348. Now we will consider the great sources of power through which the I governs existence and makes itself a specialist in the creation of all things.
      What is meant by creation? In reality, creation is "something" through which the I expresses itself. It is all the same wherever one points in life; a living being's eyes, its colour, its nature and way of behaving are all nothing but created things in the same way as are houses, machines, furniture and any other kind of human product. Organisms or bodies are just as temporal as any production from the hands of artists or craftsmen. All of it expresses intellectuality, that is to say a previous, purposeful planning. Everything is expressing something. Everything is indicating something. Thus every I comes in the form of a "living being" to influence other beings and other things in its surroundings. There arises a reaction between these things and the I's manifestation. This reaction constitutes the "fate" of the living being. However, this "fate" is a co-deciding factor in the world's creation and continuation, although only in microscopic form, for of course, first and foremost, this fate is partly deciding the eventual fulfilment of its instigator's normal wishes.
      We have already seen that the I, through its super-consciousness, its subconsciousness – that is, its day-consciousness and night-consciousness – its spiritual bodies as well as its mental and physical ones, possesses the ability to manipulate matter. Matter or substance in existence thus constitutes the main condition for the I to reveal itself or make itself visible for other living beings.