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The Open Court of Inquiry. THE EDITOR . The So Called Center of Gravity. “ A frie nd so m etim e sin ce a sk edmea qu estio n , wh ic hIwasun ab le to an sw er sa tis fa c to r ily — name ly , Whe re is th ecen te rofgrav ity ? W ill youk in d ly an sw er the sam e th ro ugh The Flaming Sword? ’ ’ Since the time of Newton the scien tific world has had a great deal to say concerning “ gravitation” and the cen ter of gravitation. But if we critically examine the Copernican or Newtonian system of astronomy we discover, from the basis of the so called Newtonian laws of gravitation and motion, that there could be in reality, no such thing as a universal center of gravity. The very principles of the Copernican solar system make impossible the conclusion that the universe itself has either center or circumference. The moon is supposed to revolve about the earth. It is held that in order for the moon to maintain its place in space and its relation to the earth as a center of gravity, it must be constantly in motion at a given velocity and a given distance from the earth. In turn, the earth is supposed to re volve about the sun; and again, the sun revolves about another and a larger sun; and the larger sun around still another, and so on ad infinitum. Hence, we maintain that in the Co pernican system there can be no con sistent conclusion that that which is called gravitation has any ultimate and absolute center. But there are sup posed to be centers of gravitation, pull ing in diverse and contrary directions, which would make as impossible the maintenance of motion in the universe, as the construction of a mechanical perpetual motion. Without center and circumference for the transmutation, exchange, and rebound of the active substances of the universe, there could be no such a thing as the conservation of energy. The mathematics of mo tion demands a central pivot of all momentum, a primary source of all impulse. In the Koreshan System, there is no center toward which the lines of gravity tend, because the direction of gravity is downward, and downward is outward from the universal center. But there is a center in which the energies of gravity are generated, and from which the energies of gravity proceed in the processes of their radiation. That center is the center of the cosmic cell in which we live. It is at the same time the center of levity— that is, the center toward which the lines of ascend ing energies tend— energies that re bound through use and metamorphosis, from the universal circumference or the material shell of the earth. The constant exchange of the forces of levity and gravity maintain supplies of substance for both the center and the circumference of the cosmos. The origin of motion is not in mechanics, but in the interaction of spirit and matter, the relations of which are alchemical and vital. The Phenomena of Spiritism. “ Acco rd in g to th eKo re sh an id ea no hum an sp ir it can ex is tou tsid e th ehu m an o rg an ism , but that th esp ir it of the dy in g person en ters th eb rain ofano th er hum an bodyat d e a th . H o w can y o u a cco u n t for the p h en o m en a seen and so undsh eard at sean ces, etc. ? ” The basis of all spiritual power is matter, for matter is the only conti nent of spiritual substance. Spirit has no power outside of matter; no function can be performed without form. This is the reason why a medium is essential at a seance. If spirit could act just the same without matter, there would be no necessity for the existence of matter. Spirit and matter are abso lutely essential to each other, and are reducible from the one to the other. Spirit is potent because it acts through matter; and matter moves because it is energized by spiritual substances and forces. A magnet generates an energy which reaches out in lines of radiation and moves iron and steel. Do tables tip at seances? Do bits of pencil move between slates and write words and sentences? They do; they are moved because there is present a spiritual magnet, a human being, the medium. It is not necessary to suppose that the spirits which produce these results fly around in the open air. They operate in and through the medium, who pro jects energies which move the table or guide the pencil between the slates. Materializations are sometimes seen at seances. Genuine materializations are the result of the transmutation and precipitation of spirit to its opposite state. Materializations take place from the mind —that is, the substances which materialize are projected into visibility through the processes of transformation of spirit to matter. But it must always take place through the function of a medium. The spirits which manifest their power at seances are in the minds of the persons present in the circle. Messages are given to the medium. The fact that the im pressions are mental is a demonstration of the fact that the spirits are present in the mind. Our thoughts are spirits externalized. Thoughts are spiritual entities. There is a tendency of the modern world to treat spirit phe nomena as being psychic —that is, of the soul. Such impression is derived from the Koreshan source. Spirit en tities of the dead are in the present mortal beings. Spirits could not exist if not in direct touch with and constituting the factors in and of the very elements of human mentality and life. Hence, the source of phenomena of the seances is in the minds of those present, the medium constituting the focus of impression and spiritual activity, the pole of the temporary human battery. THE COMMUNISTIC LIFE. Incentive to Activity Among the Koreshans at Estero. S o m u ch in te re st and in q u iry have been arou sed du rin g th epa st few months conce rn in g the to wnofF ste ro and its in hab ita n ts, that it may be altogether ap p ro p ria te to no tice a few of the princi p le s wh ic hunde rlie the communistic mov em en t an da ctu a te its people in lines and m odes of life d iffe rin g rad ically from the o rd in a ry . At th eou tse t it m ay be sta te d that th eKo re sh ansn eith er claim n or form anya ffilia tio nw ith an y phase or form ofana rc hyn or “ free-love-ism ,” nor anyo th er mov em en t or conception wh ic he ith eropen ly orsub tly disregards cons titu tio nalgove rn ment and the prin c ip le sofh ig hm oral ch ara cte r and pro g ress. 12
The Flaming Sword · Vol. 18, No. 37 · Feb 21, 1905 · PDF p. 12