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ARS VIVENDI (ART OF LIVING) |
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CHAPTER 14: A NEW SPIRIT 1. THEORY NEW DOCTRINE SOLOMON declared in a mood of despondency that there was nothing new under the sun. In one sense this is correct, for we are continually confronted with old and forgotten knowledge put forward in a new guise. But in another sense the remark will not bear investigation, inasmuch as the onward march of evolution is constantly presenting new aspects of the unveiling or revelation of Truth. This applies to the function of the cranial sinuses or air-chambers, and the part played by them in respiration. Their existence was known to the modern anatomist, and perhaps to some of the wise men of old who seem to have acquired some inkling of their value in connection with fantastic ideas about "occultism," and perhaps "levitation" of the body. The schoolboy game of holding the breath and trying to rise from the ground with very slight support is probably an interesting remnant of tradition or folk-lore. Teachers of singing, again, occasionally refer to the cranial sinuses as "resonators." Granting, then, in a strictly limited sense, Solomon's contention that there is nothing new under the sun, it is safe to assert that nothing whatever like the Ars Vivendi doctrine of the significance of the cranial sinuses, and of the proper method of using them in breathing has ever been put forward before at any time in history in any part of the world. It constitutes an original discovery which, when comprehensively understood and practically mastered, will be acknowledged as the most important ever made so far as purely human evolution is concerned, for it is the master key to physical growth as well as mental development. It explains many perplexing problems that have occupied the philosopher, the philologist, and the theologian. Is it by accident or design that the terms "spirit" and "breath" are synonymous? It may be objected that the term "spirit" as used in theology conveys quite a different conception from the term "breath." Superficially that may be so, because very few think deeply enough to see what is beneath the surface. When the subject is thoroughly investigated, especially in the light of the new doctrine now introduced, the connection between "spirit" and "breath" will reveal itself as inherent in the very nature of existence. Without "spirit," no "breath"; without "breath," no "spirit." Both terms convey the motive power of the Universe, absolutely as well as relatively. As we proceed with the elucidation of the new doctrine the necessary connection between the two terms will become clear. The preacher of a new doctrine, especially in religion, emphasises the necessity of "faith," and as a general rule sums up what the neophyte has got to "believe" before he is admitted within the pale. So far as the new doctrine presented in this chapter is concerned, the reader can take comfort from the assurance that not only is "faith" not demanded, but it is rejected as of no value at all in the practical application of the principle. If you cannot breathe in the Ars Vivendi way, belief will not help you one iota; you have to understand first what it is all about, and then to carry out the directions with as much care and assiduity as you can muster. It is the "doing," not "believing," which matters. It does away with Scribes and Pharisees of all kinds who delight in repetition of long words and high-sounding phrases. It produces its effect entirely apart from any "faith" or "profession of faith." Not only does it do that, but it will do more: it will smash, break up, and pulverise all "beliefs" which are opposed to the development of humanity, for it lets in the resistless tide of evolution which sweeps away children's sand castles and leaves no trace of their existence. That is the reason why I can afford to dispense with "belief" on the part of the beginner. Of course, if you are afraid of improving, that is to say, if you are so deeply immersed in darkness that you love darkness rather than light, falsehood rather than truth, disease rather than health, you will refuse to try the new breath and to welcome the new spirit. But that is not owing to lack of "faith" but deficiency of understanding, due to a definite physical cause-obstruction of the passages leading to the cranial sinuses. The essential conditions being wanting, flourishing life either of mind or body is out of the question. Nature cannot do the impossible. THE CRANIAL SINUSES The first reference to the cranial sinuses as an immensely important factor in the function of respiration was made by me in a letter published in the Schoolmaster, December, 1916, in reference to the question of adenoids and their treatment without surgical operation. I had been studying as well as teaching the science of breathing for years before I realised the actual significance of the cranial air-chambers in respiration and the immense part they played in human evolution. I had read most of the books published on breathing, especially the textbooks of Physiology containing chapters devoted to respiration. In not a single one had I ever come across a passage bearing upon the importance of the cranial sinuses. And -- perhaps a feature more curious than the silence of the text-books -- in not a single piece of poetry or a romance in which wonderful visions are portrayed is there to be found any reference to the potentiality of the cranial sinuses. The reader meets with ideally beautiful women, majestic super-men, but no hint is dropped as to the process of their evolution. A NEW SPIRIT The explanation is that there lay hidden a wonderful secret of Nature which is capable of accomplishing all that poet or romancer has imagined, but had not been fully revealed to poet, prophet, seer, scientist, or saint, though it might occasionally have been stumbled upon by chance and seen "as in a glass darkly." This is the first time that the complete theory of the significance of the cranial sinuses has been set out, accompanied by irrefutable demonstration of the part they play in the growth of man from the animal to the divine. ANATOMY OF THE CRANIAL SINUSES Without the solid ground of science to stand upon it is futile to build a superstructure of philosophical speculation. The reader's close attention is therefore directed to the following extracts from Gray's "Anatomy."
