1. The soul informs the mechanism in two ways and through two points of contact in the body:

1. The "thread of life" is anchored in the heart. The life principle is there to be found, and from that station it pervades the entire physical body through the medium of the blood stream, for "the blood is the life".
2. The "thread of consciousness" or of intelligence is anchored in the head, in the region of the pineal gland, and from that station of perception it orders or directs the physical plane activities, through the medium of the brain and the nervous system.

2. The directive activity of the soul, or its authoritative grasp upon the mechanism of the body, is dependent for its extent upon the point of development, or upon the so-called "age of the soul". The soul is ageless from the human angle, and what is really meant is the length of time that a soul has employed the method of physical incarnation.

3. The result of this twofold hold upon the mechanism during the past ages has been the conditioning of the material, in conjunction with its own inherent conditioned nature. A form is produced which is adequate to the temporary need of the soul and which is a reflection, in time and space, of its "relative age" or point of development. [63] This, therefore, produces the type of brain, the conformation of the body, the condition of the endocrine system, and consequently the set of qualities, the type of mental reaction, and the character with which any given subject enters into life upon the physical plane. From that point, the work proceeds. This work might be regarded as an effort to intensify the hold which the divine Thinker has upon the mechanism. This will lead to a wiser, fuller direction, a deeper realization of the purpose, and an effort to clear the way for the soul by the institution of those practices which tend towards right conduct, right speech, and good character. The thought underlying this paragraph links the conclusions of the materialistic school of psychologists with the introspectionist school and those schools which posit a self, a soul or a spiritual entity, and shows that both groups are dealing with facts, and that both must play their united parts in training the aspirant in the New Age.

4. As the introspective method is pursued, and as we study the human subject, we discover that underlying the human body in all its parts, and constituting a definite part of the human apparatus, there is a vehicle which has been called the "etheric body", composed entirely of threads of force which, in their turn, form the channels along which still more subtle and varying types of energy flow. These are, in their turn, "conditioned" during manifestations by the status of the soul. These threads underlie and interpenetrate the entire body and the nervous system and are in reality the actuating power of the nervous system. Their responsiveness to impacts, outer and inner, is unbelievably great. The nervous reactions of the disciple and highly developed person, [64] whose etheric body is in close rapport with his nervous system, is beyond the average comprehension.

5. The sum total of the nerves, with the millions of nadis or "thread counterparts" in the etheric body, form a unit, and this unit, according to the teaching of the Ageless Wisdom, has in it points of focus for different types of energy. These are called "force centers", and upon these depend the life experience of the soul and its expression, and not upon the body. They are the factors which condition the glandular system of the body.

6. This subjective and objective system governs the manifestation of the soul on the physical plane. It indicates to those who can see in truth, the grasp or hold that the soul has upon its instrument; it can be seen whether that grasp is occasional and partial or whether it is entire and whole. This is most wonderfully indicated in a certain Masonic grip, which marks a climax in the experience of the candidate to the mysteries.

1. The center at the base of the spine.
2. The center at the top of the head, where the most important center in the body is situated, from the standpoint of the soul. There is its point of entry and exit; there is the great radio station of reception, and the distributing center for direction.
3. The spleen. This is a subsidiary center and organ in connection with the heart center.