Man.
Project Gutenberg EPUB edition
Levi
“What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that thou visiteth him?” This was the earnest question of David, the Hebrew Psalmist, and the 8th Psalm is given wholly to the contemplation of man, the crowning work of manifest creation. Among the many great lessons that Levi has been permitted to gather from the Akashic Records, or the Universal Mind, we find one on Man in which his descent into physical matter and his final ascent into an eternal oneness with God is so graphically described that it certainly merits a place in this Introduction, and we give it in full:
“Time never was when man was not.
“If life of man at any time began a time would come when it would end.
“The thoughts of God cannot be circumscribed. No finite mind can comprehend things infinite.
“All finite things are subject unto change. All finite things will cease to be, because there was a time when they were not.
“The bodies and the soul of men are finite things, and they will change, yea, from the finite point of view the time will come when they will be no more.
“But man himself is not the body, nor the soul; he is a spirit and is part of God.
“Creative Fiat gave to man, to spirit man, a soul that he might function on the plane of soul; gave him a body of the flesh, that he might function on the plane of things made manifest.
“Why did creative Fiat give to spirit man a soul that he might function on the plane of soul?
“Why did creative Fiat give to soul a body of the flesh that it might function on the plane of things that are made manifest?
“Hear, now, ye worlds, dominions, powers and thrones!
“Hear, now, ye cherubim, ye seraphim, ye angels and ye men!
“Hear, now, O protoplast, and earth, and plant and beast!
“Hear, now, ye creeping things of earth, ye fish that swim, ye birds that fly!
“Hear, now, ye winds that blow, ye thunders and ye lightnings of the sky!
“Hear, now, ye spirits of the fire, of water, earth and air!
“Hear, now, O everything that is, or was, or evermore will be, for Wisdom speaks from out the highest plane of spirit life:
“Man is a thought of God; all thoughts of God are infinite; they are not measured up by time, for things that are concerned with time begin and end.
“The thoughts of God are from the everlasting of the past unto the never ending days to come—And so is man, the Spirit-man.
“But man, like every other thought of God, was but a seed, a seed that held within itself the potencies of God, just as the seed of any plant of earth holds deep within itself the attributes of every part of that especial plant.
“So spirit-man, as seed of God, held deep within himself the attributes of every part of God.
“Now, seeds are perfect, yea, as perfect as the source from which they come; but they are not unfolded into life made manifest.
“The child in utero is perfect as the mother is.
“So man, the seed, must be deep planted in a soil that he might grow, unfold, as does the bud unfold to show the flower.
“The human seed that came forth from the heart of God was full ordained to be the lord of plane of soul, and of the plane of things made manifest.
“So God, the husbandman of every thing that is, threw forth this human seed into the soil of soul; it grew apace, and man became a living soul; and he became the lord of all the kingdom of the soul.
“Hark, now, let every creature hear, The plane of soul is but the ether of the spirit plane vibrating not so fast, and in the slower rhythm of this plane the essences of life are manifest; the perfumes and the odors, the true sensations and the all of love are manifest.
“And these soul attributes become a body beautiful.
“A multitude of lessons man must learn upon the plane of soul; and here he tarries many ages until his lessons are all learned.
“Upon the boundary of the plane of soul the ether began to vibrate slower still, and then the essences took on a garb; the perfumes and the odors and the true sensations and the all of love were clothed in flesh; and man was clothed in flesh.
“Perfected man must pass through all the ways of life, and so a carnal nature was full manifest, a nature that sprang forth from fleshly things.
“Without a foe a soldier never knows his strength, and thought must be developed by the exercise of strength.
“And so this carnal nature soon became a foe that man must fight, that he might be the strength of God made manifest.
“Let every living thing stand still and hear!
“Man is the lord of all the plane of manifests; of protoplast, of mineral, of plant, of beast; but he has given up his birthright, just to gratify his lower self, his carnal self.
“But man will full regain his lost estate, his heritage; but he must do it in a conflict that cannot be told in words.
“Yea, he must suffer trials and temptations manifold; but let him know that cherubim and seraphim that rule the stations of the sun, and spirits of the mighty God who rule the solar stars are his protectors and his guides, and they will lead to victory.
“Man will be fully saved, redeemed, perfected by the things he suffers on the plane of flesh, and on the plane of soul.
“When man has conquered carnal things his garb of flesh will then have served its purpose well and it will fall, will be no more.
“Then he will stand untrammeled on the plane of soul where he must full complete his victories.”