THE HIDDEN SIDE OF THINGS/PART 15

 

CHAPTER XV

 

BY PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

 

HOUSES

 

IT is the fashion, and not unreasonably, to attach great importance to the influence of environment. When that expression is used people generally mean an environment into which they are born, or one which is imposed upon them from without and is in no way dependent upon their own will. There is, however, another environment which is often forgotten: that which we create for ourselves-- the great influence produced upon us in daily life by the place in which we choose to live and the objects with which we voluntarily surround ourselves. One may often judge from the outside of a house something of the disposition of those who inhabit it, and a man' s room is to a certain extent an expression of him, for it shows his taste in books, pictures, statues, furniture, wall-paper and flowers; and every one of all these things is constantly reacting upon him, even though he never thinks of it.

 

One who is a student of occultism will be guided in choosing a house for himself by a number of considerations which would not be likely to occur to the ordinary man, who probably bases his decision principally on such facts as the size and the rent of the house, whether its drains are in order, and how far it is from the tramway or railway station. Such points as these naturally define the area of his choice; the study of the hidden side of things, while not interfering with these, suggests some additional considerations. From our point of view it is material to have as much room as possible about the house-- to have it as far removed as possible from its neighbours. Once more, this means no reflection upon the neighbours. They may be all that can possibly be desired, yet it is always better to avoid the mixture of varying vibrations. One may earnestly wish sometimes for the society of one' s neighbour, and when that happens it is always possible to visit him or to invite him to call. But to be always in such close proximity to him as to feel every change in his aura-- that is a condition of affairs which ought never to exist, although unfortunately it too often does.

 

In all those long lines of houses which are so common in our great towns, it is impossible, from the occult point of view, to escape from one's neighbour. Whenever he walks up to the dividing wall, his aura must project through it, and it will be seen that, with a neighbour in close contact on each side, we are practically in the room with two families, whose tastes and interests may be absolutely different from our own, who may have all sorts of thoughts and aspirations which clash entirely with those to which we wish to devote ourselves. Even a semi-detached house is better than these, for at least in that we share our quarters with only one family, but the truth is that there ought to be no houses but detached houses, however valuable the ground may be. Certainly no one who understands the power of the unseen influences would take a house which is one of a row, if he could by any possibility avoid it. The same difficulty occurs with our modern flats and apartment houses. They may have many advantages and their fittings may be all that can be desired, but they are always open to this most serious objection. If, however, a man' s circumstances are such that he must thus live in common with others, he will at least do all that lies in his power to secure that these others shall be reasonably harmonious.

 

Another weighty matter from the occult point of view is the aspect of the house. Considerations of physical health prescribe that a sunny rather than a dark house should be chosen, and these are emphatically reinforced when we think of the higher worlds. I have already said something as to the imperious necessity of sunshine and of all that it brings with it. Not only physical disease, but irritability and depression fly before the direct rays of the sun; so plenty of sunlight and fresh air are the first and most prominent desiderata.

 

The influences of the immediate neighbourhood must also be taken into account. Under no circumstances whatever ought a man to take a house which is near to a public-house, a slaughter-house, a prison, or a butcher's shop. It is also eminently undesirable to be in close proximity to the office of a pawnbroker or a moneylender, or to any place where violent and acrimonious debates and arguments are frequently held-- in the latter case because of the wearing effect of constant jarring and angry vibrations, and in the case of the usurer because radiations of sorrow and despair are always connected with his business, and often there is bitter hatred as well. A club, too, should be avoided, if it permits gambling.

 

The type of the previous tenants may make a great difference in the comfort of a house. If they have been spendthrifts, if they have been quarrelsome, or if they have suffered deeply from long-continued depression, the place may be so impregnated with thought-forms of those varied types as to be a dwelling quite unsuitable for any sensitive family. This difficulty, however, can be overcome by an elaborate demagnetisation, if the student knows how to do it.

 

Not only the aspect of the house, as regards the points of the compass, but its aspect in the other sense of the word is also worth noticing. No one should take a house which is ugly, gloomy-looking, or depressing in appearance-- not only because of its effect upon himself when he looks at it, but because it is constantly surrounded by a cloud of thought-forms made by neighbours or passing strangers who are disgusted with its appearance. Even though the house outside be pretty, if there is squalid ugliness in the immediate neighbourhood, it is unsuitable. Above all things to be avoided are those long and monotonous lines of mean and sordid-looking houses which one may see in some London suburbs. A garden of some sort is a most valuable asset. In fact, a little cottage in the midst of a large garden is better than the most magnificent house which stands close upon the road in the midst of a row of others.

