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THE

WORD

♑︎

Vol. 18 DECEMBER 1913 No. 3

Copyright 1913 by H. W. PERCIVAL

GHOSTS

(Continued)
Thought Ghosts of Living Men

THE thought ghost is not of the matter (molecular) of which the physical ghost, nor of the matter (desire) of which the desire ghost is composed. The thought ghost is of matter which belongs to the mental world. The matter of which thought ghosts is made is life matter, atomic matter.

A thought ghost is not a thought. The thought ghost of a living man is the thing produced by combined action of his mind in one line, on matter in the mental world.

The thought ghost is of two kinds, the abstract or formless thought ghost, and the defined or imaged thought ghost. The abstract is made from matter in the mental world, collected by the centering of the mind on a subject of thought. The defined thought ghost originates when the mind makes a mental image and holds that image until it takes form. The positive mind creates thought ghosts, the negative mind creates none, but its action adds to the material and force of thought ghosts. Their field of action is continually in the thought world, but some may take form and appear to the physical eye. A thought ghost is subject to cycles for manifestation and varying activity, which cycles may be of long or short duration.

There are dangers as well as advantages connected with the influence of thought ghosts. Thought ghosts hover over families and races. Even the age has and leaves its thought ghost.

The cause of a thought ghost is a motive. The nature of the motive determines the nature of the thought ghost and the effects of the ghost on those it acts. The motive in the mind causes the mind to act on the body. The mind is, for the time, centered in the heart, there extracting from the blood certain life essence, which ascends into the cerebellum, passes along the convolutions of the cerebrum, and is acted on by nerves from the five sense centers. The nervous action aids in the formation of the thought ghost, like as do the ferments and secretions in the digestion of the food.

This blood essence, and the nerve force, which are matter (though finer than what is subject to chemical analysis) form and are grouped, in and throughout the image held in the mind. This image, more or less complete, is impelled outward through one of the sense organs, by the motive. It may also be sent through the forehead, from a place between the eyes. This much concerning the imaged thought ghost, such as the figure of a person or anything having a mental form.

The formless thought ghost is without an image, there being no physical image to fashion after. But the formless thought ghost, such as a thought of death, disease, war, commerce, wealth, religion, has often as much or more influence as the imaged thought ghost. The material used from the body is the same, however, the nervous force is used to produce the sensation corresponding to the same center, such as fear without seeing or hearing anything, or the apprehension of activity without a definite thing acting.

As regards the thought ghost produced by an individual. There is first the thought ghost produced without the person’s intending or even supposing that he produces a thought ghost. Then there is the thought ghost produced with the intention of the producer.

Ghosts produced unconsciously and unintentionally are such as the poverty ghost, grief ghost, self-pity ghost, gloom ghost, fear ghost, disease ghost, variety ghost.

A man who is haunted by the thought ghost of poverty is one who works and saves constantly, because he is afraid he will die forsaken in the poor house. In a position of competence and even affluence, he is subject to the power of that ghost, and to the fear of destitution and helplessness. A person’s poverty ghost is caused either by the person’s seeing such misery around him or hearing of it and fancying himself in such conditions. Or his thought ghost was caused by impressions received in the mind in a past life, by his actually losing his fortune and actual suffering of poverty.

A person over whom broods a grief ghost is grieved by the most insignificant and inconsequential. He borrows trouble—if he has none—to feed his grief ghost. Conditions of ease or of hardship make no difference. Some like to go to funerals, hospitals, places of suffering, like to hear sad news, just to cry and be miserable and give their ghost satisfaction.

A self-pity ghost is a ridiculous phase of extreme egotism, which creates and feeds it.

The fear ghost is caused by lack of confidence in one’s self, and it may be due to a feeling that just karmic retribution which is over the fearsome, will soon be precipitated on him. This may be a part of his karmic punishment. Were such a man willing to meet justice, then he would not make nor feed a fear ghost.

A trouble ghost leads to getting into trouble. The apprehension of trouble creates trouble if there is none, and brings those whom the trouble ghost rides into it. Wherever they go there is trouble. Such a man will always get under things that are falling, and, with the best of intentions, he will cause quarrels and suffer himself.

