CHAPTER XV. - THE FINER FORCES OF THE MIND

IT was the writer's original intention to close the book with the chapter in which he brought to a close his argument, and presentation of the case of "Dynamic Thought." The book was written for the purpose of demonstrating that Theory, and it naturally should have closed there. The writer has in simultaneous course of preparation a companion book, entitled "The Wonders of The Mind," in which, in addition to information and instruction regarding the latent powers and hidden regions of the mind—including an investigation of the Infra-conscious and Ultra-conscious Regions; Automatic Thinking; Occult Systems of Mentation; Mental Development, and Unfoldment, etc.—he purposes taking up the subject of "Dynamic Thought," from the Mental Plane of Man. And he thought it better to keep the two branches of the subject separate and apart.

But, notwithstanding the above facts, he feels that he cannot close the present book—the [Pg 207]consideration of the present phase of the subject, without at least a passing reference to the fact that "Dynamic Thought" is fully operative on the Plane of Human Mentation, as on the Plane of Atomic Mentation. In fact, Man has the same power, potentially, that is possessed by the Atom, only refined to a degree corresponding to the development of Man as compared to that of the Atom. The Power is raised to a higher Plane of Mentation, but is fully operative.

Just as the body of Man contains physical life corresponding with the different stages of lower physical life, mineral, vegetable, and animal—for instance, the mineral-like bones, and the mineral salts in the system; the plant-like life and work of the cells; and the animal-like flesh, and physical life; in addition to the wonderful brain-structure and fine brain development, peculiar to Man—so has Man the lower Mental Qualities of the lower life, in addition to his glorious Human Consciousness that is reserved for the Highest Form of Life on the globe.

In his Mental regions, man has the power of the Atom of attracting particles of Substance to him, that he may combine it with other Substances in building up his body—then he has the plant-like cell mentation, that does the building-up work, and repairs wounds, and damaged[Pg 208] parts, etc.—then he has the animal mentation evidencing in the passions, desires, and emotions of the purely animal nature, and which mentation, by the way, keeps Man busy in controlling by means of his higher mental faculties, that are God's gift to Man, and are not possessed by the animals. But all this will form part of the sequel, "The Wonders of The Mind," and are merely mentioned here in passing.

And, just as Man is enabled to use elementary the physical qualities that he finds in his body, and to turn same to good account in living his human life, so does man, consciously, or unconsciously, make use of these elementary Mental powers in his everyday mental life. And if he but realizes what a conscious use of these faculties, guided by the Human Will, will do, Man may become a different order of being. This is the basis of the Occult Teachings, and the Mysteries of the Ancients, as well as the teachings of the modern secret esoteric bodies and societies, such as the "Rosicrucians" and "Hermetic Brotherhood," and several other societies whose names are not known—the real societies are referred to, not the brazen imitations that unscrupulous men are holding out to the public as the original orders, membership being offered and urged for the consideration of a few dollars. It is needless to say that membership in[Pg 209] the real Occult orders is never urged, and cannot be bought.

But to return to the subject—the Individual Mind of Man is in direct touch, not only with the great Cosmic Mind, but also with the Individual Mind of every other Man. Just as the Particles are bound by lines of Attraction, so are the Minds of Men bound together by lines of Mind, or Mental filaments. And just as special forms of Attraction exist between the Particles, so do special forms of Attraction exist between Men. And just as Particles are influenced at a distance by other Particles, so are Men influenced at a distance by other Men. And just as the Particle draws toward itself that which it Desires, so do Men draw toward themselves that which they Desire. And just as Mental-States and "Excitement" are transmitted, or communicated from Particle to Particle, so are Mental States or "Excitement" transmitted or communicated from Men to Men. "As Above so Below—as Below so Above," says the old Occult Maxim, and it may be found to operate on every plane.

The phenomena of Thought Transference; Telepathy; Telesthesia; Mental Projection; Suggestion; Hypnotism, Mesmerism, etc., etc., may be explained and understood, by reason of an acquaintance with the "Theory of Dynamic[Pg 210] Thought," as explained in this book. An understanding of one gives you the key to the other—for the Law operates precisely the same on each particular plane. If the reader will think over this statement, and then apply it to his investigations and experiments, he will find that he has the key to many mysteries—the loose end of a mighty ball of thread, which he may unwind at his leisure.

