Some of the most difficult problems encountered by the modern theologian, in his efforts to interpret and to understand various biblical texts, stem from their frequent reference to the "Wrath of God" and the dire punishments inflicted upon those who incur His anger.

The fact must be recognized that God has never been angry with men or with any other part of His creation, nor will He ever be. Anger is an animal emotion reflecting fear and futility. It is common to man but will never be Divine.

God does not punish man. Man, whether he realizes it or not, punishes himself, although he usually manages to put the blame on God. The average child learns, at a rather early age, that if he puts his hand into a fire, his hand will be burned. He does not say, however, that this is because the fire is angry with him for his temerity, nor that it is punishing him for his act. The child simply learns that it is the nature of fire to burn and, although fire is necessary to the welfare of man, proper care must be exercised in approaching and using it.

As the child goes through life he learns many natural laws. Some he will not accept as being valid, and these he must learn through the pain and loss that result when they are ignored.

It should be better understood that the laws of God are the laws of nature. They are all based upon unalterable fact, and not upon the passing

2 UNDERSTANDING

whims of a petulant dictator. If someone drops a lighted match into an open barrel of gunpowder, it does not require any special act of God to bring about the event which will follow immediately and inevitably.

Unfortunately, there are many laws of God and nature which man does not yet comprehend, and even more which he has been taught, but which he will not accept as immutable laws. He still has the feeling that "if no one is looking" he can ignore the law, and nothing will happen.

The child who eats all the cookies in the cookie jar, because his mother is visiting the neighbors, will find that the resulting stomach ache is independent of his parent's observation, although when the parent discovers the empty jar, the child may experience a second area of discomfort somewhat below and to the rear of the first.

The deceptive feeling that some of the natural laws can be ignored with impunity, probably stems from the fact that the result of a given act does not always (like the barrel of gunpowder), follow immediately upon the act itself, and so the temporary illusion may be created that there will be none.

If man could only learn that the laws of God were not made for God's benefit, but for Man's welfare and guidance; that the laws are immutable facts which cannot be escaped by anyone; the need for policemen, judges and jails would shrink amazingly, and mankind would be relieved of the major part of his suffering and loss.

COLLEGE TODAY ... WOW!

Recently, I decided it was time to make the big move out of the kitchen and into college, heading for a career in psychology. And what I found, was nothing short of revelation. College today is simply oozing with 'Understanding'. The students, the professors, the curricula, all are heading in a positive direction. I know, because for the last few months I've been experiencing it.

I plunged into the thing this summer, and since it had been nearly eighteen years since I'd graduated from high school, I was somewhat nervous. There I was, a little old lady of thirty-eight, graying of hair, varicosing of vein, maybe only an inch away from instant senility, standing in a hallway in the midst of the 'Now' generation-bearded, bedraggled, long-haired creatures, who would no doubt at any moment rise up in a body and attack. I was a stranger in a strange land. I was over thirty. My brilliant disguise of a modified mini-skirt was not going to fool anybody.

JUNE 1973 3

I was right. They weren't fooled. But rather than being attacked, I was swiftly gathered up and adopted. They were creatures all right, creatures with X-ray vision. They knew I was nervous. They knew I was disoriented. They knew I was alone. The upshot was, before five minutes had passed, I was no longer nervous, no longer disoriented, no longer alone. I had been briefed on where the coffee machines were, what kind of guy our algebra instructor was, where my next class was located, and most of all-briefed on what 'Understanding' is all about. They didn't care about me being over thirty. The fact that I was there qualified me to join in their fascinating discussions. I mean discussions about what's going on in the world. Yes, indeed-these "freaks," these "weirdos" use their X-ray vision to slice right through phoniness and hypocrisy, and they do it with startling insight into history and the world's great philosophers.

But don't misunderstand. Not all the fellows are bedraggled and be-whiskered; not all the girls are jeaned and sweatshirted. College today is a potpourri of all kinds of fads and fashions, peopled by both young and old, both radical and conservative. That's what's so great about it. It's absolutely impossible to judge who is who, and what is what, by merely taking a quick look.

Which quite naturally leads me to the professors. Talk about your beards, talk about your moustaches, talk about your sweatshirts! Talk about my political science professor, for instance. The "old hippie" I lovingly call him. Totally unorthodox, long stringy grey hair, scraggly beard, potbellied, and I'm sure he sleeps in his clothes. Totally disgusting. That is, until he opens his mouth. And then, what comes forth, is a vocabulary unbelievably prolific and accurate, an insight that is un-canny, and a sense of fairness that is remarkable-due to the fact that he "chops low" everybody and everything. Everybody, that is, except human beings. As for his concept of education, it is simply this: "Thinking is an art; learn it, or you'll spend your whole life doing what others tell you, and never know why."

