The Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science

By Thomas Troward, Late Divisional Judge, Punjab, 1904

XIV. THE BODY - 1

Some students find it difficult to realize that mental action can produce
any real effect upon material substance; but if this is not possible there
is no such thing as Mental Science, the purpose of which is to produce
improved conditions both of body and environment, so that the ultimate
manifestation aimed at is always one of demonstration upon the plane of the
visible and concrete. Therefore to afford conviction of an actual
connection between the visible and the invisible, between the inner and the
outer, is one of the most important points in the course of our studies.

That such a connection must exist is proved by metaphysical argument in
answer to the question, “How did anything ever come into existence at all?”
And the whole creation, ourselves included, stands as evidence to this
great truth. But to many minds merely abstract argument is not completely
convincing, or at any rate it becomes more convincing if it is supported by
something of a more concrete nature; and for such readers I would give a
few hints as to the correspondence between the physical and the mental. The
subject covers a very wide area, and the limited space at my disposal will
only allow me to touch on a few suggestive points, still these may be
sufficient to show that the abstract argument has some corresponding facts
at the back of it.

One of the most convincing proofs I have seen is that afforded by the
“biometre,” a little instrument invented by an eminent French scientist,
the late Dr. Hippolyte Baraduc, which shows the action of what he calls the
“vital current.” His theory is that this force, whatever its actual nature
may be, is universally present, and operates as a current of physical
vitality perpetually, flowing with more or less energy through every
physical organism, and which can, at any rate to some extent, be controlled
by the power of the human will. The theory in all its minutiae is
exceedingly elaborate, and has been described in detail in Dr. Baraduc’s
published works. In a conversation I had with him about a year ago, he told
me he was writing another book which would throw further light on the
subject, but a few months later he passed over before it was presented to
the world. The fact, however, which I wish to put before the reader, is the
ocular demonstration of the connection between mind and matter, which an
experiment with the biometre affords.

The instrument consists of a bell glass, from the inside of which is
suspended a copper needle by a fine silken thread. The glass stands on a
wooden support, below which is a coil of copper wire, which, however, is
not connected with any battery or other apparatus, and merely serves to
condense the current. Below the needle, inside the glass, there is a
circular card divided into degrees to mark the action of the needle. Two of
these instruments are placed side by side, but in no way connected, and the
experimenter then holds out the fingers of both hands to within about an
inch of the glasses. According to the theory, the current enters at the
left hand, circulates through the body, and passes out at the right hand,
that is to say, there is an indrawing at the left and a giving-out at the
right, thus agreeing with Reichenbach’s experiments on the polarity of the
human body.

I must confess that, although I had read Dr. Baraduc’s book, “Les
Vibrations Humaines,” I approached the instrument in a very sceptical frame
of mind; but I was soon convinced of my error. At first, holding a mental
attitude of entire relaxation, I found that the left-hand needle was
attracted through twenty degrees, while the right-hand needle, the one
affected by the out-going current, was repelled through ten degrees. After
allowing the instrument to return to its normal equilibrium I again
approached it with the purpose of seeing whether a change of mental
attitude would in the least modify the flow of current. This time I assumed
the strongest mental attitude I could with the intention of sending out a
flow through the right hand, and the result as compared with the previous
one was remarkable. The left-hand needle was now attracted only through ten
degrees, while the right-hand one was deflected through something over
thirty, thus clearly indicating the influence of the mental faculties in
modifying the action of the current. I may mention that the experiment was
made in the presence of two medical men who noted the movement of the
needles.

I will not here stop to discuss the question of what the actual
constitution of this current of vital energy may be–it is sufficient for
our present purpose that it is there, and the experiment I have described
brings us face to face with the fact of a correspondence between our own
mental attitude and the invisible forces of nature. Even if we say that
this current is some form of electricity, and that the variation of its
action is determined by changes in the polarization of the atoms of the
body, then this change of polarity is the result of mental action; so that
the quickening or retarding of the cosmic current is equally the result of
the mental attitude whether we suppose our mental force to act directly
upon the current itself or indirectly by inducing changes in the molecular
structure of the body. Whichever hypothesis we adopt the conclusion is the
same, namely, that the mind has power to open or close the door to
invisible forces in such a way that the result of the mental action becomes
apparent on the material plane.

Now, investigation shows that the physical body, is a mechanism specially
adapted for the transmutation of the inner or mental power into modes of
external activity. We know from medical science that the whole body is
traversed by a network of nerves which serve as the channels of
communication between the indwelling spiritual ego, which we call mind, and
the functions of the external organism. This nervous system is dual. One
system, known as the Sympathetic, is the channel for all those activities
which are not consciously directed by our volition, such as the operation
of the digestive organs, the repair of the daily wear and tear of the
tissues, and the like. The other system, known as the Voluntary or
Cerebro-spinal system, is the channel through which we receive conscious
perception from the physical senses and exercise control over the movements
of the body. This system has its centre in the brain, while the other has
its centre in a ganglionic mass at the back of the stomach known as the
solar plexus, and sometimes spoken of as the abdominal brain. The cerebro-
spinal system is the channel of our volitional or conscious mental action,
and the sympathetic system is the channel of that mental action which
unconsciously supports the vital functions of the body. Thus the cerebro-
spinal system is the organ of conscious mind and the sympathetic is that of
sub-conscious mind.