,,man',s ,,supreme ,,inheritance ,conscious ,guidance and ,control in ,relation to ,human ,evolution in ,civilization ,,by ,f4 ,,matthias ,,alexander ,,with ,,an ,,introductory ,,word ,,by ,,professor ,,john ,,dewey ,,new ,,york ,e4 ,p4 ,,dutton ,,company #fha ,,fifth ,,avenue ,,copyright1 #aiah1 ,,by ,e4 ,p4 ,,dutton ,,company ,first printing ,january #aiah ,second ,may #aiah ,printed in the ,united ,states of ,america ,,preface ,,to ,,first ,,edition 7,london1 #aiaj7 ,among my intimates ,i once numbered a boatman known as ,old ,sol1 or to his familiars just ,sol1 without the courtesy title1 for he was not notably old4 ,i could not say whether his name was an abbreviated form of ,solomon or not1 nor if it were1 whether the longer name was baptismal or conferred in later years as a tribute to his undoubted wisdom4 ,i have thought it possible that the name was not an abbreviation at all1 but it was certainly descriptive of my friend's habit of optimism in regard to the weather4 ,for the cockney oarsman who doubtfully contemplated the weather conditions on the upper ,thames1 ,sol was unwavering in his encouragement4 ,his certainty that the weather would clear and the sun come out was so inspiring that the pale-faced ,londoner cheerfully faced the most unpromising outlook1 and started out on his uncertain course upstream1 buoyed with a beautiful confidence in ,old ,sol's infallibility4 ,but for me and for his other intimates1 regular clients whose custom was not dependent on the chances of a fine week-end1 ,sol had another method4 ,in answer to the usual question1 8,well1 ,sol1 what's it going to do80 he would first look up into the sky1 then step to the edge of the landing-stage and study as much of the horizon as was within his limit of vision4 ,after this careful survey he would deliver his opinion judicially1 and ,i rarely found him at fault in his prophecy4 ,facing my critics1 lay and professional1 ,i wish at the outset to disclaim the methods by which ,sol invigorated the casual amateur4 ,i am not prophesying unlimited sunshine for every one1 without regard to conditions4 ,in this book no mention will be found of royal roads1 panaceas1 or grand specifics4 ,i have attempted rather to treat every reader as ,sol treated his intimates4 ,i have looked into the sky and made a careful survey of the horizon4 ,it is true that ,i have seen an ideal and the promise of its fulfilment1 but my deductions have been drawn with patient care from signs which ,i have studied with diligence2 if ,i am an optimist1 it is because ,i see the promise of fair weather1 and not because ,i wish to delude the unwary4 ,and with this ,i will lay down my metaphor and come to a practical statement4 ,i know that ,i shall be regarded in many quarters as a revolutionary and a heretic1 for my theory and practice1 though founded on a principle as old as the life of man1 are not in accord with1 nor even a development of1 the tradition which still obtains4 ,but in thus rejecting tradition ,i am1 happily1 sustained by something more than an unproved theory4 ,moreover1 on this firm ground ,i do not stand alone4 ,though my theory may appear revolutionary and heretical1 it is shared by men of attainment in science and medicine4 ,on a small scale ,i have made many converts1 and in now making appeal to a wider circle ,i am upheld by the knowledge that what ,i have to say can no longer be classed as an isolated opinion4 ,not that ,i should have hesitated to come forward now1 even if ,i had been without support4 ,during the past thirteen years ,i have built up a practice in ,london which has reached the bounds of my capacity4 ,this work has not been done by any advancement of a wavering hypothesis4 ,i have had cases brought to me as the result of the failure of many kinds of treatment1 of rest cures1 relaxation cures1 hypnotism1 faith cures1 physical culture1 and the ordinary medical prescriptions1 and in the treatment of these cases1 in my own observations1 and in the appreciation of the patients themselves1 ,i have had abundant opportunity to prove to my own satisfaction that in its application to present needs my theory has stood the test of practice in every circumstance and condition4 ,that the limits imposed by the present work render it wofully inadequate ,i am quite willing to admit1 but the necessity for a certain urgency has been forced upon me1 and ,i have deemed it wiser to outline my subject at once rather than wait for the time when ,i shall be ready to publish my larger work4 ,indeed1 when ,i think of the material even now at my command1 of the wonderful and ever-increasing list of illustrative cases that have passed and are still passing through my hands1 it seems to me that this preliminary treatise might well grow1 like ,frazer's ,golden ,bough1 from one volume to twelve4 ,in the present volume1 however1 ,i must confine myself to the primary argument and to indicating the direction in which we may find physical completeness4 ,in the work which will follow ,i shall deal with the detailed evidence of the application of my theory to life1 of cases and cures1 and all the substance of experience4 ,and there are many reasons why ,i should hesitate no longer in making my preliminary appeal1 chief among them being the appalling physical deterioration that can be seen by any intelligent observer who will walk the streets of ,london or ,new ,york1 for example1 and note the form and aspect of the average individuals who make up the crowd4 ,so much for the surface signs4 ,what inferences can we not draw from the statistics8 ,to take three instances only3 ,what of the disproportionate and apparently undeniable increase in the cases of cancer1 appendicitis1 and insanity8 ,for that increase goes on despite the fact that we have taken the subject seriously to heart4 ,now ,i would not fall into the common fallacy of post hoc ergo propter hoc1 and say that because the increase of these evils has gone hand in hand with our endeavours to raise the standard by physical culture theories1 relaxation exercises1 rest cures1 and hoc genus omne1 therefore the one is the result of the other2 but1 lacking more definite proof on the first point1 ,i do maintain that if physical culture exercises1 etc41 had done all that was expected of them they must be considered a complete failure in the checking of the three evils ,i have instanced4 ,are these troubles1 then1 still to increase8 ,are we to wait while the bacteriologist patiently investigates the nature of these diseases1 until he triumphantly isolates some characteristic germ and announces that here1 at last1 is the dread bacillus of cancer8#a ,should we even then be any nearer a cure8 ,could we rely on inoculation1 and even if we could1 what is to be the end8 ,are we to be inoculated against every known disease till our bodies become depressed and enervated sterilities1 incapable of action on their own account8 ,i pray not1 for such a physical condition would imply a mental condition even more pitiable4 ,the science of bacteriology has its uses1 but they are the uses of research rather than of application4 ,bacteriology reveals a few of the agents active in disease1 but it says nothing about the conditions which permit these agents to become active4 ,therefore ,i look to that wonderful instrument1 the human body1 for the true solution of our difficulty1 an instrument so inimitably adaptable1 so full of marvellous potentialities of resistance and recuperation1 that it is able1 when properly used1 to overcome all the forces of disease which may be arrayed against it4 ,in this thing ,i do not address myself to any one class or section of the community4 ,i have tried in what follows to avoid1 so far as may be1 any terminology1 any medical or scientific phrases and technicalities1 and to speak to the entire intelligent public4 ,i wish the scheme ,i have here adumbrated to be taken up universally1 and not to be restricted to the advantage of any one body1 medical or otherwise4 ,i wish to do away with such teachers as ,i am myself4 ,my place in the present economy is due to a misunderstanding of the causes of our present physical disability1 and when this disability is finally eliminated the specialised practitioner will have no place1 no uses4 ,this may be a dream of the future1 but in its beginnings it is now capable of realisation4 ,every man1 woman1 and child holds the possibility of physical perfection2 it rests with each of us to attain it by personal understanding and effort4 ,f4 ,,matthias ,,alexander4 #af ,ashley ,place1 ,westminster1 ,london4 ,,contents ,,part ,i4 ,,man',s ,,supreme ,,inheritance ,,page ,i4 ,,from ,,primitive ,,conditions ,,to ,,present ,,needs #c ,,ii4 ,,primitive ,,remedies ,,and ,,their ,,defects #ac ,,iii4 ,,subconsciousness ,,and ,,inhibition #bi ,,iv4 ,,conscious ,,control #dd ,v4 ,,applied ,,conscious ,,control #eg ,,vi4 ,,habits ,,of ,,thought ,,and ,,of ,,body #gc ,,vii4 ,,race ,,culture ,,and ,,the ,,training ,,of ,,children #ajh ,,viii4 ,,evolutionary ,,standards ,,and ,,their ,,influence ,,in ,,the ,,crisis ,,of #aiad #aeg ,,part ,,ii4 ,,conscious ,,guidance ,,and ,,control ,i4 ,,synopsis ,,of ,,claim #aha ,,ii4 ,,the ,,argument #aic ,,iii4 ,,the ,,processes ,,of ,,conscious ,,guidance ,,and ,,control #aii ,,iv4 ,,conscious ,,guidance ,,and ,,control ,,in ,,practice #bcg ,v4 ,,apprehension ,,and ,,re-,,education #bdi ,,vi4 ,,individual ,,errors ,,and ,,delusions #bfj ,,vii4 ,,notes ,,and ,,instances #bgc ,,part ,,iii4 ,,the ,,theory ,,and ,,practice ,,of ,a ,,new ,,method ,,of ,,respiratory ,,re-,,education ,i4 ,,the ,,theory ,,of ,,respiratory ,,re-,,education #cag ,,ii4 ,,errors ,,to ,,be ,,avoided ,,and ,,facts ,,to ,,be ,,remembered ,,in ,,the ,,theory ,,and ,,practice ,,of ,,respiratory ,,re-,,education #cbc ,,iii4 ,,the ,,practice ,,of ,,respiratory ,,re-,,education #ccb ,,introductory ,,word ,many persons have pointed out the strain which has come upon human nature in the change from a state of animal savagery to present civilisation4 ,no one1 it seems to me1 has grasped the meaning1 dangers and possibilities of this change more lucidly and completely than ,mr4 ,alexander4 ,his account of the crises which have ensued upon this evolution is a contribution to a better understanding of every phase of contemporary life4 ,his interpretation centres primarily about the crisis in the physical and moral health of the individual produced by the conflict between the functions of the brain and the nervous system on one side and the functions of digestion1 circulation1 respiration and the muscular system on the other2 but there is no aspect of the maladjustments of modern life which does not receive illumination4 ,frank acknowledgment of this internecine warfare in the very heart of our civilisation is not agreeable4 ,for this reason it is rarely faced in its entirety4 ,we prefer to deal with its incidents and episodes as if they were isolated accidents and could be overcome one by one in isolation4 ,those who have seen the conflict have almost always proposed as a remedy either a return to nature1 a relapse to the simple life1 or else flight to some mystic obscurity4 ,mr4 ,alexander exposes the fundamental error in the empirical and palliative methods4 ,when the organs through which any structure1 be it physiological1 mental or social1 are out of balance1 when they are unco-ordinated1 specific and limited attempts at a cure only exercise the already disordered mechanism4 ,in 8improving0 one organic structure1 they produce a compensatory maladjustment1 usually more subtle and more difficult to deal with1 somewhere else4 ,the ingeniously inclined will have little difficulty in paralleling ,mr4 ,alexander's criticism of 8physical culture methods0 within any field of our economic and political life4 ,in his criticism of return or relapse to the simpler conditions from which civilised man has departed ,mr4 ,alexander's philosophy appears in its essential features4 ,all such attempts represent an attempt at solution through abdication of intelligence4 ,they all argue1 in effect1 that since the varied evils have come through development of conscious intelligence1 the remedy is to let intelligence sleep1 while the pre-intelligent forces1 out of which it developed1 do their work4 ,the pitfalls into which references to the unconscious and subconscious usually fall have no existence in ,mr4 ,alexander's treatment4 ,he gives these terms a definite and real meaning4 ,they express reliance upon the primitive mind of sense1 of unreflection1 as against reliance upon reflective mind4 ,mr4 ,alexander sees the remedy not in a futile abdication of intelligence in order that lower forces may work1 but in carrying the power of intelligence further1 in making its function one of positive and constructive control4 ,as a layman1 ,i am incompetent to pass judgment upon the particular technique through which he would bring about a control of intelligence over the bodily organism so as not merely to cure but to prevent the present multitudinous maladies of adjustment4 ,but he does not stop with a pious recommendation of such conscious control2 he possesses and offers a definite method for its realisation1 and even a layman can testify1 as ,i am glad to do1 to the efficacy of its working in concrete cases4 ,it did not remain for the author of these pages to eulogise self-mastery or self-control4 ,but these eulogies have too frequently remained in the hortatory and moralistic state4 ,mr4 ,alexander has developed a definite procedure1 based upon a scientific knowledge of the organism4 ,popular fear of anything sounding like materialism has put a heavy burden upon humanity4 ,men are afraid1 without even being aware of their fear1 to recognise the most wonderful of all the structures of the vast universe--the human body4 ,they have been led to think that a serious notice and regard would somehow involve disloyalty to man's higher life4 ,the discussions of ,mr4 ,alexander breathe reverence for this wonderful instrument of our life1 life mental and moral as well as that life which somewhat meaninglessly we call bodily4 ,when such a religious attitude toward the body becomes more general1 we shall have an atmosphere favourable to securing the conscious control which is urged4 ,in the larger sense of education1 this whole book is concerned with education4 ,but the writer of these lines was naturally especially attracted to the passages in which ,mr4 ,alexander touches on the problems of education in the narrower sense4 ,the meaning of his principles comes out nowhere better than in his criticisms of repressive schools on one hand and schools of 8free expression0 on the other4 ,he is aware of the perversions and distortions that spring from that unnatural suppression of childhood which too frequently passes for school training4 ,but he is equally aware that the remedy is not to be sought through a blind reaction in abolition of all control except such as the moment's whim or the accident of environment may provide4 ,one gathers that in this country1 ,mr4 ,alexander has made the acquaintance of an extremely rare type of 8self-expressive0 school1 but all interested in educational reform may well remember that freedom of physical action and free expression of emotion are means1 not ends1 and that as means they are justified only in so far as they are used as conditions for developing power of intelligence4 ,the substitution of control by intelligence for control by external authority1 not the negative principle of no control or the spasmodic principle of control by emotional gusts1 is the only basis upon which reformed education can build4 ,to come into possession of intelligence is the sole human title to freedom4 ,the spontaneity of childhood is a delightful and precious thing1 but in its original nave form it is bound to disappear4 ,emotions become sophisticated unless they become enlightened1 and the manifestation of sophisticated emotion is in no sense genuine self-expression4 ,true spontaneity is henceforth not a birthright but the last term1 the consummated conquest1 of an art--the art of conscious control to the mastery of which ,mr4 ,alexander's book so convincingly invites us4 ,,john ,,dewey4 ,,part ,i ,,man',s ,,supreme ,,inheritance ,i ,,from ,,primitive ,,conditions ,,to ,,present ,,needs 8,our contemporaries of this and the rising generation appear to be hardly aware that we are witnessing the last act of a long drama1 a tragedy and comedy in one1 which is being silently played1 with no fanfare of trumpets or roll of drums1 before our eyes on the stage of history4 ,whatever becomes of the savages1 the curtain must soon descend on savagery forever40--,j4 ,g4 ,,frazer4 ,the long process of evolution still moves quietly to its unknown accomplishment4 ,struggle and starvation1 the hard fight for existence working with fine impartiality1 remorselessly eliminate the weak and defective4 ,new variations are developed and old types no further adaptable become extinct1 and thus life fighting for life improves towards a sublimation we cannot foresee4 ,but at some period of the world's history an offshoot of a dominant type began to develop new powers that were destined to change the face of the world4 ,speculations as to what first influenced that strange and wonderful development do not come within the province of this treatise1 but ,i should like in passing to point out that the theory and practice of my system are influenced by no particular religion nor school of philosophy1 but in one sense may be said to embrace them all4 ,for whatever name we give to the ,great ,origin of the ,universe1 in the words of a friend of mine1 8we can all of us agree 444 that we mean the same thing1 namely1 that high power within the soul of man which enables him to will or to act or to speak1 not loosely or wildly1 but in subjection to an all-wise and invisible ,authority40 ,the name that we give to that ,authority will in no way affect the principles which ,i am about to state4 ,in subscribing to them the mechanist may still retain his belief in a theory of chemical reactions no less than the ,christian his faith in a ,great ,redeemer4 ,but through whatever influence these new powers in man came into being ,i maintain that they held strange potentialities1 and1 among others1 that which now immediately concerns us1 the potentiality to counteract the force of evolution itself4 ,this is1 indeed1 at once the greatest triumph of our intellectual growth and also the self-constituted danger which threatens us from within4 ,man has arisen above nature1 he has bent circumstance to his will1 and striven against the mighty force of evolution4 ,he has pried into the great workshop and interfered with the machinery1 endeavouring to become master of its action and to control the workings of its component parts4 ,but the machine has as yet proved too intricate for his complete comprehension4 ,he has learned gradually the uses of a few parts which he is able to operate1 but they are only a small fraction of the whole4 ,what then is man's position to-day1 and what is his danger8 ,his position is this4 ,in emerging from the contest with nature he has ceased to be a natural animal4 ,he has evolved curious powers of discrimination1 of choice1 and of construction4 ,he has changed his environment1 his food1 and his whole manner of living4 ,he has enquired into the laws which govern heredity and into the causes of disease4 ,but his knowledge is still limited and his emergence incomplete4 ,the power of the force we know as evolution still holds him in chains1 though he has loosened his bonds and may at last free himself entirely4 ,thus we come to man's danger4 ,evolution--a term we use here and elsewhere in this connection as that which is best understood to indicate the whole operation of natural selection and all that it connotes--has two clearly defined functions2 by one of these it develops1 by the other it destroys4 ,by an infinitely slow action it has developed such wonders as the human eye or hand2 by a process somewhat less tedious it allows any organ that has become useless to perish1 such as the pineal eye or 7in process7 the vermiform appendix1 and1 if we can estimate the future course1 the teeth and hair4 ,by the change he has effected in his mode of life1 man is no longer necessarily dependent upon his physical organism for the means of his subsistence1 and in cases where he is still so dependent1 such as those of the agriculturist1 the artisan1 and others who earn a living by manual labour1 he employs his muscles in new ways1 in mechanical repetitions of the same act1 or in modes of labour which are far removed from those called forth by primitive conditions4 ,in some ways the physical type which represents the rural labouring population is1 in my opinion1 even more degenerate than the type we find in cities1 and mentally there can be no comparison between the two4 ,the truth is that man1 whether living in town or country1 has changed his habitat and with it his habits1 and in so doing has involved himself in a new danger1 for though evolution may be cruel in its methods1 it is the cruelty of a discipline without which our bodies become relaxed1 our muscles atrophied1 and our functions put out of gear4 ,the antagonism of conscious as opposed to natural selection#b has now been in existence for many thousands of years1 but it is only within the last century or less that the effect upon man's constitution has become so marked that the danger of deterioration or decay has been thrust upon the attention1 not only of scientific observers1 but of the average1 intelligent individual4 ,no examination of history is necessary in this place to set out a reason for this comparatively sudden realisation of physical unfitness4 ,briefly1 the civilisation of the past hundred years has been unlike the many that have preceded it1 in that it has not been confined to any single nation or empire4 ,in the past history of the world an intellectual civilisation such as that of ,egypt1 of ,persia1 of ,greece1 or of ,rome1 perished from internal causes1 of which the chief was a certain moral and physical deterioration which rendered the nation unequal to a struggle with younger1 more vigorous and--this is important--wilder1 more natural peoples4 ,thus we have good cause for believing that the danger we have indicated1 though as yet incipient only1 was a determining cause in the downfall of past civilisations4 ,but we must not overlook the fact that destructive wars and devastating plagues held sway in the earlier history of mankind1 and whilst the latter acted as an instrument of evolution in destroying the unfit1 the former1 by decreasing the population1 threw a burden of initiative and energy on the remnant1 necessitating the use of active physical qualities in the business of all kinds of production4 ,now the conditions have altered4 ,greater scientific attainments in every direction than have ever been known have combated1 and will probably in the future overcome the devastating diseases which have decimated the populations of cities1 whilst a higher ethical ideal constantly tends to oppose the horrible and repugnant barbarism of war which1 with the spread of civilisation even to the peoples of the ,orient1 becomes to our senses more and more fratricidal1 a fight of brother against brother4 ,a hundred years ago ,malthus1 a prophet if not a seer1 recognised our danger and within the past quarter of a century a dozen theorists have proposed remedies less stringent than those advocated by ,malthus1 but almost equally futile4 ,among the theorists are those perhaps unconscious reactionaries who advocate the simple life1 by a return to natural food and conditions1 in endlessly varying ways4 ,to them in their search for natural foods and conditions we would point out that countless generations separate us from primitive man1 a lapse of time during which our functions have become gradually adapted to new habits and environment1 and that if it were possible by universal agreement for the peoples of ,europe to return instantly to primitive methods of living1 the effect would be no less disastrous than the reversal of the process1 the sudden thrusting of our civilisation upon savage tribes whereby1 to quote one or two recent examples only1 the aborigines of ,north ,america1 ,new ,zealand1 and ,japan 7the ,ainu tribes7 have become1 or are rapidly becoming1 extinct4 ,when therefore we point out man's power of adaptability in this connexion1 the emphasis is thrown on the slowness with which that adaptability is passed on to our descendants and on the relative permanence of the new powers acquired4 ,for our purpose the argument remains good whether we admit or deny the inheritability of acquired characteristics1 our point being that in either case the process is necessarily a slow one1 though it is plainly more rapid if the hypothesis be true4#c ,from the savage to the civilised state1 man passed1 as ,i say1 so slowly that the passing in the early stages caused neither difficulties nor changes sufficiently marked to force themselves on our recognition4 ,in other words1 the subject of these changes was unconscious of them1 and the habit of depending upon these sensory appreciations 78feeling-tones10 or 8sense of feeling07 dominant by right in the savage or subconsciously directed state1 remained firmly established in the civilised experiences1 so that to-day man walks1 talks1 sits1 stands1 performs in fact the innumerable mechanical acts of daily life without giving a thought to the psychical and physical processes involved4 ,it is not surprising that the results have proved unsatisfactory4 ,the evils of a personal bad habit do not reveal themselves in a day or in a week1 perhaps not in a year1 a remark that is also true of the benefits of a good habit4 ,the effects of the racial habits ,i am now describing have gone on unnoticed for untold centuries4 ,but in the last hundred years the evil has become so marked that its effect has at last forced itself upon our attention4 ,the failure of subconscious guidance in modern civilisation is now being widely admitted1 and the consideration of this fact has led a few to the logical conclusion that conscious guidance and control is the one method of adapting ourselves not only to present conditions but to any possible conditions that may arise4 ,we have passed beyond the animal stage in evolution and can never return to it4 ,for these reasons it becomes necessary1 if we would be consistent1 to reject at once all propositions for improving our future well-being which can by any possibility be described as reactionary4 ,even in this brief rsum of man's history one tendency stands out clearly enough1 the tendency to advance4 ,when that first offshoot from a dominant type began to develop new powers of intellect1 a form was initiated which must either progress or perish4 ,atavism must be counteracted by the powers of the mind1 and reaction is a form of atavism4 ,no return to earlier conditions can increase our knowledge of the secret springs of life1 or aid our formulation of world-laws by the understanding of which we may hope to control the future course of development4 ,the physical1 mental1 and spiritual potentialities of the human being are greater than we have ever realised1 greater1 perhaps1 than the human mind in its present evolutionary stage is capable of realising4 ,and the present world crisis surely furnishes us with sufficient evidence that the familiar processes we call civilisation and education are not1 alone1 such as will enable us to come into that supreme inheritance which is the complete control of our own potentialities4 ,one of the most startling fallacies of human thought has been the attempt to inaugurate rapid and far-reaching reforms in the religious1 moral1 social1 political1 educational1 and industrial spheres of human activity1 whilst the individuals by whose aid these reforms can be made practical and effective1 have remained dependent upon subconscious guidance with all that it connotes4 ,such attempts have always been made by men or women who were almost completely ignorant of the one fundamental principle which would so have raised the standard of evolution1 that the people upon whom they sought to impose these reforms might have passed from one stage of development to another without risk of losing their mental1 spiritual1 or physical balance4 ,for in the mind of man lies the secret of his ability to resist1 to conquer and finally to govern the circumstance of his life1 and only by the discovery of that secret will he ever be able to realise completely the perfect condition of mens sana in corpore sano4 ,,ii ,,primitive ,,remedies ,,and ,,their ,,defects 8444 ,having heard that ,henry ,taylor was ill1 ,carlyle rushed off from ,london to ,sheen with a bottle of medicine1 which had done ,mrs4 ,carlyle good1 without in the least knowing what was ailing ,henry ,taylor1 or for what the medicine was useful40--,life of ,,tennyson4 ,the danger of that mental1 nervous1 and muscular debility1 which is the outcome of the conditions resulting from the trend of our development1 has been widely recognised during the past fifty years1 and we must turn aside for a moment to consider certain phases of its treatment as indicated by the well-known and widely applied terms 8physical culture10 8relaxation0 and 8deep breathing40 ,with regard to 8physical culture10 it must be clearly understood that ,i do not allude to any one system or practice1 but speak in the widest terms2 terms which are applicable alike to the most primitive forms of dumb-bell exercise1 or to the most elaborate series of evolutions designed to counteract the effect of a particular malady4 ,but lest my application of the term be misunderstood1 ,i will explain that where ,i write 8physical culture0 thus1 between inverted commas and with a hyphen1 ,i mean it to stand for 8a series of mechanical exercises1 simple or complicated1 designed to strengthen a bodily function by the development of a set of muscles or of the complete system of muscles02 but where ,i use the words physical culture1 currently and without a hyphen1 ,i denote a general system for the improvement of the entire physical economy by a just co-ordination and control of all the parts of the system1 particularly excluding any method which tends to the hypertrophy of any one energy without regard to the balance of the whole4 ,in the first place it will be recognised from what ,i have already said1 that the whole theory upon which the present 8physical culture0 school is based is but another aspect of that reversion to nature which we have stigmatised as a form of atavism4 ,it is an attempt to stiffen the new garment of our intellectual development by lining it with the old fabric of so-called 8natural exercise40 8,physical culture0 as defined1 is what one might term the obvious1 uninspired method which naturally presents itself as a remedy for the ills arising from an artificial condition4 ,the logic of it is of the simplest1 and proceeds from the major premise that bodily defects arise from the disuse and misuse of muscles and energies in an artificial civilisation1 which muscles and energies in a natural state would be continually called upon to provide the means of livelihood4 ,from this it seems obvious to argue that if we contrive an artificial mechanical means of exercising these muscles for1 let us say1 one1 two1 or three hours a day1 they will resume their natural functions1 and so---- ,the lacuna cannot be satisfactorily filled4 ,if we carry on the argument to its logical conclusion the fallacy is made evident4 ,for the method arising from this argument creates civil war within the body4 ,there is no co-ordination1 and the outcome must be strife4 ,this point will be at once made clear by an instance which must be taken to represent a broadly typical case1 an allegory rather than a special example of particular application4 ,let us take for example the case of ,john ,doe1 whose work keeps him indoors from #i a4 m4 to #f p4 m41 and makes a very urgent call upon his mental and nervous powers4 ,by the time he is thirty-five1 possibly five or ten years earlier1 ,john ,doe is suffering from anmia1 indigestion1 nervous debility1 lassitude1 insomnia1 heart weakness1 and heaven only knows what other troubles4 ,his bodily functions are irregular1 his muscular system partly atrophied and unresponsive1 his nerves irritated1 and his general condition--there is really no better word--8jumpy40 ,incidentally ,i must add that his mind is inoperative in many directions4 ,he has a bad mental attitude towards the physical acts of everyday life4 ,for him his body is a mechanism1 the intricate workings of which he never pauses to examine1 but which he drives or forces through a certain series of evolutions similar in kind to those it has always performed within his experience4 ,when this mechanism fails1 it has to be forced on again by tonics and stimulants or given a 8rest10 which is followed by a return to the old methods of propulsion4 ,however1 ,john ,doe1 who has already postponed far too long his search for a remedy1 at last takes a course of 8physical culture10 although his time is severely limited1 and his exercises are confined to an hour or two morning and evening4 ,at first he may say that he feels a wonderful benefit and probably advises every friend he meets in the city to follow his example4 ,i am quite willing to grant that ,doe may be benefited1 ,i will even admit that if he continues his exercises it is possible he may not fall back into the same state of nervous prostration into which he fell originally1 but the point ,i wish to make quite clear is that his cure did not in itself possess the elements of permanence4 ,it was merely a tinkering or botching-up of the fabric of his body4 ,for if we consider his case from a purely detached standpoint1 we must see that ,doe attempted to develop two systems or modes of life which could not in the nature of things work harmoniously together4 ,on the one hand1 for two1 three1 or four hours a day1 he was occupied in mechanically developing his muscular system without any reference to the manner in which he drove his machine1 stimulating and accelerating the supply of blood which therefore required increased oxygenation or reinforced lung power2 in brief1 he was exercising those functions and energies which in a primitive state would have been called upon during the greater part of his waking life to supply him with food4 ,on the other hand1 for the remaining twelve hours or so during which he was engaged in his profession1 in the eating of meals or in reading1 in playing indoor games or in similar sedentary occupations1 the newly developed powers were being neglected and a call was being made upon the old nervous energies and centres of control4 ,john ,doe's physical body thus had two existences1 excluding the natural condition of sleep1 one fiercely active1 muscular1 dynamic1 the other sedentary1 nervous1 static4 ,these two existences are not correlated1 they are antagonistic2 they do not mutually support each other1 they conflict4 ,john ,doe's body becomes the scene of a civil war1 and the heart1 lungs1 and other semi-automatic organs are in a state of perpetual re-adjustment to opposing conditions1 as they are called upon to support one side or the other in the perpetual combat4 ,such a condition cannot tend in the long run to the improvement of mankind as a whole4 ,for1 as ,i shall show later1#d in the case of ,john ,doe and in all parallel cases1 the consciousness of the person concerned is not changed in regard to the use of the muscular mechanism4 ,even if he exercise for six hours daily1 on taking up his ordinary occupations once more he will immediately revert to the same muscular habits he has already acquired in connexion with such occupations4 ,for it is clear that ,john ,doe has a wrong mental attitude towards the uses of his muscular mechanism in the acts of everyday life4 ,he has been using muscles to do work for which they were never intended1 whilst others1 which should have been continuously employed1 have remained undeveloped1 inert1 and imperfectly controlled4 ,we may say in truth that he is suffering from mental and physical delusions with regard to the uses of his body4 ,to mention but one of many instances of his lack of recognition of the true uses and functions of his muscular system1 we shall notice that whenever he thrusts his head forward or throws it back his shoulders always accompany the movement in either direction1 this movement of the shoulders being entirely unconscious and made without any recognition of the fact that they are being moved4 ,now in this condition of mental and physical delusion1 the unfortunate man tries to do something with these mechanisms which he is unable to control1 hoping that by the mere performance of certain physical exercises he can restore his body to a condition of perfect physical health4 ,it may be well at this point1 seeing that ,i have admitted the possibility of some preliminary benefit to ,john ,doe from his first experience of the 8physical culture0 exercises1 to show more in detail why that benefit was not maintained4 ,the fact is that when this man realised the seriousness of his digestive troubles he was simply recognising a symptom and not a primary cause or causes of his increasing disorders4 ,a proper psycho-physical examination would have revealed bad habits in his waking and sleeping moments which tended more or less to reduce his intra-thoracic capacity to a minimum2 such a minimum is not only harmfully inadequate but also renders due functioning of the vital organs practically impossible4 ,incidentally it may be of value to consider what this condition of minimum intra-thoracic capacity really means and to note some of the influences upon the whole organism4 ,for as this thoracic cavity contains many of the vital organs1 the whole abdominal viscera is directly or indirectly influenced by its capacity4 ,minimum thoracic capacity means that the organs within the thorax are harmfully compressed and that the heart and lungs do not get a proper chance to function adequately4 ,a harmful strain is thrown upon the heart1 the lungs are not adequately employed or sufficiently aerated1 and the lung tissue deteriorates4 ,the proper distribution of the blood is interfered with because of the undue accumulation in the splanchnic area1 to the detriment of the lung supply4 ,as the lungs are the chief distributors of blood it will be understood that this condition of minimum thoracic capacity interferes with the circulation and general nutrition4 ,the respiratory processes are employed in sucking in air instead of creating a partial vacuum in the lungs by a co-ordinated thoracic expansion which will give atmospheric pressure its opportunity4#e ,there is an undue intra-abdominal pressure and harmful flaccidity of the abdominal muscles1 which means dropping of the viscera1 imperfect functioning of the liver1 kidneys1 bladder1 etc41 stagnation in the bowels and irritation and distention of the colon1 intestines1 etc42 in other words1 indigestion1 constipation and all the concomitant disorders and general impairment of the vital functioning4 ,let us1 for a moment1 think of the thoracic and abdominal cavities as one fairly stiff oblong rubber bag filled with different parts of a working machine which are interrelated and interdependent1 and which are held in position by their attachment to the different parts of the inner surface of this bag4 ,we will then suppose1 for the sake of our illustration1 that the circumference of the inner upper half of this bag is three inches more than that of the lower half4 ,as long as this general capacity of the bag is maintained the working standard of efficiency of the machinery is indicated as the maximum4 ,let us then1 in our mind's eye1 decrease the capacity of the upper part of the bag and increase that of the lower half until the inner circumference of the latter is three inches more than the former4 ,we can at once picture the effect upon the whole of the vital organs therein contained1 their general disorganisation1 the harmful irritation caused by undue compression1 the interference with the natural movement of the blood1 of the lymph and of the fluids contained in the organs of digestion and elimination4 ,in fact we find a condition of stagnation1 fermentation1 etc41 causing the manufacture of poisons which more or less clog the mental and physical organism1 and which constitutes a process of slow poisoning4 ,now to revert to the experiences of ,john ,doe4 ,i have already stated that when he first tried physical exercises at home or in the gymnasium as a remedy for his digestive disorders1 he experienced a sense of relief4 ,this was only natural1 seeing that he was leading a more or less sedentary life4 ,why1 then1 was the effect of these exercises gradually diminished until he considered the physical treatment a comparative failure8 ,this brings us to the point of real interest4 ,the fact is that any increased amount of exercise does give a sense of relief to those who lead sedentary lives1 but unfortunately this sense of relief is too often a delusive mental exaggeration of the real changes in the right direction4 ,it is not often a reliable register of benefits derived which make for permanent relief4 ,students of these questions know that the man whose conditions we are analysing has already developed debauched kinsthetic systems which permit defective registrations of different sensations or feeling-tones1 and hence it is very difficult for the person so constituted to arrive at a reliable estimate of the extent of his improvement through such faulty senses4 ,we know1 too1 that1 so far as he is concerned1 the improvement is not permanent1 a fact which he readily admits4 ,there are scientific reasons for accepting the accuracy of this conclusion1 and ,i will endeavour to explain the position4 ,let us admit1 for the sake of our explanation1 that benefits actually accrued in various directions in the early stages of his physical exercises4 ,whatever these benefits may have been1 and however great they were1 ,i contend that it was always certain that sooner or later if he persisted in the physical exercises1 he would gradually develop defects which would counterbalance and finally outweigh the benefits we have admitted4 ,the following are some of the reasons which support these contentions4 ,i shall deal more fully with them in later chapters4 #a4 ,a ,defective ,kinsthetic ,system4 ,experience has proved to us that the conditions present1 when he took up the exercises1 go hand in hand with an incorrect and defective kinsthetic system4 ,the mere performance of physical exercises could not give him a new and correct kinsthetic sense in connexion with the use of the mental and physical organism in his acts of everyday life4 #b4 ,erroneous ,preconceived ,ideas4 ,it is impossible for me to set down the myriad dangers with which he is beset in consequence of erroneous preconceptions during his daily practice on 8physical culture0 lines4 ,the pages of a fairly large book will be necessary to do even meagre justice to this subject4 ,but ,i can assure my readers that this is demonstrably true and ,i am daily convincing the most sceptical by practical procedures4 #c4 ,defective ,sense-,registration and ,delusions4 ,this serious defect is in practice linked up with erroneous preconceptions resulting in mental and physical delusions which are far-reaching and dangerous4 ,an ,example4 ,take a person who1 prior to re-education1 has the habit of putting the head back whenever an attempt is made to put the shoulders back4 ,ask this person to put the head forward and keep the shoulders still and it will be found that as a rule he fails to carry out the order1 and moves his shoulders also4 ,ask him to put the head forward whilst the teacher holds the shoulders still1 and the pupil will put the head back instead of forward4 #d4 ,defective ,mental and ,physical ,control4 ,the most common form of this defective control encountered in teaching work is when the teacher wishes to move the head1 or hand1 or arm1 or leg for the pupil1 in order to give the new and correct sensation in the proper use of the parts4 ,experience proves that the great majority are utterly wanting in the controls necessary to enable the person to gain this experience quickly4 ,the teacher asks the pupil to lift his arm4 ,he does so but exercises an undue amount of tension4 ,in order to give the pupil the new kinsthetic register of the correct amount of tension necessary1 the teacher asks to be permitted to lift the arm for him1 but as a rule the pupil acts exactly as he did when he was requested to perform the act himself4 #e4 ,defective ,inhibition4 ,the practical teacher finds all pupils more or less hampered by lack of inhibitory control1 the possession of which would make re-education and co-ordination from the pupil's standpoint comparatively easy4 ,consideration will show that our ordinary mode of life and the generally accepted teaching methods do not make for the development of the inhibitory powers4 ,on the contrary1 our powers in this direction rather tend to diminish1 and the outward and visible signs of the serious results are everywhere for him who runs to read4 #f4 ,self-,hypnotism4 ,this very serious and all too common evil has not been attacked on a practical basis4 ,people have spoken of it and written about it in a general theoretical way1 much as they have done about relaxation1 but with no better results on the practical side1 when applied to everyday life4 ,the self-hypnotism ,i am referring to is a specific self-hypnotism indulged in at a given and particular time1 and is cultivated unknowingly by teachers and pupils during lessons1 and frequently by both in everyday life4 ,people will tell you they can think better by closing their eyes4 ,this is a prevalent form of self-hypnotism1 self-deception1 and produces a state of dreaming which is particularly serious because it is a harmful condition assumed consciously4 ,the ordinary dreamer falls into this condition unconsciously4 #g4 ,cultivated ,apprehension4 ,this is probably the most serious condition which we cultivate and which has been dealt with at length on pages #bdi-bei4 #h4 ,prejudiced ,arguments and ,attempted ,self-,defence4 ,the real weakness and shallowness of human nature is shown in this connexion in a way which is uncomplimentary to our intellectual pride4 ,the saddest fact is1 that it is always intensified in the person who would be counted above the average in intellectuality by a consensus of opinion4 ,we are all well aware that such an one to win an argument will strain his statement of his facts in the direction he desires them4 ,his reason is so dominated by his emotions and his sense appreciation 7feeling-tones7 that an appeal to the former is at first in vain4 ,the majority of mankind has overcompensated in these directions1 and it is for this reason that in the education and development of the child of to-day and the future1 we must see to it that we relinquish all educational methods which tend to cultivate guidance and control through the emotions and the sensory appreciations 7feeling-tones74 ,some perception of the evils that we have thus briefly summarised has been awakened in the minds of the more earnest thinkers during the last few years1 and1 as a result1 the systems of exercises display a clearly marked tendency towards modification4 ,they have lessened their muscle-tensing violence1 and have become1 and are becoming1 ever less and less strenuous physical acts4 ,thus we find 8physical culture0 advocates who a few years ago insisted upon the use of dumb-bells1 and in some cases dumb-bells increasing in weight over a graduated series of exercises1 now emphasising the necessity for gentle exercises without even mentioning the dumb-bell1 which is perhaps as good a proof as any of the truth of my contentions4 ,my next instance1 namely1 8relaxation10 is even less efficient4 ,the usual procedure is to instruct the pupil1 who is either sitting or lying on the floor1 to relax1 or to do what he or she understands by relaxing4 ,the result is invariably collapse4 ,for relaxation really means a due tension of the parts of the muscular system intended by nature to be constantly more or less tensed1 together with a relaxation of those parts intended by nature to be more or less relaxed1 a condition which is readily secured in practice by adopting what ,i have called in my other writings the position of mechanical advantage4#f ,but apart from an incorrect understanding of the proper condition natural to the various muscles1 the theory of relaxation1 like that of the rest cure1 makes a wrong assumption1 and if either system is persisted in1 there must inevitably follow a general lowering of vitality which will be felt the moment regular duties are taken up again1 and which will soon bring about the return of the old troubles in an exaggerated form4 ,the last remedy mentioned at the opening of this chapter was 8deep breathing40 ,this is a later form of 8physical culture0 development1 and is1 in effect1 a modification in the right direction4 ,it is the logical outcome of the perception that strenuous1 forcing1 muscular exercises were resulting in new and possibly greater evils than those they professed to cure4 8,deep breathing0 is indeed a step in the right direction1 but only a step1 because1 while it does not always do serious harm and in some instances1 perhaps1 a certain amount of good1 it does not go to the root of the matter1 the eradication of defects1 nor does it take cognisance of the most important factor in the scheme of physical co-ordination4 ,what that radical factor is ,i shall explain in detail in my next chapter1 but ,i will first briefly review the chief points of the argument as far as it has been unfolded4 ,in imagination we have seen man through the darkness which covers his first appearance on the earth1 the early ,miocene man4 ,as we have pictured him1 he was a creature of simple needs and of a vigorous bodily habit1 an animal in all save that spark of self-consciousness which burned feebly in his primitive1 but increasing and differentiating brain4 ,again we have a somewhat clearer vision of him with wider powers of courage and cunning1 adapting weapons to his use1 and so specialising the functions of his mind through a long two million years1 through palolithic and neolithic periods into the age of bronze1 where he has become a reasoning1 designing creature1 with powers of imagination and idealisation1 powers still turned1 however1 to physical uses4 ,and at last we reach the differentiation of man from man and class from class which marks the historical period of civilisation1 the period of dwelling in cities1 of adaptability to new and specialised habits1 of labour that makes little or no call upon the physical capacities1 of food procured without energy1 the period when the slow process of evolution1 which has resulted in the product of a new and marvellous instrument of self-conscious1 directive powers1 was becoming gradually superseded by that which it had brought forth4 ,,iii ,,subconsciousness ,,and ,,inhibition 8,you can have neither a greater nor a less dominion than that over yourself40--,,leonardo ,,da ,,vinci4 ,within the last thirty years we have evolved a new science1 the science of psychology4 ,a generation ago psychology was subject-matter only for the philosopher1 the metaphysician1 the poet1 or the ecclesiastic2 now it is being investigated in the laboratory by tests of sensibility1 reaction-times1 and other responses to stimulation too technical to be explained here1 tests carried out by means of elaborate and intricate instruments and machinery designed to weigh the hidden springs of life in the balance4 ,the phrase ,i have italicised is purposely vague1 for ,i have no wish to fall foul of a terminology or to make any a priori assumption which might involve me in controversial matters completely outside my province4 ,at the same time ,i see clearly that some convenient phrase will become necessary1 and ,i will therefore adopt one which is at least familiar and within certain limits descriptive enough1 namely1 the 8subconscious self40 ,it may seem strange that one should look to any such formally organised science as modern psychology1 to a science that is working in a laboratory with mechanical appliances1 for any elucidation of a question which has for so long been regarded as strictly within the domain of the priest4 ,but science1 as ,tyndall said1 is only another name for common-sense1 and a little consideration will show that the postulate ,i have insisted upon1 namely1 the growth and progress of intellectual control1 demands that this admirable quality of common-sense or reason1 should be applied to the elucidation of this all-important problem4 ,unhappily1 psychology1 from which we hope so much1 is as yet in its infancy1 and the few attempts that have been made1 such as those of the late ,professor ,mnsterberg1 to apply the theories of the laboratory and the class room to the practical work of the world1 cannot be said to have produced any results worth considering4 ,in any case ,i must transcend the present limits of academic psychology in this consideration of the subconscious4 ,the concepts which have grown up round this term1 the 8subconscious self10 are in many cases curiously concrete in form4 ,much error has sprung from that earnest and well-intentioned work of the late ,f4 ,w4 ,h4 ,myers1 ,human ,personality and ,its ,survival ,after ,bodily ,death4 ,mr4 ,myers pictured an entity within an entity1 and his work1 though inductive in form1 was a priori in method1 for he had formed the conception of a subjective personality taking shape within an objective1 material shell1 and had controlled his evidence to a definite1 preconceived end4 ,the fallacies of ,myers have been exposed again and again4 ,his argument is intrinsically unsound1 and when put to the test of newer knowledge his hypothesis fails to explain the fact4 ,but because ,myers' conception was so graphic and credible it took a strong hold upon the popular imagination1 a hold which in the eight years following the publication of ,human ,personality has not become weakened in the minds of a great number of people1 full though these years have been of discovery and new knowledge4 ,it is for this reason that ,i have reverted to ,myers' conception of the subconscious1 or as he called it1 the 8subliminal self10 inasmuch as ,i wish it to be clearly understood from the outset that ,i use the term 8subconscious self0 to denote an entirely different concept4 ,indeed1 any one who has followed my argument to this point must have inferred the trend of my purpose1 namely1 that as the intellectual powers of man extend1 we progress in the direction of conscious control4 ,the gradual control of evolution by the child of its production has pointed always to this end1 and by this means1 and by this alone1 can the human race continue in the full enjoyment of its physical powers without forfeiting a fraction of its progressive intellectual ideal4 ,it will inevitably be asked at this stage what ,i mean when ,i speak of the 8subconscious self10 and ,i must therefore answer that question to the best of my ability1 even though ,i have to leave for a moment the limits of proved fact to tread on the wider ground of hypothesis4 ,i do not propose1 however1 to overburden my theory with the detail of evidence1 and what follows must therefore be taken as an inclusive statement1 much of which ,i could prove conclusively in a larger work1 whilst the unproved remnant must necessarily await confirmation from the researches of future investigators in the domains of psychology4 ,in the first place then we must see not only that the subconscious self is not a possession peculiar to man1 but that it is in fact more active1 in many ways more finely developed1 in the animal world4 ,among some animals the consciousness of danger is so keen that we have attributed it to prescience4 ,the fear of fire in the prairies1 of flood1 or of the advance of some natural danger threatening the existence of the animal1 is evidenced far ahead of any signs perceptible by human senses1 and as we cannot1 except sentimentally1 attribute powers of conscious reasoning to the animal world1 it is evident that this 8foreknowledge0 is due to a delicate co-ordination of animal senses4 ,again1 we see that animals which have not had their powers dulled by many generations of domestication make the majority of their movements1 as we say1 8instinctively40 ,they can judge the length of a leap with astonishing accuracy1 or take the one certain chance of escape among the many apparent possibilities open to them without an instant's hesitation1 and as these powers are evidenced in some cases within a few hours or minutes after the birth of the animal1 they are admittedly not the outcome of experience4 ,the whole argument for the evidence of the possession of a subconscious self by animals can be elaborated to any length1 and depends upon facts of observation made over a long period of time4 ,the few examples ,i have here cited merely illustrate that side of the question which throws into prominence the point of what we may call abnormal powers1 or powers which seem to transcend those of human reason so far as it has been developed4 ,it is this appearance of transcendent qualities in the human subconsciousness which misled ,myers1 who did not pause to apply his allegory of the subconscious entity to the animal world4 ,such an application would have tended to prove that the 8soul0 7for that is what ,myers really intended1 however carefully he may have avoided the actual word7 of the animal was more highly developed than that of man4 ,in the second place1 however1 we are confronted with the unquestionable fact that the subconsciousness can be 8educated0 below the plane of reason4 ,acts very frequently performed become so mechanical that they can be repeated without any sense of conscious awareness by the operator4 ,the pianist1 after constant rehearsals1 will perform the most intricate passage while his attention is engaged with an entirely unrelated subject1--although it is particularly worthy of remark in this connexion1 that when such an art as the performance of music falls temporarily into such an automatic repetition1 the connoisseur will instantly recognise the loss of some quality1--generally spoken of as 8feeling10--in the rendering4 ,again1 it appears that in some cases a more or less permanent impression may be made upon the subconsciousness by casual suggestions1 often related to fear1 even though such suggestions be1 in some cases1 the result of a single experience4 ,a nervous hysterical subject1 already far too willing to submit to the guidance of emotion and what he or she fondly believes to be 8instinct0 or 8intuition0 may be so harmfully impressed in this way as to develop any of the many forms of 8phobia10 which are1 as the suffix correctly implies1 forms of morbid terror4 ,these are but two instances of the 8education0 of the subconsciousness below the reasoning plane1 but a dozen others will suggest themselves to the reader out of his own experience4 ,the important point is the fact that the phase of being with which we are dealing becomes1 as we progress through life1 a composite of animal instincts and habits acquired below the plane of reason either by repetition or by suggestion4 ,but before ,i leave this general conception of the subconsciousness1 ,i must emphasise the fact that up to this point we share the qualities of the subconscious mind with the animal kingdom4 ,for in the lower organisms no less than in that of humanity1 this subconsciousness can be educated4 ,the observations of naturalists now confirm the belief that the young of certain birds--the swallow has been particularly instanced--are taught to fly by the parent birds2 whilst any one who has trained a dog will know how such a trick as 8begging0 for food may become so habitual as to appear instinctive4 ,so much for general definition2 ,i come now to the point which marks the differentiation of man from the animal world1 and which is first clearly evidenced in the use of the reasoning1 intellectual powers of inhibition4 ,now it is evident that in the earlier stages of man's development1 the inhibition of the subconscious animal powers was frequently a source of danger and of death4 ,reason1 not as yet sufficiently instructed and far-seeing1 was an inefficient pilot1 and sometimes laid the ship aback when she would have kept before the wind if left to herself4 ,to abandon the metaphor1 the control was imperfect1 it wavered between two alternatives1 and by rejecting the guidance of instinct it suffered1 it may be1 destruction4 ,but the necessity for conscious control grew as the conditions of life came to differ ever more and more from those of the wild state4 ,this1 plainly1 was due to many causes1 but chiefly to the limitations enforced by the social habit which grew out of the need for co-operation4 ,this point must be briefly elaborated1 for it marks the birth of inhibition in its application to everyday life1 and in so doing it demonstrates the growth of the principle of conscious control which1 after countless thousands of years1 we are but now beginning to appreciate and understand4 ,it is true that we have evidence of conscious inhibition in a pure state of nature4 ,the wild cat stalking its quarry inhibits the desire to spring prematurely1 and controls to a deliberate end its eagerness for the instant gratification of a natural appetite4 ,but in this1 and in the many other similar instances1 such instinctive acts of inhibition have been developed through long ages of necessity4 ,the domestic kitten of a few weeks old1 which has never been dependent on its own efforts for a single meal1 will exhibit the same instinct4 ,in animals the inherited power is there2 in man also the power is there as a matter of physical inheritance1 but with what added possibilities due to the accumulated experience gained from the conscious use of this wonderful force4 ,the first experience must have come to man very early in his development4 ,as soon as any act was proscribed and punishment meted out for its performance1 or as soon as a reward was consciously sought--though its attainment necessitated realised1 personal danger--there must have been a