"In the old Egyptian days, a well known inscription was carved over the
portal of the Temple of Isis: 'I am whatever has been, is, or ever will
be; and my veil no man hath yet lifted.' Not thus do modern seekers after
truth confront Nature--the word that stands for the baffling mysteries of
the Universe. Steadily, unflinchingly, we strive to pierce the inmost
heart of Nature, from what she is to reconstruct what she has been, and
to prophesy what she shall be. Veil after veil we have lifted, and her
face grows more beautiful, august and wonderful, with every barrier that
is withdrawn."

You will notice that this address made nearly twenty years ago, and from
the standpoint of physical science is in full accord with the ideas of
occultism as old as the hills. And yet, the speaker had worked out the
idea independently. He also investigated higher forms of psychic
phenomena, with results that startled the world. But, you will notice that
he does not attempt to give any other than purely physical laws the credit
for the ordinary phenomena of telepathy. And he was thoroughly right in
this, as we have seen. He escaped the common error of confusing
physical-sense phenomena with the phenomena of the astral-senses. Each
plane has its own phenomena--and each class is surely wonderful enough.
And, again, remember that both physical and astral phenomena are purely
natural; there is no need for seeking any supernatural agencies to account
for these natural facts.




LESSON IV.