Then there's my English teacher, who looks exactly like an English teacher, a little prim, a little prissy; but she teaches more than spelling and punctuation. One day, she threw the study of lyric poetry right out the window, and spent the entire class time discussing a project of one of my fellow students: a "home" he was trying to establish for his con-temporaries who had a problem with drugs, a place where they could feel a part of something, working together, and helping each other.

Help is everywhere in college today. There's my algebra teacher, for instance, who bent over backward to get me ready for a super-hard test

4 UNDERSTANDING

when I couldn't make it to the regular workshop. He insisted that I come to his house that afternoon, interrupting his bricklaying in the back yard, and ordering his wife to cool my panic with a glass of iced tea.

Or, my psychology professor, a cagey old bird with a gorgeous white beard down to his breastbone, whose tests have the gist of, "I know you've memorized the facts in the book-now what can you do with them?" He's also a practicing psychologist with a very human heart. I had a personal problem one day, and after talking it out, we both agreed that there was no physical thing to be done at the moment. But he did something anyway. He marched me over to the faculty dining room, and fed me lunch. He didn't have to. I would have survived. But like I said, he has a very human heart.

And this semester, I have a Speech class that is developing human hearts by 'the group'. It's a speech class like you've never seen before. The Professor believes that speech is nothing more than 'communication', and that students can't learn to communicate if they are 'up-tight' and competing for A's. So everybody gets one. All you have to do is attend class regularly. The teaching technique is that of Transactional Analysis and Gestalt Therapy, a la the "Encounter Groups" we hear so much about today. The text books are Games People Play, Born to Win, and I'm Okey, You're Okey.

The whole thing's fantastic. In all my classes, students are beginning to understand each other, and to understand the true meaning of education - the process whereby one learns to think creatively. And it's happening because enlightened educators, and bearded, long-haired "weirdos" have demanded it. I tell you true-it's great to be in the thick of it. College today-Wow!

Marjorie Hyslop

When a person confides in you, he usually doesn't want advice; he wants somebody to understand and care about his trouble.

Louis Cassels

From the hand that rocks the cradle to the finger on the nuclear missile button, decisions must be made. None of them is unimportant in the creative design of God. Each of us is called upon to show wisdom, responsibility and love in carrying through the tasks, large and small, to which we are assigned.

Christopher News Notes

JUNE 1973 5

TRANSLATIONS OF SCRIPTURE

Dan L. Trapp in the Los Angeles (Calif.) Times of January 14, 1973, writes of a new book-The Book of a Thousand Tongues-which lists the 1,300 tongues into which the Bible has been translated, in whole or in part. The text, published by the United Bible Societies (1865 Broadway, N.Y., N.Y. 10023, $15.95) provides an interesting history of the many translations, samples of each language, who speaks it, where they live and who first made the translation and when.

Mr. Trapp notes that if you think 1,399 tongues are more than the languages that are, you may be surprised to learn that there are 1000 more! Translators now are working on 500 of these languages, though it may take 20 years to reduce a language to written form and to trans-late a bit of scripture in it. However, the languages already translated are used by 98% of the world's population.

English translations dominate as English is either the mother tongue or acquired language of one-fifth of the world's population of 600 mil-lion-"the most nearly universal language of the mid-20th century." From the 1611 King James Bible to the 1946 Standard Revised Version, no fewer than 500 English translations have been published.

The Most Reverend F. Donald Coggan, Archbishop of York and President of the United Bible Societies, is the editor of the book, and writer of its preface. He notes that translations pose many difficulties. In some languages verbs may have as many as 100,000 forms! Even the languages of the most primitive peoples have tens of thousands of words and are often rich in vocabulary. Languages spoken by culturally backward people are also rich in images for use in conveying the biblical teachings.

The text begins with Abbe, spoken by 95,000 on the Ivory Coast, and ends with Zuni, language of 2,500 New Mexico Indians. One of the smallest tribes receiving the Testament is the Dieri, of northeastern South Australia, now believed to number only 50, though when the translation was made in 1897 the population was considerably greater.

Futuna is spoken by a diminishing population of some 200 on the island of that name in the South Pacific, and Hixkarvana is the language of about 150 Indians in Brazil. Tinguian is spoken by some 75,000 per-sons in northern Luzon.

