In my most recent podcast episode, I offer an in-depth breakdown of a Manly P. Hall lecture I've had on my radar for a long time. It's called "Magnetic Fields of the Human Body" and it offers a wide-ranging introduction to the role that the electromagnetism plays in human life. This topic offers the key not only for understanding human health, but also human psychology, as well as the mysteries of astrology and alchemy.
Featured below is a transcript of my introduction to the episode. Beyond that is a transcript of key quotes and comments extracted from the episode. All but the first of these are reserved for paid subscribers.
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My Introduction to the Episode
Hey everybody, welcome back to the Wisdom Tradition podcast. This is Alex Sachon. And today I have an episode that is long overdue. It's going to be investigating an old lecture from Manly P. Hall titled Magnetic Fields of the Human Body. This is one that's been on my radar for a number of months. And it’s relevant for multiple reasons.
Number one, the relationship between the human body, the human soul and the human mind and this idea of electromagnetism interplays with some of the themes and ideas of human health that I had discussed in previous episodes, including the interview I did a couple months ago with doctor Mark Bailey on the topic of the issues with virology, and sort of debunking virology as a legitimate paradigm of science and medicine. So in that episode, we didn't try to replace it as a theory, but it was mostly we were focused on, going over the things that discredits it as a theory. So in this episode, certain ideas about human magnetism are going to come into the fold and offer us an alternative paradigm to understand certain things about, health and illness and disease,
And we're also going to be considering how the magnetic field of the human being extends outward like an aura. As it extends outward, it begins to mingle with the magnetic fields of other beings and at higher levels, we find that the magnetic fields of all humans are, interfacing together and consolidating into a collective field. And so this allows us to understand certain things about contagion, both physically but also psychologically.
We have an idea that came out a few years ago about mass formation psychosis. Electromagnetism actually explains the mechanism of action for how a type of collective psychological event can take place. It can originate in the collective magnetic field of the species and then move outward into its individual parts.
Here again, this idea of the magnetic field interfaces with certain ideas from psychology, such as are discussed in the Jungian tradition: ideas like the collective unconscious. So what we consider the collective unconscious is very much related to this idea of a collective magnetic field or collective “aura”.
Here we come to the idea that the magnetic field that surrounds the body interfaces intimately with the mind. So typically today we think of the mind as arising from the brain. But again, there's all kinds of scientific problems associated with this conclusion. And instead what we're left to conclude is that the the brain is actually more like an antenna that receives the signals of the mind and then processes it.
And so if the mind is not located in the brain, then where is it located? Where is the home for this thing that we call the mind? And the answer is in these magnetic fields. And these magnetic fields aren't just confined to the physical plane at the lowest levels; they extend into different metaphysical layers. And that metaphysical realm is the home of the mind.
In terms of health, psychological issues or physical issues can happen with blockages and imbalances forming in the physical body, which is like an antenna that is supposed to receive the signals of the mind. If that gets messed up, like brain damage or some kind of toxicity poisoning it will cause disease and disorders and imbalances because it interferes with the body's ability to, receive into itself the incoming energies of these magnetic auras.
Likewise, disease, mentally or physically, could also result from imbalances and blockages that form within the magnetic field itself. So when we're diagnosing disease, we actually have to look at both of these domains, the physical and the metaphysical, or the physical and the electromagnetic level.
So these are things that we're going to be discussing and interfacing with in lecture from Manly P. Hall. As always, I’ve broken this lecture down into a bunch of different clips - over 20 of different ones. And we’ll be looking at these one by one, and I'll be commenting and emphasizing certain points along the way.
And before we jump in, I also want to emphasize that this topic of the magnetic field and how it serves as an introduction to metaphysics, this whole dynamic is actually the key to understanding astrology. So in terms of astrology, we have the interplay between the planets and the zodiac. And at a higher level, what's called the sidereal zodiac or the fixed stars. And, as we'll see, these astrological dynamics are informing us about dynamics taking place within the magnetic field, both on the individual and collective levels.
So astrology informs us how energy moves and the different dynamics involved with energies motion through these fields as it moves into the physical body. And then alchemy has to do with the dynamics of the physical form in terms of how it receives these incoming astrological energies. So the what Manly Hall’s going to be talking about in this lecture, and what I'll be commenting on as we go through it, has to do with how alchemy and astrology actually tangibly take place, and how we can picture and visualize them.
In particular, this idea of electromagnetism is very much involved in the practical aspect of astrology and alchemy. So when you're looking at how the different planets are aligned in different zodiac formations, this has to do with the dynamics of the electromagnetic field and of the aura. The human mind interfaces at a very intimate level with this aura. And that's why our experience of life is so heavily influenced by these astrological dynamics. So this is a key to understanding astrology, and you should keep that in mind as we go forward.
So without further ado, I'd like to begin this lecture with mainly Hall's introduction to the topic. He's going to start off here by introducing magnetism as a topic of study. And he's going to talk about the deep historical roots of the study of magnetism, and all the different ways that it's been treated in human history. And he's also going to touch on its connection to this field of esoteric philosophy. So let's jump into Manly Hall's introduction to the lecture
Key Quotes / Comments from the Episode:
1. Air is Dynamic
“The magnetic theory is based upon a very simple fact, namely, that what we call empty air is not empty at all. … Air is not just oxygen or helium or something of this nature. Air is something in itself. It is a substance of itself. It is something so real and so important that it's almost impossible to estimate it. It is a tremendous field of magnetic energy.”
“The atmosphere carries the magnetism of the sun. … The study of the magnetic powers of the sun will be more or less clearly understood by the study of the seasons winter, summer, spring, and these things have all to do with a magnetic factor in the air.”
(We typically think of the solar system only in terms of) physical astronomical phenomena, such as the rotation and revolution of the sun and planets. But each of these planets is a field of magnetic energy, and this energy comes to us through what we call air.”
Commentary
I want to pause here and emphasize a quote that he says in this clip. He says, quote, what we call empty air is not empty at all. It is a substance. So real and so important, it's almost impossible to estimate it. It is a tremendous field of magnetic energy. So this is really having to do with the idea that the mysteries of astrology have to do with the mysteries of space. Space itself is this dynamic thing that in modern materialistic life we overlook almost entirely and we take for granted. We're so focused on the physical forms that are in space.
But when we turn our attention to space itself, a great mystery begins to be revealed, and we discover that space is not just this empty air that separates physical forms, but that space is actually this dynamic multi-dimensional entity that moves, from the physical into the metaphysical and then culminates in an abstract field of unified space. This unified field of space is traditionally what is called spirit and is the home of consciousness.
The metaphysical fields that extend inward from this absolute field or spirit, these different metaphysical planes are the domain of various levels of the soul or mind. The energy of spirit moves through these planes, before finally focusing in upon, vivifying, and animating the physical form.
So we have spirit, soul and body as this trinity. And so to really grasp how this Trinity manifests in life, we have to gain a newfound appreciation of space. And this newfound appreciation unlocks the meaning of astrology.
2. Transmission Property of Air