THE MANIFESTATION OF THE LIFE PRINCIPLE

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We must bear in mind that what we have now reached is a principle, or

universal potential, only we have located it in the individual. But a

principle, as such, is not manifestation. Manifestation is the growth

proceeding from the principle, that is to say, some Form in which the

principle becomes active. At the same time we must recollect that,

though a form is necessary for manifestation, the form is not

essential, for the same principle may manifest through various forms,

just as electricity may work either through a lamp or a tram-car

without in any way changing its inherent nature. In this way we are

brought to the conclusion that the Life-principle must always provide

itself with a body in which to function, though it does not follow

that this body must always be of the same chemical constitution as

the one we now possess. We might well imagine some distant planet

where the chemical combinations with which we are familiar on earth

did not obtain; but if the essential life-principle of any individual

were transported thither, then by the Law of the Creative Process it

would proceed to clothe itself with a material body drawn from the

atmosphere and substance of that planet; and the personality thus

produced would be quite at home there, for all his surroundings would

be perfectly natural to him, however different the laws of Nature

might be there from what we know here.

In such a conception as this we find the importance of the two

leading principles to which I have drawn attention — first, the power

of the Spirit to create ex nihilo, and secondly, the individual's

recognition of the basic principle of Unity giving permanence and

solidity to the frame of Nature. By the former the self-recognizing

life-principle could produce any sort of body it chose; and by the

latter it would be led to project one in harmony with the natural

order of the particular planet, thus making all the facts of that

order solid realities to the individual, and himself a solid and

natural being to the other inhabitants of that world. But this would

not do away with the individual's knowledge of how he got there; and

so, supposing him to have realized his identity with the Universal

Life-Principle sufficiently to consciously control the projection of

his own body, he could at will disintegrate the body which accorded

with the conditions of one planet and constitute one which accorded

just as harmoniously with those of another, and could thus function

on any number of planets as a perfectly natural being on each of

them. He would in all respects resemble the other inhabitants with

one all-important exception, that since he had attained to unity with

his Creative Principle he would not be tied by the laws of matter as

they were. Anyone who should attain to such a power could only do so

by his realization of the all-embracing Unity of the Spirit as being

the Foundation of all things; and this being the basis of his own

extended powers he would be the last to controvert his own basic

principle by employing his powers in such a way as to disturb the

natural course of evolution in the world where he was. He might use

them to help forward the evolution of others in that world, but

certainly never to disturb it, for he would always act on the maxim

that " Order is Heaven's First Law.

"

Our object, however, is not to transfer ourselves to other planets

but to get the best out of this one; but we shall not get the best

out of this one until we realize that the power which will enable us

to do so is so absolutely universal and fundamental that its

application in this world is precisely the same as in any other, and

that is why I have stated it as a general proposition applicable to

all worlds.

The principle being thus universal there is no reason why we should

postpone its application till we find ourselves in another world, and

the best place and time to begin are Here and Now. The starting point

is not in time or locality, but in the mode of Thought; and if we

realize that this Point of Origination is Spirit's power to produce

something out of nothing, and that it does this in accordance with

the natural order of substance of the particular world in which it is

working, then the spiritual ego in ourselves, as proceeding direct

from the Universal Spirit, should be able first, to so harmoniously

combine the working of spiritual and physical laws in its own body as

to keep it in perfect healthy secondly to carry this process further

and renew the body, thus eradicating the effects of old age, and

thirdly to carry the process still further and perpetuate this

renewed body as long as the individual might desire.

If the student shows this to one of his average acquaintances who has

never given any thought to these things, his friend will undoubtedly

exclaim " Tommy rot! " even if he does not use a stronger expletive. He

will at once appeal to the past experience of all mankind, his

argument being that what has not been in the past cannot be in the

future; yet he does not apply the same argument to aeronautics and is

quite oblivious of the fact that the Sacred Volume which he

reverences contains promises of these very things. The really earnest

student must never forget the maxim that " Principle is not bound by

Precedent " — if it were we should still be primitive savages.

