consciousness we cannot comprehend the "new creature" that is symbolic of Paul's teachings. Nor can this new being be judged by self-conscious limitation, any more than the animal in simple consciousness merely can judge the man who has attained to self consciousness. "If any man is in Christ he is a new creature; the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new." No expression of the experience of Cosmic Consciousness could be more clear cut and perfect. This divine adventure makes everything different. We are standing on the inside as it were, and looking out, instead of being on the outside vainly trying to look in. "I In Cosmic Consciousness there is absolutely no sense of sin nor of death. All fear, condemnation and resistance leave with the material sense. The conviction of the ability to bestow all good, and a divine compassion for those under the delusion of sin is characteristic of Cosmic Consciousness. bestow upon any man or woman the entrance to all the gifts of the universe," Walt Whitman sings from the sublime egoism of Cosmic Consciousness. Here are some of the outstanding characteristics of Cosmic Consciousness: The subjective light. Conviction of immortality. Conviction of perfection. Fearlessness under all circumstances. The power to give and receive confidence and love. A definite and productive work. Unfortunately, we have not a single original specimen of the writing of Jesus. The experiences of this most perfect case of spiritual illumination are related to us by others, probably after the first impression made by them had become dimmed in memories. However, the perfect unfoldment of spiritual consciousness from birth to Ascension from the sight of those who are in mortal limitation is clearly and definitely preserved in the Gospels. Everything points to the fact that up to a certain age Jesus was very much as others, and that suddenly he ascended to a spiritual level far above that of ordinary men. Those who had previously known him could not comprehend his superiority. "Is not this the carpenter's son?" "How knoweth this man letters having never learned?" Jesus the Perfect Example.-The earliest written, and probably most authentic account of the illumination of Jesus, runs as follows: "And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens rent asunder, and the spirit of a dove descending upon him and a voice came out of the heavens saying: Thou art my beloved son, in thee I am well pleased." The expression "He saw the heavens rent asunder," describes well the oncoming of Cosmic Consciousness, which is instantaneous, as if a veil, with one sharp jerk had been torn from the eyes of the mind, permitting the sight clearness of space. The impulse that drove Jesus to the wilderness is universal. Paul retired to the desert of Arabia for three years, eliminating mortal beliefs and establishing immortal Truths in consciousness. Jesus was "led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil," and returned only after he had destroyed all sense of separation and evil. The soul demands solitude in order to find itself and adjust itself to the conditions of the new Vision. This retirement is prefigured in the world of nature. The lily must be placed in the ground before it leaves the bulb garb for its perfect bloom. The caterpillar weaves a cocoon and retires from its earth limitation until the new body, adapted to the air, is perfectly formed. The disciple who does not retire within himself, find in the Silence his God, discover his original self and the potencies of this self, and make the at-one-ment which is indispensable for resurrection and spiritual power, does not leave the limitation of self consciousness. Many have had real Cosmic Vision who have failed to fulfil the requirement of solitude and overcoming subconscious limitation. The standard of life is distinctly different to those who have had the Cosmic Vision from those of self consciousness. Jesus destroyed every belief which holds the self conscious in limitation, and established the Truth of man in consciousness. Sensuous ease, to use power for selfish ends, ill gotten wealth to which all that is best and truest in us must be subordinated, were rejected. Jesus quickly and definitely decided that life in God is an outpouring of spiritual power for the healing of the race. Spiritual dominion is the victory we gain through the de struction of the race beliefs of materiality and separation from God. In waiting, watching, seeking, knocking, asking, expecting, the Cosmic Consciousness comes upon us. It does not come to the careless, but to those whose earnest aspiration neglects no means for spiritual advancement. "Then shall the Kingdom of Heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were foolish and five were wise. For the foolish when they took their lamps, took no oil with them; but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Now, while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry: Behold the bridegroom! Come ye forth and meet him. Then all the virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise: Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying: Peradventure there will not be enough for us and you: Go ye rather to them then that sell and buy for yourselves. And while they went away to buy the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was shut. Afterwards came also the other virgins, saying: Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said: Verily, I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore for ye know not the day nor the hour." The Transfiguration.-The accounts given in the Synoptic Gospels of the transfiguration of Jesus can only be explained on the assumption that he was seen by others in a most illumined experience. Here is one of the accounts: "And he was transfigured before them; and his garments became glistening, exceeding white; so that no fuller on earth can whiten them." There is no state except that of Cosmic Consciousness to which the above could apply. We who have experienced Cosmic Consciousness find no difficulty in accepting the resurrection as a natural consequence of a sustained state of spiritual illumination. The resurrection is but a disappearance from those who see with the eyes of selfconscious limitation. Christianity is one stupendous Fact. This Fact is the Resurrection. It can never be understood, however, until through opening the eyes of the mind, we see the inevitability of the resurrection for the whole race. As a historic fact no event claims more direct evidence than the Resurrection. Early Christianity was the result of a tomb found empty, where One who had been crucified and pronounced dead was placed, under seal and guard. No sane seeker even from historic accounts, but must realize that primitive Christianity could be the result of nothing save the appearance, after his apparent death, to his disciples, of the Master whom they had formerly known and loved. The early church was the impetus given by the literal resurrection of the body of Jesus. This resurrection of the body is verified to a limited extent today by hundreds of thousands who have had spiritual healing. The resurrection of Jesus is healing perfectly demonstrated. The perception of the Truth of the Resurrection is of stupendous importance to mankind. We see through it that life is unfoldment which culminates in victory over death. It indicates that in the higher |