[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
same time we also want to learn to be touched by what ought
to touch us. As a rule we are touched by what ought not to
touch us, for the things that touch us to the quick all day long
should not have the power to touch us, since they have no real
existence. This is an exercise in moral power.
And as regards psychic power, the thing to do is not to let
"it" think, but to try to stop "it" often and often, whether what
"it" thinks is good or bad. As soon as we remember, as soon as
we catch ourselves, we must stop "it" from thinking.
In any case, such thinking will not discover an America, ei-
ther in something good or something bad. Just as it is difficult
at this moment not to tense your leg, so it is difficult not to let
"it" think. But it is possible.
About the exercises. When you have practiced them, let
those who have done them come to me for further ones. Now
you have enough exercises for the present.
You must work with as few parts of the body as possible.
The principle of your work should be: to try to concentrate all
the force you can on the parts of your body that are doing the
work at the expense of the other parts.
127
CHICAGO, MARCH 26, 1924
Experiments with breathing
Can experimenting with breathing be useful?
All Europe has gone mad about breathing exercises. For
four or five years I have made money by treating people who
had ruined their breathing by such methods! Many books are
written about it, everyone tries to teach others. They say: "The
more you breathe, the greater the inflow of oxygen," etc., and,
as a result, they come to me. I am very grateful to the authors
of such books, founders of schools, and so on.
As you know, air is the second kind of food. Correct propor-
tions are required in all things, in phenomena studied in chem-
istry, physics and so on. Crystallization can take place only
with a certain correspondence, only then can something new
be achieved.
Every matter has a certain density of vibrations. Interaction
between matters can take place only with an exact correspon-
dence between the vibrations of different matters. I have spo-
ken of the Law of Three. For instance, if vibrations of positive
matter are 300 and those of negative matter 100, combination
is possible. Otherwise, if in practice vibrations do not corre-
spond exactly to these figures, no combination will result; it
will be a mechanical mixture which could be again resolved
into its original component parts. It is not yet new matter.
The quantity of substances to be combined should also be in
a certain definite proportion. You know that to obtain dough
you need a definite amount of water for the amount of flour
you want to use. If you take less water than is required, you
will not have dough.
Your ordinary breathing is mechanical, and mechanically
you take in as much air as you need. If there is more air it can-
not combine in the way it should; so a right proportion is neces-
sary.
If artificially controlled breathing is practiced as it usually is,
it results in disharmony. Therefore, in order to escape the
harm which artificial breathing may bring, one must corre-
spondingly change the other foods. And this is possible only
with full knowledge. For instance, the stomach needs a defi-
nite quantity of food, not only for nutrition but because it is
accustomed to it. We eat more than we need simply for taste,
128
simply for satisfaction, and because the stomach is used to a
certain pressure. You know that the stomach has certain
nerves. When there is no pressure in the stomach, these nerves
stimulate the stomach muscles and we have a sensation of hun-
ger.
Many organs work mechanically, without our conscious par-
ticipation. Each of them has its own rhythm, and the rhythms
of different organs stand in a definite relationship to one an-
other.
If, for example, we change our breathing, we change the
rhythm of our lungs; but since everything is connected, other
rhythms also gradually begin to change. If we go on with this
breathing for a long time it may change the rhythm of all the
organs. For instance, the rhythm of the stomach will change.
And the stomach has its own habits, it needs a certain time to
digest food; say, for example, the food must lie there an hour.
If the rhythm of the stomach changes, food may pass through
more quickly and the stomach will not have time to take from
it all it needs. In another place the reverse may occur.
It is a thousand times better not to interfere with our ma-
chine, to leave it in bad condition rather than correct it with-
out knowledge. For the human organism is a very complicated
apparatus containing many organs with different rhythms and
different requirements, and many organs are connected with
one another. Either everything must be changed or nothing,
otherwise instead of good one may do harm. Artificial breath-
ing is the cause of many illnesses. Only accidentally, in iso-
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]