 

STREETS

 

If the house be in a street, the nature of that street is a matter of great importance. If the road be paved with granite blocks or in any other way conducive to noise, it should be avoided at all costs; whereas a quieter form of paving, such as asphalt or wood, would count much in its favour. A street infested by yelling fiends in the shape of hawkers is also unfit for the habitation of anyone possessing the usual allowance of nerves-- so long as our government neglects to protect us against so flagrant a nuisance. It goes without saying that one should avoid a street in which there is constant heavy traffic or one in the immediate neighbourhood of a railway or tram line-- near enough, I mean, to suffer from the noise; for noise, as I have already explained, is one of the greatest defects of our defective civilisation.

 

Although after a time a man gets used to the noise, and hardly notices it, nevertheless every fresh outburst is a blow to his astral and mental bodies, and the effect of this is precisely that of constantly repeated blows upon the physical body-- each one may be no great matter, but after a time the cumulative effect hurts exceedingly. In the physical body this would mean pain, and we should at once understand it and refer it to its source; in the case of the astral body it means irritability; and in the case of the mental body a feeling of fatigue and inability to think clearly. But when these supervene we do not so readily understand them, nor do we always assign them to their true cause. Consequently the neighbourhood of any building which is either noisy or noisome with smoke or chemicals (as a factory might be) is to be sedulously avoided.

 

Many of my readers may be so situated that it is impossible for them to take all these recommendations into consideration, and I offer them only as a guide to what is desirable when it can be had. If a man who is entirely unfettered is about to choose a house or a site for a house, I should advise him to be governed in his selection by what I have said above; but I know well that most people are practically limited as to the range of their choice by the question of rent, convenient access to their work, and a number of other personal reasons. In such cases a man must simply balance the advantages and disadvantages, and do the best that he can, taking it as the result of his own actions in the past that he cannot do better.

 

PICTURES

 

A matter in which a man has usually much greater liberty is the decoration of his room, and it is one of considerable importance to him. For example, the pictures which we hang on the walls of our homes are exercising all the while an unnoticed influence upon us, not only because they keep the expression of certain ideas constantly before our eyes, but also because the artist puts a great deal of himself, of his inmost thought and feeling, into his work, and the effect of all that thought and feeling inheres in the picture and radiates from it just as surely as scent inheres in and radiates from a rose. There is a hidden side to every picture-- the conception which was in the artist' s mind and heart. That conception, when he formed it, expressed itself clearly in astral and mental matter, even though he may have succeeded but partially in bringing his idea down to the physical world.

 

Every true artist will acknowledge that, however excellent his work may be, it invariably falls short of what he intended and expected. Yet the conception, as he thought it out, exists really and vividly in the mental world, and the feelings and emotions which he endeavoured to express exist in the astral realm, and these, which we may call the unseen counterparts of the picture, are always radiating vibrations of their own character, whatever that may be, and are therefore producing a never-ceasing effect upon those who live within their influence.

 

Manifestly, therefore, it behoves us to be careful as to the nature of the objects of art which we gather around us. We must avoid all pictures whose subjects are mean, sordid or terrible, however accurately or powerfully those subjects may be delineated. It is well also to avoid even those which, though harmless in themselves, are likely to suggest impure thought to undeveloped minds, because such thought-forms will hang about the picture and act as a constant and baneful influence. The modern craze for inane representations of the female face and figure is from this point of view distinctly to be deprecated. So also is that form of artistic realism which sees only the darkest side of life, and recognises nothing as natural unless it be decadent and depraved.

 

Pictures of sordid scenes of low life, of peasants drinking in an ale-house, of battle scenes or of huntsmen gathered together to slaughter an unfortunate fox: all these will be avoided by the wise man. He will be careful to surround himself only with such pictures as are ennobling, soothing, helpful, those which shed upon him and his an influence tending ever to happiness and peace. Beautiful landscapes and sea-views are usually best of all; pictures also of grand old cathedrals-- magnificent buildings with peaceful associations; sometimes a portrait or imaginary figure, if the face be really a fine one, but never under any circumstances one which suggests sorrow, anger or pain.

 

In religious pictures, for example, the crucifixion, and the garden of Gethsemane must never appear, but the risen and radiant Christ or a reasonably attractive presentment of the Virgin and Child are admissible. In the same way with statues; only those should find a place which are of exquisite beauty, in connection with which there could never be the least thought of impurity. A man should think not only of himself, but of servants and possible visitors. No decent person could have thoughts other than the purest in connection with any picture or statue whatever; but if such a thing hangs or stands where others may see it, it is useless to ignore the fact that low-class minds will form low-class images, and so an object which to us is noble and beautiful may come to radiate abominable influences.