For the practical purposes of Ars Vivendi breathing, all that is really required to understand is that in addition to going down to the chest, the air also goes up to the region of the forehead. The frontal sinuses are roughly marked by the eyebrows; the sphenoidal (perhaps the most important) are just behind the eyes; the others are located at the root and sides of the nose. These little cavities are small in size compared with the chest, and the volume of tidal air going in and out of them is insignificant compared with the volume going in and out of the lungs; but they contain the essence of the life of the whole system, and they regulate and control the development of the human being physically, mentally and morally. II: PRACTICAL APPLICATION Evolution proceeds in accordance with natural laws, and human evolution must conform to the inexorable laws which govern production of vital energy. Just as it is impossible to get good results from an imperfect machine, so it is futile to expect a high type of mental and physical energy from an organism stunted and hampered by arrested development. The nation is now beginning to realise the paramount importance of promoting human energy as the foundation of national welfare and the first national asset. Sickness is not only costly, but prejudicial to the individual and the community -- a fact which at last has been recognised by the State in expenditure of public money on national health education, and treatment of Consumption. This opens up an entirely new chapter in national history, for the expenditure of public money demands that the very best results be obtained at the least possible cost to the taxpayer. It can be easily shown that more can be done in a shorter time than is possible with the methods at present prevailing in sanatoria, hospitals, and schools. BOY SCOUTS EXPERIMENT For this purpose an experiment of a novel kind was carried out on a class of Boy Scouts, as recorded in the Trail (official organ of the London Scout Council), November, 1918.
EDUCATION OF CHILDREN All thinking men and women are keenly alive to the need of a high standard of education. Good ideas and valuable suggestions, to say nothing of the various "systems," are put forward from time to time. But the decisive factor is ignored. Let us take, for example, a class of a dozen or more children. Teach them exactly the same thing, in the same way, by the same teacher. Great differences will be noticed in many ways, such as alertness, ability to concentrate attention on the lesson, and quickness of apprehension. One is unmistakably sharp, another unmistakably dull, while another is plodding and persevering. Of course the educationist will give the ready explanation of variations of heredity as well as environment, which is quite correct so far as it goes. But it does not cover the whole ground by a very long way. It is not necessary to point to adenoids as the efficient cause of dullness, for a child may not have adenoids and yet be very far from being mentally sharp. There is another and a much more subtle factor interfering with the brain action of the dull child. In the anatomical description of the sinuses, it will be noticed that they do not exist in the child to the same extent as in the adult, for they develop steadily year by year, beginning to be marked about the tenth to the twelfth year. Making full allowance for the injurious effect of adenoids upon the dull or backward child, the principal factor is the inability of the sinuses to open out in the normal manner, as they were intended by Nature to do in normal growth of body and mind. Just as one child does not thrive physically through lack of sufficient air in the body as a whole, so another child does not thrive mentally through lack of sufficient air in the cranial sinuses as they open out in normal growth. In education, therefore -- and the attention of educationists throughout the world is earnestly drawn to this cardinal point -- the first, the indispensable requisite is to ensure to the child the physical chance of vigorous growth. The "breath of life" may be a commonplace, but none the less it is a very real -- the most real -- thing for body and mind, for it affects hour by hour, minute by minute, the growth of the child through the chemical action going on in the system without intermission. Mental sharpness or dullness depends upon whether the air passages leading to the sinuses are free or blocked. The signs are written with absolute clearness upon the root of the nose. An expert in these signs could pick out at the first glance the child who is slow to learn or likely to suffer from eye, throat, and chest troubles. A pupil of mine, a teacher in one of the London public elementary schools, was requested to make -- from this standpoint -- notes on a certain number of selected cases in his class. The results proved the theory conclusively. When this has been demonstrated on a large scale, as could be done under the auspices of the Ministry of Health or the Board of Education, it will facilitate immensely the work of the educational expert in his own domain of bringing out or unfolding the brain capacity of the scholars. To treat children as budding angels who instinctively follow the good and eschew the bad, both in ideas and in morals, as seems to be the aim of a certain type of educationist, is a dangerous practice which will produce disastrous consequences in after life. In fact, a child with contracted and blocked sinuses cannot possibly grow up healthy in mind or sound in body. Knowledge of this principle is the corner-stone of all education. ADENOIDS Closely connected with the subject of the cranial sinuses is the vexed question of the treatment and cure of adenoids and enlarged tonsils in children. The actual percentage of children suffering from adenoids is difficult to ascertain correctly, but there is no doubt that it is high. All authorities, educational and medical, are agreed that the presence of adenoid swellings in a child prevents full benefit being derived from education. Surgical operations for the removal of adenoids may be necessary in very advanced stages, but though they afford relief for a short time, they cannot be regarded as satisfactory for many reasons, chief of which is an inveterate tendency to grow again, necessitating obviously a second and perhaps a third operation before the child reaches the age of 13 or 14 years. Clearly, therefore, if a reliable method was elaborated of preventing adenoid swellings and enlarged tonsils, an immense boon would be conferred upon the rising generation. If the hygienic training and breathing exercises now carried out in the schools could effectively safeguard the child against these two affections which affect its welfare very seriously, well and good. But, as a matter of fact, they do not. Hence operations for removal of adenoids and enlarged tonsils have become prevalent, and parents have been compelled by the educational authorities to have their children operated upon whether they like it or not. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has even gone to the length of charging parents with cruelty if they refuse to allow their children to undergo a surgical operation for removal of adenoids. This is a decided interference with the elementary rights of parents, but a good deal can be said on both sides. The matter at issue is very simple. If a parent objects to a surgical operation, can he get rid of adenoids and enlarged tonsils in a reasonable time by other means? My opinion, based upon an extensive experience, is that so-called breathing exercises carried out in the usual manner in schools will not guarantee a child against adenoid swellings and enlarged tonsils. I have seen children who had been undergoing "breathing exercises" regularly at school suffer both from adenoids and enlarged tonsils. The London County Council introduced "breathing exercises" into their schools some years ago, and yet surgical operations for adenoids are now fairly frequent. The same story is told more or less in all countries, so that it may be taken as proved that ordinary breathing exercises, however well-intentioned, will not prevent the swelling of adenoid tissue in children. The Ars Vivendi method of dealing with adenoids will be explained in the following pages under the heading "Ars Vivendi Processes," which consist of two entirely separate parts -- manipulation of the root of the nose to relieve congestion of the mucous membrane of the nasal passage leading to the cranial sinuses, and exact instruction how the breathing is to be done. The idea that a child breathes naturally of its own accord is pure fallacy. The very fact that it is liable to have adenoid swellings and enlarged tonsils shows that something is wrong. Before giving actual cases of more or less immediate relief in the case of pronounced adenoids in children, followed by a complete cure, not in months, but in days, and generally in the course of two or three treatments, I will quote from the letter of a medical man received at the end of the year 1921.
