Lost in the bottomless pit...

Front matter

Copyright^ .

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT.

J. HOWARD CASHMERE.

Preface

"The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." In presenting this book to the public, I do so with many misgivings, fearing that the time may not yet be ripe for the true comprehension of the great truths of being. Every new conception of a truth is scoffed at. Galileo was tortured by the Inquisition for his new teachings concerning astronomy; Columbus was scorned because he imagined he could sail around the world; and to cite a case of more recent date we find that our great inventor, Edison, was termed "insane" for thinking that it was possible to send several telegraph messages over the same wire at once. At the present time, however, men of science are somewhat careful about denying the possibility of the correctness of any new hypothesis that may be offered for their consideration. And to those who must see before they will believe, the mere assertion or statement of anyone, especially concerning subjects prominent in this book, gives little if any weight to the propositions presented.

For this reason I have frequently quoted prominent authors, both atheists and theists, and have gradually led up to the propositions presented in

6 PREFACE.

the introductory part of this book, by giving the reader a general knowledge of those sciences which have a direct relation to the subject of the following essays.

One night in November of this past year, I arose shortly after midnight with an unaccountable impulse, and while but partly awake wrote the lines in meter, which I present under the title "The Voice of God" in Part II of this book. In my endeavor to solve the full meaning of those lines, written as an inspiration, the propositions which I am about to present concerning the ego, or spirit of man, were evolved.

To those who wish to accept the propositions within as mere hypotheses I believe they will prove valuable in explaining many of the mysteries of this lower plane.

It should be borne in mind by my readers that the object of speculation is not to devise theories for their own sake, but to furnish a working hypothesis which will help us to understand the facts of the subject under consideration, and also to lead to a further discovery of facts.

From my earliest recollections, I have been a student of the "words" and "works" of God, and slowly but surely I have received additional light from that "Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." Not because I have lived a more perfect or purer life than others, for I have not, and my life has been filled with many

PREFACE. 7

errors; but from a desire, God given, and coming from my inner self, I from childhood have been a seeker after Truth, and like all those who have realized their oneness with the Great All, and have been the recipient of His divine messages of light and love, I am filled with the desire to lead others in that Light of Truth which is Eternal.

From thoughts which have, apparently, come to my mind like the remembrance of another life; from a close study of the words of Jesus and his immediate followers; from a close investigation into the realms of both physical and psychical sciences, I have finally gained what is to me a clear conception of the nature of the ego, and its relationship to the great All, or God.

Having had a practical experience for a number of years, both in public and private life, as a demonstrator and teacher of those psychic phenomena, usually termed occult, mesmerism, hypnotism, telepathy, spiritism and many other similar abnormal manifestations, I believe that I am in position to discuss these numerous psychic activities intelligently. Not as yet finding it necessary to entirely inhibit my normal consciousness, or, in other words, to use the deeper trance, in order to produce the highest mental phenomena, I have received the full benefit arising from the thoughts received while in both the objective and subjective state.

While the propositions which I will present

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concerning the egOj or spirit of man, may at first appear startling to those who have not made a study of this subject, yet I believe that a closer acquaintance with the subject will impress the casual reader with the sincerity of my effort to keep within the limits of correct reasoning.

If this book will enable others to receive a clearer comprehension of these higher truths of being, and remove but a part of the mystery which has surrounded this and allied subjects for ages, then my object in writing these pages will be partly accomplished.

Part II of this book has previously been issued in booklet form, and if the reader should find repetitions or want of harmony between the two parts, it is because a pressure of other work has prevented me from making a complete revision of the essays previously published.

In my investigations of the physical and psychical sciences bearing upon the questions discussed in this book, I have been careful in quoting only those writers who are recognized as authorities upon these subjects; and if I have failed to give credit where credit is due, it is because of my haste in writing. I take occasion to acknowledge my indebtedness to the following works : Haeckle's Eiddle of the Universe, and The Evolution of Man ; Huxley's Essays ; Flammarion's Unknown; Hudson's Law of Psychic Phenomena; Hudson's Law of Mental Medicine; Eemsen's

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Chemistry; Steele's Physics; and to 0. S. Fowler, the celebrated phrenologist, now deceased, I credit the location of the ego of man in the right central lobe of the brain. And to the writings of Flechig, who has recently pointed out as the result of his microscopic investigations into the brain of man, that very specific structures are found in these central lobes, which are wanting in other mammals.

J. H. C.

Denver, Colo., March 1, 1905

PAET I.