“In Egypt, during the three days of darkness, the son saw not his father, nor brother, brother, nor true friend his friend, because the darkness hid them. So when Adam transgressed and fell from his former glory, and came under the power of the spirit of the world, and the veil of darkness fell upon his soul, from his time until the last Adam, they saw not the true Father in Heaven, or the good, kind Mother, the grace of the Spirit, or the sweet and desiring Brother, the Lord, or the friends and kindred, the holy Angels. And it was not only the last Adam, but even to this day, those upon whom the Sun of Righteousness has not risen, and in whom the eyes of the Soul have not been opened and enlightened by the true Light, are still under the same darkness of sin, wrought upon by the same influence of pleasures, subject to the same punishment, not yet having eyes to behold the Father.

“This is a thing which everyone ought to know, that there are eyes deeper within man than these [physical] eyes, and a hearing deeper than this hearing. As the [physical] eyes behold and recognize the face of a friend, so the [spiritual] eyes of the worthy and faithful Soul, being spiritually enlightened with the Light of God, behold and recognize the true friend.” –St. Macarius the Egyptian

Three Days of Darkness

This is a reference to one of the plagues brought upon Egypt in the time of Moses. Here is what is said about it in the Book of Exodus in the Bible:

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.’  So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days.”

But the darkness over man didn’t end when that plague ended. While we are able to physically see now, the vast majority of us remain spiritually blind and deaf.

Spirit of the World

St. Macarius says that when Adam transgressed, he came under the power of the Spirit of the World, and that is true. The Spirit of the World is the one the Gnostics call the Demiurge, the false God that created the realm of matter. When Adam and Eve ate from the “Tree of Knowledge.” which was not a literal tree but the light of the physical sun, they fell into the realm of matter and came under the control of the lord of matter, the Demiurge. When that happened, they no longer “saw” God in heaven, whom Macarius here refers to as the three persons, Father, Mother, and Holy Spirit, as well as losing their connection with Christ and the Angels. In other words, they lost contact with Heaven.

Sun of Righteousness

St. Macarius then says that humans remain in darkness because the Sun of Righteousness has not risen. That was true when he wrote it, but is no longer true. The Sun of Righteousness, which is the Spiritual Sun with the Presence of God within it, does now shine upon us. But it doesn’t immediately appear at full strength. The power of the Sun of Righteousness reaches all, but only a few are able to absorb that Light and have a true awakening of Spirit because of it. The solar techniques practiced in Cosolargy help us absorb even more Light from that Sun.

Deeper Eyes and Ears

We do have deeper senses than the physical ones, which are capable of getting more than a vague notion of things spiritual. We must awaken and develop those spiritual senses to truly know the spiritual realm and to gradually expand our consciousness until it rises to the highest level of Consciousness and becomes one with the All, one with God. That we do by following the teachings of Cosolargy.

“If two persons combine in harmony their force of muscle to lift a heavy weight, they will lift it easier than one. If four people so combine, they will lift it easier than two.

“The same law and result applies to mental force. Each one of us, consciously or unconsciously, sends out daily and hourly this silent mental force—this invisible element we call thought, which affects favorably or unfavorably the persons of whom we think. It is the same force which may lift a box, a bag, or a truck. Only it may be differently applied.

“”If you have in view any enterprise or business, and you can meet at regular times two, four, six, or as many persons as heartily wish you success, and they hear your plan, and talk it over with you, always in earnest sympathy and goodwill, you are having their cooperation in making for you a silent force which will aid you more than anything else. You will then the quicker find persons who are in sympathy with your purpose. If you have a new knowledge, or a new truth, … you will, through the power of cooperative demand or prayer, be the sooner brought to the people who can aid you.” –Prentice Mulford

The Law of Synergy

Synergy is a method in which individuals or organizations pool their resources and efforts to enhance value, productivity, efficacy, and performance more than they could individually. That term may not have been used in Mulford’s time over a century ago, but it is common in modern-day business and especially in Systems Analysis. In systems analysis, they also use another expression, the Laurel and Hardy effect, to describe the opposite of synergy, when each individual is doing his own thing and not working in cooperation with others. Sadly, we have more of that than of cooperation.

Like Lifting Weights

Mulford says that it is easier for two people to lift a heavy weight, and even easier for four. He might also have said that the more people you have working on it, the more total weight they can lift. Likewise, a mental or spiritual task can be more easily accomplished by a group of people working together rather than individuals making uncoordinated efforts.

Let’s take the example my college professor used to illustrate synergy. He said that two cavemen were hunting separately and not having much luck chasing cave rabbits around. But then one noticed that one particular rabbit was simply running in circles around a large boulder while the other caveman pursued it. So he met the other caveman and they decided that one would chase the rabbit while the other simply waited on one side of the rock in a hidden spot so he could jump out and club the rabbit when it came by. The trick worked and the two cavemen used the method frequently after that and rarely went hungry.

But if the cavemen arrived at the hunting area at different hours, the trick would not work, so a coordinated effort is necessary. The same is true with mental and spiritual goals.

Law of Abundance

Many talk today about a Law of Abundance that is supposed to make it possible for anyone to get almost anything they want by simply thinking about it and believing they can get it. About 99 out of a hundred people who try this fail. The gurus of this law of abundance always put the blame on the individuals when they fail and say that they simply didn’t do it correctly, or didn’t really believe, but that is an oversimplification of the problem. A large part of it is that cooperation is not being applied. Many different people are seeking individual goals and because of that, the energy (force as Mulford would put it) of their efforts conflict with each other instead of aiding each other. So they are using the Laurel and Hardy Effect rather than that of Synergy. But when many work together for the same goal, this Law of Abundance often works, though not always. That is because there is another catch to it. The laws of the physical universe say you must work and earn what you get, so if you work hard and don’t always get what you should, the Law of Abundance, coupled with the Law of Synergy, my work, but if you don’t deserve it, you probably still won’t get it.

Spiritual Goals

In Coolargy, we learn that being part of a community is important. The ability to use the Law of Synergy (or Law of Cooperation) as a community makes it more likely that those goals will be achieved. It also gives us more protection against the dark forces that seek to prevent spiritual development.