As two natures, the physical and spiritual, meet and mingle in the constitution of man, so do his faculties, capacities, and powers mingle and function on the two planes, the physical and the spiritual, though very largely on the former, with the great majority in any age or time.
There is implanted in the very foundation of man’s being the idea or the consciousness of a separable soul. It would seem to be an intuition, for with nearly every people of which we have any knowledge, no matter how near the animal plane, the belief or the folklore of a separable soul exists, in many cases held to be separable during life, and in most cases believed to survive the death of the physical body. (See folio editions of Herbert Spencer’s “Descriptive Sociology,” and Chapter XIII, herein.)
It has generally been held by scientists and commentators, that this intuition, or belief, results largely from dreams.
To say that dreams, in general, are mere fantasies, or the results of imagination, and have no real basis in consciousness, is folly; for dreams are of many kinds, and present great varieties.
They are, moreover, both reminiscent and prophetic, sometimes moving like any other conscious experience, from fact to fruition, and in others, we are unable to relate them to any other conscious experience.[1]
Hypnosis and Telepathy are related to the same states, so much so, that the modern scientist has been constrained to coin two new terms to avoid endless repetitions, viz.: “subliminal” and “supraliminal” states of consciousness.
Bearing in mind all these subjective states and experiences, including the whole range of so-called mediumship, the theorem of the Masters and adepts of all ages may be made exceeding plain.
[Footnote 1: For a very valuable and suggestive treatise on “Sleep,” see F. W. H. Myers “Human Personality,” Chap. IV.]
It consists in the dominance of the Will over all conscious states.
This is the Alpha and the Omega—the principle, the potency, and the act—of Mastership.