THE STRUGGLE FOR REALITIES. 



371 



imps and elves, astral bodies and odic forces. It is 

 quite as consistent with ordinary virtue and effective- 

 ness to accept these as objective realities, as it is to 

 have the vague faith in microbes and molecules, mahat- 

 mas and protoplasm, in protective tariffs and mani- 

 fest destiny, which form part of the mental outfit of 

 the man of our day. Unless these ideas are brought 

 into terms of personal experience, they can not be 

 wrought into action. If they are so brought, truth is 

 separated from falsehood, and the vague conceptions 

 most men possess are found to diverge very widely from 

 the actual facts in Nature. Thus, when one comes to 

 handle microbes, they become as real as nutmegs or 

 oranges, and as capable of being manipulated. But the 

 astral body exists only to those who use it as a cover 

 for real ignorance, and the ghosts vanish when we turn 

 on the electric light. 



Other mental processes arise to produce confusion. 

 Memory pictures readily blend themselves with realities. 



The nervous system of the one individu- 

 Suggestion and , • ., a- , , , , ... 



conventionality. ^^ '' ^^^''^ ^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^e conditions ex- 

 isting in another. Men are gregarious 

 creatures, and their speech gives them the power to add 

 to their own ideas and experiences the ideas and experi- 

 ences of others. Thus, many actions are based not on 

 our own sensations, but on the suggestions of others. 

 Openness to suggestion and the instinct of convention- 

 ality are elements of great importance in insuring the 

 safety of gregarious creatures. 



With all this, the growth of each individual must be 

 determined by his own experience. About the sense- 

 impressions formed in my own brain I must build up my 

 own universe. Thus it comes that each accretion of 

 human knowledge must be thrown into terms of our pre- 

 vious experience. Stated in these terms, it is always 