Dr. Eugene A. Nida explains the continued translations thus-no Peoples should be deprived of the message of God's word to mankind. The Most Reverend Coggan feels that the Bible is a "book which re-moves spiritual poverty and moral blindness."

Translations, according to Dr. Nida, can be divided into four periods:

6 UNDERSTANDING

that of the Early Christians to render it into tongues of the ancient world; that of the Reformation; that of the great "missionary endeavor" which brought out, among many others, the first North American Bible in tongue of the Massachusetts Indians; and that of the New Translations now produced by the nationals of the countries which will use them.

From 1966 to 1970 distribution by Bible Societies rose from 80 million to 173 million copies and the demand is accelerating, and translations continue.

WHO AM I?

I am Tom, Dick or Harry; or Jean, Betty or Susan from El Paso or New York City or Boston or Tulsa. But what does it matter what the name of my city is or what my name is, other than that my name is a convenient "handle" by which the world can lift me, can turn me around, can write to me, or can call out to me?

For surely my name and my city do not tell you who I really am or why I am here. Only God can reveal who I really am and why I am here. He knows that I am His child, here to enjoy His gift of life-to enjoy reading, thinking, playing music, or walking; to enjoy eating a meal, buying new clothes, taking a bath or cleaning up my desk after a day's work.

God would tell you that I am here to learn-to learn science and literature and geography and algebra, to learn how to mend a broken object and how to get along with my neighbor.

He can tell you that I am here to love-to love my father and my mother, my friends and my co-workers, my sisters and brothers; to love every flower, every leaf, every animal, and every blade of grass.

He can tell you that I am here to give-to give a cheerful face to the world, to give my time and talent in a way helpful to others, to give encouragement where it is needed-not to beat the socks off the other fellow, but to give him my socks (it's not likely that I will get down to my last pair in this age of technology).

He can tell you that I am here to achieve-to achieve a state of mind that can work in harmony with those about me, to achieve skills that I am doing my best in all of my endeavors.

He can tell you that I'm here to be worthy-to be worthy of the goodness in the world, to be worthy of the beauty in nature and art, to be worthy of His love, and to be worthy of being an extension of His

JUNE 1973 7

power. For when I am that, I am not just Tom, Dick or Harry; or Jean, Betty or Susan of this time and of this place, but I am for all time and

all places. I am at one with Him, with myself, and with the universe.

Juliana Lewis

NEW PERSPECTIVES

Who says our Space Program is a waste, or too political?

I did, until recently. I have often accused it of being misplaced emphasis and energies. But, I am beginning (and glad) to see such judgments do not fit. As often happens, we find that within the very thing we criticize lies some good, some meaning, and through that "reconciliation of opposite law" (yin-yang) our criticism leads us, one day, to the realization that it is a necessary part of the Whole that makes up our lives.

Reading an article on ex-astronaut James Irwin and his "religious experience" on the moon confirmed my feeling that much can happen spiritually to these astronauts on their journeys into this realm of new vantage points-viewing our earth and more of the universe in its whole-ness. Here, in this basically "materialistic" space work, Irwin experienced God "as I had never felt Him before."

Upon his return, Irwin felt a basic human need-he "felt compelled to share it with others." We need these mountain top experiences to receive our inspiration, but, as always, we can not stay on that mountain top, our work lies down below, i.e., we must realize and take that inspiration into our daily lives. Irwin did so and started a non-denominational group and speaking tours to share ideas on "elevated motives for man's involvement in life."

I was moved to see Irwin speaking his deep feelings on this experience, his "uplift of spirit" and feeling the closeness of God. Many people have such spiritual stirrings-they are more a part of everyday living than we realize.

This era of space exploration brings us to discoveries and situations that could dissolve belief in God, yet, it can expand our awareness of that loving, real power within us and the universe, given in the poem which James Irwin took to the moon: I AM THERE, by Unity Minister James D. Freeman. It says, in part, "I am there . . . I am in all ... Though you may not see the good, the good is there, for I am there ... I am the law on which the movement of the stars and the growth of living cells are founded. I am the love that is the law's fulfilling."

This Life power (felt through feelings of uplift, in healing, concern

8 UNDERSTANDING

for others, etc.), guiding us through our free-will experiences to realize wholeness with our self, others and God-this power IS our world, the space age included.

There are many ways through which people are realizing this loving power, from individual awareness experiences to religious groups. Ironically, one of the ways is through the practical work of the Space Pro-gram. So, apparently scientific discoveries and God are not incompatible after all. As Irwin said, he wants to "affirm the relevance of religion in the space age."

