Again, in Europe and America, particularly in the latter country, we find many persons who have picked up a smattering of occult knowledge by means of some of the many healing cults and organizations which teach the power of thought over physical diseases.  In the instruction along the lines of distant mental healing, the student is taught to visualize the patient as strongly and clearly as possible, and to then proceed to make statements of health and strength.  The mind of the patient, and that of the healer, cooperate and in many cases work wonderful cures.  As you will see in the last lesson of this course, there is great power in the mind to induce healthful vibrations in the mind of others, and the work is a good and worthy one.  But, alas! as is so often the case, the good teaching is sometimes perverted, and applied for unworthy and selfish ends.  Some of the persons who have picked up the principles of mental healing have discovered that the same power may be used in a bad as well as in a good direction.  They accordingly, proceed to “treat” other persons with the object of persuading them to do things calculated to benefit the person using the psychic power.  They seek to get these other persons under their psychic influence, and to then take advantage of them in some way or other.

I hope that it is practically unnecessary for me to warn my students against evil practices of this kind—­I trust that I have not drawn any students of this class to me.  In case, however, that some of you may have been, or may be in the future, tempted to use your psychic powers improperly, in this way, I wish to caution and warn you positively against so doing.  Outside of the ordinary morality which should prevent you from taking advantage of another person in this way, I wish to say to you that anyone so misusing psychic or astral powers will inevitably bring down upon his head, sooner or later, certain occult astral forces which will prove disastrous to him.  He will become involved in the web of his own making, and will suffer greatly.  Never by any means allow yourself to be tempted into indulging in any of the practices of Black Magic, under any form of disguise.  You will live to regret it if you do.  Employ your powers, when you develop them, for the good of others; or at least, for purely scientific investigation and knowledge.

The scientific investigator of this phase of psychic influence, will wish to become acquainted with what the occultists call “the astral tube.”  In this phase of the phenomena, you manifest upon the astral plane, rather than upon the physical.  The astral form of telepathy is manifested, rather than the ordinary form.  While there are a number of technical points involved in the production of the astral tube, I shall endeavor to instruct you regarding its creation and use in as plain words as possible, omitting all reference to technical occult details which would only serve to distract your attention