Let us begin by a consideration of the process of Thought-production in the Human Mind. In this way we may arrive at a clearer idea of the Mental Phenomena known as Thought-Force; Mental Power; Thought-waves; Thought-vibrations; Mind-transference; Mental Influence, etc. To understand these things we must begin by understanding the Process of Thought-production. Here is found the Secret of the phenomena named, and much more.

In the first place, while the Brain is the Organ of the Mind—the Instrument that the Mind uses in producing Thought, still the Brain does not do the thinking, nor is the brain-matter visible to the eye, the material instrument of thinking. The Brain (and other portions of the nervous systems, including the "little brains" or ganglia, found in various parts of the body) is composed of a certain substance—a fine form of Plasm, which however is but the ground-work[Pg 211] of foundation for finer forms of Substance used in the production of Thought. Science has not discovered this finer Substance, for it is not visible to the eye, or to the finest instruments, but trained Occulists know that it exists. This fine Substance escapes the scalpel and microscope of the biologists and anatomists, and, consequently, their search for "Mind" in the Brain is futile. There is something more than "tissue to be irritated" in the Brain. But, remember, that this "something more" is still Substance, and not Mind itself.

Thought is a form of "Excitement" in this fine brain-substance, which we may as well call Psycho-plasm, from the two Greek words meaning "the mind," and "a mold, or matrix," respectively—the combined word meaning the "mould or matrix of Mind," in other words the material Substance used by the Mind in which to "cast" or "mold" Thoughts.

This Excitement in the Psychoplasm manifests in vibrations of its particles—for, like all Substance, it has "particles." All scientists agree that in the process of thinking there is an expenditure of Energy, and a "using-up" of material Substance. Just how this is effected, they do not know, but their experiments have shown that there is Energy manifested and used, and also Substance consumed.[Pg 212]

The secret of the production of Thought does not lie in the Brain or nervous system, which are but the material substratum upon which the Mind works, and which it uses as a mold or matrix for the production of Thought. Thought is the product of Mind directing Force upon Substance in the shape of Psychoplasm. And Energy is manifested in the production of Thought just as much as in the operation of the Law of Attraction, or Chemical Action. "What Force and Energy?" may be asked. The answer is "Mental Force!" But although the answer stares them right in the face, scientists deny that Mind contains Force or Energy within itself, and persist in thinking of Force as a "mechanical thing," or as necessarily derived from the common forms of Energy, such as Heat, Light or Electricity. They ignore the fact that Mind has a Finer Force which it uses to perform its work.

How do the Atoms attract each other and move together? There is an evidence of Force and Energy here that is not Heat, Light or Electricity—what is it? When a man wishes to close his hand, he Wills that it be closed, and sends a current of this Finer Force of the Mind along the nerve to the muscle, and the latter contracts and the hand is closed. A similar[Pg 213] process is used in every muscular action. What is the Force used?

Science admits the existence of this Force, and calls it "Nervous Energy," or "Nerve Force." It holds that it must be something like Electricity, and some even go so far as to say that it is Electricity. They base their ideas upon the fact that when Electricity is applied to the muscle of living or dead animals, they contract just as they do when this "Nerve Force" is applied, and every movement of the muscles may be so produced by Electricity, which becomes a counterfeit Nerve Force. But, here is the point, this Force cannot be identical with Electricity, for none of the appliances for registering electric currents will register it. It is not Electricity, but is some Finer Force of the Mind, generated in the material substratum that the Mind uses as a base of operation.

This Fine Force of the Mind is generated in some way in the Brain and Nervous System, by action upon the Psychoplasm. The Brain, or brains (for Man has several centres worthy of that term) are like great dynamos and storehouses of this Force, and the nerves are the wires that carry it to all parts of the system. More than this, the nerves have been found to be generators of Force, also, as well as the[Pg 214] Brain. Experiments have shown that the supply of Force in a nerve vanishes when the nerve is used, in which case it draws upon the storehouses for an additional supply.

This Fine Force of the Mind is really the source of All Energy, for as we have shown in previous chapters, all Motion arises from Mental Action, and this form of Force or Energy is the primal Force or Energy produced by the Mind. And this Force is in operation in all forms of Life, from the Atom to the Man. And not only may it be used by the Particle, but Man, also, has it at his disposal.

