Mind and Body; or, Mental States and Physical ConditionsAtkinson, William Walker
Science
Mind and Body; or, Mental States and Physical Conditions
Atkinson, William Walker
Mental suggestion
We have seen that in each cell in the human body is embodied a part of
the Subconscious Mind, sufficient in quantity and quality to enable the
cell to perform its particular work in the physical community of cells.
In the same manner each group of cells, large or small, is possessed of
the quantity and quality of mind adapted to the successful performance
of its particular function. And, rising in the scale, we find that
each of the physical organs is possessed of a "composite cell-soul" or
"organ-mind." As Hudson says: "Each organ of the body is composed of a
group of cells which are differentiated with special reference to the
functions to be performed by that organ. In other words, every function
of life is performed by groups of co-operative cells, so that the body
as a whole is simply a confederation of the various groups."
For instance, as Haeckel says: "This 'tissue soul' is the higher
psychological function which gives physiological individuality to
the compound multicellular organism as a true 'cell commonwealth.'
It controls all the separate 'cell souls' of the social cells--the
mutually dependent 'citizens' which constitute the community.... The
human egg-cell, as soon as it is fertilized, multiplies by division and
forms a community, or colony of many social cells. These differentiate
themselves, and by their specialization, by various modifications of
these cells, the various tissues which compose the various organs are
developed. The developed many-celled organisms of man and of all higher
animals resemble, therefore, a social civil community, the numerous
single individuals of which are, indeed, developed in various ways, but
which were originally only simple cells of one common structure."
Biology shows us that there are unquestionably methods of communication
between cell and cell, although it has not as yet been definitely
determined just how this communication is effected. In the
cell-communities of the micro-organisms there is undoubtedly present
the power to communicate on the part of the several cells composing
the community, and the pain or discomfort of one part is evidently
felt by the whole community. Just as an army, or a congregation, has
a mind common to the whole, in addition to the individual minds of
its units, so has every organ of the body an "organ mind" in addition
to the individual cell minds of its unit cells. The fact of the
existence of "group-mind," or "collective-mind" is recognized by the
best authorities in modern psychology, and the study of its principles
throws light on some hitherto perplexing phenomena.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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