,^ - **F .1? V^nL'. ^ V N ^ ° J »* . ^ 1 •l^> > *° * *•• . ♦♦-% . -mrs j\ : -«p:- . s\ -* *r-\*' <,'-?.^\ V* QEORGE ItHOWV And thou wouldst tread the path but seldom trod, The stones so sharp 1 . Art strongly shod? Art shod with will? Divine Illumination s mystic light Tremulously radiant glows. The darksome night's Far pierced by Ancient Wisdom's soul lance thrust. Thou canst not falter, on thou must Toil up the straight and narrow way. A diamond gleams. 'Tis station first. Initiation s clear white beams, Reached, press on where glorious jeet have trod: Thou, in the making, art a God. George Brctsyn. OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY By GEORGE BROWN PUBLISHED BY THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF DALLAS, TEXAS Copyright. 1919 by George Brown ♦ 1919 •B75 ©CI. A 53 5 »2 7 FOREWORD This treatise is the result of thirty-five years' independent, careful study of Psychology. It pertains to both the physical and superphysical states of consciousness and is offered to those who wish to investigate Occult Science. The conditions under which the contents of this book were gathered and formulated were most favorable for personal investigation and care- ful observation. Whatever literary merit the book possesses is due to my pupil, Dr. Ivy M. McAnelly. May she ever be as earnest a worker in the cause of humanity in the future as she has been in the past. I wish to hereby record my appreciation of her valuable assistance. Also, my pupils, Dr. Belle Buchanan Burgess and Miss Josephine Schrott gave very helpful suggestions in the preparation of the manuscript. The frontispiece is inserted by request of my pupils. George Brown. Dallas, Texas, October 1, 1919. PSYCHOLOGY CHAPTER I Mind is the thinking principle, quality or faculty, according to termi- nology preferred. The Universal Mind functions through the Ego whose receptivity is proportionate to its age and advancement. The human mind is that part of the Universal Mind which, functioning through the Ego, is manifested through the physical brain, in accordance with the development of the physical brain. The physical brain is the organ of the mind upon the physical plane. There are just three major phases of mind — meditation, concentration, relaxation. Meditation is conscious activity of the thinking principle. Concentration is conscious stilling of the thinking principle. Relaxation is unconscious stilling of the thinking principle. Meditation is thought. A moment's consideration of this subject will readily enable one to comprehend that thought is activity of the thinking principle; therefore, any activity of the thinking principle must be thought. This major phase of the mind has in itself four sub-phases — intellect, spirituality, morality, desire. Meditation of itself, while denoting intelligence, is not intellect. Intellect is the sum of the refined, purified experiences of the highest order worked out in previous incarnations. Intellect mingles with and is the controlling element of the combinations which it forms with the other sub-phases of mind — spirituality, morality, desire. Intellect being the guiding and controlling factor of all the human faculties is the supreme factor. The intellect, however, can work only with and through such instrumentalities as it has at hand. Its combina- tions form what is known as intelligence. This intelligence may be broadly divided into indirect desire and morality. Each of these may be sub- divided into lower and higher, or personal and relative; the lower or per- sonal being those which concern the personal self, as the persons of the family or loved ones. The higher are those which are applied to relations or friends, al- though practically all altruistic thoughts are of the two moral classes, which may well be termed the personal and the relative. 1 o OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY Desire is of two kinds — direct and indirect. Those having reference solely to our physical bodies, such as sleep, hunger and thirst, are direct desires. Those which affect us through combinations with others are in- direct desires. The combination of intellect and indirect desire form the intelligence which is responsible for the development of the simpler and more personal forms of invention and improvement. Morality is a broad vast reach or expanse of the thinking principle; it lies between spirituality and desire. The cleavage line between spirit- uality and morality is plain and easily discernible, but the cleavage line between morality and desire is not easily discernible. Morality is so per- meated with indirect desire, that naught but the highest type of morality even approaches the cleavage line between it and spirituality. The com- bination between lower morality and intellect' forms the intelligence which governs our relationship with others — those who are not our immediate relatives or close friends — and forms practical altruism. In combination with the higher morality it produces the higher phase of altruism or phil- anthropy, and the final conviction of the relationship of all human beings — the brotherhood of man. There are three major phases of mind and no more. True there are many men of many minds. True also, there are many manifestations of mind in, or rather of, each man. Man manifests this one mind through various channels. Of course the thought current flows along the nerves, but the term "channels" will be used as that term will convey to the reader ;» more definite understanding of the meaning than if the term "nerves" wen- used. These channels through which this mind manifests are the channels which have been worn and deepened through the experiences of ;i Dumber of past incarnations. Let the reader imagine if he can, three large channels cutting through the brain. These three channels are united at the beginning, and are the channels through which the one mind governs the many manifestations of itself. From each of these three large channels branch out smaller channels leading to all parts of the brain. If the branches from the large channels are used a great deal and worn smooth and deep, and the mind current flows swiftly and evenly along these well worn channels, then the manifestations will be full, free and coherent. It' I In- channel is new, rough and unworn, it is very evident that the mani- festations will be feeble, uncertain, and incoherent. Now these worn and unworn channels are in this present stage of usefulness, simply and solely because of the degree of usage during previous incarnations. In I lie early stages of evolution the desires and selfish tendencies were OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 3 the ones called into activity. With far greater frequency and as a natural consequence, the channels pertaining to these activities were the ones which were worn deep and smooth, thus accounting for the many apparently odd and uncalled for exhibitions of immoral and dishonest traits and tendencies displayed by well educated and; to all appearances, moral people. The old channels — those of the selfish tendencies — were worn deep and smooth ; the new channels — those of the moral and altruistic powers — were rough and shallow. Naturally when the stress came, the deeper channels carried the greater current, and the man acted accordingly. It must be understood by the reader that although there is great dif- ference in brain fiber, the activity of the brain is governed by the amount of blood furnished by the heart. The greater the mass of brain devoted to a certain faculty, and the greater its activity, the greater the amount of blood it demands to carry on its work. As its manifestations increase in strength and rapidity, the chief blood vessels grow larger and stronger; the nerves function with greater strength and rapidity, the branches of both arteries and nerves increase in number and complexity, and are more closely interwoven with the brain mass of this particular locality. The functions of this faculty will manifest more rapidly, clearly and smoothly, as the channels have been "worn deep and smooth by reason of previous repeated expression. The greater the number of deep, smooth channels, the greater the variety of capacities or faculties the man is capable of expressing. A related group of channels worn deep and smooth eventually produces genius. Take for example the group located in the region of the temple; there are time, tune, constructiveness, ideality, and sublimity. This group of fine faculties gives us the constructive, artistic, poetic, tuneful, and rhythmic temperaments, and when these delicate channels have been worn smooth and deep, the mind will manifest through them powerfully, clearly and rapidly. Usually one or two of these faculties predominates in capacity over the others. Thus if ideality is the largest, and the channel leading to lan- guage is also deep and smooth, the man will manifest the poetic powers. The beauty of his composition will depend upon the depth and smoothness of the channel of construction, the beauty of the meter upon that of time, the beauty of his rhythm upon that of tune, and the grandeur of his phrases will be determined by the channel of sublimity. If, however, the channel of language be small, and that of color is large, the man will become the artist; if constructiveness predominates, the man will be the inventor; if tune leads the man will be the musician. I OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY These faculties embrace what is known as the self perfecting group. It*, however, the self perfecting group as a whole is inactive, and the chan- nels of veneration and language large, smooth, and deep, the man will be a preacher, add wonder and we have the priest, add spirituality and sub- limity, and we have the mystic. CHAPTER II MEDITATION Meditation is thinking. The meditative phase is that phase in which the thinking principle is active. There is a large number of grades or sub-divisions of meditation. ' This great phase of mind, as is the case with the others is often very much misunderstood, and consequently mistaught. Very many so-called occult teachers who are practically ignorant of the laws of psychology and psychism pretend that they have both the ability and knowledge to teach these phases. Beware of any so-called teacher, or leader, who prattles glibly about powers which meditation will confer upon anyone who will follow his instructions in these matters. Pay no attention to any claims about functioning within the superphysical consciousness by means of meditation. It can not be done. It is abso- lutely Impossible to function upon any of the super-physical planes, save through the great phase of relaxation. There are four minor phases of meditation — intellect, spirituality, morality and desire. Intellect mingles with and is the guiding, controlling factor of t he ot her three minor phases. Spirituality is personal selflessness. Desire is personal selfishness. Morality is relative selfishness. These activities have reference to the physical plane only, as they coordinate with and control the actions of the physical body. Desires may be divided thus: direct desires and indirect desires. Forming two large phases. Direct desires are composed of those desires which affect us directly. Indirect desires are composed of those which affect us indirectly. Those which affect us directly are the purely bodily desires, Buch as hunger, thirst, sleep. Those which affect us in combina- tion wilb others are the indirect desires. Hunger, thirst and sleep, then, are the direct or elemental desires. When either of these direct desires re- mains unsatisfied, it will speedily arouse, and bring to its aid, the greater port ion of i he intelligence. The wanderer in the desert who learns that his OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 5 water supply has unexpectedly become exhausted, at once proceeds to bring his mental power to bear upon the problem, in the effort to relieve the situation. If relief is not speedily secured he becomes a prey to the most dismal forebodings, and as the intensity of the desire increases, all his powers, mental and physical, are called into service. The three direct desires, hunger, thirst and sleep, are necessary to life, and must be satisfied, before any moral or spiritual progress is possible. We are often told that we should kill out all desires, and many fall into the delusion that by mental and physical starvation they can achieve spirituality. These three direct desires cannot be destroyed, but they can be controlled. Mental power alone can control them. The lower in the scale of evolution the weaker the controlling power of mentality, for not until man has risen high in the scale of evolution, does he even think of controlling these three elementals. Indirect desires are those which affect us in common with others. A man loves his family, but his love is nevertheless a combination of selfish and moral love. He wants his son to succeed, morally and honestly if he can, but succeed anyway. The morality, being secondary to the desire for success, he would rather have his son achieve a dishonest material success than make an honest failure. He wants his family to be strictly truthful in all their dealings with him. But in their dealings with others he will teach them to lead the parties astray by emphasizing the good points or qualities and by suppressing or hiding the bad points or qualities. They are exhibiting fine business ability by misleading and deceiving the other party by means of indirection and evasion. As long as it is legally honest, it is alright. The man will boast about it to his friends and warn them; "Don't fool with that boy of mine, or he will trip you. He is as sharp as a needle." The writer has known such men whose sons were ministers of the gospel. Did these men advise their sons as to the moral and spiritual welfare of the community? They did not. On the contrary, the burden of their advice and support was larger salaries, larger church buildings, larger vacations, larger traveling expenses. Strange to relate, the so- called men of God followed this advice. Why? Morality, being man-made, is enforcible by the aid of man-made laws; hence the prevailing custom of goodness is the moral law of that particular locality. Morality is the first great check upon desire. It grows steadily in strength, power and activity, and under the guidance of intellect eventually comes into contact with spirituality but does not merge into spirituality. 6 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY The moral law is a law of "don'ts" — "thou shalt nots." Morality, in it> ctrly phase, is more of a crouching attitude of fear — fear of the community law, slow evolution, bringing respect for the law and a whole- some respect for Madame Grundy. Man begins to realize that moral law is a chock upon others, just as it is a check upon himself and is thus in his favor and in favor of others. Thus by slow degrees man reaches a high plane of morality because it is good for all. The attempt of a man to control his own desires and live according to what is morally and not merely legally right — to grant to his neigh- bor, freely and honestly, all the rights he claims for himself — is the first indication of moral awakening. Through many incarnations man in his efforts to evolve, stumbled and slipped, groping his way slowly onward and upward. Slowly but none the less surely he progressed through many lives, learning through expriences only, until, with the broadening men- tality due to the numberless experiences of his former lives, his brain has built itself up in the region of moral power. Now we are building up for ourselves the brain region of spiritual power. Spirituality is very difficult to deal with intelligently, as mere in- telligence cannot comprehend it. Spirituality, although very difficult to analyze or understand is yet extremely simple to attain, for all that is necessary to achieve spiritual- ity is to do what is right; not simply to think what is right, but to do what is right, in all cases and all circumstances. Then only, has one achieved spirituality. " Do unto others as you would that they should do unto you," is the basis of all moral law. This is the outer teaching of all great religious teachers, such as Hermes, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed. This outer teaching is for the less evolved — for those who are unable to comprehend the inner teaching the higher teaching, which is: "Do unto others that which i- right." There is a simple sublimity in doing that which is right. CHAPTER III CONCENTRATION ( oncentration, one <>f the three major phases of mind, is very often considered as being the leading phase of the mind. In reality its chief function consists in drawing together, <>r bringing to a focus, the vibrations uf medil at ive act ivit v. OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 7 Concentration does not control., but guides or confines within the de- sired limits the meditative or thinking vibrations of a minor phase. Concentration is far easier to understand than either meditation or relaxation. Concentration is very often confused with will power. This error has caused incalculable mischief. Concentration is a personal force or attribute, while will power is an impersonal force and has no attributes and is but poorly comprehended, even by our best of psychologists and occultists. People who are prone to claim for themselves, supreme knowledge of the function of the mind, are the chief offenders in this unfortunate busi- ness of claiming wonderful powers for this phase of mind. We can forgive a layman who applies this term loosely, but not the man who claims a knowledge of the function of the mind. Concentration begins when a man commences to draw the vibrations of the meditative phase together and to direct them toward an object, or gathers them up and fixes them on a certain definite subject. This applies to the average man and not to the evolved occultist who has developed to a high degree the three phases of the mind. The ordinary man has the power of concentration fairly well developed along the line of his strongest and most active faculties, precisely as the evolved occultist has the power of concentration developed along the line of his strongest and most active faculties. There is this difference, however, the occultist knows what the phase of concentration is, and knows also what his powers and limitations are in respect to this phase of mind. The ordinary man walking along the street will usually meditate in a heedless manner. His mind will wander in an aimless way from one to another of a dozen different objects. They are usually ordi- nary things with which he is familiar in every day life — wagons, horses, street cars, buildings, people, the problems of life, familiar scenes of both still and active life. This gives but scant degree of the concentrative power until something occurs to attract the concentrative phase. An accident, a brawl, or an extremely odd or attractively arranged show window may catch his eye, and instantly the mind waves or vibrations draw together and assume a definite degree of cohesion. Thus a fair degree of concentration is effected and held for a few seconds, then the concentrative phase relaxes. The man has seen something that appeals to his desires or sensibilities ; he has seen something which he thinks his family or some member of it would like to possess, or something which he or they lack, or something about which a friend or acquaintance has spoken to him. At once s OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY the concentrative mood is gone and the man is thinking again, per- haps idly wandering or letting his mind drift along in its accustomed channels. Let us suppose that the man is an office man, has arrived at the office and is prepared to enter upon his daily duties. Now will begin, if the man is in his normal condition, the first evidence of sustained concentra- tion. He must keep his mind upon his task if he is to perform his duties acceptably. It' all his affairs are in good order, he can attain a good degree of concentration. He will be able to hold his mind steadily upon his books or the enterprise which he is directing. A physician, to be successful in his chosen profession, must have the power of concentration fairly well developed. If he is a successful prac- titioner he must be able to hold all other thoughts in abeyance while he takes the patient's pulse or listens to the action of the patient's heart. To do this successfully requires a great deal of the concentrative phase of mind. The Architect must be very careful. He knows that the slightest mistake might mean the injury or death of one or more persons. He must concentrate with all his power upon his plans. This is a very good phase of concentration. The mechanic, especially such as work among delicate or dangerous machinery, usually exhibits a large endowment of this phase. The watch- maker or repairer must of necessity attain great power of concentration. Makers of optical instruments must also have good control of this fac- ulty. The slightest error by a manufacturer of high explosives may cause the death of all his employees, himself and the destruction of his factory. The American Indian has this phase of mind well developed. In fact, practically all savages and barbarous people have this phase as ;i necessity for people of crude or inferior civilization. The American Indian call lie motionless for hours while awaiting the arrival of the fowl or animal which he desires to capture, or in order to evade an enemy. He exhibits the ^wuv strong development of this phase when he is on the warpath, in his maneuvers and ambuscades. 