As a proof that Substance is "used-up," and Energy manifested in the production of Thought, Science points to the fact that the temperature of a nerve rises when it is used, and the temperature of the Brain increases when it is used for extended Thought. Scientists have claimed, and advanced a mass of proof to back up the same, that Thought was as much a form of Energy as was the pulling of a train of cars, and was attended by the production of a definite amount of Heat, resulting from the activity of the fine substance of the physical extended resistant and composite substratum.

But, Science has taken all this to mean that Thought and Mind were purely material things,[Pg 215] and properties of Matter. It has claimed that "Matter Thinks," instead of that Mind uses the Matter or Substance, in its finer forms, as a substratum for the production of Thought. Buchner, the leader of the purely Materialistic school, claims positively that Thought is but the product of Matter. He says: "Is it not a patent fact, obvious to all but the wilfully blind that matter does think? De la Mettrie made merry over the narrowness of the mentalists, in saying: 'When people ask whether matter can think, it is as though they asked whether matter can strike the hours!' Matter, indeed, as such, thinks as little as it strikes the hours; but it does both, when brought into such conditions that thinking, or hour-striking results as a natural action or performance."

The above quoted opinion of Buchner shows how narrow and one-sided a talented man may become by reason of shutting out all other points of view, and seeing only one phase of a subject. The example of the "hour-striking" is a poor figure for the Materialists, for although matter does strike the hours, it does so only when wound up by Man under direction of his Mind. And in the manufacture, adjustment, and winding of the clock, Mind is the Cause of the Action. And, more than this, the very action of the coiled spring that is the immediate[Pg 216] cause of the striking, results from the mental effort of the Particles of the spring endeavoring to resume their accustomed position, under the law of Elasticity, as explained in our chapters on Substance.

Science renders valuable service in showing us the details of the "mechanism" of Thought, but it will never really explain anything unless it assumes the existence of Mind, back of and in everything. It may dissect the brain-cells, and show us their composition, but it never will find Mind under the scalpel, or in the scale or test-tube. Not only is this true, but it cannot even discover the fine Psychoplasm which is used in the production of Mind. But we may make use of its investigations regarding the matter of Activity of Brain-substance in the process of Thought, and by combining them with our belief regarding the existence of Mind we may form a complete chain of reasoning, without any missing-links—these missing-links appearing both in the case of the "no-mind" philosophers, and the "no-matter" metaphysicians.

This theory of Mind and Substance considered as the two aspects of Something Higher, from which both have originated or emanated, will come to be regarded as the only "thinkable" proposition, in the end. And, with this[Pg 217] idea in view, we may use the facts and experiments of the Materialists, while smiling at their theories. And, with but a slight change of words, we may turn against them their own verbal batteries. In this way, we may take Moleschott's famous statement: "Thought is but a motion of Matter," and render it intelligible by making it read as follows: "Thought produces Motion in Matter."

This Finer Force of the Mind is in full evidence to those who look for it, and although it may not be registered by the scales or instruments designed to register the coarser grades of Force, still it is registered in the minds of men and women, and in the actions resulting from their thoughts. These living registers of the Force respond readily to it,—and every one of us is such a register. Just as is the Force a much higher grade of Energy than the forms usually considered as comprising the entire range of Energy, so are the instruments required for its registration much higher than those used to determine the degrees of Heat, Light, Electricity, and Magnetism. It may be that the future will give us instruments adapted for the purpose—in fact it begins to look even now as if the same were forthcoming. But whether we have such mechanical instruments, or not, the living instruments give us a suffi[Pg 218]cient proof of the existence of the Force, and its operation.

Well—the writer still finds himself unable to bring the book to a close. He added this chapter, to show that the property of Dynamic Thought extended to the highest development of Mind, as well as abiding in the lowest. And, now that he has ventured upon the subject, he finds himself impelled to give you a few instances of the workings and operations of that Law, in the case of Human Mental Life. And this means one more chapter—but only one, remember. The book must come to an end sometime remember. And, so we will pass over into another chapter, which will be entitled, "Thought in Action."[Pg 219]