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REST FOR REASON.

Another authority says: "As knowledge and wisdom increase, as our eyes are opened more fully to the eternal verities, as we more fully realize the marvelous wonders of the Universe, and as we shall be in better accord, we may finally come to recognize that ‘our consciousness of God is only a part of God's consciousness of himself; all bodies modes of infinite extension, all souls modes of infinite thought.' And as we see more clearly and feel more vividly that ‘we are inherent parts of its glorious Unity, we may hope to reach that ultimate real principle of knowledge and being without which there can be no rest for reason, or Unity in the Universe.'"

A poet of our Western land has voiced this truth forcibly in the following lines:

"ILLUSION.

By Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

"God and I in space alone,

And nobody else in view.

And "Where are the people, O Lord," I said,

"The earth below and the sky o'erhead,

And the dead whom once I knew?"

"That was a dream," God smiled and said,

"A dream that seemed to be true;

There were no people living or dead;

There was no earth and no sky o'erhead;

There was only Myself and you."

"Why do I feel no fear," I asked,

"Meeting you here in this way?

For I have sinned, I know full well;

And is there heaven, and is there hell,

And is this the judgment day?"

"Nay! those were dreams," the great God said,

"Dreams that have ceased to be;

There is no such thing as fear or sin;

There is no YOU—you never have been;

There is nothing at all but Me!"

AVATARS OF THE ALMIGHTY.

Harold Bolce, in his series of articles in the Cosmopolitan a year or so ago, said: "And now that man has discovered that there resides in his nature a Spirit or energy that is divine, the colleges say, and that he can summon it to work his will, the potency and future operations of this force no man can compute. Science has found a way through psychology to God; the opportunities for the race, through invoking in the human consciousness the brooding Spirit that fills all space, are absolutely infinite. Science, therefore, is demonstrating along new lines, or at least is claiming to demonstrate, that man is God made manifest . And modern philosophy, as set forth in American universities, holds this incarnation not as a fanciful and merely beautiful ideal, but as a working and understandable principle in the soul of humanity. The professors therefore stand as the exponents of the teaching that man is the embodiment and conscious expression of the force that guides all life and holds all matter in its course . Not merely in religious rhetoric, but in reality, the schoolmen say, is man the avatar of God . Man has begun the cycle of that triumphal daring prophesied by ancient seers, and which appealed so potently to the imagination of Poe, who said: ‘Think that the sense of individual identity will be gradually merged in the general consciousness; that man, for example, will at length attain that awfully triumphant epoch when he shall recognize his existence as that of Jehovah! …This is not an atheistic banishment of God and His holy angels, but is, on the contrary, the enthronement of a new Jehovah— a God that has become conscious and potent in the human mind .'"

THE PROMISE.

Passing on from this consideration, we call your attention to the promise contained in the first lines of the statement given at the beginning of this chapter: "Spirit identifies itself with those of its characterizations which demonstrate their ability to consciously identify themselves with IT."

The importance of this Message is at first overlooked by many who read the words. It is really a Promise and a Message that Spirit will identify itself with those who recognize their identity with it. In the degree of the recognition and realization of the Identity by the individual, so will Spirit identify and manifest itself with and through the individual. As man begins to realize what he really is, he begins to be able to manifest that reality and being through his individual channels of expression. And, accordingly, there begins that "conscious manifestation by Volition and Ideation which constitutes the Mastery of Being."

THE MASTERY OF BEING.

When man discovers his Identity with Spirit he begins to manifest Creation on his own account. No longer a passive instrument, tool, or chessman in the Cosmic Life, he becomes a Center of Creative Power in himself. It is true that he sees the phenomenal world for what it really is; he sees that prizes and rewards of life are mere baubles and trinkets; and he strives no longer for them for themselves . But, in place of the old illusion, he sees a Creative Purpose in the Cosmic Activities, a Meaning in the Universal "Becoming," and he smiles and takes his place again on the Stage of Life, playing his part willingly, cheerfully, confidently, and understandingly. His peep behind the scenes does not interfere with his characterization and the portrayal of his appointed part; on the contrary, he plays his part all the better by reason of his knowing. He loses all fear of death; he fears neither Life nor Death; neither does he seek Death nor avoid it. He seeks neither participation in nor renunciation of Life; he simply lives , for to live is the object of Life .

As the sense of his real nature and being dawn upon him, the sense of his powers begin to manifest in his consciousness. He soon learns that his Ideation and Volition are real—the same powers with which the universe is created and manifested. He finds that his Ideation, when vitalized with his Volition, materializes and takes on objective reality. He finds that his Ideals tend to become Real. He discovers that circumstances, environment, conditions, and states may be created for himself—first the sense of Identity and the belief in its power; then the Ideative Picture in the mind; then the Volitional Activities of the Will; then the Objective Manifestation. Thus does man become a Creator and build for himself a miniature universe with himself as a center.

But (and this must always be remembered) man must never allow himself to become entangled in his Creations; he must see them always as Creations and must never permit himself to become hypnotized by the delusion of their ultimate reality. There is always the danger of taking one's own creations too seriously, just as the world is hypnotized into accepting its own mental creations as realities. The Master of Being must needs learn to detach himself from his creation, and, figuratively, to stand aside and see himself act and play his part among his creations. Mastery requires the eyes to be kept clear of the stinging smoke of illusion. The Master of the Show must never allow himself to become carried away by the action of the play, lest he become the victim rather than the victor. These may be strange words to the ears of many, but those whose ears have awakened by the Song of Life will readily understand them.

PARTING WORDS.

And now, students, friends, and fellow-travelers on The Path, we come to the time of temporary parting. You will never be the same as you were before you studied this book . You have "built thee more stately mansions" of thought and will continue to build,—

"Till thou at length act free,

Leaving thine outgrown shell by Life's unresting sea."

You may not have accepted the Message, nor have perceived the Truth sought to be expressed in these lessons. But the Spirit of them will remain with you. For no one who embarks on the Quest for Truth ever is able to permanently relinquish it nor to forsake The Path. He may turn away from it, or seek to retrace his steps, and for a time will seem to have left it behind forever; but sooner or later again will the hunger for Knowledge, and the thirst for Truth, be felt. Again will the Sound of the Message penetrate to the ear, and again the Pilgrim will resume The Path. As Whitman says: "My words will itch in your ears till you understand them." Once a Truth-Seeker, always one!