'The Negro tribes of Unci exhibit similar development of this phase. Accounts written by travelers and explorers tell of the very large endowment manifested by 'I"' medicine men. and especially the rain makers, who appear, from all accounts, to have a most remarkable development of this phase of mind. I he Bast Indians or Hindus sometimes have this phase of mind well loped. They have succeeded in controlling the mind vibrations along OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 9 certain lines very successfully. There are instances where one has been able to keep an arm extended above his head until the arm has been vir- tually paralyzed and remains set and rigid in that position. This, how- ever, is as much an exhibition of will power as it is of concentration. Concentration as applied by all students of the occult who have a clear understanding of what it really is, is used as a mind discipline, in order to guide the thinking or meditative phase of the mind. This medita- tion, by the use of concentration, guides itself along the line previously determined by itself, for itself. If there were no guidance of the thinking phase of the mind by means of the concentrative phase, there would be no sustained power of thinking. Complete concrete concentration would then consist in bringing the mind to a point or focus, say for example, upon the head of a pin. In complete concentration, nothing would be seen, but the head of the pin. All other thoughts would be held in check — nothing in the mind but the head of the pin. There are but few, however, who have developed this phase of mind to such a degree of intensity. Abstract concentration is something that we frequently hear spoken of, and read a great deal about, but not one of those who speak or write about it give an illustration or even an idea of it. For example, take the Solar Logos. No one can conceive in the slight- est degree, the appearance of the Solar Logos and truthfully affirm that the visualization is correct. Therefore dismissing from the mind all con- crete visualization of what the appearance of the Logos might be, bring the forces of the mind to a point — that point being the Logos. Remember that under no circumstances can a thought of the appearance of the Logos be allowed to interfere with the process of abstract concentration upon the Logos. Remember that abstract concentration is concentration upon no thing. This is an example of the mind that is all but impossible; for very few have either the will or the patience, and fewer still have sufficiently evolved these two attributes of mind — will and patience — to practise it, yet they are absolutely indispensable for the practice of abstract concentration. CONCRETE CONCENTRATION For the average person, however ordinary, concrete concentration is a very satisfactory exercise of the concentrative phase of the mind. A very successful method of achieving the development of this phase of the mind is given below. Please remember, however, that it is not advisable for in OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY every one who wishes to develop the faculty of concentration, to follow this method in a rigid and unthinking manner. Because some have been successful with this method is no reason why others should follow blindly. for as persons differ physically, so they also differ mentally. Each one should find the easiesl and most convenient method consistent with the objective to be gained. Adjust yourself in an easy, harmonious position; do not place any undue strain upon any muscle of the body; then compose the mind in a (|uiet, orderly manner. Always select a large object with which to begin and gradually decrease the size of the object. Of course the object must always be in plain view. Allow all other thoughts to escape from the mind, keep the gaze fixed on the object but do not glare or frown at it with the apparent idea that glaring or frowning is concentration. Having allowed all other thoughts, save the one in which the object is visualized, to escape, hold the gaze steadily upon the object until the surrounding objects become merged into an unobtrusive background, and the concentrative object itself remains clear and sharp in outline both to the eye and to the mind. Now coiner the most difficult part, that of keeping this state of mind. which is that of keeping the object in precisely the same position to the eye and mind. This is accomplished by keeping this state of mind for ;i few seconds only, at the beginning, then gradually increasing the time until you can achieve good concentration for about two minutes. After this, begin afresh, and concentrate until all surrounding objects fade away completely, and only the concent rat ive object remains clear and distinct. Gradually increase the lime of the holding period until it is at least five minutes. With this you have achieved practical concrete concentration. CONCENTRATIVE VISUALIZATION Concentrative visualization is the next step. Remember that this step is not advised unless you are going to pursue this subject to either one of Ms ends. These ends are as far apart as the poles, and you must decide which "iic of them you are going to achieve. One leads to abstract con- centration, which has already been mentioned, as in the case of the mys- tlCS. The other leads to concentrative visualization, some times conducive • " ■< state "i semi clairvoyance, and is frequently mistaken for real clair- ance. The reader should always remember that this phase at its best. ithinfl but concentrative \ isualization and is really as directly opposite !<• clairvoyance as is abstract concentration. The method o^i developing OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 11 concentrative visualization is given below. Read the instructions which follow, very carefully, before you decide which path you will tread, for you can not pursue both. Seat yourself comfortably; a large, comfortable arm chair is excellent for this purpose. Close your eyes and bring up before your mind's eye an article of furniture that is in another room. Select for your earlier efforts, something large and plain and with which you are perfectly familiar. Bring this up slowly and carefully until you have visualized it plainly. Keep it constantly before the mind's eye and examine it carefully for marks or peculiarities of any kind. After an earnest, painstaking effort of this kind, you will be surprised at the minuteness with which you can inspect and examine an article. Then turn the article around — this can be done with practice — and as it is revolving in the mind's eye, scan it closely, until it has been revolved and examined on all sides. When the visualization is approximately correct select a smaller and more ornate object. Keep practising this method, until you can without any difficulty call up and visualize any article with which you are familiar. Then visualize an article that you have seen only a few times. Do this slowly and carefully. Later, examine the article and see how nearly correct your visualization has been. Practise carefully, and in course of time you will be astonished at the marvelous accuracy with which you can reproduce an article which you have seen but once. Having learned to visualize inanimate objects, proceed to visualize animate objects, such as a dog, cat, horse, cow, chicken, or any fowl or animal. Next try human beings; make them walk, run, laugh, cry, talk, and show all the varied emotions exhibited by mankind. This is a very useful, and in its higher manifestations, a truly beautiful exercise of the mind. Writers and orators noted for the descriptive beauty of their phrases, have this faculty largely developed. Masters in sculpture and painting surpass in this phase of mind. CHAPTER IV RELAXATION The greatest misconceptions that exist in Occult Psychology are those regarding relaxation. Some students regard the phase of relaxation as being the same as that of concentration. There is, however, all the differ- ence in psychology between these two phases, as their functions are directly l> OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY opposed to each other. A thorough knowledge of this phase and the ability to practise it are absolutely necessary before functioning upon the super- physical planes can be considered either safe or reliable. Normal relaxation is sleep. Sleep being considered one of the three direct desires, and one of the two natural conditions of physical con- sciousness has led to numerous arguments, ranging from the theory of sleep being a state of physical consciousness, semi-consciousness, dulled consciousness, down to the wonderful sub-consciousness wherein we func- tion in that marvelous sub-conscious mind, whatever that may be. Sleep is normal relaxation. Clairvoyance is abnormal relaxation. Sleep is the normal or natural condition wherein the consciousness is upon the Astral plane, while the body is restoring its disturbed equilibrium. Relaxation is unconscious stilling of the thinking principle. This produces sleep either normal or abnormal. Normal sleep, that is the sleep or slumber of the average person, interests but very few. Abnormal sleep, which is trance or functioning upon the super-physical planes, has been at all times the most bewildering phase of mind to both the purely physical and to the occult student. As a result, this phase of mind has been jum- bled into an incomprehensible mass, by many so-called professors of physical psychology and the so-called teachers of a so-called Occultism. CHAPTER V THE HUMAN MTND Mind is the universal or ruling principle. The human mind is that which takes COgnizanceof that which disturbs and whose disturbing vibra- tion- find b receiver attuned to themselves. This attunement or recepti- vity is the order of development achieved by the experiences of the past. The greater and more diversified the experiences of the past, the greater and more varied the faculties of the functioning mind. The functioning mind, however, musl not be confused with the Universal mind. The functioning mind is that part of the Universal mind which functions through the physical brain, and is limited by the capacity or limitations of the physical brain. Theories concerning the mind are innumerable, the facts are few. One well known cull claims that the mind of each person is the Universal """•k and that each person can make his mind the Universal mind by th.- exercise <»f will power, thus making human will power superior to the l Universal mind OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 13 Another cult ignores will power entirely and claims that the Universal mind is the Universal mind (weird and wonderful logic). Another cult claims that the mind and will are independent and interchangeable and that sometimes the mind and sometimes the will rules. Each cult has its so-called divinely inspired leaders, who claim to be the especial favorites of so-called masters, who reside in caves, hollow trees, holes in the ground, and numerous likewise desirable and delectable hiding places. Each one of these divinely inspired, semi-detached leaders has from one to six masters who wait upon him and tell him all the wonderful things that are going to happen hundreds of years hence. That is a peculiarity of such masters — they are long range masters. They know all about the five hundred years hence, to a gnat's bristle, but they are absolutely unable to give any information regarding the present or near future. These masters are infallible also; these wonderful leaders say so, if you don't believe it, ask them. They will then tell you that these wonderful masters told them all about it, but made them promise not to tell anyone else. The mush-head followers believe this disgusting false- hood. With but very few exceptions, such as Swedenborg, Cagliostro, Davis and Blavatsky, all of these self -lauded, self -heralded leaders were and are absolutely ignorant of psychology, and as a natural consequence were and are failures in psychism. One leader claims that she can force her physical consciousness up into her spiritual consciousness and function with her physical conscious- ness while in her spiritual consciousness. Strange to say this doctrine has found some followers who practise daily the folly of trying to force a lower consciousness up into a higher consciousness. All knowledge pertaining to this planet can be acquired by those who have evolved sufficiently while upon this planet. The planetary mind, as distinguished from the solar mind, would appear to be of a coarser grade. This, of course, is merely surmising upon the basic principle of the more highly evolved being of finer substance. The planetary mind is, of course, the mind of the Planetary Logos. It is natural for a psychic to believe that he can function upon much higher planes of consciousness than any other psychic. This is a little piece of conceit that deceives only those who are entirely ignorant of psychology in its most elementary form. A psychic who is of moral strength and of altruistic temperament will naturally see that which ap- peals to him, for the superphysical consciousness is the model whereby the physical consciousness is formed. Note this well: The mind does not U OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY develop according to the personality. The personality develops according to the mind. A lew minutes thought on the subject of genius will lead any reason- aide person to the conclusion that a genius, no matter in what line of en- deavor, did not originate his own genius. His genius was present awaiting the call. The mind of the ordinary person receives its stimulus from without. The mind of the genius receives its stimulus from within. The mind of the ordinary person seldom loses thought of self; the mind of the genius seldom has thoughts of self. There lies the difference in the minds— (he average person has an unevolved, the genius has an evolved mind. Genius manifests its peculiar tendencies in every race and clime. Every tribe has its poetic and artistic genius. Every nation has them. The highly evolved genius does not rank or class with his lowly brothers. hut nevertheless the lowly genius is a genius just as surely as his more highly developed brother. The brain, being the organ of the mind, is formed for the manifestation of the mind. Everything must co-ordinate. The highly evolved mind cannot function through a coarse undeveloped brain. As the mind de- velops, it constantly demands for its medium of manifestation, a steadily increasing fineness of texture of the brain substance. The development of mind precedes the development of the body. By the term mind, as herein used, is meant the human mind — that mind which contacts the physical world. Thai there is another super or transcendent mind is well known to .ill psychics. This super or transcendent mind is what is known as the I uivcrsal mind. The Universal mind furnishes the stimulus for the human mind, just as the human mind furnishes the stimulus for the physical brain. CHAPTER VI STATES OK CONSCIOUSNESS Consciousness always resides in the last or resident body. Before death, it resides in the physical body. After death it resides in the Astral Body, After the death of the Astral Body,i1 resides in theMental Body. U'trr the death <»f the Mental Body, it resides in the Causal or Soul Body. ( onsciousnesfl cannol COntacI or function in a lower body than the res- idual body but can contact or function in the bodies higher than the resident bods . OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 15 Every normal person can function in the astral, mental or spiritual consciousness. Those of psychic genius have a vast advantage over those in whom the psychic faculty has not been well evolved, as they can function far more readily and with better results than the unevolved who would labor strenuously and achieve but insignificant results. It is impossible for anyone to function in more than one state of con- sciousness at the same time. When a man is functioning within the physical consciousness he is unconscious of either astral, mental, or spiritual consciousness. When he is functioning within the astral consciousness he is unconscious of the mental, spiritual and physical states of conscious- ness. When he is functioning within the mental consciousness he is un- conscious of the spiritual, astral or physical states of consciousness. When he is functioning within the spiritual consciousness he is unconscious of the mental, astral or physical states of consciousness. Time has often been described as a succession of events, con- sciousness as a knowledge of a succession of events. This is correct as regards the physical consciousness. When the so called five senses are all in good condition — good sight, good hearing, good touch, good smell, good taste— we have complete physical consciousness. These five senses make up what is known as the physical consciousness. Naturally it follows that a man who is deficient in one or more of these five senses cannot have full physical consciousness. A man may be practically devoid of touch, taste, and smell and yet have consciousness according to the usually accepted meaning, namely: that consciousness is a knowledge of a succession of events. Sight and hearing would provide him with a practically full comprehension or knowledge of a suc- cession of events. If we take a man who is deficient in the senses of hear- ing, touch, taste and smell, still this man would have a practically complete knowledge of the succession of events, through the sense of sight alone. Sight, therefore, seems to be ninety-six percent of the sense . Sight upon the physical plane depends upon the vibrations of the light waves. These light waves travel at the rate of one hundred and ninety thousand miles per second. The eye is the only part of the physical body that is attuned to and capable of receiving these vibrations and in turn , transmits them to the brain which separates and classifies them. Sound travels at the rate of one mile in three seconds. Sound waves are air waves, and being of slow r heavy vibration have the ears as their special organ. However, other parts of the physical body can feel sound waves. 