-£rv ip%'.^ 7* R f- r L i •.•«.■ ir;- j:-:rfo i:-(-nTthen i NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE NLfl 0055^1514 1 ARMY MEDICAL LIBRARY FOUNDED 1S36 WASHINGTON, D.C. _______________________________________I NLM005591549 RETURN TO NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE BEFORE LAST DATE SHOWN FEB 21 WB THE RALSTON Brain Regime. Ia1 >|,M>IH«mi' PUBLISHED BY THE MAKTYN COLLEGE PRESS, / WASHINGTON, D. C 1891. \H)li^5 1B91 ",,1 > »•%.' - IN f^ *&±*L / X.- p-;i> KlG4r )S«3I Copyright 1891, By EVERETT RALSTON. All rights reserved. •»• ••• •»• ••< DEDICATED To that large society of earnest ladies and gentlemen, who are members of "The Ralston Health Club," and who are laying the foundation of perfect minds by acquiring perfect health of body. SltfH- A PRIVATE WORD WITH THE OWNER OF THIS BOOK. There are too many books at the present day in the world, for the reason that there is too much theorizing. It is easy enough to originate a theory; but difficult to make the theory practicable. Advice is too common, no matter how good it may be. The class of people who wish to progress, and they are a small class as far as numbers are concerned, require the aid of persons who can furnish them with a practical course of exercises to be performed, the performance of which shall cause a growth. We grow only by doing something; not by being advised or taught. Books are too large at the present day. In a very popular scientific book, published recently by a New York house, there were four hundred pages of reading matter, which contained three facts of importance. The remainder of the book was words, mere words. Publishers and authors labor under the delusion that a book is valuable for its number of pages, and me- chanical construction. The world's greatest thinkers have read but few books. Facts should be condensed. One page, well written, and containing half a dozen living truths, is more valu- able than four hundred pages, filled with verbiage, and containing only three facts. Just think of the waste of time in getting the meat out of that nut, with the chances of being half asleep when the facts are reached. These views have been adopted in the present work, as far as the author's humble ability could accomplish that much desired end. Perons who value a book by its size, rather than by its worth, will fail to appreciate the efforts of the author in making this volume small; while others, whose tastes run to quality rather than quantity, will doubly esteem the book, and reap a rich harvest in mental growth and culture. CHAPTEE I. THE SUBSTANCE OF THE PHYSICAL BRAIN. Of the various organs of the body, that which is of most importance to man, is the Brain. While in the complete body there are several organs, material injury to any one of which would result in death, including the brain, yet the latter serves a purpose greater than all the others combined. We will deal with the brain in its two separate func- tions, and under the following heads :— First; the Physical Brain. Second ; the Thinking Brain. This chapter will be devoted to the examination and discussion of the Physical Brain. This consists of a large mass of pulpy matter which fills the skull, and according to the theories recently advanced is found accompanying the general nervous system throughout the body. Every form of creation which has a back bone or spinal column, possesses a brain with a single exception, that of an Oceanic Fish. The size of a brain is generally proportioned to the size of the animal pos- sessing it, and graded relatively according to the degree (H) 12 BRAIN REGIME. of power or supremacy exhibited by that species. The brain of a man, if it is of normal weight should be about one-thirty-sixth part of the weight of his body; whereas the brain of the elephant, which is the largest known, weighs but nine or ten pounds, showing that its relative size is much smaller than that of a man, but in the case of birds who are created for the navigation of the air, the brain is larger than that of a man, compared with the size of the body, it being about one-twentieth of the weight of the body. The intellect does not depend upon the size of the human brain, but upon the quality of the fibre of which it is constructed. Its average weight in the male is forty-eight ounces, and in the female, forty-four ounces. CHAPTER II. A LOOK INTO THE PHYSICAL BRAIN. The Brain is separated into three principal parts ; the Cerebrum, the Cerebellum, and the Medulla Oblongata. The Cerebrum. The Cerebrum occupies nearly the entire skull, in fact all except the small portion at the back part of the base of this cavity. Its function is that of thought, feeling, emotion, will, intelligence. It is now certain that there can be no intelligence without brain substance. The oyster and clam are not intelligent, they have no brain ; and in proportion as man's brain is increased in size and developed we have intellectual phenomena. On the other hand, let the brain substance be injured or destroyed, or deficient in quantity or quality, and idiocy, stupidity, ignorance, feebleness, absence of intelligence, lack of will and moral force, become at once apparent. Consciousness is inseparable from the activity of this part of the brain, and though there are many move- ments in animals after the cerebrum is removed, yet no consciousness is present. (13) 14 BRAIN REGIME. The Cerebellum. The Cerebellum has entirely different work to do from that of the brain proper, and is much smaller in size, weighing only a few ounces. It is separated from the cerebrum by a tough membrane called tentorium, a process of the dura mater, or lining membrane of the skull. This process which separates the large and small brain is very serviceable, as it forms a bed for the former, and relieves the latter from supporting it. There has been much written about the functions of the cerebellum, and it is now known that its chief func- tion is the co-ordinating into one movement the entire action of the muscles. This is perhaps best illustrated by a comparison. A skillful dancer or gymnast, can combine the actions of his muscles into one beautiful movement of grace and dexterity. The nimble kitten will play, and its movements be wonderfully harmonious. It knows precisely how far to jump for a mouse, and in making the effort all the muscles obey. The monkey and the squirrel climb trees with perfect ease, and rarely fall. Their actions illustrate that co- ordination which physiologists say is the function of the cerebellum. On the other hand, the drunken man can- not co-ordinate the movements of his muscles, and so he staggers about. The muscles refuse to obey because the cerebellum has been temporarily paralyzed, and cannot attend to its functions. The method by which physiologists prove this func- tion, it is true, has some objections, for it consists in re- moving the cerebellum from such animals as can endure it, more especially from the pigeon and common barn- A LOOK INTO THE PHYSICAL BRAIN. 15 yard cock. The result is they immediately lose this co- ordinating power and cannot control their muscles, lack stability, and act as a drunkard does. These experiments cannot be tried on human beings, but there are a few cases in which the cerebellum has become diseased, which show that co-ordinating power is its chief function. In those fishes which possess great power of movement, the cerebellum is relatively larger than in those of a torbid nature, and in reptiles we have a very good illustration of the relation between a small cerebellum, and that inertness which they manifest. In snakes the cerebellum is small, and though they may at times show considerable muscular force, yet as a rule they are lazy, and prefer to move about no more than is necessary. If poisonous reptiles had a larger cere- bellum, they would be much more dangerous creatures than they are at present. In birds the cerebellum is of a large size, in perfect conformity with the varied mus- cular movements which this class of animals perform. In the mammalia, the cerebellum varies greatly in de- velopment, yet there is a close correspondence between its size, and the amount and variety of muscular move- ments which the animal can perform. Men with large muscles and great physical power have a large cere- bellum, while feeble ones and those by nature of a deli- cate constitution, generally possess one of a diminutive size. The same is true of animals. It is said that in the horse or ox trained to hard work, the cerebellum is larger than in the one not so trained. Dr. Ferrier, whose remarkable studies and experi- ments on the brain by means of electricity have attracted so much attention in the scientific world within a few 16 BRAIN REGIME. years, has demonstrated that the cerebellum is the gan- glionic center of the motor nerves of the eye, every kind of movement of the eyeballs being proved by him to originate from a particular part of this organ. This helps to explain the very close relation between the guiding power we derive from the eye, and the equilib- rium of our muscular movements. With what difficulty we maintain our equilibrium, when we cannot see! So, too, the dizziness which comes from turning round rapidly, Dr. Carpenter thinks, is the result of a compression of ocular impressions which prevent the movements of the eye co-ordinating with the general movements of the body. There may be other functions of the cerebellum not yet discovered, but as yet no others are known to exist with any certainty. The Medulla Oblongata. The Medulla connects the brain proper with the spinal cord. It is a center of less complex functions than the brain, but more complex than the cord, and in- timately connected with essential vital functions. All but four of the cranial nerves are directly connected with its gray centers, and it is the seat of such actions as proceed from these nerves, either singly or combined. The co-ordination of the muscles which produce artic- ulate speech probably have their center here. It is also a center of facial expression, and without doubt the crying of babies is a reflex action of this part. The chief function of the medulla is intact, the func- tion of respiration goes on with regularity and rhythm, A LOOK INTO THE PHYSICAL BRAIN. 17 although other parts of the brain may have been de- stroyed. Destroy this, however, and respiration ceases, and death ensues. Nearly all know that a blow on the base of the brain destroys life instantly. This is because the medulla has been destroyed and'the function of respira- tion lost. On account of this it has been called " the seat of life," " the vital point," etc. The only animal, so far as we know, that can live after the medulla has been injured is the frog, and this is explained by the fact that it respires partly through the skin. The medulla is also a source of innervation for the heart, though this organ has centers in its own sub- stance which help to govern its regular movements. 2 OHAPTEE III. THE SPINAL CORD. The Spinal Cord is an extension of the brain outside of the skull into the passage that constitutes a part of that long chain of bones piled one upon the other, and called the spinal column or backbone. It is an easy matter to get a view of this cord in any animal after the butcher has split the bones with his axe, exposing more or less of it in, it is true, a somewhat fragmentary state to our view, or it may be dissected out carefully in fishes, birds, or other small creatures, and studied with care. It is a soft delicate, pulpy mass of gray and white sub- stance, protected from injury by the bony prominences which arch around it in a very wonderful way, inclosing it on all sides in a long cavity, or canal, which is often called the spinal canal, and cerebrospinal axis. The cord is surrounded by an envelope of membranes which support it, and the vessels supplying it with blood. The length of the cord is from eighteen to twenty inches, but its weight is very slight, hardly exceeding an ounce and a half. In form it is round, being slightly flattened in certain parts. It extends downward to the first lum- (18) THE SPINAL CORD. 19 bar vertebra. Like the brain, it is divided into two lateral halves. It would be tedious to discuss at great length the anatomy of the cord, which is exceedingly curious, and difficult to be understood without special study in the dissecting room, which is unnecessary to our object. We will, however, say briefly something about its functions. The anterior lateral half is entirely insensible to irritation, and serves as a conductor of stimulus from the brain to the muscles. Cut this half of the cord, and those parts situated below it lose their power of motion. If the posterior or back part is cut, however, the power of motion is not lost. When the will directs that cer- tain muscles shall act, it sends the order down through this half of the cord, which, if not injured, carries it to the muscles, and they obey. If, however, there be any injury to this half, the connection is severed, and the mandates of the will are not and cannot be carried out. The posterior half of the spinal cord has ditferent functions, perhaps several, although as yet our knowl- edge is not complete on this subject. It is now certain that if the gray substance of the posterior half of the spinal cord be cut in two, then sensibility of all the parts below this region is completely destroyed, so that they may be cut, pinched and pricked without any sen- sation. There is no means of communicating intelligence of any pain from the surface to the brain, and so a knowl- edge of pain cannot exist. The posterior half of the spinal cord may be cut without in the least destroying sensation. This half of the cord is concerned with the cerebellum in aiding to 20 BRAIN REGIME. co-ordinate the movements of the muscles. It is not necessary to go through with all the details of the ex- periments that lead us to this conclusion. We will mention that the peculiar disease, formerly believed to be a form of paralysis, and frequently oc- curring in patients who have suffered with diphtheria, typhoid fever, and some other diseases, known as loco- motor ataxia, in which there is difficulty in co-ordinating muscular action, is the result of lesion of this half of the spinal cord. We have now three different functions of the spinal cord:— 1. The conduction of motary stimulus to the muscles. 2. The conduction of sensation to the brain. 3. Co-ordinating power. But we are not through with the functions of the cord. We know that it is, after all, only an extension of the brain; that it is, like it, composed of gray and white matter, and its gray substance may, to a slight extent, generate nervous energy, and act as a nervous center of motion, and perhaps of sensation. The experiments which have led to this view have been made mainly on frogs which have been decapitated, and which can be made under certain circumstances to jump about, to ap- parently feel pain, at least to try and brush off with one foot a burning acid applied on the other foot. Similar experiments bring similar results applied to decapitated criminals. If the spinal cord be injured, the parts below the in- jury are paralyzed. This happens when any serious accident has broken or displaced the bones of the column THE SPINAL CORD. 21 which surround and protect the cord. Even a little piece of bone pressing on it cuts off all communication with the brain, and the parts below. When a person is paralyzed in this way, we say his back is broken. If the injury be in the middle of the back the legs are paralyzed. If at the neck, the whole body is paralyzed. All along the spinal column nerves branch off that go to every portion of the body. The spinal cord should not be injured by blows, by jars, as in jumping from a height, by exposure to cold, by violent exercise, or by tight clothing which im- pedes' the circulation of the blood in the parts, and the flow of nervous influence to and from the brain, to all parts of the body. CHAPTER IV. THE BRAIN FLUIDS. The health of the brain physically speaking depends upon the condition of the nerve fibre, (by which we mean to include the entire nervous system), and the fluids, which render it possible for the brain to perform its functions. One of the wise provisions of nature, is the general in- termingling of moisture or fluids in every form of living creation. Without these fluids life is impossible; and upon the condition and general health of the fluids in every body, depends the growth and development of that body. Man is the most thoroughly lubricated machine in existence; every nerve, muscle, bone and sinew, having a lubricating fluid surrounding its activity. The fluids are the result of chemical combinations constantly going on under the direction of the nervous system. Whatever causes a diseased state of the nerves will affect these fluids; as for instance, we notice the next day after a night of sleeplessness, that the joints and muscles lack firmness. Some persons by injuring the general health produce a dryness in and about the joints of the body, so that the bones actually grate (22) THE BRAIN FLUIDS. 23 upon each other. There are many persons who never " turn the ankle," except when they have kept unusally late hours the night before. The fluids of the body are generally withdrawn from the bones and muscles, if the body is inactive or diseased. We mention these facts in this connection simply for the purpose of showing the value of the fluids to every part of the body; but the brain is even more dependent than the other organs upon the source of life. It requires:— 1st. The proper quality of fluid to sustain it. 2d. The proper quantity of such fluid. What should be the quality of the brain fluid is one of the greatest problems connected with the health of the brain. It is at this very point that insanity may be acquired or warded off. If the fluids are of impure quality, or are poisoned by the emotions, irritability sets in, which is always a forerunner of brain diseases. The first thing to be done in order to acquire the proper quality of brain fluids, is to study the emotions, and learn to control them. How anger ever came into the human heart is a problem, but that it is well estab- lished there is a fact. Its supremacy over our nature is one of the most prevalent causes of that large branch of diseases, which result from nervous troubles. No person who is not in absolutely perfect nerve health, can afford to be angry. For each spell of anger is only a step toward brain disease, and it is one of the readiest causes of nervous prostration. As certain conditions of the air during a thunder storm will cause milk to turn sour, so the electrical 24 BRAIN REGIME. changes of the brain during anger will poison the sa- liva of the mouth, a fluid which is closely allied to the brain. The bite of a human being who is excessively angry, will cause hydrophobia, as readily as the bite of a mad dog, simply because the irritability of the brain poisons the saliva of the mouth. The bite of a good disposi- tioned dog was never known to produce any injury whatever. While in a state of anger all the fluids of the body are acted upon by the electrical currents which pass through the nerves. Persons of the happiest dispositions have the healthiest brains. Happiness is often the result of habit, and may be cultivated with a very slight effort. We do not mean to say that every happy person would have a strong intellectnal brain. The thinking powers will be discussed in another chapter. We do say, however, that the quickest way to acquire health, not only of the brain, but of the entire nervous system, and of the entire body, is to cultivate a happy disposition. We inherit certain fundamental tendencies which have sway only when we yield to them. They contain ener- gies which may be turned into results of great value, if we choose to direct them. The nature which we inherit is only that general ten- dency which seeks to unfold itself during the inactivity of our own will, and no person is ever excusable for dis- agreeable temperaments, simply on the ground that they were inherited. To say that we cannot help it, is only THE BRAIN FLUIDS. 