The two main authors whose works are published by the Rosycross Press, Jan van Rijckenborgh (1896-1968) and Catharose de Petri (1902-1990), devoted their lives to forming the School of the Golden Rosycross. Their goal was the formation of a group of people in whom the I-central consciousness had been shifted from its position as ‘king’ in their inner being, and restored to its proper role: that of ‘servant’ to the growing Spirit-Soul, the true Self or inner Christ. However, they were faced with the difficult task of building a bridge of understanding between this goal and the minds of people who, though they had a deep interest in the hidden side of life, saw it largely through the lens of the separative, I-central ego.  Throughout all the many hundreds of talks they gave, and the books they wrote, it is clear that their aim was to cut through the conditioning of the ego so as to give their pupils a distinct vision of what was required of them. To do this they expressed the essential teachings of Spirit-Soul rebirth in all kinds of different ways and considered them from countless angles. Often they found it necessary to speak in a rather emphatic way, and to depict in stark, bleak outlines the depth of human imprisonment in the material world. Always, they used texts, stories and symbolism drawn from all times and all places to illustrate their points, and to show that the transfiguristic path they were teaching was not new, but has been handed down – though often in veiled form – ever since the dawn of human development.  Thus, although the methods they taught were adapted to modern times, their teachings were essentially the same as those of earlier groups such as the Essenes, the Christian Gnostics, the Manichaeans and the Cathars, to name but a few.André de Boer grew up in a Protestant family in Holland and joined the School of the Rosycross at the age of 23. He has always had a great affinity for inner Christianity, but was also inspired by other traditions. In his book Mysteries and Symbols of the Soul he reflects on spiritual texts including selections from Advaita Vedanta, Hermeticism, Kabbalah, Raja Yoga and Buddhism. In his books he emphasizes that there exists a Universal Doctrine, a common thread that is expressed in all spiritual traditions. In collaboration with others, he wrote several books for the Spiritual Texts Library of Rozekruis Pers. He is currently an author for Rozekruis Pers Publishing House and online communications coordinator for the Lectorium Rosicrucianum in the Netherlands.