An Open Letter From The Brotherhood

“Today the peoples of the world are anxiously seeking and looking forward to world peace. This anxiety has been increased a million-fold when it is realized that modern science has placed in the hands of man, the potential power to completely destroy the world. History reveals that for thousands of years man has followed this same destructive course of evolution and that today he is no closer, yea, even farther away from peace than ever before.

Paradoxically, while he is thus anxiously looking to the leadership of his nation for this peace, he has not realized that he, himself, just as every individual, has a full measure of this peace and that if he is willing to make personal adjustments in his life, form new thought patterns, he can quite easily, over a period of time, acquire this much sought after peace of mind.

In order to properly understand what this peace of mind is and how it is thus developed, let us first transfer our introspection into a branch of science called psychosomatic medicine, and which deals directly with all functional attributes of human behavior. It is thus understood that each individual, in going through the first early years of childhood, suffers from day to day from various minor or major deflations of ego. Apparently upon growing to adulthood, this person has adjusted fairly well to the world about him; yet deep within the subconscious mind there is constant strife and turmoil against these various ego deflations. This strife always forms, the backbone of the various patterns of conduct by which each individual conducts himself, even though he has succeeded in masquerading them to himself and apparently to others. Thus he has become his own betrayer and his worst enemy, and in his pattern of life, always finds various subconscious ways of fighting back against that hostile world of his childhood which made him suffer. Looking about, we can find people thus using these subconscious strife motivations in various ways. Their world has become a centralized, personal citadel. All people with whom they come in contact must bend themselves or be broken against the walls of these selfish, self-centered thought patterns.

When those subconscious strifes reach certain intensities, the individual then becomes more extroverted. He goes out of his way to force himself on others, thus subconsciously justifying his deflated, childish ego. And often, these people live in expensive houses; they acquire great wealth. Sometimes without talent or ability and with nothing other than sheer will, they become public figures.

In our final analysis, it can be said that the greater masses of population are much too subconsciously anxious for their own personal security to be concerned over their neighbors. Peace of mind cannot, nor shall it ever be acquired this way. Peace of mind means that we do not isolate ourselves completely from the various pressures and compromises which are associated in our daily intercourse with our fellowman, for the collective strifes and insecurities of each great nation become a great dragon which will ultimately fight other such dragons and thus destroy the world.

Acquisition of peace of mind is easy, provided one simple rule is followed: Every individual should become conscious and mindful of the well-being of every other human being. He must immediately rectify any tendencies which are subconsciously extruded motivations in which he is still a small child fighting back against the world. In the words of the man of Galilee, “Do unto others as you would be done by.” This is the simple, easy solution to not only world peace, but peace of mind with each individual.

The person who lives in a fine, palatial mansion, wears expensive clothes, has a yacht or drives costly imported motorcars is merely hoping to overcome his childish strifes by smothering them in an affluence of material possessions. Some keep noisy, destructive dogs, subconsciously transferring their hostility to these animals. Some have personal masochistic tendencies; others smoke, drink, or take drugs. They require frequent operations or may even commit suicide. Yes, even the woman who keeps a screaming peacock has subconsciously transferred her fighting, childish screams into the throat of this screaming bird. She takes sort of a masochistic pleasure in realizing that it is annoying her neighbors and tries to disguise this unkindliness by saying to herself, “I love them; they are so beautiful.” If this woman wishes to really find something beautiful, let her look into the smiling eyes of her neighbor whom she has made happy by an act of kindness.

The way to true happiness lies not in the direction of that selfish pathway of domination and forcing our likes and dislikes on our neighbors, but individually and collectively, we will find happiness and peace only when we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.”

The United Fraternal Brotherhood of the World

Excerpt from Tempus Interludium II