TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

March 1976

 

 

MaCARTHUR AND PEACE   .........................................................................................             2

WE ARE INTERPENDENT   ...........................................................................................             7

poet’s corner   ..........................................................................................................             8

BLOCK NEWS FROM TONOPAH   ..............................................................................             9

UFO DEPARTMENT   ......................................................................................................             10

FOR GREATER UNDERSTANDING:   ........................................................................             15

ROSES FOR KAY   ...........................................................................................................             18

Bulletin board   ........................................................................................................             18

 

——— ♦ ———

 

THE STAFF

 

EDITOR ..................................................................................................  DANIEL W. FRY

ASST. EDITOR ..............................................................................  margaret little

 

 

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UNDERSTANDING

VOLUME XXI                              MARCH 1976                                             NUMBER 2

Dedicated to the propagation of a better understanding among all the peoples of the earth, and of those who are not of earth.

 

MaCARTHUR AND PEACE

On January 26th, 1955 at the American Legion sponsored banquet at the Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur delivered an oration which the newsmen who reported it said was, "probably the most important speech which has been delivered during this century." In spite of its great importance comparatively little coverage was given to it in other parts of the country.

Because we agree with the statement of newsmen concerning the vital importance of this speech, and because we believe everyone should have the opportunity to study it, we are taking the liberty of reprinting the greater portion of that speech in this issue. We hope that you will give it the careful consideration which we feel that it deserves.

-The Editors

That famous barrack room ballard apparently counts on us, those old soldiers who have escaped the carnage of the battlefield, to find the fountain of youth. And indeed, we might if we only understood what the poet said, that youth is not entirely a time of life-it is a state of mind.

It is not wholly a matter of ripe cheeks, red lips or supple knees. It is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a freshness of the deep springs of life. It means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of an appetite for

2                                                    UNDERSTANDING

adventure over love of ease.

Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up interest wrinkles the soul.

Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear and despair-these are the long, long years that bow the head and turn the growing spirit back to dust. Whatever your years, there is in every being's heart the love of wonder, the undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing childlike appetite for what next, and the joy and the game of life. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.

In the central place of every heart there is a recording chamber; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer and courage, so long you are young. When the wires are all down and your heart is covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then-and then, indeed, as the ballad says, you just fade, away.

History Of Man's Wars

Many in this brilliant audience were my comrades-in-arms in the days of used-to-be. They have known war in all its horror and, as veterans, hope against its recurrence. How, we ask ourselves, did such an institution become so integrated with man's life and civilization? How has it grown to be the most vital factor in our existence? It started in a modest enough way as a sort of gladiatorial method of settling disputes between conflicting tribes. One of the oldest and most classical examples is the Biblical story of David and Goliath. Each of the two contesting groups selected its champion. They fought, and based upon the outcome an agreement resulted. Then, as time went on, small professional groups known as armies replaced the individual champions. These groups fought in some obscure corner of the world, and victory or defeat was accepted as the basis of an en-during peace. From then on, down through the ages, the constant record is an increase in the character and strength of the forces with the rate of increase always accelerating. From a small percentage' of the populace it finally engulfed all, It is now the nation in arms. With-in the span of my own life I have witnessed this evolution. At the turn of the century, when I entered the army, the target was one enemy casualty at the end of a rifle or bayonet or sword. Then came the machine-gun designed to kill by the dozen. After that, the heavy artillery raining death upon the hundreds. Then the aerial bomb to strike by the thousands-followed by the atom explosion to reach the hundreds of thousands.

MARCH 1976                              3

 

Now Destruction is in Millions

Now, electronics and other processes of science have raised the destructive potential to encompass millions. With restless hands we work feverishly in dark laboratories to find the means to destroy all with one blow. But, this very triumph of scientific annihilation-this very success of invention-has destroyed the possibility of war being a medium of practical settlement of international differences. The enormous destruction to both sides of closely matched opponents makes it impossible for the winner to translate it into anything but his own disaster.

The second World War, even with its now antiquated armaments, clearly demonstrated that the victor had to bear in large part the very injuries inflicted on his foe. Our own country spent billions of dollars and untold energy to heal the wounds of Germany and Japan. War has become a Frankenstein to destroy both sides. No longer is it the weapon of adventure whereby a short cut to international power and wealth-a place in the sun-can be gained. If you lose, you are annihilated. If you win, you stand only to lose. No longer does it possess the chance of the winner of a duel-it contains rather the germs of double suicide. Science has clearly outmoded it as a feasible arbitrator.