deliberate1 conscious inhibition of natural desires1 which in its turn enforced a similar restraint of muscular1 physical functioning4 ,as the needs of society widened1 this necessity for the daily1 hourly inhibition of natural desires increased to a bewildering extent on the prohibitive side4 ,there grew up first 8taboos10 then the rough formulation of moral and social law1 and on the other hand a desire for larger powers which encouraged qualities of emulation and ambition4 ,among the infinite diversity of these influences1 natural appetites and the modes of gratifying them were ever more and more held in subjection1 and the subconscious self or instinct which initiated every action in the lower animal world fell under the subjection of the conscious1 dominating intellect or will4 ,and in this process we must not overlook one fact of supreme importance1 viz41 man still progressed physically and mentally4 ,it is therefore clear that this control acquired by the conscious mind broke no great law of nature1 known or unknown1 for1 if this acquired control had been in conflict with any of those great1 and to us as yet incomprehensible forces which have ruled the evolution of species1 the animal we call man would have become extinct1 as did those early saurian types which failed to fulfil the purpose of development and perished before man's first appearance on this earth4 ,before we attempt1 then1 any exact definition of the subconscious self we must have a clearer comprehension of the terms 8will10 8mind10 and 8matter10 which may or may not be different aspects of one and the same force4 ,more than two thousand years of philosophy have left the metaphysicians still vaguely speculating as to the relations of these three essentials1 and personally1 ,i am not very hopeful of any solution from this source4 ,the investigation1 though still in its infancy in this form1 has taken the shape of an exact science1 and it is to that science of psychology as now understood that ,i look to the elucidation of many difficult problems in the future4 ,without touching on the uncertain ground of speculative philosophy1 ,i will try1 however1 to be as definite as may be with regard to my conception of the subconscious self4 ,in the first place1 great prominence has been given to the conception of the subconscious self as an entity within an entity1 by the claim made for it that it has absolute control of the bodily functions4 ,this claim depends for its support upon the evidence of hypnotism and of the various forms of auto-suggestion and faith-healing4 ,under the first heading1 we have been told that under the direction of the hypnotist the ordinary functions of the body may be controlled or superseded1 as for instance1 that a wound may be formed and bleed without mechanically breaking the skin1#g or that a wound may be healed more rapidly than is consistent with the ordinary course of nature4 ,under the second heading1 which includes all forms of self-suggestion1 we have had examples of what is known as stigmatisation1#h or the appearance on the bodies of hysterical and obsessed subjects of some imitation of the five sacred wounds4 ,indeed the instances of cures which seem to our uninstructed minds miraculous1 and due by inference to the power of faith1 are so numerous that no special example need be cited4 ,these and many kindred phenomena have been explained on the hypothesis that the hidden entity when commanded by the will is able to exert an all-powerful influence either beneficent or malignant1 the obscure means by which the command may be enforced being variously described4 ,we see at once that the conception of a hidden entity is the primitive explanation which first occurs to the puzzled mind4 ,we find the same tendency in the many curious superstitions of the savage who turns every bird1 beast1 stone1 and tree into a ,totem1 and endows them with powers of evil or of good1 and discovers a 8hidden entity0 all of a piece with this conception of the subconscious self1 in a piece of wood that he has cut from a tree1 or a lump of clay that he has modelled into the rude shape of man1 bird1 or beast4 ,my own conception is rather of the unity than the diversity of life4 ,and since any attempt to define the term ,life would be presumptuous1 the definition being beyond the scope of man's present ability1 ,i will merely say that life in this connexion must be read in the widest application conceivable4 ,and it appears to me that all we know of the evolution or development of life goes to show that it has progressed1 and will continue to progress1 in the direction of self-consciousness4#i ,if we grant the unity of life and the tendency of its evolution1 it follows that all the manifestations of what we have called the 8subconscious self0 are functions of the vital essence or life-force1 and that these functions are passing from automatic or unconscious to reasoning or conscious control4 ,this conception does not necessarily imply any distinction between the thing controlled and the control itself4 ,this may be inferred from the use of the word 8self-conscious10 but the further elucidation of this side of the theory is not germane to the present argument4 ,now ,i am quite prepared to accept as facts phenomena of the kind ,i have instanced1 such as unusual cures effected by hypnotism1 and by the somewhat allied methods of the various forms of faith healing1 but ,i do deny1 and most emphatically deny1 that either procedure is in any way necessary to produce the same or even more unusual phenomena4#aj ,in other words1 ,i maintain that man may in time obtain complete conscious control of every function of the body without1 as is implied by the word 8conscious10 going into any trance induced by hypnotic means1 and without any paraphernalia of making reiterated assertions or statements of belief4 ,apart from my practical experience of the harm that so often results from hypnotic and suggestive treatment1 an experience sufficient to demonstrate the dangers of applying these methods to a large majority of cases1 ,i found my objection to these practices on a broad and1 ,i believe1 incontrovertible basis4 ,this is that the obtaining of trance is a prostitution and degradation of the objective mind1 that it ignores and debases the chief curative agent1 the apprehension of the patient's conscious mind1 and that it is in direct contradiction to the governing principle of evolution1 the great law of self-preservation by which the instinct of animals has been trained1 as it were1 to meet and overcome the imminent dangers of everyday existence4 ,in man this desire for life is an influence in therapeutics so strong that ,i can hardly exaggerate its potentiality1 and it is1 moreover1 an influence that can be readily awakened and developed4 ,the will to live has in one experience of mine lifted a woman almost from the grave1 a woman who had been operated upon and practically abandoned as dead by her surgeons4 ,a passing thought flashing across a brain that had all but abandoned the struggle for existence1 a sudden consciousness that her children might not be well cared for if she died1 was sufficient to reawaken the desire for life1 and to revivify a body which no medical skill could have saved4#aa ,but there is no need to quote instances4 ,the fact is recognised1 yet how small is the attempt made to use and control so potent a force6 ,the same argument may be also applied to the prostration of the mind as a factor in the popular rest cures which really seek to put the mind1 the great regenerating force1 out of action4 ,returning to my definition of the subconscious self1 it will be seen that ,i regard it as a manifestation of the partly-conscious vital essence1 functioning at times very vividly but on the whole incompletely1 and from this it follows that our endeavours should be directed to perfecting the self-consciousness of this vital essence4 ,the perfect attainment of this object in every individual would imply a mental and physical ability and a complete immunity from disease that is still a dream of the future4 ,but once the road is pointed1 we must forsake the many bypaths1 however fascinating1 bypaths which lead at last to an impasse and necessitate a return in our own footsteps4 ,instead of this1 we must devote our energies along the indicated road1 a road that presents1 it is true1 many difficulties1 and is not straight and easy to traverse1 but a road that nevertheless leads to an ideal of mental and physical completeness almost beyond our imaginings4 ,,iv ,,conscious ,,control 8,man one harmonious soul of many a soul ,whose nature is its own divine control40 --,,shelley4 ,one of the most recent phases of popular1 as opposed to scientific1 thought has been that which has endeavoured to teach the control of the mind4 ,this teaching has been spoken of in general as the 8,new ,thought0 movement1 though certain of its precepts may be found in ,marcus ,aurelius4 ,this movement has had1 and is still having1 a considerable vogue in ,america1 and the influence of it has been felt in ,england1 many of the writings of its exponents having been published here within the last fifteen or twenty years4 ,the object of the teaching is to promote the habit of 8right thinking0 which is to be obtained by the control of the mind4 ,the 8,new ,thought0 teaches that certain ideas such as fear1 worry1 and anger1 are to be rigidly excluded from the mind and the attention fixed upon their opposites1 such as courage1 complacency1 calm4 ,with certain of the tendencies expressed in this movement ,i am in sympathy1 but following the usual course of such movements1 the 8,new ,thought0 is losing sight of its principle1 which was1 indeed1 never fully grasped1 and is becoming involved in a species of dogma1 the rigidity of which is in my opinion directly opposed to its primary object4 ,one of its earlier and most capable exponents1 however1 ,ralph ,waldo ,trine1 marked the principle with a phrase1 and by naming one of his works ,in ,tune with the ,infinite1 gave permanence to the central idea1 though more recent writers in embroidering the theme have lost sight of the original thesis4 ,moreover1 ,i have not found in the 8,new ,thought0 a proper consideration of cause and effect in treating the mental and physical in combination4 ,these writings exhibit1 and have always exhibited1 the fallacy of considering the mental and physical as in some sense antitheses which are opposed to each other and make war1 whereas1 in my opinion1 the two must be considered entirely interdependent1 and even more closely knit than is implied by such a phrase4 ,again in all these writings we are confronted with one word which is dominant1 and by its iteration must produce an effect on the mind of all readers4 ,that word is 8faith10 and because it is so prominent and so little understood1 ,i feel that it is essential ,i should give some explanation of it in the light of my own principles4 ,in the first place1 it is perhaps hardly necessary for me to point out that faith in this connexion need not be allied with any conception of creed or religion4 ,it is true that this is the form in which we are most familiar with it in mental healing1 and the associations which are grouped round the word itself very commonly induce us to connect it with the conceptions that have had such a wide and general influence on the thoughts of mankind in all stages of civilisation4 ,but we have abundant evidence now before us that in healing it is the patient's attitude of mind that is of the first importance1 and that faith is every whit as effective when directed towards the person of the healer1 a drug1 or the medicinal qualities supposed to be possessed by a glass of pure water1 as when it is directed to a belief in some supernal agency4 ,this fact is indisputable1 and it is only because the latter form of faith is so much more widespread1 inasmuch as it lies at the very foundation of all religions1 that this agency has effected a number of cures out of all proportion to those brought about by faith in some purely material object4 ,what ,i here intend by faith1 therefore1 is its exercise in the widest sense and without any restriction of creed4 ,so far as we can analyse the effect of what we call an act of faith on the mental processes1 it would seem that it is operative in two directions4 ,the first is purely emotional4 ,the patient having conceived a whole-hearted belief that he is going to be delivered from his pain or disease by the means of some agency supernal or material1 experiences a sensation of profound relief and joy4 ,he understands and believes that without effort on his part he is to be cured by an apparent miracle1 and the effect upon him is to produce a strong1 if evanescent1 emotional happiness4 ,in this we have an exact parallelism between the patient whose cure is physical and material1 and the convert whose cure is spiritual4 ,now it is widely acknowledged by scientists and the medical profession generally that this condition of happiness is an ideal condition for the sufferer1 that it is not only the most helpful condition of mind1 but that it actually produces chemical changes in the physical constitution1 changes which are the most salutary in producing a vital condition of the blood1 and hence of the organisms4 ,the second way in which this act of faith operates is in the breaking down of a whole set of mental habits1 and in the substitution for them of a new set4 ,the new habits may or may not be beneficial from the outset apart from the effect produced by the emotional state which is hardly ever maintained for a long period1 but even so the breaking down of the old habits of thought does produce such an effect as will in some cases influence the whole arrangement of the cells forming the tissues1 and dissipate a morbid condition such as cancer4 ,thus we see that this so-called act of faith is in reality purely material in its action1 and there is no reason why we should have recourse to it to produce the same and greater effects4 ,it may perhaps be asked by some objectors why we should seek to dismiss the act of faith1 since it undoubtedly produces these ideal conditions in some cases4 ,the answer is obvious4 ,faith-healing is dangerous in its practice and uncertain in its results4 ,it is dangerous1 because in the majority of cases its professors seek in the first place to alleviate pain4 ,they may do this1 leaving the disease itself untouched1 but1 as ,i shall point out later on1 in such cases the disease will continue and eventually kill the patient1 even though he may be able successfully to fight the pain4 ,faith-healing is also uncertain in its results1 because1 in addition to the danger ,i have mentioned1 it merely substitutes one uncontrolled habit of thought for another4 ,at first the new habit1 because it is new1 may bring about a change to a better condition1 but if it remains1 it will in its turn become stereotyped1 and may very well lead at last to just as morbid a condition as was induced by the old mental habit it superseded4 ,for these reasons1 which are1 ,i think1 trenchant enough1 ,i desire most earnestly to see all the present conceptions that surround this profession of faith-healing thrown aside in order that we may arrive at a sane and reasoned process of mental therapeutics4 ,i have touched briefly on the movement here because it emphasises the fact that we are dimly grasping at a truth but paralysing our attempts to hold it by the premature assumption that we have it safe at last4 ,at the same time ,i believe that underlying the teachings of these recent movements1 8,new ,thought0 and 8,faith-healing0 in general 7and in these two closely allied influences ,i include all the offshoots and subdivisions71 there is some apprehension of an essential1 an apprehension which is liable to lose its grip by reason of the dogma and ritual that has grown up and tends to obscure the one fundamental4 ,all these sects1 parties1 societies1 creeds--call them what you will--have a common inspiration2 we need no further proof than this that no one of the many developments from the common source is in itself complete and perfect4 ,there is good evidence that each new development as soon as it becomes specialised is separated from its true source1 becomes overelaborated1 and so works its own downfall1 the principle becoming absorbed and dominated by the bias of some individual mind4 ,this is my analysis of the phenomena4 ,it follows that what we seek is the noumenon1 the reality1 the true idea that underlies all these various manifestations4 ,before ,i attempt1 however1 to trace out this common principle1 ,i wish to make three statements4 7#a7 ,i do not profess to offer a finally perfected theory1 for by so doing ,i should lay myself open to the same arguments ,i have advanced against other theories of the same nature4 ,i say frankly that we are only at the beginnings of understanding1 and my own wish is to keep my theory as simple as possible1 to avoid any dogma4 7#b7 ,i do not propose for many reasons to consider in this place my own methods in any other connexion but that of their application to physical defects1 to the eradication of diseases1 distortions1 and lack of control1 and1 progressively1 to the science of race culture and the improvement of the physique of the generations to come4 7#c7 ,i wish it to be clearly understood that this treatise is not finally definitive4 ,i hope in the future to have many opportunities of elaborating my general thesis1 and of stating my experience of particular applications of my methods to peculiar cases1 but ,i should not be true to my own principles if ,i were not willing to accept amendments1 even perhaps to alter one or other of my premises1 should new facts tend to show that ,i have made a false assumption in any particular4 ,now that ,i have thus cleared the ground1 ,i will examine what ,i believe to be the first and greatest stumbling-block to conscious self-control1 namely1 8rigidity of mind40 ,this rigidity results in a fixed habit of thought and its concomitant evils1 among which is the subjection of functional and muscular habits to subconscious control4 ,in defining rigidity of mind1 ,i must hark back for a moment to that suggestive phrase of ,mr4 ,trine's1 ,in ,tune with the ,infinite1 although in the present application the rigidity ,i am concerned with is considered in a physical connexion and does not involve interference with any non-spatial conceptions4 ,it is rather the first half of the phrase that is here of importance1 for to be 8,in ,tune0 conveys to my mind1 and ,i wish it to convey the same meaning to others1 the idea of sensitiveness to impressions and responsiveness to the touch1 when 8all the functions of life are becoming an intelligent harmony40 ,in a word1 ,i want by this phrase to suggest the idea of being open-minded4 ,for even in reading this1 if the individual deliberately puts himself in opposition to my point of view1 he can by no possibility hope to benefit4 ,wherefore ,i desire above all things that he or she will read at least with an open mind1 form no conclusion until ,i have finished1 and will perhaps1 more particularly1 subdue the interference of that great and ruling predisposition which has in the past so long impeded the advance of science1 and with which ,i will deal in my next chapter4 ,let us consider for a moment the application of rigidity of mind to physical functions4 ,a person comes to me with some crippling defect due to the improper use of some organ or set of muscles4 ,when ,i have diagnosed the defect and shown the patient how to use the organ or muscles in the proper way1 ,i am always met at once with the reply1 8,but ,i can't40 ,let me ask any one who is reading this and who suffers in any way1 whether his or her attitude to the defect they suffer from is not precisely the same8 ,this reply indicates directly that the control of the part affected is entirely subconscious2 if it were not1 we should merely have to substitute the hopeful 8,i can0 for that despondent 8,i can't10 to remove the trouble4 ,by 7a7 hypnotic treatment1 by 7b7 faith-healing1 or by 7c7 the application of the principles of the 8,new ,thought10 the patient in such a case would have the subconscious control influenced1 either 7a7 by the mechanical means of trance and suggestion by the hypnotist1 which leaves the conscious mind in exactly the original condition and merely changes1 and it may be only temporarily1 the habit of the subconscious control1 or 7b7 and 7c7 by reiterated commands of the objective mind4 ,even if these commands have been reinforced by the influencing suggestion of the healer1 they either substitute by repetition one habit for another without any apprehension by the intelligence of the true method of the exchange1 or1 what is quite as frequent and far more harmful1 they shut out the sensitiveness to pain from the cerebral centres1 and so leave the radical evil1 no longer labelled by nature's warning1 to work the patient's destruction in secret4 ,briefly1 all three methods seek to reach the subjective mind by deadening the objective or conscious mind1 and the centre and backbone of my theory and practice1 upon which ,i feel that ,i cannot insist too strongly1 is that ,,the ,,conscious ,,mind ,,must ,,be ,,quickened4 ,it will be seen from this statement that my theory is in some ways a revolutionary one1 since all earlier methods have in some form or another sought to put the flexible working of the true consciousness out of action in order to reach the subconsciousness4 ,the result of these methods is1 logically and inevitably1 an endeavour to alter a bad subjective habit whilst the objective habit of thought is left unchanged4 ,the teachings of the 8,new ,thought0 and of many sects of faith-healers set out clearly enough that the patient must think rightly before he can be cured1 but they then set out1 automatically1 to carry out their teaching by prescribing 8affirmatives0 or some sort of 8auto-suggestion10 both of which are in effect no more than a kind of self-hypnotism1 and1 as such1 are debasing to the primary functions of the intelligence4 ,i will take a simple instance from my own experience to illustrate a case in point4 ,a patient1 whom ,i will call ,x1 came to me with an obstinate stammer arising from a congenital defect in the co-ordination of the face1 tongue1 and throat muscles4 ,whenever ,x attempted to speak he drew down his upper lip4 ,this was the outward sign of a series of vicious acts connected with a train of muscular movements1 a sign that the ideo-motor centres were working to convey a wrong guiding influence to the specific parts concerned in the act of speech4 ,these guiding influences rendered ,x quite incapable of speech1 and would1 indeed1 have had the same effect upon any other individual who produced the same working of the parts concerned4 ,to insist in such a case that ,x should repeat1 8,i can speak0 or 8,i won't stutter10 would be merely to endeavour to reach a supposed omniscient subconscious self which would counteract the evil by the exercise of some assumed and separate intelligence possessed by it4 ,i undertook the case by appealing to ,x's intelligence4 ,now1 strange as it may seem 7and ,i intend to treat this curious perversion in my next chapter71 ,x's objective intelligence is not so easily reached and influenced as might appear4 ,he has formed a muscular habit of drawing down his lip independently of his conscious control1 and the line of suggestion set up by the wish to speak induces at once a reflex action of a complicated set of muscles4 ,x has learned to do this automatically1 and at first seems incapable of controlling those lip muscles when the wish to speak is initiated4 ,in this case my first endeavour must be directed to keeping in abeyance1 by the power of inhibition1 all the mental associations connected with the ideas of speaking1 and to eradicating all erroneous1 preconceived ideas concerning the things ,x imagines he can or cannot do1 or what is or is not possible4 ,my next effort must be to give ,x a correct and conscious guidance and control of all the parts concerned1 including1 of course1 the lip and face muscles1 and in order to obtain this control1 he must have a complete and accurate apprehension of all the movements concerned4 ,and this apprehension must precede and be preparatory to any conception of 8speaking10 during the application of all the guiding orders involved4 ,in originating some new idea which is to take the place of the old idea of drawing down the upper lip1 it may be necessary at first to break the old association by means of some new order1 such as deliberately to draw the lip up1 to open the mouth1 or to make some similar muscular act previously unfamiliar in its application to the act of speaking4 ,this new order is then substituted for the command to speak4 ,x is told not to speak but to draw up his lip1 open his mouth1 etc4 ,it will be understood that ,i have omitted much detail touching the interdependence of the parts concerned1 but ,i wish here to convey the essentials of method rather than the physiological explanation of their working4 ,it must always be remembered that ,nature works as a whole and not in parts1 and once the true cause of the evil is discovered and eradicated all the affected mechanisms can soon be restored to their full capacity4 ,i may note here that ,x was completely cured of his stammer1 and that his was a particularly obstinate case1 a fact chiefly due to the confirmation of a wrong habit in early childhood4 ,this is an example1 chosen for its simplicity1 to illustrate the prime essentials of my theory1 but it is capable of a very wide application1 so wide that it may be applied to the working not only of the ordinary controlled muscles1 but of the semi-automatic muscles which actuate the vital organs4 ,not many years ago an ,indian ,yogi was examined by ,professor ,max ,mller at ,cambridge1 and we have it on the authority of the latter that this ,yogi was able to stop the beating of his own heart at will and suffer no harmful consequences4 ,let it be clearly understood1 however1 that ,i have no sympathy with these abnormal manifestations which ,i regard as a dangerous trickery practised on the body1 a trickery in no way admirable or to be sought after4 ,the performances of the ,yogis certainly do not command my admiration1 and the well-known system of breathing practised and taught by them is1 in my opinion1 not only wrong and essentially crude1 but ,i consider that it tends also to exaggerate those very defects from which we suffer in this twentieth century4 ,i have merely quoted this case of the ,yogi in support of my assertion that there is no function of the body that cannot be brought under the control of the conscious will4 ,that this is indeed a fact and not a theory1 ,i do claim without hesitation1 and ,i claim further that by the application of this principle of conscious control there may in time be evolved a complete mastery over the body1 which will result in the elimination of all physical defects4 ,certain aspects of this control and the reasons why it has not been acquired ,i will treat under the next heading4 ,v ,,applied ,,conscious ,,control ,a ,,conception ,,of ,,the ,,principles ,,involved ,the term 8conscious control0 is one which is employed by different people to convey different conceptions4 ,the usual conception is one which indicates specific control1 such as the moving of a muscle consciously1 and is practised by athletes who give performances of physical feats in public4 ,again1 there is the conscious movement of a finger1 toe1 ear1 or some other specific muscle or limb4 ,the phrase 8,conscious ,control0 when used in this work is intended to indicate the value and use of conscious guidance and control1 primarily as a universal1 and secondly as a specific1 the latter always being dependent upon the former in practical procedure4 ,furthermore1 it is not used merely to indicate a guidance and control which we may apply in the activities of life with but doubtful precision in one or two directions only1 but one which may be applied universally1 and with precision in all directions1 and in all spheres where the mental and physical manifestations of mankind are concerned4 ,since the publication of my book1 ,conscious ,control1 ,i have received and continue to receive letters from interested readers concerning the practical application of conscious control1 and also regarding my conception of the principles involved4 8,it is all very well to talk of conscious control1 but how are we to acquire it80 wrote one enquirer4 8,how far-reaching is its application80 wrote another1 whilst a third remarked1 8,if your experience has proved that such far-reaching beneficial effects result from conscious guidance and control1 your concept must be much more comprehensive than that usually accepted40 8,i have a friend who is cursed with a bad temper10 wrote another enquirer1 8and he realises the fact4 ,he has applied to his medical and spiritual advisers for help4 ,they have given him a certain amount of valuable advice1 but the result is far from satisfactory40 ,we all know of cases of men and women who eat or drink more than is good for them1 and we also know that only a small minority are able to master their unhealthy desires in these directions4 ,examination of the misguided majority would reveal the fact that they were badly co-ordinated1 and that psycho-physical conditions were present which would lead an expert to expect an overbalanced state in one direction or another1 a domination of conscious reasoned control by subconscious unreasoned desire4 ,such cases may be readily and successfully dealt with on a basis of conscious guidance and control in the spheres of re-education1 re-adjustment1 and co-ordination4 ,to gain control where there is a tendency to overindulgence in alcohol or food is a very difficult problem for the ordinary human being while he remains in his badly co-ordinated condition4 ,this is shown by the failure which succeeds failure until the unfortunate person arrives at the conclusion that it is impossible to break the habit4 ,he or she then drifts into the advanced stages of a condition which becomes as akin to disease as neuritis1 neurasthenia1 indigestion1 or rheumatism4 ,as a matter of fact these malconditions may be the immediate outcome of the indulgences before referred to4 ,the unfortunate fact which we must face is that such people are practically without control where these failings are concerned1 and the general opinion is that these people lack will-power4 ,in my opinion this is not really true4 ,say that a man is a thief and is caught and punished4 ,he tells his friends and relatives that he intends to reform4 ,but does he really intend to do so8 ,in the first instance does not the answer to this question depend upon the point of view of the person concerned8 ,let us take as an example two brothers4 ,the one is a thief but the other is not1 inasmuch as he has never stolen anything in his life4 ,he would scorn such an act1 but he has no hesitation in taking advantage of a friend with whom he makes an agreement4 ,he may even fail to realise that he is acting unjustly towards his friend4 ,the fact is1 he is well acquainted with the details and possibilities of the business concern which this agreement represents4 ,he is aware of his superior knowledge and he deliberately uses it in framing the clauses of the agreement so that he is certain to derive more benefit from the transaction than his less experienced friend1 though at the same time he may thoroughly understand that the contract should be drawn upon lines which would ensure that equal benefits would be derived4 ,this he calls business1 not theft4 ,it is quite possible that the thief would scorn to take such advantage of a friend4 ,i have known of such cases2 hence the phrase1 8,honour among thieves40 ,now we do not speak of the other brother as lacking in will-power1 but wherein lies the difference in this connexion between him and his thief brother8 ,in the case of the thief1 the promise to reform was made4 ,he steals again and again1 so that people say in the ordinary way1 8,he is hopeless1 he hasn't the will-power to enable him to reform40 ,as ,i have before indicated1 ,i fear this is not a correct solution4 ,for if we admit that in both instances all depends upon the point of view1 we cannot be surprised that the mere promise to reform is usually futile1 and we must furthermore realise that a changed point of view is the royal road to reformation4 ,at the same time1 experience of human idiosyncrasies has taught us that the most difficult thing to change is the point of view of subconsciously controlled mankind4 ,the lack of power to reform is the result of the usually partial failure of the subconscious mental mechanisms in a sphere demanding reasoned judgment4 ,as a matter of fact this man possesses a great amount of will-power and energy in certain directions1 just as he probably lacks it in others4 ,this applies equally to his brother and1 in a greater or less degree1 to every human being4 ,at the same time ,i think we are justified in concluding that the thief1 as compared with his brother1 exercises his energy1 will-power and resourcefulness in but limited directions4 ,this applies to all people cursed with what we call criminal tendencies in contrast to their more fortunate fellow beings4 ,here we arrive at the point where we are once more confronted with misdirected energies concentrated into narrow channels through abnormal tendencies2 hence the overcompensation which inevitably follows4 ,a thief1 unfortunately1 too often confines his energies to what to his perverted outlook--the result of a wrong point of view--is a legitimate means of gaining the necessaries of life4 ,from his perverted point of view he merely takes something from another person which he considers he has as much right to possess as any one else1 if he is clever enough to get it by any means at his command4 ,i have heard a certain type of ,socialist express views which justify this mode of reasoning4 ,his point of view is practically that of the thief1 and he needs the same help if he is to come into communication with his reason4 ,we know that men and women have continued to steal for years without being even suspected1 and there cannot be any doubt that in thus escaping detection1 they prove that they possess forms of exceptional will-power1 energy1 resourcefulness1 courage1 determination1 and initiative1 which1 if directed into the right channels1 would have made them highly successful and valuable members of society4 ,it must not be forgotten that if the thief is detected1 his punishments are so formidable1 not only because of the legal penalties he incurs1 but also because of the scorn and derision with which he meets in the social sphere1 even amongst his blood relations1 that they would act as a deterrent upon the ordinary person4 ,obviously1 then1 the problem to be solved in connexion with the thief or any other criminal1 is concerned with the psycho-physical conditions which influence him in the direction of crime1 and also with the failure of punishment either to change his point of view or to direct his excellent mental and physical gifts into honest and valuable spheres of expression4 ,we are all aware that a conservative is rarely converted to the liberal viewpoint or vice versa in a day1 or a month1 or even a year4 ,such mental changes1 in the subconsciously controlled person should1 with rare exceptions1 be made gradually and slowly2 for the demands of re-adjustment in the psycho-physical self are great1 and depend upon the conditions present in the particular person4 ,it is conceivable that with certain conditions present1 the process of re-adjustment may bring about such disorganisation as may cause a serious crisis4 ,during an experience of this kind the person would for a period be in greater danger than ever1#ab and the length of this period would vary in different people4 ,the process of re-adjustment in all spheres means immediate interference with the forces of strength and weakness1 and in the case of the thief under consideration the force of strength was associated with mental and physical peculiarities in him as evil factors which had more or less controlled him2 in fact1 they constituted guidance and direction in his case4 ,in all his physical and mental activities1 which these evil factors stimulated1 he experienced his maximum of confidence and directive power4 ,now where his weaknesses were concerned1 he had little to depend upon4 ,his attempt to reform was a demand for re-adjustment1 which1 in turn1 meant a period of comparative loss of confidence and directive power4 ,his new efforts needed to be directed into channels where he not only lacked confidence1 but where he suffered most from the overcompensation experienced in the past4 ,in reality1 his supports were suddenly wrenched from him1 and replaced by those which his well-meaning friends and relatives considered infinitely superior and absolutely reliable4 ,their experiences of life had1 to their satisfaction1 proved them to be so2 but their experiences were not his experiences1 their strength was not his strength1 their weaknesses were not his weaknesses2 and it is in consequence of such facts as these that subconscious control fails1 and reasoned conscious control is needed4 ,if ,i have succeeded in making my point clear to the reader he will recognise and admit this unfortunate thief's danger4 ,he must1 in a way1 sympathise with this man who1 through no fault of his own1 is being directed during the period of comparative helplessness1 in a round of unfamiliar and complex experiences by a delusive and debauched subconsciousness4 ,if1 on the other hand1 conscious reasoned control had been substituted and employed in re-education and co-ordination1 the process of re-adjustment would have presented the minimum of the difficulties and dangers we have enumerated4 ,in view of the foregoing1 are we justified1 except in rare instances1 in expecting to change the thief any more than the liberal or conservative by ordinary methods on a subconscious basis8 ,the evidence in the light of experience is against the proposition4 ,the conservative and the liberal of our example1 no less than the thief1 are equally dependent upon subconscious guidance and control1 and are the victims of the particular tendencies1 harmful and otherwise1 which have developed and become established1 as a rule1 without recognition1 and without any primary appeal to their reasoning faculties4 ,therefore1 we must turn our attention once more to that psycho-physical process which we call habit1 including developments which have their origin in consciousness as well as those which spring from the subconsciousness4 ,for instance1 a man may be1 as we say1 born a thief4 ,in other words1 he is cursed with the subconscious abnormal craving or habit which makes a man a thief by nature4 ,on the other hand1 he may be quite normal at birth1 but in early life he may drift into simple and apparently harmless little ways which through carelessness and lack of sound training1 develop very slowly and remain unobserved either by the person concerned or by his friends and relatives4 ,we all know of men and women who became drug fiends merely through wishing to experience the sensation or sensations produced by the drug4 ,in the most unsuspecting way it is repeated at some future time4 ,this innocent beginning has so often developed into the drug habit4 ,we know of apparently strong-minded scientific men who have taken drugs1 in the first instance1 from a purely scientific standpoint and so in a seemingly harmless way1 but who1 in spite of this1 have rapidly fallen victims to the drug habit4 ,exactly the same process has served to create the majority of inebriates4 ,it is important to keep in mind that different men and different women fall victims to some particular stimulant or drug1 whilst they are in absolute mastery of themselves where other seductive influences are concerned4 ,for instance1 ,a became addicted to a certain drug habit1 but although he had taken alcohol from an early age he never became an immoderate drinker4 ,it was not until he came into contact with this particular drug that his latent abnormality or weakness or whatever one chooses to call it1 became fully manifested4 ,again1 ,b had lived in ,china1 and had continually smoked opium with the ,chinese4 ,he did so for a year without the habit gaining any hold upon him1 but the tea habit on the contrary became his danger4 ,despite the fact that his health was seriously affected by overindulgence in tea1 and that according to his medical advisers' opinion he had1 by its immoderate use1 developed certain troubles which caused him considerable suffering1 he continued his excesses in tea drinking1 as others do who come under the influence of drugs1 or of alcohol1 in one or all of its forms4 ,when this point is reached these people are1 in the words of ,emerson1 8out of communication with their reason02 a subconscious tendency4 ,herein lies the explanation of difficulties which they rarely surmount1 difficulties which could not remain as such if subconscious control were supplanted by conscious guidance and control of the whole organism2 for in practical procedures in life this conscious guidance and control connotes 8bringing them once more into communication with their reason0 and supplying the 8means whereby0 of successful re-adjustment4 ,that they were out of communication with reason is indicated by the fact that though they knew they were seriously ill1 and were told by their doctors that in order to regain health they must abstain from certain foods and drinks1 they did not so abstain4 ,their continuance in indulgence merely satisfied some inward craving which can only become a governing factor as against human reason1 when men are controlled by the subconscious instead of by the conscious powers2 for subconscious control 7instinct7 is the outcome of experiences in those spheres where the animal senses exercised the great controlling and directing influences in the early stages of man's evolution2 whereas conscious control 7reasoned experience7 through re-education1 co-ordination and re-adjustment is the result of the use of the reasoning powers in the conduct of life1 by means of which man may fight his abnormal desires for harmful sensory experiences4 ,the fact that civilised human beings will take wine or sugar or drugs1 when conscious that it is gradually undermining health and character1 is proof positive of the domination of the physical over the mental self1 exactly as in the ,stone ,age4 ,it shows that in the case of sugar1 for instance1 they have become victims to the sense of taste4 ,in other words1 the sensations produced by the sense of taste influence and finally govern their conduct in this connexion1 whereas instead they should be governed by the faculties of reason4 ,they have developed vicious complexes in which perverted physical sensations must be satisfied1 even at the cost of mental and physical injury1 and often of intense pain4 ,this psycho-physical state does not indicate satisfactory progress on the evolutionary plane up to the present time1 and1 furthermore1 it does not give promise of greater progress in the future under this same subconscious direction4 ,the domination of certain perverted sensations presents another interesting phase1 inasmuch as these sensations are very often associated with comparatively superficial complexes4 ,for instance1 take the case of a person who is suffering from the ill effects of taking sugar in harmful quantities4 ,if he happens to decide to abstain from satisfying his taste desires in regard to sugar1 and actually abstains1 for1 say1 a week or ten days1 it often happens that he loses the seductive pleasing sensation formerly derived from sugar1 and frequently develops a positive dislike for it4 ,this also serves to reveal in the majority of people the unreliability of the different senses1 such as taste1 etc4 ,of course1 in all these cases this unreliability is due to abnormality in one or more directions1 usually more1 and this fact emphasises the absolute necessity for the establishment of those normal conditions which demand conscious guidance and control1 for their maintenance in civilisation2 conditions which tend to eradicate and prevent abnormal cravings and desires in any direction4 ,when discussing the foregoing phenomena with friends and pupils1 ,i am frequently asked questions like this3 8,to what are we to attribute the particular manifestations of strength or weakness in different people1 where specific abnormal sensations are concerned80 8,why is one person swayed unduly by some particular sensation which he knows is ruining his health and causing daily suffering1 whilst another1 equally abnormal and deluded though proof against this failing of his fellow being1 succumbs to some other type of sensory influence80 ,it is simply a matter of the psycho-physical make-up of the individual1 of his inherent tendencies1 and of his general experiences of life in different environments4 ,all people whose kinsthetic systems are debauched and delusive develop some form of perversion or abnormality in sensation4 ,the point of real importance is to eradicate and prevent this kinsthetic condition in order to make impossible in the human being such domination by sensation4 ,there is another point which exercises the layman's mind1 and that is that great suffering1 in consequence of abnormal indulgence in some direction1 does not act as a deterrent4 ,of course1 if these unfortunates were in communication with their reason and were thus consciously guided and controlled1 such suffering would serve to prevent them from repeating the experience which caused it4 ,to those who have studied this curious phase of mental and physical phenomena1 it would almost seem that they derived a form of satisfaction or pleasure from such suffering2 otherwise1 one would conclude1 they would not continue to repeat the acts1 which1 in their experience1 have been followed by actual pain and discomfort4 ,and surely there is nothing very unreasonable in this suggestion1 seeing that there is little doubt that ill health in some people is just as natural as health is in others4 ,it simply means an attempt on the part of nature to do her work where the conditions are abnormal1 in accordance with the same process as where they are normal4 ,the person enjoying the latter condition abhors suffering and pain1 and will act reasonably in order to prevent both1 and it is quite consistent with our knowledge and experience of the abnormal in the human organism to incline to the idea that those who are afflicted with abnormal tendencies find a perverted form of pleasure in pain4 ,and all these suggestions serve to support the theory that the first principle in all training1 from the earliest years of child life1 must be on a conscious plane of co-ordination1 re-education and re-adjustment1 which will establish a normal kinsthesia4 ,the abnormal condition referred to is more or less governed by the senses through the subconsciousness and we must remember that the great controlling forces in the animal kingdom are chiefly physical4 ,it is also in keeping with the purely animal stage of evolution1 and any advance from this stage demands that the balance of powers must gradually move in favour of the mental4 ,the controlling and guiding forces in savage four-footed animals and in the savage black races are practically the same2 and this serves to show that from the evolutionary standpoint the mental progress of these races has not kept pace with their physical evolution from the plane of the savage animal to that of the savage human4 ,this brings us to the crux of my contentions regarding conscious guidance and control in its widest meaning1 that is1 as a universal4 ,wherever we find the domination of subconscious 7instinctive7 control1 it affords proof that in the lowly-evolved states of life the physical is the great controlling force1 and we are well aware that this condition does not ensure progress to those higher planes of evolution which should be the goal of civilised growth and development1 the goal for which mankind was undoubtedly destined4 ,the inadequate relative progress of the mental evolution of the black races as compared with that of their physical evolution1 when considered in relation to their approximation to the savage animals1 cannot be considered other than a most disappointing result4 ,it surely does not furnish any convincing evidence that mankind is likely to advance adequately on the evolutionary plane in civilisation by continuing to rely upon the original subconscious guidance and control4 ,,vi ,,habits ,,of ,,thought ,,and ,,of ,,body 8,the man who has so far made up his mind about anything that he can no longer reckon freely with that thing1 is mad where that thing is concerned40--,,allen ,,upward1 ,the ,new ,word4 ,when speaking of the case of stammering1 cited in my last chapter1 ,i had occasion to note that it was not an easy task to influence ,x's conscious mind4 ,the point is this3 ,a patient who submits himself for treatment1 whether to a medical man or to any other practitioner1 may ,,do what he is told1 but will not or cannot ,,think as he is told4 ,in ordinary practice the man who has taken a medical degree disregards this mental attitude in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred4 ,medicine1 diet1 or exercise is prescribed1 and if the patient obediently follows the mechanical directions given with regard to the prescriptions1 he is considered a good patient4 ,the doctor does not trouble as to the patient's attitude of mind1 except in that one case out of a hundred1 possibly a case of flagrant hypochondria4 ,indeed ,i am willing to maintain and prove in this connexion that a very large percentage of cases which are now being treated in our public and private lunatic asylums1 have been allowed to develop insanity by reason of this disregard of the mental attitude4 ,i cannot stop now to consider this interesting subject of insanity1 but ,i must note in passing that the very large percentage of the cases ,i have mentioned should never have been allowed to arrive at the condition which made it necessary to send them to an asylum in the first instance4 ,very many of them1 so far from lacking mental control1 possess minds of quite exceptional ability4 ,some are instances of subjects who in the first place have assumed a deliberate attitude to subserve a private end1 such as the avoidance of uncongenial work1 or the overindulgence of some desire or perverted sense1 the result being that the attitude which was first adopted deliberately1 became afterwards a fixed habit1 and so uncontrollable4 ,when therefore we are seeking to give a patient conscious control1 the consideration of mental attitude must precede the performance of the act prescribed4 ,the act performed is of less consequence than the manner of its performance4 ,it is nevertheless a remarkable fact that although the patient or enquirer into the system may apprehend this truth1 he often finds an enormous difficulty in altering some trifling habit of thought which stands between him and the benefit he clearly expects4 ,and the simple explanation of this apparently strange enigma is that the majority of people fall into a mechanical habit of thought quite as easily as they fall into the mechanical habit of body which is the immediate consequence4 ,i will take an instance from a subject outside my own province in order to bring the matter home1 but ,i will preface my illustration by pointing out that ,i personally am not in the least concerned to alter the habit of thought of either of the persons ,i bring forward as examples1 and ,i only cite well-known political propaganda in order to give vividness to my picture4 ,let us suppose then that ,a is a convinced ,freetrader1 and that ,z is no less certain of the glorious possibilities of ,protection1 and let us set ,a and ,z to argue the matter4 ,we notice at once that when ,a is speaking ,z's endeavours are confined to catching him in a misstatement or in a fault of logic1 and ,a's attitude is precisely the same when ,z holds the stage4 ,neither partisan has the least intention from the outset of altering his creed1 nor could either be convinced by the facts and arguments of the other1 however sound4 ,this is a fact within the experience of every intelligent person4 ,the disputants have so influenced their own minds that they are incapable of receiving certain impressions2 a part of their intelligence normally susceptible of receiving new ideas1 even if such ideas are opposed to earlier conceptions1 is in a state of ansthesia2 it is shut off1 put out of action4 ,the habit of mind which has been formed mechanically translates all the arguments of an opponent into misconceptions or fallacies4 ,neither disputant in our illustration has the least intention or desire to approach the subject with an open mind4 ,unfortunately1 the rigid habit of mind does not only apply to political issues2 it is evidenced in all the thoughts and acts of our daily life1 and is the cause of many demonstrable evils4 ,and touching this question of mental rigidity1 ,i may cite a very valuable criticism from ,mr4 ,william ,archer1 the well-known ,london dramatic critic1 on the primary point of the 8,desirability of the ,open ,mind40 ,this criticism was published in ,the ,morning ,leader for #agth ,december1 #aiaj4 ,i replied in the same paper1 and my answer was published on #bcrd ,december1 #aiaj4 ,as this brief discussion illustrates very clearly the misconception which most easily arises with regard to this question1 ,i now reprint these two letters1 precisely as they originally appeared4 ,,the ,,open ,,mind ,by ,william ,archer 8,in the fifth chapter of an able and interesting book by ,mr4 ,f4 ,matthias ,alexander1 entitled ,man's ,supreme ,inheritance 7,methuen71 there occurs a passage which ,i propose to take as the text of this week's discourse4 ,treating of #8mechanical habits of thought1' ,mr4 ,alexander says3 8#8,let us suppose that ,a is a convinced ,free ,trader1 and that ,z is no less certain of the glorious possibilities of ,protection1 and let us set ,a and ,z to argue the matter4 ,we notice at once that when ,a is speaking1 ,z's endeavours are confined to catching him in a misstatement or in a fault of logic1 and ,a's attitude is precisely the same when ,z holds the stage4 ,neither partisan has the least intention from the outset of altering his creed1 nor could either be convinced by the facts and arguments of the other1 however sound4444 ,the habit of mind which has been formed mechanically translates all the arguments of an opponent into misconceptions or fallacies4 ,neither disputant has the least desire to approach the subject with an open mind4 ,unfortunately this rigid habit of mind does not only apply to the issues of government2 it is evidenced in all the thoughts and acts of our daily life1 and is the cause of many demonstrable evils4' 8,very often1 of course1 the fact is as ,mr4 ,alexander states it2 but can we1 ,i wonder1 accept the ideal of the #8open mind' implied in his illustration8 ,is not a certain stability of conviction absolutely necessary to the efficient conduct of the business of life8 ,and are we not almost as apt to err on the side of impressionability as on the side of rigidity8 ,i seem to remember a warning in ,scripture against being #8blown about by every wind of doctrine4' 8,if we reflect for a moment1 ,i think we shall see that the amount of open-mindedness which reason demands must vary according to the nature of the question at issue4 ,on a question of fact1 which is capable of absolute demonstration1 it is1 of course1 folly to let prejudice or bias prevent us from perceiving the truth4 ,but it is not on such questions that disputes commonly arise4 ,theology1 ,i fancy1 is1 in the modern world1 almost the only influence that frequently leads people to close their minds against demonstrable facts or overwhelming probabilities4 ,but of the most important questions in life1 many are not questions of fact at all1 while as to others1 the evidence is so complex or so inaccessible that demonstration is not1 as the saying goes1 humanly possible4 ,it is proverbially futile to argue on questions of taste2 for enjoyment consists in a relation of the perceiver to the thing perceived which cannot be produced by force of reason or of reasoning4 ,no doubt1 in going to #8,salome' or to the ,post-,impressionist ,exhibition1 we ought to take with us an open mind2 that is to say1 we ought not to go in a wilfully ,philistine or frivolous mood4 ,and in discussing them afterwards1 we ought to preserve an open mind1 in so far that we ought not to make a law of our own limitations1 and accuse of folly or insincerity those people who see more in post-,wagnerism and post-,manetism than 7perhaps7 we do4 ,yet even here open-mindedness may be carried to excess2 for undoubtedly there exists a great deal of affectation and charlatanism in matters of art1 and it would be weak credulity to take every ,maudle and ,postlewaite at his own valuation4 #8,a popgun remains a popgun1' says ,emerson1 #8though the ancient and honourable of this world affirm it to be the crack of doom'2 and there are innumerable questions of quality and value on which no one who has any mind at all can possibly keep his mind open4 8,let us turn now to political questions of the order suggested by ,mr4 ,alexander's illustration4 ,they are not1 as a rule1 questions of ascertainable fact1 but of speculation or conjecture as to the probable results of a given course of action4 ,they are generally very complex questions2 the present issue between the two ,houses of ,parliament is almost unique in its simplicity4 ,and not only is each question complex in itself2 it is inextricably interwoven with other questions of similar complexity4 ,can we reasonably expect or desire1 then1 that either ,a or ,z1 in a single discussion of such a topic and ,tariff ,reform1 should have his whole system of thought revolutionised8 ,when such a conversion occurs 7and ,i suppose it does sometimes occur7 ought we to praise the convert's open mind8 ,ought we not rather to pity his shallow mind1 in which the new conviction can scarcely be deeper rooted than the old8 ,a man's political opinions1 ,i take it1 if they have any substance and consistency1 are1 and ought to be1 a sort of mosaic set in a cement of fundamental principle4 ,you may alter the pattern by laborious picking and rearranging but not by a mere push at a single point4 ,does it follow from this that political discussion is an idle waste of time8 ,not at all4 ,it forces us to rethink our thoughts1 and to keep them consciously and clearly related to fundamental principles4 ,also it sifts our arguments2 in looking out for our opponent's fallacies we not infrequently become aware of our own4 ,furthermore1 a discussion may form part of the long course of thought1 or evolution of feeling1 whereby a really valid conversion may be ultimately brought about4 ,though we may think ourselves wholly unmoved by our opponent's reasoning1 a subconscious effect may remain1 and may in due time manifest itself4 ,without our realising it1 one or two cubes in our mental mosaic may1 in fact1 have been loosened4 ,a greater result than this1 from any single discussion of a complex political question1 is scarcely1 ,i think1 to be desired4 ,no doubt it is highly desirable that we should at one time or another have brought a perfectly open mind to the study of such a question as ,tariff ,reform2 and this many of us have done4 ,for my own part1 ,i can honestly say that when ,mr4 ,chamberlain first threw the apple of discord into our midst1 ,i so clearly realised the merely traditional and unreasoned character of my ,free ,trade ideas1 that ,i was biassed1 if anything1 against them1 and fully prepared to find them fallacious4 ,the fact that ,i have not done so may be due to insufficient or unintelligent study1 but certainly not to any initial lack of openness of mind4 8,finally1 ,i would note another limitation to the ideal of the open mind4 ,there are certain questions on which we cannot safely keep our minds open1 because we know that that way madness lies4 ,i once spent a whole day at ,concord1 ,mass41 arguing with a friend who had become a convert to astrology1 and was bent on drawing my horoscope4 ,to that ,i had no objection2 but ,i cannot pretend that my mind was for a moment open to his arguments4 ,somewhat more difficult is the case of the ,bacon-,shakespeare theory3 ought we to keep an open mind on that8 ,i am inclined to answer1 #8,no'2 for if we once lose grip of the fact that the whole thing is an insanity1 we are in danger of being submerged in a swirling torrent of #8folie lucide4' ,the origin and psychological conditions of the illusion are perfectly plain4 ,it is1 indeed1 one of the oddest and most instructive incidents in the history of the human error1 and in that sense worthy of study4 ,poor ,bacon has been forced1 by no fault of his own1 into the position of the ,tichborne ,claimant of literature1 and one cannot but wonder what he would think of the ,onslows1 ,whalleys1 and ,kenealys1 who are pleading what they believe to be his cause4 ,but a really #8open mind' on the question is1 ,i conceive1 a symptom of an exorbitant love of the marvellous and an imperfect hold upon the reality of things4 ,there are subjects on which no mind can remain open without in some degree losing its balance40 ,,the ,,open ,,mind ,to the ,editor of the 8,morning ,leader0 8,sir--,although ,mr4 ,william ,archer has rather misapprehended my point of view in his very interesting article1 ,i would not intrude a reply upon you did ,i not believe that this question is one that lies at the root of so many physical evils1 and that it is a question1 therefore1 which must not be hastily put on one side--as1 no doubt1 many of your readers will be inclined to put it after their perusal of ,mr4 ,archer's temperate and1 apparently1 logical reasoning4 ,i say #8apparently1' because1 though his syllogism is sound enough1 it is based on a faulty premise due to his misapprehension of my statement2 doubtless1 ,i am to blame for not having made myself fully comprehensible4 8,in the first place1 let me admit at once that the whole question is relative4 ,mr4 ,archer's implied example of the man #8blown about by every wind of doctrine1' is an example1 from my point of view1 of rigidity rather than plasticity1 inasmuch as he is necessarily a hysterical neurotic1 and is almost entirely dependent on his subconscious processes4 ,now1 it is these very subconscious processes which restrict the use of the conscious1 reasoning centres2 which form what we call habits of mind1 that1 becoming fixed1 are almost beyond the control of reason2 which1 in extreme cases1 take possession of what was once the intelligence1 and are manifested as the ide fixe1 the obsession1 the monomaniacal tendency4 8,but1 disregarding these extremes1 let me take an example from ordinary life1 and1 perhaps1 no better one could be offered than ,mr4 ,archer's own of the ,bacon-,shakespeare controversy1 a subject1 among others1 which ,mr4 ,archer suggests is sufficient to upset our reason1 should we attempt to maintain an open mind with regard to it4 8,as a matter of fact1 what he conceives as an open mind here is a mind with an inclination to be perverted 7or converted7 by specious reasoning4 ,the right attitude of the open mind in this case is1 #8,i have weighed the arguments in favour of ,bacon's authorship and have found them insufficient1 and until such a time as new and better evidence is forthcoming1 ,i shall continue to hold the view ,i have always held4' 8,the rigid attitude which ,i condemn in this connexion is the one that says1 #8,you will never alter my opinion1 whatever fresh evidence you may adduce4' ,in the first example we can come to a conclusion on the evidence2 the conscious reason has been exercised and remains in command4 ,it is not until the attitude becomes subconscious and fixed that any danger arises4 ,when that comes about1 the man who has decided for ,shakespeare's authorship would remain unconvinced in face of any discovery of new evidence4 ,yet can any one doubt1 any one who cares to walk through the world with open eyes as well as an open mind1 that the vast majority of opinions given out by the average man and woman have become subconscious habits of thought8 8,my professional experience has shown me how great an obstacle to the recovery of physical soundness this impeding habit of thought has become4 ,the whole purpose of my book 7,man's ,supreme ,inheritance71 from which ,mr4 ,archer quotes1 is to submit that the course of evolution had tended in the direction of our obtaining conscious control of our own bodies1 and argues that this is the only means by which we can rise above the artificial restrictions1 often physically poisonous1 imposed by civilisation4 ,and ,i assure you1 sir1 that this ideal of conscious control is absolutely unrealisable by any person who is guided and restrained by these subconscious habits of thought1 and who is1 in consequence1 quite unable to exercise the free use of his intelligence4 8,so what ,i intend by the open mind1 and in this1 ,i think1 ,mr4 ,archer has not fully understood me1 is the just use and exercise of conscious reason1 a use which is the rare exception to a very delimiting rule4 ,yours1 etc41 8,f4 ,,matthias ,,alexander40 ,to this letter ,mr4 ,archer did not reply1 but this brief correspondence covers very fairly1 in my opinion1 a statement of the popular objection to the 8open mind10 and my answer to that objection4 ,returning now to my own province of therapeutics1 ,i need hardly give any special instance to carry my point4 ,of late years much attention has been given to the consideration of mental attitude in relation to disease1 and although no clearly defined remedy has been advanced1 the condition has been diagnosed and defined4 ,the 8fixed idea10 hallucination1 obsession1 are all terms used deliberately to denote a morbid condition1 but we have to apply these terms much more widely and grasp the fact that they are applicable to small1 disregarded mental habits as well as to the well-defined evils which marked their development4 ,in the case of ,x1 the mental habit which had grown up as the result of postulating1 8,i can't draw my lip up before speaking10 was only another aspect of the attitude of ,a and ,z towards the subject of their discussion1 and it was precisely similar in kind4 ,the aggregate of these habits is so characteristic in some cases that we see how easily the fallacy arose of assuming an entity for the subconscious self1 a self which at the last analysis is made up of these acquired habits and of certain other habits1 some of them labelled instincts1 the predisposition to which is our birthright1 a predisposition inherited from that long chain of ancestors whose origin goes back to the first dim emergence of active life4 ,fortunately for us there is not a single one of these habits of mind1 with their resultant habits of body1 which may not be altered by the inculcation of those principles concerning the true poise of the body which ,i have called the principles of mechanical advantage1#ac used in co-operation with an understanding of the inhibitory and volitional powers of the objective mind1 by which means these deterrent habits can be raised to conscious control4 ,the false pose and carriage of the body1 the incorrect and laboured habits of breathing that are the cause of many troubles besides the obvious ill effects on the lungs and heart1 the degeneration of the muscular system1 the partial failure of many vital organs1 the morbid fatty conditions that destroy the semblance of men and women to human beings1--all these things and many more that combine to cause debility1 disease1 and death1 are the result of incorrect habits of mind and body1 all of which may be changed into correct and beneficial habits if once we can clear away that first impeding habit of thought which stands between us and conscious control4 ,i believe ,i have at last laid myself quite open to the attack of the habitual objector1 a person ,i am really anxious to conciliate4 ,i have given him the opportunity of pointing a finger at my last paragraph and saying1 8,but you only want to change one habit for another6 ,if1 as you have implied1 the habit of mind is bad1 why encourage habits at all1 even if they are as you say1 #8correct and beneficial'80 ,now this is a point of the first importance4 ,but in the first place it is essential to understand the difference between the habit that is recognised and understood and the habit that is not4 ,the difference in its application to the present case is that the first can be altered at will and the second cannot4 ,for when real conscious control has been obtained a 8habit0 need never become fixed4 ,it is not truly a habit at all1 but an order or series of orders given to the subordinate controls of the body1 which orders will be carried out until countermanded4 ,it will be understood1 therefore1 that the word 8habit0 as generally understood1 does not apply to the new discipline which it is my aim to establish in the ordinary subconscious realms of our being4 ,the reasons for this are two3 7#a7 ,the conscious1 intelligently realised1 guiding orders are such as may be continued for all time1 becoming more effective year by year until they are established as the real and fundamental guidance and control necessary to that which we understand by the words growth and evolution4 7#b7 ,the stimuli to apprehension1 or excitement of the fear reflexes1 are eliminated by a procedure which teaches the pupil to take no thought of whether what he calls 8practice10 is right or wrong4 ,this second statement1 however1 requires further elucidation2 and ,i feel that a lay description by a pupil of mine may present the case more clearly to the untrained reader than any technical account4 ,the excerpt is from a letter written by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,pennyman1 ,m4,a4 8,one great feature of ,mr4 ,alexander's system as seen in practical use is that the individual loses every suggestion of strain4 ,he becomes perfectly #8lissom' in body2 all strains and tensions disappear1 and his body works like an oiled machine4 ,moreover1 his system has a reflex result upon the mind of the patient1 and a general condition of buoyancy and freedom1 and indeed of gaiety of spirit takes the place of the old jaded mental position4 ,it is the pouring in of new wine1 but the bottles must also be new or they will burst1 and this is exactly what ,mr4 ,alexander's treatment does4 ,it creates the new bottles1 and then the new wine can be poured in1 freely and fully40 ,this quotation1 however1 describes a result1 and the means to its achievement can only be attained under certain conditions4 ,there must be1 in the first place1 a clear realisation by the pupil that he suffers from a defect or defects needing eradication4 ,in the second place1 the teacher must make a lucid diagnosis of such defects and decide upon the means of dealing with them4 ,in the third place there must be a satisfactory understanding between teacher and pupil of the present conditions and the means proposed to remedy them4 ,these three preparatory realisations indicate the real psycho-physical significance of the pupil's mental position4 ,he begins by a definite admission that the subconscious factors by which his psycho-physical organism is being guided are limited and unreliable4 ,he acknowledges in fact that he suffers from mental delusions regarding his physical acts and that his sensory appreciation1 or kinsthesis1 is defective and misleading2 in other words1 he realises that his sense register of the amount of muscular tension needed to accomplish even a simple act of everyday life is faulty and harmful1 and his mental conception of such conditions as relaxation and concentration1 impossible in practical application4 ,for there can be no doubt that man on the subconscious plane1 now relies too much upon a debauched sense of feeling or of sense appreciation for the guidance of his psycho-physical mechanism1 and that he is gradually becoming more and more overbalanced emotionally with very harmful and far-reaching results4 ,the results indeed are all too obvious1 and yet it must be presumed that the individual has endeavoured to do the right and not the wrong thing4 ,does any one set out to catch a train relying upon a watch which as he knows perfectly well is unreliable8 ,would any sane person place dependence on the reading of a thermometer that he knows to be defective8 ,no1 we must admit not only that there is a failure to register accurately in the sensory appreciation1 but also that the fault is unrecorded in the conscious mind4 ,and it is for this reason that the pupil must be given a new and correct guiding and controlling centre1 before being asked to perform even the simplest acts in accordance with his own idea and judgment4 ,some understanding of these slightly technical and practical details is necessary in order to form a clear idea of what is meant by the simple word 8habit10 which was the origin of this discussion2 but ,i shall return to a fuller analysis of method in this relation in ,part ,,ii of this work4 ,what ,i wish to emphasise in this place is that the evil1 disturbing habit which it is necessary to eradicate is in the ordinary experience both permanent and unrecognised4 ,it may in some cases have been originally incurred above the plane of reason1 but this form of habit is invariably perpetuated in the subconsciousness4 ,on the other hand1 the mode of functioning which is substituted1 but which may nevertheless be spoken of quite correctly by the same term of 8habit10 is as subject to control as the routine of a well-organised office4 ,certain rules are established for the ordinary conduct of business1 but the controller of that business must be at liberty to break the rules or to modify them at his discretion4 ,the man who allows an office to take precedence of any other consideration--and ,i have known instances of such a morbid concession to traditional procedure in business houses--is surely and steadily on the way to commercial failure4 ,i will now take an illustration of the principle from my own practice4 ,suppose a patient comes to me who has acquired incorrect respiratory habits1 and suppose he is plastic and ready to assimilate new methods1 and that after receiving the new guiding orders from me1 he soon learns consciously to make a proper use of the muscular mechanism which governs the movements of the breathing apparatus1 a word that fitly describes this particular mechanism of the body4 ,now it would be absurd to suppose that thereafter this person should in his waking moments deliberately apprehend each separate working of his lungs1 any more than we should expect the busy manager of affairs constantly to supervise the routine of his well-ordered staff4 ,he has acquired conscious control of that working1 it is true1 but once that control has been mastered1 the actual movements that follow are given in charge of the 8subconscious self0 although always on the understanding that a counter order may be given at any moment if necessary4 ,until1 however1 such counter order is given1 if ever it need be given1 the working of the lungs is for all intents and purposes subconscious1 though it may be elevated to the level of the conscious at any moment4 ,thus it will be seen that the difference between the new habit and the old is that the old was our master and ruled us1 whilst the new is our servant ready to carry out our lightest wish without question1 though always working quietly and unobtrusively on our behalf in accordance with the most recent orders given4 ,briefly1 as ,i see it1 the subconsciousness in this application is only a synonym for that rigid routine we finally refer to as habit1 this rigid routine being the stumbling-block to rapid adaptability1 to the assimilation of new ideas1 to originality4 ,on the other hand1 the consciousness is the synonym for mobility of mind1 that mobility which the subconscious control checks and impedes1 mobility which will obtain for us physical regeneration and a mental outlook that will make possible for us a new and wider enjoyment of those powers which we all possess1 but which are so often deliberately stunted or neglected4 ,consider this point also in its application to the case of ,john ,doe1 cited in my second chapter4 ,if the mental attitude of that individual had been changed1 and he had learned to use his muscles consciously2 if1 instead of automatically performing a set of muscle-tensing exercises1 he had devoted himself to apprehending the control and co-ordination of his muscles1 he could have carried his knowledge into every act of his life4 ,in his most sedentary occupations he could have been using and exercising his muscular system without resort to any violent contortions1 waving of the arms or kicking of the legs1 and ,i cannot but think that he could better have employed the hours spent in this manner by taking a walk in the open air or by occupying himself with some other form of natural exercise4 ,still1 if in his case certain mild forms of exercise at certain times were necessary1 such exercises should have employed his mental and physical powers1 and through these agencies he should have used his muscular mechanism in such a way that its uses could have been applied to the simplest acts1 such as sitting on a stool and writing at a desk4 ,there would then have been no question of what we have termed 8civil war0 within his body2 the whole physical machinery would have been co-ordinated and adapted to his way of life4 ,in an earlier paragraph ,i pointed out that ,john ,doe was suffering from certain mental and physical delusions1 and ,i endeavoured to show how these delusions militated against his recovery of health4 ,returning to this point now that the correct method has been indicated1 ,i may use his case to give another example of this method4 ,what ,john ,doe lacked was a conscious and proper recognition of the right uses of the parts of his muscular mechanism1 since while he still uses such parts wrongly1 the performance of physical exercises will only increase the defects4 ,he will1 in fact1 merely copy some other person in the performance of a particular exercise1 copy him in the outward act1 while his own consciousness of the act performed and the means and uses of his muscular mechanism will remain unaltered4 ,therefore before he attempts any form of physical development1 he must discover1 or find some one who can discover for him1 what his defects are in the uses indicated4 ,when this has been done he must proceed to inhibit the guiding sensations which cause him to use the mechanism imperfectly2 he must apprehend the position of mechanical advantage1 and then by using the new correct guiding sensations or orders1 he will be able to bring about the proper use of his muscular mechanism with perfect ease4 ,if the mechanical principle employed is a correct one1 every movement will be made with a minimum of effort1 and he will not be conscious of the slightest tension4 ,in time a recognition will follow of the new and correct use of the mechanism1 which use will then become provisionally established and be employed in the acts of everyday life4 ,for instance1 if we decide that a defect must be got rid of or a mode of action changed1 and if we proceed in the ordinary way to eradicate it by any direct means1 we shall fail invariably1 and with reason4 ,for when defects in the poise of the body1 in the use of the muscular mechanisms1 and in the equilibrium are present in the human being1 the condition thus evidenced is the result of an undue rigidity of parts of the muscular mechanisms associated with undue flaccidity of others4 ,this undue rigidity is always found in those parts of the muscular mechanisms which are forced to perform duties other than those intended by nature1 and are consequently ill-adapted for their function4 ,as ,herbert ,spencer writes3 8,each faculty acquires fitness for its function by performing its function2 and if its function is performed for it by a substituted agency1 none of the required adjustment of nature takes place1 but the nature becomes deformed to fit the artificial arrangements instead of the natural arrangements40 ,unfortunately1 all conscious effort exerted in attempts at physical action causes in the great majority of the people of to-day such tension of the muscular system concerned as to lead to exaggeration rather than eradication of the defects already present4 ,therefore it is essential at the outset of re-education to bring about the relaxation of the unduly rigid parts of the muscular mechanisms in order to secure the correct use of the inadequately employed and wrongly co-ordinated parts4 ,let us take for example the case of a man who habitually stiffens his neck in walking1 sitting1 or other ordinary acts of life4 ,this is a sign that he is endeavouring to do with the muscles of his neck the work which should be performed by certain other muscles of his body1 notably those of the back4 ,now if he is told to relax those stiffened muscles of the neck and obeys the order1 this mere act of relaxation deals only with an effect and does not quicken his consciousness of the use of the right mechanism which he should use in place of those relaxed4 ,the desire to stiffen the neck muscles should be inhibited as a preliminary 7which is not the same thing at all as a direct order to relax the muscles themselves71 and then the true uses of the muscular mechanism1 i4e41 the means of placing the body in a position of mechanical advantage1 must be studied1 when the work will naturally devolve on those muscles intended to carry it out1 and the neck will be relaxed unconsciously4 ,in this case the conscious orders1 by which ,i mean the orders given to the right muscles1 are preventive orders1 and the due sequence of cause and effect is maintained4 ,i will1 here1 only note one more point in concluding my reference to the hypothetical ,john ,doe1 who1 nevertheless1 stands as the representative of a very large body of people4 ,this point is the question of the storing and reserving of energy1 and1 to use a phrase which has a mechanical equivalent1 the registration of tension4 ,if you ask a man to lift a papier-mch imitation of an enormous dumb-bell1 leading him to believe that it is almost beyond his capacity to raise it from the floor1 he will exert his full power in the effort to do that which he could perform with the greatest ease4 ,in a lesser degree the same expenditure of unnecessary force is exerted by the vast majority of 8physical culture0 students1 and by practically every person in the ordinary duties of daily life4 ,the kinsthetic system has not been taught to register correctly the tension or1 in other words1 to gauge accurately the amount of muscular effort required to perform certain acts1 the expenditure of effort always being in excess of what is required1 an excellent instance of the lack of harmony in the untutored organism4 ,this fact may be easily tested by any interested person who will take the trouble to try its application4 ,ask a friend to lift a chair or any other object of such weight that1 while it may be lifted without great difficulty1 will in the process make an undoubted call on the muscular energies4 ,you will see at once that your friend will approach the task with a definite preconception as to the amount of physical tension necessary4 ,his mind is exclusively occupied with the question of his own muscular effort1 instead of with the purpose in front of him and the best means to undertake it4 ,before he has even approached it1 he will brace or tense the muscles of his arms1 back1 neck1 etc41 and when about to perform the act he will place himself in a position which is actually one of mechanical disadvantage as far as he is concerned4 ,not only are all these preparations of course quite unnecessary1 but the whole attitude of mind towards the task is wrong4 ,in such instances as this1 any preconception as to the degree of tension required is out of place4 ,if we desire to lift a weight with the least possible waste of energy1 we should approach it and grasp it with relaxed muscles1 assuming the position of greatest possible mechanical advantage1 and then gradually exert our muscular energies until sufficient power is attained to overcome the resistance4 ,returning now to the consideration of that bias or predisposing habit of mind which so often balks us at the outset1 we may see at once that this predisposition takes many curious forms4 ,sometimes1 it is frankly objective1 and is outlined in the statement1 8,well1 ,i don't believe in all this1 but ,i may as well try it40 ,in this form a single unlooked-for result is generally enough to change disbelief into credulity4 ,i write the word 8credulity0 with intention1 for ,i mean to imply that the reaction in a certain type of mind is little1 if any1 better than the profession of disbelief4 ,what is required is not prejudice in either direction1 but a calm1 clear1 open-eyed intelligence1 a ready1 adaptive outlook1 an outlook1 believe me1 which does not connote indefiniteness of purpose or uncertainty of initiative4 ,another form of predisposition arises from lack of purpose1 and the mental habits that go with this condition are hard to eradicate1 more particularly when the original feebleness has led to some form of hypochondria or nervous disease which has been treated with the usual disregard of the radical evil4 ,it is not difficult for the most superficial enquirer to understand that in treating cases like these any method which relieves the subject still further of the exercise of initiative--such a method as the rest cure1 for instance1 though ,i could quote many others--only increases the original evil4 ,the lack of purpose is pandered to and cultivated1 and after the six weeks or so of treatment1 the patient returns to his or her duties in ordinary life1 even more unfitted than before to perform them4 ,as ,i have said before1 no account is taken of the instinct for self-preservation or the will to live4 ,this is the very mainspring of human life1 yet in the routine of our protected civilisation even its power tends at times to become relaxed1 and the machinery runs down4 ,the machinery should then be wound up again1 instead of being allowed to become still further relaxed by resting4 ,this lack of purpose1 the immediate effect of our educational methods1 is unhappily very common in all classes1 but especially among those who have no occupation1 or those whose employment is a mechanical routine which does not exercise the powers of initiative4 ,the curious thing about this very large class is that they do not really want to be cured4 ,they may be suffering from many physical disabilities or from actual physical pain1 and they may and will protest most earnestly that they want to be free from their pains and disabilities1 but in face of the evidence we must admit that if the objective wish is really there1 it is so feeble as to be non-existent for all practical purposes4 ,in many cases this attitude of submission to illness is the outcome of a strong subjective habit4 ,the trouble1 whatever it is1 is endured in the first instance2 it is looked upon as a nuisance1 perhaps1 but not as an intolerable nuisance2 no steps are taken to get rid of it1 and the trouble grows until1 by degrees1 it is looked upon as a necessity4 ,then at last1 when the trouble has increased until it threatens the interruption of all ordinary occupations1 the sufferer seeks a remedy4 ,but the habit of submission has grown too strong1 and as long as the disease can be kept within certain bounds1 no effort is made to fight it4 ,this is of course one of the commonest experiences in the healing profession4 ,a patient is treated and benefited and seems on the high road to perfect health4 ,then follows a relapse4 ,the first question put is1 8,have you been following the treatment80 and the answer1 if the patient is truthful1 is 8,i forgot10 or 8,i didn't bother any more about it40 ,in a recent experience of a medical friend of mine1 a patient confessed to having stayed in the house for a week after a certain relapse occurred1 although the very essence of the prescription by which he had previously benefited was to be in the fresh air as much as possible4 ,this simply means that the subjective habit of submission has grown so strong that the objective mind1 weakened in its turn by the neglect of its guiding functions1 is unable to conquer it4 ,no prescription or course of treatment can have any effect upon such a patient as this1 unless the subjective habit can be brought within the sphere of conscious control4 ,in other cases this apparent lack of desire for health is due to an attachment to some dearly loved habit1 which must be given up if the proper functions of the body are to be resumed4 ,it may be a habit of petty self-indulgence or one that is imminently threatening the collapse of the vital processes1 but the attachment to it is so strong that the enfeebled objective mind prefers to hold to the habit and risk death sooner than make the effort of opposing it4 ,even in cases where no harm can be traced directly to a markedly influencing habit1 the general all-pervading habit of lassitude or inertia is so strong that any rgime which may be prescribed is distasteful if it involves1 as it must1 the exercise of those powers which have been allowed to fall more or less into disuse4 ,space will not permit of my giving further instances of the predisposing habit1 but very little introspection on the part of my readers should enable them to diagnose their own peculiar mental habits1 the first step towards being rid of them4 ,we must always remember that the vast majority of human beings live very narrow lives1 doing the same thing and thinking the same thoughts day by day1 and it is this very fact that makes it so necessary that we should acquire conscious control of the mental and physical powers as a whole1 for we otherwise run the risk of losing that versatility which is such an essential factor in their development4 ,if1 at this point1 the reader feels inclined to analyse these habits and to set about a control of them1 ,i will give him one word of preliminary advice1 8,beware of so-called concentration40 ,this advice is so pertinent to the whole principle that it is worth while to elaborate it4 ,ask any one you know to concentrate his mind on a subject--anything will do--a place1 a person1 or a thing4 ,if your friend is willing to play the game and earnestly endeavours to concentrate his mind1 he will probably knit his forehead1 tense his muscles1 clench his hands1 and either close his eyes or stare fixedly at some point in the room4 ,as a result his mind is very fully occupied with this unusual condition of the body which can only be maintained by repeated orders from the objective mind4 ,in short1 your friend1 though he may not know it1 is not using his mind for the consideration of the subject you have given him to concentrate upon1 but for the consideration of an unusual bodily condition which he calls 8concentration40 ,this is true also of the attitude of attention required for children in schools2 it dissociates the brain instead of compacting it4 ,personally1 ,i do not believe in any concentration that calls for effort4 ,it is the wish1 the conscious desire to do a thing or think a thing1 which results in adequate performance4 ,could ,spencer have written his ,first ,principles1 or ,darwin his ,descent of ,man1 if either had been forced to any rigid narrowing effort in order to keep his mind on the subject in hand8 ,i do not deny that some work can be done under conditions which necessitate such an artificially arduous effort1 but ,i do deny that it is ever the best work4 ,nor will ,i admit that such a case as that of ,sir ,walter ,scott can logically be argued against this view4 ,for the real earnest wish to write the ,waverley novels was there1 even if it originated in the desire to pay the debts he took upon himself1 and not in the desire to write the novels because he took a pleasure in the actual performance4 ,briefly1 our application of the word 8concentration0 denotes a conflict which is a morbid condition and a form of illness2 singleness of purpose is quite another thing4 ,if you try to straighten your arm and bend it at the same moment1 you may exercise considerable muscular effort1 but you will achieve no result1 and the analogy applies to the endeavour to delimit the powers of the brain by concentration1 and at the same time to exercise them to the full extent4 ,the endeavour represents the conflict of the two postulates 8,i must0 and 8,i can't02 the fight continues indefinitely1 with a constant waste of misapplied effort4 ,once eradicate the mental habit of thinking that this effort is necessary1 once postulate and apprehend the meaning of 8,i wish0 instead of those former contradictions1 and what was difficult will become easy1 and pleasure will be substituted for pain4 ,we must cultivate1 in brief1 the deliberate habit of taking up every occupation with the whole mind1 with a living desire to carry each action through to a successful accomplishment1 a desire which necessitates bringing into play every faculty of the attention4 ,by use this power develops1 and it soon becomes as simple to alter a morbid taste which may have been a lifelong tendency as to alter the smallest of recently acquired bad habits4 ,the following is an interesting experience with a pupil who was strongly inclined to a belief in the value and power of concentration4 ,this pupil contested vigorously my attacks on the object of her faith1 as practised in accordance with the orthodox conception4 ,she put forward the usual arguments1 of course1 and ,i quite failed to make any impression on her mental attitude towards the vexed question under discussion4 ,but at last1 some days after our first encounter1 my opportunity came4 ,we were not at the time directly discussing concentration1 but we were dealing with kindred subjects1 and presently my pupil began to speak of the attitudes adopted by people towards the things in life that they like or dislike to do4 ,her own plan1 she said1 with a touch of pride1 had been to develop the habit of keeping her mind on other and more pleasant subjects whenever she had been engaged in a task that was unsympathetic to her1 and she had so far succeeded in the cultivation of this habit that the disagreeable sensations of any unpleasant duty were no longer experienced by her4 ,i then put one or two questions to her and elucidated among other facts that for years she had been unable 8to concentrate0 when reading and that this difficulty was becoming constantly more pronounced4 ,fortunately this instance opened those locked places of her intelligence that ,i had been unable to reach by argument4 ,i showed her how she had been cultivating a most harmful mental condition1 which made concentration on those duties of life which pleased her appear as a necessity4 ,she had been constructing a secret chamber in her mind1 as harmful to her general well-being as an undiagnosed tumour might have been to her physical welfare4 ,i am glad to say that she came to admit the truth of my original position and has since begun her efforts to carry out the suggestions ,i offered for the correction of her bad habit4 ,and in all such efforts to apprehend and control mental habits1 the first and only real difficulty is to overcome the preliminary inertia of mind in order to combat the subjective habit4 ,the brain becomes used to thinking in a certain way1 it works in a groove1 and when set in action1 slides along the familiar1 well-worn path2 but when once it is lifted out of the groove1 it is astonishing how easily it may be directed4 ,at first it will have a tendency to return to its old manner of working by means of one mechanical unintelligent operation1 but the groove soon fills1 and although thereafter we may be able to use the old path if we choose1 we are no longer bound to it4 ,in concluding this brief note on mental habits ,i turn my attention particularly to the many who say1 8,i am quite content as ,i am40 ,to them ,i say1 firstly1 if you are content to be the slave of habits instead of master of your own mind and body1 you can never have realised the wonderful inheritance which is yours by right of the fact that you were born a reasoning1 intelligent man or woman4 ,but1 ,i say1 secondly1 and this is of importance to the larger world and is not confined to your intimate circle1 8,what of the children80 ,are you content to rob them of their inheritance1 as perhaps you were robbed of yours by your parents8 ,are you willing to send them out into the world ill-equipped1 dependent on precepts and incipient habits1 unable to control their own desires1 and already well on the way to physical degeneration8 ,happily1 ,i believe that the means of stirring the inert is being provided4 ,the question of ,eugenics1 or the science of race culture1 is being debated by earnest men and women1 and the whole problem of contemporary physical degeneration is one which looms ever larger in the public mind4 ,it is the problem which has exercised me for many years1 and which is mainly responsible for the issue of this book1 and in my next chapter ,i shall treat it in connection with the theory of progressive conscious control which ,i have outlined in the foregoing pages4 ,,vii ,,race ,,culture ,,and ,,the ,,training ,,of ,,the ,,children 8,in what way to treat the body2 in what way to treat the mind2 in what way to manage our affairs2 in what way to bring up a family2 in what way to behave as a citizen2 in what way to utilise those sources of happiness which nature supplies1--how to use all our faculties to the greatest advantage2 how to live completely8 ,and this being the great thing needful for us to learn1 is1 by consequence1 the great thing which education has to teach4 ,to prepare us for complete living is the function which education has to discharge40--,,herbert ,,spencer1 ,education4 ,every child is born into the world with a predisposition to certain habits1 and furthermore1 the child of to-day is not born with the same development of instinct that was the congenital heritage of its ancestors a hundred or even fifty years ago4 ,many modern children1 for example1 are born with recognisable physical disadvantages that are the direct result of the gradually deteriorating respiratory and vital functioning of their forbears4 ,for many months1 the period varying with the sex and ability of the individual1 the vital processes and movements are for all practical purposes independent of any conscious control1 and the human infant remains in this helpless1 dependent condition much longer than any other animal4 ,the habits which the child evidences during this protracted period are those hereditary predispositions which are early developed by circumstance and environment1 habits of muscular uses1 of vital functioning1 and of adaptability4 ,if it were possible to analyse the tendencies of a child when it is1 say1 twelve months old1 we could soon master the science of heredity which is at present so tentative and uncertain in its deductions1 but the child's potentialities lie hidden in the mysterious groupings and arrangement of its cells and tissues1 hidden beyond the reach of any analysis4 ,the child is our material2 within certain wide limits we may mould it to the shape we desire4 ,but even at birth it is differentiated from other children2 our limits may be wide but they are fixed4 ,within those limits1 however1 our capacity for good and evil is very great4 ,there are two methods by which a child learns4 ,the first and1 in earlier years1 the predominant method is by imitation1 the second is by precept or directly administered instruction1 positive or negative4 ,with regard to the first method1 parents of every class will admit the fact not only that children imitate those who are with them during those early plastic years1 but that the child's first efforts to adapt itself to the conditions surrounding it are based almost exclusively on imitation4 ,for despite the many thousand years during which some form of civilisation has been in existence1 no child has yet been born into the world with hereditary instincts tending to fit it for any particular society4 ,its language and manners1 for instance1 are modelled entirely on the speech and habits of those who have charge of it4 ,the child descended from a hundred kings will speak the language and adopt the manners of the ,east ,end should it be reared among these associations2 and the son of an ,australian aboriginal would speak the ,english tongue and with certain limitations behave as a civilised child if brought up with ,english people4 ,no one denies this fact2 it has been proved and accepted1 yet how often do we seek to make a practical application of our knowledge8 ,although the science of heredity is still tentative and indeterminate1 no reasoning person can doubt from this and other instances that in the vast majority of cases at least1 the influence of heredity can be practically eradicated4 ,personally1 ,i see very clearly from facts of my own observation that when the characteristics of the father and mother are analysed1 and their faults and virtues understood1 a proper training of the children will prevent the same faults and encourage the same virtues in their children4 ,to appreciate to the utmost the effect of training upon the children1 we must remember that the first tastes1 likes1 or dislikes of the infant begin to be developed during the first two or three days after birth4 ,long before the infant is a month old1 habits1 tending to become fixed habits1 have been developed1 and if these habits are not harmful1 well and good4 ,the first sense developed is the sense of taste1 a sense that develops very quickly and needs the most careful attention4 ,artificial feeding is in itself a very serious danger1 but when this feeding is in the hands of careless or ignorant persons the danger becomes increased a hundredfold4 ,an instance of this is the common idea that considerable quantities of sugar should be added to the milk4 ,this is done very often to induce the child to take food against its natural desire4 ,it may be that the child has been suffering from some slight internal derangement1 and ,nature's remedy has been to affect the child with a distaste for food in order to give the stomach a rest4 ,then the unthinking mother tempts the child with sugar1 and all sorts of internal trouble may follow4 ,but in such a case as this the taste for a particular thing1 such as sugar1 is encouraged1 and apart from the direct harm which may result1 the habit becomes the master of the child1 and may rule it through life2 the child1 in fact1 is sent out into the world the slave of the sense of taste4 ,unfortunately1 in ninety cases out of a hundred1 children up to the age of six or seven years are allowed to acquire very decided tastes for things which are harmful4 ,women are not trained for the sphere of motherhood1 they do not give these matters the thought and attention they deserve1 and hence they do not understand the most elementary principles concerning the future welfare of their offspring in such matters as feeding and sense guidance4 ,children are not taught to cultivate a taste for wholesome1 nourishing foods1 but are tempted1 and their incipient habits pandered to1 by such additions as the sugar ,i have more particularly cited4 ,at the present time ,i know a child of five years old whose taste is already perverted by the method1 or lack of method1 ,i have indicated4 ,this child dislikes milk unless undue quantities of sugar are added1 will not eat such food as milk puddings or brown bread1 and has a strong distaste for cream4 ,it is almost impossible to make the child eat vegetables of any kind1 but he is always ready to take large quantities of meat and sweets4 ,the child is already suffering from malnutrition and serious internal derangement4 ,the latter would be greatly improved by small quantities of olive oil taken daily1 but it is only with the greatest difficulty that the child can be induced to take it4 ,if he lives with his parents for the next ten years1 he will grow into a weak and ailing boy1 and will suffer from the worst forms of digestive trouble and imperfect functioning of the internal organs4 ,apropos of this point1 ,i remember hearing a question put to my friend1 ,dr4 ,clubbe of ,sydney1 by a ,london specialist1 who asked what1 in ,dr4 ,clubbe's opinion1 was the primary cause of the derangement of the natural working of a child's muscular mechanism and respiratory system4 ,the answer was given without hesitation1 8,toxic poisoning as a result of artificial feeding40 ,the logic of this answer will be readily apprehended by the layman1 when he considers the interdependence of every part of the system1 for in this case the nerve centres connected with the sensory apparatus of the digestive organs and the urea control also the respiratory processes4 ,as a consequence1 when these centres are dulled in their action as a result of toxic poisoning1 there is a loss of activity in the processes of respiration1 with consequent maladjustments of those parts of the muscular mechanism more nearly concerned1 and so the whole machine is thrown out of gear4 ,thus we see that in such instances the mischief begins very early in the life of the child1 and it is carried on and exaggerated with every step in its development4 ,even in babyhood precept and coercion should come into play4 ,usually when the child cries1 little effort is made to discover the cause4 ,often the child is soothed by being carried up and down the room4 ,it is wonderful how soon the infant begins to associate some rudiments of cause and effect4 ,the child who is unduly pandered to will soon learn to cry whenever it desires to be rocked or dandled1 and thus the foundations of pandering to sensation are quickly laid4 ,but as the child comes to the observant age its habits begin to grow more quickly4 ,we have admitted that a child imitates its parents or nurses in tricks of manner and speech1 yet we do not stop to consider that it will also imitate our carriage of the body1 our performance of muscular acts1 even our very manner of breathing4 ,this faculty for imitation and adaptation is a wonderful force1 and one which we have at our command if we would only pause to consider how we may use it in the right way4 ,the vast majority of wrong habits acquired by children result from their imitation of the imperfect models confronting them4 ,but how many parents attempt to put a right model before their children8 ,how many learn to eradicate their own defects of pose and carriage so that they may be better examples to the child8 ,how many in choosing a nurse will take the trouble to select a girl whom they would like their children to imitate8 ,very1 very few1 and the reason is simple4 ,in the first place they do not realise the harmful effect of bad example1 and1 in the second1 the great majority of parents have so little perception of truth in this matter that they are incapable of choosing a girl who is a good specimen of humanity1 and are sublimely unconscious of their own crookedness and defects4 ,children too accept their parents' defects as normal and admirable4 ,the boy of #ab or #ad never dreams for instance that his father's protruding stomach is anything but the condition proper to middle-age1 and often1 doubtless1 figures to himself the time when he will arrive at the same condition4 ,the time will come when such things as these--,i refer to the abnormality of the father--will be considered a disgrace4 ,what then can we hope from these parents who are at the present time so unfit1 so incapable of teaching their own children the primer of physical life8 ,and ,i may note here that this principle has a wider application than that of the nursery2 it holds1 also1 in connection with the model of physical well-being set by the teachers in all primary and secondary schools4 ,there is no need for me to elaborate this theme4 ,the iniquity of allowing children to be trained in physical exercises1 in our ,board ,schools for instance1 by a teacher who is obviously physically unfit1 is sufficiently glaring4 ,the crux of the whole question is that we are progressing towards conscious control1 and have not yet realised all that this progress connotes4 ,children1 as civilisation becomes continually more the natural condition1 evidence fewer and fewer of their original savage instincts4 ,in early life they are faced by two evils1 if they are developed on the subconscious plane4 ,if they are trained under the older methods of education they become more and more dependent upon their instructors2 if under the more recent methods of 8free expression0 7to which ,i shall presently refer at some length7 they are left to the vagaries of the imperfect and inadequate directions of subconscious mechanisms that are the inheritance of a gradually deteriorated psycho-physical functioning of the whole organism4 ,in such conditions it is not possible for the child to command the kinsthetic guidance and power essential to satisfactory free expression1 or indeed to any other satisfactory form of expression for its latent potentialities4 ,as well expect an automobile1 if ,i may use the simile1 to express its capacity when its essential parts have been interfered with in such a way as to misdirect or diminish the right impulses of the machinery4 ,the child of the present day1 once it has emerged from its first state of absolute helplessness1 and before it has been trained and coerced into certain mental and physical habits1 is the most plastic and adaptable of living things4 ,at this stage the complete potentiality of conscious control is present but can only be developed by the eradication of certain hereditary tendencies or predispositions4 ,unfortunately1 the usual procedure is to thrust certain habits upon it without the least consideration of cause and effect1 and to insist upon these habits until they have become subconscious and have passed from the region of intellectual guidance4 ,i will take one instance as an example of this1 the point of right-and-left-handedness4 ,we assume from the outset1 and the superstition is so old that its source is untraceable1 that a child must learn to depend upon its right hand1 to the neglect of its left4 ,this superstition has so sunk into our minds by repetition that it has become incorporated in our language4 8,dexterous0 stands for an admirable1 and 8sinister0 for an inauspicious quality1 and we may even find ignorant people at the present day who say that they would never trust a left-handed person4 ,as a result of this attitude and of the absolute rule laid down that a child must learn to write and use its knife with the right hand only1 the number of ambidextrous people is limited to the few who1 by some initial accident1 used their left hand by preference and were afterwards taught to use their right4 ,in a fairly wide experience ,i do not remember having heard of a father or mother who has said3 8,this child may become an artist or a pianist10 for example1 8and may therefore need to develop the sensitiveness and powers of manipulation of the left hand as well as the right10 although ,i have known of many cases where much time and trouble had to be expended in acquiring the uses of the left hand later in life1 such cases as those of persons suffering from writers' cramp and dependent for their living on their ability to use a pen4 ,i have cited this example of right-handedness because it exhibits the pliability of the physical mechanism in early life1 and the manner in which we thoughtlessly bind it to some method of working1 without ever stopping to think whether that method is good in itself1 or whether it is the one adapted for the conditions of life into which the child will grow4 ,we thrust a rigid rule of physical life and mental outlook upon the children4 ,we are not convinced that the rule is the best1 or even that it is a good rule4 ,often we know1 or would know if we gave the matter a moment's consideration1 that in our own bodies the rule has not worked particularly well1 but it is the rule which was taught to us1 and we pass it on either by precept1 or by holding up our imperfections for imitation and then we wonder what is the cause of the prevailing physical degeneration6 ,what is intended by these methods of education is to inculcate the accumulated and inferentially correct lessons derived from past experience4 ,it is true that the lesson varies according to the religious1 political1 and social colour of the parent and teacher1 but speaking generally1 the intention would be logical enough1 if we could make the primary assumption that each generation starts from the same point1--the assumption1 in other words1 that a baby is born with the same potentialities1 the same mental abilities and assuredly the same physical organism whether he be born in the #afth or the #bjth century4 ,and even as recently as a hundred years ago1 that assumption might have been made with some show of reason4 ,for the changes were so slight and have evolved so slowly as to attract little attention4 ,granted similar conditions of parentage and upbringing1 the differences between the child of #ahjj ,a4 ,d4 and that of #agjj ,a4 ,d4 were hardly noticeable4 ,that statement1 however1 does not apply to the child of #aiag4 ,for many years past there has been unrest and dissatisfaction in the world of education4 ,new methods have been tried1 superimposed for the most part on the top of the older ones1 and even more daring experiments have been made1 experiments which sought to throw over the old traditions1 bag and baggage4 ,all these trials have so far failed1 in my opinion2 and one reason for the failure has been due to the fact that educationalists as a body have been unable to recognise the obvious truth that the child of the twentieth century cannot be judged by the old standards4 ,this truth is so evident to me that ,i hesitate at the necessity to prove it4 ,it seems incredible to me that any one of my generation could fail to realise the extraordinary differences between the contemporaries of his own growth and the children of our present civilisation4 ,i could produce a dozen instances of this difference1 but one must suffice in this place4 ,it is1 however1 an example that is peculiarly typical4 ,for ,i remember1 and my experience has not been in any way an abnormal one1 the facility with which the children of my generation learnt the uses of common tools4 ,in a sense they may be said to have inherited a certain dexterity in the handling of such things as a hammer1 knife1 or saw4 ,to-day many parents are greatly impressed if a child of from #b to #f years old can use one of these implements with a reasonable show of efficiency4 ,i have known fathers and mothers representative of the average parent of to-day who find any instance of this efficiency in their own children an almost startling thing and certainly matter for boast to their relations and friends4 ,unhappily the real difference goes far deeper than this superficial effect would at first seem to indicate4 ,the early attempts of the modern child to employ his physical endowment in such common and necessary acts as walking1 running1 sitting or speaking1 are far below the standard of ability that ,i remember a generation ago4 ,the standard of kinsthetic potentiality has been lowered4 ,elements that ,i will not attempt to trace1 lest ,i be tempted on to the fascinating ground of evolutionary theory1 have intervened most amazingly in the past thirty years1 and the most evident result of this intervention has been the marked change in the subconscious efficiency of the modern child4 ,thus1 even from the birth of the infant1 our problem is not precisely that of the old educationalists2 and this primary congenital difference between the children of two generations has been1 and is being1 exaggerated in the nurseries of the independent classes both in ,england and ,america4 7,doubtless in other countries of ,europe the same effects are being produced1 but ,i prefer to speak only of that which ,i have observed and closely studied for myself47 ,there is still a tendency to take all responsibility and initiative away from the child of wealthy parents4 ,nurses first and governesses later perform every possible act of service that shall relieve the child of trouble4 ,it is not even allowed to invent its own games4 ,toys are supplied in endless quantities1 expensive1 ingenious toys1 that need no imaginative act to transform them into reduced models of the motors1 trains1 or animals they are manufactured to represent1 and some one1 some adult1 is always at hand to amuse the child and teach him how to play4 ,i must italicise the absurdity of that last sentence4 ,for what does this teaching mean1 if it does not mean that it is seeking to substitute the adult idea of play for the childish one8 ,in my day1 any old brick played the part of a train or a horse1 and in the mental act required to see the reality under so uncompromising a guise my imagination was exercised4 ,then ,i1 and the other children of my time1 grew dissatisfied with so poor a substitute1 and as we progressed in experience1 the stimulated imaginations found expression in inventing and in making better replicas of the realities of our childish experience4 ,and we grew with the exercise4 ,we had our little responsibilities and we taught ourselves not only how to play but how presently to adapt our play to the great business of social life4 ,but what equipment is furnished to the child who never has an independent moment throughout its nursery career8 ,how can such a child hope to succeed in life1 should the fortune it hopes to inherit from its parents be suddenly lost or diverted8 ,every one knows the answer4 ,we can see the results in any great city of modern civilisation1 in ,london slums and in the ,bowery of ,new ,york4 ,a few generations of such teaching as this and we should have had a differentiated race as helpless as the slave-keeping ants4 ,but although this petrifying method of teaching and supervision is still practised1 the reaction against it has already set in both in ,england and ,america4 ,unhappily that reaction has been too violent as such reactions commonly are4 ,from one extreme of permitting the child no opportunity of the exercise of independent thought and action1 we have flown to the other in adopting the principle which is now known as 8,free ,expression0--a principle which ,i can show to be no less harmful than over-supervision4 ,in fact so far as the physical expression of a child is concerned1 the methods of ,free ,expression are even more dangerous than those of the opposite school4 ,in ,england1 this movement towards 8,free ,expression0 has not so far been crystallised into a definite propaganda1 nevertheless a number of thoughtful but unhappily inexpert parents are trying to adopt the principle in their own homes4 ,mr4 ,shaw's ,preface to his ,misalliance puts the theory of the method in a very clear and convincing argument4 ,his main assumption is as follows3 8,what is a child8 ,an experiment4 ,a fresh attempt to produce the first man made perfect2 that is1 to make humanity divine4 ,and you will vitiate the experiment if you make the slightest attempt to abort it into some fancy figure of our own44440 ,that represents1 of course1 an idealist attitude1 and every idealistically minded parent in ,great ,britain who reads that ,preface of ,mr4 ,shaw's on 8,parents and ,children0 at once attempts to put the theory into practice4 ,the results1 if the theory is persisted in1 will be disastrous2 and although in many cases the parents realise their error by practical experience before the child reaches the age of seven or so1 certain cases ,i have seen demonstrate all too clearly that much mischief is being done even at the age of seven2 faults and bad habits have become so far established that it is sometimes very hard to eradicate them4 ,and in ,america the mischief is going further still4 ,so-called 8free0 schools have been instituted which1 although they may differ in the detail of their methods1 are based on the same underlying principles4 ,as far as ,i have examined the theory and practice of these schools their purposes are3 7#a7 ,to free the child as far as possible from outside interference and restraint4 7#b7 ,to place him in the right environment and then to give him materials and allow him activities through which he may 8freely express himself40 ,now this presupposes1 firstly1 that the child if left to himself has the power of expressing himself adequately and freely2 secondly1 that through this expression1 he can educate himself4 ,how far both these suppositions are fallacies will be understood by any one who has followed my argument and my citations of actual cases even up to this point2 but the matter is so important that ,i do not hesitate to bring forward further evidence to establish my objection to this new and dangerous method4 ,i will begin by drawing attention to the practical side of two of the channels for self-expression1 which are specially insisted upon in schools where the new mode is being practised1 namely1 dancing and drawing4 ,a friend of mine always refers to them as the two ,d's1 a phrase that refers very explicitly to these two forms of damnation when employed as fundamentals in education4 ,the method of the 8,free ,expressionists0 is to associate music with the first of these arts4 ,now music and dancing are1 as every one knows1 excitements which make a stronger emotional appeal to the primitive than to the more highly evolved races4 ,no drunken man in our civilisation ever reaches the stage of ansthesia and complete loss of self-control attained by the savage under the influence of these two stimuli4 ,but in the schools where ,i have witnessed children's performances1 ,i have seen the first beginnings of that madness which is the savage's ecstasy4 ,music in this connection is an artificial stimulus and a very potent one4 ,and though artificial stimuli may be permissible in certain forms of pleasure sought by the reasoning1 trained adult1 they are uncommonly dangerous incitements to use in the education of a child of six4 ,need ,i defend still further my description of music as an artificial and powerful stimulus8 ,during the present war it has been reported that the influence of alcohol and drugs has been resorted to by the ,germans to drive their men to the attack4 ,but we know that in earlier wars1 the greatest effects could be attained by music1 effects that drive the fighters into the most delirious excesses of savagery4 ,and1 doubtless1 if the sound of music could have made itself heard above the awful din of guns that precede a modern advance1 the old stimulus would have been preferred by the ,germans to the administration of drugs4 ,as it is1 ,i have heard that bands are used whenever possible4 ,full-grown men and women will admit that they can become 8drunk0 with music and by 8drunk0 ,i mean that the motions of the subconsciousness are excited to such a pitch that they take control1 until they completely dominate the reasoning faculties4 ,alcohol produces this result by partial paralysis of the peripheral cilia1 music and dancing by overexaltation of the whole kinsthetic system4 ,in the latter case1 however1 no evil effects can be produced in the first instance1 without the reasoning consent or submission of the subject4 ,savages and young children have not yet learnt to withhold that consent4 ,and altogether apart from this question of intoxication--to which by the way every individual is not susceptible--these unrestrained1 unguided efforts of the children to dance are likely to prove extremely harmful4 ,i have watched while first one air and then another has been played on the piano1 the intention of these changes being to convey a different form of stimulus with each air1 and ,i admit that the children responded in accordance with the more or less limited kinsthetic powers at their command4 ,but it was very obvious to me that all these little dancers were more or less imperfectly co-ordinated2 that the idea projected from the ideo-motor centre constantly missed its proper direction2 that subconscious efforts were being made that caused little necks to take up the work that should have been done by little backs2 that the larynx was being harmfully depressed in the efforts to breathe adequately