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THE POWER OF KARMA controlled it in search of relief. The captain of the Mohawk had also been subjected to severe and prolonged strain in battling with the gale, and his physical energy had been also exhausted, so that his astral body was sufficiently receptive to the insistent call of the visitant astral. All the circumstances are found to be in conformity with the principles and practices observed among the trained experimenters of the East.
The astral body responds to and registers feeling and emotion, being very susceptible to those vibrations which originate from sounds, colours, and scents. If not under control, it may account for the eccentricity and extravagance in thoughts and emotions which characterize hysteria and various kinds of inordinate passions and preoccupations. This is the reason why self-possession is a vital necessity. A strong ego does not become unbalanced by the invasion of emotion; it builds an astral body which is capable of resisting impulses acting upon it, and deals with joy, fear, and excitement in a discriminating and balanced manner. Such an astral body can only be obtained by effort, just as sound health is obtained by disciplining the mind and body and rejecting what is injurious.