itself turned around and followed them.

♦ ♦ ♦

People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges.

♦ ♦ ♦

Take a good look at yourself. Discover and accept what has been given you. It may not be as much as you might like to see. But growth depends on an acceptance of what you have and where you're starting from.

-CHRISTOPHER NEWS NOTES

♦ ♦ ♦

PERSONALITY PLUS

It is of great benefit in understanding people to consciously realize that the personality is not the person, but merely an assumptive role that may or may not reflect the individual's true identity. A clever individual may don many different personalities in the span of a day's activities.

It is possible to live in the same household with a person for many years and never find out if an individual's behavior is for a role or "for real." A kindred soul knows its own, not from what is said or done, or a secret sign but through a universal law of attraction.

". .. The waters know their own and draw

the brook that springs in yonder height,

So flows the good with equal law unto the

soul of pure delight."

My apologies to the author whose name escapes my thought.

It seems that there are times when it is difficult not to sit in judgment, but remember to understand it is sometimes necessary to turn things around and stand under.

-RUBY DUNN

NOVEMBER 1974 11

World report

Fire Walking Ritual Study

(San Jose Mercury News. 7/28/74 by Reginald Nicholas)

COLUMBO, Sri Lanka-Fire-walking by devotees in Hindu and Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), India, Burma, Cambodia, Thailand and other southeast Asian countries has become a great tourist attraction. But the ritual now faces a challenge as medical experts take a clinical interest in this mystique and conclude that firewalking is a purely physical and not a religious phenomenon. It depends, the educators hold, on two factors-the fleeting duration of contact between the soles and the cinders, and the thickness of the soles.

The Sri Lanka Rationalist's Association proposes to offer a cash prize of $5,000 to the first devotee who fire-walks and is medically pronounced to have blister-free feet. This offer comes after some members of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sri Lanka successfully walked over fire under laboratory controlled conditions.

Veteran fire-walkers insist that the soles of the devotees come into heavy contact with the embers as some walk in measured steps, others dance, jump and leap frenziedly as though possessed by spirits.

Studies indicate that 25 per cent of the devotees at any firewalking ritual are participating for the first time. Among them may be bankers, top business executives, civil servants, doctors, engineers, teachers who may be fulfilling a vow to the deities for some signal favor received or for the atonement of their sins.

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Spray-Can Gas a Danger to Atmosphere

(San Jose Mercury News, 7/28/74 by Bob Geivet)

IRVINE-If the world continues to use chloroflouromethane gas as it has in the past, dire things will happen to the ozone belt which guards the earth from the heavy radiation of the sun's rays.

Two chemists doing research at the University of California, Irvine, sounded the warning: that the gas-released by billions of cans of aero-sol sprays and by thousands of refrigeration units with their coolant-can seriously damage the stratosphere or ozone belt.

The chloroflouromethane gases in the aerosol spray cans and in the

12 UNDERSTANDING

refrigeration units are dangerous because when released they always rise. As the gases rise the molecules drifting about are broken down by ultra-violet rays and release chlorine atoms, which attack the ozone layer and break down its protective barrier, it was explained.

Dr. F. Sherwood Rowland and Dr. Marion J. Molina said that a 5% reduction in the effectiveness of the stratosphere will mean at least 8,000 more cases of skin cancer and the problem will multiply tenfold with a 5096 reduction in the effectiveness of the ozone belt. The earth will also become hotter if this belt, 10-15 miles above the planet, is damaged.

Dr. Rowland said that presently the ozone layer is endangered by almost one million tons of chloroflouromethane manufactured each year and put into almost three billion aerosol cans.