To use the Creative Process we must Affirm the Creative Power, that

is to say, we must go back to the Beginning of the series and start

with Pure Spirit, only remembering that this starting-point is now to

be found in ourselves, for this is what distinguishes the individual

Creative Process from the cosmic one. This is where the importance of

realizing only ONE Originating Power instead of two interacting

powers comes in, for it means that we do not derive our power from

any existing polarity, but that we are going to establish polarities

which will start secondary causation on the lines which we thus

determine. This also is where the importance comes in of recognizing

that the only possible originating movement of spirit must be Self-

contemplation, for this shows us that we do not have to contemplate

existing conditions but the Divine Ideal, and that this contemplation

of the Divine Ideal of Man is the Self-contemplation of the Spirit

from the standpoint of Human Individuality.

Then the question arises, if these principles are true, why are we

not demonstrating them? Well, when our fundamental principle is

obviously correct and yet we do not get the proper results, the only

inference is that somewhere or other we have introduced something

antagonistic to the fundamental principle, something not inherent in

the principle itself and which therefore owes its presence to some

action of our own. Now the error consists in the belief that the

Creative Power is limited by the material in which it works. If this

be assumed, then you have to calculate the resistances offered by the

material; and since by the terms of the Creative Process these

resistances do not really exist, you have no basis of calculation at

all — in fact you have no means of knowing where you are, and

everything is in confusion. This is why it is so important to

remember that the Creative Process is the action of a Single Power,

and that the interaction of two opposite polarities comes in at a

later stage, and is not creative, but only distributive — that is to

say, it localizes the Energy already proceeding from the Single

Power. This is a fundamental truth which should never be lost sight

of. So long, however, as we fail to see this truth we necessarily

limit the Creative Power by the material it works in, and in practice

we do this by referring to past experience as the only standard of

judgment. We are measuring the Fifth Kingdom by the standard of the

Fourth, as though we should say that an intellectual man, a being of

the Fourth Kingdom, was to be limited by the conditions which obtain

in First or Mineral Kingdom — to use Scriptural language we are

seeking the Living among the dead.

And moreover at the present time a new order of experience is

beginning to open out to us, for well authenticated instances of the

cure of disease by the invisible power of the Spirit are steadily

increasing in number. The facts are now too patent to be denied —

what we want is a better knowledge of the power which accounts for

them. And if this beginning is now with us, by what reason can we

limit it? The difference between the healing of disease and the

renewal of the entire organism and the perpetuation of life is only a

difference of degree and not of kind; so that the actual experience

of increasing numbers shows the working of a principle to which we

can logically set no limits.

If we get the steps of the Creative Process clearly into our minds we

shall see why we have hitherto had such small results. Spirit creates

by Self-contemplation; Therefore, What it contemplates itself being,

that it becomes. You are individualized Spirit; Therefore, What you

contemplate the Law of your being becomes the Law of your being.

Hence, contemplate a Law of Death arising out of the Forces of the

Material reacting against the Power of the Spirit and overcoming it,

and you impress this mode of self-recognition upon Spirit in

yourself. Of course you cannot alter its inherent nature, but you

cause it to work under negative conditions and thus make it produce

negative results so far as you yourself are concerned.

But reverse the process, and contemplate a Law of Life as inherent in

the very Being of the Spirit, and therefore as inherent in spirit in

yourself; and contemplate the forces of the Material as practically

non-existent in the Creative Process, because they are products of it

and not causes — look at things in this way and you will impress a

corresponding conception upon the Spirit which, by the Law of

Reciprocity, thus enters into Self-contemplation on these lines from

the standpoint of your own individuality; and then by the nature of

the Creative Process a corresponding externalization is bound to take

place. Thus our initial question, How did anything come into

existence at all, brings us to the recognition of a Law of Life which

we may each specialize for ourselves; and in the degree to which we

specialize it we shall find the Creative Principle at work within us

building up a healthier and happier personality in mind, body, and

circumstances.