 

Care must be exercised with regard to photographs. Private friends are of course admissible, or a public man whom one admires; but on no account should the figures of actresses be introduced, as they always attract the most undesirable thought-forms from hosts of impure-minded people. A praiseworthy custom is to have in a prominent position the best available portrait of the ruler of the country, and to surround it constantly with waves of affectionate and loyal thought, for in this way it will radiate an influence of loyalty and devotion upon all who enter the room.

 

CURIOSITIES

 

Many people like to surround themselves with all sorts of curious little objects-- figures, pieces of pottery, carvings in ivory and ebony and so on. Most of these things are harmless enough, though it means a great deal of trouble to keep them scrupulously clean, and unless they are so kept, they become a nuisance of an aggravated type. But with regard to some of these little mementos a certain amount of caution is desirable. Many of such things are old, and some of them have a history attached to them-- sometimes a terrible history. It is widely known, for example, that a lady in London had in her house for some time an Egyptian mummy-case, the influences connected with which were of so serious a character that she was speedily forced to get rid of it altogether, because of a series of disasters which overtook all who came into contact with it. That is an extreme case, but other kinds of curiosities also have undesirable or mischievous auras.

 

Many such objects tell their own story, though the owner is often unaware of it. A sensitive person sometimes finds landscapes which are entirely unknown to him or scenes from some foreign land starting up unbidden in his mind. These may come from various sources. They may be mere pictures formed by the imagination, his own or that of some other person in the neighbourhood, either dead or living; they may be examples of casual clairvoyance at a distance; but they may be, and often are, instances of unintentional psychometry, and can be traced to some object in the room.

 

For every body, of whatever nature it may be, carries within it the power of showing, to those who can see, pictures of its past history, and sometimes these come to the surface unexpectedly. Some are good and some are bad; some are harmless and others are actively unpleasant. When a man acquires some ancient object of unknown history, he has usually no means of telling immediately whether it will prove helpful, harmful or negative, but if he watches carefully he will soon see. Certain types of curiosities are obviously undesirable from the outset-- such things, for example, as spears, swords, daggers, or anything which may have been connected with bloodshed.

 

BOOKS

 

To a discerning eye a man shows his nature in his choice of books-- a choice which is of great importance to him. A man reads a book; he lays it aside and perhaps forgets it; but nevertheless it lies there on his table or his book-shelf and it continues to pour upon him a steady influence, whether for good or for evil. Many books, it is true, have no pronounced influence, and may therefore be considered as neutral. But if a book has done us good, its influence will usually continue to be for good, unless indeed it happens that we outgrow it altogether, and in that case its influence might possibly be a kind of retardation.

 

The main thing is to avoid definitely evil books-- horrible, neurotic studies of characters which are better left unstudied, tales of unnatural and most unpleasant women who are always hovering as near as they dare to the edge of impropriety of some sort, stories of doubtful morality, of shady transactions, or of blank inanity. All these are things for which a sensible man will spare no room on his book-shelves, because they are not worth reading in the first place, and they certainly radiate an impure and unwholesome influence in the second. The great criterion in the formation of a library is that only sane and healthy books should be admitted, for books are specially strong centres of thought-forms, and their unnoticed influence in a man' s life is often a powerful one. They should be not too many, but emphatically good of their kind.

 

FURNISHING

 

There is hidden side to even so homely a question as that of furniture and colour decoration, since every colour has its own special rate of vibration, and some of these rates are helpful to man, while others are distinctly a hindrance. Broadly speaking, light and delicate tints are good, while heavy, coarse and dark colours are usually to be avoided. Some consideration should also be given to the purpose for which the room is intended; for example, certain shades of red might be not out of place in a dining-room, but would be far from desirable in a room consecrated to sleep or to meditation.

 

JEWELLERY

 

Another adjunct of ordinary life, in which the hidden side is of great importance, is jewellery. On the whole, the wearing of jewellery is to be discouraged, because, though every stone has its own special property and influence, the most prominent effect of nearly all of them is to excite bitter envy and covetousness in the hearts of others. Quite a number of women seem to be unable to contemplate a jewel without becoming filled with an inordinate greed to possess it, so that there is scarcely a stone of any beauty or value which is not the centre for many converging streams of jealous longing.