16 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY The influence of the ego upon the physical body is practically nil. It cannot alter the size nor shape of its physical body. It has practically no control over the outward physical, and but very little over the inward physical body. The undeveloped or coarser consciousness is conscious of all forms of physical vibration or contacts, but responds more readily to those of coarser variety. A highly evolved consciousness is conscious of all forms of physical vibrations or contacts, but responds more readily to those of finer variety. All mankind, according to its development, falls naturally into grades or classes between these extremes. The physical consciousness receives the physical impacts or vibra- tions. Each impact or vibration is composed of physical, astral, mental and spiritual vibrations. The physical vibrations affect only the physical consciousness. The astral vibrations affect only the astral consciousness. The mental vibrations affect only the mental consciousness. The spiritual vibrations affect only the spiritual consciousness. The physical vibrations do not pass through the physical conscious- ness, but prepare the physical consciousness for the return vibrations from the superphysical planes. The astral vibrations do not pass through the astral body but prepare the astral body for the return vibrations from the higher planes. The mental vibrations do not pass through the mental body, but remain and prepare the mental body for the return vibrations from the spiritual body. The spiritual vibrations pass unhindered through the physical, astral and mental consciousness. The Ego decides what is to be done and the spiritual vibrations return through the mental con- sciousness, the astral consciousness and the physical consciousness, freeing the various vibrations. for action, or dispersing them and thereby causing inaction. \- there can be but one set of vibrations occupying the nerves at one tunc. s<> there can be but one thought at a time. No one can perform two different actions at the same lime with the same apparatus. When action on the physical plane is deferred, the indecision is caused by the ego re- ceiving ;i series of different vibratory waves in rapid succession, thus causing an incoherent, confusing return flow of vibrations to his various bodies. These waves responding to the physical vibrations will vary so greatly al times as to be the direct Opposite of each other, until the ego. takes firm grasp upon the situation and directs the bodies to positive action, or inaction. OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 17 The laws governing the astral plane are but very imperfectly under- stood, even by the most highly developed clairvoyants. Many very fanciful ideas and theories have been advanced by clair- voyants and others who have not clairvoyant power, in their attempts to explain what they mean by the term astral plane. The astral plane is usually pictured by the unevolved and undeveloped clairvoyant, as liter- ally a place of horror. The highly evolved clairvoyant, however, knows it as it really is — a state of consciousness as far superior to the physical plane as the sun is superior to the moon. In the astral consciousness, there is not the swelter- ing heat of summer nor the torturing cold of winter. There is not the glare of the noonday sun nor the dreary darkness of the night. Instead, there is the bright, yet soft, mellow light of that place of consciousness, — the home of what St. Paul termed: "the soul," which all evolved occultists know as the astral body. Unevolved clairvoyants who are perhaps unable or unwilling to func- tion in the higher and more refined atmosphere of the spiritual inhabitants seek to mingle with the lower, grosser members of the astral family, just as they preferred to mingle with the grosser members of the physical plane family. In the astral consciousness, as in the physical consciousness, we associate with those with whom we are qualified by our moral, mental and spiritual development to associate. Ninety per cent of clairvoyants are symbolical clairvoyants; that is, friends or relatives who are living within the astral consciousness make known to them by means of suitable symbols, the meaning that they wish to convey to the clairvoyant. Perhaps about eight per cent of the re- mainder are partially independent clairvoyants and are sufficiently de- veloped to converse in varying degrees of length and clearness of understand- ing, and can function within the astral consciousness in a very satisfactory manner. The remaining two per cent are independent clairvoyants. These have evolved or developed the faculty of functioning within the astral consciousness independent of help from the astral inhabitants. These clairvoyants are adepts or initiates. The more highly evolved the clairvoyant is, the more careful he is about disclosing his actual knowledge. Those who are properly qualified to function on the astral plane know it as the intellectual plane. To those who can properly function within the astral consciousness, nothing that pertains to the physical body or its surroundings can remain unknown. While the properly developed Oc- 18 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY cultist is functioning within the astral consciousness, which is the next higher consciousness above the physical, the entire physical plane is sub- ject to nis review. When a clairvoyant is functioning within the astral consciousness, the appearance of the astral is similar to the appearance of bodily figures in a dream. There is a vast difference between the physical and the astral con- sciousness. Astrals are sometimes said to see with every part of their bodies. This widely accepted belief is evidently based upon a misunder- standing of the law of vibration. As the astrals are composed of the shifting matter of the astral plane, it is inconceivable that each particle has a complete system of optics, and a complete nervous system, including a brain. If this were the case, there would be no central nor concentrated portion for the thoughts or vibrations to function through. How could it be possible for untold millions of particles, each having a complete nerv- ous system, to function independently, and yet as one, without even the slightest semblance of an authorized or central portion to direct action? This seems incredible, especially as we know that each particular astral is composed of a number of different grades of astral matter and as the coarser grades would want to act as they desired, the result can better be imagined than described. The theory of each particle of the astral body having sight, is no doubt due to the fact that the astral particles constantly shift their posi- tion within the radius of the astral body. Were each particle of the astral body to see, it would necessitate an optical apparatus for each particle. and each particle with its apparatus would have to be in constant com- munication with the astral brain. As the astral brain is itself constantly shitting and changing its particles it is evident that this method of com- munication would at all limes be seriously hampered by constant shifting and changing of the astral particles. Woeful confusion, subsequent upon the entanglement of untold millions of communicating systems of optical ncr\ es, would result . The human eye depends upon or is responsive to the vibrations of light In t he as1 ral consciousness there is neither the condition of day nor «>f night. Consequently the simile of sight does not hold good. What writers on this subject mean, perhaps, is that t he astral brain being loosely Connected and with no hard en\ elope such as the skull which encloses the physical brain can and does receive vibrations from all directions. The abilitj of the astral brain to thus receive and pass on to the ego the vibra- tions which impact It, irrespective of the direction from whence they come, OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 19 is no doubt the reason for the assertion that an astral can see with every part of his body. Astrals, as every clairvoyant knows, usually look at those to whom they may be speaking, just as human beings do. Their eyes open and close, twinkle with delight, darken with sorrow and sparkle with intelli- gence. That astrals see with every portion of their bodies is based upon insufficient observation or inability to reason out what they have seen, heard and read. Astrals do not speak as do physical beings, because in the attenuated atmosphere of the astral plane, sound waves, such as we know on the physical plane, are impossible. Therefore the sound waves from the vocal apparatus of a physical being are unknown to the astral consciousness. As far as we know there is no sound on the Astral Plane. Astrals cannot be said to Hear as physicals hear, nor does a clair- voyant when conversing with astrals, hear with his physical ears. What takes place is really telepathy- — that wfaich is called thought transference — mind reading. Vibrations of one astral brain are received and accurately comprehended by another astral brain. The astral body is not a body of feeling as is the physical body, nor is it one of hearing, taste, nor smell, as is the physical body. The astral body is not a capable body as is the physical body. It has no determining power either over itself or others. It can not commit murder nor can it injure another astral body or itself, in the slightest degree. Astral matter is very responsive to the will of the astral, and will readily assume any shape that is desired by the astral. Astral scenes, landscapes, marine views, buildings, machinery and animals can be seen, in replica of those that have been seen upon the physical plane, or at the will of the astral any number of queer shapes or forms, animate or inanimate, can be almost instantly created. If the clairvoyant be a seer of but ordinary development, an astral can instantly disappear from the sight of the clairvoyant, with whom he was engaged in conversation but an instant before and remain unseen. If the clairvoyant is highly developed, the astral can be kept in view. Unlike the physical body, the astral body is, to a large degree, under control of the ego, excepting the natural decay or disintegration of the astral body, and even the disintegration in the case of a highly evolved ego, is to a great extent controlled by the ego. The astral body, being to a large extent under control of the ego, the ego can change the features or appearance of his astral body with this one exception: the ego can not change the eyes either in color or expression. All other features or parts 20 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY of the astral body can be changed temporarily, but as soon as the tension of the ego's thought is relaxed, the astral resumes its normal form. The astral body is simply one of the two arches of the bridge which connects the ego with the physical body. While the physical brain is awake ;m! physical life. The more highly evolved man manifests as theinu- OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 21 sician, artist, poet and occultist. Between the highest evolved occultist and the lowest evolved savage, all mankind falls into line according to its stage of evolvement — each at all times being a law unto himself. If a crowd of people were observing an accident — say a child being mangled beneath the wheels of a street car — the mentalities of the various onlookers would vary as greatly as their physicals. A mother would think of her own children and sympathy for the mother of the victim would be her strong feeling. A physician would think of the extent and seriousness of the injuries and the probable chance of recovery. An inventor would think of a way to prevent such accidents in the future. Thus each one will think along the line that he is habitually following. Functioning imperfectly in the mental consciousness, the student will always bring through to the physical consciousness a memory of softly glowing indescribable colors. All space seems filled with the softly radiant many colored lights. Scenes appear indescribably gorgeous- — marble is of the whitest, flowers are of exquisite colors unknown to the physical eye. Everything appears to be of the very finest and most perfect material. Dilapidated buildings, dead trees, withered flowers, are nevertheless of wonderful color and form. Living forms lose their physical grossness and appear refined and radiant. An evolved clairvoyant, however, would be capable of seeing the in- habitants, both animate and inanimate. Minerals have scarcely per- ceptible mental bodies. Vegetable life has plainly discernible, and animal life has well defined mental bodies. CHAPTER VII MONAD The ego must not be confused with or mistaken for the spirit, which is the monad — the spark of the Logos, or fragment of the Divine. These fragments or sparks of the Logos are diffused or sent out by the Logos in response to the call of the law of evolution. Each one of these sparks or monads, or as they are called by occult poets, "fruit gatherers," is sep- arated from the Logos by His direction, to contact or pass through all possible experience^ of physical expression. The monad, however, does not acquire these experiences by direct contact. It remains apart and is but indirectly attached by means of the ego, to its body of physical evolution. When the period of evolution for 22 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY this ego attains its end, the ego with its store of experiences gathered through many incarnations is absorbed into the monad which is in turn absorbed into its parent body — the Solar Logos. CHAPTER VIII EGO To nearly all inquirers and beginners, the ego persists in being the stumbling block in their path. This explanation may succeed in making the ego somewhat plainer and perhaps easier of comprehension. The ego is the human soul and must acquire the experience desired by the Logos. This experience is desired by the Solar Logos as part of His own evolution toward higher duties which He will in future assume. As we are part of Him it is our duty to evolve as rapidly as possible in order that we also shall by our efforts hasten the evolution of the Solar Logos. What destiny could be grander or more to be desired than to be part of an evolving Logos? Each monad is guided by the Planetary Logos, to a group of mineral lives, varying in number but slightly, and this difference in number is, so far as we know, of no consequence. Having been thus guided to a group of mineral lives, the monad establishes the rhythmic concord with them and thereafter the evolution of these mineral lives is assured. The rhythmic vibrations of the monad join the mineral lives and form what is known as the group soul. This group soul receives the experiences of the mineral lives. After innumerable mineral lives have enlarged and enriched the group soul it becomes sufficiently evolved to enter and function within the vegetable consciousness. The mineral group soul is then, according to its experiences, directed to ;iikI becomes l he group soul of a large number of plant lives of the lowest order. A process similar to the evolution of the mineral lives ensues, and i he group soul of the vegetable lives progresses from the lowliest forms of planl life, through thefinesl of wild vegetable life, into the lowest forms of animal life, thence by the evolution of the group soul, into individualiza- tion. This individualization means that after numberless experiences and contacts ;i single highly evolved animal has reached the point where it becomes B separate Soul and enters the human race, as a human ego. I In- ego \v;i- the group ^<>ul and when individualized and having entered the human consciousness forms in connection with the experiences of the human being, the human soul or ego. OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 23 The ego which has been for many millions of years slowly evolving from the different states of consciousness, beginning its course of evolution in the mineral consciousness, then evolving through the vegetable con- sciousness into the animal consciousness, at last (and here we take up the process in detail) evolves into the human consciousness. This is the part that directly concerns us in this treatise. When the ego leaves the animal consciousness and incarnates for the first time, it must, of necessity, inhabit a body of the lowest mentality, and thence by slow degrees evolve upward. The ego, receiving the human form for the first time, is naturally inefficient, and the mental processes are slow and halting. The result is that the newly evolved ego is below the normal, and the physical life is of short duration. The stay in the astral consciousness is also short, as there has been no opportunity for the acquirement of a well developed astral body. As a consequence disintegration is rapid, and the ego passes into the mental consciousness. Here the same process is repeated and the stay in what is known as the Heaven world, or mental consciousness — which is the bliss- ful dream state — is short. This state of consciousness is what is called Heaven by the orthodox of all creeds. After a short stay in the heaven state of consciousness, the ego is ready to reincarnate. The ego has developed an astral and mental body according to the ex- periences of its previous incarnations. As the ego, having worked up or assimilated the experiences of the previous incarnations, begins to manifest a desire to return to the physical consciousness, the karmic law of mentality begins to gather a mental body to suit the mental power which the ego had developed in the previous incarnation. This mental body will be suited to and capable of expressing the knowledge acquired in the previous life and will also have the capacity for receiving new and more complicated experiences. The mental body is, of course, composed largely of the coarser matter of the mental plane, and the astral body is selected and formed so as to correspond in quality and strength with the mental body. During this time the physical body, in accordance with the karmic law, has been selected, and its size, shape, and color, decided upon. The conduct of the physical body in the previous incarnation has governing power in the matter of the present body, as the physical body is formed or moulded directly after the pattern furnished by the karmic law. The pattern is formed of what is known as etheric matter. This is really material or physical matter, but of so fine a grade that it is imperceptible to the human senses although it requires but slight development of the power of clairvoyance to discern it. This etheric body is first formed by U OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY the karmic law. The sex and every particular of the physical body, even the most minute detail, is included in the pattern of etheric matter. The physical embryo grows within this elastic mould. When the hour of birth arrives, the ego is prepared to enter into the physical body which has been provided for it. Possession is usually ac- complished at the moment of birth. Sometimes the possession is delayed, and we have the peculiar phenomena of still birth, yet with the physical body alive, but no indication of consciousness. This peculiar state is caused by unwillingness of the ego to function in that particular body. After birth the body grows along the lines laid out for it by the etheric body, in conformity with the karmic law. Thus from life to life the ego proceeds, gathering the flowers and thorns of experiences and con- verting them into knowledge. This knowledge becomes both the spur and the check rein. The spur acts upon the higher faculties, enlarging and refining them. The check rein acts upon the lower faculties, holding them undei control and subordinating them to the higher faculties. Passing on upward, the ego leaves the lower races and evolves into the Aryan, or white race, which is the highest type of humanity upon this planet today. Having evolved into the Aryan race, the ego begins with the ignorant, superstitious man, and for a number of lives evolves slowly but none the less surely. Having passed through numberless repetitions of underfeeding and great weariness of its physical body, at last the ego evolves to the point where it begins to function in much more efficient mental, astral and physical vehicles. The ma tter of the mental and astral bodies becomes finer and more re- sponsive to the higher vibrations, the physical brain grows finer in texture, the nerves and arteries increase in number and size, the functions of the brain take on a higher rate of vibration, and the thoughts of the ego mani- fest through the physical brain with greater clearness and intensity. The selfish thoughts, so necessary in the earlier stages of evolution, begin to blend with the moral and altruistic thoughts of the higher evolution. Prom thai time on, the progress of the ego is much more rapid. Having passed through the lower stages of life, the ego now begins to manifest in t he higher walks of life, and evolves into the ranks of the leaders of humanity. This Brsl incarnation into the higher ranks is usually such as that of a physician. Then follows that of the inventor, the musician, the artist, the pod, and lastly the occultist. The ego, being the human soul enclosed in what is known as the Soul Body, receives and retains ;iil physical experiences. The ego does not COntad either the physical body or the physical brain, as it can not con- OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 25 tact physical matter. As no physical body is or has ever been precisely the replica, duplicate, or counterpart of another physical body, and as there are not, nor ever have been, any two physical brains that func- tioned precisely alike, each ego will have different mental experiences to carry up with it into the monad. Having mentally received and stored away all of the possible ex- periences of the physical body during its many incarnations, and having reached the highest point of attainment possible upon this earth, the ego ceases to reincarnate, and prepares to ascend still higher. This being up into still higher planes than those of this earth, it is considered that in these higher states of consciousness, are those preparatory for the unfold- ment of the ego in order that it may function as a Planetary Logos. CHAPTER IX QUIET MEDITATION This is a most beautiful phase, one of the most helpful and elevating of the many phases of the mind. It is extremely helpful in cases of sick- ness, especially children, although