A Plausible Theory for the Manifestations of Physical Life

Percy Richards

Mrs. Reginald De Koven, wife of the famous American composer, has recently published a very interesting book, entitled “A Cloud of Witnesses” purporting to be communications, instructions and messages coming from discarnate members of the English and American Societies for Psychical Research

(Myers, Hodgson and others) who still continue their researches in Psychic Science, although now from “the other Comparing these instructions with the startling discoveries of Dr. Geley in France and of Mrs. Bisson and Professor Schrenck-Notzing and others she comes to the hypothesis that the formula for the manifestations and creations of physical life is:

A force, akin to electricity, working through our substance (ether) controlled and directed by (human) mind. This trinity of the creative principle of life would thus become the inverted reflexion of the same process in the Center of all Life: God-will (force) working on Primordial Universal Substance (“ether”) directed by Divine Imagination (“Divine Mind,” Thought).

In Genesis the force is called “Spirit” moving upon “the waters” (primordial substance) directed by Divine Imagination and the result was Light (Spiritual light) the first creation. Now, the theosophical hypothesis is that this primordial substance exists in varied modifications throughout the 7 different zones of the Cosmos from which man’s sevenfold Constitution is derived, he being a centralization in individuality of what God is in the general (Macrocosm).

He is created in “the image and likeness of God.” Thus the creative process in man must logically be analogous to the creative process in God in the universe. A reproduction “in miniature.” As far as the new formula for physical life, discovered by Dr. Geley and others, is concerned, we will find it confirmed by metaphysics. The new substance, which Geley finds exuding from the medium’s body and which is gray in color, cold and damp and tangible is nothing but “the etheric double” (of theosophy) and “the vital body” (of the Rosicrucians). It is the vitalizing medium between astral-mental existence and physical existence. If it is scientifically found that this etheric double is a combination and interplay of electricity and ether, directed by thought, we will see that metaphysics and science agree.

Max Heindel in his standard work “The Rosicrucian Cosmoconception” states that the vital body (or etheric double) is composed of four modifications of ether, through which forces play. (1) The chemical ether, through which assimilation and excretion of food takes place, (2) the life ether, by means of which procreation of the species is accomplished (compare “Prana” and “Sex Magnetism”), (3) the light ether, by which the heat of the blood is generated and which also constitutes the conductor of sense-impressions to our mind, (4) the reflecting ether on which all our actions, our immediate environment and our thoughts are reflected, thus constituting our remarkable “subconscious memory” and which is the medium that receives our own or others’ suggestions of health or ill-health. He states that “through these ethers (or modifications of one ether) forces play.” It is now conjectured by Dr. Geley that this force is one “akin to electricity; directed by mind.” And the very same hypothesis is assured us to be right by communications from discarnate beings, purporting to be a group of well known Psychical Researchers. All this, taken together, constitutes a momentous step in advance towards truth, which will in time revolutionize time-honored doctrines of material science. “We walk on forces” says the founder of Christian Science, and in this respect she is right. The reason why there is such inherent wisdom of selection, etc., in the physical and vital bodies the vital or etheric double being a part of the physical is explained in metaphysics by the fact that these vehicles and their forces are the inverted reflection of the highest Principle of Spirit in the spheres or zones of permanent Reality.

Gives us some information regarding the nature and disposition. What stands out the strongest is the violent temper shown by the thumb of the left hand. Being on the left shows; that it was inherited. As the right hand is better he will over j come or outgrow this to a certain extent.
His head lines are fairly good but he has absolutely no ambition and neither mental or physical energy, so unless these qualities are developed he will probably go through life as I have found many older persons do a piece of human driftwood. The third phalanges of the first fingers on both hands are full and thick. This shows that he is fond of good living. Eating will be one of the most important things in life to him. A man with such a mark should select a wife who likes to cook. There is no indication of talent of any kind. The thick square hand and short fingers indicate a plodding nature, one that will be content to live and die in the place where he was born and do whatever his father did. This is one of the few children who have to be ruled by firmness, nothing else will make any impression on him, unless it was being sent to bed without his supper. Fortunately we find very few like it, this is one of the most striking in my collection.

(AZOTH 1920)