Put Your Psychic Powers to Work: 
a practical guide to parapsychology
1973

evelyn monahan
with
terry bakken

Excerpts from the book with - https://twitter.com/i/events/1496775977258860549
                      &                                    - http://gln.trustmenows.com//0882291327 

Nelson-Hall
Company,Chicago

1973 II Printing

To Betty C.Reaid,
who has been the greatest source
of inspiration and encouragement
to Evelyn Monahan.

To the four children of Terry Bakken-
Shari,Jim,Lori,and Karen-
who will grow up to inherit a world
made better through the science of parapsychology.



                         Contents

                        Foreword — IX

                        1.   Clairvoyance 
                           and Psychometry — 1

                        2.   Telepathy — 21

                        3.   Human Aura — 29

                        4.   Psychokinesis — 37

                        5.   Mediumship — 47

                        6.   Reincarnation — 61

                        7.   Dermaoptics — 77

                        8.   Meditation — 95

                        9.   Visualization — 109

                        10. Ethics — 125

                        Index — 133

                        * * *


                 "   ... ... ... 
59.


            6     Reincarnation.


    “You only live once! Or do you?”  For centuries man has pondered the question of reincarnation, the doctrine that holds that man lives not one life but many lives on earth. Up to the present day most interest in the doctrine of reincarnation has been confined to the Eastern hemisphere. Only within the last 20 years have scientists in the Western hemisphere seriously researched the question of the human soul's rebirth into another carnal body for the purpose of living out another life not in an after-world but right here on earth. Even though scientists have only recently begun to study the subject, belief in and investigation of reincarnation has been present for centuries, even in the West.
    In considering the theory of reincarnation it is important to understand that we are not concerned here with the theory of transmigration of souls, which holds that souls are reborn on earth in many forms, ranging from trees to lower animals to man. Reincarnation is the rebirth of a soul in another human form only, although the human form itself may change with each incarnation, so that a soul in one lifetime may inhabit the body of a female, and in the next lifetime the body of a male.
    The important thing to remember about the theory of reincarnation is that the soul continues to inhabit a human body. However, the theory does allow not only for changes in sex but also for changes in race; that is, a person may incarnate in the yellow race in one lifetime, in the black race in another, the white race or the red race in still other lifetimes. The theory is based on the belief that man must experience everything before he can return to being nothing. This nothing is not a state of bankruptcy but the only state great enough to contain everything.
    For centuries Yogis and other mystics have spoken of cycles of creation. In a poetic sense these cycles may be considered days and nights of creation. The Christian Bible, along with the holy books of many religions, holds that all that exists came out of nothing. Eastern religions have expanded on this idea in referring to a day of creation as a state in which the Unmanifest Creator or Absolute becomes manifest. In this process of manifestation the Absolute puts certain limits on itself. All manifest creation knows some limitation; it has a beginning and it has an end. Only in the state of non manifestation or nothingness are no limitations to be found.
    Once the process of manifestation has begun, the process of centering—the return to the unmanifest state—also has begun. These two processes are different sides of the same coin. Just as there can be no coin with one side, so there can be no beginning of manifestation without the simultaneous beginning of centering—the Absolute pulling everything back to itself—to return to the unmanifest state of nothingness.
    So, according to the doctrine of reincarnation, individualized spirit, the soul manifests in the corporeal body of a human being so that it might experience and evolve to the point where it can be brought back to the unit of pure being, nothingness. The words, “the soul is to experience and evolve,” form another pillar in the foundation of belief in reincarnation. Those who have taught the doctrine have stated that the soul is evolving along spiritual lines, and with each new lifetime the opportunities needed for its further growth are presented.
    This idea of spiritual evolution, or evolution of the noncorporeal soul, is analogous to the idea of physical evolution. We do not intend to speak here for or against the theory of physical evolution but only to point out that a belief in spiritual evolution, or the idea of a growth toward perfection, is not unique to the theory of reincarnation.
    A Hermetic teaching states, “As above so below.”  If man does evolve physically—and certainly biologists, geneticists, and physical anthropologists have produced valid evidence to support this theory—then according to the Hermetic teaching we also can expect the soul to modify itself through experience as it seeks to achieve the state of unity with the Absolute from which it emerged.
    But what of Christianity? Do the historical documents of the Christian religion contain any allusions to a doctrine of reincarnation? Let us examine the principle historical document of Christianity, the Bible.
    Consider, first, Ecclesiastes 1:9-11: “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already of old time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things.” We shall return later to the last sentence in this passage, for it bears greatly on a portion of the foundation for a belief in reincarnation.
    The concept that a soul inhabiting one body has previously inhabited the body of a person now deceased is again alluded to in Matthew 11:11-15: “Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than ]oh.n the Baptist. . . . For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John: And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.​” The prophet Elias had long since departed the physical earth; yet by Matthew's word Jesus stated to a multitude that John the Baptist was indeed Elias. Whether we look at the Bible as an inspired book or as a historical document this testimony certainly indicates that those who lived in Christ's time were well acquainted with the idea of reincarnation.
    In fact, Christ was thought to be the reincarnation of one of the prophets, as evidenced in Matthew 16:13~14. “When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his Disciples, saying: Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said: Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.” This response would have given Christ the perfect opportunity to dismiss as ridiculous the idea that any man could be the reincarnated soul of a man who had previously experienced physical death. Interestingly, the Bible shows no evidence of Christ's repudiating the belief that men who walked the earth in his time could possibly be the reincarnated souls of deceased persons.
    Among the many theories about why the doctrine of reincarnation fell out of favor with the Christian church is one that postulates that church and state rulers believed they could more easily control their subjects if the people believed they had a one-time chance to attain heaven. (Keep in mind here that for many centuries church and state were united.) It is in no way suggested here that this is the only possible explanation for the discontinuance of teachings about reincarnation. Possibly few events—most likely no events-have one simple explanation.
    Before beginning a discussion of what facts science can offer for and against the theory of reincarnation, let us consider the doctrine of Karma, which is nothing more than the law of cause and effect. The doctrine states simply that by initiating certain actions, man sets into motion laws that carry reactions back to him. Karma does not mean good or bad but simply speaks of reciprocal returns. Many people believe erroneously that if one subscribes to the theory of reincarnation he has license to do anything he wants without fear of denial of heaven or threat of hell. Careful study of the doctrine of karma, though, reveals that, rather than granting license, karma, in fact places on mankind responsibility for every thought and action. The doctrine clearly states that the soul will evolve according to the manner in which it decides to act. Here again the Hermetic teaching of reciprocal returns is reflected in the laws of physics: every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
    Karma, as no other world doctrine, places on each individual full responsibility for the exercise of his own free will. According to this doctrine no person can safely rationalize any action or even thought simply by stating, “It wasn't my fault, so-and-so made me do it.​” 
    The reader may ask here, “What about circumstances that are not under one‘s control?” The responsibility still is left with the individual. Although a person may not always control circumstances, the manner in which he responds to such circumstances is completely in the realm of free will and individual choice. A person may feel that the alternatives open are so unsatisfactory as to leave no choice, but the fact remains that no matter how unpleasant alternatives seem they are still alternatives, and one rather than another can be selected. The key here is man's free will. He may try to assuage the pain that ultimate responsibility can bring, but free will marks him indelibly as responsible for even his smallest actions.
    Remember that Karma is not concerned with value judgments, or whether a thought or an action is good or bad. Another way to view Karma is to see it as a law of opportunity. If our actions and thoughts are returned to us, then Karma allows each of us the opportunity to freely choose what those returns will be.
    In Lloyd C. Douglas’s book, Dr. Hudson’s Secret Journal, Dr. Hudson chooses to receive nonmonetary returns on money loaned to various people. He tells persons who would repay him to keep the money but be obliged to pass it along to someone else if and when they encountered a person in need. He felt that in this way his gift would make a full circle and return to him, perhaps not as money but in some manner that would be beneficial to his life. So the doctrine of Karma has appeared in Western literature even though the word Karma has not been applied to the philosophical thought.
    The Christian Bible contains passages that allude to the doctrine of Karma. Perhaps one of the most often quoted passages is Matthew 7:12. “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” 
    We have mentioned that in reincarnation a soul evolves with each life spent on the earth. The next incarnation of the soul will depend much on what the soul has learned in the previous life. Again we find in the Christian Bible a verse that reflects this belief. In the Apocrypha, The Wisdom of Solomon 8:19-20, we find the words, “Now I was a child good by nature, and a good soul fell to my lot. Nay, rather, being good, I came into a body undefiled.”
