The functions of these various parts are well illustrated by the
effects of alcohol upon the mind. If a man takes too much alcohol,
its first apparent effect will be to paralyze the higher or
cortical center. This leaves the mid-brain without the check-rein
of a reflective intellect, and the man will be senselessly
hilarious or quarrelsome, jolly or dejected, pugnacious or tearful,
and would be ordinarily described as "drunk." If in spite of this
he keeps on drinking, the mid-brain soon becomes deadened and
ceases to respond, and the cerebellum, the organ of equilibrium,
also becomes paralyzed. All voluntary bodily activities must then
cease, and he rolls under the table, helpless and "dead" drunk, or
in language that is even more graphically appreciative of the
physiological effects of alcohol, "paralyzed." However, the
deep-seated sympathetic system is still alive. No assault has yet
been made upon the vital organs of the body; the heart continues to
beat and the lungs to breathe. But suppose that some playful
comrade pours still more liquor down the victim's throat. The
medulla, or lower brain, then becomes paralyzed, the vital organs
cease to act and the man is no longer "dead" drunk. He has become a
sacrifice to Bacchus. He is literally and actually dead.
It seems, then, that the surface brain and mid-brain constitute
together the organ of consciousness and will. Consciousness and
will disappear with the deadening or paralysis of these two
organs.
Yet these two organs constitute but a small proportion of the
entire mass of brain and nervous tissue of the body. In addition to
these, there are not only the lower brain and the spinal cord and
the countless ramifications of motor and sensory nerves throughout
the body, but there are also separate nerve-centers or ganglia in
every one of the visceral organs of the body. These ganglia have
the power to maintain movements in their respective organs. They
may in fact be looked upon as little brains developing nerve force
and communicating it to the organs.
All these automatic parts of the bodily mechanism are dominated
by departments of the mind entirely distinct from ordinary
consciousness. In fact, ordinary consciousness has no knowledge of
their existence excepting what is learned from outward bodily
manifestations.
All these different organic ganglia constitute together the
sympathetic nerve system, organ of that part of the mind which
directs the vital operations of the body in apparent independence
of the intelligence commonly called "the mind," an intelligence
which acts through the cerebro-spinal system.
Yet this independence is far from being absolute. For, as we
have seen, not only is the cerebro-spinal system, which is the
organ of consciousness, the abode of all the special senses, such
as sight, hearing, etc., and therefore our only source of
information of the external world, but many organs of the body are
under the joint control of both systems.
So it comes about that these individual intelligences
governing different organs of the body, with their
intercommunications, are dependent upon consciousness for their
knowledge of such facts of the outer world as have a bearing on
their individual operations, and they are subject to the influence
of consciousness as the medium that interprets these facts.
It is unnecessary for us to go into this matter deeply. It is
enough if you clearly understand that, in addition to
consciousness, the department of mind that knows and directly deals
with the facts of the outer world, there is also a deep-seated and
seemingly unconscious department of mind consisting of individual
organic intelligences capable of receiving, understanding and
acting upon such information as consciousness transmits.
We have spoken of conscious and "seemingly unconscious"
departments of the mind. In doing so we have used the word
"seemingly" advisedly. Obviously we have no right to apply the term
"unconscious" without qualification to an intelligent mentality
such as we have described.
"Unconscious" simply means "not conscious." In its common
acceptation, it denotes, in fact, an absence of all mental action.
It is in no sense descriptive. It is merely negative. Death is
unconscious; but unconsciousness is no attribute of a mental state
that is living and impellent and constantly manifests its active
energy and power in the maintenance of the vital functions of the
body.
Hereafter, then, we shall continue to use the term consciousness
as descriptive of that part of our mentality which constitutes what
is commonly known as the "mind"; while that mental force, which, so
far as our animal life is concerned, operates through the
sympathetic nerve system, we shall hereafter describe as
"subconscious."
