William Walker Atkinson - Dynamic Thought

e^-^c^

Dynamic

Thought

OR

THE

LAW

OF VIBRANT

ENERGY

BY

WILLIAM

WALKER

ATKINSON

Authorof"ThoughtForce;" "Lawof theNewThought;" "Nuggetsof

theNewThought;" "Memory Culture"andotherScientificand

Occult Works. AssociateEditorof"Suggestion" 1900-01; Editor of "New Thought," 1901-05;

Co-Editor of "The Scgnogramt "

looe.

"1amattackedby twoTery oppositeiect»—the Scientistsandthe

Know-Nothings;bothlaugh atme,callingmethe'Frogs'DancingMaster,'butI knowthatIhavediscoveredoneofthe greatest Forces inNature."—Galvini.

V*

_OFTHL

UNIVERSITY

j

OF

/

of

1906

THE SEGNOGRAM

PUBLISHING

COMPANY

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

By The Segnogram PublishingCompany

Notice.

—

This book is protected by Copyright, and

simulta-neous initial publication in the United States of America, Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and other countries. All rights reserved.

V

OFTHE

'

UNtVE

A FOREWORD

A

578

This

is a queer book. It is _{a marriage} of the Ancient Occult _Teachings to the latest

and

most advanced

_conceptions of

Modern

Science

—

an odd

union, for the parties thereto are of

entirely different temperaments.

The

mar-riage

might

be expected to result disastrously,

were

it not for the fact that a _connecting link

has been

found

that _gives

them

a

bond

of

com-mon

interest.

No

two

_people

_may

_truly love

each other, unless they also love something in

common

—

the

more

_they love in

_common,

the greater will be their love for each other.

And,

letustrust that this will_prove trueinthis

mar-riage of Occultism

and

Science, celebrated in

this book.

The

Occultists _{usually get} at the _"facts,"

first, but they

manage

to evolve such

out-rageous theories to _{explain the facts,} that the

world will

have none

of their _wares,

and

turns

to Science for _something

"

reasonable."

Sci-ence, proceeding along different _lines, at first

denies these "facts" of the _Occultists,not

find-ing

them

accounted for

_{by any}

of her _existing

3 "

A

theories; but, later on,

when

the

*

'facts''

have been _finally thrust under her _eyes, after

re-peated attempts

and

failures, she says,

"Oh,

yes, of course!"

and

proceeds to evolve a

new

theory, welding it with other scientific

hypoth-eses,

and

after attaching a

new

label thereto,

she _proudly exhibits the _{thing as} "the latest

discovery of

Modern

Science"

—

and

smiles

in-dulgently, or indignantly,

when

the theory of

the old Occultists is _{mentioned, saying, "Quite}

a _{different thing,}

we

assure

_you!"

And

yet,

in all _justice, be it _{said, Science usually}

pro-ceeds to find

much

better

"

_proof

s"

to fit the

"facts" of _Occultism, than did the Occultists

themselves.

The

Occultist "sees _{things," but}

is a _poor

hand

at

_"proofs"

—

while the

Scien-tist is _great on "proofs," but so _often,

and

so

long, fails to see

_many

_{things patent} to the

Oc-cultist

who

is able to "look within" _himself,

but

who

is then unable to _positively

and

scien-tifically

"prove"

the facts. This is easily

ex-plained

—

the Occultist's information

comes

from

_"within," while the Scientists

comes

from

without

—

and

_"proofs"

_belong to the

"without"

side of Mentation.

And

this is

_why

the Occultists so often

make

such a _bungle

re-garding

"proofs" and

the Scientist fails to see

"facts" that are _{staring the} Occultist in the

face.

The

whole history of Occultism

and

Science

proves the above.

Take

the

_phenomenon

called

"Mesmerism"

for instance

—

it

was

an

old _story with the Occultists,

who

had

been for

years

aware

of it, theoretically

and

practically.

Mesmer

brought it into _{general prominence,}

and

Science _laughed at it

and

at

Mesmer

's

"fluid" _theory,

and

called

him

a charlatan

and

_imposter.

Years

_{afterwards, Braid,}

an

English surgeon, discovered that

some

of

the facts of

"Mesmerism"

were

_true,

and

he

announced

his _discovery in a scientific

manner,

and

lo! his views

were

_accepted,

and

the _thing

was

called

_"Hypnotism,"

_poor old

Mesmer

_{being forgotten,} because _{of his theory.}

Then, after a

number

_{of years, certain} other aspects of the

phenomenon

were

discovered,

and

_{scientifically} relabelled _{"Suggestion,"}

and

the _re-naming

was

_supposed to

_"explain"

the

entire _subject, the learned ones

now

saying,

"Pooh,

'tis _nothing but '_Suggestion,' as if that

explained the matter.

But

so far, they

have

only accepted certain _phases of this

form

of

Dynamic

Thought

—

for that is

what

it _is,

and

there are

_many

other _phases of

which

_{they do}

not dream.

And

the

same

is true of the Occult _Teaching

that there is "Life in _Everything

—

the

Uni-verse is Alive."

For

_years, this idea

was

A

FOREWORD

hooted at,

and

we

had

learned scientific dis-courses

_upon

"dead

Matter,"

"

inert

sub-stance," etc. _{But, only within} the _past decade

—

_yes, within the last five _years, has Science discovered that there

was

Life in _Everything,

and

thateven inthe

Atom

of mineral

and

chem-ical substance, there

was

to be found evidence

of Mind.

And

Science is _beginning to

_plume

itself on its "recent discovery,"

and

to account

for it

_by

a

new

_theory, which is _{"quite a}

dif-ferent _thing,

we

assure _you,"

from

the old

Occult Theory.

