The idea which has sometimes prevailed, that when the spirit enters the Spirit-world it becomes divested of certain states of affection, certain loves or delights, and that it becomes so changed in its character or station as to seek its delight in some other direction, is very general among Spiritualists. They believe that all our evil passions and affections pertain to this body, and that when the spirit leaves it, his disposition to do evil or to enjoy the fruits of his evil desires ceases. Now, I wish to investigate this subject thoroughly upon principles which commend themselves to every individual’s consciousness. That which constitutes me a conscious being does not differ from that which constitutes you conscious beings. So far as the element of consciousness itself is concerned—so far as it enters into the mind—it is the same in every individual. Your individuality or mine does not consist in the fact that we are conscious, and possess in ourselves a consciousness, but it consists in that of which we are conscious. That which causes me to differ from you is that which comes into a certain relation to that consciousness. This conscious principle within the spirit, whether in the body or out of it, is the Divine principle. It is to this spirit what the sun is to the natural universe. It is the light and the heat of the Divine sun shining within the individual, revealing him to himself; so that if we become familiar with this first proposition, so that we understand one another, our deductions will flow naturally, and we can understand perfectly whether we are on the side of truth or not. Understand, then, that it is not the fact that you possess a consciousness within you, which causes you to differ from me and every other being. We are all alike in that respect. But when that consciousness begins to shine out into your individuality, and look after your thoughts and affections which have arisen out of your individual development, and which have grown out of individual relations peculiar to yourself, then this conscious light and conscious heat, this conscious understanding and affection within you, begins to reveal to you your individual selfhood—that which constitutes you an individual being separate from all other individual beings. That which pertains to my character pertains to my character as an individual being.