causing both inspiration and expiration to be made through the open mouth instead of through the nostrils2 and that the young and still pliable spines were being gradually curved backwards and the stature shortened when the very opposite condition was essential even to a satisfying sthetic result4 ,and when we realise that the teachers who witness these lessons are entirely ignorant of the ideal physical conditions that are proper to children1 and so are wofully unaware of the dangerous defects that are being initiated by these efforts to dance1 we must admit that1 as practised1 this particular form of free expression is being encouraged at a cost that far outweighs any imagined advantage4 ,here1 for instance1 is an example that came directly under my notice4 ,a little girl six years old was brought to me for kinsthetic examination and ,i found her to be in really excellent physical condition4 ,she was then sent to school where she became interested in dancing4 ,the dancing at this school was considered a form of free expression1 and the children were encouraged to make their own movements1 undirected4 ,different airs were played to which the child was expected to react1 and the little girl of my example found great pleasure in this part of her school work and gave much of her time to it1 until she was considered to express herself more freely than any of the other children in the form of art she had chosen4 ,i may point out that one of the essential principles of these free-expression schools is to permit a child to choose its own activity and to pursue it for practically as long as it desires4 ,her mother1 however1 became dissatisfied after a time with her child's general condition4 ,curious and somewhat alarming physical distortions were beginning to manifest themselves1 most noticeably a tendency to carry her head on one side1 a tendency she was unable to rectify4 ,at last the mother brought back the child to me for re-examination4 ,now less than a year before ,i had passed this child as an unusually fine example of correct physical co-ordination4 ,when she came back to me she was in little better condition than a congenital degenerate4 ,all that fluent co-ordination of her muscular mechanisms had disappeared1 and in place of it ,i found rigid tendons1 stiffened muscles1 and1 worst of all1 faulty habits of guidance and control1 among them a habit of governing the muscles of her body and legs by stiffening the unrelated muscles of her neck4 7,incidentally ,i may note in passing that in the human being the neck is very often the indicator of inadequate and false controls4 ,there are good reasons why this should be the case1 a priori1 but they are too technical for this book47 ,a further particular defect was due to a tensing and shortening of the upper muscles of the thighs where they are attached to the torso1 a defect that was tending to warp and shorten the child's stature4 ,lastly1 the most significant change of all1 the child who a year before had been outspoken and fearless1 and clear of speech1 was now timid and shy1 and mumbled her words so badly that ,i could with difficulty understand her4 ,here then is a case of a child1 starting in the best physical condition1 who was placed in what was considered the right environment and permitted the exercise of free activity4 ,and ,i claim that the harmful result was so inevitable that any one of real experience might have anticipated it with almost absolute certainty4 ,the second ominous 8,d0 is drawing1 and this comes into another category of damnation1 since mental rather than physical effects are concerned1 although the latter are involved both in the harmful1 uncorrected poses adopted by the children when seated at the table1 and in the false directions of the ideo-motor centres of which only a few reach the essential fingers that are holding or more often grotesquely clutching the pencil4 ,it may seem a small thing to the layman that a child should try to guide a pencil by movements of its tongue1 but to the expert that confusion of functions is indicative of endless subconscious troubles4 ,let me describe the practical procedure of a certain type of 8free-drawing0 lesson4 ,pencils1 paper1 and the usual paraphernalia are placed on tables or desks in different parts of the schoolroom1 in the hope that the child may be tempted to use them in drawing4 ,then1 one day1 a pupil takes up a pencil and makes an attempt to draw1 another follows his example and so on1 until all the pupils have made some kind of effort in this direction4 ,now the act of drawing is in the last analysis a mechanical process that concerns the management of the fingers1 and the co-ordination of the muscles of the hand and forearm in response to certain visual images conceived in the brain and imaginatively projected on to the paper4 ,and the standard of functioning of the human fingers and hand in this connection depends entirely upon the degree of kinsthetic development of the arm1 torso1 and joints2 in fact upon the standard of co-ordination of the whole organism4 ,it is not surprising1 therefore1 that hardly one of these more or less defectively co-ordinated children should have any idea of how to hold a pencil in such a way as will command the freedom1 power1 and control that will enable him to do himself justice as a draughtsman4 ,any attentive and thoughtful observer who will watch the movement and position of these children's fingers1 hand1 wrist1 arm1 neck and body generally1 during the varying attempts to draw straight or crooked lines1 cannot fail to note the lack of co-ordination between these parts4 ,the fingers are probably attempting to perform the duties of the arm1 the shoulders are humped1 the head twisted on one side4 ,in short1 energies are being projected to parts of the bodily mechanism which have little or no influence on the performance of the desired act of drawing1 and the mere waste projection of such energies alone is almost sufficient to nullify the purpose in view4 ,but ,i have already said enough to prove that no free expression can come by this means4 ,the right impulse may be in the child's mind1 but he has not the physical ability to express it4 ,not one modern child in ten thousand is born with the gift to draw as we say 8by the light of ,nature10 and that one exceptional child will have his task made easier if he is wisely guided in his first attempts4 ,but my chief objection to this teaching of drawing is the encouragement it gives to profitless dreaming4 ,drawing is an art1 and we know some of the characteristics that are commonly imputed to the artist1--though many of the greatest artists have been exemplarily free from them4 ,these characteristics are eccentricity1 lack of balance1 power of self-hypnotism1 and a general irrationality4 ,yet surely it cannot be emphasised too strongly that the artist succeeds in spite of these impediments to expression1 and not because of them4 ,these characteristics that ,i have instanced are by-products of the artistic genius4 ,they are developed through erroneous conceptions and overconcentration on a particular creative activity1 and time and again in the history of the world these by-products have ruined1 incapacitated1 and disgraced men of real genius4 ,nevertheless1 if ,i can judge by my experience of this form of free expression1 the child is encouraged to practise the eccentricity as a means to obtain the gift of drawing1 which as a principle is about the same as trying to breed race horses with weak lungs because it has been noted that certain very fast horses have been rather deficient in this respect4 ,to encourage eccentricity is not to breed genius1 and genius itself is more free and more creative when it is not hampered by eccentricity4 ,let us1 at least1 have some appreciation of rational cause and effect4 ,so much for my two 8,d's10 but my general criticism of the 8free expression0 experiment does not end there4 ,for ,i must confess that ,i have been shocked to witness the work that has been going on in these schools4 ,i have seen children of various ages amusing themselves--somewhat inadequately in quite a number of cases--by drawing1 dancing1 carpentering1 and so on1 but in hardly a single instance have ,i seen an example of one of these children employing his physical mechanisms in a correct or natural way4 ,i insist upon the use of the word natural even though it be applied to such relatively artificial activities as drawing and carpentering4 ,for there is a right1 that is to say a most effective1 way of holding and using a pencil or a carpenter's tool4 ,but the children ,i saw commonly sat or stood in positions of the worst mechanical advantage1 and the manner in which they held their pencils or their tools demonstrated very clearly that until their management of such instruments was corrected1 they could never hope to produce anything but the most clumsy results4 ,worse still1 these children were forming physical habits which would develop in a large majority of cases into positive physical ills4 ,a child who tries to guide its pencil by futile movements of its head1 tongue1 and shoulders may be preparing the way to ills so far-reaching that their origin is often lost sight of4 ,as an instance of this1 ,i recently had a case of a boy of #c years who suffered from fear reflexes4 ,if a stranger entered a room when the child was present1 he would cry and cling to his mother or nurse4 ,at the seaside after asking to be allowed to bathe with other children1 he was subsequently afraid to go near the water4 ,and in many other ways he exhibited unreasoning terrors which1 according to the general diagnosis common in such cases1 were presumed to be the cause of his general backwardness1 a symptom particularly marked in his speech1 for he was only able to articulate a few words and those very imperfectly4 ,my first examination of him revealed the fact that he lacked proper control of his lips and tongue1 and of one internal physical function1 the latter chiefly at night4 ,and that the lack of control in these particulars was the direct cause of his psycho-physical condition was very conclusively proved by my treatment of him4 ,treated on a basis of conscious guidance and control1 re-educated and co-ordinated1 the child made rapid advancement1 and he progressed towards a condition approximating more closely to what one might call normal1 than he had experienced since birth4 ,the fear reflexes became less and less subject to excitement1 he grew less irritable1 his temper was more controlled1 and his outbursts of crying were exhibited far less often4 ,i have cited this instance to show what strange psychic effects may spring from apparently purely physical causes1--though1 indeed1 the complement of psycho-physical is so unified that it is impossible to divide the components and place them on one plane or the other4 ,in this boy's case1 the primary cause of the trouble was probably congenital1 but equal and greater troubles may arise from much smaller original defects if the initial habit is confirmed and crystallised by use1 as ,i fear will be the case1 if the child is left to develop itself on the lines of the free expression advocates4 ,it is quite certain1 for example1 in the case just referred to1 that no amount of 8free0 activity could have released the child from his constrictions whilst the influence caused by his malco-ordinations still existed4 ,but surely ,i have given evidence enough to prove my case against this last development in education4 ,in an ideal world into which children were born with ideal capacities1 ,mr4 ,shaw's thesis might have some weight4 ,in this rapidly changing world of the #bjth century we require1 more than ever before1 a system that shall guide and direct the child during his earlier years4 ,this implies no contradiction of what ,i have said earlier anent the method of constant supervision4 ,the necessary correction of physical and mental faults that ,i am advocating is a very different thing from the attempt to mould a child into one particular preconceived form4 ,i would only insist that the children of to-day1 born as they are with very feeble powers of instinctive control1 absolutely require certain definite instructions by which to guide themselves before they can be left to free activity4 ,and these directions must be based on a principle that will help the child to employ his various mechanisms to the best advantage in his daily activities4 ,these directions involve no interference with what the child has to express2 they represent merely a cultivation and development of the means whereby he may find adequate and satisfying release for his potentialities4 ,it is true that the foregoing principles must and will involve certain necessary prohibitions1 but if we select those essentials that deal with the root cause of the evil instead of with the effects1 we render unnecessary the continual admonitions and 8naggings0 which represented one of the vices of the old system1 a vice from which it has been the object of the new education to free the child4 ,to sum up this aspect of child-training1 ,i find that on the whole the methods of the older educationalists1 with their definite prohibitions and their exact instructions1 were less harmful than the extremes of the modern school that would base their scheme of education upon a child's instinctive reactions4 ,the older methods failed1 ,i admit1 for one reason1 because the system was carried too far2 for another1 because the injunctions and prohibitions were based on tradition1 prejudice1 and ignorance1 instead of upon a scientific principle dictated by reason4 ,but the new methods fail because they are founded on an entirely erroneous assumption which is demonstrably fallacious4 ,can any method be defended that is open to such a charge8 ,give a child conscious control and you give him poise1 the essential starting point for education4 ,without that poise1 which is a result aimed at by neither the old nor the new methods of education1 he will presently be cramped and distorted by his environment4 ,for although you may choose the environment of a nursery or a school1 there are few1 indeed1 who can choose their desired environment in the world at large4 ,but give the child poise and the reasoned control of his physical being and you fit him for any and every mode of life2 he will have wonderful powers of adapting himself to any and every environment that may surround him4 ,and if he be one of those exceptional individuals that1 by some rare gift of nature or by some force of personality1 are able to bend life to their own needs1 be very sure that so far from having suppressed his power of free expression1 you will have strengthened and perfected just those abilities which will enable the genius to put forth all that is best and greatest in him4 ,my last charge against the advocates of free expression is that they themselves are not free4 ,so many propagandists and teachers show an unwarranted intolerance towards the exponents of the old systems4 ,they are1 in fact1 too constricted in their mental attitude to give play to their imagination4 ,from one extreme they have flown to the other1 and so have missed the way of the great middle course which is wide enough to accommodate all shades of opinion4 ,for let me state clearly in concluding this comment on a new method1 that ,i am1 myself1 as strong an advocate for free expression1 rightly understood1 as any propagandist in the ,united ,states of ,america4 ,but ,i am convinced by long observation and experiment that the untrained child has not the adequate power of free expression4 ,there are certain mechanical and other laws1 deduced from untold centuries of human experience1 laws that are only in the rarest cases unconsciously followed by the natural child of to-day4 7,one of these rare cases that has recently come under my notice has been the billiard playing of ,mr4 ,george ,gray4 ,i am of the opinion that the mechanical principle of the position adopted by him could be scientifically demonstrated as being as nearly perfect for its particular purpose as any position could be4 ,and according to my observation of him1 ,mr4 ,gray manifests in his play the most remarkable and controlled kinsthetic development ,i have yet witnessed4 ,but how many ,george ,grays has the world so far produced87 ,over twenty-two years ago in ,australia1 ,i was teaching what ,i still believe to be the true meaning of free expression4 ,my pupils in this case came to me for lessons in vocal and dramatic expression4 ,now by the old methods these pupils would have been taught to imitate their master very accurately in vocal and facial expression1 in gesture1 in the manner of voice production2 and it would have been at once apparent to any one acquainted with the manner and methods of the teachers1 where each pupil had received his training4 ,furthermore1 pupils educated by those methods were taught to interpret each poem1 scene1 or passage on the exact lines that were considered correct by their respective teachers4 ,my own method1 which at that time was regarded as very radical and subversive1 was to give my pupils certain lessons in re-education and co-ordination on a basis of conscious guidance and control1 and in this way ,i gave the reciter1 actor1 or potential artist the means of employing to the best advantage his powers of vocal1 facial1 and dramatic expression1 gesture1 etc4 ,he could then safely be permitted to develop his own characteristics4 ,a few suggestions might be necessary as to interpretation1 but the individual manner was his own4 ,no pupil of mine could be pointed to as representing some narrow school of expression1 although most of them could be recognised by the confidence and freedom of their performances4 ,and in this connection it may be of interest to my readers to know that in #aijb-c ,i decided to test the principles ,i advocated1 and to this end ,i organised performances of 8,hamlet0 and 8,the ,merchant of ,venice0 for which ,i gave special training on the lines ,i have just indicated to young men and women1 none of whom had previously appeared in a public performance of any kind whatsoever4 ,i trained all these young people on the principles of conscious guidance and control1 principles that ,i had then developed and practised4 ,my friends and critics naturally anticipated a wonderful exhibition of 8stage fright0 on the evening of the first performance1 but as a matter of fact not one of my young students had the least apprehension of that terror4 ,by the time they were ready to appear the idea of 8stage fright0 was one that seemed to them the merest absurdity4 ,it may be said that they did not understand what was meant by such a condition4 ,and this1 although ,i would not allow a prompter on the nights of the public performance6 ,i regard this as one of the most convincing public demonstrations ,i have yet made of the wonderful command and self-possession that may be attained by the inculcation of these principles4 ,for it must be observed that ,i sent these tyros to the performance capable of expressing their own individualities4 ,if they had been hedged about or boxed in by an endless series of 8,don'ts0 confining their performances by a rigid set of rules1 the majority of them would almost certainly have broken down within the first two minutes4 ,on the other hand1 it is hardly necessary to picture the chaos that would have ensued1 had ,i sent them on the stage without training of any kind1 poor1 helpless1 ignorant examples of what they supposed to be free expression4 ,the foregoing is an example of education in only one sphere of art1 but it serves as an excellent indication of the essential needs of education1 in general1 where the child is concerned4 ,we must give the child of to-day and of the future as a fundamental of education as complete a command of his or her kinsthetic systems as is possible1 so that the highest possible standard of 8free expression0 may be given in every sphere of life and in all forms of human activity4 ,we must build up1 co-ordinate1 and re-adjust the human machine so that it may be in tune4 ,we are all acquainted with the expression 8tune up0 where the automobile is concerned1 and when we wish to command the best expression of this machine we avail ourselves of the 8tuning up0 process of the mechanical expert4 ,and as the human organism is1 as ,huxley says1 a machine1 we must remember that if we wish it to express its potentialities adequately it must be 8in tune40 ,this will represent what we consider to be that satisfactory condition of the child's kinsthetic systems which will enable him to express himself freely and adequately4 ,it constitutes the 8means whereby0 of free and full expression1 of adaptability to the ever changing environment of civilised life1 and to all that these two essentials connote4 ,in this note on race culture and the training of children1 ,i have thus far dwelt almost exclusively on the earlier years of childhood4 ,but ,i have much to say at some future time on the questions of primary and secondary education1 that is1 of the boy and girl at school between the ages of1 say1 seven and eighteen4 ,no one who has read so far with attention and has earnestly attempted to comprehend my point of view1 will now be able to urge that the question of education1 secular or religious1 is outside my province1 for the mental and physical are so inextricably combined that we cannot consider the one without the other1 but1 at the risk of being accused of repetition1 ,i will briefly state my case in this connexion once again1 as follows3 ,i wish to postulate3 ,that conscious guidance and control1 as a universal1 must be the fundamental of future education4 ,that civilisation and education1 as manifested up to the present1 cannot be said to have compelled man to advance adequately from the lower to those higher planes of satisfactory evolution1 where his savage animal instincts will not under any circumstances1 or in response to any stimuli1 dominate his transcendent tendencies1 or put him out of communication with his reason4 ,that mankind should progress by slow continuous processes from one stage of evolution to another4 ,this will be particularly the case when he is passing from his animal subconscious stage to the higher1 reasoned conscious stages1 during which process he will develop a new subconsciousness 7cultivated1 not inherited7 under the guidance of consciousness1 likewise an increasing control which holds his animal proclivities in check4 ,that the evolutionary progress from childhood to adolescence1 and so through the vicissitudes of life which follow1 is determined by the process adopted1 the ratio of progress being in accordance with the standard of efficacy of this process1 and that this principle of evolution applies equally to a nation4 ,that subconsciously developed mechanisms 7subconscious guidance and control7 function satisfactorily during those stages of our evolution which approximate to the more or less animal plane4 ,that the old moderate methods of education are not incompatible with cultivation and development on the animal subconscious plane4 ,that 8free expression0 principles cannot bring satisfactory results while the subject's mechanisms are operated by inherited subconscious guidance and control4 ,for this very reason1 all aid to progressive development must conform to the principle of the projection of guiding orders and controls in the right direction or directions with the simultaneous employment of positions of mechanical advantage1 irrespective of the correctness or otherwise of the immediate result4 ,the result may be unsatisfactory to-day and to-morrow1 or during the next week1 but if the position of mechanical advantage is employed and orders and controls in the right direction are held in mind and projected again and again1 a new and correct complex sooner or later supersedes the old vicious one1 and becomes permanently established4 ,that consciously controlled mechanisms 7conscious guidance and control7 are essential to man's satisfactory development and progress to the higher stages of his evolution2 and to that continued adequate vital functioning of his physical or mental organism necessary in these advanced stages1 where more rapid adaptability to the swiftly and everchanging environment1 and the power to see1 and comprehend new ideas1 are the urgent demands of an advancing civilisation4 ,that consciously controlled mechanisms are essential to the successful inculcation of the principle of 8free expression0 and all that it connotes in ,education4 ,conscious guidance and control1 as the fundamental in education1 commands the fundamentals of 8free expression40 ,the words free or freedom are herein used in their true meaning1 not in the ordinary acceptation4 ,i refer to the point of view which causes one to ask1 8,is there such a thing as real freedom80 ,for we know that we cannot have freedom without restraint1 any more than we can have psycho-physical harmony without antagonism4 ,it is said that the dividing line between tragedy and comedy is not one that the majority of people readily recognise1 and this is also the case in regard to what is called freedom and licence4 ,this is the danger which the new democracies of the world are facing at this very moment1 and their dangers will be increased a thousandfold in the near future1 when they will be called upon to pass through that critical period of re-adjustment which must follow the present world crisis4 ,in this matter of education ,i am1 admittedly1 an iconoclast4 ,i would fain break down the idols of tradition and set up new concepts4 ,in no matters do we see more plainly the harmful effect of the rigid convention than in this matter of teaching4 ,we speak commonly of training the minds of children4 ,it is a happy expression in its origin1 and we still retain its proper intention when we apply the word to its uses in horticulture4 ,the gardener does1 indeed1 train the young growth4 ,he draws it out to the light and warmth and leads it into the conditions most helpful for its development4 ,and so1 in teaching1 the first essential should be to cultivate the uses of the mind and body1 and not1 as is so often the case1 to neglect the instrument of thought and reason by the inculcation of fixed rules which have never been examined4 ,again1 where ideas that are patently erroneous have already been formed in the child's mind1 the teacher should take pains to apprehend these preconceptions1 and in dealing with them he should not attempt to overlay them1 but should eradicate them as far as possible before teaching or submitting the new and correct idea4 ,i say 8teaching or submitting0 and perhaps the latter word better expresses my meaning1 for by teaching ,i understand the placing of facts1 for and against1 before the child1 in such a way as to appeal to his reasoning faculties1 and to his latent powers of originality4 ,he should be allowed to think for himself1 and should not be crammed with other people's ideas1 or one side only of a controversial subject4 ,why should not the child's powers of intelligence be trained8 ,why should they be stunted by our forcing him to accept the preconceived ideas and traditions which have been handed down from generation to generation1 without examination1 without reason1 without enquiry as to their truth or origin8 ,the human mind of to-day is suffering from partial paralysis by this method of forcing these unreasoned and antiquated principles upon the young and plastic intelligence4 ,the educational system itself is grievously inadequate and detrimental1 as all thinking educationalists are aware1 but the decision regarding the necessity for physical exercise and 8deep breathing0 in our schools has added another evil4 ,i wish to say here deliberately that the many systems of physical training generally adopted show an almost criminal neglect of rational method1 and of the test which can demonstrably prove the practice to be unsound and hurtful4 ,some years ago ,i wrote in the ,pall ,mall ,gazette3 8,i will merely point out that in our schools and in the ,army human beings are actually being developed into deformities by breathing and physical exercises4 ,i have before me a book on the breathing exercises which are used in the ,army1 and any person reasonably versed in physiology and psychology1 and knowing they are inseparable in practice1 will at once understand why so much harm results from them4 ,take either the officers or the men4 ,in a greater or less degree the unduly protruded upper chests 7development of emphysema71 unduly hollowed backs 7lordosis71 stiff necks1 rigid thorax1 and other physical eccentricities have been cultivated4 ,it is for these reasons that heart troubles1 varicose veins1 emphysema1 and mouth breathing 7in exercise7 are so much in evidence in the ,army4 ,as this is a matter of national importance1 ,i am prepared to give the time necessary to prove to the authorities 7medical or official7 connected with the ,army1 the schools1 or the sanatoria1 that the #8deep breathing' and physical exercises in vogue are doing far more harm than good1 and are laying the foundations of much graver trouble in the future4 ,the truth is that all exercises involving #8deep breathing' cause an exaggeration of the defective muscular co-ordination already present1 so that even if one bad habit is eradicated many others--often more harmful--are cultivated40 ,and again in my pamphlet 8,why ,we ,breathe ,incorrectly0 7,nov41 #aiji7 ,i wrote3 8,let me make myself clear by explaining that the man who breathes incorrectly and inadequately1 does so as an immediate and inevitable consequence of abnormal and harmful conditions of certain parts of his body4 ,the man who breathes correctly and adequately does so as an immediate and inevitable consequence of normal and salubrious conditions of the same parts4 ,it therefore follows that if the conditions present in the second man can be induced in the first1 he will then1 but not otherwise1 be a correct and adequate breather4 ,and the process by which this is achieved is simply a re-adjustment of the parts of the body by a new and correct use of the muscular mechanisms through the directive agent of the sphere of consciousness4 ,this change brings about a proper mechanical advantage of all the parts concerned1 and causes1 thanks to the right employment of the relative machinery1 such expansion and contraction of the thoracic cavity as to give atmospheric pressure its opportunity4 ,now here we have 7a7 the directive agent of the sphere of consciousness1 and 7b7 the use of the muscular mechanisms--the combination causing certain expansions and contractions1 and the result being what is known as breathing4 ,it will at once be seen1 therefore1 that the act of breathing is not a primary1 or even a secondary1 part of the process1 which is really re-education of the kinsthetic systems associated with correct bodily postures and respiration1 and will be referred to universally as such in the near future4 ,as a matter of fact1 given the perfect co-ordination of parts as acquired by my system1 breathing is a subordinate operation which will perform itself40 ,i stand by every word of this to-day4 ,hundreds of soldiers every year have to leave the ,british ,army on account of heart trouble directly brought about by the 8drill-sergeant's chest0 and its concomitant strains and rigidities4 ,not long ago1 ,mr4 ,punch had a picture of a young boy riding in the ,row with his groom and answering that worthy's question as to how he would salute a ,royal ,personage--8,same as the soldiers do2 hold my hand up to my hat and look as if ,i was going to burst06 ,certainly a straw showing which way the wind blows4 ,these same soldiers will start on a long route march with chest 8well set0 and stiff4 ,the strain of marching inevitably brings them later into an easier slouching position1 which makes continuance possible and at its worst is not so positively harmful as is the tension of the other posture4 ,compare the free1 loose but more healthy physical attitude of the sailor ashore with that of the 8smart0 soldier strutting in town like a pouter pigeon for the honour of the regiment4 ,it is your team of sailors that is the readier and the more effective for hard work4 ,and but a few weeks 7now years7 ago1 ,i saw with dismay in a popular illustrated daily paper a truly pathetic picture of a class of schoolboys with hollowed backs and protruding chests looking like nothing so much as very ruffled pouter pigeons4 ,and the master was commended for his zeal in producing such results by 8deep breathing40 7,see photographs facing this page47 ,is it1 ,i would ask1 likely on the face of it that the right position in which a man or woman should stand for health's sake should be one needing positive strain to preserve8 ,the thing is preposterous1 and ,i am convinced that nothing can result from the application of such principles but complete chaos1 physical and mental4 ,to return to my general theory of training1 ,i fear ,i must not particularise too definitely in some directions1 but my instance of right-handedness has its application4 ,on the one hand we are willing to sacrifice reason for such a tradition and convention as this2 on the other for an untried and possibly illogical idea4 ,the defence for the latter sacrifice is generally based either on the need for enthusiasm or the necessity for proceeding by a system of trial and error4 ,well1 as to enthusiasm1 ,i will claim that no one is a greater enthusiast than ,i am myself1 but ,i will not permit my enthusiasm to dominate my reason4 ,one day ,i hope to write an account of how ,i arrived at the practical elucidation of my principles of conscious control1 and when ,i do1 ,i shall show very plainly how one of the greatest1 if not the greatest danger against which ,i had to fight was my own enthusiasm4 ,it is as vivid and keen to-day as it was over twenty years ago1 but ,i should never have worked out my principles1 if ,i had allowed it to dominate my reason4 ,again1 as to the argument pleading the necessity for empiricism1 ,i admit also that my own methods have been and still are1 in some directions1 experimental4 ,but with regard to the 8free expression0 movement1 ,i claim that the error in practice has been sufficiently demonstrated1 and further than that1 ,i must insist that we are not justified in experimenting on children4 ,i have never done that inasmuch as ,i have realised that the error may be irreparable4 ,could any fault weigh heavier on a human conscience than that by which1 however unwittingly1 another human life had been distorted8 ,wherefore1 pleading on behalf of my most important client1 the child of this younger generation1 ,i demand that we shall proceed to neither of the dangerous extremes that threaten his physical and mental well-being4 ,on the one hand we must avoid the thrusting upon him of fixed ideas1 by which you may narrow his mind1 for ,i know that when you limit him1 imparting to him deliberately your own mental habits1 the effects go far beyond what we are pleased to call the 8formation of character40 ,on the other hand we are not justified in leaving him entirely to himself4 ,whilst he has the right of choice within certain limits1 he has not1 unhappily1 the ability to choose in his earlier years4 ,we need not bind him to choose this or that1 but we must educate him in such a way as to give him the power of choice4 ,in ,mr4 ,allen ,upward's delightful work1 ,the ,new ,word1 which ,i have already quoted1 he says3 8,give the child leave to grow4 ,give the child leave to live4 ,give the child leave to hope and to hope truly4444 ,he is the plaintiff in this case4 ,i say that he is mankind 444 and his birthright is the truth40 ,and to that ,i would add1 8,give the child leave1 also1 to learn4 ,give him opportunity to profit by all the knowledge we can give him out of our experience4 ,his birthright1 indeed1 is the truth1 but we must aid him in making the discovery40 ,it is full time that we gave more earnest thought to this matter4 ,i cannot in this brief outline dwell on the many phases of proper food1 clothing1 and physical training1 and all those other points which we must consider4 ,the ,kinsthetic ,systems concerned with correct and healthy bodily movements and postures have become demoralised by the habits engendered in the schoolroom through the restraint enforced at a time when natural activity should have been encouraged and scientifically directed1 and in the crouching positions caused by useless and irrational deskwork4 ,and ,i may note in this connection that ,i am continually being asked1 both by friends and unknown correspondents1 for my opinion concerning the correct type of chair1 stool1 desk or table to be used in order to prevent the bad habits which these pieces of furniture are supposed to have caused in schools4 ,in my replies ,i have tried to demonstrate that the problem is being attacked from the wrong standpoint4 ,let us consider the problem in the light of common-sense4 ,suppose1 for example1 that there is an ideal chair1 some wonderful arrangement of perfect angles1 hollows1 and supports that will almost magically rectify or prevent every fault in the child's physical mechanism4 ,suppose further that the child finds great ease and repose when seated in this ideal chair4 ,how then can he avoid suffering the tortures of all that is uncomfortable1 when he rides in the cars1 or sits down in his own home1 or visits a friend1 or goes for a picnic on the river or in the woods8 ,i see nothing else for it2 when that ideal chair has been found1 our child will have to carry it about with him wherever he goes4 ,in the second place1 how is it possible for this ideal chair to be miraculously adaptable to every age and type of child8 ,are we to treat children as plastic lumps of clay to be fitted to the model insisted upon by the lines of our ideal chair2 or are we to study and measure each individual and have a chair built to his measure1 once a year1 say1 until he is adult8 ,no1 what we need to do is not to educate our school furniture1 but to educate our children4 ,give a child the ability to adapt himself within reasonable limits to his environment1 and he will not suffer discomfort1 nor develop bad physical habits1 whatever chair or form you give him to sit upon4 ,i say1 8within reasonable limits10 for it is obviously absurd to expect a ,brobdingnagian child to use a ,lilliputian chair4 ,but let us waste no valuable time1 thought1 or invention in designing furniture1 when by a smaller expenditure of those three gifts we may train the child to win its own conscious control1 and rise superior to any probable limitations imposed by ordinary school fittings4 ,for the problem to be solved in education is that same problem which needs solution in the social1 political1 religious1 industrial1 economic1 ethical1 sthetic and other spheres of progressive human activity4 ,in every sphere of life we have for years given 8effects0 the significance of 8causes0 and have made worthy attempts to put matters right on this unsound basis4 ,in the case of education certain symptoms have been recognised as more or less harmful1 and the whole blame has been placed upon the method or methods of education involved4 ,for at least half a century1 the method of the social worker was conceived on the lines of giving money1 food1 and clothing to the poor1 in an attempt to ameliorate their condition4 ,the evils of this false policy came home to them in a practical way1 and nowadays1 the object of the social worker is to give the poor the 8means whereby0 of general advancement and of getting money1 clothes1 and food by their own efforts4 ,the same principle holds good in the treatment of the children4 ,hitherto educationalists have given them what they considered they needed4 ,what we must do in the future is to give them the 8means whereby0 they may themselves satisfy their needs and command their own advancement4 ,the adoption of new methods is a procedure which always demands a due and proper consideration of the thing1 person1 or persons to which they are to be applied4 ,investigation along these lines would probably have revealed the real cause of the difficulties to be faced in the education of the child of to-day1 which is that the process of civilised life has gradually changed the child's psycho-physical condition at birth4 ,in this process much has been gained and much lost4 ,from the educator's point of view the losses have been stupendous as compared with the gains1 for the all-important kinsthetic systems have been deteriorated by man's attempt to pass from the lower 7animal7 to the higher stages of the evolutionary plane while depending upon a subconsciously controlled organism4 ,i have still very much more to say on this subject of education1 and ,i hope to have an opportunity in the near future of elaborating my methods and of setting them out so that they may be practically and universally applied4 ,but if by these few remarks ,i can arouse some interest in this world problem1 ,i shall have done something towards its solution4 ,it is a problem which is very urgent at the present time1 and is growing more urgent every day4 ,all that we have done up to the present time is to enforce one rule or another upon the children as an experiment1 for all the rules have been rigid in their enforcement1 however unscientific in their conception4 ,in place of these rules ,i look for an ideal which ,i believe to be comparatively easy of realisation4 ,i look for1 and already see1 a method of training our children which shall make them masters of their own bodies2 ,i look for a time when the child shall be so taught and trained that whatever the circumstance which shall later surround it1 it will without effort be able to adapt itself to its environment1 and be enabled to live its life in the enjoyment of perfect health1 physical and mental4 ,for1 as ,i have already pointed out1 man has progressed towards the higher and more complex stages of civilisation4 ,he has continued to change his habits of life and being still far from the highest state attainable he will continue to change4 ,the farther he becomes removed from the primitive uncivilised stage of his evolution the less likely is he to have the opportunity in the daily routine of his life so to exercise the physical machinery that it will be prevented from working imperfectly by the controls of instinct4 8,conscious control0 will enable man to adapt himself more readily to changing conditions of life4 ,no one who looks out upon this latter day world with discerning eyes can fail to see that the changes tend to become more rapid and more radical than ever before in the history of the world's progress4 ,we look towards the goal1 and it is best to seek the highest and be content with no less1 but at the same time it is necessary that we should consider the practical detail of our journey4 ,what follows in ,parts ,,ii and ,,iii may seem trivial by comparison with the high endeavour ,i have outlined1 but it is the triviality of the essential detail4 ,i wish to point the road still more clearly1 and to show how every man and woman may learn to walk upon it4 ,,viii ,,evolutionary ,,standards ,,and ,,their ,,influence ,,on ,,the ,,crisis ,,of #aiad ,in the previous chapters ,i have dealt briefly with the fundamentals upon which our whole structure of education and civilisation is based1 and have attempted to point to the different tendencies developed by the individual in the struggle to progress upon this basis4 ,at the same time ,i have indicated that which ,i am confident is the only true fundamental upon which mankind in a state of civilisation may progress and evolve to a condition commanding freedom for all time from those limiting1 narrowing1 and debasing qualities which belong to the animal spheres of existence4 ,it seems to me that the present world crisis indicates that this is the psychological moment to make a wide application of my principles1 though my reader may consider that ,i should not enter the debatable ground of hypothesis in a work which has been devoted1 up to this point1 to arguments almost entirely drawn from personal experiences and observation4 ,i have dealt with the fundamentals employed in the development of the child and the adult1 and ,i have postulated that the evolutionary progress from childhood to adolescence1 and on through the vicissitudes of life which follow1 is determined by the process adopted1 the ratio of progress being in accordance with the standard of efficacy of this process1 and that this principle of evolution applies equally to a nation4 ,it then devolves upon us to consider the different processes adopted by different nations1 in order to gauge accurately their different stages of evolution and their possibilities of growth and development towards real individual and national progress4 ,after centuries of endeavour in the direction of progress in accordance with well-defined processes1 founded upon approved educational1 religious1 economic1 political1 industrial1 ethical and sthetic principles1 and after a century of unprecedented progress in the realm of ,arts and ,sciences1 we are faced with the spectacle1 in a supposedly civilised nation1 of a debauched kinsthesia which has manifested itself in such a display of savage instincts as will present us in the eyes of a more highly evolved universe as plunged in the depths of barbarism4 ,during the past three years the people of the world have been shocked and stirred by events which even four years ago were considered impossible in the stage of civilisation then reached4 ,in consequence1 we find that a special and earnest endeavour is being made to solve problems of vital importance which have a bearing upon the future development and cultivation of the potentialities of mankind4 ,it is1 therefore1 essential to recognise that we have reached a point in the process called civilisation which will be recorded as one of the most critical and vital in the world's history4 ,at this moment the great nations of ,europe are engaged in the most terrific conflict of force ever recorded1 whilst in ,america1 a land of peace1 there is being witnessed what is probably the most bitterly contested conflict of opinion ever experienced regarding the conduct1 policy1 and duty of the ,american nation where the old world is concerned4 7,this was penned prior to ,american intervention in the war47 ,the happenings of the past three years must influence our present and future opinion of the value of our educational1 political1 moral1 social1 industrial1 religious and other principles where the progress of man is concerned1 as he passes from the animal plane of his evolution to those higher planes for which he is undoubtedly destined4 ,the conclusions thus reached will so influence the future welfare of mankind that the facts from which these conclusions are deduced demand the most serious attention and study of every human being4 ,it is therefore essential that we make an earnest endeavour to discover fundamentals4 ,in this connexion we must consider the available evidence concerning the cause or causes of this conflict in ,europe which has shaken our boasted advancement in civilisation to its very roots4 ,what does this recrudescence of barbarity mean when viewed with an open and unprejudiced mind in its relation to the future of those principles which alone make for the real mental1 physical1 and spiritual growth of mankind in progressive civilisation8 ,it signifies a tremendous clash of opposing forces1 a desperate conflict between the lowly-evolved peoples of the world as against the more highly evolved races1 the struggle of an open-minded1 mobile idealism for the supremacy of the individual against a narrow-minded1 rigid1 material automatism which entails the suppression of the individual and the obliteration of his reason in the supposed interests of the ,state4 ,let us take1 then1 a general comparative view of the compelling psycho-physical forces in the life of primitive and civilised nations up to the crisis4 ,america in this stands apart and must be considered separately4 ,in ,primitive ,nations4 ,the compelling forces were chiefly physical and subconscious4 ,the very essentials of life depended almost entirely upon brute force4 ,daily experiences gave a keen edge to savage instincts and unbridled passions1 to an automatic development which opposed the cultivation of the faculty of adaptability to new environment4 ,even the spheres of courage were limited1 and when confronted with the unusual these peoples quaked like cowards1 and fled panic-stricken from the unaccustomed1 as in the case of the negroes in the ,southern ,states of ,america when the men of the ,ku-,klux ,klan pursued them on horseback dressed in white4 ,in ,civilised ,nations4 ,the compelling forces have become less and less physical and less subconscious than in the case of primitive nations1 but the advance from the physical to the mental and from the subconscious to the conscious has not been adequate or sufficiently comprehensive to establish the mental and conscious principles as the chief compelling forces in the progress of the nation or even of the individual4 ,the essentials of life do not depend upon brute force1 and daily experiences become less and less associated with factors which make for the development of savage instincts and unbridled passion1 or automatic development4 ,but experience has proved that civilised nations have failed to come through the ordeal of adaptation to the everchanging environment of civilisation with satisfactory results4 ,the spheres of courage are still more or less limited1 and when brought suddenly face to face with the unusual and unexpected people still exhibit a tendency to panic and loss of control4 ,the progress made by civilised nations from the primitive state to the present has not been upon comprehensive lines4 ,the result has been that the majority of the activities of the nation have been limited1 and in those few activities where the widening influence held sway1 the freedom became licence and led to overcompensation4 ,this condition was sufficiently harmful as long as it applied to the individual and to individual effort1 the individual being more or less held in check by collective opinion2 but when it applied to the nation and to national effort1 that nation which ignored the opinion of other nations developed unchecked1 and the national decision to stifle the individual1 body and soul1 if it seemed to be for the welfare of the ,state1 constituted the most powerful force in the prevention of progress on the evolutionary plane4 ,for this decision1 once it became the result of national conception1 carried with it the most damaging and impossible of all mental processes in the sphere of true evolutionary advancement4 ,in the first place the national decision was the result of an erroneous national conception1 the outcome of what ,i have called1 for the want of a better name1 8manufactured premises40 ,manufactured premises are the forerunners of unsound and delusive deductions--a stultification of reason--and demand the cultivation of a form of self-hypnotism which is fatal to national or individual progress4 ,a few observant people noted this dangerous habit even in the early literature of the ,german nation1 and watched with keen interest its cultivation in all spheres of activity in recent years4 ,this explains the stupendous failure of ,german judgment in all matters of national and international importance1 of the impossibility of the peoples of that nation to see anything from any other point of view but their own1 of their crass stupidity in gauging the psychology of other nations1 and particularly that of the ,american nation4 ,in the foregoing we have fundamentals worthy of consideration4 ,they must occupy the attention of all thinking people who wish to make a contribution towards the uplifting of mankind and the establishment of a standard of reasoned guidance and control which should make another barbarous conflict unthinkable and therefore impossible4 ,naturally1 every nation is ready enough with a more or less humane reason for its madness4 ,self-protection1 an altruistic regard for the rights of smaller nations1 a sense of high duty towards mankind at large1 all these pleas have been urged as explaining the single principle which has drawn this or that nation into the whirlpool4 ,and each and every nation must surely have pleaded liberty as their excuse at some time or another1 liberty being one of those adaptable terms that may be used to mean almost anything4 ,before the war ,germany was maintaining a right for 8liberty0 of expansion1 a defensive use of the word that has hardly anything in common with the ,american use at the present time4 ,on the other hand philosophers1 economists1 psychologists1 commercial experts1 and the public at large have been busy with a dozen other theories of the primary causes of the war4 ,we have heard much talk of race hatred1 of business rivalry1 of high commercial and political intrigues1 and a dozen other influences1 and all of them have been put forward at one time or another as the sole reason for the present welter of blood and fury4 ,we have1 in fine1 so many reasons from which to choose that we may be quite sure no single one of them can possibly afford us an inclusive and adequate explanation4 ,but ,i will go still further than that4 ,for ,i maintain on grounds which ,i find logically unshakeable1 that if we admit1 as seems the only sensible course1 that something of all these reasons and excuses has entered into the conditions producing such awful results1 we must still seek some explanation of the preceding state that made these conditions possible4 ,all our reasons1 in fact1 are mere effects1 and we are groping for our primary cause among resultant phenomena4 ,we can never solve our problem by such a method as this4 ,we might as well hope to find the origin of a child by dissecting its limbs and intestines4 ,our only hope is to shift our viewpoint1 to cease our muddled examination of the details just in front of us1 and try to see our problem in the broad terms of one who can stand back and see life moving through the centuries4 ,with all people1 in all spheres of life1 we know only too well that certain mental and physical manifestations give an absolute clue to their character1 to their aims in life1 their ideals1 and1 what is more to the point1 to the stage they have reached in the process called evolution4 ,incidentally1 ,i would point out that education as generally understood1 even when it implies the most up-to-date methods1 does not necessarily mean progress on the evolutionary plane any more than ability as a linguist need denote a high standard of mentality4 ,this applies also to most arts and particularly to those where music and dancing are concerned4 ,the lower the stage of evolution1 within certain limits1 the greater the appeal of music and dancing4 ,when we review the history and general progress of humanity we find the instincts and traits of the animal--the brute force principle--predominating at certain stages4 ,if we go back far enough we find that there was a stage when it was always predominant4 ,therefore1 a test as to the ratio of progress of nations on the evolutionary plane is to be found in their tendency and desire to advance beyond that stage where the mental and physical forces1 which should only belong as inherited instincts to the brute animals and savages1 hold sway2 and with this in view1 if we take a survey of the history1 ideals1 habits of life1 mental outlook1 and general tendencies of the ,german nation1 it will show conclusively that these self-hypnotised people approximated too closely to the lower animals and savages in their mode and chief aims of life4 ,the great and noble ideals and aims of mankind making for progress towards the more highly evolved states were cast aside for the unreasoning1 brutal1 and ignoble principles which make for the debasement of man's elevating potentialities1 and hold him a slave to the cruel and lowly-evolved state of the primitive creatures4 ,that any nation or nations should deliberately adopt1 as their highest ideals and aims1 brute force in all its hideous aspects1 desecration of mind1 body1 and soul for the ,state1 justification of criminal instincts and acts if employed on behalf of the ,state1 destruction1 rape and plunder1 murder and torture to terrify innocent civilians2 that they should adopt1 in short1 the brutal principle that 8,might is ,right0 in that special national form in which it has been manifested in the last half century and directed towards what is now known as 8,militarism10--all this is surely proof positive that they have progressed but little on the upward evolutionary stage from the state occupied by the brute beast and the savage4 ,the criminal aspect of the outrage of all that rightthinking human beings hold dear is intensified by the fact that the nations which perpetrated the deed were among the most prosperous of the world1 and enjoyed1 as aliens1 the same privileges as the subjects of those nations whose hospitality and confidence they abused4 ,the nations bearing the brunt of the struggle against this outburst of primitive brutal instincts and desires have long since reached a stage in their evolution which made the methods of ,attila unthinkable4 ,if forced into war they conducted it on the evolved plane of the human1 and not that of the animal4 ,they treated their captives as honourable men and extended to them every conceivable consideration within their power4 ,prior to this war the ideals and aims of these nations were the antithesis of those of their lowly-evolved enemies1 and they were ideals and aims which made for the right to live in peace with all other nations4 ,they aimed at the reduction of armaments1 and gave practical proof of their aims4 ,they opened their ports and their markets to their present enemies and gave them a free hand in every respect in all spheres of activity4 ,they had no desire to beat down the ideals and principles which make for the ennoblement of mankind1 they had no wish to dominate the world by brute force and to establish a system of living and a form of conduct which grinds the individual into a mere heartless unreasoning automaton1 rigid-brained1 driven like an animal1 and not daring to claim even his soul as his own4 ,for many years prior to the crisis of #aiad we listened to the blatant outbursts of ,german professors and other educated authorities of that nation concerning its superiority to other nations4 ,we were asked to believe that certain individuals of that nationality had reached the stage of the superman4 ,these unfortunate and deluded people have for some time been cursed with this obsession4 ,thinking men and women of other nations listened and wondered when these claims were made concerning these supermen1 and after examining the evidence advanced to support these claims became convinced that they were not justified4 ,the stupendous failure of the supposed supermen in every sphere of mental and physical activity in the present war proves the correctness of these convictions4 ,it seems inconceivable that supermen could so have guided and directed the whole national energy of ,germany that it became more and more narrowed1--like the ,german mind1--until it concentrated almost solely upon the stupid conception of the domination of the world by ,germany4 ,to this end1 the national energy was diverted chiefly into two channels3 ,,commercial ,,industry ,,and ,,militarism ,one of the great features connected with the former was the extraordinary development of machinery1 which demanded for its successful pursuance that the individual should be subjected to the most harmful systems of automatic training4 ,the standardised parts of the machine made demands which tended to stereotype the human machine4 ,the limitations of human activity1 mental and physical1 reached the maximum4 ,the power to continue work under such conditions depended upon a process of deterioration in the individual4 ,he was slowly but surely being robbed of the possibility of development4 ,the very soul of man was crushed to foster an industrial process which was to provide the sinews of the war machine1 to support that curse called militarism1 and the demoralisation of ,germany came chiefly through that nation's conceptions of militarism which1 in the first and last analysis1 stands for the worst manifestation of those savage instincts and unbridled passions associated with the lowest stages of primitive race development4 ,the horrible results of the sum total of the national madness which the foregoing represents are now revealed before us1 for to ,germany this militarism constituted a rigid plan1 a system1 and a world-philosophy4 ,she is convinced1 against all the evidence1 that her plan1 system1 or philosophy1 is so undeniably right as to constitute an absolute4 ,as a nation she has no mobility1 no poise4 ,she is influenced by a stultifying idea1 the perfection of her own 8,kultur0 7a word more properly translated as a civilisation than by the word 8culture0 as used in the ,english or ,american sense74 ,she is1 in fact1 just as badly co-ordinated1 as unable to follow the true mandate of reason1 as any individual who is dominated by a fixed idea4 ,for the trouble is that when reason is so far held in check that it loses its power of denial1 it must have lost its power of control4 ,the original 8idea0 formulated in the conscious mind has sunk so deep into the subconscious that it cannot be changed except under the influence of some stronger outside power4 ,for nearly fifty years ,germany1 in her schools1 her gymnasiums1 her universities1 her civic and her political life1 has been inculcating a rigid and mentally demoralising system1 and she is suffering now--as the monomaniac in private life must suffer--for her particular form of insanity4 ,even in the conduct of her great campaign1 this weakness of hers has begun to defeat her4 ,she has lost the power of adaptability in military matters4 ,she repeats the faults of her original plan1 despite the endless illustrations that have been afforded by her ,western antagonists that that plan can be very considerably bettered4 ,no doubt the ,higher ,command may realise in some instances the weakness of the old method in conditions that have been immensely modified since ,august1 #aiad1 but they are