The following cases show what can be done -- not to prevent adenoid tissue swelling in children, which is a much more simple matter, but actually to cure them in the natural manner without surgical operation or cauterising of any kind. It would be impossible to put the efficacy of Ars Vivendi treatment to a more severe test. CASE I. -- A little girl of seven, daughter of a naval officer, had been under medical treatment by a West-End physician for the previous twelve months for adenoids. Instead of improving under the special diet and breathing exercises that had been prescribed and strictly adhered to by the parents, both of whom were opposed to a surgical operation, the adenoids became more and more pronounced until deafness supervened in addition to the well-known facial symptoms of pronounced adenoids. After the doctor had been forced to acknowledge the utter failure of his own treatment, he recommended another specialist, this time a lady nose and throat authority, who brought matters to a crisis by a peculiar treatment of her own which consisted in putting some powder or other up the nostrils to bring on a fit of sneezing. This treatment was productive of decided results. It made the child sneeze so violently that she nearly sneezed her life away, but had no effect whatever on the adenoids or the deafness. The child absolutely refused to go on with the treatment compared to which the complaint itself was but a trifle. The mother was now determined to have an operation at once, but the father begged her to take the child to see me, as the very last semblance of hope. He had undergone an operation for adenoids himself when a boy, with by no means encouraging results. The mother consented with extreme reluctance, and told me with great frankness that she did not believe at all in the treatment I proposed, and she had only come at her husband's request. "I am really ashamed to take the child out," she added, "for she is now so bad that she can't breathe without her mouth wide open, and within the last few weeks she has grown so deaf that she can't hear a word without shouting at her. Several people have asked me why I don't let her have an operation. I think I shall make arrangements this afternoon." At the time this little girl was brought to me, I had not succeeded in putting the final finishing touch to the treatment, and I was by no means confident that a single treatment, which under the circumstances, was all that the mother would consent to, would produce results sufficiently striking to convince the mind of the parents. All I knew for certain was that I could do some good, even in a single operation. It was therefore agreed by the mother to have a single treatment merely as a kind of harmless preliminary to the coming surgical operation for the removal of the adenoids. This case illustrates the difference between Faith-Cure or Power of Belief, and suggestion on the one hand, and Ars Vivendi treatment on the other. So far from being confident even myself, let alone the distracted mother, I could only apply the theory which I had already elaborated and tested in practice in other cases not anywhere so bad as this little girl. If reasonable time had been granted, say a fortnight's daily attendance, it would have been different, perhaps. But even then it would have been a pretty severe strain on anyone's credulity to believe that a case like this would yield without a surgical operation. In about ten to fifteen minutes, I got the little girl to close her mouth and to breathe through the nostrils while she was walking about in the room. Continuing the treatment, the results became more and more marked every few minutes, while the mother declared that if anyone had told her such a thing was possible, she would not believe it. The following day, the mother told me that the child breathed easily through the nostrils, with mouth closed, all the way home and right on till bed time. After the second treatment, the deafness improved so much that it was hardly noticeable, and after a few more visits, all thoughts of a surgical operation were finally abandoned. The little girl improved quickly both mentally and physically, and soon developed a physique very much above the average standard. CASE 2. -- The parents of a boy of eight were officially informed by the headmaster of the school that the doctor had given his verdict that an operation for the removal of adenoids was necessary immediately. The mother of the boy asked me whether it would be possible to prevent an operation if she brought him for four or five treatments during the three days' leave from school. I replied that the treatment would probably improve matters so much that no operation would be considered necessary by the school medical officer. This was accordingly done, with what result I did not know for several months afterwards. The following letters refer to this case. "May I bring my little girl, aged seven, to see you any time after 2.30 on Friday next. My cousin, Mrs. __ has told me of the wonders you do, and I think my little girl may be inclined to have adenoids." "I think my boy, aged twelve, has adenoids, and I should very much like to get rid of them without an operation, if this can be done. Mrs. __ has told me how much good you have done her boy, and how successful the treatment has been, so I shall be very much obliged if you would let me hear from you if you could see the child." ... "My sister-in-law, Mrs. __, has advised my writing to you. Could you give an appointment for my son of fourteen?"... "Lady __ presents her compliments to Mr. Lovell, and is writing to say that she has been recommended to him by Mrs. __, whose boy he treated with so much success for catarrh; and Lady __ is anxious to bring her son, aged thirteen and a half, to see Mr. Lovell, as he suffers from the same tiresome thing, and so far, no treatment that he has had has done much good." ... "You will remember that I brought my small son to see you in March, and that he had three treatments. I have been unable to bring him to London again, and hope to do so later on. In the meantime, will you give my daughter, Lady __, some treatment. I want her nose and breathing tested." ... "I have been much interested in hearing of your treatment from Miss __ who took Lady __'s boy to you lately." In the face of such evidence, it is a crime against the rising generation to cause mutilation of important tissues in nose and throat, for it is sowing the seed of tuberculosis in after life. III: ARS VIVENDI PROCESSES "Ars Vivendi" is literally the "art of living" in its fullest sense, that is to say, the sense in which we speak of the human being as a trinity in unity of body, mind and spirit. Consequently it regards any attempt to treat them separately as not only wrong in principle but impossible in practice, for they are constantly acting and reacting upon each other. The influence of mind upon body is a fact which everyone knows instinctively. It may be convenient for ordinary