Margot Stevens

UFOs INTERNATIONAL-IN SOUTH AMERICA

(With thanks to our South American correspondent for the translations.)

La Razon-February 9, 1972. The pilot and co-pilot of the plane AVRO 748-LV-IEE of Aerolineas Argentinas in their freight-flight from Catamarca to Buenos Aires, with a stop in Cordoba, informed at their arrival at the metropolitan airport, that while they were flying between San Nicolas and Ramallo, they saw in front of them a strong light of the shape of a UFO-mothership. Cayetano Trigo-with 27 years of flying, and Alberto Parcampo-with 9 years of flying, affirmed that the strange object accompanied them for 5 minutes while changing its colours from yellow to red to a greenish blue, but always very bright. This fact was later confirmed by the meteorological observatory of Mar del Plata, situated at the military base. Besides several people walking along the - promenade at midnight saw this strange light which flew horizontally from south to east.

———————————————

La Razon-February 8, 1972, Mar del Plata. The local newspapers were alerted about midnight by insistent calls informing them that a flight of UFOs had invaded the sky of Mar del Plata. About 11 p.m. numerous people observed several luminous objects advancing at great speed from the horizon over the ocean towards the district of Camet. All the calls coincided in their details: there were at least five UFOs, round in shape, very bright and leaving a brilliant trail which showed their great speed. The control-tower at the Camee-airport was consulted, but they assured that there was no squadron in flight.

———————————————

JUNE 1973 9

(Unfortunately this clipping was handed to me without the name of the newspaper nor the date. I think it was La Razon between June and August 1971.)

Caracas. A Spanish physician, Dr. Guillermo Arguelles de la MOtta, a resident from Madrid, relates in his letter to the local evening paper, El Mundo, the experience he had while visiting with Dr. Antonio Arocha at the latter's country house near the town of San Juan de los Morros, 145 kilometers to the East of Caracas.

At 6 p.m. he was in the company of his host and his family, when suddenly they saw two men, dressed in black (curious detail), with red ties and dark glasses, alight from a brand-new vermillion Mustang, about 500 m. from the house. The gentlemen waited for about five minutes then fastened orange-coloured belts around their waists, while talking quietly to each other. All of a sudden there appeared a brilliant object in the sky which rapidly descended to within 60 cm. from the ground. It was bell-shaped in the lower part and had a tower on the upper part of the bell. It was about 30 meters in diameter. But what surprised them most was its rapid change of colours: from light orange to blue and then white. As it became stationary it gyrated at nearly 1800. Then a tiny paraboIIoid-shaped ladder was lowered from the base, which allowed the two gentlemen from the Mustang to go on board calmly and with aplomb. As the ladder was withdrawn, the vehicle slightly inclined to the left and floating on an inclined trajectory, it shot into the sky at an impressive speed.

The physician added that it was, of course, no helicopter. It was soundless and of a completely unknown and unconventional shape.

♦ ♦ ♦

The average age of the world's great civilizations has been 200 years. All nations have progressed through this sequence:

From Bondage to Spiritual Faith

From Spiritual Faith to Great Courage

From Courage to Liberty

From Liberty to Abundance

From Abundance to Selfishness

From Selfishness to Complacency

From Complacency to Apathy

From Apathy to Dependency

From Dependency back again into Bondage.

In just a few years our United States will be exactly 200 years old. Will we have the moral strength to prevent History from repeating itself?

10 UNDERSTANDING

FOURTH ANNUAL UNDERSTANDING CONVENTION

MERLIN, OREGON

JUNE 22-23-24, 1973

DESIGNED TO OPEN SPIRITUAL PORTALS OF EXPANDED CONSCIOUSNESS

For Students and Adults

METAPHYSICS AND HEALTH ATTUNED PHILOSOPHIES

———————————————

FRIDAY, JUNE 22nd

9:00 A.M.-Noon Registration

12:00-1:15 P.M. Lunch

1:15 P.M. Organ Music - Dr. Irma Glen, Artist of Music

1:25 P.M. Opening Prayer - Charles Sloan

1:30 P.M. Official Opening - Dr. Daniel W. Fry, Founder-President of Understanding, Inc.