And

the

same

will _prove true in the case of the Occult _Teaching of

an

_{Universal Mind,} or

Cosmic

Mind. Science

and

_{Philosophy have}

long laughed at this, but even

now

their

fore-most

_{investigators} have

come

to the borders of

a

new

_country,

and

are _gasping in

amazement

at

what

_they see

_beyond

its borders

—

_they are

now

talking about "Life

and

Mind

in the

Ether"

—

and

before _{long they} will discard

their _{paradoxical, absurd, hypothetical Ether,}

and

_say,

"We

are bathed in

an Ocean

of

Mind"

—

_{only they} will insist that this

"Ocean

of

Mind"

is, somehow, a "secretion of

Matter"

—

something oozing out

from

the pores of _Matter,

perhaps.

But

Science is _doing valuable

work

in the

di-rection of investigation

and

_experiment,

and

in

this

_way

is _{proving the principal occult} teach-ings in a

way

impossible to the Occultists

themselves.

So,

you

see that both Occultism

and

Science

have their

own

work

to do

—

and

neither can do

the

work

of the other. Just

now

Science is coquetting with the question of

"Thought

Transmission/'

etc., at which she has for so

long sneered

and

laughed.

By

and by

she will

accept the facts,

and

then proceed to _prove

them by

a series of careful

and

conclusive

ex-periments,

and

will then announce the result,

solemnly, as

"a

triumph of Science."

And

so, in this book

you

will find _{a marriage} of the old Occult _Teachings

and

Modern

Scien-tific Eesearches

and

_{Investigation.}

And

the

two

are

bound

_together with that

bond

_forged

by

the writer of the

book

—

heated in the oven

of his _mind,

and

hammered

into _{shape with} his

"untrained''

thought

—

a crude, clumsy thing,

but it serves its _purpose

—

_{a thing} called

"The

Theory

of

Dynamic

Thought.'

*

And

so, this is

what

this

_Theory

is

—

a "tie

that binds."

How

_you

will like it _depends

upon

yourself.

For

himself, the writer does

not hesitate to _say that he is _pleased with his

handiwork, rude,

and

clumsy though it

_may

be.

He

believes that he has

made

_{a thing that} will

stand

wear and

tear,

and

that though it be not

beautifully finished, it "will serve,"

and

"be

useful/'

And

that is the

main

_{thing, after} all.

And,

then, perhaps,

some

may

seebeauty inthe

very crudeness of the thing

—

may

see that it

bears the loving

mark

of the

hammer

that beat

it into _shape

—

_may

_recognize that over it has

passed the caress of the

hand

that

made

it

—

and

in that _{seeing there}

_may

come

_the

recogni-tion of a _beautythat is

_beyond

_{"prettiness."}

WILLIAM

WALKER

ATKINSON.

Los

_{Angeles, California,}

CHAPTER. PAGE.

I. "In the _Beginning" 11

II. _Things as _They Are 20

III. The _Universality of Life and Mind 30 IV. Life and Mind

_Among

the Atoms 41 V. The _Story of Substance 61

VI. Substance and _Beyond 75

VII. The Paradox of Science 96

VIII. The Forces of Nature 109

IX. Eadiant _Energy 121

X. The

Law

of Attraction 135

XL

The _Theory of _{Dynamic Thought} 154

XII. The

Law

of Vibrant _Energy 171

XIII. The Kiddle of the _Sphinx 182

XIV. The _Mystery of Mind .200

XV.

The Finer Forces of the Miud 206

"A

planet,

A

crystal and a cell,

A

jelly-fish and a saurian,

Andcaveswherethe cave-men dwellj

Thenasense of law and beauty,

And a face turned from the _clod,

—

Some call it _Evolution,

And others call it God.M

"Like tides on a crescent sea-beach,

When the moon is new and _thin,

Into our hearts high yearnings

Come welling and surging in,

—

Come from the _{mystic ocean}

Whose rim no foot has_trod,

—

Some of us call it _Longing,

And others call it God."

—

W. H. Carruth.

CHAPTER

I

IN

THE

BEGINNING"

HP

HIS

book will deal with Life. It holds

*

_{that Life is Universal}

—

_{that it is inherent}

in,

and

manifests (in different degrees) in

every part, particle, phase, aspect, condition,

place, or relationship, in the

World

of Things

that

we

call the Universe.

Itholds that Life manifestsin

two

_{aspects or}

forms,

which

are generally

found by

us in con-nection

and

co-operation with each other, but

which

are _{both, probably,}

an

_expression of

some

One

Thing

higher than either.

These

two

aspects or forms,

which

together go to

make

_up

or _produce that

which

we know

as

"Life," are

known

as ₍₁₎ Substance or

Mat-ter;

and

(2) Mind. In this

book

the

term

"Substance"

is used in _preference to

"Mat-11

ter,"

owing

to the fact that the term "Matter*'

has

become

_closely identified with certain ideas

of the Materialistic school of thought,

and

has

generally been regarded

by

the public in the

in the _light of

"dead

matter," whereas this

book holds that all Substance is Alive.

The

term

"Mind"

is used in the sense of

_"Mind,

as

we know

it," rather than as

"Mind,

as itis"

—

_or, as ' l

The

Cosmic Mind.' ' _In

some

places

the _{term "Mind-principle"} is used to _convey

the ideaof

"a

portion of the Great Principle of

Mind, of which that which

we

call 'Mind* is but a small

and

but _partially expressed

por-tion." "These terms are _explained

and

illus-trated as

we

_proceed.

The

aspect of

"Energy

or

Force"

is not treated as a _{separate aspect}

or

form

of Life, in this _book, for the reason

that it is _regarded as _merely a manifestation

of _Mind, as will _appear as

we

_proceed. Wfe"

have

much

to _{say regarding Motion, but} the

writer has tried to _explain

and

_prove that, at

the _{last, all}

Motion

results

from

Mental Action,

and

that allForce

and Energy

is Vital

—

Mental Force

and

_Energy.