♦ ♦ ♦

Chaff Seeds in Clouds

(Daily Courier, Grants Pass, Oregon, 7/22/74 by Frank Carey)

WASHINGTON (AP)- Government weather scientists have launched an effort to tame lightning, one of nature's most destructive weapons. Their experiments, just started in thunderstorm-prone Colorado, involve a variation of a technique developed in World War I I to jam enemy radar. Developing thunderstorms are to be seeded with literally millions of inch-long, aluminum-coated nylon thread fibers, called chaff. The needle-like fibers will be spewed from aircraft flying through the heart of a brewing storm. The object is to cause thunderheads to discharge their electrical energy slowly, rather than in sudden and violent bursts of lightning.

Heinz W. Kasemir, chief of the Colorado Project, under the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, stressed that the would-be lightning tamers are not trying to suppress lightning in all its forms. He indicated that a little lightning can be a good thing, by adding nutrient nitrogen to the rain and consequently to the soil as well as by playing an important role in balancing the planet's "electrical budget."

"We want to be able to suppress severe lightning that comes when it is least welcome-during very dry periods in forest areas and during spacecraft launching operations," Kasemir said.

♦ ♦ ♦

UFOs Seen Over Kankakee

(The Daily Journal, Kankakee, III„ 7/19i74)

Two unidentified flying objects were sighted at 10:00 A.M. today by Sandy Peterson as she was sitting under the hair dryer at Puccini's Hair-

NOVEMBER 1974 13

dressing Salon, 518 S. Schuyler Ave., according to Mary Puccini, owner. "Did you see them, too, or is it just me?" Mrs. Peterson asked her neighbor.

Within minutes the salon was in an uproar. "These girls all went crazy," Mrs. Puccini said.

Two seemingly stationary white objects were visible high in the sky. They appeared to be rectangular in shape, were unconnected, and formed a right angle, according to one observer.

No one could imagine what they could be, but 8-year-old Brian Fieleke thought them to be helicopters whose pilots had gone astray. "I wish they would come down and tell us who they are," sighed Janet Neal.

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Sunflowers As Fuel

(Chicago Sun Times, 7/17/74)

TAMPA, FLA. (AP)- Two researchers think they have found a new fuel that can be produced for $25 a ton, doesn't damage the environment and helps reproduce itself.

It's called sunflowers.

One day soon, sunflower fuel farms could replace coal and oil as an efficient, cheap source of power, say Conrad Fernelius, a chemistry professor at the University of South Florida, and Glen Huppke, a chemical engineer.

The men estimate that 80 acres of land could provide enough fuel to make electrical power for the Tampa Bay area's . 15 million residents at about $25 a ton.

Fernelius says the system simply takes advantage of the ability of plants to make their own food through photosynthesis. He explained, "There is one very efficient device for harnessing solar energy-this is a growing plant."

Basically, it would work this way:

Plants with a woody stalk, like sunflowers, would be grown in a gigantic greenhouse. The stalks would be burned as fuel at a power plant. Smoke produced by burning woody materials would be cleansed by a scrubber system. Then the scrubbed air, rich in carbon dioxide, would be piped back into the greenhouse.

The result the researchers say would be a greenhouse with 100 per-cent humidity and 30 to 40 times the normal carbon dioxide concentration to spur prolific plant growth.

The ash from the burned stalks could be mixed with nitrogen and re-turned to the greenhouse as fertilizer.

Huppke has experimented with the process on a small scale.

♦ ♦ ♦

14 UNDERSTANDING

Extraterrestrial Kidnap Confirmed

(Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, 6/28/741

PORTSMOUTH, N. H. (AP)- Betty Hill says her story of being kidnapped by extraterrestrial beings in 1961 has been vindicated by an Ohio woman's recent research into a map of stars.

Mrs. Hill said a study made public in Akron by Marjorie E. Fish during the past weekend "confirms my experience of my interrupted journey."

Miss Fish's report to the Mutual UFO Network, Inc. symposium dealt with a star map Mrs. Hill drew while under hypnosis induced by a Boston psychiatrist.

Miss Fish said six years of research brought her to the conclusion the map could have been drawn only after contact with aliens.