    It is not our purpose here to fully expound the doctrines of reincarnation and Karma; that task would require another book. However, the information given here should acquaint you with these ideas and allow you an opportunity to decide for yourself whether you want to research the doctrines more closely.
    Let us now examine the scientific views of reincarnation. Since intellect and objective evaluation are two of the major tools of scientific investigation, we may begin by asking what events in everyday life suggest the possibility that reincarnation is not merely a theory but an actuality.
    One possible way of considering reincarnation is through the discipline of physics. A basic law of physics is the law of conservation of energy, which holds that energy can be neither created nor destroyed but is merely transformed from one state to another. Since all that exists can be reduced to some form of energy, man, too, can be placed in this category. Thomas Edison once stated in his diary, “Life, like matter, is indestructible. There has always been a certain amount of life in this world and there will always be the same amount. You cannot create life; you cannot destroy life; you cannot multiply life.” This remark aptly illustrates the first argument in favor of reincarnation.
    Another possible argument in support of the validity of the theory of reincarnation has its basis in the self. Evidence found in human nature expresses man's belief in the indestructibility of the personality or ego. Can you think of a time when you did not exist? Do not consider historical events that occurred before your birth but, rather, try to conceive of a state of nonexistence of your own soul or personality. Conceive in your mind, if you can, the point at which you were not!
    Small children frequently provide a further illustration of this concept. When adults are discussing occurrences in their childhoods children often ask, “Where was I when you were a child?” It seems impossible for a child to conceive of the time when he did not exist!
    Child prodigies suggest another argument in favor of reincarnation. How is it that some children display great talent in certain fields at a very early age? Mozart, for example, was able to play difficult concertos on the piano when he was six years old. Is it possible that a soul which enters life on earth brings with it talents developed in a previous lifetime?
    Certainly these are arguments and not conclusive evidence to support the theory of reincarnation. However, they have posed enough questions, to laymen and scientists alike, to initiate research into the phenomenon.
    Much of the research has involved regression through hypnosis, a technique that has obvious and subtle drawbacks. First, we do not suggest that everyone interested in reincarnation become engaged in research through hypnotic regression. The use of hypnosis is best left to those clinically or medically qualified. Second, one must consider whether the person who is conducting such experiments has in any way suggested to the subject that he is regressing to a specific time and place. If such suggestions are given even inadvertently, the experimenter may find himself with a beautiful piece of fiction that portrays life in an earlier period. Great care must be taken to give no suggestions that the subject might use as building blocks for the foundation of an imaginary lifetime.
    In this type of research more than minimal numbers of problems arise in obtaining specific names and dates. The subject will recall either isolated given names or isolated surnames and is often vague about dates and names of cities or towns. It is easy to understand that the researcher’s task in this area is difficult. Many times when specific names and dates are given they refer to a time prior to recorded history, which makes verification all but impossible.
    The investigator's work into reincarnation is not always aided when specific names and dates given lie within the range of written history. Then the researcher must rule out any possibility that the subject may have come on the information while reading, attending a movie, listening to a conversation, or engaging in some academic study that would have covered the area mentioned. However, careful research into the history of the time may strongly suggest the validity of the subject’s statements. For example, a subject may recount a life in which he was an ordinary citizen, with no claims to fame. If the subject also gives dates and facts about this earlier person’s life, and his account is proved valid through close research, the investigator may consider that he has a case suggestive of reincarnation.
    In several universities scientists well qualified in the fields of medicine, psychology, and physics are conducting research along these lines. Another line of research simultaneously taking place attempts to explain verified information suggestive of reincarnation by means of the theory of genetic memory. Scientists who are investigating the possibility that man is born into this life with racial memories are considering the possibility that our genes convey to our children not only biological but also memory characteristics.
    Flatworms have been used in several studies to test this hypothesis. A generation of flatworms trained to prefer light rather than dark spaces is killed after evidence of learning has been shown, and a food product is prepared from the remains. This food stuff then is fed to a group of flatworms not trained to prefer lighted areas. The offspring of this group, with no previous training, have selected lighted rather than dark areas. This experiment to explore the possibility of genetic memory, however, is no more conclusive at this time than are thoroughly researched cases suggestive of reincarnation. To arrive at a perspective of truth one must see clearly from many different vantage points. The scientist must always be the objective viewer, systematically researching various possibilities until the best possible explanation is reached in the process being investigated.
    If the reader has access to small children he can conduct his own research. Small children often refer to events that would necessarily have had to occur in a former life if they occurred at all. Several students at Georgia State University have related experiences along these lines with their own children.
    One such incident is the case of a student’s five-year-old daughter who refused to ride in an airplane. The child told her mother that she wanted never to ride in an airplane because previously she had been killed in an airplane crash. The child was quite emphatic in stating that before her present life she had died in a fiery plane crash. Further, the child said this crash occurred when she was grown up, not a little girl. The child’s mother was disturbed by the story and feared the youngster might be experiencing a clairvoyant impression of her own future. Although such an impression is possible in the light of many similar recorded cases it does not seem probable.
    Other cases involving such reports from youngsters include a six-year-old’s tale of a life as a seaman on a sailing ship, with a vivid description of sailing vessels and a sketchy but impressive account of navigation. Another child who claimed to have died of a specific disease recounted symptoms that were medically verified as those that would accompany the illness.
    If the reader finds an opportunity he can take advantage of the chance for research by writing down the facts the child relates. He should question the child in an attempt to gain more specific information, but he must be very careful at all times not to suggest anything to the child that could feed the youngster’s imagination. With such facts in hand the student might research the material at a good reference library, and if the facts involve a foreign country he might contact agents in that country who could verify or deny the facts.
    When the subject of reincarnation is being considered, students of parapsychology at Georgia State University most often question earth's increasing population. Where do all the new souls come from?
    A tenet of reincarnation holds that the soul when sufficiently evolved may choose not only the time in which it wants to incarnate but also the specific circumstances into which it will be introduced. Therefore, many souls may delay the beginning of another life on earth until the conditions necessary to their own personal experience are present. Even though this idea often surprises students, since it places on them the responsibility for having chosen their life circumstances, they are willing to consider it as a possible explanation for population growth. 
    We will not deal with astrology here but do want to point out that astrology as a science has much evidence to support its validity. If a soul can choose its moment of incarnation, then according to the science of astrology the time that contains an exact set of circumstances for any individual comes around every 25,000 years. That is, if an astrologer were to cast the natal chart of an individual 25,000 years would pass before that individual would find exactly the same astrological conditions.
    If the reader feels any reluctance to consider astrological information he should be aware that Carl Jung strongly believed that the astrological moment of birth stamped the individual with an indelible mark or tendency toward encountering certain circumstances. Remember, as before, that man's free will in regard to response to these circumstances is always an intervening factor.
    Where the soul resides and what it does between incarnations is a question science cannot attempt to answer at this time. Yoga and other mystical religions teach that the soul spends this time in another dimension or plane of existence. They propose the existence of many such dimensions or planes, which the soul inhabits according to its level of spiritual evolvement. These religions teach that during its habitation of these planes the soul's function is to consider mistakes made and experience gained in previous lifetimes, and that the soul will decide what new experience it wants in its next incarnation as well as what experiences will best stimulate and enhance its spiritual evolvement. As previously stated, no scientific proof is available for the existence of such way stations between incarnations, nor is there proof positive that reincarnation is a fact.   
    It is encouraging to realize that scientists are contributing increasing amounts of time and energy to research in all fields encompassed by parapsychology, including reincarnation. It is not for science to judge whether reincarnation is indeed a fact. The purpose of scientific investigation is to research possibilities and present the evidence to be evaluated in regard to any topic, whether that evidence supports or disproves the theory being investigated.
    Perhaps it is a mark of intellectual evolvement and a new openness of the mind that scientists are trying to answer questions that only a decade ago they would not even acknowledge. We can only hope the spirit of openness that has allowed inroads in fields that promise great benefit and knowledge to mankind is but a beginning—the vanguard announcing a new renaissance of human potential.

