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Essentials of Psychic development – William Joseph Erwood

"There," say some, we object to its use because it is sometimes abused ! To be sure it is sometimes abused ! But, we are more prone to abuse any force when ignorant of its proper sphere, than we are when we have knowledge thereof.

And to refuse to make use of any force because it had been abused would mean to bar out everything. For ignorant human nature has misapplied nearly every force and element in life.

Bibles have been misused; priest-craft has been misused. The abuse of these two things have given rise to as much of misery and horror as anything that has ever fallen to man's lot to use or abuse. Indeed, their misuse has given rise to such inquisatorial horrors, as to make the heart tremble with wrath and indignation when contemplating them.

Yet both have been used by some, judicially and well.

Political privileges have been abused. Love, life, liberty have each been abused.

Hence, to decry a thing because someone has abused it is poor policy. The better way is to carefully investigate, and with the acquisition of knowledge, make proper application of the principles involved.

And, let it be said right here, it is folly to look upon psychic force as supernatural, A supernatural thing cannot exist in a natural universe. To admit that which is "supernatural" — i. e. above the natural— is to make of this universe a thing of caprice, without one single fraction of stability in it.

Every force is a natural force back of which there is a closely related antecedent cause. Every phenomenon is a natural phenomenon, connected with, and behind which there is a more or less clearly defined antecedent cause. And the ability to trace the relationship between the phenomena of nature, and their more immediate causes, measures the sum of human knowledge and power of which the individual is possessed.

And this because that knowledge measures the ability of the individual to apply principles, and to be of use to humanity.

To repeat, then Psychic Force is natural; and the "Psychic" is simply one using natural — but more keen than ordinarily in use — sense perceptions. Contrary to the popular theory, the "Psychic" is not of necessity one who is abnormal. Nor is he an individual who is a victim of either hallucination or neuresthenia. In truth, there are many persons who make active and rational use of the Psychic sense, who are decidedly the reverse of the victim of nerve depletion.

In order to avoid confusion we are dispensing with the numerous metaphysical terms and distinctions used by Occultists in dealing with Spirit, Soul, Matter, and the various degrees of mind. Because of this we are using the term "Psychic" in a broad sense; we use it to convey this meaning: a person — a Soul who is sufficiently awakened to use the finer Soul sense perceptions to the extent that he acquires information, knowledge and understanding, quite beyond the range of the ordinary senses.