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 efforts of the mind are often necessary to help in the unfoldment, and the Masters so use it.  The real knowledge, however, comes as a special form of consciousness.  The Candidate becomes “aware” of the real “I,” and this consciousness being attained, he passes to the rank of the Initiates.  When the Initiate passes the second degree of consciousness, and begins to grow into a realization of his relationship to the Whole—­when he begins to manifest the Expansion of Self—­then is he on the road to Mastership.

In the present lesson we shall endeavor to point out to the Candidate the methods of developing or increasing the realization of this “I” consciousness—­this first degree work.  We give the following exercises or development drills for the Candidate to practice.  He will find that a careful and conscientious following of these directions will tend to unfold in him a sufficient degree of the “I” consciousness, to enable him to enter into higher stages of development and power.  All that is necessary is for the Candidate to feel within himself the dawn of the awakening consciousness, or awareness of the Real Self.  The higher stages of the “I” consciousness come gradually, for once on the Path there is no retrogression or going backward.  There may be pauses on the journey, but there is no such thing as actually losing that which is once gained on The Path.