25 another form of saying that we are not trying to help it. There is nothing in our dispositions or emotions that we cannot help as long as our brain is sound. When we cross the line into insanity, we then become irritable. The person who inherits the disposition to hate mankind, merely possesses the tendency to do that, a tendency which asserts itself only when we are in- active. Therefore we claim that every person can cultivate a happy disposition. The following is a list of ways whereby we may make ourselves happy :— 1. Never look on the dark side of anything. 2. If there is but one side to a thing, and that is all dark, try to imagine what the other side would be if it had one. 3. Never take anything for granted. 4. Never draw conclusions from circumstances. This leads to more unhappiness in the world, than any other failing in human nature. 5. Never allow a suspicion to enter the mind. Busi- ness men think it is necessary to suspect all persons with whom they deal, on the principle that it furnishes a safeguard against fraud, but if you never take any- thing for granted, you will never be cheated, and this may be done without entertaining any suspicions. 6. Study your fellow beings with a view to finding out their good qualities. 7. Never advise a person to avoid speaking ill of others, while you yourself do not follow the advice. 8. Read good books; think good thoughts, and lead pure lives. 26 BRAIN REGIME. 9. On arising in the morning stand upon your feet, with a quotation upon your lips containing something bright and cheerful. In addition to the foregoing, it is necessary to take proper fluids into the body if you would have a healthy brain. Distilled liquors are ruinous to the best condition of the brain fluids. There is no doubt, that fermented and undistilled liquors, if pure and if taken into the stomach when the stomach is filled with food, are of some slight benefit to the brain, if used in very small quantities; but distilled liquors are poisonous to an extent that can- not be described in words. They destroy the electrical forces of the brain, consume its magnetism, and irritate the entire nervous system. It is safer never to use liquor in any form, but if it is to be used it should only be in the form of fermented liquors to be taken when the stomach is completely filled with food, and then in small quantities. Tea benumbs the brain, and destroys its acuteness of thought. Coffee over-works the brain, and causes it to wear itself out. The finest brains in the world are pos- sessed by those persons who avoid liquors of all kinds, as well as tea and coffee. This fact may be proven by in- vestigating the lives of hundreds of the brain monarchs. CH-AJPTEPt V. HOW TO DEVELOP THE PHYSICAL BRAIN. If a child, (born under circumstances favorable to strong intellectual power ; of good parents whose mental activities were equal to the average of mankind), should be taken to an island where little intercourse with hu- manity was allowed, or should be imprisoned without coming in contact with others, or should be in any way deprived of the associations which are necessary to full mental growth, not only would the brain of such a child stop growing, but its thinking powers would be entirely lost. This fact has many times been proven in the his- tory of the world, and notably in the case of the illegitimate child of one of the Russian Czars, who was kept confined in a room, from a little window of which he received his food without seeing his fellow beings. Activity is a source of development, and undue activ- ity is a source of destruction. Without exercising the brain, it would not grow; by over-exercising it may be ruined; although with a proper regard to the laws of brain regime as laid down in this work, we claim that it is impossible to do injury to the brain by over-work. (27) 28 BRAIN REGIME. An undeveloped brain shows itself by a rotundity in front of the forehead, which is noticeable in young chil- dren, or grown up idiots. As a rule the flatter the forehead, the more the brain has been developed, and the progress in this direction may be noticed as the child grows up. Some claim that it is impossible for the shape of the head to change, after it receives its growth. Such is not the case, however, for the brain is continually adding new shapes to the head, according to the directions in which it is exercised. In this connection it may be well to state that the so-called system of phrenology, whereby certain persons familiar with the shape of the head, pretend to be able to discover one's character, is only partially successful; for the reason that it makes the mistake of dividing the brain into sections, which cor- responding with the phases of character or occupation in life. Although the brain changes the shape of the head, as it is being developed, yet these changes do not take place in prescribed directions; but occur only where it is most convenient for them. The bony structure of the skull is easily changed in its shape, but is like the human face, having a contour, capable of so many varieties of shape, that no two skulls are alike. It is by accident that one portion of the skull may be thinner than another; not by design, or by brain de- velopment ; and wherever the bony structure is weakest there the growing brain will push itself. It is, however, an established fact, that in some slight degree the gen- eral character of the mind affects the front, middle or back sections of the skull, but even these are overcome HOW TO DEVELOP THE PHYSICAL BRAIN. 29 by the energy of physical brain enlarging the skull at places where it is the weakest. For this reason, and for the further reason that no two skulls are shaped exactly alike, we say that the system of phrenology is entirely without foundation. Still another reason exists that perhaps is of more value in settling a question of this kind ; the predictions made by the very best phrenologists that have ever lived, have rarely come true; and when they have their ful- filment may be accounted for on the theory of mere co-incidence. Take the heads of all the great generals in the world, and no two will be found to even remotely resemble each other, and yet phrenologists tell us that everybody who has a certain bump similar to that of Napoleon is a born soldier, and so on throughout the whole category. The development of the ph}'sical brain may be said to depend upon the following facts:— 1st. Pure brain food. This will be discussed in a later chapter. 2d. Proper physical activity of the brain. This will be discussed in a chapter entitled " How to Produce Sleep and Rest for the Physical Brain." We need only speak now of the second, which is " Proper Physi- cal Activity of the Brain." As the physical growth of the brain depends upon mental ideas, thought is the fh'st thing that gives physi- cal activity to the brain. Thinking always proceeds in trains. It is impossible to think of one subject without calling up something associated with that subject. This study opens up one of the most delightful fields of in- vestigation, and furnishes many pleasant exercises, which are given in the second part of this work under 30 BRAIN REGIME. the head of "The Thinking Brain." But we may en- croach upon that department sufficiently to say, that as thought always proceeds in trains, one thing bringing up another, so if we desire to give the brain a healthy physical growth, we must give it opportunity for coming in contact with subjects which it may employ. In this matter the parent is largely responsible for the future condition of the child's brain. A child at that period of its infancy, when it begins to observe things around it should be carefully watched, to see what things most interest its mind ; and every possible variety of subjects should be placed before the mind through the various senses, excepting those of taste. As the first impressions of the day will lend valuable influence to the life of the entire day, so the earliest im- pressions in the morning of life affect its maturity. It takes but little time and care on the part of the parent to watch and study the growing brain of the child, and such study becomes beneficial to the parent. The following rules will prove of great value, if we de- sire to render it possible for our children to possess the fullest and greatest physical brains:— 1. If an improper thing interests a child, either through the sense of touch, smell or hearing, the parent should have the courage to withdraw that thing perma- nently if possible. If the child cries for it, it should not be humored by attempting to distract its attenton by forcing some other thing upon it, for by this very means the child learns to hate the things that are good, and to like the things that are bad; but if the child ever longs for anything that is good, it may even be taught to dislike the bad by forcing the bad upon it. HOW TO DEVELOP THE PHYSICAL BRAIN. 31 2. Whenever a child is pleased and absorbed with anything not improper, it should be left to itself with that thing as long as it shows an interest in it, but the thing should never be forced upon it. 3. Every possible variety of action should be brought before the child's mind while its interest is aroused, but this should never be done to appease a crying child, as the child soon learns to have a distaste for things that are beneficial to it, if they are used to distract its atten- tion when angry, or to bribe it into silence. 4. No child should ever be permitted to have its way in the selection or choice of events, except as provided above; for every time the child prevails its mind is narrowed, and the possibility for its brain development is decreased. The finest brains have been developed in children who have been subject to the sway of their parents, for then they learn to look upon the varieties of life as things not used to reward them, but as subjects which come to them in the course of life. CHAPTER VI. THE GROWTH AND CARE OF THE BRAIN AFTER THE BODY CEASES TO GROW. Some persons labor under the mistaken idea that sleep is a great source of brain growth ; while the opposite is the fact. If the brain grows at all in sleep, it is only because the brain is resting from its activity. But idiots sleep more than any other people, and next to them, persons who are acknowledged to be stupid are great sleepers. Sleep is another form of death, only death is a permanent rest, resulting in the disintegation of the entire body, while sleep if carried even but a short time beyond the point where a sufficient amount has been taken, starts at once the process of decay. The entire body ceases its energies, and a quiescent condition of the nerves and muscles ensues. The rapidity with which the body loses its vitality through rest, may be learned by lying in bed inactive for a few days, when a sur- prising degree of weakness follows. Too much sleep locks the brain, and makes it difficult to unlock it again. A person who loses an hour's sleep suffers less from it, than a person who sleeps an hour too long. This is (32) GROWTH AND CARE OF THE BRAIN. 33 illustrated in the case of athletes like Rowell, the great English runner, who after running six consecutive days and nights without sleep, was only allowed a few minutes sleep at the end of his race, being then awakened and allowed to sleep again a little longer, and so on till gradually a full period of rest was permitted him. This treatment is always applied to athletes, who from neces- sity, are compelled to know the requirements of health. There is but little danger in losing an hour's sleep, although too little sleep may result in the disease known as sleeplessness, which is always dangerous. However, this subject will be more liberally discussed in a subse- quent chapter. For persons of mature age, the best mental activity is that which contains the greatest variety. Sameness or a monotony of living, retards the physical growth of the brain, and induces diseases of the nervous system. One kind of occupation without any varying circumstances, if not severe enough to overtax the brain, would make a man stupid and generally honest. But if severe enough to wear upon the brain would produce prostra- tion of that organ, which shows itself first through the general irritability of the disposition; which, when car- ried to excess becomes insanity. Avoid, therefore same- ness in life ; things tend to repeat themselves if indulged in ; what we do without thinking is generally injurious to the brain, and if we form habits of regularity, we are apt to debilitate the mental powers. A machine is reg- ular because it has to be, and because it is a machine and has no brains, but a man who eats his breakfast every morning at a fixed hour, and who rises and sits at a fixed time is merely mechanical. n O 34 BRAIN REGIME. The Sun has mental acuteness enough to know better than to rise every morning at the same time during the year, and gains or loses a minute every day. So a per- son who does a certain thing at nine o'clock in the morning, and another thing at ten o'clock, and still another at eleven o'clock, and so on, with a method be- hind every act, in a very few weeks becomes an un- thinking machine. There is nothing intellectual about it. The very essence of nature itself in all its works, shows a perfect system of irregularity. Every person capable of doing so, should rest during the hottest months of the year, and always seek some change. The mind is fettered by a feeling of imprisonment, when compelled to do in the summer time, that which it has to do in the winter. Cold weather is a necessary contingent of the finest brain growth, and in cold weather its activity should be the greatest. Winter is the day time of the brain and body, and summer its sleeping time. As the gases which are poisonous to the human system support the vegetable world, and as humanity is placed in opposition to the growth of nature around us, so its opposite should follow us in the seasons. Vegetation rests in winter, which is humanity's active period. Vegetation grows in summer, which is human- ity's resting period. Persons who are able to afford it, should leave the place of their employment either in the month July or August, or both. If they are unable to bear the expense, they should live during the summer months in another house ; if they cannot afford this, they should at least live in other rooms; and if this becomes impracticable, they should GROWTH AND CARE OF THE BRAIN. 35 rearrange the furniture of the rooms in which they live and try, in every way, to make themselves believe that they are somewhere else. This variety alone tends to give that rest which change affords in the warm weather. The more places we visit, the more faces we see, the more new things we do, and the more new subjects that are brought before the mind, the more the brain de- velops. Reading books that only gratify the emotions, as for instance the love stories and trashy novels of the day, will narrow the mind and develop morbid emotions. The best kind of reading is always biography, and the worst is fiction. But fiction may be indulged in as ice- cream or delicate dessert may be taken at the table. A full meal should not be made upon it. The colder the climate, if not cold enough to render activity impossible, the better will be the brain develop- ment. For this reason we find that persons living in the tropics are mentally very sluggish, and great minds in the southern climes are exceptions rare enough in- deed. During the summer, if possible go to the coldest places, as mountains, or the seaside, but avoid social re- quirements as much as possible; especially if you are addicted to these bad habits during the winter season. Never carry with you on a vacation anything that in the remotest degree resembles what you have been ac- customed to during the rest of the year. For this reason fashionable watering places are in- jurious to the health of persons who seek the pleasures and variety of the summer vacation. A person living in the warm sunlight, should in the fall or spring if possible seek the cooling effect of a more 36 BRAIN REGIME. northern locality. If this is done in mid-winter, the sudden change might result in pneumonia, a disease that caused the death of Henry Grady, one of the grandest men the South ever produced, who in winter made a visit to the city of Boston, a climate that he was not accustomed to, which resulted in his death by pneumo- nia. This has often occurred where persons in the South have gone North in mid-winter. But, avoiding the danger of this extreme, it is well to aid the development of the brain by benefits of cold weather, remembering that a warm climate debilitates the mental functions. CHAPTER VII. HOW TO PRODUCE SLEEP AND REST OF THE PHYSICAL BRAIN. While we have stated that too much sleep renders the brain stupid, it by no means follows that too little sleep would be beneficial to the brain. In this present age of nervous excitability and undue mental strain, nervous prostration has become the most dangerous of all the diseases of the human body. It appears in almost every degree, often in so slight a form that we hardly recog- nize its presence, and again in its other extreme when the entire nervous system suffers a collapse, and death ensues. It is only during sleep that the mental powers recuperate. If we do not sleep we die. A person suffering from nervous prostration is gener- ally unable to sleep. The machinery has started and cannot be stopped. The source of life is traceable to the ganglionic cells, which are storage batteries throughout the body, but chiefly along the spinal column. This is the center of vitality, and directs the entire activity of the body. This power may control the will, or may be controlled (37) 38 BRAIN REGIME. by the will. In the former case we are subject to its actions, whether erratic or correct, and we are then said to possess habits; or we develop inherited tendencies. If, however, we control the action of the ganglionic cells by the will, we are the supreme masters of the body, the architects of our lives, and the framers of our fortunes. When the ganglionic cells control the will, they send forth throughout the multiplicity of electrical wires in the body, their energies according to the natural tenden- cies of our habits. And this produces great nervous waste. It is for this reason that Ave have stated, in a previous chapter that regularity is inadvisable for the reason that we become automatons, leaving the gan- glionic cells to run the machinery of the body as they see fit. If the will, however is the engineer, who has his hand upon the throttle, the engine will not run itself to death. A nervous person and a sleepless person are generally identical. They are people of great automatic activity; that is, full of movements not controlled by the will, but the offspring of a self-running machine. This activity need not show itself in the muscles alone, for persons suffering from nervous prostration become, from necessity, often persons of great repose or stillness of the body, while the nerves are full of activity. A good digestion affords good sleep. A person who eats often during the day, if the food is pure, will find sleep more readily than a person who omits a meal, or a person who takes insufficient or improper food. We have known cases of sleeplessness to be cured simply by drinking iced milk every half hour during the day, in addition to the ordinary meals. To omit any one of the three meals is apt to produce sleeplessness. HOW TO PRODUCE SLEEP AND REST. 39 Great mental activity immediately after eating a full meal, is also likely to do the same thing. The habit of sleeping immediately after eating at noon or at night is very beneficial and can be formed after a few weeks trial, although it may be impossible to get sleep the first few days, owing to its being unusual. In persons who are troubled with this malady it is a good habit, if other mat- ters permit one to sleep. A person who is moderately tired, will sleep readily, unless suffering from nervous prostration ; whereas a person who exhausts the strength of the body by too much physical exercise, may find it impossible to sleep at all. Improper thinking or the overtaxing of the thinking brain, will result in a more serious condition of this malady, and that subject we will discuss in a proper part of this book. Benumbing the brain by cold cloths or cold air, pro- duces a healthful and nerve creating sleep, and has often proved a complete remedy in cases of nervous prostra- tion. Persons, even in mid-winter, with the thermometer nearly at zero, could without the slightest danger, if the body is wrapped unusually wrarm in bed, afford to lower the window7 and allow plenty of cold air to fall upon the unprotected head. But a draught should be avoided as neuralgia might be the reward. CHAPTEE VIII. THE BEST BRAIN FOODS. It has always been a question of great interest as to what is the best kind of food to take into the stomach, to develop the physical brain. Fish has been believed to be the most sustaining, but at the present day, the best medical authorities assert that cold fat is the finest brain food that can be used; and experiment proves this to be true. The adulterated butter in the market, if made by the thorough heating process is probably the finest brain food in this class. Pure butter, that is butter made from cream, is often the cause of typhoid fever, and eruptions in the blood ; for the reason that the cream is never put through the scalding process, which destroys the germs of disease. Nothing absorbs the poisons of the air so quickly as milk and cream, and these poisons are retained in pure butter. It makes no difference how impure the grease or fat may be, or from what part of the animal it may come, or what may have been its previous history as to rottenness or decay, if it is subjected to the thorough heating process, which is hot enough to destroy all the animal or vegetable germs. (40) THE BEST BRAIN FOODS. 