That all who so desire may understand how the life of the body can be regained and retained, I will explain what has heretofore been a mystery - Nature's process of construction and destruction as carried on within the body.

Ordinarily people regard birth as the commencement of life, and death as the end. This idea is erroneous, for the process of birth and death is going on within the physical body every moment of the day. Life consists of a process of continuous death and birth or destruction and reconstruction. The body is undergoing a complete molecular change at all times. Ev ery breath you inhale gives birth and life to some new cells or tissue. Every breath you exhale is a form of death carrying away the worn-out useless particles from the body. Every ounce of food or water taken into the system produces a change in the formation of the body. Through this process of construction and destruction, your entire body is made new in less than one year. Think of it. Your entire body passes from your possession every twelve months and you are again in possession of an entirely new one.

The reason this important fact has escaped your observation is because the change is so gradual. As each atom and molecule is displaced by the activities of life, a new one takes its place. In this way the body is kept, in part, always new.

You will see by this statement that death in some form is a vital process of life. Life is a constant change and no change can take place in the body without using and thus destroying some of the particles of which it is composed. It would be impossible for us to perform the various activities of life without the incessant activity of death.

This fact is quite different from the ideas held by most people on this subject. Those who have not grasped this new principle believe that death is at enmity with life and is actually antagonistic to it.

There are two kinds of death - one is termed somatic and the other molecular. Somatic death is the complete loss of the body as a whole, this being the only form of death generally recognized. Molecular death is the constant destruction of the molecular particles and their removal from the physical system.

An important fact for you to grasp is, that death is always a friendly process. It is a process of eliminating the worn-out atoms of the body so that they may be replaced by new atoms. Death is a servant, and its services are absolutely necessary to our continuation and enjoyment of life. The work of molecular death is to clear away the waste matter, which, if allowed to accumulate, would quickly produce the condition known as "old age" and somatic death.

As death is a vital process of life, it is necessary that you recognize it as friendly and lend it all the assistance possible.

The first essential in the attainment of long life is the right mental attitude. This attitude must be that of perfect harmony with the normal processes of life. Many people doubt their ability to live in youth and beauty for one hundred years, because they doubt their ability to defy death for so long a period.

When one rightly understands the process of life, he ceases to think of defeating death. We can no more suppress the process of death than we can suppress the act of exhaling the breath. Bear in mind that we live by a constant process of dying and being reborn. When you have fully grasped this truth you will neither fear death nor seek to defeat it. Remember you have no enemies to conquer in the attainment of long and healthful life. The more you contemplate the process of constant destruction and reconstruction, the more fully you will realize the beautiful truth that none of the forces of Nature are arrayed against you, but instead are all working in your behalf. As you study this question, you will find that somatic death is the result of humanity's failure to understand and consciously co-operate with all the processes of life, including molecular birth and death.

In another lesson of this series I will explain wherein disease is not an enemy, but is the strenuous endeavor of Nature to remove an accumulation of poisonous waste from the system. The mental attitude should not be antagonistic to disease, but should help Nature in eliminating the waste matter as quickly and harmoniously as possible.

Life, like a flowing river, is constantly undergoing change, and as the old forms of life are carried away, new ones are attracted to take their place. We cannot introduce new forms of life without changing the condition of the old ones. This constant change is absolutely necessary to the preservation of youthful existence. It alone makes evolutionary process possible. If our physical forms were fixed and unchangeable, we could not grow, gain or lose weight. Exercise could not develop our muscles, nor food and air produce blood and strength. If our bodies were not constantly changing, we would have no need of food to supply new strength and tissue. Instead, we would be as unimpressionable and unchangeable as though carved from marble. Without change there can be no life. It is the lack of molecular change that destroys our bodies.

The mechanism of the human body is so perfect that under normal conditions it replaces the weakened, worn-out atoms with new and vigorous ones. The secret of prolonging youth then lies in knowing how to provide an equal number of new atoms to take the place of the old. If the right mental attitude is main tained and hygienic methods of living followed, there is no reason why perfect renewal should not be continued indefinitely.

You will observe that it is not my purpose to teach you how to retain your physical body with all its present component particles for one hundred years, but to instruct you in the methods by which the change and exchange of the molecules of the body can be continued so that a youthful life may be preserved as long as desired.

Not only is it impossible to preserve a body for one hundred years, but it is impossible to preserve it in its entirety for a single hour. Scientific experiments demonstrate conclusively that under normal conditions, through the process of destruction and reconstruction, our bodies are completely destroyed and rebuilt once every twelve months.

Consider what this means to you. Think of the advantages and opportunities it opens up for you to make your life a physical and mental success. If your present body is lacking in any particular you can so reconstruct it that within a year it will become a superb specimen of manhood or womanhood. You must learn to regard yourself as the architect and builder of your body, then you will begin, to make the changes and improvements needed in your physical house.

The constant destruction and reconstruction of the body makes perpetual growth and unfoldment possible. It gives us the key to the practical mastery of physical conditions. With each successive rebuilding it is possible for us to include more and more of health, power and beauty. In spite of imperfect ancestry, we may, by a supreme effort, overcome our defects and give birth to better conditions in our lives every year.

As a rule, people suppose they are born once and for all. I teach you a new philosophy - that birth never ceases, and that we are constantly being born again, in the sense that we are constantly taking on new atoms of life, as a result of our thoughts and habits. Nature has supplied the process by which this is possible, and now it remains for us to utilize her plans and make of our lives what so e'er we will.

There is no longer any excuse for man dying before he has reached one hundred years of age, for it is very evident that the all-wise God never designed that an earlier mortality should be the lot of man, as premature death defeats the great object which the Creator had in view at the time He created man and endowed him with immortal sentiments and instincts.

This lesson should be read frequently for an understanding of these vital principles will reveal the way by which youth and health may be retained in spite of passing years. In concluding this lesson, I wish to again emphasize the absolute necessity of realizing that there is no warfare in your being between life and death. When this is clearly recognized, you will be in perfect harmony with life and its beneficent processes.

In succeeding lessons I will instruct you in the methods through which you can supply the new and youthful atoms as rapidly as the old ones are exhausted so that there will be no loss of vitality. By this means you can keep the body and brain young, healthy and vigorous indefinitely.