Now, in the case of what may be called a clairvoyant-telepathy, or astral telepathy, the ordinary thought-waves play but a small part.  Instead of these, there is a transmission of force along the channels of the astral plane.  It is almost impossible to describe the phenomena of the astral plane in the terms of the physical.  I may illustrate the matter, in a general way, by saying that is something like your astral self actually extending itself out until it touches the astral self of the other person, and thus actually “feels” the astral activities there, instead of it being a case of something like waves travelling along space between brain and brain.  Do you get this clearly?  This is about as near to it as I can explain it to you at this place.  Telepathy is simply a matter of the transmission and receiving of waves of vibratory force which have travelled along the ether between two persons.  But clairvoyance or astral-telepathy is something like your mind being extended out until it actually touches the mind of the other person and sees what is there.

I shall have much to say regarding the working out of the processes of clairvoyance, as we proceed.  I have merely given the above explanation for the purpose of distinguishing between ordinary telepathy and clairvoyance, so as to prevent you from falling into a common error.  Now let us consider the phenomena of ordinary telepathy—­this is very wonderful in itself, although it is on a lower plane of activity than its astral or clairvoyant counterpart.

LESSON III.

Telepathy explained.

Telepathy, meaning Thought-Transference, bears a misleading title.  Literally translated, it means “suffering at a distance,” or, perhaps, “feeling pain at a distance.”  The name should really indicate “knowing at a distance,” in order to be properly descriptive.  But as the term has acquired a forced meaning by reason of years of usage, it will probably be continued in popular favor.  After all, names do not count, so long as the meaning is accepted and understood.

While the term itself has been generally used in the sense of conscious and deliberate sending and receiving of thought-waves, there is a far wider field of phenomena really covered by it, viz., the unconscious sending and receiving of mental and emotional vibrations.  I shall take up this phase of the subject in a moment, after I have called your attention to the mechanism whereby the waves of thought and emotion are transmitted.

In the last chapter, you will remember that I called your attention to the fact that there is a manifestation of energy or force (in the form of vibrations) in every mental or emotional state.  This is true not only in the case of deep thought or vivid feeling, but also in the case of general mental “feelings,” and emotional states.  During such manifestations there is a radiation of mental or emotional vibrations from the brain or nervous centres of the system, which flows out in all directions just as do light and wireless electricity.  The principal seats or centres of these radiations are (1) the several brains of man, viz., the cerebrum, cerebellum, and the medulla oblongata, respectfully; and (2) the several great centres of nerve substance in the human system, called the plexi, such as the solar plexus, etc.