41 Physicians under oath, and the ablest scientific chemists, all agree that the food coming from such a process is necessarily pure, and is many times more healthy than butter. If, however, the cream could be churned into butter as soon as it is formed, and not allowed to stand long enough to absorb the germs from the air, butter so made would probably be as pure, or nearly as pure for the stomach as oleomargerine now on the market. The fat of cold meats would be considered the next best brain food to the so-called adulterated butter. A variety of food is necessary for the sustenance of the brain cells, and the full development of the body. It has been proven that if a person should live upon one kind of food alone, he would eventually become insane. A healthy person can eat almost anything, as a goat is supposed to do, without injury to the brain, and the greater the variety of food the better the brain growth. Fresh salmon stands among the very first of the brain foods. Lean meat, and meat not well cooked is an in- jury rather than a benefit to the health of the brain. No child under ten years of age should be permitted to taste lean meat. The feeding of meat to children in their infancy, often results in convulsions and death, and a tendency to fits. Between the ages of ten and fifteen, the meat of chil- dren (if lean) should be well cooked, and not the slightest trace of red apparent. It is a great mistake to think that red meat, or insufficiently cooked meat furnishes more strength than well cooked meat. The value of this kind of food is in the fibre, and not in the juice. The ox and horse, and many of the strongest and finest 42 BRAIN REGIME. animals never taste meat in a life time, and if persons should never indulge in this article of food until after the age of twenty, the result would be finer brains, and a better nervous system. It has been proven that the longest life, the rosiest cheeks, the most gratifying health, are rewards of a strictly vegetable diet, but as the human stomach is capable of digesting animal food in small proportions, it is probably not deleterious to the health to use meat, if plenty of other food is taken with it. There are cer- tain vices, including intemperance and morbid appetites, that are a curse upon the name of man, that have been completely cured by a resort to an entirely vegetable diet. We have in mind several persons who have been slaves to desires, over which they seem to have no con- trol, and habits that are beastly, who struggled in vain, to throw off the fetters, and who never succeeded until they discarded the use of ♦meat. Probably the noblest animal that treads the earth is the horse, being the strongest and swiftest, having the finest brain; and yet meat forms no part of his diet. We do not make these remarks for the purpose of advising people to dis- card the use of meat, but we simply say that when used it should be thoroughly cooked, should never be given to a person under ten years, and if possible not until the age of twenty. The best brain food is oxygen. Air is nutritious, and while a person could not live on air alone, he could get more of the essence of life out of the food taken into the stomach, if five times more oxygen were taken into the lungs. All fruits are of immense value to the brain. Persons have claimed that fruits in the morning are THE BEST BRAIN FOODS. 43 golden, at noon silver, and at night lead. This is as sheer nonsense as is the statement that if you go into a building at one door and out at another, ill luck will follow. There are a certain class of alarmists, who give vent to their energies by saying things to hear how they will sound. Fruit at all time is golden, if it is not over-ripe nor under-ripe. A slight speck or decay in any fruit ruins the entire fruit, carries vege- table decay into the stomach, which may lead to fever or blood poisoning. The person who eats the most fruit, will have the best brain. Oat meal is rarely ever beneficial to the brain, and in a majority of cases is a severe irritant to the stomach and liver, and often causes skin eruptions. It is a food for horse and not for man. A gruel made of oat-meal, accompanied by plenty of exercise in the open air, might be slightly beneficial. Corn bread is over-heating to the blood, causes pimples, and an irregular heart action, and if eaten at all, should be eaten in small proportions. There is a notion prevailing that whole wheat is bet- ter than the wheat ground into flour. But it must be remembered that the bran is apt to cause blood humors by its irritation. The most stupid intellects are found in persons who eat the coarser grains, especially oat-meal and corn-meal. The idea that oysters are a valuable brain food has also been exploded. There is much less nutrition in the oyster than is supposed. It is best when raw. Starch foods, pure milk, either boiled or iced, eggs cooked in any way, except fried, and almond nuts, are splendid brain foods; all other nuts are positively inju- rious to the blood, and in some instances have been known to cause severe nervous excitement, resulting in 44 BRAIN REGIME. convulsions. Tea, coffee, liquors, tobacco, all stimulants and all narcotics feed upon the brain, and tend to ex- haust it, instead of supplying it. A person who will follow the suggestions laid down in this chapter, as to the best foods for the brain will soon have'the best brains. Have you friends in whose mental or physical health you take a personal interest? If so, will you place this book within their reach? OHAPTEE IX. A LOOK INTO THE THINKING BRAIN. Wherever there is gray matter in the body, the thinking brain is located. Without going into the separate divisions so common in medical works, it is sufficient to say that the entire body thinks. Even the bones that have no nerves, have some slight mental activity. There is a responsive accord in the entire body; so much so, that if we lose a portion of it, it seems to stay with us in its former place. The hand that is cut off seems to be upon the arm w?ith its old aches and pains; the limb that is amputated, still ex- tends to the floor and is part of the system. We must learn to accommodate ourselves to the fact that we are an entirety, that the soul is in the mind, and the mind is in the body, and all three are co-extensive. Let us trace, if possible, the thinking brain to its origin. It has always been regarded as a mystery, and unless we look upon it as a practical fact, it may still be so re- garded for all time to come. Thought in its simplest essence is only the realization of some fact which may be retrospective, present or an- (45) 46 BRAIN REGIME. ticipative. No retrospective thought ever comes to the brain, that has not been suggested by some thing that has been called to our attention. No anticipative thought, as for instance, a wish or a hope or anxiety, can exist unless it is associated with something we have heard about or have personally know7n ; therefore, it be- comes very simple to understand what thought is, when we regard it merely as the realization of some fact. Even the visions, plans, air castles and schemes of dreamers and thinkers; the inventions of original brains, the creation of poets, are all the out-growth of something that has existed, and come within our knowl- edge. Our belief in the future w7orld, our description of Heaven, our anticipation of the glories of life to come, are narrowed by the limit of our knowledge of things in this world. We cannot think about, or imag- ine anything to exist which is different from something that we know of, therefore we must accept the fact that thought is only a reproduction of our experiences. We are about to undertake the study of the mind, and carry the process of thought into the most elaborate ramifica- tions. The thinking brain is dependent upon the health of the physical brain ; but the physical brain is located in the head and spinal column, whereas the thinking brain is located in the five senses which involve the entire body. In order to develop the thinking brain we must first seek to establish the health of the physical brain. This having been done we must take two steps further. First, develop the intellectual activity of the brain; and second, employ this activity in the strongest and grandest manner possible. t CHAPTER X. DEVELOPMENT OF THE THINKING BRAIN. If we had never seen but one object in life, and never had but one idea, we could think about nothing but that. But every person arriving at the age of fifteen, has probably had 100,000 different ideas, or that many combinations of a fewer number of ideas. Ideas come to us through the five senses, and the employment of the five senses for the development of the thinking brain is, of course, the essential thing. The following exercise should be practiced daily :— Get a good sized hand book; write down the date of the first entry, and then commence with a single sense, say the sense of taste, write down the word "taste." The very first thought that the word taste suggests to you should be written down, and numbered two. It is more than likely that it will suggest some kind of food, possibly " apple ; " but whatever thought first conies to the mind should be written down after it. If the word " apple " is suggested, write down the next thought that comes after it, being sure not to take any except the very next immediate thought. The purpose of this re- (47) * 48 BRAIN REGIME. quirement is to prevent mind wandering, which is a common disease, while at the same time we seek to de- velop the activity of the thinking brain. If the word "apple" suggests,a tree, write that down, or if it sug- gests the street where you bought it, write that down, or the man who sold it, write that down, or the friend who gave it, write that down ; but write down the thought that comes first, therefore be quick with the pencil. If the mind does not catch, and cannot determine which is the first thought that comes to it, it shows at once a mental weakness. Weak-minded people drift badly in their thoughts, and herein we get one of the causes of sleeplessness. A mind of strongest calibre will be able to nail each suggested thought as fast as it occurs. This exercise we call the "GAMUT OF SUGGESTION." The author offers the following gamut of suggestion : any test being one of the five senses, giving the thoughts as they first occur to him ; using the first thought sug- gested by each step. Before giving them, however, we will show how easily the mind could have been weak- ened by the process of mind wandering, which always avoids following out the first word suggested. For in- stance the word " taste " suggested " apple," but might have suggested, had the mind been wandering, " apple, pears, grapes, cake, ice-cream, turkey," and many other things. The mind wanderer, or the weak brained person would have drifted into a variety of things, but the growing brain would have stopped at the first fruit suggested, and compelled that word to suggest a word outside of its own classication. DEVELOPMENT OF THE THINKING BRAIN. 49 Everything that is good to eat would come under the classification of the first idea suggested. While this may seem a fine point to the pupil who is beginning to study brain regime, it possesses a world of importance to the man who desires to cultivate brain growth. Do we make ourselves clear ? The growing brain steps at once from one classifica- tion to another: the weak brain loiters about the same classification, and drifts through a variety of ideas in that division. Now the wrord apple would next suggest the source from which it came, through the grocer who sold it, the friend who gave it, the tree that bore it, or the closet that contained it. But all of these belong to a single classification, and the first idea coming to the mind should be the only one in that classification that is adopted. Otherwise, the progress may stop. Having offered these explanations, we will give the authors gamut of suggestion in taste. 1. Taste. 2. 3. 4. Tongue. Apple. Tree. 5. Orchard. 6. 7. Country. Farm. 8. House. 9. The owner. 10. His home. 11. Absence from home. 12. Location in the city. 13. His business as a grocer. 50 , BRAIN REGIME. 14. His selling vegetables. 15. Taste. By this process of thought we come to the end, when we reach the place we started from. But the journey the mind has taken, if it has taken the first idea in new classifications step by step, has formed the first process toward strengthening the mind, and giving solidity, health and development to the brain activities. A process like this results in close thinking and splendid control of the mind. When a person can pass through a gamut of suggestion, it is an indication at once of the very best condition of the mind. The Author's Gamut in Smell. The brain exists in the five senses, and smell is one of these senses. The gamut is as follows:— 1. The nose. 2. Its beak. 3. The Jew. 4. His daughter. 5. Rebecca. 6. Ivanhoe. 7. Walter Scott. 8. Bankruptcy. 9. Hard work. 10. Sleeplessness. 11. Nervous prostration. 12. Confinement to bed. 13. Attendance of friends. 14. Bringing of flowers. 15. Their fragrance. 16. The nose. DEVELOPMENT OF THE THINKING BRAIN. 51 Each one of these gamuts should stop when the first idea of its classification suggested by any preceding idea brings the mind back to its starting point. The purpose of this process is to confine the mind to the proper limits of strength, and at the same time give it variety of action. Author's Gamut of Hearing. 1. The ear. 2. A cry. 3. Going to a window7. 4. The street below. 5. A runaway horse. 6. A child in danger. 7. A brave boy. 8. A bank bill. 9. A deposit in the bank. 10. A teller. 11. An extravagant wife. 12. A defalcation. 13. Canada. 14. Snow. 15. Sleighing. 16. Horses. 17. Maud S. 18. A race. 19. Victory. 20. Shouts. 21. The ear. A rapid sequence of thought, involving as many ideas as those presented in this last gamut, and the journey of as great extent can be taken in half a second 52 brain regime. of time. No wonder therefore, that the brain in dream- ing lives through many events in a brief moment. The Author's Gamut of Touch. This involves another of the five senses. 1. The hand. 2. Greeting of a friend. 3. A morning walk. 4. A river. 5. An excursion. 6. An ocean. 7. Europe. 8. London. 9. Westminster. 10. The tomb. 11. Death. 12. Disintegation of the body. 13. The soil. 14. Growth of grain. 15. Flour. 16. A flour mill. 17. Machinery. 18. A planing mill. 19. A buzz saw. 20. Carelessness. 21. The loss of the hand. Author's Gamut of Sight. 1. The eye. 2. The sky. 3. The clouds. development of the thinking brain. 53 4. Vapor. 5. Steam. 6. Locomotive. 7. The fireman. 8. Coal. 9. The coal mine. 10. The miner. 11. The lamp. 12. An explosion. 13. Grave. 14. Burial. 15. Cemetery. 16. Trees. 17. Landscape. 18. The eye. The student of these pages in dealing with this process ol thought must in every instance, be sure to write down at once the first thought which comes to him, and be very careful not to allow a thought to suggest asso- ciates in the same classification. The act of writing is of itself very valuable, as it is one of the best trainings of the brain. The next step, which is more intricate, consists in taking each gamut and separating it into a tree. Each sense should be employed daily to make a gamut, and each gamut should be quite different, and will, in fact, be so if the directions which are given are strictly followed. Before developing the gamut into a tree be sure that only one word in a classification has been taken. In order to make a tree, a large sheet of paper called a chart of mental suggestions should be obtained, which of course should be entirely blank. The word at 54 BRAIN REGIME. the bottom of this chart in the center should be that of the sense employed, as for instance, the sense of taste, then a straight line should be run up the middle of the paper, and branchings right and left should be attached to the main trunk; for instance, the branch of the au- thor's gamut would be "apple," and so on, using each one of the words which were written down. Each word represents the first that comes to the mind, of its own classification; there being as many classifications as there are words, and, consequently, as many branches. Under each branch write every word that occurs to the mind in that classification, for instance, the word " taste " suggests anything that is food. Therefore, every kind of food that occurs readily and easily to the mind, should be written down as fast as it occurs, but in no instance must the brain be forced to seek after some word or thought. When this tree is finished, look it over and see what you have, and you will be able thereby to judge of the fertility of your own brain. This forms a simple tree; to make it complex take a larger sheet of paper; put down the same trunk as before, and the same branches, and make each word which is given in each main branch to the beginning of secondary branches. The simple tree will more than likely have about 300 words, and consequently, 300 distinct ideas in it. Each secondary branch ought to develop about 20 words or ideas, and therefore, a tree may, without diffi- culty, contain 6,000 ideas, and yet each be evolved after the principles laid down in this chapter. Mind wandering is a great fault, and may be said to be the greatest disease of the thinking brain. To test DEVELOPMENT OF THE THINKING BRAIN. 55 its presence as a malady, let the person attend church and endeavor to catch every idea uttered by the minister in his sermon, or read in the bible, or from the hymn. The ability to fix the mind upon the ideas as they are uttered is of incalculable value; even if the ideas are dull. It means the development of the application of the brain, which indicates its greatest mental strength. The time is not far distant when these exercises will be taught in every school and college. The result would be a generation of stronger minds, and better scholars. CHAPTER XI. {By permission from another work.) MENTAL VISION. This is by far the prettiest, the noblest, and the most fascinating division of our study. It creates thought. By Mental Vision, is meant a clear, well felt concep- tion in the mind of the person of the thought he would utter in words. Here it is only requisite that the person shall clearly see in himself what he would express to another. The Active Will is toned down to a mental picture admirably impressed upon the brain of a speaker. This subject has been treated of before, but no exercises have ever been given by any author or teacher for the develop- ment of Mental Vision. The greatest of the world's thinkers have all been possessors of this gift. All great and impressive speakers have been fanciful, that quality of expression which connects the orator with his hearers. (56) MENTAL VISION. 