My Library

but results from the vague stirrings of the mass-consciousness of the whole body. In this sense the whole emotional body might be called an elemental. If the instinct for freedom and abandonment of control be indulged, the sense of entityship grows in proportion to the measure and frequency of the emotional indulgence. Under conditions of profligacy this mass-consciousness becomes more and more capable of resisting egoic control, and of influencing the actions of the physical body through the brain and solar plexus. The elemental then becomes very powerful, and the man scans as though he were tempted and driven continually by an external influence. The ideal use of the astral body appears to be merely as a vehicle for the expression of the finer types of emotion, and to provide conditions in which the ego can manifest at the physical level. Without a healthy astral body the egoic line of communication on leaving the mental plane would be disturbed, distorted, and, unless the ego were very powerful, dissipated by the powerful currents of the astral, atmosphere. The astral body thus acts as a protective sheath for the lines of force travelling between the ego and the brain. Many physical nervous disorders result from imperfect action of this function of the emotional body. There is a general tendency to overwork the emotions in the ceaseless pursuit of excitement and pleasurable thrills, which is one of the characteristics of post-War conditions. Up to a certain point this strengthens the emotional element, but beyond it the strain breaks down both the nerves which transmit the feelings and the mechanism of the astral body in which they first arise. There is a great need for relaxation and poise to overcome the results of the noise and the restless search for pleasure and new means of excitement which is common to-day. Without them serious injury will be done to the human constitution, and the development of the race will be delayed. The coming generation will inevitably suffer for the conditions of life of the present one. In order to function perfectly, the emotional body must have been deprived of all power to initiate feeling and action, must be capable of absolute stillness, and have become practically colourless and translucent. Ideally the ego alone should have the power to produce action in the three worlds and changes in the bodies of the personality. Colour should only appear in the mental and emotional bodies, when the ego uses them to express his will, his compassion and love, and his intellectual activities.