The great question is-does this mean that war can now be outlawed from the world? If so, it would mark the greatest advance in civilization since the Sermon on the Mount. It would lift at one stroke the darkest shadow which has engulfed mankind from the beginning. It would not only remove fear and bring security-it would not only create new moral and spiritual values-it would produce an economic wave of prosperity that would raise the world's standard of living beyond anything ever dreamed of by man. The hundreds of billions of dollars now spent in mutual preparedness could conceivably abolish poverty from the face of the globe.

Would Reduce Nations' Woes

It would accomplish even more than this; it would at one stroke reduce the international tensions that seem so insurmountable now to matters of more probable solution. For instance, the complex problems of German re-armament, of preventive war, of satellite dominance by major powers, of universal military service, of unconscionable taxation, of nuclear development for industry, of freer ex-change of goods and people, of foreign aid and, indeed, of all issues involving the application of armed force. It would reduce immeasurably the power of leaders of government and thus render more pre-carious totalitarian or autocratic rule. The growing and dangerous

4                                                    UNDERSTANDING

control by an individual over the masses-the socialistic and paternal trends resulting there from is largely by virtue of his influence to induce war or to maintain peace. Abolish this threat and the position of chief magistrate falls into a more proper civic perspective. You will say at once that although the abolition of war has been the dream of man for centuries, every proposition to that end has been promptly discarded as impossible and fantastic. Every cynic, every pessimist, every adventurer, every swashbuckler in the world has always disclaimed its feasibility. But that was before the science of the past decade made mass destruction a reality. The argument then was that human character has never reached a theological development which would permit the application of pure idealism. In the last two thou-sand years its rate of change has been deplorably slow compared to that of the arts and sciences. But now the tremendous and present evolution of nuclear and other potentials of destruction has suddenly taken the problem away from its primary consideration as a moral and spiritual question, and brought it abreast of scientific realism.

Decision Now is Before the Masses

It is no longer an ethical equation to be pondered solely by learned philosophers and ecclesiastics, but a hard core one for the decision of the masses, whose survival is the issue. This is as true of the Soviet side of the world as the free side-as true behind the Iron Curtain as in front of it. The ordinary people of the world, whether free or slave, are all in agreement of this solution; and this perhaps is the only thing in the world they do agree upon. But it is the most vital and determinate of all. The leaders are the laggards. The disease of power seems to confuse and befuddle them. They have not even approached the basic problem, much less evolved a working formula to implement the public demand. They debate and turmoil over a hundred issues-they bring us to the verge of despair or raise our hopes to Utopian heights over the corollary misunderstandings that stem from the threat of war-but never in the chancelleries of the world or the halls of the United Nations is the real problem raised. Never do they dare to state the bald truth, that the next great advance in the evolution of civilization cannot take place until war is abolished. It may take another cataclysm of destruction to prove to them this simple truth. But, strange as it may seem, it is known now by all common men. It is the one issue upon which both sides can agree, for it is the one issue upon which both sides will profit equally.

Self Interest Keeps Truth

It is now no longer convincing to argue, whether true or not, that we cannot trust the other side-that one maverick can destroy the

MARCH 1976                              5

herd. It would no longer be a matter depending upon trust-the self-interest of each nation outlawing war would keep it true to itself.

And there is no influence so potent and powerful as self-interest.

It would not necessarily require international inspection of relative armaments the public opinion of every part of the world would be the great denominator which would ensure the issue-each nation would so profit that it could not fail eventually to comply. This would not, of course, mean the abandonment of all armed forces, but it would reduce them to the simpler problems of internal order and international police. It would not mean Utopia at one fell stroke, but it would mean that the great roadblock now existing to development of the human race would have been cleared. The present tensions with their threat of national annihilation are kept alive by two great illusions.

The one, a complete belief on the part of the Soviet world that the capitalist countries are preparing to attack them; that sooner or later we intend to strike. And the other, a complete belief on the part of the capitalistic countries that the Soviets are preparing to attack us; that sooner or later they intend to strike.

Both are wrong. Each side, so far as the masses are concerned, is equally desirous of peace. For either side war with the other would mean nothing but disaster. Both equally dread it. But the constant acceleration of preparation may well, without specific intent, ultimately produce a spontaneous combustion.