Let us summarize our study of man's physical organism. We have
learned that the human body is a confederation of various groups of
living cells; that in the earliest stages of man's evolution, these
cells were all of the same general type; that as such they were
free-living, free-thinking and intelligent organisms as certainly
as were those unicellular organisms which had not become members of
any group or association; that through the processes of evolution,
heredity and adaptation, there has come about in the course of the
ages, a subdivision of labor among the cells of our bodies and a
consequent differentiation in kind whereby each has become
peculiarly fitted for the performance of its allotted functions;
that, nevertheless, these cells of the human body are still
free-living, intelligent organisms, of which each is endowed with
the inherited, instinctive knowledge of all that is essential to
the preservation of its own life and the perpetuation of its
species within the living body; that, as a part of the specializing
economy of the body, there have been evolved brain and nerve cells
performing a twofold service—first, constituting the organ of
a central governing intelligence with the important business of
receiving, classifying, and recording all impressions or messages
received through the senses from the outer world, and, second,
communicating to the other cells of the body such part of the
information so derived as may be appropriate to the functions of
each; that finally, as such complex and confederated individuals,
each of us possesses a direct, self-conscious knowledge of only a
small part of his entire mental equipment; that we have not only a
consciousness receiving sense impressions and issuing motor
impulses through the cerebro-spinal nervous system, but that we
have also a subconsciousness manifesting itself, so far as
bodily functions are concerned, in the activity of the vital organs
through the sympathetic nerve system; that this subconsciousness is
dependent on consciousness for all knowledge of the external world;
that, in accordance with the principles of evolution, man as a
whole and as a collection of cell organisms, both consciously and
unconsciously, is seeking to adapt himself to his external world,
his environment; that the human body, both as a whole and as an
aggregate of cellular intelligences, is therefore subject in every
part and in every function to the influence of the special senses
and of the mind of consciousness.
Stop a moment and mark the conclusion to which you have come.
You have been examining the human body with the scalpel and the
microscope of the anatomist and physiologist. In doing so and by
watching the bodily organs in operation, you have learned that
every part of the body, even to those organs commonly known as
involuntary, is ultimately subject to the influence or control
of consciousness, that part of the human intelligence which is
popularly known as "the mind."
Prior to this, as a matter of direct introspective knowledge, we
had come to the conclusion that the influence of the mind over all
the organs of the body was one of the most obvious facts of human
life.
So, our study of the body as the instrument of the mind has
brought us to the same conclusion as did our study of the mind in
its relations to the body.
Looked at from the practical science standpoint, the evidences
that mental activity can and does produce bodily effects are so
clear and numerous as to admit of no dispute.
The world has been slow to acknowledge the mastery of mind over
body. This is because the world long persisted in looking at the
question from the point of view of the philosopher and religionist.
It is because the thought of the world has been hampered by its own
definitions of terms.
The spiritualist has been so busy in the pursuit of originating
"first" causes, and the materialist has so emphasized the
dependence of mind upon physical conditions, that the world has
received with skepticism the assertion of the influence of mind
over body, and in fact doubted the intuitive evidence of its own
consciousness.
The distinction between the two points of view has gradually
come to be recognized. Today the fact that the mind may act as a
"cause" in relationship with the body is a recognized principle of
applied science. The world's deepest thinkers accept its truth. And
the interest of enlightened men and women everywhere is directed
toward the mind as an agency of undreamed resource for the cure of
functional derangements of the body and for the attainment of the
highest degree of bodily efficiency.
In some respects it is unfortunate that you should have been
compelled to begin these studies in mental efficiency and
self-expression with lessons on the relationship between the mind
and the body. There is the danger that you may jump at the
conclusion that this course has some reference to "mental healing."
Please disabuse your mind of any such mistaken idea.
Health is a boon. It is not the greatest boon. Health is not
life. Health is but a means to life. Life is service. Life is
achievement. Health is of value in so far as it contributes to
achievement.
Our study of the relation between mind and body at this time has
had a deeper, broader and more vital purpose. It is the foundation
stone of an educational structure in which we shall show you how
the mind may be brought by scientific measures to a certainty and
effectiveness of operation far greater than is now common or
ordinarily thought possible.
Remember the two fundamental propositions set forth in this
book.
I. All human achievement comes about through some form of
bodily activity.
II. All bodily activity is caused, controlled and directed by
the mind.
The truth of these propositions must now be obvious to you. You
must realize that the mind is the one instrument by which it is
possible to achieve anything in life. Your next step must be to
learn how to use it.
In succeeding volumes, we shall sound the depths of the
reservoir of latent mental power. We shall find the means of
tapping its resources. And so we shall come to give you the master
key to achievement and teach you how to use it with confidence and
with the positive assurance of success.