Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge of the Theosophical Society. Discussions on the stanzas of the first volume of The secret doctrine

Q. Is not the cerebellum the part of the brain at the back of the skull, responsible for muscle coordination what we might call the organ of habit?

A. Since it is instinctual, I believe it may very well be called that.

Q. Except that habit might be referred to what we could call the present stage of existence, and instinct to a past stage.

A. Whatever the name may be, the cerebellum alone—as you have already been told (see original: "vide" "On Dreams," Appendix)—functions during sleep, not the cerebrum the principal and most forward part of the brain, responsible for complex sensory and neural functions. The dreams, radiations, or instinctive feelings we experience upon waking are the result of that activity.

Q. The logical sequence is brought about entirely by the coordinating faculty. But surely the cerebrum also acts; a proof of this is that the closer we approach the state of waking from sleep, the more vivid our dreams become.

A. Exactly so, when you are waking, but not before. We may compare this state of the cerebellum to a bar of metal, or something similar, which has been heated during the day and radiates heat during the night. In the same way, the energy of the brain radiates unconsciously during the night.

Q. Still, we cannot say that the brain is incapable of registering impressions during sleep. A sleeping person can be awakened by a noise, and when awake, will frequently be able to trace his dream to the impression caused by that noise. This fact seems to prove conclusively the brain's activity during sleep.

A. It is certainly a mechanical activity. If, under such circumstances, there is the slightest perception or the least glimpse of the dream state, memory comes into play and the dream can be reconstructed. In the discussion on dreams, the dream state passing into the waking state was compared to the embers of a dying fire. We may well continue the comparison and liken the action of memory to a current of air rekindling them. That is to say, the waking consciousness recalls the cerebellum to activity, which was otherwise fading below the threshold of consciousness.

Q. But does the cerebellum ever stop functioning?

A. No, but its function is lost in the functions of the cerebrum.

Q. That is to say that the stimuli proceeding from the cerebellum during waking life fall below the threshold of waking consciousness because the field of consciousness is entirely occupied by the cerebrum. This continues

until sleep occurs, at which point the stimuli from the cerebellum begin, in their turn, to form the field of consciousness. It is not, therefore, correct to say that the cerebrum is the only seat of consciousness.

A. Quite so. The function of the cerebrum is to polish, perfect, or coordinate ideas, whereas that of the cerebellum produces conscious desires, and so forth.

Q. Evidently we have to extend our idea of consciousness. For instance, there is no reason why a sensitive plant should not have consciousness. Du Prel, in his original: "Philosophie der Mystik" Philosophy of Mysticism, cites some very curious experiments showing a kind of local consciousness, perhaps a kind of reflex connection. He even goes further than this, demonstrating from a large number of well-authenticated cases—such as those of clairvoyants who can perceive things through the pit of the stomach—that the threshold of consciousness is capable of a very wide extension. It is much wider than we are accustomed to believe, both in higher and lower directions.

A. We may congratulate ourselves on the experiments of Du Prel as an antidote to the theories of Professor Huxley, which are absolutely irreconcilable with the teachings of occultism.