I have on previous occasions pointed out how illogical it is that a being should completely cease to exist merely because it loses or becomes separated from its physical body. When one stands beside a corpse one can plainly see that there is "something" that no longer has anything to do with this body, and this is the very reason why it is lying there as a "corpse". This "something" is certainly not something that one can see physically, but in fact one has never been able to do so. We were only able to see it through the movement, functioning and power that found expression through the body before it became a "corpse". The body was in fact the tool, the combination of matter through which this "something" proclaimed itself or made itself known. The body is in reality merely a reaction of this "something". Because we are able to witness a human being as either "living" or as a "corpse", we are therefore able to witness that something that previously vibrated through the material of the body, maintaining the functioning of the organs, no longer proclaims or reveals its existence through the body. It therefore lies there as a quantity of dead matter that is in the process of decomposing. But where has this quantity of matter actually come from? It is now decomposing but it is equally clear that there was once a time when it was not put together in the combination that now lies there as a corpse. The various substances and materials have been returned to the liberated state which they were originally in. Chemical analysis demonstrates that this quantity of matter is in fact merely made up of a series of chemicals, which are exactly the same substances that can be found in abundance in the matter outside the body. What is it that has caused certain kinds of materials or chemicals to be suddenly taken from their place in life or Nature and be transplanted into a certain specific organisation where each of them has its special role to play, cooperating with others with a logical purpose? For what or for whom is this purposeful cooperation intended?

Does not this question bring us to the very boundary of the physical world? That it must be intended for a "something" of one kind or another we cannot deny, unless our thinking faculty is abnormal or primitive. What about a stomach with its ability to digest food? What about the sense of taste or the sense of smell? What about the eyes and ears? Indeed, what about the arms and legs, or the hands and feet? Is it conceivable that any of these organs exists purely for its own sake? Is it not a fact that all these organs are united in working together with a purpose, which is given expression in a unified result? But for what or whom is this result intended? As none of these organs exists for its own sake, they must exist in order to be used by something else. And the facts also demonstrate that they are indeed made use of. It is because they are being used that we can see the bodies going about as "living beings". But this has not solved the mystery for us. We have merely arrived at the fact that chemicals of all sorts are taken from where they were in Nature and are adapted and placed with a purpose in the organism or body. The facts also demonstrate that this body constitutes a result with a purpose, through which something invisible can proclaim itself. At this point we must bear in mind that, of everything that is visible in the body, there is nothing whatsoever that is self-contained and independent. Everything is subordinate to a higher authority. This higher authority is the wellbeing of the whole. But this wellbeing of the whole, that is to say the combined result of all the functioning of the organs in the body, cannot be intended for something visible. It is true that we have not mentioned the brain. But is it not the case that there exists no one in possession of a well-developed intellect who does not understand that the brain is an organ in a subordinate position just like all the other organs in the organism? It is in just the same way built up of chemicals and is designed to fulfil a purpose. But as it is the expression of something that is created with a purpose, it reveals itself as being subject to a creator that is already in existence. But as none of the visible organs in the organism or body can be this creator, it becomes evident that this creator is in itself invisible.

This eternal "something" is therefore the very essence of the living being. It is therefore the presence of this "something" in the organism that makes it alive, and the total separation from it that makes it a corpse. The existence of this "something" is therefore not dependent on the body. It existed before the body came into being and can just as well exist when separated from it. Having thus established the presence of this immortal "something" in the living being's organism or body, it is not difficult to understand that this is what senses itself as the centre of our organism, as the midpoint in our experience, in fact as the very thing that expresses itself as the I in our speaking, in our thinking and in the exercising of our will. The result of all our experiences, those of suffering as well as of wellbeing, are thus exclusively intended to be of benefit to this immortal something. And it is this fact that gives meaning to existence. As a result, everything that we previously considered to be "injustice" gradually shows itself to have been irrational belief or "superstition". This immortal I is the absolute primary cause of its own fate. It is this something that gathers experience, it is this something that acquires the knowledge, information and capability that endures beyond the destruction of its body. It is this something that experiences reincarnation and stores within itself what it has recognised as fact over the course of the incarnations. These resulting facts are transferred into matter or substances that are also independent of the existence of the physical organism. This therefore means that the I can take these substances with it when it separates itself from the physical body. These substances are in fact the experiences that we have gathered, transformed into thoughts. Thoughts in turn make up our consciousness. But as the I and its consciousness can exist even though the physical body perishes, it becomes clear that there must exist another form of existence other than the physical form. There must therefore be a form of existence where the living beings exist without any kind of physical body. If this were not the case what would be the purpose of all this gathering of experience on the physical plane? What would be the purpose of all the sufferings that the living being has to undergo? What would be the purpose of all the research and all the development of knowledge and capability if the ensuing result could be snuffed out with a bullet from a pistol, a drop of poison, the slash of a sword, a brain haemorrhage or heart attack? All physical manifestations, in fact the entire physical world, would be completely meaningless if the living being was merely a combination of physical substances that would have to totally dissolve or cease to exist.

There is therefore no avoiding the fact that the physical world does not encompass the whole of existence, but that side by side with it there exists another world with a totally different form of existence. So then the big question is: "How does one experience this other world?" It obviously has to be different from the physical world. As we no longer have a physical body, we will therefore no longer be able to work directly with physical matter. Once we have lost the physical body, we can work only with matter or substances that lie outside the physical plane. This matter or these substances come under the heading of "consciousness", which in turn means experience, knowledge and thinking, as well as our exercising of the will that enables us to regulate our thoughts. Here the being's functions are therefore exclusively functions of consciousness or the spirit.