There is but One Life—­One Life Underlying.  This Life is manifesting through ME, and through every other shape, form, and thing.  I am resting on the bosom of the Great Ocean of Life, and it is supporting me, and will carry me safely, though the waves rise and fall—­though the storms rage and the tempests roar.  I am safe on the Ocean of Life, and rejoice as I feel the sway of its motion.  Nothing can harm me—­though changes may come and go, I am Safe.  I am One with the All Life, and its Power, Knowledge, and Peace are behind, underneath, and within Me.  O!  One Life! express Thyself through me—­carry me now on the crest of the wave, now deep down in the trough of the ocean—­supported always by Thee—­all is good to me, as I feel Thy life moving in and through me.  I am Alive, through thy life, and I open myself to thy full manifestation and inflow.

THE SIXTH LESSON.

CULTIVATION OF PERCEPTION.

Man gains his knowledge of the outside world through his senses.  And, consequently, many of us are in the habit of thinking of these senses as if they did the sensing, instead of being merely carriers of the vibrations coming from the outside world, which are then presented to the Mind for examination.  We shall speak of this at greater length a little later on in this lesson.  Just now we wish to impress upon you the fact that it is the Mind that perceives, not the senses.  And, consequently, a development of Perception is really a development of the Mind.

The Yogis put their students through a very arduous course of practice and exercises designed to develop their powers of perception.  To many this would appear to be merely a development of the Senses, which might appear odd in view of the fact that the Yogis are constantly preaching the folly of being governed and ruled by the senses.  But there is nothing paradoxical about all this, for the Yogis, while preaching the folly of sense life, and manifesting the teaching in their lives, nevertheless believe in any and all exercises calculated to “sharpen” the Mind, and develop it to a keen state and condition.

They see a great difference between having a sharpened perception, on the one hand, and being a slave to the senses on the other.  For instance, what would be thought of a man who objected to acquiring a keen eyesight, for fear it would lead him away from higher things, by reason of his becoming attached to the beautiful things he might see.  To realize the folly of this idea, one may look at its logical conclusion, which would be that one would then be much better off if all their senses were destroyed.  The absurdity, not to say wickedness, of such an idea will be apparent to everyone, after a minute’s consideration.