White Eagle Book Review

by Leslie Belcourt

"The Jewel In The Lotus"
Published 1973

by Grace Cooke

In December 1968, when I attended my first White Eagle service, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Grace Cooke. Although the London Daughter Lodge was teaming with people anxious to talk to Grace, that dear lady, true to her name, graciously spoke to me as if I were the only one in the room, calmly holding my hand and radiating such peace and love.

Recently, I reached on my book-shelf for Grace Cooke's 'The Jewel in the Lotus,'printed in 1973 - a book I have referred to in the past mainly for its interpretations of the most frequent symbols occuring during meditation. As I re-read all twelve chapters, I was treated again to that same sense of peace and calm. I became even more aware that not only is this a book about meditation, it is a book that through the use of poetic and descriptive language actively creates a meditative state. Although this is a sequel to "Meditation," first published in 1955 (a beginner's guide to meditation), 'The Jewel in the Lotus' stands on its own.

Grace Cooke uses a circular, feminine approach, taking us through the senses, rather than the mind to understand the purpose and value of meditation in our daily lives, so that we have an inate understanding that meditation can solve day to day problems, as well as bring spiritual insight. It gently assures us that through meditation we may meet loved ones in spirit and revisit past lives. Starting with a meditation poem written by a White Eagle member, then leading us through one of her own personal meditations and finally ending with a meditation given by White Eagle, Grace takes the reader to the heart of the lotus; the magical and practical aspects merge.

Grace's chapter on the creative imagination offers timely insight, especially for those who have become immersed in the media's negativity during the recent terrorist attacks and subsequent war, by reminding us of the importance of distinguishing between creative imagination and morbid thinking: "one can fancy all kinds of evil and negative things happening in the world, but this is not true imagination," and of the necessity for bringing into operation 'the divine creative mind,'which can create form: "the more the higher mind develops, the greater the wisdom which comes into man's ordinary consciousness."

'Jewel' leads the reader on a practical journey through the stages of meditation - through the Eternal Garden, where we feel the presence of Divine Mother, onwards to the Lotus Pool to meet the Elder Brethren and into the Temple of Communion to commune with the Golden One.

Interspersed throughout, are meditation accounts given by her students with occasional interpretations. My first White Eagle retreat took place at NewLands in the early 1980's, and these portions of the book remind me of the helpful meditation sessions we had with Joan Hodgson and Ylanna Hayward (Grace Cooke's daughters) who interpreted the meditations shared by the retreatants.

Someone having difficulty visualising during meditation could feel overwhelmed by the insightful visions described by the students, but Grace pays heed to this by also using examples of those who had difficulty meditating. Devoting a chapter to the five senses, Grace makes it clear that vision is only one way of receiving impressions during meditation: "Meditation is not just seeing, it is hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and feeling." She explains how each of the senses has a spiritual counterpart related to the elements, fire to sight, earth to smell, air to hearing, water to taste, and ether to feel or touch. But more importantly, she gently reminds us that the progress made during meditation is not necessarily from "seeing pictures or hearing voices," but is in "the gradual unfoldment of the wisdom within your own spirit."

'The Jewel In The Lotus' is essentially a compendium of White Eagle's teachings on meditation, a practical and beautiful addition to the home-library, a gem of a book.