In practicing Distant Thought Induction, the practitioner should proceed along the same general lines that I have laid down in the instructions regarding Personal Thought Induction; that is, at least, so far as is concerned the mental attitude to be preserved, the character of the thoughts and mental pictures to be held in his mind, and the character of silent mental suggestions, commands and instructions to be sent by him to the Corporeal Mind of the patient, or to his cell-minds, organ-minds, or part-minds. The only additional process necessary is the establishing of mental lines of communication between the practitioner and the mind of his patient. Let us then carefully study the nature and details of this process of mental line-building.

The first impression of students when they arrive at this stage of our instruction is that they are to be instructed how to build up some strange kind of telegraph system or lines, over which the mental currents shall travel. Now, this is a mistake, although a perfectly natural one-let us see in what the mistake lies, for by so doing we shall perceive the true state of affairs. Let us take our familiar analogy of electricity, for it will work out very well in this case as in the others we have already considered.

While it is true that in the case of the passage of the electric current over the ordinary telegraph lines wires are employed, it is likewise true that in the case of electric induction the current does not pass over the conduction wires but rather leaps out of them and sets up a- corresponding current in the neighboring conductor; likewise, in wireless telegraphy the current does not require wires to conduct it to its destination, but rather travels along ethereal lines of its own making until it reaches the receiving instrument which is attuned to it, and which has attracted it. In precisely the same ways Thought proceeds to its destination -its three ways of proceeding almost perfectly corresponding to those of electricity. For instance, Thought travels over the telegraph wires of the nervous system, and thus reaches each and. every part of the body of its manifestor, setting them into activity, and regulating their processes. Again, it leaps beyond the limits of the nervous system, and by induction sets up similar vibrations in the minds of those within its field of induction. And, finally, it makes mental lines of its own over which it proceeds to a distance, where it sets up similar vibrations in the mind of the person to whom it is directed, and who has attracted it. So you see, as I have said, the analogy to electricity is practically perfect.

In Distant Thought Induction the thought of the practitioner actually builds up its own lines of communication to the mind of the patient, and then travels over it. This may seem strange at first, for it is a natural question of the average student, "But how does it proceed at all when there are no lines or channels to carry it; how does it proceed to build its own lines and then travel over them; how does it get ahead of itself in order to build the lines over which it will travel later on?" These are legitimate and logical questions, and the student is perfectly justified in asking them. But the answer is equally logical and natural-it must be all of this, for it expresses an actual natural fact known to all advanced students of the subject. Here is the answer: Thought projects from itself the lines over which it travels to a distance. Let us see how this is.

You have heard of those wonderful "motor tractors" invented by the American manufacturers of agricultural machinery, and which are used to travel (and pull along after them certain things like plows, etc.) over fields too muddy and soft to bear the weight of ordinary wheels. These same wonderful instruments have been converted into those terrible gigantic armored machines, those traveling fortresses, which were invented by the British and used by them in the Great War in the year 1916, and which the soldiers called "the tanks." The distinctive principle of these machines is that of a great revolving track which the machine constantly unwinds and lays down in front of itself, and over which its real wheels then travel. While to read the description of this process sounds something like the recital of the efforts of a man to raise himself up into the air by his own bootstraps, nevertheless the process is in strict accordance with established mechanical laws, and it works out unfailingly. Well, this is a crude illustration of how both electricity and Thought lay their own lines before them, and then travel over them in wireless telegraphy and distant thought induction, respectively.

There is a point to be noted here, however, in the cases of both electricity and thought currents -the fact that both of these currents travel in all directions from the senders. But just as science has perfected methods by which the wireless current may be concentrated upon one focal point to a great extent, so has practical psychology perfected plans whereby thought currents may be concentrated upon one focal point, and directed to this point with increased force. And, we must note here also, in passing, that just as the receiving instrument of the wireless system "picks up" only those vibrations to which it has been attuned, so may the patient attune himself to the thought vibrations of the practitioner, and thus more readily "pick up" his own special message.