World Leaders Show Lack

I am sure that every Pundit in the world, every cynic and hypocrite, every paid brainwasher, every egotist, every troublemaker, and many others of entirely different mould, will tell you with mockery and ridicule that this can be only a dream-that it is but the vague imaginings of a visionary. But, as David Lloyd George once said in the House of Commons at the crises of the first World War, "We must go on or we will go under." And the great criticism we can make of the world leaders is their lack of a plan which will enable us "to go on." All they propose merely gravitates around but dares not face the real problem. They increase preparedness by alliances, by distributing resources throughout the world, by feverish activity, in developing new and deadlier weapons, by applying conscription in times of peace-all of which is instantly matched by the prospective opponent. We are told that this increases the chances of peace-which is doubtful-and increases the chances of victory if war comes-which would be incontestable if the other side did not increase in like proportion. Actually,  he truth is that the relative strength of the two change

6                                                    UNDERSTANDING

little with the years. Action by one is promptly matched by reaction from the other.

We are told we must go on indefinitely as at present-some say 50 years or more. With what at the end? None say-there is no definite objective. They but pass along to those that follow the search for a final solution. And, at the end, the problem will be exactly the same as that which we face now.

Must we live for generations under the killing punishment of accelerating preparedness without an announced final purpose or, as an alternative, suicidal war; and trifle in the meanwhile with corollary and indeterminate theses-such as limitation of armament, restriction on the use of nuclear power, adoption of new legal standards as pro-pounded at Nuremberg-all of which are but palliatives and all of which in varying form have been tried in the past with negligible results?

Dangerous Doctrines

Dangerous doctrines, too, appear-doctrines which might result in actual defeat; such doctrines as limited war, of enemy sanctuary, of failure to protect our fighting men when captured, of national subversive and sabotage agencies, of substitute for victory on the battle-field-all in the name of peace.

Peace, indeed, can be obtained, at least temporarily, by any nation if it is prepared to yield its freedom principles. But peace at any price-peace with appeasement-peace which passes the dreadful finality to future generations-is a peace of sham and shame which can end only in war or slavery.

I recall so vividly this problem when it faced the Japanese in their new constitution. They are realists; and they are the only ones that know by dreadful experience the fearful effects of mass annihilation.

They realize in their limited geographical area, caught up in a sort of no-man's-land between two great ideologies, that to engage in another war, whether on the winning or the losing side, would spell the probable doom of their race. And their wise old prime minister, Shidehara, came to me and urged that to save themselves they should abolish war as an international instrument. When I agreed, he turned to me and said: "The world will laugh and mock us as impractical visionaries, but a hundred years from now we will be called prophets." Sooner or later the world, if it is to survive, must reach this decision. The only question is, when? Must we fight again before we learn? When will some great figure in power have sufficient imagination and moral courage to. translate this universal wish-which is rapidly be-coming a universal necessity-into actuality?

MARCH 1976                              7

 

Old Methods No Longer Suffice

We are in a new era. The old methods and solutions no longer suffice. We must have new thoughts, new ideas, new concepts, just as did our venerated forefathers when they faced a new world. We must break out of the straight jacket of the past.

There must always be one to lead, and we should be that one. We should now proclaim our readiness to abolish war in concert with the great powers of the world. The result would be magical.

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

WE ARE INTERPENDENT

Whatever we do or fail to do and say has such subtle and far-reaching influence that we never can tell what the results will be. Our shadows fall where we may never be. A deed or word may set in motion forces that help or hinder the progress of the world by just so much. No act falls fruitless; none can tell how vast its powers may be. We live with other men, and to other men; we have no intercourse with others that does not tell on them, as they are all the while influencing us. No man or woman of the humblest station can really be strong, gentle, and pure and good, without the world being better for it, without somebody being helped and comforted by the very existence of that goodness.

We may, if we choose, make the worst of one another. Every one has his weak points; every one has his faults; we may make the worst of these; we may fix our attention constantly upon these. But we may also make the best of one another. We may forgive as we hope to be forgiven. We may put ourselves in the place of others, and ask what we should wish to be done to us, and thought of us, were we in their place. By loving what is lovable in those around us, love will flow back from them to us, and life will become a pleasure instead of a pain. We should help others when and where the help is needed. And every word and deed of unselfish love, comes back in blessings on the giver; the strong are to bear the burdens of the weak, and in bearing them will grow stronger themselves. When love constrains one to give a cup of "cold water" he is expressing divine love.