 

In the case of the great historical jewels we have the additional complication that all kinds of ghastly crimes have been committed in connection with them, and they are therefore usually objects of horror rather than of beauty to any sensitive person. The jewel represents the highest development of the mineral kingdom, and consequently its power of receiving and retaining impressions is much greater than is the case with almost any other object. The Gnostic gems employed in initiation ceremonies two thousand years ago still remain vigorous centres of magnetic influence, as may be seen and felt by any sensitive person who will take the trouble to examine some of those in the British Museum.

 

At the spot where any great crime has been committed, or where vivid emotions of fear, anger, hatred or revenge have been in action, an astral impression is made which is immediately obvious in its full horror to the clairvoyant, and is frequently sensed to some extent even by persons in whom the higher senses are entirely undeveloped. This is true to a still greater extent of a jewel which has been the cause of many crimes, has been present at them and has absorbed the effect of all the passions which prompted them. Such a jewel retains these impressions with unimpaired clearness for thousands of years, and continues to radiate out from itself the vibrations appropriate to them; and the psychometer sees around it all these pictures of indescribable horror. The wearer of the jewel frequently does not see them, but nevertheless their pernicious effect is constantly exercised upon her.

 

It is not only in connection with great historical gems that this unpleasantness exists, for I have come across several instances in which ordinary stones have been the occasion of a terrible crime among the miners who discovered them. I know of one such, in which the finder was murdered by another man, but lived long enough to attach a fearful curse to the gem for the sake of which he had lost his life. This curse was acting so definitely upon various wearers of the jewel fifty years later, that it seemed the safest and best course to throw the stone into the sea-- which was accordingly done.

 

TALISMANS

 

In a general way, therefore, the occultist avoids all jewellery, and he certainly never wears it for the sake of show. At the same time the fact that a precious stone will retain magnetism so perfectly for so long a time, and will store so much power in such a small compass, makes it a convenient object when a talisman is required for any purpose. For a talisman is not, as is often supposed, a mere relic of mediaeval superstition; it may be a definite and very effective agent in daily life. It is some small object, strongly charged with magnetism for a particular purpose by someone who knows how to do it, and when properly made it continues to radiate this magnetism with unimpaired strength for many years. The purposes to which such things can be applied are almost infinite in number.

 

For example, many a student at the beginning of his career is much troubled by impure thoughts. Naturally he sets himself to struggle against them, and maintains a constant watch against their advance; but nevertheless thought-forms of an objectionable nature are numerous and insidious, and sometimes one of them contrives to obtain a lodgment in his mind and causes him much trouble before be can finally shake it off. He may perhaps have been in the habit of yielding himself to such thoughts in the past without realising the evil of it, and if that is so, his thought has acquired a momentum in that direction which is not easy to overcome. A talisman, strongly charged with the powerful magnetism of thoughts of purity, may be an invaluable help to him in his efforts.

 

The rationale of its action is not difficult to understand. An impure thought expresses itself as a certain definite set of undulations in the astral and lower mental bodies, and it can find entrance into a man' s vehicles only when they are either comparatively at rest or vibrating so feebly that its impact can readily overpower the existing rate of motion, and take its place. The talisman is heavily charged with an exactly contrary rate of oscillation, and the two cannot co-exist. One of them must overpower the other and bring it into harmony with itself. The impure thought has probably been made by some casual person, not usually with any definite intent; it is generally simply a suggestion or reminiscence of lower passions. It is not therefore a thing of great power in itself; but it is likely to produce an effect quite out of proportion to its intrinsic strength, because of the readiness with which the average person accepts it and responds to it.

 

The talisman, on the other hand, has been intentionally charged for a definite purpose by some one who knows how to think; and this is a matter in which definite training makes so much difference that the lightest thought of a man who has learnt how to think is far more powerful than a whole day' s desultory musings on the part of an ordinary man. So, when the two streams of thought come into contact, there is not the slightest doubt as to which will vanquish the other. If we can suppose that the wearer of the amulet forgot his good resolutions, and actually wished for a time for the impure thought, no doubt he could attract it in spite of the talisman, but he would be conscious all the time of great discomfort arising from the discord between the two sets of vibrations.

 

In most cases the man who is really trying to do better falls only because he is taken off his guard. The impure thought creeps in insidiously and has seized upon him before he is aware of it, and then he quickly reaches the condition in which for the moment he does not even wish to resist. The value of the talisman is that it gives him time to recollect himself. The disharmony between its undulations and those of the wandering thought, cannot but attract the man' s attention, and thus while he wears it he cannot be taken unawares, so that if he falls he falls deliberately.