57 The practice of Mental Vision begets fancy—thereby making the speaker, or the conversationalist, original, interesting, and a good user of language. It can safely be said that the successful professional men, who depend wholly or partially upon the use of the voice in the practice of their profession, as well as all others, will improve in their impressive power in proportion as they cultivate this quality. 1st Exercise. The earlier practice in Mental Vision should be con- fined to quotations of other authors. We will take a line at random; one from the lore of our youth. " The boy stood on the burning deck." Did you ever see a ship, or a picture of one, or read a description of a vessel, so that you can bring its shape before your mind? If not, there can be no mental vision. Moral, never attempt to talk about anything you are not familiar with. But if your answer was in the affirmative, close your eyes, and do not open them until you can see before the mind's eyes, in the very brain, a ship. Bring to your view mentally, the width, the length, the decks, the bow, the stern, the masts, the ropes, sails, men and all. If you are subject to the disease called mind-wandering, this will cure it. Who is entirely free from mind-wandering? Who at church listens to every word, and keeps the attention fixed upon the thoughts that are being uttered? Lack of interest, you say. That is no excuse, and it is a danger- ous practice to hear a part and not the whole of any thing. Mind-wandering is developed in that way, and once incurred is a pathway of intellectual ruin, often 58 BRAIN REGIME. ending in softening of the brain. Mental vision will completely eradicate this evil. At first you may not be able to call to mind the ship or its details. The author has often been called upon to treat this evil for professional gentlemen, and in over two thou- sand cases coming under his care, he found but two persons entirely free from mind-wandering. They were exceptionally brilliant and capable men, and full of the freshness of life. Of the others (who were all unfor- tunate enough to have the disease), he succeeded in every instance in curing it. The result proved most satisfactory. The change in the intellectual calibre was quite marked. The cure was established solely by the exercises in mental vision. One gentleman could not, on shutting his eyes, perceive anything at all. Instead of keeping him on one exercise too long, he was carried from exercise to exercise repeatedly and for many weeks. At last he began to see mentally the dim outlines of a ship. " I have it! " he exclaimed. The outlines deepened and finally stood out in bold relief. Moral, never give up the ship. Unsuccessful people try a thing a few times, do not succeed, and throw it up in disgust. Un- successful people are full of disgust for everything, and for everybody. The fault is due to their impatience, and their incredulity; unless, perhaps, their laziness is also in the case. Continue in the exercise by closing the eyes, and again calling up the ship before you. What kind of a ship do you see? What color? Where is the boy? Do you see his face? What expression do you see upon the face? What part of the ship is on fire? Do you see MENTAL VISION. 59 the curling smoke, the red and yellow flames ? Are they near the boy ? Is it night or day ? Open the eyes and see in the air before you, mentally, every detail as above called for, as you repeat the line orally. " The boy stood on the burning deck." 2d Exercise. " Oh, a wonderful stream is the river time, As it runs through the realm of tears, With a faultless rhythm and a musical rhyme, And a boundless sweep and a surge sublime, As it blends with the Ocean of Years." Close the eyes and repeat the first line silently. Call up before your mind a stream, a river, a long river, just like some river you have seen or heard about. Have you ever been upon the banks of a river, or on its bosom? Recall the same stream. AVas it in the sum- mer? At twilight, or in the morning? Who was with you? Was the occasion pleasant? Where did this river have its source? Where do all rivers originate? Can you see the mountains or hills, the upland scenery where a small stream babbles among the rocks, and can you follow it down through the country it must pass through ere it reaches you ? It skirts little towns and villages, divides farms, runs mills, and bears the one sad story of life at every turn it makes. Time is compared to a river. The Mental Vision carries us far back beyond the records, even of geo- logical data, and we see the on-flowing stream, until it has reached us. 60 BRAIN REGIME. The second line of the verse is capable of great enlargement. The pupil must now begin to create. Earthly life is a vale of tears. The river time did not originate in this life. It was flowing on long before, and in its course passes through the vale of tears. Thought flashes in an instant over a thousand scenes of life. A dying man may recall in a few seconds the wickedness of a life time. So we can now think of every great sorrow we have witnessed. One scene will perhaps stand out above all others. The habit of Mental Vis- ion, once formed, w'ill always enable us to see everything in the boldest relief and the strongest pictures occupy but the fractional part of a second. Let the pupil fill out the mind pictures for the rest of the verse. All of the five senses come in for a share of the creative ability of the brain ; as for instance, the per- ception of sound may be made very acute in recalling beautiful songs, or the voices of loved ones, long since counted among the memories of the past; we can taste delicacy; we can feel the blow, the pain, the wound, the touch, the kiss, once more ; we can inhale the fra- grance of the rose, or the balmy air of some spring day just freshening into blossoming May or the evening odors wafted to us by some gentle summer zephyr, as we walked in hope when love breathed its first sigh into confessing words ; all these and thousands more of the experiences of the past can be summoned into the active present, by the aid of Mental Vision. The acquirement of the art is rather slow, but when the wedge is first entered the hardest part of the battle is over. MENTAL VISION. 61 Recall the music of some river you have heard flow- ing; the rhythm, the murmur, the ripple, the dash, will all live again. Here is the perfection of speaking and reading. In so far as you can see and experience clearly in your own mind the thought to be expressed, to the same extent will your hearer see and experience the same thing. This is a curious problem. How it can be explained is far from certain. Some thoughtful student will one day solve it. The author will be under many obliga- tions to any person who will shed more light upon the subject. 3d Exercise. How the winters are drifting, like flakes of snow, And the summers like buds between; And the year in the sheaf—so they come and they go, On the river's breast, with its ebb and flow As it glides in the shadow and sheen. The emphatic ideas generally should receive the Mental Vision. " Winter." Close the eyes and recall all the past winters of your life. What one was the pleasantest? AVhat the saddest? What occurred in each? Where were you at the time? Do you now see the people who were with you then? The house? The town or country site? Do they come back as vividly as they were once real? " Snow." Enlarge this. See before you some great drifts; see the long expanse of field, all white. " Summers." Can you with the mind's eye recall the verdure everywhere, the blossoms opening into flowers, 62 BRAIN REGIME. the out-door life, the old times, and one perhaps happier or sadder than any other. In a flash all these should be present. " Sheaf." The harvest; the fall of fruit, flower and grain. Enlarge this, and put the results on paper, then call them up as mental pictures. " Glides." You can see very easily the gliding movement of the river; the overhanging banks and cliffs, and trees that mirror their shapes on the glassy surface; here you glide into the shadow, and out again into the sunlight. Do you see this or any part of it ? Do not practice one exercise too long. 4th Exercise. " Friends, Romans, Countrymen." Close the eyes. What do you see ? Where are you ? What kind of people do you behold ? Can you des- cribe their faces, costumes, manners ? A former pupil of the author,—a now famous painter—has said that through the aid of Mental Vision he has been able to conceive the true costumes and faces of the ancients; he discovered this fact after painting several important pictures solely from imagination, and then received proofs of their correctness, which he had not at hand at the time the work was done. His friends, not being satisfied with his claims, tested him by giving partial descriptions of scenes, which he reproduced with such perfection as to excite charges of collusion. Another pupil a lady of twenty, whose ancestors came from another country, and whose paternal grand- mother was buried in a grave-yard near a German farm, had occasion for the first time in her life to visit the MENTAL VISION. 63 place. She had never been in the country. Arriving at the grave-yard she found her grandmother's grave at once, and exclaimed : " The white fence is down." This fence had been there at the time of the funeral thirty years before and had lasted but eleven years. To some of the old residents this lady described her grand- mother's home, with the garden, farm, orchard and vineyard as they used to be, although great changes had been made since her death, of which the grand- daughter could have had no knowledge. Other similar stories have come to the author's ear, but the two just related seem the most reliable. If the claim of these people is well founded it would seem that by heredity we may recall scenes and people of other days through the instrumentality of Mental Vision. How far the few genuine cases of mediumistic clair- voyancy may be founded on natural Mental Vision we do not know, but if it is in any way connected, we have a rational explanation of seemingly irrational phe- nomena. It may be that some day all the strange apparitions, ghosts, warnings, rappings, communications, etc., will be traced simply to nervous conditions, where fraud is absent. To come back to the exercise,—we are addressing the Roman populace: the dead body of Caesar lies near by. Picture it clearly before you. The outlines must not be dim. If any uncertainty rests in the mind of the speaker as to the clearness of the picture in the mind, that uncertainty will dwell in the minds of the hearers. 5th Exercise. "I thrice presented him with a kingly crown, which he did thrice refuse." 64 BRAIN REGIME. Imagine yourself standing before the Roman popu- lace. Have the mob well pictured in your mind, their various heights, sizes, facial expressions, and attitudes; see all these details in the air before you and around you; then shut the e}7es, keeping the mob still im- printed upon the mind and call up a scene within a scene,—a vision Avithin a vision,—the event of a previous day when the crown was offered to Cseser and he refused it. Picture the occasion as well as you can, allowing the imagination to take such flights, as it will in sup- plying the details. Do not have the " presentation scene" too empty. See the building, or place, its sur- roundings, its furniture, its people; behold Caesar's face; call before you the crown, what it looked like; and so continue through the entire process of Mental Vision. Having given examples for this practice, and having partially supplied the visionary scenes for the pupil, we now ask the pupil to create his own scenes, supplying all the details himself. The examples below are divided into four classes:— 1—Things. 2—Qualities. 3—Nature. 4—Supernatural. Each pupil should write out, after each attempt at mental vision, what he saw; and keep adding any new details with each attempt until he has filled the scene. Do not sit down and compose, but shut the eyes and imagine, then write the sights seen. OHAPTEE XII. THE CREATION OF THOUGHT. {Developed from the last chapter.) It may require months to even "start" the process of mental vision; but when once started, it grows very rapidly. Each one of the following examples should be prac- ticed upon, for a long time, and when you think you have a perfect scene, send it to some teacher for exami- nation. People with genius will have this gift at the start. It will create thought. THINGS. 6th Exercise.—" When he himself might his quietus make with a bare bodkin! " 7th Exercise.—" That, like a toad, ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in his head." 8th Exercise.—" O, then, how quickly should this arm of mine, now prisoner to the palsy, chastise thee." 5 (65) 66 BRAIN REGIME. 9th Exercise.—" ' Twas midnight in Seville; and faintly shone from one small lamp, a dim un- certain ray within Murillo's study." 10th Exercise.—" A moment, and the funeral light flashed on the jewelled weapon bright." 11th Exercise.—" And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting, on the pallid bust of Pallas, just above my chamber door." 12th Exercise.—"Mendez upon his canvas found, Not his own work of yesterday, But, glowing in the morning ray, A sketch, so rich, so pure, so bright, It almost seemed there were given To glow before his dazzled sight, Tints and expressions warm from heaven. QUALITIES. 13th Exercise.—Pride. " Proudly he towers ; his flash- ing eye, so blue and fiercely bright, Seems lighted from the eternal sky, so brilliant is its light." 14th Exercise.—Freedom. " Up, mother, up ! I'm free! I'm free! The choice was death or slavery." 15th Exercise.—Hope. " Ah well! for us all some sweet hope lies, deeply buried from human eyes." 16th Exercise.—Sadness. " And such a want-wit sad- ness makes of me, that I have much ado to know myself." 17th Exercise.—Pity. "Alas! poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy." THE CREATION OF THOUGHT. 67 18th Exercise.—Love. " My angel mother, I love thy memory." 19th Exercise.—Joy. " O ! Joy, my welcone stranger! twice three years have I not felt thy vital beam, but now it warms my veins and plays about my heart." NATURE. 20th Exercise.—" And this our life exempt from public haunts, Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in everything." 21st Exercise.—" This bud of love, by summer's ripen- ing breath, may prove a beauteous flower when next we meet." 22d Exercise.—" Perhaps you may have seen some day, roses crowding the self-same way, out of a wild- ing, way-side bush." 23d Exercise.—" Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll! " 24th Exercise.—" 'Tis midnight's holy hour, and silence now Is brooding like a gentle spirit o'er The still and pulseless world." 25th Exercise.—" On the stream and wrood, With melancholy light, the moonbeams rest Like a pale, spotless shroud." 26th Exercise.—" The past looks on me from thy mournful eyes, The beauty of our free and vernal days; Our communings with sea, and hill and sky— O, take the bright world from my spirit's gaze!" 68 BRAIN REGIME. 27th Exercise.—" I have passed o'er the hills of the stormy north And the larch has hung all his tassels forth, The fisher is out on the sunny sea, And the reindeer bounds through the pasture free, And the pine has a fringe of softer green, And the moss looks bright where my step has been." 28th Exercise.—" The summer is hastening on soft winds borne." 29th Exercise.—" Look how the floor of heaven is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold " 30th Exercise.—" One by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven, blossomed the lovely stars, the for- get-me-nots of the angels." SUPERNATURAL. 31st Exercise.—" Over the river they beckon to me ; Loved ones, who have passed to the other side." 32d Exercise.—" And I sit and think, Avhen the sunset's gold Is flushing river and hill and shore, I shall one day stand by the water cold And list to the sound of the boatman's oar." 33d Exercise.—" The undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveler returns." 34th Exercise.—" And in the hereafter angels may Roll the stone from its tomb away." 35th Exercise.—" Eternity ! thou pleasing, dreadful thought! THE CREATION OF THOUGHT. 69 Through what variety of untried being, Through what new scenes and changes must we pass! The wide, the unbounded prospect lies before me." 36th Exercise.—" But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, Unhurt amid the war of elements. The wreck of matter, and the crash of worlds!" 37th Exercise.—"Sweet as remembered kisses after death." 38th Exercise.—" And withered murder, alarmed by his sentinel the wolf! " 39th Exercise.—" Then came wandering by A shadow like an angel, with bright hair Dabbled in blood, and he shrieked aloud,— With that, methought, a legion of foul fiends Environed me, and howled in mine ears." 40th Exercise.—" Nearer my Father's house, Where many mansions be ; Nearer the great white throne, Nearer the crystal sea." 41st Exercise.—" There are hands that are waved when the fairy shore By the mirage is lifted in air." 42d Exercise.—" We sometimes hear through the tur- bulent roar Sweet voices we heard in the days gone before, When the wind down the river is fair." Each one of the foregoing exercises should be prac- ticed two thousand times. It is immaterial whether the pupil possesses mental vision naturally, or lacks it en- 70 BRAIN REGIME. entirely; the improvement will surely come, and will be added to whatever acquirements or gifts the pupil already possesses. Give the whole thought for the time being to the ex- ercise which is being practiced. Do everything faithfully. Be very slow and deliberate in summoning each Vis- ion to the mind, and wait patiently until it arrives. The more details you can perceive in each scene the greater is your genius. CHAPTER XTII. EXERCISES FOR STRENGTHENING WEAK MINDS. In the preceding chapter we discussed the develop- ment of the thinking brain. We now wish to give the reader of this little volume a course of exercises for the purpose of stimulating the processes of thought in the right direction. Weak-minded people either think but little or else dwell a long while upon one subject. We can almost always tell an intellectual person by looking into his face, for something in the eyes and general shape of the features reveals the story of the mind. In order to reach the remedy for weak-mindedness, we should first discover the elements of this deficiency, and this may be done by spending a few days in the society of weak- minded people. The following facts appear to be well verified by the author's experience:— In the case of weak-minded people who do but little thinking, the brain seems to be in a state of rest as in sleep. Even with the objects around them and the activity of life constantly presenting new scenes before (71) 72 BRAIN REGIME. them, they pay little attention to anything. It is prob- able the case that the mental faculties are asleep. If we could look into the brain of such a person we could probably find but few lines, or wrinkles, or convolutions there, to indicate its activity. In the case of other per- sons who are weak-minded, the fault seems to be that the mind is unable to leave the subject which is presented to it until some other topic is forced upon the brain. The author has known a person who has been in the habit of sitting alone in a room, to be addressed upon the subject of his own health, who made a few frag- mentary remarks about it, and w7hen it was supposed that the matter was exhausted he would return to the same topic at intervals during the day, even ten hours after, when no intervening remark had been made on that subject, and no person had brought any other mat- ter before his mind. Likewise a lady being asked what was her favorite flower, showed her weak-mindedness by speaking of roses and the many times she had seen them, even as late as two days after the question was asked her. This latter evidence of mental weakness which fixes the mind upon one subject seems to indicate that the brain is thrown into a cataleptic condition or partially so, with reference to all other matters except that which is being talked about. The brains of all humanity may be considered as representing only degrees of mental weakness or strength, and where the dividing line is, it would be difficult to determine; but when a person is capable of only think- ing of one subject at a time, and where one thought never leads into a train of ideas the weakness may be very marked indeed. Fully one-half of all the people in the FOR STRENGTHENING WEAK MINDS. 