“All the matter of the world that surrounds us, the food that we eat, the water that we drink, the air that we BREATHE, the stones that our houses are built of, our own bodies — everything is permeated by all the matters that exist in the universe. There is no need to study or investigate the sun in order to discover the matter of the solar world: this matter exists in ourselves and is the result of the division of our atoms. In the same way we have in us the matter of all other worlds. Man is, in the full sense of the term, a ‘miniature universe’; in him are all the matters of which the universe consists; the same forces, the same laws that govern the life of the universe, operate in him; therefore in studying man we can study the whole world, just as in studying the world we can study man. Fragments: Five

” ‘Hydrogen’ 192 is the air of our atmosphere which we BREATHE. Fragments: Nine

“‘Hydrogen’ 96 is represented by rarefied gases which man cannot BREATHE, but which play a very important part in his life; and further, this is the matter of animal magnetism, of emanations from the human body, of ‘n-rays,’ hormones, vitamins, and so on; in other words, with ‘hydrogen’ 96 ends what is called matter or what is regarded as matter by our physics and chemistry. ‘Hydrogen’ 96 also includes matters that are almost imperceptible to our chemistry or perceptible only by their traces or results, often merely presumed by some and denied by others. Fragments: Nine

“The human organism receives three kinds of food 1. The ordinary food we eat 2. The air we BREATHE 3. Our impressions Fragments: Nine

“Mi 48 passes to fa 24; fa 24 passes to sol 12; sol 12 passes to la 6. La 6 is the highest matter produced by the organism from air, that is, from the second kind of food. This however is obtained only by making a conscious effort at the moment an impression is received. “It is necessary to understand what this means. We all BREATHE the same air. Apart from the elements known to our science the air contains a great number of substances unknown to science, indefinable for it and inaccessible to its observation. But exact analysis is possible both of the air inhaled and of the air exhaled. This exact analysis shows that although Fragments: Nine

the air inhaled by different people is exactly the same, the air exhaled is quite different. Let us suppose that the air we BREATHE is composed of twenty different elements unknown to our science. A certain number of these elements are absorbed by every man when he BREATHEs. Let us suppose that five of these elements are always absorbed. Consequently the air exhaled by every man is composed of fifteen elements; five of them have gone to feeding the organism. But some people exhale not fifteen but only ten elements, that is to say, they absorb five elements more. These five elements are higher ‘hydrogens.’ These higher ‘hydrogens’ are present in every small particle of air ‘we inhale. By inhaling air we introduce these higher ‘hydrogens’ into ourselves, but if our organism does not know how to extract them out of the particles of air, and retain them, they are exhaled back into the air. If the organism is able to extract and retain them, they remain in it. In this way we all BREATHE the same air but we extract different substances from it. Some extract more, others less. Fragments: Nine

I began a series of experiments or exercises, making use of a certain experience in this direction that I had acquired earlier. I carried out a series of short but very intensive fasts. I call them “intensive” because I did not take them at all from the hygienic point of view but tried, on the contrary, to give the strongest possible shocks to the organism. In addition to this I began to “BREATHE” according to a definite system which, together with fasting, had given me interesting psychological results before; and also “repetition” on the method of the “prayer of the mind” which had helped me very much before to concentrate my attention and to observe myself. And also a series of mental exercises of a rather complicated kind for the concentration of the attention. I do not describe these experiments and exercises in detail because they were, after all, attempts to feel my way, without having exact knowledge of possible results. Fragments: Thirteen

“When we talked before about the octaves of food in the three-story factory we saw that ‘all the finer ‘hydrogens’ needed for the working, the growth, and the evolution of the organism were prepared from three kinds of food, that is, from food in the strict meaning of the word — eatables and drink, from air which we BREATHE, and from impressions. Now let us suppose that we could improve the quality of food and air, feed, let us say, on ‘hydrogen’ 384 instead of 768 and BREATHE ‘hydrogen’ 96 instead of 192. How much simpler and easier the preparation of fine matters in the organism would be then. But the whole point is that this is impossible. The organism is adapted to transform precisely these coarse matters into fine matters, and if you give it fine matters instead of coarse matters it will not be in a position to transform them and it will very soon die. Neither air nor food can be changed. But impressions, that is, the quality of the impressions possible to man, are not subject to any cosmic law. Man cannot improve his food, he cannot improve the air. Improvement in this case would be actually making things worse. For instance ‘hydrogen* 96 instead of 192 would be either very rarefied air or very hot incandescent gases which man cannot possibly BREATHE; fire is ‘hydrogen’ 96. It is exactly the same with food. ‘Hydrogen’ 384 is water. If man could improve his food, that is, make it finer, he would have to feed on water and BREATHE fire. It is clear that this is impossible. But while it is not possible for him to improve his food and air he can improve his impressions to a very high degree and in this way introduce fine ‘hydrogens’ into the organism. It is precisely on this that the possibility of evolution is based. A man is not at all obliged to feed on the dull impressions of H48, he can have both H24, H12, and H6, and even H3. This changes the whole picture and a man who makes higher ‘hydrogens’ the food for the upper story of his machine will certainly differ from one who feeds on the lower ‘hydrogens.’” Fragments: Sixteen

I had gone to a room where nobody could see me, and began to mark time at the double trying at the same time to BREATHE according to a particular count, that is, to inhale during a definite number of steps and exhale during a definite number. After a certain time when I had begun to tire I noticed, that is, to speak more correctly, I felt quite clearly, that my breathing was artificial and unreliable. I felt that in a very short time I would be unable to BREATHE in that way while continuing to mark time at the double and that ordinary normal breathing, very accelerated of course, without any count would gain the upper hand. Fragments: Seventeen

It became more and more difficult for me to BREATHE and to mark time, and to observe the count of breaths and steps. I was pouring with sweat, my head began to turn round, and I thought I should fall. I began to despair of obtaining results of any kind and I had almost stopped when suddenly something seemed to crack or move inside me and my breathing went on evenly and properly at the rate I wanted it to go, but without any effort on my part, while affording me all the amount of air I needed. It was an extraordinarily pleasant sensation. I shut my eyes and continued to mark time, breathing easily and freely and feeling exactly as though strength was increasing in me and that I was getting lighter and stronger. I thought that if I could continue to run in this way for a certain time I should get still more interesting results because waves of a sort of joyful trembling had already begun to go through my body which, as I knew from previous experiments, preceded what I called the opening of the inner consciousness. Fragments: Seventeen