That term “I” is an appelation
which can only be made by the human spirit of itself.[pg 135]We may all call a dog, dog; or we may call a table, table, and any one else
may apply the same name to the dog and to the table, but only a human being can be called
“I”and only he himself can apply that most exclusive of all
words, I, for this is the badge of self-consciousness, the recognition by the human spirit
of itself as an
entity, separate and apart from all others.
Thus we see that the constitution of man is more complex than
appears upon the surface, and we will now proceed to note the effect upon this multiplex
being of various conditions of life.
[pg 136]
Chapter V. Life and Death
Invisible Helpers and Mediums.
There are two classes of people in the world. In one class the
vital and dense bodies are so firmly cemented that the ethers cannot be extracted under any
circumstances but remain with the dense body at all times and under all conditions from
birth to death. Those people are insensible to any supersensuous sights or sounds. They are
therefore usually exceedingly sceptic, and believe nothing exists but what they can see.
There is another class of people in whom the connection between
the dense and the vital bodies is more or less loose, so that the ether of their vital
bodies vibrates at a higher rate than in the first class mentioned. These people are
therefore more or less sensitive to the spiritual world.
This class of sensitives may again be divided. Some are weak
characters, dominated[pg 137]by the will of others in a negative manner, as mediums, who are the prey of
disembodied spirits desirous of obtaining a physical body when they have lost their own by
death.
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