The New Avatar and The Destiny of the Soul

Occasionally a Scientist, like Sir Oliver Lodge, seems to be utterly rid of both credulity and incredulity, and for these, Science really means – “the Facts of Nature, demonstrated, classified, and systematized.”

But for the “Common People,” the average intelligent student, for whom Science and the pursuit of Knowledge is not a Profession, but a desire to know, and to understand, in order to be able to use wisely and well, it is of far less importance to know what others think or believe, deny or affirm, on the subject of Psychology, than to realize what are the faculties, capacities, and powers of their own souls.

Knowledge for the sake of knowledge, like “Art for Art’s sake,” is one thing, Knowledge for use in daily life, and for illuminating its pathway and revealing the purpose and destiny of man, is something different indeed.

This hunger of the individual soul for real knowledge is perhaps the most patent “Sign of the Times.”

The average intelligent individual has broken away from the traditions of the past, and yet found nothing to take their place. One result is empty churches, and the race for wealth, display, position, and power. Increased idleness begets dissipation, Paresis and Insanity increase, while wasted opportunity both shortens and embitters life.

A very large number of intelligent men and women realizing all this, and repelled by the almost contemptuous conservatism of so-called Science, swing to the side of credulity, and are robbed and exploited by charlatans. They believe the Truth ought to be forthcoming, and their intuitions and demands, though oft leading to sore disappointment, deserve a better fate.

It is for these, and for these reasons, that these pages are written, and with no other hope of fame or reward.

The demand is everywhere for Knowledge of the soul. Facts there are in abundance, but how far these facts are demonstrated, so as to constitute a basis of exact science, and how to classify and systematize them, the average intelligence does not know.

The Psychical Scientist claims to know, and undoubtedly does know, but he busies himself almost exclusively in gathering and verifying more facts. When asked by the average intelligence, “What does it all mean?” – the answer is, “Ah! there’s the rub. Wait! Some day we may know.”

The simple fact is that the Scientist is bewildered, while the theologian and the dogmatist appeal to Faith without Knowledge, and invoke miracle as in all past times.

Spiritualism has had its day and left an immense body of facts, while Mediumship and the dark circle are more often repudiated by intelligent professed Spiritualists. Satisfied as to conscious existence after death as a fact, they have learned how generally unreliable are many messages from departed friends, owing to conditions beyond their control; while the effect of surrender to so-called “spirit-control” contributes to neither health nor a well-balanced mind or character.

Hypnotism maintains a precarious hold, simply through juggling with the words, “Suggestion” and “Hypnosis.” The professional hypnotist, yielding as he must to the public fear and condemnation of Hypnotism, advocates Just a little of it! under the false title “Suggestion,” for the good it is claimed to do in such cases as the drink and drug habit. As though a little further weakening of the will, would ultimately tend to restore and strengthen it!

One is reminded of the baby in “Pendennis.” The Mother “hoped the Lord would forgive her, because it was such a little one!”

Even the leaders in the “Emmanuel Movement” have deceived themselves by this sophistry, and while they applaud the temporary results, they seem unaware that they are still further weakening self-control and real character, by dominating the Will.

It is thus that ignorance, confusion and unrest, like waves of ocean, ebb and flow in the great human tides.

Through impatience and discouragement alone, many give up the quest for knowledge as hopeless, and while too well-balanced to drift into dissipation, they suffer from ennui and become pessimistic.

Real knowledge will not come all at once, like a vision, or a complete revelation.

The first real Light that comes will be that of Faith, a term generally misunderstood and misused.

Faith is the complete antithesis of blind dogma and superstition. It is born within the soul, and never imposed by outward authority enforced by fear.

“Faith is the soul’s intuitive conviction of that which both reason and conscience approve.”

To give intellectual assent to belief in God is one thing; to be able to declare with light and warmth that uplifts and inspires, “I know that my Redeemer liveth” is another thing entirely.