impotent to change1 in a year or in a decade1 the effect of their own teaching on the millions of ,germany's army4 ,the massed attack1 for example1 has been demonstrated to be a disastrous failure--a single well-placed machine-gun can defeat it--but ,germany's soldiers will not advance in a scattered attack4 ,they have learnt to depend upon the nearness of their comrades4 ,separate a ,german battalion and it has neither confidence nor courage4 ,again1 can one reasonably doubt that the ,german nation suffers from some form of self-hypnotism when one sees evidence of the almost pathetic belief apparently still placed in the campaign of 8frightfulness08 ,the ,german people themselves are afraid--an inevitable symptom of certain forms of monomania--of the horrible devices they themselves are using1 and no evidence can bring home to them the fact1 that the plan of terrorising their enemies not only fails but recoils even upon their own heads4 ,london--,i speak from experience--is not intimidated by ,zeppelin raids by night1 nor by seaplane raids by day4 ,the inhabitants of ,london do not cower under these terrible afflictions and beg for peace2 on the contrary each horrible incident arouses afresh their determination to prevent1 if possible1 a recurrence of such savagery in the world's history4 ,any sane nation must have realised this fact eighteen months ago2 ,germany1 blind and rigid in the trance of her self-hypnosis1 still staggers on to her own destruction4 ,in the opposite direction it is interesting to note the methods of the ,british4 ,in their case1 we can trace no such clear effort for narrowness and organisation4 ,the general policy of the nation1 whether internal or international1 had that haphazard air which is so commonly cited as being a characteristic of the ,english method as a whole4 ,we saw an almost complete inability to govern or even to manage that still largely subconsciously ruled country of ,ireland4 ,we witnessed the most astounding blunders of policy with regard to foreign countries 7witness ,lord ,salisbury's cession of ,heligoland to ,germany in #ahij1 ,gladstone's handling of the first ,boer ,war1 and a dozen other instances71 and even with regard to the treatment of ,britain's own colonies1 whilst internally her educational and administrative systems were the result of a method of trial and error which was sometimes well-nigh disastrous4 ,the ,british have in them a peculiar kind of empiricism4 ,they are ready to laugh at and to criticise their own defects4 ,they admit quite freely1 for example1 that they 8blundered through somehow0 in the ,boer ,war1 and that they have blundered again and again 7most destructively in ,gallipoli7 in the present campaign4 ,their criticism of the rigidity of their own military methods is a proof that if the criticism is sometimes justified1 the people at home--aye6 and the ,new ,army abroad--have never been infected with that rigidity themselves4 ,but1 in truth1 that rigidity of discipline is now little in evidence in the field4 ,and how little it has affected the ,british and ,french plan of campaign may be judged by the fact that every new device of any importance during the war1 whether a device of method or of mechanical invention1 has been originated by ,france and ,great ,britain4 ,now1 from the ,german point of view1 this adaptability to circumstances would be pronounced1 a priori1 as certain to lead to disaster4 ,i put it to ,america1 on the evidence afforded by the battle-fields of ,france1 which method is the more likely to achieve ultimate success8 ,returning now to my single reason for the cause of the present war1 ,i feel that the explanation has already been given4 ,granted a nation educated and trained as ,germany has been1 some explosion was inevitable sooner or later4 ,if we have in our midst an individual suffering from a fixed idea1 he must in time become intolerable to us4 ,never in the history of the world have thought and the tendency to organisation been more fluid than they were in the first years of the #bjth century4 ,yet one great and powerful nation interfered with us at every turn1 impeding the flow of liberal thought by her obsession with the ideas of her own greatness and the omnipotence of her military machine4 ,nevertheless the other nations of ,europe adapted themselves within limits to the demands of this rigid mechanism in their midst4 ,and it may be that these very powers of endurance and adaptability hastened the crisis4 ,they were regarded by the monomaniacs of ,germany as signs of weakness1 and just as their own philosopher ,nietzsche went mad by concentration on his own invariable theme1 so at last ,germany crossed the bounds of sanity1 imbued with a crazy belief in her own omnipotence4 ,she ran amuck in the wide streets of ,europe1 and even yet she has not realised her own madness4 ,i seriously question whether she will come to anything like a proper realisation of that madness in the present generation4 ,she has allowed a habit of mind to become fixed2 and it has fallen into the realms of her subconsciousness4 ,we must treat her as mad1 but she is nevertheless to be pitied4 ,earlier in this chapter1 ,i separated ,america from the rest of the world4 ,and my reason for this is that ,i regard this great nation of the ,united ,states as still in its early childhood from one point of view4 ,i have an immense confidence in the future of ,america4 ,i see that she has potentialities and opportunities such as no other nation has ever had4 ,for her the possibilities of control by reason are illimitable4 ,but at the same time ,i must issue a very serious warning to every ,american reader of this book4 ,for already ,i have seen the imitation of certain habits of thought1 habits which1 if they are persisted in1 will sink deep into the national subconsciousness and prove a source of danger to the body politic4 ,my wish for ,america is that she should preserve as far as possible an open mind4 ,she has recently entered the ,great ,war for reasons that every right-minded man and woman must applaud and respect4 ,i trust that she will come out of it with the same balance and power of choice1 so that when she has to turn again to her own affairs1 to matters of education1 of government1 and of her commercial interests1 she will be able to form a national mind1 sane enough and strong enough to control the great national body4 ,no finer ambition is possible than this4 ,the old ambition of dominance1 whether commercial or military1 defeats itself by its very exaggeration4 ,such ambitions mount up until they become topheavy1 and1 even if they could be achieved1 the result would be nothing but a decadence such as that which followed the ,empire of ,rome4 ,but given such a power of co-ordination and of self-control in the race1 as a unit1 as could be compared with the balance of a wise and healthy man1 that nation would be free1 with a greater liberty than history can record1 and to such a nation little would be impossible4 ,she would become the teacher of the world by the force of her reason and example4 ,she would inaugurate the coming of a greater and wiser humanity4 ,,end ,,of ,,part ,i ,,part ,,ii ,,conscious ,,guidance ,,and ,,control ,,education 8,it is because the body is a machine that education is possible4 ,education is the formation of habits1 a superinducing of an artificial organisation upon the natural organisation of the body2 so that acts1 which at first require a conscious effort1 eventually become unconscious and mechanical40--,,huxley4 ,,re-,,education 8,it is because the body is a machine that 7,,re7education is possible4 7,,re7education is the formation of 7,,new ,,and ,,correct7 habits1 a 7,,re-,,instating ,,of ,,the ,,correct7 artificial organisation upon the natural organisation of the body2 so that acts1 which at first require conscious effort1 eventually become unconscious and mechanical40 ,,introduction ,,to ,,part ,,ii ,in the first part of this volume ,i have endeavoured to explain the general principle which underlies my work4 ,i will now present my proposition from a slightly different angle1 as it were1 to ensure a clearer view of it1 that is1 ,i shall deal with it in the light of its practical application to the acts of everyday life4 ,i trust ,i may do something to convince thinking men and women that conscious control is essential to man's satisfactory progress in civilisation1 and that the properly directed use of such control will enable the individual to stand1 sit1 walk1 breathe1 digest1 and in fact live with the least possible expenditure of vital energy4 ,this will ensure the highest standard of resistance to disease4 ,when this desirable stage of our evolution is reached the cry of physical deterioration may no longer be heard4 ,i will write out as concisely1 as definitely1 and as boldly as possible1 my claims and my main argument4 ,in a second part ,i have added some more discursive notes and comments1 which ,i trust will meet the many requests ,i have received for further light on certain points in my former book4 ,with the records of my casebooks for over twenty years before me ,i feel it right to set down my convictions in terms that do not admit of any doubt or uncertainty4 ,my conclusions upon the urgent question of physical decadence have not been formulated in haste4 ,they are deductions from a long series of striking results and observed facts1 and1 frankly1 ,i consider them so important that ,i cannot hesitate to deliver my message in a tone which may appear to some to savour of over-confidence4 ,so be it6 ,i ,,synopsis ,,of ,,claim #a4 ,my first claim is that psycho-physical guidance by conscious control1 when applied as a universal principle to 8living10 constitutes an unfailing preventive for diseases mental or physical1 malformations1 and loss of general efficiency4 ,it is commonly considered that these conditions are brought about by such evils of civilisation as the limitation of energy1 and by that loss of so-called 8natural conditions0 which civilisation entails4 ,it is my earnest belief that the intelligent recognition of the principles essential to guidance by conscious control are essential to the full mental and physical development of the human race4 ,due consideration will convince even the sceptical that if mankind is to evolve to the higher stages of mental and physical perfection1 he must be guided by these principles4 ,they alone will bring men and women of to-day to the highest state of well-being1 enabling them to grapple effectively with the problems of the day in the world of thought and action1 gradually widening the dividing line which separates civilised mankind from the animal kingdom4 ,there is no sphere of human activity1 of human feeling or philosophy where the adoption of the principles of conscious guidance and control would not bring invaluable benefits4 ,at present man is held in bondage by many subconscious instincts which enslave the animal kingdom1 the savage1 and the semi-savage4 ,let me illustrate this4 ,animals and savages become immediately unbalanced when they experience the unusual1 as for instance1 when they see an express train dash along for the first time4 ,such a new experience would cause the bravest animal to become overwhelmed with that degree of fear which momentarily suspends his normal guidance by instinct4 ,so also with the savage1 who would be equally unbalanced by an experience of this kind4 ,in most spheres of normal life1 he1 like the animal1 depends on instinctive guiding principles which act with perfect balance under accustomed circumstances4 ,in the face of the unusual1 however1 he is unable to meet suddenly the requirements of a new environment4 ,to meet these he needs reasoned1 conscious guidance which is the outcome of the habit of conscious control1 and marks the dividing line between the animal kingdom1 where instinct is the guide1 and the human kingdom where its members are in communication with reason4 ,the mental and physical limitations and imperfections of men and women of the present day make it impossible for them to meet satisfactorily the great majority of the requirements of their present environment1 and render them quite incapable of making the best of their capabilities in any new environment4 ,these instinctive guiding principles1 not even perfectly balanced as in the case of the savage and the animal1 are miserably insufficient to meet the conditions of the modern world with its ever changing environment4 ,yet it is upon these instincts that men and women rely1 to the detriment of their mental and physical attainments4 #b4 ,my next claim is that all such diseases as those referred to above 7e4g41 cancer1 appendicitis1 bronchitis1 tuberculosis1 etc47 are too often permitted to remain uneradicated and frequently undetected1 and so to develop in consequence of the failure to recognise that the real cause of the development of such diseases is to be found in the erroneous preconceived ideas of the persons immediately concerned1 ideas which affect the organism in the manner described in ,part ,i of this book4 ,the only experience which the average man or woman has in the use of the different parts of the human organism is through his or her subconsciousness4 ,the result is a subconscious direction which in the imperfectly co-ordinated person is based on bad experiences and on the erroneous preconceived ideas before mentioned4 ,small wonder1 then1 that such direction is faulty and leads to the development of serious defects and imperfections4 ,with this erroneous direction even the attempt to carry out a simple action in accordance with subconscious habit is fraught with danger1 for it invariably affects in a detrimental manner other parts of the subject's organism which have nothing to do with the particular act or acts attempted4 ,for instance1 in the subconsciously controlled person the attempt to lengthen the neck is invariably preceded by a movement of the eyes in an upward or downward direction4 ,wrong use of the eyes in this or some similar manner too frequently is the forerunner of what eventually develops into an established habit1 often causing an unnecessary and undue strain of the eyes which seriously impairs their efficiency1 and which in the ordinary way of life leads to the specific treatment of these organs4 ,it is obvious1 however1 that what is needed in such a case is the eradication of the erroneous preconceived idea and harmful habits1 thereby removing gradually the undue and unnecessary strain upon the organs of sight4 ,this will enable them to regain their lost efficiency and it is almost certain that specific treatment of any kind on orthodox lines will be unnecessary4 ,in consequence of faulty guidance misdirected energies are not confined to one part of the organism4 ,they affect the hands1 arms1 shoulders1 legs1 thorax1 hips1 knees1 ankles and other parts of the organism1 frequently causing strain and interference with the functioning of the different organs and finally seriously injuring them4 ,to support this second claim ,i bring forward the following arguments3 7a7 ,till now little or no attention on a practical psycho-physical basis has been given to the vital and harmful influence of this faulty direction 7of subconscious origin7 and of the erroneous preconceived ideas and faulty posture associated therewith4 ,under such influences the subject can hardly fail to cultivate a wrong mental attitude towards life in general and towards the art of living 7evolving satisfactorily71 especially in regard to the primary causation of the defects which may be present or which may develop eventually1 but also in regard to the essential laws connected with the eradication of these defects4 7b7 ,owing to the lack of distinction between reasoned 7conscious7 and unreasoned 7subconscious or partly-conscious7 actions1 the subject suffers from various forms of mental and physical delusions1 notably with regard to the physical acts he performs4 ,incidentally it should be pointed out that if this is true of the ordinary acts of everyday life how much more so of those physical acts which may be necessary to meet the demands of some new environment6 ,as a striking instance of delusion in physical acts let us take the case of a man who believes himself to be merely overcoming what he regards as essential inertia1 when he is really fighting the resistance of undue antagonistic muscular action exerted by himself1 a resistance of which he is not consciously aware4 ,in all such cases there is a constant conflict between two great forces1 the one 7subconscious7 destined to exercise supreme directive powers during the early stages of human evolution1 the other 7conscious7 to supersede this limited direction and finally to prove the reliable guide through the higher and highest stages of the great evolutionary scheme which leads to the full enjoyment of his potentialities4 ,it must be remembered that the former became firmly established during centuries of subconscious direction1 holding undisputed sway until the first glimmering of reasoned conscious guidance came in its crudest form to disturb its power1 a power which it is destined one day to overthrow4 ,in the present stage of our mental and physical progress the conflict continues with gradually increasing energy1 and while the conflict is being waged the subject is influenced first in one direction by the dictates of his subconsciousness 7called by some 8instinct10 by others 8intuition071 and then in another by his awakened conscious powers which he is gradually but slowly developing4 ,of the real significance of this conflict he has1 unfortunately1 no true realisation4 ,at the same time he undoubtedly feels the force of these two influences as conflicting energies1 but only in a dim1 mysterious way4 ,he is swayed first by one force and then by the other as happens when we hear a man or woman say1 8,well1 that seems the thing to do1 but ,i feel that ,i shouldn't do it40 ,very often he does what he feels instead of what seems to be the correct thing1 and1 moreover1 the former is very frequently right4 ,this is not surprising1 seeing that the subconscious instinct in us is much more developed than the conscious faculty4 ,but granting the subconscious its fullest degree of merit1 we are forced to recognise its serious limitations in the mode of life 7civilisation7 with its ever changing environment which human progress demands4 ,we must have a guiding principle without these limitations1 to enable us to adapt ourselves much more quickly to the new environments which are inevitable in the progress of civilisation towards its legitimate goal4 ,we must have something more reasoned and definite than that which subconscious direction offers1 and so we come to the need of reasoned guidance4 ,up to the present neither of these forms of direction really reaches the mind as a definite tangible idea consciously conceived4 ,this is because of the fundamental principles upon which subconscious direction has been built up1 and in consequence of the undeveloped condition of conscious guidance4 ,furthermore1 the subject has not yet made any serious attempt to analyse these two forces1 of whose particular workings he is but dimly aware4 ,the fundamental principle which we call evolution demands that every human being shall be enabled to make this analysis1 so that he may differentiate between the impulses springing from his subconsciousness 7instinct-inhibition7 and the conceptions created in his reasoning conscious mind4 ,the subject will thus cultivate the habit of distinguishing between reasoned and unreasoned actions and this will at once tend to the prevention of mental and physical delusions in all directions1 notably in regard to his physical acts in old or new environments4 7c7 ,whilst these delusions remain1 the subject will continue to perform wrong or detrimental actions1 for as long as his settled mental attitude towards such actions remains unchanged1 he will believe that he is performing them in a correct manner4 ,it is owing to this involuntary1 and on his part unrecognised1 misapprehension1 that many malformations and inefficiencies become established1 which sooner or later may lead to definite disease4 ,the popular misconception of the subject's responsibility in the matter leads him to be commonly pitied as for unavoidable defects1 whereas it is of the first importance that he should realise the responsibility is his and his alone4 ,he must be made aware that such defects arise from his own fault1 and are the outcome of his ignorance or wilful neglect4 ,once this new mental attitude is firmly established there is hope for the afflicted person and he will have the satisfaction of knowing that he is1 as it were1 working out his own salvation on common-sense practical lines1 devoid of pernicious sympathy1 face to face with real facts1 and stimulated by a principle which cannot fail to secure the very best efforts in the right direction of which any ordinary person is capable4 7d7 ,it is essential in the necessary re-education of the subject through conscious guidance and control that in every case the 8means whereby0 rather than the 8end10 should be held in mind4 ,as long as the 8end0 is held in mind instead of the 8means10 the muscular act1 or series of acts1 will always be performed in accordance with the mode established by old habits4 ,when each stage of the series essential to the 8means whereby0 is correctly apprehended by the conscious mind of the subject1 the old habits can be broken up1 and every muscular action can be consciously directed until the new and correct guiding sensations have established the new proper habits which in their turn become subconscious1 but on a more highly evolved plane4 ,in effect these new habits ensure conditions which give new life to1 and maintain in a high state of efficiency1 every organ of the body1 the automatic functions being reacted upon by the consciously controlled energies4 ,by my system of obtaining the position of 8mechanical advantage10#ad a perfect system of natural internal massage is rendered possible1 such as never before has been attained by orthodox methods1 a system which is extraordinarily beneficial in breaking up toxic accumulation2 thus avoiding evils which arise from auto-intoxication4 ,the position of mechanical advantage1 which may or may not be a normal position1 is the position which gives the teacher the opportunity to bring about quickly with his own hands a co-ordinated condition in the subject4 ,such co-ordination gives to the pupil an experience of the proper use of a part or parts1 in the imperfect use of which may be found the primary cause of the defects present4 ,it is by the repetition of such experiences of the proper use of his organism that the pupil is enabled to reproduce the sensation and to employ the same guiding principles in everyday life4 ,the placing of the pupil in what would ordinarily be considered an abnormal position 7of mechanical advantage7 affords the teacher an opportunity to establish the mental and physical guiding principles which enable the pupil after a short time to repeat the co-ordination with the same perfection in a normal position4 ,i maintain in this connexion1 that any case of incipient appendicitis may be treated successfully by these methods4 ,further1 when this position of mechanical advantage has been attained through the employment of the first principles of conscious guidance and control1 a rigid thorax may regain mobility1 no matter what the age of the subject1 and full thoracic expansion and contraction may be acquired and1 with the minimum of effort1 maintained4 ,during the practical process by which this thoracic elasticity and maximum intra-thoracic capacity is gradually established1 the body of the subject is at the same time re-adjusted and mental principles are inculcated which will enable him to maintain the improved conditions in posture and co-ordination which are being set up1 and which will secure the normal and necessary abdominal pressure in the right direction1 thus constituting a natural form of massage of the digestive organs which is maintained during the ordinary actions of everyday life4 #c4 ,i am able to re-adjust and to teach others to re-adjust the human machine with the hands2 to mould the body1 as it were1 into its proper shape1 and with an open-minded pupil it is possible to remove many defects in a few minutes1 as1 for example1 to change entirely the production of a voice1 its quality and power4 #d4 ,in prescribing the principles of conscious guidance and control1 we are dealing not with an epidemic of physical or mental degeneracy1 but with a stage in the progress of the human race from the subconscious and instinctive to the conscious and reasoned command of the whole human mechanism4 ,in other words1 we have reached a stage in the process of civilisation where demands are being made which we are unable to meet satisfactorily1 and with the serious results which may be seen on every hand1 results from which we can escape only by passing from those primitive modes of guidance which approximate too closely to those of the animal kingdom where the greater potentialities of the human being remain latent4 ,the suggested adoption of conscious guidance and control as a universal principle on the lines heretofore outlined will enable us to move slowly but with gradually increasing speed towards those higher psycho-physical spheres which will separate the animal and human kingdoms by a deep gulf1 and mankind will then enjoy the blessings which will be the natural result of capacities fully developed4 ,,ii ,,the ,,argument ,the marked tendency toward physical degeneracy among the men and women of all civilised races has been the constant theme of physiologists1 therapeutists and other specialists2 endless explanations have been put forward to account for it1 and countless remedies suggested to counteract it4 ,in this question1 as in the details of medicine and surgery1 the general inclination of the human mind is always towards a treatment of epidemic symptoms1 towards vague generalisations in the diagnosis and treatment of individual symptoms1 whether the word 8individual0 in this case refers to a specific sufferer or a correlated class of diseases1 towards a regard of effects rather than of causes4 ,as a reaction against this long-accepted method of dealing with individual symptoms by differentiated treatment1 there has arisen a great diversity of so-called 8mind-healers10 whose a priori methods and lack of any clearly conceived system have brought their efforts into disrepute4 ,such were the conditions which over twenty years ago ,i sought to understand1 believing--as ,i still do--that the whole human race was at some great psycho-physical turning point in its history1 and that if the true nature of this evolutionary stage could be understood1 it might and should be possible to direct man's physical and mental progression and so combat1 and in time eliminate1 a thousand evils which seem to have no counterpart in the world of the lower animals1 save in very exceptional cases4 ,in embarking upon this enquiry ,i realised from the outset that ,i was dealing not with a world-wide epidemic but with a stage of progress1 and that it was essential therefore that ,i should at once discard all theories which advocated1 implicitly or explicitly1 a return to similar conditions4 ,evolution knows no such return to extinction4 ,the species must go forward to a triumphant perfection1 or give place to a more dominant1 more complete1 self-controlled type4 ,now if man as an animal1 with an animal body differing little in anatomical structure from other families of the order of ,primates1 is yet differentiated physically by a susceptibility to disease and bodily degeneration1 which1 save in very exceptional cases1 finds little or no parallel in the lower animals1 we must determine the prime cause of such differentiation4 ,the solution of the problem which is commonly put forward1 and which has found support in the body calling themselves in ,england and in the ,united ,states 8,eugenists10 ,i cannot accept as universal4 ,this theory rests mainly on the contention that in the human polity the physical struggle for existence has ceased to have effect1 that the unfit are permitted to produce offspring equally with the fit1 and that for the natural selection imposed by circumstances which are fatal to the weak we must substitute an arbitrary selection in order to maintain the high efficiency of the natural type4 ,though ,i am in sympathy with many principles of ,eugenics ,i reject this theory as a universal one4 ,it is inconsistent with the great and inspiring ideal of the progress of the human race toward a mental and bodily perfection4 ,if we believe in the idea of a ,purpose running through life1 unfolding itself to each successive generation and expressing itself in the terms of human experience2 if1 in other words1 we believe in any scientific theory of development1 in any large scheme of progress1 it is impossible to accept a theory which assumes the lack of adaptability in man's physical body to thrive in the conditions which have grown up around him1 or to enter its true and natural kingdom of perfect soundness4 ,if we postulate that a third of civilised humanity is unfit to continue the race1 we can only conclude that man's physical evolution has proved a failure1 and that the race is doomed ultimately to extinction4 ,and1 in the last analysis1 it is inconceivable that the prime instinct and desire for reproduction can be overruled at the dictates of any small body of men1 or even that such a method1 if possible1 could be productive of any highly desirable results4 ,wherefore ,i take my stand firmly on the ground that the body of civilised man is capable not only of continuing the struggle for existence but of rising to a higher potentiality4 ,so1 returning to the point of differentiation between man and the lower animals1 ,i am now convinced that we must seek for the cause of this physical degeneration not in the pressure of new circumstances of life1 but in the progress from one state of being to the next4 ,i maintain that in order to discover the solution of this twofold problem of universal disease and its universal remedy1 we must look to this enormous growth of reasoning power1 and to the consciousness and realisation of the means whereby the desired effect can be obtained4 ,for the animal and the lower races of mankind do not perform physical acts by any process of reason4 ,they are the servants of that strange directing law which governs the flower in its curiously ingenious devices to ensure cross-fertilisation1 no less than the higher mammalia in the rules of their gregarious societies1 the law for which we have found no better term than ,instinct4 ,it is this 8instinct0 which guides all the nervous muscular mechanisms of the animal's anatomical structure1 and is traceable as the motive in all functional processes4 ,but in the physical economy of mankind this instinct is actually at war with1 and is ever being controlled and superseded by conscious1 directive reason4 ,the number of man's instinctive actions grows ever more limited1 7#a7 as the result of a complete change of habit1 and 7#b7 more noticeably1 as the outcome of a mental evolution which prompts him continually to seek a cause for every action1 to analyse and endeavour to comprehend the secret springs of his being4 ,moreover civilisation1 with its multitudinous problems of life and its perpetual interplay of personalities1 demands even in the minuti of physical action a constant reasoning1 a deliberate and comparatively rapid adaptation to surroundings such as instinct is quite unable to provide4 ,thus man's whole body is a polity ruled by two governors whose dictates are not invariably consistent one with the other2 and one governor is frequently disobeyed at the expense of the other4 ,this fact1 indeed1 is obvious when it is thus considered1 but we have to determine the possible outcome4 ,there are three alternatives4 ,the first1 a return to the sole guidance of instinct1 is unthinkable4 ,the second1 the continuance of this dual government1 is the very condition which has led to the evils we seek to remedy4 ,there remains the third1 namely1 that man's physical evolution points to progress along the road of reasoned1 conscious guidance and control4 ,it was this last conclusion which over twenty years ago led me to investigate and to practise the means by which this conscious guidance and control could be obtained1 so as to apply it to the eradication and prevention of human ills1 and to the maintenance of the body in a high degree of physical perfection4 ,,iii ,,the ,,processes ,,of ,,conscious ,,guidance ,,and ,,control ,the formulation of the method of conscious guidance and control arises in practice from a close study of the imperfect uses of the mental and physical mechanisms of the human organism4 ,since1 as has been shown1 conscious guidance and control is necessary and is being practised to some extent1 inefficiently1 by every civilised man and woman1 it is essential that its principles should be thoroughly understood4 ,the method is based firstly on the understanding of the co-ordinated uses of the muscular mechanisms1 and secondly1 on the complete acceptance of the hypothesis that each and every movement can be consciously directed and controlled4 ,in re-educating the individual1 therefore1 the first effort must be directed to the education of the conscious mind4 ,the words 8re-educating0 and 8re-education0 have a specific meaning4 ,in the individual the normal processes of education in the use of the anatomical structure is conducted subconsciously1 certain instincts commanding certain functions1 whilst other functions are conducted deliberately4 ,the effects of this haphazard process have either to be elaborated or broken down1 according to the defects established by misuse of the mechanisms1 and the first step in re-education is that of establishing in the pupil's mind the connexion which exists between cause and effect in every function of the human body4 ,in the performance of any muscular action by conscious guidance and control there are four essential stages3 7#a7 ,the conception of the movement required2 7#b7 ,the inhibition of erroneous preconceived ideas which subconsciously suggest the manner in which the movement or series of movements should be performed2 7#c7 ,the new and conscious mental orders which will set in motion the muscular mechanism essential to the correct performance of the action2 7#d7 ,the movements 7contractions and expansions7 of the muscles which carry out the mental orders4 ,the process of re-education concerns itself with establishing these principles1 and for the purpose of illustration we may take a typical example of a patient who has had no experience of them4 ,a well-built1 muscular man in the prime of life1 conducting during business hours a sedentary occupation and taking more or less violent exercise during his leisure1 becomes a chronic sufferer from indigestion with all its concomitant troubles4 ,he complains that the physical exercises of the gymnasium no longer do him any good1 but appears to think that if he gave up his office work altogether1 an economic impossibility for him1 he might recover4 ,suppose he is asked to stand upright and take a 8deep breath40 ,it will be found that he immediately makes movements which tend to retard the proper action of the respiratory processes rather than to promote such action4 ,for instance1 it is almost certain that in the attempt to make the movement referred to he will stiffen the muscles of his neck1 throw back the head1 hollow the back1 protrude the stomach1 and take breath by audibly sucking air into the lungs4 ,the muscles over the entire surface of the bony thorax will be unduly tensed1 tending to more or less harmful thoracic rigidity at the very moment when the maximum of mobility is needed4 ,how could the result be otherwise8 ,for1 in telling the pupil to take a 8deep breath10 the teacher starts out with the assumption that the pupil can do so4 ,but why such an assumption8 ,what guide in carrying out the order has the pupil except his own admittedly erroneous guidance8 ,i say 8admittedly0 erroneous1 for ,i contend that the pupil's condition1 together with the fact that he and the teacher deem it necessary to remedy it1 is tantamount to this admission4 ,so common1 so almost universal is such a response as the above to these orders that the truth of the statement may be tested on any average individual4 ,now the mistakes of this response need not be dwelt upon here4 ,they have proved in every case in my experience sufficient explanation for the trouble of the digestive organs4 ,examination of the subject will reveal the hollowing of the back with the accompanying protrusion of the abdominal wall1 whilst the abdominal muscles will be deficient in the energy and tone necessary to the maintenance of efficiency in the digestive organs4 ,now in dealing with this case1 many parts of the organism will require re-adjustment4 ,the spine must be straightened and lengthened1 the mean thoracic capacity permanently increased in order to give free play to the internal organs1 and the firmly established habit of drawing breath by sucking air into the lungs must be broken4 ,it is essential in this place to point out that no system of physical exercises will alter the present condition of the subject in respect of these faults1 since all exercises will be conducted under a primary misconception with regard to the use of the muscles involved in the re-adjustment and co-ordination of the organism4 ,we may now follow the individual through the four stages in the inculcation of the principles of conscious control4 ,in the first place it is necessary that he should have a clear understanding of the faults we seek to remedy4 ,no tacit compliance on his part to a treatment1 the processes of which he does not understand1 will be of the slightest value4 ,he must accept completely the principle in detail4 ,in the second place he must be taught to realise his erroneous conceptions which result in erroneous movements1 and this1 whether the conceptions be conscious or subconscious4 ,he must also be taught to inhibit1 and1 finally1 to eradicate these preconceived ideas and the mental order or series of orders which follow from them4 ,only then can he give the correct guiding orders as next described4 ,in the third place1 then1 he must learn to give the correct mental orders to the mechanisms involved1 and there must be a clear differentiation in his mind between the giving of the order and the performance of the act ordered and carried out through the medium of the muscles4 ,the whole principles of volition and inhibition are implicit in the recognition of this differentiation4 ,thus1 to return to the example under consideration1 we will suppose that ,i have requested the pupil to order the spine to lengthen and the neck to relax4 ,if1 instead of merely framing and holding this desire in his mind1 he attempts the physical performance of these acts1 he will invariably stiffen the muscles of his neck and shorten his spine1 since these are the movements habitually associated in his mind with lengthening his spine1 and the muscles will contract in accordance with the old associations4 ,in effect it will be seen that in this1 as in all other cases1 stress must be laid on the point that it is the means and not the end which must be considered4 ,when the end is held in mind1 instinct or long habit will always seek to attain the end by habitual methods4 ,the action is performed below the level of consciousness in its various stages1 and only rises to the level of consciousness when the end is being attained by the correct 8means whereby40 ,in the fourth place1 when the correct guiding orders have been practised and given by the mind1 a result attained by attention and the instruction of the teacher1 the muscles involved will come into play in different combinations under the control of conscious guidance1 and a reasoned act will take the place of the series of habitual1 unconsidered movements which have resulted in the deformation of the body4 ,and it must be kept clearly in mind that the whole of the old series of movements has been correlated and compacted into one indivisible and rigid sequence which has invariably followed the one mental order that started the train2 such an order1 for instance1 as 8,stand upright40 ,leaving this specific example1 ,i come now to a consideration of the general principles involved4 ,firstly1 as to the teaching method4 ,every one who has had experience1 personally or vicariously1 of the many 8methods0 and 8systems0 of teaching breathing1 speaking1 singing1 physical culture1 golf1 fencing1 etc41 must have noticed that whilst the failures of these 8methods0 are many1 the successes are comparatively few4 ,the few successes are of course set down to exceptional natural aptitude1 whilst the teacher has an explanation of those cases more flattering to himself and prefers not to consider too closely the average of his failures4 ,the truth is that all these systems break down because the pupil1 in the attempt to adopt them1 is guided always by his subconscious direction and is forced to depend too much on what is called natural aptitude4 ,when guidance by conscious control and reason supersedes guidance by instinct1 we shall be able to develop our potentialities to the full4 ,my own analysis of the matter is that the teaching method is1 as a rule1 entirely wrong1 and wrong because of a fundamental misconception and an entirely inaccurate analysis resulting in a false premise4 ,the pupil's defects are dealt with commonly through their effects and not their causes4 ,it is not recognised that every defective action is the result of the erroneous preconception of the doer1 whether consciously or subconsciously exercised1 and the orders which directly or indirectly follow4 ,nor is it understood that a pupil under the influence of such erroneous preconceptions can make no real progress till he is made to realise that it is he himself who is actually bringing about the defective action4 ,the teacher does not attach sufficient importance to the fact that the pupil is often under a complete misapprehension as to his own actions1 being under the delusion that he is doing one thing when he is often doing the exact opposite4 ,no real progress in the overcoming of faults can be made until the pupil consciously ceases to will or to do those things which he has been willing and doing in the past1 and which have led him to commit the faults that are to be eradicated4 8,don't do this1 but this10 says the teacher1 dealing with effects4 ,in other words1 it is assumed that the defective action on the part of the pupil can be put right by 8doing something else40 ,the teacher accepts and preaches this doctrine without ever analysing the defect to its root cause in the human will1 the motor of the whole mechanism4 ,he forgets that in 8doing something else0 the pupil must use the same machinery which1 ex hypothesi1 is working imperfectly1 and that he must be guided in his action by the same erroneous conceptions regarding right and wrong doing4 ,neither teacher nor pupil seems to remember that to know whether practice is right or wrong demands judgment4 ,judgment is the result of experience4 ,faulty or wrong experience means faulty or bad judgment1 whereas correct experience means good judgment4 ,the very fact that the pupil was beset with defects and needed help proves that his kinsthetic experiences were incorrect and even harmful1 and as his judgment on the kinsthetic basis has been built upon such faulty experience1 the judgment will prove most misleading and unsound4 ,therefore we are forced to dispense1 for the time being1 with the sense of feeling as a guide in its old sphere of associations4 ,we cannot deny that we are beset with defects1 that even when the way is made clear for their eradication we cannot follow that way on our old mode of procedure1 because our guides in the form of sensory appreciations 7feeling-tones71 general experience1 and judgment are unworthy of our confidence1 and will guide us in such a way that1 even if we succeed in eradicating some specific defect1 it will be found that in the process we have cultivated a number of others which are as bad or even worse than the original4 ,it seems also to me that practice so-called is so rarely directed by a reasoned analysis on a reasoned plan4 ,nor does the teacher analyse and instruct with accuracy4 ,he demands from the pupil merely imitative not reasoned acts4 ,this makes practice so often futile for the imperfectly co-ordinated person1 and teaching both halting and inadequate4 ,with regard to this question of the imitative method ,i have frequently had to point out to vocal pupils that certain effects and capacities1 which they hoped to acquire in a few lessons1 were a result of a proper conscious knowledge on my part of the 8means whereby0 the voice is produced4 ,to achieve these results they must study and master the same principles1 but they could never reproduce them by a series of imitative acts divorced from knowledge of the processes involved and skill in using these processes4 ,there is no royal road to anything worth having1 and the imitative method of teaching seems to me pure charlatanry4 ,the position of the teacher and pupil is a very hopeless one as long as their standpoint is still on the subconscious plane1 and the physical and mental conditions of our time1 when considered in the light of the teaching methods adopted in the past1 afford abundant proof of this4 ,my reader can rejoice that the foregoing is a faithful representation of our position to-day4 ,he can rejoice because these tremendous forces demand that if he wishes to progress he must leave the subconscious plane of animal growth and development1 and adopt the reasoned conscious plane of guidance and control by means of which mankind may rise to those high evolutionary planes for which his latent and undeveloped potentialities fit him4 ,i will now endeavour to outline the teaching method which should be adopted if we are to pass successfully from subconscious to conscious guidance and control1 in the endeavour to remove defects and delusions and to develop and establish correct guiding centres and senses4 ,the conscious guidance and control advocated here is on a wide and general1 and not on a specific basis4 ,conscious control applied in a specific way in unthinkable1 except as a result of the principle primarily applied as a universal4 ,for instance1 the conscious controlling of the movements of a particular muscle or limb1 as practised by athletes and others1 is of little practical value in the science of living4 ,the specific control of a finger1 of the neck1 or of the legs should primarily be the result of the conscious guidance and control of the mechanism of the torso1 particularly of the antagonistic muscular actions which bring about those correct and greater co-ordinations intended to control the movements of the limbs1 neck1 respiratory mechanism and the general activity of the internal organs4 ,in order to describe the teaching method necessary in this connexion1 ,i will indicate the procedure which should be adopted in the attempt to help a pupil in whom undue tension of the muscles of one side of the neck causes the head to be pulled down on that side4 ,in the ordinary way1 the pupil is told to relax and straighten the neck and he and his teacher devote themselves to this end4 ,this attempt may be attended with more or less success1 chiefly less4 ,if they do succeed in removing the specific trouble it is almost certain that new defects will have been cultivated during the process4 ,in any case the teacher's order to relax and straighten the neck is incorrect and primarily the result of a wrong assumption4 ,it started from a false premise which led to false deductions4 ,the pupil and his teacher decided that something was wrong and that therefore something specific had to be done to put it right4 ,the 8end0 was held in mind primarily and not the 8means whereby40 ,the correct point of view is3 ,something is wrong in the use of the psycho-physical mechanism of the person concerned4 ,is this imperfection or defect a direct or indirect result of this person's own direction and action1 or is it the result of some influence outside of himself and beyond his power to control8 ,it can be proved conclusively that his imperfections or defects are due entirely to causes springing directly or indirectly from his own ideas and acts4 ,it is therefore obvious that the correct order of procedure for teacher and pupil is first for the pupil to learn to prevent himself from doing the wrong things which cause the imperfections or defects1 and then1 as a secondary consideration in procedure1 to learn the correct way to use the mental and physical mechanisms concerned4 ,if there is any undue muscular pull in any part of the neck1 it is almost certain to be due to the defective co-ordination in the use of the muscles of the spine1 back1 and torso generally1 the correction of which means the eradication of the real cause of the trouble4 ,this principle applies to the attempted eradication of all defects or imperfect uses of the mental and physical mechanisms in all the acts of daily life and in such games as cricket1 football1 billiards1 baseball1 golf1 etc41 and in the physical manipulation of the piano1 violin1 harp and all such instruments4 ,my reader must not fail to remember that mental conceptions are the stimuli to the ideo-motor centre which passes on the subconscious or conscious guiding orders to the mechanism4 ,in dealing with human defects or imperfections we must consider the inherited subconscious conceptions associated with the mechanisms involved1 and also the conceptions which are to be the forerunners of the ideo-motor guiding orders connected with the new and correct use of the different mechanisms4 ,in order to establish successfully the latter 7correct conception71 we must first inhibit the former 7incorrect conception71 and from the ideo-motor centre project the new and different directing orders which are to influence the complexes involved1 gradually eradicating the tendency to employ the incorrect ones1 and steadily building up those which are correct and reliable4 ,it will therefore be understood that if we eliminate the conception established and associated with our defects or imperfections1 it means that we are really eliminating our inherited subconsciousness1 and all the defective uses of the psycho-physical mechanism connected therewith4 ,in our attempts on these lines we are1 at the outset1 confronted with the difficulty of mental rigidity4 ,the preconceptions and habits of thought with regard to the uses of the muscular mechanisms are the first if not the only stumbling-blocks to the teaching of conscious control4 ,many of these preconceptions are the legacy of instinct1 others arise from habitual practices started by a faulty comprehension of the uses of the mechanism1 others again by conscious or unconscious imitation of faults in others4 ,in this last case it may be noted that although we are always deploring the degeneracy of civilised man the exemplars held up for the child's conscious and unconscious imitation are nearly always faulty specimens4 ,these preconceptions and habits of thought1 therefore1 must be broken down1 and since the reactions of mind on body and body on mind are so intimate1 it is often necessary to break down these preconceptions of mind by performing muscular acts for the subject vicariously2 that is to say1 the instructor must move the parts in question while the subject attends to the inhibition of all muscular movements4 ,it would be impossible1 however1 to describe the method in full detail in this place1 owing to the extraordinary variability of the cases presented1 no two of which exhibit precisely the same defects4 ,on broad lines it is evident that the misuses must be diagnosed by the instructor who may be called upon to use considerable ingenuity and patience in correcting the faults1 and substituting the correct mental orders for the one general order which starts the old train of vicious habitual movements4 ,the mental habit must be first attacked and this mental habit usually lies below the level of consciousness2 but it may be reached by introspection and analysis1 and by the performance of the habitual acts by other than the habitual methods1 that is1 by physical acts performed consciously as an effect of the conscious conception and the conscious direction of the mind4 ,speaking generally1 it will be found that the pupil is quite unable to analyse his own actions4 ,tell a young golfer that he has taken his eye off the ball or swayed his body1 and he feels sure1 in his heart1 that you are mistaken4 ,the imperfectly poised person has not a correct apprehension of what he is really doing4 ,in this apparently simple matter of the carriage or poise of the body ,i find in quite nine-tenths of my cases a harmful rigidity#ae which is quite unconsciously assumed4 ,when it is pointed out to them1 and physically demonstrated1 they almost invariably deny it indignantly4 ,i ask a new pupil to put his shoulders back and his head forward1 and he will consistently put both back or forward4 ,i tell a new pupil he is shortening his spine1 and in attempting to lengthen it he invariably shortens it still more4 ,the action is one over which he has neither learnt nor practised any control whatever4 ,he is simply deluded regarding his sensations and unable to direct his actions4 ,i do not therefore in teaching him actually order him to lengthen his spine by performing any explicit action1 but ,i cause him to rehearse the correct guiding orders1 and after placing him in a position of mechanical advantage ,i am able by my manipulation to bring about1 directly or indirectly as the case may be1 the desired flexibility and extension4 ,the process is of course repeated until the pupil gains a new kinsthetic sense of the new and correct use of the parts1 which become properly co-ordinated1 and the correct habit is established4 ,he will then no longer find it easy to cause his physical machinery to work as it did before the fault was thus effectively eradicated4 ,i frequently have to treat cases of congenital or acquired crippling and distortion4 ,i protest against the mental attitude which looks upon such ailments as incurable and beyond the control of the patient--the mental attitude of the person who says1 8,poor fellow10 to the sufferer1 and induces him to repeat and be dominated by this paralysing formula4 ,as a matter of plain fact the condition is maintained by the pupil's erroneous ideas concerning 8cause0 and 8effect10 and the working of his own mechanism1 and so1 subconsciously but quite effectively1 he is really causing and maintaining the trouble4 ,my method is to make an examination and then to apply tests to discover the real cause or causes1 namely1 the erroneous preconceived ideas1 and to find out what minimum of control is left1 and therefrom to develop a healthy condition of the whole organism by a simple and practical procedure which step by step effects the desired physical and mental changes4 ,like the faith-healer1 then1 ,i lay much stress on the mental attitude of the patient2 unlike him1 instead of denying the existence of the evil ,i make the pupil search out with me its cause4 ,i then explain to him that his own will 7not mine or some higher will7 is to effect the desired change1 but that it must first be directed in a rational way to bring about a physical manifestation1 and must be aided by a simple mechanical principle and a proper manipulation4 ,in this way a reasoned and permanent confidence is built up in the pupil instead of a spurious hysterical one which is apt to fail as suddenly as it arose4 ,i will not1 for instance1 allow my pupils to close their eyes during their work1 in spite of a constant plea that they can 8think better0 or 8concentrate0 better with their eyes shut1 for1 as a rule1 ,i find that this resolves itself into an attempt at self-hypnotism4 ,i make them endeavour to exercise their conscious minds all the while4 ,as ,i have already said1 ,i maintain further and ,i am prepared to prove that the majority of physical defects have come about by the action of the patient's own will operating under the influence of erroneous preconceived ideas and consequent delusions1 exercised consciously or more often subconsciously1 and that these conditions can be changed by that same will directed by a right conception implanted by the teacher4 ,in this connexion ,i am able to give particulars of an interesting case4 ,a well-known actor fell during rehearsal and injured his arm so severely that he was unable to raise it more than five or six inches from his side without intense pain4 ,he consulted many medical men without relief1 and had been disabled for six weeks when he was sent to see me4 ,i diagnosed the case as a subjective subconsciously willed disablement4 ,of course1 the last thing ,i mean is that it was 8affected0 in the usual sense2 all the patient's interests and character made this impossible4 ,i asked him to lift his arm4 8,i can't40 8,but please try40 ,he did so and the cause of his trouble was immediately apparent to me4 ,he was using the muscular mechanisms of the arm and neck in such a way as to place a severe strain on the injured muscle1 such a strain indeed as would have been harmful to a normal arm and which caused him intense pain4 ,for instance1 he was exerting force sufficient to lift a sack of flour and he looked as if he had been called upon for such an exertion6 ,he was stiffening all the muscles which he should have relaxed1 and was altogether acting as the subconsciously controlled person of to-day does habitually act when something unusual occurs4 ,to put the matter in the terms of my thesis1 he acted in accordance with a subconscious guiding influence which had long since lost the standard of accuracy of instinct possessed by his early ancestors1 whilst nothing had been given to or cultivated by him in his civilised state to compensate for its loss4 ,the 8cure0 was so simple as to appear ludicrous4 ,i had diagnosed that the subconsciously stiffened muscles were the cause of the trouble4 ,my efforts were devoted to obtaining the correct action of the arm with the minimum of tension4 ,this was done by manipulation and by giving him guiding orders which brought about the correct use of the parts concerned4 ,within ten minutes he was able to lift his arm with very little pain and he resumed his professional work at once and without relapse4 ,note that the relaxing was not brought about by a preliminary order to relax1 an action which entailed processes of which he had no true consciousness and over which therefore he had no control4 ,note also that this demonstration is much more effective for the treatment of similar later accidents and for general self-development and control1 than any hypnotic 8suggestion0 that there was no pain4#af ,i do not deny1 for it would be against the evidence1 that the healers do contrive to remove pain2 but apart from the danger of removing mere symptoms 7that is1 removing nature's danger signals and leaving the danger untouched71 their methods have the obvious limitation of being repugnant to many1 and have fallen into some discredit amongst those who are by no means amongst the least capable1 accomplished1 and thoughtful human types4 ,another very interesting case was that of a man who stuttered and came to me for help4 ,all stutterers have their particular and peculiar little accompaniments to the main defect4 ,his was a harmful habit of moving his arm up and down from the elbow as he attempted to speak4 ,i asked him why he did this1 and he replied that he felt it assisted him in speaking4 ,i explained and demonstrated to him that this was a delusion1 that this movement of the limb was really a hindrance and not an assistance4 ,he saw that a considerable amount of valuable mental and physical energy1 which should have been conveyed to the mechanisms and organs of speech1 was being diverted to a limb which might have been amputated without interfering in any way with those mental and mechanical processes upon which his powers of speech entirely depended4 ,he became convinced on these points and intimated his willingness to endeavour to carry out my instructions4 ,i assisted him to establish a working conscious control basis and improved his co-ordination generally4 ,then ,i made the following request3 8,i wish you to project orders to these newly developed co-ordinators4 ,you will then be prevented from employing your arms as an aid in speaking1 and in your general attempts at conscious guidance in private4 ,in public ,i wish you to adopt the following mode of procedure3 8,whenever a person speaks to you1 asking a question or in any way trying to open up a conversation1 you must as a primary principle refuse to answer by mentally saying ,no4 7,this will hold in check the old subconscious orders--the bad habit of moving the arm4 ,it constitutes the inhibition of the old errors before attempting to speak74 8,then give the new and correct orders to your general co-ordinations and command the #8means whereby' of the act of correct and controlled speaking4 8,make this a principle of life40 ,perhaps ,i should add here that ,i convinced this pupil by practical demonstrations that the energy directed to his arm was wasted and misdirected2 that1 if this energy were correctly directed to the proper co-ordinations concerned with the mechanism of breathing and speaking1 the process would represent the difference between correct and incorrect attempts in the direction of ultimate satisfactory breath and speech control4 ,in this particular case the desired end was gained in a few weeks4 ,the observant person must have noted the singularly small range of physical control exercised by the average adult outside the narrow sphere of his daily routine actions4 ,in the realm of sport1 for instance1 take the golf swing4 ,a novice1 or for that matter a player of some experience carefully 8addresses0 the ball and is instructed to swing up and down again in the same orbit1 without moving the head or swinging the body4 ,the professional has arranged the stance2 the drive seems the simplest