point is granted at the outset it is useless to
consider the subject of life at all. Life is indeed
meaningless unless it is universal and coherent,
and unless we maintain our existence by
reason of the fact that we are part of that
which is, not by reason of our own being.

This is one of the most important factors
in the development of man, the recognition--profound
and complete recognition--of the
law of universal unity and coherence. The
separation which exists between individuals,
between worlds, between the different poles of
the universe and of life, the mental and
physical fantasy called space, is a nightmare
of the human imagination. That nightmares
exist, and exist only to torment, every child
knows; and what we need is the power of
discrimination between the phantasmagoria of
the brain, which concern ourselves only, and
the phantasmagoria of daily life, in which
others also are concerned. This rule applies
also to the larger case. It concerns no one
but ourselves that we live in a nightmare of
unreal horror, and fancy ourselves alone in
the universe and capable of independent
action, so long as our associates are those
only who are a part of the dream; but when
we desire to speak with those who have tried
the Golden Gates and pushed them open, then