We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and along those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and come back to us as effect.

So interdependent are we that we are dependent upon others to such an extent that each becomes an inseparable part of the other. It is a physical impossibility to live completely isolated from other

8                                                    UNDERSTANDING

lives. Therefore, how does my life affect those around me, those who love me?

Confucius pointed out many years ago: When the heart is set aright, the personal life is cultivated, when the personal life is cultivated, then the family life is regulated. When the family is regulated, the national life is orderly, and there is peace in the world.

-ALMA FLOYD

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

poet’s corner

 

SUNRISE ON TRAVERSE BAY

I awoke again this morning

to face another day,

and found no one had taken

the sunrise from the Bay.

 

Last night I was down trodden

by another sad defeat,

but now I found this morning

God had a special treat.

 

For the sun came up with splendor

no mortals held it down -

and only clouds could camouflage,

as it went on its round.

 

The waters lapped the edges of the

beauteous bay shores,

and made you realize

the grandeur of outdoors.

 

MARCH 1976                              9

And I am only one

with minor aches and pains,

and wondrous is the natural world

where God in nature reigns.

-CLEM H.

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

 

BLOCK NEWS FROM TONOPAH

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to R. J. Richardson and Mrs. Lois Ayres, Globe, AZ. who organized Understanding Unit #87 with seven charter members and three have since joined. Bob Richardson is secretary, Norman Koolkin, president.

The Unit has already served as a channel of understanding for one of the six men who were with Travis Walton when he disappeared from their midst as they stood watching a spacecraft over Heber, AZ. Mike Rodgers called Lois Ayres and talked for almost half an hour about their experience. Lois reports that he sounded very convincing. Contact with Lois was made through a visit to Snowflake by the founder and president of Understanding, D. W. Fry.

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

THE FIRST WEDDING AT

THE FIRST CHURCH OF UNDERSTANDING

On December 6th, Miss Lisa Curtis and David Gillespie were married as they stood before the cross at the First Church of Understanding by the Reverend Brent Thompson. Lisa is the daughter of Mary Ellen Curtis, new treasurer for Understanding Inc.

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

UFO BICENTENNIAL

April 23rd to 25th is a date to mark on your calendars!! Understanding Inc. will host a convention at Tonopah, Az. on those dates. Speakers will be invited to be present and to assist in reviewing the history of UFO activity here on this planet. The gate donation has been kept to a minimum so that all could participate who wished to do so. $2.00 per person for each of the three days. Food will be provided by Understanding staff for purchase. (The nearest restaurant is 23 miles!) Sleeping bags and space on the 55 acres of desert floor will accommodate up to a thousand persons. Other sanitary facilities will be provided as necessary. For those whose idea of camping is a nice clean bed and running hot and cold water, accommodations in Buckeye, Good-year and Gila Bend are

10        UNDERSTANDING

available. The list of such accommodations will appear complete with addresses and telephone number in the April issue of this magazine.

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

UFO DEPARTMENT

'STRANGE CREATURES SEEN DURING UFO ENCOUNTER'

HOLBROOK, Ariz. (AP)-Travis Walton who is alleged to have disappeared after being struck by a ray of light from an unidentified flying object was "on a craft of some sort" and made contact with strange creatures, his brother said Tuesday.

Duane Walton, 26, said he found Travis, 22, who now is in hospital. However, he refused to say where.

Meanwhile, Navajo County sheriff Marlin Gillespie said five men who claimed they had seen Travis Walton struck by a ray of light last week in northeast Arizona passed a lie-detector test Tuesday. But Gillespie said he still wants to speak with Walton himself.

The sheriff has described both brothers and their mother as long-time students of UFOs. He also said he had not overlooked the possibility that the story is a hoax.

Travis Walton disappeared last Wednesday. His six companions said he left the truck they were riding in near Heber to pursue an un-identified flying object in the woods.

The men said they were still in the truck about 25 yards away when Walton was struck by "a ray of bluish light."

They said they drove off, frightened, but returned shortly after-ward and found no trace of Walton.

Five of the six men who voluntarily submitted to a lie-detector test given Monday passed, Gillespie said.

"They were telling the truth, that they did see something that they described as a UFO," he said. The test on the sixth man was in-conclusive, the sheriff added.