This book is not intended to _{run along}

meta-physical or theological lines

—

its field is differ-ent.

And

_so, while it _recognizes the

impor-tance of these branches of

human

_thought, still, it finds that its

own

_particular field is sufficient

to _engross its _{entire attention,} for the

_moment,

and, consequently the aforesaid subjects shall

not be touched

_upon

_{except incidentally, in} con-nection with _{the subject} matter of the book.

This being the _case, there will be

no

discus-sion of the _"origin of Life"

—

the _question of

'•_creation''

—

the _problems of _theology

and

metaphysics

—

the riddle of the

_"Why

and

Wherefore"

of Life

and

the Universe.

The

writer has his

own

_opinions

_upon

_these

ques-tions, but feels that this is not the _place in

which to air the same.

For

the _purposes of the _book, he _prefers to leave _{every reader} to

his

own

favorite views

and

_conceptions

regard-ing these great subjects, feeling that the views

regarding Life, Mind,

Motion

and

Substance,

that are

advanced

in this _book,

_may

be _accepted

by any

intelligent reader, without prejudice to

his, or her, accepted religious or philosophical views.

The

writer sees that this _something called

"Life"

exists

—

he finds it in _evidence

every-where.

And

he sees it _always in its _aspects of

Substance

and

Mind.

And

he _{feels justified} in

regarding

"Life"

as always existing in,

and

manifesting in these aspects

—

always in con-junction

—

at _least, Life

"as

we know

it."

And

he finds certain _apparent

Laws

of Life

in _operation in the Universe to

which

all _Life,

in all of its _aspects, is _apparently amenable.

And

he feels justified in considering these

Laws

constant,

and

invariable,

and

unchangeable so

long as the Universe, as it

now

is, exists.

And

with the above views in _mind, this book

will _proceed to a consideration of its _subject, without attemptingto _peer behindthe veil

sepa-rating the Universe

from

its Causer

—

Life

from

its Source.

But

_{in justice} to _{reader, subject}

and

writer,

the latter _{has thought} it well to state that he

does _recognize, not _only the veil, but

That-which-is-behind-the-Veil.

To

_proceed without

this statement

would

be unfair

and

_misleading.

The

writer wishes to be understood _positively

upon

this _{point, even though} the declaration

may

bring forth the derisive jeer of those

who

feel that _they

"have

_outgrown''

this

concep-tion; or else _{the calm, superior, pitying smile}

of those

who

feel that the Universe is its

own

Cause

and

Effect.

_By

"

Universe,'' the writer

means

"The

whole

_body

of

_Things"

(Web-ster). His declaration

means

that he believes

in _{"That-which-is-above-Things."}

The

_{writer prefers not} to _attempt to "

de-fine'

THAT

which he calls

"The

Infinite."

The word

"Infinite"

means

"without limit in

time, space, power, capacity, knowledge or

ex-cellence" _(Webster).

_And

to "define" is to 14

"limit";

"mark

the limits of";

"mark

the

end

of," etc.

The

term

_"define," as _applied to

"The

Infinite," is ridiculous

—

an

absurd

para-dox.

The

writer echoes _{Spinoza's statement:}

"To

define

God

is to

_deny

Him."

And

so there shall be

no

_attempt at definition or

lim-itation.

But

the

human

_mind, in _{considering the}

sub-ject, is

bound by

its

own

laws to think of

"The

Infinite" _{as Real,}

and

_{actually being}

and

ex-istent, ifit thinks of It at all.

And

if it thinks

of It as "Infinite," it _must,

_by

its

own

_laws,

think of It as _Causeless; Eternal; Absolute; Everywhere-present; All-Powerful; All-Wise.

The

human

mind

is _compelled to so consider

The

Infinite, if it think of It at all.

But

even in so _thinking of It as

_"being"

these _things, it

is _{doing something} like _"defining" or

"limit-ing"

It, for

The

Infinite

must

not only

"be"

those _things, but it

must

"be"

so

much

more,

that _{"those things"} are but as a _grain of dust

on the desert as

_compared

to the real

_"Being"

of

The

Infinite.

For

the

_"things"

mentioned

are but "finite" or "defined" _things

—

_things

possessed

by

the Finite _Things

—

_and, at the

best _{can be but symbols} of the attributes or

qualities of

The

Infinite; even the

words

"at-tributes" or "qualities" being

an

absurdity as applied to

The

Infinite. This view, also,

must

be reported

by

the

human

reason, if it thinks

about the matter at all.

The

final _report of the

human

reason

re-garding this matter is that it is insoluble

and

unthinkable to _{that reason, in} its final _analysis.

This because the

human

reason is _compelled to

use terms, concepts, etc., derived

from

its

ex-perience with finite _things,

and

therefore has

no

_tools, measurements, or other _appliances

with which to "think." of

The

Infinite. All

that it can do is to _report that it finds that it

has limits itself,

and

that it finds

_beyond

those

limits

That

which it cannot define, but which it

is _justified in _considering as _Infinite,

and

su-perior to all finite _conceptions, such as _Time, Space, Causation

and

Thought.

(The

idea of

Thought

being finite, equally with 'Time,

Space

and

_Causation, is not

_{common, by}

the writer is

compelled to _place it in _{that category,} because

itis _clearly under the laws of _{Time, Space,}

and

Cause

and

_Effect,

and must

be considered as

"finite."

The

_"knowledge"

_possessed

_by

The

Infinite

must

be _something far _transcending

that which

we

know

as the result of

"mental

operations,

"

or

"

thinking.

' '

)

Certain fundamental truths

seem

to have been impressed

upon

the

human

_intellect,

and

the reason is _compelled to _report in accordance

therewith.