 

Again, some people suffer much from apparently causeless fear. Often they are quite unable to give any reason for their feelings; but at certain times, and especially when alone at night, they are liable to be attacked by extreme nervousness, which may gradually increase to positive terror. There may be various explanations for this. Perhaps the commonest is the presence of some hostile astral entity who is persecuting the victim-- sometimes in the hope of obtaining through him some sensations which he desires, sometimes in the endeavour to obtain control over him and obsess him, sometimes for sheer mischief and impish love of demonstrating his power over a human being. Here again is a case in which the mediaeval remedy has a distinct practical value. Naturally, the talisman against impurity would not avail in this case, for quite a different sort of motion is required. What is wanted in this case is a centre strongly charged with vibrations expressive of courage and self-reliance-- or, if the wearer is of the devotional type, with thoughts of the protective power of his special deity.

 

For an amulet has a double action. Not only does it operate directly by means of the waves which it radiates, as we have just described in the case of impurity, but also the knowledge of its presence usually awakens the faith and courage of the wearer. In the case of a talisman against fear, such as we are now considering, the two lines of action will be clearly marked. Courage expresses itself in the mental and astral bodies by the strength and steadiness of their striations, and by the calm, steadfast shining of the colours indicating the various higher qualities. When fear overpowers a person all these colours are dimmed and overwhelmed by a livid grey mist, and the striations are lost in a quivering mass of palpitating jelly; the man has for the time quite lost the power of guiding and controlling his vehicles.

 

The vibrations of strength and courage steadily radiating from the talisman are quite unaffected by the feelings of the wearer, and when the first tremblings of fear begin to manifest themselves they find a difficulty in their way. If unopposed, they would steadily increase, each augmenting and strengthening the other until their power became irresistible. What the talisman does is to prevent them from reaching this condition of irresistible velocity. It deals with them at the commencement, while they are still weak. The resistance which it opposes to them is precisely the same in kind as that which a gyroscope opposes to any effort to turn it aside from its line. It is so determinedly set in motion in one direction that it will sooner fly to pieces than allow itself to be turned into any other. Suddenly to bring such a power as this into conflict with unreasoning panic would probably result in the complete shattering of the astral body concerned; but if the gyroscopic force of the talisman is already working before the alarm is felt, its determined persistence along its own lines checks the first beginnings of fear, and so makes it impossible for the person ever to reach the later stages of panic terror.

 

That is its direct operation; but it works also indirectly upon the mind of the wearer. When he feels the first beginnings of fear stirring within him he probably recollects the amulet and clutches at it, and then there arises within him the feeling: “Why should I fear so long as I have with me this strong centre of magnetism?” And so, instead of yielding to the vibrations and allowing them to lengthen themselves until they become unmanageable, he calls up the reserve strength of his own will and asserts himself as master of his vehicles, which is in truth all that is necessary.

 

There is a third possibility in connection with a talisman, which is in some cases even more powerful than the other two. The object, whatever it may be, has been strongly magnetised by some individual, by the hypothesis a person of power and development, and therefore also probably highly sensitive. That being so, the talisman is a link with its creator, and through it his attention may be attracted. Under ordinary conditions its connection with its originator is of the slightest, but when the wearer is in desperate circumstances he sometimes actually calls upon the maker, much in the way in which the mediaeval devotee when in difficulties invoked the assistance of his patron saint; and that call will unquestionably reach the maker of the amulet and evoke a response from him. If he is still living in the physical world, he may or may not be conscious of the appeal in his physical brain; but in any case his ego will be conscious, and will respond by reinforcing the vibration of the talisman by a strong wave of his own more powerful thought, bearing with it strength and comfort.

 

Many ignorant men would scoff at such an idea as relic of mediaeval superstition, yet it is an actual scientific fact which has been demonstrated on hundreds of occasions. So far as its direct action goes, a talisman will work only in the direction in which it is made to work; but its indirect action on the faith of the possessor may sometimes take unexpected forms. I remember once making a charm for a certain noble lady, in order to protect her against spasms of extreme nervousness and even positive fear which occasionally swept over her when alone at night. She told me afterwards that this amulet had been of the greatest assistance to her in an emergency which I certainly did not contemplate when I made it.