73 world, among the civilized nations may be classified on the side of the weak-minded, and this fact would repre- sent the various degrees of weak-minded people; from the imbecile who does no logical thinking at all, and to whom an idea presents no association with the outside world, up to the most advanced class of people in this division who approach the middle line which divides people of average mental strength from those who may be classified as weak-minded. It is at this middle line that many interesting problems are presented to us; for people who lack ordinary mental strength, cannot be said to be decidedly weak-minded, and yet would be looked upon as partially unbalanced. Let us for a little while investigate this half of humanity, called the weak-minded classes. We make the following divisions :— 1st. Imbeciles. 2d. Persons who do no coherent thinking. 3d. Persons who can only think of one subject at a time, which must be forced upon their attention. 4th. Persons who can only originate one subject at a time. 5th. Persons who think of two or more subjects, but disconnectedly. 6th. Persons who are capable of conducting a train of thought, but only to a limited extent. 7th. Persons who have average mental capacity, but are subject to the influences of circumstances. 8th. Persons who have more than the average mental capacity, but are subject to the influence of other people. This eighth division will embrace the entire class known as weak-minded persons, and as we have said 74 BRAIN REGIME. before, would include at least one-half of the civilized world; and probably a still greater proportion. It is a curious fact that in this class, nearly, if not all, of the world's poor may be found. If they are fortunate enough to possess wealth, it will generally be found to be due to inheritance or accident. Neither is it always true that a weak-minded person would neces- sarily be poor; but the reverse may be stated as a general fact, that a poor person is weak-minded. A remark of this kind, may seem uncharitable, and cruel, but an in- vestigation into the causes of poverty would indicate that there is more truth than fiction in what we have said. Of course, we do not mean to include those un- fortunate beings who are the victims of circumstances over which no perso.n could have control, but even as to them the remark has more truth than would at first seem apparent. The first or lowest class of weak-minded people are those who may be said to have no minds at all.—Imbe- ciles. Those we have already referred to. The second class includes persons who do no coherent thinking. They have some mind, but it is undeveloped. For them there is a cure, but for imbeciles there is probably none; although the author feels assured that should a person, understanding Avherein the fault lies, devote his life to the restoration of imbeciles, results of a favorable nature might be obtained; but no one is willing to make this sacrifice. However, persons who belong to the second class, that is, those w7ho are capable of doing no coherent thinking, may be cured by the exercise which we are about to give. Although they are termed imbeciles by some physicians, they are in fact not so. FOR STRENGTHENING WEAK MINDS. 75 The following exercises should be given to such per- sons as often as possible, and will apply to those that belong to the next or third class, namely, persons who can think of but one subject at a time which must be forced upon their vision. Exercise. Take one object, and place it before the person upon whose mind it is to operate, and ask the question; " What is it." The answer will invariably be given correctly. For instance a book may be employed. If the person belongs to the second or third classes, the aid of some other person to ask the question should be em- ployed. Of course, the first class, known as imbeciles, are entirely out of our reach, but if you who possess this book belong to the fourth or fifth classes you can ask yourself the questions without the aid of other persons; in fact, self study is more beneficial than the aid of friends to help you. We have said that the book is placed in view; and, to the question, " What is it," the answer has been given " A book." The next question is a test: " How do you know it is a book? " Insist that the answer be put in writing and preserved for future reference. The struggle of the brain, even in a person of advanced years to find the answer to this question will furnish a little history of the inward process of thought, which would otherwise be effaced from the mind. A complete record of every attempt at answering it, and even of single words in the form of broken answers, (all of which should be recorded ex- 76 BRAIR REGIME. actly as they occur), will throw the mind back into its struggle, and cause it to live over again those most bene- ficial experiences. " How do you know this is a book ? " The brain of the infant commences its growth by these test questions ; of which there are two, which the child seeks to apply to everything not directly in the form of interrogations like this, but through mental processes involving the same struggle. First, What is it; Second, The proof. When the mind can answer the second question which possibly it may not do for hours, or even days, or weeks, it has taken a step which is bound to lift it out of its weak condition. While the question is not too difficult for even weak-minded people to answer, it is also a problem for the stronger minded. It is not that we care for a correct answer; but merely the desire that we have to stimulate in the person the habit of thinking. " How do we know that this is a book ? " " Because people are generally in the habit of calling an object like this a book." " Why should they not call a chair a book." " Because a chair is quite different from a book." " What is a book ? " The answer should be waited for until the person thinks it out, no matter how long it takes. Sooner or later some such answer as this will be given. " A book is an object consisting of leaves, and containing words or pictures." We are taking answers which have been actually given in our experiments with weak-minded people. One person answered, " A book is something we read." We said, " We can read a sign on a building; is that a book." "No." We said, "We can read the FOR STRENGTHENING WEAK MINDS. 77 name on a box of groceries ; is that a book ? " "No." Therefore a book is not always something we read. Each answer that is given should be written down, and this question should be written at the top of the page to be always referred to. Allow no answer which is being given to these questions to apply to any other object. If so, then the answer is insufficient. Notice the difficulties under which the mind has been laboring. We first asked " What is this ? " The answer was given. We next asked " How do you know it is? " The answer was given. We next asked " What is a book ? " Here are three questions. Let them apply to the following objects:— 1. A stove. 2. A peach. 3. An apple. 4. A banana. 5. A barrel. 6. A star. 7. A boy. 8. Fire. 9. The head. 10. A wall. 11. A hat. 12. The floor. 13. A window. 14. A house. 15. A knife. 16. A string. 17. A table. 18. Paint. 19. The snow. 20. The street. 78 BRAIN REGIME. 21. Money. 22. Sugar. 23. Sand. 24. A smile. 25. Heaven. These various objects are selected in the order which they will present difficulties to the mind of those prac- ticing this exercise. We insist that a correct and complete record be made of the processes of the brain, and afterward referred to from time to time. In the cases of persons who belong to the second and third classes, it will require probably a year for satisfactory answers to these twenty-five questions to be made. In finishing this chapter we will say that even persons of the strongest mental capacity will derive much brain strength from practicing the exercise that we have just given, especially if the record be made for reference. The value of such reference will be disclosed when brought into use. The mysterious inflowing of thought surpasses every other wonder in our existence, and fur- nishes food for the gravest reflection. In the next chapter we will deal with six classes of weak-minded people. CHAPTER XIV. EXERCISES FOR INCREASING THE INTEL- LIGENCE OF THE BRAIN. There is a large class of individuals who are capable of conducting trains of thought only disconnectedly; or to limited degrees. For such persons, and for all who wish to elaborate the processes whereby the mind becomes strong, the following exercise is of incalculable benefit. It is called the exercise for conducting a train of thought. It becomes a most interesting pastime. Many people of all classes who wish to improve the brain, and at the same time spend a pleasant evening, will find this and all other exercises given in this book, adapt- able to mind and thought societies. One-half dozen persons working together would be of great help to each other. But if such a number cannot be obtained, let one, at least come to your aid, and if this cannot be done then use slips of paper, upon which write the name of an object. Select at least 25 different objects, entirely disconnected from one another, not having the slightest relation ; write C79) 80 BRAIN REGIME. upon a single piece of paper, using 25 slips of paper. Assort them and draw two. You are then ready for the exercise. If you have others helping you, the sub- jects are to be selected by them and given to you. The Train of Thought Exercise. Rule :—Connect these two objects together by a train of thought, observing the precaution always to make each step in the train of thought to consist of naming an object which is a part of the object which pre- cedes it. Two objects are given, and these are called the points from which you are to go. You may select either object for the first point, the other will be the last point. All the objects which inter- vene are called steps, and each step must contain an object which is a part of that which precedes it; and you must keep traveling until the last point becomes a part of the step next preceding it, thereby making a chain of links all connected together. This process may seem very simple at first, but it is just as difficult for a strong mind as for a weak, and because it presents difficulties to the strong mind, it is not therefore neces- sarily too difficult for the weak-minded person. The Rule, condensed, is:—Each object named must be a part of the object which precedes it. By way of illustration let us select by chance two points, and see if we can take such steps in the train of thought as will connect the two points together. We will take an easy journey at first. for increasing the intelligence. 81 Illustrations of a Train of Thought Exercise. The two objects given us are cherry and table. First point.—Cherry. 1st step.—The cherry has a stem. 2d step.—The stem grew upon a branch. 3d step.—The branch grew upon a tree. 4th step.—The tree furnishes wood. 5th step.—A table is made of wood. Last point.—Table. This is a very easy train of thought. Let us take one now more difficult. Clouds and fire, are two words that seem to furnish ideas exactly opposite. First point.—Clouds. 1st step.—The clouds are composed of vapor. 2d step.—The vapor may be condensed into water. 3d step.—Water may fall from the clouds to the earth. 4th step.—Water running on the earth makes brooks. 5th step.—Brooks flow into rivers. 6th step.—Rivers flow into the ocean. 7th step.—The ocean bears steamships on its bosom. 8th step.—Steamships are propelled by steam. 9th step.—Steam is created by fire. Last point.—Fire. It may be assumed that this last train of thought might have been quite short. If so, in what way ? The mere fact that one idea suggests another would not furnish a correct train of thought; therefore do not make the mistake of following out suggested ideas, but always seek to build a connected 6 82 BRAIN REGIME. and legitimate train of thought. We suggest the fol- lowing words as very good for a writer to start on. 1. House ; Paper collar. 2. Monkey; North Pole. 3. Ink; Roses. 4. Chair; Smoke. 5. Knife; Eyeball. 6. Carpet; Shoe-string. 7. Button; Safe. 8. Flower; Glass. 9. Seed; Mortgage. 10. Chimney; Ice-cream. 11. Gymnasium; Envelope. 12. Baby; Suicide. 13. Match; Strap. 14. Paint; Solomon. 15. Gypsy ; George Washington. 16. Handkerchief; Track. 17. Farm; Cold in the head. 18. Well; London. 19. Mouth ; Congress. 20. Clergymen ; Back yard. 21. Mountain; Watch. 22. Florida; Ice. 23. Ear ; Moses. 24. Corner ; Sunlight. 25. Consumption; Pulpit. Be sure to keep an exact record of the trains of thought. Apply the foregoing exercise to all the words just given ; taking any two of them for the points, and connecting them by proper steps. A most excellent method of practicing the exercise, especially by persons of strong mental powers would be FOR INCREASING THE INTELLIGENCE. 83 to establish one or more intermediate stations between the points, and pass from the first to the last point at proper steps, touching at these stations on the way. Thus if, the first point is " house," and the last point " paper collar," establish as intermediate stations " doughnut" and " Easter Sunday," and connect these two inter- mediate stations by proper steps, making the entire train of thought legitimately connected by the rule given. No person can pass through this exercise without in- creasing the intelligence of the brain to a remarkable degree, and strengthening all the processes of thought. A year or two devoted to this alone, would result in larger brains and larger heads. If a record is not kept the exercise will do but little good. The eye should see what the brain thinks. CHAPTER XV. EXERCISE FOR STRENGTHENING MINDS WHICH ARE EASILY INFLUENCED BY OTHER PERSONS OR CIRCUMSTANCES. In the list of weak-minded persons the last two classes refer to those who possess average mental capacity, but are easily influenced by circumstances, and those who have more than the average mental capacity, but are easily influenced by persons. The lives of many persons are broadened with these great influences. We are the creatures of circumstances; we yield to influences about us. We cross bridges before we come to them. We borrow trouble. We fear consequences. All these things indicate mental weakness. The mind has two tendencies: one toward the bright side, and one toward the dark side. Persons possessing the former are called Optimists, the latter are called Pessimists. Whatever of beauty or of grandeur there is in the world is ascribable to the former class : those who look on the bright side of everything. (84) FOR STRENGTHENING MINDS. 85 Whenever we are worried or influenced by any cir- cumstances observe the following Rule. Write down the particular circumstance which annoys us, making a record of it in a book to be kept perma- nently, in which the date must also be entered. Write answers to the following questions:— 1. How did this circumstance happen ? 2. What are the prospects of its terminating un- pleasantly? (by a legitimate train of'thought.) 3. What are the prospects of its terminating pleas- antly ? 4. What is your belief in this regard? 5. How soon in all probability will the matter end? 6. Could the thing have beeen prevented, and if so how? 7. What prediction do you make in regard to it ? As this book on Brain Regime deals with you person- ally and affects your very best interests, it should be kept as a matter of sacred privacy. You may loan it to others only for the purpose of interesting them in this study, and thereby understanding the importance of this method. Having answered the foregoing questions, wait until all the influences arising from the circumstances which caused you to worry have passed away, and then com- pare the result with your production, and answer the further question:— Did you cross the bridge unnecessarily? But there is a class of people who are influenced not by circumstances, but by their fellow beings. They are 86 BRAIN REGIME. strong in all other particulars, but weak in their conflict with the world. The only thing we can say to them is to build a strong will power under the method taught by Edmund Shaftesbury, in his book on " Personal Magnetism." By personal magnetism is not meant hypnotism, which is only a species of catalepsy; but by personal magnetism we mean a perfect health of the nervous system ; a perfect power of the mental develop- ment, which makes men and women monarchs of man- kind. Assuming that you either possess, or will possess the Shaftesbury book on Magnetism, (and the way to obtain it without cost is stated in a subsequent chapter of this book), we will add the following suggestions:— Whenever you determine to do a thing, seek to com- pare your strength with that of another by asking advice. If the advice is adverse, but you know that the thing you intend to do can in no way produce harm, perform it at all hazards. This will tend to place your mind upon its own independent action, and will enable you to decide for yourself. Another good plan is to find what pleasure is most strongly anticipated for a day, and when the time for enjoying it arrives postpone it to the following day, if it can be done without detriment to others. Another excellent plan, and one of the best of all, is to spend three months in the observance of the following;—Whenever a request is made in your presence, and you feel subject to the personal in- fluence of a person, as for instance a book seller, or solicitor of any favor; no matter where you are, find some excuse for delaying the matter a moment FOR STRENGTHENING MINDS. 87 or two, and withdraw from the presence of that person to where you can be absolutely alone, or free from the influence, and then write upon paper or a tablet your resolution, whether you will or will not com- ply with the request. Go back at once to the presence of the person, permit yourself to come under the in- fluence again of the arguments which may be used, and recall the decision that you arrived at, and follow it out at all hazards. One more suggestion: another very good plan is to form the habit of saying the w7ord " No " kindly but firmly. These suggestions, coupled with the study of the Shaftesbury system of Personal Magnetism, will render you impregnable in the presence of any person. Many a man or woman, and especially young man or girl, can be saved from evil by this method. For this reason the present volume should be quietly placed in the hands of all persons whose lives you would make pure and strong. Will you do some good in the world ? CHAPTER X^I. EXERCISES FOR STRENGTHENING THE MEMORY. Let each person examine his mental peculiarities carefully and he will find that one of the most promi- nent is the unstable condition of his mind. This is a hindrance to close thinking. A good speaker is often held back in his otherwise successful career by this disease, for it may be termed such. The secret of strengthening the memory lies in a single fact, that of association. The meaning of associa- tion is the alliance of one thought to another in such a way that the mere presentation of one will at once call up the other. The more this principle is extended the stronger becomes the memory. The first illustration is as follows:— A single line will first be taken. " Full many a gem of purest ray serene." Glance at this line once, then put it behind you and call to mind the w7ord "gem," and repeat aloud any other idea of the line that occurs to you. Again glance at the line and, after putting it aside, repeat as many of (88) STRENGTHENING THE MEMORY. 