527. As the living being must make use of "explosions" throughout his entire conduct and creation of life-experience, we will now see how it is that an explosion arises and the I's employment of its power.
      In order for an "explosion" to come about there must be at least two types of opposing energies present. These must in themselves comprise a "restraining" force and a "releasing" force. The "releasing" force must predominate so that it can dissolve or break up the effects of the "restraining" force. If this predominance happens suddenly, then the "restraining" force is also broken up suddenly and an "explosion" takes place. Its degree of violence will depend on the degree of "tension" brought about by the combination of the two types of energy.
      In order to understand this, one must first understand that when two such opposing forms of power are combined, they will each resist the effects of the other and will restrain each other, thus giving rise to "tension". If the effects of both the combined types of energy are equally strong, there will be no "explosion", but the degree of "tension" becomes a kind of permanent point of equilibrium between the two combined energies. And this combination represents a wholly new type of energy. This type of energy, as we said, is called "tension". Such a combination of "tensed" energy is the same as what is called "matter". "Matter" or "substance" can therefore be seen as "restrained" or "bound" energy. Thus, "substance" is the same as an accumulation of power. If the balance of energy in the "substance" is broken, "tension" is released. It is this release we call the "substance's faculty of reaction". As a "substance" is "tension" it will invariably react when it is intermixed with, or comes into contact with, other energies. And as we shall now see, it is this "faculty of reaction of substances" that the living being makes use of in the whole of its consciousness, its manifestation of thought and in its physical appearance.