peace and comfort can be brought to any one who is ill or suffering, if you practise quiet meditation properly. You must at all times remember that this phase is that of quiet medita- tion and not under any circumstances attempt to force or compel the patient to think just as you want him to, for quiet meditation is clear helpful thinking. Seek to understand the surrounding and attendant circumstances of the patient. Then having decided clearly just what form and intensity your mental help shall assume, see to it that both your patient and your- self assume easy, comfortable attitudes. Clear your mind of all thoughts save those of love and helpfulness. Now direct the thought to the specific point which you wish to reach. Be sure that you direct the thought to the affected place. Do not be afraid that the thought will not reach the patient's mind. It will quietly and gently enter the patient's mind and pass with its healing, quieting, soothing vibrations directly to the specific point to which it was directed, instead of beating upon the already over- burdened brain of the patient, as a commanding thought would do. When you have attained the desired strength and clearness of thought, hold it clearly from ten to thirty seconds for your first attempts. Increase the period of time as you grow proficient in the exercise of this phase, until 26 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY you can hold the thought for at least one minute. Rest yourself for a short period, say from a few seconds to one minute, then repeat until you have attained the desired result. Be sure that your effort is one of quiet, gentle helpfulness, and soothing love. This phase is very helpful to the operator for his personal use, as you can treat yourself just as well as you can treat others. In treating your- self, first form the thought strongly, then become quietly passive and allow the healing thought to perform its mission. Do not be afraid to use such variations as may be suitable for your purpose, as each case may, and no doubt will, present different angles, and to attempt to use precisely the same method in each and every case is to court failure. CHAPTER X DIVINE MEDITATION Divine Meditation is the clarifying of the thinking principle until it is Spiritual Thought. Divine meditation is truly the glorious phase of mind, it being the one in touch with the Higher Self, and through the higher self, with the wondrous thrilling of the Over Soul. It is the most elevating and refining phase of the mind. To obtain the full beauty and feel the wondrous power of its blissful vibrations demands unselfish sacri- fice and holy love — the yielding of a soul unhampered by a single selfish thought. It is the yielding of a soul, in utter forgetfulness of self, into the marvelous harmony of the Divine Over Soul. The preparation for Divine meditation is long and arduous and should nol be undertaken until a fairly comprehensive knowledge of the power of the mind has been acquired, for the phases of concentration, medita- tion, and passivity, or partial relaxation are all employed in this inde- scribably blissful phase. Kindly remember if you try and fail, after following the directions given herein, that it is not my fault, but yours. No one w ho sat down before a steep ascent, and bewailed the fact that whoever built the path built it too steep for him, has ever yet sealed the mountain top. If you wish to practise Divine meditation, do it in the evening, between sunsel and dark. It is not advisable to practise Divine meditation during the day unless you have exceptional facilities for quie- tude, as quietude is absolutely necessary. OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 27 The reading of the poem "Abou Ben Adhem" by Leigh Hunt, will be found singularly helpful. Cultivate perception. Cultivate appreciation. Realize the Divine in everything and everybody, particularly the Divine within yourself. Pay close attention to the diet. Eat no me,at and but little heating or exciting condiments. Do not under any circumstances drink intoxicat- ing liquors nor, if you can prevent it, allow any on your premises, but eat sufficient plain food. If possible eat only sunlight foods, those that bear fruit above the ground, cereals and fruit, especially such as figs, grapes and honey, sunlight vegetables, milk and butter. Do not use coffee nor tea to excess. Eat sufficient food, for hunger is not a condition for spiritual progress. Remember that you can in all probability, reduce the amount of your daily food from ten to twenty per cent, without feeling hunger. This factor will adjust itself, however, as soon as you learn to discern hunger from appetite. Do not allow yourself to indulge in feelings of contempt or undue superiority. Envy and hatred are total bars to advancement. They are fetters which bind you to earth. Break them. It is better to practise this phase very early in the morning before arising. If you cannot practise before arising, arise early, seat yourself in a quiet cool place, wear only loose, comfortable clothing; begin with the practice of quiet meditation, then slow down the activities of the body, beginning with the breathing. Breathe slowly and gently and with the upper part of the lungs. By doing this, the activities of the body are greatly reduced and the activities of the lower functions of the brain quieted. Now slowly and without conscious strain or effort, direct the thought — the Spiritual thought, the thought of the union of your soul with the Divine Over Soul — upward and let it rise slowly and gradually. Do not under any circumstances, at- tempt to force or compel it to rise. For a long time there will be but slow progress. Although at first, one progresses at a very slow pace, progress is nevertheless progress. One will seem to rise and fall. He should persevere, for although at first the rising will be by almost imperceptible degrees, it will become steadier, higher and higher the thought will rise, the falls will become less frequent and the thought will then experience the most peculiar sensations. He will rise just so high, then there will be a feeling of blankness — a vague, bewildering feeling of indescribable longing, a fear that his thought has reached its zenith. Persevere with all the spiritual love of your soul. Do not become lax. Keep the goal in mind. In due time you will see, to your intense delight, that the hitherto empty blankness is gradually 28 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY becoming suffused with radiant brilliancy and your spiritual thought will float upward upou the marvelously colored vibrations of this plane. Your very soul will seem to mingle its vibrations wdth those of the Divine Over Soul. This is the plane or region of soul vibrations, for the plane of the soul vibrations is the culmination of this phase, and tins phase, with its cul- mination of spiritual bliss, is that of the Ecstasy of the Saints. Do not expect too much at the beginning. It will be long before you can make appreciable progress, but every step forward upon the upward leading road will bring you nearer to that peace which passeth under- standing. Explanation: this phase is that which was practised by the Saints and the mystics of ancient Occultism. It is practised today by students of the Occult, under various names — Theosophists, Rosicrucians, etc. New Thought students usually term it "union wdth the Divine," or as "the touching of the Soul with the Over Soul." CHAPTER XI HEALING This is a phase of mind that is very attractive to a large number of people. Many, especially women, have this particular phase, which is divided into a number of sub-phases. Some heal by power of mental sug- gestion, some by laying on of hands, some by charms and incantations. Healing by means of unconscious suggestion is, of course, the oldest method of healing, having been used by thefirst mothers during illness of their off- spring. In this case it was an uncontrolled and undirected longing of the mother for the return of health to her child. Healing by charms and amulets would naturally follow, this being even a1 its best, but poorly directed suggestion. In some exceptional cases, where the medicine man possesses psychic power, he is able to use il although unintelligently, yet very frequently with good results. In natural sequence then, follow herbs and simples, sometimes used alone, and sometimes in connection with charms and incantations, from which has evolved Our presenl system of medicine. Then comes mental suggestion, which, as in the methods of the-mental cure ;iik1 faith healers, i.s in a large number of cases, fairly well directed. Tins ,. pure suggestion on the pari of the healer, and either receptivity or passiveness on the pari of the patient. Both parties in these cases are OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 29 acting with a large degree of intelligent direction. The power of sugges- tion used intelligently can accomplish excellent results, but when directed by blind faith alone and received with naught but blind faith, the results are very often lamentable. Some healers who have a meager knowledge of anatomy and the symptoms of various diseases, are very successful, because they can form a fair diagnosis and thus direct the healing power to the affected parts. Some healers have but slight knowledge and their results are of the hit or miss kind. By far the greater number of so called healers work blindly, with the natural result. No one should attempt to practise healing without a fair knowledge of anatomy and psychology, for without this knowledge, clean, helpful work on the part of the healer is impossible. To achieve the best results — those results which are lasting and in no degree harmful — it is absolutely indispensable to have a thorough knowledge of Occult Psychology — that psychology which knows that, as expressed in the words of St. Paul, man is composed of body, soul and spirit, and that to heal the body, you must understand the mind. The operator must be calmly confident, with an earnest desire to he l lp and to relieve the sufferings of the patient. Do not be reluctant to ask for information regarding the location or nature of the pain or illness. If you will read the Christian scriptures carefully you will find that in all specific cases the name of the disease is given. Nothing was done blindly. The divine healers knew the nature and location of the illness and could, accordingly, direct the healing vibrations to the seat of the sickness and thus heal, "Go thou and do likewise." HEALING BY OCCULTISM This is usually defined as healing by will power. To the advanced Occultist, however, it is known as healing by vibration. As all Occultists know, the Great Law is that of rhythmic vibration. In healing by vibra- tion it is first necessary to locate the affected part and examine it for the trouble, then apply the necessary vibrations for the relief or cure. The soft, or internal organs, are far easier to treat than the bony or muscular parts of the body. The skin is particularly hard to affect, as it is almost entirely beyond control of the will, being but slightly responsive to the vibrations. Nearly all diseases can be controlled and many can be entirely elim- inated from the body by means of a suitable diet. However, as most ailments are trifled with, or ignored until the condition becomes acute, the 30 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY use of medicine is at times imperative for instant relief, as it is an Occult law that a person must be in a receptive condition in order to receive the full effects of the vibrations. A person who is suffering intense pain cannot be in a properly receptive condition, and therefore the cross vibrations will affect and disturb the patient and prevent full relief. The ill effect of a cross current of vibration can be noticed whenever the healer lacks the power of clairvoyance. He is unable to understand the condition of the patient, and in his blind attempts he usually directs his efforts at the brain of the patient. This is wrong, because the brain of the patient is usually fully occupied by numerous other vibrations, and the constant battering at the consciousness of the unreceptive patient only retards relief and recovery. The first question in Occult healing is: what is the trouble? The second is: can the patient assume the receptive condition? The third is: will the patient try to obey instructions 5 All the conditions must be met in the affirmative before the desired results can be obtained. No instruc- tions for Occult healing can be given in detail as each case is a problem in itself, and each occultist a law unto himself. HEALING BY LAYING ON OF HANDS In healing by laying on of hands, try to secure the patient's confidence in the sincerity of your desire and effort to relieve him of his sufferings. See that the patient is in a comfortable position, one in which he can remain for some time after the treatment has been given. Have a basin of cool water, soap and towel at hand. Use the finger tips only, for the first strokes; stroke gently five or six times, beginning above the seat of the trouble, and drawing the fingers clear across the affected part. On the body and lower limbs, stroke towards the feet. On the arms, stroke towards the fingers. On the face, stroke towards the chin. On the fore- head, towards the back of the head. Always begin, if possible, above the affected place* and end below it. He sure In rover it all in stroking, and be sure that all finger tips touch the >kin. Keep constantly in mind the thought that you are helping the patient. Endeavor to visualize the cause of the illness or the affected organ or that pari <>f the body where the disease is located. Now visualize the affected pari as yielding to the treatment regaining health- as this v ill l»<> c.f LTc.it assistance in the treatment of the disease. Having stroked with the finger lips five or six times, bathe your hands in the cool water, dry them gently, but do not rub in drying them. After OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 31 this, use the whole hands in making the strokes. Have the entire palm and fingers touch the skin. Should the patient desire it, a piece of cloth may be laid over the affected part. The cloth, however, should not be used dry, but dipped into warm water and wrung out nearly dry. If this is done, and the cloth is dipped and wrung repeatedly it will be almost as effective as if the hands were used upon the skin. After every five or six strokes, bathe the hands in the cool water. If the fingers grow numb or slick, use the soap and wash them thoroughly. Continue this until the patient has been relieved. In other systems of laying on of hands, the same practice should be followed, except that the movement of hands is abandoned. This absence of movement gives the faculties of the mind and will better opportunity for concentration. Right here a word of caution may not be amiss. Do not, if you can possibly avoid it, relax or cease your efforts while there is any degree of pain remaining, for frequently the pain will increase when the treatment is suspended, and may soon regain its full intensity. If you are compelled to cease the treatment before removing all pain you should use all your will power to prevent the pain from returning. Dismiss every- thing from your mind but an intense effort of the will and direct that to holding the pain in abeyance until you are prepared to renew treatment. VOODOOISM OR SORCERY Voodooism is sometimes auto-suggestion, sometimes hypnotic sug- gestion and sometimes actual hypnotism. Many people who are in good health and spirits, until they are told that they are hoodooed, at once begin to "go to pieces," and only the thought that a powerful hoodoo doctor can interpose his wonderful power in their behalf would afford them any relief. The auto-suggestion in their cases would work either way — for health or sickness. The voodoo doctor uses hypnotic suggestion. The writer has seen cases where actual hyp- notic trance was induced by the voodoo doctor. Cataleptic trance is sometimes employed but this is a rare occurrence. Some of these voodoo doctors have psychic power with good clairvoyant ability. This, of course, increases their influence and they become a veritable power in their neighborhood. Auto suggestion is applied to themselves by those patients whom their physician doses with bread pills or sweetened water. These people are usually laughed at as being victims of their imagination. This, how- ever, is a serious mistake as no one ever imagines he is sick. People who 32 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY suffer this way will upon examination be found to be of the receptive tem- perament, and their recovery is not due to their faith in the medicine, but to their faith in the physician. To this, also, must be added the strong positive thought of the physician and relatives that in this case there is no illness. The writer has known cases where patients were to all appear- ances afflicted with the most painful headaches. As they would express it. it hurt them to think. Conversation was begun upon subjects in which they were deeply interested, and immediately the pain vanished. In some cases the pain reappeared when the interesting conversation ceased. In some cases it did not. The writer has a case in mind where a friend of his made his appear- ance, apparently suffering from an attack of fever, the bright eye, the hot, dry skin, the rapid pulse — all the symptoms of fever — were present. When the temperature was tested, to the bewilderment of the patient and his family it was found to be two degrees below normal. CHAPTER XII SLEEP To the thinker, sleep has been as great a mystery as death. To the average person who accepts sleep as something the Logos invented for the benefit of man, just as he accepts air, thirst, hunger and sunlight in the dull unthinking manner which distinguishes so called in- telligent mankind from the animal kind, sleep has never been a problem. Sleep has been the enigma of the scientists, and was, even before science was freed from the shackles of the religious bigots, who have always boastfully proclaimed that their ignorant belief was superior to intelligent investigation. Sleep has an intense fascination for the occultist. The occultist knows thai the investigations of the superphysical consciousness can be carried on only during sleep or normal relaxation, or by clairvoyance or abnormal relaxation. Sleep has baffled the ablest physical scientists, and will continue l<> do so. No scientific instrument can take the place of a faculty of the brain. Only through the clairvoyant faculties of the brain • •.