purposes to talk of our bodies and our souls as separate and distinct things or entities; but the outer man is the outward expression of the inner, or to put it in another way, the inner man reveals himself in the outer man. The healer of the body as well as the healer of the soul must ultimately meet on the common ground of health in its true signification of "wholeness" and "holiness." This is a sufficient answer to the narrow view of "salvation of the soul" on the one hand, and "health of the body" on the other. Up to now, it must be admitted that it was not always easy to trace the connection between bodily health and salvation of soul, for many persons are strong physically but decidedly weak intellectually and spiritually, and vice versa. The Ars Vivendi doctrine of the true respiratory function of the cranial sinuses, however, explains the apparent discrepancies with absolute precision, and furthermore, gives the key to the all round development of the human being, considered in his threefold aspect of body, mind, and spirit. In a nutshell, the practice of Ars Vivendi breathing develops the body in the normal manner, the mind in the normal manner, and the spirit, or the individual, regarded as a unit, in the normal manner. Of course, there are inherent differences in each person due to heredity and environment, and it will be impossible to have a uniform level of development. The point to be emphasised is that the path for one is the path for all, for each human being is aiming at the same goal -- perfection of body, mind, and spirit. This goal can be reached only in one way, full, copious and constant breathing up to the cranial sinuses. To this end the various Ars Vivendi processes are directed. They can be broadly classed under two heads. (1) Manipulative treatment of nostrils and bony framework of the nose to relieve the congestion of the mucous membrane of the air passage leading to the sinuses, and to render the breathing more easy and more copious. This manipulation is quite different from ordinary massage or osteopathy, and demands a very delicate touch involving flexibility of wrist and lightness of hand. No pain or inconvenience is caused, and in the majority of cases, decided relief is brought about in a few minutes. (2) Instruction in the exact manner in which the breathing upwards to the sinuses is to be carried out. This method will open the nostrils more fully, and enable a larger volume of air to go down to the lungs as well. Both these processes require knowledge, skill, and practice, and cannot possibly be done by anyone, medical man or other person, without preliminary training. To produce quick results upon children suffering from adenoids or enlarged tonsils, would be out of the question unless the breathing and manipulative treatment had been absolutely mastered, together with certain sound exercises to enable the operator to diagnose the condition of nose and throat. These two principles, manipulative treatment and precise instruction, are the foundation on which all physical healing and mental development are based, for their direct aim is to increase the sum of vitality in the individual unit. In those cases where there is no pronounced nasal obstruction, careful instruction for daily practice three times daily will produce very remarkable results, as Case 2 in Chapter XIII shows. The method I have found most successful both in personal treatment and by correspondence is to direct the student to imagine a V placed in the centre of the forehead between the eyes, and to start breathing as silently as possible and without strain or effort with mouth closed, from the centre of the nostrils, roughly the bridge of the nose, upwards to V. The out-breathing to be done in the same manner with mouth closed, and with as little noise as possible. By degrees, as the nostrils become clearer, and the breathing habitually more easy and copious, the V will seem to be more pronounced. This is the beginning of a higher stage of evolution, corresponding somewhat faintly to the halo of light represented in art as surrounding the head of "saints." It is an actual mental illumination brought about by chemical action of the oxygen in the air inspired. The pituitary and the pineal glands, the first more directly connected with physical well-being and the second with mental energy, are roused into action in the normal course of human evolution. At this stage, V reveals itself as symbolical of the very highest conceptions of man, such as Vitality, Vision, Will, stamped upon the human brow. It is "the white stone on the forehead," the abode of the spirit in man. In Sanskrit literature, Shiva or Spirit dwells in the forehead. Swedenborg and all the mystics arrive at the same conclusion. The sign V placed in the Ars Vivendi manner, unites in one plain but comprehensive symbol the universal aspiration of the human race. In the first degree, that is the physical treatment, these higher ideas do not matter in the least. The sign of V is merely intended as a fingerpost to show the correct method of breathing upwards to the cranial sinuses. It is absolutely immaterial whether the individual believes or not in the higher development, provided he carries out the breathing regularly in conjunction with the other processes which fall into their proper place as parts of the whole scheme of Ars Vivendi evolution. Having now briefly described the indispensable preliminary requisite for human development, I will proceed to outline the three aspects, or more correctly, the three stages, grades, or degrees of unfoldment of the Breath of Life. The symbol V will be found to be universal in its application, leading on naturally from the physical, through the mental, to the spiritual. THE PHYSICAL V Under this is comprised study of the human form in itself, by itself, and for itself, both at rest and in motion. The poets have always portrayed shapes in which evil is incarnate as deficient in perfection of form, while the thought expressed by the Latin poet -- Vera incessu patuit dea -- the real goddess revealed herself by her gait and carriage -- runs through the literature of all nations. Plato makes "the beautiful" to be the end and goal of existence. In short, homage to and worship of the Beautiful is inherent in the heart of mankind, though it shows itself absurdly enough in many ways. But as regards human form, too great stress cannot be laid upon the Beautiful as the goal of existence. When the laws governing the human organism begin to be studied intelligently, diseases of all kinds are seen to be the inevitable consequence of violations of the law of human form, the direct deciding factor always is the amount and the potential of vitality in the system. With sufficient resisting power, none would contract any disease. The important thing to understand is that vitality depends upon form of the body as a whole. Nature cannot pack high vitality into a diminutive body or a shrunken organ. A person of a certain height must have