(From page 7 of The Eye of Revelation)

The Colonel begins his story... The next day, after having lunch together, we repaired to the Colonel's room in a nearby hotel, and there at last he told me about "The Fountain of Youth." "The first important thing I was taught after entering the Lamasery," he began, "was this. The body has seven centers which, in English, could be called Vortexes. These are kind of magnetic centers. They revolve at great speed in the healthy body, but when slowed down-well that is just another name for old age, ill-health, and senility. There are two of these Vortexes in the brain; one at the base of the throat; another in the right side of the body in the region of the liver; one in the sexual center; and one in each knee. "These spinning centers of activity extend beyond the flesh in the healthy individual, but in the old, weak, senile person they hardly reach the surface, except in the knees. The quickest way to regain health, youth, and vitality is to start these magnetic centers spinning again. There are but five practices that will do this. Any one of them will be helpful, but all five are required to get glowing results. These five exercises are really not exercises at all, in the physical culture sense. The Lamas think of them as 'Rites,' and so instead of calling them exercises or practices, we too, shall call them Rites." The seven psychic vortexes "There are seven Psychic Vortexes in the body. Vortex A is located within the forehead; Vortex B is located in the posterior part of the brain; Vortex C is in the region of the throat at the base of the neck; Vortex D is located in the right side of the body above the waist line; Vortex E is located in the reproductive anatomy, and it is directly connected with Vortex C in the throat. Vortexes F and G are located one in either knee. "These Psychic Vortexes revolve at great speed. When all are revolving at high speed and at the same rate of speed the body is in perfect health. When one or more of them slow down, old age, loss of power, and senility set in." The Colonel paused and looked at me. "Do you understand." I nodded. "Yes, I think so."

The Colonel tells how to do Rite One "The first Rite," continued the Colonel, "is a simple one. It is for the express purpose of speeding up the Vortexes. When we were children we used it in our play. It is this: Stand erect with arms outstretched, horizontal with the shoulders. Now spin around until you become slightly dizzy. There is only one caution: you must turn from left to right. In other words, if you were to place a clock or watch on the floor face up, you would turn in the same way the hands are moving. "At first the average adult will only be able to spin around about a half-dozen times until he becomes dizzy enough to want to sit or lie down. That is just what he should do, too. That's what I did. To begin with, practice this Rite only to the point of slight dizziness. As time passes and your Vortexes become more rapid in movement through this and other Rites, you will be able to practice it to a greater extent. "When I was in India it amazed me to see the Maulawiyah, or as they are more commonly known, the Whirling Dervishes, almost unceasingly spin around and around in a religious frenzy. Rite Number One recalled to my attention two things in connection with this practice. The first was that these Whirling Dervishes always spun in one direction-from left to right, clockwise. The second was the virility of the old men; they were strong, hearty, and robust. Far more so than most men of their age. "When I spoke to one of the Lamas about this, he informed me that while this whirling movement of the Dervishes did have a very beneficial effect, yet it also had a devastating one. It seems that a long siege of whirling stimulates into great activity Vortexes A, B, and E. These three have a stimulating effect on the other two-C and D. But due to excessive leg action the Vortexes in the knees-E and G-are over-stimulated and finally so exhausted that the building up of the Vital Forces along with this tearing down causes the participants to experience a kind of 'psychic jag' which they mistake for something spiritual, or at least religious. "However," continued the Colonel, "we do not carry the whirling exercise to excess. While the whirling Dervishes may spin around hundreds of times, we find that greater benefit is obtained by restricting it to about a dozen or so times, enough so that Rite Number One can stimulate all the Vortexes to action."

And then he tells about Rite Two... "Like Rite Number One," continued the Colonel, "this second one is for further stimulating to action the Seven Vortexes. It is simpler than the first one. In Rite Number Two one first lies flat on his back on the floor or on the bed. If practiced on the floor, one should use a rug or blanket under him, folded several times in order that the body will not come into contact with the cold floor. The Lamas have what might be called in English a 'prayer rug.' It is about two feet wide and fully six feet long. It is fairly thick and is made from wool and a kind of vegetable fiber. It is solely for the purpose of insulation, and so has no other value. Nevertheless, to the Llamas everything is of a religious nature, hence their name for these mats-'prayer rugs.' "As I said, one should lie full length on his 'prayer rug,' or bed. Then place the hands flat down alongside the hips. Fingers should be kept close together with the fingertips of each hand turned slightly toward one another. The feet are then raised until the legs are straight up. If possible, let the feet extend back a bit over the body, toward the head; but do not let the knees bend. Then, slowly lower the feet to the floor and for a moment allow all muscles to relax. Then perform this Rite all over again. "One of the Lamas told me that when he first attempted to practice this simple Rite he was so old, weak, and decrepit that he couldn't possibly lift up both legs. Therefore he started out by lifting the thighs until the knees were straight up, letting the feet hang down. Little by little, however, he was able to straighten out his legs until at the end of three months he could raise them straight with perfect ease. "I marveled at this particular Lama," said the Colonel, "when he told me this. He was then a perfect picture of health and youth, although I knew he was many years older than I. For the sheer joy of exerting himself, he used to carry a pack of vegetables weighing fully a hundred pounds on his back, from the garden to the Lamasery, several hundred feet above. He took his time but never stopped once on the way up, and when he would arrive he didn't seem to be experiencing the slightest bit of fatigue. I marveled greatly at this, for the first time I started up with him, I had to stop at least a dozen times. Later I was able to do it easily without my cane and with never a stop, but that is another story."