-in the mystery of sleep be solved. Wh.it is the cause of sleep? What is the effect of sleep? The first cause of sleep i^ to us unknown. Whether the Logos in His wisdom decreed that nighl was the proper time for sleep, we do not know. We OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 33 do know, however, that with the disappearance of the sun, the supply of prana decreases. We do know that the wakeful man will attract unto himself a greater supply of prana than the sleeping man. We do know that the nervous equilibrium cannot be maintained nor restored while the physical consciousness is existent. Take the activity of an arm for instance; if the activity is what would be called normal in any trade or profession, the nerve vibrations are slower and more regular than when the activity is abnormal. Slow rhythmic vibrations allow a more regular flow of prana, and thus maintain a stricter equilibrium, which, while vanishing, will disappear slowly, and steadily. An abnormal activity will cause increased nerve vibrations and blood flow and thereby interfere with the flow of prana. That the desire and will of the average'man cannot affect the flow of prana is evident to any one who has observed the average person at his daily tasks. As in the activity of the arm, so is the activity of the entire body, including the brain. Those people known as brain workers are in the same condition regarding their brain as the mechanic is as regards his arm. Brain workers are greatly overrated by pebple who make up the great mass of mankind. The brain worker is just as much the slave of his instructor as the tradesman. Practically all instructors are slave drivers. Many so called tej£hers_ do everything possible to discourage independent thought or investigation. Thus the vast majority of mankind is held fast in the shackles of the slave driver, so that any unusual activity of the brain is accompanied by a decrease in the flow of prana. On this account, with most people, an attempt to really think brings on an attack of what is correctly characterized as a brain storm. When the accustomed time for sleep approaches, the individual has usually performed or completed his daily tasks. The equilibrium of the morning has been greatly impaired, the entire bodily structure is tired and tense, and demands relaxation and rest. Naturally this can be per- manently secured only by sleeping, but it can also be partially achieved by other means which, however, are only temporary. Dancing to the rhythm of good music is, beyond a doubt, the best form of partial relaxation, if the musical throbs or pulses are not too fast, and the surroundings are good. The partial relaxation is of a very favor- able nature, provided that it is not overdone. People who yield them- selves to the rhythm of the dance are scarcely conscious of the physical effort that they are exerting, because in the rhythm cf the dance the flow of prana becomes equitable. Listening to music, if it is of a smooth, even. 34 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY softly (lowing rhythm, will with most people, tend to equalize the flow of prana. However, martial as well as sorrowful or wailing music will retard the equalization of the flow of prana. When the day's duties are done, the strain of mind and body is prac- tically over. The intense vibrations cease almost entirely. The surplus sup- ply of prana remains dammed up in the body, for while prana is absorbed l>y the whole body, it cannot be expelled, because being the vital or nerve force, it must remain in the body and can only equalize its pressure when the inflow has ceased. This cessation is accomplished by relaxation. ( Iheck the inflow or absorption and the stored up supply of prana gradually begins once 1 more to flow smoothly and evenly throughout the body. When the equilibrium is restored, the person has had sufficient rest or sleep and is in a condition to begin active life again. However, should the activity of one or more limbs have been excessive, these parts will require more rest than the remainder of the body, as the equilibrium has not yet been restored to them. Sleep is to some extent, a matter of habit. Of course, some sleep is absolutely necessary but the hours of slumber are not arbitrary. Some people sleep best in the early hours and some sleep best in the later hours of the eight. When the accustomed hour of slumber draws near, the physical body with its stored up surplus of prana, becomes gradually more inert. Resistance to the equalizing flow of prana becomes weaker as the body enters into the passive state, and the brain relaxes. With the re- laxing of the brain, comes the relaxation of the nervous and muscular systems. With the passing of the physical consciousness, the ego with its two attendant bodies, the astral, and the mental, withdraws from the physical body, and the physical body is asleep. CHAPTER XIII DREAMS Dream Stuff is just as real and tangible as any other. It is the fore- knowledge of what is going to happen or come to pass. This knowledge of future events is possessed by the ego. hut because of the unattuned physical brain, the ego is unable to tell the physical consciousness about it- The astral body, being attuned to the ego in a far greater degree than the physical body, is capable of receiving the message from the ego. ami endeavors in turn, to pass it on to the physical consciousness, which is OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 35 always in touch with the physical world. It is only in sleep, which is normal relaxation, and even then it is only at the instant of awakening, that the astral can impose a small part of its information on the physical consciousness, and of this small part usually only a fragment remains a short time after awakening. Practically all scientists, having persistently denied the fact of the astral body are thereby compelled to fall back upon the physical entirely, and in order to support their theory, they have built a man of straw and call it the subconscious mind. Realizing that they know nothing of the conscious mind they proceed to invent another and name it the subcon- scious mind. Not only have these dream scientists wasted their labor, but they have deluded and misled those to whom the word scientist is, per se, an infallible fetich. The favorite string upon which our dream scientist plays is the sub- conscious mind. He admits that he does not know anything about the subconscious mind, and then asserts that dreams are the workings of the subconscious mind. How does he know this? He asserts one moment that the subconscious mind is the creator of dreams, and the next moment says that dreams are the result of the conscious mind at work upon or about something which the dreamer already knows all about. One mo- ment he assserts that a person can dream only of his hopes, fears and de- sires, such as his conscious mind only would deal with, then the next moment he claims that the subconscious mind (whatever that is), is doing the work. The explanation of the dream scientist resembles a feeble brain storm. Why do these dream scientists usually make it a point to go into a coal mine, whenever they begin their so-called investigations, and so-called they are; there is nothing of investigation about them, as everyone who has given the subject the slightest consideration has learned. There are no two dreams precisely alike. Therefore as such is the case, that wonderful subconscious mind is off somewhere doing some investigating upon its own hook. Otherwise it would stay continually on the job and invariably repeat itself, or else continually change itself entirely. The idea that these investigators convey is that the conscious mind — the awake mind — is not entirely unconscious, and that the thoughts of the previous day are still engaging the partially unconscious mind. What our dream scientists are incapable of comprehending is that a dream is usually a distorted vision of what is going to happen. The dis- tortion is invariably controlled by the likes and dislikes, the hopes and fears of the dreamer. Everv one who dreams, scientists included, can 36 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY foretell happenings by cultivating the dream power, and especially the power of remembering dreams. Dreams are simply the result of what our ego is endeavoring to bring through to our dull physical consciousness. The ego then knowing what is to happen, sends his warnings to us. Unless we have the peculiar nervous system of the psychic, we cannot in our physical consciousness receive these communications. Thus the ego during the time the physical body is asleep and in a state of relaxation, is functioning in the conscious- ness of his subtler bodies, and as the sleeper is about to awaken, causes the re-connection of the subtler bodies with the physical. The instant the connection is complete the sleeper awakens. As the physical brain is the organ of the ego upon the physical plane, the communication is accom- plished while the astral and the physical are being reunited, and while the physical is thus regaining consciousness, we receive a knowledge of certain events which will happen in the future. The physical sounds, touches of clothing, furniture, or a bed fellow, are mingled with the drowsy conscious- ness of the awakening sleeper and thus are formed the peculiar fantastic dreams of the average person. All clairvoyants become clairvoyant by relaxation or the setting aside of the physical consciousness, which is the same as sleep. So a dream. any dream— all dreams — are nothing but clairvoyant experience. The remembrance of a dream, whether plain or confused, is purely and simply the remembrance of a clairvoyant experience. If dreams were nothing but the reflections of the workings of the conscious mind there could be nothing save thai with which the conscious mind was acquainted. On the contrary the history of dreams is an overwhelming mass of testimony in favor of a superconscious or superphysical mind literally foretelling or prophesying that which will come to pass. Usually, however, dreams are symbolical, and as no two people have the same character of dreams, nor the same type of symbols, no law may be laid down for the interpretation of dreams. Each person must be a law unto himself, OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 3 7 CHAPTER XIV POWER OF THE MIND Otherwise known as MAGIC The power of the mind when working in harmony with the current of evolution and under favorable conditions is so great that it is not fully comprehended even by the most advanced occultists. The power of the mind, even when working contrary to the current of evolution, if other conditions are favorable, is so great as to be a source of wonder to all advanced occultists. The less advanced students of occultism, who having observed only one phase of this power and who have many fanciful ideas regarding it, speak in whispers and awe-struck tones of the wonderful power of black magic. In their ignorance they do not comprehend that the power or law, of "black" magic, and that of "white" magic, are the same. White magic is the power of the mind working for an unselfish purpose. Black magic is the power of the mind working for a selfish purpose. There is only one kind of white magic. There are two kinds of black magic, the real and the apparent. To unselfishly assist another to perform an unselfish action is white magic of the highest order. To selfishly assist another to perform a selfish action is black magic of the lowest order. To unselfishly assist a person to perform a selfish act for the purpose of evolution, is apparent black magic. This is a function of the Logos and can be comprehended only by the highly developed clairvoyant. No person who attempts to influence, or does succeed in influencing, persuading, or coercing another person, in order to assist him in accom- plishing an unselfish purpose, is practising white magic. No person who attempts to, or does succeed in influencing, persuading, or coercing, another person in order to assist in accomplishing a selfish purpose can rightfully be accused of practising black magic. Wars, disasters, apparent retrogression of nations, families and indi- viduals of the human race are usually attributed to the black magicians, by leaders of numerous cults. These statements are accepted and believed by their credulous followers. Those of higher evolution look on with pity. They well know that as the planetary Logos has absolute control of nations, families and individuals, no black magicians can alter or retard the re- sistless current of evolution, bearing upon its bosom all nations, great or small. 38 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY Neither families nor individuals can be retarded in their evolution by black magic. The strongest efforts of so-called black magicians can only alter, and not retard, their evolution. Black magic in its true meaning is simply another name for selfishness. Black magic is therefore practised in varying degrees by every member of the human race. The degree depends upon the stage of evolution attained. All politicans, seekers after office or preferment, all priests and preachers, all business and professional men, are black magicians. All human beings on this planet are black magicians, according to their degree of evolution. CHAPTER XV THOUGHT Thought is caused by the view or the memory of the view, sound or the memory of the sound, touch or the memory of the touch, odor or the memory of the odor, taste or the memory of the taste. Practically all clearly defined thought is caused by sight or the mem- ory of what has been seen. As we think in pictures, if we have not seen an object, nor heard it described, no comparison can be made between the undescribed object and others that we have seen. We cannot form a thought form of it, nor about it that can be relied upon as being correct. A man who was born blind hears for the first time a strain of music. If there had never been described to him, musical instruments of any kind, the hearing of the strain of music would cause no thought of musical in- struments. He would associate it with anything but a musical instrument. He would associate the strain of music with some instrument capable of producing sound, which had been previously described to him. Suppose a man who had been born blind, deaf and without the sense of smell, taste or feeling, and the sense of hearing and feeling had suddenly been acquired by him. If the first sound he heard were a strain of music. there could be no thoughl nothing but an indefinable sensation. If a man were allowed to examine by his sense of touch, a musical instrument while il was being played, his brain would form a thought, which would he governed by the description which his sense of touch had com eyed to his brain. Any similar strain of music would cause a repetition of the original thoughl form. If the first instrumenl were a piano, and another strain were played upon a violin, there would be a confusion of thought rding both the strain of music and the instrument from which it was evoked. The same principle is true regarding the senses of taste and smell. OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 39 CHAPTER XVI THOUGHT FORMS These are the Bete Noir of clairvoyance. The partly developed clairvoyant will invariably accept the thought forms as the genuine astral. This is one of the main reasons why spiritualists are viewed with both trust and doubt by the great mass of people who have dealings with them as professional clairvoyants. The vibrations of the ego are the thoughts of the mental plane, the thought forms of the astral plane, and this in turn becomes the expression or repression of the physical plane. The phy- sical consciousness is capable of every form of physical vibration and contact. Thought effects are of two kinds : thought forms and thought vibra- tions. Thought forms are usually given the greater consideration in all literature pertaining to this subject. This is no doubt because thought forms are of a more visible, and thus of a more clearly understood nature, while vibrations are of exceeding rapidity, and are not so visible as the thought form. Thought forms are therefore, specific, while vibrations are general. A thought form usually has a definite objective or point of focus. The power and effectiveness of a thought form depend upon the intensity and clearness of the thought as it was formulated within the physical brain. This applies also to vibrations. Vibrations, however, have no especial direction, or focus, but spread out in all directions and have far less effect, and at a short distance, entirely vanish. This applies more particu- larly to those which are of the coarser or material thoughts. Spiritual vibrations have a far wider range and permanency. A thought form will go where it is directed. It will obey the will of its creator, and stay with its objective. However, it must be clearly understood, that even when it has reached its objective and performed its mission it is only a thought and not an action. Thought forms may be poured unceasingly at another for an indefinite length of time and be absorbed by the brain of the objective person, without bringing on the slightest responsive action. A thought form which does not coincide with either a desire or an aspiration can have no effect as a cause of action. The thought forms of a Watt, a Fulton, an Edison, or a Marconi would have no effect upon the rude, unlettered, uncouth savage of the African wilds, whose highest ambition is the gratification of his physical desires. 40 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY CHAPTER XVII WILL POWER Will power, being an impersonal force wholly and solely mental, can be used only in mental efforts. Will power has no effect upon in- animate objects. All the will power on this planet, if gathered together, could not stop the pendulum of a clock, were it directed to that purpose, but a child two years old could by a slight effort of its infantile will power, stop the pendulum by the touch of its tiny finger. The closest observa- tion fails to show any clearly defined influence of will power upon such semi-animate objects as plants. Animals are susceptible in varying degrees, and human beings in much greater degree. Will power differs in the peculiar method of its manifestations. It manifests or functions according to the state of evolvement of the ego, and always with greater strength in support of the leading faculties. The American Indian manifests a high degree of will power in some ways. The white man, the negro, the Chinaman, all manifest will power strongly in some ways. The Indian manifests will power and concentration in a very high degree while waiting in ambush for his prey, enduring discomforts on the march and on the war path. He will concentrate upon any other subject than that of the discomforts, and by the use of will power, steadfastly refuse to allow the thought of the discomfort to enter his mind. Chinamen manifest will power and concentration under conditions requiring great endurance and also in a most remarkable degree, in working along mechanical lines. Negro psychology is peculiar in that he uses concentration to a great extent and will power to a small extent in his religion. He will concentrate upon religion for hours, declare with the utmost conviction, that he has attained morality and spirituality, and then on the way home from church will rob a chicken house. He will appropriate any thing thai presents an apparently easy opportunity and which does not involve too great a risk. The white man manifests less concentration but more will power in religious matters. This is noticeable as well in practically all walks of business and social life. Will power would seem to be the real deficiency in negro psychology. Broadly speaking, will power would manifest as ;i whole, concentration as a specialty. To take ;i^ an example a single nation, will power will manifest in that nation very broadly in the direction of the leading or ruling desires or OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 41 tendencies. The French, for instance, will use will power in the produc- tion and development of artistic articles or designs. Some individuals will concentrate upon certain effects in size, appearance or color. Thus we have the general and the specific artistic effects. Practically all people imagine they are will-'mg- — when in reality they are only thinking. Will is not a tangible thing. No one has ever seen will, nor has any one the slightest conception of its appearance. It can be used both for and against any and all things. It is absolutely impersonal and in- corporeal — immaterial. It is not a desire, nor an aspiration but works with or against either of them. It would seem to be a drawing, com- pelling force. It is unable to manifest, even in the slightest degree, the faculty of wisdom, but achieves its best results when under the control and guidance of wisdom. WISDOM Wisdom is an intangible thing. We can not see it. We can not feel it, nor can we describe it. Wisdom is undoubtedly the controlling, guiding power of the Universe. Under wisdom's guidance will and energy perform the wonders of the manifested universe. Energy would appear to be the manifest, with wisdom as the unmanifest. Man appears to ac- quire knowledge which seems to be a combination of will and energy. Even to the most advanced wisdom is incomprehensible. CHAPTER XVIII CLAIRVOYANCE Clairvoyance is an inherent faculty of the human race. There is nothing supernatural about it. There is not anything that is super- natural, everything is natural. Clairvoyance is a plain, simple, everyday faculty, Justus are the musical, artistic, mechanical, medical and financial faculties. Almost every one can drive a nail or saw a board, but some are remark- ably good nailers and sawyers. Every one likes music, but some are such wonderfully good producers of harmonious sounds that we term them musical geniuses. Remembering that all of these faculties are common faculties and inherent in the human race, we can see why an excessive development of any of them is regarded as genius. An excessive develop- lg OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY ment of psychic faculties produces clairvoyance. Clairvoyance is merely psychic genius. Like all genius it follows the trend or inclination of the secondary dominant, or next strongest portion of the brain. To illustrate: some inventors work wholly with farm machinery, some with railway, some with implements of war and some with decorative ma- chinery. Likewise with poets, painters and musicians, each follows the 1 rend of the secondary dominant faculty. This is particularly noticeable in the case of professional mediums and public psychics. Some follow the trend of the domestic faculties — some the speculative, some the in- ventive, some the artistic — they each carry their predominant traits into their investigations. These peculiar trends are known and made