76.


            7         Dermaoptics.



    The literal definition of dermaoptics is skin sight, but this explanation of the phenomenon is inadequate. By means of dermaoptics a sighted person can learn to read through sealed opaque envelopes and discern the contents of photographs or written material enclosed in them. The phenomenon also allows an individual to discern color through touch without actually seeing the color with the eyes.
    Although these acts may sound astounding, they have indeed occurred. For two years research and classes have been conducted at Georgia State University, where the techniques were first introduced and refined. Students in a psychology course offered through the School of Special Studies at Georgia State University not only learned rather quickly to distinguish the content of photographs sealed in envelopes but also were able to report both tactile and emotional sensations that reflected the situation portrayed in the pictures.
    Historically, the concept of dermaoptics is not new. At conferences on psychology persons reported to have this ability have been introduced. The Russians also have conducted research with individuals able to display the phenomenon. One of the chief differences between dermaoptics as discussed here and as historically discussed is that previously it was thought to be a unique gift that only a few individuals possessed. It will become clear on reading this chapter that dermaoptics is not limited to a gifted elite but is an ability contained in human nature itself.
    The ability, in fact, lies dormant in most of the world’s population. Classes and research conducted with a cross-section of the population have shown beyond doubt that with adequate training and the use of the proper techniques the ability can be placed literally at the fingertips of any individual interested enough to receive instruction.
    Dermaoptics offers much to mankind, but offers even more to those who, either having been born blind or having lost their sight after birth, are without eyesight. We shall treat the sighted and the unsighted separately in relation to dermaoptics, since the techniques involved in putting each group in touch with this innate ability are somewhat different.
    First we shall consider dermaoptics as it affects both the congenitally blind and those who through some trauma or disease became blind after birth. To teach a person born blind to distinguish color is a matter entirely different from teaching a person who at least has some concept of the meaning of the word color. This difference becomes clear in working with students who have become sightless in their early teens or late twenties compared with students who were born blind.
    The unique difficulties involved in attempting to teach color distinction may become clearer if one keeps in one ’s own mind what images the word color brings to him, and then considers the individual with no concept of what the term connotes. It would be impossible to ask such a person what color he feels has been placed in his hands without first explaining to him what a sighted person means by color. Add to this basic obstacle the complexity of various tones and shades in just one color; for example, the student must learn not merely to distinguish blue from red, but to distinguish light blue from dark blue, royal blue from navy blue, and all the gradations in between. This learning process is no small task for either instructor or student. Patience and a facility to communicate ideas are the bedrocks on which instruction must ultimately rest.
    We do not intend here to teach people how to instruct the blind in such techniques. As was mentioned previously, instruction in dermaoptics for those without the gift of eyesight must take its own unique path. However, it is important to point out some of the results obtained in using variations of dermaoptics.
    One case of a young man born blind, a student we shall call Johnny, typifies other such cases. Johnny requested instruction in the techniques of dermaoptics after speaking with a close friend, also blind, who had been taught these methods. The friend had learned not only how to distinguish colors through touch but also how to discern the content of photographs and slides projected on a wall as well as the content of everyday printed matter—all through dermaoptics. Johnny’s friend had one advantage: he had lost his sight at age 13 and could remember how colors looked. He also understood the concept of various shades of the same color.
    After speaking with Johnny, who at this time was 18 years old, and explaining to him that most likely no two sighted people see a color in exactly the same way, instruction and training began. Johnny was told that what the sighted world knows as color is actually made up of fields of energy that give off vibrations unique to each individual color; so he had to recognize a certain combination of vibrations, label it with the color name humans had decided to give it, and be able to recall that label when he felt the same vibrations in the future. In this way Johnny learned to distinguish one color from another and apply the proper name to it, and he also was able to describe the content of photographs by using variations of the same technique. A new world has opened for Johnny, a world of which his mind could not previously conceive. Without the gift of eyesight the dimension of color has come to have meaning and importance in his life.
    Johnny’s friend Bill experienced a gradual loss of sight until he became totally blind at 13. Bill was anxious to learn the techniques for bringing color back into his world and had some very good reasons for wanting to work as hard as necessary in order to accomplish this feat. Most sighted people probably never would have considered many of the reasons that motivated this young man. In conversations he spoke of a desire to be able to match his clothes so that colors went well together, and to see photographs in family albums and to spend some of his leisure time looking at pictures in magazines. Bill worked harder than any other student, blind or sighted, that I have taught. Now he is able to distinguish colors, describe the content of photographs, and place his hands on or above a magazine article, letter, or book in ordinary print and comprehend the theme of the written material.
    To date, no student trained through these techniques can discern word-by-word content of ordinary printed material; but research continues, and possibly some day such content reading will be an actuality for the blind. However, for a person without eyesight to be able to discern the themes of articles in everyday magazines is not inconsequential. The implications these results hold for the many thousands of people without sight are tremendous. A human being previously regarded as handicapped becomes a functioning part of society!
    Bill is a perfect example of how development of these innate abilities can change a life. Totally blind, he is now employed in a national firm where a major part of his job entails work with blueprints. Bill deserves much credit as an individual. His progress is a hopeful sign to countless other blind students who can now find new sight, not through their eyes, but through the techniques of dermaoptics and extended sensory perception.
    The reader may ask, “How are such things possible?” Our theory is that a person can learn to perceive color, sound, taste, fragrance, and touch by extending the normally accepted limits of the five senses. We further hold that since all things, including color and printed material, ultimately are composed of energy in one form or another, by extending the senses one can learn to perceive and interpret the vibrational fields that various energy patterns project. To further explain this position we theorize that although humans have divided perception and allocated it, one form of perception to one perceptor, the human body actually is itself a sensing mechanism with power to receive and interpret all perceptions through any area of its surface. That is, it is possible not only to perceive tactile sensations through the skin but also to learn to hear, smell, see, and taste with any area of the skin surface.
    The components of this theory are extremely important, for by making these assumptions it becomes feasible to teach dermaoptics. In learning to tap this ability, just as in learning to tap telepathic ability, the more one brings the senses into play, the easier it seems to develop the faculty.
    To clarify this point let us consider how a person can learn to distinguish, through touch alone, the colors red and blue. By extending the senses beyond normally accepted limitations the individual quickly becomes aware that color consists of qualities he may never have considered. Until he familiarizes himself with these other qualities of color no attempt is made to enclose the colored material in order to remove it from his line of vision. (Remember here that we are dealing now with instructions in dermaoptics for sighted people.) Care is taken that the same material, composition, and size is used in each exercise, thereby ruling out the possibility that a person might be making a distinction not by extending his senses but by perceiving a difference in size of the two pieces of colored construction paper.
    Let us begin with the color red. Consider the possibility that the color red, or redness, has several unique qualities that no other color possesses. After performing the breath exercises described in Chapter 1 close your eyes and be aware of the feeling of temperature connected with the color red. Is there warmth or lack of warmth? Next, to extend your sense of hearing and be aware of the sound of redness, which may seem strange at first. You will soon learn, though, that a definite and unique sound is inherent in redness itself.
    Attention is turned next to the sense of taste. While holding the red construction paper between your hands extend the sense of taste into the color red and allow yourself to become aware of the taste of redness. In using the olfactory sense, next the reader is asked to become aware only of the fragrance of redness. Texture is considered next— not the texture of the paper, or any particular material, but the texture of redness itself. Does the student experience redness as smooth, rough, soft, or hard? Does the color red carry with it a sensation of movement or rest? What emotional feelings are stimulated through the total perception of redness? All these factors must be considered, experienced, and assimilated.
    The reader is asked to follow exactly the same procedure with a sheet of blue construction paper of the same size. After experiencing each of the sensations mentioned for red, touch first the red piece of paper and then the blue in order to experience the same quality as uniquely expressed by each color. Perform this exercise until you can recognize the unique tastes, sounds, textures, and fragrances of red and blue simply by placing your hands on or above any material of these two colors.
    Using this same method, by means of practice and recall you may enlarge your capacity for distinguishing colors and various shades of the same color. When an individual has become proficient in recognizing the unique qualities of both the primary and secondary colors through touch alone, he is ready to move to the next step, in which the sighted person is taught to perceive pictures and written material sealed in opaque envelopes. Here, in addition to perceiving color, one learns to distinguish inanimate from animate objects, outdoor scenes from indoor photographs, and emotional states portrayed in the photographs. For written material the student is taught to comprehend an article or a poem enclosed in the same type of envelope.
    Various techniques allow the student to distinguish human beings from animals and plants and, further, to identify specific species of animals. For example, to recognize that an animal is in the photograph and to know that it is a rabbit and not an elephant involves variations in techniques designed to allow the person to expand his senses of touch and hearing.
    In learning to sense inanimate objects a person may receive a sealed opaque envelope that contains a photograph of a kitchen. One is taught to recognize such details as the presence of flowers in a centerpiece, the pattern in the curtains, whether the floor is carpeted or tiled, and the visible presence of cooking utensils and any visible foods, as well as to identify the colors in the photograph.
    When photographs contain outdoor scenes, such as a photograph of Maine’s rocky coastline, students are able to identify the presence of, say, the ocean, using their senses of hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. By extending his ordinarily accepted five senses the student is able to perceive, experience, and interpret the presence of sand and jagged rocks.
    As was stated, one of the most beautiful promises this technique holds for the sighted person is the ability to experience conditions reflected in the photograph itself. Thus one can not only look at a picture of a thunderstorm but also feel the rain and wind, smell the freshness of the air, hear the thunder, and see the lighting. This form of total perception makes it possible to experience a situation as a camera or an artist's brush captures it instead of merely looking at a picture and trying to imagine the conditions reflected on a canvas or roll of film.
    One might well imagine the implications these techniques hold for education. In addition to offering creative educational methods for thousands of blind students, they bring an entirely different perspective to the business world in that the blind possibly could be employed in many businesses and professions that have been closed to them. The educator will have to reorient his teaching methods to prepare blind students for the increase in possible job opportunities. Blindness will necessarily be viewed as less limiting, and a new approach that concentrates on a student's potential will replace the old view of education for the blind. This educational approach will not be limited by a world view that has seen the loss of eyesight as an irrevocable handicap.
    Educators who use these techniques will have the opportunity to make experience important in the educational process. A teacher will be able to have his class experience hot, arrid deserts or cool, moist lowlands rather than merely conveying descriptions and assigning readings.
    The comprehension of written material by means of these techniques promises a new method in teaching students with learning disabilities and reading problems. It also offers new hope to adults who for one reason or another left school with inadequate or poor reading skills. As with any technique, reading comprehension through these methods is not a panacea, but surely this form of instruction opens new pathways in education.
    In the comprehension of everyday printed material the possibility that a person may be able to learn word-by-word content reading through this method has been considered and is now being researched. Results so far have revealed an interesting problem that is related to the need, in the beginning, to teach students to expand all areas of awareness. In order to achieve content reading by this method it becomes necessary to narrow the field of expanded awareness by degrees. This delicate balance, involving expansion and contraction of the perceptual field, requires much time in achievement. Small successes have to this time been encouraging and have pointed the way toward modification of the methods to allow for greater accuracy in perceiving content verbatim. At the present time students are able to identify correctly several key words in a sentence, but the technique for constricting the field of expanded perception has not been sufficiently perfected to allow for an exact reading of the order of words in a sentence. Presently, though the student may be able to pick out key words, the sequence in which they are perceived is seldom accurate.
    Several major thoughts should be considered before we conclude this discussion of dermaoptics. Think for a moment about your own ideas and feelings about blindness. Before the world's population views blindness from a perspective of what is possible for the blind person rather than seeing only his limitations, a change must occur in the way people view blindness. Before our educational system puts into practice creative techniques for dealing with those our society labels handicapped, society must understand that with the proper instruction these people have much to offer to it. You are such a person, and a member of society. Think about the possibilities these techniques offer in the area of human resources and evaluate them in your own mind.
    Someone once said that democracy is not the perfect form of government, but it is the best we have so far. These techniques are not cure alls, but they offer more promise than any of the methods previously available. We sincerely hope that further research and implementation of the techniques will bring this promise to fulfillment, but before that happens each individual must allow himself to see the benefits such techniques can bring to our society and to our world.
    Progress is made when man can see the possibilities in further investigation into a field; that is, when man allows himself to see. Many people in this nation are sightless and are labeled blind. A wise man once said, “There are none so blind as those who will not see.”