 

It appears that on a certain occasion she was driving an exceptionally spirited horse (I believe that her husband made it a sort of boast that he never used horses which anybody else could drive) in a dog-cart, through a forest. The horse took fright at something or other, got the bit between its teeth and dashed madly off the road, and started at a wild gallop among the tree trunks. The groom on the back seat was so certain that they were all destined to immediate death that he threw himself off as best he could, and was sorely injured by the fall; but the lady declares that her thought at once flew to the charm which she was then wearing, and she says that she knew absolutely that she could not be killed while, as she expresses it, under its protection. This utter certainty kept her perfectly cool and collected, and she steered that dog-cart through the forest with consummate skill. She declares that on the whole she was certainly in the air more often than on the ground as the wheels bounded over roots and crashed through the bushes. But nevertheless she held on bravely until the horse became tired, and she was able to regain control of it. She thanked me enthusiastically for saving her life by means of the charm; but the truth is that it was not the direct action of the talisman, but the strength of her faith in it, which enabled her to gain so splendid a victory. That was undoubtedly the main factor; there may have been a certain amount of direct action also, because the stilling effect of the strong vibration of the talisman would catch any dawning feeling of fear and calm it, though I had prepared it to deal rather with first symptoms gradually arising than with so sudden an emergency as that.

 

There are various articles which are to a large extent natural amulets. All precious stones may be said to belong to this category, for each has a distinct influence which can be utilised in two ways. First, the influence necessarily attracts to it elemental essence of a certain kind, and also all such thoughts and desires as naturally express themselves through that essence; and secondly, the fact that it has these natural peculiarities makes it a fit vehicle for magnetism which is intended to work along the same line as those thoughts or emotions. Suppose, for example, it is desired to drive away impure thought. Impure thought means usually a complex set of vibrations, but set on the whole in a certain definite key. In order to resist them a stone should be chosen whose natural undulations are inharmonious with that key, so that they may offer to the impure impulses the greatest possible obstacle. If it is intended to make a talisman against those impure thoughts, a stone which naturally offers resistance to them is the vehicle which can most easily be loaded with the opposing influence.

 

The vibrations of the particles of the stone are on the physical level, while those of the emotions are on the astral level, several octaves higher; but a stone, the particles of which move naturally on the physical plane in a key which is identical at this level with the key of purity on higher levels, will itself, even without magnetisation, operate as a check upon impure thought or feeling by virtue of its overtones; and furthermore, it can be readily charged at astral or mental levels with the undulations of pure thought or feeling which are set in the same key.

 

There are instances of decided magnetism of this kind in the vegetable kingdom also. A good example of this is the rudraksha berry, of which necklaces are so frequently made in India. The oscillations connected with it, especially in its small and undeveloped state, render it specially suitable for magnetisation where sustained holy thought or meditation is required, and where all disturbing influences are to be kept away. The beads made from the tulsi plant are another example, although the influence which they give is of a somewhat different character.

 

An interesting set of natural talismans are those objects which produce strong scents. It has already been mentioned that incense produces a strong effect along these lines, the gums of which it is composed being specially chosen because the radiations which they give forth are favourable to spiritual and devotional thought, and do not harmonise with any form of disturbance or worry. It is possible so to combine ingredients as to make an incense which will have the opposite effect; this was sometimes done by the mediaeval witches, and is done to-day in Luciferian ceremonies. On the whole, it is generally desirable to avoid coarse and heavy scents, such as that of musk or of sachet powder, as many of them are closely in tune with sensual feelings of various kinds.

 

An object not intentionally charged for that purpose may sometimes have the force of a talisman. A present received from some loved one, if it be of a nature that can be worn or carried about by the recipient, constantly serves to him as a reminder of the donor, and often so far gives the sense of the donor' s presence as to prevent him from doing things that he would not do if that donor were looking on. I have heard of more than one case in which a man, wearing a ring or a chain given to him by his mother, was thereby saved from committing some questionable act, or indulging in some improper pleasure, because, just as he was about to yield to the temptation, his glance fell upon the object, and that brought to him so strongly the thought of his mother and of what she would feel if she could see him, that he at once abandoned his project. A letter carried about in the pocket has been known to serve the same purpose, for a man feels: “How can I do this thing with her very letter in my pocket-- how can I take that into surroundings where I should be ashamed that she should see me?” I remember one case in which such a struggle ended in the man tearing up the letter and throwing it away in order that he might be able to indulge himself; but usually the opposite result is produced.

 

THINGS WE CARRY ABOUT

 

Thus it will be seen that the objects which we carry about with us in our pockets may have decided influence upon us. A man' s watch, for example which he has always with him, becomes strongly charged with his magnetism, and if after wearing it for some years he gives it or lends it to another, that other person, if he be at all sensitive, will be constantly reminded of his friend, and conscious of a feeling as though he were present. I remember that a prominent member of the Theosophical Society, long since dead, used often to make presents of watches to those disciples in whom he was specially interested, charging them strongly before he gave them with whatever quality he thought that the recipient most needed. As his young friends naturally wore those watches, he succeeded in several cases in effecting in them considerable changes of character.