But an

_analysis of these

mental truths is _futile,

and

the _attempt only-leads one into wild _{speculations.}

The

_only

ad-vantage that

comes from

the _attempt is the strengthening of mental muscle of those

who

are able to stand the strain of the exercise;

and

the fact that

_by

_{such attempt}

we

are

made

aware

that

we

do not _know,

and

_{cannot know,}

by

reasons of the nature of the Intellect,

and

are thus _prevented

from

_{harboring absurd}

and

childish theories about the

Unknowable.

To

know

that

we

_{do not know,}

and

_{cannot know,} is the next _{best thing to actually knowing.}

The

writer does not wish to be _understood,

that the limits of the

human

reason are

unal-terably fixed.

On

the _contrary, he believes

that additional fundamental _portions of

Truth

are _{super-imposed}

_upon

the

mind

of the race

from

time to time.

And

he _{believes, yes,}

knows, that there _{are regions of the}

mind

that give reports higher than those conveyed through the Intellect.

And

he believes that there are phases of

_knowledge

in store for

Man

that will raise

him

as

much

_{higher than}

his _{present position,} as that _{present position} is superior to that of the earthworm.

And

he

be-lieves that there _Beings in existence _to-day, on

planes of _{Life as yet}

undreamed

of

_by

the

aver-age

man,

who

far transcend

Man

in _power,

wis-dom

and

nature.

He

believes that

Man

is

merely just enteringinto his kingdom,

and

does

not realize the _grandeur of that which is his

Divine Inheritance.

It will be as well to mention here that the

classification of

Mind

with the _{aspects of Life,} in _conjunction with _Substance,

and

_Motion,

does not

mean

that the

_Ego

or

Man

is a

ma-terial thing.

The

writer believes that the

_Ego

is a transcendent _{Being, partaking} in

some

wonderful

_way

of the essence of

The

Infinite

—

that it is a Soul

—

Immortal.

He

believes that

as Paul _says,

"We

are all children of _{God, hut}

what

we

shall be does not as _{yet appear.'}\ These matters shall not be discussed in this

book, but the writer wishes to

make

himself

clear, in order to prevent misunderstanding.

Again, in this respect, he

must

"fly in the face of Materialism.,,

But, although the writer expresses his belief

in the existence of

The

Infinite,

and

bases his

philosophy

upon

that_basis, he does not wish to

insist

_upon

the identification of his _conception

with that of

_any

_{other particular conception} of

the Source of Life.

Nor

does he insist

_upon

names, or terms, in connection with _the

concep-tion.

He

has used _{the term,}

"The

Infinite/

'

because it seems to be broader than

_any

other

of which he could think, but he uses it _merely

as a

name

for the

Un-Nameable.

So, if the

reader _prefers, he, or she,

may

use the terms:

"God";

"Deity";

"First

Cause";

"Princi-ple";

"Unknowable";

"Infinite

and

Eternal

Energy";

"The

Thing-in-Itself";

"The

Abso-lute"; or

any

of the other countless terms used

by

Man

in his _attempt to

name

the

Un-Name-able

—

to describe the Un-Describable

—

to

de-fine the Un-Definable.

And

all

_may

retain _{their ideas,} or lack of

ideas, regarding the relation of

The

Infinite to

their

own

particular religious views, or lack of

views.

The

_philosophy of this book

need

not

disturb a

man's

_religious belief

—

nor does it

in-sist

_upon

the

man

_holding

_any

_{special religious}

belief.

Those

are matters _entirely for the

ex-ercise of the

man's

own

reason

and

conscience.

And

_they

_may

retain their

own

_{pet philosophy}

regarding the _{origin, purposes or plan} of the production

and

existence of the Universe

—

this

book shall not

meddle

with their _metaphysics

or philosophy.

What

is herein offered

_may

be

assimilated with the fundamental ideas of

nearly every

form

of religious or philosophical

belief, it _being in the nature of

an

Addition

rather than a _Subtraction, or Division. Its

philosophy is Construtcive rather than

De-structive.

CHAPTEE

II

THINGS AS

THEY

ARE

I*

N

our last _chapter

we

considered the

Source-r

_{of-All-Things,} which

we

called

The

Infinite.

In this _chapter

we

shallconsider the _All-Things

itself, which

men

call

The

Universe.

Note

that

the

word

Universe is derived

from

the Latin

word "Unus,"

meaning

"One,"

and "Versor,"

meaning

"to turn," the combined

word

mean-ing, literally,

"One

that turns, or

moves."

The

Latin

words

indicate a close _{meaning, namely,}

One

_thing in _{motion, turning} its several

as-pects,

and assuming

many

changes of appear-ance.

The

writer does not intend _touching

_upon

theories of _{the origin of the Universe,} nor of

its _{purpose, or} of

_any

_design in its _production or

_management,

nor of its _{possible or probable}

end. These_questions donot_belongto our sub-ject,

and

then again, as

was

said in the last

chapter, speculation regarding it is devoid of

results,

and

leads one to _quicksands

and

bogs

of mental _reasoning,

from

which it is difficult

to extract oneself.

The

answer

to the Riddle

of the Universe rests with

The

Infinite.

But

it is different with the case of the

mani-festedUniverse that is evidenced

_by

our senses.

Science is a different _thing

from

metaphysics,

and

its _process

and

mode

of

work

are along

different lines.

_And,

much

_knpwledge

of

Things

may

be obtained

from

a consideration; of it

—

_remembering

_{always, that} its

_knowledge

is confined to _Things,

and

not to That-which-is-;

back-of-Things.

And,

so let us consider the

Universe of _Things.

Material Science has held that the Universe

is

_composed

of

two

_principles, (1) Matter; (2)

Energy

or Force.