"I'm not an astronomer," Mrs. Hill said, "but I always felt that the star map was valid."

The map, according to Mrs. Hill, had been shown her by beings who abducted her and her husband, Barney.

The chart was drawn three years after the incident when the Hills, troubled by a gap in their memory, sought psychiatric help to regain their recollection of two hours of a September 1961 vacation trip.

When the Hills were released they were directed to be unable to re-member the incident, which the hypnosis sessions unraveled.

Miss Fish said new astronomical data indicates that lines in the map depict the aliens star trek routes to planetary systems likely to have life. "It is almost impossible that the resemblance between Betty's map and reality could be coincidental," Miss Fish said, adding, "Since we did not have the data to make such a map in 1961 when Betty saw it, it could not be a hoax,"

♦ ♦ ♦

UFO Landing Base Available

(Grit, 9/1/74)

UFOs take note. If there are any unidentified flying objects lurking in the sky looking for a landing strip, there is one ready and waiting in Ferry Township, Oceana County, Mich.

Arthur Baxter, of rural Ferry, has cleared a 96-foot-diameter piece of land on his property, near his home, and posted a sign which reads, "Landing Area, UFOs Welcome." The sign faces north because Baxter believes any celestial visitors will come from that direction.

Baxter has spent countless hours preparing for their arrival. And he is not even sure there are UFOs. But if there are, he is ready.

He has leveled off the ground and keeps the grass mowed on the landing

NOVEMBER 1974 15

strip.

"This may be the first completed UFO landing base of its kind anywhere," Baxter said. He has heard that some are being built in Texas and California.

"I was going to build it better, maybe out of cement," said the 59-year-old man, "but I ran short of funds."

Baxter has several theories about UFOs and what they might be.

"It could be an experiment by a scientist, or a top government secret which they won't tell," said Baxter. "Or it could be something that comes from the inside of the earth. We know there are forces around us, and it is possible there is life in the center of the earth."

Meanwhile, Baxter will wait and hope that any foreign visitors will choose his landing base if they decide to land.

♦ ♦ ♦

TONOPAH CENTER

AGRICULTURAL REPORT

The agricultural program of production tests conducted at Understanding's center in Tonopah, Arizona, has fulfilled all expectations. During the first growing season (we have several each year in this area), the following crops were grown and harvested: corn, pumpkins, tomatoes, three varieties of squash which grew to incredible size, cucumbers up to 2 pounds each-and still crisp and firm, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, onions, beans, and a variety of melons including cantaloupe, honeydew (up to 10 pounds each), casaba, and watermelon.

The first season test proved beyond any doubt that our soil is capable of producing an almost unlimited variety of vegetables and fruits. We also have 38 fruit trees including peach, plum, fig, orange, lemon and lime. These facts can be very comforting when we hear the many "Official" predictions of critical food shortages, and possible widespread hunger in the future.

Although it may be some time before the productive capacity of the land is fully utilized, its existence is one more insurance policy for the members of Understanding.

SOLAR ENERGY REPORT

The Solar Energy Project at the Tonopah Center is proceeding on schedule. The preliminary engineering study and the efficiency tests have been completed, and construction of the prototype conversion plant has begun. The concrete channel for the heat collection unit has been poured, and the fixed reflector vanes are being built.

Although the present unit is only a prototype, it should produce at least 50 kilowatt hours of electrical energy per day, and more units can

16 UNDERSTANDING

readily be added as needed.

Whether or not the United States, as a whole, can reach its announced goal of complete energy self-sufficiency by 1980, the Tonopah Center should be self-sufficient within the next two years. One more insurance policy against whatever the future may hold in store.

-D. W. FRY

♦ ♦ ♦

THERE IS BUT ONE . . . You have one sun, yet it has many rays, one year you designate, one year of many days. You have one fleshly body made of many parts . . . one close-knit family made up of many hearts.

