The Human Atmosphere (Forgotten Books)

"One of the primary articles of faith of the New Age movement is that the human body has energy fields surrounding it, and that those fields can be used to diagnose the internal state of the body (and mind). This idea can be traced to fringe science of the 18th, 19th and early 20th century, including, the 'Animal Magnetism' of Mesmer, the 'Odic force' of Baron Carl von Reichenbach, and Edwin D. Babbit, and the work of Dr. Walter J. Kilner, the author of this book. Kilner was the first to use the term 'human aura' in a medical context. The idea of halos goes back a long way. Besides the conventional glowing ring around the head of western depictions of saint, Buddha was said to have glowed with light shortly before his death. Buddhist iconography depicts circular pools of light surrounding celestial beings.