167-WATCH lest you believe in a vacuum, or that feeling of spiritual emptiness that is apt to bring a sense of discouragement and fear. Jesus declared, "Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast." If one enjoys inferior music, he must fast from that pleasure, while an appreciation for a higher grade of music is being developed. God is speaking to all His children all the time; but they must fast from hearing the voices of the world, if they would learn to distinguish the voice of God. When the advancing student finds times of depression and seeming spiritual emptiness coming to him, he must not be discouraged; he should regard these experiences as a proof of spiritual progress. Why? Because they are the preliminary to his next revelation. The way to guard against believing in a vacuum is to refuse to be depressed, but to know, as Mrs. Eddy says, that this seeming vacuum is already filled with divine Love. The demonstration is to stand fast, and to permit nothing else to enter, until the consciousness of truth floods in. The temptation at such a time is to try to fill thought with something that will cause one to forget the sense of vacuity, since to mortal sense it may seem to be a disturbing condition. The student who is faithful in resisting this temptation will find a greater spiritual growth coming to him. It is a truism that God writes on an empty blackboard. Jesus implies in the above quoted statement that there will come times when we will believe that we have lost the bridegroom-that uplifted spiritual sense. It is then that we must fast, or refrain from trying to fill in the vacuum with human distractions, until a spiritual influx recurs, for in reality there is no vacuum. When a student gains one revelation in Science and clings to it, it proves that he fears a vacuum. He is afraid that if he loses that one bright unfoldment, he will be unable to gain another, and will find himself in darkness. Truth is given us to share. Therefore, if you gain a helpful thought, share it with others. Then the seeming loss of it will only be its giving place, so that a higher revelation may flood in. Knowing this, you will welcome the seeming vacuum, since it indicates that you are ready for a higher unfoldment. Therefore, never fear to have your mind an empty blackboard; but at such times guard it so that only God will write upon it.