From the Unconscious to the Conscious 



but by progressive diminution of its perceptible charac- 

 teristics, the visibility slowly lessens, the contours are 

 blurred, effaced, and vanish. 



During the whole time that the materialisation lasts 

 it is in obvious physiological and psychological relation 

 with the medium. The physiological connection may 

 sometimes be perceived as a thin cord of the substance 

 linking the form to the medium, a link which may be 

 compared to the umbilical cord that unites the embryo 

 to the mother. Even when this cord is not seen the 

 physiological relation is close. Every impression received 

 by the ectoplasm 1 reacts on the medium, and vice versa; 

 the extreme reflex sensitiveness of the forms is closely 

 connected with that of the medium. Everything goes 

 to prove that the ectoplasm is, in a word, the medium 

 herself, partially exteriorised. I am speaking, of course, 

 only from the physiological point of view and not at 

 present of the purely psychological side of the matter. 



Such are the facts. It remains to interpret them, if 

 possible. Of course, no claim can be advanced to define 

 in a few words and off-hand what Life is ! It is sufficient 

 at the outset to state the terms of the problem clearly. 



2. - THE UNITY OF ORGANIC SUBSTANCE 



The first term of that problem relates to the actual 

 constitution of living matter. The study of supernormal 

 physiology from this point of view confirms the results 

 of profound research in normal physiology; both tend 

 to establish the concept of the unity of organic substance. 

 In the foregoing experiments we have seen first of all, 

 exteriorised from the medium's body, a single unique 

 substance, from which were derived different ideo- 

 plastic * forms. This unique substance we have seen 



1 Gr. ^/crcJs, outside; w\d<rjtta, a thing formed; the exteriorised substance. 



8 Ideoplastic = moulded by an idea. 



63 