Only we must learn to distinguish the vehicles of Spirit from Spirit

itself, for the distinction has very important bearings. What

distinguishes the vehicles from the Spirit is the Law of Growth. The

Spirit is the Formless principle of Life, and the vehicle is a Form

in which this principle functions. Now the vehicle is a projection by

the Spirit of substance coordinate with the natural order of the

plane on which the vehicle functions, and therefore requires to be

built up conformably to that order. This building up is what we speak

of as Growth; and since the principle which causes the growth is the

individualized Spirit, the rate at which the growth will go on will

depend on the amount of vitalizing energy the Spirit puts into it,

and the amount of vitalizing energy will depend on the degree in

which the individualized Spirit appreciates its own livingness, and

finally the degree of this appreciation will depend on the quality of

the individual's perception of the Great All-originating Spirit as

reflecting itself in him and thus making his contemplation of It

nothing else than the Creative Self-contemplation of the Spirit

proceeding from an individual and personal center.

We must therefore not omit the Law of Growth in the vehicle from our

conception of the working of the Spirit. As a matter of fact the

vehicle has nothing to say in the matter or it is simply a projection

from the Spirit; but for this very reason its formation will be slow

or rapid in exact proportion to the individual spirit's vitalizing

conception. We could imagine a degree of vitalizing conception that

would produce the corresponding form instantaneously, but at present

we must allow for the weakness of our spiritual power —not as

thinking it by any means incapable of accomplishing its object, but

as being far slower in operation now than we hope to see it in the

future — and so we must not allow ourselves to be discouraged, but

must hold our thought knowing that it is doing its creative work, and

that the corresponding growth is slowly but surely taking place —

thus following the Divine precept that men ought always to pray and

not to faint. Gradually as we gain experience on these new lines our

confidence in the power of the Spirit will increase, and we shall be

less inclined to argue from the negative side of things, and thus the

hindrances to the inflow of the Originating Spirit will be more and

more removed, and greater and greater results will be obtained.

If we would have our minds clear on this subject of Manifestation we

should remember its threefold nature: — First the General Life-

Principle, secondly the Localization of this principle in the

Individual, and thirdly the Growth of the Vehicle as it is projected

by the individualized spirit with more or less energy. It is a

sequence of progressive condensation from the Undifferentiated

Universal Spirit to the ultimate and outermost vehicle — a truth

enshrined in the esoteric maxim that " Matter is Spirit at its lowest

level.

"

The forms thus produced are in true accord with the general order of

Nature on the particular plane where they occur, and are therefore

perfectly different from forms temporarily consolidated out of

material drawn from other living organisms. These latter phantasmal

bodies are held together only by an act of concentrated volition, and

can therefore only be maintained for a short time and with effort;

while the body which the individualized spirit, or ego, builds for

itself is produced by a perfectly natural process and does not

require any effort to sustain it, since it is kept in touch with the

whole system of the planet by the continuous and effortless action of

the individual's sub-conscious mind.

This is where the action of sub-conscious mind as the builder of the

body comes in. Sub-conscious mind acts in accordance with the

aggregate of suggestion impressed upon it by the conscious mind, and

if this suggestion is that of perfect harmony with the physical laws

of the planet then a corresponding building by the sub-conscious mind

will take place, a process which, so far from implying any effort,

consists rather in a restful sense of unity with Nature. And if to

this sense of union with the Soul of Nature, that Universal Sub-

conscious Mind which holds in the cosmos the same place that the sub-

conscious mind does in ourselves — if to this there be superadded a

sense of union with the All-creating Spirit from which the

Manifestation of the Life Principle or Soul of Nature flows, then

through the medium of the individual's sub-conscious mind such

specialized effects can be produced in his body as to transcend our

past experiences without in any way violating the order of the

universe. The Old Law was the manifestation of the Principle of Life

working under constricted conditions: the New Law is the

manifestation of the same Principle working under expanding

conditions. Thus it is that though God never changes we are said

to " increase with the increase of God. "