use of by these psychics and are called phases of mediumship. Each medium will tell you that she is strongest in a certain phase. They all recognize that they are not of equal strength in all phases but are unable to give a lucid explanation why. All activities of the astral or mental planes will be colored by the powers and capabilities of the physical brain. For example: a highly moral poet, painter, musician or inventor would not deliberately function upon the lowest plane of the astral world, any more than he would upon the lowest plane of the physical world. Superphysical plane functioning — clairvoyance — is of verj T many grades or degrees, varying as much as the physical plane functioning. This is contrary to a widely accepted belief, which considers that every person who functions upon either the astral, or mental planes must see and hear precisely what every other clairvoyant sees and hears on these planes, but this is untrue. DEVELOPMENT OF CLAIRVOYANCE The student of occult psychology who wishes to develop clairvoyance must bear in mind that this faculty bestows such wonderful opportunity for evil as well as for good, that unless he can undertake the development of clairvoyance with a clean conscience and for the following reasons, he would better leave this Facultv undeveloped. It must not be undertaken lightly. Those who will not thoroughly subscribe to these reasons for develop- ment of clairvoyance, will please be kind enough to refrain from following i Ik 4 method prescribed in this treatise; and if they have read or been taughi any of the same methods of development by others, to at all times I b e those others the full credil for their development. OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 43 Proper reasons for the development of clairvoyance are: a. A sincere desire for personal enlightenment in order to understand and improve spiritual knowledge. b. To function upon the superphysical planes in order to explain to others just what these planes are and how they differ from the physical plane. c. To become conversant with conditions after death, in order to console the bereaved and explain to them where the loved ones are. d. Under no circumstances should money or valuable presents be accepted as payment for consoling information given to others to relieve or to lighten their burden of sorrow and woe. CLAIRVOYANCE AT WILL A SAFE METHOD OF DEVELOPING ASTRAL SIGHT FIRST STAGE One to Three Months Awaken in the morning about a half hour before the usual time for arising. Compose yourself as easily and quietly as possible. Lie on your back with the lower limbs straight, the arms either straight at the sides or the hands crossed upon the breast. Concentrate slowly and gently until the mind has been brought to bear upon a single thought — for ex- ample: the brotherhood of humanity, or some equally altruistic subject, the Fatherhood of God, or some other spiritual thought. Concentrate upon the selected subject from one to five minutes. If the concentration is faulty repeat the process until you can hold the same thought for at least one minute. Then relax the concentrative effort gently and gradu- ally. Do not allow yourself to think. You must compel the mind to submit to the will. Keeping in mind the same thought upon which you concentrated, relax slowly and gently until a state of passivity is obtained. Hold this state of passiveness as long as you can, but do not allow it to drift into the state of relaxation, for relaxation must be restricted in the early stages of development. Continue these exercises until you have become fairly proficient in them. Repeat the exercises in the evening just before retiring, with this differ- ence: sit quietly and comfortably at a table some inches lower than an ordinary table. If possible have one made with wooden pins and glue, using no metal if you can avoid it. Use a piece of smooth board for the U OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY top. Do not paint or varnish the table. A box from a grocery store, such as canned goods are packed in, will furnish the lumber for a table of this kind. A plain, simple, inexpensive table will answer the purpose equally as well as an expensive one. The top need not be more than twelve inches wide and eighteen inches long. Place your hands palms down upon the table. Have the light rather dim. Do not close your eyes. Concentrate as in the morning. Then let the concentrative effort disappear slowly. Do not relax, but become passive. Then allow any thought to drift through the mind. Hold none. Make no attempt to control or direct any thoughts. Let them drift. SECOND STAGE Two to Six Months Continue the morning concentration as before. Release the concen- trative effort very slowly, quietly and carefully until all concentrative effort has vanished. Then slowly and with extreme care, turn your sight inward — into your head. Now remember that it is not your physical but your mental sight that is used to examine the brain. Your first sight will be the brain en masse. Then in due time will appear the furrows and convolutions of the brain. When you have reached this stage, examine the brain very closely and you will be able to discern, very dimly at first, the flashing silver gray particles of coarser astral matter circulating rapidly through the physical brain. Continue these exercises until you can per- ceive and distinguish the finer from the coarser grades of astral matter. Do not compel, but allow the physical brain and skull to disappear en- tirely, and only the astral brain will remain in evidence. In coming back to the normal state after these exercises, come back slowly and quietly. Never come back hurriedly. For the evening exercises continue as before, except that on alternate evenings, allow partial relaxation, that is passiveness one evening and relaxation the next, and .so on. Remember that in partial relaxation the drifting of thought is slowed down and checked to a large extent. In this stage the light may be dimmed still more. THIRD STAGE Four Mouths to One Year This stage is a highly important one as it deals directly with the mental body, and successful clairvoyance depends entirely upon the ability OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 45 of the student to control his mental body. Continue the exercises as directed for the Second Stage until you are able to discern very fine yellow particles moving through the silver shimmering of the astral matter. These yellow particles are mental matter. The first that you perceive will be the coarser particles of your mental body. Watch closely and when you are able to distinguish the finer grades of mental matter, allow the astral matter to disappear and only the mental matter of the brain to be in evidence. Then when you have secured good control of this stage, extend it. The average mental body extends from one to three feet be- yond the physical body. Now you must seek and define the limits of your mental body. This is important. Work steadily and carefully until you have definitely determined the limits of your mental body. Continue to do this until you have this phase well under control. The evening exercises will now begin to present a different phase — the phase wherein the temptation to push ahead recklessly may tempt the student — but he must restrain himselj and keep himself well under control. Read carefully and follow instructions as carefully as possible. Allow the relaxation to slowly and gradually become more and more pronounced. Gradually reduce the passive evenings until instead of being alternate evenings they become one passive evening to three relaxing evenings. Above all do not undertake these exercises if you feel at all envious, wor- ried or fretful and above all, if angry. Under no circumstances feel fear. If your dreams become very vivid or at the moment of awakening, visions appear, if you have premonitions, or hear indefinable rustlings, or faint whisperings, or feel touches of invisible hands, or see colored flashes, sometimes so vivid and prolonged as to resemble sunset scenes, these are the results of becoming en rapport with the vibrations of the higher planes. FOURTH STAGE This is the last stage of preparatory study. It is the simplest and easiest of them all, but the student must be very careful. Watch your steps. Hold yourself well in hand. Do not allow yourself to become impatient. Remember that you are working for the good of humanity and not for a selfish purpose. Immediately after awakening in the morning, concentrate for a few seconds upon that which you wish to see. Then allow the concentration to vanish slowly, and as it vanishes relax gently and quietly. Allow no thought to come in between the concentration and the relaxation, for if you do, the effort will be lost and you will be compelled to start anew. 16 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY Now pay strict attention to this: to relax properly the mind must be blank. Do not attempt to force yourself. The development must come slowly and easily. Any attempt to develop clairvoyance in a swift and hurried manner will set your nervous system jangling and although you may develop the faculty, the bad results arising from an overtaxed nervous system may neutralize the good; for the nervous system forced suddenly out of its normal vibration will sometimes require many months for its readjustment, and this has often been known to bring other evils in its train. EVENING EXERCISES The light may be very dim or extinguished altogether. Sit com- fortably. Strive to have nothing but the best of thoughts while you ar- range for the sitting. Place your hands upon the table. Concentrate upon that which you wish to see. The instant that you have achieved perfect concentration, release the concentrative effort slowly, and relax gently and easily, making the relaxation follow so closely upon the dis- appearing concentration, that no thought can intervene between these two phases of mind. This is imperative for full success. A highly important point is that when you begin to see, let the scenes develop themselves — evolve, or unfold — before you. Under no circumstances attempt to guess what is coming. Wait until the entire scene, or view, or unfolding, has been presented to your super-physical vision. Do not attempt to force a repetition with such changes as you would desire, but bring it back to your physical consciousness precisely as it was seen by your super-physical vision. CHAPTEB XIX KARMA Karma is the law of compensation, or law of consequence, or law of cause and effect- the law of destiny, sometimes called fate, as it is the foundation upon which is built all progress or evolvemenl of the human lace. Apparently the law is in itself far more rigid in the earlier stages of evolution, for tin- man is then barely susceptible of self control and will give way to temptations of all kinds, and he must receive in kind in return for wh;it he has given out to others. OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 47 As he evolves and becomes a moral man his Karma becomes easier for him to bear. When he at last perceives that as he sows so must he reap, and awakens to the fact that he is making his own destiny by his actions, he will begin to exercise more and more control over his lower nature and begin to evolve and expand his higher nature. Practically all Karma is worked out in the same incarnation in which it is made. Very seldom is Karma carried over more than two incarna- tions. Were it otherwise, there would be but very little progress made by the ego. Occasionally we find a person who claims to believe that all Karma must be worked out with the person with whom it was made. Were such the case there would be no way of working out the endless chain of cause and effect. Karma may be divided into two kinds, active and passive. Active Karma is that with which we are directly concerned. Passive Karma is that with which we are indirectly concerned. Active Karma may be divided into two species — specific and general. Birth, marriage and death being the chief points of our existence, are specific Karma and cannot be altered. Other experiences where we are directly concerned, either as active participants or passive participants, are general Karma. Passive Karma may be defined as participating unknowingly in the active Karma of another. Thus a man may be driven in a carriage to his own wedding and may be the cause of frightening a horse which becomes unmanage- able, runs away and kills or injures another individual. The second in- dividual would be experiencing active Karma. The first individual would be experiencing passive Karma. Karma is national, tribal and domestic. National and tribal Karma are naturally of but weak potency. Domestic Karma is much more po- tent. The intellectual portion of Karma is the real compelling force, as all progress is naturally mental progress, for the great aim of our existence is wisdom. Only when we have acquired a certain amount of wisdom can we begin to comprehend the law of Karma. Having acquired a certain amount of wisdom we begin to understand ourselves and our Karma, and strive to improve both. Look your Karma squarely in the face and accept the unfortunate with the determination to pay your debt in full. Accept the fortunate with the determination to improve and render it of greater value to all man- kind. 18 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY CHAPTER XX PRENATAL INFLUENCE Transmission of knowledge, skill, mental impressions, etc., by im- pact. Of the cases cited as proof of the claim of prenatal influence, that of Napoleon Bonaparte is perhaps the most frequently quoted. The argu- ment is: the mother of Napoleon, some time before his birth, was engaged in assisting her husband in his part of the defence of Corsica against the French troops, and that Napoleon thereby acquired the knowledge of the art of war. Napoleon was just as great a statesman as he w y as a soldier. Why did not the mother evince the power of statesmanship? Napoleon was noted for his mechanical knowledge. Why did not the mother evince the me- chanical skill also? Napoleon was noted for his wonderful power of reading and judging men. Why did not the mother evince the same trait? Napoleon was noted for his gross physical habits and unrestrained sen- suality. Why did his mother not also evince these traits? Napoleon's mother evinced the highest sense of patriotism when she ventured into the arena of war, but Napoleon throughout his whole career did not at any time show the slightest degree of patriotism. Instead, he sneered at the land of his birth and called the inhabitants barbarians and fools. Nor did he ever manifest patriotism toward France. Instead, he sacrificed her to his own personal avarice and ambitions. If he inherited the art of war from his mother when and where did she ever manifest that knowledge? The island of Corsica had been for many years in a state of constant warfare. Why did not Madame Bonaparte become an Amazon before Napoleon was conceived? Why did not the other children who preceded Napoleon become world conquerors also? Zerah ( olburn is another to whom the advocates of prenatal influence often refer. It is claimed that Zerah Colburn, while in his mother's womb, acquired the art of lightning calculation because at that time I lie mother was puzzled as to the amount of cloth a certain quantity of yarn would yield, but she was undoubtedly a far superior mechanic than calculator, yet we find that he had neither taste nor inclination for mechanics. Prenatal influence in this sense docs not exist. There are thousands of cases on record where the mother became partly or wholly insane while pregnant. After the birth of the child the OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 49 normal mental power of the mother returned. The children born to these mothers are usually normal. If prenatal influence were a fact, many of these children would be born insane. Out of a number of cases specially observed, in which prospective mothers were frightened by cattle, mad dogs, etc., in not a single instance were any of the children abnormal. CHAPTER XXI ENVIRONMENT Briefly stated, environment is one of the inducers of progress. No normal human being, be he slave or king, has ever been satisfied with his environment. He wishes to free himself from the fetters that bind him. Were man to be satisfied progress would cease. Dissatisfaction is the physical manifestation of the cosmic urge. We all envy the leader, and after a number of incarnations we occupy the same place as the former leader. There is always a leader in front of us who will cause us to become dissatisfied with ourselves and aspire to his position. We never envy those inferior to us in mentality, for notwithstanding the race for wealth and luxury, the man of intellect is the man who is really envied. Every mother is in her heart of hearts far more proud of her intellectual child than she is of her wealthy one. She is far more chagrined by her child's being defective mentally than by the thought that it was born poor. Practically every one can understand the workings of the business brain, but there are few who can comprehend the workings of the in- tellectual brain. Every financier sooner or later recognizes that while he can make money he cannot make himself a mental leader, hence the wild scramble in later years of a financier's life, to obtain the works or friendship of intellectual men, or even the poor satisfaction of donating money to pay for the intellectual and artistic efforts of those who were highly gifted. The mother in the slums dreams of the time when her beloved son will have acquired an education and will be exhibiting his mental prowess to an admiring world. The mother of the middle class, so called, and the mother of the wealthy class have precisely the same dreams. All environ- ment has but one urge or trend — mental development. 