Some

hold that these

two

principles really are aspects of the

same

thing,

and

that there is _really but one _Principle, one

aspect of which is _{shape, form, etc.,}

and

called

Matter; the other a quality manifesting in

Mo-tion,

which

qualityis called Force. Others, the

most

radical, hold that there is _{nothing but} Matter,

and

that Force

and

Energy

is but a

"

quality,'

'

or

"

_power,' inherent in Matter.

Others hold that Force is the "real _thing''

and

Matter but a

form

of Force. Allbranches hold

to the idea that Matter

and

_Energy

are _always

found _together,

and

can not_{be thought} of

sepa-rately. Matter

and

Force are held to be Eter-nal,

and

Infinite, it _{following that there} can be

' 21

no addition _to, or subtraction

from

_either; all

apparent loss

and

_gain, creation

and

destruc-tion _{being but} change of

form

or mode.

God

is _{declared unnecessary,}

and

the Universe is held to _{operate according} to certain

Laws

of

Matter or Force (either or both)

which

are

un-changeable

and

immutable

—

eternal

and

always

valid.

Mind

_{and Thought}

are held to be

prod-ucts of _properties of Matter or Force _{(one or}

both), secreted, evolved, or produced in the

Brain.

The

Soul is _relegated to the waste

heap,

and

discarded as useless in the

new

philosophy. Moleschott said,

"Thought

is a

motion of _Matter";

and

_Holbach, that

"Matter

enjoys the

power

of _thinking.'*

"Natural

Laws"

are held to be sufficient for the explana-tion of all

_phenomena,

_{although ignoring} the fact that the reason has never before

formed

the _conception of a

_"law,"

_{without thinking} it

necessary to think of a

_"law-maker,"

or a

power

to enforce

and

administer the law.

How-ever, the philosophers hold that it is

no more

difficult to think of such a law than to _try to

form an

idea of _Space or _Eternity, both of

which are unthinkable to the

human

reason, but

both of which are admitted as self-evident

facts.

But

_{notwithstanding} this

somewhat

crude

ac-complished a wonderful

work

in the world,

and

has brought to _light facts of inestimable value

to

Man

in mastering the _{material world,}

and

in

forming correct ideas of the solution of

ma-terial difficulties.

The

facts of Material

Sci-ence enables the world to _{cheerfully overlook}

itstheories.

And

even the theories_{are rapidly}

undergoing a change, and, as

we

have

stated,

some

of the

most

advanced scientists _are

rapid-ly reaching the position of the Occultists

and

mystics, bringing with

them

a

mass

of facts to

back

them

_up, to exhibit to the Occultists

who

dealt with _principles rather than with _details,

or material facts, so far as fundamental theo-ries

were

concerned.

Each

is _boring his

_way

through the

mountain

tunnel of the

_Unknown,

and

both will

meet

in the _centre, their lines

meeting each other without a variation.

But

the Occultists will call the tunnel-centre _Mind,

and

the scientists will call it _Matter, but both

will _{be speaking} of the

same

_thing.

And

the

Causer of the

mountain

will _probably

know

that _{they both} are _right.

But,

we

are speaking of the

new

school of

ad-vanced Material Science

now

—

not of the old conservative

"All

is Matter'[ _people,

who

have

been left behind. 'The

new

school _speaks of

Substance now, instead of _Matter,

and

ascribes

to

"

Substance''

the _properties of _Matter,

ergy,

and

something that they, call Sensation,

by

which they

mean Mind

in a crude _form,

and

from

which _they say

Mind

and

"Soul"

evolved.

This

new

school of Scientists are_very

differ-ent

from

their _predecessors

—

_they are less

"hide-bound,"

and

far

from

being so

"cock-sure."

_They

_{are seeing} Matter melting into

Energy,

and

giving signs of Sensation,

and

they are beginning to feel that, after all, there

must

be a _{Thing-in-Itself}, that is the real basis

of, or "real thing" in Substance.

There

is

heard very little

_among

them

about

"dead

mat-ter"; "blind force"; or of the "mechanical theory" of Life

and

the Universe. Instead of it _beinga _{big machine, operated}

under

mechan-ical _laws, with Life as the _steam, the Universe

is _beginning to _{be regarded} as

somehow

filled

with _Life,

and

Science is _finding

new

_examples

of Life in _{unexpected quarters,}

and

the

"dead

matter" area is _being narrowed.

Men

who

have followed the advances

made

by

recent _{Science are holding} their breaths in

awe and

earnest _expectation

—

and

those

who

are _{pushing the inquiries}

and

_{investigations to}

the furthest extent are _showing

_by

their _eager

faces

and

_trembling

hands

that _they feel that

they are very close to the border line

separa-ting the old Materialism

from

a

New

Science that will _give

_{Thought and}

_{Philosophy a}

new

impetus

and

a

new

platform.

Such

men

are

feeling that they are seeing the old Matter

melting

away

into _something else

—

the old

theories are _{falling apart}

under

the _light of

new

discoveries

—

and

these

men

feel that _they

are penetrating a

new

and

hitherto _unexplored

region of the

Unknown.

May

success be theirs,

for they are

now

on_{the right} road to Truth.

In the _{following chapters}

we

shall see

fre-quent references to

"

Science'I

—

and

when

we

use the

word

we

shall

know

it

means

this

new

school of _Scientists, rather than the older school that is

now

_{being superceded.}

There

is

no

conflict between

True

Occultism

and True

Science, notwithstanding their directly

oppo-site theories

and

ideals

—

_they are _merely

look-ing at the

Truth

from

different viewpoints

—

at

different sides of the

same

shield.

A

better

day

is _coming,

when

_they shall

work

_together,

instead _{of in opposition.}

There

should be

no

partisanshipin the search for Truth.