 

MONEY

 

One unpleasant thing (from one point of view) which we all have to carry about with us is money. It will naturally occur to the humorist to say at this point that he could do with a good deal of that kind of unpleasantness. I quite understand that point of view, and I recognise that in our present civilisation it is desirable to possess a certain amount of filthy lucre, and even necessary to carry at least a little of it about with one, so as to be prepared for unexpected emergencies. Nevertheless, the fact remains that while money in the abstract is no doubt a good thing to have if one knows how to use it wisely, money in the concrete form of coins and notes is frequently charged with the worst possible magnetism. New notes and new coins are harmless enough, but after they have been in circulation for a little time they acquire not only all sorts of physical dirt but also many varieties of influences, nearly all of them exceedingly unpleasant.

 

The reason for this is not difficult to understand, for the magnetism surrounding the coin is produced by the thoughts and feelings of those who have handled it or carried it. First and as a general principle, without taking any special feeling into consideration, any coin which has been handled and carried by a large number of people must inevitably be charged with a great mixture of different kinds of magnetism. It is, therefore, from the point of view of vibrations, a centre of discord around which all kinds of warring influence are boiling up in the wildest confusion. The influence of such a thing as this is disturbing and irritating, and it has, though to a much stronger degree, exactly the same effect upon the astral and mental bodies as has the continued bombardment of radium emanations upon the physical body.

 

Several scientific people have discovered by painful experience that to carry a fragment of radium in one' s waistcoat pocket presently produces a peculiarly obstinate sore upon the skin underneath it; just like that, but larger in proportion, is the effect produced on the higher vehicles by the presence of a much-used coin. Copper and bronze coins are in this respect the worst of all-- except perhaps old and dirty bank-notes. Gold and silver coins absorb the influences which surround them, but their qualities make them somewhat less receptive to the worst characteristics. From all this it emerges that it is better not perpetually to have in one' s pocket more money than is actually necessary. I have known students who partially met the difficulty by carrying copper or bronze coins only in a purse so strongly magnetised as to be practically impervious to the unpleasant vibrations. Many countries have realised the unsuitability of those metals for daily use, and are adopting nickel as a substitute; and nickel, while not so ` noble' a metal as gold or silver, is much less receptive to evil influence than copper. A noble metal, in alchemical parlance, is one which answers readily to the wave-lengths of the higher thought, but is resistant towards the lower kinds.

 

CLOTHING

 

We come now to a subject upon which all the considerations dictated by the sight of the higher worlds, and the additional knowledge which occultism gives, are in direct contradiction in nearly every way to the fashions at present prevailing in the West. In a course of researches, extending over many years, it has happened to me to see clairvoyantly a large number of the civilisations of the world, in all parts of it and at widely diverging periods, and it has also come within my duty to examine the inhabitants of at least two other planets. The various races have differed widely in customs and costumes, but never in any of them at any time have I seen anything approaching in hideousness the dress which is at present the fashion in Europe for males.

 

It is supremely ugly, ungainly and unhealthy, and the only point (so far as I can see) which can be urged in its favour is a certain measure of practical convenience. It is tight-fitting, whereas all clothing ought to be loose. It is made principally of materials which are from the inner point of view most undesirable, and the only colours (or lack of colours) which custom permits are precisely the worst that could possibly be chosen. Our outer garments are black, or brown, or grey (and one has only to study Man Visible and Invisible in order to see what those hues signify), or if a shade of blue is sometimes permitted, it is so dark that one can scarcely distinguish that it is blue at all.

 

There are certain practical reasons for all these unpleasant features. Our clothes are tight-fitting because we wish to be ready at any moment to exhibit activity in running, jumping or riding. They are made of heavy woollen materials in order to keep out the cold; and they are made in these ugly dark colours in order to disguise the dirt which accumulates upon them after even a single day' s wear, owing to the facts that we are not yet sufficiently civilised to make all kinds of fires consume their own smoke, and that we have not yet learnt to make a road that shall be free from dust and mud. If anyone desires to know what a load of unspeakable filth he is carrying about with him, let him take any old coat or other outside garment which he has discarded, and wash it thoroughly in a tub of water, as underclothing is washed; the colour of the water will be a revelation to him.

