in the affairs of daily life—­even in the smallest of them.  If he writes a letter, let him think of nothing else but that letter until it is finished; if he reads a book, let him see to it that his thought is never allowed to wander from his author’s meaning.  He must learn to hold his mind in check, and to be master of that also, as well as of his lower passions; he must patiently labor to acquire absolute control of his thoughts, so that he will always know exactly what he is thinking about, and why—­so that he can use his mind, and turn it or hold it still, as a practiced swordsman turns his weapon where he will.”

I have given the above full quotation from this authority, not merely because that from another angle he states the same general principles as do I; but also because his personal experience in actual clairvoyant phenomena is so extended and varied that any word from him on the subject of the development of clairvoyant power must have a value of its own.  While I differ from this authority on some points of detail of theory and practice, nevertheless I gladly testify to the soundness of his views as above quoted, and pass them on to my students for careful consideration and attention.  The student will do well to heed what he has to say, and to combine such opinion with what I have uttered in the earlier part of this chapter—­there will be found a close agreement in principle and practice.

And, now let us pass on to a consideration of the various forms and phases of the clairvoyant phenomena itself.  The subject is fascinating, and I am sure that you will enjoy this little excursion into the strange realm of thought regarding the astral phenomena of clairvoyance.  But, be sure to master each lesson before proceeding to the rest, as otherwise you will have to turn back the leaves of the course in order to pick up some point of teaching that you have neglected.

LESSON IX.

Simple clairvoyance.

In a previous chapter we have seen that there are three well-defined classes of clairvoyance, namely, (1) Simple clairvoyance; (2) Clairvoyance in space; and (3) Clairvoyance in Time.  I shall now consider these in sequence, beginning with the first, Simple Clairvoyance.

In simple clairvoyance the clairvoyant person merely senses the auric emanations of other persons, such as the auric vibrations, colors, etc., currents of thought vibrations, etc., but does not see events or scenes removed in space or time from the observer.  There are other phenomena peculiar to this class of clairvoyance which I shall note as we progress with this chapter.

An authority on the subject of astral phenomena has written interestingly, as follows, regarding some of the phases of simple clairvoyance:  “When we come to consider the additional facilities which it offers in the observation of animate objects, we see still more clearly the advantages of astral vision.  It exhibits to the clairvoyant the aura of plants and animals, and thus in the case of the latter their desires and emotions, and whatever thoughts they may have, are all plainly shown before his eyes.  But it is in dealing with human beings that he will most appreciate the value of this faculty, for he will often be able to help them far more effectually when he guides himself by the information which it gives him.