89.

                    Exercises for Dermaoptics.

            PERCEIVING WORDS IN A SEALED
            ENVELOPE.

    1. Each person who participates in this exercise writes three unrelated words in English on a piece of paper. For beginners the words should be either nouns or verbs. The words should be written in pencil when subjects are first learning the technique, since for some reason vibratory energy seems to be more easily interpreted in written form when placed on the paper by means of a soft lead pencil. As one progresses any plain printed material will be read easily.
    2. The papers are placed in opaque envelopes and sealed. The envelopes should be exchanged so that no participant holds his own.
    3. Hold the envelope between the palms of the hands and perform the breath exercises outlined in Chapter 1.
    4. Now unfocus your eyes, a task most easily accomplished by staring downward and inward toward the nose. Unfocusing the eyes will aid in setting the conscious mind aside.
    5. While holding the envelope between the palms of the hands and with the eyes out of focus, allow yourself to be aware of any words, pictures, or emotional sensations you experience. It is extremely important that impressions not be censored but written immediately on a separate sheet of paper while holding the envelope in one hand.
    6. The impressions gained in this manner are free flow impressions, and spontaneity cannot be overemphasized.
    7. After writing down a minimum of six impressions open the envelope and compare your impressions with the words taken from the envelope.
    8. You may notice that when you do not pick up exactly the same words as those sealed in the envelope you will have picked up words closely associated with the sealed words. This phenomenon is very common and is similar to the technique used in artillery practice when a target is ultimately hit by zeroing in from both sides. For example, if the words on the paper in your envelope were sun, apple, and flight, you may have written your impressions as bright, warm, fruit, movement, running, and apple. Apple would, of course, be a direct hit. Bright and warm are closely associated with the word sun, and fruit also would be considered as closely associated with apple. The words movement and running can be directly associated with flight. Only through practice will you become proficient in this technique and move from associative words to direct hits. 

