nd most tenuous
form of Matter, in fact it is Matter in its ultimate or fundamental form,
the different forms of what we call Matter being but manifestations of
this _Akasa_ or Ether, the apparent difference resulting from different
rates of vibration, etc. We mention this fact here merely to bring
clearly before your mind the fact of the Universality of Matter, to the
end that you may realize that each and every particle of your physical
body is but a portion of this great principle of the Universe, fresh from
the great store-house, and just about returning to it again, for the
atoms of the body are constantly changing. That which appears as your
flesh to-day, may have been part of a plant a few days before, and may be
part of some other living thing a few days hence. Constant change is
going on, and what is yours to-day was someone's else yesterday, and
still another's to-morrow. You do not own one atom of matter
_personally_, it is all a part of the common supply, the stream flowing
through you and through all Life, on and on forever.
And so it is with the Vital Energy that you are using every moment of
your life. You are constantly drawing upon the great Universal supply of
_Prana_, then using what is given you, allowing the force to pass on to
assume some other form. It is the property of all, and all you can do is
to use what you need, and allow it to pass on. There is but one Force or
Energy, and that is to be found everywhere at all times.
And even the great principle, Mind-substance, is under the same law. It
is hard for us to realize this. We are so apt to think of our mental
operations as distinctively our own--something that belongs to us
personally--that it is difficult for us to realize that Mind-substance is
a Universal principle just as Matter or Energy, and that we are but
drawing upon the Universal supply in our mental operations. And more than
this, the particular portion of Mind-substance that we are using,
although separated from the Mind-substance used by other individuals by a
thin wall of the very finest kind of Matter, is really in touch with the
other apparently separated minds, and with the Universal Mind of which it
forms a part. Just as is the Matter of which our physical bodies are
composed really in touch with all Matter; and just as is the Vital Force
used by us really in touch with all Energy; so is our Mind-substance
really in touch with all Mind-substance. It is as if the Ego in its
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