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

UFO SEEKERS HEADING EAST

LOS ANGELES (UPI)- A mysterious couple may be leading their band of UFO seekers toward New England, according to a woman who says she was part of the group for almost two months.

She also said the leaders of the group have collected large sums of money from their followers and she worries about her friends who are still with them.

"I was with the group from May 5 to June 30 when they abandoned me in Flagstaff, Arizona," said Joan Culpepper, who described

MARCH 1976                              11

herself in an interview as a "teacher of metaphysics and a practicing psychic."

The group's leaders left her because of her skepticism about the trip to another world, she said, and have since warned her to be quiet. The group, which first came to attention in Oregon, has been re-ported since then in Colorado and Illinois, apparently moving East.

The two have been identified as Marshall Herff Applewhite and Bonnie lu Trusdale Nettles, of Houston. Applewhite was wanted there last year for car theft, but the charges have since been dropped.

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

MYSTERIOUS UFO CULT TAKES WIFE,

LEAVES LONELINESS FOR LEONARD

(Burlington Free Press, Burlington, VT., 11/6/75)

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)-Dr. C. A. Leonard says that in his loneliness, the "four walls are closing in." Leonard was abandoned by his wife of 34 years who joined a mysterious cult that promises paradise via UFOs.

Leonard and his wife have three grown children. Her sudden departure from their Vail, Colo., home last August left him in shock for over a month, he said.

Leonard, 50, was reunited with his wife, Jackie, at a recruiting rally the UFO cult held here last week. He was only able to talk with her for about a half hour.

"I told her the door's always open to her," he said, adding that his strongest hope is that the group will "dissolve" before long and she will return home, "perhaps stronger internally for this whole experience."

Leonard flew to California from Vail after his wife invited him by phone to attend Human Individual Metamorphosis (HIM) sessions last week. There have been reports from different parts of the country about people giving up families and possessions to join HIM.

The couple's brief reunion occurred after the cult, led by a man and woman known as "The Two," relaxed earlier bans against converts communicating with loved ones. Mrs. Leonard invited her husband by telephone to attend a meeting here.

Leonard, who described his marriage as "probably one of the great ones," said in an interview that he decided not to use the opportunity to coax his wife home.

"It's really been terribly lonely since she left. Those four walls close in on you," said Leonard. "We worried for her safety and well-being. I cried, and was mad at myself. It took a month anyway be-fore I was out of shock."

12                                                  UNDERSTANDING

 

However, Leonard said he thought his wife, a registered nurse, looked healthy and happy. But then, he added, she always had been religious and is experienced at transcendental meditation and yoga.

"She's reached these high levels of transcendence through dedicated efforts-without any signs of insanity, of course," Leonard said. "She'll go through hardships for her own elevation."

"I've lived with Jackie for 34 years, and she's still the most beautiful woman I've known," said Leonard. Then, with obvious sorrow, he added, "There's always that chance I won't see her again."

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

OUTER SPACE LIFE 'COMMON'

(The Vancouver Sun, 11/12/75)

SAN FRANCISCO (UPI)- A scientist trying to establish contact with life on other planets said today research indicates it not only exists but is "probably widespread."

Dr. John Billingham, chief of the biotechnology division at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Ames Research Laboratory in Mountain View, Calif., disclosed his conclusions half-way through a two-year study.

He said his search for intelligent extraterrestrial life "now points to the fact that it should be very common, that it exists now and is probably widespread in the universe."

Billihgham said he has been contacted by believers in unidentified flying objects but gives little scientific validity to claims of visits to and from other planets. He said, however, they were conceivable.

Billingham said his search, aided by other scientists, is for "beings who have gotten to at least our level of science and technology, and maybe ahead."

"We believe that in many places living creation has gone not only as far as we, but much further-including many civilizations much older than ours," he said in an interview.

"We're the youngest civilization that is able to communicate. We

have been able to communicate for only 10 or 15 years across the galaxy with radio telescopes.

"So the point is that we've just emerged on a statistical basis and therefore anybody we contact must be an older civilization." Billingham, 45 and British-born, said his evidence of life on other planets is circumstantial and he hopes to establish contact with extra-terrestrial beings through larger and better radio telescopes.

MARCH 1976                              13

 

RUSSIANS STUDY PARTICLES FROM OUTER SPACE & REVEAL ...

