Beginning with Homo Sapiens, the highest form of sentient life on this planet, we may pass quickly down the scale of the animal kingdom and we will see Life in full operation on each and every rung of the ladder. Mammals are definitely alive. birds are alive. Reptiles and amphibians are cold-blooded, but still alive. Every single cell of their bodies exhibits a life of its own. They all take in nourishment, depend upon oxygen in one way or another, reproduce, and eventually die. Moving from animals to plants, we still see these same properties of Life in full operation, all the way down to the microscopic creatures that blur the distinction between plant and animal.

Even further down the scale are little creatures known as diatoms, or "living crystals." These are nothing more than tiny geometric shapes, composed of a single drop of glue-like protoplasm covered in a thin shell of siliceous matter. They are so small that, literally, thousands of them could fit upon the head of a pin, if they were so inclined as to gather on such a spot. Yet, despite their resemblance to inorganic chemical crystals, they exhibit and perform all of the same functions as larger, organic and sentient creatures.

Yes, even chemical crystals themselves manifest a crude form of Life. They are born of other crystals, grow, reproduce, and may be killed by the action of chemicals or electricity. The only real difference between crystals and the lower plant and animal life forms is that the crystals takes their nourishment from the outside and grow by building up their outer surfaces. If they had soft centers and took their nourishment in to be digested internally, they would be virtually identical to the diatom... or vice-versa.

The hardest rocks and metals are composed of crystals. Therefore, they exhibit the same properties of Life as crystals. They become fatigued and need rest. The silicon of window glass, especially stained glass, can become diseased and the infection will spread from pane to pane, until the entire window simply dies. The collective structures of our machines, also, develop unique characteristics and personalities. You have only to look at the world around you to see Life in the very things you once thought to be dead. Even the very dust and dirt beneath your feet is alive.

Nothing in the universe is ever truly dead. Plants do not magically transform "dead" minerals into living cells. The chemicals they absorb from the soil are already alive. The animal, then, devours the living matter of the plant and we, in turn, consume the life of the animal. Eventually, we will "die" and decompose back into the dust, becoming food for the plant and completing the circle of Life.

The chemical and mineral kingdoms are actually not so far removed from the vegetable world. The growth and development of "metallic plants" is a phenomenon which demonstrates this relationship. Around the turn of the century, for example, a German scientist performed a remarkable experiment with metallic salts, exposed to a galvanic current. To his surprise, the salt crystals collected around the negative pole of the battery and grew into a shape that closely resembled a tiny mushroom, complete with stem and umbrella top. At first, they were transparent. But, gradually, these mushroom shapes became bright red, with a delicate rose tint on their undersides. Most amazing, though, was the vein-like tubes that appeared along their stems, which carried nourishment and materials for growth throughout the structure. And, the growth was from the inside to the outside, just like any other fungus life form.

Every so often, experiments like this lead scientists to claim that they are on the verge of creating life from inorganic matter in their laboratories. What a lot of nonsense! Life comes only from Life. And, since everything in the Universe is alive, in one form or another, where are the scientists to get this "non-living" matter? They may create higher forms of life from lower ones, but this is no great feat. Farmers have been doing it for thousands of years; they create plants from dried, hardened and "dead" seeds.

Actually, there is no such thing as a higher form of Life or a lower form. There is only one Life, that of the Absolute. But, like electricity that is able to light various bulbs of different luminosity, give the principle of Life a lower form and it will manifest a lower degree; give it a higher form and it will manifest a higher degree.

From the highest manifestations to the lowest, there is Life everywhere. Life may be seen in even the smallest forms. Molecules themselves, the smallest particle of matter possible without dividing it into its component atoms, exhibit attractions and repulsions, life and death, birth and decay.

Try to envision the entire Universe of Universes as a single bolt of cloth, an infinite tapestry woven from the threads of positive, negative and neutral energies. Every thought and action of every living creature creates resonant ripples that travel from strand to strand, affecting the whole of the fabric. It is enthralling to ponder the endless implications of such interactions of Life taking place upon all levels of Existence, simultaneously, from the limitless expanses of space down to the invisible particles on the tip of your fingernail.