“That which was given you by the beloved disciple: Love one another, for love is, indeed, the fulfilling of the law. But remember that ‘one another’ includes all that live. The law is not fulfilled when you only love those of your own household, or such as minister to your enjoyment.” “What are we here for? What is the purpose of life?” “What is the purpose of any school? Is it not to fit its pupils for that which is to follow?” “How can we best do that?” “By the unfoldment of your souls or selves--the best possible development of every unit. Your ethics have taught you to aim at the highest good to the greatest possible number; but the true ethics of love are only content with the highest possible good to each individual.” “How do the things of earth appear to you now--the things we value and strive for so hard, wealth, fame, power, pleasure?” “As veils, or illusions which keep you from seeing the great and glorious light of truth--soap-bubbles, glistening and beautiful to the eye, but absolutely empty.” “Do you not suffer at separation from friends here?” “There is no separation. We are all one--all closely and indissolubly united--and that one includes what is in your world as well as worlds upon worlds, far, far, beyond my power of imagination--all that is, or was, or ever shall be. Sometimes death unites us more closely than ever to those still upon earth.” “Does not the spirit sometimes faint with fear, when it first becomes aware that it has left the body forever?” “It was not so with me. I was prepared. During my long illness I thought much of the future, knowing that the end of what you call life was near. In my mind I dropped the robe of flesh without regret, feeling that annihilation or anything that set me free from pain would be welcome. When at last I found that the silver--(otherwise the electrical) cord--was loosened and the body left behind, the experience seemed natural. True, it was not without awe, but that feeling of awe arose from the light and beauty, the newness and yet the familiarity of that on which I had entered. Yet it is not all new, for we still have the old, but understand it better--we see it with more comprehensive eyes--from a larger and higher outlook.” “Is there anything there to depress or sadden you?” “To depress me, no; yet something akin to oppression I sometimes feel, because of the vastness, the immensity, the endlessness of everything. Doubtless you experience the same feeling often, when you look up at the stars and the mind is staggered and shrinks back upon itself at the majesty and grandeur of creation. But do not forget that the experiences of no two souls are exactly alike here, any more than on earth. That which this state of consciousness means to us, or holds for us, depends upon the degree of enlightenment we have attained before entering it--upon our mental, moral and spiritual attitude, our aspirations and desires--or character, or in short on what we have become.”