50 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY CHAPTER XXII REINCARNATION Reincarnation is the law of evolution. Without reincarnation there could be no evolution of mankind. Reincarnation is the return of the ego or human soul to another physical body, the death of the previous physical body having first released the ego for a period of time. Reincarnation in conjunction with the law of cause and effect, usually called Karma or the law of compensation, is the law of human evolution. The ego reincarnates in a series of small cycles ranging from four to seven incarnations in each cycle, with alternating cycles. Being of itself sexless, the ego reincarnates as male and female in alternate cycles; for example we might say as the wife of a laborer for a cycle, then as a laborer for a cycle. They thus acquire the varied experiences of each sex for the corresponding cycles of the stage of evolution in which they are function- ing. This applies to all cycles and stages of evolution. An ego does not in any one incarnation function in all faculties that it has carried over from previous incarnations, but can and does blend the last stages of a past cycle with the first stages of a present cycle. As a frequent example of this blending, we see perhaps more noticeably, that of a man who having passed the artistic cycle is developing into the literary cycle. This man would not be a great artist himself, but would manifest as a critic of the artistic efforts of others. Having passed the artistic cycle and just entering the cycle of literature, he will very naturally turn his budding talents into that course with which he is most familiar and will blend the dominant faculties of the past with the budding faculties of the present. There are numberless volumes written on the subject of reincarnation. The reading of some of the standard works upon this subject is advised. CHAPTER XXIII BRINGING FACULTIES OVER Mac does aol reincarnate with the knowledge gained in previous in- carnations, IhiI willi the faculties capable of expressing and prepared to express Hie knowledge gained in previous incarnations. OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 51 The question most frequently asked on the subject of reincarnation is that concerning the progress made from life to life. The law of com- pensation, usually called the law of Karma, could just as well be called the law of progress, as that is what it really is. No man becomes noted as an occultist, poet, artist, musician, inventor, statesman, soldier or financier, by accident. Man does not jump from peasant to prince, from the ignorant laborer to the capable inventor, from the petty tradesman to the financial giant, from the man who does not know the difference between one tone of music and another, to a musical genius. A man who can scarcely distinguish one color from another, can not mount to the artistic genius, nor from the rude, unlettered man, to the poetic genius, nor from the ignorant fanatic to the occultist. Karma works according to law, not according to chance. No man who is a saint in one life, becomes a criminal in the next, nor does the criminal in one life become a saint in the next life. A man incarnating for the first time in any one race, would naturally incarnate in the lowest ranks and evolve to the highest. At all times since the beginning of humanity, there has been the con- stant struggle. The great mass moves slowly, but there are single egos, and groups of egos, who are in advance of the main body. This main body, or mass of average egos, is not a straight lined, well ordered body — as a body of well drilled soldiers — but a confused, shifting, constantly changing mass. Behind this great mass, there are also groups and single egos. These stragglers are those of later individualization. The indi- viduals and groups in advance are the leaders in thought and action. Far in front are the leaders of thought. After them comes the second class of thinkers and the leaders of action. Next come all grades of thinkers and men of action and those who combine thought with action. CHAPTER XXIV HYPNOTISM This is a very fascinating subject with nearly all beginners of psychic research. It is usually one of the first experiments tried in a class gathered for the study of psychic phenomena. A large number of the experiments which are reported to, and circulated among the friends and acquaintances of the students, as being of a most wonderful and startling nature, have but little basis of fact. OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY There are numbers of people who have what is known as the power to hypnotize, and there is a large number of people who have the power to be hypnotized, but not every one has the power to hypnotize others, nor has every one the power to be hypnotized by another. The physical of a subject in the hands of an expert operator is in a state of semi-trance. Complete trance would make the brain irresponsive to any suggestion whatever. The hypnotic state ranges from the hypnotic sleep to the most violent activities of the physical body. The limitations of the hypnotic state are twofold: first and positive, the limitations of the subject's brain; second and negative, the limitations of the operator's brain. It has often been stated by students of occult lore, that an operator can compel the subject to do just what he, the opera- tor, would want the subject to do. This is wrong. The operator is limited by the subject's body and brain. The subject is not limited by the operatpr's brain. Take for example, an operator who knew nothing whatever of artistic matters, yet had an artistic genius for a subject. Can we suppose that it this inartistic operator ordered this artistic subject to paint a picture, that because of the fact that the operator was not a painter, the artistic genius would be unable to mix and apply the colors properly? An operator who is a fluent speaker cannot take a subject who is a stammering, uneducated boor, and make a fluent, polished speaker out of him, merely by commanding him to become such, nor when ordered to speak by a stammering operator will a polished, fluent subject be- come a stammerer and be unable to express himself upon the subject selected. No minor faculty of the subject's brain can be temporarily enlarged nor strengthened into a major faculty. An expert surgeon who is an expert hypnotic operator would not trust the scalpel to the hands of a most expert hypnotic subject who was without any knowledge of his own regarding the human anatomy, and would not order the subject, while the subject was under hypnotic control, to perform a particularly difficult and dangerous operation. An artistic genius who is also an expert hypnotist would not give into the hands of an expert hypnotic subject, a masterpiece nearly finished- one which a few false strokes of the brush would ruin. He would not trusl thai the releasing of the pressure on the weak, artistic faculties of the subject would enable a person totally ignorant of art, to finish the masterpiece. All faculties which the operator has in common with and in practically the same degree with the subject, are those which can be most strongly OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 53 manifested by the subject. Major and minor faculties depend for their degree of manifestation, upon the subject, not the operator. What the operator does is to deaden the brain by the use of vibra- tory waves, or impacts. This cannot be done if there is active bodily resistance, but should the active resistance become spasmodic or periodic, a skillful operator can gain control by using the periods of lull or partial passivity, while the subject is preparing for a renewal of his efforts. A steady, determined mental resistance is almost impossible to overcome, even when it is unaccompanied by bodily resistance, but few, however, can force their minds to continue a steady, impassive resistance. The operator directs the vibrations in a steady constant stream, at the brain of the intended subject, and when there is a lull, or weakening of the resistance, the attacking waves speedily beat down the weakened defence of the subject and bring him under control. However, practically all operators find it necessary to use constant watchfulness in order to retain control over the subject. In ordinary cases, having obtained control of all the faculties of the subject's brain, the operator acts by releasing the pressure upon cer- tain faculties. Releasing the pressure upon the faculty of speech alone would cause stumbling, incoherent speech. Releasing the faculties of speech and calculation would cause the subject to literally talk in numbers. Thus will the different faculties of the brain become active or inactive because of the greater or lesser pressure of the vibratory waves. The large majority of operators usually learn by accident, that they have the faculty of directing the vibratory waves at the brain of another person. These vibratory waves are under control of the will. Very few operators, however, attempt to investigate the peculiar power that they possess. With some few the faculty increases with time, but most people become chary of the power and only use it in cases of emergency. W r ith the great majority the power decreases with age, and finally disappears altogether. Some, as time wears on, actually begin to disbelieve that they ever possessed the faculty. HYPNOTIC SLEEP Hypnotic sleep cannot be self induced. Relaxation, normal or ab- normal, can be self induced. Methods of hypnotism are so well known that it would be useless to give any directions. Every student of the occult is familiar with at least 54 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY one system of procedure, and minor details are of little value as each one in this, as all other things, is a law unto himself. The practice of hypnotism is something which should be confined to reputable psychologists and physicians as the train of evils which follow in the wake of indiscriminate hypnotism is large. CHAPTER XXV MATERIALIZATION Materialization is a subject upon which there is such a vast diversity of opinion that it is almost impossible to obtain a clear or definite under- standing of what is meant by the term. The word, materialization is used so loosely that it covers everything from the astral to the physical. The proper meaning of the term materialization as used in spiritual- istic circles, implies a solid, or flesh and bone appearance of what was a disembodied astral, or spirit — which it is claimed took on a flesh and hone appearance for the express purpose of meeting relatives or friends who are still inhabitants of the physical plane. This materialization is supposed to be an exact replica of what the physical body was during its existence on earth. The law of the Logos is that the human body shall come upon this earth in one way, and one way only. This law is absolute. The explanation usually given by the believers in materialization, is thai certain friends of the medium, friends who are inhabitants of the antral plane, have in conjunct ion with the medium, the power of controlling certain vibrations. These vibrations are slowed down until they become physical matter, and as they begin to become physical matter, are directed to assume the figure which the medium desires to materialize. This being accomplished, the materialized form proceeds to recognize, speak to and clasp hands with, or otherwise touch, friends and relatives who recognize the form as that of their departed friend or relative. Any al tempi to explain to or reason with the believers in materializa- tion i- met with the statement, and it is a truthful statement, that they have seen these bodies and know it to be a fad. It is a waste of time to try t<' destroy their belief in materialization. OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 5.5 CHAPTER XXVI ETHEREALIZATION Etherealization is of far more frequent occurrence than the majority of students and investigators of occultism are aware. Etherealization is frequently confused with and considered as being materialization. They are not the same. Materialization except through conception and birth is an impossibility. Etherealization is not only possible but a very frequent occurrence. It is as its name implies, an appearance of a body formed of ether ic matter. Etheric matter is a very fine grade of physical matter. It might be termed the connecting link between the physical and astral planes. While not so fine as the matter of the astral plane, it is far too subtle to be seen by the ordinary physical eye even with the assistance of the most powerful optical instruments. What is known as nature spirits, fairies, brownies, elves and pixies are the chief contributing cause of ethe- realization- These entities — the fairies, brownies and the like, are members of an evolution of which we know nothing. We meet them on the astral plane only. Many theories have been advanced to account for their presence upon the astral plane, but we have learned nothing definite concerning their cycle of evolution. As we meet them only on the astral plane, that plane is evidently the only point of contact between the two cycles of evolution — theirs and ours. As no astral body can contact the physical consciousness, it is evident that no astral can accomplish the feat of etherealization. What occurs is that an astral medium with the assistance of the physical medium, en- lists the services of one or more nature spirits or fairies. These entities have, when acting in conjunction with the astral and physical mediums, the faculty or power of forming of the coarser matter of the astral plane and the finest matter of the etheric plane, a form of misty shadowy appear- ance. This form is invisible to ordinary physical sight. The patron at the seance sees it because of two main reasons; first, that the patron has good but undeveloped power of clairvoyance, and the surroundings being conducive to clairvoyance, he readily sees the etheric form. The other reason is that in addition the patron may have his un- used and dormant faculty of clairvoyance aroused by grief and love, and an intense desire to behold once more the form and features of the de- parted loved one. Thus stirred and stimulated, the dormant psychic 56 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY powers become active, and the patron becomes temporarily clairvoyant and is enabled to see the etheric form. Unaware of the fact that they were temporarily clairvoyant, the patrons believe that w T hat they saw was a physical form — a material organism — and that they saw r it with their physical eye. As the nature spirit, because of advice and instructions from both the physical and astral medium, can shape the matter of the etheric plane around itself in the like- ness of the departed one, those present w T ho see the etheric form firmly be- lieve that they have seen the material form and features of the departed one. Temporary clairvoyance is also the cause and reason for ghosts, apparitions, hobgoblins and spooks. Some people who have the clair- voyant faculty large, behold the ghost or apparition of a loved one at the instant or a short time after the loved one has died or some serious acci- dent has happened to him. The intense thought at the moment of death or when a person is injured and is lapsing into unconsciousness, or stupor, reaches the loved one yet on the physical plane. The psychic faculty is excited, and temporary clairvoyance is manifested. That this is the case is evident from the fact that out of every one hundred accidental deaths, one will be revealed to some loved one. The reason that not more are revealed is that their clairvoyant faculty is very weak and also because of the fact that the physical plane person is so busily engaged in active mental work that he pays no heed to it whatever, just as a listless person or one who is too busy does not hear what others say to him in every-day life. CHAPTER XXVII OBSESSION The grade and varieties of obsession, so called, differ with each sub- ject. Nearly all writers upon occult subjects are very much confused in their statements. They group insanity, possession and influence, al- together, and call the combination obsession. For this reason obsession is a word thai occultists would do well to drop, as it is very misleading. It really expresses nothing to a careful investigator of occultism. What practically all writers on occult subjects mean when using the word obsession, IS partial, temporary influence. Sporadic obsession would be what is known as temporary aberration of mind, in its most virulent form. Constant obsession would mean incurable insanity and would not be obsession, but possession, as the influencing ego would have OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 51 complete control of the brain of the subject. It would mean the complete subjection and enslavement of the subject's ego. That is occultly impos- sible, as no ego can be dispossessed of his physical brain and body, except by the natural means — death. Nearly all cases of insanity are caused by injury to the physical brain. It is usually a blood clot which obstructs the blood vessels and presses upon the delicate nerves which ramify through the brain. This prevents the ego from manifesting through the physical brain in the normal manner, just as the organist is prevented from manifesting through a clogged, dis- connected or defective pipe, or a piano with an injured string, hence the peculiar thoughts and actions of the afflicted person. Astral entities have nothing to do with this species of mental irrespon- sibility. A small blood clot may form in the brain and be a cause of dementia. It may increase in size and thus cause total insanity, or it may be absorbed and become almost harmless. A blow on the head may produce a slight inflammation which will persist for years as a slight local inflammation. Then perhaps an unknown cause may make the inflamma- tion increase or spread, and in a comparatively short space of time affect so great a portion of the brain as to produce total insanity. Epilepsy is considered by many as simply obsession, but in cases of genuine epilepsy there are but very few recoveries, as the stomach, heart and solar plexus are all affected, and with the ordinary means of treatment, there is but small hope of cure. Obsession, so called, can readily be removed from the subject, provided that the subject really desires the influence removed. A few assume a peculiar state of mind. They desire the influence removed, but are un- willing to assist in the process of removal. They wish to remove the effect without removing the cause. Practically all those who are subject to this influence are very desirous of freeing themselves from its distressing effect. CAUSES OF OBSESSION All persons who are subject to obsession are those of psychic tempera- ment. In all cases the influence is caused or induced by the practices or thoughts of the subject. Influencing of babes is a very rare occurrence and seldom of any length of duration. With children it is different. Until it reaches the age at which it begins to take up school work a common occurrence is for a psychic child to be a subject of influence. These influences are observed in the child who listens to the pleadings of his fairy playmates, and will 58 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY disobey his parent or guardian in order to play or walk with the com- panionship of his fairy friends. Children who are subject to this influence will prefer to play or stroll by themselves. They are in most cases fond of quiet nooks and dells where trees, flowers and small streams or pools of clear water abound. In most cases, as the age of the child increases, the influence of the fairies decreases. Finally, with the entrance of the child into school, the enforced companionship of other children and the application of the mind to the purely physical functions of his studies, cause the withdrawal of the child from his former playmates. Thus usually all recollection of the fairies disappears with the advent of the duties and associations of in- creasing years. These psychic children being of a highly organized and fine-grained temperament are very susceptible to sudden attacks of nervous indigestion and restlessness, and as they usually term it ; have funny feelings. When one of these spells of psychic influence comes over a child, the diet should be reduced to the smallest amount of food possible. The child should be kept in bed if possible and its thought kept away from itself. Read and tell it funny stories. Keep it laughing a good portion of the time, and unless the psychic influence is of very unusual strength, the attack will speedily disappear. AYith persons over the age of fourteen, however, the influence is likely to be stronger and of longer duration. This is because the child has at- tained nearly all of his brain growth at that age and the settling process begins to take place. The faculties of practically the entire brain are functioning normally. Consequently psychic influences attain a strength and tenacity whereby they become far more difficult to remove. The causes of influence may be divided into two well defined classes- the unconscious and the conscious. The unconscious are of the kind al- ready mentioned in the case of fairies and psychic children. This also applies io sonic of the greatesl seers and clairvoyants of history. Sweden- borg, .loan of Arc, Andrew Jackson Davis. Madame Blavatsky and a host of others were all natural psychics and exercised their wonderful clair- voyant power without previous development, because of the psychic power broughl over from a previous incarnation. The second class are those who have not achieved the fullness of the psychic power in the previous incarnation, hut have brought over from the previous incarnation ;i certain development of the psychic power together with the desire for further advancement. Consequently they cannot function independently ;i> masters. Realizing this, they are prone to seek help from superphysical OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 50 sources. This is where the danger exists. The psychic being unable to function independently, seeks help, and is always able to find it within the astral consciousness. Being unable, unguided, to select the proper assistance, he will accept such assistance as is offered, which is usually that which is known to occultists, as earth bound entities. These earth bound entities are those which were very strongly at- tached to the physical body and its appetites and desires, and they keep in close touch with those whose physical system affords the opportunities to get in touch once more with the physical consciousness. The psychic being unaware of the real character of the astral entity and usually having been informed that the most powerful or strongest influence is the one that he should have to help him, allows himself to become subject to in- fluences which fail to bring out the highest and best of the psychic. There are some ailments and diseases which are directly traceable to the influence of the astral entity. One of these is the dreaded writer's cramp, which so often affects those of psychic tendency, more especially those subjects who are engaged in pursuits where excessive use of pen or pencil is necessary. Use of the planchette or Ouija Board, and more especially automatic writing, are the causes of practically all cases of writer's cramp. In a large number of cases treated by the writer, the subjects at first have attempted to deny that they had ever worked with the planchette, or Ouija Board, or had allowed the use of their arm in automatic writing. In all cases, however, the subject was speedily con- vinced