_We can repress to a remarkable degree the sensations of fatigue,
hunger and thirst_. Truly no man can defy the laws of nature, but it
is very certain that in cases like that of Dr. TANNER, and the Hindu
ascetics who were boxed up and buried for many weeks, there must have
been mental determination as well as physical endurance. As regards
this very important subject of health, or the body, and the degree to
which it can be controlled by the mind or will, it is to be observed
that of late years physiologists are beginning to observe that all
"mental" or corporeal functions are evidently controlled by the same
laws or belong to the same organization. If "the emotions, say of
anger or love, in their more emphatic forms, are plainly accompanied
by varying changes of the heart and blood-vessels, the viscera and
muscles," it must follow that changes or excitement in the physical
organs must react on the emotions. "All modes of sensibility, whatever
their origin," says LUYS, "are physiologically transported into the
sensorium. From fiber to fiber, from sensitive element to sensitive
element, our whole organism is sensitive; our whole sentient
personality, in fact, is conducted just as it exists, into the
plexuses of the _sensorium commune_." Therefore, if every sensation in
the body acts on the brain by the aid of secondary brains or
ganglions, it must be that the brain in turn can in some way act on
the body. And this has hitherto been achieved or attempted by
magicians, "miracle-mongers," thaumaturgists, mesmerists, and the
like, and by the modern hypnotizer, in which we may observe that there
has been at every step less and less mysticism or supernaturalism, and
a far easier process or way of working. And I believe it may be fairly
admitted that in this work I have simplified the process of physically
influencing mental action and rendered it easier. The result from the
above conclusions being that _we can control many disorders or forms
of disease_. This is an immense subject, and it would be impossible