fully cleared up. Mr. Turvey, in "The Beginnings of Seership," describes his foreseeing the future almost in the same words as I have used to explain the mechanical action of the human mind. He says: "I see a sort of film continually moving, as does an endless 5 belt in a cinematographic film, and it seems to vibrate with very great velocity. Upon it are numerous little pictures, some of which appear to be engraved on the film itself, whilst others are like paleblue photographs stuck on to the film." Dr. Le Bon has commenced to probe the bay of mystery. He says, 10 for instance, that the problem of sending a pencil of parallel Hertzian waves to a distance would render war impossible, as not only all the shells and torpedoes stored in the holds of the enemies' ironclads could be exploded, but also the stores of powder in the fortresses, and even in the metal cartridges of the soldiers. He 15 also says that the ship or fortress could not be protected from the action of the Hertzian waves. Now we find that 'thought," being only a high-tension current, the powder could be exploded also 76 24 "mentally." This shows to what a crisis the world is now coming. Inventions. It has been pointed out that a mortal can obtain 20 knowledge of anything in the material world, past, present, or 122 14 future, if he can get his so-called conscious "mind" to vibrate synchronously with his subconscious "mind." This is because the subconscious "mind" is the cinematographic pictures which constitute the past, present, and future of the material world. 25 Men are finding out that knowledge is not something to be gained 123 13 only by study; they are learning that inspiration is scientific, and that they ought to know anything in the material world that they rightly desire. The greater the number that grasp this fact, the easier it becomes for individuals to bring about this result. The 30 only thing that prevents us all knowing anything that we need is 101 the almost universal belief that this is impossible. 8 When a man tries to invent, he is merely trying to read thoughts. 122 We ought to be able to see an invention ethereally-miscalled 121 36 mentally-before it is manifested materially. Soon many will 35 be able to do this, especially those who know how to work scientifically by true prayer, in order to bring out improved results. Inventions then will increase with great rapidity right up to the end of all human limitations. The work now done by human mechanism will be largely superseded; accurate views of human theories will be generally held; and the time now wasted in going from place to place, and carrying out many mechanical duties, wili be utilised in more advanced and interesting work. 40 45 Dr. Le Bon says: "I have more than once in my researches come across problems, the solutions of which would modify the march of civilisation more profoundly than all the changes of constitutions and reforms. It is only in the progress of science that great social transformation can be looked for." Dr. Le Bon also says: "Science [material science] has not yet any glimpse of the time when it may discover the true First Cause of things, nor even arrive at the real causes of a single phenomenon. It must therefore leave to religions and to philosophies the care of imagining systems capable of satisfying our longing to know All these systems represent the synthesis of our ignorance and of our hopes, and are, consequently, only pure illusions." "Scientific statements change. What is true in one age, becoming antiquated in another, is replaced by further developments. . . . There are things even now being dreamed of in philosophy which were once outside its pale altogether. Philosophy is becoming a far more comprehensive thing than it used to be" (Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S.). 10 The above are perfectly accurate statements, and the great social transformation, due to religion and philosophy, corrected by science, is now shortly about to take place, when man finds himself the image and likeness of God, the consciousness and expression of Mind, in a perfect world of reality, resplendent with glorious mental 1: conceptions, the result of the perfect work of the one Mind, God. Note I on pages 85, 87, and 130. A Proof that there is no such Thing as Time. In the Nineteenth Century, of November, 1912, is a most interesting article from Mr. Wilfrid Ward, giving an experience of the Rev. 20 Spencer Nairne, who, when in Edinburgh, saw a Miss Wallis, who never was there until two months later. Miss Wallis, on her part, saw Mr. Nairne when she arrived in Edinburgh, but he had then left, and was in Norway. Mr. Ward gives full details, after having obtained permission to reproduce Mr. Nairne's own account 25 of the incident. On May 31st, 1859, Mr. Nairne went to Aberdeen with various relations, one of whom was Mr. James