1:45 P.M. Knowledge of Good and Evil - Dr. Daniel W. Fry

2:45 P.M. Secret of Eternal Youth - Melita

3:30 P.M. Gift of Psychic Healing - Rev. Noel Street

5:00-7:00 P.M. Dinner

7:00 P.M. Ventures into the Unknown - Dr. E. E. Whitworth

8:00 P.M. Panel - Speakers of the Day

SATURDAY, JUNE 23rd

10:00 A.M. Understanding - Dr. Daniel W. Fry

10:45 A.M. 12 Cycles of (Life) Light - Virginia

11:00 A.M. Touching the Invisible with Dowsing - Bill Cox

JUNE 1973 11

12:00-1:30 P.M. Lunch

1:30 P.M. Adventures in Reincarnation - Franklin Sullivan

2:15 P.M. Readings - from the Stage - Virginia

3:00 P.M. Secret of Eternal Youth - Melita

4:00 P.M. Panel - Speakers of the Day

5:00-7:00 P.M. Dinner

7:00 P.M. Entertainment

SUNDAY, JUNE 24th

10:00 A.M. Music Therapy - Dr. Irma Glen

The Promises of Jesus - Charles & Irma

10:30 A.M. 4th Dimensional Living - Dr. Irma Glen

11:15 A.M. Songs - Virginia

12:00-1:30 P.M. Lunch

1:30 P.M. Healing - Rev. Noel Street

2:15 P.M. ????????????????????????

3:00 P.M. Understanding in the Space Age - Dr. D. W. Fry

4:00 P.M. Closing Prayer

(Prepared April 10th, this program is necessarily incomplete and subject to change, however it does cover the scope of the presentations.)

All Sessions will be held at the International Cultural Center of Understanding, 2200 Merlin Road.

UNDERSTANDING CONVENTION - ADVANCE REGISTRATION

To: Understanding, Inc

P. 0. Box 206

Merlin, Oregon 97532

Please find my check for $___ to cover my registration for:

Friday, June 22nd Member $ 5.00 Non-Member $ 7.50 I

Saturday, June 23rd Member $ 7.50 Non-Member $10.00

Sunday, June 24th Member $ 7.50 Non-Member $10.00 I

Special 3 days Member $17.50 Non-Member $25.00

NAME: _________________________________________

ADDRESS ___________STATE _____ ZIP _____________

12 UNDERSTANDING

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

(Lillian Smith in The Journey)

I believe future generations will think of our times as the age of wholeness: when the walls began to fall; when the fragments began to be related to each other; when man learned finally to esteem tenderness and reason and awareness and the world which set him apart forever from other living creatures; when he learned to realize his brokenness and his great talent for creating ties that bind him together again; when he learned to accept his own childhood and in the acceptance to become capable of maturity; when he began to realize his infinite possibilities even as he sees more clearly his limitations; when he began to see that sameness and normality are not relevant to human beings but to machines and animals; when he learned never to let any power or dictator cut his ties to the great reservoir of knowledge and wisdom with-out which he would quickly lose his human status; when he learned to live a bit more comfortably with time and space; when he learned to accept his need of God and the law that he cannot use Him, to accept his need of his fellow men and the law that he cannot use them, either; when he learned that "what is impenetrable to us really exists," and always there will be need of the dream, the belief, the wonder, the faith.

To believe in something not yet proved and to underwrite it with our lives: it is the only way we can leave the future open....

MY PRAYER

Heavenly Father:

Let us pray that strength and courage be given to us all, who work for a world of reason and understanding. That the good that lies in every-one's heart may, day by day, be magnified. That a// will come to see more clearly, not that which divides them, but that which unites them, and each hour may bring us closer to a final victory, not of nation over nation, but of man over his own evils and weaknesses. That the true spirit over this Convention, its joy, its hope, and above all its abiding faith, may live among us in true understanding. That the blessings of peace be ours, to build, to grow and to live in harmony and sympathy with others, and plan for the future with confidence and understanding of God and Man,

Tahahlita B. Fry

JUNE 1973 13

World report

Alphabet for All Languages

(Science Digest, March 1973)

Dr. Alimamed Kurdistani, an Azerbaijan scholar, has designed an international alphabet arousing great interest in the United Nations. The proposed alphabet is based on a simple set of written characters which at the same time preserve the characteristics of the individual languages of the world. Application of the universal alphabet would vastly ease and speed language teaching and facilitate the use of dictionaries, maps and reference books.

Did Ezekiel See a Spaceship?

(Medford [Ore.] Mail Tribune, March 22, 1973)

Huntsville, Ala. (UPI)-According to Joseph F. Blumrich, when the prophet Ezekiel saw that "whirlwind out of the north" back in the 6th century B.C., it was a spaceship.