a certain girth before he can become robust. Just as the goddess is represented by her appearance and walk, so the general health of the organism is shown in the appearance and walk. "The most useful walk is the most beautiful and the most beautiful walk is the most useful. The principal vital organs, lungs, heart, stomach, liver, kidneys, etc. have, in health, their normal position, and are kept in their proper place by muscles and tissues which, when the general tone is good, and the laws of breathing and walking are understood have strength enough to do their work. When the laws of breathing and walking are ignored, these muscles and tissues lack sufficient strength to keep the vital organs in their proper place in the trunk; they gravitate downwards, pressing upon each other. Many of the most serious and painful diseases of women are entirely due to the downward pressure on important organs which are too delicate to sustain a weight they were never intended by nature to bear." [1] Swedenborg thought that heaven was in human form. What looks like a paradox is merely a truism. Man's conception of heaven is the ideal or perfect state of consciousness which can express itself only in the ideal or perfect form and appearance. I feel profound respect for the lady who declared that she would not care to enter heaven unless she was irreproachably dressed. The instinct of woman will often get at truth quicker than the laborious arguments and head-splitting cogitations of man. When a woman does her best to improve her appearance, she is much nearer the road to heaven than the dry-as-dust theologian who worries himself and torments his fellows with impossible theories and absurd speculations. So many wrong notions about heaven have been put forward that it is somewhat difficult to get hold of the right one. But if we start with the idea that heaven is not a place in space but an inner state of consciousness, we shall make headway in grasping the fact that we shall appear outwardly what we are inwardly. The beautiful dress will express the beautiful idea, and the ugly dress the ugly idea. The astonishing thing is that there will and must be perfect correspondence between inner and outer. There will be no shops where you will be able to buy, beg, borrow or steal garments other than the one you can produce yourself. You will have to grow your own wool, cotton, and silk, weave the cloth, cut the garment, and fit to your own figure. If "heaven" is the goal of humanity, as it undoubtedly is, we might just as well turn our eye in that direction now and here, by paying all the attention we can to the laws of the human form, and endeavouring to get as near as we can to the ideal. This is not as difficult as appears at first sight. It is almost entirely a question of understanding what to look for. Instead of bowing down before the idols of names and classifications, train yourself to consider every disease as an offence against the law of human form, and a sin against the principle of vitality. The primary consideration is full and copious breathing up to the cranial sinuses to supply sufficient motive power to the organism as a whole and in part. Every organ, stomach, liver, kidney and the rest, has to be constantly supplied with good, rich blood in order to perform its proper functions. The spine must not be pressed down, but relieved of the weight of the body. The feet must not be flat and heavy, but light and agile. In mythology the gods were always light-footed. Breathing upwards to the cranial sinuses will tend to draw the body upwards and relieve the downward pressure which plays havoc with stomach, liver, kidneys, and intestines. The breath or spirit of life is the real healer as well as sustainer of the body, and when intelligently directed will correct curvature of spine, weakness of limbs, and imperfect working of organs in young and adult as nothing else will. It is sheer ignorance on the part of both doctor and patient which places reliance upon so-called "remedies" and "cures." As we understand more and more the functions of the various organs and particularly the pineal, pituitary, thyroid and other glands, we see that they depend directly upon the motive power of the machine as a whole -- full breathing up to the cranial sinuses. Nature has provided for man a wonderful piece of mechanism which only requires intelligent handling to produce a higher humanity than has ever been dreamt of in the past. INFLUENZA The real determining factor in recovery from an attack of influenza is, invariably, the vitality of the victim. An edifying anecdote was told me by a pupil who vouched for its truth. Three friends were laid up with influenza. They went to bed on the same day and got up from bed on the same day. The first was a firm believer in ordinary medical treatment, was professionally attended with the utmost care and took his medicine with scrupulous fidelity. The second had no faith in the allopathic practitioner but was very strong on homoeopathy, the globules of which he swallowed with equal zeal. The third did not believe in doctors at all, and went on a way of his own. The result was honours equal. The only way to guard against influenza is to breathe habitually up to the cranial sinuses, and to avoid as far as possible the polluted atmosphere of overcrowded rooms, especially when an epidemic is in the air and bacilli are on the warpath. Given the preliminary conditions of good vitality and fair habits of living, influenza would soon be robbed of its terrors even at its worst. It has been computed that in the last great epidemic over 8,000,000 people in different parts of the world succumbed in a very short time. A large percentage of these received medical attendance, probably all of them if living in civilised countries. It is clear therefore that the determining factor is the vitality of the organism at the onset of the attack. The following directions will greatly assist in promoting quick recovery, if followed with steady will. Go straight to bed to get as comfortable as possible under the circumstances. Start breathing immediately in the Ars Vivendi way up to the cranial sinuses, rubbing and tapping the nose gently in order to assist the circulation of the blood in the nostrils, and assist the breathing power. Remind yourself frequently that it is a contest between two forces, your vitality and the foreign invader. Every moment you breathe fully, without strain and effort, you burn off the deleterious matter which offered suitable breeding ground to the bacilli. But for the accumulation of this deleterious matter in the shape of the hydrogen ions referred to in Chapter XIII, influenza would not have struck you down. A striking corroboration of the Ars Vivendi doctrine is furnished in the opinions of an American medical man who concludes that the ravages of influenza are due to the congested state of the nasal sinuses, which offers a suitable breeding ground for noxious bacilli and enables them to multiply at