external body, does not originate in the womb of the mother from which the physical body is born, but is of a spiritual origin, again and again re-incarnating itself in physical masks and forms of flesh and blood, living and dying, and being reborn, until, having attained that state of perfection, which renders the inner man capable to exist in a state of spiritual consciousness without being encumbered by a gross earthly organization, which chains him to animal life.

[It should here be remarked that the great majority of those who are considered enlightened, and to whom the world is indebted for the sciences which it now possesses, do not accept this theory of re-incarnation. As commonly stated, it is liable to many decisive objections, and these objections, which I have clearly stated in the Religio-Philosophical Journal, have not been, and I think will not be, removed by the teachers of re-incarnation.]

It may perhaps not be premature to examine how far the doctrines of Dr. Buchanan correspond with the doctrines of occult science; that is to say, with that science which is based upon a perception and understanding of certain facts, which, to be perceived, require spiritual powers of perception, such as are not yet developed in the majority of mankind, but which are only in possession of those who have mentally risen above the sphere of external phenomena and accustomed themselves to look at spiritual things with the eye of the spirit. It is not my intention to enter at present into an elaborate review of the most prominent writers on occult subjects, and to quote passages from such authors to support the views expressed in the following pages, but rather to give a short statement of their doctrines in regard to the omnipotent power of Will and Life; both these powers being fundamentally identical; both being merely different modes of actions, or functions, of that universal, eternal, and divine Central Power of the universe, which is beyond the conception of mortals, and which the latter call God.

The ancient religions, as well as reason and logic, tell us that there is, and can be, only one supreme God, or First Cause of the universe, and that from this one first and fundamental Cause or Power every secondary power and everything that exists has come into existence, or been evolved within it and through its eternal activity. The whole of the universe with everything contained therein, man included, is and can be nothing else but a manifestation of this internal fundamental power, or, as it has been expressed by the ancient philosophers, the universe is the product of the Divine Imagination (thought) of the First Great Cause, thrown into objectivity by its eternal Will.

We see, therefore, the great unmanifested One manifesting itself in its own Substance (Space) by means of two powers, Thought (imagination) and Will (the Word or Life); both powers being fundamentally identical and merely two different modes of activity or functions of the One Eternal, internal Principle, called God. According to the Bible, God said, “Let there be light,” and through the power of this outspoken “Word,” the world came into existence. This allegory, expressed in modern language, means that by the active Will of the universal First Cause, the images existing in its eternal memory were thrown into objectivity and thus produced the germs from which the worlds with all things existing therein were evolved and grew into the shapes in which we see them now. The Brahmins say that when Brahm awoke from his slumber after the night of creation (the great Pralaya) was over, he breathed out of his own substance, and thus the evolution of worlds began. If he in-breathes again, the worlds will be re-absorbed in his substance, and the day of creation will be over.

[God being essentially and self-evidently inconceivable by man, all attempts of Brahmin, Christian, or any other theologians to explain his existence and his methods of creation can be recognized by the scientific mind only as hypotheses unsusceptible of verification, and, therefore, incapable of becoming a proper basis of Philosophy.]

Thus we find, on examining the doctrines of all the greatest religions of the world, that they all teach the same truth, although they teach it in different words and in different allegories. They all teach that there exist two fundamental powers, originating from the absolute One, namely, Thought and Will; and it logically follows that if a man were a complete master over his thoughts and his will, he could become a creator within the realm to which his thought and imagination extend; he could, consequently, by the power of his will and thought, control all the functions of his organism, the so-called involuntary ones as well as those which are voluntary. He could—if he possessed a perfect knowledge of his own constitution—restore abnormal functions to their normal state, and restore diseased organs to health.

[The mode of expression used in this paragraph is rather misleading. One may have a complete mastery of his thoughts and will, while both thought and will are very feeble and ineffective. It requires great POWER in the will and thought to acquire such control over bodily functions, and any expression leading persons of feeble character to suppose they can attain such results would be delusive. Many persons of feeble character have been led by current speculations to aspire far beyond their ability.]

Another fundamental doctrine of Occultism is that man is a Microcosm, in which is germinally (potentially) contained everything that exists in the Macrocosm of the universe. [An unproved hypothesis.] As the will and thought of that universal and divine internal power, which is called God, penetrates and pervades the whole of the universe; likewise the will and thought of man, if he has once attained perfect mastery over himself, extends through all parts of his organization, pervades every organ, and may be made to act consciously wherever man chooses to employ it. But in the present state of man’s condition upon this earth, no one but the adepts have acquired this power. In them thought and will act as one. In the vast majority of human beings thought and will are not yet in entire harmony, and do not act as one. In the regenerated one (the adept) heart and head act in perfect unison. The adept thinks what he wills, and wills what he thinks. In unregenerated humanity will and thought are divided and occupy two different centres. In them the will has its seat in the blood (whose central organ is the heart), and their thought or imagination has its seat in the brain. In them heart and brain are often not only not in perfect harmony, but even opposed to each other. But the will and life being one, and identical, we see that the central seat of life is not, as has been maintained by Dr. Buchanan, the brain, but the primary source of all life is the heart.

We see, therefore, a discrepancy between the doctrines of Dr. Buchanan and the occult doctrines in regard to Anthropology; but this discrepancy is of no serious consequence; because the moon (the intellect) is in our solar system as necessary as the sun (the will), and as the vast majority of people have a considerably developed intellect, but only a very little developed will, and live, so to say, more in their brains than in their hearts, they may be looked upon as receiving their powers and energies from their brains, while the brain receives its stimulus from the heart. The ancient Rosicrucians compared the heart to the sun, the intellect, or brain, to the moon.