-HARRIET H. HUTCHINSON

♦ ♦ ♦

poet’s corner

For The Little Things

For ever so many little things:

Self-opening doors, shoes without strings,

The stranger's match, the gasoline gauge,

Aroma of coffee, the comic page;

A rift in the clouds to free the moon,

The D. J. playing our favorite tune.

The man who laughed at our ancient gag,

The dual-control blanket, the shopping bag;

For all little things that make our living

So pleasant, Lord - we offer thanksgiving.

-FRANCIS B. GREGORY

NOVEMBER 1974 17

Book reviews

Handbook to Higher Consciousness

(Handbook to Higher Consciousness, Ken Keyes, Jr., Living Love Center, 1730 La Loma Avenue, Berkeley, California 94709, $2.00)

The Handbook to Higher Consciousness, by Ken Keyes, Jr., offers the Living Love Way as a positive cure for the suffering and unhappiness in our lives and in that of all humanity. Quoting, from the foreword of the book, we read: "Think of the energy you now put into the up-and-down, hour-by-hour coping with your feelings while you continually try to rearrange the people and situations in your life. And yet year by year your quest for happiness is as elusive as finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And since everyone around you seems to be having similar trouble in becoming a happy, loving being, you may have lowered your standards and decided that continued happiness is probably not realistic."

In this remarkable book, Mr. Keyes presents a clear and detailed method of eliminating the basic causes of our unsuccessful search for the freedom and joy we desire.

The advantages mentioned for following the Living Love Way to Higher Consciousness are, in essence, these: (1) For many it is the most powerful and rapid way for growth that has ever been available to man-kind; (2) It does not require us to detach ourselves from our present life. Where we are, at present, is the most effective place to be. (3) A teacher is not essential for growth once we understand the system. (4) Using the method we find love, inner peace and wisdom, and immediately add to our enjoyment of life.

As we read we become aware that the problems we have are the result of how we use and have used our mind. The author gives definite instructions for carrying out the inner work necessary to become an energetic, perceptive, happy, loving being; to use every uncomfortable emotion as an opportunity for insight and growth.

Mr. Keyes, Jr. labels our emotionally backed demands as addictions,

18 UNDERSTANDING

a mental programming that triggers a negative response. Thus we see things as we are, not as they are, and pay in lost happiness for ourselves and others. Life experiences can be enjoyed on a non-addictive basis when we are realistically brought into line with love for growth instead of demands for security, sensation and power. These three addictions form the core of the Unhappiness Center. How to recognize the mechanism of these subtle motivations is clearly explained by word and diagram as the author shows us how to break through this trap, to free ourselves to find our full potential as a human being.

The Seven Centers of Consciousness are described in detail, enabling us to objectively decide where we are on the scale, and where we are at this moment is the perfect place for us in our development.

These step-by-step principles, when applied, demonstrate the miracle of creating happiness in our life and as we become an example of a loving human being we do the most for others. After all isn't this what we are seeking?

-HAZEL WALTON, Unit 76

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Sir:

Here is what I feel Understanding is. It is a brief statement. Thank you for considering it.

As we look at man today, we see many changes from ten or twenty years ago. For one thing there has been more stress on study. Today, an education is very important to the learning of life styles, knowing of the future, knowing of man, where he has been and where he is going.

If we are to survive on this earth we must first learn about the problems of the world. Knowledge is the key to all progress and success.

We can't begin to imagine the entire population with the same problem, but with understanding we can get along with everyone.

We live in a more or less free world, except for a few Rations. This allows us to make free choices of speech, religion and most importantly, where to live. But where have we gone in our lifetime? Man knows more now than he has ever known before. With all this experience he should be able to cope with the problems of the world.

Understanding is difficult at times, but if the world understood, may-be there wouldn't be wars, riots, poverty.

There are many worlds within one. There are many thoughts inside one mind. Life, is that what we are after? Or are we out for our own self and greed? Do we push people away as though they were merely a piece of paper in the gutter?

