Practical Guide to Psychic Powers

Excerpt:
Page 57

Within the astral level of the psyche we discern two major regions, the higher and the lower astral; these are distinct in character and function (much as, for instance are the root and the stem of a plant) without being divided by any sharp line of demarcation.

These two regions merge into one another by imperceptible degrees: the dense or lower astral that is nearer to the physical body and acts more in conjunction with that, being the domain of the instincts and of the supportive life-processes; and the fine or higher astral that is nearer to the rational mind and acts more in conjunction with that being the domain of the higher emotions.

The psychic powers have their foundation in the astral level of the psyche. In primitive life the use of many of these powers was probably directly connected with the instincts (as for example the power to find water when thirsty, or the power to communicate by telepathy with fellow members of a foraging party) and would be activated without conscious volition when need arose. For most people within our civilization nowadays these powers have become more or less submerged by disuse, but they are intrinsic to human nature, and are capable of being reawakened.

The Physical body. This includes the cerebrospinal and autonomic nervous systems, as well as the digestive and glandular organs, all of which interact with the emotional and instinctual level of the psyche to an important and variable extent.