it
becomes of the greatest importance to examine into the evidences of the
presence of Life in all things, organic or inorganic. The evidence is
at hand--let us examine it.

The ancient occultists of all peoples always taught that the Universe
was Alive--that there was Life in everything--that there was nothing
dead in Nature--that Death meant simply a change in form in the
material of the dead bodies. They taught that Life, in varying degrees
of manifestation and expression, was present in everything and object,
even down to the hardest mineral form, and the atoms composing that
form.

Modern Science is now rapidly advancing to the same position, and each
months investigations and discoveries serve only to emphasize the
teachings.

Burbank, that wonderful moulder of plant life, has well expressed this
thought, when he says: "All my investigations have led me away from the
idea of a dead material universe tossed about by various forces, to
that of a universe which is absolutely all force, life, soul, thought,
or whatever name we may choose to call it. Every atom, molecule, plant,
animal or planet, is only an aggregation of organized unit forces, held
in place by stronger forces, thus holding them for a time latent,
though teeming with inconceivable power. All life on our planet is, so
to speak, just on the outer fringe of this infinite ocean of force. The
universe is not half dead, but all alive."

Science today is gazing upon a living universe. She has not yet
realized the full significance of what she has discovered, and her
hands are raised as if to shade her eyes from the unaccustomed glare
that is bursting upon her. From the dark cavern of universal dead
matter, she has stepped out into the glare of the noon-day sun of a
Universe All-Alive even to its smallest and apparently most inert
particle.

Beginning at Man, the highest form of Life known to us, we may pass
rapidly down the scale of animal life, seeing life in full operation at
each descending step. Passing from the animal to the vegetable kingdom,
we still see Life in full operation, although in lessened degrees of
expression. We shall not stop here to review the many manifestations of
Life among the forms of plant-life, for we shall have occasion to
mention them in our next lesson, but it must be apparent to all that
Life is constantly manifesting in the sprouting of seeds; the putting
forth of stalk, leaves, blossoms, fruit, etc., and in the enormou