The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1879-05-09
INFLUENCE OF MIND ON MIND.

Experience has shown that, by an effort
OF the will, the thoughts of one mind may
be impressed upon that of another, that the
emotions, the joys, and the sorrows of the
directing, controlling mind of the one, may
become the subject of consciousness in that
of the other without any visible exterior
communication. Not only is this the case
where the mental condition of the recipient
has been rendared highly sensitive through
mesmeric or other influences, but even in
the normal conditions it is equally true.
lhere are but few men, perhaps, compe-
tent OF continuous thought, who have not
frequently found, during periods of profound
mental abstraction in the presence of 9th
ers, that their thoughts were indentical with
those OF their neighbor, although no words
may have passed between them, nor had
these common thoughts any connection will
the circumstances Immediately surrounding
them OF with any previous conversation.
The question, we think, has been fairly
stated how then are we to account for
these extraordinary phenomena Can we
find any rational mode by which this trans.
ference OF thought can be satisfactorily ac
counted for? That it is done through the
agency of natural laws no one man will
doubt Physically speaking, we know that
action and reaction are fatal may not this
law obtain In our mental operations? II
this hylothess should be assumed to be
correct it might be observed that no mans
thoughts would be exclusively his OVID, and
thus the business, the interests, and pleas
ures of life would be seriously deranged.
Fortunately, the conditions favorable for this
transference of thought are in by far the
greatest number of cases wanting aud thus
no serious inconvenience is felt either in
public or private affairs. The fact, how
ever, that these cases are rare and excep.
tionable, is no more evidence against their
existence, than the fact that it does not
thunder and lightning every day is ev.
dence against the occuruece of thunder and
| lightning. In fact, all phenomena of ma
ture depends upon conditions. Take your
healthy, vigorous plant form its bath of
sunshine and moisture-deprive it of both;
see how quickly it fad es and dies One of
the necessary conditions for existence of
man upon this earth is proper supply of
OXy gen. Even inanimate nature cannot ex-
ist without conditions heat, light, aud
electricity depend upon conditions and are
mutually convertible. Winds and storms
rain and snow, dearth and floods, depend
upon conditions. What then are the con.
ditions by which mind may operate upon
mind in consequence of mere determine.
ton of the will?
This is not the place to show, as il has
been shown, and that abundantly proved.
that all the shades and variety of COZ, r, io
this beautiful world of ours, are due to the
length of these same ethereal waves. In or.
der, however, to assist the Imagination to
form some conception of the possible rela-
tion between light, heat and thought, |
will take a particular example. Imagine a
hot bloom of iron, in one of our rolling
mills, radiating its heat in all directions :;
! how do we become conscious of the heat and
color OF ln,,s mass of iron? This heated bali
is the state Of intense mole. nlar agitation I;
this molecular agitation acting upon the
ether which surrounds it upon all sid pro-
duces Ethereal waves, these waves strike upon
on our bodies and produce to Us the con
sciousness Of heat, falling upon the eye they
give US the conception OF color. If then, the
vibration of an inanimate mass acting upon
the Ether can give US the conception of col
or,why not the molecular motion of the brain
during the process of thinking and acting
through this same medium of coIors commu-
nicate to us the thoughts OF another?
What resemblance is there between the
mode in which we become conscious of liz hit
and heat, and that Of receiving the mental
impressions of others In the consideration
of this question, we assume that the dynam-
ical theory of heat, and the unduatory the
ory of light are true, as they have not only
| accounted for all known phenomena, but
have protected the unknown, which subse-
quent research has shown to be true.
What is light and heat ? The motion of
the ultimate particles of heated body. How
do we become conscious of light and hea' -?
BY the destruction of the Ethereal waves set
in motion by the swing of the ultimate par
ticles. We become conscious oflight through
the destruction of these waves by our organ
of sight, of heat, by the breaking of these
waves upon our bodies. A few words of ex-
planation to the unscientifc reader may here
be necessary. The Ether referred to above
is supposed to be substance of almost inf
mite tenuity and elasticity, that not only ex-
tends through al Space, but ss experiment
has proved, even surrounds the very mole
cules of matter. Our consciousness of the
existence of the molten masses of iron in
our pudding furnaces the light and warmth
OF the sun, the light of the fixed stars is due
to the same cause by the undulations of this
ether set in motion by the vibrations or
rather oscillations of these heated bodies
Does then the law of action and reaction
apply to mental as well as physical phe-
nomena?
The spectroscope has informed Us, by evil
dence of the most convincing kind, Of the
existence of iron and other terrestrial metals
or their vspors in the sun as fixed stars :;
thus establishing the identity of the material
composing those distant bodies with that of
our own planet. Ether brings US the light
of those far distant suns will it ever bring
US evidence of the intelligence of organized
beings, inhabitants Of the planets revolving
about those remote centres of motion Pitts
burg Critte.