From the Unconscious to the Conscious 



anterior experiences and to push back the cryptomnesia 

 and the cryptopsychism of the individual beyond the 

 present existence. 



Obviously this is a very wide inference to draw. To 

 many readers it will at first sight seem, if not absurd, at 

 all events out of proportion to the facts on which it is 

 based. 



It must not, however, be considered by itself, but in 

 conjunction with all the preceding demonstrations. 



It then has more weight. It is not hard to under- 

 stand how the essential dynamo-psychism objectifying 

 itself in new organic representations should retain the 

 deep memory of experiences realised in previous repre- 

 sentations. If in place of a single existence, we include 

 a series of successive existences, the acquisition of con- 

 sciousness by the primitive unconsciousness can readily 

 be understood. 



Each of these innumerable and various experiences 

 would have been impressed on the essential dynamism 

 of the being, and would be transformed into a state of 

 consciousness; that is into a remembrance and a capacity. 

 It is thus that the living being passes little by little 

 from unconsciousness to consciousness. 



Against this inference of re-birth, no objections of a 

 scientific kind can be raised. We may seek in vain for 

 a single one in the whole stock of knowledge. Forget- 

 fulness of previous existences has but slight importance 

 for modern science. Remembrance plays but a secondary 

 part in normal psychology; forgetfulness is habitual 

 and is the rule. 



In the course of a lifetime, the greater part of our 

 experiences disappears. During regular and normal life 

 the personal memory of the brain memory is altogether 

 weak, unreliable, and fails us continually; it is still 

 more defective in abnormal cases caused by ' secondary 

 states ' whether spontaneous, hypnotic, or mediumistic. 

 On the other hand, above this cerebral memory is 



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