92.

            PERCEIVING A PHOTOGRAPH IN A SEALED ENVELOPE.

    1. A nonparticipant should select photographs to be used. Place the photographs in opaque envelopes and seal them. So that each participant has the opportunity to give his impressions of the contents of each envelope, the envelopes should be numbered sequentially. Five such photographs should be used in learning this technique. The number, of course, may be enlarged, but each participant should have the experience of interpreting the contents of at least five envelopes.
    2. Hold the envelope between the palms of the hands. Breath exercises should be followed as previously outlined, but with one variation. Imagine or will the breath exhaled through your hands. This method allows for increased awareness through the palms. The ancients taught, and research seems to bear them out, that consciousness follows the breath.
    3. Place your eyes out of focus as instructed in the previous exercise and again allow free flow of impressions to enter your awareness. Again you are cautioned to write your impressions exactly as received. If one begins to censor or question impressions, the conscious mind is brought into action, and extrasensory perception does not operate on the level of the conscious mind.
    4. After having written free flow impressions you may question your higher awareness by seeking more specific information about free flow impressions. For example, if during this period of free flow impressions you have received the energy pattern of an animal, you may receive more specific information by extending your senses to discern whether the animal has fur or a tough skin. This form of questioning, the higher awareness, allows great accuracy in interpretation. Allow one minute for each envelope.
    5. After one minute the envelopes should be exchanged and the same procedure followed with the next photograph. Continue until each participant has written his impressions for five different envelopes; note the number of each envelope next to the impressions received from it.
    6. The nonparticipant now may collect the envelopes and open them sequentially. For example, the envelope marked 1 should be opened and the photograph held so that each participant can see what the picture depicts and check correct impressions.
    7. You will find that your accuracy greatly increases as you continue to practice this technique.

93.


            8​         Meditation.


    Meditation has become a frequently used word in our society, even among children. It is doubtful that all who use the word are fully aware of its meaning, and if the meaning is clear to them probably the process of entering a meditative state is not at all clear.
    Yogis have discussed meditation for centuries, but not until recent times has the Western world turned its attention to this practice. Perhaps the delay stems from cultural differences between East and West. People raised in a Western culture are taught to value actions and overt accomplishments. Probably each reader at one time in his life has come across or heard the expressions: “An idle mind is the devil's workshop”; “Busy hands are happy hands”; “Keeping busy is the best way to stay out of trouble. ”  These expressions reflect an orientation in Western society away from passive states and toward action.
    An examination of Eastern societies—India, for example—reveals an orientation not toward outward activity but more toward inner reflection and passive acceptance. Many stories are told of Yogis who have sat under trees and meditated so long that the roots of the trees have grown around them. Since human beings often tend to exaggerate, this story probably does not actually reflect facts, but it indicates the value system of a nation oriented toward introspection and passive states of awareness.
    It would be difficult to imagine a Western businessman spending so much time in meditation under a tree. Ours is an industrial nation, and the activity that keeps its wheels in motion is essential to its survival. Perhaps, as in most extremes, a philosophy that lies between these two orientations and incorporates the best premises of each will allow individuals very much in touch with themselves to live in prosperous nations.
    Perhaps Western civilization has taken so long to consider the benefits to be derived through meditative states because until very recently the West has viewed meditation as a religious practice, engaged in by persons who had committed their lives to monasteries or convents. Monks, abbots, priests, and nuns came to mind when meditation was mentioned. Today, after many radical changes in the religious orders, meditation has moved outside religion. Businessmen, housewives, high school and college students are reading books and taking courses in the practice of meditation. Certainly not all or even most of these people want to learn meditation in order to reach the state of samadhi, the state of perfect attunement with the universe and the Absolute. People are becoming aware that in addition to its use in attaining such a state of awareness, the practice of meditation affords many side benefits, not the least of which is a state of calmness. Consider the millions of dollars spent for tranquilizers each year in this country alone, and it becomes clear that a feeling of tranquility is greatly sought after. Meditation affords a natural means of attaining inner peace together with a major reduction in drug bills.
    In order to answer the question “What is meditation? ”  we will consider first some of the Yoga teachings. A Yogi meditates in order to reach a state of unity with creation and the Creator. Meditation for the Yogi is a process directed at the attainment of unity through a stilling of the conscious mind, thereby expanding awareness. This process affords the individual an opportunity to experience higher states of consciousness and ultimately a state of pure beingness. Yogis do not meditate in order to activate clairvoyant, telepathic, and other abilities usually thought of as extrasensory perception. These abilities are under the conscious control of many Yogis, but such control is not the aim of their meditation. 
    For the Yogi one means of facilitating the attaimnent of unity is to awaken the chakras—points where energy can flow from one body to another. Yogis believe that the human is made up of interpenetrating bodies, each an exact duplicate of the other and each composed of energy moving at various rates of speed in relation to the movement of molecules in the human body. This belief needs no detailed discussion here; the reader need only understand that for the Yogi meditation entails stimulation of these chakras by oxygen circulated through the bodies. The seven chakras range from the base of the spine to the top of the head; thus Yogis believe that meditation should be practiced with the spine straight and erect.
    Sound has been used for centuries to induce a state of higher attunement. Mantras, collections of words that when chanted produce specific sounds, have been used extensively to put the conscious mind aside and elevate the awareness to full unity. Mantras are still used today and are being used in the Western hemisphere. Yogis conceive of the word om as being the cosmic sound, and it is often chanted vocally and mentally while entering a meditative state.
    Meditation mantras have been used in many different societies. The American Indian used a form of meditation mantras and sacred dances to achieve higher states of awareness. Man through the centuries apparently has believed in the power of words and sound to bring about changes in the material world. The Roman Catholic church has made extensive use of Gregorian chant, and chanting very frequently precedes meditation in religious orders. St. Augustine once said in reference to the use of chants, “To sing is to pray twice.”
    A second answer to the question of what meditation is comes from the scientist. Even though it has taken many thousands of years for science to attempt an answer, much research has been conducted and is continuing today in many universities and colleges.
        A study of brain waves emitted during a meditative state has shown that cerebral activity in such a state is markedly different from activity during routine existence. By means of the electroencephalograph (EEG) it has been determined that during meditation the brain emits a rather constant flow of alpha rhythms. As the meditative state deepens, the EEG reflects the emission of theta rhythms. Both of these states are indicative of less cortical activity and an increase in serenity, and have been found to correlate in a positive manner with states conducive to creativity.
    The reader must be careful not to confuse these states with that brought about by sleep. It has been shown through research on the brain's activity during various levels of sleep that when one is sleeping on a very deep level the brain emits delta rhythms. All these rhythms of the brain, as reflected by the EEG, differ from the brain waves emitted while engaging in everyday activity, when beta rhythms are most commonly emitted.
    Science has also found it possible to train people to produce alpha and theta rhythms at will. Such teaching methods always involve the use of an EEG or biofeedback equipment, because only with the use of such equipment can one know with certainty that he is producing alpha or theta rhythms. The reader should keep this point in mind if he ever considers a course of study that claims instruction in the production of brain waves. Without the use of biofeedback there is no sure way of knowing that one is producing alpha rhythms or theta rhythms.
    Laboratory tests conducted on blood samples taken from persons before, during, and after meditation show that the lactate level in the blood decreases during the meditative state. This physiological measure indicates a decrease in anxiety level and is a sign of greater calmness. It has also been found that blood pressure is lowered during a meditative state, with a corresponding retardation of the heartbeat.
    Unquestionably the meditative state does produce measurable changes in the human body. The direction of change indicates that meditation is instrumental in bringing about creative states, heightened perceptual awareness, and a feeling of serenity within the individual. Thus the production of meditative states may offer much in the field of psychotherapy. The psychotherapist may aid his patients by instructing them in the practice of meditation. Large numbers of psychotherapists have claimed that anxiety is one of the chief problems for therapy. If the therapist can provide his patient with a relatively quick means of relieving anxiety feelings, therapy sessions certainly will be more productive, and the patient will find that this new feeling of serenity has a positive effect on his everyday life.
    Psychotherapy may benefit through many of the areas of parapsychology. Clairvoyance and telepathy may enable the therapist to gain greater insights into his patients’ problems, and meditation offers the patient the possibility of early relief of anxiety. Research in this area is needed to discover the means by which parapsychology can best aid the therapist. Then patients could benefit from the newly opened avenues of heightened self-awareness that lead to greater fulfillment of human potential. The research being conducted now in Atlanta, Georgia, has not yet produced conclusive findings, but indications are that new inroads will be made in the field of psychotherapy using parapsychological techniques.
    Though many people may believe that the better way is to continue the search for breakthroughs in what they may consider more conventional areas, we cannot help but feel that parapsychology will open many doors previously closed to the researcher. We are reminded of the Zen story of the man who clings to the window bars when the door behind him is open! An open door invites scientists and others to pass through toward the light beyond and discover new techniques for tapping and enriching human potential.

