The man in this stage of consciousness thinks of his "I" as a mental
thing, having a lower companion, the body. He feels that he has advanced,
but yet his "I" does not give him the answer to the riddles and questions
that perplex him. And he becomes most unhappy. Such men often develop
into Pessimists, and consider the whole of life as utterly evil and
disappointing--a curse rather than a blessing. Pessimism belongs to this
plane, for neither the Physical Plane man or the Spiritual Plane man have
this curse of Pessimism. The former man has no such disquieting thoughts,
for he is almost entirely absorbed in gratifying his animal nature, while
the latter man recognizes his mind as an instrument of himself, rather
than as _himself_, and knows it to be imperfect in its present stage of
growth. He knows that he has in himself the key to all knowledge--locked
up in the Ego--and which the trained mind, cultivated, developed and
guided by the awakened Will, may grasp as it unfolds. Knowing this the
advanced man no longer despairs, and, recognizing his real nature, and
his possibilities, as he awakens into a consciousness of his powers and
capabilities, he laughs at the old despondent, pessimistic ideas, and
discards them like a worn-out garment. Man on the Mental Plane of
consciousness is like a huge elephant who knows not his own strength. He
could break down barriers and assert himself over nearly any condition or
environment, but in his ignorance of his real condition and power he may
be mastered by a puny driver, or frightened by the rustling of a piece of
paper.

When the Candidate becomes an Initiate--when he passes from the purely
Mental Plane on to the Spiritual Plane--he realizes that the "I," the
Real Self--is something higher than either body or mind, and that both of
the latter may be used as tools and instruments by the Ego or "I." This
knowledge is not reached by purely intellectual reasoning, although such