Cowan, M.P. At about 8.30 p.m., walking up the street, arm-in-arm with Mr. Chalmers, cousin to Mr. Cowan's brother-in-law, he saw a friend, a Miss 3 Wallis, who passed so close that they almost touched. Miss Wallis evidently saw and recognised Mr. Nairne, but on the latter turning round at once to speak to her, she had absolutely disappeared, and the closest search failed to reveal her. Meeting Miss Wallis later, she complained to Mr. Nairne that he had cut her three weeks 35 before, saying that, being in Aberdeen, she had seen him walking with a gentleman, and stopped to speak to him, calling out to her brother, "Why, there's Mr. Nairne," but that he suddenly disappeared. On comparing notes it was found, and confirmed by Miss Wallis's journal, that whereas Mr. Nairne had seen Miss Wallis, as above mentioned, on May 31st, Miss Wallis was not in Aberdeen on May 31st, but only in the latter part of July, and had never been in Aberdeen before or since. Further, she had never been in Aberdeen in the evening, as her brother lived some distance out of Aberdeen. When Miss Wallis had apparently "The Evolution of Matter." p. 315. 10 15 seen Mr. Nairne, namely, in the latter part of July, he was in Norway. He also kept a journal, so he was able to verify the date. Mr. Nairne writes: "Miss Wallis was one of the last persons who was likely to present herself to my mind had I not seen her, and 5 I saw her so distinctly, and saw her recognition of me so unmistakably, that there is no possibility, in my mind, of explaining the vision away as a case of mistaken identity." Mr. Nairne is still alive, and is, or was lately, Vicar of Latton, in Essex. Mr. Ward writes as follows: "The annihilation of time which such an idea implies seems to raise Kant's metaphysical question as to the objective nature of time, and to give fresh significance to his view that it is only a 'form of thought.'" Note J on pages 102, 106, 107, 150 and 270. The Source of the Troubles at the "End of the World." The following statements by Dr. Lloyd Tuckey will give some idea of the troubles likely to arise at the so-called end of the world, and their source: "There are many people of both sexes who never hear of a disease 20 without fancying they have it. The illness of a royal or distinguished sufferer, the progress of which is daily recorded in the newspapers, will sometimes become almost epidemic; thus, throat specialists can tell some curious stories of the increase of imaginary and real throat affections during the illness of the late Emperor 25 Frederick. That fear will promote disease has been abundantly proved during outbreaks of cholera, small-pox, the plague, and other epidemics. Pseudo-hydrophobia is a recognised malady, and no doubt many supposed cures of hydrophobia have, in fact, been cures of this fear-induced imitation. 30 35 Quoting Sir Benjamin Brodie, he [Dr. Laycock] adds that patients have been so acted upon by their fears, and by seeing their friends affected, that they have imagined they have had tumours of the breast, and it is not improbable that the disease has been so produced. "John Hunter said he was confident of producing a sensation in any part of his body, simply by concentrating his attention upon it. "Sir H. Holland observes: 'In hypochrondriasis, the patient, by fixing his attention on internal organs, creates not merely disordered sensations, but disordered action in them.' And again: 'When 40 there is liability to irregular pulsation (of the heart), this is brought on and increased by a simple effort of attention.' "A medical friend of mine, who is affected with insufficiency of the mitral valves, tells me that he is hardly ever inconvenienced by it, except when he has to examine a patient with heart disease. 45 His attention is then drawn to his own weakened organ, and he suffers from palpitation." "Treatment by Hypnotism and Suggestion," pp. 22-24. Page Line Page Line "The other fact that makes the propagation of belief an easy matter is its own infectious nature. Belief is a contagion, an infection, a leaven which spreads itself if placed in a suitable medium. It is an electric charge which duplicates itself by induction. The only difficulty is at the start. If a visionary succeeds in getting some persons to accept his tale as genuine, his battle is practically won. The greater the number and the more famous they be, the more rapidly it will spread.'