NUCLEAR WAR DESTROYED AN ANCIENT PLANET-

SURVIVORS LANDED ON EARTH

(National Enquirer, 10/14/75)

by William Dick and Henry Gris in Moscow

Top Soviet scientists have revealed for the first time-exclusively to The Enquirer- new evidence that a planet called Phaeton once orbited the sun and was destroyed in a thermonuclear explosion set off by an advanced race of humanoids.

The scientists analyzed glass-like particles called tektites that fell to earth from outer space-and believe these particles shed new light on the mysteries of Phaeton, which was a sister planet of earth before its destruction.

Never before have leading Russian scientists agreed to discuss their study of the tektites they found in Russia's Karakum Desert earlier this year.

But The Enquirer has lifted the veil of secrecy and secured exclusive interviews with top researchers.

Among their amazing theories were:

• A spectacular nuclear war destroyed all the inhabitants of the planet-and only those who may have been away from Phaeton at the time in space ships could possibly have survived.

• The survivors landed on earth-and probably inspired the ancient legends of gods arriving in fiery chariots.

• The planet had an atmosphere much like our own-with oceans and mountains similar to earth's.

• The Asteroid Belt that rings the sun is actually the remains of the exploded planet.

Professor Evgeni Krinov, head of the Soviet Committee on Meteorites, told The Enquirer: "Tektites travel to us from the area of the Asteroid Belt-a ring of debris that circles the sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. According to a theory, asteroids circle the sun along the path that Phaeton, which no longer exists, once followed.

"We believe that this planet disintegrated following a thermonuclear explosion on its surface-and what remains are the asteroids." Professor Felix Zigel, of the Institute of Aviation in Moscow, said the explosion that formed the tektites must have been thermonuclear -because only such a blast could generate the intense heat required to form tektites, a combination of metals fused together into glass-like solids, about the size of walnuts.

"What happened probably was a thermonuclear catastrophe caused by a war between civilizations on Phaeton," Professor Zigel said. "Nothing short of that could have produced such a disastrous result."

14                                                  UNDERSTANDING

Fragments of Phaeton-the tektites-reached earth, said Dr. Zigel. "But what bothered us was that none had ever been found in the Soviet Union-although they've been discovered in Australia, the Philippines and in Czechoslovakia.

"But the new discovery changes everything," he said. The tektites seem to have fallen in an arc pattern running from Australia and the Philippines through the Soviet Union to Czechoslovakia. "This indicated they all arrived at one time-the result of a single massive explosion in space," commented Dr. Zigel. "If they had arrived at different times, they would have been scattered all over earth because of the earth's constantly changing position."

Professor Aleksander Kazantsev, who lectures on space at Moscow University, declared:

"The destruction of Phaeton had to be total. The civilization vanished." But he added that since their knowledge of thermonuclear energy was so advanced, the Phaeton dwellers were also probably very advanced space travelers-likely to have had astronauts in space at the time of the explosion.

"These astronauts had no home to return to," he said. "So they went to the planet whose conditions were nearest their own-they went to earth.

"This could explain the origin of ancient legends about gods arriving on earth aboard fiery chariots. Erich von Daniken claims to have discovered traces of extraterrestrial visitors in many places on earth."

Phaeton was named in the 1950s by a Russian scientist after a Greek god, who legend says crashed in a fiery chariot.

One of NASA's top scientists, Dr. John O'Keefe, a geophysicist and an expert on tektites, said it's a plausible theory to suggest that Phaeton disintegrated and formed the Asteroid Belt.

He also agreed with Professor Zigel that thermonuclear explosions could not be produced accidentally but would require "some intelligence at work."

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

DREAMS TO SHARE

November 11, 1975

I want to share with you three dreams my wife wrote down during a physical illness and shortly before she left her physical body. They seem to tell about a preparation that's part of the process we call dying.

The first occurred last December (1974):

(1)       . . . woke up with the most intense feeling-as tho' it were still going on

MARCH 1976                              15

even while l wakened ... of a great and joyful blessing-as tho' group of very loving people had had me in their midst and were gently laying me down again

... a feeling that everything was ok, loved; I and everything was full of light, sort of a pinkish rose, it was so strong, the most real "unphysical" thing I've ever felt. My heart was overflowing, and oh the whole thing lasted wonderful long moments after l awoke . . . It was so complete, something very real sure was going on, I came away with something I didn't have before, I'm sure . . . and encouraged feeling . . . there were some purely happy loving "new (to me) dimension" feelings going on.

