t or conscious.

All life is from the one source, and therefore contains this "divine
spark."

All manifestation expresses degrees or phases of consciousness.

The degree of this consciousness fixes the status of the organism, and
determines its classification, whether it is organic or inorganic; simple,
or complex.

Every cell, each separate cell, in fact, has its own consciousness--that is
each cell is a center of this power that we term consciousness; a group of
cells with this power focalized to a given point, or center, makes an organ
of consciousness, and so on up the scale through many many degrees of
complexity of organism, until we come to man.

Webster defines consciousness as "the ability to know ones mental
operations." But, we do not take this definition in Occultism, for the
obvious reason, that it is not possible to state arbitrarily whether or
not, the cell "knows its operations," and since all operations are
necessarily mental in the final analysis, we assume that there is a phase
of consciousness below that of cognition of "self," which may be termed
"the unconscious consciousness," which again is synonymous with the phrase
"automatic cerebration."

Coming up through the various myriad degrees of sub-conscious life (sub
being here used as below self consciousness) we arrive at the stage of
simple consciousness which characterizes the animal kingdom, remembering
that consciousness in the abstract is not a _condition_, or state of
environment. It is one of the eternal verities. It _is_ just as Aum _is_.

The attainment of a wider and wider area of consciousness, is but the
_uncovering_, or the attracting to a central point or to an individual
organism of _this that is_. Thus consciousness, in the abstract, may say
of itself "before creation was, I am."

That is what is meant when it is said that God is omnipotent, and
omniscient.

The difference between mere power, or energy, and consciousness, whether
considered from the standpoint of the organic or the inorganic kingdom, may
be likened to the difference between a blind force, and a power that knows
itself.

Consciousness is practically the great central light that "lighteth every
man that cometh into the world." Without consciousness, manifestation would
be darkness. Thus it is said, "the light shineth in darkness and the
darkness comprehendeth it not." This applies to that tiny spark of divinity
in which consciousness exists but where ther