of actions2 yet1 more often than not1 it fails lamentably4 ,and the player1 nine times out of ten1 has no sort of consciousness of what has interfered with his stroke4 ,this is a very common instance of the failure to achieve the desired end in those who depend solely upon subconscious direction4 ,even the accomplished and practised golfer has periods when he acknowledges that he is 8off his game0 or 8out of form10 times when his skill leaves him altogether because he cannot register consciously the method which1 when he uses it instinctively1 enables him to play well4 ,where the novice is concerned1 however1 the stubborn fact to be faced is that it is practically impossible for the ordinary person to carry out such instructions as swing up and down again in the same orbit1 etc41 with precision and accuracy4 ,at the first attempt the pupil may1 by mere chance1 succeed4 ,he may even make a second successful attempt1 and a third1 and so on4 ,but such instances are very rare4 ,on the other hand1 he may begin badly and after a few days record a series of successes4 ,incidentally1 ,i will point out that this applies more or less to the majority of experienced golf players4 ,we all know that to vary is to be human4 ,but there should not be such an alarming gulf between our best and our worst4 ,it is very serious from the mental point of view4 ,it shakes our confidence in ourselves to the very roots of our mental and physical foundations4 ,such experiences have a bad effect even upon the emotions generally1 and the person concerned develops irritation1 bad temper1 and other undesirable traits at a time 7a time of recreation and pleasure7 when there should be an absolute absence of these harmful conditions4 ,it will readily be conceded that during our attempts at this or any other game the mental condition of the performer should be in keeping with a pleasurable and health-giving form of outdoor exercise4 ,but to return to the stumbling-blocks in the way of the correct performance of an act which requires one 8to swing up and down in the same orbit40 ,these arise mainly from the tendency of the great majority to curve and shorten the spine unduly and otherwise to interfere with the correct conditions of the muscular system of the back1 the spine1 and the thorax in the performance of certain physical acts4#ag ,these tendencies are particularly marked when the arms are employed in such a movement as the 8swing down0 to make the stroke following the preparatory 8swing up40 ,consequently not one person in a thousand is capable of maintaining during the down stroke those conditions of the back and spine present during the up stroke4 ,consideration of these points will indicate that in order 8to swing up and down in the same orbit10 it is essential that the position of the spine--particularly as regards its length and relative poise during the up and down movement--must be maintained4 ,other conditions are of course necessary but ,i cannot deal with more than one or two of the chief factors4 ,in order to secure the proper use of the arms and legs correct mental guidance and control are necessary4 ,such guidance and control should1 of course1 be conscious4 ,furthermore1 this mental guidance and control must co-ordinate with a proper position and length of the spine and the accompanying correct muscular uses of the torso1 if these limbs are to be controlled by that guidance and co-ordination which will command their accurate employment at all times within reasonable limits4 ,the foregoing are a few of the fundamental difficulties with which the golf teacher and pupil are beset4 ,those who have taken lessons will at once admit that the ordinary teaching methods fail to reach these difficulties satisfactorily4 ,as a matter of fact they are not even taken into consideration4 ,the orthodox teaching method holds the 8end0 in view and not the 8means whereby40 ,it depends upon the giving of orders on the 8end-gaining0 principle1 such an order1 for instance1 as 8,swing up and down again in the same orbit10 without consideration of the 8means whereby02 that is1 without making certain that the pupil has the power to maintain a proper position of his spine and back and to use the limbs correctly during the performance of such physical acts4 ,in other words1 the teacher should first discover if his pupil is reasonably correctly co-ordinated in those muscular uses of his organism which are essential to the proper carrying out of instructions necessary to the performance of definite physical acts demanding co-ordination in the use of the human body and limbs4 ,if these tests are not made the beginner will waste much valuable time1 dissipate his energies1 suffer needless worry and suspense1 and become unduly apprehensive in his attempt to gain even a very moderate standard of dependable excellence in playing golf or other games to which he may devote himself4 ,if we employ as the fundamental in teaching the principles of conscious guidance and control on a basis of re-education and general co-ordination the following advantages should accrue3 7#a7 ,the pupil will be made aware of his specific defects in the employment of his mental and physical organism in physical performances4 7#b7 ,when he has been made aware of these defects1 he can be taught to inhibit the faulty movements1 and his teacher can assist him to gain slowly but correctly the necessary experiences in the correct use of those muscular mechanisms which will enable him sooner or later to govern them properly without the aid of the teacher1 and to employ them with accuracy and precision in his game of golf and other physical performances4 7#c7 ,in the golf act under consideration he must first be given the correct experiences in the use of the muscular mechanisms of the torso and legs with the arms falling naturally at his side4 7#d7 ,the correct experiences should then be given with the use of the arms in making the 8up stroke40 ,when this act can be performed without interference with the satisfactory conditions of the torso and legs1 the correct experiences should be given in making the 8down stroke0 but without attempting to drive the ball4 ,this latter portion of the whole act should not be attempted until the pupil is familiar with the different movements described in #a1 #b1 #c and #d4 7#e7 ,when the attempt to drive is finally made1 the idea to be held in mind is that of repeating the experiences as a whole 7in other words1 the 8means whereby071 not the idea of making a drive4 ,if the pupil holds the 8end0 7i4e41 making a drive7 in mind he will at once revert to all his old subconscious habits in the use of his mental and physical organism1 whereas1 on the other hand1 if he holds in mind the 8means whereby0 7his new correct experiences7 he will sooner or later put them correctly into practice and make his drives with an accuracy and precision which will give the maximum of satisfaction and pleasure4 ,i have personal knowledge of a person who1 by employing the principles of conscious control which ,i advocate1 mounted and rode a bicycle down-hill without mishap on the first attempt1 and on the second day rode #cj miles out and #cj miles back through normal traffic4 ,this same person was also able to fence passably on first taking the foil into his hands4 ,in each case the principles involved were explained to him and he carefully watched an exhibition1 first analysing the actions and the 8means whereby10 then reproducing them on a clearly apprehended plan4 ,this1 it seems to me1 should be a normal1 not an abnormal human accomplishment4 ,just as a cat by sheer instinct1 the first time she essays to jump1 gauges her powers and the distances with accuracy1 so1 with more reason and greater ease1 the human subject1 by employing consciously controlled intellect and kindred experience in place of instinct1 should be able to direct his powers to a definite ordained end with less physical strain and less frequent physical repetition1 i4e41 8,practice40 ,in this connexion ,i have been often asked the difference between instinct and intuition4 ,i define instinct as the result of the accumulated subconscious psycho-physical experiences of man at all stages of his development1 which continue with us until1 singly or collectively1 we reach the stage of conscious control2 whilst intuition is the result of the conscious reasoned psycho-physical experiences during the process of our evolution4 ,the word 8subconsciousness0 is but a formula for our habits of life4 ,i hold strongly that when we shall have reached the state of conscious control in civilisation1 and have established thereby new and correct habits1 a new and correct subconsciousness will become established4 ,i might here with advantage re-emphasise my view regarding the supreme importance of conscious control4 ,conscious control is imperative1 as ,i have pointed out1 because instinct in our advancing civilisation largely fails to meet the needs of our complex environment4 ,without conscious control the subject or patient may know he has defects1 may know further what those defects are1 may even know at what explicit improvement he is to aim1 and yet may be quite unable by means of imitation or the orthodox and traditional methods of instruction to effect the desired end4 ,with conscious control1 on the other hand1 true development 7unfolding71 education 7drawing out71 and evolution are possible along intellectual as against the old orthodox and fallacious lines1 by means of reasoned processes1 analysed1 understood1 and explicitly directed4 ,conscious control enables the subject1 once a fault be recognised1 to find and readily apply the remedial process4 ,it is my belief1 confirmed by the research and practice of nearly twenty years1 that man's supreme inheritance of conscious guidance and control is within the grasp of any one who will take the trouble to cultivate it4 ,that it is no esoteric doctrine or mystical cult1 but a synthesis of entirely reasonable propositions that can be demonstrated in pure theory and substantiated in common practice4 ,i will now consider at greater length a characteristic case for the elucidation of these various points of theory and practice4 ,m4 ,h41 a youth fourteen years old1 was sent to me by a well-known throat specialist4 ,he had removed two nodules from the boy's vocal chords1 and had given him special treatment in a nursing home for a month1 but without any satisfactory improvement4 ,the mother came to me with the boy and was present during my treatment4 ,i found that his attempts to speak resulted in a hoarse whisper accompanied by spasmodic twitchings of various parts of the body and by facial contortions1 all this being brought about by erroneous conceptions1 left untouched by the former teacher1 as to the amount of effort needed in order to speak4 ,in his former lessons he had been told to try and improve the utterance of simple sounds and words1 without any analysis or pointing out of the wrong means which he had previously employed to this end4 ,all his efforts to carry out his teacher's directions were made in accordance with his original preconceptions and former experience4 ,his muscular mechanisms were employed in the same 7wrong7 way and his whole consciousness and explicit and implicit self-directions were exactly the same as they had been previously4 ,he had opened his mouth imperfectly and had been ordered by his teacher to open his mouth wider4 ,but there had been no recognition by the pupil that he had not opened his mouth sufficiently1 neither had there been any analysis by the teacher of the pupil's failure to open the mouth 7a seemingly simple thing but ex hypothesi not simple to the patient71 or of the concomitant contortions and automatic reaction4 ,as well say1 8,you have been speaking improperly1 now speak properly10 and call that a lesson1 as indeed it would have been called in the early ,victorian era1 as1 8,open your mouth wide1 speak up1 and don't make nervous movements40 ,it is not the 8end0 that the teacher and pupil must work for1 but the 8means whereby40 ,and this discovery of the 8means whereby10 differing in different subjects and not to be stated in a general formula1 can only be the result of trained observation and careful1 patient investigation and experience4 ,in practice1 the anxiety of this particular pupil to speak along the lines of his old preconceived ideas1 when nothing had been done to remove them1 had made his many lessons fruitless1 and had set in motion the old habitual train of irrelevant and hampering actions4 ,my own treatment then is3 ,first to observe and analyse and bring about a proper working of the machinery in general 7nature does not work in parts but as a whole73 then to point out the first guiding order or orders to be brought into play by the pupil1 namely1 the inhibiting of the tension of the muscles working the lower jaw4 ,the pupil must be made to realise clearly that this involves no action whatever on his part1 but that he need only remember the correct inhibiting orders and employ them in accordance with definite instructions4 ,when he does this it at once results in the freeing of his jaw1 enabling me to move it for him with my hand4 ,this gives him for the first time the correct kinsthetic sense in connexion with the action of his jaw and makes it clear once and for all to him that the desired action is perfectly and easily possible4 ,the subconscious jerkings and contortions pointed out one by one are patiently inhibited by the pupil1 sometimes directly but more often by the explicit use1 under my direction1 of guiding orders which gradually co-ordinate and remedy the whole faulty system of the pupil's muscular action4 ,one by one the wrong actions and reactions are inhibited1 the tightening of the neck1 the throwing back of the head1 the tension of the lower jaw1 the deep 8sucking0 breath1 the jerks of the limbs1 the grimaces2 and then1 on the positive side1 the right actions are gradually built up1 such as the free controlled opening of the mouth1 the even 8pneumatic0 breath1 the upright balanced poise1 the clear enunciation and correct vocalisation4#ah ,the brain of both pupil and teacher are at work the whole time4 ,no use is made of 8hypnotism0 or of auto-suggestion1 but the confident1 skilful1 patient and explicit directions of the teacher should tend to remove flurry and vagueness and consequent waste of mental and physical effort4 ,the analysis of even the simplest processes is apt to appear unduly complex4 ,this case can be stated briefly on the practical side4 ,it took twenty lessons to break down the bad habits and another twelve to effect a complete and permanent cure4 ,with regard to such a simple act as opening the mouth two or three factors should be emphasised3 firstly1 the tendency to yield to erroneous preconceived ideas1 secondly1 the delusions of the pupil in regard to thought and action1 thirdly1 a pernicious dependence on sensation which has been based solely upon experience of defective action4 ,there are very few men1 for instance1 who1 when told to open the mouth1 will not throw the head back with the idea1 as it were1 of lifting the upper jaw away from the lower4 ,they do not observe or reflect that an inhibition of the subconscious orders which cause the mechanisms to keep the mouth closed will bring about such a relaxation of that muscular tension as will allow the jaw to drop4 ,it does in fact commonly drop in the case of that type of idiot who is most often open-mouthed2 whilst it is common knowledge that in boxing a blow on the head1 heavy enough to throw out the controlling gear1 causes the jaw of the injured boxer to drop of itself and to remain dropped for a considerable time4 ,when ,i ask a pupil to let me move his lower jaw away from his upper he usually increases instinctively the tension that keeps the lower jaw in place4 ,as ,i have frequently pointed out1 an enormous aggregate waste of energy is involved in these constant and irrational tensions4 ,but the matter becomes seriously harmful in1 let us say1 such actions as singing and speaking1 for when the mouth is opened with this unconscious and absurd expenditure of force1 the neck is unduly stiffened1 the head is thrown backwards1 the larynx unduly and harmfully depressed1 and thereby in a position most unfavourable to good vocalisation4 ,as ,i have for years pointed out and demonstrated in my own practice1 from these ill-considered tensions spring the different forms of throat and ear trouble which are so common and which so frequently defy ordinary or for that matter extraordinary and highly specialised medical treatment4 ,by inducing a proper conception of the right method of opening the mouth1 ,i can command in the patient1 and what is more important1 teach him to command in himself1 a free condition in which the larynx tends to be slightly raised and relaxed instead of tightened and depressed2 whilst there will surely follow and that with a minimum of effort1 a greater mobility of the facial muscles and of those of the lips and tongue so essential to good and clear enunciation and vocalisation4 ,this1 in the briefest summary1 is the method of teaching the process of conscious control of the muscular mechanisms4 ,i come now to an equally brief consideration of the effects of this method4 ,speaking generally1 ,i have found that the first immediate effects are a general stimulation and increased efficiency of the whole organism4 ,nor is this difficult to understand4 ,for it would seem that in the life led by civilised man so little demand is made upon any but the commonly exercised muscles1 and these are called upon for comparatively so little effort1 that a general sluggishness supervenes1 with consequent stagnation resulting in the commonly observed effects of auto-intoxication4 ,with the breaking up of the old motor habits1 the muscular mechanisms are brought into full play1 the toxins which have accumulated are broken up and disturbed1 and increased vitality1 a sense of power1 and enormously improved efficiency follow as a matter of course4 ,beyond this1 and still speaking generally1 ,i find that there are increased powers of resistance against the attacks of infectious diseases1 and--possibly the greatest effect since it guarantees the lasting qualities of the change which is brought about--an ability to check the formation of any bad1 incipient muscular or mental habit4 ,this last is1 in my opinion1 of the very first importance1 for it demonstrates the power of the individual1 once these principles of conscious guidance and control are mastered1 to be the lord of his own body4 ,of the specific effects procured by the inculcation of these methods ,i cannot speak at length1 but ,i am able to produce a list of cases which have been treated by me1 in some of which ,i can only say that ,i have been astonished at the results4 ,these include cases diagnosed by prominent physicians in ,england1 ,australia1 and the ,united ,states of ,america as paralysis1 varicosity1 tuberculosis1 asthma1 adhesions of the lungs1 hmorrhage1 congenital and other malformations1 effects of infantile paralysis1 many varieties of throat1 nose and ear trouble1 hayfever1 chronic constipation1 incipient appendicitis and colitis2 and in no case that has come under my personal supervision have ,i discovered any relapse that was not curable by a few further instructions in the principles enunciated4 ,looking to the future and to the development and elaboration of this method1 ,i foresee that a race which has been educated on the lines of what ,i have called 8conscious guidance and control0 will be eminently well fitted to meet any circumstance which the civilisations of the future may impose4 ,the minds and bodies alike of such a race will be adaptable to any occupation that may be their lot4 ,to those who have been educated in these principles no severe physical exercise is a necessity1 since there are no stagnant eddies in the system in which the toxins can accumulate1 and to them will belong a full and complete command of their physical organisms4 ,that this practical and by no means visionary or untried psycho-therapy will in time supersede the tentative and restricted methods of somato-therapy1 ,i am confident1 and ,i sincerely hope that the great benefits which these principles confer will not be confined to any one race or people4 ,the wonderful improvements in physical health--often deemed 8miraculous0 by the uninitiated--which have been effected in adults1 adumbrate the potentialities for efficiency which may be developed in the children of the new race4 ,it is essential that the peoples of civilisation should comprehend the value of their inheritance1 that outcome of the long process of evolution which will enable them to govern the uses of their own physical mechanisms4 ,by and through consciousness and the application of a reasoning intelligence1 man may rise above the powers of all disease and physical disabilities4 ,this triumph is not to be won in sleep1 in trance1 in submission1 in paralysis1 or in ansthesia1 but in a clear1 open-eyed1 reasoning1 deliberate consciousness and apprehension of the wonderful potentialities possessed by mankind1 the transcendent inheritance of a conscious mind4 ,,iv ,,conscious ,,guidance ,,and ,,control ,,in ,,practice ,whilst under the guidance of the subconscious mind1 mankind cannot readily adapt itself to the rapidly and everchanging conditions imposed by civilisation4 ,a proper standard of mental and physical perfection implies an adaptability which makes it easy for a man to turn from one occupation in which a certain set of muscles are employed1 to another involving totally different muscular actions4 ,under the present subconscious guidance such an easy transference is1 to say the least of it1 likely to be a very rare occurrence4 ,for the purpose of demonstration we may assume that a man who has been engaged in clerical work all his life is suddenly called upon to become a ploughman and to make a success1 within a reasonable time1 of his new occupation4 ,this is an extreme instance1 but the argument will apply equally well in a less extreme case4 ,as he is subconsciously controlled he will attack the problem through his sense of feeling--through his feeling-tones--and strive directly for the desired 8end40 ,he will make no reasoned estimate of the 8means whereby0 he may make a success4 ,he will not1 as a preliminary to the act of ploughing1 consider the particular demands which will be made on different parts of his organism1 nor will he take into account the elemental laws which are essential to a satisfactory use of the plough as an instrument to be controlled in its legitimate sphere4 ,his mind is fixed from the start on the achievement1--on the act of ploughing4 ,he looks only to the end he desires to attain4 ,so he will grip the handles of his plough1 set the horses in motion1 and will be pleased to find that the plough moves more or less through the earth1 chiefly less1 for he finds it difficult to keep the share embedded and to keep the furrow straight4 ,when he succeeds1 he is almost certain to be thrown from side to side by the movements of the plough1 which are affected by the hard or soft ground it meets in its progress4 ,he holds no conscious reasoned guiding principles in his mind4 ,his efforts are simply subconscious1 in a chance endeavour to gain the end in view4 ,in order to maintain his own equilibrium and the efficient working of the plough1 it is highly probable that he will unduly tense muscles which are precisely those which should not be tensed1 and relax those which should do the most work4 ,the tension of the muscles of the arm will almost certainly be unnecessarily high1 and the general use of the wrong muscles will tend to destroy the proper equilibrium rather than to maintain it4 ,we thus see that the moment he steps into his new occupation 7which he no doubt had congratulated himself would bring perfect health in its train71 he immediately begins to cultivate new and harmful habits during his daily round4#ai ,he becomes a badly co-ordinated1 imperfectly guided ploughman precisely as he was a badly co-ordinated and imperfectly guided clerk4 ,when the principles of reasoned conscious control are adopted1 the man leading a sedentary life will be able to take up the occupation of ploughman without any fear of cultivating harmful habits4 ,moreover1 he will attain proficiency in ploughing in one-tenth part of the time that the subconsciously controlled man took to obtain a half-mastery of it4 ,let us see how he would set about it from the point of view of reasoned conscious guidance and control4 ,acting under the guiding principles of reasoned and conscious control he will consider first the 8means whereby0 he may achieve his object1 rather than that object itself4 ,he will take time to consider well the factors to be overcome4 ,it will be obvious to any one who will take the trouble to watch another man at the plough1 that a great deal of proper manipulation is necessary to keep the share embedded and a straight furrow4 ,the manipulation requires firstly the maintenance of the ploughman's equilibrium under very difficult circumstances4 ,this consideration will make it clear to him that his body must remain comparatively steady and support the arms and legs as the trunk of a tree does its limbs1 following as nearly perpendicularly as possible the line the furrow should take4 ,it will be evident to him that the 8give and take0 of the joints of the arms and legs are the chief moving factors which should meet the different movements of the handles of the plough4 ,his highly trained guiding sensations will not permit him to make more physical tension with any part of the muscular system than is absolutely necessary1 and only the particular muscles best adapted for the control of his equilibrium and his plough will be called into special use4 ,for instance1 when the left handle of the plough is forced upwards and the right downwards by the plough being thrown into a position leaning towards the right1 the ploughman's left arm will bend at the wrist1 elbow1 and shoulder1 and the right straighten in order to maintain his equilibrium and general control without undue strain and interference with the proper position of the torso4 ,of course the left arm should exercise a downward pressure on the left handle1 and the right should tend to pull the right handle upwards in order to straighten the plough again in its most effective position in the furrow4 ,the left leg should be slightly bent at the knee1 and the right leg should be kept straight and firm4 ,the ploughman would thereby exercise his maximum of control in the right direction with the minimum of effort1 and freedom from harmful strain4 ,it will be clear from this example that in the consciously controlled stage of psycho-physical development men and women will be able1 without fear of mental or physical harm1 to adapt themselves at once to any strange or unusual circumstances in which they are placed4 ,they will act in the face of the unaccustomed or the unsuspected at the direction of their conscious reasoning minds1 before any promptings springing from the subconscious mind can take possession of them4 ,just as they will be able by conscious reasoning to change their habits at will1 to be to-day a clerk1 to-morrow a reasoning ploughman1 so they will meet sudden surprise by that same conscious reasoning and accurate judgment which follows it4 ,i have already drawn attention to the conduct of animals and of men and women in the lower stages of evolution when they are confronted with any phenomena to which they are unaccustomed2 how that they stand terror-struck and immovable1 and betray themselves4 ,such a condition of mind contains no element of control or reasoning1 and the high importance of re-educating civilised men and women to a condition in which their control and reason are the main factors1 need scarcely be emphasised at this point4 ,on all sides is seen the destruction1 the waste1 the loss in human lives and human energy which are the direct outcome of a civilisation based on subconscious action4 ,it is our duty now to superimpose a new civilisation founded on reason rather than on feeling-tones and debauched emotions1 on conscious guidance and control rather than upon instinct4 ,the savage is terror-struck when an eclipse passes over the sun2 he bows to wood and stone1 quivering with fear at any desecration of any of his puppet gods4 ,anything which has no place in his limited range of experience he approaches through instinct which may preserve but is more likely to betray him4 ,to-day the greater part of mankind carries out the normal responsibilities of a lifetime guided by the same imperfect forces4 ,men have learnt the meaning of many things which to the savage were inscrutable1 but when faced with the unknown they betray the same lack of control4 ,suddenly-angered men will make a retort which in the light of reflection appears to them foolish and inadequate4 ,it is an everyday experience4 ,in the calmer moments that follow1 they think of the 8things they might have said10 the things they might have done1 which is a simple indication of the fact that in the heated moment their emotions held sway over them1 whilst their reason and control were in abeyance4 ,the subconsciously controlled person is immediately thrown into a state of panic when faced by any emergency which presents an element of danger4 ,under such circumstances many become self-hypnotic and in this state will be found absolutely out of communication with their reason4 ,as an instance of this1 one may quote the behaviour of unbalanced people in a fire4 ,in trying to save some of their possessions before making their escape they will throw from the windows as likely as not articles which will certainly be broken to atoms in their fall4 ,the man who threw the drawing-room clock through the window and carried the hearthrug downstairs is no fictional figure4 ,his action represents the kind of behaviour that may be expected from the uncontrolled person in such an emergency4 ,the following instance from my own experience may prove interesting in this connexion4 ,i arrived late one evening at a large hotel in a well-known mining town in one of the ,colonies4 ,i was told that there was not a room available1 but that if ,i cared to share a room with two beds in it1 with the two little sons of the proprietor1 ,i might have a night's rest4 ,those who have any experience of a mining town where there is a 8gold rush0 on will appreciate my good fortune4 ,eight weary souls that night slept on the billiard-table and ,i do not remember how many found a bed on the hard1 draughty floor of that same room4 ,a great friend of mine was living at the hotel4 ,he was a man of considerable learning and accounted by all who knew him as a fine scholar and the possessor of a fine intellect4 ,the last injunction we received from the proprietor before he retired was1 8,be sure to lock your door40 ,after a long chat with my friend we went very late to bed4 ,remembering the request of my host ,i bolted the door1 extinguished the light and almost immediately fell into a sound sleep4 ,within an hour ,i was awakened by the crackling sound of burning wood and the roar of flames4 ,i realised at once that the hotel was on fire and almost immediately the tongues of flame found their way into my room through the top of the wooden walls and began to lick the ceiling of the bedroom4 ,my first thought was for the little lads who were sleeping in the room4 ,i unbolted the door1 and taking one under my left arm began to search for the other4 ,by this time the room was filled with smoke1 so ,i took the one boy out and returned to the search in the dense smoke4 ,he had evidently jumped out of his bed half awake1 for ,i found him under the bed4 ,taking both under my arms ,i rushed down the stairs and ran with them to their father's bedroom4 ,he dashed out and calling his men-servants at once proceeded to take measures to extinguish the fire4 ,i1 of course1 rushed to my friend's room1 awakened him1 and after lighting his candle and seeing him jump to the floor ,i left him1 and proceeded to give the general alarm4 ,i then joined those who were fighting the flames1 which after a while were successfully extinguished4 ,my readers will be able from this account to judge of the time which elapsed between the visit to my friend's room and the complete extinguishing of the fire4 ,when all was over ,i looked round to exchange a word with my friend and was surprised to find that he was not of the number by whom we were surrounded4 ,i walked back to his room and was amazed to find him absolutely dressed4 ,when ,i entered the room he was calmly buttoning up his waistcoat as on any other morning when he had nothing to fear4 ,he was self-hypnotised as regarded his chances of being burned alive1 and had even shaved4 ,thousands of instances of similar behaviour in unusual circumstances might be given1 and the list might well be completed with the now famous story concerning ,carlyle's failure to keep in 8communication with his reason10 on the occasion that ,henry ,taylor was ill4 ,he heard the news1 and became overanxious to help his friend4 ,we can only conclude that he was under the domination of his subconsciousness1 when he rushed off to ,sheen with the remaining portion of a bottle of medicine which had helped ,mrs4 ,carlyle1 without knowing the particular uses of the medicine or the cause of his friend's illness4 ,the managing director of one of the largest business houses operating in ,great ,britain and ,america had been sent to me for treatment by his medical adviser4 ,we had frequently discussed the psychological tendencies and characteristics of young men likely to make their way in the business world4 ,one day1 after a chat on this subject in which we were both interested1 he informed me that there was always room in his firm for the right kind of young man1 and intimated that if ,i knew one he would be glad if ,i would send him along4 ,for some weeks prior to this time ,i had been asked to interest myself in a young man ,i had never met4 ,i mentioned this to my pupil1 and he said1 8,ask the young man to write to me and ,i will fix an appointment40 ,this was done1 and the following is the young man's account of the interview3 8,i called on ,mr4 ---- and he positively insulted me4 ,when ,i entered his office he asked me to sit down while he finished a letter4 ,after about five minutes he jumped suddenly from his chair1 walked towards me1 and banging his fist with great vigour on a table near me1 shouted1 #8,what the devil do you know about business8' ,of course10 the young man continued1 8,i was so unnerved that ,i could not even collect my thoughts and ,i was so flurried that ,i could not answer his further questions4 ,he told me he hadn't any position to suit me40 8,my dear young man10 ,i remarked1 8why did you allow ,mr4 ---- to insult you8 ,why did you not remonstrate with him and assure him that you could not permit him to speak to you in such a way80 8,i was so upset by his sudden attack1 and ,i didn't expect to be treated in such a way40 8,just so10 ,i replied1 8you were nonplussed by the unexpected4 ,but ,i hope this will be a lesson to you4 ,mr4 ---- was only testing you1 and he wants men who are capable of dealing with unexpected events and situations in his business4 ,if you had made an instant protest against his manner1 you would now be in a position in his firm because you would have come successfully through his test40 ,in that stage of evolution which may be defined as purely animal1 the powers of instinct in accustomed circumstances are quite remarkable1 and it is due to this fact that the animal1 in certain conditions of danger1 will do the one right thing to escape4 ,on the other hand1 in proof of the limitations of instinct1 we have only to name the noble and subconsciously controlled ostrich1 so wily in its movements1 and so clever in many directions1 which when confronted with more than an ordinary danger1 presses its head into the sand and allows its pursuer to kill it4 ,the powers of instinct are undoubtedly limited in the animal kingdom1 in uncivilised mankind1 and in all stages of evolution where subconscious control is the guiding principle4 ,this fact perhaps accounts more than anything else for the rise and fall of nations and of races1 for no community as yet has cultivated and developed a national consciousness in communication with reason4 ,the psychology of nations is too large a subject to deal with here1 but1 logically1 if the principles of conscious guidance and control1 as ,i have outlined them in application to the individual1 were further adopted by the rising nation1 it is unthinkable that it should ever suffer from deterioration4 ,it would act in all crises strictly in accordance with the dictates of reason1 and1 guided by a judgment born of tested experiences1 it would be supreme4 ,v ,,conscious ,,guidance ,,and ,,control ,,apprehension ,,and ,,re-,,education ,the average person may exhibit complete nerve control and balance during accustomed experiences and accomplishment of the different mental and physical demands made during the ordinary round of life1 but1 when suddenly confronted with the unexpected or unknown1 he betrays undue apprehension and loss of control1 even when the new experience may not hold any real terrors for him4 ,the fact is1 he becomes panic-stricken by the effects of the new experience4 ,he is mentally incapable of considering the 8facts of the case10 for his reasoning power is thrown completely out of use by the unusual1 and he is reduced to the level of the terrified animal or savage4 ,this shows that we have not reached the stage of evolution where1 by employing the reasoning faculties1 we should be able to meet any emergency with control and calmness and do the right thing at the psychological moment4 ,the really clever barrister takes advantage of this human weakness1 and when cross-examining proceeds to unbalance the witness by an unexpected attack on a new line4 ,if the barrister is successful in his choice in this connexion he will assuredly gain his end with the witness who has not learnt to meet the unusual with reasoned judgment4 ,he will become unnerved1 and the barrister can hardly fail to succeed in disconcerting him4 ,let me point out1 however1 that the barrister himself can be caught in the same trap if the witness adopts a mode of procedure which will be new to his rival4 ,it will be merely a matter of which gets his blow in first4 ,as an instance1 in a case of special interest at which ,i was present1 the following took place4 ,incidentally ,i should mention that the barrister and witness had a mutual friend by whom they had sent uncomplimentary messages to one another before the meeting in court4 ,naturally both were on guard4 ,the barrister opened by1 8,now1 ,mr4 ----1 might ,i suggest----0 and made the unfortunate mistake of repeating this the second time1 whereupon the witness calmly remarked1 8,may ,i remind you that you are here to ask questions1 not to suggest40 ,the barrister was quite nonplussed for the moment4 ,this disturbed his usual control and allowed his feelings to dominate his judgment1 and during the remainder of the case he failed to regain his balance and gave so much attention to trying to get even with the witness that he missed many points of the greatest value to his case and the verdict was gained by his opponents4 ,the removal of the ,hunt ,club ,cup from its stand at ,ascot ,race ,course is a trenchant example of the practical application of the knowledge of the weakness of men and women in the direction indicated4 ,constables and employees of the makers of the cup were on duty to ensure its safety1 and moreover1 there were always crowds of people round it4 ,to any ordinary person it would have seemed absolutely impossible to remove such a large article without being detected4 ,despite this fact it was taken from its stand and removed from the ,ascot grounds4 ,one of those who successfully carried out this scheme must have been a highly developed psychologist1 a man who knew only too well the weaknesses of his fellow-men4 ,presumably he knew that something unexpected must be done suddenly in order to attract and divert for a considerable length of time the constables guarding the ,cup1 during which time the thief would be enabled to get some distance away with his prize before its removal would be noticed4 ,we are told that a group of men caused a disturbance1 that heated words were exchanged and blows followed1 no doubt at a prearranged signal4 ,the thief counted on the psychological fact that the constables were unlikely to use their reason and so preserve their self-control by continuing to watch the ,cup in the face of this unexpected occurrence1 and during the distraction therefore the theft was accomplished4 ,it must be obvious that there is going on a wicked waste of this wonderful power of reasoning1 where reliance is placed on an automatic subconsciousness which permits the suspension of our common-sense and upsets our balance1 thus narrowing our sphere of usefulness4 ,therefore if we are really to progress in the future1 subconscious guidance must be superseded by a reasoned and conscious guidance which can safeguard us in unusual circumstances and at critical moments4 ,for with real progress on a sound basis we must expect a great increase in 8critical moments0 and 8unusual circumstances10 and our development must be on those lines which will enable us to meet them with calmness and common-sense1 doing the one right thing the latter will suggest4 ,this failing in reasoned action is as common amongst the educated as amongst the uneducated1 and it is a most serious indictment of our present educational system that it should be so1 and that as it is at present constituted it does not offer any real solution of the problem to be applied by the men and women of the future4 ,take as an example a very prevalent form of human weakness1 namely1 our attitude of mind in regard to simple worries1 whether real or imaginary4 ,it is an interesting psychological fact that there are millions of highly educated people who have cultivated unwillingly what may be called the 8worry habit40 ,this worry habit is directly the outcome of the lack of use of our reasoning faculties1 as is conclusively proved to me in my long professional experience by the fact that people suffering in this way worry exactly in the same degree when the cause has been removed as when it was actually a reality4 ,i can hear my readers say1 8,but the person is not convinced that the cause has been removed40 ,in the experience ,i refer to they were absolutely convinced1 and in my next book there will be a fitting opportunity1 ,i hope1 to explain at considerable length this mental condition which seems so extraordinary and unreasonable4 ,this is one of the most difficult mental defects a teacher can be called upon to eradicate1 because it shows that the person so afflicted is dominated by a subconsciousness built up of delusion and undue apprehension without any relation to common-sense or fact4 ,another instance of the disregard of reasoned judgment is demonstrated to me constantly in the mental attitude of my pupils when they first come to me for lessons4 ,in the endeavour to perform some particular act1 however simple1 many pupils exhibit a degree of apprehension out of all proportion to the point at issue4 ,this makes progress almost impossible and causes considerable distress4 ,it is not my intention to deal with any of the complex examples which come to my notice in my daily experience with intelligent and educated pupils1 but merely to set down some of the very simple examples of difficulties which seriously retard the progress of well-meaning people while undergoing any training4 ,naturally a teacher is forced to point out at the beginning that this or that is wrong4 ,all too frequently the pupil at once shows distinct signs of unnecessary apprehension4 ,as this condition is the most retarding feature in any teaching work1 ,i have for years in my own work devoted special attention to it and at once make an attempt to prevent it by endeavouring to put the pupil into 8communication with his reason40 ,there are numerous and widely differing means to this end in the early stages of re-education to the description of which a whole book might easily be devoted1 but it is sufficient here to mention it in a general way4 ,i begin by pointing out that we expect these different things to be wrong1 that their being so is not a case for worry or apprehension1 seeing that they assuredly can be corrected4 ,i draw attention to the obvious fact that a pupil comes to a teacher because there is something wrong4 ,that must be the primary idea1 otherwise the teacher's help is superfluous4 ,then1 why worry when the defects or failings are discovered and made known to one8 ,surely it is something that should evoke pleasure rather than worry4 ,in other words1 if we have imperfections and defects1 we seek help because we are conscious of their existence1 because we wish to know definitely what they are1 so that we may have an opportunity to eradicate them4 ,common-sense dictates that we should find a teacher who can detect these defects and diagnose their cause1 and when this is done the pupil has much to ease his mind1 much to bring him real satisfaction when the teacher can assure him of their eradication1 and a changed mental attitude should immediately follow4 ,but many people are so out of communication with their reason that it needs days of re-education to establish a satisfactory working basis4 ,now1 to bring about the correct performance of any act by the principles of my system of teaching it is not necessary at the beginning to call upon the pupil for any specific physical efforts4 ,this very fact should remove immediately any cause for worry or apprehension1 but in many cases it does not4 ,when this is the case the teacher must explain that the reason that the pupil is unable to perform the act correctly is that he believes that there is something for him to do physically1 when as a matter of fact the very opposite is necessary4 ,he is doing what is wrong4 ,obviously he should begin then by ceasing to do what is wrong1 not by endeavouring blindly to do what is right4 ,the process is this3 ,apprehensively he tries to do what he thinks his teacher desires him to do4 ,the old wrong subconscious orders follow in their usual channels1 and before he realises the fact he is performing the act in the old wrong manner4 ,therefore he must learn to inhibit these incorrect subconscious orders1 which result in undue physical tension and the imperfect use of his muscles4 ,but instead of employing inhibition he adds to his difficulties by renewing his efforts on the old basis to put right what he is told is wrong1 and he actually employs increased force in accordance with his own estimate of the amount needed to perform the act4 ,and why so8 ,chiefly because the ordinary human being has lost the habit of inhibition1 and because he is guided here by his sense of feeling1 in this connexion the most unreliable guide4 ,when it is explained to such a pupil that inhibition is the first step in his re-education1 that his apprehensive fear that he may be doing wrong and his intense desire to do right are the secrets of his failure1 he will invariably endeavour to prevent himself from doing anything1 by exerting force usually in the opposite direction4 ,and so he creates a second harmful force which1 in conjunction with the first1 serves only to increase the undue physical tension and to intensify the already exaggerated apprehensive condition4 ,the fundamental principle in the re-education of such a subject is the prevention of this undue and unnecessary apprehension4 ,he must not attempt to remedy any defect by 8doing something0 physically in accordance with his sensory appreciation1 which is the outcome of his erroneous preconceived ideas and incorrect psycho-physical experience4 ,his reasoning power is dominated by his sense of feeling where his psycho-physical self is concerned1 so that he cannot even attempt to carry out any physical act excepting the one he feels to be right1 despite the fact that by his reasoning faculties and practical proof1 he knows that his sense of feeling is misleading and is the outcome of erroneous preconceived ideas4 ,we must therefore make him understand that so very frequently in re-education the correct way to perform an act feels the impossible way4 ,there is only one way out of the difficulty4 ,he must recognise that guidance by his old sensory appreciation 7feeling7 is dangerously faulty and he must be taught to regain his lost power of inhibition and to develop conscious guidance4 ,the teacher must with his hands move the pupil's body for him in the particular act required1 thereby giving him the correct kinsthetic experience of the performance of the act4 ,to the uninitiated this may seem a simple matter1 but if my reader will put it to the test1 it will not be necessary for me to convince him that it is quite otherwise in the majority of cases4 ,this is not surprising when it is realised that as soon as the teacher places his hands on the pupil and attempts to move him1 he is at once in contact with his faulty and deceptive sense of feeling1 the dominating sense in the subconsciously controlled person under such circumstances4 ,my experience has proved that the pupil at first will act in precisely the same way if ,i attempt to perform the act for him as if ,i had asked him to do it without my assistance4 ,he is just as apprehensive as a result of one request as of the other1 and in this state of apprehensiveness he is1 mentally and physically1 impossible to deal with from the standpoint of re-education4 ,he conjures up in his mind all kinds of fears that he will do this or that incorrectly4 ,if you mention that he did a certain thing when you placed your hands on him1 he will make an endeavour physically to prevent himself the next time4 ,this1 of course1 is one of the worst errors a pupil can make4 ,it is usually attended by far more tension and apprehension than when he performed the act which you pointed out was incorrect4 ,the re-education work really begins here and it takes weeks1 nay1 sometimes months to bring the pupil to a stage in his co-ordination when he will be really once more in communication with his reason4 ,with these facts before us ,i feel that my reader will advocate with me the necessity of adopting principles which will create new and correct habits1 and eradicate needless apprehension and fear from the souls of human beings4 ,to this end we must break the chains which have so long held them to that directive mental plane which belongs to the early stages of his evolution4 ,the adoption of conscious guidance and control 7man's supreme inheritance7 must follow1 and the outcome will be a race of men and women who will outstrip their ancestors in every known sphere1 and enter new spheres as yet undreamt of by the great majority of the civilised peoples of our time4 ,the world will then make in one century greater progress in evolution towards a real civilisation than it has made in the past three4 ,,vi ,,individual ,,errors ,,and ,,delusions ,frequent reference has already been made to individual delusions1 errors1 and misconceptions of a more or less harmful nature associated with our mental and physical efforts in the different rounds of daily life4 ,i wish now to draw special attention to those which may be said to have a more strictly personal bearing than those referred to heretofore1 and which have not been fully recognised despite the fact that they are forerunners of unusually harmful and persistent bad habits4 ,the individual misconceptions1 errors1 and delusions to which ,i refer are indicated in the cases which follow4 ,they are the direct result of most laudable attempts to accomplish something considered necessary to the welfare of life1 something which seemed essential to success in life1 something which was felt to be a worthy achievement in life4 ,among these ,i would instance3 ,the attempt to bring about some change considered necessary in the shape or use of a part or parts of the physical organism1 and to conceal or change some supposed or real psycho-physical peculiarity1 weakness1 or defect4 ,the clinging to erroneous reasoning1 in the face of undoubted evidence which revealed the errors in such reasoning1 regarding the mode of procedure adopted in the attempt to prevent or 8cure0 attacks of illness and painful or disagreeable experiences4 ,the decision that a certain condition is present1 and the definite conclusion as to its degree of harmfulness or the extent of its general effect upon the organism1 or its influence upon the daily conduct of life4 ,the attempt to remedy what the subject considers a lack of concentration4 ,the attempt to gain benefit by relaxation in consequence of the recognition of undue tension of the muscular mechanisms1 not only in physical acts1 but also during the attempt to rest by sitting in a chair1 lying on a bed or couch1 etc4 ,the detection by the subject of symptoms which are always considered serious and call for immediate eradication and future prevention4 ,the original conception in this connexion is influenced by warped and incorrect subconscious experiences1 and consequently a narrow and perverted view is taken of the conditions present4 ,the 8one-brain-track0 method is in operation and the modus operandi adopted by the subject is therefore deduced from false premises4 ,symptoms are considered causes and furthermore the chief aim of the subject in practical procedure is the attainment of the 8end0 desired1 not the due and proper considered analysis of the 8means whereby0 which will secure that 8end40 ,perusal of the following history of cases will serve to draw attention to the little-recognised but all-important fact that mankind's attempts at self-help on a subconscious basis in the spheres indicated cause him to live in a self-created danger zone4 ,moreover1 the area of this zone is being gradually but surely extended by each and every new experience in those psycho-physical activities where attempts are being made in what may be termed preventive and curative spheres4 ,the foregoing applies to a very wide range of bad habits over the whole organism1 such as3 7#a7 ,the cultivation of harmful habits in consequence of misdirected energy and mental delusions which cause disorders and defects of the eyes1 ears1 nose and throat1 etc4 7#b7 ,the development of the dangerous habit of not hearing any instructions1 opinions1 advice or argument which if put into practical procedures would be contrary to the psycho-physical subconscious habit associated with some defect1 peculiarity or other abnormal condition4 7#c7 ,the development of overcompensation in some direction4 8,running an idea to death10 as we say4 7#d7 ,the harmful domination by a 8fixed idea10 on account of which the subject struggles to gain an 8end0 without adequate and sound consideration of the correct 8means whereby10 or of possible consequences to him in the cultivation of defects during this process4 ,,case ,i ,an attempt to hide a thin neck4 ,the subject's wife intimated that the thinness of his neck made him look many years older than his real age4 ,this occupied his mind for some time and he was increasingly worried by his wife's statement4 ,he felt that he must find a practical remedy1 but in the plan which he conceived he only thought of the 8end0 he had in view which was to hide what he believed to be an unsightly and unsatisfactory part of his anatomy4 ,he conceived the idea of wearing as high a collar as possible and1 not being satisfied with the result1 he took a second and very harmful step in the hiding plan4 ,this was a deliberately cultivated habit of shortening his neck until the under part of the jaw rested on the top of the collar1 while the head was pulled back until the lower part of the back of the head pressed on the back of the collar4 ,from his point of view a satisfactory remedy had been found and the denounced neck was at last concealed from view4 ,in the standing1 sitting1 and walking positions these uses1 or rather misuses1 of the muscles of the neck soon grew into a very firmly established habit which became associated with a general tendency towards the shortening of the neck and spine1 whilst the muscular co-ordinations of the whole organism were gradually and harmfully interfered with4 ,some of my impressions at the first interview were3 7#a7 ,the exaggerated rolling movement of his body when walking4 7#b7 ,the pressure of the under part of the jaw and the lower part of the back of the head or upper part of the neck on the collar4 7#c7 ,the marked lumbar curve of the spine with the usual shortening of stature and protruding abdominal wall4 ,harmful flaccidity of the abdominal muscles and general stagnation of the abdominal viscera4 7#d7 ,the fallen arches of the feet--one foot caused very considerable pain at times when standing or walking4 7#e7 ,that colour of the skin and condition of the eyes which indicates serious internal disorder4 7#f7 ,the upper part of the front of the chest was held unusually high 7pouter-pigeon style74 ,the thorax was harmfully rigid4 7#g7 ,the apprehensive mental condition in his own personal affairs and also in his contact with the practical affairs of life4 ,his medical advisers were unanimous in declaring that he was suffering from nerve and digestive disorders and he failed to make any improvement during many years of treatment4 ,in his own words he 8had year by year gone from bad to worse0 until he was often too nervous to cross a street with ordinary traffic1 and his fears in this connexion were increased by frequent attacks of giddiness when he almost lost his sense of equilibrium4 ,he complained of painful distention after meals and suffered much from insomnia4 ,,case ,,ii ,an attempt to conceal his height when interviewing actor-managers of shorter stature4 ,it is well known in professional circles that there is a prevailing idea in the mind of the actor-manager that he should be taller than the actors who support him4 ,the actor to whom ,i refer in this instance discovered that he had missed several lucrative engagements by being taller than the actor-manager with whom he had arranged personal interviews4 ,incidentally ,i may mention that he possessed a fine physique and enjoyed at this time good health4 ,it is obvious that an actor must endeavour to prevent the loss of good engagements in his profession1 and as his height was the only stumbling-block to his desires and necessities he considered his problem from this point of view only4 ,never for a moment did it occur to him that any mental or physical harm could result4 ,with this 8one idea0 view he sought his remedy and soon decided that he must train himself to use his mechanisms in such a way that he could shorten his stature during interviews when seeking professional engagements4 ,he succeeded in this direction1 but unfortunately subconscious guidance and control takes no heed of the 8means whereby0 to be employed4 ,his idea was merely to make an effort to gain the 8end0 he desired1 and he was never really conscious of the actual means he ultimately employed4 ,he merely conceived the idea of standing in a way which made him appear as short or even shorter than the person he was interviewing4 ,of the real mechanical happenings he was quite ignorant1 and he had never thought it necessary to improve his knowledge in these all-important processes4 ,this man came to me for help some four or five years after beginning to adopt this way of standing during the interviews4 ,he had then been suffering for a considerable time from loss of voice1 general exhaustion1 and nerve and digestive disorders4 ,on one occasion he experienced a mental and physical crisis which his medical advisers called 8a nervous breakdown40 ,some of my impressions at the first and subsequent interviews were3 7#a7 ,the undue and harmful lumbar curve of the spine with the corresponding intra-abdominal pressure4 7#b7 ,the harmful and undue depression of the larynx and its accessories4 7#c7 ,the exaggerated 8gasping0 in breathing in vocal and dramatic efforts4 7#d7 ,the undue rigidity of the thorax and a minimum intra-thoracic capacity4 7#e7 ,the lack of mental control in any attempts in psycho-physical re-education and co-ordination4 7#f7 ,a pessimistic mental outlook with recurring fits of depression4 7#g7 ,in the standing and walking positions the hips were held too far forward1 the knee joints were pressed too far back and the angle of the torso from the hips was harmfully inclined backwards1 with a general tendency1 as we say1 to narrow the back4 ,,case ,,iii ,a fixed idea regarding a definite mode of procedure adopted after experiencing a week's illness in bed4 ,this lady developed certain symptoms for the first time4 ,she then decided upon a practical common-sense method of dealing with them which would undoubtedly have been the correct one in the long run4 ,the day following her first efforts in this direction her feeling-tones registered that she was much worse1 in fact that she was very ill indeed and that the latest symptoms were worse than those she had hoped to remove and ultimately prevent4 ,she decided that her attempted remedy had actually been the cause of additional trouble without in the least relieving the original symptoms4 ,the remedy referred to was one of activity1 mental and physical4 ,she therefore came to the conclusion that this new phase of her illness had been actually brought about by the attempt she had made to fight her symptoms by simple but active methods4 ,this conclusion became with her an ide fixe4 ,in discussing the matter the foregoing facts were vouchsafed to me4 ,she said that she had given due consideration to them and had concluded in consequence of her experiences that the real remedy must be to go to bed and to allow the disorder to take its own course4 ,this unfortunate experience caused her to continue to hold the idea that as soon as she felt any of the symptoms which preceded the first attack she should at once go to bed1 to 8prevent10 as she put it1 8the possibility of increasing the severity of the attack40 ,she was absolutely convinced that she must not make any effort1 mental or physical1 in the