 

From the occult point of view nothing will justify a man for existing in such a condition of filth. Clothing which is not only washable but frequently washed is absolutely the only kind that is permissible from the standpoint of the thinker. I know quite well that, as things stand in Europe or America, it is practically impossible for the most earnest student to do in this respect what he knows he ought to do; for the slavery of custom is so absolute that a man cannot live among his fellows unless he follows it. It is strange that this should be so, and it is most discreditable to those nations; it absolutely disposes of their claim to be considered liberal or free-minded people; but so it is. Information as to what ought to be done in these matters is therefore unfortunately useless to our Western brothers, because they simply cannot do it; but fortunately there are other countries in the world which, though perhaps equally under the slavery of custom along other lines, happen to have a better custom in regard to this particular matter, and so information about it may be of use to their inhabitants.

 

A man dresses primarily for decency and for the sake of his own comfort; but he ought surely also to consider the aspect which he presents to his fellow-creatures, and even for that reason alone the superlative ugliness of our present costume is a positive sin.

 

I am aware then that, for the Westerner at least, I am suggesting counsels of perfection which cannot be followed, when I say what occultism prescribes in the matter of dress. I am not speaking of the customs of any race or religion, or of what any man or set of men happens to approve. I am simply prescribing what is dictated by a scientific consideration of the higher side of life and the unseen elements which are all the time entering into it. The prescription then is as follows:

 

All dress should be loose and flowing, never under any circumstances exercising pressure upon any part of the body, and no part of it which touches the skin should ever be composed of wool or leather. How then are we to keep ourselves warm? Well, the Chinese, who at least in the North of their country suffer under a most appalling climate, contrive to solve the difficulty by using garments of padded silk or cotton, something like eiderdown quilts; and it is quite certain that it is within the resources of science to supply us with a number of efficient substitutes for wool, if there were only a demand for them. Old-fashioned doctors in England used to have a craze for recommending the wearing of wool next to the skin-- the very last thing that ever ought to be allowed to touch it; for, as has been well said by a doctor: “It is an animal product which can never be properly cleaned; it creates unnatural heat; it becomes felted and chokes the pores; it absorbs moisture very slowly and dries very slowly, therefore retaining the moisture of the body; it enervates and enfeebles the system, encourages chills and colds, and promotes rheumatism; it often causes (and always irritates) rashes and other skin diseases; it cannot be boiled without destroying the fabric, and it always shrinks.” From the occult point of view the condemnation of it is even more emphatic, and includes various other reasons.

 

Clothes ought to be of brilliant colours, not only for the sake of giving pleasure to the eyes of our neighbours, but also because of the effect of the colours upon ourselves. The present system of dressing entirely in subfusc hues is undoubtedly productive of a vast amount of depression and stagnation of thought, and by it we entirely lose the different effects which may be produced upon the disposition by the wearing of different colours. When we have advanced sufficiently for a reasonable costume to become possible, it will be of interest to discuss the qualities of the colours, and which are most suitable for particular types of people; at present it would be of little use.

 

In many oriental countries the customs in these matters are far more rational. In Burma, for example, when lecturing on a festival day at the Great Golden Pagoda in Rangoon, I have seen my audience stretch before me glowing like a splendid flower-bed with variegated colours. The delicately-coloured satins worn by the Chinese there on festive occasions produce in the glowing tropical sunlight an effect not easy to be surpassed, and one cannot but wonder how it is that we, who certainly belong to a later race than these people, and may not unreasonably claim to have advanced distinctly beyond them in many of the departments of civilisation, should yet have fallen so utterly and lamentably behind them in this particular of dress.

 

The worst features of it are really quite recent. I myself can remember in my childhood seeing a few survivals of the ordinary costume of a century ago, when brilliant colours were still worn by gentlemen on other occasions than in the hunting-field. It has really taken us only about a century to reach the lowest possible level in these matters; how long will it take us to rise again to beauty and gracefulness and dignity?

 

The subject of clothing leads us to bed-clothing; but there is not much to be said upon this, save that from the occult standpoint feather-beds or thick and heavy mattresses are always undesirable, and that if it be necessary that wool should form part of the covering, at any rate precautions should be taken that it does not touch the skin of the sleeper; for if at other times it is inexpedient to bring into close contact with ourselves that which is saturated with animal influences, and is indeed animal in its very essence, it is a thousandfold more serious to do this when the body is asleep and so specially amenable to such influences. A bed made of interlaced webbing, such as is commonly used at Adyar, is one of the best from the occult point of view.

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER XVI