The Colonel tells how to do Rite Three "The third Rite should be practiced immediately after practicing Rite Number Two. It, too, is a very simple one. All one needs to do is to kneel on his 'prayer rug,' place his hands on his thighs, and lean forward as far as possible with the head inclined so that the chin rests on the chest. Now lean backward as far as possible; at the same time the head should be lifted and thrown back as far as it will go. Then bring the head up along with the body. Lean forward again and start the rite all over. This Rite is very effective in speeding up Vortexes E, D, and C; especially E. "I have seen more than 200 Lamas perform this Rite together. In order to turn their attention within, they closed their eyes. In this way they would not become confused by what others were doing and thus have their attention diverted. "The Lamas, more than two and a half millenniums ago, discovered that all good things come from within. They discovered that every worthwhile thing must have its origin within the individual. This is something that the Occidental has never been able to understand and comprehend. He thinks, as I did, that all worthwhile things must come from the outside world. "The Lamas, especially those at this particular Lamasery, are performing a great work for the world. It is performed, however, on the astral plane. This plane, from which they assist mankind in all quarters of the globe, is high enough above the vibrations of the world to be a powerful focal point where much can be accomplished with little loss of effort. "Some day the world will awaken in amazement to what the unseen forces-the Forces of Good-have been doing for the masses. We who take ourselves in hand and make new creatures of ourselves in every imaginable way, each is doing a marvelous work for mankind everywhere. Already the efforts of these advanced individuals are being welded together into One Irresistible Power. A new day is dawning for the world-it is already here. But it is only through individuals like the Lamas, and you and me that the world can possibly be helped. "Most of mankind, and that includes those in the most enlightened countries, like America and England, is still in the darkest of the Dark Ages. However, they are being prepared for better and more glorious things, and as fast as they can be initiated into the higher life, just that fast will the world be made a better place in which to live."

And then he tells about Rite Four... "Now for Rite Number Four," said the Colonel. "The first time I tried this it seemed very difficult, but after a week it was as simple to do as any of the others. "Sit on the 'prayer rug' with the feet stretched out in front. Then place the hands alongside the body. Now raise the body and bend the knees so that the legs, from the knees down, are practically straight up and down. The arms, too, will be straight up and down while the body, from the shoulders to the knees, will be horizontal. Before pushing the body to a horizontal position, the chin should be well down on the chest. Then, as the body is raised, the head should be allowed to drop gently backward as far as it will go. Next, return to a sitting position and relax for a moment before repeating the procedure. When the body is pressed up to the complete horizontal position, tense every muscle in the body. This will have a tendency to stimulate Vortexes F, G, E, D, and C. "After leaving the Lamasery," continued Colonel Bradford, "I went to a number of the larger cities in India, and as an experiment conducted classes for both English people and natives. I found that the older members of either felt that unless they could perform a Rite perfectly, right from the beginning, they believed no good could come from it. I had considerable difficulty in convincing them that they were wrong. Finally I persuaded them to do the best they could and see just what happened in a month's time. After a good deal of persuasion I was able to get them to do their best, and the results in a month's time were more than gratifying. "I remember in one city I had quite a number of old people in one of my classes. With this particular Rite-Number Four-they could just barely get their bodies off the floor; they couldn't get it anywhere near a horizontal position. In the same class were several much younger persons who had no difficulty in performing the Rite perfectly from the very start. This so discouraged the older people that I had to ask the younger ones to refrain from practicing it before their older classmates. I explained that I could not do it at first, either; that I couldn't do a bit better than any of them; but that I could perform the Rite fifty times in succession now without feeling the slightest strain on nerves or muscles; and in order to convince them, I did it right before their eyes. From then on, the class broke all records for results accomplished.