305. So the I uses the substances and energies in existence as material for the creation of its organism, consciousness and entire physical and mental or spiritual appearance. In this way the I is a "Something" which deals with substances, a "Something" which can only create its life and being by means of the matter in existence. If this were not so then there would be no possibility of thoughts or manifestation of life. What makes it possible for the said "Something" to show itself as "living" is exclusively the energy or movement which it releases around itself. This movement or energy is again simply a reaction between the substances which the same "Something" uses in the creation of its life. That this reaction, that is to say the "Something's" organism, consciousness and its whole manifestation, must be different according to the substances or energies in use, is, of course, obvious, due to the absolute reliability of the law governing matter regarding the eternal unchanging reaction of each single combination of energy.
      It is because the particular reaction of every combination of energy is eternally the same, in conformity with the law of matter, that it is possible for that "Something", or the "I", to have some "regulating factor". It can "learn" to recognize the mutual interaction between one substance and another. It becomes possible for it not only to create its own individual organism but also eventually to create a "recipe" or formula for the mutual relationship between those energies. A formula of this kind is synonymous with what is nowadays called "science", to which all forms of knowledge must belong, both the absolute wisdom of life, or spiritual science, as well as all the ordinary modern subjects to be found, such as chemistry, physics, geology, astronomy and so on.
      If the law governing matter did not exist in this way there would not be any rules for reactions. The existence of a certain substance would not – as is now the case – be the result of the completion of previous correspondingly particular and definite conditions which again and again, by their total fulfilment of the law governing matter, must irrefutably produce completely corresponding and uniform results. For example what would one say if sugar could diverge from its own particular ability of reaction and suddenly, instead of sweetening food began to make it sour like vinegar? Imagine that salt suddenly began to act as sugar and pepper turned into flour, potatoes acted like horseradish and beetroot like plums! How would it be possible to make any rules for cooking? If substances were capricious in these matters and could change their effects, then it would no longer be possible to depend on anything. What good would it be if one experienced a substance's particular reaction at one time and in the next instance, quite unprovoked, it changed its effect and presented a totally different and unfamiliar reaction? Because of this "unreliability" of the substances one would never actually be able to accomplish one's purpose.
      However, thanks to the irrefutable observance of the law governing matter, the reaction of every substance has to be eternally unchangeable so that the living being is able to learn what to expect from that substance; and it is this "learning" which is life-experience.