89 the ideas as possible. To most persons the line is very familiar, but the oral exercise will be beneficial; the use of the voice in stating the associated ideas helping on the habit of expression. We will now take a line with which the pupil is not familiar. " Far in the west a thunder-cloud cast an appalling gloom o'er all the land." The leading.idea of every group, or word picture, must be fixed in the mind, and when this is done, the associa- tions must be sought after. Place the book out of sight for a moment and ask the following questions, answering them as you go along. Where is the thunder-cloud? What part of the west is it in? What effect does it produce? Another ex- ample may then be taken. " Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore." It is always better to find the emphatic word, or the life of the thought, before attempting to call up associa- tions. This will call for a little practice in grouping; but a thorough system of grouping is unnecessary in this work. That is treated of in a complete manner in the book of Emphasis* The first group is as follows: " once upon a midnight dreary," and the " thought word " is " midnight;" the second group is " while I pondered weak and weary," the emphatic, or thought word, being "pondered." The rest of the quotation forms the next group, the word " forgotten " being the emphatic word. *"Lkssons in Emphasis," Pi ice $2. Address Webster Edgeily, P. O. Box 291, Washington, D. C. 90 BRAIN REGIME. Look at the three lines carefully, fix in your mind the number of groups as three, remember that in each group there must be but one leading idea, and then seek to remember these. Place the book aside and recall the three words :— "Midnight;" "pondered;" "forgotten." This should be attempted without having committed the lines to memory. What does the word " midnight" call up in your mind ? Not at first, perhaps, the exact words of the group, but if a single other idea is presented to you in addition to the word "midnight" you have gained that much. Ask the same question, (and answer it aloud,) as to the leading idea of the second group, " pondered." This will be more difficult. The third group is still more difficult. What does the word " for- gotten" suggest? If you are afflicted with mind- wandering—the most common of all diseases—there will be nothing suggested to you by this word. Yet make the effort to recall something. What was for- gotten ? who was forgotten ? why the lore,—the contents of the volume,—the quaint and curious volume of for- gotten lore. This method of training the mind to fix itself on the thoughts of what is read has always cured mind-wandering, and resulted in strengthening both the memory and the brain. The pupil should go over the simpler exercises, so as to be thoroughly conversant with the method, before going ahead with the more extended examples. A longer passage is now taken for practice in group- ing, emphasizing and memorizing through the process of association. This is not a lesson in emphasis; we select the emphatic words only because we wish to have STRENGTHENING THE MEMORY. 91 some words to use, and they are far the best, appealing, as they do, to our intelligence. " A poor old King, | with sorrow for my crown | Throned upon straw, | and mantled with the wind | For pity my own tears have made me blind \ That I might never see my children's frown ; | And may be madness, like a friend, | has thrown A folded fillet over my dark mind | So that unkindly speech may sound for kind | Albeit, I know not, | I am childish grown | And have not gold to purchase wit withal | I, that once maintained most royal state, | A very bankrupt now, | that may not call My child my child, | all beggarded, | save in tears | Wherewith I daily weep an old man's fate, | Foolish, and blind, and overcome with years." It will be found that there are nineteen groups, and as each group has a leading idea, or emphatic word, there are nineteen words to be committed to memory in the order in which they are given, as follows:— " Poor—sorrow—straw— wind—blind—children's— madness —mind —sound—know—childish—purchase— most—bankrupt—child—all—save—daily—overcome." This is a very long selection to be committed to memory all at once, but the pupil may take a line or two at a time if preferable. Do not attempt the plan of association until the words are committed, or as many of them as you intend to use; when this is done so that you can state them easily in their order, you may then call up the associated thoughts, taking word by word in turn. Where you fail to recall a single associated idea, 92 BRAIN REGIME. look at the full text in the book for help. Become per- fect in this before proceeding further. It may require a dozen or more references to the text on each word, at this stage, but practice will in time overcome and com- pletely eradicate all mind-wandering. Do not give up because the work is difficult or you do not make rapid progress. The next selection is marked by the author, as the previous one was. " Once, says an author, | where I need not say, | Two travelers | found an oyster in their way. Both fierce, both hungry, | the dispute grew7 strong | While, scale in hand, Dame Justice passed along. | Before her, each with clamor pleads the laws, | Explains the matter, and would win the cause. | Dame Justice, weighing long the doubtful right, | Takes, opens, swallows it before their sight. | The cause of strife, removed so rarely well, | ' There, take,' says Justice ' take you each a shell, We thrive at Westminster on fools like you | ' Twas a fat oyster, | live in peace, adieu.' " | The emphatic words, one for each group, are " Once—where —travelers—oyster—hungry—dispute —Justice —each —win —weighing—swallows—cause— shell—thrive—fat—peace." Commit these to memory and proceed as before, always looking back to the group whenever the word fails to recall any associated idea. Be sure and commit the emphatic words to memory, and make no attempt to memorize any other words. Depend always upon the principle of association. Thus the first word "once" STRENGTHENING THE MEMORY. 93 is to be one of those committed, and its companions in the same group are to be guessed at. This requires close application of mind. The method is so perfect in its results that the author insists upon its being followed exactly. The selections that follow are grouped only. ,The emphatic words may be marked by the student, and as a key is given to each selection, there is an opportunity to compare the two markings. A card should be placed over the key, so as to hide it from the pupil, until^he has finished marking. "The quality of mercy is not strained; | It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath; | it is twice blest; | It blesseth him that gives, | and him that takes; | 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; | it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown; | His scepter shows the force of temporal power, | The attribute to awe and majesty, | Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings; | But mercy | is above this sceptered sway, | It is enthroned in the hearts of kings, | It is an attribute to God himself And earthly power doth then show likest God's | When mercy seasons justice. | Therefore, few, Though justice be thy plea, | consider this, | That, in the course of justice, | none of us | Should see salvation : | We do pray for mercy; | And that same prayer | doth teach us all to render The deeds of mercy. | I have spoke thus much To mitigate the justice of thy plea;— 94 BRAIN REGIME. Which if thou follow, | the strict court of Venice Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there." Key To the foregoing Selection. " Strained —rain —twice—gives—takes—mightiest— crown — temporal —majesty —fear — mercy — above— hearts—God—likest—seasons—be—this—justice—none — salvation— pray— same—deeds—mitigate—follow— needs." Please remember the directions previously given, to make no attempt to commit the selection. The next one is less familiar. " Now the world slopes away to the afternoon sun | Steady one! | steady all! | The down grade has begun. | Let the engines take breath, | they have nothing to do | For the law that swings worlds will whirl the train [through. | Streams of fire from the wheels, | Like flashes from the fountains, | And the dizzy train reels As it swoops down the mountains : | And fiercer and faster | As if demons drove tandem Engines | " Death " | " Disaster," | From dnmb winter to spring | in one wonderful hour | From Nevada's white wing to creation in flower! December at morning tossing wild in its might— A June without warning and blown roses at night. | STRENGTHENING THE MEMORY. 95 Key To the foregoing Selection. " Afternoon — steady — all—down—breath—nothing — worlds — fire— fountains— reels— faster— demons— Death—Disaster—spring—wonderful—flower—Decem- ber—June." The next selection is of a different nature : " Alas! how light a cause | may move Dissension between hearts that love! | Hearts that the world in vain have tried, | And sorrow but more closely tied! | That stood the storm—when waves were rough- Yet, in a sunny hour fall off; | Like ships that have gone down at sea, | When heaven was all tranquility! | A something, light as air; | a look, | A word unkind, | or wrongly taken— | Oh ! Love, that tempests never shook, | A breath, | a touch like this, hath shaken | And ruder words will soon rush in, | To spread the breach that words begin ; | And eyes forget the gentle ray They wore in courtship's smiling day ;— | And voices lose the tone that shed A tenderness round all they said— Till,—fast declining—one by one, The sweetnesses of Love are gone:— | And hearts so lately mingled | seem Like broken clouds,—or like the stream | 96 BRAIN REGIME. That smiling left the mountain brow, | As though its waters ne'er could sever,— Yet—ere it reach the plains below | Breaks into floods | that part forever. Key To the foregoing Selection. " Light — dissension—world—closely—storm—sunny — down — tranquility — air —look — unkind—taken— never — breath —this—ruder—spread—forget—tender- ness— fast —gone—lately—clouds—stream—smiling— sever—plains—floods—forever." The next and final selection is from the famous ora- tion of Shiel. It will afford most excellent training for the memory. The pupil should commit the emphatic words only, and proceed exactly in the manner pre- scribed for the foregoing exercises. After this is done, the ambitious student will get selections of his own, divide them into groups, find the emphatic words, place them in a key, and commit them to memory. Whoever does this voluntarily will be a most praiseworthy pupil. Extract from Shiel's Famous Oration. I should be surprised, indeed, if, while you are doing us wrong, you did not profess your solicitude to do us justice. From the day on which Strongbow set his foot upon the shore of Ireland, Englishmen were "never want- strengthening the memory. 97 ing in protestations of their deep anxiety to do us jus- tice ; even Strafford, the deserter of the people's cause, the renigade Wentworth, who gave evidence in Ireland of the spirit of instinctive tyranny which predominated in his character,—even Strafford, while he trampled upon our rights, and trod upon the heart of the country, protested his solicitude to do justice to Ireland ! What marvel is it, then, that the gentlemen opposite should deal in such vehement protestation ? There is, however, one man, of great abilities,—not a Member of this House, but whose talents and whose boldness have placed him on the topmost place in his party,—who, disdaining all imposture, and thinking it the best course to appeal directly to the religious and national antipa- thies of the people of this country—abandoning all reserve, and flinging off the slender veil by which his political associates affect to cover, although they cannot hide their motives,—distinctly and audaciously tells the Irish people that they are not entitled to the same privileges as Englishmen ; and pronounces them, in any particular which could enter his minute enumeration of the circumstances by which fellow citizenship is created, in race, identity and religion, to be aliens, to be aliens in race, to be aliens in country, to be aliens in re- ligion! Aliensl Good God! wras Arthur Duke of Wellington, in the House of Lords, and did he not start up and exclaim : " Hold! I have seen the aliens do their duty! " The Duke of Wellington is not a man of excitable temperament. His mind is of a cast too martial to be easily moved ; but, notwithstanding bis habitual inflexibility, I cannot help thinking that, when he heard his Roman Catholic countrymen (for we 10 98 BRAIN regime. are his countrymen) designated by a phrase as offensive as the abundant vocabulary of his eloquent confeder- ate could supply, I cannot help thinking that he ought to have recollected the many fields of fight in which we have been contributors to his renown. "The battles, sieges, fortunes that he has passed," ought to have come back upon him. He ought to have remem- bered that, from the earliest achievement in which he displayed that military genius which has placed him foremost in the annals of modern warfare, down to that last and surpassing combat which has made his name imperishable—from Assaye to AVaterloo, the Irish sol- diers, with whom your armies are filled, were the inseparable auxiliaries to the glory with which his un- paralleled successes have been crowned. Whose were the arms that drove your bayonets at Vimiera through the phalanxes that never reeled in the shock of war before? What desperate valor climed the steeps and filled the moats at Badajos ? All his victories should have rushed and crowded back upon his memory, Vim- iera, Badajos, Salamanca, Albuera, Toulouse, and, last of all, the greatest. Tell me for you were there,—I ap- peal to the gallant soldier before me from whose opinions I differ, but who bears, I know a generous heart in an intrepid breast, tell me,—for you must needs remember, —on that day when the destinies of mankind were trembling in the balance, while death fell in showers, when the artillery of France was leveled with a pre- cision of the most deadly science, when her legions, incited by the voice and inspired by the example of their might leader, rushed again and again to the onset —Tell me if for an instant, when to hesitate for an strengthening the memory. 99 instant, was to be lost, the "aliens" blanched? And when at length, the moment for the last and decided movement had arrived, and the valor which had so long been wisely checked was at last, let loose, when, with words familiar, but immortal, the great captain com- manded the great assault, tell me if Catholic Ireland with less heroic valor than the natives of this your own glorious country precipitated herself upon the foe ? The blood of England, Scotland, and of Ireland flowed in the same stream, and drenched the same field. When the chill morning dawned, their dead lay cold and stark together; in the same deep pit their bodies were de- posited ; the green corn of spring is now breaking from their commingled dust; the dew falls from heaven upon their union in the grave. Partakers in every peril, in the glory shall we not be permitted to par- ticipate ; and shall we be told as a requital, that we are estranged from the noble country for whose salva- tion our life-blood was poured out ? CHAPTER XVII. HOW TO REST THE THINKING BRAIN. The present generation, especially of Americans, are tending rapidly to nervous prostration, and to inherited maladies of the brain. Children are born of nervous parents, and are compelled to grow up and carry the burden of nervous diseases through a life of wretched- ness, thus transmitting the same weakness to their children in graver form. The overtaxing of the brain, and the drive and hurry of business, the demands of social life, and especially the great influence of the age in which we live all tend to produce shattered nervous systems. Even the present generation inherits this evil in larger numbers than most people are aware of. We spoke of one-half of the world being mentally weak ; the other half is composed of persons, the vast majority of whom are mentally shattered. They think too much; they cannot stop thinking; they think while eating; they think between meals; they think at night; they think so hard, they cannot go to sleep. (100) how to rest the thinking brain. 101 If they fall asleep they dream and think. They aw7ake in the morning thinking. If their minds indicate great nervousness they are constantly counting objects about them, but this only occurs with people whose nervous systems are very weak indeed. They count the spots upon the carpet, they count the number of figures upon the wall paper. They count everything and everybody. If you happen to be in this mental condition it should first be removed, which may be done by the simple process of skipping every other number in counting until you reach the limit, and then counting regularly backward. This overturns the mental habit. A few days will suffice to overcome this much of the trouble. The next step should be to follow the exercises laid down in the preceding chapter, and especially in the last two. Then a variety of games should be indulged in, involving mental application. It is a mistake to ad- vise a person who is suffering from mental nervousness or from too much thinking to resort to games which do not employ much thought. For if a game does not re- quire much thought, the mind is left to wander back to subjects which caused the over-thinking. Experiments will confirm this principle. New habits, the greatest possible variety of food, plenty of fruit at all hours of the day, good exercise and new combinations furnish the best rest for the thinking brain. If the beating of the blood in the top of the brain accompanies this malady, the best cure for that is the Ralston inward bath, which frees the sluggish action of the blood. OH AFTER XVIII. EXERCISE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF IN- SPIRED THOUGHT, POETIC FANCY AND GENIUS. There are times when the operations of the brain are not of an ordinary nature; there is a certain function of the brain in every individual which steps out of the common places of this life and enters a realm of rare power. This is called inspiration. AVe have all felt its in- fluence. For the time being we are not ourselves. We are impressed with the possibilities of achieving in life a greatness that will take rank with the foremost men and women of the past ages. The true poet is not the poet who makes himself such, nor is he born so. He is the man who has encouraged and developed this rare function of the brain. A poet is necessarily an inspired person ; but it is a mistake to assume that he is a born poet. The private lives, especially in early youth, of nearly all the greatest poets that the world has produced, prove that the in- spirational function of the brain has been encouraged and developed by a method which is as simple as it is (102) development of inspired thought. 