such an alarming rate that the resistance of the organism is speedily overcome. The lesson to learn, therefore. is not to wait till influenza comes and then try what breathing up to the cranial sinuses will do, but to keep up a high rate of vitality by breathing habitually in the Ars Vivendi manner. EUTHANASIA There is no period of life at which the habit of breathing up to the cranial sinuses cannot be acquired and maintained, provided that there is no pronounced obstruction which interferes with easy breathing, and requires treatment to deal with as a preliminary to practice. As a general rule, surgical operations are not required and should be resorted to only in the last instance, for injury to the mucous membrane lining the air passage cannot be repaired, and the benefit derived is temporary -- very seldom permanent. When the habit of breathing upwards to the V in the forehead has been once acquired it will tend to perpetuate itself, for it can be done while lying in bed as well as standing and sitting. Invalids of all kinds who are confined to bed, no matter what the nature of the complaint, can practise with immense, often immediate benefit. The larger volume of air taken into the system by this method cannot fail to produce beneficial results even when a complete cure is not to be looked for. It prepares the way for the euthanasia, or painless transition of long life. THE MENTAL V When the Germans dropped their first shell on Paris from a distance of over seventy miles, a good many artillery experts even went so far as to prove that it was mathematically impossible to produce a big gun capable of throwing a shell to such distance. We now know that not only was it not impossible, but the feat was actually accomplished. When Galileo wanted the astronomers to look through his telescope at the satellites of Jupiter, they refused point-blank and proved that there were no satellites. When anyone brings forward a new fact or states a new principle, the first instinct of the human mind is to prove that it is impossible, absurd, and ridiculous. This has been the history of the human race from time immemorial -- a point which prompted Schopenhauer to remark that he who aims at teaching or improving humanity has good reason to thank his stars if he escapes with a whole skin. Can this elementary trait in human nature be accounted for in a scientific manner, and if so what is the explanation? The cause is the inability of the brain to respond to a higher rate of vibration. New ideas produce an actual disturbance which is not at all to our liking at a certain stage of development, for they interfere in a decided manner with our previous notions. In a sense it is true that where ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be wise. Evolution drives us forward, however, all the time, and gradually a distinction is drawn between the narrow-minded and the broad-minded, between the stupid and the intellectual, between the dunce and the genius. At first these distinctions are taken as finalities which can never be overcome. To a certain extent that is so, for the great man in any sphere is born and not made in the short period embracing the present span of life. But when a deeper insight into the finer forces of Nature is attained, it will be seen that effects have causes, and that there is no chance working at random, producing a genius here and a dunce there. The signs are written at the root of the nose for all who can read them, marking unerringly the narrow-minded. the broad-minded, the dull-witted, the degenerate, the weak-willed, the intellectual, leading up to the eagle eye which takes in a situation at a single glance. In the long run it all depends upon the quantity of air taken into the sphenoidal sinuses, easily and habitually. Attach the brain of Julius Caesar to the blocked sinuses of an idiot. and the difference in power of thinking would be most marked in less than twenty-four hours. On the other hand, clear the blocked sinuses of the idiot, and you would not get a Julius Caesar straight away, but you would start him on the onward march of mental development, strengthen his will, increase his concentration, and cultivate his intuition -- the faculty of seeing directly without wasting time and energy in childish arguments and puerile beliefs. Without full breathing, intense concentration for a prolonged time is excessively heating to the brain. It is for this reason that some of the best brains have gone wrong. There is a royal road to learning along which the mind can travel easily without strain or fatigue until it reaches the heights of meditation. A glance at the heads of all great men shows that they breathed unconsciously up to the cranial sinuses, and thus were able to keep their brain in a normal condition of coolness in spite of strain that would wear down that of an ordinary mortal. The portraits of Napoleon in early life show this trait unmistakably. The formation of forehead and root of nose reveal plainly his ability to freshen and clear the brain. It is this which accounted for the wonderful mental acumen that enabled him to see at one glance what others could only grasp slowly and laboriously, if at all. Bourrienne, in his "Memoirs," attributes Napoleon's "luck" to this marvellous power. "Having myself long studied this 'man of destiny,' I have remarked that what he called his 'fortune,' his 'genius,' his 'good luck,' resulted from his keen insight into things, from the calculations he made rapid as lightning, and from the conviction which he himself cherished, that boldness is often wisdom." To express itself in a suitable manner, the great mind must be endowed by Nature with the proper mechanism for breathing fully and easily up to the cranial sinuses, otherwise the high quality of brain inherited at birth would quickly deteriorate. The Ars Vivendi principle of associating brain activity with breathing develops power of concentration without fatigue. THE SPIRITUAL V In the Hebrew alphabet the letter vau symbolises light and brilliance. Fabre d'Olivet, a French author, commenting upon its signification, says that it is the universal convertible sign expressing the deepest mystery of creation, and linking together the light of the physical senses with the inner spiritual light. [LC] The history of mankind may be briefly summarised as the struggle from darkness to light. Our conceptions of "God" and "Heaven" are always more or less centred in "Light." The real meaning of "divine" and "deity," is "shining light." The Bible can be regarded as the lasting symbol of the struggle between Darkness and Light. From the opening chapter of Genesis, where it is written that in the beginning there was Chaos and Darkness, to the end of Revelation the one theme is constantly presented in various ways -- the struggle between Darkness and Light and the final victory of Light. "God is Light, and in Him is no Darkness at all." "The Light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." Is it not an