THE REBIRTH OF THE PYRAMID
Vision leads man forward. The mind of man is his chief instrument for progress. Yet it often seems that its movement is circular rather than spiral. This is the position in which we found ourselves in January, 1972. The Unity congregation in Houston had been growing consistently and steadily. All statistical projections had been exceeded in an impressive and sometimes incredible way. Although we had endeavored to postpone the project of building, it seemed more and more mandatory that we do something to provide a place for the increasing numbers of people coming to participate in the spiritual activity of Unity. A study committee had been formed to determine the needs and potential of this movement, which we recognized as a movement of the Holy Spirit, "not of the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of the will of God." The more we studied the more we knew something had to be built, and at the same time we became more uncertain as to what and how to build.
I had never previously wanted to participate in a church building program. Too often has such a program become a sword of division among people who otherwise understand and love each other deeply. I did not wish to see a repetition of such experience in this congregation. Relinquishing my resistance, I expected all leadership and direction to come from the dedicated and enthusiastic members of the congregation. Yet as we floundered in our planning, I felt it more and more incumbent upon me to provide some form of direction. But I felt no clear objective unfolding within my own consciousness. I pondered this periodically, wondering if there was something I was supposed to know or do that would unlock the fountains of creativity that I knew lay within the inspired men and women of our congregation.
In the early afternoon of Thursday, February 17, 1972 such clear focus and guidance seemed to be presented. I was sitting at lunch in a cafeteria with my wife when without warning or expectation, my consciousness shifted from the objective plane to the inner world. I was taken to a great and beautiful pyramid. I saw its golden, glistening exterior with great, great clarity; but nothing moved me so much as the experience of being taken inside that pyramid. A celestial light filled this temple. I stood in the midst of the Congregation of the Immortals, for those who gathered here were those who had entered into transcendental consciousness. They gave to the entire atmosphere an energizing glory like unto that portrayed by the Apocalypse of St. John. Their worship rose as a tide of music emanating not from the hearts of men but from the immortal spirits of angels. The four quarters of this open room were dedicated to the four elements of earthly life — earth, air, fire and water. Standing high, high above them at the apex of the inner pyramid was Light, the fifth element, or quintessence, of ancient alchemists. Pictured outwardly by moving symbols of the four elements, each quarter was presided over by the sublime essence of an Archangel. Ministering at the central altar was a great high priest serving in healing and communion. He radiated, as it were, the holiness of the primal life of the universe, in wave upon wave of bliss, exaltation, and fulfillment.
Though we were seated in a public place, nothing could stop the flow of tears from my eyes as I beheld the unfolding vision of spiritual movement within this pyramid. My wife seemed to enter into the vision and experienced its depth with me. Billows of unfathomable emotion welled up from within and descended from above as we sat in communion with the reality of this inner awakening. I knew that I had touched a part of myself, a part of my own experience in some dim and distant age. I had formed a living bond between the present self and some past self. It was, indeed, an initiation into some hitherto concealed reality of my being.
The sun was in Aquarius and the moon in Aries when this occurred. This would seem to indicate that the cosmic tide was rising for an Aquarian revelation - some means of unifying humanity under the banner of the high ideal of the oneness of mankind in bringing the divine into earthly manifestation (Aquarius); and that it was a time to initiate new and pioneering action to make renewal and resurrection a tangible reality for the, masses (moon in Aries).
As a metaphysical teacher, I have often been the sounding board for people who have had visions of great buildings which they felt a Divine Voice was commanding them to erect. I have always counselled such souls that the vision might well be symbolic, indicating the construction of a new state of mind, a new sense of building something enduring into their lives in accord with the feelings and proportions suggested by the symbolism of the buildings which they beheld on the inner plane. I endeavored to apply this same counsel to myself, not knowing whether this experience was intended solely as an interior initiation or as direct guidance in response to my soul's question about the nature of the building which we were to construct for our church.
I was well aware of the architectural maxim that "form should follow function." In other words, one should first determine what he wants to do in a certain space and then design the form to complement the doing. It is a rather backward approach to suggest a form and then attempt to accomodate the functions to that form. It has subsequently become clear that these two approaches to building (whether in spirit or in matter) are not mutually exclusive. When God created the earth, its form corresponded to the function of the Infinite Mind; yet when man appeared upon the earth, man's functions had to conform to the form of the earth and its processes. So, in a sense, the Architect of the universe has used the principle that "function adapts to form," and thereby intensified the creativity of the "functioner," man.
With considerable hesitation and imbued with a life-long skepticism of anything visionary, I felt impelled to share this experience with the building study committee, leaving it entirely to them as to whether the idea should be pursued as a basis for our building planning. The instant and unanimous response was in the affirmative. An identical response was forthcoming when I presented this possibility to our Board of Directors. After considerable study, planning, and calculation, in consultation with an architect, the idea was incorporated into a master plan which was presented to the entire congregation of our church . Their response, likewise, was instaneous, spontaneous, and unanimous.
A very practical question presented itself almost immediately. How can one create a Golden Pyramid without using real gold? As I pondered this, it soon became apparent that a gold anodized aluminum might be a practical, suitable, and pleasing answer. Through correspondence with an architectural designer, it seemed that this material posed no insurmountable engineering difficulties. A month later, Dr. Pat Flanagan, one-time resident of the Houston area, appeared in the city to give a lecture on the peculiar energy properties of the pyramid shape. He offered for purchase in a sealed envelope, little plates said to generate the same type of energy properties. Always leery of grab-bag purchasing, my curiosity was too great to allow me to leave the lecture without buying one of the strange little plates. You can imagine my amazement and shock when I opened the sealed envelope and found that its material was gold anodized aluminum!
We later found that there was no possibility of obtaining such material in the required gauge from an American manufacturer for the type of construction we contemplated, so a baked golden aluminum material was finally selected. It remains a puzzle as to why this particular discrepancy appeared; one day we may have sufficient scientific and para-scientific data available to indicate the wisdom of selecting the material that we did. The entire development of this project has taken place on the spiritual premise that all things do work together for the highest good of all concerned. The reason for this will be discussed in the chapter of this book entitled "Energy."