Things

have

worked

this

_way:

Occultism

would

enunciate a _theory or _principle—but

would

not _attempt to _prove it

_by

materialfacts,

for it

had

not _gathered the _{facts, having}

found

the principle within themind, rather than

with-out. _Then, after _laughing at the occult _theory

or _principle, Science

would

search _diligently

for material facts to _prove

an

_opposite theory, 25

DYNAMIC THOUGHT

and

in so _doing

would

unearth

new

facts that

would

_supportthe Occultists contention.

Then

Science

would

discard its old _{theory (that is,} the _younger

men

would

—

_{the old ones, never)}

and

_proceed to _{proclaim a}

new

_{theory or}

prin-ciple, under a

new

name,

and

backed

_up

with

a

mass

of facts

and

_experiments that

would

cre-ate a

new

school with

_many

enthusiastic

fol-lowers.

The

old claim of the Occultists

would

then be forgotten or else _{go unrecognized under}

its old

name

; or disguised

by

the fantastic

and

bizarre _coverings which

some

so-called

Occult-ists

had

_draped

around

_{the original} Truth. But, so long as

Truth

is _{being uncovered,}

what

matters it

who

does the _work, or

_{by what}

name

he calls his school.

The movement

is ever forward,

and

_upward

—

what

matter the

banner under which the armies

move?

In this

book

the writer will _{advance a very}

different _theory of the Universe of _All-Things

from

that of

Modern

Science, although he feels

that his _theory

_may

_easily be reconciled with

the

most

advanced views of that school.

In the first _place, as he has stated in the first

chapter, he does not hold that _{the Universe,}

as

we know

it, is self-sufficient, but he

recog-nizes a

_Something

back of all

_phenomena

and

appearances, which

Something

he calls

"The

Infinite.,,

And

he differs _{very materially}

from

the

views of those

who

claim that

Mind

is but a property, or quality, or something proceeding

from

Matter or Force, or Matter-Force, or

Force-Matter

—

_according to the views of the

respective schools.

He

takes

an

entirely

dif-ferent

and

_opposite position.

He

holds that all that

we

call Matter (or

Sub-stance)

and

Mind

(as

we know

it) are but

as-pects of something infinitely higher,

and which

may

be called the

"Cosmic

Mind."

He

holds

that

what

we

call

"Mind"

isbut a_partial

mani-festation of the

Cosmic

Mind.

And

that

Sub-stance or Matter is but a cruder or _grosser

form

of that

which

we

call _Mind,

and which

has

been manifested in order to _give

Mind

a

_Body

through

which

to _operate.

But

this view he

merely states in passing, for he

makes

no

at-tempt to demonstrate or _prove the _same, his

idea _being that it

forms

a different _part of the general subject than the phase of

"Dynamic

Thought,"

to the consideration of

which

this

book is devoted.

He

also differs _{very materially}

from

the

Ma-terialistic school in his _conception of

Force

or Energy. Instead of _{regarding Force} as a dis-tinct _principle,

and

as _something of

which

Mind

isbut a_form, he walks_{boldly out} into the arena

of Scientific _Thought,

and

_throwing

down

his 37

gauntlet, proclaims his theory that

"

There

is

no

such _thing as _{Force apart}

from

Life

and

Mind"

—

"All Force

_{and Energy}

is the _product of Life

and

Mind

—

all _Force,

_Energy

and

Mo-tion result

from

Vital-Mental Action

—

all

Force,

Energy

and

Motion

is Vital-Mental Force,

Energy

and

Motion."

—

"The

Mind

abiding in

and

permeating all _Substance, not

onlyhas the

power

to _{Think, but} also the

_power

to _Act,

and

to manifest Force

and

_Energy,

which are its inherent

and

essential

proper-ties."

He

also takes _{the position} that

Mind

is in

and

about

and around

_Everything.

And

that

"Everything

is Alive

and

_Thinking."

And

that there is

no

such things as

"Dead-Matter,"

or _{"Blind-Force,"} but that all _Substance, even

to the tiniest _Particle, is

_permeated

with Life

and

_Mind,

and

that all Force

and Motion

is

caused

and

manifested

_by

Mind.

He

holds that all forms of _Force,

_Energy

and

Motion,

from

the Attraction of the Particles of

Matter,

and

their

movements

in _response

there-to,

up

to the Attraction of Gravitation,

and

the response of the _Worlds,

and

_Suns,

and

_Stars,

and

_{Planets, thereto}

—

are

forms

of Mental

En-ergy

and

Force,

and

Action.

And

that

from

the tiniest_{atom, or particle,} to_{the greatest}

Sun

—

all _obey this Great Action of

Mind

—

this 28

Great Force of

Mind

—

this Great

_Energy

of

Mind

—

this Great

Power

of Mind.

And

_upon

this rock

—

this rock of _Truth, he

believes it to be

—

he takes his _stand,

and

an-nounces his belief,

and

bids all-comers take

notice of

what

he believes to be _{a germ-thought}

that will _{grow, develop,}

and

increase so that it

will _{eventually permeate} all Scientific

_Thought

as the _years roll _along.

He

calls this _theory

"The

_Theory

of

_Dynamic

_Thought.''

CHAPTER

HI

THE

UNIVERSALITY OF LIFE

AND MIND

/

_T^HE

writer has

deemed

it advisable to

*

preface his consideration of

"Mind"

in itself, as well as of Substance

and

Motion, with

two _{chapters, the purpose} of which will be to

demonstrate that _Mind, in

some

form

or

de-gree, is to be found in connection with all

Things

—

and

that _{Everything has} Life

—

and

that

Mind

is

an accompaniment

of all Life.

To

many

the

term

"Mind"

means

_only the "think-ing quality" of

_man,

or _perhaps of the lower

animals;

and "Life"

the _{property only} of such

organic creatures.