that psychic influence was the cause of his trouble, and admitted that he had practised these methods of communication with the inhabi- tants of the super physical states of consciousness. A fact which very few people realize is that the astral cannot directly contact the physical, but must have an intermediary body. This inter- mediary is the nature spirit, or fairy. These entities are the ones who control the arm in all cases of automatic writing and planchette or ouija board manifestations. As they can function upon the etheric plane they are thus able to establish contact with the undeveloped individual who is seeking information from astral friends or relatives. The fairy or nature spirit has formed a friendship with either the astral or the physical and is assisting to the best of its ability, its friends whether astral or physical. An intelligent fairy working in connection with an intelligent astral can accomplish very good contact with a physical psychic and can and frequently does impart very satisfactory knowledge from the astral entity. The nature spirit, as far as we know, has never had a physical body, 60 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY and consequently cannot realize what it means to the physical person to have his arm or other parts of his body influenced by him. The pain or embarrassment of the physical person means nothing to the nature spirits, and as they are entirely independent of either the astral or physical body, they pay but little heed to either, and insist that the psychic shall at all times be subservient to them. A subject who wishes to develop the psychic faculty is ignorant of even the commonest or simplest laws of the astral consciousness. He is not aware that the inhabitant of the astral consciousness is the same men- tality as before death. The user of intoxicating liquors, the sensualist and the miser, constitute the trinity that most frequently influence the ignorant psychic. An earth bound astral entity easily recognizes those of psychic power and will at the first opportunity endeavor to function through the psychic person. The astral entities who on earth were drunkards or sensualists are the ones most to be feared by the seeker after psychic development. As drunkenness and sensuality are not of the physical body, but of the mental body, the influence is insidious and of slow development. With the in- crease of rapidity of the brain vibrations inherent with the development of the psychic faculties, the influence becomes more noticeable, and unless the psychic has good self control, the results are not, as a rule, gratifying. Nervous hysteria and nervous twitchings and jerkings of the limbs are also caused by astral influence. In writer's cramp the influence is sometimes so strong as to partially disable the .victim. The arm is in- variably entered by the influence, at the elbow, and the efferent nerves are taken possession of by the influencing entity. The thumb, the index and middle fingers are usually the ones most affected. Sometimes the wrist and in some cases the forearm from the elbow to the finger tips is affected with numbness and with a tingling sensation running along the entire nerve distribution. In very few cases is the entire arm affected. In a Large number of eases the influence gradually fades away and finally disappears, as the influencing entity, because of its progress, loses its desire for the physical contact. It' there is no one at hand, who is capable of removing the influence from the subject, a low non-stimulating diet, cheerful company and a determined and persistenl refusal on the part of the subject to submit will usually affed a cure in a short time. One thing, however, must be taken into consideration that the vibrations of tin 4 physical brain having been increased in rapidity, the subjeel is never the same person in either body or mind afterward. Literature dealing with the higher morality and Bpirituality should be read constantly. OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 61 CHAPTER XXVIII THE ASTRAL PLANE The subject of this lecture is the Astral or as Theosophists term it, the Emotional Plane, or body. Man's astral or emotional body which func- tions on the astral plane is the vehicle of his desires and emotions. The opinion held by the majority of people is that the physical man is wholly and solely concerned in the creation and consummation of these desires and emotions. However, such is not the case. The physical body is not the creator of these desires, but the agency through which these desires are satisfied. The astral plane is that which is constantly referred to as the plane of the Fourth Dimension. This fourth dimension theory is used by the scientists to account for the innumerable happenings for which they are unable to offer any reasonable explanation. The ordinary person refers to these happenings in the same manner. If there is an appearance of either etheric or astral forms they refer to them as ghosts or spooks. People of this class are usually those of meager training — those who have not yet evolved sufficiently to think or act independently, and therefore, are in word and thought, merely the replica of their teachers whose knowledge is no greater than their own. The astral plane is as purely physical as the every day physical world which is in evidence around us, in which we function throughout our brief span of physical life. The most powerful faculty of the brain in every human being — the faculty of functioning upon the astral plane — is inherent. It is a faculty, precisely the same- as other faculties, and depends for its manifestations, as do other faculties, upon the development of a certain portion of the brain. Upon the development of this faculty rests all power of achieve- ment, but the person who would unfold this faculty and bring it into use for the purpose of personal gain or any selfish purpose, would thus develop a Frankenstein, a force for evil which, if not held under control by the moral and spiritual power of the individual, will eventually prove a curse instead of a blessing, and the incarnation in which this takes place will leave its trace of a blighting hand upon more than one succeeding incarnation. Functioning upon the astral plane is most ardently desired by prac- tically all who become acquainted with the possibilities of astral sight, but relatively few have succeeded in attaining it. It is perhaps as well 62 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY that this is so, for the ability to function upon the astral plane should be sought and cultivated only by those who possess a large endowment of this faculty, and these, only when the other faculties of the brain are powerful enough to support the explorer of the astral region. The facul- ties which should be strongest are those of independence and individuality, for blind faith or unquestioning veneration are as ropes of sand in times of astral storm and stress. The occult student must realize that those astrals of human origin are the same as he is — merely man, and unless he knows who and what these astrals are whom he will meet in his journey - ings on the astral plane he himself must be his own guide, his own man, and not slavishly yield himself to the whims and wishes of those whom he will meet. Occult students who wish to function upon the astral plane must learn first and most important of all, that the ordinary method of developing this faculty — submission — is the wrong method. The faculties of the higher or mental plane must be brought into action first. Only then is it safe for the ordinary occult student to journey forth upon the astral plane. Slowly gaining astral vision, the student wanders in a maze of strange scenes — scenes, compared to which his wildest and most fantastic dreams, are commonplace realities. Astrals approach — some walking, some drift- ing, some swiftly sailing, as it were. Astrals of trees, buildings, obstruc- tions of all kinds lcom up on every side. To see the astral entities interpenetrate or literally drift through those apparently solid obstruc- tions are experiences which the average student when he regains the physi- cal plane is half inclined to disbelieve ever having occurred. However, a> the ability of the student to function on the astral plane increases, these experiences become commonplace and natural. The student learns to speak, and is spoken to, recognizes friends and is recognized by them. He views happenings taking place far and near, for as there is no obstruc- tion to astral form, so there is no obstruction to astral sight. Space is perhaps one of the most sinking things the student of astral matter lias to consider. The clairvoyant can see as near or as far as he wishes. Sleep does not appear to be a requirement of the astral plane, nor is there any desire for it. Neither food nor drink is used, but the desire for it is prevalent up to certain sub-planes. Every existent physical form has its astral counterpart. Every oon-existenl or destroyed physical object has its complete pic- ture in the Akasic records. OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 63 Time, as we know it, is practically non-existent. Thought forms are very abundant, and it requires considerable practice to distinguish between a strong coherent thought form and some of the weaker astral bodies. The Aura, so called, has been the subject of much discussion and delu- sion. It is simply that part of the astral and mental bodies extending be- yond the physical body. When the astral body is the controlling element, whether permanent or temporary, the astral particles are seen to be in con- stant rapid motion, with a display of frequent flashes of color. With the mental body in control, the astral body is comparatively quiet, depending upon the line of thought that the mental body is pursuing. As to the relative value of the different schools or methods for the development of astral sight, these schools differ far more than is generally supposed. At least two of them proceed along rather indirect lines, and as a consequence the results are of weak uncertain quality. Their develop- ment as healers is nothing more nor less than a weak, uncertain effort to develop astral sight. Their weak, stumbling methods are the direct con- sequence of partial development. Other schools bend every energy toward the development of astral sight, and by their energy and determina- tion, succeed in developing astral sight in a few short months, whereas at least seventy five per cent of the sensitives should have had slew develop- ment and careful training. The use of rough and ready methods is re- sponsible for a large number of partially developed psychics who bring this faculty into disrepute. True occultism, however, differs radically from all other schools. The true occultist knows that the development of clairvoyance before the proper development of the higher faculties, is certain to produce results which are far from pleasant, both for the un- fortunate one and the friends and relatives — From lecture delivered at Dallas, Texas, November 1917. CHAPTER XXIX THE ASTRAL LIFE OF AN ADEPT The question as to the duration of the stay of the adept, or initiate upon the astral plane is constantly being asked. This question can be answered only in a general maimer. For the ordinary person, the length of stay on the astral plane is, roughly speaking, about one half the length of life upon the physical plane. In the case of an adept, or initiate, the 64 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY length of stay is very much reduced, as but few of them desire a prolonged astral period. Highly evolved adepts can reincarnate almost at will, and as they seldom desire a rest period, they rarely enter the Heaven world, and even then only for a very short period of time. This seems incomprehensible to the average individual, but every highly evolved clairvoyant knows that it is a fact. The adept works constantly, whether upon the physical or the astral plane. OCCULTISTS AND MYSTICS The question is often asked: "^What is the difference between an oc- cultist and a mystic?" The question is natural, the answer is simple. The mystic is one who has not yet acquired the knowledge necessary for adeptship. The majority of poets are mystics. The large majority of writers upon occult subjects are mystics, and will shortly evolve into * occultism. DUAL PERSONALITY There are no dual individualities, neither are there dual personal- ties. Dual personalities are always one part fact and nine parts fiction. Practically all of the men who investigate the cases of so-called dual personalities are incompetent for this purpose, as they are almost entirely ignorant of what the mind is, and consequently bamboozled from start to finish. They are unaware of the fact that each man manifests himself as numerous manifestations of his one mind, and consequently we are not singular or dual but multiple. That all of us are positive and negative in the many faculties of the brain is so plainly evident, that it seems incredible that men, otherwise intelligent, would gravely assert that there are dual personalities. Every dancer can dance modestly or immodestly. Every writer can write with morality or with lewdness. Every painter can paint holy or obscene pictures. No one would assert that the (lancer, writer or artist i 1 - n dual personality, yet each one must undoubtedly have entered into the spirit of dance, w riling, or picture, in order to produce it. THERE [S \<> I. \\v OF OPPOSITES (Old and darkness are synonymous, and constitute the positive ele- ment. Lighl and heal are synonymous, and constitute the negative ele- OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 65 ment. Darkness is the eternal, the omnipresent. Light is the localized, the created, the evanescent. Male and female are not opposites; so far from being opposites, they are identical in all save a small portion of the physical body. This small portion instead of being opposite, is complementary. COURAGE There is no such thing as instinctive fear. Fear is a positive function, Courage is a negative function. Courage negatives fear. Courage is a combination of numerous faculties of the brain. Parental, family, tribal or national love, in addition to pride and acquisition, are in most cases, the faculties which combine to form that which is called courage. PRANA Prana is the life force, nerve force, or as it is sometimes called, vital force. Just what it is we do not know, but it comes to us from the sun, and can be seen as bright, golden-colored vibrations — soft, yet radiant. It resembles to some extent the golden matter of the mental plane. Its special organ of absorption is the etheric spleen, but it is ab- sorbed to some extent, by the entire etheric body. Its special organ of distribution in the physical body is the solar plexus, and it is distributed through the entire physical body by means of the sympathetic or vaso motor nerves. The solar plexus is the first organ of the body to evince symptoms of disease, and is the one that should be examined by the clair- voyant who wishes to heal properly. ASTROLOGY Astrology is a beautiful and most fascinating study, but at present it cannot be termed a science, as it is of too diffuse and general a character. All religions are to some extent based upon astrology, as the symbolisms of all religions indicate. PHRENOLOGY Phrenology is an exact science, but as in the case of most sciences, it is of a negative character; that is, it tells only what the faculties of the brain can do but does not tell what the person will do. However, it is infallible in indicating precisely what the faculties of the brain are. Studied in con- 6(5 OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY nection with its handmaid' — physiognomy — it is of the highest importance in the training and education of the young. It should be studied and practised by all who have jurisdiction over the young, as the brain is the organ of the mind. Anything that indicates the faculties of the brain should be utilized. PALMISTRY Palmistry is unquestionably the most useful and at the same time the least understood of the occult sciences. To a thorough student of palmistry, the subject is as an open book, and can be read with marvelous accuracy, surpassing phrenology, because it tells not only what the sub- ject can do, but also what he will do. It far surpasses astrology, which is at its best, but general, while palmistry is specific, and when used by a master, is infallible. APPENDIX Evolution is a slow continuous process. Those whose achievements have been greater by reason of their advancement beyond the average, are usually termed "Old Souls," not because of their greater age, but because of their greater knowledge, for there can be no progress without knowledge. By knowledge is not meant mere belief, for that is a condition denoting lack of knowledge, but the actual knowledge gained by the individual, from functioning within the superphysical states of consciousness. Aspirants for Illumination are those who have evolved far beyond the average or mass of mankind. They are the advanced souls who have strength to stand alone, and who wish knowledge in order that they may assist the evolution of the rest of mankind. They arc those who realize that knowledge is the way of evolution. They are those who have at- tained the clearness of vision so necessary for the step which will place them iu the van of evolving humanity. The qualifications for the aspirant are not many, but few are willing lo take the step which will change the unreal into the real. Many would rather cling last to the darkness of ignorant belief than accept the bright lighl of knowledge. An aspirant must be one who strives to place self to the rear, who will endure the scoffings, scoldings and eludings of others and the ill-concealed wonder and contempt of friends and acquaintances who have not yet found I lie straighl ami narrow path. An aspirant must be one of those who has evolved beyond the vanity of personal adornment, the mad desire for wealth, and beyond sex desire lor the gratification of passion. OCCULT PSYCHOLOGY 6? Love for humanity is the key tone of an aspirant for Illumination. That is the step which marks the evolved soul as a willing and competent pupil of the higher intelligences. An Illuminant is an evolved soul who through the teachings of an Adept has acquired the knowledge that is necessary in order for him to be received as a pupil by the Hierarchy, This knowledge cannot be imparted by books. It must be acquired by actual, direct personal teachings. After the Illuminant has been ac- cepted by the Hierarchs as a pupil, he must progress even faster than before. Greater knowledge and more power are slowly but surely ac- quired by him as long as he continues to serve the cause of humanity. As the Illuminant progresses further he becomes an Initiate or Adept. As he advances he will find that the Path, the straight and narrow way, at times will seem unending. The stones will seem sharp, but with perseverance and a heart devoted to the cause of humanity he will reach a point where straight ahead he can see the beautiful gleaming of the first diamond — the first Initiation. When he has reached that point, he has been accepted by the Hierarchs as one of their teachers, and becomes an Initiate or Adept. If the Illumination is acquired rather early in life and the Illuminant proves himself worthy, the first Initiation is given in the same incarnation. The second Initiation is far more difficult to gain. The third, fourth and fifth are correspondingly hard to attain as the requirements increase in proportion to the degrees of Initiations taken. The knowledge and power of the Initiate increase as his number of Initiations grows. These powers are scarcely dreamed of by the unevolved. Practically all Adepts work in secret with a small number of pupils who have been either selected by them or directed to them by the Hie- rarchs. When the pupil is ready, the master is there. After the Initiate has taken five degrees he becomes a Great Initiate and has acquired vast knowledge and obtained marvelous power. This path is open to all who wish to tread thereon and nothing is re- quired of the aspirant but a desire for knowledge which will be used solely to help mankind evolve. BUCHANAN a CO. PRINTERS BOSTON. MASS- H 36 82 i ^ V L* v V *',^* 1 c v ; ^.,** /jfito"-. V.^ .^v^-. ** .*♦ • , ^fe»*. ^„ <* •**. -y^^* . * v ** . '-^^. , ./ ^* 4* • P JL*« ^ <+ •'Tt; ^V «S°<* 4^ • t * ,* v >°r».. °* ♦.. • ' * u ^^ v . , v SlrtmL* % 4° V > V •- *♦ r-^ "^ ^♦^ Z ^ >] • '^ / J .-^ 4 V ^ J .^ V ^ cP\ci*. " : **<>* «.. *.T 1 &\ \<9Ev° *#**%> Wfw. : 4?\ "•' •'^i- V c° ..^L;. -o j* "b>" .' » ^ V "ol V* .'» \/ #&\ %,♦* -Jfe"- V* #j : ' • " • ' -A, ,S v^ v L**^ -SK* /\ : -'3K- : ^"^ ; -^5K'' s*\ . * ^0^ ,^ v i -^ v t 0,