Blumrich is chief of the systems layout branch of the program development office at the Marshall Space Flight Center. And he figures that "whirlwind" was a large rocket-ship with four helicopter rotors descending from a mother ship in earth orbit.

Blumrich said he has been analyzing the technical possibilities of Ezekiel's description in the Old Testament and "I came to the conclusion that the prophet indeed saw such a thing.

"My conclusion is that this was what we nowadays call a shuttle vehicle," said Blumrich, who has a book on the subject coming out soon in Germany. He said in a telephone interview that the ship Ezekiel saw "was dependent on an orbital station. Size and performance match the shuttle vehicle that goes from that orbital station to the ground and back.

"The thing is a very feasible vehicle and a very good design . . ." Blumrich says he believes the rocket ship was shaped like a cone with concave sides, using atmospheric drag to decelerate through the atmosphere, then slowing its descent first with braking rockets and, finally, with four rotor blades for the final few thousand feet to the ground.

14 UNDERSTANDING

UFO Reports from Piedmont, Missouri

(Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore., March 26, 1973)

Piedmont, Mo. (UPI)-There have been hundreds of reports of strange flashing lights in the sky around this countryside noted for its rich lead fields.

"This could be the most significant, best-documented sighting in history," said UFO expert Hayden C. Hewes, who heads the International UFO Bureau in Oklahoma City.

Hundreds of people in this Ozarks community of 2,000 have reported seeing strange flashing lights, either high in the sky or at treetop level. Some say the objects that give off the light surfaced from nearby Clear-water Lake.

Reports of UFO sightings even came from Grand Tower, Ill., where Oscar Wills, an operating engineer at the Central Illinois Public Service Co. power generating station on the Mississippi River, reported Thurs-day an object hovering over a transformer.

"I was dumbfounded," said the 57-year-old Wills, who has worked at the plant 30 years. He said he didn't believe in unidentified flying objects until the sighting. Wills was described by the company as a "solid, dependable" employee.

The common description coming from Piedmont sightings is that the light is red, then turns multi-colored while spinning white, green, red and amber lights. It moves without a sound and is very fast.

Hewes said his UFO logging bureau has collected three types of evidence of the brightly lit red and amber UFO. He said there have been multiple witnesses, photographic evidence and electrical interference with television sets at the time of nearby sightings.

Townspeople say there have been reports of unusual lights in the sky since 1942. However the recent rash of sightings began the night of Feb. 21.

Reggie Bone, basketball coach at Piedmont High School, said a bright light followed the car in which he and five athletes were riding a desolate road from Ellsinore to Piedmont. The light, Bone said, stopped and hovered over a field about 100 yards from the road. The object suddenly rose and disappeared at a high speed.

Man at Chili Reports UFO

(News-Herald, Marshfield, Wis. October 20, 1972)

An unidentified flying object that was red and white and moved "up and down" in the sky was spotted east of Chili Corners, authorities re-

JUNE 1973 15

ported this morning.

Officials said Verlyn Rollins, of Chili, reported the object at 4:10 a.m. No other identification was given. Similarly described objects have been reported seen this year near Green Bay, Madison and Milwaukee, some of which were reported by sheriff's deputies.

Southern California Sighting

(Los Angeles [Calif.] Tunes, March 25, 1973, by Bill Hazlett)

Three Los Angeles 18-year-olds Saturday described their experiences with a "glowing sphere" during an early morning trek to the beach at Point Dume.

"It was just incredible, really fantastic, and it came right at us," said Joe Cavaretta relating the events that started about 4:30 a.m. Friday. "We'd just walked up from the beach and were standing on a plateau looking over at the Santa Monica Mountains ...

"All of a sudden we noticed this light, a kind of shining, yellowish light-like a big headlight on a car-just hanging there in the sky about at the mouth of the canyon.

"It was sphere-shaped and just staying there, not moving. We watched for maybe 15 minutes ...

"Then it started to move. You could hear the sound of low-pitched jet engines, not really revved up-just a sort of whoooshing sound." Cavaretta said the object moved slowly out of the shadow of the mountains and turned right, heading directly for their vantage point. "As it turned the shape changed to only a half-sphere and we could see a red light glowing in the rear of the thing," he said.

"It came right out over the ocean toward Paradise Cove-sort of parallel to us-then it turned to face us and started coming down.

As the glowing sphere dropped down until it was about 1,000 feet off the ground, Cavaretta said, it turned toward them and stopped. "That's when the light flashed on and off twice," Cavaretta said. "After that it turned sideways again and just flashed across the bay at an incredible speed. You just wouldn't believe how fast it moved.