way of removing or resisting the disorder as she had done on the first occasion of the attack4 ,she decided upon the easy way of inactivity and non-resistance4 ,once the conscience seized upon an excuse for what the mental and physical 8make-up0 really craved she was doomed1 and her conclusions were really influenced by this subconscious tendency4 ,it is not surprising that after pursuing such a mistaken course for six months the attacks became more frequent and severe despite medical help1 and the periods during which she was confined to her bed1 and which she considered necessary to her recovery1 became longer and longer4 ,but the worst feature in her case was her increasing inability to make a real effort in the direction of health4 ,she was actually developing her tendency to allow things to take their course1 she was cultivating the serious habit of being guided and controlled by what she 8felt0 rather than by her reason4 ,her relatives at last came to the conclusion that her psycho-physical condition was serious and ,i was asked to express an opinion from this point of view4 ,at the outset one suspected some incorrect and harmful mental outlook and after a few lessons succeeded in securing the pupil's admission of the fact4 ,a review of this mental conception may prove interesting and perhaps of great value to my readers1 as it shows that as long as it existed her chances of permanently eradicating these symptoms were nil4 ,the whole procedure constituted a prostitution of those physical1 mental1 and spiritual forces which are inseparable from and absolutely essential to that condition of the human organism which we call good health4 ,this lady was suffering from the inadequate functioning of the vital organs associated with and responsible for good digestion and adequate elimination4 ,this was proved conclusively by the results which accrued from a method of psycho-physical treatment which restored the adequate functioning after the eradication of the mental conception referred to above4 ,the position then was as follows3 ,certain symptoms were recognised which were the result of the stagnation of organs which needed increased activity in functioning4 ,as a matter of fact they happened to be such as would have yielded more or less to a steady walk of a mile or so daily4 ,the effect1 therefore1 of lying in bed for days was only a palliative measure4 ,but in consequence of her first impressions through her debauched sense of feeling when she adopted active measures as a remedy1 she made a definite decision against their adoption in the future2 in fact1 she absolutely objected to a second trial of the active method4 ,in the intervals of freedom from these attacks the one idea was rigidly held in mind that on the recognition of the slightest symptom she must go to bed and remain there4 ,she even considered any other mode of procedure harmful4 ,these ideas became an obsession4 ,she became less and less in communication with her reason and the fact that she admitted that the attacks became more frequent and the symptoms more serious did not cause her to relinquish her bed treatment in favour of some other4 ,the fact is that her debauched emotions and feeling-tones had taken control instead of remaining secondary factors to reason4 ,it is possible to give hundreds of such cases1 and attention is specially drawn to the fact that the one idea principle of meeting life's difficulties is the real cause of these serious results4 ,if ,case ,i1 for instance1 had held in his mind the 8means whereby0 for the concealment of his neck and had watched carefully the effect of his attempts in this particular upon his whole organism1 he would assuredly have come to the conclusion that the thin neck1 natural in his case1 was to be preferred to the positive evils he was unconsciously cultivating4 ,neither he nor his wife detected any of the numerous defects as they developed during the neck-concealing process4 ,on the other hand1 they were both aware that he was gradually failing in health and had reached a stage which his medical advisers considered serious4 ,of course1 never for a moment was the influence of the process of shortening the neck connected with his increasing troubles and disorders4 ,his mental training had been solely on the lines of working for an 8end0 78one brain-track method07 instead of holding in his mind the 8means whereby40 ,he had never doubted for a moment the fallibility of the sensory appreciation of his organism4 ,he firmly believed that immediately he decided to effect a change in his physical self he could command it by the employment of his subconscious guiding principles4 ,he was unaware that these instinctive factors were delusive and unreliable as his directive agents4 ,if the reader's interest can be aroused in this connexion1 all-important benefits must accrue in even the simplest spheres of daily life4 ,furthermore1 the more difficult problems of living will be sensibly considered without fear of the disastrous results which are now so common4 ,,vii ,,notes ,,and ,,instances ,since this book was published in ,england1 ,i have received a steady flow of letters from interested readers1 lay and professional1 which have been of great value to me4 ,among this correspondence1 three pertinent questions occur again and again1 and ,i am forced to infer 7#a7 that these points are of peculiar interest to my readers and 7#b7 that no satisfactory explanation of them is suggested by the application of the broad principles ,i have laid down4 ,i feel1 therefore1 that in this1 the ,american edition of my work1 it may be well to treat these questions and various other matters which arise out of them for the benefit of future readers4 ,the three main questions--two of which occur in about eighty per cent4 of letters ,i have received--are these3 7#a7 ,what is the correct standing position1 and the position of mechanical advantage8 7#b7 ,how is the reader to apply the principles of conscious control as here laid down1 to specific bad habits such as overindulgence1 whether in tobacco1 alcohol1 particular foods1 etc41 or to the cure of such diseases as asthma1 tuberculosis1 constipation1 spinal curvature1 appendicitis8 7#c7 ,what are the outward signs of improvement to be noted during treatment1 and are there scientific reasons for these results8 ,in this connection ,i have several times been asked to give particulars of some of my more striking and representative cases4 ,i will take these three questions seriatim1 and devote as much space as possible to each of them4 ,i4 8,what is the correct standing position1 and the position of mechanical advantage80 ,i think the average man is very apt to forget that he cannot assume a position of stable equilibrium and a position which ensures a perfect mobility1 unless his feet are so placed as to furnish at once a stable pose and a ready pivot and fulcrum4 ,the most perfect base is obtained by setting the feet at an angle of about forty-five degrees to one another4 ,in all other erect positions 7the defects becoming exaggerated as this angle is decreased71 it will be found that there is a tendency to hollow and shorten the back and to protrude the stomach1 and if any effort is made to avoid these serious faults in posture1 such effort will only result--unless the feet are moved to the correct position--in a stiffened1 uneasy1 and unstable attitude4 ,it is not possible1 however1 to set out in written language the correct pose of the feet and legs in the ideal standing position1 and ,i therefore subjoin four photographs which have been specially taken for this purpose 7first published on #bbnd ,october1 #aiaj71 and which show quite clearly not only the correct position of the feet1 the fundamental problem1 but also how the whole body of the person is thereby thrown into gear4 ,but when this ideal position is realised1 the task of obtaining it by each individual has still to be undertaken4 ,with reference to this task1 ,i cannot do better than quote my pamphlet of ,july1 #aijh1 entitled ,why 8,deep ,breathing0 and ,physical ,culture ,exercises ,do ,more ,harm than ,good1 from which it will be clearly seen that the ideal position varies slightly according to the idiosyncrasies of the person concerned4 ,the passage in question is as follows3 8,in the first place1 to allow a pupil to assume1 of himself1 a certain standing position1 means that his own perceptions and sensations are given the sole onus of bringing about the co-ordination upon which such standing position depends1 an onus which they are quite unable to bear4 8,the perceptions and sensations of all who need respiratory and physical re-education are absolutely unreliable4 ,it is the teacher who should have the responsibility of certain detailed orders1 the literal carrying out of which will ensure for the pupil what is then the correct standing position for him4 ,i emphasise this last1 because no one stereotyped position can be correct for each and every pupil4 ,when the person so employs the different parts of his body that one can speak of his #8harmful position in standing or walking1' it is only by causing the physical machinery gradually to resume correct and harmonious working1 thus changing the position from time to time1 that serious harm can be averted and satisfactory results secured4 ,i may point out1 moreover1 that in trying to assume the #8proper standing position' at the outset1 the pupil unavoidably puts severe strain upon the throat1 thereby paving the way for throat1 ear1 and eye disorders40 ,take the case1 for example1 of a boy who stoops very much1 and combines a sinking above and below the clavicles with abnormal protrusion of the shoulder-blades4 ,if he is told to 8stand up straight0 he will at once make undue physical effort to carry out the order thus crudely given1 with the result that the shoulders will be thrown backward and upward1 the shoulder-blades still further protruded1 and the front and upper parts of the chest unduly elevated and expanded4 ,there will also be a narrowing1 a sinking1 and a flabbiness of the lower dorsal and posterior thoracic region1 with corresponding fixed protrusion and rigidity of the front chest wall1 undue arching of the lumbar spine1 shortening of the body and harmful stiffening of the arms and neck1 instead of a fulness1 broadness1 and firmness of the back1 with free mobility of the chest walls1 resulting in normal curve of the lumbar region and comparative lengthening of the spine4 ,with the arms hanging vertically1 the relative position of that part of the thorax where the lungs are situated will be seen to be in front of the arms1 instead of being1 as it should be1 behind them4 ,in such a position1 the boy feels helpless and tires rapidly1 owing to the imperfect co-ordination1 and any attempt to accustom him to this erect posture will ultimately result in deterioration rather than improvement4 ,now the narrowing and arching of the back already referred to is exactly opposite to what is required by nature1 and to that which is obtained in re-education1 co-ordination1 and re-adjustment1 viz41 widening of the back and a more normal and extended position of the spine4 ,moreover1 if these conditions of the back be first secured1 the neck and arms will no longer be stiffened1 and the other faults will be eradicated4 ,in order to obviate the evils enunciated in the last two postulates the teacher must himself place the pupil in a position of mechanical advantage1#bj from which the pupil1 by the mere mental rehearsal of orders which the teacher will dictate1 can ensure the posture specifically correct for himself1 although he is not1 as yet1 conscious of what that posture is4 ,i further elaborated the same point in ,why ,we ,breathe ,incorrectly 7,november1 #aiji71 and from this pamphlet ,i will now quote another passage which bears directly on some important points involved1 viz43 8,there can be no such thing as a #8correct standing position' for each and every person4 ,the question is not one of correct position1 but of correct co-ordination 7i4e41 of the muscular mechanisms concerned74 ,moreover1 any one who has acquired the power of co-ordinating correctly1 can re-adjust the parts of his body to meet the requirements of almost any position1 while always commanding adequate and correct movements of the respiratory apparatus and perfect vocal control--a fact which ,i demonstrate daily to my pupils4 ,continual re-adjustment of the parts of the body without undue physical tension is most beneficial1 as is proved by the high standard of health and long life of acrobats4 ,it is a significant fact that the very reverse is the case with athletes1 showing that undue muscular tension does not conduce to health and longevity40 ,illustration3 ,a4,a4 ,,the ,,feet ,,are ,,here ,,placed ,,in ,,the ,,ideal ,,position ,,for ,,obtaining ,,perfect ,,equilibrium ,,of ,,the ,,human ,,machine1 ,,and ,,for ,,permitting ,,the ,,maximum ,,activity ,,of ,,the ,,functioning ,,of ,,the ,,whole ,,organism4 ,,note4--,,it ,,is ,,evident ,,that ,,either ,,the ,,right ,,or ,,left ,,foot ,,may ,,be ,,in ,,advance ,,without ,,affecting ,,the ,,correctness ,,of ,,the ,,pose4 ,illustration3 ,b4,b4 ,,the ,,feet ,,are ,,here ,,placed ,,in ,a ,,position ,,which ,,compels ,,an ,,imperfect ,,adjustment ,,of ,,the ,,whole ,,organism ,,in ,,order ,,to ,,secure ,,even ,,an ,,imperfect ,,equilibrium4 ,,this ,,position ,,results ,,in ,,the ,,minimum ,,activity ,,of ,,the ,,vital ,,functioning4 ,from what ,i have now said1 it will be quite evident that the primary principle involved in attaining a correct standing position is the placing of the feet in that position which will ensure their greatest effect as base1 pivot1 and fulcrum1 and thereby throw the limbs and trunk into that pose in which they may be correctly influenced and aided by the force of gravity4 ,the weight of the body1 it should be noted 7see diagram ,,aa71 rests chiefly upon the rear foot1 and the hips should be allowed to go back as far as is possible without altering the balance effected by the position of the feet1 and without deliberately throwing the body forward4 ,this movement starts at the ankle1 and affects particularly the joints of the ankles and the hips4 ,when inclining the body forward1 there must be no bending of the spine or neck2 from the hips upwards the relative positions of all parts of the torso must remain unchanged4 ,when the position is assumed1 it is further necessary for each person to bring about the proper lengthening of the spine and the adequate widening of the back4 ,the latter needs due psycho-physical training such as is referred to in the two extracts quoted above4 ,this standing position as now explained is physiologically correct as a primary factor in the act of walking4 ,the weight is thrown largely upon the rear foot1 and thus enables the other knee to be bent and the forward foot to be lifted2 at the same time the ankle of the rear foot should be bent so that the whole body is inclined slightly forward1 thus allowing the propelling force of gravitation to be brought into play4 ,the whole physiology of walking is1 indeed1 perfectly simple when once these fundamental principles are understood4 ,it is really resolved into the primary movements of allowing the body to incline forward from the ankle on which the weight is supported and then preventing oneself from falling by allowing the weight to be taken in turn by the foot which has been advanced4 ,this method1 simple as it may appear1 is not1 however1 the one usually adopted4 ,the mechanical disadvantage displayed in what is known as a 8rolling gait10 for instance1 a gait which is common enough1 is absolutely impossible when the instructions given are carefully followed4 ,and the effect upon the whole mechanical mechanism of the person concerned is shown by the fact that when the co-ordinating principles brought about by this method are established1 there is a constant tendency for the torso to lengthen1 whereas the usual tendency--due to faulty standing position and the incorrect co-ordinations which follow--is for the torso to shorten4 ,nearly every one ,i examine or observe in the act of walking1 employs unnecessary physical tension in the process in such a way that there is a tendency to shorten the spine and legs1 by pressing--if ,i may so put it familiarly--down through the floor instead of1 as it were1 lightening that pressure by lengthening the body and throwing the weight forward and moving lightly and freely4 ,in consequence of the 8shortening0 and 8pressing down0 just referred to1 the civilised peoples are becoming more and more flat-footed4 ,the properly co-ordinated person employs a due amount of tension in such a way that the tendency of the spine and legs is to lengthen1 and the equilibrium is such that the undue pressure through the floor is absent and there is a lightness and freedom in the movements of such a person that is most noticeable4 ,the person who is flat-footed has only to establish these conditions to restore the natural arch of the flatfoot4 ,we can find1 perhaps1 no better instance of the necessity for the application of the principles of conscious control to these fundamental and essential propositions of standing1 walking1 and running1 than in the photographs taken of ,dorando as he appeared when he was making his last terrible efforts to reach the tape at the conclusion of the ,marathon race in ,london in #aijh4 ,one sees that he was desperately wearied1 and that whatever conscious control of his muscular mechanisms he may ever have obtained1 he was at this moment completely under the domination of subconscious 7or subjective7 control1 that he was out of 8communication with his reason40 ,his body1 as we see him in these photographs1 is thrown back from the hips1 his arms are outstretched behind him1 and his legs are bent forward at the knee4 ,as a consequence1 he is compelled to use almost all his physical force in order to save himself from falling backwards4 ,he is struggling against a tremendous gravitational pull which is dragging him away from his goal4 ,if ,dorando1 magnificent athlete as he undoubtedly is1 had been trained in the principles of conscious control1 such an attitude would have been impossible for him1 tired and exhausted even as he was4 ,for if he had not been subconsciously controlled1 he would have employed his common-sense at this moment and would have acted according to the guidance of its mandate4 ,it is at such critical moments that we have urgent need for the control of reason1 for it is then that we suffer most from the loss of the animal equivalent--instinct4 ,dorando's muscles may have been taxed to their utmost capacity1 but if he had been consciously controlled he would have leaned forward1 not back1 and while he had the strength necessary 7but a very small part of the strength he was actually expending7 to prevent himself from falling on his face1 that gravitational force would have dragged him on instead of dragging him back from the object of his achievement1 as was actually the case4 ,he would1 in short1 have been able to make the best instead of the worst use of his powers4 ,faults such as we see exaggerated in this instance are to be found in the carriage of many people to-day1 and the fact is one of great importance to medical men4 ,patients are constantly advised to take walking exercise1 although in many cases that exercise undoubtedly does more harm than good4 ,in my opinion it is very essential that all doctors should devote more attention to this subject than they are devoting at the present time1 in order that they may be in a position to advise which of their patients will be benefited by taking walking exercise1 and which of them by so doing will aggravate the troubles from which they are suffering4 ,for it should be evident1 ,i think1 that the good effects of fresh air and gentle exercise will be practically nullified1 if the patient can only obtain them by exaggerating and perpetuating the defects which have led him to the prescription4 ,these same rules are equally applicable in principle to the acts of sitting and of rising from a sitting position4 ,very few people have the right mental conception of the 8means whereby0 of these acts or of the correct use of the parts which should be employed in their performance1 and this despite the fact that we are performing these acts continually1 and with such apparent ease from our own point of view4 ,if you ask any of your friends to sit down you will notice1 if you observe their actions closely1 that in nearly all cases there is undue increase of muscular tension in the body and lower limbs2 in many cases the arms are actually employed4 ,as a rule1 however1 the most striking action is the alteration in the position of the head which is thrown back1 whilst the neck is stiffened and shortened4 ,now ,i will describe the correct method1 but it must be borne in mind that it is useless to give what ,i here call 8orders0 to the muscular mechanism1 until the original habit and the principle of mental conception connected with this action have been eradicated4 ,if1 for instance1 before giving any of the 8orders0 which follow1 the experimenter has already fixed in his mind that he is to go through the performance of sitting down1 as that performance is known to him1 this suggestion will at once call into play all the old vicious co-ordinations1 and the new orders will never influence the mechanisms to which they are directed1 because those mechanisms will already be imperfectly employed1 and will be held in their old routine by the force of the familiar suggestion4 ,firstly1 then1 rid the mind of the idea of sitting down1 and consider the exercise and each order independently of the final consequence they entail4 ,in other words1 study the 8means10 not the 8end40 ,secondly1 stand in the position already described as the correct standing position1 with the back of the legs almost touching the seat of the chair4 ,thirdly1 order the neck to relax1 and at the same time order the head forward and up4 7,note that to 8order0 the muscles of the neck to relax does not mean 8allow the head to fall forward on the chest40 ,the order suggested is merely a mental preventive to the erroneous preconceived idea47 ,fourthly1 keep clearly in the mind the general idea of the lengthening of the body which is a direct consequence of the third series of orders4 ,and fifthly1 order simultaneously the hips to move backwards and the knees to bend1 the knees and hip-joints acting as hinges4 ,during this act a mental order must be given to widen the back4 ,when this order is fulfilled1 the experimenter will find himself sitting in the chair4 ,but he is not yet upright1 for the body will be inclined forward1 unless he frustrates the whole performance at this point by giving his old orders to come to an upright position4 ,sixthly1 then1 and this is of great importance1 pause for an instant in the position in which you will fall into the chair if the earlier instructions have been correctly followed1 and then after ordering the neck to relax and the head forward and up1 the spine to lengthen and the back to widen1 come back into the chair and to an upright position by using the hips as a hinge1 and without shortening the back1 stiffening the neck1 or throwing up the head4 ,the act of rising is merely a reversal of the foregoing4 ,draw the feet back so that one is slightly under the seat of the chair1 allow the body to move forward from the hips1 always keeping in mind the freedom of the neck1 and the idea of lengthening the spine4 ,let the whole body come forward until the centre of gravity falls over the feet1 that is to say1 until the poise is such that if the chair were removed at this point1 you would be left balanced in the position of a person performing the 8frog dance10 then by the exercise of the muscles of the legs and back1 straighten the legs at the hips1 knees1 and ankles1 until the erect position is perfectly attained4 ,if you care to experiment on a friend in this act of rising1 you will observe that in the movement as performed by an imperfectly co-ordinated person1 the same bad movements occur1 tending to stiffen the neck1 to arch the spine unduly1 to shorten the body1 and to protrude the abdominal wall4 ,this completes the co-ordinating idea with regard to standing1 walking1 and sitting1 and the exercises indicated in the explanations ,i have made will be found exceedingly helpful as a first step towards a proper and healthful use of the muscular mechanisms in these simple acts of everyday life4 ,,ii4 8,how are the principles of ,conscious ,control to be applied to the cure of specific bad habits1 or to the cure of specific diseases80 ,the following letter is typical of many3 8,dear ,sir1--,i have read your book1 ,man's ,supreme ,inheritance1 with much interest1 and ,i hope you will forgive me if ,i venture to point out a difficulty which presents itself to my mind1 and probably to the mind of the ordinary reader4 8,it is this3 ,in what way is it proposed to apply the principle of #8conscious control' in a given case--say in the overcoming of a habit1 such as smoking1 to take a common example--or in the case of functional disorders1 as constipation8 ,it seems to me that the great attraction to most people of the popular books on so-called #8,new ,thought' is that they lay down clear and precise rules which can be put into practice1 so that the reader knows what he must do to be saved4 ,but ,i confess ,i am unable to gather how you would recommend setting about the attainment of your principles4 ,it would be a great help to me1 and no doubt to others1 if this could be explained1 and probably in the larger work which you contemplate this will be more fully done4 8,in the meantime1 however1 if it is not asking too much1 ,i should be extremely grateful to you if you could very kindly indicate the method you propose by which the principles could be applied in such cases as ,i have suggested44440 ,now1 ,i may be doing the writer of this letter an injustice1 but ,i am inclined to class him among the many enquirers who seem confidently to anticipate a miracle4 ,in my introduction ,i have said1 8,in this brochure will be found no mention of royal roads1 panaceas1 or grand specifics10 yet ,i feel sure that some of my readers have1 nevertheless1 imagined that by some marvellous means they may be cured by taking thought1 despite all that ,i have written with regard to that procedure4 ,we see in one paragraph of the letter quoted above a nice example of the desire to lean towards any mechanical method4 8,the great attraction 444 of the popular books on so-called #8,new ,thought1'0 we read1 8is that they lay down clear and precise rules which can be put into practice40 ,it is true that ,i have not laid down any 8clear and precise rules0 which may cover every conceivable form of physical and mental trouble1 as do the exponents of 8,new ,thought0 and 8faith-healing10 and ,i think that my reason should be plain enough1 for in my experience ,i have never found two cases exactly alike1 and the detailed instructions which ,i might lay down for ,a might be extremely detrimental to ,b or ,c4 ,nevertheless1 since ,i see that some further explanation is needed1 ,i will adumbrate the general principles which embrace the rule of application1 however diverse the method may be in practice4 ,in the first place1 all specific bad habits such as overindulgence in food1 drink1 tobacco1 etc41 evidence a lack of 8control0 in a certain direction1 and the greater number of specific disorders such as asthma1 tuberculosis1 cancer1 nervous complaints1 etc41 indicate interference with the normal conditions of the body1 lack of control1 and imperfect working of the human mechanisms1 with displacement of the different parts of that mechanism1 loss of vitality and its inevitable concomitant1 lower activity of functioning in all the vital organs4 ,when the subject has arrived at this condition1 harmful habits become established and the standard of resistance to disease is seriously lowered4 ,to regain normal health and power in such cases1 what ,i have called 8re-education0 is absolutely imperative4 ,this treatment begins1 in practically all cases1 by instructions in the primary factors connected with the eradication of erroneous preconceived ideas connected with bad habits1 and the simplest correct mental and physical co-ordination4 ,the displaced parts of the body must be restored to their proper positions by re-education in a correct and controlled use of the muscular mechanisms4 ,in this process the blood is purified1 the circulation is gradually improved1 and all the injurious accumulations are removed by the internal massage which is part and parcel of the increased vital activity from such re-education4 ,thus the first stage in the eradication of bad habits and disorders is reached when improved conditions of health are established4 ,nor must it be forgotten that in this process of re-education a great object lesson is given to the controlling mind4 ,in the very breaking up of maleficent co-ordinations or vicious circles which have become established1 a new impulse is given to certain intellectual functions which have been thrown out of play4 ,the reflex action which is setting up morbid conditions can only be controlled and altered by a deliberate realisation of the guiding process which is to be substituted1 and these new impulses to the conscious mind have1 analogically1 very much the same effect as is produced on the body by the internal massage referred to above4 ,the old accumulations of subconscious thought are dispersed1 and room is made for new conceptions and realisations4 ,when the first stage is passed1 it is just as easy at almost any time of life to establish 8good0 habits 78good0 that is1 by the test of all our experience and knowledge7 as 8bad0 ones4 ,bad habits mean1 in ninety-nine per cent4 of cases1 that the person concerned has1 often through ignorance1 pandered to and wilfully indulged certain sensations1 probably with little or no thought as to what evil results may accrue from his concessions to the dominance of small pleasures4 ,this careless relaxation of reason1 in the first instance1 makes it doubly difficult to assert command when the indulgence has become a habit4 ,sensation has usurped the throne so feebly defended by reason1 and sense1 once it has obtained power1 is the most pitiless of autocrats4 ,if we are to maintain the succession that is our supreme inheritance1 we must first break the power of the usurper1 and then re-establish our sovereign1 no longer dull and indifferent to the welfare of his kingdom1 but active1 vigilant1 and open-eyed to the evils which result from his old policy of laissez-faire4 ,so many people1 ,i find1 seem to regard the principles of conscious control as a kind of magic which may be worked by some suitable incantation4 ,they appear to think that we may obtain conscious control of1 say1 the secretive glands1 that we may be able to give an order to secrete more or less bile or gastric juice by a command of the objective mind4 ,if such a thing were possible1 and if ,i could endow any person with such power to-morrow1 ,i should know perfectly well that ,i should1 by so doing1 be signing that person's death warrant2 ,i might equally well give him a dose of poison4 ,to refer to my metaphor of the sovereign ruler1 you might as well expect a king to order and superintend the detail of his subjects' private life as expect the conscious mind directly to order and superintend every function of the body4 ,if the king will ordain good and just laws1 his policy will prosper2 the detail of organisation must be left to inferior officers4 ,in the care of the body the organisation is there1 aptly and perfectly adjusted to its functions1 and when the ruling power of conscious control has ordained the sane laws which shall establish peace and prosperity within the assembly1 the organisation already in force will work in harmony to its fit and proper ends4 ,on the other hand1 there is great danger in underrating the power of conscious control which1 if it must not be prematurely forced and made to intrude on automatic functions1 must in no way be undervalued or delimited4 ,for instance1 though it may not be possible to control directly each separate part of the abdominal viscera1 we can control directly the muscles of the abdominal wall which encloses the viscera1 and in reducing a protruding abdomen we can control many other muscles1 notably those of the back1 which when they are properly employed and co-ordinated will1 by widening and altering the shape of the back1 make place for the protruded stomach1 allow it to occupy the natural position from which it has been ousted1 and so give free play once more to the natural functions of the viscera that have been distorted and pinched by the forced positions they have had to assume4 ,here we see that though conscious control does not affect by a process of direct command1 as it were1 the lower automatic functions1 there is great danger in assuming that such functions are beyond the reach of my methods4 ,this danger was brought before me when ,i read1 in the ,british ,medical ,journal for ,december1 #aiji1 an article on one side of my teaching contributed by ,dr4 ,s----1 an old pupil of mine4 ,in this article ,dr4 ,s---- says3 8,man's education does not always demand conscious instruction2 in the absence of unfavourable circumstances he can learn by unconscious imitation of good models40 ,now this is not demonstrably untrue1 but at the same time it is1 as ,i shall show1 extraordinarily misleading1 and is1 in effect1 just as valuable as the prescription of champagne and hothouse grapes for a pauper patient4 ,in the first place1 we must remember1 and ,dr4 ,s---- has himself admitted the fact1 that the normal is the rarest of all states4 ,medical experts find that their most constant source of error in diagnosis arises from the overreadiness to assume normal conditions in patients whose internal economies and muscular co-ordination are1 in fact1 far from the ideal standard of proportion and interdependence4 ,yet if the expert trained in physiology fails to note the distortions which are upsetting the whole economy1 what body is to be named the supreme authority that shall select the 8good models0 for unconscious imitation8 ,in the second place1 we have to reckon with a psychological factor which at once determines the question of the validity of unconscious imitation4 ,this factor is the demonstrable truth that unconscious imitation does in nine hundred and ninety-nine cases out of a thousand lay hold of the faults of the imitated and pass over the virtues4 ,in a long experience of re-educating many professional men and women for the stage in this country1 ,i have had abundant opportunity to observe the methods of the 8understudy0 set to 8imitate0 his or her principal1 and my invariable experience has been that subconscious imitation has always been shown by a reproduction of the actor's or actress's most prominent failings4 ,the intellectual reading of the part1 the subtler inflexions of voice and the finer details of gesture are passed by1 and the 8understudy0 reproduces the 8mannerisms10 all those obvious tricks of speech1 manner1 and gesture which are the least essential factors in the true reading of the part4 ,again1 my experience in cases of stammering has shown me very clearly that especially among boys and young men1 the stutter has in a very large majority of cases come about by the imitation of some other boy4 ,we do not find boys so apt to imitate one of their fellows who speaks particularly well4 ,now this imitation of a fault in speech is subconscious and will not always right itself naturally1 and the reason for this will become clear with a little consideration4 ,set a man to work on an elaborate and intricate piece of machinery4 ,tell him that if he moves a switch here and a lever there1 certain effects will be produced and certain desired results obtained4 ,the movements are simple ones1 and the man left to himself will be able to control the working of the machine with ease and certainty4 ,but let us suppose that some essential part of the machine is put out of gear1 and that the machine instead of running smoothly and easily begins to jerk and hiccough4 ,our assumed operator is immediately at a loss4 ,he sees that there is something wrong1 and that there is obvious friction where there was ease before2 noise has taken the place of silence2 but he knows nothing of the working of the machine save the elementary movements of the switch and lever1 in the uses of which he has had instruction4 ,now1 he may perform these movements again and again2 but the machine still stutters1 and our operator1 quite at a loss1 can do nothing to obviate these faults4 ,he must allow the machine to continue working badly if it works at all4 ,the boy we have adduced as an example of a stammerer1 who has copied some fault of another boy and found that fault become permanent1 is in exactly the same position as the unskilled operator of our illustration4 ,this boy knows the ordinary uses of his vocal machine which have heretofore produced normal results1 but he does not know enough of the machine to repair it when it is put out of gear2 he cannot control the machinery so that it may at once be restored to its previous efficiency4 ,but just as the unskilled operator may be instructed in the complete mechanism he is set to supervise1 and may then stop the machine when any fault becomes evident1 discover the source of the defect and set it right2 so will any person who has been instructed in the principles of conscious control be able to detect and obliterate any fault in his vocal or any other bodily mechanism1 even if that fault was originated below the level of consciousness4 ,these marked examples furnish a sound and unfailing analogy to the principles of unconscious imitation in their application to physiology4 ,the perfectly co-ordinated man or woman does1 as a matter of fact1 offer less mark for imitation to the ordinary observer than the man or woman who displays an obvious defect1 just as the perfectly dressed man or woman passes with less remark than those people who affect some exaggeration of costume in order to attract attention4 ,were we able at this time to set the ,greek model before our children1 we should be able to display it only on occasion1 and the unconscious imitative powers of the child would seize hold far more readily of the marked defects with which it would be forced into contact during the greater part of its waking life4 ,in a perfect world1 unconscious imitation would not be able to exert a perverting influence1 and to the conception of such a world we may well turn our attention1 but we shall never attain it by any means other than these principles of conscious1 reasoning1 deliberate construction1 or reconstruction1 upon which ,i have based the whole of my theory and practice4 ,and1 finally1 there is still a serious danger to be reckoned with1 even should we find sufficient methods in our present civilisation from which we might learn by unconscious imitation4 ,we must remember that during the advance of civilisation mankind has lost the faculty we call instinct1 the faculty which guided mankind in a state of nature as it still guides the lower animal world4 ,during our advance from this primitive condition1 the one great defect in our mental1 physical1 and educational training has been the failure to recognise that civilised life is the death-bed of instinct1 and that in civilised life man's education must always demand conscious instruction4 ,for we see that it is at the critical moments that men fail to rise to the occasion4 ,in such a case as that of ,dorando1 already cited1 we see that a perfectly trained athlete1 a man capable of the magnificent effort he made in the great ,marathon race1 was robbed of his victory by his dependence at the critical moment upon unconscious control as opposed to the conscious control which is the thesis of ,man's ,supreme ,inheritance4 ,and every day we are told that at critical moments1 at the crisis of a debate1 when suddenly called upon to decide a question of moment1 or when faced with terrifying physical danger1 men 8lose their heads0--and fail4 ,it is more especially at these times1 at the crises of life1 that the men who had been educated in the principles of conscious control would be capable of acting with the same reason and common-sense that characterised their mental and physical acts on the ordinary occasions of life4 ,if they had relied upon unconscious imitation they would still be dependent1 to a certain degree1 upon instinct4 ,before leaving ,question ,,ii1 however1 ,i will deal specifically with two of the prevailing maladies of our time1 viz41 spinal curvature and appendicitis1 and show how the principles ,i have enunciated have a particular bearing on the prevention and cure of these two serious ailments4 #a4 ,spinal ,curvature4 ,a perfect spine is an all-important factor in preserving those conditions and uses of the human machine which work together for perfect health1 yet there are comparatively few people who do not in some form or degree suffer1 perhaps quite unconsciously1 from spinal curvature4 ,the present attitude towards this very serious mark of physical degeneration would be ludicrous were it not that the matter is one of almost tragic importance1 and ,i may quote in this connexion a letter of mine which appeared in ,the ,pall ,mall ,gazette for #adth ,march1 #aijh4 ,after dealing with certain other matters which need not be reproduced here1 ,i cited the following instances of the results of our present attitude3 8,in our schools and in the army1 human beings are actually being developed into deformities by breathing and physical exercises4 ,i have before me a book on the breathing exercises which are used in the army1 and any person reasonably versed in physiology and psychology1 and knowing they are inseparable in practice1 will at once understand why so much harm results from them4 ,take either the officers or the soldiers4 ,in a greater or less degree the unduly protruded upper chests 7development of emphysema71 unduly hollowed backs 7lordosis71 stiff necks1 rigid thorax1 and other physical eccentricities have been cultivated4 ,it is for these reasons that heart troubles1 varicose veins1 emphysema1 and mouth breathing 7in exercise7 are so much in evidence in the army4 ,as this is a matter of national importance1 ,i am prepared to give the time necessary to prove to the authorities 7medical or official7 connected with the army1 the schools1 or the sanatoria that the #8deep breathing' and physical exercises in vogue are doing far more harm than good1 and are laying the foundations of much graver trouble in the future4 ,the truth is that all exercises involving #8deep breathing' cause an exaggeration of the defective muscular co-ordination already present1 so that even if one bad habit is eradicated1 many others1 often more harmful1 are cultivated4 8,in this connexion it is only necessary to point to the serious effects of #8deep breathing' and physical culture exercises in the causation of throat and ear disorders1 following upon the undue and harmful depression of the larynx--the crowding down of the structures of the throat--such depression occurring with every inspiration1 and as a rule with every expiration4 ,this disorganisation and consequent strain in the region of the throat is always found exaggerated1 and tends gradually to increase in people who are subject to asthma1 bronchitis1 and hay fever1 and the removal of the factors causing such strain and disorganisation means great relief and gradual progress towards the eradication of these disorders2 but1 of course1 all organic troubles should be removed in such cases40 ,now ,i may say further that ,i have not1 up to now1 examined any method of physical culture or respiration which has not tended to bring about in time some form of directly harmful lumbar spinal curvature4 ,and ,i have never examined a case of the 7alleged7 cure of spinal curvature in which the front of the chest has not been harmfully altered1 and very often seriously deformed4 ,the original idea in diagnosis of spinal curvature which has led to the methods producing these results is 8that the activity of the muscles is necessary to the retention of the spine in an erect position1 in consequence of which1 therefore1 the primary cause for the scoliosis must be sought in an abnormal function of the muscles influencing the spine40 ,this is the myopathic theory of ,eulenburg1 an authority whose dicta have had an important influence in medical practice4 ,the error of advocating physical exercises1 as generally understood1 of any kind in the treatment of spinal curvature is even greater than in the case of ,john ,doe1 whom ,i cited in the earlier part of this work and whose case should be again referred to in this connexion4 ,the question here also is one of correct conscious recognition1 and it is much more marked in the case of spinal curvature than in the case of my earlier illustration1 a case in which there was no special deformity1 and in which the muscle-tensing exercises ,i deprecated did not work to emphasise a marked structural malformation4 ,the important factors in relation to spinal curvature are these3 7a7 ,the bent or curved and therefore shortened spine4 7b7 ,the decreased internal capacity of the thoracic cavity4 ,plainly1 attention must first be given to straightening and lengthening the curved and shortened spine4 ,this can be done by an expert manipulator who is able to diagnose the erroneous preconceived ideas of the person concerned1 and cause the pupil to inhibit them while employing the position of mechanical advantage4 ,and it can be done without asking the pupil to perform what he understands as a single physical act4 ,moreover1 if the correct guiding orders are given to the pupil by the teacher1 and the pupil makes no attempt to hold him or herself in the lengthened position1 such use of the muscular mechanism will1 nevertheless1 be brought about as will ensure that the torso is held in a correct position4 ,formerly1 the consciousness in regard to the correct action has been erroneous1 a mere delusion1 and the muscular mechanisms have worked to pull the body down4 ,the truth of the matter is that in the old morbid conditions which have brought about the curvature the muscles intended by ,nature for the correct working of the parts concerned had been put out of action1 and the whole purpose of the re-educatory method ,i advocate is to bring back these muscles into play1 not by physical exercises1 but by the employment of a position of mechanical advantage and the repetition of the correct inhibiting and guiding mental orders by the pupil1 and the correct manipulation and direction by the teacher1 until the two psycho-physical factors become an established psycho-physical habit4 ,during this process of re-education1 factor 7b7 has not been forgotten4 ,a little consideration will show that any alteration in the spine must necessarily affect the position and working of the ribs4 7,the analogy of the keel of a boat and the ribs which spring from it may well be held in mind to make clear the following explanation47 ,it will be seen that as the ribs are held apart by muscular tissues 7analogous to the boards of a boat71 a bending of the spine will not buckle the ribs unless great force is applied1 force sufficient to rupture the muscular tissue4 ,but it is equally evident that there must be some play in the ribs in order that they may adjust themselves to the new position4 ,this play is effected in the human body 7and would be effected mechanically in the ribs of a boat1 if they possessed sufficient elasticity7 by the coming together of the ends of the 8false0 and 8flying0 ribs1 that is1 those lower ribs which are not attached to the bony sternum4 ,this flattening of the curve of the ribs1 and the approach of their free ends towards each other1 reduces the thoracic cavity1 just as in our illustration of the boat its capacity would be reduced if we forcibly narrowed the distance between the thwarts4 ,on the other hand1 we see that by increasing the thoracic capacity and so increasing the distance between the ends of these ribs1 we are applying a mechanical principle which by a reverse action tends to straighten the spine4 ,these two actions1 the re-education of the 8,kinsthetic ,systems0 and the increasing of the thoracic capacity which applies a mechanical power by means of the muscles and ribs to the straightening of the spine1 are both aspects of the one central idea1 and are not separate and divisible acts4 #b4 ,appendicitis4 ,the prevalence of appendicitis has always seemed to me one of the most striking proofs of the inefficiency of present-day methods in regard to health4 ,at times ,i am filled with wonder that we permit such bad conditions to become established as may necessitate the removal of the appendix4 ,it is1 of course1 well known that the operation is frequently performed when the conditions do not warrant such extreme measures1 but cases have come under my notice1 nevertheless1 and those not among the uneducated classes1 in which the symptoms had become so aggravated by years of harmful habits of life as to necessitate the major operation4 ,fortunately there is a section of the medical profession which objects1 on scientific grounds1 to the removal of the appendix in all but extreme cases1 and this opposition and the evidence adducible as to the comparative ease with which the exaggerated condition may be avoided and the trouble completely cured by natural means1 is doing much to limit the sphere of those champions of the knife who are never content unless they can be dissecting the living body4 ,there can be no question or shadow of doubt that when the whole frame is properly co-ordinated and the adjustment of the body is correct and controlled according to the principles ,i have enunciated1 it is a practical impossibility to get appendicitis4 ,the cause of the trouble is due to imperfect adjustment of the body which allows or forces the abdominal viscera to become displaced and to fall4 ,the first consequence of this is a change of pressures and the loss of the natural internal massage1 present in normal conditions4 ,this leads to constipation among other symptoms1 and permits the gradual accumulation of toxic poisons4 ,when the trouble has already shown itself and there is some positive inflammation of the appendix and tenderness in that region1 it is by no means too late to apply my methods4 ,the new co-ordinations which may in such cases be brought about very quickly1 and established later1 at once relieve false internal pressures and permit a natural re-adjustment of the viscera1 and the furtherance of a rapid return to a healthy and normal condition is greatly accelerated by the internal massage4 ,with regard to this latter treatment to which ,i have already referred in this chapter1 ,i may mention that many pupils have asked me if ,i use internal massage in my system of re-education4 ,in my brochure on the ,theory and ,practice of ,respiratory ,re-education1 included in ,part ,,iii1 it will be found that ,i used this description1 as ,i said1 for lack of one that was sufficiently comprehensive1 but the principle itself is one of the first importance4 ,when a patient or pupil is placed in the position of mechanical advantage ,i have so often had occasion to refer to1 the manipulator can secure the maximum movement of the abdominal viscera in strict accordance with the laws of nature and will obtain at the same time a maximum functioning of all the internal organs4 ,in this way foreign accumulations are dissipated1 constipation is relieved1 and the more or less collapsed viscera--the cause of all the trouble--are restored to their proper places and resume their natural functions4 ,all these things1 it will be seen1 are essential factors in the prevention and cure of appendicitis1 and ,i may add that the application of these principles in a very large number of cases in which an operation has been medically advised has conclusively demonstrated their value to the individual and to the race4 ,appendicitis1 like influenza1 is probably almost an impossibility in the natural state2 it is one of the results of civilisation and subconsciously controlled mechanisms1 and is possible only through the conditions we have developed2 and these adventitious troubles and ailments will continue to appear and to do their work of destruction until some general recognition is made of the necessity for substituting conscious control for the partly superseded forces which in a wild state render these ailments impossible4 ,,iii4 8,what are the outward signs of improvement to be noted during treatment80 ,the signs of improvement are manifold and they necessarily vary according to the nature of the original defect1 but ,i will set out here some of the more characteristic1 such as occur in generally typical cases4 ,we see1 in the first place1 that the characteristic defects of the body1 whether displacements of some part or parts of the muscular mechanism 7in some cases even displacement of the bones71 or defects of pose which throw some unusual strain upon a muscle1 or1 more commonly1 a group of muscles not intended to take such strain1 all have some correlated defects1 which may be observed by the instructed as certain visible peculiarities and abnormalities4 ,and we must draw particular attention in this connexion to the fact that these outer signs are correlated with the inner defects4 ,neither outer sign nor inner defect is from one point of view the result one of the other4 ,the original cause is some faulty or imperfect co-ordination or conception of function2 the inner defect and outer sign-mark are equally a consequence as they are to us an index4 ,as we should naturally expect1 the chief sign-manual is to be found in the face4 ,to me1 that is a most valuable document upon which is written many curious1 intricate1 sometimes alarming confessions4 ,the expression of the eyes1 the set of the lips1 the drawing of the forehead1 and the more pronounced dragging of the flexible face muscles1 are all marks which may be read by the expert1 and1 to answer the question directly1 one of the earlier outward signs of improvement is to be found in a relaxation of the forced and unnatural expression which results from these contortions4 ,it must be obvious that ,i cannot here set out in detail the symptomatic distortions which accompany the various internal defects1 but one may be noted as an exemplar for the others however diverse4 ,the case in question was one of dilation of the heart and as such was brought to me by a medical friend1 and1 as a matter of fact1 though this was the most alarming symptom1 it was but one of many springing from deep-seated causes4 ,incidentally ,i may note that the spine was arched inwards1 the legs were unduly and most abnormally stiffened when the patient was in a standing position1 and the upper part of the chest was held most harmfully high--this last symptom being the influence which produced what was really a tertiary effect1 though in this case the most threatening one1 viz41 the dilation of the heart4 ,now this patient carried certain very curious marks in the face3 first a general expression of strain in the eyes and cheek muscles1 and secondly four very marked indents or pits in the forehead4 ,here1 indeed1 were marks which the expert might read1 and it was extremely interesting to note1 as my treatment progressed and the patient recovered the proper use of the body and a consequent return to perfect health1 first1 the disappearance of the strained expression of eyes and face muscles1 and secondly1 the gradual filling up of the four curious indentations in the forehead4 ,in this case the original symptoms were so marked that the patient's friends all commented on the change of expression during the progress of the treatment4 ,the face1 however1 is by no means the only index4 ,many defects lead1 by way of stiffened neck and throat muscles1 to an alteration in the quality and power of the voice4 ,there too the mode of movement and the failure to express purpose in muscular action1 the fumbling1 indirect attempt to perform a simple act1 are aids to diagnosis1 either of the original defect1 or1 by their reversion to natural1 easy functioning1 of the progress of the cure4 ,generally1 also1 we observe a clearing of the skin and eyes as the defects are eradicated1 improvements which are due to better circulation and the improved quality of the blood1 factors which bring about a continually increasing power in the organism to purge itself not only through the bowels and kidneys1 but also through the skin4 ,lastly1 we may note a general improvement in physique1 in the carriage of the body1 in the whole appearance of co-ordinated1 reasoned control4 ,another curious and interesting test of the co-ordinated person who is attaining conscious control of the uses of his body is obtained by observing his hands when they fall to his sides in the position which comes naturally to him4 ,one may say that there are three main stages to be observed in man's development in this particular1 though the gradations are many and not1 perhaps1 always strictly progressive4 ,the first stage may be observed in the lowest savages1 the ,hottentot1 the ,australian aboriginal1 and many races at an early stage of development4 ,such examples stand with body thrown back from the hips1 stomach protruded1 and--here is the test--with the palms of the hands forward1 the elbows bent into the sides1 the thumbs sticking out away from the body4 ,the second stage is evidenced in the averaged civilised man of to-day who stands as a rule with the palms of his hands towards his body1 his elbows to the back1 his thumbs forward4 ,in the third stage1 the properly co-ordinated person stands with the back of his hands forward1 the thumbs inwards1 and the elbows slightly bent outwards4 ,this is a curious but little known test1 which1 in my experience1 has never failed as an index to imperfect muscular co-ordination4 ,i believe ,i have now answered in sufficient detail the somewhat wide intention of these three main questions1 but in conclusion ,i will note one further point that has been raised4 ,this is the question as to why the great majority of men and women breathe from their stomach or the upper chest and so allow1 among other evils1 the costal arch to be narrowed and the flying ribs to become constricted and stiffened4 ,in the case of many women there can be no doubt that this is due to the use of tight corsets which confine these ribs1 and do great general harm in constricting the natural play of the vital functions4 ,but another and1 in my opinion1 the primary cause is the common practice of swathing a child in bands almost immediately after birth1 and keeping him so fettered during many months of infancy4 ,the idea of this practice is to prevent rupture in male children should they be subject to violent fits of crying or coughing1 but the question of the relative tightness or looseness of these swathings is left in the hands of a nurse1 who1 in the great majority of cases1 thinks it well to be on the 8safe side0 by winding the child unnecessarily tightly4 ,obviously the early habit is retained through life unless it is broken by some outside influence4 ,the pliancy of the young organisms is such that the functioning of the breathing apparatus is quickly re-adjusted1 but the evils which gradually accumulate1 from this and similar causes1 do not show themselves as a rule till much later in life4 ,another cause is any imperfect adjustment of the muscular mechanism1 a failure which may be due to incorrect training1 to unconscious imitation1 or to any of the chances which are always being presented to the child in the haphazard system of physical education which obtains in our nurseries and schools4 ,and on this note ,i may well conclude my chapter1 for no argument ,i can advance in favour of a careful consideration of the principles ,i have laid down can have such cogency and force as the most superficial examination of the physique of the children in our schools and the adults in our streets4 ,we are indeed suffering1 not only in ,great ,britain but on the continents of ,europe and ,america1 from a failure to recognise that man is no longer a natural animal1 whose life-habits were dependent upon the development of the faculty of instinct1 and that all systems of physical culture 7and how diverse they are67 must necessarily fail unless they take into account that first and last essential1 the free use and consciousness of the reasoning1 controlling mind4 ,,part ,,iii ,,the ,,theory ,,and ,,practice ,,of ,a ,,new ,,method ,,of ,,respiratory ,,re-,,education ,first published #aijg4 8,whoever hesitates to utter that which he thinks the highest truth1 lest it should be too much in advance of the time1 may reassure himself by looking at his acts from an impersonal point of view4444 ,it is not for nothing that he has in him these sympathies with some principles and repugnance to others4 ,he1 with all his capacities1 and aspirations1 and beliefs1 is not an accident1 but a product of the time4 ,he must remember that while he is a descendant of the past he is a parent of the future2 and that his thoughts are as children born to him1 which he may not carelessly let die40--,,herbert ,,spencer4 ,i ,,introductory ,it may be of interest to my readers to know that the method ,i have founded is the result of a practical and unique experience1 for my knowledge was gained-- #a4 ,while vainly attempting to eradicate personal1 vocal1 and respiratory defects by recognised systems4 #b4 ,while afterwards putting into practice certain original principles1 which enabled me to eradicate these defects4 #c4 ,while giving personal demonstrations of the application of these principles from a respiratory1 vocal1 and health-giving point of view4 ,i first imparted the method thus evolved to patients recommended by medical men over ten years prior to ,june1 #aijd4 ,at that date ,i introduced it to leading ,london medical men1 who1 after investigation1 decided that the method was1 as one doctor put it1 8the most efficient known to 7him740 ,the method makes for-- ,in ,education3 #a4 ,prevention of certain defects hereinafter referred to4 #b4 ,adequate and correct use of