The impatience above referred to would see the end from the beginning, and know all about the development and destiny of the soul before it has learned the first lesson that guides and determines both.

When, however, Science and Religion clasp hands, and the facts of nature guided by the light of Faith, build character and guide progress, there is revealed a Philosophy of Life that needs little revision. It is like the compass that points continually to the pole, and gives unqualified assurance as to the direction we are going.

So also every step in the past enables us to get our bearings and verify our course by checking backward.

Faith is no longer a blind dogma, but a compass in the box of experience, the wise mariner’s guide in the voyage of life.

If neither Science, Religion nor Philosophy, nor all together can thus come to the service of man, can not do it now, after all the weary centuries since Plato and Aristotle, we may as well write qui bono on our banners and trail them in the dust!

Even the theologies of the day, recognizing the dilemma and the difficulties, still cling to the miraculous, and to make the best of a bad bargain, offer dogma in the place of demonstration, and contradictory and blind belief in place of the light of Faith.

While they count thousands as nominally in their communion, the intelligent among all these have many “mental reservations.”

The intelligent thought of the world flows past and beyond them.

The “Soul’s intuitive conviction” agreeing with “both reason and conscience” holds and guides them, in spite of the verbal “confession of faith.”

The Divinity of Jesus, the Christ, can be fully explained under natural and divine law, without invoking miracle.

The result of such explanation is to dethrone him from the altars of dogma and superstition, and enthrone him on the altar of Love in the heart of Humanity.

This is long delayed, but cannot be defeated.

SECTION ONE

STUDIES IN PSYCHOLOGY

CHAPTER I

CLASSIFICATION OF FACULTIES, CAPACITIES, AND POWERS

Starting with the Modulus of Nature– an Ideal or Archetypal Man, and coming down to practical things in daily life —

1. Man is an Individual Intelligence. This is taken as an empirical fact, patent to every intelligent individual.

The source and nature of intelligence itself need not here concern us. We may call it an ultimate that all the philosophies of the world have signally failed to explain. It is something that grows, increases or decreases, expands, becomes confused, according to the conditions of bodily organ and function, heredity, environment, personal effort and the like; but so far as we know, it is the same thing, large or small, wise or foolish. It is still, measure for measure, Individual Intelligence.

2. The term Individual means distinct, concrete, relatively separate. Man being an Individual Intelligence; God is the Universal Intelligence. Just as the organism of man is involved in, and evolved from Universal Nature; so the Intelligence of man is involved in, and evolved from Universal Intelligence.

The empirical fact of the intelligence of man presupposes a “sufficient reason” or source. Still we do not know what God and Nature and Intelligence are. We only know how they manifest. Our intelligence enables us to observe, reflect, reason, and in some measure apprehend the method and manifestation.

I am not seeking to build nor unfold a “Philosophy.” “Yes,” someone replies, “but a philosophy is implied or involved.”

Very well, let it unfold itself.

3. The next empirical fact of prime importance is, The Individual Intelligence, not of man, but which is man, is aware of itself, i.e., “self-conscious.” It is able to distinguish between the self and the non-self.

4. Again, as to consciousness, as with intelligence: We know that man has it and uses it, and what it does to some extent; but we do not know what it is, intrinsically, nor do we need to know any of these ultimates. The effort to explain them has never ended in anything but confusion. We shall herein name them, and then pass them.

5. We have now postulated a self-conscious, Individual Intelligence, as the real man. Next we find this Man can do things, or refrain from doing; act, or refrain from action. This is called Initiative, Volition, Will.

6. This power of action and of choice, inspired by intelligence, aware of the self, adapts actions to ends. This involves reason and judgment.

7. In the course of experience along the lines of action or restraint, and observing results in either case, the individual desiring or preferring certain results to others, acquires more or less self-control. He controls himself to secure desired results.

Here then, in brief outline, are the basis and the elements of our Psychology. They are drawn from common observation and experience, and are verified by the facts of daily life – generally complicated, confused, or lost sight of in treatises on psychology.