We find that physical conditions are always similar to the nature of the spiritual expression that is taking place at any particular time; that is, if the spiritual expression in your life is full and complete, every condition in your body will, of necessity, be full and complete, or similar to the expression of the spirit; and as the spirit is always in a state of harmony, peace, health, wholeness and the fullness of life, conditions in the physical life must be the same when the spiritual expression is full and perfect. The spirit is always in a state of divine perfection; therefore, we must of necessity conclude that the body would enjoy the same state of divine perfection if the expression of the soul were full and complete during every moment of personal existence.

The reason why there are imperfect conditions on the physical side of mind or body is because the spiritual expression of life is only partial in most individuals; and in a great many individuals the spiritual expression is actually insignificant, so that it can hardly be spoken of as a true expression; that is, the soul is simply passively alive in a great majority of people, and really does not express itself or its qualities in any form or manner. And the cause of this condition is due to the fact that we have looked upon the body as more real than the soul.

Herewith we must remember that so long as we live in the belief that the body is more real than the soul, the soul will be looked upon in our consciousness as a negative factor. It will simply be passive, because our material belief does not permit of active expression from the spiritual side. And when we look at the life of the great majority, we discover at once that the spiritual life in them all is purely passive; life in them is simply a state of existence; they do not live in the true sense of the term; they do not express real life; and the expression of the spiritual or the divine reality within them has not begun. It is true, however, that the very moment material belief is eliminated, spiritual expression will begin. But we do not eliminate material belief until we begin to live in the soul; and we begin to live in the soul the very moment we realize that the soul is more real than either mind or body. It is in this very place that we find the parting of the ways in the life of every individual, or the beginning of a new order of things in the world of any individual.

When the human entity begins to realize that the spiritual side is more real than the physical side, consciousness will begin to function more definitely upon the spiritual side; that is, life will be lived, not from the body, but from the soul; and when we live in the soul, and from the soul, we will give expression to an ever-increasing measure of life, wisdom and power.

When we consider our past consciousness, we remember that our conscious existence was concerned almost entirely with the outer life of the personality; that is, we really lived in the body, and looked upon the soul as a vague something that no one could understand. We could consciously feel the existence of the body, but we did not have any conscious realization of the existence of the soul. We possibly believed that we had a soul, but it was merely a belief; and we did not possess sufficient conscious realization of the spiritual life to prove to ourselves that such a life had actual existence.

In the present age, however, a large percentage have come to a wonderful change in consciousness. These human entities know that the soul has existence; they do not simply believe it, but are beginning to know it as an absolute truth. And if you are a member of this fortunte company you realize exactly what has brought about this change. You are beginning to feel inwardly that you are a soul, and you are beginning to live consciously in the soul world. Your chief abode is no longer in the body, but is in the spiritual state of your life. You have moved, literally speaking, from the external to the internal, or from the lower to the higher; and you are now living, actually and truly, in the higher. The result is that you are giving expression to the ele ments and powers that exist in the higher; and as a consequence, you are finding that physical conditions are changing to respond more and more perfectly to this expression of finer life from above.

And here it is well to remember that we cannot give expression to the powers of the soul, and to the superior qualities of the soul, unless we live in the soul. So long as we live in the body, we have to depend exclusively upon material conditions, material forces and material things; but the moment we begin to live in the soul, we become actually conscious of the greater powers and the higher qualities that exist in the soul; and whatever we become conscious of, that we invariably express in the personality.

The result of these higher conditions we all have experienced. We all have proven conclusively the great truth that we can eliminate adverse physical conditions by entering a higher spiritual realization; for the moment we enter the spirit we become conscious of the power of the spirit, and according to the law, give expression to that power through every part of mind and body; in brief, we send forth the light from the soul, and the darkness of the body must disappear.

We have also found that this higher spiritual realization will invariably eliminate discord and adversity from the mind, increase the richness of life in every manner, and enlarge consciousness, both in the visible and in the invisible, so that new kingdoms are added again and again to the world in which we live. We all have experienced and proven this great truth; and all these experiences are based upon the principle that we invariably give expression to the higher and the finer life of the soul the moment we begin to live in the soul.

The principal idea to be considered in our study of this important theme is, that conscious activity invariably takes place wherever we feel that we live; that is, if we feel that we live in the body, our consciousness will act principally in the body, and we will deal almost exclusively with the phyical side of life. But when we begin to feel that we live in the soul, consciousness will become active among the spiritual elements and forces, and we will place in action more and more of those higher forces. Accordingly, we are no longer confined to the limitations of the physical, but may proceed to enter more and more into the conscious realization of the limitless life of the spiritual.