And the other two occurred early in September; her most recently recorded ones:

(2)       l heard the words "Well, they took me by the hand and led me over my head (or beyond my depth)". . . I saw a brief picture of some people at a shore-line being led into water by gentle guides; there was a definite 'guide" feeling -when you feel you're over your head in a situation in life and that it's just too big-guidance is at work, helping you through this lesson-like crossing a river. I felt such reassurance from it; l was the people (person) being led, and there was comfort and new encouragement ... The experience that feels too big is almost like a cleansing. It acts as such, and we have our guides holding our hands. At least l felt it so for me in my present situation. Also got the hint that a lot of this taking-by-the-hand etc. happens during our sleep time.

(3)       Two fellows were teaching me how to "fly"-first, big leaps and bounds and slow floating etc. . . they'd walk along ahead ... with me, they'd go ZAP! to "turn it on -so I could have the power.

I tried but felt awkward and heavy, but on the return . . . I said "But what do l do with my body-arms, legs, etc. How do I feel them together as a unit yet not be conscious of them?"

Up front, one of them said casually, "It's the same feeling as when you pray." i.e., total abandon, giving, joy, forgetting of self ... and sure enough, I sort of thought about Jesus or prayed ... and then was leaping and bounding slowly, high up, feeling so fight, and butterflies. . . I was grinning and joyful. . . I felt right, fun; . . . f had feeling I had to keep myself down, had so much power even tho' I didn't really understand it ... Being in that sort of power, anything could work out ... a good feeling of being "taught" on the other side.

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

It is surprising that man should suffer so much when divine power dwells within him in full glory. Just as the sun can never see darkness, man was not created to experience pain or suffering. Man experiences agony and torment because he keeps his attention confined to the outer world. He never bothers to plunge within.

-Swami Muktanada

 

16                                                  UNDERSTANDING

 

FOR GREATER UNDERSTANDING:

TURN THE OTHER CHEEK

Many Scriptural passages have several interpretations-literal, figurative, physical, metaphysical, historical and spiritual. One such passage is "But whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."

I am sure that everyone understands the literal meaning, which to some is either unrealistic, downright ridiculous, or confusing, at best. But to focus simply on or debate the physical or literal aspect of cheek turning is to lose sight of a great spiritual truth.

What does it mean spiritually to turn the other cheek? An under-standing of this somewhat confusing, if not disconcerting, Biblical advice can help you improve your personal, social and business relations. It can help you to become a more accepted as well as a more accepting individual.

Let us start with a simple illustration. For years you and your wife have "religiously" been voting the straight "Universal" ticket at elections. This year your wife tells you she will definitely vote for the "National Party" all down the line. This comes to you as a great surprise and a shock. It is a slap on the right cheek.

What does it mean, then, to turn the other cheek? I feel it means that you should ask your wife why she is switching to another party. Her reason may come to you as another shock-a slap on the left cheek.

You see, your problem may be that you have been looking, politically, in one fixed direction entirely too long. It might well be that, figuratively, you do need your cheeks slapped to get you to turn your head in another direction and see its advantages.

In the spiritual sense, then, to turn the other cheek means to seek greater understanding and greater sensitivity to the feelings of others. It does not mean, however, that you are obliged or required to give up any beliefs which your conscience tells you are right and valid. You allow others the right of conscience.            ,

A father recently told me about his son who ran away from home. The boy's rejection of the father was indeed a slap on the right cheek for the man who always assumed a well-meaning, holier-than-thou and self-righteous pose.

I knew the father quite well, so I felt free to answer his "Why?" I suggested to the man that he might be too rigid, demanding, unrelenting and even punitive. He wanted to dictate his son's companions, course of study, career, social contacts and even his hair style.

MARCH 1976                              17

Verbally, then, I smote the father's left cheek which he willingly turned to me. The boy eventually came home, was given a loving and prodigal-son-type welcome by his forgiving father, and in time they worked out their differences.

Mrs. Parsons complained to me some time ago about her mother. The elder woman inherited $4,000 and immediately turned it over as a love offering to a well-known faith healer of whom she was very fond. This bit of generosity infuriated the daughter who felt that she had really been hit on the cheek.

"We could have used that money to pay off some debts or as the down payment on a new house," lamented Mrs. Parsons.

In effect, I told the irate daughter to turn the other cheek. I suggested that she turn in thought to her mother's point of view.