the muscular mechanisms concerned with respiration4 ,in ,re-education3 #a4 ,eradication of certain defects hereinafter referred to4 #b4 ,co-ordination in the use of the muscular mechanisms concerned with respiration4 ,the result of 7#b7 is not only to make that function efficient1 but also to ensure that normal activity and natural massage of the internal organs so necessary to the adequate performance of the vital functions and the preservation of a proper condition of health4 ,f4 ,,matthias ,,alexander4 ,i ,,the ,,theory ,,of ,,respiratory ,,re-,,education ,the artificial conditions of modern civilised life1 among which is comparative lack of free exercise in the open air1 are conducive to the inadequate use of breathing power4 ,indulgence in harmful habits of feeding and posture have caused these same habits1 through heredity and unconscious imitation1 to become 8second nature0 in the great majority of adults to-day and frequently in children1 even at an early age4 ,the normal condition of vigour in the action of the component parts of the respiratory mechanisms is greatly interfered with2 general nervous relaxation is brought about1 and a feeble1 flabby action becomes permanent4 ,certain muscles of the thoracic mechanisms which should take the lead in the performance of the breathing movements remain entirely inert for the greater part of life1 whilst others1 which were never intended by nature to monopolise this particular act but only to serve as a relief or change1 are used solely for the act of breathing4 ,hence arises a condition in which the posture1 the symmetry of the body1 the graceful normal curves of the whole frame1 suffer alteration and change4 ,the capacity and mobility of the thorax 7chest7 are decreased1 its shape 7particularly in the lumbar region1 clavicles1 and lower sides of the chest7 is changed in a harmful way1 and the abdominal viscera are displaced1 whilst the heart1 lungs1 and other vital organs are allowed to drop below their normal position4 ,inadequate holding-space of the thorax--which means a distinct lessening of the 8vital capacity0--and displacement of the vital organs within it1 are great factors in retarding the natural activity of the parts concerned1 which are therefore unable fully and naturally to perform their functions4 ,under these circumstances the natural chemical changes in the human organism cannot be adequate4 ,the serious interference with the circulatory processes and the inadequate oxygenation of the blood prevent the system from being properly nourished and cleansed of impurities1 for the action of the excretory processes will be impeded and the whole organism slowly but surely charged with foreign matter1 which1 sooner or later1 will cause acute symptoms of disease4 ,it will at once be understood that the defects enumerated produce distinct deterioration in the condition of the different organs of the body1 and it is well known that an organ's power of resistance to disease depends upon the adequacy of its functioning power1 which in its turn depends upon adequate activity4 ,records exist which prove that ,chinese physicians as early as #bjjj ,b4,c4 employed breathing exercises in the treatment of certain diseases4 ,it is therefore obvious that the people concerned had reached3 #a4 ,a stage in their evolution which corresponds with that of our time1 i4e41 demanding re-education4 #b4 ,a stage of observation of cause and effect similar to that of to-day1 which led them to see the need of re-education4 ,such re-education is essential to the restoration of the natural conditions present at the birth in every normal babe1 though gradually deteriorated under conditions of modern life4 ,in recent years the following members of the medical profession have urged the inestimable value of the cultivation and development of the respiratory mechanism1 and their conclusions have been borne out by the practical results secured by respiratory re-education combined with proper medical treatment4 ,,medical ,,opinions ,,concerning ,,the ,,evil ,,effect ,,of ,,interference ,,with ,,and ,,inadequate ,,use ,,of ,,the ,,respiratory ,,processes ,mr4 ,w4 ,arbuthnot ,lane1 surgeon to ,guy's ,hospital1 in his lecture published in the ,lancet1 ,december #ag1 #aijd1 p4 #afig1 urges that reduction in the respiratory capacity is a very great factor in lowering the activity of all the vital processes of the body1 and that in the first instance inadequate aeration and oxygenation is the result of a serious alteration in the abdominal mechanisms1 and afterwards this insufficient aeration impairs the digestive processes4 ,dr4 ,hugh ,a4 ,mc,callum1 in his clinical lecture on 8,visceroptosis0 7dropping of the viscera71 as published in the ,british ,medical ,journal1 ,february #ah1 #aije1 p4 #cde1 points out that over ninety per cent4 of the females suffering from neurasthenia 7exhaustion of nerve force7 are victims of visceroptosis1 and that the conditions present are bad standing posture1 imperfect use of the lower zone of the thorax1 and the lack of tone in the abdominal muscular system which leads to defective intra-abdominal pressure4 ,he also mentions that ,dr4 ,john ,madison ,taylor of ,philadelphia and ,keith of ,england were the two first to point out that the origin of this disease begins in a faulty position and use of the thorax4 ,in a leading article in the ,lancet1 ,december #bd1 #aijd1 p4 #agif1 this passage occurs3 8,whatever may be the causes1 it is certain that an increasing number of town-dwellers suffer from constipation and atony of the colon1 and that purgatives1 enemata1 and massage are powerless to prevent their progress from constipation to coprostasis40 ,,convalescents ,the value of respiratory re-education in the treatment of convalescents was pointed out recently 7#aije7 by ,m4 ,siredey and ,m4 ,rosenthal in a paper read at a meeting of the ,socit ,medicale des ,hpitaux4 ,an excerpt from the ,lancet1 ,february #ah1 #aije1 p4 #dfc1 reads as follows3 8,they said that respiratory insufficiency was one of the causes of the general debility which showed itself after an acute illness4 ,it was easily recognised by the following symptoms1 which the patient presented1 namely1 thoracic insufficiency1 shown by absence or impairment of the movement of the thorax2 and diaphragmatic insufficiency1 shown by immobility or recession of the abdomen during inspiration--a condition met with in pseudo-pleurisy of the bases of the lungs4 8,respiratory re-education was1 in their opinion1 the specific treatment for respiratory insufficiency4 ,in the case of convalescents it constantly produced a progressive threefold effect1 namely1 expansion of the thorax1 diuresis1 and increase of weight4 ,it promoted in a marked degree the recuperation of the vital functions which followed acute illness1 and the general health of the patients improved rapidly4 ,it ought to be combined with other forms of treatment1 and the action of the latter was enhanced by it40 ,the matter of preventing defective and restoring proper action clearly calls for attention4 ,the foregoing will enable the reader definitely to understand what is necessary1 viz41 #a4 ,in ,prevention4 ,the inculcation of a proper mental attitude towards the act of breathing in children1 to be followed by those detailed instructions necessary to the correct practice of such respiratory exercises as will maintain adequate and proper use of the breathing organs4 #b4 ,in ,restoration4 ,a body possessing one or other or all of the defects previously named will need re-education in order to eradicate the defects brought about by bad habits1 etc41 and to restore a proper condition4 ,as the breathing mechanism is ordinarily unconsciously controlled1 it is necessary1 in order to regain full efficiency in the use of it1 to proceed by way of conscious control until the normal conditions return4 ,afterwards1 when perfected1 unconscious control--as it originally existed prior to respiratory and physical deterioration--will supervene4 ,,ii ,,errors ,,to ,,be ,,avoided ,,and ,,facts ,,to ,,be ,,remembered ,,in ,,the ,,theory ,,and ,,practice ,,of ,,respiratory ,,re-,,education 8,each faculty acquires fitness for its function by performing its function2 and if its function is performed for it by a substituted agency1 none of the required adjustment of nature takes place2 but the nature becomes deformed to fit the artificial arrangements instead of the natural arrangements40--,,herbert ,,spencer4 ,anything that makes for good may be rendered harmful in its effect by injudicious application or improper use1 and many authorities have referred to this fact in connexion with breathing exercises4 ,for the guidance of my readers ,i will detail some of the harmful results which accrue from the attempt to take what are known as 8deep breaths0 during the practice of breathing and physical exercises1 in accordance with the instructions set down and the principle advocated in recognised breathing systems4 ,at the outset1 let me point out that respiratory education or respiratory re-education will not prove successful unless the mind of the pupil is thoroughly imbued with the true principles which apply to atmospheric pressure1 the equilibrium of the body1 the centre of gravity1 and to positions of mechanical advantage where the alternate expansions and contractions of the thorax are concerned4 ,in other words1 it is essential to have a proper mental attitude towards respiratory education or re-education1 and the specific acts which constitute the exercises embodied in it1 together with a proper knowledge and practical employment of the true primary movement in each and every act4 ,i may remark that ,i recognised this factor and put it to practical use over twenty years ago1 but it has been quite overlooked or neglected in the other systems formulated before and since that time4 ,in fact1 when ,i introduced my method to leading ,london medical men they quickly admitted the value of this important factor1 and expressed their surprise that on account of its importance it had not been previously advocated1 seeing that from a practical point of view it is so essential1 not only in the eradication of respiratory faults or defects 7re-education71 but also in preventing them 7education74 ,a proper mental attitude1 let me repeat then1 is all-important4 ,from its neglect arise many of the serious defects ordinarily met with in the respiratory mechanism of civilised people1 all of which are exaggerated in the practice of customary 8breathing exercises40 #a4 8,sniffing0 or 8,gasping40 ,if the 8deep breath0 be taken through the nasal passages there will be a loud 8sniffing0 sound and collapse of the al nasi1 and if through the mouth1 a 8gasping0 sound4 ,the pupil has not been told that if the thorax is expanded correctly the lungs will at once be filled with air by atmospheric pressure1 exactly as a pair of bellows is filled when the handles are pulled apart4 ,it is a well-known fact1 but one greatly to be regretted1 that many teachers of breathing and physical exercises actually tell the pupils that1 in order to get the increased air-supply they must 8sniff40 ,worse than this1 many medical men are guilty of similar instruction to their patients1 and when giving a personal demonstration of how a 8deep breath0 should be taken1 they 8sniff0 loudly and bring about a collapse of the al nasi1 throw back the head1 and interfere with the centre of gravity4 ,of course1 it is only necessary to remind them of the law of atmospheric pressure as it applies to breathing1 and they at once recognise their error4 ,such a state of affairs serves to show that lamentable ignorance prevails even in the twentieth century in connexion with so essential a function as breathing1 and on reflection we must realise the seriousness of a situation which1 from some points of view1 is really pathetic4 ,most people1 if asked to take a 8deep breath10 will proceed to--,i use the words spoken by thousands of people ,i have experimented upon--8suck air into the lungs to expand the chest10 whereas1 of course1 the proper expansion of the chest1 as a primary movement1 causes the al nasi to be dilated and the lungs to be instantly filled with air by atmospheric pressure1 without any harmful lowering of the pressure4 #b4 ,during this harmful 8sniffing0 act it will be seen that-- 7a7 ,the larynx is unduly depressed2 likewise the diaphragm4 ,the undue strain1 caused by this unnatural crowding down of the larynx and its accessories1 is undoubtedly the greatest factor in the causation of throat troubles1 especially where professional voice-users are concerned4 ,this has been abundantly proved by the practical tests which ,i have made during the past twelve years4 ,my success in ,london with eminent members of the dramatic and vocal profession1 sent to me by their medical advisers1 might be mentioned in this connexion4 7b7 ,the upper chest is unduly raised1 and in most cases the shoulders also4 7c7 ,the back is unduly hollowed in the lumbar region4 7d7 ,the abdomen is generally protruded1 and there is an abnormally deranged intra-abdominal pressure4 7e7 ,the head is thrown too far back1 and the neck unduly tensed and shortened at a time when it should be perfectly free from strain4 7f7 ,parts of the chest are unduly expanded1 while others that should share in the expansion are contracted1 particularly the back in the lumbar region4 7g7 ,during the expiration there is an undue falling of the upper chest1 which harmfully increases the intra-thoracic pressure and so dams back the blood in the thin-walled veins and auricles and hampers the heart's action4 7h7 ,undue larynx depression prevents the proper placing and natural movements of the tongue1 the adequate and correct opening of the mouth for the formation of the resonance cavity necessary to the vocalisation of a true 8,ah40 ,it is well known that the tongue is attached to the larynx1 and therefore any undue depression of the latter must of necessity interfere with the free and correct movements of the former4 7i7 ,the head is thrown back to open the mouth4 ,this is a common fault1 even with professional singers1 but a moment's consideration of the movements of the jaw--from an anatomical point of view--will show that it should move downwards without effort1 and that it is not necessary to move the head backwards in order to effect the opening of the mouth by the lowering of the jaw1 since1 as a matter of fact1 the latter movement will be more readily and perfectly performed if the head remains erect without any deviatory posture4 ,every voice-user should learn to open the mouth without throwing back the head4 ,very distinct benefits will accrue to those who succeed in establishing this habit4 ,it is well known that the practice of 8physical culture0 exercises has caused emphysema1 and it has been suggested that unnatural breathing exercises have also been responsible for the condition4 ,i refer to this because ,i wish to show that it would not be possible to cause emphysema by the method of respiratory education and re-education ,i have formulated4 ,emphysema may be caused by3-- #a4 ,the reduction of the elasticity of the lung cells and tissue resulting from undue expansion of the lungs and from their being held too long in this expanded position4 #b4 ,the undue intra-thoracic pressure1 during an attempt at expiration or some physical act1 upon the air cells1 which remain filled with air in consequence of the means of egress from the lungs being temporarily closed by the approximation of vocal reeds and ventricular bands4 ,if the fundamental principles of my method are observed1 these conditions cannot be present during the practice of the exercises1 and emphysema therefore not only cannot be produced but is likely to be even remedied where previously existing4 ,in the first place1 the tendency unduly to expand any part or parts of the thorax in particular1 to the exclusion of other parts1 is prevented by the detailed personal instruction given in connexion with each exercise in its application to individual defects or peculiarities of the pupil4 ,moreover1 the mechanical advantages in the body-pose and chest poise assumed in these exercises cause them to be performed with the minimum of effort1 and lead to an even and controlled expansion of the whole thorax4 ,there is not1 as is too often the case1 an undue expansion of one part of the chest1 while other parts1 which should share in such expansion1 are being contracted--a condition that obtains1 for instance1 when the diaphragm is unduly depressed in inspiration4 ,in this latter case there is a sinking above and below the clavicles1 a hollowing in the lumbar region of the back1 undue protrusion of the abdomen1 displacement of the abdominal viscera1 reduction in height1 undue depression of the larynx1 and the centre of gravity is thrown too far back4 ,the striking feature in those who have practised customary breathing exercises is an undue lateral expansion of the lower ribs1 when several or all of the above defects are present4 ,this excessive expansion gives an undue width to the lower part of the chest1 and there are thousands of young girls who present quite a matronly appearance in consequence4 ,the breathing exercises imparted by teachers of singing are particularly effective in bringing about this undesirable and harmful condition4 ,the guiding principle that should be invariably kept in mind by both teacher and pupil is to secure1 with the minimum of effort1 perfect use of the component parts of the mechanisms concerned in respiration and vocalisation4 ,then1 sooner or later1 adequate mobility1 power1 speed1 absolute control1 and artistic manipulation must follow4 ,most people--teachers as well as pupils--when thinking of or practising breathing exercises1 have one fixed idea1 viz41 that of causing a great expansion of the chest1 whereas its proper and adequate contraction is equally important4 ,there are1 indeed1 many cases in which the expiratory movement calls for more attention than the inspiratory4 ,careful observation will show that those who take breath by the 8sniffing0 or 8gasping0 mode of breathing always experience great difficulty with breath-control in speech and song1 or during the performance of breathing exercises4 ,this remains true whether the air is expelled through the mouth or nasal passages1 and it is due to the imperfect use of the thoracic mechanism1 and the consequent loss of mechanical advantage already referred to at the end of the inspiration4 ,the natural and powerful air-controlling power is therefore absent1 and its absence causes undue approximation of the vocal reeds1 and probably of the ventricular bands in the endeavour to prevent the escape of air1 which air1 when once released under these conditions1 is thereafter inadequately and imperfectly controlled4 ,in vocal use there is considerable increase in this lack of breath-control1 the upper chest being more rapidly and forcibly depressed during the vocalisation4 ,this is not a matter for surprise1 for if a mechanical advantage is essential to the proper expansion of the thorax for the intake of air1 it is equally essential to the controlling power during the expiration1 and if during the expiration the upper chest is falling1 it clearly proves that the advantage indicated is not present4 ,,iii ,,the ,,practice ,,of ,,respiratory ,,re-,,education ,,habit ,,in ,,relation ,,to ,,peculiarities ,,and ,,defects 8,if we contemplate the method of ,nature1 we see that everywhere vast results are brought about by accumulating minute actions40--,,herbert ,,spencer4 ,the mental and physical peculiarities or defects of men and women are the result of heredity or acquired habit1 and the most casual observer has noticed that certain peculiarities or defects are characteristic of the members of particular families1 as1 for instance1 in connexion with the standing and sitting postures1 the style of walking1 the position of the shoulders and shoulder-blades1 the use of the arm1 and the use of the vocal organs in speech1 etc4 ,such family peculiarities or defects are unconsciously acquired by the children1 often becoming more pronounced in the second generation1 such acquirements making for good or ill1 as the case may be4 ,i will1 however1 confine myself to an enumeration of those with a harmful tendency1 as an understanding of bad habits is essential to the consideration of the teaching principles adopted in my method of respiratory-physical re-education4 ,the chief peculiarities or defects may be broadly indicated as3-- #a4 ,an incorrect mental attitude towards the respiratory act4 #b4 ,lack of control over1 and improper and inadequate use of1 the component parts of the different mechanisms of the body1 limbs1 and nervous system4 #c4 ,incorrect pose of the body and chest poise1 and therefrom consequent defects in the standing and sitting postures1 the interference with the normal position and shape of the spine1 as well as the ribs1 the costal arch1 the vital organs1 and the abdominal viscera4 ,re-education1 when one or other or all of these peculiarities or defects are present1 means eradication of existing bad habits1 and the following will indicate some of the chief principles upon which the teaching method of this re-education is based3-- ,that where the human machinery is concerned ,nature does not work in parts1 but treats everything as a whole4 ,that a proper mental attitude towards respiration is at once inculcated1 so that each and every respiratory act in the practice of the exercises is the direct result of volition1 the primary1 secondary1 and other movements necessary to the proper performance of such act having first been definitely indicated to the pupil4 ,it may prove of interest to mention that ,w4 ,marcet1 ,m4,d41 ,f4,r4,s41 and ,harry ,campbell1 ,m4,d41 ,b4,s41 ,london1 are of opinion that volition as such makes a direct demand upon the breathing powers quite apart from all physical effort1 and with these great advantages1 that1 unlike the latter1 it neither increases the production of waste products nor tends to cause thoracic rigidity1 thus more or less retarding the movements of the chest4 ,the experiments made by ,dr4 ,marcet show that the duration of a man's power to sustain the muscle contraction necessary to raise a weight a given number of times depends upon the endurance of the brain-centres causing the act of volition rather than upon the muscular power4 ,an instance is quoted of a man who lifted a weight of #d pounds #bjc times1 and who1 after resting and performing forced breathing movements1 raised the same weight the same height #gjj times4 ,regarding muscle development and chest expansion1 ,dr4 ,harry ,campbell has in his book on breathing taken the case of ,sandow4 ,his conclusion will prove of interest4 ,he pointed out that ,sandow claimed to be able to increase the size of the chest #ad inches--that is1 from #dh to #fb inches in circumference4 ,dr4 ,campbell then expressed the opinion that this increase is almost entirely the result of the swelling up of the large muscles surrounding the chest1 and that most probably the increase in his bony chest 7thorax7 is not more than #b to #c inches1 seeing that his 8vital capacity0 is only #bge cubic inches4 7,for ten years past ,i have drawn the attention of medical men to the deception of ordinary chest measurements and to the evils wrought by the physical training and the 8stand at attention0 attitude in vogue in the army1 and also to the harmful effects of the drill in our schools1 where the unfortunate children are made to assume a posture which is exactly that of the soldier1 whose striking characteristic is the undue and harmful hollow in the lumbar spine and the numerous defects that are inseparable from this unnatural posture47 ,there is such immediate improvement in the pose of the body and poise of the chest whatever the conditions 7excepting1 of course1 organised structural defects71 that a valuable mechanical advantage is secured in the respiratory movements1 and this is gradually improved by the practice until the habit becomes established1 and the law of gravity appertaining to the human body is duly obeyed4 ,the mechanical advantage referred to is of particular value1 for it means prevention of undue and harmful falling of the upper chest at the end of the expiration1 which is always present in those who practise the customary breathing exercises1 the pupil being then deprived of the mechanical advantage so essential to the proper performance of the next inspiratory act4 ,then follows due increase in the movements of expansion and contraction of the thorax until such movements are adequate and perfectly controlled4 ,further1 these expansions are primary movements in securing that increase in the capacity of the chest necessary to afford the normal oscillations of atmospheric pressure1 without unduly lowering that pressure--or1 in other words1 they give opportunity to fill the lungs with air1 while the contractions overcome the air pressure and force the air out of the lungs1 and at the same time constitute the controlling power of the speed and length of the expiration4 ,the excessive and harmful lowering of the air pressure in the respiratory tract1 and the consequent collapse of the al nasi1 is prevented by so regulating the respiratory speed that the lungs are filled by atmospheric pressure4 ,the value of this will be readily understood when it is remembered that such lowering1 which is always present in the 8sniffing0 mode of breathing1 causes collapse of the al nasi4 ,it also tends to cause congestion of the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract on the sucker system1 setting up catarrh and its attendant evils1 such as throat disorders1 loss of voice1 bronchitis1 asthma1 and other pulmonary troubles4 ,from the first lesson the effect upon the splanchnic area is such that the blood is more or less drawn away from it to the lungs1 and is then evenly distributed to other parts of the body4 ,the intra-abdominal pressure is more or less raised1 and there is a gradual tendency to the permanent establishment of normal conditions4 ,the use of bandages or corsets is to be condemned as treatment in protruding abdomen instead of the adoption of practical means to remove the cause4 ,such support to the abdominal wall is artificial and harmful1 since it tends to make the muscles more flaccid4 ,the respiratory mechanism should be re-educated1 for this would mean a re-education or strengthening of the supports ,nature has supplied4 ,in other words1 the sinking above and below the clavicles and the undue hollowing of the lumbar spine--the great factors in the direct causation of the protrusion of the abdomen--are removed1 and a normal condition of the abdominal muscles established4 ,this means a very decided improvement in the figure and general health4 ,the improvement in the abdominal conditions 7the improved position of the abdominal viscera and the development of the abdominal muscles7 is proportionate to that of the respiratory movements--a fact that can be readily understood when ,i point out that the movements of the parts are interdependent4 ,when the faulty distention of the splanchnic area is present it will be found that the diaphragm is unduly low in breathing2 and when there is excessive depression of the diaphragm in respiration there is interference with the centre of gravity by displacement forward1 and the compensatory arching backward in the lumbar region4 ,after a time there is such improvement in the use of the component parts of the mechanism that an inspiration may1 if desired1 be secured by a depression of the diaphragm1 while at the same moment the condition in the splanchnic area is actually improved4 ,improvement in respiratory exchange is secured by gradual increase in the expansions and contractions of the thorax1 which increases the aeration of lungs1 the supply of oxygen1 and the elimination of ,,co#b4 ,the quantity of residual air in the lungs is greatly increased1 and if the expired air is always converted into a controlled whispered vowel during the practice of the breathing exercises very great benefits accrue1 notably those derived from the prolonged duration of air in the lungs1 and the proper inter-thoracic pressure necessary to force the adequate supply of oxygen into the blood and eliminate the due quantity of ,,co#b4 ,the employment of these whispered tones means the proper use of the vocal organs in a form of vocalisation little associated with ordinary bad habits1 and that perfect co-ordination of the parts concerned which is inseparable from adequately controlled whisper vocalisation4 ,there is a rapid clearing of the skin1 the white face becoming a natural colour1 and a reduction of fat in the obese by its being burnt off with the extra oxygen supply4 ,this reduction in the weight and size is often quite remarkable1 as also the development of the flaccid muscles of the abdominal wall and the consequent improvement in the activity of the parts concerned4 ,,concluding ,,remarks ,the foregoing will serve to draw attention to the far-reaching and beneficial effects of what1 for the lack of a more satisfactory and comprehensive name1 ,i refer to as respiratory re-education4 ,it is a method that makes for the maintenance and restoration of those physical conditions possessed by every normal child at birth1 the presence of which ensures a proper standard of health1 adequate resistance to disease1 and a reserve power which1 if a serious illness should occur1 will serve to turn the tide at the critical moment towards recovery4 ,the insurance of such a condition for a generation would mean the regeneration of the human race as constituted to-day2 and ,i have no hesitation in stating that the results secured during the past twenty years1 and particularly during the past thirteen years in ,london in co-operation with leading medical men1 justify me in asserting that the practical application of the principles of this new method in education and re-education will be invaluable in overcoming the disadvantages and bad habits of our artificial civilised life1 and that they will prove the great factor in successfully checking the physical degeneration of mankind4 ,,index ,abdominal wall1 #bj1 #bjb1 #bfd1 #bhf1 #bia2 ,a4 pressure1 #aia1 #bfd1 #bff1 #cjd1 #cbj1 #cbg1 #ccf1 #cci4 ,abnormality1 #fi1 #aae2 abnormal physical condition1 #ga1 #aae1 #bfb4 ,aborigines1 of ,north ,america1 ,new ,zealand1 ,japan1 #h1 #aj4 ,acrobats and athletes1 #bgh1 #bif4 ,acts 7actions71 mechanical1 #i1 #cc ff42 mechanical repetition of1 #f1 #cc2 reflex1 #ed2 reasoned and unreasoned1 #ahe-ahh1 #bjd1 #beb2 instinctive number of1 decreasing1 #aig2 imitative and reasoned1 #bjg2 muscular1 performed vicariously by teacher1 #bc1 #bjg1 #bab1 #bad ff41 #bag1 #beg2 performance of habitual1 by other than habitual methods1 #bac1 in sitting1 #bhd2 antagonistic action1 #ahe2 manner of performance1 all-important1 #gd2 act of faith1 #dh ff4 ,adaptability1 man's1 to changing environment1 #bh1 #adj1 #adc1 #aef1 #afa ff41 #ahb1 #ahg1 #aie1 #aig1 #bcg ff42 slowness of process1 #i2 in children1 #aaf1 #acf1 #aec1 #aee2 ,german point of view1 #agc2 adaptability to the unusual1 #afa ff41 #ahb1 #bda1 #bde1 #bdh ff41 #big2 examples of1 #bdi ff4 ,affirmatives1 #ec4 ,alcohol1 #ei1 #bhh4 v4 ,overindulgence4 ,ambidexterity1 #aah4 ,america1 #agd ff4 ,anmia1 #ae4 ,ansthesia1 #abd1 #bcf4 ,anger1 #dd4 ,ankles1 #ahd1 #bgi4 ,appendicitis1 ,preface1 #ahc1 #aia1 #bce1 #cjc-cje4 ,apprehension1 #hh2 in pupil1 #bec2 and re-education1 #bdi-ei2 cultivated1 #be4 ,aptitude1 natural1 #bje4 ,archer1 ,william1 #gf ff4 ,argument1 #aic ff4 ,arms1 incorrect use of1 #bc1 #ih1 #ahd1 #baf1 #bai1 #bch1 #bgf2 in drawing1 #acj4 ,associations1 mental1 connected with ideas of speech1 #ed4 ,asthma1 #bcd1 #bgd1 #bhh1 #bii1 #ccf4 ,atavism1 #aj1 #ad4 ,athletes1 #eg1 #bgh1 #bif4 ,atmospheric pressure1 in connection with breathing1 #bj1 #adg1 #cbd ff41 #ccf4 ,attention1 attitude of1 #ajc ff42 8stand at attention10 #ccd4 ,auto-intoxication1 #ba1 #aij1 #bcd1 #cjd2 in case of child1 #aac4 ,automatism1 #afj-afg2 automatic control1 #df1 #ed2 automatic functions1 #ahi1 #bij-bib2 automatic development1 #afj ff42 automatic training and machinery1 #afi4 ,auto-suggestion1 #ch1 #eb1 #bah1 #bca4 v4 ,self-hypnotism4 ,bacteriology1 ,preface4 ,back1 wrong use of1 #ih2 hollowing of1 #bja1 #bgf1 #bih1 #cbg1 in children1 #abf2 lengthening and widening of1 #bgg1 #bia4 v4 ,spine4 ,bad temper1 #eh1 #acc1 #bbb4 ,balance1 lack of mental1 #aca2 upset by emergency1 #beb2 v4 ,co-ordination4 ,bicycling1 #bbf4 ,blood1 v4 ,circulation4 ,body1 human1 potentialities of1 ,preface1 #b2 v4 ,potentialities4 ,body1 civil war in1 #ae ff41 #ic1 #ahf1 #aig2 in so-called concentration1 #ajc2 as a mechanism not understood1 #af-ah2 delusions in regard to uses of1 #bj2 false poise and carriage of1 #hf1 #aad1 #abi1 in drawing1 #acj1 in dancing1 #acf1 due to rigidity1 #bac2 lengthening of1 #bhd ff4 ,boxing1 #bcb4 ,breathing1 explanation of act1 #adg2 deep breathing1 #ac1 #bg1 #ade ff41 #adi1 #bge1 #bih1 #cbc2 by sucking in air1 #bj1 #bja ff41 #bca1 #bfg1 #cbe1 #cbf1 #cce2 incorrect habits of1 #hf1 #caj1 #cag1 example of1 #ia ff41 #bja2 control of1 #agi1 #bbj2 even pneumatic1 #bca2 8breathing exercises10 #bih1 #cbi1 #cce2 ,chinese methods1 #cai2 mouth breathing1 #adf1 #bih1 in children dancing1 #abf4 v4 ,part ,,iii1 #cac-cdj4 ,british1 methods of1 #aga ff4 ,bronchitis1 #ahc1 #bii1 #ccf4 ,brute force1 principle of1 #afa1 #afe ff4 ,cancer1 ,preface1 #dg1 #ahc1 #bhh4 ,carlyle1 ,thomas1 #bde4 ,catarrh1 #ccf4 ,cause and effect1 due sequence of1 #de1 #if1 #acb2 effects given significance of causes1 #acc2 in usual teaching methods1 #bje2 in connection with re-education1 #bjj1 #bae4 ,chemical changes1 in physical constitution1 produced by mental condition1 #dg4 ,chest1 unduly elevated1 #bfd1 #bgf1 #bih1 #cjg1 #cbg1 #ccj1 #ccd2 measurements1 fallacy of1 #cbe4 ,child1 v4 ,education4 ,circulation1 #ag1 #ai1 #ba1 #bi1 #bhi1 #cjh4 ,civilisation1 as a factor in physical degeneration1 #g ff41 #ad2 in relation to evolution1 #aa2 artificial1 #ad1 #cag1 #cdj2 man's progress towards higher stage of1 #aee1 #ahg2 critical stage of1 #aei1 #aib2 future1 to be based on reason1 #bdc4 ,claim1 synopsis of1 #aha-aib4 ,colitis1 #bce4 ,colon1 atony of1 #cbj4 ,common-sense1 #cj4 v4 ,reason4 ,concentration1 #hi1 #baf1 #bfa2 warning with regard to1 #ajb ff42 national1 #afi4 ,conscious guidance and control1 theory and practice of1 ,preface2 man's progress in direction of1 #ca ff41 #ajg1 #aae1 #ada1 #aee1 #ahf1 #aig1 #bjh2 necessity for1 #ce1 #ed1 #eg-gb1 #hd1 #aef1 #afc1 #agi1 #aha1 #ahg1 #bbg1 #bif1 #cje1 #cbb2 possibility of complete1 #da1 #dd ff41 #ef2 primarily universal1 secondly a specific1 #ei1 #bji2 universal application of1 #gb1 #ada1 #aha ff41 #aib2 practical application of1 #eg-gb1 #agi2 reasoned1 #ahb1 #ahg2 as synonym for mobility of mind1 #ib2 for poise1 #acf2 for reasoned experience1 #fh2 as fundamental of future education1 #ada-aee2 danger of underrating power of1 #bia2 as adaptability in emergency1 #bda4 ,conscious guidance and control1 methods of1 #id1 #ahi1 #bbe1 #bcj1 formulation of1 #aai ff42 four essential stages in1 #bjj ff42 compared with other teaching methods1 #eb2 mental position of teacher and pupil1 #hi1 #bca2 application in connection with breathing1 #ia2 dramatic training1 #ach2 golf1 #bba-bbf2 ploughing1 #bci ff42 sitting1 #bhc2 rising1 #bhe2 walking1 #bgi-bhc2 automatic functions1 #bij-bib2 emergencies1 #bdc ff41 #bdi1 #bhb1 #big2 individual errors and delusions1 #bfjbgb2 bad habits1 #bhh ff42 application1 in case of stuttering1 #bai ff41 #bid1 spinal curvature1 #cja2 appendicitis1 #cjd2 effects of treatment1 #bcc ff41 #cjf-cab2 in case of defective speech1 #ec1 #acc1 #bca1 #bcc ff42 lasting quality of change1 #bcd4 ,confidence1 based on reason1 #bae2 loss of1 due to subconscious guidance1 #bbb4 ,consciousness1 with regard to use of muscular mechanisms1 #ag ff41 #id1 #if2 necessity of quickening the conscious mind1 #eb4 ,constipation1 #bj1 #bce1 #bgd1 #cjd1 #cbj4 ,contortions1 subconscious1 #bca2 facial1 #bbi-cjg4 ,control1 defective mental and physical1 #bc ff41 #bfg1 #bhh2 growth and progress of intellectual1 #cj2 mental1 in 8,new ,thought10 #dd2 co-ordinated reasoned1 #cjh4 ,co-ordination1 defective1 case of congenital1 #ec2 in case of stammering1 #ec ff42 overindulgence1 #eh ff41 #fh1 #ga2 deep breathing1 #adf2 children dancing1 #abf2 drawing1 #acj2 national1 #agj2 with reference to respiration1 #adh1 #caf2 to education1 #adj2 case of deterioration of correct1 #abg ff42 of improved1 #bai2 correct1 #aij1 #cjd1 #cjh2 in standing position1 #bgh2 test of correct1 #cji2 individual and national compared1 #age4 ,crippling1 #bae4 ,courage1 #b1 #afa1 #aga4 ,dancing1 #abd ff41 #afe4 ,debility1 #ac1 #ae1 #hf4 ,defects1 bodily1 #ad ff41 #ea1 #aad1 #ahc ff42 failure to eradicate by direct means1 #ie1 #bee2 dangerous1 initiated by school methods1 #abg1 #abi1 #acb1 #aeb4 ,degeneracy1 #f1 #g1 #ab1 #ajg1 #agi1 #bab1 #bdg1 #caa1 #cai1 #cdj2 comparison between rural and urban1 #f2 not an epidemic1 but a stage in progress of human race1 #aib ff42 in children1 #ajf4 ,delusions 7mental and physical71 #ah1 #hi1 #ahe1 #ahh1 #bjf1 #bad1 #baf1 #bai1 #bcb1 #bec2 in connection with physical exercises1 #ba ff42 national1 #afg1 #bji2 specific cases1 #bfj1 #bgb4 ,deterioration1 physical1 ,preface4 v4 ,degeneracy4 ,development1 #aa1 #afj1 #bch2 scientific theory of1 #aie4 ,diagnosis1 #hi1 #aic1 #bac1 #bee1 #cjh4 ,diaphragm1 #ccg4 ,digestion1 #agi1 #bff1 #cbj4 ,disablement1 subconsciously willed1 #baf4 ,disease1 immunity from1 #dc1 #hf2 resistance to1 ,preface1 #agi2 submission to1 #bfh ff4 ,doe1 ,john1 case of1 #ae ff41 #ba ff41 #ic ff4 ,dorando1 #bha-bif4 ,dramatic expression1 #ach4 ,drawing1 #abi ff4 ,dreaming1 #be1 #aca4 v4 ,self-hypnotism4 ,drug habit1 #ff ff4 ,dumb-bells1 #ac1 #bf1 #ig4 ,eccentricity1 #aca ff4 ,education1 in relation to evolution1 #aa1 #be ff42 as generally understood1 does not necessarily mean progress on the evolutionary plane1 #afe2 in earlier years1 two methods of learning1 #aji1 #aad1 #aah2 compared with re-education1 #agh2 indictment of1 #beb4 ,methods of education1 on false basis1 #be ff42 on true basis1 such as will establish a normal kinsthesia1 #ga1 #adj1 #aee4 ,on subconscious basis1 two methods1 older1 of supervision1 modern1 of free expression1 #aae ff42 older method1 #abb1 #acd2 rigidity in1 #acf ff41 #add1 #ade1 #aea1 #aee2 concentration in1 #ajc2 physical exercises1 criticism of1 #aae1 #ade1 as doing more harm than good1 #adf2 as haphazard system1 #caj ff42 failure of1 owing to general ignorance of ideal physical condition in children1 #aad1 #abg2 modern method 7free expression71 #aae ff41 #abb1 #acf1 #adb2 danger of experimentation1 #aej4 ,on basis of ,conscious ,guidance and ,control1 #acd ff41 #bbh1 #bif2 essential starting point1 #ace2 guidance and direction necessary in earliest years1 #acd2 postulates concerning necessity of conscious guidance and control as fundamental in education and commanding fundamental of free expression1 #ada-adc2 meaning of 8training10 #add2 child's right of choice within limits1 #aea2 problem to be solved1 #aec ff42 primary and secondary education1 #ada4 ,effects and causes1 v4 ,cause and ,effect4 ,effort1 minimum of1 employed1 #id2 misapplied1 #ie ff41 #ajc ff41 #acj4 ,emotion1 #be1 #cd1 #df1 #ij1 #bgh1 #cbh2 in connection with music and dancing1 #abd4 ,emphysema1 #bih1 #cbh4 ,end1 v4 ,means whereby4 ,energy1 #ad1 #agi2 examples of wasted1 #ig1 #acj1 #baf1 #bai ff41 #bcb ff4 ,enunciation1 #bca4 ,environment1 in education1 #aaj1 #abc1 #abh1 #acf4 ,equilibrium1 #ie1 #bch1 #bfe1 #bgd1 #bhj1 #cbd4 ,eugenics1 #ajf1 #aid4 ,eulenburg1 myopathic theory of1 #cjj4 ,evolution1 #c-ab1 #bh1 #ca1 #cg1 #ahe1 #cai2 governing principle of1 #da2 towards conscious guidance and control1 #dj1 #gb1 #hd1 #hg1 #ada ff41 #aee1 #aei1 #aha1 #aig1 #bjh1 #bbh2 standards of1 #aeg ff42 national1 #aeh1 #afb1 #afe1 #aid1 #bbh1 #bdh4 ,face1 expression of1 #cjf ff42 change during treatment1 #cjh4 ,faith-healing1 ,preface1 #ch1 #dj1 #de ff41 #eb1 #aic1 #bae1 #bah1 #bhh2 dangers of1 #dh4 ,fat1 reduction of1 #cci2 morbid condition of1 #hf4 ,fear1 #cd1 #dd1 #hh1 #afa1 #ahb1 #bfe2 fear reflexes1 #hh1 #acc2 stage fright1 #aci2 causing self-hypnotism1 #bdb4 ,feeling-tones1 v4 ,sensory appreciation4 ,feet1 position of1 for standing1 #bgd1 #bgi2 for walking1 #bgi-bhc2 flatfoot1 #bfd1 #bhj4 ,fencing1 #bjd1 #bbf4 ,flaccidity1 undue1 #ie4 ,frazer's 8,golden ,bough10 ,preface4 ,freedom1 #acf1 #adc1 #afc2 ,german conception of1 #afc ff4 ,free expression1 #aaf ff41 #abb ff41 #acf1 #adb1 #adc1 #aej2 in dramatic training1 #ach ff4 ,functions1 bodily1 #ae1 #af1 #ahd1 #bhh1 #cje1 #cjh2 control of1 #ch1 #da1 #ef4 ,games1 #baa4 ,germany1 #afc ff4 ,golf1 #bjd1 #baa-bac1 #bba-bbf4 ,gravity1 centre of1 #bhe1 #cbd1 #ccf4 ,greece1 civilisation of1 #g4 ,habit 7,habits71 effects of1 slow to show themselves2 difference between old and new conception of1 #hg1 #ij1 #ib2 predisposition to1 #hf2 in child1 #ajh ff42 of thought and of body1 #gc ff41 #hf ff42 muscular1 #ah1 #ed1 #bab2 mental1 #dg1 #ec1 #bab2 how affected by act of faith1 #dg ff42 by suggestion1 #eb ff42 control of mental1 #ajb2 mechanical1 #ge1 #gg ff41 #aje1 #aaf2 harmful1 #hf1 #ahi1 #bcd1 #cbb1 #ccc1 #cdj2 attachment to harmful1 #aja1 #ajf2 specific harmful1 #bai1 #bgc1 #bhf-bij1 #cag2 of using eyes1 #ahd2 of submission to illness2 cultivation of harmful1 #aje1 #adg1 #bjg1 #bci1 #bfb2 development of harmful in children1 #ajf1 #aaa1 #aad1 #abc1 #acb-acd2 incorrect changed to correct1 #hf1 #ajd1 #aea1 #ahi1 #bad1 #bda1 #bhi1 #ccb2 ability to check incipient1 #bcd2 habit of distinguishing between reasoned and unreasoned actions1 necessary to evolution1 #ahh4 ,hallucination1 #he4 ,hand1 evolution of1 #e2 movement of1 #bc2 incorrect use of1 in drawing1 #acj2 position of hands as test of co-ordination1 #cji ff4 ,hayfever1 #bce1 #bii4 ,head1 delusion in regard to movement of1 #ah2 example of1 #bc1 #bad2 in drawing1 #acj2 head thrown back1 #bja1 #bca1 #bcc1 #bfc1 #bhc1 #cbg4 ,heart1 #ae1 #ai1 #ef1 #bih1 #cah2 heart trouble among soldiers1 #adh2 case of dilation of1 #cjg4 ,heredity1 #aj1 #ajh ff4 ,hips1 #ahd1 #bgi1 #bhd4 ,hypnotism1 ,preface1 #ch ff41 #eb1 #bah and note1 #bca1 #bcf2 dangers of1 #da4 ,hypochondria1 #ii4 ,ideo-motor centres1 #ec1 #abi1 #baa4 ,ide fixe1 #ej1 #hc1 #he1 #ie1 #bfb1 #bfg2 national1 #agj-agc4 ,ill health1 in some people as natural as health in others1 #ga4 ,imitation1 #bab1 #bib-big1 #caj1 #cag1 #ccb2 deliberate1 #id2 unconscious1 #aji1 #aad1 #aah1 #bab1 #bib-big2 of faults in speech1 #bic ff42 as method of teaching1 #bjg1 #bbh4 ,improvement1 signs of1 #ec1 #acc1 #bcc ff41 #cjf-cab4 ,indigestion1 #ae1 #bj1 #bja4 ,individual4 v4 ,state1 #afj ff41 #aff1 #afg4 ,inertia1 mental1 #aja1 #aje1 #ahe4 ,influenza1 #cje4 ,inhibition1 #ce ff41 #ed1 #hf1 #id1 #ahh1 #bjj1 #bab1 #bbe1 #bca ff41 #bef1 #cja2 defective1 #bc2 as a preventive order1 #if1 #baj1 #bbj1 #bee ff4 ,initiative1 #ii1 #aba4 ,inoculation1 #b4 ,insanity1 ,preface1 #gd4 ,insomnia1 #ae4 ,instinct1 #cc ff41 #ahf1 #ahh1 #aif2 as equivalent to subconscious control1 #fh2 in modern child1 #ajh1 #aae1 #aah ff41 #ace1 #aed2 primitive1 #aff1 #ahb2 in modern man1 #ahb1 #ahc1 #ahf1 #bjd1 #bif1 #caa2 standard of accuracy lost1 #bag1 #bbg2 compared with intuition1 #bbg2 limitation of1 in animals1 #bdg1 in man1 #bif4 ,intelligence1 growth of1 in man1 #d ff41 #ed1 #hd1 #ih2 dominating instinct1 #cg4 ,intoxication1 emotional1 #abe4 ,intuition1 #cd1 #ahf1 #bjc2 compared with instinct1 #bba4 ,jaw1 movement of1 in speaking1 #bcj2 relaxation of1 to open mouth1 #bcb ff4 ,judgment1 #bjf1 #bda1 #bdh2 ,german failure in1 #afc ff4 ,kinsthetic register1 #ig4 v4 ,sensory appreciation4 ,kinsthetic systems1 defective and delusive1 #bb1 #gj1 #hi ff41 #bjf2 normal1 #ga2 case of ,george ,gray1 #acg2 overexaltation of1 #abe2 demoralisation of1 #aea1 #aee2 national1 #aeh2 satisfactory condition of1 constitutes 8means whereby0 of free and full expression1 #adj2 re-education of1 in connection with breathing1 #adh2 with speaking1 #bcj4 ,knees1 #ahd1 #bgi1 #bhd4 ,ku-,klux ,klan1 #afa4 ,kultur1 #afi4 ,larynx1 depressed1 #bcc1 #bfg1 #bii1 #cbg2 in children dancing1 #abf2 raised and relaxed1 #bcc4 ,lassitude1 #ae1 #aja4 ,legs1 movement of1 #bc1 #ahd2 shortening of1 #bhj2 stiffening of1 #cjg4 v4 ,golf and ,ploughing4 ,lips1 incorrect use of1 in speech1 #ec1 #acc4 ,lordosis1 #bih4 ,lungs1 #ag1 #ai1 #ib1 #bce1 #cah1 #cbe ff41 #cce4 ,malformations1 #ahh1 #bce4 ,malthus1 #h4 ,man1 present danger of1 #e ff41 #ac1 #bc2 progress through the ages1 #bh ff41 #cg2 supreme inheritance of1 #aa1 #ajf1 #aef1 #bbh1 #bcf1 #beh1 #bij1 #big4 v4 ,potentialities4 ,manipulation1 v4 ,acts1 vicariously performed by teacher4 ,manufactured premises1 #afb1 #baj4 ,massage1 internal natural1 #aij1 #aia1 #bhi1 #cjd ff41 #caf4 8,means whereby10 rather than the end1 to be considered1 #af1 #ace1 #adj1 #ahi1 #bjd1 #baj1 #bcj1 #bfb1 #bfc1 #bff1 #bhc2 of successful re-adjustment1 #fg2 of free and full expression1 #adj2 of conscious guidance and control1 #aig2 of controlled speech1 #bjh1 #bbj1 #bcj2 of playing golf1 #bbd1 #bbf2 of bicycling1 #bbf2 of ploughing1 #bcg ff42 of standing position1 #bge ff42 of walking1 #bgi-bhc2 of sitting1 #bhc2 of rising1 #bhe2 in relation to social reform1 #aa1 #aed2 to education1 #aed2 to individual errors and delusions1 #bfb ff4 ,mechanical advantage1 position of1 #bg1 #hf1 #id1 #if ff41 #acb1 #ahi ff41 #bad1 #bgc1 #bgg1 #cja1 #cjd1 #cba ff41 #cce4 ,mechanistic theory1 #d4 ,medical opinion concerning respiration1 #cai4 ,mental attitude1 importance of subjects1 #ae ff41 #bj ff41 #df1 #ea ff41 #gc ff41 #he1 #ic2 wrong1 of subject1 #ae1 #ah1 #ih1 #ahe1 #ahh1 #beb ff41 #bfg1 #bfi2 deliberately adopted1 becomes fixed habit1 #gd2 of teacher1 #hi1 #bae2 of pupil1 #hi1 #bec2 towards breathing1 #cbb-cbd1 #ccc4 ,method of teaching1 #bjd ff4 ,militarism1 #aff1 #afi ff4 ,monomania1 v4 ,ide fixe4 ,mouth1 imperfect opening of1 #bbi2 controlled opening of1 #bcj ff41 #bcc1 #cbg4 ,mller1 ,max1 #ef4 ,mnsterberg1 psychological theories of1 #cj4 ,muscles1 new ways of using1 #f2 atrophied1 #f1 #ae2 semi-automatic1 #ef2 conscious movement of1 #eg2 control and co-ordination of1 #ic4 ,muscular mechanism 7muscular system71 incorrect use of1 #ag ff41 #ea1 #hf1 #ie1 #bhh1 #caj2 correct use of1 #ic1 #bbe1 #bgh1 #bhi2 mechanical development of1 #af2 derangement of1 in child1 #aac2 correct natural use of1 in children1 #acb2 thoracic1 #cag4 ,music1 #abd ff41 #afe2 musical instruments1 #baa4 ,myers1 ,f4 ,w4 ,h41 his concept of the subconscious self1 #cj ff4 ,natural aptitude1 #bje1 #bfb1 #bhc4 ,natural selection1 #c-e1 #af1 #aie2 as opposed to conscious selection1 #f4 ,neck1 shortening of1 #bfb1 #bhc2 in children dancing1 #abf2 drawing1 #acj2 stiffening of1 #if1 #ih1 #bja1 #bjc1 #bji1 #bca1 #bcc1 #bih1 #cjh2 as indicator of inadequate control1 #abh1 #ahd4 ,nervous prostration1 #af4 8,new ,thought10 #dd1 #eb1 #bhg4 ,obsession1 v4 ,ide fixe1 #afh4 ,one-brain-track method1 #bfb1 #bff1 #bgj4 8,open mind10 #ea1 #gf ff41 #afj1 #agd2 contrasted with credulity1 #ih4 ,orders1 conscious guiding1 #ee ff41 #hg ff41 #ia2 incorrect subconscious1 #bee2 new and correct1 #ij ff41 #id1 #adb1 #bej1 #bjc1 #baa1 #bad1 #bag1 #bhc2 preventive1 #if4 ,overcompensation1 #be1 #fa1 #fd1 #ij1 #afb1 #bfb4 ,overindulgence1 #eh ff41 #ff ff41 #gd1 #bgc1 #bhh4 ,pain1 #dh1 #fh ff41 #ajj1 #bah2 perverted form of pleasure in1 #ga4 ,panaceas1 ,preface1 #bhg4 ,paralysis1 #bcd1 #bce4 ,persia1 civilisation of1 #g4 ,philosophy1 #d1 #bh1 #ch2 application of conscious control to1 #ahb4 ,physical culture1 ,preface1 #d1 #ac ff41 #ag ff41 #be1 #ig1 #ade1 #bja-bjb1 #bge1 #bii ff42 methods of1 #bii ff42 v4 ,spinal curvature4 ,physical exercises1 mechanical1 #ad1 #ai1 #ic1 #ade ff41 #bja2 recent tendency to modify1 #bf2 reason for failure of1 #ba2 imitations of bad models in1 #aae2 unnecessary under methods of conscious guidance and control4 8,phobia10 #cd4 v4 ,fear reflexes4 ,pineal eye1 #e4 ,plague1 as a factor in evolution1 #g4 ,play1 children's1 #aba4 ,ploughing1 #bcg-bda4 ,poise1 #hf1 #ie1 #acf1 #bac1 #bca1 #bhf1 #cag2 mental1 physical1 and spiritual balance1 #aa4 ,potentialities1 man's1 ,preface1 #d1 #aa1 #aib1 #aif1 #bje1 #bjh1 #bcf2 of conscious control in modern child1 #aaf2 standard of kinsthetic1 in modern child1 lowered1 #abj2 debasement of1 #aff4 8,practice10 #hh1 #bjg1 #bbg1 #bcj4 ,precept1 #ajf1 #aji1 #aah4 ,preconceived ideas1 erroneous1 #bc1 #ed1 #add1 #ahc1 #ahd1 #bjc1 #bje1 #bae1 #baf1 #bcb1 #bfa1 #cja2 in a nation1 #afb2 as the legacy of instinct1 #bab2 in relation to lifting a weight1 #ig ff42 to art1 #aca2 to speech1 #bbh4 ,predisposition1 #hf1 #ii ff41 #ajh4 ,prejudice1 #ea1 #hc1 #ih2 prejudiced arguments1 #be1 #ge1 #bea4 ,psychology1 #bi ff41 #ch4 ,psycho-physical1 examination1 #ai1 #abh1 #acc1 #bjb1 #bae2 p4 conditions1 #eh1 #fb2 p4 process1 #fe2 p4 make-up of the individual1 #gj2 p4 organism1 #hi2 p4 condition of child at birth1 #aed2 p4 forces1 #afj2 p4 guidance1 #aha2 p4 spheres1 #aib2 p4 turning point in civilisation1 #aid2 p4 mechanism1 #baj2 p4 habit1 #bfb1 #cja2 p4 peculiarities1 #bfj2 p4 treatment1 #bgj4 ,psycho-therapy1 #bce4 ,reaction of mind on body and body on mind1 #de1 #acd1 #bab4 ,re-adjustment1 #ei1 #fc1 #fe1 #ga1 #adj1 #adg1 #aib1 #bjb2 national1 #add2 8means whereby10 of successful1 #fg1 #bgh4 ,reason1 #cj1 #ce1 #fg2 domination of1 by sensation1 #be1 #afj1 #aig1 #bef1 #bij1 #caa2 national stultification of1 #afb1 #agj2 as basis of confidence1 #bae2 of new civilisation1 #bdb2 necessity for1 in emergency1 #bdc ff41 #bdi1 #bhb4 ,re-education1 #ei1 #fe-ga1 #if1 #ahi1 #bec ff41 #beh1 #bgg1 #cdj2 specific meaning of1 #aii2 fundamental principle of1 #bef2 of kinsthetic systems1 #adh1 #cjb2 respiratory1 #cac-cdj2 in connection with overcoming bad habits1 #bhh2 with spinal curvature1 #cja4 ,reform1 social1 #aa1 #aec2 induced by suggestion1 #ed2 in connection with will-power1 #ei2 cause of failure of1 #fa4 ,relaxation1 ,preface1 #ac1 #bd1 #hi1 #bag1 #bfa1 #bhd2 real meaning of1 #bf1 #if2 illustration of1 in lifting weight1 #ih4 ,resistance to disease1 ,preface1 #agi1 #bhd1 #bhh1 #cah1 #cdj4 ,respiration1 #bj1 #aac2 respiratory re-education1 #cac-cdj2 medical opinion concerning1 #cai4 v4 ,breathing4 ,responsibility of patient1 #ahh1 #bae4 ,rest cures1 ,preface1 #af1 #dc1 #ii4 ,ribs1 movement of1 in breathing1 #cjb1 #caj1 #ccc4 ,rigidity1 #ie1 #adh1 #bab-bac1 #bfd2 mental1 #ej1 #gf1 #hb ff42 applied to physical functions1 #ea2 harmful thoracic1 #adg1 #bja2 national1 #afj-afg2 in educational methods1 #aah1 #acf1 #aci2 in military methods1 #agj1 #agb4 ,rome1 civilisation of1 #g4 ,rupture1 #caj4 ,sandow1 #ccj4 ,school furniture1 #aed4 ,science1 as another name for common-sense1 #cj2 advance of1 impeded1 #ea4 ,scott1 ,sir ,walter1 #ajc4 ,self-hypnotism1 #bd ff41 #aca1 #baf1 #bfb2 national1 #afb1 #aff2 in connection with 8frightfulness10 #aga2 due to fear1 #bdc-bde4 ,self-preservation1 #da1 #ii4 ,sensation1 pandering to1 #ff1 #fh ff41 #aaa1 #aac1 #bij2 perverted1 #fi1 #gd2 new correct guiding1 #ahi4 ,sensory appreciation1 habit of dependence on1 #i1 #bcb1 #bcg2 unreliable1 #ba ff41 #fi1 #hi1 #ig1 #bjg1 #bcb1 #bef1 #bge2 dominating reason1 #be2 new and correct1 #bd1 #aij1 #bad1 #bbe1 #bcj1 #beg ff4 ,shakespeare-,bacon controversy1 #ha ff4 ,shaw1 ,g4 ,bernard1 on education1 #abb4 ,shortening 78pressing down074 v4 ,spine4 ,shoulders1 delusions in regards to movement of1 #ah1 #bc1 #bad1 #bgf4 ,simple life1 #h ff4 ,singing1 #bcb4 ,sitting1 act of1 #agi1 #bhc-bhe1 #ccb2 in children1 #abj2 rising from sitting1 #bhe-bhf4 ,skin1 #bfd1 #cjh1 #cci4 ,speech1 #ec ff41 #bai ff41 #bbj ff41 #bid1 #ccb2 in children1 #abj2 case of defective1 #acc4 ,spine1 lengthening of1 #bjb1 #bbb1 #bgg2 shortening of1 #bjc1 #bad1 #bfd ff41 #bgd ff41 #bhj1 #cjj1 #cjg2 in children dancing1 #abf2 spinal curvature1 #big-cjc4 ,stammering1 #ec1 #bai1 #bic4 ,standing1 #agi1 #bfd1 #bfg1 #bgc1 #bgi1 #cbj2 8proper standing position10 #bgf1 #bgh1 #bhd1 #ccb2 no correct standing position for each and every person1 #bgh2 8stand at attention10 #bjd1 #ccd4 ,stature1 shortening of1 #abh1 #bff1 #bgf4 ,stealing1 case of1 #ei ff4 ,stigmatisation1 #ci4 ,stimulants1 #af4 ,stomach1 protruding1 #aae1 #bja1 #bgd1 #bia4 ,stooping1 case of1 #bgf4 ,subconsciousness 7subconscious self71 #bi-dg1 #ed2 ,myers' concept of1 #cj ff41 #he2 education of1 below the plane of reason1 #cc2 impressionability to suggestion1 #cd2 definition of1 #db2 delusive1 #fd1 #hi1 #bgj2 dominating reason1 #eh1 #abh1 #bhg1 #beb2 function of1 after conscious control has been acquired1 #ib2 as synonym for habit1 #ib1 #agd1 #bbg2 elimination of inherited1 #baa2 built up of delusion and undue apprehension1 #bec4 ,subconscious guidance and control1 #eb1 #fa1 #fg-gb1 #hc1 #adb1 #bje1 #bjg1 #bff1 #bha2 failure of1 #fc1 #ahc1 #bja1 #bda1 #bdi ff42 in modern child1 #abj 7v4 ,instinct72 in primitive nations1 #afj1 #ahf2 in civilised nations1 #afa1 #agd1 #bdg2 in relation to reform1 #aa1 to education1 #be ff41 #aae1 to self-help1 #bfb2 advance to conscious guidance1 hitherto inadequate1 #ahg2 standard of accuracy lost1 #bag4 ,sympathy1 #ahh1 #bae4 ,symptoms1 #aic1 #bfa1 #bfg2 regarded rather than causes1 #ai1 #aic1 #bah4 ,taboos1 #cg4 v4 ,inhibition4 ,taste1 sense of1 #fh ff41 #aaa2 case of perverted1 in child1 #aab4 ,teeth1 #d4 ,tendencies1 criminal1 #fa4 7v4 ,reform72 subconscious1 #fg2 inherent1 #gj1 #aji ff4 ,tension1 degree of1 required1 #bd1 #hi1 #ig ff42 undue1 #bc1 #ie1 #baf-bai1 #bef1 #bfa1 in so-called concentration1 #ajb1 in speaking1 #bcj1 in ploughing1 #bch1 in walking1 #bhj1 in sitting1 #bhc4 ,thoracic capacity1 explained and illustrated1 #bj2 minimum of1 #ai ff41 #bfg2 increase of1 #aia1 #bjb1 #cjb1 #cce2 decrease of1 #cjj1 #cag ff41 #cbj4 ,thorax1 #ai1 #adg1 #ahd1 #aia1 #bja1 #bfg1 #bgg1 #bih1 #cbd4 ,throat and ear trouble1 #bcc1 #bce1 #bfb1 #bgf1 #bii1 #ccf4 ,tobacco1 #bhh4 ,tongue1 incorrect use of1 #acc2 importance of1 for clear enunciation1 #bcc4 ,tonics1 #ag4 ,totems1 #ci4 ,toxic poisoning1 #aad4 v4 ,auto-intoxication4 ,training1 v4 ,education4 ,trance1 #da1 #eb4 v4 ,hypnotism4 ,trine1 ,ralph ,waldo1 #de4 ,tuberculosis1 #ahc1 #bcd1 #bgd1 #bhh4 ,upward1 ,allen1 on child education1 #aea4 ,varicosity1 #bcd1 #bih4 ,vermiform appendix1 #e4 ,viscera1 abdominal1 #ai ff41 #bfd1 #bia1 #cjd ff41 #ccc1 #ccf4 ,visceroptosis1 #cbj4 ,vocalisation1 #ach1 #bca1 #cbg1 #ccj1 #cch2 change in quality of voice1 #aib1 #cjh2 vocal chords1 #bbh2 vocal control1 #bgh1 #bie2 loss of voice1 #bff1 #ccf4 ,volition1 v4 ,will4 ,walking1 #agi1 #bfd1 #bfg1 #bgj1 #bgi-bhc1 #ccb2 in children1 #abj4 ,war1 #h2 the present crisis1 #aeg ff41 #afd1 #afg ff41 #age2 discussion of causes of1 #afj2 re-adjustment after1 #add4 ,will1 #ch1 #hf1 #ii1 #bjc1 #bae1 #ccc2 the will to live1 #db1 #ii2 will-power in relation to overindulgence1 #ei4 ,wish1 meaning of1 with reference to the eradication of bad habits1 #ajc ff4 ,worry1 #dd1 #beb ff4 ,yogis1 system of breathing1 #ef4 ----- ,footnote #a3 ,modern investigators1 however1 almost unanimously incline now to the theory that the cause of cancer is a morbid proliferation of the cells not due to the primary influence or isolation of alien bacteria4 ,footnote #b3 ,it should1 however1 be clearly understood in this connection that certain laws of natural selection must1 so far as we can see1 always hold good2 and it would not be advisable to alter them even if it were possible4 ,for example1 that curious law may be cited which ordains the attraction of opposites in mating and so maintains nature's average4 ,the attraction which a certain type of woman has for a certain type of man1 and vice versa is1 in my opinion1 a fundamental law1 and any attempt to regulate it would be harmful to the race4 ,this1 however1 is no argument against the regulation of prevention of marriages between the physically and mentally unfit4 ,footnote #c3 ,for a further statement of one aspect of heredity1 see ,chapter ,,vi of this book4 ,footnote #d3 ,for a fuller analysis of this1 see p4 #ib et seq4 of this volume4 ,footnote #e3 ,for fuller explanation1 see ,chapter ,,vi1 p4 #adg4 ,footnote #f3 ,see ,part ,,ii1 p4 #ahi4 ,footnote #g3 ,cf4 ,hypnotism1 by ,albert ,moll4 ,good cases of suppuration1 blistering1 and bleeding1 as the result of suggestion without any preliminary abrasion of the skin1 are those supplied by the records of ,professor ,forel's experiments at the ,zurich ,lunatic ,asylum4 ,these experiments were conducted on the person of a nurse who is described as the daughter of healthy country people1 and not a hysterical subject4 ,footnote #h3 ,there is much evidence on this point1 some of it conflicting1 but the main fact must be considered above question4 ,footnote #i3 ,cf4 ,herbert ,spencer1 ,education1 ,chapter ,,xi1 8,humanity has progressed solely by self-instruction40 ,footnote #aj3 ,moreover1 ,i deny that hypnotism can possibly succeed except in comparatively rare instances4 ,it is not universal in its applicability4 ,footnote #aa3 ,two years later this woman came to me in a state of collapse1 the results of the after effects of a bad attack of pleurisy4 ,she proved an admirable patient1 and is now in perfect health4 ,she was a magnificent instance of a case in which the power was there1 finely developed1 but not the knowledge which would enable her to make full use of that power4 ,footnote #ab3 ,in this connection the following verses 7#bd1 #be1 #bf7 from the ,gospel according to ,st4 ,luke1 ,chapter ,,xi1 are interesting3 #bd4 ,when the unclean spirit has gone out of a man1 he walketh through dry places1 seeking rest3 and finding none1 he saith1 ,i will return unto my house whence ,i came out4 #be4 ,and when he cometh1 he findeth it swept and garnished4 #bf4 ,then goeth he1 and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself2 and they enter in1 and dwell there3 and the last state of that man is worse than the first4 ,footnote #ac3 ,certain aspects of these principles will be found set out in detail in ,part ,,ii of this volume4 ,footnote #ad3 ,a simple1 practical example of what is meant by obtaining the position of mechanical advantage may be given4 ,let the subject sit as far back in a chair as possible4 ,the teacher1 having decided upon the orders necessary for the elongation of the spine1 the freedom of the neck 7i4e41 requisite natural laxness71 and other conditions desirable for the particular case in hand1 will then ask the pupil to rehearse those orders mentally1 at the same time that he himself renders assistance by the skilful use of his hands4 ,then holding with one hand one or two books against the inner back of the chair1 he will rely upon the pupil mentally rehearsing the orders necessary to maintain and improve the conditions present1 while he1 with the other hand placed upon the pupil's shoulder1 causes the body gradually to incline backwards until its weight is taken by the back of the chair4 ,the shoulder-blades will1 of course1 be resting against the books4 ,the position thus secured is one of a number which ,i employ and which for want of a better name ,i refer to as a position of 8mechanical advantage40 ,footnote #ae3 ,a very notable though trivial instance of mental 8rigidity0 was brought to me by a pupil while writing these pages4 ,a fireman on duty at a theatre had neglected to unbolt the escape doors4 ,when severely reprimanded he pleaded that he had been instructed by an assistant manager to do duty in another part of the theatre at the time he usually opened the escapes4 ,the following night the assistant manager instructed him to make the same change in his routine on which the man pleaded1 8,don't ask me to do that1 sir4 ,i forgot the escapes last night and ,i am sure to forget 'em again if you make me go that way round4 ,you see1 sir1 ,i've gone round the other way so long that if ,i make a change ,i seem to lose my memory40 ,footnote #af3 8,this experimental observation is so far to our interest that it has proved that hypnotic suggestion is by far surpassed in the duration of its effects by suggestion in the waking state1 and this again by regular teaching and practice4 ,but this is physiologically explicable3 ,hypnotic suggestion obtains its results solely through the intensity of the isolated stimulus and through the brain-track it leaves behind1 which has an abnormally slight connexion with the whole associative mechanism of the brain4 ,regular instruction1 on the contrary1 is based on the strong associative implanting of the stimulus and the brain-track it leaves behind1 with the normal activity of the brain1 i4e41 on the many-sidedness of the nervous connections and their reproductive effect2 whilst1 in the first case1 the trace is more or less easily effaced1 in the second the accompanying reproductive1 sympathetic stimulus increases and preserves the result obtained1 as well as effecting the other bodily functions dependent on it40--,the ,psychic ,treatment of ,disease1 ,berthold ,kern4 ,footnote #ag3 ,a simple experiment will serve to prove this shortening by the increase of1 say1 the lumbar curve4 ,take a piece of cardboard of six inches in length and place it flat on a table or against the wall4 ,with a pencil draw lines on the table or wall as close to the upper and lower ends of the cardboard as possible4 ,remove the cardboard and curve it slightly across the lower portion about an inch from the end which touched the lowest line4 ,replace it on the lower line without interfering with the curve and you will find that it does not reach the upper line any longer4 ,a similar condition occurring in the human being means a shortening in stature4 ,footnote #ah3 ,as ,i have already explained in ,part ,i1 inspiration is not a sucking of air into the lungs but an inevitable instantaneous rush of air into the partial vacuum caused by the automatic expansion of the thorax4 ,footnote #ai3 ,it is worthy of note in this connexion that during the past two years the ,english hospitals have been crowded with cases of men who1 formerly accustomed to sedentary occupations1 have 8broken down0 with army training4 ,footnote #bj3 ,see also note1 ,part ,i1 p4 #hf4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,transcriber',s ,,notes ,page ,changed from ,changed to #gd altering some trifling habit of altering some trifling habit of though3 which stands thought which stands ,typos fixed2 non-standard spelling and dialect retained4 ,used numbers for footnotes1 placing them all at the end of the last chapter4 ,enclosed italics font in underscores4