are directly connected with each other by an invisible force. Thought is
an element of life and exists everywhere; it is not originated by the
mind, but is a utility for it. Thoughts are sustenance for the brain, as
air is for the lungs, or food for the appetite; they are good and bad in
quality, and it is within man's power to accept or reject them at will.
By admitting good and repelling bad thoughts, the brain acquires moral
as well as mental strength but vice versa it is poisoned, and degeneracy
is sure to follow.

"Nature created both the mountains and the thoughts; look and you can
see those lofty hills; think and you can receive inspiring thoughts.
Shut your eyes and you cannot see; close your brain and you cannot
think. The broader the mind, the greater the ideas to enter. Ignorance
is bred from a closed brain; intelligence from an open one. He who is
incapable of thinking is like the blind who cannot see or the deaf who
cannot hear. The thought is the mightiest force for good or evil,
humanity has to contend with; time is measured by it and pure meditation
makes the days short and sweet, while evil notions lengthen and
depreciate them. The mind that retains good ideas and refuses bad ones
is of incalculable value to mankind for it has an instantaneous effect
upon other minds in all parts of the earth.

"It is easier for many minds working in harmony together to grasp a
thought, than for the single brain to receive it without aid. No one
earthly being ever conceived a great idea unassisted. One might have
believed and proclaimed the origin of an idea, but unknown and
innumerable others secretly aided in its conception. The strongest
intellect, however, retained and gave it to the world, and he who
accepts, practices and impresses the thought upon others, deserves the
credit thereof.

"It took several generations of continuous experimentation by the
Sagemen to acquire the fundamental principles of telepathy and many more
to establish the custom of conversing with the mind instead of the
voice. In the beginning, the evil ones looked upon the practice with
horror, for it was impossible to conceal anything from their fellow
beings. But this very fact alone caused them to keep clean and allow no
impure thoughts to enter their minds that would lower them in the
estimation of their associates, and after a few generations of active
use it was accepted as one of the great benefits of nature.

"Whenever a great prob