indisputable fact that all human beings, young and old, prefer light to darkness? Does not the child instinctively associate the disagreeable, the horrible, with darkness, and does he not feel secure in the light? And not only the child, but the grown-up man and woman? In short, whatever differences of opinion we may have on other questions, all agree on this one point -- that light is preferable to darkness. The formulation of the instinctive desire for light is the be-all and end-all of "religion," from the crude forms and repulsive practices of savage-worship to the elaborate and highly-complicated ceremonials, rituals and creeds of modern ecclesiasticism. Just as there is only one God, one Light, so there is only one "religion." Of course there are many crude conceptions and stupid practices popularly associated with this or that "religion," and mankind have been fighting in the darkness for ages on this subject to try if they could knock some light out of each other's heads. But though the light is always shining in the darkness, and though the darkness is unconsciously striving to see it, there is only one way of doing it and that is growing a new eye, capable of receiving and interpreting the rays of the inner light as the physical eye receives and interprets the rays of the physical light. Man does not create the inner light any more than he creates the physical light. All that he is required to do is to develop the suitable organ to see it. Just as a blind man cannot hope to see without eyes, so he who has no inner eye cannot hope to see without it. The trouble in "religion" has always been the effort of "the blind leaders of the blind" to get on without eyes, and to persuade their followers that when they both fall into the ditch they are actually seeing the light. These "blind leaders of the blind" have so disappointed mankind as a whole that there is now very considerable doubt whether there is any light at all in the darkness, and consequently whether it is not better to abandon the struggle and lie down in the ditch. But the light is there all the time, has been there before we appeared on the earth, and will be there after we have disappeared from the scene. The problem therefore resolves itself into this; how to give eyes to the blind to enable them to see the light, however dimly? THE MEANING OF RITUAL AND CEREMONIAL The aim of "religion" being to lead the devotee to the Light, which is one and indivisible, it follows that there is and can only be one religion of universal application to all human dwellers in darkness. But when each "religion" claims to be this one religion of universal application, and this claim is not admitted by the others, there is immediately produced hopeless confusion as well as antagonism and rivalry. On first consideration, therefore, it appears impossible to establish a universal religion applicable to every human being, and the world at large has come to the conclusion that "religion" had better be severely left alone in modern times. This is not the fault of the Light but of the "blind leaders of the blind." It is now time to show the Light which shineth in darkness, though the darkness fails to comprehend the mystery. The first thing we must do is to clear up the misuse of the term "Faith" or "Belief" as necessary to "salvation." There is one sense in which "faith" is not necessary, and another sense in which "faith" is indispensable. Once this point has been firmly grasped, there will be no difficulty in struggling forward toward the Light. There are two things that mankind loves above everything else -- Light and Life. Neither of these is possible to the individual without a positive state of nerve energy, represented by Will, Courage, Self-confidence. The term "faith," if translated "confidence," conveys the meaning exactly. All the religious systems of the world have emphasised the absolute necessity of this "self-confidence" as the very basis of life. So far so good. Where they have wandered round and round in darkness is in making this "confidence" depend upon intellectual acceptance of a series of concepts which contain serious errors, both of fact and of reasoning. Once these concepts were formulated into a hard and fast system, they became a "creed" which must be accepted under severe penalties in this world as well as in the next. It must be carefully noted that the doctrine of intellectual creeds has been the stronghold of the Scribes and Pharisees of all ages and countries -- men of no inner light, in short, as they were aptly described in the Bible, "blind leaders of the blind." The great religious teachers have never countenanced this blind groping in darkness, and have always denounced it as the enemy of the Light. The sayings of Jesus Christ are so insistent in this respect that it is incredible how slow the blind leaders are to try to open their eyes. I have dealt with this point in "Meditation" and "Concentration" and space will not allow more than bare mention of the glaring inconsistency between the teaching of Christ and the teaching of the Churches. Christ always points the way to the Light; the churches nearly always keep to the darkness, "paying tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin," and heeding not the way onward to the Light. The Ars Vivendi principle of breathing up to the V in the forehead is the direct road towards the Light which shineth in Darkness, and is therefore the final and universal religion embracing all nations, all sects and all creeds in a comprehensive unity of Inspiration and Aspiration, for God is Light and God is Spirit, and they who worship must worship in the Light of the Holy Spirit of Breathing and Truth. All rituals and ceremonials are of use only as they induce the individual to aspire. Otherwise, as Jesus Christ said, they plunge the worshipper more deeply into the darkness. "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made ye make him twofold more the child of hell (darkness) than yourselves." Repetition of creed and ceremonial is accompanied by the very great danger of hypnotising the individual and putting his mind to sleep. This actually makes him twofold more the child of darkness. On the other hand, constant practice of Ars Vivendi breathing, at set intervals three times a day, will induce life and light in both mind and body. A sharp line of demarcation must therefore be drawn between the right and the wrong use of ritual and repetition, for the right leads to the Light and the wrong to the Darkness. The final struggle between the Light and the Darkness is portrayed in that wonderful series of spiritual visions called The Revelation or Apocalypse. It is not at all a question whether one believes the Bible or portions of it, but whether one understands or endeavours to understand it, in whole or in part, as the symbolical presentment of humanity's struggle from Darkness to Light. Ideas on "religion" have got into such a tangle to-day that it is difficult if not impossible to make