"You may not believe in faith healing," I said. "But your mother claims she has received many blessings from it. All your mother did was to perform an act of gratitude; she should be commended and not condemned."

Turning the other cheek physically, mentally or spiritually may hurt-even if it's just your pride. You might not readily be able to accept another viewpoint. The thing to do then is to pray for greater understanding and for help in overcoming stubbornness, rigidity and pride.

Years ago both the desirability and the painfulness of turning the other cheek were driven home to me. I was very fond of symphony music and purchased season tickets for myself and a friend.

At the first concert I noticed that my friend was a little bored and restless. She nodded and napped. The night before the second con-cert she phoned to tell me she was ill and could not go along. When it came time for the third event her mother suddenly became sick.

Finally, I began to see her excuses as slaps in the face. I decided I would turn the other cheek and "face the music" from her point of view.

"I just don't like classical music," she told me flatly and sharply. "The symphony bores me stiff. Why didn't you ask me whether I was interested before you spent all that money on those tickets?"

My trouble was that I was looking only in one direction-toward my own interests and likes. It was helpful to have some one "smite" me on both cheeks. I learned it does not pay to be overly presumptuous. I learned that close friends have the right to share in the making of important decisions.

Did someone smite you today on the right cheek? Did your prospective mate suddenly jilt you? Did a faithful customer suddenly cancel a huge order? Did your broker give you a poor tip on the

18                                                  UNDERSTANDING

stock market? Did your boss promote the other fellow?

You see, a slap on the cheek-a personal affront-can take many forms. In any event, follow the Scriptural advice and "turn the other cheek also. "

When you do that you reach out for greater understanding. You lose nothing. You gain another point of view. You begin to see things in a different light-perhaps the true light.

The ability or the willingness to turn the other cheek is one of the secrets for success in business or personal and social affairs. Turning the other cheek is, at once, an expression of love, tolerance and forgiveness, an experience in understanding, and an expansion of one's spirituality.

-RUSSELL J. FORNWALT

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

 

ROSES FOR KAY

For days and months and years Kerttu Campbell began and ended her day with the innumerable minutia that are the lot of the assistant editor of Understanding magazine. Kay completed each of those tasks with a love and loyalty for Understanding and all it represents that will make finding a replacement for her most difficult. So------Roses by the yardful to Kay who has asked to be relieved from the double task of treasurer and assistant editor of the magazine for health reasons.

On behalf of all the readers of Understanding and all those who have received Kay's warm and gracious letter replies, the editor and his Tonopah staff extend deepest appreciation to both Kay and Coleman Campbell. (Coleman will be mailing out the magazine from Merlin for sometime yet.)

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

A man of understanding sets his face toward wisdom.-Proverbs 17:24

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

When a man reaches the end of his rope, he comes to the beginning of God. -E. A. Gloeggler

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

Nothing is so strong as gentleness,. nothing so gentle as real strength. –unknown

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

There are two ways a man can meet a difficulty: either he can alter the difficulty or he can alter himself to meet it.

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

We do not deal much in facts when we are contemplating ourselves. -Mark Twain

 

MARCH 1976                              19

Bulletin board

UFO BICENTENNIAL SOUVENIRS

R. J. Richardson, Globe, Arizona 85501, Box 635 has made up several samples of the little flying saucers shown here. They are for sale as souvenirs of the coming UFO convention at Tonopah or through order direct to him. Cost, $5.00. But what better way to introduce the space age to the future leaders of the world than these little toy space ships? Order yours now.

20                                                  UNDERSTANDING

 

The staff of Understanding Inc. at Tonopah was saddened by the news in a letter from Lee Yates that Gayne Myers has been called to the other side. He will be sorely missed by the many friends in Understanding, especially the members of Unit #15 where Gayne had been a favorite speaker. Mrs. Myers' address is 10526 Oak Drive, Auburn, Ca. 95603.

Contributors to the Understanding magazine should send all articles to the Tonopah headquarters; Star Route Box 588F, Tonopah, Az., 85354.

Articles should be informative, educational and inspirational and not to exceed a maximum of 800 words. Manuscripts not accompanied by self-addressed, stamped envelope will not be returned. Articles are paid for at the rate of 1 cent per word, poetry 10 cents per line. Poetry should not exceed 36 lines.

 ♦  ♦  ♦ 

Silence is sometimes the severest criticism.

 

CLASSIFIED DEPARTMENT

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