ach of these
characters a personal spirit, independent of their creator? Have the
Venus of Medici, the Sistine Madonna, the Apollo Belvidere, spirits and
reality of their own, or do they represent the spiritual and mental
power of their creators? The Law of Paradox explains that both
propositions are true, viewed from the proper viewpoints. Micawber is
both Micawber, and yet Dickens. And, again, while Micawber may be said
to be Dickens, yet Dickens is not identical with Micawber. Man, like
Micawber, may exclaim: "The Spirit of my Creator is inherent within me--
and yet I am not HE!" How different this from the shocking half-truth so
vociferously announced by certain of the half-wise, who fill the air
with their raucous cries of: "I am God!" Imagine poor Micawber, or the
sneaky Uriah Heep, crying: "I Am Dickens"; or some of the lowly clods in
one of Shakespeare's plays, eloquently announcing that: "I Am
Shakespeare!" THE ALL is in the earthworm, and yet the earth-worm is far
from being THE ALL. And still the wonder remains, that though the
earth-worm exists merely as a lowly thing, created and having its being
solely within the Mind of THE ALL--yet THE ALL is immanent in the
earthworm, and in the particles that go to make up the earth-worm. Can
there be any greater mystery than this of "All in THE ALL; and THE ALL
in All?"

The student will, of course, realize that the illustrations given above
are necessarily imperfect and inadequate, for they represent the
creation of mental images in finite minds, while the Universe is a
creation of Infinite Mind--and the difference between the two poles
separates them. And yet it is merely a matter of degree--the same
Principle is in operation--the Principle of Correspondence manifests in
each--"As above, so Below; as Below, so above."

And, in the degree that Man realizes the existence of the Indwelling
Spirit immanent within his being, so will he rise in the spiritual scale
of life. This is what spiritual development means--the recognition,
realization, and manifestation of the Spirit within us. Try to remember
this last definition--that of spiritual development. It contains the
Truth of True Religion.

There are many planes of Being--many sub-planes of Life--many degrees of
existence in the Universe. And all depend upon the advancement of beings
in the scale, of which scale the lowest point is the grossest matter,
the highest being separated only by the thinnest division from t