How can we go on living like this? How can we just turn our backs

NOVEMBER 1974 19

on what is there? Can we face ourselves each morning and say we played our part as citizens? Look around, open your eyes, see that you are not

just a piece of matter, floating in space. You are something no other being has come close to being. You are MAN, and MAN you will be forever.

-PAUL ARMSTRONG

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Christmas Gift Subscriptions

With the price of the Understanding Magazine subject to change in the New Year, due to constantly increasing costs, we urge you to take advantage of our Annual Christmas Gift Subscription Offer.

All Gift orders received by December 15th will be honored at the Special price of $2.00 for the year. A gift card will be enclosed with the first issue mailed.

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All orders should be sent to P.O. Box #206, Merlin, Ore., 97532

Universal World Harmony 1974

The Week of Harmony is being celebrated worldwide from November 8th through the 14th, with the "Remembrance Day Period" being at 11:00 A.M.

"May all people remember together in the silence those in adversity, captivity, sorrow, need, sickness-whoever and wherever they may be. "

Please join in the remembrance, knowing that: "Whoever walks in my True Light-God goes with him in Majesty."

The Universal World Harmony Headquarters are at 1, St. George's Square, St. Anne's-on-Sea, Lancaster, FY8 "NY, England.

♦ ♦ ♦

20 UNDERSTANDING

Library Services

In addition to the Library services offered by our Buffalo Unit #37, Unit #71 of San Bernardino, California also offers book rentals to members of Understanding.

Books are loaned for a two-week period. Please contact Mrs. Esther Ellsworth, 1456 Highway 395, #27, Fallbrook, California 92028 for a Book List and start your reading program.

Unit #71 also keeps communication lines open with prisons in California, serving to supply books from the library, and helping individual inmates who sincerely desire to rebuild their life patterns and to constructively serve their fellowman.

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Atlantis-The Lost Continent

President Robert Shatzel of Buffalo Unit #37 writes that the speaker at the September 13th meeting of the Unit was Mrs. Mirella Zapa. Her subject was: "Atlantis, The Lost Continent." The topic included such facets as: Is the Atlantean consciousness still with us in the 20th century? What is the karma involved in the misuse of magic? and glimpses into the future.

UFO Chairman, Norm Weis, gave another of his interesting monthly reports on UFO findings.

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CLASSIFIED DEPARTMENT

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

U.F.O. CONFRONTATION-SURVIVAL or UPLIFTING ADVENTURE. POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION "friendly," "hostile" CRAFT AND OCCUPANTS. SAFETY REACTIONS AND DEFENSE WEAPON FOR LAND, SEA, AIR, ANY-WHERE. HOW TO COMMUNICATE. PERMANENT POLLUTION SOLUTIONS ENVIRONMENT, GENETIC NUCLEAR WASTES. GUARANTEED.

U.F.O. MANUAL 50c U.S. 75c CDA. $1.00 OVRSS PPD.

Michael J. Campione, 2202 New Albany, Cinnaminson, N.J. 08077

♦ ♦ ♦

FREE BOOK CATALOG-A 16-page UFO Book Catalog is available Free on request from: Gene Duplantier, 11 Shetland St., Willowdale, Canada M2M 1 X5.

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KOREAN WHITE GINSENG packed 20 natural roots per box (150 grams). $16.00 prepaid. House of Hess, 1465 Aala St. #2204, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817.

NOW AVAILABLE

By Dr. Daniel W. Fry

To Men of Earth

White Sands Incident

(softbound) $2.00

Atoms, Galaxies and Understanding

(hardbound) $3.00

(softbound) $2.00

Steps to the Stars

(softbound) $1.50

Atlantean Fire Crystals &

Physical Basis of ESP

(Cassette Tape - 90 min.) - $3.50

Merlin Publishing Company

P.0. Box 105 Merlin, Oregon 97532

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