101.

                Meditation Exercises.

There are many techniques for entering a meditative state. Here are several methods for the reader's consideration. No single technique described will work well for every person; so it is very important that one try different meditation methods and remain with the one he finds most beneficial in the practice of meditation. 

102.

                CIRCULATION OF THE BREATH.

    1. Most important is the proper meditation posture. You may want to meditate lying down or seated in a chair, but in either case the position chosen should be comfortable and the spine should be kept straight.
    2. Choose a chair with a back high enough to support the head. Place the feet flat on the floor and keep the arms uncrossed. The palms of the hands should be left in an upturned position with the backs of the hands resting on the thighs.
    3. Close your eyes and pay particular attention to your breathing but make no effort to control the breath. As you watch the breath you will find that the breathing process will be naturally slowed and deepened.
    4. Since according to occult teachings, the breath enters the body and travels downward along the spine, make a conscious effort to control the breath and recirculate it so as to carry it back up the spine and into the area of the pineal gland (to the occult, the third eye).
    5. In order to control the breathing and recirculate the breath in this manner, after watching the breathing process without interference, become aware of the breath’s deepening and slowing and begin conscious control.
    6. Control of the breath must never become a contest of endurance. Suggested measured counts for inhalation, hold and circulation, and exhalation are given here with a caution to begin with a number comfortable for you and increase the count as you progress naturally. All breathing should be from the diaphragm so that on inhalation the diaphragm and abdomen become slightly extended.
    7. Begin by inhaling to a measured count of three; relax the stomach muscles immediately when the inhalation is complete. Visualize the breath’s traveling down the spinal column, turning, and recirculating up the spinal canal to the pineal gland just above and between the eyebrows. This circulation should be visualized to the measured mental count of six.
    8. After circulation of the breath, exhale through the nostrils to a measured count of three. This process of inhalation, hold, circulation, and exhalation should he performed four times.
    9. Then simply allow yourself to become aware of your own consciousness and follow the pattern of thoughts that enter into your awareness.
    10. This exercise in meditative awareness should continue for no longer than 15 or 20 minutes. This time period is also suggested for the various techniques that follow. As you become more practiced in meditation you may want to extend your meditation to two sessions per day. Then early morning and early evening are suggested.
    11. For this meditative technique, as for all that follow, attempt to choose one particular location, which should be as free from noise as possible. The telephone should be adjusted so as to avoid an interruption by an unexpected call. If possible, meditate at a previously arranged time and become accustomed to having this period set aside for meditation. We do not mean to imply that your life should revolve around your meditation schedule but only that you should adhere to a specified time as often as is reasonably possible. 

104.

    PROJECTION TOWARD THE LIGHT.

    1. This technique, as all methods enumerated here, may be used either seated or in a prone position. For illustration we shall use the prone position.
    2. Lie flat on your back and perform the breathing technique outlined in the first exercise.
    3. With the eyes closed visualize a pinpoint of light outside yourself, just in front of the third eye.
    4. Be conscious only of the pinpoint of light and will your awareness to move toward and into this light.
    5. If any thought of the day enters your awareness you should set the thought aside and continue conscious projection toward and into the light.
    6. Allow awareness only of the light and beingness while consciously projecting, always deeper, into its composition.
    7. This technique is extremely good for the experience of pure existence. It has an intense calming effect that will remain with you long after the meditation exercise has been completed. 

105.

        COLOR MEDITATION.

    1. After performing the breath exercises outlined in the first exercise, select a color. Blue is suggested. Visualize a field of dark blue light outside yourself and just above the third eye region.
    2. Consciously project yourself into the color blue, experiencing as you do the qualities of blueness.
    3. Keep the awareness focused on blueness itself, and give particular attention to the sound, fragrance, taste, and texture associated with the color.
    4. Allow your awareness to become permeated by these qualities. Blue has a particularly calming effect and is a great aid in expanding philosophical awareness.
    5. Again, all thoughts concerned with daily activities should be set aside. The consciousness should be brought back to the experience of the innate qualities of the color blue.
    6. Other colors may be chosen. For the particular qualities associated with colors, refer to Chapter 3, “Human Aura,” where the significance of colors was discussed. 

106.

    THE PROJECTION SCREEN
    TECHNIQUE.

    1. Perform the exercise for circulation of breath.
    2. Visualize a pure white projection screen outside yourself and, again, before and above the third eye area.
    3. Keep all awareness focused on this screen, and allow your awareness to follow the flow of any thoughts, forms, sensations, or pictures that play on the screen.
    4. Whenever a scene is projected across this mental screen visualize and project yourself into and through the outward appearance of such a scene. This will allow you to experience the inner qualities associated with form, color, and thought.
    5. Problem-solving by this technique may be accomplished by visualizing the projection screen, mentally stating the problem to which you are seeking a solution, and placing all your awareness on the screen. The pictures that play across the screen often will portray the solution.
    6. Keep in mind that you must always project yourself through whatever plays across the screen, for meditation implies a deepening awareness and a constant penetration into whatever appearances occur. 

107.

        SOUND MEDITATION 
        THROUGH MUSIC.

    1. Select classical or semiclassical recorded music that appeals to you. The theme from 2001 (“Also Sprach Zarathustra”) is suggested as an appropriate musical score for the practice of meditation with sound.
    2. As the music begins, lie flat on your back, close your eyes, and watch your breath but make no attempt to control it. Watch the breath in this manner for approximately 30 seconds; then turn your full awareness to the music.
    3. Project yourself into each note and be carried up and down the musical scale so that your consciousness becomes entwined with the melody itself.
    4. If possible, position your body in such a way that vibrations that fill the room can be felt physically. This sensation can be an aid in allowing your consciousness to become the music.
    5. Like the music, allow your consciousness to fill all space. Flow with it into every corner of the room. With the vibrations of music penetrate the walls of the room, and project yourself as music into infinite space. You may be surprised, particularly with the Zarathustra theme, to find yourself experiencing creation itself and penetrating through creation to whatever force has set it in motion.
    6. Continue this meditation for at least one minute after the music has stopped. You will find that a calm state of exhilaration and expanded awareness will remain with you long after the exercise.
    Practice each of these techniques for one week before deciding which method offers you the greatest benefit in meditation. You may find a combination of techniques most profitable. Whatever works best for you is for you the best method of meditation.
    With practice you may develop variations of several techniques. Variations are encouraged if they aid entrance into a meditative state of unity with all that is!