The health ghost and disease ghost are much the same. Constantly trying to avoid disease by holding the—what is called—health thought in the mind, creates a disease ghost. The people troubled by a disease ghost are always looking for physical culture, new breakfast and other health foods, are driven to study dietetics, and feed the ghost with their continued thought of these things.

A vanity ghost is a mental thing built upon little substance by thought of self-conceit, glitter, gloss and showing off, and the wish for admiration by no matter whom. Only such as are of little weight, and make a business of deceiving themselves about their lack of merit and importance, create and feed a vanity ghost. Such a ghost demands a constant glossing over of their deficiencies. These vanity ghosts are the things to which is due the constant change of fashions, styles, fads and mannerisms.

All of these ghosts are among the formless thought ghosts of the individual.

Thought ghosts produced intentionally are produced for a certain purpose by people who know some of the results which come from the production of a thought ghost. These people do not call it by this name of thought ghost; nor is the name of thought ghost generally used. Intentional producers of thought ghosts are today among the practitioners of Christian Science and Mental Science, among members of some so-called Occult Societies or Secret Societies, and among members of the priesthood, and there are hypnotists and some detached individuals not belonging to any of these classes, who create thought ghosts intentionally.

The business of the Christian and Mental Scientists is to cure disease and be in affluence and comfort. To cure disease they “hold the thought of health,” or “deny the disease.” In certain cases they create a thought ghost of disease, a thought ghost of insanity, a thought ghost of death, and they direct the thought ghost against persons who have opposed them in their work, antagonized them personally or their authority or otherwise incurred their enmity. Whichever of these ghosts it may be, the producer intentionally makes the thought ghost and sends it against the person he wants to punish with disease, insanity, or death.

Formerly those who practiced the “Black Arts” made a little waxen image which represented the person to be proceeded against. Then the magician inflicted upon the wax figure the injuries he wanted the real enemy to be afflicted with. For instance, the magician would stick pins into, or burn the image, or hurt its eye, or other organs; and the real person was similarly affected, according to the power of the magician. Sticking the pins into the image did not hurt the live enemy, but it served the magician as a means to concentrate his thought ghost and direct it to the person he had in mind. Today the wax figure may or may not be used. A photograph of the enemy may be used. And even no physical figure or picture may be used.

Some members of the cults named have been made aware of the power carried by such thought ghosts. Such malignant thought ghosts have been designated by the phrase “malicious animal magnetism,” coined by Mrs. Eddy of the Christian Scientists, and familiarly called “M. A. M.”

There are certain secret societies in which ceremonies are performed, with a view to produce thought ghosts intended to serve its members and influence others or hurt them.

Among the priesthood were and are many who produce thought ghosts intentionally. In the Middle Ages were many priests who were more proficient with those wax figures than the so-called magicians. Some priests today have a better understanding of the manner of the working of thought ghosts and the results which can be accomplished by them than is generally believed. Especially backsliders from the Catholic Church and persons prominent in life who are desirable to that church as proselytes, are often made to feel the powerful influence of the thought ghosts created by practices, individual and concerted, of certain ecclesiastics. One such practitioner in Italy, answering the question whether the Catholic Church missed the power once made to be felt through its inquisition, and whether it would not use the instruments again if it had the power, said that instruments of torture were crude and out of date and perhaps now unnecessary, and that the same results could be obtained now by methods akin to hypnotism.

The desire age is on the ebb. We are entering the thought age. The thought ghosts of living men do more permanent harm and produce more fatal results in their age than desire ghosts did in any age.

Even those disinclined to believe in their being such things as thought ghosts, cannot fail to feel the power of a thought ghost of memory. Such a ghost is not created as are the thought ghosts above mentioned, and does not directly affect any but the one who has called it into being. The memory thought ghost is created by bringing into mental form an action once ignobly done or shamefully omitted, whereby is created a stinging feeling of unworthiness, littleness, remorse. Around this feeling the person’s thoughts cluster, until they are given permanent mental form. Then there is a memory ghost. It appears from time to time and is like a skeleton in a closet. Everyone who has been active in the world knows of just such ghosts, which at times overshadow his own life.

(To be continued)