103 effective. Those who doubt its efficacy may prove it by adopting the suggestions of this chapter. Authors have moments of inspiration, which if en- couraged develop strength of authorship rapidly. So the orator whose greatness consists often of his felicitous remarks and epigrammatic ways of stating important truths will increase this function of the brain with rapidity, if he encourages it in the proper direction. From a close study of the lives and habits of men and women who are called geniuses, we are compelled to come to the conclusion that inheritance has less to do with it than the faculty of encouraging the inspirational function of the brain. Great men are not the children of great men, as a rule. Geniuses are not the children of geniuses, as a rule, although sometimes sueh is the case. A little event, a small opening, a trifling circum- stance may bring into operation the inspirational func- tion of the brain. This we will call genius. A string must be tied to it, to serve as a means of securing it for future use. A person to whom a single inspirational moment ever comes can enlarge upon the inspiration, and give it rapid growth for the future by the method which we are to suggest. It is a well known fact that like produces like in the brain. This organ may be said to have three distinct functions:— 1. Its waking function, as it is ordinarily found when we are not asleep. 2. Its sleeping function, which includes both sound sleep and the dream state. 3. The inspirational function which makes genius possible. 104 BRAIN REGIME. A Great Principle. The more we think of the events which are closely allied to the ivakivg function of the brain, the less apt we are to pass into the other functions, and especially the sleep- ing condition. If we can grasp and secure any operation of the brain which accompanies the sleeping function, we can invite sleep. For this reason we can cause the brain to sleep by reviewing the incidents of the dream, a method which was suggested by the author in his second book on health, and published in connection with the Ralston Health Club. The ability to produce sleep by this means has been so thoroughly tested and proven by the testimony of innumerable people of every country, that it is now ac- cepted by scientists as a settled fact. But even to do this it is necessary for the person, immediately upon awaking from the dream, to Avrite down the incidents of that dream, filling in all the details that the mind can recall. If we wait, even a few minutes after awaking, we will find that the incidents become blurred,'the brain is closing on its sleeping condition and commencing a separate life. But the surprising fact is this:— If immediately upon awaking, we write down the in- cidents of the dream and commit them to memory, when- ever the memory recalls them, the mind seeks to go back to that condition which created them. So, if at night when we find it difficult to obtain sleep we think these incidents over again, and fix the mind upon them, it will soon travel into its sleeping function. Let us take a lesson from this great fact, and in this way:— development of inspired thought. 105 Whenever a thought of unusual value occurs to the mind, immediately write it down, and preserve it. Do not wait a minute no matter where you are, When a poetic expression occurs you treat it in the same way. Any future reference to it, even years after, will tend to throw the mind back into that condition which created that thought; and being in this condition it receives a stimulant to create more thoughts of the same character. Poets understand this, and so do the greatest orators. There is probably not a poet who has ever lived, who has not got up from his bed at night to note down thoughts that have occurred to him. Many stories are told of the world's greatest orators, showing their earnest solicitude in this same direction. There are two reasons why the thought should be written down, at once:— First, if we wait it vanishes from us like the details of a dream. Second, if we write it down, and afterward look at it, the mind is thrown back again into its inspirational function. Genius and inspiration do not apply merely to poets or professional people, but to every class of humanity. Many a poor boy and many a man and woman, now in obscurity, might better his condition in life or develop a greatness which seems now ludicrously impossible, if he were to follow the exercise laid dow7n in the preceding chapters of this book, coupled with the suggestions of the present chapter. We still insist upon our remark that genius is not born, but is developed. OHAPTEE XIX. A COURSE OF DAILY CONDUCT FOR THE PERFECT HEALTH OF THE BRAIN. This chapter is intended for Professional Persons, Students and Hard Thinkers. Physically speaking the brain is the last organ of the body which yields to disease ; it is but slightly affected by impurities of the blood and the general debility of the body, except in cases of nervous diseases. But the clearest minds and the best brain power can be found only in bodies which are in perfect health. Although there are many instances on record where great minds have existed in diseased bodies, yet such minds have been affected by the disease, and the mental efforts have been erratic. Perfect health of the body stimulates not only mental growth, but mental power at the same time. The first thing, therefore, to be attended to is the general health; as the book entitled The Ralston Health Club, provides for this, it is unnecessary to dwell further upon it. (106) A COURSE OF DAILY CONDUCT. 107 The very best brain food for the person who employs the mental faculties very much is oxygen. Not the oxygen that is administered by the physician, but oxygen as it is found in the atmosphere. Stale oxygen, that is, such as is stored in receptacles to be administered by the quart or gallon, is very rarely absorbed by the lungs. Benefits from this element can only be obtained when the lungs are capable of absorbing the oxygen we breathe. The quantity that we take into the lungs is of less consequence than the quantity we absorb or assimi- late into the blood. The best way, therefore, of stimu- lating the brain in a natural way is to go out into the open air and breathe as deeply as possible without hear- ing the breath pass in through the nostrils; for if the slightest noise is made by the air, it indicates a com- pression of the nasal chamber which lessens the quantity of air. Fresh air in the house, however pure it may be, is not a brain stimulant. We should inhale air that is in motion, and especially air upon which the sun has been shining; for the sun magnetizes the atmosphere, and the movement of the air gives it a chemical value which can be obtained in no other way. This, therefore, is the very best food for the thinking brain. It has also been proved to afford nutriment to the nerves, and the sustaining power of the body. The art of deep breathing in its most elaborate variety should be studied and practiced* Every day a course of conduct should be pursued that will remove the poisonous fluids which drift toward the brain. These are the most readily affected and * Shaftesbury's Lessons in Deep Breathing, Price, $1.50. Address, Webster Edgerly, P. O. Box, 291, Washington, D. C. 108 BRAIN REGIME. overcome by the Ralston Inward Bath, spoken of in the Health Club, but if that is not convenient to most per- sons, the following morning bath should be taken, if we would desire a most vigorous brain for the entire day. By pursuing this course the brain will be made fresh and strong, and be capable of doing a double day's work without weariness. The Morning Brain Bath. Bathe the face, neck and edges of the hair with cold water and immediately after, bathe the upper chest, arms and upper back with warm water. If the matter of towels does not enter the question, wipe the face and body dry; and then bathe the upper chest, arms and upper back with cold water, and the face, neck, ears and edges of the hair with warm water. Again wipe dry. Now bathe the entire head, neck, upper chest, upper back and arms with warm water, instantly dashing cold water over them and wiping perfectly dry. Soap should be used during the first portion of the bath, and should be entirely rinsed off before wiping the body the first time. If a particle of soap is allowed, at any time, to remain upon the skin, it is pretty sure to eat through and cause the poisonous humors which are in all bloods to appear in the form of blotches or pimples, whereas these humors would pass off through the natural channels without doing harm. The foregoing bath taken in the morning before breakfast, will prove one of the most invigorating and refreshing brain tonics ever indulged in. It gives a charm and glow to the face, brightens the eyes, and gives a tone and vigor to the brain and nerves. It A course of daily conduct. 109 should be followed by a vigorous brushing of the scalp with a stiff hair brush. The more the scalp is exercised, the clearer will be the brain power. During the day we should constantly guard against anger or any species of irritation; for incalculable damage is done to the entire nervous system, and especially to the brain by this one mood called anger. We often say, jokingly, and often in earnest in the presence of our friends, " It takes a great deal to make me angry," when as a matter of course, we know that it takes very little to cause irritation, and irritation produces the same injury that anger does, even though it may be in a much lesser degree. Nothing kills the magnetism of the brain so quickly as irritation or anger. It is a barrier to the sublime heights of greatness. When we are in the presence of our friends we watch our temper and control it more readily than when we are alone. If we guard ourselves well when alone, there would be but little likelihood of showing our temper to others. The great brains are the calm peaceful earnest brains. A great person is rarely ever worried by trifles. Worry is the result of our training or the formation of habit. It is a habit which we can easily change. The greac question of how much physical exercise should be taken will now be discussed. We know that, without exercise, the body shrinks, the nerves become inoperative and all the functions of life are weakened. But on the other hand when we com- mence a course of exercise for the purpose of acquiring health and strength, we are apt to begin with the ambi- tion to atone for the past neglect, by over-doing. Too 110 BRAIN REGIME. much exercise" is as dangerous as too little. And exer- cise has killed many a great man. If we are not accustomed to it we should begin very cautiously, spending not more than a few minutes in the lightest manner possible, and the next day gradually increasing until in a week or so we may feel free to enter into the matter vigorously. In 99 cases out of 100, strong physical exercise pre- vents strong mental achievements, for the nervous powers are diverted from the brain to the muscles. So athletes as a rule, possess more muscle than brain. The two developments very rarely go together. Strong physical exercise breaks down the nervous system, de- stroys tissues, invites rheumatism, neuralgia, humors of the blood and the skin, and often results in nervous prostration. There is a happy medium between these two extremes which will be found by the person who exercises his in- telligence in the matter. Walking up stairs many times during the day purely for the purpose of exercise, is one of the best means of strenthening the entire body, also walking out doors; but be careful not to walk long distances, and never walk as a duty. If walking does not afford you a pleasure it should be made very brief, but taken frequently. Riding is one of the most danger- ous means of exercise, if the person is subject to the in- fluence of the atmosphere, which even in apparently warm weather often chills and stiffens the muscles, while the body is making no active effort to exercise itself. Always avoid jarring the spinal column in walking, or in exercise of any kind, for this only irritates and weakens the brain. Standing with the weight upon the A COURSE OF DAILY CONDUCT. Ill heels is injurious, and walking with the weight upon the heels is still more so. In standing or in walking be sure that the weight is sustained by the balls of the feet. As persons are able to stand longer and walk far greater distances in this way, they will feel less nervously tired. Avoid rocking chairs or any movements of the body, for this debilitates the nerve powers which support the brain. The rule is that no movement should ever be made, however slight, unless it is directed by the brain, in which case it will strengthen that organ. But move- ments which make themselves automatically, and in which the brain does not participate, soon result in the formation of a habit of " throwing off activity," as it is called, and when once formed as a habit, quickly saps the nervous powers. To this one thing alone may be ascribed the majority of cases of nervous prostration. Never allow the mind to wander from the habit of thinking on a subject that requires your attention, as long as attention is demanded; never offer advice or suggestions when not asked for and earnestly desired. Be good listeners, but in talking make every word weigh a pound. Idle conversation is nothing but chat- tering, and never elevates you in the opinion of others, and produces no good results. Always seek the society of persons superior to your- self. Never allow the mind to contemplate revenge. Do not waste time seeking the good opinion of un- worthy people. Make every sacrifice necessary to obtain the good opinion of worthy people, and stoop to conquer rather than fail. * 112 BRAIN REGIME. Never speak ill of another under any circumstances, for so speaking, belittles your character and narrows your brain. The reflex influence which pervades your nature after you have spoken well of your enemy or re- fused to speak ill of him, ennobles your character, and lays the foundation for a great mind. If a person gossips about another in your presence make this test of your own personal power. Quietly, kindly, but firmly, rebuke that person, and the result will be that there will be less gossiping, and fewer sharp tongued fiends among humanity. Whenever a mean feeling is allowed to enter the mind, the nobility of its stature is lessened. Do no mean thing under any circumstances, if you can avoid it. CHAPTER XX. MIND AND THOUGHT SOCIETIES. (By the Martyn College Press, Washington, D. C.) It is our earnest desire to encourage the formation of Mind and Thought Societies, in every county in the United States. We, therefore, desire one representative from each county, and as many more as care to apply, to write to us for the privilege of effecting the organiza- tion. When the following conditions have been com- plied with a charter from Washington will be issued. Conditions. 1. Before a Mind and Thought Society can be formed, one person must notify us that he is desirous of taking steps to organize such a society in his locality, and re- quest that we forward to him a certain number of cir- culars relating to the Mind and Thought Society. 2. The next step to be taken is to secure the signa- ture of not less than five, nor more than 100 members. Then the following application must be copied upon good paper, plainly written, and forwarded to us at Washington. 11 (113) 114 brain regime. Application. * We, the undersigned, hereby make application for the charter of an organization to be known as the Ralston Mind and Thought Society of , county of , state of This should be signed by all the persons desirous of appearing as charter members, and the names of the town, county and state should be filled in, and should be forwarded to P. O. Box 291, Washington, D. C. 3. No person shall be allowed to sign an application, or to become charter members or subsequent members of the Mind and Thought Society, who does not possess the book entitled The Ralston Brain Regime, for each member will need a copy of the book, and should not be dependent upon the pleasure of some other person to lend a copy. Borrowers are generallv undesirable members of any organization. 4. Every lady and gentleman of intelligence in your communnity, whose presence may become valuable to the society, should be invited to join. 5. More than one Mind and Thought Society may be formed in the same tow;n or county, the more the better for they may enter into spirited contests for mental superiority and thereby afford each other a great deal of benefit and pleasure. 6. No person who is not a charter member (which means a signer of original application for organization) shall be permitted to afterward join a Mind and Thought Society, except by the unanimous vote of all the persons who belong to such society. 7. As soon as the charter is received, the following constitution shall be copied into a record book, signed MIND AND THOUGHT SOCIETIES. 115 only by the persons who signed the application. Each book shall be kept afterward as a record book of the subsequent doings of such societies. The charter is forwarded without any expense whatever. Constitution Of the Mind and Thought Society of , in the County of , State of Preamble. Whereas, all human beings find more substantial en- joyment in life, and greater satisfaction in the perform- ance of its various duties, if the mind is cultivated, and the best thought encouraged ; Therefore, be it Resolved, that we, the undersigned, charter members of this Mind and Thought Society, hereby agree to organize for the purpose of mental improvement; and we pledge ourselves, each to the other, and to the superior power which issued this charter, to abide by the following provisions of this Constitution. Article 1. Time and Place of Meeting. Section 1. This Society shall meet on the first of each month, at o'clock. Note:—The day of the week, and the hour must be agreed upon By .every member of the society. A regular meeting is to be held but once each month. Section 2. The place of meeting shall be determined by the executive committee, three months in advance, excepting for the first three meetings. 116 BRAIN REGIME. Note :—The residence of members is preferred as a place of meeting, unless the society is very large. Article 2. Officers and their Duties. Section 1. The officers shall consist of:— 1. President. 2. Vice-president. 3. Executive Committee. 4. Secretary. 5. Entertainment Committee. Section 2. The president shall serve for one meeting, and shall not again serve until every member of the society has had an opportuniey of becoming president. It shall be his duty to preside at all meetings, call them to order, see that proper decorum is observed, and that the order of exercises for each evening is thoroughly carried out. He shall also see that all the other officers perform the duties devolving upon them. During the meeting over which he presides, he shall have absolute power to determine all questions that may arise, and from his decision their shall be no appeal. No debate shall be allowed upon any question, and parliamentary practice shall not be indulged in. Section 3. The vice-president shall hold office in like manner as the president, and in his absence serve in his place. Section 4. The executive committee shall consist of one person ; who may, however, call to his assistance as many others as he desires; but he alone shall be re- MIND AND THOUGHT SOCIETIES. 