And so at the final analysis, you will find that there is something that
refuses to be set aside and examined by the "I." And that something is
the "I" itself--that "I" eternal, unchangeable--that drop of the Great
Spirit Ocean--that spark from the Sacred Flame.

Just as you find it impossible to imagine the "I" as dead, so will you
find it impossible to set aside the "I" for consideration--all that comes
to you is the testimony: "I AM."

If you were able to set aside the "I" for consideration, who would be the
one to consider it? Who could consider except the "I" itself, and if it
be _here_, how could it be _there?_ The "I" cannot be the "not I" even in
the wildest flights of the imagination--the imagination with all its
boasted freedom and power, confesses itself vanquished when asked to do
this thing.

Oh, students, may you be brought to a realization of what you are. May
you soon awaken to the fact that you are sleeping gods--that you have
within you the power of the Universe, awaiting your word to manifest
in action. Long ages have you toiled to get this far, and long must you
travel before you reach even the first Great Temple, but you are now
entering into the conscious stage of Spiritual Evolution. No longer will
your eyes be closed as you walk the Path. From now on you will begin to
see clearer and clearer each step, in the dawning light of consciousness.

You are in touch with all of life, and the separation of your "I" from
the great Universal "I" is but apparent and temporary. We will tell you
of these things in our Third Lesson, but before you can grasp that you
must develop the "I" consciousness within you. Do not lay aside this
matter as one of no importance. Do not dismiss our weak explanation as