THE ONE.

...are only its manifestations. What lies beyond its experience—and many philosophers consider this impossible to grasp—we must attempt to understand by using the concepts and terms of its highest manifestation. We find that Mind is higher on the scale of existence than Matter or Energy. Therefore, we are justified in using the language of Mind when speaking of the Absolute, rather than the language of Matter or Energy. So, let us try to conceive of an Infinite Mind whose powers and capacities are elevated to an infinite degree. This is a Mind of which Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) was a prominent English philosopher and sociologist who attempted to apply the theory of evolution to all areas of human knowledge. said was "a mode of being that transcends intelligence and will just as much as those transcend mere mechanical motion."

While it is true (as all occultists original: "occultists." In this context, it refers to students of hidden spiritual truths or the inner nature of reality. know) that the best information regarding the Absolute comes from regions of the Self higher than the Intellect, we are still obligated to examine what the Intellect reports regarding its information about The One. The Intellect has been developed in us to be used—for the purpose of examining, considering, and thinking—and it is our duty to employ it. By directing it toward this purpose, we not only strengthen and develop it, but we also obtain certain information that can reach us through no other channel. Moreover, by using the Intellect this way, we are able to discover many fallacies and errors that have entered our minds through the opinions and dogmas of others. As Kant Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) was a foundational German philosopher who explored the limits of human reason in his work Critique of Pure Reason. said: "The primary, and perhaps the only, use of a philosophy of pure reason is a negative one. It is not an organon original: "organon." A Greek term meaning a tool or instrument, specifically a system of logic or method for investigating the truth. for expanding knowledge, but a discipline for limiting it! Instead of discovering truth..."