"It headed straight for Los Angeles Harbor, and in 10 seconds it disappeared into the fog."

His companions, Scott Aaland and Chris Brekke agreed with Cavaretta's description.

♦ ♦ ♦

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

Proverbs 18:2

16 UNDERSTANDING

To Preserve Polar Ice

(La Razon, Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 28, 1971)

Moscow-In the opinion of a Soviet scientist the polar ice fields could melt within the next 200 years, producing a disastrous increase of the oceans. Director of the main geophysical observatory of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Budyko, declared that man would probably have to take measures to preserve the polar ice.

Budyko estimates that within two centuries the ice-fields will have diminished considerably due to the increase in heat generated by human activity on Earth. He believes that as the ice diminishes, the ocean level will rise and that the agroclimate of the planet will change completely. It will be necessary to regulate the consumption of energy on a global scale, so as to preserve the ice-fields.

According to Budyko, there exists a relation between solar radiations, transparency of the atmosphere and the extension of ice. Though intense volcanic activity in the past may have caused the formation of ice-fields, present human activity impedes the lowering of temperatures despite ever-present volcanic dust. A considerable amount of heat rises into the atmosphere when coal, oil and gas are burned, he affirms. As a result of human activity the temperature in the cities will increase by various degrees and the atmosphere will become hotter.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Dr. Fry:

Recently I read a book entitled The Age of Flying Saucers. My reading of this and scores of other UFO material was spurred by the recent intense flurry of UFO activity in our town (Gaffney, S.C.). I have ob-served many UFOs in the past few years, but my experience on the night of February 24, 1973 is the most intriguing I have ever been through!!

I recorded the experience and would like to share it with you. Date: February 24, 1973

Location: About 2 miles outside city limits

Sky: Completely clear

Time: 9:25 p.m. Duration: 15 minutes

Wind: Light, from southeast

JUNE 1973 17

Temperature: 54degress.

The Ufo was approximately 20 feet above the tops of a cluster of pine trees. It was disc shaped with no apparent dome. Estimate size at 40-50 feet in width. Red lights around edge blinked and dimmed. Bottom surface was shiny and metallic. The top was dark. I could not see any windows.

When the object left, it went straight up to about 1000 feet, then the lights went off and I could not see it. There was no sound at any time. There were many other cars on the road; some stopped to watch, but remained in their cars.

I would very much like to join your organization and to receive Understanding Magazine. Please rush me more information!

Thank you,

/s/ Terry W. Pettit

Guilt enters through your thinking ill of others. A narrow mind projects a narrow world.

Oomoto (Japan)

CONSIDER THE CONCEPT

Man is an eternal pendulum of movement and vibration. His spirit is captured in a little bit of clay which is his body. The forces bound in his body are vast and immense, like an ocean. Most of the time these forces throb and pulsate like the beat of the heart and the bellows of breathing. But often they thunder and quake in the body with emotions that shake the very foundation of his physical being. Thus, life goes on endlessly, rhythmically, quietly, pulsating with love or cascading like an avalanche when taken over by the aggressive emotions of anger and rage. But always moving and pulsating, for movement and pulsation is life,

John Pierkakos, M. D.

18 UNDERSTANDING

book reviews

The Secret of Eternal YOUth

(The Secret of Eternal YOUth, by Melita. Exposition Press, N.Y. 66.00)

The Secret of Eternal YOUth - A Master's Daughter Book, is the first of a series of seven books, by Melita, to cover the "whole person concept."

Melita was born with memory of past lives, her father is an Ascended Master, and she has always been aware of "invisible entities," whom she found to be ever helpful and understanding teachers and companions.

The "literally true" spiritual experiences and practices of the author are noted in a brief biographical sketch. The book expands upon the practices and points the way for the reader to check their validity and value.

The small volume (91 pages) consists of three sections. The first two parts present such principles as the "I" and "not I"; I Am That; There is no Evil; Now is Eternity; etc. Though the concepts are not new to the Truth Seeker, yet each writer's presentation adds new light to our own understanding of eternal wisdom.

It is part three which excited your reviewer the most, offering a New Way to that "secret place within." Melita says, "Beloved, I offer You My Way . . .". Here, then, is given her way, that of Master Meditation. The meditation offered, however, is not an exercise but "a delightful voyage to the wondrous world in which YOU truly, permanently live."

Melita tells us we have "to build" the secret place, but once built we discover it was there waiting, always, for us to find.

