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in the return of dust to dust. Impurities in the blood-stream may poison the brain. New growths or
abscesses may derange its functions. These things can only be recognised by the man who understands
the body; other things being equal, the trained man is the better man, and the man with the best training
is the best man, and the only place where an adequate training in diagnosis can be obtained is a general
hospital. Moreover, should things turn out badly, the only person who can pull the chestnuts out of the
fire is the person whose signature the authorities will accept on a certificate. Supposing the patient turns
out to be a lunatic, what is the unqualified practitioner going to do with him? A very large proportion of
the cases of alleged psychic attack turn out to be lunatics and hysterics. Incipient lunacy is a very hard
thing to detect; hysteria is very cunning and plausible; a doctor who is handling human nature in bulk
every day of his life will detect either of these two conditions much quicker than the layman who has
never met them before.
It may be objected that it is a very difficult thing to find a doctor who will have a sympathetic attitude
towards occultism. To argue thus is to misunderstand the position. The doctor is not being asked to
co-operate with any occult operation, but to examine for physical disease, and if he finds it, to treat it. He
is no more concerned in the occult measures that are taken for the benefit of his patient than he is in the
church his patient attends.
If the doctor finds no evidence of organic disease, or some complaint such as varicose veins which can
obviously have no bearing on the mental condition, the case may be held to have passed the first test,
and we may feel that it is worth while to proceed to the psychic investigation. If the case is a bad one, or
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the trouble is of long standing, the doctor will probably find that the patient is debilitated, even if there is
nothing definitely amiss, and will proceed to treat the condition accordingly. This is all to the good, for
the better the physical condition of the patient the more mental control and stamina he will have.
Sleeping-draughts, however, should be avoided if possible, and if they have to be administered, then the
patient should be watched while he sleeps by someone who knows how to keep an occult guard, and the
room in which he sleeps should be purified and sealed. In the ordinary way, if a person who is out on the
astral meets with an occult attack, he bolts back to his body like a rabbit to its burrow and wakes up as if
from a nightmare; but if the sleep is made unnaturally deep by a sleeping- draught, he cannot wake up,
and is locked out on the astral, as it were, which is the last thing one wants in the case of a psychic
attack. If a sleeping-draught is considered essential, for it is impossible to go without sleep indefinitely,
the person who is watching beside the sleeper should observe carefully any signs that the sleep is being
disturbed by dreams, and if he observes muttering or twitching, should immediately perform the
necessary banishings and whisper into the ear of the sleeper soothing and reassuring suggestions such as
Coue recommends should be done in the case of young children. One of the most distressing features of
a psychic attack is that the victim fears to sleep because he feels that in sleep he is defenceless. Those
who have read Kipling's terrible story, "The End of the Passage," may remember that the victim of the
occult attack therein described always went to bed wearing spurs in order that he might rowel himself
and so wake up if he were struggling with his invisible enemy during sleep.
There is a great deal that can be done upon the physical plane to help the person who is suffering from
an occult attack, and we may as well consider these physical methods while we are upon the subject of
the part that can be played by a doctor in dealing with the case. Sunlight is exceedingly valuable because
it strengthens the aura and makes it much more resistant. People are often advised to go away into the
country on this account, but for the victim of an occult attack to go into the depths of the country may
not be the wisest thing, because elemental forces are much more potent away from towns, and if he is
threatened by an uprush of atavistic forces, he had better cling to the haunts of men. The sea, too, is an
elemental force that is best avoided, for water is an element intimately associated with psychism. Large
bodies of water and high mountains should be avoided in choosing a health resort for a person suffering
from psychic trouble. The best place is an inland spa. Games, physical training, massage, anything that
improves the bodily condition, are invaluable, but long solitary walks should be avoided because there is
often a risk of suicide. The person who is the victim of an occult attack should at all costs avoid solitude.
There is another very simple measure which gives immense relief in cases of psychic interference. It is
obvious that the attack is made through the psychic centres, therefore any thing which closes those
centres will render the victim comparatively immune. It is well known how the stolid, materialistic type
of person can live with impunity in haunted houses that drive the sensitive to madness and suicide. It is
also well known that psychic work cannot be performed if there is food in the stomach; the best results
are always obtained when fasting. The obvious corollary of these facts is that if we want to keep the
psychic centres closed, we should not allow the stomach to become empty. The person who is facing a
psychic attack should not go more than two hours without food.
Certain important psychic centres are in the head. One of the simplest ways of checking their activity is
by drawing the blood down from the head. This can be done effectually by a hot bath or putting the feet
in hot mustard and water. Another important centre is the solar plexus; during a psychic attack this is
often felt to be tense and distressing. A large hot-water bottle,well filled so that it is heavy as well as hot,
laid upon the solar plexus, which is the hand-breadth between the pit of the stomach and the ribs, will
effectually relieve tension in that spot. Indeed, pressure without heat will give relief, and I have known
cases where a firm pad held in place by a belt or corsets gave much comfort.
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Above all things, the bowels should be kept freely open while facing a psychic attack, because there is
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