108.


            9​         Visualization.


    Many books have been written on the subject of positive mental attitude and the effect it can have in everyday living. We shall not attempt here to encourage a Pollyanna outlook on life but shall state some basic facts and a hypothesis that suggests that man is the creator of his own future. We are not speaking here of the past built day on day, one event leading to another. Right now, in fact, the reader possesses the ability to bring into his life future circumstances and events by mentally creating those events today! This may seem astounding, but as one reads on it will become clear to him that he has more control over his future than he ever dreamed. 
    Since time is not an absolute commodity but a flowing continuum, man has the ability to project his thoughts into what at this time he considers the future and to form it in the pattern he desires. The basis for this ability is that all things, including time and thought, consist of energy. It has already been shown in Chapter 4 that with psychokinetic energy man can affect his physical body and objects external to him. This same energy in the form of thought can be used to construct specific events in everyday life.
    Consider the possibility, since time is not absolute, that the future is a very fluid state. To illustrate, let us compare this fluidity with molten wax, capable of being molded into various forms. Then consider that thoughts projected onto this molten wax can act as molds that shape the wax according to the will of the individual. Thoughts are not abstract fantasies that possess no true substance. Thoughts are things! They consist of energy patterns capable of affecting everything they contact. The energy of thought can be used as so many seeds sown now in order to produce a specific crop at a specific future time.
    The implications of such a hypothesis are extremely far-reaching, for if this theory is correct it places on each individual the responsibility for either accepting things as they are or actively doing something to bring about the circumstances he wants. If one chooses passive acceptance he cannot reasonably complain that circumstances are not to his liking and are holding him back. If one chooses action he still has no grounds for complaint, because the energy of one’s own thoughts and the patterns that energy takes form the circumstances that surround one. If circumstances are not to a person’s liking he has only to change his mental attitude and form a mental picture of the circumstances he wants in order to change his life situation.
    The science of quantum physics has been used to research the nature of time. Scientists in this area have found evidence to suggest that time flows backward as well as forward, lending support to the belief that time is truly relative and the future truly fluid.
    Scientists who have researched precognition and psychokinetic energy as they relate to control of future events have concluded that an individual may bring about a desired event in the future through the use of thought and psychokinetic energy patterns.
    As an aid to understanding the concept of a fluid future let us use the analogy of a roll of film. Picture a camera that contains a roll of film capable of 12 exposures. Consider that three sections of this roll already have been exposed, leaving nine sections potentially capable of capturing any situation. If the person who takes the picture chooses, he may photograph a building, an indoor scene, a mountain scene, or the busy activity of rush-hour traffic. The film itself is capable of accepting for future presentation any of these scenes, but the one actually etched on each section is at the discretion of the individual who takes the pictures. Time is much like a roll of film. Exposed sections depict the past; sections being exposed reflect the present; sections capable of exposure at another time show the future. Thus the future is comparable to unexposed sections on a roll of film. Whatever appears in the future is determined by the desires of the photographer.
    Scientifically it has been shown that many individuals have the ability to expose film in a camera by the sheer power of thought. Many reputable scientists have investigated this phenomenon in strict laboratory conditions and have concluded that it is indeed possible through thought to project an image which actually forms on a photographic plate or roll of film where there was no possibility of exposure through ordinary means. These facts should give the reader an appreciation for the power of his own thinking. The future ahead holds an infinite number of possible exposures. Each individual can create in his life the circumstances or prints he desires!
    The reader should keep in mind that certain circumstances already have been thrust into the future by thought patterns emitted to this time. As no two things can occupy the same space at the same time, in constructing future events to one’s liking it is to be expected that previous events that are taking shape will be torn down. A perfect example is the student who has directed all the energy of his thoughts toward a career in business and then has decided to reconstruct his future and has begun to visualize circumstances that will permit him to enter medical school.
    Whenever a person attempts to reconstruct his future he may have to deal with the emotional reactions of people who have already responded to the earlier patterns of thought. This change in lifestyle and goals may find family members or business partners confused or angry as they are confronted with the new circumstances. Therefore, one should not be surprised if during the reordering of a previously implanted event he experiences some discomfort in possibly having to deal with the reactions of other people concerned with those events up to this point. Reconstruction is generally for the purpose of building something better, and the concept of building a future with thought should be considered in the same way.
    Rebuilding and new construction of thoughts always should be for a constructive purpose; otherwise great havoc can result. This warning is of utmost importance and must be considered seriously. In the construction of future events, thoughts are an actual and powerful method of bringing circumstances into one’s life! We caution the reader not to underestimate this technique in considering the simplicity of the methodology behind it. It works, and it works with great accuracy. Don't make the mistake of using it as a toy, for it is capable of rearranging every area of life!
    The dangers inherent in the technique are illustrated in the story of a young female Georgia State student who despite the cautions decided to visualize a young man—who had to this point shown her no special attention—entering her life in a significant way and showering her with special concern.
    One week later the young woman reported that after a week of visualization the young man had asked her for three dates during the past week. She was delighted and at the same time astounded that the technique had worked so quickly. Three months later at a college in Macon, Georgia, this same young woman appeared and asked how to visualize the young man out of her life. She said that his special concerns were driving her to distraction! He was, in fact, so solicitous of her ​well-being that together they had managed to demolish her social life.
    The young woman could only again reorder her life by creating new circumstances around it. She would have to deal with the young man’s reactions and the discomfort that would be engendered by the reordering. It is safe to say that the woman will never again take this method so lightly. She will consider the harvest well and long before using thought to seed a fluid future for desired events.
    Not all people who attempt to use this method err on the side of overenthusiasm. Some individuals who attempt to build future events undermine their efforts with countless doubts and such statements as “Well, if it works ...” or “Do you really think something so simple can work?” This pessimism is analogous to building the foundation for a house in the morning and chipping away at it in the afternoon.
    The technique should be seen for what it is; there is nothing magical about it. It involves only the use of mental and psychokinetic energy as a stamp to imprint on the fluidity of the future the events one wants to occur. It is composed, not of the ingredients in a magic formula or potion, but only of the nature of time in relation to the energy patterns of thought.
    It is important that the reader appreciate that the energy patterns of thought are pseudomagnetic in quality. One does not attract the opposite of what one thinks about; instead, one’s thoughts attract similar conditions. More simply, one gets what one gives, whether it is in the form of thoughts or of actions. Each person creates his own future by attracting to himself persons, actions, and circumstances that reflect his thought patterns.
    This attraction may explain the loser cycle seen so much today in our society. Employers and major institutions spend millions of dollars yearly to motivate employees and management personnel to think constructively. Sad, but true indeed, is that most of this money is spent in vain. Pep rallies and rah-rah seminars never will produce a lasting effect on attitudes and thought patterns. An explanation of the dynamics underlying the process of visualization would be much more advantageous to businesses, institutions, and society as a whole.
    A person who is turned on to the power within himself and knows that he needs no magic words or formulas to achieve success will have no need for pep rallies. The person who is taught that his own mind is the most powerful force in the creation of his future, who is in touch with the laws for the beneficial use of this force becomes a truly self-motivating and self-actualizing individual.
    Needless to say that to begin such training in childhood would allow derivation of positive benefits over a much longer period of time. People also would not need to relinquish childhood attitudes and thought patterns that inclined them toward the loser’s cycle as adults. How much more simple for both teacher and student to have only to teach and learn what is necessary rather than having to correct past teachings not conducive to the achievement of life goals before proceeding with a pragmatic constructive approach.
    The ideal definition of education may be stated simply as teaching in such a way that the material presented will not have to be cast off in the future. If we could present to our children the concept that thoughts are real things and bring about direct and often immediate reaction, we might then have a society much less bent toward chaotic situations—a society comprised of people who recognize that today's thoughts become tomorrow's actions and circumstances. Such people might be considered more sane because they realize that thought is creative energy in motion, and they accept responsibility for circumstances that exist in their lives, society, and the world. Someone once said, “The longest journey begins with the first step.” We would add to this that everything that exists began with a thought!
    Since the energy of thought is such a powerful force in our world, the individual who uses the process of visualization should understand that it must be done with accuracy. Our thoughts find material form exactly as they are sent out. An illustration of this need for accuracy is an incident that occurred in the life of a Georgia State University student who disregarded the caution.
    After learning the technique of visualization the young student planned to use the method to attract to herself a man with the precise qualities she desired. She visualized a man who was extremely masculine, very decisive, interested in art, tall, handsome, and highly intelligent. Ten days later while performing the very unromantic task of taking out the garbage, she was approached by a man who lived in her apartment complex. He was tall, good-looking, extremely masculine, and intelligent. He asked if he could speak with her later that evening, and she agreed.
    At this later meeting the man told the young woman that he was terribly attracted to her and wanted her to see him regularly. When the woman mentioned that she knew he was married and living with his wife, he saw this as only a minor obstacle. She did not, and explained to him that although she was flattered by his attention she felt too many “minor obstacles” lay in their path to becoming better acquainted. Among these obstacles was the span between her 24 years and this charming gentleman’s 82 years. The man certainly fulfilled every aspect of her visualization, but she had forgotten to visualize his age and marital state.
    The situation was straightened out, and the young woman was able to see the element of comedy. She vows, however, to be much more cautious in using visualization in the future.
    We want to emphasize that visualization is much more than a trend toward positive thinking; it involves the realization that natural laws are responsible for its efficiency, and it requires that one act as if the visualized circumstances were already a reality. For this reason submerged doubts tear away at constructive visualization.
    Visualization requires that one visualize the desired circumstances at least three times a day. This repetition adds momentum to the energy of thought released into a fluid future. If one plans to bring specific circumstances into one’s life but visualizes these circumstances only three or four times before discontinuing the practice, he may ask, “What happens to the energy of the thoughts released?” Without the momentum gained through repetition, the energy previously released will be depleted and not sufficiently strong to mold the fluid future. This winding down process often explains why many people who begin visualization enthusiastically but stop visualizing after only three or four sessions never see their thoughts materialize.
    Several important points should be made in summary. First, visualization is not a toy but a very sound procedure whose roots spring from the nature of time and energy. Second, there is no magic in any object or set of words. True power for creative action lies within the mind of each person. He has only to become aware of this force to be able to use it constructively. Third, the energy of our thoughts takes material form exactly as the thoughts were structured. Thus accuracy in visualization is extremely important.
    Hopefully the force of visualization will become a powerful tool for constructive purposes in your life and you will begin to teach the technique to your own children or to those for whom you are in some way responsible. Do not use visualization without serious thought and due consideration of the circumstances you are attempting to bring about in your life, to paraphrase a well-known comedian, “What you visualizes is what you gets!”

