scious Godhood and recall with smiles
the pleasant memories of the "conjure show" that you created to fool
yourself with during several billions of ages. That is what it amounts
to, and the result is that those accepting this philosophy thrust upon
them by forceful teachers, and knowing in their hearts that they are
_not_ God, but absorbing the suggestions of "nothingness," are driven
into a state of mental apathy and negativeness, the soul sinking into a
stupor from which it may not be roused for a long period of time.

We wish you to avoid confounding our teaching with this just mentioned.
We wish to teach you that You are a real Being--_not_ God Himself, but a
manifestation of Him who is the Absolute. You are a Child of the
Absolute, if you prefer the term, possessed of the Divine Heritage, and
whose mission it is to unfold qualities which are your inheritances from
your Parent. Do not make the great mistake of confounding the Relative
with the Absolute. Avoid this pitfall into which so many have fallen. Do
not allow yourself to fall into the "Slough of Despond," and wallow in
the mud of "nothingness," and to see no reality except in the person of
some forceful teacher who takes the place of the Absolute in your mind.
But raise your head and assert your Divine Parentage, and your Heritage
from the Absolute, and step out boldly on the Path, asserting the "I."

(We must refer the Candidate back to our "Advanced Course," for our
teachings regarding the Absolute and the Relative. The last three lessons
of that course will throw light upon what we have just said To repeat the
teaching at this point would be to use space which is needed for the
lesson before us.)

And yet, while the "I" is _not_ God, the Absolute, it is infinitely
greater than we have imagined it to be before the light dawned upon us.
It extends itself far beyond what we had conceived to be its limits. It
touches the Universe at all its points, and is in the closest union with
all of Life. It is in the closest touch with all that has emanated from
the Absolute--all the world of Relativity. And while it faces the
Relative Universe, it has its roots in the Absolute, and draws
nourishment therefrom, just as does the babe in the womb obtain
nourishment from the mother. It is verily a manifestation of God, and
God's very essence is in it. Surely this is almost as "high" a statement
as the "I Am God" of the teachers just mentioned,--and yet how different.
Let