only "the working fiction of the Universe." He is
able to see that each Ego is but a Centre of Consciousness in the great
Ocean of Life--all in pursuance of the Divine Plan, and that he is moving
forward toward higher and higher planes of manifestation, power and
individuality, in order to take a greater and grander part in the
Universal work and plans.

The Cosmic Knowing in its fulness has come to but few of the race, but
many have had glimpses, more or less clear, of its transcendent wonder,
and others are on the borderland of this plane. The race is unfolding
gradually, slowly but surely, and those who have had this wonderful
experience are preparing others for a like experience. The seed is being
sown, and the harvest will come later. This and other phases of the
higher forms of consciousness are before the race. The individuals who
read this lesson are perhaps nearer to it than they think; their interest
in the lessons is an indication of that hunger of the soul which is a
prophecy of the satisfaction of the cry for spiritual bread. The Law of
Life heeds these cries for aid and nourishment and responds accordingly,
but along the lines of the highest wisdom and according to the _real
requirements_ of the individual.

Let us close this lesson with a quotation from "Light on the Path," which
bears directly upon the concluding thought. Read it carefully and let it
sink down deep into your inner consciousness, and you will feel the
thrill of joy that comes to him who is nearing the goal.

"Look for the flower to bloom in the silence that follows the storm; not
till then.

"It shall grow, it will shoot up, it will make branches and leaves, and
form buds while the storm lasts. But not until the entire personality of
the man is dissolved and melted--not until it is held by the divine
fragment which has created it, as a mere subject for grave experiment and
experience--not until the whole nature has yielded and become subject
unto its higher self, can the bloom open. Then will come a calm such as
comes in a tropical country after the heavy rain, when nature works so
swiftly that one may see her action. Such a calm will come to the
harassed spirit. And in the deep silence the mysterious event will occur
which will prove that the way has been found. Call it by whatever name
you will. It is a voice that speaks where there is none to speak, it is a
messenger that comes--a messenger without form or substance--or it is the