For

that reason ithas been

deemed

advisable to _point out that Life

and

Mind

are found even in the lowest forms of

substance

—

even in the _{inorganic world.}

In this _chapter

and

from

now

on, the writer shall use the term "the

_Mind,"

_etc., to indicate

the particular mental _{principle of the} creature

or

_thing—

the bit of

Mind

that is _segregated

from

the _rest,

and

_{which each person} thinks of

as

_"mine,"

_just as he thinks of

_"my"

_{body, as}

distinguished

from

the universal _supply of 30

Substance.

The

term

"Mind"

will be used in

its Universal sense.

And,

the writer intends to use

Elmer

Gates' term,

"Mentation,"

in the sense of _"effort;

ac-tion; or effect; in or of, the

Mind"

—

in short,

"mental

_process."

The word

is useful

and

when

one has learned to use it, he will prefer it

to the

more

complicated terms.

Eemember,

then, please

—

' 'Mentation''

means

' *

Mental

Process." Mentation includes that

which

we

call

_"Thought,"

as well as

some

more

elemen-tary

forms

of mental _{process that}

we

are notin

the habit of _dignifying

_by

_{the term, Thought,}

which

latter

we

_usually reserve for mental

process of a higher order.

So, then,

"Mind"

is the _something of

which

one's _particular

Mind

is

_composed;

"The

Mind"

is that _{something possessed}

_by

_one,

_by

and

_through

which

_{he "thinks";}

"Mentation"

is mental _process;

and

_"Thought"

is a

ad-vanced kind of Mentation.

At

least, the said

words

will be so

_employed

in this _book,

from

now

on.

In this _chapter,

_you

are asked to consider the

fact that Life is Universal

—

that _Everything is

Alive.

_And,

that

Mind

and

Mentation is

an

at-tribute _{of Life,}

and

_{that, consequently,}

Every-thing has Mind,

and

is able to _{express a degree} of Mentation.

DYNAMIC THOUGHT

Forms

of Life, as

we know

them, are always

seen as possessing

two

_aspects, viz., (1)

Body

(Substance);

and

(2) Mentation (Mind).

The

two

aspects are always found in combination.

There

_may

be _living creatures

who

_occupy

bodies of so fine a

form

of Substance as to be

invisible to the

human

senses

—

but their bodies

would

be

"

Substance' '

just as

much

as is the

"body"

of the _granite rock.

_And,

in order to

"think," these beings

would

need to have a

material _{something corresponding} to the brain,

though it befiner _{in quality}than the _{rarest gas,} vapor, of electric wave.

No

_body, without Mentation;

no

Mentation without abody. This

last is the invariable

law

of the world of

Things.

And

naught but

The

Infinite

—

That-which-is-above-Things

—

can be

exempt

from

that law.

In orderto_grasp the idea of the _Universality of_Mind, letus _{go back}to the _{elementary forms} of_{Things, and, step}

_by

_step, see

how

Mentation

manifests itself in _{every point} on the scale

from

mineral to

man

—

_{using "bodies ranging}

from

the hardest rock to that finest

form

of

known

Substance—

the Brain of

Man.

As

Mind

advances in the scale of evolution it cre-ates its

own

_{working instrument}

—

the

_body

(in-cludingthe _brain)

and

_shapes,

and moulds

it to

Men-tation _possible at that _stage.

Mind

is the

moulder

—

_body

(and brain) that

which

is

moulded.

And

Inclination, Desire,

and

Will,

are the motive

_powers

_leading to _gradual

Un-f_oldment, the _{impelling cause being} the _craving

for Satisfaction.

We

shall

make

_{our journey}

backward

—

and

ignoring Beings higher in the scale,

we

shall

start with

Man.

_Leaving

out of the

considera-tion, for the

moment,

the fact of the existence

of the

_"Ego,"

or "_Spirit''

of

_{Man, which}

is higher than

Body

or

Mind

—

and

_considering

"the

Mind

of

_Man,"

rather than the

Man

him-self

—

we

have our starting point on the

down-ward

_{journey of investigation.}

We

need

not devote

much

attention to the consideration of

the

Mind

of

_Man,

at this _{stage, although}

we

shall

have

much

to do withit, later on.

But

we

_may

undertake a brief consideration of the _{descending degrees} of Mentation as

manifested

_{by Man,}

as

we

pass

down

the scale in the

human

_{family, considering in turn,} the

Newtons, Shakespeares,

Emersons,

Edisons,

and

their brothers in _intellect, in the field of

mathematics, literature, music, art, invention,

science, statesmanship, business, skilled

work-manship, etc., respectively.

From

these high

levels

we

_{pass down, gradually, through} the

strata of

men

of but a _{slightly lower degree} of

intellect

—

down

through the strata of the

"av-erage

man"

—

down

through the strata of the

ignorant

man

—

down

through the strata of the

lowest type of our

own

race

and

time

—

down

through the strata of the barbarian, then on to

the _{savage, then} on to the _{Digger Indian,} the

Bushman.

What

a difference

from

_highest to

lowest

—

a _being

from

another world

would

doubtthat _they

were

all of the

same

_family.

Then

we

_{pass rapidly through} the various

strata of the lower animal

_kingdom

—

from

the

comparatively high degree of Mentation of the

horse, the dog, the elephant, etc.,

down

through

the _descending scale of the

_mammals,

the

de-gree of Mentation

becoming

less

marked

at

each _{step of the journey.}

Then

_{on through} the

bird_kingdom.

Then

throughthe world of

rep-tiles.

Then

_through the familyof fishes.

Then

through the millions of

forms

of insect _life,

in-cluding those wonderful creatures, the ant

and

the bee.

Then

_{on through} the shell-fish _family.

Then

_{on through} the

_community

of _sponges,

polyps,

and

other low

forms

of life.

Then

on

to the vast_empire of _{the microscopic} creatures,

whose

name

is _legion.