Then, the students ask, how do we proceed to start into activity this process whereby the mental track is laid over which our thought currents are to flow to the patient ? The answer is simple: You build the track, or mental path, by thinking of it. The simple process of Creative Thought itself performs the work of building the track, or laying down the line over which your thought vibrations shall travel. We perform this work unconsciously every day of our lives, when we think intently of a person; though in such cases there is seldom the degree of strength manifested which accompanies conscious deliberate efforts in this direction-there is usually lacking that concentration which produces forceful and effective results in the work of thought transmission.

The practitioner, in order to get the best results, should first establish a strong, clear, ?unobstructed line of mental communication with the patient; this will remain after the treatment, and will render easier the subsequent treatments -though it will be found well to keep the line in order, the track clear, by a little attention each day or so. This direct mental line or track is built by the practitioner simply thinking it into existence-by visualizing it as in existence, by creating a mental picture of it as actually in existence. There is no need of going into the metaphysical or occult explanation of this wonderful phenomenon-for such would take us far away from our present subject, and would involve us in a mass of technical instruction which is entirely foreign to the purposes of the present work; it is enough to know that this process "works out," and is scientifically correct.

The more vivid the practitioner can make this mental track or path between himself and the patient-the clearer he can visualize it in his "mind's eye," the moro effective will be the currents that travel over it and the closer the "en rapport" condition between the patient and himself. If he can instruct the patient to aid in this work of path-building there will, of course, be a much greater degree of "en rapport" condition existing between them-a mental agreement naturally always produces better results in these cases.

The practitioner will find that it will help him materially in this work of building up a mental path for the purpose of Distant Healing, if he will form a clear mental picture of the patient at a distance, and will direct his thought of track-building toward him or her when he is establishing the "en rapport" condition. It is not necessary to visualize the actual appearance of the patient, for that is often impossible in cases where the patient is not personally known to the healer; it is sufficient that a general mental image of a person named So-and-So is seen in the distance, and the mental track be built toward that person. So we healers deny the necessity of this preliminary work, but a little close questioning will usually bring to light the fact that they actually do this work more or less unconsciously; they have trained themselves to quick work along these lines, and so they actually build the track while they are thinking of the patient. It is an invariable rule of thought transmission, that the vibrations always travel over a path or track-and that this track has to be built, consciously or unconsciously.

Occultists have for thousands of years been aware of the efficacy of that wrhich has been called "The Astral Tube" in the process of distant thought transmission-and the principle has been employed to advantage by many of the world's best distant healers, although others have preferred their own methods which in the end bring into effect the same general principles. The Astral Tube is created and used in the following manner:

The Astral Tube. What occultists call the Astral Tube consists of the building up on the astral plane (the plane next above the physical plane of being), of a tube or tunnel which acts as a most effective channel for the transmission of thought currents or thought vibrations. It is created entirely by the creative power of the mind, and depends for its strength and permanency upon the clearness and power of the visualization, or mental picturing, of the mind of the person creating it.

The Astral Tube is created by the person first shutting from his mind all disturbing influences, and then concentrating upon the task of creating the image in the astral substance. He begins by gazing in the general direction of the person between whom and himself he wishes to build the tube. Then he pictures in his mind a great cloud of smoke-like substance filling the space between them. Then he mentally pierces that volume of astral vapor, by setting up a whirling motion in its center. Then he pictures this whirling motion proceeding like a miniature cyclone, boring its way rapidly through the volume of smoke-like substance, and thus creating a tunnel-like bore, tube, or circular opening through its entire extent, until finally appearing at the other end is perceived the figure of the person thought of. The subsequent opening up of this psychic channel is comparatively easy- much easier than the first work of course.

Remember that, in the words of the average person, this work is all in the imagination-the Creative Imagination, however, as all occultists know, is not a thing of mere fancy, but is rather a most powerful creative agency on the astral plane. And astral plane phenomena are, in their own field, as real and actual as are the phenomena of the material plane in their own field.

And now, having mastered the theory of Distant Induction, and the fundamental principles of its practice, let us proceed to the consideration of the details of its practice in the work of actual healing. We are dealing with a fascinating subject, and are naturally impatient at too much delay in getting to the point of manifestation.