117 sponsible for the performance of the duties devolving upon him or them. He shall hold office in the same manner as the president. The executive committee must provide a place for holding the regular monthly meeting of the society ; must make all contracts in the name of the society when he is authorized to make any, which authorization shall consist of the signatures of all the officers in writing, and one-half at least of all the members. Section 5. The secretary shall hold office for the term of six months, and shall be elected by a majority vote of the members of the society, including the pre- siding officer. He shall keep a record at each meeting of all the doings of the society in the, minutest manner possible. Section 6. Entertainment committee. The entertainment committee shall consist of but one person, who shall hold office in like manner as the presi- dent. It shall be his duty to arrange one month in ad- vance, (or as nearly so as circumstances will permit), that portion of the exercises of each regular meeting known as the entertainment. Section 7. The first person whose name is signed to this charter shall become the entertainment committee, for the period of one month ; and the next month there- after he shall become the executive committee ; and the next month thereafter he shall become the vice-presi- dent ; and the next month thereafter he shall become the president. The second person whose name is attached to this constitution shall become the executive committee for one month; and vice-president for the next month 118 BRAIN REGIME. thereafter; and president for the next month ; the en- tertainment committee for the next month. The third person whose name shall be attached to this constitution shall become vice-president for the first month ; president for the next month thereafter; the entertainment committee for the next month thereafter; and executive committee for the next month thereafter. The fourth person whose name is attached to this constitution shall be the president for the first month; entertainment committee for the next month; executive committee for the next month thereafter; and vice- president for the next month thereafter. If but five persons organize this society, the fifth per- son whose name shall be attached to this constitution, shall become its secretary without any election. But if more than five persons shall sign this constitution before the first meeting, then the secretary shall be elected by a written vote of all the members. The fifth person whose name is attached to this con- stitution, shall succeed the first person in his round for offices after they have all expired ; the 6th shall succeed the 2d ; the 7th shall succeed the 3d ; the 8th the 4th ; the 9th the 5th ; the 10th the 6th; the 11th the 7th; the 12th the 8th ; etc. Note:—If this problem furnishes any mental diffi- culty to the comprehension of the members, it shows the necessity of cultivating the acquaintance of the Mind and Thought Society. Article 3. Order of Exercises. Meetings shall be held for two hours, unless any other length of time is agreed upon by unanimous consent. MIND AND THOUGHT SOCIETIES. 119 The first half hour shall be devoted to the study of Brain Regime as taught by Everett Ralston, or any other person of recognized merit. The second half hour shall be devoted to essays, the length of which shall be determined by the entertain- ment committee. The third half hour shall be devoted to discussions of the latest or most interesting problems concerning the operations of the mind, and may include personal experiences, or matters of public knowledge. The remainder of the meeting shall consist of any kind of entertainment of literary or social nature, which the inventive genius of the entertainment committee may provide, and he shall be permitted to adopt the suggestions of any members regarding the same. A special meeting may be called at any time, by the unanimous consent of the members present at the last regular meeting. Article 4. General Provisions. 1. At the first regular meeting of this society, or at any other time thereafter, any name offered for member- ship shall be voted on, unless at the request of any one member the matter shall be deferred to some subsequent meeting. When vote is taken the applicant may be considered elected, if no adverse vote is cast. But the objection of a single member, either by vote or openly, shall be sufficient to debar any applicant. 2. No society shall contain more than 100 persons, nor less than 5. 120 brain regime. 3. Any person may be expelled from the society by the two-thirds vote of those present at the regular meet- ing. 4. No fees for membership, or for any other purpose shall be collected from any member. 5. A person who shall absent himself from any regu- lar meeting, shall pay to the secretary of the society, for the use of s:iid society, the sum of $1 ; and upon his neglect to pay suid amount within 31 days after his absence, he shall be expelled from said society, and shall not be received in its membership again until such sum is paid, and then only by unanimous consent. 6. The full name and P. O. Address of each and every member present at each meeting, shall be for- warded to Washington by the secretary immediately thereafter. 7. A Congress of all the Mind and Thought Societies shall meet once a year in Washington, or at some other place to be designated for the general benefit of all the organizations. Any member belonging to any Mind and Thought Society may attend such Congress; al- though no person shall be required to so attend. 8. All persons belonging to this society, hereby pledge themselves to observe all the directions given in chapter 19, excepting the morning bath Avhich may be omitted when inconvenient. And each member shall report in writing at each regular meeting to the secretary, to what extent he has observed the directions. CHAPTEE XXI. A GOLD MEDAL, OR ONE HUNDRED DOL- LARS IN CASH, OFFERED TO ALL PERSONS POSSESSING A PER- FECTLY SOUND MIND. (Publisher's Chat with the Reader.) This work was originally intended to contain but ten chapters, but we have doubled the size, and have printed far more matter than is usually published in books of this kind for the money; and all this has been done without raising the price. Every page contains valu- able truths. The book is a vast reservoir of useful in- formation, exercises and regime, for the culture of the brain. Having now fulfilled our promises, and doubly so, we wish to converse with you upon matters of importance to us and the world. We wish to take steps to circulate these books among all people. For this purpose we are writing this chapter. Will you help us. You can do (121) 122 BRAIR REGIME. so in two ways:—1st, by showing this book to your friends ; 2d, by mailing them our circulars. Owing to the importance of the Ralston methods, and their increasing influence throughout the world, it is the desire of all good persons that these methods may become instrumental in effecting a great reform. No one person to day has so many followers as Everett Ralston. He advocated, a few years ago, the perfect health of the body, and demonstrated that it was pos- sible to live for two hundred years. His whole theory was fully explained in a book, entitled " The Two Hun- dred Year Club; " which, though its title seemed ex- travagant, contained the method whereby the body could be made perfect in health ; diseases could be cured by natural treatment; and a sound body could be maintained for a long term of years beyond the odinary duration of human life; and all this without cost, or medicine. That book is in the hands of thousands of in- telligent men and women, and will sooner or later be owned by nearly all; for a thing of intrinsic value is sure to become firmly rooted in public favor. We in- vite your attention to the Ralston Health Club, (some- times called the Two Hundred Year Club), as a book containing the secret of natural restoration of health by natural treatment. Although this book costs a dollar (and is worth many thousands), we propose to give you an opportunity pf procuring it free, and at the same time, proving your interest in a general re- form movement, by aiding in extending the influence of the Ralston doctrines of perfect health. Prof. Ralston has written but three works:— publisher's chat with the reader. 123 1. The Ralston Health Club. 2. Brain Regime. 3. The Theory and Practice of Mind Reading. The last mentioned work is written conjointly by Edmuud Shaftesbury and Prof. Ralston. Mr. Shaftes- bury will be remembered as the author of " Personal Magnetism," a book, the price of which (three dollars) places it beyond the reach of most people, but which would prove a blessing to every man and woman in ex- istence ; first, for its perfect cure of all nervousness, and nervous disorders; and second, for the magnificent self- control which it imparts to all who practice the exer- cises ; to say nothing of the main benefits derivable from such study. This book on Personal Magnetism should not fail to be in your possession as soon as possible. To go back to the thread of our conversation:—The Theory and Practice of Mind Reading is a little pam- phlet, published for mere pleasure by these two great authors, and is not sold. The facts contained in the work could not be purchased for hundreds of dollars. Our purpose in the present conversation with you is this:— We desire, and believe that you desire, the spread of the Ralston doctrines. They are three in number:— 1. Perfect Health of the Body. 2. Perfect Health of the Brain. 3. Perfect Health of the Nervous System. The first is acquired from the Health Club ; the second from Brain Regime; and the third is to be found out in Shaftesbury's Personal Magnetism. Here we have the Trinity of Perfect Health: the Key to Life. 124 BRAIN REGIME. Are you in favor of it? You know that much of sin, irritability, and crime, can be traced to ill health, weak minds, or shattered nerves. In this Trinity of Perfect Health, we find the cure of vice and intemperance ; the ennobling of man- hood and womanhood; and the purifying of both body and soul. , Are you in favor of such reform ? If so, will you aid us to spread these docrines ? What is to be done? In the first place, you are to aid us in distributing our circulars on Brain Regime. We ask you to give, at least, twenty to your friends, neighbors, acquaintances or strangers, in your town or county, and mail at least five to friends outside of the State. If you can circulate more all the better. Send to us as soon as possible for these circulars. By doing this, or personally exhibiting this book of Brain Regime, you will undoubtedly secure one or more followers. Through you and your influence over others (for you undoubtedly have such influence), the Ralston doctrine, the Trinity of Perfect Health, will begin to spread until it sweeps around the world. It is sure to become the greatest reform movement of the century. All reforms meet with obstacles. A ma- jority of mankind are listless, and do not care to initiate a great movement. Do you feel strong enough to rise above the common drift of humanity, and attain to some degree of power in the world ? If so, push this good work. When you have secured one recruit to this new doc- trine, that is, when you have influenced one person to procure Brain Regime, or join the Health Club, we will publisher's chat with tfte reader. 125 send you, free, the Theory and Practice of Mind Reading (or the Health Club) ; and for two recruits, both works; for three recruits, Personal Magnetism ; for five recruits, all three of these works. The Prizes. In addition to the above, for each recruit, we will allow you to become a candidate, or contestant for the prizes offered. We will award a Gold Medal, contain- ing One Hundred Dollars worth of Gold, (or its equiva- lent in cash), to each and every person who correctly answers the test questions of this chapter, whereby we seek to discover perfect mental health. It has for generations been a wholesome and salutary custom of colleges, and institutions of learning, to offer prizes or other forms of inducement, to bring out the greatest powers of those whom they seek to benefit. The policy of the government favors the offering of prizes as stimulants to skill and learning. All clergymen of all denominations, and all church societies, and other organizations, will be requested per- sonally and publicly to observe one day each year, as a special RALSTON DAY. Religious organizations should set apart the third Sunday in September of every year; and other societies, the third Monday. The Ralston Mind and Thought Societies will observe the third Monday. If unthinking people at first show a disposition to look lightly upon this movement, please remember that every great reform 126 BRAIN REGIME. has been honored by such treatment. It is not worthy your aid and influence, if it does not meet some opposi- tion. To sum up, we offer for a—One new recruit—'■ Mind Reading." b—One new recruit—" The 200 Year Club" c—Two new recruits—" Mind Reading and " The 200 Year Club." d—Three new recruits—" Personal Magnetism." e—Five new recruits—"Mind Reading," " The 200 Year Club," and " Personal Magnetism." We had fulfilled our promises made to the public, long before this chapter was written. We now offer more. We wish to create a universal interest in Brain Regime, and to stimulate the healthiest brain activity by offering the following test and problem. TEST. Write answers to the following questions, observing the following rule. Rule.— The first answer occurring to the mind must be written down, and mailed to «s. Questions. Question 1.—What is time? Question 2.—What is space? Question 3.—How can you prove that space has no limits? Question 4.—What is thought ? PROBLEM. Carry on, in writing, a successful Train of Thought, in accordance with the rule laid down in Chapter XIV, publisher's chat with the reader. 127 trying but once, and showing the result of your efforts to no one. Mail the same to us, at once. The two points of the Tram of Thought and intermediate sta- tions are :— First point:—Brain. Intermediate stations:—Whiteness; midnight. Last point:—Happiness. This train of thought is not only possible, but is easy. A perfectly healthy brain would carry this train through without trouble on the first attempt. The intermediate stations come in naturally and readily. Any person who will send in correct answers to the Test and Problem, subject to the following provisions, will receive a Gold Medal, containing One Hundred Dollars in pure gold, or (if preferred), One Hundred Dollars in cash. Provisions. 1. The contestant must be a personal owner of a copy of Brain Regime, and must be recorded on our books as such. 2. The contestant must distribute in good faith, at least twenty-five circulars describing " Brain Regime," (or mail them to others), and must have procured at least one recruit. 3. The original paper on which the answers to the Test and Problem are written, must be mailed to us. 4. Not more than ten per cent, of the receipts from the sale of Brain Regime shall be used for these prizes. Thus, for every thousand books we sell, we shall award one medal; for every one-hundred-thousand books sold, we shall award one hundred medals; for one million books sold, we shall award one thousand medals. 128 BRAIN REGIME. 5. The names of all contestants shall be recorded in the order in which we receive them ; and all successful competitors will receive the awards in the order in which they send them to us. As not more than one purchaser in ten (or possibly in one hundred), will con- test for these prizes, and as a large proportion will fail at the first trial, it can readily be seen that all successful competitors will in due time receive the award. 6. Failure does not bar other trials. The mental exercise is a splendid method of training the brain. As our object is to spread the Ralston doctrine among all people, we permit any person to try as often as they are willing to comply with the requirements of the sec- ond provision, that is, obtain a new recruit. Whether you compete or not, we shall ask your co- operation in obtaining new recruits. All persons should do a good thing for the sake of doing good in the world. Have you any friend or acquaintance whose mind is not strong; who cannot study at school, or at home ; who is easily influenced to do wrong; who is unsuccess- ful in business ; who talks indiscreetly; who is unable to resist temptation ; whose brain needs developing and broadening ; whose nervous system is weak ; who has a fine brain and splendid mental endowments, but gets easily exhausted ; if so, make such a person, whether lady or gentleman, a present of " Brain Regime," if you cannot induce him to purchase one. Have you any friend or acquaintance who does not belong to the class enumerated, but whose brain is in perfect condition, and for whom you would predict a brilliant future, if only some stimulus to the mind could be furnished? if so present such person with a PUBLISHER'S CHAT WITH THE READER. 129 copy of " Brain Regime." In after years when you are old, you will not be forgotten. Many a young man first received intimations of future greatness from the act of some mere acquaintance; and, when fame was achieved, has well and substantially "remembered " the kind hand that gave him some worthy book. Have you some dear friend who has no " tact," no management, no method, in the conduct of his or her affairs, but who " worries " at every trifle, whose nerves are unstrung at times, whose life is breaking down ? if so, give such person this book. Have you a husband, wife, lover, sweetheart, brother, sister, son, daughter, or very dear friend, in whose wel- fare you are deeply interested ; in whose face you would like to see a bright eye, clear countenance, and noble expression ; all indicative of a Avell-balanced brain ? To such person give this valuable book. In the entire range of precious gifts the world over, nothing is more substantially worthy of being presented to a beloved friend than a book. " Beware of the man of one book," says the old proverb. "Beware of the person who owns Brain Regime." If you could afford the outlay, you would become instrumental in doing much good in the world, should you select twenty-five persons in whom you are interested, and present them with copies of " Brain Regime." The price per copy in stiff covers is . . $1.00 In elegant cloth and red edges . . . 2.00 For the accommodation of a few who prize this book above all others of human origin, and who wish to pre- serve a copy for all future generations, or desire to make an elegant present to some beloved friend, we have 12 130 BRAIN REGIME. bound a few copies in elegant Turkey Morocco, and gold edges, for $5.00. Please remember that the offer made in this chapter is solely for the purpose of inducing you to aid us in spreading the influence of this book. If circulars do not accompany this book, please no- tify us. Address, Martyn College Publishing House, P. O. Box 291. Washington, D. C. In press:—"Lessons in the Theory and|Art of Mind Reading." Also :—" Phenomena of the Brain." For free circulation among the students of " Brain Regime." THE COMING WORK ON "MIND READING." From the advance ■ sheets of the little treatise on " The Theory and Art of Mind Reading," we are en- abled to assure our readers that a rich mental treat or rather banquet, is in store for the friends of Ralston. Although the pamphlet is small, the facts therein con- tained are very important. Everett Ralston, aided by Edmund Shaftesbury, has analyzed the essence of thought so minutely, as to bring the operations of the mind of another person completely within our grasp. He not only claims but also proves by experiments and the citation of facts, that thought moves in waves from the brain, as sound proceeds in waves. If this is true, and there seems to be no doubt of it, the world is on the threshold of a new era; for it will be possible to receive and read these thought waves, as soon as we understand the principles controlling them. The value of his discovery rests in the fact that the old methods of mind readers are unnecessary. The present method is exhilarating and strengthening to the mind, resulting in splendid control of the brain. Great men and women have often found themselves in possession of this faculty, without knowing how it came to them. We mention this to show that Mind (131) ,0 *tf*-i* ^&^\, 132 BRAIN REGIME. Reading is often an attribute of genius, and always a source of success; for if we could read the thoughts of all persons into whose faces we looked, we could always know how to act, and thereby avoid being deceived. We could also take advantage of every situation in life.' The experiments are being carried on constantly; and we ask all our readers to report to us the results of their own experiments. Those of our readers who intend to organize a "Mind and Thought Society," as suggested in a previous Chapter, will find it very pleasant to practice Mind Reading; not only for the practical value in every day life which is derived from such power, but also for the brain strength which is acquired. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE NLM DD55T15M 1 NLM005591549