The "building" or "discovery" includes your Treasure Room, Library, Fortress, Wardrobe Room, Power Room, Room of Lights and your Chapel.

Personal practice of "Melita's Way" will bring its own rewards. Try it! C. H.

JUNE 1973 19

Man, God, Myth-For Dust Thou Art

(Man, God, Myth, For Dust Thou Art, by Columba Krebs and Rev. Erickson A. Lewis. Published by Symbolart Co.. P.O. Box 343, Willow Springs, Mo. 65793.)

Man, God and Myth is a 120-page loose-leaf volume, intriguingly illustrated by Columba Krebs, who is well known for her symbolistic and mystic paintings.

This book represents a joint effort between the authors to explain the inner spiritual meaning of religion and the Christian Bible. This is accomplished through the symbolic art work of Miss Krebs and the esoteric interpretations of Rev. Lewis who is a minister of the National Spiritualist Association of Churches of the U.S.A.

Each chapter offers an outstanding pictorial interpretation of the allegorisms of the Bible and various other tenets of Christian belief. Then follows a personal viewpoint of the artist to explain the objective or symbolism of the painting.

For each topic, Rev. Lewis has compiled a deeply esoteric explanation of the aspects of the Bible and Christian belief which could be of great interest to the serious student of metaphysics. Rev. Lewis has included many technical and scientific viewpoints which will assist the comprehension of the reader.

Flo Bohnert, Unit #1

Bulletin board

A Daniel W. Fry Retreat

On the weekend of April 13-15 the Institute of Crystal Truths sponsored Dr. Daniel W. Fry at the Mu-Ne-Dowk Foundation Retreat in Kiel, Wisconsin, in a three-day retreat. The theme of the seminars was: Concepts of Understanding. Dr. Fry presented five lectures and was avail-able for personal consultations.

20 UNDERSTANDING

(We regret that our printing deadlines do not always permit advance notice of significant meetings and conferences.)

Bay Area Metaphysical Conferences

Under the sponsorship of Mrs. Angela Kilsby, President of San Francisco Unit #82, two metaphysical conferences were held in the Bay Area. On Saturday, April 7th, in Palo Alto, Calif., and on Sunday, April 8th, in Oakland, Calif., lectures were presented on the theme: Dawn of a New Life.

In order not to miss Mrs. Kilsby's next conference (since our publicity is after the fact) we suggest you write her at 1265 Monterey Blvd., San Francisco, Calif., 94116 and ask to be put on her mailing list.

Our Canadian Unit

Regular meetings of our Vancouver (Canada) Unit offer interesting programs for its members and friends. Recently, Brian Cole, instructor for the Vancouver Branch of Northwest Magnetics Research Society, gave a lecture on VIVAXIS. Herbert Clark played one of the space tapes from the Galaxy Series of 1958-concerned with magnetics.

To be put on the Unit mailing list, please write: Mr. H. D. Clark, 885 Keith Road, West Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

♦ ♦ ♦

The government and institutions of a country cannot rise much higher than the general ethical level. We cannot expect a government to be honest while the people are dishonest.

Edwin E. Slosson

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.

NEW LIGHT ON OLD PROBLEMS: Attaining happiness, health; mental-spiritual unfoldment; overcoming handicaps; employer-employee cooperation; constructive use of suggestion. Outstanding selections on many subjects included. LIFE IS AS YOU GIVE IT by Louis Conde-Lahissa. $3.25 postpaid. Order from Ellen Gibbs, 2803 North Victoria, Peoria, Ill. 61604. (See book review in April Understanding.)

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

FOURTH ANNUAL

UNDERSTANDING CONVENT

June 22-23-24

International Cultural Center

Of Understanding

2200 Merlin Road

Send stamped self-addressed

envelope to Convention Program

Understanding, Inc.

P.O. Box 206

Merlin, Oregon 97532

NOW AVAILABLE

White Sands Incident – Dr. Daniel W. Fry (hardbound) $2.95

Atoms, Galaxies and Understanding

Dr. Daniel W. Fry

(hardbound) $3.00 (softbound) $2.00

Atlantean Fire Crystals &

Physical Basis of ESP

Dr. Daniel W. Fry

(Cassette Tape - 90 min.) - $3.50

Merlin Publishing Company

P.0. Box 105

Merlin, Oregon 97532

Please include postage

ADVERTISING SPACE AVAILABLE

Advertise Your Books,

Activities, etc.,

in Understanding Magazine

Rates:

$8 per quarter page per month

Three months: $16.50

Six months: $33

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

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.