THE MYSTERY OF MIND
The writer, in this book, has treated the two manifestations of Life,
_viz._, Mind and Substance, as if they were separate things, although he
has hinted at his belief that Substance, at the last, might be found to
emanate from Mind, and be but a cruder form of its expression. The
better way to express the thought would be to say that he believes that
both Substance, and Mind _as we know it_, are but expressions of a form
of Mind as much higher than _that which we know as Mind_, as the latter
is higher than Substance. But he does not intend to follow up this
belief, in this book, as the field of the work lies along other lines.
The idea is mentioned here, merely for the purpose of giving a clew to
those who might be interested in the conclusions of the writer,
regarding this more remote regions of the general subject.
The writer agrees with the Ancient Occult Teachings regarding the
existence of The Cosmic Mind, as he has stated in the last chapter.
This Cosmic Mind, he believes, is independent of Substance, in fact it
is the Mother of Substance, and its twin-brother, _Mind as we know it_.
_Mind, as we know it_, and Substance are always found in connection with
other. It is true that the form of Substance, used by Mind as its body,
may be far finer than the rarest vapor that we know, but it is Substance
nevertheless. The working of the Great Plan of the Universe seems to
require that Mind shall always have a body with which to work, and this
rule applies not only in the case of the densest form of Substance and
the Mind-principle manifesting through it, but also in the case of the
highest manifestation of Mind, as we know it, which requires a body
through which to manifest.
This constant combination of Mind and Substance--the fact that no
Substance has been found without at least a trace of Mind, and no Mind
except in relation to and combination with Substance, has led many
scientific thinkers to accept the Materialistic idea that Mind was but a
property of Substance, or a quality thereof. Of course, these
philosophers and thinkers have had to admit that they could form no idea
of the real nature of Mind, and could not conceive how Substance really
_could_ "think," but they found the Materialistic idea a simpler one
that its opposite, and so they fell into it. Notwithstanding the fact
that there was always a Something Within that would cry "Pshaw!" at the
conclusion of the argument or illustration, these men have thought it
reasonable to believe that there was no such thing as Mind, except as a
result of "irritation of tissue," etc. But, nevertheless, there is
always a Something in us that, in spite of argument, keeps crying like a
child, "_'taint so_!" And, wonderful to relate, we heed the little
voice.
This Materialistic theory is a curious reversal of the facts of the
case. Even the very conclusions and reasoning of these thinkers is made
possible only by the existence of that Mind which they would deny. The
human reason is incapable of "explaining" the inner operation of the
Mind, upon a strictly and purely physical basis. _Tyndall_, the great
English scientist, truthfully said, "_the passage from the physics of
the brain, to the corresponding facts of consciousness, is unthinkable.
Granted that a definite thought and a definite molecular action of the
brain occur simultaneously, we do not possess the intellectual organ,
nor apparently any rudiment of the organ, which would enable us to pass
by a process of reasoning from the one phenomenon to the other._"
The Materialist is prone to an attempt to rout the advocates of "Mind"
with a demand for an answer to the question, "What is Mind?" The best
answer to that question lies along the proverbial Irishman's lines of
answering a question by asking another one, resulting in the "answering
question," "What is _Matter_?" As a fact, the human reason is unable to
give an intelligent answer to either question, and the best opinion
seems to be to consider them as but two aspects of Something, the real
origin of which lies in Something Higher, of which both are aspects or
forms of expression.
The Occult Teaching, with which the writer agrees, is that the "Mind"
inherent in any portion of substance, from the Corpuscle up to the Brain
of Man, is but a segregated (or apparently separated) portion of the
Universal Mind-principle, or Cosmic Mind. This fragment of Mind is
always connected with Substance, and, in fact, it is believed that it is
separated from the Universal Mind, and the other Separate Minds by a
"film" of the rarest Substance, so fine as to be scarcely
distinguishable from Mind. This separation is not a total separation,
however, for the fragment of Mind is in connection with all other
fragments of Mind, by "mental filaments," and besides is never out of
touch with the Cosmic Mind.
But, comparatively, the fragment of Mind is _apart_ from the rest, and
we must consider it in this way, at least for the purpose of study,
consideration, and illustration. It is like a drop in the Ocean of Mind,
although connected, in a way, with every other drop, and the Ocean
itself.
The individual Mind is not closely confined within the Substance in
which it abides, but extends beyond the physical limits of the
Substance, sometimes to a quite considerable distance. The Aura, or
egg-shaped projection or emanation of Mind, surrounding each Particle
and each Individual, is an instance of this. In addition to the Aura,
there is possibly an extension of Mind to a considerable distance beyond
the immediate vicinity of the physical limits, the connection, however,
never being broken during the "life" term.
Mental influence at a distance, however, does not always require the
above mentioned projection of the Mind. Thought-waves often answer the
purpose, and, besides, there is such a thing as the imparting of Mental
vibrations to the small particles of Substances with which the
atmosphere is filled, which vibrations continue for quite a time, often
for a long period after the presence of the individual producing them.
These matters shall be discussed in later chapters of this book.
The Mind of Man is a far more complex thing that is generally imagined
by the average man. Not only in its varied manifestation of
consciousness, but its great region of "below-consciousness" or Infra
Consciousness, as it is called. It shall be the purpose of the sequel to
this book (now in preparation) which will be entitled "The Wonders of
the Mind," to describe these inner workings, and to point out methods of
utilizing the same.
Our next chapter, entitled "The Finer Forces of the Mind," will lead us
into this field.