anything out of them. The more deeply one looks into the mental world of present civilisation, the more one is tempted to make a clean sweep of the past heritage of tradition and misconception and start afresh after having cleared away and burned the thick overgrowth of jargon and nonsense. If this is done, what then? It is merely an episode in the eternal struggle from Darkness to the Light, one act in the great drama of life. When we think of God as Light Supreme and eternal, and Heaven as the dwelling-place of God and the fountain of Light, we see that humanity is struggling out of the darkness towards the Light. This struggle has been, and is, terrible and frantic. But on the whole evolution brings out more and more light, generation after generation. The faith that is essential to salvation is the conviction of the heart that the Light will win, will burst the bonds of darkness, that though men have died exhausted in the darkness, the struggle for the Light has not been in vain. That is the only "faith" worth speaking of. The ordinary use of the term "faith" as applied to creeds and dogmas of a bygone age is an error in thinking which has forged heavy chains of darkness round the aspiring soul, and has retarded human progress more than anything else. It is unsparingly condemned and denounced in the Bible, which lays stress upon understanding mental illumination, not upon stupidity or mental darkness. If God is Light and the source of light for humanity the devil is darkness and the source of darkness for humanity. The children of God are those who follow the light as it acts upon us in its three aspects, physical, mental, and spiritual; the children of the devil are those who love darkness and the deeds of darkness -- stupidity, cruelty, bigotry, narrow-mindedness, and unreasonableness. The Bible shows that between these two there is implacable war culminating in the victory of the Sons of Light. To "believe" this in a perfunctory manner without making an effort to understand it and to carry it out in daily life to the utmost of our power is not the "faith which saves." I remember being asked by a very worthy gentleman whether I really "believed" the Bible. I improved the occasion by asking him as an authority to explain the meaning of the "Rider on the White Horse" in the Revelation. He was rather puzzled what to say in reply, and compromised by declaring that he left the Revelation severely alone, for nobody could make head or tail of it. Whilst it is agreed that nobody has ever made much out of the Revelation in the way of elucidating commentary, and whilst the orthodox theologian generally finds it best to leave it alone, no harm can accrue from each reader forming his own conclusion so far as actual interpretation of the meaning is concerned. When you do not know exactly what you have got to "believe," and none of the theological authorities are able to tell you, a certain amount of latitude is permissible even in the strictest circles. For my part I regard it precisely as the author describes it -- a series of spiritual visions seen when not in the body but "in the spirit." What that means may be a very puzzling problem to solve, but the author himself says that this is the only way to do it. THE RIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE "The Rider on the White Horse" is the vision for all time and eternity of the struggle between Light and Darkness. The field of battle is the human soul, both individually and collectively. Heaven is the abode of Light, and Hell of Darkness. It forms the most dramatic vision ever recorded by any inhabitant of earth, and in this respect it is true, for it portrays the evolution of a new race upon the earth with new ideals, new methods, and new conditions, which will transcend the civilisations of the past as much as the civilisations of the past transcended the animal and the savage. "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and true, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And I saw the beast (symbol of Darkness) and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire (the purifying and destructive effect of light on shapes of darkness). And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which proceeded out of his mouth. "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end." In this wondrous vision there is no sect or creed or race -- merely one Humanity toiling, sinning, suffering in its struggle towards the Light, marshalled under the respective banners of the White Army of all ages and climes directed by the Rider on the White Horse, and of the serried Hosts of Darkness ranged under the Sign of the Beast, the arrested and perverted development of the animal. The Rider on the White Horse conquers and purifies with consuming fire. The Alpha is Darkness; the Omega is Light. The beginning is inspiration to the V on the forehead; the end is aspiration to the V which is the symbol of Light Eternal. _______________ Notes: 1. "Deep Breathing," Chap. IV. _______________ The Tree of Life and The Hebrew Alphabet, by Dirk Gillabel wrote:
|
the first letter stands for unity, for origin, for power, stability.
Its shape reflects this. The shape of the letter Aleph is made of
two Yods divided by a slash what actually is the fifth letter Vau
.
As we mentioned in the above, Yod
is
the primal vibration, the point of light out of which everything
came. Emanation arose when the Divine Light, as Yod, reflected upon
itself, that is, mirrored itself into the lower world, hence the two
Yods divided by a slash...
is
the dynamic movement of the element Fire, the active, expansive and
vivifying forces in the universe. It is also the symbol of the
vivifying spirit. It shape reflects three raised flames in the shape
of three Vaus's.
; or
meaning Jod (membrum
Virile, see Kabala); 
(He, the womb); 
(Vau,
a crook or a hook, a nail), and
),
6 (
)
and 5 (
);
or thrice seven, 21. “Ten is the Mother of the Soul, for Life and
Light are therein united,” says Hermes. “For number one is born of
the Spirit and the number ten from matter (chaos, feminine); the
unity has made the ten, the ten the unity” (Book of the Keys).
By the means of the Temura, the anagrammatical method of the Kabala,
and the knowledge of 1065 (21), a universal science may be obtained
regarding Kosmos and its mysteries” (Rabbi Yogel). The Rabbis regard
the numbers 10, 6, and 5 as the most sacred of all...
(Yod),
of Binah
(Heh),
together YaH, the feminine Name; the third letter, that of Hokhmah,
is
(Vau),
making together,
YHV
of
YHVH,
the Tetragrammaton, and really the complete symbols of its
efficaciousness. The last
(Heh)
of this Ineffable Name being always applied to the Six Lower and
the last, together the Seven remaining Sephiroth.” . .
. Thus the Tetragrammaton is holy only in its abstract synthesis. As
a quaternary containing the lower Seven Sephiroth, it is
phallic...
,
Cain, the iron point of a lance, a smith
(blacksmith), inventor of sharp iron tools and smith work” (p. 278).