119.



                        Visualization Exercises.



            VISUALIZATION THROUGH
            THOUGHT ALONE.

    1. You must have in your mind a clear picture of the circumstances you want to see materialize.
    2. Give proper consideration to the outcome of the materialization of such circumstances in order to make certain that their material creation will be beneficial and constructive in your life.
    3. Perform the breath exercises detailed in Chapter 1. Breath adds energy and momentum to the power of thought.
    4. With eyes closed, visualize the circumstances you want to bring about by seeing them in your mind’s eye, as if they were already a reality in material form.
    5. Continue this visualization process for at least one full minute. As you increase your ability for concentration and visualization, the visualization process may be extended to two minutes.
    6. This process should be repeated at least three and no more than five times a day. The process should be carried on until the circumstances being visualized have taken material form.
    7. Materialization of circumstances generally takes from five days to one month, depending on the complexity in construction of such circumstances and whether the individual allowed any doubts, which automatically slow down the materialization process. 

121.

            VISUALIZATION THROUGH
            MENTAL MOVIES.

    1. After you have given time and consideration to the desirability of a circumstance you want to bring about in your life, you are ready to produce a mental motion picture that depicts those circumstances.
    2. In this process you become script writer, director, and producer of a mental film that portrays your own future.
    3. Perform the breath exercises outlined in Chapter 1.
    4. In a comfortable position and with eyes closed, construct a mental image that contains the people and circumstances to be included in your visualization.
    5. Mentally construct the scene—for example, office setting, home situation—in which the characters in your mental film are to interact.
    6. Have a clear picture of the people to be included in this scene.
    7. Since you write the script, mentally see and hear each individual speaking your words and other people reacting to these spoken words exactly as you would have them react. For example, if you want to visualize being promoted at your place of employment, the mental film you produce might run as follows. You may visualize yourself at your desk, speaking with an employee directly over you in the chain of command. You will hear the employee say, “Mr. Smith wants to see you in his office, I think he has good news for you.” Then you will hear yourself say “Thanks a lot,” and see yourself leave your desk and walk to your superior’s office.
    On entering the office you will hear yourself say, “Mr. Jones said you wanted to see me, sir.” With a clear picture of Mr. Smith seated at his desk you will hear Mr. Smith say, “Yes, George, l did. I have some good news for you. You're being promoted to the head of your department. The increase in pay and your new duties will start tomorrow. We have been very pleased with your performance in the past, and we know you will do a good job for us in this position in the future.” You will then hear yourself respond, “Thank you very much, Mr. Smith. I appreciate your confidence, and I know I will do a good job for the company.” The mental movie can stop here, since this would signify completion of the circumstances desired.
    8. The mental film should be run at least three and no more than five times per day until the desired circumstances have materialized.

122.

            VISUALIZATION VISUALIZATION WITH THE AID
            OF PHOTOGRAPHS.

    1. This form of visualization is particularly effective for the attainment of some material item you want to bring into your life. As before, you should consider well what changes the acquisition of such an item might bring into your life.
    2. After performing the exercises in breathing techniques you should assume a relaxed position and mentally construct an image of the object you want to acquire.
    3. A photograph of the object itself, or one that reflects such an object, is a helpful tool in visualization by this method.
    4. Place the photograph or photographs in an envelope. It makes no difference whether the photograph has been cut from a magazine or is an actual print from a roll of film.
    5. Use this picture to increase your ability to form a strong mental image of the object you want. After performing the prescribed breath techniques and while seated in a comfortable position, look at the photograph with full concentration for approximately 30 seconds. Then close your eyes and see yourself in possession of that particular item; for example, if the object is an automobile you may have cut an automobile advertisement from a magazine. After concentrating on the picture, in order to present the image clearly to your mind close your eyes and see yourself behind the wheel, driving down your own street. Visualize yourself parking the car in front of your own house or apartment and hearing someone say, “Nice car ... when did you get it?” Then hear yourself respond, “I just got it today. It's a real beauty isn't it?”
6. This process of visualization, as in the other exercises, should be performed at least three times and not more than five times per day until acquisition of the desired object becomes a reality.
    This technique, especially advantageous to those who at first find it difficult to create and hold strong mental images, will facilitate the development of such an ability.

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