The fact, however, is well known and admitted by all scientists that the mind does influence the body. It causes changes in the functions of the bodily organs. A purely mental state caused by external stimulation, for example, the hearing of some bad news or witnessing of some tragic occurrence, will alter the internal secretions of some of the endocrine glands, postpone digestion or upset it, accelerate circulation and respiration and cause other changes.
Sex phenomena are no exception to this principle that bodily processes are conditioned, that is, partially caused, by mental processes. Sex cannot be a part of love until love which is hypersomatic (mental) is in control.
It would be exceedingly satisfactory if one could devise a mental pattern for love that would apply to all individuals; but the fact that the various factors are over twenty in number, making over four hundred combinations of only two at a time, render it practically impossible to do more than make a generic verbal formula such as “better and better every day.”
It is impossible however, to get away from the fact that the sense type of imagination has not a little influence in the original rapport that springs up between two persons of opposite sex. Obviously a colour-blind man could not be much influenced by the iridescent beauty of some young women. There are people who are tone-deaf, and, to such, a monotonous voice might not have the deterrent effect it would for some. There are individual variations in the sensitivity to every one of the twenty-odd sense qualities that enter consciousness from time to time. Any of these variations may play a part in the first attraction exerted by young people on each other.
§ 164
Every one of these twenty-odd different qualities of sense impression may enter consciousness from time to time as a representation or reverberation of an original sensation. The commonest of these is sight. The appearance of some facial expression, for example, of an attractive woman, will, spontaneously recur to a young man for a long time. Motivated by pleasurable emotions experienced at the first sight, these visual memory images will recur again and again, each time accompanied by, if not caused by, the continuance or reëmergence of the pleasurable emotions.
But visual images are not the only ones that spontaneously recur. If the individual belongs to the auditory type, there will be numerous auditory “images.” He will hear in his mind’s ear the joyous timbre of a woman’s voice, also perhaps motivated by the same recurrent pleasurable emotion he experienced when listening to it the first time.
Visual and auditory “images” or representations may be supplemented by those of any of the other twenty-odd qualities of sense impression. The memory of a dance recalls a number of these, tactual, olfactory, kinesthetic, mostly, however, in the average person, not clearly conscious.
People have to be taught to see what is before their eyes. They also have to be taught to recognize timbres of musical instruments, intervals between tones, composition of various chords, etc.
Conscious attention must be used to enable some people to recognize the difference between various flavours, perfumes, odours, bouquets of wine, etc.