Then

on to the plant

life, the highest ofwhich have

"

sensitive cells" that resemble brains

and

nerves

—

descending

by

stages to the lower plant life.

Then

still

lower to the world of bacteria, microbes,

and

infusoria

—

the _groups of cells with a

common

life

—

the

monera

—

the _single cell.

The mind

thathas followed us inthis descent of_life,

from

the_highest

form

to thecell-like

_"thing"

_merely

"

existing" in the slime at the

bottom

of the

ocean, has acquired a sense of

awe

and

sublim-ity not

dreamed

of

by

"the

man

on the street."

The

_{degrees of} Mentation in the lower

ani-mal kingdom

are well

known

to all of _us,

there-fore,

we

neednot devote

much

timeto their

con-sideration at this time.

_Although

the _degree

of Mentation in

some

of the _lowly

forms

of

animal _life, are scarcely above that of the plant

life _{(in fact,} are inferior to that of the _highest

plants), still

we

have accustomed ourselves to

the use of the

word

"Mind"

in connection with

even the lowest animals, while

we

hesitate to

apply the

word

to the _plants.

It istrue that

some

of us do not like to think

of the _{lower animals "reasoning,"} so

we

use

the

word

"Instinct" to denote the _degree of

Mentation of the lower animal.

The

writer does not_{object to the}

word

; infact, he shalluse

it for the sake of _{distinguishing} between the

several mental states. _But,

_remember,

"In-stinct" is but a

term

used to denote a lesser

form

of

"Reason

"—and

the "Instinct" of the horse or

_dog

is a fine _thing

when

we

consider

the

"Reason"

of the

Bushman

or _Digger

dian.

_However,

we

shall not _quarrel about

words.

Both

"Reason"

and

"Instinct"

mean

degrees or forms of "Mentation," the

word

we

are _using.

The

lower forms of animal life

ex-hibit _{Mentation along} the lines of _sex-action;

feeling

and

taste.

Then

by

degrees

come

smell,

hearing

and

sight.

And

then something very like

_"reasoning"

in the case of the _dog, ele-phant, horse, etc. Mentation _everywhere in the _{animal kingdom,} in

some

_degree.

No

doubt about Life

and

_Mentation, there.

But what

about Mentation

and

Life in the

plant life? All of

you

admit that there is

"Life"

there

—

but about _{Mentation, well,} let

us see!

Some

of

you

draw

the line at the

word

"Mind"

in connection with _{plants, although}

you

freely admit the existence of

"Life"

there.

Well,

remember

our

axiom

—

"no

Life without

Mentation." Let us try to _apply it.

A

moment's

reflection will _give

_you

instances of Mentation

_among

_{the plants.} Science has

called it

_"Appetency,"

rather than admit

"Mind,"

the

_{word "Appetency"}

_being defined

as

"an

instinctive _{tendency on} the _part of low

forms

of _organic life to

_perform

certain acts

necessary for their _well-being

—

such as to se-lect

and

absorb such _particles of matter as serve to _support

and

nourish them." Well,

that looks like a _degree of _{Mentation, doesn't} 36

it!

_Many

_young

animals evidence little or

nothing

more

than

"Appetency"

in _suckling.

We

shall _adopt the

_{word "Appetency"}

to

des-ignate the Mentation in plant-life.

Remember

this, please.

Anyone

who

has raised trees _{or plants} has

noticed the instinctive efforts of _{the plant} to

reach the water

and

_sunlight. Potatoes in

dark cellars have been

known

to send forth shoots _twenty feet in _length in order to reach an _opening in the wall. Plants

have

been

known

to

bend

_{over during the night}

and

_dip

their leaves in _{a pot} of water several inches

away.

The

tendrils of _{climbing plants} seek for the stake _{or support,}

and

find _{it, too,}

al-though it has been

_changed

_daily.

The

tendril

will retwine itself, after it has been untwisted

and

bent in another direction.

The

_{tips of} the

roots of the tree are said to

show

a

sensitive-ness almost akin to that of the limb of

an

ani-mal,

and

evidently possess something akin to

nerve matter.

Duhamel

_placed

some

beans in a _cylinder of

moist earth.

When

_they

_began

to _sprout, he turned the _cylinder

around

_quarter

_way

of its circumference; then a little

more

the next

day

;

and

so on, a little each _day, until _{the cylinder}

had

described a _complete revolution

—

had

been turned _completely around.

Then

the beans

were

taken

from

the earth,

and

lo! the roots

and

_sprouts

formed

a complete spiral.

With

every turn ofthe cylinder the roots

and

sprouts

had

_{changed their position}

and

direction

—

the

roots _striving to

_grow

i '

downward,

' '

and

the

sprouts striving to

grow

"

upward'

'

—

until the

spiral

had

formed.

Akin

to this is the boy's

trick of _uprooting a _sprouting seed,

and

re-planting it _{upside down,} in

which

case the

sprouts begin to turn a semicircle until it is

able to

_grow

_straight

_up

to the surface of the

earth, while the roots describe a semicircle

until _they can

_{grow downward}

once more.

And

so on, story after story of

"Appetency"

or Mentation in _{plants might be told,} until

we

reach _{the insect-catching species,}

when

eventhe

most

conservative observer is forced to admit

that: _"Well, it does almost

seem

like

think-ing, doesn't it!"

Any

lover of plants, flowers

or _trees,

and

who

has been able to _study

them

at first _{hand, does not} need

much

_argument

to

prove that _plant-life exhibits traces of

Menta-tion,

some

ofit _{pretty far advanced,} too.

Some

lovers of _{plants go} so far as to claim that one

must "love"

_{plants before they} will succeed in

growing them,

and

that _{the plants} feel

and

re-spond to the _feeling.

But

the writer does not

insist

_upon

_this,but _{merely mentions} it in

pass-ing.