* (J. C. Thomas (Keridon), B.Sc.). Dr. Lloyd Tuckey writes: 13 "Nothing can illustrate this truth better than Kinglake's description of the behaviour of the Levantines during an outbreak of the plague at Cairo, showing how these terror-stricken people invited the very danger they feared: 'For awhile it may be that the caution of the poor Levantine may enable him to avoid contact (with the 15 garments of passers-by), but sooner or later, perhaps, the dreaded chance arrives. . . . From that dread moment his peace is gone; his mind, for ever hanging upon the fatal touch, invites the blow which he fears; he watches for the symptoms of plague so carefully that, sooner or later, they come in truth. The parched mouth is 2 a sign-his mouth is parched; the throbbing brain-his brain does throb; the rapid pulse-he touches his own wrist (for he dares not ask counsel of any man lest he be deserted)-he touches his wrist, and feels how his frighted blood goes galloping out of his heart. There is nothing but the fatal swelling to make his sad conviction complete; immediately he has an odd feef under the arm-no pain, but a little straining of the skin; he would to God that his fancy were strong enough to give him that sensation. This is worst of all. It now seems to him that he could be happy and contented with his parched mouth and his throbbing brain and his rapid pulse, if he 30 only knew that there were no swelling under the left arm; but dare he try? In a moment of calmness and deliberation he dares not; but when for a while he has writhed under the torture of suspense a sudden strength of will drives him to seek and know his fate; he touches the gland, and finds the skin sane and sound, 3but under the cuticle there lies a small lump like a pistol bullet, that moves as he pushes it. Oh! but is this for all certainty? Is this the sentence' of death? Feel the gland on the other arm. There is not the same lump exactly, yet something a little like it. Have not some people glands naturally enlarged? Would to heaven he were one! So he does for himself the work of the plague, and when the Angel of Death, thus courted, does in truth and indeed come, he has only to finish that which has been so well begun."" The above show the class of thoughts that will make a hell upon earth if they are allowed their false sense of existence through man's want of knowledge of God. Signs of the End.-Amongst many others, Dr. Thomas, nearly the whole of whose many prophecies have turned out to be accurate, Language, Action, and Belief," in Bedrock of October, 1913. has foretold that the whole of the seven mountains upon which Rome is built (Rev. 17, ver. 9) would be engulfed in one day (Rev. 18, ver. 8) in the fiery abyss that underlies the site on which it is built, "of which Vesuvius may be considered the 5 chimney." Dr. M. A. Nobles, the seismic authority, has recently given warning of a great volcanic "cataclysm" shortly to take place in Europe. There is no reason why this calamity should not be prevented, and in any case reduced, by sufficient systematic right thinking. This is one of the many problems that a leader with 10 sufficient power of foretelling the future, and a sufficient following, could gauge to a nicety, and cause to be destroyed, giving the mental workers of the world notice exactly when to work and when to cease. As an instance of the control for good that was lost to the 15 world by the death of Mrs. Eddy, it may be mentioned that shortly before the end of the Russo-Japanese War, a letter appeared from her, dated June 13th, 1905, as follows: "I request that every member of the Mother Church of Christ Scientist in Boston, pray each day for the amicable settlement of 20 the war between Russia and Japan." I at once ceased to take any more patients, and thousands of others must also have given all their spare time to this work. A fortnight later, a letter from her, dated June 27th, was published, in which she said: "I now request that the members of my Church cease special prayer for 25 the peace." A fortnight later, a letter dated July 22nd appeared, in which she explained that no further prayers were necessary, "because a spiritual foresight of the nation's drama presented itself." Peace followed almost immediately afterwards. An earlier request would have resulted in a somewhat speedier termination of the war, but a greater diminution of the healing work being done all over the world. 30 35 40 45 Note K on pages 115 and 508. Reincarnation. There is a good deal of difference of opinion with regard to details of reincarnation. The following statement of Mrs. Besant sets out the general theosophical belief with regard to it: "The theory of reincarnation, then, in the Esoteric Philosophy, asserts the existence of a living and individualised principle, which dwells in and informs the body of a man, and which, on the death of the body, passes into another body, after a longer or shorter interval." * She also writes: "The Thinker is the Man, the Individual, the reincarnating Ego, and this Ego seeks to become united to the Divine monad." In Note E on page 566, line 43, it will be seen that this does not appear to be the teaching of Buddha. Mr. S. George has compiled a useful treatise entitled "The Origin * "Theosophical Manual No. II," page 8. Ibid. page 14. Page Line |