even
in _this_ life! This, however, is a subject which requires special and
lengthy treatment, and I cannot touch upon it now. All that I can aim to
do at present is to show that there may be a spiritual source even for
our _physical_ life and energy here. And, were this true, psychic
phenomena might readily be accounted for--since there would no longer
remain any valid objection to their occurrence.

FOOTNOTES:

[13] The orthodox, scientific theory.

[14] See _Mind Energy_, chapters 1 and 2. This view has also been
adopted by Mr. W. Whately Smith (see his _Theory of the Mechanism of
Survival_) where he says (p. 114): "This latter (the transmissive
theory) is the view held by M. Bergson, by Mr. Carrington and by
myself."

[15] It might be contended that life is an _intelligent_ force--both a
physical energy and intelligence; but if that were the case we should
simply have energy _plus_ something, and the "plus something" would
constitute the whole mystery. We should be no better off than we were
before. All the energies known to us are certainly non-intelligent, and
if you superimpose anything else on the energy you at once differentiate
it from all other energies--which you are not entitled to do (see
below).

[16] See my _Vitality, Fasting and Nutrition_, pp. 225-350.

[17] The question has been asked, What becomes of the potential energy
contained in the food, if it is not converted into bodily energy? I
reply, it is given off or imparted to the body as heat (not energy), but
this heat is again given off by the body. The more imparted to the body,
the more is again given off. We know that the body possesses a
self-regulating apparatus which keeps the body, when alive, always at a
constant temperature. (When dead, of course, the "corpse" cools to the
temperature of the surrounding air.) The equivalence is again
maintained, it will be observed, because the more heat we impart to the
body the more it in turn gives off.

CHAPTER IV

THE HUMAN WILL IS A PHYSICAL ENERGY

AN INSTRUMENT WHICH PROVES IT

PART I

The Facts

That the human will is a definite physical energy, which can be
registered by means of a scale or balance, may appear so incredible that
the bare statement of the case would seem to carry with it its own
refutation! Yet I firmly believe that this is a fact; that the energy of
the will may be registered by means of an instrument I am about to
describe; and that any one can prove th