sensitives are strong _positive_ characters, who act
only from within, according to their own will. They may develop into
trained clairvoyants, and be their own masters instead of slaves of a
disembodied spirit. In some sensitives of both classes it is possible to
extract part of the ether which forms the vital body. When a disembodied
spirit obtains a subject of that nature, it develops the sensitive as _a
materializing medium_. The man who is capable of extracting his own vital
body by an act of will, becomes a citizen of two worlds, independent and
free. Such are usually known as _Invisible Helpers_. There are certain
other abnormal conditions where the vital body and the dense body are
separated totally or in part, for instance if we place our limb in an
uncomfortable position so that circulation of the blood ceases. Then we
may see the etheric limb hanging down below the visible limb as a
stocking. When we restore circulation and the etheric limb seeks to enter
into place, an intense prickly sensation is felt, due to the fact that the
little streams of force, which radiate all through the ether, seek to
permeate the molecules of the limb and stir them into renewed vibration.
When a person is drowning, the vital body also separates from the dense
vehicle and the intense prickly pain incident to resuscitation is also due
to the cause mentioned.

While we are awake and going about our work in the Physical World, the
desire body and mind both permeate the dense and the vital bodies, and
there is a constant war between the desire nature and the vital body. The
vital body is continually engaged in building up the human organism, while
the impulses of the desire body tend to tire and to break down tissue.
Gradually, in the course of the day, the vital body loses ground before
the onslaughts of the desire body, poisons of decay slowly accumulate and
the flow of vital fluid becomes more and more sluggish, until at length it
is incapable of moving the muscles. The body then feels heavy and drowsy.
At last the vital body collapses, as it were, the little streams of force
which permeate each atom seem to shrivel up, and the Ego is forced to
abandon its body to the restorative powers of sleep.

When a building has become dilapidated and is to be _restored_ and put in
thorough repair, the tenants must move out to let the workmen have a free
field. So also when the building of a spirit has become unfit for further
use, it must wi