solution to some problems, instead of searching first of all for more Light and strength in Cosmic Attunement. Visualization is a fundamental element in the search for contact with the Celestial Sanctum. In mystical and Rosicrucian life in general, one forgets too often that reasoning and speech are the faculties which man enjoys to express himself on the physical plane only, and to communicate with others on the same plane. One does not communicate with other planes and with the Inner Self in this manner. The only means to do this, the only faculty given to man to achieve this, is visualization. That is why, in every initiatory technique, mystical and even religious, words and gestures, speech and movement, sound and ritual, have no other purpose than to facilitate (in truth, to create) an inner visualization whereby attunement will be established. Chants, prayers, hymns, incantations, processions, statues, and images, and the different forms adopted in all countries have no other aim. Also, visualization is of prime importance in all spiritual life, whatever its form, and the most humble of the faithful visualize without knowing it. The initiate and the adept, for their part, learn to visualize methodically in order to reach masterfully the realm of knowledge and to pass successfully the various stages in their evolution.

To visualize means "to see inwardly", and it is evident that none may arrive at this point without having first developed the faculty of objective observation. There are many who look "without seeing". They go about like robots, completely withdrawn, without observing their surroundings. That is why, when they want to construct a mental "image" they encounter insurmountable difficulties. Observation is voluntary. It is necessary, in the beginning at least, to want to observe and, with this objective, to want to draw the attention from the inside toward the outside. It is necessary to look around oneself consciously, to examine faces, people, and things, with the same intensity as a photographer or a painter concentrating on every detail. In the beginning, it is a difficult undertaking, but perseverance results in automatic reaction, so that consequently, there is established an observation more and more rapid, a memory more and more faithful, and a greater ease in effective visualization.

In visualization, the results of observation are linked with imagination. In the image to be constructed, the foundations are built by observation. In my own case, I am in the habit of visualizing the Celestial Sanctum as having the appearance of a cathedral. I could just as well choose a mosque, a synagogue, a temple, or some other place, even secular, but a cathedral inspires me more, and that is why I have chosen it as the foundation of my personal visualization. Certainly I have seen more than one cathedral, and in each one "something" has greatly inspired me. Observation gives fundamental knowledge of the subject. The determining role of the imagination will be to improve the effectiveness of the mental picture by adding whatever may arouse inner emotion and spiritual exaltation. In my own case, this is achieved by combining in the imaginary cathedral all those "things" which have inspired me in the different cathedrals which I have visited, down to the last detail. First of all I must "see" the cathedral in its entirety, as if I were flying over it; next, I examine the special exterior features, and finally I approach the central doorway and go inside, continuing to use the same care in visualization and adding to it, if possible, the impression of the fragrance of incense and whatever other particular elements I wish. The necessary rule is, then, to "live" the visualization, to become part of it as if it were our own actual conscious experience. This participation is comparable to the state produced in watching a movie which greatly interests us. At that time, we actually "integrate" with the plot and the setting. We are entirely part of the film, and this is exactly the effect which must be produced in visualization.