The animating Principle of Being … that Inner Something that makes everything live. Life and Power are necessary attributes of a Limitless Being, and go hand in hand to complete a Perfect Being. Life is That Which Lives, and Power is the Energy with which It operates. Considering Life and Power as a combined unity of Causation, we see that they constitute the underlying basis of all manifestation, visible and invisible. In the objective world, Life is the Power that binds everything together. It appears that Life manifests on different levels. In the mineral world, it seems to be unconscious, yet chemical affinity is a manifestation of Life, as the attraction of Itself to Itself. In plant life, It manifests as a power to express in one spot, but without volition to move about. This does not indicate that Spirit is limited, but merely one of the ways that It works. In the animal world, we see different degrees of Life’s manifestation, from the first cell life up to man. For instance, a dog is more intelligent than a fish, yet each has the power to move about.

In man, Life expresses in terms of Volition and Self-Will; It is manifesting at the level of Self-Consciousness. While the Spirit, of Itself, must always know Itself, we are perfectly justified in saying that It manifests on different levels, proving It is limitless. If It had to manifest on one level only, then It would be limited. When Spirit manifests in a purely mechanical way, we say It is Unconscious Life; when It manifests in the animal world, we speak of it as simple consciousness; when It manifests in and through man, we say that It is in a Self-Conscious State. As this Self-Conscious State of man’s mentality reaches a larger world of realization, and comprehends something of Its Unity with the Whole, we say that It is in a Cosmic State. Thus we know of four different levels upon which Spirit manifests: Unconscious State, Simple Consciousness, Self-Consciousness, and Cosmic Consciousness. All are but different ways through which the One Power operates. Life, then, is that quality of Being, running through all, which enables anything to be what It is.

Holmes, Ernest (1998-08-24). The Science of Mind: The Definitive Edition (pp. 606-607). Penguin Group. Kindle Edition.